5 Survival Myths

1.  The myth that weapons are the most important thing

Firearms should be treated just like catastrophic health insurance.  You should own them hoping that you never need them, but just like insurance, if you need them, you need them badly.   And, just like with hypochondriacs, there is a certain segment of society that can’t seem to look beyond the terrible events that would necessitate using a firearm in self-defense at more likely occurrences.  To make matters even worse, popular culture and the media both suggest that violence during survival situations is normal, and that hardship always brings out the worst in others.

Nothing could be further from the truth.  The most common survival situations are brought on by diseases, accidents, and various kinds of disasters.   With the exception of civil unrest, none of these situations require being armed. Yes, we can all be mugged walking down the street or we can wake up in the middle of the night to a home invasion, but these events are fairly rare.  The average, reasonable person is much more likely to fall down a flight of stairs or get hit by a car than they are to be the victim of a random life threatening attack.  No gun, however large, is going to help you relocate a dislocated shoulder or keep your house from burning down.

There are exceptions, of course. People who live in dangerous areas are, in fact, more likely to become victims than others in more peaceful areas.  But that's a given and people have the ability to make their own choices as to where they choose to live.  Indeed, if the FBI statistics are to be believed (and most of the time they aren't), we will all likely fall victim to fairly serious crime at one time or another. However, despite these somewhat sobering numbers, a possible violent crime occurring once in a person's life is a far cry from the guaranteed eventualities of illness and financial burden, both of which can greatly impact survival and quality of life.

So, from a survival perspective, while firearms are useful tools and can prove to be vitally important, they should take a definite backseat to almost all other preparations, especially if one has no indicators to the contrary.

2.  The myth that it will be every man for himself

Most of the people responsible for giving everyone in the survival community a bad name are the same folks who focus on the self-defense aspects of survivalists. . It doesn’t help that these same people are also the primary focus of the media, and together these strange bedfellows have led the rest of the world to believe that survivalists are all unwashed white folks with mangy beards who live out in the woods in rotten cabins with their even mangier dogs.

The media loves to focus on these people because they represent danger and radicalism.  They did the same thing when they focused on looting after Hurricane Katrina, and in doing so implicated entire neighborhoods in criminality.  Neither representation is accurate and certainly should not be used to classify large segments of society.  The problem is that the participants in either group, and the populace at large, don't recognize that they are anomalies. In other words, the handful of gun toting survivalists who live out in the wilderness lprobably really believe that they are making reasonable preparations for a world ending calamity and the looters in New Orleans probably believed that they were entitled to what they were taking, while the media does what it can to make either group seem larger and more dangerous than they really are in order to gain viewership.

Neither group represents how the vast majority of society functions.  Despite frequent and well-publicized occurrences of self-centered behavior, humans are intrinsically group animals and we rely on each other to survive.  Even though the media takes great efforts to obscure this fact, America's communities function fairly well and are essentially peaceful.  Our communities work and we need them to survive.

Except for a few historical examples, I can’t think of a single person (and certainly nobody I personally know), that does not rely on other human beings in their daily life.  Whether we like it or not, in order to be competent, healthy, and happy, we need a high degree of tolerance and civility towards others, something that certain members of the survivalist community (and, indeed, any community), seem to be lacking.

3.  The myth that you will rise to the occasion

Surviving a genuine, full-fledged large scale crisis is, by its very nature, a difficult undertaking and there is a significant difference between just surviving a situation and being a hero. Too many folks are caught up in the glamorized militaristic and self-defense fantasies which represent idealized heroism in our culture.  This type of heroism, as most people understand it, is nothing but a Hollywood myth.  No matter how brave a or careless a person might be, nobody, and I mean nobody, goes into a life or death situation with any degree of enthusiasm.  Sure there are those people who are so moved by adrenaline or even sheer mania, that they can accomplish impossible feats, but that's reaction, not bravery.  Bravery occurs only when someone is scared out of their wits and still takes action, regardless of personal consequences.  Such individuals are to be honored, but they also tend to have short lifespans.

I’ve never spoken to a single person that had been involved with heroic action (and I've spoken to a lot of them) that was proud of what they had accomplished.  In fact, some of them seemed downright embarrassed.  Not too long ago, for instance, I was speaking with a former military officer who had risked his life to save that of a child.  When I asked him if he would do it again, he answered:  “Sure, it was a kid.”

When I asked him if he would have done the same for an adult, the response was accompanied by a cocked eyebrow: “No.  They made their own bed.  Let them lie in it.”  In other words, even a known hero has his personal limits.  Which brings up another point --- everyone, and I mean everyone, has their limits.

