Are you prepared? (funny)

[Chris]

An acquaintance of mine, knows I enjoy firearms, invited me over to see his newest acquisition, a nice Marlin lever gun (can't recall the model) which he is going to make into what he called his "P.C. Scout Rifle," complete with extended eye relief scope and folding bi-pod.

Anyways, we're talking guns, and he tells me about this great article he found on-line telling him what he needed for daily carry on his person and in his car to be prepared for any emergency.  I always enjoy reading these lists, so he gives me a copy of the list he prepared after reading the article.  I'm going to retype it here, as my scanner isn't cooperating:

Personal carry:
Primary handgun (service or compact sized, full caliber)
Five total magazines for the handgun
Holster (recommended a shoulder holster with offside pouches for mags)
Back up handgun
Four reloads
(recommeded a revolver in an ankle rig and Speedstrips for reloads)
Fixed blade knife, blade length of 4-5 inches
Folding tactical knife
Folding tool
Waterproof lighter
Water purification straw
50' of paracord
Singaling mirror and whistle
LED light
Mini-maglight
Can of pepper spray
Cell phone
Spare cell battery/power source
Emergency back-up cell phone
Spare power source for emergency phone
Five quart sized ziplock baggies
Maps of the area
Travel drive with important information and medical records
$200 in cash
$150 in gold coins

In vehicle
5 gallons gasoline
5 gallons utility water
5 gallons potable water
15 MRE's
First aid kit with at least 10 pressure bandages and a suture kit with five suture set ups
Water purification pump
Air compresor
Tool kit with jumper cables, tire repair kit, full set of hoses and belts for the vehicle
2 rolls duct tape
2 rolls black electrial tape
spare car battery
5 quarts motor oil
Spare oil filter
two spare tires
Mag lite flashlight
two spare sets of batteries
Machete or hatchet
8'x8' plastic tarp
250' paracord
100' utility/towing rope
6 quart pot with lid (be sure it has a sturdy wire handle)
waterproof matches in waterproof container
magnifying glass
flint and steel or other firestarter
compass and maps of area
zero degree sleeping bag
boots, two full changes of clothing, plus two extra sets of under clothes and socks
500 rounds of ammo for each handgun
Battle rifle
6-10 mags or clips for the rifle
500 rounds total for the rifle
Single barrel shotgun
500 rounds assorted shotgun ammo
Large fixed blade knife
Folding multi-tool
Folding shovel

No, this is not a joke.  This is what he plans on puttiing in his vehicle and carrying on his person and in a pack to carry to work every day.  Now, what makes it really funny is that we live in a suburb about 20 miles out of Columbus, Ohio.  He works in downtown Columbus, and his route of travel is either highway or one of the very populated main roads between Columbus and his home.  He's preparing for a week of wilderness survival in an area where there is no wilderness, except for some parks. 

he wants to know if I want to go shopping with him next weekend at Gander Mountain and the government surplus store.  It might be fun to watch him watse his money.  And, yes, I am trying to talk sense into him.  But he's really into this survivalist thing lately, and is trying to get his wife involved...

Any advice on how to save someone from themselves.

[RadioFreeSeaLab]

Wow, I guess I'm not prepared at all.

[Nick1911]

Any advice on how to save someone from themselves.

Enact laws! *snicker*

[Ex-MA Hole]

Nice Nick, nice!!!!


 

[AZRedhawk44]

Yeah, that's a bit much.  I'm all for boy-scout preparedness, but in suburbia the majority of the things there aren't USEFUL.

Try and demonstrate to him the UTILITY of these things he's going for.  A spare change of clothes and some emergency cash along with first aid, fire starters, improvised shelter and emergency water is plenty along with a well-prepared person's EDC of ccw weapon, pocketknife/multitool and any other odds and ends a person finds personally USEFUL in their daily lives.

Refer him over here:  www.neardeathexperiments.com

Level-headed (mostly!) site for discussion of disaster preparedness.  Utility of tools is stressed far more than comparing "who's got the biggest EBR" in their car.

[HankB]

Right off the bat, I don't see a need for 5 gallons utility water and 5 gallons of drinking water . . . why not make all 10 gallons potable?

As for what he's planning to carry on his person . . . people might look askance at someone backpacking all the time.

Hmmm . . . since he's in Ohio, he may encounter snow and ice, right? With winter coming on, he's forgotten things like crampons, salt and sand to put under the tires, tire chains, sleeping bag, tent, extra gloves, parka, snowmobile suit, handwarmer, candles or Sterno for heat, Coleman lantern, high-energy bars, winch or "come along", multiband radio, CB and shortwave transcievers, and, just to be safe, maybe some beads and trinkets to trade with the natives . . . 

