Ask me about surviving in the wild

[ninja9578]

My grandfather was a scout leader for decades (he quit when they became a hate group) and I've spend a lot of time out in the woods. Those survival shows occasionally get something wrong, I saw a mistake yesterday. So go ahead, ask away. I'm best in the woods of New England, but most survival code is the same. You else tend to have crazy-ass dreams while camping

[Solarflare]

how do you survive in the wild? lol jk What important things should we always bring in the wild?

[jarrhead]

Can you go MacGyver and cause nuclear fission with a monkey wrench in the wild? .. nah. How effective are standard pocket knives?

[ninja9578]

What important things should we always bring in the wild? A knife. I usually also bring flint and a canteen. In the mountains, rope is also very important. How effective are standard pocket knives? Essentially useless. The blade is too small to cut through any wood, I would not recommend using one as your knife. A real hunting knife is best. This is the knife I have

[tommo]

What is the best way to sleep so you don't get bitten by bugs or eaten by bears or tigers or something lol Assuming no equipment except rope, knife etc. to help build stuff.

[Supernova]

Not to flood you with questions, but (assuming the environment of a forest in northeast America) what do you think is the best way to get food?

[ninja9578]

What is the best way to sleep so you don't get bitten by bugs or eaten by bears or tigers or something lol Assuming no equipment except rope, knife etc. to help build stuff. Don't spill blood near your camp site, gut, skin whatever far away. Place any food you do have up high, hanging from a branch, a few meters from your camp. Before going to sleep, put some greens on your fire, it will produce a ton of smoke. Put your clothes over the smoke, and blow the smoke towards your shelter. The smell of it will repel bugs. The fire will actually repel both bugs and predators. Predators avoid fire. There are lots of plants that also act as bug repellant, most commonly used is tobacco. Not to flood you with questions, but (assuming the environment of a forest in northeast America) what do you think is the best way to get food? Trapping. The woods of the northeast are swarming with small animals. Rabbits are easy to find, they are usually what I eat when camping. Squirrels, skunks, raccoons aren't edible, so don't try. They often carry rabies. If you are camping near a river, setting a few lines is also an effective way to find food. Trout and bass like slow moving, fairly deep water. As far is I know, there are no poisonous fish in the rivers of the northeast, however, it's not a good idea to eat something if you don't know what it is. Also, small streams are crawling with creyfish and frogs, both are edible.

[Seroquel]

Squirrels, skunks, raccoons aren't edible, so don't try. Actually Squirrels, skunks, and raccoons are all edible. These animals can carry rabies though.

[Solarflare]

lets say theoretically, a bear came at your camp site, you had no weapons, no cell-phone, nothing other than your tent, water, food, what would you do?

[ninja9578]

lets say theoretically, a bear came at your camp site, you had no weapons, no cell-phone, nothing other than your tent, water, food, what would you do? I've seen plenty of bears, this is not as uncommon as you might think. Nothing, if you don't bother it, it won't bother you. Make a little noise, so that it knows you are there, you don't want to startle it. Bears are afraid of people, and if it knows you are there, it will just go away. Clapping will also scare away a bear because it sounds like a gunshot. That's blackbears, brown or polar bears can be very aggressive. You don't go into their country without a gun. If it's going for your food, cut your loses, there is always more food in the northeast. The exception is a mother with cubs. Keep quite, try to get high on a cliff. Bears can climb trees very well, they can't scale a wall. If you are facing a mother with cubs, stay low to the ground, don't make a lot of noise, you want to show her that you are no threat. Back away from them. This goes for any dangerous animal that has young with it. A fire is still the first defense. Even a grizzly will avoid fire.

[Solarflare]

Wow, you know a lot

[Man of Steel]

That knife looks a bit uncomfortable and impractical, ninja. What make is it? I can't make it out. Looks like a cheap knock-off, but I know Tom Brown, Jr.'s brand puts out some similar blades. Tough as hell, but in my experience largely useless when it comes to actually cutting anything. How does it feel in the hand, and how's the edge geometry? Is it better at a particular set of cutting tasks, or is it meant to be an all-round blade that does okay at most tasks but great at none? I'm curious, as I know in some cases cord-wrapped handles, if done well, can be great, but most suck ass, to put it in vernacular. It does make the knife lighter as a whole, and gives you cordage in a tight spot, but I prefer to just wrap paracord around my knife's sheath. Hmm, I'm digressing. What's your favorite method of building a fire (tipi, lean-to, etc.) and do you prefer a fire pit, a circle of stones, or both?

