Prepper with a gun and MREs

A friend of mine was telling me about a guy who called himself a prepper. My buddy got to talk to the young man. The guy had a car, a gun and a bunch of MREs. That's about it -no sleeping bag even. Not only was he short on gear, his skills were pretty limited. He could not start a campfire without lighter fluid.

My friend took him under his wing. The young man had a lot to learn, but he is willing and pays attention. One of the big lessons was that prepping isn't just for the end of the world with no rules or laws. You are much more likely going to need gear and skills for things like storms that take the grid down. He even got across the idea that being prepared can help you with common things like a bout of unemployment.

My buddy is helping the young man, but is also helping the community. A man with supplies and skills are an asset during an emergency. Someone who has little more than a gun can become one more problem to solve. If your only tool is a gun, everything needs shooting. I wonder how many people think being a prepper is nothing more than firearms and MREs?

Personally, I'm pretty concerned about people relying on MREs as survival food. Maybe they are fine as part of a varied food mix. Relying on them exclusively will get you into trouble. MREs were designed for people going into a combat situation. They are very low in fiber. The idea is that troops literally will not be caught with their pants down. Unfortunately, you won't poop for a month if those are all you eat. That can't be good for you.

There may be times when the lighter weight and ease of preparation make dehydrated meals a good choice. If you have to stock up on dehydrated meals go with food designed for backpackers. Most people think the taste is better and you can get meals with enough fiber for healthy living. Neither MREs or backpacker meals are cheap. Most of my stored foods are things like wheat, rice, beans and normal grocery store foods.

I have 30 day buckets of dehydrated backpacker means in my van and in my boat. They don't take up a lot of room and are very stable. Sometimes it makes sense to spend a bit more money to save weight and space. Even so, even on my vehicles, most of my day to day food is pretty normal stuff.

One thing you can about the guy with a gun and MREs -at least he didn't have just a gun.

-Sixbears