[KorbenDallas]

This is meant to be a good natured exchange of ideas for people interested in survivalist skills and prepping.

If you think prepping is stupid, you might be right, but please, refrain from posting in this thread. There are plenty of people who think being prepared is an intelligent thing to do, and since it's a free country and were not hurting anybody, just leave us and this thread alone.

I don't know much about prepping, and I know a lot of guys on this forum are very knowledgeable, so, that's why I decided to start the thread. I have 4k that I've saved up to use towards this and I want to use my money wisely.

A few ideas off the top of my head:

-A years worth of storable food and water.

-Multiple firearms that I can use to defend myself. I'm thinking an additional pistol and an assault rifle. I'm not too well informed about guns. I know a little, and own a revolver, but that's about it.

-body armor

-and some fuel

[Frank Rook]

Interesting & perhaps an apt topic for the times.

Other random points i'll add to your content:
-Be able to identify & treat wounds, burns & minor injuries. Get training in urban & wilderness first aid or better yet, emergency medic or civil defense training.
-Develop reasonable proficiency in self defense & personal combat. I'd also count good people & negotiation skills as being part of this.
-Learn how to make your water drinkable. Learn how to make fire.
-Stay physically conditioned & fit.
-Strong understanding & belief in logic, facts, analytical thinking (while avoiding paralysis by analysis of course..)


-

[TheWastelander]

You don't have to break the bank to be ready.

However, it'd be helpful to know where you live because not every area requires the same needs.

First off, the most important thing you need is the ability to quickly get clean water. To that end, the Sawyer Products Mini Water Filtration System is awesome and will only cost you about 17 bucks.

Next you need food or the ability to get food. Do you know how to fish or hunt? If you live in an area where you can do either of those things I recommend you get a telescoping fishing rod and reel and something relatively quiet to kill small game. This could be anything from a slingshot to a small crossbow.

You can also buy long-term storage beans and rice in big plastic cans that last for a couple years.

As far as firearms are concerned, it really depends on where you are. If you're in the city or suburbs I recommend a semi-auto in 9MM because that is one of the most common rounds. It needs to be light, concealable and reliable. I'd go with either a Glock 19 or a Glock 26. I own a 19 and it's light plus it carries 15 rounds + 1 in the chamber. They are rock solid and the only way you're going to fuck one up is if you throw it in a furnace.

Stick with factory Glock mags, by the way.

It's also good to have a gun for deep concealment or a back-up. For that I recommend the Ruger LCR in .357 magnum. As a bonus you can also shoot .38 special out of it. You can carry it in a cheap pocket holster and no one will know you have a gun. It's light enough that you forget you're carrying it, but it doesn't hurt to shoot because of the comfortable Hogue Tamer grip on it.

Beyond that you might want to look into getting some 9mm carbine of some sort. Kel-Tec makes a foldable 9MM carbine called the Sub 2000 that accepts Glock 17 mags (which you can also use in a Glock 19 or Glock 26). You can even get a 33rd magazine for it. It'll increase your range yet it's light and compact.

And these might be of some use to you:

[Moto]

Most of us have read Neil Strauss' "The Game," but equally good is his book "Emergency." It's all about how he learned survivalist skills and became a prepper himself.

I have a "bugout bag." In addition to things mentioned above, some gold and/or silver coinage is good to have. You won't have everything you need, and it's good to have things to barter with. Even when paper money is useless, everyone but the most desperate/famished of people will value precious metal.

It really depends on your climate, but you should be able to carry everything with you that you need to survive. The more skills you have, the less you need to carry.

Scope out a place in the wilderness that you would go to, if you live now in an urban area. You could even make a hidden cache of items to find in your spot. Some things could be organic seeds to plant, water purifying tablets, magnifying glass (to make fire), slingshot (bullets will eventually run out, and you want to kill small game silently).

[iknowexactly]

One thing I read on a prepper site that made a lot of sense was that one should have their flight location at least one tank of gas away from major cities.

That way when a panic strikes , and people drive out of the cities to escape presume riots etc, you will beyond the reach of the fleeing masses, as the gas stations will quickly close.

Practically speaking, traveling out of a city seems more risky than barricading yourself in a fortified apartment. A car or truck will be useless as cars who've run out of gas will block all roads ( see post hurricane texas/LA) A motorcycle might work but you'd want to have an armed passenger to keep people away. All very risky.

Hiding in your apartment with a ton of stored stuff and arms seems the simplest, safest way for the short term. If you're in any kind of urban area.

Getting a whole alternate life set up and waiting in a rural area seems pretty expensive for me.

