The following profiles are of real life individuals that I’ve interviewed.
I have known many of these folks for more than a decade. Although a couple of
these profiles might sound like fantasies, they are all real people
and
I
describe their actual retreat set-ups. I have slightly fictionalized some details,
but
merely
to protect their anonymity. Note that some of these families currently live at
their intended retreats, while others hope to Get out of Dodge at the 11th hour.
(The latter approach is not recommended!)
You will likely find the following information useful for selecting your own
levels/types of logistics, vehicles, firearms, and so forth. Please note that
most of these survivalists have wisely standardized with a few commonly available
calibers. Most have also made provision for defending their retreats at night,
backup power, and long-term fuel storage. Read between the lines!
OBTW, if you truly “live the life” of survivalism with a presumably
effective retreat location and wouldn’t
mind seeing your profile up on this site, please e-mail
me the details in
the
same format as below, and I will add your profile to the list. Note:
I'd
particularly
like to include profiles from survivalists overseas. (See the second section.)
Present home: Recently moved to new custom-built residence in luxury gated
community an hour from a city of 500,000 in the Inter-Mountain West, with
nearer smaller
towns. Many acquisitions will occur within the next year.
Ages: 40 and 35
SOs: No children.
Annual income: $200,000+.
Profession: Technical consultant and accountant, both self-employed.
Investments: A mix of local real estate, conventional securities in retirement
accounts, gold bullion coins, and junk silver.
Vehicles: Ford Expedition, BMW 528i (28 mpg fuel efficient commuter/runabout).
Firearms Battery: Two FN-FAL .308 battle rifles with over 100 magazines, two
pre-ban AR-15s with 50 magazines, .50 BMG take-down target rifle, numerous current
production high capacity pistols from a major European manufacturer, other pistols
ranging from .22 LR to .44 magnum, several hunting rifles of various calibers.
Four surplus bolt-action .30 cal. rifles carried in vehicles and other less-secure
locations. Bedside Mossberg 500 shotgun with Surefire light forearm. Miscellaneous
other firearms. Most firearms, especially semi-auto rifles, are purchased in
private sales. A personal gunsmithing and reloading shop being established in
their new home. Have military surplus flak jackets and U.S.G.I. Kevlar helmets,
web gear, camouflage clothing. Soon to acquire night vision goggles, seismic
sensors, and Level III vests. Biggest influences in selecting firearms battery
were Boston's Gun Bible and Patriots [by JWR]
Stored ammunition: Roughly 25,000 rounds, 10,000 of which are .308. This will
significantly increase after completing their move.
Fuel Storage: Housing development is on full utilities (gas, electric, and water
from nearby wells stored in uphill tank.) 1600 gallons of propane in underground
tank. 5000 gallon underground water storage fed by recovered rainwater from metal
roof. Electrical panels configured to allow essential circuits to be powered
by propane/NG generator, or by future PV panels and battery system. Through-wall
conduits in place to communicate with possible solar heat or PV panels on roof
or in yard.
Improvements: 3,500 square foot conventional home on less than 1 acre, with 20
adjacent acres of green space shared with 5 neighboring homes. 2,000 square feet
of basement and garage space, including 500 square foot sub-garage storage/shelter
facility. Shelter includes 12-inch concrete lid for radiation protection, full
bath, insulated wine/root cellar, ventilation conduits to provide filtered air,
and second emergency exit invisible from exterior. 15 yard basement pistol range.
No garden or greenhouse. House and shelter design/facilities influenced primarily
by Joel Skousen’s The Secure Home.
Annual Property Tax: $5,400/yr. (Awful, but less expensive than for a house
of 1/4 of the same value in the big city.)
Livestock: None. (Even an intruder-sensitive guard dog in a strict community
is iffy, and extensive travel makes this impractical). Plentiful cattle ranching
in immediate vicinity.
Communications Gear: C. Crane Radios (AM/FM), Off-brand AM/FM hand crank receiver,
3 FRS walkie-talkies.
Food storage: 1 year for 2 adults.
Hobbies: Shooting, knitting, gunsmithing, outdoor activities, entertaining, dining,
travel, and surfing conservative Internet news discussion sites.
Background: Mr. and Mrs. B left a big city in another state to avoid high income
taxes, excessive government regulation, and an undesirable political and weather
climate. They are new to the preparedness mindset, and rather new to firearms,
though quickly making up for lost time. They are delighted now to find themselves
among kindred conservative souls, and have relaxed quite a bit since leaving
the tense hostility of a leftist city.
One goal in a making the move was to preserve privacy to the maximum extent possible.
They moved to the new state and rented a home while constructing their new home
nearby. This gave them time to practice their privacy efforts, such as maintaining
the discipline not to use the residence address for ANY purpose (it is quite
a sacrifice for a home-office professional not to have things overnighted to
the doorstep!) Both are required by their occupations to have a public presence
and address, so office addresses and P.O. Boxes are used. Firearms are purchased
through the classifieds or at gun shows, and large ammunition and gun parts orders
are shipped to the shop of a nearby friend in the firearms industry, paying with
a money order that appears to be written by the friend. (Their advice: either
find such a friend who is already on the list to help you, or be such a friend
to someone who is just beginning to acquire firearms, and who should keep a virgin
profile.)
The Bravos biggest disappointment in their privacy efforts was that there is
no way to finance home construction and keep their name off the title (practices
in some states may differ). This undercut most of their privacy efforts, which
they still continue. To provide asset protection against predatory lawsuits,
their house will be transferred to an LLC with the help of a lawyer who specializes
in this area. Vehicles are also owned by LLCs in another state selected for its
privacy policies, which deters bogus lawsuits and unlawful government fishing
investigations that are not supported by a court order. The vehicle LLC mailing
address is at a friends house in a third state.
JWR: Why did you choose your location?
Mr. and Mrs. B: Low taxes for our situation, conservative/libertarian politics,
friendly social climate, favorable business climate, nice climate, and plentiful
outdoor recreation.
JWR: What are the drawbacks to the region?
Mr. and Mrs. B: Cost of real estate is expensive, especially as those fleeing
West Coast cities increase demand. We were stunned at how much land costs in
cowboy country if you want to be within an hour of an international airport.
We have also learned that sometimes even Republicans can't be trusted not to
abuse
our rights.
JWR: Who will be joining you at your retreat if the balloon goes up?
Mr. and Mrs. B: We have no planned participants, but we have offered to a few
out-of-state friends and family members that they would be welcome here if they
could get here in a worst-case scenario. We genuinely hope that we can encourage
some of our new neighbors to adopt responsible plans, and have been building
close contacts in the larger community.
JWR: How long do you expect that it will be before order is restored?
Mr. and Mrs. B: Weeks, months, years? We hope for the best, and plan for the
worst. We do not even bother to guess.
JWR: What is your worst case scenario?
Mr. and Mrs. B: Being without utilities for more than one winter, and needing
to defend our county from unprepared refugees in the nearest city, and worse
from adjoining states.
JWR: What personal circumstances have shaped your preparations, and how?
Mr. and Mrs. B: We are a team on this, and are each motivated to do it right.
Neither one of us is dragging the other along. We both have learned while living
in hostile territory that one can be targeted for ones political principles and
for ones personal success by leftist government, by the partisan media, and by
dishonest individuals who can leverage both. We are watching the increasing assaults
on our civil liberties, property rights, gun rights, and national culture, and
fear even worse. We assume that there will be a grave economic crisis as the
Social Security system collapses, if not much sooner. We feel a kindred spirit
to our late ancestors who survived the Great Depression, and feel blessed that
we can enjoy present luxuries without sacrificing future preparedness.
JWR: What shortcomings does your retreat have that you would like to improve
if you had the opportunity?
Mr. and Mrs. B: We are not heat-prepared in a climate that sees winter snow.
Either we should provision uninstalled solar heating panels and all the supplies
needed to install them in conjunction with our gas-fueled radiant floor heating
system, or at least have on hand a wood stove and supplies that can be installed
after the Crunch begins. The latter is probably more technically realistic. In
any event, dry (or wet) installation tests should be conducted while the Home
Depot is open, and consultants and mail order parts are available. We also should
acquire inverters and batteries to make our propane generator usage efficient,
and PV panels will be installed soon. We will also eventually investigate what
kind of power backup our community well pump has, and propose robust upgrades
to ensure extended water availability during power and fuel interruptions. Solar
would be ideal.
JWR: What are your long term goals?
Mr. and Mrs. B: To insure our survival against the worst case scenario. If that
never occurs (or until it does) to retire from our work at a young enough age
to enjoy our favorite recreational activities. In the short term we are developing
our preparedness skills, especially with firearms.
JWR's Comments/Recommendations: Mr. and Mrs. Bravo should be sure to follow through on their logistics plans. They should acquire a suite of base and mobile radio gear (CB and HF) and appropriate low profile dipole and vertical HF and CB antennas that will blend in and conform with their neighborhoods CC&Rs. They should consider getting a propane conversion for one vehicle (preferably their 4WD), or perhaps buying a propane-powered municipal surplus vehicle. They should store construction materials for deer fencing, cold frames and/or greenhouse as well as photovoltaic panels, batteries, inverter, and ancillary equipment. They also need to make contingency plans for drawing, transporting, storing, and treating water from open sources.
Present home: 100-year-old farmhouse, 3 story, 2,800 sq ft. Central WI
Ages: 37 and 35
SOs: 3 children, 6, 8 and 12.
Annual income: $120,000.
Profession: Marketing Web Designer and Homemaker
Investments: Various financial tools including stocks, CDs, savings and land.
A small amount of gold coins, and a large amount of junk silver and new dollars.
Vehicles: Jeep Cherokee (2004), Wrangler (2003), F-150 pickup (1992). Ford
3000 tractor, a couple of ATVs
Firearms Battery: Battery includes (but is not limited to) Ithaca 20 ga., Mossberg
12 ga., Remington 12 ga., .300 Win Mag Rem 700, several AK variants, AR-10,
scout rifle (M44), several German Mausers and Mosin Nagants, various Ruger
10/22s, Marlin 30-30, Glock 17s, Taurus, 24/7s (.45 ACP), several 1911s,
S&W
686 in .357 mag., and several
others.
Stored ammunition: Not including miscellaneous ammo for air rifles, slingshots,
.22 rimfire, etc, around 45,000 rounds. Primary stock is 7.62 NATO and .45
ACP.
Fuel Storage: 1,000 gal Diesel and 25 gal of kerosene (for lamps).
Improvements: 40 acres of local land, 60 KW generator. 40' ham antenna mast,
30x40 steel shop, 2 car garage, currently building a horse barn. Root cellar
in fieldstone basement of home. . 300' Rifle range (single station) and 25
yd.
pistol range. 80' x 300' garden, 1.5 acres of corn and wheat. 25 beehives,
1/2 acre of raspberries. Planning a 50' water
tower next year, along with windmill
Annual Property Tax: ~4,500 per year (new assessment and new buildings)
Livestock: Two dogs, ~25 chickens, 5 goats, no cattle (dairy and meat cattle
are plentiful locally), 4 horses broken to saddle / trail, plus a few barn
cats.
Communications Gear: various ham gear (2m 6m 10m), some high freq gear, 2 scanners,
1 Yaesu portable ham, several portable CBs, 1 Cobra 148, 8-10 Motorola type
FRS/GMRS with throat mikes / booms and ear buds.
Food storage: 4 months for a family of 5
Hobbies: Shooting, canning, gardening, building metal-working, gunsmithing,
reloading, reading, outdoor activities with the kids, hunting, astronomy.
Background: Both of us were born and raised in the northern reaches of the
PRK. I even began and ran a small
business there. We met in church and married 7 weeks later. Due to predatory
laws against small business in Kalifornia (and very high taxes), we moved to
Michigan (new job). Ten years
of promotions, raises, and moves followed including New York, Milan, Frankfurt,
Osaka, and Chicago. Once in Chicago (in 2002), we made a five-year plan to
move back into a rural setting. That plan was hastened by a job elimination
in Chicago
which enabled us to realize our five-year plan in 10 months. Now we live in
an area that has 2-3 families in any given square mile and we are 10 times
happier! Our kids are happier and healthier and we feel like we've accomplished
something
every day. I highly recommend a "return to the land" not just for
body and soul, but to prepare oneself for a coming time when the automata of
society is gonna, and we truly must again be self-reliant.
JWR: Why did you choose your location?
Mr. Charlie:: Excellent positioning for low nuclear fallout, clean aquifer
(edge of ice age glacier, a lot of sand without silt for filtering). Rural
area with a social barter system already
in place, with a local community (not "lone wolf"). We are well off
the road and completely hidden in summer, partially in winter.
JWR: What are the drawbacks to the region?
Mr. Charlie: Tough to get into the heart of the community as we've not been here our
entire natural lives.
JWR: Who will be joining you at your retreat if the balloon goes up?
Mr. Charlie: Provided the G.O.O.D. plans prevail, my wife's brother, wife and
children.
JWR: How long do you expect that it will be before order is restored?
Mr. Charlie: This completely depends on the disaster or situation at hand.
Months to many years.
JWR: What is your worst case scenario?
Mr. Charlie: Having to leave this retreat during a disaster because of poor
OPSEC, being "sold out", or otherwise compromised.
JWR: What personal circumstances have shaped your preparations, and how?
Mr. Charlie: We were raised in fundamental Christian households and thus the
idea of TEOTWAWKI is pervasive. I am also an amateur Constitutional scholar
and have a clear understanding
of the forces and times that shaped our country. We're a long way from that
now. We both believe (after much world travel) that the social divide between
the haves and have nots, and the current - and widening - divide between enforced
law and morality will result in a social tear that will slowly and painfully
mend. We watch our children grow and realize that in today's world the skills
and mindsets needed to survive in hostile surrounding are actually actively
torn down. We must fight that and continue to allow our children to live free,
think freely, and come to rational conclusions about right and wrong--rather
than enabling the moral relativism that is so widespread in our country today.
