Lessons learned from recent NO bug-outs

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Hi all, I got a link to this thread over at FreeRepublic, I think Travis posted it.

Great Thread, very informative. I would like to ask though; haven't seen mention of:

Some Good glass - optics. Not just for your rifle (I suppose that's a given?), but binoculars. Even the small compact Nikon style that can be attached to a belt or stowed in a larger pocket. Those or a larger set would be good for scanning the road ahead for roadblocks or other obstacles that lack of comms (or chatter) might not alert you to. And others uses such as camp perimiter security. Oh, what about a small magnafying glass. Good for starting fires in sunlight (can save on matches and magnesium) and help out those who are visionally challenged with the small stuff.

GPS. Someone mentioned XMS/Sirrius sat radio as a good source of news especially when local stations are down due to disasters, so it would seem a good portable GPS unit would be in order as well. I'm not talking about the type you mount on your dash that show you roads (not that there's anything wrong with those, and if you have one by all means make sure it in your BoVehicle) but also the type used for backpacking. (It goes without saying that a good compass and chronograph are packed)

I do have an old Ruger 10/22 that would be a good small game rifle, but it has the original wooden stock and I was thinking that for a BoB; that an Armalite 22, the type that breaks down and stores in its own stock would be better. Light compact, stowable, and it floats. Comments?

BTW: I think this thread should be a sticky as well.
 
2 fixed blade knives anyone got some brand recommendations? keep it under $150 for both?
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Several models from Becker Knife & Tool, who is owned by Camillus. In particular, the BKT Combat-Utility 7 is a great 7" sheath knife. They run about $50 - $65.
 
I do have an old Ruger 10/22 that would be a good small game rifle, but it has the original wooden stock and I was thinking that for a BoB; that an Armalite 22, the type that breaks down and stores in its own stock would be better. Light compact, stowable, and it floats. Comments?
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IMHO, the Ruger 10/22 -- especially older models -- is the best .22 autoloader ever made. Rather than an AR-7, I'd put the 10/22 into a folding stock from either Choate or Butler Creek. It'll be quicker to deploy than a rifle that's stowed inside its own stock, and will still be quite compact.
 
If you consider that you may have to bug out you may want to have an account with a national bank like Bank of America or Chase.

Most of us bank with a local or state bank. Should the power be out or the facilities destroyed due to a Katrina level disaster even if we'd gotten out ahead of time we could be destitute with thousands "in the bank". This is the case if you're on vacation or away from the region and a local disaster takes out your bank temporarily.

If, otoh, we keep an account with Chase, BOA, etc. we can keep a baseline amount there for travel, vacation, BugOut that allows us to walk in to any branch or up to any autoteller for "Ol BigBanking" and withdraw cash (cash is king in an emergency). If we have some forewarning we can move money from our "preferred" bank to the emergency account by check or wire transfer.

If nothing else it could cut down on those nasty autoteller charges.
 
I'd have to agree with the 10/22 as a required tool. Obviously small game will quickly become rare in some areas, but if you don't got it you can't use it. Marlin model 60 is another good option, perhaps better as it doesn't require a detachable mag.


I think the one lesson that hasn't been evident is to plan for the disasters in your area; not the ones you've seen on TV. TN sits on a very nasty, but largely inactive fault line. We have had a few trembles in recent years, and if it goes most of our major cities will be reduced to dust. If it every happens, We won't be facing masses of polluted water everywhere. Instead we will have to handle mosquitoes, rats, possible plauge outbreaks from the mountain regions, and the closure of all major roads for the immediate future ( do you really believe that overpasses in TN are rated for earthquakes like in CA?).

I have two friends whom are most likely still in NO. He was department head over surgical techs at one of the larger hospitals. Obviously he was required to stay. He also had moved his elderly parents to housing near his own, so last minute evac wasn't going to happen.

Which brings me to a final pair of lessons:
1. Don't take jobs that can mandate you stay in place. Doing good for society rarely improves your own survival chances. I'm personally afraid of the backlash that will occur once real fatality numbers are known among emergency services (fire, police, medical personal).

2. Family that no longer can take care of themselves, no matter how much you love them, belong in professional care in a low disaster-risk area. Its great that you can care for them now, but if your job/marriage/health/enviroment goes south they'll be the first to hurt for it.