[BlurredSevens]

I have a pelican case filled with multiple currency cash, a couple burner phones, knife, flashlight, passport, and detailed maps of USA, Mexico and Canada, as well as important phone numbers and such. I also have a 10 gallon tank of water ready to go.

A situation that has me fleeing the country or evacuating to a different city is about the extent I'd want to go.

Personally, I've spent enough time living in the wilderness (by choice, for fun, and under favorable circumstances) to know that I would never, ever want to "survive" in the woods while being chased by a rioting/collapsing society, or while trying to evade some sort of super disease or an invading army.

Most "preppers" are living in a fantasy world where they think living in the woods is gonna be fun.

Fuck that. If it gets to that apocalyptical level, I'll just jump off a cliff. No joke. Death would be more welcome than a bullshit existence trying to plant fucking seeds in the forest to grow a couple tomatoes, all the while murdering rednecks who are encroaching on my camp.

If you think I'm crazy, go spend 7 nights backcountry camping deep in the wilderness by yourself, then ask yourself if that's how you'd want to spend the rest of your life, especially with the additional burden of constant fear and danger.

All that said, I'm fascinated by human survival in bizarre circumstances, and I find "prepping" a fascinating topic, but only as an idea, and not in its actual implementation.

[vinman]

I've got multiple guns, ammo, body armor, night vision, stored food, water storage, water filtration, gold, silver, and comms. I'm good.

[KorbenDallas]

I live in Nevada.

[h3ltrsk3ltr]

^ Nuff said haha.

I love this thread.

[TheWastelander]

(05-13-2015 07:36 PM)KorbenDallas Wrote:  

I live in Nevada.

Which part of Nevada? Water should be your main concern given how dry the place is and in a SHTF scenario people seeking it out will probably be armed and dangerous.

[samsamsam]

(05-13-2015 04:52 PM)vinman Wrote:  

I've got multiple guns, ammo, body armor, night vision, stored food, water storage, water filtration, gold, silver, and comms. I'm good.

Vinman, got enough for two?

Hello my new best internet friend.

[germanico]

(05-13-2015 02:59 PM)BlurredSevens Wrote:  

I also have a 10 gallon tank of water ready to go.

10 gallons is about 40 kilos, or around half the weight of a grown man. If your plan is staying in that could last you for a couple of weeks, but its not ready to go.

Better keep a bunch of half liter bottles that you can throw away/trade as needes, and some sort of portable filtration/purifying system to refill them.

[vinman]

(05-14-2015 03:38 PM)samsamsam Wrote:  

(05-13-2015 04:52 PM)vinman Wrote:  

I've got multiple guns, ammo, body armor, night vision, stored food, water storage, water filtration, gold, silver, and comms. I'm good.

Vinman, got enough for two?

Hello my new best internet friend.

Actually? Yes. I have dupes of my handguns, and rifles. This way whoever is with me can use my ammo on the field of battle if I get whacked.

[Onto]

Seeds for growing vegetables. That, along with gardening skills to feed yourself. If nothing else, seeds can be a good currency if the shit really hits the fan.

[Fortis]

Vinman is the Dale of the group, except he's got guns.

[kaotic]

I built an unserialized AR-15 - look up 80% lowers.

I did it as a hobby, the Feds don't know I have it (it's not registered) and building one is 100% California/state legal.

You can take out the CA bullet button very easily or get a bullet button "ring" to cycle mags faster.

I have a handgun, shotgun, no armor yet (It'll get banned eventually).

I need to get a .22LR rifle for hunting small game. Also a thirty-aught-six for hunting and a tac vest.

I've gone over to Nevada to pick up 30 round mags (they're illegal in CA).

A bugout/go back is a necessity - check out the google search:

https://www.google.com/search?q=go+back&...ag&spell=1


I should get some more detailed maps also topography maps that my pops has for hikes, where I live is a mix of wide valleys, hills, small mountains.

I know a few places I'd go first if SHTF, particularly 2 friends in general who have weapons for a small army.

I never really thought prepping that much, just defense and safety.


BUT better safe than sorry.

[vinman]

Also I just started reloading my own 9mm ammo on a Dillon 650. Tomorrow I go pick up a Dillon 550 I got for a song. I'll use that for .300 Blackout. And I have a single stage press I'll be using for .308 match grade ammo.

[KorbenDallas]

Yea, I'm going to get a ton of water. I have family in nearby states too, that live in the country, so, I'm thinking I'm going to make my abode secure for a minor emergency, but then also have road gear and some fuel.

