How to deal with roving gangs and large groups of hungry people. This is a question that we all need to be concerned with. When TEOTWAWKI happens, there will be a lot of people who will simply not be prepared. They will be everyday people, who will become violent, when they realize that they have no way to feed themselves or their families. They will be scared and hungry and like any scared animal, they will be dangerous. There are also Gangs in the cities that are used to surviving off of others and when the food runs out in the city, they will head into the outlying areas in search of other victims. In today’s post, we will try to look at what we can reasonably expect to encounter and ways of minimizing those chances, as well as dealing with them once we do.
There are a few things that you can do once TEOTWAWKI hits to try to avoid being noticed by these gangs and hopefully they will just pass you by. First off, if you do have to go near large groups of people, become the Grey man. You want to blend in as much as possible and draw little or no attention to yourself. Wear dark or neutral colored hoodie or clothing and keep your head down and avoid eye contact. Do not speak unless you have no choice and when you do keep you voice down. The goal here is to be invisible to the rest of the people around you. Move quickly as you can without drawing any unwanted attention to yourself. If you are caught and someone calls you out, pretend to be just as hungry and desperate as they are. Pretend that you are one of them and that you have nothing they want. I would go so far as to ask them if they had any food or water that they could spare. This should make them quickly lose interest in you. Once they do, continue on your way.
So how do you make your home look grey in a TEOTWAWKI situation? Start by removing any thing that can be seen from the front of the house that would even make them suspect that you have any supplies. Next you will want to make the front of your house look like it has already looted. To do this, place a muddy foot print on your front door near the door knob. Next, remove the screws from the bottom of the door. This will make the door look like it has been kicked in. If there is glass in the door, take something and break it then put a piece of clear plastic behind it to keep the rain out. Always use only the back door to enter and leave the house. Fresh footprints in the front yard are a sure sign that it is still inhabited. I would also recommend scattering some old kitchen trash around the front of the house to give the impression that any food that was in it has already been taken. You will also want to hang some thick material over all of the windows to prevent any light from seeping out at night. I would also recommend only building a fire at night when it is harder to see the smoke. Just remember that the smell of smoke travels a long way, so be very careful. These things should help discourage people from taking a closer look at your home and hopefully they will just pass on by.
One last thing, never keep all of your food in your house where it can be found. Hide it and only keep a few items out at a time. This way if they do come into your house, they will only find a few items and think you are just as desperate as they are. The same goes for guns and ammunition as well. There may be times where someone will get too curious and come in to your house to look around for anything they can use. When they do, hide and let them think the house is abandoned so they will just move on.
So what if they sneak up on you and catch you at your home, what do you do then? I guess the answer to that question would depend on what they want and how aggressive they are. There may be times when you will have to fight, however if you are greatly outnumbered, you may want to rethink your strategy. This is why it is so important to have someone looking out for you all of the time. It is also why it is not a good idea to be a lone wolf. You should always have someone on duty whose only job is to look out for trouble headed your way. Only assign this task to someone who you truly trust as your very life will depend on them. If all they want is food, then do as I recommended before and pretend that you are just as hungry and desperate as they are. Again, ask them for food, who knows, they may actually give you some. The trouble is that most gangs will be looking for “entertainment” as well as food and water. At this point, you will need to decide what to do if it occurs. Getting yourself killed will not help anyone, but living in shame for the rest of your life because you didn’t try to do something can be worse than death its self! Think ahead, plan, and be prepared for what might happen. Set up perimeter security and maintain it at all times. Set out booby traps to warn you when someone is trying to sneak up on you. Get creative and create hiding places in your house in advance so you won’t have to start looking for somewhere to hide at the last-minute. There is no shame in hiding if it gives you a tactical advantage, but be ready to fight should the need arise.
Plan and prepare, don’t’ leave it to the last-minute and think that you will just wing it. That is a sure way to wind up dead or starving. Prepare now and find people who you trust, and then find a location that is defendable. Everything you do now will bring you one step closer to surviving TEOTWAWKI when it comes. Well as always, I hope this post gave you a few ideas about things you can do now to prepare and hopefully you learned a thing or two in the process. Until next time, keep on prepping!
I believe the best defense is a greater offense. Poke more holes in them to leak out and die than they put in you. You know They will be coming to an area near you so set up a few little painful and deadly traps for them. Remember they are animals and they want to kill you. In the SHTF scenario mercy is a word of the past. Show none. Take their life’s and make it brutal for them in the process. The time for being merciful is gone. They won’t show any and neither should you. Remember they are in your domain now. You know the area and hopefully they don’t. Use this to your advantage. Simple gasoline in a bottle or glass jar and it is crispy crItter time. The time to prep for this is now folks. Just as the animals start in the fall to gather food for the winter now is the season of fall to get ready.
