A High-Mobility 72 Hour Kit

03/24/2010 | noumenon

[M Kehoe]

I'm suprised I didn't see this thread early.

5.56mm

[GonzoGOP]

I think culdesac neighborhoods are a good idea. One way in and out, with the potential to post a guard and use “permits” on cars and so on as the situtation gets worse.

Garbage cans full of water also make great instant barricades. Five or six across the street, fill them with water from a hose if it is still on or out of the pond if it is off. Rope the handles together and they will stop anything short of a deuce and a half.

Sure they bad guys can just dump them over, but they have to get out and do that. That gives you a chance to see who they are and if they belong in the area. And of course the rule that any obstacle not covered by direct fire is useless is a given.

You need to have two plans. Bug out AND fort up. Now sure one is probably much more likely than the other to be used, but you need to cover the other contingency. You plan is to flee the city, what if the riot gets between you and the exit. What if the country folks blow the road bridges as a way of saying do not enter. Or if you are in the country what if yours is the one area where the Kenyan Dictator decides to make an example in the way of the Branch Davidians or Ruby Ridge.

[verity]

Actually, my little smiley was in response to your instant beer acknowledgment in the sense we could become wealthy if you and I discovered the process.

[Noumenon]

OOps - long thread - missed that one. Still, what survival strategy worthy of the name doesn’t include instant beer? And instant cigars?

There must be a way to do this...

[Travis McGee]

If you want them a bit more permanent, they can be filled with sand or dirt.

[Noumenon]

I like your take on ‘hawk configuration. I’ll check it out. Can’t hurt to have another one tucked away.

What I like about the SOG Fusion is that it’s light, fast and razor sharp. It doesn’t have quite the utility of what you’ve described, though.

[roamer_1]

To go to war with the government is futile. But I can out survive them.

Excellent post - your moniker fits you well.

I plan to walk off into the tall grass myself. No sense in trying to raid- It will just attract attention... They'll have enough on their hands than to worry about me and mine 50 miles back in the sticks...

Same with the idea of trying to create a fortress and staying put - Bad idea to try and protect a fixed position, as not only the gubmint can find you, but also gazillions of folks without the wherewithal to do what you have... they will ALL be trying to get at your stores. Desperation is a terrible thing.

Nope. Better to stay light and mobile. Stash a few caches close to where you figure you are going, scout out some good places to hole up for winter... keep your head low and wait for the end of it all.

Mules/horses do little good if the scram happens in the winter though. Dogs and caches in that case...

Once my folks are safe, mebbe then I will drift down and see what I can do to help whatever resistance in taking place.

Nice to hear your take on what the US Mil will do. Drones are the only thing I worry about - Pretty cheap way to take out folks in the back woods. I wonder what they'd be looking for... Prolly IR signature/fire... two things I can't do much about. I can make due without metal, but fire is necessary.

[oldenuff2no]

Mu mules can get me where I'm going and they can graze out in the mountains and foot hills on their own most of the time.
The drones can find anything that isn't underground. If you have a fire that is vented to the surface without being cooled first it will stand out like a flashlight at midnight. If you are staying topside then you have to blend in with the folks around you, you have to hide in plain sight.

[MileHi]

Very well thought out. Thanks.

[roamer_1]

What I like about the SOG Fusion is that it’s light, fast and razor sharp. It doesn’t have quite the utility of what you’ve described, though.

Seeing as how you are talking about coming over here in the Yaak/Kootanai (twas you in Pend d'Oreille?!), It would be useful to see what mountain folk hereabouts use for a hawk. To a man, they carry something close to what I have described. Wander on over to the Eureka Rendezvous and see... And it wouldn't be a bad thing to meet up with them folks, cuz when SHTF, they will be your reliable network for barter and trade (me among them, though I will most likely be in the Bob Marshall\Great Bear complex, coming down into Swan\Seeley area for winter)...

Yes, the SOG Fusion is all you claim, But an old-school hawk is far more practical - and will beat out the war-hawks in all but defense, and is still a great defense weapon anyway (though different in application).

