BB Gun

WHY should we get a BB gun?

1. It is a great gun to use when learning to shoot especially for beginners.
2. Ammo is cheap and it doesn't make a lot of noise
3. They are realistic and great for improving your aim 
4.  It is less dangerous when teaching young shooters (see NRA Shooting Rules) 
5. It can kill small game
6. You can make a pellet mold from a pair of pliers 

When buying your BB gun, get a quite, high fps (feet per second) velocity model that does NOT require CO2.

For additional information see the following links:

Blog Table of Contents
Prepper Training for Youths
Search: Children

Complete Sustainable Living Plan
Beginner Prepper List
22 LR for Defense
22 LR for Hunting & Survival
Top Rated Prepper Handbook Posts of all time 
 

See similar topics by clicking on the labels below

Pemmican Recipe

Pemmican is a light weight nutritious food used by Native Americans and consists of a mix of rendered fat, dried meat, nuts and berries. Properly made, it has a long shelf life.

There are four common ingredients
1. Lean meat – beef, buffalo, goat, or venison
2. Rendered (cooked) animal fat
3. Fruit, nuts or berries
4. Salt

Step One
Grind trim lean meat with a meat grinder.  Or you can cut it into beef jerky thickness strips.  Use about 2 pounds of raw meat to get a cup of dried meat.

Step Two
Spread the meat evenly over a cookie tray or flat rock and heat at approximately180 degrees for 6 to 10 hours so the meat is crisp and chewy.  Sun drying or smoking is an alternative, but will take longer.

Step Three
Grind or pound (pestle and mortar) the dried meat into a powdery form.

Step Four
Prepare your fruit, nuts or berries in the same way.  Dry them and then pound or grind them in to a chunky powder.

Step Five
Combine the fruit/nut powder with the meat powder in a 1:1 ratio and add salt to your suit your taste.  The more salt you add, the longer the shelf life. 

Step Six
Cut the fat into one inch cubes and render (melt) it over low to medium heat in a little water.  Keep the heat low enough to avoid smoking. Experiment using a little honey, or even using honey instead of fat.

Step Seven
Pour the melted fat over an equal amount of meat/fruit power mix stirring it to get an even texture.  Spread this mixture out evenly in a thin layer (about 1/4") and allow it to cool and then cut in to 2" wide strips.  Then store it in a cool dark place, preferably in tightly sealed container.

Food preservation is an important skill that is essential to sustainable survival, so this is something you should practice.  It doesn't cost much

For additional information see the following links:
Blog Table of Contents
Complete Sustainable Living Plan
Blog Table of Contents
Acorn Flour Pancakes
Pemmican Recipe
Hardtack Recipe
Corn Bread
Sour Dough Bread
Corn Fritters
Apple Cider Vinegar
More on making Vinegar
Backing Soda vs Yeast
Baking Soda uses

See similar topics by clicking on the labels below 

Prepper Livestock - Goats

When Christopher Columbus sailed from Cadiz in 1493 for his second voyage, he carried everything needed to colonize the New World including dogs, cats, chickens, horses, donkeys, cattle, pigs, sheep, and goats. While we should expect to need no less, there are a few that are perhaps more essential and practical than others are are.

After storing food and water, calculating your garden food requirements and saving your seeds, look at eggs, chicken, rabbit, goat, cows, pigs, fish, etc. to be sure you have enough meat to eat. Goats are the most popular red meat around the world, especially in poor countries that live more sustainable lives. They are small (easily consumed before spoiling), hardy, can eat most anything and provide milk and meat. Once there is no feed store, goats will come in handy.

Seventy percent of the red meat consumed in the world is goat AND they can provide wholesome milk for a family. Goats can forage for food better than any other livestock and can reproduce every 6 to 12 months. For this reason, they are highly recommended as the best sustainable food supply source. They are also very mobile and can browse on the move if you are traveling, bugging out on foot, or living a nomadic life style. They are also great for bartering with.

