# 1 Son and #1 Son in Law, joined me for an end of the world bugout party in early Jan. We were met with some of the coldest temps of the season. On the second evening as we sat around the fire, SIL was surfing the web on his I Phone and commented that he was going to order another a sleeping bag and have it overnighted to my Moms house, nearby. The Irony was rich.
Bug out project
- Thread starter SOLGardener
- Start date
So I went in a trip Friday night as a somewhat walkthrough on GTFO. Keeping with the crawl-walk-run philosophy I took it more as a way to identify areas to develop into a bugout plan in the future. Also, my approach angle for the eventual goal was somewhere between "Whoa **** the the house is on fire" and "Im going to find a nice place to avoid this looting."
Some things I took away from it:
- Clothes hampers make great pack-it-and-go containers. Individual bags for each type of item goes a long way also.
- After you get back from a range trip, repack your range bag and have it ready to go for the next time. That and a bag of SHTf tools/parts/mags is a quick and complete grab.
- Know the route, in night and day. This was my first trip to the campsite I found without using a map, and at night, and it was tough! As someone who is strong in nav I was kinda irked haha.
- Sleeping in a car might keep you out of the wind but the temp inside equals the temp outside. Body heat only goes so car when it is below freezing. If you read my other thread re: bugout shelters I went with option zulu: sleep in the car. I had a bag rated to 40 degrees and a sleeping pad in the back of a small SUV. Realistically, the heater/AC and accessory charger would go a long way towards being able to use electronics for a longer period of time, I think it is a viable alternative.
- Finding and cutting good firewood when its winter cold (vs. fall or spring cold) really takes time and energy. Start looking at trees that might need a falling for next winter.
- Cold Steel Spetnaz shovel. All day. The Chinese military shovel stayed in the car the entire time. As far as commie shovels go the Russians nailed it.
- An alcohol's flashpoint is a real statistic.
Overall it was a good trip. Granted bugging out will always be a last resort to me but I learned a lot from this trial run. Next time I will focus more on getting ready fast and less on preparing/planning.
Some things I took away from it:
- Clothes hampers make great pack-it-and-go containers. Individual bags for each type of item goes a long way also.
- After you get back from a range trip, repack your range bag and have it ready to go for the next time. That and a bag of SHTf tools/parts/mags is a quick and complete grab.
- Know the route, in night and day. This was my first trip to the campsite I found without using a map, and at night, and it was tough! As someone who is strong in nav I was kinda irked haha.
- Sleeping in a car might keep you out of the wind but the temp inside equals the temp outside. Body heat only goes so car when it is below freezing. If you read my other thread re: bugout shelters I went with option zulu: sleep in the car. I had a bag rated to 40 degrees and a sleeping pad in the back of a small SUV. Realistically, the heater/AC and accessory charger would go a long way towards being able to use electronics for a longer period of time, I think it is a viable alternative.
- Finding and cutting good firewood when its winter cold (vs. fall or spring cold) really takes time and energy. Start looking at trees that might need a falling for next winter.
- Cold Steel Spetnaz shovel. All day. The Chinese military shovel stayed in the car the entire time. As far as commie shovels go the Russians nailed it.
- An alcohol's flashpoint is a real statistic.
Overall it was a good trip. Granted bugging out will always be a last resort to me but I learned a lot from this trial run. Next time I will focus more on getting ready fast and less on preparing/planning.
Yeah living out of the BOB SUCKS fast...I would have to agree.
A roving mobile lifestyle is one way but that equates to living on the run in my opinion, better to fight for something you believe in than to die in a gutter because you had no where else to run.
Blowing the bridges has been a common subject amongst locals in that AO...because they realize that the ignorant "City Folk" think they will come up to their homes and survive in their back yards....Not going to happen. 1) Majority of people trying to bug out will do it too late and will be killed on the journey 2) Those not killed will be captured as refugees. Those that do make it to the hills will be killed as "looters" because the locals are so primed and ready they will shoot anything that moves.
Having a plan that survives initial contact is something of a rarity....I would propose having plans and back up plans (hell even a back up to your back up is not a bad idea). NOW YOU HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD WHEN Y0U SAID TO HAVE A PLAN AND TEST IT....I COULD NOT AGREE MORE.
Leaving as a group is much safer than leaving as a individual....the times that require a bug out the absolute worst people will be out looking for prey and an individual will make a someone a quick resupply point.
I would have to bugin and pratice protecting my home and farm from all the people that plan on buggingout make sure all my scopes are sited in make sure that anyone comeing down the road are friendly,s an plan on long range shot,s. Making sure that someone was on watch 24-7, get nightvision, put all livestock up for protection at night
Jsquared- thanks for the post. This is ithe kind of stuff I was hoping to hear. My sleeping bag is rated for 40 as well. It's tiny and fits inside the backpack, and when combined with a woobie, works to below freezing. That said, I've slept a few scary nights in it when it was well below freezing. So I'm shopping for a military MSS bag set, which is good to -30, comes with a waterproof bivy, etc.
My son and I went camping for his birthday this weekend. I hoped to do a bugout with him, but he had a camping trip in mind. It was cold. It snowed and was very windy- like 20 mph constant. It blew our cooler off the truck at 1am. coyotes were around. temp was in the teens.
My son and I went camping for his birthday this weekend. I hoped to do a bugout with him, but he had a camping trip in mind. It was cold. It snowed and was very windy- like 20 mph constant. It blew our cooler off the truck at 1am. coyotes were around. temp was in the teens.
I am rebuilding my backpacker/bug-out gear and am shopping for the USGI MSS or IMSS outdoor sleeping bag systems. Looking for surplus stores that sell the sets in near to excellent condition. Would appreciate any suggestions. Thanks.
Search on ebay. A couple places have new or like new MSS for around $71 for all four pieces, and also accept offers.
I'm suprised my ass didn't get lit up in that thread. That whole situation was really messed up.
Found a used USMC MSS set on ebay.com in almost excellent condition. There was a name written on the underside of the bivvy and a small hole on the cold weather sleeping bag- but repairable. With S/H, got for $101. Washed, dried and now in the compression stuff bag. Wasn't willing to shell out $169 plus S/H for the IMSS in "excellent" condition.
Ah! an adventure!
