Wild Game
Firstly, let’s cover wild game. Most hunting seasons are over with, so the info we’re covering here has to do with a survival situation and a “grid-down, collapse” scenario. Keeping that in mind, there is quite a good deal of animals that do not hibernate. Deer, elk, rabbits/hares, the migratory birds (ducks and geese), wild boar/pig. I’m not advising eating the wild cats: the bobcat, lynx, or mountain lion, as they have a host of different parasites and not much yield on the meat. Stick with your herbivores, unless you have no other way.
Migratory Birds
Migratory birds (believe it or not) still hold a high number that do not leave and migrate with the rest. Besides shooting them with a shotgun or rifle, there are other methods to get them if you have no firearm…not nice or socially-acceptable, but we’re going to list them: snares, nets, and the fishhook method. This one involves taking a fishhook and tying it off with nylon line and covering the hook with a ball of bread. I think you can get the picture, and as I mentioned, it’s not the preferred method but it works. You or them: you’ll have to weigh it for yourself.
Snares do work with snow covering the ground. You have to check them periodically, as many times the top layer of snow can melt a bit and form a layer of glazed ice. When you set the snare with snow present, don’t go all the way to the ground: set it about 2” down in the snow. The snowshoe hare is just as his name implies: he hops across the snow with feet that have a surface area to keep him from sinking in the snow…all the way. Two inches? He’ll be in it: and in your snare, he’ll end up across your fire. Secure the snare, and don’t put a “drag” on it. He can get out of it. You want it to lift him off the ground.
Here’s a quick video to demonstrate snaring in winter:
Fish
Ice augurs are worth their weight in gold when the ponds and slow-moving streams are iced over. Once again, everything is slowed down, but there will still be fish…just very sluggish with the cold water and the more scarce nature of food. Make sure of your footing before you use the augur, as well as the thickness of the ice to stand. Once through work fast, and pick up your catch with a straight pole or your ice-fishing rig if you’re a regular. To “tent” the enclosure helps to heat your surroundings a big. There are bass, crappie, northern pike (chain pickerel), and catfish, although these latter are truly sluggish. Still, they’re hungry. If you’ve taken any game before fishing, be sure and use scrap meats and entrails for bait.
On the banks of streams and rivers that do not freeze over, search for the pools and you’ll still find crayfish beneath rocks. You need a lot of them for a meal, but they can also be used for bait, and to pick up the bass, use a weight below the crayfish and set them about 6” above it with the hook reverse-bitten through the front of the carapace. Remove the claws, or they’ll hold onto the line. The reverse-bite of the hook is to keep them rightside up…bass are sight-feeders. The backwards movement of the crayfish will attract them and make them strike…they’re hungry and feeding on the bottom during the winter.
A lot of people advocate eating worms, grubs, and other vermin in a survival situation. I don’t advocate it or agree with it. If you find them, use them as bait for something substantial. The protein you derive from a few worms are not going to do the trick. Go for protein that really counts.
Other Vitamin Sources
Vitamin C will pose a big problem with scurvy for a long-term deficiency…under normal conditions. Grid-down and under-the-gun you’ll burn off more energy and nutrients than normal. Pine needles are your answer. About a pound of them, and boil them in a canteen cup or a pot with about a quart of water. This canteen will more than give you your RDA of vitamin C (amounts aren’t exact, because conifers vary) and avoid the scurvy. Also, make sure you cook your wild game really well. Rabbits and hares have tularemia, and there are many wild game animals (such as wild pig) that carry such microorganisms that thorough cooking will rid you of.
As far as plants are concerned, you’re limited to lichens and some mosses. Pick up a good field guide (Peterson’s guides are the best) to identify the types per your geographical area that are edible. Cattail roots may still be able to be taken: these are best boiled and eaten in the manner of potatoes…starchy but palatable. In dire straits, you can remove the bark of trees and eat the inner cambium layer, rich in carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals. Be advised: it seriously injures or kills the tree, so take this as a last resort when you need it.
The obtaining of winter food will depend on your skills as a hunter, a fisherman, and one who will live off the land. It is not an easy task, and yes, you can practice and refine it. Proper study and preparation will yield results. Tear yourself away from your pumpkin pie and shopping, and get out to observe the way things are in the woods this time of the year. Chances are you’ll learn a few things…that just may help you make it through when it hits the fan. JJ out!
We have a farm pond that’s fed by a wet weather stream that runs most of the year, and held by a series of beaver dams. I am seriously thinking of harvesting cattail roots while things are looking pretty good and planting them below one of the beaver dams, in expectation of a good crop if and when we need to rely on one! It’s in close proximity to a primitive cabin we have on our farm, and I sure do like the idea of a ready starch supply!
Your plan sounds good. Except make extra sure you scrub those roots well. Plus be careful about drinking any water from the pond or stream. You don’t want what’s called “Beaver Fever” from it. Beaver waste contaminated water has caused multiple deaths in New England. I got it on my honeymoon in MA 30 years ago. I nearly died. 14 other people weren’t so fortunate. So make sure you take all the safety precautions for your food and water supply.