Turning off and Tuning in

This weekend was a lot of fun! I got to do something that I haven't done since I was 13. I got to walk through the woods alone to hunt! There is something very soothing to me about being in the wilderness, being as quiet as possible, and looking for animal sign. I don't know what it is but it allows me to turn off all of my thoughts and tune into my senses and do what humans are built for. HUNTING! What also made it exciting was that there were tons of animal sign. I was on the hunt for wild hog and I saw a whole lot of this:

There were hog tracks every where, and they were fresh too! I managed to walk some of the property Friday evening and when I returned Sunday morning I found a whole lot of new sign which just makes me want to spend more time in the woods. The only down side was that instead of sitting still, I walked, and on my way back to the truck I could see all kinds of piglet tracks inside of the boot print that I had made just a few hours earlier. Since it was sprinkling a bit and the ground was soft it was very easy to see new tracks over ones a few hours old.

This trip also got me to thinking. How many folks out there have ever tried to track an animal? Outside of the hunters I'd imagine very few. I mean, why would you? Follow the GPS to the grocery store in today's society and there is all the food you need. Why track it on the hoof? What if the grocery store wasn't there and you had to track a critter so you could eat? How would you be able to tell old tracks from new ones? Lets talk about why I was so excited by the pic above and what it tells us as trackers.

Well, first of all this track is very fresh. Notice how the dirt at the top of the hoof print appears freshly turned up. The dirt has not had time to settle back to the ground. There is a lot of air space in the soil. Also notice how there is still water in the bottom of the track. This also tells me that it is fresh sign. Think about what happens when you walk across wet ground. The second you pick your foot up, the water that was pressed from the soil under the pressure of your weight will pool in the lowest part of the print. Notice above that some of this water is still left in this track. It hasn't had time to soak back into the soil. The track also tells me that, most likely, the animal was in a bit of a hurry. The hoof prints are very close together which indicates a faster gait, and it even appears that the top track, ever so slightly, drug the top of the soil before the animal planted to continue the gallop. I probably only missed this animal by 20 to 30 minutes. This irritated me because I got into the woods about an hour later than I wanted. That's ok though. Now I know what time this little piggy gets up for breakfast and I'll be waiting on him this weekend.

As a type of homework assignment, I'd like for everyone to try to get outside and see if you could track an animal. It doesn't matter if it's your dog, just give it a shot. Try to get some place quiet where you can look and listen with no distractions. I think you'll be surprised at what you might know. We as humans are predators by nature. Whether you like it or not, we know how to hunt and survive some where in that primal area of our brain. The problem is that many of us never use that area so we think it doesn't exist. The goal here is not to learn to survive like animals but to learn to stand up and survive like humans! 

So I made a purchase that I have seen other survival sites talk about and I have to tell you these are AWESOME! I went and purchased a Gamma Seal bucket lid to seal up some of my food preps before storing them in the basement. These seals are air and water tight so you can even bury them if you want to go that route. I'm not much on the squirrel storage method but its more about what you like to do. Anyway, after giving one a shot I have decided to start using them for all sorts of storage in the basement. The lid enables the buckets to still be stacked so its a pretty effiecent storage system for whatever you can fit in the bucket. My wife even noticed how rigid the lids were and noted that they would be great for storing decorations and craft supplies in. I posted a link so you can check them out for your self. Gamma Seal Lids - 12pk. - Emergency Supplies (Google Affiliate Ad)

An Informative Clip

I just wanted to post a video that I thought would be very informative to people who are just starting up like myself. This is a youtube clip from the owner of  Survivalist Boards which is a great resource that I use to give me ideas and look over product reviews. Head over and sign up today!

An Overlooked Routine

So I was cleaning up after work and as I did so I performed an important routine. This is something that I have never seen on any other survival sites so I decided that I would write about it on my blog. So what is this magical routine that I am about to share? It’s a prep that can be purchased for under $10 at any drug store and will save you a lot of money in the long run! It is applying mink oil to your boots. Every day I have to slog into mud holes and then back out again. It’s my job, and on a bad day it’s a giant puddle of sewage ankle deep. Over time this will destroy a pair of leather boots. As leather gets wet and dries, or is exposed to the sun, it loses its flexibility. Stiff leather cracks and breaks destroying your boots. Just think about how your skin feels after a week at the beach with no sunscreen! The obvious upside to applying mink oil to a pair of boots is the cost savings. If a pair of boots lasts twice as long with mink oil than without it means you save money which is great; now for some more serious thoughts.

