I see dead people...with bug out bags

Originally posted by Sahabi
reply to post by kadyr80

 

Stop it, you're saying too much! I was looking forward to the easy pickings. If enough people read your thread, I'll have to work harder for loot if shtf.

LOL! You are probably right, but I just get so annoyed by all the chest puffing I see and hear. My real inspiration for this thread was a guy I work with. He is a hunter, and what most would see as an outdoors type, but this kid is hopeless. He won't eat a real vegetable or any form of natural, ie healthy foods. He says he only eats "real food" as he holds up his hardees or mcdonalds. I mean really, folks, if todays outdoors generation is anything like this guy, they are doomed no matter what. He's the one I mentioned planting a burger to, you know, just take the seeds off the top of the bun and grow yourself some more big macs. HA!

In all likelihood we will never see that big event that could put us all into this kind of situation, but if it does, I won't mind looting the bobs of starved and diseased fallen tacticool toters.

By the way, anyone else experiencing trouble with youtube channel controls today?

There is something that just makes me laugh about this. Lots of people have spots picked out to go with their BOB bags.....but have you ever thought of how many other people will also be going there too? Right now there is about 5 acres of land for every person on the earth...many of these acres are not much good for growing crops or surviving on; like in the arctic. There is about 2.2 acres of productive land per person in the world.

So anyways, when all the people come swarming out of the cities where do they truly believe they will be going? As a land owner in the country, do you really think I would put up with people setting up camp in my bush, beside my river and so on....NOT a chance in hell! Shot first and kick you into the bush like any other predator that is threatening my livestock. This is what us country folks have been doing for years and we know our property like the back of our hands, and have the fire power and skills to due it. So good luck there. Oh I'm sure there would be ones that would try to take what we have but we have the home advantage.

Sure there are parks and crown land but how much is there to support all these people....not everyone is going to die...depends what happens

truth be told I have a bob ready ,,,,but not really sure where I would go! Where can you go when you already live in the middle of nowhere!!!!!!!!

cheers

reply to post by kadyr80


I fully agree with your sentiment! Although I live in an average sized city, my preparations are for a full defensive safe house. Home with fortifications, supplies, reserves, and protection. Making my house as self-sufficient as possible. Creating ideal defenses that will allow me easy shooting if anyone tries to storm in or rob us. Booby-traps and all types of ideas to keep safe. I have a decent sized fenced yard and barking dogs that will give me enough buffer to defend.

I do have a b.o.b., but it's more of a survival/special-ops setup for small traveling, not as a house in a pack. SHTF, I'm hunkering down, boarding up, and taking shots out the window.

And you are sooooo right about the firearms experience!

planting a burger to, you know, just take the seeds off the top of the bun and grow yourself some more big macs. HA!

HAHAHAHAA!!!! Oh my god, I loved it!

While your opinion is a valid one, it doesn't coincide with the actual purpose of a bug out bag. The idea behind having to "bug out" is that you can't stay home. If there's a scenario of some natural disaster (tsunami, super volcano, meteor strike), leaving your home may be the only way to survive. While I'd agree that a home is more defendable than a tent, the home you're defending does not have to be your own. It may end up being some farmhouse, or some cabin in the woods.
Where ever you end up, make sure you pick a place that can be heated by fire, with minimal risk of burning the place down.
You're also going to need more than a first aid kit, a knife, and a hand full of water purification tablets. You're going to want to know how to make your own medicines from the regional plant life, make filter ready charcoal, and how to perform basic surgeries (appendicitis surgeries are a major one, tooth extraction is another).
You'll also want to know how to do some farming, hunting, foraging, and knitting/sewing.
Having plan A, B, C, and D rally points for your family are also important. The chances of you being with everyone you care about when the $h!t hits the fan is slim to none. You need to have a meeting place established so that you'll be able to find one another. Going home, or to pick the kids up at school may not be an option. Make sure everyone knows where to go.
Another good idea is to work on your "Poker Face". You're going to get into situations where aggressors are going to be looking to take what you got. If they believe you will dispatch them if they blink in a weird way, you may be able to sway their intentions without even having a loaded gun.
Also; Tylenol doesn't last forever. Learning pressure point pain relief techniques have saved me from many a migraine while on camping trips. Hot rock massages are also easy and really nice after a day of hard labor.
But last, and what I believe to be number one on any list of what to have in a B.O.B. is a gas mask.
Like you said, lots and lots of people are going to be dying. One in every 10 people will die by simply shutting down emotionally. They'll literally sit down somewhere in shock and die of starvation. Millions of dead people will breed disease and death all their own. A gas mask will spare you these diseases as well as the stench. They're quite handy during smoke raids too.
(Yes, I plan on raiding should the $h!t hit the fan.) If it comes down to a couple of guys hoarding a warehouse full of food, and my son getting a meal, guess which one I'm choosing?

