Posted: 4/27/2007 7:35:40 AM EDT
| I was sitting here reading about the preps that others have made for possible SHTF or worse. Whether to bug in or bug out. It would seem to me that bugging out is limited to the amount of gas in the gas tank of your vehicle and how much food and water you can carry. So the best one can do is to last maybe a week. Given that would not bugging in be the only viable option provided you are not in a devestated zone.. |
| Good observations! I understand that the idea of "Bugging Out" would be to a predetermined and optimistically prestocked location and or position! It is also generally frowned on that you would leave your home to "Take to the Road". There seems to be a plethra of issues that surround a plan of this sort. Most of us are unable to maintain two locations, both cost and stuff! I personally beleive that if at all possible we would have a better chance of survival by staying in our home surroundings. Although if a person was able to move to the bugout location and establish it as the home surroundings all the better... My two cents! |
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Most possible disasters don't have that high of death toll. Now if you happen to be in a area and it looks like 99.9 percent death rate if you stick around, well guess your walking. If you don't have a place to run to leaving a city is like leaving the ship and jumping into a life raft during stormy seas. In other words if the ships sinking anyway your stuck, abandon ship. If the ship is just taking on water but not sinking yet, well maybe you don't want to rick it in those stormy seas. |
| Well I've come to the conclusion that bugging in is the best option except in those situations where you would die if you didn't leave. Other then facing death I cannot see leaving ones home. After all you do know the people and the area. You do know where other food and water stocks could be acquired and frankly it would take many trips just to transport what everyone says you need to have to that safe house. Providing someone has not already set up residance in your safe house. |
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Bugging in would be the preffered mode for most situations. Bugging out is to avoid things like fire, flood, earthquakes.... a scoot and hover mode until you can go back. Having a camp or a friends house 3-4 hours away to go to is about ideal so you have some staples already stored in a remote location. Long term survivability is better with all the resources you have at home. However, its more fun to practice BO on a weekend by grabbing your pack and going camping and hiking and shooting than it is to practice BI by staying home and cutting firewood and hauling water from the brook! Maybe I will practice BI and start a batch of beer this weekend.... 
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You're correct. Bugging in is the name of the game in 99% of all situations. Because of that you'll need the means to supply yourself/family with food, water, light, heat, protection and sanitation. That's no small feat all in itself. What's really bad is that in most places when the calvary arrives they'll remove you from your home "for YOUR safety" even if you're totally fine and doing well and turn you into a refugee at some shelter. There are actually laws on the books they can cite saying "if there is no running water inside the home it's uninhabitable". I've looked at my local laws and spoke with some people in EMA about it and it could happen! (don't want to hear the bravdo of "Not me, I'll fight them.." Heard it all before. Perfect example is Katrina - people who were doing fine were removed by the rescuers and then turned into refugees. BUT, if you do have to bug out due to some 1% of situation occuring, Massive fire rolling through neighborhood, gas leak, huge riot, Mall Ninjas on the loose - whatever, Have a plan on where you will go, don't get stuck on major interstates, make contacts outside your area you can trust, family members you could stay with for a few days then return. #1 thing about Bugging Out is to NOT become a refugee. I know several people from online and reality who refuse to have a bug out plan, it's Bugging in for them - no other option.  Just adding my .02 worth, |
I'm pretty sure that your conclusion is the common conclusion here. It is just more interesting to talk about the bug out options. Everyone knows (or should know) the basics for bugging in. There are often topics/threads on generators, alternative power, how to augment basements for shelter, etc. The key really is to keep as many options as possible. Just don't lock yourself into one option. For instance, in most cases, we will be locking down in place, but we do have an option to go to a location a couple of hours away which is away from most urban areas. It is a full time family residence so it is always occupied but has room for us. |
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dragongoddess, most of us who have been at this for a while understnad that bug in is by far the preferred response. We live in a location that many would regard as a great BOL, and we plan to bug in for about 99% of possible scenarios. We would be remiss if we did not have a bugout plan due to the fact that Murphy and I are well acquainted old "fniends." There are innumerable low probability, high consequence events that coudl require a bugout. We have plans in place for local, intermediate, and long range BO shuld it be necessary. I keep fuel on hand for emergency situations and have two 4x4 vehicles if necessary for moving out. We have run alternate routes to the point of using state forest roads and township roads as our only route. Bugging in does not provide the drama of a last minute bugout, but at my age, I've had enough drama for one lifetime. Ops |
