Can you, will you and are you really prepared for the unforeseen SHTF?

[Taz Baby]

The contents of this might be disturbing to some and sometimes seem harsh, but I hope it will open some minds up to thinking; I mean really thinking about what you can and are willing to do if the SHTF comes. This is some things that I and only I see and ask myself. I am going to write this as it comes to mind and it will not be in order.

Now we as preppers are getting what we think is ready for the unforeseen SHTF. No one really knows what is going to happen if anything does happen, but if it does, will you be ready? Now we get the most important things ready, like::: enough food, water, clothes, gas, medical supplies, working tools, etc.

Let’s start with food, how much is really needed? Depends on how many people you are feeding and how many meals a day you are going to eat. How much of it is eaten at meal time and then how long will that last? Most people are used to eating breakfast, lunch and dinner. People put a time limit on eating, like breakfast between 6 am to 8 am, lunch 11am to 2pm, and dinner 5pm to 8pm. Then there are some who have to eat at a certain time because of medicines they take. What are you going to do if you can’t eat at that time? And if you eat 3 meals a day then your food supply is going to go How Far? I have been eating mostly 1 meal a day for years, So now my body is use to only having very little food to survive on. But when my body needs more it tells me and I eat more times a day. For instants, I very seldom eat breakfast but come afternoon time I get hungry around 2pm to 4pm so I eat then. So by the time it is bedtime I am not hungry. Mostly I only fix small one thing meals. Like a pot of chili, or pasta salad, or just a Dagwood sandwich. But once a week or so, I will eat 1 to 3 different things. And only 1 serving spoon of each. This is what I eat not what I cook for DH. Am I healthy from doing this? Yes. Would the doctors think it is? No but I don’t go to doctors for anything. I have never been sick at all.
This will help me in the SHTF because I do not require a lot of food to function on. But what about you who are used to eating 3 full course meals a day? If you continue to do so will you have enough food?

Water, everyone needs it for the body to function properly. Not tea, coffee or cokes or cool-aid or Red Bull.
Do you have an un-endless supply of water? Do you know how much water your body needs? Or are you going on water the heath officials say you need? And then how much do you need to store? Fine a place you can get water like a river or stream or if lucky a live spring and prep for making it safe to drink.

Clothes is easy to prep for because you really only need 6 outfits for each season per person and in different sizes. But shoes, jackets, gloves, hats, boots, socks those are a must have. You can do without underwear and bras.

Gas or wood or what ever you are planning for heating, and electric. But then again you only need to be warm, dry and cool not cold. And people can and have lived without power tools, or appliances. So should you prep for the conveniences of this day and age or should you only prep for the stone age? Or somewhere in between?

Medical supplies is a long and hard list. You can never be really prepared for every medical need so you prep for what your family needs if they are taking medications. But those to might run out, then what? Try to think of all the scenarios that might happen and stock up on those. Peroxide, bleach, iodine, ointments of every kind, bandages, the list goes on and on.

Protection as in what and how are you going to protect your family? Guns, ammo, knives, ect. Bullets will run out, knives will get filed down to nothing from always sharpening them and then what?

As you are prepping to stock up on everything that you can think of you might need, have you ever asked your self, if you are ready in your mind on living like that? How would you? IF you go camping that’s great but can you stand to live like that for the rest of your life?
If someone is seriously hurt and bleeding everywhere, parts of their body hanging out, can you help them or will you fold and throw up everywhere? Are you ready to kill someone? With all the hunting and time at the shooting range you have spent, can you face someone in the eye and shoot them dead?

Now I am not doctor or have not had any medical training other than cpr and being a vet tech. But in my years I have seen and been around and helped people with all kinds of things wrong. I have seen my son 1,s brain hanging out when he had head trauma and didn’t fold, I have had to hold eyeballs and intestines in a person while someone was taking them to the hospital, I have had to grab body parts that have been torn off and ice them down to take to the hospital in case they could be put back on. I never winched or fainted or even lost my cool. But when it was all over that is when I broke down.
I can sew you up, set bones, help in any kind of surgery but I have no clue how to do the surgery on someone or some thing. So if someone had to rely on me to sew the nerves back I can’t but I can sew the arm on. I have common sense and street smarts and a level head most of the time. But do I think I can look someone in the eye and kill them? I should hope that my motherly protection instinct would kick in and I could. I have heard the horror stories and witnessed a few of the dreams people who have killed someone before have and I would not want that for the rest of my life.

