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Letter Re: An Urban/Suburban "Stay Put" Survival Strategy
Hi again Jim,
I felt I must respond to David’s earlier post regarding
self defense weapons and Buckshot's suggestion of a .30-30 lever action as
being your sole means of self defense. While many of your readers may live
in rural
areas with ready access to hunting and lower population densities there are
many millions more like myself who live in major urban areas and make our living
here. Many of us have a dream of some remote survival retreat well stocked
and self sufficient with water and food but its not a reality at the moment. Depending
upon the situation, bugging out with just a few possessions and without a well
prepared plan is a recipe for disaster in my opinion. Therefore we must make
due and create our survival retreat within the cities and try to make it as
invisible as possible. A plan for survival in the big cities must include a
long term food storage plan, water storage and purification alternatives, self
defense preparations, radio monitoring/scanning and communications, mobility
and recon, sustainable gardening, energy production or storage, medical preparations,
financial preparations
and probably the most important is a spiritual preparation for the possibility
of some very bad times to come. Plan your urban retreat with a well thought
out self defense plan based upon a group or neighborhood watch.
It is estimated by authorities in Southern California that there are somewhere
in the neighborhood of 300,000 known gang members and thousands of other nefarious
characters running around terrorizing our neighborhoods. There is a thin blue line
between civility and anarchy in our society as evidenced by the many
events of the recent past when our cities erupt into a crazed anarchy over
things such as court decisions, racial differences, earthquakes or whatever
it may be. There is a proliferation of modern high capacity weapons in the
hands of many of these characters and/or gangs. If you live within a large
urban center and cannot bug out because of many reasons including the possibility
of the roads being jammed with cars or closed completely then you must consider
staying put and standing your ground. I don’t mean brandishing your weapons
in front of your neighbors and being the big man on the block with all the
guns ready for the bad guys to come. What I mean is to keep them hidden and
ready while carrying your concealed Glock or
something similar if the situation erodes to the point of feeling that they
may be necessary. Remember, your neighbors
may not be your best friend in the worst of times. Regular training in the
use of your weapons and tactics is a must. But when it comes down to it and
you must use your rifles and shotguns then be prepared to use overwhelming
force with surprise and finality. Self loading semi-automatic rifles in .308
cal. with lots of magazines are my rifle of choice for men and AR or AK series
for smaller stature persons or women. We can still purchase Mini-14s
, M1As,
SKS, and many other California legal semi autos here in California. Research
the laws before proceeding with your purchases. Trijicon or
other red dot sights make sighting easy for almost anyone to use. Body armor
is also a must and should be purchased for anyone carrying a weapon and others
in the group if you have the funds.
Again, I cannot emphasize enough about keeping your weapons hidden but ready.
Many authorities do not take kindly to rogue groups with guns and will confiscate
them if found and possibly arrest you. Make your plans to hole up and hunker
down while listening to the scanner, shortwave, amateur radio, AM/FM etc.
while setting up your LP/OP and doing
some short range recon. Have a communication plan for your family or group
and rally point. Try to remain
invisible to your neighbors and authorities as long as possible. Stay off the
streets and do not go around sightseeing or trying to gather those forgotten
items you may feel you need. If you don’t have them now and the situation
is not life threatening then just stay at home. There will be thousands of
desperate
people
looting and shooting each other as the situation gets worse. Prepare now. Try
to prepare to stay at home for longer and longer periods of time with your
stored supplies. And while not possible, work toward self sufficiency in as
many areas as possible. Develop and learn a wide range of skills such as shooting,
auto mechanics, gardening, sewing, cooking, amateur radio, EMT,
motorcycle riding, swimming, home construction, plumbing, accounting/financial
planning,
camping,etc,etc,.And teach your kids these skills. I also am an urban search
and rescue volunteer and carry official ID to assist me with passage through
most disaster areas.
There are lots of books and info on the internet about all of these subjects.
I am not an expert but I am always learning!
In the event of a total collapse of our society such as the one you wrote about
in "Patriots" I
am not sure what we will do. I am considering several options, but more about
that later. - Anonymous in So. Cal.
