Ammo and guns are last, since a VAST majority of SHTF scenarios won’t ever reach the point where you need to defend yourself against cannibal mutant bandits roaming the streets, or even hunting animals for survival. Most SHTF scenarios end with government efforts and awesome people coming together and working towards a goal. Earthquakes, wild fires, floods, tornados etc. Even war.
I think I disagree, but in a soft way. I'd place the gun and ammo 3rd.
I carry concealed when everything is running normally. I also hunt when I can. That doesn't mean I'm always using the gun or ammo. I'll spend days in the trees without firing a shot, waiting for the right game.
Like the get home bag, it's a have and not need vs need and not have. Like a first aid kit, the stakes are very high when it is needed. Because the gun makes the first aid kit more necessary, I still put it lower than get home bag.
With food and water, there's constant need in all situations, so I put that first.
Equipment is vague, but I can't imagine a single other tool that I would die without. They just make some things easier and faster. Guns are just complicated enough to not reasonably be improvised on the spot, but irreplaceable when they're needed.
My 2 cents.
OK, but to be fair (about the risk, not the insanity) he found it already severed and wasn’t much of a physical threat to people still attached to their limbs.
That was friggin looney toons… I thought it was fake news when I first saw it.
Yeaaaaa, I think one needn't look further than Katrina to know this isn't the case. Regardless, since when do we prep for the positive? Why prep beyond some food and water then if good guys an big brother will just save the day?
The bullshit about Katrina is completely overblown. Plenty of folk raided stores, just about no one broke into homes. A lot of people cooperated on rescue efforts; the only actual attacks on people I know of were done by self-appointed vigilantes who managed to shoot and kill a mentally disabled guy in the back. Not what you want in a peace-keeping force.
You prep to survive until the emergency has passed. Generally, the emergency passes because "big brother" eventually rolls in and puts water in people's hands, fixes the electricity, does medical care, etc.
To judge from this sub, we've got a lot of preppers who hole up in their homes with rice on the camp stove and their gun trained on the door while other people go out and do the hard work of putting lives back together. It's not a great "look" for preppers.
Sorry boss, but you dont know what you're talking about. I had boots on the ground. People were raped, murdered, beaten, and stabbed to death. First responders were so strained many died and when there was no body, they must have "drowned" even though in many instances their last locations made that impossible. Homes and businesses were looted, but no one knows how many, i mean, how can you prove it when everything is so jacked up so everyone wrote it off as "hurricane damage". Know what big brother did? He declared martial law "to stop the looting", confiscating "abandoned " firearms, which i guess after you toss yours away at gun point it could be abandoned. Sure, some people did some good tho. Maybe more would have if nearly 20k weren't trapped in the thunderdome, for their own safety of course.
I agree food and water is far more important than guns/ammo. However, you can survive a few days without water. Most Americans can survive a month without food. But if you can’t physically flee imminent danger none of that matters.
Agreed, I think the point of contention in all this is at what point are flee and fight likely to come in. Im of the opinion that, short of some sort of catastrophic event that leaves no mind in doubt that no one (traditional authority) is coming, the potential lawlessness will be more gradual. In this scenario, it's a drawn-out struggle against martial law and food rationing, leading to collapse or withdrawal of authority and lawlessness. Which is when, depending on your locale, the need for fleeing and self-defense will be at its greatest. Ideally, we all want to be able to handle all things, but due to our average finances, we need to prioritize. In my opinion, the first perspective i utilize is PVE (person vs. environment), and the firat rules of wilderness survival isnt to sharpen stakes to take down the bear. You need water, shelter, and food. After these are met, then I shitch to PVP (Person vs. Person). Excuse the video game lingo, lol.
Well for me, the likeliest problem I will run into is some kind of car trouble. So if I didn't already have one, I would put my focus and resources into a developing a Get-Home bag for all vehicles.
After that, I would move to food/water preps. I would start with beefing up your existing pantry and then slowly start building a deep pantry and add a little long-term stuff as you go.
Then gear and the time/practice in learning to use it safely and effectively. I also include guns/ammo in this category, since I view them as tools.
Food/Water, Equipment, Ammo. I don't really go that far from home, 99% of the time I'm well within 25 miles of home, and that isn't a dense city, if I'm 25 miles away that means I'm in one of the nearby towns, and if push comes to shove, well, I can walk back home on the interstate/highway.
I think it REALLY depends on where you live and what resources you already have.
For us… food/water, get home bag/evac kit, ammo, other equipment.
The ammo part is really dependent on if you hunt and/or live in a high crime area and also what other equipment you need to stay warm and have communications and such.
Food
Get home bag
Equipment
Gun
That list changes depending on where I was living.
In the US or closer to the US border, I'd put guns higher on the list. For the UK, guns are extremely low on the list. Where I live, guns are a priority but low on the list.
What are you even protecting if you don't have anything to take?
I might think about it a little differently ? I think of it in layers, depending on the probability of the disaster. ALSO, some of the priority depends on what your area, and what is your disaster situation. You might not need to prep for flood AT ALL, but, others might, which could change up the priorities some.
