Will is Essential to Survive
Knowledge: Breeds Confidence, Dispels Fear Training: Master & Maintain Skills Kit: Equipment is a Bonus

Search & Rescue
Me first, me second, me third, my partner fourth, the victim fifth Have a plan based on topography, time and resources

What is Possible
Who is with you, what are the known hard skills, where is everyone's head - ability, committment, responsibility?
What are the possibilities?
What are the costs?

Climate & Terrain
Seashores offer abundant food & excellent prospects for survival. Be clear of the maximum high tides. Be aware of many food sources. Be cognizant of swimming dangers. Islands can create acute isolation. Evaluate all resources, don't exploit. Desert shores & arid regions. Mountains. Arctic & tropical regions.

Survival at Sea or on Water
Where are currents and wind carrying you?
Abandoning ship decision?
When would you?
In the water. Clothing on? wrap neck
Know indicators of land. Cumulus, birds, smells, current shifts

Food & Water
You can survive 3 weeks without food, 3 days only without water. The body loses 2-3 litres of water per day.

How to retain fluids
Avoid exertion, rest. Keep cool, stay in shade, erect shelter. Don't lie on hot areas. Don't eat unless have water or eat as little as possible, fat is especially hard to digest.
No alcohol. Reduce talk, breath through the nose. No salt water. No urine, no smoking

Collecting water
Plan your catchment ahead, rinse and saturate cloth, avoid contamination

Finding water
Study the topography, valleys, stream beds, traps, above high tide line. Dew & rain collection. Watch and use the animals & plants. Condensation from branches and leaves. Build a solar stills.

Nutrition
You should have a basic understanding of general requirements of carbohydrates, protein, fat, minerals & vitamins.

Salt
Important for cramps, dizziness, nausea, tiredness.

Testing New Foods
Only 1 person should test: Inspect-avoid slimy, wormy, old. Smell-crush and avoid bitter almond or peach smells. Skin irritation-squeeze or rub onto tender skin. Lips, mouth, tongue-waiting 15 seconds in between. Swallow and wait 5 hours. If you've stomach trouble, drink hot water, eat charcoal or ash.

Gather Plants Systematically
You should work on identifying plants of your proposed area, but some general rules IF not positively identified: Avoid plants with milky sap, red plants, fruit divided into 5 segments, plants with barbs old or wilted leaves that may be ok if young and tender, avoid mature bracken,
wash salt from seaweeds.

Animals for Food
Finding & capturing. Trapping - mangle, strangle, dangle, tangle. Hunting - methods & tools & handling the kill.
Fishing - nets, traps and spears often better than lines. All birds are edible. Insects are rich in fat, protein and
carbohydrates but remove hairs, wings, casings. Avoid insects feeding on carrion or refuse, avoid grubs on underside of leaves, if brightly colored often poisonous.
Animal dangers are greater from diseases and parasites than attack. Beware of dangerous confrontations, animals can smell fear, move slowly, talk calmly. If you run consider zig zag. Climbing trees is a last resort.

Attracting Attention
Lay out signals, polish metal with sand, set fires ready to light, use your mirror. Know your flares and use wisely. Alert and locate functions.

Camp Craft
Shelter & making camp
Fire fuel and lighting
Types of fires & cooking
Preserving food
Tools
Ropes & knots. ladders, snares

Moving On
The Decision to Move. Stock up. Check gear, make packs & clothing. Carry signaling & shelter. Weather. Route Planning

One Possible Survival Kit
Matches, candle, flint, magnifying glass, needles & thread, fish hooks & line, compass, chem sticks, snare wire, flexible saw, med kit What would you add or delete?

Choosing your Knife
You are only as sharp as your knife. Strong and able.

Exposure - Hypothermia & Dehydration
Know the signs & treatment. Use clothing, huddling, bivy bags, hot liquids.

Wilderness Medicine
No medical facilities, extended patient management, delayed transport, limited and improvised equipment, severe environment.

Initial Assessment - A B C s (fix as you find)
Scene - MOI (mechanism of injury), exposure
History - what do you already know?
SAMPLE - S ymptoms, A Ilergies, M
edications, P ast medical history, L ast, E
vents Exam (check head to toe). smell, hear, feel, see.
Patient trust
Vital Signs (repeat at intervals) - Pulse (normal: 60-80 beats/minute), Respiration (normal: 12-20/minute), B/P (Radial, Fernoral, Carotid), Skin Temperature and Color.