[RoastBeefCurtains4Me]

I think that some level of prepping is important, but I have a different spin on it than what I see as the mainstream prepper community. I think some severe problems are going to occur in the coming years, everything from economic collapses when governments reach the limits of spiraling national debt, to ecological catastrophes, to disasters like Katrina or Fukashima.

However, I think the solution is not to be able to live off the land as a long term strategy. I think it's important to have reserves for situations that catch you by surprise, but the general solution is to have a diversified set of skills and assets, so you can stay in the portion of civilization that is still viable.

The classic prepper scenario is an absolute and complete collapse of society, requiring them to be able to live like a pioneer in the 1800's. However, if you look at actual examples of collapses, you see sudden decreases of 20% GDP in individual countries or regions. Even if you live in a region that undergoes a sudden decrease of 20%, you can position yourself in such a way that you come out fine. Don't live in riot prone neighborhoods. Choose a main career and a side hustle that give you robust options, and make sure you have fuck you money.

This forum strongly encourages international travel, so do a little networking while you travel, and work this network as part of your side hustle. I liked BlurredSteven's approach of having a pelican case of multiple currencies and other useful items. If you are prepared to handle a sudden earthquake, epidemic, or riot, and are prepared to handle a sudden decline in your company or industry or region, you should be robust for most things that can potentially happen in the next 5-15 years.

[Sooth]

Here is some very good reading by a guy who was a student during the economic collapse in Argentina.
He pops the whole Hollywood prepping bubble and brings things back to what actually happens.

Here is the link: http://www.silverbearcafe.com/private/10.08/tshtf1.html

Here is an excerpt on Gold.

"Someone hit me in the head please because I messed up about the gold issue.

Everyone wants to buy gold! "I buy gold. Pay cash" signs are everywhere, even on TV! I can't believe I'm that silly!

I just didn't relate it to what I read here because they deal with junk gold, like jewelry, either stolen or sold because they needed the money, not the gold coins that you guys talk about. No one pays for the true value of the stuff, so big WARNING! Sign on people that are buying gold coins.

Since it is impossible to determine the true mineral percentage of gold, small shops and dealers will pay for it as regular jewelry gold.

What I would do if I were you: Besides gold coins, buy a lot of small gold rings and other jewelry. They should be less expensive than gold coins, and if the SHTF bad, you'll not be losing money, selling premium quality gold coins for the price of junk gold. If I could travel back in time, I'd buy a small bag worth of gold rings.

Small time thieves will snatch gold chains right out of your neck and sell them at these small dealers found everywhere. This is VERY common at train stations, subways and other crowded areas.

So, my advice, if you are preparing for a small economical crisis, gold coins make sense. You will keep the value of the stuff and be able to sell it for its actual cost to gold dealers or maybe other survivalists that know the true value of the item.

In my case, gold coins would have been an excellent investment, saving me from loosing money when the local economy crashed. Even though things are bad, I can go to a bank down town and get paid for what a gold coin is truly worth, same goes for pure silver. But where I live, in my local are small time dealers will only pay you the value of junk gold, no matter what kind of gold you have. So, I'd have to say that if TSHTF bad, gold jewelry is a better trade item than gold coins."

[vinman]

This guy has some good common sense info as well. His name is Fernando AKA ferfal. He was in Argentina when their economy collapsed and debunks a lot of the Mad Max post apocalyptic horse shit you see..

https://www.youtube.com/user/TheModernSu...ist/videos

http://ferfal.blogspot.com

[el mechanico]

I'm not a prepper but love big land and cabins. I think the prepper lifestyle is innovative.

I'm trying to buy as close to 100 acres as possible and when searching on zillow if you add key words it becomes interesting.

I also used to love pump shotguns but now have big love for ratchet action small cal.

[BBinger]

(05-13-2015 02:59 PM)BlurredSevens Wrote:  

I have a pelican case filled with multiple currency cash, a couple burner phones, knife, flashlight, passport, and detailed maps of USA, Mexico and Canada, as well as important phone numbers and such. I also have a 10 gallon tank of water ready to go.

A situation that has me fleeing the country or evacuating to a different city is about the extent I'd want to go.

Personally, I've spent enough time living in the wilderness (by choice, for fun, and under favorable circumstances) to know that I would never, ever want to "survive" in the woods while being chased by a rioting/collapsing society, or while trying to evade some sort of super disease or an invading army.

Most "preppers" are living in a fantasy world where they think living in the woods is gonna be fun.

Fuck that. If it gets to that apocalyptical level, I'll just jump off a cliff. No joke. Death would be more welcome than a bullshit existence trying to plant fucking seeds in the forest to grow a couple tomatoes, all the while murdering rednecks who are encroaching on my camp.

