Thread: BASIC LIST / SUGGESTED ITEMS FOR LONG TERM SURVIVAL

The Three Most Important Wilderness Survival Items


The Three Most Important Wilderness Survival Items

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If you were unexpectedly stranded in a wilderness environment then your chances of survival would be significantly enhanced if you had three common items in your possession. This assumes you are not stranded in a barren wasteland, or in a frozen snow covered wilderness, or in a hot barren desert. Each of these situations would require a unique set of additional items.

However, assuming you are simply in a dense forest, or in a jungle, or on a tropical island, then the following three items would significantly improve your chances of survival:

1. a knife,
2. a new butane lighter, and
3. a compass.

The above three items are listed in the order of their importance to your survival. Let's examine each of the above three items one at a time.

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A Knife

Other than the will to live, the most important survival necessity is a basic hunting knife. A knife cannot be made from scratch in the middle of the wilderness. And there is no backup primitive tool that can perform all the functions of a modern steel knife. Therefore everyone should have a knife in his or her "possibilities bag." If you have a good knife then your chances of survival skyrocket even if you only have a little survival knowledge. However, if you don't have a knife then your chances of survival are greatly reduced regardless of how much survival knowledge you may have.

A knife has a multitude of practical uses such as providing you with:

1. Immediate protection and self-defense while you construct more suitable weapons.
2. The ability to quickly sharpen a strong stick to make a spear for hunting and for protection.
3. The ability to gradually and carefully build a handmade bow and arrows.
4. The ability to cut vines and/or animal hides into thin strips to use as cord so you can make or build things.
5. The ability to cut and build a variety of primitive traps and snares to capture wild game.
6. The ability to properly skin an animal and slice the meat into thin strips to make jerky.
7. The ability to properly scrap and prepare a deer skin so it can be brain tanned into a useful buckskin.
8. The ability to convert a buckskin into a nice pair of moccasins using method one or method two.

Either a fixed blade hunting knife or a high quality folding knife will work exceptionally well. I prefer a fixed blade knife in a sheath. However, if space is limited then a good folding knife is an excellent second choice. Since a knife is an absolutely critical necessity in a wilderness survival situation, I personally recommend that you have two different brands and types of knives in your "possibilities bag" in the event you lose or damage your primary hunting knife.

There are a number of companies that make good hunting knives, including Buck, Gerber, and Winchester.

The Buck Knife in the above left picture is a typical hunter's knife because of the shape of its blade and the fact that it has a "gut hook" that makes opening and skinning a dead animal relatively easy. The steel blade is in one piece and it extends all the way to the end of the handle which makes the knife very strong. The handle is riveted to the blade in three places. The knife has a composite handle that is easy to hold onto if it gets wet. The knife also has a "lanyard" hole at the handle end of the steel blade so you can tie the end of the knife to your belt, if you believe this would be appropriate. This knife is an excellent hunter's knife because of the short four-inch blade and the "gut hook." However it is not a good self-defense knife for these same two reasons.

The Gerber Knife in the above center-left picture is similar to the Buck Knife but it has a composite handle that completely surrounds the lower portion of the blade. This makes the knife very easy to control even if it gets wet while you are skinning an animal.

The Winchester Knife in the above center-right picture is a basic knife that is useful for a variety of tasks, including emergency self-defense. It has a solid steel blade that extends all the way to the far end of the handle, and it has a "lanyard" hole.

The Winchester Folding Knife in the above right picture has three blades - a standard knife blade, a gut hook, and a saw blade. Each blade locks into position when it is fully extended. This prevents the blade from accidentally closing onto your fingers while you are using the knife. To unlock the blade you must press the blade release lever at the handle end of the knife. This knife also comes with a belt sheath which is not visible in the above picture because it is behind the cardboard insert in the back of the plastic package.

There is a huge body of knowledge on knives and I do not intend to summarize all of that knowledge into this short article. However, I would like to make the following four comments:

1. A fixed blade knife that has a steel blade that extends all the way to the far end of the handle is a very strong knife. Some knives have blades that only extend about half-way down inside the handle. This is a cheaper production technique and it results in a weaker knife.
2. A "stainless steel blade" will never rust. A stainless steel blade is more difficult to sharpen but it will hold its edge longer than a non-stainless steel knife.
3. A belt sheath designed specifically for the knife will allow you to conveniently carry the knife on your belt so it will always be within easy reach.
4. To keep your knife sharp you will need an Arkansas Sharpening Stone or a Diamond Sharpening Stone. You will also need to learn the proper way to sharpen your knife.

As you gradually learn more about knives you will discover that different companies make specialty knives for every conceivable purpose. Because of the wide variety of applications it is very easy to become confused about the best knife choice for your particular situation. Therefore, please allow me to make the following recommendations:

1. Buy two knives.
2. Buy a name brand fixed blade knife without a gut hook for maximum flexibility and for self-defense, such as the Winchester Basic for about $16 (pictured above), or the Buck Model 119 for approximately $39 (picture on right). The Buck Model 119 is 10.25 inches long from end to end with a 5.75 inch steel blade that is approximately one-inch wide. The Buck knife in the picture on the right is a new knife but I have personally had one of these knives since 1972. I used my Buck Model 119 extensively during my Maine adventure in 1975. My old Buck knife is still in excellent condition. The only noticeable thing that Buck has changed over the years is the sheath design.
3. Also buy a name brand folding blade knife with a gut hook for skinning game, such as the Winchester Folding Knife pictured above. Your primary folding knife should have a maximum of no more than three or four blades.
4. Do not buy a Swiss Army Knife. If you want a "tool knife" then I suggest you consider the "Leatherman Wave Multi-Tool" for about $64.

