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“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail”, were the wise words once uttered by one of our Founding Fathers, Benjamin Franklin, and they are the words that have helped prepare me for a countless number of scenarios. Preparing for D-day, or Doomsday, might sound funny to some, but there is nothing funny about good planning and tact. There are so many people who go about living their day-to-day lives without any concern as to what may happen tomorrow. They are casually living in the moment and basking in all of its glory. The act of preparing for the worst possible scenario does not make you a naysayer, instead, it makes you a visionary. You choose to look past the present and plan for the future. This is the principle that many, if not all, preppers operate on.
Doomsday could arise due to a different number of factors, however, the commonality between these numerous outcomes is the fact that you will have to keep yourself, your family, and those you love, safe and secure.

Adequately preparing for doomsday before it happens is the key to surviving whatever calamity the world throws at you. This could be in the form of a natural disaster, nuclear fallout, or even a zombie apocalypse. In any case, when the day comes, you want to make sure that you are secure enough to live to see tomorrow. Let’s take a look at five security measures that you can implement to help you stay alive during doomsday.

Strengthen Your Doors

The importance of your doors can never be overstated. Aside from the fact that they have symbolic value as the entryway into people’s homes, your doors are also meant to keep intruders out. There will never be a point in time where this will be more necessary than when Doomsday hits. The door to your home (home is relative in this situation) is an integral part of your defense, and it should be the most secure part of your “fortress of solitude”. This will deter any unwanted guests, and make sure your security stands strong against any attempts at forced entry.

In order to strengthen your door you should first evaluate the material that your door is made of. Most residential doors are made of wood, steel, or fiberglass. In most cases homeowners will not have to replace the doors they already have, unless the door is made from an extremely low-grade material or if it is not a solid core wood door. This is an important step that should not be overlooked, because the rest of the tips that will follow will mean very little if your door can easily be kicked in. Have you ever read “The Three Little Pigs”? That story will probably sum up the aforementioned point much better.  After evaluating your doors you need to focus on the locking mechanism and additional features that you can employ to make sure it makes it harder for intruders (and zombies) to gain access to your home.

Doors in most commercial homes lack basic strength to withstand brute forced entry.

It is advisable to make use of ANSI grade 1 deadbolt locks for your doors. Grade 1 deadbolts are made to withstand 10 strikes of 75 pounds of force, and they are effective at keeping doors secure. In preparation for a doomsday event, it will be best to make use of multiple deadbolts within your door to increase the security that they give you. In addition to using these deadbolts, you can also improve your door by using reinforced steel or wooden bars and rods (Zombie Bars). In order for this to work properly, you will have to install additional pieces onto the wall on either sides of the door so that your security bar can be held in place across the door. Implementing security bars and multiple grade 1 deadbolts will make your door extremely hard to get into, and that is what you want. In addition to these methods, you can also increase the security of your locking mechanism, to cater to any zombies that prefer to pick the lock rather than kick the door down. This can be done by using additional security pins, changing the materials of the spring in the lock, by using anti-pick locks, etc. In addition to this being a good opportunity to prepare for the worst-case scenario, it also gives you the chance to re-evaluate your home security.

Strong Chains And Padlocks

Another security measure that will help keep you alive involves making use of strong chains and padlocks. Chains and padlocks can be used in conjunction with the measures outlined above to make your door even more secure, but they can also be used on the go or to bar access to storage units. Not many things are certain about Doomsday, but you can be sure that people will be on edge, and that everyone will be looking to grab whatever they can, however they can. As such, it is of extreme importance that people utilize chains and padlocks to keep their valuables secure when they are on the go. It is also important to take into account the fact that people will need to stay mobile, depending on the state of things in their neighborhood. As a prepper, it is best not to wait until it’s too late, so invest in some good chains and padlocks today.

Chains and padlocks can be used in conjunction with the measures outlined above to make your door even more secure, but they can also be used on the go or to bar access to storage units.

When you set out to buy chains and padlocks, you want to make sure that these are strong and resistant to cutting attacks. It is best to employ the use of hardened steel chains with hexagonal links. These kinds of chains are highly resistant to bolt cutters and they help keep your items more secure. When you are choosing a padlock, you want to make sure that you pick a padlock that is made of boron carbide alloy (extremely strong and long lasting). Make sure that the padlock uses ball bearings to hold the shackle in place rather than a levered mechanism. And finally, make sure that the padlock has a hard and thick shackle.

Padlocks and chains can prove to be quite handy in varying situations. They give you the opportunity to secure your belongings when you are on the go and they can also give you added security when you settle down in a bunker somewhere.

Secure The Perimeter

Securing the perimeter of your property, or wherever you are camped out, is crucial to your survival. It helps warn you of impending danger as well as ward off the danger. There are several ways to secure the perimeter, but it is important that you keep some key factors in mind. It is imperative that your perimeter is kept well lit so that you can see any threat from a mile away and so that you can adequately prepare for it. In addition to this, you should make sure that your perimeter is either walled or fenced off. When walling off your property/space, make sure that you account for length. There will be no point to putting up a wall to protect yourself if that wall is easily scalable. However, sometimes it is not about the length of the wall, but about the material of the wall. Some walls can be retrofitted with spikes, cables etc. that make it a more arduous task to attempt to scale it. This will undoubtedly deter anyone (zombie or human) that thinks it would be a good idea to try and get over your wall.

The act of securing your perimeter also applies when you are on the go. It is important to have a security structure in place that warns you when danger is approaching and one that also helps you keep danger at bay. This can be accomplished by rigging booby traps or setting up makeshift fences with varying materials to keep your immediate vicinity secure while you are mobile.

Sustainable Defense

Now, this security measure is among the most important. This is because all the steps that are listed above will mean very little if you cannot sustain them. It is crucial that you have a sustainable defense plan. This is to ensure that you can continue to take care of yourself and those around you. A good chunk of the preparation process is learning. Yes, as mundane as it sounds, learning as much as you can is one of the best security measures to help keep you alive. It is important to learn as much as you can about the things around you and the components that go into making bullets, medicine, how to manage electricity, etc. It is essential that you learn how to properly obtain and store these items for long periods of time, since they are bound to come in handy. These are crucial security measures that will help keep you alive. One half of this equation is aimed at making sure that you are not caught with your pants down. The other half of the equation makes sure that if you are caught with your pants down, you can still get out of it alive.

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It is important to realize that when Doomsday hits, in all its gruesome glory, there will be any unknown variables that the majority of people will be struggling with. There will be lingering questions about power, water, food, and shelter. It will be imperative that you have measures in place so that you are taken care of for the long haul.

Get A Dog

Yes, you read that right. One of the best ways to keep yourself secure in a doomsday scenario is to have a dog. If you dispute this fact, make sure you watch “I Am Legend” and you will see why dogs come in handy in all manners of situations. Dogs are reliable and they are good traveling and hunting companions, as well as being an additional method of securing your belongings since they will alert you to the presence of anything. Also, should the need ever arise, dogs are capable of holding their own in a fight and they make for amazing combat partners. Dogs have a heightened sense of awareness and having one around in a dystopian doomsday world will most likely increase your chances of survival and keep you around much longer.

One of the best ways to keep yourself secure in a doomsday scenario is to have a dog.

