Roof Koreans

I lost all of my guns in a boating accident. Im going to invest in some roof Koreans

George Hayduke and his canteen cup

We old Infantry guys love our canteen cups. Mine - the one pictured was issued to me in my first TA-50 issue at Ft. Bragg when i served with the 82nd Airborne Division. I have used it all over the world for over 40 years, still going strong.

I was recently re-reading "The monkey wrench gang" by Edward Abbey and came across this passage where G.W. Hayduke the old Green Beret insists on using his G.I. canteen cup instead of a plate.....it kinda sums up how old grunts feel about their beloved cups.
"Grab a plate" said Smith to his customers, "And load up".

There was no hesitation; He served the steaks. Last in line and distaining a plate, Hayduke held out his G. I. canteen cup. Smith draped a giant steak over the cup, covering not only the cup but Hayduke's hand, wrist and forearm. "Eat" said Smith.

"Sweet holy mother*&%k" said Hayduke.

I am legend

So, I finally got around to watching "I am legend" This story written by Richard Matheson in 1954 was first adapted to film in 1964 in a film called "The last man on earth" starring Vinny price. Then it was redone in 1971 as "The Omega man" starring Charleton Heston. I heard recently that there is another low budget B movie titled "I am Omega" starring Mark Dacascos.

The picture/snap I posted here is the only one from the film that shows will smith even remotely holding his weapon properly. Im sure the tech advisor they hired to show mr. smith how to hold his weapon and move like a soldier was good, Im doubly sure smith didnt listen.

In this scene he is hunting deer in the city. Let me say, he cant hunt for shit. He has a rear end shot at the deer but lets it go.. Hes supposedly in survival mode, hunting sportsmanship is off the table at this point. He should have whacked it in the ass then went to quickly finish it off.

Then just before the scene closes a lion kills the deer he is hunting....what does he do? NOTHING. Me? I would have killed all 3 of those lions, then made a hash of deer and Lion backstrap for me and my dog that evening. I would have had 3 lion skins also.

THE LAST FUCKING THING I would do is let 3 lions run around my AO. I would all apex predators and practice a scorched earth policy, salvage everything I could, especially booze, C-gars, weapons, Ammo,food, fuel of all types, and cool art work just for my own house. THEN burn down everything in site.

1 more thing, if Lt. Colonel Nevil was trapped on the island, how did the lady get on there to rescue his dumb ass when he got his panties in a bundle about his idiot dog dying, then went out to kill zombies. the Colonel was an idiot. Leave it to hollyweird to fuck up a great story.

But, Im no expert


Just my 2cents

PREDATOR: DARK AGES

 Pimpilicious.

BLACKTAIL CANYON ODDITIES - Ft. Huachuca, Arizona

Blacktail Canyon Information Coordinates: 31.5670384°N, -110.4184137°W
Approx. Elevation: 5,072 feet (1,546 meters)
USGS Topo Map Quad: Pyeatt Ranch
Feature Type: Valley

Time: over a 2 day (48 hour) period

Month:November

Year:2014

Subject : odd sights and sounds in blacktail canyon

Blacktail canyon is a spooky place even in daylight when you are among friends. The canyon name must come from the black tail rattle snake, as this area is perfect rattler habitat.

My friend Matt and me went into the canyon many times in winter to collect firewood, and, each time we always felt like we were being watched. This place has a real creepy feeling. Oddly one 4^th of July Matt and me hiked up the canyon and sat down to eat lunch and we both found ourselves shivering with cold, this is an odd thing on a 100+ degrees (Fahrenheit) day.

It was over the 4 day Thanks giving weekend I asked Matt to drop me off in the canyon with my gear and enough water for a week. Blacktail canyon has no running water or springs. I hiked in my mountain of gear and set up my tarp and hammock as usual. As always I felt like I was being watched.

After I set up my camp I took a hike up canyon to have a bit of a scout and see what or who was about; it was hot (even for November), and I had not brought any water along with me. As a consequence I became dehydrated. Once back in camp , I cooked some food on my svea stove, drank a few cups of coffee with flax milk and honey, then at about an hour before sunset I retired to my hammock with my Mp3 player and some audio books.

As I was gently swinging in my hammock and listening to W.E.B. Griffins book “The Corps” I saw what looked like tracer rounds shoot between me and my tarp! At first it was slow - or just a few – then numerous “tracers” shot by for a few seconds followed by these weird looking “bug like” creatures that were the same color as the “tracers”. These bug like things looked a bit like paisley patterns I have seen on shirts, they were animated and moved in a manner like that of a worm.

