Table of contents for August/September #44 2021 in RECOIL OFFGRID

It’s often said that what salt is to food, passion is to teaching. During his formative years, Kevin Estela would listen intently to his father’s stories of living off the land in the jungles of the Philippines during World War II, because it was the only way for their family to escape death or imprisonment. He realized early on that survival isn’t an occupation or hobby — it’s a way of life. Those real examples of hardship and struggle piqued his interest in the outdoors and helped him develop a knack for breaking down complex concepts into easily digestible skills. Although he could’ve comfortably rode out his position as a tenured history teacher into retirement, he knew instinctively that he had a higher calling. When presented with an opportunity to…

For those lucky enough to acquire a property with a thriving orchard, the benefits are obvious in the first year. What’s not immediately clear is all the decision-making and patience that were necessary in the beginning. There’s an old proverb: “The best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. The second-best time is today.” That certainly applies to fruits. Once established, though, one can expect years of production. Blueberries, for instance, can produce for up to 50 years. Standard apples and pears can be productive for 35 to 45 years. Consider fruits a multigenerational investment. In addition to being long-lived, fruits are versatile, both in terms of usage and storage capacity. Fruits can be eaten fresh or rendered into jams, jellies, juices, fruit leathers, cider, and wine. They…

Take a look at the animal kingdom and pay careful attention to the physiology of successful predators. You’ll notice a few common threads, such as sharp claws and teeth, quick reflexes, strong muscles, and precise senses. Although some hunters rely primarily on enhanced smell, touch, and hearing, many of the most dominant species have fine-tuned vision. Eagles, for example, have eyes that are disproportionately large for their heads, with deep central foveas and extremely high rod and cone cell density. According to Live Science, an average eagle has vision four to five times more precise than a human’s, in addition to vastly improved low-light acuity and color perception — they can see parts of the color spectrum we can’t, including ultraviolet light. So, it’s no surprise that these birds can…

Traumatic injuries occur in the tens of millions every year in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), close to 2-million victims of trauma require hospitalization annually. In normal times, trauma victims have the benefit of an infrastructure that allows rapid stabilization and transport to a modern medical facility. The off-grid medic, however, has no such access, but is even more likely to be confronted by traumatic injuries. In survival scenarios, mishaps related to activities of daily survival are bound to occur. Those unaccustomed to, say, chopping wood for fuel could easily end up requiring intervention by someone with medical skills in the event of an accident. One of those skills is wound closure. The well-rounded medic should be familiar with the various methods…

According to the National Archive of Criminal Justice Data, 9 p.m. is the peak hour for violent crime. Despite this fact, many of us train almost exclusively during the day. Does that make sense to you? No? Good. If you wish to be truly prepared, your training must be realistic, and this means you need to learn how to defend yourself effectively around the clock. With this in mind, I recently took a day-and-night carbine class from Red Rock 360 Tactical in Marana, Arizona. The class is typically split into five-hour sessions on two days, but our class was condensed into a single day. Head instructor Frank Munoz, a USMC scout sniper (retired) and active paramedic, began the afternoon portion of the class by checking students’ fundamentals, including our ability…

I ask because I am not. Period. Full-stop. As the editor of a survival magazine, it’s a bit of a skeleton in my closet that I don’t spend Saturday afternoons building my own rainwater collectors, smelting metal in my backyard forge, or freezing bricks of my signature pemmican. Like most of you, I imagine, I keep a couple cases of bottled water, MREs, batteries, and other sundries around, and I take as many training classes as my budget and schedule will allow to try and fill in the gaps. We’ve spent a lot of time in the last couple of issues focusing on inherently urban aspects of survival. But the weather is warming up and many people are heading outdoors, whether to a secluded family cabin, beach house, or a…

It’s impossible to predict the flashpoint that could reduce a city to chaos in a matter of hours. One thing is for sure: There will always be some among us who are looking for an excuse to see the world burn. We’ve watched certain U.S. cities silently condone violent civil unrest in 2020, blithely lumping it into the same category as peaceful protests. What will that flagrant disregard for safety and stability culminate in this year? Rather than throw caution to the wind and assume “everything will be alright,” we decided to look into a situation that could potentially have a devastating impact on commerce. What if your hometown was so consumed with rioting that the services and supplies you take for granted suddenly became unavailable? The Scenario: SITUATION TYPE…

