If you don't have the right survival skills to put it into practise, then none the survival preparation and supplies stocking you've been doing will amount to much.
While most of the survival gear you can purchase can replace some of the basic survival skills, you may be faced with a situation where you don't have any gear and you must rely on your own knowledge.
Here are a few of the survival skills you should know:
With these basic survival skills, you'll be able to navigate through a survival situation without the comforts and luxuries of modern life.
A true survival situation will put your mind, body, and spirit through the ultimate test, but you and your family have a much better chance of making through if everyone has a grasp on the core survival skills.
In the event that you don't have matches, a lighter, or some kind of fire starter, you'll have to rely on one of the old primitive methods to start a fire. These methods can be very tedious and require a lot of patience.
At first, it may seem impossible to actually get a fire from rubbing sticks together, but with the right amount of time (and friction), you'll eventually get a result.
Fire Plow Method
The fire plow method requires two pieces of wood: a plow stick and a fireboard. Look for very hard and dry pieces of wood. To test how hard the wood is, attempt to make a scratch in it with your fingernail. If it doesn't scratch easily, it's hard.
The fireboard should be about 5 inches or more wide and 1.5 feet long. The plow stick should be about 1 foot long. You'll also need tinder (dried grass, paper, cotton, etc.) and kindle (small sticks).
Directions:
Building a fire can be done almost anywhere. Finding water isn't always so "simple", and you won't live long without it.
Finding and purifying water is a survival skill everyone should have.
To find natural water, look for:
Once you find water, you'll have to purify it. If possible, gather water from the area where it moves the most / fastest as less debris and bacteria can gather here.
Of course, you can boil the water, build a sand filter, or purify by sunlight. Vital survival skills.
How to Build a Sand Water Filter
Items Needed:
Directions:
If you don't have access to the materials needed to build a sand filter, you can purify by sunlight:
Fill a clear container with water the clearest water possible. Place the container on a piece of metal (if available) in the full sun, for at least 6 hours.
If you can wait, a full day of direct sunlight is best.
UV radiation will kill bacteria and microorganisms.
Combining the sunlight method and a sand filter is your best survival skill when times are tough.
After getting a water source, you'll need food. Finding food on your own is a valuable survival skill, and luckily, if surviving out in the wild, you could potentially have a large number of options.
Animals
If you don't have any experience hunting animals without a gun or bow, chances are, you'll have a pretty hard time doing it with sticks and stones. Sure, you can attempt to hit a small animal with a rock, but any child will tell you that this isn't easy. Instead, you should consider trapping small animals.
To begin setting up a trap, look for tracks, droppings, chewed or rubbed vegetation, nesting or roosting sites, feeding and watering areas. You'll want to place your trap on a well-established path at the most narrow part. Make sure you cover your trap with mud and decomposing vegetation to mask your human scent.
How to Build a Simple Snare
Rigging a simple snare is a useful survival skill. It consists of a noose placed over a trail or den hole and attached firmly to a tree, stump or stake.
This type of snare usually does not kill the animal, so check it every day. Wire is the best choice for a simple snare.
Plants
First and foremost – don't eat any plant that you don't know! Avoid:
Stick to safe plants like blackberries, blueberries, wild carrots, cattails, dandelions, daylilies, and roses. There are hundreds of plants that are safe for eating, so get knowledgeable on these.
Insects
If you're starving, you'll eat just about anything, including insects. Avoid insects that sting or bite, are hairy or brightly colored, caterpillars, spiders, ticks, and mosquitoes.
Ants, termites, beetles, grubs, worms, and insect larvae are edible. If possible, place in boiling water before eating. Remove any wings and barbed legs also.
Once you're good and full on a diet of bugs and river water, you should erect some kind of shelter. Shelter building is an essential survival skill and will help protect you from the outside elements.
Remember: the smaller the shelter, the more heat it will retain. Read more about survival shelters here.
Tarp Shelter
If you have the supplies, this is probably the easiest survival skills shelter to build. You'll need a sheet of plastic or something similar and some rope.
Directions:
Debris Hut
This shelter requires a little more time, but it's sturdier than a tarp shelter.
Directions:
Sniper Style Concealment as taught by the best.
Photo gallery of some top notch German Sniper concealment
If something should go wrong and you or someone in your group is injured, you need to know how to take action to prevent further emergency. These survival skills are life-savers.
Stopped Breathing
If breathing has stopped, begin mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Place the patient on back and follow these survival skills steps:
Bleeding
To control bleeding, elevate the wounded area above the heart and apply pressure. Use pressure at the pulse point between the injured area and the heart if bleeding fails to stop.
If bleeding still persists, use a tourniquet between the injury and the heart.
After bleeding has been controlled, wash the wounded area with disinfectant and apply a dressing and bandages.
Fractures
Heat Exhaustion
When water is scarce, heat exhaustion can occur,
resulting in nausea, faintness, a weak, rapid pulse and/or cold and
clammy skin.
Lie the patient down in the shade and give small sips of water.
This survival first aid kit has everything you'll need for outdoor medical emergencies. Click to order from Amazon
Here is a great video from one of the best slingshot marksmen ever.
He grew up depending on a slingshot to hunt small game because his older brother got the shotgun...
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