3.+Survival+Tips

1.) The first and most important thing to survival is clean water. Collect days' rain and ocean water. Make a fire using dried grasses from the floor of the near by forest and start a fire. Boil the water for 2-3 minutes and distribute.

2.) The second biggest thing to survival is food. Making a spear is helpful for hunting land animals and fish. Find a large shaft of bamboo or a decent sized branch from a tree and grab a sharp object, preferably your pocket knife. Then begin to sharpen one end of the shaft and or branch, slicing in a diagonal motion to give the stick or bamboo a sharp end.

3.) Spring snare: Game running through the snare disengages the trigger bar,and the prey is flung off the ground. Use on game trails or in gaps through rocks or hedges. Cut a notch in triggerbar (a) to fit upright (b). Drive upright into ground. Attach snare to trigger bar, then trigger bar to sapling.

Figure Four Deadfall: A simple and effective deadfall trap, can be made to any size. A horizontal bait bar is is balanced at right angles to an upright with a lock bar, which supports a rock or other heavy weight pivoting around the tip of the upright.

Leg Snare: Push a natural fork or two sticks tied together into the ground. The line from a sapling is tied to a wooden toggle and the toggle passed under the fork. When the game takes the bait, attached to a separate stick, it falls away releasing the toggle which flies up taking the snare and the game with it. Large versions are amongst the best snares or heavy game.

4.) Now that we have our food, your going to need to cook it. Making a fire isnt easy in a rainforest. Be sure to build yours in a sandy or rocky area or near a supply of sand and water as to avoid forest fires. Waterproof, strike-anywhere matches are your best bet. Matches may be water-proofed by dipping them in nail polish. Store your matches in a waterproof container. It is important to keep in mind that smaller pieces of kindling such as, twigs, bark, shavings and gasoline, are necessary when trying to ignite larger pieces of fuel. Gather fuel before attempting to start your fire. Obviously dry wood burns better and wet or pitchy wood will create more smoke. Dense, dry wood will burn slow and hot. A well ventilated fire will burn best. A cigarette lighter is also a good way to produce a spark, with or without fuel. The flint and steel method is one of the oldest and most reliable methods in fire starting. Aim the sparks at a pile of dry tinder to produce a fire.

The electric spark produced from a battery will ignite a gasoline dampened rag. Remove half of the powder from a bullet and pour it into the tinder. Next place a rag in the cartridge case of the gun and fire. The rag should ignite and then may be placed into the tinder. Allow the suns rays to pass through a magnifying glass onto the tinder. Dry grass, paper or cloth lint, gasoline-soaked rags and dry bark are all forms of tinder. Place your tinder in a small pile resembling a tepee with the driest pieces at the bottom. Use a fire starter or strip of pitch if it is available.

5.) A small shelter which is insulated from the bottom, protected from animals and rain and contains a fire is extremely important in wilderness survival. Before building your shelter be sure that the surrounding area provides the materials needed to build a good fire, a good water source and shelter from animals. Natural shelters such as caves and overhanging cliffs. When exploring a possible shelter tie a piece of string to the outer mouth of the cave to ensure you will be able to find your way out. Keep in mind that these caves may already be occupied. If you do use a cave for shelter, build your fire near its mouth to prevent animals from entering. Enlarge the natural pit under a fallen tree and line it with bark or tree boughs. Near a rocky coastal area, build a rock shelter in the shape of a U, covering the roof with driftwood and a tarp or even seaweed for protection.

A lean-to made with poles or fallen trees and a covering of plastic, boughs, thick grasses or bark is effective to shelter you from wind, rain and snow.

A wigwam may be constructed using three long poles. Tie the tops of the poles together and upright them in an appropriate spot. Cover the sides with a tarp, boughs, raingear or other suitable materials. Build a fire in the center of the wigwam, making a draft channel in the wall and a small hole in the top to allow smoke to escape.

6.) In such swealtering heat, it will be necessary to keep cool and to keep clothing light and to a minimum. Also to beat the heat when hunting, hunt earlier in the morning. Not only does this keep you from wasting most of your body energy in the heat, but it increases your chances for success with all the animals that come out in the morning. When your not hunting, relax in a shaded area or cool off in the ocean close to shore. Dont cool off in your spring (if you found one) to keep from contaminating your water supply.

7.) Keeping your mind on things other than rescue is important. Thinking about the problem and thinking of a solution causes panic and stress which will decrease your ability to reason and think before acting. When panicking, your actions and thoughts may become irrational. Keeping calm and relaxed is incredibly important for your energy aswell. Too relaxe take a nap or go for a swim after a hunt or when you find yourself thinking about your problems. Also, dont go off by yourself if you can help it, when alone you will think about stuff that would usually be kept off your mind when in the company of others. Try to avoid fighting with others and make compromises often to keep from people stressing each other out.