Conclusion

There is no prepper out there eagerly waiting for the world to crumble just so that they can yell out “I told you so”. That is not the reason why this is done. Prepping is done to make sure that everyone is prepared for the worst-case scenario, should it ever happen. Adhering to these 5 security measures will undoubtedly prolong your life during doomsday. However, do not be fooled into thinking that these are the only things that will help you stay alive. If this time ever comes, survival, safety, and security should be at the top of your list of priorities. This mindset will see you through a great many ordeals.

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail”, were the wise words once uttered by one of our Founding Fathers, Benjamin Franklin, and they are the words that have

When it comes to self-sufficiency, replacing the grocery store seems to be the biggest hurdle for most preppers. Gardens are most commonly thought of because we as humans collectively seem to think, ‘how hard can it be’ to dig a hole and put a seed in it? Regardless of how prevalent gardening and farming are and have been in our culture, most people do not have a garden or expect maintaining one will be quick and easy.

The rude awakening comes the first year when the summer months cause weeds to grow like evil vines choking out everything that in the spring was nice and tidy. Bugs begin to eat all our tender vegetables and the idea of eating one more zucchini makes you sick. The first year of gardening can make you think that there is no way these tomatoes are worth all that effort. For us, if you consider the cost of time, materials and effort that went into our first garden I know the vegetables were about $10 a piece and many lessons were learned.

Having a garden that is growing and producing fresh food that your family eats is a tremendous benefit, but what about protein? Aquaponics is another growing hobby, but the initial setup can seem daunting and still requires an alternate power source. Sure, it would be nice if we all had a working farm with livestock but that simply isn’t going to happen. For one thing, most people don’t have the land or money but more importantly experience, to keep a farm going. There are ways that preppers can provide all the meat you would need to live on in a smaller and easier package. Enter the humble rabbit.

The interest in raising rabbits for meat is growing as preppers are constantly trying to find ways to feed their families in the event the local supermarket is out of commission. Once you have considered the prospect of having your own source of food, the question turns to how to raise rabbits and that is what I hope to discuss today. Raising rabbits gives you the benefit of fresh meat, but it is also healthier and devoid of the chemicals and hormones found in most grocery store meat. While you are feeding your family, they are also getting healthy food that has been raised by you so you know exactly what has been put into the food that makes it to your families table.

A lot of people know that rabbits are prolific breeders, but exactly how many rabbits would you need to feed your family? A single female has on average about 8 babies or kits per litter and rabbits have a gestational period of 28-31 days so it is feasible for your rabbit to have one litter per month but more likely a little less. If you start with three rabbits (2 females and one male) you could have well over a hundred rabbits in the first year.

Of course you would be eating these rabbits so the population would need to be controlled to support your family, but it is easy to produce enough meat so that your family could survive on a relatively small number of rabbits. You would just need to figure out how much meat you would want to produce and adjust your breeding accordingly. This gives you the ability to raise more meat though so it could be used to feed other people or barter.

rabbitcage

Building a rabbit cage is simple.

What type of rabbits are the best

There are three breeds most commonly used as meat stock: the Californian, New Zealand, and Florida White. The American Chinchilla, Satin, Silver Fox, and Champagne d’Argent are also great choices. It is best to speak to a local provider as each breed has their own advantages. For breeders in your local area, you can check out RabbitBreeders.us who has a searchable rabbit breeder’s directory.

What do Rabbits eat?

There is commercial rabbit food, but primarily they need hay. You should have a hay rack in your rabbit cage and make sure it is full of hay. Some recommend using Alfalfa, which you can easily grow yourself right in your home. Making sure your hay is cut into manageable lengths will help the rabbits out as well as keeping their cage clean. Rabbits can also eat vegetable scraps and lawn trimmings but make sure you are watching what they eat to remove anything they turn up their noses at. Carrots are always a favorite, but monitor their intake of too many green vegetables as it can cause them to get bloat or diarrhea.

How do you make a rabbit cage?

There are many ways to prepare a home for your rabbits from buying new manufactured rabbit cages online or used rabbit cages for sale at yard sales, in the local paper or on Craigslist. The more industrious can also find free plans to build your own rabbit hutch all over the web. The basics of any rabbit cage should give them shelter from the heat, protection from predators and enough room to move around. You also want something easy to clean because everything that goes in the front of the rabbit has to come out the back. A close wire mesh floor will allow the manure to drop on through and not be trampled under their feet.

How do you kill a rabbit?

For most people I assume the act of having to kill and butcher your own meat is the biggest psychological hurdle to raising your own food. Some even have a complete disconnect with the fact that all the animals we eat have to be butchered and killed before they can make it to those shiny packages in the store. It is one thing to pluck a tomato off the vine, but quite another to chase a chicken down that you have been raising for eggs and wring its neck, let alone plucking it and the butchering process.

Are rabbits a food source you would consider for your home?


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When it comes to self-sufficiency, replacing the grocery store seems to be the biggest hurdle for most preppers. Gardens are most commonly thought of because we as humans collectively seem

Here, at Final Prepper, we believe in common sense. There are no doomsday scenarios here, just tips and advices for what now has become, our everyday life – hurricanes, power shortages, food and water shortages, you name it. So we are not sharing info fearing there will be no tomorrow – on the contrary – we do it so that we could all be here tomorrow.

That being said, sit back, and have some fun reading this funny article.

I like to think I have a pretty good sense of humor most days. Having a sense of humor I feel is necessary to get through life and on some days, your sense of humor could be the only thing saving you from losing it completely. Everyone has different ideas of what is funny but I hope you can agree with me that you must be able to laugh from time to time. Even if the source of that laughter is yourself and/or what you are doing. It was with that frame of mind that I read an article on the Huffington Post from Robbie Pickard.

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I have included his entire post in this article because I wanted to comment on it, but felt that to be fair, I should have all of the context of his words together with my observations/comments.  Robbie Pickard is a writer and a comedian who along with writing for HuffPo, has a brilliantly funny website called “Open Letters to Strangers” . I recommend checking that out if you aren’t offended easily and it helps to have an offbeat sense of humor. As a comedian, humor is funniest I think when you are skewering people big time and take normal traits or behaviors to the absurd to heighten the effect. The article he wrote is no exception and the subject that Robbie has chosen to set his sights on this time is Doomsday Preppers.

I want to start off by saying that his article didn’t offend me at all and I don’t think it should offend anyone reading it here. In fact it made me laugh (not as much as the Open Letters site, but still). I am not posting this out of anger or outrage or the feeling that prepping is being mocked. I am posting it because it gives me an opportunity to make a few points. The title was what caught my attention and Robbie goes on to point out in a pretty sarcastic fashion how he feels Preppers will lose no matter what happens.  He says that all of these so called Preppers are spending our whole life “getting ready for an event that probably won’t happen”.

 

Naysayers like this are not something new to anyone who has been prepping for a while and I imagine that a lot of you have had to defend these same positions with family and/or loved ones.

 

Robbie’s article is below.

The 3 Ways Doomsday Preppers Will Die

**DISCLAIMER: I just purchased an earthquake kit on Amazon.com. You can never be too careful, guys.**

Have you thought about what you’d do if a movie like Armageddon or The Day After Tomorrow came to life? Do you have a “bug-out” vehicle? An underground bunker with at least 100 days worth of nonperishable food? C’mon, tell me you’ve at least got a self-sustaining aquaponics system to feed your family!

Whether by the hands of God, nature, or man himself … 22 percent of Americans believe the world will end during their lifetime.

Seriously?

I was just watching a particularly cringe-worthy episode of National Geographic‘s Doomsday Preppers, where some dipstick from Boston informed his new mail-order bride from Columbia that he is a prepper. Her reaction? A very predictable, “¿Qué?”

