This report was originally published by Jeremiah Johnson at Tess Pennington’s ReadyNutrition.com.
Tess is the author of The Prepper’s Blueprint: How To Survive ANY Disaster.
There have always been times where we inadvertently put ourselves in precarious situations. In this case, your best bet is to trust your gut. If you don’t feel the situation is right, find the nearest exit and leave the area. We covered some of these times in our most recent article regarding attackers and how to handle them individually or en-masse. In the article, we covered a lot of ground for scenarios that may occur during these “Good Times” prior to a societal collapse or nuclear war. This article is taking those suggestions and applying them in a collapse environment. Before we begin, you must understand that the biggest difference is that in a post-SHTF scenario there are no rules.
In a SHTF world, it’s a different story.
The sad thing with laws and rules is that they only help protect the citizen from the law-abiding citizen: the system focuses on self-discipline and restraint.
7 Ways To Stay Alive in a Post-Collapse Society
As is extensively detailed in The Prepper’s Blueprint: How To Survive Any Disaster, life will definitely be different when the SHTF. You will not be able to rely on the law to protect you; however, you will also not be prosecuted under the law for some superficial or superfluous reason: your life and your family’s lives take precedence. That being said, what do you do? How do you handle these attackers…people that are intent on taking you down and taking what you have? Let’s outline some basics that you can use post-SHTF.
- Never travel anywhere alone: always go in pairs with one to guard and watch over the other one.
- Never go anywhere unarmed: preferably with a rifle or shotgun, a main sidearm (pistol), a backup sidearm/piece, plenty of ammo for all of them, a fixed-blade knife, and a folding (lock-blade) knife at a minimum. Read more about SHTF firearms in this article. Yes, that is a lot of stuff. Let’s make some further suggestions on these. Mossberg 500 series 12 gauge shotgun. .45 ACP main pistol. .22 cal lr revolver or pistol…suppressor is optional but highly recommended. Gerber Mark II fixed-blade knife. Spyderco police model folding knife.
- Never travel anywhere without the rest of the family/group knowing where you’re heading: Don’t mess around with this one. If trouble arises, you cannot go off wandering on your own and expect anyone to come to your aid.
- Consider all strangers armed and potentially dangerous: If you wish to be the “Good Samaritan/Mister Rogers,” this is your choice. After the SHTF, however, the rules are off, and it is (paraphrasing Jack London) back to the Law of Club and Fang.
- Keep your distance when talking to strangers: As President Reagan phrased it so eloquently, “Peace through superior firepower.” Watch their eyes, watch their hands, and conclude your discussion in a businesslike manner. Don’t waste time: get to the point and then get going. Along those lines, pay attention to the way you carry yourself in public. Your body language can be very telling. Predators normally watch their victims before they strike and look for key indicators.
- Meeting strangers: You may wish to have a couple extra people roaming around at a distance to watch for the approach of an ambushing force. Many attacks begin by placing people at ease and using a larger force held in reserve to swoop in when the parlay has begun, and everyone’s guard is down.
- Territory: You need to stake it out, post it (warn others), and enforce the fact that it is your territory. Many times, attackers will be “persuaded” to find a softer target: one that is less organized with people not in a readiness stance at all times.
Related: 10 Ways To Avoid Marauders and Looters After the Collapse
These Post-Collapse Rules Will Keep You Alive
There are some rules to follow that are hard rules, but will serve you in good stead. They apply in a wartime situation, and they will apply equally in a disaster such as an apocalyptic event with societal collapse.
- Everybody Wants Something: they aren’t traveling toward your home turf for nothing. They want something: food, water, clothing, shelter, tools, or interest in the opposite sex. This last we’ll cover as an “individual item.” You need to find out what they want, and if they’re willing to trade something for it or if they’re just out scouting to raid (the more likely of the two choices).
