Hello everybody. I'm new to these forums. I love the outdoors and am looking forward to exit the Marines so I can do some more camping and hiking in God' beautiful world. Btw, I do go camping in the Marines but its not really survival lol.

Anyway, the problem I'm having is with fire starting. I've looked all over the net for simple ways to start a fire. Site after site is saying things like magnesium and flint, butane lighter, matches, magnifying glass, etc. I'm looking for ways to start a fire with nothing to start out with. Example: go into the woods with just the clothes on your back and be able to create fire. I've tried the bow and drill method. I ripped the tail off my tshirt once for the string and made a bow. I can see how that works. I almost got it to work but I was using the same type of wood for the drill and the board (bark in this case). I found out later that using a different type of wood for each element in the bow + drill helps. My friend also suggested the method where one uses a stick and goes back and forth in the groove of another peice of wood to start a fire (like in the movie Cast Away). I honestly don't have a great amount of experience in this area.

Thanks for the help.