When the United States experiences a cataclysmic event it will inevitably result in wide spread anarchy. Anarchy means there will be armed mobs and Gangs roaming the country. Their target will be you and your family. These mobs and Gangs will be well armed, desperate and hungry. That is a dangerous combination . The only way to survive is to get your family and/or Group out of Harm's Way. Our goal at the Preparing to Survive Blog is to provide realistic practical information that will help you prepare and get your family and/or Group out of Harm's Way.
Through the Blog and the Web Site we will expand on the information included in the Out Of Harm's Way Books.
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-Game-
Kenneth D. Nunn
Game as referred to in this book is referring to any wild animal or wild life, including birds, and reptiles. All animals can be and are eaten by man. As with everything some are better than others. Regardless of what kind of animal it is, somewhere chances are it is considered a source of food. Most people would frown on eating opossum, raccoon, beaver, turtle, or even squirrel. This, of course depends mostly on the culture of the person doing the eating. There are people who think opossum, raccoon, and even dog is the best meat around. I have eaten all three and actually all three were very good. Opossum taste a lot like pork, while raccoon and dog have a somewhat unique taste.
Today I would have to be pretty hungry to eat either one. I would if necessary to stay alive, but it would be a have to. The same with armadillo, skunk or snake. Pretty much anything else I would cook and eat, and I probably have.
In a long term survival situation you will quickly discover people will eat most anything once they get hungry. It is not so much that they will be desperate for something to eat, it's that once you actually eat something you may discover that what once was repulsive to you is actually pretty good.
In the United States there are literally thousands of animals. All can be eaten by man. There are of course religious and culture restriction. However, in a long term survival situation I assure these will quickly go by the wayside.
You will find there are very few locations in the U.S. or the world for that matter that does not have an abundance of wild game. Game that can be harvested rather easily. Remember you are not hunting for a trophy but for food. You could care less how many points a deer or elk has or the curl on a mountain sheep, no you will be after meat. There are very few locations in the U.S. where you won't find squirrels, beaver, turtles, and rabbits. Usually these will be found in abundance. There are few places in the U.S. where you want find some type big game, deer, elk, antelope, moose, or wild hog. These can also be harvested quit easily using the correct methods. The same is true for birds and/or fowl. Most location in the U.S. now have an abundance of turkey, quail, and dove. Most locations in close proximity to water will have an abundance of water fowl, at least at some time of the year.
By looking at what our ancestors ate we can see that a lot of game that once was considered desirable as a food is now not considered a food animal at all. Let's take for instance birds, it wasn't too many years ago that birds such as robins, starlings, sparrows, black birds and many others could be found for sale in the meat markets. Then there was once a large demand for squirrel, wild rabbit, turtle, raccoon, and bear in meat markets.
In a long term survival situation your only source of meat is going to be either hunting, trapping or fishing. There will be no supermarket to run down to and buy food. What is on the breakfast, lunch or supper table will be what someone in the family or Group has harvested.
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- Big Game Hunting in the Wild West -
By: En. R. B. Marcy, U. S. Army.
One of the most important secrets of this art is in knowing how to approach the game without giving alarm, and this cannot easily be done unless the hunter sees it before he is himself discovered.
There are so many objects in the woods resembling the deer in color that it requires a practiced eye to detect the difference.
When the deer is reposing he generally turns his head from the wind, in which position he can see an enemy approaching from that direction, and his olfactories will apprise him of danger from the opposite side.
While the deer are feeding early in the morning, and a short time before dark in the evening, are the best times to stalk them, as they are then busily occupied and less on the alert. When a deer is espied with his head down, cropping the grass, the hunter advances cautiously, keeping his eyes constantly directed upon him, and screening himself behind intervening objects, or in the absence of other cover crawls along upon his hands and knees through the grass until the deer hears something and raises his head, when he must instantly stop and remain in an attitude as motionless as a statue, for although the animal's vision is not his keenest sense, yet when alarmed he will detect the slightest movement of a small object, and unless the hunter stands or lies perfectly still his presence will be detected. If, however, the hunter does not move, the deer will, in a short time, recover from his alarm and resume his grazing, when he may be approached again. The deer always exhibits his alarm by a sudden nervous jerking of the tail at the instant he raises his head.
