Iv been wanting to get into bushcraft for a bit nowim 17btw iv always wanted to do a corase but i have no freinds into bushcraft can i do it anywere on my own?
Bushcraft starter help
- Thread starter thompsonlewis
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Come along to the amazing Summer Moot (21st July - 2nd August), a festival of bushcrafting and camping in a beautiful woodland PLEASE CLICK HERE for more information.
Hey, I've got the exact same problem, 17 (got into bushcraft properly at 13 when I stumbled across ray mears "four seasons" episode on bbc 2, from then on I was hooked 
), none of my friends are remotely interested in bushcraft and all mock me for liking it...dont care though tbh, I dont personally think a course is that necessary...just do what i've done and watch every single ray mears and bear grylls episode ever made about 5 times each 
haha. But in all seriousness they do help you to get a basic understanding of the key principles and then you can go on to decide where your most interested...e.g fire lighting techniques...general camp craft, DIY carving etc or tracking and tree ID...you just have to find what is best suited to your interests...for me I prefer general campcraft, shelter building and fire lighting, tried my hand at tracking and tree ID but can't seem to get the patience to learn everything...not with our exams going on at the same time :/ (are you doing A-levels?) also tried carving made a few spoons and started on a bow...so we shall see how that pans out.
As for doing it on your own, if you can find a nice patch of woodland nearby maybe get out and practice a few skills here and there...or go and camp out in them? surely your mates wouldn't mind going camping with you? just say you'll give them a few cans of booze or something that should tempt them lol. After you've been out a few times with them and got the feel of things you could perhaps try staying out on your own for a night? I was 15 when I first stayed out on my own, scary at first but after you overcame that it was quite an enjoyable experience
anyway hope that helps
Jordan
), none of my friends are remotely interested in bushcraft and all mock me for liking it...dont care though tbh, I dont personally think a course is that necessary...just do what i've done and watch every single ray mears and bear grylls episode ever made about 5 times each haha. But in all seriousness they do help you to get a basic understanding of the key principles and then you can go on to decide where your most interested...e.g fire lighting techniques...general camp craft, DIY carving etc or tracking and tree ID...you just have to find what is best suited to your interests...for me I prefer general campcraft, shelter building and fire lighting, tried my hand at tracking and tree ID but can't seem to get the patience to learn everything...not with our exams going on at the same time :/ (are you doing A-levels?) also tried carving made a few spoons and started on a bow...so we shall see how that pans out. As for doing it on your own, if you can find a nice patch of woodland nearby maybe get out and practice a few skills here and there...or go and camp out in them? surely your mates wouldn't mind going camping with you? just say you'll give them a few cans of booze or something that should tempt them
lol. After you've been out a few times with them and got the feel of things you could perhaps try staying out on your own for a night? I was 15 when I first stayed out on my own, scary at first but after you overcame that it was quite an enjoyable experience anyway hope that helps
Jordan
E
ex member coconino
Guest
There's a few good YouTube channels from which to learn. My particular favourite is ColinOutdoors, which I like because Colin seems to be a good humoured bloke who is clearly learning as he goes and isn't afraid to let on if things don't go quite right. Others I enjoy watching include Sean Mulhall and Mike Dixon. I don't know if any of these guys are on BCUK (hello if you are!). But beware that quite a few of the bushcrafty people on YouTube are either full-on survivalists (usually American) or at the other extreme seem intent on giving the impression they're way more skilled and experienced than they actually are. Many times you'll see people give the impression that they're out in the woods all the time but their gear it's clearly brand new and unfamiliar to their hands.
Obviously it's by far the best to learn by actually doing it, but as Ray Mears says, the skills you learn in your own back garden can be applied anywhere in the world, so you don't have to go far to practise.
Obviously it's by far the best to learn by actually doing it, but as Ray Mears says, the skills you learn in your own back garden can be applied anywhere in the world, so you don't have to go far to practise.
All bush craft courses are aimed at individuals and groups any I have attended comprise mostly of individuals, But you must remember Bush craft is a state of mind, Its a journey you take ( someone else said this) and a lot of what we we do we do alone, But when it comes to sharps, knives, axes and saws you need training, and it all takes practice so do a camp craft course and after that what ever you want.
Alan.
Alan.
i havent found any bush caft class or courses in Oz but i like doing outdoor stuff alone i get more work done alone.. ^^
Yes, you can do it on your own and many on the forum like thier own company as much as going with others. The Bushcraft tree is huge so decide which subjects are your favorites and have a go at those first. Obviously you'll need a bit of green space to learn so look through you're local OS Maps for likely areas then go check them out.
Remember if you want to light fires and build shelters you really need permission from the landowner, however skills like tracking and plant / tree identification leave no mark.
A few bits of equipment will help you on your way such as a knife, saw, pot, first aid kit and some outdoor clothing, the sharps must be used responsibly. They dont have to cost a lot of money, ex forces kit is cheap and durable. Its worth investing in a good set of field guides and decent Bushcraft manual.
Courses are expensive although they give you a very good skills base: what you might learn on a good course in a week could take a year if you were learning it by yourself.
The forum itself is a fountain of knowlege, dont be scared to ask questions or use the search function.
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Thanks all for you help iv seen bear grylls lots and have dvds cant seem to find ray mears anywere yeah my freinds took fun out ofme to no im not doing a levels i never wanted to do anything just get a little job and a family also have alot of free time aswell to fulfill my bushcraft hobby
I started when I was young learning Bushcraft and a most of my mates wasn't interested and used to mock me, but years later those same mates of mine are looking at Bushcraft in a different light as they see the world changing, they are not mocking me now! they actually come to me for advice on the subject.
You can get Ray Mears DVD's, books and kit from his web site Ray Mears Woodlore School.
www.raymears.com
Good Luck!
You can get Ray Mears DVD's, books and kit from his web site Ray Mears Woodlore School.
www.raymears.com
Good Luck!
This forum is all you need to get into bushcraft, use the search function annd just spend a couple of hours every now and then searching through the threads. You'll probably find that one thread leads to another to another and so on. That's how i started and i'm on here almost evey now lol
Dave
Dave
