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?