I Was Hoping to See More Here

[pat34lee]

When I saw a prepping forum, I figured this would take off with different aspects of prepping for natural disasters or TEOTWAWKI. There are other sites and Youtube, of course, but most are not Christian preppers.

Prepping to stay home or bug out?
If home, what to stock up, how to keep and hide it?
Gardening, canning, dehydrating food, repacking food for long term.
Tools and supplies. Most important, as you can't have everything.
Bug out bags, or get home bags or leave forever bags?
Everyday carry. What to keep on you just in case.
Equipment, camp gear, food, water, seeds, medicine, etc.
For those bugging out, do you plan on driving, biking or walking?
Where to? (Type of area, not exact location, eg. mountains, out west)
Gear? Do you practice hiking or camping? Tips from experience?

A personal one for me. Getting in shape before the emergencies hit.

I can use all the information I can get, and others probably could too.

 

[SavedByGrace3]

You might be surprised how much resistance there is to prepping among Christians and churches....
Good to have you here. Help up out and post some ideas and experiences.
THANKS!

 

[PRESIDIO]

When I saw a prepping forum, I figured this would take off with different aspects of prepping for natural disasters or TEOTWAWKI. There are other sites and Youtube, of course, but most are not Christian preppers.

Prepping to stay home or bug out?
If home, what to stock up, how to keep and hide it?
Gardening, canning, dehydrating food, repacking food for long term.
Tools and supplies. Most important, as you can't have everything.
Bug out bags, or get home bags or leave forever bags?
Everyday carry. What to keep on you just in case.
Equipment, camp gear, food, water, seeds, medicine, etc.
For those bugging out, do you plan on driving, biking or walking?
Where to? (Type of area, not exact location, eg. mountains, out west)
Gear? Do you practice hiking or camping? Tips from experience?

A personal one for me. Getting in shape before the emergencies hit.

I can use all the information I can get, and others probably could too.

Hi Didaskalos! I'm a Christian prepper also and like you I have been wanting to have some discussions regarding this issue with other believers. There is lots of info out there but I don't see a lot of believers discussing this topic. My plan at the moment is to bug in. My everyday carry is a GLOCK 19, a backup 20 round magazine, and an ESEE Izula. The rest of your questions will take a lot more time so I will give you my thoughts on them as time progresses.

 

[PRESIDIO]

A couple of other possible Christian resources are survivalblog.com James Wesley Rawles and on YouTube "prepper recon"

 

[PRESIDIO]

I understand the resistance to prepping from some believers and I think its primarily because of what they see from shows like Doomsday preppers and other YouTube videos whereby it appears those preppers aren't really believers. They are right, most of them are not. Doomsday Preppers believe in themselves and their preparations without trusting in The Lord. Christians see this and know that its not Biblical. However, Noah being a prime example, its foolish not the have provisions for difficult times. I can trust in The Lord but I still have to pay my mortgage. If I don't I will be foreclosed and evicted. That does not translate into you should not pay your mortgage and hope God will intervene. Christians plan financially for retirement, monthly budgets, etc. Christians plan and prepare all of the time. Sin comes in when we began to rely on ourselves and our preps rather than The Lord. The Lord requires us to trust in Him but that does not mean we sit around and do nothing and hope for the best. If we see the sign of times, it is entirely plausible our supply chain could break down (for whatever reason) and there is no food on the shelves. It's prudent and wise to be ready for that.

 

[PRESIDIO]

When I saw a prepping forum, I figured this would take off with different aspects of prepping for natural disasters or TEOTWAWKI. There are other sites and Youtube, of course, but most are not Christian preppers.

Prepping to stay home or bug out?
If home, what to stock up, how to keep and hide it?
Gardening, canning, dehydrating food, repacking food for long term.
Tools and supplies. Most important, as you can't have everything.
Bug out bags, or get home bags or leave forever bags?
Everyday carry. What to keep on you just in case.
Equipment, camp gear, food, water, seeds, medicine, etc.
For those bugging out, do you plan on driving, biking or walking?
Where to? (Type of area, not exact location, eg. mountains, out west)
Gear? Do you practice hiking or camping? Tips from experience?

