Food for Survival/water

Those of you with your own well should consider installing or at least having on hand a hand pump of some sort. Remember, any time that there is no power, you have no water. A good hand pump and an old farm pump-jack are good to have on hand. The pump-jack can be used with an electric motor, a gas engine or you can take the jack parts off and replace the handle on your pump to use it by hand. Anyone having a working windmill on ther place has the best of everything. Many people think that they can simply use water from a nearby lake, river or stream. Just remember, most water sources today are polluted. I do not even trust rainwater completely. I probably would use it without purifying if I had to, but would prefer to purify it if possible. All water from natural sources should be purified, either by boiling or with purification tablets or both. You should always keep some purification tablets with your portable food supply. I also keep a supply at home in case the occasion should arise that I would need to purify my water there. Many of us also store at least some water for the short term while we are setting up our permanent water supply. Depending on how much water you want to store and the amount of space you have to store it, there are several methods you can use. I simply use two and five gallon plastic buckets with tight fitting lids. I also have several one gallon jugs with water stored. I only have about forty gallons total as I should have my backup water system installed by then. Another way to store water is to purchase some old water heaters that do not leak and store the water in the tanks. Just make sure that you rinse them out good and possibly run a little chlorine bleach water through them. You can purchase water storage barrels, but they are way too expensive for me and most survivalist that I know. An alternative is to get a barrel and line it with heavy plastic and then fill it with water. Just start by putting a large piece of plastic in the barrel and start filling the barrel. the water will pull the plastic down and fit it to the barrel. Stop filling before you get to the top or before you run out of plastic. Leave enough plastic above the water that you can tie or tape it shut, then put a lid on the barrel. When you are storing water for a long term, always add a few drops per gallon of household bleach. This will keep your water fresher and potable. There are many more things I could get into about food and water, but if you use what I have written here, use your own imagination and do some planning, what i have written should get you through any survival situation.

Food for Survival/Storage III

I try to store food in less than obvious places. While living in the suburbs of Chicago I stored much of my food in the crawl space and in the attic. Unless a crook has a long time, they will not usually go into these areas. A looter will look for food in the obvious places and then if time allows, maybe some less obvious places, but they prefer to stay on ground level. They may try a second floor, but even that is not usual. They prefer to have at least two ways out in case someone comes in to stop them. This makes even a basement with only one entrance a fairly good spot to store food. One problem with an attic is that things there get very hot and very cold. This limits it to non-perishable items. Other ways of storing food might be a false back wall in a closet with the food behind it or you might install a second water heater, complete with all the fake plumbing but without the water tank inside. A little imagination is all it takes to come up with storage methods that should elude the looters eyes. Remember, looters are usually looking for quick and easy pickings. These types of storage can be used wherever you live, especially if you thing that there might be looters after a disaster. Here is a quick rundown on how food may be handled and stored. Vegetables: a fulltwo year supply, fifty percent canned, twenty percent frozen, fifteen percent in some type of underground storage such as a root cellar or basement, and fifteen percent dried. The fifteen percent stored underground would be root crops that will keep for at least six months without further processing. Fruits: Two year supply, fifty percent canned, twenty-five percent frozen and twenty-five percent dried. Also a two year supply of various kinds of nuts, either home grown or picked in the wild. Meat: two year supply, fifty percent frozen, thirty percent canned and twenty percent dried, jerked and smoked. Meats also include fish. Fish may be canned, frozen, dried or smoked and some can even be jerked. As I said before, you must be ready to can any frozen food should the power go out. You also need to remember to rotate your food continually using the oldest first. Something I have not talked about is water. Water is even more important than food. We can live much longer without food than we can without water. Those in cities or towns depend on a city water supply that could be cut off at any time. Terrorists could poison a cities water supply and you would be left without. In the country most of us depend on electricity to pump our water. Lose the electricity and you lose your water. This should tell us that we need to store some water. First remember that all the water in your water heater is good water. next remember the ice cubes in your freezer. Also if you get empty space in a freezer put in half gallon or gallon containers of water. One, it helps the cost of running the freezer down and two, you have spare water.

