The Ultimate Bushcraft Survival Manual

by Tim MacWelch, The Editors of Outdoor Life

Overview

What if you were dropped in the woods with little more than a knife, your wits, and the (hopefully warm) shirt on your back? Could you survive? If you’d read this book, the answer is yes!

Survival! It’s one of our most primal fears, most basic needs. What do you do when everything is stripped away except your will to prevail? In this book, survival expert Tim MacWelch examines how native peoples around the world and throughout history have made their own shelter, weapons, tools, and more, and well as clever MacGuyver-esque ideas for using anything you might find in your pockets or pack. Whether your goal is to test yourself against nature, be prepared for any catastrophe, or learn more about traditional ways of survival, this is the one book you need.

Packaged in a durable, wipe-clean flexicover with metallic corner-guards, this practical manual withstands heavy-duty use indoors and out.

CHAPTER ONE: Bare Necessities - The stuff you need to survive short term wilderness emergencies (72 hours to one week)

The Survival Priorities (& why you need them) Shelter, water, fire, food, first aid and signaling distress
Tools of the Minimalist Knife, Axe and Saw - use and care; Clothing selection
Shelters Pick a safe shelter location; How to build Leaf huts, lean-tos, jungle platforms, thatched roof, log huts, wicki-ups, pit houses, and more (different homes for varied climates)
Water Gathering and Disinfection Finding springs, boiling w/ hot rocks, rain and precipitation collection, water storage, primitive filters, water from plants
Fire Tinder, Kindling, Fire Lays, Flint & Steel, Bow Drill, Hand Drill, Bamboo Fire Saw, Fire Plow, Pump Drill, and other friction methods
Signaling for Help and Self-Rescue How to signal and communicate w/ old school techniques; How and when to fight your way out

CHAPTER TWO: Finer Things - Skills and techniques to collect food, and live more comfortably in the wild (weeks to months)

Foraging for Wild Edible Plants How to identify and use wild plant foods; Recipes like our ancestors would have eaten
Trapping Ways to catch game with new and old school, low-tech traps
Primitive Fishing How to catch fish with thorns and other improvised tackle
Ancient Weapons Bow and arrow, spear, Spear thrower, Bola and sling, primitive forging of metal
Hunting Skills and game processing; 10 things to never do on a hunt
Primitive Tools How to make stone blades, knives, axes, stone drill bits, mallets and wedges for wood splitting, digging sticks
Hygiene Keeping clean; Natural toilet paper; Soap from plants; DIY latrine


CHAPTER THREE: Long Term Living - The skills of our ancestors and the things you'd need for long term primitive living (years)

Food Storage Drying, smoking, Food Caches, Freezing
Containers How to make several different basket styles; Bark containers; Wooden bowls; Soapstone bowls and pots; Primitive ceramics
Hides and Furs DIY buckskin, fur, rawhide and leather; Making clothes and outerwear (moccasins, mittens, hats, etc.)
Primitive Cooking Cook in the coals; Spits and skewers; Green stick grill; Rock for frying pan; Stone Ovens, Steam pit, Earth over (in-ground hearth system)
Tracking Man tracking and animal tracking
Natural Navigation How to find your way by using the stars, the landscape, the weather and many other methods
Wild Medicine Teas, compresses and poultices to help you heal

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781681882383
Publisher:	Weldon Owen
Publication date:	10/10/2017
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	7.50(w) x 9.50(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Tim MacWelch has been an active practitioner of survival and outdoor skills for over 26 years. His love of the outdoors started at a young age, growing up on a farm in the rolling hills of Virginia. Eating wild berries, fishing, and learning about the animals of the forest were all part country life. Tim became interested in survival skills and woodcraft as an offshoot of backpacking as a teen—out in remote areas, it seemed like a smart plan to learn some skills. The majority of his training over the years has involved testing survival skills and devising new ones, but the biggest leaps forward occurred as a result of teaching. Tim’s teaching experiences over the years have been rich and diverse, from spending hundreds of hours volunteering to founding his own year-round survival school 18 years ago. He has worked with Boy Scouts, youth groups, summer camps, and adults in all walks of life, as well as providing outdoor skills training for numerous personnel in law enforcement, search and rescue organizations, all branches of the United States Armed Forces, the State Department, and the Department of Justice and some of its agencies. Tim and his wilderness school have been featured on Good Morning America and several National Geographic programs, and featured in many publications including Conde Nast Traveler , the Washington Post, and American Survival Guide . Tim has written hundreds of pieces for Outdoor Life and many other publications. Tim’s current and past articles can be found at survival.outdoorlife.com and you can learn more about his survival school at www.advancedsurvivaltraining.com.

