SURVIVAL 101
We are going to assume that you already know the basics of survival and have gone through websites and blogs, have bought many books about it and even military manuals that are easily available. You also have a few survival guns chosen accordingly.
LET’S REFRESH THE BASICS:
You must store food for several years and preferably you will buy it already packaged in the proper containers, you must also have enough food for all members of your party and maybe a little spare for eventual newcomers. To store the food you preferably would have a bunker with a special room, or even bury ocean containers accessible from your bunker. No mater how small the bunker you have, we are assuming that you have or intend to have one; without one you’re not serious enough about surviving.
Water must be stored in several containers and be buried along side your bunker with all the plumbing coming to one location, we also assume that you will know how to treat and purify water if needed. Use your above ground building for water collection and have the sewer connected to a filtration system for reuse if needed.
Also you must have basic medicine and protection against radiation and gases, have the proper filters on your bunker and house and blast valves. All of this are easily available on the net.
We assume you will have a couple of industrial diesel generators, coupled to a couple of solar panel systems and maybe a couple of wind turbines in conjunction with a couple of battery storage systems.
Have your fuel stored along side your bunker and use multiple tanks in case one leaks or gets damaged. Store enough fuel for the vehicles you get and base your consumption on the worst possible scenario. All of this costs considerable money and if that is a problem, you must consider joining a small group of like minded people and share the cost of such project.
Now, after you planed all of this properly and have your set-up properly built, it’s time to plan the defense of your compound against all possible attacks, and this is the information you don’t find anywhere else and even most military people can’t come up with a real fool proof plan, as most of the casualties and loss of equipment in the ongoing wars, could easily be avoided with proper planning and the proper equipment. Somehow they seem to be always making mistakes, taking too long to react and solve what are most of the time very simple problems, that anyone with a brain could easily solve, wasting resources and lives needlessly –typical.
We are assuming you will build a compound close to what we suggest in our site. Anything else is asking for trouble. We understand that some of you have no choice but to reinforce your poor built house and hope for the best. We hope you follow some simple rules in doing so and don’t take unnecessary risks. Hopefully you’ll understand how vulnerable such house is, and take extra precautions. One thing is to defend your wood/brick/block house from a burglar or weekend attacker and the other is to defend it against an attack by a large group of well armed people, and if you believe that you can handle those with a shotgun and a AR-15 or hunting gun on such a house, you need a wake up call!
Now we are going to give some suggestions, on how to be prepared for an attack by a well armed group of people. This is information you won’t find anywhere else and must be part of all serious survival efforts.
SURVIVAL 102
This is how we intend to prepare for a DOOMSDAY scenario:
First, we will have a pyramid home, (but it can be any structure above ground with an elevated position and bullet proof walls or even with dirt on the sides of it ) just like the one described in our site with a two level bunker under it, built in a flat area, with a 360 degree clear view for several miles [the land actually slopes 1% or less and will be flood proof]. The food will be stored inside the bunker and the fuel and water buried along side the bunker in plastic tanks, no bigger than 1000 gallons for extra safety.
We will use KUBOTA diesel generators and the bext solar panels, 2 good wind generator and TROJAN bateries. Our filters and blast valves are all made by ANDAIR.
Our pyramid will have port size windows only and all at 6 feet above the floor, to prevent bullets hitting anyone inside at any time. All windows will serve as firing ports and will have a fire shield that we will describe later.
We will have around 10 people in our compound and someone will always be on watch either on our command center deep on the bottom floor of our bunker, or in a secondary location in one of our living areas, monitoring cameras and sensors.
We will have a perimeter multilayer alarm, composed of different systems of sensors and cameras.
Our cameras will be positioned in strategic points and will cover an area at least one mile around our compound, the idea is that no one can come any closer than one mile without we knowing about it 24/7.
WHAT WEAPONS TO HAVE
Some suggest weapons like shotguns, AR-15, or AK-47 for survival, but we feel none of those is adequate to a serious survival effort and we hope our enemies only carry those.