Food for Survival/Storage II

Here on our five acres in the country, I have a completly different storage plan. We raise much of our own vegetables and some fruit and we pick berries and nuts in the wild. We can enough produce and meat to make up our two year supply. This is kept in a special crawl space which I dug. We rotate our stock so that nothing ever gets over two years old. We also dry a lot of our fruits and some of the vegetables. This cuts down on storage space needed. It seems that we are always drying or jerking something throughout the year. I do a lot of hunting and fishing and we can some of that and freeze a portion of it. We also freeze a portion of our fruits and vegetables. We have a supply of canning jars large enough to can everything in the freezer should an emergency arise. I have a wood stove in my garage that can be used to do the canning. I even have a generator to keep the freezer running until the canning is done. I still keep two weeks of highly portable food for two people. I still keep this in packs and I now keep it in a fold down camper which we use for vacations. Back the vehicle up to the camper, hook up and I am ready to hit the road to wherever. I have some contingency plans for that possibility, but that is a whole other subject. Even though I feel that where I am is about as good a spot for survival as anywhere else, you never know when the need to move could arise. As you notice in my three examples, where and how you store your food depends a lot on where you live, space available, what your survival plans are, what scenarios you are contemplating, etc. Those of you who live in a high crime area or other non-friendly place, that feel they would need to move for survival, have the biggest problem. Not only does your two week supply need to be portable, you need a plan for the rest of your food. If you have a retreat or even a vacation camping spot that you own, that would be where you would want to store your food. You would need to dig an underground storage area to keep your food from freezing and safe. Keeping it safe would be important even if you are in an area where you do not need to worry about freezing. This is one of the reasons I suggest drying and jerking a lot of food. Most of the time even should those things freeze, they would still be usable and they also take less storage space. Canned food is a different story.

Food for Survival/Storage II

Food for Survival/Storage

All or the survival food in the world will not do you any good, unless it is properly stored. Food can be canned, frozen, dried, smoked and jerked. If you are growing your own vegetables and some of your own meat or even if you are just hunting wild meat at the time, canning is one of the best ways to store food. While canning may be more trouble than freezing, the food will keep longer and is easier to transport if you need to move. Even if you do freeze some of your food, you need to be ready to can it if a catastrophe (natural or man made) casues a long term loss of power. Almost anything can be canned including meat and fish. Canned venison is my favorite meat and canned carp and suckers make excellent fish patties. This allows you to use fish that would otherwise probably not be kept. I am also high on drying fruits and vegetables and of jerking meat. One of the reasons I like it so well that once they are dried or jerked, they need no refigeration. Just pack in air tight containers and store. They are also much lighter due to the moisture being removed. Every survivalist has to do their own storage based on time available and storage space. Some may only be able to store frozen food due to space limitations, while some may be able to store a wide variety of food in a variety of ways. I personally have used three different methods, one while living in the suburbs of Chicago, one while in my efficiency apartment and the one I use now. First the City. I had two weeks of portable food in packs. Freezer containing meat, fish, fruit and vegetables. Some fruit and vegetables canned and some dried. These fruits and vegetables were both what we raised in our small garden and items that were purchased expressly for storage. We had two year supply of fruit and vegetables and a one year supply of meat and fish. I both fished and hunted and we also purchased some meat for our storage.Most canned and dried foods were stored in crawl space to prevent easy access of thieves during surivval situation. Small city efficeincy apartment. Two weeks of portable food in packs. One year supply of meat, fruits and vegetables; canned and dried. half of all fruits, vegetables and meats canned the other half dried. I also kept a larger supply of products like noodles, rice, dry soup mixes and other ready to fix dry foods which I purchased. I had one cabinet which I kept filled with food which I continuously used and rotated. The rest of my food supply was in heavy boxes under my bed. The reason for this was to make a quick move possible. The packs of portable food were actually kept in my full size van. With the limited space I had, I felt that a one year supply of food for one person was the maximum food I could store. This may be a determining factor in your storage plans also.

