I'm usually too busy doing my own survival stuff, running classes, backpacking, and all that to really pay too much attention to other bloggers or whatever in the survival space.
However I do on occassion read a blog post if something catches my eye. Now to be honest, things like "what to stock" is almost always something that I read because it helps me spot things that I might be missing or haven't thought of, or forgotten, or whatever.
I am regularly astounded however by some of the things people list either as a "necessary" bug out bag item or as something that should be stocked at your BOL.
THIS POST is an example of what I'm talking about. Mimeograph machines??? Are you serious?
Look, your BOL is a location that you stock for when something goes really bad. If your BOL is in the same goegraphic area and there's a natural disaster then your BOL won't be habitable anymore than your home is.
The truth right now however is that what is going on makes me think that your BOL is going to be much more useful should the US government declare some form of martial law. Given the positively insane amount of ammo that the Department of Homeland Security is buying (1.6 billion rounds at present, enough to wage full scale war for 30 years) combined with the ever growing purchases of food supplies by FEMA, purchased in a way that seems to be purposely interrupting the supply chain of emergency food for preppers ... I think it's a fairly likely scenario.
Especially when you figure that the US is currently buried in an ACTUAL yearly deficit running at 75% of GDP and an ACTUAL debt load rapidly approaching 200 trillion dollars, is going to mean that sooner or later the US is going to "pay" for the debt by currency inflation. That will lead to actual massive inflation and THAT is when the crack down will occur (I call it "Syria in the US").
Understand that a massive crackdown by the US government against the citizenry (effectively eliminating the "pesky" constitution) means several very important things.
1) The electrical grid is going to be closely monitored.
2) Various types and flavors of "law enforcement" personnel are going to be actively looking for people trying to be independent
3) Satellite technology means that any gun stashes that you THINK you have hidden are actually well known
Here's what I'm saying.
If (when really) TSHTF you need to be as invisible as possible. You need to be able to live without electricity or gas. If you think the government isn't going to use satellites to find homes being heated that aren't on a known electrical grid or getting fuel oil from known suppliers you are sorely mistaken.
Should the US government do exactly what it looks like its preparing to do, living anywhere in the US is going to be difficult no matter how great your BOL is.
In fact I'm going to go farther.
Unless the US decides to perform a wholesale takeover of both Mexico and Canada then I am rapidly coming to the belief that you need a BOL in both locations. I say both because which you go to will depend on a number of factors.
One in the wilderness of far north Canada (where bothering you is more trouble than its worth) or very deep into southern Mexico (area south of Monterey) where again its just not worth messing with you. Or better yet, go farther south still into Honduras, Belize, or El Salvador (all of which are beautiful by the way).
Each has its own pros and cons. If you go north, you can set yourself up with things like electricity and fuel oil and you can be exceedingly independent. The culture up there is a culture of independence, of making it on your own and bartering for the few things you do need.
However it is extremely cold and you had better know what you're doing to survive up there.
On the flip side, if you set yourself up south of Mexico you can go into the wilderness areas there an live quite comfortably thanks to a very temperate climate. However you have to understand how to survive the storms. The great thing about both places is that you can set yourself up with electricity generation using both solar and wind. (again, inside the US you'll be found if you do this and "brought to heel")
All of these things are why I keep saying the same thing ... all survival sooner or later is primitive survival. If you're going to go south of Mexico or into the Canadian Wilderness you'd better be fairly skilled in primitive survival.
SUMMARY
A BOL inside the US is now useful only for a natural disaster and THAT means that your BOL needs to be in a different geographical area than where you live. Of course actually getting to your BOL during or even shortly after a natural disaster is probably going to be difficult if not actually impossible.
Start thinking about setting up BOLs outside the US should the economy collapse and martial law is declared.
Showing posts with label bug out. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bug out. Show all posts
Friday, August 16, 2013
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
A really great question (sort of)
A guy on the Survivalist Board put up a post about rebuilding society with 30 people. Now personally, I think he and several other people overcomplicated the situation. Here is my response (including details on what I would do and how)
A group of 30 could survive ASSUMING a survival expert in the group that actually knows what they are doing AND DOESN'T FRIGGEN VIOLATE THE RULES.
I put that last part in all caps for a reason. The show on Discovery, "Naked and Afraid" puts two people supposed to be primitive survival experts into actual primitive survival situations. However with a couple of exceptions these people violate the rules and it ends up screwing them. So, I'm going to list out how a group of 30 people survive in a situation where their only resources are the clothes they are wearing.
First, the one primitive survival expert is ultimate authority PERIOD. Anyone not doing what the leader says is punished severely and instantly. Three times of disobeying the leader results in banishment if not death on the spot. The first person to disobey needs to be made a very brutal example of to prevent it happening again, ditto with the first person to reach 3 times disobeying. However if the first person to disobey (or two) are punished harshly enough then probably it won't happen again after that. A small group of just 30 and people get the message pretty quick.
Important rule ... NO ONE is allowed to evacuate bowels less than 300 feet from where ever the group intends to sleep, and said evacuation is a location decided upon by the leader (more on why later) and a hole must be dug at least one foot deep and then covered.
1) Fire.
Leader starts a fire IMMEDIATELY. Even if where they are isn't a good location for the group to pick as a "camp" a fire can be moved (any decent primitive expert should know how). In every survival show I've seen this is always the #1 mistake I see made. Start the fire soon.
Once the group is where they are going to make camp, for the love of all that's good and holy make it BIG. Cooking occurs on the outer edges not the middle. A fire that's 10 feet in diameter will keep away predators, generate smoke to keep away insects, keep up morale when things start to suck (and in the beginning they will), generate heat, and in the beginning give a way of treating water.
2 people are tasked with tending the fire, three more are tasked to obtaining fuel for it. (in the beginning this will mean finding stuff on the ground and even tearing branches off trees ... smoke is actually a good thing to ward off insects so some "green wood" is very desirable. Not only that, but sometimes just walking to the nearest tree and tearing thins off it is easier. Energy conservation is important at this stage.
2) Water.
EVERYONE ELSE works on getting a flow of treated water established. Water from the ground must be boiled ... PERIOD. Yes I know there are some exceptions but with 30 people generating enough water is going to require obtaining water from "untrusted" sources ... that means boiling.
Until there is a good "flow" of boiled drinkable water NOTHING ELSE matters. EVERYONE (except fire tender-ers and fuel gatherers) is put to getting this done.
Once it is done, probably 6 people will be put to keeping that flow of water (transporting water from the source to the fire and boiling, and adding to the number of drinking vessels).
Another huge mistake that I see being made by supposed "experts" is risking drinking running water from a stream. Any water that comes off the ground, out of the ground, and so on MUST be assumed to be bad and MUST be boiled. Water out of a plant doesn't have this rule but getting enough water for 30 people from plant sources is nearly impossible. You WILL need "ground water" from a steam or digging a well or evaporating sea water (not easy given zero resources). I can't stress this enough. Water from the ground must always be assumed bad and therefore it must be boiled. There are exceptions but you'd better be VERY confident in that exception. The entire group of 30 can be killed off quite quickly from drinking just a small amount of bad water. If not from the actual illness from the water itself, then because the illness has made the group too weak to obtain food. Boiling water doesn't take that long, it's why fire is the first item ... it's the first item exactly because the REAL most important thing is clean water.
3) Shelter. (notice it isn't food yet)
Leader would need to ensure that the components for enough shelters are created and built. All structures for 30 people would have final assembly done at once. This eliminates the arguments over who gets to sleep in the first constructed shelters. The 19 people not working on the fire or water are all working on this task. Done properly, within about 4 or 5 days the group has a very large fire, plenty of water to drink, and shelters from the elements. Many small shelters are better than one large shelter (they hold together better in heavy winds).
4) Food.
Branches are torn off trees and FILED (no tools yet) to points on rocks. Again, all 19 people not on fire or water duty are put to acquisition of food.
Most predators are likely going to be drawn to the area the group is using for bowel evacuation. 19 people, properly lead, should be able to relatively safely kill a predator (boar or cat).
If the main predator is snakes and "lizards" (crocs or aligators) then you do have to go get them but they are the "safest" to get assuming the leader knows how (crocs and aligators are safer ... snakes are too much work for the amount of food unless one is at hand). If the main predator is bear, that means fish ... DO NOT tangle with bear even (especially even) babies. Baby bears are given VERY wide space. A full grown bear will often not bother with humans at all ... except mothers who will violently protect their babies.
