# On Being Prepared



## TGus (Sep 18, 2017)

When I was a Boy Scout, we had a Scout Master who put teeth into our motto "Be Prepared". While camping, he would do things like: give each of us a 4 foot piece of string, and tell us to catch a fish with it, or tell us to make a campfire using only our pocket knives and what was in the forest, or give each of us a ball of twine and tell us to make waterproof shelters and sleep in them. We NEVER knew what challenge he would throw at us next, so we studied everything we could think of to be ready for him.

It seems to me that there are 2 types of preppers: those who have collected whatever they think they'll need and depend on protecting those things, -and those who may also have all that stuff, but can do just fine with only the clothes on their backs. I would prefer to be in the second category, because conditions during SHTF may leave me with nothing and with no one else I can rely on at some point.

So, when everything falls apart, what do I think most helps the second type of prepper to survive and provide for his family?

Mostly, he need solid survival skills, - like how to create fire, - how to identify, find, and prepare edible wild plants in his area, - how to construct, and where to set traps without using bait, - how to collect and purify water, - how to build a weatherproof shelter, -how to make weapons, and defend himself without them if necessary, - how to keep warm, etc., etc. He needs to be secure that his survival skills are sufficient to carry him through. This confidence only comes with being well-practiced in those survival skills.

Additionally, having non-essential, but marketable skills allows him to barter with others for what he needs. Perhaps he is a carpenter who can work with non-powered tools. Perhaps he knows how to make salt and catch fish he can sell. Or perhaps he or she can provide emergency medical services.

He must know where possible resources are located around him, and be able to scavenge through trash to improvise items that will help him. (This is the way many of the homeless survive on the streets.) Additionally, perhaps he has placed hidden caches in the area he can draw on.

Lastly, but not least importantly, he needs to be as prepared as possible for ANY possible scenario, even if it is unlikely. He can't afford to say to himself "That's really unlikely, so I won't bother preparing for it". I think there are 2 problems with this mindset:

He may have underestimated the probability of certain scenarios, -like the prepper who doesn't prepare for devious criminals because he has 9 guns and is very competent using them, or the prepper who doesn't prepare for communicable diseases because he himself is meticulous in his hygiene.

Although preppers focus on the most likely scenarios, they need to prep for worst-case scenarios too. Doing this, means they are also prepared for any lesser degree of that scenario. In 2011, the New York City Police Department created a manual called "Counter-zombie Dominance", and they practice it as a training aid, even though zombies are highly unlikely. Why do they do that?

If you have anything to add to my ideas above, I'd love to hear yours.

P.S. In a few days, I'll be out on my yearly Appalachian camping trip for the next week, so I won't be able to respond till' I get back. Try to carry on without me.


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## Chipper (Dec 22, 2012)

Prepare for the worse and hope for the best.


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## AquaHull (Jun 10, 2012)

I'll be fine


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## Coastie dad (Jan 2, 2016)

AquaHull said:


> I'll be fine


If you get scared or lonely in Tgus' absence, remember we are here for you.:vs_wave:


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## Redneck (Oct 6, 2016)

TGus said:


> It seems to me that there are 2 types of preppers: those who have collected whatever they think they'll need and depend on protecting those things, -and those who may also have all that stuff, but can do just fine with only the clothes on their backs. I would prefer to be in the second category, because conditions during SHTF may leave me with nothing and with no one else I can rely on at some point.


Just two types of preppers? You sound like the folks that think there are only liberals & conservatives, or good & bad, etc. We all are unique and all live in unique situations. But of all the folk I know, I don't currently know of a single soul who would do just fine with just the clothes on his back. If they could, why would they have stuff? I knew of a guy like that though, who could take on the world with just the clothes on his back & his trusty knife. Think his name was Rambo. Might have been related to Grizzly Adams.

To survive properly, one needs supplies/gear & the know how to use it. One without the other invites failure. Say prepper A has a seed vault, which could grow an acre garden but has never gardened before. Or prepper B, who lives a rural life and gardens each year, but has no seed in storage. Odds are, both will fail.


