So now you have your primary HD weapon (shotgun with accessories and a stash of various hunting and HD ammunition) and you have hopefully focused some effort on creating a plan of survival focusing on the 6-C's of survival. What's next? How about food. This one seems daunting at first but is truly not that difficult. My family is currently working on our plan with the goal of having 3-6 months of food storage available. From a medical standpoint you need to focus on having 2 solid calorie rich meals per day. For adults shoot for 2000-2500 kilo-calories. For kids figure 1000 kCal for every 5 years up to adult diets. A survival situation like TEOTWAWKI will require a change in focus for most parents and adults. #1 try to keep a variety of fruits and veggies but realize that you will need to spread these out over the week. No one will likely be able to sustain a solid 5+ servings of fresh fruits/veggies per day during such a situation. Your goal should be to offer members from all the categories of fruits and vegetables at least once during the week. This may look like a can of green beans on Monday, a can of pumpkin on Tuesday, a can of crushed tomatoes on Wednesday, etc. . . What you will need to focus on is proportions.
In survival situations fat and protein should represent a larger proportion of the meal than normal. As a general rule people say to keep fat calories to less than 30% of your daily intake. In a survival situation this should look more like 50% if possible. The trade off here is that fats spoil easily. You can mitigate this by canning your own high fat meals and by stocking up on some high fat content foods from the local Wally World. Examples would include sardines, canned chilli's, spam, etc. . . Protein is normally recommended to represent 20-30% of your diet and should increase to at least 30%. Beans, canned meats, canned fish, dried meats, and soy all represent good choices. Finally carbohydrates. These certainly represent the majority of our daily calorie intake in the US and the world. They are cheap and easy to store and process and are a must for your pantry. Stock up on rice, wheat, barley, and oats. Learn how to make flat breads using your hands, some water, and a home made brick oven. Finally you should have a 3 month stock of multivitamins (age appropriate and properly stored) to supplement nutrition during an emergency situation. Don't overdo this as all vitamins have potential side-effects when used inappropriately.
The simple way to stock up is to simply add 10 dollars worth of supplies to each shopping trip. Generally this is easily absorbed and probably won't even be noticed. Just skip the checkout candy-bar and soda and drink some extra water instead. Plan for 30% proteins, 20-30% carbohydrates and 40-50% fats and you'll be stocked for an emergency in no-time.
Check out these posts to help jump start you preparation. Make it a family endeavor to add in some special family time.
Quick and Easy Jerky
Survival Mom's Blog on Food Preparation
Make Your Own Brick Oven
Bread Without An Oven - Excellent PDF reference with recipes and techniques to enjoy surviving
Dr. Jekyll
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Armed and Dangerous for Cheap!
So you now have your 6-C's covered with the exception of weapon choice. If you have been around guns for awhile your choice of weapon will have already been made. This post is not intended for those readers. It is directed at the newer survivalist just starting out. After reading a bunch of articles and blogs on this subject I can tell you that if you went out and started buying up what they suggest you could easily drop 5 G's on ammo and guns. In my opinion this would be an absolute waste of at least 4 G's. Here's Dr. J's suggestions and reasoning:
Goals: Short range defense and hunting capability
Recommendations: If you can only buy one gun, get a shotgun! Why? Simple to use, simple to clean, simple to maintain, and simple to troubleshoot. In addition it is easier to learn to shoot well with a shotgun than it is to shoot well with either a handgun or rifle. Choice should be directed towards your families personality and make up. I am a 5'8", 155 lb male. As such you would think that a 20 gauge would suite me well. However, I have been shooting guns since I was small and prefer the power behind a 12 gauge. It's a little big for my wife, but she has proven that in a pinch she can handle the gun adequately. As long as the weapon fits you and can be wielded without awkwardness it will work. As a general rule you should be able to hold your rifle with the butt comfortably gripped, finger on the trigger, and the butt tucked into your forearm when bent at 90 degrees. For survival situations I would also recommend a pump shotgun over a break-action or automatic (less chance for malfunction - KISS) and would recommend a 6 or 8 shot capacity. My favorite overall survival shotgun for the money is the Mossberg Maverick 88 security version as seen above. It is a reliable, cheap and simply built rifle that is available in 20 or 12 gauge, is interchangeable with Mossberg 500 parts and chokes, and has a multitude of accessories to enhance function. At the least you should throw on a sling, flashlight, and ammo butt saddle (total cost for gun and basic features: $300). Add in a 28" barrel and a few extra chokes + 1000 rounds of ammo (birdshot, #4, 00, and 100 rounds of slug) all for a total cost of about $800. Now that's a simple choice.
