A Guide to Surviving the Apocalypse(Advanced)
If you are here you've either read my Guide to Surviving the Apocalypse(Basic) or you are just interested in what may be going on here. If you haven't read the Basic, I suggest you read it as it will give you some background on what is being written here. The majority of what will be in this Guide is from extensive research. Various sources will be listed at the end of the Guide. Each major section will be represented by a bold and underling. In turn, Sub Sections will be seperated from the main section by use of Italics.
Food
As one should know from reading the Basic version of this Guide, food is essential to survival but in the apocalypse can be one of the hardest things to get. Farming will set you up with a rather stable food but humans are omnivores and eating vegtables and fruits will not provide nearly enough calories for the new level of work you'll have to do to get said food. You will have to turn towards hunting and husbandry to survive. If you can get the basics of those two areas then your survival rate will sky rocket compared to where it would have been at before. So, let us get on with the lecture.
Hunting
Hunting is something humans have done since the very beginning on time as we know it. In fact, hunter-gatherer societies were more common in the early formation of humanity than agricultural based societies. But, that doesn't mean we abandonded our hunting tendecies. We still hunted animals for meat while we were growing wheat and barley and raising cows. The majority of meat brought in by early agricultural based societies were from hunted animals rather than the animals they were raising. But hunting is not as easy as it may seem now. You can't simply walk through a forest and spot a deer before it sees you and kill it with a single gun shot anymore. In the apocalypse you are going to need to learn how to hunt with a bow and arrow or spears.
Bow and arrow hunting seems like a rather simple practice to anybody in modern times but it actually rather difficult. The type of bow you want for hunting animals is a recurve bow, a bow who's limbs curve away from the user. A recurve bow requires a lot of strength to string and fire and anybody who is unskilled or weak will be unable to string the bow properly or it will bounce back and break their arm. But, recurve bows fire stronger shots and are very useful in places like forests where straight bows would be difficult to use. In order to use a recurve bow, one would best train using a self bow before hand. A self bow is a bow made from a single piece of wood which is generally a straight bow but can also be found in the form of a recurve bow.After several months of training with a self bow it could be suggested to move town a self bow built using a recurve bow's method.
While the wood will not provide the strength which a composite recurve bow would have, it is good enough to advance one's training. After several more months the use of a composite bow or recurve bow should be up to one's own skill level. But, caution is advised when using recurve bows anyway as, if made improperly, the recurve bow may not withstand the force applied to it and shatter. Now that you've got the use of a bow down you can move on to hunting. When hunting it is best to aim for vital organs, if possible, or legs when not possible. Your goal is to leave as much meat intact as possible.
Hunting could take you anywhere from a day to several weeks as you follow a herd. One must be prepared to spend many days away from your group and possibly strike out on a big haul. If one does not wish to hunt with a bow then a spear is as good a weapon. There should be three or four groups when hunting with spears. One group will stay in a single position while the other three will run the herd towards the first group. The first group should have set up a choke point of a sort where they are set up so that as many animals in the herd can be harvested as possible. But, be careful not to over hunt one's region as this could leave to starvation. One may also wish to have dogs with your hunting group to focus the herd into a singular area.
Husbandry
Husbandry is the practice of selectively breeding animals for a better yield that began with the domestication of dogs in some time before 33000 BCE. Sheep, pig, goat, and cattle will most likely be the animals you'll use for husbandry most often. Though, you are also likely to have chickens. When determining what animals you should breed for your Husbandry you should look at physical traits. If a herd of cattle you are raising has a bigger and bulkier cow then pair the female with this bigger cow and it will pass on the genes for it size sooner or later. When it comes to sheep, look for sheep who have longer, thicker wool and produce more milk. Practicing husbandry is rather simple as all it is about is picking and choosing which of the animals in your herds have good traits and should be allowed to pass them on.
Husbandry will be less about slaughtering your herds for their meat and more about raising them for what they produce. You'll want the sheep for wool for making into string that can be used to mend or make clothing. The cattle will produce milk and can be used as work animals for your farms while the lame are turned into meals. The goat will also produce milk and you can occasional get meat from them if the need be. Pigs will be the main source of your meat from husbandry but will also eat anything given to them. Chickens will produce eggs for you and that can be made into food. You will want to bolster the size of your herds before you begin slaughtering any animals.
Water
You've been collecting rain water in all kinds of pots and buckets and you've been surviving off it for now. But now things will start getting serious. Droughts will happen and you may go weeks without any rain so you can't just survive off of rain water. Plus you are supporting a farm and a herd of animals now as your food sources so you'll need more than just rain water. What you need is a well or a lake with a purifying station. Both will be difficult to set up as you'll need to spend many hours digging a well and setting up the purifying station can be difficult. One can go for one or the other or go for both simply to have one working in case the other one does not work out in the longer term.
