PBS Survival CHallenge
update: congratulations to our first member to complete the challenge!
Early during 2023 the “Survival Hunt Challenge” as a new PBS program was proposed to offer an opportunity for grand adventure that any of us can pursue even during the off season. I always knew that it would only appeal to a hardy, select number of our members that wanted to build and hone a skill set that most of us don’t use on a daily basis.
A brief explanation of the Challenge is to go afield for a total of seven days/nights (not necessarily consecutive) while carrying a limited amount of “bushcraft” gear including archery gear (of course), a modest amount of staple foods, and to add to your menu by bowhunting and gathering; hopefully thriving not just surviving! The expectation is to add at least one animal (any size and species) to your cook pot during your seven days to fully meet the intent of the Challenge!
I’ve been looking forward to being able to announce that our first member has completed the Challenge. Associate member, Mark Sasser from California completed the Challenge and tagged a great buck while doing so! Not only has Mark completed his first seven day Challenge but has multiple days towards his second Survival Hunt Challenge as well!
Congratulations Mark, your SHC patch is in the mail!
A brief explanation of the Challenge is to go afield for a total of seven days/nights (not necessarily consecutive) while carrying a limited amount of “bushcraft” gear including archery gear (of course), a modest amount of staple foods, and to add to your menu by bowhunting and gathering; hopefully thriving not just surviving! The expectation is to add at least one animal (any size and species) to your cook pot during your seven days to fully meet the intent of the Challenge!
I’ve been looking forward to being able to announce that our first member has completed the Challenge. Associate member, Mark Sasser from California completed the Challenge and tagged a great buck while doing so! Not only has Mark completed his first seven day Challenge but has multiple days towards his second Survival Hunt Challenge as well!
Congratulations Mark, your SHC patch is in the mail!
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the survival challenge
When was the last time you shot an azimuth? How about built an overnight shelter without just pitching a tent? Even us PBS members are subject to just pushing a button and having our electronic location appear before our eyes and walking 50 yards into the woods and climbing into a tree stand as the extent of our adventuresomeness.
Back in the late eighties and early nineties, traditional bowhunter and author Sam Fadala often wrote about going on survival hunts for several days or more at a time, limiting himself to one cup of rice per day to survive on plus any game that he could bag with his bow. I believe that Sam was living in Wyoming at the time but may have done some of his hunts in Arizona or New Mexico. The details that Sam wrote about have faded over the years in my mind, but the concept has stuck with me, and I brought it up to Bubba Graves a couple years ago and told him “We need to do that sometime”.
There is nothing that makes the mind reflect more than when you are sitting in a scorching hot antelope blind for 16 hours a day, no book to read, no antelope in sight, so I started to plan for my own Survival Hunt and then realized it would make a great PBS program! The ultimate goal of the PBS Survival Hunt Challenge is to build and hone woodsmanship skills in a wildland setting with an emphasis on utilizing bowhunting skills. The Survival Hunt is also a great opportunity to do some exploring, adventure seeking, photography, look for arrowheads, shed hunting, fossil collecting, and scouting for the upcoming season.
The beauty of a survival hunt is the opportunity for off-season adventure; a survival hunt can be done nearly anywhere, at almost any time of the year including outside of regular hunting seasons and should only cost dollars per day which is significant for most of us in these days of out-of-control inflation and insane fuel prices.
Yes, the timing seems to have parallels to the TV programs “Alone” and “Naked and Afraid” but my motivation for a PBS Program was truly 100% Sam Fadala’s writings.
Back in the late eighties and early nineties, traditional bowhunter and author Sam Fadala often wrote about going on survival hunts for several days or more at a time, limiting himself to one cup of rice per day to survive on plus any game that he could bag with his bow. I believe that Sam was living in Wyoming at the time but may have done some of his hunts in Arizona or New Mexico. The details that Sam wrote about have faded over the years in my mind, but the concept has stuck with me, and I brought it up to Bubba Graves a couple years ago and told him “We need to do that sometime”.
There is nothing that makes the mind reflect more than when you are sitting in a scorching hot antelope blind for 16 hours a day, no book to read, no antelope in sight, so I started to plan for my own Survival Hunt and then realized it would make a great PBS program! The ultimate goal of the PBS Survival Hunt Challenge is to build and hone woodsmanship skills in a wildland setting with an emphasis on utilizing bowhunting skills. The Survival Hunt is also a great opportunity to do some exploring, adventure seeking, photography, look for arrowheads, shed hunting, fossil collecting, and scouting for the upcoming season.
The beauty of a survival hunt is the opportunity for off-season adventure; a survival hunt can be done nearly anywhere, at almost any time of the year including outside of regular hunting seasons and should only cost dollars per day which is significant for most of us in these days of out-of-control inflation and insane fuel prices.
Yes, the timing seems to have parallels to the TV programs “Alone” and “Naked and Afraid” but my motivation for a PBS Program was truly 100% Sam Fadala’s writings.
PLANNING FOR YOUR CHALLENGE
EVERY PERSON’S CHALLENGE IS GOING TO BE DIFFERENT. THE NUMBER OF DAYS MAY VARY, TERRAIN, SEASON, SIZE OF THE LANDSCAPE AVAILABLE; SITE SPECIFIC CONDITIONS WILL CHANGE WHAT GEAR YOU SHOULD PLAN ON TAKING ON YOUR CHALLENGE. SITE SPECIFIC CONDITIONS SHOULD BE CONSIDERED WHEN PLANNING YOUR SURVIVAL HUNT AND SELECTING GEAR.
