Survival skills??

[traderdan]

If you are storing food, water, ammo. If you are stocking up on medical supplies, reading books about the coming Zombie Apocalypse, storing some gold or silver...

And you have to PAY someone to sharpen your knives and axes, saws, scythes..You do not have one of the MOST BASIC skills that you would need in a survival situation.

 

[WETSU]

Traderdan,

Right you are. And that mindset is HUGE. Many people simply buy stuff and think they are ready. Just read through the "what have you done this week" thread. Most of it is buying stuff like food and toilet paper. One out of ten posts will be about learning a new skill or practicing a current one.

The list of things you need to know is almost unlimited and few of us can truely know everything we need to survive. Dentistry comes to mind. You can be rugged and self sufficient, but we all will need someone at somepoint. But the more you know, the less you will need to lean on others and put yourself at risk in a post SHTF world. I can't stress that enough, yet people will not heed that advice. Its easier to go to COSTCO and buy a pallet of beans and then go pack to watching survival shows on TV.

Rant off.

 

[WETSU]

The basic List:

1st aid and basic medical care to include nursing type care
Hunting, foraging and wild edibles
Basic gardening, with a couple successful seasons under your belt
Basic carpentry including tool care, using and making drawings
Basic mechanical skills including tool care
Basic electrical repairs-both household as well as small devices like radios
Land navigation
Field craft-Infanty 101 type (camo, movement, personal tactics etc)
Marksmanship and weapons handling
Wilderness survival skills-shelter building, finding/treating water, making fire, signals etc
Small team leadership
Basic finance-save, spend, barter, trade, negotiate, take inventory, asset allocation etc
Cooking and safe food prep
Field hygiene to include proper disposal of mortal remains-animal and human.
Be able to swim

Thats the short list

 

[woodsie57]

Dan- you have a good point. Being a dedicated shopper for and collector of survivaly-type thingys doesn't necessarily make you well prepared. Like owning a big pile of hunting gadgets doesn't make you an effective hunter. It's largely a mindset,IMHO

 

[teddy12b]

I laughed little when I saw the "what have you done this week" thread mentioned because it seems like that's turned into the "what new gun or ammo have you bought recently thread". I'm guilty of it myself, but as a progress along the more self reliant journey I'm trying to break myself of buying more junk and thinking I'm better off for having done it.

 

[CountryBoy19]

Right you are. And that mindset is HUGE. Many people simply buy stuff and think they are ready. Just read through the "what have you done this week" thread. Most of it is buying stuff like food and toilet paper. One out of ten posts will be about learning a new skill or practicing a current one.

To some people learning a new skill or practicing a current one is so "second-nature" that it doesn't even occur to them that it is a survival related thing... whereas it's much easier to relate "buying a new item" to being survival related... Just because people don't post it doesn't mean they aren't educating themselves...

Still a very good thread though...

 

[hrearden]

To some people learning a new skill or practicing a current one is so "second-nature" that it doesn't even occur to them that it is a survival related thing... whereas it's much easier to relate "buying a new item" to being survival related... Just because people don't post it doesn't mean they aren't educating themselves...

Still a very good thread though...

Good point. Sharpening was mentioned earlier. Thats a skill Ive had half my life now, and fire starting/tending is one Ive had longer than that. Certain things we learn build off of one another and we dont give it another thought. On that note, I agree wholeheartedly that the acquired skill is more important that the acquisition of things as Ive seen people who dont know anything about fires try to light one in their fireplace when its cold. Its comical. That being said, having things is also important. I wish I had the extra cash to pick up some extra things like food and gasoline. As good as some of my skills are, I cant conjure fuel out of a well oiled rifle.

 

[247survivalmindset]

Absolutely right! Honestly, some of the best training a guy can get is Boyscouts! You learn everything you can ever need in that situation (including how to shoot). Honestly, pick up an old scout handbook and maybe even volunteer with your local troop. You'll be amazed at what you lear. Hint: more than just survival.