You were absolutely right in one regard: "This will not be a video game." There will be more bullets wasted than will ever hit their mark, many people will die through ignorance alone, others will die from simple cuts that get infected, or through greedy hoarding. The first 90 days will be crucial. The first year and a half will be the hardest. Stockpile food for the winter (if you live where winter arrives), and stockpile wood as well. If someone comes seeking aid, food, or shelter, be cautious but be humane.

reply to post by kadyr80


My sister is an Eagle Scout. During a record breaking snow storm in NY where people were snowed into grocery stores she took 14 boys on a camping trip to the Catskill mountains. She is a better survivor and woodsman than I am but even I can clean fish and survive without modern conveniences.
How do you think the Indians did it? We are all campers and we can survive in the woods.
The first rule of survival is don't panic.

reply to post by kadyr80


so my question to you is what gives you the creditablity of this thread/ have you ever been under a marial law scenario? have you ever been to combat? or are you just full of free cheap advise? First do not tell people that they do not need a bug out bag, having atleast a meager escape plan is needed. Second thinking that most people will die within your stated time frame is absolutley crazy. Not sure what kind of thread you are starting here, but i see absolutley no benefit for me or anyone else

reply to post by TKDRL


Interesting. Last winter I wanted to shut off my gas because the monthly bill was coming in at 300 dollars. The gas company can't legally shut it off in the winter if it's below a certain degree but they still charge of course. Well, I wanted to wheel in a wood burning furnace, but I was chastized by everyone and made fun of. People said that it's illegal in the first place and that there's a higher chance of me burning the house down, and to consider the tennants in the other apartments. Well, I think, with the proper precautions a wood burning furnace is just as safe or safer than a gas furnace. I don't see how it can be illegal. Fires still occur with gas furnaces and the space heaters cause even more fires.

reply to post by kadyr80


Your very wrong sir, defensive is always a losing battle, its only a matter of time before you are breached.Somewhere in your game plane there must be an offensive move. It is a lot easier to move out with no resistance.Yes some people will bug out to soon but the majority will wait to long mainly out of fear. Trust me I have thought about this a lot, I have a big family and although I'm ex-military its not as easy as hollywierd would have you think.The bodies of hesitation litter the battlefield.

reply to post by kadyr80


It's funny. I was having the same thought this morning. I'm not sure I understand the logic in taking a bag of gear and leaving your home to forage through the woods. Even without power, there's one thing that is more important than all that heavy junk you'll be lugging around in your bag. That would be a roof over your head and walls around you. A barrier from the weather. Something that can contain heat and light. Somewhere to put all that junk.
I realize that there are ex-military and experienced outdoorsman who are physically and intellectually very capable of thriving in exteme conditions, but for a guy like me on the top range of middle-aged with a bad back
who realized his limitations, the poster is correct. After a day or two, you'll be like the kid who's running away from home and the romance will be gone. You'll freeze. You'll be covered in bug bites. You'll get sick and die. If you do make it back home, someone who wised up sooner will be occupying your home and sleeping on your couch. Even worse, someone with a scoped rifle will shoot you and take your bag of crap.
Try this. Buy lots of bottled water, rice, canned goods, firewood, soap, neosporin, everything you might need. Pretend the store is closing for a year and make a list. Candles, hygeine products, seeds, plastic bags all invaluable. and etc. Now, learn to use a firearm. Try your local gun range. They'll get you started. Get a few good weapons and lots of ammo. If you've got a wife and kids, don't forget books, board games.
Lots of lumber to make repairs and board up windows if necessary. Nails too. A generator is nice, with lots of fuel to power up cordless tools and spot run electrics as needed.
Remember, all the morons who bailed out of their homes will have realize they're screwed and be looking to bust into yours, live there and take your stuff. When they make the attempt, empty a 9mm or other fine weapon into them. Let them lay in the front yard for a few days. This will discourage others from attempting the same.
Now, be paitient, because at some point the danger will lift and you and your neighbors can establish a perimiter and wait for the power to come back on.
I suppose that to me, my home is very important and I'd rather die protecting my way of life that I've worked so hard for than foraging through the woods to exist.

i concur with the OP but not with everything... in the event of an apocalyptic type event many people will dye and many more will dye if they are not prepared at all... a BOB may not be everyone's saving grace but it could mean the difference between life and death.. the tipping factor that could keep you alive longer or long enough. I also thing that if people want to be cocky let em. no one ever succeeded in life with out a little confidence. it is going to take a certain level of courage (real or fabricated) to scavenge and hunt and to do anything but kill over.