I’ve never felt worse for someone. She came to America in search of a better life, and within a day of arriving he’s got this poor woman learning to purify water using a plastic bag. Didn’t she just marry this moron to escape that kind of life?

Every prepper I’ve seen on this show seems like they’re not just prepping — they’re hoping.

They hate their lives and fantasize about a world where they could be a hero. Melvin from Accounting can’t wait for catastrophe so he can become Melvin the Survivor! He’s praying for a complete economic collapse so he can look his boss and say, “I made 40k a year, but now I’m the post-apocalyptic king! I have all the SpaghettiO’s and I won’t lower my drawbridge to give you any! Muhaha!”

Spending your whole life getting ready for an event that probably won’t happen doesn’t make a lot of sense, especially when there are only three outcomes for a doomsday prepper:

1. Nothing Happens, You Die

Okay, so you spent your whole life preparing for something that never happened. So what? You have more canned goods than anyone in your zip code! And if something would’ve happened … everyone totally knows you would’ve been the last one standing!

Who cares if you spent your entire life savings on survival supplies instead of taking vacations with your family or sending your kids to college? They got a real education when you took them into the woods every weekend to teach them how to set booby traps for when the zombie neighbors invade! They can pass on that knowledge to their children! See, it wasn’t a waste!

Your kids will still thrive, even in a world that doesn’t fall apart. You’ve taught them fantastic social skills, so long as that social situation takes place in an underground bunker and the topic of conversation is about how honey is the only food that will never spoil. I smell future beekeepers!

2. Something Happens, You Die Anyway

Ugh, what a bummer! Your $250,000 underground compound was ready and rarin’ to go, a nuclear bomb was detonated and caused an EMP just like you said it would, but you didn’t get to say “I told you so,” because you died along with all of the idiotic unprepared. Just bad luck you weren’t near your EMP-safe bunker when this happened. You’re there 22 hours of the day, what are the odds? Hey world, I’d like a mulligan please!

3. Something Happens, You Survive! (Until You Die)

Ding! Ding! Ding! You hit the lotto! Your dream scenario played out, and the world as we know it has been destroyed. That moat around your house is put to good use, as the unprepared pathetically attempt to gain access to your compound. Bodies float in your moat, and you and your family get to laugh (party because it rhymes).

Those who foolishly tried to enjoy their lives before the apocalypse slowly die off, while you and your family feast on the bounty of dehydrated food you put in the cellar years ago.

Slowly, you realize that you now live in a world where the entire population consists of Doomsday Preppers. It’s terrible. You beg for a second apocalypse.

OK, so what did you think? I thought the article had its funny parts as I said and I can laugh at some of the absurdities presented in here. For comedic affect he has taken the extremes and used those as his normal and that is what I wanted to talk about. So with that, here are some comments to his 3 scenarios above.

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1. Nothing Happens, You Die – This example makes three assumptions. First, that Preppers want something bad to happen and second that we do not do anything else with our lives but glance furtively out the blinds at our neighbors waiting for some end of the world boogeyman. Lastly it assumes we spend our entire income on prepping.

For me personally this is the outcome I am hoping for – that nothing happens. I want to live to a ripe old age, retire if I can and lead a quiet life surrounded by children and great grandchildren and the rest of my family. Prepping to me isn’t about hoping for the apocalypse day and night. It is about making sensible preparations and trying to get as many people as I can to make some of those same decisions in their lives. Prepping is not something that requires voluminous amounts of time, but when you look at the preparations some people have made I can see how an outsider might think so. Preppers might be less interested in the usual diversions of TV so we use our time in different ways.

To make a correlation with what the author is trying to imply, I will use the car insurance example I have by now beaten to death. Does anyone mock you if you go your entire life and never have an automobile accident? No, but you could logically have and pay for car insurance for 50 or 60 years, right? You and millions of other people pay every month “just in case”. Actually it is the law that you have car insurance in case something happens you will have a means to take care of it. Why is Prepping for a different kind of accident looked at as stupid? I would bet money that I haven’t spent anywhere near the amount on prepping as I have on car insurance and yet my supply of food makes me a money waster?

2. Something Happens, You Die Anyway – This example isn’t realistic because I wouldn’t believe more than 1% of the top 1% of people have bunkers anyway. I know I would love to have one, but they aren’t something I can see ever purchasing. Now, if I win the lottery, look out!

Even with a bunker people die. People die every day and Preppers aren’t saying that they will live forever just because they have food stored up are they? Are you? I don’t look at prepping as some type of magic spell that is going to make flood waters divert around my property, make me bulletproof or protect me from anything bad ever happening. That is simply not logical.

Prepping to me is about just simple steps I can take to make sure I have some means of self reliance. I don’t want to be the person who goes hungry because I didn’t have any food stored and a drought causes crops to fail and food prices to increase. I don’t want to be the person who is at the mercy of the cold if a winter storm snaps the power on my street for two weeks. I could still die, I just don’t want to die for the sake of not being prepared. I guess that too makes me an idiot.

3. Something Happens, You Survive! (Until You Die) – This would be the worst scenario in my opinion because I think the horrors of any type of calamity will be worst for the people who survive. Robbie tries to paint this also as a dream scenario for some Preppers. I will admit that there are some idiots who fantasize about this, but the public at large doesn’t have the same dreams. The Preppers I know and associate with worry about nut jobs who just want to destroy and kill. Part of the reason we prep is to take steps to deal with people like this as best we can.

I do think that if you have taken the time to make simple preparations you could conceivably live through the initial phases of any crisis like this. You may be those people the author describes as wishing for another apocalypse to get rid of the evil that survived along with you. This may be what happens to everyone reading this. All I know is that I have been given a will to survive. I have been given some form of motivation to make sure my family is prepared and we will deal with the hand we are dealt. I have said it before that I don’t want anything bad to happen. I would really love to face the end of my days at some point very far in the future with people telling me that the events I feared never materialized and that I was a sucker. That would make me very happy.

I am betting that I am not wrong though and there is nothing stupid about taking steps to prepare your family. Does that make me the butt of some jokes? Maybe, and I am OK with that. I would rather be on this end taking the jokes and smiling than on the other end if I am right. Your mileage may vary.

Naysayers like this are not something new to anyone who has been prepping for a while and I imagine that a lot of you have had to defend these same

Gun Control – how far will we go as a nation to further limit the 2nd amendment? Will it stop at full automatics, or will it continue against semi autos, large capacity mags, and other accessories? Whatever you believe, one thing is certain – the upcoming election will be the most important one in the last century as it relates to gun control.

The tragedy in Orlando and other mass shootings in the U.S. and abroad has even some Congressional Republicans wavering on their previous reluctance in allowing any gun control legislation to pass. In my opinion, some form of additional gun control is inevitable. While the current Congress favors gun rights, this could all change in November. If you haven’t noticed, Americans have a very low opinion of Congress in general. They could vote out incumbents, mostly Republicans, just because they are mad at the current legislative stagnation. However, the main reason why this election is so important is that the next President will likely have the ability to not only tilt, but actually create a decidedly conservative or liberal Supreme Court, which would be in power for the next few decades at the least.

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With Antonin Scalia’s death, three of the remaining eight Justices are older than 77. With the average age of Supreme Court Justice retirement at 78.7, you can do the math. Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who was installed by Bill Clinton, is 83. Stephen Breyer also from Clinton, is almost 78. Anthony Kennedy, who was a Reagan nominee, is almost 80. The remaining Supreme Court Justices are between 55 and 68. Let’s top it off with some recent reports that indicate Justice Clarence Thomas, 68, is said to be mulling retirement. As we know, he is the most staunchly conservative of the remaining Justices.

