I haven’t done a readers questions post in a couple of weeks so I’m going to knock out a few today… For all the new people that have been joining us lately, I receive a lot of emails from readers with questions about something we’ve been discussing. Sometimes I will just send an email response and bthat’s it but other times the answer is worth sharing with the group. So, if you have something you want clarified or expanded on, send me an email!

 

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Question #1 -     “After the bare bones guns are acquired, what’s next?”

 

 

   I received a number of responses to the “What’s in your gun cabinet” post. Most people agreed with me to the larger extent but several asked this question or one similar… Once we have these basics covered, what do I think should come next?

 

   Well, that’s pretty subjective! I’ve already said that I once was a “more is better” guy when it came to firearms, I guess I still am to some degree. After you have the basics covered, I would probably think that you would be free to augment the collection with whatever suits you.

 

   I would consider a high capacity rifle or carbine a good addition. However, unless all the other areas of your preps are handled, I don’t think I would be able to justify a decked out $1500 AR-15. There’s a place for those pieces in any collection but that’s after the food supply and other “keeps ya alive” areas have been shored up, at least in my opinion.

 

   I’ll take you back with me to my passionate 20’s once again… I was completely into squirreling away as many high capacity weapons as possible… MANY thousands of rounds of ammo and all the logistics to keep a small army running equipped. I truly believed that this is what would be necessary to keep our country free. Voices of respected older relatives where dismissed when they tried to help me see the error in my thinking. I recall one specific word of advise, that a good man with a hunting rifle and ability to use it could do far more for the cause of freedom than an army of passionate young men playing batman in the boondocks could… I couldn’t see it then but I can now!

 

   I suspect that most of the readers here already have their basic level and probably the second, third and fourth string firearms as well. For the newer and more cost sensitive preppers, I would suggest not over looking those additional hunting rifles. Maybe spend some discretionary money on a rifle that is built to be more robust. Pick a good quality rifle with the approach of turning it into a solid long range tack driver. I would even consider selecting a second rifle of the same make as your first “Basic” hunting rifle. This would give you parts compatibility -”Two is one and one is none”.

 

   As usual, we could go round and round arquing this topic. All I can say from experience is that having a firearm is better than not having a  firearm. Those basic level guns will take care of nearly any credible need or threat. After that, it’s all frosting on the cake!

 

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Question #2 -     “How long do I give the economy before – game over?”

 

 

   We had a pretty dark week here at Preppernation last week. Even considering the fact that we all have some times that we might see the situation as worse than it truly might be, last week wasn’t one of those for me. I actually think we have come to an ending of sorts for our nation.

 

   Unless, something major were to change in our nation… We’re running right at a brick wall or maybe for the edge of a cliff would be a better analogy. I think that we are at a precarious time in history that will only be clear when it’s reviewed in whatever books are eventually written about what we are seeing first hand. With the exception of something like this whole cap-n-trade debacle creating one last artificial bubble, I can’t see where the money will come from to even begin to fund the obligations that our nation is already on the hook for.

 

   Politicians would have to stop spending and make significant/strategic budget cuts before I would give us more than a year or two on the outside. Human nature and especially political nature has run to far a muck to expect that the leadership available to us, currently in power or standing on the sidelines, will make any of these changes.

 

   I’m still waiting for someone to step forward and explain the error in my thought process! I think we are at “Game Over” now. So that’s the answer to this question, in its most basic form!

 

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Question #3 -     “What about traps and snares for taking small game?”

 

 

   I like the idea! I can’t remember if we’ve discussed this topic in a previous post or not? We’re at the 6 month mark and I’ve started to loose track of what we’ve looked at and what’s new to preppernation…

 

   Anyway, like I said, I like the idea of using traps and snares for taking the small game that will hopefully still be in abundance after we collectively take the plunge! I plan to implement these tools widely around my BOL.

 

   Shamefully, I have to admit that like so many other things in my preppers tool chest, I have yet to get them out and become proficient. Many of you will probably recall seeing ads on the survival websites for a website called “Buckshots Camp”? This man was and I believe still is a professional trapper. Meaning that he provides himself an income from the trade.