The leader, besides getting sharpened branches to the group also teaches people how to weave nets and create baskets, both of which are used for trapping fish, small game, and birds. In the early stages, these are pretty much always the primary source of food.
Again, snakes, kill them if they are close, but often snakes require a large expenditure of effort for the amount of food obtained so they shouldn't be "hunted". Fishing with nets, trapping fish/sea life with the baskets, trapping small game/birds with nets and baskets. In short, you need a lot of nets and a lot of baskets to feed 30 people. Again, all 19 people should be put to doing nothing but this for probably 2 or 3 days.
THIS WILL BE HARD. People will be hungry and will want to go off hunting with the first weapon. It's one thing to set a trap with the first net/basket. Especially fish traps. Set them as you go. Hunting should be done only in small groups with the leader while others are still working on baskets. Again, far less energy is expended in trapping/netting than in hunting which is why the early effort should be on baskets and nets NOT on hunting.
The nets need to be fairly large and "closely knit" (meaning small holes) and that takes time. In the right regions with boar and cat predators, these can be obtained by a few people (from the bowel evacuation area) to keep everyone going at first. Someone with decent primitive survival skill will know how to gut an animal with nothing more than a pointed stick. However without knives a lot of meat against the skin will be lost. Bones are OVERWHELMINGLY the best place to start with the creation of sharp tools however and bones from predatory animals are the best place to start as they tend to be very dense. From here, the 3 best people with the fishing and 2 best hunters are put to doing that now that there are sharp tools. They will also "treat" their kills/captures (gutting/skinning), The two people that tend the fire will do the cooking for everyone. Two people will at this point be put to gathering edible plants. At this stage calories from protein and animal/fish fats are going to be the most important. which is why the gathering doesn't occur till after protein sources have been found.
5) Improvement.
At this point there is a VERY good sized fire, plenty of water to drink (actually well more than that for soups, cleaning, and so on), only mediocre shelter, and enough food to prevent starvation. Bones are now giving the group tools to make fuel for the fire easier, the creation of more nets and baskets much faster and easier, and the acquisition of predators for meat easier. 12 people are now without "jobs". They will be put to the task of improving the shelters (ideally permanent "hard" structures made of brick), running water, "harder" tools (stone axes) and generally attempting to improve life. A good sized C shaped wall should be built around the camp to keep out predators and snakes. (after 5 to 10 years the wall can be pulled down as predators learn to avoid the humans with the pointy sticks ... however whether or not the wall is pulled down is going to be a factor of the primary weather. That C shaped wall can keep away a lot of wind if there are frequent storms (tropical or blizzard) which can make it easier to keep structures standing.
Hopefully the leader understands something about building vertical aquaponics systems. These generate a lot of fish, vegetables/berries/herbs, and don't require much effort so some people will be put to that. "Horizontal" gardens/farms require too much work for a group of only 30 and should be avoided.
Any "prey" animals will need to be captured so that domestication can begin. It's about having food sources brought to you so that energy doesn't have to be expended on capture/hunting on an ongoing basis. "animal husbandry" of wild animals can be a little tricky if the animals are penned too tightly. It's best if you can have a fairly good sized area where the animals are mostly penned by the land and there is a fairly good sized space. Shelters will be needed to be built for the animals as well AND they will need to be guarded against predators which means another shelter for the "shepherd on duty"
6) Moving forward.
In a group of 30 there will be pregnancies so any natural medicinals will need to be found, determined, and ideally made part of aquaponics as well or if it's a tree then locations identified. Hopefully someone in the group has some kind of understanding of midwifery.
THAT IS SERIOUSLY ALL THAT IS NEEDED for probably 20 or more years. The group is going to be too small to worry about larger "societal" things like law enforcement and judiciary and accountants. In the beginning the society would need to be very "communal" in that everyone works and everyone has what they need (water, shelter, food). It will be at the leader's sole discretion to determine if someone isn't pulling their weight and if they aren't ... they are gone.
Only 20 plus years into it will something more robust be needed and then likely it will evolve into a tribal system. The "elders" will take over the leadership of what will become a tribe.
Whether or not there is any expansion beyond a basic tribal structure is going to depend on the natural resources, competition with any other groups/tribes, and other things.
HOWEVER, for a very long time, the 30 people can make it. ASSUMING there is an actual primitive survival expert in the group that doesn't violate the rules trying to get from one place to another (not building a fire soon enough) or trying to build shelters for comfort before a stable supply of drinkable water is established. Shelter is not needed to keep safe from predators if a large enough fire is built. Not even boars will get too close to a large roaring fire.
If the group is without someone with primitive survival training AND expertise ... then that group is probably really screwed and not likely to make it a month or at most two.
BASIC LONG TERM PRIMITIVE SURVIVAL RULES
A group of 30 could survive ASSUMING a survival expert in the group that actually knows what they are doing AND DOESN'T FRIGGEN VIOLATE THE RULES.
I put that last part in all caps for a reason. The show on Discovery, "Naked and Afraid" puts two people supposed to be primitive survival experts into actual primitive survival situations. However with a couple of exceptions these people violate the rules and it ends up screwing them. So, I'm going to list out how a group of 30 people survive in a situation where their only resources are the clothes they are wearing.
First, the one primitive survival expert is ultimate authority PERIOD. Anyone not doing what the leader says is punished severely and instantly. Three times of disobeying the leader results in banishment if not death on the spot. The first person to disobey needs to be made a very brutal example of to prevent it happening again, ditto with the first person to reach 3 times disobeying. However if the first person to disobey (or two) are punished harshly enough then probably it won't happen again after that. A small group of just 30 and people get the message pretty quick.
Important rule ... NO ONE is allowed to evacuate bowels less than 300 feet from where ever the group intends to sleep, and said evacuation is a location decided upon by the leader (more on why later) and a hole must be dug at least one foot deep and then covered.
1) Fire.
Leader starts a fire IMMEDIATELY. Even if where they are isn't a good location for the group to pick as a "camp" a fire can be moved (any decent primitive expert should know how). In every survival show I've seen this is always the #1 mistake I see made. Start the fire soon.
Once the group is where they are going to make camp, for the love of all that's good and holy make it BIG. Cooking occurs on the outer edges not the middle. A fire that's 10 feet in diameter will keep away predators, generate smoke to keep away insects, keep up morale when things start to suck (and in the beginning they will), generate heat, and in the beginning give a way of treating water.
2 people are tasked with tending the fire, three more are tasked to obtaining fuel for it. (in the beginning this will mean finding stuff on the ground and even tearing branches off trees ... smoke is actually a good thing to ward off insects so some "green wood" is very desirable. Not only that, but sometimes just walking to the nearest tree and tearing thins off it is easier. Energy conservation is important at this stage.
2) Water.
EVERYONE ELSE works on getting a flow of treated water established. Water from the ground must be boiled ... PERIOD. Yes I know there are some exceptions but with 30 people generating enough water is going to require obtaining water from "untrusted" sources ... that means boiling.
Until there is a good "flow" of boiled drinkable water NOTHING ELSE matters. EVERYONE (except fire tender-ers and fuel gatherers) is put to getting this done.
Once it is done, probably 6 people will be put to keeping that flow of water (transporting water from the source to the fire and boiling, and adding to the number of drinking vessels).
Another huge mistake that I see being made by supposed "experts" is risking drinking running water from a stream. Any water that comes off the ground, out of the ground, and so on MUST be assumed to be bad and MUST be boiled. Water out of a plant doesn't have this rule but getting enough water for 30 people from plant sources is nearly impossible. You WILL need "ground water" from a steam or digging a well or evaporating sea water (not easy given zero resources). I can't stress this enough. Water from the ground must always be assumed bad and therefore it must be boiled. There are exceptions but you'd better be VERY confident in that exception. The entire group of 30 can be killed off quite quickly from drinking just a small amount of bad water. If not from the actual illness from the water itself, then because the illness has made the group too weak to obtain food. Boiling water doesn't take that long, it's why fire is the first item ... it's the first item exactly because the REAL most important thing is clean water.
3) Shelter. (notice it isn't food yet)
Leader would need to ensure that the components for enough shelters are created and built. All structures for 30 people would have final assembly done at once. This eliminates the arguments over who gets to sleep in the first constructed shelters. The 19 people not working on the fire or water are all working on this task. Done properly, within about 4 or 5 days the group has a very large fire, plenty of water to drink, and shelters from the elements. Many small shelters are better than one large shelter (they hold together better in heavy winds).