Socrates pointed out that men might be brave in battle one day and less than brave the next.  Discipline and dedication can help calm quaking hearts, but even the best trained men and women will still break when their limit is reached.  It happens to everyone.  More to the point, survivalists aren’t taking parts in organized battles…their goal is to stay alive.  Whether or not they are brave should be a non-issue.  When it comes to reality bravery has much more to do with ego than it has to do with staying alive.  Leave the heroics for the movies.

4.  The myth that you can live off of the land

This is one of my favorites. So many people think that they can live off of the land in the event of a catastrophe.  Let me tell you, I’ve tried it, and it just isn’t possible for any length of time.  The knowledge and skill necessary to live "naturally" is extremely difficult to obtain and even more difficult to put into action.  Living off the land should only occur out of dire necessity and never by design.

At this point I would like to remind everyone that none of the first settlers in the United States would have survived without the provisions they had brought with them or help from the local natives.  And that was during a period when the land was barely inhabited yet full of fish, game, and edible plants.  Since that time we have essentially denuded our landscape (just about every tree has been chopped down and replanted more than once).  There are hardly any bears left, turkeys were only recently reintroduced to large segments of the country, and overall fish stocks are at their lowest points ever. To think that a person could survive off of these paltry pickings alongside another 300 million famished Americans is ridiculous.  Anyone that suggests otherwise is fooling themselves.

5.  The myth that you can hold off multiple armed marauders

Fighting multiple, dedicated opponents is difficult, regardless of your training and prowess. Successful, unarmed fights against multiple attackers generally take the guise of running street battles where the victim uses the environment to limit their opponent’s numeric advantage, getting in the occasional blow at the opportune moment.  Such a strategy can’t be relied upon and should be viewed as a last ditch, neck saving effort.

The only way to take on multiple opponents with a reasonable chance of success is to bring along an equalizer.  A man with a solid understanding of how to use a knife or a stick can hold off a number of unarmed opponents.  However, if you’ve got a weapon then the other guy probably does too.  We live in a nation where 70% of men carry pocket knives and there are probably 400 million firearms in civilian possession.  To imagine that a serious fight will occur without someone resorting to a dangerous implement is a fantasy.

As humans we have limited senses and abilities.  Studies have shown that in an ambush situation even the best shooters are generally only capable of hitting two aggressors before they are eliminated by a third, and this is with the aggressors in the line of vision.  To imagine that a poorly trained shooter could do any better against multiple, dedicated assailants that are not directly in front of them is simply not reasonable.  Defending a static position without support is nothing short of a death wish unless one is better equipped, trainer, and more dedicated than their opponents, and even then the odds of success are extremely slim.

The post 5 Survival Myths appeared first on Survival Gear Blog.

source http://www.survivalgearblog.com/survival-myths/

Thoughts on a real SHTF scenario

There is a forum thread floating around the internet composed by Mac Slavo, a survivor of the war in Bosnia in the mid 1990′s.  In this thread Mac describes the conditions that he and his family endured during these extremely troubling times, a real SHTF scenario which he (but not all of his family) was thankful to make it out of alive.  Mac lays the background in his writings and then fields questions from people who replied to him on an internet forum.  I found the question and answer section to be most enlightening, and I have read it many times over.  After my initial read of the thread I immediately re-assessed my priority list and took steps to improve my preparedness level based on his suggestions.  The way I see it many of us in the prepper community speculate as to what will happen if various SHTF scenarios take place, whereas Max Slavo actually lived through a real SHTF scenario.  His words do not fall upon deaf ears in my household, we have all read about his experiences and take his suggestions very seriously.

The purpose of this post is to outline what I feel are the important points which Mac addresses in his writings and to detail the steps that I (and my family) have taken to become more prepared with respect to each of those points.  In some instances I feel very well prepared to face some of the possible scenarios that Mac describes, in other cases I feel that my family and I have much work to do in order to get where we need to be.  As a side note, this is one of the reasons I am glad to have started this blog.  Not only can it serve as a venue to share ideas with the public but it also serves as my personal journal.  I hope to look back on multiple years of blogging and re-read my exploits in order to  see where my thoughts (and prepping level) were at particular points in time.

Back on topic, and Mac Slavo’s experience with SHTF in Bosnia.  There are 7 main points that I would like to address in this post.  For each of them I will include what I feel is an appropriate quote from his writing and a paraphrase / summary of some of his related thoughts on the matter.  I will outline where I am and where I need to be going forward for each main point.  Hopefully this entire exercise will get all of you to think as well, and to re-assess your present position as I have done.