Sure, it's a bit more weight, but it is a small thing considering the fact that you always have a camp axe, and a hammer hanging from your belt, built into that tool, not to mention it's other utility applications. And one can eliminate those things from your possibles because of their presence in the hawk. I carry no other axe or hammer. nor pick or grubbing tool.

And as far as defense is concerned, If one is down to a hawk and a knife (most unlikely), your most likely protagonist is probably a big bear or a moose, surprised along the trail - not a man or group of men, as one would likely see in hand-to-hand military applications... Most men willing to kill you for what you have are without honor, and would be more apt to bushwhack you from afar.

But in those cases where a hawk would make a difference, (griz, moose, cougar, wolf), the added reach and weight of an old-skool pole axe (and a large bowie-style knife) is of tremendous advantage, one would suppose.

However, truth be told, one can be fairly confident that one will not be faced with such a scenario... not with a .45/70 in your hands and a .44mag on your belt... and a sawed-off slung on your pack/saddle... So the utility of the hawk is probably more important than it's prowess as a fighting tool, even in such a case.

Different strokes... Just sayin'.

BTW, another practical weapon, which I keep just behind my hawk (left hip), is an Alaskan Ulu, which is the ultimate in skinning tools, and ain't half bad as a slashing weapon in close quarters. It is kept to a very fine edge, and being used only and exclusively for skinning, it is usually the finest edge I have (the bowie and folding knife, multi tool, and etc. being often used for things other than cutting).

A small stone and a bastard file are also bare necessities.

Another oddball thing to include in your caches (not necessarily for on-person possibles) is some of those cheap throwing knives one can find in Army/Navy type outlets... You know, the ones with a flat shank rather than a handle... They are not of much use for throwing, but they make a damn fine spear point if the ammo runs out.

Thx for your reply.

[Noumenon]

Yep, I'm well aware of the networks of which your speak. We live near the southern end of Lake Pend Oreille, and we're good friends of the Mountain Manns who run Idaho Knife works. Mike and Deb kick it old school, and they're long time Rendezvous attendees. They've been living off the grid for the last 23 years in a cozy cabin up in the Hoodoos. I've got one of his Cliff knives, and it's a beautiful tool.

I do appreciate your info on the practical uses of the 'hawk. I will definitely be adding what you recommend to my kit. I'm reading from the same page with respect to cache 'n stash. Some basics, a little ammo, and yes, the sort of kives you mention are part of the program. Cache building was also my motivation behind scoring an undisclosed number of Enfield No1 Mk111 2a rifles a decade or so ago. 12 round box magazines, 308 caliber and wicked accurate. It's a game-getter for sure and also the rifle you can use to get yourself a better rifle.

Again, thanks for your advice - obviously the product of experience. BTW, what's a good source for rhe type of 'hawk head you've mentioned. I ran this past Mike a while back, but he's not that much into making them.

[Noumenon]

Also, what do you intend to barter with when you get to day 7?

Some nice IMI 5.56 AP.

[Noumenon]

Nice thign about a remote lake location is that you can land a floatplane there most of the year. Most floatplanes also adapt easily to skis for frozen-over time in the winter.

[Noumenon]

oldenuff2no does indeed know what he’s talking about. Good thing we left urban areas over a decade ago. If I have to leave Spokane in a hurry, I’m heading home. Hopefully justa quick 60 minute drive. If driving’s off the menu, well...

[Noumenon]

A local comic goes on about the four main occupations in Sandpoint -

1. bartending
2. construction
3. bartending
4. construction.

[Sir_Ed]

Heh heh heh, funny!

With me, I worked winters at Ski Schweitzer, summers logging BLM contracts for pole mills and doing construction.

See ya’,

Ed

[Noumenon]

BTT

[ELS]

bttt

[Grunthor]

By the end of this month I will be sitting in the living room of my new home on 2.4 acres. Armed. Within a year, will be off the grid as far as power, water and septic goes.

Plenty of hunting and fishing within walking distance of the house. I am hoping to have chickens and maybe a dairy cow by this time next year.

Let the world fall apart.

[MWestMom]

ping