I once saw a Delaware Indian walk directly up within rifle range of a deer that was feeding upon an open prairie where the grass was short, and shoot him down. He was, however, a long time in approaching, and made frequent halts, whenever the animal flirted his tail and raised his head. He often turned toward the Indian, yet he did not appear to notice him particularly, probably taking him for a stump or a tree. The most auspicious season of the year for still hunting deer in a northern latitude is immediately after the first light snow fall, during the early part of winter. The game is then in season, fat and well flavored, and the fawns are old enough to care for themselves.
When the ground is covered with a soft carpet of three or four inches of snow, the hunter passes over it without making much noise by crackling twigs or rustling leaves under his feet. Moccasins I regard as preferable, for this kind of hunting, to boots or shoes, especially in cold and dry weather, for the reason that they are more soft and pliable and do not occasion so much noise by striking against hard substances, and are, therefore, less liable to startle the game.
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No Fences are Meant for Me
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If the hunter starts out at early dawn after there has been a light fall of snow during the preceding night, he may be certain, should he strike a track, that it is fresh and the animal not far distant. He then takes the trail and follows it; but in doing this he should not keep his eyes constantly fixed upon the ground, but walk cautiously along near the track, carefully avoiding stepping on dry brush or breaking off overhanging limbs of trees, and attentively scrutinizing all the ground in front within rifle range. When the deer has been moving directly along, without stopping to lie down or wandering about to eat, it will not be necessary to exercise so much caution, as the animal will probably be found some distance in advance; but whenever the track takes a direction toward a thicket or brush, a morass covered with tall grass or weeds, or, indeed, toward any other place affording dense cover, where the animal might be inclined to lie down, the hunter should at once leave the trail and make a wide detour around upon the lee side of such covert, keeping his eyes intently occupied in scrutinizing every object within the area. After passing entirely around the copse in this manner, and arriving at the point of departure, if he has not crossed the track on the opposite side, he knows the deer is with-in the circle he has described, and he then makes sure that his rifle is in good firing order; and carrying it in such a position that it can be brought to bear upon the object in the shortest possible time, he begins to contract the circle by gradually approaching nearer the covert and keenly searching every place where it is possible for the deer to make his bed. To insure success in the execution of this very adroit strategic approach, it is necessary that the hunter should move with a slow and regular gait, and not stop or make any unusual demonstration until he discovers the game and is ready to deliver his shot, as, in the event of his being very near, the deer will often jump up and run at the instant he makes a halt; where-as, if he go steadily along with a measured step, as if he intended to pass by, they will generally lie close, and I have several times seen them lower their heads to the ground to evade the eyes of the hunter.
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- Squirrel Shooting -
Taken from: The Hunter's Feast: Conversation around the Camp-Fire
By: Capt. Mayne Reid ©1856
In almost all parts of the United States, a day's squirrel-shooting may be had without the necessity of making a very long journey. There are still tracts of woodland left untouched, where these animals find a home. In the Western States a squirrel-hunt may be had simply by walking a couple of hundred yards from your house, and in some places you may shoot the creatures out of the very door.
To make a successful squirrel-hunt two persons at least are necessary. If only one goes out, the squirrel can avoid him simply by "dodging" round the trunk, or any large limb of the tree. When there are two, one remains stationary, while the other makes a circuit, and drives the game from the opposite side. It is still better when three or four persons make up the party, as then the squirrel is assailed on all sides, and can find no resting-place, without seeing a black tube leveled upon him, and ready to send forth its deadly missile.
Some hunt the squirrel with shot guns. These are chiefly young hands. The old hunter prefers the rifle; and in the hands of practiced marksmen this is the better weapon. The rifle-bullet, be it ever so small, kills the game at once; whereas a squirrel severely peppered with shot will often escape to the tree where its hole is, and drop in, often to die of its wounds. No creature can be more tenacious of life - not even a cat. When badly wounded it will cling to the twigs to its last breath, and even after death its claws sometimes retain their hold, and its dead body hangs suspended to the branch!