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## SOCOM42 (Nov 9, 2012)

I am no chemist but, you can't make salt, it is a base material.

However in can be mined or retrieved by distillation or solar evaporation.


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## TGus (Sep 18, 2017)

SOCOM42 said:


> I am no chemist but, you can't make salt, it is a base material.
> 
> However in can be mined or retrieved by distillation or solar evaporation.


I live on the ocean. I evaporate seawater, and remove most of the impurities.


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## SOCOM42 (Nov 9, 2012)

TGus said:


> In a few days, I'll be out on my yearly Appalachian camping trip for the next week, so I won't be able to respond till' I get back. Try to carry on without me.


I was kind of hoping you could have on your vacation pilgrimage, created OJT, a navigation lesson for us using the southern cross.

Or a hot survival guide for surviving in the equatorial zones of the world, including pictorals of the thousand venomous threats to be aware of.

If you don't hurry back, the forum will disintegrate without your deity like presence.

Your horizon lies at 29,000 ft. send a post card upon your achieving nirvana, may Buddha bless you..


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## SOCOM42 (Nov 9, 2012)

TGus said:


> I live on the ocean. I evaporate seawater, and remove most of the impurities.


Did not make it though, did you?


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## TGus (Sep 18, 2017)

AquaHull said:


> I'll be fine


I can tell that you are the second type of prepper I described. Good for you!


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## TGus (Sep 18, 2017)

SOCOM42 said:


> I was kind of hoping you could have on your vacation pilgrimage, created OJT, a navigation lesson for us using the southern cross.
> 
> Or a hot survival guide for surviving in the equatorial zones of the world, including pictorals of the thousand venomous threats to be aware of.
> 
> ...


"I like the cut of your jib!"


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## TGus (Sep 18, 2017)

SOCOM42 said:


> Did not make it though, did you?


Picky, picky, picky!


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## ND_ponyexpress_ (Mar 20, 2016)

TGus said:


> ?
> 
> Mostly, he need solid survival skills, - like how to create fire, how to construct traps without using bait, how to collect and purify water, how to build a weatherproof shelter, how to make weapons,warm, etc., etc. .


do you have any experience or examples of how to do this things with just the clothes on your back? are we flint knapping? or are you also adding things like a knife to your clothes on your back? because I would assume a lot of these tasks may require something sharp..


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## TGus (Sep 18, 2017)

******* said:


> Just two types of preppers? You sound like the folks that think there are only liberals & conservatives, or good & bad, etc. We all are unique and all live in unique situations. But of all the folk I know, I don't currently know of a single soul who would do just fine with just the clothes on his back. If they could, why would they have stuff? I knew of a guy like that though, who could take on the world with just the clothes on his back & his trusty knife. Think his name was Rambo. Might have been related to Grizzly Adams.
> 
> To survive properly, one needs supplies/gear & the know how to use it. One without the other invites failure. Say prepper A has a seed vault, which could grow an acre garden but has never gardened before. Or prepper B, who lives a rural life and gardens each year, but has no seed in storage. Odds are, both will fail.


"two types of preppers" - that's just an oversimplification to make a point. There are as many types of preppers as there are preppers.

Every Fall, I go to the White mountains and take no food or tent. I get my food, water, and shelter from the forest, -and I get better at it every year. I think I could live there if I didn't have a job and family down here. It's NOT impossible; you just haven't learned the skills to do it yet. This has been done by trappers and explorers all through pioneer days. What do you think, they visited the local grocery store on their way?

Having "stuff" makes life much easier; I certainly prefer it that way, -but I'm not married to it.


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## TGus (Sep 18, 2017)

ND_ponyexpress_ said:


> do you have any experience or examples of how to do this things with just the clothes on your back? are we flint knapping? or are you also adding things like a knife to your clothes on your back? because I would assume a lot of these tasks may require something sharp..


Trash is a wonderful thing. And caches help too.


