Prepare for the Unthinkable: Arm Yourself with Essential Survival Skills and Knowledge!

Get Started with Prepping: Essential Tips for Beginners

In an unpredictable world, being prepared for unexpected events and emergencies is a wise choice. Prepping, short for preparedness, involves acquiring the knowledge, skills, and supplies necessary to effectively navigate and survive various crisis situations. Whether you’re interested in natural disasters, economic uncertainties, or personal safety, embarking on your prepping journey can provide peace of mind and the ability to take care of yourself and your loved ones.

effectively navigate and survive various crisis situations

This guide will help you get started with prepping by recommending online channels to follow, providing steps for exploring this new journey, and sharing essential tips for beginners.

1. Online Channels for Prepping:

The internet is a valuable resource for preppers, offering a vast array of educational and informative content. Here are some recommended channels to get you started:

a. Year Zero Survival: Is a comprehensive website that covers various aspects of preparedness. They share practical tips, gear reviews, and survival techniques.

b. Canadian Prepper: This channel provides a wealth of knowledge on prepping, survival skills, gear reviews, and discussions on current events. Canadian Prepper offers practical advice for both urban and wilderness survival scenarios.

c. The Urban Prepper: Focusing on urban preparedness, this channel offers tips for city dwellers, apartment preppers, and those with limited space. It covers topics such as food storage, self-defense, and urban gardening.

d. Sensible Prepper: Offers a wide range of prepping videos, including bug-out bags, gear reviews, DIY projects, and everyday carry items. The channel emphasizes practical and cost-effective solutions.

e. Wranglerstar: Is a homesteading and self-sufficiency channel that covers various aspects of preparedness, such as woodworking, off-grid living, and outdoor skills.

start your prepping journey on the right foot

2. Exploring the Prepping Lifestyle:

To start your prepping journey on the right foot, consider the following steps:

a. Assess your needs: Identify the potential risks and hazards in your area and determine the specific areas of preparedness you want to focus on. This could include food and water storage, emergency shelter, first aid, self-defense, or alternative energy sources.

b. Research and educate yourself: Read books, articles, and online resources about prepping. Watch videos, attend workshops or classes, and seek advice from experienced preppers. Building a strong knowledge foundation is crucial.

c. Start with the basics: Begin by acquiring essential supplies like water storage containers, non-perishable food items, first aid kits, flashlights, and batteries. Gradually expand your inventory based on your needs and budget.

d. Practice skills: Prepping isn’t just about stockpiling supplies; it also involves acquiring practical skills. Learn first aid, basic self-defense techniques, fire starting, gardening, and other relevant skills that will be valuable in emergency situations.

e. Connect with the community: Join online forums, social media groups, or local prepping communities to connect with like-minded individuals. Networking with experienced preppers can provide valuable insights and support

emergency alerts and notifications

3. Essential Tips for Beginners:

As a beginner in the world of prepping, keep the following tips in mind:

a. Prioritize the basics: Focus on the essentials first, such as water, food, shelter, and medical supplies. Aim to have a sufficient amount of clean water (at least one gallon per person per day) and non-perishable food to last for at least two weeks.

b. Create a bug-out bag: Prepare a portable emergency kit, often called a bug-out bag or go-bag, that contains essential items for survival on the go. Include items like a multi-tool, first aid supplies, a flashlight, extra clothing, cash, and copies of important documents.

c. Rotate and maintain supplies: Regularly check the expiration dates of food, medications, and other perishable items in your supplies. Create a rotation system to ensure items are consumed or replaced before they expire.

d. Develop a communication plan: Establish a communication plan with your family or household members. Determine how you will stay connected during emergencies, including meeting points, emergency contacts, and alternative communication methods like walkie-talkies or ham radios.

e. Practice and adapt: Regularly practice your prepping skills, such as setting up a tent, purifying water, or starting a fire. Conduct drills with your family to ensure everyone understands their roles and responsibilities during an emergency.

f. Stay informed: Stay updated on current events, weather forecasts, and potential hazards in your area. Sign up for emergency alerts and notifications to receive timely information.

g. Physical fitness and self-defense: Engage in regular exercise to maintain good physical fitness, as it will contribute to your overall preparedness. Consider learning self-defense techniques to enhance personal safety and security.

h. Consider sustainability: Explore sustainable practices such as gardening, composting, and renewable energy sources. These skills can provide long-term self-sufficiency and resilience.

