Bug Out Bag / Prepper Setup / Survival-based UL kit and philosophy

[robert van putten]

Oh, the saw my wife managed to mangle was one of these where the blade slides out. The steel seemed awful brittle –

[robert van putten]

Ben, now why would I shoot someone carrying a bottle of bourbon? :)

Probably give ya a place to crash for the night and send ya on yer way with a pack full of food if I could at all afford to.

I've always wanted an accurate .22 handgun, say a Ruger Mk11 or similar, yet somehow never seem to be able to justify the purchase.

A good accurate .22 sidearm, a 30-30 carbine and I reckon a feller is all set.
But that's just me!

I have three thumb busters and a lever gun chambered for .44 special, I cast slugs and reload for that caliber and have a pile of powder and primers. So I reckon that's my long term solution to keep banging away around the homestead. Handles all the shooting I figure on needing.

But traveling on foot? No more than a .22 rifle and maybe a Glock 9mm.
I have a Glock 26 that I often carry backpacking, not to mention to work and about town. Not a bad compromise between weight and shoot-ability

[Tim Zen]

Craig — I agree, "The Road" is how I envision what would happen if the place falls apart. There is not enough game to feed 300 million people, so it will be soylent green time.

As to currency, I think booze, pills, smokes and paper-porn (no more youtube) will be pretty useful for barter.

On the realistic side, I carry some emergency bags. One is for the car in the winter in case we get trapped. The other is for air travel in case we get stuck in the airport. Other than that, I will shelter in-place.

[Anonymous]

"There is not enough game to feed 300 million people, so it will be soylent green time. "

Except that amount would dwindle very fast in just a month.

[David Gardner]

.22 LR, 30/30, .44 special, .223/5.56 mm NATO are useful, but for the soylent green/zombie apocalypse scenario I want a round that can drop big game or a bad guy at 300 yds. Also, the .308/7.62 NATO round (like the .223/5.56 NATO and 9mm), being military, is relatively abundant and cheap, with a reasonable chance of being scrounged or scavenged after everything falls apart.

[robert van putten]

Heh, I dunno about 308 being "cheap" these days!

300 yards is a stretch fer me, but I can certainly drop a guy or a deer at 200 yards with one of my 30-30s easily enough, – If they are standing still and I can see them! – And that's good enough for me.
I don't believe I've ever shot any game past 50 yards. My property is 1/2 mile long but it is so heavily forested and rugged that the best shooting range I can come up with is 75 yards, and that's shooting down part of my driveway!

I like the idea of being able to engage out to 500 yards, and any rack grade military rifle should be able to do that in the hands of a good shooter. I do love a good semi-auto rifle. Ya get all snug in the sling and in a good prone position, wiggle yer butt to find yer NPOA, and anything that wanders into your zone of fire gets nailed. Big Time. One hand supports the front of the rifle, the sling pulls it snug into yer shoulder and all yer right hand does is squeeze that trigger nice and easy, and reload now and then!

My wife and I recently watched a movie called "Jack Reacher" with Tom Cruse.
In one scene at a shooting range he is all snugged up to a Remington 700 all wrapped up in the sling and rolls into a shooting position. My wife really got a kick out of that scene and laughed "I know how to do that!"
We do enjoy long range shooting and the short range reduced scale target work done at Appleseed shoots. It's allot of fun.

But realistically, I'm never going to do that "for real". I'd never shoot game at such extended range. I can't see that far in the rugged hills I live in, and how the heck could a felller justify shooting someone at 400 yards? How could you call that self defense?
How could you prove that in court? After all, most emergencies and disasters are only temporary, and the rule of law will be reasserted.

Maybe if your position is taking fire from that distance – But that's not likely going to happen. Someone wants to loot yer place, rob or rape you, they need to be up close and personal to do it. I reckon self defense is a close range kinda thing.

Also, I don't have a militia at my back, with everyone taking care of there designated fire zones, with resupply, medivac and all that.

