What most people do not know however is that, that war called World War II is only a continuation of World War I. The names would imply such of course, but it is truly a continuation of the 1914 conflict including the main belligerents. However what very few people know is that World War I is only a continuation of the Franco-Prussian War at the turn of the century. That war is only a continuation of the Napoleonic Era wars, and so on and so forth back to when the first cave man hit the first caveman. Each Generation of Man until 1945 fought in a major war that was a precedent and antecedent of another war. Some of those wars are even close enough that several generations have to fight several wars in the course of their lifetimes.

The regenesis of the apocalypse will turn all communities into fledgling tribes similar to the nomadic phase of forgotten history. These tribes however will eventually settle and claim a tract of real estate as their own and dispute over these real estate will eventually arise with another nearby tribe resulting again in generation of warfare until a world wide conflict again settles all disputes.

Current history shown that this will take several thousand years to complete, so societies should forget about fostering world peace and rather prepare for generations of constant warfare with it’s neighbors. Diplomacy for trade and to avoid absolute disaster is an option but eternal vigilance should be the primary course of action. Wars and conflicts eventually lose steam and populations would then sue peace, then the seeds of the next war will be planted and preparations for it should be made almost immediately. A constant state of Total war should be the primary focus for personal and the society survival. Great and Small civilizations fell primarily not by being beaten by a more prepared enemy but by the lack of their own readiness.

Allegiances and factions change constantly, Internal Strife is also the leading cause of warfare for all civilizations, There is no sound advice that can be given to a leader regarding internal strife, Several 20th century socialist leaders were able to outlive the societies they built and a few still live on. The form of government is not a guarantee as democratic societies also experienced civil war. Almost every nation have it’s leader assassinated at one time or another because of internal strife. The best advice that can be given is to use extreme balance of fair judgment to the nations posterity and a heavy hand to rebellious factions.

This post however will not concentrate on the political intrigues and subterfuge which will be discussed in another post but rather on the degeneration of open warfare. As explained In the apocalypse society, War will again be one our most intimate activities for survival and the knowledge of how victorious and superior armies fought is a vital knowledge for the continuation of your society.

Immediately during and in the early years of the apocalypse, Military Tactics and Technology will fall under what we call the communist aggression period. The Vietnam War, Afgan-Russo War, Grenada Invasion, Communist insurgency elsewhere including failed ones in Malaya and successful ones in South America and Asia. Early apocalyptic battles will be fought this way, a small war of attrition through what is now termed as asymmetric warfare escalating to full blown frontal engagements to secure vital strategic locations or straight up annihilation of the opposing force.This war is won by the side with the better resolve to win, technology is a factor on inflicting casualties however technology and tactics can be stolen during the course of the battles itself. Battlefield pick up of enemy arms and munitions are the norm, small unit combat and harassment strategies. Careful use of resources and attempts to acquire more from enemy stores and supply lines. Search and Destroy operations using a far superior force and firepower when enemy strong points are located and weaknesses are found. It is dangerous to simply locate an enemy strong point and attack with everything you have when theoretically the defending force always have the advantage of killing zones. The initiative to attack should only be used when your side is CERTAIN that the firepower you can bring to bear is at LEAST 3:1 in your favor. During this time, weapons that are most important are assault rifles and heavy artillery. Vehicles should be light, if possible easy to maintain and use the least amount of resources to function. In Malaya and Vietnam the most strategic victories of both sides were made by a small number of insertion troops inflicting the maximum amount of damage. In the Afgan-Russo war where open desert gave technology a clear advantage of kill zone but opposing forces were never annihilated and once equipment was provided to counter that advantage it became to economically expensive for the Russian side to fight an open war. Asymmetric warfare has two objectives, To achieve control of the maximum amount of real estate using the minimum amount of force; secondly to build up strength for open warfare by keeping enemy forces off balance and taking his resources. This will only work if neither side has a terminal advantage. This means that one side has more men, more support, firepower, and munitions. If Terminal Advantage has been achieved then feel free to escalate to an open war of attrition.

Asymmetric warfare will further degrade trade and industry, as raw materials become harder to control and supply lines harder to secure; The society able to establish the largest “Green Zone” for population growth, raw materials, arable land, potable water, and industrial capacity would soon become concerned about other societies who have achieved varying degrees of their own “Green Zones”. Diplomacy and Open Warfare on territorial claim would regress military science back to the War of Attrition Era that lasted for the last 3000 years. World War II being the last major war of Attrition but by no means the latest as it is still going on today in places such as Israel, India, Pakistan, Africa, etc. This next stage of military warfare the “Lebensraum” age of warfare will be full of border clashes, raids, complimented with the occasional decisive battle involving the backbone of the belligerents military. This type of warfare require more conventional firepower and a concentration of a light quick reaction force for interdiction and interception action along the border. Historically the Norsemen, the Hordes of the Steppes, and later the Ottoman Empire used this strategy to keep their borders safe and the borders of their rivals under constant “surveillance and harassment.” In major campaigns these light forces were integrated with the more equipped and trained regular army. The Roman empire built roads all over the world for this very purpose. It gave them the ability to mobilize and deploy legions into “Hot zones” more quickly. This means a larger irregular force with the ability to engage and disengage quickly while doing the maximum amount of damage, by this time after generations of asymmetric warfare this irregular force armed with personal weapons (preferably automatic rifles and sub-machine guns)and fast vehicles or horses. Historically these irregular force is paid only by bounty and no or little authorization is required from the central government (if any) to initiate action. Needless to say this resulted in larger conflicts . This irregular force should be complimented by a heavily armed and armored standing force; preferably with armored vehicles and Light Artillery for heavy conventional engagements. This force will act as imperial guard and Law enforcement during less troubled times. Ensure that the balance of firepower between the smaller regular army and the larger irregular army equal to prevent one force from being too aggressive and cause a civil war. Stalin has been known to keep the KGB and Red Army in check against each other for his own protection. Similarly, the Praetorian Guards are known to assassinate the emperor and auction the throne to the highest bidder.

If the War of Attrition continues to a point where it makes industry impossible and the maintenance of firearms and manufacture of ammunition become a logical impossibility, then it is time to return to formation warfare using shields and melee weapons. There has been recent hype about the superiority of the Greek Phalanx. The truth of the matter is, it is very rigid and works only in very few scenarios including the battle where this hype came about. Normally the Phalanx is too rigid to execute maneuvers especially against flanking moves which is a common move among any general of any age. Depending on the availability of materials available. The Roman, Islamic, or Crusader armies have formation that are well suited for play during this time. Range and Siege weapons may provide additional casualties and psychological victories but ultimately its the infantry formation breaking/routing the other infantry formation that wins the day. In this case, fanatically training pays off big time. Regardless of numbers and superiority in position and equipment, a good general with highly trained personnel normally wins the day, several instances in history has proven that terrain and the strategic initiative of Generals are the more decisive factors during these time. Generals who cannot get their men to hold their ground and follow orders in a timely and suicidal manner will not be able to execute accordingly to provide the winning maneuver. It is Imperative that these sections of warfare be the last type of warfare that your society implement. Tribal war bands though effective for its time will never stand up to a highly trained, standard equipped regular army. Caesars Gallic campaign have proven this concept over and over.

The end of times means a lot of fighting amount survivors, It is also guaranteed there will be a lot of fighting among younger generations. There is one particular movie where I saw young children being protected by the adults during a long standing apocalypse scenario. This is absolutely wrong. We send our children to school today for their future. We send them as early as possible and encourage them to do as well as physically possible, We must trust ourselves to do the same during this scenario for warfare. They will be soldiers of the future as we cannot (as we know today) protect them forever. The earlier they are trained as superb soldiers the harder it would be for others to kill them. These students of war will become the new survivors for the next generation.



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Contrary to popular belief this scenario is nothing new. Every significant historical event prior to the birth of Jesus Christ deals were a form of apocalyptic destruction. It is however possible that you belong to a racial tribe that instigated this event and have not felt its negative effects. Examples ranging from the Flood, Volcanic Eruptions, to outright genocide, to the coming of a superior army intent on slavery, rape, and pillage is nothing different from the scenario of modern apocalypse. The Degeneration of military science may prove applicable as a form of cultural revolution and warfare in each and every possible scenario, hence it is necessary to discuss that further in another post.

I once had an argument with a particular European regarding the US intervention in the middle east, this person claims that it is outright blatant imperialism to control middle eastern oil. I agree with this point in fact, what I don’t agree is how a person who came from a country whose modern wealth and glory is based upon being able to span the globe and colonize nations till the ends of the earth for over 800 years. The same argument I have with an American and resulted in a different response, I said, I would he rather have a playboy decadent American fat cat billionaire capitalist control middle eastern oil than a despot military dictator with a hostile intent of imagined world domination. I gave this example because I wish to drive a point that historically human nature has not changed. Humans regardless of background will resort to political, economic, and military leverage to control the finite world resources available to all of us. Capitalist at least sell them to us for a profit as opposed from taking our resources at gunpoint.

That is human nature, and that is a fact, a fact that is apparent at the individual, corporate, and political level. We will attempt to do what we believe will suit our interest. In an apocalypse scenario where the employment of violence to achieve and fulfill our personal needs and wants is a norm, it should be prudent to review the current events of nations still in this stage of their civilization. If every single individual in the world will only concede to taking what we need as opposed to what we want, then the world would have been utopic from the beginning. Unfortunately history and current events have proven that this is an idealistic impossibility, and will forever remain true even in the apocalypse scenario.

So with those premises in mind we enter a stage I would like to call; regenesis. It is the end of the world as we know it but contrary to popular belief it is also the start of a new world. A world that existed before when civilizations were young, desperate, and cruel. Humanity became the dominant specie of this planet because of our tools. Our creativity and ingenuity has allowed us to perform acts that extend our biological limitations, from seeing through walls, lifting 100 times our body weight, to flying to the moon. All cultures even the so-called barbaric ones, have a social, military, religious, and political structure that served their needs. That time at the 4th stage of the apocalypse is again true, so we must again progress both as an individual and as a civilization by recovering as much of that technology that we that have lost.

We have a special advantage compared to these individuals, we no longer have to argue on the shape of the atom, on what the stars are, if the world is round, we already know this for a fact. We no longer would have to sacrifice our fairest maidens and stoutest men for a favorable harvest, or to appease bad weather. These knowledge must never be forgotten as we reacquire the technologies and discoveries that we have lost due to the apocalypse. Those who survive not only have an obligation to rebuild, but it is their NEED to rebuild to ensure their continuing survival. Returning to the ways of the land may work well in the beginning, but for the same reasons agriculture, domestication, firearms, and jet planes were invented they will be need to be reinvented again.