The importance of having a team

“Strength was in numbers, if you were alone in the house, you’ve probably been robbed or killed, no matter how well armed.”

“One man survivor, no chance (OK it is my opinion) no matter how well armed and prepared at the end you gonna die, I’ve seen that many times.”

This is something I am currently working on and one of those issues where I feel much improvement could be made.  SHTF could happen in a variety of ways, this is something I’ve always said.  It could be a localized natural disaster or even a short term economic meltdown, or it could be a TEOTWAWKI / major SHTF all over the world, back to the stone age we go as a society.  In the first examples I believe my family and I would be fine. We have enough food, water and supplies to sustain ourselves for quite a while and I have enough weapons and ammo to discourage small time looters.  In the latter scenarios I feel we would outlast most but certainly would need to find some sort of team in order to survive for any long period of time.  Even a well trained and well armed individual has to sleep sometime, and even if 2 or 3 of us were awake and in a defensive posture we could not hold off a well organized group of motivated individuals.  I recognize this and am currently working some options as far as the team goes, trust plays a major role and you have to be very careful bringing individuals inside the inner circle.

Food

“About robbing grocery stores and gas stations, it happened very very fast, as soon as shooting started all valuable things was emptied, there [was] some effort of authority to keep it together but everything fell apart in the first weeks.”

There is a belief among individuals who I have spoke with that if the world plunges into madness, that they will simply back their truck up to a Walmart and empty it out for supplies.  They have lots of guns and ammo after all, so who would be able to stop them?  Clearly this line of thinking is flawed.  As Mac mentioned in the article the store shelves would be empty in a matter of days and there would be no resupply of trucks coming in to refill them.  Also think about this, if you have guns and are willing to rob a store in order to feed your family how many others out there are just like you?  Suffering a gunshot  wound (with very little medical support available) over a bag of rice or can of beans in the initial stages of SHTF would be horrible to say the least.

I feel that my family and I are prepared to outlast a short term (3-6 months) food shortage.  Within the walls of my house we have enough stockpiled to last for at least 6 to 8 months if not longer.  I also have seeds for gardening, and if it came to that we would be able to grow our own vegetables for quite some time.  I do feel like I need to buy more long term food storage items, maybe another year’s supply worth of food from Coscto or Beprepared.com. Not only could this food serve to sustain our family but I’m sure when times get rough there will be others who need food.  I’m sure we could barter with it, exchanging food for loyalty or even labor.  The possibilities are endless but the bottom line is having food on hand is essential and I feel pretty good with what is in the basement currently.

Water

“…lot of people died from diseases, mostly from bad water (two of my family members)”

This area would definitely be a “needs improvement” on my preparedness score card.  I feel relatively okay about our water situation but there are still improvements that must be made.  I have quite a few 1 gallon containers in the basement, a large 55 gallon barrel with a 5 year storage life, and a water filter systemwhich could potentially filter river water (we live within a mile of the river) for consumption.  Even with all that in place the option to boil water still exists and I also have water purification tablets to use if necessary.  Still part of me knows that is not enough, water is the essence of life and I feel that we need more to be able to survive if SHTF.  My plans are to get one or two more 55 gallon storage devices, and to also get a Berkey filter system which is quite possibly the best and most well known filter system on the market today.  Getting sick from drinking bad water is something that could definitely lead to a quick and miserable death, and that is not a road which I want any of us to have to go down.

Guns and Ammunition

“When somebody attack you or your family you need to show then that you are very ready”

“There was pretty much shooting in town, I did not have enough weapon in the beginning, one rifle and one pistol (WW2) , maybe 100 bullets, later I trade some things for more rifles and ammo.”

The best type of gun fight is the one that you never get in.  If you get into a gun fight, someone is going to get shot and I sure as hell don’t want that someone to be me or any of my family.  However it is very important to have the means to protect ones self in a SHTF scenario where desperate people are willing to take big risks to feed their families.  Mac makes it clear in his writings that you should have enough guns and ammo and by enough he means the more the better.  I feel pretty decent on where I am with my current inventory but there is always room for improvement.

I need to purchase another long gun and the ammo to go with it, and this needs to be of the 308 (NATO) variety.  My current AR pumps out 5.56 which can definitely be an effective and lethal round, but the 308 is absolutely devastating and can punch through walls and vehicles much more effectively.  I hope to pick up a battle rifle of the 308 caliber here sometime this spring, and since the ammo is significantly more expensive these are items which I must budget for.