If I'm defending my homestead I'll take to the forest around me. I see or hear the bandits coming, we grab our rifles ( always loaded ) and head out the back door at a run!
Work my way in, select a shot, kill a bandit, and vamoose. Flank, work back into range, and kill again with a single shot. I "still hunt" much like this, and nobody knows the rugged hills around my place like I do. I could keep this up all day and drop any number if I had to.
It would be folly to stay in one place and let yerself get pinned down. Nobody has all the other fire zones covered so you'll get flanked and killed, or maybe burned out. So, for one man on his own, mobility is the key.
I've tried humping the boonies with a pack and a FAL, so I know it ain't for me.
But I know I can run like heck with a 30-30 carbine and 60 rounds in my pockets, and ain't nobody gonna be able to run me to ground or outflank me.

So, the six pound 30-30 carbine, which is inexpensive, light, short and handy, easily reloaded on the run, no magazines to mess with and truly devastating out to a few hundred yards ( ever see the wounds one makes on a deer? Ugh! ) is fine for me.

Heh, maybe I'm just to old to carry much more weight?

Not that a semi isn't also good at short range though! I used to dearly love my AKs and reckoned one was shorter, handier and easier to shoot than a 12 gauge shotgun, which is often touted as the very best thang for home defense, has up to 30 rounds on board, has great penetration, has legendary reliability and used to be pretty cheap to buy to boot!

But anyway, I don;t pack weapons in my "get-home" bags. My wife and I carry pistols day in and day out, so we'll just make do with those for self defense. A .22 rifle for foraging is very tempting ( they never fail to fill the pot! ), but an extra 5 pounds of food instead makes more sense in most situations.
Bugging out is a different story though.

[Ozzy McKinney]

Maybe this is defeatist, but if society collapses in the US in my lifetime, I will most likely need little more than a workable knowledge of the Chinese language.

I really do want to learn to hunt someday. None of my friends or family are hunters or gun owners so I don't have a good sense of gun selection.

Until then I'll have to rely on my good looks and charm. So basically I'm screwed.

[robert van putten]

No yer not! You already know about backpacking, and that puts you ahead of the majority of the population!

Most folk will be looking like this –

And you'll be looking like this –

That counts for something, eh?

[Cayenne Redmonk]

Having a bug out bag helps people in a societal collapse exactly like having a ccw and a handgun helped people in the Aurora shooting.

It provides a safe place for people prone to bugging out and fantasizing, but in reality does little when needed most.

[David Gardner]

Really? I was not aware that anyone at Aurora had a CCW or handgun, but I'm open to being educated.

My philosophy is that you can't go wrong being prepared. At least then you have options. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

At any rate, all the things on my list get regular use, they're not just purchased and stashed away. Some for camping, some for hunting, some for sport. So it's just a matter of keeping them all in one place, just in case.

That being said, "bug out bag" may be a misnomer in my case. It's more of a disaster preparedness package. Here in earthquake land we're told we should plan on being self-sufficient for at least 72 hours if The Big One hits. Whatever the scenario, my first plan is to shelter in place unless that becomes untenable. Then I want to be able to move, and quickly.

[Max Dilthey]

I'm also a skeptic. I can only see a "bug out bag" being useful in your vehicle.

In my house right now, which is stocked by the expertise and foresight of a yoga teacher and a music theory professor (my parents), there's probably a good 2 weeks of supplies, first aid, and food. Easily. That seems to vastly out-do anything I'd put in a bug-out bag.

I see it as kind of an excuse to buy more stuff.

[Franco Darioli]

Ever thought how and why hobos survive ?
It's because they are street smart.

