old time survival skills

[Shoobee]

Originally Posted by 1LoneWolf75

Yep MOST Americans are. I agree squirrel is good.

jack404 rats ok , nothing to rave about , cat too , its how they cook it

I've had cat and I thought it was good, but a bit stringy.

We should be so finicky most stuff is good IF you know how to cook it. It's just that too many people don't know what they are missing by being diversified. I've had people tell me I am disgusting fer what all I have eaten and I've had people say that they'd come live with me 'cuz they knew they wouldn't starve. Just might not like what they would be eatin but they'd live and that's all they care about.

If we all got hungry enough, we would eat anything that walks, crawls, swims, or flies as well as anything that grows.

With plants, generally, by boiling them you cook-off any toxins.

With meats, if you make a soup out of it, and let it boil for about an hour, that will tenderize anything no matter where it came from. The soup broth will have most of the vitamins in it also.

Of course, on any fresh kill, you can eat that raw, because bacteria has not yet had a chance to contaminate it, and so cooking is not really necessary. Cooking a fresh kill just softens the meat, making it easier to chew.

[Shoobee]

Originally Posted by jack404

well if it do go bad alcohol will be needed for lotsa stuff

preserving , fuel , trade ,

what would a bottle of scotch be worth in apocalyptic type future .. ?

if like the rationing of ww2 a bottle of scotch was a sheep , butchered and dressed ..

or 10 pound a bottle after the yanks came to town and raised the price from 6 quid

a weeks labourers wages was 5 pound

It takes about 6 months at least to produce hard liquor from a mash of any kind.

The easiest thing to make is vodka, using potato peelings.

After it sets for several months, you still need to ferment the mash to get the alcohol out of it.

The effort required is about the same as breeding a lamb to term, and giving it a few weeks to feed on fresh grass. In that case you are turning field grass, together with ram and ewe DNA, into a fresh lamb carcass.

It all depends on how much the sheep rancher wants the liquor, I guess.

[BlackEagle]

I was in a camp in Colorado years ago in which we learned survival skills. We practiced with snares, but built our own slingshots and got squirrels with them; one time we got a porcupine, again with the slingshots. We ate everything we caught. Also learned to eat grasshoppers, red ants (not fire ants), make tea from the fresh shoots of spruce trees, guddle for trout, some edible plants like clover runners and thistle stems among other things. We were going to try rattlesnake once but the boy watching it decided he didn't want any so he let the whole thing fall into the fire.

We made lean-tos from large sheets of plastic.

I did a lot of growing up out there and learned a lot about myself and my capabilities.

[Frogtop]

Originally Posted by jack404

well if it do go bad alcohol will be needed for lotsa stuff

preserving , fuel , trade ,

what would a bottle of scotch be worth in apocalyptic type future .. ?

if like the rationing of ww2 a bottle of scotch was a sheep , butchered and dressed ..

or 10 pound a bottle after the yanks came to town and raised the price from 6 quid

a weeks labourers wages was 5 pound

I've been telling you folk about them D**** yankees, look at what they did to our economy in '65. 1865 that is. Actually Jack the Foxfire series was compiled in the southern Appalachians namely Rabun Gap, Georgia. It was started as a project to get the the kids at a boarding school interested in English composition. The teacher, can't remember his name, came up with the idea of getting the kids to go out and talk with the old folk about the "old way" and document what they said. This was done in the early '70"s if memory serves so all of those old folk are sadly gone. My favorites are rifle making including how to make a broach from wood using a piece of an old file for cutting tool for cutting the rifling, and , of course, making a proper still for converting all that useless corn (maise) into a very valuable commodity.

[Frogtop]

Originally Posted by Shoobee

It takes about 6 months at least to produce hard liquor from a mash of any kind.

The easiest thing to make is vodka, using potato peelings.

After it sets for several months, you still need to ferment the mash to get the alcohol out of it.

The effort required is about the same as breeding a lamb to term, and giving it a few weeks to feed on fresh grass. In that case you are turning field grass, together with ram and ewe DNA, into a fresh lamb carcass.

It all depends on how much the sheep rancher wants the liquor, I guess.

