SHTF question

[Lil Foot]

When all the talk of registration/confiscation seemed imminent, I went looking for a safe place for my stuff, and had an accident crossing the river. Probably the same accident skeets had. Wait, have I ever even been to Ohio?

 

[GaryL]

If I had to choose three, it would be based on the current situation that I found myself in. If I had a "place" to go, whether my own home or a planned destination, I would take my Beretta 92fs 9mm. Accurate, fast, and non-jamming. Common ammo. Large capacity magazines. I would of course take my AR15. Good all-around bullet size for take down, mid-range accuracy, and talk about commonality with all of them out there. I prefer my mini-14 Ruger over the AR15, but for parts and mags, I would go with the AR. My AR10 would be my long range choice. I can hit 1200 yards accurate and still super-sonic 175gr and 185gr for reaching out and doing what you need to do. Downside, very heavy.

If I was on the move...Beretta 9mm. AR15, and instead of the AR10 I would take the Beretta CX4 9mm rifle. It uses the same mags as the 92FS. Capacity up to 32 round magazines, and gets me out past 100 yards with good accuracy. Little to no real kick, so the wife can handle it if need be while I use the AR.

The best weapon I have though, are my community ties. I live in a neighborhood, and have discussed my beliefs and concerns with all. Though I am sure some might think I am a nut, I would band them together to protect us all as a group. In my mind, this is the only way to truly survive something terrible. I have food for a bunch of people for a long, long time. I have more water than you could think of logically having. I have tons of ammo and guns. I have back ups to back ups. None of this really matters if I am trying to defend the castle alone. Will never work.

 

[D2Cat]

I've got a place to go, ammo cans, all kinds of guns.

The ammo cans are full of pipe fittings, bolts, nuts, etc. The guns are caulking, screw, paint, glue and probably a few more.

I find this thread entertaining 'cause I don't get overly concerned about the subject. Take life one day at a time and be thankful. When it's over, it's over!

 

[sdk1968]

I've got a place to go, ammo cans, all kinds of guns.

The ammo cans are full of pipe fittings, bolts, nuts, etc. The guns are caulking, screw, paint, glue and probably a few more.

I find this thread entertaining 'cause I don't get overly concerned about the subject. Take life one day at a time and be thankful. When it's over, it's over!

^^ this is very true & we tell people something similar all the time.

all the prepping in the world wont mean anything if its "your time to go"....

while i totally believe in having an emergency plan & supplys (we do)... & my household does practice drills for intruders and/or emergency sits.....

we dont "prepper" like you see/read/hear about.

its pointless if you dont have independent power. (YES we do have 30 days worth of power set up.)

 

[SLIMSHADIE]

This is not my on the go gun but added the new pump pellet rifle to the arsenal. You can hunt small game and would even kill a medium size dog. When the time comes where is all the garbage going. The garbage pile will attract rodents, possums, skunks, etc. You can plink them off relatively easy. Cheap rifle and ammo.

 

[sheepfarmer]

Turkey spam was on sale yesterday, bought an extra can ..thinking of going solar don't have a gun, but some of the neighbors do. Hope the band together to survive idea works in our neighborhood, only way to go.

 

[skeets]

Sheep you are thinking of going Solar? Thats one reallllly big investment right up front. ANd Im not sure about the snow loads and the depth they work under. But technology is changing every day and whats new today is old news tomorrow. So it could work I guess

 

[CaveCreekRay]

Skeets,

In the winter, the sun is so low, the best angle for solar up there is about 60 degrees off horizontal. Simply mount them high enough to keep out of the drifting (on the ground) and in summer, go out and change the angle for the summer. At those high angles, you shouldn't catch too much show.

Mounted on a roof, the dark panels should warm up on the first sunny day and melt any accumulations loose. A problem with ground mounting is large game but again, mount them high enough to keep all but the biggest game away. Fencing will help.

