Has anyone here changed or added to their survival preps. becauase of recent world events - new threats from alqueda , N . Korea , Iran , new Democratic majority in house and senate etc. etc.etc. I have a pretty good supply of water , food [ probably about a 6 weeks supply ] , basic med supplys , plenty of tp , a lot of hand and power tools , BOB's ,a couple of firearms and about 500 rounds of ammo and various other items that double as camping/hiking gear . I've been thinking that maybe I should spend some of my very limited funds on some Nuke survival stuff , more water and food and maybe buying a milsurp " battle " rifle or an AR before they are banned .

About the time I joined this site Y2K was going to bring the stars crashing down on the HOLLYWOOD sign. It didn't happen. Everytime a major disaster occured, one of my former surplus dealers tossed together a curious assembly of stuff, slapped a Earthquake/ Hurricane/ Invasion from Mars sticker on it and sold a bunch. That dealer didn't ( survive.) Assembling our gear should be thoughtfull and !!!! balanced by a little optimism and an equal budget outlay on living ( Beer and Pizza or equivelent.) Panck buying on any level is still panic buying. If your worried about Democrats or Al Queda suicide bombers bursting in your front door just take the wire from Doug's commercial kit, nail it @ 1' off the ground and string the fishhooks @ 4" apart. I thought I had one last night. It turned out to be a LDS missionary and I had to turn him loose. <img src="/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />

No from me. You may be thinking of stock market investors. The President stubs his toe & they all panic causing prices to take a dive.

The international situation isn't new, just some of the players are changing, and while one major political party wants to tar and feather me for reasons X, Y and Z, the other wants to burn me at the stake for A, B and C.

So for me, the same old same old.

I've been packing more cash than I normally would. Methinks it has more to do with being temporarily located in Brisbane for now. I don't reckon I'd have (or need) this much cash on hand back in NYC.

Since I'm living outta suitcases here now anyways, I didn't bring my bob and my big knives or my 45 (the latter for obvious reasons). I am feeling a little more vulnerable, but then again, this is only Australia, and who do I have to fear here? Since the apartment is only two blocks from work, I have no strategies for being stranded in the commute like I might've in Jersey, and I don't really see Brisbane as being high on the list of terror sites right now. About the only survival issue I have is remembering they all drive on the wrong side of the road here. That and they must spike the beer...

It surprizes me that on a survival forum some people have the attitude that , it can't happen here , everything is fine , don't worry, buisness as usual.
I don't think the sky is falling , don't wear a tinfoil hat , and don't panic every time there is a " hiccup " in the world , but I certainly don't think everything is fine . I'm not consumed by thoughts of doom . I don't spend all my extra money on food water and guns . I'm just an average person trying to live my life the best I can , who believes in being prepared . I don't want to get into a long post about politics and world events . I just feel that , because of all the stuff going on around the world these days , it would be a good time to add to , check , restock or rethink what items you have for just in case tshtf.
PS I never believed the y2k predictions of disaster .

"...maybe buying a milsurp " battle " rifle or an AR before they are banned..."

If you want an AR, fine, go buy one. I love shooting the AR series, and would love to have one, but can't justify the cost, plus my home is in CA, and they have taken all the fun out of buying a "black rifle" anyway. BUT, if you are worried about being nuked by North Korea, or a PHRASECENSOREDPOSTERSHOULDKNOWBETTER., what are you going to shoot at, the inbound missle? I think your money would more wisely be spent on an emergency generator or something like that. Good for a varitey of uses, perhaps the least of all emergency lighting or running your refer. You say that you have "...couple of firearms and about 500 rounds of ammo...", that should be more than enough for anything. We may be nuked, we may be blown up by a terrorist bomb, but I really doubt that we will be invaded by an army...

As for the food, etc, everyone should have several weeks worth of food and water on hand at all times, just in case...

Not a whole lot of changes here. Heck, when I stop and think about it, I'm probably not that much more prepared than anyone else in town. Sure, I've got some bins and kits, a couple of neat flashlights & knives, and camping gear -- but all in all, probably close to everyone else's stuff around their own homes.

I can't see spending my paycheck on everything preparedness. Having fun and enjoying life is part of the big picture, too.

What I do find myself doing is fine tuning my kits, rotating old medicines and perishables, and trying to have a comprehensive plan if something should go south.

Now I have to figure out what to do with those cans of Chey Boyardee that I bought two or three years ago! <img src="/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

No on all of the above. Katrina did make me expand my food and water stores though.

As far as a new battle rifle goes, if you want one go ahead and buy it--after all, you can't take it (the $$) with you <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />. (I see that Big 5 has surplus Moisin Nagants on sale for $89. Very affordable.)

