Injun Jesse's Notes "Random Ideas" This article is made up of random thoughts and ideas on living outside the system; full or part time. We all need some way to keep ourselves and our loved ones fed and sheltered in a way that the predatory parasites of the self-serving gangster government can't steal from us. Everything discussed here will be low cost (or no cost), easily made or procured, and off the books. Before you turn up your nose at my plans for gear made from recycled junk, stop to think: Does it perform the same function as the expensive article? Who's gonna see it anyway? How much will I save and how much more gear will I have? I try to remember how as kids my buddies and I used to build almost anything from material scrounged and adapted from scrap and nature, and how in the '60s we furnished our apartments with tables made from old cable spools and bookshelves made from milk crates or cinderblocks and scrap boards. The true survivalist is not a purist. You know the type, "It's gotta be authentic Special Forces Issue... It's gotta be authentic mountain man era gear... Ya gotta make it with stone tools and yer bare hands... Etc." Use any and everything available!!! Basics Here is a checklist for putting together a kit: Necessities - These you can't do without! 1. Good boots such as hiking or combat boots - The majority of your outdoor transportation will be your feet. Dependable footwear is essential. 2. A good knife - 6" blade bowie type of good quality. The rest of the kit you can tailor to your needs. Here are some suggestions: 1. Earth tone clothing to match season and terrain. Keep to minimum. 2. Insect Repellent. My formula: 1 part rose geranium oil, 1 part eucalyptus oil, 3 parts citronella oil. Blend into cheap sunblock or mix with water in a spray bottle. (If mixed with water shake well before using.) Excellent against wood ticks. 3. Slingshot and ammo 4. Multi-Tool (Such as a Leatherman or clone) 5. Machete 6. Folding saw 7. 10'x10' tarp (Exact size unimportant. Can substitute construction plastic.) 8. Trash bags and ziplock bags. 9. Carpenter's cord 10. Power Shears (Those scissors that cut pennies in half.) 11. Tomahawk 12. Packs to carry/store everything - When living out of car, boat or camp I have found it convenient to store everything in backpacks. 13. Canteens (Make them from plastic soda bottles.) 14. Entrenching tool Desert Canteen An excellent desert canteen can be made from recycles materials. Materials list: 1. Plastic 2 liter soda bottle 2. Cap from bottle of dishwashing liquid 3. Old bluejean leg. 4. Old blanket, towel or other heavy cloth scraps Procedure: 1. Wrap several layers of cloth tightly around bottle. Sew in place. 2. Turn bluejean leg inside-out. Sew one end shut. 3. Slide bottle into leg. Adjust for fit. Sew side of leg to tight fit. 4. Remove bottle. Turn leg rightside-out. Put bottle back in. 5. Sew tight around shoulder of bottle. 6. Thread on cap. 7. Tie thong around neck of bottle. This canteen will keep water cold by evaporation when outer wrapping is soaked and canteen is hung in shade. Slingshot The slingshot is a very versatile and inexpensive weapon. With it you can hunt small game with shot or arrows, bow fish, launch a fishing weight with a line attached over a tree limb to haul up a heavier climbing line, or use it as a silent combat weapon. Slingshots are perfect companions to black powder firearms, using the same lead balls for ammo. It is much easier to adapt a slingshot to fire arrows (by adding an arrow rest if necessary) than it is to make a primitive bow. It also much easier to carry (in your hip pocket) than a bow. To make an arrow rest, cut a "V" in the end of a strip of cardboard, sheet metal, or plastic and tape it to your slingshot so the "V" is level between the power bands. A permanent rest can be made from coathanger wire and attached. Marbles, pistol balls, fishing sinkers, arrows (primitive or modern), ball bearings, or even pebbles can be used for ammo. I have an old Whammo slingshot which I converted to a sling bow. I don't know if they still make these, but they came with a detachable arrow rest. The only problem was that they were made with low power flat bands. (Easily replaced with modern tubing.) These antiques were wood, crude, and clunky, but are excellent candidates for sling bows if you can find one. Chinese Crossbow You've seen them everywhere: gun shows, flea markets, mail order catalogs. There's just no way about it. I had to try one of them Chinese pistol crossbows. At 45 lb. prod weight this puppy can do some hurt. There is an 80 lb. model which I haven't tried yet, but I'm told is quite good. These mini-weapons cost $10 to $20 for the 45 lb. ($12 being average), and $28 for the 80 lb. Be wary of buying an 80 lb. before looking inside the box. Many are mispackaged with 45 lb. prods. (The prod is the bow.) The 45 lb. prod is steel. The 80 lb. prod is fiberglass. The body of the bow is plastic on the 40 lb. and metal on the 80 lb. There are dress-up kits with quivers, telescoping stocks, and cocking stirrups available. (At $16 I figured "What the hell?" and dressed one up.) These bows can be taken down and carried in an attache case, but you will need a friend to help you string it when you put it together. Bolts (arrows) are available in plastic or aluminum with steel target heads. You can make bolts from pencil diameter dowel (or pencils) fletching them with masking tape vanes and pointing them with a pencil sharpener. This is a silent, short-range, off-the-books weapon which could be an asset to your battery. Be sure to get extra bowstrings and prod nocks as I have found that the nocks wear through and I am told the strings break after a lot of use.