# bug in or out



## theproprepper (Jul 24, 2017)

whats best ?


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## Camel923 (Aug 13, 2014)

All depends on your particular circumstances. I have land, mature fruit and nut trees, timber and fresh water. Very few things are going to force me to bug out. Perhaps nuclear or a situation where I am about to be over run. Aside from that, I am bugging in. If one is in the city bugging in may be a more harrowing choice. Timing means a lot. You may have little or no warning. You must recognise early on what the situation is and act. Grid down, you may have a few days to bug out vs say nuclear where you may have minutes. Being in a fleeing mob could be nightmarish as well as being stuck in the city with roaming gangs and masses of the starving. Just some rambling thoughts.


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## Back Pack Hack (Sep 15, 2016)

There is no one-size-fits-all answer.


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## Chipper (Dec 22, 2012)

Been a forum topic and thoroughly discussed every couple months or less. Do a search and sit back and read. 

Welcome to the forum.


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## Toefoot (Jun 21, 2017)

Plan and dedicate resources for both. Depending on ones age, family size, resources, medical conditions and local network the major event will dictate what should happen....stay put or move on. The big question is are you coming back?


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## Prepared One (Nov 5, 2014)

I plan to bug in where my resources are. You can only carry so much when bugging out. However, if forced I have provisions to bug out as well.


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## Illini Warrior (Jan 24, 2015)

you prepare for both ... just keep in mind - unless you have a prepared bug out site - you're nothing but a better prepared refugee than the average sheeple ....


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## SDF880 (Mar 28, 2013)

Bugging in here. I'm too old and would be dead in a week or so trying to bug out. I have spent the last 13 years
trying to make this place bug in friendly for us.


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## SGG (Nov 25, 2015)

theproprepper said:


> whats best ?


Yes..


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## bigwheel (Sep 22, 2014)

We gonna hang in till the ammo runs out.


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## Redneck (Oct 6, 2016)

theproprepper said:


> whats best ?


As stated, it depends on the situation of that specific person. If you want general guidance, do as stated above and read old posts on this topic. If you want specific guidance for you, then you have to fill us in on your circumstances.


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## Maine-Marine (Mar 7, 2014)

need more info... is it a pandemic of zombie motorcycle gangs, emp with people leaving the cities, antichrist killing christians, or the total melt down of the us dollar....


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## paraquack (Mar 1, 2013)

In general I will bug in unless the water is lapping at the back door (I live 200+ feet above the rest of the area). Obviously there are reasons to bug out, but each scenario will have to be evaluated based on my plans. And of course plans can and do change.


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## hawgrider (Oct 24, 2014)




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## Sir Publius (Nov 5, 2016)

I know this is a topic well covered, but the prepper in me can't resist: the key in my opinion, one of them, is the ability to improvise. Being able to think ahead as to what will happen in the given situation accurately is key, as well as in the moment understanding what will or might happen at any given time. Like everyone else is saying, it just depends, of course. 

Take EMP for example. A successful one....seems to me, if you are in a city, unless you have both food and water AND a place to hide get the HELL out sooner than later. Cuz it may be fine now....but what will it look like in 2 days....2 weeks...2 months...with no food water or services of any kind in a heavily populated area? Duh. So with that, as an example, generally, bug the heck out.

My folks have a farm. Might seem the GREATEST prepper paradise out there. Obviously you bug in, right? Well, its less than an hour from the city, and its a farm, on a road with a stip of very attractive farms, sheep farm down the road, row crops, in an area frequented in good times by tourists, 40 minutes from the city. In other words...its a target. Now if they had a squad of people to protect it, that's one thing. But the two of them...protecting 40 acres? Good chance they'll die trying to protect it, if they tried. 

Personally, I'd rather have 6 months of dry goods and the ability to be mobile and hide wherever than grounded in some circumstances to a farm, which is only viable if you have either law and order, or a force large enough to protect it. No perfect scenario's out there, and there's always exceptions, but generally that's my thinking.

Just gotta think how other people are gonna think. Improvise. Don't be stubborn and mindlessly go along with conventional thinking. What might seem like conventional thinking now, might be the exact wrong thing when the time comes...if the time comes.


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## Steve40th (Aug 17, 2016)

I am in suburbia. I will bug in till supplies run low, then venture out. We have a plan.


