This world..... is gonna turn me into a prepper

[NwoSlave]

i want to start prepping while i feel i still have time.  after reading a few sites it feels overwhelming so ill just ask a broad question

"if you had to go out today what would be the main items you would buy to start prepping"?

more specific questions: 

can you use a pressure canner for both fruit/veggies and meats?

where is a good place to take classes on obtaining a hunting license? are there groups to take new people out to hunt?

what can a person store large amounts of water in that is safe and how to protect it from our tennessee seasonal climate?

what kind of generator would be good for a 1000 ft sq house? 

any tips, advice you can pass on that isnt asked in these questions will be appreciated. 

[Alleycat72]

If you want to hunt now, you need a hunter's safety course and a license. If you're hunting because we've collapsed, then you only need a gun and ammunition. 

[Snaveba]

23 minutes ago, alleycat72 said:

a gun and ammunition. 

[Quavodus]

Most of the smaller generators like they carry at Lowe's or other stores would be good. As far as the pressure cooker goes, I've never seen meat put in one but, just about all vegetables and fruit. Most large containers for water would need to be put inside a building because of a lot of evaporation. 

[Jamie Jackson]

As I am with my wife in the hospital,  I can't give a lengthy response.

But we have an All American pressure canner (not a pressure cooker) and I have canned a wide variety of meats. Beef, venison,  poultry,  fish and even bacon. 

 

Get a Ball Blue book on canning and read before deciding.  Easy to do, just strictly adhere to the guidelines. 

[xsubsailor]

^^^^ I agree with this ^^^^. I ate plenty of home canned meat growing up.

[FUJIMO]

39 minutes ago, xsubsailor said:

^^^^ I agree with this ^^^^. I ate plenty of home canned meat growing up.

40 jars of canned pork tenderloin packed away now. Half as much of that in sausage. 

[monkeylizard]

For almost everyone, bugging in is going to be better than bugging out. Even city-dwellers are usually going to be better off staying put. You know the area and have some semblance of a support structure through neighbors. Plus survival gear and all the crap you get stored up is hard to move and harder to defend on the move. That's not to say that the time to "git out" wouldn't come, but it probably shouldn't be most folk's first option. Remember that those hills and mountains everyone plans to run to already have people living there who likely won't take too kindly to a horde of newcomers.

For bugging in plans - the best place to start is in your own home and pantry. Also start small. Don't try to plan for the end of the world if you can't get through 3 days without electricity.

This is a gun forum, so I'll assume you have security covered.

For food, the trick is to get a rotation going. Storing 500 cans of SPAM when you don't eat SPAM is just going to end up with 500 old cans of SPAM when disaster never strikes. Likewise 500 cans of hard red winter wheat from the local LDS cannery won't do you any good if you don't know how to prepare it. Instead look at what you actually eat, especially shelf-stable items like canned & jarred goods and pasta. Then start building up that supply. e.g. Instead of having 2 or 3 boxes of spaghetti on hand, maybe you get 10 or 20 to start with. As you use a few boxes, buy some to replace them and put the new ones at the back of the pile. A vacuum sealer (like FoodSaver) is also a good thing to get started with. You can buy some items in bulk like rice and divide it into smaller bags you seal up. That's a good place to start. Then you can start looking at the more extreme things like MREs, mylar bags with O2 absorbers, and those cans of hard red winter wheat.

For non-food, think about what you'd need for an extended camping trip and start there.

• Proper clothing and footwear for everyone.
• Tools and skills to make a fire.
• A good first aid kit and knowledge of how to use it (you probably don't need an AED, but something more than Band-Aids is a good idea)
• Some emergency "space" blankets.
• Street and topography maps of the area, a compass, and knowing how to use them.
• Flashlights/headlamps and extra batteries.
• Maybe a solar charger for small electronics like one from GoalZero.
• A hand-cranked water filter or something like the Sawyer mini filters.
• A camp stove and fuel. Or if you have a propane grill, keep an extra tank on hand.
• An extra bag or two of charcoal.

Do some thinking about bugging out too if the time comes. Ask questions like where would you go? Would you be welcomed there? How would you get there? Are there bridges or other features that make a funnel for thieves or worse? Can you avoid those points? Can you plan multiple routes? How much fuel do you need to make the journey?

As for your questions:

Canning: Yes, a pressure canner can be used for pretty much anything. A water bath process should only be used for high-acid foods like fruits and some veg but never for meat. Most (all?) the info in the Ball canning book is also on their website: https://www.freshpreserving.com/canning.html

Hunting: TWRA Hunter ed site: https://www.tn.gov/twra/hunting/hunter-education.html

Water: Water is going to be a challenge for most of us. Few people have the ability to store large quantities safely. Instead, look at what you need to get through a normal disruption for a few days or a week, then plan on a way to replenish the supply. Again, start small. I always have a few cases of bottled water on hand that we cycle through, plus I have a couple of Aquatainers for camping that I keep full year-round at the house. That's enough for just me and my wife for any normal disruption to service, plus we'll have the water heater and toilet tanks too for anything a little longer if we can't drive out to get more. For a true TEOTWAWKI, we'll have to make it up a bit as we go along. I'm a camper so I have water filtration and UV devices and there's a river 1/4 mile from the house. Schlepping water up from there won't be fun, but it's doable. A hand truck or wagon will help. If you can have a well dug, that's the best long-term supply. A pump can be solar powered or you can get a hand pump. Another option some people do a rain water catchment system using rain barrels or the big plastic cubes. This water MUST be filtered/treated.

