logo
mobile-logo
HomePosts Tagged "Survival" (Page 15)

 

There has been a lot written about using an air gun for a SHTF situation. Which caliber to use, the type of air gun, cost of ammo and so on and so on.

Well, after reading all those articles and doing some deep thinking, I came up with what I think is the best type of air gun for SHTF that will serve you the best. Now this is not a must have. You must weigh you own needs want’s and physical ability to find the air gun that suits you best. Those are the factors that will help you make the right choice.

Factors to consider before purchasing an air gun for SHTF

A factor that most people don’t understand is that when your using an air gun to hunt is the difference between an air gun and a powder burner. Both an air gun and powder burner depend on energy to take down game. The difference is how this energy is delivered.

A powder burner does this by a combination of mass (bullet weight + velocity) to transfer a large amount of energy to game to take it down. Heavier bullets and greater velocity allow you to take down large game at distances over 100 yards and depending on the size of the game, out to 1000 yards. This creates a large wound cavity with hyodrostatic shock causing damage to the tissue and taking down the game animal.

An air gun depends more on penetration than shock to the game to take it down. The energy used to do this is measured in foot pounds. The higher the foot pounds the greater your ability to take game down will be. There are two main types of air guns that should be considered for a survival situation; break barrel or PCP.

PCP stands for Pre-Charged Pneumatic. This is an air gun where the air that is used to propel the pellet is compressed externally. This air is compressed using either a special mechanical or hand compressor to reach up to about 3000 psi . The pro side of this is that you can send a heavier pellet down range and take down larger game. PCP’s have taken game the size of American bison, buffalo quickly and humanely. Also a lot of PCP’s have a magazine that allows you work a bolt for fast repeat shots. On the con side you will have to buy at a minimum a means of compressing the air and a portable air tank if you want to extend hunting time.

Break Barrel: On the other hand, if you are using a break barrel you charge it by “breaking” the barrel , thereby cocking it. This compresses the air or the gas in a gas piston type, then you load a pellet and then you’re ready to shoot. Your effective range is shorter due to lower foot pounds delivered to the game animal.
With a break barrel, you can take small game such as rabbits, squirrels and dove out to about 30-40 yards. Your effective hunting success will depend on the environment you’re in, range to the animal pellet choice and your skill level.

The pros of using a break barrel are it’s cheaper to buy and use. Once purchased all you need are pellets and you’re shooting. No additional equipment needed. A con is the size of the game you can take and the range you can be effective in taking this game. Another con is that a break barrel is a single shot, you miss and you might spook the game as you re-cock the gun. Your physical strength is a factor when choosing between a break barrel or a PCP. The break barrel requires more physical dexterity than a PCP. Using a PCP that is charged requires average strength and dexterity to pull the trigger and load the magazine. The break barrel requires you to cock the gun which can be difficult if you have physical limitations.

In my research, I have come across a new break barrel that claims to be the most powerful production break barrel available. This is the Hatsan 135 QE Carnivore Big Bore in .30 caliber.

Hatsan BT Big Bore Carnivore QE Air Rifle air rifle

Some of the specs are:

  • Caliber 0.30″
  • Max Velocity 550 fps
  • Muzzle Energy 30 ft/lbs
  • Barrel Length 10.6″
  • Overall Length 47.2″
  • Shot Capacity 1
  • Cocking Effort 50 lbs
  • Barrel Rifled Yes
  • Front Sight Fiber Optic
  • Rear Sight Fiber Optic
  • Scopeable Weaver & 11mm dovetails
  • Trigger Two-stage adjustable
  • Buttplate Rubber
  • Suggested for Small game hunting/target practice
  • Action Break barrel
  • Safety Automatic
  • Power plant Gas-piston
  • Function Single-shot
  • Body Type Rifle
  • Weight 9.9 lbs
  • Shrouded Yes

This is a robust air gun that will meet your needs in most situations, either hunting or a SHTF situation.

When used as a hunting gun the first thing I think you should do is decide if you want to use a scope or not. The gun comes with open sights. This means you can use it straight out the box. Open sights mean you can acquire the target a bit quicker and they are less likely to be knocked out of alignment.

Do you need a scope for your air gun?

A scope on the other hand lets you place your shots a bit more precisely. It also helps if your eyesight is less than perfect. A scope does add cost to the purchase and while modern scopes are well made, you will get what you pay for. If you put a cheap scope on the gun, it will cost you twice as much as you will end up buying a better scope. Make sure you get a scope that is rated for use on air guns. This is due to non PCP air guns having a double shock when firing. While a gas piston may not cause much damage, it’s best to check with the scope manufacturer before purchasing.

Once you choose between open sights or a scope, your next step is to find the best pellet for the air gun. While it will shoot any .30 pellet, it will be more accurate with certain pellets. The only way to find the best one is to buy several brands, go to a range and sight it in. You need to do this no matter which type of sight your using. This rifle also has an Integrated Sound Moderator (Shrouded). What this does is to reduce the sound of firing down-range. Depending on how close your neighbors are you might be able to practice in your backyard. Make sure you check before shooting and make sure your not violating any local or home owners association rules

Ok, your air gun is sighted in, you’re got the pellet your accurate with, so what can you hunt with the rifle?

Depending on your state you may be able to hunt game up to deer size. Now you will not be taking deer at 200 yards. That is way beyond the capability of the rifle. For most deer size game I would not go much farther than 50 yards. If your state has a feral hog problem this rifle will work on hogs also. Treat it as if your bow hunting. For smaller game like squirrels and rabbits, I would add about another 20 to 25 yards.

Shot placement is very important when hunting, it’s even more so when using an air rifle.. Head shots are the most humane way to take most game. You should be able to place most shots in a dime sized shot group before you go hunting.

So there you have it, my idea of the best air gun for a SHTF situation. Is it the most powerful? No. Nor is it the most accurate air rifle you can buy. Are there other calibers that can be used? Of course. They are just not as versatile. This is one that will do most of the jobs you need it to do at a cost, ease of use and maintenance most people can afford. As with any tool, the more you practice, the better you will become in its use.

1 Comment

  There has been a lot written about using an air gun for a SHTF situation. Which caliber to use, the type of air gun, cost of ammo and so on

Many people have become invested in the survivalist lifestyle as of late, and who could blame them? Every day you hear about another terrifying development in the world at large, whether it’s a threat of natural disaster, war, or simply some sort equipment malfunction that causes large scale destruction. The truth is that it’s very hard for families to feel any sense of peace or security in this day and age. These intangibles are hard to come by in a time when most people can’t even trust their next door neighbors.

For this reason, doomsday prepping has become quite attractive to those who want to be ready for anything. This includes occurrences such as natural disasters, economic collapses, and just about everything in between. One thing we can learn from the state of things today is that anything can happen at any moment, and those who are prepared for disaster will have a real advantage over those who are not.

Ordinary People Performing Extraordinary Feats

For the most part, doomsday preppers are just ordinary people. Often they have families, and they genuinely fearful for their children’s future given the ever increasing instability present in the world. Preppers are comprised of various age groups, social statuses, political beliefs, and all ethnicities and philosophical outlooks.

The common thread amongst preppers is that they actively take precautions in the event of a disaster. This can include things like floods and tornadoes, enemy attacks with biological weapons and similar tactics. The disaster needn’t be on a large scale to be threatening. Smaller scale disasters, which are more common due to the shifting economy, as well as odd weather patterns causing adverse conditions, can also be devastating.

Doomsday prepping is a lifestyle that is available to anyone who isn’t afraid of a little hard work and sacrifice. While we frequently hear of exorbitantly priced shelters and bunkers, this isn’t always the case. For a relatively reasonable sum of money, you can create your very own safe haven in the event of an attack, and this shelter can include all the items necessary to your survival until the initial threat subsides.

Shelter the Things You Love

Underground bunkers are quite popular with the survivalist set, and creating your own underground shelter is much more attainable than it seems. A bunker can be constructed for a relatively reasonable price. All you need to undertake the task are basic construction materials and some elbow grease. You can also enlist the help of a professional if you are unsure of how to go about constructing a safe and secure bunker on your own. There are many cost effective ways of building a bunker, it may just require a little research on your part.

The next step is to purchase supplies. Fortunately, most of the food you will need to buy is rather inexpensive. Canned items, like fruits and vegetables, are able to be purchased in large amounts for very little money. For this reason, when stocking your underground bunker you should definitely consider buying food in bulk. Foods such as rice, beans, and other staples are also available at extremely affordable prices. You may even want to consider stocking seeds to be used for planting when the time is right.

Water is equally important. Fresh water should be plentiful, but so should the means to purify unclean water should your source become depleted. This can be accomplished through chemical means, such as iodine tablets, or by purchasing a water purification system. Boiling water is also an option, but this can be difficult if you are left without the means to do so.

Clean Air is Crucial to Survival

While much is said about keeping adequate food and clean water supplies, little is ever mentioned regarding the quality of one’s air in a survival scenario. All over the world, terrorist groups and the like use biological and chemical weapons as a means of waging war. The effects of these weapons are long lasting. Chemical weapons typically have a faster onset, while biological weapons can cause untold suffering for years to come.

If you choose to go the underground bunker route, air purification should be a top concern, along with food and water. Bunkers tend to have insufficient ventilation, which can actually be beneficial depending on the air quality outside the bunker. However, insufficient air flow can be a detriment to those subsisting in a bunker, and can negatively impact health, as well as general quality of life.

For this reason, it’s crucial that air purification is part of your survival plans. An air purifier can be extremely beneficial to those in such situations. These devices can filter the air of harmful chemicals and agents, allowing you and your family to breathe easier, no matter where you may be. This is especially important if the disaster scenario is ongoing. You’ll want fresh, clean air at your disposal, and this can be afforded by an air purifier.

