The Conservative Cave
Interests => Living Off of the Grid & Survivalism => Topic started by: CG6468 on April 19, 2012, 10:02:05 AM
-
34 Essential Items For Your Bug Out Bag
Posted on February 10, 2010 by Jason (Frugal Dad)
Imagine the following scenario. You are awakened in the middle of the night by the jolt of a powerful earthquake. Your house is leveled, but thankfully you and your family are uninjured. However, the roads are impassable, your utilities have been cut off, and many of your neighbors were injured or killed in the earthquake. The only thing you have to survive is what you have on hand, and because you are a Frugal Dad reader, your bug out bag.
Unfortunately, this was a very real scenario for the people of Haiti. And in years past we’ve seen other examples, from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina to the tsunami in Indonesia. On a smaller scale, we’ve also seen blizzards, floods and other natural disasters leave many people to fend for themselves. With some preparation, and a little planning, you can greatly improve the chances your family can get through these types of survival situations.
What exactly is a bug out bag?
A bug out bag is a collection of basic survival gear that might be required in a disaster scenario, natural or otherwise. It is transportable, and consolidated into a single pack or two so that you can grab it and go in a hurry. I like to keep one at home and one in each vehicle, but how you implement the bug out bag is up to you.
The actual bag could be as simple as an extra frameless backpack or duffel bag, or as elaborate as a framed ALICE pack or similar framed backpack. The best bug out bag is one that you can pack the most in and still carry comfortably in the field.
What About Bugging In?
In some cases, it might make sense to “bug in.†If you have a decent generator, such as a Honeywell HW6200, and a good supply of fuel, you might be safer staying put and living off items stored at your house. Naturally, this assumes your house is still safe and there are few immediate threats around you. If there are, you are better off bugging out with a well-packed bug out bag.
WHAT GOES IN A BUG OUT BAG?
Anticipating worst-case scenarios is never fun, but to properly pack your bug out bag with only the essential items, you must start here. Imagine no food, no electricity, no water, and no city services for days. What types of things would you need to survive?
PLUS:
35. Handgun.
36. Rifle.
37. Shotgun
38. Plenty of ammo
Your Bug Out Bag (http://frugaldad.com/2010/02/10/bug-out-bag-essentials/)
-
No water filtering, no dust masks?
-
Agreed, Rick--most people don't realize that they can live at least three weeks without food, but anything after three days without water is a problem. Tactical Intelligence has a post today on building your own rudimentary sand filter, for water filtration.
-
Agreed, Rick--most people don't realize that they can live at least three weeks without food, but anything after three days without water is a problem. Tactical Intelligence has a post today on building your own rudimentary sand filter, for water filtration.
One of the episodes of Surviving Nugent had the contestants assembling a primitive water filter.
-
I'd add to that list a space blanket and some shelter material.
I have the "disposable" plastic drop sheets you can buy at a hardware store.
You can also use the drop sheets for making a solar still.
-
My bags (My own and ones I assembled for my sons) include a pot for boiling water, some camp tools, first aid kit, fire & signal kit (Including a flare gun and 6-8 flares), a survival gun with ammo, space blanket, fishing and trapping supplies, work gloves, a watch cap (You lose half your body heat through your head at night)m and three days or so worth of stable food items. Also two quart canteens each.
You can live without food for quite a while, but after 4-7 days without any carbs or fats your higher brain function starts checking out of the net and your metabolism shifts to a mode that can ultimately damage your liver and kidneys when your body has to start processing its own proteins to keep going.
-
a survival gun with ammo
What weapon? Kel-Tec, or Henry AR-7?
-
What weapon? Kel-Tec, or Henry AR-7?
One bag has an AR7 and spare mags, as well as a something pistol-ish that will fire .410s if necessary. One has a Springfield M6 .22/.410. One has a little Rossi singleshot with .22 and .410 barrels. All three have a small, low-power scope which is zeroed, the open sights were also zeroed before attaching the scopes. There are a variety of different .410 shells with each, a few slugs, some #6s, some #8s, around 30 total. There's a hundred-round box of CCI high velocity in each for the .22 component of the system. You can't get more rounds to the pound than the .22/.410 pairing and the ammo might have to last for a pretty indeterminate time, the rounds are quite ubiquitous (Consistent with my caliber philosophy) and it will do (Not necessarily legally, of course) for any game or animal hazards around here. If humans are the threat, then there are other more-powerful options, but those aren't packed up with the bugout bags.
-
Is the M6 still being made, I wonder . . . ?
-
Nah, but you can find one now and then...I got the one involved on GunBroker.