Top FIVE urban survival mistakes that can kill you

(Bugout.news) Any SHTF scenario will be difficult to get through, no matter how much you prep for it. That’s because whether we want to admit it or not, we’re all very much accustomed to our modern lives and any dramatic change to said lifestyle would be hard to adjust to.

That said, there are five things you should never do when making your survival preparations because they literally can get you killed.

Keep your mouth shut. Many of us like to talk about all the effort we’re making to prep for the day society breaks down. We like to talk about that nifty new device or piece of technology or how much ammo we have and how many guns we’ve got. But like the military, you need to maintain OPSEC – “Operational Security” – regarding your prepping. Only tell those you can trust completely, if you tell anyone at all, about what you’re doing. Otherwise, if you tell the wrong person, when SHTF someone will remember “that guy” or “that girl” who has all the survivalist gear, food and water, and they may come to take it from you. Just remember that desperate people will do desperate things.

Stay clueless. If you don’t have a plan to bugout, bug-in or otherwise ride out a natural disaster or SHTF scenario, you’re infinitely more likely not to survive it. You would do well to sort of “wargame” various scenarios that could feasibly happen in your area – floods, hurricanes, earthquakes, rioting, etc., and then even practice putting your plan into place (via training and practice runs, etc.). Know where you’re going, how to get there, and have a Plan B, C and D as well.

Breaking the law. It might be tempting to join the crowd in a SHTF situation when it comes to looting a store or breaking into homes in an attempt to find food, water and shelter. But in such situations, you’re going to meet some sort of resistance at some point in time, either from armed, scared and desperate homeowners or local police/military forces. Don’t get sucked into the mob mentality because it could get you killed. Also, you should have been prepping already anyway – right?

Shoot first. Do you know a fellow prepper who has said, “I’ll shoot first and ask questions later” – ? Don’t be that guy, and there are reasons for this. For one, everyone will know that you are armed and some will want to liberate those arms from you, anyway they can (think ambush, or attack with overwhelming numbers). Second, maybe your potential adversary is already armed – do you think they’d shoot back? And finally, law and order will most likely be restored eventually, so if you shoot someone and they die, you could be charged for murder. And while your state may not have the death penalty, you’d certainly be deprived of your freedom and liberty.

Forgetting about home security. This is a big one because many people take it for granted that they’ll be able to “defend” their own home. What makes you think so – because you have a couple guns, some ammo and locks on your doors? During times of chaos home burglaries will soar, so you need to research ways to make your home more safe and deter burglars and others from stopping by your place. Physical door jams, electronic alarms, having a dog in the house and improved door locks can all help keep you safer from the chaos. But should these measures fail, do you have a backup plan?

(H/T Urban Survival Site)

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