***Thread for survivalists, preparedness, G.O.O.D., SHTF, TEOTWAWKI***

[Nainoa]

worse case scenario - Ill be honest, Im fawked.


edit - in Oct Connecticut was hit with a northeastern / tornado .. Snow fall and very severe winds. Most of the state lost power for more then 4 days. Some of the smaller cities seemed like an apocalyptic movie - cars parked for miles to get gas for their vehicles and generators, people storming stores for gas containers which couldnt sell them because they didnt have power so their registers didnt work and people werent coming into work, small personal owned stores had lines around the block selling food and water for triple the original price, and people were buying it all.

After the storm there were tons of shows that interviewed people and their top problems about the storm was no power to charge their phones - power to do laundry. Lets be honest in a real S.H.T.F situation these people are fawked. They have no knowledge of what to do / where to go and will turn to violence to survive. I atleast some basic knowledge of outdoor survival, fishing, I have basic knowledge of how to make fire in the woods, multiple ways, and ideas how to make shelter. This wont guarantee my safety but will give me that much more of a chance of surviving.

My city is surrounded by very populated and urban built towns and cities - with a population of nearly 130,000 getting out of town wont be easy, especially since all the towns around us are in the 100,000+/- range population wise adn those people will be trying to figure out how to survive / get out of the cities too. I always think about this and concluded that I will try to hold out at home for as long as possible, let the riots and all that stuff happen while I stay at home, hopefully they will move on and less the chance of getting attacked (still great chance with such a high population, all the people wont move on) but I think staying home for as long as possible gives me the best chance of survival a S.H.T.F situation.

See in my situation I have already mapped out 3 routes to two different bug out locations (And possibly a third) all of which avoid highways and take small backwoods county roads.


In your case I think you have to take a completely different angle.

And here's the thing... I estimate that a person could live up to 2 years in an urban environment (Longer in southern cities as opposed to northern ones where a lack of non-grid sponsored heat will kill in winter!)

You should be able to scavenge for two years... But in order to be a scavenger and not a picked clean corpse, you're going to have to join the gangs that are sure to form. Once the stores are done being hit people will start looting house to house getting canned goods, and trying to set up and catch people who are trying to move out of the city.

You'll have to use that two year window to save up key resources. And at some point in an early spring you'll have to bug out.

If it was me, I'd make sure my secret squirrel kit had proper bad weather gear... Then when it came time to double cross the gang and bug out, I'd wait for a early spring storm, and bug out in the bad weather. You'll probably have to do it on foot, and you'll probably have to follow a rail line or a water way. But the bad weather will keep other gangs held back and buttoned up.

Once you get out into the rural areas, you'll have to hook up and create all new social structures with people who are already established. Your best "In-Road" will be your knowledge of what it's like in the city. It will buy you a couple of days, and then hopefully as they assess you, you can demonstrate some sort of skill they don't have in their group?

[Nainoa]

That reminds me, I need to start looking for a rain barrel or two for my garden.........

And my ilness lately really showed how crappy my med kit is. Don't even have a thermometer in the house, except for my brewing thermometer. This will be fixed very soon. Looking at medic kits online today.

I've got 55 gallon barrel drums from the local bread factory... Re-puposed Raisin and Molasses containers.

I learned something important last spring when I did a half assed job cleaning out one of the Molasses barrels and I let a little bit of rain water in there ferment. I went to go dump it out in the grass rather than put it in the garden. And it straight up killed a small patch of the lawn like it was friggin' napalm!

[Hartski]

Yeah, I have no idea where to find used barrels around here. But I've seen some rain barrels in the stores for under $50. Comes with the hose fitting in the bottom, lid, ect.

[RyouBakua]

If it was me, I'd make sure my secret squirrel kit had proper bad weather gear... Then when it came time to double cross the gang and bug out, I'd wait for a early spring storm, and bug out in the bad weather. You'll probably have to do it on foot, and you'll probably have to follow a rail line or a water way. But the bad weather will keep other gangs held back and buttoned up.

[Hartski]

Wait, they did a remake of Hard Rain?? WTF!?!?

[Nainoa]

Yeah, I have no idea where to find used barrels around here. But I've seen some rain barrels in the stores for under $50. Comes with the hose fitting in the bottom, lid, ect.

