So whats you plan, for when the grid an/or net drops?

At some point you have to decide whether to be a warlord or the Lord of War.

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Laughing,... Those who think they will just take from others better hope they only take from the simpletons, as the bulk of the peppers around here and all across this land have a system in place just for that. They well either smile at you while you're taking it, or from the grave,... where you & yours will be shortly as well. Remember Eldest Son/Pole Bean? Choose wisely grasshopper.
 
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We got a nice list of guys that said “I got guns I’ll just come take peoples stuff”

Both of these posts illustrate what I try to wake people up to about all those "good folks" that think themselves so "righteous and good".
When the balloon goes up, you'll see the thin veneer of "good" on MOST of all the "good people" get peeled away very quickly and our once somewhat polite civil society will start resembling Rwanda in a hurry.

VERY FEW of the "good people" actually are truly good in heart and want to build an inclusive community of freedom, liberty, plenty and actually help others and help build up and assist others to survive and thrive in freedom, and think about the fact that one day they will answer to God for all their actions and He doesn't accept silly excuses.

The biggest threat will NOT be the government or such, the biggest threat will be...
 
I've been prepping for a long time ,some of my mountain house freeze-dried #10 cans are nearing the 25 yr self life and I add some every year , got 5000gal of rain water storage ( been full for almost 2 yrs now), grid tied solar and 15k battery storage. Only have to disconnect from the grid and throw a couple of switches, and the fire arm issue is nonexistent have enough ammo to arm a small Militia, so bring it on ,been preparing for that most of my adult life. Be a shame if I die before I get to use all my preps.
 
I've been prepping for a long time ,some of my mountain house freeze-dried #10 cans are nearing the 25 yr self life and I add some every year , got 5000gal of rain water storage ( been full for almost 2 yrs now), grid tied solar and 15k battery storage. Only have to disconnect from the grid and throw a couple of switches, and the fire arm issue is nonexistent have enough ammo to arm a small Militia, so bring it on ,been preparing for that most of my adult life. Be a shame if I die before I get to use all my preps.
Sir, I would like to tour your setup. Pls provide your address.
 
We own storage units and someone called my wife and asked about storing fuel in them. That’s a hard no. Then they ask about food and my wife says no that mice will get in it. She asked what kind of food and the guy says coffee. Oh sure,sure,sure. She hung up with him and I told her he was going to use it for prepping. Expensive way to do it and not with you on site for some reason. We get all kinds of off thee wall phone calls but once a year someone wants to store food and fuel. Weirdos.
 
I have 26 houses in a roughly 1/2 mile area, and we're all kinda just plopped out here 4 miles west of the main town, but 35min north of the big city. Routes into our area are very limited, full access can be controlled at just 2 points. I went through a period reasearching what the extremely poor did during the great depression. Many small communities were established, a variety of skillsets that were all useful to everyone, people used what they were good at, to get what they needed. I would rally the resources, and combined manpower of our little area to make a community that would be able to make survival more likely. I can't guard the house 24x7, I have to sleep, eat, find water, purify it, ect. 50 people though, can be guarded 24x7 by rested competant men, children can be educated, entertained, and watched by elders while others are tending to gardens, chickens, livestock, water, cooking, ect. A platoon sized armed element can deal with threats far better than a single man, or a squad sized element.

That's just my thoughts on it. A strong community is a far less attractive target to a outsider, they'll move on knowing there are a lot of easy pickings all around us. And when they do come around, it won't be easy for 'em.

I've been acquiring hard copies of various survival books that I like, resources for a time we don't wish for, but hope we'll be prepared for. Books don't require batteries, and they always work.
 
I've been prepping for a long time ,some of my mountain house freeze-dried #10 cans are nearing the 25 yr self life and I add some every year , got 5000gal of rain water storage ( been full for almost 2 yrs now), grid tied solar and 15k battery storage. Only have to disconnect from the grid and throw a couple of switches, and the fire arm issue is nonexistent have enough ammo to arm a small Militia, so bring it on ,been preparing for that most of my adult life. Be a shame if I die before I get to use all my preps.
Damn! That’s a small fortune! I got goals now!

Sir, I would like to tour your setup. Pls provide your address.
Haha! For real. But seriously, I’d like to see it for set up of my own!

I have 26 houses in a roughly 1/2 mile area, and we're all kinda just plopped out here 4 miles west of the main town, but 35min north of the big city. Routes into our area are very limited, full access can be controlled at just 2 points. I went through a period reasearching what the extremely poor did during the great depression. Many small communities were established, a variety of skillsets that were all useful to everyone, people used what they were good at, to get what they needed. I would rally the resources, and combined manpower of our little area to make a community that would be able to make survival more likely. I can't guard the house 24x7, I have to sleep, eat, find water, purify it, ect. 50 people though, can be guarded 24x7 by rested competant men, children can be educated, entertained, and watched by elders while others are tending to gardens, chickens, livestock, water, cooking, ect. A platoon sized armed element can deal with threats far better than a single man, or a squad sized element.

