Doomsday preppers...

[NSP64]

New show in NatGeo channel. Anyone besides me watch this? I thought it was informative.......I took what I could from their plans and talked with GF about ours.

[jcwit]

This issue comes up just about every generation. My generation had the Mother Earth News movement and going back to the land, worked for very few. The generation prior had the Bomb Shelter movement, thank God that didn't happen.

So far its only walnuts and acorns thats falling on chicken little and not the sky!

[EMC45]

Thought it was "OK", but me and ol lady hashed it out and figured out what could be done differently.

[Blammer]

DP'ers I thought were a secretive bunch as they didn't want anyone to know about thier stash. I wonder how they found out about them for a show?

I wonder what will happen to all of thier 50,000 pounds of food in a few years? I wonder if they have a pest control method.

My guess is, if there is a doomsday, all that food will contribute to rats and mice and then fleas and then the black plague. :)

[Doc_Stihl]

The first question that ran across my mind is, What do they do when they run out of food? Yeah even if it's 2 years later, then what?

Most seem like they know how to go the grocery store.

If I thought it important enough to prepare for the ending of things as we know it to go to the extreme some folks do, I wouldn't be in a residential area. I'd be north west of nowhere. Someplace where you could live off the land. In my area, a good woodsman would have a hard time finding enough game to live off for years to come.

[GRUMPA]

The mrs. and I watched one show about that, I think they called it one of those reality shows, YEAH RIIIGHT!!!! we were watching and picked it apart to no end. Talk about a show being scripted, we watched I think the first 2 episodes and at the beginning they were given shopping carts to go get what they would think they needed from some sort of picked apart old store. But they had bad guys there taking things from them while they were doing it and the only things that were exchanged were harsh words.

The wife and I looked at each other and in unison said I'd like to see them do that with me, there would be a few less thieves around. So after the second episode we both watched something else, that show and I'm sure like a lot more aren't even worth the power it takes to turn on the TV.

[GOPHER SLAYER]

Several years ago when we were still living on 2-1/2 acres a family moved in next door along with five vans of food supplies. Along with the food they hauled in a large number of big ugly rats. I went over to his place one day when he was cleaning out one of the storage vans. He showed me where the rats had chewed into a box of dehydrated celery. It looked like ground up weeds to me. He said they bought it forty years ago. When they moved to Idaho they left large crates of canned food that had turned black in the jars. The property was trashed and the rats are still there.

[Trey45]

I watched it, couldn't quite figure out why these people were showing the entire world their stash. All it takes is some useless dirtbag to think "I don't need to prepare, I just need to know who did and take their stuff". When you go on TV and show the world your 50,000 pounds of supplies, it kind of takes the guess work out of it for the dirtbags to know which house to gang up on.

I guess it maybe served a purpose if someone who had no plan was looking for ideas, but in all honesty I saw a bunch of delusional people who have no clue.

[x101airborne]

I am recording it and just finished watching the first two episodes. I dont think I will be stockpiling food. Due to the rats, spoilage, etc. I do already have a small supply of seeds. Not very diverse, but plenty of the essentials. Soybeans, cotton, peanuts, etc. Mostly high protiene and high fiber plants. Lots of radishes and beets so the entire plant can be eaten and the fruits can be stored. Most of my eating is going to be fresh beef, deer, small game. I am not stockpiling any ammo other than 22 lr. It may not be the most effective for any situation, but will work in ALL situations. God only knows how many deer have been killed with a 22. And I do disagree with the show on one point. Someone on my land in that situation is a THREAT and will be dealt with as such. But having a bunch of different caliber weapons and trying to store all that stuff is heavy, bulky, and you will never have what you need at your fingertips. A 22 is a 22 is a 22. Cheap, effective, quiet, dependable, accurate. Like I said, not optimal, but effective.

[starmac]

When I was growing up everybody stored food, it was basically a way of life.
I have not seen the show, mainly because I figured it was just another reality show, but I don't know why they or anyone else would store food where rats could get at it.

[Reload3006]

if one really wants to prep for dooms day one would be much better served to learn gardening and weaving and other basic skills as even the largest horde will not last forever

[firefly1957]

If you remember the same nuts probably still have MRE's from Y2K that never happened! I worked with a guy had dirt berms built around his trailer and had a two year supply of MRE's and guns and ammo in 2006 he was still bringing MRE's for lunch! You are correct about these people not thinking ahead if there was a total break down seeds,animals and hunting in a off path place would be the only way to prepare. A warm climate will also be a plus.