In addition to the guns and ammo you have to have people who can actually employ them effectively.  I’ve trained my wife, daughter and brother to shoot but they need more training.  Like Mac says there is no such thing as a one man army, those guys are among the first ones to die.  I need to have effective shooters who I can count on to lay down effective fire if we are in a time of crisis.  The average shooter, even someone familiar with a weapon like an AR15, could not hit a moving target approaching their position (someone ducking behind cover and moving from point to point).  The average shooter certainly would not be able to do this while under fire themselves.  There is a huge difference between being able to put a round into a paper target while lying on the ground and being able to employ a weapon when under distress.  This is why I know that there is still definite room for improvement when it comes to this category.

Medicine and Hygiene

“Wounds was mostly gunshot wounds of course, without specialists and everything else, if wounded managed to find a doctor somewhere he had like 30% chances to live, again it is not a movie, mostly they died, lot of [them] died even from minor cuts and infections.”

“My opinion that hygiene things is more important maybe than food, you can easily shoot pigeon…but you can not shoot hand sanitizer.”

“Believe me with good knowledge and good amount of meds you are gonna be rich.”

Medicine and hygiene are severely overlooked in my opinion when it comes to preparing for SHTF / TEOTWAWKI.  In his article Mac talks about trading his medical expertise (he is a trained EMT) for food or other items, and that the shortage of good antibiotics was a serious issue.  Fortunately for my family my wife has her Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing and works daily in the operating room of a very large hospital.  She is not only familiar with medicinal practices and tools, she also gets a front row seat to many life saving procedures which occur on a daily basis.  Granted she is no surgeon but some exposure is better than none at all, and while she would not be able to remove a bullet from a gunshot wound to the stomach she definitely could suture or tend to minor wounds.  All of her knowledge could come in handy in a SHTF situation where those in need could trade valuable items for her skill in the medical field.  Survival is not only about having stuff, it is about having skills.

In addition to my wife’s skills I feel pretty good about our stockpile of medical items.  I have a large medical kit and we try to supplement that with other items whenever possible.  In addition to the medical supplies, hygiene items are also high on the priority list, especially when it comes to avoiding disease and staying healthy.  Mac said it best that you simply cannot shoot a bottle of hand sanitizer.  I have a good stockpile of things that, when in very austere conditions for an extended period of time, go a long way to helping a person maintain their feeling of being human.  Hand sanitizer, toilet paper, toothbrushes and toothpaste, soap and body lotion, the list goes on and on.  These are all very important items which are relatively cheap to purchase but could turn into gold if SHTF.  I feel pretty good at my level of preparedness with respect to medical and hygiene items but there is always room for improvement.

Maintaining the right appearances

“It may look weird to say but the most secure houses are gone first, of course we had some very nice houses in neighborhood, with walls, dogs, alarms, steel bars on windows and alarms.  And you can guess what happened, mobs attacked those houses first.”

“I agree with low profile policy, it is very important not to attract people with anything, but when they come, you need to have numbers, people and guns, best people is your family.”

“No matter how good is your house security, how good is your weapon, if people see that they have good reason to rob you, they probably rob you…stay uninteresting.”

When reading this part of the article I came to realize just how flawed my original plan was.  I was literally thinking about turning my house into a fortress, barricading the windows and sandbagging places from which to shoot if necessary, what a huge mistake that would have been!  Instead if the SHTF and things get really bad, my goal is to make my house as uninteresting as possible.  Broken out windows, door off the hinges, something to give possible looters a sign that they should just move on, this house has already been ransacked and there is nothing there of value.

Of course there is a fine line and different schools of thought related to this topic and if we did end up forming some sort of survival community setting up defenses would be an absolute necessity.  Even then you don’t want to make the community an obvious target, from a mob mentality if you are working so hard to defend something what exactly do you have to hide? For now my thoughts are: the best thing to do is to lay low and only defend yourself if necessary.

Bartering

“It is a great idea to have a fuel generator (electrical generating unit?) but I think it is better idea to have 1000 bic lighters.  Fuel generator is great, but in SHTF scenario in town is going to attract a whole army, 1000 bic lighters don’t take too much space, cheap, you can always trade it for something.”

Bartering and the black market will be huge in a SHTF / TEOTWAWKI scenario and I wonder why I failed to see this until recently.  I have since adjusted my prepping in order to compensate for my low supply of bartering items.  I feel pretty good about the track that I am on but need a few more months of shopping before I feel decent.  The good news is stockpiling small items for trade is a relatively cheap process, small bottles of hand sanitizer or lighters are easy to come by and store well.  I have my eye on acquiring more pints of liquor and I hope to build a nice variety of the cheap stuff.  Like Mac mentioned, top shelf or bottom shelf, it all drank the same when SHTF.

Conclusion

“In a situation like that lot of things change, most of people turned into monsters, it was ugly.”