Don’t Forget an External Power Source

In order to be a fully functioning survival unit, a power generator is a must. Batteries are important for smaller items, such as flashlights and radios. But to power large items, such as the aforementioned air purifier, as well as things like cooking implements, heating systems, and other vital needs, you’ll need a larger, more reliable power source. Generators are great in this respect. A portable generator is the ideal, as you will be able to take it with your should your bunker become compromised.

Expect the Unexpected

Real safety is hard to come by these days for many reasons. Unrest is a fixture all over the world, due to economic collapses, brutal governments taking advantage of their citizens, as well as fringe groups threatening the very fabric of society. You can’t take risks like these lightly, given the state of the world today. Doomsday preppers face these risks head on through their various prepping methods. By being prepared for unforeseen circumstances, preppers can rest assured that they have a sound plan to follow in the event of unmitigated disaster.

0 Comments

Many people have become invested in the survivalist lifestyle as of late, and who could blame them? Every day you hear about another terrifying development in the world at large,

 

In an ideal world when a SHTF scenario takes place you’d be wearing your bullet proof vest and have immediate access to your hand gun and assault rifle. Unfortunately this may not be the case because of several factors. The laws in your country might prohibit you from carrying any weapons or the place you are attending might not allow you to carry weapons, such as universities and hospitals. So how do you defend yourself using unarmed combat skills if you get stuck in such an unpleasant situation? This article will go through the steps involved in defending yourself from the initial assessment of the threat, how to avoid or eliminate the threat with your bare hands or with any improvised weapon that you’re likely to come across in everyday life.

Assess the threat

As with everything else, the first step is to assess the situation. The extent of your assessment will obviously depend on the prevailing circumstances. You can’t take out pen and paper and start drafting an action plan if there’s a hyped up guy slashing with a machete right in front of your face. Each situation warrants a different level of assessment. An imminent threat requires split second decisions that are mostly based on muscle memory acquired through hours of training whilst a hostage situation requires careful planning. Whatever the situation, the aim of your assessment is to identify any weaknesses of your opponent, availability of improvised weapons and escape routes. We’ll cover all these aspects in the sections below.

Basics of Self Defense

When faced with a threat you have two opposing options; fight or flight. Backing off from a confrontation might make you feel like a pussy but it’s better to feel that way for a few days rather than being killed or injured because of your pride. If you decide to run away from a confrontation/threat you have to be sure that you can run faster than your opponent, avoid any weapons he may attack you with whilst you are running (mostly applicable to firearms), and find adequate shelter before he catches up with you. If this is not possible then you’d better stand your ground and fight because once you turn your back on your opponent you’ll become much more vulnerable.

The human body has multiple weak spots that you can target to your advantage.

Once you’ve decided to fight, or are forced to fight your way out, there are some basics you have to keep in mind. The fundamental principle of self-defense is to reduce to the least extent possible the damage your body receives in the attack. Key areas to protect are your entire head and face and vital organs in your torso. However do not underestimate the importance of your limbs. You won’t be able to attack with enough force if your arm/s gets injured and you’ll have problems standing and moving about if your leg/s gets injured. How you protect yourself will depend on how you’re being attacked. We’ll go through these in the coming sections.

The next principle is to stop your assailant from what he is doing. This is achieved by hitting a delicate part of your opponent’s body with a tough part of your own body (or any hard object that comes to hand). Your attack should be vicious and aggressive. This is not the time to have sympathy. You want to cause intense pain and damage in as little time as possible in order to neutralize the assailant.

Tough Parts of the Body

  • Knuckles
  • Elbows
  • Knees
  • Sole of the foot
  • Forehead

Delicate Parts of the Body

  • Temple
  • Eyes
  • Nose
  • Jaw
  • Neck/throat
  • Solar plexus
  • Ribs
  • Kidneys
  • Groin
  • Knees (when hit from the sides)

Unarmed Assailant

When your assailant is unarmed it’s a fight on equal par and the outcome will depend on strength, stamina, technique, aggressiveness and as always a bit of luck. Although it’s important to be aggressive don’t forget about defending yourself and protecting your vitals. If you get injured, you drastically reduce your chance of winning that fight. Once into the fight do your utmost to knockout (make unconscious) your opponent or cause an injury that makes him harmless. Do not start throwing useless punches and kicks in the air like a drunkard. Instead aim all your shots and focus on making contact with most if not all your attacks. Hit with all your strength but make sure not to lose your balance. Do not opt for fancy spinning kicks and that stuff unless you’re a professional kick boxer. Aim your kicks to his knees to knock him off-balance and aim your punches to his face and ribs if you get the opportunity. Do not unnecessarily expose yourself whilst attacking and always be ready to block his attacks. Follow these basics and you’re likely to be the one standing next to an unconscious body.

Armed with a Knife

When faced with an opponent with a bladed weapon you must concentrate on that weapon and move in such a way that it never contacts your body. Keep at a distance and let your opponent slash and trust in vain. You have to wait for your opportunity to move in swiftly and grab hold of the hand holding the weapon. Do not grab the weapon from the blade. Your best chance of moving in is when he has swung the blade and is about to slash back. Once you gain hold of his weapon bearing hand hit him with all you’ve got but never let go off the hand. When you feel that he’s become weak enough, grab the weapon bearing hand with both your arms and twist it ferociously to break as many bones as possible. At this point he should drop the weapon or loosen enough his grip such that you can safely take it away from him. Once the weapon is in your hand, it’s up to you how to proceed but keep in mind there might be repercussions, both legal and psychological, if you decide to end his life.

Armed with a Firearm

An assailant with a firearm is much more difficult to disarm due to the extended range and deadliness of the weapon. Here your initial approach will be drastically different in that you want to come in physical contact with your assailant. You’ll have to do this gradually whilst distracting your assailant with conversation or a decoy. Once close enough your objective will be to grab the gun by the barrel and hold the gun pointing away from you and ideally away from other people. Movies and some martial arts experts demonstrate techniques to disarm an assailant with a gun pointing towards your head/torso. I am not judging the capabilities of these individuals but I strongly suggest you do not try this technique. All the assailant has to do is squeeze the trigger. This only takes a split second and your attempt to twist the gun might actually be what causes the trigger pull. The approach I suggest is much safer. Wait for a moment when your assailant points the gun in another direction. This is likely to happen whilst he is shouting instructions and uses the armed hand to point towards what he’s talking about. As soon as the gun is pointing in a safe direction, grab the gun by the barrel (obviously without any part of your hand obstructing the barrel’s end) and hit the assailant with all you’ve got. It’s interesting to note that if the firearm is a pistol it will shoot the loaded round when the trigger is pulled but it will not cycle another round since you will be hindering the slide’s motion. Be careful in the case of a revolver due to the hot gases escaping from around the cylinder. If it is a long firearm, grab the barrel with both hands so that you can exert more leverage. Obviously in the latter case you’ll have to attack with your lower limbs.

Arm Yourself – Improvised Weapons

Even a fire extinguisher makes an effective weapon. Spray the compound to blind your attacker and then bash them over the head with the empty cylinder.

This article is about unarmed combat in view of situations where you’re not carrying any weapons. This however doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t try to arm yourself with whatever might come handy. The following are a few ideas of easily obtainable weapons in everyday life.

Sticks such as a broom, billiard or long umbrella-You can swing such sticks to keep your assailant at bay but usually such sticks are fragile and immediately break upon impact dealing very little damage to the target. Instead use ‘weak’ sticks like you would use a lance. They will be less likely to break and will deal a lot of damage due to the low surface area which results in a lot of pressure.

Metal pen-This has a very short reach but you could easily incapacitate someone by stabbing him in the eyes or neck. You can also use a metal pen for pressure points techniques to subdue an assailant. This however requires training.

Stones or any other hard object such as a soda can (full)-These can be used as projectiles especially when you have an ample supply of them. If you’ve got only one it might be better to hold on to it and use it for battering your opponent.

Chair or stool-These can be used as a shield and to keep your assailant at bay as well as for striking. Obviously they can be thrown in the typical western movie style.

Fire extinguisher-You can direct the escaping gas (CO2 will be extremely cold), water, foam or powder in your assailants face. You can also use the cylinder as a battering device or throw it at him. You could even approach the assailant from above and simply drop the fire extinguisher on him.

Stiletto Shoes-If you or anyone accompanying you is wearing stiletto shoes, take them off. You’ll be able to move with more agility (be careful if there is glass or other sharp or hot objects on the ground) and you can use it for stabbing just like you would with a metal pen.

Conclusion

You never know when things are going to turn sour. We do our best to always be prepared to defend ourselves but we might end up in a threatening situation whilst we’re officially unarmed. That doesn’t mean we’re all gonna die. It means that we have to prepare for that scenario like we would for any other. Always be alert of your surroundings and book yourself for a few self-defense classes and keep practicing those techniques. You’ll be glad you have if the need ever arises.

0 Comments

  In an ideal world when a SHTF scenario takes place you’d be wearing your bullet proof vest and have immediate access to your hand gun and assault rifle. Unfortunately this

I received an email the other day asking for advice on how to get a loved one on board with prepping.  This is a subject I have wanted to write about for a while because I have had these same thoughts and struggles with various loved ones in my own life as each of you. I won’t try to convince you that I am an expert and there is no book forthcoming, but I do have personal experience of my own challenges of trying to convince someone about prepping and wanted to share this and my perspectives with you. I share these like most of my articles in the hopes that someone reading can gain some small bit of knowledge or a suggestion that may help you in your own personal prepping journey and that this information can equip you to be prepared or make your life easier.

Why do we care about this in the first place? It should be perfectly obvious to everyone the reasons for prepping, shouldn’t it? They make perfect sense to me and it is just logical. I mean how can you not see what I am worried about? If you haven’t caught on by now, everyone isn’t like you. No matter how close someone is to you they have their own opinions, their own experiences, fears, doubts, stresses and priorities. Even two people who live under the same roof and who have been married for years can see things completely differently.  A lot of things…

When I started to “wake up” to the realization that our society is pretty fragile and notice the everyday threats that I was ignoring, the first person I wanted to tell was my wife. I didn’t break it to her slowly either. I think I read a few books and did a ton of research on the internet and then one night as we were getting ready for bed I hit her with my whole list of concerns and everything I needed to purchase before the grid went down. This did not go over well. As you might expect, or have possibly even witnessed yourself, my wife pretty much looked at me and said “That’s crazy”. It was my first attempt at convincing someone else (who I cared for) of something I was so sure about and I failed miserably.  The sting was worse because if anyone would understand and support me it would be my spouse, right? Wrong.

