You have the toys to survive, but do you have the knowledge?

[Nosferatu]

and that is the thing, right? If survival prep is just waiting for the lights to come on then follow CDC guidelines, but once we're past that (will we ever again be that free?); what is the length of time and depth of knowledge that is necessary for continued existence or is it even worth it?

To those who mentioned medical conditions as a factor for longevity, I can understand and appreciate your situations. I have family like that too.

What, if any, knowledge of alternative medicines or even conventional medicines do people practice?

my prep runs short term, but my thoughts are long term. But is that wishful thinking?

We're talking about spending a night in the woods while elk hunting, not some fantasy end of civilization event.

 

[1911Fanatic]

I'd carve a piece off my neighbor's calves before I eat my pets

Kudos if you have a neighbor so fat to feed everyone on the block for a whole week.

 

[Koda]

my prep runs short term, but my thoughts are long term. But is that wishful thinking?

Yes. Anyone who thinks they can survive on their own long term is fantasizing. We are dependent on society to survive since the dawn of time.

 

[TTSX]

Kudos if you have a neighbor so fat to feed everyone on the block for a whole week.

Just an average American would do. Go to any bass pro and you'll see. Tuba music is the soundtrack

 

[OrPackrat]

I have basic tools, slowly advancing gear, skills are decent, could be better. I'd say I've above the average person and I only would say such as people tell me such.

Being to go too person for information and doing things, resourceful and such, yay...

Hard remembering stuff when you have short term memory...

Skill set I need improve on, fire starting...

 

[rexposeidon]

We're talking about spending a night in the woods while elk hunting, not some fantasy end of civilization event.

What's the difference? I've seen many a lost person search turn to a body recovery after only being lost for an afternoon. Once most people are beyond cell service they're screwed. After 3 days per CDC guidelines how long is long term?

 

[whiskeybill]

At some point your equipment list can turn into a liability. It's much easier to carry knowledge than to stuff a bugout trailer with "gear" that you may or may not need (or may not function when you need it most). A Bic that won't Flick, or flint and steel? A map and compass, or a handheld GPS with a blank screen?

To illustrate, let's say you have a wife. You also have a nice travel trailer for little vacations. If your wife is anything like mine, she goes into turbo "Nesting Mode". That travel trailer gets stuffed with every conceivable gadget to make life easier when you go on vacation. My wife stuffed the trailer, and I had the responsibility to manage it. (To be fair, some men get caught up in "Nesting"). Let's just say that in this household, there are two distinct sets of outdoor gear. MY hunting / camping gear, and whatever is stuffed in that trailer. My gear will fit on the back of a pack horse. It is what I need and know how to use.

 

[bradsteen]

How do you train? What did you read that you found particularly helpful? While this thread is more the dug in and wait, do you also train on how to return to castle if the need arises?

1. Read. A lot. Learn about things that are likely to be useful in a shtf situation, and acquire physical books that teach you how to do them. Knowing how to do something is half the battle. You might not do it well, but you'll probably do it better than the person just winging it.

2. Test your knowledge as well as your equipment in small, controlled experiments. Never canned food before? Figure you'll need soap during the apocalypse? Never distilled spirits? Think maybe you'll want candles when the power goes out and electronic devices fail? Got a stockpile of Mountain House meals but never made one before? Try things out, make mistakes, and get your hands on experience now when your life doesn't actually depend on your success. It's useful, fun, and can be a great opportunity to bond with family members, friends, or neighbors.

3. Figure out specific skills that will need to be honed, and start practicing. For example, picking locks is something you need to practice to be good at, and it takes a while to get the hang of. Definitely not something to "experiment with" when you're starving to death and depending on it to survive. You can buy a starter kit online for cheap and slowly work your way up the level of difficulty.

4. Practice maintaining situational awareness for as long as possible when out and about. Figure out what normal pattern of life looks like for the area so you can use it as a benchmark. If shtf, observing and interpreting other people's behaviors will be an essential survival skill, even more so in densely populated urban environments where crowds are likely to occur. The sooner you can spot trouble, the more likely it is that you will be able to avoid it.

5. Learn as many different routes home from as many different starting points as you can. Then identify all points where those routes converge. In these areas learn all the back roads and possible off-road options that could be used in an emergency to keep you moving towards home. Are there any areas a road can be bypassed? Are there any alleys or lots that can be cut through if your route becomes impassable? If something is fenced, is the gap between fenceposts wide enough that you could drive a vehicle through?

6. If your emergency plan involves other people, define how you will activate those plans with them. When bad things happen some folks have a hard time processing it and find themselves stalled by indecision. They think "is it really that bad? Am I overreacting?" Define the cost of action vs inaction and do that math now so it's easier to process in the moment. What is the worst that will happen if you activate your plan? Odds are the cost is negligible, whereas even if the emergency ends up being a false alarm you'll at least learn some valuable lessons about executing that plan that will help you further improve it and increase your likelihood of survival. If you have to, define a word or phrase to use with them that essentially means "I'm dead serious, crap is happening, we're executing the plan". That might help certain people focus and snap to it. You will also want to clearly define under what conditions the plan will be activated so it's not just an arbitrary call - for example, "if the national guard is being deployed", or "if movement within the area is going to be restricted", or "if store shelves are bare and people are rioting". Whatever it might be, having a specific set of conditions to act as a trigger helps minimize analysis and decisionmaking in the moment.