I truly believe that I am better prepared to face a SHTF scenario that 99% of those who live around me.  Much of that confidence is linked to what we have stockpiled up, but also in the skills that we have as a family and the mindset that we have developed since starting on this journey.  I hope that nothing ever happens and that I pass on in 40 to 50 years with a whole bunch of extra stuff stored up, completely unused.  Yet these are troubled times in which we live and to not prepare could mean the difference between life and death.  Reading Mac’s article and his real SHTF experiences have given me quite a perspective on where I am and and where I need to go.

The post Thoughts on a real SHTF scenario appeared first on Survival Gear Blog.

source http://www.survivalgearblog.com/thoughts-real-shtf-scenario/

How Much Food & How Long to Store

Some of the most common questions regarding food storage are how much should I store, and how long can I store it for? This blog post should help in answering these questions.

Here are some suggestions for items within each of these categories that you can use. You can divide up the yearly amount for each major category among the different types of foods within that category according to what fits your family.

It’s important to store your food at a room temperature of 75 degrees Fahrenheit or less, with as little humidity as possible if you can.

The following are suggested amounts to store per person unless stated otherwise, per year

Grains:                                           300 lbs

Legumes:                                         60 lbs

Powdered Milk:                              16 lbs

Cooking Oil:                                     25 lbs

Sugar or Honey:                             60 lbs

Salt:                                                      8 lbs

Fruits:                                              185 lbs (per family)

Vegetables:                                    185 lbs (per family)

Cooking Essentials:                           8 lbs

Meats/Meat Substitutes                20 lbs

 

When storing food for more than a year, the aim is to get the oxygen out of the food to the greatest extent possible. This will not only kill any microorganisms, but will also keep the food from going rancid.

There are a few ways you can do it on your own. First, you can use oxygen absorbers, but the trick is you have to use them correctly and in the right size to be sure you get out as much oxygen as you can.

For a #10 can (about the size of a paint can), you need a 300cc – 500cc absorber, depending on whether there will be a lot of air space in the food. For a 5 or 6 gallon bucket, you’ll need a 1000cc – 2000cc absorber depending on what you’re storing. If there is more air in the bucket, like when you store pasta, then you should use the higher absorber. For grains, you can use the lower. It helps if you use mylar bags to put the grain or pasta in first, and add the oxygen absorber(s). You can use two 500 cc absorbers for pasta, for example, placing one half way up in the food and then the second one near the top. Then seal the bag and store with an airtight lid.

The second way people can store food long term themselves is to use nitrogen. You replace the oxygen in the container/bag with nitrogen. However, you would need to be sure you had the proper equipment and got enough oxygen out.

The third way is to use dry ice. I don’t think as many people use this method as much these days as perhaps in the past.

Quite frankly, in my opinion, the easiest thing to do is to buy it from a food storage company, or to use oxygen absorbers if doing it yourself. Why make it harder than it has to be?

Grains:  Be sure to package your foods so that rodents and bugs can’t get it.

Approximate Shelf Life (stored in optimum conditions such as airtight buckets):**

Amaranth                                                          20 years

Barley                                                                   8 years

Cereal                                                                2-3 years

Cornmeal                                                           25 years

Flour                                                                     5 years

Millett                                                                 20 years

Mixes – pancake, muffin, bread                      2 years

Oats                                                                     25 years

Pasta                                                                      8 years

Quinoa                                                                20 years

Rice (white)                                                        30 years

Wheat                                                                  30 years

Legumes/Beans (Dried):

Black Beans                                                        30 years

Kidney Beans                                                     25 years

Lentils                                                                  30 years

Lima Beans                                                         30 years

Pinto Beans                                                        25 years

White Navy Beans                                              30 years

Milk/ Dairy:

Cheese (freeze dried)                                       20 years

Evaporated Milk                                                  2 years

Non-fat Powdered Milk                                    25 years

Sweetened Condensed Milk                              2 years

Yogurt (freeze dried)                                         25 years

Sugar:

Brown Sugar                                                        10 years

Corn Syrup                                                              2 years

Honey (real not manufactured)                 Indefinitely

Jams/Jellies                                                              2 years

Jello                                                                      18 months

Maple Syrup                                                             2 years

Molasses                                                                   2 years

Powdered Sugar (bags)                                         2 years
30 years in airtight bucket

Pudding                                                                18 months

White Granulated Sugar       30 years in airtight bucket

Oils/Fats:

Butter                                                          1 year in freezer
5 years if butter powder

Cooking oil                                                                1-2 years

Margarine                                                     1 year in freezer

Mayonnaise                                                              1-2 years

Olive Oil                                                                     1-2 years

Peanut Butter                                                                1 year
5 – 6 years if dehydrated powder

Salad dressing                                                                1 year

Shortening                                3-5 years in unopened can
10 years if powder

Fruits and Vegetables  – most fruits and vegetables that are freeze dried will last for 25 years.

