Ahh! But I have the best of both worlds. A fully trained Mastiff, who can carry a pack and defend the family. At 220lbs he is quite frightening when he gets upset or is commanded to attack, or defend. I also have a son who can carry a pretty good load as well, so good on both accounts for me, LOL! Now if I could just get the wife to carry a ruck sack we would be all set : )
What have you done?
- Thread starter Clyde
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I would say strap a long pole with diomand ring hanging from it like you would hang carrot in front of horse lol
well if you do you did not hear that from me I would hate to meet up after it happens and be introuble lol
ok well im off to bed got busy day tomorrow in process of building my compys web page and getting all my products public and investors are wanting alot of info so need sleep to prep for that
coup finished 2 weeks ago .. 7 chicks arrived today...relatives have chickens, 1st time for me ..wife and daughter on board
What breed did you get?
americana, longhorn, rhode red
Red star and black star chickens are some of the best layers around.
Plenty of good info online, talk to neighbors ,you will be amazed how many city dwellers are keeping chickens now.check local law concerning same.
Cornish cross grow fast, you butcher them out between 6 and 8 weeks versus 4-5 months for other breeds. Only trouble is that you can't reproduce them on your own place, you have to order chicks from a hatchery. It takes about 14 lbs of feed to raise them from chick to freezer for one chicken.
Army, most places will allow a few hens in the city limits, but no roosters because of the noise. If they don't allow chickens at all, you might consider rabbits. They are a lot quieter and have the pet 'cute' quality, just don't let too many people know when they have kits. You can butcher them inside if you think neighbors would be a problem or if you are passing them off as 'pets'.
Another thing, if you do go with chickens, definitely fence them in so dogs don't get them and the chickens don't get into plants in your yard as well as your neighbors. Our runs are completely closed in with welded utility fencing around the sides and the top. We have a huge chicken house, but we usually have anywhere from 25-100 birds at a time, if you only raise a few, you can get away with a house the size of a large doghouse you just need to hinge the top so you can get your eggs and keep it clean.
sound advice ,I sank some 4x4 post , 2x 4 runners and used 8 foot metal roofing for my runs roof and it was actually cheaper than hard ware cloth. needed the strength as there are plenty coon s foxes and coyotes.
Ahhhhh, but you haven't seen my son with his Ruger 10/22.... lol
Uh oh!! Son battle!! lol!! That's pretty close to mines bigger than yours!! lmao!!
I am just thinking of a few birds not a lot maybe 10 max would be all. Thanks for all the advice Anorak, you been really helpful
My boy isn't quite ready for the .22 by himself yet but he is quite good with the BB gun. We are working on safety and fundamentals right now. Drilling until its muscle memory ( he just turned 9 a few days ago), and then drilling some more until it is just automatic. I know he will be a great shot just like his Dad!
No problem Army, hope things work out with your birds.
Guys, I'll tell you what, let's toss my youngest girl into this shooting match. She's a damned fine shot and is wanting to join a junior marksman league.
Guys, I'll tell you what, let's toss my youngest girl into this shooting match. She's a damned fine shot and is wanting to join a junior marksman league.
All these years of on/off prepping, I maintained 3 cases MREs, 2 buckets (80 servings each) of wise dehydrated food, 2 cases of canned foods- primarily fruits & veggies, and 10 gallons of water. The water is probably the hardest to maintain part of the preps because you can't stack anything on top and they're too heavy to stack on top of other things, and the worst part is that those 2.5 gallon tanks they come in is not designed to store longer than a few months. then they leak and it's a disaster!
I wish I can just have a single 55 gallon drum for water... it's the cheapest solution and those drums are designed for storage- they don't leak. but no space!
I'm piecing together basic survival skills, at the very least I've done a bit of camping so I'm not totally clueless, but there's still many more to cover. I help my mom with the garden so not too bad with gardening either, although is the PAW without Wifi, iPad and Google in that garden with me it's gonna be alot harder!
Want to go hunting sometime to learn everything involved with that, go fishing so I'd learn everything with that. I have never started a fire (properly) in my life so I have to learn that... it's a little embarrassing, not being able ot start a camp fire without one of those manufactured logs or several liters of kerosene!
I looked into Bug Out seriously, did alot of research, looking into routes, there's several dozen routes I can take, but bug out is a worse case scenario, since I have no BOL. I also lack a proper BOV, so without obtaining a 4x4 or AWD first most of hte routes are too risky to attempt, the main issue being getting stuck in a bit of sand, mud or grounding out/hung up.
I'm getting my own car/truck/SUV soon but unable to decide on what, the main issue being fuel economy. Too bad most people buying a car has totally opposite wants than what I'm looking for. there just doesn't seem to be a simple, economical, spartan small SUV with a small economical engine!
