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Now, I have been doing this for over ten years and have been actively involved in a small community of like-minded people for almost as much time – and I have seen plenty of folks come and go (especially since the rise of the show Doomsday Preppers). I – more so than a lot of people involved in this – have dealt with A LOT of other preppers face to face and I want to talk about the patterns that I have seen form over the years.

Before anything else I will quickly mention one thing that has been repeated a lot but is always worth mentioning – physical fitness! I have met people who hold the belief that it doesn’t matter if they cannot handle a flight of stairs as ‘the weight will come off when it needs too’ and ‘my body will adapt’. You can be the best prepared and equipped person on Earth but the harsh reality is that day zero will involve a lot of hard work, even if you intend to hunker down, you need to take into consideration preparing your AO and getting there. The reality is that no matter the event, prepping without the willingness to make some sacrifice to fitness is hoarding under a different name.

Now with that over with…

Skills – not stuff!

All too frequent is the mentality that having lots of “things” is going to make a SHTF scenario easier; while yes, there is a baseline amount of prepping supplies that will improve your chances and are basically necessities (A good knife, a map, a plan, and a gun depending on how you feel about the situation) that isn’t everything. What I am talking about is the huge tendency to believe that having an object is the same as being able to use said object proficiently.

Using a knife as an example – I believe that you will be hard pressed to find a single prepper that doesn’t carry a knife and have a good fixed blade somewhere. However I would say over 80% of preppers do not have knife skills, what I mean by this is do you know you to whittle, make traps, baton well, the uses for various knife blades and shapes, and how to dress a kill for hide and meat?

The same can be said of maps – yes navigating when you know your initial position is easy, but in the event you get disoriented can you triangulate your position with landmarks. What if you do not know the area, can you still find your way around?

Chances are that no matter how well prepared you are, a SHTF scenario will – eventually be similar to living in a completely infrastructure-less environment. Backpacking over a multi-week time period and hunting are excellent ways to learn many skills to make your life easier.

What are your gear priorities?

people tend to think of prepping items of - it is good to have. Instead try to think of it in a mindset of ‘what else could I bring instead’.
People tend to think of prepping items of – it is good to have. Instead try to think of it in a mindset of ‘what else could I bring instead’.

Prepping – like engineering, is not about having the most of everything, it is about having the right amount of everything. Whether you intend to stay or bug out, it is of course important to have the skills (Can you pack a bag correctly etc). However I see many people approaching with a mindset of hoarding will make things easier, as an example I spoke to a man whom had 43 different weapons with almost 500 days of non-perishable food. This mindset of buying without realizing that in a SHTF scenario every item you bring or stock has a cost.

For example with every weapon that man owned he was paying a price in 3 different ways.

  1. Obviously, space and weight. That 2.5 Kg rifle could be swapped for 2.5 Kg of water purification tablets, ammunition or tools – people tend to think of prepping items of – it is good to have. Instead try to think of it in a mindset of ‘what else could I bring instead’.
  2. Ultimately guns must be maintained regularly and more guns will mean more maintenance and man hours spent tending to your weapons.
  3. Finally, almost everything that is a tool for your own survival is also a tool AGAINST your survival. A bigger stash makes you more attractive to bandits and in this situation the only reason to have that many weapons was to maintain a guard force large enough to protect 200-300 people. If your plan is to conscript people and form a sizable community for survival that is fine, but having 40 people armed and only having enough farming tools and equipment to support 10 long-term is very dangerous.

Learn to maintain and make everything!

Learn as much passing knowledge on simple items as possible, learn to make bows, furniture, simple houses, simple clothes, simple bags, and anything along that line
Learn as much passing knowledge on simple items as possible, learn to make bows, furniture, simple houses, simple clothes, simple bags, and anything along that line

This is less applicable for people prepping for 3-4 day events like earthquakes and more aimed at people prepping for a complete breakdown of human society for an indefinite period of time. All too often I hear statements like ‘I have these 2 really super high quality solar panels so I will be fine’ unfortunately the reality is even the most expensive and well made tools money can buy are unlikely to survive 10 years of use. It may not be a nice reality but the reality is that any tool that you bring that cannot be replicated with basic machining knowledge and tools is temporary.

Learn the basics of reshaping scrap metal and wood – learn to make a furnace with materials that are renewable (Think clay and charcoal for the fire). Learn as much passing knowledge on simple items as possible, learn to make bows, furniture, simple houses, simple clothes, simple bags, and anything along that line – not only will it be useful in equipping your group but also for trading, a working and replaceable long-range weapon like a bow will be worth more than luxury cars 15 years after a collapse.

And finally, learn how to lead and how humans think.

People, given tools and direction can and will work and provide for themselves and the unprepared group who bands together will outlast the lone prepper.
People, given tools and direction can and will work and provide for themselves and the unprepared group who bands together will outlast the lone prepper.

Prepping has a strong theme of different strokes for different folks but one of the most common themes is ‘Everyone is going to be marauders and is going to be after me and I am going to have to kill so many hapless raiders and that justifies my federal armory of weapons!’. I have served, and I have been in disaster situations both long and short-term and the reality is there will be raiders for maybe a week – tops.

After that people will work together on a small-scale (think tribes) because we are naturally altruistic. After maybe a year or two and people are established raids will begin again. Preppers are almost always very exclusionary – I have met people who think the world will end if you share your beans but it is almost exactly the opposite.

People, given tools and direction can and will work and provide for themselves and the unprepared group who bands together will outlast the lone prepper. Television always portrays survival groups as a bunch of assholes all fighting for dominance all the time but really, it is the opposite! Almost always everyone just agrees they need food or whatever and no one steps up to the plate to really make decisions. Be that person and you will form a group of 20-30 people who will work for you and with you to make everyone’s lives better – it is how we are programmed.

The final note I leave you with on this topic is that people always form tribes and tribes are ALWAYS communal. Don’t expect that refusing to share what you have will extend your life at all.

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Before anything else I will quickly mention one thing that has been repeated a lot but is always worth mentioning – physical fitness! I have met people who hold the

Halloween is arguably one of the best days of the year to conduct surveillance, practice your bug out drills, and really test your prepper OPSEC. This is the only day out of the year where you are not only allowed to go on other people’s property but are actually incentivized and encouraged to do so while wearing an outfit designed to protect your identity.  Now “full disclosure” I have never gone “trick or treating” nor do I have any desire to do so.  However I have done some surveillance and drills on Halloween and these are the five things I have learned, and what I look for on my surveillance runs!

Learn your Bug Out Route

A night bug out being tactically advantageous, well this is the best experience you will get in a night setting without there being an actual catastrophe.

This is the perfect time to get a good bug out route in place.  There will be an abnormal amount of traffic in the general vicinity especially on foot. People who generally would not be out at night will be roaming the street begging for morsels while decorated in their scariest attire. Generally most preppers talk about a night bug out being tactically advantageous, well this is the best experience you will get in a night setting without there being an actual catastrophe. Adding the value of the sophistication of the numerous outfits it will feel like a real “Purge” scenario, just adding to the hype and excitement.  This will give you a real feel for what to expect in regards to the density of people, movement of traffic and the heart pumping realism of getting into the spirit of being in a WROL situation. Not to mention a great way to get the family together for an adventure rooted in the reality of a WROL situation. At the minimum you can have the family together dressed up to take on the world. Afterwards you can have a pizza, your favorite dessert and watch your favorite scary movie together as a family. What’s better than that?

Learn the Neighborhood Security

This is an excellent time to learn what the security around your neighborhood is. When going around the block you can see the openly advertised security signs, neighborhood gates, even beware of dog signs and you can see what infrastructure is set in place whether that be fences, locks, metal bars, motion detecting flood lights, barking dogs, natural topography etc. In a normal setting walking around taking note of local neighborhoods and underlying infrastructure would be seen as very suspicious but during Halloween foot traffic is quite normal so use it to your advantage. This will give you the ability to see what individual houses use as security and to see what security parameters are in place in a certain neighborhood which will give you a greater “security site picture” and a better understanding of  the overall community as a whole.

Political Signs

Which of these signs will prevent another tragedy
Which of these signs will prevent another tragedy

When walking through a neighborhood you get a lot of information about it by what kind of political innuendoes presented on the yard. There is no better way to advertise ones biases then by putting signs up for the whole world to read. So if I see signs in support of Madame Hillary Clinton and or local liberal community organizers I can make a solid case that this neighborhood is probably not in favor of values held by conservatives or libertarian like the 2nd Amendment, and preparedness. Vice versa if I were to see signs in support of a conservative Military/ LEO veteran Sheriff who is a strong supporter of the 2nd amendment chances are I will find individuals who are armed. This goes for car stickers and Flags (American, POW, American Jack, LGBT etc.). If I see a house with a vehicle with Pro/Anti constitution sticker or an American/LGBT flag raised it gives me a better understanding to the mindset of that household.

Natural Topography

bugout_survival_route_planning
Understanding what kind of terrain you will be operating in is paramount.

I can say without equivocation that natural topography is huge factor especially when thinking with a tactical mindset. Understanding what kind of terrain you will be operating in is paramount. Walking on a flat riverbed path is much different from an uphill rocky path. Knowing where water sources are, where different types of topography intersect is something that you should know or at least be familiar with. Especially when operating in low light conditions. Also remember with topography comes unique animal/plant life considerations. Snakes, Bears, spiders, deer, coyotes all of which can be found in the forest. While in snakes, scorpions, cougars, rabbits, and wild dogs can be found in the rocky desert. Also take the time to see if there is any edible/poisonous plantation in your area.  Bottom line; get to know your area, terrain, and the players involved.

Density and Movement of people

The density of groups and the pattern by which they move and interact with each other is a topic that one could talk for years about. The whole academic scholarship of anthropology is really centered on these premises. We can discuss if we as humans do this consciously or subconsciously but the fact remains that we do it. So when you’re out there take note of the general movement of people, group sizes and demographics of those groups. See if there is a certain pattern of traffic flow. Do certain groups follow other groups? The incentive in this case is for the individuals to find the most resources (candy, treats etc.). Some will go out with a game plan based upon prior experience while some will wing it while others will follow those who they feel will get the most return on their investment. You may even learn a few shortcuts you didn’t know where there before! Knowing this information will help you better understand how your local communities interact with one another and will allow you to understand how to be the best “Greyman” you can be. Lastly I’ll leave you with this tidbit; chances are if there is a favorite home or neighborhood during the “quote” holidays then it will probably be just as popular during a catastrophe.

