Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Surviving a cold wet night

If they'd stop blurring parts of the female member, and get some better talent, it might be worth watching.

I've seen that a couple times. There was one episode where the talent was not to bad .. but man I would have hated being with that person for 20 days or so.

Wondering if anyone else "made" up some petroleum soaked cotton balls for this fall?

I got my local "baggie" of soaked cotton balls which I actually prefer over my "straws". Of coarse the straws take up less room and not nearly the mess. But.

I have them available year-round. We almost never have to worry about heat stroke.

Mineral oil soaks the cotton balls or cosmetic squares just as well, is easier to get them wet, and burn just as well.

Up

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

I was thinking of a kit, as big or as small as you would like, in a stuff sack that lives in your pack, that if you were sick or injured or in some way constrained, might provide some insurance in a marginal situation.

My version: a can or two of Sterno (also fits your favorite alcohol burner), Vargo Hexagon wood stove, 1qt. cup with cover, or canteen cup with cover, water, your favorite make water taste good, want to drink, provides heat, calories motivational additive (coffee, tea, instant soup, hot coco with marshmallows, etc.), favorite bars, from Metrex to Snickers, (2) heat sheets ((1) as a "tarp", (1) to wrap up in), a candle, a bit of foam pad to insulate my butt from the ground (maybe your pack pad?) and several chemical hand warmers (I carry 12: back of neck(1), arm pits(2), kidney region(2) and groin(1)).

If I'm mobile, theres lots I can do to improve my situation. If I have my pack, better. I carry, on my person, multiple ways to start a fire, and I carry tinder. In my pack, I keep a fire kit, and tools to render burnable wood, but I don't carry fuel wood. If I'm constrained to one place, I have available what's in arms reach, and perhaps, what's in my pack, and my pocket/belt litter.

It provides; shelter heat, hydration, calories, instant fire, and a handy wind screen,that burns twigs, and that protects your incipient fire lay, from wind/precipitation.

In addition to what you may or may not be carrying, to help you get through a cold wet night.

Respectfully submitted.

Regards, Jim

Hey, that's the back of my head.

Tag

So where's the video that was supposed to show how easy it is to start a fire with one shell left for your gun? Cricketts....

Send him a PM, I'd like to see the video too. Sounds cool.

Nate,

Couldn't get it to work in the garage.

I'd really like to see how you do it. So far the only time I've heard of guys trying it, it didn't work so wanted to see your technique.

Pull the bullet, pour into a spent case, turn the case with powder face up so the powder is facing the barrel. Surround with kindling, point the barrel a few inches from the case mouth. fire the empty case with the good primer in the chamber. The spark from the primer ignites the powder, the flame ignites the kindling.

The trick is to keep the air blast from the primer ignition from blowing the powder away before you can get a spark to it.
And also to have enough powder to ignite, but not to explode.

We did it a few times in Alaska with handguns. I've tried the rifle a few times, but can't get the rifle powder to stay still when I've spilled it out due to the air blast.

None of the “special methods” should be relied upon if you haven’t tried and practiced them adequately beforehand. The best use for gunpowder in fire kindling that I have tried is a heat source from friction to ignite the powder. A shoelace, bow and stick has always worked and done so under some rather nasty windy, wet conditions on several occasions. I have tried rifle firing methods to no avail. I do know that flake powders generally work better for flame-making. The extruded powders sometimes sputter a bit too much to ignite things as easily. Ideal tinder to catch the flame becomes more critical when the powder is less ideal.

Magnesium bar methods are very reliable but they do have a significant learning curve in order to be reliable. I really like them when conditions are wet however. Also, not all magnesium bars are ideal. Coghlans had very good magnesium years ago, but more recently, they seem to be ‘coarser’ in grain structure and do not peel shavings as well.

Tag. I have an extensive one, will post contents later.

I'm looking forward to it.

One can never learn enough new tricks...

Yup. I remember that head too. I vaguely remember posting on this thread, they didn't believe that you actually carried your spotting scope up the mountain. LOL

I'd buy one, this is a sweet set up.