Post-Apocalyptic Survival thread (no zombies allowed)

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toma_alimosh

Also known as "Myke Hunt"
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I thought I'd start this thread up since there's already an interest on these forums for survivalism, although be it from a fictional apocalypse or one with an astronomically small chance of happening in our lifetime.

But here's the catch: this thread will not be dealing with the fictional or science-fictional (zombies, sun suddenly dying out, magnetic field failing, ghosts, wrath of god, artificial intelligence, etc.), nor will it be dealing with things that are very improbable to happen while humanity can't do anything about (super-volcanic eruption, asteroid impact, death of solar system, wondering black hole, close gamma-ray burst, etc.)

This thread will be about apocalypse from events that can REALISTICALLY happen, even in our lifetime (global pandemic, oil peak, global food shortage due to overpopulation, drinking water shortage), but more than likely an apocalypse where humans make their own demise (biological weapon out of control, global nuclear war, etc.)

Whichever way, you look at it, here's the scenario:
- Anarchy ensues from event
- All governments tumble
- Armies of the world are rogue/dead
- the infrastructure (energy, communications, transportation, life necessities supply) is still there, but is dead
- Commerce is destroyed and goes back to barter
- 60-70% of the world population dies in the event or in the ensuing anarchy
- the world reverts to the city-state
- lawlessness is everywhere and even law that prevails is relatively not uniform (think wild west kind of stuff)

If you knew that it was coming, how would you prepare before-hand to survive this event and the new dangerous world after it?

While you ponder on that, here's something to spark your imagination: (long video series, watch it when you have 1+1/2 hours to waste)

 
Don't have time to watch the movie now but I will later on.

First thing that comes to mind is that you need to be safe. Therefore I'd arm myself and my family with a nice little arsenal and stock up on ammo. Second thing is that you need food, shelter, and clothing. Off the top of my head... I think I'd gather as much non-perishable food as I can and get out to western MA - no one is going to come looking for me there, that's for sure. From that point on I am basically reduced to a hunter-gatherer, although I'd definitely try to get my hands on some seed so I can grow food.

I'll give this more thought later.


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Afterthought: a diesel pickup truck with huge bull-bars up front and a hell of a lot of spare fuel could come in very useful. Things like knives, a compass, an axe, etc of course. Ham or CB radio would be a must, as well.

Oh, and another thing - a friend of mine told me that his group of about 20 friends have thought about this already and they would all be able to be armed to the teeth and mobilized in a very short amount of time. I'd give him a call for sure :D
 
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Not entirely unrelated S.M. Sterling did a really good job of describing what happens during/following an apoclyiptical event (in this case loss of electricity/internal combustion/gunpowder) in his Emberverse series.

I would like to think that i have the ware withal to survive but honestly who can say. I will say that i would head towards inland to the less crowded interior and then head south so as to avoid winter. In a perfect situation i would have access to a sailboat (Less need for power/fuel) and head down to the less inhabited sections of the Caribbean where things like loss of power/government wouldn't have quite the dramatic effect it would here.
 
Priority one : weapons and people to use them.......


You can't run away here, first realy unpopulated area is several 100K away, traffic will grind to a halt, and I think when you get there you will find many people had the same idea....... better to stick around and fortify your position in a well known area.....see how things pan out from there, an 'ideal' scenario would be something like this :

lang and short of it is, in this part of the world there are very few firearms per head, (even if you include army/policeweapons) , and the average 'citicen' has hardly seen one up close...... , unlike, ow, lets say : Texas :p , (wich will be a shootinggallery in 0.30seconds), over here when the law disappears, it will be the few people with the BFG's ruling things, better be one of em.

As soon as things fall apart you step up, If you can rally some 'troops' behind you, properly arm them (with weapons you had before the event) and make sure they know what they are doing, (keep people close to you who can handle themselves in a fight) you will be able to overpower almost everyone you incounter , exept for the actual armyremnants/roques/and or guys who had the same idea.....avoid them at first.
Everyone else will panic and fall to shambles = easy pickings , food, water, transportation, whatever you need.

Basicly, its a take what you want situation, more people should rally behind you if you show reasonability, and your group should be able to grow/become more powerfull (minding at all times to weed out the dangerous elements).....hopefully fast enough so you can withstand the inevitable confrontation with rival groups.....

Whatever it is, you will wish you died in the event.......
 
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Easy. I head north for a few hours to cottage country. Inhabit a small island cottage. I'll never run out of freshwater, there will be enough hunting weapons around to provide the minimal protection I need, and I'll just live off fish and gardens.

I'd prefer to run away, hide out, and live a quiet life as opposed to being a traveling warlord.
 
You keep believing that, but when I'm the new admin of the New Final Gear Internet Empire, I'll be expecting you to beg for mercy.
 
Whappeh said:
You keep believing that, but when I'm the new admin of the New Final Gear Internet Empire, I'll be expecting you to beg for mercy.
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Priority two: keep the nerd in their place :p
 
jedd_kenobi said:
easily done, just keep a parade of girls just out of their reach and they'll be more than content.
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I believe you misjudge the kind of warlord I intend to become :p
 
Lets see, this all depends on how long I have to prepare and how much money I have, and what the scenario is.

