Snares and fishing kit in survival kit.

+1, Good post Dylside! I always enjoy reading your posts, very well thought out.:thumbup:
 
FROM EXPERIENCE- A few years back I got sick, really sick. I didn't know how bad things were gonna get and how much it would change my life. After several years of treatment I got better. Now I am back to normal. Every year I take a week off work and go to a park or state land, usually on the Appalachian Trail to go on a minimal equipment hike. I only bring 2 MREs for food and a few orange tic-tacs for the occasional flavor luxury. I eat a good breakfast before I head out and one MRE per day for the first two days. After that, I have to go attain my own food or without. I keep a couple 3/4 in sewing bobbins in my kit one with 40ft of 12lb fishing line and the other with 20ft of 24g copper wire(for binding stuff). Anyway, I decided to go to the Smokey Mtns and try a new part of the country. On the third day I got hit by a nasty storm. I checked the weather and kinda knew it was coming but the whole point of my annual trip is to go because I CAN and thats important to me. I set up my tarp and decided to wait it out. It was supposed to rain on Wed and into Thurs morning. It rained until Sat afternoon. I was several days behind schedule and needed to pick up the pace to make up some time. I hadn't eaten my second MRE because I wasn't doing anything but sitting on my but, so I ate it on Sat and headed out. By Sun night I was REALLY hungry. I didn't see anyone after the rain (everyone else probably had better sense than me) or I would have tried to buy/traded for some food. I started to realize something about going W/out food in a survival situation(I was not "surviving, if I had sat on my but for a couple more days someone would have come by I'm sure). I realized that what your taught in the military(I served two terms in the army) is a lot easier said than done. That whole thing about going 45+days without food is BS in my opinion because in a real survival situation you need the energy to continually collect wood to keep a firegoing if it is very cold or if you need to purify water. If your going to self rescue then the need for energy becomes even more important, not to mention that even if your body can live for that long how "functional" do you think you will be? After a few days W/out food and trying to make up time, I couldn't think strait and I was so mentally exausted that I wasn't making good decisions about when to rest, break for the night, etc. I was completely on auto pilot. I ended up setting my tarp on Mon and was so weak that I could barely tie the knots, and it was even hard to remember them. Mon evening and some people came by and I traded a wetterling axe for half a dozen power bars and a small bag of granola, which at that point was a necessity if I was going to be moving any distance in the morning. I realized that the distance I was traveling each day was decreasing by about a third every day I didn't eat. I was never in any real life threatening situation because, like I said, someone would be along eventually, but I figured that if I was in a bad situation and NOONE would be coming I would be in a lot of trouble if I had to self-rescue for a great distance couldn't get some food along the way. I lost 16lbs in 10days and I know it could have been a lot worse. I have since then been working very hard on skills more bushcraft oriented than traditional survival (military)training. On my last trip I got a storm as well, but it was summer and not cold so I didn't mind much. I took the time to set some traps and after three fig4s and 1 paiute sitting for a day and a half I finally caught a squirrel. I was not doing anything but sitting under my tarp and taking a leisurely walk around my traps in the evening, very little energy wasted. I didn't need the squirrel but I did want to practice my fig4 and paiute deadfalls. I was pleased to know that if I ever did need it the skills are there.
P.S. early this spring I made my first WET-WEATHER friction fire. It was a lot of work and took several hours before I was even ready to start but again, its comforting to know I can if I ever do need to.
 
Thanks guys. I think one of my dream jobs would be writing for a magazine like Blade or KI. That would be like making a post on here but getting paid for it and having it in print. :)
 
Md-25v- Thanks for the sharing:thumbup: 16lbs in 10 days:eek:
That had to hurt. Glad your ok.



Dylside, keep up the writing and send some stories in to some magazines. You never know.:thumbup:
 
Thanks, it was definitely an eye opener to the difference between the "theory" of how to deal with a bad situation and the reality. I still go every year. Never gonna stop.
 
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a few fishing essentials and some snare wire would hardly take up any room, so to me, the extra .5 oz is worth it
 
MD 25v. That was a great story. The stuff i can tell people about the no food situation is good info, but sometimes it doesn't hold as much merit because I created the situations myself. Yours was forced. It's nice to have the opinions confirmed by someone who didn't have a choice. Sometimes I wonder about the accuracy of my little self-trials since they aren't forced. I know my mindset is a lot different because of it and I think a lot about what it would be like in the actual event. I'm sure that not having a panic worthy scenerio sometimes adds to the ease of some of my self-inflicted survival events. Even though it's pretty much the same thing, for someone who would be upset or panic in a real life version, I'm sure the situation seems much different and then makes it more difficult.
 
+1 MD 25v and + 2 dylside. Several times I have gone on three day to six day outings with one day worth of food. Three days is not too bad but day five with no food can sure play tricks with my mind and I find myself weak and not making good judgments. It does give me a great appreciation for Hugh Glass. I think I will do this again when it cools off.

The intent of these trips was to use the fishing gear-snares, and traps to gather food. Sometimes it is easy,sometimes nothing is caught.
 
