"stocked Up But Not Prepared"

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/emergency-planning-pandemic-1.5849717


Good morning all,

This is a short, light-reading article per link's title.

What got my attention was a sub heading titled "stocked up but not prepared". This sub head is why I'm posting it.

The first aid kit is useless without knowing about first aid.

The AM radio is useless for a weather report without knowing why bankers distribute free umbrellas on sunny days.

 

I have often posted how mental toughness and critical thinking are the two most important assets a survivalist should have. Preps, gadgets, bushcraft skills, etc are merely the tools and resources a survivalist uses to stay alive. All of these are worthless if someone gives up or makes stupid decisions.

 

So true, Alaskajohn.

As a bro' in arms to another bro' in arms: "Knowledge is power".

 

I wish there was a video wherein several people (grabbed off the street) were asked to start an old-timey campfire, 1700s and before. Campfire materials would be provided to the test subjects. Some of the materials would be just the best items with which to get a fire going and keep it going. Many of the items would be inferior to the task, some downright silly, and some overtly dangerous. I would NOT provide any modern methodologies / mechanisms. We're talking about getting wood logs burning. No gas stove technologies would be provided. No matches nor cigarette lighters would be provided; however, flints WOULD be provided along with a striker surface. Dry tender WOULD be provided.

The researchers could have two test groups: 1) Those people snatched in urban/suburban areas; and group 2) Those people grabbed-up in rural areas and tiny-towns.

I would eliminate those who were current campers. "When was the last time you went camping?" If they gave a number under 5 or 10 years, I would eliminate them.

It is my belief that I would be mightily amused when watching the videos of city-people trying to get an efficient campfire going.

Were I to include some self-identified "campers", I think that many would fail because "campers" today bring with them all manner of whiz-bang technologies. "Campers" often use gas stoves. Some even bring generators and their computers. Obviously, this is not true camping.

I would stop the experiment whenever a test subject reached for the gasoline can.

When the SHTF, I expect many houses to be burned to the ground. Arsonists? No, the people are going to try to cook with whatever materials are about and burn their own homes down. Each year, thousands of people burn their homes down by trying to grill in their car garage.

The Lake of Stupidity has no bottom, its depth is infinite.
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Someone can stock up , but if they are not prepared will parish when their stockpile is deleted . That is the difference between a long range prepper and a short term prepper . After supplies are deleted a short term prepper will likely be amongst the looters and a enemy of the long term prepper . The most logical solution for the long term prepper , to achieve their goal , is to have a renewable resource that will sustain them year around . --- More than once I have seen where people planned to live on bugs , worms and roots . I really doubt they would last long if that is their survival plan and doubt even more their kids and spouse would live on such a diet . Why someone would plan to succumb to such a level instead of making a plan to live on the scale of a human is something I don't understand . I suspect after a few days on such a diet they will be thinking about the guy down the road eating good because he planned ahead and soon the worm eater will be an enemy of the long term prepper .

 

Being prepared is more about mental preparedness than having THINGS in preparation. Walking in the woods does not make you a woodsman not prepare you to live in the woods. As an example, I love the woods and have always been comfortable there. When I used to squirrel hunt it wasn't uncommon for me to take a nap leaning back on a tree. For me, the woods are as comfortable as my living room. Back before cell phones my wife always knew that if I was out hunting or fishing and the weather got seriously bad that I would find shelter and just ride it out with no problem.

While I have a LOT of guns and other weapons, I am not reliant on them to feel safe or comfortable. For me being prepared has always meant that in any situation, I can and will stand a good chance of surviving whether I have a weapon or not. Learning how to be nearly invisible is of more value than any gun. Hsvin a gun is going to get a lot of people killed. The best way to win any battle is to avoid it. If you can't find me or spot me you can't hurt me and I don't need to kill you. IF I decide that I do need to take you, it is best done without you ever knowing that I was there and never having any idea that you are about to be killed.

When I was young I spent thousands of hours sneaking around in the woods. I would watch other people and follow them around without them ever knowing that I was there. Day or night the only people that ever spotted me were people that move much as I did and were either trained or like me had spent lots of time just creeping around in the woods.