Do certain groups follow other groups?

Now this is by no means an exhaustive list of things to note however this is a great-itemized list for starters. It’s also important to note that I don’t in any way condone any kind of actions that would violate any state, local, or federal law or ordinances.  Now with that being said you will be hard pressed to find a better day to either put your plans into motion or gather critical Intel on your local area. If you have to be out with the family dressed like a princess or zombie you mind as well give your family and yourself the ultimate doomsday experience, and capitalize on the ease of intelligence surveying, and route planning.

The final thought I’ll leave you with is this, if you don’t plan to roam the streets but would rather “stay and play” (distribute candy, treats, resources etc.) what would someone learn about your household, neighborhood or community?

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Halloween is arguably one of the best days of the year to conduct surveillance, practice your bug out drills, and really test your prepper OPSEC. This is the only day

Prepping is a fun hobby! Buy guns and ammo and plot how to wipe out the hungry hoards of neighbors trying to steal your MREs in a grid down WROL scenario. But, like life, the fun stuff is not really useful when SHTF happens in SHTF. This short article is designed to make you think about your circumstances as I go on and on and on about mine and what I would do.

Life in 2018 was different from life in 2017. I got up at dawn and went to bed at dusk. In between exhausted sleep in my smelly sleeping bag I find, chop, haul, and carry all day long. Wood, soil, water, and parts of wrecked houses all need to be gathered each and everyday as I try to build a life again without the aid of prepping videos or Final Prepper. I wish I’d downloaded that site before the War started! Too late now. What will your life be like in SHTF after the bombs stop falling and after the first Winter has seen the largest die off in human beings in our short and terminally stupid history? More to the point of this article, safely printed out and sealed in plastic, is what can happen to you and how will you prepare to deal with it after all the fun stuff has ended? Prepping for Year Two is a good mental exercise as it is too easy to get caught up in the first few weeks however stimulating that is (Check out BZA RZA GZA for the best shtf story of all time ).

Good health is more valuable than gold but is ignored until it is no longer there. Year Two I had some bad luck but I lived and we restarted civilization thanks to the Borgs (funny we called them that and they still do not know why!) so I can post my experiences in case another SHTF happens! SHTF ended by an alien invasion, now why did no one else think that would ever happen.

Huples Gets A Cold

This morning I ache all over and my throat and head are killing me.

Despite years of being a vegan and eating mostly vegan in SHTF I got a bad cold while trading some amaranth seeds for seed corn at the community market. I felt tired all day yesterday but I feel tired everyday. This morning I ache all over and my throat and head are killing me. I think I have a fever but there are no thermometers left working. Oh how I wish I’d kept those mercury ones I had when I started my nurse training.

Dragging out of bed I light the BioLite with wood stored in the hut. Love this stove but the electricity no longer is produced and the fan is dead. Still it reminds me of happier days camping. I drink mint tea and go back to my bed. Later I have a sneezing fit and green snot shoots out of my nose. Still I know I have a cold so two to three days rest and keep hydrated should fix me. No need to panic as I have several weeks worth of wood stored in the hut along with a lot of water. I’m not that hungry so I break out my emergency rations and have soup and oatmeal. I’m glad I kept pre War rations for when I’m sick. Going out to fish and forage would be very, very hard especially as I am not thinking very straight.

I also use some of my stored honey and apple cider vinegar to make a gargle. I also add in some dried raspberry leaves. Sadly I have no lemon juice anymore as a dash of that would help. I do have some single malt scotch and I have a generous amount of that at dinner time with my stored black tea. Helps me sleep and I know I have to keep drinking fluids all day despite feeling like death warmed over. I keep the fire going as well as warmth helps a lot. To help sleep I have placed two of the Winter blankets under my pillows as the elevation really helps the congestion.

I am not that hungry but I snack on dehydrated foods to help my body fuel itself to kill these nasty cold bugs. Blueberries slightly reduce fever and I like them and carrots for the beta-carotene. I drink a lot of my stored black tea as it contains catechin which is a mild antibiotic. 48 hours later I literally feel the fever go and bounce out of bed raring to go and start the day’s labors.

Huples Gets the Flu

This is really bad. I am drenched with sweat and shivering. I ache all over

Being a sociable sort I go to the community market again a few weeks later. I really want some baked beans and have been dreaming of them. I have a few buns I baked and almost no one has any flour anymore so I am hoping to be lucky. Nope. There appears to be no more safe baked beans in Canada. This truly is the apocalypse!

Two days later I wake up after feeling totally fine and I think my cold is back again. Until I try to get up out of bed. This is really bad. I am drenched with sweat and shivering. I ache all over like I did when I had the fight with the neighbor just after the War and had to kill him. My back, arms, and legs are so sore they hurt even if I just think of moving them. My throat is sore and I think I am having a stroke as my head is exploding in pain. The sudden and painful dry coughing fit seals the deal. Huples has influenza and that can easily kill me.

If I had any Tamiflu left now is the time to take them but I traded them for a bow last July when the Creeping Death flu hit the area. The bow has been a great gift but I also got the Creep and then had to use my remaining supply of Tamiflu. Tamiflu can cause nausea and vomiting and should be taken with food to reduce those effects. If you are reading this and have some Tamiflu I envy you. It is dangerous to use if you have asthma or any respiratory disease so those heavy smokers out there really should not take it. It can cause delirium and suicide in teenagers. But I have no Tamiflu left.

If I had my family still living I know that I would have already infected them the day before symptoms appeared. I do know that if I live I will be contagious for at least the next five days and maybe ten so no one should come anywhere near me without an N95 mask on and great hand washing.

I cannot light the fire as I am beyond weak. Luckily I can use my store of Winter blankets to cover my stinking, sweating, and shivering body. I immediately implement my illness protocol and use my stored water. I premix bottles with my stored Gatorade powder and really try to drink as much as I can. Once a day I throw my sheet onto the floor and wrap myself in a new one. Truly having a large store of linens was a game changer in SHTF for me.

Of course I survived and can happily tell you that flu had me in bed for about 5 days and as weak as a kitten for a month afterwards. This wasn’t the Creep and no one else around me had it. Still someone must have had it and infected me. Probably the trader whose baked bean tin I picked up even though it was obviously damaged. I never shake hands anymore after the Creep and stay one meter away but flu viruses are hardy and hangout on stuff as well as people.

Huples Breaks His Ankle

The foot is swollen and the inner ankle is rock hard and bruised but very pale everywhere else. My toes are numb when I prod my knife into them and I cannot move my toes at all.

Still weak from the flu I was running after a turkey I had hit with my bow in the back woods near where the 767 crashed, near the burned out Costco when I crashed down. I heard the snap and looked at my twisted foot but felt nothing until I tried to untie my boot. Pain. My world was pain. I stopped trying to see what was wrong and started looking for a stick. I could not feel my toes which is not good. I really hope I have sprained my ankle and not broken it. Luckily there were loads of sticks near me so I found two good enough as sort of walking sticks and then broke open my back pack to get to my EDC supplies. I wonder if I am the only prepper who carries an EDC in this new and not improved world! Carefully I tie four sticks to my boot and then attach them above the knee using paracord. This splint will have to do as I have to get back to my hut and get the boot off and do a visual inspection. The 600 meters to home took me three to four hours and I think I passed out a few times.

At the hut I regret not forcing the boot off when this happened as the foot and ankle are really swollen. I manage but barely and again passed out during this. I have opened the first aid box and ignored the precious aspirin as I they will interfere with inflammation and I need nature to work uninterrupted.

Elite First Aid Fully Stocked GI Issue Medic Kit Bag, Large

Visual inspection tells me it is a fracture. The foot is swollen and the inner ankle is rock hard and bruised but very pale everywhere else. My toes are numb when I prod my knife into them and I cannot move my toes at all. I wish I was not living alone as I really need help with this. I try to tape and straighten the foot but I just cannot do it. I blow my air horn, three short, three long, three short, pause, repeat. Keeping that seemed odd but now I am toast if no one comes a running to save me. I am guessing the population of our small town is around 400 now. 86000 dead but no one does a census and no one collects taxes so there is some good news I guess! Mike shows up after a few hours. He was really puzzled to hear the air horn when out hunting. He’s a good guy. Everyone is these days as the bad ones ended up among the 86000 by the end of the first Winter. Still he’s not happy at being asked to do foot care on Huples so he leaves after having a shot of rare scotch with me and send his 13-year-old daughter Kitty to ‘nurse’ me.

I am a nurse and proud of it so having little Kitty ‘nurse’ me is funny. She broke her wrist during the War and I fixed her up at the time using my great store of medical gear including a cast. I have her get the supplies ready including medical tape, gauze, and my last role of casting bandage. I have been thinking of clay casts but I am glad I have one roll of the real stuff left. My main issue is when the medical tape runs out. Duct tape works but ruins the skin as it does not breathe.

Kitty pulls my foot straight and I hear and feel the grinding. Kitty does not care and has seen and done worse but who of us has not? She tapes and wraps the foot like a pro. Casting soaks and then goes on and the warm heat of it setting is wonderful. I thank Kitty and gift her a Mars Bar (mini one) and a gold RN pin (my old nursing association sent me one a year and I hoarded them). She tells me she will come once a day and help out for half an hour but otherwise she cannot spare the time. Kitty should be a real nurse and I decide to ask her and Mike if I can apprentice her once I am literally back on my feet. So many old skills have literally died.

Thanks to Kitty and my SHTF prepper freeze-dried stores of food carefully hoarded these last few years I make an okay recovery but my days as a ballet dancer are over. My carefully carved ‘crutches’ are a lot heavier than those nice old aluminum ones that burned when the house went up but they do the job.

