But if you think you need some kind of military style rifle for your home, here are 5 military surplus rifles I would recommend. I compiled this list by looking at what the guns would be used for. In reality, I don’t think you have to worry about repelling hordes of starving Zombies or UN Troops. So you’ll not find assault rifles such as the M14 on this list. Mainly due to their price. For the same reason, you won’t see the M1 Garand or the 1903 Springfield on my list although I think they would be great for the job of keeping the homestead safe,, but they’re way too pricey these days. Also, if you’re into hunting, here’s a list I found of 5 military surplus rifles for deer hunting. I believe most of you will be using it for the same reasons as I do. Keeping varmints at bay and the peace of mind of having something a little more powerful than a 12 gauge for home protection.

#1. The legendary SKS. Yeah, you read it right, the SKS. I’m not a big fan of the SKS or the 7.62×39 round but there is no argument that a quality SKS is reliable and the ammo for it is reasonable. Sometimes downright cheap if you don’t mind full metal jackkets and steel cased ammo (which means you can’t reload the steel cases after they’ve been fired). Accuracy under 100 yards isn’t that bad either. I have several friends and a couple Cousins who have the SKS and a few of them have surprised me with their ability to connect on targets out to 100 yards. One of my Cousins takes 3 to 5 deer a year with his. Of course, he uses modern expanding ammo to do this, not the cheap surplus FMJ ammo.

Prices of SKS’s (like a lot of other things) have skyrocketed in recent times, but you can still find the odd deal on SKS’s at some pawn shops and guns stores if you shop around.

#2. Mosin-Nagant 1891/30. This is a bolt action rifle that fires the 7.62x54mm Russian round. This round is in the ballpark with the 308 in terms of recoil and ballistics. And before you anal types get you panties in a wad, notice I said “in the ballpark”, meaning ‘not exactly’

Many of these surplus rifles are very accurate and reliable. So much so that a lot of them were turned into Sniper rifles for the Ruskies as well as North Vietnam troops during the Vietnam War. Prices have been headed higher over the years and it can be tricky to find good surplus ammo. For hunting and self defense, there are modern expandable bullets made for this gun.

#3. Japanese Type 38. These rifles, along with just about all surplus rifles, are getting more rare by the minute. But you can still find them hiding away in pawn shops and some gun stores. I prefer the 6.5x50mm Arisaka round over the Type 99′s larger 7.7mm because the recoil is lighter and I haven’t seen any advantage in accuracy with the Type 99 over the Type 38′s smaller round. This is a fun gun to shoot and will meet just about any demands you have from it.

#4. Swiss K31 Carbine. It’s often called the best combat rifle that never saw combat. Whatever you call it, one thing is for sure, like the Type 38 above, it’s a blast to shoot and the recoil is reasonable. The 7.5x55mm round is more than any Coyote or Groundhog wants to mess with. It’s arguably one of the most accurate military surplus rifles you’ll ever come across and many modern gun makers could take a lesson on workmanship on most of the rifles I’ve seen. You just don’t see this level of workmanship on most of today’s guns as you do these old Swiss K31′s.

#5. Britsh Lee-Enfield Mk1 #5 Jungle Carbine. I hesitated to put this gun in this list. Why? Simply because in the carbine form, this gun is an ass kicker! It’s not that the 303 British round is a heavy recoiling round, because it’s really not. It’s that this gun weighs around 7 pounds so the felt recoil is going to be greater. If you live up North where you have to worry about marauding bears or putting a Moose in the freezer, the Lee-Enfield Jungle Carbine with modern expanding 303 British ammo will serve you well! It’s nearly impossible to find truly ‘surplus’ jungle carbines these days, although you can find previously owned rifles in pawn shops and gun shops around the country.

I hope you’ve found this list helpful. If you’re on a budget and you need a cheap rifle around the homestead, then any of these should perform well for you. You can expect to pay anywhere from $100 on up to around 3 or 4 hundred for some of these rifles. Before buying any of these military surplus rifles for survival, make sure you can locate a source of good quality ammo!

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Before we dive into the different types of Archery tackle for survival, let’s get acquainted with a few reasons why we need Archery tackle in the first place. Later on I’m going to be introducing you to the modern compound bow and accessories as well as the recurve bow and the crossbow. All lethal weapons in the right hands of someone who knows what they’re doing.

