Request for More on Bugging In

Jay wrote "Have you thought of an article on people who, due to age, physical disability, or taking care of someone who falls into those categories and can NOT bug out? There may be something on the site that I haven't seen yet but I encountered your blog for the first time tonight. And some of us do have need to stay put. Any ideas?"

UrbanMan replies:  Jay, the primary reason I started this site was for Urban and Suburban dwellers who would, for the most part and for whatever reason, stay put during a collapse.   Having said that, no matter how secure your site is, you ALWAYS plan for a Bug Out. 

Temporary Patrol Bases, semi-permanent operational bases and permanent forward bases all have a planned and hasty evacuation protocol.  This necessarily means packing load lists, individual and group responsibilities, routes, link up or rally points, maybe caches implanted to support a Bug Out, and a destination to a temporary or permanent safe site. 

I fully realized that more many reasons people and families will not be able to Bug Out, but will have to hunker down.  This could be because of caring for infirm or elderly family members, outside situation too dangerous to attempt movement, or simply having no place to go.    I believe a person can mitigate, not eliminate, but reduce these risks and should have a Bug Out plan in case staying in place, even if intended for the duration, is too dangerous. 

I have written many times about common, low cost preps.  About the use and selection of common types of sporting firearms for protection and security as opposed to a unrealistic arming with the latest high dollar, custom semi-automatic copies of military assault weapons.

Staying in place most assuredly requires a survival team. In fact, my plan is to stay in place in my near-Urban environment, relying on my current survival team of eight families, not counting the local neighbors who are in various stages of preparation. I have a phone alert roster system, for some of my neighbors can call me or others if they need assistance, which can be to change a tire to respond to prowlers. I have several neighbors who now garden for vegetables based on me giving them some of my produce and talking to them about the advantages of growing our own crops. Several of them have stocked pantry foods, have a water service deliver so they have water on hand for several weeks, and, I have taken two of my neighbors shooting and helped them pick out guns for self defense.

If you are planning on Bugging In, you cannot do it alone. You have to have an organized effort, maximizing and leveraging people's resources and skills.

Hope this convinces you to come back and visit this site from time to time. Prepare well.

$1000 to Spend on Survival Firearms

Wally wrote UrbanSurvivalSkills with the following question: "If I had a $1000 and no more to buy a gun for survival what would you recommend?"

UrbanMan's reply: Wally, I would have to make some assumptions in answering question. I am assuming that you have no firearms of any type right now, and after spending your $1000, you would not, in the future, be buying any additional firearms. I limited my search to firearms advertised in the local, but national franchised, sporting goods store which give pretty good prices and this is how I came up with spending your $1000:

Handgun. Taurus, 9x19mm semi-automatic. $299

Shotgun. Stevens, 12 gauge pump riot shotgun. $199

Rifle. Marlin Model 336, .30-30 Winchester, lever action rifle. $379

total spent of Firearms, $873, leaving $123 left.

Then I would use the rest of the $1000 to buy the following:

Ammunition. One box (50 rds) of 9x19 $10.99; two boxes (40 rds) of .30-30 $26.98; one box (25 rds) of 12 gauge bird shot $14.99; and, four boxes (20 rds) of 12 gauge 00 buckshot $19.96

Cleaning Kit. One rifle-pistol combo cleaning kit $6.99, and one shotgun claning kit $6.99 for a total of $13.98 spent of cleaning kits.

Binoculars. Bushnell Compact 8 x 21 Binoculars $12.99

Knife. CRKT M16 tactical folder $16.99 (great price on this knife by the way).

By my math you would have about $6 left over.

If money is a difficult issue for you, each week, I would put away what I could each pay period or month that goes by,........a few bucks here and there to spend adding to my ammunition stockage and buying survival food across the spectrum of long storage term food, dehydrated foods and pantry items.

Another way to go in the Survival Firearms decision is to buy an AR for around $850 and put the rest of the money into ammunition and magazines.

I chose the three guns, ammunition and accessories that I did because a Survival Firearms battery needs to fulfill many requirements across the spectrum of of possible collapse of SHTF scenarios. Personal protection being the main requirement. Ask yourself this question: Is the three person survival team better off with only one gun - that being one of the members equipped with an M-4 or AR platform?.......or would they be better off with each of the survival team members being armed with the three firearms I choose? Really doesn't matter what I think or say. The solution is what works best for you. Good preps my friend.