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10 Backcountry Pocket Pistols For Hunting, Self-Defense

10 Backcountry Pocket Pistols For Hunting, Self-Defense

Those who travel the backwoods trails, pitch their tent in campgrounds or meander along the banks of streams and lakes in search of fishing holes often like to supplement their outdoor equipment with a small, lightweight handgun. The role of this handgun is multifaceted, as it may be used to kill threatening venomous snakes, pot small game, ward off potential attackers or provide plain plinking fun.

The premise for our outdoor journey may not be taking us into grizzly country, but we still can’t discount running into a rabid fox or raccoon. While there are autoloading pistols that might fill this niche, they are not as versatile as a revolver ammunition-wise, especially if you want to carry shot cartridges. Let’s take a look at a number of handguns that might offer some comfort and protection in the backwoods with a certain level of convenience.

Bond Arms Snake Slayer If your biggest fear is “Mr. No Shoulders,” you might want to select something like the Bond Arms Snake Slayer. This over/under, two-shot derringer is configured with 3.5-inch barrels, an overall length of 5.5 inches and weighs 22 ounces empty. It is chambered for the .45 Colt cartridge and will also take .410 shotgun shells. With this gun, you can even swap barrels in a number of different lengths and calibers, adding to its versatility. Crafted from stainless steel and fitted with extended rosewood grips, it has a single-action mechanism with a rebounding hammer, retracting firing pins and a crossbolt safety. Fixed sights add to the rugged simplicity of the Snake Slayer.

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Gypsy Pack: Grey Ghost Gear’s New EDC Bag

Gypsy Pack: Grey Ghost Gear’s New EDC Bag

Courtesy of Real World Survivor

After a successful test run, Grey Ghost Gear finally debuted its Gypsy Pack for everyday usage.

Big enough to carry a MacBook Air, the urban, flat top designed bag has compartments for you to easily access your tools if you need to stock up on your survival gear for a wild weekend adventure.

This super secure bag comes with many pockets that’s perfect for all your needs. Even if you’re the type of person to suffer from a sweaty back, the back panel of this pack is padded with an air mesh just for you because it’s quilted to stimulate air circulation against the back and improves wearer comfort.

The MSRP for this pack is $225.00.

Specs:

  • Dimensions: 19 in. x 16 in. x 4.5 in.
  • Bag Volume: 1368 cubic in.
  • Main Compartment: 17 in. x 4 in. x 15 in.
  • Zippered Pouch: 12 in. x 8 in.

For more information on the Gypsy Pack and other products from Grey Ghost Gear, please visit GreyGhostGear.com.

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Surviving Wolf Country

Surviving Wolf Country

(Article originally published on Real World Survivor)

An attack from a pack of wolves was the furthest thing from forester Rory Mattson’s mind as he walked a new logging road in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula one day to see if it needed any modifications. He eventually came to a place in the freshly plowed dirt where there were many wolf tracks. One of the prints stood out due to its large size.

Rory put his hand next to the large track for comparison and the print was larger than his palm. “I thought it would be nice to see the wolf that made that track,” Mattson said, “and I got my wish.”

But it was much closer than he expected and under much different circumstances than he could have anticipated. After walking further, Rory came to a curve in the road, and when he was halfway into the corner an odor caught his attention. He was wondering what the smell was, but, as he rounded the corner, he got his answer. It was a dead carcass.

“The first thing I saw was blood all over,” Mattson said. “Then I noticed a good-sized doe with a wolf standing over it and another wolf nearby. They were in full growl and snarl mode. ‘OK, they are going to protect this kill,’ I thought to myself, ‘so I am going to get out of here.’ I think I only backed up a couple of steps when I heard growling behind me. I turned around and there was a big male 50 feet away. He was standing in the road with a smaller wolf.”

With retreat the way he had come along the logging road cut off by the big male, and the kill in the opposite direction on the road, Rory’s only option to get away from the wolves was to cut through the woods. Mattson was wearing a denim shirt that was unbuttoned with a T-shirt underneath. 

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Water & Food Reserve Tips for Long-Term Survival

Water & Food Reserve Tips for Long-Term Survival

Depending on the source, standard recommendations for a one-year food reserve for one adult male that contains meats, grains, legumes, dairy products, sugars, fruits and vegetables weighs in around 755 pounds. That doesn’t even include water! Imagine that number doubled for a couple, and add an additional two thirds of that number for each toddler and pre-adolescent residing in the household.

It’s no secret that building up your emergency food supply is important and necessary. The quick and easy solution is stocking up on MREs and canned goods. But one of the worst things that you can do in a contingency situation is to drastically change your diet by ingesting foreign foods. This can cause appetite fatigue, a situation more prevalent in small children and older folks, and can affect anyone who consumes something consistently for an extended amount of time. This cannot only result in mental degradation, but also in death in extreme circumstances.

One thing that will help is to incorporate foods into your daily diet that are part of your storage strategy. Having a variety of sustenance items is not only a matter of physical survival in dire circumstances, but mental as well.

The logic behind those food-reserve figures and the appetite fatigue scare is that everyone should be prepared to weather various storms (natural or manmade) at various times throughout their lives. Having substantial stores of food on hand can relieve a lot of stress when the decision has to be made between a mortgage payment and a meal. However, add to that factor an evacuation scenario and the weight of all of that stored sustenance becomes a serious consideration as to what should be taken and what should be left. But what if you could just take your means of sustenance and not your entire survival cache?

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5 Items to Prep Your Purse For A Crisis

5 Items to Prep Your Purse For A Crisis

When considering the items you carry or may want to carry with you on a daily basis, it is important to remember that survival is contingent on these seven priorities (in order of importance): mindset and planning, provide first aid, seek shelter, build a fire, signal for help, drink water and find a food source.

Never underestimate the characteristics of the bag you carry your everyday items in. Consider choosing one with qualities that can be useful in a survival situation. A purse’s construction, material and size could provide additional survival tools like a method for capturing water, or tearing it apart for bandages, tinder and binding.

Aside from common sense and keeping calm, the rest of these priorities can be accomplished by using everyday items creatively. Here are five items that many women already carry that have the potential to aid in meeting some of the aforementioned survival priorities.

Lip Balm

A lip balm containing bee’s wax and lanolin (a fatty substance found naturally on sheep’s wool) provides for many uses beyond the obvious healing of cracked, dried lips. Lip balm can also be used as a lubricant for tools, to remove rings from fingers, to stop minor bleeding, to prevent blisters, protect the skin and as a slow-burning fuel for fire. Many lip balms contain a sun protection factor (SPF) rating as well, further protecting your skin. Whether your emergency leaves you stranded in the sun or snow, lip balm will help you achieve the survival priorities of providing first aid and building or maintaining a fire for warmth.

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