Monday, July 16, 2018

panic, please & thank you


PANIC, PLEASE & THANK YOU
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note: a addendum on yesterday's rimfire purchase.  Video comparison tests say that the Remington Thunderbolts work poorly in semi's.  Those are the cheapest Wal-Mart rounds.  The Remington Golden's, the cheapest from Sportsman's Guide, tend to do better in that aspect.  Half a cent a round probably isn't too much of a premium to pay if you have a semi instead of a bolt. 
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note: free book.  PA anthology https://amzn.to/2NgRSbo . 
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I was watching You Tube’s “Prepper Nurse 1” ( I also have begun to really enjoy Prepper Nurse ) and his “The sky is falling.  Don’t be a chicken little” ( for the very longest suffering loyal minions, you might remember my first ‘zine was named Chicken Little ).  In it, he basically said Don’t Panic and also Slow And Steady Wins The Race.  Which is correct.  HOWEVER.  It is also incorrect.  When you first get started in prepping, you certainly don’t want to panic.  I did plenty of that myself, as I’m sure most of us did, and many fiat currency units were wasted on complete garbage, after which time we panicked even more because we didn’t have any more money to buy more essentials.
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So, sure, if you are a pretty pony princess prepper, panicking is the last thing you want to do.  You are already handicapped by being a Unicorn Prepper, dragging along freeze dried foods, FLIR scopes and pouring concrete bunkers.  You must slowly acquire all that crap and you must do it smart by prioritizing.  Even Redneck Preppers who spend about 20% for 80% of the performance, what you might want to call Pareto Preppers, must prioritize since even frugal folk have unlimited wants.  But I would submit to you that the time for slow and steady is AFTER you panic. 
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Not that I’m advocating blind emotion driven panic, but rather Panic With A Plan, Panic With A Purpose.  Panicking serves the very real purpose of getting you ready for the ass falling out of civilization.  It is useful, since none of us can time the collapse.  And so when you are told, slow and steady, what I hear is “you could be double dog dingus humped if the collapse doesn’t unravel slow enough to rival your low budget for preps”.  As you are slowly saving up for that AR-15, on the other side of the collapse you are defenseless with money in the bank ( figuratively of course, as the money was “bail-in’ed” and the bank building is a burnt shell ).
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Most Yuppie Scum Prepper Plans call for a good hundred grand and up.  Personally, I’ve known many a family making $50-$60k without a pot to piss in, so I can’t imagine 99% of preppers can afford that.  The first step in panicking is to panic over the vile hunk of crap almost every survivalist or prepper pundit exposes.  Yet, even frugal prepping is a couple to five thousand if you need everything including junk land.  When you plan-less panic prep, getting into debt forever, selling all assets and falling down the rabbit hole of luxury preps, you can easily screw yourself for little gain.  And that is what Prepper Nurse is cautioning against.  Agreed.
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But you can still screw yourself even on the Redneck Prepper Plan.  You STILL need to take your time on that one, slow and steady.  Taking your time means you get a much better $700 junk land lot than rushing into a $1k one.  But, again, trying to time the collapse.  Before you even get close to prepping smart, you need to embrace Stupid Prepping.  That is prepping this very instant because it doesn’t cost crap.  As I always say, be prepared yesterday.  The only way to do that is to start stupid and THEN take your time doing it properly.  That is what the Frugal Survivalist $500 Prepper Plan was.  Anyone can afford $500, and that allows yourself to be prepared yesterday.
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Is the $500 how you want to prep, exclusively?  No.  It is a starter kit, or a kit for someone that is far better than nothing.  You should in an ideal world be much better prepped than that.  Better weapons, your own land to bury far more food, more ammo, petroleum-less shelter, and etcetera.  But if you can’t do more, either because of time or money, it will work, if barely.  So, new to prepping, I’d tell you to panic and get that $500 ( it can be a bit more or less ).  By hook or by crook.  I don’t advise being homeless because you used the rent money, but you do need to do something almost as drastic. 
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$24 in plastic totes ( lay the bags of flour in the container unopened ) and $87 in large sacks of white flour and you have a years worth of calories ( near enough-the bags are only 25 pounds rather than 30, but figure one bag a month ).  I strongly advise some whole wheat kernels for sprouts as no matter how many vitamin pills ( about $30 ) you have your body will crave fresh food ( see the link below the article for Wal-Mart wheat kernels, if you don’t have a feed store nearby  ).  I’d also get at least $20 in cans of vegetable shortening for fat.  This will keep you alive.  Barely.  It won’t fuel any activity.  Protein deficiency will be an issue.  The bare bones calories obviously need to be supplemented, but they will provide enough calories for you to at least have a baseline you can work with.
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To my mind, if you don’t have a one year supply of food, no matter how minimal, you MUST panic and buy this immediately.  This isn’t really a “slow and steady” item.  Add all the protein and variety and extra calories later, as you can.  You must have this bare minimum now, however.  And while I can’t imagine any prepper being unarmed, I guess it can happen.  Wal-Mart will sell you a $100 gun, either a shotgun or a rimfire.  I’d recommend the rimfire as you get twice the distance and six times the rounds for the money, but if you do better with the shotgun go with your comfort zone ( they are both single shot ).  Just be armed.  It doesn’t matter if you are armed with the worst, at least you are armed. 
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$50 is the minimum you need in ammunition, and this is just Better Than Nothing and nothing close to what you will eventually need.  And now, thanks to the good folks at Sawyer, anyone can afford tens of thousands of gallons of water filtered.  $20.  I’d have more than one, but if you don’t there is boiling as a back-up ( I’d want to do both, although boiling alone should be sufficient, with the filter for stealth use ).  There is more you need, such as a Mora knife for $15 and a Rada sharpener for $8.  Some thrift store warm clothing.  Tarps and cookware and the like.  But essentially you are only looking at bare bones $350 to $400 prepper budget of items you simply cannot do without. 
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If I had to give blood or puke out my extra lung to science for experimentation on to raise money, I would.  If you have to sell your beater car for the money ( with the extra left over to buy a good bicycle ), I would.  This is so basic that without it you are simply screwed.  But once you have it, then you can stop panicking.  You can do better, later, and more.  And if the wheels suddenly come off, meh.  You’ll make it.  Anyone that can live off flour and defend himself with a single shot of twenty gauge is tough enough to do what needs done.  Panic has its place, as does not panicking.
( .Y. )
( today's related link https://amzn.to/2zqnA3Q )
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30 comments:

  1. My local feed store went out of business a few months ago after 100 years of being there, so the Augeson Farm thing is my fall back plan. At least they advertise no GMO's.

    Your ammo report does tend to make bolts look good, as long as the round actually fits the chamber, it will go bang. I had a 22 Magnum bolt, and even though I had to manually load shorts and LR, it would still fire them. A single shot would be even easier in that regard.

    What I like about a single shot shotgun is it is insanely easy to convert to black powder.

    https://youtu.be/F85LMFWKwTo

    Dave Canterbury actually has a few videos of how to so it

    ReplyDelete
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    1. No GMO's and non toxic plastic containers are nice things to have, a bonus. But I'd say, screw that. If all they have is wheat that McDonald's would buy, you get that. You'll starve before cancer kills you.

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    2. I agree that you get what you can, judging from what I read in comments, most of us minions are old enough not to worry about that. My statement was simply because Wally wheat seems to be my best bet at the moment.

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    3. Without a local feed stock, I'm unaware of any deal EXCEPT Wal-Mart. Glad that option finally was presented. Far too many areas have no feed store anywhere close. The gas to go get it isn't worth it. Wally is twice the price of feed store and a bucket, so it pays to do your own calculations on that, but generally there is no other choice. Just like ammo or silver, the cost isn't as important as just having it.

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    4. Amazon too has buckets of wheat that you can buy. Total rip off vs packing your own but possibly more reliable.

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    5. I don't know about using Prime, but otherwise Amazon is terrible on the shipping cost for its wheat. Wally is no cost if over $50, or something similar.

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  2. Damn! This is classic "Bison". Best thing you've written since yesterday. Common sense is so uncommon. Keep it simple. Eat and stay dry ! Everything else is gravy!

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    1. "Best thing you've written since yesterday" I'm not sure how I'm going to take that. :)

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    2. I hope you're a regular commentator RP.

      Nice work paying off your house (from yesterdays comment)

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    3. He shows up unless I bore him :)

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  3. Yes. I use a "module" approach to preppin' in that each category or department has it's base items and are either in a storage mode, packed for evacuation, or pre-positioned/cached. As funds or an availability of additional kit items becomes available it is added to it's department within a paticular storage position. As an example, instead of all of your socks in one drawer, they are distributed/dispersed. This allows you to have said items in different locations to prevent total compromise in an unfortunate event. (Local authorities/thugs with badges raid your house looking for drugs you don't even use and decide to steal all your socks while you were handcuffed on the curb cause theirs has holes in them and your stash of socks look warm and comfy!) Have contingency plans for safeguarding and securing precious kit.

