BUGOUT BASICS
Everyone has bugout tips. Some are good. Some are dumb. My favorite "I'll never do that" tip is to keep a battery and steel wool handy to make fire. Because a butane lighter is so much harder to keep on hand, right? Here are the top survival tips that we’ve cultivated over the years that apply to almost every situation.
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DASH Kit
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Keep your DASH Kit in your vehicle. Going home to get it will waste valuable time.
Pack Wisely
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A golden rule of bugging out…Keep weapons, ammo, and first aid in the outside pockets of your bugout bag. If you’re in a firefight or someone is badly injured, you don't want to be digging around trying to find ammo or tourniquets.
Plan Your Route Around Water
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Follow rivers as much as possible or plan a route that leapfrogs between lakes. Fresh water is imperative to survival.
Your Vehicle
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Refuel when your vehicle gets to half a tank. The last thing you want is to have to stop at a gas station while everyone is trying to get out of town.
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Stay with your car as long as possible. Don't start walking until you have no other choice, especially in a cold environment. Rescue searchers will find a car long before they find your frozen body. Leaving your car doesn't mean it's gone for good. You can come back for it (and everything you left in it) later.
Stay Mobile
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In the first days of bugging out, stay mobile. Eat your energy bars and drink your emergency water packets first. This will lighten your load and let you keep moving. Don’t stop to catch and prepare food until you have to.
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Once you’re on foot, move at night and sleep during the day as much as possible. Of course this will slow you down and may require you to use white lights at night, but that's better than being caught in the open daylight.
Batteries
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Always have both battery powered and non-battery powered light sources. When the batteries run out, you want light sticks and a hand-crank flashlight ready.
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Don’t put batteries in your flashlights and devices until it’s time to roll. Otherwise they could corrode.
Be Sterile
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Don’t put stickers on your car or your bag that tell people what you're carrying. A Sig Sauer sticker might scare some people away, but it might also invite others to take your guns. A COEXIST sticker might give people the impression you're a tree hugging soft target. Your vehicle and bag should be like an uncle with a vasectomy - sterile. No one in a survival situation wants attention. Except clowns. Clowns like attention. Don't be a clown.
Nature Friend vs. Foe
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Know the edible and non-edible plants in your area. Likewise know which ones are poisonous. It would suck to make it all the way to your bugout site just to eat the wrong mushroom or pet the wrong snake and die.
No Trail Of Breadcrumbs
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Bury or hide all trash so you don't leave any sign of your presence.
Shelter
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If you have to build a shelter, make it just big enough to sit up in so it’s easier to heat.
Don't Panic
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You got this. Keep a level head and DASH on (shameless plug). Happy Apocalypse!