How much foraging are you planning to do?When things get bad

Absolutely, Most of the sheep do not have a clue that even things like Cat Tails are edible. W e feed the dandelions to the Rabbits then eat the rabbits. The more you can feed yourself from fresh plants and animals the less you dip into that food cache.

Another thing we did was designate a rifle for collection of wild game. It is the bolt action Marlin 981 T .22 rimfire rifle. It shoots any type of .22 cartridge and is a tack driver out to 100 yards. It is quiet and deadly. I have over 12,000 rounds of .22 stored in airtight ammo cans with desicants . W e won't waste our .223,30-06,or any shotgun ammo on small game or deer. We also hunt with crossbows.

Survival starts with a real plan and a real BOL. We bugged out in 2008 buying this repo house on a small lake. My wife and I have turned it into a survival compound/hobby farm. My neighbors are very supportive and also growing food and preparing for hard times ahead. My neighbor to the south is not a prepper at all but he raises more garden produce then we do ha ha ha . He is prepping and doesn't even know it. They can and root cellar store their veggies because they like organic food. This guy grows enough Potatoes to supply everyone on the lake. I raise enough rabbits to do the same thing. We are setting up a small community where we can feed ourselves and defend what we have. Kingfish

 

We have had an increase in poching it's doubled in the past two years. I got a guy about three months ago had shot two doe's. When I ask him what his reason was he said he had a wife and two kids and the freezer was empty. I followed the guy home and he was telling the truth I let him keep the deer and didn't charge him because I would do the same before I let my family go hungry. Im hoping this year to bag a couple good size deer we had a place open up and they process the deer into jerky,deer burger, sausage and these snack sticks that taste kind of like slim-jims

 

Here where I live, we have a lot of cottontail rabbits. My wife feeds the little guys as she loves them. Wait until she finds out how great they taste on the bar b que or in the broiler ! LOL We also have an occasional elk. But just starting a small test garden this year, and looking well so far. Using a raised bed design and if all goes well, will add quite a few more next year. Tators', corn, beats, green beens and yummy yummy.

 

Where I live you can shoot 10 squirrels/day for about 9 months out of the year and it seems like the more I shoot the more I have. That doesn't include the deer, turkeys, and other furry things.

BWM

 

have blackberry , blue berry, ramps ,purselane. all growing on the property..plus a lot of other wild plants that can be eating have mushroom logs .things like daylillies can be eating have a whole heard of them growing around the house with the deer and wild turkey and rabbits ..then there is the river ..catfish, perch,bass turtles..plus all the mixed crop farms and live stock farms all around me ..and the 2 gardens we have i think i pretty well cover for food

 

Foraging: How To Make Yourself Starvation Proof, by Mike F. - SurvivalBlog.com

 

Well, it's Sunday. Today my family will enjoy an oven roasted wild goose marinated in McCormicks Mesquite marinade. The goose was shot 75 yards from my back porch. Potatoes that were grown in my garden and green beans that came from the same.
My wife is baking bread and bisuits for the occasion and for dessert we are having strawberries over the bisuits and fresh whipped topping.

Goose: From out back.
Veggies: From the garden.
Flour for baked goods: From our preps.
Strawberries: From the strawberry patch on the hill (we can them).
Whipped topping: Milk from the cow 300 yards to the south of me.

 

WRC,

Just a tip. Loose lips sink ships.
Goose season in NY starts in September.
75 yard shot sounds like you were not using approved non toxic shot.

Both federal offenses.

Just remember, it was a domestic goose from your flock.

JustSayin.

Post SHTF It prolly isn't going to matter. But before that time, all rules and laws are still in effect. Ergo, Shhhh!

 

Ummmm, I did not say I shot it today. I have freezers. I had venison on Friday, that does not mean I killed the deer on Thursday.
Also, the distance to my hunting spot was 75 yards, not the shot. I typically dont hunt from the back porch.
The reason it is marinated is because after sitting in the freezer for months, that is how you can prepare the goose and get great flavor even though it has been in deep freeze.
Strawberries are a late June early July thing around here, that doesnt mean dessert was fresh strawberries.

 

WRC, Thanks for clarifying that for the Federalies that are watching us.

 

I see this happening quickly too. In my county folks shoot 4000+ deer in the 2 week season and this is for sporting not life or death survival. Big game will disappear quickly with small game following. I wrote a article on survivalblog.com about trapping. This will get you some animals that won't be avail to be shot as easily and fur as well.

