What prep items did you get recently?

I've had that bacon.. SALTY as all get out.. best to soak it for a few min and get some of the salt off before you cook it.. Another thing i found and tried was canned butter. GOOD, but again, salty.

Oh and I forgot.. the last thing i bought was a half dozen rolls of mason line and a dozen paracord bracelets i got for 50 cents each. I think they were 7 buck in the last gunshow i attended..

I splurged on a complete Micro Greens grow setup. Cheaper than another AR and healthy too! 1-5 Level Stainless rolling shelf, Heavy Duty Power Strip Surge Protector, 4-LED light Fixtures, 1-24 Hour Timer, 4-140mm USB Fans, 20-10"x20" Grow Trays w/ Clear Covers, 120-5"x5" Hemp Grow Mats, 2- 10"x20" Heat Pads, 1 Pound of Organic Non-GMO Seed Mix, 200 - 6"x6"x3" clamshell containers, 150-Custom Labels and a Date Stamp...all for less than $500. I plan on starting a side business selling to restaurants. I know a few owners. And I can feed my crew as well. Low labor - High profit product. Doen't take up much space at all.

TOWcritter said:

I splurged on a complete Micro Greens grow setup. Cheaper than another AR and healthy too! 1-5 Level Stainless rolling shelf, Heavy Duty Power Strip Surge Protector, 4-LED light Fixtures, 1-24 Hour Timer, 4-140mm USB Fans, 20-10"x20" Grow Trays w/ Clear Covers, 120-5"x5" Hemp Grow Mats, 2- 10"x20" Heat Pads, 1 Pound of Organic Non-GMO Seed Mix, 200 - 6"x6"x3" clamshell containers, 150-Custom Labels and a Date Stamp...all for less than $500. I plan on starting a side business selling to restaurants. I know a few owners. And I can feed my crew as well. Low labor - High profit product. Doen't take up much space at all.

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There’s guy down the street from me that has a micro greens business.

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Micro-Greens Update

Basic lock pick set. I figure it's about time I get proficient in a new useful skill set. It's already come in quite handy in a variety of situations. I'll probably pick up a book or two on it to get better and maybe grab a mechanical pick gun to dick around with. With just a small amount of practice, cabinets, padlocks, and most doors are pretty easy to pop within 20 seconds or so. I'm still leaning heavily on rakes and need to get better with single-pin picking using hooks or half diamonds. I can do it, but it's still difficult.

smokey0118 said:

Basic lock pick set. I figure it's about time I get proficient in a new useful skill set. It's already come in quite handy in a variety of situations. I'll probably pick up a book or two on it to get better and maybe grab a mechanical pick gun to dick around with. With just a small amount of practice, cabinets, padlocks, and most doors are pretty easy to pop within 20 seconds or so. I'm still leaning heavily on rakes and need to get better with single-pin picking using hooks or half diamonds. I can do it, but it's still difficult.

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I keep a 20v battery powered angle grinder in my car just in case my magic wand and the words “open sesame” fails. But lock picking is something I am interested in learning too.

smokey0118 said:

Basic lock pick set. I figure it's about time I get proficient in a new useful skill set. It's already come in quite handy in a variety of situations. I'll probably pick up a book or two on it to get better and maybe grab a mechanical pick gun to dick around with. With just a small amount of practice, cabinets, padlocks, and most doors are pretty easy to pop within 20 seconds or so. I'm still leaning heavily on rakes and need to get better with single-pin picking using hooks or half diamonds. I can do it, but it's still difficult.

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ToolAA said:

I keep a 20v battery powered angle grinder in my car just in case my magic wand and the words “open sesame” fails. But lock picking is something I am interested in learning too.

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You both probably know this but the lock picking lawyer has a fantastic YouTube channel (he’s also a member here). It’s mostly watch me do it rather than here’s how you do it but it’s interesting. He also sells what look to be high quality lock picking tools.

pbharvey said:

You both probably know this but the lock picking lawyer has a fantastic YouTube channel (he’s also a member here). It’s mostly watch me do it rather than here’s how you do it but it’s interesting. He also sells what look to be high quality lock picking tools.

