MUST HAVE prepper items,on a budget!

I'm sure we've all read the popular survivalist post's. Most,IMO,are a joke."hoard gun's and ammo and nickels" type articles.While guns and ammo are high priorities,they won't keep your stomach full.I know,you'll become the perfect deer hunter......Look at everyone else you need to compete with for that shot.Most people will be out playing Rambo,either wounding the deer,or just scaring them away,so you'll be out of luck.I believe we will all adapt to a mostly,if not fully,vegetarian diet.The problem with that is that there are so many variable's,that its not reliable after SHTF,so lets do it now!
The most important item you will need is a dehydrator.Why? So you can make your own dehyrated foods rather than pay a small fortune for #10 cans.Yes,fresh veggies are best,but will there be a drought when SHTF? Who knows,so do it now.Get a dehydrator at a thrift store or yard sale,under 10 bucks.Go to the grocery store and buy a few 1 pound bags of frozen veggies,and dehydrate them.My grocery store has them for 1.29 a bag.You probably can't grow that much that cheap.
Next is some type of slicer.I got a SliceOmatic at goodwill for 2.99.Also got one of the small chopper type things for 1.99.If you buy a bag of carrots or such,it saves a bunch of time over hand slicing.
A hand meat grinder is going to be important too.Most of us will be lucky to see a deer after shtf,and unless your an experinced hunter,you won't know how to properly butcher it.Most will just cut off a slab of meat and poke a stick thru it over a fire.A meat grinder will let you use the rest of the hacked up carcass for burgers or sausage type items,and if you have the supplies,you can home can them.
A big stock pot is needed,as you can water bath can some veggies,such as high acid things like tomato's,and it will allow you to rehydrate you foods.
A pressure canner would be a nice item,but it may be hard to control the heat and pressure over a wood fire,but it is possible,I'm sure.
Vacuum sealers are fantastic,and next on my list to find.
See what you can add to the list,I'm sure I missed a few things

Originally posted by blkcwbyhat
I'm sure we've all read the popular survivalist post's. Most,IMO,are a joke."hoard gun's and ammo and nickels" type articles.While guns and ammo are high priorities,they won't keep your stomach full.I know,you'll become the perfect deer hunter......Look at everyone else you need to compete with for that shot.Most people will be out playing Rambo,either wounding the deer,or just scaring them away,so you'll be out of luck.I believe we will all adapt to a mostly,if not fully,vegetarian diet.The problem with that is that there are so many variable's,that its not reliable after SHTF,so lets do it now!

I think the point in survivalist is to be prepared to eat stuff that you wouldn't normally ie dogs, frogs, pigeons rats ect. Going veg in a survival situation ant a great idea, most is imported and would become scares in the winter, you need to eat whats available. plus also very protein inefficient ie how much veg gram for gram would you need to eat to get the same as chicken (nuts would be ok). Im guessing in such situations your not wanting to be hanging round a major population center guarding stock piles of food apart from the danger of violence such places will quickly become bourn of disease, ie no trash pick up, sewage treatment or medical care. Not really sure what id do, trapping probably a good skill to learn and how to use a knife. Survival is always getting by on the bare minimum.

That said if you do plan on staying put what you mention probably a good idea, tho staples like rice, flour, beans and honey would probably consist of most my stock. maybe some seasoning also

Don't worry about this silly idea of pole shift, it simply cannot and will not happen, I am supprised anyone still talks of it seeing that egg was on faces after 2012 ended, if you want to get prepared for a bad event that is really going to happen soon then prepare yourself & family for major killings and riots in every part of earth, because I can honestly tell you that a big turn about is coming from countries like the UK, France, Germany USA and everywhere that have taken in people over the last 12 years, the British white public have had enough, a big back-lash is coming, country is too full, white people cannot get services like Doctors, Hospitals, Police simply because services are snowed under by people who should NOT be here.
UK is not alone on this, France, Germany are creaking under the strain, plus money has run out in America & Europe & UK, people expecting benefits to buy food and heat will riot once that benefits stop, every man will be looking after there own family, if food is not about people will find it, if it's in your home your going to need to try and keep your food from others, wow sorry folks but this is closer on the cards that the public may think.

reply to post by Redarguo


True,we will eventually need to live off what we find,no matter how prepped one is.I would not bring myself to eat a dog,as I'm a dog lover,instead I'd befriend the dog to help me hunt,or for defense.I'd have no problem eating a pidgeon,as its close to a dove or quail,maybe even sparrows or blackbirds.The point of my post was to show how easy and cheap it is to make your own preps,rather than pay 25 bucks a for a can of freeze dried whatever.