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    Replies
    1. I stock Apocalypse Socks myself. You know you might have traveled too far down the rabbit hole when...

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  4. What a stuff of un-ambiguity and preserveness of precious know-how regarding unexpected emotions.

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  5. Good article.

    JeSteR

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    1. I forgot to mention my suggestion for your list. Soap. The 18Ds I worked with in Afghanistan said that many of the health issues the villagers were suffering from could be resolved with soap and water.

      JeSteR

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    2. Thanks Anon 3:41 - I'll definitely up the stockpiles of soap. That's an interesting factoid about Afghans health problems being hygiene related. I think hygiene is an oft overlooked issue in the prepper community

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  6. Great article. We were just talking about Stalingrad and the starvation experienced by the Russians. The Bison plan would see you not starve and the firearm would allow you to give the Commie that showed up at your hovel a "No I don't want to run towards Nazi machine guns with Commie machine guns behind me with 5 rounds in my hand and the rifle carried by someone else"

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    1. Don't think of no rifle as leaving you exposed, but rather as less exhausted since you don't have to lug that twelve pound bastard. See, commies can be your friend. Glad you like-I always worry when I rant on the too oft covered subject.

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  7. This information is 10 years old, so maybe it changed? I stopped buying Golden Bullets in bulk (loose pack) because I discovered they were factory seconds, with many being unable to chamber in a bolt, or a semi (larger chamber than a bolt). Some would only chamber with force. The Golden Bullets in the plastic hard packs, with each round hanging separately, are factory firsts. They're also more expensive per round, close to the price of Mini-Mags, so...Mini Mags it is.
    Peace out

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    Replies
    1. I haven't heard of the chambering issue per se-it seemed in the video he was getting low charges that jammed on loading. But that very well could be what you describe. Back when 550 rounds of Golden were under $10 after tax, I spent a lot of weekends burning through whole boxes in a semi without issue. Call it about 2006. That is the same stuff I stocked up on for the forever gun. So I trust those. Goldens bought after, I think will be a dice roll. I'll need to keep this in mind, and the two groups are separate. I think if I just use First In, First Out I should be fine. Hopefully never needing the newer stuff that is sure to be problematic. I trust your quality evaluation, I'm just hoping to avoid the issue by never needing them. Minions take note.

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    2. Points to consider on a brand or type of product. Usually brand "x", is quality, works well and good price. Brand "y" may be tad higher price and works as well. Buy some diversity of brands and if quality issues arise from corporate assbags cutting corners, all your eggs weren't the same brand that was heavily invested in. And problems are only discovered way later on after the fact of purchase decisions. I do so with ammo from sportsmans guide when sales come up or new line of product is introduced or new surplus sources appear. Also can be applicable to manufactured food products as well, so monitor accordingly.

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    3. Profits for hookers and blow are in danger, so we must do our part and act as both warehouse and quality control. All hail our corporate overlords.

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  8. I’m familiar with that video that Wrenchr2 has mentioned above, about converting a shotgun to blackpowder. That adds some versatility to the shotgun. I also saw that BudK offers a .410/.45LC adapter for the 26.5 mm flare gun (Not to be sold in the PRK). And while it doesn’t provide you with much, it’s a $60 dollar no paper trail pistol (Providing that you already have the flare gun. I do, but live in the PRK).

    https://www.budk.com/Sub-Caliber-Device-For-45LC-410-Ammo-27560

    I also noticed that they sell an 80-Percent Standard Pistol Frame Kit (No FFL). Though I don’t what all is involved in finishing such a kit.

    https://www.budk.com/Black-80-Percent-Standard-Pistol-Frame-Kit-%E2%80%93-Reinforced-Polymer-Construction-Stainless-Steel-Rear-Rail-Module-Adaptable-Grip-Texture-Picatinny-Rail-44233

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    1. The issue with the flare gun insert is the high price, added to the high price of the flare gun ( no longer a $10 item-terrorists were obviously collecting them and planning another jihad. Can't imagine what Home Depot is thinking still selling box cutters-sarc! ). Best to make a pipe gun. As for the 80% pistol, my understanding is that just as with the AR, you need a drill press and possibly XY clamp.

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    2. That's his first name? Hovey? I'll check him out.

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    3. Correct, Hovey. Link provided above

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    4. Thanks. I asked because I want to check him out on the TV rather than the computer. I'm warming up the recliner for more full time occupation :)

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  9. re:
    Your link

    I liked the preview of THE MAN IN THE MOON HAS SOMETHING TO SAY by Jaymes Shore, so I purchased the book.

    Score one for the Bison.

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