10 Reasons Why You Do Not Want to Bug Out

The Prepper Journal ^ | 10 Jan 15 | Pat Henry

[SkyPilot]

Oh, and instead of three wee bottles of Gallo wine I’d stick to Everclear. For medicinal purposes and as a firestarter, of course.

Lol. Yes, and for "snakebite" and "bartering" of course.

I think the article where I saw that backpack picture mentioned that the wine was essential because it "slows the effects of radiation poisoning."

If I am being poisoned by radiation, I think I might just hold up with Good Book and spend some time with my Lord before I go home.

[golux]

“without getting into too much detail...” Just remember how the waterways were locked down by your friendly government after 9/11. I remember very well.

[bobby.223]

Dittos to that advice ‘6. I’m already prepped and living way ‘up and out’. I can’t imagine the nightmare the large cities will become within hours of ‘The Big Event’ happening.

[SgtHooper]

Bugging out makes no sense unless you are currently in surroundings that would be threatening when the SHTF! And in that case, you need to have a well prepared destination. If not in such a threatening place, why bug out? Makes no sense unless absolutely necessary.

[SkyPilot]

Perception vs. Reality. Amen!

[SgtHooper]

And that’s the main thoroughfares. Even the side roads will be impassible, if not downright dangerous because of highwaymen.

[rey]

No kidding on the traffic.

Before Y2K I was in the Chicago area. People were worried there would be roving bands of people scouring the countryside for everything. I thought it amusing as I was talking to a coworker who did not realize all those fields she was driving by in Illinois and Indiana were corn and soybean fields. If you cannot recognize raw food as food you won’t be able to make use of it. In fact, most people could have a rabbit in hand and not know what to do. But I digress.

I went to see a friend’s show and went out with the theater group after word. On my way back to Indiana at 2 A.M., I ran into a traffic jam that was about 5 miles long and painfully slow. When I got up to what was causing it, I saw they were repairing expansion joints and the road had narrowed from 3 to 1 lane. People were driving around the cones and into the wide deep pits dug for refill and into wet the wet cement of those refilled. I realized then, there is no way large numbers of people are getting out of that city quickly in a panic mode.

[outofsalt]

"the wine was essential because it "slows the effects of radiation poisoning."

Picking one's poisons is always a challenge.

[yarddog]

In 2004 Hurricane Ivan knocked all the power out for nearly 2 weeks.

Not having power really gets old but there was never any worry about actual survival. My 85 year old Father lived only 5 miles away and I did worry about him. I would check in on him every day and I was surprised how well he did.

The main trouble was the heat. It could have been worse but in the middle of September it still gets really hot in the Florida Panhandle.

We were fortunate that some of the large stores (the Wal-Mart Supercenter) stayed open part time using generators. After a few days the government began handing out MREs but there were so many people waiting that I never did get any.

It sure was a relief when the power came back on but no one was dying.

On the other hand if power had been off permanently, it would have been much worse.

[Organic Panic]

I am an avid back packer and love bugging out for leisure.

However I would not recommend the only preparation someone makes is to grab a small bag full of stuff and hit the road. Everyone else is going to have the same idea. You will, in time, just be a refuge.

There are few situations where it would make sense to abandon ‘home’ for the road. Speaking for my own location there are only a few things that would force me out of here. We have a major rail line through town. One of those care could tip and release a toxic cloud causing me to leave for a couple days. We have long cold winters but we have nice warm summers in which to prepare. Maybe the power goes out and cash is unavailable for a while. Do you know your neighbors? Is it realistic to plan for an invasion a-la REd Dawn? Are we all in such great shape we can hike in to the wilderness, where no one else is in a country of 350,000,000 people? Are you likely to find someone who can fix your car, stitch a wound, or slaughter a goat with whom you can barter? Is it more likely you can farm an acre of food and kill a few elk before a truck load of food arrived at an empty grocery store?

