How much is too much?

[XinTX]

Good book. Another that gives more of the perspective of staying in the community instead of bugging out is "One Second After" by William R. Forstchen.

Yep. Remember, you can only (effectively) shoot one gun at a time. So even IF you have a good BOL, if someone knows you have something they want, all it takes is a few of them to take it from you. I've figured that if it becomes WROL, I can band together with neighbors and we can arm some who don't have guns. At least that's what I tell the MUCH better half when I buy another gun.

 

[Renegade]

I agree that you need to have those items also, and that they are extremely important to be well supplied with.

But if society goes to a barter system due to some sort of disaster.

In an EOFTWAWKI scenario, I agree.

 

[Ol Zeke]

Actually, I'm beginning to conclude that Matt Bracken's "Enemies" trilogy is not that far "out there" as I may have previously thought.

 

[Pilgrim]

If you're shooting that much you're in trouble anyway. People need to start with a realistic risk assessment of their own life. Large common events like losing your job, losing a loved one, natural disasters, etc seem much more like a reasonable way to begin preparing.

IMO, you should be planning to secure your finances and basic necessities to live through a depression-like time. The zombie apocalypse is not coming. The biggest killer, even in a raging civil war, would be lack of medical care and hygiene.

Invest in yourself. Are you comfortable with a rifle, pistol? Have you ever planted a garden? Do you understand how electricity and different electrical sources work? Do you have a decent working medical knowledge? Resources without knowledge are worthless. There are also a lot of things you can learn for free via the internet, podcasts, youtube, etc if you can't afford formal training classes.

I'd best most people on here are fairly proficient with a firearm but less comfortable with medical care, for example.

Take things slowly and incorporate them into your life. If you do it right they should improve your life even if nothing ever happens.

I agree. My finances are secure (as secure as they can be given the current economy). I sock enough away each month to save for a rainy day while maintaining a good quality of life for my family. I've taken CPR and first-aid classes in the past and own field books on battlefield medicine. I'm starting to get into gardening (unsuccessfully so far... damn hard to grow stuff in Texas from my experience) but I have a long way to go to become proficient. I'm a tech guy by trade so I'm pretty familiar with how things work generally... grew up in a poor household so my father was pretty handy and passed those skills along to us. I know how to work on car/motorcycle engines - not to a professional mechanics level - but enough to know my way around them. My dad was a professional carpenter and I picked up a few skills from him... not a lot but enough to fix things around the house without calling repair men for every little problem. I'm also starting my first steps into formal weapons training outside what I learned in the service.

Given all that I still have enough disposable income to devote to some "prepping" allowances. I haven't really done much more than sock away some foodstuffs and the online resources I've found on the subject so far just seem... over-the-top... to me. It's hard to get a handle on what's reasonable especially after talking to my friend.

I guess it's just a matter of personal opinion and experimentation just as another poster had said. I'll figure it out.

 

[Bithabus]

While he may never be able to shoot that many round of ammo, it will be good currency.

Trading ammo to potential enemies is not a good idea.

 

[Ol Zeke]

Trading ammo to potential enemies is not a good idea.

You mean like selling it to all the non-leo government agencies?

 

[Mexican_Hippie]

I agree. My finances are secure (as secure as they can be given the current economy). I sock enough away each month to save for a rainy day while maintaining a good quality of life for my family. I've taken CPR and first-aid classes in the past and own field books on battlefield medicine. I'm starting to get into gardening (unsuccessfully so far... damn hard to grow stuff in Texas from my experience) but I have a long way to go to become proficient. I'm a tech guy by trade so I'm pretty familiar with how things work generally... grew up in a poor household so my father was pretty handy and passed those skills along to us. I know how to work on car/motorcycle engines - not to a professional mechanics level - but enough to know my way around them. My dad was a professional carpenter and I picked up a few skills from him... not a lot but enough to fix things around the house without calling repair men for every little problem. I'm also starting my first steps into formal weapons training outside what I learned in the service.

Given all that I still have enough disposable income to devote to some "prepping" allowances. I haven't really done much more than sock away some foodstuffs and the online resources I've found on the subject so far just seem... over-the-top... to me. It's hard to get a handle on what's reasonable especially after talking to my friend.

I guess it's just a matter of personal opinion and experimentation just as another poster had said. I'll figure it out.

Sounds like you already have a great start with what's between your ears. I'm getting back into gardening myself. Some plants are growing great, some are complete disasters unto themselves

I think its less daunting to start in increments. Plan out 72 hours worth of resources for your family. When you accomplish putting that together then go to two weeks. Then six week and so on. I'm sure you'll figure out what's right for you along the way. I wouldn't let someone else or fear rush you into hasty decisions. Some folks get into crazy debt buying "preps" because they're afraid the world is gonna end and they'll be living like MadMax or something.

 

[DMC]

Sounds like your friend is off to a good start. I would question the four different handgun calibers, I would consolidate the four down to two, and would concentrate more on the rifle rounds. Defiantly would want more 12g to round it out.

 

[deemus]

Good advice through out this thread. Just pick a couple of things at a time, and add them. My latest is medical related. I have a tub with medical related stuff in it. I also bought a really good first aid kit. It is the big one out of the CTD catalog. Seems like a lot to pay, but it has virtually anything you can think of in there. In addition, I spoke with a doctor friend and he mentioned a few things he thought I should add, so I added them. Probably spent $400 over a three month period, but I am really comfortable with all the stuff in there, and think I could use most of it, if I HAD to.

This collection of stuff is in addition to the normal everyday medical related stuff we already have. I just made it additional stuff, and in a format that would be easy to use or go mobile with if I needed to.

