While this list is no where near complete, it does cover the basics. I would hope that you all would add to it as you see fit. ( yes I spend too much time thinking about z-day, or economy crashes or red dawn scenarios)
On one of the SKS survivalist boards, someone posed a question about how long it would take you to leave the house if $.hit hit the fan right now? What would you take? do you have anything prepared or ready?
People on the west coast should always have an emergency bag ready to go, you know, for earthquakes and such. Midwest folks you got tornado's. east coast, we got hurricanes and usually have more warning time, but everyone should have a B.O.B. (and no ladies, its not the battery operated boyfriend, lol) I mean the 3 day pack or bug out bag. Look it up on youtube for ideas.
Ok, lets assume everyone has their B.O.B. ready to grab and go. (mine is always in my truck). What other stuff will one need for zombie survival?
Now lets assume that z-day is here, and your home front is not secure anymore, you need to get out and go. I, like some others, live in a small town, so I probably have more home time than most city dwellers, but eventually we will need to get out.
WEAPONS:
One of the first things we should all consider is weapons. What do we need to carry? What will work best for us? Well, for me, I have it broke down into basic categories, high power, hand guns, silent and blades. Keep in mind, this is MY opinion on weapons, and may not be the best choices for you.
HIGH POWER: Probably only good for the first part of the z-days, cause everyone will be wasting ammo like crazy. Ammo is hard to carry and will run out eventually. While a lot of folks might be thinking AR-15's, an SKS is much cheaper and its also more reliable. But to be honest, neither of those is my choice. My choice: 22 magnum. Its powerful enough to kill zombies at a distance. The ammo is easy to carry. 1000 rds of 22mag takes up less than 20% of the space of 1000rds of 7.62x39mm. Lighter and cheaper means you can carry more! and more is what we want. Plus, try to shoot a squirrel with an sks. Yes it will kill it, but what kind of meat will be left for you to eat on?
HANDGUNS: I have owned my share of hand guns. At one time, I had 52 in my collection. I have since thinned it down a lot. My 2 choices for hand gun carry? .45 auto and the 9mm. What made me decide on these 2, was they are probably the 2 most common rounds. And common rounds are good, especially if you run out and have to go searching for ammo on dead peoples. The handgun is not my main weapon, but is just my extra weapon that i would carry on me at all times. Another good choice for a handgun, is a 22 mag, but only because it is my choice for rifle. Same ammo for handgun and long gun is nice. But for encounters where its going to be up close and personal and i might only get off 1-2 shots, 45 is my handgun choice.
SILENT: This should actually be called silent and reusable. A compound bow, a long bow or crossbow. It kills silently, the arrows are reusable and in a pinch, new arrows can be made. I personally like the compound bow. Get one, and practice with it. You aint got to be robin hood, but having a bow and being able to use it efficiently, could mean the difference between life and death.
BLADES: This is probably the hardest of all categories. You should always carry a small pocket knife on you. A small fixed blade knife is good to have as well. But lets look at the big scope of blades. What would one want? For me, besides the pocket knives, and small folding knives (yes plural and yes back ups for the back ups are packed in the B.O.B.) a machete is a must. It can be a military surplus or a cold steel kukri, but make sure you have at least one. Another good blade to have is the cold steel bushman or something similar. Its a 1 piece hollow handle design. Can be used as a hand held survival knife and also, thanks to the hollow handle design, can be used as a spear.
Swords...While I am not a huge fan of swords, having one might be a good thing.(more so for zombie killing, than actual USA invasion). Remember to buy quality. The cold steel warrior katana is one that is good quality.
This brings up a good point. buy a good quality knife. The hollow handled "survival" knives you see at flea markets or online, are usually junk. You want a full tang, good quality knife. The survival knife wont do you any good if the blade breaks off the handle first time you try to use it.
In this category we should also mention axes and hatchets. A good quality hatchet will become your best friend, especially for up close and personal fighting. Plus, you will eventually need shelter and fire. A one piece head and handle design, to me, is better than a wooden handle with the metal head attached to it. Always have one with your gear.
If you notice...the word quality comes up a lot when it comes to blades. I think quality plays a bigger part with blades than it does with say, guns. I am a huge fan of cold steel knives. They have proven quality and their prices are pretty reasonable as well.
Lastly on the blade subject is sheaths. What kind do you want? For me, nothing that has velcro. Velcro makes noise and noise is not good. A form fitted plastic sheath, or a nylon sheath with a snap are both good choices. Stay away from leather, as leather holds water and water is not good for your blade. We could get into stainless blades vs carbon steel, but thats more personal choice. I carry both, but prefer carbon steel cause its easier to sharpen, but the down side is carbon tends to rust. Stainless wont rust, but its very hard to sharpen.
