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Urban Survival - Douglas Bell - HTML
Urban Survival - Douglas Bell - HTML
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<blockquote>
P. Bell</font></b><br>
<br>
<b><font face="Arial, Helvetica" size="2">To start with, let's get over the
idea that all survivalists are going
to get<br>
are going to have the money, time or inclination to leave the city life
and<br>
move to the middle of nowhere. First off, leaving your job and having no
money<br>
will doom you faster than anything you can think of! Also some of us just<br>
enjoy the city lifestyle and do not enjoy the bucolic life. So the
problem<br>
<br>
Let's start with shelter. Most of us live in either single family homes
or<br>
apartments and if you rent your house or apartment that limits what you
can<br>
and can not do there. After all, it would do little good if you were to set
up<br>
a fully equipped nuclear bomb shelter in the basement and got thrown out
the<br>
following week!<br>
<br>
However, this does not mean you are totally at the mercy of the landlord
and<br>
the elements. First off, try talking to your landlord about survivalism,
or<br>
just feel them out about their ideas of the future. This might include
nuclear<br>
war, depression, gov't control over their life, etc. If done carefully,
many<br>
people who would otherwise think of you as a fool or nut case will come
around<br>
<br>
have nothing to do with you outside of getting your rent check, you might
try<br>
and find out where the chimney and venting pipes are and if you are near<br>
enough you can tap into them for your heat and air without anyone knowing.
If<br>
the heat supply was cut off for some reason, you could put in a small
wood/oil<br>
burning stove, vent it right out the chimney, and no one would know it
was<br>
you.<br>
<br>
For a water supply, you could use 2 liter pop bottles or plastic gallon
milk<br>
system, that is the water supply is on the roof, during bad times you
could<br>
simply go up on the roof, shut the valves off, and tell everyone the
water<br>
supply ran out. No matter what you do, it would not hurt to have a good
supply<br>
of water stored just in case.<br>
<br>
As to food, a years supply of freeze dried, air dried and canned goods can
be<br>
stored in a closet; so space, if you really want it, should not be a big<br>
beds, dressers, desks, etc., so that you should be able to store a goodly<br>
way.<br>
<br>
For cooking that food a wood stove will work just fine; although camp
stoves,<br>
such as the Coleman, are also small, reasonably light weight and easy to
use.<br>
Remember however that burning anything will use up your Oxygen, so have
an<br>
outside air supply coming in. This is especially true of charcoal stoves
or<br>
grills. Used in an enclosed area it will simply put you to sleep, for good!
<br>
Also beware of treated wood or plastics that will give off toxic fumes, so
you<br>
<br>
Now I know you've been waiting for this, so we will now talk about guns.
What<br>
exactly you need is not easily done from long distance, although there are
a<br>
few basic things that most people can agree on. In urban fighting,
distances<br>
are not likely to be long, a few hundred yards at most, so you don't need
a<br>
full power battle rifle capable of shooting 1000 yards and through
several<br>
walls. Also depending on where you are, you may not be able to legally
own<br>
<br>
All is not lost however. A short barreled lever action rifle, such as the<br>
Winchester 94 "Trapper" model, Marlin 336, 1894 or Rossie M92 is not likely
to<br>
send the neighbors into fits of rage as would a H&K 91 or 94. The SKS
in<br>
7.62x39 is in about the same power range as the .30-30 and is extremely
cheap<br>
right now (in the $100-$140 range, although this is always going up), as
is<br>
the ammo, so you might consider it as well. The Marlin "Camp" guns in
either<br>
9mm Luger or .45 ACP would also make good " house" guns, although the
range<br>
<br>
That's not all bad however, as a city in break down is likely to have
roving<br>
when the Guard units joined in the looting?) that are better armed and/or
more<br>
willing to use their weapons than you. So the less shooting you do, the
less<br>
<br>
discount house here (and many gunshows) often have the Remington 870
Express<br>
screw in choke) barrel for under $300.00, which has to be one of the
great<br>
bargains in the firearms field. The only down side of this gun is it is
only<br>
prefer 20 gauge, although regular 870s are available in just about any
gauge<br>
<br>
Other shotguns you might also want to look at are the Winchester 1200/1300
or<br>
Ranger models as well as the Mossberg 500, especially the Bullpup model
that<br>
moves the action back just in front of the recoil pad and gives the gun
an<br>
overall length of under 30" with an 18" barrel or just over 30" with a
20"<br>
barrel. Get the longer 20" barrel as the added few inches will dampen the<br>
recoil and especially the noise or blast when compared to an 18" barrel.<br>
<br>
For left handed shooters or others who don't want the shells ejected from
the<br>
and Browning BPS ejects the shells out the bottom, so the shells land at
your<br>
feet instead of flinging past the left handers' face. Remington also makes
a<br>
<br>
revolvers for 9mm automatics. This has placed a goodly number of revolvers
in<br>
Many of these guns will have holster wear, that is the bluing of the gun
will<br>
be worn, but this will in no way affect how the gun shoots.<br>
<br>
If possible, get the .357 Magnum over the same model in .38 Special (such
as<br>
the S&W Model 10 in .38 Special and the same thing in .357 called the
Model<br>
13) and adjustable sights if offered. The .357 Magnum can shoot .38
Specials<br>
just fine, and this gives you the choice of two different cartridges (.38<br>
Special and .357 Magnum) rather than just one (.38 Special), as well as
being<br>
<br>
Now that you have decided where you are going to weather out the coming
bad<br>
times, in your house or apartment, what you are going to eat, the years'
worth<br>
(or more!) of food you have stored, and what you are going to defend
yourself<br>
with, your urban weapons cache, now what? What else is there?<br>
<br>
Well how about sanitation and hygiene! What are you going to do when you
can't<br>
flush your toilet? Do you have any soap or toilet paper stored away? Dish<br>
washing soap, laundry detergent, shampoo, hand soap, anything? What about<br>
and netting?<br>
<br>
The epidemics that ran over much of Europe in the Middle Ages, and most
war<br>
zones even today, are because of the improper disposal of human waste
and/or<br>
the improper handling of food, but how many times do you hear about it?
