Fantasist Prepper?

[Scythe13]

Are you a fantasist prepper?

We often hear about amazing preppers that have scaled Everest, built their own fort, and stockpiled 100 years worth of ammo. Cool. But the question is…really?

I've met people from all walks of life that have said things like "Yeah, I've ran a 10K in 45 minutes" and others that have said "I love running 10K's" when it turns out the former can't complete a 10K currently, and the latter can run it in 37 minutes (my brother in law for example). The same with many other things. I've met guys whom have told me all about their shooting ability, only to find they can't shoot for toffee, and others that have said they 'potter around with air rifles' but can handle themselves really well with a .22lr, shotgun, and even one guy who said he shoots occasionally (turns out the bugger is training for 2020 Olympics).

At the Dartmoor meets, people like McCavity have turned up openly accepting little experience and having read stuff, and have developed and done well. Going from beginner sentences and lessons like "If you have smoke you have fire, if you know what to do", to being happily capable of making up a fire by himself with minimal equipment when I buggered off to pick up stuff from a shop. I was well impressed to come back to find them with a nice little fire roaring away.

I have spoken to preppers that have told me stories about other preppers that have made me cringe and wince. Like people having shot amazing grouping…when they don't even have a gun. Or saying about their stores of food, when their cupboards are bare.

I know of people who are planning their lives around the world going tits up in their lifetimes, and other planning on the smaller events that would still effect them, e.g. unemployment, and smaller medical emergencies. What you prep for is up to you, and that's your things, go for it.

A few questions that it's always worth asking ourselves though, can we put what we know into practice? For example, we all speak about making water filters from stones, sand, charcoal and the alike, but have you actually done it? Can you filter the water you need? Can you make a working solar still? If yes, then how much water did you get from it in what time period? If you don't know this, how are you going to know how many, or how long they'll take to provide you with enough water for a day, or a week?

Think of it like this. In this example I need 1 litre of water to survive today, so I'll make a solar still. Can I make a solar still? YES. How much water will it produce over night……? Will I need more than 1 solar still? How big will one still need to be to get 1 litre? How many will I need of what size to get 1 litre of water? Suddenly theory (knowing how to build a solar still) is proven to mean absolutely sod all!!! Congratulations you can make a solar still, but you only made one and it didn't provide you with enough water, and now you've died of thirst. That sucks hu?

What about shooting a rabbit and cooking it? What about a deer? Have you ever shot a deer and killed it with a bow and arrow (it's illegal in the UK, but the US can facilitate that lesson for you)? Do you know where to place the arrow to put it down in 1 shot? I'll ask the forum's American Contingent if they can help answer a few quick questions, how long does it take to kill a deer with a bow and arrow? Could you just walk into the woods with a bow and arrow, or does it take a crap load of practice, does shot placement matter? To really help answer this question for those planning to go into the woods and bring out a deer with a bow and arrow, again asking the USA preppers, how many deers have you shot and found arrow heads lodged inside the deer? For all UK preppers, this will give you an idea of how it's not as easy as you think. If you have shot a deer, does it always drop dead straight away, or do you have to blood-trail track it sometimes? It's not as easy as films make it out to be.

What about snaring? This is from my own personal experience, 80% of what the books say it totally bollocks. Everyone says "Place snares 4 finger's height from the floor." I used to believe this and defend it. Then I picked up a DVD recommended to me by a hunter I really look up to, and it totally went against what the books have said. I didn't trust it, but decided to try it. If I said I caught 3 times as many rabbits, I'd be lying. In one night alone, with 12 snares, I had 7 rabbits. While before I was lucky if I had caught 2 with 12 snares. Please note, my hit ratio is not always that good, but since learning from a tried and tested source, I've really improved my performance and catch ratio. The thing is, it still look me ages to catch a single rabbit from when I first started snaring, even though I was doing exactly what the books said.

The gap between theoretical 'ability' and actual practiced 'ability' is MASSIVE! You cannot learn to swim, cycle, drive a car, or fly a plane from just reading a book. So why would any practical prepping things be any different? This applies just as much to myself as to anyone else. I learned the difference when I decided to practice the things I've read. Making a rocket stove isn't as easy as youtube makes it seem. Making cobb isn't as easy. Fleshing a fox isn't as easy. Building shelters, shooting guns, planting crops, identifying plants (no joke, try it without all the books and see what you really know), and all the rest of the practical skills are not as easy in reality.

If you really want to put it into perspective on how dangerous 'book smarts' as opposed to real life saving situations are…consider the severity of stitching a wound, abseiling a building, getting the wrong mushrooms or herbs, not catching any food, not getting enough water, not purifying water correctly, not making a fire when you're facing hyperthermia, not understanding medical doses, not knowing how or when to use an epipen, not knowing how to do CPR, and things like that.

I'm sorry to say, but if you have book smarts and have not practiced any of the skills you'll need to survive, you need to ask yourself whether you're a skilled or practicing prepper, or just a fantasist.