 

   Buckshot had a series of DVD’s he put out on trapping and snaring. I purchased these and a supply of his #10 conibear traps and a few dozen snares in a variety of small to medium sizes. I watched the DVD’s and did try out one of the traps on a couple of occasions. The DVD’s were made by Buckshot himself and were not of good quality. However, the content was VERY good and you could see that this guy was or is the real McCoy, his techniques worked and would be replicable.

 

   My attempts at using the traps were aimed at an offensive skunk or skunks that had taken up residence under a cabin at my original bug out location. Each time I set the traps and left them overnight I would come back to find squirrels in them. This leads me to believe first, that these traps do work and will work for me. Second, that skunks aren’t as dumb as squirrels and will require additional tactics to relocate!

 

   I have the gear but lack the skills to feel confident in my abilities! As long as this real estate market keeps inching along than I’ll be able to keep my doors open and thus have a very limited amount of time to devote to new skills. Having the equipment is alright but I do hope to develop a margin of success at using them before the time came to need to rely on them for food production.

 

   I would recommend seeking out a supply of these tools and taking the time to become proficient. The traps will catch the animals and are reusable for ever as long as they are not abused. I have a large supply of .22 caliber ammunition but it’s not endless, these traps will come handy if society takes it’s time getting back on its feet! Plan accordingly!

 

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Prepper

 

Alright, here we are again… Did anyone rush out and see the “Book of Eli”? Oh well, it’ll still be there this weekend… I have some more emailed questions to go through today, so I’ll just get started on them…

 

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Question #1 -     “What do I think of alcohol and/or tobacco as barter items?”

 

 

Honestly, I think they would be GREAT items to stock up on for that purpose. They meet all the logical criteria that a trader might hope to want! It would be very easy to store small divisible units and maximise your potential trades.

 

It would seem that there has always been a demand for these items and I can’t see why that would change. That said… Let me move on to the single objection that I have and have heard to storing these items…

 

I don’t currently have any of these items in my barter goods… Actually, I don’t have them for any other purpose either. I have a MILD moral dilemma over to store these items or not. I don’t use these products myself and haven’t for many years but I do know they will be a sought after commodity! I have heard people make the case that it would be better to let the chips fall where they will for the habitual users of tobacco and alcohol, they will have to quit eventually, right? We may disagree but that is a compelling argument to me…

 

On the other hand, I have heard the stories from WW2 and other examples where a bottle of this or that was used to ply a guard or what have you with good results. It would be with this in mind and for this reason I would consider stocking these as barter goods.

 

When and if I do come to a conclusion on what we will do in this regard I will let you know. If you don’t have an objection to these products, I can’t think of a better thing to store purely for the purposes of trading stock!

 

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Question #2 -     “How much fuel should the average prepper have stored away?”

 

 

First, what’s an average prepper? For the sake of argument, lets say the reader means an average family (2-4 people) and an average disaster scenario (2-7 days). I know that many of you won’t even agree to this assumption but I have to have a base line to build an answer from… So here goes…

 

 We will need to decide first what fuel we are going to need. Is it propane for a camp stove or BBQ grill? Coleman fuel for a lantern? Gasoline for the back-up generator? We might even need all of these different fuels and for the AVERAGE scenario, we shouldn’t have to much trouble accommodating a fuel supply like this.

  

Let’s start by making a list, what fuels are we going to stock up on… Can we make due with just a single fuel? Probably not as most of the scenarios that I would put in this “average” range would require us to set aside additional gasoline for the vehicles too. Once we have the fuel powered appliances all identified and which specific fuels they require then we can move to step 2.

 

In step 2, we will need to do a little guesstimating. I think that most of us have a decent idea of how much fuel our equipment would typically use over a specific time period. It is this time period that we will need to establish so we can do the multiplication for as many days as we think would be prudent.

 

For example our primary back-up generator will easily run several hours on a gallon of gas. I think that at a minimum I would be running the unit for several hours each day… So if I want to reach our 7 day goal, I will need at least 7 gallons of fuel. If we do the same exercise with each piece of equipment we plan to utilize, it won’t take long to establish a general list of fuel that will be needed to cover us for the duration.

 

As with most any preps we put aside, I suggest you over estimate. Setting yourself up with an extra 10% would be cheap insurance and an outstanding way to build good will with the neighbors, if the time ever comes that you need these supplies. Make sure that as you acquire your fuel reserves, good records are kept so a rotation schedule can be established as well.