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Dylside. Don't sell your self imposed scenarios short. Even though you may technically be safe during the outing, you still get valuable experience about what it "feels" like to be cold, hungry, etc... Theres a great benefit in knowing those discomforts well, especially if you are in a real situation where you need to focus just as much on planning and the mental side of things. Being "distracted" by facing physical stresses for the first time as opposed to knowing in advance how much it's gonna suck and not getting caught off guard can really help you keep focused. I think that if you ever were (hopefully not of course) to be caught in a bad situation, you would probably be much better off having experienced the hardships of your forced scenarios than you would be without that experience under your belt.
 
Food may not be at the top of the priority list, but it's still ON the list.

Takes up negligible room, and most of the times are multi-purpose, so absolutely. Fish beats bugs any day ;)
 
Snares without prior practice are not worth the effort, but as stated the wire has other uses.

For those that preach the length of time a person can live without food, I simply ask this: How long have you ever gone without food of any kind? If you're injured and waiting for rescue, eating some fish beats the hell out of just water for a few days.

I don't often see it mentioned, but a treble hook with some high strength line like Fusion or Spiderwire can be used to fashion a 'gaff' to catch both fish and small mammals. I agree kits need to be tailored to the trip.

None of the fishing kit guys ever said it's a 'priority', merely that the weight penalty is practically non existant, and there's no real down side to having the items needed.
 
How Much Does it weigth[sp] nothing! so pack it! Can you catch critters? Yes!
It's to keep you alive not some PC Cr@p!@
Yes that's the point. Nature is red talons and teeth not Bambi!
If your a Veggie you will not survive no matter what your preconcieved [sp] notions are when they hit reality.
 
Fishing and snaring items are in my PSK and my larger Pelican box PSK that rides in my pack. If the average rescue takes 72 hours, there will be times when an emergency will be shorter and times when it will take longer. Having the ability to trap/fish will be invaluable in a longer situation for morale and sustenance. Keep in mind too that most of the Earth's surface is covered in water and most freshwater ponds have a seemingly endless supply of eager to bite panfish. The odds are in your favor.

Also, the only reliable fishing hook I've made in the bush is a skewer type. Metal fishing hooks weigh nothing and are far more reliable than anything you can make yourself. Fishing line like my preferred type, Spiderwire braided 50# test, is stronger pound for pound and has a better weight to strength ratio than anything that occurs naturally outdoors.

My priorities in my kit are shelter, water collection and purification, firemaking and signaling devices. These, in no particular order, will get me through those 72 hours. The braided picture hanging wire, buckshot's camp snares and fishing kit dispersed throughout my gear will take me through the remainder of the time in an emergency.
 
nemoaz said:
Wrong attitude and probably completely wrong factually. Military teaches 45-60 days without food. They have some guys with no body fat there also.

Carry fishhooks if you want. It isn't a priority for me.
Click to expand...

WRONG. Though the human body can survive for up to 60 days without food, serious physical and mental problems can develop within one week of starvation. If one is without water, of course this is completely impossible. Also, despite being able to physically make it for up to 60 days, the mind suffers severly. As will the body. Many ailments are developed as a result of over-starvation...
 
Well, maybe those boys that teach survival and SERE at JFK don't know what their talking about. 3 weeks is still a very significant amount of time. However, I know people who have fasted for longer than that, and they weren't even in a survival situation. Heck there are people all over the world who live without food for weeks at a time as a matter of course.

I think a good number of our internet commandos on this list will be ready to commit suicide the first time they have to go a day without a power bar. If you think you can't make it, you can't. If your mind is weak, you are weak.

Carry fishhooks and snares if you want. They're small. light, and may help with boredom. But you need to know that you can make it for a very long time without them. And don't be screwing with a fish hook or snare when you should be ready to signal for that only pass a rescue bird or vehicle makes. And don't be screwing around with fish hooks or snares until you have a very good shelter made and a good number of large passive signals made.
 
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How can food not be important in a survival situation where you are burning calories faster than normal everyday life? just because the human body can survive 60 days without food dosent mean you can stay alive in a survival situation for that long.

just a few days without food and you are likely to make a HUGE mistake because of frustration and fatigue. It could cost you your life.

Havent you noticed it is harder to do any job when your stomach is constantly telling you to eat? its distracting and frustrating. Think about what it would feel like to wake up in the morning knowing you had no food, and you had to spend the entire day trying to find help or trying to stay alive. you wouldnt last long.
 
Maslow's hierarchy of needs is what Ottoshot is referencing. This theory states a person can't function beyond basic needs if those basic needs aren't met. I see this all the time in my classroom when students of mine who come from troubled homes aren't able to process history when they are thinking about where they are sleeping, what they will or will not eat next or whether or not their parents are going to fight again.

Remember guys, these numbers mentioned are ballpark figures. They aren't fact but averages different studies have concluded. Some of us have better ways to deal with hunger and all of us are at different levels of physical fitness. Averages are the middle, not the far extremes. Some may only last a few days, others, well maybe 60 as previously mentioned. To believe you are just like a statistic is a sure way to meet the reaper. The best way to gauge your "survivability" without food is to learn your body and mind in the field. Don't rely on internet facts and figures but instead, know yourself. Get outside and away from your computers.

Bottom line, the averages and general rules are not 100% reliable or factual. No need for an argument here. If you really insist on challenging someone, challenge yourself to find out your strengths and weaknesses. You may be surprised with what you find.
 
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