When the Collapse Comes...

[RandallFlagg]

well , I haven't done a count but it looks to me that we have smart people that practice some form of preparedness . No wonder all those preparedness sites on the internet and survival goods suppliers like COSTCO and WALMART and other suppliers are thriving . When the big box stores are selling survival supplies you just know that PREPARING has gone main stream and i'm happy to see the trend . Seeing how Candy got this preparedness thread going and interest was / is high maybe we could get a PREPAREDNESS TIPS thread going .

I am not what you would call a "prepper". Never have been. However, When I left the military, I was fed up with cities and large towns. I have lived from one corner of the world to the other all my life. I've been there, and done it several times over. So I began to devise a plan that would get me to the "country" once I retired from my Civilian job. I left it in the late 80s and finally saw fruition in the middle 90s. There was not, until recently, any concern for the "shit hitting the fan" so I never concerned myself with it.

I chose to buy land (260 acres) in a place that was very lightly populated in Montana and, a place where the odds of running into large groups of people would be less likely. It has fresh running mountain spring water, good crops and room for animals. I have a good perimeter where I know when someone is coming to "visit" (usually the local Sheriff - one of my best friends). I have installed three 500 gallon underground tanks for gasoline (for cars, trucks tractors and a snow cat and my generators). Basically, I am self-sufficient and can hold up here (without going into town - 20 miles away) for months and months. We can our vegetables, have our own smoke house, slaughter our own meat (or hunt and fish for it) and have a basement FULL of meat and vegetables - enough for EASILY 8-12 months.

Being an avid hunter (as are my Son and his Wife) we have firearms and enough ammo stockpiled to last us several months (we buy it when it is on sale). Myself, I prefer NATO ammo 5.56, 7.62 and 9MM, although I have a few thousand rounds of .45 and 30-30 as well as 30.06. When we hunt - we go by horseback - so I have stables for the horses with a large stockpile of hay. Additionally, My Wife being a Nurse, we have stockpiled a variety of medical supplies - pretty much everything you might need to stock a modern ER. You never know up here. If you are hurt high up in the mountains - help might be a while getting to you, so we always carry a well stocked medical bag with us when in the high country.

All of the above is nothing more than common sense where we live. You aren't prepared for winter? - you are usually in deep crap (and snow). Idiot tourists die up here fairly often in the winter.....

Now, with the unstable conditions that exist in this country (and not to overstate it), I have installed game cameras and live feed cameras around the perimeter of the house and barns as well as perimeter alarms (for night). These are nothing more than basic precautions or one of those "just in case" precautionary items that we will "hopefully" never need.

That's it. I'm living my dream here in my old age and couldn't be happier. With modern technology, I can stay hooked up to the internet via satellite, watch the NFL each Sunday on Directv. I can fish anytime in the most beautiful spring water you have ever seen, Life is good! Each night, My Wife and I sit on our large front porch, after dinner, and watch the sunset over the most beautiful mountains in the world. Occasionally, I have to chase a bear or a wolf off - minor problems. 2 Months ago I had to track and shoot a Mountain Lion that had killed one of my goats. Life WITHOUT the big city!!!

So, am I "prepared"? You bet! Prepared for what? ANYTHING. I'm prepared to enjoy my old age. I'm prepared to hug my Grand Kids. I'm prepared to grow old with my Wife. I'm prepared to watch beautiful sunsets! And, unfortunately, I'm prepared to protect my little slice of heaven, should the need ever arise.

 

[M14 Shooter]

yep M14 , my pickup as an 89 may be good . Big fuel storage is a problem for me though !!

Your 89 has a computer.
My 79 does not.

 

[pismoe]

awww . I shouldn't a told you M14 !!

 

[pismoe]

and the word PREPPER or SURVIVALIST is used as an insult I think . I use both but prefer different words that describe what PREPARED people do .

 

[Missourian]

it amazes me when republicans feel we liberals feel that we can't survive without a government hand out ... we dems have never relied on government hand out ... what we have said because we are a working government that we should take care of the unfornate when needed ... what makes you think that liberals don't have surviuvakl shelters too ... you seem to have these Ideas that we liberals never prepair for the worst... we are linerals thats what we do ...

Conservatives think
Liberals feel

The difference between the two.

Feeling is subjective whereas thinking is objective.

Feeling is emotional whereas thinking is rational.

