Weekend Training

[Grand58742]

Here we have the items out in the environment so to speak. Mrs HitandMiss was the photographer and this is a good thing since you probably would have gotten pictures of all sorts of crazy stuff from me if I was doing it. So thanks to her for taking on the photog role while our normal media expert was away missing deer...I mean hunting! Anyway, this one adds in the burlap from above:



Multicam, BDU and Olive Drab:



Black, Khaki and Wrangler shirt:



At about ten yards you can tell which patterns are going to stick out more than others:



And surprisingly, the Multicam isn't working as well as I would have expected it. And the big orange looking blob in the middle of the photo? That's the burlap which I expected to do far better. Moving out to about twenty five yards, the burlap, black, khaki and Multicam are still visible. However, the commercial Wrangler shirt which costs half of what the uniform shirts do is invisible at this point:



In higher resolutions, the colors are more pronounced and the BDU shows up a little more. But trust me, the color on that Wrangler is all but invisible in this particular environment. We had another at around 30 or so yards which doesn't show anything massively different. But overall, at fifty yards, the burlap was still clearly visible despite my best efforts and the khaki, Multicam and black still showed up. More foliage between the observer and target would be good, but for a quick down and dirty test, we could see which patterns would work the best.

So overall, discussing urban camouflage, the Wrangler shirt can work well in almost any environment during a bug out across a variety of environments. It's a normal enough color to wear day to day without attracting a great amount of attention which blends in to the urban areas and down the sidewalk on main street, but is "tactical enough to blend in nicely in the woods. Not a plug for Wal-Mart, but that's where I found them at and one might consider picking one up (or from the Wrangler website LINK for about the same price) for use as "bug out gear."

A quick side piece was shown on how to use camouflage paint to help reduce how well something is seen like desert camouflage. Again a quick job and I'll do more in the future on discoloring it even more:



But you can see the colors are already breaking up the light pattern into something that can work in a woodland environment (I hope lol)

[Grand58742]

And one final note, the burlap didn't do great in this environment which was fairly surprising since it is touted as working well in most. For some reason the base color didn't do as well as it should have and didn't blend in with the Oklahoma background very well. I'll attempt this again with more colors to break it up, but for right now, the base color is completely unsuitable for this environment.

We also tried basic firestarting using some natural materials found on my property. Didn't get any pictures, but trying to get that cedar bark to burn wasn't as easy as I had planned on. I think my biggest mistake was not using enough of it prior to attempting to start. However, we did far better with the branches themselves which turned into a long leaf pine versus a short leaf pine. For firestarting, use what's available but if you have a short leaf evergreen like a spruce or cedar available, the dead branches still on the tree make exceptional tinder.

We headed inside to discuss packs, packing same and what size could be/should be suitable. Discussed MOLLE attachments and ALICE and the difference in between and showed off a few packs that could potentially be suitable for bugging out. Also discussed were the differences in a Get Home Bag, a Bug Out Bag and an I'm Never Coming Home (INCH) bag. When to use each and the major differences in each. Not much difference in a Bug Out Bag (BOB) and a Get Home Bag (GHB) except one typically gets you from where you happen to be at to a prepared retreat or home (GHB) and a BOB typically means you are leaving said home or retreat due to some unforeseen circumstance. Can they be one in the same? Absolutely which is a point I hope I was able to get across. Can you have two separate ones depending on circumstances, a BOB heavy loaded for sustainable living for three days or more and a GHB for limited basic needs to get you to the remainder of your supplies? It's something to consider. But for basics, a BOB serves as both which is what we focused in on later. We briefly discussed an INCH bag and why most folks tend to seriously over pack them and still expect to walk around. Overall, an INCH bag is a novel concept, but typically not as practical as one might imagine. You're never coming home...like ever. So imagine what you would pack away in said bag and how heavy it might end up being. Now provided you have an area to head out to or a specific location, how can you carry said pack? But Team HitandMiss and Karen brought up the point behind animals taking their fair share since they own horses (HitandMiss) and mini-cows (Karen). Is it possible for animals to be used for transport? Absolutely and it's something I hope one of the two of them expands on in the future.

