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Note from JWR: I will be a featured guest today (Saturday)
on Dr. Geri Guidetti's web radio/shortwave
radio show. The show airs at 1 p.m. Central Time (11 a.m. Pacific Time.)
This two hour show will also be available via podcast. The Topic: Pandemics--family
Preparedness. For details on how to hear the webcast live or on how
to download it post
facto, visit the Republic Radio
web site: http://www.rbnlive.com.
Although climatologists are sharply divided as to long term global
warming versus global
cooling, there is some evidence of at least short
term
changes in climate. Consider the following "Hundred Year Forecast" from the pundits
at LiveScience: http://www.livescience.com/forcesofnature/051013_stronger_storms.html However,
you
might
just log this as "Food for Though and Grounds for Further Research" (FFTAGFFR),
rather
than as reliable data for making decisive relocation plans. I'm sorry to say
that the
jury is still out about global warming.
Here's my views on some of your more recent e-mail. Grandpa
R. brought up some interesting things. First of all on the Ghillie suit,
I don't recommend a poncho for the stereotypical work a Ghillie suit
is used for. A Ghillie suit is a task and terrain specific uniform
that's employed by specially trained folks. If you already have the
training
and field craft to use a ghillie suit correctly and effectively, then
you already know the answer to the question. That answer isn't the
poncho, it's the same one or two piece suit that every sniper from
every nation uses. There's a reason they ALL use the same thing, and
that's because it's the only thing that will does the job at that level
of expertise. Jim's recommendation on the poncho is dead on for the
survivalists who aren't graduates of a service branch's sniper qualification
course.
The poncho is a multi-use item, and that's always a plus. A great example
of one is the German Zeltban. The Zelt can be used as a
poncho, breaking up the outline of the human figure, as a "shelter
quarter" to make a four-man tent, as a tarp to make an individual
shelter, as
a poncho for rain, etc. as an outer garment including various ways
to configure it for walking, riding on horses/bicycles, etc. Many European
countries used them right up until recently. Most are canvas, so they
are quiet, though they are heavy. many are designed with summer foliage
camouflage on one side, and winter on the other, though
I've seen some that are just green and you can dye them whatever you
want for your area. If I was going to use one in the desert, I'd make
a copy of the Zelt in canvas with one side day desert and the other
side night desert, and update the buttons, etc. If I was in the north,
then woodland on one side, and a winter/fall on the other would be
a better choice. You get the idea. A liner made from a GI poncho liner
would also create a sleeping bag, and a field jacket. It's a phenomenal
piece of kit. I can provide specs to anyone, just e-mail Jim and he'll
let me know if it's something worth pursuing in the future for an installment
on the Blog.
On gas masks and NBC, you have to remember not to
equate Army NBC training and procedures with your's as a survivalist.
You don't have the
logistics tail to make fighting and operating in contaminated environments
a viable option. The best you can do is provide a limited amount
of NBC protection that will allow you to egress a contaminated area. Changing
filters when "in the soup" is not high on my list of things
to do. High on that list is getting out of that area. Don't think "Army",
think "survivalist". It's two different things. In a practical
sense, you simply don't need a "dirty environment change" capability.
You need a capability to protect yourself long enough to get to a clean
environment. The mask filters will give you plenty of time to do that.
Military operations in an NBC environment and survival operations in
an NBC environment are two very different things. Equipment, individual
tasks, et cetera are the same or similar, but they are conducted differently.
That doesn't mean you're doomed if a gas bomb hits. You're never doomed
if you prepare. But
your actions as a survivalist will be different than your actions as
a soldier on the battlefield would be.
On the subject of NVG/NODs.
Older generation devices will exhibit what's called "bloom" effect.
So a tritium night-sight would present a big
softball sized glow on the end of your weapon. The later gen units greatly reduce
the bloom effect, so what the effect is will greatly depend on the
generation of the systems in use. Electrical tape will pretty much
cure any noise and light problems at night.- "Doug Carlton"
Jim,
"Grampa R." wrote in, asking about changing filters in a contaminated
environment. I agree with you on the constant exhale method. I've also seen military NBC folks
cover the opening after removing the filter while changing it to a new one. This
seemed a little complicated to me, even with the other filter prepped for install.
Also, this method would necessitate deconing your gloves or whatever you would
use to cover the hole before covering the hole (or you would risk inhaling contaminant
that might be on your gloves.) I like the method you described much better.
It is always good to seek overhead protection before changing canisters if you
are
still receiving agent.
The M17 series of masks should be considered "Tier 2" masks in my
opinion, due to the problems changing the filters in a contaminated
environment.
Regarding masks and filters: Your mask has a series of valves that control
intake and outlet. Hence, you should be alright to keep a filter installed
in your mask as long as you keep the opening to the filter covered with something
like duct tape. Roll one end of the duct tape well past the opening and make
a small "handle" by putting it back on itself. Then when you don
the mask all you need do is to pull the duct tape off the opening of the filter
and your good to go. The inlet valve on the mask (which only works one way)
and the tape covering the opening of the filter are keeping dust, pollen, etc.
from getting into the filter. The older issue C2 filters came in a metal can
that took approximately 1 minute to open. These are great for
storage, but would take some time to open without practice. The new issue C2A1
come in a
quick
open
plastic can type container. Very durable, I've stood on them to no effect.
Micronell M95 filters are another good choice if you can't find C2A1s.
I encourage readers to learn symptoms of the various chemical agents as well
as treatment. Hope this helps. - R.H.
Jim:
I find I must disagree with you about Ghillies. In my opinion a poncho
is a not a good idea for a Ghillie. My advice instead is to use a long "lab-coat" style
jacket [as the starting point for constructing a Ghillie]. I bought mine
for $10 at a surplus work-clothes store. Get a large one which
will
fit over your LBE without
your pack. Dye it brown (or some other more tactical color) and cut the front
of the coat
in a U-shape from just above the belt-line
and
from the outer edge of the thigh (so the material on the sides just brushes
the ground when you are on your belly), it should look like a set of "Tails" on
a bizarre tuxedo. Get rid of the button closures too, replace them with velcro
closures to get in and out of the suit fast. Then use camo-netting or fishnet
to cover the coat completely across the back, arms (with an inch or two of
excess) and a veil that goes over the head and
down about half-way to the waist (so it can be used to cover your weapon.)
Secure
the net on the suit either by sewing it directly or by sewing on buttons and
making button-holes in the netting (sewing directly is MUCH easier.) The burlap,
rope, cloth pieces, etc. are then tied to the netting, completely across the
back and the back and top of the veil with a small amount on the front of the
veil itself. Add a pair of trousers with the back of the legs
similarly covered and either sew strips to a pair of boots or make a pair of
spats covered in
strips. I also recommend covering the knees and elbow areas with heavy
material to reduce
wear and pad the joints when crawling.
The Ghillie suit is for laying down or crawling, so you cannot put a bunch
of stuff on the front, nor can you crawl very well with material bunching up
under
your legs or needing to be secured so it doesn't get in your way. My version
will cover what needs to be covered, it's not quite as hot as many versions,
allows a degree of freedom of movement, and best of all is not covered in stiff,
sticky, often flammable glue. A little spray-paint can be used to tone down
bright spots and blend the colors better. Also a fire retardant is
essential,
all that burlap
and cloth will go up like a month-old Christmas tree with the slightest spark.
One other note, [lining a ghillie suit with] mylar is a bad idea, a Ghillie
suit is hot enough, adding mylar will have you broiling in your own juices
in five
minutes
if you
cover
yourself
in it and that's the only way to disguise your heat signature enough to matter.
If you are worried about FLIR or
other thermal detection, find an olive drab space-blanket or, even better,
a "combat casualty blanket" which
is a heavy padded version of a space-blanket, and convert it into a cover for
you
position.- Warhawke
"The real trouble with this world of ours is not that it is
an unreasonable world, nor even that it is a reasonable one. The commonest
kind of trouble is that it is
nearly reasonable, but not quite. Life is not an illogicality, yet it is a trap
for logicians. It looks just a little more mathematical and regular than it is;
its'
exactitude is obvious; but its' inexactitude is hidden; its' wildness lies in
wait." - G. K. Chesterton
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I often get e-mails from readers claiming either directly or indirectly that preparedness is "only for wealthy people"--that working class people cannot afford to prepare. That is nonsense. By simply re-prioritizing your budget and cutting out needless expenses (such as alcohol, cigarettes, convenience foods, and cable television) almost anyone can set aside enough money for a year's worth of storage food in fairly short order.
It is amazing what can be done with hard work, ingenuity, and very little money. While I do not endorse interloping on public lands nor do I suggest that you live like a hermit, the following stories are indicative of what can be accomplished with next to no cash.
First, here is an article about about a father and daughter that lived for four years undetected in a Portland, Oregon park:
http://www.katu.com/news/story.asp?ID=067497
Next a story about a hermit who secretly lived for at least three years inside the "secure" Los Alamos nuclear research reservation in New Mexico:
http://pogoblog.typepad.com/pogo/2004/10/hermit_discover.html
Next, an article about New York City's semi-apocryphal "Mole People":
I also vaguely recall in the early 1990s reading an article about a man who secretly built an underground house in parkland abutting the suburbs somewhere on the east coast. The house went undetected for several years. Its entrance was hidden in a berry thicket. He was only discovered because neighbors saw his comings and goings. When sheriff's deputies arrived to investigate, after much searching for the entrance, they entered the underground house just as the man was taking a shower in his bathroom. (Perhaps one of you readers saved the newspaper clipping or has a link to the news story.)
I recommend the book "The Last of the Mountain Men". It is the story of Sylvan Hart (a.k.a."Buckskin Bill"), a famous Idaho solitary who lived deep in a roadless section of the River of No Return Wilderness. His solution to his own unemployment during the Great Depression was to move to the wilderness and live self-sufficiently. The book describes how Hart lived from the 1930s to the 1970s. He mined and smelted his own copper, made his own muzzle loading rifles and pistols, and constructed his house and garden. It is a fascinating book.
And for someone with a "maxi" budget? Consider this: http://www.ultimatesecurehome.com/secure_home.htm
I didn't point out all of the preceding references because I want you to live like hermits or flee into the wilderness and live in a hollowed-out tree like the boy in My Side of the Mountain. Rather, I just want you to start thinking outside the box. Survival is 90% sweat, ingenuity, and perseverance. It is only the remaining 10% that requires cash.
Everyone agrees that the more self sufficient you are, the greater
your personal freedom is. If you are making monthly payments for
your mortgage, car loans, and to credit card companies, you are obligated
to work so that you can pay those bills and your time is not your
own. Your freedom is limited by your debts. But, if we are financially
free, we can choose how to spend our time. And the freedom to use
our time as we please is a goal worth striving for.
To that end, I will offer a few tips that are easy to incorporate
into you spending habits which bring you closer to that goal. These
are
not earth shaking changes that will turn your world upside down. These
are baby steps down the path to financial independence. But every penny
that you can save increases your personal freedom. If you are not following
any of them, by using these techniques you should save 10% on the purchases
you make most often. That is the practical equivalent of getting a
10% raise. And who couldn’t use that?
No matter how much we do for ourselves, we spend some portion of our
hard earned cash for the basic requirements of survival. You need food,
shelter, and clothing. In addition, there are other items that you
buy regularly which you can shop wisely for like over the counter medicines,
pet food, and fuel. I’ll use groceries as the example for this
issue, but you can apply the techniques to anything that you pay for
regularly.
The first step is to get a firm idea of what the fair price of the
item in question is. This is as easy as just noticing what you pay
for each item as it goes in your grocery cart. Once you know what you
normally pay, you will be able to recognize and take advantage of bargains,
and avoid the pitfalls of false advertising and marketing schemes.
In store sales are often a good way to save money, but only if the
price is less than you would normally pay. An offer to “buy one,
get one free” is not a bargain if the first item has been marked
up 100%. If the item in question is offered for sale for less than
the normal price for two, then the sale is worth taking advantage of.
Similarly, you may be able to save a few dollars a month by using discount
or mail in rebate coupons. In fact, if you are diligent at clipping
and redeeming you can save quite a bit of money over time. But be careful.
Because I tend to buy the cheaper brands and coupons are often for
more expensive brands, I can rarely save money by making use of coupons.
For example, a $3 box of cereal still cost less than a $5 box with
a "$1.00 off "coupon.
Using coupons and taking advantage of sales should let you save a few
dollars every trip to the grocery store. But real savings occurs when
you have the ability to take advantage of bulk discounts. Let’s
say that the “buy one, get one free” offer we discussed
above is for a can of ravioli or soup that your family eats once a
week. The can normally costs a dollar. So buying two cans for the price
of one saves a dollar over buying two when they are not on sale. But
canned food is fairly shelf stable. If the cans on sale are not near
their “best used by” expiration date, consider buying as
many as you can afford. If you bought $20 worth, you would save $20
that you would normally spend over the next five months. By buying
one can a week you would normally spend $40 over 40 weeks (5 months.)
But by buying the same amount of food for $20 because it is on sale
at half price, you save $20. That is like someone putting an extra
$20 in your pocket. Sure you might get an odd look from the cashier
when you put 40 cans of the same thing on the checkout counter, but
is it worth an odd look to get $20? It is to me. When I find pasta
on sale at three pounds for a $1 or less, I buy 30 pounds. It is shelf
stable, and it gives me the peace of mind of not only knowing that
I have saved at least 50% vs. buying it one box at a time, but also
that my family won’t starve if times of shortage or financial
hardships arrive.
“Buy one get one free” deals don’t happen as often as we’d
like, but 25% off sales do happen frequently. Even if the sale is only
25% off the normal price, the same $20 spent would save you $5. Why
not save $5?
The last tip I will offer this month is one that should only be used
by people with strong self discipline. It can be downright financially
dangerous if you can’t control yourself. But if you have the
will power to do it, it is literally free money. Your secret to tool
for free money is … a credit card. But not the cash advance feature!
Many credit cards offer cash back rebates on money spent. Discover
card established itself by paying back a percentage of money spent
in Sears’ store credit. Today many credit card companies offer
store credit or cash back options. Most are 1% back on dollars charged
with additional bonuses for using your card at certain retailers. My
credit card pays back a straight 1% on all purchases made. I put my
grocery bills, gasoline expenses, and anything else I can pay by credit
card through that account. As a result they pay me $10 for every $1,000
spent. This is free money actually earned (not just saved.)
Now here is the dangerous part. You must pay the balance off every
billing cycle. If you do not pay off the credit card (in full) each
month, you will be charged interest on the balance and it is 100% certain
that the interest due will exceed the cash back rebate earned. But
if you have the self discipline to only use the credit card for expenses
that you would normally pay cash for and to pay off the balance every
billing cycle you can actually make money using a credit card. At $10
cash back per month you earn $120 per year. $120 will buy a lot of
groceries when a god sale comes along! In addition, using the credit
card for routine purchases makes balancing the check book a whole lot
easier when you only write one check each month.
So there you have it - five steps toward financial freedom: learn what
a fair price is; take advantage of sales; mail in rebates and other
coupons; save money by stocking up with bulk buying discounts; and
if you have the self discipline to pay off your credit card each month,
take advantage of cash back rebates. These techniques will let you
save and earn a portion of every purchase you make, and every penny
saved or earned is a step closer to your financial freedom! - Mr. Yankee
FYI, I have dealt with Don Stott of www.coloradogold.com. Don is an honest man and has prices competitive with the best dealers I have found. There will be no excitement in dealing with him...call him, he answers the phone, takes your order, and when your money arrives your product is shipped pronto. - Bruce A.
"Rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others. I do not add "within the limits of the law" because law is often but the tyrant's will, and always so when it violates the rights of the individual." - Thomas Jefferson
Dear James,
Thank you so much for taking the time to respond to my questions. I
know there are hundreds of letters that come in. My brother Paul
in Seattle and my "adopted son" John in Iraq are daily
readers. I am building a ghillie suit.
Would you suggest a poncho or a coat with an extension to cover the
legs? I also plan on lining
the suit with
mylar or similar heat hiding material. On the subject of gas masks.
I have Israeli military units for me and my wife. I have M17 models
for back up or friends. Can you tell
me
how someone can change both cheek filters in an M17 in a tactical
situation and survive. Even the standard spin-on can my other two
have would let in poison if you changed it in the field. Lastly I
am considering moving from Phoenix to the Tombstone area. How do you
feel about that area? Thanks again, - Grampa R.
JWR Replies:
Regarding Ghillie Suits: I recommend a poncho, because they are the most versatile. They are also best in hot climates. (Coverall-type ghillie suits are sweltering in hot climates.) Because you can bundle up the front of the poncho when high crawling, I've found that poncho hangs up on brush less than a traditional ghillie made out of BDUs or coveralls. Although I can't imagine that you'd be crawling around much in Cholla cactus country!
Regarding Protective Masks: There is no way to change filters in an M17-style ("cheek filter") mask in a contaminated environment. The only practical way to change them is inside of a sealed room, after going through a transition room with decontamination shower. And even then, that takes about 10 minutes of tugging on those blasted plastic filter retainer buttons. It is simply a lousy design. (Off on a tangent, I can remember laughing out loud when I saw a picture of the Soviet copy of the M17 mask for the first time. ("Ha ha, fool! You've fallen for one the classic blunders! The best well known is 'Never get involved in a land war in Asia.'... ") The difficulties that I cited are the main reasons why the U.S. military switched back to screw-on filter canisters for their NBC masks. The latter, BTW, can be changed in a contaminated environment by exhaling during the canister swap. (The only exception would be a very contaminated area, where you would probably be dead anyway, due to suit leakage.) OBTW, JRH Enterprises has the best prices that I've found for mask components including screw-on filter canisters.
