A full 50% of my readership is over the age of 55? That was really unexpected. I thought for sure it would be mostly 30-45 year-olds.
So that means that at least half the people around here are old enough to remember olden days of ‘survivalism’ when it was 1911’s and AR-15’s, Mel Tappan and Kurt Saxon, woodland camouflage and Rambo knives, and Red Dawn and The Day After. Ah, what a time that was.
Now, it’s entirely possible a lot of folks were lying to stack the numbers (for whatever reason) but if the numbers are true…well, thats a pretty interesting little fact, dontcha think?
You left out parallax, soldier of fortune and American survival guide! Lol
Parallax?
Precursor to Dulcolax.
Don’t do TEOTWAWKI without it.
“So that means that at least half the people around here are old enough to remember olden days of ‘survivalism’ when it was 1911’s and AR-15’s, Mel Tappan and Kurt Saxon, woodland camouflage and Rambo knives, and Red Dawn and The Day After. Ah, what a time that was.”
Dang Skippy we do! lol
It sure is interesting how things have evolved I’ll give you that.
Thanks for all you do. Keep up the good work!
Also possible that younger folks are under self-reporting. I’m under 55 and not on either one of your polls. Didn’t find the first one until you posted results and the 2nd one.
Don’t forget my old friend Jerry Ahern ( May he rest in peace ) his charming wife with a co-author are carrying on the Survivalist legacy .
Those are indeed some interesting numbers. I also expected a larger number of younger persons. But then just look at the youth of today.
Another way to look at this is about 65% of your poll respondents are 50 or older.
How well do you think the poll response matches your actual reader demos?
What can (or should?) you do to increase the participation of younger people?
I’m 54. Beat up. Worn out too. I too began after the inauguration of Obama. While I am not likely to make it too far into a very bad SHTF scenario I am going to give it my all. I’m a grumpy so-n-so and will not go away easily.
Preparedness/survivalism is, at its fundamental core, about self-preservation. If someone cannot grasp the concept of looking out for themselves I’m not sure that can be inculcated.
Poll Question – How many of those old survivalists still have their Australian Digger Hat ? Every mofoing survivor model wore a hat like that, that or a frickin’ beret …
I remember the good old days of Fat Phil and Pistolero magazine. In fact, I still have all of the hard-copies. I would have to dig them out to remember the name of the post-nuclear war cartoon that was in them, but that was one of the things that started me on the self-sufficiency / preparedness path.
Pistolero was a good magazine. I too saved my copies.
Red Dawn is my favorite movie ( old one not the crappy new one ).
No surprise for me. Think what someone 50+ has lived through, and then what someone 30-40 has lived through. That’s a small factor, but I’m sure it’s significant.
Add in the culture change over the last few decades. I suspect that’s more significant. Quite a bit more. Young folk think they are bulletproof, as has always been the case. Now, that attitude tends to bleed into someones thinking well into someones 40’s. Most have never known real hunger, deprivation, or realistic fear.
It doesn’t suprise me at all your audience is half 55 and over.
For a lot of reasons survivalism is mostly a hobby of middle age and older men. Also they are predominantly white and conservative.
I guess you’re never too old. I’m 77, and still feelin’ pretty good, but who knows…..? Still got the full pantry and freezer, and plenty of ammo. A lot of “been there, done thats” in my life. Can’ break old habits, I guess.
Some of us was simply AFK also. I am born 1975 and was not around to vote on this one.
Y2K survivors!
We can thank Guns and Ammo Magazine for giving Mel Tappan an opportunity to spread the wisdom. I think his first article was back in 1978 or so. He institutionalized what had been a disorganized and unacknowledged segment of our society. Outside of those few Civil Defense volunteers and the Minutemen there was no societal organizing for post apocalypse.
The first Survivalist book I picked up was Life After Doomsday by Dr. Bruce Clayton. HK91s and 1911s for the win! His advice on the AR-180 was a bit dated though lol.
Speaking of gun rags, any suggestions on what I can do with my collection? Mostly ranges from late 80’s to late 90’s, with some going into the 00’s. Maybe 6-8 file boxes. In excellent condition, as I mostly treat them like books. Never bothered to get the holders that allow one to shelve a handful like a book.
Moving in a bit, and have no space for them, and unwilling to spend money to store them. I had really cut back on purchasing them after an injury severely inhibited my income.
Mostly the big names, IE: G&A, Handgunner, Guns, (and some NRA pubs), etc.
Commander:
If people were going to lie about their age, I suspect it would be on the LOW side!
Guilty on all counts.
Old Guys Know Stuff.
Don’t F**k With Old Guys: They’re Too Tired To Fight You, And Not In The Mood For It, So They’ll Just Shoot You Dead.
And most of our lessons were taught to us by folks who’d gone through the Great Depression and WWII, when “survivalism” went by the quaint description “everyday life from 1929-1945”.
