Safe & Legal Mock Urban Bugout?

[tookieblueeyes]

Well... A year or so back the homeless in Colorado Springs were living in an open area down across from the interstate in tents and locals called it "tent city". They were held up there and their community grew and grew and grew until eventually people driving down the interstate could see the tents and people started complaining that the area was an eye sore and people didn't want their community represented that way to tourists and those who were passing through the city... so the city evicted the homeless from this area in the end... but until they did they were fine and were accumulating there for a while. It wasn't until tent city started to take on its own neighborhood look that it was really noticed and frowned upon.

I have come across plenty of homeless taking up residence in old deralict train tunnels and along the river courses and the city, the police and pretty much anyone else never bothers them or tries to run them off.

I was friends with a girl who was homeless and living out of a tent at the top of Garden of the Gods for 3 or 4 months.

I even met a homeless man who was left alone living at the back end of an old overgrown unused football field under the old bleachers.

I wouldn't really consider taking up a mock bug out base camp in an old factory or old power plant unless you first spoke to the city and the owners of the property because if it is property, someone own it or oversees it. That is pretty much a safe bet.

I really don't know what locations would or wouldn't go unnoticed for someone to be taking up even a mock residence in in or around larger cities but if you really want to find yourself a location to do a mock bug out in or even plan on being a stop on a real bug out situation or something like that... then look around your city and find your homeless folks. They know every nook and cranny in your city and can point you in the right direction of places to go where you aren't likely to be thrown in jail for setting up camp for a night or two.

Don't be afraid of talking to the homeless... sometimes lol... not all of them are going to take a hit of bath salts and try to eat your face off.

While a lot of them are mentally unstable, mostly because they cannot afford the medication they need to maintain a semi-stable state of mind, (schizophrenia, bi=polar disorder, depression) there are a lot who have no mental illness, they just happen to be down on their luck because of circumstance. Some even choose that lifestyle because they dont want dependance on material wealth or whatever reason they have.

The girl who lived in a tent atop garden of the gods chose to be homeless rather than bow down to her mother and live with her oppressive rules while she got back on her feet after losing her only source of income. And with the job market being poor for her skillset at that time, she actively chose homelessness. Though she still worked for a temp agency. She was a college graduate and the other problem she faced was the fact that she was from Alabama and that is where most of her family was. She didn't want to leave colorado.

SO you see... it isn't going to hurt you to chat with a homeless person and they can give you the best direction to the places you yourself are seeking for yoru specific needs.

Look into it.

[ptAltered]

One way ticket to Mogadishu, Somalia!

You'll be able to practice with real tangos, real ammo and inexpensive weapons. Best of all everything you'd like to do there is legal!

[tedbeau]

An interesting thread for sure.

I do have a question concerning carrying a rifle.

I live in Michigan, and have a CPL (concealed pistol permit) but I am not really sure what the laws are regarding carrying a rifle. I know it's legal to carry a rifle openly in Michigan, same as a handgun. There has never been a law on the books in Michigan preventing open carry of a hand gun, just concealed carry requires permit. That being said if you walking around with a rifle slung on your back in an urban setting your going to get stopped by LEO.

I just purchased a Ruger 10/22 takedown model for my bug out gear. So what I am wondering is, if it's unloaded and disassembled can I toss it in a BOB? If I get stopped while walking with it in my backpack am I required to inform a police officer? Since I would most likely also be carrying my concealed pistol I am required to inform an officer if I am stopped. (Although there is some debate on whether the "Need to inform' law applies if walking.)

I did find this in the MIchigan Firearms law listings:

324.43513 Carrying, transporting, or possessing firearm, slingshot, bow and arrow, or
crossbow; hunting license not required; carrying or possessing unloaded weapon.
Sec. 43513. (1) A person may carry, transport, or possess a firearm without a hunting license if the firearm
is unloaded in both barrel and magazine and either enclosed in a case or carried in a vehicle in a location that
is not readily accessible to any occupant of the vehicle. A person may carry, transport, or possess a slingshot,
bow and arrow, or crossbow without a hunting license if the slingshot, bow, or crossbow is unstrung, enclosed
in a case, or carried in a vehicle in a location that is not readily accessible to any occupant of the vehicle.
(2) Regardless of whether the person has a license or it is open season for the taking of game, a person may
carry, transport, possess or discharge a firearm, a bow and arrow, or a crossbow if all of the following apply:
(a) The person is not taking or attempting to take game but is engaged in 1 or more of the following
activities:
(i) Target practice using an identifiable, artificially constructed target or targets.
(ii) Practice with silhouettes, plinking, skeet, or trap.
(iii) Sighting-in the firearm, bow and arrow, or crossbow.
(b) The person is, or is accompanied by or has the permission of, either of the following:
(i) The owner of the property on which the activity under subdivision (a) is taking place.
(ii) The lessee of that property for a term of not less than 1 year.
(c) The owner or lessee of the property does not receive remuneration for the activity under subdivision
(a).
(3) A person may carry or possess an unloaded weapon at any time if the person is traveling to or from or
participating in a historical reenactment.