Let's Talk About Trapping: North American Furbearers, by Jason L. - SurvivalBlog.com

I am also working on digging my own ponds this summer so i can have some fish other than whats in the stream.

Jason

 

OK I see that folks are quickly forgetting one important factor. Die off. I do not care what kind of hunter you are, one month without adequate food and you die. Hunting and scavenging require energy, energy is calories, and eating sparingly makes you weak and slow. 3 days without adequate clean water and you die - if it is not clean you could possibly extend that time, results are the same. 98% of all Americans have less than 1 weeks worth of food and water in their homes. The attrition rate from pollution, disease, lack of medications, lack of proper nutrition is going to be horrendous, even in the rural population areas. The population of animals may drop significantly for a short time. May. The population of humans in a permanent grid down or WROL event will drop by approximately 50% within 2 months. It will drop again by another estimated 50% in the secondary die off. So, 75% of the current US population, conservatively estimated, within 6 months to 1 year. We are not talking Post Hurricane Katrina, we are talking all major cities turning into huge death traps.

Here are some simple statistics for you. 2 months ago Obama's approval rating in the US was 58%. That means 58% of all Americans are terminally stupid. They will believe that their GOVERNMENT would not let them starve!

There are 44 Million people currently getting food stamps.

Do you think these folks are prepping? Do you honestly think they have the wherewithal to find every bit of useful goods before they starve or die from other causes like direct kinetic lead poisoning? From citywide rioting? From the fires and from collateral damage during the unwinding of society? From the lack of medical care, medications? From exposure to the elements, packs of feral dogs, wild predators, or armed preppers protecting their stuff? Seriously?

Let me put it into perspective. How many millions of city dwellers are the in the US? Of those millions how many have the skills, tools, and ability to feed themselves without going to a grocery store or fast food joint? How many of the remaining number will survive the chaos a WROL - a total breakdown of society - will bring? If you are planning on scavenging in a city, you are not as think as you smart you are.

Now again, convert those numbers to a suburban setting. How many will survive the marauding? The lack of food and sanitation? The lack of city pumped water?

Rural dwellers are just as likely to have issues. The population is generally older, requires prescription meds, modern medical care, and in many cases have given up self sufficiency.

here is a good question: where do farmers get their food? The supermarket. Mega Farms and big AG have destroyed the self sufficient farmer.

I think odds are better in the favor of the 2% who have prepped and will be able to weather a Magnitude 7 event with no outside help at all. When the dust settles and the smoke clears, there will be plenty for everyone.

This is all opinion and conjecture. YMMV.

 

the standard food supply would be gone in 3 days
out of your 2 months that leaves 57 days for those die offs
to hunt scrounge scavenge and eat each other
(which will keep them alive a little longer)
so you cant count on living off the land until after they are gone
and some may actually have enuff smarts to stay alive thru
scavenging hunting cannabalism or stealing

 

Oh, I am not counting on living off the land until the dust settles and the smoke clears. I have preps enough to last. Question is, do you?

Those that have the smarts to live through it I want either on my side or dead. Cannibalism will be handled with extreme prejudice.

As far as surviving the die offs - this will be a very extreme example of survival of the fittest.

 

i been preparin for this since i was 6
few setbacks along the way
but im as ready as ill ever be

 

For about a hundred bucks in permits, I can store up hundreds of pounds of frozen deer meat to last an entire year. Not to mention the fun times "prepping". I'm not waiting to forage when things get bad, I'll get an early start

 

Done forget the genset to keep it frozen. We can almost all our venison. Beef is for the freezer venison is for the mason jars. Ate some last week i canned in 08' (back of the shelf).

Jason

 

Good point. Searching canning recipes now.....

(I could also run the dehydrator like crazy. Smoking meat isn't out of the question either.)

 

Don't forget making pemmican with your dehydrated backstraps.

 

I have about 50# of smoked venison in 5 gallon buckets. Some of it is from as far back as '09 and it is still good. I am incredibly comfortable with dehydrating and/or smoking the meat and then adding it to rice, pasta, or veggies to make a soup or stew. Once rehydrated it is pretty darn good.

Last week I made a simple soup. I used a sandwich bag of smoked venison, boiled it down for about 45 minutes. Added in some barley and continued to simmer for 30 minutes. Added in a can of mixed veggies, then hit it with some dried garlic and a couple boulion cubes. We all had a bowl of soup and enjoyed it very much.