Urban Survival Skills – Using the Military Lensatic Compass

As a navigation aid, the two basic uses of the magnetic compass is to allow the user to determine the azimuth or direction in magnetic degrees of a desired diration, and to set a direction again in magnetic degrees on the compass using a rotating bezel and follow that azimuth (dead reckoning).

Compasses are an essential tool for the Urban Survivalist to have, even if you think you can make it from your urban location to your designated safe location via a wheeled vehicle without ever having to walk cross country. Knowing the basic uses for a compass are just common survival skills, like tying knots, building a fire or shelter, etc.

The magnetic compass has a magnetized NORTH seeking arrow which depicts magnetic NORTH as opposed to Grid NORTH which is what maps are oriented to.

One of the better compass to have is the military Lensatic Compass with Tritium Luminous index marks and luminous NORTH seeking arrow for use at night.

Parts of the Lensatic Compass.

Determining (Shooting) Azimuths.
1. Bend the rear sight with the sighting slot to a 45 degree angle over the floating dial.
2. Flip up the compass cover 90 degrees so you can look through the sighting slot and through the sighting wire on the compass cover. Just below the sighting slot is a magnifying glass that you look through to read the degrees on the floating dial.
3. As you sight on an object through the rear sight, center the sighting wire on that object. Holding the compass steady and level, look down, through the magnifying glass, at the floating dial and read the azimuth aligned with the fixed black index line. This is the magnetic azimuth from you to the object.

Setting an azimuth on the Lensatic Compass.
1. Keeping the compass level, rotate the compass until the black index line is on the desired azimuth. Then rotate the bezel ring until the short luminous line on the bezel ring is matched up with the luminous magnetic arrow.
2. You can move with the compass open keeping the short luminous line on the bezel ring matched up with the luminous magnetic arrow and you will be on the selected azimuth – this is called dead reckoning.

The Civilian Silva Style Compass. The use of the Silva style compass is very similar, rotating the bezel ring to line up a mark on the bezel with the NORTH seeking arrow. The disadvantage of the Silva style compass is that determining more precise azimuths from you to a distant object with harder without a sighting slot and sighting wire. However these are excellent compasses and cheaper than the Military Lensatic Compasses. Our motto is "One is none, Two is one" - meaning have a backup, so having one of each is not a bad idea for the well equipped survivialist. Silva Style Compass shown below:

Walking on short legs on a compass azimuth it is very prudent to keep track of the distance you have traveled and to match terrain that is depicted on the map to what you are seeing on the ground – this is called terrain association. You need to be able to determine what the terrain features are and how they should look in 3D. Using dead reckoning and terrain association together is your best chance of navigation through unknown country and is, again, a basic skills for Urban Survivalist as you never know when circumstances, vehicle failure, lack of fuel, criminal threats or the weather and environment will force you to move over land cross country.

Urban Survival Skills – Foot Movement and Navigation Off Road

Jacob sent me a message on Face Book (see Urban Man at Facebook) regarding moving across country on foot. He saw the After Armageddon 6 of 9 video of Chris and his family moving in daylight on the two lane road and wanted to know, without a Global Positioning System (GPS), Land Navigation, Maps and Map Reading skills, what should Chris have done.

Chris should have had a plan with routes out of the city using PACE. Primary, Alternate, Contingency and Emergency Bug Out routes. At any given point during transit on any given route, you may have to give up your vehicle and move on foot.

Navigation has to be integrated into sound movement principles. Some considerations for movement are the same for Urban, Suburban or Rural environments or terrain. Principles are the same, techniques may be different.

1. You may have to move during the night and hole up during the day to conserve your energy and water. There may be times when you have to move during the day in order to gain distance from bad areas or bad people.

2. Move using the terrain to your advantage, whether it’s buildings or hills, bridges or fences or wood lines. Use terrain to mask your movement.

3. Do not move bunched up; instead move with sufficient interval between the people in your Survival Group to make harder targets for bad guys.