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## NotTooProudToHide (Nov 3, 2013)

To quote Maineprepper from you tube, when you bug out you become a refugee. Its a shame he took his videos down, some of them where quiet informative. I actually learned quiet a bit from watching his channel.

Everybody talks about having a bug out location or bug out property but unless you have some land you got via family, a job with considerable income, or your willing to make considerable sacrifices to your creature comforts then its awful tough to maintain a home and a bug out property/location at the same time.

Personally, I plan on slowly laying in supplies in my residence. I don't plan on leaving unless conditions won't sustain life or if the situation makes it more dangerous to stay than it is to leave. If I do have to bug out, I plan on going with my family which will include multiple vehicles and several adults. Where we go will be a group decision based on the situation and threats.


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## Illini Warrior (Jan 24, 2015)

NotTooProudToHide said:


> To quote Maineprepper from you tube, when you bug out you become a refugee. Its a shame he took his videos down, some of them where quiet informative. I actually learned quiet a bit from watching his channel.
> 
> Everybody talks about having a bug out location or bug out property but unless you have some land you got via family, a job with considerable income, or your willing to make considerable sacrifices to your creature comforts then its awful tough to maintain a home and a bug out property/location at the same time.
> 
> Personally, I plan on slowly laying in supplies in my residence. I don't plan on leaving unless conditions won't sustain life or if the situation makes it more dangerous to stay than it is to leave. If I do have to bug out, I plan on going with my family which will include multiple vehicles and several adults. Where we go will be a group decision based on the situation and threats.


just a suggestion - when you're making decisions on what gear to buy - where to store it around the home - how to store it protected and staying clean .... keep the aspect of possibly bugging out in mind .....


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## ntxmerman (Aug 5, 2017)

Illini Warrior said:


> you prepare for both ... just keep in mind - unless you have a prepared bug out site - you're nothing but a better prepared refugee than the average sheeple ....


I completely agree with the first part, and completely disagree with the last part. The implication that you have to have the ability to bug-in makes no sense in the context of history. I consider it irresponsible coming from someone who should know better. There is no scenario I can conceive where bugging-in is viable. My home will likely become a target, and I don't want to end up like other poor creatures who are persecuted for defending themselves (which I think has a far higher probability of occurrence than anything else). For me, bugging-out temporarily is the safest scenario I can conceive at this time.

There is a well documented case of one of my ancestors (husband and wife) who lived for 5 years on the plains in Texas as part of his job as a Ranger protecting the settlers from hostile indian tribes. Is it best to have a permanent home or base? Sure. Is it necessary? Of course not. Lewis and Clark didn't have a base. They didn't have stashes. They carried what they needed, lived off the land, and established camps everywhere they went just as my ancestors did, and every other early immigrant to Texas (and the other western territories).

You are a senior member of the community, but comments implying that you either have a stronghold or you have nothing are irresponsible and cause people to be unprepared. We need more people to be prepared, not driven to the point of giving up because they don't have your limitations or fit into your perceived requirements.

Knowledge is more important than anything physical you can possess or acquire. A knife without knowledge of what to do with it has marginal utility. A knife with knowledge can mean a tenderloin and part of new blanket instead of just meat.

For the original poster, prepare yourself in the manner that fits your ability and resources. Your gut will tell you what direction you need to go. In my case, it is a combination of the two. Sometime I will post about my actual plan which started out being exclusively bug-out, but changed to include a suitable permanent remote destination. Neither of which is my long term goal, but they are both options should the need arise.


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## Back Pack Hack (Sep 15, 2016)

ntxmerman said:


> ........ My home will likely become a target,.................


Perhaps you should consider the reason WHY your home would be a target. What makes your home a 'target'? Is it because everyone and their uncle knows what you have and what you do?

And perhaps you should consider the fact that if you bug-out somewhere else, why you believe that location WON'T be a target. Marauding gangs of thieves will go to where to loot is. They're smart enough to figure out what that cabin out in the sticks really is.


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## 8301 (Nov 29, 2014)

Sir Publius said:


> Personally, I'd rather have 6 months of dry goods and the ability to be mobile and hide wherever than grounded in some circumstances to a farm, .


Being mobile after most others are on foot speaks of food and security to any footsore hungry SOB. I suspect it wouldn't be long before your vehicle and all the food inside will belong to someone else.

Keep in mind that lots of people out there have guns or can set up roadblocks. Your moving food warehouse won't last long. Better to join your folks and help protect that 40 acres, especially if you can add the neighbors on the neighboring farms to the area defense.

