I Hope You’re Not That Kind of Prepper

Source: https://www.askaprepper.com/

There are two kinds of preppers in the world.

The first is the type who take their craft seriously. These are the people who read or learn about new skills, and then actually practice those skills.

If they read about a new food storage method, for instance, they actually try to store food using that method.

If they learn a simple survival skill such as how to get a fire going with a magnesium flint striker, they’ll buy a magnesium flint striker and head out into the woods and (safely) practice getting a fire going.

The second type are the type who read or learn about new skills… and then do nothing about it.

These are the people who read a lot of disaster preparedness and survival books, follow a lot of forums and social media pages related to the topic, and may even be ardently passionate about the subject of preparing for disaster.

But at the end of the day, they still do little to nothing to practice their skills.

And truth be told, there are more of the second type of preppers than the first type.

What Is a Real Prepper?

Here’s another way to put it. Prepping is all about learning and then taking action. The second type of preppers as described above will learn, but they won’t take much action. And that’s a big problem.

The reality is that many people who call themselves preppers, primarily those who fall under the second category as described above, get excited about the concept of prepping. These people are not real preppers.

Related: How To Start a Prepper Group in Your Community

They may rightfully believe that there is good reason to prepare for an upcoming potential disaster based on ongoing conflicts and events going on around the world.

Then they read books that teach you how to stock up on food and water and make it last over the long term, how to store ammunition, how to fortify and defend their homes against marauders, and how to select a bug out location and then bug out of town to get to that location.

But those same people won’t actually stock up on much food and water. They won’t actually make any real fortifications to make their homes more defensible. They won’t really grow or preserve their own food.

They’ll keep reading books and articles and watching videos on how to do the above, but they’ll do so largely out of entertainment rather than any substantial desire to actually put what they learn into practice.

This is exactly what happened during the covid pandemic. People were unprepared and they panicked.

They went to grocery stores and supermarkets and in a matter of days, basic necessities like soap and toilet paper, among many other items, were stripped from the shelves completely.

There Is No Middle Ground

There are also people who will attempt to find a ‘middle ground’ between the two above types of preppers.

These people will actually make an effort to stockpile items and supplies so they feel more secure about a potential disaster, but they won’t do much in regards to actually developing any solid skills.

It’s important to note that prepping is not just about storing stuff. Storing a basement full of food, water, medications, first aid equipment, ammunition, and other supplies is a good start, but it’s also not enough.

Let’s say that you find yourself in an extended disaster scenario and your supply of food and water runs out. Can you hunt or forage for more food?

Do you have a self-sustaining food source and the ability to grow crops or raise livestock? Can purify water that you collect? Can you treat injuries without relying on professional help?

To prepare for worst-case scenarios, you should consider stockpiling a variety of medical supplies that can handle everything from minor cuts to serious injuries.

Here’s something you need to understand: a true disaster scenario is never the time when you want to be practicing your survival skills for the first time.

Instead, you want to make practicing your skills an ongoing part of your routine so that it’s all second nature to you when the time comes to apply those skills in real life.

How Can You Be a Real Prepper?

In short, you just must practice and take prepping seriously. Besides stockpiling essentials, work on developing your skills, creating plans, and then practicing those plans.

Here’s how you can do it:

• Practice cooking without electricity, for instance, using traditional methods like cooking over an open campfire or a dependable wood-burning stove. It’s essential to ensure that you exclusively utilize ingredients that are already a part of your survival stockpile. The idea is to simulate making food in a grid down disaster.
• Practice purifying water. Use a family water filter or boil the water to remove any harmful pathogens before allowing it to cool down. This is a critically important survival skill to have.
• Practice growing or raising your own food. If you have the space, you should be growing crops in your backyard and raising chickens, rabbits, or other kinds of livestock. Yes, this is a major commitment, but it’s crucial if you’re truly dedicated to enhancing your self-sufficiency and readiness for extended emergencies. Establishing a self-reliant food source is paramount. 
• Practice your shooting and fighting skills. Simply owning a gun and ammunition or other defensive tools doesn’t make you skilled with them. What does make you skilled is ongoing, disciplined practice.
• Practice first aid skills. The time will come during a disaster when you have to tend to medical injuries without having access to professional medical help. Practice making and then applying tourniquets, bandages, splints, and slings.

There are many more skills that you should be practicing as well, such as practicing loading up your car with supplies and then driving out to your designated bug out location (if you have one), but the above ideas are a good place to start.

Real preppers are those who commit themselves to learning, developing, and refining their skills through real-world practice.

If you’re simply reading about prepping but only making minimal effort to storing supplies and practicing your skills live we’ve discussed above, you’re not quite on the right track.