AR-15s ‘Not Protected’ By 2nd Amendment & Can Be Banned, Court Rules In Landmark Decision

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RICHMOND, Va. — The U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ignored precedent and the Constitution in ruling this week that semi-automatic weapons don’t have Second Amendment protections, critics say.

In a 10-4 decision upholding Maryland’s ban on certain semi-automatic firearms, the judges went further than previous courts have in ruling that “assault weapons and large-capacity magazines are not protected by the Second Amendment.”

The Maryland law, passed after a mass shooting, was called the Firearms Safety Act (FSA) of 2013, and it banned AR-15s and most magazine-fed semi-automatic rifles.

Second Amendment advocates and firearms dealers challenged the law in a case called Kolbe vs. Maryland.

Judge William B. Traxler Jr. wrote in a dissent that the Fourth Circuit has “gone to greater lengths than any other court to eviscerate the constitutionally guaranteed right to keep and bear arms.”

Be Prepared. Learn The Best Ways To Hide Your Guns.

The majority ruled that the U.S. Supreme Court’s Heller decision, which dealt with handgun ownership and the right to self-defense, has no impact on semi-automatic rifles.

“We have no power to extend Second Amendment protection to the weapons of war that the Heller decision explicitly excluded from such coverage,” Judge Robert B. King wrote in the majority opinion.

King’s opinion mentioned the mass shootings in San Bernardino, Newtown and Orlando. Maryland state legislators, he wrote, were justified in banning weapons with magazines that hold more than 10 rounds.

Such weapons “enable shooters to inflict mass casualties while depriving victims and law enforcement officers of opportunities to escape or overwhelm the shooters while they reload their weapons,” King wrote.

Traxler disagreed, noting that such weapons are not “dangerous or unusual” and are used by millions of law-abiding citizens.

“As long as the weapon chosen is one commonly possessed by the American people for lawful purposes — and the rifles at issue here most certainly are,” Traxler wrote, “the state has very little say about whether its citizens should keep it in their homes for protection.”

Both King and Traxler were nominated by President Bill Clinton.

Three other judges — Paul V. Niemeyer, Dennis W. Shedd and G. Steven Agee — joined Traxler in the dissent.

The National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) called it an “outrageous decision.”

“If, as the Fourth Circuit suggests, a firearm loses Second Amendment protection because it is specifically designed for ‘killing or disabling the enemy,’ then the whole idea of the Second Amendment protecting a defensive purpose (or applying to any well-designed firearm, for that matter) collapses. Handguns, rifles, and shotguns of any type can be equally ‘dangerous,’” the NRA-ILA wrote.

Maryland’s law is similar to bans in California, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and other states, The Washington Post noted.

The decision could be appealed to the Supreme Court.

What is your reaction to the decision? Share your thoughts in the section below:

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Bill Gates Warns Of Imminent Threat That Could Rapidly ‘Kill More Than 30 Million’

Bill Gates Warns Of Imminent Threat That Could Rapidly ‘Kill More Than 30 Million’ was originally seen on Total Survival

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MUNICH — Recent advances in technology make bioterrorism a greater threat than nuclear warfare – one that could rapidly wipe out 30 million of even hundreds of millions of people around the world, billionaire Bill Gates says.

And the U.S. and other countries, he says, are not prepared.

Speaking to The Telegraph newspaper prior to a conference in German, Gates said it would be possible for terrorists to create a bioweapon that can kill more people than would nuclear weapons.

“It doesn’t take much biology expertise nowadays to assemble a smallpox virus,” Gates said. “Biology is making it way easier to create these things.”

Be Prepared! Store An ‘Emergency Seed Bank’ For A Crisis Garden

Developments in genetic engineering would make it possible for terrorists to engineer a virus capable of creating a pandemic, Gates said.

“With nuclear weapons, you’d think you would probably stop after killing 100 million. Smallpox won’t stop,” he said. “Because the population is naïve, and there are no real preparations. That, if it got out and spread, would be a larger number.”

Bioterrorism can kill far more people than natural epidemics, he said.

“Intentionally caused epidemics, bioterrorism, would be the largest of all,” he said.

It also is possible to reengineer the common flu virus to create a deadly influenza strain capable of causing a pandemic, Gates said. He believes that such a pandemic would spread like wildfire.

