Preppers will Die WROL

[Lowdown3]

When i bought my AK. i didnt want any junk guns so i looked around and around and around and around and around and around and around.....but while looking even before i bought my rifle..i bought mags (70$ for 12 mags at SG)..and i

Fixed it fer ya ;) Hell I was about ready to give you an AK :) But you did get that nice one with the cute sticker on it :)

No I will say this, Protus takes frugality to a new level, but I've never seen him chince out on stuff.

I was at a class once, the guy that was running the place looked at my old well worn vest I was using in the class, asked me why I didn't have the newest hi speed stuff and asked "did you buy that used?" Nope, bought it new a good while back (it was well used). He even had a good time telling me "the 90's called, they want their vest back!" LMAO , hell I laughed along also. I told him, "Man, I'm just cheap, that's all." said it more or less to get him an answer. He starts looking closer at my stuff, looks at how I'm doing. "Polytech AK, Circle 10 mags, your not cheap, your frugal" he says. That was in my poorer days and what extra cash I had, I put into training more so than cool daddy type gear.

People were asking me why I was still buying X39 in December at $300. a case. My reply was that it will likely not go under this for a while, and I want to be able to train next year and not chince because ammo can't be found.

Their is a difference between just having arms and skill at arms. I'm striving towards skill at arms. To that end, it requires training and practice, both of which cost some time and some money.

[protus]

Why didn't you tell me you were gonna give me one... I would have spent the money on multicam....LOL...

[tarheelsman71]

Training right now is expensive if you factor in the Ammo costs. For instance, my group planned a trip to an appleseed in March, back in November. You shoot about 400 rounds a day at an appleseed. Well in November that was about .25 a round for .223. Now it is ridunkulous!! So instead of heading out to the appleseed, we spent our money on .223 to .22 conversion kits for the AR. CMMG makes a great one and I have had one for a couple years now. Best money spent for security yet. I personally have over 10000+ rounds of various .22 ammo (which is a good thing because around my location it has turned into a unicorn) so training continues, and the group is now headed to appleseed at the end of may, with plans to shoot mainly .22 ammo. My point is though, you can train without burning thru rounds. Snap caps, mag changes, and transitions can be done standing in front of the TV watching March Madness. Trust me I did it. Not having the Ammo or not wanting to use it for fear of not being able to get more shouldnt be a deterrent. And it shouldnt be a reason for some people to "Vent" about the folks that arent as locked on. Just saying.

As for kicking the man with a not so compliant wife...well fortunately I married my wife before I became a prepper or I would have had to find a wife on survivalistsingles.com because most woman think we are just playing GI Joe without the kung fu grip. I went to a campout a couple of years ago in Wilkes co., and while there were a lot of ladies there were the sole prepper in the family, most of the guys there had a wife that "puts up with" the expenditures, etc. My wife's philosophy is that she will trust in the Lord and He will see her through. She believes in a Pre-tribulation rapture. Some people just will never "get" it, and you cant get mad at them for that. Frustrated yes! but Pray and move on.

Someone on here made a statement a while back, that he had wished that he had not blown so much money on all the new tacticool equipment, and spent more money on the essentials. I totally agree. I am a ****** for a cool setup, and then I run the setup in a scenario and it loses its shiny appeal. I still use my Marine Corps LBV as my main run n gun setup. It just works. Molle chest rigs/plate carriers are awesome, but man that old schools stuff works great. Right now so I can employ plates I actually use a plate carrier under the LBV so I can benefit from some armor, but it isnt very comfortable. :)

[Lowdown3]

Training right now is expensive if you factor in the Ammo costs. For instance, my group planned a trip to an appleseed in March, back in November. You shoot about 400 rounds a day at an appleseed. Well in November that was about .25 a round for .223. Now it is ridunkulous!! So instead of heading out to the appleseed, we spent our money on .223 to .22 conversion kits for the AR. CMMG makes a great one and I have had one for a couple years now. Best money spent for security yet. I personally have over 10000+ rounds of various .22 ammo (which is a good thing because around my location it has turned into a unicorn) so training continues, and the group is now headed to appleseed at the end of may, with plans to shoot mainly .22 ammo. My point is though, you can train without burning thru rounds. Snap caps, mag changes, and transitions can be done standing in front of the TV watching March Madness. Trust me I did it. Not having the Ammo or not wanting to use it for fear of not being able to get more shouldnt be a deterrent. And it shouldnt be a reason for some people to "Vent" about the folks that arent as locked on. Just saying.