Final thought: Don't let the media and Hollywood fool you. Shooting an animal or human with a shotgun is not going to send them flying through a window or across the room. In fact ammunition choice will have a great deal to do with outcome in a survival situation. There is a balance between ammunition penetration and stopping power that must be considered. In my home the last thing I want is to over-penetrate and end up sending bullets into my neighbors house or my kids rooms, at the same time I want to stop any perpetrators before they have a chance to get to my family. Birdshot is meant for birds and small game (squirls, dove, etc). #4 shot is generally used for rabbits, ducks, etc. BB/BBB are generally for turkey. Buck shot (00) is for larger game like deer - and would work well as a overall good home defense shot choice although you may get some over-penetration so placement is key. I prefer 2 3/4" 00 for this application as it kicks less and recovers easier to place second shot on targe. Slugs are meant for larger game (deer, elk, etc) but does not remain very accurate beyond 50 yards in a short barrel (100-150 yards in rifled hunting barrel. Check out this simple cartoon as a good guide for shot choice.
Goals: Short range defense and hunting capability
Final thought: Don't let the media and Hollywood fool you. Shooting an animal or human with a shotgun is not going to send them flying through a window or across the room. In fact ammunition choice will have a great deal to do with outcome in a survival situation. There is a balance between ammunition penetration and stopping power that must be considered. In my home the last thing I want is to over-penetrate and end up sending bullets into my neighbors house or my kids rooms, at the same time I want to stop any perpetrators before they have a chance to get to my family. Birdshot is meant for birds and small game (squirls, dove, etc). #4 shot is generally used for rabbits, ducks, etc. BB/BBB are generally for turkey. Buck shot (00) is for larger game like deer - and would work well as a overall good home defense shot choice although you may get some over-penetration so placement is key. I prefer 2 3/4" 00 for this application as it kicks less and recovers easier to place second shot on targe. Slugs are meant for larger game (deer, elk, etc) but does not remain very accurate beyond 50 yards in a short barrel (100-150 yards in rifled hunting barrel. Check out this simple cartoon as a good guide for shot choice.
Finally, shotgun spread is not what you likely think. The actual overall spread out of an 18.5" barrel with 00 shot is approximately 1" per yard traveled. If you in close combat situations 10 yards may be a long distance. Realize that that will equate to less than 1 foot of overall spread (that's less than the body width of an average sized male). Point: You still have to aim to hit something.
Dr. Jekyll
Dr. Jekyll's "6-C's" for survival
My basic approach to survival is much like my overall approach to medicine; KISS. Everyone knows that in high stress situations memory recall can be substantially hindered. Physicians understand this well. When an infant or child is spiraling downhill the last thing you need is to be worried about what the correct dose of medication X should be. This is the primary reason behind the structure of programs such as Pediatric Advanced Life Support and Advanced Cardiac Life Support. These programs are full of eponyms and pneumonics for easy memorization and I approach survival in the same way. Keep It Supper Simple, Starting with the 6-C's.
1) Container - Nothing is more important in survival than water. The general rule of thumb is 3 liters of water per adult per day and 1 liter for a 1 year old, 2 liters for a 5 year old and adult fluids for over 50 pounds. Obviously you will be bound to your water supply unless you have the means necessary to carry these fluids. There are a multitude of available options including collapsible buckets, the ever popular camlebacks, and simple water bottles. Personally, I prefer the Nalgene 1 liter bottle. They are cheap, indestructable and reliable with a solid lid that is easy to attach to you B.O.B. We currently have 4 of these in our home, one for each member of our family and mine is always no more that an arm length away
2) Cover - Hyper and Hypothermia are killers. There are few things medically related that the US military has invested more money into to protect troops. The truth is, if you stay warm and hydrated you will survive (at least for awhile). In my mind cover includes your clothing and some sort of headware. Only a few important rules here: "cotton is rotten" and "players use layers". My personal favorite is wool for clothing although many of the synthetics work equally well. The goal is to wick away perspiration or moisture while maintaining adequate insulating properties. Wool can get really expensive. I recommend looking for Army/Military surplus clothing stores and picking up some warm weather wear through them. Not all that fashionable, but proven to do the job. I also have started carrying a bandana on me at all times. Extremely useful as survival clothing. Check out this blog on 30 different uses for a bandana.
3) Cutting tool - "With a knife you survive, without one you don't!". Which knife? How Long? How many? Fixed or folding? Lots of choices here. In the end the important things to keep in mind are to have a thick, full tung blade which holds an edge. Stainless steel is a must and don't ignore the sheath. Made in the USA is something I look for. My personal choice for manufacturer is Gerber or Remington (not made in USA). You don't need to spend a lot to get a high quality knife, just start looking around and pick up a simple sharpener at the same time.