We had lunch and I almost got chased out of my kitchen by Mrs HitandMiss who decided to take over the slicing of the onion much to my happiness. Yeah, thanks Team Karen for being the only ones to request onions on their burgers and dogs. I was in for a surprise when Cimarron showed up in my kitchen fully decked out in his BOB and combat gear. Not something I was expecting lol and we had a brief discussion on chest rigs versus standard combat vests like the Blackhawk Omega and similar types. After lunch, we went through some of the bags and critiqued some of the items involved and learned something from each other. Unfortunately, I was winding down by then since I was going on about three hours of sleep and wasn't as active as I should have/could have been.

[Grand58742]

So a summation...we ended up having a good discussion on camouflage that works well in a multitude of environments and made some suggestions on that part for potential purchases as well as a practical exercise in what works, what didn't and some areas to improve on. We talked over packs and bags and why sometimes it's better to save up and pay a little more up front for quality as opposed to what is cheapest. Briefly went over firestarting with a practical demonstration (sorta lol). And discussed types of bags along with a critique of said items inside.

Overall, besides HitandMiss Junior attempting to steal my dog when I wasn't looking (I think Tara stole the show) an overall productive day which can be expanded on in the future.

[Sharpshooter]

on the burlap it will work good in moderation. myself and matt have some old bdu jackets that we took torn bdu and burlap and sewed it on. here are some pics that we took using our home made suits. these were taken about 10-15yrds away its hard to realy pick out where he is located until the orange vest is placed on. the main key is to have shape and contrast to the camo you know make it 3d. But it isnt always best for all train.


.

[Sharpshooter]

oh and grand while you will be spending money to eat ill be chewing down on my deer that i killed. hunting is no easy task either for you computer commandos. it is boring at times and very exhusting. the biggest thing that is over looked is hydration. you need to stay hydrated even as your sitting there. the heat and wind can zap moisture out of your body, "as i type with chapped lipps" lol, also another thing over looked is range. there are times in some areas that look 100-200 yrds away but after glancing back into something that you know is truely closer such as a tree or bush or even the tip of your shoe, you look back and realize that th 100-200 is truely 3-400 yrds away.

[Grand58742]

oh and grand while you will be spending money to eat ill be chewing down on my deer that i killed.

And your Dad? :D

Good to hear you guys are getting lucky out there. Look forward to hearing the full stories when you get back

[Sharpshooter]

And your Dad? :D

well now thats another story lol

[1Admin]

Reminds me of my son. He learned to talk smack at the gym... "Hey Dad you look tired, I can help you if your having trouble going to sleep.."

[Matt In Oklahoma]

And your Dad? :D

Good to hear you guys are getting lucky out there. Look forward to hearing the full stories when you get back

I'm back, glad to see you all had a good session. The hunt was tough, killed a doe but didnt find her till after the coyotes. Muzzleloaders leave alot to be desired. I have alot to post and one evening we can gather by a campfire that everyone should be able to light now and tell some of them stories around survival marshmellows!

[Grand58742]

You know you'll never hear the end of it from a certain blood relative of yours lol

[Sharpshooter]

You know you'll never hear the end of it from a certain blood relative of yours lol

well maybe one of these days you will be on the recieving end of it like matt if not dont worry ill make sure i give you hell till that day lol lmao lol

[Matt In Oklahoma]

You know you'll never hear the end of it from a certain blood relative of yours lol

When the younguns outdo me and take care of things including me sometimes, well it's a real good day even with the razing.