He told conference attendees, “Whether it occurs by a quirk of nature or at the hand of a terrorist, epidemiologists say a fast-moving airborne pathogen could kill more than 30 million people in less than a year. And they say there is a reasonable probability the world will experience such an outbreak in the next 10 to 15 years.”

Do you think the U.S. is prepared for a pandemic? Share your thoughts in the section below:

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Unusual Weapons From Around The World And How To Use Them

The article Unusual Weapons From Around The World And How To Use Them See more on: http://ift.tt/1Qfw8v0

Weapons are my business – you name it and I’ve seen it, or used it or seen it used. Much of my life has been spent familiarizing myself with such tools of destruction: bombs, guns, knives, projectiles and blades of all kinds, bashers, bangers, swatters, whips, clubs, flames… If it serves to destroy, I probably know about it. It’s an evil specialty, but a decisive one – one that has saved my dastardly ass on multiple occasions. As such, I shouldn’t have been surprised when I was approached and asked to write this article on unusual weapons. I should have seen it coming. At first I refused – what if this deadly, dark information got into the wrong hands? What if this guide served to enable evil and enact terror?

Well, it still may. I’ve come to terms with that. The way I see it: if I didn’t write it, someone else would, and better the resident expert of deadly devices write an article on strange and obscure weapons than some chump who doesn’t know half about the subject. Right?

Right. So I accepted, begrudgingly, and here I am: writing a guide for anonymous masses of the Internet, about odd, unusual weapons and how to use them. Perhaps I have too much faith in you people. Regardless, at this point, all I can do is implore you to use this knowledge for good instead of evil. Refrain from engaging in any tonfa whooping sprees, or katar massacres as best you can. Such aggressive endeavors are severely frowned upon, and I don’t want any part in them.

With that in mind, let’s dive in.

Unusual Weapons and how to Use Them

The Weapons

If you have ever watched someone twirling a pair of nun chucks – swinging them in rapid orbits that twist and spin around their waist, arms and hands like rings of death – you might have wondered: how in the hell do those things work? You aren’t alone. Nun chucks, and other weapons of similar strangeness, have been confusing people for centuries. Most people are honestly more likely to hurt themselves using such tools, as they are to injure their assailants.

But that is what this article is here to address. Obviously, you won’t be mastering anything just from reading a paragraph about the weapon – many of these take years to successfully learn to use, so if you find yourself struggling to get the hang of Kpinga throwing, don’t get too down on your luck. Practice makes perfect.

Nun chucks:

These are the classic martial arts movie weapons, made famous by fighters like Bruce Lee, who was a true master of nun chucks. The weapon itself is relatively simple: two wooden handles connected by a string or chain. By whipping the nun chucks in half and full circle swings you can turn yourself into an unapproachable wielder of pain. And they are painful. Being struck with a real pair of hardwood nun chucks is enough to drop a full-grown man to his ass. They come in a variety of sizes and shapes, colors and styles, but generally the simpler the design, the better.

Nun chucks are supposed to be gripped high up, close to the chain/string that links the two handles together. The first basic strike taught to most students is to hold one handle in your hand, and the other in your armpit, flick the nun chuck out of your armpit with a quick jerk of the wrist. The handle held beneath your arm should flip out and downwards in an arc that will whip the nun chuck back up and into your armpit – essentially reloading with every strike. I wouldn’t recommend getting too much fancier than that, lest the inexperienced nun chucker injure themselves. Here is a good video that covers more technical ways to use nun chucks.

Tonfa:

You might recognize the shape of this club-like weapon, because the modern police baton looks very similar. Police adopted the handle club because of its versatility and utility – it can be used as a restraint, a club, a prod, extended reach, a strong block or amplified striker.

There are a few basic strikes with tonfa, the first of which is to hold the handle loosely and swing the tonfa downwards in a big semi-circle so that the long end whips downwards like a club, striking your target and returning to your arm. Another is to simply hold the grip, and straight punch. The extra inch or two of wood makes any strike hurt a lot more. Here is a guide to some more basic tonfa strikes. Tonfa are usually used in pairs (one in each hand) but if your prefer to keep one hand free, using one works just as effectively. They also are wonderful for reinforcing blocks, if you are defending yourself.

