In the online prepping and survival culture there appears to be a small but vocal group of self-proclaimed lone wolf survivalists.
I have no doubt that most, if not all, of these folks have a self-image of the solitary figure standing against a world of Stuff that has Hit The Fan (SHTF).
Here’s the thing, though… in reality, lone wolves die quickly and unnoticed.
I’m going to be a lot more harsh in this article than I generally am, because I think that the “lone wolf survival” mindset is one that needs to “go away” because it’s patently bad and nothing more than fantasy thinking.
I would much rather have people working on an actual, sustainable, survivable plan than living in a game world where they think an idea like surviving on their own will actually work.
I’m going to use the word “you” and the “you” I am talking to is the person that sees themselves as a lone wolf survivor… not most of you, who realize what a bad idea it is. Just to be clear.
Planning to be a lone wolf survivalist is a bad idea… here’s why…
I’ve thought about this a lot, considering every scenario I can think of, and I just keep coming back to one simple conclusion: Human beings are social creatures. We just are. I’ll come back to the social aspects in a bit down below, though, let’s talk about lone wolf people surviving in the past first.
Sure, there are many cases in human history where men have traveled off into the wilds to make a living… new world hunters and trappers during the early European expansion into the North American continent comes to mind.
It has happened, so why not now?
Well, for one thing it’s not the 1600’s (early French fur traders) or 1810 (mountain men) any more. Instead of the estimated 10 million natives spread around the continent from the Rio Grande to the north pole, there’s about 400 million folks. Instead of there being no roads, no towns, no centralized civilization for thousands of miles, there’s a Wal-Mart seemingly on every corner.
If, for whatever reason due to the SHTF, the supply trucks stop coming to those Wal-Marts and other stores, that means 400 million folks are going to be looking around for very, very limited resources.
Things will get ugly, and people who plan on surviving this type of situation will need to never let down their guards for a second.
You have to sleep
If you re-read that last paragraph, you will see one of the core cruxes of the problem: One person cannot be on guard 24/7. We need sleep, it’s a biological fact. There’s no way around it.
Lone wolf survivalists have nobody to watch their backs.
Heck, even a pair of lone wolves, say a husband-wife team or two friends who have complete trust in each other, will not be able to maintain a 24-hour 7-days-a-week schedule.
How can you do all of the things you need to do if you are alone… hunt, gather food, patrol your territory… plus serve guard duty… plus sleep 6 hours? You can’t. The only thing you can do is hole up and hope no one with bad intentions finds you. That’s not much of a life.
I sit here typing with a broken leg…
About 7 weeks ago I slipped on the ice and broke my ankle. It was a break that required surgery, although I could have mostly recovered in a good splint since it was non-displaced. Still, it wouldn’t have been “right” and I would have had problems with the ankle for the rest of my life.
If I were a lone wolf, however, this injury would probably have been fatal since it would have permanently limited my mobility, as would a lot of other injuries and illness. More critically, it greatly limits my mobility while it heals.
Here’s a simple fact about lone wolf mountain men and trappers: Very few of them lived to old age. In fact, most of them died in the first 7 years of trying the lifestyle. Yes, there were a few famous ones who did survive, but frankly they were by far the exception.
Many lone wolf men in history were not lone wolves at all
Another truth about historical lone wolves is that many of these folks were not alone. They had native wives and family that would go with them.
There’s a whole lot more to this culture and how understanding it directly relates to modern prepping and survivalist, and fortunately one of the friends of 3BY is an expert on the time period and a re-enactor. We are going to be doing several articles in the future talking about skills these early traders had, and sharing them with you good folks to use in your own preps.
Other than not dying, what’s the point of living?
This may seem like a silly question but hear me out.
Let’s say for a minute you are a lone wolf survivalist/prepper. OK, goal one is to survive a SHTF event, we all get that.
Then what?
Seriously, think about it for a minute. You’ve survived, now what?
