Bought a decent Marbles ax on clearance at Midway USA, also got a .223 shell holder for my lee priming tool, I also got one of the new Marble's rear sights for my Puma 454 Casull
This week I also received a set of magazines with connector clips that were on special at DPMS website, .29.99 for two magazines with connector free shipping.

Garden early stuff, potatoes, onions, carrots, salad greens and snow peas are in the ground. Waiting until next week to put in broccoli and some other stuff.

Bought some more 22mag and a box of 45auto and .223 at wally world (just because), also got one of them watertight plastic boxes (about 6"x6") for the wifes truck, put a mag fire starter a whistle with a compass built in and a pair of them bigazz candles in it. Gonna dig out 1 or 2 space blankets a small folding knife or multi tool and put those in there also. Got her one of those fold-up shovels to go in the recovery gear bag.
Once the weather lightens up, I can empty and clean out both trucks and compile all the gear and see what more we need.
Mike

I did a lot of research on bug out bags today and started my own. I don't have any money to spare at the moment for supplies, so I am just getting what I already have around the property into the bag and will add what is missing at a later date.

The bag itself is an aluminum frame pack that I had when I was a Boy Scout.

Things that I currently have in the bag:
2 decent ponchos
2 really cheap ponchos
Cord, lots of cord (not paracord, but a similar type)
Mess kit
Compass
Collapsible fishing rod w/ reel (still need to purchase supplies to put with it)
Cheap multitool
Altoid Smalls tin filled with petroleum jelly
Buck hunting knife
lockblade pocketknife
A few lighters and candles
4 pairs of socks (2 wool, 2 cotton)
1 pair of pants
2 shirts
lightweight coat
Sleeping bag w/ hospital pillow rolled into it
200 rounds of .22lr
.22 revolver
Pen and pad
electrical tape
toothbrush
Canteen
sewing kit
magnifying glass
hat
zipper seal bags
several ramen noodle packs


Things I own, but cannot find at the moment:
Folding backpacker's saw
Woodman's Pal machete


Things I need to purchase:
Better canteen or camel pack system
water purification tabs (only for use when boiling is not an option)
small roll of duct tape
handkerchiefs
Cotton balls
candles that are better suited for backpacking
first aid kit
folding camp shovel
Hooks, line, sinkers
hand cranked led flashlight
If I can find one small enough, I may purchase a small popup tent.
Possibly one of those cheap little tube tents, but I won't go out of my way to find one or pay shipping to get it.
emergency blankets


My Bushmaster and 10/22 are both where I can grab them on the way out if needed.
Overall, I feel comfortable with my pack. I do not expect to need it, but if I do, it will be ready. It will also give me a good excuse to go camping on the spur of the moment someday.



Rev. R. Farrier

This post has been edited by Rev. Redmond Farrier: April 13th 2009 9:37 PM

Received our Big Berkey yesterday and tried our first filtered water. One more item to tick off from the checklist

ClarkW

Bought some more medical supplies and a lot more MRE's.

whats the life of MRE's?

7-10 years or longer, depending ont he temps they are stored at.

I recently took a 10 day trip with my pickup. I loaded most of my BO boxes to see if I could fit them in and still find stuff. The first thing I realized was that my labels and inventory tags were all screwed up. After moving stuff between totes and adding more goodies over the past year or so, I really couldn't easily put my hands on what I wanted or even load things in a sensible way. It doesn't do much good to have stuff if you can't find it without unloading the whole damn pickup. And being an old guy, that ain't easy.

So, I'm going to rethink how I box-up things and how I load the truck. Anyone have any good ideas about prioritizing and loading all the BOB stuff? I ended up with some ammo in the same tote as MREs -- didn't make much sense. I guess I want the quick access boxes near the rear of the truck. My original idea was to box-up stuff according to type -- food, weapons, water, fuel, etc. But that doesn't really work for a one or two day stop like a real SHTF trip might turn out to be. Anyway, all suggestions appreciated from those who have figured this out.

A few suggestions, I hope you don't mind.

Put some ammo in every box. At least one box of every caliber you are taking with you. If the SHTF, you will want some close at all times. A meal or two won't hurt either.

Break up your magazines. Have your primary grab bag full, plus one here and there among your boxed stuff.

Mark your boxes by number. Place your cheat sheet in your wallet, with your primary bag, or keep it on your person. In case someone is looking at your box, they can not identify the contents. Memorize this if you can.

I put a few steak knifes in my box. ...never know.

