Survivalism

[Trailbender]

Potato potahto. Stockpiling arsenals because one is afraid someone will steal from them or kill the is living in fear in my book. Rifles are great for hunting. Stockpiling weapons in preparation to kill looters and thieves is sad.

It's not sad, it is being honest about human nature. If you are not prepared to defend yourself in a situation like that, you are going to die, plain and simple.

I don't see how being prepared to defend yourself is living in fear, it is being practical. I don't live in fear because I am not worried about it. I carry a fire extinguisher and a first aid it in my car, not because I expect to use them, they are insurance, just like training and carrying a handgun.

[Trailbender]

The problem with a rifle is unless you have the ability to make your own ammo in a "post apocalyptic world" situation eventually you're gonna run out of it.

That is why you use "battlefield pick ups". Anyone attacking you is going to be carrying at least one weapon and ammo.

[trailangelbronco]

The reason I choose a Shotgun as my one to grab, you can't effectively shoot rabbit, birds, etc etc with a rifle or a pistol. And you can't shoot deer and elk or defend yourself effectively with a .22

Where I live, I would be shooting dinner far more often than shooting it out with people, so if I had one to grab, it is my shotgun. It will put food on the table evry day, and I am pretty effective shooting up to 70 yards with a slug. I am not too worried about someone more than 100 yards away, they more than likely have to get closer at one point or the other.

Also, I stock alot of ammo not to survive the zombies, but because ammo prices keep going up. I have over 500 rounds of .223, 500 rounds of .308, and hundreds of rounds of various shotgun loads.

You can get 1000 rounds of russian ammo for just under $250 out here. I have a few tins tucked away, mostly for target practice.

[Ender]

That is why you use "battlefield pick ups". Anyone attacking you is going to be carrying at least one weapon and ammo.

Unless they're zombies, and then you're just punked.

[Trailbender]

Unless they're zombies, and then you're just punked.

That's why I also have a machete and a sledgehammer.

[Pioneer Spirit]

It doesn't take much to create a disaster, but it does depend on the people involved. The city folks in New Orleans were and still are helpless yet when a tornado destroyed a town in the midwest, it was cleaned up in a month with out governement aid.

Most stores get emptied out real quick if folks think a storm is coming.


There are dozens of things pointed at us at any one time. Storms, super vulcanos like Yellowstone, comets, meteors, gamma ray bursts from a star light years away.

There is no doubt that we are headed for financial horrors ahead either by default or design to further global interests.

There is nothing wrong in being prepared.

[Trailbender]

The reason I choose a Shotgun as my one to grab, you can't effectively shoot rabbit, birds, etc etc with a rifle or a pistol. And you can't shoot deer and elk or defend yourself effectively with a .22

Where I live, I would be shooting dinner far more often than shooting it out with people, so if I had one to grab, it is my shotgun. It will put food on the table evry day, and I am pretty effective shooting up to 70 yards with a slug. I am not too worried about someone more than 100 yards away, they more than likely have to get closer at one point or the other.

Also, I stock alot of ammo not to survive the zombies, but because ammo prices keep going up. I have over 500 rounds of .223, 500 rounds of .308, and hundreds of rounds of various shotgun loads.

You can get 1000 rounds of russian ammo for just under $250 out here. I have a few tins tucked away, mostly for target practice.

Yeah, defense with a .22 rifle is far from the best option, but doable, as long as they are 100 yards or closer. Stopping power arguments aside, you take 2 of those in the head and its game over, combine that with no muzzleflash, nonexistent recoil, and light weight, it beats throwing rocks.

[Rockhound]

The way I see it is stockpiling weapons and ammo, Building your bunkers and bomb shelters, stringing up that constantino wire, setting up those booby traps, stockpiling years of emergency rations is not insurance or preparedness. It is choosing to imprison oneself. It is the fear mentality at work. I know this is an oposing viewpoint to how many feel here and I will be admonished for it. I simply feel that rather than worry about people stealing from me, I would rather give all my possessions away and if the world ever comes to the point that the Earth is no longer able to provide water and food I would rather die than hang on for a few miserable years living off what I've been able to hoard while I kill all those would be looters trying to steal it from me. That is no life at all.

[Trailbender]

The way I see it is stockpiling weapons and ammo, Building your bunkers and bomb shelters, stringing up that constantino wire, setting up those booby traps, stockpiling years of emergency rations is not insurance or preparedness. It is choosing to imprison oneself. It is the fear mentality at work. I know this is an oposing viewpoint to how many feel here and I will be admonished for it. I simply feel that rather than worry about people stealing from me, I would rather give all my possessions away and if the world ever comes to the point that the Earth is no longer able to provide water and food I would rather die than hang on for a few miserable years living off what I've been able to hoard while I kill all those would be looters trying to steal it from me. That is no life at all.

I don't have anything stockpiled, and I am not building a bunker or whatever. Survivalism is about skills and improvisation, more than fancy rifles with expensive scopes. Like anything else, it has been infected with the materialism of our society, where you need every possible accessory for every piece of "survival" gear you own. I think homeless people honestly have the best chance in most situations, as things can only be an improvement for them, and they are used to having nothing for so long.