JWR: What shortcomings does your retreat have that you would like to improve
if you had the opportunity?
Mr. Charlie: Almost no solar currently. While I have MIL-SPEC hardened
laptops with gigabytes of data (field manuals, FEMA brochures,
magazine articles, how-to's on every subject, etc),
these laptops have only two batteries each with two solar panels for renewable
power. Our vehicles are gas (Cherokee and Wrangler) while we store diesel.
We should convert one regularly used vehicle to a diesel powerplant. Our children
can shoot (hunt) but have no tactical training. We have no SOPs currently for
defense or patrol, should that become necessary.
JWR: What are your long term goals?
Mr. Charlie: Live a wholesome life that best prepares us to cope with any problem
set and provides our children the same skills.
PRESENT HOME: 1,800 square foot ICF home on 30 acres - 90% wooded. Small suburb
of a 1.5mm city in midwest.
AGES: Husband - 45, Wife - 46, no children
ANNUAL INCOME: $135,000
PROFESSION: Mrs. Delta is a phone technician. Mr. Delta isan officer in a
company.
INVESTMENTS: her pension, her 401(k), my 401(k) - but lots of semi-precious
metals and tangibles such as $1,500 [face value] of junk silver, 15 one ounce
Gold Eagles. Land that is 90% wooded and butts up to a wildlife area, and a
river.
VEHICLES: 1999 Toyota, 2000 Yukon
FIREARMS:
MAIN BATTERY
M1A set up for combat CQB (Surefire 6P light on forend, front sight blade filed
down to zero at 100 yds with back aperture bottomed out, aperture drilled to
ghost ring, handguard ventilated, skateboard tape on butt plate, Krylon paint
job, M60 sling for around neck dangle, SA loaded package on rifle, 34 U.S.G.I.
.mags with pull cables) Another M1A setup for surgical use (ARMS mount with
Leupold M3 3x10x40, handmade cheekrest, unitized gas system, bedded, match
trigger and barrel - spare parts for 1st level of maintenance)
G21 x3 with High Speed gear drop legs and 21 mags (some spring parts, not enough
yet though)
G30 with 12 mags
Ruger MKII with 4 mags (field repair kit)
Ruger 10/22 x2 with 4 mags (no spares yet)
Springfield Armory M6 .22/.410
Mossberg 835
VZ24 rebuilt as a .308 Scout (Leupold Scout scope, XS ghost sights, sling)
TRUNK GUNS
Ruger P90 w/10 mags
M44 Mosin Nagant
Gibbs Jungle carbine in .308 with spare mag
OFFSITE ITEMS
CZ52 with 2 mags
M1 Garand from CMP (with 150 rds en blocs)FUN GUNS
P17 from CMP
#4 MKI
38 Turk Mauser rebuilt to .30-06
FN Mauser rebuilt to .35 WAI Leupold Scout scope, XS ghost sights, sling)
VZ24 in 8mm Mauser with aperture sight
Reload for 7.62x51 (NATO), .30-06, .45 ACP, 8mm Mauser, .35 WAI, and .40 S&W
(for relative). Tools for gun work up mill/lathe work.
1,250 rounds for 7.62x51.
10,000 .22LR rounds
1,200 .45ACP rounds
500 12 GA rounds
2,860 5.56x45 rounds
2,200 7.62x39 rounds
350 8mm Mauser rounds
55 .303 Brit rounds
1,550 9mm rounds
5,000 primers
Gear: Both have 10 day BOBs (with vest for me) and masks, Level III body armor
vests in rafting bags for loading in/on vehicles. Both vehicles have a 3 day
BOB to get home. One extra BOB and vest is off-site at relative's home. One
extra set of U.S.G.I. web gear and BOB. Vest kept in company van (without firearm)
due to their communist company policies prohibiting firearms. Spare clothes
boxes in both vehicles.
FUEL STORAGE - 6 gal gas x2, 5 gal gas x8, 1 gal gas x2 in garage - leery of
going farther for fire considerations - all are stabilized and rotated
ANNUAL PROPERTY TAX - won't know until DEC due to just finishing house construction
- expect $2,400 annual
LIVESTOCK - None now due to just getting house done. Will definitely do chickens,
and am working on wife to go to goats.
COMMO GEAR - Two TA-312s with 2 rolls WD-1 commo wire, Two FRS radios, one
crank AM/FM/SW
FOOD STORAGE - 2 years for 2 adults - 1/3 in cans, 2/3s of which is in 5
or 6 gallon buckets - needs to be rotated - have tried to do so by bringing
items
out of storage, but with both of us working there isn't enough time to grind
corn/flour and really cook food - stocking up on canned goods for 1st 6 months
on roller racks being built
HOBBIES - Practical rifle applications, hunting, sidearm use for self-defense,
running, weight lifting, mountain bikes, camping - self-reliance group folded
BACKGROUND - Practicing Christian - 10 years active duty in Army combat arms,
wife is a farm girl - built an ICF "round" home on property with
shelter and root cellar, stone veneer outside, and metal roof plus robust protective
measures. Also have a 25'x40' steel building. In-laws live within 10 minutes
from home. Became aware with regard to self-reliance in '98. Wife does not
have a "warrior" mentality and has scoliosis, so her BOB is focused
on light weight and self reliance only (no rifle, magazines, or vest, just
a G21 and Camelback Commander ruck). She has attended Thunder Ranch for DHG
1 & Team Tactics, but her total lack of upbringing with firearms has made
it a rough row to hoe in regard to getting her to take responsibility for herself
when things Schumerize. I have been to GP Rifle, DHG 1, Team Tactics, UR1,
PR1 @ TR, and taken a special symposium (pistol, rifle, carbine, shotgun) at
Gunsite. EIC in bronze for pistol. Certified NRA Rifle, pistol & home defense/CCW
instructor. I subscribe to the old colonial America belief that since God created
us, it is our duty to defend ourselves/what God created. I am non-denominational
(What does the Bible say? What denomination was Christ?) and try to focus on
making God happy, being a Godly husband, rendering a day of work as if God
was looking over my shoulder watching me (which He is) and then comes play
(hunting, shooting, self-reliance). Was a Boy Scout, combat lifesaver trained
in military, skilled with weapons, tactics trained in service, can make leather
goods, serious weapons tinkerer (need more tooling to be a gunsmith - however,
each birthday or Christmas sees some of the gift money invested in tooling
- last Brownell's order included scope alignment rings), always take a deer
via still hunting. Have worked as electrician apprentice and basic carpenter.
Dabble in nylon gear with 1960s Singer gear driven sewing machine. Wife is
dyed in the wool mainline conservative denomination. I run 3-4 miles x3 each
week and lift x2/week (when not building a house!), plus chainsawing, mowing,
clearing, etc. at the property. Wife runs x1-2/week and lifts 2-3x/week. We
recently started riding bikes together. (Most profiles ignored PT, so trying
to call attention to this!) Wife is pretty dedicated to our healthy eating & herbs
which is very tough with job schedules and the sugar-loaded refined foods American
diet. She is learning food canning from her Mom and helps her tend the garden.
Planted 200+ trees - oak, walnut, persimmon, cherry. Well has been punched
and water at 32 feet to 65 feet. Have parts for well torpedo, but not assembled
yet. This aquifer used to supply the local hamlet via 5,000 gallon tanker during
droughts.
CHOSE LOCATION: Best I could do with a wife that has stated "she would
rather just be dead" than face post-nuclear life. The home site is 12
miles from N/S interstate, 12 miles from N/S US Highway corridor, as far from
major city as we can get and still have jobs with a daily commute of 40 minutes
for me, hour for wife. As much elbow room as we can afford. Being in the county
allows me to have a range and to hunt deer on property. 5 acres routinely floods
(against the river) and the woods are good for privacy, but hold no loggable
trees. They are old enough for plenty of firewood though. The 1,250 acre wildlife
area means fewer neighbors and more land to hunt. It is 20 miles north of the
airport/north side of the city.
DRAWBACKS: Too humid in summer, not firearms/freedom friendly enough, not cold
enough in climate to keep the population thinned out. Plusses: Long growing
season, and rural enough to have decent game populations
WHO WILL BE JOINING US AT RETREAT WHEN THINGS SCHUMERIZE? Sister-in-law lives
1 mile from site, in-laws 10 minutes/5 miles. Maybe my Mom and her husband,
my Dad (if he gets out of the city in time). Wife's brother, wife, and 2 princesses.
Obviously we need more robust food reserves for this many people, but it has
been an uphill battle to get to where I am at. I have had to console myself
with an inch of progress is an inch of progress. For four years the only "money" I
have had to buy food/gear/ammo, etc. has been credit card points for putting
gas on the credit card, Christmas/birthday gifts, or selling off excess firearms.
HOW LONG BEFORE ORDER IS RESTORED/AND WORST CASE? I think we are heading from
our current serious recession/depression into a massive depression at best,
Mad
Max at worst. I see three generations before the US re-emerges as a respectable
nation state, if it ever does. More likely is a European collection of smaller
nation-states. The play money FRN cannot continue to function indefinitely.
When will China call all our loans? China is also supposed to be on parity
with us militarily by 2008. China and North Korea have threatened to nuke us,
and then there is the good old moslem thing going on. That's if the fascist
US government doesn't push libertarians over the edge and start a civil war,
or the Mexican political parties who have as their charter the re-colonization
of the US southwest don't start one. How about the NAFTA corridor that would
allow uninspected trucks of Chinese troops to cruise right into the unloading "port" at
Richards-Gebauer AFB in KC? The Islamo-fascists could collapse our teetering
economy by applying C-4 to a few select refineries or power plants. I think
my generation will see the US knocked off our pedestal. Rome fell - why are
we any different? THINKING we are special because this is the US is quite ostrich-like
in my book.
WHAT PERSONAL CIRCUMSTANCES SHAPED YOUR PREPS? See above - I will give credit
where due - the wife is making progress, but there is a lot of damage to undue
from my Y2K burst of initial preparations. She sees all of that money spent
as her down payment on her house/nest. She now will critique Hollyweird regarding
their weapons handling when we do watch an occasional movie/show. She has accepted
my CCW and the BOBs in the cars, or BOB when we go out of state. No family
has awakened yet. Fortunately, a fairly recent friend got me to ditch the destructive
business situation I was in so that we could resume our progress. He is prior
service also with jobs that gave him unique insight into the workings of the
government prep for Y2K. According to him, it was not going to be pretty. He
is a very driven person in his reliance preps. I take that as a message!
RETREAT SHORTCOMINGS: We just moved in to new house and the shelter isn't equipped
yet, too darn close to too many people, local inbred neanderthals don't respect
property rights/think they can trespass, too close to the major nuke magnet/city,
but survivable with the 1 foot of concrete over the shelter/basement that we
put in.
LONG TERM GOALS - Toughen the house, get fruit trees and livestock, get medical
stuff laid up, get 5 year self reliant in terms of stored food, get the garden
cranked up, get self reliant on power via solar, stored propane & wood,
etc.. It's gonna take a lot of food to take care of the family and still be
able to help in a Christian manner! Get EMT certified or more. Get my machine/gun
shop equipped for 2nd income, raise/farm herbs. Need to get the weapons spares
laid up, and get past boo-boo 1st aid supplies. Also need to get barterstocks
put up - shoes wear out, clothes, Nyquil is quite nice to get you thru a cold,
no pampers without petroleum refining, etc..
JWR's Comments/Recommendations: Mr. Delta has a difficult situation with his company's "no firearms" policy. He should at least carry a 6 or 7 C Cell Mag-Lite flashlight, a half dozen road flares (think that through, folks--who wants to come face to face with a lit road flare!), and perhaps an HK Emergency Flare Launcher (EFL) close at hand (typically in a small plastic storage bin, just below the center console) for self defense while traveling in his company van. They should also stock up on heirloom (open pollinated) gardening seed--available through The Ark Institute. They also need much more fuel storage at their nascent retreat. Underground fuel storage is best for both safety and shelf life.
Present Home/Retreat: 3-bedroom/2 bath log home on an isolated acreage in rural
northern California's Sierra Nevada mountains. In a life of compromise, our
location is an example and application of Rawles’ theory of Channelization
and Lines of Drift. 20 acre parcel that adjoins National
Forest land.
Ages: 37/37
SO: Strong local church family. While we are very close to our blood family – our
ties and relationships with our Christian brothers and sisters in our church
family is far stronger than that to our blood family outside our marriage.
No children. Siblings and parents in Arizona and two eastern states.
Annual Income: $60,000
Investments: Second home/acreage in an eastern state, minimal savings, IRAs,
junk silver.
Vehicles: 2003 Ford Expedition 4x4, 2004 Nissan Sentra
Firearms Battery: A compliment of appropriate long guns in .22, .223, 7.62x39,
and .308 NATO. Compliment of 12 gauge shotguns. Compliment of appropriate pistols
in 22. .38, .357, 9mm, and 45ACP. Multiple weapons in each caliber. "Reasonable
stores" of ammunition for the firearms.
Fuel Storage: Minimal
Food Stores: 6+ months for 2 people, wildlife is more than abundant; not a
day goes by when I don’t see many deer, yesterday I saw three beautiful
bucks. Various traps for animal trapping if need be. If the balloon went up
our diet would be immediately supplemented by birds, squirrels, deer and other
wildlife. (Ideally we would try to make our food
stores supplemental to what we caught/shot.)
Annual Property Taxes: $1,200
Livestock: None
Communication: Pair of 5 Watt GMRS radios, Pair of FRS radios, several CBs,
BayGen FreePlay (hand crank generator) Shortwave radio, several other standard
shortwave radios. Solar chargers for rechargeable batteries for the other radios.