- Discretion is the Better Part of Valor: Keep a cool head, a steady hand, an unflinching eye, and the ability to go into fighting mode in an instant. An aggressor will notice these things. He will want to assess your abilities. This also means keeping your cool. It doesn’t mean shutting up and allowing yourself to be verbally bullied into a corner. The enemy can sense weakness, as well. Mr. and Mrs. Hallmark? You’re going to have to step up and do your own dirty work…your own fighting for once. Better be smart and don’t bite off something that is bigger than you can chew.
- Interest in the Opposite Sex: This is a fact of life. The primary groups will be groups of men that are correlated directly with ancient hunting parties of old. These groups of men will no longer have rules they have to follow and they will want your wife, your daughter, or your sister. They will adhere to no rules or propriety. They will want children as well: girls or young boys. Let me be perfectly clear: you will have to kill them when they come for such.
- Cannibalism: Yes, cannibalism is always something you may have labeled as a “fluke” event, such as “Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors,” but it is not. There was an Army study years back that found that 1 human out of 1,000 will actively hunt other humans for food. I’m here to tell you, that number is grossly underestimated. Cannibalism begins almost immediately, at least within the first 1 to 2 weeks following a disaster. There is plenty of history out there to document it, such as the Donner Party, as well as a presentation done by the Discovery Channel. Be aware of it: they’ll be out there, and you need to be ready for them.
You need to continuously assess your fighting skills and training. Assess these realistically, and take into account your shortcomings. Learn to “pair” your preference with what is most effective. Although I can more than handle myself in a knife fight, I prefer to meet an attacker carrying a blade with a nice 24” Aluminum T-Ball bat. I’m here to tell you, when the bat is swinging? The bat is singing, and the song it’s playing is all mine. You have to find your own personal weapon of choice for “close encounters” where a firearm may not be able to be used.
In the end, taking care of yourself is a stance, and when the “S” hits the fan, the rules will disappear: they are as fragile as society itself, as fragile as cobwebs drenched with dew in the summer sun. A strong wind will blow them away, just as an event will blow down the Hallmark houses made of straw and blow away the thin veneer of civilization masking the underlying, atavistic barbarism along with it. Now is the time to assess yourself, make your plans, and execute those plans to strengthen your body, mind, and spirit to prepare for the times to come. JJ out!
Jeremiah Johnson is the Nom de plume of a retired Green Beret of the United States Army Special Forces (Airborne). Mr. Johnson was a Special Forces Medic, EMT and ACLS-certified, with comprehensive training in wilderness survival, rescue, and patient-extraction. He is a Certified Master Herbalist and a graduate of the Global College of Natural Medicine of Santa Ana, CA. A graduate of the U.S. Army’s survival course of SERE school (Survival Evasion Resistance Escape), Mr. Johnson also successfully completed the Montana Master Food Preserver Course for home-canning, smoking, and dehydrating foods. Mr. Johnson brings practical, tested experience firmly rooted in formal education to his writings and to our team. He and his wife live in a cabin in the mountains of Western Montana with their three cats.
This information has been made available from Tess Pennington’s Ready Nutrition
Tess Pennington is the author of The Prepper’s Blueprint, a comprehensive guide that uses real-life scenarios to help you prepare for any disaster. Because a crisis rarely stops with a triggering event the aftermath can spiral, having the capacity to cripple our normal ways of life. The well-rounded, multi-layered approach outlined in the Blueprint helps you make sense of a wide array of preparedness concepts through easily digestible action items and supply lists.
Tess is also the author of the highly rated Prepper’s Cookbook, which helps you to create a plan for stocking, organizing and maintaining a proper emergency food supply and includes over 300 recipes for nutritious, delicious, life-saving meals.
Visit her web site at ReadyNutrition.com for an extensive compilation of free information on preparedness, homesteading, and healthy living.
Jeremiah Johnson. This guy is worse that a libturd democrap talking about how to deal with conservatives.
Notice how none of these people talk about necessities like toilet paper? That’s because in their world nobody lives long enough to take a decent crap.
I’m not so sure. You recall the videos of the shoppers in Walmart that went crazy when their EBT cards did not work – and that was only doing without for a few hours. The propensity for
violence of the human animal in hunger situations can not be underestimated.