We intend to engage our attackers at a distance of one mile or more whenever possible, and for that we will have a semi-auto .50 BMG, type M2, mounted on the top of the pyramid, supplemented by another .50 semi-auto rifle and a few long range bolt actions that may include the new .408, .416, or .375 calibers.
Even if we like the .50BMG for price and availability of amno, it’s very clear that those calibers will keep even the .50 at bay.
We are not dedicated to gun development and merely like to follow what the best of the best is doing, but it’s our opinion that there is much to develop and we feel that the 2 mile range will be attained at some point, with something around the best .400 bullets, and a improved cartridge.
Our field guns will be .308/7.62×51 and we are assuming that this will be the caliber most likely used by our attackers, and even in our vehicles we will carry nothing less, and all guns will be semi-auto, because in a multi-attacker situation a bolt action gun gives you a serious disadvantage. Side weapons will be GLOCK pistols in 9mm, 40S&W, 45ACP as the calibers of choice and also mini AR-15/AK-47 type guns that are a step above a pistol.
There are many good weapons out there that suit our survival philosophy, but we prefer to stick to proven designs that are accurate and require little maintenance. As a rule, any gun that fails even one time will be sold out immediately and hopefully end up in the enemies hands, there is too much at stake to take chances. This is why we won’t use any AR type gun in .308 for defense and will have mostly FNAR’S, M1A/M14, FAL OR G3. In the .50 Cal we prefer BARRETT, as a rule we won’t buy unproved designs and the MODEL 82A1/M107 has been proven to perform. Another rule we have, is to have at least 2 guns of the same model, because even if both brake down it may still be possible to build one up.
Among calibers available in a post Apocalypse scenario will be mostly 5.56×45/.223, 7.62×39, 7.62×51/.308, 30-06, 7.62X54, .300 Win/Mag, .50BMG, so it makes sense to carry mostly those calibers. One should have a few 1000 rounds of .308 [10000+ preferably], 1000 or more of .50BMG and if any other caliber is chosen have at least 1000 rounds of each and this per person/gun and as a precaution store ammunition in separate locations away from each other outside of your bunker, in proper storage containers easily accessible from the bunker, this way even if one blows up, the others will stay intact and no damage is done to the compound. This is done by having a narrow hallway with one 90 degree turn leading to a few small rooms/boxes where the ammunition will be stored with at least 3 feet of dirt in between boxes and a metal door, the hallway must be protected from the bunker with a blast proof door.
Most ammunition could be good military surplus, with some specific such as tracers or armor piercing or good match rounds. We will do a lot of hand-loading to our personal specs, what is cheaper than good ammunition, is customized to our guns and will permit some recycling on a survival scenario.
You want to have only proven quality scopes, such as LEUPOLD, OR NIKON’s and have plenty of range time in the long distances with different weather conditions, and have all the necessary sniper gadgets to properly engage targets at any distance.
We can’t emphasize enough the need for drills and war games as a test of your abilities, limitations and security set-up, this is the only way to find out what works or not and any deficiencies must be corrected.
All guns must have a brake and if possible a silencer to keep signature down and allow for quicker follow up shots.
We are not fans or lasers or night lights, as those are a two edge sword that may help in target acquisition, but will reveal your position; but we all will have night vision equipment and some mounted on weapons.
VEHICLES.
All vehicles must be diesel powered because gas deteriorates too fast in storage, and they all must have basic armor for vital parts and occupants.
Our favorite vehicle is the DODGE RAM, QUAD-CAB, 4X4, LONG BED, TRUCK, WITH MANUAL TRANSMISSION [a military type armored HUMVEE, is a great option, with a few modifications of course, but they are too expensive, won’t last as long as the RAM, and use more fuel, but one can have any good SUV properly prepared), JUST STOCK BRAKE PADS, TIRES, A COUPLE OF CLUTCHES, OILS AND YOU’RE GOOD FOR 500000 MILES, and always have 2 of them if possible, maybe other member of the group can have the same model and in case both brake down, it may still be possible to have a good one.