It takes about 3 – 8 months after birth for the kid (baby goat) to be ready for butchering. The gestation period is 150 days or 5 months. Under ideal conditions, healthy young does can produce one, occasionally 2 kids per year. Older does produce 2 – 3 kids per year. A doe will continue to produce until about 10 – 12 years old. So if you want to eat one young goat per month, then you need 6 to 12 does in theory, possibly as few as 6, but have  extras to be safe and for barter. A goat will dress out at about 50% of their live weight. For example, a 100lb live goat each month will yield about 50 pounds of meat, or 11 lbs / week.  With chicken, this would be enough meat for 1 adult providing you have a good prepper garden. With six to twelve does and a buck to breed them, you can raise a 100 lb young goat to process each month, and probably more.

An alternative plan is to raise the smaller Nigerian Dwarf goats. Instead of having 6 large 120 pound Boer goats, have 12 small ones (60 lbs) and raise one (possibly 2) each month giving you about 30 pounds of meat per month or 1 pound per day for your family to eat, sell or trade. Nigerian Dwarf goats make good “pets” (smile) if you live in the city. Note some cities prohibit livestock, but allow “pets” that are named. You would need a city security plan to protect your livestock during hard times.

Most meat breeds like Boers (above, the most common US goat), Spanish, Fainting, and Pygmies and occasionally Nubian (most popular dairy goat) will breed all year around. In this case, you can breed one doe each month to have a regular supply of young goat (kid) to eat. They can be bred at 6-8 months of age when they reach a typical adult weight. Boer, Nubian & Nigerian Dwarfs are known to have multiple births, i.e. 2 kids at a time. Spanish goats and a New Zealand breed called Kiko are the hardiest, lowest maintenance & best foragers. These Kiko or Spanish goats are what I would want if I could only have one type animal and was on the move (nomadic). I'd lean toward Boers for a secure stationary retreat in a secluded area.

Dairy breeds are seasonal breeders, like deer, and have a limited breeding season, usually from about Aug. to Dec. The does will come into heat every 21 days and the bucks will stay in rut during the entire breeding season. These are slightly less suitable for Prepper livestock and maintaining a steady supply of food, although you can raise more (~12+) during the breeding season and process one each month as needed.  This means you must be feeding a lot more goats and for a longer period of time than birthing a new one each month and processing an older one (4-8 months old) each month.

Pygmy goats are small and good to eat. Nigerian Dwarf goats are small and good milk producers. After a few laying hens, this is what I would get if I lived in the city.

 

Goats consume about 4.5 pounds of grass or hay per day per 100 pounds of body weight. For example, a 100 lb goat would eat 4.5 lbs of hay and a 50 lb goat would eat 2.25 lbs (4.5÷2) of hay per day. In addition to hay, goats also need to eat some brush and feeding a little grain is good. You should plan to feed one pound of grain per day per goat. Keeping six goats on three acres of land should be sustainable, but they should be rotated to different 3 acre pen every 30 days. Considering this three does and three kids, we can expect to produce about 120 to 240 lbs of meat per year or 10 to 20 lbs per month. Note that a buck is also required for reproduction.

While a great sustainable food source, goats will eat anything and everything and can be a nuisance, especially if you don't have a good fenced area. But that is not a show stopper; just don't let them get in your garden.

For additional information see the following links: 
Prepper Livestock
Blog Table of Contents
Complete Sustainable Living Plan 

Prepper Livestock - Chickens

Chickens are low maintenance, versatile, forage for food well; provide regular eggs for breakfast and meat to eat.  For that reason, I recommend that chickens be the first livestock you start with, followed by goats

Most feed stores sell them, so get a few immediately. There are a number of hatcheries listed in the Prepper Handbook Appendix under Recommended Resources. If you live in the city, give your chickens names, so they are classified as “pets” rather than livestock but avoid roosters that crow and disturb neighbors. If you ever need a rooster, most people who raise chickens have a few to spare.

To raise chicken for food, each adult needs four (4) hens for eggs and for meat, one rooster and breeding hen plus 16 young chickens in one week age increments. This will provide eggs for breakfast each day and a 2-4 lb chicken dinner once per week.  A flock of 22 foraging chickens per acre is fairly sustainable except possibly in the winter.  An acre will easily keep 50, but you will need to feed them.

