Preppers - wisdom or fantasy

[twodko]

My feeling is that unless you're already at your well stocked defensible very hard to find remote bug out location, you will not get there. The only option would be to defend/shelter in place........until you get torched out. A hardened basement may buy you a little more time.

[chargerboy69]

That is why living in one of the larger cities is not really a good idea in a time of crisis.

All our vehicles (except for the Charger) are 4X4. Back roads and through fields should get me where I need to go. Of course, defending the primary house as long as possible is the plan. With my brother-in-law right next door, we are armed for any major zombie attack. 

[Fred]

No point wasting time worrying about what might happen. Use that time instead to enjoy what little life you have. Just sayin'

[JB400]

Live for today and pray for tomorrow

[tsmithae]

No point wasting time worrying about what might happen. Use that time instead to enjoy what little life you have. Just sayin'

We'll said Fred!

[chargerboy69]

No point wasting time worrying about what might happen. Use that time instead to enjoy what little life you have. Just sayin'

I feel it would be irresponsible of me as a husband and a father if I did not prepare.  Perfect example, those on the east coast.  Food storage, fuel storage, gun and ammo storage, generator and back up location in the country.  I do not intend to be dependent on any government or person if SHTF. You can see how that is working out for those out east waiting for someone to help them.

[JB400]

Being prepared for a natural disaster is one thing, being prepped for Y2K or a Russian nuclear attack is another.  In the case of a natural disaster, you should be responsible enough to have food, water, and other essentials.  But, if your preparing for the end of the world, you need some R & R and calm down.  The odds of it happening are very slim.  Enjoy life today, and wait to see what tomorrow brings.

[Fred]

No point wasting time worrying about what might happen. Use that time instead to enjoy what little life you have. Just sayin'

We'll said Fred!

[nvrbdn]

our own government is prepping. they have all the comforts underground. as long as you dont live in the city, you will have a little time to move. and most preppers are doing it for fear of solar flares, earthquakes, things like what is happening on the east coast. i think that prepping is a good idea.

[Chryco Psycho]

It seems the government is trying to to stop preppers , not quite how that helps anyone but being jailed for collecting rain water for example .....

[chargerboy69]

our own government is prepping. they have all the comforts underground. as long as you dont live in the city, you will have a little time to move. and most preppers are doing it for fear of solar flares, earthquakes, things like what is happening on the east coast. i think that prepping is a good idea.

It is a good idea. It takes time building up inventory but when done, it is a relief.

We have been prepping for two years now. Not only do we do it in case of a natural disaster there is war, zombies, economic collapse, un-employment, inflation, anything really which makes it harder to obtain food or power. I guess I see nothing wrong with being prepared, self reliant.  Long term fuel storage is my main weakness.  We have a generator with transfer switch to run the entire house, but keeping enough fuel around has been a problem. Since buying the generator we have already had to use it for two snow storms.  One we did not have power for nearly a week.

[nvrbdn]

i did a class on wind generator power. built the generator. pretty cool. 1000 watts.  plus have 2 gas generators.  buy the way, the new preppers show is on at 8 central on national geographic tonight. but im going to solar power also. getting ready to take that class next. the instructor has been off the grid for 3 years. wind plus solar panels. no gas needed for that.

[Patronus]

Our current life styles are based on an extremely fragile system. I believe it only common sense to have something to fall back on.  

[nvrbdn]

what types of foods are you guys collecting? i  have a friend that has the shows where they prepare the dried foods. these have a long shelf life. the can goods you buy at the store all say to use by  blah blah blah. what is the real life of can food from the grocery store? 

[nvrbdn]

goofed up, the preppers new show is at 9;00 central tonight.

[twodko]

The "sell by" date on canned goods is the date stores can't sell them beyond. Canned goods are fine unless the can is swollen. Grains in air tight containers can also store very long term.  Fuel is another issue, gas goes stale after a short while even using a stabilizing agent, diesel lasts longer. How much longer i don't know. Solar is an excellent choice......but how do you store the energy long-term? Batteries will only hold capacity for so long.......then what. Wind power...same same. I guess it's use it as it's generated until a proven longterm  storage medium is available. 