4. Try not to leave signs of your passage which is most important when you cross what we call linear danger areas (roads, trails, natural lines of drift, streams, etc). Danger areas, linear or otherwise, are likely places to contact the threat or places that expose you and your group.

5. Make sufficient halts to check navigation, rest your group, and for security. Consider moving off your route in a button hook fashion in order to check your trail for anybody following or tracking you. Choose locations for stops that are defensible and have an escape route away from any anticipated approach or attack from bad guys.

As far a Land Navigation goes, a GPS is a great tool given the satellites are working AND you have sufficient batteries. To tell you the truth I have a GPS but will never use it. The batteries are more important to me for other things such as radios, flashlights and lanterns.

You should have a compass, in fact have two, and know how to use it (we have a saying "Two is One and One is None" when it comes to our Survival Kit). Using a compass also requires you being able to read map (where you are at and where you want to go) then plot an azimuth (or direction) from here to there on a map.

Following a compass bearing (aka azimuth or direction) is called dead reckoning. If you dead reckon without regard to the terrain you may have a rough go over bad terrain that you could have walked around, so consider planning shorter “legs” of your journey to avoid bad terrain.

You will have to keep track of the distance traveled in help determine where you are at any given time. Using a pace count is great. Having someone in your group keep track of how many steps, therefore how many hundreds of yards or meters you traveled. For this to work, you have to know how many steps if takes for you to travel a given distance. Over fairly flat terrain, carrying a light to moderate load, I take 64 left steps to make 100 meters.

Terrain Association is where you see a particular piece of terrain, such as a hill, finger, saddle, fork in a river, etc., and locate that on the map to determine where you are at.

Now apply all of it: Reading a Map, plotting routes, dead reckoning using a compass, moving using principles of movement like a organized patrol would, integrate terrain association and keep track of your distance traveled. If you don’t have these skills or tools, start acquiring them.

You can start with maps of your present Urban/Suburban location to your planned Safe Location. Any map is better than none, but the US Geological Survey Maps in 1:25,000 scale or 1:100,000 scale should be available. Maybe you can get your hands on Military 1:50,000 scale maps – all of these are great assets to your Survival Gear and Equipment load list.

As far as Chris in the After Armageddon videos, without any plan, navigation aids, or Survival Gear or Equipment, when he was on foot he should have moved off the road at least 50 yards and check for oncoming traffic both ways. He could have moved further of the road keeping divergent terrain between his family and the road. He could have paralleled the road using it as a navigation aid but be a better position to hide from on-coming traffic and potential threats. He should have been moving at night and holing up during the day under shade or a field expedient shelter with a terrain feature or terrain between his hole up and the traveling paths for potential bad guys, such as the highway.

The same principles for Chris or anybody traveling in a vehicle. Use the aforementioned principles of movement when in a vehicle also. Get off the road in a covered and/or concealed position. Doesn’t need to be far in most cases, just out of line of sight off the road. You should cover the shiny parts of your personal equipment and vehicles to keep the sun from reflecting off of it and attracting attention.

Hope this provides a better understanding for you Jacob. Good luck and check preparing – skills, gear, mindset and planning.

After Armageddon 6 of 9 - A History Channel Program and Lessons Learned

This Chapter, week 17 into 18, begins with Chris and Ellen running away from the warehouse in an Industrial Section after Ellen shot a M16 wielding mutt (about to shoot her husband), and both Chris and Ellen failed to retrieve either weapon or water as they were fleeing.

After their escape in their vehicle, Chris pulls off on the shoulder of a road and within a short period of time a passing truck with armed men stop by and loot Chris' vehicle and steal the vehicle's gas while Chris and family hide in a ditch. Chris and family then set out on foot.

Watch the video below, thinking what you would have done, then come back and read the lessons learned.




When Chris stopped for his wife to throw up, he stopped without any consideration of a covered and concealed or defensible position. If he would have found a dirt road, driven slowly not to raise dust, then found a position concealed from the highway, he would still have what meager supplies and clothing the armed men in the truck took from him, not to mention still have a mode of transportation.

