A disaster has just turned your world upside down.  You are in the middle of an earthquake, a tsunami or forest fire and chaos is all around you.

Now what? What will you do next?

by Leon Pantenburg

Let’s hope you have thought about this in advance, and that you have a plan for dealing with this situation.

If you don’t, a book that I’ve read recently, “It’s a Disaster…”,  may help. Read the review here.

Authors Bill and Janet Liebsch are veteran emergency first responders, have a list of credentials as long as your arm, and have been  in the preparedness industry 12+ years. They are civilians, but have worked with many, many first responders. This book could be very valuable to your survival, and invaluable for your preparedness plans.

And you can win your own, free copy by entering this giveaway that goes through Jan. 19, 2012. Entering is easy – just sign up for the free, weekly SurvivalCommonSense.com update newsletter below. There is no obligation, and you can unsubscribe at any time. If you’re already on the mailing list (THANK YOU!) just drop me a line at: survivalcommonsense.com@gmail.com and I’ll put you into the drawing!

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A disaster has just happened and what is the first thing to do? Well, this is not the time to draw a blank, and have no idea of what must happen next if you want to survive. This book may help.

by Leon Pantenburg

If you’re like 90 percent of Americans – you don’t have a clue about emergency preparedness. And the first time you will actually ever think about the concept will be when the disaster or emergency event occurs.

But you’ve read this far, so apparently you want info on how to prepare. No matter where you live, experts recommend coming up with some sort of  emergency plan, and that is the purpose of “It’s a Disaster.”

Written by veteran preppers Bill and Janet Liebsch, the book is intended to be a manual that stays with all your preparedness equipment. The Liebsches founded and set up FedHealth, a publishing and marketing company dedicated to helping bring public awareness to preparedness issues.

“It’s a Disaster”  is so full of information that it is not a particularly easy read. The manual is broken down into specific sections, covering family emergency plans, disaster preparedness and prevention, and basic first aid.

One of the more useful sections is the one devoted to emergency contacts to specific government agencies.

Custom covers can be designed for different organizations.

“It’s a Disaster” starts by explaining some of inherent dangers people face in different parts of the country. It covers a gamut of emergency situations ranging from avalanches to winter storm survival. It also discusses how to act during a terrorist attack, what to do if you see a tornado approaching, or best actions if there is a chemical spill or gas attack.

Then, by assessing the potential dangers you face, it is possible to refine your disaster preparedness plan to best suit your situation.

The Liebeshes are not physicians, but the first aid information alone is worth the cost of the book. The basic skills and information is informative, easy to understand, and well-illustrated. The book’s first aid and emergency response info could be a lifesaver during a disaster when emergency response personnel need some help or were overwhelmed by the number of injured people.

One of the best things about this publication is the cost. It retails for $14.99, but that is more a statement of purpose than anything else. The book can be purchased for government agencies, nonprofits, civic clubs, emergency response volunteers, churches and schools for substantial discounts. In some instances, the book can be purchased in bulk for as little as $3.50 per copy.

This book could help save your life.

 (To listen to the SurvivalCommonSense.com interview with Janet Liebsche on “The Survival Mom Radio Hour” click here. The show is #13.)

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How do you encapsulate a survivor’s mentality into a personalized model that can be duplicated and personalized? That’s what John A. Heatherly taught in “The Survival Template.”

Now, Heatherly expands on that concept in his latest publication “The Medicine Symbol.”

You can sign up to get your own copy free by entering this pre-Christmas giveaway. Entering is easy – just sign up for the free, weekly SurvivalCommonSense.com update.

There is no obligation, and you can unsubscribe at any time. If you’re already on the mailing list (THANK YOU!) just drop me a line at: survivalcommonsense.com@gmail.com and I’ll put you into the drawing!

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Any list you make shows your priorities, and hopefully this list will help establish some in your survival planning!

by Leon Pantenburg

The idea behind SurvivalCommonSense.com started several years ago. As a journalist, I was often on the scene of natural disasters, catastrophes, accidents and search and rescue missions. My observations lead me to this premise: Survival is mostly psychological.