I will post a list of the ten most important inventions and 10 most important discoveries of man, (IMHO) these 20 things should be relearned and harnessed to jump start the new civilization, we must NOT lose these things forever, a lot of these were made in ancient times and were lost during the dark ages, but luckily survived elsewhere in the world.

If you survive the apocalypse, rebuild, relearn, rediscover, common sense would dictate that once the world have stabilized after a few dozen generations, whoever controls and saves as much knowledge from the peak of our civilization will be the new center of civilization for all of mankind.

This is the most likely scenario on the chronology of failure of civilization is as follows; I will stress the importance of which particular technology needs to be saved during this time before it regresses into the next phase; The first technology we will lose is the advancements of the digital age. The internet, computers, satellites, hand held devices… these will be the first to go. Its failure will have a catastrophic effect on the global financial and communication systems. These things depend on electricity, electrical distribution, and a lot of very fragile and sensitive hardware. These things are so sensitive that if one transistor, capacitor, Integrated Circuit, etc breaks down until that part can be identified and replaced the entire machine breaks down. If your relying on blogs such as this one for survival when the apocalypse arrive, then it is a major problem. It would be asking for the moon if your electricity, server, fiber optic, local loop, satellite link up connection still run in perfect order. Items such as your GPS tracking system, Iphones, Notebooks, require several thousand engineering geniuses to build, maintain, and operate; Communications infrastructure is so widely interconnected that major breakdowns in some places (such us undersea fiber optic cables) would severely damage the operational capacity of the entire system. Such breakdowns will wipe out digital currency, destroy trade, hamper military operations, and most importantly the loss of factual information arriving in a timely manner. The things that are most needed to keep here are your digital currency and database management, A single computer can run digital inventory that will take humans days or weeks to do. However, without electricity such a computer would also be useless.

The next era is the mechanical age. Machines that run on gears,axles, and pistons and other mechanized gadgets would be the next technology we need to keep alive. Wear and Tear damage will make it difficult to replace a lot of parts for these mechanical devices, but its main adversary is petrol. The failure of global trade and industry would mean that gasoline; the fuel for most of these machines would be in a very short supply. Motor vehicles, Heavy Machinery, and Electric Generators all run on petrol. if you are decide to rebuild in a location where crude oil and refining its distillates is a technical impossibility, then conservation and scavenging is a must. It is a temporary solution and will never last long enough for the next generations to utilize, We can however save them the formula for distillation, its methods, its uses, and lastly the importance of the internal combustion engine.

The next stage, almost in line with the mechanical age is the industrial age, though history started that industrial production started with steam, and people on production line. This is a concept that we must never forget, Industrial factories today built everything from super jet liners to condoms. Canned / Preserved food are made this way, so are firearms and ammunition. We must maintain or at least recover industrial capabilities even if it is powered completely by human labor. Handmade artistic items such as a folded/tempered Samurai and a Ferrari could beat most mass produced items in technical specifications, but the ability to produce them in significant numbers would be a major disadvantage. The quantity over quality question has been resolved in Operation Barbarossa campaign of WW2. The Germans have better everything, but the Russians have more of everything. It resulted in early German victories until their supply and replacement situation could no longer handle the Russian War machine that sends unpainted T-34 off the production line direct to the front. The Marian reforms of the Romans (107 B.C.) standardized Roman military training, weapons, and tactics creating a production line for soldiers. It proved to be the superior form of military science until 1916.

The last but not the least era is the agricultural revolution. Irrigation, Domestication of Animals, Fishponds, Communal Farming, Food Preservation are some of the most important developments of mankind. The apocalypse scenario may start most communities to start as nomadic hunter/gatherers similar to our very distant ancestors however once a defensible base of operations with control of prime real estate is established, these developments should immediately be restored. It is idle to argue the importance or need of such, what is however arguable is the need and impossibility of creating significant amounts of arable land that can be defended by a limited number of personnel. At this point we will again go back to historical examples on this particular situation. Since this is the state of the world that lasted for almost 4000 years it will require be discussed in the next post.

The degradation of technological advancement of mankind will most likely follow this format and improvisations and progress will again start similar to human history for the last 6000 years. It will be the regenesis of our civilization on steroids. The community that has the most in-depth understanding of human development as a civilization and is able to keep and implement that knowledge should be the long term objective of any survivor society in the apocalypse.



Continue….

In an apocalypse scenario, each contact is potentially the same, multiplied hundredfold in terms of danger and benefit. New beginnings during this dark and trying time may spell death or salvation to most people, but since contacts are a necessary evil in this trying times we have to discuss it in depth. Every seemingly innocuous personal contact with a stranger may result to a potentially deadly threat or your strongest ally.

A great war philosopher once said to “know thyself and know thy enemy” it was delivered more eloquently than that obviously, but that is the simplest way it can be told. Treat any contact as potentially hostile, even if the contact seem hungry, unarmed, and lost. Desperation leads many individuals to irrational behavior, all of which can be hazardous to the health of everyone involved. Before initiating any contact be sure to be mentally and realistically prepared to kill every member of the other party. If this option is not available due to morality or military factors, it is better to not initiate contact at all.

It is however to idealistic to say that your party will initiate contact all the time, it is possible that your party is spotted first or require external assistance such that initiating contact is a mission priority. You may be required by the other party to disarm, depending on the urgency of the mission objective consider this option carefully, Disarming yourself places you and your party in the complete mercy of the other party even if they were at an advantageous position at initial contact. It is a tactical ploy to disarm enemy forces before annihilating them. This has been used historically by the Persians, Crusaders, and the Romans during their campaign of expansion.

If this scenario does present itself with your party on the receiving end of ploy, consider the reputation of the other party. If they are known to be honorable and friendly, and it is necessary for your party to initiate parlay then it’s an option to consider. If they are known to be vicious and merciless then it is not an option to lose your best way of defending yourself. If the contact is new consider parlay underarms even if they have numerical and positional advantage.

Always begin with know thyself, assess the current status of your party. This is the easier of the two variables. Consider combat readiness, fighting capability, leadership organization, loyalty to that organization, mission parameters, escape and evasion, and backup and support. Combat readiness is NOT similar to fighting capability. It is possible for your party to be able to fight but carry too many non combat and/or injured personnel rendering the entire party as combat ineffective. Combat readiness is the means to inflict casualties at the initial volley of the engagement. You can have highly trained heavily armed personnel at your party but they are in a precarious position based on several tactical situations and they would not be a factor at the initial volley, examples are sleeping or disarmed due to a hundred different potential scenarios. The second consideration is Organization, is the party operating on a democratic or military structure. Is the party leader in charge of the lives of everyone and does this responsibility extend to the understanding that everyone is to obey such a leader. If the leader is unavailable, is there a chain of command clearly stating who speaks for the group. Infighting among yourselves while under the iron sights of another potentially hostile party is a recipe for massacre. It cannot be avoided however especially in countries where liberty of the individual is a prized right to have such a clear chain of command and to expect every member of the party to adhere to that organization. If such ragtag group of individuals is the kind party where you belong to, always consider that party effective fighting number is much less than your actual party number.

Mission parameters is one of the most important consideration during contact, is it beneficial for the party to continue contact or simply move on. Is the party increasing its situational status by accepting contact or is it beneficial to disregard contact. Is the other party capable of fulfilling the mission parameters of the party or providing assistance to achieving that objective.

Escape and evasion is the next factor consider, is your party ready to engage and disengage at will, Consider the possibility of quick escape or orderly retreat, most battle routs that resulted in abject massacre is from a disorderly retreat pursued by a superior force. Never place your party in a position where it would require itself to scatter to save lives. The odds of combat survival making an organized stand is higher than a disorderly retreat.

The next factor is back up and support, would your party be able to call reinforcement, resupply, or fire support at any time before engaging. Is there friendly positions or assets nearby that can assist within a reasonable amount of time. The likelihood of any contact with any unknown party being an ambush is high, therefore when the assessment of hostile strength cannot be accurately determined, you can increase the odds in your favor by engaging only with a reserve force. A lot of battles were won or lost by the ability to call up reserves at a moments notice. It is prudent to always have a ready force on standby whenever a party goes out on missions. If such a reserve force is not available the option of splitting the party into two or three groups can be considered. A non combat group, and two combat groups in flanking positions. Engagement in a flanking position exponentially increase firepower and provides the illusion that your force is superior in numbers.

It is however unavoidable that contacts are to made with stragglers or other parties, If you have the time to observe the other party for intelligence, consider their force make up, fighting capability, and probable mission parameters. During contact itself continue observing and assessing the other party’s intention and combat strength.

Uniformed authorities are not necessarily friendly, they follow orders and normally operate on a strict mission parameter, A team on search and rescue can easily be mistaken for a fire team on search and destroy and vise versa. Observe their equipment and their noise discipline, the more firepower they carry and the less the noise they make, the likelier it is that the objective is hostile. Uniformed authorities also operate on a force recon strategy employing the ability to call support upon the onset of engagement.

Unarmed civilians are also not necessarily friendly, they could be searching for help and support and are likely to badger anyone they run in to. They could get desperate, panicky, and overly protective. They are not necessarily hostile in nature but could perform hostile actions due to hunger or protective instinct. It is also possible that they conceal their weapons until they encounter a potentially hostile threat.

Armed militia is also not necessarily hostile, They might be prone to the “shoot first and ask questions later” approach, but they are easier to break with overwhelming force as their discipline is not trained to fight organized forces. however to not put this to the test on a whim, If escape and evasion with other armed militias is an option; Choose to do so. If your party is unarmed and you run across an armed militia and your mission parameter requires contact. Try sending a single individual to check their intentions and be prepared to pull out of the danger zone at a moments notice, effectively sacrificing that individual if the militia turns out to be hostile. Heroics if there are any should be done by volunteering as the bait. It should be understood that any rescue attempt will result only in a futile bloody engagement and the sacrifice of the volunteer is in vain. When observing the volunteer make contact make sure that if you have civilians in your party they should be at the rear ready to pull out quickly without observing the initial contact. The volunteer could be killed on sight and the last thing you need is a screaming loved one giving away your position.

In the end all bogey contact is a gamble, a decision has to be made and they have to be followed by the party as a whole. A disorganized party attempting to make contact will result in giving away your position to potentially hostile threats. The mindset of individuals must change at this point. Everyone must learn to trust each other within the party and distrust anyone they contact outside the party regardless of their appearance. Most civilians with no combat experience will have problems with this, so sure to brief them thoroughly before any move is attempted outside a safe location. If they are unwilling to accept a leadership organization (even if it is not you) then do not consider sending a patrol at all. The organization need not be military, but it has to be clearly defined and indisputable prior to moving out in the open.

In an apocalypse scenario, always assume that the world is a hostile environment, regardless of what the nation used to be. In a hostile environment the weak is prey for the strong, the predator is wily and cunning, and most importantly the competition among predators is fierce.



