Good thoughts dd!

Quote:


Maybe not a concern here in the US, but I wonder what would happen if the Canadian Customs guys would search your stuff and find even a empty .44 mag case
Would they see it as no big deal, or in these times and with their strict handgun laws, see it as grounds for a serious once over of your vehicle?

Even though a .44 mag is available in long guns, it's most widely associated with handguns.  Best thing that ever happened for S+W, was Clint Eastwood choosing it's .44 mag model for his Dirty Harry character

You being from the great state of TEXAS, they might think your a rip snorting, gun toting, rootin-tootin, whiskey swilling, desperado

Just funning you dd,
I don't really think you'd have a problem at the border or at least I would hope you wouldn't.

It doesn't bother me when I drive thru states that allow hunting rifles stored  in the pickup cabs.  I don't fear the legal law abiding citizens.
Sure some occasionally go off the deep end, but most violent crimes are by criminals with illegally stolen weapons.

Only a " Hollywood type" mentality would think no-one would respond to rounds being fired from a tower/building, especially in a right to " pack" state like Texas

Interesting idea, using the shell casing for a candle. The beauty of it vs regular candles is that it can be 'reloaded' and reused after it burns out.

A spent casing might also be snipped or hammered out into a simple spear tip, arrowhead, or knife blade. With a little creativity, there's probably several other potential uses as well. I know a guy who used to pop the primers out and use them like a one-hitter to smoke weed out of 

My suggestion would be to use a piece of aluminum foil for a 'container'. If the foil contains trioxane, so much the better.

Preacher wrote on Nov 30^th, 2010 at 4:13pm:

I was thinking in terms of something large enough to hold a few matches, for example, when not being used to contain a fuel source.

Can anyone think of something else that might be on your person (or at least in something like a fanny pack) that might serve as a fuel source ... something that you'd normally carry when in the out-of-doors?

dd

Quote:


Post 9/11 that may be true, but before that, depending on the officer and the amount/kind of drugs, it was not always a certainty.

True story. Back when I tripped with 3 other guys, one of them lived in Atlanta Georgia. He owned a couple of Mexican bar/restaurants, and had a concealed carry license.

One year he had to drive up to Atikokan solo because of business problems. In his haste, he forgot that he had a .25 Automatic tucked between the bucket seats of his Dodge van. He also had a small amount of pot for his personal use.

When he hit the border, it was just his luck to get motioned over for random inspection.  He saw the officers with a dog, and assumed it was a drug dog. He knew they would find the pot, so he just decided to make it easy and pulled the baggie from between the seats.

Much to his dismay, as he pulled the baggie out, he saw the butt end of his pistol and realized what he had done. The gun was legally registered but he didn't have proof of that or that he owned it. In either case he didn't feel it would make a difference. They ordered him out of the van, the dog jumped in and found the pot tucked into the ashtray on the engine console. The dog went thru the vehicle and they searched his personal gear, but the officers didn't search his van.

He owned up to the pot, and basically they confiscated it, he had to pay a fine and they put him on a list for future inspection.

When he got up to Atikokan, he was a nervous wreck. We had a lengthy discussion about what he should do with the handgun, but in the end, he said he would take care of the problem and that we were better off not knowing what he was going to do?

Years later it came out that on the way home, he stopped at some no-name lake and field stripped the gun, emptied the clip and threw the pieces into the lake. Not environmental correct for sure, but considering what could of happened, I guess he didn't see another way out of it

The next year, we all rode up together, in a different vehicle. When we stopped and showed our IDs, the officer held onto his ID for a minute, checking something on his computer. Then he said he was free to enter and that he was no longer on that " list".

I'm sure their much stricter now, but back then, it appeared it was very hit/miss, or at least on this occasion it was.

Neat story ST.  I wonder if the right thing to do is to come 100% clean & explain the honest mistake.  It's one thing to surrender the gun at the border, something else to smuggle it in.

I do wonder if they would let him pick it up on the way home.  Maybe Can customs would surrender it to the US officials.  There should be some provision for him to surrender & recover it.  After all, it's his legal property and any issues in the US are between him and the US.

There's no licence issued in any US state the supercedes the laws of the nation you are entering.  I'm not a hunter, but I suspect there's paperwork involved in brining guns from one country to the other.

"Can anyone think of something else that might be on your person (or at least in something like a fanny pack) that might serve as a fuel source ... something that you'd normally carry when in the out-of-doors?"


Duh - TP (or AW if you prefer)

What about balsam and spruce pitch, something that one does not have to carry and is widely available.

Is this quest for a fuel source for warmth or light...ease of ignition...?

DentonDoc wrote on Dec 2^nd, 2010 at 4:38pm:


Doc this is interesting to me.The nylon sheathe of the knife I recently picked up has a small velcro sealed pocket about the size that would fit a small leatherman. I am interested in putting an emergency fire kit in there. What would you use? Good waterproof matches I suppose but the striker is the weak link there IMO.