Generator: For sizing a generator you need to decide what you want to power with it, how long you want to run it, where you'll be running it, and what kind of fuel you want to store. Start with sizing.

• Kw Size: A small 2Kw generator is plenty for a few lights (esp. LED bulbs), a TV, computer, and a fridge. You'll need bigger if you plan to power your HVAC, microwave, electric stove, electric water heater, clothes dryer, etc. Look at the labels on each one and it will show you the power required. Add up all the ones you'd want to run AT THE SAME TIME and that's your requirement. Note that  generators are sold with labels of their peak output, not running steady output.
• Physical size: Portability and storage should be considered. They'll range from ~25lbs and the size of a large cantaloupe for a 1Kw up to tractor-trailer-sized for the big industrial ones. I have a Honda EU6500 that's easy to wheel around the garage, but at 253 lbs. without fuel, it's a  struggle for 2 capable men to put in a pickup truck if I have to take it anywhere. If I had it to do over (and I may still do it) I'd get a ~50 lb. 2Kw set like a Generac iQ or Honda EU2000 or EU2200 and maybe get a second one capable of being tethered together to do ~4Kw.
• Noise: May or may not be a concern for you. If you're on a 100 acre farm, you can worry about the noise less than if you're in a tightly packed neighborhood. Inverter generators are quieter and safer for sensitive electronics. Honda's EU series has been the gold standard for a very long time, but gennys from Yamaha and the new iQ line from Generac are every bit their equal at a lower cost. You'll find more support for Honda though because there are so many.
• Fuel: Gasoline is the easiest, especially on the smaller-sized gennys but it's harder to store a lot of it without it going bad. If you have natural gas or propane at your house, you can find tri-fuel gennys or conversion kits for the most popular brands like Honda. Propane and natural gas burn cleaner than gasoline so less maintenance/gummed up carbs, but they're also hotter and some gennys can't take it. You'll find lots of genny advice on RV forums. The big gennys usually run on diesel. I haven't seen any small home-owner grade ones running on diesel.
• Don't forget to have a heavy chain and good lock to secure it.

Get some of those basics down, then you'll start thinking about longer term stuff like gardening, coordinating with nearby like-minded friends & neighbors, and communications (HAM radio is still a thing . . . It's kind of like hunting - no license needed if there ain't no government left ). Then you may or may not move on to the more dedicated prepper world like bunkers, hydroponics, aquaculture, etc. But that's only for kooks . . . . until it isn't.

 

Something often overlooked in our consumer-driven world is skills vs. supplies. If King Monkeylizard the Great of Fortress Apocalypto has to choose between letting in an empty handed but skilled engineer or letting in a doofus with a truck load toilet paper, well....let's just say I'll have a good engineer and a lot of toilet paper. We like to think we can buy a bucket of food from Wise, stick it in the closet, and "hooray! we're safe from Zombies!". Think about the kinds of skills that would be useful and start trying to learn them, and use them as a way of life if possible. It doesn't have to be the end of mankind for those skills to payoff. Maybe learn to reload ammo. Canning is a good skill and you get to have healthier food for your family year round. Knowing how to wire up solar panels and batteries is useful and something you may be able to use on a mission trip or something. Make some new friends in the amateur radio world. Know how to repair a car. Medical skills are always useful.

Edited August 27, 2021 by monkeylizard

[Garufa]

 

[Quavodus]

1 hour ago, FUJIMO said:

40 jars of canned pork tenderloin packed away now. Half as much of that in sausage. 

Ok, I forgot about canned sausage. My mother canned everything when I was growing up.

[Alleycat72]

 In reality, 1/2 the population wouldn't last 3 months without electricity and bottled water. My wife and I have 5 kids in the house. I'm going to feed them one way or another. I've got about 6 months of food give or take at any given time. My Wife takes care of that. She is also in the medical field and can perform minor surgery. We have spring water on the property and grow food. Two of us are accomplished long range shooters. One is a damn good mid-range shooter (600 and in). One is in training. The problem is meds. I have a Daughter that need them to survive. We only get them once a month. The first thing I'd have to do it hit the pharmacy and the veterinarian. Fighting the guys that want painkillers would be an issue. It would only be a stopgap for her. Once the meds run out her time is up, but I'd have to do it. No choice. 

 Security is the next issue. I have a house on a hill. Everyone has to come up hill from all directions. The house can not be seen from the road, but I do have a long driveway. I have a pretty good way of making that inaccessible though. All the people near by would be helpful at first, but wonder how the road got blocked. I make sure I have multiple ways to make power so i can charge batteries for things that will help keep us safe. For an emp, I keep equipment that will allow me to convert a vehicle. 