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Since warfare was invented, logic dictates that the ability to inflict harm from a distance is a huge advantage. The advancement of weaponry to automatic firearms changed ground warfare forever. Automatic firearms trace it’s roots directly from siege weaponry and not as an individual range weapon, and its development as an individual ranged weapon effectively turned the bow and arrow obsolete.

There are three eras in history where the bow and arrow have played a pivotal role in history, First was when several tribes of the steppe have used cavalry archers out maneuvering and inflicting casualties on solid static infantry formations this resulted in several centuries of fear over what was then called the hordes. Effectively saying that Genghis Khan is the developer of the drive by shooting. The second time was when the English developed the Long Bow, a type of bow who’s range and lethality far out ranges any sort of individual ranged weapon before and used them en masse instead of just a way to soften formations before the actual skirmish. This was used effectively in the battle of Agincourt in 1415 against the French in the hundred years war. The last was the advent of the crossbow which was used by ordinary footmen it was such an effective weapon that the Pope lobbied for the weapon to be banned for it allows men of substance (such as knights) to be killed by lowly peasants with no training.

Early firearms are more inaccurate than bows but their ease of use and increased lethality allowed armies to train large numbers of range warriors protected by the standard melee/shield formation created a superior form of army employed by the Janissaries of the Ottoman Empire. The adoption of the bayonet allowed one foot soldier to do both range fire and become a melee warrior changed the science of warfare.

Keeping these in mind shows that the best way to use a bow and arrow is to have them in numbers large enough to make a difference, they are stealthy but they require skill to use, a crossbow however greatly reduces the need for training and quality materials sacrificing range. If ever you plan to use the bow and arrow as a weapon for your community, make sure you have dedicated time for practice. the materials needed to forge a bow, crossbow, or arrow is much simpler than firearms, Modern composite bows uses hard plastic, carbonfiber, ceramics and fiber glass as a replacement for wood allowing a stronger build but the concept is the same. Consider this only when you have a trained Archer to instruct your personnel on the use of bows. Trial and Error to learn the bow is time consuming but a serious alternative when ammunition runs out.

The Indian Wars of the USA have proven the in spite of superiority in terrain and training, firearms have been proven superior even in their crude form in the late 1800′s. Indians learned the value and use of firearms and was able to gather them from fallen Union troops and used them effectively against them. Eventually other factors resulted in the Defeat of the Native American Indian nations forging the modern United States. It does prove however that even a crude form of firearm is a superior weapon to a bow and arrow.

Other individual ranged weapon such as the sling and the blow pipe are much less effective than the bow and arrow. They have even less lethality and in some cases harder to use than the crossbow. (Such as the Rhodesian sling) Blowpipes were effective only when used in conjunction with poison but that concept can also be applied when using arrows. Neither the sling nor the blow pipe or other individual ranged firearm has affected any battle or war in such a way that it is worth mentioning in history, they have inflicted casualties in their time but never enough to warrant serious use against any army.

Consideration of using bow and arrow as a replacement for firearm should be given serious thought, the major advantage of a bow over a firearm is only it’s lack of sound when firing. Sound Suppressors for firearms do not really work as well as they do in the movies but it is still advisable to use them if they are legal in your country simply to reduce the sound and protect your ears nothing more. The bow however also gives away the location of the shooter more obviously than a firearm does, the smokeless powder have advanced in such a way that it no longer creates a huge cloud of smoke whenever a firearm is discharged as early muskets have. If technology has regressed further that smokeless powder can no longer be manufactured in quantities required then and ONLY then can bows be seriously considered returning to the bow as a major weapon for an army. Wooden firearms, fired from smooth bore tubes maybe less accurate but is still historically proven as more lethal than the bow.



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Firearms are only good while parts and ammunition lasts, Bow and Arrow requires considerable training and practice to become effective, Explosives also last as long as raw materials allow, eventually we will have to regress to pre-industrial period technology.

If the apocalypse is bad enough to regress our civilization to that era or is located in a country where firearms are not normally available then we will have to assume that the weapons the survivors or people in that generation will be using melee weapons again.

I do not have extensive experience on martial arts melee weapons as I do in firearms, However; I have seen, touched, and used a lot of these weapons, but never in a combat scenario. Controlled sparring may give a bit of insight on the kind of weapon that will fit your style of fighting or you can fit your style of fighting to the weapon of your choice. If you have neither, and there is no one with significant training and experience to instruct you, then it is suggested to choose a weapon first then fit your fighting style to adapt to that weapon.

We will classify these weapons into five different groups, short blunt, long blunt, short sharp, and long sharp, and shields. I understand that shield is a shield, and not a weapon, but since I do not want to create another post just for shields, plus they are normally used in tandem with a melee weapon, and CAN be used as a weapon, we will consider it as such for purposes of this discussion. Furthermore tools and sporting equipment that were created with a different purpose in mind that can be used as a melee weapon will be added here. They will also fall in the any of those five categories.

To start with the choice of a melee weapon should again be dependent on the persons strength, the size of the weapon is not an issue, similar to firearms longer weapons are advantageous in open field and shorter weapons are advantageous in enclosed spaces. Smaller melee weapons can also be drawn and used more speedily than larger ones, however larger weapons are known to inflict more damage on flesh and armor.

Similar to firearms, if society has regressed to medieval type of warfare it is suggested to carry a primary weapon and a secondary weapon. Short blades however, can be used as a third option both for firearms and melee weapons if there is enough equipment to go around. Do not carry more than three. Anymore will drastically reduce your agility and speed which are prime essentials in winning a melee fight.

However unlike firearms, short melee weapons can be used as primary for they can be double wielded or used in tandem with a shield. Heavier and longer weapons maybe too heavy for an average adult to use effectively without employing both hands. The Greeks and the Romans have proven that shield formations are advantageous in melee combat. Battle formations over weapon selection are known to have won or lost battles for at least 4000 years and remained in use until late into the 1800′s even with the invention of accurate firearms, resulting in some of the bloodiest battles in history in terms of the ratio of casualties over time.

To continue further let us discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each class of melee weapon. The first weapon is a short blunt weapon. Blunt weapons are known to create massive body and nerve trauma causing paralysis or instant death. The transfer of kinetic energy in blunt weapons are better absorbed by the body upon impact is comparatively larger to a sharp weapon, where the muscular tissues create a “breaking/stopping” effect. Armor however does a lot to reduce the kinetic energy damage done by blunt weapons as the energy is dissipated by the armor as opposed by the body itself. Examples of a short or single handed blunt weapons are metal pipe, crowbar, mace, batons, gauntlets, and flail. They can be double wielded and with the exception of chained blunt weapons such as nunchucks and morning stars they are very easy to use. Short blunt weapons such as night sticks, expandable batons, and brass knuckles are fairly easy to carry and conceal. They will however exponentially increase the damage done to an opponent as compared to fighting bare handed. If you do not have the proficiency to use chained blunt weapons do not use them, they are known to inflict damage to an untrained user.

Long Blunt weapons however are harder to use but inflict massive kinetic energy damage both to shields, armor, and flesh. Examples are baseball bat, sledge Hammers, and war hammers. The weapon Bo or known to the west as staff is an expert weapon that can be used with speed and accuracy as a long double handed blunt weapon, however unless you have years of training with the use of this particular weapon it is rather suggested that you choose a simpler weapon that doesn’t require a lifetime of practice to inflict lethal injuries. The advantage of using large blunt weapons are the intimidation factor which is more psychological than practical, even at the hands of someone who knows how to use it. The Main advantage of blunt weapons especially large blunt weapons is its ability to inflict damage and recoil with very little fear of the weapon getting stuck into the target shield, armor, or body. These types of weapons are an option, but not necessarily recommended only for people who have the strength to swing these weapons at speeds that does not put them at a disadvantage over comparable length sharp weapons. Blunt weapons, since it does not need a thin cutting edge has the major advantage of sheer mass and in effect; drastically reducing the possibility breakage especially during combat.

The range of short bladed weapons are vast, they can vary from short fan blades and switch blades to very lethal daggers, survival knives, dirks, kukris, gladius, cleavers, tantos,machetes, tomahawks, etc… A lot of these weapons can be thrown accurately with practice but it is not recommended to spend your time learning this skill if you do not have it prior to the apocalypse. It takes a lot of practice and it effectively incapacitate or kill a single opponent while leaving you weaponless (or at the very least carrying one less weapon that you have). Single handed bladed weapons are fast and always choose a weapon that can inflict damage BOTH by slashing and by piercing. There are weapons that specialize on either slashing or piercing only. like most melee weapons unless you are proficient in these weapons already, do not put yourself at a disadvantage by selecting a weapon that has very specific attack strikes thereby limiting your offensive options.

Two handed long sharp weapons are the most recommended weapon for any amateur fighter. Any idiot can cut up any opponent with a good slash of a well made katana, bastard sword, long sword. The rule wherein you choose both a slashing and piercing weapon for a short bladed weapon does NOT apply to long bladed weapons. The most basic weapon of any army prior to the widespread use of firearms is the spear. The spear is easy to use and its range allows it to be work perfectly in tandem with tight formations as demonstrated by Greek Phalanxes. Large Battle Axes are similarly specialized as a slashing only weapon but it is the most effective weapon against shielded or armored opponents. If you select a large sharp weapon as your melee weapon of choice remember that slashing or piercing using these weapons have a tendency to get stuck especially against wooden shields. A Friend of mine who teaches a particular sword technique of oriental origin says that with proper training and a good sword, their cutting exercises always clear the weapon through the intended target such as tatami mats, wooden logs, ballistic gels, etc. I believe that in the advent of an actual melee combat situation certain factors such as angle of attack, clothing, armor, fatigue will not create the optimal conditions to ALWAYS result in a clear cut slash. Since neither of us seen or experienced a force on force engagement to the death, where someone is cut in half,both our opinions are purely hypothetical. Furthermore, Large sharp weapons are best employed using both hands to increase the kinetic energy applied to create a clean slash hereby preventing the user to use a shield. It is important to know that certain blades differ in shape and metallurgy. These are designed to create a balance for ease of use and reliability in combat. Since Melee weapons especially sharp weapons take tremendous amount of punishment during use its important to know that the composition of the weapon itself is important when hitting a similarly hard target. Double edged swords have increased lethality and speed while sacrificing the blades ability to withstand damage. Single edge swords increase weight and tenacity at the sacrifice of lethality. A Groove within the sword known as a fuller also reduces the swords tenacity to reduce weight to increase speed.

