Survival Shelter- Basic Scout Pit

http://primitiveskills.com At the Scout Basic course build a survival shelter emphasizing low profile.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• survival
• survival shelter
• escape
• evasion

[sundogforlove]

would this shelter fill up with water in the rain?

[primitiveskills]

@sundogforlove Hasn't yet. The clay rich soil remains damp regardless weather, which can cause your grass matts to rot if you dont line the floor with boughs to keep it elevated in your absence. I just checked on of the three scout pits just recently (theres a thaw) and the floor has no pooling of water/ice. Again, location is key. The Scout Pit is for long term stealth applications, no shelter at all or a modified debris hut are best when fire making is a liability.

[siinew]

Awesome for hide sites, for sure, but depending on the weather and where you dig this, you may need to BYOS (bring your own snorkel). This approach to staying hidden on the landscape has been around for thousands if not 10's of thousands of years. We used variations of this idea very successfully on many a recon mission when I was in the military.

[primitiveskills]

@siinew Thank you for your intelligent response. Your comment regarding awareness and location are spot on. Too many folks disregard the value of direct experience when it comes to learning these skills, especially with shleter design. It takes a few miserable nights to increase the learning curve. Something not available to folks who only read a book, watch a video, or hypothesize with undo authority from their chair. Hope to meet you on the trail.

[turbzdajuggalo]

that could be ok but only for so long. Food and water are 2 of the most important factors there, not to mention heat. I would realy hate to wake up one morning to go out and catch a fish or check snare traps or spring fish traps, & little to my surprize startle a damn bear, not to mention snakes love pitts! I could see using that shelter in a lightning storm maybe. I try not to put myself into the ground yet. I'll leave that to the heavens above. Plus you have no drainage for down falling rain!

[primitiveskills]

@turbzdajuggaloBased on YOUR experience? Really? I would love to hear your experiences in this shelter and see where your construction flaws are. I can only speak from my experiences and those of our staff...and the historical accounts of cultures that used them and those small unit operators that have adopted the design. But I am willing to set aside those small optimistic applications for the reality of the time YOU have spent in a scout pit. Next.

[yatzy75]

And when it starts raining the shelter will be full of water in no time. And thanks to the low profile noone will find you in youre "survival situation".

To dig down like that must be the most stupid kind of shelter ever.

[primitiveskills]

@dbdbdb1111111 Good awareness and compassion for Birch. The bark was taken from birch that had died from being ovetaken by a spruce/fir stand (natural sucession). The pits have been used repeatedly over the last twelve years with no water or snake issues. We did have a few toads and spiders, but nothing big enough for a meal.

[rabidmonkeygirl]

@turbzdajuggalo You should go to the school. I can tell by your comment that you have little to no experience are in need of real training. I just got back from two consecutive weekends in Scout pit living, one with our girl scout troop. We ate well, and away from our sleeping area, BASIC SKILLS KNOWLEDGE. Go to a course, the folks there are patient and know their stuff. No one really wants to be an arm chair survivalist for the whole life.

[TheWesternking]

@turbzdajuggalo for the heat "problem" your talking about, the grass tput in the bottom and the coverage put on top plus your natiral body heat would keep you nice and war

[123JumpingJacks]

@MountainDweller67 If you have proper insulation you will not be cold even if you are wet. You can accomplish that by filling this shelter with debris. Then get in and suround yourself with it. No fire is needed to do this. Aaaaaand, if you were a scout and needed to stay under the radar this could be a plausable concept which I think is the point of any video titled basic scout pit.

[woodsyteacher]

@guyduran Dude, you got owned.