This means you need about 1 acre per adult to raise enough chickens and be sustainable  These are estimates based on good land conditions and adequate water supply, which is essential. The actual sustainable carrying capacity of your land will depend on many factors such as rainfall, fertility, length of growing season, rotation, etc.   

Chickens are good foragers and will eat many table (and garden) scraps as will a hog or guard dog.  But you should grow some sorghum grain for feeding your chickens so figure another 1/2 acre per adult to do so. You can use hen scratch as seed, and it is good to plant seed bearing grains and grasses in your chicken pen such as wheat (winter & summer varieties), rye, oats, sun flowers and sorghum.

As a guide it takes about 15 lbs of feed to raise a white egg layer pullet (from chick to first egg), an estimated 18 lbs of feed to raise a brown egg layer pullet (from chick to first egg) and approximately 10 lbs of feed to raise a Cornish cross broiler to 7 weeks of age. When a standard size chicken (example: Rhode Island Red hen) is at 6 months of age it will consume 1-1/2 lbs of feed weekly. 

Without ample foraging space, figure on feeding 4 laying hens 6 lbs of feed per week.  Our breeding pair will need 3 pounds per week and our 16 chickens for eating will require 21 lbs per week for a total of 30 lbs per week. They can forage for this in the summer, but will need some feeding in the winter, depending on your location. Supplementing their foraging will increase your productivity in both eggs and weight gained on your meat chickens. You should experiment with this now to determine what works best for you. For a host of good information, here is a good site to visit: http://chickensforbackyards.com/aboutus.sc

This plan is  for 1 adult having eggs for breakfast and eating a chicken each week.  Figure about 1/2 this for children  For a discussion on what is the best breed of chickens see our blog post.  

If you want to eat one chicken per week, then you put one egg in your solar powered incubator each week. Then every second or third week put an extra egg in the incubator to be safe. Or any time one of your chicks dies, put an extra egg in the incubator. They will hatch in 21 days and about 70 – 80% should survive and grow to maturity in about 16 to 18 weeks and be great to eat. Eat the roosters first and use the young hens to replace your 3-4 year old hens, eating them.

For your 80 - 100 watt DIY Solar power 48 egg incubator, you will need three - 100 watt solar panels and four 100 amp hour 12 volt deep cycle AGM batteries and a 12 VDC to 120 VAC 1500 watt inverter to convert battery power to household 120 volts of alternating current (VAC).  Your alternative is to have chickens breeds that go broody, but you can't hatch one egg per week like that. Ideally you have both an incubator and broody hens.

Raising more chickens will provide additional meat, eggs and even breeding stock for barter with others who may need livestock. If times get really bad, this could make you a target of robbers who want to steal your food supply.  In such case, you will need to maintain security to protect what you have.  Our posts on Urban Security and Country Home security can assist you.

Either way, fresh eggs and fried chicken can't be beat.

For additional information see the following links: 
Prepper Livestock
Blog Table of Contents
Complete Sustainable Living Plan  

Survival Superfood Will Last On Your Shelf For 150 Years

Whether you’re a fan of apocalypse themed movies or not you are surely worried about natural disasters that can occur at any time. A natural disaster, such as hurricanes or earthquakes, are more likely to happen, than a zombie apocalypse, but still it is essential to be prepared for either of these. This means, you need to learn some basic surviving skills, many of you who used to be scouts, already know them. But what about the food? How can you make sure, that in case of a calamity you will be well prepared at this matter? Well, here’s a cool and useful video that will teach you about creating survival food that can last up to 150 years just the way it is. The recipe is called Hardtack and it can be an essential food for your survival. Watch the video and see for yourself how useful this recipe can be.

VIDEO–> Survival Superfood Will Last On Your Shelf For 150 Years! – Off The Grid News

Here is a recipe from Urban Survival Site:

• 3 cups of white flour
• 2 teaspoons of salt
• 1 cup of water
• A cookie sheet (or flat rock)
• A mixing bowl
• A knife
• A common nail

1. First, preheat your oven to 375°
2. Mix the flour and salt together
3. Gradually mix in the water until you form a dough that's not sticky
4. Use a rolling pin to flatten the dough into a  1/2" thick square
5. Cut the dough into 9 squares
6. Make a 4×4 grid of holes in each of the squares with a nail
7. Put all the pieces on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 30 minutes
8. Turn the squares over and bake for another 30 minutes.
9. Remove from the oven to cool off. They should look like this:

Ideally, the hardtack or flat bread should be just a lightly browned on each side. Each piece is about 150 calories.