Originally posted by Alternative4u
Don't worry about this silly idea of pole shift, it simply cannot and will not happen, I am supprised anyone still talks of it seeing that egg was on faces after 2012 ended, if you want to get prepared for a bad event that is really going to happen soon then prepare yourself & family for major killings and riots in every part of earth, because I can honestly tell you that a big turn about is coming from countries like the UK, France, Germany USA and everywhere that have taken in people over the last 12 years, the British white public have had enough, a big back-lash is coming, country is too full, white people cannot get services like Doctors, Hospitals, Police simply because services are snowed under by people who should NOT be here.
UK is not alone on this, France, Germany are creaking under the strain, plus money has run out in America & Europe & UK, people expecting benefits to buy food and heat will riot once that benefits stop, every man will be looking after there own family, if food is not about people will find it, if it's in your home your going to need to try and keep your food from others, wow sorry folks but this is closer on the cards that the public may think.

According to the daily mail..... Considering that one of the biggest problems facing the UK atm, is the pension crisis (hence why they have increased working age) we are dependent on tax from migrant workers who will eventually leave before retirement age.

reply to post by Alternative4u


and how is this related to low buck prepping ideas?

Originally posted by blkcwbyhat
reply to post by Redarguo

 

True,we will eventually need to live off what we find,no matter how prepped one is.I would not bring myself to eat a dog,as I'm a dog lover,instead I'd befriend the dog to help me hunt,or for defense.I'd have no problem eating a pidgeon,as its close to a dove or quail,maybe even sparrows or blackbirds.The point of my post was to show how easy and cheap it is to make your own preps,rather than pay 25 bucks a for a can of freeze dried whatever.

Starvation can do strange stuff to a man. id like to think I wouldn't either....but if its that or death, or death of a family member. its either survive or die.

I agree, premade survival food is ridiculously priced, playing of fear. some of it is just plain ridiculous, like survival puddings. Good op btw

Most,IMO,are a joke."hoard gun's and ammo and nickels" type articles.While guns and ammo are high priorities,they won't keep your stomach full

No matter what the SHTF scenario is...guns and ammo are still THE most important thing you'll need, because without them, you won't be able to RETAIN anything you have. Depending on severity, you could be shot for having a can of stew...just to have it taken from your corpse.

Now, that said, WATER is the next (or equal) priority. Without it, you die. This all depends on the specific scenario of course. Lots of possibilities here, but a major factor.

Then, FOOD, and this is where your food storage tips really do come into play. Home canning and dehydrating are going to be godsends in a world without refrigerators. Even if one does butcher a deer, without knowing how to preserve the meat, a lot will go to waste. Our ancestors did do this before electricty, so those who know how, will be in high regard.

Don't knock growing food though, lots of modern ways to get a lot out of a small space, and then canning what you harvest? Great practice too, and cuts down on the grocery bills.

I agree, premade survival food is ridiculously priced, playing of fear. some of it is just plain ridiculous, like survival puddings. Good op btw

That stuff is fine for keeping in a BOB or something, but I wouldn't want to live on it.

Good post

I agree with your assessment about the majority of people buying up guns and ammo, a large part of these people live in urban areas and while the guns will be great for defense it wont do much good for procuring food since there aren't a lot of deer or game birds flying around in urban areas.

Your idea about canning is great too, it is an art that has really died out in the last 20 or so years but is only really viable if a person is going to Bug In. We grow a lot of our own veggies here and we can or dry almost all of them, but you don't have to stop at veggies. We can fish, game birds, even venison and entire premade meals. Its cheap and easy to make a big pot of spaghetti and meat sauce, and can it for future use, same goes for almost any meal that you make. One of my kids favorite things to can is shepherds pie, and a lot of times they will get a couple of jars and heat it up for when they get home from school.

reply to post by Nucleardiver


Lets face it, people in urban areas, when the SHTF, are going to be in the middle of a warzone...so guns and ammo are going to be a major deal. Barter may happen eventually, but right after everything goes down, it is going to be absolute chaos. All law and order suddenly chucked out of the window.

Some will join others in gangs.
Some will hide.
Those that do neither, will die.

Like you, I'm in a more rural area, with some land (though not nearly as rural as you are). I'm off the path enough to be hidden for a time (especially when I block off the road, etc.), but at some point, we'll be found by others. I hope it's after most of the chaos.

Most,IMO,are a joke."hoard gun's and ammo and nickels" type articles.While guns and ammo are high priorities,they won't keep your stomach full

If society were to collapse tho ammo would be pretty much in demand, ie a medium of exchange, more so than nickles.

reply to post by blkcwbyhat

and how is this related to low buck prepping ideas?