 

[Zoub]

I will bet at least 95% of the people even in this forum have never made a fuzz stick. If you have made a fuzz stick then you have learned certain skills required to produce a fuzz stick but it is also likely you were being taught a better understanding of fire as well.

The very simple "only 1 match" drill leads to a deeper understanding of all things fire. I also agree with Countryboy, I am one of those people who is always practicing. For many things in daily life I apply a simple concept, conservation of resources. If you are always trying to conserve and not waste, you look for ways to improve on your current situation. So you try to improve skills, learn new techniques, try new things, ask others what they do. I think by nature Survivalists are life long students.

I am always telling my GF that while her fire skills have vastly improved, she is a long way from being the Queen of Fire. At the start of the month I pointed to a stack of wood and told her, see if you can make it last until the end of the month. I knew there was not enough there to make it with the extreme cold we have here in WI this year but she made it to today. So she learned more about controlling the burn and not just wasting BTUs. You can always practice and learn new things. Saturday while working in -6 I learned a new trick, hold strips of duct tape in front of a bullet heater and it will he tacky enough to get a good stick before it cools. You just have to work with shorter pieces and it goes slower BUT it goes and that's what counts.

 

[teddy12b]

I'll admit that I've never made a "fuzz stick" and I had to do a you tube search on it. In case anyone else here is young: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=326RtScPADM I like that and I'll have to try it out the next time I get a chance!

 

[spencer rifle]

Having taken a course from him, I'll take WETSU's challenge:

The basic List:

1st aid and basic medical care to include nursing type care
Lifeguard, FA/CPR/AED
Hunting, foraging and wild edibles
Still working on hunting, proficient with foraging and wild edibles
Basic gardening, with a couple successful seasons under your belt
Garden/can/dry/preserve for years, plus raising chickens
Basic carpentry including tool care, using and making drawings
Built and planned the kid's treehouse, basic home repairs
Basic mechanical skills including tool care
Rebuild engines and transmissions, repair other car parts
Basic electrical repairs-both household as well as small devices like radios
Repair home appliances, including electronics. Recently put a new CD drive belt into a player that was never meant to be repaired. They don't make it easy. And it isn't worth the time to repair an old crock pot after all.
Land navigation
Used this a lot during our recent backpacking trip
Field craft-Infanty 101 type (camo, movement, personal tactics etc)
Need more training
Marksmanship and weapons handling
Still learning - need more range time and training classes
Wilderness survival skills-shelter building, finding/treating water, making fire, signals etc
Refreshed much of this in WETSU's class and the backpack trip
Small team leadership
Better follower than leader, but teams need those too. Organizer of our MSG.
Basic finance-save, spend, barter, trade, negotiate, take inventory, asset allocation etc
We are all out of debt, keep a consistent budget, have all supplies inventoried, have some trade items ready
Cooking and safe food prep
My main squeeze knows all about that and is teaching me
Field hygiene to include proper disposal of mortal remains-animal and human.
Some practice, need more. Hunting success should help
Be able to swim
Good so far

Thats the short list

 

[lava dog 1/3]

If you cant sharpen a knife, you need not worry about surviving. Your best chance is to act like you are already a zombie and blend in. How do they know your acting? Holy cow!

 

[Whitsettd8]

My personal favorite is the 350lb survival guru. Might have all the gadgets guns food and ammo in the world but god help you if you have to run a mile to get there. I'm not gonna pretend to be in the best shape but I know I could put down a 7 min mile in a pinch and easily pack a 50-60lb ruck for 10 plus miles.

 

[bingley]

What's an efficient way to acquire basic mechanical skills? I seem handy, but I'm basically learning to solve problems as they arise. Each time I have to figure it out by checking the manual, looking at Youtube videos, or just plain old using my noggin. I enjoy it, but it takes time -- which is bad, because I need to work. Is there a Car Repair 101 course?

 

[teddy12b]

What's an efficient way to acquire basic mechanical skills? I seem handy, but I'm basically learning to solve problems as they arise. Each time I have to figure it out by checking the manual, looking at Youtube videos, or just plain old using my noggin. I enjoy it, but it takes time -- which is bad, because I need to work. Is there a Car Repair 101 course?