[starmac]

I have always kept seeds from year to year, but they will not do any good for several months if you can't get food today.

[Bret4207]

FWIW I watched the 9:00 show, the one with the older heavy guy and his wife and the shipping container castle. Yeah, they have 50K lbs of foods, but much was dehydrated and the canned in glass stuff was stored in the dark which helps. If they rotate it, which I think they had scheduled, then the food can last for a long time, a couple years anyway. And they did have chickens, hogs and goats, so there's the fresh meat and disposal for the food that's turning.

I don't know if they were "real", but I can admire the work they put into it. I wouldn't put myself on TV if I was a prepper, but the $$$ they got probably allowed then to do more work. Good for them.

[Rangefinder]

In my experience, knowledge is power. Most of my knowledge centers around 1800's technology and earlier. The rest is for me to know and others to shake their head at while trying to google it. :D

[FISH4BUGS]

I was putting away my hoard after buying the house my girlfriend had rented for 9 years in the country. I was setting up my casting and reloading shed. I realized that I had enough components to load 10,000 rounds of 223, 5000 rounds of 308, 10,000 rounds of 38 and 357, 10,000 rounds of 45, 5,000 rounds of 44 mag and 20,000 rounds of 9mm. Tons of gas checks. JHP bullets, FMJ bullets. I always bought in these quantities anyway because I shoot machine guns.
Cast bullets? I have about 2000 lbs of lead....that should last for a while anyway. It doesn't go bad.
Food? A freezer with almost 4 months of food....all organic chicken, burger, bacon, sausage and vacuum sealed vegetables. 100 gallons of gasoline for the generator. We are putting in a garden this spring and will can most of our vegetables. Enough cash for 30 days. Silver for a few more months. Canned food for maybe 6 months.
Sound far fetched? The ice storm of 09 left us with no power for almost 2 weeks. You want to see people's tempers frayed? Try going without power for 2 weeks....we had to drive 50 miles round trip to get gasoline for the generator. The veneer of civilization is very thin indeed.
I want to be as self sufficient as possible. I have already traded 2 boxes of 9mm to the organic farmer down the road for 30 lbs of tomatos last year. More to trade this summer when crops are in. He also wants 308.
If the SHTF, everyone out here will be hunting for food. The 27 turkeys that come around every day won't be seen at all. The deer will be decimated. Moose and bear will be gone. Anything that walks will be shot for food.
I just want to be self sufficient. Does that make me a prepper? Who knows. Rotating the food and using up the components will be OK with me for the rest of my life. If nothing happens my kids will inherit my stash of components and guns.

[looseprojectile]

when the children, grown adults, that go to the store for every meal are hungry.

The wife and I have a stash of canned foods that might last several months if just her and me are eating it. You can't just tell them no can you?

Love the B&M brown bread in a can.

Our kids don't have two days stash of food. Four of them and their kids.

I don't consider myself a hard core prepper but I lived through the forties and fifties and went through some lean times. Really taught me a lesson.
I know I can live off the land because I have done it but that lifestyle does not appeal to me in my old age.

Save your money cause it is going to take a lot of it. Quadforple inflation?
The Mormans have a plan. I wonder what kind of stash Mitt Romney has.


Life is good

[x101airborne]

I saw that guy with the 50,000 pounds of food. I dont really see it as an asset to be tied down to 50,000 pounds of anything. My seeds are set to grow a different set of crops year round. Even here in Texas in the winter, I can grow lettuce, celery, cabbage, etc. and it ALL goes great with deer. And for that matter, we may actually get the hog populus under control if it ever does happen. The hogs do eat!

[madsenshooter]

Oh, I get a kick out of all of it. Unless God came and told them how to prepare, as with Noah, they don't have a snow balls chance anyway. Fact is what's going to kill them is probably already in them, and they're too small a target to hit with a bullet. "He shall prepare for war, and there shall be no war", "Thus shall they all fall, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence". Read those somewhere.

