I see dead people...with bug out bags

reply to post by TKDRL


Generalisation? I definitely don't come from the city, and most all people here consider themselves hunters and woodsmen, but if you haven't noticed, todays generation as a whole has no idea how and no hope of survival for the most part. I feel pretty safe saying most of todays generation will die trying to figure out how to plant and grow french fries and a big mac. What you call a true woodsman, may represent 5 percent or less of our population. So I can't concede any on that aspect of this issue.

reply to post by TKDRL


Exactly.. lol The average person has become out of touch with what we need for survival. If it's not labeled and handed to them on a silver platter they just won't get it. The pop tart thing? Yeah, I used that on an ex. Ex being the operable term. She looked for that tree for 3 hours. lololol

Bug out bags are like Pistols...

The only purpose of a pistol is to help you fight your way to your rifle

The purpose of your bug out bag is to sustain you while transiting to your next destination...

For those of us apartment dwellers shelter in place may not be viable .... That is why my girlfriend and I have bug out kits set up for getting out in our vehicle and gettng out of the city without it. If we can take our car though you can be sure that the non gasoline powered bug out transport and setup will be riding the roof rack just in case.

The biggest key is to have a place to bug out to and a working general PLAN... a weeks worth of MRE's spare rounds and a compass will not do you any good if you don't know where you need to go.

Plus I keep my basic bug out with me while at work so I can GET MYSELF BACK TO MY GIRLFRIEND and home base and then Bug us out as a team... she knows to fort up and we have several contingency meet points and etc in the event that her position becomes untenable.

5 P's People PRIOR PLANNING PREVENTS PISS POOR PERFORMANCE

Oh and yes you do need to know how to use your weapons and also be in a mindset that will allow you to KILL another human being or they are a liability not an asset. Plus you need as a general rule of thumb enough magazines for your primary weapon to sustain you through a full fire fight without having to bust out the Loader and loose rounds...

I am constantly surprised by couch commandoes with ten thousand rounds in sealed tins and 2 30 round mags for their TACTICOOL rifle .... oh and no spare followers lube cleaning supplies or god forbid spare PARTS!!!

Suffice it to say that I have enough spares to rebuild my and the girls' primary defensive suites several times over all carefully sealed packed and ready to rock and roll... (each magazine can be rebuilt 5 to 7 times with the resources on hand as well and I won't even buy a new weapon until I can purchase ten magazines at the same time as I buy the weapon.)

This is teh biggest thing people.... and it's something that took me a long time to get. One of everything and two of the good stuff is not practical or useful. Pick a good cross section of capabilities you need to have then budget it out with an eye towards AS FEW PLATFORMS AND AMMO TYPES AS POSSIBLE!!!
Another place I have avoided redundancy is optics... I spent a little more for good quick detach mounts and a set of optics that were versatile which I now switch back and forth between platforms.... (only need one scope because I can only shoot one gun at a time right?) this took time and foresight and the purchase of what I needed to Zero my own stuff at which point I marked where zero is on my rails and set everything up....

This allowed me to go Name brand instead of cheap on my optics too... honestly I have slightly more than one set of optics because of different calibers and where possible I have mildot type reticles calibrated to the calibre of weapon for better effectiveness.

OP, you miss the point of the Bug Out Bag/Break Out Bag, and perhaps many others do as well.

The BOB is for situations where you need to evacuate your home immediately, I mean, right NOW! You have 20 seconds to grab your keys and your BOB, jump in the truck/car/motorcycle and floor it. Wild fires, flash floods or volcanos are the most likely scenarios that would require this.

These are scenarios where you don't have the luxury of hunkering down at your well equipped fortress because your well equipped fortress is about to be destroyed in a manner of minutes.

In those scenarios, it's good to have a bag near the front door (or already in your vehicle) that you know has all your 3 day necessary supplies for surviving and getting your life back together (personal documents, etc.).

So for that purpose/scenario, and that purpose/scenario alone, it is a GOOD THING to have a BOB at the ready. But by no means is it the end-all-be-all in personal/family survival. It's just one tool that should be a part of an arsenal of survival tools.

reply to post by triplereiki
if the bug out, they will not be a problem and the truth is, you can make there home a second base of defense, with written permission why the write, just to cover ones 6 o'clock, yes people will bug out let them , they might be right or we the "stay put", "dig in" ones might be, can you defend your home from a tank ?or from air craft?

reply to post by TKDRL


That's true as can be.

I live in very, very rural Florida; I'm a long time country boy from a tiny town in [again, rural] Virginia. We have people who go hog hunting, deer hunting, gator hunting, turkey hunting and it looks like bear hunting is going to come back. There are more lakes full of fish than you can shake a stick at, and plenty of small game.

