Indholdsfortegnelse for January 2021 i American Outdoor Guide

“THERE ARE REVOLVERS AND SEMI-AUTOMATICS; SHORT BARRELS AND LONG; AND WAY TOO MANY CALIBERS TO LIST. EACH ONE HAS ITS PLACE AND PURPOSE. YOU JUST NEED TO NARROW THEM DOWN UNTIL YOU FIND WHAT’S RIGHT FOR YOU.” There’s a great deal of responsibility to owning any firearm, especially a handgun. So, before you run out and purchase one, ask yourself, “Why?” If you can’t honestly answer this question sensibly, I hope this article helps you figure it out. The purchase of any firearm should never be an impulse buy, and it shouldn’t be bought because it’s the “cool” thing to do. Firearms are not toys or pieces of jewelry to be flashed around; firearms are tools—dangerous tools that need to be treated with the utmost respect. BEFORE YOU BUY Do…

I’d describe it as a hatchet with a military tomahawk lineage. And, it can handle any marching orders you’re likely to give it. The Case Winkler Pack Axe is a tool that provides more chopping power than a large knife, yet it's small and light enough that you won’t be tempted to leave it at home. As a tool for survival applications on pavement or off, it’d be hard to beat. WHAT IS IT? The Case Winkler Pack Axe, as the name implies, is a collaboration between W.R. Case & Sons Cutlery Company and Winkler Knives and is the most recent offering in the Case American Heroes series. First, let’s look at the build. At just 26 ounces, the Pack Axe is a lightweight hatchet. It’s crafted from a single…

Fire is essential for survival. It might not be the top priority right off the bat but, eventually, fire is a requisite part of human life. It provides light and, more important at this time of year, warmth. It makes questionable water safer to drink and cooks our food. Fire gives us bacon, bourbon and S’mores. Need I say more? Fire can be used to sterilize a needle or cauterize a nasty wound. It’s often employed as a way to reduce the spread of, and eradicate, disease. Fire can summon help, either on its own at night or by creating smoke during the day. Fire can provide light to allow us to do many important tasks deep into the night. It can be a welcoming beacon to friends and help…

As the New Year is ushering in new challenges, American Survival Guide is bringing you new products to meet them. As always, we’ve selected quality items from trusted sources which, by themselves or paired together, will help you deal with whatever 2021 has to throw your way. From knives to accessories for your weapons to gear to keep you warm or organized, we think you’ll be able to find something to help you rise to the occasion. 1 Zero Tolerance ZT0707 Folder Zero Tolerance made the all-new ZT0707 to be the ultimate EDC knife. Its long, slender design provides ample blade length, while the ultra-deep-carry pocket clip and gently curved handle make it all but disappear in the pocket. The 3.5-inch drop-point blade is made from CPM-20CV steel and features…

“IF 10MM IS YOUR ‘SHTICK,’ AND YOU WON’T SETTLE FOR LESS THAN THE VERY BEST, THE APC 10 PRO IS THE ONLY STOP YOU HAVE TO MAKE.” Things have gotten a little strange in this world, what with the “mostly peaceful protests” that the news media and all of us keep talking about. Gun sales are at an all-time high, and recent figures for the month of August show that we’ve already easily exceeded the number of firearms sold for the entirety of 2019. People are worried—and for good reason. No longer is it the random robber or burglar we’re worried about. Now, we have to worry about being attacked by a frenzied mob. It’s little wonder that people are looking for “more comprehensive” defensive guns than just the standard…

The dark can be a scary place. No matter whether you’re a seasoned outdoorsman, a veteran of the military or law enforcement, or just an “ordinary Joe” with very few phobias, the darkness can send a chill up and down your spine. Although the true fear might lie in the darkness being equivalent to the unknown, it doesn’t change the fact that being without light can cause unneeded stress, worry and a serious risk to your security and well-being. However, a simple and very obvious solution to keep you moving forward is to create your own light, no matter where you are, with portable and powerful lighting gear. From handheld flashlights and pop-up lanterns to pen-sized darkness-piercers, there’s an illuminator that can break through the blackness and enable you to…

Name: Wild Apples (Malus pumila and Malus hybrids) Description Worldwide, there are about 25 species of the Malus genus, which includes all our domestic apples. According to botanists, all our apples come from the wild crab apple (Malus pumila) and two distinct forms—M. sylvestris (from northern Europe) and M. mitis (from southern and eastern Europe). The apple has been popular as far back in time as we have records and has been domesticated and cloned going back at least as far as ancient Roman times. According to the USDA, there are around 7,000 varieties of that domestic apple. If you’ve ever seen a domestic apple tree in an orchard or backyard, you know what the tree looks like. In the wild, these will be small trees, often in thickets. You’ll…

You can practice fire-by-friction techniques for endless hours. You can search for the perfect hunk of flint to make beautiful, lifesaving sparks with a piece of carbon steel. But the best way to come close to a guarantee that you’ll have fire when you need it most is to carry proven fire-starting gear with you whenever you step off pavement. I MUST HAVE FIRE! In good conditions, I rely on fire to keep me warm, to purify my water, cook my meals, generate smoke to ward off insects and keep beasts—both real and imaginary—at a safe distance in the dark. However, in a survival situation, fire isn’t merely a convenience. It can be a life-or-death matter to have it. There are innumerable reasons you might be caught out unexpectedly overnight.…

During the 19th and early 20th centuries, it was common to keep livestock, including pigs, cows and even chickens, in towns and cities in the United States. As the cities grew, local ordinances slowly curbed the keeping of animals in urban centers—mostly due to the issues of noise and smell nuisances—but even those were relaxed during wartime as people were encouraged to find creative ways to feed themselves. After World War II, the flight to the suburbs, thanks to the availability of the automobile, along with increased accessibility to packaged and prepared foods, made the keeping of animals a thing of the past. By the 1980s, for the most part, only farmers (or possibly hippies) dared raise chickens. Given the fact that there’s an abundance of grocery stores in most…

“MY EXPERIENCE WITH THE URSUS 45 AND SMALL GAME KNIVES HAS ONLY SOLIDIFIED MY OPINION OF WHITE RIVER’S QUALITY PRODUCTS. THESE TWO ARE EXCELLENT KNIVES, WELL-SUITED FOR A WIDE RANGE OF TASKS.” Near the western edge of a small Michigan town called Fremont sits one of the best knife makers in the country. There, led by patriarch John Cammenga Sr. and his wife, Susan, White River Knife & Tool produces top-quality blades suited for survival, bushcraft and much more. This is truly a family business, because their sons, Matt and John Jr., are also integral members of the team. About a year ago, I had the opportunity to play around with a couple of White River’s knives—the M1 Backpacker Pro and the Firecraft FC5. I’ve been eager for “round number…

During a seminar, one of the students asked, “What are the ‘best’ plants for planting in my own yard or garden? Can you tell me the top six plants I should grow?” These seem like simple enough questions, but it’s really more akin to asking a life-long knife smith, “What’s the best knife?” How can you really answer that question? Although I did (eventually) answer it, we had a lengthy discussion first. WHAT ARE THE BEST PLANTS? In order to answer this question, we first have to define what we want to get from the plants we decide to work with: • Which plants are the most nutritious? • Which plants are the most productive with the least amount of work? • Which plants are easiest to grow (in your…