James,
I wasn't going to say anything about some of the lead info on your site, but this last one warning of perspiration making lead explode was too much.
 
Yes, molten lead is very hot and it holds many many calories.  It will burn skin like crazy.  But for water to be a problem it has to go under the surface and do it quickly.  If it can make it under the surface before it turns to steam then when it does turn to steam it does so with some violence.  This can push lead out of the pot.  But the water has to go under the surface.  Dropping a drop of sweat onto the surface of the molten lead with make the sweat turn to steam right there on the surface.  No problem.  Six or seven hundred degree lead will vaporize water so fast that it isn't all that easy to get it under the surface.  But when you do, well, the technical term for that is a "Visit from the Tinsel Fairy".
 
One way that it is easy to get water under the surface fast enough to cause an explosion is to drop some lead that has ice on it into the molten lead.  That  would do it.
 
I have piled wheel weights that were covered with ice into an empty smelting pot and turned the heat on.  As the lead heats, and well before any melts all the ice turns to water and then steam and evaporates safely away.
 
If one wants to learn all about casting then go here:http://castboolits.gunloads.com/index.php  This site is clearing away the old wives tales that have been stuck to casting since forever.  Like fluxing with a piece of wax/bullet lube.  Wrong way to do it and now we know it. - Cat

James:

Anyone casting lead must understand that Molten Lead and Water or Perspiration don't mix!
 
Just One Drop of Water in the Lead Pot and…BOOM, an instant steam explosion.
 
Casting lead is hot business.
 
Standing over the pot you feel one drop of perspiration run down your brow, down the bridge of your nose right to the tip and in the pot.
By the time you realize what just happened, well… it’s too late.
 
That one little drop of sweat will most likely cause a violent explosion of molten lead all over you and every thing in the area.
Causing severe burns, maybe blindness and possibly a fire. That sweating glass of iced tea, or even a runny nose can put you in a bad situation. Wheel weights can hold a drop of water just under the clamp. Don’t drop them in the pot to save time.
 
A couple other good safety items would be sweatbands for the forehead and wrists and a full facemask instead of just safety glasses.
 
I personally believe melting lead in the kitchen on the stove is particularly hazardous. There are water sources everywhere…not to mention lead contamination in the kitchen.
Anyway…
You don’t use the turkey fryer in the kitchen, so why cook lead in the kitchen? 

Oh, by the way, I found a great on-line site for casting lead. About anything regarding casting lead is there.
 
Be Safe, - Bill in The Northern Neck of Virginia

Dear JWR,
I wanted to comment on the excellent article, Melting Lead for the Meltdown, by Charles J.

I would like to add just a few small things that I have picked up in 25 years of casting. The safety gear comments are spot on. Leather boots are very important, just make sure that your pant legs are on the outside of the boots. Take it from someone that learned the hard way, it is difficult to get a chunk of hot lead out of a boot while dancing around like a fool. Likewise, a face shield, or at the minimum, safety glasses, must be worn at all times when around molten lead. When my lead pot is on, a sign is on the door to the casting room reads that NO ONE is allowed entrance without at least safety glasses. The last safety item is that no liquids are allowed in the casting room when the pot is on. No soda, no coffee, no beer (which you shouldn't be drinking anyway when dealing with molten metal). A small amount of liquid will cause a large splash of hot lead.One last hint would be that if you are casting more than one variety of bullet, do them both at the same time. Fill one mold, then set aside. Fill the second, set aside, open the first, re-fill and set aside. Repeat. When you get into a good rhythm, you can really crank out the cast bullets. Bullet casting can be very relaxing. Just be careful doing it. - Mr. M

Preparation, by definition, is this:

"1. the act of getting something ready. 2. a state of getting ready."

So what is it you are getting ready for? Are you taking action and making a plan? Are you stocking-up?
“Sure!” you say with enthusiasm “I am a prepper!”  You boast, as you align yourself with the great people of the past that were also prepared for catastrophes and unseen calamities of their day.

Today is my opportunity to give you some insight on a topic that might easily be overlooked. I want to touch on the subject of “preparedness”, specifically a mental preparedness. Maybe you’re thinking “Who cares about that?”
 
Just tell me the steps to making a wickiup (lodge) in my back yard!
 Hold on!  Let me give you another definition. Change: to cause to have a completely different form…to put another in place of.
Think on that for a moment. Your life will have a complete new form; your life style will have another style ‘put in its place’. Are you prepared for that? Is your family prepared for that?

If you are single and going it alone this wake –up call may still be for you but it is most definitely for the man that is family minded and wants to prepare for the survival of his kin.

Let me introduce myself, I am the wife of a survivalist-prepper.
I do not have any statistics to go off of, but I feel strongly that it is the man that has his families’ best interest at heart who takes on the task of getting ready for the end. Wives, please give me a moment of your time.
I’m thinking as I sit here by my woodstove, bundled in a blanket wearing my jacket (hat and all!)
 
Lately I can’t seem to get more than a few feet from this behemoth of heat before I feel the chill of winter begin to creep into my bones.
I am thinking about the wives of these pioneering men that we love. Those men, the fierce hunters, the brave and the strong, the man you married and trust to take care of you when the world collapses.
Wives, I ask are you preparing as well?

Are you just stocking up for a food shortage or are you planning on “going off the grid”?
Some of the greatest wisdom is to take the gift of learning from others mistakes. Though my words may seem ominous at times, I assure you I have only your success in mind. The mental attitude you take into your new life will factor into what you purpose to do.
If you’re a mother you will affect your children as well. Know it or not you are the hub of the home.
Never in my life was I one to sit around and wait till things got so far out of hand before I made a move. We have been told on many occasions that we are extreme people. Maybe that is because instead of talking about a thing, we will just go and do that thing. It has taken us everywhere in the U.S. and made us the hearty people we are today. Though we are very independent in our ways, it is by the grace and mercy of the Lord that we abide.

We chose to go all the way in our preparations for TEOTWAWKI, and we moved to an off-grid location. Years prior to the move, we bought acreage and paid the loan off early. I did not want any land payments to contend with during the building process.
Yet, before this enormous leap of faith many things came up. We even moved to Alaska and derailed our plans for off grid life by a couple of years, always keeping the notion tucked away in our mind.

As tough as Alaska was, moving to the foothills of the Adirondacks was even more brutal. We have had many mishaps and made tons of mistakes along the way. I glory in telling you that we have great successes and unmatched accomplishments from our endeavor as well.
Can you learn from a wife and mother that is currently living out the “worst case scenario”?

Mistakes:
My first mistake was letting my husband do everything.
Though I was there when the land was purchased, all I cared about was the quaint little town and how cute it looked. He was looking at hunting opportunities and the distance from town. I was still thinking about Wal-Mart, which by the way is nearly an hour from our location. He was already planning on gardens and feeding ourselves. I was not. Wasn’t the food in the sealed buckets enough of a plan?

I thought that I knew enough.  I really believed that all the years of reading and research would prepare me for what we were going to do. Studying about photo voltaic systems and learning about which batteries held the best charge. I studied what others did and drew plans for my own. I have to laugh because it doesn’t matter what system you buy, if the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing you simply have no power. Oh sure you can get a generator for all your needs. But wait, what if that breaks? And your back up breaks as well? If your husband is handy enough he will try making several other forms of power, as mine did. All systems challenged by nature and all failed at one point or another. The answer is this, learn to live without power. Set yourself up to live with none, and then add a little bit back into it. I had to come to the realization that I was not out here to sustain a life I already had, but to venture into a new way of life. I was having trouble making the adjustments.

