USA Certified and Approved.
Leading Supplier of Military Field Gear for Over 30 Years

Survival 101: 4 ways to survive a vehicle attack

adminJan 12, 2018Adventures,Current events,Prepper0 Comment

Carnage in Nice, France

As much as it pains me to have to be writing this, it has become apparent that a new method of terrorist murder is the use of heavy, large vehicles to carry out nefarious attacks. In a move that will undoubtedly end the old anti-gun debate to an extent, the local radical movements have discovered that they have implements of destruction more deadly and prolific than firearms at their disposal, they are now using motor vehicles to kill. In response, we who call ourselves survivalists must change our behavior in order to counter the use of vehicles as weapons against us. Though a fast moving vehicle is a weapon of true havoc, there are many things that we can do to both counter a vehicle, and to keep it from becoming a battering ram to pummel us into destruction. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

  1. Awareness, awareness, awareness… The best advice I can give you is to be aware of your surroundings. look at people, make eye contact and try to see if they have nefarious plans in mind for you. Trust me, having survived many deadly encounters over the years, anyone who wishes you harm will give you a look prior to making a move on you. This look will freeze your very blood and it is that reaction which is an indicator to you that something is awry. Trust your instincts and govern yourself accordingly.
  2. Use your terrain to your advantage. Think cover and concealment. In the event that some idiot suddenly becomes maniacal in the operation of a motor vehicle, try to get something between you and the vehicle that it cannot easily pass over or through. a fire hydrant, a tree, a large or irregular curb, etc… all of these things can be used to your advantage.
  3. Stay out of crowds. I know that this is easier said than done in many occasions; however, if you are in an overcrowded area, that is a target rich environment to an active killer. At least do yourself the courtesy of staying on the fringe of the crowd.
  4. Familiarize yourself with the effects of glass on bullets. If you are one of those people, like me, who runs around carrying firearms with you at all times, you need to know and practice how your rounds will be affected by vehicle glass. I know from experience that windshields deflect my 9mm rounds high and to the right and they virtually disintegrate my first few 5.56 mm rounds. Basically, my practice is to “punch a hole” that I can then shoot through. You need to develop your own style and methodology and then practice, practice, practice… don’t forget to do your dry fit and dry run exercises either.
Tags: , , ,

Concerning the blood bubble; 2 reasons it’s important in the bush

adminJan 12, 2018Adventures,Camping,Emergency Preparedness,Fishing,Military Surplus Blog Posts,Prepper0 Comment

I was recently on a military surplus tent adventure with the family when my youngest boy developed an urge to chop something with his new tomahawk that I had recently forged him. All was well and good until he actually got to swinging that thing wildly, and nearly slipped about two and a quarter inches of the razor sharp blade into my left leg. After going through the usual dodging and feinting routines that commonly accompany such situations, I managed to wrench the tomahawk from his sweaty little paws and get the situation under control. I realized then that I hadn’t really given him much instruction on the intricacies of using tools in a survival situation and decided that my nescience wasn’t going to be the catalyst for the little guys hurt feelings. I then gave him some very pertinent lessons on what is commonly known as “the blood bubble” in survivalist circles. As are most things in survival, the blood bubble is common sense that isn’t necessarily common knowledge. So, the blood bubble is, in a nutshell, the concept that any tool or device is dangerous to an outside party within the space of the length of the implement plus the length of the wielder’s arm. In my native tongue: “you don’t want to be where he can reach you with it”. That, in effect, is the concept of the blood bubble. Here are two reasons why this concept is especially important when you are in the woods.

  1. You’re in the woods. Even though you should always have a well supplied trauma kit with you whenever you are on a camping trip or on a military surplus tent adventure, you shouldn’t ever really want to use it. The absolute best thing you can do with your occlusive dressing, hemostatic gauze, and tourniquets is to let them quietly expire unneeded. Being out, far from a well stocked emergency room is not a recipe for success when you have a sucking chest wound.
  2. You’re more apt to make mistakes. let’s face it, survival can be tiring, and when we are tired we often slip up. Doing things with more directed cognizance will help us to not make mistakes as often as we may if we just run on auto-pilot.
Tags: , , ,

CAMPING 2017: 3 REASONS TO TAKE A FOLDING TABLE WITH YOU

adminJan 11, 2018Adventures,Camp Cooking,Camping,Emergency Preparedness,Fishing,Hunting0 Comment