Advantages of Owning Archery Equipment In A Survival Situation

First just let me say that if you buy a bow and some arrows and stick back in the far corners of your closet, you might as well save that money and buy food with it. A bow and arrow is not something you just take out once or twice a year and are instantly proficient with it. It will take regular practice to become adequate using Archery equipment.

In my opinion, there are many reasons to have Archery tackle around when your prepping. Number one with me is the low noise of the equipment. If you’re in a Survival situation where you DON”T want to be found, then the last thing you want is for someone to locate you by the sound of a gun. Even the loudest crossbow is still quieter than an unsilenced centerfire rifle or handgun.

Number two is the availability of ammo. Even if you’ve stocked up thousands of rounds of ammo, you run the chance of having it discovered, become wet or simply using it up if you’re in a prolonged survival situation. Most of the time you’ll be able to reuse arrows shot from your bows. Sure, you’ll lose a few and destroy some, but I bet you’ll get to use an arrow more times than you will a single cartridge from a gun!

My third reason is the lethality of a bow and arrow. With a broadhead tipped arrow, I can take everything from a Chipmunk to a Grizzly. Sure, I could do that with a 308 but it wouldn’t leave much of the Chipmunk for dinner and it might be too light for Griz. On the other hand, a FMJ bullet from a 5.56 might leave the hindquarters of a head shot Chipmunk and I’m pretty sure it would leave a PO’d Grizzly.

And as has been proven for thousands of years, it’s lethal on two legged varmints as well.

And finally, if nothing else, owning Archery equipment will just give you more options when the chips are down. And that’s a good thing.

Now, let’s take a look at some Archery tackle.

Different Types of Archery Tackle For Survival

Compound Bow

The compound bow has been around since the 60′s. It basically uses a series of cables and pulleys to reduce the weight needed to pull the bow back to full draw. For example, if you wanted to shoot a 60lb compound bow, then the reduction of weight can go as high as 80 percent. Which means once you start drawing the compound, the pulleys (and in most cases, “cams”) will reduce the weight needed to reach full draw by 80 percent. Some bows only reduce the weight by 50 or 60 percent. Since each compound is different, you need to make sure which one you’re getting.

Now if you wanted to shoot that same 60lbs in a recurve bow, you’d start out by pulling lighter weight, but to reach full draw you’d have to pull the entire 60lbs with no let off! You see, recurves are basically just curved wood that gets its energy from the limbs as they are bent backward. When released, they’ll spring forward propelling the arrow into flight.

The disadvantage of the modern compound is that it requires quite a bit of adjusting and tuning in order to shoot well. Older compound bows that use simple round wheels will not require as much tuning, on average, as the modern cam bows, but they are not as fast either. With more stuff on a modern compound, there’s more chance for things to go wrong at the moment of truth.

Recurve Bows and Longbows

As I stated above, a recurve is a bow with curved limbs with no wheels to reduce the pull weight. Longbows are the long bows you’ll see in movies set in Medieval times such as in Robin Hood.

The disadvantage of these bows is that you must pull the entire weight to reach full draw. If you’re not familiar with your bow, this can be difficult to do.

The advantage on the other hand is that these bows are probably the quietest bows you’ll ever shoot. I’ve actually missed a Doe at 30 yards once and all she did was jump, look back and walk about 15 more yards quartering toward me and the second arrow found its mark.

I personally enjoy shooting recurves. But the many years of shooting 50 or so times per day have left my shoulders in bad shape. You don’t have to shoot that much to be proficient, but you will need to shoot a few times every day. If you’re like me, you’ll find it fun and you’ll naturally want to shoot more and more.

Crossbows

Crossbows have been used for gathering food and warding of Castle raiders for centuries. There’s a lot of myth and B.S. surrounding modern crossbows, but fear not, I’ll clear a lot of it up for you.

In my opinion, the modern crossbow could well be the perfect survival weapon. I have, and highly recommend, recurve crossbows. The brand I think is the best crossbow for survival are Excalibur crossbows. I have three and all three are scary accurate when properly set up. More importantly, they’re durable and reliable. Simple to set up and shoot.

Last fall I ordered a used crossbow off of ebay and it was shipped from Wisconsin. The gentleman completely disassembled the Excalibur Vortex and shipped it to me. He took the scope and scope mount off, took the barrel off of the stock and the limbs off of the barrel and removed the trigger assembly. When I received it, I reassembled it in about 30 minutes and took it outside to shoot. My first 3 shot group hit 1 and 1/2 inches high at 30 yards! This thing was practically ready to go out of the box!