The height from which a squirrel will leap to the ground without sustaining injury is one of those marvels witnessed by every squirrel-hunter. When a tree in which it has taken refuge is found not to afford sufficient shelter and a neighboring tree is not near enough for it to leap to, it then perceives the necessity of returning to the ground, to get to some other part of the woods. Some species, as the cat squirrel, fearing to take the dreadful leap (often nearly a hundred feet), rush down by the trunk. Not so the more active squirrels, as the common grey kind. These run to the extremity of a branch, and spring boldly down in a diagonal direction. The hunter - if a stranger to the feat -would expect to see the creature crushed or crippled by the fall. No danger of that. Even the watchful dog that is waiting for such an event, and standing close to the spot, has not time to spring upon it, until it is off again like a flying bird, and, almost as quick as sight can follow, is seen ascending some other tree.
There is an explanation required about this precipitous leap. The squirrel is endowed with the capability of spreading out its body to a great extent, and this in the downward rush it takes care to do - thus breaking its fall by the resistance of the air. This alone accounts for its not killing itself.
Nearly all squirrels possess this power, but in different degrees. In the flying squirrels it is so strongly developed, as to enable them to make a flight resembling that of the birds themselves.
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- Trapping With Steel Trap -
By: Ed. W. Sandys
For convenience, we will suppose a would-be trapper has selected a suitable district for his operations. This district will have a large proportion of forest, some lakes, ponds, or streams, and more or less marshy ground. Most of, perhaps all, the animals previously mentioned may inhabit such a country. This the trapper will have determined by a thorough exploration and a careful study of his district.
Every animal leaves "sign" to catch the observant eye, and the trapper must know the habits, favorite haunt, favorite food, mode of feeding, size, shape, foot-print, gait, claw-mark, color, strength, droppings, and odor, of every fur-bearer likely to find his traps. These things may appear rather difficult, but in reality they are simple matters to the right kind of man - the man who keeps his eyes and ears open, and who puts his mind into his work. When such a man espies a track, dropping, or other sign, that is new to him, he does not leave it until he has figured out all he wants to know about it. This habit grows upon one until it becomes a sort of second nature, and the possessor of it can read the meaning of indistinct marks as he would read an advertisement on a fence.
The traps to be used will be the standard steel traps sold by dealers. In a previous article, I described deadfalls, snares, etc., as made by the trappers in the woods. These are cheap, but frequently troublesome to make. The modern steel traps cost more, but they have many advantages over the old-fashioned styles. One of the greatest drawbacks of deadfalls is that an animal taken is left within reach of other prowling creatures. Many a fine pelt has been lost in this way. The steel trap, while quicker and in several ways surer, saves much labor, and it may be set (as explained further on) so as to save any skin it may take. The kind of traps to be bought will depend upon what they are expected to catch. They are made in several sizes, from the common rat-trap up to powerful contrivances built to hold bear. A glance over the price-list of any reputable dealer will enable the buyer to select what is suited to his purpose.
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- Building Deadfalls -
By: A. R. Hardin ©1871
During the centuries that trapping has been carried on, not only in America, but throughout the entire world, various kinds of traps and snares have been in use and taken By all classes of trappers and in all sections the home-made traps are of great numbers. The number of furs caught each year is large.
The above was said by a trapper some years ago who has spent upwards of forty years in the forests and is well acquainted with traps, trappers and fur-bearing animals. Whether the statement is true or not, matters but little, although one thing is certain and that is that many of the men who have spent years in trapping and have been successful use the deadfalls and snares as well as steel traps.
Another trapper says: "In my opinion trapping is an art and any trapper that is not able to make and set a deadfall, when occasion demands, does not belong to the profession. I will give a few of the many reasons why dead falls are good.
• There is no weight to carry.
• Many of the best trappers use them.
• It requires no capital to set a line of deadfalls.
• There is no loss of traps by trap thieves but the fur is in as much danger.
• Deadfalls do not mangle animals or injure their fur.
• It is a humane way of killing animals.
• There is no loss by animals twisting off a foot or leg and getting away.
• Animals are killed outright, having no chance to warn others of their kind by their cries from being caught.
