Upon completion of the required coursework, students may schedule a certification test with onPoint Tactical’s training staff. The certification test will measure Wilderness Survival and Primitive Living skill sets. The certification test is pass/fail and retesting is allowed within one month. Successful completion of the basic certification test qualifies students to sign up for OnPoint Tactical’s advanced level Wilderness Survival and Primitive Living courses.
Upon completion of all advanced coursework, students may schedule an advanced certification exam. The advanced certification test is pass/fail, and retesting is allowed within one month. Future onPoint Tactical instructors will be drawn from those extremely dedicated students who successfully complete advanced OnPoint Tactical certification exams.
Wilderness Survival
This course covers the basics of survival: making shelter, finding and purifying water, making and maintaining fire, and finding and preparing food. Also included are sections on trapping and hunting, as well as instruction on how to manufacture your own cordage.
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 4/16/2009-4/18/2009, Tabernacle, NJ 08088
8/6/2009-8/8/2009, Salt Lake City, Ut
4/8/2010-4/10/2010, Tabernacle, New Jersey
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Land Navigation
Students will learn how to navigate using a map and compass. This decidedly low-tech approach will teach the skills necessary to survive as a Scout without the latest technology. Students will learn how to follow an azimuth, locate their position, and plan a route. In addition, students will learn survival navigation that will allow them to follow an azimuth without a compass. It is surprising how few people actually know these basic yet invaluable outdoor skills
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4/11/2010-4/11/2010, Tabernacle, New Jersey
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Winter Survival
Winter presents the harshest survival environment of all. Caloric requirements increase, there is an increased risk of injury, and resources are not readily available. This course covers the basics of winter survival: making snow shelters, trapping and hunting in the snow, and the extreme challenges of making and maintaining a fire in cold and wet conditions where useful fuel sources may not be easily obtained.
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1/28/2010-1/30/2010, Near Ft Drum, NY
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Primitive and Modern Trapping
Students will be learning to make and set snares in the quest for game animals. They will make snares in the shop, then accompany master trapper Kelly Alwood as he shows students how to read the landscape in the quest for snare sets. The students will set snares, and return to check on the snares. Snares that work will yield animals that will then be processed. Students will learn how to case skin the animal and prepare the hide for tanning. They will learn how to use the animal for food, butchering and cooking it. NOTE: This class involves KILLING small animals, skinning and eating them. If you are uncomfortable with the process that fed your ancestors, or have leanings towards PETA, you may want to skip this one
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1/7/2010-1/9/2010, Ashley Indiana
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Fire Workshop
Being able to make fire in any situation under any set of conditions is essential to survival. The focus of this course is to perfect various bow and hand drill techniques for starting fires. Emphasis will be placed on hand drill techniques, and significant practice under various conditions will be emphasized. Students will receive extensive hands-on experience and coaching to ensure their fire-starting skills are “bulletproof”.
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(no classes scheduled)
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Cordage and Fiber Workshop
The ability to process plant fibers into cordage is one of the most important survival skills. Cordage is vital to so many other survival activities, from shelter building to setting traps to creating effective hunting tools. Students will learn which plants to harvest for cordage, how to prepare the cordage, and how to use the cordage. Students will learn reverse wrap cordage design, triple-ply rope making, four-strand braiding, and several other cordage building and weaving methods.
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(no classes scheduled)
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Edible and Medicinal Plants
This course will focus on several key survival plants that will provide nutrition during spring, summer and fall. The emphasis is on plants that can be found in nearly all geographic regions. Students will learn how to identify, gather, and prepare these plants for food and medicinal uses. This is an extremely practical approach to plants that focuses on becoming very familiar with a few plants, rather than trying to memorize long lists of potential useful plants.
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(no classes scheduled)
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Primitive Weapons (bow and arrow construction)
This course will walk students through the process of making a “self-bow” from beginning to end. They will learn how to select wood, lay out a bow, and work the bow using both steel tools and stone. Students will also learn to make “self-arrows”. They will also learn fundamentals of shooting and movement with a bow. Students will also have the opportunity to practice shooting skills used in hunting.
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(no classes scheduled)
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Advanced Shelters
The advanced shelter workshop focuses on longer term shelters, as well as internal shelter improvements to make a standing shelter more comfortable and functional for long term habitation. Students will learn to build several types of long term shelters, as well as construct one large group shelter from natural materials during the course.
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(no classes scheduled)
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Advanced Projects
This course will review more advanced survival skills, such as brain tanning, clothing and shoe manufacture, and additional tool construction. This is a catch-all “end of curriculum” course designed to prepare the student for advanced certification and fill any knowledge or skill gaps in the student’s learning to date.
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(no classes scheduled)
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Bone and Stone Tools
While it is hard to imagine a future that does not include steel tools, being able to make tools and weapons from stone and bone is a very useful survival skill. Students will learn how to flint knap both arrowheads and knives. In addition, students will learn to manufacture hammers, a mono-matate, and many other useful stone tools. Students will also manufacture bone tools and implements.
