Are you really going to be able to defend yourself if SHTF etc?

[warrior4]

As I have no military background my strategy is to lay low and try to keep out of sight as much as possible. Would I defend myself and my family? Absolutely I would. However there are just as many ways to avoid a fight as to win a fight. Posting a fake "FEMA shelters 5 miles," down the road could encourage many to keep moving. We have to also consider why kind of SHTF event we're talking about. A medium scale one like Hurricane Katrina could mean that one would only need to hold out for a few days until some form of outside assistance comes in. Button up, don't let in anyone you don't know and ride it out as best you can. There are other plans for larger scale events. I'd type more but I'm at work right now on my ambulance and we're getting a call.

[bigwheel]

Ok..let us build an imaginary world in our heads and move in to inhabit the place. Smart preppers do that.

[Coastie dad]

Rambo references. Sheesh. If you've ever read my musings you know I don't expect to survive forever. But I do plan on making g bad guys think about whether I'm worth the effort or not. In reality? The ambush and long range shot will be the winning tactic. You can't defend against that. You just get lucky or shot. Doesn't matter if you're a special forces recon airborne SAS spetznaz combat wombat or a clerk typist. (Whoops...showing age again...)

[bigwheel]

There ya go Dad..some things are worse than being dead. Some of these young skulls of mush dont understand the procedure.

[6811]

Same here but there is a question that must be answered... who is the enemy?

If you are prepared & your neighbor, your friends, the folks you go to church, or your cousins aren't, you understand after a few weeks they become the enemy. Are all you really prepared to kill & maim folks you know & love? Of course it is easy to imagine these hordes of strangers attacking and you fighting them off, but what about the neighbor's daughter? I have no doubt some could do what they felt was necessary but as prepared as I am, I refuse to go down that road.

The hard truth is that most folks don't prepare. Sure I've heard the saying "How is your failure to prepare my problem?" and I used to live by that. But could I eat well & watch my neighbors starve? More importantly, since most or my neighbors are redneck, avid hunters, would I ever be secure with them as the enemy? Even if they were not aggressive how would I ever know one wouldn't take me out with their deer rifle? Think about it, deer hunters make the perfect sniper as they have spent their whole life learning to hunt silently from cover & waiting for the perfect kill shot from long range.

So for me, I have changed direction & most of my preps now are to assist & welcome others... at least some or most of the families on our rural lane. Obviously there are limits but at least I have started. I am building up my food stores to levels much greater than I would use in 5-6 months. I likewise am storing much more garden seed than my crew would need. My point is the enemy will not always be some crazed stranger. I think our preps have to include considering those who we are close to.

I have very few friends and fewer relatives. Where I'm going, there will be no neighbors. As for where I'm living now, I do have neighbors but I'm not close to any of them. So if the SHTF and they come around, I will share food if I have some extra to spare, if not they will be turned away. The ones who will force their way in will be dealt with deadly force. Unfortunately, when you give more will come to the point that all your preps will be exhausted. Not me, my family is my priority.

[bigwheel]

Sounds like you and I are similar. Live people make me nervous and piss me off. I used to have a friend but he passed in 56.

[Grinch2]

Our method is to bunk in, with our perimeter security on hand I believe I could hold my own to a relative degree, of course we all have our limitations. One thing my fiance and I are considering doing is using concrete retaining wall blocks ( those ones that look like big concrete lego bricks ) and putting them in front of our house, right up against it. She wants to cover them with dirt make it look somewhat like a raised bed flower bed. But I mean I know my woods around my cabin about as well as anyone, minus my old man. But an attacking force, they're going to be tired more than likely, they won't be the most well prepared for a fire fight. So if I sneak through my woods and set up an ambush on them with my Scar and say ten magazines I would say overall I would have the upper hand. Say a large force came right in my driveway past trees and rocks and what have you, in my cabin I mean I got all of my stuff, my fiance can load guns for me or she can put out some fire. For being a five foot little I-talian gal she sure can shoot, so overall for an attacking force it would not be too advantageous for them to attack my cabin. Paired with my buddy and his fiance I think we could hold our own Alamo pretty well.

Now granted an Apachi helicopter and an AC-130 start unloading on my place no one's place will survive, but tactics for survival are general whether you're in NYC or 100 miles into the Yukon; you cause a commotion and a commotion will be caused for you. Stealth is good overall, but be ready mentally, physically and ammo wise to make sure someone knows you're serious. Who knows maybe when your preps run out and you've relied so heavily on them you can't get a deer, maybe you'll have to put a hole in someone for a can of green beans

From what I have gathered on this blog overall is SOME people are ready to survive by their own means, however what I do believe is from my gathered information is as far as being mentally prepared they're S.O.L in that department. Because they can't justify putting a hole in someone for a can of green beans while their wife or whatever is starving, point blank prepper or not I am going to give my dying breath to make sure my fiance survives an apocalyptic situation. What I do believe is that the strongest will survive, that does not mean the most skilled or most well prepared, that means the person who is willing to do whatever it takes to make sure they and their group survives. From eating dogs, to dog food, to people...

[bigwheel]

Could you mind giving us the gist of it in a nutshell. Some of us old guys cant grasp a lot of blah blah blah stuff. We just need the facts..lol. What is it?

[Prepared One]

If I never have to engage an enemy ever again, I will go to my grave a happy man.
At least I have the training and experience to know what to expect.
Unfortunately, I will not have artillery and several score comrades to back me up.

It is my most fervent hope none of the topics discussed ever come to pass. As I have said before, I would rather drink a beer and watch a football game.

[A Watchman]

It is my most fervent hope none of the topics discussed ever come to pass. As I have said before, I would rather drink a beer and watch a football game.

^^^^^ In peace and quiet.