Wells
Your average water well will need to be at least twenty to six hundred fet in depth to hit water but can sometimes even exceed three thousand feet in depth. Though, the likelyhood of you digging a three thousand feet deep will is not high.You may reach a thousand feet in depth for your wells but anywhere beyond is likely to be a waste of time and enegery. Geology is key in deciding where to place one's well as you don't want to place a well on the top of a hill as the majority of water will trickle down the slopes rather than into the hill. Wells should not be far from rivers, lakes, or downward slopes as water will collect there and should be abundant there. Your well can be anywhere from half a foot to three or five feet in diamater depending on what you are looking for.
When constructing a well you want to lay the proper foundation around the well from stone and grout. A bucket and crank should be placed above the well's opening for collection purposes. When pouring water from a well, you can strain out any particulate dirt by placing a shirt or several shirts over another bucket and pouring the water through the shirts multiple time. It should strain out any particulate matter that made it through the stone and grout. The water should be safe for drinking after three or four passes. Thus, with the establishment of your own water well you have created a source of water even if there is a lack of rain in the area.
Water Purification
Water purification is a time intensive process which will involve the collection of water from a nearby stream or lake, the straining of large contaminants, small contaminants, and the boiling of the water. After collecting several buckets of water, you'll want to dump the water through a shirt or some sort of cloth to remove both small and large contaminents from the water. You'll wish to repeat this step several times and then collect the finished product in a large, fire safe container. Said container will need to be able to resist one hundred degrees celsius without falling apart and should be small enough that all the water will be heated easily or at the very least easily circulated. You'll want to boil the water long enough to kill most bacteria capable of harming you from the water.
You could also follow the process of distillation which will require you to set up a container where the water is boiled and a container where the water vapour can collect and condense into liquid water once more. This process can be difficult and may produce less water than was put into before hand. But, this product could also produce water with a higher purity than simply boiling the water. Both processes can be preformed but boiling the water is less time intensive than distillation. On the other hand, one can also collect snow and melt it into drinking water.
Groups
You've live long enough to establish a group and you've probably had several encounters with drama inside your group. You also are unsure on how to establish a work schedule, rationing, job assessments, and controlling you group. Well, all these sections are essentially to surviving in a group. Rationing will become essential as your group grows bigger and you need to stretch your food supplies. A work schedule is also essential as you don't want to have everybody in the group tired all the time and you don't want the same people working all day. You also don't want somebody on a job which they don't do well in even after training. Controlling the group will be the most difficult of these things to do as using too much power will result in the possiblity of a general distrust of people in positions of power or using too little power will result in a general apathy towards getting things done.
Work Schedule
When establishing a work schedule, the first thing you should think of is how many people you have and how many you can apply to a shift to get the max efficency. You don't want people working twelve hour shifts of physically intensive work everyday so cut it down to three six hour shifts if the work needs eighteen hours to get down or two six hour shifts and a four hour shift if it takes sixteen hours. Don't apply too many people to a single shift but don't put too few on a single shift. If you don't have enough people to have people working only one shift each then you can apply some people from the first shift on the third shift to fill the positions. But you also don't want the same people working the same job all year long.
For members who have shown proficency in other job positions, you can apply them to job changes every other week if the need be. If you have a members who are idle due to a certain working season being down then they can be applied to a job where they've displayed skill in working on. Alternatively, you could establish a monthly job change among the groups so that they circulate between jobs every month to gain skill in a job which they lack skill in. Though, in that case I would suggest keeping several veterans of each job there for anybody without skill to learn from. Don't schedule a job change from one physically intensive job to another, instead switch between phsyically intensive and non-physically intensive jobs each time you change them.
Rationing
Rationing can be difficult to do as certain people will demand more rations than others. There are two ways to set up rations. You can either personally assign ration amount to each person or you can assign ration amounts according to the jobs that the people are working. While assigning rations to each person seems daunting it can be rather simple. You'll need to consider their job and body type. The larger and more muscular a person is, the more high calorie and high protein food they will need. If they have a physcially intensive job, provide them with more rations than others as they will need all the energy they can get to do their job every day. If you've read the Basic version of this guide then you understand the importance of avoid favortism when it comes to rationing and should know that some people may take it as favortism if you give a certain person more food than another person.
