This article was originally published by Karl Denninger at The Market Ticker.
If you haven’t read the root article, please do;Â you can find it here.
Today we’ll discuss what I argue is the most common set of circumstances that you might prepare for.  Indeed, it has been my experience that these scenarios are likely to come up for most people several times during their lives.  This marks them as quite unique among things you might prepare for, in that the odds of most things that are “prepped” for are extremely unlikely, yet they tend to occupy most people’s minds in this regard.
Consider your ordinary “stomping grounds”; that is, where you roam during your daily life over the space of a year.  It probably involves a radius of a hundred miles from your home on a very common (weekly or monthly) basis and it might involve a range of as much as 500 miles from your home, depending on what you do for a living and where you are situated.  For some who live in a small town or in a big city that range may be smaller, but it almost certainly involves a radius of at least 20 miles.
Now consider this: It’s 3:00 AM.  You wake up choking and there is a nasty, yellow, flickering light coming from the hallway.  Your house or apartment is on fire!  You have 30 seconds to grab whatever and make your way out or you’re going to die.
Far too many people in this situation do die, and we read about them all the time in the newspaper, but nearly none of them should. This sort of emergency situation is one of the “base” levels of preparedness that everyone should have thought of and had put effort into.  The obvious from the fire departments and such is “have a smoke detector” but there’s much more to it than that.
How many times have you seen someone who survived with nothing more than their underwear? Â They had no “go bag” sitting inside their sleeping area they could grab that had a few basics in it — like some sort of lightweight but effective means of preserving body heat. Â Now consider that if this occurs while in a place not so-populated in the winter time you might well be in serious trouble or even die of exposure!
The other place that such disasters commonly happen is in our vehicles. Â Do you have a small, easily-toted “get me the F out of here” bag in your car? Â If so, what’s in it?
In today’s world of cellphones most people blow this sort of thing off. Â That’s a serious mistake; not only is there no guarantee of a signal but cellphones require battery power and can be damaged in a crash or other incident. Â Water exposure, in particular, can render your phone instantly useless and in many (but not all) cases a fractured screen renders the phone unable to be used as well.
Never mind a reasonable med kit, which most people simply do not have. Â Why not, given how cheap this is?
If you broke down — or had a serious mechanical failure and crashed as a result — 20 miles from nowhere, how serious would this be? What if you find yourself somewhere that forces you to abandon your vehicle for some reason (e.g. it’s mechanically broken beyond your ability to fix it) without assistance?  It gets even worse if you are on required prescription medication or are injured and have nothing to deal with your injuries.
The goal here is to have something you can grab in seconds and that will get you home (or to someone you trust, if your home is destroyed) in a bad situation.  Comfort is not a factor and neither is the end of civilization, social order or anything similar.
These scenarios all presume the disaster is local to you but that doesn’t make it any less real from your point of view.  They are the most-common scenarios and yet they’re also the ones that most people who call themselves “preppers” pay the least attention to.  This is a serious mistake as you’re rather likely to have several of these incidents happen to you during your life; all of the other potential scenarios are either almost-entirely avoidable or unlikely to happen at all!
There is utterly no way anyone can call themselves a “prepper” unless they have in their possession pretty-much all the time a bag or other “go kit” containing, at minimum:
- Warmth and makeshift shelter.  You’ll die of exposure faster than anything else out in the open under less than great conditions.  Accidents and personal disasters never happen when it’s cold, rainy or you have otherwise compromised environmental situations, right?  The cheezy one-time-use mylar “space blankets” are small, light, and sort of work; if not so much for warmth they will help keep you dry.  Their problem is that they’re almost-literally “one time use”; unwrap it and it’s a pain in the ass to pack back up, plus they rip very easily.  But they can be wrapped around you under a light jacket or even a shirt and pants and will provide a near-impervious wind barrier and some heat reflection, which is good.  The more-serious versions take a bit more room, aren’t much heavier, are reusable, wrapped around you will actually keep you warm and a couple of them can be turned into a quite-effective makeshift shelter.  Be aware that wind + wet = bad news, even in relatively moderate temperatures.  If you travel in places where the temperature goes below freezing a poly blanket that will not absorb water is a damn good idea to keep in the car although it’s totally impractical to stick in a bag due to size.  Ditto for an extra woven hat and at least light gloves.  If the temperature where you are goes below 20F or so you need to pay far more attention to this circumstance as any sort of wind turns such temperatures into immediate life-threatening exposure if you don’t have good thermal and wind protection, and effective protection against those conditions is quite bulky.  Get wet in such conditions and you’re in bigtrouble.
- At least two means of making fire.  The simple is a pizeo butane lighter, preferably a “jet” or “torch” style.  These are cheap; you can get ’em at the local Chinamart for under $10.  Why that rather than a BIC? Because the flint-based striker lighter will not work if it gets wet.  Try it yourself; take your common BIC and stick it under the faucet for a few seconds, then try to use it.  Surprise!  The pizeo one will function with nothing other than blowing the water out of it with your mouth.  The second should be some form of mechanical fire starting device but don’t kid yourself about how easy these are to use; they certainly work (especially the magnesium ones you shave and then use an embedded flint) but they take time.  Fire isn’t just for warmth, it’s also a signal and can be used to draw attention.  Be aware that in many situations you may not be able to get a fire going (think deep snow or soaking rain and no dry flammable material) but if you need warmth and can get one going life gets a lot better in the immediate sense.
- Light.  LED flashlights are great but be sure to have a couple of new, wrapped and thus waterproof batteries.  Two flashlights are even better.  A flashlight and a wearable headlamp trumps six flashlights; the latter is extremely useful for fixing that which you CAN fix on your vehicle in the middle of the night out on a dark road, for example. Rechargeable batteries are fine in these but you must have alkaline or lithium primary dry cells in your kit for them, double-bagged to keep them from getting wet — rechargeable batteries all self-discharge and a dead battery means no light!
