Posted on 06/23/2012 3:55:22 PM PDT by Kartographer
I learned how to take care of myself forty years ago, starting when Boy Scouts were still focused on such things.
The thing that I am afraid is all of he folks who are good at heart, but simply clueless.
I WILL get a chuckle out of a lot of the white collar idiots in my town who will have to take orders from the local mechanic and carpenter. They are just not wired for that.
looter number 7:
Hector and Jose heard there were easy pickings north of the border. They band together with their fellow drug-smugglin homies for some “lootin buffet” time...
We were robbed recently. They kicked in the front door and took what they wanted. Dropped our brand new HDTV in the driveway, probably after the alarm kicked on. Fortunately my wife wasn’t home alone, which she normally is at that time.
There’s not a whole lot you can do to prevent theft if you aren’t home. All you can do it make your house harder than the neighbors. I fully expect it to get worse.
Buy ammo. And, do it correctly.....I have a few friends who still don't get it, ie: when I ask, "how much ammo do you have on hand?" I get a few answers of : Got plenty, plus 14 guns in the closet. Have 3 or 4 boxes of 12 ga, a couple for my kids .410, couple of boxes each for my 6 rifles, and a bunch of partial boxes for all my hand guns. I tell them that's fine if they can stay in the house and shoot out the windows, B-U-T if they need to run outside and shoot from behind the car or garage, they may find themselves in the do-do. One can only carry a couple of long guns (of different calibers) and a couple of handguns while on the run, along with their ammo. You shoot up those 3 - 20 round boxes of .30/06, 4 boxes of 7mm, 3 boxes of .45 ACP and you no longer have 3 guns....just 3 clubs.
Designate one shotgun, one rifle and one handgun as your primary "social unrest" home defense weapons and load up on the ammo for them. Having 20 guns doesn't do you any good if all you have is a few rounds for each. Kinda hard to watch out the FRONT living room window where the armed looters are moving around and dig through the BACK bedroom closet for more ammo. ("I KNOW I have at least a half box of .270 somewhere from last deer season......where the hell is it ???").
If you can't afford lots of expensive high caliber ammo, get a few bricks of .22 ammo. 300 rounds flying out that window from your .22 rifle and pistol may not drop a 250 lb man, but a wound in the arm with a .22 will slow him down, take him off the attack and put HIM on defense. Plus, with a bucket of .22 ammo, your wife and kid can easily load one gun while you shot the other.
Don't forget magazines / clips. It's great that you have 1 EXTRA mag that came with your favorite deer rifle, B-U-T a total of 2 mags with only 5 rounds each isn't going to last long until you hear "click" and stop shooting to reload them. If you can't get oversize mags, get a sack full of the "regular" ones.
AND, as noted by another FREEPER after my post; Ensure you have slings on your long guns, so you will have at least one hand free when on the move. If you don't want to "mess up the looks" of your beautiful 375 H & H Magnum with swivels and sling, at least have some precut lengths of small size rope or strapping handy to use for an 'emergency' sling. You can always tie it around the stock and forearm (or barrel) and throw it over your shoulder. It doesn't have to be 'pretty', just a temporary jerry-rig that could save your life.
If you know, you don't have enough. Only time you can have too much is when the house is on fire. ;)
/johnny
And btw, both of these neighbors have three vehicles and they only have two car garages. Same with me. The criminals have really thought up a very good way to steal now, and I hope this doesn’t go nation wide - for all of our benefit. :(
The worst type is the "Atlas Shrugged" variety...
There is another, and potent, adversary: The HOA President; the idiot that thinks he has some kind of power to call votes and demand people obey. I fully expect these little Napoleons to try to organize a “community bank of food, provisions, and other essential items”, and go house to house demanding provisions and conducting searches of private residences. Expect they will even try to involved local governments such as towns or counties. I have already read articles online expressing such desires and legalities. Best be prepared to kill your neighbor as he tries to take your life sustaining provisions through organized mobs called “community associations”.
My brother-in-law and I had a similar conversation:
BIL: Do you have a lot of ammo?
Me: I have enough.
BIL: How much is "enough"?
Me: A lot. :)
It's happened before, AP.
2005 - Katrina;
1992 - Los Angeles;
1977 - New York City
Maybe only a few days (in katrina's case, weeks), but the conditions of anarchy have happened before. Civilization is only a veneer over the savages.
I live in a fairly rural area and there were breakins by two 20 somethings. They thought this area was easy prey as people left for work. They were right.
Oh, Karl, you just hit on something people really don’t want to think about yet. But I agree with you.
There are only two types of looters...the dead ones who tried to get in and the live ones who are figuring the chances you are out of ammo.
All I can think when I see threads like is was the scene from the movie “Tremors”
The survivalist builds an underground bunker with enough MREs to feed a city but the creatures evolved and attack from the air, in the end the whole place explodes and he loses everything.
Looters will evolve.
When the looters started down our street a volley of 30.06 greeted them an they scattered.
She forgot military/government looters. They will take your stuff under the guise of it being legal.
However, once again it is a good idea to stock up. No argument there!
This happened just around the corner from us also, several months ago. The small truck was in the driveway, in a corner house, on a fairly busy residential street. I was shocked. We have clubs and alarms (AZ is one of the highest for stolen vehicles), but I had never thought someone would take all the tires. And, like you said, how do you prepare.
I have no fear of any brand of domestic looter be they black, brown or yellow.
Its the Federal grasshoppers swooping in to take away from the ants.
Either the people will give up their foodstock to the Feds or they will either fight fully armed Federal agents or say the heck with it all and booby trap the whole kit and kaboodle.
Personally I feel the grasshoppers are the real enemies.
You mentioned:
“I wash born here, an I wash raished here, and dad gum it, I am gonna die here, an no sidewindin’ bushwackin’, hornswagglin’ cracker croaker is gonna rouin me bishen cutter”
—
Well, not exactly. I was away for 25 years. (first in my family to move away from this county since 1889) Traveled the Midwest & Western US. Moved back here in 1995. Do not expect to move away again.
“Texas is not where you were born but a State of Heart, Mind and Attitude.”
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