Could you survive a SHTF situation?
Discussion
On the back of the 28 years later thread, a few members mentioned it would be fun to have a separate thread to discuss the above so here it is!
Lets say a major event happens and you, the PH members are left to survive the s
t hits the fan aftermath
Possible after event scenarios could be: Nuclear attack / zombies / cataclysmic natural event (earthquakes etc), meteor strike etc. etc. whatever you want as long as its cataclysmic, and the breakdown of basic social services have begun.
Do you believe you have the resources, skills, knowledge, tools and willpower available to survive such a situation?
Rules are that you have to be "realistic" about your survival chances i.e. you cant just "magic" weapons that you don't already have or have the ability to manufacture, you cant just grow all of your own food in your garden if you don't have sunlight etc.
Ill Start with an example
In the event of a Zombie apocalypse (I'm thinking slow moving braineaters, not 28 days rage beasties!) , I reckon myself and my family would stand a pretty good chance of survival for a while as I think I know a few good "bugout" place hidden away in the Northumbrian hillsides. I have a few good weapons available to me, both long & short range so could fend off small groups of the undead. I have a good deal of camping gear and survival gear that could be used for warmth and shelter.
Being an engineer and an outdoor person, I reckon I have the thought process and skills in order to create traps and equipment required for hunting or setting up a defensive perimeter around camp.
Nuclear war - forget it. Id run toward the flash rather than want to survive a MAD scenario.
Lets see what youve got
Lets say a major event happens and you, the PH members are left to survive the s
t hits the fan aftermathPossible after event scenarios could be: Nuclear attack / zombies / cataclysmic natural event (earthquakes etc), meteor strike etc. etc. whatever you want as long as its cataclysmic, and the breakdown of basic social services have begun.
Do you believe you have the resources, skills, knowledge, tools and willpower available to survive such a situation?
Rules are that you have to be "realistic" about your survival chances i.e. you cant just "magic" weapons that you don't already have or have the ability to manufacture, you cant just grow all of your own food in your garden if you don't have sunlight etc.
Ill Start with an example
In the event of a Zombie apocalypse (I'm thinking slow moving braineaters, not 28 days rage beasties!) , I reckon myself and my family would stand a pretty good chance of survival for a while as I think I know a few good "bugout" place hidden away in the Northumbrian hillsides. I have a few good weapons available to me, both long & short range so could fend off small groups of the undead. I have a good deal of camping gear and survival gear that could be used for warmth and shelter.
Being an engineer and an outdoor person, I reckon I have the thought process and skills in order to create traps and equipment required for hunting or setting up a defensive perimeter around camp.
Nuclear war - forget it. Id run toward the flash rather than want to survive a MAD scenario.
Lets see what youve got
Let's see. My property is 10 miles from the nearest town, and almost 20 to the nearest city. It is sheltered and easily defendable. I have about a 100 years worth of fire wood and should that run out, a nearby commercial plantation to top up, a fresh water stream and three wells. More than the average number of rifles, shotguns, (including NIR and thermal aids) and military training and experience, and wife and eldest son are also both decent shots (my daughter's not bad with a bow either, plus she has a personal retinue of cats). I'm a qualified deer stalker too, and have a good supply of roe and rabbits on our land, plus pheasants, pigeons and grouse. I'm qualified in medical first aid, as is my wife and we are well stocked with emergency stuff (even non-SHFT we are best case about half hour from ambulance help). Oh, and we have a decent vegetable patch and an orchard.
The wider estate and village could be easily fortified by the farmers (only four roads in and out) and there is a small army of keepers and ghillies, who are all also armed equipped with thermal and NIR, and accustomed to harsh outdoor living. The 'we'll just come and take it' townies might find a little more resistance than planned.
Unless we do something very stupid, or are very unlucky we should be ok.
The wider estate and village could be easily fortified by the farmers (only four roads in and out) and there is a small army of keepers and ghillies, who are all also armed equipped with thermal and NIR, and accustomed to harsh outdoor living. The 'we'll just come and take it' townies might find a little more resistance than planned.
Unless we do something very stupid, or are very unlucky we should be ok.
People would be the issue. Eventually someone will kill you for what you have. Fortified buildings would simply get torched.
Other things like drinking water and healthcare requirements would become challenging, too. At some point you have to actually consider the zombie element as well.
Much as a weekend playing zombie apocalypse would probably be quite good fun, the reality is it would become continually harder and continually worse as time went on.
Other things like drinking water and healthcare requirements would become challenging, too. At some point you have to actually consider the zombie element as well.
