[HarshGeometry]

From my short time in a prepper community I've observed that there are just two kinds of preppers out there.
Now I'm certainly not talking about level of preparedness.

What I mean is that there are people who are set in their mind, heart and soul that the world WILL come to a specific SHTF event very soon and even have a adamant opinion of why that will occur. Then planning accordingly to prepare.

The second kind of prepper I would say is the one who is critically thinking of all possibilities or most likely of several and plan accordingly to that personal decision (of course varying greatly between preppers i would assume)

What do you think about my early observation? Would you say it's true? What kind of prepper would you consider yourself and what SHTF(s) are your prepping for?

 

[Leon]

It's true. I myself would run to either one given a SHTF scenario, but what you say is true. I would consider myself outside even my buddies here due to the large amount of time effort and planning I have done, but when it all boils down I am no less or more well off by avoiding either party. We got well armed ass-kickers on one side and well-educated planners on the other. Stepping back and looking at it- we could be way worse off any way you cut it. We got good prospects if we are sticking to preppers and this line of thinking. It might take some adjustment but the first people I would want to get caught up with are A: preppers who are strong and ready to shoot and B: preppers who know stuff. Luckily they kind of go hand in hand and furthermore COOPERATE.

 

[LunaticFringeInc]

HarshGeometry, I think your dead on in that observation. I share the same opinion as you do to that end. I think as Leon has done you can break it down into sub catagorys from there as he eluded to.

I dont plan on any one event or problem. There are several I can see happening down the road at the drop of a hat. I live in Tornado Alley! Its a very real possibility here where I live. Severe weather here can happen really quick with little prior warning. Just 3 years ago I got caught outside in the field when a Tornado touched down just a couple hundred yards away before we had a chance to beat feet for shelter or even a ditch to hunker down in. I think we had something like 13 touch downs that day in the surrounding area. Severe Ice Storms are usually an issue here 2-3 times a year and while most are over in 2-3 days we have had them last for a good 2 weeks at a shot. We usually loose power, travelling the road ways is insainlely stupid as these people here dont have chains and dont know how to drive on that crap. Stores are raped clean with in a matter of hours just before we get hit. Torrential down pours that cuase flooding if we have a wet season can definitely be an issue. I have had to evacuate to higher ground on occasion in some of the locals where I have lived around the lake area here. Before the current financial crisis I have been unemployed for extended periods of time and had it not been for my stash of supplies I would have been totally screwed 8 ways till Sunday. The going was tough but it wasnt nearly as tough as it would have been without my stash of food and supplies! Then there is the high possibility of a Financial collapes as the world as well as the US struggle to right itself. I dont see Akmound Madinanutjob nuking the US any time soon as a high probability. I dont see a pandemic break Out of SARS or Ebola being all that high of a possibility. I dont think a World War will break out anytime in the next couple of weeks. But really who knows for sure...

What I have tried to do is prep as best I can for the things I think are most likely to effect me directly and look at ways I can be more self sustaining and less dependent of the infrastructure that so many Americans have become entirely too dependent on. If you can put yourself in a position where you have food, water and shelter, your likely to find yourself sitting pretty good, especially when you compare yourself to others around you who are sheeple. Here is some things I have done in addition to just simply stock piling things (space is a primium here and I dont have a lot of it!)to put myself on more solid ground.

I didnt just get a couple of #10 cans of heirloom seeds and think to myself if the SHTF Ill just plant a garden and in a couple weeks be fat dumb and happy. No despite my small lot I actually have a few raised garden beds and garden about half my food from them! Not only does it save me money now it gives me the valuable skill and knowledge I will need if there is a day where gardening enough to eat is the difference in life or death. The wrong time to learn is when you got to learn while you burn so to speak.

I didnt go and buy a few cases of bottled water. No I bought a 350 gallon tank and filled that baby up! I also live 100ft from a huge Lake! Unless the water becomes toxic Im not going to run out of water for a while. Yes I have the means to filter a awful lot of water as well if I need to.

Meat for protien. I live next to a well stocked lack thats a good fishery. Im a good enough and skilled fishermen that if I aint catching any thats a good clue your time is probably better spent at home watching another football game and drinking another 12 pack of beer. I have no illusions that with enough fishing pressure from a hungry public the pickings could get a little slim. Thats why I also have Rabbits and put a few in the freezer from time to time. Its not a big operation but I do have enough breeding stock and enough material on hand to quickly expand the operation to a more sustainable size quickly. Again while I wait for the S to HTF, I can again defray a lot of my cost for shopping at the grocery store for food.