If you are a pro gun rights advocate, you should be very concerned. Don’t fool yourself into complacency. If you are a pro gun control advocate, you are probably salivating like a vulture circling a dying animal. Based on the above information, it is quite conceivable the next President would have the pleasure of nominating up to five Supreme Court Justices – one because of Scalia’s death, three because of retirement due to age, and one from a reported Clarence Thomas retirement.

If you buy into this line of thought, a pro guns right advocate might want to plan for the worst. For some, that might mean mortgaging the house and buying up as many ARs as possible, assuming they will be grandfathered post ban. It is hard to believe they would be not grandfathered since one might argue that an outright confiscation would cause too much of a civil unrest. So for this article I am assuming that every gun or accessory I mention will be grandfathered.

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Additionally, I am not even accounting for any state law changes like the recent Federal Appeals court ruling from California, which removes the 2nd amendment right to carry a concealed weapon. That ruling alone is enough to push any gun rights advocate over the edge since it paves the way for other states to do something similar, until an inevitable Supreme Court hearing – so here we are again. Everything points back to the Supreme Court.

Planning for the worst with gun control

So what can you do to plan, or insure, against a worst case scenario resulting from extreme liberal gun control legislation? While I am only half-joking about mortgaging your house, I will outline some hardware and accessories to buy while you can, assuming you don’t live in some of the already prohibitive states like California, New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. Be sure to check your state laws on what you can buy, carry or conceal before trying to buy or use the equipment below in the manner described.

When investing in a firearm for defense, you have to first ask yourself, “What am I defending against”? Would it be for close quarter battle (CQB), home defense, a Car Trunk Backpack, need for extreme stopping power during CQB, protecting a small perimeter, or to keep intruders at bay from a long-range? In this article, I pick some of my favorites for each purpose. Some guns and accessories I mention will be specific, and others will be generalized in categories. One thing to remember, semi-automatic weapons are inherently more expensive. So some of these guns, especially the long-range selections mentioned, are not for those with limited budget. Also as a disclaimer, I own at least some of the items below.

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Each of the guns I recommend below are semi automatics. Keep in mind that I am recommending them based on a premise of a ban, so I realize there are obviously other cheaper alternatives that are not semis, particularly in the home defense and long-range categories. Additionally, for most, with the exception of the 458 SOCOM and a few others, the ammo is readily available.

Close Quarter Battle – up to 100 yards

Sig Sauer MCX – Chambered in .300 AAC Blackout – This carbine received a lot of bad press recently due to the fact that it was the same one used by the terrorist in Orlando. Mistakenly referred to by the press as an AR (furthered by the ignorance that they believe AR stands for “assault rifle” instead of “Armalite”), the MCX in blackout is very effective and light, designed for CQB. The blackout ammo is very hard-hitting and the subsonic 220 grain is very quiet when coupled with a silencer. The MCX barrel can also be changed out quickly in favor of other calibers such as 5.56×45 NATO. Recent news articles have indicated that some British counter terror units are using the MCX. Add a Vortex 3x magnifier to your red dot of choice for a very high accuracy within 100 yards. The MCX costs roughly $1700, but the quality is worth the extra coin.

Springfield Armory SOCOM 16 CQB w/Vortex Venom Red Dot (.308/7.62 NATO) – this gun is nasty, from its looks, down to its hard-hitting 7.62×51 ammo. A child of the M1A, Springfield has a winner by shortening the barrel of the original M1A1 to 16”, installing a collapsible stock, and adding a vortex venom red dot as an option. This rifle will destroy anything in its sights. Wear ear protection though. 20 or 25 round mags are prevalent, but if you want to really equip this gun, Beta Mag makes a 100 round twin drum mag for it that will set you back $450 (and it would significantly increase the weight of an already heavy gun – but you can’t erase the fun factor of having one). The SOCOM 16 with Venom could top out over $2000, so it is hard on the budget, but worth it if you can afford it.

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Century Arms AK-47 – while not Russian made, this AK is one of the most recognized and vilified guns in the US because it is the one people see on the news when ISIS or some other terrorist footage is shown. Additionally, all of the Hollywood movie bad guys use them. They are on the list not so much for their accuracy, but more for their high-profile, which equates to the probability of being banned. These AKs are affordable, having a price point under $800. The 7.62×39 ammo is hard-hitting and relatively cheap, especially if you target practice with bullets that have steel casing such as TulAmmo. I would not, however, use TulAmmo in a life threatening situation as I have experience in its failure to feed on occasion.

CMMG Mutant AKM2 – This gun is appropriately named. The Mutant is an AK/AR-15 hybrid. A regular AK style rifle is extremely reliable, but it is not inherently designed for aftermarket sights or other attachments. The Mutant fires the omnipresent 7.62×39 AK ammo through a 16” barrel, but, as CMMG’s site says, “it offers the modularity of an AR-15”. With the ability to add aftermarket sights, combined with the fact that every rifle comes equipped with a MOE pistol grip, SV muzzle brake, Geissele SSA trigger, 30rd AK PMAG, and CMMG’s lifetime quality guarantee, the Mutant offers the best of both worlds. The $1700 cost is more on the high-end AR price point, but it would be nice to have one of these at your disposal if budget permits.

SIG Sauer 516 Patrol – chambered in 5.56 NATO with a 16” barrel, a quad rail, collapsible Magpul stock, and a four-position gas regulator (which has a silencer position), this gun, in my opinion is among the most versatile and reliable ARs in the market. Sig Sauer’s reliability is legendary, and the 516 does not disappoint. The standard 516 can be acquired for about $1600. There are also different versions that come with a fixed carbon fiber stock and/or an extended carbon fiber fore-end, but it will add $4-500 to the price. Personally, I like the standard version for long-term reliability. Maybe I am old school, but I can’t see the carbon fiber holding up to many sustained battles and abuse. You trade marginal weight savings for reliability. I may be wrong, but I guess time will tell. I would become a believer if I see the military adopt the carbon fiber version.

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Car Trunk Backpack

Keltec Sub 2000 chambered in 40 S&W; paired with Glock 22 (also 40 S&W); the Keltec is an extremely accurate carbine that uses Glock mags. It also folds up nicely to fit in a small backpack. Add a TruGlo green laser/light combo to the bottom Picatinny rail to make it even more effective. It also has a threaded barrel waiting for a silencer. The Keltec can be bought for less than $400 as of this writing – one of the single best values for a carbine in the market. You can also equip your backpack with a Glock 22 and use the same mags between the two. Glock has a high-capacity 22 round 40 S&W factory mag. Alternatively, Magpul is coming out with the PMAG27, a 27 round mag for 40 S&W. The Korean company KCI also has 40 S&W high-capacity mags, but I would only use them at the range. I have seen both good and bad reviews of KCI, so I wouldn’t trust them with your life until I see a better track record. Load up your factory mags with Critical Duty bullets, and you have a very effective defense while on the road. As a footnote, the Keltec also comes chambered in 9mm if you prefer that caliber. There are some who believe 9mm and 40 S&W will have very similar stopping power over short distances. As always, check your state laws before concealing firearms in your car or on your person.