Much as a weekend playing zombie apocalypse would probably be quite good fun, the reality is it would become continually harder and continually worse as time went on.
OP, firstly you would be with your family which diminishes your chances of survival hugely. Then there's food and fresh water, a person needs a lot of calories to survive and stay strong especially outside. And these weapons? Have you ever fired them at multiple fast moving zombies before?
I'd give it a week, 2 max
I'd give it a week, 2 max
With the family, I'd be dead in no time.
Assuming I was alone, with no one else in my life I'd do okay for a while, could build shelter and stuff and avoid a few obvious pitfalls you often see in films. Probably try and head to the closest big military garrison, as I figure that would be the safest place, failing that head into the wilderness.
I think the main problem would be food, since all the built up areas for scavenging would be dangerous, and I don't know enough about properly eating wild plants, or hunting animals. I'd give it 6 months before I was on deaths door.
Depends too on the speed and intelligence of the zombies/infected/aliens or whatever they turn out to be.
Assuming I was alone, with no one else in my life I'd do okay for a while, could build shelter and stuff and avoid a few obvious pitfalls you often see in films. Probably try and head to the closest big military garrison, as I figure that would be the safest place, failing that head into the wilderness.
I think the main problem would be food, since all the built up areas for scavenging would be dangerous, and I don't know enough about properly eating wild plants, or hunting animals. I'd give it 6 months before I was on deaths door.
Depends too on the speed and intelligence of the zombies/infected/aliens or whatever they turn out to be.
So many ideas around this..
1, head to the Winchester and wait for it all to blow over …
2. Phone the council/ watch tv for gov advice …. And do the opposite
Reality, thief , mass theft of food and fuel , money will be of no use, then the problems begin, anyone capable will quickly realise and do the same, from supermarkets or if you look like an easy target you. But there will also be tons of ‘needy people’ suddenly wanting your help , so to survive you’d need to be brutal and not help, so id gather the immediate family with as much food and fuel and steal a boat, get somewhere remote before the mass society kill each other.
So long and see you survivors after the apocalypse
1, head to the Winchester and wait for it all to blow over …
2. Phone the council/ watch tv for gov advice …. And do the opposite
Reality, thief , mass theft of food and fuel , money will be of no use, then the problems begin, anyone capable will quickly realise and do the same, from supermarkets or if you look like an easy target you. But there will also be tons of ‘needy people’ suddenly wanting your help , so to survive you’d need to be brutal and not help, so id gather the immediate family with as much food and fuel and steal a boat, get somewhere remote before the mass society kill each other.
So long and see you survivors after the apocalypse
I have land, weapons, military experience and the ability to sleep with one eye open. I'd be fine.
My biggest worry would be communication to get hold of loved ones, and the lack of medication for my son who has Cystic Fibrosis.
I'm actually in the explorative stages of purchasing a small sailing boat which any zombies would be hard pushed to get on to.
My biggest worry would be communication to get hold of loved ones, and the lack of medication for my son who has Cystic Fibrosis.
I'm actually in the explorative stages of purchasing a small sailing boat which any zombies would be hard pushed to get on to.
Pebbles167 said:
With the family, I'd be dead in no time.
Assuming I was alone, with no one else in my life I'd do okay for a while, could build shelter and stuff and avoid a few obvious pitfalls you often see in films. Probably try and head to the closest big military garrison, as I figure that would be the safest place, failing that head into the wilderness.
I think the main problem would be food, since all the built up areas for scavenging would be dangerous, and I don't know enough about properly eating wild plants, or hunting animals. I'd give it 6 months before I was on deaths door.
Depends too on the speed and intelligence of the zombies/infected/aliens or whatever they turn out to be.
Your biggest problem would be water. 6 months is wildly optimistic. Assuming I was alone, with no one else in my life I'd do okay for a while, could build shelter and stuff and avoid a few obvious pitfalls you often see in films. Probably try and head to the closest big military garrison, as I figure that would be the safest place, failing that head into the wilderness.
I think the main problem would be food, since all the built up areas for scavenging would be dangerous, and I don't know enough about properly eating wild plants, or hunting animals. I'd give it 6 months before I was on deaths door.
Depends too on the speed and intelligence of the zombies/infected/aliens or whatever they turn out to be.
Nah, I'm fked. Without access to modern medicine, I'd be howling at the moon within a few days, or maybe the fall of civilisation would be good for me mentally. ADHD does lend itself to post-apocalyptic worlds I fancy.
Shortly after, without Alopurinol most, if not all the joints in my lower body would become inflamed, pretty much leaving me a helpless ball of pain laying in a puddle of my own piss.