Meat – most meat that is freeze dried will last for 25 years

Cooking Essentials:

Baking Powder                                                            3 years
30 years if in airtight bucket

Baking Soda                                                                 3 years
30 years in airtight bucket

Cocoa                                                                            3 years

Eggs                                                       3 years if powdered

Vanilla                                                                           3 years

Vinegar                                                                       2 years +

Yeast                                                              1 year in freezer

Don’t forget to add condiments and spices to your supplies. Most condiments will last about 2 years in a cool, dry place. And dried spices are good for at least 3 years if kept dry and bug-free.

Start with your favorites and add a bit each month.

Happy Prepping!

The post How Much Food & How Long to Store appeared first on Survival Gear Blog.

source http://www.survivalgearblog.com/how-much-food-how-long-to-store/

5 Survival Knots Worth Learning

Basic knot tying is something that everyone should know.  In a survival situation, being able to quickly tie a knot to secure a shelter or rescue someone could mean the difference between life and death.

Take a few minutes to learn these 5 critical survival knots and you will be well equipped to handle most situations!

Before beginning, I recommend using paracord while learning to tie knots.  It is lightweight, cheap, and has about a million different survival uses.  Make sure to buy type III paracord with 7 internal strands like this Rothco 550lb. Type III Nylon Paracord.

NOTE: Click the name of a knot to see an animation that teaches how to tie it.

1. Overhand Knot

The most basic knot of all, and probably one of the most useful.  The overhand knot is called a stopper knot, or a backup knot.  Stopper knots are typically tied after an initial knot to prevent it from coming undone.  The overhand knot is simply rope wrapped around itself (forming a knot) to prevent the end from slipping.  Other knots I will talk about involve securing a rope to an object.

Why You Should Know It

• The overhand knot can be used to prevent other knots from coming undone.

2. Two Half Hitches

The half hitch is essentially an overhand knot tied around an object.  Alone, this knot isn’t very secure.  But when an additional half hitch is tied, it becomes an excellent way to secure a rope around an object.  After a “two half hitch” is tied, it can be easily tightened to the tree or object it was tied to.

Why You Should Know It

• An excellent way to secure rope to a tree for things such as a clothes line or tarp shelter support.  This knot should only be used to secure the rope to the first of the two trees.  The trucker hitch or a similar knot should be used to tighten and tie the rope to the second tree.

3. Trucker Hitch

The trucker hitch is a really cool knot that creates a loop on your rope or cord.  Basically you run your rope around an object, back through the loop and the pull the end to make the line very tight.  It really is amazing how tight you can get a line using two half hitches first and a trucker hitch on the other side.

Why You Should Know It

• Can be used to tighten and secure a line when the first end has already been secured to an anchor.

• Can be used to secure objects in the bed of a truck or similar scenario.

4. Bowline Knot

The bowline knot allows a fixed loop to be formed on the end of a rope.  This knot can take a tremendous amount of abuse and will not slip.  Its nickname is “the king of all knots” and it is often used when a rope is lowered down to rescue someone.

Why You Should Know It

• Can be used to safely raise or lower an object.

• An excellent choice any time a loop that will not slip is needed.

5. Handcuff Knot

The handcuff knot is a fun shtf knot that I thought I would throw in here   Basically it creates two loops that can be easily tightened around the wrists.  After tightening, a simple overhand knot should be used to secure each end.

Why You Should Know It

• WROL – You just never know what will happen and you might need this knot to tie up a bad guy until law is restored.

The post 5 Survival Knots Worth Learning appeared first on Survival Gear Blog.

source http://www.survivalgearblog.com/5-survival-knots-worth-learning/

Lock Picking: A SHTF Skill You Should Know

There is a mountain of information about lock picking on the internet, but most of it makes lock picking seem intimidating or difficult to learn. My experience was exactly the opposite so I was inspired to share what I learned.

Why Lock Picking is Worth Learning

Makes you more valuable Post-SHTF

There have been many posts about the value of skills that can be applied when SHTF. Lock picking is one of them. If you can pick locks, you can help people who lost their keys, teach others to pick locks (likely a desirable skill in a SHTF group), and of course open all kinds of locked doors, boxes, etc.  I’m not advocating doing anything illegal, but you get the idea.

