As I live in an urban area I was thinking that if it did hit the fan it might be necessary to head for higher ground on foot...so to speak.
Bug out Bag on your back, No Gun...not "allowed here", blade in your pocket or on your side with a blade under 2.5".
Now if you start deep in the city and are heading out, you are bound to have to walk through some pretty rough areas and they are not likely to get any smoother during a disaster.
I think that getting into some kind of hand to hand fight is unlikely. You are much more likely to be robbed at gunpoint because, as you know, laws that disarm only disarm the law lawful...sigh...
So say that you're lucky enough to survive that encounter but now your BOB is gone and your wallet and such.
So what do you have left to defend yourself?
I think you would need something that:
A. can be used as an impact weapon.
B. does not look like a weapon
C. does not look valuable.
I have an idea but it is not fully formed...working on it...
If the SHTF, why worry about a gun not being allowed in the Windy City? Not having lived there, are you allowed to own a shotgun? If not, how about a black powder percussion cap revolver, like a remington in 44? There are no laws against carrying a hammer and a stick. Buy one of those thumper clubs sold at truck stops. That can always be modified with a few screws and/or nails to make a simple but effective club.
If you are not armed, I would guess the armed gangs in the city will have a field day with the average citizen in Chicago, so be prepared fro some nasty stuff getting out. A book called "Patriots" written by James Wesley, Rawles is a work of fiction that describes how a couple have to leave Chicago first by car. When they are ambushed, they flee thru the sewer system.
There are times when you look at where you live and why. If you feel that there is a posibility of a shtf in Chicargo move out before it happens.
23 years ago I left Houston for a small town. Yes I make less today than I did in 1986. I am glad that I made the decision to move.
My sons grew up in a small town where everyone follows the high school football team. They sell 1500 season tickets to football each year. WE know who lives here and what they think. The county has the highest per capita of concealed carry permits in the state of Texas.
Four gun shops in a city of 20,000.
I make less money but I'm far far more happy than in the big city.
If you must live there start thinking on how to get out fast. The earlier you leave the better.
If the SHTF, why worry about a gun not being allowed in the Windy City?
I live outside the city. I was thinking more of...I'm working somewhere in the city 20 miles from my home. If it his the fan and I am home and had to leave then we would be armed for sure.
As for making a weapon I thought about that and it is certainly an option. I was thinking of something premade that you have on you that would pass for harmless/worthless.
Quote:
Originally Posted by don5544
There are times when you look at where you live and why. If you feel that there is a posibility of a shtf in Chicargo move out before it happens.
23 years ago I left Houston for a small town. Yes I make less today than I did in 1986. I am glad that I made the decision to move.
My sons grew up in a small town where everyone follows the high school football team. They sell 1500 season tickets to football each year. WE know who lives here and what they think. The county has the highest per capita of concealed carry permits in the state of Texas.
Four gun shops in a city of 20,000.
I make less money but I'm far far more happy than in the big city.
If you must live there start thinking on how to get out fast. The earlier you leave the better.
Sounds like an awesome place. Really does.
And I have 2 sons that play football and two more just waiting to be big enough to put on the pads.
For me, personally, if it was just one person mugging me, I would take his gun from him if he got close enough to take my stuff. (yes, I have taken disarming classes, Krav Maga classes, Brazilian jiu jitsu, boxing, taekwondo, and military hand to hand combat)..
If it was unavoidable where they took my BOB and knife and wallet, I would find a small piece of broken glass shaped as close to a blade as possible and wrap the "handle" with cloth or if I found some duct tape nearby.
If it has to be something that I have to carry with me before the incident, I would carry a mechanical pencil. Without the lead in it, the pencil end is still sharp enough to penetrate regions around the neck and temple..
But luckily I don't live in a large city, and my bug out area is reachable by vehicle or on foot with a few approach routes and all routes can be defended once I'm there..
You might consider a walking stick. With practice they can give you quite an edge in close combat. Properly handled they can keep you outside the range of a knife.
Hiking sticks are available with compartments for small items, compass in the top, lanyard loops and so forth that could be handy. A climbing stick with a steel spike ferrule makes a quite good thrusting weapon, without being legally a weapon.