In a survival situation your ability to survive completely depends on your ability to move. Stop and think about it for a second. If you are unable to run, jump, and climb you are screwed unless you’re Cody Lundin (For those who don’t know Cody Lundin is an aboriginal survival expert who hasn’t worn shoes in over 20 years!). Taking care of your feet is priority number one. Even the military reinforces this idea to the troops in the field. So what’s the best way to take care of your feet? Take care of your shoes. Besides, if we ever have a real SHTF scenario you’re going to have to take care of those boots!

Here’s what I use:

Simply wipe off the dirt and grime and apply a liberal amount of mink oil and that’s it! I know this post may seem like a very simple concept but I have yet to see a post on how important boot maintenance really is. Just remember, it is hard to stand up and survive with no shoes on!   

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EDC: What I Carry

Today I wanted to show you guys what I carry around with me on a daily basis. While thoughts on EDC (Every Day Carry) vary greatly this is what I keep with me and it changes continuously.

First things first, what is an EDC? An EDC is a small bag of items that will get you through a day or so in a pinch. I like to think of it as an oh s#$! bag. This bag isn’t designed to sustain you over a long period of time. This is an item that you would want if your car broke down in the middle of nowhere and you had to walk out or stay on the side of the road for the night and then walk out. It is a valuable tool to have in the event of a terrorist attack or if an unforeseen disaster occurs. Take for example the blackout that occurred in New York a few years ago. Thousands of people had to walk out of the City because there was no power. This is a bag that is tailor fit to each individuals needs. The urbanite EDC is going to be vastly different than the EDC that someone who lived in the Canadian Rockies would have. There is no set rule to this, so throw in what makes you happy and makes you feel secure.

Now, a little about what’s I carry in my EDC. My EDC is pretty minimal and is designed more for if I get stuck in an outdoor emergency but still has some day-today functionality. I also keep a firearm on either my person or in my EDC at all times. Luckily for me Georgia has some of the most liberal carry laws in the country so a firearm is a luxury I get to carry around almost all the time.  So here is my EDC bag:

As you can see its not very big and contains minimal gear. In this I keep a first aid kit, para-cord, compass, water purification tablets, small metal water bottle, fishing gear, signal mirror, whistle, a few ways to start fire, some dry tinder, a head lamp, and you can see the SOG Seal Pup strapped to the outside of the pack. Because I spent my childhood building forts and small huts in the woods, this is more than enough to get me by for a few days. Someone who lived in a downtown area might not carry any of these items, but since I will most likely be in a wilderness area when I need mine this is what I carry.  

Here is the firearm that I carry in my EDC. Most people would frown on a revolver but they always go boom when you pull the trigger. Reliability is what you want when you load your EDC so every item in it needs to be fool proof. This is a Smith & Wesson .38 Airlight Revolver. It is light, very loud, and comfortable to carry. Here is my firearm:

I hope this gives some folks some ideas. What do you carry in your EDC bag?

Its Time to Fill the Freezer!

So for the first time since I was about 13 years old I will have a regular place to hunt! This is a pretty big deal, to me anyway, because now I have a way to fill my freezer with good lean meat. Deer season starts around the middle of September here in Georgia and runs until January, so I know what I’m going to be doing for the next few months. The really cool part is that the property where I am going has plenty of wild hog. Like many states Georgia is rapidly developing a wild hog problem. With a short gestation period and the ability to have multiple litters in a year, wild hog can multiply faster than they can be killed. This is bad for farmers, but great for people who like to eat wild pork. Luckily I am the latter!

Going hunting will also give me a chance to review some of the gear I plan on using. I purchased a Bushnell Back Track today that I plan to use so that I don’t get lost in the Georgia woods. It seems to be a nifty little device. It will store 3 waypoints and navigate its user from point A to B to C. I like this idea since it is very simple. I believe that simple is better when picking gear that is intended to keep its user’s ass out of a sling. The last thing I need is a $500 GPS that requires a PhD to operate and gets me lost. I’m going to carry a good old fashion compass with me as well. Electronic equipment is great but circuits and water don’t mix, batteries die, and cloud cover makes GPS use tricky. So a backup plan is a must. Well… That’s about it for today. See you guys later!   

So What Makes This Blog Different???

So I have been debating how hard to promote this blog in my mind and I finally got smart and just asked my wife. While no husband will ever admit what I’m about to say, I should have asked for her input a long time ago. So, I asked her what she thought of me promoting a preparedness blog, and her reply brought my thought process to a grinding halt. She asked me two questions: “Aren’t there other survivalist/prepper blogs?” and “What makes yours different?” The first answer was easy, “Well, yeah. There are lots of prepper blogs.” The second answer left me speechless. For anyone who knows me, they know that Corey and speechless never collide in the same sentence. So I figure that the best way to answer this question is to get it out in the open and kick it around a little. So, what makes this blog different?