Shields are the mainstay of most armies for thousands of years, with the small exception of eastern warfare in China and Japan most civilizations from the Zulus in Africa, the Huns of Asia, to the Saxons and Norsemen of Northern Europe, use shields as an integral part of melee combat. Some large weapons such as Spears and double bladed long swords can be used in tandem with a shield. The Roman Legions defeated all of the known world at one time or another using a comparatively short gladius, two short spears known as pilium and a shield. Roman Shield formation have become the textbook of Sword warfare for thousands of centuries even after the fall of the Roman Empire/Republic. Even upon integration of Gallic, Gothic and other eastern tribes to the legion, the Roman Shield remains exclusive to Citizen Legionnaires. Foreign Units serving in the Roman army known as Auxillia or Auxilliaries were not allowed to use Roman Type Shields. Thousands of years later, Modern Ballistic/Riot/EOD Shields are still based on the Roman Design. So if you plan to use a shield the Roman Shield is vastly superior to all types, Modern advances in armor changed only the composition of the Roman Designed Shield but not the shape and minimal changes in size. (If your curious as to why its superior the curvature of the shield provides the second best geometric shape to absorb AND deflect any sharp or blunt attack while providing the maximum angle of protection to the bearer without sacrificing space.)

Melee weapons like firearms are a personal choice, it maybe necessary however for a community to choose a particular type or types of melee weapons to specialize to simplify formations, training, and weapon production. There is no “best” melee weapon that would perform advantageously in any scenario in the hands of any user. Sharp weapons also have the disadvantage of damaging the cutting edge either by time or use and require much more maintenance than blunt weapons. Limiting yourself and your community to the use of a few types of melee weapons will however increase the odds of standardized training and mastery.

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I have seen guides, forums, and lists of other peoples “panic bag” that contains the most complete set of survivalist equipment that anyone can dream of. However in ALMOST all those cases, The incredible hulk will probably have problems carrying it.

A true panic bag should be carried on foot. A lot of evacuations and disasters have rendered most roadways jammed or vehicles useless. A true panic bag should also be light enough for the person carrying it to sprint short distances. If I have to explain why people need to run in an apocalyptic scenario I suggest you use your imagination.

The first requirement of a panic bag is the bag itself. It should be sturdy, not flashy (or shiny), and can be firmly attached to your body while having full use of both your arms. It should have at least 3 outer pockets and water proof. Depending on your size and strength, There are lots of camping and military gear available that will fit ALL the criteria mentioned above. The color of the bag should match your general surroundings. Black however works for most environments except in the desert were tan is more advisable. Black is also not recommended in places where snow falls most of the year. A lot of people are suggesting safety colors such as red or bright orange, however it is necessary in some cases to hide from people. If you want to be found certain simple methods can be done to attract attention to yourself.

The First pocket is the easy access materials, This contain a separate military first aid kit, insect repellent, and a two liters (or a gallon) of drinking water. In places where mineral (bottled water) is not normally sold, You can buy camping or biking canteens and fill them up. Remember to rotate the contents of the water at least once a month. Ensure that the first aid kit contain bandages, scissors, military gauze, cotton, swabs, two N95 Masks, tissue paper, suture and thread, and at least 25 tablets of antibiotics, aspirin, salt tablets, and painkillers. You may have to add from commercial boxes to complete these.

The second pocket contains your passport, currency, a back up cellular phone, SAS Survival kit (You may research the contents of these online), and a bandana/shemagh. If your a frequent traveler, You will still need a place to store your passport at home, the panic bag which should be in an accessible location is as good a place as any. The amount of currency stored is relative depending on the cost of living on your location and the hyperinflation that will definitely occur during a disaster scenario; the recommended amount of currency cannot be determined but a good guide is the cost of leaving your country today multiplied by five. Hide the currency in another container not usually used for currency such as a small non transparent box. A back up cellular phone is also there. Keep the battery charged, most models discharge on their own in 3-5 days. Frequently update the contact list of your back up cell phone. There are cheap cellphones with 2 way radios. it is good for very short distances however it will keep give you an alternative mode of communication even when the cellular networks are down. The Bandana or Shemagh is also located here as cover for your other important items and can be useful for wounds, fractures, and covering your head as a disguise or cover from nature.

The third pocket is your weapons pocket. It should carry a survival knife of at least 6 inches. (8 inches is recommended) If your allowed to have a firearm in your country this should also contain at least 3 boxes of appropriate ammunition for your pistol. If your not allowed to have firearms in your country then carry a bigger knife. the third pocket should contain minor tools such as a map of your general area, a compass, a Swiss army knife / Multi-purpose tool, and lighter. These items except for the lighter is self explanatory, if your a smoker an extra lighter is obvious however for non smokers a lighter is also necessary, you never know when you need to start a fire and it’s easier to use a lighter than rub 2 sticks together. Make sure your Swiss army knife has AT LEAST a can opener, a bottle opener and the 2 general kinds of screw drivers. The map should be the civilian book type, they are much easier to use without spreading the entire map across which requires a table and also contains landmarks, restaurants, motels, etc and other places that you may need when you evacuate.

The Main compartment of your panic bag should contain these, Combat or hiking boots, A firearm (if allowed), 3 loaded magazines for your firearm, If you do not have access to fire arms in your country a stun gun, cattle prod, expandable baton, or pepper spray should be viable alternatives, Ballistic Glasses, a full set of modern Battle Dress Uniform (BDU), shorts with the same camo as your BDU, 2 sets of underwear (additional sports bra for women), 2 extra shirts, 4 pairs of socks, pair of gloves, a rim of cigarettes, a bottle of vodka, a survival book, Military flashlight, 10 MRE’s, a box of water purification tablet, a box of chocolates, a blank notebook and pen, crank radio, duct tape, and a hygiene kit containing a full bar of germicidal soap, 1 travel toothpaste, a tooth brush, compact mirror, a classic folding razor, a spoon, fork, and a large face towel.

In the event that the panic bag is necessary, change your footwear in the first opportune moment. This will reduce the bulk of the bag and will give you a sturdy and battle tested footwear for the long grueling ordeal to come. If you are in the habit of wearing high cut sports shoes all the time you may skip bringing combat shoes; it is also possible to use that as an alternative to combat boots. A battle Dress uniform should be useful if for some reason your clothes have been damaged during the initial disaster, Modern ones are also designed for camouflage and it will be challenging to choose which pattern is best on your current location. Do not wear the complete set during a disaster scenario. The last thing you need is to look like an authority figure and have everyone coming to you for help. That is a very volatile and potentially deadly situation. A crank radio is a one way emergency AM/FM radios that are rechargeable, newer models sometimes come with a cellular phone charger and a flash light, If your model comes with a flash light, you may remove the flash light from the list of items in your main compartment, these radios can be recharged by solar power and cranking. These are very useful for staying in touch with authorities, the general media and others.The next item that requires mentioning is the box of cigarettes, if your not a smoker these items are perfect for trade. it is a cheap tradable item for other supplies or for goodwill. The bottle of vodka has many uses, alcohol can be used to temporary warm the body, anesthetize a person, sterilize wounds and surgical equipment, it is also tradable and can also be used as a fire accelerant and a weapon. (See Molotov Cocktail). Military flashlights should also be a necessity, they are small, with high illumination rating and good battery conservation. Chocolates are another good will and/or tradable material, they are also emergency rations if you are left out in the open longer than expected. A notebook and pen is also necessary, you never know when you have to write something you need to remember or start a journal. The contents of the Hygiene kit are self explanatory, However use a classic folding razor which can double as a weapon or a small knife. Females should also add a month supply of feminine products and a douche.

The weight and bulk of the items above including a pistol fire arms should be light enough for most adults to carry. These items are necessary and are not negotiable for any panic bag. Additional items are necessary however for places where climate temperature swings are hostile and may require a sleeping bag or another set of clothing to survive. Depending on your location judge the amount of additional clothing/sleeping necessities you require to sleep out in the open.

If you are in an area where it snows it might also be prudent to bring a winter smock, German and Russian military gear are recommended for this, they can be worn on top of your clothes or BDU and provide significant warmth using an acceptable amount of bulk in your bag. If you live in an area where rains and sandstorms are a bigger problem than snow similar military ponchos are also recommended to be included in your basic gear.

These items are optional if you are able to carry them. They are listed in order of priority. Remember make sure you can carry them comfortably. The first item is a sleeping bag. Military and camping bags are available commercially. If you are able to carry sleeping bags that are good for two adults do that to help carry the load from weaker persons.

The second optional item is a crowbar, This can be used as a primary weapon especially in places where firearms are not allowed, the crowbar is also useful for opening a lot of obstacles, such as boxes, boarded up windows, doors and manholes. This can also be replaced with an axe which has an additional use of breaking firewood and large game.

The third optional item to your list is a portable water purifier, though you already carry water purification tablets, portable pump water purifiers are able to process more water before they are broken or the carbon filter expires. It might be necessary to clean any sort of water source before drinking especially if the apocalypse placed a lot of contaminants in water sources such as dead bodies.

The fourth optional items are additional ammunition, food, energy drink/bar, medical supplies, food supplements, coffee, tea, and water. Before any additional items are added it would be prudent to add consumables to your panic bag in case you have to travel longer distances and could not find appropriate shelter in a reasonable amount of time.

The fifth optional item is a tactical vest, This is very bulky to place in your bag however like footwear and headgear once you are on the move you can find the first opportune moment to wear it to save space on your bag, some come with embedded camel back hydration units or are capable of accepting them, This will enable you to carry more potable water and the vest itself will also give you a lot of small pockets to move a lot of the smaller items that you have on your bag. American Military tactical vests are equipped with something called the MOLLE system. it allows tactical vest to be modified in different number of pouches in different places in the vest it will give you more versatility on your ability to carry items.

These optional items would be considered a luxury for a panic bag however if you are able to carry them and still be able to run comfortably then you may want to consider them. head gear, tarp, gas mask, CBRN/MOPP/NBC suit, thermal blankets, Hammer and Nails, flares, chemical flares, Poncho, tent, towel, climbing/rappelling rope, food condiment, portable stove, sunblock, lip balm, two-way radio, throat mikes for the radio, water proof matches, energy drink, energy bar, trowel, aluminum plates, cooking pot, extra batteries, permanent marker, dental floss, coffee candy, mints, mouthwash, deodorant, baby powder, foot powder, fishing line, fishing hook, fishing rod, fishing net, lock-pick set, adjustable wrench, long nose pliers, alligator wires, trench knife, kukri or machete, multi-vitamins, infant formula, and a whole lot of others. Generally these items have their uses, but since its a matter of priority and the encumbrance of the average adult to carry these items over extended periods of time these items are considered optional. Families or groups can also separate carrying a few of these optional items enabling each person in the entire party to carry something unique empowering the entire group with more equipment.