This is certainly no groundbreaking revelation on my part!

“The best survival tool is between your ears,” claims wilderness survival expert Peter Kummerfeldt. This idea is further reinforced by Cody Lundin, another wilderness and urban survival expert, who maintains that 90 percent of survival in any situation is psychological.

One goal of  SurvivalCommonSense.com is to help you develop the survival mindset that will keep you alive. So, let’s start with the baseline knowledge of what happens to people, mentally, in a survival situation. Until you know what might happen in your mind, or in the heads of the people around you, there’s no way to come up with a plan to survive.

With a survival mindset, you can survive anything. Without one, you won’t!

These five are among my favorite survival psychology books, and they deserve a place among your prepper or urban or wilderness survival tools. Here’s some good choices to get you started on creating your survival library:

Union prisoners are seen crowding near the main gate of Andersonville Civil War Prison. The prisoners had some of the psychological reactions anybody would have in an emergency!

“Survival Psychology” by John Leach

Some 20-odd years before the rash of “reality” or “survivor” shows, or anybody had ever heard of Les Stroud or Bear Grylls,  psychological studies resulted in a book which documented people’s  reactions  in emergency situations.

“Survival Psychology” by John Leach, PhD, of the University of Lancaster, England, was a groundbreaking study, that today is a reference source for many wilderness and urban survival bestsellers. If some of Leach’s writing or thoughts sound familiar, it is because you’ve read or heard them before!

Leach studied survivors’ reactions, including those of Union prisoners at the horrific Andersonville prison during the Civil War;  to shipwreck survivors; to people who made it through plane crashes and natural disasters.

Distilled down to one sentence, here’s what Leach found: Psychological responses to emergencies follow a pattern.

Survival situations bring out a variety of reactions – including some that make the situation worse. Leach’s studies show that only 10 to 15 percent of any group involved in any emergency will react appropriately. Another 10 to 15 percent will behave totally inappropriately and the remaining 70 to 80 percent will need to be told what to do. The most common reaction at the onset of an emergency is disbelief and denial.

“Survival Psychology” is out-of-print, as far as I know. But I’ve had no trouble getting a copy through the local inter-library loan program. Your library probably has a similar program, so check out Leach’s book. Survival Psychology

"I Sit and I Stay" is a practical book about how to keep your children safe if they get lost in the outdoors.

“I Sit and Stay: A Survival Guide for Kids (and parents, too!)” by Leah L. Waarvik

Kids need to be outside. They need to be taking advantage of our great outdoors as opposed to vegetating in front of computer or TV screens. But anyone who goes into wilderness areas needs to do so safely, and  “I Sit and Stay” teaches your children what to do if they get lost.

Author Leah Waarvik is a search-and-rescue professional who works as part of a canine team to find missing people in the wilderness. She wrote “I Sit and Stay” after hearing stories of children who were lost and unprepared. The title says it all: Teach your lost children to stay in one place and await rescue.

Written in interesting, easy-to-understand terms, the lesson of staying-put is taught through the characters of Emma and Koa, two wilderness search-and-rescue dogs. The book also mentions and discusses three simple tools that every child (I say every person, regardless of age!) should be taught to use and carry on every outdoor excursion:

• Whistle: Always carry one on a string around your neck when hiking or camping. The child should be taught that if they get lost, they sit and blow. Rescue Howler Whistle by Adventure Medical Kits
• A pocket-sized mirror: Use this to signal search aircraft or other people. Ultimate Survival Technologies 2×3 StarFlash Emergency Signal Mirror
• A large garbage bag: With training this is to be used as a shelter. (My two cents worth is that the bag should be bright yellow or orange to aid in being found.)

