18th Century Wilderness Survival, Then And Now. The Flintlock Gun.

The Flintlock Gun.



In my opinion if you are going to choose any kind of firearm for long term wilderness survival, then it should be the flintlock. Even after the percussion lock was invented in the 19th century, those who lived and worked in wilderness areas preferred to keep their flintlock.


You can always find a piece of rock that will work in a flint lock. The whole gun is just lock, stock and barrel. If you carry spare parts they are easy to replace if something should break, and if you have no spare lock parts you can still use the gun as a matchlock.


A .32 cal rifle will easily take any game that a .22 will, and it will do it with only 14 grains of black powder.


A fusil will digest bird shot, swan shot (buckshot) and round ball and will take any game from birds to buffalo. You can also use a combination of any two shot options, such as swan shot and round ball, or bird shot and round ball.


You can adjust the amount of gunpowder you use for each individual shot, and you can retrieve your lead from the game and easily remould it for further use. The lock can also be used for making fire which is a good back-up.

A fusil lock with the hammer forward and the pan open. The cock is on half-cock safety.

A .62 cal fusil. Note the hammer stall/cap tied to the trigger guard. This is an extra safety precaution.

A .32 cal flint mountain rifle.

Ranger, an exciting new persona.

A new member to our group has some interest in a Ranger persona, so I decided to do some research on this charracter. I was pleasantly surprised to find more information than I expected!
The Ranger occupation goes all the way to the late medieval period. There is little doubt in my mind that Tolkien based his Rangers (Strider) on these early English Rangers. Searching for these Forest Rangers brings up other terms such as Verderers and Foresters, and although these people did patrol the forests and protect the game, they were not actually mentioned as Rangers until much later on.
The Ranger's job was to patrol the forests and to look for tresspassers and poachers, but also apparently his job was to protect the forest inhabitants, to discourage robbers etc from raiding woodland dwellings and hamlets. This is exactly what Aragorn did in Lord Of The Rings, and this occupation extends right into the New World and the 18th century.
Rangers were hired to patrol the countryside looking for any enemy and raiding parties of Indians or French and Indians. These were individuals who were expected to warn the settlers and towns people in advance, and to cause as much damage to these enemy as was practically possible.
Later these Rangers were formed into groups or band and aventually became formal units such as Rogers Rangers.
These early Rangers were undoubtably woodsmen, no one else would have the experience to carry out such missions in wilderness areas. So woodsman clothing and equipment would be the basis for this Living History persona, but these charracters were also individuals, there was no uniforms or rules and regulations. Even the early milkitary Rangers were individuals and it is said that it took a good officer to get the best out of his men and maintain some form of discipline.

1675.

New Forest [cos. Haul* and Wilts], John
Dolyng, Ranger of, 6S5. (13th century)

http://sdrc.lib.uiowa.edu/patentrolls/r2v5/index/Richard2vol5page0924.pdf

18th century Wilderness Survival. Then and Now. Making Fire.

I am constantly seeing video clips of people making fire with what they call "flint and steel", but in fact they are not flint and steel, they are using a "ferral rod" (my term!). I also note that they are using such things as vasaline impregnated cotton wool, and strips of innertube rubber!!!
It is not so much that these methods do not work, they do, but what happens when the cotton wool and rubber strips run out?
The reason I advise using the real flint and steel, is because in learning this method you will learn a lot more about plant tinders, wet weather fire lighting, and fire lighting in general. The knowledge you gain from using flint, steel and tinderbox will enable you to be better at survival fire lighting even when using matches of a lighter or even the "ferral rod"!

Author's brass tinderbox and early 18th century steel.

The open tinderbox with charred tinder, uncharred tinder and a musket flint.

The author's greased fire-bag, containing tinderbox, and a little kindling such as dried grass and twigs.