I didnt know what to make of it but chocked it up to dehydration. As I lay there in the gathering twilight listening to my audio book, I though I heard a sound beyond that of what I was listening to. So, removing my ear buds, I heard this strange trumpeting sound which only lasted a few seconds at a time. It sounded like the noise was coming from the hill side I could see to the west of me. Very strange indeed!

I lay there listening. The creepiness of Blacktail canyon began to inch its way into my brain and I was spooking myself out and jumping at every sound. Eventually I settled down and went to sleep.... I awoke some time later to the brightest lights I have ever seen. 4 lights to be exact. The lights were coming down from the same hill side to the west I had heard the sounds come from. Oddly the lights made no sound , I mean there was no engine noise, or sounds of people (Illegals) who were trespassing on Ft. Huachuca. Believe me, if a group of people were walking in the dark down a hill side there would be lots of noise.

It was strange, and I did get up, put my shoes and jacket on . I sat in my crazy creek chair watching the lights and listening for any type of sounds. I heard nothing, not even bugs or birds. These lights came from the ridge line, descended the hill side, then went back to the ridge line then disappeared, maybe over a period of 10 minutes (?). The lights (4) were in a * *** (v down) formation as they descended then in a ** ** (^ up) formation as they went back up hill. I made a mental note and marked the area of the lights in my mind so that in the day light I could survey the area through my binoculars.

Over my morning cup of Joe, I glassed the ridge line and the hill side through my binoculars and saw nothing other than typical sonoran desert type habitat. I did notice that the hill side itself was very steep and possibly a 45 to 50 degree slope. This degree of slope would be nearly impossible for any people to descend in the dark, regardless of having lights. So, this to me ruled out people activity.

I didn't do much that day except stay around camp and work on some small projects I had brought along. Once again, there was that ever present feeling of being watched.

Late in the afternoon I cooked some grub, then grabbed my Mp3 player and retired to my hammock for the evening. Then it happened again! Tracers! No shit, so much for my previous evenings dehydration theory...... I laid there watching these “tracers” shoot by along with the weird bug looking things for a long time. They finally stopped and I simply fell to sleep. I didn't hear any odd trumpeting sounds that evening but later on I did see those 4 lights again!

Same thing, down the slope in one pattern then back up the slope in a different pattern....I tried to sleep but was in and out all night long. In the morning I decided to pack up and walk my ass back to town. I had enough of blacktail canyon and its anomalies.

I have never been back (Neither has Matt) to collect fire wood or simply look around. But I can tell you this....A friend who was a civilian cop on Ft. Huachuca told me some strange stories and about calls that were made to the department about this place.

If you ever find yourself at Ft. Huachuca, Arizona, go check out blacktail canyon, you might see some things you cant explain.

Arizona Bigfoot

Hannigans meadow bigfoot encounter

Time: dark – night/raining

Month: May

Year: 2009

Location: Near Hannigans meadow, white mountains Arizona

Subject: strange vocalizations in the night

Until 2009 I had never given thought to Bigfoot or any other such thing.My first encounter with wilderness paranormal was Back in 1990 while working at a wilderness school in Utah. My partner Luke and me had a group on Boulder mountain. This Mountain is the highest wooded plateau in North America, 11,000+ feet in elevation. In the rocky mountains most tree lines are around 9000+ feet or so. This makes Boulder Mountain unique. Anyway, we were bringing our group down off the plateau and moving toward the Awapa plateau when we discovered some huge barefoot , human looking tracks in the snow and mud. These tracks gave me cause to think about who or what had made them. I have been racking up similar experiences ever since.

In 2009, I was hitch hiking back to southern Arizona from visiting friends in Utah. I had been stuck at a place called witch well several miles south of Sanders ,Arizona on highway 191. For 2 days I couldn't get a ride. Luckily there was a water spigot at the witch wells tavern and I was able to keep hydrated. On the morning of the 3^rd day an elderly Navajo couple in a pick up truck stopped and offered me a lift. They were going to Tucson and were headed all the way down Hwy 191 past Benson, Az where I needed to go.

Cool! I hopped into the back of the truck and we were zipping down the road at about 70 mph when the window opened up and I was handed a chicken sandwich, some chips and a dr. pepper....I love hitching, it is the only endeavor I can think of where this type of thing occurs. One minute you are about dead from heat stroke and dehydration and the next minute you are zipping down the highway sipping a cold beverage and eating a sammich! Love it.

I was enjoying my sandwich and cold beverage while taking in the scenery. My “hosts” pulled into a circle K in Saint John, Az to fuel up , so I hopped out and went inside to buy, water, some bananas, a couple of bean burritos, and various other sundry items.

