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Let me guess you were hunting warthog and an Eland showed up for dinner.
 
Thank god i have never been stuck in the bush in a bad situation.
But as with any other situation. I believe a little knowledge before u go and a calm attitude os the best mix.
There are alot of books with stupid and bad ideas.
Like the myth a fire will keep away predators.
It only gives them something to walk around !
Going out in a group of 4 is a sure way to stop any bad situations before they start, with the exception to leopards running herds.
I believe the calm attitude will battle most situations. Alittle knowledge in first aid and some bush knowledge from the people that know, not some couch survivalist.
I myself keep a small pack, that i leave in the truck. I have a small first aid kit,rifle cleaning kit,bullets and sometimes other small things.
I have never hunted futher than 1 hr from the vehicle. And always in a group of 4. Me 1 ph 1 tracker and 1 skinner. Sometimes more than 4.
With all these people and a truck full of supplies,radio,water amd food.
Its really hard to think a terrible situation can happen, unless provoked. Other than the hunted animal charging and hurting someone, i cant think of a real situation that a prepared hunter and outfitter would be in ?
 
My grandfather grew up in the backwoods of Tennessee between both world wars, the family farm had no running water, no indoor plumbing, and no electricity, today what we call survival and bushcraft he called life. When I was young he gave me a good piece of backwoods advice, he told me "You'll never learn to cut unless you use the knife." Skills aren't learned by reading a book or watching they are learned by doing. I have never been lost in the woods, turned around yes, but not lost, or forced to spend an unplanned night in the field, but I practice my fire-making skills often in all types of weather conditions even rain and snow. It's been years since I went into the field without a bic lighter, ferro rod, and some type of man-made tinder to guarantee a fire. Heck, it's been years since I left the house without my Victorinox one-handed trecker, swisstool, lighter, ferro rod, and man-made tinder. I'll pass on two bad situations I found myself in on two different safaris. On my first safari my PH smoked a pipe and one day at lunch he discovered he was out of matches so I offered him my lighter, he turned it down claiming the lighter fluid tainted the taste of the tobacco. Now a PH without his smokes is a very dangerous thing so I plucked some dead grass twisted it around a thin twig and used the rest of the dry grass to make a birds nest, pulled out my ferro rod and sparked the bird's nest into flame, then I lit my improvised match thus saving my afternoon hunt. On my second hunt my PH smoked cigarettes, one afternoon while stalking Red Hartebeest he ran out of smokes, so for a second time, I was confronted by PH with no smokes and a long forced march back to the truck for more supplies. I calmly reached into my safari vest and handed him 4 cigarettes from my "PH Survival Kit" and saved another afternoon's hunt. You may not think these were bad situations but to me lost hunting time in Africa is a bad thing and a terrible waste. The funny thing is I don't smoke but because I planned and prepared I saved myself a day's hunting. I'll turn 57 this year and if I have learned one thing it's this "It's better the have and not need than need and not have" this applies to skills as well as gear. Planning and practice are the best ways to survive any situation.
 
Survival rope...
This strong +_7m long rolled strong plastic string was cut 10mm thick from a single 2l Coke bottle.
Rope has a multitude of uses in a survival or crises situation!
I am going to use mine in a short while to try and catch a catfish with it!
Never stop responsible 'playing' /experimenting!
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6M styf opgerolde 5mm sterk plastiek vislyn met hoek vir Baber naglyn gesny met knipmes en pro...jpg
 
Survival emergency plastic rope/string...
Here are 2l bottle survival rope projects using my pocket knife.

Strong 10 m rope & +_5 mm from each of 2 x 2l bottles.
[Here the 2 x bottle's rope are stored inside another 2l bottle]

and also shown are another +_ 22 m continuous thinner rope [fishing?] [+_ 72 feet] & 2.5 mm from a single x 2l bottle.
My small fishing scale of 6 kg are pulled to the max without the +_ 2.5 mm plastic string breaking.

This is a nice survival skill to acquire, just for maybe one day.... !

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Survival emergency plastic rope/string...
Here are 2l bottle survival rope projects using my pocket knife.

Strong 10 m rope & +_5 mm from each of 2 x 2l bottles.
[Here the 2 x bottle's rope are stored inside another 2l bottle]

and also shown are another +_ 22 m continuous thinner rope [fishing?] [+_ 72 feet] & 2.5 mm from a single x 2l bottle.
My small fishing scale of 6 kg are pulled to the max without the +_ 2.5 mm plastic string breaking.

This is a nice survival skill to acquire, just for maybe one day.... !

View attachment 394359
Thats a good idea !
When I was young, I had a tumbler with a screw on lid. Kept some fishing gear and first aid in it. Lived on a farm back then, had to be prepared !
 
A skill just for maybe one day...

A continuous 22 m long (72ft) "fishing line" of about 2.5mm thick and a break strength of more than 6kg, that I cut under 2 minutes out of one 2l coke bottle using my pocket knife and the bottle cap..
Think emergency [survival] fishing, shelter, camping, traps etc,etc.

The 10mm and 15mm thick string cut out of a 2l bottle are much stronger , especially if heat is applied.
(Bic, candle, campfire etc)

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enough yet?
Nope, but a darn good start.

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So it was a sunny 58 degrees here in Kansas City so my 4-month-old bush crafting partner Gatsby and I headed to the backyard fire pit for some not so wild dirt time.

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We decided to practice our primitive fire-making skills by making and using a bow drill set. So I broke out some of my bushcraft tools a Mora Bushcraft Black, an H&B Forge medium Camp Hawk, and a Backo Laplander folding saw then went to work.

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After an hour I had carved and burnt in my set. The spindle was a bit fat but I made it work.

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One of the things that make a bow drill challenging is the string tension after you twist the spindle into place if it's too loose the spindle won't rotate, too tight and the spindle won't travel the length of the string making things much harder than that need to be. So as I was adjusting the length of my string Gatsby decided to help me out and modify the fireboard end of my spindle, after I retrieved my spindle he decided my anvil needed some improvement as well. Why do dogs like charred wood so much? Now I have a wet spindle and anvil so I decided to try my new set another day. This is not the first time I have failed with a primitive fire but it is the first time I was bested by dog slobber.
 
The 'think out of the box' uses of the simple 2l plastic bottle....

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Actually catching a +_ 2-3 kg Barbel [Catfish] on a string that I cut out od a 2l plastic bottle with my pocket knife.
Ot there you must sometimes utilize the available resources in creative and unusual ways.....

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The time-proven multi-purpose fixed blade "Panga" that tamed Africa...
Here I used mine as a hot plate on the fire to "cook" a fish..
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