If you think I'm crazy, go spend 7 nights backcountry camping deep in the wilderness by yourself, then ask yourself if that's how you'd want to spend the rest of your life, especially with the additional burden of constant fear and danger.

All that said, I'm fascinated by human survival in bizarre circumstances, and I find "prepping" a fascinating topic, but only as an idea, and not in its actual implementation.

Survival is an admirable goal, but I do think that living rather than merely existing ought to be the goal. So many people talk about having a couple guns and scavenging, but I have trouble reading it as anything other them wishing at best they were born junkyard dogs and at worst as they intend to be some sort of raider.

(05-14-2015 05:09 PM)germanico Wrote:  

(05-13-2015 02:59 PM)BlurredSevens Wrote:  

I also have a 10 gallon tank of water ready to go.

10 gallons is about 40 kilos, or around half the weight of a grown man. If your plan is staying in that could last you for a couple of weeks, but its not ready to go.

Better keep a bunch of half liter bottles that you can throw away/trade as needes, and some sort of portable filtration/purifying system to refill them.

Yeah you can never have enough water and if you have to go mobile it becomes a severe bottleneck. Especially if you live in a dry area or your personal risk calculations place a particularly high likelyhood on nuclear doom as one you need to anticipate.

(05-14-2015 11:59 PM)RoastBeefCurtains4Me Wrote:  

I think that some level of prepping is important, but I have a different spin on it than what I see as the mainstream prepper community. I think some severe problems are going to occur in the coming years, everything from economic collapses when governments reach the limits of spiraling national debt, to ecological catastrophes, to disasters like Katrina or Fukashima.

However, I think the solution is not to be able to live off the land as a long term strategy. I think it's important to have reserves for situations that catch you by surprise, but the general solution is to have a diversified set of skills and assets, so you can stay in the portion of civilization that is still viable.

The classic prepper scenario is an absolute and complete collapse of society, requiring them to be able to live like a pioneer in the 1800's. However, if you look at actual examples of collapses, you see sudden decreases of 20% GDP in individual countries or regions. Even if you live in a region that undergoes a sudden decrease of 20%, you can position yourself in such a way that you come out fine. Don't live in riot prone neighborhoods. Choose a main career and a side hustle that give you robust options, and make sure you have fuck you money.

This forum strongly encourages international travel, so do a little networking while you travel, and work this network as part of your side hustle. I liked BlurredSteven's approach of having a pelican case of multiple currencies and other useful items. If you are prepared to handle a sudden earthquake, epidemic, or riot, and are prepared to handle a sudden decline in your company or industry or region, you should be robust for most things that can potentially happen in the next 5-15 years.

I like your outlook. There's some really good accounts of the collapses in Eastern Europe in the 1980's and early 1990's. Especially informative for the worst case scenario are accounts from the former Yusoslavia as it broke up and war'd for a while.

Gotta try to prep in levels. There's the weeklong weather shuts down you region scenario which ain't too bad and can be fun. Then there's the local decline which a shrewd person could thrive and even profit from rather safely, with further iterations that become less and less safe. Then there's the incompletely prepable worse case like in Bosnia where the starving will raid you for the chance to eat so they can avoid death a bit longer.

(05-15-2015 03:37 AM)Sooth Wrote:  

Here is some very good reading by a guy who was a student during the economic collapse in Argentina.
He pops the whole Hollywood prepping bubble and brings things back to what actually happens.

Here is the link: http://www.silverbearcafe.com/private/10.08/tshtf1.html

Here is an excerpt on Gold.

"Someone hit me in the head please because I messed up about the gold issue.

Everyone wants to buy gold! "I buy gold. Pay cash" signs are everywhere, even on TV! I can't believe I'm that silly!

I just didn't relate it to what I read here because they deal with junk gold, like jewelry, either stolen or sold because they needed the money, not the gold coins that you guys talk about. No one pays for the true value of the stuff, so big WARNING! Sign on people that are buying gold coins.

Since it is impossible to determine the true mineral percentage of gold, small shops and dealers will pay for it as regular jewelry gold.

What I would do if I were you: Besides gold coins, buy a lot of small gold rings and other jewelry. They should be less expensive than gold coins, and if the SHTF bad, you'll not be losing money, selling premium quality gold coins for the price of junk gold. If I could travel back in time, I'd buy a small bag worth of gold rings.

Small time thieves will snatch gold chains right out of your neck and sell them at these small dealers found everywhere. This is VERY common at train stations, subways and other crowded areas.