So how does someone go about truly getting prepared for the unforeseen SHTF? Getting your mind ready and not knowing if you can see the blood, guts and gore and the starving kids and there is nothing you can do or could you? Can you turn someone away that is hungry because you can not feed them? IF they eat you will not have enough for you. You have to go back to the primitive way of life to survive. Make your own weapons, booby tray your property; heal yourself without doctor’s help or medicines. Will you be able to hold a newborn baby and watch it bleed to death and the mother too because you did not know how or where to cut the cord? Or know what to do with the after birth? Can you do that? Or are you set up not to have to go that route? In my mind I know what I can do. I have lived the primitive way. And I can do it again. Do I want to now and at my age? Hell NO but I can if I have to. Can I help someone medically? If it is not to serious yes. I can stop the bleeding if it is not internal or a artery. No one will really know if they are ready until that time comes. I know I won’t be.

[bacpacker]

Taz I'll take a quick shot at this. Very thought provoking post BTW. lots of great questions.

Truthfully, I have no idea how I will perform should something major happen. That said I have always had the mindset to tackle whatever I have had to deal with head on. I generally have a pretty level head about things and can think things thru in a logical progression, usually in a timely manner. To me that is a important trait to have when dealing with an unknown situation.

As far as what level of exsistance I could live in. While I have never had to really do without the way of general life since the 60's. I did grow up farming with grandparents who grew up farming in the great depression and they along with my parents taught me a lot about how to survive and do for myself. My plan for a major SHTF scenario is to revert back to a late 1800's life style. No it will not be fun or easy. But thousands of folks have done it for many years, still do in some countries today. I see no reason I can't, I have many of the skills to do just that.

As far as defending my family. While I have never had the honor of serving in the miitary or as a LEO. I can say without a doubt, I will do whatever it takes to protect them. Giving my life doing it is certainly not in my plans, if that's what it takes it will be done. I'll deal with nightmares as best I can. There are certainly folks on this forum who are living proof it can be done.

Taz I am glad you posed these questions and look forward to hearing others thoughts and plans.

[Echo2]

Yes

But as anyone who does this will attest to....still plugging holes as I find them.

[cwconnertx]

Well, I think in all cases, what we really need to be concerned about is from the time of the incident to about 2 years out.

We have knowledge of how to build things, medical knowledge, etc, so you can count on civilization coming back. I don't believe I need to store 10 years of food, or have black powder arms for 10 years post collapse. Someone will be making knives, tools, clothes, within a couple of years, my job is to have skills for the new society, and resources to make it through the interim period. Even if you imagine the worst type of calamity, there will be a rebuilding at some point.

That said, I have a years food, water purification, medications, guns, knives, tools, etc. Do I want more... yes and like everyone else I am working on it, but my plan does not include self sufficiency for an indefinite period. I am probably more ready than most. Right now my priorities are training and knowledge, with the secondary focus on energy. Everything else is opportunity buys at the right price.

I think we need to be prepared to go primitive a little, but not necessarily long term or completely. We have knowledge and tools that mean we are not primitive. I am planning to put in a 10kw solar system in January if I get approved for the utility rebate. hopefully it keeps me from going too primitive. It will allow me to run machine tools, refrigerators, etc. Things to keep our modern society running.

[The Stig]

The more I learn about prepping the more I realize how little I'm prepared for.

[Stormfeather]

The contents of this might be disturbing to some and sometimes seem harsh, but I hope it will open some minds up to thinking; I mean really thinking about what you can and are willing to do if the SHTF comes. This is some things that I and only I see and ask myself. I am going to write this as it comes to mind and it will not be in order.

Now we as preppers are getting what we think is ready for the unforeseen SHTF. No one really knows what is going to happen if anything does happen, but if it does, will you be ready? Now we get the most important things ready, like::: enough food, water, clothes, gas, medical supplies, working tools, etc.

