Help me complete my Bug-Out Bag!

holy cow.. how did I forget my life long friend duct tape?!

good calls on that, the superglue, and the rest. GREAT insight there. Thanks H0TSH0T!

regarding the charcoal filter.. Ive got water pills, they are tiny. are the ineffective?

Nightrunner.. I dont know of any animal I could encounter here in mid TN that a .45 wouldnt do the trick on. I dont think I need another gun and ammo.

I like the rifle idea.. I dont have one though. I guess I need to invest in one and stop borrowing my Dad's Marlin 3030.

.45acp wont do jack on a motivated animal of medium-large size. .45colt, yeah, but not the .45acp. bears (yes we do have them) will not go down with less than a .357mag or .45colt unless you are extremely lucky. i wouldnt want to face a boar with a .45acp either.

just swap out that sp101 for a .357mag version and you are good to go.

Originally Posted by TNTitan

regarding the charcoal filter.. Ive got water pills, they are tiny. are the ineffective?

the reason i recommended the filters vs. the pills, you may not have enough water to use the pills, but you can put it in the bottle and squeeze to filter it no matter the amount, i keep 2 in my hunting bag.

pills are fine for large quantities, like 50 gallon drums or a gallon minimum, try collecting a gallons worth of morning dew off of dirty leaves, or out of a solar stilt may not happen all at once, and the pills don't remove contaminates, just kill bacteria and microbes.

Originally Posted by nightrunner

.45acp wont do jack on a motivated animal of medium-large size. .45colt, yeah, but not the .45acp. bears (yes we do have them) will not go down with less than a .357mag or .45colt unless you are extremely lucky. i wouldnt want to face a boar with a .45acp either.

just swap out that sp101 for a .357mag version and you are good to go.

Tickles me how I always hear about protection from wild animals in TEOTWAWKI - there's only been maybe 50 folks killed by black bears in the last 100 years. Are the bears gonna be meaner when the SHTF? Has anyone ever been killed by a wild hog? Will they suddenly go into hyper attack mode?

Actually, my guess is that within a month, there wouldn't be much larger than a chipmunk left alive in the whole country!


- OS

Originally Posted by nightrunner

just swap out that sp101 for a .357mag version and you are good to go.

the sp101 is in .357. I dont think I have ever seen a bear around here... I cant imagine a couple of Golden Saber .45's not doing the job, but maybe im wrong.

Originally Posted by H0TSH0T

the reason i recommended the filters vs. the pills, you may not have enough water to use the pills, but you can put it in the bottle and squeeze to filter it no matter the amount, i keep 2 in my hunting bag.

pills are fine for large quantities, like 50 gallon drums or a gallon minimum, try collecting a gallons worth of morning dew off of dirty leaves, or out of a solar stilt may not happen all at once, and the pills don't remove contaminates, just kill bacteria and microbes.

thanks for the clarification. those are good points.

but don't toss the pills, they may still come in handy, esp if your in a group of people trying to survive and have more people contributing to the water pool. or for use after a good rain when lots of water is abundant. (i have pill in my kit also for the same reason.)

Originally Posted by SUNTZU

So far I have a single backpack that carries (no particular order):

• Small first aid kit (antiseptic, bandages, needle, thread, aspirin, etc.) If you think there might be shooting, remember that you might get shot. Entrance and exit wounds. Get an Israeli bandage and some Kerlix. Better yet. Don't get shot. He who runs away lives to run away another day. E & E. Ill try not to get shot!
  
• 2 Swiss army knives Put one in your pocket. Good idea
  
• Glock 21, Taurus PT145, Ruger SP-101 (100 rds .45, 50 rds .38) Does she have a permit? In the works. HCP Class taken. How many magazines? 4 Which is your primary?G21 How are you carrying extra magazines?Smart Carry Do you have something to use as a dump pouch?no..Are you carrying concealed or using your backpack?Smart Carry
• Cash and some pocket change Small bills, nothing bigger than twenties.agreed
• 1 roll Toilet paper & girl hygiene stuff (in ziplock baggies) Yank the tube out of the TP. Tampons and pads absorb blood. You both should have some.Ive been told I need a tampon before... good idea though.
  
• 2 set of clothes (me & her: 2 jeans, 2 sweatshirts, 2 T's socks & undies) Socks, underwear, beanies. I would adjust the others according to seasons.
  
• 2 small rain ponchos Are these disposable? Lowe's carries some that are a bit better. Check near the Shopvacs. no. resuable
  
• 8 cans of chef boyardee, 8 cans of tunafish Dump this and get pouches of tuna/salmon. Chef Boyardee makes you feel better. Nutrition, especially carbs, there are better choices. Go to the camping section of Walmart and get some Mountain House meals. I think they're under $5 a meal. You have to add water, so plan accordingly. CLIF bars are a cheap alternative for quick carbs. 250 avg. calories per bar in each flavor. Small and don't take up much room. Mainstay rations will last a long time and have a lot of calories. Mainstay Food Rations @ Survival Unlimited.com - For your emergency preparedness and survival needs. Great advice.
  
