Much like others collect stamps or coins or whatever, I look at preparedness as a hobby. Unlike a coin or stamp collector who would never consider actually using the items they collect, I actually get to use of most of my items through various training exercises, as well as during camping trips on weekends.

While it's unlikely we'll ever experience TEOTWAWKI or a zombie-infested PAW, I have had opportunities to use several of my items during a few SoCal earthquakes, a couple of extended power outages, and once when a week-long expedition into the mountains got quite ugly.

Although I also don't expect to ever witness a major civil disturbance scenario, I do have a collection of various firearms and a significant cache of spare mags and ammo. I enjoy most shooting sports and having lived through the last assualt weapons ban in 1994, I simply didn't want to find myself wishing that I had bought an AR-15 and a bunch of PMAGS two months into the next ban. One only has to look at how crazy everything has been over the past six weeks since the election to imagine how difficult it would be if you actually needed to acquire anything during a legitimate crisis.

Jim