There’s damn few firearms that you could disassemble to that degree, put back together and expect them to be less than 2 inches from original zero!

As I said earlier, I prefer the recurve crossbow over the compound crossbows for the reason that I prefer recurve bows over compound bows. There’s a lot less to go wrong and they don’t have to be tuned to the degree compound bows do in order to get them to shoot well. For example, if I have a string break on my Excalibur crossbow, I simply replace it in the field. I don’t even need a stringer to do this (but I use one because it’s easier). On the other hand, if I have a string break on a compound crossbow, I’ll have to take it into an archery shop that knows how to restring it and hopefully I haven’t damaged other parts in the process.

Also, crossbows are just easier for beginners to use the same as a compound bow is easier for a beginner to use over a recurve.

Which Bow Should A Beginner Use For Survival?

If you’re going to purchase a bow strictly for survival. Hands down I recommend a recurve crossbow such as the Excalibur. Don’t get caught up in the poundage hype or the speed hype. A 150lb pull crossbow like the Excalibur Vixen II will bring down anything that walks. What’s more, when using a stringer or cable cocker, even the smallest Women and Teenagers can cock and shoot them.

If you’re willing to take the time to become proficient with a bow, then I’d suggest a compound bow. Later if you want, you can try a recurve. But starting out, a compound bow will be easier to learn to shoot.

Now listen up! If you plan on buying and learning how to shoot any Archery equipment, get it from an Archery shop. Don’t try and save a few bucks by ordering it from online or buying them at some big box store. You need an expert to help you get set up properly and to give you some pointers on doing it right.

Since I’m on the subject of being cheap, don’t run out and buy those little pistol crossbows or the $100 crossbows on ebay!! Get a real weapon! A modern crossbow will run you from about $300 and up. I’d plan on spending around $500 or more for a quality set up. A compound bow will run you in the same neighborhood, maybe less depending on the brand.

There’s a lot of hype in Archery. Some compounds will cost you over a grand. I believe that’s way overpriced. You can get a good dependable compound bow kit ready for hunting from Bear or other manufacturers for around $300. These are generally reliable bows and any animal you shoot won’t know the difference between your bow and a $1000 bow!

Also, don’t think you need a heavy poundage bow. It seems that some Archers and many Archery Shop owners relate bow poundage to their manhood. But the reality is that a modern compound bow in the 40 to 60lb range is more than enough for all North American game animals. I wouldn’t want to us it on a Grizzly or Moose, but it will kill them if it’s all you have, as long as you put the arrow where it belongs!

The same is true with Crossbows. A 125lb pull compound crossbow is a deadly weapon. By the way, crossbows have to have the larger pull weights due to the short limbs. Shorter limbs equal less energy transfer so more poundage is needed to get higher energy levels to the shorter arrows.

Like I said above, a 150lb crossbow is bad news for anything you come across as long as you put that arrow where it belongs. Manufacturers you’ll want to look at for quality recurve crossbows are Excalibur, Ten Point, Middleton and Horton to name a few.

Nearly all major bow manufacturers have a line of crossbows, recurves and compounds. Some of the better names I’m familiar with are Bear, BowTech, Darton, Martin, Mathews and Hoyt.

As for arrows, you’ll find this is a whole nother can of worms! Generally speaking, you’ll have two materials to choose from and each have their own advantages and disadvantages.

First let me say that I would only used wood arrows in recurve and longbows. I’d never use them in a crossbow or compound. And if you do use them in a recurve, make sure they’re spined for your bow weight.

Having said all of that, Aluminum has been used to make arrows for decades and it’s still a good choice. However aluminum shafts do bend and it’s not uncommon to bend one after shooting it many times. Fortunately for me, if I bend on of my longer arrows that I shoot out of my compounds or recurves, I cut it off and make a crossbow bolt from it (if the bend is toward the end).

The other material that has become popular is carbon. Carbon arrows don’t bend, but they will splinter and explode if they hit a solid object like a rock or hard clay bank head on. Not only that, but they are usually more expensive than aluminum. However in recent years I’ve seen the prices come closer together due to the price of metals skyrocketing.

Your local bow shop can help get you set up with the proper arrows for your bow.

As for the points, again you have several choices here. You’ll hear people talk about field points or practice points. These are nothing more than target points used for practice. They are not meant for hunting although I have used them in a pinch to take small game.

