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Monday, February 11, 2019

Enhanced Survival Paracord



A company called TITAN Survival has come out with an awesome product that has enhanced the way we use the standard paracord by leaps and bounds. TITAN added many improvements to the paracord and added some very useful additions that will truly enhance the way paracord is used in survival situations. These products should be in everyone survival gear.


Below are side-by-side comparisons of the "SURVIVORCORD" and the "SURVIVORCORD XT" and the features of each one.



Side by Side Comparison


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SurvivorCord

Titan SurvivorCord | Assorted Colors | Patented Military Type III 550 Paracord/Parachute Cord (3/16" Diameter) with Integrated Fishing Line,...

·         EXCLUSIVE PATENTED PARACORD - Originally designed at the request of Special Forces in Afghanistan, our SurvivorCord is a 620 LB tensile strength paracord that integrates 3 life-saving survival strands into TITAN's trusted MIL-SPEC 550 Paracord. Available only from TITAN Survival, SurvivorCord is protected by U.S. Patents 9,528,204 & 9,926,652, with other International patents pending. There simply isn't a better paracord available. DON'T BE FOOLED BY KNOCK-OFFS!
·         MONO FISHING LINE - Includes a single transparent, 25 lb. test, high strength mono-filament fishing line that can be used when critical protein is just yards away. This filament can also be melted and used to patch holes, or used to bind tools together.
·         WAXED JUTE TINDER - Our proprietary, waterproof, twisted jute fiber strand is designed to quickly start fires in an emergency. This is the best fire-starting strand on the market. Even in a downpour, a couple sparks from your favorite SurvivorSteel, and you'll have an instant fire.
·         MULTI-PURPOSE WIRE - Our proprietary 30 AWG metallic alloy is strong, conductive, and non-magnetic. Perfect for small snares, trip-wires, antennae, camp-fire food wraps, and any other ingenious survival ideas that you can think up.


SURVIVORCORD XT FEATURES

·         PATENTED NEXT GEN PARACORD - Originally designed at the request of U.S. Special Forces in Afghanistan, our SurvivorCord XT is the 3rd generation of our exclusive SurvivorCord parachute cord. With a Tensile Strength of over 1,000 LBS, we’ve integrates 3 life-saving survival strands into TITAN's trusted TYPE IV MIL-SPEC 750 Paracord. Available only from TITAN Survival, SurvivorCord XT is protected by U.S. Patents 9,528,204, with other International patents pending. DON'T BE FOOLED BY KNOCK-OFFS!
·         110 LB KEVLAR UTILITY LINE - We've integrated a super-strong, 900F fire-resistant Kevlar strand into the core of the SurvivorCord XT that can be used as a friction saw, a way to bind tools together, or even to secure your food over a camp fire. In the end, this Nano-Aramid fiber WILL NOT BURN or BREAK EASILY!
·         WAXED JUTE TINDER - Our proprietary, waterproof, twisted jute fiber strand is designed to quickly start fires in an emergency. This is the best fire-starting strand on the market. Even in a downpour or after soaking in water for 8 hours, a couple sparks from your favorite SurvivorSteel and you'll have an instant fire.
·         BRAIDED FISHING LINE - Includes a single braided strand of 25 LB, high-strength fishing line that can be used to catch your dinner, as thread for emergency sutures, dental floss, or even as a snare for small game animals. This filament can also be melted and used to patch holes or used to bind tools together.

Stay Prepared! Stay Alive!

Charlie

Tuesday, February 5, 2019

M6 Scout Survival Rifle Mod Revisited



Back in April 2011, I did a post on making some modifications to my M6 Scout Survival Rifle. These Mods have been on the rifle since then and have not yet been removed for any reason. The rifle has been out in the field more than 90 times hunting and practice shooting.

I just recently received a very blunt post from a viewer telling me how he thought I was silly to put two metals together that would create a disaster for my rifle barrel. The viewer mentioned that the copper tubing touching the metal barrel would not play well together and would corrode the barrel.

Another viewer posted that the para-cord would hold moister and would cause my barrel to rust.

While both viewers had good points, I thought it necessary to take a look to see if I had damaged my rifle by adding the mods. And I thought, why not make a video and share this together so that well all would get a lesson- or not.

Please watch the video and see the results. There is a link to the other video in this video.

As always,

Stay Prepared! Stay Alive!

Charlie

Sunday, August 5, 2018

Prickly Lettuce (Lactuca Serriola)


Note: The information provided in this video and blog page is for informational purposes only. Prior to using the techniques listed, you should consult a medical professional. Use the listed information at your own risk.






Description of the plant:

Plant: Biennial
Height:150 cm (5 feet)Flovering: July to September


Habitat of the herb: Waste places, walls, occasionally on more or less stable dunes.

The plant contains vitamins, beta carotene, and iron.

The whole plant is rich in a milky sap that flows freely from any wounds. This hardens and dries when in contact with the air.


Concentrations of lactucarium are low in young plants and most concentrated when the plant comes into flower.


Lactucarium has the effects of a feeble opium, but without its tendency to cause digestive upsets, nor is it addictive.


Medicinal uses:


-relieve pain

-spasms of all kinds
-lowers fever
-gives you a good 8 hours of sleep without a hangover feeling
-treatment of insomnia
-hyperactivity in children
-dry coughs
-whooping cough
-rheumatic pain
-anxiety
-neuroses

The plant is used for multiple purposes in traditional medicines, like sedative, hypnotic, expectorant, cough suppressant, purgative, demulcent, diuretic, antiseptic, vasorelaxant, and antispasmodic and hence used to manage bronchitis, asthma, pertussis, gastrointestinal, and various other ailments


Special Precautions and Warnings:

-Wild lettuce seems safe for most people in small amounts. 