When I started prepping in earnest it drove my every thought and it still occupies a good part of my daily plans. To me, this new perspective helped my family to become more prepared, but I didn’t have a lot of support or understanding at first. Convincing someone of a new or completely foreign concept is not an easy task. Especially when that concept takes them well outside of their comfort zone, costs a lot of money or could cause them embarrassment.

Understand your audience

I have a lot of people I care for in my life or I should say a lot of different types of people I care for. There is my immediate family which I consider as my wife and kids. Our parents and siblings are the second tier, and then close friends, casual friends or co-workers and everyone else.  I want each one of these people to be aware of the threats that could disrupt our lives and to prepare accordingly. However, I can’t talk to a casual friend with the same openness as my spouse obviously. I wouldn’t tell a co-worker all of my plans hopes and fears with the same comfort as my siblings or parents.

Understanding your audience is a key factor to consider anytime you are having a conversation in which you are trying to persuade them to your point of view. The more you know about a person the better you will be prepared to discuss prepping with them in a way that is going to keep them comfortable and open to conversation. Some of this plays out for me in subtle ways like asking leading questions or using current events to sell a point. If I had a co-worker that I wanted to talk to about prepping I would first wait for the right opportunity. If a situation presented itself, like the recent bombings in Boston, and the subject came up you could broach being prepared with them. How you do that though is going to be different than how you would be with your brother or sister. Try to match your fervor and energy level to the level of interest you perceive in the person you are talking to. Actually, I try to keep my tone one step below where they are at. Here is an example.

Your co-worker comes up to you and brings up hurricane Sandy and how tragic it is that people were without power for weeks and had to wait in gas lines. You could offer words like “I feel sorry for them. That’s why I have some extra gas stored for emergencies” because “you never know what could happen”.  I think it’s important to say this with a humble attitude and not a “those people are idiots” tone. This may lead to other questions or it may die right there, but you left the impression on your co-worker that someone has thought about things like this and won’t be as out of luck if the same scenario were to happen to you. They may come back to you later with other questions or this could just be a spark that gets them thinking. Sometimes I think that the first step to thinking about prepping is hearing that someone you know and respect is thinking about the same thing already.

Focus on the need, not the reason

Many times I have tried to convince my spouse of the impending doom or disasters lurking around the corner and I believe that in some cases this isn’t the best approach. My wife would have two initial reactions to my conspiracy theories or inflated statements about the quickly approaching end of the world. First, she would want to convince me that I am wrong about whatever my subject was. My wife is very smart and knows a fair amount of history so she has a wealth of knowledge to draw upon which takes us further away from where I am trying to go. In my mind I am only trying to get her on board with my prepping. But by telling her some of the reasons (the more alternative reasons) for prepping, she forgets about the need and focuses on debunking my theories. Secondly, she did not want to believe that anything is hopeless. For her, if we truly were headed for a disaster or economic collapse, what was the point in trying? In this situation, rather than convince her what we need to do to live, I was making her feel more helpless. My job was to reverse that thinking quickly.

I have learned through many of these discussions that my wife simply doesn’t have the same view on a lot of things that I do but that is perfectly fine. She can easily see the benefit in having food after watching the shelves empty after the threat of a snow storm. She can appreciate having a few dozen gallons of gas when the gas station pumps are no longer working. She can imagine going without toilet paper because we don’t have any and the stores are closed or having to have an alternate plan for cooking if the power is off. It is sometimes easier to let the person you are trying to convince think about the end situation you are describing (hunger, gas rationing, cities on lock-down) than the potential reasons for these scenarios.

After several arguments about the various forces I believe that are conspiring to create our very own SHTF future, I switched tactics. I didn’t try to convince my wife about zombies coming to eat everyone’s brains out, but I used real people reacting to real natural disasters to highlight what I wanted her to understand. When you can see on TV people who aren’t prepared and imagine how they must be suffering it is easier to picture yourself in that same situation. What I had been struggling with was not as big of an issue anymore. My wife started to imagine her family being without food because the power was out or the roads were closed and then me stocking up a month worth of food wasn’t such a big deal anymore.

Be happy with small victories

When I first told my wife all of my grand plans and concerns about the world, I had a fantasy in my mind that she would jump up immediately and say “OK, let’s get going. What do we need to do?”. I thought surely she would see the urgency of what I saw and would instantly be 100% behind me. That didn’t happen at all and I have had to content myself with a lot of smaller victories.

If you have someone in your life that you really love and are concerned with, you have to look at everything as a work in progress. Your marriage is not something you put a days worth of work into and then spend the rest of your life coasting. It is similar sometimes with prepping. You may be able to agree on storing up a month of food or making sure you have plenty of stored water, but firearms for security takes a lot longer. They may be perfectly fine with you building your own Get Home Bag, but balk at you wanting to get a concealed carry license.

Expect that you may not win this person or any person over immediately, but your actions and the way you live your life will be viewed over a period of months or possibly years. If you can get your parents to purchase a firearm for their security, but they think you would be insane to store any food, be happy they have a gun. Don’t discount everything because they aren’t riding next to you in your bug out vehicle with full-on camo ready for the end of the world. Like I said everyone has different views and priorities. You should be steady in your convictions, loving in your concern and let them see that you take this seriously. Over time, the people you are trying to convince will see how you act. It will ultimately be up to them to choose how they want to live.

Maintain respect and dignity

No matter how hard you try there will be some people who you may love very much who simply don’t see things the way you do. They may disagree with everything you say and as much as it hurts to do it, you might just have to let it go. Don’t try to convince them anymore, but you don’t have to shut yourself off from them. I have had disagreements with my father for instance.  I think I always treated him with respect even though I think he is wrong on some things. I am sure he feels the same, but it doesn’t matter what he believes because I still love him and hope that I never have to say “I told you so”. Now, I don’t think I would ever say that regardless of the situation but people will disagree with you and what will you do then?

At some point, hopefully before you have escalated things into a full-blown argument, you can simply agree to disagree. This is only going to reflect better on you and may make you more approachable later. Treat people with respect even though you think they are wrong or naive and they will think better of you for it. And, it will make you a better person too. Humility and knowing when to drop something are excellent traits.

At the end of the day, your job should be to prepare yourself and your family. Part of that responsibility as a leader is to get people on board with you. It may not happen overnight, but you have already decided to do everything you can to survive, right? You have to have the same conviction with the people you love. Never give up on them and always be there if they need you.

0 Comments

I received an email the other day asking for advice on how to get a loved one on board with prepping.  This is a subject I have wanted to write

In close quarters, defensive shooting, you do not aim as such using your handguns sights, because you usually you do not have time for this. You use a method known as instinctive – or point shooting. Instinctive shooting is simple you point the gun and pull the trigger. You need to ensure you have a good grip on your handgun, your wrist is locked and the forearm of your gun hand is in line with your handgun.

For instinctive or point shooting at ranges of about 3 to 10 yards, you should bring the handgun up with stretched arms at chest or chin level, with both eyes looking at your target area. Point the handgun at the target area (i.e. head or chest); when the target is aligned, you fire. There is no need to use the sights, you simply point and shoot. I have seen students, who have been taught to always use the sights on their handguns, even at close quarters, and have difficulty getting good results when shooting. This is usually because they are concentrating too hard on lining up their sights. They are usually amazed how easy, fast and what good results they can get from point shooting. You want to practice instinctive shooting with an unloaded handgun before you go to the range. To start, pick a point in the room you are in, for example, a light switch. Now with a straight-arm point your finger at the switch. Look down your arm and see where your finger is pointing- it should be pointing at the switch.

You have been pointing at things your whole life right? Practice this a few times and then try it with an unloaded handgun. Point the handgun at the switch without using the sights and then look down the sights to see where the gun is pointing. It should be pointing at the switch. If not, adjust your aim and try again. You should practice this strong and weak handed while sitting, standing or lying in bed, this will build up your muscle memory and make you flexible with the weapon. You want to work up to drawing from a concealed holster, pointing and dry firing (handgun unloaded) at different points, from different position, this is good training and will improve your shooting.

Instinctive Shooting takes practice

To train in instinctive or point shooting at the range with live ammunition, place a silhouette target at approximately 5 yards down range. Hold your handgun with a relaxed two-handed isosceles or modified weaver / boxer’s stance and pointed at the bottom of the target. Look at the chest area of the target and raise your handgun until it is pointing at the area where you are looking at, without using the sights. When your gun is stable fire one shot, check the target to see where the shot hit. Lower the handgun and continue with this until your shots regularly hit the chest area, then move on to the head. Next bring the target in to 2 or 3 yards and practice firing from the hip. The handgun should be fired with one hand; just look at the chest area of the target and point the handgun where you are looking and fire one shot. Check the target to see where the shot hit and adjust your aim as required. Continue with this until your shots regularly hit the chest area. You need to practice these drills strong and weak handed, I will discuss this more later.

You want to practice instinctive shooting with an unloaded handgun before you go to the range.

You then want to progress to firing two quick shots; this is called “double-tapping”. At first, take this slowly; as you get more confident and accurate, speed up, make sure both of the shots hit the target. You want to work up to being able to fire at least five shots instinctively, rapidly and accurately into a target at 5 yards/meters and beyond. If you are involved in a hostile situation you need to put as many rounds as possible into the criminal as quickly as possible to end the confrontation before you, your family or clients get hurt. Remember, you need to have a good grip and keep your wrist locked and forearm aligned with your handgun. As you will see Instinctive, or point shooting, is simple: just get a good grip on the weapon then point and shoot. A lot of instructors over complicate things to try to make themselves look intelligent. This is OK for competition shooting but could ultimately cost you your life in a street situation- keep it simple.

