Well, Santa found my house this year too. Mixed in with the piles of books was this little beauty. (I know, not as shiny as a laser, but hang with me here.)

Swedish Mil. Mora Knife! New Mora Knife is NOT for morons. Swift. Silent. A cut above. Put this nifty little sharpie to work for you on multiple tasks. It could make the difference for survival in the boonies. Drop point 3 7/8″ carbon steel blade, 8.5″ overall length; Black handle with military green composition trim has rubber diamond checkering on handle for a sure grip; Comes with plastic scabbard that clips to your belt; Weighs a feathery 4 ozs.
Condition: brand new, never issued.

Some of you are going to chuckle at this post, but I have to post it anyway.  This is my first fixed blade knife, it’s also my first carbon steel.  Some of you are probably wondering, Calamity, what have you been carrying?  I’ve been carrying various folders, pocket knives and multi-tools. Stainless steel and cheap are common characteristics. :-D

So, now I finally have a carbon steel blade with a great handle and a really sharp blade. I like it already.  The sheath, which is also a new one for me, is hard, but the retention is really good, this knife is not going to fall out.  I like how the sheath slips over belts and such, instead of having to be threaded on.  As a pregnant lady, I’m not wearing belts right now, but this sheath would slip over a pocket or waistband and stay in place. The handle is small enough for my hands, and has rubber on it, which is great for water/blood/snow/whatever.
I’ve been looking for a nice fixed blade for awhile now. I wanted something that could be my dedicated hunting knife. Would I have liked a leather wrapped Ka-bar like this sexiness?

Yea… but, since Santa = me, the budget is tight.  Plus, the handles on Ka-bars tend to be a bit large for my grip, and I really don’t have need for a 7″ blade right now.  Grip was actually a problem with most of the knives I picked up while I was looking, most teneded to be too big.  The ones that were small enough also tended towards the not-rugged end of things, making me think they were made for children or light duty. So, the Mora hit my price point, and it’s sturdy, and not unwieldy. Sweet.

I’m noticing the differences already between this and the folders.  The carbon steel makes a MUCH sharper edge, and so far, is holding the edge really well. Of course, I’ve already discolored it. *erk* No big deal, I cut apart an apple with it, and left a couple of drops of juice on the blade, with my bad stainless steel habits.  I need to run to town to get some 3 in 1 oil and that should fix that little mistake right nicely.

Here’s a question for my favorite readers though, are sharpening stones still the way to go? I know that’s what my dad has used with his knives since dinosaurs roamed the earth.  That’s what I’m planning on picking up with the oil, but if anyone has a suggestion for something better, I’m all ears.

So far, I highly recommend this knife. If you’ve got a lady prepper who needs a nice starter knife, this one is sized like something she’d use daily in the kitchen (assuming your wife is a cook) and quite approachable. I sliced through our partially frozen Solstice Ham with no troubles, this thing will work great in the field.

Enjoy the new year! Stay safe!

- Calamity Jane

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Ladies, you know you’ve been there.

You’ve got the gals all set up for a weekend of hunting.  No kids, no dishes, no laundry, just hiking and guns and bawdy humor with your favorite women.  Then, who wants to tag along? Someone’s boyfriend/husband.  Oh sure, he says he can hunt, but what if he doesn’t care for our schedule?  We’re all used to running on 3 hours of sleep, what if he gets cranky when we don’t turn out the lights 8 hours before our dawn roll out?  What if he expects us to cook for him or do his dishes?  What are we going to wear to sleep in? It’s a small cabin, he might be uncomfortable.  Heaven forbid someone be on the rag or lactating, men get pretty uncomfortable around liquid expulsions.

Seriously?

Ok, yes, I’m being facetious here. But, only a little.  A recent set of posts by a SHTF reader, really got me thinking about the co-ed hunting friction.  Hopefully he’s cool with a shout out, I’m talking about the set of posts by The Maine Outdoorsman – Girls at Deer Camp.  Now, setting aside his use of  the pejorative term “girls” when referring to grown women, :-D I have to give him props, because the women in question had a great time, no men were harmed, (no deer either it sounded like) and everyone enjoyed the co-ed hunting experience.   Why does co-ed hunting get people’s dander up?  Women have been hunting since humans lived in caves. American women have been hunting since before there was a USA.  But, ask a man to take a woman hunting, and it’s like asking him to shift the magnetic poles. I’ve heard all the excuses. But what’s the real reason it’s so problematic?