Obviously a sword cane, or cane gun would be even more useful, but I would assume the Chicago Police might not like it.
The down side is that a cane might give the impression you are old or infirm, making you a better target. An obviously outdoors hiking stick would give the opposite impression.
If you go this route, I strongly recommend taking training with it.
put some electrical tape in your pocket... takes up less room then duct tape...
a walkin stick or a hiking stick would be good...
gloves... wal-mart sells construction style gloves, they have a heavyer duty palm on them but can be rolled up and stuffed in you pant pockets...
replace your shoe laces with 550 para-cord...
if you are wanting a monkey's fist or monkey paw check your laws against them...
if ya can have the monkeyfist, make and practice with bolas, if wrapped correctly ya could make the bolas look like a ket chain thingy and then ya could unravel it when the shtf...
just some ideas for ya...
__________________ 12-21-2012: Party like theres no tomorrow!!!
The lawfull citizens who give up their guns will lose to the kawless one who don't. You need to vacate the city pronto in a SHTF event. Buildings burn, and baseball bats come in second to a shotgun. Can you own them? A Screwdriver, hammer and ball bat are terrific hand held weapons, but can't compete against a gun.
Certainly keep a long bladed screwdriver in your car. in anti self defense places like england you always need a tool of some sort to 'jiggle your hood open'.
__________________ A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong gives it an appearance of being right-Thomas Paine
There are times when you look at where you live and why. If you feel that there is a posibility of a shtf in Chicargo move out before it happens.
23 years ago I left Houston for a small town. Yes I make less today than I did in 1986. I am glad that I made the decision to move.
My sons grew up in a small town where everyone follows the high school football team. They sell 1500 season tickets to football each year. WE know who lives here and what they think. The county has the highest per capita of concealed carry permits in the state of Texas.
Four gun shops in a city of 20,000.
I make less money but I'm far far more happy than in the big city.
If you must live there start thinking on how to get out fast. The earlier you leave the better.
What's the job market looking like? I wouldn't mind living amongst a bunch of like-minded people...
As I live in an urban area I was thinking that if it did hit the fan it might be necessary to head for higher ground on foot...so to speak.
Bug out Bag on your back, No Gun...not "allowed here", blade in your pocket or on your side with a blade under 2.5".
Now if you start deep in the city and are heading out, you are bound to have to walk through some pretty rough areas and they are not likely to get any smoother during a disaster.
I think that getting into some kind of hand to hand fight is unlikely. You are much more likely to be robbed at gunpoint because, as you know, laws that disarm only disarm the law lawful...sigh...
So say that you're lucky enough to survive that encounter but now your BOB is gone and your wallet and such.
So what do you have left to defend yourself?
I think you would need something that:
A. can be used as an impact weapon.
B. does not look like a weapon
C. does not look valuable.
I have an idea but it is not fully formed...working on it...
Thoughts?
Motorcycle gloves with molded knuckle protection. A decent pair will run you about $30-$40 a pair, but they are invaluable if you need that extra "sumthin" to really smack a bastard with...and, unlike brass knuckles, they won't get you arrested.
Also, they typically come with padded and reinforced palms. If you're hoofing it through the concrete jungle and the S has really HTF, protecting your hands is a good thing. The pair I bought had carbon-fiber reinforced and padded knuckles, foam padding between the triple-layered rubber, and ventilation holes on the fingers to keep them cool.
They absolutely suck at the job of keeping your hands warm, but you can punch a brick wall with everything you've got and you will break your wrist before breaking your knuckles...
Motorcycle gloves with molded knuckle protection. A decent pair will run you about $30-$40 a pair, but they are invaluable if you need that extra "sumthin" to really smack a bastard with...and, unlike brass knuckles, they won't get you arrested.
Also, they typically come with padded and reinforced palms. If you're hoofing it through the concrete jungle and the S has really HTF, protecting your hands is a good thing. The pair I bought had carbon-fiber reinforced and padded knuckles, foam padding between the triple-layered rubber, and ventilation holes on the fingers to keep them cool.
