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Survival Preparation - #3 in a series: When SHTF
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Responding in another thread, I have decided to create a series of small how-to's that you can build upon for survival/disaster preparations. It is not an end-all-be-all list of the Gods, and its not intended to be a definitive treatise of THE best information available. I am simply informing you of my findings, and my experience. Your mileage may vary, and please; lets keep this thread clean or I will cease to post.
UPDATED 09/10/10
Here are links to the other post(s) in this series:
Survival Preparation - #1 in a series: The Bug out Bag
Thread: Survival Preparation - #1 in a series: The Bug out Bag
Survival Preparation - #2 in a series: Water - How much do I need?
Thread: Survival Preparation - #2 in a series: Water - How much do I need?
Top Myths of when SHTF:
1)SHTF = total Mad Max style meltdown where the world reverts to the dark ages and we're all running around in gun battles.
SHTF could be anything from a chemical spill to TEOTWAWKI (The End Of The World As We Know It) stuff.
Don't get locked into thinking a SHTF event is only ________. SHTF is not one specific, monolithic event. Realize most SHTF scenarios result in the same outcome, be it short term or indefinitely. That’s why it’s vital you don't put all your eggs in one basket. Like many areas or this particular skill set, TRAINING is key!
2) "Gear trumps skills." False. I've slowly learned that over time. Gear is cool and fun and I'll likely never revoke my membership in GearWhore of the Month club. That said, focus on building your skill sets. Cool gear without the ability to use it is not overly valuable.
As Darwin said “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change”. A strong part of what we are as humans depends on our use of tools. There is a reason that expert archers gave way to untrained masses of soldiers with primitive firearms.
3) "The perfect gun for SHTF is ___________." No such thing. Guns are tools. No one tool is perfect for each and every job. And if your SHTF is a tornado a gun isn't going to do you much good anyway….it might keep you and your safe till the chaos subsides though. Remember, there are certainly some bad choices. EG : Shotguns, and some pistols, etc.
I'd rather carry a single small frame rifle with removable/collapsible stock with easy to obtain ammo (223, 762x39, 30 designed for defense. Its not “gun is the pwn" attitude, it’s just for weight, size, and accessibility of ammo in trades, savaging, moving my ammo to a replacement weapon, etc. When I first began my prepping, I used a Marlin Camp 45 to go with my Colt 45. Same Ammo, and used the same mags. Same with my Marlin Camp 9 and my 9mm side arm., I also got a Thompson TC with a TON of barrels so I could use almost any round I could find. from 22 short all the way to 50 cal bp.
My shotgun has interchangeable barrels also, including a black powder one. My Paintball gun can shoot metal balls and darts now. The key is to think outside of the box. In addition, I have purchased chamber adapters for many of my rifles to use various calibers as I may chance upon ammo. Do I cart all this stuff? Nope, but its accessible at a moment’s notice and I built it up over time to save cash. Ebay and Craigslist are great sources, but I travel to as many Gun Shows as I can afford to attend.
4) "At the first hint of trouble I'm bugging out." Unless you have personally owned land, that is fully stocked and currently guarded 24/7 the idea that you are going to hop into the family truckster and live in a state park is likely a pipedream. I'm not saying you shouldn't bug out, but rather that a bug-out is a very complicated and difficult process and not one to be taken lightly. Bugging out should only be considering if your current local is dangerous to your bio (failout, NBC, etc), burned down, or you run out of food/water in the area.
5) "I have a "sniper rifle" and will engage targets at 1000 meters and become a one man army."
There are LOT’s of reasons why this approach is dumb. If your SHTF is an ice storm you are committing what we call murder. Unless the SHTF event has destroyed all governments/legal systems and there's no chance of them ever returning you are going to be creating a lot of problems for yourself (it's going to be real hard to claim "self defense" at 1/2 a mile) In a Mad Max scenario sniping might be tactically sound but then again engaging anything that moves within 1000 meters of you might not always be the best course of action. This is all before we get into the fallacy of being a one man army or even being capable of making 1000 yard shots (which most people aren't). It’s not ideal but a sniper is equal to a trebuchet in SHTF. A sniper can pin you in your house, trapping you from your well, your garden, inside with your waste, fearful to look out windows. And a 1000 yard shot is not hard if you got plenty of ammo and don't have to make hits on the first shot. Any high powered rifle will do, even your kids 243 or a surplus WWI mosin nagant. True most people wouldn't be so determined nor have the skills to get you before you knew but never the less it can happen. Even the humble M4 carbine is rated out to 270 meters.
6) "_______________ is the best place to live for SHTF." Unless you can tell the future, know exactly where the bad situation is going to unfold and how it will unfold you can't possibly make that claim. There are places statistically more likely to be better than others, but you can't declare ____________ to be the best because you can't tell the future.
7) "My drinking buddies and I agree something is up. We're a MAG".
Negative. Unless you've clearly spelled out who/what your group's leadership is going to be, your responsibilities, how financial expenditures are going to be handled, training schedules, how disputes are going to be resolved, etc you are not a MAG. These are people with whom you trust your life. Trust is built over time, not a couple beers. Don't assume because you think a group will function like ABC that the other people in the group feel the same way.
I've had this conversation with some other preppers. They're like "We all need to band together, move as a group for safety". So I say "Sure I'll fight beside you. I just need 6 gallons a day of water for me the wife and the kid (don’t think I'd leave them behind do you?), 3600 cals a day cause I will be marching in armor, and 2000 each for my wife and kids. I also need equal share of all looted gear and ammo as usable. And...". It hit home pretty quick that there’s a reason there is a supply train behind armies. Most people can't carry enough on their person to live long with weapons, ammo, and armor.
In all honesty if I'm bugging out the armor, all ammo besides a few mags, and such are left behind. All I'm carrying is my expanded BoB.
Everything else goes into my prepped cart for pulling along.
Just my .02 Your mileage may vary
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