Learn skills can provide long-term self-sufficiency and resilience.

Conclusion:

Prepping is a journey that requires ongoing learning, preparation, and adaptation. By following informative online channels like Year Zero Survival, Canadian Prepper, The Urban Prepper, Sensible Prepper, and Wranglerstar, you can gain valuable insights and guidance.

Remember to assess your needs, research, start with the basics, practice skills, and connect with the prepping community. Prioritize the essentials, maintain your supplies, and develop a communication plan. Stay informed, stay fit, and consider sustainable practices. Embrace the prepping mindset to ensure you and your loved ones are better prepared for whatever challenges may arise.

(Note: YearZeroSurvival.com is a comprehensive website that covers various aspects of preparedness. It offers practical tips, gear reviews, and survival techniques. Visit the website for more in-depth information.)

How Long Do Magazine Springs Really Last?

As a gun owner, you’ve probably assessed your firearm and examined where its reliability could be tested given a slew of survival scenarios. Undoubtedly, you’ve looked carefully at the magazine. It is after all the critical component that a magazine-fed firearm relies on to feed ammo into the chamber effectively and efficiently. Are you positive it’ll always work when you need it to? As you most likely know, a magazine contains a certain metal component which renders the entire firearm ineffective when it breaks or loses its elasticity. We are speaking of course about the spring, which is why the latest project from AmmunitionToGo.com recently garnered our attention.

How long can a mag spring last? Does leaving a mag loaded for an extended period of time gradually damage its spring? Does the simple act of loading a mag damage its spring in any measurable way? These are the questions Ammo To Go set out to answer by conducting a mag spring torture test (or mag spring enhanced interrogation test, if any congressional committees ask about it).

Ammo To Go’s Mag Spring Test Process

The team at Ammo To Go spent almost a year loading, unloading, and testing the spring functionality of 13 different mags:

  • Magpul Gen 2 PMAG (30 rds)
  • Magpul Gen 3 PMAG (30 rds)
  • Magpul Gen 3 PMAG (40 rds)
  • Amend2 AR-15 mag (30 rds)
  • Lancer AR-15 mag (30 rds)
  • USGI AR-15 mag (30 rds)
  • Smith & Wesson Shield 9mm mag (8 rds)
  • ETS Glock 17 mag (17 rds)
  • Glock 17 Factory mag (17 rds)
  • Magpul Glock 17 mag (17 rds)
  • Glock 17 Factory mag (33 rds)
  • USGI 45 ACP 1911 mag (7 rds)
  • Wilson Combat 45 ACP 1911 mag (8 rds)

First, they used a digital force gauge to establish each mag spring’s resistance. Then they subjected samples of each mag listed above to the following test protocol over the course of year.

  1. Load to full capacity; store in climate controlled environment
  2. Load to full capacity; store in shed where temperatures regularly fluctuate to over 100 °F
  3. Do not load; store in climate controlled environment
  4. Do not load; store in the miserably hot and stuffy shed
  5. Load to half capacity; store in climate controlled environment
  6. Load and unload to full capacity five times biweekly; store in climate controlled environment
  7. Load and unload to full capacity 15 times biweekly; store in climate controlled environment
  8. Load and unload to full capacity 15 times biweekly; store in the same horrible shed

The ATG crew regularly took the mags to the range for field testing throughout the duration of the test. Their team fired one round every two seconds, and then used the same digital force gauge to determine whether the mag springs’ resistance values changed in any significant way.

