Is Bugging Out Stupid?

While I moved the start time of the video below up about two and a half minutes, you could jump forward to about the 5:30 mark to get to the heart of the bug out talk. My comments follow below.

Although the video wasn’t what I expected it to be (a discussion on the pros and cons of bugging out vs. staying put) I felt it was still useful to share because it should get you to really think about your plans for SHTF or anything short of it.

As somebody who has written two books on building a bug out bag (really just a first and second edition) and who discusses the topic in my survival course, I’m not actually a fan of bugging out. It’s really more of “I’ll go if I must” situation.

Unsurprisingly, the video above comes to roughly the same conclusion. Specifically, he explains that most of us won’t be bugging out into the wilderness Mad Max style for the rest of our lives. Rather, it will be a temporary situation to avoid the worst of a natural disaster or something highly disruptive to your home. And, like he says, most of us don’t have a well-stocked bug out cabin with all of the survival amenities, plenty of land, and no other two-legged predators roaming about. The fact is that most of us, me included, just can’t afford it.

So, we only have one real option when SHTF, and that’s to stay put with all of the stuff you may need for survival. Actually, he suggests one more very important addition: be nice to your neighbors. The reason is because most people aren’t going to lift a finger to help that reclusive gun-nut, as he puts it. But they may help the guy who they know well, who they grill out with, and who has helped them in the past.

It’s really about building a local community, something I discussed often in my most recent book, Why We Prepare: Lessons from the Past, Warnings for the Future, if you haven’t read it yet.

When I was younger, I was very much a lone wolf of sorts. I thought I could do it all! But decades later, my body suggests otherwise. The truth is I probably never could “do it all” even with my family’s help. There is just so much that may be needed during a long-term survival situation, including plenty of very specific knowledge and skills I don’t actually have, that my best plan MUST be to survive with others.

Such a list could be rather extensive, including family, friends, and neighbors. The problem is that I can’t afford to feed all of them even if they’re potentially useful in other ways, which is why it’s crucial that more people in my life get prepared! I assume you have the same problem. But I don’t really have a solution, so there’s a small part of me that prefers the “lone wolf” approach despite knowing better.

Anyway, back to the question: Is bugging out stupid?

Well, it depends on the situation. If it’s a short-term need, such as avoiding the worst of a hurricane, then absolutely not. It’s the wise action to take. Thus, having bug out supplies, a plan, and a place to go is good.

But if you believe that you can hike out into the woods and survive for any length of time, especially while avoiding potentially hostile humans, is unrealistic. Just watch the television show Survivor, and you’ll discover that most people don’t make it long … maybe a month or so and these people are selected because they’re skilled, fit, and motivated to win a large prize. Oh, and they have a lifeline to call should something happen.

Now, how might you fare in a similar situation? Granted, you might have more supplies initially, and probably some skills these people don’t have, but days turn into weeks and weeks into months before you know it. There are many beneficial reasons why modern society is highly preferable for almost every human being on the planet when give the option.

And this is precisely why bugging in WITH a prepared community of people you care about (and who care about you) is the best possible solution for most of us.

There are only 24 hours in a day. You only have two arms. Sometimes you actually need other people’s help. And sometimes you REALLY need their expertise.

Community is the answer.

Bugging out is only a temporary fix for a temporary problem.