What will follow in this thread is controversial at best, and abhorrent at worst. The following scenarios are fictional. And should be considered as such. I am writing this from a worst case scenario point of view. Where decent people may be forced into hostile acts to protect their families and communities. The purpose is to provide a platform for personal reflection about what could be very real and very dangerous threats in a post collapse world. And some purely speculative ideas and concepts, a person or group could consider utilizing to counter act such threats. I expect this post will offend some. I apologize now for any discomfort this post will cause. It does not come from any desire to shock or sicken the members of this forum. It comes from a desire to recognize that we do not live in a perfect world, and to prepare ones-self for difficult times should they arise. The following should only be considered in a total collapse situation. Not civil unrest, financial melt down or any situation where a modicum of ROL still exists. Any actions similar to what is depicted, under any ROL circumstances would be HIGHLY CRIMINAL! And punishable to the full extent of whatever laws still exist. The following does not reflect the purpose or intent of
WWW.Straightprep.com its operators or its members. They are solely the fictional and fearful thoughts of WhiskeyJack. The responses however, are the responsibility of the respondent (So please think before you type). Shall we continue?
Traps:
Traps can provide security and early warning. While many people will undoubtedly know, I have to state it anyway. Traps are just as dangerous to the ones who emplace them as they are to the intended target. Traps don't care who or what triggers them. They will not differentiate between friend, foe or squirrel. If you choose to set traps, please keep in mind. its your people that can be injured maimed and killed as well.
Having said that, I will only be referencing some simple traps and some ideas on the employment.
Flare traps
Go on down to any Wal-mart and you can purchase a simple flare gun. They tend to be bright orange so some painting will be in order. but you will have the makings of a nice trip wire triggered early warning system. The difficulty with these flare guns is they don't really shoot through tree canopies with the greatest of ease. but that doesn't mean they wouldn't be effective in a wooded environment. Place these devices around your AO by securing them to trees, dead falls or any other materials you can find a way to attach too. You should try to bi-sect routes of travel like trails and roads. But don't limit your self. these little maama-jamas can be employed in open fields, buildings, bridges and even water ways. Yes I said water ways. You would of course want the actual flare launcher to be above the water line but you can run a trip wire under the surface very easily. Yes that river or lake may provide some security as a natural barrier but it can also be used to get near your lines. You may want to look into the braided heavy test fishing line for the actual trip wire. The stuff is really strong.
Shotgun tripwire:
Ok so we?ve all seen some actor in a movie booby trap something with a chopped down shotgun and a string. Well I probably don?t need to tell you that this can be an effective and lethal method of force multiplication. I would however like to say that going for the clean kill may not serve your defenses as well as,....Say going for a wound (reference Shoot to wound). Your first thought may be to set the aim point at chest level on an average height of say 5?9?.You can do that. But perhaps going lower say between the knees and abdomen would serve more purposes than a kill. And lets not underestimate the use of body armor. Their are many armor systems floating around this great nation of ours. A group of raiders may be able to procure them far easier than your group. And you don't want to waste a round of buck or bird shot on a vest now do you? If a team is attempting to aggress your community. They would want to move as close to your position as possible, unseen before firing any shots. If a team encounters a trap of this nature, they have effectively lost the element of surprise and initiative. As well as having a wounded comrade to deal with. And the simple fact that it takes one or two people to carry a wounded person of the field is an effective way to reduce effective enemy numbers in the short term. I am going to end this part of the traps discussion hear for right now. We will pick it back up in Denial Techniques.
Denial Techniques
As far as Denial Techniques, I would like to concentrate on denying to an attacker potential cover and concealment. The military would most likely classify this section as Battle field preparation. So you and you community have been preparing your defenses since the onset of WROL. But you have come across some issues. Such as things within you AO that may provide cover or concealment to potential attackers.
