Where would you make your stand?

not2sharp

not2sharp

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Joined
Jun 29, 1999
Messages
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Given the present and growing economic mess, we may soon see critical shortages and civil unrest across sections of the US. What are your plans if things begin to fall apart; and, parts of the country begin to resemble New Orleans during Katrina? Are you stocking and fortifying your homes, or working with your neighbors to put some broader plans in place; or, are you getting ready to bugout and run? The closest we have experienced down here has been during a hurricane event, and it is always striking how quickly those store shelves can empty, even when there is a maximum effort to restock the stores. If the event were longer in duration, broader in scope, and greater in impact, the chaos that would follow would be widespread and deadly, especially if the public power grid drops for more then a few days, and shortages of food and water starts to become more serious.

n2s
 
Staying put with 12Gauge....among others...I always pick up extra items as cash flow allows....Looks like tough times ahead. maybe ?
 
I live in a rural area in Idaho. I'm staying put and have done some reasonable things regarding food, water, etc. but only stuff that any prudent person should do regardless. I'm worried about civil unrest in some areas of the country but not here. However, the consequences of civil unrest would be far reaching, well past areas where the actual problems were occurring.
 
I've been so tight financially this year I can't even afford to really stock up or buy extras.. thankfully we're a big family and we all live within a couple km from each other. And we've been known to hold our heads high when hard times hit our area.

A couple examples that could really help; lots of lakes around here and we're all avid fishermans, some of us also partake in hunting and my uncle has a farm just up the road passed the village. he normaly grows corn and fruits in the summer, but he has a lot of livestock they butcher in winter.

So I think if shtf around here, I'll just continue on with my everyday life, I probably wont even notice we're in a crysis t'ill it's over.
 
if things started going south for me i would head north up to my families property in northern wisconsin. Its on a lake and there is plenty of woods filled with wild game. Just need to get a gun. Wife is really against that but i think this hunting season she wont be able to stop me.
 
Shelter in place. Have good neighbors, food, water, supplies available for short-term dislocations. Can't really address the EOTW scenerios.
 
Loki said:
Shelter in place. Have good neighbors, food, water, supplies available for short-term dislocations.
Click to expand...


That's me also. We also don't have some of the more extreme environmental concerns some of you guys have to deal with. Snow and cold are the bigger problems in the winter. Drought a little bit of a concern in the summer. All manageable with a little planning and forethought.
 
I think in terms of trade items. When I have a little extra cash, rather than invest it in failed markets or even gold for that matter, I think you do better to buy items you can store easily and trade.

Examples:

knives, soap, .22 ammo, nails, bags of rice, garden seed, hand tools, airgun pellets, snare wire
 
Trade goods might be a good investment. I've always thought a good stash of ammo of desirable calibers might eventually be worth its weight in gold.

I'd also say reloading fixin's.
 
- Neighbors on steet are mostly all gun owners, some have preps

- Stocking up on bulk grains, water, foods, ammo, gear etc.

- VERY geared up for many contingencies: bug in, bug out, civil unrest,
many natural disasters, house is flood proof unless the gods REALLY are
pissed at me.

- planned fortifications of home & neighborhood

- etc.

i feel im more prepared in gear, food, water, and planning than most around my area.... lots of sheeple.

I HIGHLY recommend the book "Ragnar's Urban Survival: A Hard-Times Guide to Staying Alive in the City."

---------------- Eric
 
my main concern is that I'm still active, duty. I maintain bug out packs in both my truck and my wife's car, both bags are loaded with spare clothing that is durable, enough water and food to last a a couple days without restocking. There are pros and cons to being on a mil. base, one of the cons is I can't modify my home in anyway, I guess the gov. just figures the MP's at the gate are enough to deter any bad guys:rolleyes:

We keep ourselves prepared, every time we go grocery shopping we stock up a little bit more, that and I have a large budget for ammo every month:cool:
 
too broke to do anything stocking up wise. More worried about long term food for the kitty, special diet and all.... I'll probably take an entire paycheque when work picks up and buy about 10 flats (24 cans each) of his special food.... as for me, i can live on coffee and porridge.