Feeling is based upon our perception of right and wrong whereas thinking is based upon facts and logic.
Thinking is continuous and nonstop whereas feeling is affective state of consciousness


Thinking is an activity or process that has been considered as objective and rational as it is based upon facts and helps us arrive at decisions. Thinking allows us to judge and evaluate an object, issue, situation, or a person.

People who use feelings are ruled by their hearts and are more subjective than people who think rationally.

Building a personal "world collapse" survival bunker, buying assault rifles, cases of ammunition and a ton of dried foods does not require anyone to be either a conservative or a liberal, it requires you to be a total idiot and I`m starting to wonder, (as much as I dislike liberal ideology )...why so many idiots who do that also dislike liberals. I might have to start liking liberals who don`t dig holes in the ground and threaten to kill anybody who goes near it or asks for help....if "conservatives" like you keep on saying that this kind of paranoia is a result of rational thinking.
And long before I will start liking liberals there will be millions of Americans who will start liking liberals more than a party that harbors people who prefer to kill others rather than helping them.
It`s total nut cases claiming to be conservatives, like the kind that post this kind of crap here, that it`s okay to kill people who are looking for help that are causing the demise of conservatism.
Why wait to the "end of days" and a personal survival bunker scenario...where it`s "Okay" to shoot people who are asking for help....these nutcases would prefer to do it already today at the US/Mexico border or better yet, join the IDF. Then you can kill a lot more people and get applauded for doing so.No wonder the liberal media has it so easy to make conservatives look like primitive Neanderthalers.

FYI - your signature pictures stretch your posts until they are too wide for my screen...so I skip over them.

 

[NLT]

Never hurts to have a couple weeks worth of food and water stashed, it could be just a natural disaster and not the end of the world.

 

[Missourian]

And ammo will bring twice that. An excellent trading item

-Geaux

Wouldn't give you a nickel for $10 worth of ammo.

A) Ammo is only necessary when you plan to shoot someone
B) Planning to shoot someone will have the problematic side effect of drawing return fire.
C) The preppers will always be outnumbered by those who didn't prep

I lived through Katrina. nobody gave a rat's ass about ammo. They cared about, in this order, water, food, toilet facilities, toilet paper.

Number one thing everyone I've talked to about the Great Depression says they missed the most.

 

[Seawytch]

This is what I'm getting out of the preppers...you know the platitude "there are no atheists in fox holes"? Apparently there are no Christians in Prepper Bunkers.

 

[Missourian]

I am a gun buff, whether we are talking prepping or not. I love to hunt, target shoot, and remove vermin from my land. I also like to have a good stockpile of food. Several years ago I was unexpectedly laid off for 5 months. The stockpile of food got us thru the tight times without any difficulty. Some of the prepping ideas are not exclusive to TEOTWAWKI.

QFT.

*You must spread some reputation around...*

 

[WinterBorn]

I am a gun buff, whether we are talking prepping or not. I love to hunt, target shoot, and remove vermin from my land. I also like to have a good stockpile of food. Several years ago I was unexpectedly laid off for 5 months. The stockpile of food got us thru the tight times without any difficulty. Some of the prepping ideas are not exclusive to TEOTWAWKI.

QFT.

*You must spread some reputation around...*

Thanks.

I do thank people for good posts. I never mess with the reputation stuff. For one thing, it seems silly. And for another I see that it is color-coded when I do look. My poor color vision means they all look the same.

 

[R.C. Christian]

If things get desperate enough your neighbors will form gangs, and you'll fall in with a rival gang and compete for scarcity. All these good ole boys who think they can forage for food in the winter killing critters will eventually deplete those resources in matter of months just like the foraging parties did during the civil war. When the bullets run out, then the crossbow will be your best line of defense.

You'll grind whatever grist the mill requires to save your own ass, your family, and your friends.

 

[candycorn]

A serious prepper, with common sense, would never advertize that he/she is a prepper. There would be no lights showing at night, and the SUV would be hidden away. The house or bunker would be prepared for defense, and a plan 'B' would exist in case plan"A" failed.

A serious prepper would hunker down with his family, and possibly friends, for days and possibly weeks. Staying invisable until the bulk of the unfed masses have ceased to exist. Hunger, disease, and exposure to the elements would be taking a toll on the weak and unprepared.

And then they come out their bunkers to rule the world? Starting with burying the unfed masses? Congratulations on your survival...

