Search Results for: bug out

Should I Bug Out or Survive in Place?- Part 2, by Jonathan Hollerman

8

…themselves into believing that it is safe for their family to stay in suburbia. If you wait till things get “too bad”, then travelling on the open road with your bug out bags or a vehicle laden with food and supplies makes you a target of opportunity. So, am I saying that you have to bug out to survive a massive financial collapse? No. Yes. Maybe. What I’m implying is that it would be better to be safe than sorry. Isn’t that the whole point of prepping? If you designed your prepping plans around bugging out of the city to a safer location from the get-go, you won’t find yourself in the crappy scenario of sitting in your house while the city around you tears itself apart and wondering, “Did I wait too long to leave?” or “Is it too late to travel through town and get my family out…


Long Distance Bug Out Planning, by J.B. in Georgia

…proving expensive and leaves one to doubt its protection near so many people.  As with many beginning prepper’s, we started over a year ago with the basic focus to improve our food & water situation at home along with basic gear needed for an extended bug-in situation.  In the midst of this, we realized we were not in an ideal location and would not be able to bug-in forever if things got really bad.  We decided to start looking for recreational acreage in the southeast to provide a retreat and develop into a new homestead over the long term.  The problem has been finding the right place, in the right location, for an affordable price. Having grown up in the California, Colorado, and Idaho areas, I’m very familiar with the region’s resources, geography, political climate, and culture.  Overwhelmingly it appeals as the better place to be when SHTF and we…


Planning, Training, and Exercising for “Bug Out”- Part 2, by Mr. E

1

In part one of this article series, we looked at the reason for the three skills– planning, training, and exercising– for bugging out. This process is based on tried and true emergency management principles that are currently being used by both public and private institutions all across the nation. The benefit of this plan, train, exercise process is that it allows you and your group to take an all-hazards approach to preparing for a plethora of disasters and emergencies. Training Everyone On The Plan (continued) Yesterday, we completed the planning portion and just barely began the training portion of the process with “training everyone to use your bug out supplies/equipment”. Let’s continue with the various parts of training. Communications Training Radios can be the make or break component in your bug out process, and so like other pieces of equipment your group must be well versed in how to use…


The Cessna 172 Bug Out Plan, by Captain Zoobie

…provided one copy to my family and left another one at our retreat. This is an excerpt of part of my plan (as I know that their knowing what I have will make them more secure in what I am capable of accomplishing). Bug Out Airplane (BOA) There has been a lot of discussion in SurvivalBlog about bug-out vehicles (BOVs) but I’ve only seen a brief article or two on BOAs (Bug Out Airplanes) and all but one of those (that mentioned Cessna 172s) dealt with having a small recreational single seat ultralight for recon and not real long term travel to a retreat. My scenario is prefaced on using my Cessna 172. The reason I chose the 172 is because it is the most produced aircraft in the world (over 43,000 have been built since 1955). Additionally, its performance is versatile and needs, if fully loaded, not much more…


Some G.O.O.D. Thoughts, by J.I.R.

…for minor emergencies. Bugging in or moving out temporarily to avoid a short term disaster are both relatively easy solutions, but will not serve if the worst happens. If we experience a total melt-down of services, bugging-in in any urban or suburban area is a bad decision. Once the power goes off, water stops flowing, food trucks stop and the police quit reporting for work, life near any city is going to be dicey and very short. Hiding is not an option unless you can hide your whole building since every building will be systematically searched for food within weeks. IMHO, bugging out is an urbanite or suburbanite’s only real option. There are some serious problems with bugging out in during a disaster. If recent natural disasters are any guide, the roads can be expected to be clogged and fuel and food stocks low or non-existent. Consider the possibility of…


The World of Bug Out Bags, by D.M. – Part 2

…buy another bag only to find out that they have spent more money on two poorly-constructed bags than I spent on my nice bag that has a lifetime warranty. I am not suggesting going out and spending $500-8oo. I am saying don’t buy poor quality; you usually do get what you pay for. Just save your money until you can afford to buy what you need. It would be worth it in the end. Conclusion Go backpacking or talk to a backpacker. Chances are that the things you need to survive and thrive for two to three days in the wilderness are the same things you don’t want to leave out of your bug out bag. If your bug out bag is too small, like most, then I would suggest upgrading to a bigger one. If you’re interested in backpacking and don’t have a bug out bag and are looking…


Bug Out Boats Revisited, by P.J.C.

As more and more prepper books and articles are written to address the issue of what one should do in order to have a viable bug out plan, most primarily focus on having a physical location, such as a cabin or small house in a remote area within reasonable driving distance of your present home. Somewhat surprisingly, far less attention has been given to the alternative idea of having a bug out boat to use for the same purpose. Once carefully examined, a “proper” boat will have certain advantages over a remote physical location, not the least of which is less cost and the ability to move on quickly to safer location if necessary. A quick scan of related postings and articles suggest that others do give some credibility to the idea of a bug out boat but tend to offer examples that are relatively impractical. For example, one writer…


The Bug Out Boat, by Lean Jimmy

Every Prepper needs at least one serious bug out plan in his repertoire. Most of us will need a plan to get to our retreat when the SHTF. Even those of us fortunate enough to live in their retreat right now will have to be ready to bug out if circumstances demand. Things like a fallout cloud or a pandemic, or an invading army of zombies can’t be ignored. You may be forced to leave and you’d better know where you are going and how you are going to get there. Your bug out plan starts with an assessment of the conditions you may be facing when the time comes to leave. If, as most of us, you live in an urban environment, you will likely be looking at a hopelessly clogged transportation grid. Let’s say you live in a large Midwestern metropolitan area. If the SHTF in a sudden,…


Preparing for a Flood– Part 2, by S.G.