A well built vehicle will have a gun station on the back behind the cab and built in a way that the operator is never exposed to any fire, unlikely what we see in the military. Even if they went from having a bull’s eye on the poor guy manning the gun, what was a real joke and stupid [one of our members use to patrol on one of those and he says it was the worst and scarier situation possible, without knowing if someone had him on the cross airs at all time, and this is a tough multi-purple heart veteran. Now they have some armor, but it’s still a partial protection, what is typical of poor military leadership. We would like to see the leaders that designed or approved those shields to ride on them and be subject to live test fire, before they sent anyone to war on those lousy vehicles.
A couple of pieces of 3ft pipe of armor steel [actually one will be larger to fit over the other], some rollers is all it takes to build one of those; the gun must move on 3 axis and built in a way that no bullet can hit the gunner even if they shoot trough the scope (this can be done either with a piece of bullet proof glass or indirect sighting). Time and budget permitting we would like to build our own personal carrier able to survive any gun fire and even IED’s.
OTHER WEAPONS
We will have a rotating .50 caliber, M2 type gun, at the top of our pyramid with a camera, night vision and a scope and remotely operated from the command center, and designed in a way that it can’t be hit directly by fire other than the tip off the barrel.
If your group is skillful, you could build a variation of a large RC plane, that could be armed and very efficient at 1 mile or more away.
Another is to have a RC vehicle as simple as a four wheel ATV, you must rubber fill the tires and armor the vital components for better efficiency, armor must be in an angle to deflect bullets as it doesn’t need to be as heavy or use exotic materials for it, even if the gun is stationary on the vehicle, but controlled by a camera aiming device it can engage targets that are firing on you out of range, such as mortars.
Other weapons only available to the military may be available in a post apocalypse era and must be considered too, because the bad guys may have them and your .50 cal maybe at a disadvantage, in that case it will be important to act quickly and acquire some of them, or improvise some defenses around any explosives one can get his hands on. There are military manuals available that can help in this area.
FIRING SHIELDS
Our maned firing positions will be supplemented by fire shields, with one around the window that will prevent anyone to get hit even through the scope, what is something not even the military has, and another in case a bullet goes through the 8 inch concrete. A armor shield is just a piece of heavy armor metal positioned in an angle either one flat piece deflecting up, or a V piece deflecting to the sides with a lip to prevent side ricochets; actually everyone traveling will have a shield with a port for firing, something that the military should have, as it makes no sense to have only protection for your chest, back and top of your head as if the rest of your body didn’t matter; another example of the IQ of those in charge. We will post in the near future specs on how to build one and what material to use after on going field trials.
If you can’t afford a well built home and purpose built bunker, you still need to make your home as safe as you can. Hopefully you have a place in the country with some defensible space, because as all of you survivalists out there should know, any decent hunting gun in the hands of a criminal can pick you up inside 600 yards, once you go out for any reason.
If money and time is an issue, a buried ocean container and another one above ground directly above it with dirt pushed against it up to 6 feet, or even all the way to the top with a window on top and a small watch tower, will offer better protection than your disposable home, preferably you will have a levee built outside of your shelter, and all it will take is a bulldozer or excavator and a few hours of work, just make a 6/8 feet high levee in a circle around your shelter with the open ends overlapping enough so the inside area is out of view from the outside.
You must have an armored area in your above ground shelter no mater which one you have. An easy way to do this in your wood home, is to build a little tower in the center of the roof disguised as a chimney and either use metal or sand bags around a watch position; you may have to use some heavy support, all the way to the ground.
You can use the watch tower to install a rotating camera or 4 stationary ones. You will have to install some form of perimeter alarms as described above so no one can come all the way to your levee without you knowing. If your structure is disposable/combustible you need to have a tunnel out of your bunker/basement to avoid getting burned with the house.
Got comments or suggestions?
Other information and updates will be posted soon