I encourage my dog to catch and eat crickets and grasshoppers.  At 150 lbs. that isnt much of a help.  But I also have a collapsible fishing gear type net in my gear for catching these types of insects in a shtf type of scenario (among other things).  In the summer months I think you could do pretty well to supplement that way.  Though I would be cooking them first.

Sounds like you are right where you need to be and should plan on hunkering down and only bugging out as a very last resort.  Dont expect for help to be en route and plan to provide for yourself.  I believe most people can do long term storage of a years worth of rice, beans and water for around 1000 dollars per 2 people. Not sure how big your creek is… but if it can float a kayak you might consider tracing it’s course on a map.  I live in northeast texas but am only 10 miles as the crow flies from a river that eventually empties into the Gulf of Mexico.  I dont see my wife or myself wanting to hoof it through the wilderness for days or weeks on end, but we might be up for letting the current carry us to relative safety.  I believe waterways would be marginally safer than roadways in a shtf scenario.

Sorry for the pessimism… but did you know that most burglaries are committed by someone that was previously invited into the home?  So maybe get to know your neighbors on neutral grounds and dont discuss personal possessions.  Just because they are your neighbor and they seem really nice doesn’t mean they aren’t a serial killer, though I suppose that is statistically unlikely.

Doesn’t hurt to stack the odds a little. Now I fear it will be a gradual slide of America into becoming “New Venezuela “. If you don’t know about Venezuela as a ‘Prepper’ then definitely study up on it.  They used to be one of the most prosperous countries in the world until they adopted a welfare state.  Now they are all starving to death.  Here’s to hoping that our slide to becoming a 3rd world country is slow and gradual.  

Way out of my comfort zone / skill set… but for off the shelf, last time I checked, the Inergy Kodiak is a good contender for a plug & play solar generator for not a lot more than the guy in the video spent.

I would consider doing that with denatured clean burning alcohol.  Isopropyl burns very sooty black smoke.  Would also like to know how long something like that would burn.  Something like a piece of tile would be good underneath as well as that can would get crazy hot.

My wife is getting a Get Home Bag for x-mas.  Still working on it but thus far it has; – aspirin, tums, triple antibiotic ointment, etc. – fingernail clipper, tweezer (for slivers & thorns) – winter gloves, hat, scarf, extra socks – toilet paper – a couple 40 oz containers of water filled 4/5 full so they survive freezing left in the car – a 2400 calorie food bar 5 year shelf life – stainless steel companion mora knife – umbrella and poncho – emergency blanket Probably also going to add a bic lighter in a ziplock, mosquito head net, some cash, and battery powered phone charger.  I would have a significantly different list of things in my own Get Home Bag, but these things seemed appropriate for the wifey.

I noticed after a hike thru the woods that my doggy got a couple stickers (they are abundant in north texas) and that would slow us down quite a bit if ever we had to ‘bugout’ so I picked up some extra large dog shoes (mastiff) with rubber soles.  Will practice with these once or twice so I know he’s good to go if need be.  Probably help quite a bit in snow and ice as well.  They are Kong brand off eBay for like 30 bucks.

Started about 4 years ago… probably after initially watching some episodes of “Doomsday Preppers”.  Then I went on to watch more youtube videos concerning possible SHTF scenarios.  Apparently there is like a 10% or greater chance that the planet will be smacked back to the Dark Ages within our lifetime or our children’s lifetimes.  (Perpetual winter from a mega-volcano, solar flare, asteroid,  e.m.p., nuclear exchange, etc.)  Then you take into consideration that over time things go from possibilities to becoming probabilities.  Like pandemics, rising sea levels / flooding, more extreme weather, shortages of food, fuel, and fresh water.  We are required to have car insurance, were required until recently to have personal health insurance, many have home insurance… it only makes sense to to prepare for an uncertain future.  My grandparents planted a garden and had shelves of Mason jars filled with food as a matter of course having survived the Great Depression.  Our memories are short, but food scarcity is more the norm than food abundance over a period of decades, much less centuries.

I’ve been a prepper for a few years now… so I tell myself “It’s not panic buying when you’re just topping up your collection.”  But I am afraid I have no pity at this point for the unprepared… beyond recognizing that some persons are struggling financially and it can be difficult to prep in that type of situation.   Anyone with modest means that doesn’t have at least a two week supply of food at this point hasn’t been paying attention.  I would say that one months worth has become the minimum. 

In Texas (and likely many other places) they are considered an invasive species and can be killed by any means year round… even helicopter hunts.  Depends on who you ask, but several say there’s nothing wrong with eating them. Probably be good to clean it out by feeding it some grain or corn for a couple weeks first though.  So you know it wasn’t just eating a dead animal.  Forget exactly how it goes… but the saying about feral hogs is something like “out of a litter of 12… only 14 will survive” as they have no natural predator for the most part after reaching a certain size.

That doesn’t even look branded?  Wonder how it would compare to something like an Inergy Kodiak.

I’m also reminded of the fact that somewhere around the time people were hoarding toilet paper… the local branch of my bank closed its doors completely.   (To avoid person to person transactions.)  They also instituted a 500 dollar maximum withdrawal limit on the drive up teller machine.  Meaning that if my vehicle had broken down during that time period and my neighbor had a vehicle for sale for 2500 dollars… it would have taken me 5 days to get the money together.  That is an offense to my sensibilities since it’s my own damn money that I am trying to access.   Aside from keeping enuff money in the bank to take care of necessary transactions, banks stopped giving interest on deposits years ago and I dont have much use for them.

Sorry… that’s 25 to 30% less on a 100k house.

Wish I lived on a dead end country road.   I live just outside a small town in the country and also imagine them using barricades which would help my security from one direction at least.  Unfortunately I live along a highway.  Guy next to me has a small clutch of cows.  Neighbor across the street has 800 acres and significantly more.  Farmers (cattle) are definitely sitting pretty in a SHTF scenario.  Nice job on the food storage.   I’m probably down around 1000 lbs. total.  (Basically a years worth of food and water for two.)  I’d rather have a 5 year supply of food and water for a major SHTF.  We only have an acre ourselves.  I’ve taken note of migrant wildlife in the area as well as the wild plum and acorn trees on the property and have considered sowing amaranth and other ‘wild edibles’.  If the wife didn’t keep talking about moving I would plant fruit trees and consider introducing myself at least to farmer john across the way.  I would say its wise to assess but not necessarily reach out to everyone around you pre-disaster.

Yeah that c.w.d. is pretty scary stuff and often no symptoms for years.  100% fatal and can hangout in the environment from any exposure to bodily fluids for a decade or longer.  Of greater concern is that it’s probably now spreading thru other animal populations as well, from raccoons, foxes, rodents, etc. As far as trapping deer go I would guess that your best bet would be a large spring snare positioned at an appropriate (head or shoulder) height situated on a deer trail or natural or man-made funnel.