Overview and mission statement.

Welcome everyone.  With social, political, and economic issues of late, the idea of being prepared for more is a big worry on the minds of many.  Many of us have been involved with this in quite some time and we all agree on one thing. There is strength in numbers.  Coming together with similar minded people benefits all involved.  Sharing resources of food, water, medicine, power, and helping build or repair shelter, wells, and defend it all.

We come together here for the purpose of helping one another share ideas.  Whether you don't know the first thing about being ready, or you have a back up generator for your back up generator, years of food and water, and other goods, you're welcome here.  We can ALL learn things.  I'm by no means an expert.  But with the knowledge I have combined with the knowledge of Cowboy, M_S, Oden, Stuck, and probably every body else, we can have a very extensive knowledge base.

Beyond helping each other prepare, some of us have chosen to attempt to link up should a major event happen.  This is of course an individual choice, and you won't be looked down one bit if you seek advice here, but choose not to be a part of a link up.

Lets be clear about one thing, this is NOT a militia.  We're not interested in anything more than living through a major catastrophe.  Defense of your stores and one another is a human right.  But that is a far cry from being a militia.

WATER

Water, People use a lot of water.  As a society, we've become accustomed to using a great deal of water and not worrying about it. Water is it!  You can have all the food, all the medicine, all the training, and skills in the world, and it's a waste if you don't have water.

You can't store enough to get you by forever.  The solution to water has to be multi tiered.

You have to have water NOW, but you have to have it long term also.

An isolated water source, NOT connected to a city water supply in any way is mandatory.  Some people anticipate using the water in their hot water heater as a supply.  But what happens if the catastrophe is an attack involving dropping a biological agent into the water supply? My solution is to have 50 gallons of water, in sealed jugs.  My jugs of water, sealed from the factory, and sitting in a storage room cannot be contaminated by any outside source that would not have already killed me.

I'm on a well at home.  Again, unconnected to a municipal water supply. I lose electricity, I lose my well.  So I have a generator big enough to handle that.  Of course my generator can fail for any number of reasons.  So I have a 1500 watt continuous/3000 peak inverter in my 18 wheeler.  Big enough to run my pump.  Again, that can fail for any number of reasons.  So I'll be acquiring a hand pump soon.


Water Filtration. (Weak area for me, would appreciate someone else helping out here.)

Food. Both short term, and long term.

Shelter.  

Weapons for defense and hunting. Including snares, traps, and fishing.

Communications. (mandatory for those of us talking about linking up)


Training.  (medical, professional survival training, etc)

Other.  Add as needed people.

I took a look at people that were interested and came up with this map dividing the state into 4 sections, with Central subdivided into North and South of the Arkansas river.


This will help us organize into groups for a major catastrophe that leads to the total breakdown of society.  That's on the extreme end of it.  The more immediate benefit is that it will allow us to get together and discuss unique issues from our part of the state.

Example, the new madrid lets off with an 8.9 earthquake it will affect us all, but differently, Cowboy will be surrounded by sandy swamps for 60 miles if he's in town, when it happens.  Mountain_Snipe would probably have a broken window or two.  Someone plants a dirty bomb at the Pine Bluff arsenal, those of us in central AR are bugging out, Stuck and Cowboy are watching the news to see how many of us died.

Check in here or if you just have a question about survival, but don't wanna attach your name to it, then IM myself or Cowboy.  We will post your question on the board, but without a name so that you can recieve the best ideas of everyone.  It could also make people think about things they hadn't got to yet.


 Lets keep this RESPECTFUL, clean and on topic.  No talk of militias or any of that. More is in the works for later on down the road for those that wish to link up should a major event occur.

Thanks people, lets do this.

Ok, lets talk self defense. I'm not going to spend a lot of time on this, it's to simple and there is to much BS.  I won't sit here and claim to be the be all end all expert on weapons, but I do know a good bit and have seen the effects up close for a long time.  I'm an EMT so I've seen people shot with several different calibers.

Rifles.