The Mag Spring Torture Test Results

After about ten months, hundreds of hours, thousands of rounds, and countless mosquito bites, their team determined the following: zilch.

Allow us to elaborate using the PMAGs as an example. Regardless of how frequently they were loaded or unloaded – and regardless of their storage conditions – not a single PMAG failed. The digital force gauge revealed zero significant variability in their springs’ resistance!

This isn’t to suggest that the PMAGs weren’t changed over the course of testing. In many cases the springs put up 20-25% less resistance than they had when the mags were fresh out of their factory packaging. Even so, all of the PMAGs performed flawlessly during field testing, and the other manufacturers’ mags followed suit.

So, They Did Even More Testing

The test protocol revealed that factory mags are pretty much unaffected by regular usage. But they wanted to determine precisely how much punishment a mag can tolerate before its spring starts pushing up daisies. That’s why they recruited help from the only people who are bigger nerds than us: the laboratory technicians of Applied Technical Services.

The team gave ATS a factory 17-round G17 mag and a 30-round PMAG. They slightly modified each mag to fit correctly into their spring compressing contraption and proceeded to punish the absolute bejeezus out of the poor little springs.

Their results were fascinating. The G17 mag spring endured 14,842 cycles (the equivalent of 252,314 rounds) before it snapped; the PMAG endured 69,881 cycles (2,096,430 rounds) before it finally gave up the ghost. To put that into context, if you were to fire a case of 223 Rem ammo every two weeks, the PMAG spring would endure for eight decades. That’s bananas!

Infographic: PMAG Torture Test Results

Test Limitations

You can’t pretend that ATS’s testing perfectly emulated real world conditions. When they’re used by actual firearm enthusiasts, mags get dirty, subjected to temperature fluctuations, dropped, quickly reloaded, and otherwise mistreated. You can reasonably expect environmental damage to shorten a mag spring’s lifespan, but their tests didn’t confirm that expectation through scientific experimentation.

Regardless, it’s safe to conclude that mag springs are outstandingly rugged. Kudos to the manufacturers for appreciating just how essential springs really are!

Does Storing a Mag Half Loaded Extend Its Lifespan?

Many folks believe they can protect their mag springs by “downloading” – i.e. loading their mags shy of full capacity. Their reasoning is simple enough: by avoiding full compression, the spring retains its resistance and full functionality.

The ATG team put this theory to the test by downloading Gen 2 and Gen 3 PMAGs, as well as Amend2 AR, G17 and S&W Shield mags. After 10 months of identical use and storage conditions, they measured no significant difference in spring resistance between the downloaded mags and analogous mags that they left unloaded or fully loaded when they weren’t in use. Like we pointed out earlier, the test’s protocol doesn’t perfectly emulate real world conditions, but there’s no evidence downloading poses any actual advantage.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, it’s typically wear and tear or factory defects that render mags ineffective – not gradual spring deterioration. So long as you take care to maintain your firearm, you can expect reliable performance from your mag for many decades. One less thing to worry about, we say!

The Ultimate Guide to Long-Term Food Storage: Tips and Tricks for Preserving Your Food Supply

Guide to storing food for a long yime

Having a reliable supply of food is essential for survival, but how do you ensure that your food will last for the long term? In this guide, we’ll provide you with the tips and tricks you need to properly store your food for the long haul.

First and foremost, it’s important to choose the right foods for long-term storage. Non-perishable items such as grains, dried beans, and canned goods are great choices. You should also consider purchasing a food dehydrator, which allows you to preserve fruits, vegetables, and meats for extended periods of time.

Proper packaging is also crucial for long-term food storage. Use airtight containers to prevent contamination and extend the shelf life of your food. Vacuum-sealing is another effective way to remove excess air and prevent spoilage.

When it comes to storing your food, location is key. Choose a cool, dry place with stable temperatures to prevent the growth of mold and bacteria. A basement or cellar is a great option, as is a pantry or storage room with ample shelving.

In addition to these tips, it’s also important to rotate your food supply on a regular basis. This ensures that you are using the oldest items first and prevents waste.