If you are like me then you have already gotten a jump on the camping season this year and have gotten out into the Spring mix to get a taste of the crisp cool air and the gentle sunshine without the benefit of the noseeums and mosquitos. The fact of the matter is, at least for me, that it’s the little things that make a camping trip miserable or great. One of the things that I despise most in life is being hunched over something for any length of time. The worst for me is when filleting a thousand or so panfish; but a close second is trying to use some old log or a flat rock as a work space when I am camping and preparing game or fixing a meal. And as a matter of fact it was during a recent fling into the wilderness while I was trying to prepare venison kabobs, corn on the cob, and an apple strudel for the wife and the kids that inspiration struck. (This inspiration did not strike me in the usual way, it struck me right across the top of my head… the bald spot, where the errant, early season fly had landed, which my wife had promptly smacked with a rolled up magazine). It turns out the magazine was an old copy of Popular Mechanics™, and there was an article about fold up tables in it. (YOU CAN READ IT HERE IF YOU LIKE! 🙂 ) Here are three really good reasons to take a folding table camping with you:

  1. You don’t have to be hunched over. Most of these designs are made so that you can take full advantage of your homo-erectus status and stand erect while using them. What a treat for the back, huh?
  2. You won’t have to juggle your items to keep them clean. As I mentioned earlier, a log in the woods or an old flat rock both have a common characteristic that is problematic, namely, they are both filthy as hell.
  3. You won’t lose your knife. This might not be a problem for you, though I’d venture to guess it affects all sportsmen, but there is nothing I hate more than to be using my knife, lay it down for just a second, and then not be able to find it anywhere. With a handy dandy collapsable table in your midst, you shouldn’t have any problem at all finding it, it should be right there where you left it.
Tags: , , ,

SURVIVAL EASTER EGG HUNTING: FOUR EGGS YOU CAN HUNT FOR SUSTENANCE

adminJan 11, 2018Adventures,Camping,Emergency Preparedness,Hunting,Prepper0 Comment

Egg hunting is not an activity that is inherent to humans or that is reserved strictly for religious holidays. From a survival sense, egg hunting goes on every single day and eggs are a much celebrated staple of many of God’s creatures. Survivalists often overlook this succulent bounty as a means of much needed nutrients and protein. And the fact of the matter is that chicken eggs have become a main part of the diet of most Americans, while many other types of eggs have gone by the wayside, often because of the richness of the yolk, the strong taste, or the quantity. The chicken egg, it seems, it just the right size and shape to satisfy the American palette. This should not dissuade you however, to give up on these succulent little morsels in a survival situation. The fact is that any kind of egg can be eaten in a survival situation, )except for rotten eggs), and you should not ever pass any up if you find them. Here are four very common egg types located pretty much throughout the country.

  1. Goose eggs. Now remember, we are talking a survival situation here, so anything goes if you have to eat to live. Goose eggs are huge and they offer an excellent source of nutrition. The hardest part about obtaining goose eggs is in dealing with the goose who quite often isn’t very interested in sharing her resources.
  2. Duck eggs. Very similar in size and richness to the goose egg. They are quite strong depending on the species and unless you are half a wild-man, you will probably not really enjoy the savor of a duck egg. I prefer them boiled to scrambled or over-easy, but will slurp them down raw if necessary. A word of caution here: Duck eggs are usually not just eaten raw and forgotten about. At least it has been my experience that a raw duck egg will try to come back up for a while, so you should resign yourself to enjoying a single duck egg for several hours before the proteins decide to remain.
  3. Seagull eggs. These pesky creatures can literally be found anywhere there is water. I’ve seen them in southern Ohio! Their eggs are small so be prepared to gather a lot.
  4. Turkey eggs. These are harder to find, but I’ve found them to taste better than any other kind of wild eggs. Almost “brothy” in their essence.
Tags: , , ,

3 WAYS TO COOK WILD EGGS IN A SURVIVAL SITUATION

adminJan 11, 2018Adventures,Camp Cooking,Camping,Hunting,Prepper,Uncategorized0 Comment

As was discussed earlier, if you are not a half a wild man and if you don’t have an iron stomach, then you probably don’t want to pour a hot, raw, wild egg down into your poor unsuspecting gullet. The truth is that if you are not used to it, then it isn’t going to stay in there most likely. And the worst part is that if it is a true survival situation then it has to go right back in there regardless… because the nutrients are too precious to part with. So, in this insert I am going to go over several different ways to get these morsels cooked and eaten in a way that is conducive with good digestion for most people. I discussed earlier how to cook fish in the bush, and cooking eggs in the bush isn’t too much different. So, with that in mind, here are three different ways to easily cook your eggs in the wilderness.

