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Post by hawkeye on Oct 26, 2007 9:51:59 GMT -5
Stopping at the box store today to get a couple of items for my 14 year old grandsons survival can. He's going scouting with me this week end and he is going to learn how to start a fire, even if it's wet, rainy, and windy, which I think it will be. If the sun is out he's going to learn how to use a signal mirror. He already knows how to read a compass and figure in the variation. I taught him that on the boat.
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Post by Earl8656 on Oct 26, 2007 18:12:06 GMT -5
Good thing to do! He'll always remember where he learned it and hopefully, he'll never need it.
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Post by huckleberry on Oct 26, 2007 18:38:52 GMT -5
Hey hawk....hows about teachin US how to read a compass? I am serious...i know from speriance it aint as easy as it sounds. I admit...them things have gotten me into some serious jams a time or two.........mostly casue of all the iron ore we have that makes them crazy. I am told some other stuff messes with them to. Aiont sure what that is, but something sure as heck will make one lie to ya if ya aint real careful.
The passin on the survival can is a great idea......everyone of my younguns can "strike" a fire and stay/get dry and warm......that ya can bank on.
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Post by hawkeye on Oct 27, 2007 0:06:23 GMT -5
It ain't so much the iron ore, Huck, although that can screw a magnetic compass up a little. Every place on earth has a derivation on a compass from where true north is. Out of my homeport it is 4 degrees for every mile west. But only for about 12 miles, then it drops. Here we count on The Army Corps of Engineers and the Coast Guard to advise us what the compass headings are. I'll bet ACE or BLM can give you true north compass readings for your area. Then it is just a matter of subtracting or adding those degrees on your compass. Sounds more complicated than what it is. And don't trust a cheap compass, they will be influenced by iron ore, a cell phone tower, or static electricity in your Levis.
But if your in the hills 4 degrees ain't very much, you still have a general idea which way to start walking. Iron ore or your wrist watch can make a cheap compass go crazy.
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Post by Earl8656 on Oct 27, 2007 10:23:43 GMT -5
A watch can also be used as a compass. U have to have one with a dial and sunshine for it to work. It works by the shadow of the sun. And is always on standard time.
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Post by hawkeye on Oct 27, 2007 17:32:08 GMT -5
Huck, take your compass out at night and check it with the North Star. That should give you a starting point on where true north is by your compass. Of course no magnet is accurate if you are on a mountain of iron ore.
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Post by huckleberry on Oct 27, 2007 19:06:31 GMT -5
OK...here is what I found with compasses. I had one good one.....from the US Army. that one i could trust and learned to use it well enough. Lost the dang thing deer hunting along wiht a belt and knife.
Others I have had........ both cheapies and not so cheap ones............ would all go nuts at times. Especially in Southern IL. Up in the hills and such. Only time in my life I was really sure enough lost was cause of that in fact. I knew I was goin the wrong direction....the conpass said I was heading right.....several miles later I hit a road.....I threw that dang thing in the creek!!!!!
I have walked...."west" up a ridge.......according to a compass.........looked at the thing at the top of the ridge..............said I was walkin "east" ....sounds goofy I know...but I ahve seen many do that around here. I don't trust them ..... give me a creek to follow......some stars or moon...even a fence or distane sounds...................and I can find my way out of most anyplace. I do however wish i could learn to really read them.......
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Post by Earl8656 on Nov 1, 2007 2:07:12 GMT -5
Why? ?/...U'd forget in less than 24 hours....(see Miles Trigger)...LMFAO ;D
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Post by merdigurl on Nov 6, 2007 20:02:59 GMT -5
very cool! ;D
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Post by ozarkmountainman on Nov 15, 2007 17:33:38 GMT -5
if you get a military map, or a topo map for any given area they have in the bottom legend what is called a declination diagram, it shows you how many degrees you have to add/subtract to get grid north, as everwhere you go is slightly different, "camp grayling MI is +7 deg." to orient your map, lay your compass on your map, align the north/south grid lines to the straight edge of your compass (military style) turn your map and compass till it reads north, or 360 degrees, +/_ your declination. here is a web site on reading maps/navigation/compass/ect www.map-reading.com/
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Post by Sunshine on Nov 18, 2007 9:19:03 GMT -5
Huck, whyd ya have your pants off when ya was deer huntin? seems th eonly way ya could lost your belt, knife and compass?? ;D
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Post by huckleberry on Nov 18, 2007 15:20:30 GMT -5
I was whizzin...didn't have that belt holdin my britches up.......had to take it off to get through all the layers of clothing I had on that day.......LOL Actually.....while I whizzin...a buck came up the draw......I shot him while whizzin LMAO....no foolin...that is for real!!!!!!!!! When I went to the buck....it went ways afore layin down......... I realized I had left my belt with all the stuff on it....never have found that damned stump again....... best sheath knife I ever owned.
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Post by Sunshine on Nov 18, 2007 15:41:12 GMT -5
ok , ok, ok, sorry i asked
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Post by huckleberry on Nov 18, 2007 19:05:28 GMT -5
Didn't mean to excite ya Sunny....sorry.......
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Post by Sunshine on Nov 19, 2007 23:33:25 GMT -5
you didnt, ya scared me... and not in a good way neither.. ;D
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