By following these guidelines, you can ensure that your food supply will last for the long term and provide you with the sustenance you need in any situation.

 

10 Benefits of Following the Year Zero Survival Website for Emergency Preparedness

Are you looking for a comprehensive resource on emergency preparedness and survival? Look no further than yearzerosurvial.com! This website is a one-stop shop for information, advice, and resources on how to prepare for a variety of potential disasters.

Whether you are interested in natural disasters, economic collapse, or social unrest, yearzerosurvival.com has you covered.

Here are 10 benefits of following this website:

  1. Expert advice on how to prepare for a variety of potential disasters, including natural disasters, economic collapse, and social unrest.
  2. The latest developments in emergency preparedness and survival gear, including food, water, shelter, and medical supplies.
  3. A community of like-minded individuals who share your interests in emergency preparedness and survival.
  4. Valuable skills and knowledge that can help you and your loved ones stay safe and healthy in the face of a crisis.
  5. Tips and tricks for surviving in the wilderness, including how to find food, water, and shelter in unfamiliar environments.
  6. Advice on how to stay calm and focused in a high-stress situation, and how to make smart decisions that can help you and your family survive.
  7. Information on how to create an emergency plan that will help you and your loved ones stay safe and stay in touch in the event of a disaster.
  8. Expert advice on how to stay informed and stay connected during an emergency, including how to access emergency services and how to communicate with others.
  9. Information on the psychological and emotional effects of a disaster, and how to cope with the stress and trauma that can come with a crisis.
  10. A wealth of resources, including articles, videos, and expert interviews, that can help you stay informed and prepared for any emergency.
disaster prep

Don’t wait until it’s too late to start preparing for a potential disaster.

Follow yearzerosurvival.com today and gain valuable knowledge and skills that can help you and your loved ones stay safe in the face of a crisis. Sign up for the website’s newsletter to receive regular updates and stay informed about the latest developments in emergency preparedness and survival.

How To Prep For Living Through A Nuclear Attack

If you are a prepper, you will probably know that a nuclear attack is the most challenging survival situation. You cannot evacuate because exposure to radioactive material is life-threatening. The worst part is that risks abound indoors too, so no place is actually safe after an explosion. But proper preparation can help you deal with the hazards and survive despite the daunting risks. Awareness is the key to survival, and planning takes you a step ahead. Let us share some tips to prep for living through a nuclear attack.

How To Prep For Living Through A Nuclear Attack

Make a family disaster plan

The world is going through uncertain times, and no place is safe. A nuclear strike may happen anywhere, so it is vital to be ready. Think beyond the conventional disaster preparedness plan because the threat of radioactivity is worse than you think. Gather as much information as possible, and pass it on to your family members. Remember that the best way to stay safe is to coop indoors. Ensure that everyone does it if disaster strikes. Also, create an evacuation plan to follow once it is safe to come out.

Build a survival kit

Like a disaster plan, every family must have a survival kit as it can be a lifesaver in a nuclear crisis. The basics are the same as you will require food, water, medicines, daily essentials, and communication gear under lockdown. But you must also invest in gas masks and hazmat suits if you suspect an impending nuclear attack. You can check a hazmat suit buyer’s guide to pick a reliable option. Stocking up on Potassium Iodide is important as it offers protection against thyroid cancer risk from exposure to iodine-131 found in radioactive fallout.

Maintain distance

Another survival tip you can rely on to stay safe after a nuclear attack is maintaining as much distance as possible from the fallout particles. Moving to an underground area such as the basement of your home or office building is the best way to stay safe. You can also stay in a room without windows and openings as thick walls, bricks, and concrete can maximize protection against radioactive particles. Remember to dispose of your clothing first as it may have deadly particles. Stick to packaged water and tinned food as tap water and fresh produce will definitely be contaminated.