4) Food.
Branches are torn off trees and FILED (no tools yet) to points on rocks. Again, all 19 people not on fire or water duty are put to acquisition of food.
Most predators are likely going to be drawn to the area the group is using for bowel evacuation. 19 people, properly lead, should be able to relatively safely kill a predator (boar or cat).
If the main predator is snakes and "lizards" (crocs or aligators) then you do have to go get them but they are the "safest" to get assuming the leader knows how (crocs and aligators are safer ... snakes are too much work for the amount of food unless one is at hand). If the main predator is bear, that means fish ... DO NOT tangle with bear even (especially even) babies. Baby bears are given VERY wide space. A full grown bear will often not bother with humans at all ... except mothers who will violently protect their babies.
The leader, besides getting sharpened branches to the group also teaches people how to weave nets and create baskets, both of which are used for trapping fish, small game, and birds. In the early stages, these are pretty much always the primary source of food.
Again, snakes, kill them if they are close, but often snakes require a large expenditure of effort for the amount of food obtained so they shouldn't be "hunted". Fishing with nets, trapping fish/sea life with the baskets, trapping small game/birds with nets and baskets. In short, you need a lot of nets and a lot of baskets to feed 30 people. Again, all 19 people should be put to doing nothing but this for probably 2 or 3 days.
THIS WILL BE HARD. People will be hungry and will want to go off hunting with the first weapon. It's one thing to set a trap with the first net/basket. Especially fish traps. Set them as you go. Hunting should be done only in small groups with the leader while others are still working on baskets. Again, far less energy is expended in trapping/netting than in hunting which is why the early effort should be on baskets and nets NOT on hunting.
The nets need to be fairly large and "closely knit" (meaning small holes) and that takes time. In the right regions with boar and cat predators, these can be obtained by a few people (from the bowel evacuation area) to keep everyone going at first. Someone with decent primitive survival skill will know how to gut an animal with nothing more than a pointed stick. However without knives a lot of meat against the skin will be lost. Bones are OVERWHELMINGLY the best place to start with the creation of sharp tools however and bones from predatory animals are the best place to start as they tend to be very dense. From here, the 3 best people with the fishing and 2 best hunters are put to doing that now that there are sharp tools. They will also "treat" their kills/captures (gutting/skinning), The two people that tend the fire will do the cooking for everyone. Two people will at this point be put to gathering edible plants. At this stage calories from protein and animal/fish fats are going to be the most important. which is why the gathering doesn't occur till after protein sources have been found.
5) Improvement.
At this point there is a VERY good sized fire, plenty of water to drink (actually well more than that for soups, cleaning, and so on), only mediocre shelter, and enough food to prevent starvation. Bones are now giving the group tools to make fuel for the fire easier, the creation of more nets and baskets much faster and easier, and the acquisition of predators for meat easier. 12 people are now without "jobs". They will be put to the task of improving the shelters (ideally permanent "hard" structures made of brick), running water, "harder" tools (stone axes) and generally attempting to improve life. A good sized C shaped wall should be built around the camp to keep out predators and snakes. (after 5 to 10 years the wall can be pulled down as predators learn to avoid the humans with the pointy sticks ... however whether or not the wall is pulled down is going to be a factor of the primary weather. That C shaped wall can keep away a lot of wind if there are frequent storms (tropical or blizzard) which can make it easier to keep structures standing.
Hopefully the leader understands something about building vertical aquaponics systems. These generate a lot of fish, vegetables/berries/herbs, and don't require much effort so some people will be put to that. "Horizontal" gardens/farms require too much work for a group of only 30 and should be avoided.
Any "prey" animals will need to be captured so that domestication can begin. It's about having food sources brought to you so that energy doesn't have to be expended on capture/hunting on an ongoing basis. "animal husbandry" of wild animals can be a little tricky if the animals are penned too tightly. It's best if you can have a fairly good sized area where the animals are mostly penned by the land and there is a fairly good sized space. Shelters will be needed to be built for the animals as well AND they will need to be guarded against predators which means another shelter for the "shepherd on duty"
6) Moving forward.
In a group of 30 there will be pregnancies so any natural medicinals will need to be found, determined, and ideally made part of aquaponics as well or if it's a tree then locations identified. Hopefully someone in the group has some kind of understanding of midwifery.
THAT IS SERIOUSLY ALL THAT IS NEEDED for probably 20 or more years. The group is going to be too small to worry about larger "societal" things like law enforcement and judiciary and accountants. In the beginning the society would need to be very "communal" in that everyone works and everyone has what they need (water, shelter, food). It will be at the leader's sole discretion to determine if someone isn't pulling their weight and if they aren't ... they are gone.
Only 20 plus years into it will something more robust be needed and then likely it will evolve into a tribal system. The "elders" will take over the leadership of what will become a tribe.
Whether or not there is any expansion beyond a basic tribal structure is going to depend on the natural resources, competition with any other groups/tribes, and other things.
HOWEVER, for a very long time, the 30 people can make it. ASSUMING there is an actual primitive survival expert in the group that doesn't violate the rules trying to get from one place to another (not building a fire soon enough) or trying to build shelters for comfort before a stable supply of drinkable water is established. Shelter is not needed to keep safe from predators if a large enough fire is built. Not even boars will get too close to a large roaring fire.
If the group is without someone with primitive survival training AND expertise ... then that group is probably really screwed and not likely to make it a month or at most two.
BASIC LONG TERM PRIMITIVE SURVIVAL RULES
- FIRE FIRST. In any survival situation, build a fire as soon as possible. No kidding. Like right away. You can keep a fire going, you can travel with a fire. So if you aren't at a good camping location, build a fire right away and just move with it. Then, when you are at your Bug Out Location (BOL) you can make a larger fire.
- WATER. Water must be boiled before being drank. You need to be thinking of water by the end of your first day in a survival situation. By the end of your second, your fire should be used to boil water which you then drink. In other words, if you are travelling, then you travel for one day, then do nothing but acquire water the second day.
- SHELTER. Shelter makes it easy to survive if the weather turns ugly ... and it's only a matter of time before it does, and it will probably happen sooner than you like.
- FOOD. Trying to kill "prey" animals like deer or rabbit isn't very easy. Instead think trapping/snaring of fish and small game. It's generally a much better "yield" for the energy you expend. Doing this means nets and baskets for trapping (and if you're by an ocean, trapping fish is an instant "go to")
Everything else from here starts to get much easier.
However, in any survival situation, get a fire going and think about water RIGHT AWAY. Then shelter, then food.
If you acquire good skills in each of those areas for "primitive survival" you can pretty much survive anywhere. Learn how to create a "bow drill" to start a fire. boiling water is fairly self-explanatory if you have a good fire going (just don't let it go out!). Shelter requires knowing how to use vines or other materials as lashings for larger things and knowing how to create some sort of roof against rain. Trapping/snaring requires knowing how to use natural materials to create nets and baskets.
ALL of these skills are actually very easy to obtain and are not hard to do.
If you can't do every one of these things yourself then it should be a pretty high priority to acquire those skills. In a true SHTF scenario you may not be able to get to your BOL or it may be destroyed. Any prepper MUST know how to survive with few resources.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
The problem with "make" instead of "stock pile"
Should there be some kind of natural disaster or something that forces me and my family to bug out (called the shit hitting the fan, or TSHTF for those new to this whole thing), I'm the kind of prepper that doesn't stock pile a whole lot. I want to grow, make, create, or hunt what I need.
There are a lot of pros and cons to this. On the Pro side, prepping this way is decidedly less expensive. Not only that, but learning how to create, I'm not even dependent on my specific bug out locations (BOLs) and could really bug out anywhere.
That said, doing things this way does have its Cons. The biggest of which to my mind is in "operations security" (OPSEC). In other words, gardens are visible. I live in ski country so my garden would need a green house during much of the year... which is still yet more visible.
Now, I have a plan for dealing with those things "as much as possible".
What I'm getting at here with this quick Saturday post is that there is no "perfect" or "right" way to prep and each method has its separate pros and cons. What is VITAL is for you to understand is the weak points are with even the METHOD you are using to prepare for some kind of disaster.
Knowing where you're weak can help you either fill those weak points or somehow use those weaknesses as an advantage.
