Please Rate My Plan

[Chase]

Hello all,
I was wondering if you guys could help me critique and rate parts of my bug out plan. For some background real quick my family has 4 members including me and 2 dogs. My friend's family has 4 members and 2 dogs, and my other extended family has 4 members and 1 dog.
My plan is to take my 26' center console boat, 3 fishing kayaks, all my fishing equipment (8 rods and 2 five gallon buckets of lures and miscellaneous stuff), 5 shotguns (two 12 gauge pumps, one .410 single shot, one 16 gauge semi auto, and one 16 gauge pump), one AR-15, 2 pistols (one Glock 9mm extended mag and one Walther P22), and about 200 rounds per weapon. I plan on meeting up with my close friend who lives 5 miles away from me and is on the way to the BOL, he has 4 guns and another 26' boat with tons of fishing gear. I will also meet my extended family have 2 jon boats and some fishing gear and 5-6 guns. We plan on launching our boats 8.5 miles away from my house and then make our way to the BOL which is another 8.5 miles form the boat ramp.
How does the first part of my plan sound I think it could use improving but I don't know where to start.
Thank you.

P.S. This is what the site kind of looks like

 

[jontte]

how's your drinking water??
have you done any drills how fast you can reach your bug out buddies? love the idea of those boats,far less traffic than on any roads

 

[Chase]

how's your drinking water??
have you done any drills how fast you can reach your bug out buddies? love the idea of those boats,far less traffic than on any roads

Google says we can reach the BOL in about 30 minutes including launching our boats, but we have not yet done drill because we are teenagers we are both 19. The water there is brackish but we have ways to purify it so we can drink

 

[Gazrok]

Some factors to consider before weighing in....

1. Are there lots of other boats in the area? (i.e. how rural is it? looks pretty rural)
2. Is this fresh or salt water? (you said brackish, and while you could purify, better have some water onboard as well, and at the BOL).
3. You're only 19 but have all of these firearms? (belong to parents?)
4. 200 rounds per weapon isn't a whole lot. I'd recommend getting a lot more for the AR-15 as this would be the better hunting weapon out of those listed.
5. As mentioned, drinking water for so many is the first challenge, when on the move.
6. What's waiting for you at the BOL? (shelter/water/food?, is it replenishable?, can it be secured/guarded by your group?)
7. Are there land routes to access the BOL? (you'll have to guard them).
8. How are you going to all communicate?
9. Have you shot the weapons much at all?

Not jabs, honest points to consider, so please take it this way. I'm assuming that's why you asked.

Bugging out is the easy part....it's what you do (and how you do it) when you get there, that's the real challenge.

First off, being in a group is a great decision. More to do the work, more to get food, more to defend. Plus, specialized skill sets. Downside is more to house and feed.

Second, the water is a great bug out route. Few obstructions. Downsides though, someone may beat you to the boat. Highly visible in a boat on the water. (would be easy to follow you). Noisy too.

 

[TheShadowKnows]

Boats and guns are good but what about food storage? Fuel for your boat?

I gather you plan to fish for food but you can't live on fish alone, nor can you eat all those guns. Looks like you actually have more guns than people at this point, unless your dogs know how to shoot. Also, though I think the number of gunsj may be a little overkill, I do think you'll need more than 200 rounds apiece depending on how long you're bugging out for.

Are your families on board or are you just assuming they'll let the younger guy lead when SHTF? Not a knock on your age, just a possible problem you may run into.

How are you all going to sleep? Sleeping bags in the boat or pull over and pitch tents?

How long do you think you'll need to be away for? This will have a huge impact on what you might need.

What if your car/truck doesn't work? How are the boats going to get where they need to go?

Not trying to be mean or over-analytic; just trying to open eyes to all the possibilities.

And I do agree with jontte; boats are an excellent alternative to autos or foot travel, provides you can get the boat to the water. Leaving the boat docked presents security risks during an event, though it does solve the transport problem.