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A New Butane Lighter

Fire is an absolute necessity for all the following reasons:

1. Boiling water to make it safe to drink.
2. Cooking fish, wild game, and wild plants to make them more palatable and digestible.
3. Providing heat for comfort if the temperature drops below a reasonable level at night.
4. Quickly lighting a brush fire that will create a lot of smoke to alert and guide rescue search parties, planes, helicopters, or boats to your exact location.

There are a variety of different ways to start a fire, including both modern and primitive methods. Modern methods include matches, butane lighters, magnesium fire starters, and a blast match.

There are also a wide variety of primitive fire starting methods. I suggest that you print a copy of all the different primitive fire starting methods that you find and keep them all together in a folder for future reference. One day that information may be useful to you. If you have absolutely nothing else to do you could follow those instructions and learn for yourself how truly challenging these primitive fire starting methods really are.

Each primitive fire starting method requires practice and a considerable amount of effort which can quickly exhaust you. Each primitive method is based on the application of either sparks or friction to elevate the temperature of extremely dry tinder material to the point where it will ignite.

The two times when you will desperately need a fire are during:

1. rainy weather when the air is very damp and humid, and
2. freezing weather when the combustible material is either frozen or very, very cold.

Under these types of adverse weather conditions all of the primitive fire starting methods are completely unreliable.

If the air is damp or humid then your sparks will encounter extra moisture in the air and they may not be hot enough to start a fire when they make contact with the tinder material, which is also surrounded by damp, humid air. If you are using friction then it will take a lot more friction to start a fire in a damp environment.

During freezing weather conditions the surrounding cold air quickly saps the heat out of your sparks, or from the friction you are trying to create to start a fire. It is extremely difficult during freezing weather to get a fire started using any primitive fire starting method. If you have some really good very dry tinder that you have warmed using your natural body heat then you will increase your chances of getting a fire started, but the odds will still be weighted heavily against you.

In addition, during rainy weather and freezing weather it is very easy to quickly become depressed, irritable, and fearful. Primitive fire starting methods are even more difficult to properly execute during these times of emotional stress.

Finally, during adverse weather conditions the sun will not be visible so any fire starting method based on focusing the sun's energy will simply not work.

You will not read about the above shortcomings in any survival manual that teaches and recommends primitive fire starting methods. But the above problems are real and therefore I cannot personally recommend any primitive technique as a primary method for starting a fire.

Besides, during a wilderness survival adventure or a "hard times event" you really don't need to be investing your time and energy in trying to start a fire. You will already have enough stress and pressure in your life from a multitude of other sources. You will also have far more important things you could be doing instead of trying to start a fire using a primitive method.

For all of the above reasons I prefer any modern fire starting method instead of any primitive method.

If I were limited to a single fire starting method then I would select a New Butane Lighter. New butane lighters can be purchased almost anywhere for one-dollar each or less. A new small butane lighter will light about 1,000 fires, or one fire a day for about three years. A new standard size butane lighter will light about 2,000 fires, or one fire a day for approximately 5.5 years. A new high-capacity butane lighter will light about 4,000 fires, or one fire per day for approximately 11 years.

Matches are also nice but each match is only good for one fire, unless you know how to carefully split the match to get two or more fires from a single match. Also if your matches accidentally get damp then they may or may not work after you dry them out. There are a variety of different types of matches including Strike Anywhere Kitchen Wooden Matches, Standard Kitchen Wooden Matches, and Paper Matches inside a match book (20 matches per book). If you do not have the strike anywhere matches then be sure to include the striking strip off the box in your "necessities bag" but wrap it separately inside something waterproof so it cannot accidentally come into contact with the match heads.

A Blast Match is a spark making tool but it requires some really good tinder, such as clothes dryer lint. Extremely dry decayed wood is also very good tinder. The tiny sparks the blast match creates will start any easily ignitable material burning. However, unless you have some really good tinder that is extremely flammable then the tiny sparks will go out before igniting the tinder. Therefore, I prefer a Magnesium Fire Starter instead of a blast match.

A Magnesium Fire Starter requires that you shave a little magnesium off the magnesium block and then strike the attached flint with the blunt edge of your knife to throw some sparks onto the very thin magnesium shavings. The shavings will quickly catch fire and burn extremely well. This is a very reliable way to start a fire and it should work well if both your matches and your butane lighters should fail for some unexpected reason. (Note 1: If all the available tinder is damp or frozen then you could place a few shavings off the magnesium block below some damp tinder, and then ignite the magnesium shavings with a match to get the tinder burning, and then you could gradually build a normal fire.) (Note 2: There is enough magnesium on the block to reliably start somewhere between 75 to 125 good fires. However, even after you have used all the magnesium, the spark making flint will still be intact and it can be used to start additional fires if you have some really good tinder material.)

In summary, I recommend that a person have two good butane lighters manufactured by two different companies, and some strike anywhere matches in a waterproof container, and a magnesium fire starter. These items are all very small and they do not weigh very much. But with this combination of items you could start a fire under almost any type of adverse weather condition.