• Trappers always have the necessary outfit (axe and knife) with them to make and set a deadfall that will kill the largest animals.
• The largest deadfalls can be made to spring easy and catch small game if required.
• Deadfalls will kill skunk without leaving any scent.
• Deadfalls are cheap and trappers should be familiar with them.
It is a safe proposition, however, that not one-half of the trappers of today can build a deadfall properly or know how to make snares and many of them have not so much as seen one.
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The Bear Pen
The log trap is one of the very best methods of taking the bear, it beats the deadfall all to nothing, says an old and experienced Ohio bear trapper. It is a sure shot every time; I have never known it to fail except where the pen had stood for a number of years and become rotten. In a case of that kind the bear would have no difficulty in gnawing his way out. This trap or pen, as I shall call it, has been time tried and bear tested. My father used to make these traps and many is the time when a boy I have ridden on horseback upon a narrow path, cut for the purpose of letting a horse pass along and on nearing the pen heard the growling and tearing around of the bear in the pen and the hair on my head would almost crowd my hat off.
Go about building it this way: First select the spot where you have reason to believe that bear inhabit; now having made your selection, get a level place and on this spot lay a course of logs with the top flattened off; this may be eight by three feet. This being done, commence to lay up the house of logs six to eight inches in diameter. Three sides of each log should be flattened; these will be the top, bottom and the inside. It is necessary this be done, for they must fit closely together in order that the bear cannot get a starting place to gnaw. This is why I suggest that the inside of the log be flattened. It is a well-known fact that you can put any gnawing animal into a square box and he cannot gnaw out for he cannot get the starting point.
Lay a short log first, then a long one, notching each corner as you go so the logs will fit closely together. Now for the front corners; drive a flattened stake into the ground, letting the flattened side come against the logs. Now as you proceed to lay on a course of log spin thru the stake into each log. Now go on up until you get a height of about four feet, then lay on, for the top, a course of short logs commencing at the back end.
Between the second and third logs cut out a little notch and flatten the underside of this log around the notch; this is to receive the trigger, which is made of a small pole about three inches thick. Put this into the hole and let it come down within ten inches of the floor. Then cut a notch in the side facing the front of the pen and so it will fit up against the underside of the leg with the notch in; now you may make a notch in the trigger about six inches above the top of the pen and on the same side of the trigger that the first notch was made. Now the trigger is ready except adjusting the bait.
Next lay a binder on top of the pen and upon either end of the short course of logs; pin the binders at either end so the bear cannot raise the top off the pen. You may also lay on three or four logs to weight it down and make it doubly sure. You may pin the first short top log in front to the side logs to keep the front of the pen from spreading. Now we have the body of the pen complete.
The door is the next thing in order. The first or bottom log ought to be twelve feet long, but it is not necessary for the balance of them to be that length; flatten the top and bottom of each log so they will lie tight together, also flatten off the inside of the door so it will work smoothly against the end of the pen. Lay the logs of the door onto the first or long log, putting a pin in each end of the logs as you lay them on. Go on this way until you have enough to reach the height of the pen and fully cover the opening.
Another way of fastening the door together is to get the logs all ready, then lay them upon the ground and pin two pieces across the door. Either way will do. Now the door being in readiness, put it in its place and drive two stakes in the ground to keep the animal from shoving the door away. If these do not appear to be solid enough to support the door against an onslaught, you may cut a notch in the outside of the stake near the top; get a pole eight feet in length, sharpen the ends, letting one end come in the notch of the stake and the other into the ground; this will hold the door perfectly solid. Cut a slight notch in the top log of the door for the end of the spindle and the next move is to raise the door to the proper height. Set a stud under the door to keep it from falling. Get your spindle ready, flatten the top of either end a little, then cut a stanchion just the right length to set under the spindle on the first top log.
Tie your bait onto the lower end of the trigger, one man going inside to put the trigger in the proper place. To facilitate the springing of the trap, lay a small round stick in the upper notch of the trigger, letting the end of the spindle come up under the stick and as the bear gets hold of the meat on the bottom of the trigger the least pull will roll the trigger from the end of the spindle. However, it will spring very easily as the stanchion under the end of the spindle is so near the end.