There you are, in your cave or bunker, and the worst of the SHTF is over… what do you do next? Assuming the SHTF scenario is something like The End Of The World As We Know It (TEOTWAWKI) the only people that are going to be left are folks who have done what they had to so they could survive. Do you think they would be welcoming to an outsider?
You could live as a hermit, but really, is that what you want? To live then die alone, unnoticed, unneeded and unmourned?
Not that it will be an issue, if you come out of your bunker you are toast anyway
Here’s the truth. You may think you are the baddest dude in the valley, but you are not. You aren’t a Navy Seal, and frankly even if you were, there’s one of you and a whole lot more of them.
One person cannot stand alone against the many. He might evade, yes… he might live a life on the run, yes… but is that really living?
There’s always somebody bigger, badder and tougher out there, if for no other reason than there’s only one of you and many of them.
I’m reminded of a story from World War II, when a lone German Tiger tank (the best tank on the battlefield by a long shot) saw a US Sherman medium tank pop over a hill. The Tiger blew it apart, and the commander smiled and though “well, these American tanks are not so tough…” Then, 23 more Sherman’s popped over the hill… then 24 more…
While I am sure this story is apocryphal, it does illustrate my point. You may be the biggest, baddest… but when there are 48 of them and only one of you… it’s going to be a bad day for you.
Gray Man… a better option
I’m not just here to bash the idea of the lone wolf survivalist, because there’s no real point in doing that and only that. I’m also here to offer an idea that I think most people have who have toyed with the idea of being a lone wolf can work with.
Instead of prepping to go lone wolf, convert your prepping thoughts towards becoming a “Gray Man” prepper/survivalist. Instead of taking yourself outside of society, work on hiding yourself underneath society.
In effect, being a Gray Man gives you nearly all of the advantages that a lone would would have, with only a fraction of the disadvantages.
We’ll be talking more about the Gray Man concept in the future, but I think it’s both a reasonable approach and something that people who see themselves as lone wolves can transition to successfully and have a much better chance of survival if the SHTF.
I’ll add: Depersonalization-derealization disorder.
For some the lone wolf may be the bast option by far.
When nothing really has meaning, being alone is best for some.
I’ll add, If you don’t care weather you live or not new experiences still can hold interest for a time.
Your blanket statement seems to be thought out but limited to your
personal reality.
The Wolf holds adventure, interest, intent and introspection at times.
Not for most, not for many but some will fit into that role well for a while,
however long they have need, the will or time left.
The ‘Lone Wolf’ mindset to me brings to mind an individual that perhaps has a deep distrust of mainstream society, either from personal experience or deeply instilled by events reported in mainstream media. I am sure that most realise the formidable task of having no outside logistical support and therefore develop the skills and equipment that will aid their initial survival in a worst case scenario. However, I do believe that after the dust has settled most will come to realise that their skills and equipment will be maximized within a group environment, for any wolf worth his salt knows that his interests are best served inside the pack! Regards
Some folks plan to be a lone wolf, some folks have it thrust upon them. This latter group find themselves alone, for whatever reason, and have not found anyone near enough and trustworthy and reliable enough (and willing) to join with. So do you roll over and die?
No, you prep as best you can and hope to adapt to the situation as it unfolds. Folks will have no trouble believing the SHTF after it happens. In the new normal, it will be easier to find folks that want to join up. It will also be easier to find folks who will kill you for your stuff.
Is this a good plan? Not really, but it’s the best bad plan available to some.
Generally, what will happen is that lone wolves will only seek out other lone wolves…forming a wolf pack. Outcasts resent the society which rejected them…so they naturally seek out other outcasts…that’s how outlaw gangs form in a peaceable society. In a SHTF, extroverted people (aka “people who need people”) who have readily banded together in larger groups become the “sheeple” that the newly formed wolf pack will attack and steal from. Now…anyone here is welcome to debate my points above, but I have all the evidence I need to bolster my argument. Just look at society around you…or watch the “news” on CNN.
