[Swampwood]

Just to make a point to those thinking that they can go out and kill game to feed their family.

To start, I have been a hunter for over 30 yrs., 6yrs military, knowledge of the woods(swamp in this case).. Me and my son have spent 18 hrs over the last 2 days Turkey hunting. Saw lots of deer, fox, coyote, **** and turkey sign..But, not one visual or sound from game.
If my family was depending on me for the game right now.. we'd be hungry

Considering an after SHTF situation, with an increase of hunters in the woods, game would become scarce rapidly.:xeye:

 

[justin_baker]

Yeah, but it really just depends where you are. Ive hunted in places where there is more than enough game to feed me. In one area, i saw about 15 deer, 90 turkeys, and probably 10-15 squirrels in a day of hiking. There have been places where ive seen hardly any animals. All the more reason to dry and smoke lots of meat when you travel from place to place. You never know if your going to end up in a place where your preserved meat will save you from starvation. Also a reason why you should carry steel traps. As your stalking out in the woods you will find good places to put them. That will increase your chances a lot.

 

[Teslin]

The other day, driving just around the outside of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, on the road, dead (apparently of a head strike from a car), was a very large wild turkey. I so wanted to get out and pick it up, take it home, and dress it, but, I was staying in a hotel so I suppressed the urge. Guess the desire to collect that sort of 'treasure' comes from living in the Yukon for years ... roadkill stew was never an issue with me. Saves on trekking through the woods, and on bullets. It is best, of course, when you hit it yourself so you know it is fresh! But, it is good to know that, if the time comes when it will not pay to be squeamish, that I have already developed a 'taste' for treats from the open road.

 

[tjswampy]

I've had two very disappointing deer seasons in a row...

I hate buying beef...

 

[homesteader1]

If it was a SHTF situation you would take any game you saw. The hunting seasons would mean nothing.

 

[tjswampy]

If it was a SHTF situation you would take any game you saw. The hunting seasons would mean nothing.

True...but it isn't always as easy as just toting to the woods and knocking something over...that's all...

 

[SgtBooker44]

If it was a SHTF situation you would take any game you saw. The hunting seasons would mean nothing.

Absolutely correct. Multiply that by the number of hungry people with a rifle and 5 rounds and the game population will vanish. That and folks who see two, will take both because they never know when or if another will come along.

My dad grew up in Arkansas during the last Depression. The deer population almost went completely gone, extinct. The State opened deer farms and actualy raised them back to normal populations.

If TSHTF, game will become scarce, no matter where you hunt. Others will either kill the game off, or run it off with a huge amount of pressure.

"I need to feed my family" will not respect the "Posted, No Hunting" sign.

 

[angeryamerican]

I would have to disagree, to a point. Would the woods be full of folks looking for game? Sure. But how many have the ability and endurance to be successful. Not to mention, they will look for the obivious game, deer, turkey and limb rats maybe. There is a alot of game. Dove, ducks, turkey, frogs and fish.

But most of the common folks of our society dont have the ability to do this. How long are they are they goin be able to stumble around the woods? Hunting, at least i Florida, isnt a real easy job. t takes time, and skill. The you have to know what to do with it once yo uhave it. I feel there would an initial impact. Resultung in lotsof wasted game Most folks couldnt dress a kill.

After all McCandless starved to death while a moose cow rotted outside his bus.

 

[justin_baker]

If TSHTF, game will become scarce, no matter where you hunt. Others will either kill the game off, or run it off with a huge amount of pressure.

Unless your smack dab in the middle of the canadian or alaskan wilderness.

 

[vicdotcom]

I would be hunting for worms in the ground with my shovel. Always a guaranteed meal.

 

[MikeK]

Just to make a point to those thinking that they can go out and kill game to feed their family.

To start, I have been a hunter for over 30 yrs., 6yrs military, knowledge of the woods(swamp in this case).. Me and my son have spent 18 hrs over the last 2 days Turkey hunting. Saw lots of deer, fox, coyote, **** and turkey sign..But, not one visual or sound from game.
If my family was depending on me for the game right now.. we'd be hungry

Considering an after SHTF situation, with an increase of hunters in the woods, game would become scarce rapidly.:xeye:

Sounds like you could have fed them deer. :

I agree with you though. And even in areas with an abundance of game, things will change quickly once a mob of city yahoos are out there shooting at anything that moves. Not only decimating the game population, but probably killing others they run across, both to eliminate competition and to loot their belongings.

These same people won't have preservation skills, so instead of that deer lasting weeks, in a day or two, it'll be rotten and they'll be hungry again, out looking to kill another.

If we look back to the Great Depression, some states had their deer herds completely wiped out. There were a lot less people out hunting then. Granted there were also less deer.

