Ok so I’ve been slowly purchasing different tactical, medical, and practical items that might just help protect my family in dire times. My question is to you all, is it necessary and how have your loved ones reacted to your actions. I know my wife gets tired of hearing me talk about the news and everything going on lately but I just can’t help it. I’m thankful to have you guys to talk to in times of need, I really do feel like you guys are part of my family. It means so much to have a good group of people with experience to help me along the way. I’m no expert by any means necessary but I do want to learn and am willing to change anything I might be doing the wrong way or just don’t have enough knowledge about. I’ve stocked up on survival gear and ammo, plus I’ve tacticaled myself out a bit. I still need a lot of training on the range but I do have experience shooting steel target competitions. Rifle skills is another story though. Any tips on items I should acquire for my bug out bag? Also what’s the best location for us to bunker down at when shtf? I live in South Alabama.
Thank you! She gets along with everybody she’s the sweetest little girl when she ain’t terrorizing daddy and mommy. Thanks for the links I’ll give em a check!
In general, you are going to be better off hunkering down at home than dusting off into the woods. Home is where your supplies are (food, medical, ammo, firearms, shelter), where your support is (family, neighbors), and where you know where all the dangers are. In most SHTF scenarios (zombies, martians, antifa, etc) you are better off at home.
Bugging out, either on foot or in vehicle, means you are only taking a fraction of whatever supplies you’ve built up and leaving everything else behind for someone else to use.
A good idea (IMO) is to make a “Get Home Bag” in case something kicks off and you aren’t home.
Having said that, I think everyone should have a “bug out bag” for things such as hurricanes, tornadoes, forest fires (or just plain your house is one fire), etc. Where you have no choice but to leave and there is little time to pack. Think about the recent wildfires we saw this year in Hawaii, folks had to get out of the house in minutes and their homes were gone so the only stuff they had was the shirt on their back. In a situation like that, a good bug out bag would have some spare clothes, cash, copy of important documents (deeds/titles, passport, account numbers/passwords), maybe some snacks, and since you have kids some sort of games or books. Basically, enough “stuff” to hold you over until the emergency is over or you can get to someplace more permanent.
I’ll quote John Correa of Active Self Protection here and say “Never run FROM danger, Always run TO safety”
Being prepared for bad events is important especially when there are so many potential events seemingly on the horizon. But I’ve been on alert to the current threats for the past 15 plus years and the world is still bumbling along. No one knows when the bubble will finally burst. So preparing is important but not at the expense of enjoying the here and now while we can.
As someone who almost very unexpectedly checked out early I know it is vital to enjoy the good times while we can. I also think it’s very important to make sure our families feel safe and protected instead of worried and afraid especially for young kids. Spending some time talking about being prepared with the family and friends is important but the most important reason for preparing is so everyone doesn’t have to spend time worrying about possible threats.
None of us will ever be able to completely prepare for all the possible threats out there. But we can all reasonably prepare to the best of our ability. My definition of reasonable is keeping the prepping and training time and expenses under the 10% level. This forum is a great place for those of us who choose to think about and prepare for the what ifs in life to spend some of that 10% or so of our time. Unless prepping and training are things other members of the family are really into it is probably best to not try forcing them into that mindset.
There are actually a lot of fun not directly “prepping” related activities that can actually help people prepare without them even realizing it. Like hiking, camping, gardening, target shooting etc. Just make sure to keep life fun and positive.
I CONCUR w/ Harvey, Sham and (BRUCE–didn’t want you to feel left out Brother )
These guys are the real deal Landon, This advice is solid (my opinion)
The one thing I will totally agree with is Shamrock’s
Keep an even keel through out this ordeal Brother because of the Innocents
Give them Love and a stable home life and you are Golden in their eyes .
Be Prepared, Stay Vigilant, Head on a swivel and TRAIN-UP.
You do all that and you will do what’s right for you family.
“Be Nice-------UNTIL IT’S TIME TO NOT BE NICE”.
If nothing happens you loose nothing.
I love the deal w/ GO-BAGS, worth their weight in gold.
God Speed My Brother
@LandonBolts Keep doing what you’re doing. You are the protecter of your family. Lots of great input here already, and you are NOT ALONE as many of us across the HEARTLAND are doing the same, because we need to be prepared. Stay safe!
Just remember, you can live for weeks without food, but only 3 days without water. If you are a lucky one and have a well a simple pump, which is a brand can be a life saver, if you are on city water store as much as you can and have a way to filter water.
Wise words. 