I cannot count the number of time’s I’ve heard or read preppers, survivalists, and bushcrafters say that, in case there’s an emergency situation, they’ll be fine because they know how to hunt.
Of course, they then say that they have the gear stockpile already covered to back them up, so they’re good.
Then there’s the second group, who reassure everyone they not only know how to hunt, they also know how to forage and they’ll manage, they just need to drive far enough away from the suburbs where they live to get access to what they need.
They have plenty of gas stockpiled, along with the hunting and foraging gear. So they too are good.
Then there’s the preppers who go just one step further and think they’ll be fine because they have a backup plan in case those two plans just aren’t enough. It’s to grow their own food.
And they have enough seeds stockpiled to last them a century, so don’t worry about that.
At this point I pretty much roll my eyes.
No you won’t. I mean you can try. But you won’t manage to survive. I’m pretty well near convinced at this point, and not much will change my mind on the topic.
These are just not viable plans. You can’t merely hunt and forage your way into an existence. Not in this day and age.
Nor can you merely start up your own personal farm and magically make your own food at the drop of the hat when you need it with your surplus of seeds that you stockpiled.
Short term? Sure you’ll survive. But you can survive with literally no food whatsoever for quite a long time. So that means nothing.
Long term? I think there’s only one viable option.
Why 99% Of You Won’t Survive by Hunting, Foraging, & Growing Your Own Food in a Long-Term Emergency
Why Long-Term, Hunting and Foraging Aren’t Viable Survival Plans
I think in a true emergency, most suburban and urban dwellers would be flocking away looking for food.
It won’t take long – honestly probably a few days to maximum a few weeks in my mind – before these people manage to entirely decimate the animal and edible plant population.
There are just too many humans who need feeding for even a small percentage of us to be able to manage to live off of the wild edible resources – whether they’re animals or plants.
And I think the poor farms are going to be an easy target for anyone who’s panicked. So I don’t necessarily believe swarming a farm is going to be viable long-term either. But that’s a little off-topic.
Essentially, if people catch a whiff of “this is gonna be a long term disaster” in the press, they go mad. We know this, we’ve guessed this would happen and be true, and then COVID hit, the news said, “Don’t worry, everything is under control…” and then the panic buying began…
People aren’t going to remain calm. It’s not going to happen. And they will not be wise about how they panic. Anyone with hunting or foraging experience, and even those without, are going to try their hand at getting food this way, or through theft, if they’re hungry enough.
These aren’t viable methods because you have too much competition. And because the resource will deplete so quickly your head will be spinning.
So if you’re assuming you can just use your bushcraft skills in a country-wide or even global disaster – honestly good luck. I don’t think you’ll make it.
Why Long-Term, Growing Your Own Food Isn’t a Viable Survival Plan Either
100% – I don’t think growing your own food is a viable plan either.
I feel like most who assume they can grow whatever they need to eat from the seeds they’re stockpiling who haven’t actually tried to live by almost exclusively eat what they grow have no idea how hard a feat this is.
I am not kidding – even farmers have bad crops and bad years, and these are experienced. They know what they’re doing. They have all the practice they could need. Still it’s rough sometimes.
Nature is not on your side – it’s full of creatures and critters who are also trying to survive.
And those gophers, squirrels, rabbits, deer, mice, and other easy-to-remember food-gobblers are not your only enemies.
You also have snails, slugs, mealybugs, aphids, spider mites, and other pests to fight against. And believe me when I say, the fight is not easy.
To those of you who already grow your own food and manage to come up with the majority of your and your family’s diets – kudos, cause it’s a massive accomplishment and nothing to stick your nose up at.
Stupid high difficulty level for even those with green thumbs. I love gardening and yet I know I’m – at my current experience level – nowhere near capable of doing this.
And then of course, there’s the fact that very obvious farms and homes with loads of food resources will probably be plundered.
You know, like I mentioned in my off-tangent comment about farms being pillaged. Same thing if you’ve got a massive house with a visible orchard, or crops hanging out in your front yard.
And of course, most people don’t have a lot of land around their home. Maximizing the space you have to grow what you need is possible, but it’s a skill in itself. You can’t just develop it over night. It takes time.
So maybe 1% of you – the ones who are already skilled enough to grow their own food and know this because they’re doing this for the majority of their and their family’s calories already – may survive with this technique.
But the rest of you? I am absolutely convinced you cannot do it. It’s just not going to be enough. Not for a really long-term emergency.
The Only Viable Option: Long-Term Food Stockpile
The saving grace – food stockpiles at home, long-term ones made up of foods that will last many, many years without going off – a pretty fool proof plan and I do believe the only viable option for the vast majority of people.
