The U.S. is overdue for a Darwinian event, and who knows, Covid19 might be it.

I spent today taking stock of my preps and thinking things over.

We've all noticed how our inner-city residents behave when the lights go out. And that’s with full bellies. What do you think will happen in almost every major city when the EBT cards stop working?

Remember Hurricane Katrina? Did you see smartly-uniformed, well-mannered and caring DHS subcontractors sorting things out? In good weather and with catering? The police and National Guard in New Orleans forcibly disarmed honest citizens in their own homes and joined the looters.

Remember 9/11? The police "maintaining order" instructed people in the twin towers to stay put and await a professionally-supervised evacuation. We know this from people who disobeyed them.

Don't expect anything of value to you from authorities and don't expect timely information of value to you from the media. Statists only want you to be a compliant refugee. Expect government to oppose your escape with threats or force. Governments act in their own self-interest, not yours. Their enforcers are there to  'maintain order’ - their order. Not to pass out valuable resources for free.

On top of all that, our food distribution system is tenuous. Never before in history have so many been fed by so few, from so far away.

So here's my list of things you should possess to help you avoid becoming a disarmed refugee:

Above all, knowledge. Read. Practice. Apprentice yourself. Help a neighbor garden. Ask questions. Take a foraging course. Take a first aid course. Take a shooting course, or two or ten.

Think small when it comes to protein. Squirrels and panfish, not moose and salmon.

If you don’t live close to a reliable year-round source of water, move.

Get the best equipment you you can afford, and you can afford better than you think. A tremendous graphite rod, reel and line package, for example, will cost about $200 if you pay full retail. It's worth it. What else can you buy for $200? Go price fresh fish at the supermarket and you'll get a rough idea of how long it'll take for a return on your investment. No charge for the fun and relaxation.

You need - need - an ultra-light fishing rod, with a really good reel spooled with one of the new fused Dacron "super lines”. They're thinner, less visible to fish, more sensitive and easier to cast than nylon monofilaments, and they'll last several seasons because they're not susceptible to UV degradation. Learn to tie Palomar and Uni knots.

“Flag” nets. They’re illegal. They're illegal because they work really, really well.

An accurate, suppressed .22 rifle with a good scope.

A defensive handgun, with premium hollowpoint ammunition and the best quality belt, holster and magazine holder made.

A half-dozen body-grip traps. “Sauvageau” is the best quality brand I have found. Dye and wax them, learn how to use them before you HAVE to use them.

A winter’s worth of firewood stacked on pallets in your garage or basement.

Soap. Lots of soap.

A comprehensive medical kit.

Bicycle with pump and patch kit.

Good clothes for all four seasons.

Foraging books. Everything written by Sam Thayer is a good start.

Stockpile:

wheat
oatmeal
beans
rice
ghee
salt
sugar
baking powder
freeze-dried food (Mountain House is by far the best I have tasted)
canned food

Prepare to supplement these with foraged greens, mushrooms, acorns, meat, fish.

Acorns are the most overlooked food source out there, abundant everywhere in the temperate world. They require knowledge and effort to process, though. Another valuable skill to learn and practice preemptively. There are tools, such as the “Davebilt nutcracker”, that are worth their weight in gold if you want to take the drudgery out of it.

“Benghazi boiler”-type outdoor water heater. The secret to happiness is hot water, for everything from tea to bathing, and this is the way to get lots of it without too much fuel or work.

Landscape your yard with edibles. Blueberry hedges, asparagus along fences, a couple apple trees.

A half-dozen laying hens will turn scraps and bugs into breakfast and fertilizer. And they're entertaining mobile lawn ornaments to watch when there's no TV.

Plant things like wild leeks and sunchokes in the woods and vacant lots.

Make connections with like-minded people. There is strength in numbers. A tribe will outlast an individual.

Good idea, thanks for sharing.

Some people only think about a bugout and a gethome bag.  Not what they’ll do if they have to stay where they are. Or have what they need to go relocate elsewhere successfully.

Not a complete list, but an excellent base.

Vac seal those foods in glass jars and they'll keep virtually forever if you make sure moisture is low enough.
One man supposedly lived on parched corn for three months though I wouldn't recommend it.

Foraging books. Everything written by Sam Thayer is a good start.

Thayer's books are awesome.  Not just field guides, but very readable and engaging.

Just last week I introduced them to my 8 year old and challenged her to find wild edibles around the farm... she hasn't put the books down and has been transcribing her favorite plants to a notebook she takes on our walks.

Great thread.

Every time I read about someone planning on catching fish illegally if shit hits the fan, I wonder if they think they’ll be the only ones. I also wonder if they realize that the reason there are currently restrictions on the most efficient fishing methods is out of a desire to that there continue to be fish to catch in the future. Seems a major upheaval would lead to depleted fisheries really quickly.

Yeah, the population an eco system can sustain when it comes to substance living is incredibly small.

If TSHTF, everything gets depleted quickly and/or eventually.

Doesn't mean one shouldn't know how to most efficiently harvest while you can.

What is a " Darwinian event"?

Darwinian to me means evolution, not an "event".

Please educate me.

If I don’t have a bicycle pump and patch kit I’m not prepared?

Half a dozen chickens won’t last long on bugs and your table scraps, probably need a little more than 2 pounds of food per day. My guineas are on 28 acres and they routinely wander as much as 1/2 mile from the house foraging and still need supplement food to stay looking healthy. Have you ever tried to keep predators off free ranging chickens? How many chickens do you have?

Certain areas would get depleted fast but others not so much.
Shoreline vs boat fishing........

And some people just cant fish for shit.
Now..that asian dude under the bridge.....thats another ball game.
Lmao

How about an event that drives evolution.

I guess you're prepared until your bicycle gets a flat.

Well, give them supplemental food if necessary. When you can no longer feed them enough to keep them healthy, then eat them.

Five.

No.

Yes.

Yes.

Interesting list for rural temperate areas, but I'm a 8 mile hike (half of which is through a dense city) to get to the nearest water source.

In a disaster, especially during the summer, water's the biggest issue by a lot.

A half-dozen body-grip traps. “Sauvageau” is the best quality brand I have found. Dye and wax them, learn how to use them before you HAVE to use them.

What is this?

I think he’s talking about Conibears.

"Conibear" is a brand of body-grip trap. "Sauvageau" is a better brand.

Quality Para-cord, and lots of it.

I wouldn't be able to sleep at night. If I didn't live within reasonable walking distance of a reliable, year-round source of water, I would move.

ost for later

You mean ... like if PornHub shut down?

If you’re a serious prepper you’re grabbing all the playboys at garage sales, because technology will fail

I’ll use the bike pump as a paper weight to make sure they don’t blow away, guess the OP was right after all.

I remember reading that during the depression game was scarce and wary, imagine the pressure if something like that happened today?

I don't recall that. Source?