Beginners Guides Archives

Here at Pellpax, a significant part of our range is given over to outdoor wildness in our UK bushcraft supplies store. Stuff to help you eat, sleep, and survive in the great outdoors.

Bushcraft has developed as a movement and hobby over quite a time – arguably it goes back to the beginning of man’s earliest origins. However, in recent times, it’s become a source of fascination here in the UK, thanks to TV survivalists like Ray Mears and Bear Grylls.

This has led to the development of blogs, outdoor survival courses, festivals, and shows across the UK. There are several broad disciplines within bushcraft. What follows is a quick overview of each of these, with some products to illustrate what you’ll need to survive your next outdoor adventure.

1. Get Water: Stay Hydrated

Geigerrig Pressurized Hydration Engine - 3 Litre £39.95 Code: PGR3LTR — Geigerrig Pressurized Hydration Engine – 3 Litre £39.95 Code: PGR3LTR

Water is one of your essential bodily needs, and you won’t last long without hydrating, particularly when exposed to the elements and weather. It’s also important for hygiene, without which you’ll find yourself becoming ill and unable to survive. You can bring your own water with the appropriate storage, or collect it, or even dig a well.

You can bring your own with the appropriate storage, or collect or even dig a well. We’ve got some great water reservoirs like this one by Geigerrig (£39.95).

A pressurized hydration engine, with a capacity of 3 litres, it’s great for those early morning showers, if you’ve got the storage capacity.

leatherman-classic-steripen-8666 — SteriPEN Classic £66.99 Code: PSPPF-RP-EF

Alternatively, if you’ve decided to travel light and go for water capture and collection, then you’ll need to purify your water in order to drink it.

You could invest in this purification kit by Steripen (below).

The Steripen Classic uses UV light to kill bacteria. It’s just one of the range of Steripen water purifiers and accessories that we sell. Check out this section for more.

2. Bring, find or make shelter

military-wire-saw-5420 — Military Wire Saw £4.99 Code: p158

Any stay in the elements is going to require shelter, the most basic of human requirements. If you are going to be adventurous and go beyond the modern method of using a collapsible tent, then you may choose to make your own shelter from wood and undergrowth that you’ve been able to cut or claim from the forest or nature itself.

You could use one of our huge range of machetes for this purpose, or our range of axes to help you hack off a branch or two.If you’re taking your bushcraft seriously and travelling light, you might want to pack this light, versatile chain saw.

A tarp may be a lightweight alternative to carrying a full tent. You could take this one (below), and even use your bushcraft skills to make it into a tent.

3. Camping Lanterns

When you’re in the outback, countryside, or your backyard, you’re going to need to be able to see when the sun goes down. Our range of Ultimate Survival lanterns (£27.99) will let you do this in style, coming in a range of four colours, with two variants that are longer lasting, for 10 and 30 day periods respectively. They are water resistant, and have 3 modes: low, high and SOS flash.

The entry model offers a whopping 91 hours of continuous with 4 AA batteries, which should be enough for most campaign trips, or tricky corners of your house like attic or garage, where some extra light could come in handy.

So, there you have it. The range of goods and products for sale in our bushcraft range is growing all the time. We deliver across Great Britain, and our staff are on call to give you all the help, advice and assistance you need with loading up for your next adventure. Check out the Pellpax UK bushcraft store, and, if you need help, call us today!

For those readers who are considering applying for a shotgun licence and getting themselves a shotgun for sale from one from our huge and growing range, or those who already have, here’s a short and snappy guide to shooting correctly.

1. Think Safety First: Treat All Shotguns As Loaded

President Barack Obama shoots clay targets on the range at Camp David, Md., Saturday, Aug. 4, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) This official White House photograph is being made available only for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photograph. The photograph may not be manipulated in any way and may not be used in commercial or political materials, advertisements, emails, products, promotions that in any way suggests approval or endorsement of the President, the First Family, or the White House. — Responsible shotgun shooting looks like this. Here, President Barack Obama practices clay pigeon shooting at Camp David. Note the use of ear defenders and eye protection.

A shotgun is a powerful, and potentially lethal implement. That’s why it’s important to start from a place of treating it with great care. An oft-repeated rule is that you should always treat the shotgun as if it were loaded. It’s also important to use eye protection, and ear defenders. It’s vital to ensure the weapons is set to safety until in the firing position.

Vitally, you should make sure that the gun is never aimed at anyone, including yourself. It’s worth checking that a gun is not loaded or blocked when picking it up, putting it down or passing it to another person.

You should only touch the trigger if you are fully prepared to fire the weapon. Pointing it either up, or down will ensure no one gets hurt if the worst happens.

Source: Shooting UK.

2. Proper Form: Hold and Aim Correctly

Source: Wikiphoto http://www.wikihow.com/User:Wikiphoto — How To Hold A Gun. Source: Wikiphoto

The art of firing a shotgun is distinct and different from other projectile weapons. For example, some people say “rifles are aimed, shotguns are pointed”.

The essential grip involves holding the stock with one’s non-shooting hand, which should be placed around the middle. Make a V-shape with your forefinger and thumb, and sit the length of the gun firmly in this position.

Meanwhile, the hand with which you will fire the weapon should firmly hold the grip which is behind the trigger and guard of the shotgun. Your grip should be gentle but solid.

As for cradling the weapon, it should sit, in what has been described as the “pocket” of your shoulder. This will prevent the “kick” of the gun from causing bruising, etc., when fired.

Source: Gearpatrol, Wikihow

3. Fix Your Cheek To the Stock and Twist

A_typical_-American-_trap_shoot_scene — A typical US ‘Trap’ Shooting scene. Source: User: Jesrushton, Wikipedia.

In order to aim correctly, you will need to develop your cheek to stock aim. In other words, developing a level aim of the sight of the shotgun by keeping your cheek firmly and steadily next to the stock.

Once you have developed this through repetition and practice, when aiming at clays or birds, you will need to refine the “twist” of your waist as you follow your quarry.

These are, of course, just some of the starters for using a shotgun correctly. You will need to learn all about eye dominance, and the pros and cons of shooting “gun up” versus “gun down”.

You should also consider getting an instructor or attending a course to help you learn how to use your weapon accurately and safely. Check our our range of shotguns for sale to buy, and accessories. These include ear defenders and much more.

Category: Beginners Guides

Bushcraft – An Introduction