Survival Hunting – Lessons Learned – Part 1, by O.V.

I’ve hunted since the late 1970s and I thought I’d pass along some knowledge I’ve accumulated albeit not in a polished format, but more of a “if you just want the answer to the test format.” It will probably come across a little bit choppy reading, but I want to hit the high points and mention the low hanging fruit. And by the way the SurvivalBlog readership wants TEOTWAWKI usefulness, so that’s the slant of this article.

First off are a couple of things to get out of the way — number one being equipment. Good stuff is a help and it isn’t cheap. It isn’t necessary, but for example a guy with a repeating firearm may shoot several squirrels; a guy with a wool coat and a pair of warm boots can hunt longer in the cold; a guy with a topo map and compass or a smart phone with a map/GPS app that can show hunting opportunities or obstacles is a lot more efficient; and so on.

Another piece of equipment is a dog. They are so useful in hunting that they are almost mandatory in some sports or at certain times of year or in certain environments. Can you do without one? Of course. Just like the guy with the single shot .410 and the cotton tube sox in tennis shoes in the snow……

Another thing to realize is when you are hungry, sport hunting, challenging methods, and moral and ethical compasses written into law by city folks won’t work. For example, I might hunt with a .22 rifle for sport, but a 12 ga shotgun might put more meat on the table. Baiting is extremely helpful especially with younger animals, and we aren’t worried about the horns in TEOTWAWKI.

Another problem is planning on big game versus small game. Apparently, we shot out the deer herd between food and market hunting in the last century. Stock your ammo locker for food largely with .22 and shotgun to compensate for this. Moreover, in many places where it is hot and humid, killing a large animal may be somewhat futile unless you have a way to keep the flies and heat from spoiling it. But you do have one exception to the big game eradication problem and that is the feral hog infesting much of North America lately. He is smart enough and prolific enough that we might be better off than they were in the Depression. Of course, there are a lot more people than there were 100 years ago, and our weapons are much better, so we may do it again.

And let me not forget to mention the other two  types of “hunting” – a farm pond can provide a lot of protein with a lot less effort given trot lines and yo-yo reels, as can trapping. Both methods work without you being present every minute. These methods may also work if you are in an area where game is scarce and nocturnal. There is no skill that will produce game that doesn’t live where you hunt. Don’t be in denial. Do rabbits or chickens or something. Just because you saw deer tracks one time, or have like 3 squirrels in the only 3 trees in the neighborhood doesn’t make hunting viable.

So small game first: you name it – bird, squirrel, rabbit, duck, quail, etc….get a dog. Yes we all hunt a lot of these animals without dogs, but for a collapse this is the most productive way. You have to consistently locate the game under any terrain/weather conditions, and then retrieve the animal so that healthy red-blooded American males like me (read fat guys) don’t miss any meals. Are you really going to find all the birds in the un-mowed field? Are you going to swim out to retrieve the duck?

The second animal is the turkey. I don’t hunt turkeys. But I see the sport method is to call to them in the evening, put them to bed, and be on location in the morning with call in hand. So let me tell you what I see from hunting deer and feral hogs over corn – a lot of turkeys. If I was survival hunting turkeys, I’d hunt them like deer and hogs.

Whitetail Deer

The third animal is the whitetail deer. (I’m sorry I’m no muley/antelope/elk/moose/bear expert. Looks like a lot of glassing and long range firearms are a plus.) Lots of methods but many are not that useful for survival. The classic method is tracking and it isn’t very useful. Following a deer for miles to have to bring him home without a truck or ATV isn’t my idea of efficient. Next is still hunting (which is actually walking and looking). It is the most useful although low productivity because it is hard, especially with swirling winds in rolling terrain. But you have to bug out? You are walking and looking right? You have to patrol your property/perimeter? Same deal. Looking for lost livestock or mending fence? Hunting small game? You get the picture. The first rule of still hunting is like self defense – have a gun. Really. Obviously the hunter does, kind of. Make sure you can kill a deer or pig while you are doing farm work or hunting small game. Carry a few loads of buckshot or slugs or a heavy pistol with you because taking time away from farm work is a terrible inefficiency when the big one was just standing there looking at you yesterday while you were walking to church or kicking brush piles for rabbits.

