Is this guy doing more harm than good?

Joined
Jul 14, 2010
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The internet is funny, while looking up info about selfbows I stumbled across this video. Anyways, I watched it for kicks and it left me wondering if people are actually taking this guy seriously. He does throw in a handfull of good survival tips, but the core concept of the video is... odd. I don't have anything against shotguns, but promoting the idea that it should be the core component of your survival kit?

I could cite more grievences, but rather than writting a rant I want to get your oppinion.

Considering the fact that this individual is a "professional survival instructor." Is he helping the world be more prepared by presenting survival tips in a format that will appeal to... certain people, or is whatever good he does so far burried beneath a layer of junk that it only furthers misinformation?

[video=youtube;86o8tN0wszc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86o8tN0wszc[/video]
 
Interesting post. Let me preface that I am not a gun-nut and this biases my opinion. Having done hunting in my teenage years, I agree with the versatility of a 12 gage (slugs will stop pretty much any big predator) down to birdshot. Still, using my gun as a bug-out-bag with 18 rounds (2 which are signal flares) is less than confidence inspiring. Okay, I could only watch 3.5 minutes before turning it off because he bored me but maybe somebody could explain how he uses his shotgun as a shelter. Is it a center pole on a tarp or something....His choice of knife is hilarious and pretty much what I would expect from somebody who wraps an American Flag bandanna around his shoulder sling. That American flag just might get me shot in this country under a SHTF scenario, so I would go OD green thank-yee sir.

In all my wilderness and survival stuff I really never felt the need for a gun. Mind you, I like guns. I see the value of a .22 and ability to carry 1000 rounds at little weight cost plus its ability to buy food. But owning a gun is more difficult for me. There are personal and political reasons for that. But its safe to say that I do not feel vulnerable because I do not have a gun. I think a 12 gauge is a great gun and if I were to own guns a .22 would be the primary and a 12 gauge would be a secondary. However, I also think that a 40L pack equipped with much cheaper items would satisfy survival needs far better than placing my bets on a gun. Plus, I live in a non-violent society and I like my fellow man so I recognize my weirdness.

I look forward to reading this thread as it develops.
 
It is only a proper survival shotgun if you have the American Flag bandanna tied to the sling.

TF
 
The concept is pretty cool. However, I think it is a little complicated after watching that. The saw didn't seem in a good spot, at all. To get to everything if you're low on dexterity didn't seem like it would be too easy. The shotgun bit, I agree with. You can take down anything you need with a shotgun. The knife is... well, it's a knife at least. The light.. no idea what it was, and the compass on it wouldn't be totally accurate. The folded down baking pan.. I'd think would get holes in it from that much folding, but I guess I never tried folding one that much. As far as the mylar blanket.. if it is a dollar one, I think he is nuts. It will tear with the slightest breeze. If he can get an AMK in there, that's great. I'd rather use the garbage bag that was there for a shelter, myself.

As far as the obtaining food with the mini fishing kit, and snare wire.. at least he has the ability, I suppose. The first aid isn't a lot, but I guess better than none.. though if injured I am not sure he'd really be able to get to it if it was one of his hands :\

IMO, it is a cool.. gimmicky kit. Not something I would consider a first option. Drop the knife and light, and maybe have the gun as a backup if everything else failed..
 
The concept is pretty cool. However, I think it is a little complicated after watching that. The saw didn't seem in a good spot, at all. To get to everything if you're low on dexterity didn't seem like it would be too easy. The shotgun bit, I agree with. You can take down anything you need with a shotgun. The knife is... well, it's a knife at least. The light.. no idea what it was, and the compass on it wouldn't be totally accurate. The folded down baking pan.. I'd think would get holes in it from that much folding, but I guess I never tried folding one that much. As far as the mylar blanket.. if it is a dollar one, I think he is nuts. It will tear with the slightest breeze. If he can get an AMK in there, that's great. I'd rather use the garbage bag that was there for a shelter, myself.

As far as the obtaining food with the mini fishing kit, and snare wire.. at least he has the ability, I suppose. The first aid isn't a lot, but I guess better than none.. though if injured I am not sure he'd really be able to get to it if it was one of his hands :\

IMO, it is a cool.. gimmicky kit. Not something I would consider a first option. Drop the knife and light, and maybe have the gun as a backup if everything else failed..

Not to mention his gun if FUGLY. Who wants a FUGLY gun.......
 
Not to mention his gun if FUGLY. Who wants a FUGLY gun.......

Normally, I really don't care what my gear looks like. However, when it comes to guns, I really do like them to look nice, unless it is something like a gun that I am going to take apart and put in a backpack. (Which I don't have one of, anyway) Each gun I bought has a wooden stock that I found good looking. Only ever considered one synthetic, because the wooden variety would have cost more than I could afford.
 
Silly, but he did say "the challenge was" to incorporate all those things into the firearm, not that it was some recommended thing. As if real versions of all that makeshit crap and more couldn't have gone in a detachable pouch attached to the sling if he really wanted all those functions in a single grab-and-go piece.
Reminds me of how people adding all kinds of junk to the outside of small packs, shoulder bags, and pouches to create unbalanced, uncomfortable, and expensive packages for the sake of being "modular"(it's soooo tactical, don't you think?!?) is a market in itself these days.
I guess those kind of things provide an illusion of practicality for people who don't know any better. I think there must be some psychological link to piling stuff on the outside where it can be seen. Perhaps it quells some inner anxiety over whatever they just put out of sight magically disappearing, and not being there when they need it:confused:
 
To answer the OP's questions, i think this vid furthers misinformation among the impressionable.