If you’re serious about small game hunting, and you should be, there are points with spring arms meant to take small game. These spring arms grab the animal and help the arrow deliver more shock, thus killing the animal quicker. They also grab anything else in case you miss or have a pass thru and prevents the arrow from burying up. Zwickey Judo points are great examples of these heads.

Finally there are broaheads. These are razor sharp pieces of metal. In fact some are nothing more than razor blades attached to a metal ferrule. There are others that are thicker and you’ll have to learn how to sharpen these. Most of these types of broadheads are called fixed bladed broadheds. Obviously, the razor type broadheads are more popular because the razors can be changed out quickly with new ones. Some good examples of razor heads are G5′s, Wasp, Muzzy, NAP Thunderheads and Slick Tricks.

Good examples of fixed bladed broadheads that will require you to sharpen them are: Zwickey Black Diamonds, Steel Force and Magnus.

Finally, I know I probably left out a few things, but hopefully this info will give you a starting point. It’s why I called it “A Beginners Guide To Archery Equipment For Survival“! Hell, there’s been whole volumes of books published on the subject of getting into Archery! I don’t expect to cover it all in a blog post! If you have any questions, feel free to drop me a line or visit several of the Archery Forums on the Internet. But probably the best source you can get is your local Archery Shop. Sure, there are a lot of owners who are jerks, but many more are genuinely interested in making sure you become the best Archer you can be. And in a survival situation, trust me, you want to have the utmost confidence in your archery equipment and your skills!

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Of course, we knew better. But when you have a Hollywood production company putting everything you need to survive at your fingertips, then ‘Surviving’ isn’t that hard! I mean, how ‘lucky’ was it that they found the solar panels on a nearby building or that they were positioned inside a warehouse with all types of different parts and types?

I mean, geez, what’s the chances that there will be a small group of Survivors after any disaster that contain a Computer engineer, Aerospace engineer, mechanical engineer, Doctors, Mechanics, Construction experts, Machinist, etc.! And what’s the chances there would be no guns or other real forms of weapons for self defense? Yeah, slim to none and slim has left town!

So it was, those of us who practice this everyday were just mildly amused or outright disgusted with the series. I myself found it just mildly entertaining because we both know one person with half a lick of sense could have walked in there and took everything those people had if we wanted it!

The Colony – Season 2

Supposedly Season 2 of The Colony on the Discovery Channel will be shot on location in Chalmette Louisiana. If you don’t know where Chalmette is, it’s near New Orleans. Which when I first heard this, I thought that the producers missed out on a perfect example of filming a real survival show immediately after Katrina. Complete with real victims and real thugs. Of course, I suppose they wouldn’t really want to show a prime example of what to expect after any kind of disaster, would they?

The premise of Season 2 of The Colony is that it’s going to try and simulate a group of Survivors and what they’ll find after a Biological disaster. This ‘Social Experiment’ as Discovery likes to call it takes 7 people and places them in a survival situation. The background of these 7 ‘Survivors’ is at least a little more believable than those of Season 1.

Here’s a quick rundown of the volunteers. There’s a Model, Auto mechanic, Contractor, a Carpenter, a Geology Professor, a Foreman of a cell phone tower construction crew and an Industrial Artist.

I’ve looked at the bio’s for this years group and the combination of backgrounds is heavy into construction and mechanical skills. So hopefully we’ll not see any of that bogus stuff we say last year…like the building of the wood gas still.

If I had to put my money on one of the ones to watch, I’d pick the Carpenter. According to his bio, he’s versed in hunting, trapping and self defense.

I’ll probably follow this post up with some reviews, but honestly, I’m not holding out much hope. Right now the best Survival show I like on TV is the one with Cory Lundin and Dave Canterbury. But to be honest, like the Survival shows of Man vs Wild and Survivorman, I believe there are scenes staged in this show as well. Not that it matters, I just hate seeing something staged for the sake of TV.

By the way, you can find a lot of cool video’s on YouTube from Dave Canterbury. And many of us have been reading Cory’s books for years so we know these guys know what they’re doing. Wish there were more shows like this!

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Money magazine uses criteria such as employment rates, crime, home values, schools, things to do, health care. Although some of these sound good, Money’s writers put a little too much emphasis on some of those things while not taking into account that they should. I also have a sneaky suspicion that advertiser money is also a ranking factor. Also, if you notice, most of these places are metro areas, meaning they’re suburbs of major cities. I believe most of us would not choose to live a self reliant lifestyle in the shadow of a major city, nor would we want to try and survive there should there be a emergency.