The QDMA (Quality Deer Management Association) style of what I call deer farming or deer ranching is harder to picture in a collapse except as it relates to your gardening efforts. In other words, it is hard to picture doing food plots by hand with expensive seed and fertilizer and lime, but you will be doing that in your garden and the deer will want it. (What’s this TEOTWAWKI stuff? Those bum humans quit pouring corn out of a bag and planting expensive food plots for some reason!) Having quality optics with thick reticles, red dots, or night vision equipment might be useful and time efficient when game laws become a historical joke. Moreover, your food plots, if known or seen by others, would be a magnet for poachers in a collapse and would have to be tended 24/7.

Feral Hogs

The last animal I want to spend a few minutes on the the feral hog because it can stand the hunting pressure better than most due to its intelligence and prolific breeding. Trapping can work and it is recommended, but the animals get smart to traps very quickly and can even learn to defeat one-way doors and jump out of 5’ tall cages by jumping on top of each other!! Build huge traps of cattle panels with guillotine gates at least 8’ wide or you’ll probably catch a group and teach the rest to stay away. Better yet pay someone to build a corral type trap or use machinery to drive the T-posts. (Otherwise, you’ll end up with carpal tunnel like me, if your use a slap hammer.)

Hunting is a day and night affair, and you’ll want to be ready to shoot while doing other activities because you’ll run into pigs anytime. Both deer and hogs can be baited with a surprising variety of items with corn being the most common. But you can be thrifty by leaving a little corn on the cob and throwing it out when the bagged stuff is no longer available. In the old days people threw everything to the domestic pigs for a reason. They aren’t picky. The technological advancement that may not be available in a collapse is the cellular game camera. This allows you to do anything including sleep with an alarm to tell you the pigs are on the bait. I can’t overstate the importance of this. The old pigs are so smart that they start to understand that free corn isn’t free. So they make a big circle around it, and it doesn’t matter if you are in a tree downwind, they still smell you. The game camera allows you to stay away until they are actually on the corn and then approach undetected. Before this was invented I used a scent proof box blind. Make these as tight as you can including self-sealing foam for any cracks, and block all windows except for a shooting port and you can do credible work on moonlit nights or with night vision until your batteries run out. The good thing is after a few night shootings you will see more in the day than you used to because to them, the night isn’t safe either.

(To be concluded tomorrow, in Part 2.)




42 Comments

  1. Many folks around here in NW Montana, believe that all they need to do is hunt and they’ll have enough. They got lots of guns and ammo, and little food, but they got a plan. Wildlife is indeed is thick, and everywhere, and even stops traffic on occasion. Yet back in the Great Depression when there was fewer people, the game was hunted hard, and to the point where only the best poachers got theirs. I once fixed the rifle of a neighbor of mine, it was a single shot bolt action .22, with a worn out firing pin he had used during the Great Depression. He was a youngster then, and complained that even though his folks raised hogs, it was hard to get something to eat. Once old enough, he received this .22 rifle as a gift. As a youth he become a first class poacher taking 77 deer with this lowly rifle. He apparently developed a reputation. One day the Sheriff showed up, and put him in a pick up and took him to the other side of the county where the Sheriff had him fill up the back with deer to feed several starving families in the area of Libby Montana.

    I’m glad I got that from the horses’s mouth. With all these people around here, it will not be long before the easy stuff gets hunted out. I try to break people’s illusions about just going out and hunting. It is not that easy now, and it is everywhere. I am fortunate to have bear, deer and elk to can up this year, and I stack it deep. I’m almost done doing 100 pounds of buck, got some in the canner as we speak. Hunting will also be competitive, and no longer a sport, but a life and death prospect. Once is it gets bad enough like the Great Depression, other hunter’s will hear the shot, and come to take your kill. During the Thirties, being a Game Warden was dangerous job. I got stories about that too. And at some point I believe because I was told, that some hunter’s will hunt anything that moves. Yes, we are talking about cannibalism. I’ve been told such by two older and kindly gentleman, well respected that they believe they would not have any problem with that. I hope that sticks.

