Books

Books that we recommend for the shooter and prepper

OK Miss Corona, now what?

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I have been away from the desk for some time now dealing with business issues, but it has given me the opportunity to draw some conclusions as I watched this pandemic go on.  There are some lessons to be learned. Just a few of my thoughts.

Panic buying.

Experienced preppers saw this coming, but it is a good object lesson. If so many people began panic buying in a relatively mild SHTF scenario, imagine their mental mindset if a extremely serious crisis occurred. The run on toilet paper is a classic example. Totally illogical. This virus had nothing to do with needing more toilet paper. But when talk of quarantine began immediately, people panic bought what they though they might need quantities of. And it is a snowball effect. Enough people panic bought to clear the shelves, and then other people assume they need to panic buy the same items so as not to not be left out. On and on until serious shortages occurred. The same with firearms and ammunition. People who had never considered buying a firearm before suddenly went out and bought what was available, and cleared the shelves of ammunition, as well as reloading supplies. I was in my local Cabelas recently looking for reloading powder. One of the sales associates told me that they had people come in, grab whatever ammo was still available, and then asked if they had any firearms chambered for it.  The also had signs on the reloading bullet shelves stating “This is not loaded ammunition. These are only bullets”. ????????????????? Obviously a WHOLE lot of new buyers. A new breed of “Last minute preppers”.

Economic  Effects and Government Restrictions

The stay at home directives, especially the drastic and illogical ones in Blue states, has had a paralyzing effect on the economy. This is worldwide as most of you know. The tremendous loss of jobs created a three trillion dollar “stimulus” bailout. Where do you think this money is going to come from? Printing presses and borrowing. This is going to have a serious effect on the dollar with predictable consequences.  The loss of jobs has slowed down our supply train distribution creating shortages of essentials such as meat. Government over reach in many areas is starting to generate increasing push back from citizens  who are watching their businesses and lives being destroyed. Civil disobedience of government is growing, even with armed protestors showing up at state capitols. Churches are beginning to defy government “no assembly” rules increasingly.  With corresponding government push back. As the rules loosen in some areas of the country, if we have a spike in Covid-19 cases, expect government restrictions to increase, with increasing citizen push back. This can, and probably will lead to serious situations, primarily in Democrat controlled areas. At some point, people (at least a large number of them) are simply not going to stand for it any longer, and will prefer to take the risk of catching a virus with a 99% survival rate, to watching their lives dissapear.

My Conclusions

I don’t have a crystal ball, but these are my conclusions. We are looking for increasing economic stressors going forward. Many of the unemployed will no longer have jobs to go back to.  Look for increasing calls for more government control , possibly including mandatory vaccinations. With corresponding citizen push back and increasing civil unrest. Shortages of essential items will increase with corresponding price increases. I’m not trying to be doom and gloom, but that is just how I see it.

My Recommendations

Be prepared for the worst case scenario. GET OUT OF DEBT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! Continue your preps based on your perception of the situation in your local area as well as world wide.  Form Mutual Assistance Groups with like minded citizens. Find alternative means of income, especially if you are currently unemployed and living on the $600.00 a week federal unemployment assistance which will run out at the end of July.  Mitch McConnell has stated that it will not be renewed. Educate yourself, and practice your prepper skills.  And have faith in God.

For a good read while you are spending all this time at home, try this.

And finally, stay safe, trust in God, and never forget that self reliant people can always survive any challenge.

 

 

 

Book Review: Forsaking Home By A. American

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Editor’s note:  This article is by guest author Jack Billington. Prepper fiction is becoming more popular in the prepper community. I will continue to occasional do reviews of it. I think it is useful,(besides the entertainment value) to analyze the scenarios and the player’s responses to see if they are realistic.