Regarding Southern Arizona: The Tombstone area is typical for the terrain and hydrology of the region, and hence doesn't have a lot going for it. If you must stay in southern Arizona, you are better off in the edge of the Chiracahua or Huachuca mountain ranges where there is some surface water. Go take a look at Ramsey Canyon and Garden Canyon, (both are east of Sierra Vista.) You will be amazed! BTW, there are similar verdant canyons elsewhere on the periphery of the Chiracahua and Huachuca ranges. If you haven't ever taken the drive through the Chiracahua over to Portal (near the New Mexico state line), I recommend it. There is some private land in that region. I recommend that you talk to real estate agents in Sierra Vista and Bisbee. Tell them that you are looking for a place with a year-round spring and are willing to wait until one comes on the market A place with a well will suffice (with a photovoltaic-powered pump system, as sold by Solarjack, but that is a poor second choice compared to a reliable spring.
Hello,
I highly recommend a TV show called Survivor Man. It is
on the Science Channel on Direct TV it is Channel 284 on my unit, and
it comes on Friday Nights.
This fellow goes into the wild and stays seven days in different locations without
much in the way of supplies. He shows some pretty decent survival techniques.
Fire starting, water locating, food sources etc. He has done everything from
the Arctic to Deserts. I find it quite informative and it may be of use to some
other readers as well. I just thought I would pass it along. - Jerry
Mr. Rawles,
First let me say that I love the blog. Also, your book ("Patriots")
is my all time favorite fictional survival book. You will have to give
us an update on when the new edition with extra chapters is due out.
A little background on myself, for the past few years I have been flying
helicopters in support of a military survival school in the Northwest.
I average a handful of night flights each month and when we fly we
use current issue NVG’s.
We normally fly at 300 feet above the ground and have little to no
cultural lighting (city lights) as we
are over National Forest lands. For this reason I would consider the
amount of light we fly with to be similar to a TEOTWAWKI scenario
(no cultural lights.)
Now I would like to add some thoughts about the tritium sight
thread from Monday. The benefits associated with tritium sights
definitely outweigh any disadvantages. I consider your comments
on tritium sights to be correct for worst case. By that I mean you
would get the penlight
in the face effect (we call it "raccoon eyes") if you were operating
in an unlit building, in a cave, or possibly outside on a very overcast
and moonless night with no cultural background lights. Tritium sights
should not be overlooked when trying to decrease your tactical profile
but I personally would not excessively worry about them. Like yourself,
I would use a full flap holster and that would be the extent of my
mitigation. To give some perspective on light sources in a different
situation, I remember flying a couple weeks ago with a full moon and
having a hard time seeing an IR (infrared) strobe. And we had to request
the IR strobe after being unable to identify a group in which an individual
was swinging a chemical light stick attached to a 2 foot cord around
in a circle.
I would like to point out to your readers that wearing their
own set of NVGs would give them a much greater light profile (very
bright
raccoon eyes) than tritium sights would. NVGs are a huge force
multiplier and I don’t recommend going without them but when
they are used they should primarily be used to scan and only for a
short duration.
Two things that I would be more concerned about are fire and light
discipline. As far as fire goes, even a fire that has no visible flames
really pops out
when viewed on NVG’s. That is because the goggles sensitivity peaks near
the red/ IR spectrum of light. If you must have a fire, bury any left over
embers and move far away when you are done. Like I said, goggles really pick
up red and IR
lights. Brake lights can be seen for miles and those red filters used on flashlights
to read maps are almost just as bad. Get rid of the red filters and
carry a blue/green filter instead. The blue/ green filter allows you to maintain your
night vision while offering a slightly smaller light profile than the same
flashlight in plain white.
Regards, - The Northwest Helo Pilot
Hi Jim and Memsahib:
Many people cannot possibly move west of the Mississippi. I think everyone
wants to make an educated assessment of where they live in relation
to preparing for whatever may happen. Regardless of the energy
and thought we put into planning, there seems to be one or many
things
we either leave out or have not considered. For example, how many
have taken into consideration if there is a germ facility or chemical
weapons lab near their prized spot? There are also terrorists cells
among us as well as major terrorists organizations. Knowing their
targets whether they be infrastructure, military, national landmarks
or vulnerable cities should be considered in our plans. I recommend
that Prudent Places USA CD-ROM. It covers six main areas: Natural
Disasters, Manmade Disasters,
Environmental Basics, Environmental Problems, Energy, People and
Places. Within these chapter headings, one has access to 69 main
topics, plus additional sub-topics and maps to a county level--all
3,141 of them. Maps are very large and must be presented in CD-ROM
format. If there is a safer place in your county or state these
maps will point them out. The maps can be printed on transparencies
and
overlaid for a defining view of areas of interest. This is one
of the most comprehensive accumulation of data covering almost
every
topic of interest for choosing a prudent place I have come across.
David from Israel so eloquently illustrated the mindset of most
who prepare. Generally speaking, we tend not to think of having
to leave
our retreat. We all should have at least two backup plans in place.
Prudent Places USA is an invaluable aid in planning localities,
roads, everything one can imagine and more. See: http://www.millennium-ark.net/Our_Books/PPusa/next.htm Regards,
- F1
I'm interested in discussing topics with like-minded folks. If this can't be done, do you have any favorite forums? - C.D.R.
JWR Replies: I'm sorry to report that I have neither the time nor the patience to moderate a forum. (I moderated one for Dr. Gary North back in the late 1990s, and it quickly degenerated into a "flame war", with far more flame posts than serious posts on preparedness.)
I recommend that anyone who is interested sign up at The Claire Files and start frequenting the "Gulching/Self-Sufficiency" Forum. You might start out with a thread titled: "SurvivalBlog Readers--Check In!"
Yes, I know that there are lots of other forums out there, but the biggest advantage of The Claire Files is that you can sign up anonymously.
"It wasn't raining when Noah built the ark." - Howard Ruff
In my most recent radio "round table" interview on pandemics, Dr. Geri Guidetti (the host) mentioned some interesting web sites:
http://www.farmersadvance.com --Some scary statistics on America's food supply. It is no longer measured in weeks.
http://www.effectmeasure.com -- Useful information on the Asian Avian Flu.(But decided leftward leaningand anti-Christian!)
http://www.fluwikie.com -- More useful information on the Asian Avian Flu.
http://www.curevents.com -- A general current events forum, currently with several discussions on pandemics.
http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/ -- Site for the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (still more useful information on the Asian Avian Flu.)
OBTW, if you missed hearing the webcast live, you can download
it post
facto,
by visiting the Republic Radio web site: http://www.rbnlive.com. Look
for the archive of the Geri Guidetti show for Saturday, October
8th.
Jim,
I agree with you 100% that by far the West (Far West) is the best survival
locale, but I am one of those East Coast survivors. If
I really wanted to I would move West (I'm of the mindset that anyone can
do anything they really want to do, they just have to WANT it bad enough),
then I probably would. I won't go into all the excuses people normally
use when you tell them to relocate.
Something that ought to be considered as well is proximity to like minded friends
and family members. I "could" move out West but if I did I would
lose a support network that I have worked almost 20 years to develop. To go
from having a reliable support network to being a lone family survivalist is
a frightening thought, no matter how secure the new locale is.
Suffice it to say, everyone that cannot or will not move West (I'm reminded
of the old Westerns--"Go West young man!") absolutely must develop
a working Group or network of like minded friends and family members who they
can rely on when the times comes.
Also, I would prompt every survivalist on the East side of the Mississippi
to work towards developing a fallout shelter. This could be as simple as a
trench shelter with two 90 degree turns for entrances. Cover the trench with
railroad ties, a couple of layers of plastic and 3' feet of earth and you have
a basic shelter you can improve over time.
The downsides of living on the East Coast are many--higher
population, more nuclear targets, closer to seat of government, etc.
It's important also for people to realize that living away from the
cities when TSHTF is more important that having 10 years of freeze
dried food. No one single move can yield more towards your survival
than moving away from the cities (save for accepting Christ as your
Lord and Savior.)
Now is the time to cash out of homes that have appreciated
in value greatly in the last couple of years. $100,000 will
still buy some land and build you a modest home in most areas of
the countryside, especially here in the South.
Those thinking they will just bug out at the last minute have to realize the first warning
they may get is seeing the mushroom cloud over their city. - Mr. Lima
Dear Jim,
In response to the letter from the Californian with aspirations on returning
to western Pennsylvania, is he in for a shock. We have become, due to really
short sighted thinking, the net importer of garbage for the east coast.
Western and central Pa. have become the waste center for Maine, New York
(city and state), New Jersey, Vermont, New Hampshire, Ohio, West Virginia,
and many other locales. We put toxic waste in our soils and act
like if can not see it, it will go away. Nature always bats last.
The ground water and water table will become polluted beyond use when we
will need it most. This waste is not limited to household garbage, but
also medical waste. Have a glass of HIV, on me. Just because one does not
see or smell the pollution, does not mean it is not there. I would NOT
recommend Pennsylvania for this reason alone. Do not forget the close proximity
to large urban areas also. I totally agree with you on anywhere past the
west of Mississippi. Keep up the good work. - C.D.
Jim,
Joel Skousen writes in his book “The Secure Home” that a gravel-filled
wall is better than concrete, for an exterior wall or an interior safe room.
While persistent impacts will drill a hole in concrete, they will have no effect
on gravel, except for slight settling and spillage, generating a gap only at
the very top where protection is not needed. Gravel (1/2 to 3⁄4 inch,
presumably fragmented and not rounded pea gravel) will deflect and destroy
most rounds, unlike sand, which merely slows most rounds. In his book “The
Secure Home”, Skousen advises using 5/8-inch or 3⁄4- inch plywood
sheets screwed to both sides of steel studs to contain the gravel. (Wood being
essentially 2 inch gaps that are transparent to many types of rounds.) Skousen
also speculates that a hollow heavy steel door could be filled with gravel.
- Mr. Bravo
JWR Replies: "Skousen Walls" do work well, and I recommend them for anyone that wants to do a "Harder Homes and Gardens" upgrade to an existing wood frame house. A couple of years ago, I got a briefing and a slide show from a friend that did some actual shooting tests with up to 12 gauge slugs on dummied-up wall sections. (He expended over 400 rounds in the tests.) He proved that 3/4-inch plywood walls filled with "Three quarter minus" road rock gravel (rough crushed rock that has been screened to be 3/4-inch or smaller) works best for a Skousen Wall. And Mr. Skousen is correct that a wall filled with just small pea gravel or sand will drain like an hourglass after a number of large caliber rounds impact inside a 6" radius.
And as for ballistically protecting doors and windows, there is no substitute for mass. As mentioned in my novel, I recommend using five stacked thicknesses of 1/4-inch steel plates. (These thinner plates are much easier and safer to maneuver for construction than a single one inch thick plate.) Yes, we are talking about a lot of weight. (See my novel Patriots for a handy formula for determining the weight of plate steel.) Hinges must be sized accordingly, so plan on using vault door hinges. BTW, the hinge support for this kind of weight, requires either a 6 inch I-beam post with an anchor bolt footing or a fully reinforced masonry wall (with a grid work of re-bar) supplemented with a 1/4 inch plate that is at least 4 inches wide, running vertically.) If you aren't mechanically inclined and are willing to pay a bit more, you could of course also by a commercially made vault door.
Lastly, regardless of the door design that you choose, keep in mind that a "decorative" 20 inch thick masonry wall +/-6 feet forward of your front door is cheap insurance that your front door won't come under rifle fire from looters except up close and personal. (And then they'll probably be reluctant to subject themselves to ricochets.) BTW make sure that the wall is at least three times the width of your door. For those of you on a budget: Buy a lot of sandbags. They are sometimes available through military surplus stores, but the best way to buy them is to bid on a lot at a DRMO surplus auction. BTW, DRMO auctions are also a great place to pick up concertina wire at near scrap metal prices.
Intro From JWR: I've received more than 10 e-mails from folks on three continents about using elderberry extract for treating influenzas. However, I was reluctant to print any of them until now. I guess I was being overly cautious, because in the just past day I got two letters that cited clinical studies rather than hearsay:
Hello Jim,
I've been a believer in the effectiveness of an Israeli-made extract
called "Sambucol" for a number of years. My seat-of-the-pants
reaction is that it definitely does ward off colds/flu. The following
is from the manufacturer:
Effect of Sambucol® on several strains of Influenza virus.
Sambucol®, a standardized extract, is a preparation based on the berries
of the Black Elder, used as herbal remedy for influenza virus infections. It
contains a potent antiviral compound, AntiVirin® as well as a high amount
of three flavonoids (Bronnum-Hansen and Hansen, 1983.) The flavonoids are
naturally occurring plant antioxidants.
Laboratory tests:
Sambucol® was shown to reduce hemagglutination and inhibited replication
of human influenza virus type A, type B and animal strains from swine and turkeys
in cell cultures.
Clinical Study:
A double-blind placebo-controlled clinical study was conducted during an outbreak
of influenza B Panama. A significant improvement of the symptoms, including
fever, was seen in 93.3% of the cases in the Sambucol® treated group within
2 days. A complete cure was achieved within 2 to 3 days in nearly 90% of the
Sambucol® treated group and within at least 6 days in the placebo group. "Inhibition
of Several Strains of Influenza Virus in Vitro and Reduction of Symptoms by
an Elderberry Extract (Sambucus nigra L) during an Outbreak of Influenza B
Panama", Z. Zakay-Rones et al. J. Alt Compl Med 1995;1:361-369.
Second clinical study on flu
In a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled study conducted in Norway,
Sambucol® was shown to significantly reduce the duration of the flu
by approximately four days. The use of rescue medication (pain relievers,
etc.) was significantly less in the group receiving Sambucol® than
in the placebo group. "Randomized study on the efficacy and safety
of an oral elderberry extract in the treatment of influenza A and B virus
infections" Thom Erling & Therje Wollan, J. Int. Med. Res., 2004;32(2):132-140.
Sambucol has been the subject of two double-blind tests, both
of which confirmed its efficacy. See:
http://www.sambucol.com/article_page.asp?aId=29&catId=138
I can also attest to its ability to stop flu in its tracks from
personal experience. It works if one takes it at the first sign of
flu symptoms. We also make our own elderberry extract, and it works
as well. - D.M.
Another reader sent this useful link from the NIH:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=9395631&dopt=Citation
Mr. Rawles:
What is a good source for pre-1965 junk silver coins?
JWR Replies: I recommend that you call for prices from several
coins shops in your local area. Because a $1,000 face value "junk
silver" bag weighs 55 pounds, insured shipping is problematic.
So it is advisable to buy locally, but definitely shop around for the best
price! As previously mentioned, buying bags of pre-1965 dimes is best
for barter. If you don't have any nearby coins shop and don't mind paying for
the freight, contact the folks at Swiss
America Trading. They are very reputable.
"Perhaps you’ve heard the one about the 700 firefighters from various states who volunteered to do rescue work following Hurricane Katrina? They sat in a hotel room in Atlanta for days getting sexual harassment training from Federal Emergency Management Agency officials. No joke. Note to Republicans eager to shovel new money at federal agencies: This is how government works." - Columnist Mona Charen
Note from JWR: I'm still looking for more entries for the writing contest. The prize is a transferable four day course certificate, good for any course at Front Sight!
For years I have listened to survivalists of two sorts muse about the days
after
TEOTWAWKI. One is the "grasshopper"
type, with a decked out M1A, full pack, and plans to live off of berries
and venison. The "ant" on the other hand has saved up
and
purchased a nice cabin maybe a stock of fuel a nice 4x4 vehicle and some
food storage, he likely even has a good solar or generator setup for power
and light. Let's fast forward five years... Now where are both of these people?
Grasshopper had a pack of food, a wad of cash and gold a mountain bike some
camping gear, weighed himself down with a heavy rifle and lost same crossing
a
river, but fortunately bugged far enough that he could find work as a migrant
farm worker working for food and a place in the barn at night, he will likely
not
find a better job and if wise will be happy he survived the worst. What he
did avoid:
*Becoming a starving food rioter in town
*Dying in the woods when he realizes that the game is hunted out mid winter
and the scurvy was kicking in
*Shot on sight for armed crossing of private or "Claimed" public
lands
*Stripped of gear and turned out
What were grasshoppers plusses?
*Mobility even on plugged roads
*Mobility of mind--he is not tied [psychologically] to a location
*Can hop boxcars, cargo ships or a first class seat on a 747 and ride out to
a better place
Ant lived happily off of stored food and solar electricity. Ant was a little
older and stiff but the money he and wife saved by having one son who moved
far away helped him afford a nice retreat. Sadly as the supplies dwindled they
realized that their location while scenic was not irrigable out of their
hand pump well and they had no knowledge or equipment
on how to rebuild the failed battery array to get the power back to a larger
pump. Fortunately a young grasshopper fleeing agents of a new power in the
adjoining country came seeking refuge after his first landlord was killed,
and was able
to pull a plough in exchange for a place
to rest at night and a share in the crop.
What the ant did avoid:
*Raider/looters/masses of beggars
*Having the initial emergency be of the type that destroys his retreat
*Starvation after initial supplies ran out
*Stripped of home and gear, turned out
Ant's Plusses
*Defined and recognized ownership of property
*Large stockpile of food and comforts
*No question where to go for refuge
*Coordination with neighbors and friends
Why such dark scenarios? I must point
out that we are living at the pinnacle of human civilization. if we fall it is
unlikely we will
ever see a revival
of the fine goods and
selection we have now. The tents will wear out, the gadgets will get old
and malfunction. You must be ready to run away possibly to the
ends of the world
to find a resting place.
You must find a community with long reach that can help you if the move to
safety is required. Realize the gear has a limited lifetime and value, be
ready to dump your precious stuff for a better shot at life.
(Yes this means dumping the battle rifle if it means a chance to
stow away on a cargo ship to a peaceful region) Your retreat may
not be the perfect
place to survive,
if you must ditch it, don't look back. Survival has much more to do with
your trust in G-d and knowledge of survival than your special gear.