The reason I recommend matches and a butane lighter is simple. During freezing weather the striking wheel on a butane lighter can freeze and render the lighter useless for starting a fire. In that situation the matches usually work just fine. However, during really damp humid weather it is possible that the matches may get a little damp and be difficult to strike. In that situation the butane lighter works just fine. If you have a different backup method for starting a fire then you will have a much better chance of starting a fire under a variety of adverse weather conditions.

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A Compass

A compass is useful on overcast days, on rainy days, and at night. It will help to keep you from traveling in the wrong direction so you don't waste time and precious energy needlessly. Regardless of where you are, if you can travel consistently in one direction you should eventually reach a road that you can follow. However, without a compass the chances of your traveling in a straight line are greatly reduced.

The "Coghlan's Six Function Whistle Compass" shown in the picture on the right can be purchased at some Army Navy Surplus Stores for approximately ten dollars. It contains all of the following items:

1. Compass on front (see bottom of green package - direction finding).
2. Thermometer on back (see top of green package - weather changes).
3. Small Mirror in center (partially extending right side of compass - light signaling and face/eye inspection).
4. Magnifying Glass in center (partially extending left side of compass).
5. Whistle on bottom (noise signaling for help).
6. LED Flashlight on top (see top of green package - emergency light).

A variety of other ways to determine direction in addition to a compass are discussed on the following web page: http://www.grandpappy.info/wcompass.htm.

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Conclusion

If you have the above three items and you know how to use them, then your chances of survival in the wilderness will be very good. However, if you need some additional practical guidance in the use of these items, then I recommend that you include the following small book ($ in your "possibilities bag":

SAS Survival Guide by John "Lofty" Wiseman (ISBN 978-0060849825).

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Revision History:
October 27, 2008 - Added life expectancy of the Magnesium Fire Starting Unit.
May 7, 2008 - Added links to two Moccasin web sites.
April 19, 2008 - Added Meat Jerky link, and Brain Tanning a Deer Skin link to the practical uses for a steel knife.
April 9, 2008 - Created this new web page.

Click on www.grandpappy.info/indexwil.htm for more Wilderness Survival Tips.

Click on www.grandpappy.info for Robert's Home Page.

Send e-mail to RobertWayneAtkins@grandpappy.info

http://www.grandpappy.info/wthree.htm

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=> View these other great Survival Blogs that almost made the Top 50!

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Originally Posted by AirborneSapper7

BISQUE OF LOBSTER - Remove the meat of the lobster from its shell and cut the tender pieces into quarter-inch dice; put the ends of the claw-meat and any tough portions in a saucepan with the bones of the body and a little cold water and boil for twenty minutes, adding a little water from time to time as may be necessary; put the coral to dry in a moderate oven, and mix a little flour with some cold milk, and stir the milk, which should be boiling, stirring over the fire for ten minutes, then strain the water from the bones and other parts, mix it with milk, add a little butter, salt, pepper and cayenne to taste, and rub the dry coral through a fine-haired sieve, putting enough into the soup having it a bright pink color. Place the grease fat and lobster dice in a soup tureen, strain the boiling soup over them, and serve at once.

Noticed this post while searching for soup tureen. Does anyone have a preferred brand or type usable for holding enough to feed at least 8 people?

Dutch Oven Cooking - Series Introduction

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKQQK...eature=related



Apr 27, 2010

Today Justin Telford shows us a range of Dutch Oven cooking equipment, this will be the first in a series of videos about cooking, caring & using dutch ovens.

Chapter 3: Preparing Your Basic Survival Stash

• Food Storage
• Water Storage and Purification
• Survival Shelters

If you've given any thought to survival, you know the big three -- food, water and shelter -- are the foundation of any long-term survival plan. If you prepare to provide these three items for yourself and loved ones, you're farther ahead than probably 90 percent of the public.
Many would say water is the most important of the three, but we'll address them in the order above: Food, water and shelter.
Food Storage
You may be able to survive a few weeks or even a month without food, but why would you want to? Without food, you will become weak, susceptible to illnesses, dizzy and unable to perform survival-related tasks. Sure, water may be more critical to short-term survival, but it's much easier for even the unskilled survivalist to find water in the wild (the safety and purity of the water is another story, but we'll tackle that next).
This section will deal with several key areas:

• How much food do you need?
  
  • Why so much food?
  • Using and storing traditional, commercial foods
• Rotating foods
  
  • Baking items
• Special "survivalist" foods
• Home-made survival foods
• Hunting and gathering in the wild

How Much Food do you Need?
Here's the short answer: You can never have too much food stored away for hard times.
How much is the minimum for you and your potential survival situation is an answer you'll have to come up with after reviewing the table you developed in Chapter 1. (You did do that exercise, didn't you?)
Will three days of food be enough, as many suggest? Or do you need a year's worth? Captain Dave can't tell you what's best in your situation, but he suggests that two weeks or more is the minimum for anyone in any potential survival situation. One to three months? Now you're talking. A year? Let's hope you never need it. A year may be excessive for most, but hey, better safe than sorry (have you heard that one before?) If you're wondering how you can afford a month's worth of food, see Chapter 7.
Why should you stock up on so much food if the worst you're planning to prepare for is a heavy winter storm? Several reasons:

• It may take a while for store shelves to be replenished. Think back to the heavy storms that hit the East Coast in the winter of 1995-96. 30 inches in cities such as Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia shut the city down for more than a week. And the trucks carrying supplies were stranded on the side of an interstate highway somewhere in the midwest.
• You may be asked to feed friends or neighbors. Think how you'd feel if on the sixth day of the storm you and your family were enjoying a delicious, rich, beef stew while poor old Mrs. Frugal next door was down to a used tea bag and the bread crusts she usually gives the birds? Or what if friends were visiting for the weekend and unable to return home because of the inclement weather, earthquake or other emergency?
• Food rarely goes down in price. What you buy now will be an investment in the future. If you shop carefully over time (see Chapter 7) , you can lay in stores of goods on sale or at warehouse club prices.
• You will be protected from price gouging. Do you really think the last load of milk and bread into the store before the storm hits will be discounted? Shelves are often cleared out right before a blizzard or hurricane is set to hit. And food isn't the only item likely to be in short supply; one grocery chain reported that when storm warnings went out, they sold more rolls of toilet paper than there were people in the city. Batteries, bottled water, candles and other staples are also going to be in short supply (see the next chapter for more on non-food survival items).
• You will be prepared for a crippling blow to our food supply system. As I write this, many are predicting our food supply is tottering on its last legs. Whether its a drought (like we saw in 1996 in Texas and Oklahoma), a wheat blight, the destruction of traditional honey bees necessary for crop fertilization or simply the world's exploding population, they will tell you our food system is falling apart. Captain Dave will let you make up your own mind, but wouldn't a few hundred pounds of red winter wheat and other grains sealed in 5 gallon buckets make you feel better?

Let's say you decide to start small and plan to stock up a week's worth of food for your family. While the "survivalist" foods such as MRE's are a great supplement, you should be able to get by for this short a time (a week or two) on the traditional, commercial foods in your larder.
This existing food reserve should not include food in your refrigerator or freezer because you cannot count on those items remaining edible for more than a day (fridge) or three (freezer), at most. So half a cow or deer in the freezer is great, but you may have to cook, smoke and/or can it on short notice, should the power be out for a long time.
A quick examination of your cupboards and cabinets will tell you how much you need to add to ensure you have enough food for a week. If you have a few packages of pasta, some cans of vegetables, a box of crackers and a jar of peanut butter, you're halfway there. But if you have a habit of dropping by the deli every time you're hungry, or shopping for the evening meal on your way home from work (as many single, urban dwellers do), you'll need to change your habits and stock up.
A detailed list of suggestions and food storage information is available in the Food Storage FAQ but you should generally buy canned (including items in jars) or dried foods. Review our list of commercial food items and their suggested storage times when making up your personal list but keep in mind your family's eating habits, likes and dislikes. Also, remember that you may not have access to a microwave and other modern conveniences, so pick food items and packaging that can be prepared on a single burner of a camp stove or even over an open fire.
Rotation Systems
The main difference between the commercially prepared foods you buy in the grocery store and the specially prepared "survival" foods is the shelf storage. You can't store grocery store items for five to ten years, as you can with specially freeze-dried or sealed foods packed in nitrogen or vacuum sealed. As a result, if you go with a larder full of grocery items, you can't develop your food stash and walk away. You need to rotate your stock, either on an ongoing basis or every two to three months. This will ensure you have fresh food (if you can consider canned and dry food "fresh") and do not waste your food and money.
There are many systems for rotating your stock:

• Captain Dave finds the easiest is to put newly purchase foods at the rear of the shelf, thus ensuring the oldest food, which will have made it's way to the front, will be consumed first.
• You can also number food packages with consecutive numbers (a "one" the first time you bring home spaghetti sauce, a "two" the next, etc.) and eat those with the lowest number first.
• If you store your survival stash in a special location, you'll need to physically remove and replace 20 to 25 percent of it every two months (thus ensuring nothing sits for more than eight or 10 months). The materials you remove should be placed in your kitchen for immediate consumption.

As a general rule, traditional canned foods should be consumed within a year. For cans with expiration dates, such as Campbell's soups, you may find you have 18 months or two years before they expire. But for cans without a date, or with a code that consumers can't translate, mark them with the date purchased and make sure you eat them before a year passes.
Generally, canned foods will not "go bad" over time, unless the can is punctured. But the food will loose its taste, the texture will deteriorate, and the nutritional value drops significantly over time.
If you find you have a case of canned peas, for example, that are nine or 10 months old, simply donate the to a soup kitchen, Boy Scout food drive or similar charity. This will keep them from being wasted and give you a tax deductible donation.
Baking
Simple raw materials for baking, such as flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, oil and shortening, can be assets in a survival situation. With these staple items, you can make everything from pancakes or rolls to breading fresh fish.
For those looking for a simpler answer, mixes for muffins, corn bread and pancakes mean you do not need to add eggs or measure ingredients. These ready-made or pre-mixed ingredients can be a boon. Of course, you may need a Dutch oven or griddle for that stove or fireplace.
For long-term survival storage, honey stores for years and can replace sugar in recipes. Rather than storing flour or meal, purchase the raw grain and a hand mill. Then you can mill your own flour whenever necessary. Red winter wheat, golden wheat, corn and other grains can be purchased in 45-pound lots packed in nitrogen-packed bags and shipped in large plastic pails.
Survival Foods
Storing two to four weeks of "commercial" food isn't too difficult. But when you get beyond that, you really need to look at specialized foods prepared specifically for long-term storage. These generally fall into several categories:

• Vacuum-packed dried and freeze-dried foods
• Nitrogen packed grains and legumes
• Specially prepared and sealed foods such as MRE's (Meals, Ready-to-Eat) with a five-to-ten year shelf life

All offer one main advantage: long storage life. Some, such as MRE's and packages sold to backpackers, are complete meals. This is handy and convenient, but they tend to be expensive on a per-meal basis. Others, such as #10 cans (about a gallon) of dried items, are usually ingredients which can be used to prepare a full meal. These ingredients include everything from macaroni elbows or carrot slices to powdered milk or butter flavor. Your best bet is a combination of both full-meal entrees and bulk items.
As the name implies, MRE's are ideal for a quick, nutritious, easy-to-prepare meal. They are convenient to carry in the car, on a trip or on a hike. They have very long shelf lives (which can be extended by placing a case or two in your spare refrigerator). On the downside, they are very expensive on a per-meal basis and they do not provide as much roughage as you need. (This can lead to digestive problems if you plan to live on them for more than a week or two.)
Large canned goods, on the other hand, are difficult to transport. But if you're stocking up your survival retreat (see chapter 2) or planning to batten down the hatches and stay at home, the large canned goods are easy to store and can keep you well-fed for months. While individual cans can be purchased, most popular are sets of multiple items. These are designed to provide a specific number of calories per day (they'll recommend 1,800 per day, but you'll probably want more) for a set period of time, often three months, six months or a year. Remember, however, if you have four people in your family or survival group, purchasing a one-year supply of food will only equate to three months worth for the family.
Captain Dave recommends purchasing the largest set of these canned, dried foods your budget can handle. Then supplement the set with items tailored to you and your family or survival group. Also, MREs and MRE entrees are excellent supplements, because prepared sets of #10 cans are primarily vegetables, pasta and grains, while MRE entrees are usually meat-based.
You may also want to add a few special items, such as hard candy or deserts, to reward yourself or for quick energy. That's one area where MREs and MRE deserts can be a great supplemental item. It's pretty tough to store pound cake or brownies for several years, but the MRE makers have managed it. They also offer crackers and peanut butter, bread and some great side dishes.
While we're on the topic of supplements, don't forget to add vitamins and mineral supplements. Fruits, green vegetables and other items rich in vitamin C and other nutrients may be scarce, so a good multi-vitamin is well worth the space it takes up in your stash.
NOTE: Since the guide was written, Captain Dave has started selling long-term survival foods and other related supplies. If you are interested, please visit our Survival Shop.
Home Made Survival Foods
There's nothing like a cellar full of canned goods you grew and put up. From spaghetti sauce to your own jam, canning goods is a tradition that will come in mighty handy in a survival situation.
But Captain Dave doesn't pretend to be an expert. Whenever you're dealing with canning fruits, vegetables or meats, its important to follow the latest specifics from the true experts. (OK, so maybe government isn't all bad.) See our list of links for canners and others looking to preserve food.
You can also dry, vacuum-pack and otherwise prepare food for storage. Vacuum pumps are available commercially or can be constructed in your own home. You can use them to seal dried food in mason jars and other containers.
When packing foods for storage, you want to eliminate oxygen (which is why a vacuum is so good). Bugs, such as weevils, and other organisms that can destroy your food need the oxygen to live, just as we do. That's why commercial companies who prepare survival food pack grains, cereals, pasta, beans and other food in nitrogen-filled containers. You can accomplish a similar packaging yourself by using dried ice.
Simply take the 10 pounds of noodles (or 25 pounds of rice or other dried food) you picked up from the warehouse and put them in an appropriately sized plastic bucket with a lid that can create a good seal. The add several chunks of dried ice. As it sublimates, your bucket will fill with carbon dioxide, which will displace all or most of the oxygen (since carbon dioxide is heavier, the oxygen should rise to the top and out of the bucket). Place the lid on the bucket, but don't seal it all the way until you think the dry ice has completely turned to gas. This is a fine line, since you want to seal it before oxygen starts leaking back into the bucket. Remember, as soon as you open the bucket, whoosh! the air will rush back in.
Hunting and Gathering in the Wild
Image this scenario:

A small nuclear conflict erupts in the Middle East destroying several countries and much of the world's oil supply. Airbursts knock out more than half of the world's satellite communications systems. Due to favorable weather conditions and plain dumb luck, fall-out over the United States is not life threatening -- as it is in part of Europe, Japan and the Far East -- and the EMP damage to our electronic systems is minimal. However life as we know it is disrupted as fuel prices reach $10 and then $20 per gallon.
Fruits and vegetables grown in Florida and California can't reach markets in other states. Corn and wheat crops are abundant, but farmers don't have the fuel to run harvesters. And those that do, fill their silos, but the grain can't reach the market. Store shelves are emptied in two days of panicked buying that sees a five-pound bag of flour go from $1.69 to $8.99.
The economy goes into a tailspin, and inflation reaches 300 percent in the first two weeks. You're lucky you still have a job, but you wonder how on earth you'll get there without the car.
The president tries to regain control of the country, by releasing stocks of food and oil, but it's just a drop in the bucket. In a measure of how bad things have become, he declares marshal law and nationalizes all oil, refineries and oil reserves. Suddenly, Uncle Sam is the only gas station on the block, and they're not pumping for anybody, no matter how much silver you cross their palms with. Riots break out in seventeen major cities and the national guard has to be called out. LA burns (again) as does Philadelphia. There's a national curfew and trouble makers are hauled off to camps. 60 Minutes runs a story on these concentration camps, which nobody ever admitted were in existence, but they experience technical difficulties and the broadcast is cut off in the middle of the story. FEMA becomes a four letter word. Suddenly, the two weeks of food in your larder looks frighteningly small. You wish you had more room on your credit card, but then, smart merchants are only accepting cash. You can't wait for the few tomato plants and cucumbers you have growing in the back yard to bear. But you know it won't be enough. Winter is coming, and the papers say the utilities can't guarantee there will be enough gas or electric to heat peoples' homes.

Maybe it's time to look to nature to help feed you. That's great if you are a farmer or have five or more acres of tillable land. But if not, or if it's too late to plant crops, that means a return to hunting, trapping and gathering.
If you can identify wild plants that can supplement your existing diet, good for you. If not, better go out and buy a few guide books right away. Get ones with pictures, you'll need them. Just hope everyone else doesn't have the same idea, or berry bushes and apple trees will be stripped clean in seconds.
Captain Dave has eaten all sorts of wild plants, from salad greens he probably would have tromped over on any other day to wild mushrooms to the heads of milkweeds (properly prepared, of course). Its not his first choice, but its better than tightening the belt.
Captain Dave supports hunting as a great American past time, an important tool in game management and a terrific source to supplement your traditional menu during these good times. But will it be enough to put food on the table during a survival situation? Don't count on it.
If you're a hunter, you know how crowded it usually is on opening day. Could you imagine what the local patch of forest would be like if everyone's dinner depended on hunting? How quickly would we strip this continent of all edible game? Planning on fishing? So are all your neighbors.
There are some areas of the country where the ratio of people to wildlife will still support sustenance hunting. But for most of us, that's not the case. You may be able to supplement your food supply with some game, but don't count on it.
What does Captain Dave recommend you do if the above scenario comes to play?

• At the first hint of trouble and rising prices, visit the local food warehouse and grocery stores and buy as much as you can afford. Get the 50 pound bags of rice and the 25 pound bags of flour. Use your credit cards and part of your emergency cash stash, if necessary.
• Hunker down at home and protect what is yours.
• Keep a low profile and avoid contact with others, except fellow members of your survival group. Avoid trouble and confrontations.
• Hope that within six months the country will have recovered or at least stabilized. If not, the population will probably be a lot smaller when winter is over.

Food Storage and Preservation Links
Food Storage FAQ
This tome is a complete guide to storing food for survival needs. It is much more in depth than the above information. Available in both html for on-screen viewing or as a downloadable file.
Rec.Food.Preserving and Rec.Food.Preserving FAQ
The place to ask questions and learn more about home-preserved foods. According to their charter: Rec.food.preserving is a newsgroup devoted to the discussion of recipes, equipment, and techniques of food preservation. Current food preservation techniques that rightly should be discussed in this forum include canning, freezing, dehydration, pickling, smoking, salting, distilling, and potting. Foodstuffs are defined as produce (both fruits and vegetables), meat, fish, dairy products, culinary and medicinal herbs. Discussions should be limited to home-grown or home-preserved foods.
Here are a few more. The site's name generally says it all:
Home Canning Tips
Captain Dave's Survival Shop
Grain Supply Update... By Geri Guidetti Walton Feed's Self Reliance Pages

http://www.survival-center.com/guide/food.htm

I enjoyed reading the headache post AirborneSapper7.

Psalm 91

Chapter 2: Bug out or Batten Down?

• Should you Stay or Go?
• The Evacuation Plan
• Where to Go
  
  • The Ultimate Survival Retreat
  • Caching Goods
• How to Get There
  
  • Route Planning
  • What to Bring With You

Should you Stay or Go?
Based on the previous section, you should have a good idea of the potential survival situations you might be facing. Now the question is whether to stay and face them or move to another -- hopefully safer -- location.
We all have a strong desire to protect what's ours. Regardless of whether you own the largest house in the neighborhood or rent a ramshackle shack, home is where the heart is, not to mention all the rest of your stuff! And Captain Dave knows you've worked long and hard to accumulate that stuff, so abandoning it and running for safety may stick in your craw.
Thankfully, there are times when saying at home makes the most sense. If you can wait out the storm, ignore the heavy snow, batten down the hatches against civil unrest or otherwise stay at home during an emergency situation without endangering yourself, it may be your best bet. There are many advantages to staying home in a survival situation, if you can safely do so:

• The food in your refrigerator and pantry can supplement your survival stash (see the next chapter).
• If you loose power, you can quickly cook much of your food and monitor the temperature of your freezer (frozen food will usually keep at least 24 hours).
• You'll have more time to improve your home's chances of survival (move items to high ground, put plywood over windows, etc.)
• It offers shelter against most elements.
• You'll have access to all your clothing, bedding and other comforts.
• You won't suffer from boredom as much as you might in a shelter.
• You can protect your stuff from looters.