As I have previously stated, if you are unfortunate enough to ever have to use your handgun for defensive reasons, you need to continue to put rounds into the criminal or terrorist until they go down and no longer present a threat. If you do not think you could ever shoot and possibly kill a person, then don’t carry a gun and consider other non-lethal methods of self-defense. If you pull a gun and freeze, you could be giving the bad guys a weapon they could take from and used against you.

When starting out use the center of the chest area of the target as your point of aim and, in time progress to head shots. As you will have read, the best place to shoot someone in order to immediately incapacitate them is in the head. The issue with head-shots lies in the fact that the head is a smaller area to aim at and hit than the chest. You stand a better chance of getting a bullet in your opposition by aiming for the center of the chest but one round to the head and the confrontation will be over. You must remember that in a real-life situation things will happen quickly, as you and your target will most probably be moving and chances are it will be dark and you will need to put bullets into your opposition quickly. Head-shots are best and you should train for them, with practice you should be able to put rounds into the head area of a silhouette target at 5 yards/meters with little effort. A lot will depend on your capabilities with your handgun, if you know you cannot get head-shots past 5 yards/meters go for the chest. If you are engaging moving targets at your medium distance go for the center of the chest and as always fire multiple rounds.

When starting out use the center of the chest area of the target as your point of aim and, in time progress to head shots.

Do not get into the habit of shooting the center of mass on police qualification silhouette targets as this is usually the middle of the stomach area, shots there will kill someone in time but there are no vital organs there that immediately incapacitate someone. A good example of this could be the Toulouse (France) terrorist incident in March, 2012 where the terrorist “Mohamed Merah” was killed by French Security force. The terrorist “Merah” was responsible the numerous attacks on unarmed French military personnel and Jewish families which resulted 8 deaths and others wounded. The French police and security forces located Merah at his 2nd floor apartment and a siege situation developed. After several days, the tactical team “RAID” assaulted Merah’s apartment, which he had barricaded to slow down attackers. When the RAID team made entry Merah attacked them with guns blazing, in the resulting gun battle 3 members of the RAID team were shot. Merah was shot over 20 times but still managed to jump through a window, where he was finally killed by a sniper with a head shot.

It was reported Merah received multiple shots to the arms and legs, it’s clear the RAID assault team were not going for head shots, the after incident reports state over 300 rounds were fired. Especially at close quarters you must be hitting vital organs and bones to end the situation as quickly as possible. The RAID team is very highly trained but at close quarters when lead is flying and there is no cover luck has a lot to do with not getting hit! So, avoid the situation or end it as quickly as possible!

After a while of practicing instinctive shooting, you should be consistently hitting the target in the chest and head areas, without using your sights and firing multiple rounds. You should then practice with the target at 7 yards and then at 10 yards as your shooting gets better. Novice shooters are usually surprised at how inaccurate a handgun can be. Numerous times we have had students who fire a 5-round aimed grouping at a target 25 yards and are baffled why they missed. Everyone misses to start with and you must remember that you cannot become an expert marksman after shooting 50 rounds- it takes time and practice.  It is only in the movies that someone can shoot from the hip with a handgun and hit a person running 100 yards/meters away. Handguns are meant in general for close quarters conversational range targets.

You need to practice firing with one and two hand grips both left and right-handed, firing from cover, firing from a seated position, firing from a kneeling position, etc.

If you intend to carry a handgun, you must learn to draw the handgun from your holster. You should buy a quick draw holster, without thumb breaks or retention devices, but I will discuss this in a later chapter. To draw a handgun, you simply grip the handgun, pull it from the holster and point it at the target in one smooth movement. The handgun should take the shortest route from the holster to the target. Care must be taken when you initially start drawing from a holster and you should practice first with an unloaded handgun until you feel confident enough to draw with a loaded handgun.

When you can draw from a holster and instinctively shoot and hit your target make things a little more difficult by practicing drawing while wearing a shirt or jacket. Additionally, you need to practice firing with one and two hand grips both left and right-handed, firing from cover, firing from a seated position, firing from a kneeling position, etc. Again, these drills can and should be practiced dry firing, until you feel comfortable enough to do them with a loaded handgun.

If you are training properly after putting several hundred rounds down range, you should be able to smoothly draw your handgun from a concealed holster and put multiple rounds accurately into the vital areas of two targets at 7 yards/meters. You will then be ready to carry a handgun for defensive purposes and be better trained than many supposed professional’s firearms experts, criminals and terrorists.

0 Comments

In close quarters, defensive shooting, you do not aim as such using your handguns sights, because you usually you do not have time for this. You use a method known

For many preppers, a firearm is a must-have item for dealing with the aftermath of a potential SHTF or grid-down event. Firearms in the hands of properly trained individuals can prevent as well as cause death, so their use and acquisition isn’t something to be taken lightly. We routinely talk about firearms under the security category when I am mentioning the 4 things you should focus on when you are prepping, but simply having a weapon isn’t the end. You can check the box on having a firearm in your SHTF arsenal, but to be better prepared, you should look at what else needs to be planned for with that firearm to ensure that tool doesn’t become an expensive paperweight shortly after you need it.

Don’t get me wrong; just the fact that you have a firearm and a box of ammo is an advantage should you be called on to protect or defend your life, but history has shown us in order to be more fully prepared, there are other considerations that you need to account for and these topics are what I wanted to bring up today on Final Prepper. What are all of the other things you need to consider for your safety and protection that you may need to maintain that firearm and conversely your ability to protect yourself if the grid goes down?

Why do you need weapons if the grid goes down?

Before we get into the SHTF weapons checklist, I wanted to briefly paint a picture for you. Some disaster has happened and society is in chaos. Let’s take the example of an economic collapse which as I discussed the other day is a real and tangible threat our country faces. When millions (more) are out of work, services are cut and there are shortages on food, gasoline, power and protective services of police, people will get angry. Once they are angry, people will get desperate and once people get desperate, you better watch out.

A firearm is only a tool, but it is a tool designed to inflict mortal damage on your opponent. In the case of a desperate individual breaking into your home, would you rather have a firearm or harsh language? For me personally, I want firearms to be a tool my family has at our disposal in a case just like this. Above all things, I hope I never am forced to use a firearm in defense of my life or the lives of anyone in my care, but the pragmatist in me doesn’t believe for a second that people are always good deep down. I know people can be evil and act in ways that are dangerous. To believe anything else is foolish I believe so I prepare for evil and dangerous people while hoping I will never see that.

What are the best weapons for SHTF?

So if you are still hanging with me by now and don’t already have a firearm, you might be asking what are the best weapons to have on you in a STFT scenario. This question can be answered many different ways and I have actually written on this subject before. If I am looking holistically at an array of weapons you need for many different STHF scenarios, I would make similar recommendations as in our Top 5 Firearms You Need To Get Your Hands On Now, but this is an ideal scenario, not just what is necessary.

I have also recommended a shotgun as the best weapon for home defense under the assumption that if you only had time/money to purchase one weapon, what would that be. For a SHTF scenario, I think I have changed my mind somewhat on the best single weapon to a pistol. I read a post from FerFal who has his own blog. Ferfal lived through the Argentinian economic crisis and he makes a compelling case for the pistol as the best weapon for SHTF and I tend to agree with him. The main reason is that a pistol over any rifle or shotgun is highly concealable. Even if there is an economic collapse, life won’t immediately turn into Mad Max so as FerFal rightly proposes, you will still have to function in society for some time before you can whip out your camo outfit and go running down the streets geared up for battle.

The right pistol can be used for home defense easily and as I mentioned above, you can take it outside with you concealed so you can also have protection away from your home. I do still think that ideally you would have more weapon options, but a pistol would seem to be a priority for living in the immediate aftermath of any SHTF fallout.

What else do you need for SHTF?

OK, so for the rest of this article we are going to assume you have procured a SHTF weapon of some form, likely a pistol but what else would you need? A firearm is just a tool like I said and that tool needs several things to function ideally in bad situations for a long time. When we are talking about SHTF, you aren’t getting much worse than that and we will also assume a trip to Walmart or your local Sporting Goods store is out of the question.

Do you have supplies to keep your firearms clean after SHTF?

Ammo – Any weapon you have is going to need ammo and many people have asked me how much ammo do you need. Each person has to answer this question for themselves. I know some preppers who will say you can never have too much ammo. These people plan to not only never worry about running out, but logically state that ammo will be more valuable than precious metals after a collapse. Selco, who runs SHTFSchool.com and who lived through the Bosnian War where his city was under siege for years wrote that he personally gave all his gold for ammunition. Now, he says he keeps 2000 rounds per weapon. Your mileage may vary but consider how much ammo you need if you can never go to the store again. How much do you think you would need for one week? For one month? For one year? Purchase Hollow-points for damage and ball for practice.

Cleaning supplies – Sometimes we overlook how many weapon cleaning supplies you might need. Imagine the worst scenario. Do you have enough cleaning supplies for your weapons to last? Do you have a portable weapon cleaning kit? Do you have all of the right brushes for your various bore sizes? Do you have spare oil and cleaning solvent?

Magazines – Most new pistols will come with one or two magazines, but what if you lose one? What if during the chaos of a firefight, home invasion or attempted car-jacking you have to change magazines and in the panic, leave one on the ground that you aren’t able to find? Do you have spares to replace what could be lost? What about your AR-15? Do you have enough magazines for a load out and spares to replace those if you have to ditch your gear for some reason?

Holsters – This is one thing I think most people overlook and that is a good holster for your pistol. Sticking this down your pants isn’t the ideal way to carry concealed so a good holster is really important to have if you plan on carrying that firearm around with you. I would opt for a good concealed holster first and then get your go to war holster if you need one after that. Most people will only ever need a good concealable holster.