Assuming I avoid Alopurinol withdrawal issues, I fancy my chances for a while at least. I love the outdoors, I do have some decent outdoor kit, even if it's mostly MTB stuff. My Bike(s) are near silent which will help with getting about and I know plenty of places far from population centres. I don't own any guns, I've got a pick axe, I'd probably just take the handle.
One great advantage I have is I live in Britian, in pretty much all US based disaster fantasy media the US goes completely lawless and feral within a few seconds, without their near-paramilitary Police Force to call on, they murder and eat each other. It's plausible too, most Yanks have zero trust in strangers. With Brits, I think we only need to find some tiny detail in common for a mutual trust to be formed and, as reserved as we can be, we're mostly team players at heart. Natural disasters in the UK tend to be uniting. Groups would be formed, a hierarchy formed, roles given and accepted and whilst we might moan about it, the majority will work toward the greater good. The Yanks might just hose each other with their AR15s, but I'd bet we'd have some level of order and tea brewing pretty quickly.
ked. Without access to modern medicine, I'd be howling at the moon within a few days, or maybe the fall of civilisation would be good for me mentally. ADHD does lend itself to post-apocalyptic worlds I fancy.Shortly after, without Alopurinol most, if not all the joints in my lower body would become inflamed, pretty much leaving me a helpless ball of pain laying in a puddle of my own piss.
Assuming I avoid Alopurinol withdrawal issues, I fancy my chances for a while at least. I love the outdoors, I do have some decent outdoor kit, even if it's mostly MTB stuff. My Bike(s) are near silent which will help with getting about and I know plenty of places far from population centres. I don't own any guns, I've got a pick axe, I'd probably just take the handle.
One great advantage I have is I live in Britian, in pretty much all US based disaster fantasy media the US goes completely lawless and feral within a few seconds, without their near-paramilitary Police Force to call on, they murder and eat each other. It's plausible too, most Yanks have zero trust in strangers. With Brits, I think we only need to find some tiny detail in common for a mutual trust to be formed and, as reserved as we can be, we're mostly team players at heart. Natural disasters in the UK tend to be uniting. Groups would be formed, a hierarchy formed, roles given and accepted and whilst we might moan about it, the majority will work toward the greater good. The Yanks might just hose each other with their AR15s, but I'd bet we'd have some level of order and tea brewing pretty quickly.
P-Jay said:
Nah, I'm fked. Without access to modern medicine, I'd be howling at the moon within a few days, or maybe the fall of civilisation would be good for me mentally. ADHD does lend itself to post-apocalyptic worlds I fancy.
Shortly after, without Alopurinol most, if not all the joints in my lower body would become inflamed, pretty much leaving me a helpless ball of pain laying in a puddle of my own piss.
Assuming I avoid Alopurinol withdrawal issues, I fancy my chances for a while at least. I love the outdoors, I do have some decent outdoor kit, even if it's mostly MTB stuff. My Bike(s) are near silent which will help with getting about and I know plenty of places far from population centres. I don't own any guns, I've got a pick axe, I'd probably just take the handle.
One great advantage I have is I live in Britian, in pretty much all US based disaster fantasy media the US goes completely lawless and feral within a few seconds, without their near-paramilitary Police Force to call on, they murder and eat each other. It's plausible too, most Yanks have zero trust in strangers. With Brits, I think we only need to find some tiny detail in common for a mutual trust to be formed and, as reserved as we can be, we're mostly team players at heart. Natural disasters in the UK tend to be uniting. Groups would be formed, a hierarchy formed, roles given and accepted and whilst we might moan about it, the majority will work toward the greater good. The Yanks might just hose each other with their AR15s, but I'd bet we'd have some level of order and tea brewing pretty quickly.
Three words.ked. Without access to modern medicine, I'd be howling at the moon within a few days, or maybe the fall of civilisation would be good for me mentally. ADHD does lend itself to post-apocalyptic worlds I fancy.Shortly after, without Alopurinol most, if not all the joints in my lower body would become inflamed, pretty much leaving me a helpless ball of pain laying in a puddle of my own piss.
Assuming I avoid Alopurinol withdrawal issues, I fancy my chances for a while at least. I love the outdoors, I do have some decent outdoor kit, even if it's mostly MTB stuff. My Bike(s) are near silent which will help with getting about and I know plenty of places far from population centres. I don't own any guns, I've got a pick axe, I'd probably just take the handle.