2

…As such, the most important preparation you can make to your property is the mental preparation to leave if you need to. There is no honor in needing to get rescued via helicopter or boat after trying to “tough it out”. Staying to fight a losing and unnecessary battle is not wise; it is foolish. Live to fight another day. Be a helper instead of helpless. Bugging Out During a Flood The concept of bugging out has been one of the most well discussed topics of SurvivalBlog and prepping in general. As such, I will not get into much detail here. My recommendation is that you make sure to account for possible flooding scenarios in your bug out plan. If you have no bug out plan, today would be a great time to write one down. Questions to Ask When Thinking Through Your Bug Out Route Are any of your…


Three Bug Out Considerations You Probably Haven’t Considered, by Jonathan G.

For most preppers, the action plan for a TEOTWAWKI scenario can be neatly categorized into basically one of two categories:  Bug in or Bug out.  Many people live in rural areas with sufficient security and provisions to be able to go to ground in the event of a disaster and ride out the storm.  “Sufficient” security might include bunkers, shooters, stockpiles of ammunition and weapons, spare parts, etc.  “Sufficient” provisions might be enough food to get the defense force and extended family of the principal through to the harvest, and enough seeds to ensure that the harvest will feed the crew indefinitely.  For many rural preppers, this scenario is an attainable goal.  For many urban preppers, however, this goal could never be realistically accomplished.  For that reason, we have to consider the possibility of bugging out. There are some relatively standard considerations that almost anybody with a functional brain housing…


Making Our Bug Out Bags Work: Shaving Weight, by Big Bob

We could endlessly debate which threats are of immediate risk during a wilderness bug out. However, one of the most important is rarely discussed, avoiding injury. A quick sampling of Youtube videos or forum “bug out lists” quickly gives the impression that in the survivalist community, we carry too much weight. Many people plan to carry 60-70 pound packs for days at a time, while covering 15 miles per day. For some readers, this is feasible, but for most people, myself included, it is not. When talking about the dangers of bugging out, I often read about mudslides, wild animal attacks, bullet wounds, and a plethora of other comparatively unlikely events. Rarely does anyone talk about overexertion, and when they do, it is always in the context of physical fitness. Fitness is important; if you are not fit, it does not matter how many pounds of rice you have on…


TEOTWAWKI Planning From the Perspective of a Former SF Operator, by SAV

…with each other to account for variables along the way.  We have a family plan in place, once the crisis begins, I have 72 hours to get to my family before they will bug-out and follow their emergency plan.  If all goes well I would make it home before they bug-out, if not I will make my way to our Bug-Out Location (BOL). The First 72 hours At our house, we have preparations for two possible scenarios “Bug-in” or “Bug-out” we have enough food and water to support our family plus four for 30 days, our food stores are a mixture of canned and dry foods that are easy to prepare and are shelf stable for a bug-in situation.  We also have a 14-day supply of portable survival rations that can be pack for transport for our bug-out.  In our home supplies, we have enough food, water, weapons, ammo, and…


Avoiding Bugging Out, by Steve M.

One core tenet of the Survival and Preparation (S&P) culture that is often misunderstood, misapplied and has a high probability of failing, and that is “the bug-out”.  I am prompted to write this after reading so many S&P-related books, blogs and forums where individuals are indicating that their primary plan, and the focus of their preparations, is bugging-out.  The common discussion topics of bug-out vehicles (BOV), bug-out bags (BOB), bug-out land, etc, and the overall S&P lexicon confirm the importance placed on the bug-out concept.   Although well organized and executed, a 1,600 mile bug-out is portrayed by some of “The Group” in the novel “Patriots”. Don’t misunderstand, bugging-out does have a role in S&P: if your residence becomes completely uninhabitable, for any number of reasons (earthquake, radiation, toxins, fire, destruction, war, etc.), then relocation is mandatory.  In these cases, being prepared to mobilize and relocate yourself, your family, and some…


Inventory, Organize, Adapt and Overcome, by T.C.

…the situation at hand. The food we have stored in the basement is in five gallon containers they are easily stacked and don’t take a lot of room and they store quite a bit of canned and dried goods (food dehydrators and vacuum sealers are great investments). [JWR Adds: I discuss both of these in the Rawles Gets Your Ready Family Preparedness Course.] The five gallon buckets when empty can serve many other uses, i.e. planters, toilets, water containers, just to name a few. Concerning a bug-out situation; first let me say that a bug-out situation is possible for my location but not really probable. In the event we had to bug-out I would hook up the pop-up camper; this takes me about two minutes. Then move the two packs the med bag and ammo vest to the truck. While I am doing this my wife is gathering the firearms…


Packing Your Bug Out First Aid Kit, by J.V. in Tacoma

The contents of a bug out first aid kit should not only contain band-aids and other such dressings for minor wounds.  The bug out first aid kit should also contain a vast amount of items in various classifications to be discussed below.  The use of these items has been historically documented, however care should be used in their administration and these items should be used only as a last result when no other means of medical care are available.  Persons should use these items if death is imminent and the risk of using these items would not sufficiently out weigh the potential benefits of their use. During a survival situation, regardless of length or severity, one must constantly use what is commonly referred to in the military as operational risk management (ORM) goes through the steps to determine if the risk outweighs the potential benefit.  This type of determination can…