This kind of trap can be made by two men in one day or less, and it often happens that the hunter and trapper wants to set a trap forbear a long way from any settlement or road. The carrying of a fifty pound bear trap a distance of twenty or thirty miles is no little task. Then again, this trap costs nothing but a little time and the trapper's whole life is given over to time. One man can make this trap alone and set it, but it is better for two to work together in this work, for in case the door should spring upon him while he was inside he would be forever lost. I have caught two wildcats at once in this pen, but it is not to be expected that you will get more than one bear or other large animal at a time.
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- Snares -
Spring Pole Snare
While the deadfall is good for most animals, there is no one trap that fills all requirements and in all places. Some animals may be shy of deadfalls that can be taken in spring poles, snares and steel traps. This trap is easily and cheaply constructed. It should be made near dens or where animals travel frequently.
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Spring Pole and Snare
By noting carefully the illustration this trap can be built easily. The size of the bush or spring pole, of course, depends upon what sized animals you are trapping. This trap will take small game such as mink, opossum, skunk, etc., or can be made large and strong enough to catch mountain lion or black bear.
The snare is made by building a round fence in a place where there is plenty of small trees.
Select two about four inches apart for noose and snare entrance, and another long springy one for spring pole 6 or 7 feet long, bend this down and trim it. Have a noose made of limber wire or strong string and a cross piece. Having cut notches in the sides of the trees for the same to fit, have it to spring easy. For snaring rabbits have the fence quite high.
Observe the above description and you can readily make No. 1 is the noose, No. 2 is spring pole. No. 3 fence, No. 4 bait. This snare already explained can be made any time in the year while the dead fall can only be constructed when the ground isn't frozen.
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- The Successful Fisherman -
By: "Buzzacott" Revised Edition ©1913
Is the one who familiarizes himself with the ways of fish, he who studies out and observes the peculiar traits habits and haunts of the various fish he sets out to capture, who acquaints himself with facts as to their sense of sight, scent and hearing, their mode of existence, foods, likes, seasons, etc., thus qualifying himself to better understand them, so 'as to take advantage of their ignorance, avoid their ready perception of things, and fool their cunning.
Thus enabling him to better seek or locate them, then to tempt or deceive, to that point where they will strike at a proffered or attractive bait, either to satisfy their hunger or to rid themselves of its tantalizing presence about them. Very few who start out "a fishing" have any such conception or proper ideas concerning these points, and yet nothing is more conducive of success, and be he bobbing for eels or whale fishing, the one familiar with such things, is mighty apt to be the most successful at the end of the trip.
He should become familiar with the fishes natural foods, their methods and time of procuring it, the places they frequent, those they avoid, and why they avoid them; with such knowledge one can often turn failure into success, and yet strange to say, very little is generally known of these things.
The sight of fish is unusually acute and they are possessed of the faculties of both hearing and feeling sound. They breathe the air that is dissolved in water, and do not as is generally supposed, derive that air or oxygen from the chemical constituents of the water, but from the very air we breathe; when they exhaust the air as in the use of bait pails, they suffocate; yet if a supply of fresh air be forced into the water of even a bait pail, the fish will revive. Their eyes are peculiarly placed, rendering it somewhat difficult to see on a level or directly under them, they can however, see plainly anything that is above or about them, and for an unusually long distance in clear or shadier waters, especially so, be it still waters. Their sense of smell and hearing is well developed and it is certain that they possess the faculties which enable them to perceive and distinguish odors, also that various scents attract or repel them. In most cases fish like snakes, see motion only. As they have no (or but little tongue, their sense of taste is poor) and they rely mostly on sight and smell in the choosing of their foods. Not a few fish feed on vegetable matter, or mud which contains ailimentary matter in a living or decomposed state, and while they are mostly carnivorous, yet they will subsist on vegetation should other or live food become scarce; most fish are however extremely voracious and the rule eat or be eaten, applies to them with unusual force. Whatever the prey, in most cases, it is swallowed whole, and they show but little choice in its selection, devouring their own offspring or kind indiscriminately with others; living to fight and fighting to live, from the very earliest stages until; that time when, age renders them but fitting to the attack of the turtle undertaker.
