This article on Survival Radios is part of the Prepper Conversations Series.
H/T Evergreenmilitia.
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You don’t need to build a bunker on day one. Before you prep for the fall of civilization, start with the basics: power outages, water contamination, cyberattacks, or broken supply chains. These are the real-world disruptions that actually happen—and they can hit hard.
The truth is, most major crises resolve themselves in 3 to 6 months. That’s your target. If you’re prepped for that window, you’ll be ahead of 95% of the population.
Start Here: Essentials First
When disaster strikes, everyone rushes the stores. You don’t want to be in that crowd.
The Core Three:
- Shelter: Keep your home warm, dry, and secure. Have backup heat, insulation, or a way to relocate if needed.
- Water: You need about 1 gallon per person, per day. Store at least a few weeks‘ worth, then get a water filter or purification tablets for longer-term use.
- Food: Store calorie-dense, shelf-stable food. Cans, rice, beans, freeze-dried meals. If you’re not eating it now, you won’t want it when you’re stressed.
Tip: Focus on storage first. Then learn how to replenish through gardening, local sources, or trade.
The Prepper Matrix: A Blueprint for Readiness
This matrix breaks survival into four categories. Keep it simple. Go one section at a time.
1. Basic Survival
- Shelter
- Water
- Food
This is your 1–3 month game plan. Nail this down before anything else.
2. Group Survival
- Scale your prepping to include family, friends, or neighbors.
- Community is how people survive longer-term. Lone wolf only works in the movies.
- Reality check: The best preppers are leaders, not hermits.
3. Long-Term Readiness
- Health: Meds, first aid, hygiene, fitness.
- Technology: Solar chargers, radios, tools.
- Civil Covenanting: Agreeing with others on roles, defense, and resource sharing. Think: small-town values applied in real-time.
4. Conflict Readiness
- Firearms & Ammo: Have them. Train with them. Secure them.
- Armor & Kit: Body armor, boots, gloves, weather gear. Don’t overlook your gear.
Shorthand Survival Checklist
If you want it fast and dirty, here’s your punch list:
- Shelter
- Community
- Water
- Food
- Health
- Technology
- Firearms & Ammo
- Armor & Kit
Storage vs. Sustainability
It’s easy to store for 1–3 months. But if a crisis drags out, you’ll need to pivot to sustainability:
- Grow your own food.
- Trade with neighbors.
- Protect what you have.
- Be valuable to others (skills, tools, strength, leadership).
Final Word
Don’t wait for a perfect plan. Start now. Prep one thing at a time. Focus on what’s likely, not just what’s dramatic. A cyberattack, supply chain failure, or civil unrest doesn’t mean the world ends—but it might mean 90 days of chaos. You can survive that. Even thrive through it.
And when everyone else is scrambling for toilet paper and bottled water, you’ll be calm, stocked, and watching it all from your porch with a hot meal and a clean rifle.
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About Tred Law
Tred Law is your everyday patriot with a deep love for this country and a no-compromise approach to the Second Amendment. He does not write articles for Ammoland every week, but when he does write, it is usually about liberals Fing with his right to keep and bear arms.
Be prepared for the oldest and youngest people in your life to die.
I been a prepper/survivalist’s for over 60 years.
Due to declining health in my older years. I don’t stand much of a chance.
My hope is to start the rest of the family along the right path.
Getting the children and grand children to survive.
Before I drop over will be a good thing.
You can’t prepare for everything, and some events are simply not survivable. Luckily, the basic preparations for many disasters are the same. Getting started can be as simple as a list of priorities and buying four cans of beans instead of three. Sadly, as almost every “prepper” has experienced, someone you know who will not take the advice. During COVID and the Floyd riots I had friends, former students, and former co-workers (some of whom I hadn’t spoken to in a decade) calling me with “where can I get a…” questions. Of course I had a two part answer- “How… Read more »
Chaos is hell true enough. But why not save a few bucks? And let your local gun free zone do the heavy lifting!
And throw a roll of mosquito netting in with your gear also. It’s affordable and for weeks or months in the weeds, it’s priceless.
Hey Tred, one can not save up enough of anything to include community in one’s survival plan. Eject that community bs. Communities, villages, towns and cities are filled with people that do not prepare and will want your stuff, and there are too many to defend against. A house in or near a town is not defensible. I think in terms of teams. What can you bring to the team to make you worthy of being part of my team? I have the propane truck driver and his family signed on. A emergency room Dr and a former Army medic.… Read more »
Been there, done that…
Already there, have been there for years…
flexibility and redundancy are also important. you should have several ways to start a fire, know several ways to provide for shelter, have and know several ways to purify water and obtain food.
also, is you have picky eaters or stubborn members in your group you are going to have a much harder time. i myself have several PhD in my immediate family that haven’t taken one college course.
Don’t forget flashlights, water filters and batteries (of all varieties).
You have 87 days. Here’s what you should stock up on before Trump’s tariffs pause ends in July Dave Smith Updated Thu, April 10, 2025, Appliances Items to buy now: Washing machines, dryers – South Korea (25%), China (145%) Refrigerators, microwaves – Japan (24%), China (145%) Vacuum cleaners, air purifiers – China (145%), Malaysia (24%) Coffee machines, blenders, toasters – China (145%), Thailand (36%) Babies & Kids Items to buy now: Toys and board games – China (145%) Strollers and baby gear – China (145%), Vietnam (46%) Children’s furniture and activity sets – China (145%) Children’s clothing – Myanmar (44%),… Read more »
To author T. Law, a consistent and cheap source of fresh water is the atmosphere around us. A dehumidifier will provide all the potable water that your group can use, as long as you have electricity.