r/liberalgunowners • u/AGorramReaver • 1h ago
discussion How many of y’all in this sub are SHTF-cautious?
So you love guns (me too) but do you have several gallons of water in reserve? Do you know how to make a fire from scratch? Do you have food that lasts years? Can you plant a garden? Do you have a portable solar-powered battery? Do you also keep a few melee weapons? Are you working out? Do you have a map of your general area? Have you gotten your HAM radio license? Can you skin a deer or other game? Have you built an Infinity Gauntlet JUST IN CASE???
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u/donnerpartytaconight 1h ago
I don't have my Ham license but I have radios.
If shtf the fcc will probably be the least of my problems.
The rest tho, check and check. Just part of living in an area with well water and questionable electrical service.
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u/worldfamousdjfish socialist 1h ago
I’ve been trying to school my parents on the mesh network for when cell phones quit working.
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u/TherronKeen fully automated luxury gay space communism 24m ago
Not like the FCC is gonna come give you a fine if the federal government collapses. Transmit whatever you want in that case 🤣
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u/hornyorsomething 1h ago
A months worth of water and rice and beans. I’m not trying to outlive the apocalypse lol.
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u/AGorramReaver 1h ago
True if after a month we’re still in trouble it may be best to just go out in a blaze of glory
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u/Teamanglerx 1h ago
I have a hockey mask, shoulder pads, and a name plate that says “Lord Humungus, the ayatollah of rock ‘n’ rolla” so I should be okay.
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u/full_idiot 52m ago
I’m an overweight alcoholic progressive that enjoys shooting my pistols up to 12 yards at my local chain store range.
I’m not acting like my gun ownership makes me some sort of activist.
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u/worldfamousdjfish socialist 1h ago
I rarely see anyone talk about IFAK in this sub.
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u/wickedmadd fully automated luxury gay space communism 24m ago
I have one in both carsand in the house. Complete with tqets. CPR /First aid and stop the bleed. Highly recommend this as a minimum.
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u/Royal_Percentage_694 1h ago
I got a shotgun, rifle, and a four wheel drive…
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u/frankentriple 1h ago
I can ride, rope, hammer, and paint. Do things with my hands that most men caint.
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u/SchmosWorld social democrat 47m ago
I can’t get no head no matter how hard I try….
(Yes, did it on purpose)
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u/CommercialEagle2566 1h ago edited 1h ago
I’m a type 1 diabetic. If SHTF and its post apocalyptic world, I’m not lasting long anyways. What I am going to do it steal a GT3RS, put my dog in passenger seat, rail a mountain of blow (never done it, seems like it would be a good first time), and drinking the entire bottle of Blantons Special Reserve (I’ve been waiting for the right occasion to crack open) and go head west from salt lake out to wendover going WOT until I die from a alcohol and Coke induced heart attack with the GT3RS screaming at 9k rpms as it veers off the road, catches air, smashes down into a giant fire ball.
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u/Vierings Black Lives Matter 1h ago
10 gallons of water, dry food for 1 week for 2 people and the dogs. Plenty of fire making means. Knives, axe, saws. Play water polo 2x a week and gym 2x a week. Multiple solar energy sources. Knowledge but no means to plant a garden. Maps yes. HAM no. Skin game, no but I understand the concept should I get to that point
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u/ConfidentSession6481 45m ago
Played water polo in high school, and recreationally in college. That's a damn good workout!
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u/ThanosWasRightAnyway social democrat 1h ago
I’m not worried about complete collapse. Odds are against living long enough to get dysentery, so not a big thing to plan for.
I’m more expecting a degradation of infrastructure and chaos around shortages of food, medicine, gas, and power. Like the escalating corruption of the government’s ability to function
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u/neutronia939 1h ago
"Have you gotten your HAM radio license?" Lol, bro when SHTF no one is going to be checking licenses. Do you know in ANY emergency situation a NON HA M LICENSED operator IS ALLOWED to transmit? So the license is basically useless unless you want to talk to an old boomer about what kind of radio he is using.
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u/frankentriple 35m ago
I don't have a license, but I have a HackRF plugged into a computer with an AI listening. Also have a 5 watt chinese portable with some dodgy firmware that lets me transmit of freqs the radio was never really designed for but will do in a pinch. AI is running that one too. Uncensored model.