They absolutely suck at the job of keeping your hands warm, but you can punch a brick wall with everything you've got and you will break your wrist before breaking your knuckles...
First off, you may not want to leave the city in such a hurry. At least there, being familiar with your surroundings, you know where food, water, and other supplies can be found. Scavenge what you can first, then leave... quietly. Travel only at night, avoiding well lit areas... sneak out of the city.
It once took me 3 hours to DRIVE out of Chicago... i can only imagine what it would be like to try to walk out of it. LoL But, now that I think about it... walking may be faster.
$30 aluminum pipe wrench or $5 ball pin hammer are 2 of the best bludgeoning items known to man, or a $2 crescent, wrench and they are useful for fixing you vehicle.
Any adversaries will know what those are capable of as weapons and leave you alone. Cops may give you a hard time about them but you just have to explain in detail how you would use those tools to fix some common problem your car keeps having.
Pipe wrench helps you reattach your radiator hose, or used as a crescent wrench
Hammer is for smacking your worn out starter when it gets sticky
Crescent wrench is for anything you can't turn with your fingers.
As far as not looking like a weapon, gloves are your best bet. Some of the nicer defensive gloves are just leather gloves with pouches filled with #8 lead bird shot, half a pound per hand, sown into the inside of the glove over the knuckles. Works great, can't be noticed.
Last edited by BarryHalls; 01-21-2010 at 05:11 PM.
You might consider a walking stick. With practice they can give you quite an edge in close combat. Properly handled they can keep you outside the range of a knife.
Hiking sticks are available with compartments for small items, compass in the top, lanyard loops and so forth that could be handy. A climbing stick with a steel spike ferrule makes a quite good thrusting weapon, without being legally a weapon.
Obviously a sword cane, or cane gun would be even more useful, but I would assume the Chicago Police might not like it.
The down side is that a cane might give the impression you are old or infirm, making you a better target. An obviously outdoors hiking stick would give the opposite impression.
If you go this route, I strongly recommend taking training with it.
Robert
Go with the hiking stick. You'll need to learn quarterstaff moves. I'd suggest you contact the local chapter of the Society for Creative Anachronism. One of the weapons forms used by the heavy list fighters is Polearm, similar to quarterstaff in many respects. If you can't find them, see if you can find an ex-Marine who remembers how to handle pugil sticks. Same thing, just shorter.
I'd also suggest you get yourself a camping hatchet with a solid steel haft. It makes a good defensive weapon.
Did I mention they will also save your hands, if you ever feel the need to slide down Interstate 10 at sixty miles per hour? Unfortunately, I know from personal experience that they will. I really do miss that bike...
Go with the hiking stick. You'll need to learn quarterstaff moves. I'd suggest you contact the local chapter of the Society for Creative Anachronism. One of the weapons forms used by the heavy list fighters is Polearm, similar to quarterstaff in many respects. If you can't find them, see if you can find an ex-Marine who remembers how to handle pugil sticks. Same thing, just shorter.
I'd also suggest you get yourself a camping hatchet with a solid steel haft. It makes a good defensive weapon.
Not sure about the laws in yankeeland, but down here in Texas, both of those will get you arrested quick fast in a hurry, as both are considered "illegal clubs". The hatchet doesn't qualify as an "illegal knife" because it probably doesn't have a blade longer than 5", but you can still hit someone with it.
About ten years ago, I was pulled over by a couple of rookie JBT's one night. Next thing you know, it's 45 minutes later and there are four of them tearing my SUV apart. Knowing I hadn't done anything wrong (including the alleged reason they stopped me for), I was being a bit of a smartass to them after the first 15 minutes. I was on a slow-pitch softball team at the time, had my ball and glove sitting next to my bat in the back. They threatened me with a felony charge of carrying a prohibited weapon, over a baseball bat...and after checking the laws, they had every lawful authority to do so, even though it wouldn't stick.
Ironically, they couldn't say jack squat about the pistol-grip Mossy 500 pumper laying across the backseat, because our state law specifically exempts long guns from the "prohibited weapons" statutes...
