Bad Prepper Ideas That Will Get You Killed

I'm a hunter. I have been for decades. I'm pretty good at it as well. I would never consider that as my only plan. Only a supplement.

I constantly hear people say, "If the Shit Hits The Fan I am going yo head for the woods with my rifle and live off the land!"

This usually comes from a person that is out of shape, has never hunted before, and does not even camp.

I saw this great post that is a Reality Check.

12 Bad Prepper Strategies That Could Get You Killed

I think stockpiling guns and ammo is a good idea. But you have to also think about water, food, sanitation, medicine, supplies, gear and many other things. Don't plan on being a refugee as your whole strategy, please. Don't plan on being an asshole, stealing other people stuff. Both will get you killed.

--This article shines a light on several, often repeated, bad ideas.

Easy Readiness from Costco

As the snow falls outside I was thinking about my pantry. It's fully stocked as usual. When these mini weather events happen and it cripples the region and clears milk, bread, TP and water form the shelves it always gets me thinking.

I am not the only one. Prepping is becoming so mainstream Costco is jumping on the bandwagon! You can now get "30,144 Total Servings 4-Person 1-Year Food Storage" deal for $4000 delivered on an unmarked pallet.

Check out the details below.


--That pallet would look awesome right next to your pallet of ammo!
 
For questions or additional information, please email costcosupport@shelfreliance.com.

• Comprehensive food supply for up to 12 months for 4 people  
• Shipment arrives on a pallet that is black-wrapped for security and privacy  
• Pallet contains 63 separate boxes  
• All freeze dried foods have a shelf life of up to 25 years

Simple rehydration instructions, recipes, and helpful tips are included on each can.

This kit contains 378 #10 cans of the following THRIVE foods:

Grains:

• 42 Hard White Winter Wheat (25 year shelf life) (Country of Origin: USA)
• 36 White Rice (25 year shelf life) (Country of Origin:  USA)
• 14 Pearled Barley (8 year shelf life) (Country of Origin:  USA)
• 10 Whole Wheat Flour (5 year shelf life) (Country of Origin:  USA)   
• 10 White Flour (5 year shelf life) (Country of Origin:  USA)   
• 8 Quick Oats (25 year shelf life) (Country of Origin:  USA)   
• 8 Cornmeal (5 year shelf life) (Country of Origin:  USA)  
• 8 Elbow Macaroni (8 year shelf life) (Country of Origin:  USA)

Fruits & Veggies:

• 20 Potato Chunks (25 year shelf life) (Country of Origin:  USA)  
• 12 Sweet Corn FD (25 year shelf life) (Country of Origin:  USA)   
• 8 Broccoli FD (25 year shelf life) (Country of Origin:  USA)   
• 4 Carrot Dices (8 year shelf life) (Country of Origin:  USA/Poland)   
• 2 Banana Slices FD (25 year shelf life) (Country of Origin:  Ecuador)
• 6 Strawberries FD (25 year shelf life) (Country of Origin:  USA)   
• 8 Green Peas FD (25 year shelf life) (Country of Origin:  USA)  
• 4 Raspberries FD (25 year shelf life) (Country of Origin:  USA/Chile/Serbia)
• 10 Apple Slices (25 year shelf life) (Country of Origin:  USA)   
• 4 Onions FD (25 year shelf life) (Country of Origin:  USA)

Dairy:

• 36 Powder Milk (25 year shelf life) (Country of Origin:  USA)   
• 6 Cheese Blend (15 year shelf life) (Country of Origin:  USA)   
• 6 Chocolate Drink Mix (25 year shelf life) (Country of Origin:  USA)

Protein:

• 6 Whole Egg Powder (3 year shelf life) (Country of Origin:  USA)   
• 8 Chicken TVP (10 year shelf life) (Country of Origin:  USA)  
• 14 Pinto Beans (25 year shelf life) (Country of Origin:  USA/Canada)  
• 12 Black Beans (25 year shelf life) (Country of Origin:  USA/Canada)
• 4 Sausage TVP (10 year shelf life) (Country of Origin:  USA)  
• 4 Ham TVP (10 year shelf life) (Country of Origin:  USA)   
• 8 Lentils (25 year shelf life) (Country of Origin:  USA)   
• 8 Beef TVP (10 year shelf life) (Country of Origin:  USA)   
• 6 Taco TVP (10 year shelf life) (Country of Origin:  USA)

Misc:

• 2 Iodized Salt (25 year shelf life) (Country of Origin:  USA)   
• 2 Chicken Bouillon (5 year shelf life) (Country of Origin:  USA)   
• 6 Brown Sugar (10 year shelf life) (Country of Origin:  USA)   
• 6 Fudge Brownies (20 year shelf life) (Country of Origin:  USA)  
• 2 Baking Powder (25 year shelf life) (Country of Origin:  USA)   
• 2 Beef Bouillon (5 year shelf life) (Country of Origin:  USA)   
• 10 White Sugar (25 year shelf life) (Country of Origin:  USA)  
• 6 Orchard Apple Drink (3 year shelf life (Country of Origin:  USA)  
• 6 Orange Bliss Drink (3 year shelf life) (Country of Origin:  USA)
• 4 Simply Peach Drink (3 year shelf life) (Country of Origin:  USA)

Be Prepared?

