This is one of a series of posts on some commonly held prepping beliefs, and reasons why they may be wrong and possibly dangerous to you and your loved ones.

Note: Myths 5 – 10 were taken from a post by a so-called prepper expert providing advice while dispelling “myths” about prepping and bugging out. I thought the advice to be so outrageously idiotic and dangerous that I felt the need to respond to this guy before he gets people killed.

Their Myth Reasoning (not me talking/writing) – Many times BOB’s are referred to as “72 hour kits”. The purpose of a BOB should be to get you from your home to your BOL and to last a minimum of three days, or 72 hours. As I have stated above, the events that would actually force me to bug out are pretty serious. If I have to leave, there is a good chance it won’t be safe for me to return to my home in 72 hours. My point is that you might have to make do for longer than 72 hours. Keep that in mind when stocking your BOB. You don’t know if you’ll find a working ATM while you’re out so you might consider keeping cash or precious metals in your BOB so you can restock while you’re bugged out.

My Opinion –  Wow! Once again this writer shows his naivete in matters of preparedness. But let me compliment him first. He does make a clear distinction between a “72-hour kit” and a “BOB” (a.k.a. Bug Out Bag, Get Out Of Dodge bag).

In you are dealing with a temporary disaster or emergency it might be appropriate to discuss returning to our home within 72 – 96 hours. In a grid-down or any serious disaster scenario the chances of ever being able to return to your home, or even your home surviving, is slim to none. So the two scenarios are vastly different in scope and nature.

His idea about carrying cash is good…but for what? That is the point…if you are going to carry cash, what is it for…exactly what for. He doesn’t explain the risks/threats you will face at all. You have to define the mission of each piece of gear/equipment.

Why?

Because I understand the concept of identifying the mission for a piece of gear. Obviously he has failed to identify what the mission of his BOB is. Define the mission of something BEFORE you stock it. Make each piece of gear count, be complete/thorough, and then test it. The thinking a backpack BOB (Bug Out Bag) can be stocked for some extended bugging out is ludicrous.

What are the primary threats/risks that you would be facing in any “bug-out” situation?

• Violence and threat of injury or death
• Injury from non-violent injuries
• No/poor communications
• No/poor organization
• Dehydration
• Hypothermia or hypothermia
• Starvation

And how do I know this? Because I have studied and understand “L.I.P.S.” <read more> which tells you what your priorities are. Then I studied and understand how to rate threats/risk and how to mitigate them <read more>.

So once again, ill-conceived…at least incomplete…advice from an obviously inexperienced, untrained so-called “preparedness expert” giving advice that will kill you and your family.

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This is one of a series of posts on some commonly held prepping beliefs, and reasons why they may be wrong and possibly dangerous to you and your loved ones.

2009 - 2019 Copyright © AHTrimble.com ~ All rights reserved
No reproduction or other use of this content 
without expressed written permission from AHTrimble.com
See Content Use Policy for more information.

This is one of a series of posts on some commonly held prepping beliefs, and reasons why they may be wrong and possibly dangerous to you and your loved ones.

Their Myth Reasoning (not me talking/writing) – A rarely-discussed but obvious undercurrent in survival circles is the general idea that somehow a serious survival situation will be great for those who have prepared adequately, and likely be good for the world in general. A number of justifications are given for this view: 1) It will have a cleansing effect, it will be a neat little “reset” button for society, 2) people’s priorities will improve by necessity, 3) etc. Although this issue is not discussed often, there is an obvious hoping-it-will-happen theme to the attitudes of many survivalists. Why? Because for those who have prepared, somehow things will be better than they were before SHTF. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The bottom line is that if you survive a worldwide collapse, you haven’t earned immortality – you’ve just earned the opportunity to die a later death. A death that will likely be violent but will almost be guaranteed to be painful and lingering. And it isn’t just your death that will be slow and painful – you’ll also have the experience of watching your friends and family go the same way. Culturally, we are now so many generations removed from primitive medical care that we’ve almost completely forgotten what life will be like without a professionally-staffed, well-equipped, electrified, sanitized, and heated hospital to go to when we have any sort of illness. You think appendicitis is bad with anesthesia, antibiotics, and a trained surgeon? It sure is – but now try it without any of those things. It doesn’t stop at medical care – in our culture, we have come to take for granted general security, food availability, reliable utilities, sanitation, the rule of law, human rights, access to information, and on and on. By definition, none of these things will be available in TEOTWAWKI. And if you think living in a world where none of these things exist is going to be anything other than misery, you haven’t thought very hard about what it will be like.

