Some basic survival questions

reply to post by BlackProjects


Q1: The best bet is to not be found in the first place, however, should this happen and one need to resort to violence to defend yourself/food, burn the bodies. Much faster. For some like myself, I may even go as far as pulling a Vlad the Impaler with the heads. Granted, it would allow others to know my whereabouts, but anyone seeing something like that would think twice before wandering over.

Q2: Why would you need to leave? Be on the run? A good many people on here allready have sit-x hideouts planned and stocked. Others have a means to stock them. If you had to run at a moments notice, you did something very wrong. What to take? Up to you and your situation. I would imagine a means to acquire fire and food would top my list. Foodstuffs would be very low as a last grab item, too heavy and once its gone, its gone.

Q3: "If you aren't skilled now you likely won't have the chance in survival situation. How are you preparing?"

If you arent skilled now, thats really not my problem. Youre done, dont come looking for me. How are you preparing? Most important thing you can do is learn. Read more, think more, get out of the house and use that knowledge. As a previous poster said, a true survivalist only needs his brain and hands. Everything else, guns, foodstocks, etc... is gravy. Get outside and test yourself, learn your surroundings. If you can do this, no matter what happens you have a chance. If you stockpile a bunch of stuff but cant live without your warm bed at night, its over for you.

Seems like nobody mentions vitamins as part of survival plan. Is there a reason for this?

reply to post by BlackProjects


Its something that is easily overlooked. Its much more fun for people to put knives and tents into their BOB and forget essentials such as vitamins, toothpaste, etc...

I rotate my Centrum stock just like everything else. Also I keep extra supplements on hand and rotate them as well.

Body disposal is not exactly my forte. That's why I rely on my handy dandy
DR Chipper/Shredder to do the dirty work for me. Just what every off the grid homeowner needs for survival.

www.drpower.com...

I have to agree with most, the best way is not to be detected..
blend in and not let anyone know you are there.
Why shoot someone when you can simply watch them go by..
Shooting someone would be a last resort... problem would be the sound of the gun giving your position away, and if you did it quiet, eventually someone may miss the person and show up looking for them. drawing more attention to you.
Another thing to think about is protection from wild life.. depending on where you live, i know here we get black bear, grizzly , moose, deer, elk , antelope and wolves as well as coyotes and bobcats... and other smaller critters.
not to mention the rattle snakes in the summer.. (good eating by the way)


quite a gambit of critters, while some are harmless to humans unless you are just retarded *lol*... others pose a real threat if you are out in the wild.

as far as hunting for food, i would stick with birds and small game.. shoot a elk or deer, sure it will be great food , but how long can you keep it from going bad.. unless you have a lot of people with you, it will go bad before you can eat it, not to mention draw animals in from the smell.

reply to post by AGENT_T


You can get broadheads from here in the UK
www.archery-centre.co.uk...

I make my own and I have the short bodkins fitted to my arrows, I have also adapted few metal shafts with broadheads I have made!! (Horse bowman myself) even though I have never sat on a horse !!lol

Answer to the first question
Hide the body as best you can and move out!!..Your location has been compromised...he may have friends who come looking.. (I sincerely hope it never comes to that...)
Question 2
You can only take what you can carry..Even if it’s down to the basics ..A good knife !! And above all knowledge...of how to survive if you have knowledge ..Then all you need is practice and if lucky that bit of knowledge might just get you through!

Question 3
How am I preparing...answer!
Fully prepared!! ..It’s been a lifelong pursuit!...I know that something will happen in my lifetime!!

Aye!! Ray Mears ..He is such a nice man and one of the best in knowledge and experience!!..he’s not a God though !!lol

What about fire essentials for a long-term event? Is building a fire an automatic - "Hey, we're over here!!!"

Should we suppose that wanderers looking for food will come into our "base camp", or should we also be concerned about invasions from other countries with this major economic collapse (soldiers) (government raids)?

So, a bow is the best bet? What about a homemade/rigged silencer for your firearm if you end up without a bow?

Any tips for traveling with wife and kids?

Any tips about neighbors, friends, starving kids coming to you for help or assistance if something goes down? At what point do you say, "NO!"

What's the best means of prepping your water for drinking from a lake or river?

Last question, which has been on my mind most in cautiously preparing for a major incident, if it were to happen: Riots break out with sheer panic and looting in major cities. You and your family throw the survival bags into the vehicle and head for the city limits to your hiding "base camp". A curfew has been imposed for all to abide by, or else. Road blocks are everywhere with cops. What is the best way to get out of dodge without being noticed and without being tracked? Is it too late at that point? Thanks to those who will comment.

Thanks..just thinking of the fire thing the other day. Not sure why but I find myself thinking of survival more and more lately.

reply to post by BlackProjects


If things go tits up, then one must think primarily of animals. Specifically the two-legged kind. Even rational people when fearful and faced with starvation will go native, and take by force whatever they feel they need.

I would be very reluctant to allow any contact or engagement at all for a while. Especially if you have anything worth having and you have a family. I wouldn't rely on a car to get you anywhere once things get crazy. By following a road, you're following an anticipated line of approach. Recall the Highwaymen in days past.

The most dangerous places would be bridges. A handful of predators could hole up on one end of a bridge and pretty well take advantage of anyone passing by. And some folks can charm you to get you to let your guard down and then smile at you most pleasantly the entire time they're twisting a knife in your gut.

Confrontation is the very last thing you want. Even if you win, you may be injured, and without proper medical care, things can go south real quick.

