Since I started this blog in January 2009 I have occasionally made mention that we should be serious about the upcoming meltdown in our Country. Almost every day now some "expert" predicts that we are headed for something major, and soon.
If you look at all of the chaos around the world it's hard to imagine that we can remain insulated from it forever. One day soon some group will decide to take their anger to the next level and it will get ugly from there. Don't take my word for it, watch or read the news.
Even the police know it's coming. Why do you think they are stocking up on automatic weapons and urban tanks? What police department in this Country really needs that kind of firepower to deal with their day to day activities? They don't. Our government is arming them with equipment comparable to what our military has. They know something is coming. The worst part for me is, I think many of these police departments are looking forward to using their fancy new gear against civilians. In my life I have known a bunch of police officers. Most of them have been great guys who are doing a job that not a lot of people are able to do. I have also known cops who are on some kind of weird power trip. They long for a chance to crack some body's head open. Can you imagine that guy with a tank and a few M4 carbines? Or how about a semi auto grenade launcher? You get the picture, right?
With this in mind, have you done anything to prepare? Do you have a little food and water stocked away? Have you gotten a bug out bag ready to go? Have you analyzed your skills and identified areas you might want to brush up on?
Believe me, I don't want to think about shit hitting the fan either. But you know, I have people that are depending on me to keep them safe. I can't do that without being prepared. We don't have near the food and water saved up that I would like. It isn't cheap or easy and we don't have unlimited storage space. We do what we an though.
Something to keep in mind on food storage, stock up on what you eat now. Can you imagine what would happen to your digestive system if you suddenly went to a beans and rice diet when it's not normally in your diet? Suddenly having an intestinal crisis in the middle of a social meltdown could get ugly. Use your head when buying goods to stock away.
We started out by buying 3 or 4 extra cans of food every time we went to the grocery store. Remember to rotate and use the oldest items first. Canned food will last a long time, but not forever. By starting out small you can get a little jump start without spending a ton of money at once.
Don't forget water. We save gallon milk jugs and fill them up. I also have a couple of bigger containers filled up and stashed away. There are some things to keep in mind when storing water, doing a Google search on the subject will give you more information than you can read in a month.
I try to pick up a box of ammo every time I go to Walmart. It might be shotgun shells, .22 shells or some kind of pistol ammo. In my opinion, ammo is something you can never have too much of. I try to rotate it to a certain degree. When I go to the range I try to grab the oldest stuff I have easy access to and take it. Rifle ammo I try to buy in bulk online. I learned the hard way not to buy 7.62x39 at Bass Pro. I refuse to pay $1.00 per round. Cabela's runs the 7.62x39 in their ad on a regular basis. You can still get it cheaper online if you buy it in bulk. Every once in a while you can find a deal at a gun show. The key to gun show buying though, is to know exactly what you are looking for and exactly what it would cost everywhere else.
Talking about guns, there are a million websites out there that will give you a million different perspectives on what gun you should have for a SHTF situation. I'm not going to presume to know enough about your situation to tell you what you should have. Guns are a personal thing any way. You don't want a gun you aren't comfortable with. And the guns I consider personal protection tools are different than what I would use to hunt up dinner. I'm not going to hunt a squirrel with an 18" barreled shotgun with buck shot in it and I'm not going to protect my home with a .22. Two different missions. But that brings up a good point. There really isn't a do all, single solution kind of a gun. A shotgun comes close, but unforeseen circumstances may make you wish you had other options.
If I were going to make a suggestion on firearm choice it would be this, you need a rifle, a shotgun and a pistol. Which ones are going to be up to your needs and comfort level. Do your research. Go shooting. Take a class.
Well, I've wasted enough of your time with this. If you ahve any specific questions, email me. I'm not an expert on this stuff, but I will tell you what I know from experience and then I will point you to people who know more than me for the rest...