[mtnbkr]

I don't believe many people carry all the stuff in these lists nor in the "dump your pockets" threads you seen in various forums.  Heck, I'm better prepared than the average joe and I have a cellphone, whatever's in my wallet, a knife or two, and maybe a gun.  In the car(s), I have some tools, enough oil to cover the vehicle's expected 3k mile consumption, a blanket or two, flashlights with extra batteries, water, some sort of non-cellular wireless communications (CB in truck, amateur radio HT in car).

Want to see the height of folly, go to a knife forum and peruse the "dump your pockets" threads.  Some of those folks claim to carry 3-4 knives, some sort of impact weapon, pepper spray, gun, cell phone(s), flashlight(s), etc.  I think it's less for utility and more because they like toys.

Chris

[AJ Dual]

I think someone who thinks like that is at least better off than the average bliss-ninny.

And once he goes down that road, if he stays on it, he'll learn to prioritize and what's practical and what's not. If it's just Walter Mittyisim on his part, and he'll move along to something else in a while, well, it's only money.

[Patriot]

I guess mobility doesn't factor into preparedness    Half of that stuff is redundant for EDC.  His gas mileage is going to suck too - so much for the "extra" gas

[Boomhauer]

Does he realize that carrying a can of gasoline in the passenger compartment of a car or SUV is not such a great idea?

And who carries a fix blade knife of that size on their person? I don't.

I've got a folder, a leatherman, a flashlight, cellphone, wallet, and keys at the most. And my pockets are pretty darn full at that

Personal carry:
Primary handgun (service or compact sized, full caliber)
Five total magazines for the handgun
Holster (recommended a shoulder holster with offside pouches for mags)
Back up handgun
Four reloads
(recommeded a revolver in an ankle rig and Speedstrips for reloads)
Fixed blade knife, blade length of 4-5 inches
Folding knife
Folding tool
Waterproof lighter
Water purification straw
50' of paracord
Singaling mirror and whistle
LED light
Mini-maglight Pick one good light for your pocket. Get one of those little squeeze lights for your keyring
Can of pepper spray You are already carrying a gun.
Cell phone
Spare cell battery/power source
Emergency back-up cell phone
Spare power source for emergency phone Two cell phones? Are you kidding me?
Five quart sized ziplock baggies
Maps of the area Keep good maps in your car. I do expect you to know your regular town or city well enough for any where you will be going while walking
Travel drive with important information and medical records Huh? I mean, by all means, keep info about allergies and medical conditions with you. Other than that, don't worry.
$200 in cash
$150 in gold coins I mean, I've carried a couple hundred in cash before. But I'm uncomfortable carrying that much money. And broken down into smaller bills than 50s, it can be pretty thick in the wallet. And $150 in gold??? I'm supposed to be lugging around 50 lbs in other gear, in addition to gold...

In vehicle
5 gallons gasoline
5 gallons utility water
5 gallons potable water as someone else said, make it all potable. But do realize that 10 gallons of water is going to weigh a good deal.
15 MREs kind of much, don't you think?
First aid kit with at least 10 pressure bandages and a suture kit with five suture set ups A good first aid kit is neccessary, but you don't need to turn your car into an ambulance.
Water purification pump
Air compressor- 2 spare tires that you advocate should do it...but a battery pack/air compressor thing has come in handy for me.
Tool kit with jumper cables, tire repair kit, full set of hoses and belts for the vehicle- well, this is sensible.
2 rolls duct tape
2 rolls black electrial tape
spare car battery That's pretty heavy, prone to leaking, and should be covered by the jumper cables
5 quarts motor oil The Blazer does use a bit of oil, but I only keep 2 qts on hand
Spare oil filter Every Autozone, Walmart, and Advance Auto I've ever been into have plenty of 3980 filters for my 4.3L Blazer
two spare tires A Blazer doesn't exacltly have a huge cargo compartment...
Mag lite flashlight
two spare sets of batteries
Machete or hatchet
8'x8' plastic tarp
250' paracord
100' utility/towing rope
6 quart pot with lid (be sure it has a sturdy wire handle)
waterproof matches in waterproof container
magnifying glass
flint and steel or other firestarter
compass and maps of area
zero degree sleeping bag
boots, two full changes of clothing, plus two extra sets of under clothes and socks shouldn't a good, heavy set of winter clothing, good boots, and a pair of coveralls cover this?
500 rounds of ammo for each handgun
Battle rifle
6-10 mags or clips for the rifle
500 rounds total for the rifle
Single barrel shotgun
500 rounds assorted shotgun ammo Since Battle Rifle usually denotes a large rifle firing .308 that costs over a grand, (FAL, M1A, HK91), I recommend against it. Pick either an SKS, a shotgun, a lever-action, or an inexpensive bolt action like a Mosin and a couple of hundred rounds of ammo and that will cover it.
Large fixed blade knife
Folding multi-tool
Folding shovel

[Brad Johnson]

I just showed this to my cousin's kid, the one who came back from Iraq a year ago.  His response was, "Jeez, we didn't carry that much crap on our Bradley, and we were in the middle of a f****** war!"