We took off and headed toward Alpine where we stopped again and got some coffee and had dinner at the bear wallow cafe.

The surrounding hills at Alpine made me decide to stay longer in the mountains so I told my “Hosts” that I would bang on the roof of the truck when I was a nice looking spot to camp. About maybe 10 or 12 miles down the road from Alpine, I saw a great looking spot with aspens and ponderosa pines – it was beautiful.

I banged on the roof as agreed and the driver pulled over. I hopped out and grabbed my pack, then stood chatting with these folks for a few more minutes. Before they pulled off the Mrs. handed me a bag of stuff like soda pop, sandwiches, chips, cookies, etc. I gave them a hardy thank you! And we waved good bye as they sped off down the road.

It was indeed a pretty place! I had never been in the white mountains before. I grabbed my 2 one gallon water jugs and bag of munchies then headed back into the woods.

I walked a pretty good ways back away from the road – maybe 800 yards or so. On the walk in I heard what sounded like someone hitting a tree with a stick, like whack!, whack,whack! I found a decent place to set up camp near an old oak tree, with a good flat area. I built a shelter or poncho hooch as we called it in the Army. As I was making the “Hooch” , I kept hearing the tree knocks and they seem to be moving around me in a arc or circle. The sound seemed to always come from a different place.

I cleared an area for a fire and got a blaze going. I heated some water and made some coffee and corn chowder, and ate a burrito. Not bad! As I was tending the fire, I heard thunder and saw some pretty threatening clouds building. I do love rain, especially when Im camping. The rain held off until about dark then it began to pour and I dove into my poncho hooch and forted up for the evening.

I loved laying in my shelter and hearing the rain beat down, it was comforting , I was warm, dry and secure in my shelter, I had some munchies close at hand (no I didn't hang a bear bag). Soon, I fell to sleep to the sounds of rain and rolling thunder.

Later on in the night I was awakened to by some odd and scary sounding vocalizations. The rain had stopped and so did the thunder – and it was pitch black. I cant really describe the way the vocalizations sounded but I can say they sounded like gibberish with whoops and whistles, snarls, stick banging, and even something that sounded like a question – yes, a question, but in a language that was not understandable. It sounded something like “Whaaaadu wadda wah” and it was repeated 3 times....Honestly, at first I though someone was out there in the dark fucking with me, but I remembered how far I was from the road and I was pretty well hidden among the trees.

It was scary, I will admit, and marks the 1^st time I was ever truly scared in the wilderness. Except for maybe that Grizzly bear encounter in Montana back in '84.

These shenanigans kept up for a few minutes then just faded out. I don't remember any smell good or bad. Had I been thinking I could have turned on my camera on video mode and at least got some audio of this strange encounter. I have never been in the habit of carrying a head lamp or flashlight with me camping. Why? Its simple, when its dark I go to bed.....

Needless to say but, I didnt sleep any more that night....I stayed wide awake for all the rest of that eternal night....it was the night that lasted for several nights. Or so it seemed. I was wondering who or what it could have been that paid me a visit, nothing “Normal” that's for sure.

As soon as it was light I took a long look around, opting for an aggressive stance rather than a submissive one. I went to the area I thought the “Beast” had stood and looked in the pine duff for any tracks, distinct or otherwise. I did see some depressions but couldn't say what they were for sure.

So, with a shrug of my shoulders, I started packing up my gear and lit a shuck for the highway. I went back to Alpine. I got a ride from a lady that worked a fire tower in the area, she told me about the mogollon monster that had been sited in the area since the 1860s. Especially around Hannigans meadow where I had been camping....Later on I did some research into the Arizona Bigfoot, and there are numerous sightings and encounters dating, as I was told to the 1860s. Even a few deaths.

You can check it out yourself, A simple internet search will reveal lots of great stories referencing the Arizona Bigfoot.

DOG MAN ENCOUNTER?

Time : after moon rise

Month: March? April?

Year: 2012?

Location (Latitude: 31-33'48'' NLongitude: 110-20'04'' W): Upper Garden canyon picnic area. Ft. Huachuca, Arizona (stealth camp)

Subject: Dogman?

It was under a full moon in either the months of march or April in 2012 while stealth camping near the upper garden canyon picnic area on Fort Huachuca military reservation, that I had an interesting sighting or encounter with what I can only describe as a dogman.

Earlier in the afternoon my friend Matt had dropped me off on Garden canyon road with enough food and gear to last me for a week. I headed into the woods and went to one of my favorite stealth camping sites on base.

