An observation and advice to some

[ch139]

We'll there's your spirit of optimism.. why bother? I stopped reading after that

That was on of the things I kinda see as more realistic, not just giving up. Not having ever been in a gun fight (or any real fight for my life), how realistic is it that me or anyone else survive a single gunfight let alone an attacker with something more simple like a knife, bat or some other blunt object (I don't know the answer)? Be as it may, I'm trying not to think Hollywood and Rambo here, just more realistically; it only takes one errant round or a single blow to be the be the end. I think not considering that is unwise. Not saying that the lights go off and minutes later that there will be anarchy and bodies everywhere, just that not everyone is Rambo and has SEAL training and despite careful planning and preparation man may not make it.

Sure I do. Every second Saturday when I sign in I am grouped with a squad. I've been doing so for over 10 years now.... So GFY

Practical Rifle | Tri-County Gun Club

I love PR!

 

[Caveman Jim]

FASTSTATS - Leading Causes of Death

Biology should be a far bigger concern for any serious prepper than battle rifles or gunfights raging in the streets. Preparing YOU (mind and body) is priority number 1.

Put the chili dog down, and go for a walk.

Hey, I love my chili cheese fries, chilisizers and dogs!!!! But I could use a few more walks....
That being said, we have a long way to go but as long as we are workin on fulfilling a plan, we are ahead of our neighbors who will be hiding in their closets with their cell phones waiting for someone to save them...

Keep the faith Brothers and be vigilant.

 

[EZLivin]

Woaaahhh... I thought chili dogs were healthy? Especially if you use chili with beans. Beans - good, onions - good, spices - good, and meat - good (don't discount good meat protein). Ok, cheese isn't the best but it seems like the good stuff cancels out the cheese? Right? Chili dogs and brisk walks for optimum health!

 

[Blitzkrieg]

Beans are an area effect weapon

 

[Caveman Jim]

Beans beans are good for the heart
the more ya eat the more ya fart
the more ya fart the better ya feel
so eat beans with every meal!!!!

 

[ch139]

That being said, we have a long way to go but as long as we are workin on fulfilling a plan, we are ahead of our neighbors who will be hiding in their closets with their cell phones waiting for someone to save them.

Realistic... and definitive.

 

[U201491]

Beans beans are good for the heart
the more ya eat the more ya fart
the more ya fart the better ya feel
so eat beans with every meal!!!!

And the Musical Fruit, The more ya eat the more ya toot............

 

[Just Jim]

Going to ramble a bit, is that ok? Nobody gets out of this world alive so yes he is going to die, we all are. Being a survivalist is working to make that death as far into the future as your skills and preparations allow. To be the one in the herd that doesn't get killed by the pack of jackals or the one to not get Darwined out by doing something stupid. To not depend on dumb luck nor have to depend on the good graces of those around you.

You have to learn to stand on your own should you have to or work with others if that is what it takes to survive. Survivalist are in the most important school there is which is constant learning on how to stay alive in a constantly changing world. He must have the ability to learn and grow in order to become what ever he needs to be in any life threatening situation.

Just my opinion

 

[7SFCW4]

Survival is a MENTAL exercise, sadly, most lack the will to excel or keep their heads above water when the bubblegum Hits the Fan

What survival concept does each letter in the word SURVIVAL stand for?
S- Size up the situation
U- Use all your senses
R- Remember where you are
V- Vanquish fear and panic
I- Improvise
V-Value living
A- Act like the natives
L- Live by your wits, but for now learn basic skills

Some idiot puts a gun three inches from my face, I'll take away, shoot HIM then shove it up his bubblegum.

 

[Just Jim]

Test yourself to see if you ability is equal to what your mind thinks you can do. Go hungry for five days and see what it feels like. See what your ability is when you are really hungry. Walk 20 miles now and then just to see if you still can. Test yourself in shooting matches against others, if you are good then you will win and if you are bad you will find what you need to work on.

Stress test let you know how you react under stress.

 

[IronMonster]

The guy is going to die.

The single most important tool in a survivable survival scenario is the absolute and unwavering desire to survive. This dude has lost it before he even got started.

All it takes, Is everything. Nothing more, nothing less. Some people will survive that have no preparation or skill, for they are mentally able to do everything required to survive. Others will have spent tens of thousands of dollars and countless hours "preparing" and all most immediately succumb.

What might be required to survive is to leave all your fancy gadgets and ammo stockpile behind, It might be to spend a week in a ditch with no food and licking the dew off the grass. It might be hooking up with a band of soulless thugs until you can get away. You wont know what it will take until it happens but the person who will survive will the the one willing to do

 

[Capn Jack]

You're either "Crew", or "Cargo"

and I don't need anymore "Cargo".

 

[The Heretic]

He has some points but one major underlying problem. What his situation and what HIS version of SHTF situation is not the same as others.

I agree with your assertions.