In a real world disaster situation you have those who were prepared and those who weren't. The ultimate question is, do you have a few who live in relative poverty, or do they all die? You see that is the nature of preparedness. We realize that you can only take care of so many people. They all have to be productive or useful in some way as well. That's just the way it is sadly.

What you find among a large majority of preppers is they help their neighbors so that the local neighborhood can be self sufficient. Preppers for the most part aren't stupid. They realize they need to sleep and so having a small community of like minded folks helps to spread the burden out.

What I do find amusing though is the mentality of the progressives vs the conservatives. The conservatives want to be prepared and the progressives claim they will attack the conservatives and take what they have.

Interesting...

Not sure where you get the Idea I'm against being prepared.
I'm against the idea of mowing down anyone asking for help during an emergency.
I'm dubious that those who talk about doing so would really do it when the chips were down.

Again, a woman and her 10 year old daughter (or man and his son--whatever) show up at your door hungry wanting food and shelter. You turn them away and you have to explain that to your kid--the daughter/son's classmate at school--why you did that.

The notion that your child will just shrug his shoulders and understand your barbaric and neanderthalic (sp?) attitude is hilarious on one hand and sad on the other--that you think such lessons would just not seriously warp your kid.

 

[candycorn]

I don't think most of America knows how touchy our electric grid is the power company experts say that if terrorist found out what 8 or 9 transformers to attack it would black out the entire country for almost 2 years because the power transformers we use are made in only 2 countries and take 18 months to make people cant live a week without power imagine going 2 years it would be complete chaos.

Hello and welcome.

Can you tell me where you got that information?

 

[candycorn]

And then they come out their bunkers to rule the world? Starting with burying the unfed masses? Congratulations on your survival...

In a real world disaster situation you have those who were prepared and those who weren't. The ultimate question is, do you have a few who live in relative poverty, or do they all die? You see that is the nature of preparedness. We realize that you can only take care of so many people. They all have to be productive or useful in some way as well. That's just the way it is sadly.

What you find among a large majority of preppers is they help their neighbors so that the local neighborhood can be self sufficient. Preppers for the most part aren't stupid. They realize they need to sleep and so having a small community of like minded folks helps to spread the burden out.

What I do find amusing though is the mentality of the progressives vs the conservatives. The conservatives want to be prepared and the progressives claim they will attack the conservatives and take what they have.

Interesting...

Not sure where you get the Idea I'm against being prepared.
I'm against the idea of mowing down anyone asking for help during an emergency.
I'm dubious that those who talk about doing so would really do it when the chips were down.

Again, a woman and her 10 year old daughter (or man and his son--whatever) show up at your door hungry wanting food and shelter. You turn them away and you have to explain that to your kid--the daughter/son's classmate at school--why you did that.

The notion that your child will just shrug his shoulders and understand your barbaric and neanderthalic (sp?) attitude is hilarious on one hand and sad on the other--that you think such lessons would just not seriously warp your kid.

By "your" I don't mean you personally.

 

[westwall]

This is what I'm getting out of the preppers...you know the platitude "there are no atheists in fox holes"? Apparently there are no Christians in Prepper Bunkers.

No, there are...but they look at their families and they look at the unwashed masses who didn't bother to prepare, and to take care of the unwashed masses they look at their family and then see that family die.

They say to themselves, "well screw that!" and shut the door on you.

 

[westwall]

And then they come out their bunkers to rule the world? Starting with burying the unfed masses? Congratulations on your survival...

In a real world disaster situation you have those who were prepared and those who weren't. The ultimate question is, do you have a few who live in relative poverty, or do they all die? You see that is the nature of preparedness. We realize that you can only take care of so many people. They all have to be productive or useful in some way as well. That's just the way it is sadly.

What you find among a large majority of preppers is they help their neighbors so that the local neighborhood can be self sufficient. Preppers for the most part aren't stupid. They realize they need to sleep and so having a small community of like minded folks helps to spread the burden out.

What I do find amusing though is the mentality of the progressives vs the conservatives. The conservatives want to be prepared and the progressives claim they will attack the conservatives and take what they have.

Interesting...

Not sure where you get the Idea I'm against being prepared.
I'm against the idea of mowing down anyone asking for help during an emergency.
I'm dubious that those who talk about doing so would really do it when the chips were down.