 

Our personal fuel reserves for our primary residence in the city are as follows -

 

 

Gasoline – 25 gallons (Generator, Automobiles)

 

Diesel – 15 gallons (Pickup Truck)

 

Propane -  15+ gallons (Camp stove, Lantern, BBQ)

 

Kerosene – 15 gallons (Heater, Lamps)

 

 

I realize that this isn’t exactly a ton of fuel but it should be sufficient to carry us through 90% of the more likely scenarios.

 

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Questions #3 -     “Do I think that a 20 year old needs to be thinking about investing for retirement?”

 

 

Ahh, YES! I think that this would be the perfect time to begin saving and/or investing for the long term! I also want to say that I think you’re smart to even have the foresight to ask this question.

 

The short answer to the question being “Yes”, would naturally lead us to a much longer answer… The question being “What should I invest in?” This will depend on exactly what your current circumstances are? Will these investments be the only investments you will currently be making or do you work for a company that has a retirement program that you can choose to participate in?

 

For today let’s assume you’re on your own… This being the case, I would suggest starting out with a multiple tiered approach. First a traditional retirement investment account, probably a ROTH IRA. Second, a cash account, for flexibility.

 

I don’t have the room to do a full investment post today so I will go into why I would choose the ROTH IRA, at another time. The IRA structure will have some tax advantages that will be beneficial down the road and I would allocate up to 50% of the investment dollars to this account.

 

The second account or “Cash” account will be a designated place for the young investor to stash away money in a way that will allow the funds to remain liquid. It’s this account that will allow for non-traditional investments to be made when the time is right or a good deal can be struck. It takes time for cash to accumulate in sufficient amounts to make many investments, such as a home or land purchase. Even precious metals investing can require a relatively large cash outlay from time to time. This account should always be looked at as an investment account and not just a savings account. As the funds go in here, they should only come out for a bonafide, carefully considered, investment.

 

The dollar amount that was mentioned in the email was only $100 dollars a month. If these funds were divided into the 2 accounts I propose at $50 per account, it will take a long time to add up. All I can say is that following the typical long term investment program of a young person, the funds would add up even slower, this is do to the fact that there would be nothing invested at all! I would encourage every young person to start doing something in this regard even if it is only $20 dollars each month. No matter what direction your life might take, having any amount of money set aside will make things easier and it is a great habit to start at an early age!

 

 

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Question #4 -     “If  I had to choose only one firearm for survival, which would it be?”

 

 

It’s always nice to have someone try to pin you down to only having one gun around when the SHTF. The popular macho answer would be a high capacity black rifle. I do like the black rifles, don’t confuse the issue… However, if I have to choose one gun to do many things, I doubt the main battle rifle would be the smartest choice.

 

Just like everyone else, I would prefer to have more than one gun at my disposal but if one is all I get… It would probably be a shotgun. I know that the shotgun is hardly the best tool for all tasks but it is a capable piece of equipment and can fill many roles adequately.

 

It goes without saying that the shotgun could be used to take game both on the ground as well as on the wing. There are few animals in North America that couldn’t be harvested using a properly loaded shotgun. Over the years we have all probably either read or heard a story about a shotgun being used for defense, both against two legged and four legged predators.

 

If I can only have this one firearm, I would make the best of the situation… With some forethought a variety of ammunition could be acquired and stored away. Multiple sizes of both bird and buck shot, as well as a selection of slugs. With these shell options and possibly even a choice of multiple barrels lengths/chokes, I certainly wouldn’t feel lacking in firepower!

 

It is always better to have the right tool for whatever job is at hand. We as preppers know that to succeed though, we have to stay flexible and prepare for many different possibilities. The possibility that we might be left with only one gun is a realistic concern and I think we would all be well served with a good shotgun.

 

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Have a great day and I’ll see you again tomorrow!

Prepper

 

   Here we are again, closing in rapidly on the end of another week. Just 49 shopping weeks until Christmas. I know you all promised yourselves that you wouldn’t wait until the last minute again this year… So here’s your reminder get out there and just get it done once and for all! You’ll thank me later!

 

  I have a few more “Reader Questions” to answer today… I appreciate the feedback that has been coming in and do understand that not everyone wants to speak up or even acknowledge formally that they’re with us. The main reason for the prodding to send me your comments and questions is it allows me to better serve the needs or even the entertainment value of the readers! So, keep the correspondence coming!

