They ran anyway when the realized they were outgunned.
Nearly 1000 armed men showed up to support Bundy. MOST of the weapons were left in the vehicles, but they were handy.
If shooting had started every BLM officer there would have lost their life.
And every one of them knows it, as do their masters in DC.
It's certain what their approach will be next time: Send in DHS first with heavy hardware, arrest the ringleaders and seal the highways so reinforcements cannot arrive.
That's when you'll see the militias initiating confrontations. At every checkpoint. Every officer who wanders from the "compound". And, when the timing is right: The Compound itself.
How would they hold up to withering fire in a surprise attack by 500 good shooters with combat experience?
How would they hold up to IEDs alongside every road?