Firearms are kind of a way of life, as are the skills to "get by" if you had to. I haven't even touched on all the eatable wild plants.

Each person's choices will be informed according to their situation; there simply is not any "one size fits all" .

The decisions and options available will depend on such things as:

Do they live in a city or rural area?
Do they have the necessary skills to live off the land for an extended period?
Can they effectively defend themselves?
Where they are when the SHTF?
Are they able to prepare a defensible shelter ahead of time?
Do they have kids or people with special needs?

The different scenarios are for each individual are worthy to consider ahead of time, before something happens.

Originally posted by mydarkpassenger
Each person's choices will be informed according to their situation; there simply is not any "one size fits all" .

.

totally agree. I see dead people too. At home with no bug-out bags.

Originally posted by roguetechie

5 P's People PRIOR PLANNING PREVENTS PISS POOR PERFORMANCE

LOL.

I haven't heard that since I was in the Navy

Originally posted by PayMeh
reply to post by BobbinHood

 

Take it from someone who has done his practice. It takes many many rounds and hundreds and hundreds of dollars for EACH gun you own to become a "proficient" shot. If you don't want to spend the money, just hold the target in your sights for a few hours a day. It's mostly muscle memory. After a while your wobble will get smaller and smaller as the muscles get used to it.

With sincere respect, not even! A sight picture is a sight picture, generally speaking, and once you can do that, shooting is pretty much the same from any similar weapon. The differences will come with the weapons particular controls, i.e., type and location of safety, mag release location, action type, etc...which require *no* shooting to practice.

Also, while simply holding your sights on target to practice reducing your "wobble" is fine for learning about sight picture, it does nothing to prepare you for real recoil and *bang*, nor does it help with trigger control. Someone who has practiced only this way might get the first shot off ok, but will fail miserably on follow up shots.

Dry firing while observing your sight picture and trying to maintain it as stable as possible is a good practice for trigger control, and can be done without spending anything.

Weapons handling drills (weapon malfuctions, tactical and speed reloads, etc) will allow you to become proficient with the controls of a particular weapon, and also cost nothing.

A couple hundred rounds through a rifle or handgun (non-rimfire) and some good quality instruction should have most anybody up to a basic level of proficiency, shooting wise, in my honest opinion, and that doesn't cost hundreds and hundreds of dollars.

Not trying to be all negative on your comments, I just don't want anybody to give up on the idea of arming him or herself due to thinking it will cost them "hundreds and hundreds of dollars".

And remember kids,
1. always pointed in a safe direction
2. always treated as if it's loaded

Being prepared can help but it's not a guarantee you're gonna be safe. I certainly wouldn't want to stay at home. But living in the scotland there's not many places to go to. No guns either. We'll probably end up fist-fighting each to death in the Highlands over a dead haggis.

Good luck to everyone.


Life After Armageddon. Worth a watch, You might have forgotten something.

reply to post by kadyr80


I agree with you 100% I have decided to join the Reserves because of that same fear for mine and my families lives. I'm joining, doing basic training, speacialize in Urban Warfare, and Special Operations, then transfer to Armoured(driving tanks) this summer. Then I'm done with the Army after that, be prepared to fight, and survive.

I think it would depend on the type of SHTF. For nuclear you would have to consider fallout etc. Is it best to move to avoid radiation etc or stay inside with your internal door propped against the wall (doh).

Or is it a total WROL situation - looting/riots. Defending a house would lead people to think you have something to defend and make you a target. Id rather be well away from cities in that situation.

Or maybe a "the day after tomorrow" bloody cold freeze scenario - not sure you would be better off outside in that situation.

If it was a water level rise then most of central and southern england would be underwater so I would definately have to move quick.

Over here in the UK, we have a myriad of other problems - no guns to defend yourself etc. Bows/crossbows and air rifles could be used, but in a limited capacity.

Plus, there's family to consider - small children etc. I cant see my six year old bugging out far! He moans walking up the road.

So, I guess you have to try and plan for both really...and cross your fingers that we dont have to use it!

reply to post by tjack


I definitely think that having enough mags and spare parts is real good idea, as is trying to keep the calibers as uniform as possible and lighten the load!

Shooting is a perishable skill: if I don't shoot regularly, my performance degrades quickly. If you own a gun you owe it to yourself and others to hit the gun range at least once a month. Personally I find it relaxing and enjoyable, plus me and my pals hit the bar afterwards

Dry firing's an excellent way to gain better trigger control. A caution though: if there's anyone out there who hasn't read his weapon's manual do so! Some rimfire and even centerfire weapons can have their firing pins damaged by dry firing. If your weapon is one, place a dry firing plug in the chamber.