Other Preparedness: Multiple Class II, IIIA, and III vests. 400 Gallons water
storage. Water filters capable of filtering thousands of gallons of water from
our creek. Structure is currently heated with wood, and in addition to the
wood stove for heat we have a wood cook stove.
Lifestyle: Galatians 2:20 is the standard we try to live: “I have been
crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me;
and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God,
who
loved me and gave Himself for me.” We are avid readers, much of our time
is spent in the Word, or serving at our local church or fellowshipping with
fellow believers. Preparedness, photography, backpacking, writing, reading,
collecting antiques, collecting and watching old movies, and travel are some
of our hobbies.
Future Plans: Build second home on our property; re-establish water system
the structure had prior to the installation of the well in 1980. (Spring fed
tank – gravity feed to the structure.)
While our debt outside our mortgage is minimal our plans are to eliminate all
debt outside our mortgage in the very near future and continue on the path
to paying off our mortgage significantly early.
Mr. Echo adds:
"I ended up in a location, which is equidistant (as the crow flies) from
two
highways, and away from the other main thoroughfares through these “bypass” areas.
Due to a number of factors, the likelihood of significant numbers of refugees
if any making it as far as my place is doubtful IMO. In fact one of my concerns
is the ability of my wife & I to make it home should
the balloon go up while we are away from the home. During the summer, with
no
traffic it takes me (and my neighbors) about 30 minutes to get to the highway
I use to then travel down from the Sierras to the valley, it takes “normal” drivers
about 45 minutes or more. In the winter this drive takes much longer. My several
hour-a-day commute can be difficult at times, but I thank our Lord every day
that he allows me to live in such a beautiful place, and provides me with a means
to get to and from my place of employment. We ended up with 20 acres, which touches
a pretty much inaccessible corner of National Forest. We have a creek, and pond,
a 3 bedroom/2 bath house that was built about
50 years before there was electricity or paved roads in this neck of the woods.
Our home is not visible from the road, or from either the entrance to our driveway,
or from our gate. (About 600 feet from the house to the county road). We have
a
partial basement, several outbuildings, a fenced garden area, horse corral & horse
shelter, and about a dozen fruit trees."
JWR's Comments/Recommendations: Mr. and Mrs. Echo should add
a greenhouse as well as more hay and firewood storage. They also need to make
contingency plans to coordinate security with their neighbors, post-TEOTWAWKI.
Military
surplus
field telephones work well for this.
PRESENT HOUSE: I just moved from the western U.S. to 20 acres
in Arkansas, a half a mile off the nearest paved road, 14 miles from the nearest
town of 1,500 with one neighbor somewhere along my road - I see a driveway!
Mostly mixed hardwood forest, lots of wild berries and grapes, and brush for
goats. One large pond with some kind of fish in it, tons of frogs, cattails,
and water lilies and another smaller one for runoff. Backs up to some sort
of state conservation
area with deer, turkey, and dove spotted so far. I'll tell you, it's REALLY
expensive for a "prepper" to move! LOL! I had moved 22,652 pounds of
goods which included very little
furniture but a lot of preps and tools and potentially necessary stuff.
ANNUAL PROPERTY TAX: $2.78 (Really).
AGE: 65 (Little ol' grey-haired lady!).
No children at home but have 3 daughters, 1 son, 9 grandchildren.
AVERAGE INCOME: $15,000 per year including Social Security. I work at home
part time as a legal transcriptionist online.
INVESTMENTS: None of the traditional, my investments are in my land, my preps,
and my livestock. Small credit card debt and very small mortgage which will
be paid in full, both, in a year or so.
VEHICLE: Ford Explorer 4x4 (20 MPG) and a 5 x 8 tilt trailer with removable
side boards which hauls anything I need or can handle.
FIREARMS: 22 rimfire rifle, Ruger Mini-30, Mossberg 20 gauge, 22 pistol for
snake shot. I know, I know. I'm going to the Central Arkansas Shooters Assn.
Ladies Day in October to try some handguns out and find what suits me. I do
not have
much arm strength so need something fairly light weight.
AMMO: Pushing 10,000 hard divided between all calibers I have guns for.
FUEL: 500 gal propane tank for cooking and hot water (converting to an instant
demand type in a month or so), 55 gal gas for the chainsaw and generator for
the water pump and freezer, dozens of bottles of oil for lamps, 85 small bottles
of propane for the lanterns.
IMPROVEMENTS: 30 x 50 steel floored, insulated workshop wood heated, 5 bay
vehicle park to be used for hay storage, wood storage, machinery storage; 3
bay 16 x 30 building to be converted to the goat barn and milking shed; 10
x 20 steel storage building, floored; in-ground tornado shelter; 100 16 ft
cattle panels + posts (not a drop of fencing on the entire place); 8 4x8 raised
bed for veggies; a 6 vine vineyard (I make wine and vinegar); peach and pear
trees; asparagus bed, strawberry bed. As soon as I get that fencing up and
the 3-bay
remodeled
I will be back with goats - plan to have minimum 6 milk/meat does and 1 buck.
When the chicken house gets redone I will have at least 2 dozen layers. I
brought with me all the material necessary for a greenhouse (I had two 14 x
25 out west, for years). I may not need
them here though. I brought my Berkey water filter with extra filters. I
have collected enough hand tools to replace any power tool 3 times over, plus
all
the usual hand tools.
COMM GEAR: Just two SW radios with solar rechargeable batteries - I know, I
know, but I just want incoming news not outgoing chatter.
LIVESTOCK: Right now none. Have 2 working dogs for big varmints and 3 working
cats for small varmints. Planning on chickens and goats as soon as I get the
fencing and housing situation under control. I also plan to train a couple
of wethers to pull and pack - I already have the training harness, I need to
get a cart and the packs shortly.
FOOD STORAGE/PREPARATION SUPPLIES: 468 nitro packed #10 cans of basics - wheat,
sugar, salt, rice, beans, milk, etc.. 10 gallons of honey in qt. jars, a years
supply of regular canned veggies and fruits plus (right now) 6 months of home
canned meat/fish/fowl and a freezer full of venison and elk and salmon. 5 pressure
canners with replacement parts for all, 2400 canning jars with lids for 2 years
and 144 reusable lids; 2 food dryers; solar cooker, wood cooking stove, 4 wood
heating stoves with pipe and connections for all and brushes; open pollinated
(O/P) seeds for 2 years of planting plus they are renewable and I do that;
at least
20
years
experience canning, drying, cooking on a wood stove, hunting, gardening, wine
making, herbal medicine, conventional medicine and surgery, vet skills and
all the necessary equipment and supplies to do these things. I could probably
feed and keep healthy 4-6 adults and 3-4 children indefinitely if it came down
to that.
HOBBIES: In my spare time LOL!! My lifestyle is my hobby and I enjoy every
minute of it. I try to learn something new every day and keep growing and adding
to my skills. I do read lots. I have no TV and very bad radio reception.
Usually in the evenings I spend a great deal of time on Internet Forums.
I moderate "Complimentary Herbals"
and "Homesteading/gardening" forums.
Present home/retreat: 12 year-old log home on 10 acres in the Rocky Mountain
West. 2 miles from nearest small town (170 souls), 150 miles from nearest "city" (it
has
population of 90,000).
Ages: 55 & 50, no children at home.
Annual Income: $75,000
Profession: Retired
Investments: Silver bullion. Minimum kept in bank. They deal largely in cash.
Vehicles: Pre-electronic ignition 3/4-Ton 4WD diesel pickup with new engine
and drive train. 4WD Suburban. Motorcycle.
Firearms: Six M1 Garand rifles with a substantial stock of spare parts including
barrels and operating rods. Two M1A rifles--one a Springfield Armory, the other
a Fulton
Armory tack-driver. HK-91 with Hensoldt optics, Surefire laser, heavy bipod.
Four 12
gauge shotguns
(various makers). One Ruger PC9 carbine. One Winchester M1 carbine. One
Ruger M77 in .270 with 3-9 scope. One Ruger M77-22, stainless, synthetic in
.22 magnum.
Two Ruger 10/22 carbines. Two Swedish M96 6.5x55 rifles. Two Springfield Model
1903 rifles. One SIG P220 .45ACP. One Ruger P85. One Ruger Mark I .22 LR .
One Ruger 22/22WMR single six convertible.One SIG .380. One 45-70 single shot.
One Winchester
trapper in .45 Long Colt.
Ammunition stock: 50,000 rounds of various ammunition, including tracer and
AP for Garands. Enough powder and
primers on hand to reload another 50,000.
Reloading dies in all calibers to match my rifles and centerfire handguns.
Fuel and power: 140 gallons diesel storage. Two 175 watt solar panels with
charge controller, battery bank and inverter. Solar setup is sufficient to
keep
the two freezers running. Wood burning stove with 4 cords dry wood under roof.
Cooking on wood stove-top possible with dutch ovens and stove-top
ovens.
Food supply: Cooled and heated pantry with 3 year stock. Everything from #10
cans of fruits/vegetables to Spam, powdered milk, flour, salt, freeze-dry
entrees, dry beans, rice, grains. Supplemented with olive oil, jams/jellies,
fruitcakes, pancake and bread mixes, 500 pounds of frozen meat (mostly
buffalo), 500 MRE main entree packets (frozen), 50 pounds of smoked salmon,
et cetera. High quality grain mill with spare parts. Local wildlife is abundant
and
our property hosts significant numbers of wild turkeys and cottontails.
Personal: He - Capable carpenter, highly qualified with firearms (former competitive
high power rifle shooter), avid hunter and hiker, former
Republican, now Libertarian.
She - Avid gardener. Working to turn our alkaline soil into a Garden of Eden!
JWR: Why did you choose your location?
Mr. Hotel: My work brought me here 35 years ago. We liked it so much that we
never left.
JWR: What are the drawbacks to the region?
Mr. Hotel: Short growing seasons and harsh climate.
JWR: Who will be joining you at your retreat if the balloon goes up?
Mr. Hotel: We have three sons and a daughter, all current or former active duty
military. They all share our feeling that when events begin to unfold, the central
government will go totally out of control. They and their families will endeavor
to join us.
JWR: How long do you expect that it will be before
order is restored?
Mr. Hotel: We believe that America will be balkanized, fractured into several
smaller, more manageable nation states. We expect disorder to last
5 to 10 years.
JWR: What is your worst case scenario?
Mr. Hotel: Martial Law. The government has been gathering so much new power
in the post-September 11 hysteria and we all know, government never
gives up power willingly. The government no longer looks upon us as citizens,
but instead as subjects. Sadly, the average American today is willing to give
up their Freedom and Liberty in exchange for that empty government pledge to "keep
you safe".
JWR: What personal circumstances have shaped your preparations?
Mr. Hotel: Growing up in a large family on a small farm. We had some pretty
hard times, but we all pulled together and saw it through. Years ago, we determined
never, never to have to stand in line with our hand out, waiting on a box of
government "provided" commodities.
JWR: What shortcomings does your retreat have that you would like to improve
if you had the opportunity?
Mr. Hotel: We need more liquid fuel and potable water storage.
JWR: What are your long-term goals?
Mr. Hotel: To survive the coming storm.
JWR's Comments/Recommendations: Mr. Hotel should make preparation to collect, haul, and treat water from open sources. He has enough guns to arm half a platoon. However, for the sake of commonality and more effective ballistics, he should probably sell his Ruger P85 (9mm) pistol and replace it with another SIG P220 (.45 ACP). In fact, that wimpy 9mm caliber could be eliminated from his battery entirely by also replacing the Ruger PC9 carbine with a Marlin .45 ACP Camp Carbine. He should also add some communications gear and a general coverage shortwave receiver.
Present home/retreat: Near Heron, Montana (Northwest Montana, near the Idaho
State line, below the Cabinet Mountains)
Age: 42 and 44
SOs: Two children, both under 15.
Annual income: Varies from $20,000 to $60,000 (Paid on commission.)
Profession: Insurance salesman. (Works from home via telephone.) Mrs. Kilo is
a full time mom.
Investments: Bullion silver (1 ounce rounds), gold and silver mining stocks.
Vehicles: 1993 Ford 150 Diesel 4WD Pickup, 1992 Isuzu Trooper (fuel efficient
4WD), and a Caterpillar D4 tractor with a six-way blade (the ultimate status
symbol in Northern Idaho and Western Montana--used mainly for snow plowing),
Honda 300 cc ATV (for chores and to fetch the mail--Mr. and Mrs. Kilo have a
3/4 mile driveway through two adjoining parcels to get to the county road.)
Firearms Battery: Colt AR-15, customized Remington Model 700 .30-06 in a fiberglass
stock with a Hart medium-heavy contour match barrel, threaded muzzle (for both
a custom Vortex-type flash hider and a Hart muzzle brake) and Leupold 6.5-20X
Vari-X III scope, Mossberg 500 12 gauge riotgun (with magazine extension, TacStar
sidesaddle shell holder, TacStar tactical light, custom re-contoured (no snag)
butt-stock, ghost ring sights, reshaped (tapered and extended) forcing cone for
improved shot patterns, 2 Kimber Custom Gunsite Special M1911 .45 ACP clones
with round-over reductions, Trijicon tritium sights, custom forward griping surface
on slides. Also have numerous .22 rimfires, including a tiny Chipmunk .22 single
shot training rifle, for his children.
Stored ammunition: Roughly 8,000 rounds, various calibers.
Fuel Storage: 10 cords of Tamarack and Red Fir firewood, underground 1200-gallon
propane tank, 220 gallons of diesel (four 55 gallon drums, rotated frequently.)
Home/Retreat Property: 20 acres, mostly timbered with a small seasonal creek.
Well water, AC well pump. (Kawasaki 4 KW propane backup generator.) Most of
the neighboring properties are 40 to 120 acre parcels.