Anyway as we all know the Borgs invade before the third Winter. Humanity welcomed our alien overloads with open arms and they turned out to be decent enough for orange hairy lizards. I am sure I’d have cut myself, got an STD, had an eye injury, and maybe had one of the births end up as a c section (mortality about 99% I reckon) if the new world had not been forced on us by the Borgs. Yet I have the skills to deal with those things even without modern medicines and equipment the Borgs have given us in exchange for the Sahara and Australia. Still life would be a lot harder and shorter without electricity and powered ships and vans.

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Life in 2018 was different from life in 2017. I got up at dawn and went to bed at dusk. In between exhausted sleep in my smelly sleeping bag I

There are numerous concepts used in the Prepping community and the concept of a Get Home Bag is one of the easiest to understand because the rationale is very obvious and could potentially affect most anyone. The practice of assembling and using this tool is another matter. A Get Home Bag (GHB) is just what it sounds like. It is a bag that contains supplies to help you Get Back Home. Pretty simple, right?

The next obvious question is what do you put in the Get Home Bag? This is when the answer becomes more complex. Not because it is hard, because I do not believe constructing a bag with the basic supplies you need is difficult, but we frequently want a list of items we can go purchase because its easier. Actually, it would be better if we could go down to Wal-Mart purchase our get home bag along with the latest DVD and some chips and be done with it. Either give me simple instructions or make it easy for me to acquire it and I’m there.

The Get Home Bag is often grouped in with its larger sibling, the Bug-Out-Bag or bugout bag, but the two are vastly different tools and should have two distinctly different uses. While the bugout (BOB) usually contains the same items from situation to situation, this doesn’t necessarily make sense in a get home bag. Let me explain why.

The scenario for a bugout bag is that you are forced to evacuate your home and you are heading somewhere else for an extended period of time. You may or may not be coming back. Your bug out bag carries the basic necessities for living away from your home for an extended time. The bug out bag is usually pretty closely aligned to your Survival Kit List and the bags are larger because you have more stuff that needs to go in there. Most people would share the same necessities (food, clothing, shelter, security) so the general contents of the bag would be similar regardless of location. You would need some type of shelter, but the type of protection from the elements you need may be different for someone living in Alaska as opposed to Mississippi.

The Get Home Bag is not something you should be packing to live off of. This bag’s contents depend largely on how long it will take you to get back to your family and the obstacles you envision facing on your journey. If you are traveling away from home, your GHB should take a completely separate state of scenarios into consideration and it should be packed accordingly. If you are right down the street at a party, would you need the same equipment?

How far will you have to travel?

According to data I was able to get from the US Census Bureau website, the average commute time in the US was about 25 minutes. I know this is an average and some of you out there drive an hour each way. Uphill. In a car made of cardboard… Actually, I used to do that myself for a month. There will always be situations that are on the outside edges and I can’t take all of them into consideration so we will just take the average as our baseline and work out from there. So taking that amount of 25 minutes into consideration we can assume if you jump into your car and start driving at 60 miles an hour right away the average distance would be 25 miles. I know this isn’t the case, so I am knocking this in half for traffic, public transportation, etc. 12 miles away from home for the average person.

OK, now that we have our base distance of approximately 12 miles and knowing that all things being equal, the average person (I am going to use that term a lot) can comfortably walk a mile in 20 minutes. 12 miles X 20 minutes is about 4 hours. If you are being chased by Zombies, that amount of time goes down and you could make it home much quicker, but the average person should only need about 4 hours to get back home. But wait you say, this is a grid-down type of scenario and you don’t know what could be involved with actually trying to get back home. What if I am not at work and I am visiting relatives? That’s correct so we will take another set of assumptions.

What could cause me to need my Get Home Bag?

For the purposes of this article, some emergency has happened, your normal method of transportation is not available and the location you are in (maybe it is a visit to friends) isn’t going to work so you must get back home. We’ll take that one step further and say in order to realistically need your GHB, NO method of transportation is available and you are using your LPC’s to transport you back to home. For those of you who don’t know, LPC stands for Leather Personnel Carriers – shoes. If we had a situation like 9/11 where a catastrophe happened, no public transportation was available but the basic infrastructure was in place, walking is perfectly reasonable. Again, this is your average person, not someone who is in a wheelchair or injured. If this is the case, what needs to be in your GHB? That depends on what you think you will need for your 4 hour (or so) walk home. Do you need a complete first aid kit, cutting torch, welding gloves and hazmat suit? Probably not.

Let me pause right here and say that I am not poopooing the idea of a Get Home Bag. I have one and it is with me daily in my car. I am just trying to put things into perspective. If you work 3 hours away or are on vacation, your bag’s contents need to be adjusted.

OK, back to the scenario where a disaster has happened, no public transportation is available and you are forced to walk back home. There are a ton of factors that could influence what you carry.

  • Is it Summer or Winter?
  • Is there snow and ice on the ground?
  • Do you work in a high-rise office and wear high-heels to work?
  • Are you a lifeguard and only wear a bathing suit?
  • Is it evening time when you are forced to get back home?
  • Are you likely to be in a situation where you are trapped inside a building and need to escape?
  • Could you possibly be trapped underground in a tunnel?

All of these factors start to influence what we pack but they should individually be evaluated against the percentage of likelihood that you would encounter a situation like this. Could you possibly be in a car that is plunged into an icy river and you would need oxygen tanks to survive until you can swim up to the surface? Sure, but is that very likely? Nope.

OK, I think I have circled the wagons long enough here and if you have been like me and scrolled all of the way to the bottom until you see a list of bullets, here you go. I keep all of my stuff for my get home bag in a Maxpedition Jumbo Versipack because it has more than enough room for what I need to carry.

  • Walking shoes – these may already be on your feet.
  • ball cap or boonie hat to keep the elements off your head
  • Jacket – to knock the chill or rain off depending on season
  • Gloves – work type gloves would be better in this scenario
  • Knife (but this should already be in your EDC)
  • Multi-tool (again, you should already have this on you)
  • Headlamp with spare batteries
  • Dust mask or handkerchief
  • Water – amount depends on your situation
  • Basic blood stopper bandage
  • Spare ammo (you are carrying right?)
  • meal replacement bar X 2
  • energy booster – 5 hour energy
  • Lighter
  • Pen/paper
  • 25 feet of paracord
  • 10 feet of duct tape (I prefer Gorilla tape)

 

Your mileage may vary.

Do you need this many medical supplies to just make it home? Probably not. This is a good emergency medical kit for your family though.

Is this going to be enough for you to chisel your way out of a collapsed parking garage, fight the mutant hordes, set up a shelter to weather the meteor storm and feed a group of individuals you have met up with after the disaster for a week? No, but this will get the average person home in a day or two without dying in most situations.

Can you add more water and food? Of course and if you live in hotter climates or have further to go, you should absolutely do that. For me in my every day use though I don’t believe this is necessary. I have reviewed other Prepper’s bags and they account for a lot of situations mine doesn’t. For example, I have seen some that suggest rope (to rappel out of your office window) and bolt cutters and topographical maps and compasses and pry bars and lock pick sets. My belief is that if you can’t figure out how to make it back home without a map, you are very likely to not know how to use a map in the first place. Perhaps you want to take this so someone else can tell you how to get home?

What about a more substantial first aid kit? That’s a great question, but what are you planning for? Most every first aid kit I have seen comes with 250 Band-Aids and a lot of aspirin tablets for the most part. If the world around you has collapsed so completely that you are forced to walk home 12 miles are you really going to stop and put a band aid on a boo boo? No, but you may be injured more seriously so I recommend a basic bandage to stop larger blood loss and patch a bigger cut.

What if you are vacationing and are several hundred miles away from home? That would require you to change the contents of your get home bag. For instance my normal EDC firearm is replaced with a full size Glock and two spare magazines. My water is increased and so are my food preparations. I also have clothing appropriate for walking in whatever weather is forecast. If I am traveling with others, the get home bag starts to look more like a bug out bag but that’s fine.

What about the roving hordes of mutant zombie bikers? Again, if the world has gone to crap like that, carrying more stuff isn’t necessarily going to help you. Your mileage may vary, but this is the basic list of items that can keep you from starving, dehydrating and safe for a day. You may be tired and hungry, but you aren’t going to die.

I am curious to hear what others have packed in their get home bags.

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Secure your privacy in just 10 simple steps

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There are numerous concepts used in the Prepping community and the concept of a Get Home Bag is one of the easiest to understand because the rationale is very obvious

It is always important to be prepared. By staying ready, you can survive any impending doomsday situation. While the emergent conditions could destroy animals and much of the human race, you stand a chance of survival by staying prepared. One of the important skills to have is knowing how to pick the most ideal camping place just in case you need to live on the move. A good camping site provides you with space for setting up your tables, fires and tents in a comfortable way.

Read on to learn some methods that you can use to pick one of these great camping sites and guarantee your survival and that of your loved ones.


Tips for choosing the best camping place 

 

Pick the best ground surface 



 

The surface on which you set up your tent is very important. That’s because it should be completely flat. This prevents you from rolling right off your sleeping pad and getting crammed against the wall of your tent at night. As such, ensure that the camping surface is completely flat and has no protrusions too. Two ideal ground coverage types are sand and grass. Therefore, look out for them as you search for a camping site. Secondly, if you are camping in windy conditions, a depression in the ground is a good place to camp. However, it presents the risk of collecting water in case it rains. As such, depressions should only be used in dry weather.

Pick a spot that can provide makeshift furniture

 

While camping, you may not be able to bring along all the furniture that you normally have in your home. This is especially so if you are simply surviving a doomsday. Therefore, pick a spot where there are boulders, fallen trees and rocks. They provide great makeshift furniture for your camping site. Simply drape blankets or cloth upon them to make comfortable spots for having your meals or relaxing during the day or night. Straight, strong branches can also make the best tent stakes.

The presence of shade

 

Once you find a flat camping ground, the next feature to search for is shade. While it is not necessary to have permanent shade throughout the day, it is important to ensure that your camping area has shade in the morning. This is because you would not want to be awoken at 7:00am in the morning by hot sun broiling your camping
hammock tent. As such, pick an area where your tent will be shaded in themorning and hopefully for the rest of the day too. One way to guarantee shade for yourself is by bringing along some shade shelter.