- A means of obtaining reasonably-certain to be drinkable water.  Water is life.  Water of unknown quality can literally be death and if it’s not you may wish it was.  This typically doesn’t mean bottled water (it’s heavy, containers are subject to puncture and can go bad over time if stored) but it does mean a way of filtering appearing-to-be-clean but of unknown quality water.  You need a half-gallon a day per person if not under stress, and more if you are or would like to use some for reasons other than drinking (trust me, you do.)  Forget food, by the way. You’ll be fine for a week without anything to eat and this is a 48 to 72-hour situation at worst.  You won’t be happy but you’ll live.
- A cutting device; combined with a minor toolkit is even better. Â A decent multitool fits this requirement.
- Vinyl gloves.  Those are for two purposes — they are great for routine emergencies where you can fix what’s wrong (e.g. with your car) but would trash your hands and then clothing in doing so (and that would suck) and they’re also very useful if you come upon someone else who is in serious trouble such as having just had a serious auto accident.  Blood-born disease is a no-bull**** thing and being able to immediately don basic hand protection is always good.  These are so cheap, light and small that there’s no excuse for not having two or three pair in your bag all the time.
- Money.  If you always have access to credit on your card lines it might be ok to rely on that but if not a couple hundred bucks needs to be in your kit.  A vehicle with nothing wrong with it other than being out of fuel is at best a shelter against the wet  and wind (but not cold) and at worst is an instant tow and a big fat bill.  Note that if you have a diesel vehicle the necessary tools to restart after running out of fuel or getting air in the system, and knowing how to use them, are necessary.
- A reliable, small and light noise-making device.  Fox40 whistle anyone?  Have one in the bag.  Believe me, these things are loud
- A basic med kit.  A fair discussion can be had as to what ought to be in there, but if you have particular required medications that will leave you infirm or worse within 24-48 hours those must be in there.  A small supply of both DEET-based bug spray and sunblock are things you’ll be happy for in non-emergency situations when you forget them, and you will.  Some sort of infection control wash (e.g. Hibiclens) for minor to moderate wounds that could be significant sources of infection is a good idea.  If you want to get more-aggressive you can; I have my personal preferences here including a couple of things that are very unlikely to be needed but if they are they can save your life or someone else’s (e.g. Celox.)  I also carry a pretty-serious OTC systemic antihistamine (generic Benedryl), my personal favorite anti-allergy medication (since hayfever gets me pretty good) and aspirin. Note that if you need a generic antihistamine due to some sort of allergic reaction and don’t have any you’ll be damned miserable at best.  This is not a substitute for serious allergies (e.g. peanuts or similar); if you have that sort of thing going on you need an epipen in the bag as not having one at the wrong time could literally mean your death.
- A modest amount of decent cordage. Â The gold standard is so-called “550 Paracord.” Â It’s inexpensive, light, small in reasonable quantity and strong. Â That plus a couple of the heavier space blankets = makeshift shelter. Â The inner strands can be stripped out and used as kindling if necessary (yes, it burns.) Â It can be used as a component of a sling or splint.
Everyone wants to talk about weapons, of course, but consider carefully the law in the areas where you are and travel to.  There’s little worse than wrecking your vehicle, surviving without much bodily damage, successfully bailing off with your go bag in the car and then getting arrested when found because there’s a pistol in the bag and where you are forbids their possession outside of one’s home or business.  It’s even worse if you wind up needing to take some form of public transportation back home after such an event and can’t take that weapon with you; now what?  Attempting to sneak it through is risking a prison sentence while not doing so or removing enough pieces to make it legal to transport means abandoning or intentionally destroying an expensive piece of equipment.
All of this should fit in what would look like a moderate-sized purse. Â LA Police Gear has a “tactical bail out gear bag” that is of a decent size and is very serviceable for this sort of purpose; it’s inexpensive and solid enough, while having a sufficient number of compartments to separate and keep things organized. Â I own a couple of them and they both do the job and are cost-effective; the included and detachable shoulder strap makes for easy carrying if required.
IMHO this is the most common set of circumstances; indeed, I’m willing to bet you’re at least 10 and perhaps 100 times more likely to need this level of preparation than anything else, and yet not one person in a hundred, including many who claim to be “preppers”, have this covered.
Karl Denninger is the author of Leverage: How Cheap Money Will Destroy the World in which he discusses the ill-use of leverage and how it is destroying the global economy, as well as where all of this will lead. The result is ugly: the value of everything—including gold—falls, and even personal safety is at risk in a world where there is limited money even for essentials like food and fuel.
Also By Karl Denninger:
Just Admit It: You (and your kids) Are State PROPERTY
The Impending Catastrophe: “It’s Not Difficult To See This Coming”
75% of my preps are for this type of scenario. We’ve had 3 local SHTF events in the last 10 years. It pays to be ready.
And BTW, BICs will work just fine. It only takes a few rolls up your hand or pant leg to dry the flint and steel enough to work. Try it yourself (as the article suggests). 🙂
Slip a section of bicycle Inner Tube over your lighter. It not only protects the lighter but the rubber will burn very easily even if wet.
You can buy 50 BIC lighters on Amazon for $10. I put them in ziplock bags with my dryer lint. You want fire? You can also adjust the BIC wheel up to make a 10 inch torch if you need to. Let Er’ Rip!! WWTI
It’s amazing how many lives a zippo lighters saved in WWII, it was the premium fire starter of the age. BIC lighters are the new and improved version, a more expensive Pizzo lighter is better, but I would keep those for myself and have a hundred BIC’s for barter. Do you have refill butane cans in your larder?
I really like those small refillable butane torches Harbor Freight puts on sale. Awesome fire starter and grill lighter. None better!