As for kicking the man with a not so compliant wife...well fortunately I married my wife before I became a prepper or I would have had to find a wife on survivalistsingles.com because most woman think we are just playing GI Joe without the kung fu grip. I went to a campout a couple of years ago in Wilkes co., and while there were a lot of ladies there were the sole prepper in the family, most of the guys there had a wife that "puts up with" the expenditures, etc. My wife's philosophy is that she will trust in the Lord and He will see her through. She believes in a Pre-tribulation rapture. Some people just will never "get" it, and you cant get mad at them for that. Frustrated yes! but Pray and move on.

Someone on here made a statement a while back, that he had wished that he had not blown so much money on all the new tacticool equipment, and spent more money on the essentials. I totally agree. I am a ****** for a cool setup, and then I run the setup in a scenario and it loses its shiny appeal. I still use my Marine Corps LBV as my main run n gun setup. It just works. Molle chest rigs/plate carriers are awesome, but man that old schools stuff works great. Right now so I can employ plates I actually use a plate carrier under the LBV so I can benefit from some armor, but it isnt very comfortable. :)

Yes you can do some training with .22, with dry work, etc. but having seen a lot of people that did that but did not put in the work with the full caliber or live rounds, I can tell you without a doubt- it does not equal the same results. YES, you can shoot full caliber LESS if you dry fire a lot, use the .22 conversion whatever, but if you've done no or very little work with the full caliber then the results WILL be different. Seen it too many times to believe otherwise.

The point of TRUE preparing is to continue life as close as possible as you have been. If we are serious we should be training somewhat regularly. Half the reason you have ammo is not to have 50,000 rounds when TSHTF but so you have ammo to continue to train with on a regular basis. That was the point.

Further, the point was about gaining skill, sometimes that costs (gasp!) money and time.

[tarheelsman71]

LD, I wish I could be more self reliant but truth is you are the rare breed and people like me are more common. I am mortgaged to the hip because before I was a prepper I was living like I stole it. 2 car payments, house payment covered about 2/3 of income. Add in standard bills and daycare for 2 kids, we were making good money and broke. fast fwd 6 years and no car payments, refinanced home and we have a lot more disposable income. I still feel broke, but now it is because I have a steady diet of beans, bandaids, bullets, coming in every month to try and make up for years of "actin' a fool" as my momma would say. With my wife not completely on board with prepping and living a more self sufficient lifestyle, it is hard. My kids love it though. 16 chickens, 4 breeding pairs of rabbits, heck I even have some ducks, that I make the kids take care of. They get an allowance for taking care of the animals because I work about 50+ (usually more) hours a week. My 12 yr old daughter, designed an excel spreadsheet about the breeding of the rabbits and what we sell them for, and the cost associated with them and she turned it in at school for a science project.

I know there are alot of people on here that can relate to my social and financial setting. I am not mad at you for being so squared away. On the contrary, I wish I could be more self sufficient. Just take it easy man. Worry about the things you can control. Thats all I am saying. I agree with you, and I bet those that read your rant, agree with you too. Could they have made better decision...YEP!!! They didnt, and for that they may pay dearly, but if there are on here reading at least they have shown that that are at least sheep with teeth.

[Not_Yet_Prepped]

For instance, my group planned a trip to an appleseed in March, back in November. You shoot about 400 rounds a day at an appleseed.

Have you attended an Appleseed before?
I went a couple a few years back. Awesome way to spend a weekend and I learned a lot (both about marksmanship and American Revolution History).

[Matt In Oklahoma]

I'm doing the best I can with what I have and can afford. Now, I hadn't thought about the using AirSoft for training for run/shoot...something that, even in the 'burbs' I can do in my fenced-in back yard. Have to invest a couple of $ in that (my son will definitely enjoy that :-).

you can even expand to other types of shooting, your mind is the only limit

https://www.survivalandpreparednessforum.com/showthread.php?3620-Protective-Mask-Training&highlight=protective

[protus]

snip

thing is to change and see the difference....i worked my tail off and lived on a very small budget to become debt free...pay off debt..and move on in this lifestyle.. it takes time and effort....neither of those are easy things to handle in these times but if you want it..you'll get it.

[Lowdown3]

LD, I wish I could be more self reliant but truth is you are the rare breed and people like me are more common. I am mortgaged to the hip because before I was a prepper I was living like I stole it. 2 car payments, house payment covered about 2/3 of income. Add in standard bills and daycare for 2 kids, we were making good money and broke. fast fwd 6 years and no car payments, refinanced home and we have a lot more disposable income. I still feel broke, but now it is because I have a steady diet of beans, bandaids, bullets, coming in every month to try and make up for years of "actin' a fool" as my momma would say. With my wife not completely on board with prepping and living a more self sufficient lifestyle, it is hard. My kids love it though. 16 chickens, 4 breeding pairs of rabbits, heck I even have some ducks, that I make the kids take care of. They get an allowance for taking care of the animals because I work about 50+ (usually more) hours a week. My 12 yr old daughter, designed an excel spreadsheet about the breeding of the rabbits and what we sell them for, and the cost associated with them and she turned it in at school for a science project.