 

[Caveman Jim]

I can skin a Buck and run a trot line, a country boy can SURVIVE. HW Jr.

 

[Nosferatu]

What's the difference?

Everything.

 

[albin25]

Remember in the old movie "The African Queen" when Joe hammer welded their broken propellor with a jury rigged forge, and made a torpedo from an empty oxygen tank?
Maybe survival is more about the workman, and not just the tools

(I coulda done without the bit with the leeches though)

 

[theoryofjack]

thanks everyone who has responded so far,

I can't agree more with the thoughts that survival isn't comfort,
and the best weapon is an open, educated mind.

The best weapon is working out every day and not eating processed foods. What I've always found amusing is that most people who are Preppers have no understanding what will happen in war time. There are laws in place to automatically hunt down bunkers and hoards of food and ammo all over these United States. Did everyone just happen to forget to read up on the realities of war time preparation? I worked for the DOD for 30+ years and they have technologies that most have no idea about. Example; They have infrared lidar mapping drones that are the size of a small bird that are capable of landing, folding out a solar array, charging...and then moving forward. These drones are capable of sending back information in real time. Thousands of these will be released upon the start of war or long term famine. It will be considered treasonous to hoard food and/or ammunition. Bunkers will be breached nationwide and if people think they're going to do something about it... well, I've got an oil well in Kuwait to sell you. The monsters that show up at your door will not be human. My father was a general and he's 88 now. We were having a conversation about survival about 10yrs ago among associates and the general consensus was simple; A bicycle, two firearms, ability to filter water and make fire and something warm to wear. That was it. That's all anyone needs or SHOULD want. Otherwise, you're just buying stuff to eventually give away.

 

[crstrode]

Many people here tout their equipment as their key for survival. Many also tout their quality of equipment, and I understand that one can gain confidence from quality equipment that one lacks in their personal skill set. The skills required for survival are more than just not get killed and have something safe to eat and drink.

At the end of the day it's not just the quality of your equipment but your personal knowledge base that will make the difference.

What do you do for mental prep?

No amount of preparation, training, or equipment can compensate for a low IQ.

 

[Nosferatu]

No amount of preparation, training, or equipment can compensate for a low IQ.

I thought this is what the Army Infantry was built upon?

 

[TTSX]

The best weapon is working out every day and not eating processed foods. What I've always found amusing is that most people who are Preppers have no understanding what will happen in war time. There are laws in place to automatically hunt down bunkers and hoards of food and ammo all over these United States. Did everyone just happen to forget to read up on the realities of war time preparation? I worked for the DOD for 30+ years and they have technologies that most have no idea about. Example; They have infrared lidar mapping drones that are the size of a small bird that are capable of landing, folding out a solar array, charging...and then moving forward. These drones are capable of sending back information in real time. Thousands of these will be released upon the start of war or long term famine. It will be considered treasonous to hoard food and/or ammunition. Bunkers will be breached nationwide and if people think they're going to do something about it... well, I've got an oil well in Kuwait to sell you. The monsters that show up at your door will not be human. My father was a general and he's 88 now. We were having a conversation about survival about 10yrs ago among associates and the general consensus was simple; A bicycle, two firearms, ability to filter water and make fire and something warm to wear. That was it. That's all anyone needs or SHOULD want. Otherwise, you're just buying stuff to eventually give away.

Sure, bub.

 

[Stomper]

I suggest infantry school and a few deployments so it all gets burned in. Ranger school might be an added bonus, it teaches you how to navigate very long and endless distances while being severely sleep deprived and starving.

 

[Brian652]

I practice with my "equipment" as much as possible too!

 

[TTSX]

I practice with my "equipment" as much as possible too!

You ever hear running water and get "excited"... You know, like Pavlov's shower

 

[Quirt Evans]

most people who are Preppers have no understanding what will happen in war time.

It will be considered treasonous to hoard food and/or ammunition

Bunkers will be breached nationwide

The monsters that show up at your door will not be human. you're just buying stuff to eventually give away.

The whole post was good, I just reduced it to 4>5 key sentences.
Yes, a lot of people have made tons of money by fostering this whole "prepper" mentality.
Of course, it's a good idea to have some things on hand for more-or-less short-term situations, but a societal collapse is a totally different scenario.
Those who're all set to hunker down in their bunkers with cases of beans, bacon and 20K of ammo for all their ARs, and thinking that will keep them safe and away from what's going on outside their property are sadly deluded.
The first time they or the wife or kid need a real doctor it's all over.
Drones? The easiest sensors detect heat, when a "flare" shows on a screen people will be heading that way, then it'll be like Custer at the Big Horn.

 

[hongkong2]

The whole post was good, I just reduced it to 4>5 key sentences.
Yes, a lot of people have made tons of money by fostering this whole "prepper" mentality.
Of course, it's a good idea to have some things on hand for more-or-less short-term situations, but a societal collapse is a totally different scenario.
Those who're all set to hunker down in their bunkers with cases of beans, bacon and 20K of ammo for all their ARs, and thinking that will keep them safe and away from what's going on outside their property are sadly deluded.
The first time they or the wife or kid need a real doctor it's all over.
Drones? The easiest sensors detect heat, when a "flare" shows on a screen people will be heading that way, then it'll be like Custer at the Big Horn.