He gave cheap options for preserving food.

reply to post by Nucleardiver


I need to find a bigger pressure canner,when I do I'll go wild in the kitchen! I just read another blog that the author states you need 300 lbs of wheat,50 lbs of meat,so on....for 1 person a year! I'd rather not spend a few hours grinding wheat every day,and sure won't carry a wheat grinder thru the mountains if I bug out,much less 300 pounds of wheat! You can buy pasta and store it almost forever,buy bisquik or pancake mix,just add water.Why do these "experts" make it all so difficult/expensive?

How about entomophagy

reply to post by Gazrok


a meltdown in england won't affect my food,didn't see him say anything about it....

reply to post by Redarguo


Nickels, gold, silver, etc.? Waste of time. Maybe way later, but for a long time, these will be WORTHLESS.

Considerations for trade when SHTF:

Can you drink it?
Can you eat it?
Can you kill with it?
Can you smoke it?
Can it keep you warm?
Can it keep you cool?
Can it heal you?
Can it entertain you?
Can it comfort you?
Can it allow you to travel?
Can it power up devices?
Can it help you communicate?
Can it help you see in the dark?
Can you fix things with it?
Can you build with it?

Does a Nickel or gold, or silver, etc. fit ANY of these criteria for trade in a SHTF scenario? NO.

Originally posted by blkcwbyhat
reply to post by Nucleardiver

 

I need to find a bigger pressure canner,when I do I'll go wild in the kitchen! I just read another blog that the author states you need 300 lbs of wheat,50 lbs of meat,so on....for 1 person a year! I'd rather not spend a few hours grinding wheat every day,and sure won't carry a wheat grinder thru the mountains if I bug out,much less 300 pounds of wheat! You can buy pasta and store it almost forever,buy bisquik or pancake mix,just add water.Why do these "experts" make it all so difficult/expensive?

That's sorta my point, what you do with it all if you have to move? Stock piles of food don't seem like a good idea imo in a survival situation it kinda ties you to one place. plus if your rural you will be surrounded by food any way or grow. suppose it would be good for storing food you catch/ produce.

Originally posted by Gazrok
reply to post by Redarguo

 

Nickels, gold, silver, etc.? Waste of time. Maybe way later, but for a long time, these will be WORTHLESS.

Considerations for trade when SHTF:

Can you drink it?
Can you eat it?
Can you kill with it?
Can you smoke it?
Can it keep you warm?
Can it keep you cool?
Can it heal you?
Can it entertain you?
Can it comfort you?
Can it allow you to travel?
Can it power up devices?
Can it help you communicate?
Can it help you see in the dark?
Can you fix things with it?
Can you build with it?

Does a Nickel or gold, or silver, etc. fit ANY of these criteria for trade in a SHTF scenario? NO.

edit on 1-7-2013 by Gazrok because: (no reason given)

Good criteria

Originally posted by blkcwbyhat
reply to post by Nucleardiver

 

I need to find a bigger pressure canner,when I do I'll go wild in the kitchen! I just read another blog that the author states you need 300 lbs of wheat,50 lbs of meat,so on....for 1 person a year! I'd rather not spend a few hours grinding wheat every day,and sure won't carry a wheat grinder thru the mountains if I bug out,much less 300 pounds of wheat! You can buy pasta and store it almost forever,buy bisquik or pancake mix,just add water.Why do these "experts" make it all so difficult/expensive?

Personally I think that a lot of these "experts" make it so expensive because they are promoting something that they are getting some form of marketing kick back for. Honestly if TSHTF tomorrow I could go out with nothing but my knife and survive, though it would be nice to have a fire arm or a bow it would not be impossible. Fire arms would quite possible be able to be procured after some of the initial fallout was over and a bow or spear with an atlatl is not too difficult to make.

That being said the absolute most important item in your survival kit is you and your training and there is no substitute for good competent training. When I went through my SERE C training our instructor made a statement that has stuck with me everyday for the 20+ years since. He said that the first step in survival isn't your gear or even your training, it is to realize that aside from the way we live in our modern civilization we are still animals and in a survival scenario we should always welcome and rely on our animal instincts, and learn from the animals around us.

That's not to say that you can eat just any berry or leaf but we can definitely put aside the inhibitions that society has instilled in us and do things we never thought we could do. Case in point, in a real life survival situation you don't need to cook what you kill, fish and almost all animals can be eaten raw, so if you cant get a fire started and are hungry and have a fresh killed animal then skin it, gut, it and eat it.

All the preparedness in the world, all the canned food, MRE's, fishing and hunting gear, none of it will do any good if you do not have the knowledge and emotional ability to handle what you are going through and do what must be done.

reply to post by Redarguo


the reason JWR advises to hoard nickels is/was,due to the melt value,as nickel was expensive a while ago.When shtf,I doubt there will be any industry to sell them to,much less willing to smelt it down for the nickel content.IMO,pennies are a better deal,as you could melt or forge them into an arrowhead.