What Have You Done Recently To Improve Your Chances Of Survival?

Refilled 13 1-pound propane tanks. I get a small quantity of empties each year from friends, refill them and give half of them back full. Just started a couple years ago and have 25 for myself so far. I can buy propane by the gallon at a good price (even for the small 20-pound tanks) so it's a bargain for everyone.



I use these for the Buddy Heater when ice fishing or for torches (great for freeing rusted bolts or thawing frozen locks). Barter potential too.

 

Firewood and related activities weekend. The wife and I put almost another cord of oak on the splitting pile this weekend. We should have enough for this winter now but I always like to have a year and a 1/2 worth at least, but still plenty of time to acquire more before winter. Spotted a couple more standing dead oaks that aren't too far from the trail for next time too. We log on state land mostly, and while there's no shortage of dead oak near our home finding ones close to a trail isn't always easy. Hauling logs through the underbrush to the truck is no fun.

Did some minor chainsaw maintenance, new spark plug and cleaned the chain oiler filter.

Also finalized the construction of a new pole barn which will include a 8' overhang on one side for firewood storage. We'll have room for almost 7 cords underneath and we only use 4-5 cords per winter. I'm sick of wood piles with tarps, the tarps always get frozen in ice near the ground, and have to clean the snow off the top after each significant snowfall. Not this winter! Looking forward to more storage space too, the current plan is to build a shelving unit across the entire back wall of the barn, 16 feet long, top shelf at 6 feet high, and 2+ feet deep, for floor to ceiling storage.

 

We have made preparations to fly in a SEMI _ MAIL ORDER BRIDE . She will be flying in from New Mexico in about two weeks She is for my widowed son . I hope she is a asset to our group .

 

No it is not a joke . They did meet each other years ago .

 

Planted blackberries. Thorny variety for the security hedge and thornless for pleasant picking in the orchard.

 

working on continued reloading of ammunition from spent brass....

currently 76 rounds of .45 ACP...

Also have a new short wave set on order..as well as two Draw knives.

Watcherchris
Not an Ishmaelite.

 

Holy S%^T!! I didn't even know you could still do that. That is an enormous leap of faith. I hope it all works out for you.

I have been trying to lighten the load and reduce the size and weight of my BOB's. I have done O.K. with some minimalist kits; the "never go into the woods without this stuff" kit. Got them down to fannypack or smaller size. Granted, these would be used more for short trips, hiking, camping, hunting; not long term survival.

I have done really well with the fire kits. An Altoids tin or a small medicine/prescription bottle ( 1" diameter x 2-3" tall) work well. In the Altoids tin I put a mini Bic lighter; a box of wooden matches; two birthday candles ( one regular and one novelty - the annoying kind that won't go out); tinder; and lined the tin with an 9" x 10" piece of aluminum foil. When finished I seal the lid with electrical tape to make it water tight. My tests continue on how long it will float.

The prescription bottle will hold many of the same contents, but with fewer matches. I include a striking pad taken from the match box. When the contents are packed you top it off with a cotton ball or drier lint and seal the closure with electrical tape. Again a water tight container that will float.

Both of these can be carried in your pants pocket, and weigh nothing. Next project is to minimalize the IFAK.

 

I am busy doing things to REDUCE my chance of survival. Drastically reduce the chance of survival. And it is making my head spin.

 

Life Straws, Prime Day deal last week at Amazon for $33. One to experiment with, one for the BOB, and one for the primary BOV. Have Coghlan's currently, and will keep them for filling water bottles/canteens, but the Life Straws look like they'll be faster for getting a quick drink and they have better filtration (0.2 microns versus 1 micron).

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I picked up my son's mail order bride at the airport a couple of nights ago as he hadn't made it in from work yet . She arrived on what we call the crop duster " a small single engine prop plane " . Her first airplane ride . She was up at daybreak the next morning looking around and walking the dirt county road to see where she had arrived during the night . I think it would be fair to say she was shocked to find herself in such a beutiful place . The log two storied house my son and i built was the first thing she saw that first night of arrival and was really impressed with the workmanship of that dwelling . Today her second morning a thunderstorm came in leaving the valley below and the moutain peaks swirling in mist . . Morgan 101 was correct when he said " what a leap of faith ". She had never been in this area before in her life . She is like a delighted child on Christmas morning . In case some or wondering , she is in her thirtys .

 

Pole barn almost complete, waiting only for installation of the garage door which might happen tomorrow. Once the bank account recovers a bit it'll be time to get the lumber for the shelves, electrical outlets/lights installed, and another Dakota Alert as a burglar alarm for it since it's a fair distance from the house.