For gas fires (stoves etc) I have two pizzo igniters that could last a lifetime each, no gas, just a spark. In a total SHTF situation everyone should have a printed instruction for building a digesture sewage based gas generator. Use your own sewage to generate natural gas to cook on. Common in the third world, a family can produce enough gas to cook the days food!
Refill butane cans? I once saw a 12 oz can of butane with an M-80 taped to its center go off in a field on the fourth. It was very impressive, a 30 foot fireball, I can’t imagine the effect indoors!
I prep for Ice, Wind, Earthquakes and Volcanoes. Have many go bags in different places around the property. Still working on Wildfires.
http://www.naturalnews.com/049038_sea_life_extinction_human_activity.html
One of the most important and often discussed items is fire making. And I have started a fire using many different methods and I have all types of things in my day packs and my back packs as well as all of my coat pockets. But when it comes right down to it, nothing works better than a good old trusty Bic Lighter. We can talk about dryer lint and cotton balls and batteries with steel wool and magnessium and strikers of all kinds but who walks around on a day to day basis carrying this kind of stuff, so just remember TS-will-HTF when we least expect it. So don’t be like Ass’ed Itch who worries about how he looks in his tight fitting jeans. Always, Always carry a Bic in your pocket, then it will be there when you need it. Trekker Out. Ass’ed, Carry Yours In A Shoulder Bag.
” but who walks around on a day to day basis carrying this kind of stuff,”
LOL MT , That would be me !
I have vaseline covered cotton balls in my bag ,trying to find dry tinder is a bitch sometimes and in a bad situation may take longer than i have .
But i do have a Bic to light them .
And the old steel/flint if needed .
Made two tins full of char cloth last weekend when the weather was nice. Used an old tire rim to hold the coals. Made enough to fill two Altoid cans. Picked up a couple pieces of chert on the hike down to the stream/creek last Sunday while fishing. Bought up a couple of old files at a yard sale and want to fashion some strikers out of ’em.
hh, I too also use the Vaseline on square cotton pads and they do great. Its also what I use to make the char cloth. Only thing I haven’t tried yet is the bow and drill method. The Bic lighter sure is the easier and quicker way though.
Fire starter? Just buy some gag birthday candles at the local party store that you can’t blow out. They are superior fire starters, and are incredibly compact. Once lit they don’t go out easily.
http://www.thedailysheeple.com/the-best-democracy-money-can-buy-for-every-dollar-spent-influencing-us-politics-corporations-get-760-back_032015
2/3 of our tax money is going to support huge corporations.
Buy local and buy high quality.
Fuck Wallyworld.
Mylar blankets don’t fucking work.
People who believe this bullshit have never been in the woods in their lives.
You preps are FUCKING USELESS unless you TRAIN for all these emergencies so you learn the realities of such things.
Get a compressible down jacket and put it in your BOB. Down as the highest warmth to weight ratio. The North Face now makes something called the Thermoball down jacket that they claim retains warmth when wet.
Had some good results using a vaccum food sealer to compress and seal down jackets for BOB storage.
Acid
You are one effed up dude my friend:) But you seem to like to discuss gear. So, What kind of blade do you usually carry in the woods? I mostly have my esee 4 (green w/orange g10 scales) which I love. Sometimes I go with my esee 6 (traded my old esee5 for it) I also keep a spyderco police folder (combo edge) clipped to my pocket. And then cant forget the trusty ol swiss army in the pocket. Anyways just wondering what you and anyone else that wants to talk knives carries. Everybody always talks guns I want to talk knives some too. So if this board don’t get enough attn. don’t be surprised if I bring this up again soon. Look forward to yalls feedback
Richard Head.
Talk cutting edge. ;0) O.K. Have Buck 110 as my go to knife and a Spyderco thumb hole with serrated edge. Fighting Knives, bayonets, swords, hatchets, combination tools and machete’s. A good old slaughter house meat cleaver is one hell of a survival tool.
Sling
Cant beat a damned ol 110. I bought me a new one while back when they came out with the stainless bolsters and red handle scales, knew a guy at knife store got it half price too 🙂 And +1 on a friggin meat clever:) Ur my kinda people:) Speakin of buck knives, my old buck vanguard I’ve had since I was about 12, is still one of my favorite knives ever, I love that knife.
Richard along with my Bic and my 45, my knife is one thing that I’m never without. The only thing that I have more of than knives is nickles, I love knives. I always wear a leatherman on my belt which has two knife blades, but in my pocket I carry a stainless Kershaw, I use to carry a CRKT but my Kershaw has a much thinner profile, even Ass’ed Itch could carry it in his tight fitting jeans. My Kershaw is very sharp and holds an edge as good as any knife I have, it works so well that I don’t even carry or maybe I should say, wear a sheath knife even when Elk hunting, although I do have a other Equipment in my day pack. My Kershaw only has a 3 inch blade but I have skinned half a elk with out even touching it with a steel. It does have a pocket clip which I rarely use, so I guess I shouldn’t complain but every time I pull it out it always seems to have some pocket change tucked in it some where. Trekker Out. Stay Sharp And Be On Point!
Mt
Im with you brother on knives and nickels. I don’t have a ton, but I have enough to possibly be an addiction:) I have a lil SOG multi tool which I actually like better than my Leatherman, smoother opening with the gear action. Never owned a Kershaw, but got a few CRKT folders and always been a big fan. Actually my WORK knife is a CRKT blue point model I bought off the snap-on truck and been beatin the ever lovin hell out of it for the last 5 years and she’s still kicking. And I’m with you on the blade size. like I was sayin I usually only carry a 4in. fixed blade, and she’ll do bout anything in the world you need too. Hey thx again Sling & MT, I could talk knives all day:) I plan to bring this up again, and machetes will be next
Am I the only one who feels naked If I don’t have at least 3 knives on me at all times:)
God I hate getting on a plane, my knives in my checked baggage, and they hand you a bag of nuts that can’t be opened by the Hulk………. Ahhhhhhhh!