How I Selected The 10 Best Places To Survive In America

Here’s some of the criteria I used to come up with my list.

The single biggest factor was the price of real estate. Hey, the best place to survive in America isn’t worth squat if you can’t afford to buy a place there! And for anyone who has lived a self reliant lifestyle, you know that you can make it happen nearly anyplace as long as you have some determination and knowledge. It will also help if you have a solid work ethic.

Next, I looked at the climate. While not a big factor, it has to be taken into account. While some may prefer the dry heat of the deserts, others prefer the cooler temps of the upper midwest.

Another criteria that I looked at is the availability of natural resources. If a collapse or other type of man made disaster were to strike, then the availability of natural resources will suddenly become very important to a lot of folks.

So without further delay, here are my choices of the Top 25 places to Survive in America.

1. Red Oak, Oklahoma

This little town of about 500 or so lies in Southeastern Oklahoma. I’ve long felt that this area was a overlooked gem when talking about places to survive.

The land prices are some of the most reasonable in the Nation. I recently found a 4 acre tract there with a small cabin on it for $25,000. It’s not unusual to find larger tracts of land for less than $1000 per acre. Try doing that in other areas!

The Quachita National Forest is near by. This area consist of mountainous lands with valleys with streams and rivers.The forest provides great opportunities for hunting, exploring, hiking and fishing.

If you feel the need for a larger city, Fort Smith Arkansas is about 50 miles away.

Construction and timber comprise most of the employment in the area, but as with any where else, there’s always something for everyone.

2. Mountain Home, Arkansas

Mountain Home is located in North Central Arkansas and it lies in the Ozark Mountains. The population of Mountain Home is around 13,000. Like most Southern mountain ranges, it offers a little something for everyone. Hardwood ridges with valleys that have clear flowing streams.

This area isn’t as remote as it once was, but if someone looks hard enough, you can find that remote property you’ve always dreamed of. There are several rivers in the area that provide not only good water, but an abundance of fish and other natural resources. The mountains surrounding the area are known as good areas to hunt small game as well as Black Bear, Deer and Wild Hogs.

While the land prices are not as cheap as they are in other desirable survival areas, they’ll still much more reasonable than places such as California or Arizona.

Mountain Home is getting a good reputation as a touristy spot. Eureka Springs is down the road about an hour or so and is more well known than Mountain Home. So if you despise tourist, then you might want to steer away from the whole area. Then again, if you see tourist as a source of money for your cash only family business, you might find this area as very desirable!

3. West Liberty, Kentucky

Yeah, you guessed it, another small town in the Southern mountains. If you’re beginning to see that I prefer the Southern mountains, then you’re right! Mainly because they’re affordable!

West Liberty is a town of about 3 thousand in the Eastern part of the State. The surrounding area is mountainous and offers plenty of remote land for the self reliant person or anyone wanting to get away from the crowds. You’ll also find a lot of this land ideal for living off the grid! I recently found 60 acres for sale near West Liberty for $32,000! Now that’s some cheap land!

The immediate area has been hit hard by the economy lately, so expect it might be hard to find a good paying job. But then again, you may be resourceful and be able to scratch out your own living.

If I was looking for a place far removed from civilization with a moderate climate, I’d seriously give this area of Kentucky a good looking over!

4. Pennsboro, West Virginia

I hesitated even mentioning any place in West Virginia due to is location near some of the largest population centers in the U.S. But in reality, some of you in those metro areas are probably going to be looking for a place to bug out or relocate if the SHTF. So I present to you, a very good place to do so.

Pennsboro is another small town located in a poor rural area. The perfect place many of us would prefer to live! There’s about 1200 people who call Pennsboro home.

You can get lost in the immediate area, literally! But isn’t the whole point of living away from the major population centers?

If an outdoor type lifestyle is your cup of tea, then you’ll find it hard to find an area like Pennsboro West Virginia.

5. Carlin, Nevada

Okay, here’s a place for you Desert Rats! If you love the hot, dry high desert type climate, you’ll think you died and went to Heaven in this area. Land is dirt cheap. How cheap is that you ask? How about 220 acres for $45,000, or how about 40 acres for $4,000. Yes, that’s right, 40 acres for $4,000!

Now, if you haven’t been out there, you probably wouldn’t know that most of this land is high desert. Which is just above desert on the places that are in hospitable to most folks! But it’s there if you’re willing to pay for it and many people actually prefer these places. The climate is one of very hot during the Summer and it can get downright bone crushing cold in the Winter.