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Yes I find his videos fascinating. I had no idea he was a member here.

This has probably been asked 100 times, so sorry.

It is my opinion that a pistol is a self defense or backup tool. A way to fight your way to a rifle. What percentage of ammo do you guys keep around of pistol vs. rifle? Do you do something like 250 rounds of pistol for every 1000 rounds of rifle? Or what?

I am not counting the shooting ammo. I have range ammo and storage ammo. I am just talking about my storage ammo.

TinCuda said:

This has probably been asked 100 times, so sorry.

It is my opinion that a pistol is a self defense or backup tool. A way to fight your way to a rifle. What percentage of ammo do you guys keep around of pistol vs. rifle? Do you do something like 250 rounds of pistol for every 1000 rounds of rifle? Or what?

I am not counting the shooting ammo. I have range ammo and storage ammo. I am just talking about my storage ammo.

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Maybe you mean range ammo (like FMJ) vs. self defense (like JHP) ammo?

I try to store tens of thousands of rounds of the former, a few thousand of the latter. Cuz, it won't go bad any time soon, and it will only ever get harder to come by and more expensive. And someday I can trade a few rounds for food, bourbon, or medical supplies, right?

No, seriously. I keep a lot more than a few hundred rounds of SD ammo around, because it's worth periodically test driving it, especially in a gun you're going to bet your life on.

Occam said:

Maybe you mean range ammo (like FMJ) vs. self defense (like JHP) ammo?

I try to store tens of thousands of rounds of the former, a few thousand of the latter. Cuz, it won't go bad any time soon, and it will only ever get harder to come by and more expensive. And someday I can trade a few rounds for food, bourbon, or medical supplies, right?

No, seriously. I keep a lot more than a few hundred rounds of SD ammo around, because it's worth periodically test driving it, especially in a gun you're going to bet your life on.

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I have a few firearms. I am a collector. There are a few guns that I shoot more than others but I collect more than I shoot. I have a problem spending money on ammo because I can get another gun for what a couple of thousand rounds cost. I tell my buddies that when the zombies come, they will have to bring their own ammo to my house but I can provide them with some really cool looking clubs that they can use. The clubs (unloaded rifles).

Lately, I have been thinking that I should start putting a few rounds back as an investment. The current regime seems to be targeting everything 2A, including ammo. Russian imports as an example.

I am just trying to figure out a cost smart way to buy a little ammo every month. Pistol to rifle ammo ratio.

TinCuda said:

I have a few firearms. I am a collector. There are a few guns that I shoot more than others but I collect more than I shoot. I have a problem spending money on ammo because I can get another gun for what a couple of thousand rounds cost. I tell my buddies that when the zombies come, they will have to bring their own ammo to my house but I can provide them with some really cool looking clubs that they can use. The clubs (unloaded rifles).

Lately, I have been thinking that I should start putting a few rounds back as an investment. The current regime seems to be targeting everything 2A, including ammo. Russian imports as an example.

I am just trying to figure out a cost smart way to buy a little ammo every month. Pistol to rifle ammo ratio.

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You bring up some good thoughts and ideas. I use to collect guns had about 20+ different calibers. Over the past 30 years I have been down sizing sold some and gave some to relatives. It is a hard thing to do, even gave away my 2 Harleys one to each son. Once you get over the initial shock for a better word of the downsizing DTs. It has been very challenging to do so and for me I am down to 6 calibers and 8 guns.

Now I my rounds consist of 12 gauge, 40 caliber, 22 caliber, 30/30 caliber, 45/70 caliber and 50 caliber S&W. All of which I reload except for the 22 caliber. Stocking has been way more reliable and cheaper than trying to maintain 20+ different calibers. Don't get me wrong I still have the urge to buy and sometimes resistance is futile.