 

[Chase]

Thank you for the reply Gazrok

1. There are barely any boats there and the ones that go by cannot see inside the inner waterways.
2. We do have clean water onboard all the boats and in the vehicles.
3. The rifle and two of the shotguns are mine and the rest are my parents.
4. I am still looking for ammo for all the guns especially for the rifle.
5. Each group of people are planning on bringing 30 gallons of water per person.
6. We have cashed some water and shelter for each group at the BOL for when we get there. The BOL can be secured by the group because part of us will be taking it by the land and part by water.
7. There is only 1 land access to the BOL that we will have traps set at that will guard the access as well as some trail cameras that watch facing out of our camp that will alert us when there is movements.
8. We plan on communicated with walkie talkies when we are on foot and with cb radios that are already installed in each boat and each car.
9. I have been shooting since I was about 9 and as a group we shoot on average 1-2 times a month together.

We have camouflage netting that matches our surroundings that will cover all the cars and boats to keep them concealed.

What do you mean by someone beating us to the boats?

 

[Chase]

Boats and guns are good but what about food storage? Fuel for your boat?

I gather you plan to fish for food but you can't live on fish alone, nor can you eat all those guns. Looks like you actually have more guns than people at this point, unless your dogs know how to shoot. Also, though I think the number of guns may be a little overkill, I do think you'll need more than 200 rounds apiece depending on how long you're bugging out for.

Are your families on board or are you just assuming they'll let the younger guy lead when SHTF? Not a knock on your age, just a possible problem you may run into.

How are you all going to sleep? Sleeping bags in the boat or pull over and pitch tents?

How long do you think you'll need to be away for? This will have a huge impact on what you might need.

What if your car/truck doesn't work? How are the boats going to get where they need to go?

Not trying to be mean or over-analytic; just trying to open eyes to all the possibilities.

And I do agree with jontte; boats are an excellent alternative to autos or foot travel, provides you can get the boat to the water. Leaving the boat docked presents security risks during an event, though it does solve the transport problem.

The BOL is also home to our hunting blinds, so we have some supplies already there for when we go hunting.

We have enough gas for the boats and trucks to get us to the BOL. When we run out of gas for the boats we have a secondary system set up that will allow the boats to run on solar power.

At the BOL we have caches of MRE's and seeds (with the necessary tools to garden). The reason we have multiple guns is because some of the members are members of the local police and 3 others have past/current military experience and those are their service weapons.

The men of the families are on board with the plan and the women don't want to believe it will have to come down to that.

Each group has tents and sleeping bags that we custom camouflaged, we also have a pop-up camper.

We have planned to be away for 1 month but hopefully we won't have to stay that long.

I have not thought about the vehicles not working, I will have to think of something for that.

Thank you for the reply I will definitely try to find a backup for the vehicles.

 

[jontte]

you will always find answers here,boy I love that idea of bugging out using the water ways,that's something in my "future plans" as I live by the sea, if doo-doo hits the fan in winter,then it's a different ball game.
great you got the men aboard,try to convince that ladies also,Gazrok did something excellent,think he has a small bob in his car with different supplies for emergency and he got his ladies along with them,send a PM to Gaz about those

 

[Chase]

you will always find answers here,boy I love that idea of bugging out using the water ways,that's something in my "future plans" as I live by the sea, if doo-doo hits the fan in winter,then it's a different ball game.
great you got the men aboard,try to convince that ladies also,Gazrok did something excellent,think he has a small bob in his car with different supplies for emergency and he got his ladies along with them,send a PM to Gaz about those

Ok will do

 

[jimLE]

your doing good..and i find a flaw in #7.you mentioned tarp.they wont stop a bullet.take axes and saws.and cut down some trees.and leave them long enough to tie to 2 trees just to one side of the 1 land access.and have it at a height in which it can be shot out from,from above and from both sides.and the trunks of the trees that get cut down.needs to be at least 4 to 6 inches thick..that should stop at least most rounds.