Being a firearms enthusiast naturally I have a sizable weapons cache. Being a handloader (an adventurous one) ammunition isn't much of a problem. And as a handloader I can create any load for any specific purpose, basically the most efficient load possible with minimal waste of supplies. And interested in gunsmithing (self-taught) means I can repair or build guns so long as it doesn't require tools I don't have.
Stocked up on batteries? strange one
I have batteries and all my stuff has been adapted to use one "universal" battery. the batteries are plentiful now, and will be even more plentiful in the SHTF. they're not the normal AA, AAA, CR123, B, C, D or 9v batteries. Every electronics store will have hundreds maybe thousands of these batteries, half of households in the country has several, and they don't know it. they're rechargeable, no memory effect, lightweight and high capacity. the downside is that aside from flashlights & laptops nothing else is designed for them so it takes a bit of work...
I wish I can just have a single 55 gallon drum for water... it's the cheapest solution and those drums are designed for storage- they don't leak. but no space!
I'm piecing together basic survival skills, at the very least I've done a bit of camping so I'm not totally clueless, but there's still many more to cover. I help my mom with the garden so not too bad with gardening either, although is the PAW without Wifi, iPad and Google in that garden with me it's gonna be alot harder!
Want to go hunting sometime to learn everything involved with that, go fishing so I'd learn everything with that. I have never started a fire (properly) in my life so I have to learn that... it's a little embarrassing, not being able ot start a camp fire without one of those manufactured logs or several liters of kerosene!
I looked into Bug Out seriously, did alot of research, looking into routes, there's several dozen routes I can take, but bug out is a worse case scenario, since I have no BOL. I also lack a proper BOV, so without obtaining a 4x4 or AWD first most of hte routes are too risky to attempt, the main issue being getting stuck in a bit of sand, mud or grounding out/hung up.
I'm getting my own car/truck/SUV soon but unable to decide on what, the main issue being fuel economy. Too bad most people buying a car has totally opposite wants than what I'm looking for. there just doesn't seem to be a simple, economical, spartan small SUV with a small economical engine!
Being a firearms enthusiast naturally I have a sizable weapons cache. Being a handloader (an adventurous one) ammunition isn't much of a problem. And as a handloader I can create any load for any specific purpose, basically the most efficient load possible with minimal waste of supplies. And interested in gunsmithing (self-taught) means I can repair or build guns so long as it doesn't require tools I don't have.
Stocked up on batteries? strange one
I have batteries and all my stuff has been adapted to use one "universal" battery. the batteries are plentiful now, and will be even more plentiful in the SHTF. they're not the normal AA, AAA, CR123, B, C, D or 9v batteries. Every electronics store will have hundreds maybe thousands of these batteries, half of households in the country has several, and they don't know it. they're rechargeable, no memory effect, lightweight and high capacity. the downside is that aside from flashlights & laptops nothing else is designed for them so it takes a bit of work...
Seems like you are pretty well prepared in the food and gun areas. Do you have a B.O.B (bug out bag) set up? It's good to have one with the stuff you will need to survive in our area for at least 72 hours or even longer depending on your situation. I definitely recommend going fishing a lot so you learn what is best to catch fish in your area and how to fillet and cook them. Hunting is extremely important as well. Find someone in your area with a lot of outdoor experience and go out with them and let them teach you how to hunt, fish, start a fire, and basically survive off the land for a while. As for a vehicle, how much do you have to spend? How important is gas mileage to you? If you need gas mileage go with a Toyota Tacoma pick up or the Nissan pick up ( the small ones not the full size), or a Subaru, or a Toyota RAV4, if mileage is not important then a Jeep is your best bet, the Wrangler Rubicon, or an older one that has been lifted. Jeeps are one of the best off road vehicles out there and have been around forever. Oh and fire starting is really not hard either, just get a good flint, and have some tinder on you. You can soak cotton balls in lighter fluid, or Vaseline and put them in a container such as an old pill bottle and stick them in you B.O.B so you will always have them. I keep 2 bic lighters in my bags and carry a zippo always. Good luck and it sounds like you are off to a great start.
I recommend rechargeable batteries. One solar panel and your good for a while. They are more expensive but are well worth the money. Also every thing I own runs on a standard battery. No fancy rare batteries to power my flashlight or gear. That will be another thing that goes fast in a SHTF scenario first bullets then gas then batteries.
With all those MRE's you ought to pack some prunes too. We keep a lot of candles and lanterns here as well and lots of lamp oil. Both wagons and the buggy have carriage lanterns as well, not the greatest headlights, but then again we aren't going 70 mph.
