Play the game....

[Mike-Mike]

I would put a big spray painted sign on the out side of my house. "IN NEED OF FOOD - PLEASE HELP" I would hide all the food as best I could so the inside of my house already looked rampaged. If someone rang my bell I would answer it. If someone started kicking at the door I would shoot one in the floor. If they kick again I would put 2 in the door. Fill tub and all but one sink with water. My house is brick so I would only need to fortify the doors and big windows. Set up my portable HAM radio and my Base ham. I would have to setup an indoor antenna system because I don't have one up now. My boiler is a coal conversion so I could pull out the burner and heat my house with wood if I had to. My tenants and I are all shooters so I would distribute appropriate firearms and set up a lookout schedule. I would try to help who I could. For instance. I have chlorine tablets each one will make 1000 gal of water drinkable. I would give out a few of those if needed. As far as food goes. I am Italian and have quite a bit of canned goods, pasta, rice, flour, beans, sugar ,etc. I have a nut tree in the back yard and I have fat squire living around my house and plenty of little shit birds. Next, I would be trying to gather info on the situation and condition of my family via HAM or internet or cell. I also would monitor public service and MARS radio. There is a really old lady that lives across the street. As much as i wouldn't want to live with her I might bring her in as long as she had some food etc.

 

[coastie]

Feb 2010 it is probably pretty darn cold out so if these people are on foot they aren’t going to get too far. I would be more worried about local people vs a mob.

Security: Get a couple of long guns out and start always carrying a sidearm. Doors stay locked at all times. It is just my wife and I with too little kids so a true security watch is not realistic. If the situation warrants we may call on others that plan on doubling up at the house. Assuming there is snow on the ground I can block the driveway with snow and then water it to create a decent vehicle barrier. Also watering down the sloped areas around the house will create some more barriers if needed.

Would put a couple of weeks extra firewood in the garage to limit my time outside. We are set for food and water. Would monitor the news etc and modify my plans as the situation dictates. Probably set up all the gear for a power outage scenario. Start doing all the laundry, charging extra batteries etc.

 

[Domenic]

Domenic,
I am sorry to say if the SHTF really bad and you were under the stressful pains of starvation.. "Cat on a stick" would be an option I am sure you would not overlook. I know the love of a pet is strong, but when the cards are down, you must do what it takes.

Well, cats arent exactly much of a meat source, if we've gone through all the food, i'd probably not eat them since things would be so dire a couple days likely wouldnt make much difference.

Self preservation is strong, but in the face of starve today or starve tomorrow; why kill the pets?

I'd at least die with a clear conscience. Life isnt everything after a point, and i'm a realist.

If things got bad, would you turn to cannibalism? how strong is your survival instinct?

 

[matt]

I don't have time to post my response to this scenario yet, but you're all forgetting the hot water tank. I have 55-gallons of water in the house all the time in the tank. Turn off the power/gas and drain the tank as I need it. Add a few drops of bleach to each gallon if I need to after a day of no other water.

The Red Cross says you need 1 gallon of water per person per day - not including wash water.

I didn't forget... I have hot water on demand: no tank.

 

[freedom2012]

Assuming I hadn't left my home in MA yet, I would use the 10 gallons of gas I keep for lawnmower, gas up the truck, load in all firearms, ammo, food and warm clothing.

I would take rural back roads with my wife at the wheel and me with AR ready to fend off any side of road badguys all the way (95 miles) to my rural cabin with ample acreage abutting large conservation forest in Maine.

There I have a well (could access water with power out) and plenty of wood on hand (+chainsaw) and a very long driveway flanked by a swamp on one side and dense forest on the other. River is to the rear yard about 1/4 mile and then 3 miles to nearest house. Neighbor is armed and his house sits at the end of my gravel driveway so I would have notice of about 700ft if the badguys tried that approach.

Additional food could be had by abundance of does (hunting laws to hell) and yucky, but I am sure edible coyotes (once cooked on the fire assuming power out).

Wait it out and hope none of us (wife and kids) need medical attention. I am guessing I could make it through the winter and then re-assses.

This does make me think about getting MRE's and a generator capable of running the burner to supplement the fireplace.

 

[BCEagleAce]

Great post. I think about this stuff too now that I'm a father of two children. In the wake of Katrina and the general shit storm of the economy, you have to be ready! My plan:

My house is an 25 house development on a private non-through street, and it is set way off the main road. This would provide some natural security given that few people know we are there (our local PD included!). My house is at the highest point of the hill, and the development is mostly surrounded by woods. All told, a good natural defensive position.

Water: I have a well, so as long as electricity comes to my house, I will be able to get drinable water. If power goes out, I have a generator and I keep 20 gallons of gas on hand in the garage to run the mower and snow blower. My wife and I have a general understanding to keep both of our cars above 1/2 a tank at ALL times.

Food: My house is wife, me, and two kids. We do a lot of shopping at BJs and we generally buy things we eat regularly in bulk. Assuming electricity is running, the freezer in the basement is well stocked, as well as the fridge. We also have a lot of boxed/canned things stored. If we couldn't leave the house and had to make things last, I suspect we could easily make it a month or more on what we have on hand.

Protection: I'm a new gun owner, but I have 3 handguns w/ about 200 to 300 rounds for each. A .22, 9mm, and .45. If things were bad, two of these would be on my person, loaded, with extra mags at all times. I don't have it yet, but I'm going to buy a shotgun and AR-15.

I would also talk to a few of my most trusted neighbors to set up a neighborhood patrol system. One neighbor is an ex combat marine. Both people in mind have kids my age so we will have similar "concerns" regarding safety.

Assuming my home security system becomes useless, I have a family dog who goes crazy if a squirrel so much as farts in the backyard, so he is a good early warning system, if however useless in a fight!

If things were really dire, I have 3/4" plywood for woodworking on hand that could be used to baracade windows and doors.

Finally, my wife is an MD and NP, so we could rely on her to help in case of injury or illness.