    If we hunt in desperate times, you’ll need to take a security team with you, day and night. I would also have at least an inexpensive weapons mounted night scope such as the Photon 4.5 RT, but get the 940nm illuminator that cannot be seen by the naked eye, and a auxiliary 850nm illuminator that mounts on the extra rail on that scope. I would also use reduced velocity ammunition that is much quieter. 16 grains of Trailboss is an accurate load that will run and stabilize a 150 grain bullet out at about 1,600 fps out of an .30-06. Trail Boss is easy and safe to use if manufacturers instructions are followed. And it is easy to go subsonic with about 8 grains, but you’ll need a round nosed or flat point bullet that will stabilize at those speeds. Either load would be more potent than the standard and subsonic 40 grain round nosed .22 ammunition sold during the Great Depression. Subsonic ammunition can be purchase for .308, and even in 7.62×39 (Wolf brand). If you can afford the $200 tax penalty for a suppressor, you can get a good one. Of course the tried and true, and good old .22, could work too. Such a hunter must have excellent shot placement, and need to get in real close too to take the necessary head shots with a .22. My old friend gave me that advice and more. With low velocity .30 caliber bullets traveling at 1,500 fps, the trajectory is more forgiving, and the bullet will penetrate deep enough for a humane kill to the heart and lungs, but there is little room for bad shot placement, and maybe not enough energy to hit the shoulder and still make a clean kill. Wait for broad side shots, or go for the head.

    My plan is to stack it deep as possible, and hunt in the winter as little as possible, and when the snow is deeper and at night, and as quietly as possible. And to swiftly move the kill out of sight and wait for other hunters to arrive. And friends will be watching my ‘6’ (o’clock). Few hunters will have night vision scopes, but those that do, will be dangerous. They could also see your illuminator, if your inexpensive scope requires it. However, in the snow, the Photon 4.5 RT usually has enough natural illumination that the scope’s illuminator is not needed. Chose your night vision wisely. If I could afford better, I would. Lots of hog hunters have found this scope more than adequate.

  2. O.V.
    Your the first person I have run across that has mentioned feral hogs as a food source in a SHTF event. I agree with you that it would be hard to hunt them out. I learned from others I work with that they will attack and have forced men to have to climb trees in order to escape them. They will even try and uproot a small tree that a person has taken refuge in. After learning this I never go into the bottoms without my .45 and no less than 200 rounds of ammo. I have a healthy respect for those razorbacks.

  3. Agree with information above on feral hog. I recently shot one a the beginning of our deer season, very rare as hogs are rarely seen in the open standing for a shot. They are mainly seen as they trot across the shooting ‘lane’ (deep south Texas is not known for open space, the thick thorny brush view is often FEET vs. YARDS.).

    The meat from them is delicious if the animal is young vs. the huge Hogzillas. Cooked in a slow cooker, the results with bar-b-que sauce is pulled pork, only healthier meat.

  4. Interesting article for the most part. There are several things I disagree with, and when thinking how to hunt, I get the impression that the author is basing their opinion on stereotypes and particular hunting seasons and styles (at least for whitetail, I don’t know anything about hogs). There can be more interesting things about hunting than just walking into the woods with a gun.

    None the less, I hope this article spurs thoughtful discussion in ways that people question the idea that the only way to obtain resources is to buy it or grow it.

  5. I admire anyone that is hunts successfully, it speaks to skill and cunning to get the job done. Three things come to mind on the subject of hunting wild game to survive: Availability, calories and disease.

    I’ve hunted during the best of times in areas that professionally manage the land for deer, elk, rabbit, squirrel, etc. and have gone days without even seeing one. Good luck during hard times when the woods will be full of wannabe survival hunters.

    Wild game is low on calories. People have starved eating just rabbit or squirrel. Our diets have to be supplemented with fat, carbs and sugar.

    Wild game can carry a variety of deadly disease. Everything from tapeworm and Tularemia to the bubonic plague. Soap, water, and fuel will be in short supply when the SHTF.

    Good luck and thanks for the article.

  6. True enough about game being smart. We’d be camping, scout their best trails and set up for them like highway men. Then upon returning to camp skunked – find the deer had tracked around and through our camp to see what we were doing in their back yard.

    1. Cord7,
      You just described my last elk “hunt”. 4 of us in the woods and a friend sitting back at camp. Just because he wanted to go camping. He took great photos of a herd of elk walking through the meadow we were camped in while we were out all day tryng to find them.