TinCuda said:

This has probably been asked 100 times, so sorry.

It is my opinion that a pistol is a self defense or backup tool. A way to fight your way to a rifle. What percentage of ammo do you guys keep around of pistol vs. rifle? Do you do something like 250 rounds of pistol for every 1000 rounds of rifle? Or what?

I am not counting the shooting ammo. I have range ammo and storage ammo. I am just talking about my storage ammo.

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Since I reload I make as many rounds as I need and my needs are large. Sempar Paratus (Always Ready)

TinCuda said:

This has probably been asked 100 times, so sorry.

It is my opinion that a pistol is a self defense or backup tool. A way to fight your way to a rifle. What percentage of ammo do you guys keep around of pistol vs. rifle? Do you do something like 250 rounds of pistol for every 1000 rounds of rifle? Or what?

I am not counting the shooting ammo. I have range ammo and storage ammo. I am just talking about my storage ammo.

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Well, let's think about this realistically. How many gunfights do you expect to be in?

I've heard "the pistol is to fight your way to a rifle" line before. But how often does it actually happen? In a semi sane world, I think most gun fights are over in a few seconds. In some rare cases maybe a couple minutes. Only in a real war (or zombie apocalypse, of course), are you likely going to be throwing a ton of lead down range in any case. I don't think too many gunfights last long enough to get to a long gun if you don't already have it in reach.

Pistols are personal defense weapons. Easy to carry. Light weight. Generally non-threatening if concealed. If not expecting trouble, probably the weapon most likely to be called to action. Rifles are much better weapons, but inconvenient to deal with if not in actual or anticipated combat. If we go all Mad Max, I'm guessing you'd probably have some kind of fighting rifle with you at all times.

In any case, how many gunfights are you likely to survive? What kind of scenario do you envision? Regular baddies trying to take what's yours for themselves? Civil unrest? Civil war? Mad Max? In a Mad Max world where medical care may be difficult to come by, even survivable wounds could easily become fatal, and sooner or later if engaging others you'll probably get one. Most encounters with your average thug will probably be short lived, for better or worse, and not present the opportunity to get to the better tool. Civil unrest/riots will likely give you time to prepare a position if you are in a fixed location, or if mobile the best course would likely be to fight your way away from the trouble zone. War? Well, shit. War is hell and I really hope things don't get that bad. But even here in the worst case scenario I doubt that most people would make it through more than a couple hundred rounds before being taken out of the fight, and those that do could resupply off those who didn't.

So...how much ammo is really necessary? I'm not sure a ratio necessarily makes sense. I'd say a couple hundred rounds per AR/AK style fighting rifle would probably be way more than enough to get you through any likely SHTF scenario before you yourself get inevitably ventilated. Odds, you know. A couple spare mags worth of ammo per pistol would also likely be more than enough. The rest is extra, for practice, and to supply others if so inclined. Personally, I like to have way more than I think is necessary, for those times ammo is scarce. I have more 9mm than anything because that is what I shoot the most (I thought I had plenty, but these past couple of years suggest I need plenty more). I run at least a couple mags of good SD ammo through each gun every year, so I do keep an eye on my stock levels. I have plenty extra just in case I can't replace it.

I am more concerned about the inability to find or buy ammo in the future than I am a SHTF scenario or being involved in a shootout like in the movie Heat.

Other than MilSup stuff that I enjoy collecting due to their historic significance (at least to me) I try to limit my modern, self defense type firearms to just a few calibers, namely 9mm and 5.56mm. Helps keep things simpler and reduces the need to stock a multitude of calibers.

Even if I added in hunting stuff, that really only adds a few other calibers which I don't feel the need to stock a bunch of, besides .45-70 is about the same price as silver by weight.

3lb coffee, can chicken, can tuna, honey


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Six-pack of Spam. You just never know!

Really should buckle down and eat some of the older ones I got the last time we were feeling squirrely.

My latest prep stuff is some Old Forrester 1910 and some 1920.