[John 242]

if one really wants to prep for dooms day one would be much better served to learn gardening and weaving and other basic skills as even the largest horde will not last forever

I've thought about that for a while now.
Part of my belief system is to be prepared for unexpected circumstances as much as is reasonably possible. Gardening is something I always wanted to learn to do.
My mother used to talk a lot about the depression and WWII. They supplemented what little food they could afford with whatever could be grown, shot or caught.
Those were hard times.

My mother kept a "victory" garden while we were little kids, growing tomatoes, spinach and this and that. We were pretty bad off at the time and the garden provided at least a little bit of fresh food.

I guess I need to 'do it' and quit thinking about it.

[starmac]

The Mormans have a plan. I wonder what kind of stash Mitt Romney has.

I read one time that the mormon church was the largest land owner of far and ranch land in the US at the time. The have practiced storage of food for a long time, maybe from the beginning, I do know they have big canning centers all over the country and will sell anybody cans and other storage items, they will also seal the cans for anyone at their centers.

As for Mitt, I would be willing to bet that he owns property outside the US somewhere. I have been reading that a lot of folks that are moneyed up have been buying land in other countries, even the Bush family supposedly bought a 100,000 acres in South America.

[rockrat]

IIRC, as part of their doctrine, the Mormons are supposed to have at least one year of food/supplies stored

[cf_coder]

Gardening is great here in Arizona. Our growing seasons are kinda reversed. We can't grow squat between the end of June and September, unless you put up some serious shade screens. But during the winter months, everything grows great. Lettuce, Broccoli, Cauliflower, onions, garlic... you name it.

Speaking of gardening... it's time to get my Tomatoes in the ground. They stop producing well around the end of May.

_coder

[quilbilly]

My big prep for "doomsday" has been to get enough Ozette potatoes for a full planting. These potatoes were brought to the Pacific NW by the Spaniards in the 1700's when they tried to colonize the Olympic Peninsula. The Makah Indians drove the Spaniards out but kept growing the potatoes which like our cold wet climate. I acquired three potato eyes two years ago and I now have enough for a full planting after many fine meals. Along with the local "government meat" shot wit boolits, clams, oysters, local wild mushrooms, and fish from our creek, we may have to go on a diet.

[leadman]

I worry less about food than some of my medications. No thyroid so when the medication runs out I got a month maybe left. VA told me my thyroid might have been a victim of agent orange in Korea in the early 70's.
I'll be at the pharmacy sticking them up for thyroid pills!! LOL.

The docs won't normally remove an entire thyroid anymore, they give the patient a radioactive iodine pill to kill part of it if it is overactive.

[ErikO]

Odds are good that if I can survive the first few months most of my health issues will have fixed themselves due to extreme weight loss.

We cycle through our canned goods regularly, few things worse than storing canned garbage. I'm not a prepper by any stretch but we should do ok. When I need to do is get a few bath tub fill bags for water, that'd keep us ok for a few weeks along with any rain water that we'd collect.

[Lloyd Smale]

I got a chuckle the most out of two of them. the guy so big he could barely walk let alone actually do the work it would take to survive and the yuppie bunch who were growing herbs in there garden and didnt like guns. they figured they didnt need them as they love and welcome everyone. Good luck with that! I dont think parsley was there main herb crop! these all are just people that want to be on tv. Its nothing but another reality show. ANYONE wanting to survive when shtf surely isnt going to go on tv and tell america what he has in supplys and how hes going to defend his house and speaking of defense those idiots in the packing crates are going to be well protected against a hord of 12 year olds with .22 lrs. Good luck when someone shoots at there home with a 3006!

[Gunslinger1911]

Get a complete set of FoxFire books, read 'em, memorize 'em. Carry on.

[starmac]

I had the firefox books. There was some great info and a good read, but they still left a lot out.
I wish I had kept them.

[GRUMPA]

I can't really download anything on my connection but this site says you can download the books for free.

http://tslrf.blogspot.com/2009/07/download-firefox-books-for-free.html

[waksupi]

Foxfire is missing a lot of information, and if you follow directions on a lot of the topics, they don't work all that well. Like "Mystic Warriors of the Plains", they give you the general drift of a process, but more research or practice will certainly find a better way.

