If you only know, what others have told you then you may survive, but likely only for a short period. You have a survival kit stuffed with gear, food and water, however when the asphalt ends and your kit is empty that may be the end of the road for some.
There Is No Substitute for Experience
If you are not in a SHTF situation then you are in training mode. Once it does hit the fan then your training is applied. What happens though when you do not have any training? What happens when you cannot identify a poisonous plant or venomous snake, what do you do to prevent trench foot, or tick, mosquito or other insect bites. Can you treat hypothermia, and hypothermia? Can you treat any water source to make it safe to drink?
History Lesson
Vietnam was a tough war if you can call it a war. It was a long hard slog for everyone involved and out of that war came numerous myths many perpetrated by those there. One myth or distorted fact was all soldiers that died in the conflict, died because of a combat injury. In a combat zone, any death or injury could be contributed to combat and often times were.
When a soldier was snake bitten, hauled away on a stretcher because of trench foot or because some drunken soldier was cleaning a loaded weapon, or death by any accident or disease, it was a combat casualty. By some estimates close to 11,000 soldiers died in Vietnam due to other than a direct hostile action of the enemy (Kelly, n.d.).
Trench foot, food poisoning and malaria was something the other person got, so some soldiers may have shrugged off the training on how to prevent these things. Soldiers were more concerned about learning cover and concealment. Of course, a large number found out there is more than one way to die in any situation.
What does the above information mean, and why do you need to understand it. The lesson that can be taken way is that focusing on one subject such as guns and food and water may mean that something else is creeping up on you. Some may become focused on guns and ammo to the point that they forget there are a host of other things out there that can and will cause your demise in a survival situation.
Some fear death by others when the SHTF and can convince themselves that is the only threat they face. In a survival situation death can come from snakebite, bite from a mosquito, dehydration, contaminated water, hypothermia, hyperthermia, tick bite, or even from a cut that is left untreated.
On average it takes 10 support personnel to support one combat soldier, how many support personnel will you have when the SHTF. Support personnel include the quartermaster, medical, armory, mess facilities and the list goes on. In a survival situation, you are likely just to have yourself and family members and you need to have more than just an understanding of how to fire a weapon.
There is no such thing as a lone sniper that controls the high ground. That sniper is there in support of a larger unit or team or in your case a group of survivors. If you imagine yourself as a lone sniper during a SHTF scenario, you probably would not last 72-hours.
First, why would you become a sniper? Snipers are deployed to disrupt enemy actions or to cover the movement of others, mainly a withdrawal of troops from a particular area. Scout snipers are sent out to make sure no one is wandering along the back trail that would cause the unit problems. There are of course lone snipers but they always have a mission statement or orders to perform a certain task and then bug-out once completed.
You need armed protection, but you also need to tend to the garden and to protect against snakes by denying them a habitat that is too close to humans. You will need to know how to protect against insects such as ticks and mosquitoes, spiders, scorpions and any number of other deadly crawlies as well.
Survival is hard work and your survival is up to you, there will not be a doctor to treat snakebites, or treat the West Nile Virus or to give you pills for malaria. Your chances of dying from a crazed Prepper or others trying to take over your stash is equal to and likely lower in comparison to the other things that can and will kill you during a SHTF scenario.
Before you even fire your weapon in defense of yourself or others, you will likely have dealt with a host of other potentially deadly problems. Problems such as a water shortage and contaminated water or you find that deer have invaded the area and are eating your crops. Animals will migrate in any SHTF situation because their habitat is disrupted. You may find rodents are trying to get to your grain storage, and a leaking shed has created a mold situation and then you find some of your canned goods are rusting. These problems are just the beginning.
Cities will not be spraying for mosquito eradication so they will be back with a vengeance. Your insect repellent is running low so your time outside is limited to protect against the West Nile or even malaria. The problems will accelerate day by day, and this all before you even pick up a weapon. Boredom will create problems and you will seek relief from the daily tasks of survival.
Become proficient with your firearm of choice, but do not overlook the countless other ways you can die, because you will die if you have not trained and prepared for all situations.