      Game is where you find it. But it may not always be where you’re looking…

  7. Great article! And yes you people check the feral pig population in your state, mine is Texas we ain’t gonna run out of piggies! Secret is out! The old number a few years ago was we would have to 300,000 pigs a night! It’s more now.

  8. I admire anyone who could survive with hunting wild game, realistically it would probably be under 5% of the population. Three things would be of concern, availability, calories and hazards.

    I’ve hunted deer, pig, elk, rabbit, squirrel, dove, quail, etc. and have gone days without even seeing any game. In times of crisis success will undoubtedly be worse, not better.

    People have starved eating only rabbit or squirrel. The US military allows a minimum of about 10,000 calories a day for troops in the field. Our diet needs to be supplemented with carbs and sugars.

    Game will be in far away places and difficult terrain. Falls, cuts, accidents, and getting lost will happen. Add to that the fleas, ticks, lice and disease present in most all wild game and that will add a bit of danger in the hunt, especially when medical care will be restricted or non-existent.

    Good luck and thank you for the article.

    1. Cactus Jack, I think that you made excellent points, but a small correction is needed here. The average number of calories in an MRE is around 1250.

      While protein is essential, our diets absolutely do need to be supplemented with carbs. We need carbs for energy, and scouring terrain for wildlife will take plenty of energy. I have tried going high protein, low carb several times in the past. I have noticed how I seem to be run down in the afternoon, in particular.

      It is my opinion that the bottom line is that the key to survival when times get spicy will not depend so much on the occasional rabbit, squirrel, freeze-dried entrée, or the variety of Campbell Soup in the pantry. At its most basic, it will come down to calories, calories, and calories, wherever they come from. As JWR says about acquiring AR magazines, “Buy ’em cheap, and stack ’em deep.”

      1. Vilhjamer Stefansson pasted the term “rabbit starvation” onto all lean meat-related illness, including deer without fat.

        Megan Heffard, poor lady, died of a genetic anomaly in her body that was triggered by a diet lacking fat, not from eating only rabbits. ….in the southern hemisphere, not northern climes.

        I feel like all the Rabbit Starvation comments are belike the Guns Kill commenters.

        Fine. I’ll take your rabbits and be happy with a varied diet.

        God Bless and keep on keeping on.

    2. I appreciate your thoughts and suggestins .

      However we must challenge you on squirrels and rabbits. Name one single person who starved eating them and give us the reference document.

      1. Wheatley,

        In spicy times, the pressure on wildlife will be extreme. I am hardly the first person to say this, but for most Americans, with every passing day after a major calamity takes place, successful results from time spent hunting will likely be fewer and fewer. “Living off the land” will become harder and harder.

        As an aside, it has been said that Lewis & Clark, who traversed a pristine wilderness on which few humans had ever set a boot or moccasin, would have starved to death if they had not traded with Indians for dogs. Clark and the others preferred dog meat to venison. Lewis wouldn’t touch dog meat.

        I said that “the key to survival when times get spicy will not depend so much on the occasional rabbit, squirrel…” Intentionally, or not, you have ignored the word “occasional.”

        You’ve given me a difficult challenge. I expect that those in long period of deprivation who got only occasional squirrels and rabbits are dead, so I will have a very difficult time locating them. 🙂

      2. “Rabbit starvation” is a recorded historical problem, especially in northern climes, but was due to B vitamin deficiency in rabbit meat used as an exclusive protein source.

  9. I like the idea of hunting hogs. We have few in our area but they will be a good source of food. Preserving the meat is a must, I think some kind of smoke shed would be in order prior to it’s need. I also would be ready to nitrate cure the meat as well as pickling. Bacon, and hams will keep for a long time and some of the hogs I have seen have been massive. As a calorie source the wild hogs would be excellent choice.

    1. hogs would be a great source. With this Asian pig ebola thing going around , if that makes it to the states it will wipe many wild and farmed hogs out. That would not be good

    2. Celery juice is full of nitrates, if purchased ones are not available. Bacon sold as “no nitrates” will have celery, if you look at the fine print on the label.

