Nobody’s perfect, not even preppers. And especially not new preppers. When the SHTF, thousands of them will be agonizing and dying because of mistakes that, in hindsight, will seem perfectly obvious. But by then it will be too late.
In this video, Ethical Preparedness talks about eight of these fatal mistakes.
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1. Trying To Survive By Bushcrafting After SHTF
A common assumption some preppers make is that if the SHTF, they will bug out, head to the woods, and live off the land by foraging, hunting, and fishing. What they’re thinking is that they’ll basically survive by bushcrafting.
In actual fact, very few people have the extensive knowledge and skills necessary to survive for any duration in the wilderness. And don’t assume hunting will make up for that. During the depression, so many people were hunting that some animals almost went extinct.
2. Trying To Be A Lone-Wolf Prepper
Being a lone wolf prepper can do more harm than good. At some point, you have to sleep, and you need someone to watch your back, especially if you have to bug out and are in a remote location.
You could also succumb to a medical problem that will temporarily put you out of commission. Without other people around you, it’s going to really put you at risk.
3. Being Unwilling To Bug In/Bug Out
Some preppers are set in their ways and have already determined that they will never bug out. Either that or they’ll refuse to bug in, particularly if they have a prepared bug out location.
That’s not the way to think about it. Whether you bug-out or bug-in should be driven by the circumstances and the situation surrounding you.
4. Keeping All Your Supplies In One Place
Some preppers don’t have much choice when it comes to storage, but if you can keep your supplies in different locations around the house, you’ll be doing a better job of protecting some of them from loss due to fire, flooding, looting or other types of damage to a single location.
Think about the same idea with regards to supplies at your bug out location. If possible, keep them at multiple locations in survival caches.
5. Focusing On Guns And Gear Over Everything Else
A common mistake some preppers make is to assume that assembling guns and gear is going to get them through the toughest times.
What they miss is the basic need to have sufficient food on hand and most importantly, learning life-sustaining skills that allow them to apply creative and innovative practices to the gear they have assembled.
6. Being An Armchair Warrior Instead Of Getting Actual Training
It’s not just about target practice at a shooting range. Think about getting some actual tactical training in your area so you understand all of the options available to you when it comes to defending yourself and your family.
7. Forgetting What Comes After The Tourniquet
It’s great to have the medical supplies and the ability to deal with an emergency, but make sure you have taken the time to learn and develop first skills for a variety of injuries and conditions for long-term recovery.
8. Overestimating Their Food Stockpile
Long term food storage companies promise nutrition based on servings over a period of days. The thing to watch for is how many calories you receive from each serving.
Quite often, the number of calories you need on a daily basis is more than you have stocked. Do the math with any food storage and make sure you have at least 2,000 calories per day to determine if your food storage is sufficient.
For a more detailed discussion of these mistakes, be sure to watch the video below.
Oops. That should have read: “IN-experienced hunters…”
— MIc
All good points. #6 (“Armchair Warrior”) could be expanded to many of the things you’ve cited — Armchair Bushcrafter, Armchair Gardener, etc. In our world of internet info, it’s easy to read about something, even watch YouTube videos about that something and convince themselves that they “know” how to do X or Y. They are usually quick to recite (authoritatively) what they read or watched, usually prefaced with, “what you should do is…”
You can usually tell comments from experienced hunters and armchair hunters who say things like “I’ll just head into the woods and hunt…” Or, armchair gardeners who imagine that if things get bad, “I’ll just get out my Seed Bank and…”
To echo Bemused’s point, be honest about what you can actually do — because you have done it. Put your internet-gleaned knowledge to the test. Plant some seeds. See how it goes. While there are usually regulatory hurdles to hunting (permitting, safety course, etc.) if you can, try it out. See how it goes. If you’ve got bushcraft gear and knowledge, try it out. Go out into some rustic woods for several days and see how you do.
Learn by experience now, while failure is non-critical.
OTC and prescription medicine. Pet supplies. Stash of small denomination bills as well as change. Current pandemic showed me some holes in my preps. Puppy pads have been an ongoing challenge. Luckily I had supplies to make hand sanitizer as well as wipes. I don’t want to touch cash, but need to go to laundromat and tip for services. Stockpiled cash and change in March and have just let it sit till I need it.
The biggest fatal mistake is underestimating your water needs!
Without adequate water you will not survive.
That amount will be 10 to 15 gallons of water, per person, per day, in a long term survival situation.
Too many people think they can survive on 1 gallon a day and only prep for that amount.
The next is failing to consider whether you can realistically find and procure that amount of water on a daily basis, whether you plan to bug in or out.
If you can’t or are unsure if you can have a sustained supply of at least that amount of water, then you need to reassess your plans.
Rainfall is sporadic, as are the water levels some creeks. Common Urban sources of water will probably not be available, or not for long. Especially with so many people competing for the same resource.
Planning, researching, and preparing, not guessing or hoping, is the key to survival.
This is really great advice! I think people tend to take fresh water for granted because it’s so plentiful in modern society. They forget that without it, they’d be dead in a matter of days.
All good points. Another that is often overlooked is REALITY (especially in the Bug In/Bug out argument). You need to ask yourself, and be BRUTALLY and TOTALLY HONEST in your assessment, of what you’re capable of. At one time, strapping a 100 pound backpack on and walking 20 miles a day, was not an issue. Now, at 60, with numerous health conditions that prevent the degree of physical labor involved in bugging out, I’d be lucky to carry 20 pounds for 1 mile. Some hurdles can be overcome, and some can’t be. This honest assessment tells me that unless a vehicle is available and usable (in whatever scenario we might face), Bugging Out, especially on foot, is the last available option I should take. Degenerative Joint Disease and Heart issues limit what level sustained physical activity I’m capable of, so all our prepping plans are based around the disabilities.
It also brings the reality that I most likely won’t survive some scenarios. In recognizing that, I’m able to concentrate my efforts towards making sure my family is set up to survive and thrive in an extended crisis, with or without me. Stockpiling those tools and supplies through which I can make sure they have available and have the knowledge to use.
So that’s my only suggestion that future Prepping Author’s and articles add to the list. A BRUTAL AND HONEST ASSESSMENT OF ONES ABILITIES AND LIMITATIONS.
I completely agree with what you are saying. While I do think all options need to be left open the only way I am Bugging Out is if the problem is a fire or something of that nature. In my 60’s also and not in the greatest health so I have no plans to leave all my supplies and run off to the woods to die in misery. If it came down to marauders or gangs going house to house then I guess they’ll just have to pay the price to take what I have. I would;d rather die ( if I’m going to) quickly in a home defense situation than slowly and painfully