So, my advice, if you are preparing for a small economical crisis, gold coins make sense. You will keep the value of the stuff and be able to sell it for its actual cost to gold dealers or maybe other survivalists that know the true value of the item.

In my case, gold coins would have been an excellent investment, saving me from loosing money when the local economy crashed. Even though things are bad, I can go to a bank down town and get paid for what a gold coin is truly worth, same goes for pure silver. But where I live, in my local are small time dealers will only pay you the value of junk gold, no matter what kind of gold you have. So, I'd have to say that if TSHTF bad, gold jewelry is a better trade item than gold coins."

Unless a global economic collapse happens widely recognizable national mint gold coins should maintain a value that is in line with their known gold content relative to other lesser gold. having some cheap 10k and 14k jewelry items isn't bad. Just counterfeiting the small coins or filling them with tungsten like happens to the bars isn't economical. Gold coins that cost a minimal premium over their metal content as well as junk silver dimes ought to be safe.

Never say never though.

[vinman]

http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/12...d_04142015

Quote:

If you’re involved in the preparedness lifestyle, you’re probably into planning. Most likely, you research and study the excellent preparedness strategies put out by experts. Whether we prepare for incidents small or large, we all ponder what we’d do if something world-as-we-know-it-ending went down.

The trouble is, a lot of the plans that get made are more likely to get you killed than to save you. And people post these plans online, then new preppers read them and think, “Wow, what a great idea.”

I really love being involved in the preparedness lifestyle. I get to meet and correspond with lots of like-minded, down-to-earth people. We have those awesome conversations that you just can’t have with the checker at the grocery store cash register. I get to engage in email and social media discussions too, the likes of which would never occur with my second cousin who thinks that missing a pedicure appointment is a disaster worthy of government intervention. But sometimes, I kind of cringe. Not all preparedness plans are well-thought out and practiced. In fact, there are several recurring themes that I hear or read that are not good ideas for most preppers, and I bet that many of you reading have also privately rolled eyes at one of the following strategies. (Or maybe even publicly.)

I’m truly not trying to be mean when I share them with you here, nor am I trying to say that I’m the Queen Prepper of the Universe, who knows absolutely everything. I’d just like you to consider the variables if one of these plans happens to be your default strategy.

Bad Strategy #1: “I’ll just hunt and live off the land.”

Oh my gosh. No, you probably won’t. You might try to hunt, but guess what? Loads of other people have this same idea. Unless you live hundreds of miles from civilization, the population of deer and wild turkeys will be quickly decimated in an event that renders the food delivery system inoperable.

Furthermore, hunting is not as easy as simply wandering into the woods, taking aim with a rifle, and popping a wandering buck in the head. Have you ever hunted? Have you done so recently, and by recently I mean within the past year? Have you ever field dressed an animal? Can you hit a moving target? Do you know how to set up snares? Do you know how to butcher and preserve meat? Are you in good enough shape to drag a 200 pound carcass through the woods?

If you can’t say yes to every single question listed here, hunting should probably not be your go-to plan for feeding your family.

Bad Strategy #2: “I’ll go into the woods and live there.”

This is closely related to Bad Strategy #1.

But it’s worse. Living in the wilderness is not going to be a marshmallow roast. First off, there are no marshmallows out there. Just lots of predators and food that has to be killed and skinned before you can eat it.

In this strategy, people like to talk about their proximities to a national forest. “There are thousands of acres, just on the other side of my fence.”

Okay. But when is the last time you went into that forest more than a few miles on foot? Did you spend more than a couple of nights there? Was the weather inclement? What are your local predators (not including the human variety)? Do you have a camping kit that you can carry in on foot? Will your children and spouse be able to also carry supplies? Are you planning to build a house with some tarps and a Swiss Army knife? What will you eat and drink? Are you adept at foraging in your area? For how long can you actually survive on what you can carry? How are your First Aid skills and what supplies will you have? Can you handle the loneliness? And what about the other, perhaps less than moral, individuals that have the same idea? Have you ever lit a fire with wet wood? Have you ever camped, outside of a campground area? What if it rains? In many climates, getting wet is a death sentence.

Bad Strategy #3: “I’ll bug out on foot for 73 miles through the mountains, even though I don’t regularly exercise.”

If bugging out on foot is one of your plans, I’d like to suggest you pick a clear day, put on a loaded backpack and some hiking boots, and go for a practice hike to your location. Go ahead. I’ll wait here.

This one really bothers me. There is a large contingent of armchair preppers who have this idea. However, they don’t exercise regularly. They look back 20-30 years to their high school or military glory days, when they played football, ran track, or had a drill sergeant screaming right behind them as they ran. Just because you were once very physically fit, that doesn’t mean you are still able to hike up a mountain in bad weather with a 50 pound kit on your back.