When you are forced to boil water for bathing and are out in the cold September nights heating over a campfire to wash your children you will then be faced with the harsh reality that you live off-grid and life doesn’t get any tougher than this.

Don’t lie to yourself. If you tell yourself that you like camping, and this is just like a camping trip you are lying to yourself and you will be miserable. Consider this, what if your temporary situation becomes permanent? By that I specifically mean the bathroom. Yes, you better believe it, the toilet is a number one priority!  We have three children, one is a teenage girl. When the camper van toilet was no longer an option we had to go to a type of can privy thing. As if that wasn’t bad enough the area flooded and we had to wade through and jump on rocks to use the potty in the rain. Of course a new facility was built up on a deck and we felt spoiled for a while. Then the cold weather came. Can you mentally prepare yourself for no flushing toilet? Consider your alternatives now before you get into the situation.

Without water you will die. Mistakes were made here too. I brought two-liter bottles, lots of them. I would refill them at the laundry mat. All summer while we built our home with our own hands, I washed dishes in an outdoor kitchen. This took a toll on me. I always felt like everything was dirty. Then one day our super fantastic filters broke. I could no longer filter the water we drank. Think about the amount you have to boil for five people and animals too. We bought large holding tanks, but the rain was delayed. A four-wheeler and 35 gallon trash can were used to get water from the creek two miles away.

I will never forget the pastor's face when he came out to our cabin and saw the water collection system that was in place. It seemed that we never had enough time to get all the things done that needed doing. Our gutters were not up on the porch that was not built, so we had tarps that came down off the cabin to collect rain water into the tanks. Our tank was nearly empty. During his visit, it started to pour! He helped us push and pull the tarps to guide the water into the tank. We collected nearly 150 gallons every 20 minutes. It counted as our shower that day too!

Can you imagine our desperation of not having running water? I was not prepared for that mental challenge. In our community we are known as the modern day Ingalls. Today we have thousands of gallons of water on hand. Filtered and running freely. We know exactly how much we use each day.
Weather conditions; because we moved to a new area we were not completely knowledgeable about the summer or the winter weather.  Living in Alaska had prepared us for harsh below freezing temperatures if we drove in it or went outside, that is to say we knew about getting studs on our tires and dressing for -27? on a daily basis, and plugging in our vehicles so they would start in the morning, those types of things.

Where I made the mistake was that I did not take into consideration how I would actually heat the inside of the home. I took for granted that my warmth would be a readily available and come from a reliable source.

Our untested woodstove which was acquired in summer became a terrible distress in the winter. I never knew that a stove could be equivalent to a newborn baby.  It has needed feeding every two – three hours for months now. That adds up to a lot of sleepless nights.
Also, the insulation in our home never was completed. That is another thing I was not prepared for. I am not a carpenter. I am a stay at home mom that home schools the children. I can’t really build anything, well not something you can live in!  I was not prepared for the months of care my husband would need if or when he got hurt.

Another Mistake: normalcy bias. This is the mindset of “It can’t happen to me.”
This goes back to the first thing I mentioned about letting our husbands do everything. What will you do when the unthinkable happens?  If you are a team, then you need to do all the preparations as a team. Continue to be team minded. I did not know enough about what to do if my team member was out of commission. In my defense I would like to say that I am not a wimp either, we have had to super glue cut legs, from knife injuries and pull porcupine quills out of dogs, put animals down and more.
 You learn to do what is necessary, or worse things happen. However I did not even know where the hospital was located or which way to go when my husband had an accident with the circular saw. On a nice sunny day in November and he was outside working on the bathroom floor. Next thing I know he calmly says “I have to go to the hospital now." I am thinking "What?"
 “I am hurt real bad” he tells me. “I cut off my fingers” YIKES!
 “Do you have all the pieces?”

Now I am the prime care giver in every situation. He is gone for days. Who will turn on the solar? How will we actually get the things done that need doing? There are no light switches or plug receptacles. If you want power you need to know how to turn on the solar controller and the inverters, switch batteries over or start the generator etc.
You adapt and you learn.  I found out just what kind of metal I am made of.
 All was not lost; I didn’t quit and move into town. I snapped out of my comfort zone and I stepped up to the plate. Use whatever cliché you want, but my time came to step into my new identity forever and completely.
I can say that I am a prepper, and I can mean it. I have taken the steps of pulling the plug on a lifestyle that I was very comfortable in. My mental attitude now is that I can do this.

The greatest adversity you will ever overcome comes from what lies within you.
Yes, I can haul rocks and stack or chop the wood. I can gather water and have found new ways to get everyone and everything clean. I can cook with propane, campfires or on top of the wood stove.
 
I have made the best out of some of the worst things. I know that every time I climb my stairs I have victory over the trees that nearly crushed our cabin. We turned them into steps and wood flooring!

We live free of debt, because we paid cash for everything, we live free of the weight of society to have it all, because we know that we have what is really of value. We have each other and our time is our own.
We have become self- sufficient.  It came at a price, but it was worth the investment.

My simple steps to being mentally prepared:

1. Detox yourself from the Wal-Mart Super Center. It will close. You will not be able to go there WTSHTF. Can you accept that mental challenge? We started out waiting two weeks to shop, and then we worked our way up to six weeks. Can you stay away from the Super Center for six weeks?
2. Learn to do without. No one is coming to help you. If you do not take it with you, then you will need to know how to make it yourself or live without it.
3. Take the steps now to get your water harvesting system in place before you spend one night in your new off grid home. If you’re digging a well, have the proper documents taken care of and the well drilling done before you bring your family on site.
4. Learn to cook with little or no food. Seriously, try making some new dishes that are prepared from whatever you have before you go shopping. Try cooking on an open fire. That is a tough thing to learn but one of the joys I now have is making something delicious right outside on an open fire. Even in the rain. My family really appreciates my efforts all the more.
5. Have a back-up plan for the back-up plan. Trust your instincts because you cannot prepare for everything, no matter how much you prepare.
6.  Unplug now, why wait? When you could still step back into things if you wanted. Knowing that you’re doing this because it is your best decision for your family, that you took matters into your own hands is very empowering. Do you wait till you are forced to make the choice? Then it is no longer a choice and it becomes mandatory.
7. Let experience be your teacher. Get involved and learn some new trades. My little 6 year old can make fires using things like steel wool and parabolic lenses (supervised of course) My 8 year old can shoot a frog with his long bow, even in muddy water, and he can set snares too!
    My teenager is amazing, we especially like it that she makes fresh bread in the Dutch oven (and she taught herself through trial and error)
8. Do the “drastic” thing. We sold all of our real estate and most of our “stuff” (couches, furniture, appliances and extra baggage) we pooled our resources and made a budget to live off of and accomplish our goals. Do not expect your family or neighbors to understand; after all they are still addicted to the power grid.
9. This isn’t last by any means. We put God first in all that we do and know fully that He is the One that has given us strength and joy and peace in all our trials and our successes.

