Your advice please----------Questions

Back to William.M's question. I believe that a big part of surviving a situation in which you're stranded is to avoid the impulse to run around doing lots of things. Assuming you reasonably expect to be found within 72 hours (which is the average so long as someone not with you knows where you were going), and assuming no major injuries, then probably the situation requires exactly this:

1. Getting fire
2. Getting shelter (swap in order with 1 as the situation dictates)
3. Assuring a water supply, if possible
4. Making signaling devices so as to help the searchers find you.
5. Chill out and engage in major navel gazing so as to conserve energy and avoid injuring yourself.

I imagine number 5 could be quite difficult to accomplish for some people.

So, William, make sure you and your friends spend a good amount of time on your trip sitting on your butts doing absolutely nothing. :)
 
See who can find and prepare a set amount of water for drinking without using any cups/ bowls/ or pots from home!
 
Howdy Dr. Bill. How about making wooden utensils? And I second the suggestion of an above poster, of making traps and/or snares. If you'll be near running water, you could try setting a self-striking running line or three. (Basically just tie your line to the end of a strong sapling, with a trigger stick in the line about one or two feet from the sapling, bend the sapling over, the trigger stick is hooked, and fits into a notch on a stake driven into the ground next to the sapling. With the line in the water, when a fish bites, the line will be pulled from the notch and the sapling will fly up, setting the hook) You could also try making your own hooks and maybe some cordage?

Josh
 
bulgron said:
Back to William.M's question. I believe that a big part of surviving a situation in which you're stranded is to avoid the impulse to run around doing lots of things. Assuming you reasonably expect to be found within 72 hours (which is the average so long as someone not with you knows where you were going), and assuming no major injuries, then probably the situation requires exactly this:

1. Getting fire
2. Getting shelter (swap in order with 1 as the situation dictates)
3. Assuring a water supply, if possible
4. Making signaling devices so as to help the searchers find you.
5. Chill out and engage in major navel gazing so as to conserve energy and avoid injuring yourself.

I imagine number 5 could be quite difficult to accomplish for some people.

So, William, make sure you and your friends spend a good amount of time on your trip sitting on your butts doing absolutely nothing. :)
Click to expand...

This is a man that knows his priorities!
 
Don't know about your area, but around here, building a shelter that will keep out rain (and insulate well) requires more than thirty minutes - unless you have an abundant supply of evergreens to hack up and work like the dickens. (Consider the mechanism by which a brush shelter keeps out rain.)

One of the big issues here is finding a place where one can gather material without breaking the law or having the owner after you with a shotgun.
 
One of the big issues here is finding a place where one can gather material without breaking the law or having the owner after you with a shotgun.
-------------------------------------------------
I hear that--and agree.

We set the 30 minutes limit as more of a challange than anything else.

Just about anyone could make a halfway decent shelter in several hours-with the correct tools.

We wanted it as--"your lost"--it's getting dark..

NOW what????

and again--I agree with all your points!!!!

:)
 
Dr. Bill,

In your initial post you posed the situation where you are lost with several others and it is getting dark. In a real life survival situation, you would delegate tasks to the different team members.
  • "Joe, you go gather firewood. Look for some long straight poles we can use to frame our shelter."
  • "Pete, go gather up as much small, dry kindling as you can carry and pile it over there."
  • "Steve and Tom, we're going to need a LOT of evergreen boughs for our shelter and perhaps for beds. Start gathering as much as you can and pile it right there."
For this exercise, all team members will probably want to be a part of, or at least observe, each task. Gathering materials can still be divided, though.

What other items will be allowed? Will anybody have canteens? What about space blankets or PSKs?

In the senario you pose, your first night shelter may not be the best, but since you indicate that the circumstances may call for staying put for several days or maybe even weeks, that gives you plenty of time to dig in and build a better camp.

I've heard it said that survival is usually what you do the first day or two. The rest is just camping.

Have fun!

-- FLIX
 
Assuming water is pleantiful, you should see how long it takes each of you to procure food (Fish or small game)

Also a Land Nav course is always a lot of fun
 
Central Texas,or anywhere....stay away from low places,pond dams,creek bottoms,flooding can happen miles from you.
 
We (all 6) will be competing against each other(as well as ourselves) to see how fast we can get the fire going,as well as the shelter constructed.

Each time we go out we will try to shorten the times or improve "something"

PLEASE KEEP THE SUGGESTIONS COMING!!!!!!

remember for this drill--we are training as if we are "alone"

Work on the assumption that "you" are there alone---

What would "YOU" do---and "NOT" do...????
 
also---Rember--each person is allowed to bring only 2 knives/or axe or saw.

What would you bring into the woods if you could only bring 2(Knife/Axe/saw)

and more important--why did you pick them????
 
I think it depends on what sized knife. If I could have a sturdy axe, thats all i'd need, If i could have a 4" fixed and an axe i'd be happer than a pig in sh!t

Also, I dont know if any one has even done this, but I fold up a tarp, attach string to two points, So I have a loop, then wear it under my coat like a small cape. You actually forget its even there. And then you have a shelter or what ever you want.
 
Also, I dont know if any one has even done this, but I fold up a tarp, attach string to two points, So I have a loop, then wear it under my coat like a small cape. You actually forget its even there. And then you have a shelter or what ever you want.

"That's EXACTLY the type of idea's I'm looking for"

THANKS BRO
 
If I could only have 2, out of my current knives, it would be my RD7 and my Handyman. No question. That gives a big knife/chopper that's not too ungainly for smaller work, and a veritable toolbox for everything else. The saw on the SAK is a lifesaver in many, many situations.

Josh
 
William M.

When you do the Fire / Shelter test...
Pick an hour before sundown, or thereabouts.
Combine the Fire Making and Shelter Building into a 60 minute test.

Do it in only a cotton Tee shirt.

See how "motivated" everyone is to deicde on fire vs. shelter first? Fire is not considered BUILT until you have boiled 12 ozs. of water for 5 mins. , have everyone use an empty 12 oz. aluminum can. You can rip the tops off to see it boiling. Getting flame is one thing, getting a good hot fire enough to boil water is another.

So, when you are finished. You will have a shelter, a nice warm fire, and purified water to drink and warm you up from the inside.

Once done, you get a passing grade, because you have pretty much ensured your survival until morning.


Hve each eprson build their fires in close proximity to each other so they can all be raked together for yor main fire at night, after the test.
 
The real challenge is doing everything suggested, but with your strong hand tied down, as if injured and useless.:cool:

Having broken my strong side wrist/arm a couple years ago, found out quickly just how much I couldn't do.....:thumbdn:
 
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