# SHTF - Bugging out will get you killed!



## BigCheeseStick (Aug 7, 2013)

Agree or Disagree?

Are you comfortable spending more than three nights alone in the woods?


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## shotlady (Aug 30, 2012)

alone comfortable no. but I could and would do it.


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## paraquack (Mar 1, 2013)

Comfortable would not be what you're talking about. To me, comfortable is a Hilton room. I guess you're asking could I handle being alone in a strange place where strange noises will keep me awake most of the night while I shiver because I'm not prepared to be there for more than 3 nights. Of course not, that's why a put together a BOB to make such a stay bearable. Even as a Boy Scout, I had my fellow scouts to keep the bogey man away. But yes, I could do it in SHTF incident.


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## Dr. Prepper (Dec 20, 2012)

I voted to agree but my opinion is that people who are not mentally, physically, and supplies ready could easily get dead by bugging out when there are crazies running around. I quickly learned in Vietnam that even trained folks tend to get confused and do stupid things when under attack. The typical civilian is nowhere near ready to bug out AND encounter others who mean to do them harm.

As far as staying in the woods is concerned, I think anyone can live in the woods for a few nights but it takes training and other prep. to live in the deep woods for weeks at a time.

Our little mutual assistance group has no intention of bugging anywhere if TSHTF. We're well fortified and well stocked to support our three families for 18 months easily. And we have plans for much longer if needed.


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## dannydefense (Oct 9, 2013)

Maybe I should watch the video, but 14 minutes scares me... three days should be pretty easy, 3 months I could see becoming a little lengthy alone.


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## indie (Sep 7, 2013)

Alone = bad. With my three kids = worse. We're staying put. Hopefully.


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## paraquack (Mar 1, 2013)

While I know the possibility of a bug out is possible, IMHO I figured the odds (in my old house 40 miles west of Chicago) were only 1 in 4 that I would bug out. Now I have to re-evaluate everything.


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## rickkyw1720pf (Nov 17, 2012)

I once said I have a bug out box not a bag, I would load up an off road vehicle and possible a trailer also. I have backpacked and did a lot of camping and yes the man is right it would be hard to carry enough on your back for a long time. But planed right would be no problem for a month or two with a fully loaded vehicle but even then you need to put more emphasis on food then most people think they will need.


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## inceptor (Nov 19, 2012)

I disagreed but there are some mitigating circumstances there. 

1st is when. If you can get out quickly in the beginning and stay off the main roads, you should be ok. It would seem to me the longer you wait, the harder it will be. If you can hold out until things settle down, you may still have a decent chance to bug out.

2nd is what. What caused this and how will it affect your area.

Me, I'm staying here until there is no other alternative. The only place I can think of to go is roughly 1200 miles from here.


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## Arizona Infidel (Oct 5, 2013)

What am I agreeing or disagreeing with? The title of the thread? The lisps guys video? As it pertains to me? Other people? What time frame are we talking about? To many questions to answer the poll right now.


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## ekim (Dec 28, 2012)

I'm getting to old and tired to be running through the woods any more. Hopefully I'll have enough ammo and food to weather the storm or I'll take as many as I can with me. I've already drawn my line in the sand.


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## PrepperLite (May 8, 2013)

Arizona Infidel said:


> What am I agreeing or disagreeing with? The title of the thread? The lisps guys video? As it pertains to me? Other people? What time frame are we talking about? To many questions to answer the poll right now.


haha, Yes too many variables I agree. Bugging in will get you killed depending on your location & scenario. Are you 24yr old physically & mentally fit military guy or a 54yr male with arthritis and a heart condition or any area in between?

I would say yes, bugging out might get you killed, but what's that matter when staying put is just as bad? Seems like a leading / biased question.


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## LunaticFringeInc (Nov 20, 2012)

I diasagreed with the title. I agree with what Killswitch posted.