 My last question to you before I close is this, how will you even know you were prepared for TEOTWAWKI until it happens and you are in the midst of your new way of life? That day is the day you discover if you stocked enough food and ammo, should you have gotten a cow instead of the goat, bought gold instead of silver…etc. What I am saying is that you can never know if you built your house up high enough to avoid a flood, unless there is a flood. The difficulty then is that it is too late to do anything different.
I have the same mindset in my “prepping” tactics. Do what I can, and let the Lord do what I can’t.
 May I present this train of thought; the end is already here.
 Has there not been enough evidence that the world around us is different? What else needs to happen for us to wake up and take action?
Life around us is changing, a little each day.

If your being stirred to preparedness, then set your mind to that, go about it wholeheartedly without second guessing.  Everyone thought Noah was crazy too, but the rains came and they’re coming again. May The Lord Be With You.

We are all survivors.  I can prove it.  If you are reading this, then you are alive and surviving.  We all survive every day.  Our home is our shelter.  We use cars for transportation.  We barter our skills in a workplace in exchange for money.  That money is then used for supplies.  And so on and so on.  Our lives are comfortable.  So what happens when that comfort is disrupted?   Chaos, insecurity, fear, anxiety, despair, alcoholism, etc…not a pretty picture.

To prevail in an unfortunate situation, I believe the most important skill one must possess is the ability to adapt.  This is accomplished by knowledge, experience, and preparation.  The focus of this article is on being prepared.  Three things in my life have made me a prepared individual:

1. My time in the Boy Scouts.  The Boy Scout motto is “Be Prepared”.  I’ve learned and practiced outdoor skills and survival.  I have carried this over to my adult life in my outdoor adventures.
2. My military service.  Discipline and teamwork are stressed.  Weapon and tactics training were learned.  It has contributed to my overall survival mindset.
3. My career as a Service Technician in communications and electronics.  If it’s broke, I fix it.  A lot of thinking outside the box and adaptability is required, many times with no outside help.

So, what does it take to be prepared and survive the unexpected?  I feel one must be mobile or capable of instant mobility to survive.  This leaves the options open.  You should also layer your supplies as to minimize unexpected losses which increases your adaptability.  “Wear plenty of layers.”  I’m sure you’ve heard that as a child.  Your mother said this so you would stay warm.  This was so you could adjust your insulation according to temperature and activity level, to adapt to the temperature.  I am going to discuss how to apply the layering principle to your personal survival.

There are three layered levels in our lives:

1.  The contents of our home or other permanent shelter.  This could also be a stocked survival retreat.

2. The sustainment gear we can carry with us in a backpack, Bug out Bag, vehicle, bicycle, etc.
   
   
3. What we can carry on our person every day – Every Day Carry.

In the military, we had line gear.  Line 1 was what we had in our pockets.  Line 2 was our fighting or web gear.  Line 3 was our sustainment gear or rucksack.  So let’s start with the basics:

Food:  Even though humans can go 3 weeks without food and stay alive, mental and physical capacity will diminish within a couple of days.  You should have food with you that requires no preparation on your person such as Power Bars, Gorp, MREs, Spam, jerky, canned stew, etc.  Your transport or backpack can have more sustainable food.  Don’t forget something to cook in.  Anything that cannot be cooked in a pot can be cooked on a stick over a fire.

Water:  This is more important than food especially in arid environments.  Also don’t eat if you do not have water.  It takes water to digest food.  Have a way to purify water.  A portable water filter, iodine, or chlorine tablets will work but boiling is best.  Carry bottled water in your vehicle.

Shelter:  Depending on the conditions, shelter may be more important than food and water.  You can’t eat if you are frozen to death.  Learn how to make field expedient shelters, debris huts, etc.  Carry a bivy and sleeping bag in your Bug Out Bag.  Clothing is also shelter.

Security:  What good is it to have a large stash of supplies just to have someone take it from you?  Security comes in many forms…staying hidden from others, blending in, weapons, or just keeping your mouth shut.  Fire will keep animals at bay.  Don’t carry a gun unless you know how and are willing to use it.

Health:  This includes hygiene, sanitation, and first aid.  For example, don’t use the knife that you just field dressed a squirrel with to cut up your cooked meat.  Either wash it thoroughly or use a separate knife.  You do have soap don’t you?  I’m amazed at how many people don’t include soap in their Bug Out Bags.   Don’t drink untreated water.  Treat cuts and scrapes.  Use toilet paper if you have it.  Brush your teeth.

Communication:  People are social beings.  If alone, have a portable radio to listen to surrounding news.  I have an AM/FM/SW radio that is just a little larger than a deck of cards.  It is analog so it has a long battery life.  A shortwave radio allows me more options.  Sometimes news from other countries may be the only form of information due to an EMP or communications blackout.  By the way, I put a label on all of my electronics indicating their battery life and every device uses the same size battery.  A police scanner is very useful.  2-way radios can be very valuable to groups or used as a barter item.

Fire:  Have multiple ways to start a fire.  Fire starting and building is your most important skill.  It will purify your water, cook your food, heat your shelter, keep predators at bay, and signal for help.  Bic lighters are king.  Carry a flint and steel set on your person at all times.  Magnesium works well in wet conditions.  Backpacking stoves work great for quick meals and draw less attention than fires.  Keep one in your car.

Hunting / Gathering:  Snares and traps can be left unattended allowing you to do other tasks.  Learn a few edible wild plants.  Fishing gear is small and very useful – just some string and a few hooks is all you need.

Evasion / Signaling:  Grizzly bear on your trail?  Just stumble across a meth lab on a hike?  Government out to get you?  Ok, this is a little extreme but if there is a major disaster staying away from others might be the desirable thing to do.  Those that are unprepared may want to take what you have.  People also spread disease.  The flip side to this is signaling.  If you are just lost you need to be found.  A whistle, signal mirror, or smoke from a fire are your best options.

Navigation:  You just bugged out.  Where are you going?  Learn to use a map and compass.  Don’t rely too much on GPS.  They can break, batteries die, and the satellites can be re-tasked for military operations.  Have paper maps covering where you are all the way to where you are going.  What if the roads are clogged with traffic escaping from a hazmat spill?  Do you have bike trail maps?  Do you have a bike?  You need multiple routes of escape and methods of transportation.

The Seven Cs:  These items are the most basic necessities needed to survive.  They will directly contribute to keeping your ass alive more than anything else.  The first four are the most important – Canteen, cup, knife, fire starter. 

Staging equipment is critical.  It must be secure yet accessible.  If your permanent shelter is compromised or unavailable then you become mobile.  Your mobile layer is your second layer.  It may be a Get Home Bag or a complete BOB inside your Bug Out Vehicle.  Your vehicle may be your new home.  A bicycle or scooter is a good backup to have in your bug out vehicle (BOV).  So how do we stage and carry all this gear?

My Layered Bug Out System:

I am going to describe and comment on my system and you can decide if it works for you.  Take my ideas and use whatever you feel is beneficial to your situation.

I keep extra food and supplies at home as we all should.  My food stockpile is a mixture of long term grains sealed in mylar, canned goods, MREs, [freeze-dried] backpacker meals, and the like.  This allows for variety in terms of taste and nutrition.  I rotate my supplies and I do not store much more than can fit into my vehicle due to the possibility of needing to bug out.  Any structure can be penetrated.  If people want what you have, they will get it and you can’t keep watch 24 hours a day by yourself.