I know there are alot of people on here that can relate to my social and financial setting. I am not mad at you for being so squared away. On the contrary, I wish I could be more self sufficient. Just take it easy man. Worry about the things you can control. Thats all I am saying. I agree with you, and I bet those that read your rant, agree with you too. Could they have made better decision...YEP!!! They didnt, and for that they may pay dearly, but if there are on here reading at least they have shown that that are at least sheep with teeth.

My friend, I was neither born with a .999 fine silver survivalist spoon in my mouth nor did I find my wife on "survivalistsingles.com.org" LOL

People like to bring the talk back to money or USUALLY, a lack thereof. It's not about that. It's about doing what you need to do with what you have.

I'm gonna embarrass someone here, that posted on this thread, that I've known about 8 years now- he was in debt up to the ying yang when I met him, had a kinda of "I got this" attitude also, lacked just about everything. He had a heart change somewhere along the lines, looked closely at his situation, got in much better shape, got his family involved versus what he had previously said was a "fight over buying an extra can of tuna at the grocery store", he didn't go for the uber cool gear, but he learned how to make the gear he had WORK, he never skimped on training when he had the opportunity, he was jealous of another friend (not me) that was able to drop cash left and right on whatever when it came up, BUT he did not let that become an excuse for him or constantly cry poor as is the current mantra with a lot of "preppers." He still doesn't have a lot of cool daddy stuff, but he got out of debt, got in a little better shape and moved away from a bad area and is starting to homestead. Dare I say I'm proud of him.

Only been a few years in my working life that I've made more than $30K a year. Compared to a lot of people that make good jack and constantly cry poor when it comes to prepping, I've gotten a lot done A LITTLE AT A TIME. I also have the advantage of almost three decades doing stuff. Not reading and "researching", not making "lists" of things I'd never do, but doing stuff- again a LITTLE AT A TIME. I'm not rich, quite the damn contrary, I've just made smart choices.

We drive modest base model cars we buy new and keep at least 10 years, not a vehicle we have has less than 120K on it. We lived in a 1,000 sq. foot house for about a decade and when we did build on, we did it for cash, again, A LITTLE AT A TIME.

It's that "a little at a time" discipline that is lacking in the movement right now. Everyone wants it all now. I can tell you after 27 years I am no where near having "it all." Yet people read me post about running a PVS14 and go "he's rich" while they watch cable at $150. a month on a 96" flatscreen and say they don't have money for preps.

I'm not "squared away" I have much much much to do, much much much to learn, your reading the wrong things into it.

And yeah, I get it what the common demographic is in the movement, remember I work in the movement, and have interacted with folks in this movement since the 80's. Whereas your average "prepper" may have personally met a couple dozen other survivalists, I've literally met thousands of them all over the U.S. I'm aware of the demographics.

Tell your daughter congrats, rabbits are fun to raise.

[xdpatriot]

This is a good topic. A couple weeks ago, I helped my brother move some stuff into his house. The ride over to storage, he criticized me about another trained guard dog my wife and I want to purchase. He told me I have enough perimeter security, I can get an alarm system that's cheaper than a trained dog, blah, blah blah. He has no food storage, a rifle I gave him, ammo I gave him. He talks like he knows something's coming, considers himself a 'prepper'. While he's criticizing me, we load a 72'' (I guess) flat screen, plasma whatever TV with who knows how many device whatever's. (I don't know because I don't have one). The previous posts are correct, you supply yourself with what you want. My wife and I started off buying canned foods from the grocery store. As my career has progressed and I've worked my way up, we've been able to acquire what we need to provide for our family if something ever does happen. Keep at it, sacrifice, and eventually you'll get there. Train with what you have. It doesn't have to be 'stuff' either. Skill sets will get you a lot farther. It takes awhile but it gets done all the time. Good luck at stay at it.

[Rmplstlskn]

remember I work in the movement, and have interacted with folks in this movement since the 80's. Whereas your average "prepper" may have personally met a couple dozen other survivalists, I've literally met thousands of them all over the U.S. I'm aware of the demographics.

That is why I and others listen to you, Brother.... Even when you say stuff we do not want to agree with (community, etc...), wishing it wasn't true, but know you are not whistling Dixie out your arse...

Rmpl

[WiseOwl]

Yep comments remain the same. Underestimation is also what he is doing. Like I said you gain some things by experience BUT you do not get the special ninja powers and you are still susceptible to death

BTW couldnt make it thru the video all the way zzzzzzzz

I hear ya on the ZZZZZ's but it was early in the morning and I was just lying in bed watching Youtube.
I also understand that any bullet can have anyones name on it.

