Indholdsfortegnelse for October 2020 i American Outdoor Guide

I came up with this aphorism many years ago, and it recently struck me that it relates pretty well to the current state of affairs for preppers in the United States. Originally, it was a rallying call of sorts for the department I was leading at that time. Business had been rough for a while, and the state of the economy at the time held little promise for our job to get easier any time soon (not that it was easy, even in the best of times). I’d been looking at the many conflicting priorities we were struggling to balance and the goals we were supposed to attain. It occurred to me that we’d truly need a series of miracles to achieve everything on our list. Not being one to…

A financial crisis is nobody’s idea of a fun time. It’s one of the most stressful experiences you can endure, particularly because they aren’t often short-lived. It can be months before you feel as though you’re getting your head above water. It’s important to find the good in the bad for your own morale and mental well-being. Don’t feel guilty about spending money now and again in order to do something fun. When my wife and I were going through our own financial dark days, we had a couple of yard sales. We didn’t sell a lot and didn’t make nearly as much money as we’d hoped. But, out of the $100 we took in over a few days, I made sure we took $20 of it to get takeout…

365 Essential Survival Skills by Creek Stewart This essential, 365-skill book offers nearly everything you need to know to survive and thrive when spending time outside. Stewart makes all the information easy to understand and includes links to Internet videos for detailed visual information and techniques. Family Survival Guide by Mykel Hawke and Ruth England Hawke This book covers all the basics, including how to purify water, what to pack for all environments, how to build a fire, the best areas to set up a shelter and much more. There are 240 pages of incredibly useful information from this dynamic survival duo. 98.6 Degrees: The Art of Keeping Your Ass Alive! by Cody Lundin Lundin explores details of outdoor survival that many people overlook.…

Part of getting your finances in order should include planning for your ultimate demise. Despite our best efforts, none of us is going to get out of here alive. When my father passed in July 2019, he left behind a rather sizable mess. His will was about as bare bones as it gets—extremely vague and decidedly unhelpful. He had no life insurance, no savings, nothing at all, so everything landed on our shoulders. My wife and I incurred tens of thousands of dollars in expenses from the funeral, home repairs, storage fees and more. It took us months to get his affairs squared away, as well as empty his house and get it ready to sell. If you have loved ones, don’t do this to them! Make solid plans for…

For added low-light capabilities, Streamlight’s new ProTac Rail Mount HL-X Laser Long Gun Light was installed on the Bren 2 Ms. This multi-fuel offering runs on either Streamlight’s USB-rechargeable 18650 battery or two CR123 batteries and throws 1,000 lumens of white light from the LED on “high” and 60 lumens on “low.” With the rechargeable 18650 battery, the ProTac’s light has a runtime of 1.25 hours on “high” and 23 hours on “low.” For CQB work, it also features a red laser for more precise shot placement. The unit is shipped with two tail caps—one with push buttons and the other with a cable and remote pressure switch. The ProTac has an IPX4 water-resistance rating and is supplied with the Rail Grabber Picatinny mount. Made from anodized aluminum, the ProTac…

Mistake: Ignoring the local weather. Four years ago, John K. and his son failed to bring a weather radio on their campout—and they paid the price. What started as normal weather soon became highly breezy, then colder, and then, all hell broke loose. Wind was whipping throughout their campsite. One tent was destroyed as they both hunkered down in another. After the storm, they realized several trees were knocked down—some mere feet from their tent. Suffice it to say, they changed their ways: They now bring a radio and a sturdier tent on all outdoor outings. Mistake: Not bringing proper gear and unprepared for insects. During their teen years, Gordon H. and his buddy decided to hike light and fast while traveling outdoors, so leaving behind their tent was their…

Long before power tillers and tractors, hand tools and animal-powered plows were the norm. I recommend the following tools for your victory garden: • Long-handled shovel: Use for turning the soil, as well as prying out larger rocks. • Steel-tined bow rake: Use to rake out large clumps of sod and rocks and for moving soil. • Lawn rake: Use for finish-raking and smoothing the planting area. • Hoes, both long- and short-handled: Use for weeding between plants and close-up work while planting.…

Reality is based completely on personal experience. Our bodies are just imperfect tools used to analyze the world around us. What I see as “blue” might appear as “purple” to others. Because of this, it’s challenging to completely and identically comprehend what any person experiences, and we can only perceive potential parallels. Reality is a series of hallucinations based on the information our brain processes. The difference from other hallucinations is that we agree on what reality’s hallucinations are. Because of this subjective nature of reality, those with cognitive or neurological differences might experience situations differently than neuro-typical individuals. The same applies to children, as compared to adults. The world looks completely unique to the young ... because to them, it is. I remember as a child dismantling a pen…

