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Anyone apply this philosophy to their firearms, or is it just me? Any platform I have an intended use for long-term and/or SHTF, I basically get two so I have an automatic built in "spare" or complete set of spare parts if the supply chain is not operational.

What do others think?
 
Although I never really thought of it in those terms, I tend to collect things in pairs also. To me it's always been helpful to be able to compare twin items to know how far away a "used" one has come from the original....then mainly only use one of them most of the time.

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All of my ARs have backup BCGs for their respective calibers. Twin generators. Twins of most handguns. 3 almost complete sets of tools. (1 set in the truck, 1 set at work, 1 set at home) I've WAAAYYY overdone it with power tools.

OK, I'll admit it to everyone but my wife.... I might have a problem. LOL
 
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Back when "preparing for the worst" seemed important I and others in my "social circle" did this with weapons particularly. So when I got something I really really liked and it liked ME.. the Rule of "One is None and Two is One" came into play. This didnt carry over into my collection thank heaven. But, Mini-14s (had five of those puppies before I wised up and dumped 'em), AR's, AK's, 7.62X51 BR's, BHP's, 1911 .45's, extended mag "patrol shotties", various knives and assorted "Other" gear... It was part of a learning process or "curve" and I don't regret it, taught my kids a lot and likewise others who got to know me well.
My "feeding frenzy" has abated some as my perceived needs have lessened over time. A divorce and also covering the bases of preparation over the years have slowed it down...
Should you be serious about preps, make point of keeping what you are about, or why, private and secure. Impress the need for privacy on your family and anyone else you may choose to trust. Be sure you CAN trust (and how far) those you trust. Oh, and what the wife doesnt know you have she can't claim or have her lawyer grab off should she become the "X". Just sayin.:p
 
DunRanull--Yeah, I only do it for firearms that are for long-term or shtf use; not everything. It is expensive, but I've built it up over time and it probably has prevented me from just chasing the latest/greatest things out there!

TargetShooter--There's no weapon, no matter how well crafted or designed that will NEVER fail/break. But, I admit, it is definitely costly!
 
While I do believe in that rule, the only gun I have two of is the AR15. I've thought about picking up another Glock 19, and probably would if the price were right. At least five of my buddies and I run that gun combo and we do have spare parts between us, so that's nice, but no telling if we'd be able to meet up in an event.
 
One is none; Four and a case of ammo for each is a bare minimum;).
It seems there are all these Mausers that collected themselves around me... Back when 8mm Mausers from various places including soviet-captures became readily available a few of them fell into my hands. Beside the fact that ive always loved the 98k types, they were too available and cheap to pass up- quality high powered bolt-guns as-is and useful for builds if desired. The flood of cheap 7.92 ammo made them even better for stashing away.
Such rifles might be usefully "lend-leased" to gun-poor friends or relations in a pinch or sold/traded outright for goods or services. Much better rifles and caliber in MY opinion than the soviet 91/30 Mosin types, several of which have passed thru my collection. Not every gunster agrees with me on that, tho!
Main regret is not stocking up on more Yugo Mausers and ammo than I did. (Cases of as-fresh Yugo 7.92X57 made BEFORE ww2, sealed in air-tight lead-zinc containers stamped with the mark of the king of Yugoslavia! Re-arsenaled ww2 and pre-war German and Yugoslav Mausers, new-manufacture post war M48/M48A Zastava mausers cosmolined and sealed! How these avoided use by the Resistance and the post-war communists or shipped to foreign wars is beyond me). My guess is that they were stashed deep in caves somewhere in Bosnia and finally surplussed out by the mohammedan government after the break-up of Yugoslavia. Their loss being my gain :D. I do sincerely thank my formerly communist enemies/brethren in ost Europa for stashing all that ww2 stuff for the education and enjoyment of generations of new shooters and history buffs in Ameryk!
 