  • If the weather is good, camp high in the hills or mountains
    There are a number of reasons why it is best to camp high in the mountains or hills. Firstly, you have a wide view of your surroundings. This way, you can spot any enemies or threats approaching you before they arrive at your spot. Secondly, you can enjoy warmer conditions in good weather. Interestingly, cold air collects in valley bottoms. Therefore, it is warmer up in the hills or the mountain. This makes such locations ideal for a camping site. In addition to that, you get to see the sunshine earlier.
  • Ensure that the items over your tent are safe

When camping, it is important to observe the items looming right above your tent. This is for safety reasons. You would not want to pitch tent under a dead tree branch under the assumption that it looks safe. As such, you should avoid pitching tent under dangerous features. In addition to this, you should not pitch tent near rockslides and avalanche paths too. Loose rock edges should also be avoided at all costs. By sticking to these guidelines, you can exercise caution as you decide which is better between a hammock vs tent. These tips also help you to pick a good camping site so as to ensure your own survival.

  • Have access to water

While it is not advisable to camp right next to any water masses such as lakes, oceans or ponds, it is important to pick a campsite that has access to water. Carrying your own water as you camp is always a great idea. However, at some point you will need to restock your water supply. Therefore, search for a spot that is close to a creek or spring. While doing this, make sure that your camping site is more than 200 feet away from this water source to avoid floods.

  • Search for privacy

When you camp, you should search for as much privacy as you can get. While it is not bad to have other campers along, ensure that you are more than 20 feet away from them. As you camp out, it is important to have your own space. This promotes discretion and allows you to hear your surroundings clearly so as to maintain alertness throughout the night. If you find that the camping areas are already taken up by other campers, don’t be afraid to venture further out into the wilderness so as to get the ideal camping site during a doomsday scenario. This privacy actually improves your chances of survival. Moreover, ensure that the camping site that you pick is not too close to any trails.

  • Check to see that you are in safe surroundings

It is important to ensure that the surroundings of your camping site are also safe. Make sure that you do not set up camp in areas that are surrounded by water bodies, hilltop boulders or mud escarpments. Moreover, it is not ideal to set up camp on wide, flat areas. That’s because windy conditions in these areas can blow against your tent and make the experience very uncomfortable. Therefore, look through your surroundings to ensure that they are safe for camping at all times.  This contributes positively to your wellness and that of your companions.

Conclusion

 

To survive any period of turmoil, it is best to be prepared. The tips above can help you to camp in a method that promotes your survival. The main objective in doomsday scenarios is survival. By following these guidelines, you can dramatically improve your chances.

Author’s Bio:

Welcome to Rainy Camping. I am Michael Everett, a camping expert who loves to travel and explore the wilderness throughout the year. I aim to visit every campsite in the world and offer smart advice to the novice adventurers out there.

 

 

 

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It is always important to be prepared. By staying ready, you can survive any impending doomsday situation. While the emergent conditions could destroy animals and much of the human race, you stand a

Introduction to Slings (Part 2)

Last time we looked at the uses, types and history of slings.  Now let us consider how to choose a sling and look at some choices with potential for tactical use.

How to Choose a Rifle Sling

As is usually the case with anything, the first step in choosing the best rifle sling is to decide what you are going to use it for.  For a sport hunting arm, any old carrying strap will do.  A padded one will be comfortable for those long treks, and these are available in nylon and leather.  I tend to prefer the nylon ones as being more reasonably priced.  If you are doing competition shooting, go with what the rules of your events specify; a M1907 model sling might be optimal for some types of competitions.  For a tactical rifle or shotgun, a single point/two point convertible is often a good choice.

Slings are available in various widths.  I would tend to avoid 1″, the most common, when possible.  This is just because the narrower the strap, the more concentrated the weight applied where it contacts the body.  Of course, a sporting sling with a wider padded part would eliminate this concern, and in my day, I found Uncle Mike’s padded slings to be quite acceptable.  They do not appear to be sold these days, but if I were looking for one, I’d check out Butler Creek (same parent company as Uncle Mike’s), who appear to have some models which would be equivalent or even better.  For slings without a wide pad, the 1 1/4″ sling would often be a better choice than the 1″.

Wider slings are available, but usually only with clips for ring mounts.  For a tactical sling, I’d prefer 1 1/2″, and for a heavy tactical gun, I might even search for a 2″ sling.  There are a few padded tactical slings, but my theory is that if they were really superior, there would be a lot more of them.

When considering any sling, check out the “fixed” adjustment.  You want a sling which is big enough for any likely use of yours, without being too big for any use.  The fixed adjustment should be moderately easy to set, but more importantly, not move accidentally.  Some slings also need to have a “rapid” adjustment to switch between modes, separate from the fixed adjustment for size.  Make sure this adjustment mechanism is conveniently located, easily operated, and stays where you put it when it is not deliberately being moved.

Tactical Sling Choices

As mentioned, sport slings are not terribly different from each other, and competition slings tend to be specified by the competition.  The real excitement is in the tactical sling arena; usually a single point/two point convertible sling is a good choice, but there are a bunch of them, ranging in price from cheap ones from China to the $100 range.  Looking for one appropriate for a tactical shotgun, I set an arbitrary limit of $60.  The first one I considered was the Magpul MS3 or MS4, because they are a good company, and frankly, since they have their own QD clip, they “must know what they are doing”.  But they use 1.25″ webbing, which might be a bit narrow for such a heavy gun.  A very attractive one was the Cetacea Rabbit with two rapid adjustments instead of just one, but the 1″ webbing might be even less appropriate than the Magpul.  Finally, I found a 2″ wide one, the e-RUSH (enhanced Rapid Urban Sentry Hybrid) from Urban-E.R.T Tactical.  This is their top model, with all the sling bells and whistles.  They have a lower level model for economy and even a 1″ version if you like the style but don’t need the 2″ width.

Let’s take a closer look at the e-RUSH and the MS3.

e-RUSH sling

This photo shows the E-RUSH Sling transformed into a one point sling for single point use.

With a strap width of 2″, this is one of the better choices I’ve found for heavy long guns – if it will fit you.  Fixed adjustment is a simple sliding buckle providing one foot of adjustment.  The captured buckle means you can’t make it any shorter than two feet, and a very long label on the strap discourages you from getting three inches more than three feet;  there is a flat elastic section included.  Unlike the “bungee” section which is a more common methodology, this is at the forward end of the strap rather than at the butt end.  This is so that if you jump down and the weight of the gun stretches the sling downward, the elastic does not bring it back up to smack into your face.  And it is more comfortable and useful for chest expansion if you are breathing heavily.  The straps and attachments on each end of the 2″ strap are standard 1″.  With this and all the hardware, this means that using the strap like a normal sporting sling, for carrying (muzzle up) or shooting support, is not comfortable, and the moderate adjustment variance makes it too long for this anyway.  With all the hardware it has, you might be able to disassemble it and “build” it for “normal sporting” use, but it might still be too long and even if not, it hardly seems worth the effort.

On the butt end of the sling there is a locking strap system which allows you to attach a female buckle and ring, a female buckle and male buckle, or a female buckle and push button QD socket.  The female buckle is where you plug-in the male plug which is attached to the mount on the gun, and the ring/male buckle/QD socket is where you attach the forward end of the sling to convert it into a one point sling.  You can also attach a “CQB” adapter here instead, which eliminates the two-part buckle between the sling and the gun so it rides a few inches higher.  That is, the gun adapter is connected directly to the sling rather than through a quick disconnect buckle.

Read More: Top 5 Firearms you need to get your hands on now!

The other (forward) end of the sling has the same locking strap system.  This is attached to a fancy two function buckle.  On the top end, there is a small tab, which if you pull sharply, causes the buckle to come apart, giving an emergency exit from the sling.  The other end is a fast adjustment buckle, which allows you to tighten the sling by pulling on the protruding strap end, or loosen the sling by lifting up on the end of the buckle.  This gives you a rapid adjustment of sixteen inches.  On the other end of the rapid adjustment strap is the female buckle which attaches to the male plug connected to the forward sling attachment.  The rapid adjustment strap is handy to pull on to cinch up the system, but when the sling is cinched tight, that strap end can flop around.

Which QD adapters are available, you ask?  All the major ones are available, except for the Magpul one.  You can choose between the stud, the push button, the Mash clip, the HK clip, a locking strap (for a slot or fixed ring), and a version of the Universal Wire Loop using paracord instead of the stiffer and thinner wire (which may make it less versatile).  In order to use the ring to convert from two point to one point, you will have to use the Mash or HK clip on the front, and to use the QD socket to convert to single point, use the push button QD adapter on the front.  Or if you have the male plug for single point conversion, just unclip the front female buckle from the adapter in use, and fasten it to the male plug near the butt end.  This latter configuration allows you to have a female buckle attached to your belt, which allows you to fasten the male plug attached to adapter at the front end of the gun to that buckle to secure the front of the gun when quick access is not needed.

I’m quite large, and at the three-foot adjustment, it is just the right size.  If I had armor or a thick vest, it might not be long enough.  Functionally, this works quite well in one point mode with a shotgun or rifle with a pistol grip or any stock.  In two point mode, it is great for a pistol grip shotgun, but if the shotgun has a full size stock and a shell saddle, the butt end kind of sticks out (because the shell saddle is between the user and the gun.  The adapters which Velcro around the stock and the forearm to provide sling mount points on guns which don’t have them, or have them only on the bottom, work very well, except that putting it on an AR style stock prevents you from operating the charging handle, so should be avoided.

This system seems to meet my requirements for heavy tactical weapons, and is versatile enough that one sling can be used on any one of a variety of firearms.