Again, a woman and her 10 year old daughter (or man and his son--whatever) show up at your door hungry wanting food and shelter. You turn them away and you have to explain that to your kid--the daughter/son's classmate at school--why you did that.

The notion that your child will just shrug his shoulders and understand your barbaric and neanderthalic (sp?) attitude is hilarious on one hand and sad on the other--that you think such lessons would just not seriously warp your kid.

My 8 year old knows exactly what it means to be prepared. She has been introduced to life in the real world from the time she was 3. We live out in the "sticks" so the chances of your scenario are remote but we have X amount of food and if we determine that we don't have enough to support more mouths then yes, they will be sent on their way....and my 8 year old knows enough now that even she could make that determination.

It's not a question of "fair" or "nice" or even reasonable. It is a question of survival and my family takes precedence over everything. I will not risk my family to take care of you because you were too lazy to be prepared.

 

[The2ndAmendment]

If things get desperate enough your neighbors will form gangs, and you'll fall in with a rival gang and compete for scarcity. All these good ole boys who think they can forage for food in the winter killing critters will eventually deplete those resources in matter of months just like the foraging parties did during the civil war. When the bullets run out, then the crossbow will be your best line of defense.

You'll grind whatever grist the mill requires to save your own ass, your family, and your friends.

Which is why I have a 100 pound PVC crossbow, self made.

My bullets will be used to kill rival hunters and foragers. I will be the King of Forest, until a more clever King puts me in the grave. I give myself about 3 years before someone else takes me out.

 

[candycorn]

In a real world disaster situation you have those who were prepared and those who weren't. The ultimate question is, do you have a few who live in relative poverty, or do they all die? You see that is the nature of preparedness. We realize that you can only take care of so many people. They all have to be productive or useful in some way as well. That's just the way it is sadly.

What you find among a large majority of preppers is they help their neighbors so that the local neighborhood can be self sufficient. Preppers for the most part aren't stupid. They realize they need to sleep and so having a small community of like minded folks helps to spread the burden out.

What I do find amusing though is the mentality of the progressives vs the conservatives. The conservatives want to be prepared and the progressives claim they will attack the conservatives and take what they have.

Interesting...

Not sure where you get the Idea I'm against being prepared.
I'm against the idea of mowing down anyone asking for help during an emergency.
I'm dubious that those who talk about doing so would really do it when the chips were down.

Again, a woman and her 10 year old daughter (or man and his son--whatever) show up at your door hungry wanting food and shelter. You turn them away and you have to explain that to your kid--the daughter/son's classmate at school--why you did that.

The notion that your child will just shrug his shoulders and understand your barbaric and neanderthalic (sp?) attitude is hilarious on one hand and sad on the other--that you think such lessons would just not seriously warp your kid.

My 8 year old knows exactly what it means to be prepared. She has been introduced to life in the real world from the time she was 3. We live out in the "sticks" so the chances of your scenario are remote but we have X amount of food and if we determine that we don't have enough to support more mouths then yes, they will be sent on their way....and my 8 year old knows enough now that even she could make that determination.

It's not a question of "fair" or "nice" or even reasonable. It is a question of survival and my family takes precedence over everything. I will not risk my family to take care of you because you were too lazy to be prepared.

Conservative Financial Guru Dave Ramsey calls this being prepared:

Aside from 5 (done with college except for myself), I am through with the list.

Am I prepared? Dave thinks so. The lady working down at Dairy Queen or the waiter at Red Lobster may not have the same wherewithal as I have been lucky enough to amass. I wouldn't dub either of them as lazy.

Eight years old and will condemn someone to die? Wow.

 

[westwall]

I don't think most of America knows how touchy our electric grid is the power company experts say that if terrorist found out what 8 or 9 transformers to attack it would black out the entire country for almost 2 years because the power transformers we use are made in only 2 countries and take 18 months to make people cant live a week without power imagine going 2 years it would be complete chaos.

Hello and welcome.

Can you tell me where you got that information?

It's a well known secret that our grid is very vulnerable. Just do a google search and you'll be inundated.

 

[Missourian]

Here is the logical culmination of this scenario when I play it to conclusion in my minds eye.

Mother and daughter knock on the door begging for food.

I give them some food. Tomorrow, they are back, with three or four others. Now I either must give them all food, and they'll be back tomorrow and the next day and the day after that...or I have to say no, in which case I now have to worry about them coming in force and attempting to take the food, or whatever.

Do you see a flaw in this logic?