For over 110 years, Outdoor Life has provided outdoor and urban survival expertise to millions of readers. Their authors have written on everything from disaster preparedness to subsistence hunting and fishing, to which guns to use against the undead (really!).

Read an Excerpt

050 MAKE A HAMMOCK AND RAIN FLY
 
Why do so many cultures use hammocks in the jungle, you ask? For starters, they get you up off the wet ground. They can also be quite comfortable. They can get you further away from spiders, scorpions, snakes, and other nasties. The hammock is one of the most underutilized shelters for survival, and you can make it with just a bit of rope and sturdy fabric. Grab some finger-thick rope and two tarps, pick out two strong, young trees, and you’re ready to create your own hammock and rain fly. Start out with one of the long sides of one tarp and roll it up halfway across the entire tarp. Then roll up the other long side to meet the first. Now we’ll grab one end of this bundle and bend it to make a “J” shape. Tie a sheet bend knot with a length of rope. Using a second rope, tie another sheet bend on the other side of the tarp. Select leg thick or bigger trees about 9 to 12 feet (3 to 4 m) apart, and securely tie the end of each rope to a tree, as high as you can reach. I like to wrap around the tree twice for good grip on the bark, and tie to the trees high up to compensate for the settling of the hammock as the knots cinch down. This keeps you from dragging the ground in the finished hammock. For a roof over your head, tie up another tarp as an A-frame rain fly between the two trees.
 
KEEP CREEPY CRAWLIES OUT OF YOUR HAMMOCK
The last thing you want to find in your jungle hammock is a sampling of the local wildlife, especially if it
bites! Use these three steps to avoid waking up in the middle of the night with an unwelcome visitor in your sleeping space.
 
STEP 1 Keep it well covered. Things have a tendency to drop out of the trees in the rainforest,
and when your hammock is sitting there open like a big basin, it’s only natural to find all kinds of creatures raining down upon you. Hang a rain fly over your hammock, even if it’s the “dry season.”
 
STEP 2 Limit access. Just as you don’t want to lie down on the ground in the jungle, you don’t want to have open access points that lots of pests and dangerous creatures could use to join you in your hammock. Don’t tie six lines to your rain fly when four will do the job.
 
STEP 3 Block the way. Tie a kerosene-soaked rag to each hammock line to keep spiders, snakes, and ants from scuttling down the lines to join you in your cozy hammock. Because of the scent and the feel of this
fuel, most creatures won’t go near it (let alone crawl over it).
 
 