Since i work in trucking, i'm VERY aware of how fast the food supply in the city will cease if the trucks stop. 3 days a super market here will last if there is a run on supplies. Fresh foods/milk/meat/dairy 1 day. Fuel less than 2 days.

there is a liqour store near me. That may present problems, people WILL steal and get drunk, and all the welfare drunks may get edgy after weeks of no booze once booze runs out....in my immediate area there is roughly 5000 addict/drunks/dual diagnoses + homeless. That presents a major problem.
 
not2sharp,
Hey, pard, I've thought about the same things over the years. I'm a retired Army CW4, now age 75, but still strong and active. My thoughts about if are:
1. Find a spot w-a-y back in the boonies. Perhaps a small clearing in the woods, along a hillside, whatever. However, a fair hike from obvious water of any kind. Why? Because that's where everyone else fleeing the city will go, along streams, lakes, ponds, etc. Then, when supplies start to run low there'll be warfare between groups to seize supplies, food, and so on. Stay away from that. I can hike out quietly and stealthily to get water, then fade back into my hideaway. Hell, I can even dig a well in the right spot.
2. Plan some ways other than hunting/fishing/trapping to supplement your food. Study up on the local area to see what naturally growing items can be consumed. Explore eating insects, perhaps even 'farming' productive bugs. Have a stock of something like Earth Boxes (Google these), a small container that can grow a lot of produce with minimal water. Stock up on seeds.
3. Use charcoal for fuel at your hideaway. However, trek out a few miles and set up some charcoal kilns. Go service them and pack the product back to the home location where you'll then have smoke free fuel for cooking and perhaps some heating.
4. Plan to stay secluded and away from everyone else for at least two to three years. During that time, the gangbangers and other fools will have slaughtered each other around shopping malls and supermarkets. Only the prepared and tough will survive and that will include you if you stay out of the panics and 'tribal' warfare near the cities/towns.
5. Weapons. Nothing beats a 22 and lots of ammo. Forget big bore rifles, shotguns, etc. Stock two or three quality 22 rifles. perhaps some 22 handguns, and many thousands of rounds of inexpensive ammo. Package and store it properly and it will last for many years.
6. Get proficient with silent killers such as bows/arrows, spears and atlatls, blowguns, slingshots, etc. Learn how to trap, snare, and fish but NOT close to your hideaway. Travel out a ways to get your game and pack it back. You want to be in your dense woods hideaway with no evidence you are there. If you slip up, someone will track you down, kill you, and take what you have. Sad fact of life.
7. Study and become proficient with the ways of preserving food and sustaining life with minimal necessities. Also learn first aid and natural remedies for common ailments. After all, you will be your own doctor, midwife, whatever, for quite a long time. Plan to stay in your hideaway for at least three years and forget about the rest of the world during that time. Curiousity killed the cat. After all that time you may be able to come out of the woods and reestablish contact with other reasonable people.....

Just my $.02.
 
Old CW4 said:
not2sharp,
Hey, pard, I've thought about the same things over the years. I'm a retired Army CW4, now age 75, but still strong and active. My thoughts about if are:
1. Find a spot w-a-y back in the boonies. Perhaps a small clearing in the woods, along a hillside, whatever. However, a fair hike from obvious water of any kind. Why? Because that's where everyone else fleeing the city will go, along streams, lakes, ponds, etc. Then, when supplies start to run low there'll be warfare between groups to seize supplies, food, and so on. Stay away from that. I can hike out quietly and stealthily to get water, then fade back into my hideaway. Hell, I can even dig a well in the right spot.
2. Plan some ways other than hunting/fishing/trapping to supplement your food. Study up on the local area to see what naturally growing items can be consumed. Explore eating insects, perhaps even 'farming' productive bugs. Have a stock of something like Earth Boxes (Google these), a small container that can grow a lot of produce with minimal water. Stock up on seeds.
3. Use charcoal for fuel at your hideaway. However, trek out a few miles and set up some charcoal kilns. Go service them and pack the product back to the home location where you'll then have smoke free fuel for cooking and perhaps some heating.
4. Plan to stay secluded and away from everyone else for at least two to three years. During that time, the gangbangers and other fools will have slaughtered each other around shopping malls and supermarkets. Only the prepared and tough will survive and that will include you if you stay out of the panics and 'tribal' warfare near the cities/towns.
5. Weapons. Nothing beats a 22 and lots of ammo. Forget big bore rifles, shotguns, etc. Stock two or three quality 22 rifles. perhaps some 22 handguns, and many thousands of rounds of inexpensive ammo. Package and store it properly and it will last for many years.
6. Get proficient with silent killers such as bows/arrows, spears and atlatls, blowguns, slingshots, etc. Learn how to trap, snare, and fish but NOT close to your hideaway. Travel out a ways to get your game and pack it back. You want to be in your dense woods hideaway with no evidence you are there. If you slip up, someone will track you down, kill you, and take what you have. Sad fact of life.
7. Study and become proficient with the ways of preserving food and sustaining life with minimal necessities. Also learn first aid and natural remedies for common ailments. After all, you will be your own doctor, midwife, whatever, for quite a long time. Plan to stay in your hideaway for at least three years and forget about the rest of the world during that time. Curiousity killed the cat. After all that time you may be able to come out of the woods and reestablish contact with other reasonable people.....

