"All Hell Will Break Loose": Inside The Strange World Of The 'Prepper' Families Planning For Doomsday

 Big shot: Tim Ralston with his guns

Once a week Tim Ralston and his wife Marie take their three teenage kids to a secluded cabin in the Northern Arizona desert.

Surrounded by wildlife and the cows, sheep and chickens they raise it looks like a perfect eco-friendly family retreat.

But the Ralstons are not there for an American version of The Good Life.

On arrival Marie heads straight to the pantry to check the 15 years worth of tinned and freeze-dried food they’ve stockpiled, the kids test out their survival gear, first aid kits and water purifying tablets and Tim gets in some self-defence practice with his Crovel.

It’s a 13-tools-in-one weapon he has designed himself and, as he is more than happy to demonstrate, it can slice a pig in half with two blows.

“It’s the Swiss army knife of shovels,” explains Tim proudly.

“The spike at one end, a pry bar, a hammer… and the blade itself is so strong it’s used as an axe. It’s very hardcore.”

It’s also selling like hot cakes and has been voted the No 1 Zombie Killing Tool in the World by the more extreme members of the growing community who, like Tim, are getting ready for Doomsday.

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