MS3/MS4 sling

Magpul MS4 Gen 2 Multi-Mission Single Point / 2 Point Sling with Dual QD Swivels Nylon

This is kind of standard and simple in design.  There is their brand clip (MS3) or a QD clip (MS4) on the butt end, connected to a ring or QD socket.  Then the main strap to a buckle tasked as a double loop.  The fixed adjustment for this strap is two slide buckles, giving you about three feet of adjustment and more if you get creative.  The secondary strap gives you two feet of “instantaneous” adjustment and has another Magpul clip or a QD clip, and that’s it.  Simple and clean, it is more streamlined than the e-RUSH, but not as versatile.  You can also get a MS1 sling and upgrade it to a MS3 or MS4.

It is designed as a two point to one point convertible which means it can provide fast access, but no support for increased accuracy.  But it can be “tricked” into working as a standard sling, allowing the use of the “hasty sling” technique as well as muzzle up carry.  You’ll need a ring or QD socket forward and near the butt.  Rings are rare at the butt end, but you can install an unattached QD clip back there and that works adequately as a ring for the Magpul clip.  Then reassemble the fixed adjustment system to be much shorter (there will be a long strap end to feed back into the buckles) and it actually works fairly well for “hasty sling” and “normal” carry.

In its intended modes, it works quite well, with one big advantage and a couple of minor disadvantages.  The big advantage is the Magpul connecting clip.  This attaches to the ring parallel to the strap, rather than perpendicular like the HK or MASH clips.  And it doesn’t twist or rattle or slide around like those others.  With the cross lock, it is secure, yet very easy to attach or detach.  On the downside, there is no elastic element in the strap, so if you have it cinched up tight, you might restrict your breathing a bit.  The width is 1 1/4″ which is better than 1″, but not as good as bigger.  A heavy weapon gets a bit uncomfortable when hanging in single mode for a long period of time, which may not be normal usage.  And the quick adjustment tends to adjust itself sometimes.  Minor negatives, and for a medium or lightweight weapon, this is a pretty good choice.  There is a padded version of the MS1, which if upgraded to a MS3 or MS4 equivalent, might even be acceptable for heavy weapons.

Conclusions

Personally, I’d have any long gun I owned set up for a sling.  When you find you need a sling, it is often too late to install one.  Although I would be too cheap to have a separate sling for every gun, I would have at least one of every type of sling I would need.  I would install studs or QD sockets in every hunting rifle and shotgun, with a nylon padded sling (or two) with the matching clips.  For any competition gun, I’d probably stick with the sling attachments which came with it, and have a 1907 style leather sling (the one from Brownells used to be hard to beat) and any other sling required by a match I might go to.  For a tactical weapon, I’d have an ambidextrous mount between the stock and the receiver, and a mount in front which either was ambidextrous, or could easily be removed and mounted on the other side, as well as standard mounts forward and at the butt if practical.  My choice for a heavy tactical sling would be the e-RUSH sling, and I’d be tempted to get a couple of Magpul clips and integrate them into the e-RUSH since I like them much better than MASH clips and slightly better than QD clips (I won’t have anything to do with HK clips).  If I had several tactical weapons, I would also have a Magpul sling for the lighter ones.

Are there other slings besides Butler Creek, Brownells, Urban-ERT and Magpul?  Of course, there are many; some similar and a few significantly different.  There might be better ones, and from my experience, I can guarantee there are worse ones.  Some are cheaper and some are more expensive; more expensive ones are sometimes better than cheap ones, but not always.  There is often a choice of colors.  Pick the one (or more) which is suitable for your needs and budget.

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Introduction to Slings (Part 2) Last time we looked at the uses, types and history of slings.  Now let us consider how to choose a sling and look at some choices

A Bug Out Bag is something that most of us are familiar with even if most of us do not have one loaded by the door or in the trunk of your car, ready to go at all times. For the uninitiated, the Bug Out Bag’s purpose is to give you everything you should need to live for 72 hours if you are forced to evacuate your location suddenly. A bug out bag should be pre-packed with all of your supplies so that you can grab it, throw it on your back and walk or run out your car, or head for the hills.

I have written a couple of other posts about Bug Out Bags and one dealt specifically on the subject of the contents of your bug out bag or BOB. My contention is that there are too many people that are throwing everything but the kitchen sink in their packs and I feel that there is something of an insane rush to get everything humanly possible into your BOB without much thought as to the why or the weight.

 

A bug out bag is not a U-Haul. It is not a Bug Out Suitcase even though I swear some people pack more into a Bug Out Bag than they do for a week down in Cancun. I have another post lined up to rehash this concept under a different theme, but I have heard others talk about packing 50 to 70 pounds in their Bug Out Bag and they plan to walk for hundreds of miles if necessary. 70 pounds???

I won’t get into weight or the absolute foolishness (in my opinion) of packing anything remotely that heavy in this post. I will talk about intelligently packing what you do have because regardless of whether you have an ultra-light pack or some behemoth weighing as much as a 4th grade boy, you need to pack this in a way that will make it as comfortable as possible to carry. We are going to talk about how to pack your bug out bag to take the most advantages of weight distribution and tried and true backpacking tips as possible. Backpackers have been bugging out for a long time and it pays to take a lesson or two from people who have more experience than the average Doomsday Prepper fan when it comes to packing everything they need for 72 hours on their back and living to talk about it.

 

 

Packing a backpack and packing a bug out bag are virtually identical. I would argue that you could just as easily bug out with a back pack as you could with any military looking pack from Blackhawk, maybe even easier. There are 4 simple rules to packing any pack you are going to carry on your back.

  • Heaviest gear goes close to your back
  • Light gear away from your back
  • Frequently used items go on top
  • Less used items go on bottom

The Basics of Pack Loading

Packing a backpack or packing your bug out bag are pretty similar. To be successful, you want to pack the right gear, but you need to pack it the right way too and that means keeping your center of gravity as close to you as possible. The last thing you need is a big pack that keeps you off balance and puts unneeded stress on your back.

Sample Bug Out Bag loading diagram.

Items like water and food usually weigh the most unless you have some really heavy gear in your bug out bag. A lot of people have moved to carrying water bladders like a Camelbak and most new packs have a place right inside the back next to your spine for carrying this. Keep the heavy stuff as close to you as possible and low as opposed to above your shoulders.

The Bottom of the Pack

Using the guidelines above, I pack the items I am going to need to get to least,  at the bottom of the pack. My pack has a compartment in the bottom for my sleeping bag so that goes in first. Additionally, having your sleeping bag on the bottom gives you a nice soft cushion when you set your pack down. I have my sleeping bag in a compression sack, but if I have any fear of rain I would add a waterproof bag instead. Running out the door isn’t the time to worry about this, so it may make more sense for you to pack your sleeping bag in a waterproof sack regardless.

Next, I add my tent or hammock gear. I still prefer the tent and it is one of the last items I need so It goes in the bottom of the bag. Depending on the trip I also have a tarp that is attached at the bottom.

The Core of the Pack

Once I have my sleeping bag and tent in the bug out bag, I pack most of my spare clothes, then food and cooking gear. I say most of my clothes because depending on the weather I will carry a fleece or windbreaker too and I want this where I can get to it easily. My main food isn’t going to be eaten until I am at camp or stopped most likely.

I also carry a JetBoil that takes up about as much room as my food and I have my fuel in that same container. My jetboil can boil water for drinking, cook food or quickly heat my water for coffee in the mornings.

The Top of the pack

The top of your bug out bag or the pockets on the outside depending on what you are using should have the gear or equipment you are going to need the most. My pack has a compartment that is waterproof and that is where the lighters and fire kit go along with my headlamp and snacks. This way if I get hungry, I don’t have to dig in my bug out bag, just unzip the top compartment. On the backside of my pack, I have a zippered pocket for tp and spare cordage. I will also carry maps and maybe a camera.

 

 

 

What’s on the sides?

The sides usually hold the water filter, maybe some additional items depending on what I am carrying like spare water bladders. I carry two spares so that when I get to camp I can pump plenty of water for washing up, cooking and even breakfast in the morning. When they are empty they weigh nothing.  My pack also has side pockets for my water bottles too and those work nicely because I can easily reach water while I am walking. One of these days I am going to pull the trigger and get a Camelbak so that I don’t have to carry it, but I still think the good old bottle is easier in some aspects.

That’s how I do it. How do you pack your bug out bag?

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A Bug Out Bag is something that most of us are familiar with even if most of us do not have one loaded by the door or in the trunk

Early long guns could be carried in two hands ready for instant use or in one hand for almost as quick use.  But you really could not do anything else with that hand or those hands.  It became quickly obvious that a hands-free way of carrying a long gun was needed, and probably the first sling was simply a piece of rope tied to each end of the gun. Times have changed and today this article will be begin with some history, but will also share how to choose the best rifle sling for your  use.

Introduction to Slings (Part 1)

In the late 17th century, as European militaries were arming more and more men with muskets, sling “swivels” started to appear on military firearms.  Generally this was a slotted ring on the bottom of the stock near the butt, and a matching ring on the underside of the forend.  A flat strap, usually of canvas, was then threaded through these rings.  There was generally some length adjustment ability.  In the 1870’s, a new U.S. military rifle was introduced which came with a fairly new concept: a sling made of leather.

As the experience with slings became more common, people found that besides allowing for hands-free carry, a properly set up and fitted sling could help achieve greater accuracy.  The model 1907 sling was the height of sling development as far as support while shooting goes, where the forward arm is inserted between the straps of the sling and “locked” in place with “keepers”.  Despite efforts to replace it, this model continued to be an official U.S. Military option until the days of the M16, which came with a simple adjustable nylon strap, returning the sling to a mere carrying device.

Note that even with a sling which is designed only for carrying, there is a technique of wrapping the sling around your forward arm which provides some of the stability of a M1907 style sling.  This technique is called “hasty sling” because it is pretty quick and doesn’t require a lot of adjustment.

Originally the sling attachment points, and thus the slings, were usually along the bottom of the gun.  This was not really a problem with early firearms, but as magazine fed guns started to appear, the sling and the magazine tended to interfere with each other a bit.  Slings along the side of the gun could fix this problem, but were by no means ambidextrous and did not work as well for shooting support.

Quick Disconnect Mounts

Civilian shooters preferred a sling which could be easily attached and detached, encouraging the development of quick detach sling attachments.  The strap is threaded through the QD attachments, which then can be easily attached to or removed from the matching mounts on the gun.  Nowadays there appear to be at least five possible true QD options to put on the end of your sling.

