Bug Out Perimeter Patrol
Dr. John Woods 09.24.15
I was sitting on the front porch of my hunting cabin out in the boonies, which also serves as my primary bug out hideout, just relaxing taking in the sunrise. We felt like the immediate camp yard was secure. The front steel gate was locked with a heavy chain wrap. Our cabins are not visible from the highway.
Camp guns were prolific. After all, this is mainly a deer hunting camp, so hunting rifles are numerous. Several of us pack extra. There will be a selection of self-defense handguns with multiple loaded magazines. At least one or two ARs will be in camp also with mag pouches pre-loaded. Some ATV racks may also carry an 870 Remington pump shotgun.
In all of this relative tranquility, a shot rings out from the far end of the property. Trespassers and poachers have long slipped in on the northwest corner of the property. Sometimes they are just squirrel or rabbit hunting. Sometimes they steal hunting stands, mud ride their 4-wheelers across the property, or cut or tear down other fences and gates. They don’t belong.
It is time for a daily patrol to finally let outsiders know there are owners in residence. Two or three of us gear up, saddle the ATVs, and ride out. The camp is on the east end, so we ride the main road west. If there are multiple riders, we split up to investigate different areas looking for somebody who doesn’t belong. It is nearly a daily occurrence.
Now, if this were your situation, what would you do? You managed to escape town to your pre-selected bug out location. It might be a farm, a camp house, a rental in a rural town, or a tent pitched somewhere out in a wilderness area. For now this becomes your home and you have to protect it and all residing there. How will you do it?
Certainly you want to maintain as low a profile as possible, not drawing attention to your presence. You or another responsible adult needs to scour the outer limits of the area to maintain its security. This is done clandestinely but armed. At any sightings of unwanted intrusion you may wish to report back or engage accordingly. Either could be risky.
Bugging out successfully is one thing, but once there, you have to maintain your security. Start working on your plans now.
