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Having lost ALL my guns AND ammo in a Spontaneous Unexplained Corrosion Kalamity Syndrome incident, I would day that for me, this is just a theoretical question.

Here's another: Now that a lot of us (me excluded) have stocked up, what should be the next items one should consider buying?

Non-perishable food?
Water?

Machine tools?
(To make abstract artwork under grants from the National endowment for the arts of course)

Reloading equipment?

Other types of ‘Self-defense’ and other essential SHTF equipment?

Any takers?

“Boston’s Gun Bible” answers a lot of these questions. It has a priority list of what you may need.

As kind of a preparatory guide to making it through a country’s collapse, you can’t beat FerFal’s compiled writings. Fascinating and informative, if you haven’t read it. If you have, maybe someone else will get some benefit.

http://www.powerswitch.org.uk/portal/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2079&Itemid=2

I’ve read it four or five times, and I follow his blog here:

http://ferfal.blogspot.com/

Here's another: Now that a lot of us (me excluded) have stocked up, what should be the next items one should consider buying?

"Go Fast" bag. Everyone should have one. A backpack with a few changes of socks and underpants, a pair of jeans, a jacket and either hiking boots or at least good gym shoes. A proper canteen is also a good thing to have clipped onto the "Go Fast" bag. Remember you may be at work when the SHTF and surviving in the wilderness in a suit, tie and dress shoes is no fun at all. So tell the wife/husband/eldest kid to grab the "Go Fast" bag and meat you at Aunt Mary's. You may also want to pack a "Go Bang" box. You know the tool box where you keep the pistol, cleaning kits, gun oil, spare mags and a few hundred rounds of ammo. Remember to throw in a couple of silica gel packets, cool dry ammo is happy ammo.

Camping equipment. Even if you plan is to run to Aunt Mary's house in the country, there will probably be a bunch of other people running to Aunt Mary's so be prepared to sleep on the floor, or in your truck. Having a fishing pole and tackle box will at least put meat on the table occasionally. Sure a bluegill may not look like much, but McDonald's may not be serving billions any more. Keep it in one or two of those big Rubbermaid bins so that when the time comes you don't have to sort through it, just grab and throw into the back of the truck.

And on that topic take your kids camping. Be used to living without all the comforts of modern life for a week at a time. That way when those things are no longer available everyone in the family will know that they can do it. It also ensures that as you run out the door with your Go Fast bag you can tell the little kids it will be "just like camping". They can panic later once you are someplace safe.

One of those portable batteries that can be charged either off 110 or a car's cigarette lighter. Make sure it has a 110 outlet and jumper cables. Even if it provides only a few hours of power that may make the difference in getting a car started, recharging a phone or walkie talkie, or just being able to see while you stitch up a wound. Keep it fully charged and near whatever car you intend to use in the bailout.

A wind up flashlight and radio. Batteries are heavy and in a SHTF situation will be worth their weight in gold. Having communication and a flashlight that doesn't need them can be a big bonus. Even if you intend to ride out the storm from where you are, don't assume you will always have electricity. Even if you have a generator gas is going to get rare and expensive.

Food that you don't mind eating. Don't stock three years of MREs if you don't like MREs. Even the legendary MRE has a use by date. And if not rotated they will just go bad and you are out the money, or worse yet you need them and they went bad sitting on the shelf. Simple things like granola bars, canned veggies, canned chili are all good. Keep a couple of weeks worth on hand and rotate the stock. Also have something to drink. A couple gallons of water on hand is good, or even just means stock up on Gatorade when it is on sale.