Bugging out, and the Zombiepocalypse
Tam is talking about bugging out, partly in response to this most excellent Frank James piece about mag bags and being an ‘Armed refugee”
First: I don’t have an AR type rifle- yet. I will someday but it’s not in the cards at present. I DO have an M1 carbine, and I have it because
a: It is fun to shoot.
b: I saw, and love, the Jimmy Stewart movie ‘Carbine Williams”.
c: The M1 carbine is, imho, the most lovely implement of war ever devised. it is light, pretty, balanced, and did I mention it is fun to shoot?
I would not be afraid to carry this rifle around for a lot of reasons; it’s small, it’s light, it has a decent range and decent power, and with hollowpoints would be good on deer or, really, most north American game. I wouldn’t want to go up against a bear thus armed.
So yeah, f I had to leave the house in a hurry, I might well take the Carbine, but not out of any mall-ninja motivations, it’s a practical rifle. If I had an M4gery I would probably feel the same about it, though I would most likely be less inclined to worry about nicking up the finish on an M4.
I have given a lot of thought to “bugging out“, and, at least where I live, I doubt it will be because I have to get clear of rioters or whatever. The predominant reasons I might have to bug out are:
Fire
Severe storms (severe enough to damage my home so I can no longer live there)
Snow or extreme cold combined with lack of a method to heat the house
These reasons will not require that I leave the house armed. I will anyway, just because, but it will not be because I feel I need to
In other circumstances, LIKE the zombieapocalypse, I would much rather stay at home. THAT will be safer ANYWAY. And that’s where my firearms and ammo and long term supplies are.
I liked your comment over there (Tam’s)- re: TOOLS.
You can’t shoot your way into making a garden, & it’s tough to clear trees by shooting them down. I’ll hardly walk down the road without by chainsaw.
We’ve collected a number of human powered tools for *then*, but they also looks cool on the garage wall- all sharp & functional, of course.
Most folks get way too ninjary when pondering the unthinkable, so good on ya. I guess I’d expect as much from a fellow garagineer…
Garagineer. I like that fine
Double’s ‘human powered’ comment reminded me: I’ve got a two-man crosscut saw in the garage. It’ll wear you out, but it works.
Garagineer, that’s a fine term! I think I’ll ste- borrow it sometimes.
I have two; a one-man with an extra handle, and a two man misery whip that is still razor sharp and goes through wood fast as a chainsaw.
And yeah; they don’t call it a misery whip for nothing.
Og-
The origin of the word:
http://rattailbastard.blogspot.com/2007/10/new-addition-to-vernacular-garagineer.html
Forget the big misery whip. That’s not SHTF equipment, that’s logging equipment from the Steam Age.
For SHTF, you need to be able to reliably supply wood (fuel). That means 3-6″ sticks of wood for a stove, smaller for an open fire. At best, you may need that one-man saw, but in reality, you can cut almost all your fuel with a large bow saw.
Get a Sanvik catalog. The Swedes know handsaws the best.
BTW, you need to have a small stove that will burn the wood. They still make those bolt-together boxwood cabin stoves. I’d get one of those, and enough stovepipe and fittings to be able to emergency-install one in your house with the pipe though a window. You only need about 1/4th the wood, burning it in a stove, than you do trying to heat with the best fireplace.
BTW, you’re not only a Garagineer, you’re a SteamPunk. You need to put together a steam-driven generator set.