Cedarledge « Robin Writes

Today’s Prep Monday is brought to you by my good friend and fellow writer, the incomparable Mac Pike:

“When it all hits the fan and you and your family or core group has to abandon the home, or strongpoint, or vehicle, and make your way on foot to wherever it is that you are bound, the options for items in the bug out bag become restricted. You know what you absolutely have to have; the items have been covered expertly and in great detail in any number of publications. You will have these items pre-assembled if you are serious about survival, and you will check them on a regular basis for completeness.

“Some writers avoid the topic of weapons, particularly firearms, as though a desire to defend oneself and one’s family is somehow distasteful and indicative of paranoia. To suggest that a resident of New York City equip his or her self with lethal firepower, in defiance of prevailing public opinion and 90% of statute, is considered sheer heresy by many of the people currently governing the big city.

“But it is your life and your families’ lives as well. You are arming yourselves for sustenance and defense, and there is no reason to back away from that fact. Here are some ideas to consider; in many ways, they fly in the face of conventional advice:

“Who are the shooters in the group, and by this I mean not necessarily those who have reached a certain age, but rather those who have had firearms training and can be trusted with firearms. Is Dad the only one? Or is it Dad, Mom, and the two teenagers? Maybe a brother and his ex-army buddy are along; it changes the matrix a bit.

“But for a basic family of four, and let’s consider all of them adequately trained and practiced and of sufficient mental maturity to handle their weapons, a few things are important. Cartridge compatibility for one: the weapons selected should, to the greatest extent possible, chamber the same ammunition.

“In the Northeast, shotguns will generally rule and virtually nothing rules like a tried and true pump action Remington 870 in 12 gauge. Reliable and easy to maintain, the 870 can put out a variety of rounds from slugs to birdshot and if everyone can handle it, it is a lovely choice.

“But so is a Mossberg 590 Special Purpose, a neat pump action with a magazine that chambers 9 3” loads. That is a lot of lead.

“So we have three folks carrying 12 gauge pumps, but let’s say we need more range, or feel that the need for it might come up. Let’s allow shooter number four to carry any of the excellent over-under combo weapons, firing 12 gauge from the shotgun barrel and .243, .308 or .30-06 from the rifled one. This takes care of the long shooting requirement and maintains cartridge compatibility.

“It also fulfills another requirement, that of having ammunition that is readily available. All of the above rounds are common, enhancing the chances of being able to re-supply.

“If the 12 gauge is too much gun for some, there is really no need to hold back from the 20 gauge anymore; modern loads have adequate range and power to handle almost any crisis a 12 can deal with. Mossberg makes a wonderful line of 20 gauge weapons and if one can be found, a Savage model 24 over-under with 20 gauge on top and .30-30 below fits the bill for the dual-purpose weapon.

“A side benefit is that the group can carry significantly more 20-gauge rounds than 12s, an important consideration when every ounce counts.

“Handguns? Probably not worth the excess weight, but one lightweight 8 to 10 shot .22 revolver that can chamber both shorts and long rifle rim fire rounds would make a nice squirrel and bunny shooter when the MREs get low. There is a wealth of these on the market, new and used. An ancient Harrington and Richardson Sportsman 9 shot revolver with a six-inch barrel would be difficult to improve upon.

“Ammunition in .22 rim fire is probably the most common in the world.

“Thinking of something with a little more versatility and punch? The Taurus Raging Judge has a six round cylinder, a six-inch barrel and chambers not only the .45 Colt and .410 shotgun round, but also the bear-killing .45 Cassull cartridge, a round that out wallops those in Harry Callahan’s famous .44 magnum by a respectable margin.

“Ammunition in .410 and .45 Colt is commonplace, .45 Cassull decidedly is not.

“A nice weapon but a monstrously heavy brute, and not everyone can fire the massive Cassull round without spraining a wrist. It might be more useful to pack extra toilet paper.

“This equipment is a good choice for the eastern part of the country, but lacks the range for, say, Montana or Arizona. The composition of the group may also dictate a broader mix of calibers and capabilities.

