Need help with a good SHTF plan

[Guest Bigryo]

Thanks guys any other suggestions?

[dawgdoc]

Rain barrels, and then a way to filter what comes out of the rain barrel (you can make a sand filter).  If you are going to have to haul water any distance, some type of cart.  My son is too big for our bike trailer, but I'm keeping it just in case, because I figured it might be useful.

 

Either books or print outs from the Internet with anything that could be useful later.  It's best to have a skill before you need it, but since not everyone can devote their life learning bushcraft, good references with pictures might be second best.

[Tedro2022]

Check out this link: http://www.survivalblog.com/newbies.html Rawles puts together some good thinking points on his sight, but this list is pretty spot on for beginners.

[Xtarheel]

For a thrifty rifle, follow Luke9511's advice and look at Mosin-Nagants. Rifle is inexpensive and so is ammo.

Try to buy items that you would use anyway (buy cans of beef stew, soup or whatever)and don't buy expensive freeze dried foods You will be bugging in, so you won't be carrying the stuff. If you have a garden, try canning as much as possible to reduce costs.

[monkeylizard]

Here's a good guide from some LDS members. It's not an "official" LDS publication. This is the updated 2012 edition that took it from around 200 pages to over 500 pages. It starts with some of the LDS religious texts and church history that helps frame their preparedness teachings, but the preparedness meat starts on page 23. It's free to redistribute, so no worries about pirating it. You can get a printed copy from Amazon if you want it.

 

http://www.armageddononline.org/PDF/Misc%20Books/ldsprep-v8.pdf

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008536NOQ/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B008536NOQ&linkCode=as2&tag=modesurvblog-20

 

 

For a budget center fire rifle, I second a Mosin Nagant 1891/30 with as many 440 round cans of 7.62x54R as you want to stock up on is about as cheap as it gets. They're built like Russian battle rifles...well...because they're Russian battle rifles. They're bolt action with minimal moving parts so not much risk of something going bad with them. They're cheap enough to buy more than one.

Edited January 14, 2014 by monkeylizard

[Guest Bigryo]

I've set my mind on a mosin now I'm inthe process of trying to buy one local. Having a bit of trouble finding someone selling one. So am i correct at the fact that most value between $100-$200?

[monkeylizard]

I value a basic 91/30 between $90 and $130. Rarer years or manufacturers command a higher price, but that's for collector purposes, not for basic SHTF needs.

 

http://www.copesdistributing.com/russian-mosin-nagant-189130-round-receiver-rifle-with-440rd-ammo-p-7698.html

This is a pretty good package deal. The spam cans of ammo now are running about $80-$90 + shipping, so that makes the rifle $110-$120 and only $10 to ship both items. Shipping on a single spam can is usually around $15-$30 from most places.

[Jonnin]

Thanks for all the advice so some of you said a bigger rifle whAt would be your suggestions. I'd like something not expensive to buy ammo for

 

Ideally you would want just a few guns to do everything gun related, which boil down to hunting and defense.  

-A .22 (prefer, pistol to save space and weight) to hunt small game quietly.

- a man/deer sized rifle.  A lever 30-30, an AR 308, something like that that can serve decently for defense and hunting.  Bolts and single shots are a little slow for defense use.

- a shotgun, for literally everything.

- a pistol, to conceal etc. 

 

If money is an issue, get the shotgun first.  Slugs and heavy shot will take deer and perform defense duty.   Bird shot will take birds and small game.  Various other ammo selections for various targets, and 12 ga ammo is fairly cheap and plentiful. 

 

If you have money left, then go for a rifle.  A mosin is a great choice but remember the cheap ammo is likely corrosive, so know how to clean it as part of a survival plan.  

Edited January 14, 2014 by Jonnin

[Guest Bigryo]

What do you guys think i should keep as far as ammo per caliber. I've got a list of what i have I'n the original post

[Spots]

[quote name="Bigryo" post="1095388" timestamp="1389795438"]What do you guys think i should keep as far as ammo per caliber. I've got a list of what i have I'n the original post[/quote] Best way I can put it is buy it cheap and stack it deep. I'm aiming for 10k rounds per caliber for long guns and 5k per caliber for handguns. Will I ever use that much? No probably not, which is kinda the point. These are all very subjective questions and your gonna get a lot of different answers. Best thing I can tell you is that if you knew you woildnt be able to buy a single thing tomorrow, and all you had for hunting was what you had stored, are you comfortable with that? Tapatalk ate my spelling.

