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!
_____________________________________________________________________________________
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
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Reader Questions
By PrepperI 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!
______________________________________________________________________________________
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!
_____________________________________________________________________________________
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!
_______________________________________________________________________________________
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!
________________________________________________________________________________________
Prepper