When I think survival, I think wilderness survival. Dangerous felons aren't a concern. When I hunt big game, I carry only a big game rifle. I will, not often, sometimes have a handgun close by while I'm in camp. I've never carried a handgun while hunting. I have no plan to start.
From a perspective of deep wilderness survival, my priorities are ranked as follows:
Knowledge of first aid and CPR and First Aid supplies (infection can become certain death)
Satellite phone (cell phones are not reliable for calling a sheriff for helicopter extraction)
Flare gun (signal approaching sheriff helicopter)
Waterproof matches (warmth and signal)
Water and food for at least two days (Gatorade is excellent hydration)
Flashlight (check wound status at night)
Knowledge of navigation
I have no clue of how many times I've been in deep wilderness and miles from camp. If I had broken a leg, I'd have stayed where I was injured. Cell phone reception in deep wilderness is a prayer. A sat phone will make contact with a sheriff's office. When gutting big game animals, I focus upon my knife. Slicing an artery miles from camp would be all she wrote. I'd have been a day old corpse by the time a sheriff's helicopter found me.
In contrast, my urban/suburban survival is simple: avoidance.
From a perspective of deep wilderness survival, my priorities are ranked as follows:
Knowledge of first aid and CPR and First Aid supplies (infection can become certain death)
Satellite phone (cell phones are not reliable for calling a sheriff for helicopter extraction)
Flare gun (signal approaching sheriff helicopter)
Waterproof matches (warmth and signal)
Water and food for at least two days (Gatorade is excellent hydration)
Flashlight (check wound status at night)
Knowledge of navigation
I have no clue of how many times I've been in deep wilderness and miles from camp. If I had broken a leg, I'd have stayed where I was injured. Cell phone reception in deep wilderness is a prayer. A sat phone will make contact with a sheriff's office. When gutting big game animals, I focus upon my knife. Slicing an artery miles from camp would be all she wrote. I'd have been a day old corpse by the time a sheriff's helicopter found me.
In contrast, my urban/suburban survival is simple: avoidance.