# What natural resources are you going to be looking to when things go Bad?



## Nova (Mar 19, 2015)

I'm curious to see what natural resourced others are considering in their area. Personally, I live close to the sea and i'm considering all the edible life out there that will suddenly be free to go after. I'm sure i'm not the only one. I worry about the depletion of resources and local stock being hunted to extinction. Still i'm creating a map of all the aquaculture in the area so I will know where to go if I really need to eat.


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## Camel923 (Aug 13, 2014)

Legitimate worries. First of all fresh water. A reliable source is a must. I will farm crops as well as tend fruit and nut trees. Hunting and fishing to supplement supplies. Wood for heat, possibly cooking. Sun and wind for energy if I can get up some panels and a wind mill. Let's not forget edible plants like dandelions. Herbal garden for medicine.


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## Kauboy (May 12, 2014)

I've put some thought into this. I mapped out my local area, and found all of the reasonably close bodies of freshwater. We have a few stocked lakes around, and I've come up with a few ways to get water from there and back home. I have a crude rain catchment system in place with a full 275gal tank already.
I've accepted that electricity will be low priority. Humans lived for hundreds of years without it, many still do, and it is a luxury. I have developed a means for getting a small amount of it, but have no plans whatsoever to run my home off-grid. I have two small solar panels that will serve only to charge handheld radios and batteries for flashlights. I have not established a sustainable food source yet, and this bothers me. I hate vegetables, so maintaining a garden, while smart and useful, sounds awful to me. Starvation does too... so my stomach may just have to beat my taste buds into submission.
I have plans to start breeding meat rabbits, but our first go at it didn't work out. I chose a poor spot for the hutch, and the sun was too much. Lost them both. Tore me up to find them like that.
I've since moved the hutch to a shaded area with no sun and plenty of ventilation, but haven't restocked the rabbit pair yet.
There isn't much in the way of local fare when it comes to hunting. I'm in a suburb, and have maybe seen 2 squirrels and 3 rabbits in total.
I'll need to come up with something, but not sure what yet.


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## Ralph Rotten (Jun 25, 2014)

I would be going after all the free-range cattle. This is Arizona, and the things are everywhere. I'd jerkey as many as I could get my hands on, mebbe keep one or two milkers (though it would be dicey trying to milk feral cows-prolly hafta hobble them).

But animal husbandry requires fod and food to support, so I would also be looking for alfalfa, and prolly grow a lot of grass--so I'd hit the hardware store for all their grass seed and anything else I could grow/trade.


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## PatriotFlamethrower (Jan 10, 2015)

Ralph Rotten said:


> I would be going after all the free-range cattle. This is Arizona, and the things are everywhere. I'd jerkey as many as I could get my hands on, mebbe keep one or two milkers (though it would be dicey trying to milk feral cows-prolly hafta hobble them).
> 
> But animal husbandry requires fod and food to support, so I would also be looking for alfalfa, and prolly grow a lot of grass--so I'd hit the hardware store for all their grass seed and anything else I could grow/trade.


My guess is that the only grass you'll be looking for is the kind that you roll up and smoke. :banstick:


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## Kauboy (May 12, 2014)

PatriotFlamethrower said:


> My guess is that the only grass you'll be looking for is the kind that you roll up and smoke. :banstick:


Hey, he's trying.
Today's been a good day from him, actually.


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## Spice (Dec 21, 2014)

Our BOL's got a decent freshwater pond, newly stocked. Tons of wood, passable soil, and some brand new fruit and nut trees. Cattails and acorns. Deer, turkey, small game; though I don't see the deer and turkey populations holding up long if a bunch of people start hunting off-season. It's a rural area, but while there's not many people, a large percentage of them are good hunters. Some other incidental wild food; good for vitamins and minerals but you don't look to dandelion greens for calories. It's not gardenable yet; gotta work on that. No real grains but some perennial rye we put in to stop erosion around the pond, and if we try to row crop we'll erode away. When we're there closer to full-time we'll probably get ducks. 

