Category: Hunting and Trapping

Thoughts on Dogs at Survival Retreats, by D.K., DVM

Should you shelter-in-place or move to a retreat?  Lots of pros and cons about this, and most of it depends upon strength in numbers.  Obviously, the more remote and inaccessible your castle is, the harder it will be for intruders to discover or invade.  But I’m 65, and I don’t own any remote property.  My house sits on a very defendable cul-de-sac, essentially surrounded on three sides by water – my “moat.”  I could pull stakes and move to a national park or wildlife preserve, but it would be a simple campsite with tent and no walls, and I would …


Bare Bones Survival, by Blake R.

With an endless and ever-growing supply of preparedness items and gadgets for TEOTWAWKI, it is easy to forget where we all came from.  Each and every one of us alive on this planet today is in large part due to the sheer will, strength, and survival ability of our ancestors.  We are all, literally, direct descendants of the toughest and smartest humans the world has ever seen.  Our ancestors were the ones who survived plagues and diseases of all types, hunted the largest of beasts, survived harsher conditions than most of us can imagine, always procured food, and still managed …


Letter Re: Learn to Hunt Through Outreach Programs

JWR: SurvivalBlog articles have thoroughly covered just about every conceivable angle to the concepts and theories to preparing for TEOTWAWKI situations, from theory to specific skills covering everything from farming to firearms procurement, security, food preparation and storage, water sanitation, just to name a few.  I spent some time contemplating whether or not I personally had anything of value to add, and came across a few articles from the perspective of women who were doing their best to prepare despite numerous setbacks.  They might be divorcees, raising children by themselves, with limited financial means, for example. Or perhaps they had …


Letter Re: A Poor Man’s Guide to Prepping and Food Storage

Hello Captain, I just read “A Poor Man’s Guide to Prepping and Food Storage,” by T.P. He mentions getting free meat by way of road kill and says “It helps to be able to tell how long an animal has been dead.”   I can help. Having been a bricklayer in the Southwest and the Northwest for 35 years, I have worked with and become friends with many native Americans. Years ago one of my pals told me that he ate road kill all the time. When I asked how he knew if it was fresh or not he replied: …


Knowledge of Survival, by Heather F.

Everyone writes about what you need to survive the end; but no one writes about what you need to know before the end happens. Protection, Water purification, hunting, trapping, cleaning an animal, sewing, soap making, and herbal knowledge are just a few examples of what I consider to be incredibly important to know. Now, I know what you all are thinking, males got this down for the most part, right? Well what about your women. What happens to them if god forbid they get separated? Can they take care of themselves. A lot of women couldn’t. Protection is pretty straightforward, …


Letter Re: Subsistence Fishing After TEOTWAWKI

James Wesley: In reference to CentOre’s recent article, “Subsistence Fishing After TEOTWAWKI”, one method not mentioned which works very well (speaking from experience) is to kill a non-edible animal like a prairie dog and hang it over a bank. After a couple of days maggots begin to fall off of the decaying carcass and the fish learn to come to that bank to get a free meal. Then using yo-yo fishing lines you bait whatever hooks you use with scraps and pretty much I’ve never gone without a pan full of fish a day to eat. The other method is …


Subsistence Fishing After TEOTWAWKI by, CentOre

Introductory Disclaimer: Many ideas expressed within this article may not be legal in all jurisdictions.  Items covered and methods discussed are strictly theoretical in nature unless otherwise stated. Many people have a love of fishing.  Take a pole, and maybe a youngster, down to the shore, or a dock, baiting up, casting out, and waiting for a bite.  It’s a great time to just sit, talk, and enjoy nature.  Right? Not after TEOTWAWKI!  There will not be many ‘restful’ days, or nights for that matter.  Our group has a saying that: “Sportsman-ship goes out the window when Survival-ship comes in …


