[Navy509]

Hello all,

After looking around this site I understand how unprepared I really am. I'm here to begin to fix that.

Biggest question I have now is about priorities.

First off, I am basically broke due to Christmas presents and new motorcycle parts until the beginning of January and can do nothing extra as of now.

When January comes I will have some extra $, my question is... should I invest in an assault rifle or other equipment (food, water filters, etc.) first.

I have a few guns as of now, but nothing compared to an AR-15, if laws are changed soon they may not be available. So my gut tells me to get one A.S.A.P.

Basically it boils down to, what should I spend my first extra $900-1,000 on come January?

I don't want to be victim to the 7 P's (**** poor planning promotes **** poor performance).

Any comments would be great.

 

[Idaho]

AK and ammo. Welcome from Idaho

 

[SmallGame2100]

Where are you from?
It'll be easier to determine what you need based on the natural disasters that are more common than others for your area.

What firearms do you currently own?

 

[dayliterun]

$900! Definately an AK, some ammo and extra mags! Welcome from SE Ga. Then food and water.

 

[Navy509]

Where are you from?
It'll be easier to determine what you need based on the natural disasters that are more common than others for your area.

What firearms do you currently own?

I am in Wenatchee WA, almost dead center of the state, farmland to the east and the cascade mountains to the west. I have a 22LR semi-auto, .243 bolt action, .300 Win Mag, 12 gauge semi-auto, .380, 9mm, .45. I had a Mossberg 500 but gave it to my dad since he had nothing and just traded a glock 23 for a set of 35" tires for my truck for fun.

 

[Smudge]

Personally I'd have said get food, water and a means to grow more if possible, you already have guns you stated and you cant eat bullets (not in any dietry sence).
I'm no gun expert but sounds like you have survival firearms already (i'm talking about survival not going to war) so I'd definately work more on home preps than more weapons.

Opinions vary thats just mine :thumb:

 

[trainedtosave]

Personally I'd have said get food, water and a means to grow more if possible, you already have guns you stated and you cant eat bullets (not in any dietry sence).
I'm no gun expert but sounds like you have survival firearms already (i'm talking about survival not going to war) so I'd definately work more on home preps than more weapons.

Opinions vary thats just mine :thumb:

+1 on smudge's statement. I would buy ammo for your current weapons as well.

 

[peak_oil]

I wouldn't worry about weapons much, it looks like you have that covered. That part of Washington is sort of dry, isn't it? You might want to look into water storage.

I went through an evolution on water storage over time. I'll share what I've learned with you, maybe you can skip making my mistakes, or maybe my mistakes are good choices for you.

At first, I bought no water or stored any kind of water. I bought rice and dry beans, both of which require water... kind of dumb, right? Then I bought bottles of sparkling mineral water like Perrier. Hey, I like Perrier. A little time passed, and I realized how much money I was blowing. Then I bought two liters of seltzer. When I drank my way through the seltzer, I refilled the bottles with filtered tap water and a little bleach and kept enough Brita water filters around that I could clean out the bleach when I wanted to.

Of course, the two liters weren't really food grade water storage and bleach eats into plastic, so it was sort of unhealthy but less unhealthy than having no water at all.

Then me and the old lady blew $70 on a blue food storage grade water barrel at 55 gallons, filled it, bleached it, and sat on it for a year. Nothing happened, and we didn't take it with us when we moved. That ****er weighed over 400 pounds full, so I would have launched a hernia if I tried to take it inside.

Now I have very little water stored. But. I ran into a guy who has 4 gallon food grade plastic buckets available for $1 each. Next time I run into him I'm buying 100. That's a little more money than one unwieldy 55 gallon barrel, and much more portable. And it's about double the storage.

I wouldn't be unwilling to pick up another 55 gallon barrel, but I'd want to be able to pump it into the 4 gallon buckets for actual use.

I also have a 32 gallon stainless steel turkey fryer and associated propane burner, so I can boil fairly large amounts of water for cooking or bathing or sterilizing or whatever. I have plenty of Brita filters, Katadyn filters, water pills, and I'm leaning towards one of those stainless steel Brit filters I've seen mentioned on here from time to time.

Weapons are fun, but we're headed towards tough economic times. I would like to suggest that covering the basics would be wise, maybe just as wise as preparing to defend yourself.