Extreme Stopping Power, CQB

458 SOCOM – The 458 SOCOM caliber was a result of our Special Ops soldiers’ experience in Somalia during the 1993 Battle of Mogadishu (immortalized in the movie Blackhawk Down). Some soldiers noted that it took multiple hits of 5.56 to bring down the enemy since many of them were flyin high on “Khat”, an herbal stimulant from evergreen leaves that can cause hallucinations and manic behavior. They needed a bullet that would do the job in one hit, resulting in the 458 SOCOM. A SOCOM upper can be mounted to any standard AR15 lower, or you can buy a full factory rifle from Rock River ($1300) or Wilson Combat ($2500). You need to use 30 rd Lancer mags, which are a cross between a PMAG and steel mag. A PMAG will split open if you use it for this ammo. This bullet needs the steel support offered by Lancers. Additionally, the bullet size only allows for loading about 7-9 rounds in a 30 rd Lancer mag, which is probably why it never fully caught on with the military, and is reserved for special circumstances. The factory ammo is sometimes hard to get and expensive (up to $3 per round), but if you are a reloader, you can save quite a bit and the individual casings and bullets are more readily available. In any event, it is a great caliber to have when you need that extra stopping power.

Home Defense Shotgun

Fostech Origin 12 with 30 round Drum – this 12 gauge shotgun is down right wicked. Billed as the fastest semi auto shotgun in the world, the Origin 12 is Fostech’s answer to the Russian made Saiga 12. It looks like an AK on steroids, having an 18” barrel and collapsible stock. It comes with a 5 round mag, but when you add the optional 30 round drum mag ($400), you won’t have to shoot because the bad guy home invaders will run at the mere sight of it. There are numerous jaw dropping YouTube videos dedicated to this shotgun. Look it up. I guarantee you will be impressed, but you would need to part with $2500 to own it, not including the drum mag. If I was a liberal gun control proponent, this type of hardware would be on my radar.

Benelli Super Eagle with XRail – the Benelli 12 gauge semi auto shotgun is already used by many law enforcement officers. If you add a $800 XRail attachment, it ups the number of shots to 23 with a 26” barrel. If you get an integrated XRail, it comes with a 21” barrel and 26 shot capability, which would make the Benelli even more effective in a tactical environment. The integrated version, including the shotgun, runs about $3300. In my view, the XRail would clearly be in the sights of the gun control advocates.

Woodsman and Mountain Man Activities (whatever they might do)

Rock River Arms Lightweight Mountain Rifle – chambered in .223/5.56, this gun is light to carry in the mountains or woods, accurate, and most of all, cool looking. It not for a sustained battle though as the rail gets very hot to the touch, but it is fun to shoot. Use gloves.

Midrange 100 – 500 yards

SIG 716 DMR Gen 1 (.308/7.62) – buy the Gen 1 while still available. The pending Gen 2 version is more like a patrol style (16 inch barrel, collapsible stock, key mod instead of quad rail, two pounds lighter than Gen 1). If you haven’t noticed I am not a weight weenie. I always have felt that you should keep physically fit, and either lose weight yourself or pump iron, especially if preparing for battle. Don’t skimp on the hardware. The heavier Gen 1 serves a purpose. I would not use the Gen 2 for midrange because of the 16 inch barrel. Some may disagree, but that’s ok.

The Gen 1 comes with an 18 inch barrel, quad rail, Harris Bipod, and Magpul Precision Rifle stock – much more for the money, and definitely more accurate at the midrange. The 716 accepts standard PMAGS. In a pinch, while the gun will top out at 10-11 pounds, you could theoretically pick it up and use for CQB, but that is obviously not the main purpose. My dream sight for this gun would be the Trijicon ACOG 6×48 with the RMR red dot on top. Alternatively, any mid range scope would work for the budget conscious. The DMR costs around $2500 without the sights.

Wilson Combat Urban Super Sniper – barrel chambered with a .223 Wylde – this barrel is designed to be extremely accurate using either .223 or 5.56 ammo. It will run about $2500, but it will be hard pressed to find one as accurate for mid-range using a 5.56. That said keep in mind the Ballistics of a 5.56 bullet. This barrel is meant for tighter urban environments as the gun’s title suggests. It becomes significantly less effective past the mid-range, so you would not want to use this to hold off zombies past 300 yards unless you can get head-shots. Might work for slow movers, not the World War Z type though.

FNH M249S Saw – this gun got a lot of press at the NRA 2015 meeting in Nashville. Chambered in 5.56, the M249S is the semi-auto version of the military’s full auto version (originally introduced in 1988). It has the ability to accept belt fed or mag-loaded ammo, giving it an ability to fire a large quantity of ammo before needing to reload. It actually comes with an attached plastic ammo box to hold the belt fed ammo. WIth a 20.5 inch barrel, some would consider it capable of defending mid range. While I don’t doubt the fire power, I have some questions on 5.56 ballistics that give me pause to use this gun to defend against targets further than 300 yards. That said, the sheer volume of bullets that you can fire without reloading would put this gun on the chopping block. The Saw’s cost is approximately $8000, give or take a few hundred.

Long Range – over 500 yards (my definition of long-range – which is up for debate)

Barrett M107A1 – while cost prohibitive for many, I would be remiss to leave it out as the most effective semi auto long-range gun available on the market. With its 50 bmg bullet, this gun will stop most Mad Max style vehicles. Already prohibited in California via the .50 Caliber BMG Regulation Act of 2004, which prohibits the sale of guns chambered in the caliber, this weapon would certainly be on the chopping block of a liberal Supreme Court. If you go all out with the Barrett Optical Ranging System (BORS), which is an integrated ballistics computer, you can automate your ballistics calculations. This weapon can be yours for 12-15k, or you can wait for the SHTF and pick one up off an abandoned military vehicle. Keep in mind that the M107A1 is not only expensive to buy, but also expensive to shoot. That said, I would say anyone who owns one can’t help but smile every time the trigger is pulled, though the blast might be life altering.

Noreen Firearms “Bad News” 338 Lapua Magnum – the Lapua ammo has increasingly become a favorite of the snipers, but the military application has been limited because most Lapua rifles are bolt actioned. Enter the Bad News Lapua, which is the first semi-auto rifle chambered in this caliber. With a 26” barrel, a Magpul Precision Rifle stock, piston driven, and weighing in at 13 lbs, this gun is made to be mobile. In an ever-changing landscape, I could see the application up to 1500 yards. If I am not mistaken, the 338 Lapua caliber holds the record for the longest range hit at 2 miles (with an Accuracy International bolt-action rifle). While not designed to go as far or as hard-hitting as the 50 BMG, the Bad News offers a nice alternative for those that want a “cheaper” long range semi, topping out at $6000. The Lapua ammo, however, can run you up to $5.00 per round – so get into reloading to save some cash. It is a good skill to have, especially if the SHTF.

Nemo Omen – yet another effective gun for the longer range. The Omen is chambered in 300 Win Mag and would also be effective to 1500 yards. It is the “cheapest” out of the long-range rifles in this article at roughly $4000. The Win Mag ammo is readily available and popular with hunters as well. I would get the 20” barrel for a greater muzzle velocity. The mags, however, are not something readily available and are specific to the gun. So get a bunch upfront so you have them.

Keep in mind I realize bolt actions may be more precise and affordable. There are some like the Ruger Precision Rifle chambered in 6.5 Creedmoor and 308 Win that put out more than respectable groupings at long ranges. They can be bought for under $1200 as well, but I reiterate that this article is about insuring against potential bans.