Know what mylar blankets are good for? Sew it to a tarp, now you have a way of hiding from inferred, FLIR and other “heat seeking devices. Yea I don’t think they keep you very warm, but they do work for a reflective backstop when you have a fire going.
Hillbilly
Have you ever tried to sew a mylar blanket into a tarp?
I doubled sided tape one into a cheap camo poncho. Makes lots of noise when you move and with the poncho the trapped body heat rises fast. If you manage to cover your heat signature it will end up as a large solid dark spot on FLIR. Something to think about. Wait till you have that stuff wrapped around your head. Like an oven.
A Mylar blanket sown into a camo tarp and infrared cameras can’t see you so well.
I find it amazing how my motion detector lights can’t see me when I’m behind a simple umbrella.
PTPO
Will check that umbrella thing out for sure.
Thanks.
I love how colleges are on this fucking crusade against sexual violence while professors openly belittle Christians and Republicans.
I can’t fucking walk anywhere on campus holding hands with my boyfriend and kissing him without being mocked and threatened. Why do you think I train so much martial arts?
Guess what? Women ridicule gay men just as much as other men do. Am I supposed to feel sorry for rape victims? Fuck ’em. Life aint fair to us either.
I really don’t give a shit.
POP…I’m with you there.
Ass’ed there is one thing that I agree with you on, and thats this thing about colleges being on a crusade against sexual violence. It was much better when we could just knock the crap out of a Queer and everyone thought it was OK. Trekker Out. Put Them Back In The Closet!
no need to prep…Uncle Obama and the handout congress will supply all I need when anything happens…look at all the $$$ i’m saving….gimme free stuff
Uncle Sugar will print all the $$ i need for the free stuff I’ll get when anything happens…free trailer, food , smokes, cash card…whatever….I’m ready for free stuff
I prep for when the gov goons come and say what’s mine is theirs. It’ll be a bloody fucking day for everyone.
Im with you,
I really dont give a shit anymore and am ready to ruin some gov pigs day.
WELLLL That too ,
BUT , I drive and hour or more each day for work and lots of times in very rural areas .
I carry a get home bag at all times, snow shoes in the winter and lottsa water in summer.
My bag weighs 80 lbs !
I figure based on location , distance and conditions that i can remove extra stuff to lighten the load .
Dont know what could happen , but i am ready to walk home.
Might take a day or two , but i’ll get there !
Farthest i go from home is the range, even that is only 20 miles more or less from my house using shortest roads, straight line would be more likely for me to go as it cuts through ranchland, ends up being about 11 miles even with detours around people, can hoof it in less than 5 hours,,,get home bag has granola bars, water, knife, matches, 1911 and a few other things, fits in a 3 day assault pack from Blackhawk
Thats a nice bag !
I got some surplus yugoslavian POS .
But it works ! Saddly canvas .
Mine NOW has that keltec 9mm folder in it that i talked about awhile back.
Shoots good and light weight.
Dickered it down to 450 , so i’m happy with it 🙂
I’m tellin ya , ya cant prep for winter travel enough and especially on foot.
I see people (wife) drive off in heels with NO boots in car and i just shake my head .Some people can not be reached .
Yep, good bag, lots of pockets, plus holds a bladder and tube,
Has been around the block a few times too so is nicely broken in,
Over here its not winter travel to worry about its thirst,,,
99.9% of the time it stays home,,,
My usual travels dont take me much farther than 15 miles from the house as the roads go so just not really necessary, living on a small island does limit exposure to stuff you folks on the continent have to deal with….
HH… try putting some memory foam type soft stuff to extra cushion the front sight on that sub2K while it is packed away… it is kinda flimsy.
For my GHB I use an ugly old black backpack. I don’t want to look too tactical while I am hiking home from a breakdown. I rarely travel beyond 20 mile radius from home.
Grats on the KelTec. That thing is WAY too much fun to shoot.
Me neither. Fear is gone.
? for the in-the-know re-loaders out there…
Is it possible to reload .22 stingers rounds with a workbench created Armour Piercing solid steel bullet?
does a .22 stinger with the right solid steel bullet have enough velocity to cleanly pierce a bullet proof vest?
been playing around with how to create this working home made Armour Piercing round for a while.
just curious if anyone else has pursued it and made it work?
it would be used within 50 yards of the intended targets.
Would damage the barrel, most likely wouldnt penetrate either,
yep i expect it to damage the barrel. which is why i limit it to within 50 yards.
i’m more interested in it piercing car doors , vehicle windshields and body Armour.
Any particular reason for 22?
I turned stainless steel bullets that fit in an RSS sabbot and load nicely in 3″ 12 gauge shells, latest iteration does about 1800FPS from a slug barrel on a mossy 930
gonna cut down my old ruger .22 stock and barrel to make into a trench coat gun.
it’d be perfect size to do so.
Remove bullet from commercial 22, buy some tungsten carbide rod on eBay the diameter of #2 pencil lead, cut to length, and press into bullets you drilled a slight undersized hole in. Reassemble upgraded bullet back into casing.
Once heard of a guy that took standard Daisy Steel BB’s and pressed them into 45 hollow points. They went through 3/8 boiler plate, which the 45 they were made from could not penetrate.
Don’t know why you’d bother though. Most hyperverlocity .22 will go through soft armor without modification when fired from a rifle with a full length barrel. Even with a penitrator core it likely would not get through plate armor.
Sounds like a fun experiment for a YouTube video, but that’s about it.
Afterthought:
In a SHTF situation I have molds for ball ammo in 9mm and .45. I could add a standard Daisy steel BB to each mold cavity, when casting bullets. It makes ball ammo act like hollow points except with much improved penetration.