I have been seeing this TV commercial every day for the last couple weeks:


What does it say about the state of the country?

--What does it say about me? Because I want one!

Firearm Attribrution

As gun control advocates focus on universal firearm registration there is a few things you should do now.

I know several people that are selling their firearms and buying exactly the same firearm off book via legal private sales.

Example: I have a Glock 17 9mm. I have a pile of mags, holsters, ammo and other accessories. I am now looking for exactly the same gun to purchase in a private sale and then sell mine to someone else in a FFL sale.

Cash remains even and I am now off book.

Lather, rinse and repeat.

Now I can't/won't do that with any of my class III items. And I won't with modest items like shotguns. It's easy to just get more 10/22s and Mossberg 500s.

It's also a good idea to have a quantity of guns to turn in when it comes to that.

It could take some time, but if you don't have at least a basic quantity of guns
off books this will allow you to do it without it costing a ton of extra money,
only time.

--Rule Number Two: Be Prepared

Damn Mondays

Running late today.

It's snowing again dammit. Schools are already closed in the county. Traffic will be a joy.

I was going to write up a post on a Ready Belt. A belt based system that is ready and loaded up, just in case. Kind of like a BOB but smaller.  Think of a Batman Utility Belt!

A BUB!

This pic is an example.

What should it have?

Mags, knives, multi-tool, first aid, holster, 3 power bars, radio, flashlight, what else?

I can see a couple D-rings there.

--What else should it have?

BOV for the Zombie Apoc

--Sweet Pinzgauer High-Mobility All-Terrain Vehicle modification.

Hoffman Harpoon

I had the occasion to handle one of these Hoffman Harpoons that belonged to a friend.

He keeps it in his BOB with the handle heavily wrapped in paracord.

Beyond using it as a regular knife it has a massive amount of addition potential as a spear point or other tools.

Simple tool with lots of applications.

--Do you know of any other tools of this type?

Vintage Bushcraft Kit.

Vintage Bushcraft Kit. The simplicity of wood, canvas, leather and steel.

The Bug Out Bag (BOB) is not a new thing. A friend sent me this image because we talk about BOBs at work more often than normal people should.

There are a lot of good ideas in this vintage kit. There are a couple major items I may need to add to mine. 

•  An ax.  Even a 3/4 size would actually be more useful than a shovel.
• The draw knife. This is a damn handy tool especially if your survival plans are longer than a few days.

I need to check my BOBs for more than rotating water and power bars. When I do I will take photos of the contents with my phone so I can quickly look and remember if I do have meds, nails, wire or duct tape.

--Add a Glock 9mm and four spare mags.

Flare Gun Adapters

Discussions at work wandered around to the fact that you can get adapter inserts for flare guns that allow common center fire rounds.

The problem I instantly mentioned was that a 12 or 20 gauge adapter instantly made an ATF class firearm known as an Any Other Weapon.

Not only that, I would not trust a plastic flare gun, even with an insert, to not put your eye out when the thing broke up from recoil.

I could maybe see a .22lr or maybe even a .38 adapter in a pinch.

--Just say no.

Bug Out Vehicle BOV

Just in time for the pending Zombie Apocalypse!

The Mercedes Benz Unimog

Just squish your way through the Zombie hoards.

It has a nice camper and is the closest to a half track you might get for crushing Zombie heads!

--I'll take two please. (after I win the Lotto)

Medusa Model 47

Last week I posted about mufti-caliber options as a survival readiness issue. A pile of people emailed me about .357 revolvers being able to shoot 3 types of rounds.

And then a frequent reader, Weston, sent me a link to the Medusa Model 47.

It can use many different Cals:

• 9x17mm, .380 ACP, 
• Browning Short, Corto, Kurz,
• Kratak 
• 9x18mm Ultra
• 9x18mm Police
• 9x19mm Parabellum, Luger, NATO 
• 9x20mm Browning Long
• 9x21 IMI,
• 9x23mm Largo, Bayard Long 
• 9x23mm Steyr,
• 9x23mm Win Mag, 
• 9x25mm, Mauser, Export
• 9mm Glisenti,
• 9mm Rimmed,
• .38 Auto, .38 ACP, 9x23mmSR 
• .38 Super Auto, Colt Super, 9x23mmSR +P
• .38 Short Colt,
• .38 Long Colt, 
• .38 Mid-Range,
• .38 S&W, .38 S&W Corto, .380 Rimmed
• .38 Special, 9x29mmR 
• .357 Magnum, 9x33mmR 
• .356 TSW

--I'd have to actually try it. Has anyone ever seen one?