Hmm, not sure about that. I live in a big old nuclear target. This has been true pretty much my whole life (except for the years I lived overseas). Maybe I'm too adjusted to it, or am living in denial, I don't know. I do know that moving my entire family (wife, sister+brother-in-law, brother+sister-in-law, neice & nephew, parents/in-laws, 2 dogs, 9 cats, 1 snake and bunch o'parakeets) to a smaller city upstate (or out of state) is a major undertaking--although it's still the plan over the next 3 years or so. For the immediate future, we have plans to shelter in place (mostly due to limited transport out of town), food, water, medical kits for everyone, etc. Which reminds me, it's gettin on time to re-evaluate the food closet and re-pack the BOBs.

The reason I was thinking about buying a milsurp is because I don't own a rifle . It's not because I think we are going to be invaded . I think anything is possible but don't think the U.S. will be invaded by any country in my lifetime . I'm not a paranoid gun nut , although I do like guns . I just think it's an important survival tool . The post was me sort of thinking aloud and wondering about what others were doing . IT was not about being invaded or buying guns .

Y2K and a good number of other things *didn't* happen, September 11th and some other things did. Neither Doubters nor Beleivers here have a Monopoly.

To a Good Extent, -we should continue our "Same Old Same Old", -as regards Preps. I'd also Up them some Notches though, -as the World Situations and all "Up their own Notches".

I know I'm known around here as a "Beleiver". So I don't want to seem to be mis-harping on it. But various "S's" are getting ever closer to hitting the "Fans". An Eye and Ear to World / National / and Local Events are in Order. As are Continued Preps of various sorts.

*Mobility* is a main one that I'd add, -to this Discussion. Holding in Place does have its Place. But I'd put some additional Accent, -on capabilitys to Move Around Locally, Regionally, Nationally, and even to some extent on more Global of a Scale. [color:"black"] [/color] [email]Chris Kavanaugh[/email]

I try to pick up 1 little extra thing each time I go to a store. What I get depends on what kind of store I have gone to each time. Today, I picked up 2 large bottles of coal oil for my Hurricane Lamps. At food stores, I pickup dry goods and my spouse picks up c-rats. I save condiment packs from the different burger / taco joints that I stop at here & there. Every 3 months I throw some gasoline in my truck & go get the cans refilled & stabilized.
If you are in the habit of doing a little here & a little there, neighbors don't notice anything & you keep a low profile.

Yes and no.
The only thing that I added to my large BOB is a bottle of Potassium Iodide tablets. Otherwise, as usual, I am limited by the amount of money allocated to survival gear ... and I can always use more gear! <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Murphy's Law being what it is, I think if you prepare for something in particular, the chances immediately become non-existant that that situation will occur.

I grew up with the recent aftermath of family bomb shelters. Properly placed, most of them became dens and hobby rooms. Except for the one the full concrete truck parked on... I didn't see it, but I heard it was a mess.

Sue

I don't plan any changes due to today's state of foreign affairs. There has always been a boogy man across the great water. There was Russia and Cuba to worry about long before Iran & N. Korea. There is always somebody P.O.ed at America. The nuclear threat has been there since the begining of the cold war and has never completely gone away.

Now the Democratic majority, that I would worry about!!!

This is still a good time to purchase milsurp rifles. There are a lot of former soviet republic battle rifles that are quite economical (except the AK variety) Most can be purchased around $100, +- $20. The AK will bottom floor around $350. The 7.62x39 round is cheap to buy and found nearly everywhere.

I would predict that this surplus market will be drying up within about 2 years, depending on the next election cycle. When Clinton was president and Brady was rolling, imports dryed to a trickle, and prices skyrocketed. The magazine ban drove high capacity mags that were available through the roof. I would expect there are quite a few on this forum who went out right before the ban and stocked up at greatly inflated prices. Those same magazines are available today at half the price. We could be in for another 10 year swing (as long as they don't do something foolish, like signing a treaty with the UN). Hang on, we are going for a ride!

No on all of the above. Katrina did make me expand my food and water stores though.

Ditto that.

I did expand our prescriptions stash as well to 7 days worth after seeing the hell folks went through when they ran out of / ran off without their meds.

I also refined the little emergency card that I put in each one of our wallets that lists allergies and meds as well as emergency contact numbers and implants (medical ones not the ones the aliens put in).

There were several folks on my unit that came out of New Orleans that we had no idea of what their meds/allergies/etc were and they were not in any shape to tell us.

But what really struck me after big Kat was watching the family of our closest friends rebuild and regroup.

They all had food and shelter immediately during and after the storm, but the ones that had a savings and good credit really faired the best in the immediate week following the storm.

They were able to get housing and get their kids into school/ back into somewhat of a "normal" routine before everything available was gone in Baton Rouge.

After watching that, I've been including financial and professional factors in my disaster planning (paying off debts, working to improve credit score, and increasing savings) as well as having myself ready to find a job in some other city (resume and professional license, certifications, etc in a family BOB).

My survival focus is getting my family through the first week and then get ready to rebuild somewhere else if need be.

did you get your hooks back?

To bad you let him go, they are quite tasty with lemon pepper and a good white wine
LOL

...and fava beans.

Why, are stocks low in your area?

eeph