There are a lot of pros and cons to this. On the Pro side, prepping this way is decidedly less expensive. Not only that, but learning how to create, I'm not even dependent on my specific bug out locations (BOLs) and could really bug out anywhere.
That said, doing things this way does have its Cons. The biggest of which to my mind is in "operations security" (OPSEC). In other words, gardens are visible. I live in ski country so my garden would need a green house during much of the year... which is still yet more visible.
Now, I have a plan for dealing with those things "as much as possible".
What I'm getting at here with this quick Saturday post is that there is no "perfect" or "right" way to prep and each method has its separate pros and cons. What is VITAL is for you to understand is the weak points are with even the METHOD you are using to prepare for some kind of disaster.
Knowing where you're weak can help you either fill those weak points or somehow use those weaknesses as an advantage.
Friday, January 13, 2012
Prep "Levels"
This whole "prepper" thing is, for some good reasons, focused on survival when things go really bad. Long term survival off-grid with the supply chains broken and mobs of starving rioters running the streets, and/or surviving a full blown bug out.
The fact of the matter however is that there are many more "normal" disasters that we are likely to face.
Prep Level 1: Simple Power Grid Failure
Lets face it, at some point this is going to happen. Can you communicate with others and let them know you're okay? Can your loved ones get to you? Do you have some alternate method of power generation to keep your refrigerator working and a radio running?
Seriously, out of all of the things we need to be prepared for this is the easiest one, but the most often overlooked unless you have a prep plan that allows for you staying at home.
Prep Level 2: Car Malfunction At Worst Possible Time
Now, we've heard of the Get Home Bag, and in the case of your car breaking down in the desert, IF you understand how to travel in the desert on foot, a Get Home Bag can literally mean you grabbing your bag, leaving your car, and doing it on foot. More likely, your "Get Home Bag" that you should keep in your car should be more considered a "stay alive in my car until someone comes by" bag.
The problem is that your Get Home Bag needs to change depending on where you are going to be traveling. The needs of someone in 120 Fahrenheit temps is obviously dramatically different than the needs of someone in sub zero temps.
Not only that, but of the two, the car break down during a blizzard is the worst scenario of the two as you could be stranded in your car for several days. Out in the desert it likely won't be more than a day. However, trying to stay in your car without it functioning in 120 degrees is problematic (your car would function like a giant greenhouse making it even hotter).
A quick word of note on this ... I really know what I'm doing in the snow and mountains. Despite that, If my car broke down during a blizzard and there was no one else around I would stay with my car. My "Get Home Bag" is packed for the mountains where I live. Survival chances during a blizzard drop dramatically when you leave your vehicle.
Prep Level 3: Localized Natural Disaster
The possibility of your power grid going down is a fairly likely event that most everyone will encounter sooner or later. Most of the country has experienced power grid failure for one reason or another that lasted multiple days and well into a week.
This is the first level where you need to worry about things like "Bug out bags" and "Bug out locations"
The possibility of your car breaking down is something most everyone has encountered though admittedly most of us break down on a major road and our cell phones work just fine. If you actually live in an area of extreme mountains or extreme desert then you already know that several people die every single year from cars breaking down and the person isn't prepared for it.
However, if you live somewhere that has tornadoes, a high possibility of torrential rain, hurricanes, "firestorms", or even earthquakes then you know that these events kill A LOT of people, often result in a break down in civil order, and generally things can get pretty ugly.
Katrina hopefully taught us all a valuable lesson regarding the government's ability to respond to something like this and how society will react.
Here is the problem with Localized Natural Disaster; with the exception of a hurricane, it can happen so suddenly that you can't get home to obtain your Bug Out Bag or if you can, your home won't still be there. This is where the "Get Home Bag" turns into a "Get To Your Bug Out Location" bag.
In my previous post I talked about "prepping your bug out location." Well folks, this right here is part of the reason for that. Your bug out location needs to be "ready enough" for your arrival even assuming you don't have your bug out bag ... because you might not have it. You may want to consider taking a look at the video below for assistance in getting your bug out location ready.
In fact, I would venture to say that unless the "localized natural disaster" is a hurricane, you stand a better than even chance of NOT having it. A hurricane is one of the very few massive natural disasters that gives fair warning of its arrival.
Those of you living in "tornado alley" are well away of how suddenly one of these puppies can take out a home. What if one goes through your neighborhood while you're at work?
What I'm saying is that your survival plan must include the possibility that you can't get to your actual Bug Out Bag!
For that matter, during that time of day it would mean children at school and possibly most of your other loved ones at work as well. What is your communications plan in the event of a breakdown in the usual communications system? Do your children know what to do? How will you communicate? I talked about communications in this post here.
Prep Level 4: Widespread Natural Disaster/National Breakdown In Civil Order
This is what most of us are actually prepping for ... and it is the least likely to happen. In most of the first world, governments are quite careful not to push their citizenry so far that breakdown like this will happen and most countries are geologically diverse enough that no natural disaster could be that wide spread (except near extinction level events like a huge meteor strike).
Part of the reason I don't worry about storing years of food is that the likelihood of the above is so astronomically remote. In the event something like the above happens, like I've said in previous posts, I'm much more about growing/hunting/creating what I need than I am with stock piling.
What's The Point Of These Stupid Levels Anyway?
Here's the thing. I wanted to put up this post about the prep levels to create some understanding within our community. In my opinion there is far too much planning for PL4 (prep level 4) despite the fact that few of us are actually likely to see it in our lifetime.
Now I will admit that with the current financial mess the world is in PL4 via massive civil order breakdown caused by an absolute collapse in the global financial system is becoming more likely.
However, it is still far more likely that you will have to live through a PL2 or PL3.
So let me ask you ... if your car breaks down can you live in it? If there is a PL4 do you have a "Get Home Bag" that will get you home or to your bug out location?
Here is my point with all of this.
Lets plan for the most likely survival events we are likely to encounter. Especially since starting with the most likely events we might encounter makes us more prepared for the PL4 level events.
The fact of the matter however is that there are many more "normal" disasters that we are likely to face.
Prep Level 1: Simple Power Grid Failure
Lets face it, at some point this is going to happen. Can you communicate with others and let them know you're okay? Can your loved ones get to you? Do you have some alternate method of power generation to keep your refrigerator working and a radio running?
Seriously, out of all of the things we need to be prepared for this is the easiest one, but the most often overlooked unless you have a prep plan that allows for you staying at home.
Prep Level 2: Car Malfunction At Worst Possible Time
- Your car breaks down on a lonely road during a blizzard in the middle of the night. It's well below zero, visibility is a few inches.
- Your car breaks down on a lonely road at noon in the middle of the desert. It's 120 in the shade and the heat causes disturbances in the air making it difficult to really tell what's up ahead.
Now, we've heard of the Get Home Bag, and in the case of your car breaking down in the desert, IF you understand how to travel in the desert on foot, a Get Home Bag can literally mean you grabbing your bag, leaving your car, and doing it on foot. More likely, your "Get Home Bag" that you should keep in your car should be more considered a "stay alive in my car until someone comes by" bag.
The problem is that your Get Home Bag needs to change depending on where you are going to be traveling. The needs of someone in 120 Fahrenheit temps is obviously dramatically different than the needs of someone in sub zero temps.
Not only that, but of the two, the car break down during a blizzard is the worst scenario of the two as you could be stranded in your car for several days. Out in the desert it likely won't be more than a day. However, trying to stay in your car without it functioning in 120 degrees is problematic (your car would function like a giant greenhouse making it even hotter).
A quick word of note on this ... I really know what I'm doing in the snow and mountains. Despite that, If my car broke down during a blizzard and there was no one else around I would stay with my car. My "Get Home Bag" is packed for the mountains where I live. Survival chances during a blizzard drop dramatically when you leave your vehicle.
Prep Level 3: Localized Natural Disaster
The possibility of your power grid going down is a fairly likely event that most everyone will encounter sooner or later. Most of the country has experienced power grid failure for one reason or another that lasted multiple days and well into a week.
This is the first level where you need to worry about things like "Bug out bags" and "Bug out locations"
The possibility of your car breaking down is something most everyone has encountered though admittedly most of us break down on a major road and our cell phones work just fine. If you actually live in an area of extreme mountains or extreme desert then you already know that several people die every single year from cars breaking down and the person isn't prepared for it.