[Cooter]

When the day the world comes to an end, I just got one place to go. UP.

[nvrbdn]

yep, you cant store long term. your power is stored in batteries and use an inverter to go 110. of course you can also get all your appliances in 12v. as for your house itself, use inverters to change over the power. the battery bank can conserve enough power for up to 7 days. within those 7 days, if the wind blows or the sun shines, you generate more power. so the system works pretty well. on the wind generator they suggest 35 foot above ground level to work the best. so you would be limited by your neighborhood if you can put this up.

[JB400]

My    Face it, if the electricity goes out and civilization as a whole falls apart,  there is no way you can have the modern conviences you have now.  You will have to learn how to live like they did in the 17th century.  That means the wife will have to learn to cook, the kids will have to entertain themselves and do chores, and we still get to go hunt and fish

[Fred]

We'll also have more kids................the nights are long.   

[chargerboy69]

what types of foods are you guys collecting? i  have a friend that has the shows where they prepare the dried foods. these have a long shelf life. the can goods you buy at the store all say to use by  blah blah blah. what is the real life of can food from the grocery store?  

We buy flour, pasta and cereals and store them in mylar bags, then in buckets.

We also buy a local product, Grabill Country Meats.  They quality is restaurant quality, in fact many local restaurants use their product.  They open cans 30 years old and the beef is as fresh as the day it was packed. They ship.
http://www.grabillmeats.com/

My wife also buys, toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo, deodorant, ect.  With coupons, my wife is able to get all our health care stuff for free.

I am also a Mountain House distributor.  Since I own a RV dealership, that gave me a "in" to be able to sell their product.  I just got their account and have not purchased anything yet, but we will. If you are interested, I get can huge discounts.
http://www.mountainhouse.com/

For milk, we found Morning Moo to be the best powdered milk available.  I advise ordering a small bag to see if you like it.

Do not forget paper products.  You can never have enough TP.

[nvrbdn]

cool. i am interested. ill check out the web sites.

[RECHRGD]

Relying on hunting and fishing for food would be very short lived.  The woods would be empty of most wildlife in short order...

[JB400]

You'd have to rely on agriculture and gathering as well, but you'd be surprised of how many animals are out there.  The Native Americans did rather well.  Besides, the animal population would boom after a catastrophe with less humans around destroying their habitat.  You do have to expect a human die off.  Survival of the fittest would come into effect, unlike today, where we save almost everyone that is born.

[RECHRGD]

You'd have to rely on agriculture and gathering as well, but you'd be surprised of how many animals are out there.  The Native Americans did rather well.  Besides, the animal population would boom after a catastrophe with less humans around destroying their habitat.  You do have to expect a human die off.  Survival of the fittest would come into effect, unlike today, where we save almost everyone that is born.

I agree to a point.  The Native Americans were a very small population when compared to the wildlife resources of the time.  Today we have many millions of well armed people that could easily overwhelm a region's wildlife population.  I live on 45 acres full of deer.  If I wanted to fill my three freezers, I could do so in nothing flat.  With most of my neighbors doing the same thing, the deer would be thinned out in a hurry.  Now add to that the hoards of people that would come out here from the city to do the same and you've got a real problem.  You'd end up shooting more people than animals.  Oh well, humans are a good protein source also.  Remember the Donner party?

[JB400]

Here's what your not looking at.  You won't have a freezer.  You will (should) kill one animal at a time.  By making jerky or brining it, it'll last you 2-3 weeks if you use it like the natives did.  As far as city folk, they'll depend on the supermarket until it's gone.  Then craziness will happen and people will die.  The smart ones will look toward the sea or by going hunting.  But, today, people aren't trained to survive and provide for themselves.  They'll perish unfortunately.



Either way, it's all speculation; lets hope this never happens.

[nvrbdn]

i agree that the wild life would take a big hit. the amount of people today compared to the indian days. plus the technology of todays weapons. you really will have to depend on foods other than hunting. now the coyote population in the mid west is pretty large. i wonder how they taste?  chinese anyone?