Whether I bug in or bug out will depend on what the problem is and why the S is hitting TF. If its severe and long term then I am bugging out as my BOL is more sustainable than my current residence and has a lot more supplies. Otherwise I will remain in place as long as that is feasible to do. My BOL is not that far away and I can make that walk under the cover of darkness in a couple of nights easy like. I would rather get there by driving as I could get there with more stuff to bolster my supplies than I could with just my BOB though. Having been a very active Boy Scout, the military for 21 years, a hunter and avid outdoorsman, I don't think I would be all that uncomfortable at all. That's not saying that life would not be a lot more demanding physically though as I would go about making it through a post SHTF day.


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## Smitty901 (Nov 16, 2012)

Each situation is different. I could not agree or disagree.
I know in our case each of us has plans to Bug out from where ever we are and get to where we need to be.
If for some reason it took me 3 days to get back I would be just fine.
Once those that belong here are here the bugging out is over it is lock down time.


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## Verteidiger (Nov 16, 2012)

We all know that bugging out is determined by individual or family circumstances, and whether the situation that confronts you will drive you out of the safety of your usual dwelling place. Facing a Cat 5 hurricane you would be insane to bug in - you will die if you don't evacuate. No doubt.

It is also true that most people (sheeple as we refer to them) will not last two nights in the woods. There are a number of hardy people ("country folks") who will manage just fine (some of them live in the deep woods already) and then there are others ("city people") who will not make it even one night. 

I go primitive camping three times a year...no water, electricity or toilet. Pack in your own supplies. It is very hard work getting to your base camp and getting set up, but once you do, if you have the right gear and mindset, you can manage just fine, and if you like to do this, will totally enjoy yourself. I love that first cup of coffee fresh off a campfire as the sun rises over a morning mist shrouded lake, but I brought the right stuff so I get to sleep in a tent on the ground all night without freezing or becoming bear bait. I know how to hunt, fish, survive and live off the land. So does my wife. But most people I know won't make it past the first night. They are not hardy enough, let's face the truth....

We know what we are doing, we do it for adventure and fun, and we also know it would be the last choice if we had to do so. Living outdoors exposed to the elements is hard and the brutal reality is that you can die if you are unprepared and lack the skills and gear it takes to survive.

Most people will fail because of one reason - they lack the discipline, drive and determination it takes to make it. They will quit and give up after about the fourth or fifth hardship or setback occurs. They will not get killed necessarily, but they will come streaming out of the woods in droves after they experience the insects, snakes, scorpions, weather, and scarcity of resources. You will find them all along the roads, all wanting to do anything EXCEPT go back in the deep woods after dark....

Why? Because they lack mental toughness, and because they are physically soft.

To survive in the woods, you have to be tougher than the conditions. You have to like roughing it. 

Or as my military friends that roll with me when I hike or hunt, you have to "embrace the suck."

You have to LIKE IT when the going gets tough. You have to WANT to rise to the challenge.

And you have to have survival gear, or you will NOT survive, period.

Man is the most domesticated of all the animals. We lack fur (well, most of us anyway); we don't have claws; and our fangs are limited to four teeth out of 32 (if you have all your teeth). We live in shelters because we HAVE to. 

But if you bug out to the right place, a well positioned bug out location, you not only will NOT die, you may greatly enhance and increase your chances of survival.

To suggest otherwise is the result of a lack of understanding and a lack of advance planning. 

So, I disagree with the premise bugging out WILL kill you. That is the thinking of an under-informed and uninitiated knucklehead.

Embrace the suck. Plan ahead. Gather your preps. And face the SHTF situations ready and unafraid.

Wussies need not apply....


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## Fuzzee (Nov 20, 2012)

I agree and disagree at the same time. For everyone is simple not capable of surviving in the wilderness for a long period of time. It's natures way and it's tough. Some people really are just too soft and can't mentally handle the hardship. They won't be able to deal with the cold and the heat, the bugs, snakes and animals, do what needs to be done and eaten while at the same time making sure you don't waste your energy on something that will not provide you with a beneficial gain worth the effort. Lots of people are just kidding themselves. 