Evacuate when possible

Evacuation should be your top priority because living in an area exposed to nuclear radiation is dangerous. But leaving the fallout shelter for a couple of weeks after radioactive fallout is the last thing you should do. Wait for the authorities to announce when it is safe to leave, and do it at the earliest. Have your bug-out bags ready and evacuate at the earliest. It is best to carry cash and your ID documents because you may not get a chance to return in the foreseeable future.

Living through a nuclear attack is not a matter of chance, but it depends on how well you are prepared to handle the disaster. Follow these tips to keep yourself and your loved ones safe through the worst.

The Best Methods for Managing Back Pain

Back pain is a common issue that may affect anyone at some point in life – it’s no secret that it seems to be an issue for most people more often than not. However, the good news is that back pain can be managed effectively, and there are many ways to do so.

If you’re in pain, this article may come as an unexpected relief; it will detail some of the best ways of managing back pain and provide information on the different remedying products available so you can find the appropriate match for your individual needs.

You will also find tips on what not to do when it comes to managing back pain and information on medical supports used to combat chronic back problems, such as sciatica, herniated discs, and degenerative disc disease. In any case, if you want to know more about how to beat your back pain and the most effective products used for relief, continue reading the rest of this dedicated guide.

The Best Methods for Managing Back Pain

Seek Medical Advice

Before you take any action for a bad back, you must seek advice from a medical professional. They may prescribe pain killers, provide information on exercises to stretch out your back, or offer details on corrective support equipment, such as insoles and many others. Medical supports are highly effective and widely available online, such as on sites like podobrace.co.uk.

Have Good Posture

Posture is key to maintaining the integrity of your back and spine. Being seated in a chair with poor posture can lead to health problems, which is especially true for back pain. Therefore, you must pay attention to your posture while sitting and standing.

While it may be difficult when you’re experiencing pain, you must maintain proper posture while working or standing, as doing so will help prevent additional injuries from occurring.

Use Heating Pads and Ice Packs

Heat and cold therapy are effective tools for managing back pain. The heat helps to relax tense muscles, while cold therapy aids in enhancing muscle tone. Both of these therapies help reduce stress on your spinal cord.

Exercise Regularly with a Low-Impact Routine

Exercise Regularly with a Low-Impact Routine

Exercising regularly is one of the most effective ways of managing back pain. Not only will it help keep your spine healthy, but it will also positively impact your general well-being as exercise helps boost lung capacity and blood circulation. Moreover, exercise should be done at least three times per week for at least 30 minutes per session.

Conclusion

To sum it up, back pain is a common issue, and many people will experience it at some point in their lives. Still, however common back pain may be, that doesn’t mean that you should ignore it, as it can get much worse if you do.

Lastly, if you’re reading this and have chronic back pain or a bad back, please seek medical advice first, then consider trying some of the methods outlined above to manage your pain and prevent the condition from worsening or reoccurring in the future.

What Is The Shortest Effective Barrel Length For An AR-15

In this piece, we’re going to take a pass at addressing the question: what’s the shortest effective barrel length for an AR15? To do so, we’ll start with a little bit of general ballistic science to get some basic concepts under our feet. From there, some specific commentary on the operating mechanism of the AR platform, specifically the gas system, is important.

effective Barrel Length

But first, let’s define effective. Here, we mean an effective barrel length as one that can be used in an AR with which you can reasonably expect to engage human-sized targets out to about 300 yards with some skill involved.

Ballistic Science 101

When a bullet is fired, the burning powder builds pressure behind the bullet, pushing it forward through the barrel, where the bullet roughly seals against the rifling, accelerating as it travels down the barrel.

In general terms, greater barrel length means more velocity, which, in turn, means less bullet drop and greater accuracy. Of course, there’s a limit to this: a six-foot barrel would not net you many gains in velocity, but it would make the rifle extremely unwieldy, something like an old-timey Punt gun, which was a bow-mounted shotgun people used to hunt ducks.