[shdwlkr]

I can see preparing for a bad snow storm, flood, hurricane, tornado, earth quake but if you think if there is a real big break down of society that there will be wild game to eat think nuclear bombs not much going to be left to do anything with.
Now and interesting event could be a EMP which would destroy computer chips but lives and animals and ability to grow food just might be there.
In this case there would be no electricty, no natural gas, no gas pumps working and very few vehicles so how to do live?
I can see having seeds to grow food, fuel to run freezers and refrigerators but your tv, radio, lights what for get some kerosene lamps.
As to having firearms yep think that is a good idea but you also need to accept the fact you just to kill another person one day to stay alive just like our ancestors did. Hate to even think about things getting that bad but it might happen.
If you have food stored keep your mouth shut about it as no one needs to know these facts about you or one day you just might be the target of an attack because hungry people will do some really nasty things to get food and shelter.
Preppers might have a good idea but if they don't pay attention to the food and rotate it then it is just so much weight that only good for rats, mice, fleas and all kinds of bad things we humans don't need.

[Baja_Traveler]

I liked the shipping container castle idea, but my first thought was everything was contained in glass on open shelves. One good earthquake ( or more likely someone ramming the wall with a bulldozer to break in) and it is all broken shards on the floor...

The girl thinking she was going to walk out of the city needs to think about a mountain bike.

The botanist on LA probably has the better plan.

[starmac]

I remember reading about corn found, i think in colorado, that was stored by a long gone indian tribe, that was still good. Some bulk food stores good and is easy enough to store it in rodent proof containers. Most folks don't cook from scratch anymore, and that will hurt as it is much easier to store grains than prepped food for a sizable stash.

[snuffy]

It's a crying shame that some here think preppers are nuts or loons for wanting to survive. Some of those on the natgeo program are way over the top in several areas. One fat lady said she had enough food for X number of people for 3 years!

37 FOOD ITEMS
SOLD OUT
AFTER CRISIS

This is a guide for being prepared.

http://www.soldoutaftercrisisreview.com/

Poo poo it if you want, don't believe it could happen, but wouldn't a bit of research be justified just to prove you're right? Or are some afraid they're actually wrong?

I'm an insulin dependent type 2 diabetic. So my life wouldn't last much past the last 3 month refill of my insulin. So my focus is to have enough water and food for that 3 months.

As for those that said "I'll hunt for my food if the sooper markets are all sold out". Do you really think you're the only one who has that idea? AND do you think those others with the same idea won't be hunting you if they don't find game? Any bird you see flying will be shot at before you loose sight of it.

Hungry people loose all morals when they hear their kids crying from hunger. If you have a stash, be prepared to kill to protect it!

[3006guns]

Sounds like I didn't really miss much. I saw this show advertised for the last couple of weeks and intended to watch it, but it seems to be just another "reality show". I agree.....it sounds like some of these folks just wanted to be on t.v.

I live in a rural....and I mean RURAL....area of California. Folks around here raise cattle or hay and know how to hunt. I've discussed a "doomsday" scenario with a lot of them and the general consensus is that this area would be hunted out within six months JUST BY THE POPULATION LIVING HERE NOW. Add several thousand armed, panicky fools from the city "headed for the hills" and you have a real disaster in the making. As a result, there's an actual plan to divert "flatlanders" away from this area. I'll leave the definition of "divert" to your imagination.

"Living off the land" sounds swell in print, but how many could really do it? Just the absence of toilet paper would drive most people nuts. I'd imagine you'd find a lot of bodies with an AR15 in one hand and a "survival" manual in the other.

Nope......you're better off to stock up on basic foodstuffs (at least a month or so) and stay where you are.

By the way, I still have my set of the "Foxfire books". You have to remember that these were basically a series of student projects from the local high school. A lot of detail was left out but the instructions for making black powder are quite good, so I hung on to them.

[Moonman]

Snuffy,

INSULIN DEPENDENT makes you a Type I.

When things get really bad, say Radiation, what's your choice then?

[onceabull]

You and your friends/neighbors are fortunate to be in an area that,tactically,is just about ideal.. I'd wager 95% of"invaders" will approach from SO.or SW.. If unable to flank your group,will likely head for easier targets... Onceabull

[MajorJim]

"Living off the land" sounds swell in print, but how many could really do it? Just the absence of toilet paper would drive most people nuts. I'd imagine you'd find a lot of bodies with an AR15 in one hand and a "survival" manual in the other.

Nope......you're better off to stock up on basic foodstuffs (at least a month or so) and stay where you are.



Big plus 1.