[anewcowboy]

I don't know about 'legal', but back in Middle School, my friends and I would go out 'bumming'. Which basically meant walk around all day and find a place to sleep for the night. ATM Booths are great for this by the way... That is until you get woken up by some old lady.

[KnightoftheRoc]

I don't know about 'legal', but back in Middle School, my friends and I would go out 'bumming'. Which basically meant walk around all day and find a place to sleep for the night. ATM Booths are great for this by the way... That is until you get woken up by some old lady.

I think this would qualify as 'trespass', from the point of view of the bank. You're on their property, and not to conduct bank business- that's a no go situation, here. Besides, I don't think that setting yourself up in a position that would make others, like that little old lady, feel threatened (simply by your being there, not saying you'd do anything threatening), and then call the cops. While you may not get arrested, calling such attention to yourself, and running the risk of arrest, is pretty counter-intuitive, and self defeating.
However, I will give you credit for at least going out and DOING something, as opposed to discussing it online only. Even "doing it wrong" teaches a lesson.

[IceMyst]

So about 4 years go I thought it would be fun to do something similar to this. I have always loved camping but I started to get onto my "what if" stage and figured what if SHTF and I needed to get out of the city but I had to find places to sleep for whatever reason. I grabbed my gear (nothing worth much money because I was pretty sure I would get my stuff stolen) and walked around for about 8 hours getting to know my city really damn well, and getting to know the more industrial part of the city as well. It was about 11pm or so when I figured I'd bed down. I was in the industrial part of the city so I unrolled my bed roll in an alley in an little concealed place. Tied my bag to my arm and slept on it like a pillow.

I was awoken around 4-5 am when a truck came through the alley way. so I decided to get up and start my day again I spent some time in a park, here and there, just kind of wondering trying to put miles on my feet like I would in a bug out situation eventually after hours I decided I would try and "bum" it and sleep in a park. I sat down and started talking to some homeless people and just told them what I was doing and trying to collect information about how they survive. Most of them were the nicest people on earth, they were all more then willing to give up information on how to survive the streets and stay warm and such. I actually didn't sleep much that night as I was picking the brains of the people that were around me. Finally fell asleep woke up with a whole new respect for homeless people and how they survive. They live what we prepare for. So if you live in a big city and need information about bugging out a homeless person could save your life.

In the end this was the time that I started to plan for disasters, either the ZPAW or just a SHTF situation... over all really great experience even if it was only a 2 night experience.

[ZuluZK]

It's not exactly MBO, but I routinely load up my alice pack with sandbags to do urban hikes of varying lengths.

I usually have some of my most basic bug out gear in the pack, but obviously there are certain legal limitations, both for the urban environment in general, and for the fact that this is NOT actually the ZPAW. I'm pretty sure it would be very difficult to convince local law enforcement that I really DO have a good reason for having 3-4 very large, very sharp blades on me.

I've done this with up to 80 lbs., and up to 10 miles over hilly urban terrain, sometimes using it as my primary source of cardio.

Try 5 miles with a 50lb pack, 3-4 days a week and see how you feel.

[Korlon Brood]

It's not exactly MBO, but I routinely load up my alice pack with sandbags to do urban hikes of varying lengths.

I usually have some of my most basic bug out gear in the pack, but obviously there are certain legal limitations, both for the urban environment in general, and for the fact that this is NOT actually the ZPAW. I'm pretty sure it would be very difficult to convince local law enforcement that I really DO have a good reason for having 3-4 very large, very sharp blades on me.

I've done this with up to 80 lbs., and up to 10 miles over hilly urban terrain, sometimes using it as my primary source of cardio.

Try 5 miles with a 50lb pack, 3-4 days a week and see how you feel.

I do the same thing some times when I'm feeling energetic at night, But I do two miles a night with a 40lb weight vest when i walk my dogs every night. Defiantly made a difference. If I had not started doing it and the ZPAW came knocking I would have been SOL and sore for the first month.