And our state held the annual real estate tax foreclosure auction recently and I picked up a small parcel that borders my property. Not sure if it helped, but I'd put up some 'no hunting or trespassing' signs on my property facing the tax foreclosed one to hopefully discourage others from bidding on it (who wants to live next to an a$$hole, right?). I was the only bidder on it at the auction, so I got it at the minimum starting bid price On the land is an old 12 ft. pull-behind camper in very poor shape, but with a propane frig and stove/oven that I want to test to see if they still work. If so, I'll pull those out before I sell the camper for scrap (assuming it holds together for the trip to the salvage yard). Selling both the working stove and frig on craigslist would probably recoup about half of what I paid for the property, but I'll likely keep the frig as a backup for the BOL's current Servel one from the 1950's.

 

Pole barn done, or at least it's ready for upgrading with electric/workbench/shelves. Going to be working on this over the coming weeks but still deciding what exactly I want and the best way to do it to maximize space.

Besides that, a problem with one of my propane tank valves discovered last week, a gasket in the valve popped/protruded and would leak with the valve open. This is one of the tanks I use for refilling the 1 pound tanks, so it's possible the adapter fitting or the transfer of the liquid propane through the valve caused the failure. This requires more careful observation next time I'm refilling the small tanks.

Also have 3 other 20 pound BBQ tanks with the old style valves, been meaning to swap out the valves for years but couldn't find a good deal on the new OPD style valves. While searching for a replacement for the failed one above I see Nash Fuel has them for about $20 so I bought two.



Used a ratcheting strap to secure the tank in place and a 14" pipe wrench to get the old valves off.


A real pain getting the old valves off, and somewhat tricky getting the new ones tightened down without damaging the threads. I swapped the valve on a 100 pound tank before without any problem, but the shroud around the valve on these smaller tanks makes it impossible to get a wrench on the valve for more than about a quarter turn. If I was doing a lot of these I'd get one of the tools designed for this, I'm sure it'd save a lot of time and trouble.



Will get these two purged and filled this week, and need to put 2 more valves on order to swap out the old valves on the last two tanks. Not looking forward to it, but when done an additional 40 pounds of propane in storage.

 

I am starting to spend more time shooting off hand.

 

What will you do without your hand......... Maybe just shooting off fingers........

 

LMAO, so I meant practicing off hand shooting

 

I am disassembling and retrieving caches.

 

Here's what some people with serous dough are doing:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/a...-business-and-doomsday-capitalists/ar-AAFL1ND

 

Wow! That’ll do.

 

Adding Clif Bars? I'd like to see how they're packed and the condition of the contents on retrieval, as well as how you're repacking them Sourdough.

 

the weekend before last I went to a primitive skills gathering. Learned a bit about flintknapping, net making, basket making from spruce roots, mound builder pipes from pipe stone, one mans view on the bow drill fire making, another man's view on knife sharpening and a bit of other misc.

 

Putting up and preserving garden items. Getting ready for hunting season. Starting to winterize the home.

Dale

 

My wife is just the best. She is working her fingers to the bone processing and preserving our garden's bounty. I can work a tiller even in red clay. I'm useless in the kitchen. I can work the dehydrator, but anybody can work a dehydrator.

I visit gun stores all the time. Whenever visiting, I pick up ammo or accessories in support of the store.

We've found some survival-esque antiques of late. Non-electric tools come in handy.

 

I escaped California and returned to the real South, realized my dream of being debt free, owning some acreage and learning everything I can just in case. I never thought I could do this, but it's REAL. So happy to be out of Hellifornia! And away from that madness.

 

Woodshed work, added OSB on the one side so the weight of the firewood wouldn't bow the metal siding, plastic sheeting over the bare earth as a vapor barrier, and pallets to keep the wood off the ground and aid in airflow. Need more pallets, and lots more wood which we have but still requires splitting. Thinking about trying mothballs to keep mice (chipmunks too?) from using it as their nest or food storage which was a bit of a problem with the old woodpiles. Any thoughts on mice/munk repellent, other than getting a cat? Looking for a repellent rather than poison.

 

Communication devices for myself and extended family....now to learn how to use them. YouTube videos help.

 

@GateCrasher those awesome little rat dogs seem like a good addition where you might have rats. Lots of videos on y.t. about it. The dogs seem faster than cats.
Some of the videos shown take place in NYC, farms or countryside of U.S. and U.K.

 

Good morning all,

Returning to the thread's basic question: What did you do recently to .... ?

I just prepared a yellow stick-on and glued it to a glossy red piece of paper a little larger than the stick on. It's paper clamped to rubber boots.

It reads: "Mothballs in boots".

I am in my own designated alert condition for arriving hurricane. Had to go to barn because Madam "asked" me for something I suggested she keep in house. My suggestion is over a decade old. Went to put on rubber boots and decrepit toes punched into some moth balls - camphor - for anti-bug habitat.

So, joining radios and flash lights with yellow-stick-ons on glued on top of color-contrasting paper (shopping bags with colorful glossy) reminding to add batteries, boots got upgrade.

