This Overlooked Survival Skill Will Help You Stay Alive In The Wilderness

There are many things to consider when prepping for survival away from the city.

The main consideration is the development of particular skills that will outlast your stock of supplies.

And this one overlooked survival skill will help you stay alive in the wilderness.

One of the biggest mistakes preppers make is prioritizing supplies over skills.

While it’s important to have plenty of supplies to sustain you, there’s nothing more important than skills.

They will serve you well when things go awry, which will always happen in an emergency situation.

That’s especially true when you’re outside of urban areas where a quick trip to the store can’t solve your problems.

Skills and quick thinking can be the difference between life and death in these scenarios.

And one overlooked skill is wood chopping.

You’ll need firewood for cold nights and frigid winters, so being able to chop wood is a necessity.

Assuming you don’t have a power chainsaw on hand, the first thing you’ll obviously need is an axe.

Make sure the blade is good and sharp, otherwise you’ll badly splinter wood, increase your workload, and put undue stress on your back.

The next items you’ll need are work gloves, work boots, and safety glasses.

Gloves are the most important because they will reduce the growth of calluses on your hands, and keep wood splinters from cutting your hand as you transport the logs.

The next thing you’ll need is a chopping block.

A tree stump or a thick piece of uncut wood will do the truck.

Elmo wood makes for a good chopping block because it is more resistant to being split.

Whatever surface you use, make sure it has a bit of give.

If the surface is too hard, it will damage your axe or potentially cause deflections that can injure you.

Next balance the wood on the chopping block.

Depending on the shape of the wood, this can be a big challenge, but it’s important to get it right so you’re not hitting the wood at an awkward angle.

As you chop the wood, keep your legs shoulder-width apart.

This will help you maintain balance and hit the wood at proper angles.

When you’re holding the axe, position your dominant hand above your non-dominant hand.

Choke up on the handle a little bit so you have a firm grip on the axe.

As you swing, your non-dominant hand should remain stationary, but your dominant hand should slide down toward your other hand.

When chopping the wood, watch out for knots or limbs.

They will make the wood considerably more difficult to chop.

Look for smooth grains in the wood, because that will be the easiest part to chop.

For particularly tricky pieces of wood, you might need to use a metal wedge and mallet or sledgehammer to get the job done.

Doing so will allow you to be more precise in hitting your marks to maneuver around tricky knots.

If you master this one skill, you’ll give yourself a much better chance of sustaining through harsh winter conditions.