This is a classic recipe for a heart attack, by the way. Extreme over-exertion. High-stress situation. High-sodium, easily packable food. Out-of-shape person. A few miles into the journey, particularly if it includes a steep climb, the person will experience a pounding heart, dizziness, and faintness, as the body tries to shut down to protect itself from the unaccustomed demands. If the physical stress continues, the heart won’t be able to keep up with the demand to pump blood. Game. Over.

Embarking on an overly ambitious bug-out journey can endanger not only you, but the people making the trek with you. What if you have a heart attack half way up the mountain? What if you have an asthma attack? What if you injure your out-of-shape self? Who is going to help you? If the situation is bad enough that you’re bugging out, you aren’t likely to be airlifted to a hospital for medical care. Will someone put their own safety at risk to hang out with you while you recover, thus forcing the family to divert to Bad Strategy #2?

I’m not trying to talk anyone into staying in a bad situation when bugging out ould be the wiser course of action (like in Bad Strategy #11). But if your bug out route is a long distance or over difficult terrain, you need to get out there and start training before you put the lives of everyone in your team or family at risk.

Bad Strategy #4: “I don’t need a group. I’m going to go it alone.”

Ah, the rugged loner.

This is not a winning plan for many reasons. Being with a group, even a small one, has many benefits. As Scott, from Graywolf Survival, wrote:

Humans started banding together to survive millions of years ago. They did this for one thing: because there’s safety in numbers. If you live by yourself, you can’t collect food, improve your fighting position, patrol the area, chop wood, filter water, and be on all sides of your property – all at once. Plus, you have to devote a large amount of your day to sleeping each night. And besides, who are you gonna bitch to about your day if you’re all alone?

…Even a small group of 12 has a HUGE advantage to defending an area and continuing on with other operations at the same time. With an adequate number of personnel, not only can you have a rotation of assignments to support 24 hour operations, you can afford people to specialize in certain tasks. This specialization increases the efficiency of the group overall (synergy) and was one of the largest reasons why we developed into a society.

It isn’t just enough to have a team, either. You need to train with your team, tactically, with an expert if possible. And by training, I’m not talking about going out to play paintball in the woods. Max Velocity, author and founder of a combat school in West Virginia explains:

‘Tacticool’ training is not only designed to simply make you look and feel good, but more insidiously it will give you the idea that you are tactically trained and proficient, when you are not. It is the sort of training that will give you enough to really get yourself in trouble. For example, basic marksmanship and square range training have a solid place in the training progression, but you must move beyond the static range to tactical field firing training in order to be tactically trained. You have to understand how to operate your weapons ‘out in the wild,’ and to maneuver in real environments. Often the problem with ‘tacticool’ training is that among the instructors there is not the experience or facility to move beyond the square range, and there is only so much you can do, so instructors make stuff up that may in fact be disadvantageous to your heath. At Max Velocity Tactical the tactical ranges have been designed out in the woods and utilize electronic pop-up targets, bunkers and other such training aids to bring a realistic tactical environment, This allows a certain amount of stress and battle inoculation to be brought to the students in training. And critically, this is all done in a safe and practical manner. (You can read the rest of his interview HERE)

Maybe you only have a handful of people you trust. Maybe you only want to be with other military dudes. Keep in mind that there are things that you will need in a SHTF scenario that are a bit kinder and gentler. It’s not just about brute force and protecting the camp or retreat. It’s about food, building a future, farming, sitting down, and even relaxing from time to time. Not every moment in a situation like that will be like a scene from an action-adventure movie. We’ll still eat dinner, read a book, talk with others, sleep, and have relationships.

Bad Strategy #5: “I don’t need to store food, I’ll just take everyone else’s because I’m a bad-ass.”

Who can forget that episode of Doomsday Preppers that was shared all over preparedness social media and websites, in which a redneck and his team of merry marauders discussed their plans to take everything that preppers living nearby had stored away?

I wrote about Tyler Smith and his plan a couple of years ago:

Most preppers, Smith says, are concerned with marauders taking their supplies. It’s not an unfounded fear, he says.

“We are those people,” he says. “We’ll kick your door in and take your supplies. … We are the marauders.”

We’re not in it to stockpile. We’re in it to take what you have and there’s nothing you can do to stop us,” Tyler Smith says. “We are your worst nightmare, and we are coming.”

Smith, 29, is the leader of Spartan Survival. The group has more than 80 dues-paying members. Smith founded the organization in 2005 to train and prepare others on survivalism.

