Carry more in your pack or break laws for survival?

Then let me take a shot. There is no leeway because there would be more forest fires, since many would just claim they felt like they would die if they didn’t have one. But I agree sometimes it would be hard to start a forest fire. But sounds like you plan accordingly which is the same as I do.

Ya that’s what I just stated- everyone has a different idea of what a survival situation is and it leaves the door open to create problems- Personally I don’t think it’s immoral to start a fire during a burn ban in a life or death situation- and I think it’s foolish to sit there and freeze to death rather than starting a fire to survive- I don’t ever go into the woods without a way to start a fire. It weighs essentially nothing and having a way to start a fire is in my opinion planning accordingly to a life saving measure


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The farthest point from a road in CO in the weminuche is only a half a days walk, an axe is about the same weight as a lightweight tent, pad, and sleeping bag. Aside from accidentally falling in a creek, there is little reason to NEED to start a fire if you're properly prepared
What do you carry in your pack to be prepared when fires are banned?
 
I am doing whatever I need to live...start a fire, eat an Eagle, ect...If I live you can write me a stack of tickets and I will happily pay them. Yes I always carry fire started and iginition source no matter where I hunt.
 
I'd be hard pressed to not have anything at all with me to start a fire no matter the time of year, time of day, fire restrictions in place, anything, when I leave the truck to hunt. Do I carry a lighter with intent to start a fire? Not really. Do I carry a lighter with intent to burn the ends of 550 cord, light my stove if the igniter doesn't work, etc.? Yeah, I do. Saying that you don't carry anything with you to start a fire just because there're restrictions and you don't want to break the law is just...well I think dumb. My stove can be a torch if I turn it upside down, I'll gladly use that to start a fire if I needed it to survive. Trespass to survive? Yeah, 100%, if I'm in that situation and trespassing on someone's property means I can knock on their door and they might be able to help me, or get out of the weather, or get back to the truck by passing through their land. I mean, I'd shoot a grizzly bear in the face to survive. Do I want to do that? No. But if I have to shoot it to not die, yeah, that's why I carry my 10mm with me. I know they're still federally protected, that's not going to stop me. FFS.
 
The farthest point from a road in CO in the weminuche is only a half a days walk, an axe is about the same weight as a lightweight tent, pad, and sleeping bag. Aside from accidentally falling in a creek, there is little reason to NEED to start a fire if you're properly prepared
What if you break your leg, are wet, whole system is wet, help is a day away? It's get hypothermia and die or start a fire where you are and live?
 
I'd be hard pressed to not have anything at all with me to start a fire no matter the time of year, time of day, fire restrictions in place, anything, when I leave the truck to hunt. Do I carry a lighter with intent to start a fire? Not really. Do I carry a lighter with intent to burn the ends of 550 cord, light my stove if the igniter doesn't work, etc.? Yeah, I do. Saying that you don't carry anything with you to start a fire just because there's restrictions and you don't want to break the law is just...well I think dumb. My stove can be a torch if I turn it upside down, I'll gladly use that to start a fire if I needed it to survive. Trespass to survive? Yeah, 100%, if I'm in that situation and trespassing on someone's property means I can knock on their door and they might be able to help me, or get out of the weather, or get back to the truck by passing through their land. I mean, I'd shoot a grizzly bear in the face to survive. Do I want to do that? No. But if I have to shoot it to not die, yeah, that's why I carry my 10mm with me. I know they're still federally protected, that's not going to stop me. FFS.
Ha. Just beat me to it….
 
The farthest point from a road in CO in the weminuche is only a half a days walk, an axe is about the same weight as a lightweight tent, pad, and sleeping bag. Aside from accidentally falling in a creek, there is little reason to NEED to start a fire if you're properly prepared

This is just ignorant- Spend some time in the Cascade or Rocky mountains and see how fast weather can change out of nowhere and how often the forecast is wrong-properly prepared includes 2 ways to start a fire, and a knife you can work with


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I guess it boils down to I take everything I need to survive without a fire when it is banned. When not banned it doesn’t change my pack much, just an added layer of protection of fire stuff. Again if that means I die since I don’t have it, I guess I die. I hunt during archery when the bans are mostly in place. In October/November hunts, no bans and most will have fire making stuff.
 
I've lived in my present location for 10 years now. Fire bans were in place for 2 of them because of tinder dry conditions during deer season. Due to that restriction, I did not go more than 1/2 mile or so from the road while hunting. I like to make a hunt camp a few miles in for 4 or 5 days but a fire is essential for me in cold weather, so I didn't do a camp those years.

One piece of gear I often carry is a Sterno can. It is pretty effective as an emergency heat source if you have something to wrap around yourself while sitting with the flame between your knees.

Fire bans can remain in place during rain or snow storms when there is no real fire danger. A day or two later the forest will be dry again but its not practical to cancel for a day or two and then reinstate. I would definitely make a fire to save my life in wet conditions, but making a fire that could get out of hand and cause others to lose their lives is another matter. That's just applying common sense to the situation, and if the weather is that bad its unlikely anybody is going to see your fire.
 
"I have literally seen 100’s if not a thousand violations of hunting laws in my lifetime" Witnessing 1000 violations of hunting laws seems very unlikely, how is this possible? Even game wardens rarely witness violations. Most of the time they are uncovered through investigations.
 
My best friend got lost and had to spend a cold rainy night on the mountain. He ditched his tarp and fire building kit to save weight that day. Long story short around mid day he wanted to check out an area on the way back to camp, zigged when he should have zagged and got turned around. Temps dropped to low to mid 30's that night. IIRC There was a burn restriction in that area at that time but he wished like hell he'd had that stuff with him. No food. No Garmin. Just his cell phone with ZERO service and No maps of the area. 1700 miles from home. Headlamp battery died as well. We looked for him all that evening and all the next morning. We were regrouping back at camp when his sorry ass came lumbering through the tent flaps. He was missing for almost 24 hours. He'd walked roughly 26 miles (we call it the Boston Mountain Marathon... might give you a clue as to where we were) by the time he found the camp site again. All he had was a puffy blanket and a rain jacket to stay warm. Ended up nuzzled under a pine bough lean to wrapped in that down blanky. Did he survive? Yep! But he wished like hell he'd had a way to make fire and dry out. It's not just the warmth. It's also the feeling of hope that fire can bring to keep you pushing.
 
where you draw the line?

"No matter where I am, no matter what I do, everyone in a 25 yard radius is gonna f’n die just so I can make it home. And if I had to kill everyone in the whole village…damn right everyone in that f’n village would be dead for me to come home."

-John "Shrek" Mcphee
 
Simple firestarting gear can increase your chances of staying warm or signalling in the event of an emergency. Equally important, it saves time, effort and danger for responding rescuers.
 
If you are super smart to assemble a fireless gear set for any and all conditions possible...I would just guess you are super smart enough not to just start random fires and understand when it would be life or death. The fact you have to completely remove all fire starting capabilities and in turn chance forgetting putting them back in your pack at some point....well it conflicts the first 5 words I typed.

Personally my life is more important than maybe starting a wildfire if conditions are such I would need a fire to survive.
 
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