I just finished reading Forsaking Home, the fourth installment of the Survivalist Series by A. American. I really enjoyed the first three books in the series and was excited to see how things would work out for Morgan Carter and the rest of the gang. While I was not disappointed in the least, I was surprised how some of the events played out in Forsaking Home. It was not what I expected, although all of the loose ends from the previous three installments were tied together in this book which was a relief and a disappointment. I am glad to know how everything works out for Morgan and the cast of characters but I am bummed that things may have come to an end. I don’t know that this is the last book in the series or not. Things could be done for Morgan Carter but maybe Mr. American will let us know how the rebuilding of the United States goes eventually.

 

The first three installments of the Survivalist Series revealed the challenges that Morgan Carter faced after the collapse of the electrical grid across the United States. After a long journey, he finally made it back home to his family and made some great friends, and terrible enemies, along the way. Nothing could have prepared him for everything he has faced but between the relationships forged and the preparations that he did make, he is in much better shape than most. As the days continue on, Morgan, along with his friends and family, is forced to try harder and harder to provide the food, security, and hope that is necessary to continue to thrive. This is all on top of the DHS’ attempts to smother any resistence they get from those who do not want to conform to the government’s new rules of martial law, etc.

Forsaking Home takes us along as Morgan continues to try to keep his family and group alive and together in their newly established oasis by the river while Sarge and his self-titled band of misfits try to pull together an operation that will take down the DHS camp that is holding Jess and her friends captive (in the name of their own good of course). While things continue to be chaotic, there are many who wonder what the future holds and whether or not they will even survive to see. I think that compared to the previous three books there was perhaps a little less excitement overall but the story was still very captivating and I appreciated the realism in the behavior of the characters and the facts contained.

There were some great take away points that I highlighted as I was reading the book that I wanted to remember to share.

Point #1 – People will fight to the death for the food needed to survive (there may not be a greater truth).

Food is freedom. Control the food, control the people. While a lot of people don’t see it that way, if you think about our current situation, it really applies. How many people do you think have gone to the [DHS] camps because they are hungry?

Point #2 – The skills of the generations that came before us are what made their survival possible and their lives better. Knowing these skills could be the key to future survival if the grid did go down.

There’s decades of skills lost that would make our lives easier. The rush to make life easier, more convenient, overshadowed those skills, and we’re paying the price now.

Takeaway # 3 – The idea of preparing for the unknown is not crazy. Obviously the electrical grid has not collapsed but if it ever did (and it’s possible), it will be those who prepared who will survive.

You guys remember that show Doomsday Preppers? I used to watch that and laugh at those people. I thought they were all so crazy. But they were right. Everyone called them crazy, but they’re probably the best off out of any of us.

Among these points and the additional practical skills and knowledge that is shared in the book, one of the other things that I appreciated was the inclusion of a few characters that had used their bikes with trailers to travel and move their belongings after the majority of vehicles became useless. This is something that can be a useful tool for a prepper, not only as an alternate form of transportation but as a means of exercise and maintaining physical fitness for long term survival.

I truly enjoyed all four of the books in this series and can honestly say that I was anxiously awaiting the release of Forsaking Home. A. American continued to do a great job in the latest installment with the characters and the storyline. It is easy to relate to all of the characters and how they feel and function but there were definitely some that I almost feel like I had met before. As an example, Sarge and crew easily remind me of my time in the Army and several of the Soldiers who I worked with, not only in attitude but in the shenanigans department as well. For those who are interested in the Survival/Post-Apocalyptic Fiction genre or have thought about checking it out, the Survivalist Series by A. American would be well worth your time. Just make sure to order all the books at once because you will go through them quickly.

The Survivalist Series can be found through your local book retailer or online from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, and Powell’s Books.

Author’s bio: Jack is a home security counselor & self-defense instructor. On Secret Storages, he writes about different shooting accessories: hearing protection, holster, glasses, etc.

Surviving An Urban Disaster (Book Review)

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Surviving and Urban DisasterStatistics show that only 1% of American households are in any way prepared for an emergency such as natural disasters. Thats scary. And the vast majority of our population live in urban environments. That complicates the issue. But a growing number of Americans have that funny feeling that they need to prepare for an increasingly dangerous world, but just don’t know where to begin. This excellent book gives them a place to start.

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