Bugging Out. Facing Facts. What Will It Take?

Facing Facts. What will it take?

I haven’t written a list to work from here, just thoughts as they occur, so I suggest you jot down any of your own thoughts when reading this & use them in your reply to this post. There is bound to be things that I have missed & it is good to get other people’s perspective.

Okay, let us assume something has gone down & you have to leave your present abode & go bush, what can you expect to have to do to stay as safe as possible under the circumstances. For one you will have to stay alert all the time, even if you are at your retreat or you’re off the grid home, your life will be under threat 24/7! This can be very stressful, but you will not be able to drop your guard unless you are in a secure place & there are others taking their turn on watch.

If you are on the trail, there will be no lighting of fires, so no warmth from fire & no cooking, no warm food. This means you will have to carry foods that do not require cooking.

Shelter: You will not be erecting a shelter, come rain or snow you cannot afford to make yourself visible. Tents are an absolute NO, they stand out too much, camo pattern included. So what will you have to do? You will have to roll yourself up in a canvas or oil cloth somewhere hidden by brush, rocks, in a hollow log or a hollow tree or in low ground. Bear in mind that anyone else on the trail will also be looking for likely places to camp so hide yourself well. If there are two or more of you then take turns at keeping watch, but the watch will still have to be well hidden.

Don’t zip yourself up in a sleeping bag, you can’t protect yourself stitched up in a bag, & you can’t move fast enough from inside a bag. Pure wool blankets are the best choice. Keep weapons close to hand so they can be used in an instant. You don’t have to wear camo clothing, but you will need to stick to earth colours, no bright coloured clothing!

When you stop for a break on the trail DO NOT take off your pack! Stay as you are so that you are ready to move or run at a moment’s notice. You may be able to throw yourself into a hidden place, in which case you don’t want your pack left sitting in the open. If you have to run for it, you cannot afford to leave your pack behind, & you will not be able to move as well carrying your pack in your hand as you would if it were on your back.

Animal trails are the easiest way to travel, but if you are wearing modern footwear you are likely to leave sign. Moccasins can leave sign too, but the print does not show as clearly as the tread on a modern boot & may go unseen by all but a trained tracker. If you are wearing modern boots with a tread, stay off clear ground trails. If you are in a group & crossing open ground, spread out so you do not leave a clear trodden trail.

If you can follow a water course, this is a good idea. This will mean you have a constant source of drinking water & the chance of trapping or hunting game. Always boil the water if you can, with a no fire rule early on this will not be possible, but there are tablets you can use to purify water.

Take care when collecting water not to leave any boot prints in the mud or on the bank.

Toilet: If you were pursued by military with dogs, then your best bet is to defecate in a plastic bag, add a rock, tie the bag well & drop in a river or creek. Other than this choose a place well away from the trail & cover it well. Smell & or buzzing flies are a dead giveaway that someone has defecated close-by!

Foods: for trail food I suggest a mix of nuts, sunflower seeds, raisins or sultanas & chocolate bits in a bag. This will keep you going on the trail, it is nutritious & tasty & it may be the only comfort you will get for the first few days.

DO NOT weigh yourself down with modern gadgets that are going to self destruct with time! You have more important things to carry such as medical supplies, ammunition, water & food. It will be quite a while before you can afford to hunt or trap & cook game, you may forage along the way but ONLY along your path, do not stray! So take plenty of dried foods & foods that you can eat without cooking.

Can anyone add more information or suggestions here?

Keith.

Bugging Out Equipment List. WHAT & WHY.

I decided to post this because when I read lists of other people’s modern equipment for bugging out I often see items that I can’t make sense of. Items that are NOT sustainable & seem of very little use. Some say “well I use this until it breaks & then I throw it away”. The problem with that is that this equipment has taken up room, added weight to the pack, can leave sign to track you by if you don’t dispose of it properly, & meanwhile you could have used this space & weight to either carry a better piece of equipment, or you could have left it out & saved room & weight. If you can afford to throw it away, then you don’t need it in the first place.

Anyway, here is my list. Please feel free to comment, different people sometimes see things in a different way & I like to hear other people’s point of view.

My Equipment List. WHAT & WHY.

.62 cal/20 gauge flintlock fusil. 42 inch barrel.

Why?  Large calibre smoothbore has a lot of knock down power with a round ball, very versatile using bird shot, buckshot, or round ball or a combination of any two of these, able to use other projectiles found in nature, only requires a siliceous rock for ignition which can be found in nature, the lock is easy to repair, if the lock breaks & there are no spare parts I can use it as a matchlock or tinderlock & keep using it, I can use the lock to make fire without the use of gunpowder, I can make my own black powder, I can retrieve spent lead from shot game & reuse it, I can mould my own round ball & shot.