Best to hunker down and play the grey man with minimal driving or noisy chainsaws ect.


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## Gator Monroe (Jul 29, 2017)

Individuals or small groups Died in Balkan Conflicts (Closest thing to what we will see) Larger Armed & committed Groups Survived .


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## phrogman (Apr 17, 2014)

If it's a hurricane or a fire, we are bugging out. Everything else we are staying put because we have no where else to go.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk


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## Illini Warrior (Jan 24, 2015)

John Galt said:


> Being mobile after most others are on foot speaks of food and security to any footsore hungry SOB. I suspect it wouldn't be long before your vehicle and all the food inside will belong to someone else.
> 
> Keep in mind that lots of people out there have guns or can set up roadblocks. Your moving food warehouse won't last long. Better to join your folks and help protect that 40 acres, especially if you can add the neighbors on the neighboring farms to the area defense.
> 
> Best to hunker down and play the grey man with minimal driving or noisy chainsaws ect.


agreed ...

roadblocks to stop the entering of certain areas - off interstates - entering a town or county - and especially transiting from one state to another during a SHTF - will be standard SOP - it is already ... nothing at all to do with the lawless aspect of roadblocking you can expect

if you think you'll be bopping around the countryside from one local to another - post SHTF - better get real .... it will be taking an armed convoy to transit from one town to the next on community business .... a gallon of gas is going to be worth someone's life


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## ntxmerman (Aug 5, 2017)

Back Pack Hack said:


> Perhaps you should consider the reason WHY your home would be a target. What makes your home a 'target'? Is it because everyone and their uncle knows what you have and what you do?
> 
> And perhaps you should consider the fact that if you bug-out somewhere else, why you believe that location WON'T be a target. Marauding gangs of thieves will go to where to loot is. They're smart enough to figure out what that cabin out in the sticks really is.


I believe my neighborhood would be a target based upon it being an upper middle class established neighborhood in proximity to large apartment complexes. It's a guess on my part. My Jaguar, Range Rover and Escalade might make my property a more desirable target.

There is nothing I do or wear publically to indicate I have prepared for anything other than my child's education. That's part of the problem. I have an idea to potentially identify others in the neighborhood who are like minded. If we can band together a little bit, our subdivision is fairly well suited for a survival situation which must have been a subconscious consideration when I purchased the property.

Those of us who do this don't announce who and what we are. We do this in the privacy of our homes and families. That is the primary reason for me joining this forum to learn how to better communicate and coordinate with others like us.

When I was a kid living with my parents, my truck was broken into so often that my security system was to leave my truck unlocked with no valuables inside. I was giving criminals the opportunity to have a look-see without needlessly destroying my property to reach that conclusion. That has served me very well for 30 years. The envelope of my home has a different set of rules. Depending upon the situation, a lot of my tech based security will become useless or irrelevant.

I grew up in a not so great neighborhood. I understand the mentality of some of those people and the gangs. I know how they think. I know what deters them. I also know as an individual, defending a toddler, against a gang, the odds are not in my favor in a widespread riot/looting situation. Sure, I'll do a lot of damage, but luck has to be 100% on my side, and they only have to be lucky once.

My plan is to get the hell out of my urban environment as quickly as possible (just in case) and plan to be gone for months. I don't expect to rely on the goodness of others (other than to not interfere with me needlessly). Eventually I can come back, but if we end up back in the 1700s, why would I?

I would love to learn how to effectively bug-in. I think it would be easier. I think my property is strategically located, but there are too many outside variables in my particular case.


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## Back Pack Hack (Sep 15, 2016)

ntxmerman said:


> .................There is nothing I do or wear publically to indicate I have prepared for anything other than my child's education. ................


Yet you list your city & state on a prepper forum that anyone and their uncle can read. :devil:

ETA: So if going somewhere else is such a great idea when SHTF, why not just move there now?


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## KUSA (Apr 21, 2016)

I got a shotgun, a rifle, and a 4WD. Either way, I'll survive.


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## ntxmerman (Aug 5, 2017)

Back Pack Hack said:


> Yet you list your city & state on a prepper forum that anyone and their uncle can read. :devil:
> 
> ETA: So if going somewhere else is such a great idea when SHTF, why not just move there now?


Yeah, I live in a city of 100,000 people. I might have well just posted my address.

