Author: Pat Henry

The anniversary of the events on 9/11/2001 that killed thousands is just barely in our rear-view mirror. This day, fortunately, passed without any incident. That day in our past saw so much death, chaos, and confusion many of us haven’t experienced in our lifetimes and hopefully never will again. It was a historical day for all manner of reasons beyond the tragedy of lives lost through terrorism or sacrifice. It gave us a glimpse into the very definition of pandemonium live on TV – played out in real-time before our unbelieving eyes. As a nation, we watched in horror as…

Preppers have become known for a lot of things in the media, but until recently it wasn’t for any prepper skills. We are known for underground bunkers, stockpiling tons of freeze-dried food and weapons. Preppers are frequently portrayed as preparing for the end of the world (on more than one occasion) and we generally get lumped into a very large classification of people who seemly panic and overreact to everything. For many years, if you were someone who considered themselves a prepper you could expect to be the butt of many jokes. But somewhere along the way, that perspective started…

As preppers, we stock up on supplies that we think we will need in an emergency. The order of priority for these items is usually tied to what our bodies need to survive. We can only live for 3 days (on average) without water so we make plans to purchase storage containers and water filtration systems to cover that base. We next need food, so we stock our pantries full of store-bought and freeze-dried food for a situation where the grocery store is either unreachable or out of food. Security and shelter round out the list of initial survival concepts…

Prepping in some cases is about taking proactive steps to avoid or mitigate the risk of danger. Usually, when we think of prepping nirvana the vision is a remote location, far away from the hustle and bustle of any city. Something like the Walton’s home that is far away from any neighbors and a trip into town isn’t something you make for a single carton of milk like we currently do. The ideal location provides safety from the threats we routinely discuss on the Prepper Journal, but there are a lot of factors to consider if you are looking for…

Have you ever shared something with another person and eventually regret opening your mouth in the first place? This has happened to me a ton of times in the past usually because I just say what’s on my mind. Quickly. I will blurt out my thoughts and feelings on just about any topic from time to time without putting my words through the old tactfulness speech wisdom machine first. Sometimes I can recover, but other times I have to try to make a joke out of what I said, apologize pretty quickly or in extreme cases, make a circuitous rationalization…

Hurricane season for the Atlantic Ocean runs from June 1st to November 30th with a sharp peak in activity from late August through September. It was precisely this time period that Hurricane Katrina descended upon the gulf causing a still unknown number of deaths and over 108 billion dollars of damage. The resulting chaos and horror shocked and moved millions of people to lend assistance in the aftermath of this tragedy. After the storm left and the cleanup process began, millions more began to make preparations for themselves so they wouldn’t be faced with some of the tragedy the victims…

One of the central pillars of preparedness is being able to feed yourself. Preppers focus some of their attention on stockpiling food as well as creating renewable sources like gardens or livestock (chickens and rabbits) as protection against the possibility that the local grocery store is no longer able to provide something to eat. The average person it has been said only has about 3 days’ worth of food in their homes and if that is true, feeding your family in certain disasters could prove to be possibly your biggest problem. We have already seen time and time again, scenes…

After the stock market opened up this week on “Black Monday” and quickly dropped 1000 points, many people were surprised. The internet was abuzz with stories discussing the various reasons for the market turmoil and more than one educated source said these wild fluctuations are “perfectly normal”. Economists sounded a more positive note and talked about how it was a “buying opportunity”. I read another headline that was telling everyone to “take a deep breath and do nothing”. The advice implicit in all of these examples is that we sheep need not worry because everything is going to be fine.…

In this post I am going to show you how to build a grid down communications system that you can use now or in a disaster to keep in touch for less than $120. Back when I started getting into this lifestyle now known as prepping, I had a million problems I was trying to solve. If you are paying attention and are at least partially grounded in reality, you can see the fragility of society. It isn’t hard to imagine the wheels coming off this bus we are on in any one of hundreds of ways. Economic collapse, foreign…