Carlin itself has about 2 thousand folks living in it. Most of the jobs in the area come from Mining and the Service industry (read Casino’s!).  It’s fairly close to Elko and then a nice drive down the road to Winnemucca.

The downside, other than the lack of water on some of the land for sale, is that it lies near I-80. Of course, I consider that a downside, you may not!

6. Hettinger, North Dakota

North Dakota is another state that I hesitated to list. Not because of its location near huge population centers like West Virginia, (unless you’re counting Jack Rabbits!) but because of its severe Winters. But as with any place that has low land prices, the land is what you make of it. So if you can handle the long North Dakota Winters, then the area round Hettinger is likely to be your cup of tea.

There are around 1000 people give or take who call Hettinger home. The town lies in the Southwest part of the state, just a little North of the South Dakota line. The surrounding land is mixed use and there are some good deals on land if you hunt them out.

There is an abundance of natural resources, although not as many as in the Southern mountains in my opinion. But on the other hand, if you’re a gardener or wanting to live a more farm or agricultural lifestyle, it would be difficult to find a more reasonably priced place than this area. I’ve seen a number of tracts going for less than $1000 per acre.

7. Sierra Blanca, Texas

This is another place you Desert Rats may want to take a look at. Here again this is another “iffy” spot due to the number of illegal aliens that pass through the area. The town itself is just off of I-10 which is another drawback. But 5 to 10 acre tracts in the area are priced really well and if someone doesn’t mind the heat and illegals, then this area may be ideal for you.

You also have to figure that the taxes for the land are not jacked up either. With Texas being one of only a handful of States that do not have a personal income tax, you may want to put this on your list of places to visit. But be warned, in some parts of the State, they make up for not having personal income tax by having huge property tax! This is something to keep in mind before moving to Texas.

8. Thayer, Missouri

Thayer or Alton, either place would be a good choice for someone looking to get away from the population mass. The land is reasonably price, the climate is moderate and there are plenty of natural resources available.

Thayer is located in the South Central part of the state and has about 2000 people living there. It’s a small, quiet and quaint town. You’ll find plenty of game in the surrounding areas as well as good soil for growing crops or livestock.

There are also a ton of outdoor activities in the area, including several lakes and rivers. Sightseeing and hiking are a big draw here and the area has a moderate tourist population in the Summer.

If a house in a small town is your idea of a survival retreat, then you can find affordable homes in Thayer and Alton.

9. Cedar City, Utah

Cedar City has quite a few smaller pieces of land for fairly reasonable prices. While maybe not as cheap as other places, some of these lots have great mountain views. Most of the immediate area is hilly to mountainous. Cedar City itself has about 25 to 30,000 people. One of the largest towns I’ve chose for this list. But as I said earlier, the availability of land and the low cost of the parcels in the area is what helped it make the Top 10 Best Places To Survive in America.

Besides low land cost, there are a lot of things one can do around Cedar City if you get bored on the ole homestead. Most involve the outdoors, which is another reason most of us like to get away from the Metro areas.

Also, Utah in general has an independent attitude when it comes to States. I like that! The population there reminds me a lot of many old school Texans! They don’t want your Government handouts, they want you to get out of their way, leave them alone and they’ll take care of their self! This is the kind of people who will be living high and mighty should a economic collapse comes.

10. Pikeville, Tennessee

Last but not least is Pikeville Tennessee. There are a lot of smaller acreage around Pikeville. And while it may cost a little more per acre than some of the other areas, it has great natural resources close by and a lot of the parcels of land offer you some privacy due to being so remote.

Pikeville itself has bout 2 thousand people, so you won’t feel overly crowded. Plus, as an added bonus, Pikeville is in the Sequatchie Valley. One of the most picturesque places in the East if you ask me!

Disadvantage of Buying Rural and Remote Properties

One thing you have to keep in mind when you’re talking about rural property, and this goes for rural property anywhere, not just in the East, is that a lot of these places also attract people from the drug industry. This is due to the same reason you and I are attracted to them. Fewer people and remote, cheap land. While I see it more in rural Eastern States such Tennessee, Kentucky and West Virginia. Every year, people (and sometimes whole families) go missing and are never heard from again in these rural counties. So be safe when looking at land in rural areas.