 If all else fails,....... I'd be a bad guy. Plan and simple. My family comes first. Everything and everyone else is a resource. No one really says that, but most believe it in the back of their mind. However it would be the last resort for me and we'd have to be starving. 

 

[RED333]

On 8/27/2021 at 10:34 PM, alleycat72 said:

 If all else fails,....... I'd be a bad guy. Plan and simple. My family comes first. Everything and everyone else is a resource. No one really says that, but most believe it in the back of their mind. However it would be the last resort for me and we'd have to be starving. 

 

I am sure most feel this way, just not telling anyone.

[ReeferMac]

Selco had some good advice in his early postings... funny, I just shared it (and re-read) with a friend...

 

https://lulz.com/surviving-a-year-of-shtf-in-90s-bosnia-war-selco-forum-thread-6265/

 

Link was literally still in my clipboard!

Bic lighters... who knew!

[gregintenn]

Go camping one weekend. Make a mental note of the things you forgot to bring.

Plan out a week. Get what you think you’ll need for the week and don’t go in a store come hell or high water. Make a mental note of the things you forgot.

Learn a valuable skill you can use to barter with in hard times.

Start a book collection. Search out books with valuable information in them like the old Foxfire series, a Boy Scout manual, a Bible, cookbooks, etc. Pretend the internet is going away.

I feel like this would be a good place to start.

No way we can make a list of things you need, but you can.

Edited August 29, 2021 by gregintenn

[FUJIMO]

1 hour ago, gregintenn said:

Go camping one weekend. Make a mental note of the things you forgot to bring.

Plan out a week. Get what you think you’ll need for the week and don’t go in a store come hell or high water. Make a mental note of the things you forgot.

Learn a valuable skill you can use to barter with in hard times.

Start a book collection. Search out books with valuable information in them like the old Foxfire series, a Boy Scout manual, a Bible, cookbooks, etc. Pretend the internet is going away.

I feel like this would be a good place to start.

No way we can make a list of things you need, but you can.

I plan on waiting for FEMA .......

[gregintenn]

2 hours ago, FUJIMO said:

I plan on waiting for FEMA .......

Sounds like a plan. A bad plan, but a plan nonetheless.

[Moped]

One thing I don't see anyone touching on is sanitation.  Take stock into what you need to for pooping and peeing?  Even if you BUG IN, how are you going to handle the bathroom?  If you are on a gravity sewer system, you are going to need water to flush with, on occasion.  Older tiloets might take 7 gallons of water, while most newer models take 2 gallons or less to flush.  Where is that water going to come from?  What if there is no water in the tap?  How ar you going to whip? Etc, etc, etc...

[Alleycat72]

1 hour ago, Moped said:

  How ar you going to whip? 

We grow corn so.....

Edited August 29, 2021 by alleycat72

[Johnny Rotten]

2 hours ago, Moped said:

One thing I don't see anyone touching on is sanitation.  Take stock into what you need to for pooping and peeing?  Even if you BUG IN, how are you going to handle the bathroom?  If you are on a gravity sewer system, you are going to need water to flush with, on occasion.  Older tiloets might take 7 gallons of water, while most newer models take 2 gallons or less to flush.  Where is that water going to come from?  What if there is no water in the tap?  How ar you going to whip? Etc, etc, etc...

 

[bdykd0]

Daily prescription meds also ...  especially heart meds .... 

 

[monkeylizard]

[gregintenn]

It really depends on where and how you live. A man out in the country with a decent farm can be pretty much self sufficient.

The same fella living downtown in a one bedroom apartment is much more limited in what he’s able to to to be self sufficient.

[RED333]

20 hours ago, ReeferMac said:

Selco had some good advice in his early postings... funny, I just shared it (and re-read) with a friend...

 

https://lulz.com/surviving-a-year-of-shtf-in-90s-bosnia-war-selco-forum-thread-6265/

 

Link was literally still in my clipboard!

Bic lighters... who knew!

This is a great read, a "real" world experience.

[DL126]

23 hours ago, ReeferMac said:

Selco had some good advice in his early postings... funny, I just shared it (and re-read) with a friend...

 

https://lulz.com/surviving-a-year-of-shtf-in-90s-bosnia-war-selco-forum-thread-6265/

 

Link was literally still in my clipboard!

Bic lighters... who knew!

Wow ... thanks for that.

When you get toward the end .... a lot of things start to seem a bit too "familiar".

[ReeferMac]

2 hours ago, DL126 said:

Wow ... thanks for that.

When you get toward the end .... a lot of things start to seem a bit too "familiar".

My pleasure. Yeah, agree with your last statement.

What really HIT me reading his stuff... some of his other posts are more, intimate, detailed.... that wasn't some third-world ####hole we're talking about. A major 1st world European nation. In a matter of weeks, it was a devastated warzone. In weeks! All the while the government mouthpieces and talking heads on the tee vee telling you everything is fine.

Younger folks I guess I understand... but anyone old enough who still believes anything government tells you is willfully ignorant.