re: Prepping for what is coming

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Owning gun and ammo is fine, but mobility will always rule......meaning, the ability to up and leave at a moments notice to anywhere that isn't dangerous. That goes for anything - country being attacked, disease outbreak, water shortage, anything that could have severe impact on potential death.

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I agree with you if you live in an urban area.

I never would.

There are maybe 30 people within 5 miles of my farm. If things go to shite many of the people from the urban areas will move into rural areas looking for food or shelter. Their heads will be stuck on my T posts around the farm as a warning to others to keep on walking.

for real, the best prep is to go ALL IN on debt with loans and use those loans to buy guns and ammo.

When the hyperinflation hits, your debt would be relatively worthless but your arsenal would be priceless

Hyperinflation is the ultimate transfer of wealth if you plan for it

Okay, I'm in. Got a BB gun for Christmas just for funnsies. Realized I'm a really good shot. Fiance got me a 760 pump air gun (I don't know the terminology, he's the one with the guns.) In the past month I've killed 3 squirrels sitting on my front porch a mile south of LSU (know it's trashy and IDGAF.) In April we planted a small vegetable garden, again for funnsies, he'd only ever grown flowers and got extremely excited watching actual food grow. We planted muscadines, blackberries, asparagus, a pomegranate, okra, stevia, and a couple of herbs. I have a satsuma, kumquat, and fig tree all about 7 years old. I did 8 half-pints of fig preserves only because I really missed my grandmother's. Now I'm really looking into what I can dehydrate, vacuum seal, and preserve. The amount of food we wasted last year would have fed us for a year. On Monday when it rained all day we said "look, we should be catching that rain water!" Just ordered a 55 gallon catcher. I got my packet of 12 heirloom herbs yesterday, and should get the vegetables today. We are trimming the trees and saving the wood, composting anything else instead of putting it on the road. Hoping to get seed potatoes for a fall crop, and a few grow bags, as well as Jerusalem artichokes which are a great staple crop once you get used to the inulin which gives you gas. Also trying to stock up on canned goods. Got 12 cans of corn, green beans and black beans are on their way.

Buy some lifestraws - they are available on Amazon. Make sure you have a way to start a fire and stock up on more long term food.

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All unnecessary

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failure to prepare is to prepare for failure

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start a fire

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Magnifying glass?

The Union Creek Journal
READ IT! Toby had a striking premonition.
Excerpt:
"In June, when things started to get really bad in the larger cities, there was also a bit of unrest in Norfolk. Much like the federal government, the city and county governments ran out of funding. Police and emergency services stopped responding. The local National Guard unit disbanded and took the equipment, weapons and supplies with them. Transportation came to a halt. Stores ran out of food and supplies.

There were a few folks who had prepared themselves, but many others who had not. It quickly became evident who was and who wasn’t prepared. Those who were unprepared became more and more desperate as what little they had ran out.

Apparently, Jake and his family typically bought a lot of things in bulk. Jake was also a hunter. That meant that they had quite a bit of meat in their deep freeze. Of course, once the grid power went down, the deep freeze went down with it. From what Laura said, one of Jake’s daughters suggested that they dry the meat to preserve it longer. Smart girl. Must take after her mother.

Eventually, it got to the point where it was nearly impossible for those who still had supplies to defend themselves from those who didn’t. Several of the members of my parents’ church decided to band together at the church to combine resources and make their stand against the looters. People were being burned out of their homes or shot for their supplies. The church members hoped that the brick church building would be more defensible than their mostly wood-frame homes.

It worked for a while. Most of the church members were hunters. They had hunting rifles and ammunition for the rifles. They held the looters at bay until the ammunition started to run low. Facing the reality that they wouldn’t be able to hold out much longer, they came up with a plan. Those with families would try to escape. Those without families would try to hold off the looters long enough to give them a chance to escape."

"Live off the land?" This is the biggest misconception of survivalist. Yes, its good to live off the land, yes its good to know how to hunt and kill. BUT, in a survivalists situation where people are not obeying laws, the wildlife will disappear in just a few months (at the most). You're naive not to think so. rivers and lakes will be devastated as well. Unless you have a large number of people protecting a crop, crops will be confiscated by the government. (See Germany, WWII).

Everything can be excessive depending on your level of knowledge and understanding of gear function, but I always tell people that your pack is most often the best place to start when cutting weight. I've seen people carry everything from huge splitting axes to cast iron pots I'll give a basic breakdown of what to avoid and what I carry more often than not.

Packs- When I choose a pack, the first thing I look for is weight and carrying capacity. What that means is how much weight is the back designed to carry so that you can comfortably wear it. Not how much it will hold. Look for packs made from material that is both lightweight and tear resistant. Avoid packs with excessive zippers. straps, and pockets. More often than not, I am carrying a ULA Catalyst. ULA


Cook kits- Too often I see people with heavy steel kits containing multiple pots, utensils, cups, and even spatulas. I have one titanium pot that doubles as my cook pot and cup if I choose to bring a little bourbon with me on a trip. All of my meals are dehydrated, so all I have to do is boil water. Here is an excellent pot that I have used many times for many years. Toaks


Sleep system- People make the mistake here of thinking that heavier means more warmth, when in reality, 850 or better fill down and a good pad/underquilt will keep you more warm than that huge, rectangular bag lined with plaid will. I have two systems I use depending on where I am going. One for a tent and one for a hammock. My pad for the tent is a Neo-Air xlite made by thermarest.

I pair that with the same quilt I use in my hammock, which is the Hammock Gear Burrow. I have an underquilt form them as well. Temperature rating is important, but I tend to choose one rated for higher temperatures because if I know the temperatures are going to be cold, I will bring this liner with me. Sea to Summit I have been down to 13 degrees with a 40 degree top and underquilt in a hammock with no problems.




I'll continue with water filtration, shelter, and communication in another post later.

ETA:

Forgot to mention how I actually cook my food. Usually with a homemade, cat food alcohol stove like this one.



Very simple to make. I will carry my fuel in containers like these:

Vargo Alcohol Bottle

My fuel is never actually alcohol, although you could use that. I use this:

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I would have been the idiot carrying around a bag weighing a 100 lbs or something.

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Everyone starts somewhere