However, if you live somewhere that has tornadoes, a high possibility of torrential rain, hurricanes, "firestorms", or even earthquakes then you know that these events kill A LOT of people, often result in a break down in civil order, and generally things can get pretty ugly.
Katrina hopefully taught us all a valuable lesson regarding the government's ability to respond to something like this and how society will react.
Here is the problem with Localized Natural Disaster; with the exception of a hurricane, it can happen so suddenly that you can't get home to obtain your Bug Out Bag or if you can, your home won't still be there. This is where the "Get Home Bag" turns into a "Get To Your Bug Out Location" bag.
In my previous post I talked about "prepping your bug out location." Well folks, this right here is part of the reason for that. Your bug out location needs to be "ready enough" for your arrival even assuming you don't have your bug out bag ... because you might not have it. You may want to consider taking a look at the video below for assistance in getting your bug out location ready.
In fact, I would venture to say that unless the "localized natural disaster" is a hurricane, you stand a better than even chance of NOT having it. A hurricane is one of the very few massive natural disasters that gives fair warning of its arrival.
Those of you living in "tornado alley" are well away of how suddenly one of these puppies can take out a home. What if one goes through your neighborhood while you're at work?
What I'm saying is that your survival plan must include the possibility that you can't get to your actual Bug Out Bag!
For that matter, during that time of day it would mean children at school and possibly most of your other loved ones at work as well. What is your communications plan in the event of a breakdown in the usual communications system? Do your children know what to do? How will you communicate? I talked about communications in this post here.
Prep Level 4: Widespread Natural Disaster/National Breakdown In Civil Order
This is what most of us are actually prepping for ... and it is the least likely to happen. In most of the first world, governments are quite careful not to push their citizenry so far that breakdown like this will happen and most countries are geologically diverse enough that no natural disaster could be that wide spread (except near extinction level events like a huge meteor strike).
Part of the reason I don't worry about storing years of food is that the likelihood of the above is so astronomically remote. In the event something like the above happens, like I've said in previous posts, I'm much more about growing/hunting/creating what I need than I am with stock piling.
What's The Point Of These Stupid Levels Anyway?
Here's the thing. I wanted to put up this post about the prep levels to create some understanding within our community. In my opinion there is far too much planning for PL4 (prep level 4) despite the fact that few of us are actually likely to see it in our lifetime.
Now I will admit that with the current financial mess the world is in PL4 via massive civil order breakdown caused by an absolute collapse in the global financial system is becoming more likely.
However, it is still far more likely that you will have to live through a PL2 or PL3.
So let me ask you ... if your car breaks down can you live in it? If there is a PL4 do you have a "Get Home Bag" that will get you home or to your bug out location?
Here is my point with all of this.
Lets plan for the most likely survival events we are likely to encounter. Especially since starting with the most likely events we might encounter makes us more prepared for the PL4 level events.
Prepping your bug out locations
Having at least two defined bug out locations is important. Having them ready for you when you get there is just as important.
A good bug out location will be fairly remote, a little challenging to get to, but even better, it will be easily defended.
Once you've identified one of these close to you and another in a separate geological area, you need to start getting them ready. When you first arrive, you may not have any food left if you've had to walk any distance. That means your bug out location should have some buried food cache at a minimum.
Let me say that a bug out location is some place where you will not have day to day control over and that does mean some risk. I typically recommend "cheaper" food cache items for that reason.
However, as M.D. Creekmore pointed out in this post on the survivalist blog, storing food isn't really enough. You should also store some simple twine. It's cheap and a lot of it can be stored in a very small area. Additionally, some clothes pins so that you can clean and dry clothes.
I talk a lot about building a fire, but what about if it's too windy and a fire could create a very real dangerous situation? Or if it's raining? You need some kind of way of cooking that is enclosed. Now the article I linked to talked about a "cooking grill" ... personally, I have a simple metal box with no bottom and a lid on a hinge. A grill sits on supports.
Now I can cook in the wind or rain by putting the box around the fire.
Now you can get real fancy like I did and build in a method for transferring some of the heat from the fire into any tents or structures you have.
Next is some decent cast iron pans and the largest "stock pot" you can find. The stock pot doesn't need to be cast iron or anything. Just large enough to allow you to make soup ... or use to help get things clean.
If you want to get really smart ... put as many seeds for your garden into your bug out bag. Keep in mind the shelf life of the seeds you store so that you can rotate/replace as needed. This way you can get your garden going once you get to your bug out location. Personally I don't like to store much of anything at my bug out location that can go bad over time. Food is my only exception to that rule (and I store things with 20+ year long self lives so I'm okay). Seeds are small and light enough that you can keep a large variety of spring, summer, and fall items
Next, the article I linked to above talks about lamp oil. Personally, I think storing something that flammable is a bit foolish. It would be far better to learn how to make oil from animal fats or even better from roots or other vegetation at your bug out location.
Here's the thing. As much as possible you want to know how to make/acquire the things you need at your bug out location instead of stockpiling them. Things like rope/twine (at least for me) are a giant pain in the rear to make. Clothes pins are the same way. Ditto with something to stop your fire from killing you (or going out).
One more thing.
My view on bugging out, or surviving when the shit hits the fan, is admittedly different from a lot of people. I personally don't store much food. Instead, I have ways of growing my own food.
In fact, with preciously few exceptions, I want to be able to make, find/gather, or grow everything I'm going to need should there be grid/supply failures.
That means I'm not stockpiling much. Instead of spending money on stockpiling, I spend it on education. Learning about plants, animals, migration patterns where appropriate.
I spend my time on training and scouting locations and routes.
A good bug out location will be fairly remote, a little challenging to get to, but even better, it will be easily defended.
Once you've identified one of these close to you and another in a separate geological area, you need to start getting them ready. When you first arrive, you may not have any food left if you've had to walk any distance. That means your bug out location should have some buried food cache at a minimum.
Let me say that a bug out location is some place where you will not have day to day control over and that does mean some risk. I typically recommend "cheaper" food cache items for that reason.
However, as M.D. Creekmore pointed out in this post on the survivalist blog, storing food isn't really enough. You should also store some simple twine. It's cheap and a lot of it can be stored in a very small area. Additionally, some clothes pins so that you can clean and dry clothes.
I talk a lot about building a fire, but what about if it's too windy and a fire could create a very real dangerous situation? Or if it's raining? You need some kind of way of cooking that is enclosed. Now the article I linked to talked about a "cooking grill" ... personally, I have a simple metal box with no bottom and a lid on a hinge. A grill sits on supports.
Now I can cook in the wind or rain by putting the box around the fire.
Now you can get real fancy like I did and build in a method for transferring some of the heat from the fire into any tents or structures you have.
Next is some decent cast iron pans and the largest "stock pot" you can find. The stock pot doesn't need to be cast iron or anything. Just large enough to allow you to make soup ... or use to help get things clean.
If you want to get really smart ... put as many seeds for your garden into your bug out bag. Keep in mind the shelf life of the seeds you store so that you can rotate/replace as needed. This way you can get your garden going once you get to your bug out location. Personally I don't like to store much of anything at my bug out location that can go bad over time. Food is my only exception to that rule (and I store things with 20+ year long self lives so I'm okay). Seeds are small and light enough that you can keep a large variety of spring, summer, and fall items
Next, the article I linked to above talks about lamp oil. Personally, I think storing something that flammable is a bit foolish. It would be far better to learn how to make oil from animal fats or even better from roots or other vegetation at your bug out location.
Here's the thing. As much as possible you want to know how to make/acquire the things you need at your bug out location instead of stockpiling them. Things like rope/twine (at least for me) are a giant pain in the rear to make. Clothes pins are the same way. Ditto with something to stop your fire from killing you (or going out).
One more thing.
My view on bugging out, or surviving when the shit hits the fan, is admittedly different from a lot of people. I personally don't store much food. Instead, I have ways of growing my own food.
In fact, with preciously few exceptions, I want to be able to make, find/gather, or grow everything I'm going to need should there be grid/supply failures.
That means I'm not stockpiling much. Instead of spending money on stockpiling, I spend it on education. Learning about plants, animals, migration patterns where appropriate.
I spend my time on training and scouting locations and routes.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Plastic wrap? What for?
Semi-recently I gave a post about what I thought should be in your bug out bag.
I have to admit something now. The list of items that I thought should be in a bug out bag was purposely incomplete.
That list included the obvious things.
