This might be a good addition to your BOB

[JimT]

If your Bug Out Bag don't have these you might want to consider adding ...

IMG_0655.JPG

[Blaine]

Well.....Depends...

[Catshooter]

There's been a time or two . . .


Cat

[piller]

If you have the poise, they could give you some assurance. Briefly.

[OldWin]

Good idea, but why wouldn't your BOB have a change of clothes?

[Bill in Oregon]

Where can I get a pair of those? I am so envious!

[1894c]

JimT -- looking at your addition to one's Bug-Out-Bag makes me wonder why are people preparing to BUG-OUT, and if they are, where are they going to Bug-Out too...and if they arrive at said undisclosed secret Bug-Out location with their Bug-Out-Bag and .50-Cal what happens if a bunch of other Bug-Outees get their first?

I guess this is where a can of OFF comes in handy... :)

off-bug-spray-304419-64_1000.jpg

[JimT]

JimT -- looking at your addition to one's Bug-Out-Bag makes me wonder why are people preparing to BUG-OUT, and if they are, where are they going to Bug-Out too...and if they arrive at said undisclosed secret Bug-Out location with their Bug-Out-Bag and .50-Cal what happens if a bunch of other Bug-Outees get their first?

I guess this is where a can of OFF comes in handy...
off-bug-spray-304419-64_1000.jpg

I don't have a Bug-Out-Bag ... but I hear folks talking about them. I never felt the need for one.

[2ndovc]

I'm with you on that. I used to think it was a cool idea, but short of a natural disaster of some sort, where are we bugging out to? I do keep a backpack in both trucks in case of an emergency with a 9mm auto, some essentials and a change of socks. There are days where I could be 100 miles from home. My current thoughts are that one is better off digging in and riding out whatever is going on. Massive storms, fires and flooding could displace you but that's why I live in Ohio. Not much happens here.

jb

[AJMD429]

BEST way to live if Bad Stuff Happens ('BSH', since '$HTF' is censored)...

1. in a remote area with a community of close-knit, similar-values, rural, independent, people, with a variety of skills, in a resource-rich, reasonably-warm, area that is hard to get to without serious time, effort, or equipment....not many places like that in the U.S.

2. in an area other than above, but with a 'toe in the door' to the above community, via blood relative or solid agreement with fellow bug-outers.....hard to achieve unless you are lucky or wealthy or very organized, or all three. You'd have to have something to 'bring to the table' like a skill, or materials, to be welcome.

3. a reasonably-stable, rural community, fairly far from a major city....enough time to relocate to your place as with 1 or 2 above, OR unite with neighbors to try to fortify against the 'hordes of urbanites who head to the hills'.....the problem is that your neighbors may not be the 'team players' you hoped for, and last-minute organization is difficult under stress.

4. in an urban area, if you are a gang-banger type and already powerful or influential; you may be able to organize a team to go loot those who planned for 'survival' but who weren't powerful enough or organized enough, or had enough high-powered weaponry, to resist....not the ethical plan, but your DNA may be among that seeding the future planet Earth...

5. (most of us may be here) - in a suburban or rural area, but without any strong local sense of 'community', and/or without a strong geographic deterrence to attack, and/or without great and sufficient local resources for long-term survival.....we may not last long.....you can have a hundred guns, and a hundred thousand rounds of ammo, but without enough able bodies to guard a perimeter of a mile or so 24/7, you wouldn't last long in an apocalypse - so you'd need dozens and dozens of 'members' who were organized and equipped to protect the turf. Good luck....

None of this requires much 'theory' or 'futuristic' vision; just look at how things have been for the majority of human history - feudal systems or tribal systems formed with from 1,000 to 10,000 members, which were large enough to have resources, a strong defense team, and small enough to manage, seemed the most stable. Occasionally a huge organization formed uniting the smaller units via religious fervor, threats, or both. When the U.S. formed, firearms had become inexpensive and widely available, yet planes and rockets and electronics and satellites not existing, so for a brief instant in history, people were hard to oppress, and our government was set up to minimize that risk.

Anyway, the whole concept of 'bugging out' is romantic, and for some, possible, but most of us will have to sit-in-place, and accept what comes, which would likely be a thousand-strong force out of the Mad Max movies, raping and pillaging as they went. In the "One Second After" and other books by Forstchen, their combined knowledge of history and military force was well-illustrated, and showed what is most likely.

Young people with enough energy to 'go mobile', and those whose finances or organizational skills or 'networking' ability have enabled them to be in mode 1 or 2 above, will do well. The rest of us will likely choose between hiding and dying, or fighting and dying.

[gbflyer]

BEST way to live if Bad Stuff Happens ('BSH', since '$HTF' is censored)...

1. in a remote area with a community of close-knit, similar-values, rural, independent, people, with a variety of skills, in a resource-rich, reasonably-warm, area that is hard to get to without serious time, effort, or equipment....not many places like that in the U.S.