For more information see:  
Blog Table of Contents
Complete Sustainable Living Plan 
Hardtack Recipe & some interesting history from Prepared Survivalist

or click on the labels below for related information.

Naked & Afraid Survival Plan

We watch show after show on survival and none of the participants really survive, they just hang on.  Most loose 10 to 40 lbs of weight or typically around 1/2 to 1 pound per day.  Even the show Alone where they get to carry a pack full of gear, they nearly starve to death. This should demonstrate that wilderness survival is impractical as a long term survival plan. We must have livestock and a garden. (<-Click Link)

But for this post, lets focus on surviving for 21 days, naked in the wilderness.  I omit the term afraid, because if you are afraid, you have no business being in the woods.  Suppose you have a cooking pot and two items; one of which you get to pick, however they never seem to bring the same thing.  Ideally, you have a pot, a knife and a fire starter. If you only get to pic one item, you take a large knife.  Also see our post on what 4 things you would select to survive on a deserted island for some good discussion on what to carry.

Immediately upon learning you have been accepted, you must tan, condition your feet to be tough and eat a lot of meat (protein).  Put gravel or dried rice in your boots or shoes and wear them every day.  Practice your Primitive Fire Building skills, using no man made supplies, and wilderness fishing techniques.  You can even fish with your hands (See Noodling). Ideally, you have practiced wilderness survival staying for at least a week in the woods. Measure your success by your weight loss, with a target of loosing less than 1/2 pound per day. 

Day 1 - The race is on!  It is a race of time (21 days) vs net calorie loss.

Remembering the Rule of 3, our first priority is security, then shelter, then water, then food.  Yet finding food should be an on-going process.  As we walk along, we should look for coverings for our feet while finding and consuming edible plants and picking up some fire wood.

While I'm confident the dangers of some of these locations are exaggerated for theatrical purposes, there are some very real hazards when in the woods.  So after reviewing the map and deciding what direction to go, we should head out and along the way, find a a good piece of wood to make a spear.

Our spear should be taller than our height and 1 - 1-1/2 inches diameter (as big around as two or three of our largest fingers); have a fire hardened (later) point on one end and have a Y on the other end.  The Y serves as drag when throwing the spear, and can be used for pinning snakes, primitive fishing and knocking fruit / nuts from trees.

As we arrive at our destination and find a good camp location, we should have our spear finished, or close to it.  We should have also found a few wild edible plants and be testing them with the Universal Edibility Test to be sure they are safe; perhaps consumed a few that we know are safe.

Now it is time to turn our attention to a shelter.  We have two options; the first is a Nomadic Strategy, and the other is to have a stationary base camp.  In our Alone survival show plan, we take the nomadic approach.  So here we will set up a stationary base camp.  Either way, we don't want to burn up too many calories building a castle.  If there is no natural shelter, a simple debris will suffice.  Keep a few pieces of fire wood in your shelter to let it be drying out.

So lets talk about the things that deplete our calorie reserves:

1. Not eating or eating very little
2. Being wet, cold and shivering
3. Physically hard work

 At the end of DAY 1, you should have achieved the following:

1. Hiked to your camp location, surveying your surroundings for water sources
2. Along the way, found wood for a spear, fire wood, and gathers/eaten a few edible wild plants
3. Found or built a crude but warm shelter
4. Plan what you are going to do tomorrow.

DAY 2, our goal today is:

1. Find water, food, supplies to build shelter and fire wood until mid day.  The key here is we cannot go several days without eating; we need to eat a little something each day.
2. Improve our shelter; remember cold and wet burns calories fast. 
3. Build fire for sterilizing water, warming up & repelling insects. Putting moist or green materials on your fire will create smoke that repels insects.
4. Plan what you are going to do tomorrow. 

Part of our food search is gathering edible plants using our wilderness survival skills as we travel. But another part should be passive food acquisition with traps.