This blog is different because it follows my day-to-day challenges in trying to prepare myself and my family for tough times. The challenges I refer to are not just do I have enough beans, bullets, and band aids. Anyone can accumulate stuff. The biggest challenge to preparing for tough times is battling complacency and pushing yourself to do what’s best for you and your family. Here are a few examples of what runs through my mind everyday:

·         Am I maintaining a healthy lifestyle and a good solid physical condition?

·         Am I keeping up on current events so that I can look for signs of a down turn in society?

·         Am I making sure that I am developing skills like marksmanship, improvised water treatment, and food procurement and preservation?

·         Am I saving enough money and keeping my debt in check?

So I guess what REALLY makes this blog different is that this is a form of preppers therapy for me. I am not here to tell everyone exactly what they should do. That would be impossible since every situation is different, plus there are tons of books written on the subject. This blog is for me to share what I do and my thoughts on matters. It is a place for an exchange of ideas and a source of accountability for me. Because let’s face it. If I’m not doing anything then I have no blog content. So, there it is. That’s what makes my blog different. Thanks Cheryl for getting me thinking. I love you!  

A Little Follow Up

Let's Go Shopping

In today’s post I want to do a little shopping. Unfortunately we’re not shopping for anything luxurious, just food. Well, I suppose food is a luxury if you are without but let’s hope things never get that bad. I wanted to give you guys an idea of how I increase my food stores and what I like to buy to put away.

First of all, don’t go out and drop $3000 on a year’s worth of freeze dried food. If you have the money to do so that’s fine but I like the “eating an elephant” approach. When faced with a big task I’ve been told that you eat an elephant one bite at a time. The basic idea here is that with enough small steps I can finish any huge task. Well, I approach stocking up on food the same way. Every week when we go to either Costco or Kroger I grab a few extra items here and there that probably never total more than $40 and that is what I put away. Now, let’s talk about what I buy. My main staples are rice, dried beans, and canned meats and veggies. These items have a very long shelf life and take very little in the way of preparation. A pot, a spoon, and an open flame and I’m a cooking fool! These items are also relatively cheap and they provide the most bang for your buck in regards to nutrition. Beans are a great source of protein and fiber while rice provides carbohydrates and is very filling. Meat is more or less a luxury but it adds some substance to the meal plus I’m a big meat guy. I’ve always said that if the good Lord had not intended on us eating animals he wouldn’t have made them out of meat! I also buy things like biscquick because by just adding water you can make bread. I also buy cans of evaporated milk and powdered milk. I have yet to venture into freeze dried foods mostly due to the cost.

Now that we’ve covered what I buy when I’m shopping lets cover some of the why I buy extra. The grocery stores in any given area only have 3 days worth of food on the shelf. It appears as though there is an endless supply because trucks bring food to the stores and people keep the shelves stocked. This creates the appearance of an endless supply. This is not true. Here in the south if someone says a chance of snow a horde of people immediately buy up all the bread and milk. It’s amazing! Think back to any instance where people knew bad weather was inbound and remember how people panic and empty shelves. This also happens when a hurricane is about to make land fall. The reason people do this is that they know that resupply will be unavailable once the storm has struck. Now, let’s think about what would happen if trucks stopped rolling for a week or two. Would you have enough food to keep your family fed? Shipping is contingent on a lot of factors like fuel, ability to navigate roads, and availability of drivers. If any one of these criteria isn’t met the food doesn’t get shipped. Now let’s look at one last problem. So there has been no food on the shelves for a week and a truck rolls into town. Do you think that people are going to be polite and orderly when distributing that precious cargo? I doubt it. If you don't believe me look at how people acted after hurricane Katrina. Personally if my son had not eaten for a couple of days and I had to fight for his food I’d cut a path of death and destruction a mile wide to feed him. Well, if you have plenty of food stocked you can ride out these types of shortages, plus you won’t have to risk life and limb to get more once it starts to show up again. Our own government encourages households to prepare for such events. Take a look: http://www.fema.gov/plan-prepare-mitigate

I hope this post has got you to thinking about your own situation. The goal of this post in not to scare folks, but to get them to answer the “what if” questions and get them thinking. Remember that the only person who is going to look out for you and your family is you. We have to be able to stand and survive on our own.

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I have set up Facebook and Twitter accounts today for the blog. The facebook an twitter pages are both under Stand Up and Survive. So go friend me or follow me!