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## bigwheel (Sep 22, 2014)

Wow..its always nice to meet a fellow Cub/Boy Scout. Great experience. Glad we got out before the suits started allowing the **** pedophiles to be be scout masters and Den mothers. Whew.


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## TGus (Sep 18, 2017)

bigwheel said:


> Wow..its always nice to meet a fellow Cub/Boy Scout. Great experience. Glad we got out before the suits started allowing the **** pedophiles to be be scout masters and Den mothers. Whew.


I COMPLETELY agree with you.


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## AquaHull (Jun 10, 2012)

Coastie dad said:


> If you get scared or lonely in Tgus' absence, remember we are here for you.:vs_wave:


Prepper's Escort Service??


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## yooper_sjd (May 14, 2017)

Just the Intro to the thread was condescending in my opion. Oh, i'm a uneducated *******. Never mind TGus we don't need a colledge lecture, just a simple picture diagram with crayolas will work just fine for those of us of simple mind...........


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## Coastie dad (Jan 2, 2016)

AquaHull said:


> Prepper's Escort Service??


Working on business plan now......


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## Redneck (Oct 6, 2016)

TGus said:


> Every Fall, I go to the White mountains and take no food or tent. I get my food, water, and shelter from the forest, -and I get better at it every year. I think I could live there if I didn't have a job and family down here. It's NOT impossible; you just haven't learned the skills to do it yet. This has been done by trappers and explorers all through pioneer days. What do you think, they visited the local grocery store on their way?


Grocery store? No but they stopped at the local fort/settlement to get supplies. Where do you think they sold/traded their furs? Of course they survived but then again, they didn't have the threat of millions of starving folk trying to survive in an "alien" environment. They didn't have your organized gangs either. You think your White Mountains will be so isolated after a crisis? The early settlers had a country full of woods & game and very few people. The water was pure & not polluted. They weren't alone as they had settlements where they could trade for essentials. They weren't starting from scratch either in that all were raised this way & there was an infrastructure to support that lifestyle. Most of us will be starting at a huge disadvantage & there will be little or no infrastructure to support this new lifestyle.

Don't get me wrong. I think it great you take survival to that level. Problem is most preppers can't become Bear Grylls so your "lessons" fall on deaf ears. Heck most of my posts on survival gardening do too as it appears most here prep for relatively short term events, where society will come back. In that case, becoming self sufficient is not needed... just having enough stores & weapons. I'm in my 60s and will not be playing Rambo out in the forest. What I will do is continue to add supplies & stores and continue learning & preparing to be self sufficient. I will not bug out. My farm is my Alamo. I will live & die there.


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## inceptor (Nov 19, 2012)

******* said:


> Heck most of my posts on survival gardening do too as it appears most here prep for relatively short term events, where society will come back.


Unlike one person here, I'm not Bear Grylls. I'm a city boy and it's hard to grow a garden in a concrete jungle.

Ah if only you lived in N Tx instead of N Miss. I for one could use your help. A little over a year ago my wife and I started gardening. Our first attempt a couple of years before that was a disaster for us but a banquet for the bugs. That was a raised bed similar to yours. Now we have moved to waist high raised beds. We also do some container gardening. This past year we have done somewhat better but we still have a large issue with bugs and bacteria (?).

Our herbs do fine and the tomato's have done fairly well this year. But we are still battling the bugs. Using chemicals is not an option for us as we are trying to stay organic. Through some research I found that diatomaceous earth seems to help. I'm trying that next.


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## Back Pack Hack (Sep 15, 2016)

Can we move the entire forum to somewhere else while he's gone on his trip? :vs_blush:


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## Redneck (Oct 6, 2016)

inceptor said:


> Unlike one person here, I'm not Bear Grylls. I'm a city boy and it's hard to grow a garden in a concrete jungle.
> 
> Ah if only you lived in N Tx instead of N Miss. I for one could use your help. A little over a year ago my wife and I started gardening. Our first attempt a couple of years before that was a disaster for us but a banquet for the bugs. That was a raised bed similar to yours. Now we have moved to waist high raised beds. We also do some container gardening. This past year we have done somewhat better but we still have a large issue with bugs and bacteria (?).
> 
> Our herbs do fine and the tomato's have done fairly well this year. But we are still battling the bugs. Using chemicals is not an option for us as we are trying to stay organic. Through some research I found that diatomaceous earth seems to help. I'm trying that next.


