Modular Bug Out Ideas, Current BOB

When I started getting into Survival skills I built a BOB.  That's probably the first step that many people make when they get into "prepping" or "survivalism" (whatever you want to call it), and it's something that everyone should have.

As I've expanded my knowledge and skills (and stores) I've rethought a lot of my original ideas.  When I did my practice Bug Out during the last Tsunami warning (post) I decided that I wanted a more modular set up, that way I could pick and choose which 'modules' depending on the situation.  That led me to look at different packs, bags, and set ups.  I could tailor my pack out depending on the situation without having to dig through one big bag, it also makes it easier to find an individual item.

So, in that thread, here is my current pack out gear.

HPG Kit Bag, chest
I'd never heard of a "chest rig" before getting into survival skills (and Zombie forums).  Most chest rigs are for battlefield or tactical scenarios (or paintball), they have pouches for magazines, grenades, etc.  Well, I was looking for something that could be worn hiking with or without my main pack, that would keep some supplies handy so I wouldn't have to stop and dig through the main pack for a candy bar or my cell phone.  This HPG Kit Bag is perfect for that.  It's also neat because it adds flexibility, you could leave your main bag at camp and take this for a short hike.  This was also designed with Concealed Carry in mind, the pouch closest to the body has easy pull zippers and loops for carrying a pistol.  I didn't get the Kit Bag for that purpose but it's kind of a neat feature.  There's a cool quick-draw video on their website.  It's an extremely handy kit to have.

Snugpak waist pouch
It's a waist pack and belt.  I keep a lot of stuff here; knives, pouches, canteens, gloves, fire starter, first aid, and a poncho/rain jacket.  This is basically a mini-BOB, one or two of each item.  It keeps things easy to reach, easy to find, and adds versatility.  You see the trend here?

Snugpak pack
This is quite a bit smaller than most BOBs.  You definitely need a good pack but in a set up like this it can be smaller because you spread the items between the Kit Bag, belt, and waist pouch.  I put all the little stuff in those two bags and then just keep the big stuff in the main pack.  Food, hydration bladder, sleeping bag, tarp, extra clothing, etc.

Blackhawk thigh holster, magazine pouches, and Drop leg pouch
I put this last because firearms are the lowest priority and Hawaii has very strict laws against carrying firearms unless you're hunting (and licensed).  In most emergency situations they won't be necessary and could lead to legal problems.  In your State it might not be as big an issue, either way firearms should be a low priority.  Contrary to the popular internet-Rambo type, firearms are simply not as important as the rest of your preps.  Outside of a Zombie Apocalypse water, food, shelter, fire, and clothing, are all far more critical than firearms to staying alive.  By keeping firearms, ammo, mags, and accessories in a configuration like this (drop leg holster and pouch) they can be easily dropped or added to your pack out.

It also means I can grab grab any of these items and go for a hike minimal repacking.  I've also really cut down the amount of stuff in my BOB.  The BOB, or 72 hour bag, is supposed to have all the supplies for 72 hours.  The theory is that 72 hours should get you through the worst of any disaster.  When I first packed a BOB it had everything minus the kitchen sink but really, you don't need that much stuff for 72 hours.  Maintain your core body temperature, a little water, a first aid kit, maybe some food... and that's about it.  Everything else is just icing on the cake.  Obviously, there are things that make life better and easier, but if the goal is to survive, you really don't need much.  Keeping your pack light means you can travel faster, easier, and be more mobile.

I've rushed this post a little bit, I haven't had time to do the full spread and photos.  I'll try and do that soon.  And as always, if you have any questions or comments let me know.

How Freakin' Cool is the Biolite Stove?

Technology and camping are two topics that don't typically mix that much.  Occasionally you'll see some new upgrade to a fabric or tent design, but electrical engineering and the outdoors don't seem particularly compatible.  However, I saw a product on a survival forum that blew my mind and I had to share it.

The Biolite Camp Stove, $129

Biolite Camp Stove

This is a small stove that uses the heat generated in the stove to power an electric fan and generate electricity to charge electrical devices.  The fan pulls air in through the orange portion of the stove and into the main chamber, making the fire more efficient and generating power.

It charges through a standard USB port and will charge almost anything that uses a standard USB, smart phones, Ipads, etc.  Obviously, you would need to double check the manuals for the device and for the stove to make sure it's compatible before you plug it in, but it looks incredibly versatile.  For example, I have an emergency radio that could be charged with the stove in the field.