[Jonnin]

What do you guys think i should keep as far as ammo per caliber. I've got a list of what i have I'n the original post

 

Not to be that guy, but you did ask ...

-- the .25 acp is expensive and anemic.  I would put it aside as-is -- a backup gun, with some ammo, you are set for that.

-- .22 lr you have enough for now.  More can't hurt, but 3k rounds is like 7 shots per day for a year or something.  If you do not miss much, that is a lot of squirrels.

-- the .40 is low.  Sure, its self defense mostly, but it *could* in a pinch take a deer,  and they make carbines in it (one option for your deer rifle would be a .40 carbine).  I would up this to at least 500 rounds.  

-- the rifle, at least 100 rounds. 

 

also I would get a basic reloading setup.  It could simply be a lee-loader (in which case, you need to pick your calibers carefully).  IN A PINCH you can reload with little more than a resize die, hammer, a short steel rod, and a punch -- total value tens of dollars, maybe 30 or so?   Here again the .40 carbine makes life easier as the 40 is easy to load.  A couple of boxes of 500 bullets, 1-2 pounds of powder, 2 boxes of primers, seal all that up in a plastic bucket and you can go for a long, long time on your existing brass.

 

Just remember that you are not going to war, or picking a fight, or planning on having weekly shootouts.  Spread your money around to cover all your needs, and have enough ammo to survive, but not so much that you didnt have any money left for medicine or other useful items.

Edited January 15, 2014 by Jonnin

[monkeylizard]

Spread your money around to cover all your needs, and have enough ammo to survive, but not so much that you didnt have any money left for medicine or other useful items.

 

This. If you'll build your supplies as a variety over time instead of one bulk item at a time, you'll be better able to rotate your stock and you'll be better prepared if you need to use it before you're done totally stocking up. You could go buy 1,000 pounds of beans and nothing else. Or you could buy 100 lbs of rice, 50 lbs of beans, 5 cases of water, some spices, rope, bandages, 2 boxes of ammo, etc*. Do a variety purchase each month (or as money permits) until your stores are filled. The stuff you put in first can be cycled out, used, and replaced first. You don't want 1,000 lbs of beans going bad all at once. The exception is if you can get a fantastic bulk deal on an item with a long shelf life.

 

The manual I linked to earlier has some pages that talk about that and give some guidelines/checklists for building up with a variety.

 

 

 

*Just an example, not meant to be a buying guide.

Edited January 15, 2014 by monkeylizard

[kevhunt80]

Learning emergency medicine is always helpful and not just in a SHTF scenario.  Those skills come in handy all the time.  People are correct when they say water is key.  If you can find it online the US Army has a really good study on water purification.  Lists the best purifiers and a temp vs time guide to sterilizing water.  You don't have to boil it.  But for the purpose of this thread and that you mentioned medical conditions I am sticking with education.  There are tons of places to get medical training but make sure they are reputable.  A lot of people think they know what they are saying but they are full of crap or use old science.  (not an advertisement)  I teach wilderness medicine for a company called Wilderness Medical Associates. They are recognized by the American college of Physicians.  There is also SOLO, WMI.  All very good schools and offer classes from Wilderness first aid (2 days) to wilderness advanced life support (6+ days) and they teach all over the country.  Anyway, it's a bit of a passion for me.  If you have any questions hit me up

[whitewolf001]

A good book to get for some info;

http://www.amazon.com/How-Survive-End-World-Know/dp/0452295831/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1390073030&sr=8-1&keywords=survive+the+end+of+the+world

[Guest Bigryo]

Thanks guys

[bigbabysweets]

Training and practice. No matter what you get, you need to know how to use it and not wonder when the time comes. I'm looking into CERT classes in my area along with pistol and rifle training. No matter what you have stored, if you can't defend it, you're just holding it for someone else. I'm trying to talk my wife into a mid sized dog......