But I also agree that a person doesn't need a whole lot of guns. Ammo is good yes, but three or four firearms per person should be fine. A Personal Defense Rifle, a Personal Defense handgun, and a rimfire or two - if you can't survive with that setup, then having a dozen more probably isn't going to help.

Having at least a thousand rounds of defensive rifle ammo (not FMJ, but expanding projectile defensive ammo) would be about the minimum. Several hundred at least for the defensive handgun (if you need to resort to it, you probably ran out of rifle ammo or the rifle broke down, and the handgun is the last resort and you are in a world of hurt and probably going to die, but take some bad guys with you).

Having at least a few thousand rounds of rimfire ammo per person is where I would say a lot of people fall short, and with no good reason as even at scalper prices it is still cheap and can be found (I just bought 3500 rounds at 6 cents per shot).

That said, I do agree that if I have to try to fend off a zombie horde, my chances of living through it are slim. But such a scenario is unlikely IMO - especially a long term scenario.

Much more likely, IMO inevitable, is the scenario where energy, food, water and land become increasingly expensive and harder to come by. Any person who does their own grocery shopping has noticed the cost of food has significantly increased of the last few years - partly due to energy costs of transportation, but also due to other problems, like climate change causing food production problems.

My recommendation is find a place where you can grow at least some of your own food, and buy extra shelf stable food on sale now (in the long term it will get more expensive) that you rotate. If you can, this property should be outside of any urban/suburban area, and preferably out of sight of main routes of egress (even 40 years ago we had problems with people stealing from our crops on the farm). The property should have its own water and sewer system. Preferably it should eventually be as energy self-sufficient as possible.

Then, be prepared to defend it. if need be.

 

[Just Jim]

The guy is going to die.

The single most important tool in a survivable survival scenario is the absolute and unwavering desire to survive. This dude has lost it before he even got started.

All it takes, Is everything. Nothing more, nothing less. Some people will survive that have no preparation or skill, for they are mentally able to do everything required to survive. Others will have spent tens of thousands of dollars and countless hours "preparing" and all most immediately succumb.

What might be required to survive is to leave all your fancy gadgets and ammo stockpile behind, It might be to spend a week in a ditch with no food and licking the dew off the grass. It might be hooking up with a band of soulless thugs until you can get away. You wont know what it will take until it happens but the person who will survive will the the one willing to do

Guy admits he is going to die in a fracas because he looks inward and knows himself. Some can't find ways to build confidence enough to fight and go on. Life tends to overwhelm people now days with to much to do just day to day living and no time to learn who you are. If people spent as much time learning to defend themselves as they do watching sports it would give them more confidence.

Choices people make...

 

[The Heretic]

There is also being realistic.

I am 60, out of shape, back and neck injuries put a hamper on exercise and physical labor (not impossible, just painful and I have to stop after a short period of time or I will be laid up in bed for days). While I do have LEO training, I have no combat training.

My kids have much less experience/training and one has a serious medical condition that makes physical labor impossible, and probably precludes walking very far.

So yeah, if it is TEOTWAWKI - we are probably not going to last long.

Doesn't mean we won't try as hard as we can to survive, but I am realistic about our chances in such scenarios.

I am also being realistic about such TEOTWAWKI scenarios - as in I just find them much more unlikely to happen than our chances would be of surviving them.

 

[Just Jim]

Yep the body starts failing and we learn to live with our disabilities. I look around and see its all been good in my lifetime of 62 years and I doubt there is going to be a SHTF moment of any magnitude. More apt to be on a personal level. Still preps will help you get through a lot of things that people go through.

Funny how people think, as a young man looking at death I often thought with all the world events I might leave this world in a SHTF moment but now I realize I am more likely to die tripping over the dog with a spoon full of frosting in my mouth.

 

[The Heretic]

Yup - some of the doomsayers, such as Mel Tappan, are dead now, from fairly mundane causes (he died from complications due to a cut on his foot he got from broken glass in his swimming pool) and still doomsday hasn't happened for most of us.

People die every day. Some people die from SHTF events. Over 100 thousand people die every day around the world (8 out of 100 thousand per year), 50+ million every year - but most of that is from mundane causes such as cancer, stroke, other diseases.

By the time I retire, my parents generation of my immediate family, will mostly have passed away. Then it will be my turn. I am at risk for cancer, stroke, heart disease and a number of other things and I probably have less than 20 years left. I am not too worried about zombie hordes. I am much more worried about having enough money to survive until I die, and not spending my last years on oxygen or bedridden.

 

[Just Jim]

Yep we all wish we could pick the way the story ends but none of us wrote the book

 

[The Heretic]

Yep we all wish we could pick the way the story ends but none of us wrote the book

We can make choices, but sometimes we aren't given a choice.

I would rather go out saving someone's life than taking someone's life, but the strong likelihood is that I will go out from cancer or something like that.

 

[powersbj]

Who has more value, a fit 22 year old gym bum or a 67 year old out of shape retired RN. I can tell you who I would invite to my place after an earthquake.