[Kartographer]

Let's talk a bit about:
Bad Strategy #5: “I don’t need to store food, I’ll just take everyone else’s because I’m a bad-ass.”
Anyone who has kept up this thread knows that there is occasionally some joke posting about how this is their strategy. Yes most of the time when pressed they well claim it is a joke or that we are too serious, but lets say the SHTF and you have a neighbor or acquaintance that has made such a claim, now maybe they are a blow hard or a big talker, but now would you trust them if the balloon has gone up? I wouldn't! They would be the among the last types I would have anything to do with and would be the first I would take action against if they did the least thing suspicious or in the least bit threatening.
Yes in all likehood its just talk, but during SHTF will you put you and your family a risk on the chance it is just talk?
Two of my very favorite quotes come in to play here the first quote from one of my favorite westerns ’Open Range’: “Most times a man will tell you his bad intentions if you listen, let yourself hear.” I’ve ‘heard’ their intentions and they aren’t good.

The second one is from the TV Show Deep Space Nine:
"Let me tell you something about humans, nephew: They're a wonderful, friendly people - as long as their bellies are full and their holosuites are working."
"But take away their creature comforts, deprive them of food, sleep, sonic showers, put their lives in jeopardy over an extended period of time and those friendly, intelligent, wonderful people...will become as nasty and as violent as the most blood-thirsty Klingon."Quark from: The Siege of AR-558

The person has shown you what kind of thoughts their mind will quickly turn too under pressure, so you must consider yourself warned.

[Kartographer]

Preppers PING!!

[Star Traveler]

Oh! Wrong thread! I thought it said ... Orgasmic Prepper ... LOL ...

[PAR35]

Obviously, we aren’t cleared to hear Number 6.

[JRandomFreeper]

I have to wonder how many actually have the skill sets to live like it was the mid 1800s? And have actually practised being a mountain man over years?

/johnny

[ez]

Well, there will be a lot of hungry people coming out of the cities so I expect cannibalism to read it’s ugly head. Don’t get caught alone in the open unless you want to become dinner.
Organize in groups, pool your resources, and fight to the death.

[MediaMole]

My personal one would be, “I can survive without a community of other people.”

You can have a ton of food, but if someone needs a leg fracture set or a tooth pulled, or the truck won’t shift out of 4x4 low, you need skills. For that matter, you need to sleep and it really helps to have someone you can trust watching your back.

[CPT Clay]

Love it, thankd for the ping.

[jaydee770]

Who wants to live forever? I’ve lived a darned good life and I’m too blessed to be stressed. Heck if I’d want to live post SHTF, scavenging cans of dog food and the like...

[Jane Long]

Thanks for the ping!

[Darren McCarty]

Bad Strategy #4: “I don’t need a group. I’m going to go it alone.”

That's known as prey.

[tumblindice]

I got my bulldog—a breed used in pulling contests—a harness backpack. He’s carrying his own food, my accordion and some more stuff, or he’s going on the menu.
I run a tight ship.

[BobL]

Not bad, and I have heard many of these ‘plans’ discussed here. Such as: “I’ll just go out and shoot me a deer when I get hungry.” The problem is that there is enough wildlife for about 1 to 2 percent of our population. Farms are very, very, efficient.

Same for growing food. Sounds really romantic...until some locals show up some night just prior to harvest to help themselves first, or as they mentioned - disease, bugs, animals, who knows. Not to mention the fact that it takes a LOT OF CROPS to come up with the 2,000 calories per day that a person needs. Try doing the math sometime. Buy canned food - THAT SIMPLE. It lasts for at least a decade before you really notice deterioration...but still edible for another decade. Also, depending on what you buy it can have a very high calorie count. Similar for pasta and rice, very high calorie densities and very low prices (relatively speaking).

There also seems to be an emphasis that everything has to be totally renewable. I’m not sure that’s the case. If one uses gasoline to run a generator - then yes, forget it, you’ll run out in a week. Use the same amount of gasoline cooking food on a stove or running a Coleman lamp, and it can easily last you a year. That may not be forever, but it is very long time.

But my favorite has always been them crank-powered radios. I’ll put up a $1,000 against anyone that thinks their crank-powered radio will outlast the batteries in one large package from Costco. I suspect the cranks on these things will break off in about 45 minutes. It is simply very expensive to design and build moving parts like that capable of lasting more than a short time.

But still a lot of myths debunked. I remember the Argentina guy talking about surviving an economic meltdown over there. Even after the meltdown, someone who strapped an AK and several clips across his chest like Rambo would simply get picked up by the cops and committed to the happy house. It wasn’t that simple.

[buffaloguy]

Insight:

Learn how people lived in colonial times. It worked.

All you electricity and ammo will be stolen or used up. Learn how to make your own ammo and be skilled enough to clean water and be able to exist comfortably without any electricity at all.

[buffaloguy]

And by the way, the deer will be gone after 5 weeks. Your protein sources will be birds, ground animals, rabbits squirrels and fish. So prepare accordingly.

[FreedomOfExpression]

Late to the party, but figured I'd actually post #6 anyway.

Bad Strategy #6: “I have lots of weapons and tools. I’ve never used them. But I have them.”

[Ellendra]

Yes in all likehood its just talk, but during SHTF will you put you and your family a risk on the chance it is just talk?

I usually counter with "Fine, you can have all the jars of food that didn't process correctly." That tends to shut them up real quick!

[Dogbert41]

If I were smart, I’d retire in some small town surrounded by swamp. Get a few small kayaks and plenty of ammo and fishing gear. Oh yeah, a ton of spices for cooking.

[Vendome]

#5 will be shot and left in the street as a message.

In SHTF I’m building an army with my brother and few friends.

We’ll control vermin in our sector.

We are all stocked up...

[familyop]

"I’ll bug out on foot for 73 miles through the mountains, even though I don’t regularly exercise."

Real mountains, like those in the central Rockies? That's also a bad idea for people who are in excellent physical condition. Anyone considering such a half baked plan should give it a trial run.

Start in the city on foot, hike uphill a few thousand feet in elevation and stay for a month, say, at least 60 miles from the city. See how that works out first. Realize that conditions in rural areas will be quite different after a terrible disaster that affects a large part of the country.

And rest assured that public park areas will be cleared for the purpose of preventing the many likely problems that would result from mobs of people heading up to them on foot without recreational intent. Most likely, they'll be turned back at checkpoints on the highways, and heading across private properties from a city would be a no-go.

[familyop]

In a widespread disaster, anyone “bugging out” would be much more likely to meet looters and highway robbers. As for second homes, there are already too many burglaries in isolated mountain areas. Those places would probably be hit, and in some cases, occupied by criminals from the nearest towns in such a disaster long before owners to get to them.