Let’s start with food, how much is really needed? Depends on how many people you are feeding and how many meals a day you are going to eat. How much of it is eaten at meal time and then how long will that last? Most people are used to eating breakfast, lunch and dinner. People put a time limit on eating, like breakfast between 6 am to 8 am, lunch 11am to 2pm, and dinner 5pm to 8pm. Then there are some who have to eat at a certain time because of medicines they take. What are you going to do if you can’t eat at that time? And if you eat 3 meals a day then your food supply is going to go How Far? I have been eating mostly 1 meal a day for years, So now my body is use to only having very little food to survive on. But when my body needs more it tells me and I eat more times a day. For instants, I very seldom eat breakfast but come afternoon time I get hungry around 2pm to 4pm so I eat then. So by the time it is bedtime I am not hungry. Mostly I only fix small one thing meals. Like a pot of chili, or pasta salad, or just a Dagwood sandwich. But once a week or so, I will eat 1 to 3 different things. And only 1 serving spoon of each. This is what I eat not what I cook for DH. Am I healthy from doing this? Yes. Would the doctors think it is? No but I don’t go to doctors for anything. I have never been sick at all.
This will help me in the SHTF because I do not require a lot of food to function on. But what about you who are used to eating 3 full course meals a day? If you continue to do so will you have enough food?

food is a constant issue around here. With 2 teenaged food dispoal units, it seems like theres never enough. right now as far as storage wise, I think we are definitely sitting at a year plus for my family.

Water, everyone needs it for the body to function properly. Not tea, coffee or cokes or cool-aid or Red Bull.
Do you have an un-endless supply of water? Do you know how much water your body needs? Or are you going on water the heath officials say you need? And then how much do you need to store? Fine a place you can get water like a river or stream or if lucky a live spring and prep for making it safe to drink.

Multiple water storage here. I got those 5k water bladders from the military DRMO. Couple that with lakes and rivers in the immediate area, and I think we are GTG.

Clothes is easy to prep for because you really only need 6 outfits for each season per person and in different sizes. But shoes, jackets, gloves, hats, boots, socks those are a must have. You can do without underwear and bras.

Clothing preps, check

Gas or wood or what ever you are planning for heating, and electric. But then again you only need to be warm, dry and cool not cold. And people can and have lived without power tools, or appliances. So should you prep for the conveniences of this day and age or should you only prep for the stone age? Or somewhere in between?

We're prepped for the middle road. Relying on natural materials and minimal appliances.

Medical supplies is a long and hard list. You can never be really prepared for every medical need so you prep for what your family needs if they are taking medications. But those to might run out, then what? Try to think of all the scenarios that might happen and stock up on those. Peroxide, bleach, iodine, ointments of every kind, bandages, the list goes on and on.

Got a doctor and a couple of miltary medics on our team, I think we're good to go in this area as well.

Protection as in what and how are you going to protect your family? Guns, ammo, knives, ect. Bullets will run out, knives will get filed down to nothing from always sharpening them and then what?

GTG in this dept.

As you are prepping to stock up on everything that you can think of you might need, have you ever asked your self, if you are ready in your mind on living like that? How would you? IF you go camping that’s great but can you stand to live like that for the rest of your life?
If someone is seriously hurt and bleeding everywhere, parts of their body hanging out, can you help them or will you fold and throw up everywhere? Are you ready to kill someone? With all the hunting and time at the shooting range you have spent, can you face someone in the eye and shoot them dead?

Ive serviced friendly, and Ive had to target service bad guys before. Done it before, can do it again.

Now I am not doctor or have not had any medical training other than cpr and being a vet tech. But in my years I have seen and been around and helped people with all kinds of things wrong. I have seen my son 1,s brain hanging out when he had head trauma and didn’t fold, I have had to hold eyeballs and intestines in a person while someone was taking them to the hospital, I have had to grab body parts that have been torn off and ice them down to take to the hospital in case they could be put back on. I never winched or fainted or even lost my cool. But when it was all over that is when I broke down.
I can sew you up, set bones, help in any kind of surgery but I have no clue how to do the surgery on someone or some thing. So if someone had to rely on me to sew the nerves back I can’t but I can sew the arm on. I have common sense and street smarts and a level head most of the time. But do I think I can look someone in the eye and kill them? I should hope that my motherly protection instinct would kick in and I could. I have heard the horror stories and witnessed a few of the dreams people who have killed someone before have and I would not want that for the rest of my life.