Yes, you have to protect your home, but I think stealth wealth and not being showy will mean your home doesn’t look like much of a target. Hopefully you’re practicing stealth to begin with, and if you’ve told anyone about your preps, that you have enough in case those people swing by for help, and maybe bring a friend or two extra.
I think it’s a lot easier to knuckle down and stay in your home, defending what you’ve got, than it is to look for resources elsewhere. Resources that I don’t believe will be around for long.
Can you supplement your diet by hunting, foraging, and growing your own food? Sure. But it’s not enough on its own. You need a food stockpile to fall back on. And the longer you can survive off the food stockpile you have, the better off you’ll be.
Your Thoughts on Hunting, Foraging, & Growing Your Own Food in a Long-Term Emergency?
What do you think of my assessment? Do you think it’s fair to say that most people won’t survive if they use any of these 3 long-term emergency plans?
Do you think a long-term food stockpile is necessary? How much food would you say is the minimum you’d need? A few months? A few years?
Looking forward to hearing your thoughts. Especially curious to see how many of you disagree/agree. And if any of you also roll your eyes at hearing any of these three survival plans, without mention of a long-term food stockpile.
Good article, but it doesn’t go FAR enough (in my opinion). Food Supplies up the wazoo are GOOD. Knowing how to ‘farm’ is GOOD, and currently ‘farming on any scale’ is GOOD. Knowing bushcraft skills is Good. Source of potable water is ESSENTIAL! But none of these will ensure your personal survival.
The real problem is and has ALWAYS BEEN: How to defend your supplies? Forget the pepper spray, knives, slingshots, Molotov cocktails, and improvised weapons or man-traps of any kind. They will be ineffective against a mob.
It doesn’t matter how meager your supplies are, a hungry horde will think: “Hey! It’s more than we have!” and they’ll try to take it from you.
I believe we can expect young, physically fit, hungry young men and women to come for any stash. How many bullets can/will you expend before one of “their” bullets ends your life? I don’t know the answer, but I do know that a mob can always overrun an individual, given enough time.
I also know that no person or a couple, (or even an experienced small group) can go on forever without sleeping/resting.
So what is the solution to “life after SHTF”? Teamwork. Perhaps even a personal army? But how do you feed an army? Lots and LOTS of supplies. And “trust” in each other is essential!
Added note: No one will survive unless they are part of a well-supplied, large group experienced in military tactics. Consider this: it is VERY LIKELY that the army you currently rely upon to defend your nation IS ALSO LIKELY to be your worst nightmare when their military supplies run out. How many in the military right now are currently farming? How many in the military now are currently stashing supplies for a SHTF event? How many in the military right now are hunters / foragers? How many in the military right now are generous and looking-out for their neighbors? If the answer is “none,” and I believe it is “none,” then everyone ELSE is (potentially) in danger. The brotherhood of the military is strong (I know this from experience). They’ll look after each other…you can count on it. But, that doesn’t bode well for everyone else.
The only other “hope for survival” is that a pandemic of epic proportions wipes out 90% of the existing population so that 330 million hungry (American) folks is reduced to 30 million or less.
Doesn’t sound too optimistic, does it?
Personally, I think a ‘slow collapse’ of government / society is more likely than a sudden catastrophe that sends everyone into panic mode. (And I suppose it could be that I am affected by ‘normalcy bias.’) ‘A slow collapse would certainly be a more survivable scenario, EXCEPT that the surviving government would probably eventually confiscate your hidden cache “in the interests of the common good.” (Think “army” again.)
In any case, if SHTF is delayed more than ten years, I probably won’t be around to see it.
Good luck out there. Make sure your eternal destination is covered by a personal faith in Jesus Christ.
I do think if there’s ever a collapse it will be a slow collapse rather than a fast one. I definitely don’t think the government is organized to help, and to me the army is part of that. It’s just not possible for them to look after the crazy number of people.
Even if the population goes down like crazy, it’s still a problem, because how many of those people who died were farmers, scientists, and other skilled individuals who we need to be able to fix the problems that a SHTF situation created? It’s all tricky and precarious, no matter how many people.
I feel like we won’t end up in a SHTF situation that will be incredibly long term. That we just have to stick it out 2-5 years before some breakthrough happens and we return to our baseline normal. Like with COVID. I think this type of situation will repeat, maybe worse, maybe better. But eventually those who survived I think will return to baseline. So I feel like managing in the short to middle term is the most important, though of course it never hurts to have very long term plans. But I do think most of those will be spoiled, unless you’re really skilled.
