This is Travis O. Dean, the author of the 'Overthrown The Death of America' series. In those books I tried to present ideas of how people can prep with little or nothing to start with
Prepping With Little Or Nothing To Start With
This is Travis O. Dean, the author of the "Overthrown The Death of America" series. In those books I tried to present ideas of how
people can prep with little or nothing to start with. Just because you have little or even nothing doesn't mean that all hope is lost. There are many things you can do right now to improve your chances in a survival situation. First of all the best survival tool you can have is
knowledge. It weighs nothing, doesn't wear out, can not be lost nor taken from you. Let us start with one of the more important things you may need to know.
Navigation.
There are firms out there that want to sell you the latest and greatest G.P.S. system ever made, for a price. But how did our forefathers
and foremothers do it when there was no G.P.S.? There is a simple rule to remember.
If the sun, or moon, comes up on your right hand and goes down on your left, you are facing north.
Not too hard to remember, is it? Once you know which way is which you can do as those who came before us did. If north is in front of you and you want to go southeast, the sun or moon needs to be on your left hand in the morning and the right hand in the afternoon. Once it is there, turn about forty-five degrees to your left and you are pointed southeast. Similar adjustments can be made for every direction on the compass. This
simple rule has just made you a valuable part of any group that you may be with in a survival situation. At least you know where you aregoing. If you know the road you are looking for is in any direction, you can now find it. True, it will not deliver you to your location with pin point accuracy, but it will get you close. And remember a compass can be lost, stolen or broken. But now, that knowledge is in your head, it doesn't weigh a thing and you are now better prepared.
It is also a good thing to remember that any device that contacts a cell tower or even a satellite can be traced back to you with the rightequipment. Your knowledge is untraceable.
Fire
I have long said that if you are in a survival situation and you have fire, you have just about everything needed to survive. When you have fire, you can cook, have light, sterilize surgical instruments, frighten off predators, and even use the heat to harden the point of a make shift spear or arrows, to improve their lethality. The first thing that most people think of is disposable lighters and matches. These things have their drawbacks. They are both fine things to have, but sooner or later that lighter is going to run out of fuel. The matches will be either used up or could become wet and that makes them useless, unless they are the water proof kind. But even if they are water proof, one day you will use the last one. What then? True you could rub two sticks together and possibly start a fire. And if you've never tried it, believe me it doesn't happen as fast as it does in the movies. If it happens at all. So what to do? If you choose to carry a lighter, make it the old style flint and steel lighter, like the Zippo. While only a very small spark will be produced by spinning the wheel backwards, causing the spark to come out of the lighter away from the wick, it still produces a spark that can be used to start a fire. I personally have about a dozen of them and paid less than $6 for all of them. How? I get them from garage sales for about .50 each. I got one for only a quarter. However in my opinion a much better idea is available. Carry a small magnifying glass. That glass doesn't run out of fuel, if it gets wet, you just wipe it off. The only drawback to it is the need for sunlight. So why not carry one to use during good weather and save the lighters and matches for periods of darkness or cloudy days? Again, it is light weight, easy to carry, easy to use and rather inexpensive. I carry a device in my pistol belt every hunting season. It was given to me by my nephew years ago for Christmas. It is a combination of a whistle, a compass, and a magnifying glass. I think he got it from the Boy Scout store. It is about the size of a disposable lighter and with this one item I have the ability to start fires, find my way and signal for help if needed. Another water proof idea is the old fashioned flint and steel. It does take practice and a bit of time, but it works and can't be ruined by water.
Food
Yes, of course there are many people who are going to tell you that they are simply going to hunt for their meat. That's all fine and good, but remember there are going to be a lot of other people doing the exact same thing. Game animals are skittish by nature. That's what keeps them alive. Think of the rabbit. The creature has no offensive abilities at all and it's only means of defense are speed, the ability to hide and alertness. Have you ever tried to sneak up on a rabbit? It can't be done. He is far too alert at all times because he knows if he misses one change in his environment he is likely to become a hot meal for something bigger and meaner than he is. Now with so many people out in the woods doing the same thing, at the same time, these animals are going to be on ultra high alert. Taking game is going to be a problem. What if I told you there is a way to get meat with little to no effort, and the food delivers it's self? The answer is rat traps. Either nail of screw a rat trap to the side of a tree, bait and set it and walk away. Squirrels are plentiful, curious and tasty. They will go for the bait and get caught in the trap. You come by later to collect them, clean them and make a tasty stew.
Of course let us not leave out the fishermen and women it this matter of food collection. Now if things are really bad and you don't want to spend hours on a dock or riverbank where you can be easily spotted, there is a way to get quite a number of fish in a short period of time. It is called a cast net. I know that in many places these are illegal for sport fishing, unless you are catching bait fish. But we aren't talking about normal times. We are talking about staying alive in hard times. Cast nets aren't that expensive and if you are skilled enough you can even make your own. How do you think people in the third world get their nets? Gather up anything that a fish might like to eat. Or for that matter anything that would look edible to a fish, and throw a handful into the water. Wait for a second or three and then throw the net. If you don't get enough fish the first time, repeat the process. You are not likely to pull in a trophy bass, but a bunch of brim are just as good. The time spent on the dock or riverbank is minimal and the amount of fish collected is likely to be more than enough for today and maybe even tomorrow.
I will be returning with a few more ideas on survival that are not expensive and easy to master. In the mean time, I do not have all the knowledge in the world and anyone who might have a tip or two to share please contact me at;
todpublishing@yahoo.com
Full consideration will be given to all tips. However I'm not here to teach people how to become a combat soldier. That's for those who are drill sergeants and such. I'm here just to do what I can to help out getting through the hard times ahead until The Lord returns to set things right.
Jul 26, 2019

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