Table of Contents

Preparation

001 Begin with the Basics

002 Get Your Priorities Straight

003 Stay Positive

004 Deal with Danger

005 Dress for the Occasion

006 Keep the Cold at Bay

007 Build Your Bushcraft Survival Kit

008 Bring the Bare Minimum

009 Go Really Old School

010 Know Your Knife Types

011 Recognize Basic Blade Styles

012 Check the Tang

013 Get to the Edge

014 Cut Safely

015 Sharpen with a Rock

016 Make an Emergency Bone Knife

017 Wet Your Whetstone

018 Grab the Right Saw

019 Chip a Shell Saw

020 Build Your Own Survival Bucksaw

021 Saw Safely

022 Keep it Cutting

023 Stay Sharp

024 Pack a Backup

025 Maintain Your Axe

026 Sharpen That Axe

027 Hang an Axe Head

028 Be Axe Aware

029 Caveman's Corner

Hack It with a Hand Axe

030 Pick the Right Axe

031 Feel Trees with Care

032 Look for the Lean

033 Cut Cautiously

034 Plan Your Escape

9 Bushcraft Uses for Tree Bark

035 Know Your Knots

036 Learn Square Lashing

037 Take the Diagonal

Shelter

038 Find the Right Location

039 Make Any Shelter Better

040 Assess Your Assets

041 Build a "Sasquatch" Bed

042 Make a Leaf Hut

043 Learn the Lean-To

044 Make a DIY Tarp Tent

045 Waterproof Canvas

046 Carve Out a Micro-Cabin

047 Make Tree Bark Flour

048 Feel Welcome in the Jungle

049 Build Your Own Tree House

050 Make a Hammock and Rain Fly

051 Survive the Desert

052 Make a Wickiup

053 Craft a Mini-Earth Lodge

054 Make a Two-Tarp Shelter

055 Climb Every Mountain

056 Build a Stone Hut

057 Build a Diamond in the Rough

058 Dig a Hot Rock Heating Pit

859 Sculpt a Snow Cave

060 Use a Tree Well Shelter

061 Craft a Quinzee

062 Don't Eat Snow

9 Bushcraft Uses for A Hot Rock

063 Test Your Rocks

Water

064 Plan to Provide

065 Find Your Water

066 Harvest Precipitation

067 Dig for a Drink

068 Get Water from Plants

069 Drink or Die

070 Know Your Dangers

071 Try Hot Rocks

072 Do Some Rock Boiling

073 Disinfect with Tablets

074 Buy the Right Filter

075 Dig a Gypsy Well

076 Try a Tripod

Signaling

077 Pick the Right Path

078 Use Sound to Signal

079 Caveman's Corner

Keep It Simple

080 Mind Your Mirror

081 Hit the Survival Store

082 Spark a Signal Fire

083 Build It and They Will Come

084 Get Noticed

085 Find a Way

086 Assess Your Rescue Options

087 Go with the Flow

Fire

088 Pick a Safe Fire Site

089 Respect the Fire

090 Gather Your Tinder

091 Learn the Formula

092 Go Global

093 Know What Not to Burn

094 Know the 3 Rules of Tinder

095 Pick the Perfect Process

096 Build a Bird's Nest

097 Fold a Tinder Taco

098 Give Tinder Super Power

099 Get the Right Kindling

100 Try the Twigs

101 Split Some Splinters

102 Put Dead Vines to the Torch

103 Go Barking Mad

104 Make the Perfect Fire Lay

105 Know Your Options

106 Strike a One-Match Fire

107 Double Your Match Supply

108 Light It Up

109 Make Your Own Waterproof Matches

110 Start a Fire with Flint and Steel

111 Spin a Bow Drill

112 Use a Hand Drill

113 Push a Fire Plow

114 Work a Fire Saw

Plants

115 Count Your Calories

116 Skip the Fungus

117 Choose Wisely

118 Forage Safely

119 Be a Good Steward

120 Make Sure It's Safe

121 Know Your Nuts

122 Process Acorns Properly

123 Dine off a Pine

124 Don't Eat These

125 Use Everything but the Squeal

126 Go Green

127 Dig Some Roots

128 Caveman's Corner

Get the Stick

129 Learn Berries Inside and Out

130 Browse Nature's Grocery Store

131 Work with Birch

132 Handle Hickory