A solid knife, firesteel, straw-filter, paracord and proper clothing on your back improves your survival odds significantly, more so than a loaded 12 gauge shotgun.
 
I think he did this as more of an exercise in thinking outside the box. If he's actually using this gun as a survival kit I think he's nuts.
I do have to applaud him for his original thinking.
 
I think the concept is kind of cool, and he did create a kit that would fulfill the requirements of the challenge. It is better than nothing, but I prefer a more traditional kit were the choice or size of knife, saw, chopper, and other components is determined by my needs and preference and not by a vanity carrying case.
 
Get a belt pouch and fill it with everything except the shotgun. Belt it on under a jacket, be prepared, and no one will notice. Just think of survival situations where you aren't going to get away with carrying that shotgun, strolling down the street to the bus station to get out of town before the hurricane hits. Some modularity equals flexibility. All-in-one is an exercise, not a solution.
 
I watched the whole video, but he lost me in the first minute when he said he chose a Mossberg 500. No thanks. Remington 870 has never let me down.
Honestly, I thought the video was cool. He has some cool ideas, but I would loose the suicide saw, and the toy knife and compass light.

I have stuffed gear into my stocks in the past..nothing wrong with that. I am not a big fan of tactical guns in my older years..I must admit. I like a good wood stock....
And just to set the record straight, there is nothing wrong with an American Flag bandana tied to anything...LOL.
 
I think this guy did an outstanding job overall..some pretty ingenious ideas went into this as well as a lot of thought...I really enjoyed the video..I think what he was trying to get across is "grab-n-go" type concept...all in all, very good video IMHO !!!
 
I think it depends on where you are, how long you think you might need to survive, and what are the obstacles that could make your survival difficult.

Unless you are trapped in a building that you will not be leaving and your obstacle is other people a shotgun is a poor choice of a survival weapon. It is big heavy, it's ammo is big, heavy, and not very durable. A shotgun has poor range and is overly powerful for small game. Even a AR would be a better choice. With three mags you would have 90 rounds. A 22LR rifle would be easy to carry 500+ rounds.

Realize if you are on your own you don't want to get into any kind of firefight. Even if you win the first one you have pretty much depleted your ammo supply. Since you don't have a supply line feeding your needs you should consider conservation of all your resources as paramount.

Some sort of bail out bag would be a much wiser choice and even easier to grab and swing over your shoulder on the way "out the door". Most of the accessories he added either have a high chance of loss or failure. A rubber plug holding your multitool on a hard kicking weapon? Probably didn't think that all the way through. Saw blades on sling swivels? They better fit perfect because with no way to tension them they will break pretty soon.

A compass such as the one built into his flashlight is not a serious navigation aid. You will be able to learn to use the sun and stars with 30 minutes of instructions much better than any compass such as that. A real compass and a real map, heck yeah but not that.

Your blade mounted on your gun?? Seriously? You better hope you don't get separated from the weapon or even walk away from it for a few minutes. Signal devices are potentially a good idea. But if you are on your own and in a hostile environment they will be of limited use unless you don't care who locates you.

It's a pretty cool toy or a joke depending on how you look at it. Serious survival tool? Not to me.

Oh one other thing to consider. Probably not a good idea to have your tinder and your matches in the same container. That's about as dumb as striking a fire
steel over a hair on hide!

Worth watching but not something you are going to want to duplicate IMO.
 
Stinking Rem 870 fans...they ruin everything:D

Well, I'll start off as a gun enthusiast, this isn't something I would do (although my M6 Scout does cover my "grab and go" needs, but it's not a do-all survival tool...it's just a gun). I think the more features you try to put into/onto a single tool platform quickly diminishes the effectiveness of all the individual parts.

As a project of exercising your noodle and being innovative, I give the guy an B+...when it comes to practical execution, I think it's overly complicated and would most likely degrade the actual effectiveness of the shotgun as a shooting implement; definitely some good ideas for an experiment of survival ingenuity, but not for me. I think we all do something on a less "kinetic" platform...you should see the evolution of my Habilus Bushtool knife sheath:D It's a good exercise in survival thinking, but not really a practical tool for most. Even as a hunter, I don't like more than some extra ammo on my rifle. There is a reason you have a belt and pockets and it's more probable that you could lose your rifle/shotgun vice something attached to your clothing. Still, interesting video to drum up the discussion,

ROCK6
 
Perfect kit IMO.












Wait, we're talking about "The Ultimate Survival Shotgun...for the zombie apocalypse" right? :D All kidding aside I'm not watching a vid called the "Ultimate Survival" anything. Though I can tell you that anyone who has a fore grip on their shotgun doesn't know much about shotguns.
 
Good Grief...

this 500 was purpose built to show what his interpretation of a "Survival Shotgun" is and the parameters were that it is a "ALL in One" concept ie everything on the gun. To that end he did what he set out to.

The execution of this wasn't wrong, the whole idea of it, is what is wrong...

IF, I have time to grab the 590, then I have time to grab the 3 day pack next to it and the SW 45 MP as well...

What the hell kind of a disaster begs that you carry a load out version of a shotgun anyway? Even Zombies are scratching their heads and saying this is stupid.
 
I'm guessing he only needs 18 rounds of ammo because any self respecting critter is going to fall down in a fit of laughter when it sees that thing and he can then dispatch it with his knife.
 
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