These helpers can lessen your fear-induced anxiety: Face Your Fear. This might appear easy from the outside—but not to someone looking fear in the face. However, by exposing yourself to your fear in small increments, you could begin to desensitize yourself from it and work your way toward beating it entirely. Breathe. Yes, something as simple as controlled breathing can slow your heart rate and allow you to focus once again. Mentally telling yourself "Breathe and calm down" works wonders, because your mind directs your body, not the other way around. Imagine the Worst-Case Scenario. Let your mind help you, even at a time when it causes you distress during your fears. If you think through some of the worst possible situations that might arise from your fears, you’ll then…

OK, folks, it’s October. There are only a couple more months before the number on the calendar changes and we can put this aberration of a year behind us. While nothing we haven’t already talked about came up this year, partly because we cover a lot of ground in these pages, I think one of the things that makes 2020 one for the books is that so many people experienced the same challenges and threats at the same time. Virtually everyone on the planet has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic to one degree or another. While we regularly watch for the odd Ebola outbreak, salmonella infections or the return of measles to the United States, these dangers have affected comparatively minute populations by comparison with COVID-19’s reach. Most, if…

“ONE OF THE BEST PREPS YOU CAN ACCOMPLISH IS TO GET YOUR FINANCIAL HOUSE IN ORDER.” Let’s say your car breaks down tomorrow; it’ll cost you $1,000 to get it back on the road. You have no other vehicle, and you need this one to get to work and back. Could you swing the expense? What if it were $500? For far too many people, even $100 would throw their entire budget out of whack. One of the best preps you can accomplish is to get your financial house in order. As anyone who’s been there will tell you, the more broke you are, the more often the smallest emergencies seem nearly insurmountable. Nobody likes having to pay an unexpected $100 for a car repair, but when doing so means…

In a typical emergency evacuation, the vast majority of problems you’ll run across can be resolved through the use of a cell phone, credit card or cash. I know this flies in the face of much of what you’ll read in survival and prepper literature, but it’s the simple truth. Consider setting aside funds that are separate from your emergency fund for your bug-out bag or other evacuation kit. A good goal is to have enough cash on hand to allow you to fill up your vehicle with fuel, feed your family for a couple of days and pay for at least two nights in a decent motel. Doing so will give you options, should the time come that you need to beat feet immediately. It’s a judgment call as…

It’s easy to take a look at a big company such as Spyderco without seeing the early struggles and hard work that went into becoming successful in a very competitive industry. Sal and Gail Glesser founded Spyderco in 1976. The name came from Sal’s fondness of Spyder sports cars and their first product—the spider-like Portable Hand, which featured long legs, joints and alligator clips and was sold to hobbyists for clasping small parts. Spyderco’s next product was a ceramic knife sharpener, an updated version of which is sold as the Tri-Angle Sharpmaker to this day. The young couple borrowed money to get started. They bought and converted an old bread truck to live in and towed their Volkswagen “Bug” behind it. They sold their products at shows and fairs, having…

BOOKS Crockett’s Victory Garden, James Underwood Crockett; Little, Brown and Company, 1977 This is an older book (published in 1977), but if you can get your hands on it, pick it up. Check online, in used bookstores and at yard sales to find it. Extreme Simplicity: A Guide to Urban Homesteading, Christopher and Delores Lynn Nyerges; Dover Publications, 2013 This book deals with all aspects of urban living, including gardening. 273 pages MSRP: $14.95 Amazon.com The Self-Sufficient Home: Going Green and Saving Money, Christopher Nyerges; Stackpole Books, 2009 This book has a complete section on gardening and composting. 288 pages MSRP: $19.95 Amazon.com WEBSITES Burpee.com. One of the best home-gardening websites I’ve found is Burpee.com/findgrowzone. The section called “My Grow Zone” is really good. It lets you use your zip…

There are many effective ways to prepare for the unexpected. When it comes to being prepared, “expect the unexpected” is absolutely a must—especially when it involves those who experience challenges adapting to rapidly changing circumstances. Martial arts have long been a form of preparing people for unexpected situations and planning for various outcomes. The right instructor challenges the student. And, with constructive criticism and motivation, they also help their student grow in crucial ways. Within this training, there’s also preparation of the body for unique movement by building strength and stamina for continued and precise movement when necessary. However, what nearly all “therapies” tend to overlook is the unknown—and this is where martial arts truly shine. For neuro-diverse individuals, it takes a specialized kind of instructor to best assist. Some…

Instantly Nervous in Any Dark Area. Whether you’re caught on the streets after dark; in a room when the lights unexpectedly go out; or when a sudden power outage occurs and your body suddenly becomes agitated, nervous and showing signs of high anxiety, your fear of the dark could be more than just an annoying occurrence. Constantly Staying up at Night. Restlessness, tossing and turning through the night or constant insomnia aren’t necessarily concrete signs of a phobia of the dark. However, if coupled with other nyctophobia symptoms, you might need some help to both address your fear and to get a good and satisfying night’s sleep. Need a Light Nearby to Sleep. Does complete darkness make you feel uneasy? Is it difficult to get to sleep when it’s completely…