Prepography
The Art & Study of Self-Reliance
Top 10 Preparedness Uses of WD-40 (2,105)
Snake Eater – How to Field Dress a Snake (661)
Prepping with Garage Sales (648)
OCOKA – A Key Survival Acronym (638)
Fan of the Ammo Can – Top 10 Uses (595)
Top 10 Preparedness Uses of Mineral Oil (572)
Top 10 Initial Steps to Preparation (504)
Don’t Be ‘That Prepper Guy’ (419)
Prepper SALUTE Report – An Observation and Reporting Tool (360)
Physical Security and the Forms of Protection (306)
Situational Awareness – An Introduction (271)
Top 10 Preparedness Uses of Diatomaceous Earth (250)
Sheriff Clarke on Defending Yourself – Today’s Quote
I need you in the game… With officers laid off and furloughed, simply calling 911 and waiting is no longer your best option… You can beg for mercy from a violent criminal, hide under the bed, or you can fight back. … Consider taking a certified safety course in handling a firearm so you can defend yourself until we get there.
Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke Jr. via Wisconsin sheriff urges residents to arm themselves | Fox News.
President Obama on Gun Control – Today’s Quote
…what I’m trying to do is to get a broader conversation about how do we reduce the violence generally. Part of it is seeing if we can get an assault weapons ban reintroduced, but part of it is also looking at other sources of the violence, because frankly, in my hometown of Chicago, there’s an awful lot of violence, and they’re not using AK-47s, they’re using cheap handguns.
President Barack Obama
Andrew’s Note: Let me get this straight…there’s a lot of gun violence in the city with the most restrictive gun laws in the state with the most restrictive gun laws in the nation….not much gun violence around my neighborhood…maybe that’s because the criminals aren’t the only ones armed. Take special note of items 3, 4 & 6 on the Top 10 Items to Buy Before the Election.
Guns Don’t Believe In You Either
What’s the proper response when someone tells you “I don’t believe in guns?” You know you should just walk away and not (verbally) engage…but why not have a little fun… maybe you’re bored… some times it’s just fun to poke the bear. I used to ask the person if he or she “believed in hammers and screwdrivers” but usually just got a blank stare. It’ no fun if you have to explain “they’re all tools, lady.”
The past year or so I’ve switched my response…when someone goes out to their way to tell me “I don’t believe in guns” my response is “that’s O.K., guns don’t believe in you either.” and then I walk away. It’s just a waste of everyone’s time to try to educate an unwilling student.
Maybe someday my enigmatic response will prompt the recipient to request additional information. If so I think I’ll lead with: “When seconds count the police are only minutes away.” I’ll follow that up with an eloquent version of “God made man but Samuel Colt made all men equal” tailored to my listener.
If I can tell that I haven’t yet won over my audience I’ll try this empathetic approach with a poignant ending…”it’d be nice if we could all just get along… but as long as criminals can veto your peace plan you should learn how to protect yourself and your family. Continue reading
Buy Your Gun From The Government – The CMP
Have you heard the news? The Federal Government wants U.S. citizens, especially youth to learn how to properly and safely fire a rifle. You can even buy your gun from the government.
About the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP)
The Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) was chartered by Congress in 1903 specifically for these purposes and “any U.S. citizen who is legally not prohibited from owning a firearm may purchase a military surplus rifle from the CMP.” Continue reading
Do One Thing For Preparedness
Between work, family, church, more work, and life in general, it can be hard to prepare for hard times. Both the desire to be prepared and the (ever increasing) need to be prepared is certainly there, but the pressures of life can make it too easy to “do it tomorrow” or put your prepping strategy on the back-burner. I’m going to tell you how you can do one thing for preparedness and you will soon be well on your way to preparedness and being more self reliant.
A common mistake of many starting preppers is to try to be 100% preparedness right NOW! It’s not possible.. so relax and start simply. When people do a serious assessment of their personal and family readiness, it is easy to become frightened and want to feel safe without any delay.
Prepography is a discipline – a marathon, not a sprint!
Yes, given enough money, you can buy a range of supplies and other goods that will make you feel comfortable or take a bunch of classes to acquire the skills you feel you lack. Given enough time and money, I could be Batman. The key is to make your personal preparedness part of your life – a discipline that seems as natural as walking (which you should be doing as well).
Do One Thing for Preparedness Today
So, i
nstead of going on a mad-dash to stock up for the end of the world, may I suggest doing one thing. Just one little thing. Do this one thing for a week until it’s just part of normal activity. Once it becomes normal, pick another thing that can become part of your normal activities. Each little step you take to develop your personal and family readiness builds on itself. You will be growing your preparedness.
Here are a few things that you can do TODAY: Continue reading
Top 10 Tips for Buying Your First Gun, Part 2
In Part 1 of the Top 10 Tips for Buying Your First Gun (published on Saturday) we discussed, in detail the first five steps I recommended to my brother-in-law and a few buddies the steps to buy their first firearm for home or self defense. I’ll outline those steps (italicized) here and proceed to explain steps six through ten. Please return to Part 1 to read about the first five steps in detail if you missed that article. Also remember that firearms regulations vary tremendously across the U.S. Make sure that you keep it legal.
1. Determine whether you are mentally capable of using lethal force to protect yourself and your loved ones.
2. Decide what type of firearm is right for your situation.
3. Learn the rules of gun safety.
4. Take a class or hire an individual instructor.
5. Decide how to safely store your firearm.
6. Purchase Your Gun: Your options include private purchase, gun shop/dealer, gun show or buying your gun from the government through the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP).
Top 10 Tips for Buying Your First Gun, Part 1
Introduction
Today’s post is in response to a question from my brother-in-law (sister’s husband) who is considering the purchase of his first firearm for self and home defense. I’ve taken my brother-in-law shooting at the farm and he’s a great shot with a rifle… and has demonstrated an understanding of basic firearms safety. Unfortunately, he and my sister live several states away and his firearms experience is primarily limited to structured rifle ranges from summer camps he attended and worked for…so I’m limited to providing him advice instead of stepping through the process with him. Reviewing the advice I provide my brother-in-law may help you develop your own steps to responsible defensive firearms ownership.
Top 10 Tips for Buying Your First Gun
- Before purchasing a firearm for self defense you must determine for yourself whether you are capable of using it to protect yourself and your loved ones. In the parlance of Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Dave Grossman in his essay On Sheep, Wolves, and Sheepdogs…you should only arm yourself if you are willing to become a ‘sheepdog.’ According to Grossman ‘sheepdogs’ and ‘wolves’ are both capable of violence but the ‘sheepdog’ uses violence only to protect the ‘sheep’ and his/her fellow ‘sheepdogs.’ If you are not willing to use violence to protect yourself and your family then your firearms are nothing but an opportunity waiting for the right ‘wolf’ to come along and turn them against you and your neighbor. If, after careful reflection you are willing to become a ‘sheepdog’ then proceed to Step 2.
- Continue reading