Is it because women of my grandmother’s generation stopped hunting? I don’t have any facts or figures to back that up, but maybe they were too busy being the greatest generation, and they got caught up in the fancy home appliances and their growing wealth, and forgot to go out and shoot anything. Thus leading to a group of (mostly older) men who are unused to seeing females with guns? Perhaps even leading to another generation of women who never got exposed to hunting, I know my mother and her sisters never hunted, but again, I have little in the way of facts and figures to back that up.  I do know that my generation hunts. Granted, the numbers show us at a 1-10 minority, there’s at least enough of us to count. :-D I’ve seen recent numbers that seem to indicate women hunters are growing in numbers while the ranks of men hunters dwindle or remain stagnant.

Is it the sit/stand issue?  I know the realities of blind hunting, and the convenient bottles of liquid that men fill to avoid leaving the blind or leaving scent.   Here’s a news flash.  We’ve got that one solved.  GoGirls and other Female Urination Devices enable us to just as discreetly use our own little bottles.

The blood thing?  This one is 2 sided, on the one side, I do know women that don’t dress their own kills.  They might for birds and such, but after bagging their deer for the season, they quite happily call up hubby and he comes and dresses said deer for them.  I’ve not yet shot a deer, nor dressed one, but I really think I could dress it without qualms, as long as it was small enough I could physically handle the weight.  I’ve cleaned a lot of birds, and I’m pretty comfortable with raw meat and dead animals.  The other side of this coin seems to be men’s fear of women’s blood.  Are they afraid we’ll attract bears? Be too smelly? Leave gross stuff laying about a small hunting cabin?  Again, I’d say we have that one covered.  Diva cups allow us to go all day, with no smell, no pads, needing nothing more than water to deal with the monthly visitor.

Don’t even try to bring up close quarters, humans have lived in much closer quarters for much longer periods of time, I have little patience for the particular brand of puritan modesty that so infests America. I scratch my ass when it itches, just like everyone else.

What is it? Guys? Speak up if you have some insight here.  Women, you too, what makes you pause before going on a co-ed hunting trip?  I’ve successfully done it a number of times, and everyone had a blast. It does feel like an uphill battle though, every time.

- Calamity Jane

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It’s been awhile since we’ve heard from Chefbear, but it appears he’s ready to post again.  He contacted me the other day and asked if I had room for a fishing post.  Hell yeah!  So here’s our very own Chefbear back with some advice about how to catch some fish. 

Hey Chefbear!  Think you could write up your favorite fish recipe for next time?

-Jarhead Survivor

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Hello folks, it’s been a little while since I have written a post. With spring upon us and fishing season just around the corner, I figured I would start a series revolving around fishing. As you can see from the pictures (new for my articles!), I am no stranger to wetting a line! These pictures are from a striper/rockfish trip in the Chesapeake Bay last October.

 Fishing is not only a load of fun, but it’s also a great way to teach folks patience, teach folks about the natural world (great for kids), it’s a great way to get outdoors with family/friends … and contrary to common belief, you don’t have to be drunk to enjoy it (but it doesn’t hurt)! Fishing is also a relatively low cost, low-tech, low effort way of obtaining nutrition. What’s really awesome about utilizing fishing as a way of obtaining protein is that in most areas there are predictable migration patterns for different fish species. This will allow you to catch massive quantities of fish and preserve them for later (Learn more about preserving foods, including fish HERE and HERE). Fishing also tends to have a higher caloric return than hunting, meaning that you burn fewer calories for each calorie you obtain.

 Don’t believe the “hype”, some guys on TV say you need some $300 Browning bait-casting rod/reel combo… THEY LIE! I have seen a 9yr old girl land an 11.2lb bass with a snoopy pole!! Personally, I own a fishing pole for almost any situation… from a tiny ice-fishing pole… to a 14’ surf-rod… and even a 4.5’ Extra-Heavy Penn off-shore rig for deep sea fishing. However my FAVORITE “all around” rig is a basic Shakespeare “Ugly-Stick” which is a Medium/heavy freshwater combo, it was $30 and has worked GREAT for 4yrs now. Using 15lb test, I have landed 30lb catfish on this baby!