Food for Survival XI/Foraging

Trapping is another method of obtaining meat. A good survivalist should know how to use live traps, foot hold traps, body hold traps and snares and how make deadfalls, pit traps and springpole traps. Many of these things will not be legal where you live, but you should read all you can about all of them; the hows, wheres, whens and whys. Those of you who live in the country may even want to try your hand at some of the trapping methods. In the city about the only thing you can do is to try out a live trap on a squirrel or rabbit in your yard. In a real survival situation you would want to be able to capture as many of these as possible and maybe some pigeons if possible. While pigeons in the city may be suspect because of what they might eat, during a survival situation I would definately eat a well cleaned and well cooked pigeon. Pigeons on farms are a different story. I try to get a few each year for the freezer. Most farmers will let you shoot or trap them just to get rid of them. Here in Wisconsin, there is no season and no limit on feral pigeons. Remember trapping in a survival situation is not like trapping fur bearers now. You would be trying to catch coon, rabbits, squirrels, grouse, pigeons, etc., all animals that are good to eat. However in the fur bearer line, both muskrat and beaver are excellent eating. The last thing about taking fish and animals in a survival situation, do not depend on one method of fishing or one weapon for gathering your food. I practice with rifles, both muzzle loaders and modern, handguns, both muzzle loaders and modern, air guns, slingshots and even do some occasional practice with a boomerang. For fishing I have rods, hand lines, trot line material, nets and know ways to make other fish catching items. I do a lot of practice with air guns. They can be used in basement, garage or even living room. This is also an excellent silent killer. You have to get close, usually twenty feet or less, but the ones with 1,000fps will do the job. I have taken rabbits, squirrels, and one woodchuck with mine. I guess the one thing about foraging is to know as many methods as possible and practice as many of them as you have time and area to do so. Practice hunting, fishing, trapping and hunting wild plant life. All of this will make you a better survivalist and give you a better chance should the occasion arise.

Food for Survival X/Foraging

Animals are another forage item. When most people think of animals for food, they think of deer and other big game animals. There will be a much greater emphasis on small animals and birds in a survival situation. First, they are more abundant. Second, they are easier to obtain. Third, they are obtainable by various methods that would not work with big game. Small game and birds may be taken by gun, bow, slingshot, airgun, thrown objects, such as rocks or sticks and various means of trapping. While you can snare or trap big game, it is both difficult and time consuming. During a time of survival, you might not want anyone to know when and where you are taking game for food. With small game you can use silent methods such as a slingshot or traps. First, under survival conditions, you need to remember that all animals are edible. When things are normal and we are well fed, we would not think of eating things like skunk, mice, mink or fox. In a survival situation, any one of these may save your life.The same can be said for birds. I would not think of eating crow or buzzard at the present time, but if I could obtain one during a survival situation, I surely would do so. You may want to ask yourself: "Am I mentally and physically equiped to obtain and eat all animals and birds?" The would-be survivalist should be doing all he can "now" to get ready for that possibility. You need to spend a lot of time in the woods, learning all you can about various animals and their habits. One of the ways I do this is to hunt with a camera. I feel that if I can get close enough to "shoot" something with the camera, I can get close enough to capture it. I also hunt as many things as the law allows and I hunt them by as many different methods as possible. I have taken game with gun, bow, slingshot, air guns and muzzle loaders. We are not in a survival situaion now so we should do our best to take all animals with the least amount of suffering. Remember, the antis are constantly watching to take away our rights. Do not give them any more ammunition for that purpose.