My Opinion – I agree. I have lived for extended periods of time in very primitive conditions and IT AIN’T FUN!!!! If you think trying to survive day-to-day from sickness, hordes, gangs, criminals, and just plain hard work, hunger and thirst, then you need a reality check. Think about how hard it could potentially be just to find enough water to drink for the day. Have you ever HAD to hunt for your meat? How about field dressing that elk or cow? How about butchering it into usable chunks of meat? Have you ever watched someone die because you can’t get them even minimal medical attention? Was it a family member?

Sure, in post-SHTF there would be moments of joy, happiness, and pleasure. But they would be minor & few compared to today but monumental in context. Yes, people in the military who are in combat grow closer together most of the time. But they also see their buddy’s arms, and legs blown off as well. That takes a huge spiritual and mental toll. Those folks in combat grow closer together to survive.

There is a reason why just 150 – 200 years ago the average life span was in the 30’s & 40’s. And then about 1000 years ago it was in the 20’s with ½ of children dying before puberty. Look around you at the people taking advanced medication or medical treatments; they will die and die rather quickly and in some cases not so pleasantly.

Post-SHTF won’t be a party, no picnics and dirty beyond belief. Prepare for SHTF but I would suggest you not romanticize it and hope for it.

How can you ease the pain? “Community!” Find and become part of a solid, conservative, Christian community. The only thing that will really ease the situation and have a hope for off-setting a true depressing SHTF scenario is a community of good people, with lots of various skills, working together. Then…you can have the hope to move from surviving to thriving.

2009 - 2019 Copyright © AHTrimble.com ~ All rights reserved
No reproduction or other use of this content 
without expressed written permission from AHTrimble.com
See Content Use Policy for more information.

This is one of a series of posts on some commonly held prepping beliefs, and reasons why they may be wrong and possibly dangerous to you and your loved ones.

Their Myth Reasoning (not me talking/writing) – I was motivated to write this article by a thread I saw on a message board where people were comparing the contents of their bugout bags. Seven people in a row described having less than two days’ worth of food. What is the point of having survival gear if you are so debilitated by hunger that you can’t use it? Some people who’ve never been without food for a couple of days will point out correctly that the human body can go for weeks without food, but I suggest that you fast (go without eating) for just four days and then try to engage in any kind of real physical activity – it’s a nonstarter. The body can keep itself alive without food, but that’s about all it can do. In a real survival situation, you won’t be sitting behind a desk typing e-mails; you’ll be running, walking, digging, and fighting, plus any other actions that a machine used to do for you. All that requires energy – lots of it. You’re going to have to supply that energy – all of it. Now multiply that obligation by the number of people in your group, and the number of days you’ll have to go without a resupply of food. The result is a mountain of food, much more than what casual preppers sock away. The problem isn’t just food – what are you going to drink? How are you going to sanitize that water supply? How are you going to cook all that food? However much food you store, you’ll need an equivalent source of energy to cook it, since most long-term survival foods, like grains and legumes, all need to be cooked. The myth I’m describing is perhaps more a tendency than a myth – preppers focus on weapons and defensive equipment (some out of fear and some because those are the things they like using anyway), when they should be focusing on food. You can buy an awful lot of wheat for the price of a single gun.

My Opinion –  I agree with this…to a point. But, you will never know exactly how much food and water you will need. There is no magic number of days/months/years worth of food storage. Your food storage may be just for your family of four but you may end up with 5 other families as well. So I keep adding to my pile every month; a little here and a little there.

And now here is the first real point…ability to produce food (i.e. garden). To hedge my food storage bet I have started only buying heirloom plants for the garden and then store the seeds. And just to make sure I would get off to the right start I bought three good starter kits of seeds for a garden. Here is the most important aspect about having PLENTY of food storage – you can always use it and it will never go to waste. You or someone else in your family or community will enjoy it; even if it is in retirement reducing your food bill.

And here is my second real point…their comment about “weapons and defensive equipment” is WAY off!! Their statement “some out of fear and some because those are the things they like using anyway” shows their true feelings against guns and tactical gear. This is a typical view of many people. Why? because they don’t really understand the actual risks/threats that will exist during emergencies, disasters, and grid-down. They don’t understand risk mitigation and they have this powder-puff view of the world once the SHTF. If you are not properly armed and trained, the first guy that is will end up with all that great food and water storage of yours.

