Fieldcraft
Broadening of Scope Statement
Welcome to the fieldcraft pages of www.tacticalworks.ca! In exploring the content of this section of our internet publication, your likely notice that many of our fieldcraft articles are written from a somewhat broader perspective than that of the tactical world. We made the decision to do this consciously, as it is our belief that the principles are not only transferable, but a solid foundation without which it is difficult to build up effective fieldcraft related tactical skill. As such, there is more to be learned from this increased scope as compared to one intended soley towards solving specific tactical problems.
The animal world is alive and seething with excellent teachers of exquisite fieldcraft. Predators and prey species alike offer a sometimes entrancing opportunity to re-connect with this deeply buried aspect of our past. Getting out to watch is the first step.
A specialized study in predator/prey relationships
Not that long ago, there was a time in our evolutionary history where the human animal interacted with it's environment at much the same level as the rest of the animals. We shared with them a vast wilderness so much so that for all intensive purposes, we were indistinguishable from it. Much has changed over the past 500 years.
The ability to survive in this wilderness environment is often referred to as bushcraft. Bushcraft is loosely defined as the knowledge of how to get food and shelter, find one's way, or take care of other necessities in the bush. As we have become more adept at both specialization and the engineering of our environment and applied a conquerer's philosophy to the once vast wilderness of north america, the bulk of these skills our ancestors practiced heavily for survival have been subject to significant erosion.
Indirectly, these pages on fieldcraft are an attempt to preserve and archive the essence of some of these skills. We write "indirectly" because while Bushcraft primarily pertains to a pure wilderness theme, it serves as a requisite foundation to a very related set of slightly more specialized skills that are the main subject of this online resource: fieldcraft. This is a term used to describe the basic skills required to operate stealthily at day or night regardless of weather, terrain, or environment.
Built upon a pedestal of solid bushcraft and sometimes indistinguishable from this parent, these skills include camouflage, concealment, use of the shape of the ground and its features to move undetected, the skills of moving across ground and crossing obstacles, and the ability to observe effectively, thus penetrating potential third party camouflage.
Fieldcraft Skills
- Observation
- Movement
- Tracking
- Hunting
- Stalking
- Terrain Consideration - Upcoming article on terrain considerations
- Reconnaissance
- Navagation
Camouflage
- Camouflage Theory - Fundamental principles of camouflage.
- Physical Camouflage - Introduction to camouflage garment selection and use.
- Camouflage - Observations
- GhillieSkins ViperHood Review - Partial/light ghillie garment by Tactical Concealment