Brian85

I remember learning this skill as a young second class. We had some lectures from a very qualified ASM. We started with watching him field dress a deer. He explained how that process was similiar to a steer, and where the hamburger was made. We learned how to use every part of the deer with nothing wasted. It was amazing, probably one of the most memorable experiences I have. We were then shown a 'survival kit' and directed to make our own. The best part was the overnight experience. We 'planned' an outing, including food, water, and shelter. The adult leaders, without our knowledge, had a better learning experience planned. We packed all of our gear on friday into one of the leaders trucks, and basically went about our business. We showed up, like always at the jump off point for our trip, assumed all of our gear was in the truck, and took the hour ride out to knowwhere. The adults had done a great job of 'planning' and when we arrived at the rustic site, we went looking for a good campsite. Boy were we amazed when we went back to find that the truck had left, leaving none of our gear, excecpt the kits that we had made. The SM and ASM were sitting on the ground by a tree, waiting for our return. We were completely shocked, and the surprise added reality to the event. The ASM had a burlap sack that he said was full of our dinner. The SM laid out the rules for the event. We were stranded/lost and we needed to work as a team to survive the night. The burlap bag was so distracting, what was in it, you might ask? We had no idea. Shelter was priority one. DONE. Water was priority two. DONE. That burlap bag was finally opened about 2 p.m. The look on our faces was probably a VISA moment, especially when the ASM released 6 live chickens, with a raucous laugh, followed with, "Dinner is served!" We spent several hours just trying to catch the chickens. I cannot tell you the fun/fear we had. It was AWESOME. The whole time we were being observed and taught what to do. I am pretty sure that we scared every 'real' animal away from our area with our running, laughing and screaming, so snaring a wild rabbit or squirrel would have been impossible. Once caught, we had to kill, clean, and cook the birds. I will apologize for not following the LNT principles, because who knew how many feathers were on a chicken. Some guys didn't remove the feathers and cooked them off, Some got most off, while my group peeled the chicken. We ate every piece of edible meat off that chicken, and it was terrible. It was completely overcooked and had no flaveor, but it would have kept us alive. AWESOME EXPERIENCE. Good on your PLC for wanting to add this to their plan. Please don't drop into a pet store and ask for a rabbit for stew, though. 'Domestic' animals are not for eating. The yellow pages is your best choice for looking to find 'wild' animals for food. BTW, this happened in 1982.

Lisabob let me start out by saying how much I enjoy your posts. Everyone has given some great advice, and you have probably moved on to better topics, but I would like to add my two cents. Everyone seems to have quoted this and that, and stated what should be happening and what the CC and SM could do, I even read the thank you post. I will tell you that the only correction to enough is enough is when every boy decides that they are tired of it. The best solution will be when the boys in the troop all confront the 2 troublemakers and just "lay down the law." Peer Pressure will prevail, if and only if the troop provides a unified front. I hope that all the discipline issues have been documented and the two can honestly answer if they live according to the Scout Law. Like you said, a different topic. The core group will prevail, if they each provide cover for themselves. Peer Pressure is the most powerful tool when dealing with this issue. It cannot be started by the Adult Leadership, but it has to come from the boys themselves. Is it easy, of course not. Does it provide a life's lesson, YES. We can quote every leadership book, try techniques, and nothing will ever beat the power of your Peers. I keep reading your original post and get more and more upset when I read it. It is upsetting that it has been allowed to continue. The laundry list of previous issues needs to be addressed. Eagle92 is completely correct in his very first response. Good luck and please continue all of your great topics flowing.

Just follow the rules. Personnally, I couldn't wait until I could wear the knot. As far as the original posting is concerned, if that person would like to see a change to the IG and have that modified, I would bet that BSA Supply and the Manual Folks would love to have someone volunteer to update the IG. In fact, it would be awesome if someone put together a historical IG that includes all of uniforms past. It could include socks, garters, shorts, trousers, men's and womens, et cetera. How about a how to guide that shows how to incorporate older uniforms into current wear. I think it would be great to see a collarless shirt from yesteryear worn with the centennial trousers. It could also discuss the the proper wear of the uniform, especially fit. Any takers?

Has anyone bought one of the Henry Rifles? I have a 75th anniversary rifle, and would like to get the Henry 100th. Any advice?

In the past, I have followed all guidance provided in the Bear Handbook. I then sprinkled in a large amount of safety and then a little more safety, and topped off the entire topic with SAFETY. I also had a large wooden pocket knife that I used to demonstrate. It was about 18 inches long and 6 inches wide. It had the typical blades and tools on a traditional 'scout' knife, not a SWISS army knife. The kids loved that thing. I wish I could find another one. I have not incorporated the EDGE model into the training process, but it would only take a minute to merge the teachings into the EDGE. Now that I write it, it would actually be pretty good to use EDGE for the whittlin' chit.

Every topic is great! SOME are better than others, but MOST are all very good. MANY even have great links to good information. FEW are not worth reading, but even the FEW have at least one good post. I have begun by list of acronyms that are posted and so when my wife reads a post that I feel answers her questions, it doesn't generate a host of new questions for the abbreviations. As far as reviving topics, I say no. Unless there is a major policy shift and something that is in the archives is not good information. I always try to read throught the emotion and look for the posters that include references. The worst posts are those that interpret the various guides, manuals, and tools that are provided to us as leaders to provide a solid program for our boys. The best of the worst are the thought provoking topics that start off with the dubious words, "WHAT IF..." Especially if the poster has a large number of posts, and then includes historical references.