Yeah if you can find them that cheap, I'd go that way. (Just make sure you screen off the top... You don't want to make a bug breeding pool or get a bunch of tree scraps and such that can breed fungus. Algae and such are just part of the game and can be good for the garden. Larvae and fungus scum are not!

[Nainoa]

Unaware?

[RyouBakua]

Unaware?

zombie game, map where you fight in the rain

[Hartski]

Yeah if you can find them that cheap, I'd go that way. (Just make sure you screen off the top... You don't want to make a bug breeding pool or get a bunch of tree scraps and such that can breed fungus. Algae and such are just part of the game and can be good for the garden. Larvae and fungus scum are not!

The one I saw had an opening in the top just big enough for the downspout to fit into. No screens required. Unfortunately, i can't remember what store i saw it in, and it's probably seasonal so i can't find it on websites.....

[Nainoa]

The one I saw had an opening in the top just big enough for the downspout to fit into. No screens required. Unfortunately, i can't remember what store i saw it in, and it's probably seasonal so i can't find it on websites.....

Just make sure that it's SNUG in all fittings... It only takes a handful of mosquitoes to make a million mosquitoes!


The store bought ones up here are running between $100 and $120... The really fancy ones that just look like a barrel and come with a watering timer on them are going for $400. I watched a City Kitting pick one up at the store and say to his wife "Just think how much money we'll save on watering!"

Yeah that should only take about SEVEN years to pay for itself!

[Nainoa]

So that piece of land I was looking at that was out of reach ATM...

40 acres on a private lake... Basically an island of land surrounded by thick swamp and forest. I looked up that tax code info... Guy is asking $95K but the county is only taking him on $60K value.

My buddy took the initiate to send some questions to the realtor... Who said they would be willing to come down closer to the County's value just to unload the land. It really is a lot of work and the guy I guess inherited it from some old grandpa who only used it for hunting.

My buddy offered that we split the cost.

My Wife has basically stated that buying a house absolutely has to come first. But should things shake out, I could probably actually afford 30K for part ownership in this wilderness retreat/paradise. Just have a lot or work a head of me if I do.

Won't know more until later this year and/or if it's up for sale still etc...

[Hartski]

Hope it goes through for ya, Nainoa!

[Nainoa]

Hope it goes through for ya, Nainoa!

Yeah I've got a mole hill and a mountain to get over first!

There is another plot of land... It's an island, connected to the shore only by a swamp. 20 years ago a lady bought a peninsula that always had the road flooding out due to a beaver dam and she blew the dam and trapped out the beavers, dropping the lake level 7-ish feet.

So now this island on the other side of the lake is sitting out there as PILT land owned by the Federal government as a non-reserve. (Not sure what I'd have to go through to buy it)

The swamp is impassable by any road. But the mainland of the island is recorded as 3.8 acres. My buddy's Dad has a lake lot on the lake and for $500 a year I can rent a boat slip off his dock.

I'd have to build the entire cabin completely off the grid... And I'd have to transport all the building materials and such to it across the ice in the winter etc...

In the fall I could duck hunt it... During deer season the swamp freezes enough that I can get to the 98 acres of county owned hunting land.

[Hartski]

I wouldn't go for the island, but that's just me. Too limited as far as access goes.

[Nainoa]

I wouldn't go for the island, but that's just me. Too limited as far as access goes.

Yeah but it's a kick ass island, great pan fishing off all sides of it, Eagles nesting in the trees over head... All of it Virgin Timber!

[HairyScandinavian]

So that piece of land I was looking at that was out of reach ATM...

40 acres on a private lake... Basically an island of land surrounded by thick swamp and forest. I looked up that tax code info... Guy is asking $95K but the county is only taking him on $60K value.

My buddy took the initiate to send some questions to the realtor... Who said they would be willing to come down closer to the County's value just to unload the land. It really is a lot of work and the guy I guess inherited it from some old grandpa who only used it for hunting.

My buddy offered that we split the cost.

My Wife has basically stated that buying a house absolutely has to come first. But should things shake out, I could probably actually afford 30K for part ownership in this wilderness retreat/paradise. Just have a lot or work a head of me if I do.

Won't know more until later this year and/or if it's up for sale still etc...