A personal one for me. Getting in shape before the emergencies hit.

I can use all the information I can get, and others probably could too.

Hi. So there is a lot here and I will probably take one question at a time. First, I do not claim to be an expert in everything. I have some experience which includes: 6yrs USMC, firearms instructor for over 14 years, etc. Some of the questions I have a lot of experience in, some I do not and will tell you I do not or, I have some knowledge and would recommend someone with greater knowledge jump in.

Bug in or out?: I think this entirely depends on your situation. If you live in a highly populated area and things are really bad, I would say you will probably have to leave. If you live more rural you can probably stay. If the issue is economic collapse you may be able to stay put for a while in highly populated areas but if its a protracted situation rule of law will break down and you will need to leave. If its a nuclear terrorist attack you would have to leave immediately. There is a lot of what ifs here but I think I've covered the bases at least for initial thinking about it. More to come

PRESIDIO

 

[PRESIDIO]

When I saw a prepping forum, I figured this would take off with different aspects of prepping for natural disasters or TEOTWAWKI. There are other sites and Youtube, of course, but most are not Christian preppers.

A personal one for me. Getting in shape before the emergencies hit.

I can use all the information I can get, and others probably could too.

I think this is critical. If you need to lose weight and get in shape its time to get that done. Not just for planning for emergencies but for your health as you progress in age. I am 47 yrs old 5'10" 180lbs. This is where I see most people make the mistake in weight loss. They subscribe to some diet but do not incorporate exercise. These are short lived and I've seen scores of people lose lots of weight only to gain in all back. There must be a lifestyle and eating shift. A lot of people eat way more than they need or should. I work out with weights three days per week, hike with a 50lbs pack2-3 miles 2 or 3 days a week, and consume about 2500 calories per day. I'm 47 (no spring chicken) and my body does fine under this regimen. Initially if you need to lose a lot of weight, you should cut calories to no less than 1200 per day and no more than 1500 per day coupled with an exercise regimen. If you are out of shape, you will find carrying your bugout bag for 20 miles you will probably be dead. When the emergency hits, its not time to lose the weight, its right now

 

[SavedByGrace3]

Hi Didaskalos! I'm a Christian prepper also and like you I have been wanting to have some discussions regarding this issue with other believers. There is lots of info out there but I don't see a lot of believers discussing this topic. My plan at the moment is to bug in. My everyday carry is a GLOCK 19, a backup 20 round magazine, and an ESEE Izula. The rest of your questions will take a lot more time so I will give you my thoughts on them as time progresses.

Hi Presidio,
I think those questions were from pat34lee, but I am looking forward to your response all the same.
Thanks

 

[pat34lee]

I think this is critical. If you need to lose weight and get in shape its time to get that done. Not just for planning for emergencies but for your health as you progress in age. I am 47 yrs old 5'10" 180lbs. This is where I see most people make the mistake in weight loss. They subscribe to some diet but do not incorporate exercise. These are short lived and I've seen scores of people lose lots of weight only to gain in all back. There must be a lifestyle and eating shift. A lot of people eat way more than they need or should. I work out with weights three days per week, hike with a 50lbs pack2-3 miles 2 or 3 days a week, and consume about 2500 calories per day. I'm 47 (no spring chicken) and my body does fine under this regimen. Initially if you need to lose a lot of weight, you should cut calories to no less than 1200 per day and no more than 1500 per day coupled with an exercise regimen. If you are out of shape, you will find carrying your bugout bag for 20 miles you will probably be dead. When the emergency hits, its not time to lose the weight, its right now

I'm not kidding about being out of shape. I am 51 years old and over 250 pounds, most packed on in the last 5-8 years or so. I have lived in a small town all my life, and have spent a lot of time when younger camping, hunting and fishing. Weight training used to be my thing before 30, but it seems now that I need more stamina than strength. Right now, I don't know if I could do a mile with or without the BOB.

