“How To” do anything…
Duck hunting is challenging, rewarding, highly involved and requires skill, precision, patience and conservation. America is experiencing the highest duck population in 18 years, making right now the perfect time to start duck hunting. Here is a quick-start guide to the who, what, when, where and why of beginning duck hunting.
Preppers here are some simple tips to stockpile canned goods without breaking the bank. When you get a few cans at a time and pay close attention to nutritional value and expiration dates, you’re on your way to a well-stocked stash.
Giving the gift of firepower, especially to the gun enthusiast, is an excellent idea. However, giving a gun as a present does have its drawbacks. A gun lover loves getting guns. Don’t rule it out as a gift just because a little extra thought and care is involved in getting the right one. The following six tips will help if you plan on buying a gun for someone this year.
Staying safe in a crowd of people is essential and whether you carry a gun or a flashlight and pepper spray, getting home safe and sound is the goal. There are simple steps you can take, from knowing where the exits are to picking the right seating.
For 30 days, once a day, I have posted a how-to on prepping for severe winter weather. Breaking it up hopefully has made the task less onerous. After all winterizing a house can take more than one weekend and building an emergency kit for your car and home can take more than one paycheck. Some of you might have scoffed at some of the posts. Either way, I have attempted to cover all my bases from curing cabin fever to preventing carbon monoxide poisoning—universal concerns no matter what your region. On day 30, the final installment of “30 Days of Preparing for Severe Winter Weather,” I present to you all 29 posts.
There are very few chances us regular folks get to walk on water, so when ponds, lakes or rivers freeze over many take the opportunity to participate in fun activities such as ice skating, a friendly game of ice hockey, snowshoeing or ice fishing. But how do you know the ice is safe to walk over? There are a few general things to keep in mind when judging if frozen water is safe to walk over. Please remember, however, that ice is never 100 percent safe to walk on, so tread slowly, take every precaution you can and follow the following five rules of judging how safe ice is.
Is snow safe to eat may sound like a ridiculous question, but it is a little more complicated than a simple answer yes or no.
Who hasn’t stuck their tongue out on a snowy day to catch a few fluffy snowflakes or broke an icicle off a tree and sucked on it? Appealing as snow looks—pristine, fluffy and like it would taste like whipped cream—it isn’t necessarily safe. Pollution and bacteria can mix with snow, even in remote mountainous regions. Though you should be more concerned with hypothermia rather than getting sick from eating contaminated snow, you can still use snow to hydrate yourself if caught ill prepared in a blizzard. However, you should melt snow first before eating it!
Due to the lead in the primer and ammunition, the gases expelled from firing a gun contain lead. While at the gun range—whether indoor or outdoor—we inhale these gases. Lead particles and dust also settle on our fingers, hands, arms, hair, clothing, shoes and our face. In fact, the air around your face at the shooting range contains toxic levels of lead. Always wash thoroughly after a range trip.
I don’t want to sound like an alarmist, but carbon monoxide really is a silent killer. You can’t smell it, taste it or see it. In fact, you might not even believe you feel it. You may disregard symptoms such as headaches, dizziness, weakness, chest pain and nausea as a cold or flu. However, carbon monoxide poisoning is extremely dangerous—even mild cases can cause permanent brain damage. Carbon monoxide poisoning happens all year round, however, cases increases in winter—particularly in December and January. One of the best ways to prevent CO poisoning is to buy a battery-powered carbon monoxide detector. It works just like your smoke alarm and will sound a loud alarm when dangerous levels of carbon monoxide are present. There are other ways to prevent CO poisoning, as well:
Hot chocolate is not only yummy and comforting; it actually warms your up. You don’t have to forgo this delicious treat when the power goes out—severe winter weather is the perfect time to enjoy a mug of hot chocolate using a few ingredients from your long-term food storage and a gel fuel camp or survival stove. I whipped up my own ultra chocolaty version in about 20 minutes. Here is my favorite single-serving hot chocolate recipe using a Swiss military surplus gel fuel M1 stove kit.