AVPU (Awake, Vocal, Pain, Unresponsive)

Medical Conclusions
Anticipated and Current Problems List
Treatment Plan - (medical treatment and evacuation plan)
Know treatment for- bleeding, sprains,
dislocations, fractures, shock, infections,
burns, wounds, drowning & seasickness.

Survival Log
Keeps up morale, may be a valuable reference. Reading Any accounts of survivors and incidents.

In State of Oklahoma it's Illegal to Snare this is only to be done if you in a survival stipulation only

Simple Snare
A simple snare consists of a noose placed over a trail or den hole and attached to a firmly planted stake. If the noose is some type of cordage placed upright on a game trail, use small twigs or blades of grass to hold it up. Filaments from spider webs are excellent for holding nooses open. Make sure the noose is large enough to pass freely over the animal's head. As the animal continues to move, the noose tightens around its neck. The more the animal struggles, the tighter the noose gets. This type of snare usually does not kill the animal. If you use cordage, it may loosen enough to slip off the animal's neck. Wire is therefore the best choice for a simple snare.

Drag Noose
Use a drag noose on an animal run. Place forked sticks on either side of the run and lay a sturdy cross member across them. Tie the noose to the cross member and hang it at a height above the animal's head. (Nooses designed to catch by the head should never be low enough for the prey to step into with a foot.) As the noose tightens around the animal's neck, the animal pulls the cross member from the forked sticks and drags it along. The surrounding vegetation quickly catches the cross member and the animal becomes entangled.

Twitch-Up
A twitch-up is a supple sapling, which, when bent over and secured with a triggering device, will provide power to a variety of snares. Select a hardwood sapling along the trail. A twitch-up will work much faster and with more force if you remove all the branches and foliage.

Twitch-Up Snare
A simple twitch-up snare uses two forked sticks, each with a long and short leg. Bend the twitch-up and mark the trail below it. Drive the long leg of one forked stick firmly into the ground at that point. Ensure the cut on the short leg of this stick is parallel to the ground. Tie the long leg of the remaining forked stick to a piece of cordage secured to the twitch-up. Cut the short leg so that it catches on the short leg of the other forked stick. Extend a noose over the trail. Set the trap by bending the twitch-up and engaging the short legs of the forked sticks. When an animal catches its head in the noose, it pulls the forked sticks apart, allowing the twitch-up to spring up and hang the prey.

Squirrel Pole
A squirrel pole is a long pole placed against a tree in an area showing a lot of squirrel activity. Place several wire nooses along the top and sides of the pole so that a squirrel trying to go up or down the pole will have to pass through one or more of them. Position the nooses (5 to 6 centimeters in diameter) about 2.5 centimeters off the pole. Place the top and bottom wire nooses 45 centimeters from the top and bottom of the pole to prevent the squirrel from getting its feet on a solid surface. If this happens, the squirrel will chew through the wire. Squirrels are naturally curious. After an initial period of caution, they will try to go up or down the pole and will get caught in a noose. The struggling animal will soon fall from the pole and strangle. Other squirrels will soon follow and, in this way, you can catch several squirrels. You can emplaces multiple poles to increase the catch.

TYPES OF SHELTERS

When looking for a shelter site, keep in mind the type of shelter (protection) you need. However, you must also consider--

• How much time and effort you need to build the shelter.
• If the shelter will adequately protect you from the elements (sun, wind, rain, snow).
• If you have the tools to build it. If not, can you make improvised tools?
• If you have the type and amount of materials needed to build it.

To answer these questions, you need to know how to make various types of shelters and what materials you need to make them

Field-Expedient Lean-To

If you are in a wooded area and have enough natural materials, you can make a field-expedient lean-to without the aid of tools or with only a knife. It takes longer to make this type of shelter than it does to make other types, but it will protect you from the elements.

You will need two trees (or upright poles) about 2 meters apart; one pole about 2 meters long and 2.5 centimeters in diameter; five to eight poles about 3 meters long and 2.5 centimeters in diameter for beams; cord or vines for securing the horizontal support to the trees; and other poles, saplings, or vines to crisscross the beams.

To make this lean-to-

 

• Tie the 2-meter pole to the two trees at waist to chest height. This is the horizontal support. If a standing tree is not available, construct a biped using Y-shaped sticks or two tripods.
• Place one end of the beams (3-meter poles) on one side of the horizontal support. As with all lean-to type shelters, be sure to place the lean-to's backside into the wind.
• Crisscross saplings or vines on the beams.
• Cover the framework with brush, leaves, pine needles, or grass, starting at the bottom and working your way up like shingling.
• Place straw, leaves, pine needles, or grass inside the shelter for bedding.