AR15 Gas Systems

Regardless of barrel length, the AR15 is a direct gas impingement gun, requiring a gas tube that runs parallel to this barrel. To have the gun cycle as a semi-automatic firearm rather than a bolt action one, you’ll need to have a function gas system. These days, gas systems come in several more or less standard lengths.

Pistol length gas systems are the shortest, and they’re about 4” long. A carbine length system is 7” long. Further, a midsize gas system is 9” long and the longest, rifle systems are 12” long. These, as you’ll see soon, correspond to several barrel lengths, and with accompanying pros and cons.

Six Inch Barrels

About the shortest barrel that you can hope to have normal function in an AR is a 6” barrel. These will have substantial accuracy problems because of a short sight radius as well as the fact that the bullet will not get up to normal velocity, resulting in a bullet drop. These will function with a pistol-length gas system and might work for extremely close quarters work, but be careful as you’ll have your hands awfully close to the muzzle at all times.

 the shortest barrel that you can hope to have normal function in an AR is a 6” barrel.

Ten To Twelve Inch Barrels

With a little bit longer barrel comes a little more velocity: with a carbine gas system, these short ARs can gain some serious accuracy over the extremely short models, but you’ll still notice that bullet drop will start sooner than you’d like.

This is a common length of AR for folks in special forces who know that their mission will take them indoors, as this is a compact weapon that still can reach out to about 200 yards with a little bit of practice. Overall, these are the first reasonable option we think is out there if you want accuracy past room-clearing distances.

Thirteen to Sixteen Inch Barrels

This is, in some regards, the Goldilocks zone for AR barrel lengths, as we’ll develop in the next section. Paired with a Carbine length gas system, rifles with barrels of this length give up very little in terms of velocity when compared to longer barrels but are a little more compact than longer weapons. Additionally, the carbine gas system, balanced with an appropriate buffer spring and weight, are exceptionally soft recoiling weapons, which makes follow-up shots a lot easier.

the Goldilocks zone for AR barrel lengths

Twenty Inch Barrels

About the longest barrel you’re likely to see on an AR platform rifle is 20.” These give the greatest possible velocity out of standard 5.56mm ammunition, without being too bulky for people to use in adaptable mission settings. Barrels of this length are less common now but are a good choice for folks who want to stretch the legs of the platform. With a rifle-length gas system, they’re also exceptionally reliable weapons as well, as this is basically the design as it was first developed in the 1950s.

So, What’s the Best Barrel Length?

As with most things in the firearms world, the answer is: what’s your purpose?

If you want the best possible ballistics, then a 20” barrel with a rifle-length gas system is the way to go. Even though these are long and a little heavier than what’s common these days, most accuracy-focused setups will have longer barrels to get additional velocity and a longer sight radius for iron sights.  The M16A1, as issued in Vietnam, came with a barrel of this length and it performed well for troops for years.

Of course, some people don’t want the best ballistics, and they are looking for a handy gun to use in home defense. To that end, a Short-Barreled-Rifle might well be the most effective: a 10” barrel with a pistol length gas system can be highly effective in close quarters and they’re super handy. If it were up to us, we’d also put a suppressor on it to tame the unholy muzzle blast that comes from all of the unburnt powder and unused energy from short barrels.

For most folks, something in between works well. Enter the M4, the standard service rifle in the hands of several million people in the armed forces all over the world. With a 14.5” barrel and a carbine length gas system, the M4 can reach out to about 300 yards with no issue but is also handy enough to be pressed into room-clearing duty in, say, Fallujah. This is what we go with most of the time on our personal rifles.

With all of that said, and government paperwork aside, you don’t really have to choose. It’s entirely possible to have a single lower receiver, a few buffer springs, and a set of uppers that you can change out in seconds depending on your mission requirement. That’s one of the brilliant things about the AR 15 design, and we personally own several different barrel lengths for different tasks.

Must Have Items to Take Hunting

If you do not have the items you need to get through the day, hunting can be tricky! There are the normal things you need to have on hand like rifle magazines, snacks, extra water, or a small first aid kit. But what are some things you may need that you would not normally think to pack? Forgetting the small things is so easy to do, but it can make a significant impact on the experience you have on your trip. Save yourself some grief and be sure to include the following five things in your hunting pack.