I watched the animals and learned from them. Deer are amazing and hunters would be amazed at how many times when they were looking for deer that there were deer almost within touching distance of them but unseen. People, if they are wearing clothes that blend into the surrounding can do the same thing but very few can stand doing it.

The trick is simple. Position yourself in a way that is not normal and then don't move anything except your eyes. If you are just sitting or standing people will spot you because they are LOOKING for a human shape. If you are crouched in an odd fashion with your arms either tight to your body or spread against the surrounding plants their eyes will pass right over you because they are seeking a human shape and you don't fit that image. The one thing that you have to cover or in some way distort is your face. People are always looking for and at faces and it is hard to hide if your face isn't disguised. Face paints and full-face covering toboggans are a part of my survival kits.

Having a lot of food stores is great but you also need to KNOW what plants in your area are nutritious and eatable. Meat is great but plants are easier to catch and find and will keep you going between kills. You need to do more than just read about them. You need to eat them and get used to them. Your stores will eventually run out. You might for some reason have to abandon most of them or someone might take them away from you but KNOWING what is out there will always be there for you.

 

There is a marked difference between being a survivalist and a prepper. When I first came here it was hard for me to refer to myself as a prepper because for most of my life I had been a serious and practiced survivalist. As a survivalist, I first and foremost focused on myself and much less on things. I honestly think that a lot of preppers are going to be killed by their preparations. If they tie you down they may become a noose around your neck. As much as I like my STUFF, I always knew that there was a real possibility that I might have to abandon it all and take off with just what I was wearing and could grab and carry with me. A big enough group that was willing to take massive losses could root me out. I will kill as many as possible but if they persist I will grab my family and take off.

They won’t get what they think. When I go I will arm my charges and when they enter my place it will go up like a Saturn 5 rocket on take-off and take them with it. I have stashes that will allow me to rearm and tool up for a while until I find a new place to hold up in. The day that I decide the end is fully upon us I will arm my property to make it deadly to attack. All of my people will carry a gun at all times and I will dig in and further set my place up as a hidden deadly fortress. It won’t look like much but there will be a lot of places to set up and safely shoot from and every tree will have a bomb on the backside of it. I shoot, You hide behind a tree and I blow you up. You hide in the ditch and I blow you up. Even jumping in the ditch when I open fire will be a bad thought because the bottom will be lined with fungi sticks hidden under Spanish moss and leaves.

Mostly to me, survival is going to be about the mental ability to adapt and be comfortable in situations that might be unfamiliar. A willingness to do the hard things and the ability to accept that the rules that you are accustomed to are GONE. If you are attacked in any way you need to KILL them. Don’t allow them to retreat. If you let them pull back and escape they may come back and kill you from a distance one at a time. I won’t just defend my place, I will hunt you down and kill you if you manage to escape.

I have one bolt action rifle that has a 3X9 Leopold scope on it that will reach out several hundred yards and take you OUT. I used to shoot 300-yard targets with it and will have no problems taking headshots at that distance. I was at one time able to hit grapefruit-sized targets at a hundred yards with a pistol. I actually am still not sure that in a post-apocalyptic world that my ole single action Blackhawk might now have had some serious advantages.

A lot of people are going to starve to death simply because they will not be able to adapt to actually eating things that didn’t come in a can, as frozen food, or from a fast food place. If it walks, crawls, slithers, swims, or flies I will eat it and probably already have. Anyplace like here that has a hog infestation should be a fairly easy place to find things to eat. In general, if a hog eats it you probably can if you cook it. Most people will fail because they will be insisting to eat too high on the food chain. There are a lot more little creatures out there than there are big ones and they are easier to find catch and kill. Also if it is too big to eat in a couple of days most of it will go to waste unless you can set up and cure or jerk it. If you are on the move think small and eat small.

For a little while after the fall the easiest meal will be dogs and cats but they are not going to last very long. If you are hungry don’t limit yourself to “game” animals. Dogs especially are common fare all over the world. Just because we don’t eat them now should in no way make you unwilling to harvest them if that is all you can find. Survival is not about eating what you like. It is about eating what you can find.