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Back when "preparing for the worst" seemed important I and others in my "social circle" did this with weapons particularly. So when I got something I really really liked and it liked ME.. the Rule of "One is None and Two is One" came into play. This didnt carry over into my collection thank heaven. But, Mini-14s (had five of those puppies before I wised up and dumped 'em), AR's, AK's, 7.62X51 BR's, BHP's, 1911 .45's, extended mag "patrol shotties", various knives and assorted "Other" gear... It was part of a learning process or "curve" and I don't regret it, taught my kids a lot and likewise others who got to know me well.
My "feeding frenzy" has abated some as my perceived needs have lessened over time. A divorce and also covering the bases of preparation over the years have slowed it down...
Should you be serious about preps, make point of keeping what you are about, or why, private and secure. Impress the need for privacy on your family and anyone else you may choose to trust. Be sure you CAN trust (and how far) those you trust. Oh, and what the wife doesnt know you have she can't claim or have her lawyer grab off should she become the "X". Just sayin.:p
Brother, you've got THAT right, ESPECIALLY the part about letting a potential X to learn what you've squirrel'd away.
I almost fell into that trap until I realized the Poop was headed south and I pulled all of HER personal papers out of MY safe and changed the combo.
Man, was she PISSED!
Fortunately, things calmed down somewhat and I did give her the pistols I had purchased for her before she moved out of the house, which I got to keep.
So, yeah, use caution when letting a spouse or S.O. know what you have and even think long and hard about letting them know the combo.
Possible perilous consequences otherwise.
 
I'm going to get a bit off-color probably, and I've said most of this before, and I'm sure I'll say it again. Too much of prepper culture is about acquiring bubblegum, and talking down to other people who spend their hard earned money on bubblegum that doesn't have a survival purpose.

I'm not an octopus, I don't need 20 guns to survive, I don't need guns to give out to friends and family or random people I meet when SHTF. I want to have guns that I enjoy, that are part of my life, just like if I were to own an RV, or a boat, or a vacation home. In fact, by spending less money on guns I'll probably never use just for the sake of having a second one in case something happens to the first one, I'd rather take that vacation with my wife, or have that vacation home.

Survivalism is great, but it's too easy to mix it up with pseudo-religious asceticism that leads to going without certain things in life, so when a random event that hasn't happened to anyone you know happens to you.

In short, don't be so busy packing all of your spare guns into the car when the world is collapsing you die in your driveway. You are way better off spending your time and money on a tuned system then you are by having extra crap. How do you tune your system? By trying it out! Take your BOV out to the cusp of nowhere and shoot your guns, take your wife, take your friends, sit by the fire under the stars, take some pictures, make some memories, and when you get back and realize something broke or didn't work, replace it, and do the same thing again next week.

Survivalism/Prepperdom never seems to acknowledge the fact that on a long enough timeline the survival rate for everyone drops to zero.
 
I'm going to get a bit off-color probably, and I've said most of this before, and I'm sure I'll say it again. Too much of prepper culture is about acquiring bubblegum, and talking down to other people who spend their hard earned money on bubblegum that doesn't have a survival purpose.

I'm not an octopus, I don't need 20 guns to survive, I don't need guns to give out to friends and family or random people I meet when SHTF. I want to have guns that I enjoy, that are part of my life, just like if I were to own an RV, or a boat, or a vacation home. In fact, by spending less money on guns I'll probably never use just for the sake of having a second one in case something happens to the first one, I'd rather take that vacation with my wife, or have that vacation home.

Survivalism is great, but it's too easy to mix it up with pseudo-religious asceticism that leads to going without certain things in life, so when a random event that hasn't happened to anyone you know happens to you.

In short, don't be so busy packing all of your spare guns into the car when the world is collapsing you die in your driveway. You are way better off spending your time and money on a tuned system then you are by having extra crap. How do you tune your system? By trying it out! Take your BOV out to the cusp of nowhere and shoot your guns, take your wife, take your friends, sit by the fire under the stars, take some pictures, make some memories, and when you get back and realize something broke or didn't work, replace it, and do the same thing again next week.

Survivalism/Prepperdom never seems to acknowledge the fact that on a long enough timeline the survival rate for everyone drops to zero.

This is a very good point. I often have to remind myself that if SHTF I'd only be carrying one rifle and one sidearm if I'm on foot. If I'm in a vehicle I'd still only have a few, most likely.

That said, I do have four SKS's for friends and family :D
 
I don't intend to prep for a long-term survival situation at all. I CAN see that the possibility of a short-term period of social unrest would require sheltering in place with enough groceries and water to keep you from having to brave the idiots out terrorizing people.
 
DunRanull--Yeah, I only do it for firearms that are for long-term or shtf use; not everything. It is expensive, but I've built it up over time and it probably has prevented me from just chasing the latest/greatest things out there!

TargetShooter--There's no weapon, no matter how well crafted or designed that will NEVER fail/break. But, I admit, it is definitely costly!


instead of buying two, both of which might go bad according to your logic, buy something different so you have two different items, neither of which might go bad? Its still expensive, but doesn't require any more time than your premise and gives the option to have TWO reputedly excellent reputations? Also seems your getting a better chance of one not failing by hedging your bets. Theres an awful lot of good engineering and steel in guns, and I'd speculate any of the ones most people get are going to outlive their owners, unless theyre mistreated oe not taken care of properly.