In cold weather, add to your lean-to's comfort by building a fire reflector wall. Drive four 1.5-meter-long stakes into the ground to support the wall. Stack green logs on top of one another between the support stakes. Form two rows of stacked logs to create an inner space within the wall that you can fill with dirt. This action not only strengthens the wall but makes it more heat reflective. Bind the top of the support stakes so that the green logs and dirt will stay in place.

With just a little more effort you can have a drying rack. Cut a few 2-centimeter-diameter poles (length depends on the distance between the lean-to's horizontal support and the top of the fire reflector wall). Lay one end of the poles on the lean-to support and the other end on top of the reflector wall. Place and tie into place smaller sticks across these poles. You now have a place to dry clothes, meat, or fish.

Poncho Lean-To

It takes only a short time and minimal equipment to build this lean-to. You need a poncho, 2 to 3 meters of rope or parachute suspension line, three stakes about 30 centimeters long, and two trees or two poles 2 to 3 meters apart. Before selecting the trees you will use or the location of your poles, check the wind direction. Ensure that the back of your lean-to will be into the wind.

To make the lean-to--

• Tie off the hood of the poncho. Pull the drawstring tight, roll the hood long ways, fold it into thirds, and tie it off with the drawstring.
• Cut the rope in half. On one long side of the poncho, tie half of the rope to the corner grommet. Tie the other half to the other corner grommet.
• Attach a drip stick (about a 10-centimeter stick) to each rope about 2.5 centimeters from the grommet. These drip sticks will keep rainwater from running down the ropes into the lean-to. Tying strings (about 10 centimeters long) to each grommet along the poncho's top edge will allow the water to run to and down the line without dripping into the shelter.
• Tie the ropes about waist high on the trees (uprights). Use a round turn and two half hitches with a quick-release knot.
• Spread the poncho and anchor it to the ground, putting sharpened sticks through the grommets and into the ground.

If you plan to use the lean-to for more than one night, or you expect rain, make a center support for the lean-to. Make this support with a line. Attach one end of the line to the poncho hood and the other end to an overhanging branch. Make sure there is no slack in the line.

Another method is to place a stick upright under the center of the lean-to. This method, however, will restrict your space and movements in the shelter.

For additional protection from wind and rain, place some brush, your rucksack, or other equipment at the sides of the lean-to.

To reduce heat loss to the ground, place some type of insulating material, such as leaves or pine needles, inside your lean-to.

Poncho Tent

This tent provides a low silhouette. It also protects you from the elements on two sides. It has, however, less usable space and observation area than a lean- to.. To make this tent, you need a poncho, two 1.5- to 2.5-meter ropes, six sharpened sticks about 30 centimeters long, and two trees 2 to 3 meters apart.

To make the tent--

• Tie off the poncho hood in the same way as the poncho lean-to.
• Tie a 1.5- to 2.5-meter rope to the center grommet on each side of the poncho.
• Tie the other ends of these ropes at about knee height to two trees 2 to 3 meters apart and stretch the poncho tight.
• Draw one side of the poncho tight and secure it to the ground pushing sharpened sticks through the grommets.
• Follow the same procedure on the other side.

If you need a center support, use the same methods as for the poncho lean-to. Another center support is an A-frame set outside but over the center of the tent . Use two 90- to 120-centimeter-long sticks, one with a forked end, to form the A-frame. Tie the hood's drawstring to the A-frame to support the center of the tent.

One-Man Shelter

A one-man shelter you can easily make using a parachute requires a tree and three poles. One pole should be about 4.5 meters long and the other two about 3 meters long.

To make this shelter -

 

• Secure the 4.5-meter pole to the tree at about waist height.
• Lay the two 3-meter poles on the ground on either side of and in the same direction as the 4.5-meter pole.
• Lay the folded canopy over the 4.5 meter pole so that about the same amount of material hangs on both sides.
• Tuck the excess material under the 3-meter poles, and spread it on the ground inside to serve as a floor.
• Stake down or put a spreader between the two 3-meter poles at the shelter's entrance so they will not slide inward.
• Use any excess material to cover the entrance.

The parachute cloth makes this shelter wind resistant, and the shelter is small enough that it is easily warmed. A candle, used carefully, can keep the inside temperature comfortable. This shelter is unsatisfactory, however, when snow is falling as even a light snowfall will cave it in

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