Folk around here can turn ground corn into distilled alcohol in a matter of days, week or so at most. If making rot gut and using sugar and malt yeast in warm weather a lot quicker. Having brewer's yeast or some of the beer from a previous run gets you started a lot quicker. Here is a link to a recipe and method for making moonshine: http://www.dcblues.org/sales/cookbook/shine.html

[jack404]

poiteen set the mash for 2 days in a warm spot after 2 day start the still

start on sunday you'll be plastered by wednsday

[jack404]

and tater mash , 2 weeks in the tub ..

i've built stills for hot and cold mash in a day and been drinking the results a couple after that

yes if you wish taste and such you set a while and such but you can make grog straight away pretty much from lotsa things

that frozen OJ concentrate some vegemite some sugar and a warm place to set it then no still needed ( just a cast iron stomach )

[permafrost]

You fella's seem to know awful lot more than the average Joe about makin' "adult beverages!" Glad others have their priorities straight also. I'm thinkin' drinkin' alcohol is gonna be as good a thing to have as ammo, if and when....You'll be able to trade it for anything you want. I'll have to make a lot, though as I'll be using a fair bit for "medicinal purposes" myself. I feel right poorly at times!

P.S. - Jack, you got plans for a proper still? Corn Liquor? I need see if I can actually do it. Never tried. Think I could do it in town ,in an urban setting? I think(have to check) we are allowed to make either 5 or 10 gallons for personal use without pissin' off the revenuers. One of your nice links would be appreciated.

[jack404]

http://jack404.minus.com/mvbwliv/ plans with options for a real still

[permafrost]

Originally Posted by jack404

http://jack404.minus.com/mvbwliv/ plans with options for a real still

Thank you, Sir!

[jack404]

No Worries

[Shooter45]

Originally Posted by Frogtop

I've been telling you folk about them D**** yankees, look at what they did to our economy in '65. 1865 that is. Actually Jack the Foxfire series was compiled in the southern Appalachians namely Rabun Gap, Georgia. It was started as a project to get the the kids at a boarding school interested in English composition. The teacher, can't remember his name, came up with the idea of getting the kids to go out and talk with the old folk about the "old way" and document what they said. This was done in the early '70"s if memory serves so all of those old folk are sadly gone. My favorites are rifle making including how to make a broach from wood using a piece of an old file for cutting tool for cutting the rifling, and , of course, making a proper still for converting all that useless corn (maise) into a very valuable commodity.

Frogtop, the teachers name was Eliot Wiggington and I don't recall the school being a boarding school, just a local high school. I did meet Mr Wiggington and his class one day while in the area and that was the late 1970's. Lots of good info in those books.
Wiggington pled guilty of child molestation in 1992, left the project and moved to Florida. He did a lot of good in the area and it's a shame he turned out that way.

[Frogtop]

Originally Posted by Shooter45

Frogtop, the teachers name was Eliot Wiggington and I don't recall the school being a boarding school, just a local high school. I did meet Mr Wiggington and his class one day while in the area and that was the late 1970's. Lots of good info in those books.
Wiggington pled guilty of child molestation in 1992, left the project and moved to Florida. He did a lot of good in the area and it's a shame he turned out that way.

That is a shame re Wiggington. Somehow I had it fixed in my mind that the school was one of those operated by the DAR where the kids were boarded and worked the farm to help support the school. There was one in Grant, AL and seems I remember one being in the mountains of SC maybe over near Wahala. I will have to concede to your first hand knowledge. Yes it was a great project and was done extremely well by the kids. I wonder how much editing Wiggington did? Thanks for the update even though it is sad news.

[Frogtop]

Shooter45, just copied this from the Rabun Gap web site:

"Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School combines its strong academic program, mountain setting, and Presbyterian heritage to inspire young people eager to learn and grow. Living our motto, Work Study Worship, our community nurtures and challenges students from diverse backgrounds as they prepare for college and a lifetime of service.

Rabun Gap is a college preparatory day and boarding school located in the southeastern United States serving students in grades 6-12.

The School has an enrollment of 350 talented students with over half being involved in a vibrant boarding program."

Being on site gave the boarding students time and opportunity to move about the area and talk with the old folk. I also suspect that none of these kids are disadvantaged financially, which would be the case at a DAR school, so that also had the means to travel.

[Shooter45]

Sorry for the misinformation. It was a long time ago.