With the summer coming up and forecasters predicting a bad hurricane season, it seems that we are seeing a lot of SHTF and what gun for hurricane bug out, etc, and it got me thinking.
For those folks who want to BUG out, I ask; how many of you can really haul your buts 20 miles or so, over rough or compromised terrain? I ask because I am an avid hiker, but there were two very memorable times when I had to make unscheduled 20 plus mile hikes, one of them in the winter, one in the spring.
How many of you think that you could hike 20 miles, with 30-40 pounds of gear, in you current physical condition? I think that we all, my self included, don’t realize how much the weight of our gear will tire us out. If you are really serious about this stuff, load up your pack (you do have a pack, right?) with all of the stuff that you think that you will be taking and weigh it. Now add the weight of your loaded rifle. You will quickly realize why back packers will cut the handle off of a tooth brush to save half an ounce.
Keep in mind that you will need water (water is 8.33 lbs per gallon), and you will need more than you think. Food, you will also need food. Clothing, you need dry clothing as well, and probably a dry change of shoes if you are walking through water.
I’m not saying that we should not discuss this stuff, but we should try to be realistic. Look, I know talking about taking the AR vs the Ak or the Glock vs the 1911 is fun and exciting, but I just think that we should be discussing some of the “real” issues with BUG’n out and how to realistically deal with these challenges.
I know, I know… I’m a buzz kill.
For those folks who want to BUG out, I ask; how many of you can really haul your buts 20 miles or so, over rough or compromised terrain? I ask because I am an avid hiker, but there were two very memorable times when I had to make unscheduled 20 plus mile hikes, one of them in the winter, one in the spring.
How many of you think that you could hike 20 miles, with 30-40 pounds of gear, in you current physical condition? I think that we all, my self included, don’t realize how much the weight of our gear will tire us out. If you are really serious about this stuff, load up your pack (you do have a pack, right?) with all of the stuff that you think that you will be taking and weigh it. Now add the weight of your loaded rifle. You will quickly realize why back packers will cut the handle off of a tooth brush to save half an ounce.
Keep in mind that you will need water (water is 8.33 lbs per gallon), and you will need more than you think. Food, you will also need food. Clothing, you need dry clothing as well, and probably a dry change of shoes if you are walking through water.
I’m not saying that we should not discuss this stuff, but we should try to be realistic. Look, I know talking about taking the AR vs the Ak or the Glock vs the 1911 is fun and exciting, but I just think that we should be discussing some of the “real” issues with BUG’n out and how to realistically deal with these challenges.
I know, I know… I’m a buzz kill.
