The two most important things to remember are BE PREPARED and DON'T PANIC. You need to be ready for survival situations the minute you leave your home, your camp or your vehicle. If you wait until you are wet, alone and in a thick fog before you think about survival, you are already in deep trouble! Think ahead.
Basic Survival Rules
If you remember to follow these simple rules, you will be prepared
to survive the situation described in the above story.
Stay put if you are lost. Don't wander around and get yourself into
deeper trouble. If you let somebody know where you were going to hunt,
they'll be looking for you in that area. Aimless wandering will only make
the search more difficult. Rescue teams are trained to find you, so stay
put!
Plan ways to signal for help. A signal mirror, smoke from a fire, etc., can all be used. Three of anything-toots on a whistle, smoke signals, etc.- signal a need for help.
Planning Your Hunt
You should always plan your hunt. Buy and study maps of the area you
plan to hunt. Try to visit the hunting area before hunting season so you
can learn more about it.
You should never hunt alone. Always hunt with others, and always be
careful when choosing hunting partners! Make sure your hunting partners
are safe hunters and also know how to survive in the woods!
Stay out of dangerous or unfamiliar areas, such as cliffs, slide areas
and iced over lakes or streams.
Notify Others Of Your Plans
Make sure that other people know where you are hunting and when you
plan to return from your hunt. Search and rescue teams only look for people
that they know are lost! If you should become lost, nobody will look for
you unless they know you are lost. Tell friends and family at home about
your hunting plans. When you are out hunting, you can also leave a note
in your car, truck or camp about your hunting plans for that day. Be sure
to note if you change your plans. If there is a place to register, such
as a ranger station, do so
Know The Weather Conditions In Your Hunting Area The weather at home
and the weather in your hunting area may be very different! Check the weather
forecast before you leave and be sure that your hunting clothes are suitable
for the weather. Some of our worst weather is during hunting season....be
prepared for it! Cotton clothes and blue jeans are terrible to wear in
wet, windy weather. Cotton actually makes you feel colder in such weather.
Wool clothes, and some modern synthetic fabrics, provide warmth even when
wet.
Be Prepared For Worse Weather!
Weather conditions can change quickly during the hunting season. A
light rainfall can change to freezing rain in just a few minutes. Three
feet of snow can fall overnight. Temperatures can drop 30 to 40 degrees
in just a few hours or even a few minutes in some places. You need to be
prepared to survive the worst weather conditions....not just the weather
conditions of today.
Weathermen forecast the weather, but the forecasts can change very
quickly. Choose clothes that will handle the weather. One way to prepare
for the worst conditions is to use the layering principle. You wear or
carry with you several layers of clothing.
Hypothermia is usually caused by one of two conditions:
Mild Hypothermia
A basic survival kit could include the following items:
BASIC SURVIVAL KIT
Fire Building Skills
If you are alone, lost or in a survival situation, fire is really man's
best friend. A fire can keep you warm, and you can use it to signal for
help. A good fire will also help keep calm and allow you to cook, and it
will keep you busy as you wait for help to arrive!
Of course, you will need the skill to build a fire. You will need three
things to start a fire: (1) A source of heat to start a fire; (2) Tinder
and kindling to get the fire going; and (3) Fuel to keep the fire burning.
In your survival kit you should have at least one ready source of heat
either waterproof matches or a disposable lighter. You should also have
some type of fire starter in your survival kit. You will need to find kindling
and fuel to build the fire. You should find these items before you start
to make your fire!
You will need about ten large armloads of firewood to keep a small
fire going all night. Collect your firewood before dark! It's often very
wet during hunting season, but there are many materials which will burn
in such conditions. If you do not have very good fire building skills,
you may need to add some additional materials to your survival kit to help
you get a fire started in wet, hunting season conditions.
Safety And Survival Around Vehicles
Hunters use a variety of vehicles for hunting. Boats, bicycles, off
road vehicles, pick up trucks, campers and recreational vehicles are often
found in or around hunting camps. Unfortunately, some hunters forget the
special safety precautions that apply to these vehicles. Rough weather
or a snag in a river can quickly capsize a boat. Everybody in a boat should
wear a personal flotation device (PFD) as long as they remain on the water.
You may be a great swimmer, but a dunk in frigid water will leave you numb
in moments. Wearing a PFD could mean the difference between life or death.
Mountain bikes and three and four wheel vehicles are now commonly found
in the woods, and all riders should wear a helmet to protect themselves
in the event of a fall. Never carry a loaded firearm while riding!
Many hunters use pick up trucks, campers or recreational vehicles as
part of their base camp. Sometimes hunters use their vehicles to fight
off the fall chill, but they forget that a faulty exhaust or heating system
can lead to carbon monoxide poisoning....and death. Make sure that your
hunting vehicle is in good repair and that you always have proper ventilation
when using heating systems.
Disease And Illness
"Don't drink the (untreated) water!" is a good rule of thumb when hunting
or hiking. Bring your own, safe supply of drinking water, or boil or treat
water before drinking it. You may think that the water five miles from
the nearest road has to be pure....but both man and animals carry disease!
'Beaver fever' (giardiasis) is a very unpleasant illness that is easily
avoided: Drink only water that you carry in or treat.
Wild animals serve as the host to a variety of parasites, but very
few of them become problems for hunters. However, wildlife transmitted
diseases have been reported in Washington in recent years, including Lyme
disease and bubonic plague. While these are not common, they are potentially
present. Check your body for bites and unusual marks if you notice a large
number of ticks on an animal you have just harvested. Visit a doctor if
you have come into contact with wild animals and experience unusual symptoms
after returning from a hunting trip.
Fight The Enemies Of Survival
The picture below shows the problems that people face in a survival
situation. People who are unprepared for outdoor emergencies may be beaten
by these "enemies of survival". Don't let them beat you!
Think back to the survival situation at the beginning of this article.
If you have planned your hunt, and if you have prepared your survival kit
properly, what would you do? Would you survive?
Until next week, Good Luck, Happy Hunting, and God Bless. . . . . . . . .Stu Keck