Another disadvantage that some see in remote properties is the distance to shopping and health care. If you slip with an axe and bury it in your leg, you may have a hard time getting out of your homestead and to a hospital. Just something to keep in mind.

What About Other States?

The truth is, you can find a remote or rural areas in every state to move to if you really want to get away from major population centers. There are even places such as these in States such as California and New York. The reason I left these states out of the list, as well as many of the upper Midwest states such as Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Illinois is because not only do they have larger population centers, but the State government and in many instances the local government, tend to lean toward the Liberal side. This can affect you with unfavorable laws being passed as well as increased taxes on real estate.

There are still remote places along our Southern border in New Mexico, Arizona and California not to mention Texas. But with the drug cartels taking over our border states while our Government sits back and does nothing, these would not be my first, second or third choices. Even though I would love to do a long term Gold hunting trip in AZ, it’s not worth the headache of watching over your back every minute.

You can also find remote places in Oregon and Washington state, but for the same reasons I wouldn’t move to the Upper Midwest states mentioned earlier, I wouldn’t move to these Western states.

The East coast suffers from having huge population centers like Washington, Baltimore, Boston, Raleigh and others. Population centers are easy targets for a variety of reasons and you sure don’t want to be living near, or downwind of one in case of an attack. For this reason, I left the Eastern seaboard out of my list, even though I know there is reasonable land prices in North and South Carolina. There’s just too many people in these places for me!

So What Are My Favorite Places To Survive?

Contrary to the popular belief from many so called Survival Experts, I believe the rural properties in Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Kentucky and Tennessee offers the average Joe great places to get away from the Sheeple and practice living the way they want to. You don’t need some huge bunker complex in Idaho or Montana to be self reliant and be prepared for a economic collapse or man made disaster.

Have fun with this list. Do your own research and make your own list. Use your own criteria and let me know where you’d choose to Survive at in America!

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For those who never watched the show, Jericho was a two season series on CBS about what people went through after a Nuclear terrorist attack on 23 major U.S. cities. The setting takes place in a fictional town of Jericho Kansas, but if you watched the show it wasn’t hard to tell that it was shot in California. Central Kansas doesn’t have those types of mountains!! By the way, the picture is from an opening shot of the show. Pretty awesome if you saw it.

The series had a number of sub plots, including a CIA agent that knew what happened, a rival town that plotted to take over Jericho, a Government sponsored private military company with renegade operatives, a crooked politician in the upper reaches of the U.S. Government who helped plot the whole deal. Plus a few others. Sound familiar?

I’m not saying TEOTWAWKI will come about because of a Nuclear terrorist attack, although it could happen. I don’t have an idea what will trigger it. Here’s a few things I think will be very much similar to the show Jericho if the SHTF.

• I think the larger cities will be ruled by Gangs and a mob mentality. Hell, look what happens when their favorite team either wins or loses a playoff game? They don’t need a good reason to start rioting and burning down their neighborhoods, just imagine what will happen when these thugs get hungry. I imagine you’ll have your “Green” areas where the Police and or private Security companies control, but the rest will be Gang ruled. It’s not the United Nations or even Uncle Sam I worry about, it’s Gangs or roving bands of ruthless people looking to take whatever they can get a hold of.
• You’ll see people who will try and benefit from such a disaster any way they can. You’ll have those who try and profit from it, as well as the thugs who want to rule and control. Then you’ll have those who just want to survive any way they can.
• I think you’ll see communities come together, at least the smaller ones, in an effort to secure their towns. They’ll probably throw together some “defense force” of one type or another. You may even see neighborhoods do this.
• You’ll see shortages of the basic necessities; food, water and fuel. I’m sure that many things we take for granted today will be in short supply or unobtainable in such a situation. How much toilet paper or firewood do you have stored up?
• I imagine they’ll be many refugees looking for some place to hole up. Hey, you’re place looks nice!
• I have no doubt there will be private Security companies hired to “keep the peace”.
• Just as with any war or uprising, you’ll have those that will give up their freedom’s for security. It’s these people you must be on the watch for. They’re the really dangerous ones.
• I can see “Neutral zones” where people come and trade goods, supplies and services. What would you have to trade or use for currency?

These are just a few of the things that I believe could go down when the SHTF that were portrayed on the show. In fact, I found it pretty darn eerie how it closely it resembled my theory of how life would be like after such an event.

So how do you think life would be like after a catastrophic event such as a nuclear attack on our major cities?

I felt like this video was appropriate for this post..enjoy

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