Ask me about outdoor living, hunting especially

[Tom]

I enjoy hunting and fishing, and have some knowledge of snares. I also have a good understanding of edible plants, game, survival skills, and other necessities for living in the wilds. If I don't know something, I'll refer you to a website or book that covers that topic.

 

[Valentinator]

If you want to travel from one place to another, is possible to get the food quickly without actually spending the whole day looking for deers etc.? Like I see the pray near the road and shoot it with my bow, or put the snares before going to sleep and collect the stuff in the morning. Can I spend just 1 hour a day for hunting on a regular basis to eat enough? We are talking about Middle-Age european-like society with lots of wild life in the woods.

 

[Tom]

I suppose so. If you find fresh deer scat and tracks, you can track and stalk the deer if you stay downwind and are really quiet. Bowhunting takes a lot of skill, as you have to get much closer to your quarry than you would have to using a rifle or shotgun. Stalking can take anywhere from an hour to several days if you're after a wily one. Deer do come out on roadsides a lot more than you'd expect.

Snares are an excellent way to catch game; I'd say a rabbit a day from the classic bent-sapling snap-up snare. Setting up several in a place you know game frequents just about guarantees food.

 

[skip.knox]

Why didn't you bring any food with you? Are you on foot? And traveling alone?

Even at that, it's going to be much easier to find food in a town or village--you'll encounter a village every few miles and a town every few days--than you will trying to hunt by yourself for yourself. One reason why humans lived in tribes was to hunt in packs.

You *could* try hunting your protein, but it's not very efficient--you burn up a lot of energy in the hunt!

Also, if you are anywhere near ... well, much of any place, really -- that forest belongs to some baron or king who is likely to get downright cranky if you kill his deer. And the locals will be happy to rat you out.

 

[Tom]

I was going to mention that most forest land was owned by a king or baron...

 

[Spider]

Are there any edible plants with healing properties which you can find in a common forest?

 

[Tom]

Three I can think of right now are purple coneflower, St. John'swort, and wild or Canadian ginger. The first two can be found in woodland meadows, while the third commonly grows in rich, moist woods. Oh, and Allegheny foamflower. It was used for burns, while the first three were used for abrasions and wounds.

 

[Valentinator]

Tom, skip.nox good points, thanks. My characters are travelling in a relatively uninhabited area and they are sort of aristocrats with certain unique privileges like hunting anywhere they want. They are carrying some food but I was thinking they can also add some variations to their ration sometimes. Thanks again!

 

[Tom]

Always glad to help!