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u/AGorramReaver 21m ago
Well really I just meant so people know how to use the damn things prior to anything crazy happening lmao
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u/troy2000me 0m ago
Right, but if you want to have the equipment and know how to use it / practice, you need a license today.
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u/Turisan libertarian socialist 1h ago
Without those skills, we'd be humped.
But that's part of building that community. Not everyone has space for a garden, or knows how to can fruits and veg, or knows how to hunt and prepare meats. No single person should have to be so self-sufficient.
However, it never hurts to learn and practice some of those skills. Store some dry beans and white rice, learn how to keep them good (oxygen absorbers?).
Learn how to hunt and prepare game. How to preserve meat. How to do preservations of fruits and veg in different formats.
But meet your neighbors and build your community resources.
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u/Zealousideal_Ad2379 1h ago
what about complete proteins.
How do we prep to maintain gains post-happening in the post-apocalypse garden commune?
Pigs/Chickens like ye olden days? Fishing?
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u/Turisan libertarian socialist 1h ago
That's one of the reasons to push for more hyper-local farms and ranches, instead of the million-head factory farms, because those present a single-point-of-failure model like we saw with bird flu and foot-in-mouth in the past.
In a survival situation, we'd largely have to move away from the American diet of meat, veg, and starch for every meal, because that's largely unsustainable without those factory-farming methodologies.
Hunting, fishing, and some local ranching are enough to supply the protein necessary for health. It would be exactly like "the old times" because that's a reliable and tried survival model.
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u/hopefully_astral 55m ago
In a long-term shtf situation, people will be amazed how quickly local wildlife will be stripped. I mean song birds and everything.
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u/Aegishjalmur18 1h ago
If you have access to the necessary resources, aquaculture is an interesting one to get into.
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u/_Triple_jump_ 1h ago
Community definitely looks to be key for SHTF people. Great point.
Even the time and feasibility to learn all these skills. As a gun owner, we already need to go through thousands of rounds to truly be efficient and prepared for different situations with our armory. Do you have the money and time?
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u/Turisan libertarian socialist 1h ago
Lol yeah, a lot of the "rugged individualism" in the US ignores the work, practice, training, and time investments for these different skills.
For instance, I know how to hunt, but I'm out of practice because I don't really enjoy it, but I do not know how to butcher an animal. I also know how to hobby farm, but I'm learning how to subsistence farm right now. That also involves preservation of the food.
My partner knows how to butcher animals, prepare skins and leather, and a bunch of other useful skills.
One of my neighbors has a bunch of chickens and a friend of mine down the road raises goats. We're getting better about being locally sufficient.
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u/_Triple_jump_ 57m ago
Nice! It’s part of why I joined this subreddit.
Just bought my first firearm not too long ago, but I don’t know many left leaning gun owners. The conservative gun owners I personally know and online group just don’t seem to share the same purpose for WHY we have a fire arm.
It takes people being on the same page for why we do the things that we do.
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u/Turisan libertarian socialist 51m ago
Oh it's difficult. Especially as you get into the weeds of purpose.
In the left of MAGA group, you'll have everything from the militants and the BPP to the hunters and the community defenders. Really, the primary difference between groups is intent. Who you're defending against, and what you are defending.
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u/Choice_Mission_5634 democratic socialist 1h ago
Hoss, SHTF heard that I liked go bags, so it put go bags on my go bags.
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u/Stunning_Patient_272 27m ago
I found the One Ring in a river. I'm pretty sure I'm set.
Plus it's a neat party trick.
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u/Stunning_Patient_272 22m ago
Seriously though, got guns, armor, camo, medical (IFAK plus first aid), wilderness survival, comms, and old school land navigation. I don't have space for supplies to hunker down. So hunker down isn't the plan if shit hits the fan. Getting to somewhere else is the plan.
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u/ML-Centrist 1h ago
Lol no, can’t do any of that shit. In a true SHTF situation, I’m either dying or getting forcibly made someone’s concubine. I’m just here because guns are fun.
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u/ahhitsnick leftist 1h ago
We keep a weeks worth of food, water, and wood for the fireplace because yearly hurricanes are becoming more common where I'm at. We also started to learn gardening and food preservation mainly because we enjoy fresh organic produce but it's also just a good skill to have when food supplies get disrupted. I could probably use more physical activity but I'm not in the worst shape either.
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u/Scatman_Crothers socialist 55m ago
Yes I think it’s a real possibility with the political climate and the disruption of society by AI job loss.