That's just my thoughts on it. A strong community is a far less attractive target to a outsider, they'll move on knowing there are a lot of easy pickings all around us. And when they do come around, it won't be easy for 'em.

I've been acquiring hard copies of various survival books that I like, resources for a time we don't wish for, but hope we'll be prepared for. Books don't require batteries, and they always work.
This this right here. @Short-bus can you share your list of books?
 
It’s fire season so 300 yards it all we have now, almost everyone I know is getting real bored at 300, plenty of old farts can pick you off at 1000. Better think twice about taking from others.
I don’t believe in taking from others. That’s called stealing and I’m no thief. Now, I would absolutely bargain or barter with folks for the things I overlooked in prepping.
 
Damn! That’s a small fortune! I got goals now!


Haha! For real. But seriously, I’d like to see it for set up of my own!


This this right here. @Short-bus can you share your list of books?
"The Lost Ways" and "Wilderness long-term survival guide" are my 2 favorites. There's a bit of overlap, but good info on both. I decided years ago that being able to paint guns wasn't going to be a demanded skill when the world is going to shit. Being able to repair them though, would be. I also still need to teach myself to weld, althought i'll be fine without it as I have a neighbor who's a welding savant, along with fabrication, which his father who lives across the street has a full shop next to his house. There is enough earthmoving equipment to have no problem building barriers, fighting positions, dig out a pond for water storage, waste disposal, access denial. Big projects might be a challenge because I don't think anyone has fuel storage tanks besides propane. There is a farmer nearby that certainly does, but I wouldn't want to be a community that steals from those that have resources, unless it's abandoned property.

Other books i'd recommend, books on knots, canning recipes and methods, a book on how to make cordage, purifying water, natural medicine. You should absolutely know how to make charcoal in a variety of ways, because you may not have a can to make it in, so know how to make it the way the natives did. There are many medicinal benefits to charcoal that would be very, very crucial in survival settings, as well as being able to cook over it with less smoke, and light discipline at night. I mean we're kinda going down the rabbit hole here, but when was excessive knowledge ever detrimental to anyone?
 
I don’t believe in taking from others. That’s called stealing and I’m no thief. Now, I would absolutely bargain or barter with folks for the things I overlooked in prepping.
This. It's one thing to utilize abandoned property, another to steal in this scenario. No reason to lose humanity, nor morality.
 
With no electricity, refrigeration doesn't exist. You either have to learn preserve meat through methods that haven't been used in 100 years or more, or can it (likely safest). I myself need to start canning a lot of my proteins in the freezer. I have a nice, dark, cool space to store it.

600lbs of protein in a freezer isn't going to help you at all when the electricity turns off. And you aren't going to be able to can it all in a hurry when the lights turn off.
 
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With no electricity, refrigeration doesn't exist.
Wrong, you need to find someone for your group that has ability's.

A Steam engine can power anything if you think out of the box, The one linked is now powering 2, 150 amp DC single wire GM alternators. One alt could be pulled off and an automotive style Freon compressor can be added and used if one is smart enough to configure the rest of that system.

I built this one long ago before giving it to them in 2021, the bore is 5 1/2 & stroke is 9.875 w/power in both directions. Its running on shop air in the video at IIRC 60 PSI, threw a 1/4" opening, on steam its a 1" feed, and at fill load just on air there was/is no RPM change. I gave it to the guy (& his group) that took the short video along w/ the open tube boiler that makes 100psi. I built that just for proof of concept. Everything on it was be sourced & made from what Gucci people call junk from a wrecking/junk yard. Most people can't think out of the box, the main reason if/when the grid drops the 90% die off is about right.



edit for fat fingers & another way

If you're just looking for refrigeration it can also be done with aqua/ous ammonia and a heat source, even a simple wood fire will do. You can attain temps with that, well below any home deep freeze if you do it right.
 
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Wrong, you need to find someone for your group that has ability's.

A Steam engine can power anything if you think out of the box, The one linked is now powering 2, 150 amp DC single wire GM alternators. One alt could be pulled off and an automotive style Freon compressor can be added and used if one is smart enough to configure the rest of that system.

I built this one long ago before giving it to them in 2021, the bore is 5 1/2 & stroke is 9.875 w/power in both directions. Its running on shop air in the video at IIRC 60 PSI, threw a 1/4" opening, on steam its a 1" feed, and at fill load just on air there was/is no RPM change. I gave it to the guy (& his group) that took the short video along w/ the open tube boiler that makes 100psi. I built that just for proof of concept. Everything on it was be sourced & made from what Gucci people call junk from a wrecking/junk yard. Most people can't think out of the box, the main reason if/when the grid drops the 90% die off is about right.



edit for fat fingers & another way

If you're just looking for refrigeration it can also be done with aqua/ous ammonia and a heat source, even a simple wood fire will do. You can attain temps with that, well below any home deep freeze if you do it right.