 

[PRESIDIO]

I'm not kidding about being out of shape. I am 51 years old and over 250 pounds, most packed on in the last 5-8 years or so. I have lived in a small town all my life, and have spent a lot of time when younger camping, hunting and fishing. Weight training used to be my thing before 30, but it seems now that I need more stamina than strength. Right now, I don't know if I could do a mile with or without the BOB.

I completely understand and I was there too. A few years back I got up to 225. I do not weightlift to bulk up so to speak just trying to maintain good health. Eat better quality food, eat less, and exercise. Remarkably when you start exercising you do not consume as many calories as you do in a sedentary lifestyle. A grown man will burn 2500 calories a day just in a sedentary lifestyle. Each pound of fat is approximately 3500 calories. If you reduce your intake to 1500 per day, exercise each day burning 150-200 calories, and you will burn 2-3 pounds per week. Some things you can do right away: cut out the sugary drinks, eat less bread, eat multiple meals a day in small portions. Here is one example of a typical day.

Breakfast: 2 Hard Boiled Eggs 156 calories
Mid morning snack: Dannon Lite & Fit Greek Yogurt (lots of good flavors they have that are awesome) 80 calories
Lunch: 1 cup tuna salad with lettuce & apple 463calories
Mid afternoon snack: 15 almonds 105 calories
Dinner: 2 Steak Tacos (6oz steak) with corn tortillas, lettuce, tomato, onions 560 calories
Bedtime Snack: Protein Shake 130 Calories
TOTAL: 1494

If you are disciplined in this calorie intake and exercise, you will lose weight. You will probably drop 10 pounds pretty quick. Remember though, this is a lifestyle shift. If you don't make the lifestyle shift, you will lose weight and then regress. You will not be at 1500 calories forever, once you begin to get to your desired weight or close to it, calories will increase to about 2700 per day. I would start out fast walking a mile a day. Remember all elements must be present: eat less, eat better quality, exercise. If this is helpful to you I can provide more info on weights and exercise and diet.

 

[Armoured]

When I saw a prepping forum, I figured this would take off with different aspects of prepping for natural disasters or TEOTWAWKI. There are other sites and Youtube, of course, but most are not Christian preppers.

Prepping to stay home or bug out?
If home, what to stock up, how to keep and hide it?
Gardening, canning, dehydrating food, repacking food for long term.
Tools and supplies. Most important, as you can't have everything.
Bug out bags, or get home bags or leave forever bags?
Everyday carry. What to keep on you just in case.
Equipment, camp gear, food, water, seeds, medicine, etc.
For those bugging out, do you plan on driving, biking or walking?
Where to? (Type of area, not exact location, eg. mountains, out west)
Gear? Do you practice hiking or camping? Tips from experience?

A personal one for me. Getting in shape before the emergencies hit.

I can use all the information I can get, and others probably could too.

What's a TEOTWAKI?

 

[PRESIDIO]

What's a TEOTWAKI?

the end of the world as we know it

 

[PRESIDIO]

When I saw a prepping forum, I figured this would take off with different aspects of prepping for natural disasters or TEOTWAWKI. There are other sites and Youtube, of course, but most are not Christian preppers.

Prepping to stay home or bug out?
Bug out bags, or get home bags or leave forever bags?
Everyday carry. What to keep on you just in case.
Equipment,

Good morning all. I wanted to respond to this part of the original post. Here is my current loadout for home/homestead security purposes. I will list all gear here but not go into specific detail. If anyone wants more info on these specific items e.g. brands, reviews, etc I'm happy to oblige. I have a slick plate carrier which can be outfitted for Level III/IV plates or Level III-A Soft Armor, a chest rig capable of holding six AR magazines, pistol magazine pouch with two back up magazines, Knife, tourniquet, trauma first aid kit, gloves, dump pouch, thigh holster rig with GLOCK 19, belt carry USGI taco for additional AR mag and pistol mag, LMT M4 with Aimpoint T1 and Streamlight TLR-1. Not shown here but something I use regularly are knee pads. This is by far and away the most utilized system I have. The older I get the less crap I want to carry all day long so I'm constantly looking at ways to shed ounces.