I'd suggest also that perhaps money in an overseas bank would be a good thing. Switzerland has some nasty history, but their money is backed by gold and has faired well against inflation thats nailed us. If switzerland disappears, most of the world economy will go with it anyway.
 
IMHO, the Ruger 10/22 -- especially older models -- is the best .22 autoloader ever made. Rather than an AR-7, I'd put the 10/22 into a folding stock from either Choate or Butler Creek. It'll be quicker to deploy than a rifle that's stowed inside its own stock, and will still be quite compact.
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Okay, New stock. I like the 10/22 but I've noticed that on a hot day running a lot of rounds through it; it can sorta go auto (2~3 rnd burst). I figure rounds are cooking off when they hit the chamber. I guess I was just thinking (RE: AR-7) about having a rifle that could be stowed in a pack for quick getaways.

Having a little more time to gather more equipment; I have other "toys" I can bring. Marlin 22 & 30-30 lever, Moss 500; Rem 1100 (w/extra rifled barrel for slugs); Browning O/U 12GA, DanWesson .357 (only one 4" barrel) and a couple of Browning 9's, oh and a "evil ugly black gun". I just remembered that my "evil ugly black gun" came with a .22LR conversion kit, which I've never used. Anyone ever mess with that?
 
 
Good thread, so many things to think about.

Something else . If you are or have someone on special medical care, get and keep an updated copy of health records and shot cards, list's of allergies. Identify facilities that can perform necessary functions (dialysis) in your area or along you BO route.
This may sound morbid but with your important papers you might concider your Will.

Plan ahead,pratice,pratice,pray and read this thread.
 
I'm doing a complete overhaul of my earthquake kit and evac plan in light of recent developments.

My former plan had been to bug back out to the remote site in Willow with a stockpile of food and fuel, but I'm not sure how realistic that would be. Another nine pointer is likely to drop not only a lot of real estate into the water, but shut down the only highways with several large mountains at their narrow points (Turnagain Arm to the south, Eagle River to the north). Not to mention no power, water, gas or anything else.

Now I'm thinking a more realistic plan is to quickly scan an emergency radio for tsunami warnings, and if that danger passes hunker down on site, using my supplies and help from others to set up temporary shelter and dig for survivors. Not too worried about race riots up here, at least not in this part of town. The cold in winter is the biggest concern. If it happens in summer we can fish and grab moose from the parkstrip as needed. If it happens during a cold snap, esp. in the night, death is only about half an hour away even if no debris kill you. Having a complete set of winter clothes on hand is vital.

The schools here are already set up to take all their students, feed them and keep them warm for weeks. But that only applies to the young ones and if the schools are standing.
 
Physical Fitness . . . .

In one of these scenarios, at some point you may be on foot - For those of us who are less than fit, how about getting and staying on some program that gives us the ability to walk 5 or 10 miles in a day without getting a heart attack.

Also as a comment: Living in the Northeast I have had many folks question my "hobby". My typical response, being an engineer who is very familiar with what it takes to turn on a light, have water come out of a faucet and flush a toilet, is that a very FINE line of infrastructure separates us from living like animals.

Can you hunt, provide and protect for yourself and your family if the local supermarket doesn't have food on its shelves for a month?

Folks in New Orleans are finding the answer to that question the hard way.

Also, the list of places not to live - add big cities. Things get bad faster in the big cities.
 
AFreeBird mentioned GPs units, which is kind of ironic;

I bought a Garmin Streetpilot C330 about a month ago. It's one of the GPS units that mounts on the dash and provides turn by turn voice directions to any destination entered. A couple of weks ago, we had a tornado rip through a neighboring town, destroying a couple of dozen homes and messing up roadways completely. I work as a paramedic, and ended up responding in my own vehicle. The Streetpilot was a godsend, especially when I couldn't make a turn or was detoured by downed wires, trees, etc. It would simply announce "off route - recalculating" and re-route me. This was on pitch dark country roads with lots of crap in the road. If I'd had to split my attention to lok at the atlas, it would have been a mess.

I now see this little gizmo as invaluable in any sort of situation involving roadway bugout.
 
dpesec,

Sorry to hear about your friends - and I wish them well. The thought of anything less than extensive preparation in a strong brick/masonry construction two-story (at least) sounds very grim anywhere in the area.

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http://ussliberty.org
http://ssunitedstates.org
 
On the subject of filtering heavily contaminated water containing petroleum and or other chemicals; I would always filter the chemicals first through the carbon stage.