Improvements: 1,800 square foot timber frame house. 2,400-square foot barn/shop.
(Wanted extra firewood storage space, for charity.)
60 x 60 deer-fenced garden plot with eight 4 x 8 raised planter beds. Small poultry
house.
Annual Property Tax: $1,200
Livestock: Leghorn chickens (for meat), Americauna cross chickens (for eggs),
and a few Buff Orpington chickens (for brood hens). Summer flock: 100. Winter
flock: 12 to 14.
Four Saanen dairy goats. (All does. A friend at church has a buck.)
Rex Rabbits for meat. The Kilo family keeps only 2 does plus one buck over winter.
Three to eight Belted Hampshire hogs raised each summer. (All are butchered every
fall.)
400 square foot underground NBC shelter with pre-filters and Honeywell Z-membrane
HEPA filters. (The best combination nuke/chemical filtration.)
Communications Gear: Has General class Amateur license. A variety of VHF, UHF,
and HF transceivers. (All are either ICOM and Yaesu.) Several general coverage
receivers, ICOM 2 meter handie-talkies and one Yaesu base station, marine band
transceiver, and 4 Kenwood FRS hand helds. (Mr. Kilo likes the Kenwood privacy
channel feature.)
Food storage: 6 months for 5 adults.
Hobbies: Hunting, fishing, and boating and ham radio. His wife enjoys gardening
and small livestock husbandry.
Background: Mr. Kilo has a BA in Marketing. He lived in Los Angeles, but moved
to Salt Lake City in the mid-1990s, where he worked in high level inside sales
for a manufacturing company. Then, in early 1999, fearing the worst for Y2K,
he relocated to western Montana and switched to insurance sales. He has never
considered moving back to what his kids call “The dirty big city.” Mr.
Kilo recently built a large two-story barn/shop with a welding and metal working
shop. (He is establishing a second income stream in case his insurance sales
job ever disappears.) Meanwhile, Mrs. Kilo has begun breeding dairy goats, expanded
their garden, and has started raising a wide variety of useful medicinal herbs
such as Aloe Vera, Purple Cone Flower, Valerian, Chamomile, Cramp Bark, et cetera.
She dries herbs and blends special teas for female conditions, headaches, backaches,
and other ailments.
JWR: Why did you choose western Montana?
Mr. Kilo: It was bit of a compromise, partly because I really enjoy boating
and fishing. Strategically, central Idaho might be better for [length of]
growing
season. But I like this area because it is conservative both politically and
religiously.
JWR: Do you see the cold weather as an obstacle to looters?
Mr. Kilo: Certainly! You see far fewer bums in cold weather places versus warm
ones. The same logic will apply to looters. Most of them will head to warmer
climes--not toward the Canadian border!
JWR: What are the drawbacks to the region?
Mr. Kilo: A short growing season. I should also mention that there is an inverse
relationship: The smaller, more remote, and strategic [a retreat locale], the
more challenged it is economically.
JWR: Do you have a greenhouse?
Mr. Kilo: Not yet. We use cold frames. We also use Wall- o Water tepees to
get an early start with some plantings.
JWR: Who will be joining you at your retreat if the balloon goes up?
Mr. Kilo: No specific plans. Perhaps a family from church that is not as well
prepared. In a worst case I would definitely invite at least one family for
extra security. We will be relying on our remote location and anonymity [more
than
armed security].
JWR: How long do you expect that it will be before order and commerce is restored?
Mr. Kilo: That depends on supply lines. It could be three weeks to three months.
JWR: What is your worst case scenario?
Mr. Kilo: Global economic collapse or a U.S. economic collapse.
JWR: What personal circumstances have shaped your preparations, and how?
Mr. Kilo: When we began [setting up our retreat], we were in large part interested
in mitigating against dangers from without. As our walk with God has matured,
we've come to understand that the greater dangers are from within. Obviously
physical security is something that shouldn't be ignored. I have a responsibility
under
God to protect my family, but ultimately our faith is in Christ.
JWR: What shortcomings does your retreat have that you would like to improve
if you had the opportunity?
Mr. Kilo: I would lay in 1000 gallons of unleaded gas, and get seismic sensors
and video [intrusion detection]. Id also like to add a big greenhouse.
JWR: What are your long-term goals?
Mr. Kilo: To have a Godly walk regardless of circumstances and to be a witness
unto Christ. Those are my short, medium, and long-term goals!
JWR's Comments/Recommendations: I admire Mr. and Mrs. Kilos
determination. While many other survivalists gave up and move back to the land
of high
paying jobs
after Y2K fizzled, they stuck with it. He has gradually improved his retreat
ever since.
Mr. and Mrs. Kilo should also buy a pair of night vision goggles and at least
one spare rifle chambered in .303 British (since they live near the Canadian
border, and .303 is one of the most common rifle chamberings used north of
the border.) An Enfield .303 Jungle Carbine with several spare magazines,
a slip
over recoil pad, and a scout type long eye relief scope would be ideal. Acquiring
a .308 semi-auto battle rifle such as an L1A1 (a good choice anywhere and
ideal for near the Canadian border) and perhaps a second AR-15 or a CAR-15
would
be appropriate, especially as his children get older.
Present home/retreat: 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom cinder block home, off grid somewhere
in the Southern half of the state of Georgia. More than 150 miles from major
cities
(Jax, Atlanta)
in a largely agricultural and timber growing area with light industry.
Ages: 33 and 28, one child 7 years old.
Annual Income: Variable, generally $50,000 to $80,000.
Profession: Insurance Agent
Investments: Some stocks and mutual funds, silver, virtually no gold (don't
believe in it), cash, mainly have money "invested" in retreat-
houses, alternate energy system and infrastructure, supplies. I've gotten better "returns" off
my preps than the stocks!
Vehicles- SUV and pickup, both later models. Sold BOV last year when I needed
cash. Majority lacking here, need a diesel CUCV or pickup. I try to justify
not having a BOV because we live at our retreat.
Firearms: I've really pared down my collection the last few years to raise
cash and to get rid of ANYTHING that has failed on me (can't take that chance).
Presently, 10 AK's, mostly pre ban Chinese, M1A with PVS-4 weapons sight, Savage
110 Tacticals with II and III Gen SA scopes, common selection of shotguns and
.22 LRs, Taurus PT 92's and 99's, Glock, couple of 1911 Colts. I've had major
problems with the following weapons systems and have sold (most of) these off-
AR15 (both Colt and variants), HK91 (original) and M1A. I realize that 7.62x39
is not always considered a "common" round
so I've stockpiled a considerable amount of it. Average engagement range in
this area is well under 200 yards, so range limitations of the AK is not a
major factor. Complete spare parts for everything. Night vision, various security
devices and instruments, lots of dogs, alligators in the moat (LOL).
Ammunition stock: Several hundred thousand rounds total. I do not reload. Don't
see much sense in stocking powder, primers and bullets when I could just buy
more cartridges. I realize everyone doesn't think this way.
Comm: Full HF setup (General class operator), can listen to virtually any freq.
Duplicity in all types of comm. TA-1s and 312s
Fuel and power: Off grid since late 1999. 1,680 watt solar array with 12KW
diesel genset backup. 20 Trojan L16's for my battery bank, Trace 4024 Inverter.
Elevated water tank for water pressure holds 4-6 days water before it must
be re-filled. Well pump can be powered from battery bank or from genset. Passive
solar does most of the heating needed during winter days. Waterford stove used
for supplemental wood heating. 5 cords kept on hand at all times (takes less
than 1 per year to heat down here). LP provides gas for oven and water heater.
Over did it on fuel storage for genset. Some may spoil by the time it's used
(rarely have to run the genset). Need an older diesel vehicle.
Food supply: 11 people in "extended" family. We've stored adequate
amounts for all. Principally whole grains, fruits and veggies dehydrated in
#10 cans, MRE entrees and Tray packs for the meats, "snacks" provided
by MRE cookies and brownies. Several grain mills of various kinds, we like
the Country Living brand best. Approximately 150 fruit trees on property. Raise
chickens and rabbits, two fish ponds. Slowly developing approx. 20,000 square
feet of gardening area. We do better with the trees and animals than vegetables
though, but we are working on it. Wild game is fairly abundant in the area.
Personal: He- Survivalist of nearly 20 years, attends schools regularly--shooting,
tracking, HTH, knife fighting, outdoor survival. Currently schooling for Carpentry.
Christian currently trying to better my walk with Him. Believes that all preparations
are for not without a relationship with the Savior.
She- Homeschool teacher and loving Mom. Fully supportive of preparations and
lifestyle. Shoots well and has had formal training. Christian.
JWR: Why did you choose your location?
Mr. Lima: Family. Low population density, no nuclear targets very close by
(lots of targets on the East coast), away from Interstates, no building permits
or building codes, very long growing season, cheap labor.
JWR: What are the drawbacks to the region?
A lot of other Floridians moving up here, LOL. I expect the population to grow
considerably in the next 20 years. Many Floridians are moving to S. GA to escape
the never ending BS with zoning laws, encroaching government, etc.that is happening
in Florida. Housing is approximately 1/2 the price here versus North Florida.
One major drawback to our plan has been rising gas prices. We have to drive
20 miles at least for everything, gas, to get mail, etc. I messed up and didn't
plan for this. It's not affecting us drastically, but will at $5. per gallon.
JWR: Who will be joining you at your retreat if the balloon goes up?
Mr. Lima: Extended family, more than a few friends. Some family and one of
the friends already live close by. They have all made adequate provisions necessary
(food, fuel, housing, etc.). This has been/will be an ongoing concern. Definitely
not a gaggle of people coming together at the last minute.
JWR: How long do you expect that it will be before order is restored?
Mr. Lima: I've planned for it literally never to be restored but it
would be nice for things to get "back to normal" within a year or
so, provided that we have not lost any freedoms. I don't understand survivalists
that only plan for 2 or 3 month problems, it's just not realistic in my book.
JWR: What is your worst case scenario?
Mr. Lima: Probably a widespread biological attack. Isolation will be one of
the only remedies. Any Group needs to plan for this and have a Quarantine area
outside of the main retreat that "late arriving" group
members can sit it out for 2 weeks. 2 weeks is longer than most incubation
periods for the more common bio agents. Hence, in 2 weeks they will
either be showing illness or past the point of contracting, more than likely.
Then they are treated prophylactically with antibiotics, given a full decon and admitted into the general retreat area. Frankly, I think if it's something
like Smallpox you'll have to just shoot anyone that attempts to cross your
wire or barriers to your retreat. You can't risk it with very
contagious agents.
JWR: What personal circumstances have shaped your preparations?
Mr. Lima: Glad you asked this. I lived in North Florida for 15 years before
this. I had prepared my retreat but had not firmly decided to live there. I
was renting a house in Florida. September of 1999 Hurricane Floyd came towards
N. Florida and it was predicted to wipe out all of N. FL. We got stuck in
a six hour traffic jam trying to escape Florida. I realized that "bugging
out" at the last minute was a fool's game and decided
at that point to live at my retreat full time.
JWR: What shortcomings does your retreat have that you would like to improve
if you had the opportunity?
Mr. Lima: We hope to break ground on an addition in the next year or so. Our
home will be too small for my "extended family" during an emergency
and the other houses and structures will be occupied. Will eventually get a
second well. Need to develop our garden soil more. Need more time to "keep
up" with things (their is always something to do). Will have "friends" living
on the property soon so this should work itself out soon.
JWR's Comments/Recommendations: Mr. Lima and his family truly
"live the life." They have a very well-balanced approach to retreating.
I agree that they need at least one diesel vehicle, given their large
diesel storage tanks. Diesel CUCV pickups
can often be had for less than $8,000. There should be a lot of auctions up
at Fort McPherson soon. (It is on the BRAC list.)
Mr. Lima should buy a crossbow to be able to harvest game (post-TEOTWAWKI)
without making
a lot of noise.
Present home: Portland, Oregon. (Owns a retreat near La Grande, Oregon.)
Age: 49
SOs: Wife and two children, both under 16.
Annual income: $120,000+.
Profession: Podiatric Surgeon.
Investments: Three rental houses near Portland and Beaverton, company stock
(incorporated medical group practice), slabbed numismatic coins, bullion silver,
and currently
some very speculative long options on a couple of silver mining stocks.
Vehicles: Toyota Tacoma 4WD Pickup, Toyota 2WD (fuel efficient runabout), Polaris
500cc ATV (mainly for wood hauling, ranch chores, hunting, and foul weather
off road mobility.)
Firearms Battery: 2 Springfield Armory .308 M1As (1 Standard, 1 Scout), pre-ban
Olympic Arms CAR-15 clone with Colt-made M4 16 barreled flat top upper and
Elcan Gen. 3 Starlight scope, Remington Model 700 .308 in a HS-Precision aluminum
bedding block Kevlar Graphite stock and Leupold 3-9X scope, Rem. 870 12 gauge
birdgun, a pre-1899 Spanish Model 1895 Mauser .308 bolt action saddle ring
carbine (.308 arsenal conversion),
2 Colt M1911 .45 ACPs, Colt Single Action .45 (Long) Colt, a German P.08 Luger
9mm, and two Ruger 10/22s. (Note: He considers the Luger strictly a target
practice gun--it is a family heirloom.)
Stored ammunition: Roughly 10,000 rounds, various calibers.
Fuel Storage: 6 cords of red fir firewood, 1100 gallon underground diesel tank,
2200 gallon underground gasoline tank, 1600 gallons propane. Retreat Property:
160 acres, mostly timbered with a year-round creek and six ponds. Well water,
gravity fed spring water, 5 KW backup Lister-Peter Hawkpower diesel generator,
16 PV panels, 32 deep cycle marine (series-parallel 24 VDC) bank, and a ganged
pair of Trace 30 Amp inverters. (Which provide three two-phase power for day-to-day
use and three phase power for short duration arc welding.)