Which of these options can be used on a particular gun depends on what mounts are built-in or added to that gun.  It is optimal to have the same QD attachment on both ends of the sling, but it is not a requirement if having mismatched attachments is appropriate.  It is handy to have the same mount or set of mounts on similar guns, so you don’t necessarily have to have a separate sling for each one.

STUD Mount

One of the first choices was “studs” screwed into the wood or clamped around the barrel.  There was a hole through this stud and flat sides perpendicular to the hole, and the matching part had two flat flanges separated by the width of the stud, with a pin through them.  Attached, there was a flange on each side of the stud and the pin through the flanges and the stud.  Uncle Mikes has an extensive history with these swivels and still have a good selection.  They are pretty good on sporting arms, but for tactical use they are not optimal.  Early models could be “popped off” as the moving flange was merely spring-loaded.  Some later models have a threaded knob, which when screwed down to the flange, prevents it from unintentionally opening.

CUP or HOLE Mount

Another early option was a “cup” inlet into the stock with a groove around near the top.  The matching part had some small balls around the circumference, which clicked into these grooves.  A button in the center retracted the balls so the part could be removed.  An alternative mount to the cup is a hole in a piece of metal of the same thickness as the distance from the top of the cup to the groove.  This system is fairly heavy-duty and can rotate side to side, which can be both good and bad.  A few have built-in stops to prevent complete rotation, keeping the sling from getting twisted.

RING Mount

The M-LOK Paraclip Sling Mount is the M-LOK compatible variant of the older MSA – MOE Sling Attachment.

More recently, rings started appearing on tactical guns.  These can accept a quick connect hook, and there appears to be three common choices.  There is the Magpul Paraclip, slightly similar to a clothespin.  This is fairly bulky; on the one hand, it does not fit on smaller rings, but on the other hand, is very stable.  If it comes with a cross-bar lock (and you use it), it is highly resistant to unintentional release and even without using the lock I have not had a problem.  Next is the HK snap clip.  This is very versatile and flexible, but is a bit noisy and floppy, and if you twist it right, it can pop off by itself.  The third common option is the Mash Clip.  This has a structure similar to a split key ring, but rather than having to pry the layers apart, there is an area you squeeze to separate the layers.  Like the HK clip, it is a bit noisy and floppy, but is much more secure.

There are a few other hooks which might work and are available from some sling makers.  One is called a “trigger snap”.  There very well may be a version which is strong enough and secure enough for sling usage, but the ones I’ve used (on keychains and other non-sling items) release accidentally and even bend open.  Another is a freaky-looking hinged hook, which I don’t know the name of and have never seen in person.  Basically, before relying on any connector other than the common ones, investigate it thoroughly.  You want to make sure it won’t bend or break, won’t release accidentally, is acceptably easy to attach and detach, and does not get “tangled up” with the gun.

SLOT Mount

The slot mount, like the original slotted ring, is not a quick disconnect attachment.  Although it, like the original slotted ring, can approximate a QD attachment if you strap a quick connect buckle to the slot, and have the other part of the buckle on the end of the sling.

No Mount

Having no mount on your gun does not mean you must do without a sling or even without a QD sling.  One option is to have a strap wrapped around the stock or forend to which a sling can be attached.  Most often, this attachment point is a ring or a quick connect buckle.  If you have a picatinny rail on the gun, pretty much any kind of mount you want is available to be clamped on to the rail.

Combination Mounts and Adapters

There are a few “combination” mounts available, which offer more than one type of connection.  Blackhawk has a nice one to attach to a picatinny rail which offers a cup, slot and ring.  This is another way that one sling can connect to multiple guns, or different slings can connect to the same gun.  Another rare option is various “adapters”, which connect to one type of mount and provide the connection for a different QD connector.  Finally, there is the “Universal Wire Loop” which can connect to anything the wire or cord can fit through.

Sling Types

Nowadays, the most common slings are nylon or equivalent.  A few are woven out of paracord, and ones made of leather, including the venerable M1907 style, are still available.

The classic sling is attached to the gun at two points, near the butt and near the front.  These are known as “two point” or “dual point” slings.  These are pretty good for carrying a long gun, but have some problems in getting the gun into action quickly.  One option is to put one arm through the sling and hang the gun on the same side.  This is fairly quick to get into action, but very insecure; the gun can easily slide off the shoulder and down the arm, resulting in dropping the gun.  On the other hand, if you put your arm and head through the sling so that the sling bears on the opposite shoulder, this is very secure, but slow to get into action.

In the 1980s, there were attempts to improve the tactical capabilities of the sling by developing the “three-point” or “triple point” sling concept.  This added more strap, so that the shooter’s body was enclosed by the strap.  Thus the “three points” were the two points on the gun and the third point was the person carrying the gun (since the sling was “attached” to the body).  One common characteristic of a three-point sling seems to be an additional length of strap which goes between the two attachment points on the gun.  Often the forward part of the sling which was to be attached to the wearer’s body was attached along this length of strap.  The problem with this concept was that the additional strap along the gun could interfere with the mechanical operation or use of the gun.  Furthermore, some of these designs used various mechanisms to extend the gun for use or retract it for carrying, and these mechanisms could be easy to miss under stress, or a pain to return for carrying.  These designs tended to focus on transitioning from carry to use, and not providing support.

One interesting sling variation which actually attaches to the gun at three points (but is not considered a “three point sling”) is the “Ching sling“.  This was intended to approximate the support of the M1907 sling but be much quicker to get your arm into.

The next major evolution in slings was the single (one) point sling.  As you might expect, this sling is attached to the gun at just one point, usually right behind the receiver and not near the butt as was common up to this point.  The “other end” of the sling was attached not to the gun, but to the sling itself, allowing a quite secure attachment to the body.  This is a very good option for quick access, allowing a free range of movement of the gun and easily switching from strong side to weak side shoulder as needed to get around obstacles.  And if you suddenly need your hands, you just drop the gun and it hangs in front of you.  The down side is that being attached at just one point; the gun can swing around, bumping you and everything around you.  This is not a good option for long-term carrying, but is hard to beat when quick access is important.

As a solution to the weakness of the single point sling, the “convertible” sling was developed.  This is a two point sling with a ring or buckle near one end, to which the forward end of the sling can be attached, turning it into a one point sling.  This gives you the best of both types of slings.  Other improvements were elastic elements in the sling which helped to absorb shock or chest expansion, an attachment point on the sling or your belt, allowing you to tie down the forward end of the gun when in single sling mode, and wide-range quick-adjustment options.  By the time you combine these features, you get a sling which makes the three point sling obsolete.

Tune in next time for some hints on choosing a sling and a look at a few tactical choices.

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Early long guns could be carried in two hands ready for instant use or in one hand for almost as quick use.  But you really could not do anything else

Imagine this is your home…

A darkened house in the suburbs of Columbus, around eight on a cold winter’s evening.

A little girl is snuggled under a blanket, next to her mother on a couch.  A couple of candles throw shadows against the family room walls.

“Mommy, where’s Daddy?”, asks Kayla.

“Honey, like I told you before, Daddy went on his business trip to Chicago before the power went out a week ago.  It’s not easy for him, but I’m sure he’s on his way home right now.”  replies her mother, Melissa.

“Well I hope he hurries up – he told me he was taking me to McDonald’s when he gets back!”

Her mother laughs, but inside she worries about her husband John and their own situation.  When the lights first went out, it seemed like an everyday outage.  Maybe the ice storm had knocked down the power lines, or maybe the cold weather had overloaded the system.  But now with the stores closed “for the duration”, and no news of help on the way, Melissa didn’t know how long the food in the pantry would hold out.

John had a hobby as a prepper, she knew, but she didn’t know exactly where anything was, or what the plans were, so she was hesitant to start rummaging around.  But now she was getting desperate and scared for her and her little girl. What should she do?

Could this scenario happen to your loved ones?

While some ideal families may work together to prepare for emergencies, many of you may be in my situation.  My kids and wife have their own activities and interests, so they look at me a bit oddly and are mostly uninterested when I bring up my prepping actions and purchases.  I have ended up being the sole person in my family responsible for preparing.  Despite their reactions, I want to make my family’s life easier, safer, and less stressful should I be sick, dead or otherwise not around when the SHTF.

Here’s what I’ve done:

  • Labeled all supplies and equipment, and kept them organized.
  • Prepared an Emergency Planning binder, with a separate section for each of my family’s needs.
  • Reviewed the contents with my wife.

My binder

Section A: Short-Term Emergency

Eight days or shorter for our family.  Foods need only be heated, lots of convenience foods and bottled water.  Life would be kind of like camping.  Each need is covered, same as in the Long-Term section, but some details differ.

Section B: Long-Term Emergency

Life would be very different and more difficult, so I made a separate tab for each need:

  • Food –This section contains a menu based on the food I stored, a short cookbook with recipes adjusted for our situation and family size, and a food inventory spreadsheet with amount stored, portion size, calories, etc.

I also detail how to prepare for life after our family’s food stores run out.  An example from our binder:

  1. If power goes out and LED flashlights don’t work with fresh batteries, immediately go to the corner store and buy as much food as you can carry with the emergency cash.
  2. Use our saved seeds to plant a large garden (as large as possible), with precedence given to foods that can be stored/preserved. Spring and fall growing seasons can provide a lot of food.
  3. Our stored wheat, barley and beans can be planted, eaten or sprouted.
  4. When protein supplies run low, hunting and snare use will be necessary.  Use the shotgun, or the stored snares.  Meat can be cooked fresh, salted and cured, jerked, or ground and dehydrated. See the meat preservation cookbook.
  5. Wild plants can be collected – dandelion leaves, young plantain leaves, spring cattail heads, as well as apples, persimmons, and pawpaws in the fall. See the wild edible plants handbook.
  6. Foraging in stores or houses is a last resort, because of the danger involved.

Even though I think I know how to tell if an EMP attack has occurred, my family doesn’t, so I gave explicit instructions as to what to do, since we only have 4 months of food stocked up so far. I also have guidebooks for them to use to plant, can, and other vital functions that I know how to do, but they don’t.

