The realities of Bugging Out

[Minuteman]

Agreed, staying put (and prepared) much better than bugging out or seeking gov aid, unless no other option.

Fire is a major hazard. Consider having many fire extinguishers already in key locations. Have fire fighting gear, plan, and train occupants on what they can do. Know when evacuation is required; seconds count. When making home improvements, use fire retardant materials. Try to store supplies in fire+water resistant containers. If there was a fire outside your house, how would you know? Do you have a water hose ready to try to put it out? There are new super fire resistant chemicals that stop fire much better, but also cause less water damage, and can be used preemptively if fire is imminent.

Use same prevention, mitigation, self-rescue, and DIY repair strategy/logic to plan and prepare for your most likely and worse case disaster scenarios.

 

[rml33]

You will bug out

After a very short time, within 2 weeks the cities will come pouring out and will be like locusts. You will need to stay ahead of that. Depending on the situation, you may be on foot . When the food runs out they will be at your door . It is better to have a plan b. This subject is alway a dilemma . Being adaptive is the biggest survival trait. Hunkering down too long is a death sentence. If you live within 200 miles of a major metro area you will be overrun . City people will be thinking about the bay, hills, suburbs etc... for food . Maryland is a bad area to hunker down when a disaster occurs . Good luck .

 

[Franklin]

After a very short time, within 2 weeks the cities will come pouring out and will be like locusts. You will need to stay ahead of that. Depending on the situation, you may be on foot . When the food runs out they will be at your door . It is better to have a plan b. This subject is alway a dilemma . Being adaptive is the biggest survival trait. Hunkering down too long is a death sentence. If you live within 200 miles of a major metro area you will be overrun . City people will be thinking about the bay, hills, suburbs etc... for food . Maryland is a bad area to hunker down when a disaster occurs . Good luck .

i give it 3 days givin the economic situation of most city families in dc and baltimore. they will more than likely kill themselves off before making it 80 miles out though. if you think about the type of attack that would occur, if not something natural that is. the majority of city folk will die rite off hand anyway.

 

[rml33]

It depends on the situation. People getting out of dodge depends on what has happened. Driving would be optimal but could end up being a bad choice if the highway become parking lots. . Walking would be a slow journey. I am just saying thinking about staying put could be the worst scenario once the hordes start rolling out . I wouldn't want to try and hold off a mob without a bunch of people on my side. Figuring when to get out not if you are getting out is the issue. It would only get worse over time . Bugging out of Maryland is the only plausible option long term. The whole North east would be a living nightmare.

 

[diesel-man]

After a very short time, within 2 weeks the cities will come pouring out and will be like locusts. You will need to stay ahead of that. Depending on the situation, you may be on foot . When the food runs out they will be at your door . It is better to have a plan b. This subject is alway a dilemma . Being adaptive is the biggest survival trait. Hunkering down too long is a death sentence. If you live within 200 miles of a major metro area you will be overrun . City people will be thinking about the bay, hills, suburbs etc... for food . Maryland is a bad area to hunker down when a disaster occurs . Good luck .

I disagree with 200 miles. The measurement will be 5 miles past the sidewalks. If somebody is that hungry, they won't walk more than 5 miles. (Too much energy expended) They won't walk a quarter mile to the store now....I rest my case...

 

[rml33]

Never underestimate the power of hunger and survival. Many would stick it out in the cities thinking they will be saved. The rest will be moving out and in your back yard with buddies. Heck, they aren't starving now and will kick your door down to rob you. You will need to stay ahead of them til they die out, hence the 200 mile buffer.

 

[Franklin]

that girl there would rub the skin off her inner legs if she walked anymore than 3 miles without some goldbond! i got a plan but its in its infancy. if i survive ZERO DAY WHATEVER IT MAY BE. being that i can hit the white house with a golfball from my chiller plant,my odds are bleek at best. chemical,i should be good aslong as i can get to my chiller plant before the mist hits. the preping has just started for me really.

 

[rml33]

With potable water she could live off of fat storage for months.

 

[Jasonshooter]

I plan to organize those around me and stand our ground as long as possible...
Hopefully this will never be an issue.... But like the saying goes ..
You don't learn to dance 5 mins before the prom ...
Prepare for the worst, hope for the best ..

 

[Bigdtc]

I plan to organize those around me and stand our ground as long as possible...
Hopefully this will never be an issue.... But like the saying goes ..
You don't learn to dance 5 mins before the prom ...
Prepare for the worst, hope for the best ..

Now there is a plan... "Prepare for the worst, hope for the best" is our motto at MdPreparedness..

 

[BlueHeeler]

I am definitely a bug in person also, but that creates a serious problem if my bunker house is flooded or burned.

Otherwise it would be highly unlikely I could find more food, water, and ammo somewhere else than I already have stashed.

 

[Terpnut]

I am definitely a bug in person also, but that creates a serious problem if my bunker house is flooded or burned.

Otherwise it would be highly unlikely I could find more food, water, and ammo somewhere else than I already have stashed.

X2. Unless I absolutely had to leave there's no BO for me. I've got a wife, kids, dog, etc. and rolling out is not a realistic option. I live on the bay so water is available. My plan would be to rally the neighborhood and try and become self sufficent as a community ASAP - i.e. food, water, health care and defense in no particular order.

