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.