Consider the following improvised survival/travel kit:
*Shower liner - tent/tarp/rain gatherer/sleep-bag wrap
*Crisco and dryer hose lint - fire starter, candle/stove fuel,
*Cardboard - fuel, ground pad, wick for can stove
*Steel/aluminum cans - cookware, parts for liquid or solid fuel stoves
and grilles
*New smoke detectors contain a 9VDC lithium cell which when paired with
the right power LED can give months or years of short burst lighting (try
using multiple LEDs in series to avoid burning them out)
*Any cheap bag or tote when put over the shoulder with a stick like a hobo
is better than no pack at all
*Kitchen knives are better than no knife at all
*Disposable butane lighters are like gold
*Polar Fleece, wool, or Poly blankets can substitute for sleeping bag in
a pinch.
*Water and pop bottles are valuable to keep you hydrated keep drinking water
The preceding list is to give you ideas and reassure you that while you may
lose the best gear money can buy, at some point stuff is replaceable
by other stuff.
One location is also replaceable by another. If Arizona gets too dry go
to Alaska,
is Alaska too cold, sail
for New Zealand, etc. Never relax and expect a retreat or pack of stuff
to protect you, only G-d can do that, and there is no promise of survival
to
a nice 70-80 years of age anywhere
in the Bible. Pack your mind with knowledge and don't let your stuff stand
in they way of your surviving.
Mr Rawles,
I saw the letter you posted asking about the ballistic protection afforded
by common building materials. I did some experimenting on this topic,
testing the protection of concrete-filled blocks against a number
of common calibers. You can see my findings here:
http://www.clairewolfe.com/wolfesblog/00001296.html and here: http://www.clairewolfe.com/wolfesblog/00001404.html
Even 8 inches of concrete offers only temporary protection from rifle
ammunition (though it's quite good against pistol fire.) For info
on other materials, you might direct folks to: http://www.theboxotruth.com/ -
Ian
Jim:
I am getting a real education on this Blog. Thank you. We all witnessed
the breakdown of civilization during the aftermath of Katrina. I
disagree with the possibility of Charlottesville or anywhere
near Charlottesville being any sort of safe haven in a real emergency.
I-64 Leads directly to Staunton, VA. We know here that we are essentially
a target for millions of uncivilized terrified people. If the east
coast of VA needed to evacuate, we know the Shenandoah Valley would
be inundated. And Charlottesville stomped into the ground on the way.
I also know that the Lord God is our first line of defense. He will
take
care of his own. But our responsibility is to prepare physically
while in this physical body. Somehow our family has been moved to acquire
the talents and education to cover most areas of life on earth. We
have ended up with military, police, RN, hunter with extensive survival
knowledge, engineer, legal, preacher, mechanic etc. All immediate family.
Now we really do need a place of refuge. Somehow we in Staunton feel
the need to establish a place. With all it's pitfalls, we are looking
into West VA. - A.J.E.
Dear Mr. Rawles:
I read A. Microbiologist's comments today on Tamiflu
becoming resistant to Avian Flu and I wanted to attach a link from
Canada.com disputing that contention: http://www.canada.com/health/story.html?id=81201e24-9e91-4287-833b-9da02ff083ac
Regards, - C.P.
JWR Replies: Thanks for sending that along. OBTW, I've had several e-mails from folks with rumored herbal remedies for influenza. Do any SurvivalBlog readers have any clinical data on any efficacious herbal remedies? I'm not looking for "I heard from a friend that..." Rather, I'm looking for concrete double blind test data
Hello Jim,
My work requires a fair number of road trips during the January
to May time periods each year. Should the balloon go up while
I am away
from the homestead, I could be facing a 1,000 mile waltz to
reach home and hearth. My first choice will be to use the vehicle and
cut the
distance as much as I can. If forced to travel on foot, I give myself
every
advantage,
carrying the following supplies in the vehicle:
CLOTHING
Waterproof, insulated, COMFORTABLE hunting boots
COMFORTABLE walking shoes
Extra socks
Insulated long underwear
Wool shirts
Gore-tex BDU pants, and hooded coat
Gloves
Latex gloves
Poncho
Balaclava
GEAR
Winter sleeping bag and waterproof cover
Small tarps for ground cover and jiffy shelter
Parachute cord
Multi tool
Binoculars
GPS
Compass
Small flashlight (The Surelite Survival Lite from Cabela's is a great
choice)
Radio
Extra batteries
.22 rifle, pistol and ammo
Fire starter
Survival candles
Inflatable PFD for crossing rivers and streams
Waterproof bag
First aid kit
Mending tape
Insect repellent
Snares
Signal mirror
"Camping and Woodcraft" by Horace Kephart (Makes for good reading
and full of survival tips.)
Highway maps for every state I will have to pass thru
FOOD & WATER
Trav-L-Pure water purifier
Mess kit, utensils and cup
Collapsible water bottle
Dozen or so MRE main meal [entree] packages
Instant coffee
Hard candy
Salt
Most everything is packed inside zip lock bags and then placed inside
the backpack. Weight is a big consideration, hence the small caliber
firearms, tarps instead of tent, etc.
Given that my trips are generally to the same areas each year, I have
placed a number of caches along anticipated routes home. These caches
are nothing major. Just an ammo can with a couple pairs of socks, pouches
of freeze dry food, coffee, matches, etc... Just items that would be
morale boosters along the way. Being far from home in an emergency
may be something I can't avoid, but being out there unprepared would
be inexcusable and perhaps fatal.
Keep the Faith, - Dutch in Wyoming
"We've arranged a civilization in which most crucial elements profoundly depend on science and technology. We have also arranged things so that almost no one understands science and technology. This is a prescription for disaster. We might get away with it for a while, but sooner or later this combustible mixture of ignorance and power is going to blow up in our faces." - Dr. Carl Sagan
Note from JWR: I've had several responses to my request for comments on potential retreat locales in the eastern U.S. (See below.) Many Thanks, Folks!
Grid Up Retreat Potential: 5 (On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the best)
Grid Down Retreat Potential: 7 (On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the best)
Nuclear Scenario Retreat Potential: 7 (On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the best)
Thanks to Mike, a SurvivalBlog reader in Eastern Washington, who alerted
me to this article on Peak Oil:
http://www.thenewstribune.com/business/story/5233228p-4753266c.html
I just heard that Global Solar flexible amorphous photovoltaic (PV) power panels (See: http://www.308systems.com/) are now available through Ready Made Resources. Amorphous PV panels are superior to he monocrystaline for many applications. Their greatest advantage is that they allow "graceful degradation." A bullet hole through a monocrystaline panel usually means that it is history. A comparable hole through an amorphous panel (depending on how its individual cells are wired) usually means just a 5% loss in power. Be advised, however, that monocrystaline panels have an almost indefinite useful life, whereas amorphous panels lose some of their efficiency over time.
James:
I enjoy your blog. In response to the Thursday, October 6 entry on sources
of open-pollinated seed, here is an excellent source of quality seeds that
have yielded very good results for me. They will send a free catalog if
you e-mail them: http://www.turtletreeseed.com/
Jim,
What are your thoughts regarding tritium nights sights giving away your position
to someone using Gen III or better night vision? - Gung-Ho
JWR Replies: Thanks, Gungie, you raised an important point! Even first generation starlight (electronic light amplification) devices can detect the illumination of tritium sights. For someone looking at you through a starlight scope or NVGs, if you are holding a pistol in your hands that is equipped with fresh tritium sights, then it will give the same visual impression as if you had a penlight shining in your face. If holstered, this usually isn't an issue, depending on the holster design. (This is one reason I like the versatile Bianchi UM-84 holster.When I carry a handgun as a backup to a long gun, I use the Bianchi with the full flap installed. This completely covers the rear sight. When out berry picking in bear country, I remove the flap and use just the "thumb break" retention strap.) For rifles, a tritium front sight post can be quickly shrouded to almost "zero out" its light signature--typically with a short length of black plastic house wiring insulation. I prefer this method because the front sight is still usable--albeit degraded--in a pinch.
Dear Jim:
Congratulations on your blog's tremendous success! I will continue to pray
to Yahweh for your continued blessings. I have a few questions on the weapons
topic
that I would appreciate your learned response on.
1.) I certainly understand your opinion on the .223 round, but for those of
us that currently possess weapons chambered in .223 what type and load of .223
would
you recommend? Are you familiar with the Hornady 60 gr. Spitzer cartridge?
2.) What manufacturers and types of rounds do you recommend for the .45 ACP?
Are you familiar with the Hornady FMJ flat-point?
3.) Do you recommend any soft point or hollow points for .223 or .45ACP?
4.) I am storing some rifles for barter and trade; do you suggest a silicon
sock for fire prevention?
5.) What types and models of scopes do you suggest?
As always thank you for your excellent insights. B'shem Yahshua Moshiach, -Dr.
Sidney Zweibel, Columbia P&S
JWR Replies:
1.) I do not generally recommend .223
hollow-points because most of them are designed with thin jackets for instant expansion.
That makes them very well-suited to prairie dog hunting, but not for hunting
two-legged varmints! Buy hollow points only if they have thick jackets. I
have not tested the Hornady 60 grain Spitzer, so I cannot make an informed
judgment about it. My
recommended "group standard" load for 5.56mm is the NATO SS-109
62 grain FMJ load.
However, keep in mind that it takes a tight rifling twist to properly
stabilize
bullets heavier than 55 grains. ( 1 turn in7" or a 1-in-9" twist.)
Many of the early AR-15s and Mini-14s have long rifling twists (typically
1-in-12")
and hence they are only suitable for 55 grain projos.
2.) The CCI "Lawman" .45 ACP 200 grain hollow point is excellent and quite favorably priced. My buddy Fred The Valmet-meister refers to them as "the flying ashtrays " because of their cavernous hollow points. They expand very reliably. The Winchester Silvertip and Golden Saber, and the Federal Hydrashok are also excellent .45 ACP loads. One key proviso: be sure to test fire several boxes of any potential new load to confirm both accuracy and reliable feeding. DO NOT buy in quantity until you find a load that functions smoothly, with ZERO failures to feed or failure to eject. I would much rather carry a pistol loaded with ammo with an inferior bullet design (even full metal jacket "ball") that feeds 100% then I would with some "awesome expander" than only feeds 98% of the time. It is the 2% of rounds that jam that may get you killed!
The Hornady FMJ flat-point feeds just as well as round-nosed 230 grain ball in my M1911s.
3.) Again, I do NOT recommend .223 hollow-points. (See #1, above.) For .45 ACP, see #2, above.
4.) Silicon-treated "socks" or "sleeves" work well, assuming that a gun is properly cleaned and well-oiled. Storing guns in most other types of gun cases is sure way to induce rust. However, depending on the humidity of your climate, you may have to take more elaborate protective measures. Install a Golden Rod brand dehumidifier in each gun storage space. You will of course also want to also protect all of your guns from burglars. I recommend buying a large gun vault (or vaults), bolting them to the floor, and preferably hiding them behind false walls. That will deter all but a master criminal.
5.) I prefer tritium lit scopes. For 5.56mm semi-autos, I like the Trijicon TA-01-NSN. For .308s semi-auto MBRs, I prefer the Trijicon TA-11E with a .308 cam and either the "donut of death" or the chevron reticle. (Try each type before you buy.)
"We loved a great many things--birds and trees and books and all things beautiful and horses and rifles and children and hard work and the joy of life." ---Theodore Roosevelt
Note from JWR: I've had several responses to my request for comments on potential retreat locales in the eastern U.S. (See below.) Many Thanks, Folks!
This mountainous region of northern Arizona (Navajo
County) http://www.co.navajo.az.us/ is becoming popular with retirees.
Statistics (for Show Low):
Average high temperature in August: 83.7.
Average low temperature in January: 22.7.
Growing season: No precise data, just “Short.”
Average snowfall in March: 17.8”.
Advantages: Well removed from the high crime rate regions of southern Arizona.
Disadvantages: Downwind from nuke targets in California.
Grid Up Retreat Potential: 3 (On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the best)
Grid Down Retreat Potential: 5 (On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the best)
Nuclear Scenario Retreat Potential: 7 (On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the best)
Jim:
Cipro is an antibiotic, as such it is only useful for bacterial infections.
If you developed pneumonia during the course of the flu infection
Cipro might be an okay choice. From what I have read most people
that die from avian flu are dying from respiratory failure far before
they would get pneumonia. Recommending Tamiflu is a better choice
but resistant strains to this are emerging, and this is the most
common stockpiled drug so more resistance is likely to occur. Relenza
is an even better option, but it is much more expensive. I would
recommend that all your readers, (and you) read or re-read the pamphlet
on influenza you liked to the other day I thought it was very good
primer on influenza and its treatment. - A. Microbiologist
Jim. I have read every article in your blog since day
one. I think a good topic that many readers would appreciate you discussing
one day is a comparison of which caliber bullets will penetrate the
various materials of which the walls of our homes/retreats may be constructed.
For instance, in Florida where I live, the walls of most new construction
homes are constructed of one of two types. One is vinyl siding over
plywood over wood frame. The other is cement cinder blocks. What do
we need to be aware of as far as bullet penetration of the walls from
the outside? Also, I assume sand bags placed along the walls would
help in a survival situation. If so, which caliber bullets will penetrate
sand bags? Thank you so much and God bless you for the great work you
are doing. - Joe.
JWR Replies: The U.S. Army has done very extensive tests on terminal ballistics. The following is the latest update to my standard "Harder Homes and Gardens" spiel that I've included in my consulting letters and speeches for many years: Cinder blocks only provide good ballistic penetration if they are filled with concrete. For serious ballistic protection, I recommend any of the following: traditional reinforced masonry buildings, concrete filled foam blocks--also called Insulated Concrete Forms (ICFs), Earthships (tire houses), "Earthbag" houses, Underground houses with masonry entrances, or monolithic dome homes. A log house with at least 12" diameter logs and concrete chinking also works well, but they are far more vulnerable to fire than masonry. Any of these techniques of course should be supplemented with the steel door and window shutter upgrades described in detail in my novel Patriots. A standard metal roof works fine if your only concern is fire. However, if a house is situated in a canyon or if it is adjacent to much taller buildings where you might be vulnerable to shooters firing downward, then you must plan on either a ballistically reinforced roof (which is heavy and expensive) or build a monolithic dome spec'ed to at least 8" thick shotcrete in the apex, tapering to at least 9" thick in the lower portions of the dome and/or the stem wall (vertical riser wall.) Here is some useful data on ballistic protection from some U.S. Military manuals:
http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/6453/moutpoi43.html
and,
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/policy/army/fm/90-10-1/ch8.pdf
and,
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/library/policy/army/fm/3-06-11/ch7.htm
Dear
Mr. Rawles:
Thank you for providing a fine forum for those of us who value self-reliance
and preparedness.
My current professional situation requires that we live in a notoriously
liberal city in the northern People's Republic of Kalifornia. My wife
and I laugh frequently at being the true minorities in our city - an
independent Christian family with children where the father is a net
provider of jobs. We are working actively on a relocation plan and
hope for implementation within a few years.
Pennsylvania is a state which may not appear interesting when considered
in the aggregate, as the statistics are skewed heavily by the major
cities of Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. Additionally, statistical analysis
might overlook some of the favorable cultural aspects of the central
portions of the state. Income taxes are low, and education can be good.
Pennsylvania can be divided culturally into thirds. The Philadelphia
area in the far east of the state is an urban liberal cousin of New
York and Boston. In the far western portion of the state Pittsburgh
is a mid-western city having more in common with Cleveland and Cincinnati
than Philadelphia. The middle third of the state and the northern region
might
be worth examining for those with strong family ties in the northeast.
It is the geography and culture of this region which makes its retreat
potential interesting.
The Klintonian Democrat James Carville labeled the northern and central
portions of the state 'Alabama;' it is not Bill & Hillary country.
Others have referred to it as 'Pennsyltucky,' a reference to the more
conservative hard-working folks who populate the farms, mountains,
and small towns of the region. In the book On The Road,
the beatnik poet Jack Kerouac called this area the last great eastern
wilderness.
The region is comprised of low gently rolling wooded ranges of the
Appalachian Mountains, somewhat similar to sections of the coast ranges
of Oregon. There is plentiful surface water and springs, and dry-farming
can yield quite a lot per acre in the right regions. The untilled land
is rich in firewood, game, and fish in the streams. Rather than relying
on the vast distances of the American west for protection from urban
hordes, the region contains pockets of topography - combinations of
mountains, forests, and streams - that create challenging access for
non-locals and very defensible sites for the natives. Nonetheless,
Pennsylvania is a large eastern state with many lightly populated rural
counties well
removed from major highways. Locals may rely upon game
trails over the mountains rather than the small country roads around
them. Bad weather, cold winters with snow are additional factors limiting
access.
A large portion of the population in the central and northern portion
of the state hunts and fishes. The first day of hunting season and
trout season will see some schools closed and others missing quite
a few children. This is a part of the world where youngsters learn
early the stories of woodsman and sharpshooters who fought Hessian
mercenaries and British redcoats using the advantages of marksmanship
and terrain. Daniel Boone lived here and walked to Kentucky with his
PENNSYLVANIA rifle, perhaps the first American sniper weapon. The folks
live a self-reliant lifestyle which is steeped in outdoor survival
skills. It's a land of self-help and good neighbors, not welfare handouts
and intrusive government. Growing up, our farm was part of a small
group of farms contained in the bend of a small river and enclosed
by the mountains of state game lands and forests. Access was via one
of two small roads easily monitored. The hilly nature of the country
provided numerous opportunities for tactical advantage. For now, I'll
omit naming specific counties and towns.
