Just getting started !!

Buy a .22 pistol as back up, ammo cheap as all get out. Get an Ak or SKS for a rifle cheaper than an ar and just as effective. Buy the Mossberg for a shotgun just as good as an Remington but cheaper. If you decide to go Remington get an 870 express combo both a 20 and 28 inch barrel.

 

Thanks for all the good info, will be looking into all these options over the next few days, I like the .22 pistol back up idea, specially if I get a .22 rifle to share ammo


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I would like to list some of my random thinking on starting preperation for becoming a survivalist.

first, while guns are entertaining and among my favorite topics the short answer is the basic four.

A self defense handgun
A shotgun in 12 gauge for all that shotty goodness
a Centerfire rifle in a caliber capable of killing the largest critters you plan on shooting.
A 22LR weapon, rifle or pistol of your choice.

Ammo and supplies for each.

Training and knowledge is the key to any defense you plan on. Firearms are just one of the tools one would use.

Now on to other matters:

The rule of three:
3 minutes without air
3 days without water
3 weeks without food.

lists of needs;
Food (including water) ways to store, provide, purify grow etc.

Clothing (this starts with your clothing and extends to shelter, both type and from what. For example rain and sun need different items usually.

First Aid. (I assume you have a good kit already put together)

Transportation (While luxury at one point, the ability to move about freely needs

Vehicles and means to maintain /repair them)

Sanitation. What do you do when TP runs out?

Repair: tools to fix what ever breaks, from needle and thread for a rip up to a pipe wrench for leaking plumbing.

Communications: (being able to learn news, and communicate with others is useful and sometimes key to achieving survival ,, for example a hurricane warning so living on the beach knows to evacuate)

Security (here is where firearms are included and as you notice a bit far down my list if listing by probability of being used)

Community relations. while it suffers from conflict with opsec (keeping your mouth closed so those without preps do not show up on your doorstep demanding what you have come grubby times) knowing your neighborhood and neighbors pays dividends in most areas.

For example, if you have a drug addict in the neighborhood and a gardener in the neighborhood, you might need different plans on how to deal with them both today and should things get grubby.

***

There is an old saying: The more you know the less you have to carry. Study know, collect knowledge etc. Remember until you practice it (build a fire, shoot a gun, cook a meal, tape up a sprain) you don't really know it. It is easy to collect data and training now. do all you can.

Trade / barter. should the economy / dollar collapse and people become unwilling to take it in trade many people feel junk silver coins (1964 and earlier US silver coins are 90% silver) will be useful to trade. Perhaps this is so.
At other points things like bic lighters, matches , needles , band aids and other small items will have more trade value. bottom line is no matter how great you stock the pantry, you will probably have to trade for some things / have contact with people.

If you are worried about pandemic then you need plans / probably have plans on how to handle contact with others by accident or on purpose to meet needs / or deal with those seeking to gain for their needs by trade or looting from you and yours.

****

The list of what why and how is endless and unique to each individuals assessment and wants and abilities and wealth. If one has enough money they can hire me or many others to provide them a turn key package to be as secure as possible for any percieved concerns.

My current list of "bad things that might happen" is over one hundred, varying from simple things like a knife slipping and cutting me bad enough to need more than a band aid up through nuclear war, pandemic, gooberment turned tyrannical, etc .

Make a list of all your worries,
analyze and priortize the list from most to least likely
come up with best solutions with things as they are , and make lists of how to improve survival for each threat.

Having your wife on board will be a huge benefit.

A good start is just buy double of shelf stable food items and put them back until you could stay home and eat off that food for two weeks, then extend from there, perhaps adding long term storage foods. The morman sights have a lot of info on storing a years worth of food. Look for the morman basic four foods (salt, honey, wheat , powdered milk) you can cook and live off these four, but they also form a base for better food stores.

A well stocked pantry is the cheapest best insurance you could ever have.

think if you were laid off and draw unemployment, the food you store frees up the money from unemployment for other needs. (insurance.)

The food you stock, use the oldest first , replacing it with the new thus using up stores before they spoil this is FIFO (first in first out) method of inventory control.

***
Sorry have to go for now, DD needs me to go with her to town to get some supplies, I will look in on this thread later and see if you have any specific questions that I can attempt to answer in my poor rambling old man style.

Welcome to the world of the survivalist (if you are PC prepper)

I will not let the PC police force me to call myself prepper when i like the term survivalist better.

of course the grey man approach calls for not drawing attention to oneself and has its own merit.

later Got to go.