Which I saw the few posts in the last year or so, that if "SHTF we'll pack up and leave".....well I know some of you live in the middle of nowhere which is good for that situation lol

but what about us guys that live in major cities? I would think if SHTF how would one be able to travel in a vehicle (which perferd is an SUV or Pickup with 4x4) when there is thousands upon thousands of other people doing the same?

Example, I live about 15 minutes from Downtown Denver. Needless to say I live in a heavy populated area. Now I have my Bronco which is a champ over the Titan (shorter wheelbase, better tires, made of steel and it's an 89, not nearly as many saftey features nor sensors. You hit something, there are no air bags and the way it's built, it;ll take a few good hits before it runs like crap compared to the Titan). Now I live at least 30 minutes from the start of the Rocky Mountains. And that's durring the day with low traffic. Heavy traffic, not so easy.

Now we all know best bet is to camp out or find an unused home in the middle of the mountains. Very low contact with other people is your best bet IF shtf. So what have you guys came up with as far as a plan for people such as me in this type of situation?

As for my plan I have a few close friends within blocks of my residence who all have guns and other supplies. I would assume our best bet is to all gather up, strength in numbers, and bunker down in the best spot possilbe (one of our homes), before making a risky trip to the Mountains.

Thoughts, Ideas?

If nothing else, I'll get back with you Monday morning.

First and foremost have a set final destination in place. If there are going to be others there, let them know when you plan on arriving, and what you will be arriving in, if at all possible.

I'd say make the most defendable home your squatting point for at least a week. It will probably take at least that amount of time for the initial panic to wear off. If you have ATV's, (with trailers) that will probably be your best form of transportation out, strictly from the off road capabilities. They also fit where autos won't. Make sure you have a siphon and gas can. At the very least a good ice pick to pierce gas tanks of abandoned vehicles. (At least the ones that are not burning.) IF the neighbors have all ready left, break into their homes. Shut off the gas, and kill the electricity. Take what you need for the next week. I would not go beyond the immediate neighbors, no more than 2 houses in each direction. Unless you know neighbor Bob has more (fill in need here) gunpowder than he can carry. I'd also start a demo plan for the immediate neighbors home. If a fire is set in the city and there is no one to put them out, you may need to do a quick demo on these homes. (Flood the basement if you can.)

Most importantly, if things don't look that bad, stay where you are for as long as possible. There may be a lot of abandoned back yard gardens available for your picking. Map them out and raid when necessary. Stock up on some Mason Jars, and can what you can. Wildlife will be in the cities before you know it. It may take as little as a week for them to return, due to the extreme quantity that may be headed into nature.

Hope this helps. I also hope others offer up their opinion.

Tree:
Thanks for the reply! I was wondering if someone was going to give some insight on my (and many others) issue.

I especially like the cut off electricty/gas on neighbors homes. Never thought about that. Easy for one home to blow up, and take yours out!!

I never thought of the mason jars (which I do have a case of) so I'll be sure to add that to my SHTF stash.

No worries. I'll help in any way I can, if I can.

Break up the Mason jar stash from your initial stronghold and your destination. Even empty they are good for something. From collecting rain water to holding food. If you are that serious about canning, get some parafine, and a lot of it. Get some books on canning and long term storage.

Also, take my thoughts as just that. This is what I would probably do if I was in a "down town" area or situation.

Have a good one,

Steve

This post has been edited by Tree: May 4th 2009 5:37 PM

Excellent ideas! I particularly like the part about making it more difficult for someone to identify box contents while keeping track of it myself -- no sense tempting anybody. You've got me thinking more along the lines of "distributed packing." Probably should even apply that to things like my tool box. If I lost that, I would be screwed. Thank you for sharing.

Found a great place to get meat last night. I was late getting in, about 3am. On the way home, I passed a stretch of road and over the course of a mile or so, I saw more than thirty deer. There were so many and they were all just staring at me as I drove by at about 25mph it was actually a little creepy. It almost felt like I was in some low budget horror flick like "Attack of the killer deer" or something. lol What made it so creepy I suppose was the fact that they were not gathered together like a herd or anything. This field is less than a half hour walk from my house. I rarely drive that road without seeing a few here and there, but last night sealed it for me. That is the best place around here to pop a few deer if we are in a survival situation. Under normal circumstances, hunting there is illegal since it is on the city limit line.

My garden is kicking ass.
That is all.

I bought two mags for the XD.

Also some extra canned goods.