As far as possessions, other than my car and computer and guns, I don't have anything else. Car and computer is being given to a friend, guns are being sold, and anything else is gotten rid of somehow except my backpacking gear. I am going to live on the AT, for how long, I have no idea. Absolute worse case, total collapse or whatever, I can get with a group of people, as I have a ton of skills. If not, I will try to aquire a weapon, and use that weapon to get a better one. People forget that you are the weapon, your gun is only a tool. Even if all I had was a .380, trust me, I would find a way to be deadly with it, not complain that it was too weak.

I don't have anything against you, it is just that I feel that self defense is a basic human right, that is why I have issues with gun control. If someone brings you violence, the only right and proper thing to do is defend yourself.

[4shot]

brothers and sisters, this thread has opened up my mind in a new way. After some contemplation on this issue, I went on ebay and ordered a set of plans for a time trave machine from a retired MIT professor who now lives in Phuket. With said machine, I will be enjoying $.33/gallon gasoline, $.25 cheeseburgers and shotgun shells and travelling forward in time with some of my buddies for a leisurely day of zombie shooting. Today will sort of be my home base.

Don't bother going on ebay, I got the last set of plans. however, if you PM me and send $25, I'll be glad to photocopy a set for you. The plans for the ultralight version run $50 by the way.

[Pedaling Fool]

This guy wants to build a time machine http://hubpages.com/hub/Will-We-See-...n-Our-Lifetime

[DapperD]

The way I see it is stockpiling weapons and ammo, Building your bunkers and bomb shelters, stringing up that constantino wire, setting up those booby traps, stockpiling years of emergency rations is not insurance or preparedness. It is choosing to imprison oneself. It is the fear mentality at work. I know this is an oposing viewpoint to how many feel here and I will be admonished for it. I simply feel that rather than worry about people stealing from me, I would rather give all my possessions away and if the world ever comes to the point that the Earth is no longer able to provide water and food I would rather die than hang on for a few miserable years living off what I've been able to hoard while I kill all those would be looters trying to steal it from me. That is no life at all.

I can understand your point completely. But also one needs to understand that there is no way of knowing what the life altering catastrophe may be before it happens, or to what actual degree of damage will occur. I believe I read that everything being completely wiped out may be only one scenario, and maybe even not the most likely one:
There is also the possibility that the earth may not be completely wiped out, and you will discover reasons to want to continue living. As other's have said, finding people who share the same desire to continue on and working together to help and protect one another in order to do so would be the wisest decision. I know I read that actually having a plan intact before a catastrophe is the best defense for being able to deal with it and survive it afterward. Families already prepared to unite as one, and to work together as a team to share their stored food, supplies, etc...to defend one another as a whole unit if need be, and to help one another to continue on is more than likely the smartest thing to do. The more people working together, the stronger, safer, and better chances they all will have to not only survive a major catastophic event, but to endure it

[earlyriser26]

I am saving string. I have a really big ball of string for when the big one hits. Got that covered.

[Wolf - 23000]

Getting back on topic, I carry what most hikers call an extremely light backpack. At the same time even with an extremely light pack I was still able to survive many pretty bad storms sometimes involving hail, several feet of snow, multiply trees falling down, etc. Going off trail there no knowing what you many encounter. Some stretches may look all together different from what is put on a map to what is really out there. It can be tough hiking long stretches with no water in sight.


In survival the gear is not the important part of hiking. It is your knowledge on how you use it that makes the different. Your determination to keep going when things get bad. That is what makes the different between someone who can walk out of a bad situation and someone who curries up and freeze to death. That is where survival comes in. The heart and soul of the hiker.


Wolf

[Rockhound]

Imagine surviving the apocalypse and then, being a kind giving person, offering help to groups of other survivors only to get shot at the front door due to fear and paranoia. violence breeds violence, hate breeds hate, fear breeds fear. Luckily love also breeds love and kindness breeds kindness. I still have enough faith in mankind that I do not feel I have to protect myself from it.

[DapperD]

Imagine surviving the apocalypse and then, being a kind giving person, offering help to groups of other survivors only to get shot at the front door due to fear and paranoia.

Sort of like the "We don't want your old jack anyway!" paranoia complex

[DapperD]

Far from useless, actually. I agree that they are weaker than a rifle, but they are convenient to carry, and always available. In a moderate SHTF, you might not be able to walk down the street with a slung rifle, but a handgun can be concealed. Handguns and rifles are two separate weapon systems, and neither one can replace the other. A pistol is also more handy than a rifle for clearing a house.
Here is an example of a major SHTF:

[Trailbender]

Imagine surviving the apocalypse and then, being a kind giving person, offering help to groups of other survivors only to get shot at the front door due to fear and paranoia. violence breeds violence, hate breeds hate, fear breeds fear. Luckily love also breeds love and kindness breeds kindness. I still have enough faith in mankind that I do not feel I have to protect myself from it.

I treat people kindly until they give a reason for me not to. It is right morally to defend yourself, I will help someone out the best I can, but if someone attacks me, it is their fault, and they will get what is coming. Many people think all violence is wrong, but it is not. Initiation of violence is always wrong, defending yourself from violence started by someone else will always be morally correct.

I do not live in fear, paranoia, or anything else. I enjoy life immensely, and try to live each day to the fullest. I do not go around worried about being attacked. If I see someone in need, I will offer them assistance if I can.