Hey, you do the best you can with what you have. Sounds to me you are doing well. I primarily control bugs using Spinosad which is organic and very concentrated. I just love it as it mostly only kills the bugs that eat the plant... not the pollinators you need. Now I think direct spray can kill a pollinator so best to spray when they are not around, such as at dusk. Then once it dries on the leaves, it only kills a bug that bites the leaf. Another organic method of control is using a combination of Neem oil & Sal Suds soap. In the warm, humid south I find more issue with fungus than bacteria, so I spray some garden fungicide every so often. Actually I put in the same tank as the other sprays mentioned above.

Make sure to plant items that attract pollinators. That is why my basil is still in the bed, as even just this morning, it was loaded with bees. Also, try to fine tune your garden to varieties you can comfortably grow with little spray. For me, that means eggplant as opposed to squash. The squash bugs just really piss me off & they just keep coming back. Most nothing bothers eggplant & they are soooo beautiful. I really like growing corn & pole beans but in your case, I'd probably just stick with pole beans. You can make some teepee trellises with bamboo that look nice & produce lots of food.

https://www.amazon.com/Monterey-Gar...=UTF8&qid=1506613718&sr=1-1&keywords=spinosad

https://www.amazon.com/Dyna-Gro-Pur...=UTF8&qid=1506613758&sr=1-6&keywords=neem+oil

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00016QTY...6RXXE8M2KQVJZBMN0&ie=UTF8&qid=1506613876&sr=1


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## inceptor (Nov 19, 2012)

******* said:


> Hey, you do the best you can with what you have. Sounds to me you are doing well. I primarily control bugs using Spinosad which is organic and very concentrated. I just love it as it mostly only kills the bugs that eat the plant... not the pollinators you need. Now I think direct spray can kill a pollinator so best to spray when they are not around, such as at dusk. Then once it dries on the leaves, it only kills a bug that bites the leaf. Another organic method of control is using a combination of Neem oil & Sal Suds soap. In the warm, humid south I find more issue with fungus than bacteria, so I spray some garden fungicide every so often. Actually I put in the same tank as the other sprays mentioned above.
> 
> Make sure to plant items that attract pollinators. That is why my basil is still in the bed, as even just this morning, it was loaded with bees. Also, try to fine tune your garden to varieties you can comfortably grow with little spray. For me, that means eggplant as opposed to squash. The squash bugs just really piss me off & they just keep coming back. Most nothing bothers eggplant & they are soooo beautiful. I really like growing corn & pole beans but in your case, I'd probably just stick with pole beans. You can make some teepee trellises with bamboo that look nice & produce lots of food.
> 
> ...


Did a search on Amazon for Spinosad. It turns out we have some. We recently tried Captain Jacks. Neem Oil I have also but we haven't used it yet. The issue is that it gets expensive if you use it on a regular basis. What do you do if the SHTF?


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## Redneck (Oct 6, 2016)

inceptor said:


> Ah if only you lived in N Tx instead of N Miss. I for one could use your help.


Here is another hint that might help. I try to grow 3 seasons of crops in the same bed. Spring & Fall crops can be the same & I usually grow broccoli, peas, maybe more beans & greens. I love collards & kale. I prefer the taste of turnip greens but picking them & cleaning them is a bitch. I find it much easier to grow the cool weather crops in the fall as opposed to the spring. In the spring, the soil is cool so you have to time the planting very well. Plus the plants initially grow slow because of the temps. But then as they are ready to start producing edible food, the warmer temps invite the damn bugs. In the fall, it all changes. You plant seeds when it is warm so they grow quick & then as the plant matures, the temps drop & bugs go away. The biggest concern is frost damage but a mature plant handles that better than a shoot. Plus in small raised beds, you can put cloth covers over the beds. I buy rolls of the material & just clip it on pvc pipe arched over the beds.