My 4x4 BOV is not my daily driver but is always maintained with a full tank of gasoline.  Most any vehicle nowadays will go at least 300 miles on a tank of fuel.  I have enough stabilized fuel stored to get me to any one of my Bug Out Location choices.  A cargo carrier attaches to my rear receiver and a bicycle carrier attaches to my front receiver.  The luggage rack rounds out its cargo capability.  I have opted to not use a trailer because of lack of maneuverability and off road ability.  I can live out of my vehicle in a stationary location with complete isolation for six months to a year.

In the event of an EMP, fuel shortage, martial law, etc. full sized motorized transportation may not be an option.  My BOV may break down or roads may not be passable.  My next layer is a bicycle.  One could even use a game cart, dolly, wagon, etc.  You can only carry a limited amount of gear on your back.  A bicycle is 3 times more efficient than walking and can carry much more weight.  Mine is set up with panniers and my gear is always packed.  I also carry a tractor tire inner tube, pump, rope, and climbing gear which allows me to transport myself and gear over almost any terrain.  The inner tube is for traversing water.  I can transport 200 lbs. + by walking beside and pushing the bicycle.

This leaves the final layer – what is on my person.  My personal carry gear is also broken down into layers.  My pockets have a Bug Out Altoids Tin B.O.A.T.)  A chest rig carries my Seven Cs with a sidearm and can be completely hidden by a sweatshirt.  On top of this would be web gear and rifle in appropriate circumstances.  The final layer is a rucksack.  Another option I have experimented with is a fanny pack strictly for survival.

The above is available for an extreme situation where bugging out may be required.  My normal everyday life doesn’t require these drastic measures.  If there is a major power outage during a snow storm, I’ll just stay home, listen to my portable radio, and cook on my butane stove.  Drastic measures aren’t always needed.

One more item to talk about is a Get Home Bag (GHB).  All of my gear is staged at home waiting if it is needed but I have to get there to use it.  My GHB is combined with my EDC.  Since I am in the service industry, I am required to travel at times in a company service vehicle.  This limits what I can always have at my disposal.  Along with my tools and test equipment I carry a very small day pack.  This holds my Seven Cs, some food, extra ammo, and a few work items.  It is always near me or in the vehicle I am traveling in.  I have a cocealed carry permit and carry every day.  I carry a flint striker on my key ring as fire is more important to me than a knife on my person.  I already carry enough stuff on my belt.

This completes the philosophy and application of my layering system.  Take from it what you will.  If you learn something from it, that’s great.  If it saves your life someday, that’s even better.

A Note on EMP:

Being in the communications business, I have witnessed what lightning can do to a communications tower site.  This is the closest thing I have seen to an EMP.  I also have access to high power radio equipment and have done experimentation with Faraday cages.  My conclusions show that non-continuous shielding (such as screen) will not stop all frequencies.  The only cheap and easy thing I have seen that will shield all radio frequency energy is properly wrapped multiple layers of aluminum foil.  I have had popcorn tins fail along with microwave ovens.  I also will not ground a Faraday cage due to what I have seen lightning do.  I wrap all of my electronic devices that go in my bug out bag.

[Some deleted, for brevity]

Lastly, don’t let the preparedness bug monopolize your life.  Have a preparation plan, carry it out, then relax and enjoy what you’ve accomplished.  If the world goes to pieces, you’re ready.  If not, then sit back and enjoy a cold one.

Jim:
In response to the question on wood stove canning. The short answer is 'yes'. However, to can on a wood stove means being able to regulate the heat for extended periods. (Irregular temperatures, especially with the pressure canner, will cause your jars to siphon the juices.) This means a good assortment of dependable wood, a stove that will hold a steady heat and if you're lucky enough, a separate summer kitchen. (The wood stove in summer will turn the kitchen into an unbearable sauna. That said, I have canned over wood heat for many years with excellent results. And, if I may add, in summer I'd rather can in any other way than on my wood stove. Incidentally, an open fire surrounded by a few concrete blocks and a grate makes a serviceable canning heat. Here, wood can be used for open bath canning with excellent results. Once the learning curve on canning is achieved, then all sorts of innovations may be attempted. Regards, - CCW

Hi James!
Thanks for all the information and inspiration that you provide!
 
In answer to the question about if it is possible to pressure can over wood heat: yes! it certainly can be done. But it takes much more experience and observation to manage an even temperature on the wood cookstove and the resulting pressure within the pressure canner. Back in my Hippie days in the 1970s, I used to pressure can and cook everything over an old wood cookstove and it certainly does work. I'd even venture a guess that pressure canning could be done over an open fire with frequent fire management.
 
Managing the correct pressure is much , much more difficult with a wood fire versus the convenience of a gas or electric heat source. With gas or electric, once you find the 'sweet spot' on the control of the stove burner that maintains the correct pressure, you can stay busy with other tasks near the stove and only glance at the pressure gauge every 5 or 10 minutes. Then, if the pressure is changing, adjusting the stove control knob slightly up or down as needed will correct the problem with little effort.
 
With pressure canning over a wood stove, it's not near that simple. On a wood cookstove, the entire metal surface of the stove has a variation in temperature. To increase the temperature and thereby increase the pressure within the canner, you slide the pressure canner closer to the hottest spot on the cookstove surface (back area above the firebox). If the pressure is too high, then slide the pressure canner away from the hottest spot. A few inches makes a difference in surface temperature on a cookstove. But it takes many frequent observations and adjustments to maintain a steady pressure on your canner. No "checking it every ten minutes". And all this time, the temperature within the firebox is changing as well.
 
The temperature changes within the firebox depends on the design and size of the firebox within the wood cookstove,  type of wood you are burning, the size and dryness of the wood, the buildup of ashes within the firebox, the passage of time as your fire burns down, how you set your air vent controls and on an on. If you have never used a wood cookstove, operating one efficiently will seem overwhelming--especially when smoke leaks from every surface of the stove filling your kitchen as you try to build a fire and get the smoke hot enough to rise out the chimney!! Please gain some experience with the wood cookstove before you ever try to pressure can on it.
 
With experience, all these problems will disappear and you will grow enjoy cooking over a wood stove. Bread baked in a cookstove has a much more wonderful flavor that no electric or gas stove can match. My two aunts continued to do their baking in their wood cookstoves all their lives even after adding electric stoves to their kitchens decades earlier!
 
So, before you ever consider staking your life or at least your food canning future on pressure canning over wood heat--as with everything--gain experience with the wood cookstove first. Live the lifestyle. Then, if or when you have to rely on a wood cookstove as the center of your kitchen, it won't be such  a huge culture shock.
 
One last thing, a physical and emotional attachment develops with a family's life centering around the wood cookstove unlike any other fixture within your house today. You can't imagine the sense of comfort and well being that develops.
 
Picture that it's winter and bitter cold. You've just finished chores outside and feel chilled to the bone. Now imagine, coming into your house, taking off your heavy winter clothing and feeling the warmth of the wood cookstove radiating from the kitchen. Now imagine pulling up a chair close to this warmth, pouring a steaming cup of rosehip and wild peppermint tea from the kettle that's always on the stove, filling a bowl with hot stew (homegrown ingredients) that's been simmering for hours on the stove, cutting a slice of fresh baked bread from the warming oven. The whole house smells wonderful from this goodness on the cookstove---I forgot to mention that you took off your winter boots at the door, your toes feel like ice.
 