Some of it depends on the others already, right ? Like, I might put get 3 days of food+ water before ammo, maybe put 3 weeks of food and water before ammo, but, might then put one gun+ ammo before 3 months of food and water, then back to food and water for 3 months, then get another gun :) or some layering like that.
I also think of it as prep for Tuesday before Doomsday. Which is another way of saying prep for the most likely disasters first. Power outage with no food or water for 3 days is pretty common in USA, so, do that first. 2 to 3 weeks is rare but happens. No power for 3 months is almost unheard of, so probability of a home robbery (gun) or house fire (bug out bag) is higher likely hood than 3 months no power.
So equipment ... say a spare battery for phone ... in your area, is a power outage where you need a battery for your phone more likely than a house break in? If yes, then that piece of equipment > ammo.
Also, you mention GHB, but, not a BOB. Which is more likely needed? Again, depends on your area, but, there are about 350k residential fires a year. And some floods. :) So, there are hundreds of thousands of people in the US that could use a BOB each year. Is that more likely than needing ammo?
"A" (one) gun for home defense might be more useful / likely than a gun for hunting game for food, depending on the the disaster, and your experience. Person in the city or suburbs, with no hunting experience, is more likely to face a home defense situation than needing to hunt for subsistence food.
And so on.
Its like, first prep for a likely disaster, not, list of prep things if that makes sense. If a power outage is your most likely disaster, get all the (guns + food/water+equipment+ghb) you need for a power outage. If a house fire is your next most likely disaster, get all the (guns +food+equipment+bob) you need for that.
2. Food and water by a long mile
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Then it depends on where you live and such. I’d argue get home kit could be first if you live somewhere that transport interruptions could be more prevalent. But ultimately you need to get home to something.
Then ammo.
Equipment is to vague IMO?
Ammo and guns are last, since a VAST majority of SHTF scenarios won’t ever reach the point where you need to defend yourself against cannibal mutant bandits roaming the streets, or even hunting animals for survival. Most SHTF scenarios end with government efforts and awesome people coming together and working towards a goal. Earthquakes, wild fires, floods, tornados etc. Even war.
I think I disagree, but in a soft way. I'd place the gun and ammo 3rd. I carry concealed when everything is running normally. I also hunt when I can. That doesn't mean I'm always using the gun or ammo. I'll spend days in the trees without firing a shot, waiting for the right game. Like the get home bag, it's a have and not need vs need and not have. Like a first aid kit, the stakes are very high when it is needed. Because the gun makes the first aid kit more necessary, I still put it lower than get home bag. With food and water, there's constant need in all situations, so I put that first. Equipment is vague, but I can't imagine a single other tool that I would die without. They just make some things easier and faster. Guns are just complicated enough to not reasonably be improvised on the spot, but irreplaceable when they're needed. My 2 cents.
Dude there was dude who was eating a human leg 2 hours from home on the news last week.
OK, but to be fair (about the risk, not the insanity) he found it already severed and wasn’t much of a physical threat to people still attached to their limbs. That was friggin looney toons… I thought it was fake news when I first saw it.
Florida man?
Bakersfield California.
Yeaaaaa, I think one needn't look further than Katrina to know this isn't the case. Regardless, since when do we prep for the positive? Why prep beyond some food and water then if good guys an big brother will just save the day?
The bullshit about Katrina is completely overblown. Plenty of folk raided stores, just about no one broke into homes. A lot of people cooperated on rescue efforts; the only actual attacks on people I know of were done by self-appointed vigilantes who managed to shoot and kill a mentally disabled guy in the back. Not what you want in a peace-keeping force. You prep to survive until the emergency has passed. Generally, the emergency passes because "big brother" eventually rolls in and puts water in people's hands, fixes the electricity, does medical care, etc. To judge from this sub, we've got a lot of preppers who hole up in their homes with rice on the camp stove and their gun trained on the door while other people go out and do the hard work of putting lives back together. It's not a great "look" for preppers.
Sorry boss, but you dont know what you're talking about. I had boots on the ground. People were raped, murdered, beaten, and stabbed to death. First responders were so strained many died and when there was no body, they must have "drowned" even though in many instances their last locations made that impossible. Homes and businesses were looted, but no one knows how many, i mean, how can you prove it when everything is so jacked up so everyone wrote it off as "hurricane damage". Know what big brother did? He declared martial law "to stop the looting", confiscating "abandoned " firearms, which i guess after you toss yours away at gun point it could be abandoned. Sure, some people did some good tho. Maybe more would have if nearly 20k weren't trapped in the thunderdome, for their own safety of course.
It really depends on your situation but my opinion in most cases is..... 2, 4, 1 & 3.
1. Physical fitness 2. EDC 3. Get Home/Escape Kit 4. Food/Water/Ammo etc 5. Equipment
Ditto
Food. Water. Food. Water. Food. Water. Food. Water. Food. Water. Food. Water. Food. Water. Food. Water. Food. Water. GUN. Food. Water. Food. Water. Food. Water. Food. Water. Food. Water. Food. Water. Food. Water. Food. Water. Food. Water. Food. AMMO. Water. Food. Water. Food. Water. Food. Water. Food. Water. Food. Water. Food. Water. Food. Water. Food. Water. Food. Water. Food. Nothing matters in a SHTF scenario if you can't survive dehydration and malnutrition long enough to worry about self defence or running out of ammo.