I say be cocky bring a BOB, go practice shooting, keep extra prescriptions, and be ready... who knows if the world does end maybe a new is right around the corner if you could just last a few months or years.

reply to post by kadyr80

It's funny that when you make a tread that is fairly "anti-chest puffing", you still attract the Ultimate Survivalists.

You know the ones. "I can live in my secret little spot in the woods for years because I have the knowledge and gear and skillz and coolness like that."
The real survivalists will be the ones that can maintain a home base and forage into the urban wasteland to get another bottle of Tylenol or diapers or whatever.
If there is a population eliminating event and you happen to be lucky enough to survive, attempting to become the "native" you've always thought you were is going to be a lot harder than your movie script says.
If you get up in the morning, put on your Dockers, go to McDonalds for your breakfast, go to your cube and browse ATS all day long, I don't care what you have in your BOB. You are going to survive by luck only.

Life isn't a movie. Know that.

The whole idea of the exercise is forethought.
A man with out a plan is at the mercy of everything.
What if you are unable to get to your fortress?
What if you are injured when and if the shtf?What about your dependants?Many have children in multiple schools even.
What about gramma?
The idea of planning for all possible scenarios is laughable .
Personal skills,knowledge and attitude are your bug out bag.....!
There are a hundred things that you cannot put in your BOB for every item you can squeeze in!
I Think that preparedness is far more than half a matter of mental balance, willingness to accept the situation as you find it, and the ability to deal with the nessessaries without squeemishness.
Whatever happens in the future, the trick will always be to roll with the puches, and hit back as hard as you have it in you to do, when it is to your advantage to do so.
One can spend a lifetime in fear of these and myriad other eventualities, but they are all speculation.
While it would be rash to make no provision at all,the primary survival tool you possess is your will to survive,after which comes your mind, and its ability to reason.On top of which your attitude and determination are your basic tools.
The bugoutbag, comes somewhere below skills preparedness.
Where apropriate,let us make the preparations we think are nessessary for ourselves and our close family,but the truth is, without all of your neighbours co operation,and the rebirth of close commuity spirit,nobody stands a snowballs chance in you know where, against raging starving mobs.
Those in the country will have to band together sooner or later and cooperate to keep what they have put by.
Those in the cities will have to do similar type things to survive as well.(Think of the neighbourhood guards hanging out in bagdad while the sectarian violence peaked....)
Not too many people will make it through a disaster or civil war etc without the help and support of their friends and neighbours in the long run.
If you think not i would suggest contemplating all the things you ask others to do for you without giving it a thought as to how you would accomplish same yourself.
Ever pull yer own tooth?
I had a friend who cut his own arm off to save himself from being pinned between a cat blade and a boulder that had fallen from the cut bank and clobbered him, crushing his arm between it and the steel.
True story.
Could you amputate, your own arm with just a pen knife?Not to mention get yourself out of there to safety afterwards?Now imagine that you dont know where safety is.....!dont know who to trust......
I think it is a safe bet that regardless how prepared you are with gear,or who is cross trained in survival,
In a shtf situation, because of all kinds of factors, very few will have the perfect tailor made preparations, and execute exactly as planned, their escape and evasion or hunker and fight scenario.
If you are carrying most of your survival kit in your head, nobody can steal it.
It satnds to reason that only 01% will have a pefect run.
Everyone else is gonna have to make do with what presents itself at the instant anyways.
Everyone else has different needs too.
What about yer allergy meds or yer insulin shots?
It safe tio say that most of those who need such things are gonna die.

every human likes to think they are the smartest, strongest and best out of all other humans. But if everyone shares the same opinion, clearly they are all wrong, and it would be a bloodbath yes.

Thats why in case of emergcey situation, my town will ban together (lots 'ol guns) fortifiy the town (lots of stone buildings) we could do it, of course yea many would die. But you cant worry about them, first off we are over populated so a little thinning out the herd is a good thing, rather then having every genetically flawed indidvual alive and reproducing, nowe cant have that. So merely just live your life, and if its your turn, and you cant find a way out, well dont sweat it because we all die eventaully.

