We are now entering what I call the Red Zone. Society as we know it is like a high performance race car. It has many moving parts and some of them are very delicate. Right now that race car is in the red. The RPMs are being pushed to their max and it’s just a matter of time before something has to give or break. The greedy are the ones that are pushing the pedal and they show no signs of slowing down. The incident that just happened in Greece is like the check engine light coming on. Instead of stopping and fixing the problem, the greedy just keep going.
Every society since the start of mankind has collapsed, ours is no different. It’s not a matter of if just a matter of when. From the looks of things, that when is not too far off. We are in a downward spiral and it is getting faster and deeper. Some say that we are past the point of no return, I hope they are wrong. If we are past the point of no return you better have your Three Bs ready: Bullets, Beans, and Band-Aids. In this essay I’m just going to address a few things about those three. I’m not going to elaborate in detail, as there are plenty of articles on the given subject, but merely my 2 cents worth.
Bullets
Mr. Rawles has stated that guns are like tools, there is no one perfect gun. Just like there is no one perfect tool. You need a specific tool for each given task.So I’m not going to use a folding ruler to hammer a nail down and I’m not going to use a hammer to screw in a flat head. Guns are the same way, I’m not going to use a .50 BMG to go rabbit hunting, just like I’m not going to use a .22 to go moose hunting.
This question has been asked many times, if you had to pick one and only one gun in a bug out situation what would it be? My answer would be the AK-47. In a WTSHTF situation the primary purpose of the gun is to protect yourself and your loved ones. The secondary purpose is to kill game to provide food. You can have all the resources in the world but if you have no means of protection then sooner or later someone will come and take them by force, both your resources and your loved ones. Don’t let that happen!
So why the AK-47? A buddy of mine, Jason H., said it best: “The d%*n thing is nearly indestructible. It’s good for 200-300 yards out and how many people can even make that shot under stress? There is a reason that over 75 million of them have been made and there is a reason that they have been used in every war since they were made.”
The AK-47 has a reputation of being “the bad guys gun.” The gun itself is not bad it’s the person behind the trigger. Most westerners have been brainwashed with this concept via Hollywood. The bottom line is that it works. In most other countries the AK is a symbol of freedom. When your life is on the line, would you trust a gun that has been around for over 60 years and is tried and true or some concept gun that has been around for a few years?
So, once, again why the AK? It is low maintenance, reliable, affordable, can be field stripped and reassembled quickly with no tools and you can literally put, a thousand rounds through it before cleaning. Though, I don’t recommend this, it can be done. Some other guns jam after 100 rounds in dirty field conditions. You can drown it, drag it through mud, bury it in sand and even run it over and it will still work.
If for some reason, one can not obtain an AK-47. Your next best bet would be an SKS (Simonov carbine.) There are many similarities between the two-the main one is ruggedness. The SKS has two main shortcomings. First, they come stock with a fixed magazine, this can be remedied by TAPCO’s semi-detachable [20 round] magazines. Secondly, they have been know to slam fire. Inherently any automatic or semi-auto has the potential to slam fire. However, the SKS is known for this. Why? Because the firing pin stops itself on the cartridge base itself [and the firing pin is free-floating, without a spring]. The ammo with “soft” primers that is most commonly used today is sensitive to light strikes from the firing pin. The most common cause for the slam fire is not cleaning the cosmoline off the rifle. If you fire several hundred rounds through an SKS without cleaning it could also cause a slam fire. A simple remedy for this would be to install a Murray Firing Pin (spring loaded to prevent slam fire).
Mr. Rawles has often said, that just because someone owns a surf board doesn’t mean they know how to surf. So where would one look for training on the AK-47? There are tons of books and videos on marksmanship, however, if you can’t get yourself in position to take the shot then they are useless. Most tactical guns such as the AK are shot on the move in a combat situation. BTW, I don’t like the term, “assault rifle.” The AK-47 as well as the SKS were not meant to “assault”. Nobody in their right mind ever bought a gun and said, “Man, I can’t wait to assault someone with this!” So what would be good material for this particular gun? I would recommend the DVD titled Beyond The Firearm Part II by Sonny Puzikas [, a former Spetsnaz trooper.] It has lots of useful information.
“Anything that is complex is not useful and anything that is useful is simple. This has been my whole life’s motto.” – Mikhail Kalashnikov
These are words to live by in a WTSHTF situation. There will be times when you do not have time to think only react, such as when the bad guys are almost on your doorstep.
Beans
There are three macronutrients that the human body needs, protein, fat, and carbohydrates.
All are important, but, of these three, in a survival situation the carbohydrates would probably be the most important. The reason being is that the human body is made of between 60-70% water. The word itself carbohydrate has the word hydrate in it. The main fuel of the human brain is sugar (simple carbs). Therefore it only makes sense to stock up on carbohydrates while you still can. They will be hard to come by in harsh cold environments. My personal advice would be rice and plenty of it. It is cheap and you can buy them by the pounds at Costco. Buy the bags and put them in 5 gal. buckets along with dry packets of silica (this will absorb the moisture). Another good item for carbs that last long is oats. For the simple carbs. I would recommend honey, honey in its purest form will last hundreds of years.