Going somewhere else is not great. It's just the only viable option I have identified at the moment.

Respectfully, it is people like you who drive people into believing that they CAN'T be prepared because they don't have the same options that you may have or they don't have the training or resources that you have. It is as though you are saying, "If you don't think exactly as I do, then you are an idiot."

I will review your posts to see how thoroughly you have covered the subject of how to prepare your home for a SHTF situation. I reserve the right to learn, but it is more likely that I will be able to write a post with a list of vulnerabilities you haven't even considered, or more likely ignored because you have a very well developed arsenal. But, my time is better spent writing up my thoughts and increasing my prepper knowledge.

For those who read this, use the tools you have at your disposal. There are multiple ways of doing almost anything. Some people have to bug in. Some people have to bug out. Whatever you do, don't be like that guy on Alone who was never out of reach of his gun who ended up tapping out the first day being left on Vancouver Island. Everyone like that guy has the bug in mentality. They rely more on their guns than they do their mind. It is easy to buy a gun. It is a challenge to be prepared.

Thank God for the people who only think about guns, bullets and burying stashes. We can collect their resources after they return to their eternal home.


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## Back Pack Hack (Sep 15, 2016)

ntxmerman said:


> .............Respectfully, it is people like you who drive people into believing that they CAN'T be prepared because they don't have the same options that you may have or they don't have the training or resources that you have. It is as though you are saying, "If you don't think exactly as I do, then you are an idiot.".............


Wow. I'm not really sure I want to know how you came up with that.


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## warrior4 (Oct 16, 2013)

Unless one is planning on always staying mobile, it's all bugging in when you think about it. We've all heard that it's usually a bad idea to bug out unless you have a place to bug out to. However when you get there now you're back to bugging in, just at a different location. Case in point when I was in elementary school our city got hit by a really bad ice storm that caused widespread power outages that lasted days. My family, grandmother, and my aunt's family all lost power. We all temporarily moved in with my other uncle who did have power. So we all bugged out to his home then started bugging in again.

It's the unforeseen variables like these that make this such a widely discussed and often argued topic. When it comes down to it it's all risk vs. reward in the end. What are you willing to risk for what reward?


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## agmccall (Jan 26, 2017)

NotTooProudToHide said:


> Everybody talks about having a bug out location or bug out property but unless you have some land you got via family, a job with considerable income, or your willing to make considerable sacrifices to your creature comforts then its awful tough to maintain a home and a bug out property/location at the same time.


Actually it is not that difficult. Most rural counties where I live have tax auctions every year and a piece of land can be had really cheap. In some instances less than the average family spends on a vacation. Put up a small cabin doing most of the work yourself, or even buying a small cabin from one of those shed companies. Sink a well, probably cost about 2k, and a septic system. You can probably just run some drain pipe to a pit instead of a septic system. Then this becomes your "Vacation" Spot. All you need to do is spend a few weekends a year at your bugout spot to keep it maintained and ready to go.

Plant some berry bushes and fruit and nut trees. Get a small coal/woodburning stove with wood and coal stored.

Sounds like a lot but not really. I live in an area where people would want to bug out to, there are lots of camps around that are used only during deer season. The people that own these camps come up maybe once in the summer and then one or two weeks before deer season to set up the camp and they are ready to go. little to no maintenance.

al


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## Illini Warrior (Jan 24, 2015)

ntxmerman said:


> I believe my neighborhood would be a target based upon it being an upper middle class established neighborhood in proximity to large apartment complexes. It's a guess on my part. My Jaguar, Range Rover and Escalade might make my property a more desirable target
> 
> There is nothing I do or wear publically to indicate I have prepared for anything other than my child's education. That's part of the problem. I have an idea to potentially identify others in the neighborhood who are like minded. If we can band together a little bit, our subdivision is fairly well suited for a survival situation which must have been a subconscious consideration when I purchased the property.
> 
> ...


your neighborhood will come eventually - all the better neighbors will get ravaged after the retail/mall areas are tore apart and burned - give it a day or two - there's the proximity you definitely don't want .... God help the homeowners that are on the main route between the bad side of town and the mall ....

but your trouble might not come from those nearby apartments - unless they are some Section 8 or low rent accommodation by the city ... it could be just trashy trash coming thru the gate on pure opportunity - or they could guided by the service workers that are in & around your neighborhood every week - don't be too surprised if the truck that comes to loot - is the same one that's been cutting grass ....