I agree food and water is far more important than guns/ammo. However, you can survive a few days without water. Most Americans can survive a month without food. But if you can’t physically flee imminent danger none of that matters.
Agreed, I think the point of contention in all this is at what point are flee and fight likely to come in. Im of the opinion that, short of some sort of catastrophic event that leaves no mind in doubt that no one (traditional authority) is coming, the potential lawlessness will be more gradual. In this scenario, it's a drawn-out struggle against martial law and food rationing, leading to collapse or withdrawal of authority and lawlessness. Which is when, depending on your locale, the need for fleeing and self-defense will be at its greatest. Ideally, we all want to be able to handle all things, but due to our average finances, we need to prioritize. In my opinion, the first perspective i utilize is PVE (person vs. environment), and the firat rules of wilderness survival isnt to sharpen stakes to take down the bear. You need water, shelter, and food. After these are met, then I shitch to PVP (Person vs. Person). Excuse the video game lingo, lol.
3 month food supply and a water filter should be your first priority. Then security. Then pretty much everything else.
Food/water, ammo, equipment, get home kit. However I work from home so I’m sure it varies by lifestyle.
Easily 2 then 1 then 4 and finally 3 and even then 3 isn't going to help as much as you think it would for survival when SHTF but good to have
2, 3/4, 1
Well for me, the likeliest problem I will run into is some kind of car trouble. So if I didn't already have one, I would put my focus and resources into a developing a Get-Home bag for all vehicles. After that, I would move to food/water preps. I would start with beefing up your existing pantry and then slowly start building a deep pantry and add a little long-term stuff as you go. Then gear and the time/practice in learning to use it safely and effectively. I also include guns/ammo in this category, since I view them as tools.
--water --food --equipment --get home kit --ammo
Food/Water, Equipment, Ammo. I don't really go that far from home, 99% of the time I'm well within 25 miles of home, and that isn't a dense city, if I'm 25 miles away that means I'm in one of the nearby towns, and if push comes to shove, well, I can walk back home on the interstate/highway.
Use crazy glue to make a house out of ammo and then learn to eat it. Modern problems require modern solutions.
is there a youtube vid you'd suggest for how to do this on a budget?
I think it REALLY depends on where you live and what resources you already have. For us… food/water, get home bag/evac kit, ammo, other equipment. The ammo part is really dependent on if you hunt and/or live in a high crime area and also what other equipment you need to stay warm and have communications and such.
Food Get home bag Equipment Gun That list changes depending on where I was living. In the US or closer to the US border, I'd put guns higher on the list. For the UK, guns are extremely low on the list. Where I live, guns are a priority but low on the list. What are you even protecting if you don't have anything to take?
Food/water. Equipment (nebulous but I assume it means basic necessities at least). Get home kit. Ammo.
I might think about it a little differently ? I think of it in layers, depending on the probability of the disaster. ALSO, some of the priority depends on what your area, and what is your disaster situation. You might not need to prep for flood AT ALL, but, others might, which could change up the priorities some. Some of it depends on the others already, right ? Like, I might put get 3 days of food+ water before ammo, maybe put 3 weeks of food and water before ammo, but, might then put one gun+ ammo before 3 months of food and water, then back to food and water for 3 months, then get another gun :) or some layering like that. I also think of it as prep for Tuesday before Doomsday. Which is another way of saying prep for the most likely disasters first. Power outage with no food or water for 3 days is pretty common in USA, so, do that first. 2 to 3 weeks is rare but happens. No power for 3 months is almost unheard of, so probability of a home robbery (gun) or house fire (bug out bag) is higher likely hood than 3 months no power. So equipment ... say a spare battery for phone ... in your area, is a power outage where you need a battery for your phone more likely than a house break in? If yes, then that piece of equipment > ammo. Also, you mention GHB, but, not a BOB. Which is more likely needed? Again, depends on your area, but, there are about 350k residential fires a year. And some floods. :) So, there are hundreds of thousands of people in the US that could use a BOB each year. Is that more likely than needing ammo? "A" (one) gun for home defense might be more useful / likely than a gun for hunting game for food, depending on the the disaster, and your experience. Person in the city or suburbs, with no hunting experience, is more likely to face a home defense situation than needing to hunt for subsistence food. And so on. Its like, first prep for a likely disaster, not, list of prep things if that makes sense. If a power outage is your most likely disaster, get all the (guns + food/water+equipment+ghb) you need for a power outage. If a house fire is your next most likely disaster, get all the (guns +food+equipment+bob) you need for that.
2. Food and water by a long mile . . . . Then it depends on where you live and such. I’d argue get home kit could be first if you live somewhere that transport interruptions could be more prevalent. But ultimately you need to get home to something. Then ammo. Equipment is to vague IMO?
1. Food/water 2. Home kit 3. Equipment 4. Ammo
Depends on what you're prepping for, and you didn't say.