THE INTENT IS THE CHALLENGE IS TO BE MOBILE AND THAT ANY OVERNIGHT CAMP LOCATIONS WOULD BE ABANDONED AFTER EACH NIGHT AND THE INDIVIDUAL OR TEAM WOULD TREK AND EXPLORE AND USE A NEW CAMP LOCATION EACH SUCCESSIVE NIGHT. THERE IS NO REASON A CANOE OR KAYAK COULDN’T BE A PART OF AN INDIVIDUAL’S CHALLENGE. A CHALLENGE, EITHER IN PART OR IN WHOLE, COULD BE ACCOMPLISHED WITH A PARTNER.
TO PROPERLY PREPARE FOR A CHALLENGE WILL NECESSITATE KNOWING HUNTING AND FISHING REGULATIONS FOR BOTH GAME AND NON-GAME SPECIES, LEARNING TO POSITIVELY IDENTIFY ANY EDIBLE PLANTS AND LEARNING HOW TO PREPARE AND COOK THAT WHICH IS UNFAMILIAR AHEAD OF DEPARTURE.
EVERY PERSON’S CHALLENGE IS GOING TO BE DIFFERENT. THE NUMBER OF DAYS MAY VARY, TERRAIN, SEASON, SIZE OF THE LANDSCAPE AVAILABLE; SITE SPECIFIC CONDITIONS WILL CHANGE WHAT GEAR YOU SHOULD PLAN ON TAKING ON YOUR CHALLENGE. SITE SPECIFIC CONDITIONS SHOULD BE CONSIDERED WHEN PLANNING YOUR SURVIVAL HUNT AND SELECTING GEAR.
THE INTENT IS THE CHALLENGE IS TO BE MOBILE AND THAT ANY OVERNIGHT CAMP LOCATIONS WOULD BE ABANDONED AFTER EACH NIGHT AND THE INDIVIDUAL OR TEAM WOULD TREK AND EXPLORE AND USE A NEW CAMP LOCATION EACH SUCCESSIVE NIGHT. THERE IS NO REASON A CANOE OR KAYAK COULDN’T BE A PART OF AN INDIVIDUAL’S CHALLENGE. A CHALLENGE, EITHER IN PART OR IN WHOLE, COULD BE ACCOMPLISHED WITH A PARTNER.
TO PROPERLY PREPARE FOR A CHALLENGE WILL NECESSITATE KNOWING HUNTING AND FISHING REGULATIONS FOR BOTH GAME AND NON-GAME SPECIES, LEARNING TO POSITIVELY IDENTIFY ANY EDIBLE PLANTS AND LEARNING HOW TO PREPARE AND COOK THAT WHICH IS UNFAMILIAR AHEAD OF DEPARTURE.
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DURATION
ANY COMBINATION OF DAYS FOR A TOTAL OF 7 DAYS AND AT LEAST ONE BOW KILL (TO INCLUDE FIELD PROCESSING, PREPARATION, AND CONSUMPTION) OF ANY LEGAL SPECIES IS REQUIRED TO MEET THE ACHIEVEMENT OF COMPLETION OF THE PBS SURVIVAL HUNT CHALLENGE. WE CAN REVISIT AND MODIFY THE NUMBER OF DAYS OR ESTABLISH DIFFERENT LEVELS OF ACCOMPLISHMENT IN THE FUTURE IF THERE IS ENOUGH INTEREST. FINAL THOUGHTS
NOT EVERY PBS MEMBER IS GOING TO BE INTERESTED IN TAKING THE SURVIVAL HUNT CHALLENGE BUT HOPEFULLY IT WILL GENERATE ENOUGH INTEREST FOR SOME OF US TO REFINE OUR WOODSMANSHIP SKILLS WHILE HAVING ANOTHER EXCUSE TO ROAM THE WOODS AND HILLS WITH A BOW IN HAND! ANY MEMBER OUT THERE THAT DECIDES TO DO THE CHALLENGE, PLEASE DOCUMENT, AND SHARE YOUR JOURNEY WITH OTHER MEMBERS ON THE WEBSITE AND IN THE MAGAZINE. I WILL RESEARCH HAVING A “PBS SURVIVAL HUNT CHALLENGE” PATCH MADE FOR THOSE THAT COMPLETE THE CHALLENGE. |
SAMPLE GEAR LIST
ARCHERY GEAR: NO LIMIT ON ARROWS! RUCK SACK BED ROLL (I.E., WOOL BLANKET AND PAD) 8’ X 10’ TARP CLIMATE/WEATHER SPECIFIC CLOTHING PONCHO KNIFE HATCHET OR SAW MATCHES OR FIRE STRIKER (NO LIGHTERS) MAP AND COMPASS 50-100’ OF CORD 2 FISHHOOKS AND 2 FLIES PLUS 30’ FISHING LINE PER DAY CANTEENS OR WATER BOTTLES WATER TREATMENT/FILTER FLASHLIGHT POT WITH LID 12” X 18” SHEET OF FOIL PER DAY 1 CUP OF UNCOOKED RICE OR BEANS PER DAY 2 BOUILLON CUBES PER DAY, SALT, PEPPER 1/4 CUP COFFEE GROUNDS OR 2 TEA BAGS PER DAY ANY PRESCRIPTIONS, SUNSCREEN, TOOTHBRUSH Toilet paper SMALL 1ST AID KIT CAMERA/PAPER/PEN: TO RECORD YOUR JOURNEY WALLET/ANY LICENSES/PERMITS |
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patches for participants
We now have a patch design for the Survival Hunt Challenge thanks to the skills of Rob Burnham. I will have about 20 patches made and available to members that complete the challenge. Only one patch will be made available per member for each seven day challenge completed. One of my new years goals is to complete the Survival Hunt Challenge during 2023. The first ten members that complete the challenge, complementary patches are on me! I’m looking forward to hearing about other members journeys in completing their challenge. -steve hohensee |
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