PRESIDIO

 

[PRESIDIO]

Or an AK as your main battle rifle

will be fine if that is your flavor

 

[PRESIDIO]

When I saw a prepping forum, I figured this would take off with different aspects of prepping for natural disasters or TEOTWAWKI. There are other sites and Youtube, of course, but most are not Christian preppers.

Prepping to stay home or bug out?
If home, what to stock up, how to keep and hide it?
Gardening, canning, dehydrating food, repacking food for long term.
Tools and supplies. Most important, as you can't have everything.
Bug out bags, or get home bags or leave forever bags?
Everyday carry. What to keep on you just in case.
Equipment, camp gear, food, water, seeds, medicine, etc.
For those bugging out, do you plan on driving, biking or walking?
Where to? (Type of area, not exact location, eg. mountains, out west)
Gear? Do you practice hiking or camping? Tips from experience?

A personal one for me. Getting in shape before the emergencies hit.

I can use all the information I can get, and others probably could too.

One mistake I think preppers make is they spend too much on security i.e. guns, ammo and not enough on essentials. In my mind this is food and water. You can't eat or drink bullets or guns, so I would handle this first. Consider no stores are open, Walmart shelves are bare, and supply chain has broken down. We take a lot of this for granted. If the trucks stop running or gasoline suddenly shoots up to $10 per gallon, things will get hairy quick. I think a good place to start is to see if you have enough food to last you and your family 90 days. Whether you plan to stay put, or stage your provisions at a secondary location, I would have 90 days of food and water on location(s). I think a calorie count would be 1800-2000 per day per adult. I know I've gone way over that on a number of occasions but truly in a situation like this we probably all have some weight to lose and we typically eat more than we should. You could get away with consuming one gallon of water per day. If you want water for hygiene double it to two gallons of water per day per person. I have been buying 55 gallon drums (brand new) to store water. You can do the math to figure how many you would need. In the long run you may consider an above ground water tank from somewhere like Tractor Supply. You can get a 550 gallon tank for around $500 and a 1500 gallon for $1000. I would also strongly suggest investing in a Big Berkey water filtration system. The Red Cross uses this gravity system, non-battery unit in third world countries to purify water from lakes, rivers, rain water, and puddles. I have one and its invaluable. This would allow you to harvest rain water off and roof and purify it for drinking. 90 days of food and water is a good place to start and then you can build up from there as you see fit.

 

[PRESIDIO]

AMMO - HOW MUCH AMMO SHOULD YOU HAVE ON HAND?

I'm going to speak to minimums here. For your combat rifle I would suggest having a minimum of 2,000 rounds for each battle rifle and 800 rounds for combat sidearm. If you consider the M4 my current combat loadout on a chest rig would be 196 rounds. The USMC has a combat loadout of 210 rounds. In about 2003-2005, the Marines were cleaning up a lot of towns in Iraq including Fallujah and Ramadi. They dropped leaflets for two weeks prior telling civilians to get out. If you were in there after the two weeks there was an assumption you were a terrorist. The next little bit was heavy fighting. Most of the Marines did not expend their full combat loadout in a typical day of going house to house with heavy fighting. Were there some days they expended more? Well sure but typically a combat load would last a while. In a homestead defense situation, even if things are bad, its unlikely you will encounter that type of heavy fighting day in and day out and if you do, it's time to move elsewhere anyway. If you don't you will probably get killed even if you are Mr. Navy SEAL. Would I increase over 2,000? Yes but not by going into credit card debt, sacrificing my food and water provisions, or by neglecting training. What I mean by this is if you are only accumulating ammo and not training you will severely inhibit yourself in getting the skills you need. You may have been around guns your entire life and been shooting since you were 5 but combat shooting is different than range shooting.

 

[PRESIDIO]

When I saw a prepping forum, I figured this would take off with different aspects of prepping for natural disasters or TEOTWAWKI. There are other sites and Youtube, of course, but most are not Christian preppers.