I did the usual things like set up my hammock and tarp, ate some chow, read my book, listened to music on my Mp3 player etc. My habit while camping is to go to bed when it gets dark. Im pretty lazy when it comes to making a fire . Why? Well, fires require fuel, fuel means work, and besides a fire is impractical while stealth camping. Nothing gives you away quicker than a fire.

Anyway, I lay in my hammock listening to music when I noticed a lot of light activity around the Aerostat blimp on base – I think my camp was only about 2 miles as the crow flies from the blimp.

I turned of my Mp3 player and just watched the lights circling around in the sky. A wind had picked up and my tarp was flapping loudly in the breeze so I got up and took it down, thereby enjoying an unobstructed view of the beautiful Arizona night sky. I concentrated mostly on the lights in the sky and noticed that the moon was on the rise, I took in that spectical as well. The ambient light under a full moon in the Sonoran desert is enough to read a book by. It was bright and since the wind had died down, I put my tarp back up to cut out the moon light while I tried to sleep.

I lay in my hammock drifting in and out of sleep kind of “cat napping”. I drank some water and watched the circling lights some more. I notice one light descend to the road and I could see the brightness of that light through the trees. No, it wasn't the moon light, the moon was high in the sky by that time. Odd I thought, there was a nice cool breeze blowing down from the peaks and I then fell to sleep listening to crickets, whippoorwills and pygmy owls.

Sometime later (Maybe 2 hand spans of the moon) I awoke to total silence in the woods, not one sound could be heard –no bugs, no birds, no wind - not even in the distance – I did have an odd mechanical like sound in my ears -

I was laying in my asym hammock on my right side when I did hear an odd sounding breathing, so I rolled over on my back and looked over my left shoulder and I saw was what I can only describe as an anubus (the man with the jackal head seen on Egyptian tombs), holding up the edge of my tarp looking at me. I was terrified and couldn't move. I could hear its odd breathing and smelled a odor that reminded me of a cat box. Finally the spell broke and I shouted a colorful metaphor and grabbed for my browning high power. This beast dropped my tarp edge, ran 2 or 3 steps on its hind legs, then dropped down on all fours and ran off into the moonlit shadows of the scrub oak forest. I had wondered about how tall is was bipedal. I usually set my tarps high enough for myself to walk under with out stooping. That would have made this thing 7 or 8 feet tall. Maybe black or Grey in color. It was hard to tell in the moonlight. This was a sentient being of some type, definitely real.

No, I hadn't been drinking, nor had I been smoking weed and doing 'shrooms, I simply saw yet another oddity in the Huachuca mountains.

It was pretty scary, there was still no sound of any kind or any breeze blowing. I took down my tarp and packed my gear all the while listening for anything, and sound besides the sounds of my packing – nothing came to my ears.

I sat down in my crazy creek chair and pulled my 9mm browning Highpower, waiting for daylight. That was one of the longest nights in my memory. Slowly the sounds returned to the forest .Once the sun had nearly cleared the Mule mountains to the east and it was light enough to see, I cached my food and shouldered my packed then bushwacked back to my friends house in town. Honestly, I have never been back to stealth camp in that area. I have gone back to the area only once for a day hike.

Once I was back in town, I told my friend Matt about it and he called it a “dogman”. I had never heard of such a thing, so I got online and did some research. What I found is that there have been literally hundreds of sightings around the world of what people were describing as a Dogman. Their collective descriptions sounded exactly like what I saw. It was definitely a unique experience.

The pronhorned Antelope

The North American pronghorned antelope (Antilocapra americana) is the fastest animal in the world. Some would argue that it is infact the cheeta that is fastest. I disagree. Why? while it is true that the cheeta can run up to 60 miles per hour for short bursts, The North American Pronghorned Antelope (NAPA), can run a sustained speed of 45 miles an hour or so, for 3 or 4 miles. Pretty Impressive. I have had Male antelope cut in front of my truck while driving on a gravel road, and just stay there and run straight down the road as if racing me and my truck.

 The other day I was exploring the edge of Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah and found the skull cap from a Proghorn. It was pretty old and well weathered. I was reminded that the Pronghorn Antelope is the only member of the horned species that actually sheds ist horns - like the deer family sheds their antlers.

Back in the day on the voyage of discovery, Lewis and Clark made several observations on the behavior of the pronghorn and how the local tribes hunted them. They described the animal, which they referred to as the "Antelope" or the "Goat", as follows:

Of all the animals we have seen the Antelope seems to possess the most wonderful fleetness. Shy and timorous they generally repose only on the ridges, which command a view of all the approaches of an enemy ... When they first see the hunters they run with great velocity ... The Indians near the Rocky Mountains hunt these animals on horseback, and shoot them with arrows. The Mandans' mode of hunting them is to form a large, strong pen or fold, from which a fence made of bushes gradually widens on each side. The animals are surrounded by the hunters, and gently driven towards this pen, in which they imperceptibly find themselves enclosed, and are then at the mercy of the hunters.