And as for raised beds, my first beds were taller... similar to what you have gone with. However now, all my beds are just one board high. The soil is just as deep, as I just dig out the original soil & replace with my mix. Much cheaper to put in one board beds as opposed to waist high beds.


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## Redneck (Oct 6, 2016)

inceptor said:


> Did a search on Amazon for Spinosad. It turns out we have some. We recently tried Captain Jacks. Neem Oil I have also but we haven't used it yet. The issue is that it gets expensive if you use it on a regular basis. What do you do if the SHTF?


I buy Spinosad by the gallon & pay less than a dollar an oz. So I can mix a gallon of spray for $2 and in my book, that ain't bad. For SHTF, I keep many gallons of this and fungicides in my prepper room which stays dark, dry & cool. But the best thing one can do if the SHTF is to grow crop varieties best suited for your conditions that require the least amount of chemical & need the least amount of fertilizer. I generally pick older, open pollinated varieties that are tough & bred for that toughness as opposed to many modern varieties bred for flavor or appearance. I'm big on legumes (peas, beans, etc.) as they do best in poor soil, don't need fertilizer & actually put nitrogen back into the soil... thus one of the reasons why the native Americans grew pole beans in with their corn.


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## Maine-Marine (Mar 7, 2014)

TGus said:


> It seems to me that there are 2 types of preppers: those who have collected whatever they think they'll need and depend on protecting those things, -and those who may also have all that stuff, but can do just fine with only the clothes on their backs.


Just 2 types... 
Slippy is a type by himself!!!!
Denton certainly would be another category
There is a female on here that make up her own prepping TYPE

two types....LOL


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## TGus (Sep 18, 2017)

******* said:


> Grocery store? No but they stopped at the local fort/settlement to get supplies. Where do you think they sold/traded their furs? Of course they survived but then again, they didn't have the threat of millions of starving folk trying to survive in an "alien" environment. They didn't have your organized gangs either. You think your White Mountains will be so isolated after a crisis? The early settlers had a country full of woods & game and very few people. The water was pure & not polluted. They weren't alone as they had settlements where they could trade for essentials. They weren't starting from scratch either in that all were raised this way & there was an infrastructure to support that lifestyle. Most of us will be starting at a huge disadvantage & there will be little or no infrastructure to support this new lifestyle.
> 
> Don't get me wrong. I think it great you take survival to that level. Problem is most preppers can't become Bear Grylls so your "lessons" fall on deaf ears. Heck most of my posts on survival gardening do too as it appears most here prep for relatively short term events, where society will come back. In that case, becoming self sufficient is not needed... just having enough stores & weapons. I'm in my 60s and will not be playing Rambo out in the forest. What I will do is continue to add supplies & stores and continue learning & preparing to be self sufficient. I will not bug out. My farm is my Alamo. I will live & die there.


I think that you have a lot of good points there. I'm not advocating not collecting all the stuff you need to survive a short or long term disaster, -all that stuff is important. I'm just saying that you may find yourself with nothing someday, -and prep for that too, with skills and a cache. Don't just give up. Give yourself the best chance to survive you can. Prepping doesn't guarantee anything, -except a better chance than you'd have without prepping.

Yes, the trappers planned their itineraries to stop at the far-between forts and Indian settlements along their way, but they also brought someone along to procure food from the wilderness between those stops.

I am in my 60s too, and I'm still "playing Rambo" in the forest. What does it hurt to improve your survival skills? I understand that, at our age, effort is a precious commodity. We ration it and apply it to what's most important, because we can't do everything we used to do. I respect your choice about what you feel is best to apply your effort to. We all have to figure out what is best for our own situations.


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## TGus (Sep 18, 2017)

Back Pack Hack said:


> Can we move the entire forum to somewhere else while he's gone on his trip? :vs_blush:


Surely, you wouldn't be *that *cruel?


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## TGus (Sep 18, 2017)

Maine-Marine said:


> Just 2 types...
> Slippy is a type by himself!!!!
> Denton certainly would be another category
> There is a female on here that make up her own prepping TYPE
> ...