Putting up my post after a day of “moderation” has lost all continuity in the conversation. If I knew what trigger words would result in this delay, I would try to avoid them.
There are some usable bits in there, but honestly? There’s a *lot* more to it than what he’s posted, and for awhile, it will be as ugly (if not uglier) than what he describes.
On the other hand, you’re gonna have to trust someone eventually (which he alludes to, but never says.)
Maybe a primer on how to find people you can trust would be more usable?
PS: Dude may be handy with a baseball bat, but he only has one chance to connect, because if he misses, that knife-wielding opponent will be inside the swing radius and will definitely have a massive advantage for the 1-2 seconds it’ll take for Our Hero to drop that bat and at least get his hands free enough to do something about that incoming blade…
How do baseball bats do against flying lead?
How do imbeciles that think guns are for everything do?
Rather have a gun than a bat and a snarky reply that doesn’t even address the question ??
Yeah, based on rules 1, 2, 4, and 5, there should be no need for a baseball bat, nor reason anyone should get close enough for a bat to be worth having. The bat comment is nonsense.
Agreed. Dude probably wanted to metaphorically stroke his, well… baseball bat.
HAVING LIVED THROUGH SHTF, I CAN INSTANTLY TELL WHO HAS REAL SHTF EXPERIENCE AND WHO IS AN ACADEMIC.
IF ANYBODY SEES YOU CARRYING A GUN IN SHTF YOURE GOING TO GET ARRESTED.
STOP TALKING ABOUT YOUR IDIOTIC FUCKING GUN CALIBER AND FORMULATE AN ACTUAL PLAN TO DEFEND YOUR HOME 24/7.
AMATEURS TALK TACTICS. MASTERS TALK LOGISTICS.
EVERYBODY IS A MARTIAL ARTS MASTER IN HIS OWN MIND.
GROW UP.
IF YOU ARENT CONDITIONING 6 DAYS A WEEK AND EATING SMALL PORTIONS, YOU ARENT FIT.
IF YOU ARENT ACTIVELY SPARRING WITH OTHER BLACK BELTS TWICE A WEEK, YOU ARENT FIT.
IF YOU ARENT GOING BACKCOUNTRY EVERY WEEKEND, YOU ARENT FIT.
IF YOU DONT HAVE THE KILLER INSTINCT YOU ARENT FIT FOR SURVIVAL.
IF YOU ARENT CAPABLE IF INTIMIDATING OTHERS, YOU ARENT FIT
No you haven’t and you dont seem to know much about what you’re talking about.
Hey troll, I got some weapons of mass destruction to sell you.
I disagree with some of this..
1. Never travel anywhere alone: always go in pairs with one to guard and watch over the other one. TOTAL BS. Lone Wolf moves faster and stealthier. The weak huddle in group think sheep herds. 1 person is less of a threat than with multiple persons, especially when you need something like water or food. People are more willing to help one person in need over several or a mob.
2. Never go anywhere unarmed: SORRY .45 is wrong. I would rather have twice the number of firing power rounds with a 9mm, 21 rounds I have in my subcompact concealed carry. How many rounds in your .45?? 10 to 11 rounds? Where you gonna hide a .45 in your shorts and T-shirt concealed here in FL?
3. Never travel anywhere without the rest of the family/group knowing where you’re heading: SORRY Lone Wolves don’t need any stinking permission to travel. We travel faster and stealthier single, than in sheep huddle groups and group think, which are noisier than heck, yacking away giving away all your OPSEC. Esp with noisy undisciplined Children.
You see JJ has this Military Moron Group think mentality and his record reflects he can’t beat teenagers with rags on their heads who gave them a big whoop-ass in the sand box for 15 years. Another failed war with failed strategy.
1) Depends on a *lot* of factors. Being alone has its problems: You gotta sleep sometime, you gotta take a dump sometime, you have to do actual work (procuring food, water, shelter) sometime, you may get sick sometime… Thing is, if you have someone as good as you (or close enough to it), you stand a better chance than trying to play Singular Badass.