The Vietnamese Tarzan. FULL DOCUMENTARY

"Social Distancing" expert. I love to eat bamboo rat myself. and yes, the head is the best part

Bushcrap3.0

ladies and gentlemen I am struck. I was recently sent a link for a YouTube channel featuring an SF type as a wilderness survival expert.

I took a look at the videos, there is some useful information contained there in but (to me) juvenile and frat boyish.... I took a look at the individuals bio and aside from 26 years in special operations there was no evidence of any type of outdoor school or qualifying skills. Being able to make a Ferro rod fire and a poncho hooch does not qualify you as a wilderness expert.

This individual - like the other SF "experts" I have met has never spent any length of time in a remote wilderness with minimal gear and no support network. They have spent time in austere hostile environments with the Army but that is a far cry from a wilderness.

Bottom line - if you are some type of military special operator and you make the claim of being a wilderness expert you are a straight up liar. Get some actual training, like with a JMBS expedition course, maybe outward bound, national outdoor leadership school, or even a Tom Brown tracker course. Sprinkle in becoming a raft guide, wilderness EMT WFR. Then get some actual solo wilderness experience,Then make your claim.....it will give you much more credibility.

Thanks for your service.

Colonel Tomahawk

The Hunted - final Knife fight scene

The 2003 flick The Hunted - loosely based on the life of Tom Brown jr. I believe, was for me a bit of a shit show. The knife fight scenes with the combatants displaying the filipino fighting art Sayoc kali.
As was the final scenes where each of the dudes were making knives in their own styles. 

William Friedkin’s 2003 thriller The Hunted is not a remarkable film. The movie sees Tommy Lee Jones track rogue assassin Benicio Del Toro who in turn is hunting and killing the most dangerous game of all, man. It’s a potboiler of a thriller for sure but the film distinguishes itself with some heart pounding, visceral fight sequences.

The film’s credits list two knife fight choreographers, Thomas Kier and Rafael Kayanan, both practitioners of the Filipino martial art, Sayoc Kali (The Art of the Blade). Del Toro and Jones worked extensively to ensure the hand-to-hand combat in the film had a realistic and brutal feeling to it. Friedkin pulls no punches in filming these fights and a lot of credit goes to the sound department for making every cut sound suitably squishy.

There are a number of standout fights in this film. At one point Del Toro dispatches two heavily armed agents with nothing but his trusty knife. Jones and Del Toro face-off a couple of times in the film, there’s a good hand-to-hand encounter in a wooded area a little ways into the film that ends with Del Toro taking a sleeping dart to the back. However, The Hunted‘s best sequence comes at the close of the film when all bets are off and the two men must battle it out for survival.

First man out with Ed Stafford - S1

I got word from one of the pimp minions about a show called "First man out" with Ed Stafford. I have seen a few of  Eds show about adventure travel and survival. I like them for the most part, and Stafford seems like a good cat.

Anyhoo, this show featured Matt Graham in Mongolia and John Hudson in Northern India. I worked with both of these dudes on season one of a TV show called "Dude you're screwed" AKA "Survive that" outside of the USA. This show also has an episode with EJ Snyder in Thailand.

I Have never met EJ face to face, but I have talked to him on the phone, and chatted online several times over the years. Ironically I was even present when Tim Smith of the Jack Mountain bushcraft school in Maine interviewed EJ for his first TV appearance on Naked and Afraid. Long story short, Matt, John and EJ are decent guys. So is Ed for that matter.

Lets break down Matts episode in Mongolia a bit. Typical of Matt he shows up in his bush hippy garb and home made sandals - trivia fact; Matt makes his sandals from riding lawn mower tires. He was also sporting his trademark broken machete as his tool of choice for the trek.This particular knife is now Matts signature blade. I was told by Matt that its simply a machete (Tramontina?) that he broke while camping in Baja, or Hawaii, I cant remember now. He also said he carved down the rubber handle to fit his hand better, fucked it up, so he had to wrap it with leather...true story.

Ok, back to Mongolia - Ed and Matt light out across the edge of the desert, Im not sure its the Gobi, but saying so is good for the TV cool factor. I lived in Mongolia where I worked as a teacher for 2 years. I know that country pretty well.