Thad

 

I honestly think I could sit down and write ten pages about this even with my very limited knowledge on the subjects. Narrowing it down I noticed you are considering influenza and economic collapse as two of the things you are preparing for. As such I am going to address that. Stock up on some good N95 masks. Several boxes. I would also recommend enough gas masks and extra filters for you and everyone in your family. Make sure all know how to put them on, and install the cartridge. Even my 5 and 7 year old daughters have practiced this. I would also recommend plenty of plastic in rolls to seal areas off if need be, and roll after roll of duct tape. Tamiflu and plenty of antibiotics will be an asset. Practice clearing your house with got masks on, and doing everyday things with them so you will be aware of your limitations.
A .40 is fine, as long as your wife can shoot it if need be. You will most definitely need a backup, and do your best to keep common calibers. You might even want to consider selling your .40 and her .380 and buy 9mm's for both of you if she has trouble with your .40. Just a thought. I am a firm believer in common calibers and firearms. She can throw you a mag if need be, or ammo. I would also recommend a good shotgun. I own and prefer the Remington 870, but it is a personal choice kind of thing just like a handgun type and caliber. A Ruger 10/22 is a wonderfully rifle. While I don't recommend it for personal protection there sure are a lot of people killed by them. With a 30-50 rd. Magazine they hold a lot of firepower, and they are cheap as is the ammo. Having a AR or an AK is a must for me, but it cones down to preference. They both have taken a big toll on the opposition.
The most important Preps are water and food. That is where you need to spend the most time and $ on. A man or woman can spend their life savings pretty fast, so start slow, buy extra every time you go to the store and it will add up pretty quick.

 

Back in the day.....

Somehow a sprinkling of well aimed double O shotty goodness would not be my idea of welcome breakfast fare.....especially if directed at me! : O

Though truth to tell, it would probably be more welcome than a prematurely awakened eventually to be ex wife, back in the day! : O

There is a fourth 'rule of three'

3 seconds without thinking......although logically it should be placed first on the list....it has better surprise value at the end of the list. It is possibly why some suggest that the first thing to do in an emergency is to make a cup of tea.... well, that and giving the most distressed and panicky member of the party a simple task to do that distracts them from what is panicking them.

 

In case the zombies try to get me, as far as blades go, I have a Cold Steel 13" Kukri and a United Cutlery Black Ronin Tomahawk. I picked the tomahawk merely for defense up close. Might not be what some look for. I like it and that's what counts. The Kukri, I picked up for defense and because it's a machete for hacking brush or small limbs for fires and the like. Haven't experienced anything bad about it so far. Maybe not the toughest out there, though as with all tools, it gets the job done for me. Chose black blades for lack of shine.

And if I ever went off the deep end and thought I was in some fantastic dreamland where I was a super man or ninja, I have a Samurai 3000 Ninja Sword. Lol. Now if I could just learn how to run along bamboo 50 feet in the air.

 

When you purchase your weapons please remember to pick up extra magazines where appropiate... minimum of 2 spares for your hand gun... and 6 for your main weapons... more is better... one of the advantages of the 10-22 that nmost seem to miss is that the rotary magazine is more robust than most other magazines... you can't dent it... a dented mag is a piece of scrap unless you can drill it out or fix it....

 

Just decided to start by creating a list of what I might need. Here it is, who knows, might help someone else too


TraumaHawk's H5n3 Apocalypse preparedness check list


Food:
Stockpile Dehydrated, freeze dried, canned, other nonperishable
Baby food and formula
Lots of vitamins, lots of C and D3 and everything else (gummies)
Means of getting your own food (Hunting, Fishing, Crabbing, Trapping, Growing)
Hunting Rifle and lots of Ammo
Bow
Machete & Axe
Seeds (for growing food)
Fishing pole and adequate tackle
A Means for cooking (Fire, Charcoal BBQ, Camp Stove.)

Water:

1 Gallon per person per day (3 day minimum suggested by www.Ready.gov)
Ability to filter dirty water (filtration and purification are different. Filtering may not necessarily eliminate bacteria and other contaminants.)
Ability to purify dirty water (Boiling, Bleaching [2 drops per quart, or 8 per gallon and wait 30 minutes.], etc.)
Ability to obtain water (Rainfall, lake, river, ocean, humidity collection)
Bathtub Water collection unit
Jugs, Coolers, etc to hold water

Clothing:
Clothing for proper weather conditions
Heavy snow pants/boots/jackets
Proper footwear (boots & trainers)
Hats
Gloves
Underwear and socks
T-shirts

Shelter:
Stay at home:
Home Security :
• Door stoppers
• Window locks
• Window protection
• Safe room
• Plastic isolation lots of it
• Duct tape lots of it
Tent
Sleeping Bags for every family member
Arrangements with Family or Friends for alternate get away