Even KelTec and HighPoint give lifetime guarantees! But most of the time they're not necessary/!
 
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I don't intend to prep for a long-term survival situation at all. I CAN see that the possibility of a short-term period of social unrest would require sheltering in place with enough groceries and water to keep you from having to brave the idiots out terrorizing people.

In the US we live a good life, we have plenty of clean drinkable water (most places anyways) that's available at the turn of a knob, we have almost limitless electrical power available at the flip of a switch, and with the swipe of a credit card at the gas pump (or paying cash) we can travel thousands of miles without question, and with a little device in our pockets, we can literally make contact with any other human on the face of the planet that has a similar device.

I think we need to be smarter about how we use some of our resources, so that we can have more drinkable water, more electrical power, and more communication, and we need to create the conditions where these things can be made cheaper so that more of the world can afford them.

As a society, there are tremendous benefits to maintaining the status quo, however the same technology that allows us to do these things combined with a lot of very bad leadership is creating a situation where technology is becoming a tool of oppression. It is by mastering the technology, understanding it's limitations, as well as it's power, that we can turn the technology to our benefit.
 
In the US we live a good life, we have plenty of clean drinkable water (most places anyways) that's available at the turn of a knob, we have almost limitless electrical power available at the flip of a switch, and with the swipe of a credit card at the gas pump (or paying cash) we can travel thousands of miles without question, and with a little device in our pockets, we can literally make contact with any other human on the face of the planet that has a similar device.

I think we need to be smarter about how we use some of our resources, so that we can have more drinkable water, more electrical power, and more communication, and we need to create the conditions where these things can be made cheaper so that more of the world can afford them.

As a society, there are tremendous benefits to maintaining the status quo, however the same technology that allows us to do these things combined with a lot of very bad leadership is creating a situation where technology is becoming a tool of oppression. It is by mastering the technology, understanding it's limitations, as well as it's power, that we can turn the technology to our benefit.

It's incredible how many people don't realize how good we have it. I've had friends accuse me of looking forward to a revolution, civil war, or a SHTF event and all I can do is stare at them blankly. I've heard of people who say they do look forward to that (on the internet, of course) and all I can deduct is that they haven't thought it through. Not that I wouldn't fight for the constitution if need be, but I quite like my simple, comfortable life.
 
Starvation, desperation, war and disease, yeah, sign me up! NOT. Go look at the hell holes in conflict right now, like Syria, and say, gee, that's where I want to be! I like my phone, my electricity, my TV, my clean running water, my roof over my head without shell holes in it, my doctor and clean emergency room, etc. I want to be ready for whatever emergencies that come along, but WANT to live like the Road Warrior? Short, brutal and horrific life.
 
We all prefer simple, comfortable and free lives, for the most part anyway. It's the bastages who want to decide FOR us what our wants and needs are that cause the problems. There are always those control freaks who "know better than you do"- or think they do and are willing to use force to bring us into their way of thinking that cause us problems- on many levels.
My concern isnt making you think like I do, just let me be to live free of coercion and with free-will acceptance of the common social good within the bounds of an accepted social contract. In this country we guide ourselves by the Constitution and the system of common consent to the LAW.
Sometimes the "Law" and "common consent" break down, or social emergencies occur. Katrina comes to mind, as do the serious displacement issues involving the break-up of the old soviet union.
Im not LDS but hand it to the Mormons and the LDS church as they actively participate in storing up various supplies, not just foodstuffs, including medications- for bad times and to help out families in need.
Hopefully not being alarmist, like to think ahead. Building a "cushion" can be done incrementally without denying vacations or playtime and toys like DVD, cable, music etc.
 
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It's incredible how many people don't realize how good we have it. I've had friends accuse me of looking forward to a revolution, civil war, or a SHTF event and all I can do is stare at them blankly. I've heard of people who say they do look forward to that (on the internet, of course) and all I can deduct is that they haven't thought it through. Not that I wouldn't fight for the constitution if need be, but I quite like my simple, comfortable life.

In a way, I openly advocate revolution, however, revolution is not what it used to be. Right now all of the military brain trust work is being put into "the third offset", which synthesizes drone, cyber, and other theaters of war with existing combined arms combat power. However, what no one has really done is combine third offset thinking with the introduction of the psyops manual: If you are trying to influence someone, tell the truth, it might be the ugly truth, but tell the truth. We live in a world where secrecy of all types is rapidly evaporating, and the only way to protect a secret forever is to never write it down, and then kill everyone who knows it.
 

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