So, biggest needs..grains and power. Water catchment system -- pond's ok for drinking but sanitation and watering would be pretty labor-intensive, and it's not a Huge pond. Best way to get grains is probably to trade, and I'm looking to the perennials (fruits and nuts) to provide a surplus for trade.


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## kevincali (Nov 15, 2012)

Camel923 said:


> Legitimate worries. First of all fresh water. A reliable source is a must. I will farm crops as well as tend fruit and nut trees. Hunting and fishing to supplement supplies. Wood for heat, possibly cooking. Sun and wind for energy if I can get up some panels and a wind mill. Let's not forget edible plants like dandelions. Herbal garden for medicine.


This. To a T.

I'm doing the same exact thing. At my current house, I have rainwater, and fruit/nut trees. I live close enough to the piers (about an hour in traffic) that I "could" go if there was fuel for the truck.

Just picked up a .22lr for small game (mostly rabbits, birds, and squirrel as a last resort) but also have a .177 break barrel pellet pellet rifle I'll use first (1000 rds versus roughly 850 22lr rds).

In my current situation, I'm not worried if SHTF today or tomorrow. I'll be moving soon and startin over. That's what I'm worried about. But where I'm going, it has just a bit more water than California lol


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## 7515 (Aug 31, 2014)

Stream close by for water
Berry and fruit tress grow wild
Lots of small tasty mammals


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## Ripon (Dec 22, 2012)

I'm going to become a diesel supplier  As things stand right now I think we can chug out about 24k gallons a year working a reasoned amount of time and if the SHTF and no one regulated my expansion of farm lands we can probably triple that in no time. Besides I don't know that market for the crops on the ground now will be there, so we might as well go to bio fuels.


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## Urinal Cake (Oct 19, 2013)

The Atlantic Ocean


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## RNprepper (Apr 5, 2014)

Ralph Rotten said:


> I would be going after all the free-range cattle. This is Arizona, and the things are everywhere. I'd jerkey as many as I could get my hands on, mebbe keep one or two milkers (though it would be dicey trying to milk feral cows-prolly hafta hobble them).
> 
> But animal husbandry requires fod and food to support, so I would also be looking for alfalfa, and prolly grow a lot of grass--so I'd hit the hardware store for all their grass seed and anything else I could grow/trade.


But where in AZ are you going to find the water for the grass seed???


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## RNprepper (Apr 5, 2014)

I can gather a lot of stuff from the desert, nearly year round. I have 10,000 gal of water storage that will last us 6 months until the next rains fill the tanks. I have 2 years worth of hay for the mules. My "under the radar" survival protein sources will be crickets (taste like pistachios) and pack rats (taste like cottontail) which will never be exterminated as long as there is mesquite and prickly pear. My year's worth of food storage buys time to increase the garden capacity, but water is everything here. We just put a bid on a property with a large well, and if we get it, we will have to think about a solar pump or some sort of back up system that can pump from at least 200 feet. Once we have secured the water, we are set and can grow veggies all year round.


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## SecretPrepper (Mar 25, 2014)

The garden, fruit/nut trees, stocked pond and a spring fed steam.


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## RNprepper (Apr 5, 2014)

Ralph Rotten said:


> I would be going after all the free-range cattle. This is Arizona, and the things are everywhere. I'd jerkey as many as I could get my hands on, mebbe keep one or two milkers (though it would be dicey trying to milk feral cows-prolly hafta hobble them).
> 
> But animal husbandry requires fod and food to support, so I would also be looking for alfalfa, and prolly grow a lot of grass--so I'd hit the hardware store for all their grass seed and anything else I could grow/trade.


Boy, oh boy, RR. If you come rustling my animals, your head will be on the proverbial pike. Just because cattle are free range doesn't mean they are free. They belong to big men with big guns.


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

RNprepper said:


> Boy, oh boy, RR. If you come rustling my animals, your head will be on the proverbial pike. Just because cattle are free range doesn't mean they are free. They belong to big men with big guns.


