Ten years is a long time. It is less of a long time the older you get but it really is a significant amount of time no matter how old you are. Ten years ago for me I had just turned 40. I was working for Lincoln Financial Group in a soul-crushing but well compensated job. The oldest of my 8 kids was just 18 and still living at home, so I had 7 minor children at home, the youngest just barely out of diapers. We were a year into our new house and our new mortgage and were living like most middle class people, spending everything we made with little concern because that regular paycheck gets direct deposited every two weeks like clockwork. Philosophically I was trying to still play the garden variety conservative.
Ten years later….well you can see where I am philosophically, many would say it rhymes with Yahtzee. I am working a couple of small businesses, so what I earn is based on how much, how hard and how smart I work. I am 50 years old and while I am in better shape physically than I was 10 years ago I also know that my reaction times are not what they used to be, just based on basic stuff like video games.
What about ten years from now?
That brings me to the main point. Most of /ourguys/ are middle-aged or older. There are plenty of younger guys in the movement but they are *seemingly* not as interested in things like prepping and survival, or at least they aren’t commenting. The idealism of youth has many of them thinking they can still change things politically, maybe not at the ballot box but via meme warfare. Those of us who have been around understand that a) we are not voting our way out of this and b) most of our people are just not interested in getting involved.
That leaves us with a movement that is mostly made up of older men who live scattered all around the country. Most of us aren’t in a place where we will be street brawling anymore, and honestly most of us never were. What good are a bunch of middle aged and older guys in any one of a number of scenarios involving civil collapse up to and including open civil war?
Big Country Expat asks that question and you should read his post: So What Can A Oldster Do?
Good ideas and good conversation in the comments. Go read the whole thing.
BCE from what I can tell is someone who knows about fighting, has taken lives and from the pics I have seen is a big dude (hence the nickname). But the years have taken a toll on all of us and even BCE isn’t going to wade into a pack of feral urban yoofs and thrash them all by hand like Jack Reacher. In my case, my years of office work mean that my body didn’t take a pounding like his did. No scars, no chronic pains to speak of, just the need to get in better shape. Still, I am closer to Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher size than the new guy Alan Ritchson playing him in the Amazon series (more about that incoming).
Of course even at 50 and not being much of a fighter, I would gladly take on an antifag half my age one-on-one. Half of those faggots can’t even figure out which gender they are and the rest are soft as cotton balls.
What can we do?
Some ideas being tossed around in the comments and the OP are long range shooting, logistics, intelligence gathering. All very true, but just because you can’t brawl in the street doesn’t mean you can’t fight. We aren’t using clubs or swords, so a 55 year old who knows how to shoot is far deadlier than a 19 year old that doesn’t. Modern weapons make it possible for older men to be very, very dangerous for a long time.
The cool thing about modern weapons, or one of the cool things, is that they are lightweight and easy to use and have an enormous lethal capacity for not much money. You can get into a Palmetto State or Bear Creek AR-15 for south of $500, get a cheap red dot and some ammo and only be out $600-700. The upper limit on how fancy you can go is pretty much limitless. The other cool thing is that the AR platform is so incredibly versatile. While I appreciate my AK bros, if you buy an AK you pretty get what you bought and that is it. But with an AR you can do all sorts of stuff (Federal laws apply on some of this) like putting a brace on your lower receiver and a 10.5″ barrel upper and making an AR pistol that is shorter and easier to maneuver around. Or you can go longer and pick up some additional muzzle velocity. Something else that is cool, with that same lower receiver you can use different calibers entirely. The 5.56mm standard is a great round at short to intermediate ranges but not so much at longer rangers. It depends on a pretty small, typically 55 grain, bullet travelling at screaming speeds. If you want to reach out and touch someone farther away, you can put a 6.5 Grendel or .224 Valkyrie upper on that reciever, some nicer glass for the optic and be punching someone’s ticket at pretty extreme ranges. Not like a 6.5 Creedmoor or .338 Lapua but 500+ yards is very doable with practice. Plus, at least with the 6.5 Grendel, you can use that same AR to hunt deer in the state of Indiana. I might have to break out some pics of my own Grendel experiment at some point.
The point being, you can be an older guy well into your 60s or later and still be very lethal at very long ranges. Even at short engagement distances, an older man who knows how to shoot is far more lethal than a 19 year old punk holding a gun he is unfamiliar with sideways and blasting away. You need to have your head on straight and be aware of your surroundings but if you have the means, the training and the willingness, it won’t matter if you are a little older.
You also need to maintain your conditioning as best as you can. When you get older, shit breaks down more readily and more often, and recovery is a lot harder and lengthier. I won’t ever be in shape to run a marathon but I want to make sure that if I need to get up and go, I can do so.
Still, all the best gear and training doesn’t mean age isn’t going to be a significant factor for all of us. We need to be realistic about what we can do. Even being realistic, most of us can be effective and downright lethal for many years to come. What is more important is our mental state. An older guy who gives zero fucks and is willing to spill some blood?