[RECHRGD]

Yes, eventually the generators will run out of fuel and you're back to trying to survive like the Indians did.  I live north of Spokane Wa. and it's full of sportsmen that could and would be able to fend for themselves for a short while.  I think the huge populations of our older and larger citys to the east would be the first to go into a complete collapse of civility.  Whatever the scenario, as said, just hope it never happens......

[stripedelete]

Being prepared for a natural disaster is wisdom.  I've watched the preppers on T.V.  I think the fantasy for most them is the end of civilization will being  the "great equalizer" or a leveling of the playing field.

[Fred]

OK, I had no idea it was the name of a TV show in the U.S.

[nvrbdn]

yep, doomsday preppers is a regular show. some of the people on there are quacks, but some good ideas and all. gives some good suggestions for supplies.

[JB400]

Never watched it.  Don't see any since in making it a point in watching anything anymore.  Well, watching Gordon and Bowyer get into it was worth watching.

[nvrbdn]

oo

[Ponch ®]

It's one thing to prepare for a disaster which may cut power / water /food supply temporarily (a few days or weeks), but prepping for the apocalypse is somewhat delusional. Storing up weapons, large amounts of water / food, etc may buy you some time, but in the long term you'd succumb to the same things that are gonna do in people in big cities: anxiety, fear, paranoia, uncertainty. Doomsday preppers are not outsmarting anyone.

[Fred]

It's one thing to prepare for a disaster which may cut power / water /food supply temporarily (a few days or weeks), but prepping for the apocalypse is somewhat delusional. Storing up weapons, large amounts of water / food, etc may buy you some time, but in the long term you'd succumb to the same things that are gonna do in people in big cities: anxiety, fear, paranoia, uncertainty. Doomsday preppers are not outsmarting anyone.

And that's why I'm not losing any sleep over it.

[Patronus]

Here on the front range we call it "the Golden Horde".
The masses coming from the east. I'll be long gone..

[sunfire69]

A lot of good points here.....first you have to figure out what your prepping for....for natural disasters ...or the SHTF...for natural disasters where you have to take care of yourself for 1 to 4 weeks....a good generator to run a well pump and sump pump, and the fridge...and enough gas...( that can be tough you need at least 30 gallon ) and that's if you just use your generator sparingly, they aren't known for fuel economy. if you look around you can find 50gal food grade barrels to store drinking water in...a gas grill or colmen stove can get you thru....a chain saw, several big tarps, lots of bungee cords....
As for the SHTF.....you need a combination of skills...hunting....farming....animal care...my hunting skills are rusty, but it will come back quick....I plant a garden every year...a small one, something different each year so I know what grows the best in my area and what kind of problems each one has...I can some of it..just a small amount just to see how you do it..as a family we help a neighbor take care of his goats, chickens and pigs.....they take far less care or room than cows and horses...and provide more protien....the kids just think it's fun to do...but now they know who to do it just incase they HAVE to do it although all these things sound simple there is a learning curve...I don't want to be "learning" as my family and I head into the first winter....I know how to build a good hog pen and chicken coop..I collect old tools for pennies on the dollar....old bow saws, hammers, things that don't need electricity....I have a small tractor, without solid state ignition...you can crank start it if you have to....my generator runs on propane, I have a 500 gallon tank and propane keeps for a very, very,very long time....plus I have two smaller gas generator for as long as I can get gas....to charge batteries for drills and saws...as long as they last.....I would like the solar and wind option...but just can't afford it....and yes I'm armed, a stock pile is to buy you time...skills will get you thru...it won't be easy...but but it can be done..Hope for the best...plan for the worst

[flyinlow]

I watch Preppers sometimes and have gotten a few good ideas.  Thirty years of flying for a living has taught me that a little preparation and a good back up plan can dramatically improve your chances of surviving . Don't stay up worrying about it and I'm not going to give up the Charger hobby for it.   

[AKcharger]

I follow FEMA guidelines - 2 week supply of food/water/batterys (& bug out bag) After all good emergency preparedness = good Zombie preparedness