Eat it. Make Jerky.

Not that I would defend a WM, but that is the plan for my fridge if the power is not coming back on. Of course, if you are in a cold weather climate, you might be able to store it much longer.

A WM will be a massive target for anyone that wasn't prepared before the event and has bad intentions.
Maybe you manage to ward off all the bad guys...now you have to deal with the "It's not fair" crowd - how do you decide who to turn away?
Best option is to be prepared on your own...with your own supplies. Hell, all you have to do is survive one year, if it's really bad. A seriously diminished population will make it much easier to scavenge or hunt what you need.

The college crowd here is at Wegmans.
They don't come off the hill to go to the local Wal-Mart

There are huge freezers in the back of walmarts, usually 3-4 of them.  If you don't need "walking around room" you can pile up pretty much everything into a single one, shut down the others (and the lights during the day, and pretty much anything else), and run off the store's backup generator for a good long while.  When that starts to go dry, you've got about 400 cars in the parking lot and about 10,000 gallons of gas at the parking lot gas station.

Before the looters, that is.

Of course, getting 400+ people that are generally there at any one time during the daytime (and not including all the ones who will flock to walmart) to agree and coordinate is another matter entirely.

Surprisingly.... We responded to a smoke investigation (fire department) in the store room of the local walgreens (small town)... Turns out it was a cigarette that made it into the trash compactor, smoldered, and filled the store room up with light smoke. Anyhow... Upon making entry into the store room, my jaw hit the ground at the amount of soups,and other non perishable foods, etc stacked on pallets. More then I expected for a walgreens in a small town...

In SHTF I'd never go to WM. I don't even like going when they're busy around the holidays.

You guys know the government always hands out food and water when SHTF. They'll basically give you as much as you want if you keep coming back for more. You don't have to fight them for it. Be nice.

If the S ceases HTF, you can sell your extra MREs for at least $50/case.

If SHTF so bad that the government stops distributing supplies (and is overwhelmed themselves), I'd target the big distribution centers. (Not just WM, but any of them with resources I need). The public does not normally go there (only workers), so fewer people would think to show up there. They'd also be less defended than more widely-seen/obvious resources. I'd go for the non-perishable bulk stuff.

From living in a hurricane area I can tell you within about 12 hours a Walmart can be stripped of about 90% of its usable/practical items. In the event of some kind of major disaster everyone heads to places like that to stock up. If you have the manpower to roll in and start robbing/killing the people that are leaving the store with items and the people that are in the store it could work.

It would require you to be a pretty shitty person though. Plus there would have to be a balance between determining its an end of the world scenario where you can get away with doing that, and getting there fast enough to get anything of value.

Bad plan. If you aint got it, good luck going get it when those ^ type of people will be the ones out and about.

FEMA and other alphabet soup agencies have updated protocols and run drills on going to large distribution centers like CISCO warehouses and locking them down/guarding them.
Just food for thought.

I've built WMs for over 20 years and I have NEVER seen one with its own generator. It requires about 800 kw to run some of the lights and the heat/air only. No refrigeration. And that much generator is 1 thirsty SOB. Trust me. I've had to fuel that set-up for over a month on more than 1 occasion.

They did wise up a while back and set the gear room up with a provision to relatively easily hook up a genset to the gear if needed.

WM does have some insulation under the membrane roofing and the walls have been foamed if it was built correctly.

I have also seen a roof with a measured 40" of snow on it and it held up just fine.

Don't assume that those buildings are shit. WM has a 3 inch thick book full of specs on EVERYTHING and an onsite inspection regime that is the most thorough I have had to deal with.

Are they defensible fortresses? Nope. But they'll damn sure hold their own compared to most typical commercial buildings that surround them.

Best post yet on this topic ....

I went to Wasteland Weekend last year    Plan on going next year...  Walmart come SHTF? -Not a chance    Hopefully I can use cash in hand if the local gas stations or small grocery stores still have staff.  If not well then when in Rome...  

Except for the 'Mad-Max/Road-Warrior' theme to it, and some really cool customized vehicles, how is/does Wasteland Weekend differ from the Burning Man festival out in the desert?

I think I read somewhere that the guy who started the B.M. fest passed away this year.

Wal-mart and similar are often used in shtf stories.  Some of the authors think differently from others so no way would I expect one method to be a good solution.

Big area to live in and worried about heating it, make yourself a small area to live in.  Tent from sporting goods and layers of cardboard for more insulation.  I would really want to conserve all the 1lb propane bottle and all the exchange tanks outside as well.

