Knowledge Weighs Nothing

If It Crawls, It’s Canned (An Awesome Article On Subsistence Living)

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Most of us get the majority of out food from the store; sure some of us grow and rear some of our food, but even then, a lot of our food still comes from the store, especially in the winter months. Below is a link to an awesome article about living on Prince of Wales Island in south-east Alaska. People living here have to survive largely as subsistence hunters and gatherers, and when food is plentiful, they have to can and preserve it in bulk for future use when food isn’t so readily available.

This article is a great read for anyone into prepping, homesteading and living  sustainably off-the-grid as it explains about subsistence hunting/gathering and also shows how vital canning and preserving foods is, when it is plentiful…

If It Crawls, It’s Canned (An Awesome Article On Subsistence Living)

(Photo from: Alastair Bland/for NPR)

How To Build An AWESOME 80 Pound PVC Tube Longbow

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So you want to get into archery but you have been put off by the cost of traditional long bows and archery equipment? Well, how would you like to build an awesome longbow on the cheap, which is easily powerful enough to hunt with?

Check out the two videos below from the Backyard Bowyer and see how it’s done… This guy is awesome, he shows just how cheap and easy it is to make a quality, powerful long bow, from PVC tube. He also has a few additional videos demonstrating the bow in action. This really does emphasise what can be achieved with limited funds, a lot of thinking outside the box and creativity.

Archery is a great recreational sport/hobby, and it can prove a vital survival skill if the SHTF or you need to hunt for food in the future. If nothing else, this is a great, fun DIY project for the weekend!

I will soon be doing a post on how to make and fletch your own arrows, which could also save you a heap of money…

Make A Slingshot Bow in 5 minutes!

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Fancy turning your slingshot into a slingshot-bow? The short tutorial below shows how to do just that!

The tutorials uses a whisker biscuit for the arrow rest; these can be pretty expensive, so if you are on a tight budget, you can use a keyring and two rubber bands. Simply tie the rubber bands to the keyring and attach each band to each arm of the slingshot (so the keyring sits in the middle!) You will have to adjust the height and tension for accuracy, but it is a whole load cheaper that buying a whisker biscuit…

Make A Slingshot Bow in 5 minutes!

(Photo from: mountainmedic via Instructables)

Self-Sufficient Goat Keeping 101

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When folks first start off with homesteading and self-sufficiency, they usually start off growing their own fruit and vegetables.  Once they start growing, they soon realize that to be fully self-sufficient, they need to learn about preserving their produce. When they feel they have a handle on growing their own food, their attention usually turns to keeping chickens for eggs and meat.  I think this is a fairly natural progression. But the thing is, most folks stop there, but I am here to encourage you to consider keeping some goats!

If you have the space, and you actually probably need a lot less space than you might think, I highly recommend getting some goats. Goats are hardy, low maintenance and if you have breeding goats, you can have a constant supply of milk, cheese, yoghurt and of course a protein rich, healthy meat. Check out the great goat keeping resources below.

Self-Sufficient Goat Keeping 101  & more here

(Photo from:  avlxyz)

How To Make A Milk Crate Crab & Crayfish Trap

From a survival and prepping point of view, I believe that crabs, lobsters and crayfish are some of the most under utilized protein food sources available… I am not sure why, most of our rivers are full of crayfish and the seas around the coasts are full of crabs.  I can only assume that people think they are difficult to catch, but you couldn’t be more wrong!

This milk crate trap is designed to be used for crabs, but it will work just as well for crayfish. The trap is just about free to make.  If you make a few, you could be eating a bucket load of crab or crayfish each day…

How To Make A Crab Trap

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We often take the kids crabbing with a line and bait. It’s easily done with a length of line, a weight and some bait (off-cuts of bacon work well!).  This is great fun for the kids, but if you actually intend to eat what you catch, it’s not terribly effective.  The problem is that it is ‘active fishing’; this means you have to be present during the fishing…

A more economical way to fish is ‘passive fishing’; this is where you can set something up, and return later to check results. This is where this crab trap wins against a line and bait.  Set it up in the right location, come back several hours later and hopefully you have a bucket of crabs. I am guessing that this is probably more effective in the tropics, but as it takes so little work to set up, I think it is worth a little experimenting wherever you are. I think it actually might work well during low-tide in some locations (you obviously need to return before high-tide!).

I appreciate that this on-land crab trap will not work everywhere; with this in mind I will shortly be doing a follow up post on how to build a quick and easy crate crab trap for use in the sea, under the water. There is also no reason why this trap couldn’t be used in rives to catch crayfish as well. Stay tuned for this post.

How To Make A Crab Trap

If you’re just after a bit of fun with the kids, check out this fun crabbing set: Angler’S Choice Crabbin’ Kit

(Photo from: Five Gallon Ideas)

How To Gut, Scale & Fillet A Fish


This is a great video that shows how to gut, scale and fillet a fish in a kitchen. This is useful skill to learn, whether you simply enjoy eating fresh fish at home, or you’re a fisherman(woman), a prepper or simply someone who wants to learn a basic survival skill should they get lost in the wild, or if the SHTF one day…

Whilst this video is shot in a kitchen, the skills and techniques are the same as if you do prepare your fish outdoors.

 

(Photo from: LHOON)

Archery Vs Firearms For SHTF Weapons

crossbow

I can hear some of you screaming GUNS, GUNS, GUNS…

But hold on a minute and have a read of the excellent detailed article below that weighs up the pros and cons. I am sure it will give you some food for thought. There is a strong case for a firearm as the primary weapon for SHTF, but you should never rely on just one tool in survival situations – what if you run out of ammo? I know people who have forgone firearms and are planning to rely solely on crossbows or compound bows, I see their thinking – silent, deadly and an unlimited supply of ammo.

Check out the article below, at the very least, it might make you consider the use of a crossbow or traditional bow as a back-up to your firearms.

Archery Vs Firearms For SHTF Weapons

(Photo from:  GabboT)

Six Primitive Traps For Catching Food In The Woods

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Traps and snares work well, and have worked for thousands of years. That being said, lets be honest! This is hard work and you have to set up lots to make it even remotely a possibility you will catch anything, but with out a firearm this is pretty much your only option.

If any thing from my posts please learn how to set snares and traps, you never know when you will need this knowledge. Learn all 6 below

Six Primitive Traps For Catching Food In The Woods

(Picture Credit: theprepperjournal.com)

How to Field Dress a Rabbit

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For most reading this article, food is readily available on nearly any street corner.  Securing our next meal takes very little thought, effort, and time. The hunter-gatherer spirit inside each of us is slowly vanishing and so are the important self-reliant skills associated with hunting, gathering, and preparing our own food.

 These skills sustained our ancestors for millennia before us, and now, in our modern society, are almost nonexistent. Click the link below to see how to field dress / get a rabbit ready to eat, pictures and a video.

How to Field Dress a Rabbit

(Picture Credit: Carl M)