Bug out to where?

[gdnagle]

That's easy, my "bug out" vehicle is AWD, gets great gas mileage and I can take the back roads all the way to the compound which BTW, is heavily fortified. Once there, we have a combined amount of about 2 years worth of food, water and ammo.

What if someone has beaten you there? This is always a scenario. People will be looking for places to stay and any less frequently used access road is a invitation to check it out as everyone will be scavenging. Are people ready for a battle against their well fortified compound if it's snowing or raining in the winter while someone is holed up in the warm dwelling. Just something to think about as you need alternate plans just in case. Remember in any bad situation there is a loser and we all hope it isn't us. Me I'm staying, all my BUG out supplies are to much to move and they are not really for TEOTWAWKI just what we have in case we get snowed in or lose power for extended time.. Too old to worry about it. I just hope my children can make it here.

 

[venomballistics]

You think If I get the industrial size package of aluminum foil and covered my car (shinny side up) I would be OK?

I've dabbled extensively with electronics. In the course of which Ive converted a lot of silicon to carbon, and have released plenty of magic smoke.
In the cases Ive gotten things to work mostly right, EMP's kid sister RFI had proven interesting.
sometimes it takes something next to nothing to curtail it, other times it defies acts of congress.

 

[Comrad]

I think it's key to survive the first few days and some form of order will begin to reestablish itself

 

[Cal44]

You think If I get the industrial size package of aluminum foil and covered my car (shinny side up) I would be OK?

Some cars will probably be put out of service. The microelectronics in the computer control circuits in modern cars is potentially vulnerable to voltage spikes and could burn out.

But, on the other hand, wire leads going to the circuits are usually short in car (a few feet at most) and the shorter the wire runs to the sensitive circuits the better -- less emp signal picked up by short wires.

Plus cars are usually made of metal and there is some shielding by the car body.

The most sensitive things would probably be radio receivers -- including the receiver circuitry in your cell phone.

Radio receivers, by their nature, have to detect microvolt level signals and being hit by a transient of several volts -- let alone several thousand volts -- can burn our these very sensitive microelectronic components. Also, receivers are generally connected to antennas designed to pick up electromagnetic signals compounding the problem.

So don't count on cell phones, TVs, radios, or even internet modems working after an EMP event.

Appliances with digital circuits can also be a problem. I've had a coffee pot with a digital clock, a dish washer with digital controls, and a VCR killed by surges from lightning storms. And anything vulnerable to lightning surges would likely be vulnerable to EMP.

 

[Bkreutz]

At my age and physical condition, if the SHTF, I'll just roll over and die. I'd run out of insulin in a month anyway. I've had a good one.

 

[Grayfox]

"Bug out to where?"
Exactly. If there were some sort of unexpected major disaster where would you go?
Sure there have been many times when a serious storm, hurricane or whatever was coming and there was a safe and orderly evacuation. But what if nobody saw it coming? EMP, earthquake, zombies, whatever.......?
Do you jump in your car and hit the road along with a couple of hundred thousand other scared people? Most of which are totally unprepared. Little to no gas in their vehicle, poorly maintained vehicles, no supplies at all, no idea where they're going to, some of which are armed and all of which are near panic. Yeah, good luck with that. In no time at all every road in the area will be a parking lot.
And what if one of these panic driven folks should happen to discover that you have food, water or other supplies in your vehicle? I don't care how well armed you are. They will eventually overrun you, take everything you have and probably kill you in the process.
Oh, but you have your own little safe haven hidden up in the hills. Well contratulations! You just insured someones survival, but it won't be you. By the time you get there, someone else will have already found it and moved in. You can bet they ain't leaving without a fight.

To my way of thinking there's only one option. Hunker down as best you can right where you're at. Let the initial madness pass you by and see how the situation developes.
Unless my home or family is in immediate, life threating danger. I ain't goin' nowhere!

 

[walnutred]

In the past I've never made any serious plans for a EOTWAWKI situation. However last year the topic of civil unrest in the city my kids live came up. When I said I doubted civil unrest could gt to where my wife and I live my kids (21 and 24) said that I'd better be making plans because at the first sign of civil unrest they were abandoning the city and making their way home. So I've been making a few more preparations just so they have something when they get here.

 

[NYlakesider]

Where I live is where many people would like to end up in a bug out situation. About the only thing that would make people leave this area in a SHTF situation is a major forest fire or an earthquake.

Other than that out here in the boonies most people are fairly sufficient to begin with.

Most all I know have food stored, auxiliary heat (wood and lots of it) Depending on what happens most have generators/gas all sorts of off road vehicles, woods loaded with game, large lake with plenty of fish and as of this time relative potable water. We have our own wells and septic systems . As stated most are hunters and quite familiar with firearms and could use them well for whatever needs shooting
People up here know each other and will cover their backs.

Would take something extremely bad to get us out of here!

 

[MikFinkel]

Grayfox, we think alike. I was thinking that I might be wrong but you have me thinking I am along the right path. Thanks.

 

[LostintheOzone]

What is an EMP. Is that the latest acronym for a nuclear explosion.

 

[Muss Muggins]

What is an EMP. Is that the latest acronym for a nuclear explosion.

Electromagnetic pulse. Can be a result of a nuclear explosion, but there are allegedly devices that can do it without the mushroom cloud. Think Ocean's Eleven

 

[rimfired]

No "bugging-out", hunkered down.