As far as emptying the perishables, well first you go get the 5 gallon coleman drink coolers and put the ice cream in it.  Sort by flavor please.  You will shortly have milkshake heaven.

Chicken pot pies and frozen spinch and other yucky stuff could be used to help keep the milk and other stuff live a little longer, use coolers or start turning something into a cooler.  Kinda like a hot tub cover, you may need to make a lid for the open top food display things.

Walmart like many big companies has ways of moving large objects around, or things to put a lot of stuff into and roll it away.  So the worst stuff would go in the rolling trash bin things and then go dump it someplace.

I do think it would take a lot of people to secure a wally world and like most things you want to secure all it takes is one person hiding with a gun to start picking people off.

And while there are generators at wally world I really don't see much reason to try to run a fridge or deep freeze but I guess you could save some of the best stuff doing this if you wish to do so.

If you set up all the grills and used all the charcoal you could probably smoke and make jerky out of most of the good meats in the deli and what not.  Walmarts have a walk in freezer for the butchers but I bet it sucks the power.

If there was a delivery trailer with frozen goods then I could see maybe putting everything in it and seeing what all I can get to fuel that thing and how long I have.

Most walmarts have a propane powered forklift as well, so you do potentially have something else to play with as well.

There is just not that much food under the roof for how many people it would take to secure a wally world.  But it is better than taking over a lowes.

Yea...  My wife and I went together had an AMAZING time!!!  We live in northern NY so we flew to LAX, rented a car, hit up her brother who lives in CA, borrowed a cooler tent and few chairs, then hit up wally world for a supply shopping spree then headed into the desert.

It was booked on a whim, I had been following Wasteland Weekend since 2012.  I have always loved the post apocalyptic movie scene/ theme and thought this festival was really neat.  Its not like other festivals.  Its a fully immersive event.  Everyone has to be in theme.  Its also includes primitive camping in the thick of the desert so it tends to ward off those who are just intrigued and really calls to those interested in this theme, and dealing with the elements.  Its not a flashy type event, unless you are going over the top, the goal should be to blend into the set of mad max road warrior, fury road, or even the back drop of a fallout game.  Not standing out is key, unless your are really going wild with details or an over the top remake.

So back to booking, I was at work training a new recruit who was into cosplay and, not knowing much about cosplay I asked him if he had ever heard of Wasteland Weekend and he said yes, that someday he really wants to go, I had always chalked up the event to being to far away, but a few minutes later I called my wife and asked her if she would go, she said yes so I booked the tickets and flight that night.

Being a motor head who loves rat rods this event was exciting from start to end.  The comradery at Wasteland Weekend is like none other.  Sure there are various political opinions but one rule that is pretty abided by is NO politics.  Come and enjoy a good time, see the sights, enjoy the shows and performances, checkout all the killer and very skimpy outfits and take it in for what its worth.  I met so many like minded folks at this event that its not even funny.  4K+ attended this year and I am sure the "survivalists" and "preppers" account for several hundred.

We met our camp while waiting in line to check in.  One hell of a self reliant guy on a KLR650, one hard core military dude, and several other like minded folks who were willing to do whatever to help others.  It really was a relief in our current political climate, seeing a bit of community.

I only met the guys in the camp next to ours the last night and they were some hard core gun loving folks which had me right in my element!  Sure there are some from the left, but really political ideals take a step aside for a good time...  Sometime its necessary for us IMHO.

The rigs are amazing... Some for show, some have an obvious hints of the prepper/ survival mindset.  The camps and tribes are amazing!  Pure amazing temporary creations as the whole city is only there for the long weekend.

Bring lots of water, plenty of beer, a bottle of booze to donate to the command center for use at the atomic café, as drinks are always free...  An open mind is key but the amount of eye candy cant put it into words.

Its a pretty hard core camping event in the desert but everyone is very welcoming and encouraging.

If you enjoy looking at others with cool post apocalyptic clothing, or skimpy clothing, rat rods, survival rigs, hard rock, drinking brew, camping in the desert, and having a great time then I highly recommend it.

If anyone from AFRCOM SF is planning on going for 2019 then be sure to let me know, we can link up!!!  Tickets are not cheap, so its a real commitment.  If there is more interest then I might start a thread for it.