Of course, there's a downside as well:

• You could be putting yourself in unnecessary, life-threatening danger. (The fire, flood, hurricane, riot, etc. might be worse than anticipated. We've all seen TV coverage of people clinging to their roofs as the house washes down stream.)
• If you decided to evacuate later, it may be too late.
• Without heat, electricity, hot water or other services, home just isn't the same.
• There is no sense of community, unless other neighbors or members of your local survival group stay home, too. You may feel cut off and alone.
• If a mandatory evacuation has been ordered, you may be prosecuted by local authorities (although this rarely happens).

No matter how much you wish to stay at home, there are times when evacuation is the only choice. These include a nuclear, chemical or biological event as well as any impending disaster that is likely to destroy your home. For example:

• If the warning sirens on that nearby chemical plant go off at 3 a.m., you have no choice but to don your gas masks, grab your bug out bag and drive the opposite direction as quickly as possible.
  
• If you're beach-front home is directly in the path of a Force 3 hurricane, staying put might show a surplus of guts, but deficit of brains.
  
• Likewise the time you spend, garden hose in hand, trying to fend off a raging fire that has already burnt out six neighbors might be better spent salvaging your valuables and items with sentimental value.

So, if the survival situations you outlined in the previous section shows several emergency situations requiring evacuation, you'll need to put together a plan:
The Evacuation Plan
There are several important elements to your evacuation plan:

• Where to go
• How to get there
• What to bring with you

Where to Go

Sure, you can head to the nearest shelter, but if sitting on cots at the local high school gymnasium or National Guard Armory was your first choice, you probably wouldn't be reading this.
You need a safe house or survival retreat in a location where the current crisis will not threaten you. The easiest way to set up a safe house is to coordinate with a friend or family member located between 100 and 150 miles away, preferably in a different setting. For example:

• If you're in the inner city, they should be in a rural area or at least a smaller town, preferably not the suburbs of your city
• If you're near the coast, they should be inland
• If you're near a flood plain, the safe house should be on higher ground.

Following these guidelines, you can be relatively sure of several things:

• Whatever disaster you are facing should not affect them, and vice versa. This allows you to trade off, so when they are facing a survival situation, your home can be their safe house.
• You'll be running towards something, not just away from danger.
• You can get there on one tank of gas, even if there is a great deal of traffic (During the Hurricane Opal evacuation in 1995, it was not unusual for a 100 mile trip on the interstate to take four hours).
• You won't be turned away at the inn (Hotel rooms are quickly filled, and often at inflated prices).

If you plan in advance, you can leave a few changes of old clothes, a toiletries kit, necessary prescription drugs, ammunition, some MREs or anything else you might need at the safe house. This will make your evacuation easier.

While many will find that a friend or relative's house is the easiest and most cost-effective safe house, the ultimate safe house or survival retreat would be a second residence located in a very rural location. During normal times, this survival retreat can double as your vacation home, hunting lodge or weekend getaway destination. But when the flag goes up, you can evacuate to a safe house fully stocked with everything you need for self sufficiency.
Captain Dave's ultimate survival retreat would be:

• Well off the beaten track, ideally reachable by a single dirt road. This seclusion will offer you a good bit of protection. For example, you can cut a large tree down across the road to help eliminate unwanted guests.
• Not too ostentatious, so that it doesn't draw a lot of talk from locals and become a target for vandalism. Nothing wrong with a solid one-room cabin with a sleeping loft.
• Near a spring, well, stream or other natural source of water.
• Equipped with at least one fireplace or wood stove for cooking and heat.
• Within 10 to 20 miles of a village or small town where you can go (by foot, if necessary) for additional supplies, news and other contact with the outside world, should the emergency stretch into months or longer.
• Have enough arable land for growing your own vegetables and other crops.
• Near a natural, easily harvestable food source (usually wildlife for hunting or fishing).
• Provisioned with enough food to keep your family safe for at least three months, preferably a year.
• Provisioned with tools necessary for long-term self sufficiency, should it become necessary.
• Stocked with enough weapons and ammunition to defend it from small groups of marauding invaders, should it come to that.

If you are worried about caching goods in a unattended house, where they could be stolen, you can cache a supply nearby. While most caches are buried in hidden locations, a simple solution to this dilemma is to rent a commercial storage unit in a town close to your retreat. This has several advantages:

• As long as you have access to the facility 24 hours a day (one of those outside storage areas where you use your own lock is best) you can get to your supplies when necessary.
• It will be much easier to make a few trips to and from the nearby storage facility and your safe house than carry everything with you from home.
• It's easier to check on the status and add materials to this type of cache than one buried in a secluded location.
• In a worst case scenario, you can hoof it to the storage area, spend the night inside and hike back the next day with a full backpack.

Of course, for the ultimate protection, a buried or other hidden cache is hard to beat. The is especially true for the long-term storage of ammunition and weapons that are or may one day be considered illegal. Here are some specifics on establishing this type of a cache.