Smith (a paroled felon who incidentally went back to jail shortly after his televised waving around of firearms) might be a joke, but you can’t ignore the danger of groups with similar plans. This yahoo had 80 people on board with him, for crying out loud. And if you happen to have such a plan, you should probably realize that those of us who are really prepared won’t stand around wringing our hands and crying when you come to attempt to relieve us of our supplies. We’ve prepared for people like you, too. The post-SHTF life expectancy of those who plan to survive using Bad Strategy #5 will probably be a short one. You might manage to raid a few people’s retreats (particularly those using Bad Strategy #4, but if the situations is WROL (without rule of law), it’s pretty much a given that the justice which will be meted out by the intended victims will be swift and final.

Bad Strategy #6: “I have lots of weapons and tools. I’ve never used them. But I have them.”

Do you have prepper tools that are still in the box? How often do you make it to the shooting range? When’s the last time you actually felled a tree then chopped firewood? When did you do it without a chainsaw?

There are loads of different examples that I could give about tools that just sit there in their boxes, awaiting their moment of glory when it all hits the fan. For the purposes of Bad Strategy #6, I’m including firearms as a tool. Skill with an axe is not a given. Accurate aim doesn’t stay with you if you don’t practice. Have you ever attempted to pressure can over an open fire? Even building a fire is not easy if you’ve only done it once or twice. (See Bad Strategy #9 for details.)

Not only is it vital to practice using your tools during good times, when you have back-up options available, but you need to test your tools to be sure that they operate as intended. I once purchased a water filtration system for use during off-grid situations. It was missing an essential gasket. Without that gasket, it would be totally useless. Sure, I could have tried to MacGuyver something, but the point of buying all of this stuff is to save your MacGuyvering for things you don’t have. Because I checked out my tool before I needed it, I was able to send it back and get a replacement.

Bad Strategy #7: “I don’t store food. I store seeds.”

I really love gardening and have stored an abundance of seeds. Seeds are a very important thing to store. However, if you store them to the exclusion of food, you’re going to have a really bad time.

The problem with depending on seeds for your food supply is that Stuff Happens. Stuff like droughts. Stuff like aphids. Stuff like blossom-end rot. Stuff like the thrice-damned deer that managed to get past your fence.

Furthermore, if this is your plan, have you grown a garden recently? Have you produced food on your current property or your retreat property? Do you have a compost system? Have you developed your soil? First year gardens almost never produce what you expect them to. Do you know how much produce your family will consume in a year? How are you at food preservation? What about off-grid food preservation?

Because of these concerns, a garden should not be a stand-alone survival plan. It is a vital part of a long-term preparedness scenario, but you must also be prepared for the potential of failure.

Bad Strategy #8: “I’ll just run a generator and continue on like nothing ever happened.”

Generators are loud, smelly, and finite.

If you want to bring attention to yourself in the midst of a down-grid scenario, the surest way to do it is to be the only house in the area with lights blazing in every window. Generators are commonly stolen, because they’re impossible to hide, rumbling away beside your house. A person following Bad Strategy #5 would be likely to think that if you have a generator with extra fuel, you might have some other awesome stuff that they’d want too.

It goes further than simply drawing attention to yourself though. Gas, diesel, and propane generators can be dangerous. They can produce high levels of carbon monoxide very quickly, so if the plan were to enclose it to deter thieves, it could be deadly. Trying to power your entire house by backfeeding while still hooked up to local utilities could endanger the lives of neighbors or utility workers. Refilling a generator that has not completely cooled is a fire hazard. Make sure that your generator doesn’t fall into the category of Bad Strategy #6. There’s more to it than simply flipping a switch and having power. You need to learn to operate and maintain the generator long before you have to rely on it.

Keep in mind, if you do opt to use a generator, that this is not a long-term solution. There’s only so much fuel that anyone can store. Eventually, it’s going to run out, and if your plan was completely dependent on being able to run a generator, what will you do then? My personal preparedness plan is to revert to a low-tech lifestyle that doesn’t require electricity.

Bad Strategy #9: “I’ll just use my fireplace for cooking and heating.”

This is one that I learned about the hard way, myself. A few years ago, my daughter and I moved from the city to a cabin in the north woods of Ontario, Canada. I figured that with a giant lake at our disposal, a well, our supplies, and a woodstove, we’d have all we needed to surive an extended power outage.

