10 Reasons Why You Do Not Want To Bug Out

The plan seems simple, doesn’t it? All you need for the best chance of survival for your family is a well-stocked bug out bag, a keen attention to your surroundings and careful monitoring of what is happening in the news. With these bases covered you will be a very informed prepper and will be able to get the jump on all of the clueless sheeple if something bad happens. You will load your family up with your bags and hike off into the sunset way ahead of the approaching death and destruction. You have a plan to bug out.

It sounds perfect, but in this article, I am going to try and convince you how that might not be the best and first option you should consider. There are many reasons and situations I can think of why you do not want to bug out from your home. You may be asking yourself, how can I even say those words on a prepper blog such as this without getting struck by lightning? It’s true that hunkering down is not the option that gets the most press, but in my opinion, during most (but not all) scenarios, it is the better choice. That is unless you are a combat-trained Navy Seal. If you are like me, just an average guy with a family and a giant subterranean monster unleashed by nuclear experiments are not headed your way, you might want to stay put. Here are a few reasons why:

1. You live where your stuff is.

I’ll be the first to admit that a lot of these reasons are going to seem incredibly simple and obvious, but I think sometimes that is the best way to approach a problem. As a prepper you have probably started collecting some supplies to help you get through short and long-term emergencies. Some of you have stored a TON of supplies because you have been doing this for a long time or else you are independently wealthy and you just blew up the Black Friday sales.

Even if you only have a week’s worth of food and water, that is nothing to sneeze at. Everything you have is stored probably in nicely organized bins for easy retrieval. You don’t have to carry it and the supplies aren’t subject to the elements. Leaving your home will make you potentially have to leave most, or all of your survival supplies at home. You could put them all in your best bug out vehicle, the diesel Ford F-250 with the trailer, right? Sure you could, but are you sure that truck will always be in your possession? It’s just better to stay at your home base because there are tons of advantages like…

2. Even your kitchen floor is more comfortable than sleeping in the woods.

Some parts of Mother Nature are best appreciated when you can leave.

Yes, I know that some people sleep perfectly well in the woods and I can too, once I am exhausted from hiking all day. Honestly, you would have to agree that your old lumpy Serta Posturpedic mattress would be preferable to sleeping in the woods or an abandoned building or even a hammock. Why is that important?

Getting plenty of good sleep has a huge impact on our health. It not only affects your moods but alertness and even immune system. In a disaster, you will be stressed in ways you haven’t even considered. You may be working like a dog and having a comfortable and relatively safe place to rest your head, even if that is the living room floor will be an advantage that the people who think they can just bug out into the woods won’t have.

3. Built-in Community whether you know it or not.

In times of crisis, you can almost guarantee that communities will band together in some ways. You probably don’t consider your small neighborhood or dead-end street a community but let some disaster happen and you will see humans come together for support, safety and to help each other out. Being around even just a few neighbors who know you can give you advantages if you need assistance for things like a neighborhood security plan.

Even neighbors you don’t get along with will probably overcome grudges if the disaster is severe enough. Of course, there is the potential that your neighbors could turn on you for being the lone prepper but I think in most cases, things won’t go Mad Max for a little while. If it does you will have to adjust, but I believe that most people would benefit by banding with their neighbors for support. You could have an opportunity for leadership here or compassion by helping out others who haven’t prepared. It is much better to strive for this kind of relationship with people than head out the door and face the world with only what is on your back.

4. Being Cold Sucks and it can kill you.

I bet that most of you like to keep the thermostat somewhere in the upper 60’s to low 70’s during the winter. There might be some play in that range, but there are no thermostats outside. Whatever the temperature is outdoors is what you are going to be living with. Can you start a fire or wear warm layers to regulate your body temperature? Of course, but the last place I want to be on a cold winter night is huddled up in my sleeping bag under a tarp even if I did have a nice roasting fire beside me.

There are some situations where you wouldn’t be able to start a fire. Maybe if it was raining and you couldn’t find any dry wood or tinder, or there were people that didn’t look so friendly following you. Staying in your home, even without power can give you advantages of shelter that you won’t easily find outdoors. You can seal off rooms and even your body heat will generate a little warmth. You can black out your curtains with heavy gauge plastic sheeting and even the heat from a lantern or a couple of candles can put out an amazing amount of heat.

5. You may put yourself in a worse situation.

The problem with most bug out plans is that you don’t have a destination. Where are you bugging out to? Do you think the National Forest is going to be reserved solely for you and your family? Do you think you will just set up a tent and start hunting for small game? In a large regional disaster, there could be millions of people leaving the cities. The concept is called the Golden Horde and they will be competing with you for natural resources. With even a few dozen hunters in the same area game will be depleted in days if not sooner. Then you will be stuck near a bunch of other hungry people who blame you for catching the last squirrel.