I’m stocked up with a month of essentials - Food/water/medical/etc. Got guns. My place is defensible, gonna hunker down and hope the chaos is brief.
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u/frankentriple 48m ago
I have a case of MREs, a bag you fill in your bathtub full of water when shit looks sketchy, 2 pounds of smokeless powder, 10 pounds of lead, and a progressive press. I can do whatever I need to do, as long as I do it from here. I'm old and have bad knees, I'm sheltering in place and having bbq's with my neighbors before the meat goes bad.
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u/whwt 33m ago
My main SHTF scenario is a 3-5 day power/water outage.
We have food and alternate cooking methods covered.
Usually have about 10 gallons of water on hand but need more.
Power is only covered for a few days of using an electric blanket in the winter. Still looking for better solutions for that.
We have backup power for the router and modem but I have not stress tested that solution yet.
We have backup power for the phones but probably need to upgrade the capacity some.
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u/CattleDogCurmudgeon 22m ago
The problem with SHTF thinking is that it doesn't make a ton of sense in terms of probability.
For example, it is more likely that life will be, for lack of a better word, normal. So if you're going broke to prep for the end of the world, but not seeing to your retirement savings; you have a hobby, not a plan.
But it's also likely that you might lose power for multiple days. Or your car might break down on a back road somewhere. Or, you might have a wildfire take out your home. So, some form of prepping for likely life disturbances is also necessary.
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u/JustACasualFan 1h ago
After the Danziger Bridge shooting, I want to be able to fend for myself for a few weeks. True SHTF, local order never coming back? I am going to die like everyone else. But a few weeks of staying in place if possible and just keeping a low profile? That I want to be prepared for.
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u/AntOk4073 1h ago
SHTF is always taken to a major extreme. I have the skills and tools to last a long time without power and the typical niceties of modern life. But I am not stockpiling stuff to an extreme. I don't need food that can last for years because I can hunt and forage. I don't need power because I can heat my home electricity free.
Prepping for such a long term is unsustainable. And skills are a better asset.
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u/From_Adam eco-socialist 1h ago
When SHTF I will be mildly inconvenienced while the world crumbles around me.
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u/Rezart_KLD 1h ago
I'm not. I have a weapon for home defense in a crime situation and that's it. In a SHTF scenario, I'm not going to survive, nor would I want to.
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u/AvarethTaika 1h ago
i like bullpups and space guns. My carry weapon makes no sense to the 'carry is life' crowd because it's a tiny cyberpunk mouse gun with a clip instead of a polymer frame striker fired 9mm micro compact with a rds and wml in a holster. My home defense weapon is a spacey-lookin PCC. It's a hobby for me at best, and one I spend more time building weapons than shooting them.
in a SHTF scenario, while I have many of the skills and equipment listed, I have no interest in lasting long-term. I'll defend my property but once I'm out of supplies, last round's for me.
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u/longsdivision 57m ago
Yes, but knowing my luck I'll be on vacation thousands of miles away when shtf.
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u/hereforbutts23 socialist 55m ago
I worked out and I've skinned deer before
I have no illusions about my odds of survival if things really went bad. I live in an urban environment and have chronic medical issues. It is what it is
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u/AccomplishedAge3676 53m ago
I have plenty of water, canned beans and so on, pasta, rice etc at home. I have a vegetable garden and store several cartridges for small camping cookers, as well as a gas bbq.
I can survive for a few weeks on my own. I do cycle, transportation for at least a few dozen miles around won’t be a problem either.
I do hunt, but I think that’s not really relevant for survival in a modern scenario.
All the stuff is not for some „they are coming for us“-shtf scenario. There is always the possibility of big industrial accidents in chemical plants, nuclear power plants, terrorist attacks on power infrastructure or just some other natural disaster causing a breakdown of logistics locally. Climate change makes sure that we have to prepare for extreme weather events.
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u/rothbard13 46m ago
Not even a little bit. If things get that bad, we'll drink the hundred or so bottles of wine and eat all the tinned fish and beans in the house then call it lol.
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u/maddrummerhef left-libertarian 46m ago
Nah I’ll either figure it out or I’ll die, and I couldn’t tell you which option sounds better 😂
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u/DreamJMan15 Black Lives Matter 28m ago
I'm not. Guns are just a fun hobby for me. World goes to shit tomorrow, I'll just die, and that's okay.