FOOD/WATER: Well every show you see, food and water is the hardest to come by. Food and water will also become currency. So what do you carry? There are ready made kits out there, one on ebay has 720 meals, or enough food for one person for 1 year. It has a 25 year shelf life. Its also bulky. Comes in 6 plastic containers, but the containers are stackable. But it costs $1300 delivered. Thats breaks down to $1.81 per meal or $3.62 per day. Not too bad, but a lot to spend for a "just in case". And all of the meals need heat and water. 1 YEAR EMERGENCY SURVIVAL FOOD SUPPLY 3 MONTHS KIT MRE - eBay (item 350377180612 end time Dec-25-10 17:18:08 PST)
Canned goods are always good to have on-hand, but again, carrying them will become a problem. They are heavy, and take up a lot of space. The truth is, there is no good answer for food and water. It will always be big and bulky and heavy. My suggestion, just have it on hand. The actual disaster will decide what you can or can not take.
I do keep seeds on hand for long term: 15,000+ EMERGENCY FOOD SURVIVAL VEGETABLE GARDEN SEEDS - eBay (item 160519136758 end time Dec-14-10 12:33:21 PST)
I also have water purification- filters and chemical. Walmart carries both pretty cheap.
VEHICLES/SHELTER/LOCATION/MISC:
The type of vehicle you choose will more than likely be based on where you are located and where you are trying to get to. For me, I am heading to the mountains, so I have a 4 wheel drive truck. For the city folk, 4wd is not needed, but maybe gas mileage is a concern. Some will come on here and tell you they want a tank, which in theory is good, but #1 where to get one and #2 they eat fuel. Keep in mind gas will become a problem. So vehicles wont be around for very long. And the majority you run across will be where they are at because more than likely they ran out of gas.
Shelter will be the next thing to consider. I say stay at your house, board it up and secure it the best you can, but eventually, we will all have to leave. Campers/RV's are nice, but we run into the gas thing again, and once its out of gas, its pretty much stuck where its at. For me, shelter is a basic good quality tent. I know that a tent offers no protection, but going where I am going, I dont see a problem with that. I am going AWAY from people. And no people=no zombies.
Search for high ground with a 360 view. Avoid caves with only one way in or out. Finding and setting up next to a natural water supply, is my plan. Mountains also = food source.
Which brings me to location. Some like the idea of grouping with others and trying to survive, so they might choose a different location than I would choose. I would NEVER choose to stay in town and try to take over a Sam's club or Costco. The zombies will be enough to worry about let alone the hundreds of unprepared people seeking shelter and food in those stores. You will have to fight the zombies on the outside and the living on the inside. People are corrupt, you know it and I know it. Once you are boarded inside with the others, it wont take long before fighting and killing start amongst the living. Let alone, not knowing if someone inside is bitten and carrying the z virus. A small group of trusted individuals, and i mean small as in you plus 2, is about the safest way to go.
Another thing to think about is loved ones. While I love my dad, (hes been my best friend for my entire life so far) he is on 17 different medications plus insulin. We have a stockpile of his medicines and insulin, but eventually it would run out. I would definitely take him with me at the beginning, but I also know, that if I do, one day I will have to say good bye to him, meaning I might have to shoot him. Either from lack of medicine and he is in pain ( I wont let him suffer) or just because he cant keep up and might get bitten (love ya, but got to kill ya). Make sure you got it in you to pull the trigger. Thats why one of the things I carry is one of those stainless pill holders that go on the keyring. In it is one 45 round. If things get totally out of control or I get crazy and shoot up all of my ammo, I will always have 1 round to take my own life with.
The last thing to think about is literature. What I mean by that is books like the survivalists handbook, or anarchists handbook etc. Go online, download plans for a smokehouse. If you do kill a deer, you want to be able to preserve it. Some might know all there is to know, but I aint one of those people. The interwebs is full of info. Look for it, print it, have it on hand just in case.
There are only 2 types of people that will survive the zombie holocaust, those that are prepared and those that are just plain lucky. I aint lucky, so I plan on being prepared.
****and for those out there saying damn he has spent too much time thinking about this, I have been part of the survivalist boards for years. Most of what I said here, has been said by me before the "zombie" part of it. Yes the zombie part is fun to think about and we all have a good time playing and coming up with scenarios, but seriously, everyone here should have some sort of survival plan "just in case". Watch the movie Red Dawn. An invasion on US soil or anywhere in the world, is not that far fetched. Zombies just make it fun to play.
On one of the SKS survivalist boards, someone posed a question about how long it would take you to leave the house if $.hit hit the fan right now? What would you take? do you have anything prepared or ready?