Modern humans often take for granted the sheer amount of resources we acquire from a forest. If you’re living in a constructed home, chances are it was built out of products acquired from trees. When you use the restroom, chances are you're drying your hands or cleaning your tuchus with materials made from trees. Everything from the books we read to the holiday cards we send are gleaned from forest products. Go back only as far as half a century, and the ability to procure and process wood was even more crucial to the survival of humanity. Timber was used almost exclusively to build nearly every structure, ignited to cook food, boil water, and to keep smithing forges hot. Is Paul Bunyan Passé? We find ourselves in a unique time…

Water is one of the fundamental elements required for human life. If you’re completely cut offfrom any form of drinking water, you could die in as little as three days, depending on environmental factors and your level of physical exertion. However, a total absence of water usually isn’t the problem — it’s much more likely that you’ll be able to find a lake, pond, creek, or a puddle somewhere in the vicinity. Even if these natural water sources look clean, they can be teeming with dangerous bacteria (such as Cholera and E. coli) that would only be visible through a microscope. Even if they smell clean, they can contain dormant parasites (such as cryptosporidium and giardia) and viruses (such as hepatitis A and norovirus). Even if they’re not shallow or…

From a medical standpoint, dehydration is never your friend, but when it comes to food, dehydration can extend life instead of ending it. Long before the age of refrigeration and freezers, our ancestors figured out that if you remove moisture from food, it’ll last longer. This has been observed all over the world, from seeds and fruits to meat and fish, proving this an effective method. As a prepared citizen, you should already be familiarizing yourself with growing, hunting, and gathering some of your own food. Previous issues of this publication have contained numerous articles covering ways to grow your own food, and some on ways to preserve it, such as canning, pickling, and, of course, freezing. In many states, hunting seasons change throughout the year, allowing you to harvest…

› 1¾ cup water› 1 chicken bouillon cube (or your desired flavor)› 1 cup soup mix (adjust amounts to what’s available or preferred tastes)› Dehydrated onion› Dehydrated carrot› Dehydrated bell pepper› Dehydrated kale and chard mix› Dehydrated tomato powder› Pinch of pepper› Pinch of garlic powder Begin to heat water and add bouillon. As water heats, add soup mix and garlic powder. Boil for 10 minutes covered, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and let steep for another five to 10 minutes. Stir and add pepper (and/or other spices) to taste and enjoy. This recipe can be prepared beforehand by adding all ingredients to a plastic bag for easy transport — just pour into a cup and add hot water. For a thorough step-by-step guide to making dehydrated soup base, go…

There are inherent risks at every turn when it comes to firearms, and like anything with a modicum of danger, they’re unforgiving of human error. DISCLAIMER: It’s legal for you to build your own firearms. Convicted felons or other prohibited persons, however, cannot. There may also be other applicable laws where you live, so double check the regulations in your jurisdiction. The following article is for educational and entertainment purposes only. CMG West, its parent entities, and subsidiaries shall be held harmless in the event any entity acts on information provided in this article. Back in Issue 37, we built a 410-gauge shotgun from a kit and a bunch of metal pipe fittings. One thing about building that particular piece was that even the parts kit that was provided by…

The concept of Every Day Carry is to allow perpetual access to tools to increase resilience in times of need. Simply put, it’s valuable to have gear readily accessible to deal with most situations I may come across in the course of my day. Aside from simply meeting my own immediate needs, it also allows me to help others. Depending on the environment, context, and level of preparedness you’re trying to achieve, you can tailor your EDC loadouts accordingly. For my purposes, I prefer a messenger bag while moving around an urban environment on foot, in a car, or on public transit. Realistically, you can’t be ready for everything all the time, especially when it’s all carried in a smaller bag. So, I balance a mix of capability, cost, weight,…