2) Not gonna get into the Glock v. Colt thing… to each their own. I will say that unless you really enjoy attracting a lot of attention, maybe keep your sidearm holstered until you have no other choice. A solid sidearm is a joy to have on-hand, but I bet that outside of an urban area (and even in it sometimes) a good pair of binoculars and frequent use of them before entering an unknown area will save you more injury than any handgun you care to name. PS: He’s not talking about a situation where law and order still exists (in any working form.)
3) If no one you trust knows where you’re going, no one will come looking for you if you step in it.
Kwan-cuck-servatives are about as worthless as tits on a boar hog, which was an expression I heard quite often from my Grandpa whenever he would be discussing politics and the vermin who constitute our politician class.
In any real SHTF scenario – the one thing these kwan-cuckservatives all seem to studiously avoid mentioning – is the issue of tribalism. Just as we see kwan-cucks like Rand Paul and Rush Limbaugh and Sean Insanity cooing and clucking about how the GOP needs to send teams of recruiters into these violent, dangerous, crime and welfare queen infested cities like Detroit, New Orleans, East St. Louis, Baltimore, because these imbeciles claim to believe that those areas are crammed full of potential Republican “conservative” voters who just need to have someone sit them down and explain “conservatism” to them in plain language that they can understand – we also see examples in the survivalist movement where we have White kwan-cucks refusing to touch the issue of tribalism and how important this will become once the SHTF Day finally arrives.
I’ve even heard some of these kwan-cucks talking about how prepper and survivalist groups need to make sure they are heavily ‘multi-culturalized’ and as ‘diverse’ as our #1 (((enemy))) has managed to foist (against our will) upon the majority White population of America.
To those who believe this kind of suicidal advice, I would recommend this article for their reading pleasure:
https://heartiste.wordpress.com/2018/05/23/the-double-edged-sword-of-identity-politics/
The Double-Edged Sword Of Identity Politics
“Diversity + Proximity = War.”
Collect bottles. Fill with water. Go through abandoned houses. Look for veggies going bad. Sprouted carrots, Potatos with eyes, plant them.
Food production will be the most important thing, but said food will be a month out before edible.
Hey Jeremiah, that pitcher looks like Cuz Braveheart, lil’cuz, Billy Bob and me down there in North Georgia on our last training mission, how’d you get it?
NGIC, go take a flying leap.
Hey Cuz remember that time you took a flying leap off of the barn with a sheet tied on your back, and thought you could fly. That was one of those times you got laid. You looked like a sail rabbit.
has anybody seen a recent photo of JJ or Tess or M Slavo or Selco ? I have not and I have looked. Wonder why that is ? Could it be none are who to what they claim to be ?
I will be posting my 2018 photos soon for anybody to see for FREE ! Absolutely nothing to hide or BS about.
Meh – I wouldn’t put too much stock in that.
A lot of people want to remain pseudo-anonymous; makes life easier out in the real world.
You do have the issue of people pretending to be who they in reality are not, but it’s fairly easy to spot the fakery once someone studies the subject enough…
Don’t need their photo to see that. They’re in this for the money, nothing else. You can see that because none of them join in these conversations.
Oh, I don’t know Infidel. Old JJ joined in a conversation once and made a very mouthy comment denying he had ever written about JadeHelm. A quick search and a listing of 3 or 4 links to HIS prior articles, POSTED on SHTFPlan shut him up real quick there was no response.
Odd Questioner, what are you afraid of ? what horrid thing will happen ? Are you paranoid or just afraid to actually live your life right up front ! The over reactions here or foolish reactions are well past dumb for a bunch of guys that could not fight their way out of a wet paper bag. Like everything else maybe 3 to 5% are capable of doing anything. probably closer to 2%.
That accounts for the fear and paranoia. Do you really think TPTB don’t already know exactly who all of you are and all about you ? They know who would act and would not, get a life guy, and grow a pair and be part of taking back this country ! Why live in fear, it is not necessary. I guarantee you I have made many more serious comments than anybody here and I have zero fear from any of the control freaks, sleep well at nite and strong as a bull 🙂 Join the tribe and get your shit together !