You can go all day here and argue all you want.  

AKs, ARs, Fals, and a few others like the XCR, M96, HK rifles, and a few other modern battle rifles can all be excellent firearms.

The key here to remember is that you need an effective cartridge in a reliable platform.

AKs have a rep of being a very reliable rifle, and ARs have a rep as being a very unreliable rifle.  These myths persist from the Vietnam war.  The AR of then is not the AR of today.  I'll put either of my ARs against an AK any day of the week in terms of reliability. AKs when properly taken care of are good reliable rifles just as the AR and the rest are.  So for the people that decide to go with an AK, don't think you never have to clean them because that's simply not true.  In Vietnam M16s shipped without cleaning kits, which was stupid.  They also ended up using the wrong type of powder in the ammo which made the rifles very dirty.  Those problems have been fixed.
Guns are machines, and machines malfunction.  So do your part.

For .223/ 5.56mm weapons.

The 5.56 round has a bad rep.  There are BS rumors that "it's not supposed to kill, it's supposed to wound" and "it tumbles" etc.  In Vietnam the M16 had a 1:12 twist barrel, it was not a fast enough to stabilize the rounds they were using at the time, so keyholing was an issue.  Today we use 1:7, 1:8, or 1:9 twist rates, and any are plenty fast enough to stabilize 55 or 62 grain rounds.  For anything heavier than 62 grains, it's probably a good idea to use 1:7 or 1:8.

Now, currently there are issues with the standard round in use by the US Military.  The M855 62 grain green tip round is a very fast round with a steel penetrator in it.  It does have issues wiht fragmentation sometimes because of this.  Against harder targets, it excels, but against people, it may not fragment.

I carry and use federal xm193 ammo.  It's a 55 grain round and still made for the U.S. though it's not standard issue.  It fragments very reliably and produces one hell of a temporary cavity.  I worked EMS for awhile, and can say first hand that the M193 round is absolutely devastating within it's fragmentation range.

There are other rounds like Hornady TAP and Mk262 that are very accurate and fragment very reliably. They're also very expensive.  But this is your life we're talking about.  Mags are standard, cheap, and plentiful.  It's best to stick with good mags like Pmags (my preference) C products, HK, and with the various USGI manufacturers.  Stay away from mags like pro mag and mecgar.  They're horrid.

If he would, I'd let Cowboy (or anyone else that knows) get into the fragmentation ranges of the various 5.56 rounds)

The AR can be configured in countless ways and is 100% customizeable to the user.



AR10s, M1As and FALs are all great choices in the heavier .308 round.(For enough money you can get an AR10 in .338 Lapua)
.308 is a tried and true round.  It hurts what it hits, and hurts it bad. It's design allows it's 168 grain versions to be one of the most accurate rounds in the world.  Snipers have used bolt action rifles in .308 to make first round hits at at least 1200 yards since around 1969.
All 3 of these rifles work off detachable magazines just like the other platforms discussed already.  Because the .308 is a much larger round, you do sacrifice rounds per mags, and total rounds carried for the weight.

The rifles themselves are also fairly heavy.  AR10s and M1As are the basis for two sniper systems currently employed by the US Military. (as is the M16) If you spend the money, these rifles are thousand yard rifles, and will shoot under 1 moa.



The AK comes in 2 main different calibers.  They were originally chambered in 7.62 by 39. During the later days of Vietnam the Russians witnessed how devastating the American 5.56 round could be once it's issues were worked out.  The Russians called it "the poison bullet" so they copied it with the 5.45 by 39 in the AK-74.
AKs have a lot of pluses.  Mags are plentiful and cheap.  It is a very reliable set up.  Military surplus ammo is plentiful and cheap. Ammo, mags, and rifle are all the cheapest of the the 3 families discussed here.
It has a few downsides.  It's harder to train for fast mag changes, and those mag changes will never be as fast as an AR mag change can be.  It doesn't have a last round hold open for the bolt (though some mags seem to magically hold the bolt back on an empty mag, letting it go forward when the mag is dropped.) and it's not quite as accurate as the AR typically is.  This is due to two reasons.  One, loser tolerances that help it's reliability, and the angled side walls of the 7.62x29 round.