If you live anywhere within a tank of gas or so of a major city (as most people do), you are going to have to contend with the masses fanning out to seek food and water. Panic does strange things to people.

We all saw what happened with Katrina, and some of us remember the New York blackouts. After about 48 hours, the concept of "civilization" pretty much goes out the door. And unless you have a large cache that is well protected by more than just you and your family, the size of the cache will be a pretty good barometer of the size of the target you have laid out.

There seems to be some romantic notion of subsisting while people around you are dying from the lack of sustenance. Or of "bugging out" to some stronghold to fend off the dying hordes. Desperate people do desperate things, and they do reach a point where taking a bullet is not the worst fate in their lives. Get enough of those people together, and you'd better be able to defend your position. Once the ratio goes over 4:1, there is a good chance they "win" and you lose.

Are these preppers prepared to shoot their neighbors? A mother with small starving children in tow? An emaciated woman begging for food and water? A father on his knees begging for his family? A group of ragged orphaned children who would surely freeze to death without shelter. What about those Judeo-Christian values? Mentally tough is one thing. Are these people prepared to take any and all actions and in the process, lose their old identities forever? And in the process, themselves? In a doomsday scenario psychosis will rule.

There are a lot of if's there - if you can cache it, if you can hide it, if you can protect it, it it will last long enough and if you are willing and able to lose every shred of humanity.

The first 30 days would be utter chaos. Second 30 days a little less, with much more escalated conflict. If you make it that far, with all the dead and dying, the battle shifts to disease and infection and trying to battle that with you own dwindling resources. Potable water will be a real challenge.

The real trick is not in what cache one accumulates but the knowledge of what it is truly like to live off the land. Without the know how, you're just in for a slower demise. And even with it, it would be a tough haul. Take a look at the mortality rates for the third world. Surprising how many people die from infection and simple disease.

My personal belief is that these people are fooling themselves. And if they aren't, are they prepared to live in a world with people just like what they have become?

They have no clue, and no idea just what they really need to prepare for. They may make it through hell on Earth, but their actions and inactions will no doubt pave the path toward hell after Earth.

[runfiverun]

they are preparing to make it on thier own or try to.
there is a reason why there were roving/stabilized clans,groups,communities.
over the millenia.
you have to have different skill sets within a group all working to survive....
going the lone wolf route will be fine for a month or so, but in the long term it's gonna take a larger group to provide and keep the basic services in that area in tact.
hunting won't even be an option if you have to travell 1 or more miles to do it especially on foot [who's gonna watch all that stuff you have back at the lodge?] and are you able to carry an entire deer home without being shot or accosted for it?
better off guarding the herd of cows,horses,chickens, with a couple of others.
yeah, you'll have to share some of those cows and manage the herd, but it's far better than being shot for one or all of them....
there ain't no cows in the city,and you better bring a useful skill set to a small community.
we already got farmers and doctors and reloaders and ranchers and an electrical training center,and free flowing water..
if the leaders can communicate between the other towns nearby, all vehicular access can easily be cut off at a couple of very narrow choke points.
medicine would be a big issue for people that depend on it daily,some issues would probably take care of themselves, but insulin dependant and such would very shortly have problems.

[NSP64]

There was a 2 hr show on one of the channels that depicted a major plague senario. It followed a paramedic and his family trying to cope with life in L.A. after a major outbreak. It showed some good ideas. About staying put where you were until you absolutely needed to leave.
In the end they met up with a community and held up there .
I wish I could remember the name of it.

First problem was what to do when the city water and sewr shuts down.
They suggested staying low key and making the outside of your house look like it had already been looted.

Good ideas here.
Lets keep it lite.

GF watched them with me and she said she wouldn't want to survive that.
I then asked her who would teach her kids and help to survive, she changed her mind.

[snuffy]

Snuffy,

INSULIN DEPENDENT makes you a Type I.

When things get really bad, say Radiation, what's your choice then?

Nope, type 2. I was diagnosed with type 2 in 2006, I'm 66. After about 4-5 years, type 2 diabetics will need insulin to maintain good blood sugar levels. Along with a pancreatic stimulator like glipizide. Type 2 gets progressively worse as you age. If I could loose 30-40 pounds, it would take less insulin. BUT one of the hardest things to do for a diabetic is loose weight.