 It's small, light weight, and relatively inexpensive.

There are other options out there but they don't appear to be as versatile.  There are small solar panels and windup generators you could get, but according to the Biolite website this thing generates more electricity and faster (20 minutes of charging provide 60 minutes of talk time according to the website).  Plus, it will work day or night, cloudy skies or not.

It might not be the perfect solution but it certainly seems like an extremely cool.  It's definitely going on my wish list.

The Biolite Website

Couple more book reviews

I love survivalist/prepper/zombie books, I've mentioned that before.  Since my last book review post I've read a few good books, so I figured it was time to share again.

• Apocalypse Law 1-3, John Grit.  A devastating plague wipes out a large portion of the world's population.  Nate Williams, a decorated war vet, must keep his son safe as the world around him and his remote farm gets worse and worse.  There are some good survival tips for those planning on home steading, the main character lives on a farm and does his best to keep it going to feed his son.  There is also a lot of combat, which keeps the tension and excitement up.  The third book finishes nicely but left it open to a fourth book.   I really liked these books and hope that the John Grit keeps putting them out (he has a couple of short fiction books that are also worth a read, especially Fierce Blood).
• Joshua, John Wilson.  The economy collapses and leads to a rapid deterioration of society.  In this bad situation a young man stumbles upon a two year old boy, Joshua.  He decides to take care of the boy, despite how difficult that makes his own situation.  This is now one of my all-time favorite survival books.  Seriously, it's that good.  It's extremely well written, interesting, and with enough emotional themes to surprise and entrance even the most hardened survivalist.  The only thing that really bothered me about this story was how the main character is never named, he's just "the man", and how we know next to nothing about him.  It takes half the book to even find out what his profession was before SHTF (despite the frequent mentioning of "his training").  Honestly though, I think the author did this deliberately, taking attention away from the man to put it on the relationship with Joshua.  While mildly annoying, it does not detract much from this otherwise awesome book.
• Path of Survival (Passion Killers, Blood Beyond the Abyss, A Dark Wind of Vengeance), David Maudlin.  During a terrible economic down turn, two hurricanes strike, and a terrorist attack damages the world's supply of oil, causing a rapid collapse of societies across the world.  These books are about several different people and their different paths to the relative 'safety' of the mountains.  There are lots of characters with intertwined story lines, a good mix of family values, action, survival, and the different ways that people deal with these stressful situations.  These are light, easy reads that are entertaining, with enough action to keep everyone on the edge of their seats.  I hope the author keeps this series going.

Those are a few of my recent reads that were good enough to pass on as recommendations.  These are all available in the kindle store and are relatively inexpensive.  Any of these would make a good addition to your reading list.

Religious and Political aspects of Prepping

Survivalists and Preppers are an interesting cross section of society.  It's not an evenly distributed cross section though, it sometimes seems to be predominantly conservative and Christian.  Or, it might just be that some people with those traits tend to be very vocal on those forums and websites.  Now, I have no problem with someone being conservative or being Christian, even though I'm not particularly conservative or religious myself.  However, that tolerance can be tested when those views are so frequently, vocally, preached.

You see all sorts of threads like:
"Obama re-elected, better buy your guns now before they all get banned!"
"Can Liberals be Survivalists?"
"Top 10 Reasons Democrats Are Ruining Our Country"
"You remember what life was like when we had a REAL leader?"
"Signs the Apocalypse is coming!"

Yeah, if you went to any of these forums or sites after Obama got re-elected...  Wow, that was quite an interesting time.  A lot of very vocal people expressing their 1st Amendment rights.

Now, I'm not a huge Obama fan, I'm definitely not a fan of Romney, but why would those topics matter on a Survival website?  What do politics or religion have to do with prepping or survival?

I go to these sites looking for tips on how to survive, gear reviews, get along better in the wilderness, and anything else outdoor related.  I don't go to those sites for religious or political reasons.  I don't want or need lectures, or opinions on unrelated topics, or interpretations on world events.  It can be a big distraction though, detracting from the real benefits on the rest of the site.

I try not to preach my own beliefs, as difficult as that is at times, because the disagreements don't do anyone any good.  I'm not going to change their mind, they aren't going to change my mind, so what is the point of starting the argument?  What is the point of contributing to the argument?  It's doesn't benefit anyone and just distracts from the reason we go to those sites in the first place.

So, I would encourage all preppers and survivalists to get over their differences and embrace the similarities.  If you are an expert at starting a friction fire, awesome, I'm sure I can learn something from you.  Does that mean that I need your opinion on the latest political scandal?  Nope.  Just like I'm sure you don't need my opinion on it.