Improvements: 3,600 square foot timber frame house. 2,200 square foot barn/shop.
1,450 square foot fenced garden plot. 200 square foot greenhouse.
Annual Property Tax: Under $1,600 per year. 180 acres are under a timberland
exemption. (The taxes would be four times as much if the ranch were in western
Oregon.)
Livestock: None. (The caretaker at his retreat has a dog and a cat, but has
no livestock.)
Communications Gear: Sony 2010 general coverage receiver, Baygen AM/FM/SW (hand
crank/AC/DC), 4 Motorola FRS walkie talkies.
Food storage: 5 years for 4 adults.
Hobbies: Boating, music, scuba diving, computer games, and target shooting.
Background: Dr. Mike is an MD with several specialized residencies. He currently
specializes in foot surgery. He lives in the Portland metropolitan area, which
worries him, but he is fairly confident that he can make it to his well-prepared
retreat. In early 1998, fearing the worst for Y2K, Dr. Mike sold his stock
portfolio, paid $1,000,000 cash for a custom 3,200 square foot ranch house
on 160 acres. The land is blessed with a year-round stream, a nice clay bank
(for pottery or making adobe bricks), a large rock pit with rock that is already
suitable size for road building/maintenance without need of a rock crusher,
a lifetime supply of firewood, lots of deer and elk, and several nice ponds
which Dr. Mike has stocked with Bluegill. He moved his family to the La Grande
retreat in the summer of 1999, and began scheduling his cases in cooperation
with other doctors in his medical group so that he could alternate two weeks
each month in Portland, and two weeks at the retreat. Then, when Y2K turned
out to be a non-event, he moved his family back to Portland. The main reason
for moving back was that the long travel back and forth to his medical practice
was wearing him down, and the La Grande area lacked a top quality private school
for his children. Since buying the ranch, Dr. Mike has added more than $225,000
worth of survival upgrades, including a sophisticated PV power system, a micro-hydro
power system (which was more trouble than it was worth), fencing, four additional
ponds (it had only two ponds when he bought it), roads, fruit and nut trees,
fuel storage tanks, an oversize wood shed, food storage, tools, guns, et cetera.
JWR: Why did you choose the La Grande area?
Dr. Mike: It is a very low key, conservative area, and it is more than one
tank of gas away from Portland.
JWR: What are the drawbacks to the region?
Dr. Mike: The employment situation is weak, other than some government jobs.
It is also on an interstate freeway, which could channel in more refugees
and bad guys than wed like.
JWR: When do plan to move to your retreat permanently?
Dr. Mike: When my kids graduate. I hope to retire early--in about four years.
From a financial standpoint, I could retire right now, but I have too many
projects that are keeping me busy.
JWR: How do you manage your retreat in your absence?
Dr. Mike: I have a full time caretaker who lives there with his family.
JWR: How has that worked out for you?
Dr. Mike: Fairly well. We had some rocky times back when he was in a mixed
renter/caretaker status. He is now strictly a labor for rent caretaker.
Clarifying that made a big difference.
JWR: Who will be joining you at your retreat if the balloon goes up?
Dr. Mike: I have no firm plans at this time. If its a sudden crash, I would
be selecting from a small number of close friends. Ill be very selective.
JWR: How long do you expect that it will be before order is restored?
Dr. Mike: I have had no set scenario since Y2K. Back then I was thinking:
a years of total chaos, and then three years or longer for an economic recovery.
JWR: What is your worst case scenario?
Dr. Mike: They nuke Portland, I'm toast, and I cant get there [to my retreat],
and my caretaker enjoys the fruits of my labor. (Laughs.)
JWR: What personal circumstances have shaped your preparations, and how?
Dr. Mike: I was able to throw money at the project and not worry about it.
I wouldn't have done it if I hadn't have been able to afford to lose it.
I basically kept half of my assets in conservative investments, and poured
the other half
into the ranch. Most of the upgrades were done in 1999 just before Y2K.
JWR: What shortcomings does your retreat have that you would like to improve
if you had the opportunity?
Dr. Mike: It is losing money. Id like to find a way to make the ranch pay
for itself. If I could: sell trespass to parties of big game hunters that
might
cover some of my costs. I plan to add a second home for my caretaker soon.
That way I can enjoy the use of the ranch more often, and on shorter notice.
JWR: What are your long-term goals?
Dr. Mike: After my kids finish school, I want to retire, enjoy the ranch,
and enjoy traveling.
JWR's Comments/Recommendations: Dr. Mike has the most elaborate retreat that I've ever visited. There is not much more that he could do in terms of power self-sufficiency! With his ample budget, I'd recommend that he buy a pair of night vision goggles, add IR security lighting, and get more capable communications/monitoring gear for his retreat: police scanner, CBs, 2 meter handie-talkies, and an HF transceiver.) He should buy field telephones and commo wire to coordinate security with his contiguous neighbors and an LP/OP in the event of a situation requiring 24/7-security. He should also build a ballistically protected retreat within a retreat, construct and camouflage an LP/OP that overlooks his house and shop. He should buy a Level III Kevlar vest and a Kevlar helmet for each member of his family. If his caretaker is willing, he should also get a start with small livestock.
Present home/retreat: Central Arizona. Not on any major roads, or near any
major towns. Hopefully far enough away and well hidden enough to avoid the
hordes. Mild summers, not too much snow in the winter.
Age: 49
SOs: Wife, children are grown (Daughter at the West Point Academy, Son is
flying A-10s after graduating from Stanford with a degree in biochemistry).
Annual income: $350,000
Profession: Emergency Physician, retired USAF/ANG pilot and Operations planner,
wife is a histologist and retired from the AF
Reserve (Medical Corps, and later an Intelligence officer).
Investments: Gold (US, Canadian and Krugerrands) and silver (junk) coins, no-load
mutual funds in the S&P 500 and total stock market,
investment property. Advice: Do without today so you can have tomorrow. No
debt on anything.
Vehicles: 2004 Ford F350 Crew Cab long bed 4x4, 100 gallon tank in the bed
(BOV), 97 Yukon 4x4 (daily driver), 82 Mercedes-Benz 300D Turbo (wife's daily
driver, 26 mpg on the road with the AC on and simple to fix). I occasionally
will fly to Los Angeles from the local airport in a small airplane if I need
to work for just a day or two. It keeps me current. However,
I have to be careful, I wouldn't want to try and fly home after working 12
hours, until I get some rest. It cuts my commute time in half or less. I'm
thinking of replacing my Yukon with another vehicle since the Yukon has over
200K miles
on it. If I do it will probably be another diesel pickup with lots of fuel
tankage. Most likely an F250 short bed 4x4 (the big truck rides like a ...truck
with no load). I'd get a diesel Excursion if I could get a bigger fuel tank
in it. I commute to and from LA to work, I try and schedule my work so I get
5 days straight, a week
or more off, and then another 5 days straight so I cut down on commuting. I'd
like to be able to commute (about 500 miles each way) without refueling and
would like more cargo room than the Mercedes has. Each vehicle has a customized
BoB for the primary driver. Each
also has a small cardboard box filled with ammo: We were at a public range
in the LA area the day the Rodney King riots started. Of course, we shot up
all our ammo. Going home was sporting, to say the least. So, we now keep a
small quantity of common calibers stored, just in case. We have steel security
boxes (slave boxes) in each vehicle, when we cross into the Peoples Republic
of Kalifornia we have to unload our handguns and lock them in. When we ride
together we grab our BoB. Trailers: I follow the military philosophy and use
trailers for a lot of things - we've even gone to Costco with one hitched up
(Hint: Get there early and
get a parking space you'll be able to drive out of).
36 ft 5th wheel trailer,
toy-hauler trailer. Kubota diesel tractor with a bunch of attachments (from
a farm sale). 2 Polaris ATVs with racks (one with a utility trailer), 1 snow
machine (with a sled). Small flatbed (ATV) trailer. Large (car sized) flatbed
trailer and horse/stock trailer. We use it to move our feeder cow. We bought
the ATVs, and the flatbed and stock trailer from farm sales for far, far less
than their cost new.
Firearms Battery: Lots and lots - I didn't 'do without today' on weapons, and
have traded in or sold very few over the years. Aside from the military training
we have received, we both try to attend various professional defensive shooting
schools every couple of years - Gunsite, Thunder Ranch, Yavapai, Front Site,
whatever. We try and mix it up a bit to get ideas from different people. The
training is essential for the mind set, if nothing else.
Defensive Battery:
4 M1As (mine): 2 SA, one with Trijicon ACOG TA55C, 1 LRB with Leupold tactical
3x10 variable, 1 Fulton NM with Leupold 4x14 tactical, 100+ magazines that
actually work, another 25 or so that don't (gun show specials). I was able
to get most of my M1A magazines from the CMP when they were selling them.
4 FALs. They're my wife's, she was originally in the Canadian military and
the C1A1 (Canadian inch pattern FAL) is what she learned on), 2 Imbel/STG
metric, 2 inch pattern, one with ACOG TA11C, one with Leupold 3x10 tactical,
one with
SUIT
sight. 100+
metric
magazines
total. 5 AR-15s (one pre-ban, the others post-ban, one a Bushmaster 16",
all have Trijicon night sites, 2 have ACOG TA11), a 6.8 PPC upper for an AR
with a Leupold 3x9. I'm not sure why I bought that top half...
Daughter's guns:
FAL (Imbel/STG) and AR-15 (Bushmaster 16" Dissipator). We keep them since
she can't at the Academy. Rem 700 varmint heavy barrel fluted stainless in
.308 with a Leupold 3x9 scope. Kimber .45 ACP, Rem 870 12 gauge riot, Rem 870
12 Gauge with adjustable choke for hunting - she's a pretty good wing shot,
she
regularly goes 50 straight at skeet or trap.
Son's guns: HK-91, 10 or so Magazines, AR-15 (Colt Sporter with ACOG on the
handle), 30 or so magazines. Kimber .45 ACP (here), Rem 870 12 gauge, Sako
.308 with synthetic stock, 3x9 scope.
We each have CCWs, we recently switched from 1911s to Glocks. 5 1911s include
3 Mk IV / Series 70s tuned by various people over the years and 2 Kimbers,
about 50 after market (Brown, Mccormick) magazines. All with Trijicon night
sites.We both have G21s and G30s, (.45ACP) 5 factory full capacity mags for
each, a G22 (.40S&W) with 5 full cap magazines also. Beretta 92FS with
tritium sights (M9 clone) to practice with our "issue" weapon when
we were in the guard / reserve (neither of us like it). More factory mags for
the Glocks
on order. Mossberg 590 shotgun, 500 shotgun, Mossberg marine (stainless), Remington
870 20" riot
gun, Ithaca Deerslayer 18" riot gun. Each has a side-saddle, a butt-cuff
with storage, and a sling with more storage. 2 bandoleers that each hold 50
rounds of 12 gauge. The 590 and 500 have ghost-ring tritium
sights. M1 Garand (CMP). A couple thousand rounds (Greek and Philippine) in
en bloc clips, a few thousand more rounds
loose, and about 100 clips, loose.
Precision Rifles: Rem 700 .300 Win Mag, Leupold 4x12 scope, Rem 700 .308, Leupold 3x9 scope, .338 Lapua Mag (Leupold 6.5x20 scope). Leitz Geovid laser range finder, drag bags, etc.
Long Range Precision Rifle: Barrett M82A1 with 10 magazines, 1000 rounds of mixed ammo, 1000 cases, reloading equipment on hand. BTW, I'm looking for that Raufoss ammo that SeeBS tells me I can buy on the Internet. The Barrett is incredible - all four of us (wife, kids and me) are shooting 1 inch groups at 300 meters (just one big ragged hole) with standard M33 ammo. I've got some Black Hills and IMI 'match grade' on order, but without a much longer range to shoot on we won't be able to see any improvement. This is straight out of the box: The scope was already mounted and zeroed by the factory.
Combloc junk: 2 AK47s, 3 SKSs, a couple of Tokarevs. Maybe 10K rounds of 7.62x39 ammo in battle packs.
Thinking about: Class-III weapons. Spray and pray is actually fun, if not
productive. Weapons mounted (or mounts for) NVD sights. A C&R license.
Suppressors for a few of the weapons.
I have spare parts for most of the weapons in our battery, including spare
magazine springs, etc. I hope I do, anyway.
Misc: Walther P38, S&W revolvers in various sizes and shapes (.44, .357,
.38, .22LR), Ruger Mk I bull barrel, 2 Ruger 10/22s (all Rugers purchased
before Ruger went over to the Dark Side, I've sold
my other Rugers but kept these because I haven't found anything good to replace
them), Win 70 and Rem 700 hunting rifles in .270, .30-06,
.308, .300 WM, .375 H&H. P14 Enfield in .416 Rigby. Browning A5 12 gauge
and 20 gauge, Marlin 336 .30-30, Savage 24C in .22/20gauge, 2 Keltec SU-16s
(in our BoBs), FR-8 (308), Alaskan Co-pilot in .45-70 with 1.5 scope and ghost-ring
backup sights, SA M6 survival rifle.
Not that we ever want to use them, but we have 6 tactical vests with level
III armor (and level IV plates for 4 of them), and helmets. I also have two
sets
of NVD - an AN/PVS-7C with helmet attachment, and an ITT unit that is similar,
designed for boaters.