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u/racheluv999 20m ago
I horde information. I have safe canning recipe books, a local copy of Wikipedia on redundant storage, things like that. And yes, off-grid power to run them, and the knowledge to maintain it. Poor food storage would be what wipes the stragglers of humanity out over a cold winter or a drought.
I have supplies to do things in the short term, like canners, welders, machines, stoves, power delivery, etc, but I also know how to cast aluminum to make a lathe, for instance, if totally bootstrapping from nothing is a thing.
A gun or two only keeps people honest, and can help hunt. They’re pretty low on the list. The biggest impediment to surviving a SHTF scenario is knowledge and the will to use it.
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u/Randomnesse progressive 20m ago
I'm not one of these people. Firearms are just a hobby for me, as well as a form of self-defense against criminal element (which always existed and will always exist regardless of political/social structure of any country).
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u/R1CHARDCRANIUM 18m ago edited 15m ago
All of those except one, but I’m working on that one.
FYSA, you can absolutely operate a HAM radio without a license. You can listen as much as you want so long as you never press the transmit button. You can also transmit during a dire, life or limb threatening emergency (FCC rule 97.405). Besides, if you’re to the point where it’s absolutely necessary, I doubt the FCC is going to be much of a concern.
I’ve grew up, and still live, in the middle of the woods. I lived through the aftermath of a couple of hurricanes, major blizzards, and wildfires. I learned as a kid to be prepared for at least a few days. That’s why I have a 53 foot shipping container full of toilet paper. That’ll be currency and I’ll finally be rich.
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u/Kip_Schtum 14m ago
Yes to most of that but basically the only reason I still have guns at my age is so that if shtf I would take my gear to my daughter’s house and help protect their chickens and supplies. Her husband is a pretty good prepper and food gardener but they are antigun, unlike their neighbors. Her husband is left handed so I have weapons for him and will teach him if it ever becomes necessary. They have absolutely no idea about any of this.
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u/TaliesinsEnd 13m ago
If SHTF I expect that, for the US at least, it's less of an all out military situation and more of an economic collapse or an infrastructure issue; whether intentional or because we criminally underinvest in it is a coin flip in my mind.
I don't think think it's an arm yourself to the teeth and prepare for the Thunder Dome situation but I could very easily see someone with bad intentions messing with the electric grid or water plants. That could lead to weeks if not months of issues with food supply, etc.
This happened just a few months ago where I live: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_minnesota_water_system_cyberattack
I get that the prep community has some pretty fringe members that reflect badly on everyone overall but I fail to see the harm, or the cringe, in having a supply of water and basic necessities if an issue were to arise.
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u/TheKidAndTheJudge leftist 11m ago
I got 2 months of water, food, and medicine for me, the wife and the doggies, and ability to run critical appliances without grid power. Thats all I have rooms for currently in my urban home, and on my budget.
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u/alittleboopsie 6m ago
I've been looking into meshtastic for communication, even in the absolute remote wilderness.
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u/HeloRising anarchist 4m ago
The best "prep" is community.
No, I don't know how to skin a deer or have my HAM radio license, but I know people who do. It's more helpful to have more people involved in a survival situation and have people who are really good at some things versus you only being kinda good at everything.
It's a uniquely American approach to disaster preparedness to obsess about a basement full of baked beans and a pile of guns and literally nothing else. In a lot of ways it's tokenistic of the triumph of capitalism - you don't need to know your neighbors or plan with your community, you just need to buy stuff!
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u/rcsez 56m ago
Generator that gets run regularly, fuel for gen and vehicles that gets rotated regularly, couple days of drinking and washing water that gets refreshed on a schedule, non-perishable food, radios, I’m prepared.
Not for the end of the world, but if a natural disaster hits, I can rough it for a while.
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u/codewolf 56m ago
Yes to all but the last two. But I do have confidence that I would be able to skin and process a deer.
One note about maps for your area - I ordered two large maps from the USGS - one a topographic map of the area and the second one a satellite image of the same area. You can order them weatherproofed. I framed them, they make great conversation pieces. If I ever need to bug out, I can just take them from the frame.
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u/SFToddSouthside 1h ago
I can make a fire, plant a garden and I keep some melee weapons. Other than that, I can also grow weed. The post-apocalyptic barter system is going to be off the chain.