(Continued from Part 2. This concludes the article.)
Assembling Your Kits
You should have or be in the process of getting some kind of long-range weapon and one or two blades for various tasks. These are going to be integrated into your preparedness primarily as hunting and survival tools, though defensive use is of course on your mind. I like to think of my supplies in terms of “kits.” In my teens, my Crosman 1377 air gun, slingshot, and some snare wire were my “small game kit,” which lived in an old Polish gas mask bag. In the same bag was an Altoids tin with a magnesium fire starter and charcloth, which was my “fire kit.” I now know that there is not much sense in carrying a slingshot AND an air gun, but hey, I was fourteen and wanted to have stuff. I had three things to kill food with, but no actual food in the bag or on my person. I liked to think that I could’ve survived The Walking Dead-style with that kit, but I would not have, because both the kit and my skill set were not realistic.
I think of my kits now in terms of functions. The kit itself is a tool, made up of many other smaller tools. So here is a much more realistic, updated “preparedness tool kit” assembled using some of the things I talk about in this article. This is not a “everything you need to go hunting or live in the woods” kit. This is a “spend one day in the woods poaching to get around the Duke of Joe’s meat rationing” kind of kit. It is a survival small game hunting kit, though it could be upgraded into a camping kit very easily. The bag contents:
- One .22 air rifle (XS-25 from Flying Dragon) with pellets and speedloader. This is the Basic Tune version. I have successfully hunted dove with this model, and it has performed very satisfactorily for its price point.
- One Pietta .44 Remington New Army percussion revolver, with accessories.
- A slingshot and ammo
- One Ka-Bar fighting knife
- One Mora Companion knife
- One Victorinox Fieldmaster pocket knife
- One fire kit (a large tin containing a Bic lighter, matches, and tinder)
- One German surplus sewing kit, to which I have added beeswax and a candle stub.
- A compass
- A lifestraw water filter
- Paracord
Except for the guns, this will all fit in my trusty old gas mask bag, which I dug out to build the example kit. Important outdoor kit parts not shown are my first aid kit and water supply. Other things missing include maps and rations.Continue reading“A Young Man’s Preps – Part 3, by St. Leibowitz”