After being taught how to use these items, the child should also be trained to carry these survival tools in their pockets or pack. Pockets are probably the best, since a child will probably lose their backpack before their pants! Survival Kit for I Sit and Stay A Survival Guide for Kids and Parents Too!

“The Survivors Club” by Ben Sherwood

Most of us can’t take all the survival field classes and seminars we’d like to, and only a fool would create a real emergency to see how he might react!

Author Ben Sherwood interviewed people who have survived everything from the World War II Holocaust to the Twin Towers tragedy on 9/11. He was seeking a common ground, a kind of definition, about why some people survive catastrophes, disasters, and emergency situations and why others don’t.

His conclusion, after extensive research, is that the most important part of survival is in your mind. And – no surprise here – you must develop a survival mindset.

So where do you begin?

According to the U.S. military, you must first decide you will survive.  The US Army Field Survival Manual, in their official instruction for how to stay alive in hostile environments, offers this advice on the very first pages:

“Without the will to survive, your chances of surviving are greatly diminished,” the book states. US Army Survival Manual: FM 21-76 , Illustrated

The next step to surviving is to accept that whatever is happening to you is not unique. We all want to think we’re special, Sherwood, writes, but any survival situation will cause people to react in established behavior patterns. The sooner you get over being incredulous, the sooner you can start reacting in a positive way and come up with a plan.

Then, a survivor must do something. The most common reaction, regardless of the circumstances, is to do nothing, hang tight and wait for someone else to react first, or tell them what to do.

But surprisingly, there aren’t a lot of panic attacks during an emergency. Researchers examining crises as disparate as the WWII London Blitz and the attacks of Sept 11 found people rarely lose total control and run around mindlessly. Rather, most just freeze until they’re told what to do.

So we keep reading “The Survivors Club,” because we all want to know the secret, the one thing that can make a difference between living and dying.

What is the secret of survival? Sherwood asked Ray Smith, former Marine Drill Instructor, with 27 years on active duty in the Navy as a survival instructor. Smith is the author of  How to Survive on Land and Sea. Smith’s answer is simple.

“Faith in God,” Smith says “It’s a major factor in all survival scenarios.”

“Man’s Search For Meaning” by Viktor E. Frankl

I first ran into the writings of Viktor Frankl, eminent psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor, when I was in graduate school. Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning remains one of my favorite books. So it was no surprise to me that Frankl was mentioned in The Survivors Club. Frankl developed a survival mindset to get through Auschwitz.

“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing:” Frankl observed, “The last of human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”

Purpose gives you the why – the meaning and mission – in your life. It also gives you the power to survive.

Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, and Why by Lawrence Gonzales

I read “Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies, And Why”  in a few marathon sessions. The fast-paced accounts of real life survival situations are mesmerizing. It’s a good survival mindset read and I couldn’t help wondering what I might do in some of the situations.

In the book, Gonzales mentions 12 points that disaster survivors seemed to have in common.  These points are definitely worth reading and thinking about, even if you don’t get anything else out of the book.

1. Perceive, believe: If there is any denial, it is counterbalanced by a solid belief in the clear evidence of their senses. In other words, survivors establish a survival mindset immediately. They see opportunity, even good, in their situation.
2. Stay calm (use humor, use fear to focus) In the initial crisis, survivors use fear, and aren’t ruled by it.
3. Think/analyze/plan: Survivors quickly organize, set up small manageable tasks. In other words, they’re using the STOP tool.
4. Take correct decisive action: Survivors were able to convert thoughts to action. They deal with what they can from moment to moment, hour to hour.
5. Celebrate successes: This is important to maintaining motivation and avoiding hopelessness.
6. Count you blessings: Be grateful you’re alive.
7. Play: Sing, play mind games, recite poetry, count things etc.
8. See the beauty: Survivors are attuned to the wonder of the world.
9. Believe you will succeed: All the above practices lead to the point where survivors become convinced they will prevail.
10. Surrender: Let go of your fear of dying. This is the type of thinking John Leach calls: “resignation without giving up. It is survival by surrender.”
11. Do whatever is necessary: Survivors know their abilities and don’t over or under estimate them. They believe anything is possible and act accordingly.
12. Never give up: There is always one more thing you can do.

