Bushcraft and self reliance

[zip 0]

Hey gents!

I was curious if any of y'all are into this sort of thing?My brother and I go out from time to time and practice our skills outside.Doing primitive firemaking,shelters,trapping, bow making and things of that nature.

I think doing this is the most relaxed I can ever be.Its a good feeling to make a fire from rubbing to pieces of wood together,roast a rabbit over top and smoke my pipe with a bit of whiskey.

Just figured I would share a random thought/feeling with y'all.

All the best, Steve

[mikechell 0]

Back when I was young, I had a friend that liked camping and living off the land. We'd take a week, leave the house with no food, just a backpack. Essentials were clothes, a tent, folding shovel, knife and a slingshot. We also carried some cord and a fishing set up. (no fly fishing at that time ... too often fishing tiny creeks in the woods)

 

We found edible plants (had a card deck with species identifications), caught rabbits, squirrels or birds with snares and/or slingshot hits and caught fish when we could.

 

We usually got enough food to live on, although I don't think we ever got home weighing more than we'd left.

 

I continued doing this on my own until I was in my upper 30's. Then I lost the ... need.

 

I could survive on my own, and I've acquired the skills to fend off interlopers, if the apocalypse shuts down civilization.

But, at my age, I don't know if I'd care enough to do it.

[rockworm 0]

zip- Did you stuff your pipe with coltsfoot or some other local weed? And that whiskey....Made from fermented bullrushes?

[tjm 0]

I guess my childhood in rural areas before the "grid" was built (or at least it was incomplete) curtailed my "need" to further develop my bush skills. From birth til I was 11yo we had no electric, phone, nor plumbing. I carried water ~1/8 mile uphill from a spring (it takes 6-10 gallons per day for drinking, cooking and basic hygiene for four people) and I chopped and split literally tons of cook stove wood. Milked cows by hand and farmed with horses and mules. Butchered chickens and rabbits when I was a first grader and learned to trap predators by the time I was 12.

I'm fairly confident that I could get fire by bashing rocks together or spinning a stick with a bow, but until it becomes a necessity I will use a bit of paraffin oil and a Bic. Showed the kids how when they were small, I doubt they remember.

A skill you can try some time; walk up to a cottontail with out looking directly at it until you are next to it (they normally freeze up with fright) then very quickly grab it by the ears and you will have dinner. Key seems to be eye contact, if you look full at it it will un-freeze explosively. Develop the peripheral vision thing.

Throwing rocks accurately seems to be a skill that is often neglected by bush craft practitioners, either bare hand or with a thong sling you should be able to smash a beer bottle size target at 20-40' consistently, any ten year old could 50-60 years ago. In my estimation rock throwing is ten times more important than fire making. The next most important skill (and one I have lost) is tree climbing, eggs are often up the tree; and trees provide escape with some degree of shelter. Finding food and water supersede fire and shelter most of the time. A stray thought on food, if one is to live off the land, he must keep moving; because the land only has a very limited supply if it is not cultivated.

Have fun practicing, And hope you never ever have the need to use such skills.

[tjm 0]

Back when I was young, I had a friend that liked camping and living off the land. We'd take a week, leave the house with no food, just a backpack. Essentials were clothes, a tent, folding shovel, knife and a slingshot. We also carried some cord and a fishing set up. (no fly fishing at that time ... too often fishing tiny creeks in the woods)

 

We found edible plants (had a card deck with species identifications), caught rabbits, squirrels or birds with snares and/or slingshot hits and caught fish when we could.

 

We usually got enough food to live on, although I don't think we ever got home weighing more than we'd left.

 

I'm curious what part of the country you did this in? How Young?

[zip 0]

zip- Did you stuff your pipe with coltsfoot or some other local weed? And that whiskey....Made from fermented bullrushes?

It's actually a mild Cavendish called Cades cove.I carry an ounce or two in a small tin.Now fermenting is something I know nothing about...but my brother works at a brewery so he could figure it out.We usually just take a small flask filled with George,Jack or Jim.

 

I will try to do the peripheral thing with a rabbit.Never heard of that before!

[mikechell 0]

North Central Indiana. Not exactly the "wilds" ... but there were areas where you could go a day without crossing another human's path, if you so desired. Get to the middle of those areas and have it all to yourself for weeks.

[tjm 0]

 

North Central Indiana

Was wondering mainly because you were able to find sufficient edible plants in a non-cultivated place. Most place I've lived didn't have much in variety at any given time.

[mikechell 0]

There's plenty ... most places. Can't expect a smorgasbord ... or even a three course meal. Can't really look for "spicy" either ... but there's definitely enough to eat.

One interesting plant ... something called "asparagus". I'm joking of course ... but it actually grows wild in a lot of the areas where I spent my youth.

[tjm 0]

"asparagus" grows in road ditches in Idaho and Mo. too, but as I recall it's only picked in early spring, like poke and lambs-quarter and ferns. Cress in many springs and yeah there are many things to eat at times. Most of which I don't know. It'd be easy to get hungry in the woods of the Ozarks though or the timber of the Sawtooths most of the time.

Indiana I can believe would keep you fed.

Is Fl. easy grazing? I don't think of it as being particularly survival friendly, but I've never been there.

 

 

Not exactly the "wilds"

Many of the places people think are wild aren't that far off the beaten path, I found this site a few years ago and was astonished at how few places in the lower 48 can claim to be wild, http://remotefootprints.org/project-remote/remote-spot-ranking

[mikechell 0]

The worst thing about Florida, the real wilds are mostly marsh and swamp. I got down here after losing my appetite for nature's bounty. I've camped a few times, but I didn't try to live off the land.

[tjm 0]

Oldest son is in Tampa for about 20 years now and some day I'll go there I guess. Some places near him are wild enough for lions I guess, he told a fish story that had a cat between him and his truck, but he never talks about camping there.

[mikechell 0]

People worry about 'gators, bears, mosquitoes or the extremely rare Puma. But the most dangerous animal you're likely to encounter here ... ?

 

Hogs.

 

Freakin' things are now everywhere.

[rockworm 0]

Can't really look for "spicy" either ... but there's definitely enough to eat.

Mike- If you want "spicy" there's always ants! And a few species of mushroom (ie boletes) that can pack a punch.

[zip 0]

I really like the swampy areas of Florida. I never go out with out a big ass knife though!First time I went out with Caloosa bug he thought I was a little nuts lol