Time to brush up on your disaster/survival skills

[brokeasajoke]

Never hurts to have a book on had that shows edible local plants. Hard to Google it when there is no internet, power or cell service.

 

[Fuj]

Never hurts to have a book on had that shows edible local plants. Hard to Google it when there is no internet, power or cell service.

The ones that can live an survive like a cave man will have the best
chances. Always remember.....'Water first". Some will say shelter first,
but that's wasted time with no water source.

Getting back to starting fires to cook. Learn about the various woods
in the area you may need to live in. Don't be that guy that is able to
take down a nice fat rabbit, only to cook it cover an open fire and have
it come out tasting like "Turpentine" !! Avoid any of the pine's and hemlocks.
They are great for getting a hot fire going and to keep warm but, look for your
fruit woods, oaks, and black cherry. for cooking and smoking meat.

 

[Louisiana Shooter]

I just want to THANK YOU for keeping this thread headed in the right direction. Despite the wrecking crew you have managed to bring it back to the subject at hand. Lots of valuable info that we hope won`t be needed. Kinda like car insurance,hope you won`t need it but then if you do you got it. Just read all 13 pages and I hope it`s left alone to generate more usable info. Thank again, Jeff

At some point in the future I will post the rest of the small manual I have on it..........it deals with long term survival as a group or neighborhood.

 

[lost okie]

National Forests or Parks MAY work, but remember, you certainly will not be alone, nor will you be able to survive off the land for very long. Wildlife is one of the first casualties during times like these we're discussing.

My grandfather lived during the depression, and told me they would go hunting for opossum at night. Sometimes it was a full week before they found one........or anything else to eat as far as wildlife went. Lucky they lived on a farm and were only supplementing their food with what wild game they could find. Even fishing was tough during the depression.

If you live in the country or an area that will not likely get hit with much violence, chickens are king for food and eggs. Rabbits are next in that category. After that, all other livestock, goats (milk), cows (milk), pigs, ducks, geese, anything like that. BE SURE TO CONSIDER THE FOOD SUPPLY FOR THE LIVESTOCK.

I remember when I was very young going to see my great aunts, uncles and other kin and seeing 20 or 30 chickens free ranging along with ducks and geese. Always had some Guineas running around too. Great for sounding the alarm. Once all the predators were killed, then the live stock were pretty safe.

Might take a look at chicken tractors if you live semi rural or urban providing you have enough land and it won't be violent around you when all this comes down.

Water and shelter are absolutes; food comes right in there too.
Don't overlook traps and snares as food gathering tools. They are cheap, last almost forever, and they are working for you even when you are asleep. From rats to deer there are few animals that are not susceptible to a well placed set. My dad was a boy during the depression, he is 94. The hunting stories he has passed down were sometimes not pretty; but everything is fair game when you are on your "second week of hoecakes".
Trade goods will be important; both tangible and" skillsets". What can you do that others will trade for? Work metal, wood, weave, lay rock; doctor a horse even?????
Our country survived in this manner way before big brother took us to the cleaners; it will still work; for some. The rest we can't help.

 

[brokeasajoke]

At some point in the future I will post the rest of the small manual I have on it..........it deals with long term survival as a group or neighborhood.

This will be where it's at.

 

[asquared19]

Anything else planned for this thread? Been enjoying the content and hoping for more.

 

[Louisiana Shooter]

Thread kinda died..........don't think there is enough interest to keep it going.

Apparently, people still don't think it's going to happen enough to prepare.......hopefully, they're right.

Lot's of info if your google-foo is OK. Look up surviving the Bosnian civil war. There's a guy that survived that talks about it a lot. Also a guy on youtube named Garand Thumb that has some interesting content, but you have to sort past the nutty stuff to find it. It should lead to other youtube content that you may find useful.

Also search the prepper stuff for info on the survival part.....not much on the fighting part should it come down to that. The fighting/tactical info is going to be harder to find...........it's pretty much frowned on by nearly everyone.

I can sum it up for you if you're interested in it.

 

[tygranch]

survivalblog.com is a good source for info.

 

[AckleymanII]

Take a lesson from the old Westerns. People banded together in a fort when the Indians attacked. Those that stayed alone on their ranches died.
You need to have a plan with friends and neighbors involved to join forces in case the worst happens.

Josh, the vast majority of people are like the Jews from 1928-1932, they stuck their heads in the ground like an Ostrich, with the mind set of Hear No Evil, See no Evil, kind of attitude. It is human nature to see trouble coming and be in denial for various reasons.

 

[Louisiana Shooter]

Be sure to have "stages of regression" should the environment your in require relocation. Multiple locations to retreat to that will offer more safety. Think of how to get there.....under the conditions that will exist at the time you will need to go. Don't count on things being peaceful. ANY transportation vehicles will need to have multiple riders with weapons at the ready. Think of it as a heavily armed stage coach in the old westerns..... The heaviest weapon should be in the passenger seat.......and that person should know how to use it to it's full potential. Obviously depending on the conditions, DO NOT STOP that vehicle for ANY REASON. DO NOT get trapped in road blocks.

Someone brought up being alone or small groups. It is best to be in larger groups (up to 20 members provided the supplies are there for this) FOR THE MOST PART. There are times that will not work though. You will have to determine that for yourself and your situation.