As I replied to ******* earlier: ""two types of preppers" - that's just an oversimplification to make a point. There are as many types of preppers as there are preppers"

-I don't even know if Slippy _can _be typed.


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## Back Pack Hack (Sep 15, 2016)

TGus said:


> Surely, you wouldn't be *that *cruel?


I can be. And stop calling me Shirley.


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## TGus (Sep 18, 2017)

Back Pack Hack said:


> I can be. And stop calling me Shirley.


Ha! You actually made me go back and look!


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## Back Pack Hack (Sep 15, 2016)

TGus said:


> Ha! You actually made me go back and look!


JIC you don't get it.


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## inceptor (Nov 19, 2012)

TGus said:


> As I replied to ******* earlier: ""two types of preppers" - that's just an oversimplification to make a point. There are as many types of preppers as there are preppers"
> 
> -I don't even know if Slippy _can _be typed.


 @Slippy is in a category of his own.


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## inceptor (Nov 19, 2012)

Back Pack Hack said:


> JIC you don't get it.


Good thing you explained it to him. :tango_face_grin:


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## Back Pack Hack (Sep 15, 2016)

inceptor said:


> Good thing you explained it to him. :tango_face_grin:


Hopefully I won't have to explain, "What's on the telly?" "Looks like a penguin!"


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## SOCOM42 (Nov 9, 2012)

@inceptor, I wonder where I fit categorically with our Guru?

With only two choices, plus I would die out there with just my cloths on. A newbie???

I am not John Rambo, however i have plenty of trigger time on a PIG, AKA M-60.


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## inceptor (Nov 19, 2012)

SOCOM42 said:


> @inceptor, I wonder where I fit categorically with our Guru?
> 
> With only two choices, plus I would die out there with just my cloths on. A newbie???
> 
> I am not John Rambo, however i have plenty of trigger time on a PIG, AKA M-60.


With the little bit you have, you might make it. Not as well as TGus but you'll still be laughing.

And we're both too old to be Rambo. But we will surprise the home invasion gangs he's trained. :vs_cool:


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## ND_ponyexpress_ (Mar 20, 2016)

TGus said:


> Trash is a wonderful thing. And caches help too.


oh...so the clothes on your back includes whatever you stockpiled in caches....


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## Redneck (Oct 6, 2016)

ND_ponyexpress_ said:


> oh...so the clothes on your back includes whatever you stockpiled in caches....


Well hell then I'm good surviving with only the clothes on back, because my cache is in my upper barn. Guess I didn't understand the rules of this game.


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## charito (Oct 12, 2013)

******* said:


> Don't get me wrong. I think it great you take survival to that level. Problem is most preppers can't become Bear Grylls so your "lessons" fall on deaf ears. Heck most of my posts on survival gardening do too as it appears most here prep for relatively short term events, where society will come back. In that case, becoming self sufficient is not needed... just having enough stores & weapons. I'm in my 60s and will not be playing Rambo out in the forest. What I will do is continue to add supplies & stores and continue learning & preparing to be self sufficient. I will not bug out. My farm is my Alamo. I will live & die there.


I'm in my 60's too....if it last longer than 3 years, do I really want to survive at that point?


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## 23897 (Apr 18, 2017)

SOCOM42 said:


> I am no chemist but, you can't make salt, it is a base material.
> 
> However in can be mined or retrieved by distillation or solar evaporation.


I'm no chemist either but I can make salt.

Acid + base = salt + water

HCl + NaOH = NaCl + H2O

It's not easy to get HCl or NaOH but not impossible.

Fang

Sent from my iPad using Technology before it is shut down.


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## 23897 (Apr 18, 2017)

Maine-Marine said:


> Just 2 types...
> Slippy is a type by himself!!!!
> Denton certainly would be another category
> There is a female on here that make up her own prepping TYPE
> ...


I thought there were 10 types of prepper: those who understand binary and those who don't.