  10. Great article with lots to think about. Based on the history of deer populations in my particular state, I have no doubt that in a TEOTWAWKI situation, 90+% the big game in most of the lower 48 would be gone in the first year. In my state, unregulated hunting took deer populations down below 1,000 whitetails by 1930. Today it’s back up close to a million. If the grid goes down permanently, how many people are going to shoot that first deer before they’ve even thought about how they are going to deal with it, like O.V. mentioned in the article? After it goes to waste, they’ll head right back out to shoot a second deer. So IMO, it won’t take long before all the big game are just a distant memory. Wouldn’t it be wise in a TEOTWAWKI situation to go out and get all the big game we can and smoke, pressure can, and jerk, all we possibly can as soon as we can?

  11. Hunting can be dangerous now,post shtf it will be very dangerous with anything that moves getting shot/fighting over what got shot. Unless you have developed renewable game areas(private woodlots/forage) ideas might be bow hunting(quiet,but higher skill),traps(will only work until game gets wary/high skilled) or a large net to herd fish into a fish corral (easily harvested)

  12. I own several firearms. Among them i think my pellet gun and .22 will be most productive at putting food on the table. Birds love my orchard. No refrigeration needed, just shoot, clean an cook what you need for the day.

  13. What O.V mentioned about using a .45 on feral hogs while out walking, would a .45 or a .45 acp be enough ? My Dad use to tell about the lack of deer in the late 20 and though the dirty 30’s, he would say that they very seldom would see a deer in the river bottoms where he / they lived and grew up. He / they use to eat a lot of catfish, carp and wild water fowl and yes, sometimes a deer, when I ask why they didn’t eat more pork ( hogs & beef ) and cattle, his answer was that the hogs and cattle were worth money and wasn’t wasted on eating. Hey his story.

  14. Survival hunting and fishing is different from Sporting Activities, sanctioned by the government. The use of a snare would be handy for big and small animals, in survival circumstances.

    Here’s a how-to example for Feral Hogs: ~Snaring Feral Hogs~ AgriLIFE EXTENSION, Texas A&M System. +YouTube has numerous videos about snares for Feral Hogs and other animals.

    +The Internet has numerous articles about fishing with Trotlines. YouTube has numerous videos about Trotlines for fish. In times of peace, the government regulates the usage of Trotlines.

    1. So true, survival hunting is different. 3/8″ inch cable would work for deer, but because it is illegal to do, so I’ll have to wait until I am in a survival situation. However, deer are predictable and it should be doable.. Conibear 220’s is good for most smaller critters. There are not expensive, but buy only for the critters in your area, at least 10, 220’s, 280’s or 330’s. Although I have the basic tools, and know where to start, I have yet to go out an use it. It is not as easy as pulling a trigger, but is an art to knowing where, and how to place a trap or snare, removing scent from the trap (boiling), and making and placing attractants such as scents, or rotting meat, and more.

      Trapping is efficient, yet requires checking every day, and would be risky just after a collapse. It is best to stock up now as I have been doing for years, and only hunt or trap after a die off, or when the situation stabilizes. I got a bigger buck than I thought, and need another night of canning to finish it off. I use the whole animal including the bones. Nothing goes to waste. Move out here and you can have something to jar up too. If not, get all you can of any affordable meats, and can it yourself if need be to get the best price. You’ll need the jars in the future, might as well get them now and use them… Fat is good, but does not store more than 2 years, or so in a jar. Go for lean meats. If not, it is best to cook the meat first, and skim off the fat, and jar that separately. Too much fat on the lid’s seal may compromise the seal in time. Keep plenty of head space too. As part of my planning, I use lots of salt to lower the freezing point.

      It is best to be remote enough, where the population is low and the area will not be hunted out quickly. We’ll need time to scale up our own protein production to full speed after a die off, if you are not already there. The stored food will get us through that transition. I know I will have to provide for others, as they will not prioritize, and get it done themselves. They just will not. there is nothing I can do about this. This means I have to work extra hard to make up the difference, and with the Lord generous help, I’m getting done on an income of less than $4K. If I can do it, you can do it, yet it starts first with plenty of prayer.

