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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.
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.
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.
Travelling In A Cold Climate Survival Situation
If you have to travel or enact a self rescue in a winter survival situation you will face many obstacles.
Your location and the time of the year will determine the types of obstacles and the inherent dangers.
You should–
· Avoid traveling during a blizzard.
· Take care when crossing thin ice. Distribute your weight by lying flat and crawling.
· Cross streams when the water level is lowest. Normal freezing and thawing action may cause a stream level to vary as much as 2 to 2.5 meters per day. This variance may occur any time during the day, depending on the distance from a glacier, the temperature, and the terrain. Consider this variation in water level when selecting a campsite near a stream.
· Consider the clear arctic air. It makes estimating distance difficult. You more frequently underestimate than overestimate distances.
· Do not travel in “whiteout” conditions. The lack of contrasting colors makes it impossible to judge the nature of the terrain.
· Always cross a snow bridge at right angles to the obstacle it crosses. Find the strongest part of the bridge by poking ahead of you with a pole or ice axe. Distribute your weight by crawling or by wearing snowshoes or skis.
· Make camp early so that you have plenty of time to build a shelter.
· Consider frozen or unfrozen rivers as avenues of travel. However, some rivers that appear frozen may have soft, open areas that make travel very difficult or may not allow walking, skiing, or sledding.
· Use snowshoes if you are traveling over snow-covered terrain. Snow 30 or more centimeters deep makes traveling difficult. If you do not have snowshoes, make a pair using willow, strips of cloth, leather, or other suitable material.
It is almost impossible to travel in deep snow without snowshoes or skis.
Traveling by foot leaves a wellmarked trail for any pursuers to follow.
If you must travel in deep snow, avoid snow-covered streams.
The snow, which acts as an insulator, may have prevented ice from forming over the water.
In hilly terrain, avoid areas where avalanches appear possible.
Travel in the early morning in areas where there is danger of avalanches.
On ridges, snow gathers on the lee side in overhanging piles called cornices.
These often extend far out from the ridge and may break loose if stepped on.
Obtaining Water In A Cold Climate Survival Situation
Even a winter survival situation you can NEVER overlook the importance of water.
Let’s run over the basics of obtaining water in a cold climate survival situation.
There are many sources of water in a cold weather survival situation.
Your location and the season of the year will determine where and how you obtain water.
Water sources in arctic and subarctic regions are more sanitary than in other regions due to the climatic and environmental conditions.
However, always purify the water before drinking it.
Water from ponds or lakes may be slightly stagnant, but still usable.
Running water in streams, rivers, and bubbling springs is usually fresh and suitable for drinking.
The brownish surface water found in a tundra during the summer is a good source of water.
However, you may have to filter the water before purifying it.
You can melt freshwater ice and snow for water.
Completely melt both before putting them in your mouth.
Trying to melt ice or snow in your mouth takes away body heat and may cause internal cold injuries.
If on or near pack ice in the sea, you can use old sea ice to melt for water.
In time, sea ice loses its salinity.
You can identify this ice by its rounded corners and bluish color.
You can use body heat to melt snow.
Place the snow in a water bag and place the bag between your layers of clothing.
This is a slow process, but you can use it on the move or when you have no fire.
Note: Do not waste fuel to melt ice or snow when drinkable water is available from other sources.
When ice is available, melt it, rather than snow.
One cup of ice yields more water than one cup of snow.
Ice also takes less time to melt.
You can melt ice or snow in a water bag, MRE ration bag, tin can, or improvised container by placing the container near a fire.
Begin with a small amount of ice or snow in the container and, as it turns to water, add more ice or snow.
Another way to melt ice or snow is by putting it in a bag made from porous material and suspending the bag near the fire.
Place a container under the bag to catch the water.
During cold weather, avoid drinking a lot of liquid before going to bed.
Crawling out of a warm sleeping bag at night to relieve yourself means less rest and more exposure to the cold.
Once you have water, keep it next to you to prevent refreezing.
Shelter In a Winter Survival Situation Part 3
Today I’m going to continue to discuss the different shelters you can quickly build in a winter survival situation.
Remember: Even the simplest shelter can mean the difference between life and death.
Snow House or Igloo
In certain areas, the natives frequently use this type of shelter as hunting and fishing shelters.
They are efficient shelters but require some practice to make them properly.
Also, you must be in an area that is suitable for cutting snow blocks and have the equipment to cut them (snow saw or knife).
Lean-To Shelter
Construct this shelter in the same manner as for other environments; however, pile snow around the sides for insulation.
Fallen Tree Shelter
To build this shelter, find a fallen tree and dig out the snow underneath it.
The snow will not be deep under the tree.
If you must remove branches from the inside, use them to line the floor.
Tree-Pit Shelter
Dig snow out from under a suitable large tree.
It will not be as deep near the base of the tree.
Use the cut branches to line the shelter.
Use a ground sheet as overhead cover to prevent snow from falling off the tree into the shelter.
If built properly, you can have 360-degree visibility.