What you place in your survival kit is dependent on your needs and lifestyle, do not carry additional items that are too bulky for very little comfort such as pillows, porn magazines, boom radios, and such. Your laptop may or may not be important consider if the additional bulk and weight to your ability to carry it. Do not sacrifice any of the above items for it. The last thing you need is dying of dehydration hugging your unpowered laptop. The same with GPS locators, they are normally very fragile and run on batteries, they are also very very dependent on signals from geosynchronous satellites that are being bounced off a commercial network. None of these can be depended upon to remain functional during a global disaster.

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Like any valued real estate the first premise that needs to be desired is location, location, location. However since this is no longer an option to most people who already own their home we will discuss this sparingly. A good location for a castle in an apocalyptic scenario is a place where there’s low to medium population, elevated ground, and a source of potable water. Potable water does not necessarily mean indoor plumbing. If the system breaks down and you run out of water from the faucet that is a major issue. This is the reason why most civilizations started near a body of water. (I still do not understand Riyadh why someone would decide to settle there prior to the discovery of crude).

The reasons for water and elevated position is a given, unfortunately these two are normally in inverse relationship with each other; the higher the ground, the less likely there is access to water. There are such a things as elevated rivers, lakes, and springs but stay away from volcanic lakes for obvious reasons. Regarding population it is not socially good to isolate yourself completely from survivors, eventually after an apocalypse scenario, communities similar to stone age communal tribes will form, and these communities will trade, compete, and fight with each other and among themselves. You have to include yourself in such communities eventually if you want to move forward and prosper. The reason why Europe became the strongest continent in the dark and middle ages is because of constant warfare among their nobility thereby advancing their military and technical prowess that paved the way for European colonization of the world. This is also the reason why City State divided Greece prospered and how Rome (The Republic and the empire) prospered.

The history of many nations such as those in South America and Asia has been marred with stagnation due to isolationist theory. Besides, you don’t plan (nor want) to have your children marry each other to create a new tribe. Modern medicine proves this will create several genetic anomalies. Something I do not recommend for your future descendants.

Back to the topic at hand, to those who already have homes or have a location chosen. The main parts of the castle is the wall, the tower, the throne room, the armory, and the court yard. Since modern military siege equipment have turned castles obsolete we will have to make certain changes to these at the expense of traditional engineering. Modern militarized fortresses in the last 50 years are based on “Maskirovka.” Military deception, literally it is Russian for camouflage. The best way hide something (anything) is in two different ways. Bury it deep or hide it in plain sight. You can implement both. On the outside your fort should be hidden in plain sight. The best way to hide a fortified house is to make it look like the dozens of other houses located in the general area. It can look like a suburban home, a condo high rise, an apartment complex, a warehouse, etc… regardless, as long as on the outside even to the expert eye it doesn’t look like a hardened military complex. This will also remove unwanted curiosity from meddlesome tattletale neighbors during peacetime.

With that settled, everything else about your fortress should be buried deep. The first point in a fort is the walls. If you have a perimeter fence or wall you can make it ordinary, I suggest the use of concertina wires and hardened concrete. There are paint available today in interior design shops to make hard steel and concrete appear like wood. You can also implement this within the walls of your home. If you wish to do this, consult an architect or an interior designer.

The weakest point of any wall is the door. Countries where constant trouble is the norm such as Israel, doors are made of hardened bullet proof steel. I once saw an incident where Law Enforcement officers couldn’t breach a door with a hand entry ram. but the door is surrounded by a glass wall finish so the police entered through that. The door of your home should at least be covered by a window with a clear shot of any unwanted visitors, this is also useful in peacetime against in-laws and sales men. Bolt Locks on doors would prevent any sort of forced entry from experts. there shouldn’t be any windows within arms reach of the locking mechanism of the door. Most importantly the quality of the hinges and its instillation should be carefully inspected. Whole doors come down with enough brute force breaking at the hinges or where the hinge is attached to.

If you can afford full concrete with steel armor outer walls; do this, in western countries where labor costs are simply an unwanted luxury this may not be feasible for ordinary wage earners. Dry wall plaster and 1/4″ plywood will simply not stop modern light arms. They are also very flammable. If this is the case a basement or double basement should be created as a castle within a castle. For people who live in apartment complexes or condominiums then Maskirovka is the key. Your front door looks like any other door in the building so try not to attract unwanted attention during peacetime. Since entry can only be done to your inner sanctum through the main door. Fortify your door with the suggestions given above, if you can afford to create a foyer and have another inner door then that is suggested. There is not much that can be done to fortify the walls separating your residence to the residence of the noisy couple next door. People who live in such places Should have a Panic Bag ready at all times in a hidden but accessible location near the entrance or the fire exit.

Windows should be covered at all times, You can use tint, double paned protection, (normally used to keep the sun away), blinds, curtains and other normal ways of covering windows. This is good for preventing would be attackers to gain valuable intelligence of your home and against peeping toms.
If you can afford double paned windows this will save a lot of electricity in the long run. This keep homes cool (or warm), Double paned windows used in condos are normally bullet proof (grade) to keep the hard strong wind at elevated altitudes and hard rain from breaking the windows and throwing all the inhabitants out into the abyss and drop 60 stories. There is no reason (other than money) not to implement such windows in lower floors since they look like ordinary windows.

Study your dream home if you do not have any yet, if your already living somewhere permanently consider the defensibility of your home and decide whether it can be turned to a fort at an affordable cost or it would be much more efficient to just be prepared to leave at a moments notice. Some homes in the modern world cannot withstand a frontal assault. Consider the level of threat, If your home can be made withstand an attack of SWAT entry team then fortify it to a point that it can withstand light armor. If there is no feasible way to keep a crazed paparazzi out of your bedroom then consider the quick evacuation scenario at ALL times.

If and only If, the home can be made defensible, consider the next threat level, light armor, fire, apocalyptic act of God weather phenomenon. (tsunamis, volcanic eruption, super typhoons, tornadoes, earth quakes etc) If your home is located where the threat level for these are low then you may move on to storage. The reason why I do not recommend storage for household fortresses that are not defensible against these threats is because its useless. If the plan is to retreat at the obvious sign of danger leaving behind all your valuable stores for the first looter to find is a waste of resources.

These are what you should store in order of priority; water, food, firearms and other weapons legal in your country, ammunition, medical supplies, self sufficiency supplies, power and energy, toiletries, and tradable assets.

Water Tanks and Swimming pools are good and useful water storage assets, They do not arouse the suspicion of neighbors. A good amount (One month on full ration for the entire household) of drinking water is also prudent especially in countries known for malaria, amoeba, and other water borne diseases, You can use these water at peace time to rotate their freshness, an in-house filtration system will also help in extended periods of time. A Back up portable purifier and water purification tablets can also help water clean. You can look at camping stores (there are some online) for examples of Portable purifiers and water purification tablets.

Food can storage is basic, research into dehydrated foods and MRE’s, they have long shelf lives and they are also good for emergency parties and gatherings. Make sure to note the expiration date of the stored food and consume when necessary to rotate the freshness of your food stores. You may research more into MRE’s and dehydrated foods on sites dedicated about them, normally they also sell the products they advertise and you can try a few for taste testing to have a feel on what specific MRE or dehydrated food you would like to store. Canned goods and preserved foods are also good for storage these also have to be rotated, remember AGAIN to keep close track of expiration dates. It would be really disappointing to store tons of food for the apocalypse and then they made you ill due to its deteriorated state.

Fire Arms and Weapons are your next consideration. In countries where legal ownership of firearm is the norm, Choose the weapon for you and your family carefully, make sure they are stored in a safe place out of reach of unauthorized personnel especially young children. Keep them maintained and learn how to use them. In countries where Firearm is not legal yet easily accessible do the same, ensure that the weapons are stored and kept maintained even if you have no way of practicing them. There are videos online on how to maintain almost all major firearms. For countries where firearms are scarce, Melee weapons are your best bet. Sports equipment can normally be used as weapons. However if you can afford to, functional melee weapons of European and/or Asian influence are available online being sold as martial arts equipment or home decors. Most Nations also have consider archery as a sport and you can purchase modern composite bows and learn how to use them, DO NOT try using bows as an alternative to firearms or any other weapon IF you do not have the time to practice with it. They are harder to use than a baseball bat. There are also Gardening, Cutlery, and Carpentry equipment that will make perfect melee weapons that are legal in every country. Remember do not over equip on weapons as they are expensive to maintain, and accident prone. It is better to master one to three weapons (for each member of the household) than have an entire armory and have novice level experience in their usage.

Medical supplies are your next priority if you find that you have enough weapons to equip your entire family. Over the counter drugs are very important during an apocalypse scenario, pain killers, paracetamol, anti-biotics, aspirins, sleeping aids, bandages, and other special need drugs (If you need them) such as insulin, ferro-sulfate, calcium, etc are also necessary for storage. The likelihood that they will be needed in a chaotic world exponentially increases and their production and distribution are most likely going to be affected. These can be used as tradable currency or humanitarian aid. Remember to keep the expiry dates of this drugs in check. Military and Civilian First aid kits are also available. These are easy to carry, store, and well packed for travel. Surgical sets and other essential medical assets are also available for commercial purchase. Military bandages are easy to install during emergencies and modern ones with coagulator (Helps stop the bleeding) drugs are also available to the general public.

Self Sufficient tools and materials is the next priority in the list, these are vegetable seeds, reloading machine, carpentry tools, solar panels, generators, fishing rods/nets, etc. Anything that could be used to manufacture or start a self sustaining fortress in your courtyard, roof, or other places in the house. Artificial lighting can be used as a substitute for the sun in case of nuclear winter. Such list of items are vast and are very very specific depending on your skill set. Do not bother storing self sufficiency tools that you have no idea how to use. Research rudimentary domestication of animals, manufacturing, and agriculture. If you are interested in Gardening concentrate on agriculture, if you are an engineer or carpenter concentrate on equipment for that etc. Do not bother storing self sufficiency items such as advanced surgical equipment if your not a doctor.

Energy consumables are next on your list, the likelihood of power disruption in terms of crude distillates (such as petrol and diesel) and electricity is high during these times, emergency broadcast systems and other forms of communication is necessary at the early part of an apocalyptic scenario to have an educated assessment of what you are dealing with. Fuel for your vehicles and generators or batteries for radios and phones might save your life in many local and national scenarios. If the disaster is global these modern comforts would give you a huge advantage on survival and reconstruction. Store as much fuel as all your vehicles can carry. (30 gallons for a 30 gallon tank). Since it is not likely you will have a full tank in your vehicle whenever the disaster hit. 2 extra sets of batteries for phones, radios, and other communication devices. Rechargeable batteries are also prudent if you have ways to recharge them.