Now, it doesn't matter which of the 3 families you choose (Most of us already have), you have a few mandatory accessories for your rifle.

1st, training.  I don't care how good you think you are, when you go to your first carbine class, you'll learn how much you thought you knew was wrong. The more training the better.

2nd, a weapon mounted light.  The only way out of that is night vision. (then it's still best to have both)  You can NOT use a hand held light and a long arm at the same time.  In the dark, without a light (or NV) you can NOT positivly ID a target.  

3rd, a way to hold your extra mags and gear.  Options here are endless. The best advice I can personally give is to talk to people you know and look for options.  In the armory forum here on Arfcom there are plenty of threads that show gear options.  If anyone has any questions on set ups for AR mags myself or Cowboy will be glad to answer any questions posted here or by IM.

More to follow later.

More points other people can write on if they wish, I have to get to bed for now. I'll update this with the info.  EVERYONE feel free to jump in, ask question, no matter how stupid you think they are.  If I've said something wrong, tell me, I may need to clarify, I may just be wrong.  Lets get this worked out people.

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i'm interested in seein what the hell all the placeholders are for........

Comms:  with a couple well placed repeaters and good, high-output mobile rigs with good antennas, statewide comms could be fairly easily facilitated on 2m amateur band.  IMHO, though, the IDEAL setup would be to use ONE centrally located repeater (probly biased toward the hills -- say, Conway area -- with everybody operating on 6m.  that band is rather sparsely populated so we won't hafta fight for airtime.  and since it's a lower freq band, it'll carry a bit further.  also, it's not uncommon to see 6m rigs with 100w output (ref. my IC-706MkII-G).

all ya'll that are interested should take Cowboy up on his challenge and get your tickets.  both of the bands i mentioned are wide open to lowly Tech-class licenses.

Quoted: i'm interested in seein what the hell all the placeholders are for........

 Adding more info as we go

looks good dusty. i think it work work great


stuck

i have a honda 2000i but i don't know the load it would have to take to run the well at my gmas house(1st bol).  Nor do i know the depth of her well, but ill be fixing that shortly when i go to fix her roof

Quoted: i have a honda 2000i but i don't know the load it would have to take to run the well at my gmas house(1st bol).  Nor do i know the depth of her well, but ill be fixing that shortly when i go to fix her roof

Wells are odd.  Keep in mind the ridge I live on. My well is 225 feet deep, but my pump is only at 18 feet and has never gone dry.

Water is #1 on my list, of necessary survival provisions. I have experienced heat prostration and dehydration, during my younger years, when working outside during the hot summer.

We just got our new water filter system in and set up last night. I spotted this one in the survival equipment forum, I think. Anyway, it is a   BERKEY. I have used several different kitchen fawcet attach types before. They were all useless for my water. I am really impressed with this unit. The water tastes great. I have been sensitive to water taste since I was a kid. Best home filtered water I have ever had.

I usually instal a GE RO system wherever I live. I recently found out that I have been causing myself some medical problems by drinking only distilled or RO water. As I understand it, it can raise the acidity level in your body, with some pretty sever consequences for some people (me). It is similar to the feeling you get when you have lifted that last weight or run that last 100 yards. The more I read about it, the less I understood.

The BERKEY is not cheap, but the filters are supposedly some of the best in the world. This one has holes for 4 filters, but comes with only 2, and 2 plugs to to plug the extra holes. The idea is. that you can add filters and double the output speed.

We are filling the bottom of our chest freezer with nearly full 1 gal water jugs. Then a layer of cardboard or something suitable for stacking the frozen foods. On top of the food, will be another form of ice in containers of approiate size. The idea behind this is to provide an extra measure of protection for the frozen food in a long term power outage. Running my generator is fine for awhile, but not indefinitely. Hopefully, we can keep it cold enough till it is used up or given away or whatever.