Bringing up polarizing topics, opinions, and beliefs just builds barriers.  We might have different reasons but we all have the same goals, religion and politics have nothing to do with those goals.  Leave them at home.

And when faced with those beliefs?  Don't fall into the trap of continuing the argument, drop it and move on to a different thread.  There are still plenty of good threads out there to enjoy and learn from.

Survivalist Books

I read a lot.  I mean, I read A LOT.  Usually 2-3 books a week.  I'll read pretty much anything, but my favorites are cheesy Zombie books and Survivalist books.

After reading a mediocre survivalist book recently, I decided I should share some of my extensive reading list and some suggestions with other fans of the genre.

There are three main things I'm looking at here: the writing (the story line, how well written it is, how well the character's develop, etc), the survival theme (how well thought out the scenario is, how realistic it is, the skills and techniques), and how well it combines the two into the overall entertainment value.  Some of these books might be high on the technique scale but low on the entertainment value, it all depends on the kind of book you're looking for.  I usually read on my kindle and these are all available (and relatively inexpensive) on Amazon.

In no particular order:

• After The Flash and The Next Tomorrow: A Tag Stevens Novel. J.R. Madsen. There are two books in this series so far.  These are an interesting combination of semi-romance and survival themes.  For the first 50 pages of the first book I was kind of confused as to what I was reading, it was about this father on a trip for his son's hockey tournament.  Now, this was actually quite entertaining, the author keeps getting the main character into these quirky situations and implying the possibility of this guy having a three way with his wife and another player's hot mother. Sex is a pretty strong theme in these books, though it never gets explicit (which is almost disappointing at times).  The books fluxuate between the almost soap opera relationships between characters and survival and combat scenes.  There aren't a lot of specific survival techniques or skills, but it is a highly entertaining post-EMP, cross country search for family with some violence and between-the-lines sex thrown in.
• Lights Out. David Crawford.  I actually enjoyed this book quite a lot.  I think this is one of the best combinations of survival and entertainment that I've found so far.  This book goes over a systematic break down after an EMP (popular theme) and how the Main Character helps keep his community going, organized the necessary supplies, defends against "mutant zombie bikers" (their term for hostiles).  There is a definite arc in the story line, some cool techniques, some cool combat scenes, and a lot of likable characters.  I really liked the epilogue too, which is important because a mediocre ending can ruin the whole book.
• Collision Course. David Crawford.  I put this one separate from Lights Out because it's the same author, but an unrelated survivalist book. This is a pretty interesting book about bugging out and bugging in.  There are two main characters that develop over the course of the book in two completely different scenarios.  One is an alcoholic farmer and the other a city-dweller trying to get to his BOL.  I enjoyed the twists in the plot towards the end and didn't see them coming.  Some interesting concepts and challenges are show between the two different approaches to survival.  It's a good read.
• One Second After. William R. Forstchen.  This book was a little light on specific survival techniques, it was more about the organization of a community to survive post EMP (again, it's a popular theme).  While it doesn't have a lot of specific techniques, this book does not shy away from difficult questions and emotional hurdles.  The main character's daughter has type 1 diabetes, which is basically a lethal diagnosis in a survival scenario.  This isn't a book with a lot of combat (like a lot of other survivalist fiction), but it reads a lot more like a 'real' novel, real characters, and real problems.  This is very well written, one of the few survivalist books that actually evoked emotional responses to the character's trials.  
• Dark Grid and Dark Road.  David C. Waldron.  These are more books that have good entertainment value, not as much "survivalist" value.  They are quite entertaining, well thought out, and good fiction.  These are about a group of army reservists after the 'Burst' (another EMP) trying to reestablish a community.  There are some military conspiracies involved, different groups establishing and pitted against each other.
• A Distant Eden and Adrian's War.  Lloyd Tackitt.  These books are half survival manual, half story line.  A Distant Eden is a more typical prepper wet dream, a solar flare (Whoa! Not an EMP!) destroys all electronics (ok, not so different after all) and one man is prepared.  He sets up a community with family and like minded people.  Adrian's War is more of a primitive living guide, I kept expecting to turn the page and see step by step illustrations on basket weaving, or fish traps (that's not necessarily a bad thing).  The story lines are interesting but not real deep, more of a platform to explain survival techniques.  There are some really good tips in here.  Eden is about being prepared, Adrian's War is about one man's primitive journey and combat against an evil militia.
• Obliterated: Would you know how to survive?  C. J. Hall.  Aliens (Yeah! Not an EMP!) start destroying technology centers (Awww, not so different) and cities.  A group escapes out to the wilderness and get set up to survive long term.  If you are looking for action, this isn't the book for you.  It's a fairly low-key survival scenario with more ducking/hiding/surviving than fighting.  It's not amazing but it introduces a lot of good prepper concepts and basic survival situations.