Unfortunately for us, born and raised in the city, lighting a fire and keeping it going was not that easy. The mere presence of a fireplace or woodstove does not warmth create. It took me an entire month of daily trial, error, and frustration to master a fire that would warm the house. I also learned that cooking on a woodstove was not as easy as sitting a pot on top of it. Dampers had to be adjusted, heat had to be increased, and the food required far more monitoring than expected. The year we spent there taught us more than we ever imagined about what we didn’t know.

If using your fireplace or woodstove is part of your survival plan, how much wood do you have? Is it seasoneed and dry? Can you acquire more? Have you actually chopped wood before? Recently? When is the last time you prepared food using your stove or fireplace?

The good news is, you can make this strategy work, as long as you don’t go all Bad Strategy #6. Ramp up your wood supply and begin using your fireplace or woodstove on a regular basis to work out the bugs in your plan now.

Bad Strategy #10: “I’m going to hunker down in the city and scavenge what I need.”

This is a terrible idea on so many levels it’s hard to know where to start.

First of all, when utilities are interrupted, those in large metropolitan areas are left with few options. It’s hard to dig a latrine in the concrete jungle. Remeber when New York was hit by Superstorm Sandy? People were defecating in the halls of apartment buildings to try and keep their own apartments moderately sanitary. Unfortunately, sewage built up in the pipes and spewed into apartments, filling them with deadly human waste.

Store shelves will quickly be emptied before and after disasters, leaving little to scavenge. If you happen across the wrong place, you’re likely to be shot by a property owner defending his or her goods. If you wait too long to evacuate, roadways will be blocked, and you can end up being a refugee, with no option but camps. Cities will be populated with desperate people, some of whom were criminals before the disaster struck. Even those who were friendly neighbors before the disaster can turn on you, because desperation can turn anyone into a criminal in order to feed their families.

Highly populated areas without outdoor space will quickly become death traps in the wake of a disaster.

Bad Strategy #11: “I’ve got my supplies, and now I don’t need to think about gloom and doom.”

Some people like to stock their goods and then forget about preparedness. They don’t like to consider the threats they might face. But mentally preparing for disasters is a very important step. I recently made a list of prepper movies (you can find it here) and suggested that they be used to run scenarios in your head.

This very vital step can help you to do the most important thing when a disaster occurs: accept that it has actually happened. The prepper mindset is one of problem-solving and flexibility.

It’s a unique way of looking at a situation, assessing the options, and acting that defines the prepper mindset. Think about any stressful situation that has ever happened to you. Once you accepted the fact that it had happened you were able to set a course of action. Once you had definitive steps to take, you probably felt much calmer. You took control of the things you could, and you executed your plan. Only by taking that first step – accepting that this mishap had indeed occurred – could you take the next two.

By refusing to consider the things that could happen, you run the risk of being unable to immediately accept it when it does happen. This sets you up for a very dangerous period of hesitation that could mean a death sentence for you and those who depend on you.

Bad Strategy #12: We’ll set up a perimeter and shoot anyone who breaches it.

With folks like the ones who intend to practice Bad Strategy #5 around, it’s no wonder that some people intend to practice Bad Strategy #12.

However, there are a few reasons that this is a bad idea.

First, instead of just protecting you, this can actually make you a target. Less than ethical people may start to wonder what you are protecting so stringently, and may work to develop a plan to overtake you. Alternatively, more ethical people may decide they don’t want a group like yours in the area and plan to forcibly evict you. If the situation doesn’t start off like the wild west, people who adhere to this Bad Strategy will turn it into that scenario.

And finally, the real kicker: those who survive some life-changing event will be the new founders of our society. Do you really want to live in a place where people have to shoot first and ask questions later? How we choose to live will set the course for how we continue to live.

There’s time to adjust your plan.

There’s good news, though, if I just peed all over your favorite plan.

There’s still time to make adjustments to make your plan more workable. You can brush up on your hunting and foraging skills. You can start an exercise plan so you don’t die when hiking. You can test out your tools and find your weak points. You can adjust your plan to be more ethical. You may not need to chuck the plan altogether, but merely test and modify it.

The key with all things preparedness is to practice, to drill, and to make it your lifestyle. Work out the bugs now, while back-up is as close as the hardware store or grocery store. Get yourself mentally prepared to accept the situation and change your plans on a dime if necessary.

Finally, consider the kind of world you want to live in. If there was a giant reset, those who survive would pave the path for a different society. By our plans and actions, we can create a different type of world. One with justice, kindness, ethics, and freedom.

Right now, our society is led by criminal corporations, sell-out politicians, and thugs, both in and out of uniform. I’d like to believe that we can do better.

[LeeEnfield303]

I'll sub. I've been prepping for years...but you are never completely ready