"The Unthinkable" is a thought-provoking look at what happens during emergencies, before help arrives.

“The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes and Why”  by Amanda Ripley

Amanda Ripley, an investigative journalist, writes about the human psychological reaction to disasters. Ripley covered some of the most devastating disasters of our time, and retraces how people reacted. She interviews leading brain scientists, trauma psychologists and other disaster experts. She comes up with the stunning inadequacies of many of our evolutionary responses.

Ripley’s book is not about disaster recovery: It’s about what happens in the midst  of one – before emergency personnel arrive and structure is imposed on the loss. Ripley describes a “survival arc” everyone must travel to get from danger to safety.

If you’ve ever thought about a disaster and possible reactions to it, then you’re on the right track. Ripley starts the survival arc process with the thought “I wonder what I would do if…”

Here’s the survival arc progression, according to Ripley, of a typical reaction to a disaster situation:

Denial: This can’t be happening. This isn’t happening to me.

Deliberation: We know something is terribly wrong, but don’t know what to do about it.

The Decisive Moment: You’ve accepted that you are in danger, deliberated the options and now it is time to take action.

Anybody with a “Be Prepared” mentality hopefully moves quickly through the initial denial phase. We’ll also hope that you have read and studied survival techniques so you will be able to deliberate effectively and move on to the decisive moment phase.

But even if you think you’re prepared mentally for surviving a disaster,  “Unthinkable” is a book you need to read.  You must understand what goes on in your head during a disaster before you can use your tools. You’ll need information and techniques to respond correctly.

Some of that information can come from “The Unthinkable.” The book’s information is a powerful survival tool.

For more survival book reviews,  click here.

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Suppose that significant other isn’t into preparedness. What is the first thing to do to get them thinking about the possibility about the “unthinkable” happening?

Hand them a copy of this book.

Amanda Ripley’s “The Unthinkable” is not about disaster recovery: It’s about what happens in the midst  of one – before emergency personnel arrive and structure is imposed on the loss. It’s about the human reaction to disaster and how you should act if you want to survive.

by Leon Pantenburg

Survival Book Review: The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes and Why

By Amanda Ripley

This is a  fact: Nine of 10 Americans live in places at significant risk of earthquake, tornado, hurricanes, terrorism, or other disasters. Tomorrow you may have to make significant decisions to save yourself and/or your family. Or maybe you could have to make those decisions before you finish reading this!

Most Americans live in some area with great potential for a natural disaster to occur.

It may be in an urban or  wilderness survival situation. Or you may have run to the grocery store for a gallon of milk when the earthquake or tornado hits.

Regardless of where or when the incident occurs, you will have to take decisive actions to survive.

But the overwhelming response, of the great majority of people, to that concept is something along the lines of:…I, personally, will not be affected by any of those emergencies…. And even if a disaster happens, it somehow won’t threaten or engulf  me or my family… But if it does, there’s nothing I can do anyway, so there is no need to prepare…

This is denial. If that continues to be part of your mindset, then you have just gotten into the first phase of a deadly, downward behavior progression that could cost your life.

The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes and Why” Amanda Ripley, an investigative journalist, writes about the human psychological reaction to disasters. Ripley covered some of the most devastating disasters of our time, and retraces how people reacted. She interviews leading brain scientists, trauma psychologists and other disaster experts. She comes up with the stunning inadequacies of many of our evolutionary responses.

Ripley’s book is not about disaster recovery: It’s about what happens in the midst  of one – before emergency personnel arrive and structure is imposed on the loss.

Ripley describes a “survival arc” everyone must travel to get from danger to safety. The survival arc’s three chronological phases of denial, deliberation and the decisive moment make up the structure of the book.