Many of us have affiliations with larger groups that we expect to depend upon in times of crisis. I am not talking about a support group of Facebook followers consoling you on a bad haircut here; I am talking about your very own survival group. For every person fortunate enough to have groups of friends you train with on the weekends, have purchased land and outfitted a bug out retreat, there are hundreds more who aren’t as lucky. I would bet that most people who consider themselves preppers simply don’t have a survival group they plan to rendezvous with and…

Have you ever run out of gas? Imagine running out of gas when gas stations are no longer pumping fuel or you are on route to your bug out location after some really bad stuff has gone down. You aren’t able to call AAA anymore and your buddy probably can’t come pick you up. You thought ahead to carry some extra fuel, but long lines in traffic and multiple detours have depleted even your additional supplies. If the situation called for it and you were desperate, would you know how to siphon gas from a car? Many of us have…

I think it is fair to say that one aspect of some prepper’s motivational drive to do what we do stems from a desire to resist tyranny. Perhaps I am only seeing what I want to see based on my own personal outlook on life, but I have a lot of anecdotal evidence that backs me up. When a person starts to sense within themselves a growing desire to be more self-sufficient, they routinely experience the side effect of not wanting to be told what to do or how to live their life. Preppers by very definition are taking steps…

Often we think of prepping from our own immediate sphere that we travel inside, the perspective of the relative safety of our homes and local area. We have all of our prepper gear around us or close at hand, nicely organized and stored away, waiting to be called into action to help us survive some disaster or to render aid in an emergency situation to one of our neighbors. When we commute to work or run errands around town, we have our EDC gear to fall back on or our bug out bags if they are stored in your vehicle.…

Occasionally I am honored with a request from someone writing an article on preparedness or survival,  asking for my opinion on a question they have. In the past, these requests have come from other bloggers who are just starting out or people creating infographics, even newspapers and magazines. The questions are all slightly different but a common theme has emerged over the years that seem to try to distil your odds of survival down to some reliance on one tool or one set of tools. The question usually goes something like “How much gear do you need for survival? Not…

Would your family know what to do in the event of a disaster or SHTF event? Would the prepping supplies you have carefully purchased and stored away help your family survive or would they be unused because nobody knew about them? Not that your family is inept without you, but do they know all of the plans and preparations you have made? Would they know immediately what you had planned to do in specific disasters? Would they know your rationale for making decisions you did or would they make the same mistakes you had already learned through? Would they know…

There is historical basis and precedence for militia. Our forefathers even went so far to plan for the need of a “well-regulated Militia” and outlined this in our Second Amendment to the Bill of Rights. Their reasoning in my, and countless others minds, was that a militia could one day be “necessary to the security of a free State”. The militia concept was preferable to a standing Army which many of our founders were vehemently opposed to. For example, James Madison said: In time of actual war, great discretionary powers are constantly given to the Executive Magistrate. Constant apprehension of…

Not only is your dog a good companion, but he or she could potentially save your life in a survival situation. With the proper training, you can transform your cuddly puppy into a smart, disciplined survivalist. Training takes time and patience but there are some commands you can teach your dog that could help you out in an emergency or dangerous situation. Start out training your dog the right way with these commands your dog should know. Teach your Dog to Speak You don’t need to invest in a full-scale alarm system for your home because your dog’s bark can…

The bottom just dropped out all of your warning triggers are telling you that it’s time to pack everyone into the family bug out mobile and leave town before it gets worse. Much worse. You thought ahead which is fortunate for you and your family. You have a vehicle adequately equipped for the journey to your bug out location with essential gear, plenty of fuel with extra in reserve and everyone in the family has their bug out bags stowed safely away. Nervously, you pull out of your driveway in the middle of night to avoid most of the trouble…

Does a survival fishing kit make much sense at all or is it wasting space in our bug out bags, backpacks and pants pockets?

