Economic Survivalists....I'll trade you 5 packs of chicken Top Ramen...

I have a reasonable supply of ammo but have also been having the same thoughts as Magnussen about the sound of hunting /poaching attracting attention. Acting along these line I dug out my old .20 caliber Sheridan Blue Streak and had it "steroidized" by a company in Cali. This was a nice little hunter before but now it shoots HARD. Dont overlook a good pellet gun as a quiet small game getter.--KV
 
I've got 25 plus ducks and about 20 roosters that need slaughtered. Plus I'm milking 7 goats right now. Have some spinach, lettuces and parsley coming up. Also lots of asparagus coming up and my fruit trees are blooming. Also getting about 10 eggs a day from the layers.

Last Sat I cut 25 oak logs and hauled them to the barn to inoculate them with Shittake Mushroom mycelium and I have about 30 logs already bearing.

Also have a canner and food dehydrator I could use.

About 5 years till retirement but one of my goals after I retire is to go for six months and eat nothing I haven't raised here on my place:thumbup:
 
Magnussen said:
Stocking up on ammo may be a good plan now.... but what if it comes down to strict regulation of arms and ammo. Yes, you could keep a cache but how would you use it hunting without calling attention to yourself. I would imagine that if there are food shortages more folks will take to crops and hunting. I know in my area it's already regulated quite a bit. Hungry bellies don't wait for hunting seasons and overcrowding of hunting grounds will make it even harder to put something on the table. We may find ourselves in the era of "poaching out of necessity". If we do have ammo shortages, that "pop-pop!" sound you make might aswell be a "cha-ching" or even worse "I'm-poaching!". You may be calling too much attention to yourself hunting with a gun. More primitive and silent weapons may be the way to go.

Sometimes being the kid with the most marbles will get you into trouble. The ability to make something from nothing will be more valuable in years to come. That's what most of us are on this subforum for.

But I'm just talking out my ass.........


Rick
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Oh, it's not THAT much ammo, and there's more to it than poaching stock- trading and home defense are important parts of stockpiling. but 3000-5000 rounds of .22 and around a thousand rounds of centerfire pistol calibers isn't a patch on the airguns.

Not counting projects I'm doing custom work and restoration on, we have 4 hunting quality (550-850FPS) .22 airguns, one .20 cal, and 3 .177 caliber (750-1200 fps). Add in the marginally powered ones in pistols and lighter rifles- things that can take 5-10 yard shots but not 15-40 yard shots and we have a pile. Now, I also have a pile of parts, and THIS stuff really is trade goods.

No way am I trading the steroid 392, the crosman 101, nor the 14 inch barrel .22 sneak pumper. But the rest is at least partly trade stock. (and I trade even while there is no emergency)
We're still a bit low, but sitting right at 11,000 rounds of airgun ammo right now.

The one thing we don't have that I'm still looking to get is a nice 150-180 foot pound large bore airgun.

Game is interesting stuff. Around here, the main shift I could see is going from being PAID to kill small game on farms to having to share out a portion of your bag. But there's a LOT of critters and some fast breeding and more farmland than scotland has... land. This is quite the environment from a would be small game pot hunter.

Hunting is, like foraging and gardening- something that has a lot of very different meanings. In a traditional agricultural setting, this is hardly the end of the veggie season, but here - it is. We may or may not have another months of lettuce, and the peas are about done. it's pepper and tomato season and the watermelon have been in the ground for a month!

hunting is similar. I haven't seen a deer west of auburn in ages. But rabbits, squirrel, and possum are PESTS. In the case of bunnies especially, rapidly breeding pests. In a traditional American hunting environment, people are looking at sport- even if it's for food, there's often a big element of sport involved. We've gotten away from the hunting- the harvesting- of game that thrives on our presence. Pigeon, dove, squirrel and bunny are all huge ones (around here, turkey and ducks as well) that end up having population problems because we aren't harvesting them. I'm not saying everyone can get 2 pounds of meat a day and have cheeseburgers for snack in between steaks for lunch and dinner, but there's a fair amount out here, and the population density outside the urban zones is pretty light.
 
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Hollowdewller -- Please tell us more about your Shitake trees. I'd seen small kits for sale, but I never thought about a large-scale production.

Do you have to keep the wood at a particular moisture level for the shrooms to grow? I'd love to learn more.

Also, good on you for being so self-sufficient. Quite an honorable pursuit.
 
PB Wilson said:
Hollowdewller -- Please tell us more about your Shitake trees. I'd seen small kits for sale, but I never thought about a large-scale production.

Do you have to keep the wood at a particular moisture level for the shrooms to grow? I'd love to learn more.

Also, good on you for being so self-sufficient. Quite an honorable pursuit.
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PB,

You can get the kits but they really aren't cost effective.

Basically you grow them on freshly cut hardwood logs. Stuff 4 to 6" diameter and around 40" long or however heavy you can carry them out of the woods:D

Then you drill holes all along the length of the log and insert sawdust "spawn"(ie sawdust that has been impregnated with shiitake mycelium) and then you seal the holes with wax.

Depending on humidity etc you can get shiitake in 6 mo to a year.

Once the spawn run had completed and the log is colonized you can do it two ways.

You can keep them under cover, dry and then soak them several times in the warmer months. This makes your logs last longer and your harvest is more heavy and predictable.

OR you can just stack them outside, not in direct sun and rely on rain to do it for you. You have to stay on top of them to do it this way as when it's hot they get too big real fast. Once they have sporulated they are not really considered choice. Also subjected to the weather they don't last as long. Usually for each inch in diameter you get around 1 year of production.

Here's some pics of my logs:

http://www.hollowdweller.com/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=615

I'm getting ready to inoculate about 30 more logs so when I do I'll try to post a little tutorial.

I bought a special attachment for an angle grinder that turns it into a hole shooter this year and I'm anxious to see if it speeds up drilling the holes. That is the slowest part of doing them next to cutting the logs and carrying them out of the woods.:o
 
Thank you very much for the info.

There's a downed red oak not far from my house. I'll see if I can borrow a chainsaw and I'm looking forward to your tutorial.
 
One upside of the economic downturn, is that some people will cut back on their lawn chemical expenses, making urban foraging a little more healthy. I've been tempted more than once to add an urban bunny to a soup pot, but I've been somewhat concerned about just how much chemical in is the meat. I know grocery store meat isn't great, but then its also not marinated in 2-4-D and roundup!

I think that trade-able skills will be more useful in urban areas, where trade-able goods will be more important in rural areas. I'm also thinking the farmers market will do well this summer, as people look for less expensive alternatives.

There may also be a large market from those who want to appear more wealthy than they are, not sure quite how to take advantage of it yet though...
 
gadgetgeek said:
One upside of the economic downturn, is that some people will cut back on their lawn chemical expenses, making urban foraging a little more healthy. I've been tempted more than once to add an urban bunny to a soup pot, but I've been somewhat concerned about just how much chemical in is the meat. I know grocery store meat isn't great, but then its also not marinated in 2-4-D and roundup!

I think that trade-able skills will be more useful in urban areas, where trade-able goods will be more important in rural areas. I'm also thinking the farmers market will do well this summer, as people look for less expensive alternatives.

There may also be a large market from those who want to appear more wealthy than they are, not sure quite how to take advantage of it yet though...
Click to expand...

I hear you. I often see edible or cool plants growing by railroad tracks but I figure there's so damn many chemicals in the soil there no way in HE double toothpick I'd eat them.:thumbup:
 
With regards to the sound of gunfire attracting undue attention when gathering game for food, think traps. Small conibear traps are very versatile, very effective, and not very expensive.
 
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