And while the path to survival may resemble a roller coaster rather than an arc, Ripley writes, it’s rare that anyone gets through a disaster without passing through these main stages at least once.

If you’ve ever thought about a disaster and possible reactions to it, then you’re on the right track. Ripley starts the survival arc process with the thought “I wonder what I would do if…”

Prepare mentally before hand, so when a disaster does occur you'll have a plan of action.

Here’s the survival arc progression, according to Ripley, of a typical reaction to a disaster situation:

Denial: This can’t be happening. This isn’t happening to me. It’s all a bad dream. I’m imagining this. In a moment everything will be all right.

Denial is the most insidious fear response of all.“The more I learned, the more denial seemed to matter all the time, even long before the disaster, on days that passed without incident,” Ripley writes. Denial can manifest itself in delay.  Or it can cause people to freeze or become immobile in disbelief. Many, if not most, people shut down in a crisis, quite the opposite of panic. Denial can paralyze you.

Deliberation: We know something is terribly wrong, but don’t know what to do about it. How do you decide?

The first thing is the realization that nothing is normal. We all think and perceive things differently. We become, Ripley claims, superheros with learning disabilities. At this point, you need to have some training, or prior “What If?” planning  to fall back on. The overwhelming tendency will be for your mind to go blank, and you won’t have clue on what to do next. Let’s hope you learned the STOP mindset  exercise. (See story link below).

Your brain may be like the computer that has lost all its connections. Remember STOP as one of those vital links. Embed the acronym, and how to use it, into your psyche. To get through the deliberation phase and on to the decisive moment, you will have had to rely on your survival mindset and prior training.

The Decisive Moment: You’ve accepted that you are in danger, deliberated the options and
now it is time to make a plan to do something. If you’re in a group, about 75 to 80 percent of the crowd will do nothing, according to John Leach in “Survival Psychology.” Another 10 to 15 percent will do the wrong thing, and only about 10 percent will make the right decisions. And these people who react appropriately will do so because of previous training.

Anybody with a “Be Prepared” mentality hopefully moves quickly through the initial denial phase. We’ll also hope that you have read and studied survival techniques so you will be able to deliberate effectively and move on to the decisive moment phase. But even if you think you’re prepared mentally for surviving a disaster,  “Unthinkable” is a book you need to read.

The book  is not about stockpiling food, tools, weapons or prepping. You must understand what goes on in your head during a disaster before you can use your tools. You’ll need information and techniques to respond correctly. Some of that information can come from “The Unthinkable.”

The book’s information is a powerful survival tool. It should be in your prepper or survival library.

“This awful catastrophe is not the end but the beginning. History does not end so. It is the way its chapters open.” St. Augustine.

Click here to listen to earthquake expert geologist James Roddey on SurvivalCommonSense.com Radio

The Unthinkable: Who Survives When Disaster Strikes – and Why

For other great survival book reads, click here.

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The ability build a fire under survival conditions may save your life. The inability may cost your life!

by Leon Pantenburg

I met Peter Kummerfeldt several years ago at the Deschutes County Sportsmans Show, in Redmond, OR after I dropped in during his “Myths of Survival” presentation.

The ability to build a warming campfire, under extreme conditions, could save your life.

With no idea of who this guy was, or his abilities, I sat in on the seminar out of curiosity. (After all, I had a survival kit, and had been knocking around the backcountry for decades while backpacking, hunting and fishing. I knew what I was doing…I thought!) At the end of the hour-long session, and numerous “ah-ha” moments, I followed Peter back to his booth and plied him with questions.

Later, Peter became an expert source for a winter survival guide I wrote for the Bend, OR “Bulletin.”  Since then, Peter have become my friend, mentor, guest contributer for SurvivalCommonSense.com and my main go-to source for any question about wilderness survival. Peter is also on the short list of people I like to hang around with.

With that disclosure, how can I do an unbiased review of Peter’s latest E Book ” A Better Way to Build a Fire”?