Toiletries and other hygienic supply is also a necessity. They are very consumable tradable goods and are easily rotated during peacetime consumption, Germicidal Soaps, shampoo, toothpaste/brush, feminine products etc are very useful during emergency situations. I once used a particular maternity pad to cover a deep laceration I acquired in a street fight. Keeping sanitation as long as supply lasts keeps many known diseases away which can be deadly when medical attention are scarce or no longer available. Several wounds that are not considered mortal today can be infected and develop into gangrene resulting in blood poisoning. Rest assured when an apocalyptic scenario does happen there will be a lot of wounds to deal with.

Tradable goods are the least priority materials but are important to store if you have enough left over cash and space at your defensible fortress. Currency can take up the least amount of space but hyperinflation is normally the case during apocalyptic scenario assuming the break down is not global such that the legal tender of currencies is rendered invalid. As a security other tradable goods might be necessary. Recommendations are jewelry, tobacco, alcohol, and chocolate. Jewelry should be as small and obvious as possible. It would be difficult to trade Gold bars and get small ingots as change. Do not store silver for this, their value is not that high and can easily be faked. Do not accept jewelry as a tradable material if you cannot tell costume jewelry from authentic ones. Tobacco has a short expiration date so store this only if your a smoker, this can be used to trade with other more essential needs during an apocalyptic scenario. Chocolates contain high amounts of sugar and can be used to trade for other essential materials. This also is a good moral booster. Alcohol is the best tradable material to store, it maybe the bulkiest yet it can easily be rotated during peacetime and is widely accepted worldwide. Alcohol has other uses such as fire accelerant, pain killer, sleeping aid, weapon, and sterilization agent. It is also has a very long expiry date.

It would appear that a functional fortress and a sustainable fort is very expensive. Do not try to purchase all these at once, since most of the storage materials are consumable for everyday use try to measure your households consumption and see if you can live just a bit above your means so you will have some saved. Whole sale purchases also make most items cheaper. If you can afford to buy a year supply of soap for this pay check do so and then add another item to your list on your next paycheck. This would mean that you wouldn’t have to worry about soap for 1 year for your entire household then add another item as time goes by. Handle logistics carefully. manage your budget and most importantly live your life while preparing for the future.

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You have to familiarize yourself with the types of ammunition in the market. They are divided into Rimfire and Centerfire. Generally this just means location of the primer and what part of the brass casing is being hit by the firing pin to ignite the primer. (effectively igniting the main powder to fire the cartridge) They can be recognized by looking under the brass of any cartridge to see the location of the primer.

For this discussion we will concentrate only on centerfire type of ammunition which are the ones used for the weapons that are recommended in the firearms section of the guide. if you happen to find any rimfire ammunition during your foraging missions, you can keep them and trade them later. DO NOT TRADE AMMUNITION THAT YOU USE. Ammunition that fit the chamber of your primary and secondary weapon are not for trade. Not for anything. Ammunition keeps you alive, protects your family, protects your stores, and gives you to the opportunity to take someone else’s supply if you choose to do so. However if a particular ammunition that you found is not for the weapon you are using. Then you may trade it. Be careful who you trade them to. You don’t want them returned from a barrel of a gun.

If you found a re-loader (A reloading machine) it might be a worthwhile find. You can also invest in one now while they are still being manufactured. So make sure you keep the brass of your ammunition when you use them. Once you have a re-loader you can also scrounge for brass in case you find appropriate cartridge head and powder. There are many different websites and videos regarding how to reload ammunition so we will no longer discuss that.

A particular dilemma regarding ammunition is its limited quantities, untrained personnel handling firearms for the first time may want to test fire their weapon. This may be necessary to use up a few rounds to familiarize someone with their weapon. It is better to allow them to use several magazines worth of rounds than be completely ignorant when trouble comes. Firing a few magazines will not turn anyone into an expert gun fighter but it will at least give them the basics of the operation of their firearm, particularly on chambering, clearing, cleaning, safety, aiming, range, felt recoil, and reloading.

Use the worst ammunition you have for practice (in terms of age and type). Everyone gun affectionado does this. Quality rounds are best used when it actually matters. Because of the current Hague convention, Military rounds are different from non-military rounds. Ironically the non-military rounds are also designed to be more lethal. Regardless whether it is a pistol or rifle round we can divide them into 4 different “classes.” Since these classes are not official designation and some rounds like the 5.56x45mm M855 round will fall in 2 of these classes we will not specify specific types of ammunition to prevent arguments between experts.

This guide is for people who are totally unfamiliar with the complexities of ammunition and experts should continue to educate everyone in appropriate forums. The First class is what we will call (for simplicity sake) Solid rounds. Full Steel, Lead, and Full Metal Jacket(ed normally copper) ammo fall into this category. These are military rounds and therefore cheapest and easiest to find. They are all around ammunition good for practice and actual combat. Most standard ordinary looking bullets that you find are normally FMJ’s. You can consult the internet to check out the look and feel of solid rounds.

The next rounds are what we will call the “Soft Rounds”. These include the soft points, ballistic tip, hollow points, frangible, and safety rounds. These are considered defensive rounds and are not for military use. There are a lot of legal technical mumbo jumbo involved in using these rounds such as the belligerents must all sign the accord, must be members of the armed forces of a hostile nation etc etc, but we will not discuss that further. All you need to know are that soft rounds are designed to mushroom (or flower) or break upon impact. As you can imagine this will do much more devastating damage to the internals of a person. Instead of having a clean icepick size wound that will go through it will create a much more bigger wound once inside the body effectively increasing the chances of lethality. This may sounds interesting but in reality these rounds have a weak point. Since it is designed to mushroom or break upon impact. These rounds have problems penetrating cover such as body armor, car doors. or thin walls. Engaging armored or lightly covered targets with this rounds will be disadvantageous. However in an apocalyptic scenario the chances of fighting armored opponents are small hence these rounds should be reserved for heavy engagements.

The 3rd class are what we will call “Armor Piercing Rounds” these would include special ballistic tip rounds and armor piercing ammunition including the M855. These rounds are designed to penetrate cover and armor including plated steel. These rounds also sound wonderful in theory but in reality these rounds have small penetrator tips that continue on after hitting the armor. IF such rounds hit an unarmored body, these high velocity rounds will create a small clean wound through and through without doing much damage comparative to the first 2 kinds of rounds. These rounds are rare and should be reserved for special engagements against fully equipped opponents.

The 4th kind of rounds are what we will call special rounds. There are buck shot rounds (that are not shot gun shells), incendiary rounds (rounds that burn up after they hit something), armor piercing tracers, armor piercing incendiary tracers, etc… These rounds are very rare and should be traded only for an arm and a leg. If you are going to use these rounds make sure they are being given to your best marksmen who can make the best use of them and make each of these count. Even today these rounds are hard to find, illegal in most places, and expensive. Tracers however if you can find them are acceptable practice rounds, they give you an idea on where rounds hit. Tracers are not preferred in actual combat as it gives away the position of the shooter. If you plan to use tracers in actual combat it is best to mix them with FMJ (I do not recommend mixing ammo normally) and use them in squad automatic weapons. Tracers are hotter than usual rounds doing additional damage to the barrel. Machine Guns are already prone to barrel heat as it is due to the volume of suppressive fire it is designed to do. However as a security most machine guns are designed to have a quick barrel replace feature so be sure machine gunners know what they are doing. Other than the fact that they will use up hard to replace ammunition more than anyone else.

Shot Shells are a totally different kind of ammunition, they can be divided into Bird shot, Buck shot, and Slugs. You can familiarize yourself with the sizes and range of such shells in different websites. Normally the type, size, and number of shells loaded in a shell is written in the shell itself. However these cannot be guaranteed once the shell is reloaded. Bird shots use the smallest type of pellets and are best used for practice and hunting game. Buck shot which is designed for bigger game can also do devastating damage to humans. Slugs which are designed to take down really big game do wonders against armored or unarmored opponents and should be reserved for personnel who are already proficient with this kind of primary weapon. Be sure to know the maximum effective range of each type of shell and the TRUE effective range is half the manufacturers given distance.

Ammunition should also be stored in a dry cool airtight place. This is the optimal way of storing firearms. It is possible to damage the powder due to age and water seepage, high humidity also do irreparable damage to ammunition, the real problem with this is that you don’t know that the ammo is faulty until you use it. Opening and checking the powder does more damage to the ammo than anything. This is also applicable for grenades whether it is a rifle grenade, hand grenade or ammunition grenades. There has been suggestions to use vacuum packed sandwich seals to store ammo. This is prudent but expensive especially if you open it a lot. keeping ammunition in a cool (BUT NOT COLD) place also extends the life of the powder but encourages rusting in some cases. Surplus military ammo boxes are cheap and can be locked to be theoretically airtight. If you are storing ammunition for the apocalypse it may be prudent to buy some of these and take the ammo out of the box, make sure you mark the boxes accordingly on what type of ammo you have. I tape the original cardboard box into the military ammo box as my markings thereby preserving the name, brand, type, size, and weight LABEL of the ammo.

Be sure to check every ammo you load into the magazine any minor dents in the brass will cause the entire weapon to malfunction. Do not over reload brass, for an apocalypse scenario this may be necessary but I have not personally tested brass casings that are reloaded more than 3x.

Do not mix and match several types of ammunition in one magazine, in my experience this results in velocity and heat problems and cause SOME weapons to intermittently jam, If it is necessary to bring several “classes” of ammunition during missions, separate them into several magazines. Mark them with colored tape or marker. Do not load and unload ammunition into magazines unnecessarily. It is important to be at the ready and the ammunition INSIDE the magazine clear of dust, debris, and residue at all times. However unloading and reloading magazines uses up the cycle life of the magazine spring which will also eventually result in magazine (hence gun) failure. These days when magazines are cheap and are readily available and replacement springs are cheap this is prudent however in an apocalypse scenario this is not. Check your magazines for dents this will also cause jamming and weapon malfunction.

For a community try to simplify ammunition by having similar types of weapons that have ammo interchangeability. Special ammunition like the 6.5G, 6.8SPC, .50AE, .44 Mag, 454C, 5.7x28mm etc which can be used in a handful of weapons should be traded into for other weapons and ammunition of a more widely used caliber. You can advertise how “cool” this cartridges are as compared to the standard sized calibers and may be able to trade more for less. These cartridges TRULY ARE superior against standard cartridges and you should be able to get at LEAST 3:1 trade for them. However they will be disadvantageous in the long run as less and less of these ammo type can be found. It is also impractical to manufacture such rounds when the world starts turning again over the more standard rounds. Make sure you get at least 3:1 trade for these types that way if you trade the other 2 ammo for food and medicine (nothing else) you get to keep 1 round back and consumables. So the trade will result in one round you can use plus others for one round you cannot use. Do the same with shot shells that are not 12ga. Other than this exception do NOT trade ammunition. Especially cartridges that you can use.

