Hi again Jim,
I felt I must respond to David’s earlier post regarding self defense weapons and Buckshot’s suggestion of a .30-30 lever action as being your sole means of self defense. While many of your readers may live in rural areas with ready access to hunting and lower population densities there are many millions more like myself who live in major urban areas and make our living here. Many of us have a dream of some remote survival retreat well stocked and self sufficient with water and food but its not a reality at the moment. Depending upon the situation, bugging out with just a few possessions and without a well prepared plan is a recipe for disaster in my opinion. Therefore we must make due and create our survival retreat within the cities and try to make it as invisible as possible. A plan for survival in the big cities must include a long term food storage plan, water storage and purification alternatives, self defense preparations, radio monitoring/scanning and communications, mobility and recon, sustainable gardening, energy production or storage, medical preparations, financial preparations and probably the most important is a spiritual preparation for the possibility of some very bad times to come. Plan your urban retreat with a well thought out self defense plan based upon a group or neighborhood watch.
It is estimated by authorities in Southern California that there are somewhere in the neighborhood of 300,000 known gang members and thousands of other nefarious characters running around terrorizing our neighborhoods. There is a thin blue line between civility and anarchy in our society as evidenced by the many events of the recent past when our cities erupt into a crazed anarchy over things such as court decisions, racial differences, earthquakes or whatever it may be. There is a proliferation of modern high capacity weapons in the hands of many of these characters and/or gangs. If you live within a large urban center and cannot bug out because of many reasons including the possibility of the roads being jammed with cars or closed completely then you must consider staying put and standing your ground. I don’t mean brandishing your weapons in front of your neighbors and being the big man on the block with all the guns ready for the bad guys to come. What I mean is to keep them hidden and ready while carrying your concealed Glock [1] or something similar if the situation erodes to the point of feeling that they may be necessary. Remember, your neighbors may not be your best friend in the worst of times. Regular training in the use of your weapons and tactics is a must. But when it comes down to it and you must use your rifles and shotguns then be prepared to use overwhelming force with surprise and finality. Self loading semi-automatic rifles in .308 cal. with lots of magazines are my rifle of choice for men and AR [2] or AK [3] series for smaller stature persons or women. We can still purchase Mini-14s , M1A [4]s, SKS, and many other California legal semi autos here in California. Research the laws before proceeding with your purchases. Trijicon [5] or other red dot sights make sighting easy for almost anyone to use. Body armor is also a must and should be purchased for anyone carrying a weapon and others in the group if you have the funds.
Again, I cannot emphasize enough about keeping your weapons hidden but ready. Many authorities do not take kindly to rogue groups with guns and will confiscate them if found and possibly arrest you. Make your plans to hole up and hunker down while listening to the scanner, shortwave, amateur radio, AM/FM etc. while setting up your LP/OP [6] and doing some short range recon. Have a communication plan for your family or group and rally point. Try to remain invisible to your neighbors and authorities as long as possible. Stay off the streets and do not go around sightseeing or trying to gather those forgotten items you may feel you need. If you don’t have them now and the situation is not life threatening then just stay at home. There will be thousands of desperate people looting and shooting each other as the situation gets worse. Prepare now. Try to prepare to stay at home for longer and longer periods of time with your stored supplies. And while not possible, work toward self sufficiency in as many areas as possible. Develop and learn a wide range of skills such as shooting, auto mechanics, gardening, sewing, cooking, amateur radio, EMT [7], motorcycle riding, swimming, home construction, plumbing, accounting/financial planning, camping,etc,etc,.And teach your kids these skills. I also am an urban search and rescue volunteer and carry official ID to assist me with passage through most disaster areas.
There are lots of books and info on the internet about all of these subjects. I am not an expert but I am always learning!
In the event of a total collapse of our society such as the one you wrote about in “Patriots” [8] I am not sure what we will do. I am considering several options, but more about that later. – Anonymous in So. Cal.