Lets say you have a boulder that is in the middle of an avenue of approach. Its a position that could provide a base of fire against your barricades. You are unable to move it. Well you can booby trap it instead. Yes a nice fragmentation or anti personnel device would be great, but once you use it. the position can now be occupied. I would suggest a simple pit trap. Dig a pit that is a few feet wider than the cover and line it with stakes. Now you can cover this pit with a lightly constructed cover and camouflage it. Make these types of pits as big as possible. You may see an entire team moving to seek cover be hind a large boulder, vehicle, small stout structure or even fallen trees. As the leading members of the team approach and suddenly disappear the remaining team members will be exposed in the open with no where to go and perhaps shocked into indecision as to what they should do. And unlike an explosive type devise that simple pit will still be keeping people away from that particular piece of cover and make any one think twice about using any obvious cover in you AO.
Remove any cover and concealment a potential enemy could exploit. Yes this would be as time and labor intensive as it sounds but an exposed field is a good field. Just the simple act of cutting away hedges, Brush and tall grass could give you an advantage in a defensive position. You will not be able to remove all things of this nature. But you can increase the size of your fields of fire and use the removed material in barriers at locations of your own choosing. These materials could be used to increase the effectiveness of a bottle neck, or set up so they can be ignited to provide blocks to movement. Or simply used as kindling to start cook fires, the choice is yours.
Double Down! Now I live in New England. And up here we have a shit ton of old stone walls that have been around since the colonies. They are constructed from the stones removed from fields for planting allot of the walls were simple boundary markers for early settlers. But now they crises cross the region and run off into the woods wit no real rhyme or reason. I will use these as my example. You will have to adapt this to your own situations. Now while these walls can be a boon to a community they can also be used by potential attackers for cover. A community cant realistically dig pits along the entire length of these types of structures and tearing them down would take a really long time. so I would suggest a double trap. Your community could effectively run a chain of anti personnel traps along the bottom of the wall. Take your pick HE, Fragmentation, Incendiary. I may not place an Incendiary along the base,( Ill get to that in a second).
Any fragmentation or HE shape charges should be set to not expend their energy above a 30 degree angle. because you don't want to damage the second line that you have strung into the trees or eves of a building above them. The purpose of this type of emplacement is to dole out an initial counter strike to any aggressors using the wall or cover to attack you. but after the initial strike the aggressor group may try to reoccupy the position, thinking you have blown your wad with the first strike. But you can then rain down another strike from above. This is where I would use my improvised incendiaries. Your going to have to find some bad ass MacGyver types to set up this kind of defensive system. Its complex and the triggering of the devices is going to be the most difficult thing to accomplish. This is also the type of defense you can occupy initially and quickly abandon in the hopes that your attacker will rush right in to take the good cover.
Draw-em in, and shut-em down. This is simple in planning and emplacing but complex in its execution due to the devices in question need to be on some sort of remote or wired trigger system. It will require a great deal of study and some folks with real experience to pull off. But this would be an awesome force multiplier.
I would like to end this section with a few personal concerns when it comes to traps. Firstly they are indiscriminate. if you choose to utilize traps, your teams must be aware of the exact locations of their placement. And your community members must be kept away from the areas they are employed in. There are many different types of traps that can be employed. They can range from simple, like a pit lined with sharpened stakes to anti personnel fragmentation or incendiary. The scope and breadth of what you can employ will be determined by resources and capability for production. I would advise careful consideration in your choosing. And remember anything incendiary could cause you more harm than good. the last thing you want to do whilst defending you family and community is burn out your own crops shelter, livestock and people. Under no circumstances would I ever suggest or condone the use of buried land mines. They are far to easy to loose. No army in the history of the land mine, has ever been able to recover all that they have emplaced. And the collateral damage has been felt for decades after the fighting ends in those theaters.
This ends Part 2. Part 3 will cover ideas for Tactical Withdrawals, Kill boxes and Security Responses. Please take away from these threads any and all information and use it in your own way to meet the needs of your community if a time of collapse ever comes into our lives. Add your own ideas to the thread if you like But please remember Once its on the interwebz its on forever.
www.straightprep.com does not condone or suggest in any way shape or form the making or use of any types of devises or actions listed herein. This is a fictional and hypothetical exercise designed to make the readers think of their options for personal and community defense in the event of TEOTWAWKI. As stated above the use of anything listed in this article is HIGHLY ILLEAGAL!!!!!