It did leave a couple of things out, and I'd like to talk about one of them now ... plastic wrap.
In my opinion plastic wrap is a VITAL bug out bag item. In fact I also include plastic wrap in my go bag as well (meaning that list was also incomplete).
The reason that plastic wrap should be included has to do with it's versatility. It can be used to keep water out of things (or away from it), it can be used to assist with water generation (I'll explain this technique in later posts), it can be used in first aid, and so on.
I go to a "club store" like costco or sams club and I've got pretty large rolls of the stuff in my bags.
Think about including plastic wrap in your bug out bag.
What do you think?
I have to admit something now. The list of items that I thought should be in a bug out bag was purposely incomplete.
That list included the obvious things.
It did leave a couple of things out, and I'd like to talk about one of them now ... plastic wrap.
In my opinion plastic wrap is a VITAL bug out bag item. In fact I also include plastic wrap in my go bag as well (meaning that list was also incomplete).
The reason that plastic wrap should be included has to do with it's versatility. It can be used to keep water out of things (or away from it), it can be used to assist with water generation (I'll explain this technique in later posts), it can be used in first aid, and so on.
I go to a "club store" like costco or sams club and I've got pretty large rolls of the stuff in my bags.
Think about including plastic wrap in your bug out bag.
What do you think?
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
FIRE!
In this post I'm not talking about bugging out because of a fire, I'm talking about your bug out fire.
A couple of things on this.
First, as I've said in the past you need to have at least 3 methods of making fire NOT including the matches that you should also keep in your bug out bag. To me a match should be used only as a last resort.
Second, once you've built a fire during a bug out, it should not EVER be allowed to go completely out. It needs to stay burning. Having an actual burning fire of even a very small size means it's far easier to build a roaring fire for something should you need it (like an injury).
Having said that, keep in mind that during the day smoke can be seen from quite a ways off, especially in the mornings. Therefore, your fire should be allowed to get quite small once the sky begins to brighten so that any smoke is dissipated and not visible anymore only a foot or so above the flame.
A word of caution about keeping your fire burning. Doing that may mean keeping a "watch" awake at all times. If your group is larger than 5 or 6 people this will be fairly easy. If your group is smaller that will make keeping your fire burning constantly AND thinking about reducing the size of the fire before it can be seen as morning comes a bit challenging.
If your group is very small you may want to consider trying to combine with another small group.
A couple of things on this.
First, as I've said in the past you need to have at least 3 methods of making fire NOT including the matches that you should also keep in your bug out bag. To me a match should be used only as a last resort.
Second, once you've built a fire during a bug out, it should not EVER be allowed to go completely out. It needs to stay burning. Having an actual burning fire of even a very small size means it's far easier to build a roaring fire for something should you need it (like an injury).
Having said that, keep in mind that during the day smoke can be seen from quite a ways off, especially in the mornings. Therefore, your fire should be allowed to get quite small once the sky begins to brighten so that any smoke is dissipated and not visible anymore only a foot or so above the flame.
A word of caution about keeping your fire burning. Doing that may mean keeping a "watch" awake at all times. If your group is larger than 5 or 6 people this will be fairly easy. If your group is smaller that will make keeping your fire burning constantly AND thinking about reducing the size of the fire before it can be seen as morning comes a bit challenging.
If your group is very small you may want to consider trying to combine with another small group.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Can you eat?
That's a big question I ask people that hire me to consult with them about survival.
Can you eat?
Most of the time I'm greeted with a blank stare wondering what I'm talking about followed by a, "yeah ... of course."
So I take them to their bug out location, take their food away and ask them to start eating at which point they mention that I just took their food away.
So let me ask you something. Let say a bug out becomes necessary. Worse, it becomes necessary for the bug out to last longer than the food you have in your bug out bag.
Can you eat?
Most people would talk about hunting. The problem is that once you start hunting you'll find that not long afterwards the prey you are hunting starts learning there is a predator and starts avoiding your area.
The truth of the matter is that if you truly want to survive you need to be able to READILY identify the edible plants and roots. Nearly everywhere plant life is far more abundant than animal or fish life. It therefore makes far more sense to think much more "gather" than it is to think "hunt."
So, what plants exist BOTH of your bug out areas? (and you do have two of them, a primary and a back up bug out location correct))
Can you easily go out to your bug out location and survive on little more than what you can gather from those edible plants?
On that note, let me say something. If you can build a fire, and if you're smart and your bug out bag includes things you can cook with, then you can make soups. They are easy to make and if you throw plenty of variety into them are often pretty tasty.
If you don't know what edible plants are available where your planned bug out locations are, now is the best time to start learning. Often it doesn't take much more than a few internet searches to learn this information. Now you just print it out, and make sure that you can quickly and easily identify the plants you can get food from (berries, roots, leaves, etc). MAKE SURE that you can do this even in fairly dim light!!!
Can you eat?
Most of the time I'm greeted with a blank stare wondering what I'm talking about followed by a, "yeah ... of course."
So I take them to their bug out location, take their food away and ask them to start eating at which point they mention that I just took their food away.
So let me ask you something. Let say a bug out becomes necessary. Worse, it becomes necessary for the bug out to last longer than the food you have in your bug out bag.
Can you eat?
Most people would talk about hunting. The problem is that once you start hunting you'll find that not long afterwards the prey you are hunting starts learning there is a predator and starts avoiding your area.
The truth of the matter is that if you truly want to survive you need to be able to READILY identify the edible plants and roots. Nearly everywhere plant life is far more abundant than animal or fish life. It therefore makes far more sense to think much more "gather" than it is to think "hunt."
So, what plants exist BOTH of your bug out areas? (and you do have two of them, a primary and a back up bug out location correct))
Can you easily go out to your bug out location and survive on little more than what you can gather from those edible plants?
On that note, let me say something. If you can build a fire, and if you're smart and your bug out bag includes things you can cook with, then you can make soups. They are easy to make and if you throw plenty of variety into them are often pretty tasty.
If you don't know what edible plants are available where your planned bug out locations are, now is the best time to start learning. Often it doesn't take much more than a few internet searches to learn this information. Now you just print it out, and make sure that you can quickly and easily identify the plants you can get food from (berries, roots, leaves, etc). MAKE SURE that you can do this even in fairly dim light!!!
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Answers about my bug out bag post
In my last post, "Stuff for your bug out bag" I gave a list of items that should be in both a bug out bag and a separate list for a shorter term "go" bag.
I almost immediately got some comments asking question or challenging what I had. Instead of having some super long reply to comments, let me just answer the questions here now.
1) Should the pistol and rifle be in every bug out bag, or just in one bag if there are multiple people?
A) Every person should have their own firearms ... ASSUMING they are competent with their use. Giving a firearm to someone that doesn't really know how to use one is just asking for someone to get hurt and a bug out is the WORST time to be teaching firearms skills. Secondly, and this is totally personal opinion, a real "this is not a drill" bug out is stressful. For that reason I personally wouldn't give a firearm to anyone less than about 12 years old unless they are VERY skilled. My son didn't have firearms as part of his bug out or go bags until he was 15 (but settled down, got serious, and he's now sporting an AR-15 that he can reliably use at targets over 500 meters away). My youngest daughter however is like Annie Oakley and got hers recently at 13 (.22 for both the pistol and rifle). Again, this is just personal belief and you have to gauge it based on what you think your kids can handle.
My reason for saying each person old enough and skilled in their use should have their own firearms is two fold, first each person should be largely self-sufficient. Second, even if one or two members of your group are so overwhelmingly more skilled with a firearm than the other people in the group having everyone carry their own firearms and ammunition simply means a better "spread" of the weight being carried. It gives those people that will be doing any shooting much more ammunition than they could carry on their own.
As an example, myself and my son are likely to be the only two people actually doing any hunting in a bug out or using a firearm in self defense. However my wife and other children all have both a pistol and a rifle.
2) You list .22 for a rifle and a handgun ... why not a shotgun or something higher caliber for the rifle or the handgun?
A) Before I get started you should know that the kind and type of firearms that should be carried for a bug out is a hotly debated topic with the various experts both online and off. There are a lot of pros and cons to the various types and calibers of firearms so understand that I am just giving you my own opinions on the matter.
I really like to have both the handgun and the rifle to be the same caliber. This allows the ammunition you are carrying to server double duty which means you can carry less ... which means less weight carried.