.70 caliber smoothbore flintlock pistol.

Why? Same as above fusil, light to carry, easy to use, good for a back-up & self defence.

Gun tools and spare lock parts.

Why? To keep my firearms working long term.

Shot pouch and contents.

Why? For maintaining & using my firearms.

Leather drawstring pouch of .60 caliber ball (in knapsack).

Why? Back-up supply.

Powder horn.

Why? For carrying gunpowder for immediate use with firearms.

Ball mould, swan shot mould & Lead ladle.

Why? So I can reuse spent lead by remoulding.

5 Gunpowder wallets.

Why? For carrying extra gunpowder, the leather wallet is lighter than a powder horn, once empty they are good for storing spare tinder for fire lighting.

Butcher/Hunting knife.

Why? A good basic working knife made for skinning & butchering game, good self defence knife, long blade but light to carry & use.

Legging knife.

Why? Good back-up knife for hunting & self defence, easy to access, light to use & carry.

Clasp knife.

Why? Good back-up knife, mainly used for camp chores, making kettle hooks, making trap parts, easy to carry.

Tomahawk.

Why? Lighter than a modern hatchet, the helve fits in a round or oval eye & is easy to make in a wilderness situation, the helve can easily be removed to use the head on its own for making a new helve or scraping hides for making leather or rawhide, good for trap making, good for hammering, can be thrown for hunting, defence, offence & entertainment.

Fire bag.

Why? Greased leather waterproof  bag for keeping my tinderbox & contents dry.

Tinderbox.

Why? For preparing plant & fungi tinders for flint & steel fire lighting, contains prepared tinder for fire lighting, is used for fire lighting by striking sparks into the tinderbox.

Flint & Steel. (NOTE: Not a ferocerium rod).

Why? For making fire. This method is sustainable long term.

Belt pouch.

Why? This pouch is carried on the waist belt at all times & contains my fire bag, my fishing tackle container, my sundial compass & my fire steel/striker which is tied to the pouch buckle.

Fishing tackle in brass container.

Why? For fishing & for trapping fowl.

Two brass snares.

Why? Small game snares for trapping .

Roll of brass snare wire.

Spare wire for making small game snares, can be used for making leaders for angling, can be used for repair work.

Knapsack.

Main pack for carrying equipment & food supplies, carries my blanket roll & oil cloth shelter & secures my market wallet.

Scrip.

Why? This haversack is carried just for foraging purposes. I often forage along the trail when trekking.

Market Wallet.

Why? This is secured under the flap closure of my knapsack & is used to carry extra items. This wallet can also be carried indendently.

Tin Cup.

Why? For drinking tea & eating food.

Kettle (Billy Can).

Why? For boiling water for sterilising & making tea, for cooking.

Water filter bags (cotton & linen bags).

Why? For filtering dirty drinking water before boiling, light & compact & easy to carry, unbreakable.

Medical pouch.

Why? Contains medical equipment & supplies, lighter than a hard container, easy to pack & carry in my knapsack near the top.

Housewife.

Why? This is my sewing kit for making repairs to clothing, making moccasins, needles can be used to remove splinters & if necessary to stitch wounds.

Piece of soap and a broken ivory comb.

Why? For bathing & looking after my hair.

Dried foods in bags.

Why? Dried foods are lighter to carry, easy to pack & preserve well for long periods.

Wooden spoon.

Why? For cooking & eating, light to carry.

Compass.

Why? A compass makes it easier to tell direction on very overcast days & nights, makes it easier to maintain a straight direction & travel quicker.

Whet stone.

Why? For keeping my blades sharp, for working on gun lock parts if needed.

Small metal file.

Why? Same as whet stone above.

Oilcloth.

Why? The oil cloth is for making a quick shelter, easy to set up & versatile, enables me to use a fire for cooking & warmth close to my bed, can be used as a rain coat, can be used for water collection, can be used to make a boat, gives me more vision around me & an easy exit if needed.

One pure wool blanket (Monmouth cap, spare wool waistcoat and wool shirt rolled inside blanket).

Why? The blanket roll is easy to carry, does not restrict my movement/escape at night like a sleeping bag will, can be used as a matchcoat, can be used as a Great Coat, retains body warmth even when wet, light to carry.

Spare pair of moccasins.

Why? To wear if my other pair get wet, to wear whilst I make repairs on the other pair, to wear if the other moccasins need replacing & whilst I make a new pair.

Two water canteens.

Why? For carrying drinking water.

Bottle of rum.

Why? Only a small bottle but I like a tot of rum & it helps me relax a little.