Well, I don’t claim to be a wilderness survival “expert,” but I do claim considerable expertise in survival  firemaking. My experience, based on independent research, use and testing over many years, has taught me many things related to building a fire during an emergency. (To read the “best ignition sources” story, click here).

As a Boy Scout survival skills volunteer, I have helped teach well over 10,000 people basic flint-and-steel firemaking skills over the past ten or so years. This instruction has been done during all sorts of weather extremes. I have tried and tested many different firemaking methods, with the goal of being able to recommend the right tools to make a firemaking kit that could save a person’s life.

One thing I learned after all this research and training is this: The average person, even if given matches and gasoline,

Cotton balls infused with petroleum jelly, combined with a metal match, make an effective and reliable firestarting method! If you want to include matches, make sure they are high quality!

couldn’t start a fire under survival conditions! Firemaking, like any survival skill, must be practiced, and you have to start out with the right tools and training.

Our ancestors used an open flame for light, heat and cooking, and everyone, of necessity, was an expert at building a fire. But today, there are people who have never needed to make any sort of fire. They may have some vague idea of what a campfire looks like from the movies, but the idea of making a fire in the rain or snow would be completely foreign to them.

Or worse, they may believe they can just pick up a couple sticks, like the heroes of the “reality’ survival shows do, and twirl up a flame. For beginners, the place to start is with some realistic education.

One of the first, best tools might be the “A Better Way to Start a Fire” eBook. Just out, and available from the OutdoorSafe.com website, Peter starts from the ground up and discusses everything from the theory of firemaking to what tools you should carry with you.

The primary ignition tools are mentioned, as well as the steps to making that initial flame grow into a fire. Natural tinders are discussed, as well as techniques for finding dry firewood under extreme wet conditions.

Butane lighters work fine as long as the conditions are ideal and they are warm and dry.

Peter also introduces the platform and brace method of starting a fire. While the traditional tipi stack or “log cabin” arrangements can and do work well, the platform and brace method of stacking wood to build a fire works particularly well in wet or snowy conditions.

Think all matches are the same? Guess again – Peter discusses the different styles and brands, and why you should shy away from them. I’d already made my mind up that I don’t trust matches as a survival firemaking method before I read this ebook, and Peter’s research reinforces this.

Peter also discusses some of the myths related to survival firemaking. He debunks some of the commonly-accepted, though unproven, practices.

As you look at your survival training, and decide what skills you need to get better at, consider what instructional tools would make a good addition to your library.

Take a hard look at “A Better Way to Build a Fire.” You can download it for $10 from the Outdoorsafe.com website right now, and be reading it in a few minutes. The publication belongs in any wilderness survival training course, and should be in every prepper/survivalist library.

I recommend “A Better Way to Build a Fire” without any reservations whatsoever, and the skills you learn from it could very well save someone’s life.

Peter Kummerfeldt has walked the talk in the wilderness survival field for decades. Peter grew up in

Peter Kummerfeldt has taught wilderness and emergency survival for more than 40 years.

Kenya, East Africa and came to America in 1965 and joined the U.S. Air Force. He is a graduate of the Air Force Survival Instructor Training School and has served as an instructor at the Basic Survival School, Spokane, Washington; the Arctic Survival School, Fairbanks, Alaska, and the Jungle Survival School, Republic of the Philippines.

For twelve years, Peter was the Survival Training Director at the United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado. He retired from the Air Force in 1995 after 30 years of service.

In 1992, concerned with the number of accidents that were occurring in the outdoors annually and the number of tourists traveling overseas who were involved in unpleasant and sometimes life-threatening incidents Peter created OutdoorSafe.com

He is the author of Surviving a Wilderness Emergency and has addressed over 20,000 people as the featured speaker at numerous seminars, conferences and national conventions.

Check out Peter’s blog at: OutdoorSafe.blogspot.com

http://www.survivalcommonsense.com

The fertilizer hits the fan and you may have to evacuate your area.