 

[Navy509]

I thought the same thing myself leaning on the food and water side of the fence, as for water, eastern Washington is very desert like, but there are lots of lakes, rivers, springs, and creeks everywhere across the state, I was thinking of water filters/purifiers and collapsible water tanks/jugs rather than storing actual water.

My concern is that these types of weapons may not be available again, if I have food and supplies for my family, I'd rather not try defend them with a deer rifle, but that’s on the extreme side of things.

If assault rifles no longer become available, why not get one now while I can? A month or two later (Feb/Mar) I could get the same food and water supplies but the gun itself may not be around to buy. This is the only reason I’m thinking of a new type of gun.

 

[peak_oil]

Let's see what happens when you have to carry your own water, and carry your own food. I would trade a rifle for a pantry, but definitely not the other way around.

How much is a Mosin? I'd rather have an AR, but I'd much more rather have a Mosin and a pantry than an AR and a growling stomach. Which one leads to peace?

 

[Navy509]

My house is on a river, my back door is only several yards away from the bank, a garden hose will get me all the water I can handle, If I had a tractor I could dig a moat, LOL.

 

[peak_oil]

Nicely done. I have to wait for rain, so I suppose water is more of a worry for me than it is for you.

 

[Navy509]

Nicely done. I have to wait for rain, so I suppose water is more of a worry for me than it is for you.

I'll tell ya what, you can have all the water you want from my back yard, but the trout, salmon, ducks, geese, & deer are mine.

 

[MIL-DOT]

I also concur with smudge's recommendations. Get ammo for the guns you have, then concentrate on food and water. Many folks seem to envision a non-stop post-apocalyptic fire-fight, but the reality would more likely be long stretches of boredom and hunger.
Also, if there is a new assault weapons ban,( there likely will be) we can't count on our AK's and AR's being grandfathered in again. I recently sold one of my AK's at a gunshow, and went and bought another revolver and a 5-shot, 12G. pump shotgun (as opposed to the 7-8 rounders. ) These aren't included in any currently proposed legislative bans ( check out HR1022).
Also, 12 guages have as much lethality as you're likely to ever need,and ammo is relatiely cheap and plentiful, while AK's are considerably more expensive, as are x39 ammo and magazines right now.

 

[Texas mom]

It's great that you have a source of water, but I'd still buy storage units for water in case you have to stay inside for a while. (One 55 gallon perhaps?).

Then, ammo and food.

 

[Macumazahn]

I try to be careful not to get to bogged down with the "beans, bullets, and bandages" mentality. You might want to inventory your house and spend some of that cash on common items. Got a couple manual can openers? Got enough flash lights? When was the last time you replaced the batteries in your smoke detectors? TP?

 

[Humungus]

well, a human can survive about 3 days without water, 3 weeks without food, and potentially forever without a firearm. Since you have some weapons already, You should spend the first money on food and water. You can easily get 3+ months of food and water if you spend that money right.

 

[trixie]

yeah if your worried about an obama gun ban buy a AK and 1000 rounds of ammo and them worry about other stuff.

 

[jeffreyamanning]

Just start with the basics, then work your way up through possible scenarios. You'll be able to think of the things you need. Think threats...threats to your life in terms of time periods. You can't last long without water, you can last a little longer without food, etc.

 

[Hillwog]

rule of threes
you will be dead in:
three minutes without air
three hours in bad weather without shelter
three days without water
three weeks without food

1 don't suffocate yourself with debt, smoke, whatever.

2 Make sure you have emergency shelter plans this includes clothes. Get extra clothes, tent, sleeping bag etc. for the coldest conditions my may expect put in a bag (BOB). Learn how to make a fire and carry supplies to do so. Figure out a back up heating supply for your home that does not rely on piped gas or electric. Wood stove, kerosene,etc.

3 put away extra water in 5gal or 55 gal containers, add a way to purify the water obtainable in the wild.

4 stock up on food items particularly long term items. freeze dried, canned, rice, sugar, salt etc. learn how to hunt, a gun is of little use if you can't shoot straight. learn how to garden.

You can add a little at a time to all these but focus on first things first.

keep in mind the first part improper ventilation in emergency situations has killed thousands. lots of guns, food etc. won't help if you freeze to death. Bad drinking water can kill you. Stocking up on food is good for the short term but learning to hunt, gather, and grow is long term. Security weapons for me come last I know my neighbors and do not think I will have to do to war with them. Any guns or ammo you buy moves you up on the government radar. My defense weapons are with the exception of my pistol hunting arms first.