Search your surrounding camp area using concentric Ring Routes consisting of circles of increasing diameter.  With these, you first deplete all the resources that are close to your camp.  After which you must start going out further and further as nearby food is exhausted. This allows you to learn your immediate area very well and progressively explore out further and further as the rings grow.  This approach might be best for high risk scenarios where you don't want to get too far from home.

DAY 3, our goal today is:

1. Gather food for the first half of the day.  Food, Firewood, and Water should be your routine for the fist half of each day.  Gather plants, cordage, fishing using wilderness hooks, and trapping.
2. Then focus on what we were unable to accomplish the prior day.
3. Rest: Hot and cold weather are exhausting and sleep is hard to come by.  So try to work when the climate is comfortable and nap each day when it is not. 
4. Plan what you are going to do tomorrow. 

Foraging for food should be a team effort.  Spread out to cover more area, but stay within sight of each other at all times.  When either of you find a plant that is plentiful and not suspected to be poisonous, you should use the Universal Edibility Test to determine if it is suitable for consumption.

We must burn our calories efficiently.  Don't walk anywhere with out bringing back food, firewood, water, shelter materials or foraged supplies like bottles, cans, cordage.  Note that 2 liter bottles have many uses including fish traps and water catchment.  Do not waste calories cutting fire wood in to small pieces; instead, simply burn them in half. 


DAY 4

The ideal shelter is water proof, wind resistant and large enough that we can safely build a fire inside to stay warm.  But building such a shelter is a huge calorie burner and you don't need a mansion for a 21 day stay.  IF you are finding adequate food supplies, building such a shelter is okay.  If not, a small shelter is easier to build, your body heat can keep it warm and you need to gather less fire wood, saving calories in several ways. 

1. Gather food for the first half of the day, check traps and add more.  Explore different food sources. If we are not finding enough food, continue to work on this.
2. If we are eating ok and need more shelter, then work on this. 
3. Food should be prepared in your pot to capture all the nutrition and also provide fluid. 
4. Plan what you are going to do tomorrow. Doing so keeps our mind focused on the tasks at hand.  This becomes increasingly important as time goes on. Avoid thinking about your discomfort/hunger; instead plan / execute actions to improve conditions.

Our goal is to have a little more food and water than we need.  So save a little when we find it for days when we don't.  Try to build up 1-2 extra days worth.  While this has proven to be impossible for show participants, it can be done, with more focus on plants and traps. If you must go several days with out eating, don't gorge when you finally get food; eat a little and save a little for later.

Each day after this is will be the same until we reach day 20.  A few days prior, try to favor scouting for food in the direction we will be going on day 21to learn the path we will be traveling as well as possible.

DAY 20

1. Burn the last of your fire wood; you shouldn't have gathered more than you need. 
2. Boil the remainder of your food in your pot, to consume in the morning and drink along the way.  Having a nutritious drink is ideal. 
3. Pre-pack the night before hiking out;
4. Turn in early and try to get a good nights sleep.

DAY 21

Rise early, finish packing, eat a little, and get started after about 2 hours of daylight.

 What would your plan be?  Leave a comment and let us know.

For additional Prepper information, see our:
Blog Table of Contents
Complete Sustainable Living Plan 
 

Hurricane 101 Review

In 2008, a Category 3 hurricane made landfall on America’s Gulf Coast, displacing hundreds of thousands of people from Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana. After all was said and done, this hurricane categorized as the third deadliest hurricane in United States history.

Though the majority of people evacuated before Hurricane Katrina hit, close to 120,000 residents of New Orleans, Louisiana did not leave.


By the time the storm made landfall, the city of New Orleans was already water-logged from hours of rain. Due to the city’s geographical location—laying mostly undersea level and being surrounded by water—flooding was inevitable. Katrina’s power was too great for the city’s levees and within a very short time, St. Bernard Parish and The Ninth Ward were under water.

In the end, Hurricane Katrina killed 2,000 people, affected 90,000 square miles and cost $100 billion in damages. One of Cheaper Than Dirt’s! own spent time deployed to New Orleans to aid in the aftermath. He says, “Finding bodies became commonplace, and we felt relieved when we entered homes and only smelled mold.”