Bullwhip:

They aren’t the most common weapon you’ll find laying around, but Indiana Jones sure made his work wonders, so maybe there’s something to them. Use extreme cautions though: whips strike with more than enough power to lay flesh wide open, so try a couple practice strikes before going full throttle 100%.

The crack made by a whip is actually a small explosion caused by the sound barrier breaking – like when jets exceed the speed of sound and cause blasts big enough to break windows. The basic concept behind using a bullwhip is to change the direction of the tip fast enough to break the speed of sound and create that small break in the sound barrier.

So most of whip strikes involve swinging the whip in one direction and then very quickly snapping that movement in reverse to change the direction of the whip tip. It takes some practice to get good at this, but once you have the concept down, you can successfully apply that to many different whip striking techniques. This (Adam Winrich) is the internet’s bullwhip-master, and in his videos he demonstrates several different ways to use one.

Sling:

Slings are one of the oldest weapons in human history, and in their simplicity there is great functionality. As the name implies, slings were designed to sling blunt projectiles with tremendous force. They basically consist of two lengths of rope or cord with a pouch tied between the two (the same thing can be accomplished with one length of cord and a pouch tied along it).

Load the projectile into the pouch so it sits snugly, and grip both end of the sling in one hand. Twirl the sling with increasing speed above your head and when you are ready, release one end of the sling (while maintaining your grip on the other end) and the projectile will be released. It will likely take some practice to find the correct release timing for proper aim, but once you get the hang of this simple weapon it can be very deadly.

Macuahuitl:

This bladed paddle was popular amongst the civilizations of the Americas (ie Mayans, Inca, Aztecs). It is essentially a long wooden paddle fixed with short obsidian blades at intervals along the edges of the paddle. The weapon was used much like a sword or an axe, and swung at enemies with the intention of ripping through flesh. Obsidian, for those who don’t know, is one of the sharpest substances on earth, so sharp, in fact, it slices through different materials on a molecular level – that’s why they are popular in the medical field.

Boomerang:

Most of us have heard of boomerangs, and even tested them. This ancient form of projectile technology was developed by the aboriginals of Australia as a means for hunting. While boomerangs are famous for their ability to “come back” to the thrower – typically when aboriginals hunted for animals with boomerangs, they would aim their shots so the boomerang flew outwards and upwards, and would come back to strike down upon the unsuspecting animal.

You can also just chuck them straight at your target and do some damage, if you aren’t feeling real fancy. Boomerangs are surprisingly effective weapons for self defense too – if thrown at an assailant they can strike with enough force to break the skin, and if used as a club they can be deadly.

Emeici:

The Chinese are famous for strange weapons. Kung fu is full of oddly shaped, strangely designed weapons that look like great ways to hurt yourself. Emeici are one of those. Basically these pointed rods are attached to your hands via rings. The rods can then be spun and manipulated in wildly complex patterns and techniques. Here is a video of someone using them… I’m not even going to try and explain how to use these – just jab your attacker and try not to harm yourself.

Katar:

This is a very old form of push dagger, characterized by its H-shaped handle. These were unique to South Asia (India especially) and were used for both combat and ceremonial worship. Just from looking at this age-old fighting knife, one can kind of tell how it is meant to be used. It’s pretty simple actually: hold the handle, stab your enemy. The bonus to using one of these is they are easily concealable.

Man Catcher:

I don’t ever want to run into someone wielding one of these awful, nightmarish weapons. If you’ve seen dog catchers use those long rods with a loop on the end, to snare dogs by the neck and keep them away at a safe distance, then you understand the concept behind the “man-catcher”. Except instead of a harmless loop at the end, this weapon has a ring of hooks, meant to tear and cut and stab into the neck of whoever might be unfortunate to get “caught.” Just imagining being stuck in one of these is enough to send shivers down my spine – but if you’re on the delivering end of a man-catcher, you will probably be just fine.

Chakram:

Imagine a frisbee that is ringed with a razor sharp edge. That is the idea behind a chakram. It was the weapon used by Xena the Warrior Princess, and Odd Job from James Bond (sort of – in hat form). Usually these are circular disks that can be hurled across great distances to cleave into a target a long ways off. Just throw it like a Frisbee, stand back, and watch the carnage ensue.