Now imagine, opening the door of the oven to let even more heat fill the room, sitting on the kitchen chair, resting your cold feet on the door of the oven and feeling the warmth of the oven start to penetrate your cold toes, the tea and the hot stew start to warm you from the inside out. A feeling that all is well in the world settles over you, until your wife yells, "Get your stinky feet off the oven door!"
 
Enjoy, and may God bless your efforts - Mountain Firekeeper

Sir:
Just a quick thought on canning that might help everyone.  My wife and I use the All American Pressure Canner Model 921 21 quart with the metal to metal seal, it is aluminum and we like it.  What we use for our heat source is an old turkey fryer base that is hooked up to a 20 lb propane tank.  I have bought several turkey fryers at garage sale fairly cheaply and these work great.  My wife canned some green beans last fall and I weighed the propane tank before and after we pressure canned the beans and we used about 8-to-10 ounces of propane. So part of our plan has been to have several extra tanks of propane for canning purposes.   

Another thought related to 20 lb propane tanks is that if you exchange them at Wal-Mart you only get 15 lbs of propane but if you bring the tanks to your local gas company then they can fill them to 20 lbs and less expensive if the tanks are in good shape.  How you acquire your extra propane tanks is up to you but I have found Wal-Mart to be very accommodating when exchanging old rusty tanks for new ones the only drawback is the [smaller capacity, affording] 5 less pounds of propane.  Good luck, God Bless - Summer J.

JWR Adds: Because of the greater fire hazard, I recommend that you do any canning over a propane turkey roasting base outdoors. While you won't have the classic hot grease fire risk often seen with roasting or deep frying poultry, any time you have a large temporary propane burner set up, there is greater fire risk than with a permanent indoor installation. Also, be absolutely certain that the burner is set up on a dead level surface, and that it is very stable and wide enough to accommodate your canning vessel. Having this apparatus tip over while canning would be perilous!

As an avid competitor in IPSC and local pistol competitions, a number of years ago I decided to reload ammunition on my own.  I felt this would pay for itself over the long haul as well as allow me to work up loads that would have the correct power factor, accuracy, and excellent feeding for competitions, not to mention self-defense.  In addition, after the passing of the Brady Bill, I took on another task of casting my own bullets with the possible specter of either the government removal of ammunition from store shelves or some other legislative means of taking away guns via restrictions with powder, USEPA restrictions with lead and so on.  I wanted to be relatively self-sufficient and have an asset that might be marketable in light of a possible economic, social, or political meltdown.

T his discussion will specifically address bullet casting 185 grain semi-wadcutter bullets and 200 grain semi-wadcutter bullets for the .45 ACP or “melting lead for the meltdown.”

It helps to have a good source of lead and other metals for the “melt.”  The “melt” is what you have in your melting pot to pour bullets.  This comes from your source and supply of metal.  My brother initially supplied two 5 gallon buckets of discarded used wheel weights from the garage he worked at.  In addition, I have purchased on eBay “linotype” which makes a very good melt for cast bullets.   Wheel weights generally have an appropriate mix of lead, tin, and other metals that give a reasonable hardness with cast as bullets.  The ratio noted in the Lyman manual indicates the following alloy and the hardness factor for their own recipe called Lyman #2 alloy: 90% lead, 5% tin, and 5% antimony giving you a hardness factor of 15 (Brinell Hardness Number or BHN).  The linotype mentioned (which comes from the printer’s shop and generally available via eBay) has a hardness factor of 22 due to having more antimony and a bit less lead.  The wheel weights had to be sorted and melted into ingots and put aside until there was enough to start the casting process.  I also had to weed out any weights that smacked of zinc as this will be a negative factor in casting.

My bullet casting started with primal tools and has worked to a little bit more efficient tools.  I started with a cast iron pot, ladle, kitchen stove (really makes the wife happy) and a Lyman #2670460  200 grain semi-wad cutter mold with a four bullet capacity.  The handles are RCBS which work with the Lyman mold.  My second mold is from Magma Engineering which can be checked out at their web site, a 185 grain semi-wad cutter bullet with a two bullet cavity.  Again, I went with RCBS handles.  

Other tools of the trade include: a hickory handle to break what is known as the sprue, a stainless steel spoon for stirring into the melt either Brownells Flux or a pea size chunk of paraffin wax, a heavy duty kitchen glove or mitt, a heavy duty box to plop newly cast bullets into, and a small pan to place excess sprue into.     

Later, after learning some of the basics and wanting to speed up the casting process I graduated to a Lee Pro 20 Series melter.  There are numerous other melting pots on the market that you might check out at Midway USA or other outlets.  I also picked up Lyman melt thermometer to keep track of the temperature of the melt. But, wait, there’s more!  So, to get started with your melting, you need the following:

1. A 2 cavity or 4 cavity bullet mold (mine are the Lyman #2670460 4 cavity 200 gr. Semi-wad cutter and the Magma Engineering 2 cavity 185 grain semi wad cutter).
                 
2. A pair of RCBS mold handles.
                 
3. Lee Pro 20 Series Melter

4. Safety Equipment: Face shield, apron, long sleeve shirt, gloves, and leather boots
                 
5. Miscellaneous: hickory handle, stainless steel spoon, flux/paraffin wax, kitchen glove, and container for bullets.

Those bullets have to be sized and lubed before they can be reloaded.  This is what I wanted to be able to do.  So, the additional tools you’ll need for the sizing and lubing from your manufacturer of choice, I picked a:

1.  Lyman 450 Bullet Sizer/Lubricator

2.  A Midway Lube Heater (which is mounted under the Sizer/Lubricator)

3.  Lube (Alox or Blue Angel -- the latter needs the lube heater)

4.  Lyman top punch sizing die.  The sizing die and top punch size the bullet (in my case to .452 diameter) to the right diameter for the .45 ACP.

I might add it would be helpful to have a manual handy for the whole process such as the Lyman Reloading Handbook.  A handbook for bullet casting should also come with the bullet sizer/lubricator.  There may be something on YouTube as well; however, I have not checked it out.  In addition, I believe there are videos available to assist you.  I have never used or purchased a video but I think it would be helpful.

So, in a well-ventilated workspace, let’s fire up the Lee Pro 20 melter.  I take the ingots that I have made from the wheel weights and/or the linotype and place them in the melter.  There is a gauge on the melter for the approximate temperature and as you become better experienced you will likely be able to drop the melt thermometer.  You want at least 650 degrees and you want a small fan or a vent hood to dispel any lead fumes.  As the ingots slowly melt, add a teaspoon of flux or the pea size piece of paraffin wax to draw the dross to the top of the melt.  Skim off the dross with your stainless steel spoon (and duct tape the handle end to prevent burns) and discard in something non-flammable. While the ingots are in the pot melting, you will want to heat your bullet mold.  I just set mine on the edge of the melter and rotate it to try to heat it with some uniformity.  When the melt has reached temperature, place your mold under the valve or spigot where the melter will allow the melt to flow out and lift the handle to allow the flow of the melt.  As you fill each cavity let an additional amount pour to have a good break when the sprue plate is popped open.  At the top of the bullet cavity is the sprue plate which has to be hit to shear off the excess melt providing a nice flat base on the bullet.  Once the sprue plate is knocked back with your hickory handle, break the mold open, gently tap if needed, and drop the bullets into a non-flammable container. 

