'Preppers' stock up on guns'n'gear as financial doom looms

[The Northerner]

Run time: 03:23 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7oyE0sgG-Ho   Posted on YouTube: August 11, 2011 By YouTube Member: RussiaToday Views on YouTube: 305   Posted on DU: August 11, 2011 By DU Member: The Northerner Views on DU: 4322

 
With political instability spreading across the globe and fears of more Fukushima-style nuclear disasters, the number of doomsday believers is on the rise. But now it's also the struggling global economy that's increasingly making people stock up on basic neccessities. RT's Anastasia Churkina met some Americans, who are ready for the worst.

[liberation]

1. Idiots on parade

Rather than working together for a better future, some Americans seem to be more afraid of their other fellow Americans and let their projection run rampant.


This is a weird country, full of ultra patriotic people who hate and mistrust each other...

[stockholmer]

15. 'idiots on parade' said the grasshoppers to each other as they looked down upon the ants

[izquierdista]

2. Where are the polo shirts and penny loafers?

Oops, that would be Preppies......never mind.

[Bonhomme Richard]

3. Jesus! How many guns can people buy?

You would think a half dozen would be enough.

[kelly1mm]

17. I will let you know when I am done. nt

[TheWraith]

18. Guns can be pretty good investments, actually.

They're durable goods, never spoil, never become obsolete, and they usually rise in value. A year or so ago, I bought a military surplus rifle for $150. Now that same rifle is worth around $250.

That said, you can always find a few loons for a good news story, like the guy with five thousand pounds of dried beans in his garage.

If you're talking not using guns as an investment, I would say 3 to 6 is about right to have an arsenal for all likely occasions. The usual combination is shotgun, pistol, rifle. Some people break that down further, with having one rifle each of low power (like an AR-15 or similar) and one of high power, like .308 Winchester, and similar for pistols, such as a weaker .38/9mm and a stronger .45.

[Bonhomme Richard]

28. I have all the guns I would need. I'll invest in guitars. n/t

[Bonhomme Richard]

4. It seems that this is really a hobby to these people whether...

they admit it or not.

[pam4water]

5. These guys have been stocking up since Clinton got elected. When will they finish stocking? OK I'll

bight. Why do they need a parachute cord, without a parachute?

[Badsam]

8. Why would somebody want cord (rope) in an emergency?

trap/snare,
sling,
tourniquet,
fishing net,
for sewing,
carry water bottles,
hold/secure, to bind,
make shelter,
a leash,
climbing,
trail marker,
set guide lines,
a Bow,
hang food.
floss teeth

and to hog tie potentially annoying people that didnt prepare

[stockholmer]

14. maybe they will stop when your smugness becomes an edible, sustaining life force

You realize that the entire USA has 8 days max of food on all its shopping market shelves, and the average distance that food is shipped to 95% of its grocery stores is over 1200 miles, don't you?

[ProgressiveProfessor]

20. In many places, especially larger cities its a best 2 days

LA will run out of food in a day or so

[stockholmer]

21. the mind reels at what the petrol culture-induced sprawl hath produced

:scared:

[TheWraith]

23. Parachute cord is just about the toughest rope that you can buy.

Technically it's not cord, it is rope. It's popular as an "emergency" rope because it's very compact and light while still being strong. The most common kind has a minimum breaking strength of 550 pounds, and 14 feet of it will weigh just one ounce. Many companies sell bracelets made of the stuff, which you can unweave to give you about 3 1/2 feet of rope

Any woodsman will tell you, rope is just about one of the most universally useful things that you can have. It's useful for construction material, hunting, or just tying things together.

[Badsam]

6. I spend $6000 dollars on health insurance every year

for me and my wife and we have nothing to show for it. He spent ten grand for some "life insurance", and he has a room full of food.

Not sure who the idiots are?

[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[AtheistCrusader]

9. I'm a progressive and I do this.

At least, close-to it. I do have firearms, but that's not my primary prep stuff. Primary is economic. If I lost my job today, I have at LEAST a full month's worth of everything except dairy/fruit/veggies ready to go, to live off of at normal levels, without ever making a trip to the store. Soap. Bogroll. Food. Laundry detergent, you name it. I could stop leaving my house for at least a month, no problem.

Some of it will last months. So if I have to live off reduced income like unemployment, I'm ok. My family can eat. Times can get tough, but I won't have to tell my kid he has to go to bed hungry because I can't obtain food for him.

It's the same thing that drives union funds for out of work members, for food banks, and other interpersonal community assitance.

It's multi-use as well. Mt. Rainier blows up? I'm good. 9.0 on the Seattle fault? I'm good. Etc.

[Shadowflash]

12. Yeah.

Try paying the hospital with canned food and dry goods for your cancer treatments.

[stockholmer]

13. +1 , from so many levels, ( just because I do not agree with some preppers politics, doesn't mean

that they are 'wasting' money. As they rotate the food supplies, they also are saving a huge amount vis-a-vis inflation. With a storage life of ten to 20 years, would not many love to have a full years food that they are now eating that they bought at 1999 or 2003 prices?

I never begrudge somebody who is peacefully (a key) just protecting themselves from what they see as hard times ahead. There are plenty on the left end of the spectrum who are into self-sustainable lifesyles here in Sweden, and for sure in the US.

[TheWraith]

25. Well said. A little caution never hurt anyone.

Yeah, you probably won't need it... but then, I don't usually NEED my seat belt, or my fire extinguisher, or any of that other jazz. And you can be reasonably well prepared for a lot less than $10,000.