Why? Because if you use your bacterial filter in the first stage - it becomes contaminated right off - and permanently so. Meaning that if you find any "clean" water sources elsewhere, you must employ a carbon filter again in the second stage every time.

Of course even the best carbon stage filtration might allow a tiny fractional percentage of contamination of the bacterial filter anyway; but if you run out of carbon filters, and find the "clean" water source later on, you now have only a heavily contaminated bacterial filter.

Drip coffee filters tied around your primary filter intake make an excellent first stage to keep much sludge and particulates from clogging your system early on.
--------------------------------------------

http://ussliberty.org
http://ssunitedstates.org
 
I don't believe this has been mentioned... But if I were in NO, or any other place where flooding was a possibility, I think an inflatable raft or boat, even a small one, would be invaluable. If you have to hike miles through a couple feet of water, being able to float your heavy stuff along behind you in an inflatable raft would be very convenient. If the water's deeper, you can paddle out. And if you run out of water, you can deflate it and stuff it in a backpack.
 
I have no idea. Maybe it was a dumb idea. I've never actually seen one in person and hadn't looked into it much when I said that.

I found this one in a quick search. It's bigger than I was picturing. It's 12 feet long and weighs in at 52lbs.

This one is a bit smaller at 9 feet long and weighs in at 36lbs.

Didn't realize they'd cost nearly so much either.

This one is much less costly but also a fair amount smaller, only having a capacity of 500lbs. Still weighs 35lbs though.

These are more along the lines of what I was thinking of, but this site doesn't give weights and measurements for all of them.

I guess one of these would probably be too heavy to carry around in a backpack with much else in there with it, but if you knew you were going to face flood waters along your exit route and wouldn't be able to drive, it might be worth taking along.

Sorry for the unresearched post. :uhoh:
 
A very good thought, Glacius, but from personal experience I cringe at the thought of relying on a raft in floodwaters because of the amount of sharp objects, debris, and shallows that would be ready to poke or rip it.

Then again, far better than nothing, and still better than a kapok or plastic lifejacket.

I've got a coat that has a CO2 cartridge in it with inflatable sides. In the kind of circumstances you're talking about, that's what I'm wearing.
 
LAK,
Thanks for the kind words. I actually heard from them yesterday. All fine. But I got into an argument with my GF about NO. It's amazing how some folks don't get it.
She can't understand why I say when somebody is shooting at the evac helo, you need to take out the animals. She doesn't understand that you need a safe environment to conduct the operations. Sure there might be some collateral damage, and some innocents might behurt or worse, but you need to look at the big picture. There's a few animals that are prolonging this problem.
 
FYI - REI sale

Much good info here.

FYI REI is having a labor day sale, and included in the things on sale are freeze-dried backpacking foods, energy bars, and the MSR MiniWorks EX water filter. Lots of other stuff too like Gerber knives, various clothing, etc.
 
Before you throw all this stuff in your pack, and think you are good to go, can you even carry it?

Anything over 70 pounds is going to make for a tough walk anywhere.

So, once you have that crap, throw on your pack and go for a walk.
 
what does such a raft weigh and where do you get one?
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The ones Glacius showed are good but very expensive for what they do. They are meant for serious kayaking, e.g. in rapids, etc. Also they are very heavy because they are relatively big and made of thick heavy rubber.

My solution would be a smaller inflatable raft, e.g. from Army Surplus store. I got mine for 30 bucks. It weighs only a few pounds deflated. I have done a lot of lake kayaking with it and it performed very well. It has 350 lbs capacity, is about 2 meters long, and collapses to the size of a small suitcase. If I were worried about flooding I would buy several for provisions and backup.
 
Before you throw all this stuff in your pack, and think you are good to go, can you even carry it?

Anything over 70 pounds is going to make for a tough walk anywhere.

So, once you have that crap, throw on your pack and go for a walk.
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A very good point, and one that is of particular concern to me - since my spinal fusion surgery, there's no way I could carry more than a few pounds on my back without serious discomfort and eventual disablement. My response has been to go to a wheeled suitcase for my personal bug-out kit, and that will be replaced soon by a two-wheel bike trailer that I can strap to a load-bearing rig over my shoulders and round my hips. That way, I can pull up to 100 pounds with me, and not have too much strain on my back.
 
Nio ~

Glad to hear you and yours are safe. Here's hoping your house fared as well as you did.

pax
 
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