“One factor that prevails: no firearm is worth having unless it can be used quickly, accurately, and with confidence by its operator. Professional instruction is important; range time is mandatory. If and when it all falls to pieces, the dilettantes are going to go the way of the dodo, no matter what kind of firepower they may happen to be packing.”

Last week, I talked about food, water, meds, and storage, so you’re off to a good, basic start. You’ve probably thought of a few other things you might need, too, especially depending on your particular situation.

Let’s start with fuel – how, after all, are you going to cook that food you’ve stored if there’s no electricity? “I have a gas stove,” you might say; that’s fine – but your exhaust fan won’t work and most gas stoves/ovens have an electric start, so you’ll have to light the burner/element. No problem – but you better have a lot of matches in your storage closet!

Alternatives, of course, are wood, charcoal, and propane. Think of it as going camping – and if you have to leave your home, you might very well be camping! You can stock up on all three of these, depending on where you live and the resources at hand.

For instance, we have about 30 trees in our yard and a very nice wood lot. Plus, we have a propane grill, two firepits, and a gas grill we converted to charcoal. If we had to leave, of course we couldn’t take it all – but we also have a place to go that has plenty of trees. The odds of having to go on the run, immediately, are probably pretty small, so we’re in a nice spot at the moment.

Start your own woodpile, covered, hidden, whatever you think best. If you don’t have access to fallen limbs and trees, go buy some a little at a time or find a place that you can, with permission, cut your own. Pick up some charcoal, especially when it’s on sale, and put that in your closet/garage/shed. Propane can be stored, too, but make darn sure you go about it in as safe a manner as possible. Won’t do you any good if it blows your supplies (and maybe you!) to kingdom come…

Back to those matches – yes, you need a supply. Waterproof is good, but of course you wouldn’t need to use those all the time. Get some of both. Small, easy to store, you can’t have too many. And fire starters (unless you’re very accomplished at striking rocks together or rubbing two sticks for a spark) – dryer lint is easy enough to stuff into a baggie and takes up very little space. If you use glass jars for food storage, the baggies of lint can double as a cushion when you pack up. Candle ends work well, too – an old Girl Scout trick. Wrap them in a little wax paper, twist both ends, and you have a great fire starter.

When it comes to cooking, we seem to have a collective mindset that tells us that more food is good; but in a SHTF situation, it’s not. First, you want to conserve your resources. There may come a time when there isn’t enough food to even fill you up, so you better prepare your stomach to deal with less. That also means not stuffing yourself into a food coma. You want to be able to move fast if you have to, and be alert, not sluggish.

Plus, there are bound to be leftovers – how are you going to store them? You certainly aren’t going to throw them away. Refrigeration will be at a minimum, so you’ll have to eat what you cook at the time. You’re going to have to learn to cook less food. Go check out the US food pyramid – if we followed that, especially in the meat department, we’d probably all be a lot healthier anyway.

And to survive, you have to be healthy. Plan a well-rounded food cache so you can get all the nutrients your body needs. Start now, don’t wait. Start scaling down a little – most people can stand to lose a few pounds at least, and it’s good training. Less is more, just make sure that your food is packed with vitamins and protein. Many people are better qualified than I to advise you on this, look around the Web a bit.

The last thing I’m going to cover today is rather personalized: miscellaneous items. These are things like baby supplies, pet supplies, your own specific needs and wants. If there’s something you can’t live without, stock up now. For me, it’s orange cappuccino, and yes, I have a supply at hand – obviously, I’ll eventually need to give it up as it simply won’t be manufactured anymore, but for now…

Think about all the items you use in a day’s time, and buy some extra next time you go shopping. Certain things will wear out, like socks and underwear, and if you have small children, their diaper sizes are going to change. Keep all this in mind.

For example:

You get up, you drink COFFEE. You use the BATHROOM. You throw in a load of LAUNDRY. You cook BREAKFAST. And so on and on, throughout the day. What products do you use? Can you do without? Can you make them yourself, or a reasonable facsimile? Make a list. Make another list. Start getting ready for… whatever.