Why use a Proverbial Pike when you can buy an Original Slippy-Made Pike! (Terms and Conditions apply)


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## Will2 (Mar 20, 2013)

I see things getting grim for anything more than a couple month. I would expect things to get very ordered. More of a chance of people killed. The lake river and forests will be heavily used as soon as the pipeline and grid go down.


Undoubtedly the current system will not support a breakdown as sewage overflow will be forced to the lake and river making it unusable. Drastic actions will need to occur to make the area sustainable.



Overall though the area is pretty secluded from urban centers 300km away from nearest place with100000 plus people.



It all depends what happens but nets will come out and traps will be set

Log processing for heat and food


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

Will2 said:


> I see things getting grim for anything more than a couple month. I would expect things to get very ordered. More of a chance of people killed. The lake river and forests will be heavily used as soon as the pipeline and grid go down.
> 
> Undoubtedly the current system will not support a breakdown as sewage overflow will be forced to the lake and river making it unusable. Drastic actions will need to occur to make the area sustainable.
> 
> ...


Thanks Will2, that makes a lot of sense. By chance, do you know Will?


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## Anthonyx (Mar 14, 2015)

If there ever was a time when you can't wing it it's a PAW.

You have to have a concrete >>tested<< plan. To the best of my knowledge only engines designed for it will run on straight biodiesel - all others require petro diesel to warm up the engine before it will run on biodiesel.
My truck is flexfuel and will run on 85% alcohol/15% gasoline, but I'd still need 15% gasoline.

With extenders it will be 6 months of gasoline and a year of diesel. I have planned and tested for running my gas electrics for 6 months - and the best uses for that power. My diesel store will run my tractor for a year (tested and uses planned).
I have a store of LPG for power - 6 months after the gasoline runs out I switch to it - that is a year. After that I switch to PV, but the batteries will have died after about 2 years. Best scenario would be 3 years of on-demand power. The plan? Use those 3 years to develop methane-hydrogen generation and steam power. Use that period to get a jumpstart on developing agriculture and manufacturing according to a tested plan with concrete goals.

Those living on navigable rivers and saltwater will stand the best chance. Salt will become gold. The government will probably get trains running, but the earliest revival of trade and transport will be by boat.

In the age of King Murphy count on any untested plan to be a flop.


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## HuntingHawk (Dec 16, 2012)

My #1 natural source will be rain water.


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## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

All of them of course. We will be farming just as those that first came here did. Two things we will not run out of here, water and land that can grow food.


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## Anthonyx (Mar 14, 2015)

Nova said:


> I'm curious to see what natural resourced others are considering in their area. Personally, I live close to the sea and i'm considering all the edible life out there that will suddenly be free to go after. I'm sure i'm not the only one. I worry about the depletion of resources and local stock being hunted to extinction. Still i'm creating a map of all the aquaculture in the area so I will know where to go if I really need to eat.


Biomass.

The only practical engine fuels are methane and hydrogen, however hydrogen requires electricity to produce.
Methane production is low tech, and waste from the outhouse along with biomass are the raw materials. Leaf waste and brush function well mixed with animal waste in a digester. I have read that a mix of plant biomass and manure works better than manure alone.

Anything a cow would eat but otherwise unusable, and there are tons of it around. Grass, weeds, leaves - pokeweed, cactus, poison ivy, mushrooms, kudzu, water hyacinth - any nuisance or noxious plant becomes useful. An added plus is the sludge, useful for fertilizer or vermiculture.

Next would come charcoal, made from deadfalls, diseased or pest trees, scrap lumber or branches - with wood gas used as a heating fuel as a bonus.

If you are close enough to the sea boiling salt from seawater is a good idea. Once all the Morton's is gone people will eagerly trade for salt.


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## SGT E (Feb 25, 2015)

I posted this in another forum after looking up the information from Dept's of Wildlife. Right now there is 15 million deer in the good old USA and that's about the highest it has ever been! There are 43 million people in the USA that have hunted in their lifetime and there is 23 million active hunters today.

If your gonna survive on deer hunting you might want to pick another animal after a week or so...Lots of you will be going home tired and empty handed. Within a couple of months people will be hunting sparrows...starlings...anything else they can get their hands on!


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