Having established that the Government might act tyrannically toward its citizens (or only in its own interest) and having established that the Government's ability to effectively deal with disasters is "questionable" at best....

We need to review the functionality of a "72 Hour Kit".

72 Hours worth of food/water/shelter is a great recommendation for 99% of the population. Having read countless studies and reports that indicate most Americans do not have 24 hours worth of food and/or water in their homes means trying to move the masses toward "basic provisions" is a monumental undertaking. If the government recommended that people store 3 months worth of food and water - 99.99% of the population would just ignore the advice. The government was probably sound when they chose to recommend (uniformly) 72 Hours.

HOWEVER, these two issues have a PROFOUND impact on a truly self-preservation minded person or family:

1) If nearly everybody around you is without food and water - what do you think will happen when they find out you have food and water? Research Katrina.

2) If nearly everybody around you has 72 Hours worth of food and water - what do you think will happen if it takes a week, a month, or longer? Research Katrina.

As you can see - I'm building a foundation for survival equipment and supplies that FAR EXCEED the 72 Hour window.

Let me be clear - DO NOT BECOME A REFUGEE! It is imperative that you fortify, stock, and prepare your home to be your Bug-In-Location (BIL). Leaving the comfort, shelter, security, and supplies of your home must be a last resort.

I am going to reiterate: DO NOT BECOME A REFUGEE!

Survivalism is a lifestyle, and as such might require you to relocate from that high-rise urban apartment complex to at least a semi-rural suburban area. Your home is your castle, and choose it wisely!

There are literally COUNTLESS reasons why you might be forced to "bug-out" of your home. Fire, flood, civil unrest, tornado, earthquake, biological agents, nuclear dirty bomb, toxic pollutants from a train derailment or nearby factory burning, etc. etc. etc. If you are FORCED to "bug-out" then what do you really need to take with you?

KNIFE
FIRE
SHELTER
WATER
DEFENSE
FOOD
MEDICAL

The seven topics above are necessities to survive in ANY ENVIRONMENT. You must be able to make fire, purify drinking water, avoid exposure (hypo and hyper thermia), replace lost calories, treat wounds, and lastly protect yourself from people and animals.

Since you have to be prepared to carry all of your gear on foot - you have to choose the gear you have carefully. The propensity for "preppers" to focus on gadgets and superfluous gear is another reason why the "72 Hour or 3 Day Bug-Out-Bag" is so popular. However, an average person can carry far far more supplies than 72 hours if they really understand what a "Bug Out" is about.

The Proper Bug Out Mindset

RED DAWN TYPES

If you think an AR15 with twelve 30rd magazines is needed for a bug-out then you either need to move to a more secure location or aren't very mature. Don't be offended - I was like you from 1984 until roughly 1998. Many "gun nuts" (I'm probably the best gun nut at the Yard and Swamp) are naturally drawn to survivalism. The two topics cannot be separated, and I'm glad that gun people tend to be more self reliant. However, visions or plans of a Red Dawn type bug-out are only going to get you killed. Survivalism is about....survival......and the best way to succeed is to avoid conflict at all costs.

By adopting a "shoot only to eat and when there is literally no where else to run and/or hide" mentality will help ensure your survival. This mentality will also free up valuable weight in your kit.

FEED THE WORLD TYPES

I love those of you who have the "I'll share my supplies with everyone" mentality. Unfortunately, you're going to make it to Heaven before me, because you're either starve or when you're out of supplies those dependent on your generosity are going to turn on you. Research Battle of Stalingrad.

Don't be a victim of your own generosity. God commands people to take care of themselves too.

The above two issues are the most common mistakes I see in people's planning and/or mindset as it relates to bugging out. There is another common issue though...

GEAR WHORE vs MOUNTAIN MAN

Don't be a "gear whore". As your skills and knowledge increase your dependence on gear decreases. This is great, because it frees up weight in your ruck for more "durables" that will enable you to live more comfortably off the land.

The last issue I see is...

GADGET GEEKS

Don't waste precious weight on big and heavy gear when a smaller / lighter / more simple (and therefore more durable) item will suffice. A great example of this is GPS devices. LEARN TO USE A COMPASS!!! A compass will never run out of batteries, isn't affected by submersion, and weighs a fraction of that of a GPS.

More great posts Arch! I was worried about you but figured you were still trying to recuperate. I agree, three days isn't really enough. BUT three days will get Patty and I to were we want/need to be.

The actual site, the lake, is a good 1/2 to 3/4 mile off a state route, not a major highway. Plus the access road is just a rough one lane dirt/rock road that can be VERY easily camouflaged so folks won't even know it's there. You go flat then up over a ridge, then down some really rutted road and around some hairpin turn or two then finally come into the clearing where the lake is.

That is OUR plan if it all falls apart. Now for just emergencies, we plan on staying put as long as we can or THEY will let us,then we still won't be very far. Maybe no more that a quarter of a mile.

I have given a lot of thought to this recently. I DO need to do this. Anything made by man (specially electronics) will fail when you need them most.


I have a couple of compasses and need to find out a GOOD ONE to get and Topo maps of our area wouldn't be all that much.

