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Wolf’s Gear Review: The Coleman Folding Shovel/Pick
Another of my recent acquisitions is a little folding Coleman Shovel and Pick.
I keep in my truck and it’s small overall size and ability to be easy assembled and disassembled means that it takes up practacilly no room whatsoever.
As you can see this is a nice compact little unit that unscrews and folds up into a handy carry pouch.
It’s small size also makes it suitable for most survival situations and you could easily throw one in your Bug Out Bag without having to worry about it taking up a large amount of room or weighing you down.
The positive locking collar firmly holds the blade in either the shovel or pick configuration.
Shovel configuration
Pick Configuration
Basic Stats:
•Small carrying pouch with belt loop included
•Can be used as a pick, shovel
•Positive locking collar which hold the blade firmly in configuration
•Open length 58 cm (23″) , folded length 25 cm (10″)
•Breaks down easily to a 10″-long compact kit
All and all I think the Coleman Camping Shovel/Pick is of very good quality.
I find the compact belt size package to be quite useful especilly if you want to strap it to your Bug Out Bag, belt, webbing, etc.
If you want a small camping/hiking/Bug Out Bag shovel then this is a great package, but it you are looking for something to dig trenches with then look elsewhere.
Camo My Ka-Bar!
The other day I was in the gun shop picking up some supplies and I spotted a roll of Camo Form® Protective Camouflage Wrap.
I’ve heard some good reviews about this stuff so I bought it and it’s been sitting in my desk drawer ever since!
But today I’m stuck inside due to the weather so I thought I’d grab it and camo my Ka Bar knife handle.
It worked out pretty well.
I mean I certainly didn’t do a perfect job but it gives my knife a good grib and it look quite nice.
I’m impressed!
My Ka Bar Before
My Ka Bar After
Here’s the official camoform tutorial which also shows you how to camo your gun with Camoform.
Wolf’s Review: Windmill Delta Stormproof Lighter
It’s always a good idea to know how to make fire with flint and steel or by rubbing sticks together but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t pack a lighter for when you need a quick flame with minimal fuss.
The Windmill Delta Stormproof Lighter lets you make a quick fire without having to burn those precious calories you need to survive if TSHTF.
Designed to light in winds as high as 80 miles per hour, this survival lighter will also work in temperatures down to 40 degrees below zero F!!
The Delta Storm proof lighter utilizes a platinum catalyzer coil to ignite butane fuel via piezo-electric ignition. This allows it to make a flame even when damp(very handy in a survival situation).
The manufacturer claims the lighter will perform thirty thousand ignitions. With a full tank butane (one gram) , you can expect about 300 three to five second ignitions, easily enough for several week long expeditions.
The Delta Shockproof Series has a large fuel window that makes it easy to check on fuel levels.
Two other handy features are it’s adjustable gas flow which allows for usage at varying elevations and O-ring seals that keep water out when the cap is closed.
All in all I find it too be a very robust, strong and powerful little lighter than will definately be your best friend in a survival situation.
I haven’t gotten a chance to run a feild test with this lighter yet due to a Fire Ban currently being in effect in my area but as soon I can I will conduct one and post it on the site.
Skinning and Butchering Game
Bleed the animal by cutting its throat.
If possible, clean the carcass near a stream.
Place the carcass belly up and split the hide from throat to tail, cutting around all sexual organs (Figure 8-25).
Remove the musk glands at points A and B to avoid tainting the meat.
For smaller mammals, cut the hide around the body and insert two fingers under the hide on both sides of the cut and pull both pieces off (Figure 8-26).
Note: When cutting the hide, insert the knife blade under the skin and turn the blade up so that only the hide gets cut.
This will also prevent cutting hair and getting it on the meat.
Remove the entrails from smaller game by splitting the body open and pulling them out with the fingers.
Do not forget the chest cavity.
For larger game, cut the gullet away from the diaphragm.
Roll the entrails out of the body.
Cut around the anus, then reach into the lower abdominal cavity, grasp the lower intestine, and pull to remove.
Remove the urine bladder by pinching it off and cutting it below the fingers.
If you spill urine on the meat, wash it to avoid tainting the meat.
Save the heart and liver.
Cut these open and inspect for signs of worms or other parasites.
Also inspect the liver’s color; it could indicate a diseased animal.
The liver’s surface should be smooth and wet and its color deep red or purple.
If the liver appears diseased, discard it.
However, a diseased liver does not indicate you cannot eat the muscle tissue.
Cut along each leg from above the foot to the previously made body cut.
Remove the hide by pulling it away from the carcass, cutting the connective tissue where necessary.
