Suggestions from a post SHTF veteran

This is the best advice I’ve found so far regarding SHTF scenario. Its not quite what you would expect, and it can sneak up on you. This is the account of FerFal who experienced the Argentina collapse in 2001. I have a friend who lives in Paraguay who travels frequently in Argentina. He has confirmed the way this event went down.

“Oh, maybe you don’t think that firearms are really necessary or your beliefs do not allow you to buy a tool designed to kill people. So you probably ask yourself, is a gun really necessary when TSHTF? Will it truly make a difference? Having gone through a SHTF scenario myself, total economical collapse in the year 2001, and still dealing with the consequences, 5 years later, I feel I can answer that question. YES, you need a gun, pepper spray, a machete, a battle axe, club with a rusty nail sticking out of it, or whatever weapon you can get hold of.”

www.unitedstatesmilitia.com...

reply to post by meteoritics


Very true...but IMO...concealing and ..not brandishing it...is also very important, so as not to draw attention!
Use only if you/loved one is in danger....
Glad you came out alright...hope your friends and all did too!

Unless your strapped like a hollywood hero a single pistol, a few rifles, even mace and boards with nails , will do little to affect "mob" mentallity......mob will, want the guns....cuz guns=power...

ETA..another valuable tool...is to slow down "mentally" and become one of the masses...learn, adapt, be just like the enemy ..if need be...
Take the clothing off a dead man if need be....try to not look out of place.....sniper training 101....

I know this sounds cruel, but I think every living soul should have this done to them.....
15 years or so ago, I was givin orders to do "something" I was put in the back of a van, put in a burlap bag, hands tied behind my back, beat on just enough to show...bruising , and dropped off in the middle of nowhere.
Mission was to return to a designated place some 100 miles away....no tools, no weapons, no compass, no idea of language either.....although later I think I figured out is was south and east of Florida....
Even had to come up with clothing....nothing but a head ache and tighty whitey's, shoved out the back of a moving vehicle...

back in May of 1980 I found myself deep in the SHTF, right in the middle of El Salvador´s Civil War..
I was a young Marine then stationed at the US embassy we had a short list of who we were to go get and bring back for an air lift to safety... you guys ever seen the movie "Black Hawk Down" that's what it was like that night driving our trucks just as fast as we could, everyone shooting at us... to dark to see anything but their muzzle flashes...
That not so well known war went on until the early 1990's and claimed the lives of seventy five thousand souls... god that was one big nightmare... you bet your butts you need a weapon, but mostly you find yourself trying to keep your head down and stay out of the way...

Trust me when I say in a real SHTF sometimes it is better to quietly slip away unseen rather than die a glorious death Ina brilliant haze of fire!

If and when the stuff really hits the fan, chances are that even being well armed is only going serve you briefly. Life... aka: survival, is a dynamic that crosses into many different aspects, only a few of which depend on force.

Shopping: Need food? Water? Medicines? Weapons may well help you protect stores you already have but unless you are ready to loot and pillage your neighbors, you're going to need a good source of information and a lot of savvy. Think ahead and stock up.

Energy: Gasoline for you car/truck and generator? Charcoal, gas, wood for cooking and heat? Unless you live in an concrete urban environment, naturally occurring energy sources might suffice for the short term. But on the downside, gasoline doesn't hold its ginger forever. Even if you have access to an underground fuel tank, the product within will fade and eventually become useless. Buy a horse or two and keep a few cords of firewood next to a sharp ax.

Summary: Guns do a good job at deterring thieves/looters and scavengers but they are not very effective for much else. I have a half-dozen of them of all types... but also try and keep a moderate supply of other essentials.

NOTE: Beware of the word, 'Hoarder'. This has become a political I.D. tag to be applied to anyone who thinks outside the government brain-box.

reply to post by redoubt


I'm not trying to put aside what you have stated.....honestly!

But most everything you listed as ...needs....can be had with knowledge...

www.boisdarc.info...

I go to no less than 5 of these a year...they are lall over the country...look oone up near you!
Very valuable stuff learned there!

Originally posted by meteoritics
This is the best advice I’ve found so far regarding SHTF scenario. Its not quite what you would expect, and it can sneak up on you. This is the account of FerFal who experienced the Argentina collapse in 2001.

Thanks for posting this meteoritics !!!!!

I am still only half way through it , it makes for a fascinating read. Such real-world experience of societal collapse is invaluable . The man clearly knows what he is talking about and cuts through lot of B.S associated with preparations for SHTF scenarios.

Thanks again.

Wow!!! That was an absolutely AWESOME gem of a find. Just got done reading the whole thing and I now have some re-tooling and fine-tuning to do before the inevitable arrives.

I live in a rural area, small town of about 20,000 people. While this may seem ideal, I do worry about the fact we have a large white-trash demographic (mostly meth-heads, parolees, and skinhead thugs, with an exceptionally high rate of drug and alcohol abuse). 15% or so of the population is hispanic, because of the agriculture here. The older ones who come for work are perfectly decent people, it's their kids that are scary - the teens and 20-somethings are rude, dress like the black gang-bangers in the cities, listen to gangsta rap, and deal a lot of marijuana. They are steadily forming gangs which was not a common thing here before. Some are just wannabes and some were already actual gangs that came here from the cities.

Excellent, common-sense, detailed and straightforward survival advice from someone who's not only BEEN THERE, but still lives with it. I'm going to share this with every patriot/prepper I know. Thanks so much for sharing this, OP!

reply to post by Rockerchic4God


You guys that read the Account are welcome.

Make sure and check out my last thread here as well, I think you will like it...

Mwww.abovetopsecret.com...

thanks for posting, it was an awesome read.

I was particularly noted with interested ( among many other things ) about the hand gun practicality and also how he said life, work etc must go on as well, as it might not be a clear black and white transition from normal life to SHTF. The driving changes is something I haven't ever seen mentioned on this forum either.

reply to post by DaddyBare


Some of the abandoned contractors actually had to walk out of El Salvador. Yeah, stealth was necessary, as was eating everything that moved and drinking filthy water. It's true what they say -- you find God in the trenches.

To the OP........... SHTF can be foreseen, as with weather disasters, and planned for. REAL SHTF often is geographically localized and comes pretty much without warning. Yes, weaponry is necessary. Even here, on this sleepy little island where only the influential and rich can afford the permitting fees of firearms, there are people who fabricate their own weapons, against a time they hope never comes.

Smoke 'em if ya got 'em.