Personally I think the show was divided up, and filmed in different locations then edited to look like it was shot over a few days. Ok,, so, Matt runs down into a valley, good idea. Why? because that is where the water is at, as well as raw materials for survival. In Matts case he also wants materials to construct an Atlatl and darts.

Matt follows the 4 basics of survival; 1. shelter - he makes a tipi type leanto shelter, 2. water finds it in the area. 3. fire - Matt makes fire using the bow and drill method. Excellent idea due to the available resources in the area, ie., willow, aspen, larch. there may even be sub alpine fir, I didnt notice any in the frame. 4. food - nothing, tighten your belt.

Matt constructs his signature weapon - the Atlatl and some darts, grabs a hunk of Ice for drinking water then takes off across the desert. blah,blah, Matt beats Ed to the finish.

Next; Hudson in India.

John and Ed are dropped off somewhere in the Himalayas, Hudson looks to be packing his usual Swiss army knife ( I dont know the model ). I remember on the DYS shoot he always favored this type of blade. I like a SAK myself, especially one with a saw and scissors.

These 2 poor bastards are in the Himalayas during monsoon season, and the skies open up on them. They are both soaked to the bone, it looks miserable. Both men find a cave like over hang for shelter and ride out a miserable night. If they actually spent the entire night out there they had to me near hypothermic by the early AM.

day 2 - finds our explorers searching for food, water and a route. watching and listening to Ed eat that little snake was a bit nauseating. Hudson made a sling shot and killed a mountain crow. You dont actually see John make fire, but you do see him attempt to make fire ; he prepares tinder, has a piece of a file ( I assume is for throwing sparks ), and a bit of rag soaked in fuel. They flash to Hudson throwing sparks with 2 stones on to his bit of rag. then flash to Ed making a friction fire, then back to Hudson sitting around a cheery blaze.

Knowing how TV works, I doubt John actually made a fire on his own, due to the conditions and camera pressure. Im not saying he cannot make fire in that method, but for the sake of time on TV Im about 90% sure he had some assistance.

Once again, blah,blah,blah. Ed beats Hudson to the finish. story over. It was actually good to see Hudson again even though it was on TV. I would personally like to see John do more on screen stuff.

EJ AKA "Ogre" in Thailand;

Chiang mai province,Thailand. I know it well. I have maintained a residence there since 2006. I also know the Mountains well, and am friends with the Blacksmiths, tool makers, and Knife makers in the CM area. Watching EJ on this episode was like being back home.

I noticed that he and Ed both carried the typical Thai style jungle found in that region. I dont like the wooden handle style these cats carried because the handle always come off. They are only burned in the glued with a pitch type resin. If you look close you will see that the blade EJ is using loses its handle after a short time.

I learned how to make these knives by my blacksmithing mentor Saijung Kaipo in Northern Thailand. The handles are usually construction grade hard bamboo. Personally, I prefer the hollow handle type.

Ok, back to the jungle. These 2 pimps boogey through the woods, EJ eats some banana tree, and collects some to eat along the way. Ed searches for a way down a steep slope. They continue to trek, looking for routs to the river. Ed digs a sump for water, EJ stops to look for wood grubs, then breaks the handle off his knife.

EJ finds and kills a snake, makes a fire with a bamboo fire saw, dines in regal splendor. Ed meanwhile sneaks around EJ, Blah,Blah,Blah, beats him to the finish thereby becoming the First man out in 2 episodes. All in all, I like this show. Hell Bells , I would even consider doing an episode myself if Ed had the balls to ask me. I doubt he ever would though because Im afraid he wouldnt like having his limey ass kicked by an old man.

See you pimps on the trail!

The Special forces survival "experts" on TV

Annoying in the extreme, not only to myself but to a great many others are the TV Survival experts from the ranks of Army Special feces. I have viewed the various websites and youtube pages of these so called "experts" and can find NOTHING that actually qualifies them as experts in wilderness survival. Simply being an Army SF operator, Navy SEAL, Ranger, etc. does not automatically qualify a person as a survival expert.

I think this misconception comes from Rambo actually......And people, being stupid tend to believe what they see on TV or in the movies... stupid yes, but there it is.

I had the displeasure of working with one such Army type on a Survival reality TV show I co-hosted on Dick-scovery. This joker was touted as a Survival expert...In reality he had never spent a night alone in the wilderness or even camping..

As a military operator or a TV "expert" you are never alone in the outdoors, and there is a vast support network to draw upon. If these SF type MOFOs want to impress me and many others, they should grab a small pack, buy a one way ticket to some 3rd world shit hole and come back home 3 or 4 years later, and do it on their own. Relying on a vast support network doesnt make you an expert. It makes you a needy follower.

