Survival gear part 2, Guns!

Just a quick addition to the previous post, I have purchased gas masks and body armor and added them to my kit. The gas masks can be purhased through cheaperthandirt.com for about 10 bucks. I recommend the Finnish model as the filter is on the side so you can aim down your rifle sights. If you don't have a rifle, the cheaper one with the double filters works great. It also comes with a carrying bag which is pretty cool. As for the body armor, you're gonna need to check your local laws as to what you can buy, if at all. Most companies will not sell them to you unless you're military or law enforcement. Do not purchase a flack jacket! These are not body armor, they are strictly to minimize injuries from schrapnel.





I've decided to give guns their own separate post. Due to the fact that I could talk about them all day. My primary rifle is a Bushmaster M4, 16 inch barrel, New York legal version. Being a New Yorker I'm a bit more limited as to what I can own. This means that all my magazines are pre-ban (manufactured before the the 1994 federal assault weapons ban) otherwise I need to keep them under ten rounds. No collapsible stocks, no bayonet, and no grenade launchers. (Damn) The Bushmaster is basically a semi-auto version of the AR-15 that is used by the military. The only real difference on a civilian level between that and the M16 is barrel length. Many would argue that this rifle is unreliable, I disagree, at least it hasn't been since the late 60's. Many would also recommend the AK-47, due to the fact that it will fire no matter how dirty it is. This is a sound argument, but there is a reason the Ar-15 has a dust cover. With precision comes accuracy, but precision means very tight clearances. So if you cant keep your rifle clean, you cant trust an AR. I would say that if you want a budget assault rifle that will fire no matter what, go with the AK, but make sure you buy a quality version. This means a milled receiver, instead of stamped. Go with a Mac-90, Chinese manufacture, but if you have the cash, Russian is always best. I owned a Mac-90, it was fun to shoot but I could never get a grouping better than 2 feet at 100 yards. Also, with the bigger punch of the 762/39 round, you have to deal with the added weight of ammo. I will always prefer better accuracy, especially since as long as I take care of my rifle, it will always fire.





As for accessories, it is really to each his own, my gun is set up to run squarely within the 100 yard mark, as my eyesight doesn't allow for much else. For an apocalyptic scenario this will hopefully be enough. The main things you need first are an optic and backup iron sights. Most rifles come with iron sights right off the shelf. I use a solid sight in the front and a flip up in the rear. Got my flip up from midwest industries out of US Cavalry. My main optic is an Aimpoint Comp3 red dot. This is on par with military standards, the Comp4 is out, but it'll run you about 800 bucks. Many of the other things I use are really just a comfort thing, and are gonna take some trial and error.

Survival Gear, Part 1

Today's topic is all about gear, specifically when you're on the move. This will include only what you can carry with you on your back. There's a whole lot of other things that you need, but these are the basics. All things outlined here can help to keep you alive almost indefinitely while on the move.

When the proverbial "Shit Hits The Fan" you need to decide whether to board up your windows and move to the basement, or to get the hell outta dodge. You may only have a short period of time to decide which is the best choice, but get all the info you can to make an educated decision. First and foremost, a battery or crank powered radio should give you your info whether or not the grid is up. In the case of a nuclear incident, all solid state (anything with a computer or microchip in it) equipment will be fried. This is assuming you're not too close to ground zero, in which case you wont be caring too much about your radio. If you have the means, you can shield such equipment, but it may not be worth all the effort. One tip I got was to wrap your radio in alternating layers of saran wrap and tin foil. starting with the saran wrap touching the radio, and don't allow the layers of tin foil to contact each other.Honestly I have no idea if this works, as there really is no way to test it. This might be a waste of time though, since nobody will be able to broadcast anything due to the same electro-magnetic pulse that would have fried your radio. This also Includes your car, unless you have a really old car. So for this we'll assume that you will be on foot.

For today, Ill list a few things that you should get first.

-Camelbak Delta 5 tactical vest:
Provides hydration compatibility, with a molle attachment system so I can customize where all my gear sits. If you want to remain a little more low profile, a good hiking pack will do to carry most of your gear. I recommened Osprey, I have the Atmos 65. It should give you more room than you'd ever need. But if you're carrying a rifle, a tactical vest is the way to go. This is the starting point for bugout gear. Theres no point in having it if you cant carry it.