In this day and time, nothing to worry about. However, if/when things start getting ugly, the local head of whatever fascist/communist government might have a go at dredging online records/sites/databases, and silencing those who are outspoken and easily doxxed.
Don’t believe me? Ask literally anyone who has lived in the USSR as an adult from 1917 to 1989(-ish). Ask any ordinary North Korean prole now.
Survival isn’t about being a badass, and it certainly isn’t about being loud and proud. It’s about avoiding whatever trouble you can avoid, and only then fight to eliminate whatever trouble you cannot. That first bit is important, unless you enjoy having to dodge Neo-brownshirts who want what you have, and (rightly) figure that the best way to get it is to rat you out to the local leadership as a counter-revolutionary (or communist, or whatever.)
You see, the odds of collapse happening without a period of tyranny just beforehand is pretty freakin’ rare, no?
Agree on all points.
I am saying that thinking anybody is hiding from the control freaks is past dumb, nor does any of that actually matter going forward or in the recent past. Had Hilary won it would still be the same problem as under BHO and crew. We still must be vigilant but we are past any point of return. Too many people know who is who in the zoo. The idea of trying to hide your true identity is a fools errand in a world of many matrixes and illusions we all live under. You can only avoid any of it if you are fully aware of it all. Living in fear is not a good idea ever !
Infidel, I was really referring to their physical presence, since all claim to be experts on survival and or something to do with self defense and taking out bad guys ?
When I look at people physically it tells me a lot about their capabilities and I am NOT easily fooled to be sure, for good reason.
I had some chest freezers delivered recently.
I’m getting ready to harvest a steer.
One of the delivery guys noticed the 3 inch Parrot
rifle replica I have pointed at my front gate.
He asked, does it work? I told him it works fine.
He asked what do you shoot out of it?
I said it depends who
is at the gate.
The look on his face was priceless.
I quote a rather famous general
“‘Be polite, be professional, but have a plan to kill everybody you meet”. That is how you survive.
There will be no collapse. Enjoy yourselves, your life in finite.
I hope you’re right. I pray that you’re right. Hell, you may just be right.
Meanwhile, I’ll enjoy my lifestyle and set aside a bit of knowledge and stuff… just in case.
Odd Questioner, me too
They do this SHTF for the money of course. Why would they need to earn a buck if the end was near? You’d think they would spend the remaining days digging holes in their front yards. BAHAHA
Mac, What up Mac, I just needed to thank you for you site and all that you have done over the years, your site helped me a lot during the rough times of 2012-2014, and I owe you one. I had a lot to learn. I will still post when I can for the time being when I have time. Your site has been taken over by trolls. You are and intelligent person and know this already. Nothing new, you already know that. This is a fact now because of other posters attacked me telling us that he lives in Hawaii, that all my post are lies, that nothing is happening there, yet their own news media is telling them that the atmosphere will no longer be breatheable in the next 2 months, the water table is damaged and the water supply is already contaminated. I like the President and believes he is the best one we have ever had, and I like Donald, everything about him. But he is not telling the public what’s really going on, and I don’t blame him, because it would cause a piss state of panic. Donald Trump and his administration will not be able to bullshit the public anymore, with the make the country great again, when the environment decides our faith, and the russians, chi-coms and other nationals, the soldiers deployed in the US, will have more serious things to worry about than red necks coming after them. Climate change is real. Its not a made up thing, its all real. The end result is total climate change of the entire planet followed by another mass extinction, we are in this mass extinction phase again.