Theres usually no time to look each other in the eyes. When you are facing down an opponent, its fast, furious, loud, and decisive. Theres a winner and a loser. Winner gets dreams and the loser dies. Which do you want to be? There is no glory in killing, its messy and stays with you haunting you, alot of times when you least expect it, but you are alive and thats all that counts.You deal with it, embrace it, and hope it goes away with time.

So how does someone go about truly getting prepared for the unforeseen SHTF? Getting your mind ready and not knowing if you can see the blood, guts and gore and the starving kids and there is nothing you can do or could you? Can you turn someone away that is hungry because you can not feed them? IF they eat you will not have enough for you. You have to go back to the primitive way of life to survive. Make your own weapons, booby tray your property; heal yourself without doctor’s help or medicines. Will you be able to hold a newborn baby and watch it bleed to death and the mother too because you did not know how or where to cut the cord? Or know what to do with the after birth? Can you do that? Or are you set up not to have to go that route? In my mind I know what I can do. I have lived the primitive way. And I can do it again. Do I want to now and at my age? Hell NO but I can if I have to. Can I help someone medically? If it is not to serious yes. I can stop the bleeding if it is not internal or a artery. No one will really know if they are ready until that time comes. I know I won’t be.

Are we ready? no, none of us are. But we take the steps needed to be more prepared than the other sheep. This coupled with a will to survive, hopefully will see all of us thru the day.

[Gunfixr]

No one will ever be fully ready, all you can do is be as ready as you can, and be glad that you at least have some preps, which will be better than none.

As for knowing? Well, we all guess on some things, and what those things are will be different for each of us. Some have already lived primitive. Some have medical backgrounds and are prepared for the mess that is an injury. Some have been in combat and are prepared to kill to not be killed. A few may have all that.
We "go caveman" every time a hurricane comes along, as we do not possess a generator, so we planned to do without. So far, it has at most lasted 10 days at one time, which isn't a long time, but longer than a camping trip. 1/4 mile away is unlimited water, but it is brackish. Since we're in a city, 1/4 mile is a long way, but it is going away from the beaten path, deeper into a neighborhood which is pretty calm (now). I've seen my own blood, and that of others, and did not get sick. I saw and smelled the birth of my daughter, and did not get sick. I have cleaned up after my wife was sick, and did not get sick myself. As for defense, I guess I won't know until it happens, but for now I don't see a problem. I'll deal with the aftermath if I survive.
I believe society will start to reconstruct fairly soon. It will depend on a few things. Supposing a total breakdown of society, I believe there would be a time of rather heavy violence, while all those who have been living on the gov't teat will go out and riot and kill to get what they feel they are "entitled" to. This will be added to by those who just didn't prepare and are desperate not to starve. Some of those who are just desperate will see the error their ways, and settle down to try to earn their survival, I don't think most of those "entitled ones" will, they'll just try to take by force. Gangs and criminals will see this as a "free-for-all", and join in. There will be a huge "thinning of the herd" so to speak, and after that, those who were prepared, and those who saw the error of that way and are willing to put forth the effort will start to rebuild. I see the preps as a way to basically try to "sit out" this bad time, and hopefully be enough to get to the point where a more sustainable method can be employed.
Like you said, you cannot store enough for the rest of your life. I would expect this time of violence to only last a few months. By then the takers will have either killed each other off or starved to death. Probably the worst part will be the sickness from all the dead that will not be taken care of by the takers. My preps don't have to last 10yrs, they just got to get us to the rebuild stage, when folks calm down and get back to the business of living.
That's more or less what I would see as "worst case".

[Taz Baby]

I see it basically the same way. I don't think it will last 6 months before so kind of settling of sorts will start to happen. But the inner cities are going to be hit the hardest. That is where I think is going to be the most trouble with aftermath. The sickness coming from the violence of killing and leaving them to rot. That is why it is so important to be out of the cities and in the country. I think you will have a better chance to defend whats yours and survive. I hope we will be ready for what ever comes are way. At least in our minds we are and trying to prepare as best we can for anything. The rebuilding from The SHTF will take sometime but most people I think know something about that from the disasters that have been happening, wild fires, flooding, hurricanes, tornado's and such.