Medical:

First Aid Kit (Band-Aids, Cotton Swabs, Rubber Gloves, Antiseptic, etc.)
Birth Control
General Medicine (Tylenol, Advil, Pepto Bismol, Rash/Itch Cream.)
Antibiotics – Amoxicillin, azithromycin (or z-packs), Keflex, Bactrim, Augmentin, penicillin
IV supplies and IV fluids
Trauma kit with suture ability and rescue meds epinephrine, metoprolol, vasopresin
Bandages and splinting supplies
Masks n95
Gloves & vests& hats
Small surgery kit

Hygiene:
Anti-bacterial Soap
Hand Sanitizer lots of it
Toothbrushes, Toothpaste
Floss
Manicure Set
Toilet Tissue lots of it
Feminine Sanitary Products
Garbage Bags to properly contain garbage and various other unpleasant items.
Garage set up for garbage and cat litter
Adult Pregnancy Prevention Measures
Bleach lots of it
Disinfectant spray
Antibacterial dish soap


Protective Equipment
1 Handgun per adult 1000 rounds per gun
1 Shotgun 1000 rounds multiple types buck 0.0 and slug and double slug
1 Semi-auto rifle 1000 rounds (will try eventually a Hi-Point 4095 carbine $230 uses same ammo as handguns but currently sold out
Window fortifications (Plywood, hurricane shutters, Security Film, etc.)
Gun safe & Ammo locker
Gas Masks
Bullet proof vests
Mace (This is especially good in the wild to protect against animals without hurting or killing them.)
Taser (if cheap deal found)
Electronics:
Emergency Radio
LED Flashlights
Lamp
Batteries lots all kinds
Solar battery chargers
Solar Cell phone charger
Solar power sockets
Walkie-Talkies
Entertainment:
Books, Magazines
Puzzles, Puzzle Books (Crosswords, Word Searches, Sudoku.)
Crank Radio (This will also be under Electronics, but it fit here as well.)
Board Games
Pens, Pencils, Pencil Sharpener, Crayons, Colored Pencils
Minor portable exercise equipment

Miscellaneous:
The Right Knife (combat/hunt/tool at least 6 inch fix blade up to 18inches)
Bug Repellent
Scissors
Sewing Kit
Wrench Kit
Drivers Kit
Sockets Kit
Hand Saw (and electric)
Hand Drill (and electric)
Hammer and a multitude of nails
Multitude of screws
Plywood and 2x4 wood
Candles
Lighters
Batteries all kinds
Matches all strike
Blankets
Heater Propane
Cat litter


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Sorry cant get it to format right... Help?


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Thanks for advice, will look into it


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I was just having a brain drizzle: If you just do one thing a day, you will eventually get to where you want to be as far as being better prepared for any concerns you have.

Throwing money at things without being master of using them is only paying attention to half the equation.

Try out a few practice runs on anything you think might be something you will be doing in a disaster. (simulate the things you can't really do for real).

For example, lot of folk have a fire steel in their bag, but have never built a fire with it, or perhaps even with a bic or matches.

Sewing up a wound looks easy until you have to do it. (pretty sure your med skills eclipse mine so just throwing out an example for anyone who happens to be reading this.)

Break it down from where you want to be down to where you are today and make a list that says for example Ok today I have one days worth of food stored at home.

I'm gonna get to two weeks worth by the end of this week. (double buy shopping trip)

then the next step like a years worth of long term storage food such as the famous morman four.

Also some folks split things up and each week work on one area, plus a bit on the basic ones.

So double buy your groceries to get more shelf stable food and also in one week work on medical, next week on security, next on transport, next on comms etc.

Keep an eye open for bargans and start a "bargan cookie jar" and throw spare change in it in case you luck up on something on you list and need cash now to grab the deal.

It is a journey and lifestyle to be prepared for bad things.

food storage needs to be rotated out first in ; first out so things do not spoil. If you store / buy what you use today and rotate stock then there is no surprise when you have a grubby time and no real switch except you are not replacing items as you use them up.

consider what will replace stored items when they are gone.

Where will you get them, how will you "buy / barter" for them. What if gooberment decides to confiscate and redistribute what you have for "the common good"?

Threat analysis and information gathering are important to recognize when the S is HTF. Thus both listening and comm is important.

One thing to remember: You can eat a elephant with the right method. Just eat it one mouthful at a time.

 

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Man, I'm glad I found this thread. Lots of excellent advice. The only thing that I can add is some advice on the request for a "Book of Eli" style blade. I keep a pair of heat paste between where you place the guard(s) and your handle to keep from melting the polypropylene on the handle.