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Seasonally...

That is my trapline gun, in the summer my wife's jogging gun.

I was considering one of the 22mag 4" versions for my survival
kit. but the guy @ the shot show (who was from the company)
said they could tell me if you could hit a squirrel @ 25yds.

he even went as far to say they wouldn't guarantee anything
out side of 15ft.

so I'm still looking for A 22mag for my kit :-)

I really like this one. the mini master

http://www.naaminis.com/bwmm.html
can one got one? can they hit @ 25yds ?

Talon

sorry if I hijacked the thread, but it fits for a kit gun :-)

15 ft??

That's not very good. If that's really the case, I may need to just keep looking for something else.

I personally believe in a larger one in your pack, and a basic one on your person. As mentioned, this comes in handy should you ever lose your pack either because you get dumped from a boat or just manage to have it careen down hill on you in the night and can't find it (or off a cliff). It was pounded into my head by a first aid instructor who has spent nearly 20 years as part of volunteer search and rescue and echoed by a buddy who is a USAF SERE instructor. I can't remember the items in the one she keeps on her person, but it's all contained in one of those water-proof dry boxes that's maybe 3" x 5" x 1". The buddy in the USAF SERE program also keeps a small kit about the same size but keeps it in a canvas zipper case that looks like it's meant to hold digital camera cards. He also keeps non-lubricated condoms for water storage in his, whereas the first aid instructor uses the waterproof case for hers.

Pardon my ignorance but when you guys (and everyone that writes about it) mentions vaseline on cotton balls for fire starters, do you lightly coat them or saturate them? Just curious. I thought about making some and stuffing them in a film cannister for my pack.

Elkhunter,
I thought more vaseline would be better but I was wrong. There is a balance there that you have to experiement with because the best way to light the cotton is to first tear them apart a bit and then throw the spark. With too much vaseline it doesn't tear apart well and becomes a gooy mess and doesn't seem to burn as well.
Also, there are synthetic cotton balls and they seem to burn up too fast, or melt. You want the 100% cotton balls.

I carry a large knife now instead of a shelter so I intend to make a shelter using the knife.
I carry two large construction grade plastic bags to be used as foul weather clothing or a roof lining for the shelter.
Other than that all I carry for survival is lighter/matches, metal match, cotton balls, small knife, duct tape and pain killer.

razorsharp1,

Thanks. One thing I did get was 100% cotton. I'll do as you suggest and try it with various amounts.

I'm sorry but did you say your wife needs to carry a revolver to go jogging in Montrose PA?

Here is what I found works best on the cottonballs. A good heavy coating but not saturated. Worked into the outside and basically the inside of the cottonball is dry. I just lit a couple in my woodstove with a match and they burn very well.

I made a small kit from a 35mm film canister. I have stuffed it full of small cotton ball, 1" lengths of paper straws filled with petroleum jelly and Bacitracin. Small wooden matches, slivers of rubber tire, aspirin ,Ibuprofen,single edge razor blade,small fish hook , band aids ,and anything else I can think of at the time to fill it. The outside -I wrap a few feet of duct tape and then I wrap spider-wire fish line. I used it once in the Adirondacks hiking. A young boy got stung by a bee and I happen to have an allergy pill with me. ----Very small, but handy to have. Web

I carry a SPOT messaging system, small combat survival kit in a tin similar to the refreshing mints container. Also I carry a suture and a wire saw to make a crutch. Lastly I carry Nitro for unexpected cardiac problems.

I live 13 miles from Montrose, all dirt roads, few people tie their large dogs and some that do the chains break when they get excited enough to chase something. A large rottweiler broke its chain, charged us, I was able to hold it at bay and it I, with my feet until a minivan came down the road to push the dog away and we walked on the far side of the van until a safe distance. Can you imagine if I wasn't with her, she said she would have ran, exciting it even more. On the return trip I carried a portion of a dead hardwood branch. It started to charge and so did I screaming, it retreated. Most dogs only want to chase something that is willing to run away.

Ah , I see said the blind man !

How long have you had the Spot and how do you like it? I hunt alone a lot and this is what a friend from TX termed as "big country". If you get in a bind you are along way from any help. Cell phones don't work in a lot of places. I always leave a map of the area I am hunting with my wife. I hate to carry another piece of equipment but it might provide my wife with a bit of peace of mind.