What is your plan if an immediate evacuation is needed? Is your vehicle ready?

Immediately, the roads and highways will be jammed with unprepared refugees.

So what is your plan, to get your family to safety, and do you have a vehicle you can depend on?

In his latest book: Bug Out Vehicles and Shelters; Build and Outfit Your Life-Saving Escape” author Scott B. Williams gives some educated insight.

And you can win your own, free copy by entering this November giveaway. Entering is easy – just sign up for the free, weekly SurvivalCommonSense.com update. There is no obligation, and you can unsubscribe at any time. If you’re already on the mailing list (THANK YOU!) just drop me a line at: survivalcommonsense.com@gmail.com and I’ll put you into the drawing!

Click here to read the book review.

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The fertilizer hits the fan and you may have to evacuate your area.

What is your plan if an immediate evacuation is needed? Is your vehicle ready?

Immediately, the roads and highways will be jammed with unprepared refugees, most of them fleeing in panic to go somewhere – anywhere – else.

A prepper will be prepared for this eventuality, hopefully, and not join the mindless crowd. But there may be no choice regarding staying or going  prior to or during a flood, earthquake, hurricane or tsunami, and you may have to join the exodus.

So what is your plan, to get your family to safety, and do you have a vehicle you can depend on?

In his latest book: Bug Out Vehicles and Shelters; Build and Outfit Your Life-Saving Escape” author Scott B. Williams gives some educated insight.

Williams, author of  the Bug-Out Survival blog and the survival-themed books “Bug Out,” and “Getting Out Alive” and numerous other publications has been a survival writer for several years.

In his latest book, Williams tackles the potentially confusing subject of evacuation vehicles.

The value of the book, Williams writes is “to make the reader aware of the key advantages and disadvantages of each type of bug-out vehicle and how important is is  to perform the necessary maintenance and/or modifications to make sure it will get you to safety.”

Basically, your bug out vehicle is whatever you have. But there may be options for modifying these vehicles to fit your potential scenario. Or, if you are considering buying a vehicle strictly for an emergency evacuation, Williams gives some tips on what brands, and vehicle types to consider.

Topics covered in the book include choosing your vehicle; using specially equipped vehicles for unique situations; and using canoes, bikes, kayaks, rowboats and other  human-powered means of escape.

Williams sets the stage by dividing the book into four distinct parts: Escape Vehicles, Mobile Retreats, Alternative and Back-Up Vehicles and Fixed Retreats.

The value of the book, IMO, is that it gets the conversation going. If you are considering setting up a vehicle strictly for an emergency, there is valuable information in Williams’ book.

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“Bug Out Vehicles and Shelters” is not a light read. While Williams is an accomplished and interesting writer, there are parts of the book that didn’t interest me. This was mainly because the vehicles mentioned don’t fit into my area or potential survival scenario.

But the parts about shelters and secure bug out locations are worth reading for any prepper/survivalist. Too often the evacuation plan starts with “getting out of  Dodge” and ends with arriving on the agreed-upon retreat location. In reality, that would probably just be the beginning, and Williams gives some tips on what to look for at a retreat area in a natural setting.

I found the book to be interesting, entertaining and informative. Williams delves into a part of  emergency evacuation that the rest of us may only have given passing thought to. From that standpoint, of getting the evacuation vehicle conversation started and rolling,  “Bug Out Vehicles” has a place in your survival library.

More info about Williams’ books, articles and blogs can be found on his main website: www.scottbwilliams.com.

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Knowing how to make a basic A-Frame tarp shelter is a basic skill for cold and warm weather camping.

The season for cold weather camping is here!

So how do you prepare and gear up to stay comfortable when the temperatures drop?

Here is the radio interview I did on Oct. 13, 2011 with Lisa Bedford “The Survival Mom.” We talked about cold weather camping!

Click here to listen to the interview!

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To view the complete C. T. Fischer Knives product line, click here!