Than there's the other side of people who know how tough it is and aren't going to wimper about how cold it is and how much work it is to survive. How dangerous it is and how tough it is to find food. and will eat things that most people will simply shake their head at because it's not a McDonalds hamburger. They know this having been there and know crying about it isn't going to change shit. This guy in the video makes a lot of presumptions based on a particular viewpoint of what people's experience and background are. What their going to bring and not and that they don't know what their getting into. He's right in part as some people are exactly like that and should definitely not bugout. They'll die no ways about it. But people are going to die anyways when shtf hard enough that people have to bugout and resort to trying to survive in a wilderness area because society has collapsed or it's gotten so dangerous because of occupying police/military forces that they had no choice but to.

Having to, is a very important aspect, because if you bugout and go to the wilderness trying to survive because a hurricane came you're a moron. This guy for as much as I don't like him in attitude, character and outlook, that I'd surely put my knife into his throat and chest quietly in the night and sink him down the river with a rock in his belly tied up with his jacket, is right that unless there is a societal collapse or major reason to bug out in that sense when there are so many other modern choices, it's just plain stupid to put yourself in the hardship that surviving in the wilderness is without good reason.



:redboxesoncart:


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## Doomsday (Jun 25, 2013)

dannydefense said:


> three days should be pretty easy, 3 months I could see becoming a little lengthy alone.


It would be the opposite for me. 3 days would be tough buy after 3 months unless I was on the run or hurt. I would have improved my situation. Not sure if I would have running water by then but definitely worm, dry and a comfortable place to sleep.


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## pharmer14 (Oct 27, 2012)

I don't view bugging out as running into the woods. I view it as changing your "bugging in" location. 

Example. I'm currently just finishing up grad school and live probably 3 miles away from a rather large city in VA. If I bug in here, I've got 2 handguns with me and about a month worth of food and that's about it. I'm also rather nomadic right now as I really only HAVE to be here 3 out of the next 4 months... the remaining time I won't be tied down to this apartment and will likely spend time in PA with my immediate family. Until graduation in may, I will spend time in southern VA, northern VA, central PA, and the Atlantic coast of Florida, so I'm a bit hindered in what I can prepare in my home... 

While I don't officially own my own BOL yet (close on it next summer), my family owns a cabin across the street. If anything massive ever happened on the east coast, that's where everyone would be headed anyways. 

Does bugging in really make sense for me right now? Sometimes yes... Probably not to the extent that some preppers are... I'm likely sufficient for about 4-6 weeks... But in an apartment complex 3 miles from town, I'm sure there is a scenario where I may need to bug out either temporarily or permanently to head closer to family. As a prepper, my duty is to be prepared for either situation. 

I'll probably wind up settling down in PA somewhere between 0 (ideally) and 100 miles from my BOL, which makes my entire disagreement here a moot point. I'll likely do as you said and start the gardening and such then when I settle down after finishing up in May. 

But in general I agree that in SHTF, our goal should be to thrive and not survive... Just some of us live 500 miles away from that "self sustaining, close knit community" we have or could readily create and contribute to.


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## MrsInor (Apr 15, 2013)

I'm just happy Inor's dumb pumpkin poll is gone.


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## dannydefense (Oct 9, 2013)

Verteidiger said:


> I go primitive camping three times a year...no water, electricity or toilet. Pack in your own supplies. It is very hard work getting to your base camp and getting set up, but once you do, if you have the right gear and mindset, you can manage just fine, and if you like to do this, will totally enjoy yourself. I love that first cup of coffee fresh off a campfire as the sun rises over a morning mist shrouded lake, but I brought the right stuff so I get to sleep in a tent on the ground all night without freezing or becoming bear bait. I know how to hunt, fish, survive and live off the land. So does my wife. But most people I know won't make it past the first night. They are not hardy enough, let's face the truth....


This (especially that cup of mildly groundy cowboy coffee), and...



Verteidiger said:


> We know what we are doing, we do it for adventure and fun, and we also know it would be the last choice if we had to do so. Living outdoors exposed to the elements is hard and the brutal reality is that you can die if you are unprepared and lack the skills and gear it takes to survive.