From now on, I will be communicating with you directly on this site. I wont even respond to the attacks anymore. I talked to the scientist earlier today, and just got back. He told us that the ring of fire, that the volcanoes by October time frame will literally activate with lave, running literally on the ocean floor the entire stretch from Hawaii all the way to California, and believe per his source that the San Andreas fault will slip, leading to Lava flow on the ocean floor with poisonous gas poisoning off the entire coastal area. If you remember awhile back 2 years ago I posted on this very topic that the environment was the greatest threat, and now we are literally in the disaster phase of the end game now. Continental shift on planets is natural in nature and other planets at its stars cause these events. The earth is expanding and getting larger in size, planets grow and get larger, this causes splits and fault lines to separate. The Texas Gulf, has a big volcano, once that one activates, Yellowstone is next, it will literally spilt the US continent in half joining the Missisippi with the gulf. The Military map showing the end geological result is the real truth of what’s about to take place between 2018-2025 and beyond, the exact date of such events, the scientist working for black ops does not know exact dates but have a general idea of when. This is why I am rapping this up. You site has been taken over by trolls, even people like braveheart is attacking me again, so I know all these guys are trolls most of them.
Governor Abbott has activated alternative survival protocol for Texas last year. The torrential floods of Houston last year were not chemtrail rain clouds, and was not harp,. it was the planets natural cycles, Planet X, I causing a lot of problems with the angular momentum affecting all planets in our solar system. The collapsed star with its planet Nibiru will show it self soon. The first effects of the planet were felt last year, and it’s going to show it self soon. The entire summer of this year cold fronts will come into the south dropping temperature in the low 70’s at night with highs in the upper 80’s for Texas and Houston, a lot cooler that it’s ever been, then right as Septemeber comes around, we will have massive cold front dropping temperatures to the 50’s in Houston, and south texas, with Highs of in the lower 70’s, and early winter will be hitting us, since the poles had 24′ fractural shift, pushing the US higher up, causing melt down, while the sun cools, it cools first then heats up again to become a red giant, which will take place in about 200 more years, we not that far out from the next phase of the suns maturity. I Have to leave Houston, my fiend is making arrangements to get out of Houston, and when I saw that he was serious, I decided to close down my business and leave the coastline, to get up north so the fronts can keep the gases from the gulf down south to decide where we are going to move to next. Mac, I just needed to let you know this is real. These trolls are attacking the writers of the articles, they are attacking me and the factual information I am posting. So I know they are trolls.
Mac, internationally known, locally respected by me,
HCKS.
HCKS,
I did not “attack” you. I just reported what is happening where I live. I do question assertions without named sources.
Your posts are very entertaining, and if correct I’ll be dead soon.
July 24 or so.
HCKS – You have a gift for predictions. What do you think next week’s winning PowerBall numbers will be?
HCKS, whatever. Your scientist buddy, the kid next door with the chemistry set, is ringing your doorbell to see if you can come out and play.
Okay, so your head exploded over some natural occurrence that we can do nothing about. We all have to deal with events that come up – floods, fires, earth quakes, …. panic can only make things worse. If the two people that live on the islands say things are okay so far where they live, I accept their information.
HCKS i agree that its the Nemesis system that includes planet x/nibiru that is causing these extreme weather events. Ive had many visions of meteors coming soon then huge planets in the sky then son of man coming in the clouds directly after rev 6:12 mega quake and pole shift. When you see a huge red planet on the sky i hope we repent of our sins and accept the savior coming bringing a new heaven on earth as foretold in the scripture. Sure it sounds nuts now i could see why but when u see these events transpire please pay heed to the warning. Ive seen over 50 visions come true in my life is why i share. I live in Houston and have been shown to move as well. Blessings to all in Jesus powerful name.
Everything in one tidy basket and wrapped with a ribbon….
Trust no one period. And dont hesitate.
HCKS, I’ve always appreciated your insight. Thank you for the info and the heads up. Hugs to you, and see you on the other side! Many blessings to you!
When there are NO rules… INSANITY rules!
How to survive a knife attack
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfAYyZoVy5o
Good one. Take a cue from nature and what animals do when feeling threatened.. Run, Fly and Swim away. Anymore question?? The natural Human Instinctual Reaction is to “Fight or Flight. If you can safely put distance between you and aggressor first before fighting, you can live to fight another day. Or put some distance between you then turn around and send back some lead at then @3200 FPS..