A Note on Creative Weapon Uses

Here’s the thing when it comes to using weapons in an emergency situation, you might not always get to fight with your favorite weapon. Likely, you will be forced into combat unexpectedly and you’ll have to use whatever resources are laying around at your disposal. That might mean using a strange and unknown weapon you’ve never seen before. That might also mean improvising and using something weapon-like as a weapon.

And that is the real point of this article: knowing about a diversity of different types of weapons, and understanding what kinds of objects might work as a tool of self defense. This is an extremely important skill – something any survivor should be keen to hone.

So keep that in mind moving forward. It’s not that you need to master every weapon ever devised, but understanding the concepts behind different weapons might enable you to think outside of the box when threatened – and that can make the difference between life and death.

It also doesn’t hurt to simply be familiar with a lot of different weapons. Even if you avidly practice your marksmanship or swordsmanship, if you neglect to understand how other weapons work you aren’t doing yourself any favors. The more you know the better, and the more you know about weapon use the better prepared you’ll be to protect yourself in a dangerous situation.

Did you find this post of unusual weapons useful? Let us know in the comment section below.

If you’re looking for useful survival gear that you can’t make at home, check out the Survival Life Store!

In need of a few products to practice honing your skills? Check out these options:

• If you’re looking to practice your Nun Chuck skills, practice with these Black Dragon Foam Padded Nunchaku w/ Steel Swivel Chain.
• If you are partial to the idea of a boomerang, this Cold Steel Boomerang 92BRG is for you.
• Practice makes perfect. Train with a Foam Covered Tonfa to prepare for the real thing.

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Learn How To Create Your Own Ant Farm | Kids Project

Learn How To Create Your Own Ant Farm | Kids Project is republished from http://ift.tt/1nr27gs

Ever wanted an ant farm? Why not make your own? Read on and give ants an artificial nest and learn how they live and survive!

Creating A Fascinating Ant Farm For The Homestead Kids

Keeping ants as pets is exciting and fun because of its fascinating ability to function as a unit. If you have ever wondered what’s beneath the surface of an anthill, making your own ant colony will be a captivating learning experience. An ant farm is a perfect way to learn about ant colonies and their great contribution to the world we live in. So today, we will give you a list of steps in making your own ant farm.

You Will Need:

• 1-liter plastic bottle
• 2-liter plastic bottle
• Scissors
• Black construction paper
• Tape
• Blu-tack adhesive
• Ants
• Dirt or sand
• Funnel
• Gloves
• Shovel
• Jar
• Paper towels or old nylons
• Rubber band
• Pin or needle
• Cotton balls
• Ant food

How To Make An Ant Farm

Step 1: Cut The Mouth And Necks Off The Two Bottles

Cut the mouths and necks off the two bottles. Use the black construction paper to cover the outside of the smaller bottle and fasten it with tape. Place a blu-tack the base of the covered bottle, and place it inside the bigger bottle.

Step 2: Put Some Soil Into The Space Amidst The Bottles

Put some soil or sand by the funnel into space amidst the bottles. Leave about half an inch before the peak of the 1-liter bottle. Use darker soil for light-colored ants and for black ants use sand, this will provide your ants extra visibility.

Step 3: Choose What Kind Of Ants To Keep

Choose what kind of ants to keep. The perfect source is your backyard. In the event that you can’t discover appropriate ants, order some from a mail-arrange provider.

Step 4: Transferring An Anthill To A Jar

Wear gloves and utilize your shovel when transferring an anthill to the jar, or you can put the jar closer to the anthill making sure that there’s a small slice of fruit inside. Catch 50 to 80 ants, and attempt to catch a queen, because, without one, your ant farm will just last a few months. The queen is bigger and longer than the rest of the ants and will be encompassed by numerous different ants. Wear gloves; ants will sting to safeguard their queen.

Step 5: Put Ants From The Jar Into The Dirt In 2-Liter Bottle

Empty ants from the jar into the dirt in the 2-liter container, and rapidly cover the top with a paper towel or old nylons. Use rubber bands to bind the paper towel in the bottle. Jab air openings in the larger bottle’s cover with a needle or pin, ensuring they are too little for the ants to slither through.

Step 6: Create An Underground Environment

When you’re not watching your ants, wrap the outside of your ant farm with extra piece of dark construction paper and fasten with tape, to create an underground environment. Keep your farm in direct sunlight. Avoid moving your farm, there’s a possibility that the tunnels they started to build will collapse.