Bug out bags, or get home bags or leave forever bags?
Gear? Do you practice hiking or camping? Tips from experience?

I can use all the information I can get, and others probably could too.

With my job, I am on the road at least once a month usually about 200-300 miles from home. If my wife and son are at home and I have gotten stuck out there either from natural or man-made disaster and cannot use my vehicle what do I need to pack in my get home bag? The body can do without food for three weeks but cannot do without water for more than 3 days. I can travel on foot about 20-25 miles per day. At the furthest point of 300 miles if I had to walk home it would take me about 12-14 days. When I travel, I always keep in my vehicle a case of bottled water, hiking boots/shoes and extra layers of clothing. On my person I will always have a GLOCK 19, backup magazine, and a knife which is currently a Spyderco Paramilitary II. In my bag I keep the following:

• Survival knife
• Mora knife
• Bahco laplander saw
• USMC poncho
• 55 gallon drum liner
• mylar blanket
• 100 feet paracord
• 100 feet of bankline
• carabiner
• ferro rod
• waterproof matches
• bic lighter wrapped in gorilla tape
• tinder
• stainless steel cup
• whistle
• compass
• headlamp flashlight
• first aid kit
• chemlight
• eye glasses
• Victorinox Forrester
• bandana
• leather work gloves
• rain jacket
• wool socks
• polyester base layer
• boonie hat
• fleece watch cap

This may change slightly in the summer time but there are some crucial elements that will always be in the kit. Tools to build fire which controls my core temperature, fire also purifies water, steel container provides a way to boil water. Drum liner, poncho, and mylar blanket can be used for shelter. Paracord for shelter building. The vast majority of people in the wilderness die for two reasons: hypothermia or dehydration. My kit conforms to those realities: control the body's core temperature and keep the body hydrated. My bag weighs less than 20 lbs. This is key. Don't overpack your bag with useless crap. If you end up having to hump it 200-300 miles you will burn too many calories and dehydrate yourself quicker with a heavy bag. Be deliberate in determining: what do I really need?
PRESIDIO

 

[pat34lee]

I completely understand and I was there too. A few years back I got up to 225. I do not weightlift to bulk up so to speak just trying to maintain good health. Eat better quality food, eat less, and exercise. Remarkably when you start exercising you do not consume as many calories as you do in a sedentary lifestyle. A grown man will burn 2500 calories a day just in a sedentary lifestyle. Each pound of fat is approximately 3500 calories. If you reduce your intake to 1500 per day, exercise each day burning 150-200 calories, and you will burn 2-3 pounds per week. Some things you can do right away: cut out the sugary drinks, eat less bread, eat multiple meals a day in small portions. Here is one example of a typical day.

Breakfast: 2 Hard Boiled Eggs 156 calories
Mid morning snack: Dannon Lite & Fit Greek Yogurt (lots of good flavors they have that are awesome) 80 calories
Lunch: 1 cup tuna salad with lettuce & apple 463calories
Mid afternoon snack: 15 almonds 105 calories
Dinner: 2 Steak Tacos (6oz steak) with corn tortillas, lettuce, tomato, onions 560 calories
Bedtime Snack: Protein Shake 130 Calories
TOTAL: 1494

If you are disciplined in this calorie intake and exercise, you will lose weight. You will probably drop 10 pounds pretty quick. Remember though, this is a lifestyle shift. If you don't make the lifestyle shift, you will lose weight and then regress. You will not be at 1500 calories forever, once you begin to get to your desired weight or close to it, calories will increase to about 2700 per day. I would start out fast walking a mile a day. Remember all elements must be present: eat less, eat better quality, exercise. If this is helpful to you I can provide more info on weights and exercise and diet.

I appreciate all input. I think I have a handle on what to do. It's just a trick keeping to it at times. I think it's about time to get serious though. I get tired of checking the scales and seeing it bouncing up and down within about a ten pound range.

