5 Prepper Questions Answered

A few weeks ago I asked for readers to send in their questions related to prepping, below are the 5 that I selected to answer.

1- The pastors of my church have read the biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, they ask congregational members to start and/or attend small neighborhood Bible study groups on the weekends, and they say that they expect Jesus to return in their lifetimes. They know how Evil rises to national power, the congregation can be split into cells for safety and protection if religion is declared illegal, and the Book of Revelation says that there will be a lot of hell and persecution before Jesus returns. Yet when I try to talk with these pastors about preparation and readiness, they smile condescendingly and think that I am crazy. They are are neither awake nor aware. How do I wake up such people?

PJ:   I can definitely relate to this question as my mom and dad are two of the most religious people I know.  I grew up in the church, I had no choice actually as my dad was a pastor for many years.  Sunday school followed by Sunday morning service, invite people over for lunch and then get ready for Sunday evening service.  Choir practice in our home, Bible studies, Wed evening services at the Church, and lest we forget Vacation Bible School.

I still remember a story my dad told during one of his sermons, and I’m sure this one has been passed around for many years.  It’s about a man who lived in a home near a river during a time of heavy rain.  The water started to rise around his home and a neighbor came by and offered to help him evacuate.  “No thanks, God will save me.”  The water continued to rise and forced the man into the second story of his home during which time the police came by in a boat, telling him to jump in.  “No thanks, God will save me.”  The waters continued to rise, forcing the man onto the roof where he spotted a helicopter.  Of course he waved the helicopter off, believing that God would save him.  The man eventually drowned.  Upon arriving in Heaven he asked God: “Lord, why didn’t you save your faithful servant?”  God replied: “Well let’s see, I sent your neighbor, the police AND a helicopter…”

Each person might interpret that story a bit differently but I always enjoyed hearing it.  With respect specifically to Christians who might not feel as if preparing for certain situations is even necessary, there was a great post over on Survivalblog.com which covered this topic at length and cited several passages of scripture.

Under these circumstances, it would seem prudent to have made preparations in advance for being able to respond decisively should such a situation present itself within our lifetime. If we are to care for the needs of our families, as we are instructed to do in 1 Timothy 5:8, which reads “Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever,” it would make sense that we should have provisions ready for taking care of their basic needs, should such a time come that it is necessary for us to “flee to the mountains.”

2- Let’s say that we have a long term crisis-situation. The grid is down and the rule of law has been suspended in certain areas, including my neighborhood. I live in a residential part of a larger city and we are surrounded by neighbors. One night, two looters argue over which one of them has the right to raid my house. One bad guy shoots the other and then runs off in a panic. Now I have a dead body in my front yard. I can’t leave it there because it is a health hazard. The police do not exist at the moment. A thug-looter isn’t worth the time and effort of a burial, and I certainly don’t have the wood required for a funeral pyre. There are open spaces close by (biking trails, ranches, farms) , but how much distance should I put between a corpse and a residential area so that diseases, wild animals and bugs do not reach the homes of innocent people? What if I wake up one morning and there are ten or fifteen dead bodies on my street? What do we do with dead bodies?

PJ:  In every instance I would try to bury the body (or bodies).  In the event you describe it would appear as if the S and HTF in a major way and people are simply doing whatever they can to stay alive.  Hygiene (or the lack thereof) will be a massive problem in a time like that, probably much more so than armed gangs roving the streets Mad Max style.  For the sake of you and your family I would bury the bodies, leaving them out in the open is just asking for trouble.  One last point, if you happen to wake up one morning to 15 bodies on your lawn I’d say you slept through a pretty decent firefight.  🙂

3- What Caliber do you recommend for Concealed Carry, Home Defense and Sporting Rifles?

PJ:  That’s an easy question for me to answer but realize my opinion is just that, an opinion which has been influenced by my own personal experiences and preferences.

• Concealed Carry: 9mm JHP
• Home Defense:  12 Gauge 00 Buckshot
• Sporting Rifles:  5.56 NATO

There really is no perfect solution out there, someone else could make a case for 45 ACP and 22 LR.  Just log onto any gun forum and type in “best caliber” and grab a cup of coffee as you’ll be reading for quite a while.

I realize the 9mm  and 5.56 are not the most powerful out there but in my opinion for the situations which we might encounter I feel as if the trade-off is acceptable.  For the “lack” of power you get the ability to carry more ammunition and the popularity of the cartridge ensures that there will surely be more to find (or barter for) after T-SHTF.

As far as home defense is concerned in almost every instance I believe that 12 Gauge 00 Buck is the best route to go down.  For more information which ironically backs my opinion check out this article: It’s the Math, Stupid.

Starting with the overall payload of 1.107 ounces, we find an almost frighteningly high energy of 1,547 ft.-lbs. Mr. “Man-Stoppers Start with Four” can keep his 1911, because a single shotgun blast is comparable to four simultaneous rounds of .45 ACP.

4- What are the three most important items for a new prepper to get started with?

PJ:  Assuming this is a family that is starting from zero my goal would be to get them prepared to survive an event where the power was out for a few days.  A winter storm, localized flooding, or tornado all come to mind as initiators of this type of scenario.  In these instances most people are stuck because grocery stores are closed, ATMs are down and assistance from the National Guard or Police is simply spread too thin.

All of that said a 72 hour emergency kit would be a great place to start, many come with flashlights and medical supplies in addition to the food.  I would also look at an emergency Water Bob and water filter kit.  Finally a Solar Hand Crank Radio is a great way to get emergency info and keep phones charged.

5- What if SHTF never happens?

PJ:  This was the shortest question but probably the most difficult to answer.  Quite simply I find it hard to believe, given the current state of our economy, that some sort of calamity will not take place in the near future.  The impact on each of us is impossible to predict but I just find it so much more reassuring to know that my family and I are prepared to depend on ourselves if the need should arise, this versus waiting on someone else to spoon feed us.  By no means do I consider us entirely prepared for every circumstance which might arise but we are far better off than the family with no more than 3 days of food in their pantry at any one time.  I guess the bottom line is this:  If I get old and die with a bunch of stuff in my basement which I have never used, it will be a good day.