While the art of surviving in the city is not something I know a great deal about, I would think that in a Sit-X, looting and general lawlessness would be one of the main concerns.
If I'm forced to ride out a Sit-X (for a while) in the city, I will try to hide in poverty. I think appearing to have nothing of value worth the effort would be the best overall approach. Willie Sutton was once asked why he robbed banks, and he said "That's where the money is."
Unless I were part of some fairly powerful group in the city, I would think this would keep one the safest. Why rob someone that looks like they have nothing of value? Someone that seems to be scavenging? The "bad element" would be looking for people that seem to have food, guns, trade goods.
At least this is my reasoning.
I have mixed feelings about that, the poor are frequently targets of thugs simply because they appear unable to fight back.
It's not unheard of for little ol' ladies to be robbed of the few dollars in their purses.
I would be very inclined to appear as willing to fight back and not only that but take a piece of their hide with me.
Hopefully whatever criminal eyeing what I have to protect would figure easier pickings somewhere else.
Both good points and I have mixed feelings as well. I think though, that being able to read the situation accurately and react accordingly defines survivalism. Whether I intend to fight back or roll over to a small defeat I would still not want all my cards on the table. The best advantage I can have over an adversary would be for them to underestimate me. A survival situation is definitely not the time to flaunt what you have.
One of my favorites if it's one on one (or at least if the odds allow it) is to have an unloaded gun in plain sight. Maybe even make it look like a failed attempt to hide it. Then I would keep nervously darting my eyes toward that gun to start them down a mental trail that leads to the obvious. All the while my real defense would be hidden and ready until my chance arises, preferably in the opposite direction. When I make my move, hopefully they will be so fixated on my decoy that their first reaction will be that I'm trying to make an impossible escape. If that causes them enough surprise and overconfidence to slow them down even a split second, it just may be the split second that lets me live. The trick is to never, ever look in the direction of your real weapon before making your move.
Good thinking guys. I too would not want to invite trouble by being too tempting. But for a while, I would expect that there would be just too many more profitable targets in a city for muggers to bother with wasting time on someone that didn't look worth the effort. And then, if they were so foolish as to try anyway, the eliment of surprise would be on my side simply because it would be so unexpected.
Would it be excessively dangerous to post on your front door that any attempts to access the home would be met with extreme prejudice? (I mean during a Sit X only) LOL Can you imagine posting something like "No Soliciting, and no breaking in or I will blow you to Kingdom Come." Rotfl!
jules, I already have a sugn that is out by the road that makes my viewpoint clear. It's the bussiness end of a gunbarrel. Under that it says plainly "If you're found sneaking around here tonight, you'll be found lying here tomorrow."
I think of it as truth in advertising. :lol: :lol:
I like those signs I've seen stating "Nevermind the dog, beware the owner"
How about "Is anything I have worth you dieing for?"
8) :lol:
I like the computer approach. Mine says:
Smile!
You're on candid camera
Your approach has already been sent to a remote location.
Another one I saw in a gas station one time was:
Three nights a week I sleep in the back room with a shotgun.
Wanna guess which three?
On my first car the bumper sticker said
I walk quietly and carry a big gun
on the serious side here
what if
you have 1+ month of supplies in your house
and you hear of mobs going from door to door looking for food
( whether it's mobs or martial law, they want to look around )
1 get out of the house and hope they don't find anything
2 retreat to a single room, while they search for food
while trying to look weak and imtimidated ( sitting on your handgun )
( hopefully, all they're looking for is food )
if someone, with the bunker mentality,
plans on staying in-city after Sit-X
start preping your house now
i'm talking about a little bit of interior remodeling
look for spaces were you can hide some supplies
someplace, whether it's a wall or corner ( false wall )
open up a little bit of hiding space
put some supplies in
and then make everything look pretty again
i've been thinking about the two hollow doors at my place
open them up at the top
and maybe see what i can fit down there ?
i don't think tuna cans will fit
but sardine cans might fit down there :lol:
What about some types of passive defenses to make it very difficult for any person to break in during a SitX?
What about barricading the doors and windows completely and not answering?
Quote:i'm talking about a little bit of interior remodeling
look for spaces were you can hide some supplies
someplace, whether it's a wall or corner ( false wall )
open up a little bit of hiding space
put some supplies in
and then make everything look pretty again
Great idea. I live in a motor home. (My decision. I have choices.) You'd be amazed at the little nooks and crannies of wasted space even in something that is supposed to be so space efficient.
Conventional homes offer much more.
How about the space between the false floor in your base cabinets and the buildings sub floor? This can probably be accessed by removing a kick plate strip on front and next to the floor.
Maybe a dummy electrical breaker panel in a closet would give an opening large enough to stash guns in the wall behind it. An added bonus to that is that since wires run into the top and bottom of breaker panels they are expexted to set off a metal detector.
What about the eaves and cornices. These can usually be accessed through the attic. Be prepared to do some serious crawling to get to them?
Bathtub enclosures are another possibility.
How about the wall behind the medicine cabinet?
HVAC ductwork can and probably will be checked with mirrors and flashlights. You might stash a couple of junk decoy weapons there and hope they think they got your stash.
Possibilities are almost endless. What have I left out?
Unused chimney or stovepipe? Plenty of people have chimneys/fireplaces they keep soley as decoration.
That faux wishing well I see in some people's front yards. It's empty, not a real well.
I like the idea I read recently about having a small stash to give up (hidden, of course) and your real stash, very well hidden.
I'm a cabinetmaker by trade and over the years I've been asked to make several cabinets and furniture pieces with hidden features. I built a bed with a drawer platform under the box springs. Two large drawers on each side for normal use and a hidden door at the head of the bed about one foot square, going the full width of the bed.
Also did a set of bookcases on hidden casters so they could be rolled away from the wall. They had a 3" open space behind the books and false back. It was tall enough to hang rifles and then roll it back against the wall.
Old "junk" computer towers. I have three or four, just stacked in a shed, scarred and beat up. They sit on a shelf in plain site, but are obviously not worth stealing. Piled on them are a couple of ratty keyboards and a mouse or two. It is a carefully constructed "junk pile" in one corner that I never wipe the dust off of.
And even better in a Sit-X as computers may be almost worthless then, under a lot of conditions.