The Guns & Ammo Prepper Trap; I Done Goofed

One of the major things that all prepper websites and manuals tell you is not to go too heavy on guns and ammo. You can't eat aircraft aluminium, stainless steel, and lead. Everyone wants to focus heavily on the sexy things like guns, ammo, and optics. I've got all that good stuff, or did, shortly before that tragic boating accident last weekend. I've also got plenty of food and essentials, but not enough.

Having a month's worth of freeze dried food ain't gonna cut it for a long emergency. The 18-24 months of the coronavirus scares me, not because I think I'm gonna need that food, but because it might be that long before I can lay in a sufficient stock of long-term food. Again, this isn't because I anticipate relying on that stuff during this crisis, but because of whatever next crisis there may be. 

Such as, what if this crisis turns into the trucks stop rolling nightmare the survivalists have warned of? What if the government nationalizes food productions and stores? What if stores institute buying quotas? What if I can't stock up from Costco when the panic buying is over and stock is plentiful again? 

Hoarders are getting a bad name. Hoarders are just preppers who are stocking up too late. Early in the game or before it altogether, the system has the inventory and resiliency to accommodate the people who are purchasing large quantities of goods. Over the past month, everything would have been fine if everyone bought a little extra over the last few weeks. Then when the panic comes, most people have a cushion of a few months.

That's exactly what I did. My method was to keep an eye and ear out for potential crisis and stock up when the storm clouds were on the horizon. I accomplished this in early February back when shelves were full. I goofed on hand sanitizer, but live and learn. I didn't go out last weekend and buy cases of water or years' worth of toilet paper. heck, when I did go large on anything I ordered online so as not to be "that guy" and empty the shelves.

So now I have several months worth of food before I get to the emergency stuff. I don't have to go shopping until Memorial Day. I wish I had six months to a year, but again, that's a lesson I've learned the hard way. I also need to reconsider my reserves + shoot ammo supply where I replace what I shoot every few months. I was due for a purchase and didn't take advantage of the super low prices.

So not only do I have to deal with the uncertainty of not having a mountain of food and ammo, but I get to kick myself for not taking advantage of low prices. As 2013 showed us, it could be years before prices for freeze dried food and ammo drops again. Time will tell. Ultimately, I failed in not buying reassurance and certainty for me or my family.

As a result, I will have to continue to shop and slowly acquire my preps. Buying a lot of extra stuff right now is not responsible to the sheep that were blindsided by this. Stores are enforcing rationing of some items. My family has a little less that I do, but I've been buying a few extra things at the store for them each time I go. Over time, this will accumulate, but until it does, I won't feel comfortable.

In closing, I screwed up. I feel right for the "well they aren't banning food" trap. I even saw this coming! Yes, in all likelihood we won't need to eat the emergency food and we can continue to shop as mostly normal, but it's not going to be fun or easy. When things normalize, I will never let this happen again.