    1. Fried. This is usually accomplished with the use of a flat rock that is placed, frying pan like, over or very near the fire. This is not a difficult concept, you simply heat a surface and place the eggs on it to cook to readiness. Remember that in a wilderness situation the presentation isn’t necessarily going to be pretty, but it is important that you get the protein in you anyway.
    2. Cooked in ashes. This is my favorite method because it is the easiest. Basically you are roasting the egg in it’s shell. Remember that you don’t want to burn it up so you will generally cook it in hot ashes and place a vent hole in the shell. These roasted eggs are akin to boiled eggs and are quite tasty.
    3. Boiled. The method that you will probably be most comfortable with, but which is actually the hardest to obtain in the wilderness. You need to either have a vessel that can withstand the heat of a fire to bring water to boil, or you need one that you can place hot rocks into to bring your water to a boil.
Tags: , , ,

RDDUSA PRODUCT REVIEW: 4 REASONS TO USE THE HELIO CAMPING LANTERN

adminJan 11, 2018Adventures,Current events,Prepper,Uncategorized0 Comment

If you’ve ever been on a dark camping trip then you know the misery of trying to stagger around in the night, tripping through the dew covered grass, trying to take care of natures business, fend off bears from the camp food stash, or stare precariously into the darkness in an attempt to discern a tree stump from a sasquatch. The good news is that Helio corporation has developed the perfect little camping light that is bright enough to light your entire camp up, but is small enough to take with you on any camping trip, military surplus adventure, or family outing. here are the product specifics straight from the manufacturer’s website:

“HELIO weights just 45g, even smaller and lighter than an egg. With this size and this weight, HELIO can be easily put into your backpack and you can hardly feel its weight. Due to our latest technology, the luminance of HELIO can reach 220 Lumens. It is almost the same as flashlight, and way more brighter than the normal lantern in the market. Helio dramatically improves all the features of traditional camping lanterns: a completely NEW type of lantern that can be plugged into a power bank. Due to the high quality of its LED, Helio is 30% more efficient than the normal lanterns. Moreover, it has a lifetime of 400 hours of uninterrupted light, when using a 10000mAh powerbank.”

Here are four good reasons to use a Helio lantern on your next camping trip, (though it is not yet in production).

  1. It’s rechargeable. At just a few ounces, it doesn’t even take batteries, but is recharged via usb technology. Later I will present a blog on the device that you need to keep with you as a support device for electronics such as this… a fire fueled usb charging device. Perfect for living off of the grid.
  2. It’s lightweight. This would be perfect for a backpacking endeavor or to take with you on the Appalachian Trail or some other long trek that is time consuming and remotely located.
  3. It’s going to be inexpensive. The technology isn’t complicated, it’s just well thought out.
  4. It’s LED. That means that the light could easily last for up to 400 hours. If used sparingly, this little monster could and will last you a very long time.

Tags: , , ,

THE TENGU STOVE: 2 REASONS TO HAVE A PRIMITIVE USB CHARGER IN THE BUSH

adminJan 11, 2018Adventures,Camping,Current events,Emergency Preparedness,Hunting,Prepper0 Comment

THE TENGU STOVE:

This bizarre device – ideal for campers – and named after a fantastical, legendary, Japanese devil dog – will allow you to boil water and cook while charging your device. It is called a Tengu, after the Japanese spirit which supposedly protects travelers.

It Resembles a small camping stove and has a tiny generator attached to it that transforms heat into electric power to reliably charge cell phones.

Inventor Aidar Khairullin, from Ufa, Russia is working on a new model that will allow customers to power up their laptops.

‘There is a fireproof wire attached to the metal body of a generator, made of titanium and stainless steel, that has a USB port,’ he said.

‘To charge your gadget, you need to plug it into the USB port.

‘Charging will take the same time as it would traditionally take thanks to 10W power output.

I can honestly only think of one good reason t have this technology available in the event of a total, grid failure, SHTF scenario; and that is relating to the last post that we discussed the Helio Lantern in. It would certainly be nice to be able to convert fire to battery power though, in the event that you are just involved in a normal survival situation, or even of you are in a military surplus adventure with the family. Here are two main reasons to have one of these in your kit:

  1. It will give you light in your camp. As we discussed earlier, a new product is soon to hit the market which will revolutionize backpacking and camping. A powerful, reliable light source that is as small as an egg and which will easily be recharged by the Tengu.
  2. You can use it to power your cellphone. I don’t know about you, but my iphone has taken the place of so many devices that I used to carry it isn’t even funny. I can’t imagine going on any sort of excursion without it, and this stove usb charger will keep me from having to carry extra battery packs from now on.
Tags: , , ,