Has anyone really Tried their survival techniques?

I can honestly say that I have. For nearly 15 years, a buddy of mine and I would hike deep into the George Washington National Forest or the Shenendoah Valley with only our standard survival packs and then "live" off the land for 10 days to 2 weeks. I had to give up this annual ritual about 4 years ago when my wife and I had our first child and he and his wife had theirs. We are planning on picking it up again next year though.

I agree with the OP... this is MUCH, much harder than one would think, regardless of how many books you have read or shows you have watched. There have been a number of times that I have given myself the runs from water that just didn't purify well enough or from game that wasn't prepared just right or even from misidentified plants while foraging. Try getting a fire going after 2 weeks of rain when everything is saturated. Or, better yet, put your shelter to the test while experiencing several days of rain in the field - not at all easy!!!

Think about it.... Think of how many calories you will burn gathering wood, building and maintiaining a shelter, foraging and hunting for food, preparing said food, obtaining potable water, and the dozens upon dozens of other mundane daily tasks for the sake of survival. The answer is literally thousands. The average adult male will burn roughly 3,000 to 5,000 calories DAILY. Do you have any idea how much food is required to replenish that? Or how much water is required to avoid dehydration in the summer months? And none of this even takes into account caring for a sick or injured person or caring for yourself if ill or injured.

I fear that too many people look at wilderness survival as "Camping", as we have seen from a few threads in this forum. I can promise you, it is NOTHING like camping whatsoever. I challenge everyone here to give it a try - even for just a long weekend. No time to get away? Try doing a few of the basics at home. Grab a bucket, seek fresh water and purify it. Set a few snares or traps, get some game, prepare and eat it. Go foraging in the local park and try to fill a large bowl with enough edibles for the family's dinner. Gather wood and attempt to build a fire with a flint and steel and then cook over it. And then remember, you are blessed to be at home (Or have one to go back to) and then respect how much more difficult that these tasks would be when under stress, duress and in an unfamiliar environment.

These are skills that take a long time to develop and become proficient in. Practice makes perfect and I can assure everyone reading this that we all need more practice. So, go ahead and give it a try and then post your results back here. I guarantee alot of weekend Rambos are in for a rather rude awakening.