Stored ammunition: Roughly 150,000 rounds, various calibers. All stored in
ammo cans, labeled by caliber. Only about 25K in .22LR and another 10K in shotgun
ammo. I have 'minimum reorder points' for the critical stuff - 7.62, .45, 7.62x39,
.22LR, 12 gauge. We had about half of this before we bought the house, moving
it was a chore. When I buy ammo I need, I usually buy more of what we may need
if its on sale, from AIM or Ammoman or whomever. I have some of it in a concrete
ammo magazine I bought surplus, some in the gun vault, and some stored around
the place. For the US mil-surplus calibers, I only buy ammo from reliable countries
- mostly US, Radway Green (British) and IMI (Israel). Its all reliably NATO
spec. I also have reloading equipment for everything I own (and a few I don't),
including 200K primers (remember the primer shortage in 1994?), powder, and
bullets. My wife and I shoot about 1000 rounds a year in our MBRs,
about 500 in the AR15s, and 2000/year of .45 for currency. I have hunting ammo
for the
hunting rifles and occasionally hunt (deer or elk) in other areas. We have
some salt licks we keep set out to get game used to being in our areas but
don't hunt nearby - occasionally others will. I've thought about tossing some
seed corn out in a meadow nearby to make a lure for animals (if it grows) but
haven't done it yet. Our garden is fenced in, to keep the big critters out.
Fuel Storage: 6 cords of firewood (going for 8), mostly Ponderosa Pine and
Gambel Oak. We also have Pinyon Pine in the area. It's stored immediately adjacent
to the house but not against it, in a lean-to shelter. We go through about
4 cords a year, using the fireplace or stove for heating (we need to use the
furnace only occasionally in the winter, mainly to take the chill off if we've
been gone for a couple of days.) 300 gal above ground gas tank (mixed with
Pri-G), 300 gal above ground diesel tank (mixed with Pri-D), 250 gal above
ground diesel for the generator (also mixed with Pri-D). 4 50-gallon drums
of stabilized diesel, 2 drums of stabilized gas. Assorted 5 gallon fuel cans
for gas and
diesel. All of our fuels are stored at least 150' from a building for fire
safety, fortunately we have enough of a grade that we can feed the generator
via gravity. 30 gallon diesel tank on the toy hauler for the generator, 20
gallon diesel tank on the 5th wheel for the generator. Both kept full with
Pri-D treated fuel. I'd like to get bigger (or more) tanks for diesel.1000
gal Propane tank, bermed and with a chain link enclosure. Room, a pad and plumbing
for another one inside the berm. A bunch of portable propane tanks
from 20 to 100 lb, all kept filled. About 50 gallons of Kerosene (we have lamps
and a stove for it), and about 25 gallons of Coleman fuel (ditto). I also have
a diesel stove (from a boat), and fuel
oil heater, both stored, and a couple of multi-fuel backpacking stoves (MSRs).
I have some experience (now) cutting trees, and have both powered (chain saws,
hydraulic log splitter) and manual (axes) equipment to
do it. Powered is a lot better. We have a wood stove in the house that with
the fireplace does a pretty good job of keeping the house
habitable, and another in the Quonset hut mainly for heat.
Retreat Property: 80 Acres, almost all timbered, surrounded by National Forest.
At high elevation (6000') so short growing season.
Improvements: 2800 sq. ft. 2-story double-envelope house (5 bedroom) with solar
on roof. 20x40 Quonset hut garage/storage. Trailer pad with water/propane/sewer
hookups. Dog run, fenced in, with 'dogloos' for our dogs - a German Sheppard,
a Great Pyrenees, and three Finnish Spitz. They all spend more time in our
house than theirs. We have 2 wells, both with solar jack pumps, and a 14,000
gal cistern up on the hill so we have
gravity fed water. We have a fire pump and hose in case we need to use the
water for defending against a fire,
the house has a tin roof and sprinklers on the ridge line. Our septic system
is 3x the size needed for the house + 5th wheel trailer).We have a solar electrical
system with about 4KW worth of panels, 2K amps worth of phone batteries (30+
year life span?) and 4 2048 Trace inverters (up to 4 Kw on 220 AC). Passive
solar hot water boost and propane water heater. Propane range and oven in the
kitchen, propane furnace we hardly ever use. Wood burning hot tub :). 12 KW
diesel generator in a separate room off of basement. I have my old 8 KW
China Diesel generator available for standby, in the Quonset - I start it up
once or twice a year and we test it on the house. It's
noisy but it works. I also have a small (2KW) gas engine generator.
The basement is equipped as a fallout shelter. It has 18" of reinforced
concrete plus 36" of dirt overhead. We installed a LUWA HEPA-filtered
ventilation system. I'm not too worried about blast protection in the area
so I don't have
a blast
valve, but the entrances are at least blast resistant by design. The basement
also has bathroom with shower, and an electric flash water heater. There is
also a motel-type kitchen unit with a small refrigerator and electric burners.We
have NBC gear as well - MBU-2/P masks (the model we were trained on in the
Air Force), MOPP suits, Tyvek jumpsuits with hoods and booties, and N95 masks
and gloves. I have two calibrated CD V-777 kits, a CD-V717 remote, and we each
have 'nuke alerts' on our keychains. The power room (batteries, inverter, etc)
and generator room are opposite the entrance to the basement, underground,
outside the footprint of the house with camouflaged air and exhaust pipes.
With two heavy doors the generator isn't so much heard when it runs, as sort
of felt. Even though we have commercial power we're out in the sticks (5 miles
of county road to our property access road. Our property isn't visible from
the county road) we have power outages every winter. The power system is there
to back us up. The generators are set to auto-run once a week for 30 minutes
to exercise them, float the batteries, etc. We test the power system regularly
(when the commercial power fails, and twice a year we go onto our own power
for a week at a time). We don't sell power back to the grid although we're
thinking of it. We're also thinking of adding more panels - maybe a complete
separate system for the Quonset. There is a root cellar bump-out on North side
(dirt floor), and a gun vault/secure room bump-out on other side (all reinforced
concrete, vault door, with "escape
tunnel" to a hidden LP/OP).
The storage room in the basement has shelves with food (6 years x 3 people
Walton Feed deluxe, 1+ year Freeze Dried Mountain House, 3 months worth or
MREs (rotated, 3 years old max, kept cool), plus our own canned foods and
regular foods. 3 powered grain mills, 2 hand grain mills. We rotate the cooking
oil for the food, and keep the old oil for a potential bio-diesel project (maybe
this winter, I have the equipment and other supplies already). We also have
a couple of caches on our property "just in case" with food,
supplies, and weapons.
We have a 300 meter shooting range with backstop. We use it at least every
other week.
Annual Property Tax: $2,300 this year (it goes up every year)
Livestock: Mostly chickens (around 30?) for eggs and dinner. We keep a feeder
cow and get it butchered ever fall (he's got about another three weeks, we
think), and are thinking of goats/sheep/dairy cows but don't have a clue yet.
We keep a lot of frozen meat (beef, lamb, chicken, pork) on hand, too. My wife
is very organized, so she is great at managing the rotation of our food and
other supplies.We also have a 2 acre (more or less) garden (but we spread things
out so much we probably get 1 acre's worth of food) and a green house
(PVC pipe bows and a Visqueen cover) to start plants in.We have a "canning
kitchen" on one side of the house on the deck (outside the kitchen wall)
with a large propane range, work tables, and water and sink so we can process
and can a lot of our produce without a lot of effort or down-time. We also
have three or four pressure canners (including two very large ones), we buy
them at garage sales and then fix them up - $10 for a used canner and another
$10 or $15 for a gasket and gauge (maybe) is a lot better than $400 for a new
canner.
Communications Gear: We're both hams (General license). Each vehicle has an
Icom 8000 2 meter radio and 5/8 wave antenna. The Yukon and the pickup have
Icom 706 Mk II (HF, 6, 10 Meter, 2 440, modified for out of band) with automatic
tuners and antennas (both whip, and a self-tuning
G5RV long-wire we can string up if needed).The house has an Icom M700 marine
grade HF, an automatic antenna tuner, 1500 W linear
amp, several different antennas including a log-periodic wide band (purchased
surplus from the Air Force, it's a huge antenna with a bigger rotator on a
monster mast. $100K+ to replace, I got it for $1300 and it cost me another
$4K to move and install it). The house also has 2
meter, 440, and commercial
VHF-FM high and UHF-FM radios with programming software, and an aircraft radio.
A variety of FRS/GMRS and
ham/commercial handheld radios, some with earbuds or mic/earphone cords to
connect to the four sets of Peltor amplified hearing protectors. I have a couple
of military tactical radios - PRC-77 (FM) and PRC-90 and ARC-164 (UHF aircraft)
that I occasionally monitor. The commercial radios have the local police department,
sheriff and fire frequencies programmed, among others.An Icom (I like Icom
Radios) IC 75 broadband receiver / scanner I just got. The "radio
shack" is in the basement, all antenna leads are EMP protected
via a mil-grade gas tube surge suppressors. (Polyphasers, and I have spares).
We have both cable TV with Internet, and a satellite Internet system (designed
for a boat, not direct-tv). We have both because we wanted the Internet access
rather than the basic cable, we're too far from everything for DSL. We can
handle no TV more than we can handle no Internet - I also write for a medical
journal and my wife does some health and safety work from home so we need reliable
access. Like a friend told me once, "two is one, and one is none" for
critical items. The house and area has a wireless network (with WAPs
in the basement and in the house and the Quonset which covers most of the used
part of the property) and Cat-5E cable to each
location or room. The house has it's own telephone system switch (4x12 Nortel)
with extensions in the garage, and a connection at the trailer pad in
addition to the regular locations. It includes some cordless 5 GHz phones (the
2.4 GHz interfere with the wireless network). We have two handheld satellite
phones, one is active. These were left over from ferrying the boats. Once you
have the phone, it's not too expensive to get a plan with 30 minutes of world-wide
coverage, I get 30 minutes a month for $30. And we both have regular cell phones,
which just barely work at the house. We like to stay in touch.We have commercial
phone wire buried in conduit to the Quonset, and 3 LP/OPs. I have TA-1 / TA312's
for each, and WD-1/TT commo wire if we want to put out any more.We also have
Grundig wind-up radios in our BoB's and shelters.
Hobbies: Flying, backpacking, sailing. My wife is into backpacking, sailing,
growing food and flowers, and "textile arts" (sewing, knitting).
She's a great navigator but doesn't want to learn to fly. We have done a few
sailboat charters for vacations, and ferried two sailboats (one from Maine
to Oregon, the other from Los Angeles to Hawaii) for friends - the experience
we got doing that was great for when we bought our retreat, and it convinced
us that a boat wasn't going to work as a retreat.
Background: I'm an engineer by training, but mostly was in the Air Force and
Air National Guard - I flew F4 fighters and C130 transports. My wife is a refugee
from Kanukistan, she came to the US to get her histology training and stayed.
She joined the Air Force to expedite her
US Citizenship. Our children are both in the Air Force.
After I retired from the Air Guard, I decided to go to medical school (it's
never too late to do what you should have done in the first place). I was able
to attend school in Los Angeles, while my wife worked and the kids finished
high school. I was recalled to active duty (from retirement) after Sept 11,
2001 (we were in NY at the time, it was an anniversary trip - I guess I better
not ever miss my anniversary, especially now). I called a friend who works
at the Pentagon to check on him, and he had me recalled the next day. I spent
18 months on AD, got off and my wife got activated for a year. We're both retired
(again).
We used to live north of Los Angeles, and spent years looking for the 'right'
property. We considered every state west of the Mississippi, and concentrated
on the Rocky Mountain and West. California certainly wasn't in the mix. It
took awhile, but we finally found our property, got the house built, and moved
two
years ago. I still work about 10 12-hour shifts a month at a hospital near
Los Angeles, my wife works at a hospital in Arizona. We try to stay within
a fuel tank (of our vehicles) of home, without refueling. When we get to where
we work, the first thing we do is refuel the tanks (just in case).When we lived
full time in LA we both worked full time at different hospitals in Los
Angeles. We had fallout shelters stocked in rental storage units near each
hospital (within easy walking distance). We still keep the one for me, it's
equipped with an ad-hoc fallout shelter (8x5x5' high, made of stacked bags
of
concrete) in the storage unit (which I can always get into, even if I have
to hop the fence). The shelter is equipped with a months worth of food and
water, clothes, BoB, radiation detection equipment, porta-potty, wind up radio,
suitcase generator, deep cycle battery, solar panel (small, roll up type),
mountain bike, and even a Cali-legal weapon or two). If needed, I can shelter
in it for 2-4 weeks (or more) and then make my way home. If my car/truck doesn't
work, I can walk to
a small airport and find a suitable airplane (the
engine electrical system is dirt simple and most likely won't be affected by
EMP) - several friends have offered me the use of their planes in such a circumstance.
We got the 5th wheel to travel around (another hint: You can buy them a year
or two old, used maybe three times, for about half what they cost brand new),
we used it to find our property and then to stay in until we got the house
built. When I finally quit the hospital we may travel around a bit and both
work locum tenens, if we do we'll tow the toy hauler (also) equipped with
the shelter materials, and dig a hole for shelter.My concerns are that with
just the two of us, we're going to have trouble defending our place. We put
a lot into our physical security (the property is fenced) and confidentiality.
Our nearest neighbor is four miles away, and we have limited confidence in
fire suppression in the area. I am on very good terms with the local fire department,
the sheriff, etc but it's just a long way for them to go. So, the house is
as fire resistant as we can make it, with a metal roof, the fire suppression
sprinklers, etc. We also have an alarm system and cameras set up to oversee
the area (at least a little). We have extended invitations to a couple of very
close, like-minded friends to co-locate with us, and offered them safe haven
if needed. The kids don't have families of their own yet but they'd be welcome,
of course.
JWR: Why did you choose Central Arizona?
Dr. November: Mainly because it offered us the option of working in several
markets without too much commuting - when I finally finish working in LA, I
will have the option of working at major hospitals in Flagstaff, Prescott and
Phoenix with a relatively short (less than 2 hour) commute. Our commute in LA
was about 35 miles and with 'normal' traffic it would routinely take me us an
hour. With rush hour traffic it could take more than two hours, and we'd both
show up to work stressed. ER physicians normally work shifts with rotating hours
- a doctor coming on shift every two hours, for example, so there is always
a 'fresh' doctor on duty. There was no way to avoid the traffic. We didn't find
another area with good weather, decent politics (at least relatively), low taxes
and affordable property with adequate water supplies. The area is also
relatively off potential fallout patterns and away from any targets. Its also
close to our friends and family in Los Angeles.