 

[pat34lee]

One mistake I think preppers make is they spend too much on security i.e. guns, ammo and not enough on essentials. In my mind this is food and water. You can't eat or drink bullets or guns, so I would handle this first. Consider no stores are open, Walmart shelves are bare, and supply chain has broken down. We take a lot of this for granted. If the trucks stop running or gasoline suddenly shoots up to $10 per gallon, things will get hairy quick. I think a good place to start is to see if you have enough food to last you and your family 90 days. Whether you plan to stay put, or stage your provisions at a secondary location, I would have 90 days of food and water on location(s). I think a calorie count would be 1800-2000 per day per adult. I know I've gone way over that on a number of occasions but truly in a situation like this we probably all have some weight to lose and we typically eat more than we should. You could get away with consuming one gallon of water per day. If you want water for hygiene double it to two gallons of water per day per person. I have been buying 55 gallon drums (brand new) to store water. You can do the math to figure how many you would need. In the long run you may consider an above ground water tank from somewhere like Tractor Supply. You can get a 550 gallon tank for around $500 and a 1500 gallon for $1000. I would also strongly suggest investing in a Big Berkey water filtration system. The Red Cross uses this gravity system, non-battery unit in third world countries to purify water from lakes, rivers, rain water, and puddles. I have one and its invaluable. This would allow you to harvest rain water off and roof and purify it for drinking. 90 days of food and water is a good place to start and then you can build up from there as you see fit.

Food and supplies have been my main concern for stocking up. Safety is secondary to me. Once you are forced into firefights, chances of making it through diminish rapidly.

I have been working on food stuffs, like beans, rice, oatmeal, dried potatoes, canned meats, vegetables and fruit, peanut butter (a superfood, along with canned pumpkin), flour, sugar, corn meal, canned cream. Also spices and condiments to keep things from getting monotonous. I still want to buy or make some dried vegetables, like carrots, peppers and onions. Still have to get 35-50 gallon barrels for water storage and composting.

One plus if I have to bug in. My house was put in before the city sewer system made it this far. I am hooked to it now, but I also have a septic tank ready to reattach if needed.

I have first aid items in several boxes, anything from aspirin to aloe vera to bandages. Anything one would normally keep for a family in the medicine chest and then a little more.

Weapons, not much at the moment, and mostly hunting type gear. A 22 magnum revolver, 357 revolver, 22 LR bolt action and 22 LR semi-auto, and a 30-30 Winchester lever action. Not nearly enough ammo, a few boxes for the 357, one or two for the Winchester and maybe 700-800 for the 22's.

My major problems bugging out wouldn't be lack, but deciding what to take and what is too much. Of course, a large part depends if cars are still running, or If we'll be riding bikes, or like a friend of mine is planning, mules and a wagon.

 

[PRESIDIO]

Food and supplies have been my main concern for stocking up. Safety is secondary to me. Once you are forced into firefights, chances of making it through diminish rapidly.

I have been working on food stuffs, like beans, rice, oatmeal, dried potatoes, canned meats, vegetables and fruit, peanut butter (a superfood, along with canned pumpkin), flour, sugar, corn meal, canned cream. Also spices and condiments to keep things from getting monotonous. I still want to buy or make some dried vegetables, like carrots, peppers and onions. Still have to get 35-50 gallon barrels for water storage and composting.

One plus if I have to bug in. My house was put in before the city sewer system made it this far. I am hooked to it now, but I also have a septic tank ready to reattach if needed.

I have first aid items in several boxes, anything from aspirin to aloe vera to bandages. Anything one would normally keep for a family in the medicine chest and then a little more.

Weapons, not much at the moment, and mostly hunting type gear. A 22 magnum revolver, 357 revolver, 22 LR bolt action and 22 LR semi-auto, and a 30-30 Winchester lever action. Not nearly enough ammo, a few boxes for the 357, one or two for the Winchester and maybe 700-800 for the 22's.

My major problems bugging out wouldn't be lack, but deciding what to take and what is too much. Of course, a large part depends if cars are still running, or If we'll be riding bikes, or like a friend of mine is planning, mules and a wagon.

I think you are pretty good on firearms except a shotgun. That would be a gun you would use a lot. Very versatile. I would definitely stock up on some 30-30 ammo.