4) Combustion Device - Being able to start a fire is a must. You need to have at least 3 different ways to start one. I recommend having a flint stick, a 9V battery and steel wool, and water proof matches. You should also learn how to start a fire with sticks and your arms (not an easy task). If you have these you should be set. I also throw in some vasoline and cotton balls for longer burning tinder (nothing worse than getting a flame and then watching it flicker out).
5) Cordage - 100-200" of high weight paracord. Can buy for dirt cheap all over and the only limit to it's use is your imagination. Enough said.
6) Concealed Carry - Yes, I'm adding in a weapon to the 5-C's. Not an absolute necessity, but will absolutely improve your odds of survival. I won't go into choice of weapon at this time but it should be something your starting to think about and plan for.
Till next time,
Dr. J
1) Container - Nothing is more important in survival than water. The general rule of thumb is 3 liters of water per adult per day and 1 liter for a 1 year old, 2 liters for a 5 year old and adult fluids for over 50 pounds. Obviously you will be bound to your water supply unless you have the means necessary to carry these fluids. There are a multitude of available options including collapsible buckets, the ever popular camlebacks, and simple water bottles. Personally, I prefer the Nalgene 1 liter bottle. They are cheap, indestructable and reliable with a solid lid that is easy to attach to you B.O.B. We currently have 4 of these in our home, one for each member of our family and mine is always no more that an arm length away
2) Cover - Hyper and Hypothermia are killers. There are few things medically related that the US military has invested more money into to protect troops. The truth is, if you stay warm and hydrated you will survive (at least for awhile). In my mind cover includes your clothing and some sort of headware. Only a few important rules here: "cotton is rotten" and "players use layers". My personal favorite is wool for clothing although many of the synthetics work equally well. The goal is to wick away perspiration or moisture while maintaining adequate insulating properties. Wool can get really expensive. I recommend looking for Army/Military surplus clothing stores and picking up some warm weather wear through them. Not all that fashionable, but proven to do the job. I also have started carrying a bandana on me at all times. Extremely useful as survival clothing. Check out this blog on 30 different uses for a bandana.
3) Cutting tool - "With a knife you survive, without one you don't!". Which knife? How Long? How many? Fixed or folding? Lots of choices here. In the end the important things to keep in mind are to have a thick, full tung blade which holds an edge. Stainless steel is a must and don't ignore the sheath. Made in the USA is something I look for. My personal choice for manufacturer is Gerber or Remington (not made in USA). You don't need to spend a lot to get a high quality knife, just start looking around and pick up a simple sharpener at the same time.
4) Combustion Device - Being able to start a fire is a must. You need to have at least 3 different ways to start one. I recommend having a flint stick, a 9V battery and steel wool, and water proof matches. You should also learn how to start a fire with sticks and your arms (not an easy task). If you have these you should be set. I also throw in some vasoline and cotton balls for longer burning tinder (nothing worse than getting a flame and then watching it flicker out).
5) Cordage - 100-200" of high weight paracord. Can buy for dirt cheap all over and the only limit to it's use is your imagination. Enough said.
6) Concealed Carry - Yes, I'm adding in a weapon to the 5-C's. Not an absolute necessity, but will absolutely improve your odds of survival. I won't go into choice of weapon at this time but it should be something your starting to think about and plan for.
Till next time,
Dr. J
Why MidnightBanter?
If you made it to this blog then you're most likely curious about the name on the blog, the subject content described, or you are already an avid survivalist. So why MidnightBanter? First a little about myself. I am a board certified Pediatrician formally trained through the US Military with special training related to survival medicine. In addition to this my personal hobbies include hunting, fishing, hiking, diesel mechanics, and music (just to give you some insight into where I'm coming from). I am not some paranoid anti-government hot-head looking for a place to rant about politics or TEOTWAWKI. I do believe that our Nation is heading towards a change. When and what are two answers that I do not intend to speculate on, but I do feel that being prepared and self-reliant are always wise goals to work towards. I am not an expert on this subject by any means, but I am constantly learning and adapting to better prepare myself and my family for both short and long term survival. In addition to this I am always on the look out for efficient, cheap, and practical items for survival. This will likely spark a great deal of debate as to the "quality vs quantity" issue of survival. The intent of this blog is simply to direct the reader to additional references, give insight into my approach to survival preparation and to place my 'two cents' in the conversation when I feel that it is appropriate; especially as it relates to survival medicine. I hope you enjoy the blog and the related links and I wish you all happy planing as you work towards the goal of self-reliance.
Dr. Jekyll
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