Brad

[Gewehr98]

Should've seen the hilarity from the first sentence.  A scope and a bipod on a levergun?

Bwahahahahaha!!! 

[K Frame]

You know, this is really getting to the point of absolute insanity.

FIVE magazines for the primary and FOUR reloads for the back up gun?

Jesus, you're talking anywhere from 50 to 100 rounds of fricking ammo!

GOLD coins? $150 in gold coins? Come off it! Society isn't going to melt back to the point where gold is anything more than a frigging curiosity while you're at the Safeway, for Christ's sake.

And where the hell is the toilet paper? You never know when you're going to have to take an urban survival dump. 


These articles are just F****** STUPID.

[Paddy]

Considering I sometimes leave the house with my fly unzipped, I'd say I'm waaayyyy underprepared.

What are the five quart size ziplock baggies for, anyway?

[K Frame]

"fly unzipped"

Some would say you're just ready for another kind of scenario...

[Manedwolf]

Any advice on how to save someone from themselves.

MALL NINJA XTREME!

Seriously, show him the movie "I'm gonna get you, sucka", the scene where the guy covers himself with guns in every belt and pocket, trips, falls, and shoots himself for about a full minute. 

[GigaBuist]

Considering I sometimes leave the house with my fly unzipped

Senator Craig?  Is that you?

[Werewolf]

Is the guy preparing for the apocalypse - if so he's prepared.

Otherwise.... 

[Jamisjockey]

Considering I sometimes leave the house with my fly unzipped, I'd say I'm waaayyyy underprepared.

What are the five quart size ziplock baggies for, anyway?

ziplocs rock.  You can use them to keep gear water-resistant (some will leak if submerged fully), carry water, carry food, etc etc. 




The funniest thing on the list is the gold.  It doesn't do you much good to trade when people are dying of hunger, they need food water or ammo. 

[Tallpine]

What's he going to do with the water in the car during the wintertime? 

[Firethorn]

In addition to Avenger's kills, I'd also kill either the reloads or the spare gun.

Excessive spares aren't good - you'd be better off replacing the battery in your vehicle a little more often if you want to be paranoid.

Excessive amounts of oil isn't good either, the only way you'd loose that much oil that quickly is something like a hole in the drainpan - which you aren't prepared to fix.  Leave the oil at home.

Food?  A MRE or two.  An MRE a day keeps the hunger away.

A couple of flashlights and knives are good, as is a good first aid kit - Finding one that's better than what I call 'bandaid' kits would be nice, but keep a seperate set of bandaids then.

Cash is good, gold is unnessesary under current conditions - I'm willing to bet that gold coins wouldn't have bought anything dollars wouldn't have even in the middle of Katrina.

I'd move the maps to the car - and trade up to a 50 state map set.  Bonus if it includes Canada/Mexico.  If you're in Europe or elsewhere, get the local equivalent.  You'll probably know the local area well enough to navigate - however even if you know the routes to various family members(or other evacuation points) the emergency causing you to vacate might also block your normal route - or you might even want to take alternate routes to avoid congestion.  Navigation systems I've seen so far don't do a good job of suggesting alternate routes.

Cold weather areas - kitty litter, sand, or salt, extra clothing, water, alternative heat source.  Here you want to survive, fairly warm, in your car if at all possible.  People most often die when they abandon their vehicle.

[mtnbkr]

What's he going to do with the water in the car during the wintertime? 

Here in Northern Virginia, I haven't had a problem with water in the car freezing.  Winter temps range from the low teens to mid 40s. 

Chris

[Chris]

Here in Central Ohio, it gets cold enough to freeze the water in the car.  Trust me, I know.

You should have seen the look on the guy's face when I told him my carry gear.  Or rather a lack thereof.  He wanted to know what I was going to do if I fired all 54 rounds I carry for my Glock 19, and the fight was still going on.  He didn't see teh humor of me saying that I was going to run.

[Manedwolf]

The emergency water packets I carry in the car are specifically designed to freeze without bursting. They can be used as icepacks, as such.

[Angel Eyes]

Maps of the area
Travel drive with important information and medical records
$200 in cash
$150 in gold coins

"Survival kit contents check. In them you'll find: one forty-five caliber automatic; two boxes of ammunition; four days' concentrated emergency rations; one drug issue containing antibiotics, morphine, vitamin pills, pep pills, sleeping pills, tranquilizer pills; one miniature combination Russian phrase book and Bible; one hundred dollars in rubles; one hundred dollars in gold; nine packs of chewing gum; one issue of prophylactics; three lipsticks; three pair of nylon stockings. Shoot, a fella' could have a pretty good weekend in Vegas with all that stuff."

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057012/quotes