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Lot's of us stock up long term preps...matches, lighters, fire steel, knives, mags, ammo, etc. This of course poses risks if all stored in one location...

-A fire can wipe out all your preps.
-A burglary/looting can wipe out all your preps (when you're not there).
-Confiscation can wipe out your stuff....


1) Where are good places to keep excess preps off site so you have a backup plan and don't lose ALL of your preps? (PVC cache, storage units, etc.)

2) What are some security measures to protect preps at primary location or off site location? (Cameras, reinforced doors, alarms, dogs, bars on windows, etc.). I read an interesting story about a guy who had a huge wall around his house but looters climbed it and dragged him out of his basement and killed him. Vs the guy who's house looked incognito and had thorny bushes as a fence with booby traps on common paths, etc. One guys fortifications screamed "I have expensive stuff and preps" while the others was incognito and people are not going to climb thorny bushes. I'd like to find some thorny stuff that I can put under all of my windows including those on my deck for sliding glass door and on fence gates that will keep those from being entry points...

3) What to store off site?
 
Lot's of us stock up long term preps...matches, lighters, fire steel, knives, mags, ammo, etc. This of course poses risks if all stored in one location...

-A fire can wipe out all your preps.
-A burglary/looting can wipe out all your preps (when you're not there).
-Confiscation can wipe out your stuff....

Indeed.


1) Where are good places to keep excess preps off site so you have a backup plan and don't lose ALL of your preps? (PVC cache, storage units, etc.)

A 2nd residence, or property of your own in which only you know where/how get there

A storage unit is a pisspoor location, IMO seeing as how many "mini storage" complexes are in urban centers and the like.. whats going to stop a band of marauders and thieves from breaking into the security system of a cyclone fence and barb wire; using bolt cutters on storage units and looting and ransacking units or basically turning the units into squat villages with barter markets?



2) What are some security measures to protect preps at primary location or off site location? (Cameras, reinforced doors, alarms, dogs, bars on windows, etc.). I read an interesting story about a guy who had a huge wall around his house but looters climbed it and dragged him out of his basement and killed him. Vs the guy who's house looked incognito and had thorny bushes as a fence with booby traps on common paths, etc. One guys fortifications screamed "I have expensive stuff and preps" while the others was incognito and people are not going to climb thorny bushes. I'd like to find some thorny stuff that I can put under all of my windows including those on my deck for sliding glass door and on fence gates that will keep those from being entry points...
Hawthorn is one type. There was a thread recently about a neighbor trimming the owners shrubbery without permission?

Incognito is my preference as well. However internal fortifying of your home if its not a new build would be good.



3) What to store off site?
If I had to; it would be items that are not of "much value" to other people.. some camping/sheltering gear, some clothing.. maybe caching a gun and its ammo in watertight and sealed containers if buried.. but otherwise... also depending on locations; dry goods/dry foods that can be rotated every so often... say if you own a "summer cabin" in the mountains, that would be a decent location and the things you can store there would not look out of place, except for guns and ammo :rolleyes:
However the cabin should be sturdily built and very hard to break in, for both 2 legged and bear sized 4 legged critters.

It should also be in a location that is not much affected by wildfires. .. or in a clearing where if a fire were to happen, doesnt threaten the cabin itself. (Fire watch tower is not a bad idea actually)
 
Indeed.




A 2nd residence, or property of your own in which only you know where/how get there

A storage unit is a pisspoor location, IMO seeing as how many "mini storage" complexes are in urban centers and the like.. whats going to stop a band of marauders and thieves from breaking into the security system of a cyclone fence and barb wire; using bolt cutters on storage units and looting and ransacking units or basically turning the units into squat villages with barter markets?




Hawthorn is one type. There was a thread recently about a neighbor trimming the owners shrubbery without permission?

Incognito is my preference as well. However internal fortifying of your home if its not a new build would be good.




If I had to; it would be items that are not of "much value" to other people.. some camping/sheltering gear, some clothing.. maybe caching a gun and its ammo in watertight and sealed containers if buried.. but otherwise... also depending on locations; dry goods/dry foods that can be rotated every so often... say if you own a "summer cabin" in the mountains, that would be a decent location and the things you can store there would not look out of place, except for guns and ammo :rolleyes:
However the cabin should be sturdily built and very hard to break in, for both 2 legged and bear sized 4 legged critters.

It should also be in a location that is not much affected by wildfires. .. or in a clearing where if a fire were to happen, doesnt threaten the cabin itself. (Fire watch tower is not a bad idea actually)


Storage building may not protect from looters but would cover fire, burglary (losing it all to a burglary at one location) and confiscation threats at least, but yeah, other solutions that cover all threats WOULD be better.

I watch A LOT of remote living shows, Mountain Men, Life Below Zero, etc. Remote places especially unoccupied ones are VEEERY frequently broken into. They steal the most surprising things. Remote cabin maybe OK, but I would not put anything I would want to be there when I get there IN IT. And be prepared to take that cabin back by force. Don't store weapons right within site, but nearby so you can get them discreetly to take back your place. This guy on doomsday preppers even did that. He'd fall back and escape, then come back with weapons and assault the marauders.
 
On the other hand, what about building and burying a literal bunker, then cover with sod and dirt and grasses? :rolleyes:

My main worry about that particular scenario is simply the fact that there's drones a plenty everywhere.. so people finding a seemingly abandoned cabin out in the woods maybe go and trespass in the name of "exploration" and break in... seen a lot of "urban exploration" photoshoots where the model and the photographer basically trespass into abandoned buildings and the like... at least from my understanding of property laws in the U.S. :rolleyes:

But then again theres those tales of some guy who went off the deep end and managed to dig bunkers on public lands... one was pretty recent, last few years(?) And he murdered his family before "bugging out" and then was found suicided?
 