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- Bait, Live and Dead -
Taken From: The Outdoor Handy Book
By: D.C. Beard ©1914
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White Grub-Worms
These are the young or larvae of beetles, and may be found by digging in rich soil or in old rotten logs and stumps. They make good bait for trout, bass, perch, catfish, and sunfish. Keep them in the manner described for keeping the earth, angle, or garden worm.
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Gentles, or Young Blue-Bottle Flies
These are not pleasant creatures to look upon, or pleasant to capture, or pleasant to handle but there is no accounting for tastes. It is evident that fish do not look upon the white carrion-eating baby-fly in the same light that we do, for they are very fond of gentles; and from quaint old Walton down to the present time this little grub has been, and still is, used for bait.
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Figure 4. - The White Grub
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The beautiful, dainty, red spotted trout, in his cool spring-water stream, is passionately fond of the larvae of the blue-bottle fly. If you are camping out or living near your fishing-grounds, take any old offal and put it in an old can, bucket, or other deep vessel in a shady out-of-the-way place, where mink or other small animals will not disturb it.
Wandering blue-bottle flies will soon discover the tempting display and deposit their eggs in it, and in a few days there will be plenty of bait. When they are full grown carefully remove them by gently knocking the larvae with a stick on a piece of birch bark or paper.
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How to Keep the Trout Bait
Place them in a box of sand or bran. Here they will soon cleanse themselves and become of a milk-white hue, losing all their disgusting features. Keep them in a damp, cool place to stop them from maturing, or going into the chrysalis state, preparatory to becoming blue-bottle flies.
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Katydids
They are very difficult to obtain in quantity sufficient for use as bait, on account of their habits of living in trees. Once, when I was fishing among the Thousand Islands, in the St. Lawrence River, I became weary of trolling for big muskallonge that would not bite, and made the guide put me ashore upon a little rocky island, covered with small shrubbery and stunted trees. These I found to be full of great, green, handsome katydids. I soon filled my handkerchief with them, and in less than one hour's time caught a good string of fish of assorted kinds, but principally fine bass.
Among other things, I caught the largest fresh-water eel I have ever seen; but as I was dressed in summer- resort fishing clothes, and feared the effects of eel slime on my trousers, I cut the eel loose, allowing him to depart in peace with my hook in his mouth.
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Black Crickets
These are good bait for almost all kinds of game fish, and are killing bait for bass and trout. Frequently, when bass will not notice a live minnow, crawfish, hellgrammite, or frog, he will eagerly snap at a black cricket.
There is but one way to catch this bait, so far as I know, and that is to seek it under the loose stones and chips, where crickets delight to hide. I have had the best luck in open, sunny spots, hilltops, and pathways. Mr. Keene, in his interesting notes on bait in Harper's Young People, advises his readers to look for crickets in a cool, damp place; but he evidently found them, as I have, under chips and stones. Mr. Keene caught one hundred and twenty-four trout in one stream with black crickets.
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Figure 5. - Crickets
Handle your crickets with care, not for fear that they might hurt you, but because they are easily injured, and their usefulness is thus impaired. After you have collected a sufficient quantity for your purpose, hasten to place them in some roomy receptacle, the bottom of which is plentifully supplied with damp gravel and small chips for hiding-places. Otherwise they will eat each other.
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Grasshoppers
They are another good bait. Often a fish will take hold of a grasshopper when nothing else will tempt him to bite. Every boy knows where and how to catch these long-legged insects, but to keep them alive for any great length of time is more difficult.
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Figure 6. - The Grasshopper
How to Make a Grasshopper Box
Take an old cigar box, make a square hole about two by three inches in the lid ; cover the hole with a piece of wire netting. Make another hole just large enough to admit a finger. Make a sliding door of a small paddle-shaped piece of wood, fastened with a screw at one end in such a manner as to allow the other end to slide over the hole (Fig. 7) half fill the box with green grass.
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Figure 7.
A. The sliding door;
B. The grasshopper hole;