Yeah, that is far more dangerous than a squeamish 30 year old who won’t pull the trigger.
Get your mind right. Most of us are already 90% of the way there, decades of watching our country go into the shitter has hardened our hearts and many are like me, no longer with little kids to provide for. I am not going to jail but I am also not really all that worried about dying, even at 50, especially if it means that my death serves the purpose of the interest of my family and my people.
So don’t assume that passing your 40th or 50th or even 60th birthday means you are out of the game. Your role might change and you need to be realistic but a 55 grain projectile travelling 3000 fps from the barrel of a gun held by a 60 year old is just as lethal as it would be from the same gun fired by a 25 year old.
Agreed with all, you and BCE. Right now got the coof, so prepping priorities have shifted temporarily. Third day of symptoms, just as my wife is recovering nicely. Because her health is much more fragile than mine, she had a local doc prescribe the monoclonal antibody treatment. Whether it's worked or not, we are also dosing on IVM, OFF the medical record. I take my third hit of it today. Felt much better last night, but had another lousy night and fell like hell this morning. I will get through it; my only risk factor is age (coming right up on 69)
I've been saying for many years that I have five words about Social Security: I WANT MY MONEY BACK!!!! And I intend to be mean enough and tough enough to live long enough to do it.
I'm pushing 70 & yes I really don't give a shit anymore. The best part, I'm in better shape than most fat ass 30 year olds. And yes, I'm prepared. As far as dying, I'd rather get killed in the coming shit show than croak in some home for geezers. However, I'm going to do everything possible to stay alive. Remember General George Patton's quote about winning a war for your country means making the other poor bastard die for his? If there's anything I'd love to see are these fuckups responsible for the mess we're in, well….., get the picture?
If you want to see what old guys can do, check out Sagebrush Longshots on youtube. Those old guys score hits at impressively long ranges with 1800s tech.
-Brutus
As for never running a marathon, I have run many, but orthopedic issues, up to a Cat Scan guided steroid injection in my left sacroiliac joint put an end to my running days. My orthopedic surgeon told me that running "just wasn't in my best interest". A very hard thing to hear, but about a year later as I was relating the story to my flight surgeon for an FAA physical, he said: "WELL, I NEVER SAY NEVER. Go out and run a mile. If your hips start to hurt again, you slap yourself upside the head and say DUH" So here I have conflicting medical opinions, BOTH of which I respect highly. I have since gotten into lifting iron to develop and maintain strength. I seriously doubt that I'll ever run that kind of distance again, but I will not say "NEVER". And a recent consult with a cardiologist concurred with the second opinion. YAY!
Happy Birthday! It's my birthday too. Read you all the time. We are generation Z and we remember when skies were blue and you could still believe in the american dream. unfortunately it is now a nightmare. take care out there!
Just an FYI, get/build your braced AR pistol FIRST. Then you can convert to rifle and back to pistol as you see fit. Do it the other way and convert what was originally a rifle to pistol is a no-no. (Unless you jump through fed hoops to SBR it).
Assuming you're trying to stay legal for the time being.
Lotta useful stuff in old dudes'
heads that can be taught.
Virtually no one has nothing to share.
Several of us are doing long distance at 70 years old.
Very good points, Art. Ohio Guy
https://www.reddit.com/r/MilitaryPorn/comments/2mown3/albrecht_moser_participating_in_the_2009_swiss/ for some motivation. Good article you did here, Arthur. I will read through this one a couple times. Moar!
https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2016/11/14/potd-running-gunning-50-years/
There's a flip side too, don't let your couch kill you.
I'm 67, spent my life running the razors edge, from Recon Marine to logging, log home building, construction, motorcycle racing until 10 yrs ago, still hunt elk and backpack the highest country of Wyoming, and months long horse trips on the Continental Divide and Rocky Mtn's. Just had hernia surgery 2 weeks ago, doing fine, also 2 knee surgeries and 2 foot neuroma surgeries and right now I'm planning some backpacking trips thru Yellowstone NP this summer. I did a YNP trip 5 yrs ago with a 72 yr old who walked me into the ground, now I'm looking to do the same with some younger friends. I hurt and groan when I get up, but you're only as old as you want to be.
Many thanks sir!
My own answer – "Everyone can do something"
https://volusiacountyprepping.com/everyone-can-do-something/
I know one old salt that's putting in tight groups at 500m plus. With his .223.
I stopped getting those nice green edged letters with how much you get if you just work a little longer a while ago. and I also want what they have taken from me over the years
like many others I have talked with, we have a list of most if not all the fuckers that have fucked us over. I would love to see the CEO'S of say big blue and opm and a few other fucks out there living high on the hog while fucking over everyone they can.
there are a lot more pissed off people with skills that should scare the shit out of them than they think there is. don't think so ? hang out with any group of vets and listen to how they got fucked over. if it ever come showtime, they will respond the way they know how. and just about anyone in the upper levels of this shit show should know that. they will have no where to run and hide then.