Be inventive

There's more than one way to charge a cell phone.

Retrieveable Ammunition

Guns are great survival tools, but they do have their drawbacks. They are loud, require cleaning, and use ammunition that cannot be retrieved after use. They are certainly a large part of my survival plan, but I'm planning for the long term. I would love to tell you that my attempts at building a bow went swimmingly, unfortunately this is not the case. If I were less proud I would post the video of my bow breaking on the first draw. Thankfully Cabela's still stands. 

 

I went with a Martin Jaguar three piece recurve. I didn't have any particular brand in mind but I wanted the three piece recurve because it can be broken down and put into a backpack. A compound bow or a crossbow would definitely be superior in accuracy and power, but this recurve is lighter and breaks down more easily. I also really wanted to build my skills without sights. After all, any improvised bow that I make will be without them. 

 

 

Overall it is a great bow, very reliable and simple to use. The only downside is the arrow rest it came with, a friend got me a much better one as a gift and it has made a huge difference in accuracy. With a 50 pound draw it can be a challenge for someone smaller but you can untwist the string a bit to lower the draw weight. ( thereby lowering the power as well ) It also has the ability to attach sights and a quiver should I choose to at some point. The entire bow breaks down to about 24" with an allen key, and fits easily in my pack.

Build a Smokehouse

    Smoking meat has been practiced for thousands of years as a way to preserve meat unrefrigerated for an extended period of time. It's also quite tasty. Now sure I could've just gone out and bought a smoker, but I like to improvise. My idea was to build a cold smoker, so that I could smoke cheese as well as meat. For this project you will need a wooden box of a fair size, a pipe at least six inches in diameter, a shovel, and a pot lid at least sixteen inches across. I'm using the lid off of my charcoal grill. The idea is to build a Dakota stove with a chimney leading into the wooden box. A Dakota stove is simply two holes with a tunnel dug between them. Build a fire in one and it will pull air through the tunnel. This is traditionally done so that a campfire cannot be seen from any distance away. Very important if you're trying to stay hidden in big sky country. The reason I'm using this method is that a smoke house is usually built into a hill, I do not have a hill.

     Start by cutting a hole in the bottom and top of the box, being sure that the one in the bottom is larger that the top. Save the cutout from the bottom and use it to cover the upper hole. Select the location for the smoker. Dig a hole a distance away matching the length of the pipe you have, dig a second smaller hole about a foot away from the main fire hole. Dig a tunnel towards the bottom of the hole about six inches in diameter between the two for the air inlet. Now dig a trench between the smoke house and the fire hole deep enough to bury the pipe. Bury the pipe under at least a few inches of dirt. (Place a branch on top to keep it from getting stepped on and crushed) The soil acts as a heat sink, cooling the smoke as it moves through the pipe. A cold smoke allows you to cure without cooking, important for sausages and cheese. If you do have a hill, dig out a fireplace and run the pipe just like a chimney up to the smokehouse. 

     When its all done start a roaring fire in the main hole with the lid off. Charcoal works best, but any dry hardwood works. Avoid soft woods like pine and cedar, they can deposit soot and some pretty nasty stuff, they will definitely ruin the meat. While you're waiting on the fire, soak hardwood chips in water, at least a half hour. Soaked chips produce more smoke and keep the fire from getting too hot. Any hardwood chips will work but some are better than others for flavor. I prefer hickory and apple, maple and oak give nice flavor as well. Chips can be purchased in the grilling section at the store or you can chop them yourself, if you have a wood chipper even better. For my last smoke I did a combo of store bought hickory and maple I chopped myself. By now the coals should be ready, hold your hand over the fire pit, if you can't count to five without pulling your hand away it's hot enough. Pile a big handful of wet chips in the middle of the coals and cover the fire hole. The chimney being on top and the air inlet on the bottom should make it draft easily, if you get smoke out of both holes try blowing in the air inlet. Adjust the opening on top of the box using the cover you cut out of the bottom. The idea is to keep as much smoke in, while still allowing the draft to work.
 

     For the inside of my smoker I use cooling racks that are normally used for baking, I also hang meat inside. For this BBQ im smoking slab bacon, one whole chicken and about ten drums. I smoked this batch for about four hours, adding chips and rotating the meat every hour. After the smoke, grill and add your favorite sauce.