While the region is not favorably located for the ultimate nuclear
TEOTWAWKI scenario, for us a chance to be close to loved ones and to
have children learn from their grandparents as well as from us will
likely outweigh this factor. Keep up the good work, we appreciate your
efforts. - A Mountain Yankee Waiting to Go Home
JWR Adds: Boston T. Party's ranking (in Boston's Gun Bible) for Pennsylvania on firearms freedom is 61%.
Mr. Rawles,
I'll take you up on your offer to sing the praises of an eastern
state as a retreat. Give me Virginia any day. We have excellent gun
laws--shall issue for CCW; open carry; no restrictions on private
transfers; no gun
registry; and no waiting periods. H*ll, we can open or concealed
carry in the state capitol building! (Except that open carry is now
restricted to CCW permit holders.) Last year we got rid of local
pre-emption, which drove the commies in Fairfax and Arlington counties
nuts.
We are a bit close to DC, so the a**hole population is the suburbs
is pretty high. The Potomac River keeps the worst ones on the DC-Maryland
side. Once you get beyond the burbs, it's great.
The weather is mild both summer and winter. Lots of rivers and streams,
and plenty of game. If we really get desperate there's always West
Virginia. Regards, - J.G.
Shalom Jim!
I escaped South Florida (Palm Beach County) to north-central Florida
(Gainesville), then escaped further where I am now living in my most
probable TEOTWAWKI “BIL" (Bug In Location),” just
east of the Blue Ridge Mountains, right outside Charlottesville,
VIRGINIA.
I have been here since December 2004. Here are my thoughts on Charlottesville,
VA (Albemarle County) and the surrounding area as a place to ride
out the coming chaos…
Some quick stats: The CITY of Charlottesville is about 11 square
miles with 40,000 residents, and it resides in the COUNTY of Albemarle,
which is 110 miles from Washington, DC, 70 miles from Richmond and
claims about 89,000 residents. The average ANNUAL temperature is
57 degrees with the summer averaging in the low 80’s and the
winter dipping to 37 degrees with usually mild snow falls. Charlottesville
was named by Frommers (I think) as the BEST PLACE TO LIVE a few years
back and has been listed in the Top 100 by Money Magazine 4 years
in a row.
Charlottesville, the home of Thomas Jefferson’s University
of Virginia, is a college town, which means it tilts to the LEFT
politically, unlike the country-oriented Conservative RIGHT farmers
and residents that surround the city, so it has many tree huggers
and peace activists, but this also brings in some very good “survivalist” benefits,
that being ORGANIC farming, non-Hybrid farming, Homesteading, homeopathic
sciences and many avenues to good, wholesome FOODS. Albemarle county
also has a large BEEF CATTLE industry, as well as FARMING. Excellent
Vineyards, Apple & Peach Orchards and Berry Farms are scattered
all over the county as the soil is well suited for GROWING. This
is probably why men like Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe, as well
as James Madison a county over, call this area of Virginia HOME.
There is ONE major highway through Charlottesville running east/west
which is I-64. I-29 going north/south is not as major but it leads
to Washington, DC, which would be an exodus route if TSHTF. Most
refugees would probably hole up in the NORTH SIDE of Charlottesville,
where most of the businesses and residents are, rather than the SOUTH
SIDE where I live, a much more rural area. Route 20 is a twisting
2-lane north/south highway that would also be used by refugees, but
could be contained or diverted with use of a good backhoe or tractor.
Fortunately, the massively used I-81 north/south highway runs on
the WEST side of the Blue Ridge Mountains through the Shenandoah
Valley, so the massive exodus on that highway will have minimal effect
here as the herd will not want to head east over the mountains, but
rather further south.
SURVIVAL QUOTENT / NUCLEAR: Charlottesville is tucked in valleys
and hills that stretch out from the Blue Ridge to the west and gradually
decline as you move east towards Richmond, most of them SOLID GRANITE.
These mountains and hills offer excellent protection from any NUCLEAR
BLAST effects that may hit Washington, DC, Richmond, Norfolk and
a few possible target locations in West Virginia. Fallout would still
be a concern but the effects of the blasts would be SURVIVABLE without
too much effort. There are also many CAVERNS in this area that could
be utilized if one does not have sufficient protection to ride out
FALLOUT at their home or retreat. This area has little TERRORIST
or Nation State target potential, although its close proximity to
Washington, DC could pose some problems and concerns, but not excessively
so if one is wise and prepared.
SURVIVAL QUOTENT / FOOD: Charlottesville and the surrounding counties
are well suited for SURVIVAL if something ever sent our country into
a tailspin. There is a STRONG unity among local farmers and Co-Ops
are strong. There are also many organic/non-hybrid farmers as well.
Fruits and vegetables are plentiful in their seasons. There are BEEF
CATTLE ranches all over this area, as well as other livestock. WATER
is PLENTIFUL with good quality streams and rivers all over this area.
Well water quality, although slightly high in Iron, is excellent,
especially compared to the swamp water of South Florida. The water
table level at my home is 34 feet and my pump goes down 120 feet,
and I use a pH Neutralizer and Green Sand filter to further refine
it, to give as an example.
Wildlife is also abundant, especially where I live, only 8 miles
outside of Charlottesville. Turkeys and deer abound! Small critters
are also plentiful.
SURVIVAL QUOTENT / PEOPLE: As stated earlier, Charlottesville has
a lot of LEFTIES but the surrounding counties are good, RIGHT-minded
country folk, many running farms, vineyards and orchards that have
been in the family for hundreds of years. A CAN-DO, GET BY attitude
is strong and everyone I have met outside the city are good people
that one would love to have as neighbors. There is a VERY LOW RIOT/LOOTING
potential once you get outside the city, but there are only SMALL
pockets of problem areas with the city itself that could be contained
with some determination by Law Enforcement. GANG problems are minimal,
mainly wanna-be "gangstas".
I think that gives you a fair idea of what this area of Virginia
has to offer the survivalist minded. One day I may get to Idaho,
but till then, the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia is where I will
try to survive…
You may also enjoy my web site, What Would Yahshua Do? It is at www.wwyd.org It
is about discovering the HEBRAIC aspects of our Messiah Yahshua, often
called Jesus, as well as discovering the IMPORTANCE of KNOWING
and USING the FATHER’s NAME, Yahweh. Scripture speaks of a
GREATER EXODUS coming, the SECOND EXODUS, where Believer’s
in the Messiah will be led out of the coming judgment into safety
(not a rapture.) Check it out!
Baruch HaShem Yahweh, - Robert
JWR Adds: Boston T. Party's ranking (in Boston's Gun Bible) for Virginia on firearms freedom is 61%.
Dear Mr. Rawles,
Thank you for this website—it’s more concise and relevant
than most of the survival web sites I’ve come across. As far
as your call for Eastern US survival information, something one should
bear in mind is that
the pro/cons here are almost completely different than in the west. High Sheeple
and business numbers mean more assets to scavenge—not smash and grab
looting, per se, but ten years into a TEOTWAWKI scenario, machine equipment & warehoused
goods will be sitting idle with dead & gone owners. More doctors and engineers
and technically qualified people are likely to be around urban areas based
on probability alone, in all but the worst nuclear/bio warfare annihilation
scenarios. The criminals associated with the larger cities are by and large
less intelligent members of society and likely will not survive cold winters,
disease and starvation.
With a city lot and good gardening skills, it is more than possible to feed
a family.(ask the Russian families who survived the end of the cold war on
garden plots of about 1000 square feet.) Planting potatoes, Jerusalem artichokes,
lambsquarters, and any other inconspicuous plants can keep random stragglers
from stealing your food. And Mother Earth News style organic gardening can
boost yields well beyond row cropping methods.
In urban/suburban areas, bugout is much less of an option, but is unnecessary
if you can prepare a safe/panic room, or 1950’s style fallout shelter,
or even a strong hole that you can shoot from. Be neighborly, so that when
times are tough, you and those around you can look out for each other. Unfortunately
in today's cities, that trait isn’t the most common. Cultivate it. Get
a good map of your neighborhood, and just as suggested for rural areas, know
who owns what.
Also consider instead of stockpiling bullets, booze, and bandaids: building
a distillation setup and knowing how to use it, making sterile dressings from
pressure cooked rags, reloading used brass…and perhaps even learning
the necessary casting/moldmaking of brass ammunition and the chemical preparation
of primers… Ever wonder what will happen to our grandchildren once all
ten thousand rounds we have stored has been fired and reloaded half a dozen
times?
If you absolutely must leave the confines of the ‘burbs, there are wilderness
areas throughout the east coast. Within 100 miles of the dreaded New York would
be either the Catskill Mountains, or the NJ Pine Barrens, home of Tom Brown’s
Tracker School,(www.trackerschool.com) reputed to be one of the finest primitive
skills survival courses around. But even directly on the outskirts of NYC there
are thousands of acres of marshlands that are wade-able and extremely wildlife
rich, e.g. Jamaica Bay and the NJ Meadowlands. At least for those intrepid
enough to hop the concrete divider and leave the asphalt behind. And there’s
plentiful freshwater, leaving NYC a lot better off than LA or other crowded
western cities, IMHO. With a sea kayak and bugout bag the whole east coast
is wide open.
The Carolinas and Virginia have what I believe the most wonderful gardening/farming
climate on our planet, along with nearby wilderness and mountain areas, nearby
military bases(a plus in certain scenarios) and a large Christian conservative
population. But the old saying “Location, Location, Location” is
not as important as the survival attitude, anywhere.
For those out there who are trying to survive in the suburbs on a limited budget--I’ve
intuitively agreed with the survivalist mindset since I read my first copy
of American Survival Guide at eleven, but at 28 I’ve grown out of a doom-and-gloom
mindset into a more optimistic view that any coming SHTF may be a golden opportunity
for all those who are careful and smart enough to make it through. I cannot
reiterate enough how very wealthy you will be when SHTF and all the SUV driving
McMansion dwellers run out of food. Have faith that ten dollars a week extra
in canned goods and that garden of root crops is worth far more than big screen
TVs and other consumer cr*p that the large corporations want you to buy.
Sincerely, - Al in Durham, NC
JWR Replies: The statistical chances of surviving are slim when hunkering down in a full scale TEOTWAWKI long enough to ride out a major die-off on the east coast. Under those circumstances you will need a VERY secure retreat, at least a two year food and fuel supply, and either spring water or a shallow well. From an actuarial standpoint, it is far better to avoid high risk areas. (Areas with high population density/hig systems dependency, or anywhere that is within 250 miles--one tank of gas--of such an area.) That doesn't leave much that is anywhere east of the Mississippi River!) I've said it several times but it bears repeating: I strongly recommend that if they have the means to do so, that folks move to a lightly agricultural populated region in the west, such as the ones that I have been profiling in recent weeks. But for those of you that plan to "stick it out" in the east, may God Bless You! Stock up in ample supply (the "deep larder" concept) and pray hard.
"Nine requisites for contented living: Health enough to make work a
pleasure. Wealth enough to support your needs. Strength to battle
with difficulties and overcome them. Grace enough to confess your sins and
forsake them. Patience enough to toil until some good is accomplished.
Charity enough to see some good in your neighbor. Love enough to
move you to be useful and helpful to others. Faith enough to make real the
things of God. Hope enough to remove all anxious fears concerning
the future."
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)
Note from JWR: I will be a featured guest today (Saturday)
in a round table discussion on Dr. Geri Guidetti's web radio/shortwave
radio
show. The show airs at 1 p.m. Central Time (11 a.m. Pacific Time.)
This two hour show will also be available via podcast. The Topic:
Pandemics--Potential Impacts on Society. For details on how to
hear the webcast live or on how to download it post facto,
visit the Republic
Radio web site: http://www.rbnlive.com.
Today, I continue my detailed potential retreat locales analysis series with another region in Montana. Do you have any suggested regions where you have first hand experience that you'd like to add to the list? If so, please send them to me via e-mail in the same format and I will gladly post them.
The Bitterroot
Valley region of western Montana, (south of Missoula)
is worth
considering. It still has
some
affordable land, but the out-of-state millionaires who all seem
to want to build 4,000+ square foot log "cabins" are gradually creeping
in and pushing
up prices. Concentrate on small towns along the Bitterroot River,
such as Florence, Stevensville,
Victor, Corvalis,
Pinesdale,
Woodside,
Hamilton,
Grantsdale,
and Darby.
Advantages: Away from the I-90 corridor. Plentiful water and firewood. Great
hunting.
Disadvantages: Even
though it is west of the Great Divide and they call this "Montana's
Banana Belt", this region still has a relatively cold
climate and short
growing season. But at least it is not as severe as
the adjoining
high
country or locales east of the Great Divide.
(Can be
compensated
by building a large greenhouse.) Both the agriculture and
economy are
not as diverse as the Kalispell/Flathead Lake Region.
Grid Up Retreat Potential: 5 (On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the best)
Grid Down Retreat Potential: 6 (On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the best)
Nuclear Scenario Retreat Potential: 4 (On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the best)
Many thanks to Roy, over at The Claire Files for passing along the URL for this site with some downloadable texts on do it yourself blacksmithing. See: http://www.lametalsmiths.org/news/downloadable_blacksmithing_books.htm
Several time in recent days I've read references to the Asian Avian
Influenza ("A.A. Flu")
having a "less than 50% mortality rate." Clinically, perhaps,
but not
in a
real
world
pandemic! Why?
The 50% figure is based on advanced medical treatment. Because
A.A. flu
is
a respiratory
disease,
therapies that are currently being used to combat the small
outbreaks in Asia this
will not be available at home. (This includes inhalation therapy, anti-bacterial
drugs like Ciprofloxacin ("Cipro")--already in short supply--and
ventilators.) Here is a data point for you: There 105,000 ventilators
installed at U.S.
hospitals, of which at least 70,000 are in use on any given day. In
the event of a pandemic, the hospitals will be jammed. Now who, of
the 20 million to 200 million patients, is going to get the use of
those 35,000 ventilators? And who is going to get any of the few available
doses of Cipro?
Think this through folks, and PREPARE! Since most flus are spread
by person-to-person contact, be prepared to live in isolation for an
extended period of
time, preferably in a rural, agricultural, lightly populated region.
That means a six month supply of storage food and all of the other
requisite logistics. You need to also lay in a supply of antibiotics.
Yes, I know that they are useless against the flu itself (which is
viral),
but
they can be
used to fight co-infections. Try to get some antibiotics
like Cipro for your family, ASAP! (Ask your
friendly local doctor.) Again, they are just for co-infections.
(Pneumonia often accompanies influenza, and lung congestion can be a killer.)
In closing, if you doubt the seriousness of this emerging threat,
then read the World
Health Organization's document that describes the propensity
of influenza viruses toward antigenic shift: http://www.who.int/csr/don/2004_01_15/en/ You
might also fined the following letters informative...
A
reader asked about Avian Influenza (H5N1.) Do public health professionals
take it seriously? The answer is very much Yes. Of course we can't
predict the future with certainty, and there *is* a certain amount
of hype right now -- but, yes, the situation *could* eventually rival
the 1918-19 influenza pandemic. At the same time, I must emphasize
there is no guarantee that will happen: and we are not there, yet,
not by a long shot.
The bottom line is yes, it is *possible* the H5N1 virus could mutate
so as to efficiently jump between humans (person-to-person transmission)
and cause a Very Bad Situation indeed. Fortunately, although a few
instances of person-to-person transmission have already occurred in
northern Vietnam, it was not very "efficient" from the viral
perspective and has not been sustained.
Still, the just-starting annual influenza season in the Northern Hemisphere
will be a time for continued vigilance on H5N1, focused on Asia. Your
readers should recognize that there's a lot of attention -- public
health surveillance -- directed to this issue right now. I really expect
any new sinister abilities by the H5N1 virus will become apparent in
SE Asia first. Indonesia in particular is quite worrisome at this
moment. (I am quite mindful of the Chinese government's very poor initial
reaction to SARS in 2003, but frankly it's at the point where no government
could hide serious new developments re: human H5N1 even if they wanted
to.) My point is, don't over-react to winter respiratory
illness in the rest of the world. We call it "cold and flu season" for
a reason!
(In this regard, I must say the current hysteria in some quarters over
the Toronto nursing home deaths seems misplaced. I am prepared to be
wrong, but having investigated nursing home outbreaks for more than
a decade, I know that in respiratory outbreaks in nursing homes People
Do Die and sometimes it's not instantly apparent why. I have no inside
information -- but so far, from the press reports, the situation really
doesn't strike me as all that exceptional. Is it a bad outbreak? Obviously.
But nasty nursing home outbreaks happen somewhere every year. Labeling
it "mysterious" is true as far as it goes, but not meaningful.
The public health folks in Toronto, some of whom I know personally,
have reported it's not the most obvious nor most worrisome bugs --
not influenza A of any type, nor Legionella, nor SARS, etc etc -- so
my predictions: it's RSV, or parainfluenza, or adenovirus. Sometimes
theses things just aren't as easy to diagnose as we'd like.)
Anyhow, back to H5N1: a good technical review article was just published
in the New England Journal of Medicine and is currently free on their
website: "Current Concepts: Avian Influenza A(H5N1) Infection
in Humans," September 29, 2005, http://content.nejm.org/cgi/reprint/353/13/1374.pdf.
Also, for a doomerish perspective from a professional who has been
beating the drum loudly on this topic, read any of the editorials by
or news
stories on Michael Osterholm, a much-respected former State
Epidemiologist from Minnesota. Just "Google" his name. I
am not offering any detailed pandemic 'flu advice as requested by the
other reader because I don't have anything new or brilliant to
offer. In the very worst imaginable situation -- not likely but also
not completely impossible IMHO -- your readers *already* should be
aware that deep preparations, a chain saw for dropping trees,
and a remote location ought to be part of their extended personal options.
They
are certainly part of mine. If they don't know this already, then they
should reconsider why they are bothering to read your blog at all.
- "A.