A hurricane is when a large, circulating tropical storm starting in a warm ocean reaches a surface wind speed of 74 miles per hour. The Atlantic hurricane season starts June 1 and goes through November 30. While the Eastern Pacific hurricane season runs from May 15 to November 30. Hurricanes are generally 2,000 times larger than tornadoes and last an average of 10 days. The states most at risk of hurricanes are the coastal areas of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina, West Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Maine and all of Hawaii and Florida.

The safest place to be during a hurricane is away from where it hits. Fortunately, weather experts give us a fair warning of storms. Your best survival plan is to evacuate the area. However, if evacuation is impossible or for preparing to return after evacuation, you will need plenty of food, water and other supplies for your family for at least 10 days. It is most likely city utilities—water, electricity and natural gas—will be unavailable.

Below is a hurricane preparedness checklist of things you will need to help you and your family survive hurricane season.

1. Potable water
2. Non-perishable food
3. Alternative means to heat food
4. Clothing, including rain gear and a good pair of boots
5. First Aid Kit
6. Toys, diapers, etc. for infants and children
7. Pet care kit (food, carrier/leash, immunization records, etc.)
8. Travel toiletry kit
9. Flashlights
10. Batteries
11. Battery operated radio with AM/FM and NOAA reception
12. Critical documents in waterproof pouch (banking info, insurance, passports, birth certificates, etc.)
13. Full fuel tanks in all vehicles along with additional spare fuel cans
14. Blankets and pillows
15. Cash, including small bills
16. Portable tool set
17. Fully charged cell phone, preferably with spare battery
18. Essential medications

To learn more about hurricane preparedness, read the following articles:

Hurricane Preparedness
Be Ready! National Hurricane Preparedness Week is May 25-31
A Part Time Grunt’s Hurricane Katrina Experience
Emergency Water Supply for Hurricane Season: the AquaPodKit
Prepper v. Survivalist? How About Using the Term Smart Instead

To read the Original Post on this click HERE
For additional information see the following links: 
Blog Table of Contents
Complete Sustainable Living Plan 

Prepper Livestock

For millions of years, humans were nomadic, surviving as hunters and gatherers. Once we learned to domesticate animals and plant gardens, we could settle down, stay longer in one area and sustain larger populations. Our ability to raise livestock and garden are essential to our survival today no matter how good you are at Wilderness Survival.

When Christopher Columbus sailed from Cadiz in 1493 for his second voyage, he carried everything needed to colonize the New World including dogs, cats, chickens, horses, donkeys, cattle, pigs, sheep, rabbits and goats. While we should expect to need no less, there are a few that are perhaps more essential and practical than others are are.

After calculating your garden food requirements look at eggs, chicken, rabbit, goat, cows, pigs, fish, etc. to be sure you have enough meat to eat each week. Goats are the most popular meat around the world, especially in poor countries that live more sustainable lives. They are small (easily consumed before spoiling), hardy, can eat most anything and provide milk and meat. Once there is no feed store, goats will come in handy. 

Here are some sample Prepper meal ideas to plan for:

Breakfast - 1-3 Eggs every day because they are healthy and easy, then bread, rice or potatoes alternately; 8-12 ounces (per adult).  Also meat like beacon, sausage or ham; 8 to 12 ounces.  Add fruit when available.  Protein, fat and carbs to provide energy for the day.

Lunch - Two vegetables from your garden; 8 to 12 ounces each, then bread, rice or potatoes, then meat of some type that varies from day to day either in type, or recipe (8 to 16 ounces).   Add fruit when available.

Dinner - Two vegetables from your Prepper Garden (8-12 ounces), then meat of some time that varies from day to day either in type, or recipe (8-12 ounces).

Here is our list of livestock covered in the Prepper Handbook (in detail, including feed requirements) with links to the ones covered here:

Bees

Best Chicken Breed

Chickens

Cows

Fish

Goats

Pigeons

Pigs

Rabbits
Dogs 
Horses
 

For additional information see the following links: 
Blog Table of Contents
Complete Sustainable Living Plan 
Step by Step Prepper Plan
 

Bear: Firearms or Pepper Spray?

