In the shtf scenario I will go by the old tried and true.I shoot anything that eats what I eat.
I would not overharvest my own groceries and we would defend our territory to do it.Laws or no laws.

If I had to put food on the table then for get the laws for the most part. I come from a long line of "outlaws and poachers" who did what they had to to out food on the table so guess its only natural for me lol

Stealing or poaching? I’m poaching.

Use caution there. Because

Mary had a little lamb
She's not a vegan anymore!

Is this really a question? Few people in the US miss a meal not by choice. When that happens and your stores are low and family hungry I imagine even the biggest animal rights vegan will eat the last endangered animal on earth.

People eat their dead frozen friends when starving. Ya game laws will stop them..

yes i abide by the law

I pose the question because there is a pretty good chance of it becoming reality for some. We are headed for a depression. In fact, In my opinion, it is unstoppable now. Joe and the hoe will be the final nail.

If I am really in a position where I need to eat to survive then trapping is not on my radar. .22 and first cow, pig or deer is going to be on the menu

Plenty of cattle here in my part of the world. My plan is to work for, or trade for, beef. If we get that far game will be gone in the first year.

I grew up in a world where coyotes, bobcats, fox, chicken hawks, owls and eagles, cougars and bears too, were killed at every opportunity. A leftover attitude from the depression.

The result was a lot more game as MOST people were obeying game laws. Those predators, with the exception of lions and bears, didn't require any special license. The state sold a sportsman license. 35 bucks and you had tags for everything but bighorn sheep and turkey. (did not include a duck stamp either). If hawks owls and eagles were illegal to kill I didnt know it and no one was enforcing it.

We will need to kill that stuff again if you want to be able to shoot 50 rabbits out the pickup window again the first time it snows.

In the last depression the starving was being done in cities. Rural people didnt have any money, sometimes they ate possums and cat tail roots, but they did eat.

You mean like trapping food out of season? Most people would no problem bending the law for animals like woodchuck and coon I suspect. Trapping a deer would be a different story.

If it gets to the point that shooting or trapping critters regardless of law is your only way to eat, you'd better have the skill to preserve meat without refrigeration too, because you likely won't have electricity at that point.

If people get to that point, then I’d say they should have maybe cut out their cell phone bill, or satellite bill, or internet bill, or Netflix subscription, or Imusic subscription, or amazon prime subscription and so on and so on. People love to and do throw 1000s a year away on pleasure and convenience. That’s not poor.

It's not that hard. Salt and smoke.

I bought 16 dozen jar lids on line. took 6 weeks to show up but they finaly did. 8 dozen small mouth and 8 dozen large. (just flats no rings) Price was 88 bucks with shipping. About a buck fifty a dozen more than I wanted to pay , but we used up most of what we had this summer. Who could have predicted jar lids would get scarce?

City folks might have a problem but not around here. We grow gardens, we raise our own beef, and if it came right down to it there are tons of mustangs and wild donkeys in the hills. I think that’d be the first thing I poached if it ever got to that point, I hate those things anyways. My brother has eaten horse, said it’s not bad.

I understand the basic process....salt the meat, dry it in smoke, along with the process of making pemmican with rendered fat, but I've never done either. I should try before its only way to have meat.

P.S. stock salt in 25 pound bags is still cheap. 5-6 bucks. Stock salt will salt meat just fine. We keep it on hand for porch deicer. 50 pounds doesn't take up much room. If your going to buy salt just in case, 50 bucks will buy enough to salt a whole steer. (Pickling salt is just without iodine. Salt with iodine works too. The color of the meat just isnt real red)

https://delishably.com/meat-dishes/How-to-Preserve-Meat-with-Salt

I'd Eat my cat if I had to.

Meow

It's shake and bake and I helped.