Cut off the head and feet.
Cut larger game into manageable pieces.
First, slice the muscle tissue connecting the front legs to the body.
There are no bones or joints connecting the front legs to the body on four-legged animals.
Cut the hindquarters off where they join the body.
You must cut around a large bone at the top of the leg and cut to the ball and socket hip joint.
Cut the ligaments around the joint and bend it back to separate it.
Remove the large muscles (the tenderloin) that lie on either side of the spine.
Separate the ribs from the backbone.
There is less work and less wear on your knife if you break the ribs first, then cut through the breaks.
Cook large meat pieces over a spit or boil them.
You can stew or boil smaller pieces, particularly those that remain attached to bone after the initial butchering, as soup or broth.
You can cook body organs such as the heart, liver, pancreas, spleen, and kidneys using the same methods as for muscle meat.
You can also cook and eat the brain. Cut the tongue out, skin it, boil it until tender, and eat it.
Preparation of Fish and Game in a Survival Situation Part 2
Snakes
To skin a snake, first cut off its head and bury it.
Then cut the skin down the body 15 to 20 centimeters
Peel the skin back, then grasp the skin in one hand and the body in the other and pull apart.
On large, bulky snakes it may be necessary to slit the belly skin.
Cook snakes in the same manner as small game.
Remove the entrails and discard. Cut the snake into small sections and boil or roast it.
Birds
After killing the bird, remove its feathers by either plucking or skinning.
Remember, skinning removes some of the food value.
Open up the body cavity and remove its entrails, saving the craw (in seed-eating birds), heart, and liver.
Cut off the feet. Cook by boiling or roasting over a spit.
Before cooking scavenger birds, boil them at least 20 minutes to kill parasites.
Preparation of Fish and Game in a Survival Situation Part 1
You must know how to prepare fish and game for cooking and storage in a survival situation.
Improper cleaning or storage can result in inedible or potentially dangerous (food poisoning is a risk) fish or game.
Fish
Do not eat fish that appears spoiled. Cooking does not ensure that spoiled fish will be edible.
Signs of spoilage are–
· Sunken eyes.
· Peculiar odor.
· Suspicious color. (Gills should be red to pink. Scales should be a pronounced shade of gray, not faded.)
· Dents stay in the fish’s flesh after pressing it with your thumb.
· Slimy, rather than moist or wet body.
· Sharp or peppery taste.
Eating spoiled or rotten fish may cause diarrhea, nausea, cramps, vomiting, itching, paralysis, or a metallic taste in the mouth.
These symptoms appear suddenly, one to six hours after eating.
Induce vomiting if symptoms appear.
Fish spoils quickly after death, especially on a hot day.
Prepare fish for eating as soon as possible after catching it.
Cut out the gills and large blood vessels that lie near the spine.
Gut fish that is more than 10 centimeters long.
Scale or skin the fish.
You can impale a whole fish on a stick and cook it over an open fire.
However, boiling the fish with the skin on is the best way to get the most food value.
The fats and oil are under the skin and, by boiling, you can save the juices for broth.
You can use any of the methods used to cook plant food to cook fish.
Pack fish into a ball of clay and bury it in the coals of a fire until the clay hardens.
Break open the clay ball to get to the cooked fish.
Fish is done when the meat flakes off.
If you plan to keep the fish for later, smoke or fry it.
To prepare fish for smoking, cut off the head and remove the backbone.
I’m Back!!
Sorry for the lack of updates lately guys.
Real world responsibilities have taken up all of my time for the past week or so.
Things are sorted out now though so starting tomorrow I’m going to be posting much more regularly!
Preventing And Treating Shock In A Survival Situation
There are many survival scenarios that may lead to you having to deal with somebody who is in shock or in danger of going into shock due to injury.
The best bet is to always anticipate shock in all injured persons.
Treat all injured persons as follows, regardless of what symptoms appear:
· If the victim is conscious, place him on a level surface with the lower extremities elevated 15 to 20 centimeters.
· If the victim is unconscious, place him on his side or abdomen with his head turned to one side to prevent choking on vomit, blood, or other fluids.
· If you are unsure of the best position, place the victim perfectly flat. Once the victim is in a shock position, do not move him.
· Maintain body heat by insulating the victim from the surroundings and, in some instances, applying external heat.
· If wet, remove all the victim’s wet clothing as soon as possible and replace with dry clothing.
· Improvise a shelter to insulate the victim from the weather.
· Use warm liquids or foods, a prewarmed sleeping bag, another person, warmed water in canteens, hot rocks wrapped in clothing, or fires on either side of the victim to provide external warmth.