This.


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## wesley762 (Oct 23, 2012)

3 day's no problem, we do that all the time camping and sometimes 5 to 6 days. 3 to 4 weeks, would be ruff but completely doable. 3 to 6 months.... that's where you will be really tested.


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## AquaHull (Jun 10, 2012)

I'm staying put for as long as I can. Plus the woods is 90 feet from my computer.


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## paraquack (Mar 1, 2013)

I understand I could well be wrong and have to live with my idea, but I saw somewhere a guys says he will make his house look like it's already been looted. Scatter stuff out on the front yard, throw and old cheap TV out there, etc. It's easily doable, won't cost too much and if it doesn't work, have some large contractor garbage bags handy to stuff the bodies in.


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## bigdogbuc (Mar 23, 2012)

Well Big Cheese, I can't say it WILL get you killed because that's implying it's an absolute that if you bug out, you're dead. For some, yes. Others, no.

I am not a bug out fan. But I would if not bugging out meant certain death with not a single glimmer of hope to survive or we were being rounded up like cattle. Bugging out would be a last resort for me. If it is a short term event, say a couple weeks or so, I would fear coming home to find my primary abode destroyed and empty. I would attempt to protect it until it was pointless. This does create a fine line of "how long do you stay?when do you go?"

I guess you just have to do what feels right for you, given your area, your circumstances, etc. I would be comfortable in the woods alone for a few days. Or an urban setting. Or pretty much anywhere else for that matter. That is of course until I ran out of my meds and my heart vapor locked again...:grin:. But even then, I think I'd still have a good 10 years.


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## Denton (Sep 18, 2012)

Depends on your definition of bugout.
None of my definitions involve grabbing a bag and wandering into some patch of woods. Not much of a plan in that.

Comfort. Another word that is relative to the person. After rolling out at 0-dark-thirty one Saturday morning in Feb., my dive buddy (former army ranger) and I had to hire an insane charter boat captain to take us diving. Seas were more than what the "cattle boats" would enter. After three dives with intervals of rough topside, we went back to shore, where my buddy asked if I were hungry. He laughed and said I should have been ranger instead of MP.

Most people are more acutely aware of internal receptors (such as any hunger twinge) and respond immediately. Microwave meals and fast food stores mean we have little use for planning or discipline. We get our notions from the movies we use for entertainment and think the kudzu-commando gear bout at our favorite sporting/outdoor store is what should plan for planning and prepping.

This vid highlights that in its own way.


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## BigCheeseStick (Aug 7, 2013)

Just to throw this out there. It's certainly not _my_ video, and I never even heard of the guy before stumbling across this video.

BUT, while he's no professional public speaker (who of us is?), I'm in agreeance with what he says. And subscribed to his channel because right or wrong, at least he's a realist.

"Bugging IN" consists largely of buying and building supplies, training / practical experience / learning, and personalized modifications to your home. Using your head. Not _nearly_ so much flashy toys, and trendy gizmos from movies, tv, and magazines. Practicality vs flashy fun and bragging rights.

Just thought it'd be fun to learn who prepps for what and why... ;-)

The percentages are telling of the forum as a whole imo.


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## PaulS (Mar 11, 2013)

What if you are already bugged out to your BOL and living there? It hasn't gotten me killed yet and I have been here for just over a year.

Trying to survive in a major population center after the SHTF is more likely to get you killed than if you bug out to your BOL the first day of the event. Especially if you already have the new location set up to support you for a couple of years.

Now, if you don't have someplace to go and you only have what you can carry then you have a bigger challenge. Insurmountable? Not if you are prepared and keep a cool head.


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## Kidzthinkimahoarder (Feb 11, 2013)

I agreed, but the reason I did was because I believe it depends on your location to start with. I feel if you're in the middle of New York, Houston, let's say Los Angeles you may have one helluva time bugging out if not prepared ahead of time. You are taking a chance either way in big cities...staying still isn't smart, but bugging out may not be your best choice to start with either.

I don't know what I'd do in that situation...freak out first, then slow down the panic and get to business.