Spare parts – Things break all the time and you won’t be able to log on to Amazon.com to get 2-day free shipping in order to be resupplied after SHTF. You can now purchase spare parts for your weapons online easily so it may make sense to have spare parts on common items that may need replacing(if any) on your model of firearm . One of the reasons I like sticking to one weapons platform is that parts are interchangeable in many cases. I am partial to Glock so some of my magazines, all component parts and some barrels are interchangeable with different Glock weapons I own.

Training – Training is crucial because even if you have the best firearm in the world, pallets of ammunition and enough spare parts to last a lifetime, you still need to know how to use that weapon. Training at a minimum should enable you to safely use the weapon to hit what you are aiming at. You should be comfortable reloading ammunition, changing magazines, clearing jams or malfunctions and taking the weapon apart and putting it back together for cleanings. There are all forms of advanced tactical training courses out there too, but know the basics first.

I think that if you have a plan to keep a firearm for self-defense and you foresee a situation where you could be putting this weapon to use in a bad scenario, you should consider the checklist above. Do you have these bases covered? Did I miss anything?

0 Comments

For many preppers, a firearm is a must-have item for dealing with the aftermath of a potential SHTF or grid-down event. Firearms in the hands of properly trained individuals can

Teaching children to care about and understand the need for disaster preparedness and the development of survival skills is a complex task. First, one must maintain an understanding of the emotional maturity, attention span, and worldly understanding of the child with whom they are dealing. Then, they must tailor their instruction and expectations to that. In addition to this, it is important to engage a child on these topics in a way that they enjoy and that is interesting to them. Here are ten suggestions that might be helpful to parents or other adults who are attempting to tackle the job of introducing kids to the concepts and skills of preparedness and survival.

Incorporate Lessons into Daily Life.

It does not matter what the topic is, children learn skills and concepts best, when two things happen. The first is that they are allowed to learn and incorporate skills gradually. The second is that they see an immediate practical usefulness for these skills. The best way to accomplish this is to avoid introducing kids to huge concepts about preparedness, but to instead teach them small yet useful skills that you can build on later. This could be as simple as teaching a child how to sort food scraps for composting, or giving them the job of checking the deep freeze and pantry on a daily basis in order to determine which items need to be restocked.

Make the Child Understand that He or She Has an Important Role to Play

It is your job to introduce kids to the concepts and skills of preparedness and survival.

Nothing is less motivating to a child than giving him or her meaningless busy work. It can be tempting to give a child busy work to keep him/her out of the adults’ hair, but the long-term results of doing this are never positive. Even the least savvy child will eventually figure things out. Teaching a child new skills is a messy process that is never easy. Parents need to understand that children are going to make mistakes and that they are going to have to help clean up the resulting messes. That shouldn’t stop parents from giving important jobs to children. In fact, kids need to understand that they play an important part in things, and that the tasks they perform are meaningful. So, if you are engaged in some prepping project, make sure your child feels that s/he is truly contributing.

Make Sure that Kids See the Fruits of Their Labor

Food production and storage is a key component of successful preparedness. Many parents make the mistake of giving their children individual jobs to do when it comes to these tasks, but they fail to make sure the children have an understanding of the entire process. For example, it only takes a few moments to show a child a jar of canned tomatoes in the pantry, and then explain to that child how that jar of tomatoes came from a plant he helped put into the ground a year ago. From there, the parent can explain to the child that their jar of tomatoes along with all of the other jars of canned goods will help feed the family for a few long time. They can also explain that even if a disaster were to make getting to the store impossible, the family could stay healthy eating the food that they have stored.

Let your child know they have an important role to play.

Encourage Older Kids to Teach and Mentor Younger Kids

One great way to reinforce a skill is to have a child teach that skill to somebody else. When children demonstrate and explain a survival skill to a younger friend or sibling, they gain self-confidence and a new understanding of what they are doing and why they are doing it. If the child who is doing the teaching needs to work on a skill repetitively, teaching that skill to others gives him/her the opportunity to repeat the work themselves without it feeling like drudgery or punishment. Of course, the younger children also benefit. They get attention from an older friend or sibling that kids often crave, and they probably have more fun than they would if they were learning from boring old mom and dad.

Go Camping!

Roughing it is a great way to teach kids outdoorsman ship skills that they may need to use in emergency situations down the road. Make it fun! Create a check list of skills each kid should learn and demonstrate, and then offer a reward and lots of praise when they succeed. After the child has met his or her goals, mom or dad can opt to tell them how the skills they have learned might be valuable in a situation where disaster or other tragedy has struck.

There are so many skills you can teach your children that could be useful in an emergency.

Take the Children Grocery Shopping

The family’s weekly, bi-weekly or monthly trip to the grocery store is a great opportunity to educate children about purchasing, storing, and rotating paper goods, dry goods, food, and other supplies. During these trips, parents can introduce their children to the butcher, military surplus store owner, and other members of the community that they can utilize when they eventually want to stock up their own reserves. When they are finished helping with the shopping, children can be taught how to sort the groceries into items that are to be used immediately, items to be saved for use in a few months, and items that are stockpiled in the event of a true emergency.

Make it Age Appropriate

There are many reasons that family make survival learning and preparedness a priority. Some of these reasons can be hard to understand for younger children. They can also be frightening. Parents should use their best judgment when determining what children should be exposed to. It may help to remember that many of the skills that are needed for children to become survivalists can be taught in ways that are enjoyable and that don’t cause children undo alarm. Parents can wait to tell their children the reasons why they are learning these skills until they are older and better prepared.

At the end of the day, there are no magic formulas for preparing kids for the future or for unknown crises or disaster. It just takes common sense, patience, and mentoring.

 

0 Comments

Teaching children to care about and understand the need for disaster preparedness and the development of survival skills is a complex task. First, one must maintain an understanding of the

What are you afraid of? These are the words that I hear often from friends, strangers and the media. What was once normal has become “absurd” and self-reliance is now seen as “fringe” behavior that either needs to be legislated out of existence or shunned in public. In some cases prepping is a sign of radicalism that needs to be viewed as potentially deviant social behavior.

There are many reasons to prepare and the motivating factors behind each individual’s decision process change with the event or scenario you are preparing or “prepping” for. There are those who are planning for an EMP attack that would wipe out all or part of our electric grid, others for a global pandemic or a currency collapse. Some families are preparing for more organic threats like hurricanes or snow storms or even something as relatively normal as the loss of a job. Regardless of the reason, the logic behind preparing is sound. Maybe some of the scenarios to prepare for are a little far-fetched in terms of probability – but the main goal, to be prepared to take care of yourself and your family – is valid, logical and in this day and age rare. When did it become crazy to want to be able to protect and care for your family if something bad happens?

As I write this the world appears to be not so slowly trudging toward events that could dramatically affect our lives for generations. Our world economy is in shambles and the pieces are lying in a pile on the edge of a metaphorical cliff while the “experts” speak of recovery. Governments are seizing power and reducing liberties in the name of safety. Our health is in jeopardy with viruses, genetically modified food and resistant bacteria. How could anyone not be at least a little concerned with what the future holds or think from time to time about where we are headed? I believe that each person has a gut instinct or an awareness of what is happening around them. Some are more in tune with this awareness and others are choosing to block it out entirely.

For me, this awareness for lack of a better word started to become more prominent around 2008. There was no event that triggered any type of awakening but a lifetime (still relatively short) of seeing events in my life certainly influenced me. My personal history didn’t have anything catastrophic in it, but I was aware of tragedies – even just natural occurrences that ripped lives apart. I wasn’t concerned in the least about Y2K, but I did hold my breath just for a second at midnight on Jan 1, 2000. Earthquakes, Tornadoes and Hurricanes are easy to ignore if you don’t live in areas prone to that type of calamity but it does make you wonder. Ice storms and floods seem to cause similar havoc so you can understand in most cases the perspective of someone you know who has been affected by some type of event that disrupted their lives completely.

What if a hurricane Katrina type of event happened where I live? What if an ice storm cut power to our house for three weeks? What if I lost my job? What if there was a gas-shortage or a trucking strike and I couldn’t get food from the grocery store? What if my bank closed and all of my money was tied up and unavailable to me?

When I started to think about things in this way as the “What if?” type of scenario I looked around at my own personal situation and realized just how in trouble we would be if anything like this happened. We had no spare cash. Our food in the pantry would probably last a week if we were lucky and in the end it wouldn’t be the best meals we could think of. Spaghetti sauce and Black olives anyone? We didn’t have any backup power, no backup heat, and no stored water. We did have a gas fireplace, but what if the gas went out or the lines were broken? We routinely ran our tanks in the cars down to E and we didn’t have any money on hand not to mention our savings weren’t really that significant either. Loss of a job would quickly get us in a bind.

So I started doing research and beginning to list all of the things I would need to be completely prepared for whatever happened. I started reading blogs and books from one side of the spectrum to the other. From people who discussed growing a few tomato plants to full on bomb shelter plans with castles and moats (my own personal favorite). There is so much information and opinion out there to digest. Like others, I started to buy a little more food and water, obtain firearms and make plans for how to protect my family just in case something happened. We have come a long way since 2009 but we have a ton more that we need to do. Nobody can prepare for everything but covering as many of the bases as possible will help you out more than it hurts.

My hope for this blog is two-fold. I want to inform and inspire people to prepare for whatever you feel is most pertinent to your situation. I also want to help people learn from my mistakes and trials and learn from your stories as well. Every day we will be posting news, articles, reviews and advice on Prepping. I hope to be able to cover all of the topics with enough variety and a little humor so that finalprepper.com will become a resource you visit daily.  Thank you for visiting and I look forward to starting down this road with you.

0 Comments

What are you afraid of? These are the words that I hear often from friends, strangers and the media. What was once normal has become “absurd” and self-reliance is now

 

Threat Levels

The threat levels below are courtesy of Jeff Cooper. Mr. Copper is known as the father of modern handgun technique. Mr. Cooper developed 4 levels of situational awareness commonly known as the Cooper Color Code.