Greetings, I don't know much about hunting (I'm still learning), but have camped/backpacked allot. I carry a Ritter survival kit in my shirt pocket and a more advanced kit in my pack. I try to have the "non-survival" stuff that I normally carry, be able to augment my "survival supplies" should the need arise. For example, I normally carry a synthetic filled sleeping bag(s)in a water proof compression sack, and at least a tarp. I will only use a down bag in extreme cold conditions, when I can pretty much guarantee it will stay dry. As posted on another thread, there are conditions in which, with the stuff you carry, you can get a fire going, but fuel wood could be hard to come by. I want a bag that I can crawl into, soaking wet, and have enough loft to keep me warm. Maybe the best you can do(sick/injured/hypothermic) is to climb into your bag, bivi and maybe rig your tarp, and with out a fire, have it sustain you.
I carry pretty much what everyone else said. I build my kits based on the "Rule of 3's"; 3 hrs in an exposed environment without shelter and/or fire, 3 days without water, 3 weeks without food. Or divided them up by category; Fire, Shelter, water, food, signaling, and first aid.
I'd rather not spend the time and calories to have to build a shelter, when with a lite tarp and some string/zip ties, it goes up much quicker.
Re Vaseline impregnated cotton balls, squish some Vaseline into the cotton saturating it thoroughly, and squeeze out the excess.
Regards, Jim
PS, What about choosing the clothes you hunt in as your first layer of shelter?

Thank you for the input and welcome to the world of hunting. We can alway use new enthusiasts! BTW I have been hunting for 41 years and I am still learning too! I typically hunt out of a day pack and carry enough to be out for a couple of days if need be. I catch a lot of grief from my friendsfor what I carry which is probably more than I need too!

My survival kit is in my pack. As Royce pointed out, the two deadliest threats are hypothermia first and hyperthermia, which includes dehydration, second.
I live on the slopes of the Sierra Nevada Mtn. Range in California. I hike, and hunt in the high country the year around. I also spend weeks and even months in places like the low desert where it rains about 3.5 inches a year and sees temperatures in the 100's everyday for five months a year, or places like Montana's elk and deer ranges where the temperatures might run from a low of 15-20 below zero to a high of the teens during the day.
I don't carry a separate survival kit. I carry a folding knife like my 3.9 inch Benchmark, a Swiss Utility Key, and usually a small photon light, but not much else on me.
My survival gear rides in a pack. I simply follow the hard rule that I don't go out of sight of it for any reason. I run into people every year that have survival problems facing them. Lost, wet, cold, hungry, etc. and no means to deal with them.
They could have avoided these by following a few simple rules.
Always know where you are and which way you need, and can to go.
Have the means to stay dry and the means to stay reasonably warm. Have the means to keep yourself hydrated and fed. Don't allow yourself to go out there for so long as to deplete your supplies. Make sure you make it back to camp with some extra food and water.
Test your overnight equipment. Spend a night out there with just your survival gear. That, better than anything else, will teach you what works and what doesn't. The two biggest mistakes I see is that people carry too much, or not enough.
For pure survival gear, I like a basic poncho that will double as a tarp. Can be used as a bivy sack or a lean to. I like tear open chemical hand warmers better than I like matches or a lighter. You can't always find wood, or you may be too injuried to do so. Yes, I do carry matches and a lighter. I use TP for tinder, BTW. If I want something better for tinder, those little fuel pellets work fine.
I always carry a small piece of 5/16th's inch ensolite foam padding. At least big enough to sit on. Sees double duty as something to sit on while glassing as well as something I can sleep on.
I always take extra clothing in case it gets cold. Getting chilled can kill you faster than anything. Even on hot summer days, I carry warm gloves and a hat as well as some sort of warm top.
I never go any where w/o at least one trekking pole. Again, does double duty if you injure yourself. An ACE bandage is another simple, but very helpful item for broken legs, etc.
Space blankets have bum wrap for keeping people warm. Try them with those tear open chemical hand warmers. I also use them for laying out meat from my kill.
I always carry a compass and a map. Learn how to get by w/o one, day or night. Learn how to find the north star at night and to use the sun during the day to determmine directions.
Last of all, pay attention to what is going on around you and what your body is telling you. Hyper/Hypothermia has a nasty way of creeping up on the unsuspecting and getting one in real trouble, especially when they insist on toughing it out. E

When going out I have a little stuff sack full of ER things.

UL summer day pack sack.



Some daypack gear for warmer months.



Some more photos of daypack UL Survival gear.





packable base layer.



E&E survival daypack/micro BOB.



[img]http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n220/Daytraderwon/100_6685.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n220/Daytraderwon/100_6679.jpg[/img]

Small Naglene handcasting/ER kit inside the E&E.

[img]http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n220/Daytraderwon/100_6677.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n220/Daytraderwon/100_6667.jpg[/img]

One of my little ER kit guns.

[img]http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n220/Daytraderwon/100_6109.jpg[/img]

Little gear bag I often carry in the field.

[img]http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n220/Daytraderwon/100_5483.jpg[/img]

Golite poncho in a larger stuff sack. I pack this all the time. Acts as ER rain gear/shelter.

[img]http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n220/Daytraderwon/100_5831.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n220/Daytraderwon/100_5800.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n220/Daytraderwon/100_5780.jpg[/img]

Heck I can even collect rain water with it.

[img]http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n220/Daytraderwon/100_5828.jpg[/img]

But despite all this junk there is a good chance they will find me belly up one winter in the woods.....

Can we get copies of your lists?