“1911’s and AR-15’s, Mel Tappan and Kurt Saxon….”
Ah, yes…the Second Wave of survivalism….
Some of us were doing it before then.
Although Tappan made it OK to talk about.
And Gung Ho magazine! That’s where I learned to gently “throat” my 1911 barrel, so the gun would function with hardball!
I remember the Parallax Corp selling aftermarket 10/22 accessories for dress-up for those who couldn’t afford an AR, and then there was The Parallax View, for conspiracy theorists.
Dirty Bob
Don’t forget to factor in the big reasons to become a survivalist, the 70’s economy and the 80’s Cold War increased saber rattling. I was studying the field all through high school. What reason would there be to become a survivalist for young kids today? No sense of immediately pending doom. Real doom, not “oh, the meany leftists want our pretty poodle shooters”.
I found this essay today.
https://indefenseofournation.blogspot.com/2018/12/without-second-amendment.html#comment-form
One of the best I have read. It does not surprise me that you have fewer younger readers. Towards the end I read this
” a staggering forty-four percent of millennials claim they would prefer to live in a socialist nation as opposed to capitalism.”
Also this sums up very well the lack of critical thinking skills due to modern “education”.
“Unfortunately, America’s current situation is not that different from the one described by Solzhenitsyn. Most people are living their lives ignoring the warning signs, unsure of what is happening in their own country. Millions of people, as a result of mass propaganda campaigns designed to get us to think differently about guns, are ready and willing to surrender their rights for the promise of a better, safer world.”
I also thought about what I counted as being a “prepper”. I put 30-40 years, but that is about when I would start calling myself a prepper. We did the same thing for years, but we just did not call it that. We just live that lifestyle of putting back for hard times as a normal course of living. Taught to us by our parents/grandparents. Like canning produce home grown and smoking/canning our home raised meats/chicken (and in the 1960’s in a deep freezer). You put some away for winter/spring until the growing season started anew.
I’m in my mid 60’s. Started shooting in the mid 1960’s with a $19 Western Field semi-auto .22 from Western Auto. Moved up to a bolt action 12ga my buddy had. Turned in pop bottles at .02c a piece to get enough to buy a box of shells so we could get some ducks.
Listened to my Uncle talk about hitting the beach on D-Day. Our neighbors dug shelters during the Cuban missile crisis. Watched the national guard shoot up Kent State near our home. Wished my Dad well at his send off to Vietnam and then watched him come home a wreck.
I may be flawed and weak in some ways but pictures of the Nazi’s starving the civilians in the Warsaw ghetto made me want to be armed, forever, and they will have to kill me before I give up my guns and bunker.
When you see some stuff, you know how bad things can get so you prepare. Those that think the world is powered by rainbow dust and unicorn farts will be the first to go under.
“I may be flawed and weak in some ways but pictures of the Nazi’s starving the civilians in the Warsaw ghetto made me want to be armed”
Like this?
It’s one of several horrific images I keep on hand to remind me what can happen if youre not ready.
Too Late Smart, Too Soon Old! It is the duty of age to pass on the knowledge learned from hardship. To pass it along that youth may not
need to learn as we did. Otherwise why would we want to live so long.
To pass along the Fire.
Your poll skews over 55, because younger folks are more aware of not sharing personal info online.
1911’s and AR’s? For most people that is still the mantra. You can’t go wrong with a 1911, or Browning Hi Power, they are combat pistols, proven and fit my fat little hand! AR’s? I have two and prefer my .30 cals but a 223 will work well under 300yds. I gamed survival scenario’s with a group in the early ’80s and we did watch the movies you mentioned. However the big event for me was Martial law in Quebec during the FLQ crisis. That opened my eyes and directed towards a career in the military. We were so young then.
Pretty much my whole Ranger Bat (2nd) went to see Red Dawn at the Pearl Cinema in Tacoma went it came out in 84. Some of the more Gung Ho wore their LBE and face paint… Scared the hell outa the civvies with all the yelling…
Good Memories…
I sure enjoy the original “Red Dawn” and I would have started preparing before Y2K and continued but… 3 divorces interrupted A LOT . So only about 15 years prepping at 57 years old.
40, and wayyyy back in 96/97 Saxon was my gateway drug to survivalism. Ready made resources was a paper catalog, last year I hadn’t ordered from there in years and told the sales guy and he was asking if I still had one lol.
50yo here. I remember going to the grocery store when I was maybe 10, give or take a year or 2 and reading SOF and American Survival Guide mags while my Mom was shopping. Bought a few when I could. The first TEOTWAWKI movie I remember seeing was Damnation Alley with George Peppard and Jan M Vincent.
I watched The Day After when it came on TV and remember when and where I first saw Red Dawn. I was at a friends house a year or so after it came out and they had HBO or whatever and it was on. I was locked in on it and my friends Dad and I talked about it while everyone else did whatever.