Three Guns

Here is the list of three guns that I believe should be in everyones safe:

Ruger 10/22:

This is just a great all around firearm. It is reliable, useful, fun to shoot, cheap to buy and cheap to shoot. You can get all sorts of accessories for them including decent capacity magazines. It is a great rifle to use for teaching people to shoot.

Mossberg 12 gauge pump shotgun:

The Mossberg pump series of shotguns come in many variants. Modest prices. Classic wood to tactical. Lots of different rounds available. Great for Skeet and Trap as well as home defense and hunting everything from squirrels to deer. Tons of after market upgrades for it as well.

Glock 9mm:

Glock makes a series of 9mm's that have many form factors. They all take the same mags including the 33 round factory mags.

These handguns are reliable, high capacity and simple to use, clean and maintain.

--If I could only have three guns it would be these three.

Survival Firearms

This video is a list of 5 survival guns that are all under $300.



--Not a prefect list but good concepts and examples.

Interesting concept

--I'd buy this if the price is right.

Prep Tip of the Week

The Prepping Book of the week is a classic from Mel Tappen: Tappen on Survival

Tappen died in 1980 but there are still a lot of good points in his book. Click the link above for a PDF of the full text.

Three Days:

Here is your first goal in preparations, three days. You can be bothered to prep for three days of trouble, right?

Keep three days worth of gear, food and water in your car, and your Bug Out Bag (BOB), and at work, and where ever you spend a lot of time.

It's easy. Use some space in the back of one desk drawer. Put a stocked book bag in your locker. Stash a milk crate of items in the trunk of your car. And/Or put together a  fully stocked backpack BOB.

Don't forget the importance of what is in your pockets ALL the time. You better have at least a multi-tool knife of some kind!

--Rule #2: Be Prepared

Prep of the Week

Book of the Week

I am going to start a new weekly feature called Prep of the Week. I hope it will be common sense things everyone can do to help their families and a bit more security. I'm not going to talk just about stockpiling guns and ammo. I will talk about real practical preparations. I will recommend a book. Talk about survival oriented firearms. Lots of other things.

I will even talk about current events:

• Thousands of people are still without power from Hurricane Sandy.
• The US is hurtling toward financial disaster.
• Our increased indecision and perceived weakness invite attacks from extremists.

What to do?

First off you need to assess where you are right this moment. If the power went off right now, how ready would you be? Water, food, shelter and security?

The Rule of 10s - Will you be OK in:

    10 minutes - computers crash, clocks blinking
    10 hours - freezers begin to thaw
    10 days - store shelves are empty, water runs out
    10 weeks - riots, looting, population migrations
    10 months - organized criminal ransacking
    10 seasons - starvation and ammo worth more than gold
    10 years - new civilization begins to formalize

-- How ready are you?

Hurricane Sandy

We temporally interrupt our scheduled programming for a brief message:

The storm hammered my area in Virginia. Millions of homes are without power. Trees are down all over. People are just poking their heads out for a peek today.

My wife no longer thinks I'm nuts for storing emergency candles, flashlights, batteries, water, food and toilet paper!

--Be safe out there.

The Eat'N Tool

I am going camping this weekend.

I started packing stuff and everywhere I look I seem to have seeded all my BOBs with the handy Eat'N Tool.

These things are damn handy it you are packin light! It has a fork, spoon, beer opener, wrenches, and screw driver.

I have one in my range bag because it's perfect for adjusting a couple of my scopes!

You can even One Click them on Amazon!

--Buy two or three!

Book

When ever I see a book about survival or preparedness at my used book store I pick it up.

I am posting about this one because I can't believe how little time the author spends on firearms.

He states, "I do not recommend the use of firearms for self defense if you have received extensive professional training from the military or law enforcement."

He goes on to recommend, reluctantly, .38 revolvers and shotguns only. He spends a total of 2 pages out of 343 of this book on firearms. He even treads out the cliche of the chambering a round as a deterrence sound. Screw that. The first and last sound an intruder should hear is his head exploding.

I totally disagree with this guy. So does the military and law enforcement apparently.

I believe Glocks and ARs are the way to go. There is a place for revolvers and shotguns as well as sniper rifles and .22s and even pellet guns. 

--The book has a lot of good concepts. Harvest that stuff. Look elsewhere for firearms recommendations.

SIGs

At work they have these things called SIGs (Special Interest Groups). People get together around a specific topic. They include everything from Weight Watchers to Writers Groups to Cooking to Chess.

This week I got an invite to a Preppers Group. Hurricane Preperations was the initial topic.

Turns out everyone was talking about preparing for the Pending Zombie Apocalypse! Zombies being big in the news in recent weeks.

It was funny how it has become the generic, politically correct way to talk about defensive gun ownership and disaster preparedness. Preps for all kinds of issues.

Zombie Apocalypse preps will basically cover most of the situations. Beans, bandaids and bullets. The SIG plans on weekly meetings, each with a topic: Water, Food, Shelter, First Aid, BOBs, Communications, Firearms, Gear, Transport, Retreats.

The main thing everyone had in common was guns. All were shooters.

--This could be interesting.