Most of these books are what I would consider 'budget' fiction.  They aren't professional, highly polished, diligently edited,  or perfectly constructed.  These are more amateur, good ideas, a lot of heart, and I find that pretty refreshing (as long as you can forgive the occasional misspelled word or missing punctuation).

I've read all of these books (and many more).  I'm always interested in reading survivalist fiction, if you have any suggestions, or questions on the books I've listed, feel free to comment or send me a message.

And don't worry, I'm sure I'll be posting a list of good zombie books in the future (there are actually quite a few).

Book Review: Survivors

As previously mentioned, I had to get out of town for job preparations.  I got to the airport with very little spare time before boarding.  I popped into the book store, saw Survivors on the shelf, grabbed it, and ran to the gate.  Oh yeah, I paid for it too.  Quite a bit actually, everything is so much more expensive at the airport.

Survivors, James Wesley, Rawles

I read very quickly.  In between naps I finished this book in about 8 hours of flying.  After finishing this book, and reading the back flap, I realized that the author is also the author of one of the survival blogs I visit.  Actually, it is the survival blog, www.survivalblog.com.

Conceptually, there were a lot of very interesting things going on in this book.  One of the main characters is a military man, stationed over seas when SHTF.  One of the main story lines in the book is his epic journey to get back to his family.  There are also an interesting range of people in different scenarios and how they manage when the economy totally collapses in a very short period of time.

There were some interesting themes in this book, ones that should seem familiar to many who read survivalist blogs: the conspiracy about government controlling the economy, the UN trying to take over, gangs running rampant, and how gold, silver, and ammo are the only currencies that will be acceptable after SHTF.  There are some good survival tips and some cool suggestions on gear.

There is also a very large religious theme, pretty much every "good" character is very Christian.  When I finished the book, I theorized that if you removed every religious reference, ever bible quote, than the book would have been half as thick.  That might be fine for a lot of readers (especially those who are more familiar with his work), but I'm a very non-religious kind of guy and I found it a little too much.

Unfortunately, because I read so much, I'm also incredibly picky.

So, it's an entertaining book, it has some good points...  some readers (especially religious ones who are interested in the conspiracies about the economy) will probably enjoy this book.  As a non-religious guy, who isn't too big on conspiracy theories, this book was a little less than I was hoping for (especially at airport prices).  There isn't any character development, the book skips months at a time with no real changes, it's interesting but awkward.  And very religious.

If I'd paid $2-3 dollars in the kindle store for this book than I probably wouldn't care, but paying full list price +25% airport markup?  I'm not impressed.  And this is a "New York Times Best Seller"?  If you're looking for something to reaffirm standing religious/conspiracy beliefs than this book is perfect for you, if you're not, than this book probably won't blow your mind.

My Get Home Bag

It'd been a while since I'd gone through my GHB and I figured this was a good opportunity to do an in depth post on GHBs.  Being in Hawaii the contents of my bag are probably quite different than what people would need in other places.  Most of the basics would be the same; clothes, water, food, fire starters... but depending on the local climate there can be a lot of variation.  Keep in mind your own environment when making a GHB.

This is the kit that I keep in my car.  Pretty much everything fits in the Swiss Army day pack that I picked up at Ross for $20.  The the top and side, a fleece sweat shirt and pair of shoes.  This being Hawaii, I'm typically wearing shorts, t-shirt, and flip flops.  Those three things aren't any good in a disaster scenario.  That's why a sweat shirt and shoes (socks are in the bag) are so important here.

While temperature isn't a huge concern in Hawaii, hypothermia is still a concern if conditions are wet and windy.  Tropical storms, earthquakes, and flooding are all possibilities here.  That's why you'll see my 'get home' bag prioritizes rain clothes, water purification, and fire starting. 

Here's everything pulled out.  I'll go through the contents in detail.  

From the left side toward the center: the sweat shirt, adidas workout pants (light, packs tight, some protection from the elements), Columbia rain jacket , socks.