People on the west coast should always have an emergency bag ready to go, you know, for earthquakes and such. Midwest folks you got tornado's. east coast, we got hurricanes and usually have more warning time, but everyone should have a B.O.B. (and no ladies, its not the battery operated boyfriend, lol) I mean the 3 day pack or bug out bag. Look it up on youtube for ideas.
Ok, lets assume everyone has their B.O.B. ready to grab and go. (mine is always in my truck). What other stuff will one need for zombie survival?
Now lets assume that z-day is here, and your home front is not secure anymore, you need to get out and go. I, like some others, live in a small town, so I probably have more home time than most city dwellers, but eventually we will need to get out.
WEAPONS:
One of the first things we should all consider is weapons. What do we need to carry? What will work best for us? Well, for me, I have it broke down into basic categories, high power, hand guns, silent and blades. Keep in mind, this is MY opinion on weapons, and may not be the best choices for you.
HIGH POWER: Probably only good for the first part of the z-days, cause everyone will be wasting ammo like crazy. Ammo is hard to carry and will run out eventually. While a lot of folks might be thinking AR-15's, an SKS is much cheaper and its also more reliable. But to be honest, neither of those is my choice. My choice: 22 magnum. Its powerful enough to kill zombies at a distance. The ammo is easy to carry. 1000 rds of 22mag takes up less than 20% of the space of 1000rds of 7.62x39mm. Lighter and cheaper means you can carry more! and more is what we want. Plus, try to shoot a squirrel with an sks. Yes it will kill it, but what kind of meat will be left for you to eat on?
HANDGUNS: I have owned my share of hand guns. At one time, I had 52 in my collection. I have since thinned it down a lot. My 2 choices for hand gun carry? .45 auto and the 9mm. What made me decide on these 2, was they are probably the 2 most common rounds. And common rounds are good, especially if you run out and have to go searching for ammo on dead peoples. The handgun is not my main weapon, but is just my extra weapon that i would carry on me at all times. Another good choice for a handgun, is a 22 mag, but only because it is my choice for rifle. Same ammo for handgun and long gun is nice. But for encounters where its going to be up close and personal and i might only get off 1-2 shots, 45 is my handgun choice.
SILENT: This should actually be called silent and reusable. A compound bow, a long bow or crossbow. It kills silently, the arrows are reusable and in a pinch, new arrows can be made. I personally like the compound bow. Get one, and practice with it. You aint got to be robin hood, but having a bow and being able to use it efficiently, could mean the difference between life and death.
BLADES: This is probably the hardest of all categories. You should always carry a small pocket knife on you. A small fixed blade knife is good to have as well. But lets look at the big scope of blades. What would one want? For me, besides the pocket knives, and small folding knives (yes plural and yes back ups for the back ups are packed in the B.O.B.) a machete is a must. It can be a military surplus or a cold steel kukri, but make sure you have at least one. Another good blade to have is the cold steel bushman or something similar. Its a 1 piece hollow handle design. Can be used as a hand held survival knife and also, thanks to the hollow handle design, can be used as a spear.
Swords...While I am not a huge fan of swords, having one might be a good thing.(more so for zombie killing, than actual USA invasion). Remember to buy quality. The cold steel warrior katana is one that is good quality.
This brings up a good point. buy a good quality knife. The hollow handled "survival" knives you see at flea markets or online, are usually junk. You want a full tang, good quality knife. The survival knife wont do you any good if the blade breaks off the handle first time you try to use it.
In this category we should also mention axes and hatchets. A good quality hatchet will become your best friend, especially for up close and personal fighting. Plus, you will eventually need shelter and fire. A one piece head and handle design, to me, is better than a wooden handle with the metal head attached to it. Always have one with your gear.
If you notice...the word quality comes up a lot when it comes to blades. I think quality plays a bigger part with blades than it does with say, guns. I am a huge fan of cold steel knives. They have proven quality and their prices are pretty reasonable as well.
Lastly on the blade subject is sheaths. What kind do you want? For me, nothing that has velcro. Velcro makes noise and noise is not good. A form fitted plastic sheath, or a nylon sheath with a snap are both good choices. Stay away from leather, as leather holds water and water is not good for your blade. We could get into stainless blades vs carbon steel, but thats more personal choice. I carry both, but prefer carbon steel cause its easier to sharpen, but the down side is carbon tends to rust. Stainless wont rust, but its very hard to sharpen.