Food for Survival IX/Foraging

Fishing and hunting are also part of foraging. Fish are easier to obtain than many of the warm blooded animals. The only place this would not be true would be in desert areas. Almost anywhere there is water, there are fish. They are an excellent source of protein and fairly easy to come by. When survival fishing, forget everything you know about sport fishing. Here you want the easiest fish to obtain and thet becomes whatever is Handy.I have obtained fish by many methods, including scooping them out by hand the way a bear does it. You can make a dip net out of a tee shirt and a forked stick. Crude fish traps can be fashioned, which may be nothing but a row of sticks driven into the streambed forming a vee. You then wade the stream on the upstream side of the trap and drive the fish into the wide end. When they get to the narowest end, which should also be the shallowest end, you merely scoop them out with your hand and tos them ashore. I cary survival fishing almost everywhere I go. I have some in each car, I cary it in my suitcase or on my person when I travel by train, plane or bus. I have not taken a plane since 9-11 so do not know if I could get it on board. My equipment consist of three split shot, three hooks, (two #6, one #8) and sixteen feet of line. The line is in two lengths, ten feet of 10 lb test and 6 feet of 4 lb test. The ten pound is for strength while the four pound is for when certain fish will not take the bait on the ten pound. All of this equipment will fit inside a retractable pen barrel. Simply remove the filler and replace it with the items listed. When fishing with this type of equipment I like to cut a willow or alder pole to use as a rod. If you think you need a bobber, simply use a small piece of wood. Using worms for bait I have caught panfish, bulheads, chubs, shiners, trout, bass, carp and suckers with this equipment. I usually dig my bait right on the bank when I am doing this type of fishing. I have used grubs, worms, crickets, grasshoppers and a couple of times was able to hand scoop minnows out of the stream and used them for bait. In a survival situation these minnows could have been eaten. You can also use the ten lb. test line for a limb line. At night, when you are going to bed, bait the hook, toss it out into the water and tie it to a strong, springy limb. In the morning you should have a fish. For those that are really interested in survival skills, go out with a minimum of equipment and do some fishing. You might be surprised how much fun it is. It will give you an idea of what you need to do.

Food for Survival VIII/Foraging

Edible plants abound all around us. Even in cities and towns there are many edible plants. These locations require some caution, as we never know what type of poisons have been used on them. Those of you who feel that you may be stuck there during a survival situation, look to your own back yards first. If you do not use weed killing chemicals, you should be able to find dandelions, plaintain and possibly purslane, lambs quarters or some others depending on your area. The next thing I would do (the first for apartment dwellers) would be to go to parks and wooded areas. Go to the least used parts of these areas and see what you can find. Check these areas out at different times of the year to see what grows there in each season. If it is not against the law pick some of the plants and take them home and try them. Like any other food, not everyone likes all of what they find. Those who live in the country or small towns have a much wider range of plants to choose from. If you own some land of your own, become completely familiar with every edible plant at each time of the year. Also, and this goes for everyone, city or country, go to county, state and national parks, forests and refuges in your area. Scout these out and even pick and use some of the plants. Learn what certain things look like at different times of the year. Remember what a walnut tree, a hickory tree, or an oak tree looks like in the winter. If you could dig through the snow beneath these trees during the winter, you may be able to find some nuts the squirrels have not got to and that could save your life. Wherever you are look for and try to identify as many wild plants as possible, you never know where you might be when a survival situation occurs. Spring, here in the northern half of the country, is the time to really start plant hunting. First you will be finding mostly greens and vegetable substitutes. As summer progresses you will find more of these plus fruits and berries, while in the fall there will also be nuts. Winter is difficult but not impossible. The inner bark of certain trees, certain evergreen needles make a healthy tea and there are other things. One thing to look for in the winter is the cattail. Chop away any ice and dig up the roots, they make an excellent potato substitute. Other parts of the cattail can be eaten as well. If you you live in the southern half of the country, you will be able to find more during the winter. Wherever you live, there is always some wild food available.