None of those people in that program gave any thought to post nuclear conflict. My guess is that some of them had food and supplies is some sort of underground shelter. or at least they should have. Maybe the rooms with shelves to the ceiling are lead lined?

Us yanks in the northern most states have one more concern the others in the south don't have. We are dependent on power to run a furnace. Even the simplest pellet stoves have blowers that are necessary to emit the heat. My next purchase will be a generator, and a visit from an electrician to have it wired into the house panel.

Earthquakes mean disruption of natural gas. So it's a moot point to have power if you don't have NG. Fallback for that is a couple of propane heaters and a 2 burner propane stove. Along with a propane Coleman lantern.

[starmac]

If it is like any other reality show, the folks had just what the script called for. I would nearly bet that it was all set up to how some producer thought it would get people to watch. I have only watched a few reality shows, but haven't seen any that had any resemblance to real life.

[sljacob]

I went out to feed my calves and horses after reading this thread and while I was out I took a look around and asked myself if TSHTF tomarrow would I survive? Answer, a fighting chance. Of the three basic needs, food, water, and shelter, food is the weakest link. We could get by for a month or two at the most at the present. I heat my home with wood already (a power and or gas outage while inconvenient is survivable ), water comes from a well but there are other sources nearby. I have good neibors with a strong sence of community that over the long haul would needed for any of us to survive. There is a long list of things that I wish I had a store of, like diesel fuel/gasoline more staple type food items ect. but with what I have on hand today I belive I have a fighting chance.

[garbear]

We might be classified as doomsprepers. We bottle everything we don't eat from my garden. We are raising hens and soon will have a small farm tractor milk cow and 15 more laying hens. I am hoping to raise 3 weiners and one calf. I am also starting my orchard and honestly it isn't about the end of teh world for us. It is about trying to be able to meet our needs the best we can. I reload and cast. I hunt and fish but mroe importantly we make due and wear it out then use it again. I guess it is the fact we have 7 children and that forces us to think out every decision on where our resources go.

If my plans work I will be buying another 40 acres to farm and this is to create as much work to also teach them responsiblity.
Garbear

[Max Brand]

I watched it and must admit there were some really good ideas presented. The thing I can't get over though is why someone would spend that amount of time and money on preparations just to "out" themselves on national television... Duh

[10x]

Toilet paper and dental floss. Stock up now. Of all the civilized things that would disappear I would miss T.P. the most....

[Chicken Thief]

I would go on a crash course diet.
When the pot belly is gone i will kiss my *** (the first hole from my neck) goodbye, and shoot until i run out of ammo.

[Don Purcell]

Check out Engineer775 website. He has a lot of very good u-tube videos to give you some ideas.

[1bluehorse]

I'm a baby boomer, 65yrs old and a child of my times. As much as I enjoy being a "cowboy" with my horses and the rural lifestyle which I've lived my entire life. I would NOT like to go back in time to the "days of yesteryear" (1800's) where we could ride across country and never hit a fence or highway.(well that part would be o.k.) Shoot Buffalo, fight the Natives, :Fire: (of which I am a card carrying member of the Great Cherokee Nation) eat crappy (half rotten, or spoiled) food, never bathe, no toothbrush, toothpaste, mouth wash, soap, deodorant, (pew) no "vapors" (TP) you ever try to shave with a straight razor? well you get the idea. NO THANKS, I have become accustomed to our modern conveniences and enjoy them as such. :drinks: With all that said if society as we know it were to disappear, and life became just a struggle to survive, killing folks, scratching for food, watching your friends and loved ones die of starvation or disease and there's nothing you can do about it...( kinda like it must have been then) well no thanks. You all can have my share...I'll take the easy way out...[smilie=s:

P.S. As far as "hoarding" food or supplies, it's been my experience that if enough folks want what you got, they'll get it. Be it citizens or government.....

[mold maker]

I don't care how ready you think you are, there will be lots of very important items that you didn't think of. Until you have experienced it long term, its only a SWAG. Thinking you can live off the land (hunting) is only a short term possibility. When everybody else is doing the same, game will rapidly be in short supply. In populated areas, it will disappear overnight. The only thing in plentiful supply will be those attempting to take, by force, what you have stashed.
I'm sick of ALL the newer crop of so called REALITY shows. The same group of idiots are adding drama to what could/should have been decent documentary material. If it weren't for the liberal slanted NEWS and the older movies, I'd sell my TV, or maybe shoot it.

