Refugees with Rifles

I have read and heard a lot of conversations involving carrying a rifle while bugging out.

I mean carrying as in on-foot. Through a city or suburb towards a safer and ultimately nearly always more rural location.

Urbanites want a rifle handy in uncertain and potentially violent situations for the same reasons everyone else does. And as a prepper you should be well trained and own at least one practical defensive rifle also capable of taking big game.

If you are bugging out, you are a refugee.

Nothing else, nothing more. You are someone who is going to be some level of dependent on others to survive long term, by the grace of strangers in a true SHTF situation.

Let's use grid-down because it's on the extreme edge of the spectrum and probably one of the more prepared-for widespread catastrophe scenarios.

congressional testimony on grid vulnerability

a report warning of national blackout from a small-scale attack

If the grid goes down nationally (everywhere all at once), how will you know that is the case? Likely it will be when you start running low on food and continually can't get fuel that you start to 'feel' like it's time to leave. If you are reasonably prepared that's longer than restlessness and unrest starts. So now you have to navigate a heavily populated area visibly armed. Good luck.

"We" promote "grey man" tactics and strategies. Realistically walking around with a backpack at all at this point makes you a target. It might not actually matter how sleek and urban your backpack is. It's a signal of resources to everyone around. This is the urban equivalent of the suburban generator noise, semi rural solar array and rural cow pasture. They are all ultimately focal points.

Knowing your area, making time of day observations and combining the two might help you slip out. But with a rifle slung to your back or at the low ready might provide a useful deterrent initially, the farther out you get the more of an attractant it becomes.

As you get further out you will be surrounded by more people possessing firearms. Good? Yes but not for you in this situation, probably bad. You will get more cautious. Move more slowly, with more intent. The rifle goes from behind you to in front of you due to the new and strange environment.

In your mind you're just a cautious and prepared evacuee. But to nervous locals out on the fringes you are a forward scout. You went from fleeing to patrolling or reconnaissance without realizing.

You probably should have just gone out looking like this, still well armed but well concealed. Because a refugee with a rifle and kit is also a stranger on patrol.

Or have a prior plan involving the use of a vehicle. The simple addition of a vehicle completely changes the dynamic as it effectively conceals long guns. If you are a car-less city dweller come up with a plan to combine resources with someone who has a vehicle. That plan needs to involve timelines, meet up's and ideally someone within range of emergency communication methods such as FMRS or GMRS radio. I will expand on vehicle bug out preparations in future posts.