After many years of mulling over what EXACTLY should be contained in an emergency bag ... I finally arrived at the decision to have a basic CORE bag of emergency essentials, and then some ancillary bags dedicated to specific situations and conditions which were LESS likely to occur, in my opinion, anyway.
The CORE bag's contents evolved over the years, but it contained nothing more "dangerous" than knives. The purpose of the CORE bag was to allow any familiar member the opportunity to adapt to unanticipated disaster or accident scenarios where the hope of an emergency response was still possible, even if slowed by circumstances by a day or two.
I considered it better for my CORE bag to be filled with emergency essentials of a "non-battlefield" nature, and more generalized toward surviving disaster conditions within a general range of climate conditions where I generally found myself. I wanted the ability to comfortably survive the loss of shelter, food, clean water, etc., etc.
The additional bags, packs and boxes would contain specific additional equipment which would focus more on "less general" emergencies.
Sure, I DO have some dedicated boxes and portable cases which contain ONLY ammunition, spare magazines, speedloaders, etc., etc., and the boxes are further separated into what I consider to be useful combinations of calibers, depending on my anticipated needs when I remove them from storage.
Firearms are useful tools in many anticipated survival situations, for both food gathering and protection ... but unless you're envisioning a scenario where you're going to become the Last Mountain Man, they're usefulness may not require the support of thousands of rounds of ammunition ... although a basic cleaning & maintenance kit may be valuable for extended periods away from home.
Also, since 3 of my CORE bag components were once stolen from my vehicle, I'm very glad they didn't contain ammunition.
Another consideration is that the storage and transportation of quantities of ammunition, larger than reasonable off duty & CCW needs, often is better accomplished using storage containers intended for ammunition ...
A review of SERE basics may helpful when it comes to realizing that sometimes possessing a firearm may not be as much of an "ultimate", or even desirable, solution to many "survival" situations as some folks might be inclined to think ...
Sure, we don't have to look much farther than many media reports of what happens in the aftermath of many large scale disasters, which disrupt civilization on a localized level, to see how the worst elements of human can quickly surface after floods, mudslides, tornadoes, hurricanes, etc., etc. ... but knowledge of basic first aid and the ability to provide warmth & shelter are much more important than the ability to fend off "attackers" in many situations. Also, the threat of feral animals can often be mitigated by "awareness", as well as the ability to make use of expedient weapons ... depending where you l,ive, and what may present itself as a "feral animal" in YOUR area, of course.
Knowledge and mental preparation is critical in adapting to emergency situations. Give me someone who's in "good enough" physical condition to reasonably function in adverse conditions ... and has seriously considered & prepared to physically, mentally & emotionally endure emergency situations ... and is possessed of basic human decency ... and I'll take them as a potential partner, even if all they possess at the time the "balloon goes up" is a Swiss Army knife.
One of the secrets to surviving "gunfights" is to avoid being where they occur ...
"Sheltering in place" may be preferable to attempting to relocate during a crisis, presuming your "shelter" survives the initial "emergency" situation intact and habitable. Moving fast, while carrying sufficient "survival supplies", is an art often developed after a lot of proper training ... and you can only carry so much "stuff", to last you so long, before some reasonable "resupply" is probably going to be needed. It also presumes you have somewhere to "relocate" TO, as well ...
In many respects, there's an advantage in "networking" with folks of a similar nature, instead of planning to "lone wolf" it. Of course, that presumes that you're not aligned with a bunch of whackos ...
