[AlaskanFamily]

Hubby & I have 2 children under 2. Starting to realize that bugging out may not be ideal for our current situation. To make matters worse, we live in a more "dangerous" area of town, occasional gun shots & I know that several of our neighbors are drug dealers, & did I mention we live in a condo. If we HAVE to stay put, what is some must have items to have on hand?

 

[Gman303]

I would say firearms.. ammo, food, water, and more ammo.

 

[Alaskan]

Being a fellow Alaskan I would guess you live in Anchorage. Muldoon? Fair view! Spenard? Move to SE Alaska. Much more stable! Ability to feed yourself and being on an island keeps the rift-raft out. Good luck

 

[AlaskanFamily]

Alaskan- Good guess. Our condo complex backs to Muldoon! Hubby & I are hoping to move before fall, but his job is our hinderence. He works in a financial field, & we have to go where he gets paid enough $$ to support us (& all the student debt we racked up).

 

[AlaskanFamily]

Gman303 - as for guns & ammo...our current supply is being housed at the in-laws. They live in another town, approx 30 minutes drive time from us. We currently don't have them here due to us not having a secure location to store them away from kids...

 

[hardcore]

so..no guns. cant leave.
i would start networking with your neighbours, maybe get a small group together so yall could all huddle up, before the bad guys come take your goods.

why not a lock up heavy duty type box for gun and chain it down, something. start karate classes maybe. do something , at least go down fighting

 

[Watercanlady]

Well you live in Alaska and they have great supplies there for the people who live off the grid. Most stores sell supplies. I realize you don't have a lot of room but utilize what you have, under sofa etc. Water is your main thing. With small children you need supples for them. Extra gloves boots, etc. fem care products for wife. There are soo many ways to go about this. If you are in a bad part of town what about bugging out to the inlaws place. Store supplies there?

 

[Alpha-17]

Moving, at least to a better area in the same region, would be a good first step. Along with that, you need to get your weapons at your location pronto. A gun not where you need it is worthless. At this point, it would be better to sell an extra, and buy a simple, but effective safe or storage box than to store them else where.

 

[shotlady]

because of the weather in alaska is extreeme it would be very hard with 2 kids to bug out.
are the nieghbors your friends? can you trust them to prepp and train with? before you run and get your guns- make sure you train wit h them. i had two in pampers so i know trainign all all the good stuff is hard. but its worth the sacrifice. front sight has a place in alaska. but more than that even if you need frre training. theres always nice people at the range who will show you how. but remember you alwasy get yer monies worth :/.

 

[Carp614]

Rule #1: It takes a village to survive the zombie apocolypse. If you can't leave, most suburban and "subrural" people will need a community of some kind within which to pool resources. That said, I plan for 3 distinct scenarios:

1) Get home - to get me back to my family
2) "Stay put" - 3 days to 3 weeks with no power. Natural disaster type scenario.
3) SHTF - Gotta go and everything has to be portable

No matter what neighborhood, shelter, water, food needs must be minimally met. After that I would focus on protection (in no particular order):
) "Stand off" weapons - My personal favorite is the Mossberg 500 series 12 gauge with plenty of Home Defense rounds. Include a sling and iron sites
) Pistol + Holster + Mags + Ammo + good belt for each adult.
) Fixed blade knives for each adult
) Last resort self defense options for the kids are a mystery to me...but might be necessary where you live?

I emphasize the holsters and other accessories because they are critical in your situation. in an SHTF scenario you need your hands free as much as possible

Just my .02...

 

[Verteidiger]

I would recommend you get a pistol (or if you have one already, bring it back) and put it inside of this so you can keep it secured from your children BUT still have access to a firearm.

GunVault NV200 Nanovault - Walmart.com

I would also recommend an impact weapon -- an aluminum baseball bat is inexpensive and won't break -- as a backup. Strengthen your entryway door if you can, so it can withstand an attack.

 

[Old Man]

Since you live in a bad area, I would at least get a pistol for family protection. There are ways to keep it safe from the kids. If the area is that bad a your stuck there for now. be very aware of your surroundings. Stay alert!