Physician"
A. Physician's Letter Update(8 October): As a follow up to my comments: The much-watched Toronto nursing home outbreak turned out to be due to Legionella after all (according to news reports made after I wrote my initial note to you.) Nasty but far from unprecedented. The diagnosis was eventually made from autopsy specimens. I'm guessing that earlier "urine antigen" tests were negative, but those can only diagnose one type of Legionella that accounts for 80-90% of Legionella outbreaks; and Legionella bacteria are difficult to grow via sputum cultures from living patients.
Aloha Jim--
Your Thursday, October 6th reference about the [potential] Avian
Flu Pandemic article
is a "must read" from page 18 to the end. Included is a specific
list of OTC supplies and
prescription medications, plus how to care for the ill in your family.
These very informative details are predicated
on the likelihood that a pandemic would overwhelm professional help/facilities,
requiring family members to care for each other. It's a chilling, but
should be a required read - B.B. in Hawaii
"Its better to have one and not need it, then to need one and
not have it."
- Author Larry McMurtry explains the logic of having
a gun, in Lonesome
Dove
Note from JWR: I get more than 40 e-mails a day, more than half of which include specific questions. My humble apologies for not being able to respond to every e-mail. For those of you that do get replies, my further apologies for being so terse. You might feel cheated when you get just a two or three line reply to a 20 or 30 line e-mail. But if I were verbose as I'd like to be in my responses, I would only be able to respond to a small fraction of the e-mails instead of half of them. Since I have a full time job as a technical writer I only have about three hours a day (evenings and early mornings) to respond to e-mails and to put together the blog. Many thanks for your understanding of my situation!
The Clark Fork Valley Region, (Sanders County, Northwest Montana,
near the Idaho State Line.)
This isolated valley sits between the Bitterroot and Cabinet Mountain
Ranges. Concentrate on small towns along the Clark Fork such as Plains,
Thompson Falls, Belknap, Trout Creek, Noxon, and Heron. Avoid the upper
elevations. (In this region, an additional 1,000 feet of elevation
puts you in a much different climate!)
Advantages: Away from the I-90 corridor.
Disadvantages: Cold climate and short growing season. (Can be compensated
by building a large greenhouse.) Economy is not as diverse as the Kalispell/Flathead
Lake Region. Insufficient agriculture
in the region necessitates very extensive food storage to make a viable
retreat.
Grid Up Retreat Potential: 4 (On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the best)
Grid Down Retreat Potential: 5 (On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the best)
Nuclear Scenario Retreat Potential: 4 (On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the best)
Mr. Rawles:
I am finding your SurvivalBlog to be of interest. Here's
some info for those wishing to convert their Inch rifles to have
a true BHO after the
last round is fired with a magazine in place. For several years I've
used an 1/8 inch roll pin to replace the ground pin.
This seems to work out better than a piece of drill rod because
the roll pins are
already hard, and of course by design are compressed slightly when inserted,
so they tend to hold in place better than just a press fit rod. The pin hole
will normally measure about 110-115", so all one needs do is turn the roll
pin to about 115 thousandths and drive it into place. A drill press and file
will do this job, or a hand drill placed gently in a vise and a file if you lack
the
drill
press. I typically use a one inch pin [and trim it to length] simply because
the
local
hardware
store
stocks 1/2 inch ( a bit short) then 1 inch (a bit long.) If one has an un-drilled
BHO, the correct location mikes out to about .435" from the top of the BHO
to the center of the hole. The lever one presses will be on the opposite plane
from the hole, don't drill it on the same plane or it will
be pointing in the wrong direction! I hope this helps those with an SLR that
want the use of a bolt hold open. - R.J. (known to friends as "Doubletap")
Hello Again Sir,
I was delighted to see that you'd not only printed a letter from myself, but
also from a good friend of mine, Grampa R. He's the one who first lent me
a copy of Patriots and Unintended Consequences and got me started on the survival
mindset.
Well, Ramadan's started but things haven't been too busy yet. A friend of mine
was killed by an IED that also took the leg from a corpsman. Went on a patrol
today that took IDF close by, and had an RPG impact one of the trucks. Thankfully
it was a glancing shot and it didn't detonate. If the SHTF to the extent you're
worried about RPG's or similar being shot at your house, setting up angled barricades
might be more effective than trying to make something thick enough to stop it
outright. Have to think about it.
We had some problems with a mosque a couple days ago; every Military Age Male
(MAM in our jargon) in the area was
running into it and staging prior to attacking us. Wanted to go in badly, but
the CO of another company was on
the hook to battalion and he wasn't pressing for it as much as he could've been.
Or maybe he's just
not very articulate; either way higher didn't give us the go-ahead to raid the
place. We got a few small caches and detained a few hajjis, but compared to my
friends life and that squids leg it seems insignificant. Sure wish we could've
raided that mosque. Might've actually done some good.
One part of training I think is often overlooked is playing "what if" games.
The officer types call it the "Tactical Decision Game." I'm an 0351,
the infantry MOS that does demolitions.
The gunner in my truck is as well, so on patrols we ask each other a lot of what
if questions about demo. "If
you needed to breach a wall of X material, that is Y thick... what charge would
you use?" Lots of fun, keeps us awake, and is actually a big help when it
comes to making decisions in the field.
Before I deployed I did the same type of thing with my wife. "If riots break
out when you're at work... how will you get home, what will you take, who will
you call, where will you go. etc" Seemed to really help her have a solid
game plan. Might help those looking for a way to draw a disinterested spouse
into the spirit of surviving as well. Or it might just annoy them that you're
bothering them with "your stupid hobby." Times up again. God bless,
and keep up the good work. - John
Sir:
You mentioned that you don't feel qualified to comment on much less to
rank the eastern states. I can start the ball rolling, re: the Urban Northeast
(the
UNE). The disadvantages of the UNE are: cold winters, overpopulation, generally
bad gun laws, socialistic politicians, and high Sheeple Ratio (SR).
However, tens of millions of people live there, so:
1. I live in Philadelphia, for which the natural bugout area is
the Catskills, Lehigh Valley, etc.
PA gun laws are surprisingly good; an oasis of sanity in the UNE:
Shall Issue CCW (and
you can carry virtually anywhere -- no annoying patchwork of carry-proscribed
areas); no AW laws; no waiting periods. Long guns
can be sold privately without a paper trail, but sadly all handguns
must go through FFL.
This latter is disconcerting because, in open defiance of state
law,
the PA State Police are keeping a firearm registry. That's
why creating a cache of off-paper rifles is all-important.
PA taxes vary: state income taxes are mild but City of Philadelphia
taxes are savagely draconian.
2. New York City: you're screwed. Politics; gun laws; taxes; population;
SR are all hopeless for the foreseeable future. There is no sane
bugout area
around. New York state gun laws are only marginally better than
NYC. NJ is hopeless too. Your best bet might be CT.
3. Boston area. Look north. I can't comment on Maine, but both
NH and VT are excellent choices, especially with regard to gun
laws. I'll try to have
my NH friend contribute more info.
JWR Replies: Okay, you other easterners, chime in! Here is you chance to jump up on the virtual soap box and extol the virtues (or non-virtues) of the eastern states and particular counties within them!
Two different readers e-mailed to remind me that there is a maximum security Washington state prison near Walla Walla. It currently houses 16% of the state's worst criminals, including approximately 116 sex offenders. The current inmate population is 2,277. Because of this I have revised the "grid down" potential for the region down from a 5 to a 7. (On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the best.) For the sake of all of our readers living near any jail or prison, let us pray that their electric cell door control systems default to "locked" rather than "open" when the backup generators run out of fuel.
In a recent post, you said: "...we will be discussing how to collect
("save") and store seed stock in detail in some upcoming
blog posts. - The Memsahib"
When it comes to storing seeds long term, I think you will find this
article of interest. See: http://www.echotech.org/network/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=84
This describes a safe and easy-to-create liquid that greatly increases
the long-term viability of seeds. I bought both chemicals from http://www.chemicalstore.com/ ,
but after checking this morning, they apparently no longer sell glycerol.
It is a safe and widely-used chemical, so it should still be easy to
obtain
after doing a bit of web searching. Thank you for all you do! Take
care and God Bless. - SMG
Just a caveat when using open-pollenated seeds: Be sure the varieties you grow won't pollinate each other, or you will have: a hybrid. It won't grow true from seed. The best way to combat this is to grow only one variety, and lots of it. This way, if there are no other varieties of the same crop in the near vicinity, the seed will be true to the original ones planted. Semper Fi, - Sarge
Mr. Rawles,
Congratulations on the success of your website. I follow it everyday
and have gleaned much info from it. My wife and I have been working
at getting our "beans, bullets and band-aids" together
and have made what we believe is good progress. With the state the
economy is in and considering your advice about investing, I have
a question that I hope you can/will help me with. I am thinking about
taking out a loan against my 401K to: 1) Pay off our home @ approximately
$18,000; 2) Round out our "beans, bullets and band-aids" and
3) Invest in 2-3 bags of pre-1965 silver coins. To my way of thinking
(which may be skewed) this would be a way of re-investing a portion
of my 401K in tangibles instead of paper. I would appreciate any advice
that you would be willing to give. Thank
you for your
hard work and for sharing your knowledge and insight. - Steve
JWR Replies: I'd recommend that you keep your investments diverse. Diversifying some of your retirement money into precious metals is wise. Paying off your home early only makes sense if the interest rate that you are paying on your mortgage is higher than the rate of return you are earning on your 401(k).
If like me you have no faith in the long term prospects or the value of the dollar, American Church Trust offers gold coin deposit self-directed IRA accounts. (The folks at Swiss America can help you set one up.) Under some circumstances a 401(k) can be rolled over into an IRA. Parenthetically, when I was with Oracle Corporation back in 1999, my co-workers thought that I was crazy putting money in a gold IRA rather than Oracle stock. ("Jim, you are missing out. Oracle shares are going to the moon!", they said.) That was when gold was under $325 per ounce. And where are gold and Oracle shares now, respectively?
James:
Thoroughly enjoyed your book "Patriots". Are there any recommended
sources for designing a retreat on the Web that you recommend? You
have provided a ton of info on the locating a retreat, but I have not
been able to find anything on how to design a retreat or a comprehensive
list of recommended features. Thank you for your Website, I read it
daily. - J.M.
JWR Replies: Glad that you like the site. I'll be
talking about retreat design in detail in blog posts in coming weeks.
In the meantime,
read Joel
Skousen's
book "The Secure Home." (The book is pricey, but worth the
price!)
Sir:
I subscribe to the [name deleted] investment e-mail newsletter. If
you go to the web page listed below, he has an article where he gives
his
opinion of the "doom-and-gloom" naysayers. I don't think
he was speaking about you specifically, but I thought you might be
interested in reading what he has to say and maybe responding to him
with a rebuttal. I also wonder how you feel about someone like [name
deleted], who claims he runs a survival, not a survivalist web site.
I had never
considered that there was a difference until he pointed it out. Thanks
again for taking the time to read this and please let me know what
you think. - P.S.
JWR Replies: Even though I have been offered
some complimentary subscriptions, I intentionally avoid reading economic
or preparedness blogs and newsletters on a regular basis, for fear
that I might consciously or subconsciously mirror what they say. I
don't want to sound divisive or critical of the other writer's views,
but trying to distinguish between a "survivor" and
a "survivalist" is
splitting haIrs, IMO.
Yes, I'm firmly in the gloom and doom camp, or perhaps call it the
"guns and groceries" camp. I'm definitely not in the "Buy
a chateau in the Swiss Alps and Krugerrands
for barter" camp.
My years in Army intelligence really opened my eyes to a number of factors, most significantly just how incredibly cheap human life is regarded in most developing countries, and how very thin the veneer of civilization is in all countries. In the event of a major war, and major pandemic, or even just major economic troubles both individuals and governments will show their true colors very quickly. It may sound pessimistic, but the only hope that I have is in God's providence to put me in the right place with good Christian friends that I can count on.
Jim:
Trying a little "out of the box" perambulation. I disremember
but seem to recall that this was your bailiwick back when. I noticed
the President is publicly talking about getting congress to authorize
the use of military troops should bird flu, et al occur. It seems to
me that particular authority already exists. So I ponder. If he already
has the authority, why ask for it again? Is it to make a public statement
that he asked, as part of good planning, before it happened and we
should be grateful and pleased? Does he know that "massive plague
(or a simulation) is going to occur and it's natural (or artificial
or simulated) or intentionally
created/simulated and want's it to look like he did everything he could?
Something just niggles me about his publicly asking for permission.
Mayhap I
didn't state this clearly but I think you'll get the idea.
So..... what's your take and the Memsahib's take (she has a unique
perception). - The Army Aviator
JWR Replies: The A.A. Flu "flag" seems to have been run up the pole to test the winds for the prospect of removing the Posse Comitatus statutes. (They had to cite something more far-reaching than just a series of hurricanes.) This prospect is very bad news. If people don't make a major stink about this, then Posse Comitatus may go away with just a whimper. I really doubt that the A.A. Flu is anything but naturally occurring. This bug has been cited in the medical journals as 58% lethal with advanced medical care. Should the worst happen, it is best, methinks, to have some rural isolation, independent water and power, and at least a six month food supply to give this thing time to burn itself out. The full implications of a potential 50% global die-off are staggering.
"No matter where you go... ...There you are!" - Dr. Buckaroo Banzai
Note from JWR: Yesterday, we celebrated the two month anniversary of SurvivalBlog. I have been overwhelmed at the blog's rapid success. (61,000+ unique views and 1.5 million page hits!) I owe most of the credit to you, the loyal SurvivalBlog readers. Your letters and contributed articles are the best part of the blog!
I'm still looking for entries for the SurvivalBlog writing contest. The prize is a transferable four day course certificate, good for any course at Front Sight!
The Olympic Peninsula is a very rainy but quasi-remote region in
western Washington. Albeit with strong reservations, it is one of
the few
retreat regions that
I recommend in the western half of the state.
Statistics (for Forks):
Average high temperature in August: 71.8.
Average low temperature in January: 33.7.
Growing season: (Clallam Bay): 182 days.
Growing season: (Forks): 175 days.
Average snowfall in January: 4.8”.
Clallam County Median residential home price: $140,000.
Advantages: Mild climate with the moderating influence of the Pacific
Ocean, Clallam County crops include hay oats, corn, apples, cherries,
pears, plums, carrots, peas, and berries. Upwind from the Cascade
Mountains (which are prone to rare but very violent volcanic eruptions/ash
falls). Upwind from all of Washington’s anticipated nuclear
targets.
Disadvantages: Extremely heavy rainfall except in some "rain shadow" towns like Sequim (spoken: “SKWIM”.) Proximity to the Seattle/Tacoma metropolitan region. One important proviso: Lots of folks in western Washington go fishing and hiking in the summer on the Olympic Peninsula, so they may immediately think of it as a place to bug out WTSHTF. So be prepared for a substantial influx of refugees in the event of any sort of rapid-onset TEOTWAWKI.
Modern agricultural science is a two-edged sword. Hybrid vegetable and row crop varieties have tremendously increased crop yields in the past 50 years. Along with chemical fertilizers and pesticides, this has allowed the Earth's population to double in the past 45 years without mass starvation. Unfortunately because the seeds from hybrid plants do not breed true, it makes farmers captive to the seed companies an dependent on modern chains of supply for seed distribution. Any seed that is saved from crops typically produces less yield than traditional non-hybrid progenitors. In the event of a global TEOTWAWKI, I anticipate that catastrophic starvation would occur. This would of course be caused by disruption of hybrid seed production and/or disruption of supply chains. The lure of high yields has forced the vast majority of the worlds farmers into the ongoing use of hybrid seed. It is like an enormous, inviting, invisible trap that has taken in nearly all of the farmers on the planet-JWR
An additional hazard of hybrids or genetically modified seeds is that the exact same seed type is planted on a mass scale. A disease that could wipe out one plant would kill ALL the plants. All are identical, and all would have the same lack of resistance. You can think of hybrid seeds as identical twins.The beauty of non hybrid seeds is that they offer genetic variety. Non-hybrid seeds can be thought of as cousins. They will be from the same family but each have unique attributes. Among a field of non hybrid plants would be some with resistance to the disease. You would only lose part of your crop. And if you saved the seeds from the plants that had the most resistance, you would have disease resistant plants the next year.
OBTW, we will be discussing how to collect ("save") and store seed stock in detail in some upcoming blog posts. - The Memsahib
The best alternative to the hybrid seed trap is to stock up on traditional open pollinated (non-hybrid) seed varieties, also called "heirloom" variety seeds. Our favorite source is The Ark Institute. They sell very high quality, open-pollinated seeds. They even offer the service of assembling a seed kit specially tailored to your climate zone. Here is how to contact them: The Ark Institute P.O. Box 1721, Gold Beach, Oregon 97444. Phone: 1-800-255-1912, e-mail: arkinst@concentric.net Web site: http://www.arkinstitute.com/. OBTW, Dr. Geri Guidetti of The Ark Institute kindly provided this article on Asian Avian Flu on her web site.
Other sources of information and open-pollinated seed:
Seed Savers Exchange,
R.R. 3, Box 239 Decorah, Iowa 52101.
Seeds of Change, P.O. Box 15700 Santa Fe, New Mex. 87506.
Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, P.O. Box 158 North Garden Virginia
22959.
Territorial Seed Co., P.O. Box 157 Cottage Grove, Ore. 97424.
(Carries seeds primarily for the Pacific Northwest and similar climates.)
Dear Mr. Rawles,
I am a recent reader of the blog (nice job by the way). However I have
read “Patriots” and
I frequent several boards that you frequent. One issue I have, and
a lot of survival minded people need
to make sure is covered is medical requirements for chronic illnesses.