Letter Re: Rawhide and Brain Tanning

Mr. Rawles, Regarding the use of rawhide, I would recommend the short film “Lige: Portrait of a Rawhide Braider” (1985), that can be found at Folkstreams.net. The film is just under half an hour in length and is fascinating for both the people portrayed and the information it contains about the traditional working of rawhide in “the region known as the Sagebrush Corner of northeastern California and northwestern Nevada”. The site contains many additional short films (free and licensed for individual viewing) that would interest readers of your blog – rural and traditional crafts, music, lifestyles are examined. Fascinating shorts …


Reasons for Rawhide, by Pat in Oregon

This time of year we have a lot of hides on hand – deer, elk, and even cow hides when we are butchering.  We’ve tanned them, traded them for gloves, given them away to others, but usually we just dispose of them.  Not anymore.  This last year we’ve been experimenting with using rawhide, and after a year, we are convinced having rawhide on-hand is one of the more valuable items for regular or emergency use.  It is quite easy to process, unlimited in its use, and readily available to most of us.  Hopefully some of our experiences get others thinking …


Letter Re: Rawhide and Brain Tanning

James, J.M.’s article on brain tanning mentions buildings and furniture held together with rawhide straps, and I thought I’d mention another such building. The roof of the Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, Utah is a particularly innovative design for its time, and because of the builders’ lack of available metals (the few metal fasteners in the roof were made from discarded ox shoes) most of the structure depends on wooden pegs to hold it together. The builders wrapped parts of the wooden trusses in green rawhide; as the rawhide shrank during drying, it formed tight, strong straps around the …


Rawhide and Brain Tanning, by J.M.

In today’s world, you might wonder why working rawhide and brain tanning buckskin skill would be a benefit to anybody, when you can run to the hardware store and buy an unlimited supply of plastic, nylon, fiberglass, and what not to do your jobs. And why would anybody in their right mind want to wear anything made out of buckskin? When you have designer jeans, and all kinds of clothing to buy, in most stores like Wal-mart, K-mart, or even the used clothing stores? One question you might ask is how much of these things will be available when the fiat …


Three Letters Re: Trapping Options for the Non-Trapper

J.W.R.: Greeting from a long time reader in Southeast Texas. Regarding the article “Trapping Options for the Non-Trapper” by Pat in Oregon: When I was a child some 60 years ago, my neighbor had a problem with pigeons eating the chicken feed.  She solved the problem with large rat traps, which you can still get in any hardware store.   She baited the traps with the feed and placed them on the fence posts.  She also attaching about two feet of string to the trap and tied it to a nail in the post.  This kept the pigeon from taking …


Trapping Options for the Non-Trapper, by Pat in Oregon

Most folks are familiar to some extent with animal trapping but have little experience.  In a TEOTWAWKI world I suggest there are several advantages that trapping will offer almost everyone.  With minimal equipment and some basic experience trapping can offer security, food, and economic opportunities.  Before taking any action please familiarize yourself with your local laws and requirements related to fur-bearing animals and trapping.   I trapped coyotes and bobcat back in my college days with a good friend.  It was a great time but required considerable equipment, preparation, effort, and skill.  Today I still do a lot of trapping, …


Letter Re: How To Butcher a Squirrel

Mr. Rawles,   I had been planning to get a pellet gun for some squirrel problems here at my home. But after reading Will T.’s response to “How to Butcher a Squirrel” I instead bought some Connibear 110 traps.  I got the traps via mailorder and set them last night following Will’s advice. I used paper towels coated with peanut butter as bait.  I came out this morning and to my surprise there was already a dead squirrel hanging in the trap.  These traps are very simple, discreet, and efficient.   Thanks! – Paul B.  JWR Replies: A key advantage of …


Letter Re: How To Butcher a Squirrel

James Wesley: With respect to the recent posting on squirrel processing, I suggest that anyone seeking squirrels for food, not sport, leave the guns at home.  Save the ammunition and preserve the silence.  Use of a 110 Connibear trap on the side of a tree is much more effective and surreptitious.  There are a lot of ways to set them, but the easiest is to place a couple of screws into the side of a tree about an inch apart and set the trap so that it clamps itself to the screws while remaining in the horizontal plane.  A bit …