Home Survival
- Thread starter Grandpa
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The only thing I have stockpiled is ammunition. And, last August I came off a camping experience that lasted over four years. Could I survive? Yes. Would I miss some things? Yes. But, I know how to make wine, sherry, brandy, beer, and whiskey. This stuff is great for consumption and barter. Food is no problem. My drinking water came from a solar still.
Yes. I could survive. But you never know.
Yes. I could survive. But you never know.
ChadTower
Active Member
I would have 5 people to support in a disaster. It makes the supply situation hairy. What I need is to build and practice the skills I would need once the supplies run out. Everybody is fine at first. The difference is being able to improve your situation for the long term.
For example we have a surplus of wild turkeys here. I'd love to think snares would be effective and save ammo but let's be realistic. If everybody were starving, and you came across a turkey in someone else's snare, would you leave it there?
For example we have a surplus of wild turkeys here. I'd love to think snares would be effective and save ammo but let's be realistic. If everybody were starving, and you came across a turkey in someone else's snare, would you leave it there?
Most of the emergency management types that I'd consider pretty good authorities all expect the countryside to be wiped clean within a month. Same for any pets (they will be livestock).
The natural world isn't set up to feed modern population numbers. The only reason Americans can eat to the point of obesity/diabetes being epidemic is due to modern mega-cropping and CAFOs.
ChadTower
Active Member
Yeah. At that point you'd better be hunting with snares but carrying your gun. You're going to need it to protect that food.
Good old soylent green. Much better than the red or the yellow.
SweetSassyLady
New Member
Michael-EWWWWWWWWWW! LOL I am not eating other people even if I starve to death!
We keep a supply of ammo too dinosaur. I find it comes in handy when we have drug dealers for neighbors. At least they know not to mess with us. We also have concealed carry permits so I have no problem dealing with dangerous situations.
We keep a supply of ammo too dinosaur. I find it comes in handy when we have drug dealers for neighbors. At least they know not to mess with us. We also have concealed carry permits so I have no problem dealing with dangerous situations.
ChadTower
Active Member
Dude, gotta put yourself into that mindset. When it comes time kill the dog. You may love it but at that point the dog is livestock.
I don't think anyone sane would kill a family member. Probably not another person to be food, either. Once you get to that point the definition of sanity has changed, though, so who can say for sure?
Small plane crash a few years ago way back in the Idaho wilderness in the winter. Two killed and two survived. The two who survived spent several days trapped in those mountains. When rescued, it was apparent what they had been living on. What would you do to survive? I, for one, am not passing judgement on these two or the Donner party. Yes, the idea is repugnant to me, but I still do not know what I would do. I may or may not find I have the skills to find other food. Hopefully I do.
I suppose it all depends on where you find yourself in that situation. High desert in the winter; probably not going to find much to eat, especially if ill-equipped and untrained, or worse, injured.
I see no moral issue with eating the dead so long as they are fresh. Now if everyone's drawing straws, I don't have the answer for that.
I can tell you I'd rather feed my family than rot if I was dead. They are probably too soft to do it though.
ChadTower
Active Member
Gotta say... in the dead of winter things don't really spoil if you treat it right... and it was only a few days. People resort to food panic way too soon.
Back to stockpiling. We do not call it stockpiling, preferring instead to call it enlarging the pantry. Each week, grocery stores have "leader" items at just above cost to lure you in. Start by buying a case of something you eat regularly rather than just 3 or 4 cans. Each week, check the adds and coupons, pay attention to prices, and add a case of something you eat regularly. It won't take long until you have seen your grocery bill drop drastically while buying more than you are consuming. Don't buy anything that is not part of your normal diet. Don't buy cheaper brands if you don't like that brand. Learn to use hard staples and incorporate them into your diet now. Rice and beans etc can be bought in 25 lb bags for just a few dollars. But they are worthless if you don't use them. Most important, keep a log of when each store has big discounts on items. Even if you didn't buy at that time. You will find that certain stores have sales on certain items about the same time each year and you will find which stores have the better deal. There is no "best store". Each seems to have the best deals on certain items.
Space in a home is precious, but a pantry room becomes precious too. Find that space now and plan for the enlarged pantry. This is not only about a community disaster. Twice in our 40 years, economic problems hit hard and we survived by living off our storage, averting foreclosure on property that has since appreciated greatly. For us, the sacrifice of building a reserve has paid handsome dividends.
Space in a home is precious, but a pantry room becomes precious too. Find that space now and plan for the enlarged pantry. This is not only about a community disaster. Twice in our 40 years, economic problems hit hard and we survived by living off our storage, averting foreclosure on property that has since appreciated greatly. For us, the sacrifice of building a reserve has paid handsome dividends.
Definitely. Worry about shelter, then water, then food. It amazes me how quickly people worry about food. It's a priority, but it's definitely not the first one. I mean, you can survive a couple of weeks without food. You won't be happy, but it's possible.
This annoys me when TV shows feature survival situations. Everyone reacts all wrong, but it works anyway.
ChadTower
Active Member
While I agree with that the priority is shelter, water, and warmth first. You may not last a week without food at altitude but you won't last one night without shelter/warmth. My real contention was that a few days is just way too soon to have eaten a person. You're not that desperate for food yet.
Hope I never have to make that decision. And we won't know until we are in that position. Obviously, the survivors knew how to use the little they had for shelter and water. It is not a matter of how long you can survive without food, it's a matter of when do you make that choice before you're too far gone to make it. And I don't remember in this case how long they did go.
Stormypath
New Member
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I agree. We never know when we are going to have to make decisions just like this so it is a lot to take in. I don't know what I would do because I am not in that position.