MRE's vs. Freeze Dried vs. Dehydrated foods

OK, while we are on the subject of food, what foods would be best for long term food storage. Well actually a mix of all of them. Remember you must set up and cycle your food stores in a way that would rotate items out of stock before the expire.
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MRE's , Meals Ready to Eat.  This is pretty much the standard soldier in the field ration. They are calorie dense and have everything you need in a nice package.  MRE's have a 5-7 year shelf life when stored at room temperatures. If you can keep them cooler add several more years, if you store them in a high heat it drops to months really quick, so it is best to store them someplace on the cooler side. MRE's are a complete meal. They have an entree, a side and a desert. They also come with a heater to heat your food and an accessory pack with things like a wet napkin, coffee, sugar etc. They are great in the fact they are grab and go, but they do take up a lot of room and they can be heavy. Throw several in a pack and see what I am talking about. You will gain a bit of weight quickly and loose a lot of space. Many soldiers have learned to field strip their MRE's in order to lighten the load and make space back up in their packs. You can find videos and articles on field stripping them on the internet. Overall they are for the most part pretty good, and there is a good menu choice out there so you wont get bored quickly.
  .Another alternative to the MRE, is the more civilian Heater Meal. Same set up, you can get it as a complete meal, it has a heater and about the same shelf life. The company that makes heater meals also makes a self heating soup, coffee, and hot chocolate.
http://heatermeals.com/

, Freeze dried meals are simply food items that have been frozen then exposed to a vacuum to remove all water. What you get is a dried meal that is considerably lighter but retains its flavor and its nutrition. The advantage to these is they often have 7-20 years shelf lives. They are a great long term solution for those looking for a food storage solution to last them several years. They are also very light and take up a lot less space that an MRE or Heater Meal. I have tried lots of these and really have found one that I wouldn't eat. There are a lot of choices and companies to choose from so you are sure to find menu's to suit your needs. The downside of these is they do require water to rehydrate them, in an emergency situation that is something to think about.
http://www.mountainhouse.com/
http://shop.katadyn.com/category/655322/AlpineAire_Foods
https://wisefoodstorage.com/
http://www.foodinsurance.com/
http://www.thrivelife.com/foodstorage

Dehydrated foods are foods that have been either slow dried naturally or slow heat dried to remove the moisture. These are similar to freeze dried foods but these will still have a small amount of moisture left in them. Many stores sell food dehydrators now days so this is something you can learn to do yourself. If you have a large garden this is also one good way to preserve and save your hard earned harvest. There are also many companies out there that sell dehydrated foods as well. In a P.A. world this would be one valuable skill and some good equipment to have on hand to help preserve what you grow or hunt.
http://www.backpackingchef.com/dehydrating-food.html
http://www.thereadystore.com/food-storage/preparation-method/dehydrated-food-storage
http://www.nitro-pak.com/products/food-types/nitro-pak-dehydrated-foods
http://www.amazon.com/b?node=1090752
http://www.basspro.com/Camping-Game-Food-Processing-Food-Dehydrators/_/N-1z0ux6t
http://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/choosing-a-food-dehydrator-zmaz03jjzgoe.aspx

Foods for your pets.
 http://www.primalpetfoods.com/product/list/c/14
http://www.naturesvariety.com/InstinctRaw/FD/dog/all
http://www.preparewise.com/food-storage/pet-food-storage.html?gclid=CKrY-p33vboCFS8S7Aodol4AvA

Places to score canned goods!

Ever wonder what happens to scratch and dent cans? Well I found an article that talks about it and also list places to get them. A great way to save $$ and stock up on goods!
http://www.moneytalksnews.com/2009/04/16/salvaged-grocery-store-list/

Your food could get you killed!

OK here is a great little article that follows up on what I talked about  when bugging in.

Just the odors/smells from food you are cooking could get you killed or become a serious target.

http://www.shtfplan.com/emergency-preparedness/they-will-smell-your-food-from-miles-away_10232013

Think about when someone in your neighborhood grills... carries around the whole neighborhood. Makes you hungry, and if this was a post ap event,, that person just announced to everyone with in a large area,, I have food! Come and get it!
Like it says,, the zombies will come!

Mountain house try

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So I decided to try this for lunch the other day, Over all not that bad, I did find it a bit bland for my taste though. I also found I had to add a bit more water than it called for. about a 1/3 of a cup more. There was enough in the package to make 4 wraps. Once I got it all rehydrated the texture was pretty good. could have used some more cranberries and maybe a bit more onion, but then again that is me.. I added some raisins to it and some season salt to kick it up. I tried it with some tortillas and some crackers. I preferred it with the crackers. Although if you had some salad fixings and some cheese the wrap might taste a wee bit better. All in all not bad, I will keep it in my stash.. just making sure I have a little extra stuff to add in.

Weapons for a cache or stash location.