· If the victim is conscious, slowly administer small doses of a warm salt or sugar solution, if available.
· If the victim is unconscious or has abdominal wounds, do not give fluids by mouth.
· Have the victim rest for at least 24 hours.
· If you are a lone survivor, lie in a depression in the ground, behind a tree, or any other place out of the weather, with your head lower than your feet.
· If you are with a buddy, reassess your patient constantly.
Herbal Remedies for Various Ailments
Here’s a list of remedies for various ailments that you might face in a survival situation (Thanks to my sister Fuchsia for helping me compile this list!!)
Please Note: The following remedies are for use ONLY in a survival situation, not for routine use:
· Diarrhea. Drink tea made from the roots of blackberries and their relatives to stop diarrhea.
White oak bark and other barks containing tannin are also effective.
However, use them with caution when nothing else is available because of possible negative effects on the kidneys.
You can also stop diarrhea by eating white clay or campfire ashes.
Tea made from cowberry or cranberry or hazel leaves works too.
· Antihemorrhagics. Make medications to stop bleeding from a poultice of the puffball mushroom, from plantain leaves, or most effectively from the leaves of the common yarrow or woundwort (Achillea millefolium).
· Antiseptics. Use to cleanse wounds, sores, or rashes.
You can make them from the expressed juice from wild onion or garlic, or expressed juice from chickweed leaves or the crushed leaves of dock.
You can also make antiseptics from a decoction of burdock root, mallow leaves or roots, or white oak bark.
All these medications are for external use only.
· Fevers. Treat a fever with a tea made from willow bark, an infusion of elder flowers or fruit, linden flower tea, or elm bark decoction.
· Colds and sore throats. Treat these illnesses with a decoction made from either plantain leaves or willow bark.
You can also use a tea made from burdock roots, mallow or mullein flowers or roots, or mint leaves.
· Aches, pains, and sprains. Treat with externally applied poultices of dock, plantain, chickweed, willow bark, garlic, or sorrel.
You can also use salves made by mixing the expressed juices of these plants in animal fat or vegetable oils.
· Itching. Relieve the itch from insect bites, sunburn, or plant poisoning rashes by applying a poultice of jewelweed (Impatiens biflora) or witch hazel leaves (Hamamelis virginiana).
The jewelweed juice will help when applied to poison ivy rashes or insect stings.
It works on sunburn as well as aloe vera.
· Sedatives. Get help in falling asleep by brewing a tea made from mint leaves or passionflower leaves.
· Hemorrhoids. Treat them with external washes from elm bark or oak bark tea, from the expressed juice of plantain leaves, or from a Solomon’s seal root decoction.
· Constipation. Relieve constipation by drinking decoctions from dandelion leaves, rose hips, or walnut bark. Eating raw daylily flowers will also help.
· Worms or intestinal parasites. Using moderation, treat with tea made from tansy (Tanacetum vulgare) or from wild carrot leaves.
· Gas and cramps. Use a tea made from carrot seeds as an antiflatulent; use tea made from mint leaves to settle the stomach.
· Antifungal washes. Make a decoction of walnut leaves or oak bark or acorns to treat ringworm and athlete’s foot.
Apply frequently to the site, alternating with exposure to direct sunlight.
How To Read The Weather When You Are In the Wilderness
If you are out in the middle of the wilderness you have to constantly be aware of the weather.
Depending on your location the weather can change very rapidly and you need to be able prepare according in advance.
There are several good indicators of climatic changes.
Wind
You can determine wind direction by dropping a few leaves or grass or by watching the treetops.
Once you determine the wind direction, you can predict the type of weather that is imminent.
Rapidly shifting winds indicate an unsettled atmosphere and a likely change in the weather.
Clouds
Clouds come in a variety of shapes and patterns.
A general knowledge of clouds and the atmospheric conditions they indicate can help you predict the weather.
Smoke
Smoke rising in a thin vertical column indicates fair weather.
Low rising or “flattened out” smoke indicates stormy weather.
Birds and Insects
Birds and insects fly lower to the ground than normal in heavy, moisture-laden air.
Such flight indicates that rain is likely.
Most insect activity increases before a storm, but bee activity increases before fair weather.
Low-Pressure Front
Slow-moving or imperceptible winds and heavy, humid air often indicate a low-pressure front.
Such a front promises bad weather that will probably linger for several days.
You can “smell” and “hear” this front.
The sluggish, humid air makes wilderness odors more pronounced than during high-pressure conditions.
In addition, sounds are sharper and carry farther in low-pressure than high-pressure conditions.