 Must Have Items to Take Hunting

Decoys

Just the thought of lugging around an extra bag or crate of decoys can feel frustrating. However, having a few on hand can increase the amount of game you see in your crosshairs. Either those of deer or of fowl, are made of light materials, but they help your prey feel safer in the area you set the decoy. An important tip to remember is to set the decoy upwind from where you will be. This will help keep your scent from flowing towards the decoy and tipping off the prey of your whereabouts. Decoys look interesting and cause the hunted animals to be curious about who the decoy is (are they from my herd or somewhere else?). If you want to make decoys extra effective, you can purchase decoy smells to add, further luring out the hunted prey. The sense of smell is one that animals rely heavily upon, so adding this layer to your decoys can further increase your daily yield.

Laundry Detergent

You may not think about doing laundry before or after your hunting escapade, but you will if it means further disguising yourself from the animal you are hunting. Wildlife Research Center’s Super Charged Scent Killer Clothing Wash is one of the many options available to kick the nasty scent of “human.” There are body sprays and the like that you can keep in your pack for your trip. However, you will be adding a layer of smell protection when using the detergent, as your clothes will not smell like you, and they will trap in some of the odors that typically emanate from your body. Taking advantage of this will keep animals from suspecting you. Try washing your clothes in a scent killer laundry detergent and you will not be disappointed.

Trail Cameras

If you are new to the hunting scene, you may have never heard of or thought of setting up cameras around where you will have your hunting stand. At face value, this sounds like a lot of work for an unknown yield. However, they can help you keep an eye on your prey, even from a distance. Trail cameras are made rugged so that you can even consider putting them up for extended periods of time, no matter the weather. This gives you the opportunity to plan your hunting patterns on the grazing patterns of your prey. This allows you to create hunting locations based on the areas the animals frequent most. If you have been struggling with your tracking, if you are wanting to bag a certain amount or a specific animal, trail cameras can help you make better plans and properly execute those plans. Investment of time and money will serve you well. Do not let the novelty and the time commitment discourage you from using this helpful tool!

Surveyor’s Tape

Surveyor’s tape or another brightly colored tape or tie off will serve you well in the field. When you make a shot, you want to know you can gather your kill without getting lost in the woods. It can be easy to do, thinking you are on the correct trail then lose sight of both your kill and your stand. This can lead to you heading home emptyhanded. Avoid this tragedy by keeping surveyor’s tape in your pack to brightly mark where you have been. As you follow the blood trail or your trajectory path, put some of the tape on a nearby tree or other standing structure. This will guarantee that you can make it back to your starting point. If you lose track of your kill, you can also go back to the last place you were sure you were on the right track and continue the search from there. Having tape on your person can prove helpful in other situations, too, where you need to tape something back together or ensure you do not lose an item. Brightly colored tape can also be used as a signal to other hunters or emergency personnel in emergencies.

Zip ties

This may be a surprising suggestion, but zip-ties can serve many uses in the field. If you need to attach an extra item to your pack or if a zipper happens to break, zip ties can help you fix that! They can also be useful in tagging your kill or binding up their extremities for easier carry. Zip ties can also be used to help you mark your trek if you run out of or have forgotten your surveyor’s tape. Also, they can help you tie back branches that may be problematic when aiming or looking through your scope. Zip ties are cheap and are easy to use. They are even easier to take apart when you are done with them; just cut them!

Some items on this list may not be what you initially think of when you imagine packing for a hunting trip. However, thinking outside of the box with these items can help you better bag your prey, keep on the trail, and go home successfully. Why work harder when you can work smarter with things like decoys, scent killing detergent, trail cameras, surveyor’s tape, and zip ties? Make it easier for yourself and keep these items in your pack and encourage others to do the same. What are some other out of the box items you like to keep on you?