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## Dirt Road Cowboy (Nov 22, 2015)

Illini Warrior said:


> but your trouble might not come from those nearby apartments - unless they are some Section 8 or low rent accommodation by the city ...


In Texas, just about every apartment complex is Section 8. It's part of the whole anti-discrimination thing. Their way of thinking is that if you get "them" out of the ghettos and da hoods, you will make their life better. In actuality, it just spreads da hoods.

Oh, and to stay on topic, there are a lot of folks in Houston that should have bugged out! :sad2:


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## Deaf3279 (Jul 25, 2016)

Bug In. My supplies is here, My solar panel is on roof, my aquaponic is in basement. Why abandon all good stuffs. I'll leave and bug out if area is become too dangerous to stay


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## RJAMES (Dec 23, 2016)

You plan to make where you are as livable/ survivable as you can and you plan to leave. So bug in and bug out. 

I live in rural area with my cows, chickens , hogs, orchard and garden. Plan to stay put and have plenty of food/ seed as long as it continues to rain and the sun shines we are eating. Have ponds and a spring for water. I thought about where to purchase a small farm for a long time and took a lot of different criteria into account . Distance to rail roads, highways, metro areas, military bases, small farms, a small town with pharmacy/ bank/ hardware store/ lumber yard/ vet/ doctors office/ auto parts/ farm supply store/ small engine repair shop/ butcher. 

I have a camper outfitted to go camping for a couple weeks at a time that can be hitched and gone in about 15 minutes. Also have a jeep and small trailer packed for camping same thing but gone in under 5 minutes. There are bicycles and day packs on the camper that we use when we are out. Those bikes would get used if / when fuel for the truck runs out. I can go a little over 900 miles with the truck and fuel cans I have set up on the truck. 

Cannot think of much other than an invasion by a foreign power as to why I would need to flee for me . But who knows what could come up. Meanwhile enjoy taking it camping. 

If I lived near the coast and had to consider hurricanes I would definitely be thinking bug out first on my preps . If I were in a metro area I would get a bug out location/ retirement property to be able to go to along with commitments from others to be able to go to their place goes without saying If they agree to let you come if need to their place you agree to let them come to yours if needed. 

Should I have to leave I have no one place rather I have family and friends in several states and countries who either live on farms or have a remote property . 

Suggest you list out likely to happen things for you where you are at - house fire, tornado , ice storm , flood , power outage short term 3 days or less , earth quake , chemical spill, civil unrest. Prep for those things so in the example of house fire having fire extinguishers in the house, garage and vehicles. Smoke detectors, do fire drills with family , where to assemble, how to contact help, safe storage of flammables flash lights to grab and go. You make sure everyone can contact fire department and knows how to use an extinguisher. 

Do the same with the other likely things that could happen. Stock up on foods that you can just eat and do not require cooking . Expand / build up food supplies over time.


Get a vehicle that preferably you can leave locked in a garage loaded up ready to go . Don't forget tire chains and hopefully you got something with 4 wheel drive. If not then at least try and keep a bug out bag in your vehicle. If you only have one vehicle make sure you at least keep a bug out bag in it, fire extinguisher , first aid kit, fuel tank no less than 3/4 full. .


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## charito (Oct 12, 2013)

For those who can afford it, wouldn't bugging in/out in a boat - especially those kinds where you can practically live in it - be a good idea? You can sail away from troubled land, and be your own island as you ride it out?


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## warrior4 (Oct 16, 2013)

charito said:


> For those who can afford it, wouldn't bugging in/out in a boat - especially those kinds where you can practically live in it - be a good idea? You can sail away from troubled land, and be your own island as you ride it out?


Depends on where you have the boat. If you're talking about a cruiser on the Great Lakes for instance that could work. Lots of fish to eat, abundant fresh water that one would only have to purify. However the Great Lakes do still get some bad storms that sink even large ships, RIP _Edmund Fitzgerald_. Bugging out to the oceans is possible but also challenging. Do you have a sail boat or a motor boat? If it's a sail boat do you know how to sail it in all weather? If it's a motor boat do you have enough fuel on board to keep the motor running to ride it out? Likewise what kind of food stuffs do you have on board? How long will they last? Do you have a solar still to make salt water into fresh? I'm not saying it's not possible, because it is. But you're trading one set of challenges on land an entirely new set at sea.


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