“It’s pretty easy to build your own rain barrels from plastic drums or trash cans. Search online for “bottles” or “containers” to find an “open head” plastic 55-gallon drum with a cover (about $60). Or find a used barrel by talking to car wash managers (they buy soap and wax by the barrel). If you […]
“During our boiling, broiling, blistering summer of 2012 here in the Missouri Ozarks, water was a topic of conversation wherever we went. Creeks and ponds dried up (some never recovered) and the water table dropped, forcing a few neighbors to have their well pumps lowered or to even have deeper wells drilled. Many folks shared […]
“The Apache foothold trap was traditionally used to trap big game like deer. It consists of a hole, a snare and wooden stakes. Although it was intended for larger animals I have found it useful for trapping any animal such as fox, coyote and raccoon. It’s a good survival trap to know due to its […]
“In our modern society we’ve pretty much eliminated the need for rope. I rarely use rope or string for normal every day applications. When I was a kid I remember using rope to tie down items in the pick-up truck – now we use bungee cords and ratcheting straps – neither of which require knot […]
“Whether we are backpacking or in a survival situation, having a knowledge of wilderness cooking techniques is important. We may not always have cooking equipment so lets go over some alternate methods. Primitive Cooking methods we will cover include: Cooking over coals (ash cooking) Plank Cooking Hot rock cooking Flat stone cooking Spit cooking or spit […]
“If you have birch or black Locust trees growing near you, then you probably have some very flammable species of fungi also growing nearby. A classic fire starting tinder of the northeast is the fungus that grows on Birch trees. The species Fomes fomentarius is also known as horse hoof fungus, tinder fungus, tinder conk, […]
“100 Wild Huts is an experimental challenge I’ve set myself to build 100 small survival shelters on any piece of ground that harbors enough natural resources for the build. I intend to sleep rough in each shelter for one night and blog about the experiences. I intend to experiment with the huts form, structure and […]
Dale, from the British Bushcraft School, shows you everything you need to put together a fishing net – along with methodical step-by-step instructions on how to start, size the net for different species, and how to properly finish off the net. “So, I’m going to show you how to make a fishing net. The equipment […]
“The upside down fire technique rocks. It’s a cleaner burn with far less smoke and better combustion, gives off more heat, needs less tending and uses the embodied energy in wood more efficiently than the tipi-esque fire method. As an added bonus, the first time you make a fire like this in front of a […]
“The art and trade of well digging has almost been forgotten by modern people. This is an unfortunate loss, because wells have historically been the center point for so many farms and towns, especially in the drier parts of the world. While it is neither safe nor practical to suggest that novices in an emergency […]