JWR: What are the drawbacks to the region?
Dr. November: It's somewhat on the beaten path - lots of tourists in the general
area. We're not really near any big town or well-known tourist area, but we're
not really far away. The climate is kind of marginal for very productive farming.
There are too many people moving from California to the area, and then trying
to make it California again. This will tilt the politics leftward in the future.
The location is a compromise.
JWR: Who will be joining you at your retreat if the balloon goes up?
Dr. November: Good question. Our kids are both in the military and may not be
able to join us. We've extended invitations to a few select good
friends, but none have made any commitment.
JWR: How long do you expect that it will be before order is restored?
Dr. November: Once things get totally screwed up, it will be at least 5 years,
I think before some small semblance of our former standard of living
will be possible. Depending on the event, it could take much longer.
JWR: What is your worst case scenario?
Dr. November: The main concern I have is a terrorist WMD attack. I doubt that
terrorists have access to nuclear weapons but they can still cause a great deal
of trouble with a dirty bomb, chemical or biological attack. We're out of the
way for the immediate affects of such an attack but the long-term ramifications
are significant. The threat of an economic meltdown is still present. I don't
necessarily subscribe to Peak Oil theories
but I think it's time that society starts looking for an alternative to petroleum
fuels. A major event in the middle east would disrupt the world oil supply and
the worlds'
economy.And, China is building up its naval and missile capability
- they must have some reason for it, and none of the alternatives we can think
of are good.
JWR: What personal circumstances have shaped your preparations, and how?
Dr. November: My father was a pilot in the Air Force, as well - in the Strategic
Air Command. I grew up with a bug-out bag and practicing getting out of Dodge,
the Air Force
required people living on base to practice.My travels around the world have encouraged
me to try and protect (even more) what we have in the US. I do what I can to
fix the politics in the US and make preparations for the future. One of the mottos
I live by is from Teddy Roosevelt; "Make preparations in advance - you rarely
have troubles if you are prepared for them". Good advice.
It's always easier for weak and lazy criminals (individuals or nations) to take
from those who have, rather than work for themselves.
JWR: What shortcomings does your retreat have that you would like to improve
if you had the opportunity?
Dr. November:This is the second (and realistically, probably last) time we've
built such a home. There are many things we've done differently this time, partially
because
of improved technology, partially because the kids are grown. There are a few
things I might change - more diesel and propane storage, either a larger home
or a larger storage building, maybe a slightly better climate.
JWR: What are your long-term goals?
Dr. November: We want to settle down and work less. I have a contractual obligation
to continue working in LA for another year or so, after that we want to just
work near home. There are a few skills we'd like to acquire - farming and ranching,
to start. We don't have much experience with either.
I'd also like to learn to weld. We might travel a bit more, but some goals we
had previously like sailing around the world in a sailboat, and flying around
the world in a light airplane are off the table these days. The problems in
the middle East and in Africa are so substantial that we don't want to go there
anymore. We both just want to settle down, live our lives
and maybe become better cooks, as well.
Update (as of 10/05):
Our (late) feeder steer is delicious, he's in the freezer, and we've got some
turkeys now too.
I've added a 5,000
gallon diesel fuel tank to my home (a surplus airport refueler). I didn't cry
(much)
when I had
it filled with jet fuel (instead of diesel). I'm also going to install an in-ground
tank as soon as possible. I've also built most of a greenhouse (construction
is still underway), and my son has 50 more magazines for his HK-91. I've sold
my Yukon and replaced it with another diesel pickup, and also purchased an
'89 Ford F250 diesel (7.3L, all mechanical except for the glow plug relay)
as a work truck. It's getting the running gear upgraded now (tires/brakes/wheel
bearings/hubs/u-joints/transmission/etc), then some body work and paint, including
the interior, new fuel tanks (extended range and cross-bed). I have the parts
and manuals to rebuild the engine this winter. I have new (matched) injectors
for it, and a newly rebuilt injector pump, as well as spare accessories including
a turbo, batteries, belts, hoses, etc. This makes us (except for our tools,
like chain saws and ATV's) all-diesel.
And, I found quite a lot of welding gear (gas, arc, and MIG) at a farm sale
so I'm working on that. Our daughter is a 1st year cadet (senior) with a slot
at UPT, and our son just made the Major list (below the zone) (I feel so old).
He was home recently on leave and cut and split about 4 cords of wood for us
(which brings us up to about 9 cords now). And we've gotten a commitment from
two separate friends families to join us if TSHTF, they must be serious because
they ordered food from Walton's for themselves, and had it delivered to us,
and they say ammo is on the way too. I think the H5N1 situation has them worried,
too. We're glad to have them, they're our best friends.
JWR's Comments/Recommendations:
Gee Doc, I'd like to be your neighbor! :-)
Seriously; buy yourself a full oxy-acetylene welding/cutting rig, extra tips, spare cylinders, goggles and a mask, fireproof chaps, fireproof shirt, plenty of welding/brazing rod, and a climate controlled cabinet to store the rod stock in. Even if you don't have the chance to learn how to weld before TSHTF, you will at least have the equipment. (You seem to have plenty of spare logistics to barter for welding lessons.) The only gap that I saw in your firearms battery was a sufficient supply of magazines for your son's HK-91. German army surplus alloy G3 magazines are currently as low as $3.00 each in quantity, so you have no excuse. Buy at least 50 of them. A good source is Cheaper Than Dirt.
With your budget, you should build a large permanent (glass) greenhouse to compensate for your retreat's high elevation and short growing season. Lay in a supply of non-hybrid seed, available through The Ark Institute. Haul in top soil, if necessary.
Ditto, you can also probably afford to buy one of the late generation (compact) Raytheon Thermal Weapons Sights (TWS). They are Hotel Sierra! Talk to Al Glanze at STANO Components, Inc..
I also recommend that you resist the urge to get a C&R license or any $200 transfer tax Class 3 goodies. IMO, the risk/benefit ratio is not favorable. Remember the old Japanese proverb: "The nail that sticks up gets hammered down."
Home/property: Located in eastern Wisconsin. 160 acres of mixed pine and oak
forest. 32,000 trees planted in the last two years. Entered in tree management
program. House 2,800 square feet. Principally heated by a soapstone stove with
propane hot water backup. Built in 1981. Outbuilding shed/library/reloading
room. A 40x30 pole barn. Shed has cast iron "cooking/heating" stove,
wood fired…propane backup. 1,000 gallon propane tank. Inverter in place
for addition of 6,500 watt diesel generator to be installed spring '07. 200
gallons gasoline stabilized and in place. 70 gallons kerosene. 500 gallon diesel
tank to be in place at addition of generator. Several solar panels in inventory
and more to follow. Plan to get off grid by '09 if there is time. Have 15 springs
and an artesian flow into 18 acres of wetland with a five acre pond adjacent
to home. Pond built as trout rearing facility by DNR in
1941. Trout/walleye/perch/crappies abound in crystal clear cool water. Site
not nearly defensible as wished but 2-3 miles of barbed wire in inventory with
staking to be erected when time comes. Dozens of caltrops on hand for roadway
interdiction Security system in place with video system to follow. Another
large pole building will be built in '07-'08 for further storage of vehicles/tools.
Age: He, 59 and She 55. Children grown and gone but back to farm regularly.
Income. In excess of $400,000 annually.
Professions: She is an M.D. with 22 years on the job. He is an Instructor in
Administration of Justice at a local community college. He is a Viet Nam vet
and witnessed the Tet offensive firsthand. Saw Saigon a city in chaos,
a society in collapse. He graduate with B.S./M.S. in education. Graduate of Oregon
Institute of Technology (Gunsmithing) 1976. Practiced full time/part time 25
years in the trade.
Investments. The land and the trees, stocks and bonds, and "investment grade" weapons.
Property will be paid off in March of '07. Plan is to invest in off grid power
upgrades
Vehicles. She, a Mercedes. He a Ford 4WD pickup. There are two BMW motorcycles,
one a 2002 1100RT, The other is a perfect condition 1985 80ST. The ST should
need no protection from any EMP threat. Many small engine gas powered garden
implements of the DR type. She has an Vespa scooter. Bicycles were bought last
month. 11-06.
Weaponry. He is a state certified instructor with pistols, rifles, shotguns and
submachine guns. He also teaches vehicles contacts and emergency vehicle operation
and chemical munitions. They have incorporated a small business corporation to
obtain registered Class 2 and Class 3 weapons. There are currently: 1 Ingram
M10 in .45ACP with [suppressor] can. 1 Swedish "K" 9mm SMG, 1 Sterling
Mk4 9mm SMG, 1 Thompson .45ACP SMG, 1 FN-FL heavy barrel select fire .308, 1
SAW M16 with can, 1 M-1A with glass, 1 FN Belgian .308 with glass, 1 Bushmaster
.308 with Nightforce glass. 3 SKS, 1 AK-47 semi, 2 M-1 Carbines (U.S.G.I.) 1
Marlin Camp Carbine 9mm and 1 in .45 suppressed. 3 Remington Senderos one .223/1-.308/1-.300
W.M. All with Nightforce glass. One Barrett .50 BMG single shot with Nightforce
glass. The Bushmaster will be suppressed in 01-07. There are many, many more "sporting
arms." 11 other suppressed items. Many handguns. Currently there is a FN
5.7x28 with can and 4 30 round mags and 4 20 round. There is a FN M90 5.7x28
rifle. A FN .223/M2000 is in the pipeline. The 5.7x28 weapons are astonishing
in their performance and penetration. There are 6 fighting shotguns of various
manufacture, all 12 gauge. We all shoot a lot.
Ammunition. Thousands and thousands. A full compliment of reloading capability.
Fuel: Gasoline. Kerosene, previously mentioned. We have six cases Coleman fuel.
Many cylinders of bottled gas for stoves and 200 pounds of charcoal. (diversify,
diversify)
Future improvements…previously mentioned. All depends on what is affordable
and when and how the poop hits the prop.
Crops/garden: 2,700 square foot garden. To be planted this next season (Spring
of '07) with non-hybrids only. We can 300-400 jars annually the rest gets the
deep freeze. We murder big and small game regularly and plan to try drying/jerky
experiments with game in '07. There are 20 fruit trees planted with 20-30 more
to follow in '07. We put up 20-30 pints/quarts of berries from the woods this
year.
Property tax was typical of Wisconsin. Two years ago it was in excess of $6,800.
Cut to about half by entering the tree management program.
Animals. One old Bouvier a new one to follow in '07. A Labrodoodle for hunting.
Two cats. No animal husbandry however we are looking at rabbits and chickens.
Perhaps a Rhodesian Ridgeback in '08 for a set of teeth for the farm.
Communications. Two receivers capable of AM/FM Ham. Four handhelds and one base
Marine Band. We are well inland from the Mississippi and expect no interference.
CB base and portables. 6 FRS walkie-talkies. Will obtain 2-to-4 field telephones
when found for sale. Already have two miles of commo wire for same on hand.
Food. 1 year freeze-dried for 2 adults. At least 1 year of same in wet pack.
12 cases MREs, with more to follow. Much bulk stored wheat/rice/beans. 300 gallons
of water in plastic. Capability to filter and clean 50,000 gallons from pond.
Hobbies. We read quite a bit with over 1,500 books in the library. He has been
into preparedness for 30 years. She for 5. We can/garden/shoot/bird watch/tend
the forest/study foraging ( a noted forager with a new book out lives within
6 miles…we will take his courses next spring). Reloading/hunting/woodcutting
(Four cords on hand and ongoing).
Background. She a native South Dakotan. Now an M.D. A Christian. Enjoys hunting.
A voracious reader of all things. He a former police officer (14) years who found
teaching Law Enforcement was infinitely better than the frustration of being
a practitioner. He, an atheist with respect for all peaceful faiths/beliefs.
He teaches a course on terrorism for a local community college.
Concerns: There is a growing population of predators (animal) in the area. There
have been five credible sightings of cougar in the district. We have a compliment
of bears. Our county has been a dumping ground for "problem" bears
from other parts of the state. Thanks a lot! Six wolves have been sighted this
deer season on the property. Coyotes abound. I have no problem with a "healthy" predator
population. It is a sign of a healthy environment. I worry for livestock/chickens/rabbits
and the dogs. Feral pigs are a growing problem south of us. No doubt to be here
any time. They are destructive.
Further preparations must be started for the improvement of the defenses.
There will be an influx of at least eight adults and one child if the poop hits
the prop. More prep for those. Several "by in" to preparedness. Most
(the spouses) do not.
There is a lot on our plate as with anyone in the process of preparing. We would
like to meet with others of our ilk. How to do this is a conundrum. We have obtained
a large amount of trapping supplies. Two close friends are trappers with years
of experience. We will learn.
Present home: Apartment in a two family duplex house on dead end road, near
two large suburban cities in Massachusetts.
Age: 52 years old
SOs: 16 year old teenage son
Annual income: $50,000+.
Profession: Technical Writer
Investments: 401K and some inheritance money
Vehicles: 1995 Volkswagen Jetta and 2002 Yamaha VStar Classic Motorcycle
Firearms Battery: .38 S&W snubnose 642, 9mm Beretta FS, Glock 22 .40 S&W,
Sig .40 S&W 229, 45 ACP SW 1911, 45 ACP SW 1911 SC, 12 Gauge SxS Stoeger
Stage Shotgun, 1897 Winchester 12 Gauge Pump Shotgun, Mossberg 590 Pump Shotgun,
7.62x54R
Mosin-Nagant Finnish M39, .223 Bushmaster AR-15 M3, .308 Remington PSS, .308
Springfield M1A, 7.62 WASR AK-47.