My prepping is not as over the top as what you see on the TV shows. Its fairly short term food and water supplies, in case of a disaster. In case of a big war where everything is cut off, I would not fair as well as the TV folks. I don't have a bunker somewhere, or a big truck to haul a year's worth of stuff to some secret location. But if some big tornado storm or something like that showed up, we would be good for a while, especially if said tornado didn't pick us up and throw us into East Texas.

 

[Pilgrim]

Good advice through out this thread. Just pick a couple of things at a time, and add them. My latest is medical related. I have a tub with medical related stuff in it. I also bought a really good first aid kit. It is the big one out of the CTD catalog. Seems like a lot to pay, but it has virtually anything you can think of in there. In addition, I spoke with a doctor friend and he mentioned a few things he thought I should add, so I added them. Probably spent $400 over a three month period, but I am really comfortable with all the stuff in there, and think I could use most of it, if I HAD to.

This collection of stuff is in addition to the normal everyday medical related stuff we already have. I just made it additional stuff, and in a format that would be easy to use or go mobile with if I needed to.

My prepping is not as over the top as what you see on the TV shows. Its fairly short term food and water supplies, in case of a disaster. In case of a big war where everything is cut off, I would not fair as well as the TV folks. I don't have a bunker somewhere, or a big truck to haul a year's worth of stuff to some secret location. But if some big tornado storm or something like that showed up, we would be good for a while, especially if said tornado didn't pick us up and throw us into East Texas.

I think that's more my "speed" too. I'm going to plan for short-term emergencies first (disasters, etc.). Enough to get by while things go back to normal. I think that's the most likely scenario and the preparation for that sort of thing is easy for me to wrap my head around at this stage of the game. BTW, one of the first-aid instructors told me to make sure my medical preparations should include clotting compound and crazy glue. Go figure.

If, God forbid, it REALLY hits the fan... and I mean WROL shit then we will need to rely on our immediate community (I'm friends with a few hunters and avid shooters in my neighborhood) to help keep peace. I've lived through the heart of the L.A. Riots and was smack dab in the middle of the Northridge Quake so I have first-hand experience on what happens in those types of situations. We thought it was insane then but it was eventually brought under control and things went back to normal... well, as normal as it can be in Kommifornia.

Now, if a full-blown invasion or civil war was to happen then I just don't know how well (realistically) we would do - and I REALLY hope it doesn't come to that for a number of reasons. I think obsessing over that kind of stuff is what drives some preppers to go over the top... at least from my perspective. They portray a couple of crazies on TV in a bad light but I think most preppers are probably more grounded than that.

I'm going to buy those books though - possibly for useful information but at least a good, entertaining read...

 

[Leper]

A few things I want to add to this discussion. Hippie has made great points, btw.
MAG stands for mutual assistance group. Hard to find, hard to make, but in a SHTF scenario, it is a must. They are almost impossible to make at the start of a situation. Unless you know exactly how someone reacts under extreme stress, you probably don't want them around in that situation. Your buddy may belong to one. They may have specific caliber requirements, same with vehicles, same with food stuffs, etc. A MAG may have one or more people that have specific talents, ie: doctor, nurse, reloaded, farmer, solar, gardener, plumber, electrician, prior military service, carpenter, animal vet, HAM, mechanic, blacksmith, bushcraft, hunter, to name a few. If you have lived with people, or been in a conflict theater with them, you have a much better understanding of the true nature of the person. Do you know a guy that acts way different if he has been drinking? That is his true nature. You must be aware of that because when people start to not act nice, they revert to who they really are.

Prep level
what do you expect to happen? That should drive your purchases and training. Your buddy may be preparing for directive 21, you may be more worried about a drought, another guy is preparing for short term economic instability, another for long term financial collapse. You may find someone actually preparing for zombies.
Duration
how long do you think it will last? That should drive the depth of your preparations. Do you need a can of chili or do you need 500# of rice. Some where in between most likely. You prep for the number of people like you would a longer duration. 3 months of food for one person is one month for three. What is the shelf life of what you have? Generators run on fuel. Fuel goes bad. Side note, a generator makes a hell of alot of noise, especially at night. Heirloom seeds and knowing how to raise and keep seeds is a must for really long term. GMO seeds usually are one time use.

Books.
do you read much? Do you know someone who does? Some of the PAW (post apocalapse world) fiction does a good job of putting different scenarios into your head. Both the people and the equipment are good to read about. It seems like every possibility has been covered multiple times. Different writers have different styles. Some are information dumpers, some are specific to the genera, some go to the fringe, and some go to realistic common scenarios. For a start, I would suggest Jerry D. Young. Short stories, mostly happy endings(not that kind), for a little longer read try World made by hand. Patriots is good. "Lights Out" is my favorite, but it is long, think Atlas Shrugged. Nova has the American Apocylapse series that throws in a few twists. As far as nonfiction, Where there is no doctor/dentist, Encyclopedia of Country Living, homesteading books are good. There is so munch info online that it is hard to pick just a few points of reference. Many of the fringe sites like Poleshift and GLP have vast amounts of collected info. Good for reference info, but their main theory's are sometimes hard to digest. All the reading in the world will do you no good unless you read and then practice it.

im tired of typing for now. I'd be glad to help you if you have any specific questions, or I can post more at a later time

 

[Pilgrim]

Wow, Leper that's a LOT of info to take in. A bit overwhelming but very appreciated. I'm new to the idea of dedicated prepping and I'm just feeling my way around in the dark right now...