Staying Ready

One of the biggest mistakes that some survivalists make is to get complacent. They get the idea that they have all of the equipment they need and they can handle anything that comes. That is a false sense of security. Any survivalist who does not practice the art of survival may find him or herself wanting in an emergency.

First of all think about shooting. To be proficient at shooting a person should practice at least once a month and preferably once a week. I know that many of you cannot do that because you need to pay to go to a range. I have a range on my own property and use it frequently. I try to practice at least once a week using a different weapon each week of the month. I do handguns one week, .22 rimfire one week, centerfire rifle one week and shotgun one week. I also try to squeeze in some time to practice with my crossbow.

Watching the dates on your supplies is another thing that should be continuous. This should be done on a once a month basis. Things like food, medicine and some other items such as batteries come with expiration dates. These items should be checked and replaced when they are out of date. Food should be eaten before the expiration date and replaced with new. This is one of the reasons that I do not like freeze dried food, I do not like to have to live on it when it goes out of date. I only keep enough freeze dried or MREs on hand that I can use them up in camping each year. That way I have one batch going out of date each year and it is easy to use up. I prefer to can, freeze dry and otherwise put up as much of my own survival food as possible. Any thing you put up yourself should have a year, month and date marked on it and you should know how long it is good for. Again, check it monthly and rotate it. Even you stock of ammo should be rotated. Each time you use up a box of ammo, replace it with a new box. Write the date on each box as you purchase it and always shoot up the oldest first.

Going camping to practice you woodsman and outdoor survival skills is another thing that I deem necessary. We never know when we may need to bug out for the woods or when we may be stranded there. Knowing how to start a fire, snare a rabbit, find edible plants and plan a good camp is very important. Also, camping should not be just a once in the summer trip. You should camp in all four seasons and if possible more than once in each season. Winter camping is very important as it is the most difficult and there is no guarantee that it will not be winter when you wind up needing the skills. These camping trips do not need to be long. Many times it may just be and overnight trip, but they are all important. Unused camping and woodsman skills can get rusty if unused and in an emergency, rusty is not what you need.

There are more things that I could cover but I think that this should give you an idea. Survival- ism is not a try it one time and forget it project. While you can learn a lot by reading, many of the skills need to be practiced to become proficient at them. Having read the book does not necessarily mean that a person will be able to perform. So, read all you can, study all you can but be sure you keep up with your practice. When the time comes you will be ready.