Best case scenario is that I have months or years to purchase and prepare a secure location well off the grid. That locale must have ground water, arable soil, be sparsely populated, off major roads, and a significant distance from a major city. Preferably 300 miles but you can work with what you have got.
I would like at least 7 compatriots preferably a few more, but not much more than 20 as then growing food for that many becomes too conspicuous.
A secure but inconspicuous compound that can be easily defended while not attracting every raider that Cowboy recruited is what I would want.
With enough time there would be years of food storage. Even with no time for food storage a place with farming implements is an absolute must.
Weapons are an absolute priority. While I have some now, I do not have near enough ammunition. Each member in a group should have thousands of rounds in both defense and game calibers. As for weapons I have most of what I need, but a proper battle rifle is something I need to add to the collection.
Medical supplies are important to have, again I have basics but in the event of the apocalypse I would need much more.
There are basic things for barter and an early economy that would be needed. Be that ammunition, silver, food ect. You need something to trade for the stuff you inevitably forgot.
Finally and most importantly there is the knowledge. This is the area that I fall the shortest. I am a city boy and dont know anything about agriculture. This is what would be very valuable. Fortunately I know people that do. There are a thousand things one would need if you know it was coming. The question is how much warning do you get, the nature of the disaster, and how much cash you have beforehand to spend preparing.


If you can't tell I have actually though about it. My uncle is a medium serious survivalist and has himself quite a place on his ranch in West Texas. He sends me tons of books to read on the topic and honestly they have been decently enjoyable on a lazy weekend. To me it is mostly just something to think about intellectually. Depending on the nature of the disaster and my location I would head his way. If SHTF tomorrow I have enough stuff with me at school I would give myself a decent chance of making it, but as I am broke and don't entirely buy his thoughts on the likelihood of disaster I dont really consider myself a prepper. Though if I was rich as hell and had a big ranch in BFN and feared the government like him I might.


Either way give a situation and my assets before hand and I would be happy to chat till the cows come home. I find the topic interesting.
 
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Tbone, here's an idea that's realistic: If you can see it coming beforehand, then you have time to prepare before it hits, so let's say you'd have the value of all your assets at the current/future time to prepare for it: You can sell your house, car, large TV etc. and that's all the value you would have available to prepare, including buying property in a rural setting, weapons, seeds or the like. It probably won't be much for most people, but the value of a house these days is pretty large. The closer you sell your house to the event the better, since you can run away with the money and the banks will fail in the onslaught, so they won't be there to hunt you down, nor will the authorities, so depending on how in advance you want to prepare, you may or may not have the full value of your house available. Same for car and everything else.
 
Whappeh said:
Work tirelessly to restart the internet so I can keep posting here.
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... so then with Zombies going online ... every discussion will be like the "boobs or ass" thread then ... lots of moaning and drooling.

I?m gonna hold lots of "your unharmed limbs" contests in the photography section ... and win all of them because Zombie epp_b chewed up his own thumbs and can?t take pics anymore.
 
toma_alimosh said:
Tbone, here's an idea that's realistic: If you can see it coming beforehand, then you have time to prepare before it hits, so let's say you'd have the value of all your assets at the current/future time to prepare for it: You can sell your house, car, large TV etc. and that's all the value you would have available to prepare, including buying property in a rural setting, weapons, seeds or the like. It probably won't be much for most people, but the value of a house these days is pretty large. The closer you sell your house to the event the better, since you can run away with the money and the banks will fail in the onslaught, so they won't be there to hunt you down, nor will the authorities, so depending on how in advance you want to prepare, you may or may not have the full value of your house available. Same for car and everything else.
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In that case I'm selling off everything and buying (in no particular order): older (cheaper) diesel pickup with a lift and big tires, along with a few hundred gallons of gas; enough non-perishable food to last me and whoever is with me a few months; lots of different seed; lots of tools, both automotive and for building and agriculture/farming; guns and ammo; cb and ham radios; a small house/hut... somewhere in the mountains of Virginia maybe? Decent climate and much less densely populated than MA.
 
Pfft, I have 120 acres of land in a forgotten part of Northern Wisconsin, in a county with 30,000 inhabitants, most of whom are Amish or Mennonites, people I and my family know by name.

I can live anywhere in the rural US and survive. To live among the Amish would be vastly luxurious to me if civilization fell apart.

Without looking it up on Google or in a book, how many of you:

-can identify edible and poisonous plants?
-kill squirrels without using a gun? They are pretty tasty.
-identify water that is safe to drink using only sight, smell and touch?
-Be able to skin and dress large ruminants?
-construct a dwelling using minimal tools?

I can, and the cited examples above are just a sample. I learned from my father and his brother, who as children had to hunt every day, who did not have central heating, or running water in the house, who had to make sure the garden was maintained, or they went hungry. This was not in some third world shithole, it was Flushing Michigan.
I understand the natural world, because I was taught by going out into fields and woods and interacting with the world, unlike most people who live in first world nations.

I am coming across as arrogant? YES I AM. Don't piss your life away in front of a computer, or be surrounded by technology, get to know, really know, the natural world.
 
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