Here's the water supplies.  Three water bottles, two are kept full.  I've got the stainless steel bottle and the GSI cup (reviewed in an earlier post) for cooking and water purification.  I keep the Dasani bottle so I can use it for UV purification.  There's also the purification tablets to the left.  Just above the bottles are Camelbak Elixer tablets, they dissolve in water like alka seltzer, they taste pleasant and provide electrolytes.

These are fairly self explanatory.  Sunscreen, 550 cord, Gerber multi-tool, Gerber sheath knife, two LED flash lights, Leatherman folding knife, and a compass on top.

In the middle: boonie cap, work gloves, bandana, watch cap, scarf.  Food: couple nutri-grain bars, trail mix, jerkey.  Just below the shoes on the right side is my fire starting kit: two sets of matches, lighter, flint and steel, hand sanitizer (very flammable, just be careful because the flame it creates is almost invisible in day light), and the cotton ball/vaseline kits I previously posted about.

I go a little overboard when it comes to my first aid kit.  For purely "get home" purposes you could probably halve this kit and still have plenty to go.   However, because I keep this bag in my car all the time, I tend to use this kit for any and all day-to-day first aid needs.  That's why there is so much more in here than the bare minimum.  I can't tell you how many times I've pulled this out and used it.

Here's the contents from the top left: benedryl, anti-diarrhea meds, alcohol wipes, moleskin, medical tape, triple antibiotic neosporin, tums, tylenol, carmex, and a wide variety of bandaids.  The whole kit except for the medical tape fits in a pint sized Ziploc bag.

A few more things that weren't really in the pictures: emergency poncho, emergency blanket (I hopefully won't need those two, but they're small, light, and could be life savers), baby wipes, bug spray, goggles, dust mask, and ear plugs.

I think that's everything.

After reviewing the kit I swapped a few things out, added more cordage, extra batteries for the flash lights, underwear, and another pair of socks.

A GHB is a very personal thing, it's all about what you need and what you're comfortable with.  My pack is a pretty good example of "over kill", I have way more than the bare minimum and a lot redundancies.  As is, the size and weight are comfortable and I'm very confident with the contents.

Why "The Doomsday Preppers" Hurt Us

I almost hate to admit that I've watched this show and found it entertaining.  I hate admitting that because half of the entertainment value of this show is in watching people and their beliefs held up for "review".  Now, I haven't seen every episode, so I could have missed a few, but have you noticed that they never show the more rational preppers?  You know, the family that lives in tornado country and is preparing for a tornado?  Or the ones that live with the drought and are stocking up on water?  No, it's always the ones that believe the military industrial complex is going to forcefully take over.  Or it's the ones that believe the poor economy will collapse the government.  It's always the ones that have conspiracy theories.

Have you ever watched American Idol when they show all those people that didn't make it onto the show?  They were terrible, like two cats fighting in an alley, and you feel sorry for them, but you still laughed?  "Doomsday Preppers" is kind of like that.

One, I'm not interested in holding people up for public ridicule, no matter how strange their ideas might be (or how bad their singing).

Two, this show makes preppers look like the love children of conspiracy theorists and that crazy homeless guy wearing the sandwich board sign "The End is Coming!!"


Now, I'm not saying that all preppers are completely rational.  Preppers are this interesting cross section of society, there's a little bit of everything.  Sometimes though, it seems like the loudest voices are the ones with the most outlandish reasons for prepping.

It's impossible to go to a "survival board" or "prepper board" without finding a fairly thick streak of doomsday theorists (there are also quite a few Zombie Survival boards).  There are preppers that ramble about how the government is going to implement martial law, or sun spots might wipe out all electronics, or people need to protect themselves from evil corporations that run the world... there are a million different theories.  There are a million threads on the best rifles, or gun calibers, to survive when the SHTF (sh!t hits the fan).

The reason I have a problem with the show is that it makes the rest of us seem like fellow conspirators .  I have some supplies stocked, I am working on a BOB, I want to have some things ready for an emergency.  Does that mean I think Zombies will be coming for my brains soon?  No.  But if I went in to work and said "Hey, I got a cool new first aid kit for my bug out bag!"  I would probably get laughed at, whether or not having a first aid kit was actually a good idea.

You see what I mean?

The show and the theories make conversations about disaster and emergency preparation extremely difficult.  And some of those conspiracy theorists might have some good ideas about prepping and survival, but nobody is going to take them seriously.