2009 - 2019 Copyright © AHTrimble.com ~ All rights reserved
No reproduction or other use of this content 
without expressed written permission from AHTrimble.com
See Content Use Policy for more information.

This is one of a series of posts on some commonly held prepping beliefs, and reasons why they may be wrong and possibly dangerous to you and your loved ones.

Their Myth Reasoning (not me talking/writing) – Once again, the math just doesn’t add up on storing a lot of ammo. There is only one scenario where you think you’ll be using a lot of ammunition, and it is the horde scenario. But, there again, you won’t need a lot of ammo – the horde scenario will be over in a few minutes to a few hours, with you the loser, and your stored ammo with go to the winners. Don’t get me wrong – you need guns and ammo, but the idea that you’re going to expend thousands of rounds is just a reflection of people’s erroneous beliefs about what kind of shooting situations they’ll be in. If you’re determined to buy ammo, don’t buy them for just your guns, – buy them for everybody else’s. You’ll actually own a valuable commodity. Better yet, use the money to buy food, which leads us to myth #3.

My Opinion – I disagree with this one. There are a number of scenarios that would require LOTS of ammo. Most firefights don’t last long in non-conventional warfare. But during that brief encounter you could easily blow through 200 – 300 rounds per person. To think a couple hundred rounds is sufficient for grid-down is not such a good idea. Plenty of rifle or carbine ammo (1000 – 2000 rounds per weapon minimum), a good supply of pistol ammo (500 – 1000 rounds) and a respectable supply of shotgun ammunition (250+ rounds of 00 Buck & 100+ rounds of slugs minimum) is extremely important. This is a good starting point. But I also worry about everyday ammo shortages, price increases, eventual ban or limitations, etc. To me ammo, and plenty of it, is just a good investment that makes me feel more secure. And no, I only will store the ammo I need for my weapons. Just so happens that my weapons are VERY common in caliber. You think there is a good reason for that? Any oddball caliber weapons are a recipe for disaster. Get rid of them now while there is still a market for them. If you win the firefight…to the victor go the spoils; which means you get their guns and their ammo. You don’t need to buy and store ammo for everybody else’s guns…worry about your own ammo needs. And lots of ammo equals lots of security.

2009 - 2019 Copyright © AHTrimble.com ~ All rights reserved
No reproduction or other use of this content 
without expressed written permission from AHTrimble.com
See Content Use Policy for more information.

This is one of a series of posts on some commonly held prepping beliefs, and reasons why they may be wrong and possibly dangerous to you and your loved ones.

Their Myth Reasoning (not me talking/writing) – Most of the beginning and intermediate level preppers I’ve met believe that they will be defending their property against a horde of starving or otherwise malicious people, and they prep accordingly. It’s important to note that no one who has actually tried to defend themselves against a large group of determined assailants actually thinks it can be done. The math is pretty simple: the horde has numbers on its side, time on its side, and its determination probably matches, in not exceeds, yours. If a large group of people decide that you’ve have something they want, that’s all there is to it. You can take a stand, but sooner or later, you’re going to run out of manpower, firepower, or sleep (or all three), and it’s all over. These aren’t slow-moving, unarmed, clumsy movie zombies who want to eat your brains – these are determined, smart people who are just trying to preserve their own lives, who can scale fences, create strategies, or simply overwhelm you with sheer numbers. This is why experienced preppers either live in a very remote location and/or conceal that they are preppers.

My Opinion – This could absolutely NOT be a myth if you define “yourself” as a larger, more organized, better armed horde than the one attacking you. Even a decent sized group (6 – 15) would have problems against 30 people of any horde. You can balance the odds a bit by communications (clear & secure), planning (clear mission/goals & planning well in advance), tactics (i.e. rings of defense, Immediate Action Drills), marksmanship, dependable weapons, defensible position, etc. But to think a family (say 4 – 6 members) can defend against a mob/horde, NO WAY! At least not for long. So your horde has to be better prepared, better organized and more determined than the other guy’s horde. It also makes sense to have a Plan B. I would suggest a Plan A finding yourself in a great community where preparedness and patriotism is a way of life.

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