• Water tablets (enough for 50 liters)
• 1 quart thermos Are you bringing soup? I'd say dump it. Its empty.. for captured water.
• 1 portable camp stove with two 8-hour sterno cans What kind of stove? You can get a small folding stove and use trioxane...or you can use rocks and trioxane to boil water. I bought an MSR Pocket Rocket Stove for my BOB. Yes, you can use a fire but you don't always have time for fires. Small folding w/ sterno.
  
• 2 8 hour emergency candles & 2 lighters Like OS said, I'd get a UCO and a 3 pack of their candles. good idea
• 1 Magnesium Flint & striker Have you ever used one of these? yup. its work. Get the swedish fire steel. Soak cotton balls in vaseline, squeeze out excess, fluff before sparking....FIRE! Keep some trioxane, it will start with a spark. I spent a weekend camping trying out the mag flint and striker. Pain in the ass. And that's not cold, wet, scared, and miserable in a SHTF situation. You can take a file to the magnesium bar and get a film canister and fill up prior to having to bug out. Seal the lid with duct tape. I would DEFINITELY practice this first. I'm sure you'll seek out an alternative. Will do.
  
• 1 liquid filled compass Get the pin on ball compasses, one for each of you. Know how to use a compass, both of you, in case the one who knows how is injured or unconscious. Didnt think of that.
  
• 50 Feet of Nylon Rope Dump it and get paracord. Strong enough for tying down most anything. Can be pulled apart to get at strings for various uses...fishing line. hmmm... paracord..
  
• 2 pens, 1 pencil, and a notepad Rite in Rain pad? Sharpie? Sharpie FTW
  
• Portable am/fm Radio & Flashlight with hand generator (and batteries) Headlamp for each of you. Get extra batteries. How to carry extra batteries? PowerPax - Battery Clip Organizer
• 2 books: Pocket Outdoor Survival Guide & Edible Wild Plants & Herbs You should practice skills around the house and through camping enough to know the outdoor survival guide. Does the edible wild plants and herbs contain actual photographs? Definitely. Plants change season to season and with weather conditions. I can't trust a 30 second sketch someone made. I'd suggest getting in contact with a park ranger and finding out when their next edible plants and herb nature walk is going to be held. They have them in the Smokies in the spring, I don't know about Fall. Not a bad thought.
  
• Detailed laminated map of middle TN Start walking and biking. Find fruit bearing trees, water sources, hiding places, gang territories and bad neighborhoods to shy away from, vending machines, places for scavenging materials, etc. Find some hidey holes around that you can get to in a day or two of walking and also some that are driving distance...then figure out how you would get to them and what you would have to walk through to get there. Smart idea
  

You need some trioxane. Cheap and will start a fire every time.

Shelter. Get a tarp, even a cheap tarp. One for each backpack. Definitely need to have a backpack each.

Scan documents onto a weatherproof thumbdrive and encrypt it. Do this a couple of times and leave one in a safe deposit box, and one with out of town friends or relatives.

Get a spork or silverware. Cheap at Walmart in camping.

Monocular (Brunton makes a good one.) or Binoculars (I still have cheap ones but am upgrading for better light gathering. Know what's ahead and around you.)

Most headlights and decent flashlights have a strobe function that can act as a distress beacon. LED lights last a long time on low light. My headlamp is a Princeton Tec EOS II. Batteries last me days on low light. I back it up with a LED Mini Maglite and/or my Surefire. (That's between me and my significant other...I'm not carrying three flashlights).

Fox 40 Whistle - 1 each

Get a water filter. I prefer the MSR Miniworks. Get a Nalgene bottle or two each. I also carry a 3.0 liter Camelback that rides in my ALICE pack. I get thirsty.

Bandaids and headache medicine can be placed in their own ziplock bag. You don't want to keep opening your FAK everytime someone scrapes themselves or gets a headache.

Survival starts in your noggin, not in your gear.

Make a small fishing kit. There are all kinds mentioned on the Interwebz about survival altoids tins and nalgene bottles.

Your biggest "disaster" threat is going to be a house fire, then a tornado, IMO, at least in TN. An earthquake is a maybe.

Get a backpacking towel. Walmarts usually carry a version of these. If yours doesn't have one, go to a Walmart that still sells guns and you should be able to find one. Barring that, go to an outdoor adventure store.

Who lives where, what's their phone number, who's your insurance provider, your contact there, what's their number? Make a list and laminate. Both of you should have a copy.

Spare house and car keys?

BIC lighters kept in ziploc bags start fires better than firesteels and mag bars.

Review this site for some GREAT information and lists....

HURRICANE KATRINA

Awesome Response SUNTZU.. I appreciate the effort you took to write it!

Originally Posted by TNTitan

the sp101 is in .357. I dont think I have ever seen a bear around here... I cant imagine a couple of Golden Saber .45's not doing the job, but maybe im wrong.

then put some 357s in there for it.

Originally Posted by OhShoot

Actually, my guess is that within a month, there wouldn't be much larger than a chipmunk left alive in the whole country!


- OS

I have to agree with this. If it was TEOTWAWKI, you'll see people start eating each other in a month.

I'd like to have a rifle or shotgun in my arsenal as well for my whole party.