[fivegunner]

WOW, when the stuff hits the fan , I am going up across the big mac and live with Lloyd up in god`s country[smilie=s::bigsmyl2:

[Reload3006]

here is the problem folks .... Hordes of some stuff is logical. but most of it is not. Food items have a shelf life. Buying in quantity is a smart thing to do but no more than a few months supply remember Rats like food to and are adept at finding it and if you have a lot of it around you will have a lot of vermin around too then to add to starvation you will have to deal with the plague too. I read about dooms day preppers buying up lots and lots of Meat storing it in several deep freezers. great Its a smart thing to do as when meat goes on sale buy a good quantity of it to last until the next sale. But when dooms day comes around there will not be any electricity to run your deep freezer. Oh but I have a huge generator and a 1000 gallons of gasoline to run it on. Ok how long do you suppose a 1000 gallons of gasoline will last you? if you dont keep it cycling in and out "using it" you will have a 1000 gallons of varnish that won't even start a good fire. now what? well you best know how to live off of the land. and raise a garden hunt food etc because even the largest horde will not last forever.

But since I am a christian I believe come dooms day I wont have to worry about any of that because 2 Peter 3:10 tells me every thing I need to know about dooms day
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

[10x]

The Mormans have a plan. I wonder what kind of stash Mitt Romney has.

I read one time that the mormon church was the largest land owner of far and ranch land in the US at the time. The have practiced storage of food for a long time, maybe from the beginning, I do know they have big canning centers all over the country and will sell anybody cans and other storage items, they will also seal the cans for anyone at their centers.

As for Mitt, I would be willing to bet that he owns property outside the US somewhere. I have been reading that a lot of folks that are moneyed up have been buying land in other countries, even the Bush family supposedly bought a 100,000 acres in South America.

A large number of Europeans purchased land in South America and the Caribbean between 1943 and 1949. Paid for it with bullion and Swiss Francs too....

[1bluehorse]

A large number of Europeans purchased land in South America and the Caribbean between 1943 and 1949. Paid for it with bullion and Swiss Francs too....

and living in South America will be different how??? If we're only talking U.S. doomsday then pffftttt, I'm goin to Australia..........[smilie=l:

[Lloyd Smale]

you know your welcome pal but bring lots of warm clothes, blankets and snow shovels!!!!
WOW, when the stuff hits the fan , I am going up across the big mac and live with Lloyd up in god`s country[smilie=s::bigsmyl2:

[waksupi]

Salt. Get lots of salt. More dependable than a deep freeze.

[10x]

and living in South America will be different how??? If we're only talking U.S. doomsday then pffftttt, I'm goin to Australia..........[smilie=l:

Argentina had an economic meltdown some twenty years ago. They are still emerging from it. Money is scarce and folks there are self reliant and resourceful. They have learned to cut corners and live without many luxuries we take for granted. Kind of like the 1930s in the U.S. and Canada.

The best place to survive is where one is has the most experience living and knows the resources.

As for Australia read Nevil Shute or rent the movie "on the beach".

[pmeisel]

Anybody here remember the Dilbert cartoon on this? I'm like Alice, I'll just be prepared to take from those who have :-)

[Blacksmith]

What you will need most and what can't be taken from you are appropriate knowledge and skills. For example the knowledge of how blacksmithing is done and the skill to use that knowledge. Most people here have knowledge and skills in boolit casting that they have developed over time. Imagine someone finding a mold and trying to sucessfully cast and reload accurate cartridges without any knowledge or skill and no Cast Boolits for support.

There are hundreds of necessary occupations that will be in demand after TSHTF that need knowledge and skill. Farmer, Miller, Shoemaker, Weaver, Rope maker, Tanner, Lime burner, Charcoal maker, Potter, etc. so now is the time to gather the knowledge and learn and practice the skills of your future trade. The one you will teach your childern and grandchildern.

If you survive the initial disruption the time will come when you will easily trade a pair of shoes, length of rope, bolt of cloth for what you need. Or you grind the farmers grain for a percentage and trade the flour to the blacksmith to repoint your burr hammer.

Your vision of how bad it will be and how long it will last may be different than mine so prepare for what you think will happen and when it happens someone will probably have guess right and the rest of us will either look stupid or won't survive so it won't matter.

