Written by Greg Ellifritz
I’ve heard people refer to a “Bug Out Bag”. I’ve even heard of a “Get Home Bag”. I’ve written about both HERE and HERE.
I thought I knew my bags. So I was surprised when reading a SWAT magazine article by Pat Rogers and learned that there was another type of bag to carry. Pat called it the “Bag of Doom” or “BOD”.
It’s a bag that primarily carries extra ammunition for situations like a Beslan-style hostage siege, L.A. bank robbery, or Mumbai-style terrorist attack. It’s for those relatively rare, but catastrophic incidents where the gear you normally carry just isn’t enough to do the job.
I’ve actually carried a bag like that for years. I just didn’t know it had a cool name like “Bag of Doom.” Many of my fellow police officers carry them on duty as well.
My fully-loaded “Bag of Doom”
I really don’t know how useful it is. I’ve never pulled mine out of my police car. Most crisis situations are over well before anyone has a chance to run to the car for their BOD. Still, it’s a comforting feeling to know you have some extra supplies if you need them.
My BOD is structured specifically for my situation and surroundings. On duty, I carry a Glock 17 9mm pistol. I also carry an AR-15 rifle and have a Benelli 12 gauge shotgun in the car. My backup pistol is generally a .38 snub. Primarily, I want my BOD to carry ammunition for all of these guns in case I need to reload.
Secondarily, I want some spare ammo for my fellow officers who may be carrying pistols that are of a different caliber than mine. Our agency also issues Glock 21 and Glock 22 pistols in .40 and .45. A lot of officers carry them. After I loaded my bag up with bullets for my guns, I filled the extra space with spare Glock 21 and 22 magazines.
If there is so much shooting going on that I need my BOD, I’ll likely need some medical gear as well. I carry pressure dressings, a tourniquet, and hemostatic gauze on my person, but I added some extra supplies to the BOD in case I use those up.
My BOD is housed in a Maxpedition Jumbo Versipack. I really like Maxpedition’s gear and use a lot of it. There is a Blackhawk Strike Utility Pouch to hold medical gear on the carry strap and a generic gun show 12 gauge shell carrier attached to the side Molle panel.
Maxpedition Verispack
– I carry rifle magazines in the main pocket of the BOD. I have five 30-round aluminum mags loaded with 28 rounds each of 55 grain Hornady GMX ammunition. I have two 20-rounders loaded with 55 grain Hornady Tap in case I’m in a situation where over penetration could be a problem. This is department issue ammunition, chosen because it works well in the department’s military surplus M-16 rifles. Unless your rifle has a 1:12 twist barrel, your selection might be different.
I wanted an easy way to differentiate between the bonded and TAP rounds under stress, so I used two different types of magazines.
– The front pocket holds six Glock 17 magazines loaded with 9mm Winchester 127 grain Ranger Hollowpoints.
– The left side pocket holds two Glock 22 magazines loaded with .40 165 grain Winchester Ranger Hollowpoints.
– The two single mag pouches each contain a Glock 21 magazine loaded with .45 acp 230 grain Winchester Ranger hollowpoints.
– The shell carrier on the left side holds 12 Hornady TAP 00 Buck shotgun shells
– The zippered back compartment carries six more rounds of 12 gauge buckshot in a Tuff Products QuickStrip, two boxes of 12 gauge slugs, and two speedloaders full of .38 special 130 grain Winchester Ranger Bonded Hollowpoints for my snub.
The contents….
– The medical pouch contains:
rubber gloves
2 packages Quickclot Combat Gauze
2 packages compressed gauze
The entire package weighs in at 19lbs. The only thing I might change is to label all of the compartments. I know where everything is, but if one of my co-workers needs the BOD, he may waste time trying to find the item he needs.