[ninja9578]

That knife looks a bit uncomfortable and impractical, ninja. What make is it? I can't make it out. Looks like a cheap knock-off, but I know Tom Brown, Jr.'s brand puts out some similar blades. Tough as hell, but in my experience largely useless when it comes to actually cutting anything. How does it feel in the hand, and how's the edge geometry? Is it better at a particular set of cutting tasks, or is it meant to be an all-round blade that does okay at most tasks but great at none? I'm curious, as I know in some cases cord-wrapped handles, if done well, can be great, but most suck ass, to put it in vernacular. It does make the knife lighter as a whole, and gives you cordage in a tight spot, but I prefer to just wrap paracord around my knife's sheath. Hmm, I'm digressing. What's your favorite method of building a fire (tipi, lean-to, etc.) and do you prefer a fire pit, a circle of stones, or both? That's not my exact knife, I couldn't find a picture of it. That one probably is a cheap knockoff. The top of mine is flatter, so it's easy to pound in it to cut into something. I've been pounding on it for years, and never had any problems. My grandfather gave me my knife, I'll bet the knife is actually significantly older than I am. I don't know who made it, I'm looking at it now there is a marking on the blade, but it's worn, I can't make it out. I think it says Gerber, which do make high quality knives, I have another one of theres around here too, but modern. It does have a rope grip like that though, it was hemp, but I replaced it with modern rope. It's always good to have an extra piece of rope I've used my knife for pretty much everything from chopping wood to skinning and gutting animals. I usually use a tipi configuration to start a fire. I usually put the tinder bundle on one edge, then move the tipi onto it once I've sparked it. The type of pit I use depends on the terrain. If it's rocky or wet, I don't create a pit. The ash from the fire will eventually create it's own pit. If I'm in a pine forest or something where everything is flammable, I tend to make a stone pit. The stone pit is nice because it also gives you a nice cooking surface Actually, MoS, if you could recommend a good sturdy blade, I've been thinking of buying a new one soon.

[Man of Steel]

That's not my exact knife, I couldn't find a picture of it. That one probably is a cheap knockoff. The top of mine is flatter, so it's easy to pound in it to cut into something. I've been pounding on it for years, and never had any problems. My grandfather gave me my knife, I'll bet the knife is actually significantly older than I am. I don't know who made it, I'm looking at it now there is a marking on the blade, but it's worn, I can't make it out. I think it says Gerber, which do make high quality knives, I have another one of theres around here too, but modern. It does have a rope grip like that though, it was hemp, but I replaced it with modern rope. It's always good to have an extra piece of rope I've used my knife for pretty much everything from chopping wood to skinning and gutting animals. I usually use a tipi configuration to start a fire. I usually put the tinder bundle on one edge, then move the tipi onto it once I've sparked it. The type of pit I use depends on the terrain. If it's rocky or wet, I don't create a pit. The ash from the fire will eventually create it's own pit. If I'm in a pine forest or something where everything is flammable, I tend to make a stone pit. The stone pit is nice because it also gives you a nice cooking surface Actually, MoS, if you could recommend a good sturdy blade, I've been thinking of buying a new one soon. I'd recommend the ESEE line, formerly RAT Knives. Or possibly the Ranger line, from Ontario Knife and Tool. Something with a 4"-5" blade seems perfect to me for bushcraft, with a flat, convex or Scandinavian grind for best edge geometry, and a high carbon tool steel like 5160, O1 or A2. There are some great custom makers out there, too. Check out BladeForums, and look for Bryan Breeden of Breeden Knives and Andy Roy of Fiddleback Forge (best damn handles I've ever felt on any knife).

[jarrhead]

So what's the best way to obtain food in desert? My area is wilderness -- desert inside of mountains. And in the summertime with no snow, how would I obtain water?

