Don't let fights happen with neighbours.

Don't let people know you prep.

Don't engage in criminal endeavors or hang with those who do.

Get a dog with high protective instincts,

Great Wall of Canada.
I like it.
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A couple of years ago a security specialist came to the place that I worked to give us a little talk about personal safety as our store was right next to a homeless shelter and things were pretty unpredictable at times. Anyway, one of the pieces of advice he gave us was to carry bear spray, but when you go to buy it at a camping store DO NOT tell them it is for protection against people or they CAN'T sell it to you.

My daughter got a laugh out of her fiance when she told him about my 'equalizer'. A few years ago when I'd see her home (to her dad's) after she got off work at 9pm and then I'd head back to my condo I carried a large nylon shopping bag with a waffle iron at the bottom. I was more afraid of encountering a loose dog than anything else.

When I was very young (20s) I rode a small motorcycle, so had an excuse to always carry a long screwdriver in my big down-filled mitts.

Defending yourself or loved ones or personal property is such a grey area, the authorities don't like the victims fighting back with anything but their fingernails. So I've always looked to see what perfectly innocent item can be used as a weapon.

Honestly, I don't think I could be ready mentally to defend myself. I'd always look for another way out of the situation. Only my children's safety would cause me to mortally harm someone. After which I would quietly go to pieces.

A poster I particularly like...

Only slightly off topic, had an unusual bus trip home after work.

Was already seated on the bus, near the back, when a guy gets on. Just one glance startled me, the guy is drooling! Mouth open, slack and drool like I've never seen before. He walks past and sits at the very back, but where, if I turn slightly, I can see him. So, in the course of looking around, out the windows, etc. I keep checking to see if he's still drooling. Yep. At one point his eyes are staring up, just like a zombie! I figured he was on chemicals or something. But thoughts of the Greyhound Bus incident came to mind, I started to worry for the young man just across from him, and the young couple nearby. I started to wonder what to do if he suddenly attacked someone.

I had a shopping bag with a small can of mushroom soup that my hand could grip easily, I planned to hit him up side the head with extreme prejudice, push him to the ground face down and sit on him while the bus driver called the cops. As the bus trip proceeds and more people get on I become trapped in an inside seat. I knew I was starting to freak out the lady beside me because I was slightly angled and looking past her. But as my stop came up and I got up to go I leaned in and said quietly, "keep an eye on the guy behind you, he's really weird". I figured she'd think I was nuts, but I heard her say "thanks for telling me".

It would have made a great headline in the Times Colonist: Middle-aged lady uses can of soup to save bus load of people from zombie!
lol

Hello all,

Once you get all the documentation in place and are able to purchase guns at the local store, you need to know that we do not have the same laws around defending your home that the USA has. You can not harm an intruder in anyway if they are on their way out, you must let them leave. Tresspassing is not a reason to inflick damage on an individual. I guess in a SHTF situation that would not matter. I have a machette as a scare item, nothing sais "crazy" like boxer shorts and a machette at 2 am.

Our laws are extremely backwards and outdated. The Haper government is trying to change some of them. I took my PAL course, and they briefly, VERY briefly talk about defending your home. In fact, you would have to research the laws to understand them because you would ASSUME you have the right to defend your children, wife, etc..Unfortunately, that is not the case. More rights are given to the robber than to the victim. There are many gun boards you can join to read further on the exact laws.

Very interesting posts and scenario posted here!
The scenario very much reminded me of a show we have here on Discovery Channel: "The Colony". ( Re-runs may be available on Discovery Channel) The show was intriguing and educational as well as you giving you an opportunity to view ingenuity at work as real people struggle to overcome attacks and obstacles with little or unconventional resources...

The basis of this show is [snipped] " a controlled experiment to see exactly what it would take to survive and rebuild” after a global catastrophe, this reference specifically a worldwide viral pandemic." There were a handful of people participating and some very real scenarios staged including attacks and kidnappings to see exactly how this band of survivors coped.

A second show is the BBC series ( 2008 x 2 seasons version is available on Netflix) The Survivors, based on the 70's novel by Terry Nation. Once again, showing the post-catastrophe survival of people after a mysterious flu takes out 99% of the worlds population. Very interesting show as it details how this fledgling group of survivors bands together and then encounter others including a cult group, bandits and a lone government survivor who leads a fast-growing group that is trying to 'reconstruct' a primitive society ~eventually with less than scrupulous means ...

Both shows give you an opportunity to really imagine what you would do in some truly horrifying and sometimes even very mundane situations... You see how people who were always optimistic come to grips with a society that has indeed turned dog-eat-dog.

Shows like this allow us a safe view to ponder the 'what ifs' - and re-think what we thought was logical or a possible plan. Survivors also has some great scenarios regarding health and safety on why it might not be wise or safe to go to or stay in the city...

As for myself... I am not far enough along in my thinking and planning to have really developed a sound plan for being the aggressor during a potential attack on me and mine. I tend to dwell on things mentioned in previous posts like blunt instruments for defense, protecting my shelter, barricades, exit routes...

if you haven't already seen them, check out these shows... they will get you thinking, never a bad thing for defense-minded preppers!

...

Our laws are extremely backwards and outdated. The Haper government is trying to change some of them. I took my PAL course, and they briefly, VERY briefly talk about defending your home. In fact, you would have to research the laws to understand them because you would ASSUME you have the right to defend your children, wife, etc..Unfortunately, that is not the case. More rights are given to the robber than to the victim. There are many gun boards you can join to read further on the exact laws.