But living where I live, bugging out wouldn't be a hard thing to accomplish...


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## GTGallop (Nov 11, 2012)

When the proverbial fecal material interacts with the oscillating personal cooling device people will die. Bug-Iners will die and Bug-Outers will die. It all boils down to what you have, where you have it, and what you are willing to do to keep it.

Bugging in or out is not near as relevant as thinking one step ahead, mitigating risk, and having resources - namely the 6 pound gooey resource between your ears.


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## Sinkhole (Nov 17, 2012)

I guess the term "bugging out" means different things to different people. Apparently the guy in the video believes bugging out is grabbing a small bag and heading directly to the deep woods to live off the land indefinitely. To me bugging out means HAVING to leave my home when there is no other option and going to a "safe location", whether that's across town to friends or family members house, or a shelter, or a predetermined location where you will have shelter, food & water. The small backpack I carry in my truck I don't consider a true "bug out bag", I consider it an emergency kit. It has the tools and supplies I need to "survive" for up to 72 hours, not live comfortably, but survive. I guess in my mind a "BOB" in the sense of what the guys in the video was referring to would be a large full frame pack with all of the same supplies I would take on say a 3-4 week backpacking trip on the Appalachian Trail, plus some added equipment for personal protection. and even then I would not expect to be able to stay out there more than the 3-4 weeks at most. In a scenario where the SHTF, I'm staying put in my home as long as absolutely possible. I have everything I need here. I don't have cabin on a mountain top somewhere and my wife is and never will be in a condition to hike anywhere. So I will stay in my home with my food and water supplies, and ride out the storm as long as humanly possible.


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## warrior4 (Oct 16, 2013)

I disagreed with the poll as well. My rationale is that with proper prior planning and most importantly the right frame of mind it's definitely possible to survive a major emergency. A lot of times, not always, but a lot of times it's the people who still have the ability to think and make clear choices that make it through. The mental aspect is always a huge part of the equation. So I would say that yes I would survive mainly because I already know I work well in an emergency situation and therefore already have an "inside track" so to speak.


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## gardeneroo7 (Jun 30, 2013)

tricky one really, in my attic I have 3 big water tanks, warmth and space. (bug in would be cosy)

bugging out - although I have comprehensive kit etc. water is a priority in my eyes, no doubt if shtf, everyman and his dog would find all the clean water and damn well use it all or put some rotting carcass in it after their fill !

all in all, bugging out could bring a scenario that is unforeseen. so i'm bugging in ::redsnipe::


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## BetrayedAmerican (Jan 8, 2013)

When you are accustomed to living alone and being alone the thought of being out in the woods with the strange noises and cracks and whatever brings a little comfort... Hey there mr black bear thank you for coming and checking up on me.. Dont worry I will be fine now mozy on your way. I will be gone in the morning....

Nature and the woods is the one thing that will never let you down, will never leave you alone. There are always critters out there curious as to what this new smell is what this new being is.

When you bug out you need to be ready and not just by having the mentality and not by having the physical fitness to do it and definitely not by having gear... I will explain.
One could be as mentally and physically fit as any other thinking they are ready for a bug out, others will have the gear, and others will have all three but unless you have practiced it, you stand a chance to fail. Not saying you will but you stand the chance to fail.

Ways to prepare. 

1. Start off with weekends where you dont eat anything from Saturday morning to Monday morning.. Sounds stupid but how will you react to that test... How would you be able to function during the weekend on no food... Naturally you can drink WATER but thats it... It will show your body what it is like going days without food which may or may not ever happen... 
2. Then see just how many days you could go remembering that there is a certain health standard that needs to be kept... 
3. Go camping, but take a trail off into the woods and make a camp site and see what you can do.. Most that do this start by bringing all the luxury items that camping comfortably will have but then start forgetting things... Start camping with just enough to get you by.. then go camping with nothing more that what you would have in your bug out bag... building a lean-to and a fire as you dont have a sleeping bag or tent... These things will significantly increase your chance to survive in the event a do or die situation occurs


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