I'm the same way. There's a lot of things I can do for myself, but when it comes to cars there's some things just beyond the basics that I'm lacking. Find a local mechanic with a small shop and offer your help for free. I'm working on something similar with a guy that lives just down the road who I went to high school with. He's got his own shop and does a lot of work, and I'm going to offer to help him if/when he needs it. It's hard to turn down a free apprentice.

 

[WETSU]

Ivy Tech has a TON of classes on small engine repair, intro to auto mechanics etc. But there is no substitute for hands on, trial and error. I'm 46. I've had 30 years of wrenching on my own cars, and lawn mowers, as well as pulling toilets, and sweating joints, framing rooms, roof tear offs, demo, appliance repair, home wiring and so on. I had to learn all of it one bit at a time.

As others have said, help others. Offer a set of hands. You will learn by doing. Soak up everything. Ask questions, pay attention. Ask if you can run something. How do you replace the blade on a sawzall? Do it. Read, watch youtube videos, take notes.

Go buy a broken lawn mower, or grab one if you see it thrown out. Take it apart. Put it back together. Learn small. Fix a flat on your bike. Replace the chain. Fix a lamp. Build a birdhouse from your own drawings.

You get the idea. It won't happen overnight.

And to you parents: Do this with your kids, both boys and girls. Right now. My Dad and I would take apart things in the backyard. Shirtless. In the sun. Him with a beer and cigarette. Me with a big smile. Just broken stuff: small engines, a piece of office machinery etc. I learned about tools that way. Teach your children to hammer, saw, sand, measure, glue, staple, sew, how to wire a socket, how wire nuts work, to to sharpen everything, how to ID screws, nuts, bolts, nails and all sorts of tools. I've done this with my daughters. I called it "Tool School".

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

And to you parents: Do this with your kids, both boys and girls. Right now. My Dad and I would take apart things in the backyard. Shirtless. In the sun. Him with a beer and cigarette. Me with a big smile. Just broken stuff: small engines, a piece of office machinery etc. I learned about tools that way. Teach your children to hammer, saw, sand, measure, glue, staple, sew, how to wire a socket, how wire nuts work, to to sharpen everything, how to ID screws, nuts, bolts, nails and all sorts of tools. I've done this with my daughters. I called it "Tool School".

I agree. Both my kids are grown, but some of my best memories have been doing stuff like that with my kids. Even now there's no better day than one spent helping my son work on his house.

 

[Zoub]

What's an efficient way to acquire basic mechanical skills? I seem handy, but I'm basically learning to solve problems as they arise. Each time I have to figure it out by checking the manual, looking at Youtube videos, or just plain old using my noggin. I enjoy it, but it takes time -- which is bad, because I need to work. Is there a Car Repair 101 course?

Another option for learning is to befriend experts with smart phones. You set yours up so he can see what you are doing and you get one on one instruction. We do it in our family all the time.

Buy projects cheap on craigslist too. I went through two cheap snowblowers in 2011 before I bought a good one. Now living in the boonies, I can take care of mine just fine and that is how it has to be. You cant just drive in town and get parts, if no one carries them.

 

[indiucky]

He is gone now but I used to bug my Papaw to tell me stories about growing up in Rural Western Kentucky during the Depression...Between his stories and hands on (We made my first box trap to catch, kill, clean and then cook the rabbit when I was 10 years old) skills it was quite an education for a young man....I only wish now that....

A.) I Wish I would have asked about one million more questions while he was alive.
B.) I Wish he was still alive...


Spend time with the old Folks....There is something to be said for accumulated knowledge and I guarantee that an afternoon spent with a lucid Depression era Senior Citizen is worth $500 of so called Survival "Training" that so many put their faith in....

Plus you will make that Old Timers day......

IMHO ofcourse with no disrespect towards folks that make their living "training"....

 

[columbusprepper]

One good example would be the hunger games

If you can hunt, you can trade

small game would be good for trading, clothes, grains, bread, milk, etc