So I have 2 large dogs. They bark. LOUDLY. If ANYBODY comes near the perimeter of our house (human, animal, leaf!) they bark. LOUDLY! So if we were to try to hide, they would give away our position… So what do we do?
Dogs can be am important part of any survival plan. Their keen ears and sense of smell can give you an early warning of approaching trouble as well as make good hunters. It is important to remember however that they need to be well trained. The old saying about not being able to teach old dogs new tricks isn’t true however and it is never too late to teach your dog to follow your commands. It just takes time and patience. If you start now, then when the time comes you should be able to control them. They can save your life or get you killed and it is up to you to train them. There are tons of free videos on You-Tube about training your dog. It is never too late, so start now and your dogs will become an interracial part of your survival plan. Best of Luck!
Eager to kill others because of your own fear? That is what I call true savagery. Also your suggestion of killing the children whose father you just killed is literally demonic.
The Sargent. try “Sergeant”, fyi.
Barry: The spelling is deliberate because I am no longer on Active duty and choose to do it out of respect to those that are. Thanks though! 🙂
Remember that these “gangs” numbers will decrease at an alarming rate in just a few days as they fight over everything they find. By the time these survivors decide to leave the cities they will consist of weak individuals who are extremely hungry, sick, and diseased by the lack of clean water and poor sanitary conditions.
Having worked in disaster areas and war zones and knowing just how FUBAR situations can get, and learning from the experiences of fellow workers in the same scenarios, you are limited to how discerning you can be. In an all out nation/world-wide event, such as a long term grid down or nuclear war, those that have not prepared will not survive.
If you see a White man coming toward your survival zone in a matter of weeks after the disaster, he would not be there if he had prepared. He is looking for something. He could be an escaped convict or a dentist for all you know. Don’t take any chances, shoot him on the spot. If you see a Black man, he could be a brain surgeon or a member of the CRIPS or BLOODS or one of their scouts. Shoot him. If you see a Hispanic, or an Oriental, same thing, he could be a member of MS13 or the STREET WALKER GANG. No warning shots, no questions or inquires, no delays, shoot to kill. Do not inspect the body; leave it alone, it could be diseased.
A husband of a wife and with children is looting your supplies and you shoot him. Now what do you do? The wife is now without the support of her husband even if he was supporting them by looting. You can’t help her and she can’t survive without you. Do you want to sleep with one eye open with her around? You know what you have to do. The children, do like the American Indians did, if they are too young to understand what is happening, take them under you wing and help them if you can, otherwise put them out of their misery.
A year later when most of the population has died off, the people you see scavenging about, are probably survivors like you that had prepared and are gathering materials to rebuild. Don’t shoot a guy walking down the road carrying a large blackboard or driving a horse drawn wagon full of books. The world is a cruel place now and it will get real cruel in an apocalyptic event.
I would say find yourself a good spot with a clear view, and do some watching. It shouldn’t be too hard to pick out the leader, either from their motions, or just the demeanor of the group. Take that one out first. Then see if anyone else is brave enough to take charge. Cut off the head.
Having dealt with gang-banging thugs in a previous career, that IS the most effective way to deter gang predation. Every time a “leader” shows himself, remove his ability to “lead” in the most expeditious manner possible, as fast as possible. Pretty soon, you are left with the simpering sheeple of the gang. Those will flee elsewhere.
the best way to win a fight, is,,,, not to be in one, if you want to stay alive, after shtf,,, prepare now, find a safe place, with plenty other people thinking the same way as you do, this safe place has to be away from all big, and small cities,,,,,,,, away from any shore, best to be 100 miles in land and over 1000 feet over sea level,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, have food, and water for over 24 months, seeds to plant after it clears of smoke, and ash,,,,,,,,,,,,, lets face it,,,,, to survive the coming earth changes you will have to be very lucky, or jest by chance,,,,,, increase your adds by prepped now,,,,,, know this,,,, money will do you any good shortly before, during, and after the flip,,,,,,,, spend it NOW!!!!
Ware dark ?????? WEAR!!!
Ooops! I guess my editor missed that one.
Extremely important!! There will be many when the time comes. I know in my area they will be drug gangs so it will be very dangerous. Better for them to not even know you are there.