Home and self-defence

[the-gnole]

The question

Do you believe that defense of yourself or your community would be a requirement if you were the survivor of a global disaster? If so what would you put in place?

For example you might believe in moving to an isolated location, perhaps even an island or a ship anchored well off-shore, and minimising your exposure so that conflict was unlikely or you might decide to select what you consider to be the location (rural or urban) with the best resources and prepare to defend them against any competitors. What's your approach and how far would you go?

Oh yeah, keep it legal or within the bounds of post societal break-down where law and order is no longer a practical solution.

[tfish]

BUG OUT

As a Bugging Outter, I will require some form of killing from distance or at least the appearance of having that. This is of the upmost importance in the UK even though we don’t have a massive problem with firearms we do have a LOT of armed people in the countryside where I will be passing through and also possibly making my home. You will encounter conflict in many forms and you MUST have a deterrent. Anyone you encounter will need to be aware you have the ability to shoot and kill them from distance, even of just a few feet, this will keep people AT DISTANCE.

I will try and acquire firearms held legally by friends or perhaps maybe a crossbow. Worst case id get a replica gun, it will do the same job... hopefully most encounters will be simple stay away from our land/animals/crops etc but you still don’t want to look like a easy touch because anyone 'prepped' will look 'prepped' and that means your stuff looks mighty inviting to the needy.

BUG IN

Your chances of survival in the inner city or suburban environment is massively reduced in my opinion. It will much less likely you will survive the first 6 months. Gang culture will rule and the weak will be preyed upon. Dramatic I know but look at the riots, some spoilt rich kids spotted the weakness and in they went. Imagine the Hells Angels or The Yardies spotted the same, a world without law or fear of the law. A single family with one or two fighting aged men won’t stand a chance, if I wear trapped in suburbia Id link up with like minded friends and families ASAP. I think a group of say 5/6 families taking refuge in a block of flats or a complex could make a stand against a mob a lot better than a lone family. You would need a lot of wood and nails and whatever weapons you can lay your hands on. Firearms are going to be hard to get in the city but hopefully this will go for the bad guys too.

Thats enough for tonight I am going to give myself nightmares!

[dibley]

I think this is an interesting Question, I believe any confrontation is a risk that you will be able to out gun, out fight and come out unscathed to continue to provide for the family. Where Guns tend to make people more aggressive and after seeing accountants go mad in paintball I can only imagine what they would be like with Shotguns.

Me and the best beloved have talked about becoming lost on the river network like the trent or the cambridgeshire rivers, lots of space and countryside to be away from civilization and potential conflict while solving the problem of sanitation and fresh water ( fresh water is a loose term and would require bleach and filtering )

escaping to sea I think requires more skills and a larger team as the sea is unforgiving however a large ship and enough of a team to borrow a ship certainly means anchoring off shore until the survivors have survived and the plague or unrest has subsided is a possibility but i do not know enough to have a definitive answer.

so to answer the question I think the ability to defend is necessary but evasion and removal from the situation is a better course of action.

[tfish]

after seeing accountants go mad in paintball I can only imagine what they would be like with Shotguns..

Post of the day. Brillaint!

[tfish]

Depending on the issue. I have islands in mind I can reach by Kayak, were i would be hopefull life would be easier but would the inhabitants welcome you with open arms? I doubt it.

Being away from the major Population is essential to any defence as even a large number of children could cause you problems with securit and defence.

People are willing to kill for a packet of cigs these days imagine they havent ate for a week what they would do.

[nickdutch]

It depends whether you are doing it in a group or solo.
It also depends dramatically on the local political scene.
If I was solo and had to bug out (bugging in would be different), I would have to find ways to hunt, fish and scavenge without being caught. I would need lookout locations and places to hide away. Lookout locations would have to be high on a hill and with access to a high tree to climb. Places to hide away would have to be woodland, moor and the like and I would have to have sufficient camouflage tents and equipment to keep myself in hidden mode.
I would have to have ways to make sure that all traces of my presence and movements (footprints etc.) were removable and coverable up, this includes methods to dispose of all garbage, to hide fishing nets and rods, spears and any other hunting paraphernalia to make sure that no-one can know that I was there at all. Cooking would be hard especially if I was to be invisible.

If I was in a group, I would move to prehistoric mode and go up a hill, building a tribe there. Go agrarian.

[Carrot Cruncher]

so to answer the question I think the ability to defend is necessary but evasion and removal from the situation is a better course of action

Pretty much sums up my thoughts with particular emphasis on evading the threat. British Red over on LSG did a great series of articles about the various layers of evasion/defence which he called the 5 D's if I remember right.

I would be prepared to do what was necessary but try and avoid confrontation if at all possible. It's similar to what the IRA said after the brighton bombings "She (thatcher) needs to be lucky all time, we only need to be lucky once", the same applies in a shtf type scenario where access to meds and hospital treatment would be limited and even a scratch or tooth abcess could be lethal, let alone a bullet / arrow / knife wound......and it only needs you to be unlucky once.

To quote NR/Survival Steve (or whatever his latest username is )....be the greyman

[tfish]

The main problem with "buggin in" is that even if you can defend your home/position, the devients trying to get in will just burn you out.

What defence do you have against this? None.

[the-gnole]

Who are these "Deviants" though? would they not be trying to do the same as anyone else, trying to survive.

If they burn you out they have nothing either, just a burn't out shell

Bugging in is going to be far better than bugging out, after all, if you bug out you will have lost everything pretty much.

You need to make your staying in place accomodation as un-inviting as possible, the aim of the game is staying alive in a place you know and where others know you as well. As soon as you become a refugee you will not be welcome anywhere by anyone, you will become a refugee very quickly once you leave your base, living with what you have, which won't be very much.

The five rules of "D"

D1 - Divert (If he is in superior strength, evade him.)

D2 - Disguise (O divine art of subtlety and secrecy! Through you we learn to be invisible, through you inaudible; and hence we can hold the enemy's fate in our hands)

D3 - Deter (Thus one who is skillful at keeping the enemy on the move maintains deceitful appearances, according to which the enemy will act.)

D4 - Detect (By discovering the enemy's dispositions and remaining invisible ourselves, we can keep our forces concentrated, while the enemy's must be divided)

D5 - Defend (Therefore the good fighter will be terrible in his onset, and prompt in his decision. )

[Vespa]

For me Bugging Out would be the last option, bugging out just means you've got to bug in some where else, whether that be a tent in a wood or a hill top but with out store of wood and food and every thing else I've collected.

There's strength in numbers, a community of 20 homes on a street stand a much better chance of defending them selves and their homes than 20 homes all working alone and trying to stand alone. Marauders and looters are looking for easy pickings, making friends is much less exhausting than enemies and psychologically it's harder for a friend to do you harm.

How many people actually know half the people on their street? Perhaps one of the best preps you can make is to make friends with them, or at least get to know them.