 

[bennettvm]

yeap - arm yourself. Take firearm classes and learn how to use them - make it 2nd nature. stock up on a lot of food and water. work on possible in house gardening etc

 

[Gman303]

Gman303 - as for guns & ammo...our current supply is being housed at the in-laws. They live in another town, approx 30 minutes drive time from us. We currently don't have them here due to us not having a secure location to store them away from kids...

I would work on getting a safe to store at least one firearm and some ammo. You can pick up a basic one for around $50, or a quick response for around $100.

 

[Gman303]

I would recommend you get a pistol (or if you have one already, bring it back) and put it inside of this so you can keep it secured from your children BUT still have access to a firearm.

GunVault NV200 Nanovault - Walmart.com

I would also recommend an impact weapon -- an aluminum baseball bat is inexpensive and won't break -- as a backup. Strengthen your entryway door if you can, so it can withstand an attack.

This is a great safe, I keep it in my truck. Mine also came with a cable so you can lock it to something. I agree with the baseball bat too, mainly as a backup to a firearm. A bat won't fail or jam, but odds are against you if you face an armed intruder

 

[StarPD45]

As to securing the door, check out the katy-bar. Google it. It would go a long way to keep someone from just kicking in your door.

 

[rickkyw1720pf]

Well there are some good and bad in your situation, I agree with Alpha-17 that your first priority should be to move to a better location. But the good news is there are probably more self efficient people in Alaska then any state and if you move to a better location and made friends with the proper people and get some supplies I think you would be ok.

I truly believe I would rather be in your situation than most of the population in New York City if TSHTF as I believe with just a little forward thinking you should be ok. In New York City if the SHTF even trying to protect your family and yourself may be an illegal activity.

 

[blindfox]

well, since firearms and training are addressed, i'd also think about ways not just to reinforce the entry points but also canned food, and a small propane gas stove among other quickly portable food supplies to throw in the truck on the way to the in-laws. But while i hunker down and wait i'd also tape some thick black plastic over the windows and put towels around the cracks of the doors and windows to help prevent tipping off nearby lurkers with heat or noise. to that point i might even keep some extra thick blankets around to deaden the sounds of fussy kids (put em on the walls, not the kids. what's wrong with you, anyway?)
if you're on a ground floor condo, plant thick or spiky plants in front of windows.
emergency radio with headphones.

to sum up, i'm mostly saying you should do everything possible to minimize your signature. be like a little mouse in a little hole. no noise, light, trash, smell...
and of course, put a whoopin on anyone who tries to ruin your dinty moore beef stew

 

[AlaskanFamily]

Thanks for the helpful tips!

A little more background info.
We discussed bugging out to in-laws. Problem is, that there will be at least several other siblings, & their spouses & numerous children as well. We estimate that it would be NO less than 21 & that includes us 4). Problem is, we are the only household prepping. My food & water stores will not feed that many people.

Alaska weather is harsh, frost from September thru May, & last winter we had over 130 inches of snow. A very short growing season of June to September. I'm big into canning & food prep, converted a coat closet into pantry, & additional freezer for local caught halibut, cod, shrimp, & crab...but no good if the power goes out.

Will look into gun safe. My husband is an avid knife collector, but I'd rather a gun over a knife when it comes to protection. And I love the baseball bat idea...picking one up this week! A poster mentioned self defense...good & bad for me personally. I Have trained in various martial arts, I hold black belts in 4 different styles, BUT I have torn cartilage in both knees, & currently attending physical therapy as I tore my hip labrum cuff in July & Dr said the only repair is surgery. On good days I'm not in a whole lot of pain, only with certain rotations of the hip. On bad days I'm popping ibuprofen like its going out of style, & using a cane...not too hot considering I'm 32

 

[Omega Man]

Get some long term food storage. many places offer it. I'm a fan of yearzerosurvival.com. Seem to have fair prices. Site is run by a prepper family.

Hubby & I have 2 children under 2. Starting to realize that bugging out may not be ideal for our current situation. To make matters worse, we live in a more "dangerous" area of town, occasional gun shots & I know that several of our neighbors are drug dealers, & did I mention we live in a condo. If we HAVE to stay put, what is some must have items to have on hand?