Fang

Sent from my iPad using Technology before it is shut down.


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## A Watchman (Sep 14, 2015)

Maine-Marine said:


> Just 2 types...
> Slippy is a type by himself!!!!
> Denton certainly would be another category
> There is a female on here that make up her own prepping TYPE
> ...


The Slippy type I get and understand, the Denton type .... hmmm .... okay help me out here a little! :devil:


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## ND_ponyexpress_ (Mar 20, 2016)

he said we can stockpile supplies in our caches and they count as clothes on your back.. so is that a 3rd type of prepper or does that mean there is only 1?


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## AnotherSOFSurvivor (Sep 7, 2016)

I want to comment on this, but I am not really sure what is going on to be totally honest...

It seems there are a few threads like this that always pop up, rehashing the dogmatic truth of Practicing backed with some anecdotes or maybe even a naughty limerick

I am prepared to go out with the "clothes on my back" but that includes about 150 pounds of guns/ammo/water/food/comms/med/nav/survivalist/bushcraft/fieldcraft gear - but the ruck and armor are technically "on my back" so...yay?


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## 8301 (Nov 29, 2014)

Keep in mind that even if a person has the skills and basic tools to produce what they require to live they still need a secure location to practice those skills. Living off the land when there is little pressure from others (no SHTF crisis) is great but when a lot of people try to live off the land, particularly public lands, then things will be very different.

Where I live we have an abundance of deer and rabbits, but if every Tom, Dick, and Harry decided they needed those animals for food the woods would be hunted out within a few weeks. The ponds would be fished out, and the easy to identify and harvest plants eaten not to long after; and that's just from the locals. Now add thousands of people fleeing the city and you see why it's important to have a firm claim on the area where you plan to use your skills to live off the land.


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## yooper_sjd (May 14, 2017)

inceptor said:


> Unlike one person here, I'm not Bear Grylls. I'm a city boy and it's hard to grow a garden in a concrete jungle.
> 
> Ah if only you lived in N Tx instead of N Miss. I for one could use your help. A little over a year ago my wife and I started gardening. Our first attempt a couple of years before that was a disaster for us but a banquet for the bugs. That was a raised bed similar to yours. Now we have moved to waist high raised beds. We also do some container gardening. This past year we have done somewhat better but we still have a large issue with bugs and bacteria (?).
> 
> Our herbs do fine and the tomato's have done fairly well this year. But we are still battling the bugs. Using chemicals is not an option for us as we are trying to stay organic. Through some research I found that diatomaceous earth seems to help. I'm trying that next.


Have you tried putting certian herbs that are a natural bug repellent in buckets so you put them where needed in the garden to ward away the pests?

https://www.mnn.com/your-home/organ...stories/12-plants-that-repel-unwanted-insects


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## inceptor (Nov 19, 2012)

yooper_sjd said:


> Have you tried putting certian herbs that are a natural bug repellent in buckets so you put them where needed in the garden to ward away the pests?
> 
> https://www.mnn.com/your-home/organ...stories/12-plants-that-repel-unwanted-insects


Thanks. But yeah, I found that article last year. We've planted about half of them. They are holding down the bugs in one area but not others. I will probably plant more but I'm also going to give the diatomaceous earth a go.


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## TGus (Sep 18, 2017)

charito said:


> I'm in my 60's too....if it last longer than 3 years, do I really want to survive at that point?


I have a wife and 3 older teenagers I'm responsible for. What I'd want doesn't matter.


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## TGus (Sep 18, 2017)

John Galt said:


> Keep in mind that even if a person has the skills and basic tools to produce what they require to live they still need a secure location to practice those skills. Living off the land when there is little pressure from others (no SHTF crisis) is great but when a lot of people try to live off the land, particularly public lands, then things will be very different.
> 
> Where I live we have an abundance of deer and rabbits, but if every Tom, Dick, and Harry decided they needed those animals for food the woods would be hunted out within a few weeks. The ponds would be fished out, and the easy to identify and harvest plants eaten not to long after; and that's just from the locals. Now add thousands of people fleeing the city and you see why it's important to have a firm claim on the area where you plan to use your skills to live off the land.


