What is your cast boolits walk away kit?

[M-Tecs]

The great thing about loaded ammo is that it is so much more durable and damage resistant than components. Moving in the real world with a pack and reloading components exposed to rough handling, elements, etc. just doesn't seem viable. A solid reloading setup in a couple secure locations for resupply isn't a bad idea. Keeping your powder dry is a pretty life or death endeavor in bad times.

If times are bad, I don't want to run projectiles that won't allow me to use the full potential of my weapon. If you are carrying a modern, high velocity cartridge, limiting its ability with bullets that cannot perform at maximum power or range is silly. Will they work in a pinch? Sure, but don't put yourself at a disadvantage from the beginning. Heresy, I know. Big bore pistols and straight walled rifle cartridges are not much limited with lead bullets. In bad situations, I don't want to have equipment that sort of works, I want the best I can get my hands on and I need to be competent with it and fit enough to use it to advantage.

If your ammo isn't loaded before trouble, you are definitely behind the curve.

Agreed. 22lr is light, quite and easy to carry. Expanding .223/5.56 light and effective against two legged predators and with 55 ball out a 12 twist barrel it has proven effective for moose, elk and caribou. Thing is I am not walking anywhere and my M1A's and match rifles will proved a very good stand off distance during the day. Without night vision darkness will be a challenge.

[Winger Ed.]

Bugging out, is fantasy for most people.

I have a hard time not laughing when people talk about that.

I ask them, "Where are you going to go? Do you think some farmer is going to take you in
and tell you since they don't have the guest house finished---
the only place for you to stay is to bunk up with their single, beauty queen daughter"?

"Dude, You'll be lucky if those country people don't shoot you on sight".

[BadgerShooter]

You are going to have to be darn good looking and/or darn useful to be worth feeding. Limiting factor is always going to be food. If you take on one more than you can feed, everybody starves.

[dverna]

Agreed. 22lr is light, quite and easy to carry. Expanding .223/5.56 light and effective against two legged predators and with 55 ball out a 12 twist barrel it has proven effective for moose, elk and caribou. Thing is I am not walking anywhere and my M1A's and match rifles will proved a very good stand off distance during the day. Without night vision darkness will be a challenge.

The primary purpose of a weapon when the SHTF, is to kill people. And you are right...at as far a distance as possible. People like us can hit targets at ranges Joe Schlep would not even attempt.

But when the varmints are closer, I want the AR and HC magazines. If the morons ban AR’s, I have lever action rifles in .357 and .30/30...but they ain’t no AR.

Hunting game is so far down the list of needs to be silly. I cannot think of anything more ridiculous than a .45/70 or similar for a SHTF weapon.

[ascast]

I think the concept of walk away is badly flawed. Weigh the "stuff" vs a couple extra boxes of shells. The extra shells can be tucked in everywhere in 2's or 3's. As you lose your big pack, then the small one, your heavy coat, then the jacket, extra boots, on and on, you still have a bunch of rounds of mixed utility, shot or solid. Lugging all that crap with you is absurd. Your last layer of pockets should have energy bars, aspirin/band aids, fire etc. Maybe stash all that stuff at some location for future use. A wooden house will lose to a cigarette lighter. That said, I like the combo guns in 12 ga over 223 or 30-30, or 12x12 with some inserts like 22 LR. I think if you can last a week, the re-supply issue will have solved itself.

[M-Tecs]

The primary purpose of a weapon when the SHTF, is to kill people. And you are right...at as far a distance as possible. People like us can hit targets at ranges Joe Schlep would not even attempt.

But when the varmints are closer, I want the AR and HC magazines. If the morons ban AR’s, I have lever action rifles in .357 and .30/30...but they ain’t no AR.

Hunting game is so far down the list of needs to be silly. I cannot think of anything more ridiculous than a .45/70 or similar for a SHTF weapon.

BP muzzleloaders are much more ridiculous as a SHTF firearm. Slow rate of fire and a plum of smoke to give your location away and obstruct your view of danger is why BP arms went obsolete shortly after smokeless came on the scene for military usage.

[BadgerShooter]

i can see a muzzleloader being useful in some situations for foraging so as not to use your main ammo. A flintlock in good hands can be a pretty effective meat harvester without using primers and other things that are hard to get. As your only gun, probably not the best choice. I've killed quite a bit of stuff with a flinter and I've managed to mash a useable fiint from chunks of chert in the driveway. A good bow and the skill to use it might be a better choice. i've foraged effectively with a slingshot on small game. Super compact and quiet.

A muzzleloader might be a good gun to give a new, not fully trusted member of your group for guard duty. It will work, but they are probably not going to run off with it or take over your crew with it.

[Landy88]

Handloading and casting being such useful and rare knowledge and skill sets it would be abandoning a big comparative advantage to go without any tools with which to exploit it.

An Ideal #6 tool and a decent amount of primers will drop into the pocket of any of my hunting coats.

That said, it'd be bad to let myself be forced to flee afoot.

[Cargo]

Bugging out could have a completely different connotation. Over the last 23 years we've had to evacuate our home five times due to fire and flood. In my first marriage we actually lost almost everything in a "100 year flood". Having a small grab and go reloading kit sounds like a great idea if you're not sure you'll have a home when you return. Most especially with the current availability of ammo and components.

[Plainsman]

Bugging out could have a completely different connotation. Over the last 23 years we've had to evacuate our home five times due to fire and flood. In my first marriage we actually lost almost everything in a "100 year flood". Having a small grab and go reloading kit sounds like a great idea if you're not sure you'll have a home when you return. Most especially with the current availability of ammo and components.

This exactly!

Grabbing what you can for a short term evac and having the expectation of returning is the best case scenario of Bugging Out.

The question becomes: what causes the bugout?

The cause dictates ones needs that are to be covered. If one expects to have to hunt for food while gone, and resupply is questionable, then being able to cast and reload is desirable.

In that case, I would rely on my GP100 in .38/.357 magnum and GSR in .308 Winchester add a mold for each (158gr and 170gr respectively) and Lee Loader for each. A couple of WW ingots, a pack of each primer size and then a pound of Red Dot powder would allow me to load sufficiently to hunt.

Depending upon how much one is planning on carrying, weight and bulk may be more efficiently used by simply having plenty of loaded ammo to grab initially rather than reloading components and equipment.

YMMV!