The human body being fragile can develop an illness that must be treated
on an ongoing basis. Anyone who is preparing for any disaster must
take into account a supply of medications/supplies. I am not talking
about the typical Tylenol and bandages, but prescriptions. Some prescriptions
will be difficult to stock up on because of federal laws, or the medication
is not in pill form and must be injected. And getting a ‘script’ filled
just prior to a sudden catastrophic event may be impractical. A catastrophic
event where you have time to make some preparations, such as a hurricane,
is a bit easier to address. However keep in mind that insurance companies
have time limits on filling medications. If you are near a refill date
you will be okay. But if you have only used a small amount of a recent
prescription, and want to have an additional supply for 30 or 60 days
your insurance will not necessarily pay for it, so all of that will
be out of pocket. A chronically ill person may find themselves laying
out a lot of money on that supply; money that could be used for other
supplies. Some medications used for an acute illness can be saved for
later use. One medication I have done this with was a pain medication
that I had when I had an unpleasant encounter with kidney stones. My
doc told me that if I didn’t use all the pain medication to retain
any unused portion. The doc said that the only thing that will happen
over time is a diminished effect of the medication and I may have to
take one and one half or two to gain the same pain relieving level.
So, when I travel, always take it with me just in case I had another
attack, because getting to a hospital to get treatment may would take
a longer time than I would like to experience pain. So one needs to
plan accordingly. If a person can take the time and try a week or longer
taking say half of their medications (without placing your life or
general health in undue danger) you will get a good idea of how to
ration your medication to maintain a reasonable level of health and
functionality over any given period of time. But one must know their
medications. Some medications you can’t just stop taking, but
must be diminished gradually over time. So be careful with what you
do when testing. At this moment I am undergoing such a test. I am not
doing this of choice, but because of economic reasons. I have found
that I can remain fairly functional with my more expensive medications
cut in half. And so far this ‘time of test’ has been a
bit over two weeks. I hope to return to my normal dosage level soon.
But if I watch what I do and pace myself I can manage pain levels and
still get some of my basic work accomplished. Anyone who has a chronic
condition can be a contributor any survival group, but one must know
one’s limitations as well as capabilities. It would be foolish
for me to try plowing a field with a mule, but I can do ‘lighter’ work.
And if push comes to shove, I can lay down a lot of covering fire for
a tactical retreat. Every survivalist needs to take into account the
fragility of their own health, and make adjustments according to health,
age, and physical abilities. And for you young survival minded people,
you will get older so don’t overlook your own fragility and mortality;
its an inevitability of life. Just a penny for a thought, -The Rabid
One
Hello Jim,
Your readers and contributors include a fair number of medical professionals.
With all the hype in the news regarding "the coming pandemic" of
Avian Flu, I'd be curious to get their professional take on it. Specifically,
do they see it as a real threat and if so, what advice they would have
for laymen. Thanks, - Dutch in Wyoming
JWR Replies: I 'm hoping that some of our readers who are medical professionals chime in on this subject. In the interim, Dr. Geri Guidetti of The Ark Institute kindly provided this article on Asian Avian Flu on her web site. In essence, the great unanswered question is: What are the statistical chances of the Asian Avian Flu mutating to a different strain that could jump to humans? If that percentage chance is 5% or more within the span of a year, then I wouldn't want to be in the life insurance business. If that chance is 10% or more, then it might be wise to accelerate your plans to move to a farm or ranch in a lightly populated region where there is the opportunity to live in self-sufficient isolation. (Assuming of course that this bug will be spread by person to person contact rather than on the winds.)
Mr. Rawles--many thanks for the response! We live in
Henderson county and before that my family lived up in Buncombe county,
so I laughed when I read the letter from your other reader. Henderson
county has an extremely high per capita savings and a LOT of poor people,
so somebody is skewing the results somehow. Lots of rich transplants
from up North. Jurassic Park. Buncombe county is on a lot of "best
places to live" lists...and real estate and cost of living increases
reflect that. Rolling Stone magazine called it the "freak capital
of the south"...and
it is. Kind of the "San Francisco of the east coast". Henderson
County is where the Mother Earth News was started and produced for
many of the early years, Back Home magazine [published by the
original editors of the pre-yuppie era Mother Earth News] is
still produced down the road from us...so there is a history of "back
to the landers" around
here...but the days of cheap farm land is long past. The minute a place
hits the "best
place to live list" seems to be kind of a kiss of death....both
Hendersonville and Asheville are on all the lists.[JWR Comments:
The same thing happened to Sandpoint, Idaho and Missoula Montana.]
On another note, my father grew up near St. Maries, Idaho. from what
I remember...still owns 40 acres up there so hopefully we'll get a
chance to relocate at some point. I agree that Idaho is pretty great...not
as trendy as Colorado or some of the other western states. Hopefully
it will stay that way for a while. Good fortune
getting some of the other readers to ante up...a buck per 50,000 readers
would keep you up and running for a while, I suppose. Looking forward
to reading the blog. - P.R.
JWR Adds: Boston T. Party's rankings (in Boston's Gun Bible) on firearms freedom are North Carolina: 66%, and South Carolina: 64%
"...whatsoever the anguish of spirit it may cost, I am willing
to know the whole truth; to know the worst, and to provide for it."
- Patrick Henry
Note from JWR: Many thanks to those of you that recently sent web hosting/bandwidth contributions! In the past 24 hours we've received enough contributions to pay for almost an entire year of web hosting. Once again, many thanks, folks!
A number of easterners have written in the past few days, asking me to rank the eastern states by their survival retreat potential. As a fourth generation westerner, I don't feel qualified to make a well-informed analysis of the eastern states, much less rank them. I would greatly appreciate comments from our readers in eastern states that have recommendations on retreat locales. I will be happy to post them so that some sort of informal consensus on the best retreat locales in the east can be reached.
Today, I'm covering a region in Washington in my detailed retreat locale analysis series.
This is one of the best dry land farming regions in eastern Washington.
The drive east of Walla Walla is like a trip back in time to typical
1950s American farming country. Aside from the satellite dishes and
the now ubiquitous crop sprayer tank trailers, not much has changed
since then! When searching for a potential retreat, concentrate on
the small towns east of Walla Walla proper--like Waitsburg
and Dayton,
but none
smaller
than
Dixie.
Statistics (for Walla Walla):
Average high temperature in August:
Average low temperature in January:
Growing season: 190 days.
Average snowfall in January: 19.8” (64.7” annually.)
Walla Walla County Median residential home price: $114,300.
Advantages: Proximity to good hunting and firewood sources in “The
Blues.” Precipitation is sufficiently plentiful year-round to
provide reliable dry land farming. Crops in the region include: Wheat, peas
(including seed peas), barley, rye, sugar beets, alfalfa (for hay and
seed), and
of course the famous Walla Walla sweet onions. Sadly, even though the
climate is favorable, truck farming has declined in the past few decades.(There
used to be a wider variety of vegetables grown--but now most of the
truck farmers have switched to the Walla Walla sweet onions since
they are a more sure cash crop with few spoilage problems.)
Disadvantages: A Washington State maxiumum security prision is located
near Walla Walla. This could prove problematic isn grid down situation!
(it houses 16% of the state's worst criminals, including
approximately 116 sex offenders. The current inmate population is
2277. Walla Walla is sometimes downwind from the Umatilla chemical
weapons storage depot,
depending
on the
winds.
The
large college-age
population
could produce a sizable displaced population in the event of a sudden-onset
TEOTWAWKI.
(There
are three
colleges and Universities in Walla Walla.) Heavy winter snowfall.
Grid Up Retreat Potential: 3 (On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1
being
the best)
Grid Down Retreat Potential: 7 (On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the best)
Nuclear Scenario Retreat Potential: 5 (On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the best)
I have been a fan of one and two cylinder engines for many years. I grew up seeing these old timers putt-putting away at the county fair. Stationary engines still have a surprisingly large hobbyist following in the U.S. and Australia. Steam engines dominated from the 1860s to 1890s. Then came several different styles of one and two cylinder gas or diesel engines. They were eventually supplanted by higher compression (Briggs and Stratton style) high RPM gasoline engines. Because of their simplicity, low compression/low RPM engines still have considerable utility for grid-down survival use. They were common on most American farms until rural electrification programs got into full swing and as high compression engines came into vogue. Here in the U.S., they stopped making low compression stationary engines in the 1930s. But I was surprised to read that they are still making low RPM Lister-type engines in India. See: http://www.boingboing.net/2005/10/03/listers_and_other_ol.html. (One thing about the Third World mentality--they never discard a useful set of tooling! Perhaps we should learn something from that...)
If you are worried about a long term TEOTWAWKI, I consider these "appropriate technology" for retreats. They are low RPM, most have "bomb-proof" cast iron cylinders, and they are easy to maintain and re-build. With a good size flywheel they can be used to run generators for battery bank charging. A small steam engine would work, but they are a bit more tricky to operate, and generally require more maintenance.
Mr. Rawles concerning the Wallowa Lake area a few points. Whether
or not these are good or bad I leave to you. Around the lake itself
the area is expanding as new homes are being built along the southern
side of the lake. The region has become a popular tourist area due
to events like the Chief Joseph Days which is held in August in Joseph.
It includes a
decent size rodeo and parade. In Joseph there are several large bronze
foundries which serves to draw a number of folks to the area to see
the works. Since a modest portion of the town's population is employed
in the hospitality industry serving the guests it means that much of
the income must be earned during the summer months. Winter in that
part of the country can get intense which can severely limit access.
According to my wife's grandparents who live in Lostine, real estate
prices are
climbing as more and more people "discover" the
area. I hope these things help. Please keep up the great work with
the site and thanks for the hard work. It is much appreciated. I have
directed
several of my like minded friends there. - M.S.
Hi Jim,
I understand that you are looking for more detailed information on
Carolina retreat locales. My wife and I both grew up here and have
traveled quite a bit of the state. We live in the western end of
the state (The Blue Ridge Mountains.) As far as the East is concerned,
I'm with Joel Skousen as he gives it an "A". As long
as you stay out of Buncombe, Henderson, and Macon counties. They've
been
invaded by rich Floridians, yuppies, hippies and drug-heads. But
they do offer many employment opportunities, especially in the elder-care,
nursing home, health related fields.
We live at about 2,300 ft, have abundant rainfall, and average about
6 inches of snowfall per year. We live in a county of 29,000 folks,
very conservative, good many retired as well. There are many retreat
locales available here for sale. But the influx of "carpet baggers" has
bid the price up in many places. NC definitely has a reputation as
the most heavily taxed state in the Southeast. High gas taxes and
emissions inspections are creeping westward as well. Luckily, there
are only 2 interstates that cut through this end of the state, I-26
and I-40, but they don't come close to the areas we would want to
be in.
Eric Rudolph gave the far western end of the state (Andrews/Murphy)
a pretty bad reputation while he was on the lam. But that area has
excellent retreat potential/low population as well. In many of these
counties, methamphetamine/crack has become a big problem, with the
petty robberies,etc that goes with it.
Should anyone have more detailed questions, they can e-mail me at:
mountainstranger2003@yahoo.com Keep up the fine work!! - S.P.
Sir:
The pin on my L1A1 bolt hold open was cut off. Do you have the part
that holds the pin with a pin that has not been cut off? Thanks for
the help. - The Texas Aggie
JWR Replies:
Most countries that issued the L1A1 foolishly specified them without a
working automatic bolt hold-open (for after the last cartridge in the magazine
is
fired), even
though it is part of the original design. This
specification change was ostensibly
done
because
they
didn't
want dirt or sand entering the action when the bolt was held open.
I suspect, however, that it had more to do with making close order
drill command for "inspection arms" (or the British equivalent)
less cumbersome.
I don't sell bolt-hold-open (BHO) levers. However, BHOs with the hole pre-drilled--so that they are easily convertible to "open after the last shot in the magazine"--are available from a number of parts vendors including www.GunThings.com. (See the BHO comparison photos at the Gun Things web site before ordering.) If yours already has the cross-pin hole drilled then all that you need to "do it yourself" is clamp the BHO in a vise and use some sturdy pliers to twist and remove the short cross-pin. Then replace it with a longer one. (One that is long enough to engage the magazine follower.) This is much easier than trying to locate and drill a hole in a standard L1A1 BHO lever! For the cross pin, solid drill rod works best if you can find rod stock to match the correct diameter, but a roll pin (a.k.a. a tubular "spring" pin) usually works just fine. Adding a roll pin to the existing hole is quick and easy: Cut a roll pin to the same length as that on a metric FAL--long enough to be engaged by the magazine follower, but not so long that it will get hung-up at the wrong time. This can take some judicious filing. Just go slow or you might file off too much and then have to start over with a new roll pin.
Jim:
I heard Dr. Bill Wattenburg on KGO last night talking about the Asian
bird flu. I also read the link you gave to the article on WorldNetDaily.
Dr. Bill really scared me this time! I am a bit depressed hearing
what he said last night. He said that if the virus does make the
jump to humans, it will kill half the population of the Earth.
I'm not kidding he said that. He said it would be worse than a nuclear bomb
going
off in the major big cites because everyone would try to flee. Oh my
God. I think we'll be living in caves at this rate of Doom and Gloom.
I think if that does happen, the grid will be up with hardly anyone using it.
- Fred
JWR Replies: A species-line crossing mutation of
the Asian Avian Flu is not likely. (I'd hazard a a guess at less than
a 2% chance anytime
in the next decade--perhaps some of the doctors who read SurvivalBlog would
care to
comment)
But if Dr. Bill is right--if it does happen, then it would
be devastating, possibly plunging the world into a second Dark Age. See my
blog archives (including
my post on August 8th and the the letter
from
Nurse "Alma
Frances Livengood" that was posted on August 23rd). The latter described
which drugs to keep on hand, just in case.
"Suburbs have become the heirs to their cities' problems. They have pollution,
high taxes, crime. People thought they would escape all those things in the
suburbs. But like the people in Boccaccio's Decameron, they ran away from the
plague and took it with them."
- Charles Haar
Note from JWR: I've got good news and bad news. The good news is that readership is up! The bad news is that because of the steadily increasing SurvivalBlog site traffic, I've had to upgrade our web hosting account with to one of our ISP's "Gold" accounts--which is nearly twice as expensive as our old account. (Was $143, now $311.) Even though I've tried to minimize the number and size of graphics, users are downloading more than 12 gigabytes per month. (They are small files, but there are lots of blog readers!) The recent increase in advertising revenue helps, but the support of individual readers is greatly appreciated! Thusfar, only five readers out of 58,000+ unique visitors have made a bandwidth fund contribution. :-( If you are not patronizing our advertisers, then a bandwidth contribution or perhaps a SurvivalBlog T-shirt order would be appreciated.
Today, I'm covering yet another region in Oregon in my detailed retreat locale analysis series.
The Wallowa Valley is in far north-eastern Oregon, in Wallowa County. The towns dotted along the valley (see map) include Wallowa, Lostine, Enterprise, and Joseph.
The following population statistics are courtesy of the Wallowa County Chamber of Commerce:
Wallowa County: 7,150
Enterprise: 2,020
Joseph: 1,085
Lostine: 230
Wallowa: 760
Imnaha: 100
The median income
in Wallowa is $28,603, versus the national average of $41,994.
(Source: 2000 U.S. Census )
The mountains ringing the Wallowa Valley get the lion's share of the precipitation,
while the valley floor itself is fairly dry. The average precipitation for
the entire county: 18.85 inches, Enterprise:
13.26 inches,
City
of Wallowa: 22.44 inches.
Growing season ranges from only 80 days in Enterprise to 120 days in the Imnaha River Valley.
Advantages: Some of the towns in the Wallowa Valley have 100% gravity fed municipal water systems. Proximity to good hunting and firewood sources in the nearby mountains. The Wallowa-Whitman National Forest makes a "big back yard" that stretches all the way into Idaho. More plentiful water than in many other parts of eastern Oregon. Livestock production includes cattle and sheep. Several lumber mills. Unlike the nearby Grande Ronde Valley, which has a major interstate freeway (I-84) passing through it, the Wallowa Valley is transited by a much smaller highway, so it is will not be as likely a refugee line of drift. Real estate is still reasonably priced.
Disadvantages: Short growing season compared to western Oregon. (But that
is the price you pay for isolation and low population density.)
Downwind from Seattle if the winds are atypical. Marginal agricultural diversity.
(Not
as diverse
as the
nearby
Grande Ronde
Valley.)
The main
crops are barley, wheat, grass hay, and alfalfa.
Grid Up Retreat Potential: 4 (On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being
the best)
Grid Down Retreat Potential: 5 (On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the best)
Nuclear Scenario Retreat Potential: 4 (On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the best)
The Gun Owners of America (GOA) recently posted an interesting recap on the importance of privately owned firearms to defend lives and property, vis-a-vis Hurricane Katrina. For the vast majority of SurvivalBlog readers this is like preaching to the choir. But you might find it interesting. See: http://www.gunowners.org/no02.htm
Mr. Rawles:
Great site, I look at it every day that I am near a
computer and learn something every time. One minor thing that I noticed
the
other day
was your mention of some ranches in Eastern Oregon being several
sections. You did say that a section is 640 acres but some readers
might not understand the scale of things. Tell them that a section
is one mile by one
mile [square]. They may not have a feel for an acre but a box
with a four mile perimeter is something all your readers will understand.
"The price of liberty is eternal vigilance" - Thomas Jefferson
Note from JWR: Today I'm covering yet another region in Oregon in my detailed retreat locale analysis series. I'll be moving on to my recommendations in Washington later this week.
Note: Cave Junction is the home to both
The Oregon Institute
of Science and Medicine and WorldNetDaily ,
so it must have something going for it!
Statistics (for Grants Pass):
Average high temperature in August: 88.7.
Average low temperature in January: 31.1.
Growing season: 140 days.
Average snowfall in January: 3.2”.
Median residential home price (Grants Pass): $180,000.