Use your spoon to scoop up one of the bullets to see if it is well formed.  Generally, it takes me maybe 4-to-5 pourings to get nicely formed bullets.  This is due largely to the molds having to get up to temperature. When the bullets are coming out well formed then continue the process of pouring, breaking the sprue plate open, dropping the newly molded bullets, and so on.  If you notice your bullets coming out looking “frosty” then you will need to back off on your temperature or let your mold cool off a few minutes. When a bullet “frosts” it becomes brittle and that isn’t good while moving down your gun barrel at 850 fps.  Keep constant check for that.  50 pourings with a four cavity mold will give you 200 bullets.  You can get this in maybe an hour or more depending on your skills and experience.  As you  consume the melt, you will have to put in more ingots.  This will take a few minutes to melt and come to temperature.  I like to size and lube during these breaks  while my ingots are initially starting to melt.  I try to finish up my bullet casting when the depth of the melt in the melter is about an inch deep (measured by my spoon) and after I have gone thru enough melt to cast 400-500 bullets.  Time to unplug the melter and let the remainder cool down. 

With free wheel weights a good bit of money has been saved.  The equipment will pay for itself.  The time is well used and for me a bit therapeutic.  I like seeing things come out right that I actually had a part in.  A box of 500 bullets is now close to $50.  When I was competing regularly I was going thru 300 bullets per week which isn’t a lot.  I still was knocking at the door of A class in IPSC with the 300 rounds per week in practice.  So, for me, buying 300 rounds a week at Wal-Mart was not going to work.  Casting and reloading my own ammo has worked out well.

Now, we’re not quite finished yet since the cooled bullets have to be sized and lubed.  Generally speaking, you would want to “slug” your barrel to confirm the size you need to get your bullets to.  I didn’t do that and never have had a problem.  I just made sure I had the .452" top punch/sizer.  I am assuming you have your sizer/lubricator and heater mounted at this time so I am dispensing with further instructions.  If you use Lyman Alox or other lubes that don’t need heating then don’t plug the lube heater in.  If you go with “Blue Angel” hard lube then you will need to crank up the heater, place your lube in the lubricator and run a bullet thru.  You will likely have to adjust the sizer/lubricator to ensure the bullet is being completely sized and that the bullet lube fills the lube groove on the bullet fully.  You can crank out the sized and lubed bullets and place them into whatever container you’d like.  I have used Betty Crocker icing containers, small boxes suitable for holding 300-500 bullets, and a large plastic canister that held psyllium husks from NOW foods.  These bullets are ready for reloading, storage,  packaging to sell or barter. 
  
In conclusion, this has been a basic how to to melt for the meltdown.  You will have to experiment as you go along.  Talk with others who cast bullets as well and you will get tips and pointers that will be helpful.  I can’t leave without leaving a couple thoughts as to a spiritual side of bullet casting.  One is that when the lead ingots melt, there is a tremendous heat and I actually ponder a place called ‘hell.’  I cannot imagine being there and as a child asked Jesus Christ to forgive me of my sin and trusted Him as my Savior.  Thankfully, I will never have to face an eternity as hot or hotter than the melted lead in my melter.  Second, as a believer, Proverbs talks about the “fining pot and the furnace.”  It can apply to the lives of Christians who are going thru the “heat” of trials in this life.  After you skim off the dross from the melt, the melt is mirror-like when you look down into it.  You can actually see your reflection.  It makes me think that when the “heat” is on in my life, the Lord wants to skim off the dross and see a reflection of Himself as He looks on.  And, He wants the world to see His reflection as well.  God bless you and keep you safe.  May he give us all the wisdom we need in the event of a “meltdown.”

The following are my observations based upon my experience with the care and processing of small livestock, living in a hot and humid climate on the Gulf of Mexico

Poultry:

Chicks of all species need warmth for their first few weeks, but on the Gulf Coast, and anywhere else with a hot climate, it's easy to overheat them. If you're keeping the birds outside, and it's anything over 80F or so, they probably do not need additional heat from a heat lamp or other source. Generally, I would take away a heat lamp and use a regular incandescent bulb if the temperatures were regularly over 65ish. If it is cool enough to still require external heating, keep the lamp off to one side of the enclosure. Be very careful to "round out" any corners the enclosure may have, particularly when the chicks are very young. Chicks pile up on top of each other and suffocation is a common cause of death in the early days. Ensuring there is enough room for all of the chicks also helps decrease the chance of suffocation.

[JWR Adds: In our experience, an oval galvanized steel livestock water tank works quite well for raising chicks. Add a screen of chicken wire across the top to keep out curious cats and to restrain hopping chicks. By placing a 200 watt heat lamp at one end of the tank, allowing the chicks to choose a place with a comfortable temperature.]

The food and water should not be under the lamp, to help minimize fouling or tipping of either. It also encourages chicks to move out from the heat. If the chicks are very young, and aren't a waterfowl species, marbles can be placed in the waterer (or bowl) so the chicks do not trip and drown. On account of their absolutely tiny size, quail chicks are particularly susceptible to falling into water sources, even despite marbles, if there is anything much more than a finger's gap between the marbles, as are guinea fowl chicks. Keep quail chicks in wire cloth enclosures for a very long time – some of the species are so small at adulthood, they can still easily slip out of standard chicken wire.

Some sources recommend treating the water with tetracycline and electrolyte additives – I personally had mixed success with that course of action. Some breeds and species seem to fail to thrive without it, and some fail to thrive with it. My best advice is to – if you choose to purchase and use the powdered additives – do so sparingly and not for long periods of time. And if you turn the water a bright yellow from how much you added – dilute it!

Chick starter, which is a higher-protein chicken feed with very small granules, can be used for most chicks with a fairly high rate of success. Some of the smaller quail species are actually too small for even that – cornmeal can be used for these, if you discover they are having issues, or grind some of the chick starter more finely.

While I have, at times, raised regular poultry and waterfowl chicks together, ducklings and goslings are very, very messy, and will make all the other chicks rather dirty, smelly, and sickly on account of how wet they'll get. The best course of action is to generally keep them separated, particularly since ducklings and goslings are happiest when they have a tiny "pond" to swim in from the get go. While very young, a pie pan will suffice for a pond (glass is better, as it is usually too heavy to tip over). The only real concern is "can they climb into it and climb out of it." If you do not keep a small swimming area for them in their enclosure, a kiddie pond is plenty acceptable, provided they have supervision (aka, "rescuers" for when they've tired themselves out). Stopped up bathtubs or sinks work, too, but as waterfowl defecate while swimming, you may want to pass on that option.

Should non-waterfowl chicks get wet, getting them warm and dry again is a priority if at all possible, as even in warm temperatures, they will catch cold and basically freeze to death. If you have a lot of chicks to dry, a heat lamp and a hair dryer (on low, held at a distance) works, but a dry towel and rubbing is better for the chicks (just be gentle!).

I have generally had poor success when grouping chicks of too disparate ages together – two weeks makes a huge difference in size for most birds. The older chicks will suffocate the younger ones, simply by being large enough the younger chicks can get underneath them and then get trapped.