Right now my best compass is a brunton model with a kind of green/yellow backing plate with MM and inch markings and degree (inclination?)markings from 0-45. It also has declination markings on the dial itself for offset.

BUG OUT GEAR - THE CONCEPTS

WEIGHT

The MAXIMUM WEIGHT for a Bug-Out-Bag is around 40 pounds. I don't care if you're a professional athlete or an average office worker. The ruck should not exceed 40 pounds. Many people refer to an infantryman's load, but you have to remember - he is fed from a never ending supply line and has medical assistance. You are fed from your ruck and skills as a hunter/gatherer, and have meager first aid. The energy spent and risk of injury imparted by a heavier ruck is not worth it. Remember, the 40 pounds is in ADDITION to your "line one" gear and rifle.

With a popularly designed AND LOADED ruck, 40 pounds of gear should EASILY net you 7 days worth of "consumables" and YEARS worth of "durables".

CONSUMABLES vs DURABLES

Consumables are those items that get "used up". Examples include:

Batteries
Pre-Packaged Food
Water Purification Tablets
Butane Lighters

Durables are those items that wear slowly. Examples include:

Hand-Crank Flashlight
Fishing Line (doubles as snare line) & Hooks
Seeds
Pump Water Filter
Ferro Rod Fire Starter
Fixed Blade Knife
Poncho or Tarp

Note that I show examples of both consumable and durable products for several specific items. You must start thinking in terms of "how to do I get food after I eat my frieze-dried food?".

FIREARMS

I love guns. Guns have been a passion of mine since I was 9 years old. Heck, I built my first AR15 in 1984 at the age of 10. However, do not sacrfice beans for bullets!

A rifle or handgun in 22LR is the king of survival. The firearms are light, accurate, durable and most importantly:

1) You can easily carry 1000+ rounds of ammo.
2) You can hunt small game.

Do not think you're going to hunt large game in a survival scenario. You will be beat out by every other person who thinks the same thing. Large game populations will dwindle quickly. However, small game has always been a staple for the self reliant.

My personal firearms selection include a "centerfire" rifle, and 22LR handgun. I have a Ruger Mk3 Government Target with a 6-7/8" tapered "bull barrel" that is easily capable of hitting empty 12 guage shotgun shells at 30-40 yards. This is a head shot on a squirrel at the same distance. The 22 handgun will be instantly accessible from a belt holster should a small game opportunity arise. My centerfire rifle selection has changed many times over the years, but has typically been an AR15 of some variety. However, with my recent acquisition of a Ruger Gunsite Scout Rifle I've taken my "stay away from the enemy and keep my load light" strategy to an extreme. The GSR is a 7.62x51mm (308 Winchester) with a Leupold 2.5x IER scope on it. After this rifle proves itself on the range - it will be a first or second option for my centerfire rifle. The other option will be a bone stock DSA FAL. I've selected 308Win because of its ability to penetrate, maintain energy at range, and use by our armed forces.



MORE TO FOLLOW LATER

Arch, I am making an assumption (yeah I know) that you are going to touch on clothing/footwear?

And with that I am out. Nite

Arch, and other contributers to this thread- thank you for this INVALUABLE information!

I'm not an expert and in my hiking ,fishing trips didn't require this but noone mentioned a gas mask . If is going to be a natural disaster ,volcano eruptions ,fires ,explosions or even military strikes a gas mask could be the diference between life and death . I noticed that everyone is ignoring the gas mask including me and all the others when I was in the mandatory army service .
I allso think is good to have food and water for a few days but is better to have the meens to get them for a longer time ,much longer then 72 hours . You saw what happent with Katrina ,and don't forget that it happent in the most developed country ,wit enormous resorces of all kind . Here I would expect any help from government if somthing big comes up .

In order to back up what Arch said in his post above headed "The 72 Hour Myth" do any of you remember when there was such a stink when the Army did a survey asking if the Soldiers would fire upon their own countrymen in case of a disaster or some such crap?

DO NOT be mistaken about this folks, the Government WILL do what ever it deems necessary to PRESERVE ITSELF! Meaning those that run the federal government and are SUPPOSED TO BE WORKING FOR US!


And you are correct Vlad, not much talk about masks for some reason.

Survival guns!

I have a Ruger Gov't model as well that I use for squirrel huntin', and turkey shoots at my local gun club (always bring home 2-3 turkeys for the holidays).
This gun is very accurate as Arch has stated.

My dilemma is. Do I remove the scope from the Ruger and call it a day for a survival gun or go with something else? I also have a Remington Nylon 66 that is very light. I've been thinking of buying a new U.S. Survival AR-7 but don't know how accurate they are. Also have a new Savage combo gun in 17HMR/12ga.

You can go nuts when the choices are many.

Here is what I'm currently thinking. Remove the scope from the Ruger and put it in my BOB or buy an across the chest holster. Have Mrs Fred carry her S&W 622 that she loves.

What say you?

Added later:
You guys are correct about a Govt. crackdown. A good friend's son is an Army Sniper on active duty and states their training has included homeland crackdowns. Weather they would fire on us citizens seems remote. I think they would "turn" but wouldn't count on it.