Advantages: Because southwest Oregon is normally upwind of every nuclear
target in the United States, it would receive more residual fallout
from nuclear strikes in Russia and China than from any strikes in the
U.S.! If you are mainly thinking in terms of nuclear risk then this
is the place to be!
See: http://www.cavejunction.com/cavejunction/areainfo.shtml, and http://www.oism.org.
Disadvantages: Proximity to California' s Golden Horde. All of Oregon
suffers from the creeping Nanny State mentality that emanates from
Salem.
This region might be a good one to consider for someone who has strong
business or family ties to Northern California.
Jim:
I wanted to address a couple of things some of your readers have brought
up recently. There's been a lot of well thought out letters on retreat
sites that aren't in the west. That's great, I live on the
east coast myself. I want to hear more about other locales, as I'm
sure Jim
does as well. If your state isn't on his list of retreat locations,
don't take offense. As long as you're applying some of the same logic,
ideas, and planning to your retreat location then you're doing far
better than most survivalists, let alone sheeple.
Jim also makes the distinction that
there's plenty of bad places to be in the West as well. Think about
it, is living in Los Angeles better than living in the hills of West
Virginia just because it's out west? Heck no, and you won't hear Jim
saying that either. It's all about personal responsibility. It's your
life, your
plan, and you have to make choices. You are the only one that can decide
your requirements. Likewise, you are the only one that can decide which
path to take when requirements, reality, and resources conflict. I
live in Virginia. I'll be the first to admit that where I live isn't
exactly the 100% best location as a survivalist. I have a fairly nice
urban set-up here,
but I make no bones about the fact that it's untenable in some scenarios.
It's where I choose to live for a variety of reasons. Those are my
requirements and my choices.
Speaking of requirements competing for resources, David brings up a
great point about money. During the timeframe that Jim actually started
writing "Patriots" all
of us that were in "The Group" were
pretty darn poor. Most of us were college students, or recently graduated, so
we weren't exactly "rolling in the dough" at the time. I
can remember searching
the seats of my 1965 Barracuda for quarters to buy a burrito. My character in
the book is a pretty close approximation of what most of us had in
terms
of guns, gear, food, etc at the time. Now I have a job and have a bigger
budget for survival stuff. Anyway, even though I find it easier to
buy this or that, it's also easier to screw up and buy the wrong this
or that. When I was dirt poor, I probably was a little more careful
exactly how that money was spent. No, I wouldn't want to trade back
into those days financially, but the point is there is always a way
to maximize the situation that you are in.
Money is an important resource, but it's only one of several. Just
work your preparations into your budget. It doesn't have to be big
dollars. Five or Ten dollars a week will buy a lot of medical supplies
at the local drug store in a couple months. A few dollars extra buying
a couple of cans/packages of food at the grocery store over what you
need will add up
fast. "Overbuying" logistics can be done in very small
amounts so you don't really feel the increase. Just a couple bucks
a week will
do
the job well. It also makes rotation easier, as it's stuff you use
daily anyway. Since you use it daily, you are also more accustomed
to that food as part of your diet, so when a problem comes, you aren't
all of a sudden having a change
of diet adding to your stress. Thrift shops can be outstanding places
to get gear, as can be various Internet boards. Networking with others
will help things out. Even if it's just over the net, we as survivalists
can help each other out in trading to level out various things we need.
Maximize your training. It doesn't cost much to actually get into and
stay in shape. That has huge benefits beyond anything you can buy.
Taking a hike with your map and compass doesn't have to be a big affair.
Even the most urban areas have some sort of park system worthy of exploring
and getting some good out of it. Go camping for a couple of days, and
practice the things you've read about in books or on the net. You'll
get a big surprise how well (or not) all those things you've read about
and think you know really work. There are an endless list of things
you can do
for training that are free, or low cost. You are better off with training
than with gear anyway.
I have to agree with Jim, if there's one priority where money should
go, it's food. The easiest way to tell someone that's truly prepared
from a poseur is to ask, "How much food do you have stored?" rather
than any question about guns.- "Doug Carlton"
Dear Mr. Rawles,
My copy of your book [Patriots]
has been read by so many people that the binding is falling
apart. I've read it three times myself.
Are there photo examples of the retreat doors and shutters?
Sorry, I cannot post pictures, due to OPSEC. I did my best to describe the shutter and door ballistic upgrades in detail in the novel. (In narrative form.) If you want to construct something similar, just be sure to take the weight into account when sizing the hinges, and remember that the hinges need to be attached to some substantial framing or masonry. And, of course think safety first when handling objects that heavy. If dropped, even just a single 1/4" plate could take off someone's kneecap or toes.
You mention Ayn Rand in the book. I've held off reading her material since she was an atheist. Is there benefit to some of her works?
Even though she wasn't a Christian, her observations on both
human nature and the nature of government were quite accurate. I
do recommend her
writings. (I subscribe to the Conservative/Christian/Libertarian school of
thought.)
I have two kids in the military, yet I don't know the break-down
of troop unit sizes. (i.e.: fire team, rifle team, squad, platoon,
company, etc.--from smallest to
biggest)
To understand the basic U.S. Army structure, see This Concise Overview that was put together by GlobalSecurity.Org. But keep in mind that the entire Army is presently reorganizing into semi-autonomous Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs).
Love the blog!
Thanks for any help. - "Grandpa R."
Hello,
I'm in the process of locating/purchasing a retreat home. My family (wife and
four kids) and I live in [deleted for OPSEC] Florida and are
looking for a place in the mountains. I've followed a lot of the guidance online
for research,
but
I
find the information
between sites differ. If you have time, could you review the assumptions I'm
using and add/subtract if needed? To help give some background, I'm a 40 year
old USAF retiree with a background in disaster prep, manpower, deployment
planning, and beddown/field feeding (I was a Services planner). I've got
a master's in
mental health and am working as a director of social services at a large nursing
home/assisted living facility. So, I do have the basics of what to do when
I get there but need to find the right place. I have kits and BoBs for every
contingency,
but know that in a TEOTWAWKI situation it's critical to get out of this state
and off of the I-95/I -75 corridors.
Currently, we are looking at places in Graham County, North Carolina based
on the elevation (2599-5500 ft), area population (27 per sq mile), and proximity
to
my home
(11 hrs by vehicle, best case scenario). It's a further distance than I want,
but
the safety of the mountains is hard to ignore. Unfortunately, teh South Carolina
mountains have too many nuclear plants nearby and Georgia's mountain are only
accessible
to us through
Atlanta (no way). I know you are opposed to east coast locations, but do you
know anyone that has scoped out this side of the United States?
Here is some of my criteria:
Inland: 60 miles from coast
Elevation: above 2000 ft
Remote: no city of 3,000 or more within 50 miles
House 5-10 mi out of town
5-10 acres of land
Hill and flatland
CBS or rock home preferred
Streams, pond on property
JWR Replies: From your list of requirements, I think that Eastern Tennessee might appeal to you. Stay tuned. I've been promised an article about that region from a local resident. I hope to post that piece sometime in the next two weeks. I'd also appreciate seeing comments from readers on the retreat potential either of the Carolinas.
"No man's life, liberty or property is safe when the legislature is in session." - Judge Gideon Tucker
This region is blessed with plentiful water (the largest lake
in the region) fertile soil (lake beds left behind by receding ancient
lakes), and geothermal energy in some areas. Like the Rogue River
region, the Klamath Falls
region might be a good area to consider for someone who has strong
business or family
ties
to
Northern California. In a grid-up scenario it would be a great place
for a retreat. However, in a grid down scenario where a mass out-migration
from California could be expected, it might be marginal. because of
the
high elevation, you should build some large greenhouses! Buying land
in a geothermal active locale be ideal. That way both your home and
greenhouse could be geothermally heated. But keep in mind that it takes
electricity
to operate geothermal hot water circulating pumps. So in the event
of a grid down situation, you will need a fully-capable photovoltaic
power system.
Klamath Falls region crops: Hay, wheat, barley, oats, onions, potatoes,
and sugar beets. Very nutritious blue-green algae is also skim-harvested
from Klamath Lake.
Statistics (for Klamath Falls):
Average high temperature in August: 83.
Average low temperature in January: 19.9.
Growing season (Lakeview): 100 days.
Average snowfall in January: 3.6”.
Advantages: Plentiful water. Removed from the Interstate-5 corridor--which
would be the likely Golden Horde route. Less snow than other parts
of Oregon at
similar elevation. Many homes in
and
near
Klamath
Falls
have
geothermal
heating! Downwind from Portland only on rare occasions.
Disadvantages: Shorter growing season an less crop diversity than lower
elevations in the region (such as the Umpqua Valley.) Proximity to 35+
million Californians.
Grid Up Retreat Potential: 2 (On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the best)
Grid Down Retreat Potential: 5 (On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the best)
Nuclear Scenario Retreat Potential: 2 (On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the best)
The Associated Press just reported that nearly a year after
Congress required the Defense Department to reimburse soldiers
who
purchased
their own
Kevlar body
armor to protect themselves during Iraq deployments, the
Pentagon still hasn't figured out how to do so. This is not surprising
since last year DoD officials
criticized the plan as “an unmanageable precedent that will saddle
the DoD with an open-ended financial burden.” Methinks it is
a sad state of affairs when we send our troops in harm's way with insufficient
equipment. Regardless of your opinion about the Iraq war, I think
that we can all agree that we need to provide the best gear possible to
insure the safe return of our service members. It is also important
to send them letters
and gifts for encouragement.
Dear James,
Missouri has more to offer for retreat
potential than almost any other state in your top 19! It has a much
longer growing season than Montana or Idaho. Most rural areas have
an abundance of excellent soil, good rains, abundant woods, pastures
and gun friendly small towns. Missouri is one of the few states with
a concealed carry law. [JWR adds: Actually, 34 states now have “shall
issue” CCW permit laws on the books.] Hunting potential
is good, since wild game is plentiful.
If you avoid the metropolitan areas of St. Louis on the far east of
the state and Kansas City on the far west of the state, you have the
entire state in
the middle for retreat potential. Some might consider the booming area of Columbia,
smack dab between St. Louis and Kansas City, to be an area to be avoided also.
That however leaves an incredibly large area with few interstate highways,
but abundant
county highways that crisscross the state in a maze. (OBTW, Texas
has the same “Farm to Market” roads. So why was
everyone parked on the interstates when Hurricane Rita was approaching?)
There are few transplanted yuppies in the rural areas (we would be considered
transplanted yuppies I suppose), which means most of your neighbors have lived
in the area most of their lives, but the southwestern area of Missouri near
Springfield is more populated with transplants who are heading for the good
life to retire. Small holders who grow a good deal of their own food, raise
chickens, sheep, goats, horses, rabbits are quite abundant south of I-70. Missouri
is small-agriculture friendly. Once you get away from the counties surrounding
the two major cities, most of the counties have NO ZONING. That means we can
put
up a windmill, build two more houses on our property (sewage has to comply
with houses but it is VERY minimal), raise a diverse range of animals, slap
up a fence …all without the permission of some zoning and planning commission.
Drawbacks: If you ask for almost anything organic, folks will stare at you
like you have two heads. You are more likely to find Wonder White bread at
the store than whole wheat anything. You had better like American cheese if
you live in a truly small town or be prepared to drive quite a ways. Having
a Super Wal-Mart within a half hour drive for us makes living here much more
tolerable as otherwise we would have to drive to one of the three metro areas
to get almost anything beyond the absolute basics.
More plusses: Most families here are religious even though only about half
attend church. Schools are touch and go but the home schooling laws are very
favorable.
The abundance of ground water , aquifers, springs, creeks, streams, ponds,
lakes make this an excellent state for becoming free of government water. Most
areas are windy enough to warrant windmill power and of course we have plenty
of sunny days for solar electric cells. The terrain is varied and runs the
gamut from perfectly flat farm fields that mimic Nebraska, to windy curvy woodsy
counties
that mimic
the lower Appalachian region. Our area is a lovely mix of flat farm
fields interspersed between woods packed with deer and wild turkey.
We have lived in several states around the country and in each we searched
for homestead property without success. Many small holder farms can be purchased
here—but you may need to purchase through an auction rather than a real
estate listing. Most small holders in the north half of the state are sold
after an elderly person passes away and the family wants their money fast.
Keep your financing prearranged with a local bank and get your bidding ticket!
You just found Shangri-la. - Missouri Goat Lady
Mr. Rawles,
Great Blog site, I look at it daily. Katrina should be a wake-up
for all the sheeple, but unfortunately many will still
think that it is "something
that will never happen here."
A little background on myself, I am a physician in mid Missouri, have
spend over eight years on active duty military, and have been preparing
for the "crunch" little
by little. Moving every 2-3 years with the military made it hard to accumulate
to much gear, but we have settled down in mid-Missouri now. Although
not ideal, we settled close to family.
Missouri has several advantages including mild weather, good crop variety,
and population is mainly clustered around St Louis on the East, Kansas
City on the west, and Springfield in the southwest. Columbia is in mid-Missouri
and it just topped 100,000 pop mark. The Minuteman missile sites were
decommissioned with the last SALT/START talks. Disadvantages include
rising land prices,
Whiteman AFB (home of the B2 [strategic nuclear bomber]), and Callaway
Nuclear Power Plant here in mid-Missouri. Other than the population centers,
MO
is fairly
conservative,
Concealed Carry passed recently (to the dismay of the socialists in STL).
Interstate
70 bisects MO in half and connects STL and KC, and is a vital route of
the
country.
The advantage is that with 1 out of 4 semis carrying some type of food
stuffs, is outweighed by the fact that the "hordes" will most
likely travel these main arteries. Tactically, there are many bridges
in Missouri that
can be brought down or blocked. The Missouri and Mississippi Rivers are
just two
of the largest waterways. There are several prisons in Missouri and it
is definitely something to look at when/if TSHTF, since these will probably
add to
the refugee
crisis, except they will be the worse element. I would hope in a grid
down situation that prison doors default to lock down but who knows.
I saw in
New Orleans that prisoners were evacuated from the city before most of
the population.
Those close to STL and south of it need to be aware of the New Madrid
Fault zone that extends down through Illinois, Arkansas, and Tennessee.
Some predict a major quake
in the next 5 to 10 years, and most experts say the most structures would
not withstand much, especially in the city of St. Louis. Hope this helps
your view on Missouri. If I can be of any help on specifics
to Missouri please let me know, also please feel free to run any medical
type questions my way. I am watching your blog closely for the "ultimate" area
to set up. I have been considering moving closer to the Rockies.
Here are some good links you may want to add Virtual Naval Hospital Emergency War Surgery www.vnh.org/EWSurg/EWSTOC.html and The Borden Institute http://www.bordeninstitute.army.mil
Also do you know if 'surplus' mil vehicles are any more EMP proof that regular ones? I have been looking at a surplus CUCV 4x4 diesel truck. Mike W., MD
JWR Replies: Thanks for sharing your insight. The CUCV is a good choice, and they are still available at bargain prices. One good source for milsurp vehicles in your general region is Dave Uhrig's Military Vehicle Sales and Appraisal. For versatility, I prefer the pickup style models. I have read that CUCVs are essentially EMP proof because they have traditional glow plug (not chip controlled) and traditional fuel pumps.
JWR Adds: Boston T. Party's ranking (in Boston's Gun Bible) for Missouri on firearms freedom is only 51%.
Hi Sir,
Just wanted to drop you a brief line about a couple of things you might
find interesting.
Iraq has been a surprise to me. Accommodations are nicer than expected,
with running water indoors for showers and urinals (gravity fed from
tanks
;) electricity
(albeit 220 VAC rather than 110 VAC ) etc.
However, I'm terribly disappointed in the way we fight. It's been,
for lack of a better term, garrisonized. "Higher" cares more
about whether you have holes in your cammies than if you can fight,
they expend
more
manpower building walkways with sandbags than reinforcing the buildings,
and worst of all they're stingy with the ammo. I've got empty mags,
empty grenade pouches, and we carry 1/3 of what we should for the M240 [MMG] on
top of the truck. I truly don't understand. Do we not rate ammo? It's
a war, isn't it?
After some reflection I'd have to say it's really not. It's not even
a "police action" in the Vietnam/Korea sense. It's an armed
humanitarian effort. We're like Triple Canopy or Blackwater on an international
scale. It's frustrating, but jarheads are nothing if not adaptable.
IEDs have been getting
fewer but bigger. All our trucks are armored to some degree, and the
old "a couple 155s" style IED doesn't
cut it. My company hasn't been hit much yet, but the Army and one of
the line co's have been nailed pretty good. The Army even had a Bradley
get mobility killed the other day. Not easy, those things are tough.
I'm looking forward to Ramadan and the elections. We're hoping it'll
spur the bad guys to come out in force instead of sniping, IEDs, and
hit and run attacks they prefer now. I'm getting tired of raiding houses
and ending up holding a bunch of women and kids at gunpoint.
Have to cut this short, my section about to go on QRF and
I've gotta get back to the hootch. Stay low and watch six. - John in
Iraq
Hello,
I love the site. I also just picked up Patriots for
$19 at a local gun show. I love it and am learning just how much I
haven't thought
about. That leads into my big question; how do you prepare thoroughly
on a budget? I make less in one year than some of the characters
in your book SPENT on supplies in a year. What can I do to be ready
making
$20,000 or less a year? Also, I can't leave Ohio because both my
parents are getting older, any ideas on a retreat or on securing a
house in
the outer burbs? Thanks for any help you can give. - David
JWR Replies: I recommend that you cut out unnecessary
expenses and set your budget priorities. Food first! By only setting
aside
about
$2,000
per year,
you can
store
a LOT
of food, fuel; and other necessities, in short order. To get the most
for your money, buy in bulk from suppliers like Ready
Made Resources and Walton
Seed. Team up with like-minded friends for major
purchases that
can
be shared. (Commo gear, rototiller, chain saws, and so forth.) Take
heart in the fact that even if you are only able to make modest preparations
with a deep larder you will be the
equivalent of a wealthy man, post-TEOTWAWKI.
