Misconceptions can come in many forms: Old Wives Tales, embellished stories, rumor, urban legends, all are examples. When the issue is survival, however, a misconception can harm a person, leave them in a lurch or even kill them.

The following are some common misconceptions people make about surviving a SHTF moment.

I'm going to hunt to survive the apocalypse.

The reality of this pretty little prepper lie is that in a total collapse of society there
simply won't be enough game in the wild to support nourishment of every person who
has the ammunition or arrows to hunt. The native Americans before us were very
careful to take down just enough game to allow nature to replenish herself: and no
more. This won't be the case with modern Americans in a greedy survival situation.
Hunger will drive people to hunt out of season and to break laws in extreme conditions.

As a prepper this means you should anticipate a world without rule of law and prepare
to set out decoys, use electronic calls, or bait game. While it may be illegal in your state
currently to bait deer with corn, wheat or salt licks, for example, the day may come
when you'll need take action to get food on the table by any means possible.

Also you need a balance in your preparedness plan. Make hunting a part of your plan:
not your only plan. In addition to hunting and gathering, your food strategy should
include growing your own, as well as relying on commercially canned foods, home
canned foods, dehydrated foods, commercially freeze-dried foods (particularly dairy and
meats), as well as bulk grains and legumes. In civil times, bartering with neighbors will
also help you round out your preparedness plans.

I won't ever eat rats, squirrels or insects.

“Never say never,” as they say. While you can squirrel away preps today, you may
need to eat squirrel tomorrow (even if you weren't planning it). There's no reason to
turn down a reasonable source of protein. Be grateful and survive! Meats and insects
can fulfill 90% of your nutritional requirements.

Unusual meats and insects are a delicacy to many people:

• Rats are a delicacy in Togo and West Africa (along with other bush meat).

• Squirrels are a delicacy in the Southern United States. If you're not already a
squirrel hunter, then get the tips from experienced squirrel hunters who bag
their limit with 101 Squirrel Hunting tips, pictured left. Discover the traditionally
the best squirrel guns and other unconventional weapons. Learn also how to
skin and field dress your kill, how to prepare tasty, hearty squirrel dishes, and
much more.

• Insects are a delicacy in many Asian countries. Bamboo worms are a favorite
of Thailand. They also love crickets and grasshoppers. According to U.S. News
and World Report, “100 grams of top sirloin beef contains about 29 grams of
protein in addition to a whopping 21 grams of fat, while 100 grams of
grasshopper contains 20 grams of protein and a measly six grams of fat.”

• If you feel wary about eating insects, consider that insect larvae, insects eggs, and
insect sacs and insect parts are already allowed in your processed foods by the U.S.
Food and Drug administration. It is sometimes unavoidable in food production, which is
why a percentage is allowed. In other words, you unwittingly already have eaten
insects! What the hey, it's a little extra protein.

I have enough water.

The lie about water reserves comes from naivety. You must awaken with the
knowledge that the water bottles you have in storage simply aren't enough. The truth
is a family of four need 270 gallons for a month's supply of water for drinking, cooking,
and cleaning. The storage tank, pictured right, is the proper storage to last a month for
a family of four. It holds as much water as about five 55-gallon drums. It's a good start.
No matter how much water storage you have, your supply eventually will run dry and
you must find a water source in your vicinity.

You've got a pool you say? Still think you have enough water? You may be shocked to
learn that your water might not be potable. We'll get to that issue next. For now, know
this: the time to build a well is long before you're thirsty. If you don't have a water
source, you're good as dead in a long term off grid scenario.

All bottled water is the same.

If you're headed to Costco to pick up on extra cases of water, be careful to read the
labels. Man-made chemical salts may also lurk in your bottled water, along with fluoride
and other dangerous ingredients! (Read bottled water dangers.)

Instead of drinking bottled water, filter it! The Big Berkey (Brisith Berkefeld) is an
optimal water filter eliminating fluorides and other contaminants.

If you must drink bottled water on a daily basis, drink an authenticated mountain
Spring water. This is the closest to pure natural water you can get. While it may seem
that water with the highest PH level (Fiji water and Evian) is good for you, really you
want something middle of the road because water that is too alkaline is too much of a
good thing and can backfire. According to Dr. Mercola on the high alkaline water fad,
“You could do some major damage,” in drinking water high in alkaline.

I have a year's supply of food.

This is another lie that's probably more of an inner wish than a reality. While few
actually think they have a year's supply of food, it certainly is a difficult concept to grasp
and there are different definitions. These definitions are based on calories.

Freeze dried manufacturers all too commonly deceive the public about what is a
month's supply of food. While a bucket of emergency food is marketed as a month's
supply, the reality is that the container has perhaps 12 pouches, each with two hearty
sized servings (or more if you have children's portions). That will get you through the
first 24 days of eating two meals a day, and you'll starve for a week to make it through
the month. In other words, they neglect to tell you that you will be on a strict survival
ration.

This is a problem for preppers because they may be counting on three meals a day with
their normal caloric intake. If the manufacturers have already set up rationing, it throws
all your calculations out of balance. You have less food reserved than you've planned.

I'm ready! Bring it on!

The truth is that no one is ever really totally ready for a catastrophe. Prepping is much
like building a brick wall for your fortress. You start with just one brick and you lay it
perfectly until you have a wall. That's a good start, however, one wall is not enough.
You must create a defensible position, which means you'll need to build three more
walls. This again is not enough. You'll need a roof. Think your done? You'll need a
bugout shelter and so the whole process begins anew. And what about the food? After
piling on enough food to feed what seems like an army, you find that you have expired
MREs and cans, which means it's time to restock!

Even the most prepared of preppers may feel a sudden panic now and again for being
unprepared. During the heighth of the Ebola scare in October 2014, many preppers
scrambled to get their pandemic supplies, including in particular NATO and NBC-
compliant gas masks. Amazon was sold out in a matter of days (and the supplies have
yet to be replenished! Even into the first quarter of 2015 manufacturers have not been
able to keep up with the demand. The point is that with each brick you lay in your
prepping foundation, you'll be that much more prepared than you were the day before.
This truly is what prepping is all about: laying one brick at a time.

Lies preppers tell aren't always malicious. There's much misinformation with prepping,
and you need simply to look past the prepper lies. Before you accept a pretty little
prepper lie as fact, take three basic precautions:

• Consider the source. If Mykel Hawke, Bear Grylls or Cody Lundin are giving you
survival advice, then likely it has the backing of show producers and their
research teams, attorneys and editors. Take your medical advice from physicians
and nurses.

• Rely on your inner instinct to prepare safely for emergencies. You are built
with an internal barometer. If you listen to your inner voice, you will have gut
feeling about an idea and whether it is feasible or reasonable.

• Think critically to help you unravel the lies. Absorb the information you read or
see in a video, and form an opinion of your own. In other words, don't just spout
off a prepper's word as your own fact.

Misconceptions, urban legends, rumors, all abound throughout society. The survival community is no different. The key difference is that a misconception about how much gas is left in your car's tank when you red line the gas gauge is mostly an inconvenience if you are wrong.

Assuming you will be able to hunt your way out of a doomsday scenario can leave you desperate and starving.

For other common misconceptions in the survivalist community, please visit Happy Preppers.