Not<br>
often. After all no one wants to read about toilets and guns in the same<br>
article. It brings the idea home a little closer than most of us want to
admit<br>
to.<br>
<br>
For the urban survivalist this is more pressing than for their rural<br>
the room to build an outhouse or some way to easily dispose of the waste.<br>
Sure you can get a chemical toilet, but what happens when you run out of<br>
plastic bags and chemicals? You should think about getting a composting
toilet<br>
<br>
Another useful idea is the use of camouflage. No I don't mean you should
be<br>
home so that they would be overlooked by someone looking for someone or<br>
something to attack.<br>
<br>
After "the day", there probably will not be many homes with a fresh coat
of<br>
paint or that are all neatly kept, so yours shouldn't be either. Also a
beaten<br>
path to your door just might lead the world to it. The less inviting or
lived<br>
in a place looks the less likely someone will want to check it out.<br>
<br>
Also your garden need not be in neat rows or even in normal garden plants,
as<br>
there are many plants that most people would not even recognize as food<br>
plants, that are easily grown. Look into getting an indoor green house or
have<br>
article, with a wood burning stove or camping stove, but sooner or later
you<br>
will want or need more than that. But what could you use?<br>
<br>
How about setting up your own still? No you aren't going to drink the<br>
stuff, you are going to use it to run the camp stove, or with slight<br>
Alcohol can be made from almost any plant matter from grass to pine
needles,<br>
although a full scale water power plant that would provide enough power to
be<br>
of any great use by itself would be more than most would be able to manage,
at<br>
least at first. However, this still leaves solar and wind, two items that
can<br>
<br>
Another item that is often overlooked or not fully explained are medical
items<br>
and medicines. Some books or articles simply tell you to talk to your
doctor<br>
and explain what you want and get prescriptions for the needed items. I
don't<br>
know what kind o f doctors these people have been dealing with, but none
that<br>
I have talked to were willing to consider it, or even talk about the
subject<br>
or need.<br>
<br>
This leaves you with the supermarket and drug store items or buying<br>
get to Mexico, you can buy prescription drugs across the counter, and
many<br>
non-narcotic drugs are readily available. For narcotic drugs, simply see
your<br>
<br>
The medical "tools of the trade" normally recommended here are either so
basic<br>
you would be hard pressed to do general first aid, or more than you will
ever<br>
need or could use, and often are more than most survivalists would know how
to<br>
use. This is not to say you shouldn't have anything your little heart
desires,<br>
but don't waste money on an item you have no idea of how to use, at least<br>
until you have the other needed survival supplies like food and
ammunition<br>
stored. For a basic first aid/medical kit it might be wise to get one of
the<br>
better commercial first aid kits and then one of the more advanced "field<br>
<br>
Do you have a good set of tools needed to rebuild you home? If not you
might<br>
consider getting a basic set of hand tools, as any power produced may be<br>
needed for other than running your power shop tools. The "Craftsman" line
of<br>
tools from Sears is warranteed for life and many people feel they are
among<br>
<br>
While I didn't mention it in the first article, you will need a set of
gun<br>
cleaning kits. First off you should get a set of one piece stainless
steel<br>
cleaning rods in .22 and .30 caliber about 30" long and a shotgun cleaning
kit<br>
as well, such as the "universal" cleaning kits offered by many firms such
as<br>
<br>
After that get a good supply of bore cleaning solvent, either commercial
or<br>
is that they are designed to be used with corrosive ammunition, and are<br>
solvent and lubricating oil you get, get plenty! Any you don't use would
be<br>
snapped up by other survivalists who either didn't get any or get enough.<br>
<br>
Now that we have housing, guns, hygiene, and other good stuff out of the
way,<br>
garden that didn't look like a garden, and wasn't in "normal" garden
plants,<br>
but just what plants are these? What would be a good book on the subject?<br>
<br>
One of the best books for this is "The Edible Ornamental Garden" by John
E.<br>
Bryan and Coralie Castle (101 Productions, 1974, 192 pages, 8 1/2" x 8
1/4").<br>
The nice thing about this book is it covers the usual garden plants as well
as<br>
<br>
The chapters in the book include general culture of plants, cooking with<br>
flowers, leaves and herbs, plants, their culture, history and recipes,
and<br>
<br>
This book is a must have for the urban home owner who has a small plot of
land<br>
and wants a garden that most people wouldn't bother because they wouldn't
even<br>
know it was there. The book will also provide you with food ideas that you
may<br>
have been missing out on right under your own nose, right in your own yard
or<br>
flower garden.<br>
<br>
Well, so much for your outdoor garden, what about an indoor garden?