White – Unaware and unprepared

Condition White or threat level white is the lowest we have in terms of urgency. Condition White means everything is OK and you don’t have anything to worry about. It is often used to describe people who seem oblivious to our current economic peril or the intrusiveness of government. When someone is looking at things from a Condition White standpoint, they think nothing is wrong and there is no cause for alarm. Move along folks, nothing to see here. This is also the level most people are in for vegging around the house watching a movie.

Yellow – Relaxed alert

Condition Yellow is a more proactive approach to the possibility of danger. This doesn’t necessarily mean anything bad will happen, but awareness is elevated and a more defensive posture has to be assumed in order to be ready for any potential threat. You can stay in a Condition Yellow for a long time without becoming fatigued. This is easily translated to being very attentive while driving for example. You are alert, but not freaked out and can readily anticipate the actions of the other drivers ahead of you.

Orange – Specific alert

In a condition orange your radar is up and you are prepared for something to happen. If you have ever been in a situation and watched two people right before a fight you know what this is. You are aware that you may have to take action at any moment.

Red – Fight

Condition Red means an attack is imminent. You have either knowledge of or can visually see a threat approaching and must prepare to act. This is when the trigger gets pulled.

How do we begin to put these concepts into action in our lives? All of us are constantly engaged in various levels of situational awareness most of our waking day. From the moment you wake up, to the time you finally drift off to sleep you are paying various degrees of attention to what is going on in your surroundings. This concept applies primarily to your immediate vicinity, but could also be expanded to your city, region, state, country and now with the threat of Korea, the world. For most of this article, I am going to focus on your immediate environment because I see the greatest capacity for immediate harm to you and your group by losing sight of what is going to impact you with the most urgency.

For your immediate Situational Awareness we have to start with you and what you are paying attention to. How distracted are you at any given moment? There are funny examples and more deadly examples of how something bad could have been averted if people were simply paying attention.

Cultural Liabilities

We lead very distracted lives now. If you don’t believe me, you are either in total denial or are living very far away from the rest of us. We have 24 hour news, movies that we can download and stream to our phones, smartphones with applications that require constant attention and a never-ceasing craving for information or stimuli for various reasons and rationale. Everyone has to update their Twitter or Facebook status, share photos with their friends and play games. This leads to people commenting on the most mundane minutia in life just to have something to say and focusing more on their phones than the world around them. If you have children of a certain age, they are probably involved in at least two weekly extracurricular activities which they need to be driven to and require practice usually with a DVD to keep them pacified.  Advertisements bombard us in every conceivable place vying for our attention.

The social norm is to “be connected” but there seems to be in my mind, less actual connection with anyone. Just go out to any place and watch a group of kids interacting for any amount of time and I would bet $50 that there won’t be a 5 minute time span when one or more of them isn’t staring at their phone. This doesn’t only apply to kids; adults now are just as bad. I go out to dinner with people I work with or friends and the phones all come out.

More and more people I see are listening to music also with big headphones everywhere. They can be in an airport, walking down the street or even in their car. I love music as much as the next person, but how aware of what is going on around you can you be if you are thumping music really loud into your headphones? How can you see any threats coming if you are staring at your phone?

Action Plan Simulations

Situational Awareness could save your life and doesn’t cost a single penny. You don’t need extensive military training to become an expert. All you need to do to is drop whatever it is you are looking at and start paying attention. I have a smart phone, so I am not perfect at this, but there are times and places where my phone doesn’t leave my pocket. Why? Because I need to be focusing on what is going on around me.

When you are out in public, try going for an hour without looking at your phone to start with. Instead, observe your surroundings. Who is near you and who is walking toward you? Does anything seem suspicious? If something were to happen, what would you do and where would you go. Do you know the quickest way to get out if needed? Can you access your concealed weapon if you need to? Imagine what you would do if you were out at a mall with your family and someone started shooting. Where would you take cover? What would be your escape route? What if that was blocked?

Finding the right level of awareness for the situation is critical though as we can’t stay on high alert at all times. For most situations, I would recommend yellow or caution but that can be dialed up or down as required. An article at Strafor has a good explanation of this reasoning.

It is critical to stress here that situational awareness does not mean being paranoid or obsessively concerned about your security. It does not mean living with the irrational expectation that there is a dangerous criminal lurking behind every bush. In fact, people simply cannot operate in a state of focused awareness for extended periods, and high alert can be maintained only for very brief periods before exhaustion sets in. The “flight or fight” response can be very helpful if it can be controlled. When it gets out of control, however, a constant stream of adrenaline and stress is simply not healthy for the body or the mind. When people are constantly paranoid, they become mentally and physically burned out. Not only is this dangerous to physical and mental health, but security also suffers because it is very hard to be aware of your surroundings when you are a complete basket case. Therefore, operating constantly in a state of high alert is not the answer, nor is operating for prolonged periods in a state of focused alert, which can also be overly demanding and completely enervating. This is the process that results in alert fatigue. The human body was simply not designed to operate under constant stress. People (even highly skilled operators) require time to rest and recover.

Because of this, the basic level of situational awareness that should be practiced most of the time is relaxed awareness, a state of mind that can be maintained indefinitely without all the stress and fatigue associated with focused awareness or high alert. Relaxed awareness is not tiring, and it allows you to enjoy life while rewarding you with an effective level of personal security. When you are in an area where there is potential danger (which, by definition, is almost anywhere), you should go through most of your day in a state of relaxed awareness. Then if you spot something out of the ordinary that could be a potential threat, you can “dial yourself up” to a state of focused awareness and take a careful look at that potential threat (and also look for others in the area).

 

Practice makes perfect

Even if we are never in a grid-down, zombie apocalypse, the world we live in demands us to remain focused and diligent if we are going to be truly prepared. You won’t be able to protect all of these people you have been planning for years for if you are hit by a bus crossing the street. The same is true if you are involved in some terrorist attack or lunatic at a school. Maintaining situational awareness can save your life and the lives of others around you and we owe it to everyone to try to do what we can to foresee danger first and deal with it second.

0 Comments

  Many of you reading this now have at least a vague concept of Situational Awareness. For those who don’t, Situational Awareness means slightly different things based upon who you ask,

When you are assembling your Bug Out bag, most people begin with scouring the internet looking for ideas. If you are like me, this will invariably lead to a long list of supplies for your bug out bag that sound great, but weigh a ton and have very specific uses that you may not encounter. What I wanted to do was create a simple bug out bag checklist you can use to get a jump-start at building your own bug out bag that has taken into consideration a few of the lessons I already learned when I did this myself.  This bug out bag checklist is also available as a downloadable PDF so that you can print this out and keep it with you as you build your own bag.

What is a Bug Out Bag?

Let’s start out with the obvious and cover what a bug out bag is. Actually, it might be easier to say what a Bug Out Bag is not before we get too deep. A bug out bag is not an RV. This is not your luggage for a two-week vacation in Cancun. Your bug out bag is not something to replace your tool shed and you will not be able to carry everything you want on your back. If you plan to walk to some remote retreat location with everything you need to live for two years on your bag, you are sadly mistaken.

A bug out bag contains the essentials you need to live if you are forced to leave your location. This bag will have everything you need plus some additional supplies, but careful thought and consideration should be given to what you are putting in this bag. Why? Because you will have to carry all of this stuff and the more you add, the heavier it gets. I wrote a post a while back about weight considerations called “Is Your Bug Out Bag Going to Get you Killed?” and if you need more convincing about weight, maybe you should read that article first. For the rest of you I will assume that you want to carefully consider the supplies you need in this situation. For people like you I have created this simple list of Bug Out bag contents, a downloadable PDF and a little explanation for each.

The properly loaded Bug Out Bag should give you everything you need to live for 3 days at a minimum so that is the framework of this list. I won’t be packing two weeks’ worth of food in here and most of this list might be considered the bare necessities by some.

What do you need to know before you pack your bug out bag?

First of all, I like to ask the question of why I am bugging out in the first place. This helps me frame the purpose of use of my bug out bag a little, but not drastically. Like I said above, the Bug Out Bag or BOB is for saving your life. It will not and should not be thought of as the magic box with all you will ever need. The list of supplies we could put in here is enormous if you start from the perspective of thinking of everything you could possibly need in an SHTF scenario.

I believe that the items below should go in virtually every bug out bag that is assembled regardless of the reason you are Bugging Out in the first place. Will you pack different items if the economy has collapsed as opposed to a Hurricane? Probably, but the essential Bug out bag items will stay the same; you will just add to what we have contained here.

What Items do you need to put in your bug out bag?

71g6dcvobkl-_sl1200

A good bug out bag will hold all of your gear and be tough enough to stand up to abuse. Comfort helps too…

Water

Water is essential to anyone’s survival so you must have a plan for carrying it, obtaining fresh water along the way and treating is so that you can drink it without catching a disease that will knock you on your butt at the worst possible time. If you don’t believe me, just think about the last time you were away from home and you got sick.

Water Bottle – I like Nalgene bottles because they carry a lot, but are very lightweight when empty and the opening fits at least one of the water filters I recommend, the MSR Miniworks EX Microfilter. You can’t boil water in a Nalgene Bottle though so you need options for that which we discuss in the Tools section.

Water Filter – There are two that I like. The first is the MSR Miniworks Microfilter that I mentioned above. The second filter that is great for your bug out bag is the Sawyer Products Mini Water Filtration System. Both will do an excellent job of converting water that you collect into drinkable water. What about UV pens or Water treatment tablets or chlorine? I don’t like the taste with treatment tablets or chlorine and I don’t want to depend on anything that needs batteries for my drinking water. Do you run the same risks with mechanical systems? Sure, but I am betting the filters above will last me long enough to keep me alive for a few days.

Extra Capacity – I like the regular Nalgene bottles, but to save trips to the creek, I also pack a backup water container in the Nalgene Wide Mouth Cantene (32-ounce). This allows me to fill up two bottles and that normally lasts me all day unless I am in extreme heat environments. This Nalgene canteen collapses down to virtually nothing so space or weight when it is empty isn’t an issue.