OK, been thinking about this for a while. What weapons would you put in a cache or stash location.
Also considering space. The old standbye AR-15 broke down comes to mind, but what other weapons also would work. The AR-7 is another but due to its long history of complaints, I might be shy of it, atleast till I get one in my hands and give it a torture test. The is also the new Ruger 10/22 takedown rifle. It has Ruger reliability and has the ability to be broke down into 2 pieces.
http://www.ruger.com/products/1022Takedown/models.html

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Its small size and using the 22lr makes it a decent cache weapon.Plus you have the option of lots of aftermarket accessories to add and customize your weapon. This cached and several hundred rounds of ammo make it a great weapon and being priced in the $300 range makes it very affordable.
 This paired with a good .22lr pistol and you have a decent combo. NO your not going to go looking for a fight with these, in a survival/bug out situation I would avoid looking for a fight and focus on defense and avoiding any hostile situations.
  Another potential weapon I like is the Kel-Tec Sub2000. Its not pretty but it has a good reputation and is a solid design. The nice part about this weapon is you can match it to use the same mag as the GLK22, GLK23, Berreta92, GLK17 and GLK19, as well as SIG and S&W models. IF your forced to bug out you can use one mag and same ammo either 9mm or .40cal and avoid ammo and mag issues. The Sub 2000 also breaks down and thus makes a great weapon for a small stash space.
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It can be reduced in size to 7 inches. That's pretty compact!

Kel-Tec also has another good weapon for a cache. The  SU-16D, it collapses down to 20 inches another good cache/stash size! Plus its fires 5.56 or 223 ammo and uses AR 30rnd mags. I like that!
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There are also many Bull-Pup designs out there that can be fitted into a tight space.
 Anyways, I will add more to this at a later date.
If you have a preferred cache weapon let me know.. Would love to hear about it.
 

My reliable SKS.

 

This is my reliable old SKS, she isnt very accurate beyond 300 yards, she only holds 10 rounds but this gun has performed. Its been in the mud, dirt, and had some serious carbon build up. I have neglected her on purpose a few times and she keeps firing. Now she considered an out dated relic, but you know what, still a DAMNED DECENT GUN!!!

If you own an SKS and are looking for parts, look at these locations

http://www.parts4sks.com/ 

http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/ 

http://www.e-sarcoinc.com/sks.aspx 

http://centerfiresystems.com/sks_parts_and_accessories.aspx 

http://www.brownells.com/parts/SKS/index.htm 

  

bugging in

So what is your plan? Bug Out or Bug In? or is it a combo of both? I know some folks who plan on trying to stay it but do have a fall back location in case things get to bad. I have a similar plan.
  If your going to bug in, what are your options, such a security, water, power, food, etc. These are things you must think about. How do you keep a group of folks at bay? How do you maintain an appearance to keep up OPSEC?  These are serious considerations. Cooking generates smells. If your neighbors smell food, they will come looking! A hungry person can be desperate! a person with hungry kids is dangerous! Look for pouch meals, freeze dried or MRE's. These will have low odors and only require you to boil hot water to make them.  Thus reducing the food smell that will draw folks in. How do you not advertise your eating well,, eat less! reduce your calorie consumption , enough to help you loose some weight but not affect your ability to perform under pressure or maintain a needed energy level for what could be often hard work. Also add vitamins and supplements to help with this, remember if your not healthy you are more vulnerable to picking up what ever nasty bug is creeping around!   
  Wear your cloths a few more times, or have work (outside cloths) that maintain a certain level of dirt. How do you not advertize you may have electricity or a power source, black out curtains, foil and even spray paint your windows. Use low voltage lighting, or dim lights at nights. Also use a solar style generator,, it works all day and makes no noise! at night you could attempt to add a vertical wind generator to it and hope a breeze will come along and help it. In the winter close off extra rooms, its a waste of resources to try to heat the whole house, heating 1-2 rooms is more efficient.
 Water,,, find Google maps, make notes of where water sources are around you, to include pools and ponds.  A bonus is if the house is vacant there might be pool chemicals you can use to purify water.
Learn how to build a slow sand filter! its a great way to clean water for drinking. Build water storage! Rain gutters and a few holding tanks can be a blessing! You can keep them very low profile!
 Turn your backyard into a whole garden space! why not use it for something useful !!! grass is pretty but it wont feed or supplement your food stores.
 If you have a bug out location, have everything you need to garden there, ready to go, you will want to get your garden up as soon as possible. You can extend your food/emergency food very quickly if your on top of it!
 Security! OPSEC is most important. Also situational awareness is most crucial! Be aware of whom is around, who is watching you, who lives where and also people out scouting for the victim of the day. Be ready to defend everything with your life! One thing to remember there are leaders in groups, if faced with a situation where you have to shoot, shoot the one who looks to be in charge! If they are unorganized and lack discipline they will most likely break contact. Take the fight to them if possible and keep the pressure on. The message will be sent. If the problem looks to become major or a hard threat you may want to consider bugging out at that point. Every situation requires thought and a plan and training! Train,, train,, train!!!
 Also look at upgrading your home security to include fortifying windows and doors. You may also want to create a safe room with added security such as ballistic blankets http://www.bulletproofme.com/Ballistic-Blankets.shtml  or  sheet steel http://www.metalsdepot.com/catalog_cart_view.php?msg=  added to the walls to stop bullets. YOUR HOUSE isnt bullet proof! There is a company that sells door re-enforcement kits called Door Jamb Armor http://armorconcepts.com/ this will help make your doors way more resistant to kicking in. Also consider hurricane shutters or security shutters http://www.rollashield.com/products/shutters, this could also help deter or add resistance to your home being attacked.
  Another idea is ballistic paneling, but this isnt cheap!
 http://armorco.com/shop/category.aspx?catid=3
http://www.armortex.com/