Oh! and guess what? If you dont like what I wrote about TV SF types, I do not give a rat fuck. Pull your panties out of your special crack , quit crying like a pussy and move on to the next blog. 

Tomahawk - Out!  

Enemy mine - a survival flicked wrapped in Sci-Fi

Enemy Mine - kind of a cool flick in the survivalesque genera. There is actual "aviation" type survival gear; Knives etc. One thing I noticed is that Davidge made 2 different bows in the film. The 1st was made from parts salvaged off the crashed ships, and the 2nd appears to be made from a type of wood bound with leather made from the hides of the giant bugs they were eating. Kinda cool.

The Survival knife used in the flick is one of those hollow handled types that were popular with TV and faux survival types in the 80s. Yes, I owned a few also. I have forgotten the manufacturer but they were made of cheap steal, they were hard to sharpen, didnt keep and edge, had a weak hilt and a useless saw back.

Enemy Mine is a 1985 West German-American dark science fiction drama film directed by Wolfgang Petersen and written by Edward Khmara, based on Barry B. Longyear's novella of the same name. The film stars Dennis Quaid and Louis Gossett, Jr. as a human and alien soldier, respectively, who become stranded together on an inhospitable planet and must overcome their mutual distrust in order to cooperate and survive.

The film began production in Budapest in April 1984 under the direction of Richard Loncraine, who quickly ran into "creative differences" with producer Stephen Friedman and executives at 20th Century Fox; the project was shut down after a week of shooting. Petersen then took over as director and reshot Loncraine's scenes after moving the production to Munich.

Originally budgeted at $17 million, the film ultimately cost more than $40 million after marketing costs were factored in, and was a box office bomb during the 1985 holiday season, earning only a little over $12 million. However, the film had a big success in the former Soviet Union, where it became the first Western sci-fi film shown in the theaters. It gained a cult following afterwards.

Dutch from Predator in Survival mode

The Improvised bow made and used by Dutch in the 1987 flick Predator is what we in the survival industry call a "quickie bow" or a 3 hour bow. They are simple to make, and designed to give you a quickly made weapon that is easy to use. They are not designed for the long term but are excellent for bow fishing or shooting small birds or other small game. The one made by Dutch in this film would be impossible to pull. The arrows look kinda cool though. The article below is a decent read . Check it out and see what you think.

https://www.therpf.com/forums/threads/dutchs-improvised-bow.324188/

We all remember the scene in P1 when Dutch sits in the tree and lashes together a bow from sticks, and makes an explosive arrow from grenade powder. Well, here is my version of Dutch's improvised bow:

Dutch's bow is actually a real improvised weapon that people are taught to make in survival courses, called a "bundle bow". It's made by binding together different lengths of straight thin tree branches to form a tapered bow that bends evenly on both sides. A bundled bow made from sticks won't last long, maybe a few dozen shots before the sticks begin cracking and losing power.

My version is permanent, though. Instead of sticks, it's made from thin fiberglass rods that I got from Home Depot by cutting the reflector heads off the driveway markers in the "home" section. These rods are advertised as 48" long, but in reality they're only 44"--a bit short for a workable bow but usable anyway. If you can find fiberglass electric fence posts or something similar that are longer, I'd suggest using them instead.

You can adjust the strength and draw weight of the bow by varying the number and arrangement of rods. The version pictured here is an early test version that ended up being stiffer than I liked, so I removed some of the rods--I also moved the bowstring notch out further to be closer to the end of the bow. After a bit of experimenting by assembling and disassembling, I ended up using seven rods total. Three of these I kept intact, and bundled together at each end using duct tape covered with a layer of twine. Then I cut three more rods and placed the center of these around the center of the bow, so the ends were several inches down from the first layer at both ends. I taped and twined these into place. And then I took one rod and cut it in half to give two 2-foot pieces, which I placed centered at the front of the bow and taped/twined into place. At each end of the bow, I cut off about half an inch of one of the three rods to make a notch for the bowstring to rest in.

The bowstring was made by braiding together several pieces of jute twine.

The finished bow draws, I would guesstimate, about 40-45 pounds. A couple test shots showed that at 10 yards it shoots flat and hits hard.

Since lengthening a bow decreases its draw weight, if you make it the full 48 inches long (using longer fiberglass rods), you can add back the lost draw weight by bundling another short rod with the third layer, to the belly of the bow.

If you would like a lower draw weight, start by removing the two shortest pieces, then if necessary remove the second-layer pieces one at a time until you hit the draw weight you want. It's best to hold all the rods together temporarily with duct tape, and do the final twine covering only after everything is set the way you want it to be.

