I’m not really sure what I’d do.
I’ve actually spent a fair amount of thought thinking about how I’d deal with a SHTF scenario. Mostly in the case where ALL of society has effectively regressed to the pre-stone-age.
Mostly I’ve focused on the slightly more long-term scenarios of actually having to live like that. I’ve taught myself basic stonemasonry skills and have the tools for that. It would take awhile, but I know enough to take large rocks, break them into more usable units, square off the sides, and build with them. You can then make a stone oven to make fired brick. When you have brick, you can make a bunch of stuff quicker, like bread ovens.
I know how to culture wild yeasts to make a bread starter from spelt flour, which can be used to make wheat breads or really any kind of grain bread. With that starter, an oven, and a source of grain you’ve at least got bread to live off of.
I know the idea of hunting for food sounds a bit romantic, but realistically, agriculture is the way to go. If I’m going to have to live long term like that, I’m not going to care too much about a low-carb diet. Meat at that point is just a luxury. But even so, I do know how to make jerky and pemmican from scratch. Those are good long-term protein+fat staples, and they store for a long time.
Cooking-wise (and water-sanitation wise), a rocket stove is the way to go. Very easy to make from scavenged materials, or from rocks if you have to, and it only needs sticks to operate – no big logs needed. I have a small one sitting on my balcony right now… it gets hot enough to soften steel. Which means, make a big enough one, and you can start doing some metalwork, especially if you’ve got steel you can scavenge from wherever.
With stonework, agriculture, and metalwork, you’re really in pretty good shape. Food, shelter, and toolmaking. Leather and/or weaving is the next step as far as making bedding and clothing.
Right now, I have a wool and canvas bedroll that I’m comfortable using, and that won’t melt at the first sign of an errant spark. It stays in my car, in that rare event that I feel like going somewhere and needing a comfortable place to sleep. It’s a little old-school, but both materials manage heat and moisture very well, unlike modern sleeping bags.
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But if I were homeless and society was still operational, I’m not sure what I’d do. I might just grab my bedroll some tools and try living off the land for awhile. Assuming an area with trees, you can realistically do a lot with a few stone chisels, an axe, a good knife, and some portable shelter.
If that failed, I’d definitely just take advantage of all the infrastructure that exists to shelter and feed the homeless.