Step 7: Feeding Your Ants

Once every day, douse a cotton ball in water, remove the cover, put the cotton on top of the soil and cover the farm again, permitting the ants to have some drinking water. Nourish ants with little bits of bread or fruit soaked in honey or sugar water. A teaspoon of food every other day is sufficient for 20 to 40 ants.

Watch the full video by Howcast to guide you in creating your own ant farm:

One of the best things about making an ant farm is that it only needs materials and tools that would already have at home. Kids and adults alike will surely be fascinated observing the little ants as they go about their daily, busy lives. If you’re looking for a no-cost educational pet, then this project is perfect for you and your little ones!

So, what do you think? Did you enjoy the tutorial on how to create your own ant colony? Let us know below in the comments!

Want to get rid of those annoying mosquitoes? Well, leave them the creatures who have an appetite for them: bats! Build a bat house in your homestead and they’ll serve you right! Pollinate your plants and get rid of mosquitoes, making your homestead more comfortable and safe.

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This post was originally published in November 2016 and has been updated for quality and relevancy.

Featured Image Via AntsCanada

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5 Winter Survival Items EVERYONE Should Store In Their Vehicle

5 Winter Survival Items EVERYONE Should Store In Their Vehicle Find more on: Total Survival

Image source: Pixabay.com

In an earlier post this winter, I wrote about three survival gadgets that everyone should store in their vehicles during the coldest months of the year. Let’s now turn to the basics.

Here are five often-forgotten items that everyone should store in their car, truck or SUV during winter:

5. Light sources.

Basically, the nightmare scenario that we’re preparing for is the most commonly experienced during the winter.

The cold has a way of freezing the life out of our car batteries (jumper cables being a given addition to this list). The cold also tends to result in the loss of friction – that is, the force of physics that cars depend on to keep the wheels on the road. Hence is why I recommend adding a work lantern with an attached magnet. That way, you won’t be fumbling in the long winter’s night while trying to get your car back on the road again.

And in the event that there’s no possible way of driving out of that snow bank, I’d also recommend a tactical flashlight with SOS signaling capabilities.

4. First aid.

Simply put, one sheet of ice can put us in the ER on a normal day. Besides, in the event that you find yourself in a survival situation, the events leading up to such a scenario are often the same ones that make a first-aid kit necessary in the first place (such as a black-ice-caused car accident).

3. Emergency communication.

Let’s play out a particular scenario for a moment…

Goofy Tiny Gadget Can Jump-Start Your Car — And Charge Your Smartphone!

Pretend your vehicle has slid into a ditch, but you also happen to be on a road that tends not to see much traffic — especially in this weather. And so, you sit in your (now stationary) metal shelter with wheels, wondering what to do next. Of course, you’d phone for help, but you’ve got a grand total of zero bars to work with, so that’s out of the question. Should you walk for help? How low will temps reach tonight? Will this lull in snowfall hold until you make it to assistance?

These gaps in weather intelligence info can be alleviated with a simple pocket weather radio, since you’d be able to hear real-time weather broadcasts as the storm unfolds.

Image source: Pixabay.com

I’d also recommend keeping at least a mini CB radio on hand, which can run on the adapter to a cigarette lighter power supply. Not only could you tune in to CH9 (emergency channel), but you’d even be able to communicate to nearby CB operators … who might just be kind enough to alert emergency personnel to your present predicament. At which point, set your flashlight to SOS-mode and await the cavalry.

2. Chains, n’ such.

Perhaps one of THE most obvious additions to your winter emergency vehicle stash would be the appropriately sized cables/chains for your tires. At least in my own experience, I’ve seen a Saturn SL2 rip through two feet of road powder with chains, while the 4×4 Jeep I was in remained stuck. A humbling experience, I do admit.

I’d also recommend adding other tire-traction items, such as traction mats. You also might want to purchase a traction “boot,” which are these ingenious tabs that clamp to the wheel and dig into the snow like a cleat.