NO it would be a terrible idea. How about starting off with, "Hey let's look into getting our Neighborhood Administration into CERT training" Community Emergency Response Teams. In that program it shows basic preps, light SAR, first aid - find out who's interested in that then go from there with those who are going along with it. As soon as you say "Lets get AR's and 10k of ammo, years supply of food..." you'll be looked at as the wackjob of the group immeadiatly and people won't go for it at all - I SAW IT DONE in a neighborhood watch program. Guy wanted everyone in the watch program to go out and buy a gun and ammo first - no preps what so ever except buying only a gun for neighborhood defense. When we spoke about CERT team for the neighborhood watch this guy wanted nothing to do with it because he's got everything he needs to survive a local disaster and called our organization utterly worthless. Take it slow, use the greyman approach, Just a suggestion, but JMHO, that would be a bad idea to suggest, the big trick is... tricking the sheeple into preparing but not letting them think they're a survivalist or wackjob preparedness nut. |
Yes. You are correct I prepare for bugging IN first. However, I also have a bugoutbag because if I am evacuated I don't want to be one of those poor saps you see with whatever they grabbed in a panic and stuffed into trashbags falling apart all over the sidewalk. I won't be dependant on emergency services(which as Katrina pointed out may be weeks away from mobilizing) handing me a blanket to stay warm because I'll have a dry set of spare clothes and a sleeping bag and a space blanket and a poncho to stay dry. I won't be eating raw food I scavenge because I will have fire making supplies. I won't be shitting myself into dehydration because of the tainted water I drank because even after my 3 liters does run out I'll have a filter, water tablets, and the ability to boil water. I won't be mugged in the street for my supplies whilst bugging out because I will have at least one reliable firearm on me with which to defend myself and my children. I will not be these people...  My bugout bag allows me a very moddest level of comfort whilst getting someplace else that is safe. Once I am someplace else I will have to re-evaluate. Sure if a situation drags out and I am not able to be at home I will need to find food but a person can live IF THEY HAVE TO for a month or more without food. Without minimal shelter and fire and minimal safe water you can die of exposure in even mild climates in very little time. |
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I am in total agreement with what everyone else has said about bugging-in being the primary option for survival. I would also like to add that very few people can afford a separate bug-out location, along with a reasonable level of preparations. With this financial constraint in mind, where would you go if you left your home? Would any of your relatives have adequate preparations and how long would it take to get there? You could move into the coutry or perhaps a state park in order to get away from the masses and have ready access to game, but how do you and your family keep out of the weather (especially during the winter)? In my mind, the best bug-out option would be to get a modest camper that you could easily pull behind your vehicle. You can find older camper models for a few hundred to a few thousand dollars if you are willing to put some work into them to make them more usable. The camper would serve as great recreation for the family during good times and truely be your mobile home in more despirate times. ...just my .02 cents worth! 
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| I have a BOB just in case, but the chances of getting out of here are very slim. I'll use it if forced out by NG. or LE. I cannot even imagine what the roads will look like with 16,000,000 people leaving at the same time. I thought about the places I would go that would be great for bugging out, except for the millions of other people that would be heading there too. The only good thing is I am in a part of town that will be protected from any rioting/looting. As long as the big quake or a nuke does not take me out I would be much better off staying home. |
I like the camper idea as well and have been considering it for a couple of years now because of the reasons you mention. Fuel shortages could really fuck up a person's plans but if you have enough fuel to get a few hundred miles away you could squat anywhere in the boonies where'd there'd be less threat of looters. Then a knowledge of edible indigenous plants and the ability to hunt would be the only real problem. I like camping and backpacking and when my son gets a bit older I will in all likelyhood buy a camper to use recreationally every year to justify it's ownership. My wife has even expressed an interest in having some sort of trailer we can take to campsites and park as our "home base" when out seeing the sites in the area so it shouldn't be that difficult an expense to justify. 
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| Bug out would probably be easy here. Lots of woods near by. Also, when Ivan hit, the state made the interstate a one way, going north. we went up in short time and stayed at a family member's farm. There we had generator and food and drink etc. Also a big barn for the animals. Pretty good set up |