Incredibly Easy to Learn the Basics

After receiving my set of lock picks it took me about 5 minutes to pick my first lock (a padlock). I had absolutely no prior experience and to be honest didn’t even read any how-to’s before I received the picks. I just searched for “how to pick a lock” and 5 minutes later I had my first successful attempt.

The time required might vary slightly based on the person and the lock being used, but generally it shouldn’t take very long to learn this skill. After 15-30 minutes I could pick a residential door lock too!

Costs Virtually Nothing to Get Started

Lock picking sets are very inexpensive. Many sets cost less than $20 dollars. You can find links to a couple of quality beginner sets further down in this article.

Takes Little/No Space in a Bug Out Bag

Lock picks are pocket sized items that barely even register on a scale. This makes them an awesome addition to any bug out bag!

Learning to Pick Locks

Basics of Lock Picking

A typical lock is a cylinder which contains a set of pins. The basic idea of lock picking is to apply tension to the cylinder (to mimic a key turning) while manipulating the pins with a pick. When using a key to open a lock normally, the key’s grooves are what manipulates the pins.

Lock picking information on the internet might make it sound difficult to learn, but it is actually very simple, especially when using a “rake” pick which I will talk about in the next section.

Tools Needed

• Tension Wrench – A tension wrench is inserted into the bottom of the lock (opposite side of the pins, or where the flat part of a key would go). After it is inserted into the cylinder, slight pressure is applied up or down on the half of the wrench that is sticking out of the lock. This will allow the lock to open when the pins are manipulated correctly. Tension must be applied and maintained the entire time you are picking the lock. Tension must also be applied in the correct direction because locks usually only turn in one direction.

• Pick – With tension applied, the pick is inserted into the cylinder and used to push each pin up until the lock slides open. Instead of trying to individually feel each pin with a traditional pick, a “rake” pick can be used to make the process much easier. Simply rake the pick back and forth with tension applied until the lock opens. This takes a little getting used to, but once you get the hang of it you will be able to open many different locks easily.Although there are many different types of picks, the “rake” style pick has been able to open just about all of the common locks I have tried it on. More advanced locks may required different types of picks, but that is something I would not be concerned about unless you decide to take your skills to the next level.

Beginner Sets

There are some excellent and very affordable beginner sets available that include the basic types of picks (including the easy to use rake pick) and one or more tension wrenches. Here are two sets by Southord that seem to be good bargains and are widely recommended for beginners:

Southord 5 Piece Set – Very affordable. Comes with a lock picking manual.

Southord 8 Piece Set – Has a an extra style of pick, a broken key extractor, and an additional tension wrench compared to the 5 piece set.

The two sets above were recommended the most when I was searching.  There are plenty of other options out there.

Lock Picking Books

Personally, I simply searched “how to pick a lock” when I started and found it fairly easy to pick up. However, if you are having difficulty or want to have a greater understanding of lock picking, here are two highly rated books that will surely help you:

Visual Guide to Lock Picking (Third Edition)

Practical Lock Picking (Second Edition)

Locks That Can Easily be Picked

Door Locks, Deadbolts and Padlocks

All of these locks typically use standard tumbler lock mechanisms. These locks are easy to pick once you get the hang of it. After about 15-30 minutes of practice with no prior experience I was able to pick this type of lock quite easily. With some more practice, you can open these locks quickly.

Filing cabinets, lockers, etc.

These locks use wafer lock mechanisms. Wafer locks are even easier to pick than tumbler locks, so if you learn to pick tumbler locks, you will be an ace at these types of locks also.

Conclusion

Lock picking is a fun, affordable, easy to learn skill that is valuable in a SHTF scenario. If you haven’t learned it yet, now is the time!

A note about using lock picks:  Check your local laws regarding the use of lock picks.  In the U.S. most states allow you to carry lock picks.  There are a handful of states that consider carrying them “criminal intent”.  You can find the laws for the each state in the U.S. here.

The post Lock Picking: A SHTF Skill You Should Know appeared first on Survival Gear Blog.

source http://www.survivalgearblog.com/lock-picking-shtf-skill-know/

Post-SHTF OPSEC

OPSEC, or Operational Security, refers to keeping your everyday movements and actions discreet to prevent malicious parties from being able to piece together important information such as your schedule or the status of your preps.

Many preppers and non-preppers alike are familiar with obvious day to day OPSEC procedures (i.e. not putting a key under your door mat when someone might be able to see you).  But what happens in a SHTF scenario?  As people start to get hungry and potentially violent, the rules change and a stricter set of OPSEC standards needs to be applied.

I have come up with a few examples of how OPSEC will need to change post-shtf.  As you are reading these keep in mind that OPSEC, similar to prepping in general, is a mindset the needs to be acquired and applied to the situation at hand.

