Posted: 2/5/2008 6:57:53 AM EDT
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We've all talked about using food and other goods as bartering or possibles payments for services, since money may be no good. My question is: Does anyone have a certain firearm round they stock up on to use for bartering? Or is it a case of using that ammo as part of your cache to use? |
Right, and expect nothing in return. I dont understand why people think they need to stock items for barter. Stock what you think you will need.... thats what other people will need also. You never know what the value of a roll of toilet paper might be. Trading skills would be a much more valuable commodity. Think of the old time doc (comparable to a modern medic?) getting paid in eggs, meats, produce. A mechanic or an electrician can trade also.... Even someone with no skill can break sod for someone to expand their garden, cut them firewood, etc. |
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I would never barter bullets as well, if your a friend or family member or one of my good neighbors I too would just give you the rifle and ammo to go with it. if your looking for something cheap to store to barter check out batteries from the dollar store, there cheap, you can use them yourself or trade them they aren't the best quality but if they afford someone the use of their flashlight it's better than nothing. They usually have a long expiration date too. those pills that prevent a woman from getting a yeast infection after taking antibiotics will be worth their weight in gold also, most cavemen want their woman in working order. |
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It's funny you say that...........I know my nextdoor neighbor has a 30/30 and 12 ga. He has no ammo for either. I picked up some 30/30 ammo just incase, even though I do not own a 30/30. I also have some extra 12 ga shells for use at my location if close friends come. I travel for a living and collect hotel shampoo's, soaps and so on for barter or friends. |
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I bought dies and reloaded 300 rounds of 270 for a good neighbor just because things have a way of coming back on you. He doesnt shoot much, and now I dont have to worry about that end of the street as much. To answer the question, I agree with 'large quantities of anything you intend to use yourself'. But I DO believe in barter because: - we aint perfect, -cant see the future, -and who knows the way the crisis will pan out, Everyone will need(really want) at some point what someone else has. Without barter, will you become a looter? |
I agree totaly that barter is a good thing.... I just dont see the need to stock things others might want that are not otherwise useful to you. Having extra heirloom seeds on hand is a great idea.... stocking smokes for others is foolish as is stocking ammunition that you dont have a firearm for but you know your neighbor does. |
uncpress.unc.edu/interviews/l_coulter_interview.htm
Most of the seeds they sell in stores are hybrid varieties. If you grow tomato plants, and try to save the seeds, the seeds are usually sterile, or produce an inferior offspring. Heirloom seeds are readily capable of being saved and replanted from one year to the next if you have the foreknowledge to collect and store the seed properly. |
Then I am foolish. I wouldn't call it stocking up, but I do have a couple of boxes. My neighbor has a year plus worth of food and a genny. I would much rather be teamed up with a neighor using his own firearm, then mine. The great thing is..........this is what makes the world go around |
problem is.. if theres a person you trust implicitely, they're probably friends or family and you would probably trade items and services with them even outside of SHTF, as most friends and family do... anyone else, I wouldnt trade ammo to them for anything. And as far as other supplies, why in God's name would I trade away the valuable preps squirrelled away for my family? net result, I dont foresee a need or desire to "stock" something for trade. Services is something completely different.. no problem at all performing services in return for something desired... or trading something you produce through your services, e.g. if a farm, then excess wheat or whatever.. |
well lets see here. disposable shavers, shampoo, soap, batteries, .22 ammo, dollar store flashlights, cold weather clothing, CD player-radio combos, tools, toilet paper of course, maybe use of your generator for a few hours for clothes washing/ showering would be invaluable to many after several days without! ya know a farm family with some good lookin girls ?  alot of the battery packs for jump starting cars have the adaptors to re-charge cell phones or plug in radios. 
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+1 to all of the above. The main "Barter" item I would have and be willing to barter would be toilet paper. Things like tooth paste, soap, salt, matches, ect. Alot of everyday items that could not be used against me. I have given this some thought over the last couple of years. At first, I was going to stock up on .22lr and 12 ga ammunition for barter. Then I got to thinking about someone using it against me, or being thought of as the local arsenal, that someone might want to raid. Then I thought of stocking items like toilet paper, food, first aid, ect, for barter. Once again, I don't want people to think I am the local store to go raid. Now, I worry about increasing my preps for my family and adding an extra 25% for the relatives/in-laws who might show up and I wouldn't be able to turn away. The more I thought about stocking items for barter, the more I decided not to. I'm not going to try to talk the OP out of storing barter items, but for me, I don't think I will. |
Part of prepping is covering what it takes to make you feel warm and fuzzy. If thats what it takes and you dont expend a ton of money while leaving obvious things out of your own inventory then go for it. I am sure some people would think some of my ideas are a little off to... I would just try to stay away from being known as the local warehouse.... because first off you are probably spending a lot on stuff that you will never be able to recover the value of, and also, if you drive too hard a bargin in time of need some people will try to take what they want by force. |