The old rule of "don't never take no chances" will be especially true. You feed someone, or let them into your camp, or make a deal, they'll be back to take the rest when you least expect it. Never let anyone approach your camp or know you have anything. Ever.

Trust no one you don't already know and know well. An alternative is to make plans with trusted friends to meet at certain locations to make a defense or traverse more secure.

Just as in times past, there will be those who sustain themselves as raiders. Depending on the level of anarchy, those who are most canny, intuitive, prepared, suspicious, and ruthless to protect them and theirs will mostly survive.

If your "redoubt" is fairly hidden, you must use nature to force any unwanted visitors to "channel" along certain lines of approach that you have carefully planned for, anticipated, and are prepared for. Natural vegetation such as piracantha can bleed a man dry who tries to get past when woven into a well designed hedge. Even seeds scattered along approaches can help determine an approach. Birds, feeding off the seed, will scatter at the approach of a surprise visitor, and you are warned.

If you engage in booby traps, misdirection can multiply their effectiveness. I used to suspend a small piece of aluminum foil high up to attract attention just as they approached the "drop." While curious and looking up, they weren't looking down.

Sometimes you want to be the lion, but as a rule, it is much better to be the fox. Concealed, quiet, minimal exposure, and never trusting himself to one hole.

Your right, . . . Life isnt a movie , . . . Its a Video Game. . .

(Your in Control ,Not the director. . .)

~Spike

reply to post by dooper

Very good points by dooper. I think you have walked the walk.

Some other points to think about.
90% of people will never go more than 400 meters off a trail or road looking for any thing. I think that a camp needs to be at least one klick off any trails.

Trap/snare lines. If I find your trap line I will have found you, all I have to do is wait. Move these further off any trails than your camp.

Food plots, spread them out and make them small. Live with the reduced yield and let them tend themselves, this is the way the Apachies did it in the way back time. These also become great places to take deer and small game.

Figure out what the land will produce to keep you and yours going. Is it ten square miles, a hundred, more? Where I live the land is very unproductive due to the lack of water, any place that is easy to get to with water will draw people.

Another thing to remember is that when stressed or afraid most people will travel to the high ground, locate somewhere else.

Make up your mind now how you are going to deal with other people. I am going to keep my distance until things settle out.

Practice your skills, reading about how to do something is leaning, doing it produces a skill. If you are going to use a bow and arrow shoot until you can hit a 4 inch target at 30 yards then practice at least once a month. A rifle, you should be able to hit a 4 inch target every time from a cold barrel at at least 100 yards. Check the zero of your weapons on a regular basis, they will change with temperature and humidity. Also shoot at the longest distance that you think you might have to shoot at something. Bullet drop tables are set up of a specific altitude, temp and humidity, here where I live at 600yds the difference in bullet drop is enough less to produce a miss on an 18" x 24" plate. I highly recommend a good bolt gun with a mildot scope if you are somewhere that has a lot of open ground. Start fires without matches. Cook on a dutch oven out side, make bread in it, stew, what ever but learn your cooking times. Learn how to make a fire that produces limited amounts of smoke. Make up your mind that you will be having a "cold camp" most of the time and practice this skill. Plan for the worst weather extreme that you will have to deal with in your area.

Q1:

If you are forced to be so wary of other human contact, you have to survive by becoming an animal. Waste not, want not. You just killed a two-legged animal. What do you do with a deer when you kill it?

Meat for food, skin for clothing, shelter, tendons make good string, and bones make great tools and weapons. Citizen smith already picked up on this.

The remains can simply be carried off and dumped. Other animals aren't as picky as humans. Just dump it far from your present camp, as you don't want the stench or possible other predators coming around.

Q2:

Guns are handy. Very handy. I would definitely want a decent rifle and a handgun should I find myself in those situations. But if I just had to kill someone who is after me, chances are I just found one or both. And you can kill just about as easily with a good knife as you can with a gun, just have to get a little closer. With a knife, there's no need to worry about ammo, no need to worry about noise. Just bring a good whet stone along to 'reload' the weapon once in a while.

Bows are great too. But with a few simple tools, you can make one whenever you need it, and arrows too.

Yeah, concentrate on what you really need, utility type implements. A good folding saw, a swiss army knife, a hunting knife, maybe a good pair of pliers, some fishhooks and plenty of twine ( to Agent_T on that) a pair of tungsten pruning shears is wonderful, lighter, matches, wire-ties (light and oh, so useful) maybe a pack of bungee cords... they'll serve you much better than any gun.

Q3:

Someone said survival is 80% psychology. I think they need to give psychology a bit more credit. You can learn a skill while out on your own, especially if you have some preparatory knowledge of it, but if it came down to it, would you rather learn to light a fire with two sticks while shivering in the dark cold trying to survive, or just light a fire and get warm?

Preparation, preparation, preparation! Mental and psychological knowledge and mindset. Those are what will set the true survivalist apart from those who become a rotting corpse. Knowledge of how to defend oneself with and without the toys we have today, knowledge of what to eat when no store is around, knowledge of the surrounding area, knowledge of how to hunt and fish, knowledge of how to make traps from natural materials, knowledge of how to live without the benefits of the local hardware store. Mindset of knowing you are no longer a social human but now a hunted animal, mindset of throwing off social taboos, mindset of doing whatever you must to survive, mindset of surviving, any way you have to.

And of course, knowing the situation. Don't forget a hand-powered radio (preferably with headphones - quieter and lasts longer on a charge).

Wouldn't want to eat your neighbor when he is trying to tell you it was a drill...

TheRedneck