Long Term Wilderness Survival

[Husky]

There is some historical fact but not quite so absolute. Even the mountain men and trappers of the far West came back to the "rendevous" at least once a year in the spring to sell their furs and resupply . They weren't so entirely self sufficient as to reuse their lead throughout infinity.

No, of course your lead won't last for ever but how many pounds of lead do you need for a year? Thats pretty self sufficient if your on the move a lot of the time.

I'm just reading Le Loup's blogg and the tools he needs to cast new ball weighs less than a few balls so if you can reuse some then it would be worth the extra weight.

 

[tiger stacker]

Am unsure, did the Horses that Cortiz land in mexaco breed all over the sountern states, up to the berings straits + Hudsons bay or was there native horses there already. There is a goods scene in The New World, showing the Indian way of life as John Rolfe is examined.

 

[santaman2000]

Thanks for the info Santaman.
What type of gun is "best" absolutely depends on what type of "survival" or "living" we are talking about. I was mainly focusing on which would be the best ammunition supply, ready loaded or reloading as you go. I guess a musket may not be as Ideal as it seemed.

Just to clarify, I didn't say modern ammo but modern reloading components. Get your years supply of primers wet and they are lost. On the other hand trappers used to sit in their cabins and reload for their winchester rifles to save them lugging around loads of brass...

There were people who reloaded true enough but by and large by the time brass cased ammo was introduced the trapping era was over.

 

[santaman2000]

Am unsure, did the Horses that Cortiz land in mexaco breed all over the sountern states, up to the berings straits + Hudsons bay or was there native horses there already. There is a goods scene in The New World, showing the Indian way of life as John Rolfe is examined.

The Spanish landed horses in Mexico and on the West Coast. There are records (cave drawings presumably from the same time period as the Mammoths) of horses that predate Columbus' voyage by centuries but apparently any native horses had disappeared. By the time the Spanish arrived there not only were no horses but they had been gone so long that there was no longer any native memory or knowledge of them. In fact most Indian languages referred to the Europeans' horses as "big dog."

To answer your question, yes, the horses introduced by the Europeans spread across both continents and, no, there were none here before then. At least partially spread; there are only limited populations of wild horses even now. Certainly none anywhere near the Bearing Sea.

 

[santaman2000]

No, of course your lead won't last for ever but how many pounds of lead do you need for a year? Thats pretty self sufficient if your on the move a lot of the time.

I'm just reading Le Loup's blogg and the tools he needs to cast new ball weighs less than a few balls so if you can reuse some then it would be worth the extra weight.

Yes in this context (annual resupply) it becomes more feasible. But then again so does modern loaded ammo and weapons so the point may be moot. Don't get me wrong, I love muzzle loaders and wouldn't try to disquade anyone from getting into the sport.

 

[Husky]

Don't get me wrong, I love muzzle loaders and wouldn't try to disquade anyone from getting into the sport.

Quite the contrary, I might just have to try it!