-Applying wild lettuce directly to the skin can cause irritation.
-Large amounts can slow breathing and might cause death.
-Large amounts can cause sweating, fast heartbeat, pupil dilation, dizziness, ringing in the ears, vision changes, sedation, breathing difficulty.
-Don’t use wild lettuce if you have enlarged prostate.
-Pregnancy and breast-feeding: Not enough is known about the use of wild lettuce during pregnancy and breast-feeding. Stay on the safe side and avoid use.
-Wild lettuce might cause sleepiness and drowsiness. Medications that cause sleepiness are called sedatives. Taking wild lettuce along with sedative medications might cause too much sleepiness.
-Sedative medications (CNS depressants) interacts with WILD LETTUCE-Some sedative medications include clonazepam (Klonopin), lorazepam (Ativan), phenobarbital (Donnatal), and zolpidem (Ambien).
-Large quantities can cause digestive upsets.
-Allergy to ragweed and related plants: Wild lettuce may cause an allergic reaction in people who are sensitive to the Asteraceae/Compositae family. Members of this family include ragweed, chrysanthemums, marigolds, daisies, and many others. 
-Narrow-angle glaucoma: Don’t use wild lettuce if you have this eye condition. It contains a chemical that might make glaucoma worse.
-Surgery: Wild lettuce can affect the central nervous system. There is a concern that it might cause too much sleepiness if it is taken along with anesthesia and other nerve-numbing medications used during and after surgery. Stop using wild lettuce at least 2 weeks before a scheduled surgery.

Dosage: 


The appropriate dose of wild lettuce depends on several factors such as the user's age, health, and several other conditions. At this time there is not enough scientific information to determine an appropriate range of doses for wild lettuce. 


(The author has found the perfect dosage for his use is 1 tsp in 8oz of water brewed as a tea.)


Make into a tea:


The pain-relieving components are soluble in water. 


Instructions:


Gather leaves and dry the leaves (If using a dehydrator, make sure you use the low heat setting so you don’t destroy the active compounds). 

Grind the leaves.
Mix 1-2 teaspoons of dried leaves with 1 cup of water.
Let steep for 3-5 minutes. Strain and drink.
Repeat up to 3x per day. 

Note that wild lettuce tea has a very bitter taste. Add some honey and lemon to make the taste better. You can also mix it with other types of tea to mask the taste.


Edible Parts:


Young leaves - raw or cooked. A bitter flavor. The young tender leaves are mild and make a great salad. (The whole plant becomes bitter as it gets older, especially when coming into flower). As a potherb it needs very little cooking. Large quantities can cause digestive upsets. Young shoots - cooked. Used as an asparagus substitute. An edible oil is obtained from the seed. The oil must be refined before it is edible. A pleasant flavour.


Young shoots - cooked. Used as an asparagus substitute. As a potherb it needs very little cooking. An edible oil is obtained from the seed. The oil must be refined before it is edible.


Extracting for use:


It is collected commercially by cutting the heads of the plants and scraping the juice into containers several times a day.

A brown viscid substance obtained following evaporation of the plant juice, called lactucarium, contains lactucone, lactucin, and lactucic acids.


Harvesting The Plant- All plants contains the active medicinal components. However, these components are low in young plants. Thus, it is best to harvest when it is an adult, right after its flowering period.


It typically flowers between June and August, but this can vary depending on the climate. 


To tell whether it is ready for harvesting, just cut the stalk. The milky sap should flow out readily. If it doesn’t, then the plant isn’t ready yet.


The milky sap from the stem is the most potent part of the lettuce. Traditionally, wild lettuce was harvested by making cuts in the stalks, letting the sap ooze out, and then letting it dry. The dried sap would be collected.

This traditional harvesting method is very time-consuming and tedious. 


Extracts:


Instructions:



  • Gather leaves.
  • Put in a blender.
  • Blend for just a few seconds. You don’t want to completely blend up the leaves.
  • Pour the ground leaves into a pot.
  • Add just enough water to cover.
  • Put the pot on a stove at LOW heat.
  • DO NOT LET THE MIXTURE BOIL!
  • Heat for 30 minutes, stirring often.
  • The water should turn a very dark green color.
  • Strain the leaves through a fine mesh (pantyhose works well for this).
  • Collect the liquid.
  • Put the liquid into a clean pot.
  • Heat on LOW again.
  • Stir frequently. Make sure the mixture doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot.


The water will evaporate, leaving behind a concentrate of wild lettuce extract. 


Tincture:

To make a tincture, you need to have a “stripper.” The stripper is what the active compounds dissolve into. Typically a high-proof alcohol like vodka is used to make tinctures.

However, these are better options:

-190 proof natural cane spirits
-Vegetable glycerin

Instructions:


  • Harvest the entire wild lettuce plant
  • Chop it up into smaller pieces then put it into a blender.
  • Add your stripper to the blender.*
  • Let the mixture sit for at least 3 minutes. Some people recommend letting it sit for 1 week.
  • Blend thoroughly.
  • Strain the mixture through a fine mesh, collecting the liquid in a jar.
  • Strain again using a coffee filter, once again collecting the liquid in a jar.
  • Store the tincture liquid in dark bottles.


Stay Prepared! Stay Alive!

Charlie