At first it all started with 2012 that i picked up on a couple years ago.so myself and the wife starting to wonder what if??? So after some debating and much deciding we resolved that we would spend our extra money on supplies instead of things like movies and concerts and eating out.after 6 months of following this plan to the number as we talked about.

We have amassed quite a stock pile of things from cases and 5 gallon containers of water(the drinking fountain type jugs)canned goods,dry foods,first aid supplies,batteries,guns and ammo and a number of other things.We purchased all of this with money we would normally waste.

Here is why i ask the question.when we get visitors over to the house and they see all our stuff they say"you guys are nuts nothings gonna happen!!!"i try to explain that due to the economy the oil spill the icelandic eruptions (with winds going S.E.)and not to mention we live on the gulf coast i think its a matter of just being prepared.

My family and i go to church,work and socialize as we all ways did before we began preparing my question is ARE WE SURVIVAL NUTS???????

yep sorry to say .
lets say the worst did happen super eruption all out nuks alien invasion.
comet USA balances budget pick your senero .
ok now its madmax water world Armageddon combined .
chances are at this point your already dead .
but lets just say your the one out of every 1000 that survived it.
well now all the rest of the vermin see you have all this wonderful stuff.
and as a bones a clean healthy woman .
so now theres 100k headed your way.
um how many guns did say you had? lolol
man for get all that stuff the meek shall inherent the earth .
want to know why because wile all the rest of you kill each other over your guns we will be hiding in the swamps the mountains well anyware your not once you all kill each other well come out and well you get the photo.
a good nife some rope a shovel (garden type) fishing line a good magnifying glass for when the bic runs out and deep in the Okefenokee swamp no more then you can carry on your back ummm water Moroccan for dinner tonight the point is no matter how much you buy theres a million people ready to take it from you and well your on a map sorry to say

I wouldn't call you guys survival nuts just cause you prepare for bad times , I especially dont like the part about people calling other people crazy cause they prepare like how is that crazy ..

These same people that called you and your wife nuts will be the first ones knocking on your door when TSHTF asking for food and water and shelter .

Also people that prepare are smart not nuts or crazy .... Keep doing what your doing and youll be fine off ..

Survival nuts, no. Survival squirrels...you know squirrels store nuts.......No squirrels doesn't sound too macho. How about survival Wolves?

[edit on 10-5-2010 by manta78]

omg knocking on his door??? your joking right?
what makes you think the thousands of vermin left will have manners enough to knock?
how many guns you say you have because these vermin want them how much food you stored well they want that to.
but mostly they want the healthy woman.
man im 44 and was raised in the duck and cover area .Like a desk would stop a 19 kiloton nuk lol.
anyway at the time the foster home i lived in the guy was a x marine .
A bad man but he had one good point every summer for two weeks for 5 years he sent me off to survival camp. Not because he was a nice guy just to get rid of me for a wile.
anyway they had x navy seals and x green-brays and they spent thous two weeks teaching us how to survive in enemy territory.
first thing is get rid of the guns you only get to fire it once then every rat there is withing five miles is headed your way.
second is dont have more then you can carry on your back.
third is grubs worms crickets can be used for more then just bait.
fish traps pit falls game trails snares the deep woods as inecessable place as you can find people follow the path of least resistance.
wich is the roads and light woods swamps are hard traveling in thus every one goes around them.
so keep all your guns stay home if the spit realy does hit it and your still there after i give you a week two tops

well thats definitely a pulse so make sure you have a plane to bug out the back if its looks like youl get over wealmed if you can make it to the deep woods youl live then.
but if your truly rural enough say the smokey mountains then just maby the town will get toghter still not much of chance of keeping your home and stuff but slightly higher .
theres plenty of books on just what it would realy be like after a total collapse
gangs roaming every ware whats left of the military religions nuts forming army's.killing all the none believers.
madmax was a walk in the park compared to what the real thing would be like best thing you can do is pray to what ever god you believe in that it dont happen because even with my training at 44 my chances are low realy low.
servival is a young mans game and woman please hid the fact your a woman.
cut your hair short mess your face ware mens clothing hid your breast.
but like i say pray it never happens
and 1/3 of man shell die there will be fivers of blood (revelations)
1/3 7 billion thats 2.2 billion of so another 1/3 shell die after again revalations. total 4.5 billion or so .
yikks

I wouldn't call ya nuts, if that were the fact everyone who frequents the survival thread would be bonkers.

It all depends on what kind of scenario you are planning for. Like another person said don't take anything that you can't carry on your back and with a woman in the picture you are going to have to be in shape because you are going to have to carry a majority of the gear. I have multiple "kits" for different possibilities. I have a "quick" bug out bag, a "long-term" bug out bag, a fortification plan, and an escape and evade plan.

If you are looking for suggestions for a possible bug out bag the biggest suggestions I can give you is blanket, very good first aid kit, change of clothes, something to boil water in, bag of dryer lint, magnessium fire starter, poncho, a couple spools of fishing line and multiple hooks, 6-12 MRE's for the days you don't get anything with the fishing line snare or from fishing, a couple of 2500 calorie rations for the same reason as above, sleeping bag, some form of soft cover such as a beanie, ball cap or boonie. I am sure I am leaving stuff out I will have to go through my BOB but that should get you started.

Like another person said, you pretty much have to be willing to go where no one else is. The best way to survive in an all out collapse, "Mad Max" scenario is to be invisible, out of sight out of mind.

If your friends think you guys are nutjobs then they should meet me it would make them see you and your wife as normal.

[edit on 02/04/2009 by Cool Breeze]

All I can say is you're doing what we're doing.

Everyone should. The more of us that do, the fewer zombies there will be running around looking for those who have it, and the safer we all will be.

Stock up. It's good advice.

Most folks in the country where I live do what you have done... not nuts, just prepared. Even if the world don't end, I have seen hurricanes, ice storms, tornadoes, and power outages made all the preparations that you have made worthwhile.

For instance, I prepped up for Y2K...go ahead and laugh...my buddies did. One month later, we had the deepest snowfall in NC in over 5 decades..it snowed for 3 days straight. My friends lost power, heat, had no water cause the well didnt run, were low on food, couldn't get out to go to the stores...which were closed even if they could.

Me, kicked back with a hot wood stove fire...eatin' good, generator crankin and on the internet...live stream from Buffets margaritaville and watchin live cam from Jamaica...drinkin some wine and feelin' fine.

Guess who showed up for dinner?

Ant is a more appropriate term for someone of the prepper mentality. Working hard during the summer so they don't freeze to death like that stupid grasshopper during the winter.

One tip however would be to keep your stocks out of sight so that casual visitors don't know that you have X months of food stored away, because if and when they are hungry your home is the first place they will likely remember, and you obviously don't want that if you have taken all this time and effort to stock up. Keep the preps out of sight and let them think you to be just another stupid grasshopper.