We spend a lot of time on the Prepper Journal discussing the steps you need to take to prepare for some horrible event occurring in your lifetime. This could be as simple as a loss of a job or more serious and life threatening like a hurricane,wildfire or tornado. The steps you need to take to begin prepping all share common traits for supporting life and they are more or less consistent in my experience with information on other prepping blogs, survival writers and “experts” everywhere. The flip side of all our preparations pre-disaster, is actually putting them to use…

Applying the concept of EDC to your vehicle is Vehicle EDC Gear and just like the regular items you look at for EDC, you shouldn’t leave your driveway without it. Your regular EDC gear that you carry daily can be used in millions of ways. It could be something as trivial as having a light to shine into a dark room for greater visibility or as serious as a weapon to defend your life or the lives of others. We carry and advocate EDC (Everyday Carry) to place tools on your body or within ready access that can make whatever…

Many times through the years I have stumbled into prepper articles or discussions about the best firearms to have for SHTF. There are always different perspectives and I myself have shared my own opinions about what I think are the top 5 firearms every prepper should have. Naturally, this assumes firearms are available to you legally and you don’t have any ethical problems with the thought of using them if needed for their intended purpose. Training in the proper use and safety of these firearms should go without saying. But invariably, somewhere in the conversations about the best caliber or…

Prime Day is a one-day shopping event on Amazon that takes place today -July 15, 2015, and they are advertising “more deals than Black Friday”. Prime members can shop exclusive deals from electronics, clothing, patio, lawn and garden, sports and outdoor items and more. If you are a member of Prime and have been looking for an opportunity to get some of the prepping supplies you have been looking at, today could be a great opportunity for you to save money. If you want to register for Prime  the cost is $99 per year which at first glance sounds like…

It’s highly likely that anyone reading the Prepper Journal is very aware of the events that are ongoing in Greece at this time. As of this writing, Greek Banks are announcing their intent to raid the deposits of their customers. This is being done they say, to avert a collapse, but the raw truth is that this is plain and simple theft. Rather than averting a collapse, banks are facilitating a collapse by causing panic which will surely cause harm to the citizens of Greece. They give this practice of legalized theft a cute name; a “haircut” which I assume…

Preppers and Survivalists are always looking for some good ideas on how to use or re-purpose our preps that we have acquired. One of the more ubiquitous prepping supplies is the lowly five gallon bucket. I found a local salvage company who had a basement full of these for a dollar a bucket and picked up a dozen. The buckets themselves used to have icing in them from the local bakery but since they were in perfect shape and food grade, I grabbed them up thinking I would surely find a good use for them. We usually talk about storing…

There are so many thoughts and beliefs around what our own personal TEOTWAWKI reality will look like. Every prepper I talk to about any subject has their own take on what will happen when it will happen, how bad it will get, and in what order the chaos will or won’t descend into their world. I call this the Prepper Fantasy. I don’t mean fantasy in the sense that preppers wish for events like this, but if something bad is going to happen, this is what they view as maybe the most likely scenario. Each prepper has to take the…

So many articles have been written on the subject of bartering for preppers from many different viewpoints. Bartering is seen by many as the natural method people will use in order to conduct commerce when the grid goes down. If the economy collapses, as some fear and our money supply disappears, people will go back to trading goods or services they have for goods and services others have. It makes sense on the face of it, but I personally don’t think we will be quickly setting up shops outside our homes and offering our wares for a long time –…

A critical prep that you have to plan for including in your bug out bag is water. When deciding which option will be the best bug out bag water filtration method for you it pays to look at a lot of different solutions. Fortunately for preppers, there are several survival water filtration methods that work great and we will discuss them here. When I first got into prepping, I had people saying that they would carry all of the water they needed in their bug out bags. If you figure 3 gallons (1 gallon per person per day), that would…

Nations rise and fall as they have done since the beginning of time. Some fear that our nation, the United States of America, is preparing for the final spasm that could literally kick this country over the edge of oblivion and add our sad chapter to the larger story of the history of once great nations that self-destructed. Depending on what you believe the facts are about our current state, this may or may not be in our future. Assuming it is; there are wide differences in opinion about how long this final act may take. All I know for…

Crisis, disaster, the grid going down, SHTF or TEOTWAWKI (The End of The World as We Know It). All of these are terms preppers use as the motivating force for taking steps to proactively avoid these situations. We prepare so that if we do have to go through some crisis or disaster we will hopefully arrive on the other site unscathed. The last thing most preppers want to see is any kind of SHTF event, but I wanted to pose the idea that as well as being something we try to plan for to avoid, a crisis could give you…