I think we ought to create a repository of info we can access without technology too. I’m referring to things like making soap from lye and tallow, crop rotation, low tech medicine, maybe even making black powder, and casting bullets if society ever did collapse long term. I’ve collected a few paper copies of useful info, and I suppose short term we could reply on PDF files viewed on devices charged on hand or solar chargers.
Makes sense! I have a number of paper copies of first aid books. Having hard copies of these techniques may not be necessary for all of them, but having them in PDF form sure could come in handy. Same as watching videos to understand how it’s done, so you get in general how to do it and what can go wrong, even if you don’t necessarily do it, I would imagine. Especially for things like making soap from lye and tallow.
I know a guy who has a cabin/vacation home house on a lake [he made himself before satellite imagery was rolling hard] in California. Lake is filled with fish. He’s got deer and wild boar visiting nightly. He and his wife and a few of their kids spent COVID up there. They thrived. That man will survive. I know another guy who lives on some land and has cattle goats and chickens. He is an absolute mechanical genius (he built a lawnmower that runs on WATER). He is brilliant and innovative. He will survive. A clan of my family (cousins) live in north eastern California. They have nurses in the family and own a heavy equipment business and are equipped in other ways as well. Biggest thing is they work together. They are a team. A clan. They will survive. Me? Yes I can hunt. I can survive in the woods. But like the author suggests, we have a lot of food stored and I like our chances staying put at home instead of bugging out and letting someone else get it all. I will die protecting our food for my clan. Got the wife trained on one of the semi auto long guns, helped her get her CCW. Have on hand over 1000 rounds for that CCW gun alone. And we are reasonably prepared in many ways. I have two ex-Marines on opposite ends of the block and have guns and ammo for them too should they need it. I’ve killed animals at distances over 300 yards. I’ve killed many running deer and pigs up to 150-200 yards away. A neighborhood is a lot smaller than that. People come around here to take (FA), they will Find Out. In the nightmare scenario, i will survive until I get killed protecting what we have. But a lot of people die before that happens.
Qualifications:
1. I manage a large farm LLC
2. Separately, I own a woodlot with game, running water
3. I celebrated my birthday in Kabul, Afghanistan in October 1987!
If you want to know what it takes to survive for any appreciable length of time, read about the Bielski brothers who lived in the Belarus forests in WW2 with 1000 people. You will survive longer in a group setting and if you analyze, plan and implement a cooperative survival environment.
My farm and woodlot will be overrun and denuded of resources within two weeks of shtf.
You are not Rambo. You will not raise vegetables in Wisconsin in the winter time. You will not bag a deer when everyone else has bugged out to your ideal rural location.
I have the training and experience. My girlfriend has shot a firearm only on one occasion. I have used CPR and Heimlich. I don’t believe she has had the training. The situation would be even more dire if I had a 6 year old. Skills are not transferable by genetics or osmosis. I expect to be sick and down a few times after shtf.
US Civil War ration for an army on the march and when people were smaller: 1 – 1/2 pounds of salt pork, 1 pound of hardtack, coffee and some vegetables. The salt pork in the supermarket is not the salt pork of 1863 and you don’t know how to prepare it. The hardtack is not in your supermarket, but it is extremely easy to make today when you have an oven, gas, electricity and water. You won’t have those cooking resources after shtf, much less bags of processed flour.
You layer your food prep.
1. the stuff that doesn’t need much water, any clean up, doesn’t need firewood to cook and can be eaten cold: your canned meats, fruits and vegetables served on paper or cardboard plates.
2. your longer temp stuff like hardtack that can be made edible by mixing with coffee in a cup.
3. your longer term stuff that is frightfully expensive.
4. your stash of vitamins and minerals.
Excellent, practical advice.
If only skills were transferable by osmosis.. we would all be so prepared overnight.
Even if those three methods could keep you fed in a time of plenty you need to know food preservation too, whether drying, salting, pickling, curing, smoking or whatever, and be practiced enough to do it properly every time.
A good food reserve helps you recover from lean seasons and spoilage.
Survival under those conditions is going to be a bit like running from a bear, you don’t need to outrun the bear just whoever else the bear is chasing!
If you can last a winter then you’ll have far less competition for natural resources come spring. Harsh but true.
That’s an excellent point about needing all the other skills to help you preserve your food. It’s almost impossible to consistently eat what you grow if you don’t know how to keep it from spoiling. A lot of waste would happen even if you could manage it.
Totally agree about the outrunning a bear metaphor – it’s the perfect way to describe it.