Anybody here grouping up for SHTF?

[PCShogun]

Guess I got to read it before it became a book.

I recall his story of people being car jacked at red lights for the groceries in the back seat ,and answering the knock at the front door from the 2nd story window.

 

[badman400]

Guess I got to read it before it became a book.

I recall his story of people being car jacked at red lights for the groceries in the back seat ,and answering the knock at the front door from the 2nd story window.

Yeah, me too. I first saw the thread somewhere about 1-2 years aago, then heard he'd written a book. And if I'm not mistaken is planning a second? At any rate, he is a humble, no nonsense kind of guy. No braggin, and says a lot of what Selco says, about Bics, lighters, candles and batteries, being very valuable as trade items. He says that one day it is seemed life as usual in suburbia, then the next, neighbors and children are digging in trash piles on the street side to find food.

Sometimes I just want to go spend the whole check on prepper foods. Knowing that what is relatively cheap and available now, will be scarce and very dear as far as worth. And how much is enough? You never know. If any of you watch the new TV series "Revolution". the guy who developed Google, said he had about 80 million in his 401K before the lights went out, and he'd give it all now for just one roll of Charmin.

I try to add something useful every week or so on the tool side, while my wife throws in a food related item for the "pantry". Lately, I added a small fold-up shovel, a couple of those grill lighters with the long neck and a wire saw while in Walmart a week or so back. Then from Amazon, I ordered a tube tent and camping mat for two, last week. The tent came, but still awaiting the mat which is coming from China. :roll:

Slowly pluggin' along. Never seems fast enough to suit me, but we're on a budget.

 

[TheSwampFox]

There is no way I could reach my goals with my current budget. What I can afford is something here and something there. I started by focusing on food and water. When I reached enough to sustain my family for a few months I moved on to weapons. When I got enough to protect what I stored I decided to spread it out and do a little in each category. I try to spend about $10-$20 a week.

There are three things I buy each week:
Toilet paper ($2 for a cheap 6 pack, post SHTF 1 ply is better than a pine cone)
Coleman camp stove propane tank
Triple pack of the big box wooden matches (strike anywhere if I can find them)

The rest of the money I spend I rotate between a box of ammo, case of bottled water, canned goods, pasta, rice and beans.

My wife has recently gotten into canning and we are looking at starting a garden this spring. I'm also looking into getting some rabbits to raise for fertilizer and food and a couple rain barrels.

Any body know what types of rabbits are best for that and where to get them?

I'd love to do chickens but I think the HOA would be all over me before I collected my first batch of eggs.

 

[11B3XCIB]

...you will need around the clock lookouts guarding your perimeter, whether you decide to bug in or out. Two people wouldn't last a week trying to just keep up with watch duty, much less with other chores like cooking, water carrying, wood chopping and carrying, and shelter, in the case of bug out. ...

I'm sure 11B will chime in if he has anything to add... But I think you're spot on.

Maintaining a long term 24/7/365 OP is at probably a squad level task. Typically at an OP you'll have one person on lookout, one person on admin, and one person on rear security. They rotate jobs throughout their shift, and need to be changed out every 12-24 hours.

Effective maneuver with protected persons (kids, non combatants, etc), or basic three vehicle convoy ops, requires at least five armed and competent trained personnel, minimum (two buddy teams and a close protection person to shepherd the kids). Even to execute a basic "break contact" drill and leave the area needs at least a team of four or five.

With only two people the plan should look a lot more low profile, covert, and non-confrontational... Technology and careful planning might be able to mitigate some of the issues with low numbers. I imagine cameras, trip flares, dogs, and intrusion sensors (motion detectors, etc) are useful force multipliers.

Each situation will vary, but some things remain constant: Security, food, water, and shelter. Providing the first is a grueling task and depending on the state of things, so are the other three.

I could type for quite a while about various situations but I'm not sure this is the place

 

[johnboy]

My wife and I have agreed it will be a necessity to have more people on board with us in any type of WROL situation. right now we have a former marine and a statie that are tentatively on board with us mentally but have done little to actually prepare. But skills in my opinion are a valuable commodity and I've tools them both they would be welcome at my house.