The accelerants tested were likely under ideal conditions :question. I wonder how the test group would fare under wind or even rain? My buddy put together a tiny kit for me with matches and a striker in a mini zip-lock along with a tiny bottle of white gas. Last I looked the white gas had evaporated even though there was tape to prevent accidental opening.

There are some commercial stuff available. I have also heard vaseline and cotton balls mentioned. Sort of want to stay away from anything potentially messy or odorous though. What should I use? Anyone? It has to be able to survive a dunking.   

marlin55388 wrote on Dec 2^nd, 2010 at 5:13pm:


From the original post in this thread:

DentonDoc wrote on Nov 28^th, 2010 at 9:57pm:

I find this thread to be interesting.  I have wondered what would be the best thing to carry for a way to start a fire.  Dd’s method of testing gives one measure of how good a fuel is.  I was looking for a fuel that would have the most heat output and still be safe to carry. Paraffin is about 18,000 BTU’s/LB.  There are some liquid fuels that are about 20,000 BTU’s / LB but I do not like liquids for this purpose.  The only fuel I found that was higher than paraffin was bees wax.  Bees wax is about 19,000 BTU’s / LB and similar to paraffin in storability.

db wrote on Dec 3^rd, 2010 at 7:37am:

In any case, I've got the light issue covered.  An LED bulb with 1" leads is now in my ditch kit along with a button battery wrapped in tape.  Put the leads on each side of the battery and re-attach the tape and viola!

Based on a youtube video I've seen, birch bark will ignite with fire steel even when wet.  The video host took the edge of his knife and scraped the bark to create a small bundle of tender, then it was ignited by the fire steel.  (I suppose the scraping accomplished 2 things ... helped to dry the birch and to reach that portion of the bark that was still dry.  Unfortunately, I don't have any birch near by to test this out.

I do remember a backpacking trip I took with my daughter to the Rockies one time.  On our last night out, it must have rained about 5 inches (I left one pot right side up over night).  We happened to be camped next to a huge cedar tree.  The next morning, to make a fire, I walked over to the tree and scooped up handfuls of completely dry tinder for the fire.

Since it not uncommon for me to be in canoe country early/late season, I've always been somewhat concerned about hypothermia, so I think fire is VERY important.  In that respect, I'm confirming to myself the most important thing you have have on you in a ditching is a good knife.  Yesterday, I pulled together enough natural items to make a working bow-drill friction fire tool.  The spindle was of a small section from a Sycamore limb, the spindle knob-a small block of oak, the fire board of a 1/4 " slab of cedar, the bow string of twine (same twine used for candle wicks in earlier test) and bow from a curved branch from a yard shrub (Photinia).  (I figure the twine could be replaced by any number of items ... boot lace, strip of cloth from my shirt, vine, I've even seen hickory bark twisted into a bow string.) After all parts were prep'ed for the job, I had a pencil eraser head sized ember going in under 10 minutes.  (I repeated the process to confirm that it wasn't a fluke.)  I figure I can blow that ember into a fire with a dry tinder bundle "bird nest."  (I'll see what I can gather from the woods today to form a viable "birds nest."

Slowly, but surely, I'm getting a few of my wood-craft skills back!

dd

DentonDoc wrote on Dec 3^rd, 2010 at 5:00pm:

I've done this using one of those flint sticks that look like the key to the easiest lock to pick.  It's easy.  For fastest results, scrap off a bunch of the spark material into your tinder bundle.  Then give it a few good hard scrapes to make sparks.  

This is the most important fire tool for a ditch kit.  Works when wet.  Lots of models from lots of mfg to suit your preference.  The ability to gather good tinder & small wood is a basic camp skill.
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I started using wetfire a few years ago, it is very small & don't smell or leave a mess. It is also reusable if you choose to do so. They light instantly, but also extinguish fast & are immediately cool. I have used them while ice fishing right on the ice to warm hands... put it out & back in a small ziplock. They are reasonably priced also.

Here is a youtube video.
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drbill wrote on Dec 6^th, 2010 at 11:23pm:

Or a spent shell casing!

Wetfire tinder came today. I ran it under some water and took a fire striker to it. I couldn't get it to light until I crumbled a small chunk of it into powder and it took off first strike.

This stuff is nothing short of amazing. It burnt very hot with a decent sized flame for a 1" cube. I was outside and it was somewhat windy (10 to 15mph) and it didn't go out. I was also surprised at how long the little cube burnt. I didn't time it but I would say it was close to 5 minutes. Certainly long enough to dry even wet tinder.

It is very light and would be perfect in a ditch kit. insta flame!

Thank you Woods_Walker for sharing this.