The protein and fat you can get from meat. Because the power grid will be down, there will be very few ways to store the meat during summer months. This is where salt and a dehydrator come into play. The old school philosophy was if you don’t hunt and kill the game, you don’t eat that night. In a WTSHTF situation to hunt would be a waste of time, energy, and effort. You are better off baiting and trapping the game.
There are several methods to trapping-dead falls, snares, cage traps, etc. Of them all the snare takes the least amount of time, energy, and effort, best of all it is cheap and light weight to carry. To set a snare near your bait (such as your garden) can be done quickly. This will eliminate both pests and provide food, you are killing two birds with one stone. They are light weight and quick to set up. Some people argue that a snare is inhumane and in our current society I will agree with that. However, WTSHTF it is more inhumane to let your family starve to death. You bait the game, set up the snare, and check it once a day. If you catch anything you have your protein and fat to feed your family.
Your MREs will only last you a short period of time. The basic premise for humans is that if it crawls flies, walks, swims, or slithers it probably can be eaten.
Remember this Latin proverb: “Aut Agere Aut Mori.” ( Either Learn or Die.)
Band-Aids
There are many aspects of this concept that can be perceived, what I’m trying to focus on here is something that a lot of people may have overlooked: antibiotics
Most people have their basic First Aid kit and what not, but what about virus and bacteria?
The first thing that one needs is alcohol…this kills 99% of all bacteria-however, it does not kill staph and MRSA. For this, one needs to stock up on antibacterial soap. I recommend hand soap and dish washing liquid if it does not say antibacterial on it, it’s garbage. Right now it’s estimated that 30% of the north American population has MRSA and does not even know it, because it can lay dormant in your system for X amount of time.
Of everything since the beginning of human existence, virus and bacteria have killed more of the human population than all other unnatural reasons combined…
The Black Plague is estimated to have killed between 30-60% of Europe’s population in the mid-1300s.
Small pox is estimated to have killed 300-500 million between 1914-1977…
The first thing is where to get them without a prescription…the answer is at your local feed store or online. But your not getting human antibiotics you are getting fish antibiotics. Fish and human antibiotics are the same thing. There is no difference. But please note the warning that it is not for human use, it is for your fish.
Obviously, if you don’t know what your doing you are going to kill someone. Some good books to get would be:
“The Handbook of Antibiotics”
“Antibiotics Simplified”
“Do-It-Yourself-Medicine: How to Find and Use the Most Effective Antibiotics, Painkillers, Anesthetics and Other Miracle Drugs…Without Costly Doctors Prescriptions or Hospitals”
Which antibiotics should one get? Cephalexin (Keflex) would be the number one-this antibiotic can usually handle the vast majority of infections out there. The next two would be Amoxicillin and Erythromycin, then Sulfamethoxazole. Some others to think about are:
Ampicillin
Ketoconazole
Penicillin
Metronidazole
Tetracycline
Doxycycline
Needless to say the antibiotics should be stored in a cool, dry, dark place. Except for tetracycline, the expiration date that is marked is not the real date but the recommended date. Bear in mind that when they do the testing they are subjecting the drugs to the worst conditions possible, heat, humidity, and direct light. Most drugs are good for 6 months to 1-1/2 years after the expiration date. Some say longer-check out “A Doctor’s Thoughts on Antibiotics, Expiration Dates, and TEOTWAWKI, by Dr. Bones in the search bar.
There are many viruses that can easily kill the human race, the Black Plague and Small Pox almost did. In a WTSHTF situation where there are no hospitals and medicine, it quickly becomes a YOYO situation. These are of the viruses that we know of. There are many viruses out there that we haven’t even identified much less found a cure for. The nature of any virus is like that of a human-to survive. They do this through mutation and building tolerances to certain drugs and antibiotics. This is how MRSA evolved from the common staph infection.
The current pop culture has adopted the whole zombie apocalypse theme. It is somewhat of an amusing theme. The dead are walking, which of course will never happen. However, consider this for a minute. Some people believe that the demise of the human race will come from a “Doomsday Virus.” Biological warfare has been used since before the time of Christ. Do a web search for yourself. In the movies Quarantine 1 and Quarantine 2 the “zombies” were really living people that contracted a virus that caused aggressive behavior and insanity, that was transmitted through saliva. Much like the rabies virus.
How far-fetched would it be that a biologist somewhere has been working on splicing the rabies virus with say a 24 hour stomach bug to make it fast acting? Don’t get me wrong I’m not saying that when society collapses that zombies will be coming after you. What I’m getting at is that there are many viruses out there and some are worse than others.
The rabies virus does exist and in a WTSHTF situation, there will be no hospital to go to if you are bitten by an animal that has rabies. There will be no series of shots to be administered. You will be on your own. That would be a very painful way to die.
To anyone reading this, I love my family and I love my fish. Stock up while you still can on the three Bs.