 

[jimmyj]

What would/will happen when overnight people realize their money is totally worthless? Why go to work for pay that no one will accept? Nothing will be produced. Cops wont work, medical people wont go to the hospital for free, total breakdown when people believe the dollar is absolutely worthless. If you worked for the electric company would you go to work for a paycheck that now was monopoly money? Would soldiers stay in or be soldiers if the money was no good and they wouldn't be fed? Most officers have walked away etc? Isn't this all it would take? We may already be there but if we arent at some point with all this phony spending that has no product, inflation and fewer people that keep working for the majority on the dole it eventually has to happen unless our leaders in power spin around on their ideol
In fact already if the most conservative thinkers got elected in every last position the past sins and damage long ago, it still might not be enough. That isnt going to happen anyway.

Hi:
You bring up some good points.
Reading your post, I remembered taking a truck of clothing and food with another Officer to Gulfport, Miss, after the hurricane. The Gulfport Officers stayed at their assigned posts without relief, food, water, dry clothes and not knowing where or what about their families. Money was not their concern, but upholding their sworn duty to "Protect and Serve". Observing these Officers made me proud to be also "A Cop". I later stated that the Gulfport Officers had "Testicles Of Steel".

 

[Hobie1]

First of all, I want to take a moment to thank all of you for taking the time to post! However, the tinfoil comment cracked me up. First, no I don't live in a constant state of fear. But, that doesn't mean that I can't help wonder "what if?" Hence my question. I realize that the book I listed seems to be well thought out and his references are based on the different sources documented credited in the book. It is a given that any novel might deviate a bit from being basically a full report to an informal readable & something not quite so dry.
I got the same sarcastic response to a thread I started about the "show us what you got" picture shows oft time started by a newer member. I was deemed paranoid by some. A month later it was revealed the NSA was recording everything out there.

So, the reason for this thread was created is that I asked a reasonable question and was thrilled at the responses it has received.

Thanks again!


http://empcommission.org/docs/empc_exec_rpt.pdf

onesecondafter.com - What is EMP?

http://belfercenter.hks.harvard.edu/publication/1012/russias_loose_nukes_a_serious_threat_to_us.html

Nuclear Terrorism - FAQs

http://aboutfacts.net/Weapons114.html

The Explosive Story Of How Israel Received Weapons-Grade Nuclear Material From a US Company In The Sixties - Business Insider

 

[Grayfox]

An EMP is also a byproduct of a solar flair or storm. There's a long standing theory that IF there was a large enough flair and it happened to be pointed directly at Earth, there is a real possability that the resulting EMP could fry every microchip on the planet.
Of course the odds of that would be like a billion to one, BUT it has happened before. Solar Storm of 1859. Now just imagine that happening today.

 

[Mule Packer]

I think Grayfox nailed it. That's why they call it mass hysteria. Highways will be bumper-to-bumper with commuter-sized traffic jams...then, when some vehicles run out of fuel (remember, if there's no electricity, you sure as heck can't fill your vehicle from the gas station pumps), every car for miles will be stuck for even longer.

I live in a relatively small community (around 1200 people). The term "rural" only begins to cover it. Backup transportation for most folks here consists of a few horses. Big (and I'm talking "BIG") vegetable gardens are the norm. If you don't plant a garden in the spring, folks start thinking that there's something seriously wrong with you.

Our town ordinance states that if you only live on an acre, you can't own more than 52 chickens, one cow, a horse, and two pigs. Most folks live on more than an acre. Animals aren't considered pets here. They're livestock.

We've got several trout streams, mountains, and plenty of areas where deer, pheasants, turkeys, etc. are in fairly good abundance. But don't kid yourself. If there was a panic, our wildlife would be decimated in no time flat!

Bottom line is, you've got to be prepared to take care of your own. Even a little 10'x10' garden plot, if planted judiciously, will produce a couple of hundred dollars worth of groceries.

Most folks here have fruit cellars. Yep, you guessed it. Fall time is harvest time and canning time. It's also a time to make sure your woodshed is full.

Many of the people here remember the depression. Many are from rural pioneer stock. People may say that the folks in my town are old-fashioned and living in the past. Maybe so, but you can bet your bobsled that when the proverbial ship hits the sand, a lot of these people stand a pretty good chance of weathering the storm.

 

[BigBill]

The get out of here plan is for us to go to Vermont. That's the said plan.
Some people have met the families were there going to when the time happens.
I own a camp in the green mountains of Vermont. The bug out plan is all of us will meet up there.

But if we read up on that nuke power plant in Japan they said when it finally reaches the stage where 6,000 radioactive rods are exposed it's going to end life on the earth. Where are we going to bug out too?
After reading about my prostate cancer being in remission it said I won't die from it I'll die from something else. Great.

 

[Damn Yankee]

What are you going to do when your meds run out, You know those little colored pills that keep you alive day to day and you can only get a three month supply.Face it you are going to die from not taking your medication which you won't be able to get from Walmart for $4.00.

The strong will survive and the weak will parish.

 

[Old TexMex]

A hurricane in a third world Central American country will give one some insight into how the mess progresses. 50 inches of rain in three days, over 50,000 people with NO Home to go home to, no water to drink that didn't have dead animals in it, mosquitoes, wild dogs, bandits and madmen running wild. That was interesting.('82 Honduras Nicaragua border), and 10 yrs. before that, the Managua earthquake laid that city down, (and led to a lot of changes).

I've been through a few bad natural disasters, and that's why my home is my castle, and I know my neighbors I can count on. You got to stick together.

 

[vonn]

Have to hope nothing bad happens but only a fool would think it can not happen. Most people in this country have no idea on how to grow a garden,hunt,fish or even use the most basic hand tools. When you add out of shape and unhealthy to the mix you have people who will not survive even a mild disaster with out massive amounts of aid . Judging from past responses of our government to disasters I think Things will go out of control very quickly and recover very slowly. A good plan is better than no plan.