I don't plan on using freezing as my primary preservation storage, so I am not concerned with keeping the freezer full of frozen foods. This method will double as water storage also. Nothing like ice water during hot days, without electricity.

ETA: My well is 360' deep and is full of minerals. Some people around here drink it. I hate it.

in the preparedness spirit here's a pic
10 cans hunts spaghetti sauce($1 each)
12 cans bush black eye peas with bacon(.69 a piece)
4lbs spaghetti noodles(2lbs for $1.99)
8lbs beans pinto and great northern $7.20 (4lbs each $3.60 down from $4.79)
48 5oz cans vienna sausage $3
and the best score is a 30oz can of spicy jalapeno refried beans that we have no idea who bought, but it wasn't me or my wife.  total $34.14 not to bad i think

Well I have been pretty quiet lately, but I have been doing a lot of reading on different subjects, mostly alternative energy, and am thinking that with small amounts of work that power can be kept on in some form in most emergencies. I am very interested in what other knowledge we have between us in that area.  

i used to hunt out of a cabin in northern CA. it had a stream right next to it. they put pipe up river. started out 5 inch i think then slowly brought it down to 1 1/2 then into a 55 gallon drum. in the drum there was a alternator that would turn. then the water would go out of the drum pretty fast. with the water turning the alternator it charged batterys on the deck. with the batterys it ran lights and tv. it worked really good. easy to set up i would think. and with all the water in AR it might just work.

stuck

thats a very good idea

Ok, I should have some free time this week to do some more write ups, if nothing else I'll be sitting on my ass most of next weekend and will get some done then.  But I know there is a lot of knowledge here and we're doing this to help one another.  So seriously, get to posting before I eat all your children.

Quoted: ETA: My well is 360' deep and is full of minerals. Some people around here drink it. I hate it.

I cook with mine, but won't drink it.  It turned my dishwasher brown.  But it is safe.  My stepdad is coming on board and soon we'll be starting a really good filter system for it.

As for filters I have tried it all.  The best I have used is from Culligan.

The housing was a little over $100 and the filters run about $16 and last about two months for us.  We have spent $3500 on automatic backflushing sand filters and that did little since it is clay that is our problem hting
Here's my contact:

Tyler Swearingen
Manager
Culligan PCI
1317 North Hills Blvd Ste 407
North Little Rock, AR 72114
(501) 771-9990
[email protected]

I wish it would be that easy for us.  4 whole hours per filter.

We're building a heavy duty salt/sand/gravel filter at the advice (and with the help of) an engineer from central arkansas water.

We know they're out there, standing around making fun of your preps. Relatives and "friends" that aren't worth a grain of salt.  We all have them. You know those that quit their job because they had to get up to early or they come borrow your chainsaw and you have to go get it to find the bar burned up and no appoligy is even offered.

Decide NOW how to deal with these people. You have a few options.

A: Don't let them know you are preparing.
B: Try to bring them into the fold and get them to prep.
C: When they sho up after TSHTF run them off with a shotgun.
D: Take them in and let them mooch putting a strain on what you have worked so hard for.

I personally confine my information to people I care strongly about. Of course I get the jokes about being paranoid and the promises of "well I know where I am coming if there is a war/flood/earthquake/ect".  I always follow that up with "I wouldn't do that, that is a hell of a good way to get yourself shot at by mistake"

What are you going to do, If you don't think about it now, you may end up taking option D: out of guilt or living with the guild of running off someone you may actually care about to their death.

Me?  I plant one seed at a time, bringing it up with any conversation that is remotely related to any aspect of "survival".  Most of us know more "survivalists" that we know, they are just as secretive and afraid of the scrutiny as we are.  If they get a hint you are like-minded, they will drop a hint your way.

Valid points.  The most often overlooked preperation for survival is the first one you need.  Not water, not food, not shelter, it's Mindset.