  15. After reading the article it got me to thinking about several things.

    1. The feral hog problem in the country may actually be God’s plan to provide for his people. Maybe it’s a blessing in disguise.
    2. If you purchase a NV devise, whether it’s a AN-PVS14 or a digital unit it would be wise to keep it stored in a faraday cage in case of an EMP attack or a CME. I believe that a rifle with a night vision optic will increase your ability to shoot game by a wide margin.
    3. And this comment won’t be popular with many hunters but here is what I’ve noticed in the last ten years or so. Too many deer hunters (and this would apply to hog hunters also) have forgotten how to hunt. Now a days the standard method of hunting around here is to go and buy a nice elevated blind and then set out your timed feeder out in front and then set your trail camera to record all activity. Then when deer season rolls around the hunter gets in his blind a few hours before the deer usually come to the feeder to eat and the hunter then takes the shot. I ask you, how is that HUNTING?
    Guys that I used to hunt with have lost most of their tracking skills, their nasty weather endurance, their willingness to get down and dirty in the woods and even their ability to shoot standing. I realize that blind hunting is nice and comfortable. I myself have set in a blind and drank coffee and eaten snacks while waiting on the big one to come to dinner. But I never felt like it was hunting and I never would have felt like I had anything to brag about had I taken a monster buck. It’s just not real hunting in my opinion.
    So my point on this subject is to make sure that even though you hunt differently now than you did years ago, don’t let your TRUE hunting skills get away from you.

    1. Agree especially with comment 3. Bait attract animals and changes their natural route patterns for more efficient travel to each site. Removing bait changes animal habits. It isn’t hunting – you are waiting for an appointment that may or may not show up on time.

      Foraging firearm – combination rifle / shotgun break open. Single shot that does not depend on power to function. So sub sonic rounds shoot just as easily as full powered. Sub sonic for less sound carrying. Optimum big game gun – 30-30 Winchester / 12 Ga. Savage 24. Some feel the .223 Rem / 20 ga. is more versatile – suit yourself.

      Why the combination – because you have an INSTANT choice of rifle or shotgun now. Deer hunting and small game shows up – no problem. Or the opposite, with large animals available – done deal. No magnum rounds needed (unless very large animals) are present. Not only very expensive but excessively loud.

  16. Tunnel Rabbit you have some great thoughts and ideas. Thermal is a game changer. A decent one will id heat out to 600- to 800 yards and provide a clear sight picture out to 250 yards. NODs don’t even come close. To me they are for moving and thermal is for huntin.

    I would like to hear about some of your subsonic loads in 308.

    1. I use to have NODs, so I know the difference between the good stuff and the not so good stuff. And yes, thermal would be excellent for target acquisition, yet if I could only have one, it would be PVS14 with Eotech sights. Oh well…

      Subsonic loads are easy and safe to develop with Trail Boss. It is easy. Using a chronograph, work backwards, reducing the load until you get below 1,080 fps. Use round nosed , best for feeding, or flat point bullets with low ballistic coefficients. Heavy is better, but not always necessary. Do not use these cases for full power loads again, they shrink. Check with calipers to see what I mean. If using jacketed bullets, you MUST check the barrel to see if the bullet exited each time. Failure to remember would be disastrous for obvious reasons. Have a ram rod handy to pound the stuck bullet out. Jacketed bullets are risky to use, and problematic. If developing subsonic ammunition, use cast lead bullets that reliably exit the barrel and can be purchased, or easily made. Or you can purchase subsonic .308 loads from U.N. Ammo, or other places. I’ve had limited, yet good results with subsonics, but do not recommend any other powder other than Trail Boss for the purpose.

      There are many websites where folks share their experience. If I remember correctly, AR15.com would be one of them. Subsonics has it’s place, yet because of the flatter trajectory, a useful load that is fairly quiet, especially in a long barrel, runs in the 1,500 fps range, and has none of the issues, and safety concerns that subsonics have. A heavy bullet at 1,500 fps uses less powder, is quieter, and will penetrate much better than expected as well. If serious about subsonics, .300 Black Out is good way to go too. If you happen to have that rifle already, Wolf just started producing a subsonic 7.62×39 load that cycles an AK-47 action.

  17. I’ll admit it . Just a city kid. Only done some recreational Upland game hunting. Even hunting in a small State Park ( 15,000 acres ) stocked with pheasant we would go home empty-handed on a regular basis.

    Have no delusions about taking the over/ under 12 gauge and putting food on the table with any consistency. The one disturbing topic that seems to come up on a lot of these survival websites is cannibalism. This isn’t directed to anyone in particular. Just happy to have received free tactical training for the last 20-plus years courtesy of the state government.