What happened to Royce after Predators?

Royce and all of the others trapped on this hunting preserve were idiots. The movie was pretty stupid from a survival standpoint. Not one single thing was salvaged by these "soldiers", and they fired off ammo like their supply was unlimited. Also, they seemed - especially Royce - to enjoy throwing away their clothing.



anyhoo, my thoughts on this flick.  2.5 stars

Sergeant Henry Johnson World War I

  
"Using grenades, the butt of his rifle, a bolo knife, and his bare fists"

Sergeant William Henry Johnson July 15, 1892 – July 1, 1929, commonly known as Henry Johnson, was one hell of a scrapper and a United States Army soldier who performed heroically in the first African American unit of the United States Army to engage in combat in World War I.

On watch in the Argonne Forest on May 14, 1918, he fought off a German raid in hand-to-hand combat, killing multiple German soldiers and rescuing a fellow soldier while experiencing 21 wounds, in an action that was brought to the nation's attention by coverage in the New York World and The Saturday Evening Post later that year. On June 2, 2015 he was awarded the Medal of Honor  posthumously in a ceremony at the White House.

The French Army assigned Johnson's regiment to Outpost 20 on the edge of the Argonne Forest in the Champagne region of France and equipped them with French rifles and helmets. While on observation post duty on the night of May 14, 1918, Private Johnson came under attack by a large German raiding party, which may have numbered as many as 24 German soldiers.

Using grenades, the butt of his rifle, a bolo knife, and his bare fists, Johnson repelled the Germans, thereby rescuing Needham Roberts from capture and saving the lives of his fellow soldiers. Johnson suffered 21 wounds during this ordeal. This act of valor earned him the nickname of "Black Death", as a sign of respect for his prowess in combat. 

In 1918, racism against African Americans was common among white U.S. soldiers in the U.S. military, but French attitudes differed. Johnson was recognized by the French with a Croix de guerre with star and bronze palm, and was the first U.S. soldier in World War I to receive that honor.

Johnson died, poor and in obscurity, in 1929. From 1919 on, Henry Johnson's story has been part of wider consideration of treatment of African Americans in the Great War. There was a long struggle to achieve awards for him from the U.S. military. He was finally awarded the Purple Heart in 1996. In 2002, the U.S. military awarded him the Distinguished Service Cross. Previous efforts to secure the Medal of Honor failed, but in 2015 he was posthumously honored with the award.

Military awards;
The French government awarded Johnson the Croix de guerre with a special citation and a golden palm. He was the first American to receive the award.

In June 1996, Johnson was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart by President Bill Clinton. In February 2003, the Distinguished Service Cross, the Army's second highest award, was presented to Herman A. Johnson, one of the Tuskegee Airmen, on behalf of his father. John Howe, a Vietnam War veteran who had campaigned tirelessly for recognition for Johnson, and U.S. Army Major General Nathaniel James, President of the 369th Veterans' Association, were present at the ceremony in Albany.

Herman Perry in Burma WW2

You dont need a patch on your sleeve to be a special operator. Take the case of Private Herman Perry in WW2. Perry was an Army engineer working on the Ledo road which lead from India to Kunming china. He was supposedly coming down from a opium high when he shot his CO. He then ran off into the jungle with his rifle and took up a life of jungle living with the Naga head hunting people. He was finally captured in Assam on March 9, 1945, and his death sentence—by hanging—was carried out on March 15.

His story was recounted in 2008 as Now the Hell Will Start: One Soldier's Flight From the Greatest Manhunt of World War II by Brendan I. Koerner; George Pelecanos called it "A fascinating, untold story of the Second World War, an incendiary social document, and a thrilling, campfire tale adventure."

He was born near Monroe, North Carolina. As a soldier in the army's 849th Engineer Bn. he served in the China-Burma-India Theater, helping to construct the Ledo Road.

On March 3, 1944, Perry's CO, Lt. Harold Cady, attempted to apprehend him for dereliction of duty and place him in the area's military prison. Perry had previously served time in this prison and was well aware of the abuses that went on there. When he was found he was holding a rifle and repeatedly warned Cady not to approach him and to "Get back."

Cady continued to advance and Perry fired his rifle, killing Cady. He fled into the wilderness and lived out a fugitive's life of jungle survival, discovering and adapting to the headhunting lifestyle of the Naga people of northeastern India and northern Burma. He was caught twice by the Army but escaped both times. After being captured the second time he was tried for murder and convicted, being sentenced to death by a military court on September 4, 1944.