1. Things that make you warm.

Last (and certainly not least), make sure you’ve got a change of the warmest possible clothing you own (that you don’t mind storing in your vehicle indefinitely and you use only for emergencies). In this instance, you might not necessarily have to concern yourself with moisture and water resistance, since you’ll be staying inside the vehicle. However, I would still NOT consider cotton materials an option. Cotton is just horrible for winter apparel, since even the slightest amount of sweating can result in chills … and chills are a precursor to hypothermia. I’d recommend wool materials. Quite frankly, I will always recommend wool (or smart fleece.)

And while we’re at it, you might as well do your due diligence and equip your ride with a polar fleece thermal blanket. If you’re going to be stuck inside a cold metal box, this will at least keep your body heat to yourself.

What would you add to our list? Share your tips in the section below:

Learn How To ‘Live Off The Land’ With Just Your Gun. Read More Here.

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Magic Food: 7 Vegetables You Can Regrow From Kitchen Scraps

The post Magic Food: 7 Vegetables You Can Regrow From Kitchen Scraps is republished from http://ift.tt/1nr27gs

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There is a great form of recycling that is easy, fun and nutritious: re-growing vegetables from leftover scraps. You don’t need much to get started — just containers, soil, water and a sunny windowsill. Sometimes you don’t even need the soil.

Many vegetables have the ability to regenerate, and you can regrow quite a few common veggies with as little as a glass of water. It’s a great project for any time of the year, but especially during colder months when you likely don’t have access to your garden.

To help you begin, here is a list of vegetables that are easy to regrow.

1. Lettuce and cabbage — After you prepare a salad or a stew, do you toss the lettuce or cabbage heart in the trash or on the compost pile? Next time, place it in a shallow dish with about a half-inch of water and then put the dish on a sunny windowsill. The water will get cloudy and a bit smelly, so you will want to replace it every day or two.

After three days or so, you will notice new leaves sprouting. When they are large enough for eating, you can harvest them. Leave the head in some clean water, and you can repeat the process.

2. Scallions, green onions, leeks and fennel – Set the white root base in enough water to completely cover the bulb and then place the container on your windowsill.

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Replace the water every few days. After a week or so, you will notice new growth. You can keep regenerating these bulbs and even can transfer them outdoors in the spring.

3. Onions – Onions need a bit more room, but they are still easy to grow. Place the onion’s root section in a cup of water on a sunny windowsill and watch for sign of regrowth. When the bulb has grown back, transfer the plant to a large pot of soil. You can replant it in your outdoor garden during the warmer weather.

4. Garlic – Did you know that you could regenerate a garlic plant from just one clove? Here’s how: Plant the clove root-end down in a pot of soil and then place the pot where it can get direct sunlight.

5. Ginger – To regenerate the root of the ginger plant, which is the part you use in cooking, take a fresh piece and submerge it partially in soil with the nubbins pointing upward.

Place the pot in indirect sunlight and keep the soil moist, and the root will begin growing within about two weeks. To obtain fresh ginger, pull up the plant, harvest some of its root and then repeat the process.

6. Celery – Celery takes a while to regrow, but the results are worth it. Place the base (about an inch or two) in a jar of water on a sunny window ledge. As with some of the other veggies, you will need to replace the cloudy water regularly. Tiny sprouts begin to appear in about a week. After a few more weeks, you will see enough growth to harvest.

7. Bean Sprouts – Soak your leftover dry beans overnight before spreading them out evenly on towels to dry. Repeat this process three or more times until you begin to notice sprouts appearing. You may use the sprouts on sandwiches and in salads. Store any leftover sprouts in the refrigerator.

Like many gardening projects, regrowing vegetables takes some time and some patience. Usually, the fresher the scraps, the better the results will be.

Keep in mind that many plants are sensitive to chlorine or fluoride. If you are on a municipal water system, consider using distilled water for your kitchen scrap garden. Also, if your windowsills do not get much sunlight, grow lights will work well.

What advice would you add? Share it in the section below:

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Wilderness Emergency Medicine | In-The-Field First Aid In A Pinch

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It is difficult to characterize the importance of knowing first aid protocol. It’s like knowing how to run emergency auto repairs – except instead of cars and motorcycles, you’re working on human bodies. Potentially the bodies of your friends and family and perhaps even yourself. And since we are constantly piloting our bodies, understanding how to repair, maintain, and transport broken or compromised human beings is vital knowledge. Therefore, a working knowledge of wilderness emergency medicine is a must.