Just a thought, the cost of a couple thousand BB,s is insignificant now!
Steel bullet is not armor piercing.
At .22 LR pressure, a heavy-built AP bullet would likely never exit the barrel. Too much energy consumed swaging the bullet into the rifling, and then too much friction after (if) that’s accomplished. .22 RF rounds are soft lead for a reason. Even the .22 Magnum rimfire uses a very thin jacketed bullet, and a much heavier case to contain the pressure.
Digs:
This isn’t a very good idea. I understand that you want to punch through heavy clothing and the such. I you really want to us a 22 cal. go to the 22 Mag. It will punch through Level 2 body armor and go another 5″ or so. Look it up on YOUTUBE. A guy ran a test with 22 Mags.
don’t try to pull bullets out of stingers and try to replace them with a steal slug you are waisting your time. You can also get hurt.
If your idea is to stop a car you can use 00 buck out of a 2 3/4″ or 3″ and it will do the trick or go with a slug.
You have to reload center fire, not rim fire. Get a 220 swift and load a full metal jacket to max velocity and no matte what the other guy is wearing.. ouch x 10. That is the fastest 22 alive.
thank you gentlemen for all the input.
greatly appreciated.
digs
That would be news to me if it would. Seems like it would be an awful lot of work too. But I just cant see 22lr in any form being sufficient for windshields, car doors, and body armor. I have a lil 17 hmr that I hear will go through armor, and I’d say it would probably drill a hole straight through a car door, but not sure how effective it would be after it comes out the other side. But maybe you should consider something like that. I cant remember for sure but one company is making them in a semi auto, I think it was CZ firearms. But mine is a lil pump made by Taurus, I love that lil gun.
Better yet. Get the CCI Stinger HP. Find some of the old style bilge pump switches, the ones with the mercury switches inside them. Make sure to wear nitrile gloves eye protection,and a respirator! Break the glass switch capsule in a small dish and using a suitable tool put a small amount of the mercury in the hollow point and cover with a small amount of epoxy. Hit your opponent in any soft tissue with this and if not treated within 15 minutes he will be done for. Mercury poisoning is a particularly nasty death. One switch can make 100 rounds.
I prep for when we all get overrun by Them Hogs!
So, watch out fur them hogs!
Them Hogs:
Are them damn Yankees flying them there hogs?????
I’m prepped for just about any thing that man can through at me except the bomb.
What the GOOD Lord gives me and if he wants to survive I will, if he doesn’t want me to survive, I guess my number is up and that his call.
I have my beans, bullets, band aids, water, shelter(s), lighting, heating (warmth and cooking), sanitary needs and a good woman by my side with to very good sons that can handle anything thrown their way.
S.T.S.F.P. N.R. N.S. N.REB
NR
Don’t forget your brother and his group that is coming to the area.
You know what he is bringing, and what he is and his group is capable to do.
Hang in there.
Sgt.
@ Them Hogs
I saw your comment yesterday in the Selco article but I didn’t have the time to post. I forgot who but someone here once said he was buying Smith M&Ps and keeping them new in the box for bartering. Wouldn’t be the smartest thing to do to trade a lethal weapon to the wrong person, and I wouldn’t recommend it for that reason, but the idea itself is still genius. It’s a valuable item that only grows in value in a crisis. If you must go this route I would suggest only pistols as self defense weapons, or shotguns (no slugs), and no rifles unless it’s to someone you trust.
You trust? When shtf very few can b trusted
Always love the barter items you need…ammo!!
Sorry not bartering ammo!!
No way…no how!!
I don’t prep for any specific event. I find that kind of limiting.
I plan on feeding/watering myself, protecting myself, keeping myself in some kind of shelter and hopefully communicating with others in the same situation.
I plan to avoid outside threats like deadly viruses, radiation and govt thugs. I prep regardless of what catastrophe may hit.
I’ve gathered supplies accordingly.
At home i prep for no electric and winter survival.
3-4 months below 40 is cold , so we got three years worth of wood at all times.
Wish i had as much food…….
Summertime is sooo much easier . Cant wait.
Ditto. Most of my prep is centered on surviving at home without the grid for a year. In TEOTWAWKI I won’t live much past that, being 70 years old and severely diabetic. My main objective is to live long enough to gift my little farm and equipment to some decent young Christian couple who can make good use of it when I’m gone.
I can’t walk far either, so a serious GHB in my vehicles is not necessary. But the long-haul van is so well equipped that my grandkids refer to it as “Mary Poppins’ handbag”. Been times when that saved me from some serious situations.
TOC if you had some sheep you could make insulin. If we had to bug out ta here, I hope my wife and I are lucky enough to stumble across ya. Its clear you don’t fear death, and rightly so. You know where you’ll end up. With crowns to boot. Myself facing cancer, not sure where I’d be if I didn’t have Christ. Bless you sir. We’ll see ya at home sooner or later.
I suppose I could. But I’ve lived 10 years longer than I would have without modern medicine, so every day is free.
And like Pablo Casals, I feel my job now is to ease the passage of the next generation.
If only they’d listen.
OC, I too have thought about gifting my preps if something happens to me. I don’t want them to be taken to the salvation army, where they’ll be given out to the gimme dats.
I want my stores and equipment to go to someone who deserves and will use them. Your average EBTer would just throw a 50 pound bag of beans or rice in the trash—you can’t microwave them so it’s too much effort to cook them.
The catch is, the recipient would be notified to come here and claim the preps after I’m gone. I’d stipulate that in my last will. I don’t know of anyone near to me to make this feasible.
I found a link to an article about yahoo and pgp encryption. I searched for other links when the full article wouldn’t open and found several. NONE WOULD OPEN THE PAGE. Has anyone else encountered this?