You can also fortify rooms with 1/2-3/4 in plywood.
Also consider a video surveillance system with a few extra cameras on standby. If a few were to be damaged they can quickly be replaced. Use a mix of HD and good quality infrared with their own light source.
    I know alot of this is very pricy but they are options...
   Remember to also cache items around your area. If you have to un-ass real quick you will be able to hopefully rely on your caches to get you through till you can safely get to your bug out location or a safe second location.
 Also think about hiding stuff with in your home. Adding thickness to an interior wall will give you a great place/space to hide items. If you have to bail, think like this, make some items Gimme Items, easy to grab, and a few items that a bad guy will have to look for. they will most likely not waste to much time looking for things. I had an idea once on a house of building the interior walls with 2x6 instead of 2x4 and even a few walls made of 2x8. Yes you loose square footage but what you gain is a great place to stash critical items. A wall between two bedrooms made of a 2x6 or 2x8 is a lot of hiding space. You can hide/stash ammo there, food, and critical items. That way if you need to you can come back later or take back later your house and have supplies on hand.
    If you decide to cache, pick a few places close to your house, and several locations in route to your other locations. GPS them and then encrypt that coordinate. Also keep what you put in them limited, just in case someone else finds your cache. Think food, water, first aid and a 200rnd battle pack of ammo. At other more remote locations add extras like cloths, an extra weapon (if possible) and anything else you might need. Remember to also water proof everything before you seal your container, THAT means waterproof individual items then place them in waterproof bags then in a heavy mil trash bag, seal your container with a heavy bead of silicon. when you bury it you might want to also through a heavy mill trash bag or plastic sheet over the top. This way your cache is kept dry! It seems a bit overkill but beats finding a drum or large container full of water logged goodies.
 ALSO do this at your bug out location/locations.
   If you even decide to you can also do a few exterior walls as well. Or in bedrooms build built in book cases create a shallow case or even false bottoms and stash stuff behind and under them. Interior walls are ideal because window depth of exterior walls could potentially give something away...
   Be sure to learn basic and advanced first aid, if you can learn some emergency combat medicine skills. Stock up on meds, to include antibiotics http://www.fishmoxfishflex.com/  and learn when and how to use them. Also learn some herbal medicine skills, you can stave off infections, you can cleanse wounds with herbs, you can do a lot with herbs, learn how and when to use them because you will have limited amounts of antibiotics and they have a shelf life. Dont use them unless you have too. I usually get sinus infections come cedar season. By learning how to use a nettie pot and learning to make some tea's and use saline to flush my sinus's I have not had one in years! Saves me a trip to the Dr and expensive drugs as well as steroid shots. Keep several well stocked first aid kits on hand and also ready to grab at a moments notice. Have a good one in your bug out bag!
   Weapons, well thats a tough one,, if your at your home it will most likely be a CQB battle unless you live in the country. If your in the city, shotguns for home defense are handy as well as the M-4 style rifles. Any weapon with a bull pup design is also decent. Also have several good pistols, personally the smallest round I would carry is a 9mm. My personal view! stay away from odd weapons, or hard to find calibers, why? well it limits your ammo a lot. Stick with common calibers! or be ready to have reloading equipment on hand and be good at reloading! Again,, train train train!! You will have the advantage and confidence when placed into a situation where gunfire starts.
   Keep a good variety of weapons, like a hunting rifle, a shotgun, several pistols, and an assault rifle. Hunting rifles can be dual purpose, a 30-06 rifle has a very long range and as such can be used as a sniper weapon in needed. a 12 gauge shotgun makes for a multi-use weapon as well. I have a bird barrel and an 18inch for my Remi 870. Several pistols of different calibers! I like .45 and 9mm. Also get a .22 rifle,, great for neighborhood squirrels! and small game.
 I will cover this subject some more later, remember these are my opinions and not always the best solutions for everyone! DO your research like I have done and find a plan that works best for you!
 
Remember if your going to bug in,, prepare, prepare, train, train, train, and be ready to get the hell out of dodge if you have too!
 Comments are most welcomed on this BTW! Keep them clean! I am always up for discussion on this,