Wilderness Emergency Medicine

Paramedics, firefighters and doctors won’t always be at the ready, waiting to swoop in and take care of medical crisis on a moment’s notice. Maybe because you are out in the wilderness backpacking with some friends or backcountry skiing. Maybe because a nuclear winter has shut down all federal emergency services.

Whatever the reason, it is more than likely that at some point, you will find yourself in a situation where you need to know some medical basics. Even the most basic, rudimentary knowledge can make the difference between life and death. Of course, the more advanced your understanding and knowledge, the safer you and those around you will be.

What follows is a very fundamental first aid guide – BUT BE WARNED: by no means is this a substitute for an actual, legitimate first aid course, CPR class, wilderness first aid course, EMT certification, or medical degree. There is a lot of good information in here, but not nearly enough to qualify you as an expert.

*Disclaimer: All content on this site is for informational purposes only. Please read our full disclaimer here.

Safety First

This is sort of an obligatory opening note, but an important one nonetheless: prevention is the best solution. By keeping yourself and those around you safe and out of harm’s way, you avoid the need to use any emergency medical knowledge. Of course, it is still a very useful skillset, but it’s one of those things you hope you never have to actually use – like a fire extinguisher, or earthquake insurance.

Anyway, the point is, stay as safe as possible and you’ll minimize medical emergencies. But unfortunately, shit happens. And it isn’t possible to stay safe all the time, nor would it be agreeable – danger can be fun (in moderation), knowing how to deal with the consequences of danger is the real trick.

Primary Survey and Patient Assessment

This is the first step in addressing any medical situation. Survey and assess. When you come across an emergency, whether it is your friend who trips and breaks her wrist, or a stranger passed out in the woods, you must always check and make sure that the scene is safe. You don’t want to go rushing into harm’s way yourself just to help someone else out. Make sure everything is safe before approaching the scene.

Identify what the problem is if you can. What created the danger? Is the injury life threatening? In order to answer these questions you are going to have to recognize which of the 3 main body systems is being affected:

• Nervous System – What is their level of consciousness, responsiveness? Is there a mechanism for a spinal injury?
• Circulatory System – Do they have a pulse?
• Respiratory system – Are the breathing? How quickly? How deeply?

If you perceive the injury at hand to be life threatening, stabilize the system and do what you can for extraction and/or evacuation. If, however, you do not perceive the injury to be life threatening, move on to a secondary assessment and evaluate patient’s:

• Blood pressure
• Lung sounds
• Pupil dilation

Wounds

Be able to identify low risk wounds from high risk wounds. Wound contamination, crushing wounds, animal bites and open joint spaces are all examples of high risk wounds, whereas a low risk wound might be something like a lacerated finger.

Initiate treatment by controlling the bleeding with strategic and direct applied pressure. Clean the wound as best you can, removing debris and rinsing with saline or clean water. Maintaining pressure, disinfect and bandage the wound to the best of your ability with clean bandages or gauze. Replace the bandages when they start to become dirty to minimize risk of infection, and to speed up the healing process.

Broken Bones

Breaks come in all different shapes and severities. Some are so minor you won’t even notice them – did you know people break their toes multiple times a year without ever realizing it? Other breaks are more conspicuous, and can look absolutely horrifying. So the first step in dealing with a broken bone is to discern how bad it is… Here are a few indicators that it is a very serious bad break:

• The broken bone is either the spine, pelvis or a femur.
• The fracture is open – meaning that you can see the bone protruding from the skin.
• You can visibly see bones are unstable – bent, of track, hanging.

For a stable broken injury, splint and use the R.I.C.E. treatment: Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation.

For unstable injuries, use gentle traction to pull the broken limb into position and then splint it in place. This will hold the broken bone from moving around, and allow it to heal at the proper angle. If the injury is still unusable and unstable, do what you can to evacuate the patient.

Burns

Some burns are shallow and others are deep – needless to say, the deep ones are the ones you really need to be worried about. When examining a burn, you must first try and evaluate the depth, extent, and whether any high risk areas were burned (genitals, face/neck, or palms/soles of feet). Cool the burn with cool water or ice and protect it with a cool, wet, clean bandage. Continue to cool the injury and replace bandage as necessary.

