In the last post of this building a quality survival kit on a budget series, we continued exploring the 10 C’s plus one concept and added some casualty care to the survival kit. At this point, the survival kit contains items to help combat all of the most common threats. As such, we have started adding some utility to it. We have also introduced a few options for cutting tools, combustion, cordage, containers, cover, compass, candle, and casualty care. Now it’s time to look at the next category of the 10 C’s plus one, which happens to be “combat”, to figure out what to add next to the kit.
For review and in terms of utility, I like to refer to a concept coined as the 10 C’s plus one. They are:
- Cutting (tools)
- Combustion
- Cordage
- Container
- Cover
- Compass (maps)
- Candle (lighting)
- Casualty care
- Combat
- Communications
- Calories
The concept of combat in this context refers to the tools required to effectively fight (or hunt). Given this blog is predominantly firearms centric, I’m inclined to suggest a gun. However, I’m unaware of any firearm that can be acquired and added to this kit while staying true to the $25 per month budget limitation of this project. This creates quite the conundrum.
So what options do we have?
If one already carries a defensive firearm, then one choice might be to throw a box of spare ammo. Given the ammo market conditions at the time of writing and publishing this post, the likelihood of acquiring a box of quality ammo and staying under budget will be challenging.
We’re not out of options yet, but the right decision is going to depend on what has been added to this kit already. If one opted for a multi-tool instead of a fixed blade knife when we covered cutting tools, then I’m going to suggest picking up a Morakniv Companion. Granted this is suboptimal for defensive purposes, but it’s better than attempting to fight with a multi-tool. At the same time, adding a fixed blade to the kit gives the kit additional cutting capabilities.
If a fixed blade has already been added to the kit, then a small hatchet is something to consider. In the same vein as a fixed blade knife, it’s not ideal for defensive use but it is better than nothing and can be used for several other tasks.
One could potentially consider trapping kits or fishing kits which do add some food gathering capabilities to the survival kit. This might make sense depending on the environment one usually finds themselves in. However, I personally think it’s more prudent to focus on a tool that can be used defensively against predators of the two-legged and four-legged varieties.
So I’m going to close out this month’s budget survival kit post with one other option: save the $25 and start a fund for a pistol or revolver for defensive carry if you don’t have one already. Handguns are portable and effective defensive tools which might save one’s life in a survival situation. For all intents and purposes a defensive encounter is a short lived survival situation. If you happen to be in this position as you are reading this, then you might find my concealed carry firearm selection guide, the story of how my everyday carry pistol evolved, or last year’s list of my top 5 concealed carry handguns useful.