"Preppers"? are you one?

Those who think they would survive by hunting in a SHTF situation probably don't realize how quickly the animals are essentially killed off as people get hungry.

 

Very true. Fish-n-game , not even on my scope. They'd be a nice bonus but that's all, chance encounter.

 

In the meantime, the getting is good now, and it is the best food imaginable. For us it is very cost effective since we don't travel far to do it, and don't use or buy any high tech or fancy equipment. Much of our gear is decades old and well maintained. If one is so inclined, it is so easy to catch and hunt a lot of food in many areas. A lot of people hold out for the biggest rack. We hunt for nice sized deer for eating, if one happens to have big antlers, that is all the better. There are not many people that seem to be fishing for food. There is a lot of catch and release, which I do too, but it is not the reason I fish. The fish are released due to being the wrong size (too big or too small). Once the desired quantity is obtained for the day, I am off the lake and off to the next activity, which is gardening this time of year.

 

With that many amateurs in the mix all at once there will be bodies everywhere. It's not just the animals that won't stand a chance.

 

Wonder how likely a wide-scale emp attack could be? Easiest ways to prepare?

 

I never thought much about that, but if it happens it will likely be a solar flair event. I think we are in low cycle for that type of activity, which also means not as great a frequency of northern lights.

 

I don't believe I had seen this thread before...saw it bolded while ago as new and read it all. Actually chuckled at quite a few of the comments. wildwest, thought of some of your recent comments (ammo, gas cans etc) when I read some of your earlier comments. And read one where someone said they were eating more vegetarian so no need for guns and ammo. That made me really shake my head and laugh.....who said they were just for "eating" purposes?

I imagine most folks' answer to this thread are a lot different today, compared to when this thread was started....whether they are willing to admit it or not.

 

We have always stayed ahead to some degree on food, but we have upped our game in the last couple months. We are going to Walmart later with 2 lists. What we need now and hoard. We think in terms of the supply chain, but also what if Brandon's Chinese buddies screw with the electric grid. Things like beer, firewood, ammo can be bartered.
I think it's going to be an interesting Winter.

 

The fact that Home Depot now sells survival food just about says it all.

 

Thanks for bumping this thread, Heidi.
I've been wondering if it gained any traction.

 

Hadn't seen this thread before and I'm surprised at the minimal amount of posts.

Interesting article along these lines from a friend on his blog. Preparing for the Worst – QUOTH THE RAVEN (wordpress.com)

I can vouch for him as both he and his wife are retired Marines (he and I ran a lot of missions outside the wire in the early part of the Iraq war) and they run their own firearm training company. If anything, his blogs are fun to read (caution, he is obviously a conservative, a north-country Yankee, and a retired Marine...so if you are easily offended, don't read his blog). When the Covid pandemic started, we had a lot of talks about how so many city-folk were panicking and flocking to the north country (like no one lived in the mountains already?) and how so many people were making comments about 'living off the land'. Natural resources (fish and game) will only go so far and really living off the land is tough, hard work...something that the majority of people in this country are woefully unprepared for or willing to do.

 

I would also suggest physical copies of books up topics such as food preservation, small scale food production/homesteading, etc. One of the books I like is John Seymour's Self Sufficient Life and how to live it as it covers a wide range of subjects/skills. I also have a book on intensive gardening which has plant spacing closer than what is traditionally recommended so you can fit more in less space if needed. This year I built a small scale dutch bucket hydroponic system and grew tomatoes. It performed very well and I will be using this method going forward to free up bed space for other veggies. I also have a small desktop nft system to grow lettuce/greens indoors during the cold season.

Here's the desktop nft system I have.

 

I think this thread got forgotten and buried due to when it was started, got hit a few licks in '19 at the early "crazy days", then another type of prepping convo spooled up amongst some like-minded....

 

Interesting read to be sure. I too wonder of the changes over the lifespan of this thread.

We 'assessed' the issues that could cause disaster here....man-made to natural. From various storms to transportation accidents to personal disasters (loss of income). From there we took action to insulate ourselves from the most likely and the most common.
So the expensive electric stove was replaced by an analog gas stove (battery lights the cooktop AND the oven, no 120v. plug). The wood stove has its benefits from heating to bathing water.

In the last 90+ years we've nationally become accustomed to convenience, based on dependence....on others, on the grid etc. Here, we're kinda going backwards, becoming a little less dependent, less convenience oriented. Benefits: we're slightly more insulated from common pitfalls, good exercise physically, simpler to run/use/repair, equipment longevity increases, and saves money in the short and long term. (Analog gas stoves are relatively inexpensive, the cheep stove-top coffee pot will make coffee or hot water on a campfire, gas stove, wood stove, and has zero parts to replace..like filters).

It seems only wisdom to have a little more than the needs of the day met. Look at what FEMA, the Red Cross and other like organizations recommend one has on hand at home. I assume those are minimums...if they suggested more, there would be public panic. Supermarkets have what, a day or two worth of inventory?
A few big winter storms here, and then covid, were warning shots across the starboard bows.

Stories: before a big winter storm here, a dozen years back, I picked up 2# propane cyl every night for a week, ahead of the storm. It wasn't till the eve of the storm that chinamart was totally devoid of batteries, candles, propane, and more.
That same week we went provisioning. All week the stores were normal, even empty (we were flabbergasted)! We got what we wanted and then some, with ease. The night before the storm we went there just to see the fun. It was a mad house. People with two carts piled high, bare shelves, every register in the place was open...God bless if the power glitched or the credit card system went out. We ran into out-of-town friends, and they had stories of grocery store issues in their larger town. The Mrs. and I just hugged and walked out empty-handed.

The first nights of the power being gone, people had candles in every room, trying to normalize life (an interesting and scary tendency). After a few days, conserving resources was the name of the game. People who had gensets running 24/7 with every light in the place burning, stood out after the first day or two....after a week, anyone with a genset running AT ALL stood out.

The difference between disaster and adventure, is preparedness.

Sca

 

That right there is the key.

Whenever someone asked me last year how I was handling the chaos and shortages, I would send them this picture. Although I did adjust a few things, for the most part I did not notice much of a change in my day to day life from the pandemic. (I was reading the original post while eating a black bear chili omelet for breakfast - that and the coffee were prepared on the wood stove.)

 

We consider ourselves to be pretty self-sufficient, thus well prepared for a number of scenarios.

We focus on faith in God, family, hard work, and a simplicity attitude. We don’t do a lot of travel other than to our cabin to improve that property for the eventuality of a move if needed. I really can’t ever see flying again the way things are going. Our hobbies are gardening, hunting and fishing, and firewood. We have a lot of canned food put up at all times. In our area we have an abundance of water, but also have a number of purification means. We could live at both our homes without power and be quite comfortable through an entire winter, which is usually a good 6 months here.

The area we are most vulnerable in our preparations would be the scenario of the gasoline supply being significantly disrupted. I have some properly stored for power equipment, but not really any significant amount that would needed for an extended shortage.

Based on my life experience thus far I believe the most likely scenario is continued gradual scarcity, wealth bifurcation, and the further degradation of people’s morals, making society and cities increasingly chaotic. So I would say the most important preparations are be faith, family, skills, and attitude. So there really is nothing new under the sun in this regard.