Traveling and foraging for ammunition are also important, do not carry more than prudent amount of ammo during missions and avoid random engagements. Reserve your ammunition against declared hostile belligerents in actual pitched battles. In an apocalypse world this will likely happen a lot based on the history of mankind where until 1945 every generation of man fought at least one major war. Slain allies and enemies are also a good source of ammunition, Whenever possible do not drop magazines or leave military equipment behind for the enemy to use against you at a future date. These days soldiers carry more than enough ammunition above and beyond the necessary load out but ammo are still being manufactured today, when the apocalypse come it will not, and the last thing you need is to have someone with 20 full magazine get killed at the first volley of ambush and leave it/him behind.

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I have read a lot of comments and forums about SHTF weapons, they all seem to assume that whenever an apocalyptic scenario presents itself, everyone suddenly becomes a Special Forces Trained Commando armed to the teeth with billions of dollars worth of Logistical backing.

A Majority claims that they would rather have a weapon where they plan to tag bad guys at 300 yards (or more) and be a Hollywood sniper with all the gear included to show for it. The truth of the matter is, no bad guy in an apocalyptic scenario LOOKS like a bad guy until he acts like it. and chances are if he does act it he wouldn’t do it at that distance. Bad Guys and Good guys and everyone else in between will most likely look the same as you.

There may be people out there with the money and skill to turn himself to a one man army, I do not know if they considered that they would have to protect, defend, babysit etc a dozen more bodies with absolutely no experience or training in modern warfare. It would appear that they assume they can defend their family, community, clan, gang, etc with their superior (probably true) fighting skill on their own with everyone clapping their hands like Romans in triumph at the end.

Considering the potential combat situations in an apocalyptic scenario. They will more likely IMHO resemble a drug deal gone wrong. Where you have heavily armed belligerents on both sides starting out as friends then ending up shooting each other to kingdom come. There will be quick skirmishes and pitched battles. But they will all be fought up close and personal by mostly untrained personnel without tactical organization in any terrain.

Based on the premises above these are my recommended weapons for SHTF scenarios. Though I believe there is a perfect weapon for each particular case. We are not fortune tellers to bring the right tool for the job ALL THE TIME. so if anyone wants to comment I do not want to hear anything about this is better for this, and this is better for that. I believe you. so unless you can carry 5 different rifles and 2 back up pistols 100% of the time (including when asleep). That argument is not only impractical it is also downright foolish.

If you have the time to prepare for the Apocalypse it is recommended that you train yourself with one long arm and one side arm. I do not really care what specific weapon as long as it is one of each. Thereby announcing that my first recommendation is that every person preparing for the apocalypse should be adept in one long barreled firearm and one pistol. Carrying anymore than that is a funny joke.

Let us discuss pistols first. Any Pistol that fires the popular 9mm, 40cal, 45 cal cartridge is recommended. The recoil of the 9mm is less than the 45 and the 40 cal in between, The ballistic lethality with equal shot placement(can of worms) is also directly proportional to the recoil. Recoil if you actually fired any firearm not only removes the sights from the target it also cause muscular strain. It is recommended that based on your strength and people should choose an appropriate caliber. I have seen videos of 11 year old girls firing a 9mm pistol. (Though it would appear that only practice prevents the gun from flying out of her hand) So there is an appropriate weapon for everyone.

The reason why I picked only these 3 calibers is because of the availability of rounds, when manufacturing stops and the world ends it would be pretty difficult to scrounge for ammunition on the other calibers such as the magnum family, 357 sigs, 5.7x28mm etc.

The 22 caliber pistol round however is a cartridge that is widely available yet not listed in the recommended firearm list. Most perfectly concealable firearms are in that caliber. However unless fired at VERY close range this cartridge pose no specific advantage over the 9mm round. There are also several models of concealable pistols in the 9mm caliber.

Recommended Fire Arms in the 9mm cartridge are but NOT LIMITED TO. G17 and G19, Berretta 92(F/S)(M9) and CZ-75. These guns were chosen for their reliability, ease of use, and availability of replacement parts and magazines, If you can spend now and store magazine and replacement parts, Pistols such as HK P2000/30, UK USP(-c), FNP-9, Springfield XD, Sig P226, and Berretta PX-4 can be considered for their performance.

The same pistols are normally found in 40 caliber chambers except the Glocks which has a different model number for their 40 and 45 cal variety. However when you wish to use 45 caliber pistol the M1911 family THE MOST recommended pistol. Its reliability and ease of use is unparalleled and the availability of replacement parts can be found in ANY gun shop. The major disadvantage of a M1911 pistol is the number of rounds in its most basic configuration. But there are high capacity magazines that are available for the M1911 family without double stacking.

There are lots of performance pistols in the 45 cartridge chambers including the new HK45 and others of Israeli or German design, they are reliable but the availability of magazines and parts for these pistols are hard to find even today.

Revolvers are far more reliable than the self loading semi automatics mentioned above, however revolver pistols come in different cartridges and very few use the cartridges mentioned above. in a few countries the availability of 38 pistol rounds is still considerable however this round like the 22 pose no significant advantage over the 9x19mm cartridge. So unless you are in one of these countries and are willing to sacrifice the number of chambered rounds for reliability and maintenance then revolvers are not recommended.

Moving on, when I say LONG BARRELED firearm I did not necessarily mean a rifle, its the only term I can think of to describe a primary weapon which can be a shotgun, a sub-machine gun, assault rifle, bolt action rifle, hunting rifle, semi auto rifles, machine guns, rocket launchers, flame throwers, etc.

The first one worth mentioning are sub-machine guns, by definition they are full automatic weapons firing pistol type rounds. I do not want to go into a lengthy explanation why such weapons exists when short barreled rifles are feasible with (X)inch barrels yada yada. The fact of the matter is that they exist and they are good SHTF weapons. Considering the firearm training of every 100 random person not in the southern United States. Spray and Pray is the name of the game. Sub machine guns are perfect weapons for this type of firefight. They will also simplify the type of ammunition you need to store for both your primary and secondary firearm. The HK MP5 family and UMP are the most recommended for their reliability and availability. There are other sub-machine guns such as the Israeli Uzi and Thompson but these weapons are rare and replacement parts and magazines for these are even rarer.

The next one is the Shot Gun. The 12 gauge shotgun is widely available both as a firearm and in shells. The main advantage of the shotgun is it’s ease of use. It is a true point and shoot weapon; untrained personnel who are able to handle the DEADLY recoil of a shotgun should consider using this. It has many disadvantages such as rate of fire, ammunition weight/loaded/carried, and range. However the large variety of shells available for shotguns will enable it to turn from a bird shot “to whom it may concern” boom spread weapon to high penetration “kill anything” slugs. Shot guns of whatever/whoever make are easy to operate, maintain, fix, and are ambidextrous. There are also no need for magazines (except for 3 or 4 models I can think of) reducing the number of parts that can break making the weapon unusable. It is also worth mentioning that Shot Guns and Shot gun shells are COMPARATIVELY easier to reload and manufacture. The metallurgy and chemical composition requirements of the powder and primer of a shot gun is much simpler and therefore can be manufactured for very long term use.

And last but not the least are assault rifles. The definition for assault rifles are vague but for this discussion we will just concentrate on “rifles” that use the 22LR, 5.56x45mm NATO, 7.62x51mm NATO, 7.62x39mm and 5.45x39mm Rounds. Any weapon that DOES NOT use any of the selected cartridges are not SHTF weapons. Some rounds are realistically superior than any of the mentioned above in terms of match grade accuracy, lethality, ballistic coefficient and other technical terms. but the truth of the matter is availability of such rounds are difficult. Having a Fully Accessorized Grendel weapon is useless if it does not have ammo.

Depending on your location in the world the availability of such rounds are varied. We will have to further divide the cartridges into NATO and Eastern Bloc weapons. Weapons that fire the 7.62x39mm and 5.45x39mm are eastern bloc firearms. They are true SHTF weapon and any gun that fires these rounds will do well. They are inaccurate but very lethal and are highly reliable and easy to use such as the popular Kalashnikov family.

For the 5.56×45 NATO weapons the M4/M16 family is recommended. I personally prefer the Steyr AUG, IMI Tavor21 and G3/6 family over these because of my left handedness but for the average person the M4 and M16 family is best. This rifle has reliability and maintenance issues but in NATO countries (especially the USA) the availability of replacement parts are widespread. It is accurate and customizable into many different configurations. A majority of parts are interchangeable and it uses the popular STANAG magazine. After Market Upgrades from a multitude of manufacturers can also be made into the venerable M4/16 family to increase its reliability and functionality. A particular model of AK also fires the 5.56×45 cartridge but uses a different magazine. Newer Guns that are based on the M4/16 platforms such as the Masada, SCAR, LR300, HK416 etc have great interchangeability with the M4/16 family and use the STANAG Magazine. If you can afford any of these guns these are better. But for the rest of us who do not have that kind of money to spare the M4/16 family is our bread and butter.

I have mentioned a list of rifles above that I prefer but DO NOT RECOMMEND. These weapons are ambidextrous which is a special need case for me and a lot other lefties out there. Left Hand modifications are also available for the M4/16 family. I DO NOT recommend the weapons I prefer as SHTF Primaries for these reasons, All the weapons mentioned above except the IMI Tavor uses a different Magazine. STANAG Magazines WILL NOT fit in those guns. Though they are reliable it is also hard to find after market replacement parts of those weapons.

for the 7.62x51mm The old reliable M1, M2, and M14 are recommended. If you can afford to purchase an HK 417 this is the most recommended rifle for this cartridge. However since not everyone can purchase an HK417 the other rifles listed above are sufficient. They are easy to use and are reliable field arms. However because of their age it is also difficult to find aftermarket parts, clips and magazines for any of these weapons. If you are able to acquire any model of FN FAL and a significant number of working magazines for this, then it is a reliable weapon for this caliber, I am not sure how many aftermarket replacement parts are there for the different versions of the FN FAL putting this particular model and its derivatives at the doubtful category due to their age. There are several good bolt action rifles in this cartridge, if you prefer long range accuracy over rate of fire in a mostly likely close quarter combat scenario. A sniper rifle is a specialized rifle that can be used effectively only in long range engagements, and is disadvantageous to use for any other type of engagement. If you can truly tag center mass at over 500 yards then you SHOULD be able to do at LEAST HALF of that range with a semi automatic or automatic weapon cambering this cartridge using comparable optics. Most optics are also very fragile and sometimes require batteries to operate adding another item to forage.

