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dubs02

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    Survivalist, Self Sustainable Lifestyles or Whatevs....

    in Lifestyle

    Posted

    The right-wing phrase 'When the Shit Hits the Fan," (WTSHTF)sometimes written as "when TSHTF," is shorthand for the Big Collapse, or Mass Riots or whatever. The period after WTSHTF is called "The End of the World As We Know It,", or TEOTWAWKI (pronounced "tee-oh-TWAWK-ee"). It sounds like some Native American language or something, LOL.

     

    Two different stategies are called for to deal with TSHTF and TEOTWAWKI. Generally speaking, TSHTF is considered to be more or less like a free-for-all, with threats coming from every direction, and a great deal of street fighting, arson, explosions, gas stations looted and set on fire, banks and grocery stores attacked and looted, etc. In short, chaos and anarchy. The survivalists do not expect the police or the National Guard to be able to control anything. During TSHTF, the Bug-outs are planning on fighting their way to their retreats(hopefully unoccupied by local opportunists that snickered and sneered at the survivalists for worrying about the shit hitting the fan.) Many Bug-Outs that I know own big, heavy 4x4 vehicles with what can only be described as "roadblock-buster" bars on the front, and large capacity fuel tanks (preferably diesel) and bullet-rersistant panels in the doors, cab and engine housing. They aren't actually bullet proof, but they are kind of bullet resistant, kind of like a less dramatic Mad Max truck. Some of them have a removeable gun-mount post in the bed, so that a semi-automatic, belt-fed weapon could be mounted there, or perhaps a machine gun. (There are civilian versions of the M1919A1 that are legally owned, semi-automatic versions of the M1919A1 WWII machine gun. They cost around $1600.)

     

    Our militia unit knew several Federally licensed Class III machinegun dealers who let us shoot their stock for fun and to generate possible sales leads. None of us bought any, partially because of the expense, but mostly because of the hassle with the BATF to get a Class III tax permit so one could legally own a machine gun. Instead, we bought civilian versions of the Soviet machinegun (RPK) called the NHM-91, in 7.62x39mm caliber, and 75-round drum magazines to fit them. Machineguns are great, if you have a zillion-dollar logistics train airlifting you fresh ammunition. But for the militia? Too expensive to run. Several of our sister units had members who owned legal machineguns, but not us. If we had bought one, it would have had to be one chambered for 7.62mm NATO caliber. The M1919A1 has one version in this caliber, it was produced for Israel, and Israel sells disassembled parts kits from these guns to U.S. surplus dealers, but reactivating one is a huge hassle, and very expensive because of the wonderful gun laws in the U.S. Rich people can afford a $10,000 machinegun, no problem. Us poor folks gotta do without. Other 7.62mm NATO machine guns are the Vietnam-era M60, and the modern M240G (the machinegun currently in service in the U.S. armed forces.)

    These Bug-Outs are anticipating strong resistance to their movement, either by the government, or by local thugs who wish to rob refugees, or criminal gangs or whatever. Whoever it is, the Bug-Outs intend to get where they want to go, and if they have to kill a bunch of people who are trying to stop them, I guess they'll do just that. Many of them belong to groups, and they intend to move in what is more or less like an armed column, ready to defend themselves against whomever.

     

    The Bug-Ins are much more circumspect. They intend to stay right where they are, form a defensive position, and drive off any outsiders who attempt to come in. They will let looters burn down the Wal-Mart, but it's death for anybody who attacks their neighborhood. Oftentimes they have their eye on a piece of empty land close to the neighborhood, like a park or a big vacant lot, where they intend to put in a large garden, and defend it from looters. They usually have strong connections with their neighbors, and keep their preparations hardly visable to the outside. They are pretty much systematic in their approach: water, food, medical supplies, fuel, power, communications, defense. If you start thinking about how much water you use, and how difficult it would be to obtain drinkable water if the municipal water supply failed. . .it would be BAD. Houston has about four million people in the metropolitan area. If the water system failed, we would be killing each other over water in a week or less.

     

    PLAN ON DIGGING A WELL. It may be dirty, muddy swill, but at least you'll have something to drink when the taps run dry. Better plan on how to get the water OUT of the well, too.

     

    Stored food is #1 priority. It takes TIME to grow a garden or raise chickens, etc. Most people in Houston haven't seen a live chicken or duck in twenty years. We always joked that the biggest risk to your guard dog is your neighbor's barbeque pit.

     

    Medications, First Aid supplies, books on First Aid, childbirth, "Ditch Medicine," "War Surgery," "Where there is No Doctor," "Where there is no Dentist," etc. You will need a stockpile of medicine, both over-the-counter and prescription medicines, including painkillers and antibiotics. You will need the basic surgical tools, scalpels, blades (scalpel blades are removeable), retractors, various kinds of surgical needles, hemostats of various sizes, surgical thread, catgut, silk, etc. You will need syringes and needles, alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, Betadine solution, bandages, tape, wire for splints, cotton padding, plaster of Paris, casting gauze. Aspirin, Tylenol, ibuprofen in large quantities, cold remedies, Benadryl, topical anti-fungal ointment like Tinactin and also vaginal micronazole for girls and women (for yeast infections.) You'll need several different kinds of antibiotic ointments, and oral antibiotics. You'll need just about every kind of First Aid and medical supplies you can imagine, and a bunch you did not think of.

     

    We tested numerous kinds of radios, and we were not pleased. After extensive field testing, we decided to go with CB radio, both 23 and 40 channel models, and 2-meter HAM radios. The 2-meter HAM radios also handled 440cm, if memory serves. (I wasn't a communications guy, I was involved in selecting weapons and ammunition.) We rejected VHF/UHF (no penetration in dense woods or rolling hills) and FMRS. Some of our sister units swore by "hunter" VHF/UHF rigs, but our guys did not like them.

     

    The best, by far, were CB's running a footwarmer, and HAM radios. Some of those guys bumped their CB's up with a linear amplifier to around 250 or 500 watts (this is illegal--a legal radio can only be 5 watts, so don't do it.) You could practically pick them up on an ALICE pack frame. We were getting about 7 miles out of a vehicle-mounted CB, and about 10-15 miles out of a mobile 2-meter without the repeater tower. With the repeater, about 65 miles, but in a real emergency, we figured the HAM repeater on Southwest Memorial Hospital's roof would be the first to go.

     

    The higher the antenna, the wider the broadcast. (CB's and HAM are line-of-sight broadcast radius, from the tip of your antenna to the "horizon" of your broadcast radius, so the higher the antenna, the farther your signal will go.) Some people would carry a compound bow and shoot a di-pole antenna on a thin rope up into a tall tree, communicate, then pull the antenna and the rope back down. We also built "backpack" radios using a 40-channel CB mounted on an ALICE pack frame, and a counter-balanced military surplus PRC-25 antenna, powered by 12 volt deer-feeder gel-cell batteries.

     

    More later, gotta go eat dinner.

     

    Wall of text.

     

    Sure getting everyone scared is a legit way to make sales?

    Republicans sure are smart.:D

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