It doesn’t matter if you actively hunt big game, or if you are a prepper/survivalist who wants to know how to field dress, quarter and transport the meat from a large animal. You can learn something from Randy Yow’s “Quick Quartering Big Game” DVD!

by Leon Pantenburg

If you hunt big game, you owe it to the animal you’ve killed to use as much of the carcass as possible.

But suppose hunting doesn’t do anything for you. Possibly you object to the activity, or don’t know where to start to learn how to hunt small or large game animals.

But the bottom line is that if you are a prepper/survivalist, and preparing for any eventuality you need to know how to utilize a large animal. Butchering and meat cutting could be a necessary, and much-needed skill, when the Stuff  Hits The Fan (SHTF), and this is not something  to put off learning.

Numerous books and videos on the market detail butchering and meatcutting. But suppose you aren’t near a meat cutting facility? What if you have to kill a wild or feral cow, pig, goat or large farm animal a great distance from the nearest road over rough terrain?

In that instance, you will have to deal with the carcass on the spot to keep the meat from spoiling. While many conventional methods require the carcass be hung to be skinned and quartered and processed, that may not be possible. There may not be a handy tree nearby to hang the animal from, and you may not have the strength and a block-and-tackle to hoist the carcass. Plus, what if you’re alone and have to do the job on the spot, with just the tools that are in your daypack?

You will need to know what tools to use, how to handle the meat, and what techniques are needed to transport the meat.

This situation is where the “Quick Quartering Big Game” video excels. There are few people more qualified to produce such a video than Randy Yow, host of  the big game hunting show Extreme Desire that airs on the Pursuit Channel. Using only an inexpensive filleting knife, and working alone, Yow takes the viewer from the moment the bull elk goes down, to having the meat quartered and ready to be transported in a matter of about 45 minutes.

Yow claims he can perform this task in about 30 minutes when he doesn’t have to take time to explain what he is doing!

And I believe it! Last year in the field, Yow personally took care of  “at least four or five” elk, 12 to 15 deer, bear and antelope. He says his filleting method, which only requires a knife, will work with any big game animal. (When Yow does demonstrations of this technique at sportsman’s shows or seminars, he uses a domestic pig.)

I  have strong opinions about backcountry knife choices, (To read the story, click here) and they are very similar to Yow’s (See his choices here.) You will have to decide what knife you will carry.

But regardless of your personal cutlery choices, skill and experience makes a job easy.  Start learning from this DVD and practice whenever you can.

As an elk hunter (Though nowhere near as experienced as Yow!) I appreciated Yow’s skill and technique. Last season, I was in on helping field dress and transporting three elk carcasses. While we use some similar methods to field process a carcass, I learned several new techniques I hope to put into use this fall! 

This DVD has a spot in every prepper/survivalist  and/or big game hunter’s library. It will be a great gift for a hunter/prepper/survivalist and  I highly recommend it!

 Randy Yow is the host of  Extreme Desire, and it airs on the Pursuit Channel. The website is  extremedesiretv.com, and it will have all the season’s episodes on it by about  Sept. 15.  Big game hunting in the American West is one of Yow’s passions.

Randy Yow and a trophy.

Hunting mostly  on public lands, Randy’s philosophy is that  anyone who does his homework can enjoy a big game hunting experience. (To check out the website, click here.)

As Randy says on his website:

“My Dad was an outfitter and guide as I grew up, and my whole life has always been in the great outdoors. I was raised around a family full of ethical outdoorsmen and women, where the values of  honesty, integrity and respect for the wildlife and land we hunt were instilled in me.

“I am first and foremost a family man, raising two beautiful daughters and blessed with grandchildren. My whole family is involved in hunting, and I have been truly blessed to get to spend so much time with them.

“I like to hunt big animals, but  feel that the good Lord, family, friends and comradery are still number one.”

 To learn more about choosing survival and hunting knives, check out this SurvivalCommonSense.com blog!

http://www.survivalcommonsense.com