That is why I honestly prefer assigning rations based on jobs. When combined with monthly job changes, job rations can be the fairest and least drama causing option of rationing. Physically intensive jobs will, of course, get better rations while the other jobs will get less. Guarding jobs should get similar, though not exactly the same, rations as the physically intensive jobs and small jobs such as sewing will get lesser rations. A hunting job on the other hand should be allowed to have at least a quarter of the food they bring back meaning that they have more of an incentive to catch something while they are out. But, you want somebody to keep guard on the ration list and rationing cards used to keep track of who gets what amount of rations.
Job Assessments
If you've never been a leadership position or managorial position, assessing how well people do a job can be difficult. But, the system can be simplified if you so wish. For any new recruits, they should be trained by a veteran of a job each week or month, whichever you want, and assessed by the veteran on how well they retained what they were taught and how well they did their job. Circulate them through each job position and have the vets test the the recruit with scenarios in while training them. Should the recruit pass in one area but fail in another, apply them to the job they did best at. When it comes time to circulate them out of their main job position, make sure a vet is with them in every job where they didn't pass with enough skill to be considered proficent.
Controlling the Group
Controlling your group can be difficult without causing dissent among the members. You don't want to be too heavy handed with the members otherwise they may produce dissenters while you don't want to be light with them otherwise they may not be motivated to get their jobs done. The best way to motivate people to get their jobs done could be extra rations if the job is done before the end of a timeline or ranks which provide better living quarters for those who work hard. People will nearly always be motivated to do better or more if you give them a reason to actually get their work done. But, you don't want to have the same reward for hard work everytime somebody gets something done. Make sure the rewards vary from time to time to keep it from becoming monotonous.
You'll want to establish a law and punishment system early on in the formation of your group so that crimes aren't performed as if there was no care in the world. Never should the punishment for a crime be death even if the person punished committed murder. Instead, banishment for a certain period of time is the best course of action for any crime committed which one feels is as good as murder. Don't be too hard on people though. If a person steals rations, the person should have no more than a job change to a physically intensive job for the theft. Assaulting another member should be a physically sort of punishment such as lashes or even banishment if it is bad enough. A person who doesn't do their job should have a cut in their rations for the day for not working without a legitimate reason for it.
Medical Knowledge
The lack of medical knowledge can be the leading cause of death after the apocalypse. You'll no longer have access to modern medical practices and will have to rely on older medical practices. This means setting bones without any form of anestetic, using alcohol to clean wounds, and fire to clean medical tools. Bandages will be made from whatever cloth you can make or find and pultices will be more common than actual modern medicine. Boiled water will be used to wash areas around wounds and you'll be sewing wounds closed with string rather than medical wire. If a person gets a compound fracture in the leg than an amputation will be an option rather than a joke.
Setting Bones
Broken bones are easy to get even if the amount of force needed to break a bone can be anywhere from twenty-five pounds to (theoretically)nineteen thousand pounds depending on the bone and direction on which the force is applied. But, broken bones can be the most dangerous thing in the apocalypse. A broken leg bone not just limits movement but can also completely stop movement. While there are two classifications of fractures -compund and simple- there are seven fracture types that you'll need to know. But, you first need to know the classifications. These are compound fractures, a fracture where the bone breaks skin, and simple fractures where the bone does not break skin. There are also displaced fractures, a fracture where the bone snaps in two or more parts and move so that the bone is not lined up straight, and non-displaced fracture, where the bone can crak part or all the way through but does not moove.
Now, onto the types of fractures you'll see most often. There is a greenstick fracture which is an incomplete fracture where the bone is bent. A trasverse fracture is where the bone is broken so that it is at a right angle to it's axis. A comminuted fracture is when the bone breaks and several pieces and is more often than not a displaced and closed fracture. A buckled fracture can be very dangerous as it is when the ends of a broken bone are driven into each other. The last two fractures are pathologic, a fracture where the bone is weakened by a disease, and stress, where the fracture is a hairline crack. Now, all these types of fractures can be very dangerous and difficult to fix. Some like a comminuted fracture may be impossible to fix due to how the bone broke.
Setting a bone can be done with a closed reduction. A closed reduction is when you don't perform surgery on the bone and instead push the broken bone into its proper place. Afterwards you place a bone in a cast or splint to keep the bone in place. A compound fracture can be very deadly as there can be damage to muscles, ligaments, veins, tendons, and arteries. Treating a compound fracture requires you to realign the bone as you would have done for a simple fracture and bind it in a splint. You'll need to stitch the wound closed and clean it out with some sort of alcohol or sanitizer. It is not suggested that you try this by yourself. I know dislocated bones aren't broken bones but I don't want to waste time with another section so I'm placing it here. Simply pull the dislocated bone with enough force to slide it back into position and bind it in a splint.