The commentator makes a great point of surmising no more big farms because of the lack of fossil fuels to run machinery. We will simply have to feed ourselves. Do you have a stockage of non-hybrid seeds? Have you ever or can you now grow your own food?

At the trailer Chris fails to search the entire trailer for Gear and Equipment that he could use for Survival; he fails to check the water heater for water; he fails to check the vehicles to see if he can get one to run; and failed to collect and purify more radiator fluid to filter and boil for drinking water.

Chris and his family were walking during the heat of the day as opposed to moving when it's the coolest (at night) then holing up under shade during the hot day.

Remember the commentator's excellent adage that people will form together in bands or gangs to search and take what they need. Don't be their victim. Be better prepared not only with Gear, Equipment, Food but also with a plan.

Urban Survival Preparation - More on Home Defense

I received another question on face book (see Urban Man on Facebook) regarding my previous post on Home Defense Preparation (view it by clicking here). The question was concerning enhancing interior wall protection, especially around the windows which would be your home’s observation and firing ports, what would be some materials other than sand bags, sheet steel and heavy layers of plywood to enhance this protection.


The diagram I placed on the aforementioned Home Defense Preparation post showed protection on both sides of the window. I failed to note that protection underneath the window is a good idea also. But primarily outside the window frames as people in your survival group assigned to this window should be observing (and firing if need be) from outside the frames of the window. This is actually a concept derived from the Vietnam War called the DePuy fighting position (replaced the old foxhole), providing interlocking fields of observation and/or direct fire with small arms, with protection from frontal fire. The DePuy fighting position diagram is shown below.

The below diagram shows how multiple DePuy fighting positions provide multiple interlocking fields of observation and fire, and being mutually supporting, while providing frontal protection.

So basically, we are just applying the DePuy fighting position concept to your home. We also believe in a Defense in Depth concept. Fences, barriers, cleared fields of observation and fire in order to interdict attackers at the earliest opportunity and to slow any assault on your home. Cut down telephone poles, large rocks, T-posts, etc., driven into the ground at a sufficient distance from your house will help prevent vehicles being driven up to or into your home. This is like the large concrete, dirt filled planters that the government positions in front of their facilities – to deter car bombs.

Anyway, back to what you can do to harden or enhance protection for your interior walls. Sand Bags, are available from multiple sources on the internet, urbansurvivalskills.com recommends the burlap bags as opposed to the newer nylon bags with rapidly degrade. In any case line these bags with plastic 13 gallon garbage bags to help reduce sand spillage. When filled each sand bag weight about 50 lbs. The advantage of sand bags is the contained and compressed sand provide good protection from small arms fire and are easily used to customize to your needs. The disadvantage is they are hard to stack high and remain stable.

Cut down rail road ties are easily stackable and provide great protection from small arms fire. A thin sheet of plywood can be added in order to nail or screw the railroad ties to to form a stable wall. You would cut down rail road ties to workable lengths. These are available at most landscaping places and some major home improvement stores.

Sheet steel is great, doesn’t take up much room, but is heavy. One quarter (1/4) inch sheet steel is common and easy to move in small packages, say 3 foot by 2 foot pieces, but hard to integrate into your interior protection unless you lean them up against the wall (not a bad idea). However, 5,56x45mm NATO rounds (or .223 Remington) even in the 55 gain ball configuration will penetrate ¼ inch steel. The idea is for the exterior wall of the house to slow the round allowing the sheet steel to stop the round.

UrbanSurvivalSkills.com mentioned plywood because it is an easily available material. Many homeowners in Florida (Hurricane country) has pre-cut sections of ¾ inch plywood ready to be placed over their windows when hurricanes are heading their way. Plywood can be cut to configure around windows frames and can be nailed or screwed together in layers to provide better protection. However wood will just not have the bullet penetrating stopping power that the others materials do.

Even buckets filled with dirt or water and placed on the interior wall will provide some protection. With round buckets you’ll have several weak points where the buckets abut each other. I guess you do what you can do. The whole idea here is to harden your house for an asault from gangs or mobs. A successful defense may make these groups go elsewhere in search for an easier target.