[Cimarron]

Compass course 12-1-12

This last weekends training was on the compass, and we all met at a picnic area at a lake. We were instructed to bring a compass that had degrees. Our training started with a military map that Matt brought. The map was sectioned in large grids that represented 1000 meters. The map also had countour lines detailing elevation that when you would count the number of lines it would tell you how many feet in elevation you would be climbing. That way if you were traveling you could tell how far and what possible cliffs/valleys were in the way. Knowing this ahead of time would save you a lot of trouble and loss of time.

Next we went over a pace count. Matt had a predetermined 100 yards marked out and we would each walk this to see how many paces it took to cover that distance. The reason for this is, everyones pace is different. Mostly depending on how tall a person is will determine how many paces it takes to cover that distance. Our group had quite a range of different numbers. If you are on a march or are given directions to go to a certain area and are given the distance in meters/yards you will know how many paces it would take to get there. Also something to be noted is, Matt had us wear our packs and this did change your pace count slightly so be sure to get recount when under a load.

Next Matt instructed us in how to get an 'azimuth' reading from our compass. I could try and explain how it's done but would probably really mess up the true definition so in laymans terms..You look through a notch on your compass and align your line of vision with a thin wire and after finding your target you look at what degree you are facing..any better explination and you'll have to ask someone more knowledgeable..We practiced this, shooting defferent targets until we were comfortable with getting a close reading. No it's not as hard as I'm making it sound, my 14 yr old did it fairly easy.

Next came the actual course. Matt had set up prearranged 'way points' before any of us got there. We split up in groups and were given envelopes that had directions on it. The directions would have an azimuth with a number of yards of distance to our next envelope for further directions. Each note contained the bearings for our next envelope and a simple problem solving task. Like: a string that needed to be cut with your survival knife, or find a material that you could eat and that could be used as fire starter, and somewhere in the area we would find what we needed (that Matt is a crafty one).
Each group was on different trails and the last waypoint directed us back to camp where we were to bring the materials that we collected from the notes in our envelopes. We did have a little difficulty and got off our bearings a few times but it was a great learning experience and I believe we all had fun doing it.
Back at base camp we discussed how it went and how we solved our instructions. Matt asked if we got a good look around as we were walking and asked if we seen anything unusual? The reply was, no. He led us back out on a trail we all used and some fifteen feet off the trail he had placed a ghillie suit..no one seen it. The lesson was although you are concentrating on staying on course keep your eyes out for what's around you.

We returned to base and Matt wanted to give a demonstration on fire starting 'fluff'. He had a bag of cattails that we lit in an ammo box. The results of a flint striker on dry cattails was great and fairly easy to lite.

A big thank you to Matt for his time and resources in setting up the course!

[Matt In Oklahoma]

These are some pics from the course. Not a bunch of crazed camo killers running around stabbing trees with our war cries but families learning useful skills. I really encourage everyone to get out and give it a try. If nothing else I got to spend a great day in the woods with my friends and family. You all rock!

Here are the instructions I gave them and attempted to make it fun

Compass Course
This will be set up like many TV game shows of modern day. Your instructions will be placed in brightly colored envelopes like on amazing race. You are required to have at least one GMHB/BOB bag per team. If you reach the lake you have missed your point and need to turn around and return to the base, your course or roadway. If you cross any roads you have also gone too far and have reached a boundary. In the event of an emergency use the cell phone, radios set to channel 19.30 and make noise and be visible as the course is small for safety reasons. There will be a total of 4 points each with instructions to the next point.
Your first point is at the heading of 20 degrees and 83 yards and should be shot from the right of the post.
Point 1 As in the show

[Matt In Oklahoma]

ack at base camp we discussed how it went and how we solved our instructions. Matt asked if we got a good look around as we were walking and asked if we seen anything unusual? The reply was, no. He led us back out on a trail we all used and some fifteen feet off the trail he had placed a ghillie suit..no one seen it. The lesson was although you are concentrating on staying on course keep your eyes out for what's around you.

a pic of the suit i had placed in branches just off the trail. the point was emphasis on someone always pulling security regardless of what else is going on because this requires so much attention to detail that one can not do it in a hostile environment alone safely