[The Reaper]

Originally Posted by DocIllinois

100 miles all around me is nothing but flat cornfields dotted mostly with small farm towns. Its growing season but the corn isn't yet my height. Deer are present in the occasional draw. Possum, raccoon, rabbit, squirrel are plentiful. I'll go south, since it puts me further away from Chicago and it's suburbs.

Night travel.

Agree with Streck's AR and ammo selection.

Map and Silva compass. It can be a long way between landmarks, and cornfields can all start to look the same at night. Also a map case. Summer showers tend to be heavy.

Military issue bivy cover. Its hot here at the moment, even at night. Why carry something heavier?

Fjallkniven TK4 folder. Light, small enough when folded, heavy duty enough to disassemble anything up to a deer.

Roll of snare wire. Been hunting smaller game here with it since I was a kid.

Blastmatch firestarter & Wetfire tinder - light, all weather, 3x the heat of a match.

Doc:

Good plan.

I would prefer to bug out with a few more items. Personally, the categories of gear I would consider for mostly year round survival are:

Ruck/carrying bag must be light, durable, and contain/carry the following categories of items:

Fire starting and fuel- For fire in a semi- or non-permissive environment
Water container, collection, storage, and purification
Shelter or materials for dry, insect-free, and warmth
Cordage - Line, wire, tape, glue
Tools - Shelter building, firewood collecting, game prep, construction, repair
Signaling - As needed, probably less given the threat. Would pull the cell battery or ditch the phone, BTW.
First Aid - Trauma and general survival health
Food - Carried, hunting, trapping, fishing, cooking, seasonings, salt
Navigation - Map, compass, and possibly GPS
Lighting - Headlamp and handheld or weapon light
Clothing - Rain/cold weather gear, socks, and underwear, possibly spare shoes/boots
Cash? No checks, credit, or debit cards, obviously

Just a few thoughts. Obviously, this is not a Lewis and Clark type adventure, but a day or two without water, food, or a dry warm place will suck.

Also, I would note that you could build a summer BoB and a Winter BoB, or just swap and add items to your bag as necessary. I probably couldn't remember to do that, so I guess I would be dumping unneeded items at the first halt. Yet another reason to keep the weapons loadout light.

Originally Posted by Sdiver

Funny you brought this up T.R. I've thought about this scenario a few times already.

I have the luxury of living right next to the foothills, SW of D-town Denver, and there are several bike trails and greenbelts by my place which lead up into the hills, so I have a few routes already planned. ("Wolverines" ) I know of several caves and abandoned mines further up into the hills, so that would be a likely destination. Some are close to streams and small ponds (although I wouldn't count on the ponds being "fresh" next to the mines, but it is a water source).

Along with my bug out bag, the weapons I would grab would be:
Side arm: 1911 with 111 rounds. Two 50 round boxes, and eight mags ... 4 eight round and 4 seven round.
My M&P 15 with seven 30 round mags = 210 rounds (along with three empty mags)
The Garand with 80 rounds (ten clips) for the "far reaching" effect an M1 has.

I know this sounds crazy, but I'd also grab my Mossberg 500, along with two boxes of bird shot (one box of #7 and one box of #9), a box of slugs, and a box of 00. (twenty rounds each box).

I have a nice 5.11 "fanny pack" that I can fit the six 5.56 mags, the boxes of ammo and 1911 mags in, and still have room, which I can put in a cleaning kit for all weapons, along with some rags for quick wipe downs.

I know this sounds (looks) like a lot to hump up hill, but I always thought/planned, I could stash the fanny pack and one or two long guns, off trail, scout ahead, drop off what I've brought up, go back to the "stash, retrieve that and just "leap frog" as needed.

I like your loadout, if I had a vehicle, but you would have over fifty pounds of guns and ammo, exclusive of any of the other necessities. I would not want to be humping close to 100 pounds of gear up those hills at that altitude, especially with the cold weather burden. Leap frogging means humping twice the distance, for twice the time. You may be able to do it though, but I think it is tactically unsound. Hard to speed reload from a fanny pack, too.

Originally Posted by bubba

The trade offs of rifle v pistol:

Rifle / Carbine

Up Sides: If I get in a fight with a couple of folks, I have the advantage. If a deer etc is spotted, I am gonna eat well for a while.

Down Sides: I am an instant target to anyone who spots me. Ammo is heavy and may slow me down. I may feel like I can whip anyone and bight off more than I can chew.

Pistol

Up Sides: Small, light, and concealed. I can defend myself against an armed threat. If I am carrying a smaller caliber weapon, smaller "game" like dogs become a possibility. I am traveling light and "among the fish".

Down Sides: If I get in a fight with a couple folks, I am likely to be way out gunned. I can't take mid sized game.

Yup, my personnel conclusion for most situations is to only have a pistol, likely a 9mm Glock. My ability to move incognito is my greatest strength as a singleton. If possible, I would move to a safe location and recover a cache with a long gun or 2, but only if I was in a place where I could make friends and influence others / await pickup from a larger force that is on the way.

The only glaring excetpion would be somewhere like Somalia or Yemen where EVERYONE has an AK. Then, I'd definitely have one and 3-5 mags.

Just my thoughts.

Bubba, you are the opposite of Sdiver.

I would be concerned about the range limitations and game gathering ability of a 9mm pistol, but you have a plan, have been through SERE, and I respect your perspective.

One additional consideration would be that you could break down a short M-4 and stuff it in your pack, only needing to reinstall the upper and load it to be able to use the carbine.

Your loaded Glock 9mm with a holster is roughly two pounds. The carbine (M-4 or AK), with normal accessories of an optic, mount, sling, etc. and 3-4x30 rd. mags would add another 12-14 pounds.

Big difference, but you have limited yourself to fairly small game under 50 meters range, and very limited defenses other than stealth and avoidance.

TR