Cuts and Bruises
Cuts and Bruises may seem like simple things to heal but both can be extremely dangerous. Even the smallest cut can get infected by bacteria and then progress to more infection. A bruise is a sign of bleeding underneath the skin meaning something underneath has been damage. If one has sealed a wound and you notice a purplish-blue or even yellowish-black discoloration of the skin around it then you have bleeding even after sealing it. Cuts deep enough to cut through skin will need to be operated on and cleaned. You'll need to sterilize all equipment and the area around the wound cleaned so as to remove any bacteria. Bandages used to cover a wound should be dry or boiled in water and left to dry in the sun from a hanging rack before use.
Sterlizing Equipment and Wounds
Sterlization is required for all equipment before and after use when performing an operation. Wounds can be sterlized using fire and alcohol. All equipment should be boiled in water before and after use to, quite like purifying water, kill the bacteria on the equipment. Directly before use the water should be burnt off of the equipment with an open flame. It is best to use the equipment while it is still hot from the fire so as to allow for it to somewhat cauterize the hole it makes on its way through the flesh. Equipment should always be kept in boiling water or alcohol to keep bacteria from growing on it.
Treating Diseases
The best way one can treat diseases without the medicine we have now is water and bed rest. If you catch the flu in the apocalypse it may not be the best idea to continue on with life and let it run its course. You want to lay in bed and drink as much water as you can handle. You will need to find some books on herbalism and learn how to identify helpful herbs for reducing fever, inflimation, and coughing. These will be essential to caring for and preventing the transmition of a disease further. Fevers can be treated otherwise using a cool, wet rag. Pneumonia should be treated the same way while keeping them in a dry atmosphere for wet pneumonia and a atmosphere where they can easily breathe when they have dry pneumonia. Treatments for diseases otherwise will be extremely difficult considering modern medicine made it possible to treat a very wide range of diseases easier. The best you can do is find and grow as many useful herbs as possible that you've found from a book on herbalism.
Weapons
You've got weapons set up for your group which should be a mix of modern weapons such as guns, machetes, and hammers with not so modern weapons such as swords, spears, and bows. This way you have a balanced mix of weaponry which can easily be switched between modern and old style. You will want to focus on caring for your weapons rather making new ones. This means that you'll be sharpening the blade of your machetes, sword, spears, and arrows with a grindstone and cleaning your guns and bows with oil and water to keep everything working well.
Melee Weapon Care
It is pretty easy to care for melee weapons. You'll need a grindstone which is generally any hard stone capable of sharpening and removing rust from metals. In modern times, we have hand held versions which, though they are not actually grindstones, are capable of sharpening metals but have limited uses and should only be used when out of your own territory. While in your own territory, a rotary grindstone would be best for sharpening your knives, machetes, and swords to cut through... well whatever they are cutting through. Blunt force weapons don't need nearly as much care and can be easily cleaned off with some water when dirty.
Ranged Weapon Care
Ranged weapons will be the most difficult to properly take care of. Bows will need to have their strings oiled occasionally with wax which can prolong the use of that string. String should be changed out at least once a year while the bow itself should be kept in a dry, cool place where it will not be exposed to a lot of moitsure and will not degrade. Your guns will need to have their slide, magazine tube, trigger pin, and hammer pin oiled at least once every two months to keep it working. Rifles will need their bolt and slide oiled. You'll want to be careful when handling the guns while cleaning and to make sure you don't over oil the parts which could cause a malfunction.
Ending
You've came all this way and read all of this and may have came out for the better. In an apocalypse you are now likely to survive more than twenty years depending on the apocalypse. I may not be a survival expert nor a survival newb but I believe that if you live by the above and what is in the Basic Guide then you should be able to survive the apocalypse. I have researched quite a lot of on the majority of the above while some is just knowledge I have learned over the year. If you have anything to add then you are welcome to say it here.
References:
1.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self_bow
2.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Composite_bow
3.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recurve_bow
4.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunting
5.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal_husbandry
6.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domestication
7.http://www.agwt.org/content/how-deep-should-my-well-be
8.http://blog.skillingsandsons.com/blog-1/well-depth-how-deep-should-my-water-well-be
9.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_purification
10.http://scienceline.ucsb.edu/getkey.php?key=3088
11.http://www.livescience.com/6040-brute-force-humans-punch.html
12.http://www.corephysicians.org/news-and-health-library/health-library/surgery/surg3234/
13.http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/understanding-fractures-basic-information
14.http://www.thereadystore.com/diy/3265/how-to-set-a-broken-bone-in-an-emergency/
15.http://thearmageddonblog.com/how-to-set-a-bone/
16.http://www.merlinarchery.co.uk/merlin-extras/resource/resource_beginners/beg_caringforyourbow.htm