Most chicks will begin to get their first real feathers (along their wings) within a week – unless it is unseasonably cold, or these are winter chicks – it is generally safe to remove a heat lamp (and sometimes even a regular lamp) once the chicks are about half feathered over their bodies. Naturally, common sense should be employed when deciding whether chicks still need their heat source or not.

Depending on the purpose and breed/species of the chicks, the methods of feeding and care after this point vary in detail, but not in the basics. All birds should have enough feed to "free feed" (unless range – these may or may not need supplementation, depending on your situation) and access to plenty of clean water. For chickens and turkeys, meat breeds can be grown at a quick rate by regulating their daily light exposure and feeding a high protein selection with added corn gluten (for that bright yellow color). Long periods of light and artificially cold temperatures are how the best "market" birds are produced. If you don't particularly care that it'll take twelve weeks instead of eight weeks for a similar size, I suggest skipping building an insulated and air conditioned enclosure. The birds turn out healthier, anyhow.

For waterfowl, if you don't provide them with a place to go for a swim, they will find one – usually another pen's waterer, based on my experience. Their food and drinking water should be kept fairly close together, as they generally need to water to help them eat standard crumble-based feed.

Once the birds are older than a month to six weeks, the care is basically the same. Adult birds should have access to grit – which is also a calcium supplementation for the laying hens. If you have guinea fowl (be careful about purchasing/acquiring these, as because of their volume and constant racket, they are generally banned in urban areas, even the urban farming friendly ones), be sure to keep them penned until they're about six months old, so they know where "home" is. The moment you let them range, if you intend to, they will spend time flying about and generally being a nuisance. On the other hand, they do tend to keep the hawks from dining on too many of your birds, as well as alert you that running outside with a weapon to scare off whichever predator was a-hunting maybe a good idea at that point.

If laying hens are your intent, be sure to build a coop with easy access for egg collecting. Our first coop had two wire doors that allowed for human entry (basically crawling into the coop) near both ends, on the same long side, the better to catch birds with. It later was modified, when we built a chicken wire enclosure with a wire roof (because of hawks), to include a chicken-sized exit in the middle of the long side without human-sized openings. The laying boxes were built into the ends of the coop, so that it was easy to reach in to collect the eggs. The coop had a solid floor, as did the nest boxes, and was raised a couple of feet off the ground to help discourage the rats. (This did not always work.) The coop was effective, but had its limitations. If you are unfortunate enough to have a cock that grows up to be violent and frequently attacks, having to crawl face-first into a coop is rather daunting. (As an aside, if any of your birds become human-aggressive, regardless of their age and quality, I strongly suggest culling the bird. An old rooster, even if past the point of being edible for your pot, makes good dog and/or pig food.)

Nest boxes should be large enough that the largest of your hens can sit comfortably in them with a couple of inches to spare. Because of this, if you intend to keep turkey hens for layers, I suggest the smaller breeds such as the Cannonball, although the Bronzes will also work.

Raising chicks from eggs laid by your own birds can be rewarding – and heartbreaking. It is a combination of equipment, practice, and luck. Research the topic thoroughly before attempting – and you may just want to let a broody hen (who will valiantly guard a nest of eggs from being taken) go through the trouble.

Chicken manure will burn plants if added straight to a garden. Let it "age" before considering adding it to a garden. I recommend adding it to the compost pile, first, so it cools down enough to not burn the plants.

A note on pigeons and squab: while squab is a fairly tasty meat, attempting to raise the chicks yourself is not something that should be undertaken. Purchase adult birds, and let them hatch and raise chicks. Squab should be "harvested" before the chick can fly, and the size will depend on the breed. The nest boxes should be placed a few feet above ground, and can probably be a little bit smaller than a chicken hen's nest box. If penned, they will need standard poultry fare. If allowed to range after they've learned where "home" is, they will pretty much take care of themselves.

Rabbits:

Rabbits are small, relatively easy to keep livestock. The meat is lean, if that is a concern for your family, and the hides can be tanned for either fur or just skin. There are many breeds of rabbits. I do not suggest the long haired breeds for at least the Gulf Coast unless you intend to keep the animal as a pet or in an air conditioned facility. Californians (white rabbits with dark colored ears, nose, and feet) and New Zealands (mostly found in solid white, but sometimes red or black as well) are the two most popular "commercial" breeds. They mature fast and are fairly prolific. The does I kept often had litters of eight kits or more. I also raised Satins, which are so named for the satin sheen to their fur – very beautiful creatures, and lovely soft furs. We tried Palominos (colored much like palomino horses), which are supposed to have excellent growth rates for their fryers (butcher sized rabbits) but had issues with their feet being torn up in cages that the New Zealands had no issues with. However, don't overlook a doe and/or buck of totally unknown pedigree. Our first doe, Attack Rabbit, and the one who produced the largest kits, although often not the largest litters, was bought at a feed store who had gotten her from someone-or-another. She was a great producer for early Spring cash – she mostly threw spotted babies, regardless of the buck, and spotted baby bunnies sell very well as Easter bunnies and pets in general.

Rabbits are best kept in multi-cage hutches, with one adult rabbit per cage (except for breeding, which is not a long-term activity for a rabbit). Commercial rabbit food is certainly sufficient – it is a mostly alfalfa pellet with some additives. Roughage, such as grass, corn stalks, lettuce, alfalfa cubes, hay, or the like, should also be provided. Chewable items, like blocks of wood, should be readily available, as rabbits have to chew on things to keep their teeth from growing too long. Salt licks (small round discs of salt) should also be made readily available. There are plain salt licks (usually just white), and mineral salt licks (usually brown in color). My rabbits always seemed to prefer the mineral blocks to the plain. Rabbit feeders can be metal containers that fit into and through the side of the cage or crocks (heavy based bowls) sitting on the floor of the cage.

Like any other living creature, water should be readily and easily available. Rabbit waterers are bottle-fed gravity metal tubes with a ball-bearing that prevents too much water from coming out until the rabbit licks it to get water. These are generally attached to the outside of the cage. There are similar "nipples" for water lines, for larger rabbitries. Some breeders prefer to offer both food and water in crocks – I personally had issues with the water crocks being knocked over more times than not, particularly once a litter of bunnies was bouncing around in the cage along with the doe.

Despite the ease of growing and raising them, rabbits have a few "issues." Rabbit urine is highly acidic and corrosive. It will, eventually, damage cages to the point of requiring repair. Rabbit feces are rather "hot," and cannot be placed directly on a garden – the exception here being blueberry bushes, which love them. Worms, however, are often grown immediately under a rabbit hutch, as they break down the waste rapidly, and thrive on it. Allow rabbit waste to "sit" under the worms' tender care for a bit before attempting to add it to a compost pile or garden directly. Adding it to compost to finish cooling down is a better option than adding it straight to the garden.

Domesticated rabbits are descendants of the European cottontails, and thus, are not terribly heat tolerant, and, in the Gulf Coast's climate, are prone to heat exhaustion and heat stroke during summer. They are also not very productive during the summer months, because of this heat intolerance.