Daily Routine/Travel Routes

In a pre-collapse world, many people that live in the same area follow similar schedules.  For example, in a particular neighborhood, the majority of people might work 9-5 Monday through Friday.  Burglars use this information to plan break-ins.

Post-shtf, it will not just be burglars any more.  Now it’s any desperate individual with mouths to feed.  You might even have people watching which route you take to find a vulnerable point to attack you away from the security of your home.

To increase your security, think about varying your schedule and alternating routes.

Noise Level

Before the chaos, noise coming from a house is typically just dismissed as a nuisance by the casual observer.  Post-shtf however, noise means activity, which means people, which means supplies.  Loud items like portable generators and power tools should only be used when absolutely necessary, and ideally during the daytime when you are not the only person in the area making noise.

Visible Security Measures

While having visible security measures is a deterrent post-shtf, if you suddenly erect a 10 foot barb wire fence with guard towers around a trailer, you might start to draw some unwanted attention.  While that example is obviously a bit extreme, the point here is that you should make the necessary improvements to secure your home post-shtf, but avoid taking any measures the might be out of place for the area that you live in.  You want to make yourself look like a difficult target that is not worth the time.  The more high end or expensive security measures you have in place, especially if it is obvious that you had planned ahead of time for a shtf event, the more likely it is that someone might think you have something worth hiding.

Conclusion

In good times, people do bad things. In bad times, more people do worse things.  You would be amazed at what people, even those you consider “friends”, are capable of.

OPSEC becomes even more important to your survival in a collapse.  The best way to boost your operational security post-shtf is to get the right mindset pre-shtf.  Start by doing the simple things.

The post Post-SHTF OPSEC appeared first on Survival Gear Blog.

source http://www.survivalgearblog.com/post-shtf-opsec/

Mentally Preparing for a Break-In

Being mentally prepared to act quickly and decisively in response to a home break-in could save your life.  When you are unsuspectingly thrown into a life threatening situation, the adrenaline rush is too powerful for you to think logically, forcing you to rely on your instinct.  With the proper mental preparation, your training will become your instinct.

In this article I will list some of the things that have crossed my mind that I believe might help you survive if your home is broken into.

Reducing Risk

The first and most important thing you can do is learn how criminals choose their targets and take the proper steps to reduce your risk.  I wrote a full article about this called How to Prevent Burglary.  By making yourself a difficult target, you significantly reduce the chances of break-in and make it easier to plan your defense if someone breaks in.

Planning your Defense

If you have done everything you can to prevent a break-in, you now need to think about what you would do if someone still decides to target you.

Thinking about Different Scenarios

OK, so lets think about how and when a break-in might occur?  Most people automatically think they will be sleeping in bed at night and hear a loud noise like glass shattering.  But this is only one out of many ways that a break-in might happen.  What if  you pull up into your driveway and see someone in your house?  What if you fall asleep on your couch instead of your bed, and you planned on defending your home with a gun that is now difficult to get to?  Needless to say there are a number of scenarios that could become a reality, but you should try to focus on the most likely ones.

Deciding your course of Action

For each major scenario, you need to decide ahead of time what action you will take.  This will allow you to take action quickly and calmly.  For example, if you plan to defend your home with a gun, you need to know what the laws are in you area.  Does the law allow you to use a gun based on the fact that someone has broken in, or do they have to display a weapon or make a threat before it is legal to use a gun?  Once you know what the laws are in your area, you need to know exactly what you plan to do during a confrontation.  There will be no time to second guess yourself.

Having the Element of Surprise

By knowing your course of action in advance and knowing the layout of your home better than anyone, you now have the element of surprise.  A criminal is going to make decisions re-actively and will therefor be at a disadvantage.  For example, image you are waiting around the corner with a gun that you plan to use if confronted.  If the bad guy walks into that room, they will have to locate you, identify you as a threat, and make the decision to draw a weapon on you.  All you have to do is pull the trigger.

Minimizing Collateral Damage

Collateral damage is always something that should be considered, especially if using a firearm for home defense.  Most common calibers will easily go through drywall and siding while still maintaining a deadly velocity.  With guns it is important to consider safe shooting lanes that have no risk of injuring other people if the shot misses.  This should be factored in when deciding how you will position yourself.  If you are not using deadly force, you still need to consider things such as keeping valuables in areas away from your spouse or children and leading any confrontation away from your loved ones.

The post Mentally Preparing for a Break-In appeared first on Survival Gear Blog.

source http://www.survivalgearblog.com/mentally-preparing-break/