Does it have electrical, sewage, and water connectivity? If so ask your buddy if yall can split the acreage up 20/20 and build a house out there on your portion. Kill two jackrabbits with one lawler.

[Nainoa]

Does it have electrical, sewage, and water connectivity? If so ask your buddy if yall can split the acreage up 20/20 and build a house out there on your portion. Kill two jackrabbits with one lawler.

Basically the 40 acres is the "Shore Line" surrounding a small lake... So basically it insures that the 34 acre lake is all yours. There is one building site that is 5 acres and has a 400 yard road connecting it. There is another site that is 7 acres, but you'd have to canoe in to get to it.

Everything would be "Off the Grid"

[RyouBakua]

what will you do for power?


generator, solar, wind?

[HairyScandinavian]

Basically the 40 acres is the "Shore Line" surrounding a small lake... So basically it insures that the 34 acre lake is all yours. There is one building site that is 5 acres and has a 400 yard road connecting it. There is another site that is 7 acres, but you'd have to canoe in to get to it.

Everything would be "Off the Grid"

OK so it's not hunting property then so no big deal about building a house and losing woods. I would assume the wife won't go for it if it's off the grid, but would have been cool to take that 5 acres and you and your buddy build a house with 2.5 of it each. Sounds like it'd be a great family property with a couple brothers or a couple generations.

[B.O.L.A.]

Sounds like an awesome retreat. I think I'd go for the island, how big is it?

[Nainoa]

what will you do for power?


generator, solar, wind?

In either case I'd foot the cost of a diesel Genny... I could probably get a well put in at the private lake site.

I'd set everything up to run 12V or get a 12V inverter... Then I'd set up solar and wind to trickle charge batteries.

When it comes to the hunting land... Even though the best building site is only 5 acres... It abutts 39 acres of county land, which is also surrounded by swamp, and is only accessible by my road, or by a hunter with enough balls and determination to fight his way through the swamp.

So I'd still have that 39 to hunt as if it was my land.

I'm basically just killing time and coalating packets for this business trip I leave on tomorrow, so I'm searching out some other rural lands for sale in the area.

[pavchaos]

ill do my best to fit in with the gangs thankfully living here for nearly 20 years I came to know the roads, where they lead, the back roads where they dont lead and vice versa. When you think about situations like that you really hope you never have to live through them. Then again I remember reading a thread on survivalists boards dot com where the guy posted his story about living through war with no food / water and everyone fighting each other for scraps and anything that could be useful to their survival.

[RyouBakua]

[Hartski]

Saw an email that showed a guy that welded a couple shipping containers together and made a house out of them. It turned out really nice. Dude had some wicked good construction skills.

As far as an underground shelter goes, I'd rather have 3ft thick reinforced concrete..........

[Nainoa]

As some of you know I grow and sell heirloom seedlings, both as a hobby and to make a little side money.

My boss caught wind of this and brought up an interesting proposal to me that is germain to this thread.

Her family has a plot of land "Up North" that is clear and she suspects has good soil. BUT it has no irrigation... Other than people coming by every weekend and they can hand water with a bucket or two. So she's asked me to design and plant for her a survivalist garden that can survive for 3-5 days unattended. So she has something to pick on vacations or to help live off of should the world go to hell.

Which brings up an interesting practical challenge applicable to this thread.

[Procta]

[youtube]A3EAJex1RVo[youtube]

I would do this if I didnt live in swamp land

[RyouBakua]

3-5 days unattended isnt very long....

I would do this if I didnt live in swamp land

even if you didnt, would still need a pump

[Nainoa]

3-5 days unattended isnt very long....




even if you didnt, would still need a pump

In high heat during a drought at peak fruiting time (Late July-Early August) where I needed to water every day.

The other issue is animals etc...

Meditate on this I will.

[RyouBakua]

In high heat during a drought at peak fruiting time (Late July-Early August) where I needed to water every day.

The other issue is animals etc...

Meditate on this I will.

shaded greenhouse with trickle-fed water catchment

humanure outhouse beside it for fertilizer, animal deterrence and obvious reasons

[Hartski]

I was always told NEVER to fertilize a garden with human feces. Too much chance for disease. But as with most things, i could be wrong.