[Teufelhund]

Really any hunting post SHTF is going to be risky

Much better to have your own chow put back, after the first few months things may settle down enough to do some serious animal husbandry and small scale farming. Folks will be putting together small "communities" again and that will provide the sort of security to produce food in scale.

You can't run a trap line in the dark you will make too many mistakes and no game will get close to them. If you are in an area with any population to speak of, the woods are going to be pretty crowded with folks all trying to find something to eat. Most everyone will be afoot so folks are going to be pretty concentrated without much range of travel.

Indians moved around alot for that reason, the land gets pretty beat up when everyone is trying to live off it. The indians that did the best for themselves used horses so they could carry thier surplus chow and good shelters.

Much better to just hang low and maintain a solid defensive posture IMO. Why get shot over a rabbit? When bulk food is cheap and plentiful right now. The tactical advantage is always with the defender.

Teuf,

 

[Teufelhund]

No doubt about that glogan

Knowledge of eddible plants and even insects and grubbsand worms comes in handy also. Usually easy meal with minimal effort.

It's also a a great way spend time outdoors right now, when we are backpacking or camping a large part of our time is spent studying field guides and learning the natural flora and fauna. We always plan trips into the mountains in the spring just to check out the wild flower bloom.

Teuf,

 

[Teufelhund]

What will be left to forage will be a function of your area

In high density population areas it's going to get pretty damm grim.

Those folks aren't going to be travling very far, very fast though and the less populated states will likely stay that way IMO. Travel in such conditions would be extremily dificult for the prepared and is going to be impossiable for the average.

I personally think that the lack of moterized tranportation is going to keep folks pretty static. The game will reteat from those area's of high hunting preasure and move deep into the back country. Travling 15 miles to find a deer and getting it home is going to be a huge task without a vehicle. Traditionaly under such circumstances folks garden thier yards and raise small live stock and spend alot of time hungry.

The number of folks that can really thrive in the backcountry is relativly small compared to the number of folks jammed up in cities. Those folks in the large cities are more likely than not either going to live off gov aid or die, if they don't have some chow put back and the good sence to stay well hidden. Even then it's going to be dicey. Some will try to get out and even if they do, how far will they get, think they are going to survive long as refugee's?

The mountain west is a rugged and big place and probually the best place to be SHTF.

Teuf

 

[Teufelhund]

Thats true JD in the short term

But traveling it's self is whats going to be dangerous and travel where? If those folks don't have good local maps they might as well be traveling at night or blindfolded.

Folks aren't going to be travling many hundreds of miles with the fuel siphoned from weed-wackers and lawnmowers LOL.

Something to consider is those that do manage to get clear are going to be pretty damm short of everything by the time they get out. They will be in no logistical shape at all to be messing with well fortified and supplied defenders. Who will have had much experience with thier sort by the time they get there.

Then those refugees will get a good class concerning winter on the high plains. By the time winter rolls around you better have some good gear, shelter and plenty of chow put back. The indians didn't call them "the months the children cry in hunger" for nothing. A 50bls pack isn't going to carry you though winter.

In the summer you may need to carry 50lbs of water to get you to the next water source. That is if you know where to go ,which without good maps you won't.

These "looting" refugees will have to criss cross the high plains to find remote ranches and hope they see them before they are seen by sentries in high places with binos and spotting scopes. If they stay on roads they will be easily spotted and they won't have to worry about finding them. Traveling at night they could easily miss them. Since these places where established in a date and time wadering bands of indians where trying to wipe them out, the ranch house is often rather hidden and defendable, epecially with a little work with a backhoe.

Trying to cover hundreds of square miles looking for ranches to loot is going to get a little tire some. When they find these places they are apt to find them accupied by some folks pretty damm motivated to keep them.

Every scrape with one of these places is going to be extremely dangerous and a rather tough way to make a living.

My advice would be, if you managed to get clear and find such a place, see if you couldn't work out a deal for room, board and chow. You would live alot longer and happier if things got real tight.

Teuf,