Hunting Handguns

I believe a ban would not affect most handguns. It would most likely address high-capacity mags. However, there is one handgun that comes to mind as a potential target for a ban, and it is more related to the caliber, not the mag capacity. Magnum Research’s Desert Eagle 50AE would probably be on the radar due to the large 50 caliber bullet. The 50 AE is the most powerful semi-automatic handgun on the planet. It comes in an array of cool finishes, with my favorite being the Black Tigerstripe. The cost is around $1600, and the ammo is expensive and less available than its little brother chambered in a 44. Again, you would benefit by being a reloader.

Accessorize, Accessorize, Accessorize

For those with limited budgets, one way to help to insure yourself against gun control is to stock up on accessories, even if you don’t own the associated weapon. I believe the most effective thing you could do is to acquire some of the high-capacity magazines listed below. However, if you believe in the possibility of severe restrictions, there are other items to think about. What follows below are some suggestions without regard to price. With the exception of the Beta Mags, Fostech Echo Trigger, thermal sights, night vision, and silencers (I hate the politically correct word “suppressor”), these items can be bought relatively cheap (from $10 to $200).

Magazines

  • Ruger BX25 or 2×25 – a 25 and 50 round .22lr magazine: Yes it’s a small-caliber, but it’s more about the capacity
  • 30-40 Round 5.56 and AK Mags from Magpul, Lancer, Hexmag, and others: if you can’t afford them, go with the steel – they work well and can be picked up for half the price of a poly.
  • 20 and 25 round M1A1 steel mags for the SOCOM 16 CQB
  • 20 round 7.62×51 mags by Magpul for the Sig 716
  • PMAG D-60: a 60 round 5.56 drum mag by Magpul
  • Surefire 60 and 100 5.56 round mag: only about an inch and a half longer than a 30 round mag, the Surefire gives a lot of added capacity.
  • Beta Mags: this company offers a ton of different 100 round twin drum mags, but they are expensive.
  • Korean Drum mags: KCI offers 100 round drum mags for a number of different calibers at very reasonable prices. I would reserve them for target practice or to trade/barter (assuming you can legally do so in the future state of gun control).
  • Origin 12 – 30 round mags: Specific to the Origin 12, but a must have if you own this gun.
  • Glock high-capacity mags (all calibers) – factory and aftermarket: While I believe the factory Glock mags are the most reliable, I have seen good reviews of the PMAG and Elite Tactical Systems (ETS) high capacity mags. Both the PMAG and ETS mags can be bought at a fraction of the price of the factory Glock mags. The same goes for KCI, though these mags have mixed reviews.- Stripped or Complete AR15 and AR10 Lowers: Buy as many as you can. As you may already know, the lower is the part that is considered the gun. You can always build an AR after the ban, again assuming grandfathering. You can get some very cheap by Anderson Arms, or if you want the cool factor, get the Spike’s Tactical “The Jack”, which has a forged skull, or the “Warthog”. Keep in mind, however, that some lawmakers believe that collapsible stocks should be banned. If you subscribe to this belief, buy a complete lower that includes a collapsible stock.
  • Foregrips: Believe it or not, foregrips have been scrutinized as some believe these accessories can increase the fire rate of a weapon. You can get a ton of these really cheap on Amazon.
  • Sig Sauer Pistol Brace: this accessory initially took the industry by storm, but it is very controversial since the ATF says that if you use it as a shoulder stock on a buffer tube equipped pistol, it can reclassify your gun as a Short Barreled Rifle (SBR), which is subject to ATF registration and tax. Per Sig Sauer, the pistol brace is designed to stabilize the handgun while shooting with a single hand. In summary, while still legal, make sure you use it as designed or risk a felony. I believe there is a high probability this brace will be outlawed in the coming ban as it is already being questioned by the ATF. As a disclaimer, I do not hold out myself to be an expert on firearms laws, so check these facts for yourself.
  • Fostech Echo Trigger: this trigger fires the gun not only when pulled, but also upon release. It is as close to a fully auto as you can legally get. There are other companies that make such a trigger, but I have seen reviews with some problems. Without getting specific, Fostech seems to have learned from other’s mistakes. This one has my head scratching regarding legality. While the ATF currently deems them legal, I have seen some YouTube videos, and once becoming proficient, you can reach a cadence that is pretty close to fully auto. You can switch to regular semi auto as well. These triggers are shipping later this year. I will be sure to get a few as I believe they have a high ban probability in the future.
  • Silencers: there are a ton of different companies that producer silencers. I prefer SilencerCo’s new Hybrid, which will work with pistols as well as higher calibers such as the 458 SOCOM. If you are lucky enough to live in a state where they are legal, get a least one. I believe that after July 13th, 2016, a new ATF ruling allows you to obtain a silencer without a Chief Law Enforcement Officer (CLEO) sign off, though you would still need to get your fingerprints and photos when submitting your registration with the ATF. If you were smart enough to start a gun trust, you can avoid the fingerprints, photos, and CLEO sign off until July 13th (again, check with your local FFL to verify the ruling). Gun trusts can be started for as little as $75, but time is running out.
  • Thermal and Night Vision Sights – less likely to be banned, but you never know. These sights give the operator a great advantage, and overzealous gun control legislators might believe they pose too much of a risk.
  • Reloading dies, primers, and powder for AR calibers: again, less likely to be banned but who knows how extreme a ban is coming. If you are a reloader, better to be safe than sorry.
  • Collapsible Stocks: mentioned previously as part of a complete upper, this type of stock is definitely on the radar of some liberal lawmakers.
  • Ammo: stock up on the AR/AK calibers. If you have enough of a budget for the longer range 338 Lapua and 50 BMG, more power to you. Get it while you can.

In summary, while it is hard to speculate the extent of any proposed ban, if you are able to obtain at least some of the above hardware and accessories, you will be somewhat insured. Again, I realize that many of the guns in particular might be out of budget. There are cheaper weapon alternatives, especially in the AR market for CQB. If that is all you can afford, it is better than nothing. If you can’t afford the full weapon, by some complete and stripped lowers for the future.

If you are frightened after reading this article, I have achieved my goal. Get out and vote in November. The only thing certain is that this election is critical on many different levels.


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An EMP is a just one of the threats that can hold our society at risk of catastrophic consequences. A EMP (electromagnetic pulse) can be caused by an high-altitude nuclear weapon that will interact with the Earth’s atmosphere, ionosphere, and magnetic field to produce an EMP radiating down to the Earth and create electrical currents in the Earth. A determined adversary can achieve an EMP attack without having a high level of sophistication. The concern of EMP attack is such a fear of national security, there has been a congressional committee to discuss this threat. “Commission to Assess the Threat to the U.S. from EMP Attack”.

CORONAL MASS EJECTIONS RESULTING IN EMP

In July of 2012 a coronal mass ejection took place.   A “coronal mass ejection” or C.M.E. is a massive burst of solar wind and magnetic fields rising above the solar corona or being released into space.   This was reported to be the most powerful CME discharge ever recorded from our sun.  The 2012 discharge missed Earth.  However, if this C.M.E. had occurred only a week prior; it would have struck our planet and subsequently led to a complete technological disaster according to researchers from the University of Colorado Boulder.

To put into perspective the size and enormity of this event lets consider it’s speed (force) only. The typical C.M.E. from our sun take between 2-4 days to reach Earth.  The coronal event in 2012 would have reached earth in just 18 hours.  It’s estimated speed was approximately 7 million miles per hour!