 

[EdD270]

This is the reason I like to garden, to learn how and practice. I've hunted all my life, with varying degrees of success, or failure. That's also why I try to learn how and practice making fish traps and wiers, setting trot lines and jug lines and so on. I've fished some, but caught little.
There's no reason to think I will magically be more successful at either hunting or fishing merely because my life depends on it in a survival situation. Nature is neutral. People have no clue just how difficult it is to "live off the land", most especially for a solo person or couple. Groups of 15-20 have a better time of it, based on the experiences of our Native American ancestors and other primitive peoples throughout history. There's a lesson there.

 

[Mtnman Mike]

I agree that Most areas especially in states with big populations would not be the best areas to hunt or fish.
And one reason I am trying to leave Colorado for my mtn place in Wyoming for WY has about 1/2 a million people while CO has over 5 million now. And while many in WY are hunters almost the whole state is a good hunting area. With a great abundance of wildlife. People can have Canada, Alaska, even Montana etc. I like Wyoming for many reasons and hope that most will keep overlooking it.

And the more remote an area the more likely there will be much wildlife to hunt. I know of some areas where there are almost always elk and deer etc. As I have told of seeing a great elk herd here >
http://www.survivalistboards.com/showthread.php?t=73868

I still agree that most maybe even 99% of people should not even try to just go into the woods and wilderness and try to live off the land. It is very difficult but some areas are easier than others and a Few can live off the land for quite a while, if they have the right knowledge and experience. It has been done before and will be done at least some, in the future.

Although on my mtn survival retreat I have had and will have in the future gardens, a greenhouse etc. plus supplement with much wild game, fish etc. And this coming summer I plan to get more experience in doing just that. And this coming summer and fall I will not be alone but possibly 3 or more people will join me, forming a group.
Will probably let people know how it works out next winter, if/when I come back...

 

[Biltong]

I would have to disagree, to a point. Would the woods be full of folks looking for game? Sure. But how many have the ability and endurance to be successful. Not to mention, they will look for the obivious game, deer, turkey and limb rats maybe. There is a alot of game. Dove, ducks, turkey, frogs and fish.

But most of the common folks of our society dont have the ability to do this. How long are they are they goin be able to stumble around the woods? Hunting, at least i Florida, isnt a real easy job. t takes time, and skill. The you have to know what to do with it once yo uhave it. I feel there would an initial impact. Resultung in lotsof wasted game Most folks couldnt dress a kill.

After all McCandless starved to death while a moose cow rotted outside his bus.

All the same some of them will be there. I would hate to be out there with a bunch of novices looking to shoot at the first thing that moves.

 

[HeartofTexas]

Funny story, but sad...

So I call up my sister-in-law the other day. She lives in an area where the deer are abundant and literally walk around the neighborhood, sometime they jump her fence and eat the bushes in her back yard. I have been trying to talk her into at least storing up some can goods. So I ask her what her & her husband will eat if SHTF and she says,

'Deer'.

So I ask, knowing that they don't, 'Do you own a gun?'

'Well, they almost walk right up to you.'

'So are you just going to club it in the head with a bat?' I ask

She laughed, but it was so sad. Even if they could manage to kill a deer, neither her or her husband would have any idea what to do next. And if they could dress a deer, eating venison day in and day out would get very tiring.

People think this stuff is so easy, they just have no idea. It's really sad. God bless them all...they're gonna need it.

 

[angeryamerican]

All the same some of them will be there. I would hate to be out there with a bunch of novices looking to shoot at the first thing that moves.

Thats were skill comes in. When I hike in the local National forest, I like to avoid contact with other out there. It usually isnt hard. Most people move on trail, and wear clothes too bright, or dark for the eviornment. Its easy enough to move off a trail and avoid detection.

Dont get me wrong, there are those that can move realativly undected, but the majority of folks cant. Thier odds of kiling anything wont be good. There wil be lots of chance involved, but evaision is always easier than escape. Avoiding detection is the key.

 

[Windy Badger]

I live in Wisconsin and I think if TSHTF the wildgame population would go extinct very fast. Within few months. Now I think the fish population would be enough to sustain the state for a while unless they started using commercial nets.

 

[Windy Badger]

It would also depend how many survived whatever crisis that was going on. Also the number of people migrating to an area would also effect the wild and domestic animal populations greatly.

 

[SgtBooker44]

Unless your smack dab in the middle of the canadian or alaskan wilderness.

Not many folks are going to survive up there for very long.

 

[jimp111]

Just to make a point to those thinking that they can go out and kill game to feed their family.

To start, I have been a hunter for over 30 yrs., 6yrs military, knowledge of the woods(swamp in this case).. Me and my son have spent 18 hrs over the last 2 days Turkey hunting. Saw lots of deer, fox, coyote, **** and turkey sign..But, not one visual or sound from game.
If my family was depending on me for the game right now.. we'd be hungry

Considering an after SHTF situation, with an increase of hunters in the woods, game would become scarce rapidly.:xeye:

Move to Kansas, I see turkey, deer, squirrle and rabit from my porch everyday. Of cource if everyone is hunting them, they will be a lot more scarce, thats why I won't depend on hunting (besides that my wife is the hunter in our family)