One great advantage I have is I live in Britian, in pretty much all US based disaster fantasy media the US goes completely lawless and feral within a few seconds, without their near-paramilitary Police Force to call on, they murder and eat each other. It's plausible too, most Yanks have zero trust in strangers. With Brits, I think we only need to find some tiny detail in common for a mutual trust to be formed and, as reserved as we can be, we're mostly team players at heart. Natural disasters in the UK tend to be uniting. Groups would be formed, a hierarchy formed, roles given and accepted and whilst we might moan about it, the majority will work toward the greater good. The Yanks might just hose each other with their AR15s, but I'd bet we'd have some level of order and tea brewing pretty quickly.
Loo. Rolls. Covid.
Tindersticks said:
Your biggest problem would be water. 6 months is wildly optimistic.
I live in a river town with loads of streams and stuff all over the place, would hope I'd be able to find somewhere quiet. Guess it wouldn't be the cleanest, but know how to make a basic filter. But yes assuming no water then I think 6 weeks would be wildly optimistic let alone 6 months.
Tindersticks said:
Pebbles167 said:
With the family, I'd be dead in no time.
Assuming I was alone, with no one else in my life I'd do okay for a while, could build shelter and stuff and avoid a few obvious pitfalls you often see in films. Probably try and head to the closest big military garrison, as I figure that would be the safest place, failing that head into the wilderness.
I think the main problem would be food, since all the built up areas for scavenging would be dangerous, and I don't know enough about properly eating wild plants, or hunting animals. I'd give it 6 months before I was on deaths door.
Depends too on the speed and intelligence of the zombies/infected/aliens or whatever they turn out to be.
Your biggest problem would be water. 6 months is wildly optimistic. Assuming I was alone, with no one else in my life I'd do okay for a while, could build shelter and stuff and avoid a few obvious pitfalls you often see in films. Probably try and head to the closest big military garrison, as I figure that would be the safest place, failing that head into the wilderness.
I think the main problem would be food, since all the built up areas for scavenging would be dangerous, and I don't know enough about properly eating wild plants, or hunting animals. I'd give it 6 months before I was on deaths door.
Depends too on the speed and intelligence of the zombies/infected/aliens or whatever they turn out to be.
Water -
Not enough water to sustain us for more than a few days though if things got desperate we could use the water butt and filter from a sawyer filtration kit I have.
Food-
Good amount of rice/tinned food to keep us going for a bit (approx 7 a week)
Power-
Power would be an issue.. only enough UPS power for a couple hours for smaller appliances. Did think about a genny, but in a true shtf situation it'd just draw attention from the noise.
Heat-
An area of concern as we have no fireplace, just the gas stove if power went out (assuming gas remained). I don't keep any bottled gas either.
Transport-
This is a concern as the 330e doesn't have much range or ability to transverse obstacles well. The old CRV was unstoppable.
Defence-
Could probably find a few bits to bolster the home defence, but big ticket items being a hunting knife, small axe and the shotgun. Kevlar jackets and helmet would come in handy too, even if just to protect the kids.
Other-
I did have a good store of cash, but no longer. Something worth considering if power goes out and electronic payments can't be made. Up to the point at which people start bartering anyway.
Not enough water to sustain us for more than a few days though if things got desperate we could use the water butt and filter from a sawyer filtration kit I have.
Food-
Good amount of rice/tinned food to keep us going for a bit (approx 7 a week)
Power-
Power would be an issue.. only enough UPS power for a couple hours for smaller appliances. Did think about a genny, but in a true shtf situation it'd just draw attention from the noise.
Heat-
An area of concern as we have no fireplace, just the gas stove if power went out (assuming gas remained). I don't keep any bottled gas either.
Transport-
This is a concern as the 330e doesn't have much range or ability to transverse obstacles well. The old CRV was unstoppable.
Defence-
Could probably find a few bits to bolster the home defence, but big ticket items being a hunting knife, small axe and the shotgun. Kevlar jackets and helmet would come in handy too, even if just to protect the kids.
Other-
I did have a good store of cash, but no longer. Something worth considering if power goes out and electronic payments can't be made. Up to the point at which people start bartering anyway.
Edited by Billy_Rosewood on Thursday 12th December 14:48
P-Jay said:
I've got sources of fresh water in a short distance in every direction from my house. The UK is a good climate for SHFT, it's mostly temperate with plenty of rainfall and animal life. Also, as a developed country, depending on how much of the population is left and not been eaten or turned into a Zombie there should be plenty of food to scavenge whilst we upskill to hunting / fishing.
Every single person still alive wants that same water. Do you think they won't very quickly be either contaminated or guarded?I'm playing Devil's Advocate here, but bearing in mind we are talking about the complete collapse of society whilst also faced with a zombie horde intent on killing us, and those with guns and weapons also wanting to kill us to protect what they have....
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