FOOD/WATER: Well every show you see, food and water is the hardest to come by. Food and water will also become currency. So what do you carry? There are ready made kits out there, one on ebay has 720 meals, or enough food for one person for 1 year. It has a 25 year shelf life. Its also bulky. Comes in 6 plastic containers, but the containers are stackable. But it costs $1300 delivered. Thats breaks down to $1.81 per meal or $3.62 per day. Not too bad, but a lot to spend for a "just in case". And all of the meals need heat and water. 1 YEAR EMERGENCY SURVIVAL FOOD SUPPLY 3 MONTHS KIT MRE - eBay (item 350377180612 end time Dec-25-10 17:18:08 PST)
Canned goods are always good to have on-hand, but again, carrying them will become a problem. They are heavy, and take up a lot of space. The truth is, there is no good answer for food and water. It will always be big and bulky and heavy. My suggestion, just have it on hand. The actual disaster will decide what you can or can not take.
I do keep seeds on hand for long term: 15,000+ EMERGENCY FOOD SURVIVAL VEGETABLE GARDEN SEEDS - eBay (item 160519136758 end time Dec-14-10 12:33:21 PST)
I also have water purification- filters and chemical. Walmart carries both pretty cheap.
VEHICLES/SHELTER/LOCATION/MISC:
The type of vehicle you choose will more than likely be based on where you are located and where you are trying to get to. For me, I am heading to the mountains, so I have a 4 wheel drive truck. For the city folk, 4wd is not needed, but maybe gas mileage is a concern. Some will come on here and tell you they want a tank, which in theory is good, but #1 where to get one and #2 they eat fuel. Keep in mind gas will become a problem. So vehicles wont be around for very long. And the majority you run across will be where they are at because more than likely they ran out of gas.
Shelter will be the next thing to consider. I say stay at your house, board it up and secure it the best you can, but eventually, we will all have to leave. Campers/RV's are nice, but we run into the gas thing again, and once its out of gas, its pretty much stuck where its at. For me, shelter is a basic good quality tent. I know that a tent offers no protection, but going where I am going, I dont see a problem with that. I am going AWAY from people. And no people=no zombies.
Search for high ground with a 360 view. Avoid caves with only one way in or out. Finding and setting up next to a natural water supply, is my plan. Mountains also = food source.Which brings me to location. Some like the idea of grouping with others and trying to survive, so they might choose a different location than I would choose. I would NEVER choose to stay in town and try to take over a Sam's club or Costco. The zombies will be enough to worry about let alone the hundreds of unprepared people seeking shelter and food in those stores. You will have to fight the zombies on the outside and the living on the inside. People are corrupt, you know it and I know it. Once you are boarded inside with the others, it wont take long before fighting and killing start amongst the living. Let alone, not knowing if someone inside is bitten and carrying the z virus. A small group of trusted individuals, and i mean small as in you plus 2, is about the safest way to go.
Another thing to think about is loved ones. While I love my dad, (hes been my best friend for my entire life so far) he is on 17 different medications plus insulin. We have a stockpile of his medicines and insulin, but eventually it would run out. I would definitely take him with me at the beginning, but I also know, that if I do, one day I will have to say good bye to him, meaning I might have to shoot him. Either from lack of medicine and he is in pain ( I wont let him suffer) or just because he cant keep up and might get bitten (love ya, but got to kill ya). Make sure you got it in you to pull the trigger. Thats why one of the things I carry is one of those stainless pill holders that go on the keyring. In it is one 45 round. If things get totally out of control or I get crazy and shoot up all of my ammo, I will always have 1 round to take my own life with.
The last thing to think about is literature. What I mean by that is books like the survivalists handbook, or anarchists handbook etc. Go online, download plans for a smokehouse. If you do kill a deer, you want to be able to preserve it. Some might know all there is to know, but I aint one of those people. The interwebs is full of info. Look for it, print it, have it on hand just in case.
There are only 2 types of people that will survive the zombie holocaust, those that are prepared and those that are just plain lucky. I aint lucky, so I plan on being prepared.
****and for those out there saying damn he has spent too much time thinking about this, I have been part of the survivalist boards for years. Most of what I said here, has been said by me before the "zombie" part of it. Yes the zombie part is fun to think about and we all have a good time playing and coming up with scenarios, but seriously, everyone here should have some sort of survival plan "just in case". Watch the movie Red Dawn. An invasion on US soil or anywhere in the world, is not that far fetched. Zombies just make it fun to play.
Also for what it's worth, the 7.62x39 (SKS/AK47 round) has identical ballistic characteristics as the .30-30 round. One of the things you can do (or anyone for that matter) to help preserve your ammo is to 'seal' the primer. You can pay high dollar for mil-spec sealant or you can raid the cosmetics counter and use fingernail polish. A light coat around the rim of the primer will prevent any moisture from slowly migrating into the powder and potentially causing a misfire. It's cheap insurance even if you store your ammo in sealed cans like I do.