One thing for certain........the more rural your location......the better off you will be. ESPECIALLY if you know the neighbors in the area. So, get to know the people in the area of your various stages of digression from the more dangerous locations.

To share my own plans during the WORST conditions should it get that bad as an example for you:

I live in a relatively rural area. Nearest neighbors are 1/2 mile away but there are many like this. Surrounded with woods. Enough land to grow crops and keep a large number of chickens and some livestock. Water well, as well as rain collection systems are in place. 6 months of food for myself and my wife. Small garden with the ability to turn it into a very LARGE garden easily if needed. A pretty good stock of heirloom seeds for that purpose. My local family members will all come here to live if it gets bad. That will be 8 adults and 3 children currently. 4 men that are capable of hard work.

Each of these families are currently stocking 6 months food for their own families and hopefully be able to bring their supplies if they actually need to come here. Depending on conditions, they can drive or walk if needed, they are only 10 minutes drive away. Maybe 3 hours should they have to walk through the woods. My location will be safe unless things really get bad.

We are also working with an even larger group of families that are located 20 miles from the city if it gets that bad. We plan on driving there BEFORE it gets too dangerous, BUT can get there by foot if we have no other way. Bug out bags are already prepared for this occurrence should it be necessary. In this last location, we can have access to water, shelter and a way to plant a communal garden. We are currently setting this area up should we need it.

This location would have nearly 40 - 50 people there. Large enough to present a real problem for anyone to attack as well as the ability to counter attack very effectively from that area. We know all the people that live in the area and have a relationship with them of sorts. Enough to establish a barter system among everyone. It will lend itself to a community that will keep everyone relatively safe. Basically, if no one knows you.........you will not live long. This is obviously in the worst of conditions. You can not afford to allow spies to come into the community. Road blocks and inspections will be the norm in this area. This is our last stand area. From there, we will either live or die. But it has a high likelihood of success from all but nuclear attacks.....Which I have NO DESIRE to try and live through anyway.

Anybody else have plans in place besides me? How far along are you in your plans?

 

[riverside jeep]

https://personalliberty.com/one-year-in-hell/ , This link is a story from a guy that went through the Bosnian war, Pretty good info on what happens when SHTF for real.

 

[Bill K]

Full auto would just allow you to burn up ammo

Josh they did not have full auto.

too fast. Slow, steady and dead on is the only way to do it.

 

[asquared19]

For those who are well ahead, I have a few questions.

1. I have read some of the anthology written by Selco of his conflict. He mentions how much of the gathering they had to do at night. I would assume that some type of night vision would greatly help. I know that budget and quality don't often go hand in hand, but I'm curious if there are budget option for monocular in helmet mounted optics.
2. In a major power/gas outage do you anticipate cooking with propane, wood, etc? How to do wood without drawing attention?

 

[asquared19]

any thoughts?

 

[riverside jeep]

For those who are well ahead, I have a few questions.

1. I have read some of the anthology written by Selco of his conflict. He mentions how much of the gathering they had to do at night. I would assume that some type of night vision would greatly help. I know that budget and quality don't often go hand in hand, but I'm curious if there are budget option for monocular in helmet mounted optics.
2. In a major power/gas outage do you anticipate cooking with propane, wood, etc? How to do wood without drawing attention?

#2, a little rocket stove gives off near zero smoke and you can use twigs or almost anything for fuel. I have one about the size of a 2 1/2 gallon bucket and you could cook a complete dinner on 2 handful's of fuel.

 

[asquared19]

resurrecting an old thread. What are people's opinions on the freeze dryers? sizeable investment but it keeps coming back to mind for me.

 

[hpshooter]

Portable ham radio gear. Not there yet but talking with buddies who are long time ham operators regarding gear and licensing. ( not a concern in an all out S.H.T.F situation)

Add some ideas.

 

[spencerhenry]

The ones that can live an survive like a cave man will have the best
chances. Always remember.....'Water first". Some will say shelter first,
but that's wasted time with no water source.

Getting back to starting fires to cook. Learn about the various woods
in the area you may need to live in. Don't be that guy that is able to
take down a nice fat rabbit, only to cook it cover an open fire and have
it come out tasting like "Turpentine" !! Avoid any of the pine's and hemlocks.
They are great for getting a hot fire going and to keep warm but, look for your
fruit woods, oaks, and black cherry. for cooking and smoking meat.

When I was a kid in Wisconsin, we smoked carp and white bass frequently. In that part of the world there were hardwoods galore. Fast forward 25 years, we shot lots of carp with our bows in sloughs of the Columbia River. We took a smoker with us and set it up in the campground. There was only Douglass Fir around, we didn't think it would work but gave it a try anyway. The smoked carp with Doug Fir tasted great, we were surprised, but it was good.

 

[Fuj]

Douglas fir has to cook extremely hot and with no smoke or you
run the risk of forming creosote. Yinz got lucky. Give's a whole new
meaning to "Blackened Fish" !!

 

[brokeasajoke]

Can anyone recommend a good book on edible plants? Tried white pine tea for vitamin c this winter. It honestly didn't have much flavor.