Locating Water in Desert/Mountain Terrain



Locations For Finding Water

Water Indicating Plants:

The following trees, shrubs or plants are a good indicator that water in near as they require a lot of water to survive:

Desert willow has thin leaves 5 or more inches long, less than 1/2 inch wide. Long seed pods. Pods stay on all winter. Found in washes from 2,000 feet to 4,500 feet.

Netleaf Hackberry has a leaf with an "off-center" somewhat heart shaped appearance. Found along washes, 2,000 to 5,500 feet. Brushy plant 3 to 10 feet high and has small edible berries.

Desert Palms grow mainly in southern California in the Mohave Desert. They have a large palmate leaf and a thick ragged trunk. They grow quite tall.

Cattails have a large pointed leaf which looks rather like a grass. The seed pods are distinctive and easily noticeable in the fall. They grow in low marshy areas or wide, shallow stream beds.

Cottonwood Tree grows 40 to 80 feet in height. It has a broad open crown of widely spreading branches. Cottonwoods grow only in wet soil and are found along lakes, riverbanks and irrigation ditches throughout the southwest.

Desert Rain Fall Patterns:

The Sonoran Desert is located in Arizona and northern Mexico. As one moves westward across this desert, the yearly precipitation increases from 1.2 inches to 14 inches a year. The Sonoran Desert has two rainy seasons, with most of the rain occurring during the winter and the remainder in summer. Summer rains consist of violent thunderstorms which can drench one area briefly while leaving the area a scant mile away completely dry.

The Chihuahuan Desert has its rainy season in the summer, when it receives between 70 and 80 percent of its three to twenty inches of precipitation. Summer temperatures will average 10 to 20 degrees lower than those in the Sonoran Desert. Most of this desert is located in Mexico, with a small portion extending north into Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.

In rocky terrain, remember not to forget to look for potholes in bedrock and other rocky areas for possible pools of water. These pools will most often contain debris and small animal life, such as larvae that live in the water. These water sources will need to be purified.

Stay Prepared! Stay Alive!


Charlie

Treadle Spring Snare

Treadle Spring Snare

Use a treadle snare against small game on a trail. Dig a shallow hole in the trail. Then drive a forked stick (fork down) into the ground on each side of the hole on the same side of the trail.

Select two fairly straight sticks that span the two forks. Position these two sticks so that their ends engage the forks. Place several sticks over the hole in the trail by positioning one end over the lower horizontal stick and the other on the ground on the other side of the hole.

Cover the hole with enough sticks so that the prey must step on at least one of them to set off the snare. Tie one end of a piece of cordage to a twitch-up or to a weight suspended over a tree limb.

Bend the twitch-up or raise the suspended weight to determine where you will tie the trigger. The trigger should be about 2 inches long. Form a noose with the other end of the cordage. Route and spread the noose over the top of the sticks over the hole.

Place the trigger stick against the horizontal sticks and route the cordage behind the sticks so that the tension of the power source will hold it in place. Adjust the bottom horizontal stick so that it will barely hold against the trigger.

As the animal places its foot on a stick across the hole, the bottom horizontal stick moves down, releasing the trigger and allowing the noose to catch the animal by the foot. Because of the disturbance on the trail, an animal will be wary. You must therefore use channelization.

To increase the effectiveness of this trap, a small bait well may be dug into the bottom of the hole. Place some bait in the bottom of the hole to lure the animal to the snare.

Use the techniques shown in the Trapping Basics 101 video for masking the human scent.

Stay Prepared! Stay Alive!

Charlie

Improvised Survival Slingshot



Improvised Slingshot

The slingshot is a very versatile weapon often overlooked by many as just a child's toy. About 20 years ago it was just a child's toy until it was modified into what it has become today. Its takes very  little practice to learn to shot one effectively, either for target practice or for hunting.

As better ways of making the slingshot evolved, so did the way it was used. Today the slingshot is used for hunting small game, having fun shooting at targets, competition shooting, and survival purposes. The slingshot has been modified to the extent that it can now be used to shoot arrows for hunting bigger game and for fishing.

The slingshot it quiet, so catching more game is possible since you do not scare the rest of the game away as you would with a gun.

Substitute for rubber tubing:

Surgical tubing
Bike inner tube
Car inner tube
Bungee cord
Large wide rubber bands
Latex Bands

Learning to use and make slingshots will give you a better chance and more choices when you need something in a survival situation to catch game or to use as protection.

Stay Prepared! Stay Alive!

Charlie