Everything you say is true, -but what choice do we have, but to prep as well as we can, and hope for the best?


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## charito (Oct 12, 2013)

TGus said:


> I have a wife and 3 older teenagers I'm responsible for. What I'd want doesn't matter.


Hubby is older than me, we both think the same. We don't have any children. 
We have teenage foreign students though, staying with us at the moment. We're prepping for them, too.

Your situation is vastly different from ours.

That's another thing. We can't tell these students about our prepping. We don't want to take the risk of it being blabbed to friends, and neighbors (three of their friends are staying with our neighbor). Fortunately, they're usually out of the house when we do our shopping, so they don't see what we buy.


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## 8301 (Nov 29, 2014)

@TGus I'm my situation I have more land than many on this site but not enough to realistically supply my my food needs. To a large degree I would depend on trade with neighbors who have more land and livestock than I do. I've met and visit my neighbors because I like their company but in bad times these relationships will make trading easier.


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## Redneck (Oct 6, 2016)

John Galt said:


> I'm my situation I have more land than many on this site but not enough to realistically supply my my food needs. To a large degree I would depend on trade with neighbors who have more land and livestock than I do. I've met and visit my neighbors because I like their company but in bad times these relationships will make trading easier.


John, something to keep in mind is during a crisis, these larger landowner friends of yours will need manpower to work the land. We could easily head back to farming as they did long before we had tractors & such... maybe as far back as how the native Americans farmed. Way back then, folks had huge families to have workers for the farm plus added more help... as to having slavery.

My point is, after a crisis, self sufficiency will be possible but it will take changes to how we now farm. I HIGHLY suggest preppers that don't live on their own farm still prep accordingly. Have some garden tools & stock seed just like you do food. Then during a crisis, you have something to contribute to build a new society. Be a net positive and you stand a great chance of being added to a group or farm. Be a net negative and expect to be shown the door.

Good manpower & supplies will be in demand.


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## 8301 (Nov 29, 2014)

Actually with my skill set I suspect I won't need to hire out to get food ect.


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## TGus (Sep 18, 2017)

charito said:


> Hubby is older than me, we both think the same. We don't have any children.
> We have teenage foreign students though, staying with us at the moment. We're prepping for them, too.
> 
> Your situation is vastly different from ours.
> ...


I have the same situation with renters of mine.


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## maine_rm (Jun 24, 2017)

TGus said:


> I have the same situation with renters of mine.


Of course you have a similar situation! I demand pictures of your tenants!!


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## maine_rm (Jun 24, 2017)

@TGus <~~~Is this handle code for Chuck Norris? Maybe a close relative? Are you some kind of distant aunt of his?


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## TGus (Sep 18, 2017)

inceptor said:


> Good thing you explained it to him. :tango_face_grin:


It appears that there is a hole in my education.


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## TGus (Sep 18, 2017)

A Watchman said:


> The Slippy type I get and understand, the Denton type .... hmmm .... okay help me out here a little! :devil:


Denton seems very unique, -but he's straightforward. I think you're doing some ass-kissing here.


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## inceptor (Nov 19, 2012)

TGus said:


> Denton seems very unique, -but he's straightforward. I think you're doing some ass-kissing here.


:vs_shocked:


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## TGus (Sep 18, 2017)

inceptor said:


> :vs_shocked:


My mistake. Please ignore my idiocy, -or audacity, -or something like that.


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## A Watchman (Sep 14, 2015)

TGus said:


> Denton seems very unique, -but he's straightforward. I think you're doing some ass-kissing here.


Not likely, I've been in the game much to long for brownie points. My course has been set long ago.


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## TGus (Sep 18, 2017)

A Watchman said:


> Not likely, I've been in the game much to long for brownie points. My course has been set long ago.


It was just a joke, -though maybe a little too harsh.

I just noticed this at the bottom of your reply: "I will choose to enjoy the journey that God has prepared for me."

Thanks! I'll remember that.


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