Fascinating.....I stand corrected. I never considered steam engines a means of running a compressor.
 
My nearest neighbor is across the highway. And that’s my wife’s sister. The next nearest neighbor is a mile and a half down the road. I’m 35 miles from the nearest town, with farmland as far as I can see. Hopefully, it’ll take a while for the SHTF to reach us. Half of the farmland, and most of the trees, in this pic is the family farm.
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Fascinating.....I stand corrected. I never considered steam engines a means of running a compressor.
There are also 100% DC A/C's for cars/trucks. I've already converted one of the compressors to a freg/freezer set up. While the amperage draw is high @ 13.8Vdc it will work on a med size solar system as it only runs about 10minute on and 25-40 minutes off if you build a quality box. Thinking about doing another but with spray foam, I used 1.5" styro on the last one. If you do make one make use the compressor is on the top.
There are 12V or 24 DC freg's & freezers out there for sale, SunFrost being a good one. Servel makes them as well and the old standbys were either propane or NG powered, Those style will also run off a wood gasifier as you can store enough wood gas in old propane tanks or inter tubes (My preferred) and can power one for a long time w/o having to run the gasifier that much.
The photos are of a gasifier I built years ago. She is set up to fed my 25KW home made genset as well as being able to draw off gas at the same time & compress it into tanks/tubes for later use. Search woodgas its syn-gas will power anything set up for N/G. For propane devices its just a simple change just like going to N/G. As long as you have dry wood, any resip engine can be powered via woodgas.

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I would hope my neighbors/block would band together and share our goods and talents but at 72 years old they might vote me off the island and i have to take the " long walk" . Heat and lack of clean water would end me in less than a year anyway but i will take just one gun and 10 magazines .........zap m70 and one round in my pocket .
 
Selco Begovic has 3 books out about the Balkan war.
This. He nails it in detail.

The size of your army is EVERYTHING, and the larger it is the more security it provides and the faster it will grow larger. Not engaging in theft or treachery is the key to attracting the right kind of soldiers. People are 100 times stronger with earned trust and their families around them. People only fight for survival so far, but people fighting for their loved ones will go all the way. Human beings are social/tribal animals. Loners who think they're going to maraud and steal are nothing but meat.

Skills and abilities are nice, but they're nothing next to numbers. Prepping is great, but it's no substitute for improvising.
Your #1 survival ability in SHTF is charisma. If you have 20+, armed, able men together at the outset your odds of survival just doubled. On your own your odds drop to zero. Make good friends who can handle themselves and have a plan to link up in an emergency. More is more.

There is no such thing as "anarchy". When two people meet a government is formed, even if it's only a totalitarian dictatorship where the strong rule the weak. Our default form of government is a feudalist monarchy, not because it is "the best", but because it is the clearest and most stable.

Either find the best warlord to join, or be the best warlord you can be. Your #1 survival skill in a collapse is charisma.
 
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I would hope my neighbors/block would band together and share our goods and talents but at 72 years old they might vote me off the island and i have to take the " long walk" . Heat and lack of clean water would end me in less than a year anyway but i will take just one gun and 10 magazines .........zap m70 and one round in my pocket .
Not true. If you can sit and remain vigilant and observant with a radio you are a huge asset (make sure you have plenty of spare glasses).
 
I would hope my neighbors/block would band together and share our goods and talents but at 72 years old they might vote me off the island and i have to take the " long walk" . Heat and lack of clean water would end me in less than a year anyway but i will take just one gun and 10 magazines .........zap m70 and one round in my pocket .
Learn all you can about Ham Radio, you'll be much more valuable in ability than most.
 
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No excuse to not get at least the tech license (first level). Read/study for a week and you can pass the test.
At this stage of the game if it were I just getting in, not sure I would not worry about a ticket at all. Just find a local to teach the basics & some Elint. If/when it goes to shit, call signs, rules & regs be damned, but you need to know something about it w/the most important knowing how to operate in a none permissive RF environment. One of the reason we drill/teach shoot & scoot over an over, as well as knowing how to direct your antenna/s & using minimal power to contact who you are targeting. One of the reasons we stress CW an digital. While we use SSTV a lot as well, that requires more power for a clear image so as not to read the photo wrong.
 
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I would hope my neighbors/block would band together and share our goods and talents but at 72 years old they might vote me off the island and i have to take the " long walk" . Heat and lack of clean water would end me in less than a year anyway but i will take just one gun and 10 magazines .........zap m70 and one round in my pocket .
We have a sizable group of able bodied people right out of the gate. Nobody is expert in everything, but some are expert in certain areas, yet all have some value. And I promise you that a 72 year old that isn’t a dead beat surely has a lot of value to add the group. A lot!

You probably have knowledge, experience, resilience, and wisdom that younger or less experienced people could benefit from.

It’s best to discuss it and plan now, before the day comes. Then your neighbors can know how to pool resources. Maybe you are the catalyst they need? In that case they would certainly not vote you off the island.

I’m sure you are of value.