-Multitool
Buy a good one, Gerber or leatherman.
-Flint and steel
Buy two and practice practice practice.
-KA BAR brand tanto tip, 10" knife, black:
Comes in handy quite often, could be used for defense, or hacking down small trees to build shelter.
-At least 2 flashlights, and spare batteries.
Its best if they both use the same batteries, I recommend one be LED to save on battery life. You should have at least one that's a standard bulb, as a nuclear incident will render an LED light useless.
-Lighter and Waterproof matches
-9 Hour emergency candle
-Diamond hone for knife sharpening
-Spare Glasses, contact lenses if necessary
-Radio, world band, crank or battery
-Spare socks and underwear
-Nail clippers
-Paracord, 50 ft.
More useful than you'd think, can support near 200 pounds, or can be threaded down for fishing line.
-Fishooks and a length of line
-Sewing kit
-Toothpaste and Toothbrush
-Iodine tablets for water purification
-Quickclot
Used to slow bleeding of gunshot or other serious wounds.
-SAS survival guide, pocket size
-Camo Compac
You can get these anywhere that sells hunting supplies, these are great because they also have a mirror inside that can be used for signaling.
-Compass, lensatic is best
-Maps
Should have local road maps, as well as the closest few state parks. Mine being the Catskills and Adirondacks.
-Tarp/Survival wrap
The cheap space blankets work fine, but you can get ones that are like a heavy duty tarp anywhere you can buy camping supplies.
-Camo Netting
You can usually pick up the pvc kind when duck hunting season starts, at places like Gander mtn. Or you can order it from US Cav or Cabelas.
-Canteen, GI style, With carrier and canteen cup for cooking.
-IOSAT Radiation pills, 14 day supply
Blocks radiation from entering soft tissue, lessening the effects of radiation exposure
-Drop leg pouch
I keep mine empty, can be used while scavenging, or as a dump bag for empty mags. When I pick up a gas mask it will be stored there as well. Got mine from Us Cavalry.
-PVC Poncho
Can be used for shelter and water collecting as well as keeping you dry.

My wishlist includes a gas mask and body armor. Both of which would come in handy Im sure. I also carry a Rifle and a sidearm, but the guns will take up a whole lot of Blog so that will have to wait till next time.


Most of the really important things on this list are readily available or can be improvised when necessary. So go through it and see what you've already got, and prioritize from there. A quick note on Camo, lighter is always better, so don't go tac black when ordering your gear.

The reason I started this blog.

My name is Adam, and I worry entirely too much about zombies and/or nuclear apocalypse.

In all seriousness, not so much the zombies, but its fun to talk about.

I started this blog when one day, I realized that a Google search for "Apocalypse Survival" just brought up a lot of websites of people selling me books. Mostly, I would like to be prepared for any and all possibilities. For example, our economy in the shitter leading us towards civil unrest. North Korea doing god knows what next. And wouldn't you know it- now I'm starting to worry about the damn Russians again. It does seem nowadays that the slightest little thing could set off a chain of events that would throw us right back into the dark ages. So I'm doing my best to prepare.

This is my first attempt at this kind of thing, and I hope to stick with it. I should let everyone know that I am in no way an expert on anything. I am a mechanic for Toyota, a "gun enthusiast" and enjoy hiking and camping. What I hope to accomplish with this blog is to simply pass on my opinions and everything I've learned. I think that the average person would be a whole lot better off if they were just a little more prepared for the worst.

First and foremost is to simply have a plan. (Yes, I stole that from certain show on The Discovery Channel, but it still rings true) Having a plan inspires confidence, and the more you modify it the better. Think about your environment, what you might encounter if all infrastructure, and all laws that go along with it, disappeared overnight. Do you know how to purify water? Start a fire without matches? Just learning a few very basic skills could mean the difference between being a survivor, and a statistic.

This Blog will have various topics, broken down as best I can, on what you can do to improve your odds. I'm sure there will be quite a bit of social commentary thrown in there as well. Whether right or wrong I will outline what I've done to prepare, and the skills I think everyone should have. My next post will outline my gear, and why I chose it, as well as a few things I haven't had the cash to pick up yet. After that who knows, Ive got a whole bunch of stuff my girlfriend is sick of hearing about, so I guess the sky's the limit.

I'm looking forward to writing this and can't wait to get some feedback.

Remember: Fritos are not only delicious, but make great tinder.