I ran across this today and thought I would run it by the forum for a critique. I keep a bobucket at home in the garage that contains somewhat similar items but this was such a good write-up on the subject.

Well, what do you think?

After a quick read my first thoughts focus on the gun. I'd personally worry about storing a weapon unsecure in a bucket. I know that the odds favor no one ever opening the bucket, but I have kids and I would never leave a weapon in a position where they or their friends could possibly run across it. Thats just my opinion. I know others will have a more liberal POV, and that's fine too.

I'll read the article in more depth later. Right now I gotta run to a meeting! <img src="images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Yeah!

Sorry but the following is a bit rambling - just thinking out-loud on the subject.

I wasn't too keen on the idea of sticking an expensive firearm in a bucket in the ground and leaving it there for a few years anyway. I agree that the danger of someone finding and taking the firearm is not a good thing whether it's kids or bankrobbers eitherway it isn't something I want done with a firearm that I own.

OTOH with the difficulty of carrying anywhere it makes some sense to have the firearm stashed somewhere. In the car is a reasonable option that I am currently using but if my vehicle were stolen then .... I think that the vehicle being stolen from a public parking spot is more likely actually than haveing a bucket unearthed from 4 feet of dirt on some conservation land - highway off-ramp type location. The safety of obscurity and having the bucket burried work in your advantage.

Of course if you also include MRE's or PA tablets then you will need to maintain the bucket which will help lead people to the bucket and ruin the obscurity factor. Of course you could bury the gun and keep the items of limited shelf-life in your EDC. Less hassle having someone notice you have a can of spam and some PA tablets then haveing to explain why you are carrying a glock everywhere you go. Not that they should ask since you should be allowed to but ask they do anyway and usualy they are shocked and angered that you do.

Now I know what to do with all those Y2K buckets of dehydrated celery my nieghbors tossed out. And speaking of Y2K, lets consider the premise of "bugging out." Sorry, but the whole implosion of society and Walter Mitty, Burt Gummer, Mad Max and the alumni of Survivor fleeing Los Angeles for time share cabins in Big Sur; encuring fire fights, midnight emergency surgery by maglite and jerking road kill racoons is to much. The biggest social upheaval in the USA was the Great Depression. More people were out of work, on the road and improvising than our survivalist's wildest post apocalyptic fantasies. Their history, and what they think of modern worries is out there; in libraries, film documentaries, Stienbeck novels, train museums ( listen to a bonafied Hobo talk about the difference in road people then and today,) and most important , our own grandparents. As for cache's? I did it once during a desert excavation. Mostly water and a few goodies stashed along future survey routes. It was clearly marked and noted it could be used for emergencies , but please leave it there. One day two ladies from Iowa drove up to see the 'dinosaur diggers' and produced one of my stashes from the Oldsmobile's trunk. "Look what we found! Do you think it belongs to anybody?"

Thinking further on the subject of buckets, it occurs to me that some brands of cat litter are available in large, heavy-duty, square buckets with resealable lid (but with no rubber gasket. The lack of gasket could probably be remedied by using a contractor bag as a liner, and I'd probably do this anyway for a cache). These store side by side and stack with minimal wasted space in between. I have about a half-dozen I've employed for various household duties and another dozen stacked up empty in our storage area. Now I know what to do with the empty ones!

While I agree with you on the TEOTWAKI flavor of the link I shared, I thought that, since others were discussing the idea of a bucket for stashing some "bug-over" supplies at a relatives or other location, this might be found useful.

My biggest disagreement with the TEOTWAKI type survivalist is thier presumption that they will be better off hiding at a remote location desperately defending what little they have rather than in immedaitely joining ranks with whomever they find and attempting to rebuild as much civilization as can be as quickly and amicably as can be. Both are likely to happen as is often displayed in the microcosm of hurricane survivors. Some come out day after and set up their grills and start cooking anything that they have and throwing a block party for whomever is left standing, they pitch in and clean up each others downed trees, share gasolene, help stabilize homes and look after the elderly. Others will get out the shotgun and run off the looters that inevitably arrive to take what they have after hearing their generator and seeing the blaze of their electric lights in the otherwise darkened landscape. Both scenarios will play out and both are probably unavoidable. For myself I would rather serve the looter a nice barbecue dinner and recruit them in the effort of rebuilding the neighborhood if possible than confront them and have to protect myself from them with arms.

OTOH, I would be prepared to protect myself with fire power if that became necessary but it wouldn't be my first option. Rather make a friend and widen the zone of civilization than make an enemy and isolate myself into an armed garrison.

Maybe I'm a starry-eyed romantic.

At my house the cat litter goes back out in the same bucket it came in just smells a bit different. Do you compost the litter then?

The block party group is the true survivalist! Bring on the tiki bar <img src="images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Yep, goes in the same heap as other unwanted organics. <img src="images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Only a 1/2 dozen, you must not have enough cats. I seem to give those away by the dozens. I think I will build my next house with them <img src="images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

They do work well for storage, keeps cans from rusting and getting dirty, but they do get the small of litter on things so be careful what food you put in them.