[AnneD]

10. I grew up around Aunties and my Mom and they canned...

Their garden produce. It was not unusual to have a years worth of food stored (no we are not Mormon). I started storing food when I could afford to. I live in a hurricane area so it was always a backup. Then during the 80's I was unemployed for almost a year. I almost totally emptied my pantry. It was a lifesaver. I could stretch my unemployment further. That pantry was an excellent savings account. I have other supplies and plan on getting a gun. I never thought of one until Katrina. People get ugly in situations. I don't mind sharing but I won't let someone steal from me if I can help it.

[Atypical Liberal]

11. Smart move.

We are currently working on our food stockpiles. I have plenty of firearms, but am working on my ammunition stockpiles. I have taken up reloading as I can manufacture my ammunition much cheaper than I can buy it. In the last two days I made 500 rounds of .45 ACP for about $50 - to buy it would be about $230.

I think it is important that everyone should be as prepared for emergencies as they can afford. The fabric of society is much thinner than most people realize. Just look at the riots in London. A natural disaster or terror attack could plummet a city into absolute chaos. When the tornadoes struck here a few weeks ago, gasoline was gone within hours. Power was out for 7 days. The stores that were open switched to cash-only, and we had no cash as we never carry it.

[snipervictim]

19. REALLY THAT CHEAP

I didn't know it was that cheap to reload I will have to look into that because I use A .45 acp not just for my side arm but for my carbine as well and that sounds like a way to go =)

[TheWraith]

24. Expensive to start up, but it pays for itself.

I bought a small loading press for my 12 gauge shells awhile back. It cost me $40 to get started, but now I pay about 24 cents to load a 12 gauge round, whereas I paid about 50-55 cents a shell to buy my preferred shot before. The press has already paid for itself. Pistol calibers are even cheaper. I figure I can do 15 cents a round, but that's using decent quality bullets. Cast lead would be even cheaper.

[Atypical Liberal]

26. Even cheaper

In fact, I made an error in my math.

I just bought 1000 primers and a pound of powder for $50. But I only used half of the primers (and only a bit of the powder) to make 550 rounds of ammo. So really I made 550 rounds for about $25. I have been able to find one tire store in town that will sell me their wheel weights. I got 140 pounds of lead for $40. I scrounge brass at the local public shooting range.

I figure I can make 45 ACP rounds for about $.05-$.08 a shot.

[Atypical Liberal]

27. Your savings on your first batch of 1000 bullets will pay for your gear.

You can get a Lee Pro 1000 progressive reloader for about $250. This includes a set of dies for one caliber. You will need a scale (I got a digital scale for $25) to verify powder charges.

I highly recommend these two books:

Lyman Reloading Handbook, 49th edition
http://www.amazon.com/Lyman-Reloading-Handbook-49th-Edition/dp/B001FBFW6U/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1313153924&sr=1-1

ABC's of Reloading, 8th edition
http://www.amazon.com/ABCs-Reloading-Definitive-Novice-RELOADING/dp/B0029IB7SA/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1313153908&sr=8-9

The Lyman book gives you "recipies" for how much powder to use for different kinds of bullets, according to caliber and powder manufacturer.

The ABC's book gives you a great overview of how to reload, as well as a history of bullets, primers, etc. It even includes plans to build a reloading bench.

You will probably spend about $500 getting set up to reload. But this will pay for itself in your first batch of 1000 rounds of ammo, or less.

It costs me about $.05 per cartridge to reload .45 ACP when I cast my own bullets from wheel weights. About $.08 per cartridge when I use purchased bullets, which I never do anymore. So 1000 rounds of .45 ACP with 230 grain lead bullets costs me about $50. To buy 1000 rounds of .45 ACP from MidwayUSA would cost you $460, plus shipping.

I started reloading because I just couldn't afford to shoot anymore. I was lucky to go to the range once every six months, if that. And I'd spend $180 on ammunition for an afternoon's worth of shooting - easy. It was hard to justify blowing $200 for an afternoon of entertainment for just myself. Reloading means I can now go shoot the same amount in an afternoon for $20.

[kelly1mm]

16. I think many of us out of the cities 'prep', no matter the political persuasion.

I think this is a more city v. country divide rather than a dem/rep divide.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

22. I live out in the middle of nowhere...in the twigs (well past the sticks)

I have 3-6 months of basic supplies and accessible ground water. I might run out of good beer, but other than that, I am pretty well set. I rotate/replace regularly, often donating since I can not consume off of some of the things.

[Bonhomme Richard]

29. I figure all that food and stuff would last right up to the moment.....

the mob figures out you have it. That would be the reality.
If it all came to the scenario these people think about the reality would be far uglier than they could imagine and loners would be the first to go. Easy pickings because the thinking attacker chooses the time. No one can stay alert 24/7.
Better to band together as a community as it is easier to defend with numbers.

[Badsam]

30. The triangle of life: Food, Shelter, Security. If one is missing, consider yourself dead.

help your neighbors understand the importance of being prepared because you will need each other in times of trouble. Your friends and family might only live 15 minutes by car or a cell phone call away in a normal world but in times of trouble, a cross town drive might be out of the question and the phones aren't working. Your neighbors just became friend and family by default; but, be careful not to notify the world you are keeping a supply.

[kelly1mm]

31. Why not both? A stockpile and a community? It is not either/or.nt

[Badsam]

32. sorry for not being more clear

FOOD:
Water, water, water
Balanced Diet- major food groups and essential vitamins and minerals

SHELTER:
Warm clothes- socks, hats, gloves, boots, waterproof layer
Structure- tent, house, cave, igloo, tree fort

SECURITY:
Weapons, night vision, flash lights, tools
Strength in Numbers- friends, and family, neighbors, community.

[kelly1mm]

33. Oh you were clear the first time. My reply was to the post above yours.

Thanks for your contribution and welcome to DU!

[Bonhomme Richard]

34. I never said it could be both. My point......

is that those that think that they can go off someplace and protect themselves without community and collectively sharing what they have would be in a world of hurt.