No endorsement as perfect but here you go:

http://canadacarry.org/forums/forum.php

http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/index.php

http://www.huntingbc.ca/forum/index.php

Hiding is better than defending. Learning to blend in is a key element in any survival situation. DONT BE A TARGET.

If it comes down to it, you need to defend your life or the life of a loved one(s) then you need to do what you need to do. My rule is never use a weapon your not prepared to have used on yourself. One thing I can suggest is learn some fighting techniques. I.E. self defense etc. I don’t mean go join martial art club. But learn weak point on the human body. Eyes nose, mouth throat ears...and learn how to effectively attack these areas, to inflict as much pain or panic on a person to take the will to fight out of them. Then you can GTFO of dodge...just a thought....

Also! Compound bows are very deadly and easy to use; you can also buy cross bows at most gun shops or hunting stores. All you need is a FAC and away you go...medieval style lol

Okay, I'll throw my 2 cents into the topic.

I come from a large hunting family. I used to hunt, but don't have the time for it anymore, but always have fresh meat from the hunts because my family knows what they are doing, and get plenty extra, so I get lots.

So, when SHTF, I know where I can get my hands on a large quantity of firearms, and ammo. When it's time, you'll know where to get the weapons to defend yourself. The reason I do not have any of the paperwork to have a firearm myself, is because I do not want to give the government the right to search my home without a warrant simply because I have registered firearms. I think that before everything goes bad, say for economic reason, and not a natural one, the government will come knocking on most people's doors on that list.

So, how do I protect myself, moved to a less populated area. Know my surroundings, know what can be used as a weapon, and thanks to this post, I'm seriously thinking about bow and arrow, for the silent aspect of it. I like the silent part of it, because if you actually have to defend your property, and you're shooting off rounds, people can hear that from far away, and will know which direction to head to get to your place. Draw no attention to yourself will be key.

My 2 cents.

lots to think about, just remember can you kill some one, because if not, you better hide until some sort of equilibrium has set in.

It has always "amused" me that there are so many people viewing this topic, it's out of proportion to all other topics, and even the amount of people commenting on this topic. I figured there were lots of people, even Americans, looking for gun talk. It's Canada, guys, it's blunt object or pepper spray.

I'm big on blunt objects at my house: baseball bat, crow bar, shovel, can of soup...

Speaking of shovel, I came across a video of this awesome shovel, "the swiss army knife of shovels". It's a long commercial, starts out slow, but the sound track is... unexpected. It cracks me up, but I love the shovel!

http://homesteadbasics.com/index.php/2010/10/14/chinese-military-shovel/

Ok now that shovel is awesome...I needs me one of those!

This question has to be answered in context. I have often been in revulsion about Canadas take on home defense since the phenomena of home invasion has increased. The Albertan rancher who took a shot over the head of the person stealing his ATV allowed a few pellets to hit the thief. His sentence was three times that of the thief. If you are required to take up weapons to protect yourself and home be prepared to do time if you harm the thief using greater firepower than they are using, that is, if the system is working at that time, (system = police/courts). If it is anarchy well, biggest stick wins and this does not apply. I hate it that while someone is breaking in your door you are expected to use equal or less force than the attacker (not applicable to police). If you use a pepper spray, it must be a bear spray, a personal protection spray will result in charges. If you use a firearm, charges are sure to follow. This is the "dead right" philosophy common in Canada. You may be right, but you will be dead. Now with all that being said, I would rather be judged by twelve, than carried by six. I am not worried about the American people any more or less than other Canadians, but I fear their government and military as they are not representative of their people, and have not been so for quite awhile.

The red flag I am watching for is food supply in the stores. If the shelves empty I will not defend my city home but will bug out to an alternate remote locale already prepared. You will not be able to get a large enough ammo supply or weapon to defend in the city if the SHTF truly. Get out quickly and stealthy, sorry. Look at Walmarts Black Friday for an idea of what happens with law and order in place. Now multiply that by... I will still have Title to my city property to claim what remains when things settle down. I expect it will look like Slave Lake AB 2011, any more would be a bonus.

The red flag I am watching for is food supply in the stores. If the shelves empty I will not defend my city home but will bug out to an alternate remote locale already prepared. You will not be able to get a large enough ammo supply or weapon to defend in the city if the SHTF truly. Get out quickly and stealthy, sorry. Look at Walmarts Black Friday for an idea of what happens with law and order in place. Now multiply that by... I will still have Title to my city property to claim what remains when things settle down. I expect it will look like Slave Lake AB 2011, any more would be a bonus.

I was sickened when I saw the various Black Friday videos.
You are right about food supply in stores, every big store I know of is on a 3 day turn around from ordering to delivery. In winter we had delays or lost the occasional load to a truck in the ditch or blizzards and the shelves would get a little spartan depending on what was expected on that truck. The worst was when major dairy deliveries didn't make it up one time for a couple of days and all the stores in that area ran out of milk, even the walmart in that area was out unless you wanted to drink soy or specialty milks... I thought I was going to have to wear riot gear... people were really angry and there was not a thing we could do.

One thing that was in the works when I left retail in that province though... a few major retailers in this city were going after their own central warehouse space to avoid hiccups with deliveries. The chain I worked for was just in the process of opening one when I left. There are a number of items that need not be vendor direct like dairy. I don't know about Walmart etc but I have heard similar things for other companies like the incoming Target and Dollar Tree stores that are crossing the border and opening up here. Depending on the retailer, that won't help in the area of perishables, but staples would hold out for a bit longer under these systems. The grocery business is highly competitive and customers are fickle, some retailers seem to be making the attempt to keep their customers in their store in the bigger venues.