What are the rules of a good prepper? I'd say the first one is:
1. Do not let anyone know you're prepping, or where your storage is, or what you're storing.
2. Make sure those who do know what you're doing are onboard and can be trusted.
Those who are unwilling to defend freedom, will become unfree.
I don't so much tell people I prep as encourage them to do so. Picking up a bit of extra stuff when it's on sale isn't prepping, it's just smart living.
I have a good solution for those who said "I'll just come to your place".
Told them the only reason they would want to evacuate their city home and come to my place is some kind of pandemic. If that's the case they'll be under quarantine themselves and had better be prepared to fend for themselves for at least 2 weeks and my Benelli security system will be fully activated.
That either got them started on the very basic of preps or write me off completely.
One even searched for a Benelli security system. Said he couldn't find it.
I told him "Benelli makes the finest semi-automatic shotguns on the planet", haven't heard from him since.
Perfesser, I was about to look up the Benelli security system once I finished reading your post...I LMAO. You never cease to entertain.
Knowledge is power. Practised knowledge is strength. Tested knowledge is confidence.
A prepper rule ... get more skills! One cannot lived on canned food alone, home canned or not. Skills are golden, learn perma culture, herbs and foraging amongst other things...
(I get a little scared when I see other websites and it is all about 20 yrs of "canned ravioli and pop tarts and guns" ... we need to know and understand how to perpetuate self sustainment.)
No one knows what we have except my adult kids and vanislemom who is equally if not more prepared. Since we moved back here we have not socialized much at all thus it has been easy to keep things quiet. We are friendly with the neighbors but just a hello in the hallway thing... Our building is small enough with 19 apts (1/2 suites being older long term tenants of 10 years or more) that if we were still here and not on the claim, I think the tenants here could be rallied if need be...
It has been tricky storing/hiding such an amount in an apartment but so far, so good ...no one would ever guess how much we have here, it looks tidy and average.
LOL @ Perfessers "Benelli security system" 😀
I tell them;
Four Paws and Four Am security = my dog and damn it I am over 40 pissed off that I am outside peeing again at 4 am so might as well hurt something. They normally leave me alone then, if they pester me farther, I start telling them about my locking pocket knife, dual woods knives, the K-bar, the Kukri knife, the Kukri machete, the Bolo Machete, the sword, the shotgun. They are all part of my bug out kit 🙂
they leave, they think I am a nut, ok, yes I am but a loaded and pissed off old man with lots of sharp pointy things, and other things that go booM! Perfssor, yuppers, right attitude.
What are the prepper rules? Good question. For me, my activities are centered around my need to constantly improve my self reliance abilities...for too long I have been willing to let others be responsible for my quality of life... so my rule 1 - constant skills improvement. Rule 2 for me is about trust. Learning to think and evaluate for myself by recognizing that those whom I have let be responsible for my quality of life in the past, may be motivated by goals that have their best interest in mind, not mine. I know my activities may challange other peoples ability to continue to live in denial, resulting in me being seen as a nutbar, but frankly, I would rather endure nutbar status than being caught with my pants down because I choose to ignore the fact that the world is changing rapidly. So rule 3... develop a thick skin. Then finally, my rule 4 is no more distracting activities like video games and sitcoms... I have better things to do now.
You think you know, you don't! Keep learning!
And just when you think your first aid kit is "good enough" ha! Think again. Get more. One incident is all it takes to deplete that kit.
It bothers me how many preppers go to the trouble of storing food, but don't want to admit or think they will have to defend it by force....
If you have something other people need and want they will try to get it...you don't need to be a special forces opp to defend it but you do need some thing to defend it with....
You must prepare to defend yourselves from those who will take your supplies by force....
Rule #1 Du unto others as they are willing to do to you....[ if need be] survival means to evade not to see how many gun fights you can get in to...
and the Key word is SURVIVAL........
Better to have it and not need it; then to need it and not have it...
You're way better staying under the radar. If you really intend to survive, avoiding the fight entirely is your bet bet of waking up in the morning.
You may think me a bit of a hypocrite, I have a comfortably large collection of "means of defense" and train almost weekly but I'm still saying hiding is better than fighting.
Spread your stash out and hide it, practice looking poor, ditch all your tacticool gear.
You're way better staying under the radar. If you really intend to survive, avoiding the fight entirely is your bet bet of waking up in the morning.
You may think me a bit of a hypocrite, I have a comfortably large collection of "means of defense" and train almost weekly but I'm still saying hiding is better than fighting.Spread your stash out and hide it, practice looking poor, ditch all your tacticool gear.
Yes..good advice stay away from people TRUST NO ONE...but always stay on the defencive
Better to have it and not need it; then to need it and not have it...
My downfall is that I'm a trusting person. I figure I'm best off just looking worse off than the other guy.
I like the concept of having 2 stashes of guns and food+ water in the house, when theres a knock on the door ( or it gets kicked off its hinges ),
you will have the visible stash of busted up rusty .22's and a half a dozen cans of zoodles , this is when you break down and say please dont hurt me just take it.
This would be a good if a military force can to your door, if it were just local looters you might just wanna blow em away.
practice looking poor----I don't have to practice 🙁
I would say keep quiet about all of it including your skills. I got tired of people thinking that I was nuts for my skills...I finally learned to just not speak to anyone about anything that makes me seem different. All the "how to" questions that I have gotten over the years has slowed down to only a few a month and now I answer with "I don't know" 😀
practice looking poor----I don't have to practice 🙁
LOL... enjoyed that comment, know where your coming from!
I think the thick skin comment earlier was a good skill to master... But then again I am now just choosing not to mention anything so i dont have to have a discussion or defend my thoughts.
I agree that constantly learning something new is probably the best idea at least for me at this point... I had never baked bread until 2 months ago and now I have memorized the recipe. Just one more skill i wanted to learn, canning is next i hope:)