How to Get to Your Safe House
Whichever option you've chosen for your safe house, the best way to get there is by car. It's convenient (most of us have them), offers some protection, is relatively fast and allows us to carry much more gear than on foot or bicycle.
Of course, there's nothing wrong with taking a train to a safe house in a nearby city. Captain Dave is partial to boats, and even a bus beats walking, but for most, the car is our escape vehicle of choice.
While everyone chooses a car that fits their lifestyle and budget, a large four-wheel drive vehicle is the best bet for evacuating to your safe house. The bigger, heavier the vehicle is, the better. Not only do larger vehicles have greater ground clearance and the ability to ford higher waterways, they offer the most protection and carry the most gear. They also offer you and your passengers better protection in a fender-bender. When the entire city seems to be running from an impending disaster, you don't want to be stuck on the side of the road because of minor accident.
Four-wheel drive is critical if you need to go off-road to avoid accidents, road blocks or other evacuation-related snafus.
So, since an army surplus army truck is probably out of the question, a large four-wheel drive pick-up with a cap may be the best bug out vehicle available. But the fact is, whatever vehicle (or vehicles) you have at hand is the best bet.
And the old saw about never letting your car's gas tank get below half makes a lot of sense. Captain Dave also recommends keeping a couple of five gallon tanks of gas on hand "for emergencies." Even if you use it to fill your tank, carry it with you (strapped to the roof, perhaps) because you never know when you might find more. If you are very serious, you can have a second tank installed in your truck. And while we're on the subject of cars, make sure your is is good mechanical condition.

continued Below

Taking the High Road
One of the most critical factors is route planning. You should have memorized several routes to your safe house or survival retreat and have maps on hand so you can identify alternate routes around accidents or other problem areas. The routes should include:
The fastest, most direct route.
This will be your first choice when you are getting out early, before the crowds. If you're smart enough to beat the rush, predict an upcoming disruption, or just feel like being far away from any federal buildings on every April 19, you can take your main route. A back road route.
This may be your best bet when the interstates are clogged with lines of cars all trying to leave "ground zero." Sure, it would normally take longer, but it in this situation, it may be your best bet.
An indirect route.
There may be a time when you need to get away, but don't want anyone to know where you're going. There may come a day when it make sense to go north 200 miles out of your way to end up 150 miles east of your destination. This is also the route to choose if you have reason to believe you may be followed. What to Bring With You
Captain Dave keeps a bug-out bag in the closet. A bug-out bag is the first -- and possibly only -- thing you grab when you're bailing out. When the fire alarm is going off, for example, grab the kids, the bug-out bags and get out.
Bags, you say? Yes, bags. Each member of the family should have his or her own bug out bag.
What should you include in your bug-out bag? Ask 100 people, and you'll get 100 answers, but here's what Captain Dave suggests:

Must Haves	Nice to Have
At least $500 in cash, including plenty of small bills for incidentals and change for phone calls. (When the power is out, many stores can't use their cash registers and insist on either exact change or to the closest dollar.)	Traveler checks. Gold or silver coins. Dimes, quarters and half-dollars minted before 1965 contain 90 percent silver. A gold Maple Leaf or other large coin may be too big for day-to-day transactions, but smaller gold coins are available.
Spare or duplicate credit cards with plenty of credit available.	A bank card for local and national ATMs. (This assumes the electricity is not out.)
A few spare checks and anything that could be used for ID if you do not have your wallet with you.	A duplicate drivers license.
A spare set of keys, including car, house, safe-house/survival retreat, storage facility, safe deposit box, etc.	You can stash a spare set in your vehicle for emergencies.
A change of clothes, preferably durable heavy-weight clothes that can stand up to abuse.	A season-appropriate jacket and other outer gear, such as gloves and hat. Clothes suitable for layering (T-shirt, flannel shirt, etc.).
A pair of old, comfortable, already-broken-in shoes that still have some good miles left in them.	A couple pairs of extra socks and at least one change of underwear.
At least a quart of water per person.	Juice boxes or pouches.
A few MREs or other easily transportable food items, including some quick snack foods.
Prescription or over-the-counter drugs you rely on.	Unfilled prescriptions you can take to a pharmacy anywhere to be filled.
A spare pare of eyeglasses (perhaps your old prescription) and/or contacts and solutions.	A duplicate of your standard opthamalic eye-wear and/or a few pairs of daily or extended-wear contacts.
A basic first aid kit, including bandages, an ace-type bandage, aspirin or other analgesic, first-aid cream, alcohol pads, etc.	A more advanced first aid kit, including sutures, antibiotics, pain killers, etc.
A phone book listing all important numbers, including friends, family, neighbors, work, school, doctor, insurance, etc.	A cellular phone and/or CB radio.
A good work knife and/or Swiss army-type knife.	A Leatherman survival tool.
For those so inclined, a basic pistol, such as a revolver chambered for .357 or .38 special, and at least 50 rounds of ammunition.	Loaded speedloaders or magazines and a comfortable belt and holster.

Now that you know where to go, how to get there and what to bring when you leave in a hurry, you can take a look at long-term survival planning. The next chapter covers the three basics of any survival plan: Water, food and shelter.

http://www.survival-center.com/guide/bugout.htm

http://readynutrition.com/resources/

Thankyou for keeping this going Airborne! I have at least 90% of this covered. My only thing that will be a get on a need be basis will be meat products. Mainly because I consume mostly game that I get on the property. It is better than hunting at the grocery store, as I don't get any meats that have chemicals, and antibiotics and growth hormones in them.

But you can only take so much. Otherwise it will eventually spoil. So I only get what I will use, and then get more when my stocks run low.