What lengths are you willing to go through to ensure the survival of you, your loved ones, and your team? Are you prepared to use your weapons to defend your stuff? Do you think racking a shotgun will really scare people off? (if you do, get the hell out, or drop that B.S. line of thinking right now.)  

Delta, SF, and Seals will fight through wounds that will take most people out of the fight.  Not because they're physically stronger, but because they are mentally stronger than most. They are highly dedicated, extremely motivated men with one goal in mind. WIN. We have the same goal. Take a moment to think about your mortality. Religion aside, when your heart stops beating, that is IT. Whether it be by bullet, illness, starvation, dehydration, or whatever, you'll be dead, it's the end of life, get that through your head.  Think long and hard about it.  Then decide whether or not you posess the resolve to do whatever it takes to ensure that you survive.

Then educate yourself.  Learn how to get water in the desert with only a knife, a few cups, and some clear plastic.  Learn what can be done with a little hobby wire and a hatchet in terms of snares.  Can you build a fire without manmade firestarters? You gotta have some knowledge people.

While not all encompassing starting with a FM21-76 is a good start. Learning use of ropes and knots (something I am lacking in) is always a good idea. Making snares is a good way to get food without expending ammo. Filtering water with only basic materials is never a waste of time.

All these things though mean nothing if you are not willing to see it through. Meaning if you are willing to let someone take what is yours without offering resistance (not something I think people on this board are willing to do) then you become nothing more than prey to the wolves if the SHTF.

I agree with dusty, mindset is more important than any knowledge you can acquire.

Lastly, think about getting books, as helpful as the net is, if you lose power, the net goes down, or communications get disrupted you cant get the information you need.

Prepare you mind, prepare you body, learn the skills.

like ur post number ^.    we are always looking for books to read. we have foxfire its a good set of books about old ways. also canning/preserve books. sure u can grow food but what are u going to do with it all when its ready to eat and u can only use a small part of it. to me canning is a awsome thing for shtf. u can use it over a camp fire and put away a lot of food. i am always readiing survival type books to learn more. after u read or watch u really need to try and see if u can do it or not.

stuck

Meat Preservation

150 years ago If meat was not eaten immediately, it had to be preserved. The abundance of game varied and fresh meat was not always available. Meat to be stored was preserved in several ways: drying, smoking or salting.

Drying
For added flavor, jerky was made by drying meat over smoky coals. Meat sun-dried in long strips was called jerky. The strips, 1/4 - to l/2 -inch (.6 to 1.3 centimeters) thick by about 1 inch (2.5 centimeters) wide and up to several feet (decimeters) long, were hung from a wooden rack in a sunny place. After several days, they were leather dry and ready for storage. Sometimes drying meat was sprinkled with pepper to discourage insects.

Berries and roots were also sun-dried. In addition to preserving food, drying reduced the amount of water in the food and made it easier to pack and carry. A high-energy food, called pemmican, was made from jerky, fat and dried berries. It was made by melting fat and stirring into it shredded jerky and dried berries such as chokecherries, currants or blueberries. When the fat cooled and hardened, it was cut into bars and wrapped in rawhide. Ounce for ounce, pemmican is still one of the most high-energy food sources available.

Smoking
Smoking consisted of drying meat in the heat of a smoky fire. Green hardwood such as hickory, placed on a bed of coals, provided the smoke. Fish to be smoked were split and hung on wooden racks above the fire. Meat was treated as for jerky. Smoking not only retarded spoilage, it also added flavor. The modern backyard smoker comes from this primitive technique; however, with modern-day smoking, the intent is not to dry the meat. The process, therefore, is carried out in an enclosure that reduces moisture loss. For details on how to make and use a smoker, see Project 4.

Salting
Sometimes meat was packed in salt or a brine solution to preserve it. Large expeditions carried barrels of salted pork.


EGGS

Chickens will lay year round, but did you know you can make them last for several months with no refrigeration with a few different tricks?  The trick is to keep air out and keep them cool.

