Saturday, January 15, 2011

Firearms and TEOTWAWKI

I was chatting with a guy I know from the range today. He informed me that he is basically stockpiling firearms with "the end of the world as we know it" in mind. Whatever that means. So here are a few of my concerns (some of which I voiced, others of which I didn't):

Once you have an arsenal of firearms, what if:

  • you run out of ammo? (I would suggest a side hobby of reloading and stocking up on the components needed for reloading and of course saving your brass whenever you practice)
  • TEOTWAWKI is actually an earthquake, flood, mudslide, etc and your home becomes unlivable. What do you do with your arsenal then (as in how to you move your firearms to a new location, which new location would this be, how would they be stored at your new location, etc)
  • you have too many varieties of weapons? (problems may include difficulty in securing the variety of ammo needed, not having enough of the ammo you use the most because you are purchasing ammo for all of your other weapons, other family members being unfamiliar with the different weapons--remember it may be them, not you, using said weapons--and your own unfamiliarity with practicing with the weapons if, for example, you have 100 different firearms)
  • they are all registered to you and the authorities come calling for them? (my friend has about half of his firearms purchased by/registered to him and half bought from private citizens with only a receipt to link the weapon to his name)
  • your huge stash of weapons becomes common knowledge (not so much of a problem now--depending on what neighborhood you live in--but this could definitely be a problem with society run amok and people who know about your stash becoming desperate)
  • something happen such as your arsenal gets buried in a land slide and you end up with zero firearms when you need them most? (Time for a plan B. What is your plan B?)

Those are a few of the things that ran through my mind as I was talking with my friend. I guess the main point is that, of course it is better to have a firearm than not have one in a survival situation, however just because you have a firearm doesn't mean you are finished being prepared, you need to consider all of the other possibilities as well.

4 comments:

  1. A variety of ammunition types means that you would be more likely to be able to use whatever comes along.

    But really it just comes down to a gun-nut hobbyist type wanting a justification for their hobby. They are more interested in collecting than practical application.

    If the food runs out they can always trade bullets for bread.

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  2. Yep, I've justified my purchases on occassion this way as well.

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  3. Insight, something more important that that gentleman should worry about is the survival priority list:
    Water, Shelter, Food. Obviously defending yourself is a big deal, but it doesn't matter much if you cannot procure any of those other things.

    Related to that, what are your thoughts on non-hybrid seed procurement? (Types of food, advice on planting, planning and preparing as such, etc) Thanks for the good work!

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  4. Ryan, Good question about food procurement and gardening. Look for a post on this topic tomorrow.

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