Now dont get me wrong with all of this going I have to have a way to protect it from being raped, pillaged and looted in a society WROL. I aint Rambo but I think I got this pretty well covered adequately too. I have enough guns to arm myself and a pretty good number of "friendlies" that may be joining me. While I cant support an insurgency, if the LA Riots ever come to my neck of the woods they will quickly decide it might be better to go somewhere else where the pickings will be much easier than they would be here. I have a good bit of ammunition to back it up. While I have a lot of ammunition, Im a reloader and have the components I need to reload ammo for a long time to come even if I couldnt procure more components in the future. Then again I might not survive the first confrontaion. In that case I guess I really dont need anything then do I?

Thats not all I have done, plan to do or will do. But it does give you and idea of where I am going and where I am coming from. Its not perfect but I think its a lot better than what most other folks have planned. It would be interesting to see where others here plan on doing.

 

[mvan70us]

that is a great post fringe...everyone should try to aspire to that level and beyond

 

[LunaticFringeInc]

Thanks thats encouraging to hear. But make no mistake there are still plenty of holes, gaps and thin spots in my game plan to allow for a lot of improvement. I didnt get to where I am thus far over night either. Its been a long hard road to walk, but I think I am headed in the right direction. There has been some challenges and there have been some failed projects and set backs, for sure. A big test is forth coming on the 1st of the year when my company drops all of its full time employees to part time thanks to Obama Care being a new reality.

I just dont subcribe to the theory of build a bunker, stock it with cases of supplies and live happily ever after. Eventually those supplies will run out, thats just the way it goes when you base everything off of consumables. I think the more debt free you can be, the more frugal you can live your life without sacrificing a reasonable quality of life and the more sustainable you can make your life the easier things will be even when its rough out there. Look at it this way...You can buy 10 x 16 ounce cans of Tomatoes for about 7.50 and when its gone its gone. Or you can spend a third of that on a pack of heirloom Tomato seeds and grow a couple hundred pounds of produce every year. I like the latter option a lot more.

No matter how well prepared you may be, I think you will never really be totally prepared for all the trip hazards life can throw at you!

 

[Fuzzee]

What about the guy who feels the world will come to a shtf event soon, but from any one of a number of hot spots in the world that will compound with the others in time leading to a major world change? :mrgreen:




Fuzzee

 

[shotlady]

only i can be responsible for myself. I find it harder to mooch and be unprepared than to consider the variables and be ready for likely situations. i think its assinine to not do what you can within reason. and think it would be the ultimate culling get rid of those who dont think they are responsible for themselves. hehehe even nature rejects entitlement...

i prep for natural disasters and societal unrest., a broken down car, roadtrip gone wrong. really everyday situations can turn really ugly if you dont have a basic bob.

 

[Denton]

For the most part, I am the regional to global SHTF prepper. I have the needed stuff to stay in place for a few months, but I don't live in a place where I can grow food. I so, on the other hand, have the ability to save up a lot of ammo, ammo launchers and pails of freeze-dried beans and rice. I have the background that makes me beneficial as property security as well as gathering critters for dinner, so there are homesteader-types around here who want me to bug to their location.
As Shotlady said, I have no desire to ever go somewhere, hat in hand.

On the other hand, I am always ready for the occasional hurricane inconvenience or that fluke snow storm that snarls the south Alabama situation from time to time.

 

[shotlady]

i have people ask me why i travel with bob sleeping bag and small tent. the space that it takes up in my truck is negligable i have always been this way.

its simple thinking- theres not enough time in a disaster to make friends to be able to mooch. at that point i am in unfamiliar area and need to think my way out. id much rather allocate my thoughts to that than where shall i find food/shelter.

i wont be making friends with the unprepared let me tell you.

 

[rickkyw1720pf]

I think I may fall in a sub group of preppers/survivalist that believe something will happen in my life time but I am not sure of what it may be. I think I was just wired for this, as far back as I can remember I was fascinated by what it would take to survive away from civilization years before there were so called survivalist/preppers. Even when I was a child of 10 years old I spent most of my time in the woods at least that is what I called it living in the middle of a city and the woods was probably only about 2 acre in size, but it allowed me to build camp fires, cut down trees, make small forts and hunt birds with my bb gun . I wonder if a lot of preppers are not also wired the same way if they look back. I am not worried about being prepared for every type of event, some things would just be game over like a supernova or super volcano (if you were close enough to it). But I believe that if properly prepared you could get through just about anything even if you haven't prepared for that particular event with the correct knowledge. The most important thing is to have enough supplies and protection that you will have time to figure out the next step, I personally think that if you can make it for one year no matter what the catastrophe life would get back to some normalcy, it may be a mixture of old and new ways but life would go on think little house on the prairie with solar panels.