Attached File

Wasteland Weekend is much much smaller than BM.  I think it is more down to earth and is an "immersive event."  BM the idea is to be crazy and stand out.  WW theme is based on blending in to the back drop of a mad max road warrior movie, fury road, or even fallout 3 or new vegas.  There is some nudity, some craziness but in far more restraint than BM.  In the whole weekend I was there I only saw one or two stumbling drunk individuals, and one passed out.  Everyone else was well within their personal control which says a lot for an event/ festival 4K plus.  Its pretty strictly regulated,  Try to show up wearing blue jeans and a non distressed white T-shirt and you will be denied entry into the city gates.

Other than a few brief whiffs of marijuana, which is legal in CA (I think) I never saw any hard drugs...  I work LEO so even a bit of wacky tabaci is a no go for me, but I never found anything more.

It was a fun time with no political agenda but it was obvious when I was hanging with fellow gun toting fellas!  Even if we only had toy guns holstered for the event!

What if someone ISN'T prepared?

Exactly.

Awesome review! Thanks!

This

Only people who are welcome to come to my place know where I live. None of my coworkers know where my house is. Literally only my direct family and one friend know where I live. It's cheaper that way

The reality is that the vast majority in this forum don't have a years worth of food, sacks of rice, etc. Going to the store and swiping a credit card to top off supplies, if feasible, is sound.

This.

If you can afford to buy "salad days" lowers, ammo etc.
You can have a years worth of food in no time.
But folks wont. Its easier to hide a rifle in a safe from the wife vs 20 5 gallon buckets.......

Two parts.

Yes, people are used to food at their fingertips and don't stockpile it. This lifestyle ranges from mere readers to true believers. For people who don't run a business in this field, I suspect that some extra canned goods, a few salty food buckets, and a couple cases of mre's round out the collection. Perhaps a survey would be in order, so we can really see the stats.

No one is saying to top off in hazardous situations. As people who give this stuff a little more thought than the average person, a risk assessment is part of every process. If you can top off fuel cans, grab goods that are ordinarily low priority but more valuable in emergencies, you do it.

Money is finite, if your situational awareness tells you that the big one is here, you're gonna head out for things that are pricey, have varied shelf lives, etc. at the last minute. I may decide that it's time for one more generator, 10 car batteries, 25 pounds of salt, OTC med stockpile, whatever.

I have already bugged out to a small town in the middle of the country and hope that it will give me TIME..
When I was in NY I new that by the time I found out the SHTF it would be to late. Now I hope for a few hours warning and if given that I will be renting a uhaul and hitting the stores and converting emergency cash to more of everything.
I am good now for my immediate family but I would be able to take in more friends that I trust without stressing my preps and dropping off a few hundred pounds of beans and rice at my neighbors houses will by a lot of good will in time of need.

http://asktop.net/wp/download/GTA/GTAx21-08-001xv2014.pdf

People talk about the choices they face and just shoot from the hip. Intuition is fine for some things but well structured problems need to be broken down and assessed.

Knowing how to weigh things out and mitigate different parts of the mission is good to know. You'll live a bit longer than the people who decide wily nilly.

If your area is favorable, you'll face long lines and stressed people. If you live in a crappy area, people will fill their carts and head out the fire doors.
So many variables, but if you can ID a situation where there's not going to be any return to normalcy or resupply, you seize the moment and gather supplies. Going down to the crappy side of town to stop at piggly wiggly during civil unrest? Gonna pass.  
There are ways to make things more favorable with a team and some basic commo.

Averages are just that.  To get that low of an AVERAGE temp, you have to have some REALLY low temps.

Most people in the US live in areas that can have super low temps for short spurts.  Then, they think they know what cold temps are.  The temp dipping to -5 over night IS very cold.  But, it's nothing like a month of sub 10* temps with 10* or less AS THE HIGH TEMP.  Most areas that can get cold spurts may also be 50* a week later.  In the super cold climates in the US, once it drops below freezing, it stays below freezing till the spring.  VERY different living in a truly cold climate than living in an area that can see anything from -10* to 70* in the winter months.

It would be like an African water hole during a drought....many would be drawn to it and it would change hands numerous times before it's resources are exhausted.

Every swinging johnson and his cousin will be headed to 'the store' in a situation like that. No matter what store it is.

Best bet is to not be anywhere near said structure. Since we are grid up at this time, you are prepping for a time it may not be.

Right?

Back when Isabel hit here, all the local Walmarts had generators in semi-trailers that they'd pre-positioned before the storm. Problem was, one of the ones nearby failed. That store lost BOATLOADS of money due to losing the refridge & freezer sections and cold/frozen storage. They don't normally have generators there but they truck them in when they need them. There is a Food Lion that now has a permanent backup generator behind the store and BJs also has one. The BJs one got tested a few months ago when some idiot lost control of their car and knocked down a power pole up the street. If a Cat 5 hurricane were to suddenly change course and clobber your area, you probably won't be thinking about raiding the local WM, you'll probably be trying to remove the large tree branch from your forehead that hit you at 150+mph.