The suburbs will be probably
quite survivable in a grid up situation. But in the event of a grid
down TEOTWAWKI, you need to be ready to beat feet. You will need a
rural retreat destination to share with relatives or friends that
you can trust. I keep harping on this but it is crucial: You need to
pre-position the vast majority of your "beans bullets and band-aids"
at your retreat, because you may have only one trip out of
town before
the roads are blocked or become unsafe to drive.
"By failing to prepare you are preparing to fail."
- Ben Franklin
Notes from JWR: 1.4 million page hits, and counting! Today I'm covering another region in Oregon in my detailed analysis series.
It would be greatly
appreciated if you mention SurvivalBlog when doing business
with our advertisers, or other companies that would be good potential
advertisers
for the Blog. (In the blog threads we mention dozens of companies
that would benefit from advertising on SurvivalBlog.)
This remote region
was settled by cattlemen like Pete French and my great-great aunt's
husband, David Lawson Shirk. (Two of my Crow family relations each
married Shirks.) The area is still dominated by large cattle ranches
and some
hay farms. This may sound foreign to some of the blog readers that
live back east but many of these eastern Oregon ranches span multiple sections. (A
section of land is 640 acres.) 2,000 to 5,000 acre or larger ranches
are not unusual. Some owners use a light plane to keep track of their
livestock.
Advantages: Low population density. Excellent hunting and fishing.
Well removed from Portland and other metropolitan regions. In
the event of a fast-onset TEOTWAWKI,
this region will probably be overlooked by California's Golden Horde.
(The portions of the Horde
that swarm into
Oregon will primarily
follow Interstate 5 to the Willamette
Valley.) Like the Rogue River region, the Steens Mountain region might
be a good area to consider for someone who has strong business or family
ties
to
Northern California.
Disadvantages: Isolation from commerce. (It is a long drive to Klamath
Falls, Bend, or Redding for shopping!) Lack of diverse agriculture.(Not
enough truck farming.) Colder winters and hotter summers than in western
Oregon.
Downwind from Portland for most of the year. (Depending on the vagaries
of the jet stream.)
Statistics (for Burns):
Average high temperature in August: 84.4.
Average low temperature in January: 14.5.
Growing season: (Fields, Oregon): 122 days.
Average snowfall in December: 12.5”.
Grid Up Retreat Potential: 3 (On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the best)
Grid Down Retreat Potential: 5 (On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the best)
Nuclear Scenario Retreat Potential: 6 (On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being the best)
Introduction
In a truly long-term TEOTWAWKI scenario, the ability to fashion and
shape metal will become critical. If you can work with metal, you will
be able to make tools; repair, fashion and heat treat gun parts; fabricate
household, farm and mechanical implements of all shapes and sizes;
and have a valuable trade to generate income or barter for goods and
services. On the frontier west, no town was complete until it had a
working Smithy. To start into blacksmithing, you need two things: tools
and information. The good news is that you can make many of your own
tools and the information
is readily available in various print mediums, as well as being obtainable
in the fiery crucible of trial and error.
Tools
The initial basic tool load out will consist of an anvil, forge, blower,
tongs and fuel. Look for an anvil in flea markets, farm sales and auctions.
If money is not an issue, buy a new anvil. Expect to pay at least $1.00
to $1.50 per pound for a used anvil and $400 to $800 for a new one.
Heavier is better than lighter, but remember, you may have to carry
it somewhere, but get one that weighs at least 100 pounds. Make sure
your anvil has the square hardie and round Pritchel holes through the
top and that the edges aren’t too beat up. Look for an anvil
that rings when lightly struck with a hammer (get permission from the
owner before you go whanging away on his anvil). Avoid the cheap Chinese
imports if at all possible.
The best vise for blacksmithing is a post, or leg, vise. It has a healthy
post that goes from the jaws of the vise down to the ground, thereby
transferring the force of hammer blows away from the vise threads directly
to the ground. A regular mechanics vise will work but get a heavy-duty
one, and have a spare.
The forge doesn’t have to be anything fancy; you need a place
to build a fire, and a way to deliver air into the heart of the fire.
Make sure the forge is capable of holding a fire of the correct size
to do what you want to do. For example, if you want to make swords,
you want to be able to build a long fire; that implies a larger forge.
Rick’s Maxim # 1. It is easier to build a small fire in a large
forge than it is to build a large fire in a small forge.
Many people build their fireboxes out of metal, brick, old truck wheels,
charcoal grills, wood, and even wheelbarrows. Once you have decided
on a firebox, line it with fire bricks and/or fire clay. Even sand
or red Georgia clay will work in a pinch. The object of lining the
firebox is to insulate the box to keep it from burning through (your
leg) and to conserve the heat of the fire. When you plan out your forge,
make sure there is a way to get pieces longer than the forge down to
where the fire actually is.
Introduce air into the fire through an opening in the bottom of the
firebox through an opening called a tuyret. Traditionally made of clay,
the tuyret can be as simple as a pipe bolted to a pipe flange on the
bottom of the forge with a grate of some sort. Mine is just that, made
of 1” diameter pipe. The grate is a piece of 1/8” steel
with holes
punched through it to allow airflow. Be cautious when using galvanized
as the zinc coating releases toxic fumes when heated. If the air handling
apparatus is exposed to direct fire, use black gas line rather than
galvanized pipe.
The blower can be manually or electrically operated. The manual blowers
are generally of a bellows construction or a rotary cranked blower.
The manual rotary blowers are, if not common, at least they can be
found at flea markets. If the grid is up, or you have a solar/battery/inverter
setup operational, it is convenient to use an electric blower, AC or
DC. Squirrel cage blowers can be salvaged off of cars, old oil heaters,
and the like. The exhaust port of a shop-vac makes a fine, though noisy,
blower. It is efficient to have a foot operated on-off switch to save
wear and tear on your coal supply. Also, have some way to adjust the
air supply, either by constricting the airflow, or by diverting some
of the airflow away from the fire. It doesn’t have to be anything
fancy or expensive.
Tongs can be made with specialized jaws to accommodate particular pieces
of metal: flat for general-purpose tongs, round for pipe and rods,
the possibilities are nearly unlimited. Your first set of tongs might
be a pair of large channel-locks with long handles to keep your hands
away from the heat of the fire. Speaking of heat, it is a good idea
to get some heat resistant gloves similar to what the firemen use.
Regular heavy-duty leather gloves are better than nothing, but they
heat up in a hurry.
This brings me to Rick’s Maxim # 2: “Just because a piece
of metal is not glowing red, doesn’t mean that it’s not
hot.” Get some gloves!
The forge can be gas fueled, use coal, charcoal or even wood; but my
preference is coal. To start a coal fire, use some wood kindling to
get a blaze
going then pile the coal around and over the fire and hit it with some
air from the blower. Fat lighter makes really good kindling.
One of the first tools you should make is a poker to poke at and arrange
the fire. Something a couple feet long with an ‘L’ shaped
end like a craps dealer might use in Vegas to rake in the chips, and
a ring to hang it up with on the other end. Another useful tool used
to control the fire is a small soup can with a wire bail on a handle
similar to the poker. Punch a few holes in the bottom of the can with
a nail and use it to dip water out of your quench tank to control the
fire. You only need to burn the coal in the immediate vicinity of the
metal you are working, so use the water sprinkler to suppress the fire
on the periphery.
Buckets – get two or three buckets, one for water quenching and
one for oil (used motor oil works okay). Five gallon buckets work,
but
a 20
gallon metal can is much better. On the oil bucket, have some sort
of a lid
to smother out flash fires. Sometimes when you put hot steel into the
oil it will flash up, burn, and splatter flaming oil droplets in all
directions.
This leads us to Rick’s Maxim #3: “Never blacksmith without
a shirt on.”
Techniques
It is beyond the scope of this article to go into much detail about
projects. Information abounds on the WWW and there are many fine books
on blacksmithing. Many areas have blacksmith guilds and associations.
Practice, practice, practice.
The first things you might want to build are simple objects to get
the hang of it: hooks, pokers, tripods to cook over, blacksmithing
tools such as tongs and hardie mounted hot chisels. Fireplace pokers
are a good learning project as well as simple farm tools like hay hooks,
log dogs, and pinch bars.
It is difficult to move large amounts of metal using hand tools so,
when you have a bigger project, get at least a sledgehammer and a willing
accomplice to swing it. This is why they invented power hammers; I
suspect it was the "willing accomplice" that first got the idea. Practice
making square things round and round things square. Practice putting
decorative twists into square stock. When welding, don’t use
heavy blows, easy does it and use Borax for flux.
One important thing to note is that when you are heating your metal
in the fire, always have a plan of exactly what you are going to do
to that piece of metal when you take it out of the fire. Picture in
your mind how you will hold it, what tools you will need, and where
and when you are going to strike or bend.
Rick’s Maxim #4 clearly states, “Indecision is not always
the key to flexibility.”
Pay close attention to the irons you have in the fire, when you get
distracted then turn around and see yellow sparks flying away from
the metal, it’s too late, you’ve burnt up the steel. This
is where the expression “Having too many irons in the fire” originated.
Materials
Much raw material can be salvaged from cars and trucks. For example,
coil and leaf springs, struts, steering parts, etc. If you need a long
square stock, you will be able to straighten out a coil spring and
pound it square- learn to look at the potential of a piece of steel
and don’t be constrained by it’s current shape. There are
many other sources of raw material; the world is our scrap pile.
Conclusion
We live in a "disposable" society. Presently, if it breaks or wears
out, folks get a new one. In a TEOTWAWKI society, that will come to
a screeching
halt.
Re-supply
will be limited and we will have to “improvise, adapt, and overcome”.
Blacksmithing is a traditional trade that has evolved into an art form
and primitive curiosity. It is fairly inexpensive to break into and
great fun to practice. Someday it may again become a valuable trade.
JWR Adds: I greatly appreciate Rick sharing his knowledge
and insights. Some important provisos: Always wear the appropriate
safety items
when working metal. Goggles or at
least
safety
glasses
with side
guards
are a MUST. Sturdy boots and a shop apron are highly recommended. Never
work around fire alone, and always keep a big fire extinguisher handy.
You can never have too many references. Look for blacksmithing books
in used book stores and on Amazon.com or eBay. OBTW, the books that
look the grungiest are often the best--the grunge shows that they
were used as
actual
workshop
references. The Boy Scout merit badge on blacksmithing is a surprisingly
complete starter book. The tome titled The
Complete Modern Blacksmith by Alexander G. Weygers is a great
resource. It is the book to buy if you want to get serious
about blacksmithing. Weygers really knows his stuff! (Used copies are
often available on Amazon.com.)
Some other good references
on blacksmithing
are cited at http://journeytoforever.org/at_blacksmith.html
Look for use anvils, hammers, tongs, files, chisels blowers, and such
at farm auctions. Leaf springs are one of
my favorite
items to salvage
for
re-forging.
You
can make
everything
from
a knife
to
a scythe to a
crossbow out of a leaf spring. If you scrounge around, you can find
a lot of scrap steel free if you ask. Given enough time, with a forge,
fuel, an anvil, a hammer, a good cold chisel, a few files, (and of
course plenty of scrap steel) you can make just
about any other
tool
that you need!
Howdy,
Hope all is well with you and your tribe. I have two books you should
check out if you have not seen them. 1.) Herbs to the Rescue, by
Kurt King M.H., This book
is
a must to have in the G.O.O.D. pack.
2.) Ditch Medicine by Hugh L. Coffee, also has a video, a
good
book. My wife and I are both in an Master Herbalist course.It is fun lots to
learn,
my
goal is to be doc-free.The school name, School of Natural Healing in Springville,Utah.
My brother and I were talking trucks, I just got a 1983 Chevy Suburban--it
runs good and has a good body. We paid only $900 for it so far so good. My
plan is to go bumper to bumper,
"born again" Chevy. Any ideas on what to do would be nice, and I
try to stay on top of the site. As
always, good work. Your site is like fresh air. I'm lovin it! - Paul in Seattle
Could you give me some advice/direction on purchasing a HF Transceiver for use in emergency communications events. Money is limited (like when is it not) but I want something that is a good all around investment. Most bang for the buck so to speak. I have background in radio/tv. Thank you so much!
JWR's Reply: Your best bet is a probably a "pre-digital" vintage
rig from the 1970s--perhaps a Kenwood. Just make sure that it is set up to
run on 12 VDC so that you can use
a vehicular mount or run it from a retreat solar power/battery bank or generator/battery
bank power system. And be sure that it is guaranteed for "no DOA"--you
wouldn't want to get one with burned out finals. The "pre-digital" models
sell at deep discounts. Why? Like car buyers, most hams want to own the latest
and greatest. Just do a search on eBay for "HF Transceiver", and
sort by price. You may get lucky and find one for under $175 if the other bidders
are sleeping.
Jim,
We are living on our "retreat" now in the Quachita area of
Arkansas. After a terrible storm yesterday and a power outage that
is still going because
Entergy [the local power utility company] has so much going on with the hurricanes,
I can wholeheartedly recommend that everyone turn off their power
for
a
weekend
and make
a list of things they
haven't thought of. Hubby and I have decided on more things that we should get.
The generator is getting a good workout and we now know how much gas it consumes
per hour and can plan accordingly. A couple of flashlights went "dead" and
we realized we had forgotten to get new 6 volt batteries for them. The chickens
were terrified of the storm and the dark and we realized how difficult the set
up
is for the generator to power the chicken coup, so more planning. I have more
on my list, but I think you and everyone gets the idea. You can plan and plan,
but you need to do a dress rehearsal. We are loving the new blog. Keep up the
great work. Thanks so much. - Mrs. C.K.
Hi Jim and Memsahib:
Observing the failure of the Rescue and Medical Infrastructure after hurricane
Katrina, cemented in my mind the absolute necessity of having the knowledge,
skills and tools to take care of oneself, loved ones and neighbors. Procuring
beans, bandages and bullets is useless if one does not possess the knowledge
and skills to use them. We train (or should) regularly with our firearms to
keep our skills honed. Food preparation is a daily event for most so those
skills
come automatically and require minor alteration in a survival situation. When
it comes to medical skills and knowledge most of us have little or no skills
at all in that area. We all need to up the priority! Finding and going to a
well qualified Combat Medicine School in the US is a must for all in the
perilous
times we live. For those who have the financial resources and time, Medical
Corps is conducting a 3 day Combat Medicine School November 18, 19 and 20,
2005. Classes
will be at the Ohio State University Extension Campus, Caldwell, Ohio. The
cost is $325.00. This is one of the finest schools on the planet and people
from all
over the world attend. Classes run for 8 hours a day, beginning at 9 am on
Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. School check-in is from 8 am to 9 am Friday
morning. Lunch
will be at noon. All materials and handouts will be furnished. Video cameras
may be used and still photos may be taken. The school is open to all, regardless
of knowledge, experience, or skill level. No prior medical experience or knowledge
is required. The school is a must for families, first responders and especially
travelers. Many State agencies send their first responders to this class so
it fills up quickly. Combat Medicine was introduced to the public by Medical
Corps
in 1995. These principles are now applied in civilian settings, and as the
world has seen, the lifesaving results are unequaled at over 98%. For those
who never
have had any NBC training the tuition is worth just learning this area of instruction
alone. Medicalcorps.org http://www.medicalcorps.org/.
If one cannot attend the school they can freely download many of the subjects
or order CDs here: http://www.brooksidepress.org/products.htm.
Regards, - "F1"
Hello Again,
I am a faithful daily reader of your new baby, and at the end of
each day, am disappointed that yet another session comes to an end
only
to be "continued" next
eve. (A good problem as you have ignited my appetite for knowledge)! I should
have, but did not follow your advice about a "grid down" weekend.
Last week, we lost power late at night, and boom ...where?s the generator transfer
plug? Where's my rechargeable flashlight, et cetera. Faithful Readers, Listen
to Mr. Rawles, we are benefiting from his knowledge!
After your wake up call on Monday September 26th's entry, I am again finding
myself questioning my ability to G.O.O.D at TEOTWAWKI. I ask since I do not
know, would sheet Lead be of any help around our vulnerable engine components?
Any
idea's out there on a "DAILY DRIVER" fix that would keep the EMP out?
What about our ATVs, is there any technologic age that is less vulnerable to
the threat?
I have been watching the video series from Ready
Made Resources about Soviet
Civil Defense. When the Heck are we the American People going to get with the
times
and enact new plans? Our country is only a terrorist attack away from mass
chaos. Thank You So Much, - The Wanderer
JWR Replies: You aren't the first to mention this.
But metal shielding is not the key issue. Shielding would only work
if the ignition circuitry
were
disconnected from your car's
wiring harness at the time of an EMP burst--since the wiring harness will work
like an antenna, feeding EMP to the ignition circuits. The biggest
issue is the gate
size of the microcircuits (chips) included in your car or truck's ignition and
fuel injection systems. To be invulnerable to EMP, you can either buy a vehicle
with a "pre-electronic" ignition (the old type with points, rotor,
and condenser) or you can have a more recent non-fuel-injected
vehicle retrofitted with a traditional ignition system. Ask your local
car mechanic for details on whether
or not that is practicable for one of your current vehicles. (Preferably your
4WD.) Regarding
your
other question: Sorry,
but ATV
ignition
systems are outside of my body of knowledge. Perhaps a blog reader can fill us
in.
"The entire world economy rests on the consumer; if he ever stops spending money he doesn't have on things he doesn't need -- we're done for." - Bill Bonner, Editor of The Daily Reckoning
For previous SurvivalBlog posts, see the Archives
Copyright 2006. All Rights Reserved by James Wesley, Rawles - www.SurvivalBlog.com™
The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of my employer.