On the other hand, what about building and burying a literal bunker, then cover with sod and dirt and grasses? :rolleyes:

My main worry about that particular scenario is simply the fact that there's drones a plenty everywhere.. so people finding a seemingly abandoned cabin out in the woods maybe go and trespass in the name of "exploration" and break in... seen a lot of "urban exploration" photoshoots where the model and the photographer basically trespass into abandoned buildings and the like... at least from my understanding of property laws in the U.S. :rolleyes:

But then again theres those tales of some guy who went off the deep end and managed to dig bunkers on public lands... one was pretty recent, last few years(?) And he murdered his family before "bugging out" and then was found suicided?


Yeah he robbed banks before the end. SWAT found him due to his campfire giving away his position. That guy literally thought he was so good he was just going to go live an outlaw life. I think that didn't last long. Honestly it doesn't last long for most. There have been Tier 1 Operators that get caught pretty quick by LE when they go off the deep end in the states. Fighting with a team with government support and literally hundreds of millions of dollars in support and helicopter exfil is one thing. Operating as a murderous criminal in society by yourself is a whooooole different ball game.
 
How about if you have a couple of extra cars, maybe older models. They would be parked outside of your house. Burglars probably wouldn't think to take the time to break into the trunks of those while going through your house. You'd be surprised how difficult it is to physically break into some of them. Not recommended for goods not properly prepared for outside storage.

Gun safes, I've come to not trust those much. After all, they tell a burglar that guns are inside, don't they?? If they ignore the cameras, I've got insurance on my guns, but when I go on a trip, I secure a few somewhere else that's way less likely to make them subject to theft. Or fire. I always assume that given enough time, a safe isn't really thus because the entire box may be removed. It's happened plenty of times.

This thread reminds me of the kidnapping that took place in Shade Gap/Burnt Cabins, Penna. in 1966. The abductor had spider holes and stashes here and there all over the countryside. Took them a while to get him but they did.

Drones yes, but also satellites are starting be used by law enforcement. The DEA has been using them for a while. Imagery has greatly improved. You can't see or hear a satellite.
 
You can't see or hear a satellite.

With the help of a telescope and an app; sure. I know I've been able to see Low Earth Orbit satellites on a New Moon/moonless night out in the country where theres much less light from surrounding areas... at least I think they're in Low Earth Orbits... looks like a star but moving in a relatively straight/curved line relative to the other stars, without strobes or flashing lights.

Edit. They definitely are not Geosynchronous(spelling?), or Geostationary (much higher altitudes than the ISS), in which the orbit fixes the satellite to specific points on the Earth, thus appearing to be stationary relative to the stars, but moving with the Earth
 
With the help of a telescope and an app; sure. I know I've been able to see Low Earth Orbit satellites on a New Moon/moonless night out in the country where theres much less light from surrounding areas... at least I think they're in Low Earth Orbits... looks like a star but moving in a relatively straight/curved line relative to the other stars, without strobes or flashing lights.

I stand corrected. Let me amend my original statement by saying, "As a practical matter, I won't know they are there." Certainly not in daytime.

Even if you are able to see one at night under ideal conditions, can the satellite see properly down on the ground at night?
 
I stand corrected. Let me amend my original statement by saying, "As a practical matter, I won't know they are there." Certainly not in daytime.

Even if you are able to see one at night under ideal conditions, can the satellite see properly down on the ground at night?
Depends on the type :rolleyes: If its a CIA/NSA/ex KGB type,.probably. if its a standard weather or commumications, or a science project, then probably not.
 
I guess the smart play is to assume that you are always subject to aerial observation of some kind so act accordingly. My supposition is that satellite surveillance probably isn't cost effective to try to observe some old butt-crack guy burying a 50 cal ammo box in his back yard. But the technical capability exists if somebody wants to dial in the focus when the scale warrants.

Back on earth, we have cameras around. Did you notice how when the Chinese government banned masks in Hong Kong, everyone took up an umbrella?
 
I guess the smart play is to assume that you are always subject to aerial observation of some kind so act accordingly.
There are simple ways for that. Drones for one. Hidden cameras in the "public forests" for other... hiring game wardens to observe and report hunt/fish activities for yet another.. and who would be surprised if the Resources departments hire veterans trained in the art of Cover, Concealment and Camouflage? (Or went through Ft. Benning's Sniper School or the USMC equivalent :rolleyes:)
 
Trailer or RV, mostly ready to go. May be an option.

Depends, obviously, on wether such is reasonably secure when not in use. Also depends upon what ones ordinary/primary concerns are for having a secondary. Simple disruption in day to day life (Fire/flood evacuation ex), perfect.
 
Cars and RV's/trailers are commonly broken into. Satellites can't see through tree cover from what I understand, even with thermal. FLIR doesn't see through tree cover, I know that for a fact.
 
You need a 2nd place with a few honest/well provisioned neighbors nearby. Then hide your bubblegum anyway.

Buddy had an isolated spot up in the 7 Devils in Idaho. Middle of nowhere. He left nothing of value in it, didn't lock it and always had a small amount of extra food, some split wood for the wood stove for anyone who stumbled on the place in an emergency and needed a bite or to warm up. Some jackwagons showed up and stole his wood stove.

He had a huge 700 lb classic cast antique that he replaced it with, put in a locked metal bar across the road so it was a 100 yard walk up to his place, and started to lock his door.

Next time he showed up the window was broken out, door was wide open and the wood stove was gone. Moral of the story: Isolation isn't the end all-be-all and treat your neighbors well.
 
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