Lazy Sunday

So I dragged myself out for another run today. I used my Zombies, Run! app once again. I do love having something to occupy my mind while I run. If I don't have something to keep my mind entertained I start to wonder why am I running? Here's a youtube video from the app creator. Check it out!

It looks to be a pretty lazy day around my house as I recover. We took our boy to an indoor play area after my run this morning. It had an indoor play ground with some inflateables for kids to play on. He had a blast. After a 3 mile run and chasing him around for an hour I feel like I have bricks tied to my legs. All in all a great day!

ZOMBIES!!!

So the road trip to Alabama went off without a hitch. It was good to get out and see some distant family and the drive was pretty scenic as well. When we got home I down loaded a new app on the iphone called Zombies, Run! I read about it on wired.com and decided to give it a shot.

The Zombies, Run! App is basically an interactive running app that monitors the time and distance you ran while it adds a story line to the music playlist you listen to as you run. The app also awards you bonuses that are applicable to a role playing game that comes with the app. I like games like this where you have to collect items to proceed in the game. Now for the really cool part! The game comes with “missions” that unfold while you run. I assume they get harder as levels progress. At one point during the first mission a computerized voice chimes in with, “Zombies approaching.” This was followed by a beep… beep… beep… I continued to run and the voice says, “Zombies 50 meters and closing.” The frequency of the beeping increases, so I run a little faster. The voice comes back with, “Zombies 20 meters and closing!” The whole time the beeping frequency is increasing so I open it up and break into a dead sprint. As I speed up the beeping frequency begins to decrease. Just to see how accurate this thing is I slowed down. Just as soon as I slowed the beeping sped up once again. Realizing that this thing was no joke, I broke into a dead sprint until the voice came back with, “Mob evaded.” At this point I was hooked!

Just so you know. I’m not built for running. I’m built for moving heavy objects and am not a huge fan of running but do it because it keeps the pounds at bay. I also have to have a reason to run. I need to either be training for a race or engaged in some type of weight loss competition. But now… I can run because I have zombies chasing me. This is pretend of course but having the ability to escape and evade is very useful if needed. The app has a feature that allows me to upload my runs to facebook so check those out at my facebook page Stand Up and Survive. Well… That’s it for today. I’ll see you guys on the flip side.    

Road Tripping with the Family

So this weekend we are packing up the SUV and heading over to Alabama for a family reunion. Spare the inbred, redneck jokes as I’ve heard most of them. As with any road trip I like to try to keep myself prepared for any possibility that may arise and I thought I would share some of the things I take with me on a trip like this.

First and foremost I always make sure that I have plenty of water. There is a cool little compartment in the back of our Honda Pilot that I keep stocked with about 12 bottles of water. These serve multiple purposes. Obviously drinking water is the first potential use but in a pinch I can also add to the radiator if I need to if the vehicle starts to run hot. It is also handy to have bottled water for skinned knees and other assorted boo boos that might need to be cleaned prior to first aid. Remember I have a toddler and that little booger gets into everything so water for cleaning, washing, and drinking is very important. I also keep a tool bag in my vehicle for any mechanical problems I may have. Typically in the bag I keep 2 adjustable wrenches, 2 different size pairs of channel locks, a screw driver kit with interchangeable bits, electrical tape, duct tape, wire strippers, a socket set with metric and SAE sockets, hose clamps, tire plug kit, and a electrical connection kit that has various electrical connectors. This allows me to make just about any quick fix that I may come across. I also keep a can of fix-a-flat, quart of oil, and jumper cables in the vehicle at all times. These items will help keep me on the road and mobile in a minor emergency, but what happens if I have to leave the vehicle? Glad you asked! I keep a backpack full of nifty little items for just such an occasion. Oh! Before I go over what I keep in the backpack, I want to stress the importance of having a stroller in your vehicle always when traveling with kids. If you have to hoof it to a gas station you’ll be glad you can push your rug rat instead of having to carry them for miles. Carrying an ill toddler sucks, plus most strollers have a compartment to carry a bag or two so now your backpack can be stowed. Ok, back to the backpack. In my pack I keep items that I would need in the event where I’m in the middle of nowhere and I might have to start walking and may or may not get to civilization before dark. I decided this would be a good Idea when my wife and I went to Montana and I now carry this pack on all road trips. So, contents, I keep an emergency tube tent with rope, a metal water container, a SOG knife, 2 different compasses, 3 different ways to start fire, a first aid kit, water purification tablets, maps of the area I’ll be in, a head lamp, a flashlight, a hand crank weather radio with light, a fleece pull over, a sling shot with replacement band, and a SOG tactical tomahawk. With these contents I can make a shelter, get food and water, and make life much more bearable for my family if I need to. Last but not least, I always carry a firearm with me as well. I will usually take a pistol that accepts magazines and 2 full mags of ammo with an appropriate holster on a road trip. The last thing you want is to be robbed, carjacked, or worse and left on the side of the road. Well this about sums up my road trip preparations. Hopefully the trip goes just the way I like it… uneventful!       

