Guard Duty

One thing a lot of people probably haven't thought about needing is guard duty. Right now, if someone tries to hurt you or your family, or tries to steal from you, you can call the cops. But what about after a nuclear event? If you live in a highly populated area (that wasn't destroyed) the cops will be there to control mobs, but will be short staffed to handle individual problems. If you live in a rural area, there probably won't be any cops around at all.

So what do you do? Buy a few guns to hunt with (wait a few months before hunting any animals), and a few for protection. I have 4 hand guns and a .22 rifle, and I only use 3 kinds of ammo for these guns. Eventually, I would like to get a 20 gauge shotgun for protection, but that's a few hundred dollars I don't have right now. Try to get guns that take the same ammo. If you only need 4 kinds of ammo, you're less likely to grab the wrong box of ammo when you're in a hurry to reload. And have a lot of ammo. I'm not saying have an entire room full, but have plenty. After a nuclear event, you may not be able to buy ammo for a few years. And hide most of it well. If soldiers move through your area, they may be given permission to search and take ammo for themselves or to help keep the peace. Hide a few guns, too.

My situation isn't perfect, because only 2 adults are capable of guard duty. We would only need 1 at night, but 2 during the day when our mom would be caring for animals and gardening. My brother and I would have to rotate the 12 and 24-hour shifts. And yes, it will be exhausting. The best thing you can do is prepare yourself. Practice being on guard duty. Sit where ever you might sit on guard duty and be vigilant for however many hours you would have to be after a nuclear event.

My best solution is to move out of my small town. There is a house just outside of my town that I know will be for sale in the next 5 years. It has 9 acres (7 of them grass, 2 woods) and a large house with a large basement that sits quite a ways back from the road. Saving money to buy this house is as big of an issue as stocking up on supplies.