While there are systems in place that are designed to warn us of solar flares and CME activity… It’s unclear on whether the teams tasked with monitoring the NASA “Solar Shield” would have been able to alert emergency services in time.   The speed of this event was faster than anything previously seen in our modern space age.

Policy makers haven’t taken this near miss seriously despite the fact that a senior member of the Congressional Homeland Security Committee warned that there is a 100% chance of a geo-magnetic event capable of crippling electrical grids across the globe.  Certain government organizations have deemed this the “KILL SHOT”.   If such an event were to take place it would take up to 18 months before power could be restored to the grid.  If such an event were to occur, it’s estimated that 9 out of 10 people would be dead within one year.  Once the electrical grid goes down, commerce systems will no longer function, food production, farming and delivery will grind to a halt almost instantly, water treatment facilities will cease to work and millions of diabetic citizens will perish from the inability to keep insulin cold.  The ramifications would be serious and almost immediate.

EMP MYTHS

When discussing what measure can be taken to guard against an EMP; it’s first necessary to get rid of a few myths.  It’s essential to understand the nature of EMP and how it works.

One major myth or misconception is that an EMP is similar to a powerful bolt of lightning. While the two (lightning and EMPs) each produce similar results; an EMP is actually more like to a super-charged radio wave. Any bright ideas about using lightning-rods, lightning arrestors  or any such grounding techniques will undoubtedly fail in protecting equipment from EMP.

Another false concept is that EMP “out of the blue” can harm your body or cause major damage to your brain way lightning strikes can.  The EMP levels created by a nuclear weapon would be so minimal, they wouldn’t pose a serious health threat to plants, animals or man.  This is assuming that the EMP isn’t concentrated.

EMP can be concentrated. EMP occurs when it is “pulled in” by a stretch of metal. EMP would be dangerous to living things in this case.  It could become concentrated by exposed metal girders, telephone lines, long antennas or anything similar.  Avoid being very close to such concentrations in event of nuclear war.  A minimum distance of 8 feet from such stretches of metal is recommended for nuclear-generated EMP.

Concentration of metal, wiring etc…  is the main reason that most electrical equipment would be destroyed by the EMP.  It’s not that the electrical equipment itself is really that sensitive, but rather the massive electrical surge would be so concentrated that anything working on low levels of electricity would be completely fried.

So What Can I Do to Prepare For An EMP?

Protecting Small Equipment

A Faraday box is the easiest way of protecting most small electrical equipment that can be unplugged from the power source.  A Faraday box is a metal box designed to divert and soak up the EMP. If the object placed in the box is insulated from the inside surface of the box, it will not be affected by the EMP travelling around the outside metal surface of the box. The Faraday box simple and cheap and often provides more protection to electrical components than “hardening” through circuit designs which can’t be (or haven’t been) adequately tested.  Many containers are suitable for make-shift Faraday boxes: cake boxes, ammunition containers, metal filing cabinets and so on.  Despite what you may have read or heard, these boxes do NOT have to be airtight due to the long wave length of EMP; boxes can be made of wire screen or other porous metal and be equally effective.  The Faraday box is a great solution assuming that you aren’t using the equipment when the event occurs.  (not likely)  It is highly advised that you prepare a “back-up plan” Faraday box filled and ready for such an occasion.  Shortwave radio, weather radio, small television, spare telephone and anything else you may need after.  Do remember that the power grid will likely be wiped out so anything you keep will have to run off of a fuel powered generator.  You should be focused on staying informed but not needlessly entertained.

The only two requirements for protection with a Faraday box are:

(1) The electrical equipment inside the box can’t touch the metal container. Insulating with cardboard, rubber, plastic or even wads of paper are acceptable methods.
(2) The metal shielding must be continuous. There can be no large holes or gaps in the shielding.

Grounding your Faraday box is not advisable. Although EMP and lightning strike are very different in the big picture; a good example how NOT grounding your Faraday box is beneficial would be to look at lightning strikes on a flying plane.  These strikes seldom fry the electrical components or occupants because the metal shell acts as a large Faraday box.  Since the plane isn’t grounded, the effects of lightning strikes are minimal.

Certain electrical parts are incredibly sensitive to EMP.  these include IC circuits, microwave transistors, and Field Effect Transistors (FET’s). If you have electrical equipment with such components, it must be very well protected if it is to survive EMP. Once again A Faraday box is the best solution.

There is a short list of electrical equipment that is innately EMP-resistant.  This includes large electric motors, vacuum tube equipment, electrical generators, transformers, relays, and the like.  This kind of equipment could possibly survive a massive EMP surge and would likely to survive if a few of the precautions discussed below were taken in their design and deployment.  Battery operated equipment will also be impervious to EMP.  If you don’t want to buy a wealth of batteries for every appliance you own or use a radio set up with longer than 30-inch antenna, then you’ll need to use equipment that is “hardened” against EMP.

Larger Equipment Hardening and Protection

If you must operate ham radios or the like during a nuclear attack; there are a few methods which will help to protect electrical circuits from EMP.   These various vary in design as there are multiple ways of neutralizing the effects of an EMP.  Design variations include the use of tree formation circuits (rather than standard loop formations);  the use of self-contained battery packs; the use of induction shielding around components; the use of loop antennas; and (instances of solid-state components) the use of Zener diodes.  Implementing these design elements can eliminate the chance an EMP surge from power lines or long antennas damaging your large equipment.  Another useful strategy is to use grounding wires for each separate instrument which is coupled into a system an EMP system so that it has more paths to take in grounding itself.


On a different note, here’s some other self-sufficiency and preparedness solutions recommended for you:

The Lost Ways (The vital self-sufficiency lessons our great grand-fathers left us)
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The Lost ways II (4 Important Forgotten Skills used by our Ancestors that can help you in any crisis)
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An EMP is a just one of the threats that can hold our society at risk of catastrophic consequences. A EMP (electromagnetic pulse) can be caused by an high-altitude nuclear

What are you afraid of? These are the words that I hear often from friends, strangers and the media. What was once normal has become “absurd” and self-reliance is now seen as “fringe” behavior that either needs to be legislated out of existence or shunned in public. In some cases prepping is a sign of radicalism that needs to be viewed as potentially deviant social behavior.

There are many reasons to prepare and the motivating factors behind each individual’s decision process change with the event or scenario you are preparing or “prepping” for. There are those who are planning for an EMP attack that would wipe out all or part of our electric grid, others for a global pandemic or a currency collapse. Some families are preparing for more organic threats like hurricanes or snow storms or even something as relatively normal as the loss of a job. Regardless of the reason, the logic behind preparing is sound. Maybe some of the scenarios to prepare for are a little far-fetched in terms of probability – but the main goal, to be prepared to take care of yourself and your family – is valid, logical and in this day and age rare. When did it become crazy to want to be able to protect and care for your family if something bad happens?

As I write this the world appears to be not so slowly trudging toward events that could dramatically affect our lives for generations. Our world economy is in shambles and the pieces are lying in a pile on the edge of a metaphorical cliff while the “experts” speak of recovery. Governments are seizing power and reducing liberties in the name of safety. Our health is in jeopardy with viruses, genetically modified food and resistant bacteria. How could anyone not be at least a little concerned with what the future holds or think from time to time about where we are headed? I believe that each person has a gut instinct or an awareness of what is happening around them. Some are more in tune with this awareness and others are choosing to block it out entirely.