 

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Question #1 -     “Why would I point out house boats for Preppers?”

 

 

The email went on to explain that to this persons eye, there wasn’t anything prepper about a house boat. In his estimation the house boat would be worse than a downtown condo for a prepper…

 

These are good observations and I can’t really say that I disagree with his premise. However, there is more to being a prepper than just collecting equipment and planting trees, out at the BOL - It’s also buying lots of guns and ammo! Seriously though, I look at prepping as not only a lifestyle but a strategy. It’s up to me to find a way of life that answers all of my needs and provides the quality of life that makes it all worth doing.

 

I’m always on the lookout for alternative living arrangements, some can be applied to our purposes, while others probably can’t. Other than the cash outlay to purchase a modest houseboat, or whatever the technical name for them is. There wouldn’t be an outrageous amount of money needed to live on it. I haven’t ran into the right person to ask about moorage yet but I will! I knew a man several years ago that lived on his 40 foot sailboat at a pier in the Seattle area, I recall him paying only a few hundred bucks a month. Might have gone up over these years but I doubt it would be as much as even a studio apartment in the same city.

 

The idea of living cheaper and having the remainder of the money at your disposal is what my point has always been. If a house boat could assist any of us in achieving that, then its worth a look.

 

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Question #2 -     “Would there be a reason to invest in Silver rounds over junk silver coins?”

 

Let me start by explaining what the emailer was meaning by silver rounds… These are one ounce of .999 pure silver in the shape of a round coin, rather than a silver bar or circulated US junk silver coinage. Numerous mines mint these silver rounds, they are often called trade dollars and probably several other things as well! They often have unique designs on them and can occasionally have some collector value but mostly they are just another form of acquiring and holding silver.

 

As far as I’m concerned the form you choose to hold your silver investment in is not that important. It is possible that a potential trading partner in the future might prefer the recognisable junk silver over a more easily counterfeited silver round or bar. Also, the junk silver coin will always have its face value, even if the metal value of silver went to zero. I like to think that I know a few things about this investment and I wouldn’t really have a problem with silver in any of these forms. It is easier to start small with junk silver because you can purchase as little as a single dime, where you would be required to buy at least one ounce with a round or bar.

 

Just like the reasons that I favor silver investing or holding over Gold is that the store of value is much smaller. If you wanted to trade someone a piece of silver for something they had, you would want to arrive at as equal a value as possible. If the item you wanted was only worth a half an ounce of your silver and you only had one ounce rounds, you would most likely find the trader unable or unwilling to make change… Nothing is a sure thing but the junk silver is quite possibly going to give you more options!

 

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Question #3 -     “Why not add more lights to my alternative lighting project?”

 

 

Last week I wrote about a project I wanted to get going on for the BOL. Alternative energy to provide some back-up lighting. In that post I outlined how I was going to approach setting this system up with mostly equipment I already had. I explained that I would install 6 light fixtures, one in each the kitchen, living room, both bedrooms and bathrooms.

 

The reader questioned why I would only install 6 lights? If I was going to go to the trouble of doing the job and also trying to do it correctly, why not go ahead and install adequate fixtures. The premise was that I wouldn’t have to use all the lights at the same time or at all. Having them if I ever did need the extra light would be pretty handy.

 

You’re correct, this would be shortsighted of me to under engineer the project. I had planned to make everything expandable, so I could add on as I had the funds but I think it would be smart to just go ahead and put all the lights in now and then exercise responsible energy use while I have limited generation capabilities. Thanks for the input!

 

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Question #4 -     This is more of a comment than a question but this seems like the place to address it…

 

 

I recently ran a guest article from James Dakin on the .22 rifle vs. the pellet gun for our small caliber needs. The author came to the conclusion that the .22 was the better value. Several comments and emails came in that pretty much agreed with him.

 

One email came in that made a lot of sense. This person went on to explain that he uses his pellet gun for practising and varmint control at the house. If he was to have to go to the range to practise with his .22, he would get far less opportunity to stay sharp… Good points! He also went on the remind me of the ammo shortage that he has experienced in his area of the country, he explained that his Walmart has been virtually bare but the pellets are still available!

 

I think that these are valid comments, it’s important to practise and this is an economical and quite way to achieve that goal! Thanks for speaking up!

 

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See you all tomorrow,

 

Prepper