Active Shooter Scenario: What You Can Do to Increase Your Odds of Survival

So, unless you have been living under a rock you have no doubt heard about the Aurora, Colorado shooting. A nut job by the name of James Holmes entered a dark theater with an AR-15, a tactical shotgun, and a pair of Glock pistols. Let me lead off by saying that this is terrible and that I hope that Holmes burns in hell for eternity for his actions. Now that I have gotten the rant out of my system, we need to see what we can learn from this event to keep ourselves safe if we are ever in a similar situation. I believe that learning from these situations is a way to honor the victim of the event. If we can learn from their loss and help keep ourselves same then they have not died for nothing.

Let’s start by looking at the setting of the shooting. Holmes chose a movie theater 30 minutes into a movie. This was not random or accidental. If he was looking for a way to do maximum damage he picked the right place. Holmes chose a dark room full of people who were in close proximity to one another, who were focused on a movie, and had limited entrances/exits. To further muddy the water he tossed in a couple of smoke grenades to create further distraction. So far, given the situation, the people in the theater are screwed. There wasn’t a whole lot the majority of the crowd could do other than hope that he missed them. Now, let’s look at what we could do to better our odds

First of all I always assume that something like this is going to happen when I am in a crowded area. It isn’t pleasant but if you assume the worst possible outcome of any given situation then it will never take you by surprise. We live in a world of individuals who are one missed medication from going nuts and killing people. We also live in a world of terrorists who want to do us harm. Terrorist always shoot for large public events with lots of people. It’s a shock and awe thing, much like 9-11. So the number one way we prepare for things like this is with mental preparation. When you’re in an area are you scanning for the nearest exit? Are you scanning the room looking for the person who looks nervous, out of place, and anxious? The Secret Service does this very exercise when the president has speaking rallies. If everyone is cheering and happy but there is one person in the crowd who appears to be very serious and focused directly on the president you can bet they are going to be moving in for a better look-see. So back to our dark theater, if you assumed that someone was going to come into the theater while you were there and start shooting wouldn’t you want to be near an exit? Now in the case of Holmes he came in through an exit but this is a calculated risk. Personally, I would rather be near the exit for two reasons. One, if he comes in through the exit that I’m not seated near then I’m out the nearest door and gone; two, if he comes in and I’m sitting nearest to him as he walks in, assuming I’m paying attention, I at least have a chance to go hand-to-hand with the guy before he gets a shot off. Going up against an active shooter may sound crazy but if you are paying attention you may be able to put hands on the weapon while giving others time to react and help you subdue the shooter. This sounds scary but if you’re sitting by the door when a shooter enters a room and you don’t react, more than likely, you’ll be carried out in a body bag. There are two things you never, ever want to do here. The first is to sit in a position where the exit is to your rear, you’ll never see the threat until it’s too late, and the second is to sit in the middle of a row with people on all sides of you. Depending how things go down you may get trampled to death before you get shot.

While these actions may not keep you 100% safe, they will give you better odds of surviving an active shooter scenario. Remember, if you are going to survive you have to be ready to stand on your own two feet to do so.

Been a while for sure...

So I signed in today for the first time in months. Pretty pitiful really. A lot has been going on in my life. My son is 18 months old today and let me tell you that kid is high speed, low drag! A lot like me as well. Playful and head strong to a fault. What else... I have also been trying like hell to find a new job because I wasn't sure that my current job was going to exist for much longer. Low and behold our contract came through so I should be good for a while. A lot has been happening in the world around us as well. Most recently a nut job shot up a movie theater and the "progressive" groups in our nation have tried to stomp Chick-fil-a's first amendment rights into the ground. Both of these events are terrible to say the least, but they both hold some important talking and teaching points. Since the shooting in Aurora, Colorado I have started focusing more on my shooting skills and paying more attention to how I evaluate my surroundings when I'm in public. There is no sense in being a victim in a shooting spree. It may not be 100% avoidable but there are steps an individual can take to minimize their chances of being a victim. I'm am currently working on a post to address some steps that might be able to help keep you alive if you're ever caught in an active shooter scenario. Hopefully that post will be up tomorrow. I also have purchased a couple of nifty rifles and traded into a sweet little subcompact pistol. So, all of that being said, I have no shortage of things to talk about. So we'll see you tomorrow.