Secondly, and this is largely probably a result of my military training, I am not a fan of shotguns. I know that birds are everywhere, are easy to find and make an easy and readily available food source, which means that a single shotgun can bring down several birds making feeding easier.
However, shotguns are LOUD. During a bug out I'd rather not announce my location. My goal is to hunker down, stay out of sight and quiet, and generally be left alone until some kind of normalcy has been returned.
.22 handguns and rifles are more than accurate enough to take out small "varmints" for food, I'm a good fisherman so there's food that way ... and .22 can be quieted very easily as it's a subsonic round.
Further, .22 ammo is so light that quite a lot of it can be carried.
Those things all equal up to using a .22 for both a handgun (self defense) and a rifle (dual purpose self defense and hunting).
Having said that, take note that my son is using a .223 AR-15 (he thought it was cool that I put the assault rifle as part of his bug out bag).
Also, and I haven't said this before, but I'm using a .45 for both my handgun and rifle to give us something with a bit more kick should it be needed. Now, the .45 ammo is probably three times heavier per round (okay, maybe twice) which means I can't carry as much.
However, there's 7 in my immediate family (including my oldest daughter's fiance) which means with that many people I have the ability to start varying the "weaponry" a bit.
I almost immediately got some comments asking question or challenging what I had. Instead of having some super long reply to comments, let me just answer the questions here now.
1) Should the pistol and rifle be in every bug out bag, or just in one bag if there are multiple people?
A) Every person should have their own firearms ... ASSUMING they are competent with their use. Giving a firearm to someone that doesn't really know how to use one is just asking for someone to get hurt and a bug out is the WORST time to be teaching firearms skills. Secondly, and this is totally personal opinion, a real "this is not a drill" bug out is stressful. For that reason I personally wouldn't give a firearm to anyone less than about 12 years old unless they are VERY skilled. My son didn't have firearms as part of his bug out or go bags until he was 15 (but settled down, got serious, and he's now sporting an AR-15 that he can reliably use at targets over 500 meters away). My youngest daughter however is like Annie Oakley and got hers recently at 13 (.22 for both the pistol and rifle). Again, this is just personal belief and you have to gauge it based on what you think your kids can handle.
My reason for saying each person old enough and skilled in their use should have their own firearms is two fold, first each person should be largely self-sufficient. Second, even if one or two members of your group are so overwhelmingly more skilled with a firearm than the other people in the group having everyone carry their own firearms and ammunition simply means a better "spread" of the weight being carried. It gives those people that will be doing any shooting much more ammunition than they could carry on their own.
As an example, myself and my son are likely to be the only two people actually doing any hunting in a bug out or using a firearm in self defense. However my wife and other children all have both a pistol and a rifle.
2) You list .22 for a rifle and a handgun ... why not a shotgun or something higher caliber for the rifle or the handgun?
A) Before I get started you should know that the kind and type of firearms that should be carried for a bug out is a hotly debated topic with the various experts both online and off. There are a lot of pros and cons to the various types and calibers of firearms so understand that I am just giving you my own opinions on the matter.
I really like to have both the handgun and the rifle to be the same caliber. This allows the ammunition you are carrying to server double duty which means you can carry less ... which means less weight carried.
Secondly, and this is largely probably a result of my military training, I am not a fan of shotguns. I know that birds are everywhere, are easy to find and make an easy and readily available food source, which means that a single shotgun can bring down several birds making feeding easier.
However, shotguns are LOUD. During a bug out I'd rather not announce my location. My goal is to hunker down, stay out of sight and quiet, and generally be left alone until some kind of normalcy has been returned.
.22 handguns and rifles are more than accurate enough to take out small "varmints" for food, I'm a good fisherman so there's food that way ... and .22 can be quieted very easily as it's a subsonic round.
Further, .22 ammo is so light that quite a lot of it can be carried.
Those things all equal up to using a .22 for both a handgun (self defense) and a rifle (dual purpose self defense and hunting).
Having said that, take note that my son is using a .223 AR-15 (he thought it was cool that I put the assault rifle as part of his bug out bag).
Also, and I haven't said this before, but I'm using a .45 for both my handgun and rifle to give us something with a bit more kick should it be needed. Now, the .45 ammo is probably three times heavier per round (okay, maybe twice) which means I can't carry as much.
However, there's 7 in my immediate family (including my oldest daughter's fiance) which means with that many people I have the ability to start varying the "weaponry" a bit.
Stuff For Your Bug Out Bag
Look around the internet and you can find quite a few talking about what should be in a "go bag" or your bug out bag ... so I figured why shouldn't I join the chorus! :-)
Now, at this point I'm going to say something. In my mind there is a HUGE difference between a "bug out" (natural disaster that may take several days or a week for the government to stabilize) and an emergency (we need to get out for at most a day) "go".
Here is what I think should be in a full "bug out" bag:
Also, notice how I structured the list, and this is basic survival. Think about water needs first, next came food, then food prep, then fire, then self defense, then shelter, and finally the shovel (human waste disposal) and the hatchet and rope in case the bug out ends up needing to take longer than expected you can create more "permanent" structures. I also have ways of catching more food (fire arms, fishing, and snaring). Then I also have pictures in there for a little mental sanity.
There should be one of these bags for every person in your household. If you have young children (less than 10) you'll have to add some of their things to your bag, but if they can talk, they should have to carry some things on their own, at least clothes, food, and water.
Here is what I think should be in a "go" bag:
Again, notice how the list is structured: water, food, self defense, shelter and finally contingency items in case it takes longer than a day.
The idea with a "go bag" however is to make it really easy to grab, go, and not look strange walking around with it. If you're like most of the industrialized world and you live in a city, walking down the street with a huge backpack on your back will get you noticed.
In a "go" situation (e.g. civil unrest) being noticed could be a bad thing.
Again, everyone should have their own bag!!!
Further, to be honest, in a full "bug out", I would grab my "go bag" as well.
Now, at this point I'm going to say something. In my mind there is a HUGE difference between a "bug out" (natural disaster that may take several days or a week for the government to stabilize) and an emergency (we need to get out for at most a day) "go".
Here is what I think should be in a full "bug out" bag:
- a quart of bottled water
- iodine tablets to make more water drinkable
- 3 days of freeze dried meals
- Food prep (pan, pot, spoons ... easily found in camping supplies)
- Plate, spoon, fork, knife
- At least three ways of making a fire AND a couple boxes of matches (which would make 4 ways of making fire ... and you should be capable of making fire every way that you carry)
- Clothes for three days (error on the side of the clothes being for weather colder than you will probably see ... if it's hot, you can take clothes off, if it's cold you only have what you have and that's it)
- Walking stick (tied beside the bag so it can't be forgotten)
- Some kind of hunting quality knife
- A firearm and ammunition for it (personally I keep a .22 pistol IN the bag which in the event the thing is needed I would wear and a .22 rifle tied to the outside)
- A small pup tent
- a sleeping bag (I live where it's cold so mine has a -30 comfort rating), and pad (I use the texalite pad, it's thin, light, improves comfort and keeps you off the ground)
- A shovel (breaks down and goes into the bag, the shovel head also has saw teeth)
- A small hatchet
- 20 feet of good quality rope
- Fishing pole and lures (ONLY if you know how to fish and your bug out location has a place to do it)
- First aid kit that includes the ability to sew up a bad cut ... AND YOU SHOULD KNOW HOW
- Pictures of loved ones printed from my color ink jet and placed into individual ziploc bags
Also, notice how I structured the list, and this is basic survival. Think about water needs first, next came food, then food prep, then fire, then self defense, then shelter, and finally the shovel (human waste disposal) and the hatchet and rope in case the bug out ends up needing to take longer than expected you can create more "permanent" structures. I also have ways of catching more food (fire arms, fishing, and snaring). Then I also have pictures in there for a little mental sanity.
There should be one of these bags for every person in your household. If you have young children (less than 10) you'll have to add some of their things to your bag, but if they can talk, they should have to carry some things on their own, at least clothes, food, and water.
Here is what I think should be in a "go" bag:
- A quart of water
- freeze dried food for 1 day
- A pistol and ammunition for it
- Walking stick
- Tarp large enough to make a lean-to or fold over shelter
- Sleeping bag and pad
- Hunting knife
- At least two methods of making fire and a box of matches
- a pair of underwear, a shirt, and a hoodie type jacket
- The camping shovel I mentioned above with saw teeth on the shovel pan
- 20 feet of rope
- Fishing pole and lures (I like to fish obviously ... again, only take IF APPROPRIATE)
Again, notice how the list is structured: water, food, self defense, shelter and finally contingency items in case it takes longer than a day.
