In emergency situations, hunting is a skill that can mean the difference between thriving and merely surviving. However, there are many factors that you need to consider when choosing a hunting rifle and it can be a bit daunting. So we created this guide to help you find your perfect hunting rifle and effectively hunt game in any situation. What type of game will you be hunting?The first question you want to ask yourself is what type of game you will be hunting. Big game like deer, elk, and bears provide more meat but require more skill and patience to hunt. You may spend multiple days or eve ..read more

Maybe you thought you’d never even own a gun until recently. Or you fired your cousin’s shotgun that one time out at the farm 20 years ago and want a refresher before taking on the serious responsibility of gun ownership. Millions of people of all walks of life have been buying firearms in record numbers as more rational people reject the culture war around this topic and recognize the need for self defense is still very real, even in an ‘advanced’ society. Women, liberals, urbanites, and people of color are some of the fastest growing groups of firearm owners, for example. Regardless of poli ..read more

Parachute cord, popularly known as “paracord,” is the undisputed king of survival cordage — it’s up there with a knife as a must-have, do-it-all prep for everything from wilderness survival to urban EDC emergencies. We spent weeks researching, buying, and intensively testing over 20 types of paracord from popular brands and outlets like REI, Home Depot, Amazon, and specialty online paracord makers, in order to find the absolute best fit for this critical prep. What makes paracord the Swiss Army Knife of cordage is its composite nature. It’s made up of seven or more inner strands surrounded by ..read more

Picking the best survival backpack is often more challenging than picking most of the stuff that goes inside the bag. Even when you set aside personal preferences like fit and color, there are tons of considerations that matter in an emergency context: what kind of organizational layout is best for common gear, how well does a bag balance blending in vs. tactical features, weight vs. durability, and so on. More: Bug out bag checklist and first aid kit checklist To make matters worse, the market is flooded with options. It’s so easy for companies to make small changes that they can crank out a ..read more

A sudden evacuation, power loss, or SHTF event is not the time to wait in line with other panicked people at a gas station — if it’s even open and supplied to begin with! You may need to bug out quickly or immediately run a generator for medical reasons, for example. Review: Best gas can Summary: At minimum, preparedness experts recommend that you always have enough gas around to fill your main vehicle from empty to full (roughly 15-20 gallons). It’s easy — the vast majority of people keep a few affordable five gallon jerry cans in their garage with annual rotation. That’s it! There’s a mean ..read more

Pemmican is a traditional Native American food that was used as a nutritious and long-lasting food source. It’s made from lean meat, fat, and dried fruits. Pemmican can last for five years or more without having to be refrigerated and is calorie and nutrient dense. It’s an excellent food for a long hike or in any sort of survival situation. Here’s pemmican recipe that we like: Ingredients: 2 pounds of lean meat (beef, bison, venison) 1 pound of fat (suet is best, but lard can also be used) Optional: 1 cup of dried fruits (like cherries, cranberries, or blueberries) Optional: Salt and spices ..read more

What do you think should (or shouldn’t) be here? Comment below! Just like with the roundup of the best survival movies, TV shows are designed to be interesting to watch, which means they often show silly situations, extreme personalities, and so on. Some of The Prepared’s team serve as consultants to these TV shows, so we know first-hand just how staged or extreme they are. But there’s still value in watching. Think about what you would do in similar situations, pay attention to how people solve problems or what kinds of mental traps they fall into, and so on. In no particular order: Les Stro ..read more

This will be the last News Roundup. Thank you all for the love and contributions, it has always mattered to me Do you like this replacement idea? To still scratch this itch for you and keep current events centralized in one place, we plan on creating a blank News Roundup forum thread at the beginning of every week where you/anyone can share news as a top-level comment and then talk about it in the replies. So, in a way, we got the ball rolling and are now putting it in your hands. Why this is changing: Creating these posts takes >20 hours per week, which I can’t keep doing as a volunteer ..read more

In short: Major supply chain disruptions avoided as diesel shortages are easing. Lake Powell could reach ‘minimum power pool’ status as early as July. Repeat Covid infections might be the cause of current high respiratory infections. Infant formula shortage could last until spring; Diesel still in short supply but prices dropped and refineries have been reactivated; Britain’s economy on course to shrink next year Reckitt Benckiser, the maker of the infant formula Enfamil believes that the formula shortage could last until spring. Diesel fuel is still in short supply across the US, but a sli ..read more

In short: US Senate approves bill to enforce railroad labor agreement ahead of strike. Eurozone inflation eased a little to 10% as energy prices are cooling. Water shortages could hit 20% of California’s urban water agencies in the coming months. December 1 is the first day of meteorological winter. Read here about Winter survival kits, extreme cold weather gear, and winterizing your home and car, and How to survive winter emergencies. It's the first day of meteorological winter! Try adding layers of clothing to stay warm as temperatures drop. Make sure you & your loved ones are bundl ..read more