Probably the most common question prepared people ask of each other, and experts, when detailing their personal strategy for coping with a major disruptive event is “Bugging in, or hunkering down?” Stay or go? Run or hide? It is certainly a good question, as both approaches have intrinsic merit depending on the situation. But where more than a few people…
Safety in both shooting and handling is a prime consideration when armed with a gun. Unless your first exposure to the firearms sphere is this article, you have hopefully been instructed in the Prime Rules of Gun Safety. They certainly pop up everywhere: posted at ranges, written in manuals, recited by trainers and shown at the beginning of videos. You…
The following list of skills is pretty exhaustive, but it will be of no use if you don’t approach things in the right way. A guide which is often used is Maslow’s ‘hierarchy of needs’. This starts with the ‘physiological’, in order: air (probably a given in any environment), water, food, shelter, sleep, clothing. Then come ‘health’ and security, and…
Goats are perfect animal to have on a survival homestead. Even if you live in suburbia, you should have enough space to keep a Pygmy or Nigerian Dwarf goat – they are not any larger than a typical family dog. There are approximately 200 different breeds of goats. A goat will provide the family with both milk and meat. Some…
Pepper spray is an excellent and under-utilized tool for self-defense in a prepper’s bag of tricks. It is also one of the only true intermediate or less-lethal force options that are easy to carry and generally effective. Pepper spray may seem like a no-brainer, point-and-squirt implement, but like everything else we as preppers are concerned with the devil is in…
If you have ever watched a crisis unfold, in person, or perhaps some recorded footage, you have probably noticed a few people involved in the proceedings acting very nonplussed about the whole affair, even if they are moments or millimeters from death. You ever wonder why? Do they have ice water in their veins? Do they just not care, or…
Rabbits are one of the best survival livestock options. They are far less expensive to buy and keep than nearly any other meat source – and of course reproduce rapidly. You don’t need much space at all to keep even a fairly large colony of rabbits, making them an ideal source for a prepper who lives on only a small…
There’s no doubt about it: one of the most important things when it comes to survival in ANY circumstances is water. The rule of threes says you can only survive without the liquid of life for up to 3 days, but in reality you’ll feel sick before that. Dehydration is not only unpleasant, but it will restrict your ability to…
“Oh, the places you will go…” I felt just like I was walking through the pages of that Dr. Seuss classic when our prepper training focused on teaching a group of children from our survival tribe orienteering and general “in the woods” skills. It took us all a little bit of time to adjust to the bright light on a…
As preppers and bushcrafters, we all know that guy. The one with every new gadget, clever tool and toy, but no real idea what he’s doing. Don’t be that guy. Having good equipment is important, but enough practice with the right skills will always make much more difference and eventually could even replace the equipment altogether. If you can make…