Jedi Bush-trackers...

For those that don’t really know me, let me start with I love nature. And one thing I like above all others is being out in “the wild.” I also enjoy the history of how mankind has learned to exist in the world and overcome the obstacles nature puts before him.





Arming people with the basic skills to achieve survival in the wild is one thing. Knowing how and why things work is another. Creative thinking, adaptability, and coexisting within your environment is one of the aspects of the human experience I really enjoy. But bush craft isn’t just about surviving whatever nature throws at us. It is connecting with our past and nature.

One important aspect of bush craft to remember is there is no one right way. For each person and in each situation there are things that will work better than others. So if anyone would like to discuss nature, history and bush craft… then let’s have fun with it!

To start off, let me introduce everyone to one of my favorite Bush Craft instructors, Dave Canterburry.

I like that he does research to find out what actually happened according to written record, experiments with what he finds and shows his failures as well as is sucesses.

This is a series on Bush Craft for the 21st Century Longhunter. I really enjoyed it.



There are 47 videos in all and this is the playlist... it should keep going to the next one in the series.

Most of my training and experience is survival stuff for deep wilderness backpaking not living off the land for sustenance. Warm, dry, protection from the elemants and water can get you by for several days.

I can make shelter and fire under any conditions. Find north, south, east and west without a compass. I can fish and trap small animals if I had to.

These are just skills that make me comfortable in the outdoors knowing I can survive a tough situation if I had to. There fun to learn too.

I once was trying to fish with a hand held line and caught no fish but my minnow trap, made from a pop bottle, caught me enough small fish (bait) to feed me.

Fantiastic! Love this idea. Anyone into the primitive art of slinging? I have been playing with it for about a year. I started making them out of paracord not too long ago, here is my most recent variant.

That is awesome! I have one I made out of leather, but I would love to know how you made it out of paracord.

Also, I made an adaptation so that my slingshot could fire arrows. I will have to get pictures or video or something. It works really, really well!

I'm currently working on a project to build a one-man canoe, using only hand-tools, lumber, and a tarp, which can fit inside a smart car.

Will have to document the project and create a how-to

Andy Spalding wrote: Fantiastic! Love this idea. Anyone into the primitive art of slinging? I have been playing with it for about a year. I started making them out of paracord not too long ago, here is my most recent variant.

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I used one a lot as a kid. Could only hit the side of a barn.

Can you hit anything with it worth eating?

I think a bow and arrows can put more small animal meat in the pot and they are not very hard to make out of naturally available materials.

Making cord takes time though.

BTW Very Cool

I make bows as well. Check out "Andy's Sketch book".

But yes, i can hit something the size of a street sign at 30 meters. Though i would call the reliability of that to be at around 40%

I think most small game, squirrels, rabits, birds would be at close range. All you have to do is stunn them enought for you to catch up to them.

I've been thinking about making a fire piston out of bamboo. Just haven't got around to it.

That is also a project I have been wanting to do. Please post it up if you get to it before I do.

Ever make a fire with a bow and drill? That's a lot of work to make and use.

can this be made into a group for easier sharing and whatnot?

I kind of like that it is in the forums.

If enough people show intrest in it maybe it could become it's own sub-forum or something with different threads for the differetn topics. But it is probably too early to tell.

I have pictures of stuff at home that I will post as soon as I can, and I would like to haev "how to" posted, but that will just come with time I think.

Fire with a bow drill...
The first time I tried it I thoguht I was going to die!!!! But as I got older and calmed a bit, I have found that it is not as difficult as it once was (or as I remember it being)

Tom Brown has a book witch gives a very good explination of technique and amterial gathering for bow drills. And once I figured out what worked, it really was a lot easier.

Speaking of fire :woohoo: anyone use: fatwood, flint steel, fire steel, dryer lint, pine sap, steel wool, birch bark, potato chips, wax paper, bug spray, hand sanitizer, lip gloss, 1st aid ointment to start a fire?

Yea, I've made fire by rubbing two sticks together... once.

Pain in the ass. But I can do it if i need to.

Yea, those are really good tenders if you need to start something up. I have used all them besides the fatwood.

Andy Spalding wrote: That is also a project I have been wanting to do. Please post it up if you get to it before I do.

Basically this is it

http://www.primitiveways.com/fire_piston.html

I just haven't put it together yet. It seems finding the pieces of bambo that fit properly is the key.

Andy Spalding wrote: Yea, I've made fire by rubbing two sticks together... once.

Pain in the ass. But I can do it if i need to.

Yea, those are really good tenders if you need to start something up. I have used all them besides the fatwood.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatwood


If you've got some other ideas I'll try them.

I was told the single most important thing you can learn to survive a wilderness situation is to learn to start a fire in varrious conditions. Besides light and heat it has a big emotional boost value.

Yay, I use to live in the bush. That is all I have to say right now :silly:

I love this thread idea.
This type of thing interests me quite a bit but I have little actual knowledge about it - survival in the "wild".
I'd like to learn from those who have had some experience with it.
As far as emergency preparedness things go, food and water storage, first aid types of things, heat sources, etc - that's all well and good - and I have a whole lot of it... but when it came down to doing it.. that's another story, entirely.

Hand-made weapons are also neat!

There are so many neat things and the outdoors can be so awesome… I love it! But, we should start with the basics I think. Then we can discuss what we have found that works well for us.

As I mentioned earlier, Dave Canterbury is one of my favorites when it comes to this topic. He is not “the best” but he is one of my favorites. And, he has a lot of videos you can watch and learn from or just get ideas from. When I can’t get out, it helps watching them.

Okay. Lets’ start with the 5 C’s of survivability.

Cutting devise
Combustion devise
Cordage
Container
Cover

These are in no particular order and some will say that certain ones are more important them others. But for me, they are all important and I do not leave home without any of them.

I guess I will give a simple description of each one and if there is anything anyone wants to add hop in!

Cutting devise… a good knife. What does that mean? Well for each person it is different. And I honestly do not believe in the one knife for everything concept. But I always carry a little carbon steel pocket knife.

Combustion devise… anything that can make starting a fire easy. I carry a bic lighter. And when I go camping or hiking I add a ferrocerium rod and at least one tampon.

Cordage… Paracord or number 36 bank line. Both are excellent choices and both have their strong points and short comings. I guess you just have to decide which one would work better for you. When I am going out on longer than short hikes I tend to carry both.

Container… Short and sweet, stainless steel water bottle. When the lid is off there should be no plastic on it, just metal. I would avoid aluminum (personal opinion) and I would carry one that was no less than 20 oz.’s.

Cover… Your cover starts with your clothing. Dress appropriately. Layers when it’s cold and light materials and colors when it’s hot. Having a piece of extra material with you (a bandana for example) is also a good idea for when you are on short treks. But your cover always starts with your clothing.


I'm sure many will feel this list is incomplete. And it is! These are just the bare basic's I would not leave without.