6. Being on the road makes you an easier target.

One of the advantages of staying put at home is the home field or defenders advantage. When you go out, you do not know what you are walking or driving into. The best you can do is recon very deliberately which will only slow you down more. By staying put in your home, you can set up a neighborhood watch with your fellow neighbors and monitor who is coming in. This gives you the opportunity to set up defensive positions and plans that anyone walking in with thoughts of taking advantage of you, won’t be aware of.

7. If nobody knows you, you are a stranger.

If the people in the town do not know you, they will treat you as suspicious, maybe even hostile.

Have you ever been walking your dog and seen someone strange walking through your neighborhood? This was someone you didn’t know so obviously they fell under suspicion. Had they been one of your neighbor’s kids you would have recognized them, but this new person stuck out. That is what you will be faced with if you leave your home and go wandering through other towns and cities. In your home neighborhood, you will be dealing with known people that you can grow a deeper relationship with. There is a built-in level of trust because they have lived near you for years. If you start walking into a strange town with your bug out bags and AR-15 slung over your bulletproof vest, you may not like the attention you receive.

8. Gear is heavy and a lot of gear is heavier.

Speaking of walking around in your bulletproof vest and gear, how many of you have walked for 3 days with your bug out bag? OK, now add a full complement of bullets and anything else you think you might need to defend yourself. It adds up quickly even when you try to reduce the weight of your bug out bag as much as possible. These weren’t meant to live for a long time out of. Your food will run out, possibly your ammo and that will help you with the weight, but in a disaster where you are walking out the door in full combat gear, do you think Walmart will be open when you run out of something?

9. In a grid down you won’t get to call AAA.

Maybe you are one of the lucky ones that have a place to go up in the mountains. If you don’t get out before everyone else starts leaving, you could be stuck on the road. What if your old bug out vehicle breaks down? All those supplies you stored in the back of that trailer are either going to feed a lot of other people on the highway or you will most likely die to defend them. If you aren’t already living at your retreat before the disaster happens, you will have to be incredibly fast to avoid getting stranded. Let’s say you are ready to go, do you know when you would actually leave? Do you know when the S has actually HTF and it’s time to leave or will you debate leaving with your wife and mother for two days because they think it will all blow over soon?

10. If you get hurt you want to be near a secure shelter not under a tarp.

I have a decent first aid supply kit. I don’t have IV’s and a ton of medicine but I can take care of garden-variety injuries pretty well. Imagine you somehow break your leg after the grid is down. Would you rather drag yourself into the house, or be stuck in the woods for weeks unable to move? Most hospitals don’t stick their patients out in the backyard for a reason so you will convalesce better with a good roof over your head that is hopefully providing some climate protections. If nothing else, it will be a relatively clean and safe place to get better than beats lying under a log.

So what does staying home mean?

I will write a post about reasons why you may have to bug out later, but staying home doesn’t guarantee you will be safe and secure either. I think each situation has to be taken into consideration as to what is the better option for you and your family. Naturally, if there is a fire heading your way staying at home is stupid. It is something to think about that and that may help you begin to form different plans for different scenarios. What are your plans?

By: Pat Henry

www.theprepperjournal.com

Doomsday Lairs! Elite Bug-Out Underground Bunkers And Cities Prepared For Major Catastrophe – The Elite Will Survive, Will We?

With stories of missing food, recalls, government stockpiling of ammunition and weapons, medication shortages, vanishing money and missing gold… one theory for where it is all going and who is hoarding it can be found over at the Bob Fletcher Investigation website.

While some may not agree with his ultimate conclusions of what the final catastrophe will be, the information provided on “Doomsday Lairs“, underground facilities, bug-out locations, whole cities and tunnel systems, not only in the US, but across the globe, makes it undeniable that the elite are preparing for an extinction level event, using food, money, gold and other necessities, all paid for by you…. the taxpayer.

They will be safe and cozy, underground and protected, while those very same taxpayers are fighting to survive the aftermath of the expected catastrophe.

I go through some of these these locations, (over 100 of them at the site!) in the first video below. The second video was shown in an article from yesterday, so people can hear Fletcher directly, where he explains how he obtained much of this information on these bunkers and connecting it to the “vanishing” money. The following videos after those two are older, companies building bunkers for the elite, and a look inside of an underground bunker stocked with food and necessities.

A few of the most talked about locations are Denver Airport, Weather Mountain, Site “R” Raven Rock, Area 51, Camp David and Under the Capitol Building…. just to name a few.