Just remember that Stallone (Rambo) survived because he wrote the script…

[Kattt]

Lots of dried beans.
;)

[TJ W]

I'm an active Air Force reservist officer and work in Space Situational Awareness (SSA) satellite systems. Space Wx in particular. Family members work in power grid consulting fields. Grid highly, highly unlikely to be brought down significantly by any solar event. Esp this cycle. US Govt could collapse in slow motion train wreck from too much debt… My one concern and I hope we are all cooperating to avoid this. Stow water and some food in case anything bad happens. We all should be somewhat prepared so we don't contribute to panic bc of lack of basic essentials. Pack enough to get you and yours to safety if need arises. Be able to move and protect yourself.

[Bob Gross]

I just hope that we avoid the total chaos that would occur if we don't end the confusion over 10-bit GPS week codes versus 13-bit GPS week codes.

Oh, the horror!

–B.G.–

[David Gardner]

"I can only see a "bug out bag" being useful in your vehicle."

That's where mine is. Except the HK91.

"I see it as kind of an excuse to buy more stuff."

There's certainly a lot of cool stuff to buy, and I'll admit to being a gearhead. But virtually everything in a decent survival/emergency/disaster kit is items which I think most of us here on BPL already have and use for other things (camping, hunting, sports). The only item in my kit which I bought specifically for it is the crank-powered AM/FM radio/cell phone charger/flashlight. Just makes sense to keep it all together in one place where it can serve as an emergency kit or "bug out bag" or whatever it's called.

Here in earthquake country the "official" advice is to be prepared to be self-sufficient for at least 72 hours. Just keeping some food and fuel with our camping gear is probably all it takes for most of us.

[Franco Darioli]

David,
no offence but you are obviously not one of the chosen ones.
If you knew the real impact of the incoming Solar Max* (any time now) you would not flippantly talk about a 72 hour survival.
I can't disclose any more information right now but it has all been verified by myself and me.

*feel free to change Solar Max with any other buz term that turns you on.

Later…
Well I watched The Road, full movie, on You Tube.
Thanks guys.
Very powerful imagery , touching narrative.
Loads of questions came to mind , for example :
Are we the good guys ?
Who is we ?

But just to bring the thread back to survival gear :
How much more butane is inside a full size Bic compered to the Mini ?
How long does a can of Coke keep its fizz?
but most of all, triggered but the first dramatic scene of father and son pushing that trolley , where can one find a shopping trolley like that , you know one without a wonky wheel ?

[Lowell Mills]

It's my understanding that the Aurora shooter specifically passed up several nearby theaters because they did not explicitly ban firearms by law-abiding patrons.

He chose one that did with a clearly labelled sign outside. That's why no citizens even had a chance to defend themselves with firearms, which they successfully do in this country between 800,000 and 2 million times per year (depending on who's counting). Oftentimes, the armed good guy stops a crime without ever having to fire a shot.

[Anonymous]

I said i would not address this specific issue further, but i feel some things need to be cleared up.

Thaddeus, how highly unlikely?

Truth is, scientifically speaking, we cannot accurately predict the Sun's activity ahead of time (we do not fully understand how the sun works and there are too many variables we don't know about), we can only say something like, "well so far in this Solar Max cycle, the Sun has been producing less Sunspots than other Solar Max cycles and so it will probably be weaker throughout the cycle."

However, number of average sunspots do not equal a nice, neat correlation to size of Earth directed CME's necessarily in a singular sense. All it takes is one really large one from one Sunspot. The Sun is very much capable of producing that at any time during any Solar Maximum. There was a good sized one produced last week or so, and red auroras visible down to around 45 degrees latitudes. Red auroras, especially at those latitudes, are somewhat rare.

In short, the Sun scientifically speaking is a wild card, and we have no way of accurately predicting it's specific behavior from that perspective. It's not like terrestrial weather, which we can sort of predict accurately ahead of time (most times). As far as a large CME knocking out most of the electrical grid system in this country, there seems to be dissenting opinions among the experts and researchers.

Some point out the Quebec event was not due to transformers over heating/frying, but rather seven relays tripping almost at once. However, the Solar event that preceded the Quebec outage wasn't even close to the strength of a Carrington event. The Sun can produce flares and CME's stronger than the Carrington. It's sort of like comparing a 6. mag earthquake to a 9 mag. Most areas don't have to worry too much about a 6, but even well prepared areas would have extensive damage in a 9.