Any reliable bolt action rifle that fires the 22LR is also a good SHTF weapon. This is a major disadvantage in terms of range and lethality however it is very advantageous in terms of the availability of ultra reliable rifles that fire this cartridge and the availability of the round itself. A lot of the bolt action rifles that uses this cartridge also do not require magazines. The rounds are cheap which enables anyone to practice on this cartridge a lot before the apocalyptic event. However this weapon like most sniper rifles are a major disadvantage in close quarter combat so it is recommended to have a reliable hi capacity secondary if you choose this.

To sum it up., to each his own, especially in weapon selection. Because of the wide range of possible scenarios and the number of fire arms available in the market it is difficult to find a SHTF that will fit everyone. However I can recommend with certainty these things. 1. Carry only 2 firearms NO MORE. a “long barreled” Primary and a pistol Secondary. Having more than will greatly slow you down and exponentially increases the time required to forage for ammunition and replacement parts. 2. Select a firearm where ammunition, parts, magazines that are WIDELY available in your country. Do not use the exotic Uzis, P90s and G36c as your SHTF weapon of choice simply because of their superior performance in theoretical apocalyptic firefight scenarios. Working firearms are much better than technically superior broken ones. 3. Use the appropriate cartridge that you can comfortably fire. Do not force yourself to use the more lethal 7.62×51 round if you cannot handle the recoil and added weight. Remember a 9mm hit is more lethal than a 45 cal miss. 4. If you are storing SHTF weapons for you and your family (or whatever small group) The weapons should as much possible have parts/magazine/ammunition interchangeability It is not practical to store 1000 9mm rounds for your wife and 1000 rounds of 45 caliber for you. 2000 rounds of the similar cartridge will be much more useful in the long run especially if one of you meets an early demise. 5. Ease of use Weapon familiarity is important but so is weight. This is the reason why I didn’t include weapons such as the BAR, M60, MiniGun, 50BMG Sniper rifles etc. Chances are you will need to travel ON FOOT past the 1st year of the apocalypse. You have to be able to hump several dozens of miles/kilometers carrying everything you own WHILE your primary weapon is at the ready.

The Last but not the least recommendation is not to over accessorize your firearm. Your weapon should be intimidating to prevent trouble but not pretty and attract envy. If you carry a weapon that is prettier than everyone else’s; You are GUARANTEED to meet your demise while you sleep with a short knife. It’s Human Nature.

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Since a large part of the human population is not living within 10 minutes walking distance to a natural source of fresh drinking water, we will discuss that first. First of all, regardless of climate, Dehydration will weaken and kill a living human much faster than starvation. The recommended daily allowance (RDI) of water is 8 glasses (16oz per glass) of water a day. Drinking more would be particularly healthy. This is a disputed fact by experts but there are more doctors agreeing that drinking MORE than 8 glasses would be good for the body metabolism, than those saying it is not.

Living on 4-6 glasses of water a day would be acceptable, especially if your located in places where climate with low humidity. To determine your body reaction to humidity in a particular area, stand outside in high noon, with the sun unobstructed, the amount of body water released through sweat will give you a good idea how much body water you lose in correlation to your location.

Regardless whether you live in location with access to natural source of fresh water or not, water should be stored in plentiful quantities, The nearer you are to the water source the less you should store. But they should still be of significant amount to at least last a month for all water needs, for all members of the colony.

The reason for this is you never know when you will be attack by a hostile force and would require your faction to dig in and button down if the attacking force is too superior to sally forth.

Water needs are not limited to drinking water, it is important to wash dishes and utensils to prevent bacterial diseases, it is also necessary to clean wounds, sterilize medical equipment and control heat stroke. Sometimes a life or a limb is decided by small amounts of clean water.

By today everyone knows how to store water so that will no longer be discussed, everyone knows that rain is fresh water and that can be collected using basic or advanced apparatus. Salt water can be desalinated using commercially available equipment or a simple evaporation/condensation apparatus which any high school student should know how to build.

Swamp and other fresh but polluted water, can be cleansed using a stiff filtration process then boiling them for sterilization. Commercially available water purification systems and tablets should also be researched. There’s a debate among survivalist about purification systems and tablets. The advocates of people saying that purification systems would clean more water than tablets in relation to the weight and bulk they have are not wrong. They also say that purification tablets have expiration dates and cannot be used for long term survival.

Purification tablets however are lighter and would be better for traveling. If your not carrying any water, the bulk  that purification tablets are negligible providing weight and agility advantage during fast travel and combat. So in my opinion it is prudent to store both, a base camp should have and use the filtration device if it has water access and patrols should carry the purification tables for mobility.

Transportation of water can be done in three ways, commercially available plastic indestructible chug bottles, Military Canteens with steel (boil-able) covers, and the new Military Camel back hydration unit. All these items are cheap and can be used at a daily basis and are good equipment for camping, and other sports related activities.

In the end, the moment any group decides to settle down for more than one day in a particular location. Access to potable water should be a primary consideration. If a group will decide to settle on a particular location on extended periods of time access to potable water is imperative. There is a reason why the first civilizations of man and all major cities are near water. It is the source of life. Men can survive two to three times longer without food than without water.

Food however is another primary concern, a person, today or during the apocalypse with enough food to eat is stronger, faster, and have better morale. It is important to note that the colder the climate, the higher the food requirements of a particular individual. Pregnant women also require more food than an average individual. If the survivalist colony is stable and secure enough to care for infants, pregnant women are a nutrition priority. Growing children in cognitive years are also nutrition priorities. The proper development of children should be in any colonies agenda to ensure the strength of the colony in the next generation. This will be discussed further in the post <A Href=” “>Children of Dune.</A>

Study major food groups, it is important to know the difference between a carbohydrate, fat, protein, vitamins and minerals. All are required by the body to function and the lack of a particular food group could result to diseases, nutritional deficiencies and stunted growth. Physically active individuals, which should be the case in every survivalist groups also require high food intake. However this is the ideal situation, but since it is necessary for the body to adopt to less food while doing more physically strenuous activities available to the modern urbanized man during a more the apocalyptic scenario. Food rations should be carefully controlled to slowly adopt to the new environment. Adult women store more fat than men, They would require less food if the situation is desperate. This may sound a sexist advice, but that is a scientific fact. It should be considered only when the food situation is becoming desperate.

Food storage and preservation should also be studied. Ancient methods of pickling, drying, and salting should be studied and mastered by any survivalist. Fortresses should contain ample supply of canned and microwavable instant meals. Take close note of expiration dates and prioritize the consumption of food with earlier expiration dates. The reason for this is self explanatory.

Commercially available preserved food is also available for purchase. The military ready to eat meals (MRE’s) are a good example. They are scientifically studied to provide a field combat individual enough nutrients to last for the maximum of one day per pack of MRE. They are small, properly packaged, easily consumable, and have impressive shelf life. Dehydrated foods are the same, They have much longer shelf life than MRE’s but require water to eat. Both should be stored by a survivalist in their fortress. Conduct a research of commercial and authentic MRE’s and Dehydrated foods. They come at reasonable prices and before SHTF, It is prudent to store and consume small amounts of these for testing.

Fresh foods should be consumed immediately . They are a priority in terms of consumption and left over food should be preserved or used to feed animals, or used as fertilizer. Almost all types of vegetables/fruits can be pickled and all meat can be preserved. Study culinary methods of different cultures. ANY ARTICLE of FOOD is being preserved using pre-Jesus Christ method by at least one culture today.  Do not simply dispose of food. Most fresh food can be recycled to be consumed the next day with proper storage. Colder climates will also extend the shelf life of any sort of food.

Agricultural development should also be a priority task for a stable and secure colony. Prioritize food that require less real estate to grow. Grains such as wheat, rice, barley require vast amounts of real estate, time, and in the case of rice running water to grow. Potatoes and Beets however require less care, land, labor to grow. They are also less conspicuous to raiders. Root crop carbohydrates are also easier to prepare for consumption and more importantly; Both provide carbohydrates and as such can be used to place that particular food group. Proteins can also be found in vast amounts on root some crops and beans. They grow faster and require less resources to harvest than domesticated meat.

Small animals such as goats and chicken provide meat, milk, and eggs. It is important to note that only the females of the species produce milk and egg and only one strong buck is required to fertilize entire flocks. For early domestication development, raise animals that will scavenge for their own food. Animals such as pigs have higher food requirement than what they produce before they are ready for consumption.

Vitamins and Minerals tablets are very important in the early stages of the apocalypse. Since it is unlikely that any survivor group would be able to build a stable and secure colony with control over vast amounts of agricultural land, food supplements with shelf life over 3-5 years can provide the survivors sufficient nutritional balance for a more healthy survivor. This may sound to idealistic, but the point of the matter is, that a healthier individual is stronger, have better metabolism, and stamina. This is a huge advantage in open warfare.

Logistical rationing is one of the most utmost priority of any survivor group, Raiders and Theft will be a constant problem. Posting guards will not guarantee anything. The guards themselves may steal the stored food, or can be bribed, corrupted, or just plain incompetent. Mandatory inventory checks, by different departments are necessary. To protect from internal theft. Transparency is the key. The entire group/colony should be aware exactly how much food/water/supplements the colony have. Daily/Weekly reports are necessary depending on the size of colony and stock. This way everyone will know if there are discrepancies on stock and a fair investigation can be launched immediately.

It is my personal experience on the field and in my modern urban environment that a physically active adult can survive with the maximum of 2 meals a day. The body metabolism can easily adjust to this nutritional intake. Study the Recommended Daily Allowance of humans. This is the ideal food intake of the average human. A percentage less of the human RDI will not affect the overall health of the body and can easily adopt to the situation. Genetics also play a part. Some people are genetically obese especially with age. Lessening the food intake of these individuals not only save food for the entire group/colony but it will be healthier for them. If you think this is not fair, ask a nutritionist or doctor now.

The Caucasian, Race store more fat than any other human racial diversity. Their genetic requirement to consume large amounts of food are bred out of the need for extra body fat designed for living in colder climates of the world. They are followed by the Arab, Native Americans (including Latinos), Africans, Orientals and lastly the Pacific Islanders. Depending on the group location food rationing should be adjusted. This is a last resort during desperate times. It is imperative than men and women of this human sub racial diversity understand this before implementing such policy. The last thing any survivor colony needs is a civil warfare due to skin color discrimination.

Study food groups and RDI requirements now, Conduct experiments on your own body to maximize your metabolism. Perform physically strenuous exercises and check your changing food / water requirement.   Depending on your racial ancestry and current location (Pacific Islanders now live in colder climates and Caucasians now live in temperate ones). Adjust your food intake. Diversify the food that you eat, experiment with foreign cuisine, Do this slowly and check your metabolism. Ask advice from a doctor or a nutritionist. If the apocalypse never arrive, it will at least be guaranteed that you will be a healthier, sexier, more cultured individual.

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