The bottom line is they have been preparing for decades…. have you?

By Susan Duclos

www.allnewspipeline.com

The Best 5 Bug-Out Locations In The US

In the survivalist parlance of our times, when we’re using the term “bug out” we’re referring to getting away from danger after a society collapse scenario or a natural/manmade disaster. Getting away ASAP from the big bad city if it gets dangerous seems like the right thing to do.

Now, if you’re a rational human being and you’re preparing for the worst, bugging out from your current location implies that you have a place to bug out to in the first place. Also, even if you’re living in a small city/rural area, if you are within 100 miles from a highly populated city, like NY for example, it would be a good idea to think about a bug-out location for you and your family.

source:www.bugoutsurvival.com

Just think about it: if SHTF, there may be myriads of people leaving the big cities and heading to suburban areas/rural communities in the proximity in no time, on foot or by car.

Anyway, regardless of your current location, the fundamentals when picking out a BOL are the same.

Also, you must educate yourself in acquiring survival skills along with stockpiling stuff. The Romans had a saying, it goes like this: “Omnia mea mecum porto”, it means “all that’s mine I carry with me”. This should be the motto of any survivalist.

source: cheaperthandirt.com

Now, getting back to our business, here are the top 5 bugging out locations in the US:

• The Mid South and especially the East of the Mississippi River is one of the best places to retreat if you’re living in the eastern half of the US. But, you should avoid the New Madrid fault zone (check that thing on google, it covers areas from of Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee), one of the biggest earthquake-happy fault zones in the country.

• The Great Plains is not a bad choice either, especially if you’re into agriculture and growing your own food. Again, you should stay away from the New Madrid fault zone and keep an eye for tornadoes (think Tornado Alley). Population density in the area is low in most parts, and that’s great for a BOL.

• The Northwest is arguably the best BOL in the United States, being populated by huge numbers of freedom loving Americans and being blessed with a great number of lakes and rivers and also with abundant wildlife. Think Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, even eastern Washington (not urban places, that’s a no-brainer). In lots of areas, the population density is low and you can also grow your own food/livestock.

• The Southwest is a good choice if you’re familiar with the area. The weather is warm, there is a lot of space to bug out to and also the people are nice and love freedom. The downsides are the drought and hence potential water shortage. But overall, it’s a nice place for preppers.

• The Mid-Atlantic (think North Carolina and South Carolina, the southern area of DC) is another good spot if you’re planning to build yourself a bug-out retreat. The landscape is beautiful and the further you go down south, the friendlier people get.

source: prepforshtf.com

Now, let’s take a look at the fundamentals of bugging-out:

The location is essential: how far away from your current home is your BOL, how do you get there in a timely fashion in case of a disaster and how fast and how safe(you don’t have to rely on public transportation for that), you got the picture. Rural areas are the best and the safest, especially if you have friends there/you’re known in the area.

If you’ve already decided on the location, what kind of shelter do you have in mind? Can you afford to build a house on that property? You’ll use a tent (that’s a desperate measure)? The answer to that question will determine how long you’ll be able to stay there (in the winter, you can’t live in a tent for too long, for example). You can purchase an empty piece of land (that’s cheap) in a remote rural area and start building up your “thing”, gradually. In time, you will be able to have a BOL in which you could survive indefinitely, as opposed to an improvised one that’s only temporary and unsafe. If you can’t afford to build a second home, you can use instead shipping containers, a trailer home or an RV, use your imagination.

source: www.bugoutsurvival.com

You must acquire survival skills, living off the land, you know; but not the basics of gardening and hunting (everybody knows that in theory), I mean the practical stuff; that could take years to master, so you should’ve started yesterday. You must know the essentials about your BOL, like if there is wildlife in the area (stockpiles will not last forever), if the soil can be used for agricultural purposes (is fertile or not), if you have water nearby, if you can have livestock;

Water is essential to survival, hence having a clean water source near your BOL is vital. You can store water in a cistern or something similar, but again, it will not last you forever. A good BOL is near a river/ other natural water sources.

Weather is an element to take into consideration when choosing a BOL, as you should plan ahead for hard winters in some areas and for natural disasters(flooding, tornadoes) in others.

Protection is a complex thing to take into account. It also means that your BOL should be camouflaged properly and well hidden. A good BOL should be inconspicuous, not very easy to find and easy to defend.

The Getaway plan is crucial because the perfect BOL is useless if you can’t get there. You should plan ahead and have multiple routes for reaching your BOL (at least three “safe” ones). You should avoid populated areas, obviously.

By Chris Black: www.myfamilysurvivalplan.com