The article is:
“Yahoo releases end-to-end email encryption source — NSA FUMES”
https://fnews.com/yahoo-releases-endtoend-email-encryption-source–nsa-fumes-g4j7
I couldn’t get any other page to open the full article. I guess the NSA really is mad about it…
Six: Go to computerworld.com….it has the original article.
No, it only had the first paragraph as a lead-in to the story. The link to the rest of the story didn’t work for me.
i’ll be prepping to start a raid group to be the first ones to hit every pharmacy around.
food will be easy enough to get…meds, not so much.
You’ll be too late, the druggies will get there first, every time.
All that will be left will be antibiotics and blood pressure medicines, things like that.
Know where the druggies live and get it direct. Take your friends.
We prep to be self sufficent for a one year period. We hope to be able to adapt to almost anything with that cushion.
Two is one and one is none.
and the F_CKING idiots who rule the world
bring us one step closer to war
as they compare who has the bigger dick
Washington Retaliates: Shifts Anti-Missile Battery Into Poland, Begins Rapid-Response Drills
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-03-18/washington-retaliates-shifts-anti-missile-battery-poland-begins-rapid-response-dri-0
I hope no one pushes the wrong button
This article sounds like DAMAGE CONTROL …..how you say …..well the preps for the economic collapse that hasn’t happened has now become ….WELL WE PREPARE FOR EVERYDAY DISASTERS …..I call bullshit!!!
LMAO….
I prep for all actualities…But the most valuable prep you have is knowledge of exactly how to survive in ANY situation…that you know what to do, how to do it and when to do it… survival in and of itself relies on being spontaneous and have the know-how and desire to survive and carry on….and TEACH the young ones coming up just WHY this Republic exists and what their role in its’ survival consists of……
This same senerio..is why I began to post on this site..when the cabal crashed the economy with their planned engineered crash..i lost my house and my car and began to walk only in time for this stupid bitch to run a red light and destroyed and injured my Azz and my transam..now I was on foot, and out of money. I just recently recoverd from being homeless for over 1 year & a half..literally sleeping in my Friking car, as I ran my business, and had to cover the overhead to take care of my customers first..my life became hell..i ran into this website 5 yrs ago, and began to prep..i cannot tell you how many times I had to dip into my preps to find food to eat and was able to sustain myself..i slept in my car every night, and the summer heat and winter and danger out there and it was hell in earth.i stank, I smelled bad.i got to shower at the gym and continued to work out and take car of my heath. One day my new used transam that I bought and fixed up broke down, I was now walking almost ten miles one night,and I walked by the homeless under a bridge and realized that I was now one them.I was trapped outside day and night and literally had to sleep in parking lots. I became the very homeless people binder drove my everyday around Houston…I ran out of prep food and lived on water for over one week and literally calapsed, and almost past out..my status among to homeless,the stress was extremely intense and I was and executive hobo, I have a business, still have this business and I had overhead to cover and those operating expenses had to be paid, I could not afford rent, then the damn car broke down, not its 4 days outside day and night, it was hell on earth..I am a good business that placed my customers and clients ahead of me, their needs were first, f….k me and my needs..My friend who is a prepper could’nt help me and there was no where to sleep, then I fixed car and back later sleeping into the car..i was experiencing Shtf, and the calapse had not even comensed yet..of course my business strategy worked, I red this blog and followed the advice of the comments and you guys literally helped save my sorry Azz, and give me pointers in how to survive..since I was positive and strong minded, I was able to recover and get back into and apartment because only the strong survive, my red neck buddy Paul came to my rescue, since be lived in a metal storage, and would feed me when I starved.He was homeless too. One day he ran the hell out of gas just 5 months ago and I happen to be passing by, I fueled him up, gave him money, paid his storage monthly fee, got himself food. He couldn’t believe what I did you him..he was then able to find a good motor cycle mechanic job and is back on his feet, and had begun prepping..I am back in my feet worked my Azz off boasted sales and got off the road, fixed up the car, and Amy strong again.but I know that this strength will be short lived and that he’ll on earth is coming and this time I am prepared, .and I continued to prep, prep, prep and frickin prep, and this time I took it to the next level, formed a group of local red necks, veterans and other shtf’ers and we are preppering for the big end of the Friking world hell on earth calapse.I out named, vietnam Texas, the next war After my scientist friend told me when the insider sources told him, I nearly sh……t my pants..this time I am ready.. when calapse comensed, He already moved and ran the hell out town dour months ago..I will be ready, Weather is invasion, red dawn, jihadist, Chinese, Russian, or who ever, this time it’s will be different. We have teams and allies. Houston is a very high crime area, lots of drug dealers, cracking heads, thieves and other derelict.I could be in the middle of high 10 when and emp hits car shuts down, and I am ready to head back north..i have multiple routes, all sorts of extra contingencies..i have even made preps for my red necks so that if I get killed they can take my stuff and survive..folks, this is it..time is up, we will calapse, the sh….. will hit the fan, and I am not afraid to talk anymore..and a source told me how some cop he met called him to order food, since he sells survivor food, just out in a massive order of a 3 year supply of survival food and moved the hell out of the city because he was told that in less than two hrs everybody is our city will be extinct. what the hell is go?ng on?..and for the stupid people out there who thing that this all conspiracy, you will be crying and pissing your pants, when the hoards of thousands of dangerous gangs and armed thugs come after you. Mother nature will teach you a life lesson you will never forget..God helps those who help themselves..after reading shtf course, I realized that what I went through was nothing in comparison..so I have got to hand to to Selcos. Selcos takes you in the field and back to the war zone, up close and personal to let you experience hell, to get you ready for up coming hell. You have earned my out most respect, by making this website, it helped save my azz..for the new commers, buy the course, it’s is really good, worth every penny..