Other Gear: Have complete Level 3 Militia List of military equipment, Flak
Vest, U.S.G.I. Kevlar Helmet, web gear, camo clothing, boots, winter gear,
US Marine 2 man Eureka Tent, Winter Sleeping Gear and Camo, Binoculars, NVG
monocular,
GPS, Medical Gear, Camo netting, NukeAlert, Pelican Case, Kestral Weather monitor,
Leica Range Finder. DVDs of gun maintenance, Gunsite Training videos, British
Berkefeld ("Berkey") Water Filters, scanner, CB sideband radio.
Stored ammunition: 10,000 rounds, 4,000 of which are .223.
Fuel Storage: Plan to buy storage cans for gasoline and kerosene.
Improvements: Motion detectors for driveway and front door of apartment.
Livestock: None.
Communications Gear: Sangean Digital Shortwave 14-Band Radio w/AM & FM,
Grundig AM/FM hand crank receiver, 4 FRS Motorola walkie-talkies. Cobra CB
single sideband radio. Uniden Scanner, flares and signal mirror.
Food storage: Plans to buy freeze dry food for one year very soon.
Presently have some cases of MREs for initial bugout bag.
Hobbies: Shooting, running, motorcycle, reading, animation, illustrating/cartooning
Background: Single divorced father with 14 year old son. Turned to gun owner
and IDPA, SASS shooter and concealed carry gun owner 3-4 years ago after getting
reformed by listening to Alex Jones, www.jpfo.org, the DVD Innocents Betrayed,
web sites like www.michiganmilitia.com. I live in short driving distance to
Lexington, Massachusetts and I've walked the Green where 200 years my neighbors
ago fought and died for liberty. I served six years in the National Guard as
a 11Bravo grenadier
M79,
and
trained with a mechanized infantry company.
I lived in a former life in
a large community in Tennessee called The Farm, where I learned a
lot of farming and self survival skills. Hippie to 2nd Amendment Gun Owner
with lots of experiences in a broad spectrum in between. My spiritual side
is important but does not include organized religion.
JWR: Why did you choose the area?
Mr. Sierra: My home location now is close to work, and my son’s school.
My retreat cabin/home would be ideally in rural Idaho…but Maine might
be more realistic for me.
JWR: What are the drawbacks to the region?
Mr. Sierra: My present location I would have very little time time to evacuate
before the highways became jammed with traffic – 10 minutes or less.
I do have my bug bag ready and waiting, so that level of preparedness is functioning.
JWR: Who will be joining you at your retreat if the balloon goes up?
Mr. Sierra:
I don’t
know anyone presently who would go to a retreat with, I am attempting to connect
with some people, and always on the look out for compatible souls. There
just isn’t anyone in my part of the country or town who
thinks like that or would be interested.
JWR: How long do you expect that it will be before order is restored?
Mr. Sierra: If TSHTF I would think at least 6 months to a year if there was
a nuclear event in this country before things started to return to a normal
state.
JWR: What is your worst case scenario?
Mr. Sierra: Worst case scenario would be getting stuck because of traffic in
my present location. My neighbors would call and wait for directions from FEMA
and the
government, and presume that they would be saved by these agencies, not having
any survival gear of there own. It would be a tough situation to try and help,
while at the same time survive. Water would be tough to store…and kerosene
is more than likely illegal to store and use as a heating source…even
though I have a kerosene heater.
JWR: What personal circumstances have shaped your preparations, and how?
Mr. Sierra: After recently getting divorced I have more decision making power
to purchase and pursue a survival ready lifestyle. My ex-wife didn’t really share
the commitment necessary to fulfil what you need as far as food storage, shelter,
firearms, etc.
JWR: What shortcomings does your retreat have that you would like to improve
if you had the opportunity?
Mr. Sierra: I would like to establish a nuclear type of shelter in the basement…and
need to figure out an alternative heating source. I have no wood stove, and
kerosene heaters are illegal in this state. Getting a Honda generator of some
sort is on my list as well as solar panels for power generation for my computer
and a few lights.
JWR: What are your long-term goals?
Mr. Sierra: I would like to retire from my job and find a small home with 20+
acres that I could settle down with and get busy firming up my retreat with
food/water
storage, and strengthen possible avenues of approach with defensive positions
if need be. Also to widen my social circles to include other like minded people,
and possibly a partner who had a
direction in life similar to my own.
JWR's Comments/Recommendations: Mr. Sierra is typical of most suburban survivalists in that he is tied to a Big City job. I recommend that he store at least 100 gallons of water and make preparations to collect water from open sources and a reliable method to transport it. Typically this would require a two-wheeled garden cart and a few 5 gallon plastic water cans. That would suffice for a situation where utility water is disrupted but the social fabric is still intact. (But in the event of TEOTWAWKI, it would be unsafe to venture out.) He noted that he already has British Berkefeld ("Berkey") Water Filters. Those are excellent--highly recommended! He should store at least a one year food supply for two people. Since he is in a cold climate but restricted by law on fuel storage, if he hasn't done so already, he should buy a pair of arctic weight sleeping bags for himself and his son. (The Wiggy's Ultima Thule is a good choice.) Given the level of his other preparations, he has a disproportionately large firearms battery. If need be, he should probably sell his two minor caliber handguns (.38 S&W Model 642, and 9mm Beretta ) and perhaps his two rifles in odd calibers (the AK-47 and the 7.62x54R Mosin-Nagant), and use that money to buy storage food. He should also buy body armor for his son--at least Level II. With his experience living at The Farm as well as his experience as an infantryman, Mr. Sierra would make a valuable addition to a group retreat. I'll pray that he finds the right one.
Present home/retreat:
Near Show Low, Arizona
Ages: Retired
SOs: 24-year old son who still lives at home.
Annual income: +/-$88,000. (Company retirement plus investment income, and
wife's income. She works as a part time dental hygienist but is nearing retirement.)
Professions: Retired stockbroker and a dental hygienist.
Investments: Gold bullion (1/10th and 1 ounce Krugerrands), $20 Liberty gold
pieces, Morgan silver dollars, pre-1965 junk silver dimes, and a few carefully
selected blue chip and mining stocks.
Improvements:
Vehicles: Ford Bronco 4WD (modified with locking gun/gear boxes, radiac meter,
and infrared driving lights--for use with his PVS-7 series night vision goggles),
2003 Saturn VUE 4WD (fuel efficient runabout.)
Annual Property Tax:
Firearms Battery: 2 pre-ban Bushmaster AR-15s both with tritium sights and
one with a Gen. 2 PVS-4 starlight scope, 3 pre-ban L1A1s (one with BSA 3-9X
illuminated reticle scope), customized Windrunner .50 BMG bolt action with
a 18x Mil-dot scope and Gen 2 PVS-2 starlight scope and custom muzzle brake,
2 Remington Model 870 12 gauge riotguns with magazine extensions tritium sights,
and SureFire forends, 3 Colt customized M1911 .45 ACPs with tritium sights,
four .22 rimfires, Ruger Model K77 .223 bolt action with Leupold Vari-X III
1.-5-5X illuminated reticle scope and threaded muzzle (for flash hider), Ruger
Model K77 .308 bolt action with with Leupold Vari-X III 1.5-5X illuminated
reticle scope and threaded muzzle (for flash hider), Remington Model 700 Sendero
bolt action with with Nikon Monarch 6-20X illuminated reticle scope scope and
threaded muzzle (for Vortex flash hider), an M1 Garand .308 conversion, and
a few other odds and ends.
Stored ammunition: 38,000 rounds in various calibers.
Fuel Storage: 2 cords of firewood, 650-gallon underground gasoline tank. 25-gallons
of kerosene.
Home/Retreat Property: 5 acres. Well water, AC well pump, (3 KW Homelite backup
gas generator) plus a contiguous gravity fed irrigation canal. Improvements:
1,800 square foot two-story wood frame house (not counting basement. 500 square
foot barn/shop. 800 square foot unfenced garden plot. 300 square foot basement/fallout
shelter/gun vault with Swiss HEPA air filtration system (stationary bicycle
chain drive powered.) Perimeter infrared (IR) floodlights with motion sensor
switches. (Can only be seen with a starlight night vision system!)
Annual Property Tax:
Livestock: None.
Communications Gear: 3 Motorola FRS walkie talkies, 4 Army TA-1 field phones
and 5 miles of telephone company surplus wire.
Food storage: 3 years for 4 adults.
Hobbies: Shooting and gold prospecting.
Background: Mr. Tango has a BA in Business Administration. He was born and
raised in Washington, went to a university in the Midwest, and lived for many
years in Boulder Colorado. But he moved to Arizona in the mid-1990s out for
concern for societal upheaval and/or martial law.
JWR: Why did you choose the Show Low area?
Mr. Tango: It has lots of water. We also already had friends in the area.
JWR: What are the drawbacks to the region?
Mr. Tango: The growing season in marginal, to say the least. I've made up
for that with prodigious food storage.
JWR: Do you expect a lot of refugees from Mexico?
Mr. Tango: Not as far north as Show Low.
JWR: Who will be joining you at your retreat if the balloon goes up?
Mr. Tango: Probably my sister, her husband, and their three kids.
JWR: How long do you expect that it will be before order is restored?
Mr. Tango: Six months to ten years
JWR: What is your worst case scenario?
Mr. Tango: That ten years I just mentioned.
JWR: What personal circumstances have shaped your preparations, and how?
Mr. Tango: A lot of my preparations have been shaped by the climate here
in this part of Arizona.
JWR: What shortcomings does your retreat have that you would like to improve
if you had the opportunity?
Mr. Tango: Some ability to raise our own meat. Rabbits have problems with
hot summers, so we will eventually raise poultry of some sort.
JWR: What are your long-term goals?
Mr. Tango: To make sure my future grandchildren grow up safe and free.
JWR's Comments/Recommendations: Mr. Tango is the best-prepared individual that I know vis-a-vis night vision equipment, illuminated reticle scopes, tritium sights, and IR lighting. He has also done extensive real world tests and prototyping with flash hiders. His efforts in this area should be emulated. Mr. Tango owns the night! I pity the looters that ever try to sneak up on his house under cover of darkness.
Present Home: 63 year old brick veneer over weather board farmhouse (1,300
square feet) built by my father. 25 acres, consisting of 3.5 acres of pine,
9 acres of old growth hardwoods, 1.5 acres of apple, pear, pecan, grape, muscudine,
and scuppernong orchard/grove/vineyard. Additional 900 square foot house, 100
year barn (30'x30' with loft and sheds), outdoor privy, detached 24'x24' garage
building, 140 square foot storage building, dog house/lot, hog house lot (not
used at present). Approximately three acres in farmstead buildings, drives,
and gardens. Balance of land in open arable land presently used by neighbor
as
native grass hay field. All but the very front of house is inside a fence.
Yard and road frontage is behind a five foot chain link or five foot wood picket
fence. Remainder of property line is behind an old five-strand barbed wire
fence (needs upgrading). Property is in northwest portion of South Carolina.
Family has lived in area for over 500 years (Cherokee portion), most of the
remainder for more than 200 years. Family on two sides and long term (over
80 years) family friends on two sides. House fronts on a small farm to market
road but backs to a heavily traveled Interstate. Attend a small Baptist Church
that ancestors helped to found 204 years ago (veterans of Revolutionary War).
Property has two hand dug wells near headwaters of creek. Presently use public
water, but both wells are usable by hand drawing with a windless. Water is
free of contaminants per test. Presently plant garden from heirloom seeds and
co-operate with neighbors and family in trade.
Ages: Mr Uniform: 47 His widowed mother: 82
Annual Income: Gross $86,000, Net $43,000
Occupations: Government employee. Mother is a retired widowed homemaker and
cancer survivor.
Hobbies/Avocation: Hunt, Fish, Camp, volunteer fireman (Board Member and Arson
Investigator), Volunteer Advanced State Constable (Police Officer), trained
medical First Responder.
Investments: Gold and silver coin including ‘junk’ silver, copper
coin, Thrift Board (similar to 401k). Some open note debt due to family sicknesses
and deaths.
Vehicles: 1968 Chevy pickup, two Cadillacs (one built in 1980s, the other
in the late1990s), 1998 Ford F150 4WD Pickup, 1957 Ford Tractor (34 h.p. gas)
with crop implements and some mule implements. Keep all vehicles fueled and
serviced.
Fuel Storage: 500 gallons propane for cooking and furnace. 15 gallons of K-1 kerosene
for lamps, lanterns, and back-up heat. 25 gallons of 4 cycle gas. 2.5 gallons
of 2 cycle gas. Two wood heaters in storage in barn. Plan: to cut and rack
wood in a shed to be built. Plan on buying wood cook stove in future and put
in storage. All wood heat was removed from house in 1985 due to Father’s
health. Also to put in at least 1000 gallon gas tank and fuel oil tank. Also,
a kerosene tank in 500 to 1000 gallon range. Probably in a ventilated shed
instead of underground due to water table in the defensible zone.
Livestock: One collie at moment, used for guard/watch dog. Hope to add small
livestock within a year (one species at a time). Beef cattle on one neighbor’s
place. Dairy within 3 miles (high school class mate). Hogs on two neighbors
farms within two miles and chickens close.
Communications: Land line with DSL hook
up. Cell phones. Two privately owned walkie-talkies programmed for direct communication
with local law enforcement, fire, and EMS.
One pair of FRS radios.
One small programmable scanner, one CB transceiver,
one shortwave receiver. Want to add field phone capability.
Food and supply storage: 9 months to a year on most everything from food to
toothpaste. We employ the method of :"use one and buy three."
Mail service: Rural route delivery for some things, P.O. Box
in nei