The author's belt pouch in which he carries his fire-bag, steel, a beeswax candle stubb for lighting and placing under damp kindling, and fishing tackle. The steel is tied to the buckle of the pouch, you can just see the leather thong in this image. The steel is permanently tied to this belt pouch so it will not get lost. When sparks are caught on the tinder in the tinderbox, the steel can be just dropped without fear of losing it and the kindling grass can be held to the smouldering tinder and blown into flame.

The author's gunpowder wallet or bag. These are used for carrying extra gunpowder in the knapsack, but when empty they can also be used for storing spare tinder.

“ takes fire readily from the spark of a steel: but it is much improved by being kept dry in a bag that has contained gunpowder.”

Samuel Hearne, Northern Canada, 1772

18th Century Wilderness Survival. Then and Now. The Knife.

I could quite easily have become a knife collector, I have a thing about knives. I have owned quite a few modern knives over the years, but none of them ever shaped up to my expectations. I learnt very early on that knives are individual things, and they have specific uses. There is in my opinion no such thing as an all round knife that can take the place of hatchet and knife.
I like a big knife for a hunting knife, but I don't like heavy knives. Throwing knives are great fun, but they are for throwing and do not perform well on other jobs. A hunting knife is for dispatching, skinning and butchering. In an emergency it may even be needed for hunting and defence.
A short blade can be good for skinning, but it does not have the length to reach an animals heart. Longer blades if heavy can be clumsy for skinning and butchering, but with practice a lighter blade can be used efficiently. As a professional meat hunter I always carried more than one knife, and I still do.
No matter where you are or the climate your working in the main object is to dispatch the animal as quickly as possible and to field dress it as cleanly and quickly as possible. One wrong stroke with a blade can dull it against bone, and that is when the second knife comes out so you can carry on.

The author's hunting knife and sheath. A large butcher knife but light.

Author's legging knife, light and simple construction.

Clasp knives are also good to carry as a spare knife.

Another simple large but light period butcher knife. This one cost the author seven dollars at a flea market.

A period whet stone to keep those blades sharp.

18th Century Wilderness Survival, Then and Now!

I have come across quite a few requests on other forums for recommendations on equipment for use in the woods. Now in some cases it is not a matter of right and wrong, so much as a matter of choice for individuals. I have seen merrit in other peoples choices in equipment and tools, and I can see reasons why people might not agree with my choices, but for me those reasons are outweighed by my reasons for the choice I make.
As an example let us look at the hatchet versus the tomahawk. Many outdoors people and survivalists will choose a hatchet because the head tends to be heavier and larger which makes it easier to use cutting wood and trimming branches. It is also good for shaping work, say making an axe helve.
But the hatchet is generally heavier than a tomahawk, and if the helve breaks in the woods or in a wilderness situation it is not so easy to make a new one and secure the head with a wedge.
Now I have to ask myself just how much wood cutting am I going to need to do? I do not generally need to cut firewood in the forest because small stuff is easy to break and larger stuff is easily broken over a rock or log. What I need is something light, something that will make trap and shelter stakes and have the ability to hammer them into the ground. I need something to help construct primitive shelters, and perhaps even hunt with if nesassary and help butcher game, and a very important need for me is the ability to make a new helve if it breaks and be able to remove the old broken piece from the head and fit the new one.
My tomahawk will do all these things, the fact that it is not as heavy is not really a problem when cutting, because I use a longer helve which gives me more power in the stroke. In 18th century Historical Trekking we use our tools and equipment all the time, and these tools have been in use and serving woodsmen and woods women for at least 300 years for chores, and defence. When making your choice, think about it carefully, your life could depend on it.

The author's tomahawk has a round eye, and the helve fits in from the top in the same way as a pickaxe or mattock. The eye is tapered so the helve does not require a wedge to secure it.

This is a German style hatchet with a round eye just like the tomahawk. The author made this one from an ordinary hatchet head by softening the steel and cutting it to shape with a hacksaw then reheating to cherry red and hammering the head onto a pickaxe spike to round the eye. This hatchet has the advantage of the round eye and is a little heavier than a tomahawk, but not as heavy as a modern hatchet.

French and Indian Alliance.

l

French and English Rivalry in the New World.