Wow. What a journey. Glad you bounced back, and that this site has helped.
God bless you. Trust in Christ.
I sure you have all thought of your 6
EDC: 10% of body weight w/ extras as deemed necessary for mission
2 day bag: 15% of body weight
3 day bag: 19% of body weight
Bug out bag to FOB/BOL: 32% of body weight within 10 miles depending on fitness/goal of deployment
These weights do not include weapon/ammo/exp of choice, add 10%+
More weight may be carried traveling to FOB in extreme situations & circumstances. D&D as needed
History from navy training in survival tech and equip.w/SAR/UDT: 3 advances within 1.5 yrs. Skip (ST6) got my ass out of a jam in Thailand back in 81, BTDT
You experienced guys: What does shit sound like when it hits the fan: ?
No offence dictated hehehe
What do I prep for.
My family
My Friends (The Group)
What I’m prepping for? Is a total collapse of society.
I don’t know if it is going to be.
EMP (Natural or Man made)
Monetary Collapse
War
Gun ban
Martial Law
Simply TEOTWAWKI!!!!!
Aim Small Miss Small
Sgt.
EXACTLY, all of it
Combining the EDC, GHB and BO bags into a functioning system. The basics remain the same but I adapt for climate changes. During any given year we may rome from the Keys to NYC in winter which puts us in a multitude of climates in a single day. These circumstances can be problematic, so we made a decision basically to never go further north than Virginia. Not because of the climate but because of the gun laws.
The biggest thing I think people miss is real back packing boots. It’s one thing to have to walk home, it’s totally different to do it with 30-40lbs on your back. I do disagree with Karl’s part about food though. You need to have some type of emergency rations or you will be incopacitated and totally weak in 72 hours. 1 pack of Mainstay 3600 calorie bars or 3 LRP rations will make you feel a whole lot better.
“because of the gun laws”
There are gun laws???
Yes, and cops love nothing better than to kick people when they’re down, by stopping them on the road, tearing everything out of their backpacks, looking for guns, drugs and cash.
A cop would clean you out of everything if they can, while you’re trying to walk to your BOL. It’s not just the FSA you need to worry about on the road. The only thug you can’t make back down, is the thug with the badge and “the law” on their side.
States that neutralize my right to self defense with nanny state anti gun laws. I have no reason to visit anymore, not even the fact that most of my relatives live in Maryland, New Jersey and New York.
We don’t prep for just one thing. Having tunnel vision on one disaster or occurrence might make
you short sighted and miss something. We take it one baby step at a time. I’m still trying to get some family member son board. Sadly, they are like the ostrich, stick their head in the sand and it doesn’t exist. Unfortunately, that doesn’t make it true. We are just trying to set up our family to possibly survive whatever “life” throws our way. Keep up the faith and prepping. The way things are going we might need them both sooner than later.
good grief
ANOTHER variant of bird flu !
these things are popping up so fast now
you can’t keep track
US reports outbreak of low-pathogenic bird flu in California, OIE says
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2015/03/18/us-reports-outbreak-low-pathogenic-bird-flu-in-california-oie-says/
We all know the story about the three little pigs. They always leave the last chapter out. After he huffed and puffed and made shure the three little pigs where frightened enough that they would stay in the Brick house. The wolf gathered all the straw & wood & piled it on the brick house. Lit it on fire and ate roasted pig. Moral of the story? The first pig should of had a gun and blew the wolfs shit away.
Most of this is middle age male fantasy.
Number one SHTF to prep for, losing your income. Only spend money on “prepper” goods after you have 6-12 months income saved and a free and clear title to a place to live somewhere where you can handle the annual property taxes with 1-2 months of minimum wage work.
Number two, physical fitness and health. Being in shape and not dependent on medicine is more important than anything else. A bug out bag full of gear is useless if you can’t sprint 800 meters with it.
I’d say it’s more like “A bug out bag full of gear is useless if you can’t get out of danger with it.” You’ve got to make it around that next corner or beyond that tree line, whatever it takes to get away.
I remember the 880-yard run in school, that was a dash, trying to break 2 minutes.
If you have to run a half-mile to escape danger, you’re not going to make it. Cover and concealment is the key, not running.
I’ve never seen a small shovel on BOB’s lists. A small quality military style shovel for digging a fox hole, fire pit, a slit latrine, or getting a vehicle unstuck. It is usually standard GI issue for a reason.
I’ve got one in my BOB.
The 3 plans of Petro Poroshenko
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20_RnvEr30I
I realize bugging out means different things to people. My philosophy on bugging out is it’s a last resort shit has to be bad where I’m living in the suburbs it would have to be loss of sewer and water service. I have a few sources for water that are not streams or rivers but springs in nearby wetland areas. But burying my family’s shit will only work for so long and everybody will be in the same situation around me. I have two children under 3 and a 10yr old son my wife too. So having my family my buyout plans have to be modified from time to time. So what I have for a bag is a cordura nylon us gi duffle bag with the backpack straps. I know it’s not the best but look at it from an open mind. The thing can hold a ton of shit has the backpack straps this allows my hands to be free. You can get them used for around $20. I bought mine new army issue it has the nsn numbers us in black ink. Od green tuff bag I have a smaller back pack that fits inside the duffle on the top. I put heavier backpack on the top in the duffle it keeps the load up on your shoulders e duffle being so big it can be used to haul materials for shelter building or fire wood or bring back a deer in it. The duffle folds up to an 8 inch square 2.5 in thick and fits in the backpack. I use it for laundry when I travel. This is a multi use heavy duty affordable bag that collapses into compact size. You could fill a water cooler bottle put it in the duffle and use it to haul back to camp. I used them as a kid in scouts. I like it and think it doesn’t get the respect it deserves for it’s price point I don’t think there is better. Shit grab two. If I’m not coming home this is what I’m taking with some thread and patches incase you get holes. I will not bug out most likely but won’t say it’s off the table as an option. Don’t buy cheap imitations get genuine army duffle the Rothco bags are not the same quality.