Hypothermia

The big thing to be able to identify. Here is the difference between mild and severe hypothermia:

• Symptoms of Mild Hypothermia: shivering, dizziness, increased heart rate, fatigue, lack of coordination, trouble speaking, faster breathing, and nausea
• Symptoms of Severe Hypothermia: NO shivering (severely hypothermic patients won’t shiver), weak pulse, shallow breath, clumsiness and lack of coordination, slurred speech/mumbling, and drowsiness and low energy.

To treat a patient suffering from mild hypothermia, give them oral fluids like water, orange juice, or tea. Give them food for calories (and thereby interior heat). And protect them as best you can from the environment – this might mean wrapping them in blankets and moving them closer to the fire, or building an ice cave to escape freezing winds.

Severe hypothermia is very dangerous. Patients must be wrapped in insulation as best as possible to prevent further heat loss (space blankets are the best material for this, but anything will do in a pinch). Handle the patient very carefully, and begin extraction – without appropriate professional treatment death is a high possibility. So act fast.

Heat Illness

In really hot climates, people suffer from heat exhaustion and dehydration all the time – especially when they are doing something strenuous like hiking or building something. The important thing to do first, is administer fluids and electrolytes (a bottle of powerade or gatorade is perfect for this, but plain old water will do just fine.) Do what you can to cool the person down with external fluids and shade. If the problem progresses to heat stroke, treat with immediate and very aggressive cooling and work on an evacuation plan.

Allergic Reactions/Anaphylaxis

Allergic reactions can be really mundane, really un-worrisome – but they can also spell near-instantaneous death. Local, non-serious allergic reactions can be treated with cool compression, and topical allergy cream. If the reaction is mild, try oral allergy medication. And if it escalates to anaphylaxis (symptoms: Trouble breathing, tight throat, hives and swelling, nausea, abdominal pain, diarrhea, dizziness, fainting, low-blood pressure, rapid heart beat, feelings of doom, cardiac arrest) you should administer epinephrine (AKA an epi-pen) and oral allergy medications.

The First Aid Kit

First aid kits are man’s medical best friends. I keep one in my backpacking backpack, my car, my kitchen, my bug-out-bag, and even in my desk. Not every first aid kit has to be totally comprehensive – most of mine are just your basic disinfectants, antibiotic creams, bandages, gauze, etc. that come in the first aid kit’s you’ll find at Wal-Mart or Target.

But having one really good, really refined first aid or medical kit is essential. The generic ones are great, but they leave a lot to be desired – especially on the personal front. I recommend building your own medical/first-aid kit from scratch so you can tailor the size, scope, and details to fit you and your loved ones. Include your personal prescription meds, epinephrine if you have allergies, extra of your prescription glasses, special medical notes or reminders, personal vitamins, whatever! Just make sure that you have at least one medical bag that is extensive and personalized.

Keep in mind that this is the first line of defense in any medical situation. If you are caught out in the wilderness without a first aid kit on hand and have to deal with an emergency, you will be in a very tricky spot. That is where improvised medicine comes into play – which is a dangerous game. Better to just be prepared in the first place and keep a good, reliable medical/first-aid kit on hand.

Unaided First Aid

None of us ever want to find ourselves in a situation where we are dealing with a serious medical emergency. Because that likely means either you or someone close to you got hurt – and even if it doesn’t, it means you have to deal with helping a stranger through a medical situation. It’s never a good time.

But understanding basic medical concepts, principles and technique can be the difference between life and death. Knowing first aid, and understanding how to treat injuries and evacuate patients from bad scenarios is an invaluable skill.

But, as mentioned, this article is by no means a substitute for a real first aid course, but at least it serves to offer a general overview of what you can do in the face of a medical emergency. And if there is no one else around to help, no cops, no firemen, no EMT’s or paramedics, then you are the primary caregiver. You are responsible for treating and caring for your patient.

Up Next: Unusual Weapons From Around The World And How To Use Them

For awesome survival gear you can’t make at home, check out the Survival Life Store!

If you’re looking for other wilderness emergency medicine products, check out these options:

• For comprehensive information the Field Guide to Wilderness Medicine: Expert Consult book is a must.
• In order to prepare for a group, this 250 Piece First Aid Kit is an excellent options.
• For a compact and minimal kit, check out this First Aid Kit – 60 Pieces – Small and Light Soft Shell Case.

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