6 Essential Survival Tactics You Should Know About

Nobody wants to think about their own survival should the worst happen, but it’s always a good idea to be prepared in terms of basic survival tactics. This is especially true if you’re a keen outdoorsman who spends a lot of time hiking, or if you live within a place where natural disasters may be commonplace. 

There is no downside to learning basic survival tactics, even if you end up never using them, as they could one day save your life. Here are the six essential survival tactics you should know about. 

1. Making Your Own Fire

Fire is essential for warmth and cooking, as a light source, and, in some circumstances, for even warding away predators. You may even need to build a big fire as a signal for help. 

The best way to ensure fire potential is to always carry with you a fire source, such as matches or a lighter, but it’s always good to always know how to start a fire without these. Practice starting fires using friction between dry sticks and collecting dry wood. 

2. Fashioning a Weapon

A weapon comes in handy, both for hunting and for self-defense. Learn how to fashion a weapon from sharpening sticks, sharpening rocks, or build a tool through leather or cord fastenings. 

3. Finding Drinkable Water

Searching for a source of clean water is fundamental for survival, and is more important than searching for food. To ensure water is clean for drinking, know how to build a fire in order to boil the water first. Or, have on your person a water filtration system. 

4. Finding Food

Second to water, finding food is a must. To do this, you need to have basic hunting skills and know-how to fashion hunting weapons. 

You can fashion a hunting weapon through sharp sticks or rocks for small mammals, or make a fishing line to hunt for fish. 

Learn about essential best animals to hunt to survive on your own, and you can also learn more about how to recognize edible plants and berries. 

5. First Aid Skills

Basic first aid skills are a must. Think about the first aid emergencies you’re most likely to encounter in the wild and learn how to perform them, such as:

• Basic CPR 
• Treating burns 
• Cleaning and tending wounds 
• Controlling bleeding

6. Building a Shelter

Being able to make your own warm shelter is better than wasting energy and risking getting lost by searching for it. Taking materials like a tarp with you on any outdoor adventure is a good start, as this can be used for shelter which you can prop on sticks. 

Without materials, you can learn how to dig a small shelter and use branches and leaves as protection. 

Final Thoughts

Begin learning as much as you can ahead of time for these skills, which will help in a variety of circumstances. Practice at home, or out on hikes or walks in your local area. Soon enough you’ll have mastered the key survival skills.