Getting yourself a good pair of boots would be a step in the right direction.
http://www.mgtow.com/video/she-can-never-tell-you-what-to-do/
Your next prep it so not get married or plan for your divorce.
Sooner or later you will tire of the fat lazy bitch.
MGTOW
Men Going Their Own Way!
Love this site!!!
I guess we call it prepping because we feel comfortable giving it a handle/definition. I grew up doing this most all my life and always felt comfortable with doing what I felt was natural. As I grew older I kept seeing a lot of changes in our surroundings which led me to delve deeper into this thing we call prepping. Observing folks and not just the game I pursued out in the field, gave me insight as to what I might expect in a world turned upside down. I go about now doing some fine tuning on what I still might need or need to know how to do. If it all goes to hell in a handbasket, at least my family might stand a chance. It’s all I can hope for.
I think that’s how a lot of the older people came up (not sayin’ you’re old).
Most of the prepper advice is everyday life or not far from experience of the past.
I’ve never actually assembled a “bug out bag”, but most of that stuff I carry as routine in my truck. Being as I usually drove old trucks that occasionally broke down, I always had water, tie wire, duct tape, tools and plenty of extra “construction” clothes behind the seat.
If I got hungry, I probably could have dug an old Egg Mcmuffin out from under the seat. They never spoil.
It sounds better for me to say I prep because of blizzards ’77 and ’78, hurricane Iwa ’82, derecho 2012, etc.
But the truth is, I prep because I am selfish.
I dislike being too cold, too hot, too thirsty. I hate it when my wife and dog are uncomfortable in any way. I hate paying too much for anything. It is much easier to have 35 gallons of rotated gas on hand than to track it down during a week long blackout, and paying a premium.
Fortunately for me, I love hunting, camping, firearms, and keeping my family safe and comfy. I enjoy mundane record keeping, checklists, and weekly drills.
Being prepared saves me time and money. When the power goes out… I act as if it will never go back on.
Why do I prep?
I do not want to be dependent on anyone. Either you have it or you don’t and that helps making decisions. None of the maybe “Grey Area”. I do not like having to wait on other people and you better know their level of prepping skills or you may be in for a surprise afterwards. It all boils down to making better decisions than others and more of them too. Can you adapt and what you can do without plays a part.
An interesting point I was reading is that most of us would not reach the other side for the simple fact, that this collapse or event we have been planning for, is many years in the making. How many more years will it take to set the record straight. More than the amount of life many have left here. Another point is what type and how much different age groups should prep? Oh I will bet the older guys and gals have some nice gear but who is going for a 15 mile hike with a 50 pound pack on a weekly basis. Maybe I have hit the saturation point on preps. Over forty years of collecting tools and materials I would say so.
Speaking strictly about food and water now, I’ve already got a year’s worth of dried bean varieties and legumes, split peas. egg noodles and macaroni, canned vegetables, fruits and meats. I’ve got enough of the basics for me plus one,to survive for at least a year. Should be able to get in some sort of yearly garden by then. I have access to clean water, and a handful of different filters and purification methods in case I find I don’t have that access anymore.
What I’m doing now, is adding extras that make it all more palatable, but that I don’t actually NEED just to survive, like honey, different dehydrated and canned mushrooms and olives, peppers, powdered eggs, coffee, teas, spices, powdered drinks, sugar and pickles. I’m adding items that will make my stores stretch farther, taste better and add variety to my basics.
I’m adding CANNED beans, just in case I go through a period where I can’t get enough water to cook the dried ones. It would be miserable to be sitting on a 50 pound bag of rice or beans, but not have enough water available to cook them…
I’ve got more than 5 yrs worth of toilet paper, so I’m adding paper towels and napkins to the pile.
I’m putting a fine point on my preps.
aluminum foil…..most women can’t live without it.
All the prep advice is basic and common sense. I will instead address the human dimension. I have been in many shtf events and civil order breakdown and even war. More than likely when you are caught up in a bad event others will be there with you. So, what do you do with this big unknown?
As you can imagine, people are very, very different and how they respond in a bad situation can be surprising. I remember one guy who would always brag about how experienced he was, but when our jeep broke down in the middle of nowhere, lost it and started running around crying.
Another guy, with a pony tail and a bit of a hippy who people would make fun of, when the shtf happened, kicked into combat mode right away and was great to be with.
In short, do not underestimate people just because they dress differently than you; equally, do not take for granted a person who brags about how prepped they are: they may have a weak personality and lose it in a crisis. Nobody ever knows how they will respond in a crisis until it is too late. The military has great material on how to psychologically prepare people for extreme situations. For most, they can learn how to handle it better with the right preparations and training.
One thing that affects even the most experienced people is the ‘I’m empty’ moment. All of us have a capacity for bad events: some can go for months and months of it; others lose it right away. But even the most experienced run dry one day. Preps need to take this into consideration and the burden should be shared amongst a group.
Finally, support your group and be positive: you will get the most out of your people and come out the other side alive.
I live in the mountains. When I head to Bakersfield or L.A., what I carry is determined by the time of year. In winter, a quilted down hunting shirt, a hooded sweatshirt, and a wool cap. In the summer, plenty of water and my 40 yr-old fedora. I throw my tomahawk on the floor in open sight. When I am hunting in the boonies, I add a shovel and come-along, the latter being the poor man’s 4X. Anyone know of a portable winch with remote for my truck? I saw one out in the Mojave. The owner had a 12V outlet under the bumper, and ran the winch from inside. He was going up a rutted road that would have stopped a Power Wagon. I don’t want to cut my truck up or replace the bumper.