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Oh shit kit? I just have a fuck it bucket....

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by downndirty, Jul 8, 2020.

  1. walt

    walt
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    The things that were completely missing or very scarce from the shelves for the first couple months of the pandemic ( besides toilet paper and cleaning products ) were: rice, yeast, Bisquick, flour, sugar, pasta, boxed Mac and cheese, some breads, and for some strange reason, pretzels. After a while meat aisles became decimated to an extent I never imagined I’d ever see.

    People were just piling shit into carts like it was truly End Times. I can only imagine what those stores and shelves would look like if it were.
     
  2. Aetius

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    The big risk here is earthquake, which only lasts for a few seconds/minutes but the consequences of which could last for months. So it's not so much a matter of having a plan/supplies to hunker down, but rather enough to get you through a few days and then get the fuck out of Dodge. Roads will likely be impassable by car, which is why the plan would be to load up on water and bike (at night preferably) for a few days to get out of the affected zone and into another metro from which I could catch a flight to relatives elsewhere in the country.
     
  3. Misanthropic

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    In my area it’s almost exclusively hurricanes or tropical storms that move inland. After Sandy we were without power for 9 days, and for the first two to five days many roads were impassable.

    Thats why, the following Spring, we had a 14 kw whole house generator installed. It’s tied into our natural gas line, and turns on and off automatically. It’s seen more use in the last 7 years than I expected- definitely a good investment.

    Beyond that- camping supplies: tent, sleeping bag, stoves, first aid, knives, rope, hatchet, multiple means of starting a fire, etc etc. As far as food goes, what’s in our freezer, fridge and kitchen should last a couple of weeks. Then I’ve got canned goods and rice, beans etc for another week to 10 days. I’ve got freeze dried emergency rations and MREs that would last us another week or two.

    Water is readily available. I could always boil it but I’ve also got some purification tablets, a few Lifestraws, and parts/ingredients to make a couple of sand and carbon gravity filters.

    So yes, I’ve thought about this a little.
     
  4. AFHokie

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    Nobody can plan and prepare for every conceivable disaster. Even if you tried, the scenario you'll find yourself in will likely be the scenario you never thought of. The survival training I went through in the military taught that there are universal conditions regardless of your situation that will affect your situation: weather environment, climate, terrain, the health/condition of you and everyone in your group, social-economic, the length of time the survival situation is expected to last, and the chemical, biological, radiologic/nuclear environment (CBRNE). While not likely for your average person, CBRNE is something to think about if you live/work in a major city that could be a terrorist target (1995 Tokyo sarin gas attack) or live/work near a major industrial site or infrastructure (2005 Graniteville, SC chlorine gas spill).

    Survival situations can last only a few hours, or months, and possibly years. As far as needs, they're broken down into three issues, shelter & fire, physical & mental health, water & food.

    I don't care how prolific a hunter you think you are, its a false assumption to think you'll survive off game animals in the local environment. The natural disaster that put you into the situation will likely cause significant changes to the local game population as well. Plus as Dixie said, you'll be competing with every self described "woodsman" that fled the local city. Many of them don't know how to do more than field dress the animal and a lot of people today think field dressing is removing the cellophane. Will the deer they take last more than a day without a freezer or food preservation techniques? Will they efficiently use all of the bird they kill? Not likely, which means humans will quickly stress the regional wildlife.

    I agree with DD, hunting big game for the most part is a waste of your time. That time is better spent taking steps to facilitate your rescue, improving your shelter, or gathering firewood/water/foraging. Traps and snares are your best option as they are constantly working, but you need to be able to recognize optimal locations to place them, entrances to nests, trail pinch points, etc. Most insects are high protein, but how hard are they to catch? Don't chase a grasshopper across a field, you'll burn more calories than its worth by the time you catch it, but an ant mound that you can sit next to and chow down, go for it. Also realize, some bugs need to field dressed or processed before eating. Grasshoppers carry parasites in their gut, plus removing the legs make them easier to swallow. If you haven't figured it out by now, you better get over any food aversions. Animals not thought of as game or livestock are just as edible and will probably be easier to come across. Rat is just as edible as chicken and may be the most plentiful and easiest to catch meat in your local environment.

    Misanthropic, I don't know your local terrain, but will water still be readily available after a storm surge? Flooding will often contaminate normally good sources of water. It might only contaminate it temporarily, but that could still be a few days or even weeks before that particular source is drinkable again.

    Canned goods and MREs can last for years, but only if kept in a temperature controlled environment. If you keep a couple MREs in the car, open one up at the end of the summer and you will find that most of it is inedible after repeatedly baking for a couple months.

    If anyone's curious about it: USAF Survival, Escape, Resistance, Escape (SERE) Handbook