[CFH2558]

Hey, all. I'm new here to the forums.
I've been wondering lately since I've started hiking, what types of animals should I aim to trap/hunt if I were to become lost in central Texas? I've seen survival videos with guys roasting squirrels, saying to cook them all the way through to purge any diseases, but is there anything else I should watch out for when handling meat? And what types of plants should I keep an eye out for? I've looked across the internet but haven't found anything for Texas survival.

[ikean]

Originally Posted by CFH2558

Hey, all. I'm new here to the forums.
I've been wondering lately since I've started hiking, what types of animals should I aim to trap/hunt if I were to become lost in central Texas? I've seen survival videos with guys roasting squirrels, saying to cook them all the way through to purge any diseases, but is there anything else I should watch out for when handling meat? And what types of plants should I keep an eye out for? I've looked across the internet but haven't found anything for Texas survival.

hill country...very abundant game,lotsa wild berries and greens,edible cactus...more like what cant you eat.
Weaqr gloves dressing it, dont nick the glands,ive the liver is spotted dont eat it.cook meat thoroughly and youll be ok

[stairman]

Just observe your local trapping laws and youll be off and running.There is pics of edible plants in the archives as well as trapping techniques. Look in the search feature. Eattheweeds.com has alot of edibles on you-tube. From Florida but you should recognise a few.

[spagirus]

Yeah, all kinds of game. Head out toward Kerrville, where I lived for a while, and there are all kinds of exotic deer. Small game is just as plentiful and varied. And fish, tons of them. Perch (also called bluegill or brim) are the easiest fish to catch in a survival situation (i.e. with an improvised cane pole), and in central Texas, unlike anywhere else I've fished, they have them as big as my feet. I even lived off the ones I caught, plus plant edibles, on a three day camping trip for the whole time!!! I didn't even dig into my camping food other than trail mix and flavoring packets.

As far as plants for food go, the prickly pear cactus is your friend (well for eating, not so much for collecting, please wear gloves as there are tiny and venomous 'pricklies' that you can't see in addition to the obvious big ones, which I learned the hard way). The fruit is tasty on the inside, the flowers can be eaten in a salad, and the body can be cleaned of spikes, cut into slivers, and cooked like green beans, which is quite yummy, if a bit slimy. And the whole plant has nearly all of the nutrients you need (minus protein) in large amounts. Another nice thing is that central Texas has an abundance of Live Oak trees. These are sometimes not noticed as oaks because their leaves are quite different than what we think of as oak leaves (i.e. the leaves of the more common red and white oaks), being much smaller and without the jagged sharp shapes and are much more like Holly leaves, even sometimes with small spikes on the sides. However, the nice thing about Live Oak is that the acorns aren't bitter like regular oaks and can be eaten raw without boiling them multiple times, and acorns in general are packed with protein. One could just live off of acorns and the prickly pear and maybe some roots for carbs (though the prickly pear body has some carbs too), say from cattail, if needed. In some of the rockier terrains, this might become necessary. Live Oaks and prickly pear cactus are always plentiful, whereas other plants may not be. Though generally there will be a veritable buffet of wild edibles to choose from. I've eaten plenty of grasses, leaves, and water cress here, but Texas does seem a bit short on wild berries, at least compared to Tennessee and Kentucky where I'm from originally. I just mentioned the two most common and useful plants that central Texas has to offer uniquely, though I might add saw palmetto to that list as well, also a bit hard to get to the good part at the base of the fronds, but well worth it for fresh tasting carbohydrates.

Living in central Texas myself, and considering the potentials of living off the land here, I've done a lot of research and field work on this topic. Glad to know another survivalist is in the area. Maybe we'll find each other when the zombies come.

[quenchcrack]

Prolly ought to give the armadillos a pass. They can carry leprosy. Besides, they are just too damned ugly to eat.

[crashdive123]

Yeah, but thier hide and tail make great knife scales.

[Cajunlady]

Do a search in the Food section as much of this was discussed indepthly including the armadillo and all the do's and don'ts of properly dressing. It's also mentioned about the discolorations of the liver in some animals.