Jason Ryder Adams - Survival prepping : a guide to hunkering down, bugging out, and getting out of Dodge

Copyright 2019 by Jason Ryder Adams

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover design by [TK]

Cover photo credit: iStockphoto.com

Print ISBN: 978-1-5107-3611-5

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-5107-3612-2

Printed in China

Contents

Why Survival Prepping?

N O ONE KNOWS WHAT IT WILL BE .

It could be a natural disaster or a medical pandemic. Financial system collapse or bioterrorism. Governmental shutdown or societal breakdown. The media are full of possible threats, and they seem to be coming at us from all sides these days.

No one knows WHEN it will be.

It might be today or tomorrow. Next week or next month. Next year or maybe never.

But do you want to take a chance on maybe never?

It pays to be prepared. Prepare for the worst, pray for the best, as the saying goes. And if there ever was a time to prepare for the worst, NOW is that time.

Survival prepping is about preparing for the worst. Its about making sure you and your family are safe, no matter what the world throws at you.

It used to be that preppers were looked at as paranoid by those who were being polite, or as whackos or nut cases by those who werent.

But look at the events of recent years: Natural disasters such as Hurricanes Katrina, Sandy, Harvey, Florence, and Michael. Man-made disasters such as Japans nuclear meltdown. Economic crises like those in Europe. Unemployment, work shortages, and financial crises in the United States all within the last 15 years.

Even rioting in the US has become a regular occurrence. Weve had multiple incidents of riots and civil unrest over the last few yearsin Brooklyn, NY; Baltimore, MD; Los Angeles, CA; Charlotte, NC; Charlottesville, VA; Oakland, CA; and close to home for me, Portland, OR. Thats to name but a few.

And its not just in big cities. Even Americas heartland has seen riots, such as those in Michigan (2012), Missouri (2014), and Wisconsin (twice, in 2011 and 2016). Thanks to social media, we must now be prepared for coordinated protests and unrest, such as the antigovernment protests of 2016 that occurred simultaneously in twenty-five cities.

All of these events have helped bring survival prepping out of the fringe and into the mainstream. After all, if you care about your family, you want to make sure they are safe, secure, and thoroughly taken care of, no matter what situation comes your way.

Missing Teeth and Questionable Hygiene

When most people picture a survivalist, they think of a big, hairy man living alone in a cabin in the woods, wearing camouflage. With missing teeth and questionable hygiene, our stereotypical survivalist clutches his rifle, ready to shoot any revenooers and government agents who head his way, all while muttering under his breath that the sooner civilization collapses, the better.

Let me assure you, the stereotype couldnt be further from the truth.

Most of us survivalist preppers are ordinary people. Were your neighbors, your coworkers, and your friends. You see us at our kids soccer games, the neighborhood movie theater, or your local restaurant. You see us at work and church. You see us walking in the neighborhood or exercising at the gym.

We are regular folks living regular lives. I live in a regular house, not a cabin in the woods. I dont hunt and forage all day. Instead, I have a white-collar job in an office, and I shop at the local grocery store. I dont own a single piece of camouflage clothing. And I have all my teeth.

Prepping today isnt for weird nutcases. Its for everyone.

Because the bottom line is, neither you nor I knows what will happen. It might be a natural disaster. It just might be a terrorist act. It might be martial law and civil unrest. Whatever happens, as preppers, we want to be sure that our family is safe and secure.

Survival Insurance

The sane way to look at prepping is to think of it like auto insurance.

You dont buy auto insurance hoping to get into an accident. But the coverage is there because, well, accidents happen, dont they? And you want to be protected in case an accident does occur.

Its the same with survival prepping. You dont prep hoping a disaster happens. You prep hoping it doesnt. You prep because youll sleep better at night, knowing you and your family have that insurance against the unforeseen.

By the way, I know that every once in a while, youll see a media story that portrays EVERY survivalist as if they were hoping for a disaster to happen, or even working to cause them!

I doubt this has ever been the case, but even if it has, the media are out of step with the times. Prepping is now mainstream.

As for todays preppers, we are merely those who are concerned enough about our families to want to make sure they are safe. And we do something about it.

If you want to be fully prepared for any emergency that might come your way, there are three major plans youll need in place. Youll need a Hunkering Down plan, a Get Out of Dodge plan, and a Sealing In plan.

Part 1: Hunkering Down

In part one of this book, well focus on your Hunkering Down plan. This plan is for situations where you would be forced to stay in your home during an emergency.

Now, when something like a natural disaster strikes, the first thought most people have is evacuation. And there is no doubt that bugging out may be your safest option when a catastrophe occurs.

But what if you had no warning of the disaster and couldnt bug out? Or what if the disaster destroys all of your possible escape routes? What if you need to stay in your home for a short while before you can safely bug out?

Thats where your Hunkering Down plan comes in.

To help you develop this plan, were going to focus on one particular scenariothe natural disaster. During a natural disaster, you might need to survive for a few days or a few weeks in your home before you can leave or before help arrivesif it ever does arrive!

But dont let our focus on natural disaster scenarios fool you. You might hunker down for any number of reasons. No matter what happens that requires you to bug in, your Hunkering Down plan will get you through even the toughest situations.

This section contains easy-to-read, direct, to-the-point chapters on the essentials of hunkering down: how to make sure your home is secure, food storage and preparation, water storage and purification, hygiene, first aid, and communications.

Part 2: Get Out of Dodge