Also, if someone is new to shooting, keep your finger off the trigger at all times until you're committed to taking the shot! Your finger is the ULTIMATE safety.

Originally posted by wigit
Being prepared can help but it's not a guarantee you're gonna be safe. I certainly wouldn't want to stay at home. But living in the scotland there's not many places to go to. No guns either. We'll probably end up fist-fighting each to death in the Highlands over a dead haggis.

Good luck to everyone.

Lol! I don't think I could bring myself to fight over a haggis

Hey, wouldn't that be haggis haggling?

Most everyone has their points, and a bob has its place ONLY as a short term tool. This thread was referencing the crowd that thinks they will simply head for the hills and live happily ever after, living easily off the land. Believe me, there are MANY of these "couch commandos" out there posting in this forum. My point is, its just never going to be how they imagine. In real life people will be dying of infections, and disease from tick bites and spider bites. I'm just trying to bring a little "real" back into this forum. It won't be a video game adventure, whatever happens.

I've been posting on these forums for a while. My plan should the worst happen is to stay at home. I've got plenty of food and water, enough to last months. I already live in the country and my garden provides me with plenty of fruit and veggies. We even keep chickens.

It's just not practical to grab you BOB and head for the hills.

However, a BOB would be great if you're at work and need to get home. Or, if you're located somewhere and you can say get to a relatives house in the country.

But, you need a plan. How will you get there ie Mountain bike, motorcycle walk? How long will it take ? That determines what you need in your BOB.

Without a reasonably close location to evacuate to, a BOB just won't help you for more than the short term.

Originally posted by kadyr80
Most everyone has their points, and a bob has its place ONLY as a short term tool. This thread was referencing the crowd that thinks they will simply head for the hills and live happily ever after, living easily off the land. Believe me, there are MANY of these "couch commandos" out there posting in this forum. My point is, its just never going to be how they imagine. In real life people will be dying of infections, and disease from tick bites and spider bites. I'm just trying to bring a little "real" back into this forum. It won't be a video game adventure, whatever happens.

Starred and Flagged: I think you have generated a much needed topic, so thank you! The time to think about your responses is definitely before you have to respond.

In the words of Capt. Phil Harris:

"You can sit around and watch something happen,
"Or you can make something happen,
"Or later, you can sit around and wonder what the hell happened!"

reply to post by tjack


I agree, well mostly. I still contest that each gun is different due to weight, style, and recoil. I fully endorse putting a good number of rounds through any firearm and believe there is nothing that will ever replace that.

Depending on the type of ammo, it can get costly. I was just suggesting that taking care of the muscle memory first will cut down on the actual number of rounds you have to put through in the long run.

Originally posted by mydarkpassenger
Lol! I don't think I could bring myself to fight over a haggis

Hey, wouldn't that be haggis haggling?

I think just 'haggling' would do,

I find Roguetechie's comments to be the most accurate. 80% is a high mortality figure which might apply to city dwellers who will be entirely dependent upon the system and authorities for subsistence.Of course you look at what happened in Leningrad while under siege from the Germans in WW2 somehow people survived for almost 2 years with almost no supplies coming in. But then again people were far more resourceful than they are now.
If you can't get out you will be at their mercy more or less unless you have made preparations that allow you to bug in for weeks, perhaps months at a time.

Travel will be hazardous whether by road or woods. The worst trouble and highest periods of danger will be at night. This is critical and those with night vision will be able to travel without being seen or defend their home with a good chance of success if they have it. It's not cheap but in my mind you will be severely limited without it.

There will be strength in numbers. No single person can keep watch 24/7 - you have to sleep sometime.
Being unseen and avoiding confrontation will be the best way to survive. Getting involved in firefights is a last resort - you can expend a great amount of ammo in a very short period of time.

For weapons platforms I would recommend for handguns 9mm, .40 or .45 cal. Ammo is common and has enough knock down power for self-defense. For rifles .223, 7.62x39 or 7.62x54 or .308 are probably your best bets. Shotguns in 12 ga are probably your best weapon but you are severely limited in how many shells you can carry in a bug out situation.

If you have to bug out and there is more than just yourself in the group someone should carry a .22 caliber rifle (ruger 10/22 or similar) to snag any small game that presents itself.
Trapping will be your best method of acquiring meat, it's silent and effective. Any shooting will attract attention and should be done again as a last resort.

Bugging out will also probably require making NO fires. Smoke and light will make you visible to others you may not want seeing you.

Spare parts for your firearms is great idea for long-term survival; firing pins, extractors, clip springs will often fail and render your gun useless unless you can find replacement parts.

I've been listening to Yankeepreppers Preparing and survival in the city videos while typing this and he has some very good ideas. Give them a listen.

Read Roguetechie's post above, he knows what he's talking about.