    As Mr. Rawles has suggested having a deep larder to last at least a year is my current plan of action. Lay low and try to ride out the great die-off. And when the cannibals come out ?

    Well that’s what I’m saving my ammo for. Even if I die of hunger will be happy knowing took some of those sick bastards with me.

    1. Some estimate that people will begin to resort to cannibalism with in 2 weeks, or perhaps a within a few days. Out here in nowhere, it will take longer and not be as wide spread. I would not want to be in the ‘big city’, or any city. I am happily poor in the middle of almost nowhere. I believe we will be just fine out here as there will be fewer threats.

  18. I have a slight difference of opinion as to the veracity of the lowly 22 and 410. As a young hunter I put food on the family table consistently with both the 22 and 410. An added benefit is that you truly learn how to shoot. One shot, one kill! It served me well in the Army , Nam 68.

    1. Agree. My first was a Savage over/under .22/.410. Took the first pheasant with the .22. .410, especially the 3″ magnum cambering is more useful than ever. It is essentially 1/2 the lead, or the power, at the same speed of a standard 12 gauge 2 3/4″ load, and slugs will easily take deer. In some woods, where small game is plentiful, it is ideal. A .410 in a double barrel is even better. Pull both triggers if you think you need the extra lead out there. And some doubles have cylinder bore or no choke, on one barrel, and on the other barrel would be a modified choke. Unfortunatley .410 ammunition is expensive as 12 Ga, or more so….

      1. .410 should be more popular. Shots at standing game (pot shots) will become far more common than shooting at flying or running targets. The larger gauges shot load in that scenario is too destructive – pattern your gun and see the differences at varying ranges. And inside a longer barrel, less noiser as well. As Tunnel Rabbit said above – it is more expensive by far.

  19. Darn cheap 12 gauge ammo now is at Walmart, target loads which work for birds and small game. Target loads have teensy weensy rounds, but work on small stuff at close range.

    I stocked up when boxes of 100 were twenty bucks. The price is now up to twenty-two bucks, but still comes out to 22 cents per cartridge. Stock up.

    But growing rabbits makes good sense for long term protein source. Smart people turn a few loose to stock their area, knowing that levels of predators will impact productivity of course.

    Rabbits provide a usable amount of meat and can be bartered alive or dead.

    God bless.

    1. Concur. We have lots of rabbits that free range, and come in to be fed at the blow of a whistle, or when called. Predators control the population. They also do a good job of fertilizing the area, but they can also make destructive holes, or tunnels seeking shelter. And hence came the inspiration for my alias.

      That is a good find at Walmart. A reloader can make inexpensive hunting loads with those inexpensive shells, even a low recoil buck shot. If the weight on the load stated on the box is for example, 7/8 oz, dump the target load, and install the same or less weight in buck shot into the shot cup. These inexpensive target loads also make inexpensive ‘wax slugs’, or cut shells that have been all the rage on YouTube. They work good out to 50 yards. The ‘cut shell’ technique, makes it into a .72 caliber glazer slug, that is a very large fragible round. The ‘wax slug’ , unlike the ‘cut shell’, will cycle in the action of a pump gun. Use the proper technique using shot heated in wax that is so hot it begins to smoke, and keep wax slugs out of the hot sun, and they would be reliable enough, and accurate enough inside of 50 yards. Follow all the sage advice and procedures found in reloading manuals, and be safe.

  20. So you are saying she died of what she ate, rather than the genetic disorder that caused her death when she intentionally eliminated fats from her diet?

    My whole point on those wascally rabbits is that people are saying don’t eat them, and folks avoid them. Instead, they should be included in a diet. Anyone who automatically thinks about only eating rabbits is most likely going to fail from another failure to analyze, assess, and act properly
    Just my opinion…

  21. “Rabbit starvation” is a recorded historical problem, especially in northern climes, but was due to B vitamin deficiency in rabbit meat used as an exclusive protein source.

  22. The feral hog population in Texas is now estimated by TPWD at over 2 million and rising. Pretty amazing critters, like the Longhorn cattle of the 19th century. Might some day after TEOTWAWKI see a bunch of dusty Texas Hogboys led by Thomas Dunson driving a sounder to the market in Missouri.

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