Here is a great story from OutdoorLife.com 

Almost every backcountry hunter has pictured some version of this: An unexpected rustling in the underbrush. The flash of black (or brown) fur. A huffing sound. And then suddenly—snap!—you realize you’re about to have a run-in with an agitated bear. How do you react?

For most of the 20th century, biologists and hunting guides (and magazines, including this one) recommended firearms for self-defense from carnivorous mammals. But in 2012, the Journal of Wildlife Management published a groundbreaking paper, “Efficacy of Firearms for Bear Deterrence in Alaska.” Co-authors Tom Smith and Stephen Herrero analyzed public records, media accounts, and anecdotal information reaching back to 1883. The study examined 269 encounters between 357 bears (brown, black, and polar) and 444 humans, and concluded that people who used firearms for self-defense against bears “suffered the same injury rates in close encounters with bears whether they used their firearms or not.”

Now widely cited by backcountry-area risk managers, wildlife biologists, and bear experts, the study further concluded that bear spray has a better success rate than firearms at neutralizing a bear encounter, and that spray is also less likely than firearms to cause collateral damage to humans or other animals.

Aerosol spray is allowed in every backcountry area in the United States. It’s easy to buy, nontoxic, simple to use, and—because it contains capsaicin, a chili pepper–based chemical that causes intense irritation but no serious physical injury—can be deployed against any threat, including aggressive dogs and human attackers.

When you’re buying pepper spray for use against bears, look for formulations with the highest possible concentration of capsaicin, but avoid mace or other toxic ingredients.

Here are recommendations on bear spray from wildlife technicians, backcountry guides, and others who work and recreate in bear country.

The Value of Practice
Alaskan wildlife biologists recommend UDAP bear spray for its large canister size and impressive range.

Make sure the canister is easy to carry and deploy. Scatbelt offer versatile holster options.
Check local jurisdictions for any restricted ingredients. Sabre spray is generally allowed in Canada, where other formulations may be prohibited.

Replace pepper-spray canisters annually, and practice with the outdated spray so you are familiar with holster deployment and trigger release. Some retailers offer practice canisters filled with pressurized water.

Practice in situations where you will be surprised and have only seconds to react, says Mike Matheny, the founder of UDAP and himself the survivor of a grizzly attack. “You have far less time than you think.”

Formal pepper-spray training is available from Insights Training Center ($90).

The Case for a Bear Gun
Not everyone who works in bear country relies on spray.

Alaska game wardens and backcountry rangers might carry bear spray, but their go-to protection in bear country is a pump-action shotgun loaded with slugs. That was the takeaway from a week in Alaska, training with officers who encounter bears on the job.

The most popular model in the class was a short-barreled Remington 870 Synthetic Tactical. Other favorites are the Winchester SXP, Mossberg Scorpion, and Benelli Nova. The favored sidearm is a Ruger SuperRedhawk Alaskan model in .454 Casull. For rifles, it’s the Ruger Guide Gun or CZ Safari Magnum in .375 Ruger or .375 H&H. —Larry Case

You Might Also Like: Best Grizzly Guns: 9 Great Guns for Brown Bear Hunting and Backcountry Defense

Read the original article
 
JR NOTE:  After reading this, I still opt for both (gun & pepper spray).  While those who use guns sustain the same injury rate, they may be in a more dangerous position.  I will use Pepper Spray first, as a deterrent, if the bear is not charging.  While a Pump shot gun is good, it is less reliable in a tense split-second event than a Double Barreled Shotgun.
So while the double barreled shotgun is limited at two rounds before reloading is necessary, those two rounds can be fired quickly and reliably.

For more information, see:
Blog Table of Contents

 

Noodling

Noodling is a form of fishing with your hands that raises a number of questions.

Does a flathead bite hurt? Aren't there snakes down there? How do you find the holes? Do y'all clean all those catfish? Hunting editor Will Brantley and his brother—two veteran noodlers—answer some common questions about catfish noodling.

Click HERE to watch the Field & Stream video.

For more information, see:
Blog Table of Contents
Survival Fishing
3 Odd Techniques for Primitive Fishing
How to catch your own live bait
Complete Sustainable Living Plan 

Also see Fishing Gadgets Hub for a detailed write up on the subject.