[Gunfixr]

Problem is, I have nowhere to go.
I do have a cache kind of "out in the country", but it's not on property I own, or could even stay on. I'd just have to hit it on the way somewhere, anywhere.

[Taz Baby]

So many people are not able to be away from the high crime area's and have to stay where they are. So how does one prepare for that? What can you do other than prep the best way you can. Not everyone can or will have a group to form to help each other. If you have to stay where you are at, do you have a good neighborhood that might ban together to help everyone?

[Gunfixr]

We got together to clear the neighborhood last hurricane. I know many of them, but some have moved.
It is pretty quiet here, not much happens in this neighborhood. Also, while it is adjacent to a major thoroughfare, it is not a "cut-through" to anywhere but the extension of the neighborhood. Road-wise, only two ways in and out, next to each other on the same side. Four vehicles, maybe six, would cut off the road entry totally.
On the back side is water. On one side is mostly businesses, going down that major road to an Air Force base. Neighborhoods on the other side. Not far up some rougher neighborhoods.
We prepare as best we can, and that's all there is to do.

[Kodiak]

...Well, im better off now than I was a few years ago and hopefully in a few more years i'll be better off than I am now.

[Taz Baby]

Have you thought about the place you are going to stay when SHTF? Whether it is to bug out or bug in it has to be guarded. This might not be something you want to talk about but you have to think of what and how you are. I don't want anyone to say how they are going to guard their place but just ask if you have worked on doing it. With everything else that has to be thought of that should be on the top of the list. If you have a BOL is it ready? Have you walked it all of and planed on protecting it?

[Taz Baby]

Security is another prep for the SHTF.How are you going to secure your property in the SHTF? I have been thinking that there are a lot of different ways that apply to a lot of different places. Like if you have a lot of acreage with out buildings and woods for people to hide and watch your everyday routine, verses lots with a house. Where there might not be as many places. Security lights will alert you and your intruder. Motion alarms will go off inside your house and not be heard outside. What about booby traps for around the land? Game camera’s but you have to check them and they will only tell you what and who was lurking. Has anyone been thinking on how to secure and protect your property? What ways can you protect what is yours? Those of you with a lot of land, how can you protect all of it? I would like to know when someone is coming way before they get here, wouldn’t you? But how would you do that?

[Evolver]

All put it this way... We are as prepared as possible within our means and we will make the best as possible out of what ever that might happen. Adaptability and knowing your tools are the key.

[Taz Baby]

there are many things to think about on something that might or might not happen. At least you know thatyou will have a hurricane to deal with livingin Fla. Or earthquakes in California and you know what to prep. Thinking to much makes my head hurt

[Stormfeather]

I think its more about, if you have the property, but not the people, or the people and not the property to protect, then finding that happy medium. Either working with what you have, or adding one or the other to plus up where you are lacking. Theres plenty of us who dont have 20-30-100 acres to watch over, who are willing to help out those who do have that size of property, but lack the personnel to watch it. Some folks dont realize how many people are actually necessary to maintain a perimeter 24/7, you have to think 3-4 shifts, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Any less, and you will suffer from burnout, and then you start making mistakes, losing that attention to detail, which could be costly in the end run. Its a smarter bet, if you dont have the property to guard, then offering your services to someone likeminded who does have it. This way, you are surrounded by likeminded folks, and you already bring something to the table. . . versus, say trading perimeter security jobs for 3 hots and a cot with an unskilled, unprepared person.

[Willie51]

Somewhere along the way of prepping and studying the subject of survival (whether from manmade or natural disasters), I read somewhere that there are four elements of survival- i.e. Knowledge, ability, luck, & the will to survive. Knowledge and ability is learned and is what we all here are doing today. And luck is....well just luck. The "will to survive" though is something built in us and we won't know how strong that is until we are truly tested. Some on this forum have already been tested. I hope if or when that day comes, I will be strong and pass the test.