Food

OK, water is covered for the most part, now we move to the next most important survival item and that is food. This topic is simple, but everyone has their own idea of what surviving is. I have seem some people recommend cans of tuna, pop tarts and ramen noodles in your bug out bag. This will certainly work. You can also add dehydrated meals designed for camping too. I am focusing on two things when it comes to food in your bug out bag. The first is how long you can store it and the second is how simple is it to prepare/vs. nutritional value.

Tuna fish and Pop Tarts are simple, and don’t require any heating so they are a plus, but I don’t want tuna in a hot car all summer. I also don’t want to have to worry if they have gone bad but I think the biggest thing is that if you are running for your life with everything you need to survive strapped to your back you are going to need some serious calories.

For my bug out bag I like two options depending on where I have my bag stored. For warmer conditions like in the trunk of my car, I like Mainstay Emergency Food Rations. These really are emergency food bars and withstands Temperatures of -40° F to 300°F (-40°C to 149°C). It isn’t gourmet dining, but it will take the extremes of summer (unless you live on Mars) and give you a ton of calories.

The second (and preferred) option if I have my choice would be Mountain House Freeze Dried meals designed for camping. I get the pouches that feed two just in case and grab the highest calorie packs you can get. The Breakfast Skillet is excellent and at 680 calories will fill you up and give you much-needed energy for hiking with that pack. I think the Chilli Mac is even higher and also tastes great. You don’t need anything for these but a spoon and hot water. Just fill the bag up with the recommended amount, let it sit and dig in. You can pack 9 of these in your pack or 6 and those pop tarts.

Clothing & Shelter

Food and water, check. OK the last leg of the survival pyramid is shelter and in this we will count clothing as well as something to keep the elements off you.

Clothes – This is simple, or it should be. You want a good pair of long pants, long sleeve shirt, change of underwear and a spare pair of socks. What if it is hot? Shorts are nice, but not necessary because you are already living without the convenience of air conditioning most likely so you will already be sweating. Why long pants? Because they will provide more protection for your legs. Same with the shirt and in the warm weather, you don’t need to get a sunburn.  What if it is cold? You will be wearing warmer clothes anyway so this should already be on your person and not in a pack. Layers is the best way to go about clothing but remember, this is just to save your life. You don’t need to be pretty and you won’t die if you have to wear the same pants for two days in a row. It’s the same with underwear.

I would also add some rain protection in either a rain coat or poncho.

I wouldn’t leave the house without sturdy shoes I can walk for a long time in and you should pack appropriate headgear for the season too. In the winter I like a beanie to keep my head warm, but again I will most likely be wearing this and won’t have it in the pack. Gloves are also a nice addition and I have something that will keep my hands warm in the winter, but something designed for work regardless.  A good pair of leather gloves should be added as well to protect your hands.

Rain fly’s are lightweight options to a full size tent.

Shelter – This is just to keep the elements off you and won’t replace a warm and toasty house. Shelter can go from the extremes of a tent to the simple tarp. Not that a tent is extreme, but tents add a good bit of weight, take time to set up and tear down and are really noticeable from a distance normally. For camping I take a tent, but for Bugging out I would consider a tarp like the ENO Pro Fly Rain Tarp instead of a full tent. Tarps are much lighter and give you protection from the elements much like a tent. You won’t be able to keep out bugs though – again, this is about life saving, not the ultimate in comfort.

Sleeping bags are another weight consideration that take up a good bit of space. My tent and sleeping bag are easily the heaviest and largest items in my regular backpack for camping. You can buy very lightweight and compact sleeping bags, but expect to pay at least $400 to save the weight and room in your pack for all the other goodies you need. In the theme of survival again, I would recommend a Adventure Medical Kits SOL Emergency Bivvy instead of a sleeping bag. These are cheaper than a regular bag at around $15, fit in the palm of your hand and only weigh 4 ounces.

Fire & Light

For fire you can get tricky or keep it safe. For me, I recommend several good Bic disposable lighters stored in a waterproof bag. Easy and virtually foolproof. Additionally, I carry a Swedish Firesteel as a back up. You can also pack all sorts of other implements but chances are that if you can’t start a fire with a lighter or a firesteel you won’t be able to start a fire anyway.

For lighting I recommend headlamps for everyone. This is a perfect hands free option to light your way that is great even for kids. I personally have Petzl E91 Tikkina 2 Headlamps for every member of my family. They are bright enough for any task, sit on your head and are adjustable. Plus, they take regular AAA batteries and not some weird off nomenclature or rechargeable batteries that some of the higher end headlamps do. Rechargeable is a great idea as long as it is in a common size that has multiple uses.

Self Defense

Baofeng – Excellent starter Ham Radio for disaster communications.

The items above should be able to keep you alive if you are out in the elements by yourself. If you are out in the elements with other people, you should consider something for self-defense. The choice of implements for protection vary by the situation you are in and what you could be faced with. I have guns so that is my go-to option for self-defense. If the reason I was bugging out was total bedlam, anarchy I would take a rifle and a pistol. If this was a temporary bug out due to a weather event or something that I thought was temporary I might only take a concealed pistol. Regardless of what the situation is, you will need something for your self-defense. I’ll leave the choice up to you.

Communications

The communications options are limited to the scenario you are in. If we have a minor event where you can reasonably expect life to return to normal sometime, a spare cell phone battery might be all you need or a way to charge the phone you have. If cell service is down your only real option would be walkie talkies which have a very limited range or HAM radios. I recommend carrying a hand-held HAM radio capable of broadcasting and receiving on UHF and VHF and a dual band antenna that can give you more range.

For the radio I recommend the Baofeng UV-5RA because they are solidly built, offer any feature you can reasonably need for grid down communications and only cost around $35. You just can’t beat that! Pair this radio up with a Slim Jim antenna and 50 feet of coax cable and lastly an adapter connector and you can easily talk or listen to anyone broadcasting 50 to 100 miles depending on where you are. Just loop some paracord around the antenna, throw that up into a tree and you are all set. You have to learn how to use this equipment, but it is in my opinion the single best Bug Out Bag option for communicating if the grid goes down.

Tools

The tools I consider bringing taking into account weight is a multi-tool like a Leatherman, a good pocket knife like a Tenacious G10 from Spyderco and a larger multi purpose knife like a Gerber LMF II. What about bolt cutters, pry bars and chain saws? I don’t think those are good for a bug out bag. Should you have them at home? Sure, but the chances you will need something like that are slim. What if the SHTF you ask and I have to break into a warehouse for shelter? I hear you, but I simply don’t think it is worth the weight.

The Multi-tool will meet most of your needs for fine tools with pliers, small saw and a wrench. If you plan on rebuilding an engine with it though…

Other tools are something to cook/boil water with a good first aid kit and some paracord.

For boiling water and cooking I recommend a JetBoil Flash. The whole kit and fuel fits nicely in one small, relatively lightweight container. With this you can boil water for your freeze-dried food or to disinfect it. It’s also really good for coffee too.

Adventure Medical Kits make a really decent ultralight first aid kit. This won’t allow you to perform surgery in the woods or remove a bullet but cover most of the bases. I would augment one of these per bag with a bag of Quick Clot and some larger pressure dressing bandages. Tampons and Maxi pads are also great blood stoppers… obviously.

Hygiene

I know some people throw the entire medicine cabinet in their bug out bags, but again I am only thinking about survival not going to the prom so the basics –  bar of soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, chap-stick, floss, hand sanitizer. What about women? I have added a couple of extra niceties to my wife’s BOB only because I know that will improve her outlook should we be forced to bug out. Your mileage may vary.

Miscellaneous

For miscellaneous I would add some duct tape which you can wrap around your water bottles, lighters or just about anything else, bandannas which have a thousand uses and spare batteries for any gear that requires them. What about important documents? I am still on the fence about that but I plan on writing about that later. I just don’t see an Ellis Island type of situation happening where you need to show your birth certificate, but anything is possible. I can see having ID with your current address to prove where you live.

I know some of you will ask, what about the bag? Great question, but the bag is going to depend on what you carry. I would gather your bag’s contents first and then select the bag based upon what you plan on carrying.

0 Comments

When you are assembling your Bug Out bag, most people begin with scouring the internet looking for ideas. If you are like me, this will invariably lead to a long

 

I’m a former Marine M1A1 tank crewman and combat vet, married father of two, and I must sheepishly admit I am brand new to prepping. Before all the readers start closing their browsers thinking Pat is scratching the bottom of the barrel for talent, I should clarify that I’m really only new to the gathering/stockpiling aspect of prepping. For many years I was asleep, but since about 2008 I have become a student of prepping philosophy for reasons which are shared by most. Additionally, I moved to southern Utah from my beloved, economically devastated Detroit for work and became a 911 dispatcher. Both living in the near-waterless desert (very similar to Iraq, honestly) and dealing with the misery and unpreparedness of hundreds of people on a daily basis for the last six years furthered my awakening until I gave in and started investigating that “kooky” prepper information on the web. Slowly yet surely with a growing appreciation for the freedom experienced in the rural, agrarian “Wild West”, I finally woke up. I’m behind the power curve as far as supplies go, but I’m in the race now.

On the surface our question seems to be pretty straight forward to preppers. Those of us who have certain tangible skills or accumulated supplies know their value and are rightfully proud of them and are probably keen to gain more or to teach others. These things help us and those for whom we care to survive or help us to trade to get things to survive. But apart from having a Cuban Missile Crisis-era bomb shelter full of Spam and shotguns as my boss fondly jokes about, what are you really worth in a SHTF scenario? If we perform a little introspection deeper than the perfunctory method usually used by most people, the answers we uncover may surprise us.