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(no classes scheduled)
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Traditional Blacksmithing
We are happy to announce that Traditional Blacksmithing is back on the schedule. Teaching this hands-on class is master bladesmith and traditional blacksmith Jim Rubley. Jim is considered one of the finest bladesmiths in the world. His expertise with traditional methods makes him one of the formost experts on historical smithed items. He has dedicated his life to preserving the dying arts of traditional smithing. He will be teaching the fundamentals of metallurgy and blacksmithing, including how to make a knife the traditional way, using a hand powered coal fire, an anvil and hammer.
Students can expect to take a nearly finished knife home with them. There may be extra material costs at the class depending on what size and type of blade is chosen. Extra costs should not exceed $40.
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9/18/2008-9/20/2008, Northern Indiana
3/18/2010-3/21/2010, Conner Prarie, Indiana
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Trapline: Learning to trap and process game
Students will be learning to make and set snares in the quest
for game animals. They will make snares in the shop, then accompany master trapper Kelly Alwood as he shows students how to read the landscape in the quest for snare sets. The students will set snares, and return to check on the snares. Snares that work will yield animals that will then be processed. Students will learn how to case skin the animal and prepare the hide for tanning. They will learn how to use the animal for food, butchering and cooking it.
NOTE: This class involves KILLING small animals, skinning and eating them. If you are uncomfortable with the process that fed your ancestors, or have leanings towards PETA, you may want to skip this one.
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12/11/2008-12/13/2008, Northern Indiana
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The Hunter
Getting into the woods and hunting is not as easy as it seems. One of the basic four of survival chain is FOOD. Our ancestors Hunted for survival and those skills are still imprinted in us today. This course will allow you to tap into those skills and give you a reason to be in the woods practicing your outdoor survival skills as a hunter. There is no better way to test your abilities of stalking, camouflage / concealment, and survival than challenging the best at it, Mother Nature and wild animals.
Setting out on a hunt trip or getting started as a hunter with little to no experience can be an overwhelming experience. Let onPoint get you started by teaching you skills that will make it easier to get going on the Hunt. This course is designed for people looking to get started as hunters, for those looking to understand the concepts of hunting for survival purposes, (or for those hunters that just want to enhance their own skills). This course will cover the CORE BASICS OF HUNTING: Equipment, Camouflage & Concealment, Stalking, Scent Control, Choice of tools (Gun / Bow), Use of tools, types of game animals, shot placement, tracking and blood trailing, filed dressing, skinning and processing, food preparation, planning hunt trips (Primitive / modern) and much more.
This is a 3 day intensive course designed to gain experience, training and knowledge in the CORE BASICS of HUNTING. Days will be long and course schedule full. Anticipate 12+ hour days. Plan to camp in a remote area of the Michigan Wilderness, students will need a tent and basic camping gear, (based on your experience level), as we will be staying in the woods and applying learned skills. A list of recommended equipment will be forwarded to registered students. Students wishing to hunt require a valid Michigan Hunting Licenses for Archery Deer and Small Game License. Students not wishing to hunt will use a camera as a tool to capture the hunt.
THIS CLASS IS NOW RESCHEDULED FOR OCTOBER 17, 18 and 19, 2009.
LOCATION
Training will start at the following facility at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 17, 2009.
St Clair Fire Department
216 Cass
St. Clair, MI 48079
Here is a link to the location on Google Maps. You may click on the links in the call-out box on the map at this address to find driving directions and search for hotels, restaurants and other services in the area.
View Larger Map
Google Map
SCHEDULE
We will cover introductions, briefings and lecture-based learning most of the day. We will break early afternoon to carpool up north for the Field Training. Field Training will be in the Gladwin area near Hwy. 61 and Hwy. 30 in Gladwin County, Michigan. Students will be camping near the hunting area so students will need a tent, gear and supplies for camping over the weekend.
Once up at camp, the Instructors will be conducting demonstrations and guided practice sessions for the remainder of the course. The course is designed twofold: to enhance already learned basic hunting skills, and prepare the beginning hunter to venture out on a hunting trip from the planning phase all the way to cooking the backstraps!
The group will be carpooling back to St. Clair with estimated arrival time of 5:00 p.m. Monday evening, October 19.
ACCOMMODATIONS & MEALS
You will be responsible for your own accommodations Friday night and Monday night, as applicable. Saturday and Sunday nights will be spent camping in the field. You are also responsible for your own meals throughout the weekend, including bringing your own food, preparing it and cleaning up in the field.
AGENDA
Class agenda is as follows:
Course Introduction
Hunters in modern society
Modern Hunting vs Primitive
Nutritional Advantages
Natural Law
Understanding the Wilderness of the US and game found there
Hunters Observation and Insight
When, where and how
Woods
Meadows and Fields
Wetlands
Transition Areas (Woods to fields)
Game Species
Mating Seasons
Camouflage and Concealment (C&C)
Scent Control
Movement
Concentric Rings
Speed = Slow vs Fast
Stalking
Conservation of Energy (Take the path of least resistance, most times)
Weapons
Modern vs Primitive
Choices (comparable to game being hunted)
Targeting and Sighting
Hides and Stands
Taking the Shot
Finding Down Game
Field Dressing
Game Processing
Cooking
Personal Gear - Tier I , II, III - Redundant in each Tier
Camp Gear
Safety
As demand for this course is high, please confirm your spot with payment today!
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10/17/2009-10/19/2009, St Clair, Michigan
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