My first "survival" outing

Hello fellow ATSer's, just thought I'd share my first "survival" outing coming up here in the next week.

Been gathering backpacking supplies for some time now, as time & money permits. We go car camping pretty frequently in the summer, so I have some camping gear, but not alot of stuff I could easily carry with me hiking, and definitely not alot of cold-weather gear.

Purpose of the trip is to take my son out for his first deer hunt. We had planned to go to a friend of mine's property about an hour or so from here, but my sister got married about two months ago, and my new brother-in-law owns somewhere close to 12,000 acres of pasture/farmland/timber in NW Kansas only about 200 miles away. Talk about awesome! Planning on a 2-day 1-night trip, just me and the boy.

So the plan is to show up, say howdy to my in-laws, throw on packs and just start walking. We'll spend the first day exploring, hopefully find some deer trails and good area to hunt from and setup camp. Day two we'll setup a small blind somewhere and hopefully take a couple nice bucks!

Weather is supposed to be in the 30's during the day, 20's or maybe teens at night. Not supposed to be windy but this is NW Kansas we're talking about so I expect at least a bit of a breeze.

Here's a list of (most) of what we'll be taking with us (haven't finalized a pack list yet)

Eureka Apex 2XT tent
Kata dyn Pocket water filter
Slumberjack Optimus sleeping bags
Standard 1qt GI canteens with cover, cup
Heinekin penny stove
Wind shield for stove
~8oz HEET (fuel for penny stove)
Small mess kit for cooking (pot, utencils, etc.)
Pocketknife
Larger fixed-blade knife (K-Bar)
Gerber multi-tool
Small first-aid kit
~50ft paracord
Couple small flashlights & spare batteries
Binoculars
Lighter
Firesteel & tinder
Toilet paper
Collapsible hunting blind (roll-up kind with stakes)
Chapstick
Small towel
Compass

Wearables:
Camo cover-alls for both of us, gloves, hat, boots, etc. Will probably throw in some rain gear as well. Some blaze orange vests so we stay legal.

For deer my son will be using his Stevens .30-06, I'll be bringing my Swiss K-31 carbine. Box of ammo (20rds) for each. And as always I will have my carry gun (Springfield XD45c) and an extra mag.

For food I'll pack a couple MRE's and probably one or two of those Mountain House (or similar) dehydrated meals we can cook up on the stove. Plus some "snack" stuff like peanuts, jerky, power bars, etc. With any luck we'll spot some rabbits while out there and maybe snack on one of them. Yeah the deer rifles would be overkill for bunnies but I don't want to carry a third rifle.

Anyway, I'm pretty stoked for the trip! Like I said we camp frequently but this will be our first situation where we're really out there being self-reliant, not within walking distance of my car or the campground trail shop. Comments & suggestions are welcome!

I envy you soooo much Mort, Hope its a good hike and stopover for you and your lad, You are so lucky you can do all this and not have to go through all the legal stuff we have to here in Ireland,
Ever thought of purchasing a demountable camper, on a 4x4 pick up or even better a 6x6 ??, Go any where rough campervanning...
I would suggest buying a dynamo camping lantern,
The one i have has a radio, spotlight, and a lantern, Plus a port for leads to recharge the mobile if necessary,If like me you are a bit long in the tooth try a good long walking stick good for balance and handy to check the ground in front of you for bogs,
Plus if you can get your hands on a poncho or two they are great with some elasticated string (bungees) for quick deployment of shelter in extreme weather, Good luck and enjoy

And here is the utimate rough camper to have, On a Landy defender chassie, Love to see the 6x6...
Love it I will get one some day
It even has a wood burning stove for heating and hot water.....



[edit on 3-12-2009 by foxhoundone]

Jammy git, take a couple of other things as well, Mobile fone with spare battery, or radio to call for help, Flares and flare gun ( you can get a 'firer' thats pen sized and you just pop the cartredge on the end.)
and other than that good luck.
Oh and are you taking a firearm incase of wild animal attack? just in case of course.

and this is survival how?

your life was never at risk.

[edit on 3-12-2009 by DOADOA]

reply to post by DOADOA

I think what Mortimer is trying to put across is he is passing on his "survival" skills to his eldest son, The basics so to speak, Which is so cool. Here in N,Ireland we have the great institutions of the Army cadet force and the boys brigade and The boy scout movement,
Great starts in life to learn discipline basic Wild camping and some firearms training thrown in to boot..
The survival part is insuring life skills are passed on through to the next generation ...

Good for you Mort! I wish you the best of luck and I hope your son will have a great time. Don;t forget rain gear and a drag rope for those big bucks so you can get them back to camp! Enjoy it for me, I can no longer go out hunting and I;m truly envious no matter how cold it might get.

Originally posted by DOADOA
and this is survival how?

your life was never at risk.

[edit on 3-12-2009 by DOADOA]

Not being close to camping facilities or your car is roughing it for many.
At least he is trying to get an idea of what to expect.

Give us a report on how it went after you get back.

First, I commend you on going out and staying in the wilderness. You can adjust you supplies and equipment after you get back.

I'd be curious what you found really useful and what you didn't touch or need.

The thing that I keep seeing here on the survival posts is that people have no real idea what it is like to spend some time in the wilderness. So, your feedback will help many people.

Its nice to hear about a father & son trip.I can't wait to take my sons.The only extras I might add on would be winter underwear.I hope you have a lot of fun ! Good Luck

Foxhound and mamabeth you got it right -- by "survival" I mean sans car, camping facilities . . . for two days we'll be living off what we have with us and that's it.

It'll be a great chance to test my outdoor skills, try out some gear, find out what works & what doesn't. Test out my tracking skills, hunting in the bush, etc. Plus a great knowledge transfer to my son, who's been dying for a trip like this for a LONG time. At his age & his activities (school, job, sports, etc.) it's tough for us to find time for things like this.

A great exercise for any survivalist, IMO. Doesn't matter how great your BOB gear is, no one should assume they can just throw on a pack & take off into the wilderness for days at a time, without any experience at all. I realize this isn't super hard-core (after all, we can always hike back a few miles to the car & leave) but it'll be a great learning experience. If it were up to me I'd do 3 or 4 days but I can't take him out of school for that long. As it is now he's going to be "sick" on Monday

Good call on the Eureka tent! I got one about 5 months ago and it has been a real lifesaver. Good luck to ya and have fun.

Also FYI for anyone reading this -- Cabela's currently has the Slumberjack Optimus sleeping system (the bag I have) in the Bargain Cave for only $79

Trust me that's a STEAL! This is an AWESOME cold-weather bag. It's basically two bags plus a bivy sack. One 5-degree bag, one 25-degree bag, put them together and it's rated for 0* Fahrenheit (-18 Centigrade).

The whole thing together is a bit heavy (7lbs) but considering that for 7lbs you have a 0-degree bag plus basically a one-man tent that's pretty darn good. Depending on conditions & other gear you could of course leave out the bivy (1.5lbs) or one of the bags. The 5-degree bag only weighs 3lbs 1oz by itself. Also comes with a pretty decent stuff sack with compression straps.

www.cabelas.com...