Melt butter and mix in salt, coat the FRESH (wiped not washed never refrigerated) eggs in this solution so it seals all the pores.  Put a layer of cornmeal in a bucket, followed by a layer of coated eggs, followed by a layer of meal, repeat.  Store them somewhere cool and dry.  If you will flip your bucket once a week, the yoke will stay suspended and they will last even longer.

If everything goes well, me and the family will end up in Southern Ark. We got a ranch down near the Oklahoma border. Right now I'm working on communications using a 2Meter set up. That way we can hopefully communicate with locals in Arkansas as well as Oklahoma and Texas. I already have some basic stuff like: food, colemen propane grill, ammo, and firearms. I pick up stuff every time I find a deal. Our land also has a couple of small freashly stocked lakes as well.

I'm near Harrison, and the family has 50 acres outside of town.  We also have 200 acres near Atkins.  I'll be bugging in if possible, then fall back to the land, then finally, meet with extended family down south if necessary.

I think you have a good idea. I am fairly new to getting ready. I also have a Berkey water filter. The water is very good thru them and each filter lasts for 3000 gallons of water.                                                                                                                    Hadn't been checking in much since Gunner01 left Arkansas. But I will check this thread pretty regularly now. Would like to get to know some of the other members in the state.

Ok I'm in !

Official camp cook!

Bump for added info to the OP

a good video for u guys learning or thinking about storing food in bulk. there is a couple videos its worth the time if u have not done it yet. i was not wait to long to start this guys

stuck

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vW7_cTn6YpE

My panic buying started last night......I bought a NIB  Beta mag with the clear back and all accessories - found a steal for $200 !!!!

Don't trust your life to it.  beta mags are bad juju.

Ok guys i live in the conway area and i would like to see about getting together with the group for some mutual support. let me know what i need to do
Thanks

IM sent

welcome, hopefully see you in benton on dec 6th

I would like to be part of the group as well. I live in Jacksonville.

Dusty contacted me about the Dec 6th hope to make it look forward to meeting you guys. I have plenty of weapons/ammo and training as well as some practical experience. However i need lots of advice and training in several areas. Especially communications and the more technical aspects. I have just recently really starting to get prepared so im a little behind the 8 ball and will need some advice from some of you guys. I would really appreciate it.

as for comms, me and m4geek just got our ham radio licenses for backup.  with my little hand held i have talked to memphis and harrison

if u have any ?'s on food and putting it away just ask on here and we will try and help u out. food is one thing most people are behind on. u can never have enough.

stuck

i have gotten stuff from the LDS people before. great people to deal with. i would really like to get up to one of there canning places but the closes one to me is in kansas city. if u guys have any extra room in the backyard put in a garden. we have one right now thats 25x25 we got a ton of food out of it. this year we are going to plant more of what worked for us and skip what did not. we are also thinking of making it bigger. if u have seeds and some room ur set. check out grage sales and get urself a presure canner and water bath canner. to me there one of the best survival tools u can have. u can always heat them up over a fire if there is no power.

stuck

I'm in as well, was into this idea when I expanded the VuDuLounge into the Hacienda del VuDu...I'll be investing in operational goodies upon my return...as I'll be semi-retired...not to be confused with semi-concious...

This is Arfcom, here we "get both"

I have a list of stuff to get, 4 wheeler, zodiac, quadruple my beer production, generator, solar power, large ammo buy, and have thinking about comms...in my spare tme here while BS'ing with the compadres we've adopted the custom of never using the words 'compound' and 'Arkansas' in the same sentence...Tactical Deer Camp...maybe...I already have all my own personal gear...and wouldn't want to be running around in all this tan stuff...

I plan on just drinking my own piss.

I got nice bug out location all set up west of Rogers a little bit, springs with drinkable water, pond with fish, decent creek with fishing, few deer, lots of cattle around, good building.  I will need some help with security, I'm the only shooter in the fam.  Also could use some back up food preps and a generator.  If anyone is interested in joining my survival group and can bring help let me know.