“If things go south, I will rely on hunting to get my meat,” I’ve heard this one so many times that it has almost become a nuisance for me. People think that if they own a powerful rifle, they can just go into the woods and bring some big game that will keep them fed. Many of these people don’t even have a clue about the survival hunting essentials and I think it’s better to give them a heads up.
I can’t say that I’m an expert hunter and to be honest, I think that I still have a lot to learn. Although I’ve been part of several experienced hunting parties, I even consider myself a beginner and I prefer to have a humble approach when it comes to this topic. Although humans evolved in large part due to their hunting abilities and the knowledge they passed on regarding how to bag big game animals, today, the modern hunters are putting all their hopes into the available technology.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that having the best gear can be harmful to your hunting skills… I’m just saying that before you invest your hard-earned money in state of the art hunting gear, you should start by mastering the survival hunting essentials.
In a survival scenario where grocery stores are closed, you will be forced to hunt for your own food. If it comes to that, there are a few things you need to master before you go out, hoping to bring down some big game animals.
Survival hunting essentials:
- You need to know exactly where your target prey lives because going into the woods and hoping to get a lucky encounter is just wishful thinking. You should know about your region, about the secluded places where your target animals may feed or rest. What does the animal’s footprint look like? Does it live on hardwood ridges above bodies of water? These are all questions you should have an answer for.
- What does the animal eat? If you know a thing or two about its diet, you will be able to track it easily or set up a camping post. Where does it fit on the food chain? Can it become a danger to you? Does it eat green vegetation? If you know about the feeding habit of your prey, you will increase your chances of hunting or trapping it.
- When does your prey feed? Is the animal used to feed during midday? Dusk? Dawn? Does weather play an essential role in the feeding habit of your target animal? Do you have better chances of hunting it after rainy days? Or maybe after a cold front has passed through.
- How does the animal evade its enemies? Is it a shy creature that gets startled easily? Do you need to pay attention to your surroundings and keep a low profile? Does the wind play an important role when the animal picks a bedding area? Where does it find safety during non-feeding times?
- When it comes to survival hunting essentials, being able to identify an animal by its feces plays an important role. If you know what the feces look like, you will be able to track down your target animal. For example, deer drop pellets, while bears and foxes deposit coils. Examining the feces of an animal can also tell you a thing or two about their feeding habits. When hunting deer, the presence of acorn husks may indicate that the deer have been feeding under oak trees.
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- Knowing about the animal’s senses is another survival hunting skill you should learn. How sharp is their eyesight? How about their hearing? Will the animal be able to smell you from a mile away? If you hunt wild turkeys that won’t be the case because they have no sense of smell, but if you go after a bear, the game changed drastically. A deer won’t see you if you stand motionless and if you are camouflaged well enough, and it becomes a contest of your patience against his until you get the right angle for your shot.
- Do you know the breeding habits of your target animal? Is it monthly? Yearly? Some animals tend to be careless during their breeding season while others will be extra cautious of their environment. Deer, for example, are more accessible to hunt during the fall breeding season. On the other hand, bears will increase their movements during mating season and they tend to be aggressive.
- Getting the right weapon and knowing everything about it. If you want to go bow hunting, you need to know how close you have to be to put a kill shot on a big game animal. What types of arrows to use and what steps to take if you miss (based on the type of animal you are hunting). How about if you hunt with a shotgun? What type of shell should you be using? Birdshot is for birds only and not for big game animals unless you want to scare them away or make them angry. A high-powered rifle is perfect for a headshot, but a bow and arrow is probably not
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- Tracking the animal when it’s wounded or blood trailing is an art for some, while for others is just a false hope of a lucky shot. No matter how much you read about blood trailing, the experience is still king and you should participate in as many blood-trailing occasions as possible. The blood spatters indicates where the animal is wounded, where it is headed and how to proceed when approaching it. Here are a few tips regarding blood trails:
- Bright red blood with air bubbles – this indicates a fatal lung hit
- Dark red blood – this usually means a liver hit
- Small spots of bright red blood –this shows a minor hit and since it is a non-lethal hit, the animal must be approached with care
- When it comes to survival hunting essential being able to eviscerate your prey animal is a must. You should learn how to do it and you should learn which parts are edible. Chances are you will not always be able to transport the entire carcass with you. You need to learn how to eviscerate it and how to store the meat without spoilage. Once your target animal is dead, you should cool the meat as soon as possible to avoid spoilage. This means that you need to remove the skin first.
Living off the land may look easy in movies and TV shows and even though we humans are at the top of the food chain, hunting is not without hazards. The survival hunting essential listed in this article should be the primary start for anyone who plans to secure enough food by hunting.
Stay safe out there!
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Personally, I think the premis of ‘hunting for my meat’ in a TEOTWAWKI scenario is just not realistic. First, those living in the country have probably been hunting for years, know their game targets, know the better places to hunt and have much of the experience needed to begin depleting the herd.
The apparent targets of this type of article are the urban and suburban folks with little or no hunting skills or experience. Because of the concentrations of people there will be many more hunters than ever before near urban areas and even though I would expect many hunters to be shot by inexperienced and clueless newbies, the rapid overhunting of game by the survivors will bring a rapid end to ‘I will hunt for my meat’.
There are historical examples of smaller populations in an America with larger wilderness areas overhunting an area to near extinction. Why would a much larger population in a nation with smaller areas to hunt be a better example for survival hunting?
jmo
RayK
Even though I know not all rural people know how to hunt I do was to say one thing you said could really cause problems. NEVER HUNT WHERE THEY ARE BEDDING DOWN AT (this can change their area of living). I have never been hunting where I hunt with a professional group I was taught hunting from a young age 4 and 5 and can take down a squirrel with a rock a lot of rural raised family’s teach children from a young age for getting game. Deer is the bigger game in the area and believe me deer season in my area mean kids get a extra day out of school even the grade school. They us bows, rifles, pistol, they all of there own seasons.
Hunting is about patients learning to walk in the woods, being patient and not what gear you have. The biggest three mistake that we find with city hunters is 1. thinking its going to happen fast. 2 the way they smell even if its good animals have are very sensitive to smells so you need to smell like the woods (lol and other stuff) 3. scaring away the animals from their beding ground if you think you found the bedding ground get the hell away and don’t touch or disturb anything and 4. just because they are 5 deer or so in a small group do not get all of them off especially in a emergency because you will then cause problem in breeding and future food supplies
LOL on most folks thinking they are going to go out and hunt for their meat. How many of these people have EVER hunted. How many can really spend a day in the woods hiking and climbing through brush,over logs,through streams ect. If they do get a large animal and can get it butchered how many of them can pack 100 lb of deer meat 10 miles back to their car,home ect. Another thing to consider is the locals were you plan to hunt. I live in a small mountain community and can tell you that we aren’t all that happy about the folks that come to hunt and fish our lands and waters on a good day let alone if TSHTF. You will find an extremely hostile reception believe me.
Well I freely admit that I’m not a big game hunter, deer and so forth. But a person can keep themselves well stocked with smaller game by simply setting a havaheart trap. It has never failed me once to get the small game we needed while out in the woods. One is always set in my garden here in town also and hardly a week goes by that a small game animal isn’t caught in it. When your living in the woods attempting to stay concealed who needs big game and the large guns required to bring it to the cooking pot?
Awesome Post ! Thank you for sharing