The bugging out model has a certain romance to it. However, I would venture to say a great many are not able to make it more than a couple days. Staying put makes the most sense in all but the most extreme situation.

I am not saying don’t have a BOB ready to go. I keep one in my office, one in my house, and a bin in the car. I am not too worried about the Canadian Mounties invading, but some day, a train may crash and we have to bug out of town. Cash, booze, bullets, a few barter guns. If it really gets bad I could barter a very specialized skill, machinist mechanic. I’m not likely to carry a 2000 pound mill nad 500 pound toolbox on my back.

For some realistic advice check out Ferfal’s blog, Alpharubican, and (his name escapes me) a blog written by a Bosnia who survived in that war.

[GoneSalt]

If your home is your survival platform is a sailboat, bugging out is just going cruising.

BTW people can’t figure out my name. I went Galt aboard a sailboat so I’ve “Gone Salt”.

[SkyPilot]

And in that case, you need to have a well prepared destination. If not in such a threatening place, why bug out? Makes no sense unless absolutely necessary.

I think it became a popular notion because people want to have a sense of control in their lives, especially in the fearful and lawless times we now find ourselves living in. Moreover, in a disaster, where things are logarithimcally worse, people want to believe they can take charge and not be a lamb led to slaughter.

But, as mentioned, so much of the "bugging out" culture does not consider the hard cold facts of reality. Some people say they are going to "stash" food, water, and medicines in the woods. Really? Where exactly? Are they sure they can get to them in a true disaster? How can they ensure their "stash" is safe?

One thing that has been mentioned by former military who have been out there, lugging their equipement around: stuff is HEAVY!

Also, if you have small children, and older person with medical issues, or a pregnant wife, all this talk about "living off the land" becomes even more unrealistic. I am not saying it could not be accomplished, only that it would encounter great difficulty.

That is why in many disaster, people turn up in shelters.

They tried it on their own, and many didn't last but a few hours before they headed to the nearest designated shelter area.

I saw a few of those during Katrina. Not......Fun....Places.

[SkyPilot]

If your home is your survival platform is a sailboat, bugging out is just going cruising.

Also, I heard that Zombies can't swim!

[PLMerite]

I may not have much of a choice, depending upon the disaster. There’s a large percentage of the local populace just waiting for ‘the man’ to turn his back - instant zombie apocalypse.

True, it’ll be a target-rich environment, but even a fun thing gets old after a while.

[Little Pig]

The downside to “Bugging in” where “all your stuff is”, is that any zombies/members of the FSA in your vicinity know (in a general way) where all “your stuff” is, and are already half-convinced that what you have is owed to them; that’ll go double when their EBT cards fail.

No, you can’t carry “everything you need” with you, but you can carry enough to get someplace safe (note, you need to have this “someplace safe” identified and ready for you to arrive prior to the emergency).

Also, it is true that refugees fare very poorly, and that becoming a refugee should be a last choice. However, as noted above, there’s a big element of “it depends” mixed in. If some faction of the FSA overruns your AO, being a refugee is likely very preferable to becoming a martyr, or worse, a “toy” for the FSA.

[Obama_Is_Sabotaging_America]

Q: "What's for dinner tonight?"

A: "How about Mexican?"

[Secret Agent Man]

People will be very surprised at how little they can carry, for such a little distance. And how fast they get wiped out tired.

[Secret Agent Man]

Mobile stash is not your entire hoseold prep considering moving to another location permanently.

[JoeProBono]

[taildragger]

We live out in the country and all our neighbors have vegetable gardens and are heavily armed. We are bugging in.

Ding. Sky-Pilot brings up a good point. However, IMHO a Bug out vehicle has got to be bare-bones simple. These new UTV's are cool, but look @ the price tags. A 4 seat sandrail ( VW Based ) Corvair powered, dual ignition, one being old fashion points and a dual fuel carb ( nat gas / propane tank aboard as well ) is what I envision as the ultimate bug out sled. Kinda of a hi-po version of the "Chentworth" buggy our spec-op guys had a while back.