[1Shirt]

Gotta go along with Bret, about not putting myself on the tube if I were a preeper or what ever you want to call them. Believe in having at least a months food supply on hand, probably have that at all times on a full ration basis. In a pinch it would do for 2 months. Water supply in the city might be a big problem, and having numerous containers to store water for drinking/cooking would be a plus. Also in the city, having enough arms and ammo to supply the neighboors on a neighboorhood watch basis would be good.
1Shirt!:idea:

[snuffy]

After perusing some of the youtube vids about how to cook with a dutch oven, I dug out the one I bought 5 years ago to smelt lead. Got it at harbor freight, never used it for lead, a friend gave me one he'd been using for making jigs and sinkers.

Anyhow, the D-O has become my preferred method of cooking. It's so easy to drop a pork roast, stew meat, whole chicken, or a small turkey into it. I place it inside my charbroiler grill, set it on the grate on top of a bed of charcoal. Then place a layer of charcoal on the lid. Filled about half way to the top with water and whatever veggies you want to have with it. I use a bunch of chopped up onions, green beans, celery, carrots and sometimes cabbage or cauliflower. Be sure to wait on the cabbage and cauliflower until the last ½ hour of cooking time.(Otherwise it'll disappear).

You can use one like any pot suspended above a fire. Also if you have a good fire going long enough to produce a bed of live embers, you can cook directly on them with some on the lid.

I recently bought a small propane grill made by Coleman. It folds up to make a small package and has a nylon pouch to carry it with. The one pound cylinder has it's own pouch that's integral with the main pouch. Very compact and not too heavy.

I have a Coleman lantern that also runs off of a 1# bottle. So that's heat, light, and a way of cooking with natural gas or electricity.

I keep two 20 pound cylinders full, with a third that I'm using for my smelter. I also have a heater that goes right on top of the 20# tank. Another neat little addition is an adapter that fills the one pounders off the big tank.

[starmac]

I quit using the one pounders on my stove and even lanterns, if I'm in camp. I have been using the leg that screws on a 20 pound bottle, my cook lantern screws on top of that and a hose goes to my stove and sometimes another one goes to the fish fryer. This works good for the kitchen setup in camp for me. I usually have another lantern with the one pound bottle that can be hung above the card table or carried around. This was camping in NM, here we have no need for lanterns in the summer time.

[Max Brand]

Here's an update "Doomsday Prepper Declared Mentally Defective" (http://offgridsurvival.com/doomsdayprepperdeclaredmentaldefective/)
Be careful what you say on national television....

[starmac]

Not just on tv. I read a news article just in the last day or two, that outlined the govt having a contractor that keeps track of what we say on the web. They are looking for anything said disparaging the govt or homeland security mainly, but also keep track of any comments against any of the govt agencys. Storing food is one of the things the govt has decided a terrorist does, the same with guns and ammo. I have never seen a definition of what they consider excessive.

[Idaho Sharpshooter]

it reminds me of why I moved from Nazi Illinois to Idaho in 1978. Remember Jimmy Carter and the 17% Prime Rate? I still do.

The LDS people have the right idea. The funny thing, two out of the three Class II and III dealers in my area are good LDS folks. Ain't that an amazing coincidence?

Rich
Prepper

[sheepdog]

Here's an update "Doomsday Prepper Declared Mentally Defective" (http://offgridsurvival.com/doomsdayprepperdeclaredmentaldefective/)
Be careful what you say on national television....

Or do on it. One guy blew his thumb off on TV. (http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2012/02/robert-farago/irresponsible-gun-owner-of-the-day-natgeo/). He's such a smarty pants that hes designed the "ultimate survival shovel" (http://www.crovelfoldingshovel.com/) even though it was a curved head, fixed handle, a bottle opener, paracord, and a "spike". Hey genius did you talk with anyone from a FOB in afghan? They'd say make it a shield head and folding for thier pouch, drop the bottle opener for an lug nut or ar-15 barrel wrench and a hydrant/gas valve as per the SPAX (http://www.amazon.com/Ontario-Kraton-Handle-Sheath-Strap/dp/B001CXPKEK), replace the spike with a storable saw blade like the glock tool. You can still gee-wiz the handle with 550 cord if you must, just make the damn thing fold!