The idea with a "go bag" however is to make it really easy to grab, go, and not look strange walking around with it. If you're like most of the industrialized world and you live in a city, walking down the street with a huge backpack on your back will get you noticed.
In a "go" situation (e.g. civil unrest) being noticed could be a bad thing.
Again, everyone should have their own bag!!!
Further, to be honest, in a full "bug out", I would grab my "go bag" as well.
Monday, January 2, 2012
Are you "go" ready?
I've been talking a lot about the "bug out bag" because it's so important. There are a number of sites that talk about what should be in it and all that good stuff, and honestly I'll be doing this as well myself in later posts.
Before I get into WHAT should be in your bug out bag, I want to cover an important concept first. In certain "communities" there is what is known as the "go" bag. The idea is the same as a survivalists bug out bag, in fact they are nearly identical.
The difference is that people that talk about "go bags" understand that this is something "go ready". It's something that is right now. Now prep time, no messing around ... grab and go.
I know lots of people that have a bug out bag that isn't "go ready". They would need to grab a firearm and ammunition. I knew one person that stored the food for their bug out bag in their basement but their bag was kept in their bedroom on the second floor.
This isn't good. A bug out bag NEEDS to be "go ready". In the event a bug out becomes neccessary time will be a very precious commodity and you do NOT want to put yourself in the position of having to do ANYTHING other than grab it and go.
Your basic survival firearm should be in it along with plenty of ammunition, food, water, methods for making water depending on where you live, methods for making fire, shelter, sleeping gear, cooking gear, and so on.
Is your bug out bag "go ready"?
Before I get into WHAT should be in your bug out bag, I want to cover an important concept first. In certain "communities" there is what is known as the "go" bag. The idea is the same as a survivalists bug out bag, in fact they are nearly identical.
The difference is that people that talk about "go bags" understand that this is something "go ready". It's something that is right now. Now prep time, no messing around ... grab and go.
I know lots of people that have a bug out bag that isn't "go ready". They would need to grab a firearm and ammunition. I knew one person that stored the food for their bug out bag in their basement but their bag was kept in their bedroom on the second floor.
This isn't good. A bug out bag NEEDS to be "go ready". In the event a bug out becomes neccessary time will be a very precious commodity and you do NOT want to put yourself in the position of having to do ANYTHING other than grab it and go.
Your basic survival firearm should be in it along with plenty of ammunition, food, water, methods for making water depending on where you live, methods for making fire, shelter, sleeping gear, cooking gear, and so on.
Is your bug out bag "go ready"?
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
The Male Mistake
With a firearm in our hands we men can feel pretty invulnerable, especially if we know how to use it properly.
The problem with a firearm as a weapon of self defense is that VERY few adults can actually shoot someone without a fair bit of hesitation. The military has to spend time training this natural hesitancy out of its infantry.
An adult typically understands what it means to squeeze the trigger in a way a child does not. Believe it or not, a well trained, reasonably accurate marksman of a 10 year old child will find a firearm more valuable as a personal safety weapon than a 40 year old Dad. The 10 year old is much less likely to hesitate should the need arise than the 40 year old.
This is exactly why I have spent most of my posts here on a blog about survival on self defense. In my opinion, someone planning to survive a disaster that can't adequately defend themself isn't really planning to survive a disaster.
That means men need a way of defending themselves against other men. Personally, I really like a plain old walking stick. It doesn't look like a "weapon" the way a knife does (thus potentially lulling an attacker into a false sense of security) but when used correctly can cause insane damage.
Now here's the thing. Far too many people swing for the head or even the body. The truth is, you want to go after arms and especially legs. A male will need to keep another male "at distance" until the attacker is disabled and can then move in to incapacitate.
So, if you're a man do you have a hardwood, decent length walking stick as part of your bug out bag?
The problem with a firearm as a weapon of self defense is that VERY few adults can actually shoot someone without a fair bit of hesitation. The military has to spend time training this natural hesitancy out of its infantry.
An adult typically understands what it means to squeeze the trigger in a way a child does not. Believe it or not, a well trained, reasonably accurate marksman of a 10 year old child will find a firearm more valuable as a personal safety weapon than a 40 year old Dad. The 10 year old is much less likely to hesitate should the need arise than the 40 year old.
This is exactly why I have spent most of my posts here on a blog about survival on self defense. In my opinion, someone planning to survive a disaster that can't adequately defend themself isn't really planning to survive a disaster.
That means men need a way of defending themselves against other men. Personally, I really like a plain old walking stick. It doesn't look like a "weapon" the way a knife does (thus potentially lulling an attacker into a false sense of security) but when used correctly can cause insane damage.
Now here's the thing. Far too many people swing for the head or even the body. The truth is, you want to go after arms and especially legs. A male will need to keep another male "at distance" until the attacker is disabled and can then move in to incapacitate.
So, if you're a man do you have a hardwood, decent length walking stick as part of your bug out bag?
Friday, December 23, 2011
The missing bug bag item
If you've been studying or following survivalism for any period of time, then bug out bags are something you're at least familiar with.
In fact I talked in my last post about how to learn how to go beyond simply survival during a bug out, but actually thrive and have fund doing it.
However, no matter how much "thriving" you do, a bug out is going to be a very high stress situation. Therefore, I find it almost odd that NO ONE talks about the necessity to have some pictures of loved ones in your bug out bag.
Now, I'm not talking about pictures in frames. I mean just the paper. That way you can keep a sense of connection even if your bug out location is extremely remote (and the more remote the better).
So add some pictures to your bug out bag ... smallish ones that you can keep one picture to a single sandwhich bag so that even in bad weather they stay in decent condition.
What do you think?
In fact I talked in my last post about how to learn how to go beyond simply survival during a bug out, but actually thrive and have fund doing it.
However, no matter how much "thriving" you do, a bug out is going to be a very high stress situation. Therefore, I find it almost odd that NO ONE talks about the necessity to have some pictures of loved ones in your bug out bag.
Now, I'm not talking about pictures in frames. I mean just the paper. That way you can keep a sense of connection even if your bug out location is extremely remote (and the more remote the better).
So add some pictures to your bug out bag ... smallish ones that you can keep one picture to a single sandwhich bag so that even in bad weather they stay in decent condition.
What do you think?
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Bug out bags and thriving during a bug out
In survival, few things are talked about (and for good reason) as the bug out bag.
However, too often this is looked at too much from a survival perspective. The truth is that if you want a really GREAT bug out bag, instead start thinking from a "backpacking in the deep wilderness" perspective.
In deep wilderness backpacking, you have to carry literally everything that you need for the entire 10 day trek. Shelter, food, a way of food preparation, water, a method of making water safe, something to sleep on, and so.
And much like the idea of a bug out bag, everyone "carries their own weight" except the very young or old.
Not only that, but deep wilderness backpackers actually make "bugging out" an incredible amount of fun.
So where am I going with all of this?
If you truly want to understand how to create a bug out bag and how to THRIVE during a situation that requires a bug out, then consider learning deep wilderness backpacking.
In this regard let me highly recommend checking out:
The Backpacker's Field Manual, Revised and Updated: A Comprehensive Guide to Mastering Backcountry Skills
This is a great book that can explain all the ins and outs to living "in the back country". The same set of skills that would serve you well in a bug out.
However, too often this is looked at too much from a survival perspective. The truth is that if you want a really GREAT bug out bag, instead start thinking from a "backpacking in the deep wilderness" perspective.
In deep wilderness backpacking, you have to carry literally everything that you need for the entire 10 day trek. Shelter, food, a way of food preparation, water, a method of making water safe, something to sleep on, and so.
And much like the idea of a bug out bag, everyone "carries their own weight" except the very young or old.
Not only that, but deep wilderness backpackers actually make "bugging out" an incredible amount of fun.
So where am I going with all of this?
If you truly want to understand how to create a bug out bag and how to THRIVE during a situation that requires a bug out, then consider learning deep wilderness backpacking.
In this regard let me highly recommend checking out:
The Backpacker's Field Manual, Revised and Updated: A Comprehensive Guide to Mastering Backcountry Skills
This is a great book that can explain all the ins and outs to living "in the back country". The same set of skills that would serve you well in a bug out.
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