 

[jimLE]

What do you mean by someone beating us to the boats? means exactly that if left at the pier.or maybe even if left in the yard or driveway unguarded..people will be looking for ways to get out in a shtf situation. in which some will do any thing to get it in a shtf situation as well.

 

[Gazrok]

Each group of people are planning on bringing 30 gallons of water per person.

Wow, that's a LOT to try and transport. That may not be a realistic idea. Better to use water at the BOL if you can, as you don't have too far to go. Still, they should bring some water, but more than one can carry is a bit much to expect, even in vehicles. Some purification straws, pots to boil water in, water purification tabs, etc. may be a better use of space.

What do you mean by someone beating us to the boats?

Yep, just that (if they are docked). Boats aren't exactly difficult to hotwire, so desperate folks who know anything about it could get the jump on you (or just loot the supplies within). However, in a more rural area, this is pretty unlikely.

 

[Michael HM Murdock]

Water is a big problem I also need a bit of help with my plan. A friend of my uncle's currently known as 'the benefactor' has spent $650,000 on a star fort in swartberg modeled after star castle. We have a fleet of bug out vehicles, my own being a mini cooper coupe layered in a pasting of kevlar followed by a layer of aluminium. The inside of the car and the engine block have a rally cage the front and rear have fortuner style bumpers with a rail on top. There are eight front facing lights in total. It looks like the red mudder and a mini cooper coupe had a baby.

We have three years worth of food. Three tonnes of fuel a vast Armament with six tonnes of ammo and three tonnes of diesel. Out of close on a hundred people involved I know four of them. All of them are friends of the family. My only problem is the closest source of water is twenty meters away from the walls.

 

[Gazrok]

Should create a well within the walls that taps into the water table. Another route would be to divert the water via underground piping into the structure, from your water supply.

The big downside though is, someone wishing to lay siege to the fort would likely simply poison your water supply and wait for you to die off. This would be considerably less effective of course, if you had a well that went down to the water table instead (but likely a lot more costly to do a well than the pipe diversion). Of course, if you can cover the water source from your defenses, then an enemy can't get there to do it.

If you get a good amount of rainfall there, you could also supplement with some rain catchment methods. Won't give you all you need, but is a good supplement if available (and pretty much untouchable during a siege).

Chances are though, any potential raider would simply move on and pick a MUCH softer target.

Do you currently have any running water within the structure? This is really essential with that number of folks. You'll also need numerous toilets, a few septic tanks, and drainfields too to handle sanitation issues (as well as powered pumps to move this water through the system).

In addition, you'll want to have large storage methods (and purification means) for water as well (should the power to pumps fail, or should the water become contaminated for a short time, etc., not even an attack, but say for instance, a deer died and was decomposing in a stream and this stream is your water source....)

What do you guys do for power? The diesel? I'd really recommend propane over this, as propane doesn't "go bad". If you do stick with the diesel, be sure to keep plenty of Stabil type products onhand as well, to refresh the gas. Also some SeaFoam products, as you're going to get water accumulation in those tanks.

(Yes, I'm just a big prepper nerd).....

I always approach my defenses as "What would I do, as a bandit leader, to take these guys out", and using that info, I try to counter my own moves (and I'm a pretty sneaky *******, so I try to go worst case scenario). I truly hope we'd never actually see any such group, (and if large enough, we don't have your kind of defenses, so there's plan B, C, D, etc.). Unless I can win against the bandits hands down, I'm going to try and strike a deal with them. And if that fails, then we split (leaving some poisoned goodies for them to find), and return later when all or most of them are dead. (there are some great homemade poisons that take a couple days to take effect, so even taste testers won't help them...)

Having stocked food is great, but as any good prepper here will tell you, a stockpile is literally numbering your days (in your case, 3 years). True survivability comes from sustained sources. Chickens are great for protein, as they lay eggs each day (I get about 8 eggs a day total from my 7 hens). When they stop laying, you can cull them for meat. Rabbits are awesome for meat. They can literally be pregnant again while pregnant, and grow fast, so a good source there. Both of these can be kept in the walls easily enough. Goats are a good option outside the walls.