Would you expect the electrical grid system to hold up to events as strong, or stronger than a Carrington like event?

Why not practically speaking, prepare for the worst and hope for the best or vice versa? Does that preparation cause any harm? That's all i'm advising. If someone takes anything from what i've talked about, please at least just take that, prepare your stuff well with a durable and holistically multlifaceted set up. I don't have compound or cult that i'm asking people to join, i'm not seeking money in any way, all i'm doing is passing along the information that was given to me because i want more good hearted, survival knowledgeable people to survive to help out in the future.

[Anonymous]

Franco, I'm not sure if you are trying to goad me or not with your personally directed comments, but in the interest of clarity, I will briefly say I don't consider myself special. If you look at polls to do with experiences that either involve some kind of nonphysical or unexplainable experience, fairly significant percentages of people admit to having had such experiences. And I'm not talking beliefs but experience.

Perhaps the only major difference between myself and some of those others is that I have an unusual lack of social fear and concern with self image. It seems most either only talk about such things anonomysly, privately, or publicly in groups devoted to such non mainstream subjects.

Part of the reason people are hesitant to speak more openly about such things are because of treatment from people like yourself or because of fakes, cranks, swindlers who have given such subjects bad names.

Also, if I knew more details that would be helpful to individuals here,I would share more.

I feel compassion for you, because happy and whole people don't go around putting down or belittling others. I hope that someday you choose to align yourself more to that big Love that brings inner peace and joyous states and where one learns and applies the wisdom of interacting constructively and kindly with others.

Edited for spelling.

[Ian]

"I feel compassion for you, because happy and whole people don't go around putting down or belittling others. I hope that someday you choose to align yourself more to that big Love that brings inner peace and joyous states and where one learns and applies the wisdom of interacting constructively and kindly with others."

For the record I have no problem with busting chops and normally encourage juvenile behavior. Furthermore, I feel shorted when any given thread doesn't have at least one personal attack in it but DANG Justin…. I actually stood up and gave you a standing ovation. No offense to Franco.

…and there's the issue that I've had one too many cups of coffee and had the same reaction when I received my new stapler a few minutes ago so take it with a grain of salt.

Stay thirsty my friends.

[Greg F]

If society really went down and your life becomes being in an armed militia fighting for resources against other armed militias in a daily struggle to survive I am not sure if I am interested.

I prepare with 2 weeks or so of emergency food in the house plus a few 5 Gallon jugs of water. Beyond that I plan on staying put and waiting for civilization to be restored. If that happens to not be enough then so be it. Based on the small chance of it happening vs. the time and cost to prepare further than that I am okay with it.

I see the prepper mind set as one of diminishing returns, a small amount of effort and cost can get you through 99% or maybe more of what you are likely to ever face. To surrvive that 1 or .1% event will take mostly take a lot of luck regardless of how you prepare. Yes prepping might up your 10 year survival rate but if shit really hits the fan you are probably likely to dire regarless of what you do. Probably due to infection from a cut on your foot or from some food borne illness, or maybe just the regular flu, or maybe something more exciting like the plague. Disease not people are likely the biggest threat in terms of 10 year survival

[Matthew Perry]

"…and there's the issue that I've had one too many cups of coffee and had the same reaction when I received my new stapler a few minutes ago so take it with a grain of salt."

Ian…I believe you have my stapler….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHHZBmF8mk4

Justin…very well spoken, sir. Kudos.

Matt

[Sharon J.]

edit: Matt beat me to it

As far as emergencies go, earthquakes and fire are my biggest concerns. I haven't really thought out the latter, and the plan for the former mostly consists of keeping a first aid kit and a few gallons of water in the car and my apartment. Thanks for the reminder to update the kit.

[Jerry Adams]

I'm worried about a gamma ray burst

[Author]

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