  • Drinking Water – how to filter and treat rainwater with pool shock, how to assemble and operate a water filter.
  • Hygiene & Sanitation –how and where to construct an outhouse, handle trash, wash clothes and dishes, and keep healthy.
  • Defense – a list of weapons, ammunition, and how to use them. Since my wife doesn’t shoot, this will be a tough one to communicate in writing, a very good reason to store more food, so my family doesn’t have to search for food outside during potentially dangerous times.
  • Power – including how to operate a solar-powered battery recharger for lanterns and other battery-operated devices.
  • Shelter – discuss what’s needed for basic house maintenance (shingles, plastic sheeting, plywood), and basic fortification with stored materials.
  • Heating – use of kerosene heaters, wood-burning stove, and where to safely collect firewood.
  • Medical care – inventory of first aid kit, medical supplies, and use of emergency medical and dental handbooks.
  • Communication – walkie-talkies are all we have, so that’s an easy one.
  • Transportation – Any vehicles, their fuel and supplies.

In summary, the best way to help your family prepare for when SHTF is by having them involved in the preparations.  But in case they aren’t yet receptive to this message, in case you aren’t around, or just to make the job easier in a very stressful time, it’s best to write down your family’s emergency plans now stored only in your head.

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Imagine this is your home… A darkened house in the suburbs of Columbus, around eight on a cold winter’s evening. A little girl is snuggled under a blanket, next to her mother

As I read about the destruction that occurred in Houston and Florida last couple of weeks I was saddened for the people who were lost as well as those who must try to rebuild through those tragedies.

Tornados can happen anytime in the summer in the middle of the country. The bulk of tornadoes occur in what is called tornado alley which runs from central Texas, through Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska and into South Dakota, although Tornadoes can happen in any state.

I recently read two articles on Survival Blog written by individuals with personal experience living through the tornado near Moore Oklahoma and another who lived through Hurricane Katrina in. As I read these two articles I made a mental note of some similar themes that each person encountered  (and made me think more about what happened in Houston and Florida) and I wanted to share those with you.

Lesson Number 1

If you can, get out of dodge quickly

Tornado Alley MapThis may apply more to people who live in coastal areas that may be more prone to hurricanes. Tornadoes don’t offer a lot of advance notice, but hurricanes are generally known for at least a week ahead of time. The usual response in a hurricane is to wait and see. If you are one of those who wait, deciding at the last minute is not going to work out. Roads will be jammed with cars and traffic will be at a standstill. Even after the hurricane, the people from Florida reported that they were essentially stuck in traffic for 5 hours unable to make it to their home. Imagine if you are trying to outrun a Hurricane before it hits.

Tornadoes give much less warning, but if you have a shelter, the ability to make it to that shelter quickly will be important. It goes without saying that it could save your life. Having access to a weather band radio and monitoring it during Tornado warnings should be a normal part of life for people living in these areas. Just so you know a Tornado warning means that you better seek cover quickly.

It would be a good idea to have at least 3 shelters you could go to if needed during a tornado. These can be public shelters, your own (ideally if you are home) or friends. Barring that, structurally sound buildings would be the next bet, but in a massive F5 tornado that doesn’t guarantee safety either.

Lesson Number 2

If all of your survival equipment is blown away, what will you do?

Like I said, we don’t usually worry about Hurricanes but the thought of having your emergency preparedness supplies blown all over the county isn’t pleasant at all. I fully appreciate that there are a lot worse circumstances to have to live through, but it struck me how what good will all of your emergency food do you if it is blown away.

For those who are living in areas prone to tornadoes I would try to plan on at least two storage places for most of my emergency supplies. If you live in tornado alley, I would store a survival kit, some long-term food and other disaster supplies at a location other than my home. This could be a storage facility in the next town or with a neighbor or family friend in their basement. This way you have some redundancy with your emergency preparations. Will OPSEC be an issue? I don’t think so with this type of situation. Who is going to look at you like you are crazy if you are living in Oklahoma and want to store some supplies at their house?

If that wasn’t an option, I would strongly consider burying some of those supplies underground on your property. At least with having some supplies, food and water stored away from your location you shouldn’t have to worry about losing everything if your home were to suffer a direct hit. What if the tornado wipes out the storage building instead of your house? Well, that is still lucky for you isn’t it?

Burying supplies underground might not be as safe in areas prone to flooding, but with the right waterproofing this is still possible. It just might take longer for the water to recede for your supplies to be in a condition to be retrieved. Again, I know this isn’t ideal, but having them float down the river isn’t either.

Lesson Number 3

Make a plan and then be prepared to throw it in the trash

In Hurricane Katrina, the author wrote about how his home was fairly high up so they didn’t worry about flooding initially. Then the water started coming in and they moved supplies off the floor. Then they had to move everything to the attic to escape the water. A well thought out plan is essential for dealing with any disaster, but Murphy and Mother Nature conspire to change your plans occasionally. I think having a plan is still a vital part of preparing. It helps you visualize potential problems before they happen. You can war game different scenarios in your mind and it helps to think through your options. In this case, the family had to adapt to the changing situation, but their gear and supplies were already with them and prepared.

Having a plan will if nothing else make you think about everything you would need to take with you. Your plan can help create your survival kit list and identify issues that may have slipped your mind. For instance, an emergency is no time to be looking for a flashlight so having a plan for dealing with a disaster at night could help you identify needs to procure a source of light and optionally how to store that flashlight so that you always know where it is. This could lead you to purchase back-up batteries for the flashlight. This might trigger the need to get a solar charger to recharge those batteries. On and on.

Lesson Number 4

Clean-up is almost always part of a natural disaster. Plan for it

In both the flooding as a result of Katrina and the destruction from the tornado everyone had some level of clean-up to do before their homes were livable again. For the flooding, water damage had to be abated quickly because mold and mildew set in almost immediately in the heat.  Everything had to be cleaned, water removed and disinfected with a bleach solution. Plan on storing a few extra bottles of bleach as this can be used not only to treat water, but kill germs.

Heavy gloves, boots and work pants will be very welcome if you are walking though debris strewn yards hauling shattered pieces of wood or soaking wet sheet-rock to the curb. I add these to my supplies as well as face masks and we keep old clothes in the attic for times like this. Items like pry bars, axes and chainsaws will help to clear downed trees.

Lesson Number 5

Just because the storm is over, the potential for injuries isn’t

In both of the disasters people who survived were affected by the tragedy. Within a day or two a foggy weariness overtook them, decisions were not easy to make and they acted as if their minds were on other things. The effects of Traumatic events last longer than the actual event so an awareness that you might need to take it easy and give as much grace as possible would be wise. If you have smaller children they might be prone to withdrawing or lashing out after a tragedy like this so they will need extra attention and care.

The mental side of the equation is not the only concern. Even after the flood waters reside and the skies have cleared, injuries are common. A solid first aid kit is a must in your disaster supplies, but knowing how to use it will be more important. With debris, cuts can be common and in a wet, dirty environment without running water, infections can set in quickly. This is where taking care with cleanup can save some injuries but you probably won’t avoid them all. Make sure you have the basic inoculations like tetanus up to date. Have a decent first aid kit with antibiotic and plenty of bandages as your minimum.

None of us know when or if we will ever be faced with a disaster like this and who knows what will happen when we do. Hopefully, some of these ideas can help you. If you have your own, I would love to hear them in the comments below.  Stay Safe.

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As I read about the destruction that occurred in Houston and Florida last couple of weeks I was saddened for the people who were lost as well as those who

I had this thought as I was walking around the other day and wanted to jot down some answers to common questions I see asked and answered out there regarding the Prepper Movement. I do this in an effort to share my understanding of what we are, what we are doing and have some fun at the same time.

What are Preppers?

Preppers are normal everyday people just like you. Well, most of you. They go to work every day, pay the bills, have families and concerns and are somewhat in tune with current events but perhaps more so, historical lessons of the past. Preppers are people who have seen tragedies and may even have been part of some disaster themselves and want to take steps to mitigate the bad effects from any crisis going forward. Preppers come from all social statuses, geographic locations, religions, age ranges and ethnic backgrounds. Prepping is not solely an American concept and we Americans are not the only ones who are concerned enough to take steps to protect ourselves and our families.

To put it as simply as I know how, Preppers are interested in taking steps to protect themselves and their families from harm.

What kind of harm you ask? Oh, well that is where it gets interesting because there are a lot of very valid and some not so valid concerns in my opinion out there, but each person usually has one or two concerns that drive their prepping interests. It could be that you live in LA and are concerned about Earthquakes, or that you live near the eastern US coast and worry about Hurricanes or Tsunamis. People in the plains states have a real threat of Tornadoes and the list goes on and on from Economic concerns to alien invasion. The point is, that there is a reason people are concerned about what might happen to their family and they are taking steps to prevent that from happening, whatever “that” may be.

Why is everyone talking about prepping now?

Prepping has been around a long time and you might say, everyone was more of a prepper as recently as 100 years ago. Having food to last you and growing your own wasn’t trendy in the not too distant past. It was what everyone did simply to live. Without drug stores, power companies, family health clinics, grocery stores, automobiles, etc. life was completely different and so were people. As our society became more modern, we relied less and less on what used to be required skills and started purchasing more of what we need instead of making it or growing it.

Probably the most recent spike in the interest in Prepping was Y2K because the scenario that was presented to us was extremely dire. Everyone was convinced that on January 1st, 2000 all of the computers would freak out, planes would fall from the sky, power plants would stop and we would all be plunged back into the dark ages because computers wouldn’t recognize the new millennium and would shut down. I didn’t get into the prepping lifestyle or the mass panic back then, but we had a little food and water “just in case” the doomsayers were right.

I still remember vividly hanging out in our living room with some friends and their kids on New Years Eve that year and watching the countdown to midnight. As the ball dropped and nothing happened, I was a little surprised, maybe a little disappointed that all of the doom and gloom was for nothing. I don’t remember hearing about anything that stopped working on January 1st 2000, do you?