For me, this awareness for lack of a better word started to become more prominent around 2008. There was no event that triggered any type of awakening but a lifetime (still relatively short) of seeing events in my life certainly influenced me. My personal history didn’t have anything catastrophic in it, but I was aware of tragedies – even just natural occurrences that ripped lives apart. I wasn’t concerned in the least about Y2K, but I did hold my breath just for a second at midnight on Jan 1, 2000. Earthquakes, Tornadoes and Hurricanes are easy to ignore if you don’t live in areas prone to that type of calamity but it does make you wonder. Ice storms and floods seem to cause similar havoc so you can understand in most cases the perspective of someone you know who has been affected by some type of event that disrupted their lives completely.

What if a hurricane Katrina type of event happened where I live? What if an ice storm cut power to our house for three weeks? What if I lost my job? What if there was a gas-shortage or a trucking strike and I couldn’t get food from the grocery store? What if my bank closed and all of my money was tied up and unavailable to me?

When I started to think about things in this way as the “What if?” type of scenario I looked around at my own personal situation and realized just how in trouble we would be if anything like this happened. We had no spare cash. Our food in the pantry would probably last a week if we were lucky and in the end it wouldn’t be the best meals we could think of. Spaghetti sauce and Black olives anyone? We didn’t have any backup power, no backup heat, and no stored water. We did have a gas fireplace, but what if the gas went out or the lines were broken? We routinely ran our tanks in the cars down to E and we didn’t have any money on hand not to mention our savings weren’t really that significant either. Loss of a job would quickly get us in a bind.

So I started doing research and beginning to list all of the things I would need to be completely prepared for whatever happened. I started reading blogs and books from one side of the spectrum to the other. From people who discussed growing a few tomato plants to full on bomb shelter plans with castles and moats (my own personal favorite). There is so much information and opinion out there to digest. Like others, I started to buy a little more food and water, obtain firearms and make plans for how to protect my family just in case something happened. We have come a long way since 2009 but we have a ton more that we need to do. Nobody can prepare for everything but covering as many of the bases as possible will help you out more than it hurts.

My hope for this blog is two-fold. I want to inform and inspire people to prepare for whatever you feel is most pertinent to your situation. I also want to help people learn from my mistakes and trials and learn from your stories as well. Every day we will be posting news, articles, reviews and advice on Prepping. I hope to be able to cover all of the topics with enough variety and a little humor so that finalprepper.com will become a resource you visit daily.  Thank you for visiting and I look forward to starting down this road with you.

What are you afraid of? These are the words that I hear often from friends, strangers and the media. What was once normal has become “absurd” and self-reliance is now

 

Now, more than ever before, people are starting to really consider the role technology will play in doomsday. As fantastic advancements are being made in the field everyday, and our reliance growing accordingly, it can be hard to imagine an apocalyptic situation without considering how our use of technical gadgets will affect it.

Technology seems to be something that splits most preppers down the middle. For some, stocking up on all the latest survival gadgets is an essential step to take to ensure preparation for potential apocalypse. For others, however, this very reliance on electronic equipment for survival is the actual catalyst for doomsday.

The Age Of Information

With new reports claiming that by 2020, an astounding 70% of the world’s population will own a smart phone. Statistics already show that at least 68% of Americans are regular internet users. It’s clear how widely spread our need for online access is.

You only have to consider the impact of suddenly losing the ability to browse to realize what a large amount of important information is stored virtually. In fact, a Canadian study showed that our constant searching to fact-check information has actually reduced our attention span and ability to commit information to our long-term memory. These are skills that are both essential to survive a doomsday scenario.

Immediately, it’s obvious why so many preppers are hesitant to put so much reliance on technology. Even gadgets that don’t require internet access are preventing us from developing useful survival skills that could significantly benefit us at a later date. Plus, if the power grid goes down, these supposedly handy tools are rendered immediately useless.

Cyberwarfare

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Norse – Real Time Cyber attack map. Amazing to watch.

Fortunately, due to its decentralized system, it’s highly unlikely that the internet will go down of its own accord any time soon. However, this doesn’t mean we’re perfectly safe. Cybercrime has been on the rise almost continuously over the last decade or so. We’ve already seen guerilla hacking groups take action against governments, economic giants and religious organizations, so worldwide internet shut down isn’t out of the question.

What technophobes fear is that an individual, organization or even warring government could develop a form of malware so complex that it causes irreversible damage before experts can even identify it. With sources claiming that the average American relies on 250 computers throughout a generic day to survive, it’s clear that an attack on a massive scale could bring about disaster in ways that further technology can’t help you with.


Technology as Security

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Drone VR Camera with Night Vision

Despite the unhealthy reliance on such a potentially corruptible system, in many doomsday scenarios, technology could actually be an incredible help. Many preppers have already begun discussing the importance of adding a drone to their doomsday arsenal for increased surveillance and security. It’s undeniable that this video footage would be invaluable in terms of spotting attackers and, as those worried about governmental inference point out, they are so regularly used by those powers it would help to level the playing field.

Similarly, using software and technology to lock down your computers and devices is an essential practice to protect yourself from government surveillance.  Any prepper who is not using a Virtual Private Network to hide their online activity and stay anonymous online is asking for trouble from snooping governments and malicious hackers. As previously established, using technology is risky business. If you are going to partake in its use, then it’s essential to stay protected!

Technology As Communication

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Small hand-held radios are an excellent option for Preppers. While not secure, they are better than nothing in a lot of cases.

One obvious advantage of having working technology during a doomsday event is being able to have a successful mode of communication. Whether this ends up being a fully functional smart phone or just a pack of walkie-talkies, having to means to stay in contact with those you aren’t directly with will make it easier to scope out potential dangers, get a better general idea of the situation, and find and ensure that loved ones are safe.

Determining on the catalyst for the disaster will decide what form of technology should be used. Obviously, cyberwarfare will immediately rule out smartphones, but mobile devices without internet connection may still function. If the satellites are targeted, or come down by accident, having sets of long-range walkie-talkies at the ready will be greatly beneficial to you and your family. Keeping a supply of all of these items is the best way to ensure you’re ready for literally anything that may strike.

Technology For Longevity

When talking about doomsday, many people put stringent considerations on the initial 24 hours, but fail to think about learn term survival tactics. Depending on the form of the apocalypse, you could easily be out of convenient supplies in a number of days. Similarly, all communal systems will probably collapse in a very short space of time. Due to this, stocking up on helpful gadgets to increase your longevity and potential survival time is an essential practice.

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Anker 21W 2-Port USB Solar Charger

Simple things include solar power charging packs (you can buy them on backpacks so they charge while you walk) and compact water filters. You can also get waterproof solar fire starters to ensure you can cook food anywhere. As it’s likely that healthcare will quickly become completely inaccessible, carrying around basic medical devices could literally save lives if there’s an accident or emergency.

The role technology plays in doomsday will be highly dependent on the form of the disaster. While it could provide life saving tools to help you survive in some situations, in others it will be rendered almost immediately useless. Due to this, the best tactic by far is to understand to repercussions of each expected form of apocalypse and what they will each require and stock up on all the gadgets you can afford. Yet don’t be hesitant to leave them behind as soon as they’re doing nothing more than weighing you down!

We’ve mentioned some of the most essential doomsday gadgets on this list, but there’s many more available. If you know of any others then be sure the leave a comment below and share your ideas with others! Also leave a comment if you’d like to continue the discussion on what role technology could play when disaster strikes.

  Now, more than ever before, people are starting to really consider the role technology will play in doomsday. As fantastic advancements are being made in the field everyday, and our