I think a more serious issue would be if the banking/credit exchange system were somehow compromised or shut down. You leave for work in the morning, get gas using your debit card, all is well. You see a headline that the Dow has plummeted with the usual "analysts" saying it was rogue trading algos gone wild, nothing to worry about. You go out to lunch at your favorite haunt. Go to use the debit card, it's either declined or the cafe can't run it because their card processing service is down. Luckily you have a spare $20 in your wallet. You decide that after work, you'll run by the ATM and get some dough. More bad news is heard with some of the talking heads proclaiming that one or more large banks may be seeking bankruptcy protection before the end of the week. You go by your local branch of BigBank and the ATM machine screen says it is down for maintenance. You then go to Target to pick up some toothpaste and they have signs saying "cash only, no cards". The cashier says they've been having network problems all day and can't get cards to run. Eventually, you get home and turn on the boob toob and the Prez is speaking indicating that a major bank has failed and that all banks will be closed for a day or two until the Feral Reserve can shore up accounts and distribute actual cash money. Problem is, the credit system failed, too, and a bank holiday for a day or two won't fix that. There would be hundreds of failures of both banks and companies within days.

The fiction I just described actually almost happened as the financial crisis kicked off back in 2008. Supposedly if the Fed hadn't dumped something like $450 billion into the banking system in an afternoon, we would have had a financial system "full stop" (as they referred to it). Most people were totally unaware we were hours from something other than a financial collapse that would have had the same effect as one. It is within this window between you recognizing a systemic problem, and the average person recognizing it, where you can act. If you have sufficient cash, you can "top off" things that need it and prepare yourself for the chaos that a banking system halt of even a few days would cause. Likely as not, even a temporary halt would cause a cascade effect that would put the country into a deep depression, primarily because both at the corporate, individual, and governmental levels we are buried in debt. Preparing for SHTF can take many forms. Recognizing when S is about to HTF is one of the skills that may be as important as anything else you can do.

Actually those snowfall averages a right.  1 inch of percipitation is 12 inches of snow. Further north of Minneapolis you go the less snow, besides by Lake Superior.  Southern Minnesota on average gets more snow than the north does.  I live in southern MN and have land in Northern.  Colder up north but less snow.

Your right without supplemental heat in the winter here you would die.  The winters lately have been brutally cold.  Snow has been scarce threw most of the winter which causes the frost to go crazy deep and freeze main water lines in towns.  Just hope we don’t get all the snow in March again.

Costco would be much easier to secure, and sniper post in the steel FTMFW!

Best post in this whole thread .

thats standard for any emergency response but few people know about it.

It happens on mil bases during every hurricane-put it on lockdown, figure out how long it will last, which is only a couple days max.

Thats why this "question" about looting a walmart is pure fantasy.

Looting of a Wal-Mart is pure fantasy?

A buddy said his plan was to go to the nearby luxury hotel and raid their pantry for supplies....I of course informed him that he was likely not the only one with that idea.  And that if he left his family to go get food there is a very high  likelyhood that he would not return at all...

That's a lot of peoples plan. Including some who post on this site.

Yup, I've heard of a pretty popular instructor talking about all he needs is his AK and a can of peaches

If I'm not mistaken, it was Gabe Suarez. I didn't see where he said it myself, so take it for what it's worth.
Yeah, everyone and his momma is going to be raiding hotels and restaurants right after they get done with walmart and kroger. You'd have better luck hitting up the local feed&seed and going to the source of the food. Or factories where the food is made and packaged.
I think I'll just walk over to the pasture and bring a sheep in for a long nap in freezer camp...

My guess is you've never been in a area that has a impending hurricane and tried to go to a walmart for foods or supplies...

My point is when shit breaks you will not be the only one with the idea of "let me get to the store" anything helpful will be just about gone before people even get to the looting stage.

You have to keep your situational awareness up.
The hurricane warnings are often a week or two in advance, you should be able to grab what you need with that kind of lead time and then some.

The people "shopping" in the pics are post-event by the look of it.  You don't want to wade into a herd of looters unless you have nothing. Your presence could cause a situation with first responders if your team is geared up.

Perhaps developing a "shopping SOP" is a wise idea. EX. Send two inside soft, have backup w/commo in vehicle(s), ensure safe exit and loading. Build it out from there.