133 Make Something from Mulberry

134 Pick a Persimmon

Animal Foods

135 Be a Realist

136 Go with a Pro

9 Bushcraft Uses for Antlers

137 Rattle Antlers

138 Weigh Your Options

139 Lose the Smell

140 Know the Law

141 Work Toward Success

142 Avoid Your Own Traps

113 Dial Up Your Deadfall

144 Bait a Stick Snare

141 Trap with a Tree

141 Caveman's Corner

Grab Some Wild Bait

147 Go Bait-Free

148 Build a Survival Fishing Kit

149 Cut a Fishing Pole

150 Find Your Own Bait

151 Improvise a Fish Weir

152 Use Your Bare Hands

153 Go All Natural

154 Knit a Net

155 Hit the Spot

156 Dope Up the Water

157 Carve a Bow

158 Don't Break It!

159 Fletch Some Arrows

160 Fire Harden a Spear

161 Have a Javelin

162 Make an Atlatl

163 Try Spear Fishing

164 Make a Sling

165 Use the Thing

166 Add Some Snap

167 Build a Bola

168 Go Out for Dinner

169 Avoid Common Mistakes

170 Process Small Game

171 Clean a Fish

172 Skin a Snake

173 Be Safe!

174 Butcher a Bird

175 Carve Up Big Game

176 Know Your Cuts

Cooking

177 Stay Safe by the Fire

178 Watch Out for These

179 Roast on the Coals

180 Bake Bread in the Ashes

181 Set Spits and Skewers

182 Put It on a Stick

183 Build a Green Wood Grill

184 Try These Grill Tips

185 Grill with a Snowshow

9 Bushcraft Uses for Tripods

186 Tie Tripod Lashing

187 Learn to Rock Boil

188 Make a Hot Rock Stir Fry

189 Set Up a Rock Frying Pan

190 Give Big Animals a Boost

191 Build a Stone Oven

192 Bake Like a Champ

193 Cook in a Clay Pot

194 Dig a Steam Pit

195 Mound Up a Meal

196 Build a Bamboo Steamer

197 Dig an Earth Oven

198 Pick the Best Foods

199 Work with Wild Seasonings

200 Use a Dutch Oven

201 Build a Cooking Crane

202 Reflect on the Past

203 Try These Cooking Tips

204 Fry in a Pan

205 Test a Cast Iron Griddle

206 Dry It-You'll Like It

207 Get Smoked

208 Build an Ice Cache

209 Make Pemmican

Containers

210 Pick a Style

211 Weave a Basket

212 Chop a Bowl

213 Carve a Bowl

214 Burn a Bowl

215 Choose Wisely

216 Finish the Job

217 Caveman's Corner

Hack Out a Hollow

218 Get to Know Soapstone

219 Shape Soapstone

220 Make a Clay Pot

221 Get Fired Up

222 Peel Some Bark

223 Bend a Berry Bucket

224 Make a Coolamin

225 Build a Bark Trough

226 Prep Your Hide

227 Soften a Pelt

228 Stitch Up a Bag

9 Bushcraft Uses for Mud

229 Waterproof Your Basket

Primitive Skills

230 Make Quick Stone Blades

231 Use the Simplest Tools

232 Source Some String

233 Make Your Own String

234 Use Hide Glue

235 Brew Some Pitch Glue

236 Test Out a Torch

237 Make a Candle

238 Grab a Grease Lamp

239 Fire up the Fatwood

9 Bushcraft Uses for Fats

240 Render Animal Fat into Lard

241 Track a Person

242 Follow the Steps

243 Track with These Tricks

244 Branch Out

245 Learn Some Patterns

246 Check the Signs

247 Know Your Compass Parts

248 Find True North

249 Make Your Own Compass

250 Read a Map

251 Set Up Shadow Sticks

252 Find Your Way with the Moon

253 Don't Believe the Moss

254 Follow the North Star

255 Look to the Southern Cross

Health & Hygiene

256 Wash Up

257 Lighten Your Load

258 Get Dolled Up

259 Don't Forget Dental Care

260 Say Hi to Aunt Flo

261 Build a Medkit

262 Make Some Medicine

263 Create a Cast

264 Fight the Cold

265 Go Without Water

266 Skip Some Meals

267 Stop Bleeding

268 Know Your Strengths

269 Adjust Your Attitude

270 Mind Your Mental Toughness

271 Stay Motivated

272 Embrace Adaptability

273 Survive!