Agriculture though, is also important. Some inside, and some outside the walls would likely be best. With that many mouths to feed, you'll want to have a constant source of food other than the stockpile, and you can can/jar any excess (or prior to SHTF of course), and it will keep way longer than store canned goods. (These companies supplying to stores can cheaply, not for longevity).

 

[Silent Earth]

Being s Brit and a fan of military history I got to point out that 90% of British castles, redoubts, Napoleonic star forts etc were all built with WELLS in place, or sided on one side by a river.

So either start drilling or start burying a 2 inch plastic water pipe from the castle to the nearest water source if possible and a petrol powered pump to bring the water to the fort.

Another alternative is to accommodate as many drinking water grade IBCs within the fort building yourself a good size water cache.

Water is a big problem I also need a bit of help with my plan. A friend of my uncle's currently known as 'the benefactor' has spent $650,000 on a star fort in swartberg modeled after star castle. We have a fleet of bug out vehicles, my own being a mini cooper coupe layered in a pasting of kevlar followed by a layer of aluminium. The inside of the car and the engine block have a rally cage the front and rear have fortuner style bumpers with a rail on top. There are eight front facing lights in total. It looks like the red mudder and a mini cooper coupe had a baby.

We have three years worth of food. Three tonnes of fuel a vast Armament with six tonnes of ammo and three tonnes of diesel. Out of close on a hundred people involved I know four of them. All of them are friends of the family. My only problem is the closest source of water is twenty meters away from the walls.

 

[Silent Earth]

[QUOTE=" We have a fleet of bug out vehicles, my own being a mini cooper coupe layered in a pasting of kevlar followed by a layer of aluminium. The inside of the car and the engine block have a rally cage the front and rear have fortuner style bumpers with a rail on top. There are eight front facing lights in total. It looks like the red mudder and a mini cooper coupe had a baby.

. My only problem is the closest source of water is twenty meters away from the walls.[/QUOTE]

Driving around the Velt at night in a mini cooper with its lights on only says SHOOT ME, drive Rhodesian light infantry style at night with either IR goggles or II goggles or the 35 minute night time acclimatised mk 1 eyeball, and disconnect the brake lights and indicators as well when TSHTF.
Learn to drive the route in the dark WITHOUT lights.

Your gonna have to dig in and bury a well concealed 25 mm or 50 mm polyprop water pipe from the water source to the fort and its got to be VERY well hidden.

 

[Mountain trapper]

Water is a big problem I also need a bit of help with my plan. A friend of my uncle's currently known as 'the benefactor' has spent $650,000 on a star fort in swartberg modeled after star castle. We have a fleet of bug out vehicles, my own being a mini cooper coupe layered in a pasting of kevlar followed by a layer of aluminium. The inside of the car and the engine block have a rally cage the front and rear have fortuner style bumpers with a rail on top. There are eight front facing lights in total. It looks like the red mudder and a mini cooper coupe had a baby.

We have three years worth of food. Three tonnes of fuel a vast Armament with six tonnes of ammo and three tonnes of diesel. Out of close on a hundred people involved I know four of them. All of them are friends of the family. My only problem is the closest source of water is twenty meters away from the walls.

Your water is only 60 feet away. Is it a well, or a spring? If its a well just drop a submersible pump in it and bury the lines under your walls to inside your fort. My well is about 500 feet away from our house site and 650 feet deep. It will take a 5 - 10 HP pump that will have its own generator just for pumping water. On another place I had, there was a spring about 200' from the cabin. I dug the spring out and dropped a 3' diameter concrete pipe down about 5' and cut a hole for a 2" pipe to supply water to the cabin, all buried of course.

 

[Michael HM Murdock]

All really good ideas the current water store is three tonnes at a time. The running water is a series of tree inch pipes connected to the spring.