Just my $.02.
Click to expand...


what he said. :thumbup:



Kis
 
Errr... as far as short term goes, stay put at my house and... try defend "My Keep."

As far as an "EOTWAWKI" Scenario I'd merely live in the mountains. I'd be completely fine with it. Grab my canoe, all my gear and head up the rivers to the mountains. Grab ALL my "Bushcraft" gear and head up into the mountains. It'd be a piece of cake. We're fairly good hunters and we know an abundance of local wild edibles. OMNOMNOM....
 
The more I've prepared for "the end of society". The more I hope it doesn't happen. And I've taken some extreme measures to prepare...
 
We have a very strange take on this- the household includes the duaghter of 2 camp victims, a real honest to god Connecticut Yankee, and 2 ex Mormons. The bigges tproblem we have is rotating the food stores :D

We've got a couple .22s (beyond the household necessary) for trade goods and I grab a box of 500 rounds whenever I head out in the direction of wally world.

We're pretty stocked up on knives, of course!

Trying to keep the gas tanks topped off all the time, but a lot of our plans are shelter in place. We have ability to set off and homestead- I try hard to keep up on the basic tools and supplies for that.

Right now we are looking at a few acres of bugout in Wyoming. Me, I like the physical environment hereabouts, but if the economic slide turns to civil unrest CA isn't my first choice of places to be. The only reason the Household is still here is that my wife is in the middle of nursing school. Get through that (about 14 months) and we're off...somewhere. WA is my preference, or the northern strip in AZ.
 
About the financial crisis, it already hit me, and I lost my job in december. Ive always tried to buy a little extra every now and then, a few cans of tuna, a few kg's of rise and macaroni, a few bottles of multi-vitamis etc. Recently, for fun more than out of necessity (even though I did save a lot of money), I tried living off my "stash", without buying any groceries. Eating a lot of canned food can be kind of a culture shock, but its not that bad. Theres an excellent saying "hunger is the best sauce"; after fasting a couple of days, rice and soy sauce tastes like heaven. So, if you cant afford any fancy preparedness-emergency-whatever-food, just buy a few bags of rice and stuff like that, and have a way to cook it without electricity. That'll keep you going for a reasonable period of time. A stash worth a couple of months means that you can bug-in when you need to, for whatever reason.

About "long term survival", the only thing Ive done is read some books. If the S really HtF, I think its more about luck anyway. Without modern infrastructure, medical care etc you can get yourself killed in so many ways*, that to prepare yourself for all those situations would basically mean that you need to build a small society of your own.

Btw, if you have a stash of food and supplies, be a little paranoid about it and dont advertise it around... when people (especially with kids) get hungry and desperate, you dont want them to think about you.

Cody Lundin about "Urban Survival": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mmmpg-XCU-k

*A little off-topic, but Ive read stuff about medieval weapons and armory, and the thing that struck me was, that there are a lot of weapons that seem inefficient at first... that's before you realize, that they are not meant to kill at once. What people did was dipped the point of an arrow or whatever in, well, basically crap, and after that, all it took was a scratch. Before antibiotics, an infection meant amputation or death. Theres no reason to assume the situation will be any different after antibiotics.
 
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