To be honest, I think luck will play more of a factor. I mean, there will be people in the city that survive, there will be people in southern idaho rawlesian retreat that will die first.
I think about the damn country bumpkin that snipes you out while you are picking your cucumbers. Ish will get real, real quick.

I know one thing, dont underestimate the hood. I have seen and heard of dudes up there also stockpiling weapons, ammo and gear. They are also trained and more hardened than Dojo Dan that has a CCW and know some chokes. They live it everyday, a SHTF if you will.


As for trying to live the life 100% everyday, its tough with 2 young kids, a wife, a consuming job, renting and very busy on the weekends doing family things to make up for the time I dont have during the week
But, we are a couple of weeks away from closing on our future homestead. Bought 4 acres with a spring in the yard, on a well, with a propane stove and plenty of space to do whatever I want. I can kill animals in the back yard, there is a processor 2 miles down the street.
I am so pumped because I have wanted this for the 4 years I have been "prepping". Now I am like a hotrod on gravel, just spinning my wheels on what direction to go first.
I want the chickens, I want the bigger garden, I want to build my own stuff (starting with furniture), I want to spend more time teaching my kids and wife self sufficiency. I understand the hard work, I actually cant wait for it. I will embrace it . And even in the Pre PAW ( or what I consider the next 20 or so years, sorry folks dont buy into the ITS COMING crap) I can still be sniped by Bubba because some yuppy looking folks moved to his neck of the woods and he saw I had a hot arse wife and my tools and guns make noise that resonates down the street.


And whomever said .22 bullets were unicorns, thats a FACT JACK!!!

[Freebirde]

Tarheelsman, I also believe in a Pre-tribulation Rapture, but I still prep. First, I don't know what will happen between now and then. Next, if I'm taken, my preps and books will be left to hopefully give someone a chance to live long enough to change. And lastly, I've been wrong before and now know God doesn't do things just because I think that's the way it should be done. Trust in the Lord doesn't preclude preparing, ask the wise woman of Proverbs 31:10 to the end of the book, she looks like a prepper to me.

[Lowdown3]

I know of lot of Pre-trib types that still prep, but I know a lot that only prep to a point because of the pre-trib rapture doctrine.

[protus]

I hear ya on the ZZZZZ's but it was early in the morning and I was just lying in bed watching Youtube.
I also understand that any bullet can have anyones name on it.

To be honest, I think luck will play more of a factor. I mean, there will be people in the city that survive, there will be people in southern idaho rawlesian retreat that will die first.
I think about the damn country bumpkin that snipes you out while you are picking your cucumbers. Ish will get real, real quick.

I know one thing, dont underestimate the hood. I have seen and heard of dudes up there also stockpiling weapons, ammo and gear. They are also trained and more hardened than Dojo Dan that has a CCW and know some chokes. They live it everyday, a SHTF if you will.


As for trying to live the life 100% everyday, its tough with 2 young kids, a wife, a consuming job, renting and very busy on the weekends doing family things to make up for the time I dont have during the week
But, we are a couple of weeks away from closing on our future homestead. Bought 4 acres with a spring in the yard, on a well, with a propane stove and plenty of space to do whatever I want. I can kill animals in the back yard, there is a processor 2 miles down the street.
I am so pumped because I have wanted this for the 4 years I have been "prepping". Now I am like a hotrod on gravel, just spinning my wheels on what direction to go first.
I want the chickens, I want the bigger garden, I want to build my own stuff (starting with furniture), I want to spend more time teaching my kids and wife self sufficiency. I understand the hard work, I actually cant wait for it. I will embrace it . And even in the Pre PAW ( or what I consider the next 20 or so years, sorry folks dont buy into the ITS COMING crap) I can still be sniped by Bubba because some yuppy looking folks moved to his neck of the woods and he saw I had a hot arse wife and my tools and guns make noise that resonates down the street.


And whomever said .22 bullets were unicorns, thats a FACT JACK!!!

thats howq i was wise.
had all i could handle where i was at..once i got the home it was deer head lights what project 1st shock and awe junk.
time....

thing my realtor said when at a social gathering and we were talking about what we wanted to accomplish.. "protus...youve got 30 years to get of that done..not next week.."

it took about 3 months for that to sink in..just like all preps time/effort.


dont get me wrong when i had "no" money for "stuff" i wasnt poor by any means just had a goal i wanted to achieve. i have plenty of "stuff" now but but its been a process. it can be done guys....just set a goal and go from there..300$ into a rail system for your AR or 300$ to pay off that best buy credit card???

i think debt issues is what defeats people more so than any shtf event these days.constantly got that " i owe" over your head which morphs into " i have to work xxx longer.." then its " i have no time.."