Recently I was asked, "What weapons we might turn to should bullets run out or our firearm is taken in the aftermath of a disaster?"

Well far be it from me to even think I could come up with all the answers there are to this question.  But I must say it did pique my curiosity.

To be honest when I first read this question, I thought, ya know, we really need to get away from the notion that if you don’t have a gun you don’t have a weapon.

Think about it.  A weapon is any object that can be used as self defense against the attack of another right?   Well geeze!  That could be A-N-Y-T-H-I-N-G! 

I mean, how many times have we watched a TV show or movie and seen the proverbial lamp being hurled half way across the room??  Voila!  A weapon! The problem with this scenario is that unless you’re an olympic weight lifter or have arms like some prize fighter (which I don’t by the way) you are not going to have enough force behind you to do any harm – well less smashing your favorite lamp into a bagillion pieces that you spent eons looking for that is.

So the hunt is on.  What could you use instead of guns?

I immediately went to cavemen.  What did they use?  Sticks and stones and yes even bones.  Can’t get any easier than that! And keep in mind they were fighting things a whole like bigger than what we’ll encounter.  Again this goes back to ‘anything can be a weapon with enough force’.

Next for me came David of the “David and Goliath” fame.  What did he use?  A sling shot and pebbles.  Again David was up against something … er okay someone who was way bigger than he.  Heck he could have even used a pea-shooter for that matter. Its all in where you aim.

In some Asian countries, when weapons were taken away or even banded, farmers turned to their farm tools, such as sickles, grinding sticks and staffs, which ultimately have became traditional weapons we know of today.

Look around your home and garage.  There are tons of things. T-H-I-N-G-S.  Things equal weapons.  From the ink pen lying on the table, to the wasp spray in the cabinet, to the shovel in the utility room, all weapons.

So just maybe, now that we realize anything can be used as a weapon, our focus should be instead more on where to aim the weapon of choice; big or small.  We need to learn the sweet spots.  The vulnerable spots.  The spots that will do the most damage.  The spots that get the most attention.

Think about this.  If you were a bad guy and no longer had eye sight, you really wouldn’t be that much of a threat would you?  If he were bent over taking care of business from a punch to the groin it would give others time to get out of harms way or even administer a timely blow to his vulnerable unprotected noggin.  Or, if he were bleeding-out from a severed artery to the thigh, where you sliced him with a box cutter taken from your kitchen junk drawer, more likely than not his focus is going to be on him not you, giving ample time for escape.

And, just because we are discussing weapons, please don’t discount your hands and fingers. You can pluck the eye ball out of someone as easy as you can break open a head of lettuce – again think force. 

Now, I like most of you would rather encounter any bad guy from afar opposed to up close and personal.  This is where you may want to consider – for TEOTWAWKI scenarios only – strategically placing deterrents on your property to assure that you keep your homestead as safe as possible and the bad guys at bay (may want to brush up on your chemistry - or learn it for this one).  In the meantime, there are a lot of creative landscapy things you can do now such as planting Thistle bushes or Osage Orange bushes; both of which have menacing thorns that can deter even the meanest of bad guys.

As you can see there is no real answer for what weapon we could turn to if our gun is taken or we run out of ammunition. 

As for a bow and arrows?  Sure you could use them.  Heck you can buy or even make one and yes they can do great bodily harm.  Just be like David and aim for the right spot.  Just sayin.

- Survivor Jane

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Survivor Jane is not intended to be expert, legal or even medical advise - just one girl sharing with others.