Preppers PING!
You know it is surprising how many of this type we have right here on FR.
Brenda, the Naysayer: Brenda laughed when her co-worker, Sarah, shared her prepping plans. Now, the streets are over-run with desperate folks. The stores have been looted. Grocers, sporting good stores and gun shops were the first to get hit. But there have been plenty of TV’s, computers and high-ticket electronic items pilfered, even though they’re no good to anyone at present. The family car has an empty gas tank, but she’s in good health and so is the rest of her family. It’s just blind luck Brenda knows where Sarah lives, and the awesome part is she isn’t far—only a couple of miles away. Her family is into bicycling, so the problem of transportation is solved; They’ll just zip past the gridlock, baring looters, that is. The rest of Brenda’s plan lies with the knowledge that Sarah is kindhearted.
She’ll put Brenda and her family up until order is restored, which from the looks of things could be a long time. Brenda and her husband throw what little they have in their pantry (what they can handle weight-wise, anyway) into backpacks and pillowcases. Next, they clear out the medicine cabinet. They tried to use their ATM card for cash just yesterday, so they wouldn’t show up empty-handed—they’d never want to be seen as free-loaders—but the grid is hopelessly crashed, so no luck there, and all businesses are closed, including the banks. But Brenda doesn’t necessarily see that as a deal-breaker. She did everything she could, other than fill her pantry and get preparedness goods. And besides, Brenda has two adorable kids…how can Sarah say no?
Must? Really?
That might have been phrased better. No blogger tells me "must".
fl
Look, I garden because I enjoy it. And I have pecan trees, almond trees, pear trees, apple trees, apricot trees, peach trees, plum bushes, blackberry bushes and a strawberry bed.
We farm and have on site storage for 15,000 bushels of wheat or grain, a seed cleaning plant. And we have a meat processing building at the farm. Walk-in box, Commercial Hobart butcher band saw, sausage mill & meat slicer. And a brick pit to smoke sausage.
We sold our cattle last year during the 100 year drought. One of our neighbors is currently grazing our pastures to keep his herd intact. I plan on rebuying next spring.
Have thought about putting in a few chickens but my wife says they are too confining if we want to go somewhere. Probably right.
We have the best neighbors in the world. Most of them have rifles & pistols and like to hunt. Lots of game here. Wild hogs, deer, turkey, quail and dove.
We won’t starve. If the SHTF actually happened we might have to adjust our diet, but we would go on. There are oil wells on our farm and many of our neighbors. There are still pumpers who know how to make casinhead gas. hee hee hee
NOW, do I want to go through that? NO WAY. Will it happen? I doubt it, but things are pretty crazy in DC.
Will TX & OK choose to participate in the discussed insanity? Nahhh!
Some of my ancestors were born in TX during The Republic. Others came here during Reconstruction. During just such a time as is being discussed. They went GTT (Gone to Texas), We are still here. So there. It will remain so.
I don’t consider myself a prepper. But this is how we live.
The article seems to presuppose absolute anarchy. In reality governments that have collapsed in the past seem to do so because of large factions fighting it out; i.e. Sulla and Marius in the last days of the Roman Republic. This does not mean one should not have food stored to help when stores are closed; it does mean one will probably join a large faction and fight. Portable foods, rather than a fixed location, will be the most desireable.
5 looters but I am glad that I have a six shooter.
I learned how to take care of myself forty years ago, starting when Boy Scouts were still focused on such things.
The thing that I am afraid is all of he folks who are good at heart, but simply clueless.
I WILL get a chuckle out of a lot of the white collar idiots in my town who will have to take orders from the local mechanic and carpenter. They are just not wired for that.
Buy ammo. And, do it correctly.....I have a few friends who still don't get it, ie: when I ask, "how much ammo do you have on hand?" I get a few answers of : Got plenty, plus 14 guns in the closet. Have 3 or 4 boxes of 12 ga, a couple for my kids .410, couple of boxes each for my 6 rifles, and a bunch of partial boxes for all my hand guns. I tell them that's fine if they can stay in the house and shoot out the windows, B-U-T if they need to run outside and shoot from behind the car or garage, they may find themselves in the do-do. One can only carry a couple of long guns (of different calibers) and a couple of handguns while on the run, along with their ammo. You shoot up those 3 - 20 round boxes of .30/06, 4 boxes of 7mm, 3 boxes of .45 ACP and you no longer have 3 guns....just 3 clubs.
Designate one shotgun, one rifle and one handgun as your primary "social unrest" home defense weapons and load up on the ammo for them. Having 20 guns doesn't do you any good if all you have is a few rounds for each. Kinda hard to watch out the FRONT living room window where the armed looters are moving around and dig through the BACK bedroom closet for more ammo. ("I KNOW I have at least a half box of .270 somewhere from last deer season......where the hell is it ???").
If you can't afford lots of expensive high caliber ammo, get a few bricks of .22 ammo. 300 rounds flying out that window from your .22 rifle and pistol may not drop a 250 lb man, but a wound in the arm with a .22 will slow him down, take him off the attack and put HIM on defense. Plus, with a bucket of .22 ammo, your wife and kid can easily load one gun while you shot the other.
Don't forget magazines / clips. It's great that you have 1 EXTRA mag that came with your favorite deer rifle, B-U-T a total of 2 mags with only 5 rounds each isn't going to last long until you hear "click" and stop shooting to reload them. If you can't get oversize mags, get a sack full of the "regular" ones.
AND, as noted by another FREEPER after my post; Ensure you have slings on your long guns, so you will have at least one hand free when on the move. If you don't want to "mess up the looks" of your beautiful 375 H & H Magnum with swivels and sling, at least have some precut lengths of small size rope or strapping handy to use for an 'emergency' sling. You can always tie it around the stock and forearm (or barrel) and throw it over your shoulder. It doesn't have to be 'pretty', just a temporary jerry-rig that could save your life.
And btw, both of these neighbors have three vehicles and they only have two car garages. Same with me. The criminals have really thought up a very good way to steal now, and I hope this doesn’t go nation wide - for all of our benefit. :(
The worst type is the "Atlas Shrugged" variety...
There is another, and potent, adversary: The HOA President; the idiot that thinks he has some kind of power to call votes and demand people obey. I fully expect these little Napoleons to try to organize a “community bank of food, provisions, and other essential items”, and go house to house demanding provisions and conducting searches of private residences. Expect they will even try to involved local governments such as towns or counties. I have already read articles online expressing such desires and legalities. Best be prepared to kill your neighbor as he tries to take your life sustaining provisions through organized mobs called “community associations”.
All I can think when I see threads like is was the scene from the movie “Tremors”
The survivalist builds an underground bunker with enough MREs to feed a city but the creatures evolved and attack from the air, in the end the whole place explodes and he loses everything.
Looters will evolve.
When the looters started down our street a volley of 30.06 greeted them an they scattered.
She forgot military/government looters. They will take your stuff under the guise of it being legal.
For friends concerned that looters might strip or steal their cars, I have this suggestion. Get a ride that is old with some dents, rust and only cheap visible parts.
And make sure that it sounds bad, when it’s running.
;-)
bflr