2. in an area other than above, but with a 'toe in the door' to the above community, via blood relative or solid agreement with fellow bug-outers.....hard to achieve unless you are lucky or wealthy or very organized, or all three. You'd have to have something to 'bring to the table' like a skill, or materials, to be welcome.

3. a reasonably-stable, rural community, fairly far from a major city....enough time to relocate to your place as with 1 or 2 above, OR unite with neighbors to try to fortify against the 'hordes of urbanites who head to the hills'.....the problem is that your neighbors may not be the 'team players' you hoped for, and last-minute organization is difficult under stress.

4. in an urban area, if you are a gang-banger type and already powerful or influential; you may be able to organize a team to go loot those who planned for 'survival' but who weren't powerful enough or organized enough, or had enough high-powered weaponry, to resist....not the ethical plan, but your DNA may be among that seeding the future planet Earth...

5. (most of us may be here) - in a suburban or rural area, but without any strong local sense of 'community', and/or without a strong geographic deterrence to attack, and/or without great and sufficient local resources for long-term survival.....we may not last long.....you can have a hundred guns, and a hundred thousand rounds of ammo, but without enough able bodies to guard a perimeter of a mile or so 24/7, you wouldn't last long in an apocalypse - so you'd need dozens and dozens of 'members' who were organized and equipped to protect the turf. Good luck....

None of this requires much 'theory' or 'futuristic' vision; just look at how things have been for the majority of human history - feudal systems or tribal systems formed with from 1,000 to 10,000 members, which were large enough to have resources, a strong defense team, and small enough to manage, seemed the most stable. Occasionally a huge organization formed uniting the smaller units via religious fervor, threats, or both. When the U.S. formed, firearms had become inexpensive and widely available, yet planes and rockets and electronics and satellites not existing, so for a brief instant in history, people were hard to oppress, and our government was set up to minimize that risk.

Anyway, the whole concept of 'bugging out' is romantic, and for some, possible, but most of us will have to sit-in-place, and accept what comes, which would likely be a thousand-strong force out of the Mad Max movies, raping and pillaging as they went. In the "One Second After" and other books by Forstchen, their combined knowledge of history and military force was well-illustrated, and showed what is most likely.

Young people with enough energy to 'go mobile', and those whose finances or organizational skills or 'networking' ability have enabled them to be in mode 1 or 2 above, will do well. The rest of us will likely choose between hiding and dying, or fighting and dying.

I read Forstchen’s books also. I agree, probably very much how it would go. I live in remote SE AK and people think that this is the place to be on doomsday. We’ll die of scurvy. Nothing here but fish.

[OldWin]

I drive 52 miles to work every night through fairly sparsely populated areas. Mine is more of a get home bag. I have enough for three days.

[piller]

I rarely am out of the metroplex for work. I don't need a bug out bag as much as I need a cell phone, and maybe, a lead acceleration device.

[OldWin]

I rarely am out of the metroplex for work. I don't need a bug out bag as much as I need a cell phone, and maybe, a lead acceleration device.

I have those, also.

[2ndovc]

A large blackout or even worse an EMP will make cell phones useless. The blackout in 2003 that hit the Northeast part of the county took out the cell towers as well. Power was only out for about 24 hours in our area, but the urbanites were already getting restless.

jb

[mikld]

I don't think I'd "bug out" in a dooms day situation. I believe way too many people would "head for the hills" and although there's a lot of "hills" around So. Oregon, I think it would wind up a bit crowded. I used to live in earthquake country and was prepared for all that. My boat, moored just 4 miles from home had at least 2 weeks provisions (and a stainless steel pump 12 gauge). My home had supplies for mebbe 2-4 weeks food and water. But what I was proud of was my "get home from work" plan. I kept the keys for a Cat 910 loader which could climb over cars, around/over down bridges, through barricades, and get me home (I worked at a Heavy Equipment Repair shop). Firearms were handy almost every where I was/am and I have a "Just In Case" stash (about 1,000 rounds of 45 ACP for 3 guns, about the same for 9mm and 3 guns plus a couple battle rifles with a bunch of ammo)...

[gon2shoot]

Do they come in red flannel?

[marlinman93]

I don't have a bug out bag either. I'm too old to leave, so why keep a bag? I'll stay here and defend what I have as long as possible.

[piller]

If the worst that could happen does happen, a friend has some acreage not far away. I have used a forked peach tree stick and know where there is water not too far down. We could probably defend the place for a good while. Maybe not against a large mob, but we could make it where the few survivors would not be in any condition to take over anyplace else. Most people are not willing to shoot to kill. The Army has studied that. Those who are willing are seldom concerned with being accurate. If one person is in a fairly well protected area, they can usually hold off greater numbers by accuracy and willingness to end the life of the other person. It comes down to whether you are willing to end a life. It is not easy, and it is hard to live with after. Be sure that you can forgive yourself afterward. If not, you might not survive long if the world as we know it changes.

[piller]

Sorry for the thread drift. I am exhausted from 12 days in a row of work, and sometimes that lets repressed memories slip out.