Mary,

One HUGE problem with solar is the inability to run your solar when the power is out. As wacky as that may sound, most utilities refuse to grant permits on installation that could back feed the grid. (Previous thread beat that horse to death...)
If you really want that capability, as your installer if there is a code approved installation that can isolate.

In CA, my brother had an installation done that uses panels with a separate inverter on each panel.. That means that, should the need arise, dropping some extension cords off the roof will get you some power. Not the best solution but, better that totally out of juice if the local grid goes down.

I have a few of the Harbor Freight panel arrays ($149 -now with four panels) and they kick butt in an emergency. Mine are the three panel variety and each panel puts out 21vdc and 1 amp. Combine the three (or four in the new sets) and you have 3-4 amps at 21vdc. That will charge over 50 AA or AAA batteries in three hours flat. Having an inexhaustible supply of batteries is a luxury in an emergency. And, you can become very popular charging for your neighbors. (Can you say "barter?")

 

[sdk1968]

Ray,

ive got a buddy out there in AZ (honest to God.. hes in Snowflake AZ)...

he's totally off the grid solared'

he has his panels on a system that tracks with the sun all day & then has wind turbines & a propane genny on top of that.

there are no power lines where he lives & closest neighbor is 34 miles away.

but man the upfront investment was huge.


my set up is just a whole house genny & 500gln propane tank. can keep my house warm or cool on about 4glns a day by cycling on/off.

 

[CaveCreekRay]

They get some snow up in Snowflake! And they do get periods of steady wind, often at 50 mph! (Just last week in fact...)

Yeah, going off grid requires a leap into leading edge technology. Done right and its awesome. There is a great TV series called "Living Off The Grid." which highlights some major mistakes people make. Storage batteries are the big cost though as they don't last long and you need them to get through the night.

The tracking panels are amazing. A neighbor in my old neighborhood has 12 panels that pan all day long, powered by pistons filled with ammonia gas. As the day heats up, the gas expands and the panels push west. Overnight, they return to the east to capture the rising morning sun.

I am thinking about solar because it zeroes out your summer power bills here in AZ. Our monthly bill in July, Aug, and September runs about $450. Of course, in winter with essentially an all electric house, we are down to $125. I have 1500 gal propane tank for my cook top and dryer. In three years we are only at 70% (85% is full). I want to get it topped come June.

 

[Daren Todd]

There were quite a few elderly folks falling prey to the prepping deal through there churches. Quite a few churches were preaching it's the end of days causing the old folks to panic. They were going out and filling there basements full of canned good. I know of one couple that filled up a second house full of canned goods

The issue is they just packed in the canned goods and left them. So now they have a basement or house slap full of canned goods that are so far past any chance of being edible.

 

[GaryL]

Skeets,

One HUGE problem with solar is the inability to run your solar when the power is out. As wacky as that may sound, most utilities refuse to grant permits on installation that could back feed the grid. (Previous thread beat that horse to death...)

So easy to bypass. Installer confirmed my thoughts the day of install. In SHTF scenario, no inspectors around...hehe

 

[sheepfarmer]

I don't see the difference from using a transfer switch like my standby generator has? Power goes off, transfer switch starts generator, when generator up to speed, circuit to mains closes, circuit to house opens to put load on generator. I don't know how they wotk the circuits if you want to sell any surplus back. Got a lot to learn on this one!

 

[bearbait]

Well just in the process of ordering a Ruger 10/22 take down so compact and easy to carry and of course my browning BPS 12 gauge pump and the Tikka t3 30-06. Hope the day never comes but I'd probably just stay here in the middle of nowhere.

 

[skeets]

I know the middle of no where sounds to be pretty good any time

 

[bearskinner]

I know the middle of no where sounds to be pretty good any time

Just living out of town gives you a lot more time and ability to take care of everything on a personal basis. When a problem arises, you just get it fixed. We have back up heating, cooling, backups for the backups for power etc. we are already way better off than just about anyone in an urban environment, and that’s before any disturbances arise.