To be scared of dying is the same is being scared to be alive, one beings us into this world, another brings out us. The cricle of life, so when some cocky teenager thinks he can take on the whole world....then dies, dont feel bad, it was his time to go. Best be smart about it, stick together, dont keep slow people or stupid people.

Think of a zombie movie, and think about the people you wouldnt want to have with you (ei: annoying girl that keeps screaming, jocky guy who is a wuss, peaceful hippie that doesnt want to hurt anyone, old people are a big no no, they will slow you down.)

Its hard but in such a harsh reality, those you love the most, will die, doesnt matter how tough you think you are, also beware of raider gangs (yes a fallout reference) but criminals are bound to stick together, and violence is asured, if you think you can reason with them, you are wrong.

In case of martial law, leave city/town. If in canada head to the great northern forests, great place to hide. If in the middle of the states...i pity you (your death is almost garrenteed, unless you have alot of friends)

Guns, are a big part.You will want one yes, or else. someone else will shoot you and take all your things. (so they can get shot and so forth) You will want plenty of ammo, if you can try to make your own ammo too(assuming you have the rescoures) it doesnt even have to be a bullet just as long as its metal and can get shot out of your gun, your good)

Explosives are a must have, you never know when you have to rip the ground your standing on, incase of an attack. you are forced to flee with w.e surivivors. blow the place up before you go, leave your invaders a little SUPRISE!!!!. (just make sure you arent standing there when you pull the switch)

NUmber 1: Food, NEVER resort to cannibulism, you will go insane, human flesh is not meant to be eaten by humans, crops are a good start. hunting animals. canned goods. But this info is usless because you will never need it...hopfully

reply to post by WickettheRabbit


Star for you my friend! I'm glad there are some out there who really get the idea.

I noticed a troll a few posts back who really had confidence on him. I wonder how a post like mine can rouse such vehement anger in some individuals? Guess it hits a little too close to home. Oh well, here's to hoping the blackout never comes, cheers!

reply to post by kadyr80


Well put and good advice kadyr!

Fortunately, I was raised with a rifle in my hand since I was about 6. I'm not exactly a sniper anymore (god I hate getting old LOL) but I'm still a bloody good shot .

There's nothing quite as satisfying as waking up and killing breakfast! MMMMM rabbit!

I would like to suggest some less "electronic" means of education and an addition to your ruck.

FM 21-76. The US Army survival manual. It has everything from food procurement, some very basic medicine, fire making, and shelter building. This is in everything from jungle/forest, desert, to snowfield.

Make mine a forest please !

Get one of these jewels. Keep one in the bathroom and and another in your ruck. Study it and have some fun with it! This info can be helpful in the most bizarre of places in ways you'd never consider!

amaze your friends and confound your enemies!

btw, I would suggest a decent pellet/bb gun of some sort as well. They're very quiet and you can carry a couple thousand rounds with very little weight. These still put food on the table and will run off most critters.

reply to post by felonius

There's nothing quite as satisfying as waking up and killing breakfast! MMMMM rabbit!

Rabbit?!!!

I have a rabbit. His name is Hassenfeffer.

He does double duty as a friendly pet and an emergency meal.
I often call him Snack Pac and envision the little critter with carrots and onions.
Really though I think I would cut off and eat one of my fingers first.

And on a more serious note:
Arm yourself with a few good pets. I have a cat that brings me all the rabbits and squirrels I can eat. Unfortunately now they just get buried in the yard.

And on an even more serious note...You leftover people will have no hair and you'll be puking all the time from radiation sickness. You will be begging for someone to kill you...so your survival techniques I think are fun to play with now...like Farmville is to others... but in reality, if a nuclear catastrophe hits...useless.

reply to post by kadyr80

I'm just glad there are other like-minded individuals who still concern themselves with survival, but don't think it's going to be like fiction.

I'd really love to see pictures of people's BOBs in the suburbanite Accords or Camrys.

A real concern I have is that SitX happens and all sorts of closet psychos are going to bloom. One minute Darren in accounting is happily working on his spreadsheets and the next minute he's shooting anyone who dares approach his Mazda 6 parked just off the Interstate, otherwise known as his "fortress of survival".

reply to post by rusethorcain


That's very true. The shtf hit hiroshima and nagasaki about 60 years back, and I don't think many of those survivors were too glad to be left alive.

reply to post by astrogolf


I agree with your post completely.
People forget the ultimate goal here - to wait for order to be restored. Either the goverment will do it or small bands of people will get together and do it. So, the question is, where is your best chance of survival until that time comes?
I just find it hard to imagine situations, other than immediate threat to your house, that would justify bugging out into the wild over staying in your home.