How to lose friends and influence people

Try this at the next party you’re at: ask some people why they feel they should be allowed to live. Go ahead, I’ll wait. Not up to the task? Afraid they’re going to launch into a tirade about what sort of maniac would even contemplate the question? That would probably be the normal responses of most people were we to ask them so bluntly. But that’s really what we’re doing when we ask what value someone brings to a survival situation, isn’t it? Sure we sugar coat it in the exciting context of “survival situation”, but what we mean is “why should you be allowed into my plan, to consume my resources, and to pose a security threat to my family?” We all have the “ideal” in our minds of whom we would allow into our group, or with whom we would associate in a TEOWAWKI situation, but have you ever honestly assessed yourself? The question is, after all, what value do you bring? What about your family? Are they just “empty mouths to feed”? Sure, they mean something to you, but what about to a group strapped for food? Is your infant valuable to them or need it be left to die of exposure? Are you overweight? What about being “old” or even just being perceived as old? Why should others gamble on you?

The Great Experiment

About a year ago I started a philosophical game at work when I was having a prepping itch and it involved posing to co-workers the politely framed question, “If the Great Zombocalypse occurs and there’s no way to get home to our families and we had to start a society from scratch, what do you bring to the table?”

The men were quick to tout military and hunting experience, knowledge of local geography and resources (water in the desert is a good thing), and things they’d already done to prepare such as having supplies to share. A couple brought up the idea that they had special leadership qualities that would be useful to the group. When I pressed them further they volunteered the obvious: they could be laborers and take up arms if needed. Some weren’t happy with the idea of tilling fields and manual labor in the sun, but after discussion the realization that “work needs to get done” won the day.

CarryingWater

In a survival situation, everyone should expect to work.

We joked one of the guys with military experience and leadership skills would be our explorer searching for the “Land Route to China” because it would give him purpose while keeping him out of the group’s hair when it came to making decisions as he has a penchant for arguing and over analyzing every little detail. We figured we could give him all the trouble makers to rule and keep him out and about, throw him a little party when he returned, and send him on his way again. Win-Win for everyone. Silliness aside, when it came down to brass tacks I was the only one with a tangible specialized skill – tanning leather and making clothes/shoes/other things from it (thank you medieval re-enactment hobby).

The women, on the other hand, were hesitant to participate. Save for one who said she would be our “horse whisperer” if we caught/stole horses because she was raised on a ranch, most gave non-committal responses like, “I can watch the kids” or “I can cook”. I reminded them only the employees were forming this new society as we could not get back to our old families so there would be no kids to watch and all of us could cook. I stepped it up a notch to get them to do some soul-searching by asking what value as a human being and mouth to feed they thought they had. Some of them said they could scavenge for berries or do the laundry and I countered all the menial tasks could be done by anyone and pressed them to think about any unique skill they possessed. This is southern Utah, surely canning or sewing should be on the list, right?

That’s when one volunteered to be the “baby maker” as she put it. She said she realized in a survival situation people are only good for what they can provide. I asked her how she felt deciding her main use was for sex and she said when it comes down to it it’s no different than how women have acted/been used/had value throughout most of history. She argued men want comforts and stability and women can provide that in return for shelter and food, moving up the social pecking order going for the man she can get who can best provide those things. It was a simple economics transaction. Encouraged, several others were quick to enlist in the “Pleasure Platoon” thinking they’d be spared manual labor being wives or concubines. (Our instant gratification society where money makes problems go away is in for a rude awakening if the grid goes down.)

Human value reaffirmed

Hers was a very stripped-down, bleak view of what was once the human condition and not something I envision folks resorting to unless TEOTWAWKI actually happens or they cast their lot in with one of the wannabe warlord-types of preppers who wants serfs and the associated “perks”. In truth, every group or society will need “worker ants” which shouldn’t carry a negative stigma because not everyone can be the leader, the inventor, or the hero, what have you. Throughout history we have needed and will continue to need many people for the grunt work as most of us already do on a daily basis to continue our survival and there’s nothing wrong with that. So don’t discount yourself because you’re “old”, can’t make a pair of turnshoes, or can’t bring that deer back from a 5 mile hike in rugged terrain. You can stand guard, you can dig a ditch, you can pick beans, you can entertain (there’s a reason minstrels, jesters, and bards were welcome professions when we didn’t have electricity!), and you can teach. In fact, the majority of us will be right there with you and in the best of societies (most likely smaller) the leaders will be taking their turn as well. Remember: many hands make light work.

Will there be tough, life-and-death decisions? There most likely will be, especially at the beginning. Fortunately, we Americans have democratic values which have been exercised daily in small towns everywhere for centuries. I believe these societies (not the urban jungles) will continue relatively unchanged if the grid goes down despite some disparaging the “uselessness” of particular inhabitants. The appeal of normalcy will direct most towards acting like civilized people and once things settle down more people will come out of their bug out locations either due to necessity or desire to be with people again and they will add their uniqueness and skills to the larger group. This is how towns and societies have formed for millennia and I don’t see it changing.

0 Comments

  I’m a former Marine M1A1 tank crewman and combat vet, married father of two, and I must sheepishly admit I am brand new to prepping. Before all the readers start

 

It’s not a secret that self-reliance plays an essential role in a SHTF scenario. Besides the basic knowledge about making a fire and a shelter, purifying water and dressing wounds, you also have to make sure you have an ample supply of food. Canned beans and frozen meat are bound to run out sooner or later. And if you’d like a side dish with fresh game, you’d better draw-up a checklist of all the essential garden tools you need for a vegetable garden. Tending a small crop sounds daunting, but, in fact, it can be pretty easy once you get the hang of it and you grasp the essential things. Backyard farming might involve a lot of early mornings and hard work, but it’s a gift that keeps on giving. And if our ancestors aced it, we can do it too. Keeping a vegetable garden in tip-top shape will require a wide range of essential garden tools. Get some inspiration from the list of tools we’ve compiled for the beginner prepper who wants to grow his own tomatoes and cilantro.

Hand rake

You’ve got plenty of hand rakes to choose from. As long as it feels comfortable and sturdy, a hand rake will help you easily clear any type of debris around your plants and vegetables. With lengths that vary from 3-15 inches, hand rakes are adjustable and can come in handy for more than just cleaning your flower beds.

Water breaker

Vegetables will need a lot of water to grow and become plump and tasty. For a gentle, daily irrigation you can choose a water breaker that is suitable for mature plants and flowers. They’re convenient, easy to use and can even be safely handled by children helping out with household chores.

Shears

If you’re a novice to gardening, you might not know that grass and shrubs will grow everywhere and will take over fragile plants if they are not trimmed in time. This is where shears come in handy. Designed to cut tough shrubs as well as leather and other fabrics, shears will be useful in gardening chores and around the house for cutting cables or boxes.

Hand pruners

There’s a lot of cutting involved in gardening. Plant’s thickness directly influences the tool you need. To tackle branches that don’t exceed three-fourths of an inch, you’ll need a hand pruner. This tool has very sharp blades and will easily cut through anything.

Footwear

Never do any gardening chores in your everyday shoes. They’re bound to get dirty and damaged in addition to failing terribly at keeping your feet dry. To make sure you feel comfortable and feel free to step in puddles and mud, choose a pair of rubber boots. They also double as rain boots, they’re comfortable and extremely easy to clean and dry. Don’t shy away from investing in a more expensive pair that will stand the test of time and safely get you through all seasons.

GardenVegetables

Gardening gloves

A pair of high quality gardening gloves is a must both for newbies and seasoned gardeners. These will keep your hands protected and won’t allow thorns to pierce through. Depending on how much gardening work you plan to do, you can choose between a really light weight pair or a thicker, heavy duty set. You’ll figure out what you need once you start working and get some hands-on experience. Stubborn bushes will require a solid pair of gloves, while handling more delicate plants a simple cotton pair will suffice.

Gardening aprons

We’re used to associate aprons with the kitchen and cooking, but their use is much more extensive than that. Gardening aprons have a self-explanatory purpose: they protect clothes from dirt, mud and water, but they also come with plenty of pouches and pockets. These are very useful for carrying around seeds, small tools, protection glasses and garden twine. You can even use them to hold your keys and phone, as long as they’re secured with a zipper or button, to prevent accidentally losing them among plants.

Wheelbarrow or cart

You might not need this straight away, but you’ll start wishing you had one as your workload increases. Wheelbarrows or carts will come in handy for moving waste, bringing in compost, taking shrubs or trees from one place to another, taking large quantities of ripe vegetables from the garden into the house and carrying around equipment. Besides being very helpful in your vegetable garden, these tools will prove to be of service on other household chores as well.

Garden pegs, fleece and twine

These bits and pieces might be small, but they’ll help any beginner prepper keep his garden in tip-top shape. Pegs will prove useful for securing nets or lines to the ground. Fleece is generally used for protecting the plant from freezing overnight in spring time. And, finally, twine is very versatile and will have a use in most of your gardening activities, such as tying plants to stakes.

Carrots

Other criteria to consider before starting planting seeds:

  • Sun exposure. Second to water, Sun is the best friend of vegetables. They need at least six hours of Sun exposure every day to thrive. When you choose the spot for your vegetable garden, factor in Sun exposure and go for a spot that won’t be shadowed by buildings or trees throughout the day.
  • Soil types. Your vegetables won’t be able to grow in any given kind of soil. Find out what you’re dealing with by using a soil test it and, if it is the case, enrich it with compost.
  • Seeds and water. Research different types of seeds to know what’s suitable for the area where you live and prepare to take good care of them. Vegetables will need plenty of water daily, so if there’s not enough rain, you’re going to have to step in and water them yourself.
  • Placement and size. As a rule, it’s better not to place your vegetable garden next to a tree, which will steal all the nutrients your veggies need and cast a shadow on the plot. When you’re considering the size of your backyard farm, take into consideration that a 16 x 10 feet garden will be enough for a family of four during summer time and still offer plenty for canning.
1 Comment

  It’s not a secret that self-reliance plays an essential role in a SHTF scenario. Besides the basic knowledge about making a fire and a shelter, purifying water and dressing wounds,