If and when a hoard comes a calling I've got a lot of rounds they have to get through. And if they do, they win and we lose. Simple as that but I'll go down fighting and defending my property and family where a true chance of survival exists. I'm a hunter and outdoorsman but the chances of survival in the woods with a family are slim to none and you know what they say about slim......

 

[Kelson1066]

I have a Get Home bag, not a Bug Out bag.

If I do have to leave, I have a place in the middle of nowhere I can go to. It's a few hours away, so that might be problematic...

It's the same for myself. Our bug out plan is similar to our standard evacuation plan. Get the kid, get home, if you can't get home go to predetermined location. If we don't meet up by midnight make way to predetermined location and wait for contact.

Since I keep 24 hours worth of emergency supplies in my vehicle at all times this plan should work.

Only issue I have is how to transport guns and ammo.

 

[DaemonAssassin]

It's the same for myself. Our bug out plan is similar to our standard evacuation plan. Get the kid, get home, if you can't get home go to predetermined location. If we don't meet up by midnight make way to predetermined location and wait for contact.

Since I keep 24 hours worth of emergency supplies in my vehicle at all times this plan should work.

Only issue I have is how to transport guns and ammo.

I did some thinking about how to transport larger quantities of ammo (2k+ at a time) without the neighbors knowing what I was doing while practicing dry runs. I realized the answer was in front of me the whole time. Everybody has coolers of all shapes and sizes, so why not use them for ammo and if they are long enough for rifles?

Case in point, I was doing a dry run (minus weapons cases because I live in a nice development and kids run around all the time and parents can be a bit too nosy sometimes) loading all my ammo into my truck, along with some other things. My one neighbor walked over and asked me why I was putting camping supplies and ammo cans/watertight containers into the bed of my truck. I was busted right there, but then again he is a federal LEO. Not 2 days later I did it again using coolers and he came over and asked me who was getting married. Hmmm, the coolers look innocuous and people don't pay attention to them...

What do you guys think of using coolers in that manner?

 

[corelokt]

I think it depends on the scenerio if you should bug out or bug in. I would think someone living in a rural area on a few acres would be more likely to bug in. Someone in a crowded urban area may want to bug out if ample time to react permits it. Is the situation a slowly escalating event or a sudden crisis?
Other deciding factors would be the event. A pandemic spreading fast, A natural disaster, a civil war or hostile govt takeover. Who is left may be something to ponder...... a lot of dead people or a lot of angry, hungry ,living people.
God bless us all and good luck

 

[TLL]

I did some thinking about how to transport larger quantities of ammo (2k+ at a time) without the neighbors knowing what I was doing while practicing dry runs. I realized the answer was in front of me the whole time. Everybody has coolers of all shapes and sizes, so why not use them for ammo and if they are long enough for rifles?

Case in point, I was doing a dry run (minus weapons cases because I live in a nice development and kids run around all the time and parents can be a bit too nosy sometimes) loading all my ammo into my truck, along with some other things. My one neighbor walked over and asked me why I was putting camping supplies and ammo cans/watertight containers into the bed of my truck. I was busted right there, but then again he is a federal LEO. Not 2 days later I did it again using coolers and he came over and asked me who was getting married. Hmmm, the coolers look innocuous and people don't pay attention to them...

What do you guys think of using coolers in that manner?

Coolers are good. Trash cans can be put to use in the same way. Cost less.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

 

[Jackson923]

The only reason you should Bug Out (BO) is because where you are located is no longer safe to stay. Ex: radiation, chemical, fire, flood, etc.

Our gear is set up for motor vehicle travel. If necessary the gear is color coded and modular enough to be slimmed down to bicycle travel in seconds. It can be further slimmed down to foot travel (in seconds). The color coding is easy enough for the wife to understand even under extreme stress and in poor lighting. Gear is worthless if you don’t understand how to use it. Yes the wife and I practice with our gear.

If we Bug In (BI) the normal day to day supplies are already in the home. If we require more supplies, we have our gear in the dedicated staging area. It’s entertaining to think about zombies; the reality is the first few hours of any crisis situation will not be far from that of the first few hours of the zombie apocalypse. Panic kills. You can “what if” until the cows come home; it’s best to prepare for reality and actual threats. Obviously leaving a home due to the electrical grid being temporarily down wasn’t a major crisis situation, but for me it was a reality and I learned a LOT from it. Will I ever have to BO again? I don’t know. I can think of a million reasons to BO. I can think of another million to BI. Your best bet is to be prepared, and it doesn’t cost a fortune to be prepared for localized emergencies which require you to BI/BO.

This is interesting, can you post a couple of pics of your set up and how it breaks down? If your worried about OPSEC will you send them by PM or email. I'm curious how you have this set up and divided by packs to reduce your load for travel. Thanks!

 

[prmorin]

bugged out 11 years ago. Running stream and large stocked lake within 500', off the beaten path with single bridge road access for miles, surrounded by farmland and hundreds of acres of woods, good neighbors of the same spirit and will who are always learning and thinking.

Thats the kind place I need to find

 

[Angeleyes1968]

Looking for about 10 acres with a running stream to build a couple cabins for the family. That's where I would love to be able to bug in all the time.

 

[Joseph87']

I won't leave unless forced to. Moving all of that food and ammo isn't going to be easy. I'll let the zombie hordes stroll by and wait until they're gone before heading out.

Maybe a silencer for the wanderer's tht won't pass ...