Let's look at prepping another way.  What are those things that you pay for every month and hope to God that you never need to use it?  Oh yeah, insurance.  Health insurance, life insurance, renters insurance, car insurance...  Is it crazy or is it smart?  Does it give you some piece of mind to know that you have it if something bad happens?

Let's say you have hurricane insurance and a nice little hurricane comes along and turns your house into a pile of lincoln logs.  Is the Aflac bird going to fly in and drop off some MRE's and bottled water for you?  No.  If you're lucky some National Guardsmen will.  Do you want to be cold, hungry, and thirsty when they show up or would you rather be sitting around a campfire, boiling water for some spaghetti, and offer the Guardsmen a cup of coffee?

Insurance is a vitally important thing and something that is missed on a lot of the 'Survivalist' boards.  Consider it a long term 'prep', something that will help you back on your feet when things are hopefully getting back to normal.  Having some supplies set aside is just another form of insurance, something else that we hope we never have to use.  It's another kind of peace of mind.  I can't tell you how comforting it is to have that GHB in my trunk and my BOB in my closet.

You don't have to believe in the upcoming Aztec prophecies to think storing some food is a good idea.  Doomsday has nothing to do with it.  Focus on the 'preppers' part, to be prepared or preparing.  There's nothing wrong with that.

Firearms and the Neighbors

If you ever visit a survivalist or prepper forum, one of the first and most prolific threads will probably be the "AR vs. AK" debate.  Let's just say that there are a lot of gun nuts in the prepper community.  In case you are unfamiliar with firearms, the AR-15 and AK-47 are semi-automatic rifles primarily designed for shooting people and are not as practical when used for anything else.

Now, I believe that firearms can be an important part of survival planning.  They're useful for hunting game and to keep yourself from becoming a victim in the craziness surrounding an emergency situation.  You could be planning and storing for years, then have it all taken away in an instant by the guy next door who's never prepped a day in his life but inherited a dusty revolver from his grandpa.

That's a possibility, to be sure.

But how likely is that?  Like everything else in life, raiding is a risk vs reward question.  For someone to wave a gun around and intimidate people out of their supplies would mean that there is little or no law (low risk) and they need those supplies (high reward).

So, for raiding to be a realistic concern there would basically have to be a collapse on a massive scale for an extended period of time.  People are starving and there isn't anyone to enforce the rule of law.  Probably 99.999% of emergency scenarios that's not going to happen.  If there's an earthquake or flooding than within a fairly short period of time there will be an emergency response from the Federal and State governments (most of the time, obviously things like hurricane "Katrina" were not handled well).  Most of the time there will be National Guardsmen and emergency workers there within 72 hours and they will be providing food and clean water.

That means a guy waving a gun to take your supplies can be arrested by guardsmen or police (high-medium risk) for supplies that are in excess to what is needed to simply survive (low reward).

That means that in most scenarios the "AR vs AK" debate is a moot point.  They can be used for hunting small to medium sized game but that's not what they were made for.  They use fairly small rounds, low recoil, with the intent to rapidly fire a lot of accurate shots at a short distance.  For them to be a 'practical' survival tool then they would be used against people, like they were designed.  Otherwise, having bolt action hunting rifle would be by far the smarter choice (and a lot cheaper).

That said, if the situation is so bad that raiding is happening, having a fire arm is a quick way to change the risk vs reward question.  A guy waves a gun at you and you pull out yours, suddenly taking your supplies is a high risk prospect.  Imagine you're starving, you break into a house, and hear someone in the darkness rack a shotgun.  You'd run like hell back the way you came.

That's something else to keep in mind, becoming a 'raider' is not something that most people would be able to do easily.  We're not wired that way.  We don't walk around hurting each other, on the contrary, we often times go out of our way to help each other.  So, after decades of working together, helping each other, it's not like something bad happens and we suddenly turn into homicidal maniacs.  Maybe you you have a closet, Mad-Max wannabe in your neighborhood, but the vast majority of us are average joe's just trying to get by.

Maybe you have a local gang that looks pretty shady.  When something bad happens are they going to grab some guns and immediately start taking over?  Or are they going to run home and check on their family?  Make sure their parents and siblings are ok?  They are people too and will react the way that most of the population does.

Emergencies don't lead to desperate measures, desperation leads to desperate measures.  Under normal circumstances that means that they guy breaking into your house probably has a 'desperate' need for money or drugs.  When there is some sort of the disaster it might mean that the guy breaking into your house has two starving kids he's trying to feed.  Keep that in mind and maybe offer him a few MREs before you bust out your AK.