 

Cleaned the chimney and extended the length of the firewood rack in the garage to hold more wood (less trips to the wood shed) yesterday. Got behind on the firewood related activities this year and still trying to get caught up, while we probably have enough wood for the winter split and stacked I still have about 2 more cords of logs to split to fill the wood shed.

 

Wood shed filled on Saturday and put the snow plow on the truck on Sunday. Minor electrical problem with the plow, bad connection at the battery and caused a fuse to blow. Prep success, all fixed with tools/parts in stock, no trips to the store required.

 

Have 2 cords of hickory cut, stacked and seasoning. Got to the gun range last week and zeroed 3 rifles and practiced with the MK18.
Finishing up winterizing the house.
Been deer hunting (crossbow) twice on public land and I'm sure the deer are laughing from over on private land. LOL! That's why it's called hunting and not killing. LOL!

Dale

Started Christmas shopping.

 

Bought some barter. Bought some more candle-making goods. Found a place that sells quality antique kerosene lamps -- I don't buy'em unless they work and are made of THICK glass bases.

In this day and age, the only kerosene lamps that are semi-safe are the all-metal ones. Over a hundred years ago, nice glass lamps were also nigh unto unbreakable. The glass was super thick so that it wouldn't break. The chimney might break, however the chimney is not the part that stores the kerosene.

 

a nice thing about the glass base lamps is being able to see the fuel level during use and while refilling.

Not that it has a glass base but I've been wanting to pick up a Naugatuck lamp, it has a center draft and a circular wick, puts out a bit more light.

 

Been cutting and splitting firewood . I like splitting my wood with a splitting mall for the exercise . Helped install a wooden water wheel in the creek to generate electricity . The battery bank is about one hundred yards from the wheel but the twenty four hour a day output is keeping the batteries fully charged . I consider the electricity a luxury not a necessity for teotwawki survival . My clan brought in two buck deer yesterday . They will be processed and stored as part of the food supply . During teotwawki putting deer meat in a freezer will be a lot easier than hauling them to the smoke house and making jerky and such thus , why I consider the electricity from the water wheel a big plus toward survival .

 

There used to exist mantle lamps. Now those were BRIGHT! Couldn't touch the mantle while installing, because human skin oils would cause the mantle to have a hole burned into it when lit.

https://www.amazon.com/Aladdin-0846...=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B001CSMHCS

https://lightingandceilingfans.com/aladdin-kerosene-lamps-ideas.html



Back in the 1970's, a friend of mine had one of these. These lamps get HOT!

We used to light our cigarettes/cigars by holding them over the chimney. Thing could char your skin. They provided light, plus helped heat the room. Bright as any 100 watt electric bulb; maybe more-so.

 

You can knock someone out cold with the old lamps made of thick glass.

 

Walked back through the house. Have at least three heavy glass lamps. One brass. Have a hurricane lamp somewhere, but didn't trip over it while finding the others. Two are now loaded with white kerosene, well as clean as I could find.

 

I have three Aladdin lamps, as much as I like them they are a PIA at times.

here is photo of one in a wall bracket.

 

if you get a wall bracket is it best to stop by Lehman hardware in Kidron Ohio and check it out personally because some of them don't sit level.

 

This thread has been quite for a while and thought it might be of intrest an update by various members . Over the last few months me and mostly my son temporarly abandoned the ram pump project from the spring , as we were having problems with it over pumping and consuming all the incoming water too rapid . That problem now seems to be solved , by inserting a nut into the pump to get it to pump shorter strokes . We now need to extend the up hill water line and hopefully into an elevated water tank so it can be gravity feed into my son's house . While we were stoped on the ram pump project we installed solar panels , wind mill for electrical generation and a water wheel in the creek to generate electricity . The water wheel worked but proved to be too much labor to make it worth while as rain water cascading down the mountain sides result in some very strong currents in the resulting flash floods . Rebuilding a water wheel in cold winter water ain't fun . We consider self generated electricity a convinience not an absolute necessity for survivial . That is why we have our walk in 18th century style wood fired smoke house .

 

I picked up the control system for the solar panels. A charge controller, inverter, and charger with an auto switching capability when the grid goes down.

 

https://www.sonomanews.com/news/10523956-181/mixed-grades-on-personal-disaster?sba=AAS


Good afternoon all,

Just read an article that fits into this thread.

I've already mentioned it here on the forum but redundancy is better than no redundancy because we don't have that many participating.

I have a couple of axes and other types of tools here inside the house. near the doors to outside. This is in case I experience the equivalent of a "door block[ed] by his dresser". My situation would typically be a large branch arriving at a house wall at 50 MPH during a hurricane.

 

I moved to Idaho...I have 2 nice rivers within bow shot of me which means a reliable source of water and some fish...Bad part I may have to eat the fish raw...There are VERY few trees in my A.O...