If SHTF, and we are forced to live in what we have been prepping for.. In 1 month how many people will be alive? I do not care to be a Lone Wolf, but If my family cannot make it to where I am… I do not care to be part of the Snowflake, Cnn watcher crowd. Lone Wolf is what I shall be for how ever long that will be. IF, SHTF in this country.. do you really think it will come back as a Constitution Loving country? Probably not. Do you think while the USA is in trouble, that Russia, China and Mexico will not invade? It will be live Mad Dog Mean moment for us all.Or lick boots…. So yes for me a LW lifestyle will be one I will take on for how ever long.
First, thank you very much for your comments, I appreciate them and your interest in 3BY.
As far as “invasion” I’ve studdied this extensively just because it’s a great mental excdercise to think about.
A physical invasion? Not going to happen, not because people might not want to, but rather because logistically it’s impossible to pull off, even with the US in a weakened state.
As a historian, I have studied Operation Overlord (the Normandy invasion) of WWII extensively, and I know exactly what it took to successfully invade a continent over 30 miles of open water. We are 3,000 miles from Europe and much farther from China. There is not enough seaborne lift capacity in the entire world to carry a big enough force to successfully invade the USA by sea, and there’s not enough airlift capacity in the entire world (especially since we own about half of the world’s airlift) to bring an airborne force across the oceans to invade.
Red Dawn is a fun movie but it ain’t happening. Mexico can’t even control their own population, let alone ours.
Having said that, there are other types of invasions including cyber attacks, and in that, I think we are quite vulnerable and you definitely are hitting on something that would be a serious concern there.
Good points Salty. And I would add that over 10 years of invasions the mighty Soviet Union couldn’t even control a few roving bands of AK and RPG armed goatherders in Afghanistan. The US has been there 15 years and isn’t making much headway either. An invasion of the US…with perhaps 100 million well Armed Citizens in country of 350 million people spread across 3.797 million square miles of mountains, plains, deserts, forests? Bout all I can say is LOL
It will be like the old west small groups and lone prospectors come to town do there business then had back to the place they call home. Even the mountain men went to the rondiview. The beginning is not the same as the middle or end and the part that we all play during the three phases will be different and being able to group up or be on your own will depend on which phase the area that you are in is at. All of us must be a lone wolf to be able to survive that is what pulls us together in the end I think that lone wolf is the starting point that shows us that we need others.
Salty , thank for the come back. I was very interested in your invasion plan. But The Russians and Chinese do not need a massive airlift or sea plan. How far is Alaska from Russia? You do not need to take all of America just some of it. The rest will fall later . Cyber will do a lot, but as it has always been. You need boots on the ground. Out of the millions of gun owners in this country, only a small number will even join the NRA or other Gun groups. That tells me that majority will not fight. They will not want to loose their 401k. Interesting site to debate things from.
I think you are to hard on the lone wolf thing. there are people out there who don’t have a family they are alone you can,t change that.thats what is they cain,t just lie down and die because they are alone so instead of bashing them give them the knowledge to make ago of it. it can be done.
I hope I am not coming off as bashing anybody, and I do understand that there are people who don’t have family. Having said that, what we are trying to do is to help people recognize that the lone wolf survivalist mentality isn’t a very survivable one to live with long-term. That’s why we are encouraging people to start to socialize now and find a place that they can fit in before the stuff hits the fan.
My hope is somebody who is a ‘lone prepper’ right now, instead of saying “it’s me against the world, forever” would instead start looking for opportunities to start networking with others… for example, take a first-responder class and join a volunteer fire department or rescue squad, so if the stuff hits the fan the prepper is a part of a team with a specific role, thus having a lot better chance than being out there on their own.
There are all kinds of opportunities out there to network through further education and volunteering, start offering talents and work in exchange for making connections and opening opportunities.