The reasons change a little with the times, but I think the core motivations are still the same. Prepping is becoming more mainstream now because I believe that people can see and maybe even feel in their gut that something isn’t right and we could be headed for a crash. If not that, there have been too many instances where normal, natural disasters have wiped out entire communities and our media has shown us all to clearly how being unprepared can hurt.

Do I have to fight with my siblings like they do on Doomsday Castle?

No. In fact, most of the self-confessed preppers I speak to are very level headed, rational adults who really do want to do good. Reality TV shows are pretty much designed for shock and awe. If you aren’t shocked, it’s boring so with each new show and each

National Geographic – Reality TV Show Doomsday Castle

new concept, the producers need to ratchet it up a notch. I am convinced that there is no reality in Reality TV anymore and that each participant is playing to the camera for the biggest effect possible.

Prepping does give most people an opportunity to speak to their family about concepts you are concerned with though. I have spoken to everyone in my family to various levels about the need to have basic supplies on hand, adequate water and a means of security. Some things we can agree on and others, we don’t see eye to eye but it is a conversation topic.

There are a million different ways to talk to someone about Prepping and just because your brother isn’t running out to the Gun Show with you to buy a new AR15 for your survival battery, it doesn’t mean you can’t still talk to them. Let your actions and the news of the day speak for you when you don’t have the words. Simply watching how people had to stand in line for hours after Hurricane Sandy because they didn’t have a supply of fuel stored up can start conversations that only a week before would have seemed crazy to some people.

Is owning camouflage or a 4 wheel drive a requirement?

No, but these are perks! You can’t have too much of either in my opinion but sadly, I am still building my supplies up in this regard. Oh, I have enough to get me through hunting season without any issues, but I do know guys that could wear camo every day of the week and not wear the same outfit twice.

A 4-wheel drive vehicle is a strong consideration for a bug out vehicle though so if your prepping takes you to that level, I would highly recommend one. There are a lot of us though, that aren’t planning on bugging out, or hiding camouflaged in the woods and that’s just fine. Prepping is primarily about safety and there are tons of ways you can take steps to protect your family that don’t involve a hummer or looking like the guys from Duck Dynasty.

Do I have to belong to a specific political party?

No. Preppers come from all backgrounds and ideologies. I know preppers that are liberal democrats and right wing republicans, independents, libertarians and political agnostics. I will say that the majority tends to lean toward the right side of this topic though but that doesn’t mean anything. If you have the will and mind to take care of your family, politics do not matter.

Camo isn’t required, it’s a perk!

Is there any test I need to pass?

There is no prepping test you can take on paper. Prepping is about dealing with what life throws at you so the test you take will be how you deal with life when it throws you a big curve ball. This may be something as drastic as a natural disaster or it could be as common as the loss of a job. Preppers spend a considerable amount of time and resources planning for things to go bad so the only time you really get to be tested is when they do. Unfortunately, even practicing for disaster and chaos can only prepare you a little. It is going through the fire that you see how well you will do.

What should I do to start?

I would start with analyzing your priorities. We have a series of posts called Prepping 101 on just this topic that walk you through the major fundamentals with links to other information sprinkled throughout. I like to think Final Prepper is a good resource for information that can help you be more prepared.

Knowing that you want to be more prepared is a great first step. Prepping doesn’t need a huge time or cost commitment, but having a plan will help you identify what you need to do to make sure your family is safe. That plan is your starting point and what you need to do will dictate where you go next.

When can I say that I am finally Prepared?

Nobody is ever prepared to the point of being able to sit down and say “I’m done”. Prepping is an act, it’s a lifestyle not a check box. Even if you had an unlimited amount of money and could buy your dream retreat in the mountains of Wyoming, fortified with a nuclear bomb proof bunker and food to last 20 years, you would still not ever be prepared for everything. Would you have an awesome head start on the rest of the world? Absolutely, but prepping isn’t only about buying things.

Prepping is also a process of learning and changing your life to become less dependent on other sources for a lot of what you need today. For me, this is a journey I started over 5 years ago and I hope to be prepping for the rest of my (hopefully) long life. Don’t look at this as a goal you can achieve and be finished.

What Next?

You need to get as many people as possible prepared now. If you have some level of preparation, share the message. Make sure that you inform others in whatever way you can so that we as a society are all less dependent on others for food, security, power and our wealth. It is a lofty goal, but one that is worth shooting for. If the world is prepared for what life can throw at us, nothing can defeat you.

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I had this thought as I was walking around the other day and wanted to jot down some answers to common questions I see asked and answered out there regarding

The news seems to always be a sober reminder of the importance of being prepared for any one of a number of scenarios. Here at Final Prepper we try to present information in a way that is informative and compelling on a wide variety of topics. Readers have to analyze for themselves the information we share. If it makes sense, your job is to then use your best judgment and formulate a plan for how you will take steps to prepare your family. The individual steps and plans might all be different from person to person, situation to situation. To be fully prepared may take years, but what if you found out tomorrow that you didn’t have years? What if you found out tomorrow that you only had 36 hours to protect your family from a highly contagious and deadly outbreak of disease?

I am not trying to be sensationalistic; on the contrary I am trying to be realistic.  I have been prepping for years so I feel pretty confident that we are prepared at some level for just about anything but I wondered today if I haven’t become complacent. It is one thing to store up food and water, but another thing completely to have an actual emergency where the supplies you have been spending your time and treasure on will be put to the test.

The reason I started to wonder was a relatively normal headline in the news. The headline said, “New death in Saudi Arabia from SARS-like coronavirus MERS” and the article goes on to say how 6 other people have been registered as having the disease. Disease and death aren’t really new I know. People die every day just from driving a car or performing a thousand normal activities that have nothing to do with any type of disease. No, I wasn’t worried about this disease jumping over here to where I am, but the thought struck me that a scenario like this is possible and what would I do if there really was a threat like this.

I know you may be scratching your head right now and thinking to yourself that I must not have been reading what I have been writing for these many months. This blog is all about being prepared, anticipating events like this and taking steps to ensure you are in as good of a position as possible to deal with the threat to your survival. What is this about me suddenly thinking about the possibility of a pandemic? Don’t I do that all of the time?

The answer to that question is no. I don’t think about any type of global outbreak of disease every day. I have thought about this before though and have made preparations. What made me want to write about this is the scenario I described above. I started to ask myself if we did learn that this outbreak was coming and we only had 36 hours left to prepare, what would I do. If you are a prepper who has been stocking up on food and water, if you have some firearms and medical supplies, if you have the basics down, what do you do? As I started to visualize this potential scenario in my mind I found my pulse getting just a little bit quicker.

I realize the scenario might be a little unrealistic with diseases; it isn’t like the authorities know what a rogue disease will do and when it will hit your town. It is highly unlikely that we would ever get a 36 hour notice of something coming like this. Natural emergencies like hurricanes and floods would be more likely, but for the sake of argument, let’s stick with a disease outbreak that will keep you in your home for a long time.

I guess another way of asking the question is: If you are prepared right now, what happens when you find out you are going to be living through a situation like this? Do you head out to the store with everyone else to grab some last-minute items? Do you rush to the gas station to fill up the tanks? Do you run to the hardware store for materials to board up your windows? Do you run down the street to get the last box (if you are lucky) of N95 masks and nitrile gloves? Do you become another one of those people we have been talking about that add to the problem and potentially open yourself up to greater risk than you need to?

I think the reason this thought occurred to me was that I personally do not have everything I could ever hope to have in order to outlast every conceivable emergency. I have taken great strides over the years to be prepared and my family has a lot of supplies and skills we can use in a situation like this. However, we are lacking some things. Or, I guess there are supplies we could have more of. If I found out that in 3 days they would lock down everything, that streets would be deserted and everyone would be quarantined in their homes, I can’t right now say I wouldn’t leave the house because I have everything I would ever need. So what would I do with my 3 days before we entered lock-down mode? What do you focus on?

I started to write out a list of items I would try to acquire, but stopped. There aren’t any of the main bases that I don’t have covered in some capacity. Could I have more food? Of course. Could I use more water? Yes. Do I have enough firearms and ammo? Maybe. I have some of just about everything, but will that be enough? I think what started this thought was that nagging idea in the back of my head that I don’t have everything I need. That when a real emergency strikes, I will be missing something that my family needs in order to be healthy, protected or safe. It is one of the things that keep me up at night.

I think that most of us would want to get out there and grab some last-minute items, fill up the tanks and make final checks. To me, this is just human nature. This drive to protect my family is the reason I started prepping in the first place. Just because I have some “stuff”, that doesn’t mean I can take it easy. The driving force to be prepared doesn’t end when you buy 20 cases of freeze-dried food. The urge to keep your family safe isn’t satisfied when you purchase a new handgun with a laser sight. The fear that your family will be cold or hungry doesn’t end when you buy some sleeping bags and MRE’s. If it did then you wouldn’t be actually trying to prepare, you would simply be buying stuff.

The real value of understanding the need to be prepared for emergencies and taking steps to address issues that your family or loved ones can face doesn’t have a finish line. Your job of trying to protect your family will never be done and your vigilance can never end. Being prepared doesn’t mean that you get to sit on your porch and laugh as everyone hauls rear to the store to try and the last supplies of food. Being “Prepared” doesn’t mean that you are any less concerned as they are, but you have thought a lot more and planned a little more than they did. It doesn’t make those who have planned ahead better, but it does give those who have taken steps to be more prepared an advantage. The steps we have taken to prepare won’t inoculate us from any of the emergencies, but does give us a leg up on the competition so to speak.

I think the main point for me is understanding that I will never have enough preps or skills to feel completely comfortable and I guess that is a good thing. This isn’t about buying “stuff”. Rather than being complacent, I believe that regardless of what we have accomplished in the way of preparing we are still watching for signs. I am still going to do what I can to keep my family safe and I won’t rest easy while there are threats on the horizon. If we did get some type of warning (you could say we get them every day) of impending doom I would still be trying to do what I can to further ensure the safety and protection of my family. I am pretty sure that is what most of you would  be doing too.

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The news seems to always be a sober reminder of the importance of being prepared for any one of a number of scenarios. Here at Final Prepper we try to