That's<br>
garden. For the terrarium, you might try to find "Gardening With
Terrariums",<br>
although this booklet has almost nothing on food growing indoors as it is<br>
<br>
if a window box of terrarium garden isn't big enough for you, there are
other<br>
set-ups. Go down to your library or used book store and look over the
books<br>
they have. There should be something that will be of interest if you are<br>
<br>
Well, if gardening isn't your cup of tea, and you can't put in a greenhouse
or<br>
"indoor garden", but still want plant food in your diet, what is left?<br>
Sprouting!<br>
<br>
do, and so is perfect for the urban survivor. Sprouting not only increases
the<br>
amount of food over just eating the grains or seeds you might have stored<br>
(such as mung, pinto, or wheat), but provides much more nutrition as well.
A<br>
booklet on the subject you might like to find is "Seeds and Sprouts For
Life"<br>
by B. Jensen.<br>
<br>
Now that you have all that garden produce, what are you going to do with
it<br>
all? Yet another booklet for the continually short of space urban survivor
is<br>
jellies and drying. well so much for plants, what else is there? What
about<br>
<br>
In one "survival" magazine there are ads for leg hold traps, "you may not
want<br>
the fur, but you will want to eat" or something like that is how the ad
runs.<br>
Well OK, leg hold traps are a good way to get food and furs, but I don't<br>
<br>
back with a messed-up leg or worse yet, doesn't come home at all, I'll
know<br>
there is someone else out there and start looking for them and their traps!
<br>
<br>
Another reason I don't like leg hold traps for the urban survivor,
especially<br>
your traps every day (any decent trapper checks his traps AT LEAST once a<br>
day!), someone else might find your traps with an animal caught in it and
turn<br>
you in to the local power structure which will be more than happy to harass
an<br>
honest survivalist rather than fight crimes such as murder, rape, etc.!
After<br>
<br>
Now I'm not against trapping mind you, it's just that you have to be a
little<br>
tricky about it. If you live in an area with a lot of raccoons (and who<br>
doesn't?), you might try the "egg-trap", so called because the commercial<br>
version is egg shaped. This is a very safe and very good trap. It doesn't
grab<br>
the leg like the leg hold traps and it is safe around dogs, cats and
children.<br>
<br>
The way this works is, you take off the back of the egg trap, put the bait
in,<br>
and close it up. The trap is then put in an area where raccoons are likely
to<br>
see it. The raccoon can see and smell the food, but can't get at it. So
the<br>
raccoon reaches in, grabs the bait and pulls. Now the trap is so designed
that<br>
the leg is held as long as the bait is pulled. Let go of the bait and the
leg<br>
is released. In almost all cases the raccoon will hold on to the bait and
you<br>
Another good way to trap animals without hurting them (and getting the<br>
neighbors pissed at you) is to use a box trap. A box trap is just what it<br>
sounds like, a trap in the form of a box. Normally the animal walks into
the<br>
trap to get some sort of bait and trips a level closing the trap door;<br>
trapping the animal with no harm. These traps are available commercially
and<br>
can be easily built out of wire mesh and scrap lumber to fit just about
any<br>
<br>
These traps can be built to trap birds, squirrels, and most any animal to<br>
about a small to medium sized dog or good sized coon. After that, the size
and<br>
strength needed limit the practical usefulness of the trap as far as most<br>
will not raise too many questions. I know one person who built one of
these<br>
traps for squirrels and normally catches about ten to twelve a week! About
the<br>
every week or so, as the squirrels really tear the hell out of trap!<br>
<br>
The next set of traps are the so-called "kill traps", as they kill their
prey<br>
by breaking the animal's neck or back when the trap is tripped. Needless
to<br>
say, you don't want to use this trap where children or pets can get at it,
as<br>
most people would get a little upset by this! As these traps are normally
in<br>
the mink/martin size, they are not good "meat" traps, although for
protecting<br>
your food supply from rats and mice they would work fairly well.<br>
<br>
<br>
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