I am going to explain what I have in my BASIC kit. I keep one in my JEEP, and a matching kit in my hunting pack (doubles as a 72hr bag). This kit is good for catching just about any freshwater fish found near the east coast, and some smaller saltwater fish.

- Water-tight box, mine are about 6”Wx8”Lx4”D, it have a gasket and heavy clips that ensure a water-tight seal. I got mine at Gander Mtn. for $15ea., may be cheaper online

- 150yds- 15lb test Spider-Wire Super Monofilament, wound around a notched 3”L dowel

- 50-75yds of Spider-Wire Super-Braid Saltwater 60lb test, for trot-lines, I use another dowel for this

- Small set of nail clippers, great for trimming line close to knots

- 6 Daiichi red hooks, 3- #6 and 3- #8

- 6 Eagle-Claw gold hooks, 3- #6 and 3-#8

- 6 Eagle-Claw standard barbed hooks, 3-#6 and 3-#8

- 6 “salmon egg” hooks, I like gold Eagle-Claw

- 4 – 4/0 stainless steel circle hooks, I use these for trot lines

- I keep most of my hooks stuck into a piece of Styrofoam that’s about 4”x2”x1”. It can be used as a float if needed

- 1.5-2oz of Various sizes of split-shot weights

- 4 – ¾ – 1oz weights for trot-lines, a rock will work in a pinch

- 1 pack of “Fish-bites” bloodworm, works for salt/freshwater. Mesh inside keeps it on the hook, possible to catch several fish on one small piece

- Berkley Gulp, crappie/trout nuggets- corn/grub “flavor” work best, I keep ½ a pack pink/white and ½ pack chartreuse. Take them out of the jar and put them into a zip-top bag, uses less space

- 6 snap-swivels, I get the next-to-smallest ones I can find

- 2-4 – 8” steel leaders, work great if there are toothed predators (pike… I HATE PIKE!), can be used as snares/lashings

- Power Bar- bait in a pinch (Carp and catfish LOVE peanut butter flavor), eat it if you don’t catch anything

- 3’x1’ piece of folded up tin-foil, use it to cook, tear a couple small strips and glue them to a salmon egg hook to make a lure

- Super Glue- can be used to secure knots, close small wounds and ALWAYS handy!

- Swiss army knife, I prefer the Boy Scout or US Army models

- 4 small 1” cigar style bobbers because they fit in the box better

- 4 “beetle-spin” lures, I like 2 gold and 2 silver

- 8 ½ inch curly tail grubs, 4 white and 4 chartreuse, use with the beetle-spin lures, almost anything will bit this combo!

- 12’ Para chord… among other things, makes a great stringer!

- A small tube of “reel-grease”

- Individually wrapped Wet-wipes

- Small bottle of hand sanitizer

- Pencil wrapped with 6’ duct tape & 6’ electrical tape

- 2 compressed towels; they usually come compressed to 1”x1”. I get mine at the dollar store, open up to 6”x8”

- 2”x2” bag- a few tbsp dish soap, 1tbsp mixed with 1 quart water can coax worms out of the ground, use it to wash up, double bag it!!

- 1”x1” bags of seasonings- I like salt, pepper, old-bay, powdered lemon/lime juice/zest, Cajun blackened seasoning, dill, dehydrated onion/shallots, granulated garlic, powdered coconut milk, yellow curry powder- I pack these in their own bags, about 1.5tbsp each, and then pack the bags into a zip-top “snack-size” bag. This makes it take much less space!

Again this is just a basic kit, and I know that seems like A LOT of stuff to fit in that little box. It does take a little imagination to make it work… but it can be done! If you keep just half of the gear I do, you will be set-up to catch just about anything that swims your way! I also usually keep an ice-fishing pole in my JEEP, it was $9 on sale and works great for pan fish, but nothing much bigger.

In the next article I will explain some reasonably priced (under $50) rod/reel combo options which will cover most of the freshwater, and some lighter saltwater fishing many of us might come across. I will also tell you where you can get them, and what makes them a good choice.

OK guys it’s your turn… Do you have a basic/emergency fishing kit? If so what’s in it? If not have you considered getting/making one? Is there anything you think I missed? Are there any particular fishing rod/reel combos you would like me to focus on in the next article?

As usual, if you have any questions/comments/concerns I am interested to hear (or I guess *read* would be more appropriate!) them, just leave them in the comments section! THANKS GUYS!

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