[divinemission]

You said you saw a mistake on one of the survival shows a few days ago. What was the mistake and on which show was it? (I'm a survival show fan)

[ninja9578]

So what's the best way to obtain food in desert? My area is wilderness -- desert inside of mountains. And in the summertime with no snow, how would I obtain water? I don't have any desert experience. But all animals need two main things, food and water. Find where animals are feeding / drinking, and set up traps there. As for water, I only know what I would have seen on survival shows: condensation traps around plants, eating water-logger plants like cacti, digging in dry river beds for ground water. Best tip is to bring water I don't bring water with me because it's abundant here, if I were going to the desert, I would bring a ton of it You could also make Bear Grylls favourite drink Actually Squirrels, skunks, and raccoons are all edible. These animals can carry rabies though. Yeah, I said that You said you saw a mistake on one of the survival shows a few days ago. What was the mistake and on which show was it? (I'm a survival show fan) It was Dual Survival. Cody incorrectly made a desalination still, it still worked, but it could have been better. He said to have it on the fire and to have high air current. That's not correct, you don't want the fire too hot to do that, you want a slow boil, not a vigorous one. A fast boil produces a lot of steam, which creates more pressure in the output tube, that means it rushes out before it has a chance to condense. A slow boil will pul less pressure on the steam, so it will spend more time in the cooling tube. They got a good drip, but it could have been faster. He had said he'd never done it before.

[Zhaylin]

Yeah, I heard that some people in WV think of Squirrel brains as a delicacy and was featured on some food show I think I'd have to be pretty starving to try them though lol And about 11 years ago, while engaged in evangelizing in New Orleans, I saw a backyard with uncounted dead raccoons. I asked one of the local congregation members about it and she said a lot of people in those parts eat raccoons and wild greens. It looked like that one particular home was about to throw a party or have a reunion

[ninja9578]

Yeah, I heard that some people in WV think of Squirrel brains as a delicacy and was featured on some food show I think I'd have to be pretty starving to try them though lol And about 11 years ago, while engaged in evangelizing in New Orleans, I saw a backyard with uncounted dead raccoons. I asked one of the local congregation members about it and she said a lot of people in those parts eat raccoons and wild greens. It looked like that one particular home was about to throw a party or have a reunion If it's a delicacy, I'm sure it's bought from a store. That's fine to eat, the meat is fine, it's just that they carry rabies, so you don't want to eat them in the wild. The brain is actually where a lot of disease is found. I never eat brain, no matter what type of animal it is.

[ninja9578]

This looks nice The only thing I don't like is the lack of a guard, my current knife has a deep groove between the blade and the handle, which prevents slipping when your hands aren't exactly grippy (also why I prefer a cord wrap, if I buy this, I will swap out the cord for a bright orange one.) Now if I could find one that wasn't black :/ I don't like black knives, a shiny knife can be used to flash signals between people. While looking, I found where that picture came from, that knife costs $8, yeah, that's not my knife

[Invader]

Something I notice is that a lot of people who go for wilderness living don't incorporate a lot of the available bug species into their diets. They're plentiful and good for you, is there a reason insects are avoided aside from social conditioning?

[tommo]

A lot of bugs carry diseases don't they? And if you're catching a good amount, you'd have to pick out all the bad ones. I'll let ninja answer properly though. That's just my common sense answer. Not a lot of knowledge.

[ninja9578]

Something I notice is that a lot of people who go for wilderness living don't incorporate a lot of the available bug species into their diets. They're plentiful and good for you, is there a reason insects are avoided aside from social conditioning? I've eaten bugs before, they taste terrible, same with grubs. That's why they are usually avoided. There is nothing wrong with eating them, but where I live, there is almost always enough food to not have to. They are also not as easy to find as lots of other foods. You don't need to eat bugs in New England when there are a dozen works per square foot in the ground The worms taste better and are easier to catch and hold onto. I've only done that a few times, usually there is plenty of meat. A lot of bugs carry diseases don't they? And if you're catching a good amount, you'd have to pick out all the bad ones. I'll let ninja answer properly though. That's just my common sense answer. Not a lot of knowledge. Some do, but most are edible. It pretty much depends on what they eat, if they eat diseased things, then they will carry them, if they don't then they wont.

[jarrhead]

...then I have salt to flavor my food.

[jarrhead]

Rather than drinking my piss, since it's a desert and fires are easy to start (and rocks are hot anyhow) would it be possible to just piss in a bowl or cup and boil it to condesation? How would I go about making a condensation trap?