Despite their heat intolerance, rabbits can be successfully kept in the high temperature and high humidity climate of the Gulf Coast, with a few caveats. When selecting an area for the hutches, pick an area with decent air flow and shade to help keep them cool. The hutches should not be 100% solid sided, but be at least half hardware cloth, as well as having wire bottoms. Do NOT use chicken wire as the primary material – some rabbits like chewing on it. It can be used to wrap around any wooden posts (double wrap it and secure with U-nails; it's a pain to do, but works better). A piece of wood or sheetrock should be provided as a place to sit that isn't the wire bottom. Failure to do so can cause sores on the rabbits' feet. The nest boxes should also be constructed with wire bottoms, with an ability to mostly enclose them for winter litters. The hutches should also be located in a relatively quiet area – constant loud noises will stress the rabbits and increase the chances that the does will reabsorb their litters before birth, or even eat the kits after birth.

If you build the hutch, each enclosure within the hutch should be at least two feet square plus a reasonable height – it may look like a lot of space, but a nest box should be at least 12" wide by 18" long and 12" tall. Also make sure to construct the openings large enough to easily get the nest box into the pen.

After selecting a shady area with good airflow, the next caveat is this: if you intend to breed rabbits during the summer, for late summer or early fall litters, the buck will need, at minimum, a large bottle of ice to rest beside to maintain his fertility. Bucks lose their fertility when the temperatures get into the upper 90s F. I recommend two liter bottles mostly filled with water and then frozen solid for the purpose. You should probably have at least two bottles per buck – the first bottle will probably have thawed completely out by the end of the day, and he'll need cooling even overnight often. A fan in addition to the bottle of ice certainly would not hurt the buck, nor any doe in the area. One of the more serious show rabbitries I interacted with had an entire barn for their rabbits, somewhat insulated and could be enclosed during the worst of the summer heat for air conditioning, and in all but the coldest of winter, large livestock style fans ran from every roof-corner in the barn. The reason for this was that it ensured the rabbits' fur was not thinned out in reaction to the temperatures. As I was not involved in showing rabbits, and the furs and hides were kept for home use only, we usually made due with ice bottles and fans for our bucks – or forwent litters from June to September.

Breeding is done by placing a doe in with a buck for a short period of time. We generally kept ours separated unless breeding, because neither of our bucks were very bright (we only kept two bucks at a time). I had to occasionally move the buck to the correct end of the doe. Unless it is midsummer, if a doe does not produce kits after a couple of breedings (approximately 3 months), it is probably time to cull her from the colony.

The gestation period of a rabbit is approximately 30 days, with the resulting litters being 4 to 12 kits. Place a clean nest box in her cage a couple of weeks after breeding. The doe will start nesting a few days to a week before the kits are due, and she'll do this by pulling tufts of fur from her belly to make a nest with. Fill the nest box with a mid-quality hay (not too scratchy) for her, and she'll take care of the rest. Try to ensure her toenails have been trimmed, so she doesn't hurt the babies when they're born. When the kits are born, the doe will eat the afterbirth.  Occasionally, a doe may accidentally "eat" part of one of her babies – remove the corpse as soon as possible. An over-stressed doe may eat, or partially eat, an entire litter. Some … very few … seem to acquire a taste for doing so. If two litters are destroyed in such a fashion, cull the doe immediately. I have only had two does, in all the rabbits I've raised, acquire this "habit" – they both were violent rabbits to begin with. One was named Rabies, the other Rabies II. Rabies II left claw marks on my arm that took the better part of five years to fade. Does are likely to attack as they get close to birthing up until the kits have been weaned (4-6 weeks). In my experience, the ones to keep an eye on are the ones who attack without kits in the cage.

The kits are born furless and blind, but start putting on fur nigh immediately. Their eyes open between 8-12 days, and they start getting into trouble shortly thereafter. They can be safely removed from their mother's cage by eight weeks of age, and butchered from eight weeks to four months without any influence on the flavor – size and how long you want to feed them are the real factors here.

If you are attempting to grow your colony, select the best doe and/or buck from the litter. "Best" can be the largest, the most docile, the most wildly spotted, the most interestingly colored one, or what have you. If none of them meet your fancy, cull the whole litter. Sexing rabbits is an acquired skill, and not easily described with words alone. The pictures here are pretty good. Does are more useful than bucks, but raising an extra buck isn't always a bad thing. My personal preference, however, is to usually bring in a buck from another breeder, to keep from causing problems for the later generations. If you do keep any of the babies for breeding stock, make sure to keep a breeding book to track them, so you don't breed a doe to her grandfather-and-daddy – that's pushing it. Skip a generation at that point. Two unrelated bucks would be a minimum for raising breeding stock does. (If you want to get really complicated, you can also tattoo the ears of rabbits, to better track them. This is particularly useful for single-breed rabbitries which may not be able to distinguish animals by sight alone.)

Does can be bred at 6 months of age, and bucks at 7 months of age, but all the experienced breeders and books I read on the subject strongly suggested waiting until a doe was a minimum of 10 months old prior to breeding her. While a doe can theoretically be bred back to a buck the day her litter is removed from her pen, it is generally suggested to give her a short break between litters, for her own health.

Processing:

I was introduced to the "art" of butchering chickens at the age for 12 or 13, when I raised my first set of market chickens for 4-H. It was messy, I cried, and hated it. I wasn't a stranger to death (one of the dogs had slaughtered, rather methodically, all but the birds that had been penned up as "the best" for show, two days before), I just wasn't comfortable with me being involved in it. Not to mention, there's something terribly savage and horrifying about seeing something's head cut off with an axe blade in real life, regardless of how many horror movies you've seen growing up as a kid.

By the time I was fourteen, and for the next twelve years, I performed almost all of the butchering. My father assisted with the larger animals (goats and pigs). He slaughtered and butchered one cow, while I assisted – I was too short to do that one primarily. When I visit now, I still lend a hand with the task if needed.

My father quickly established that I severely lacked the hand-eye coordination to use the axe to butcher chickens, and that I also lacked the upper body strength (and distance) to use the "standard" pull the neck method of breaking a chicken's neck. We cast about for a better option for a short girl in the 6th grade. We settled on tree branch clippers, the sort with handles about 2 feet long, and a short, curved blade, with a scissors like motion. It was my idea – the leverage gave me enough mechanical strength to make a clean kill, and the blades were long enough to pin a bird (and later rabbits) for the duration. My experience has been that clippers can be used successfully on birds below the size of geese and turkeys, and on rabbits as well. If the blade is sharp, the animal may be almost entirely decapitated, which allows for it to bleed immediately. I do suggest that, for rabbits, it be a two person job, to hold the rabbit's ears out of the way – their ears are extremely sensitive, and the commotion is enough to scare them a bit anyhow, no need to taint the meat. For geese and turkeys, I strongly suggest that the bird's wings be restrained (we did so by cutting a turkey-head sized hole into the bottom of a 5 gallon bucket, and having the body of the bird be inside the bucket) and a .22 bullet be used. It's fast, it's still cheap, and by pinning the bird's wings, the post-death twitching/flapping/etc. cannot break the wings.

When selecting a site for processing, I recommend access to clean water, buckets for offal, and fresh air. A flat surface is necessary for poultry; a place to hang the carcass is necessary (or at least vastly more convenient) for most mammals. A sharp knife or two is important; my preferred for butchering is a skinning blade with a gut hook.
           

Poultry:
             
From this point, there are three methods for finishing poultry: dry plucking, wet plucking, and skinning. Frankly, in my opinion, none of them are particularly easy to do, but wet plucking takes my number one most-hated spot.

Dry plucking involves pretty much exactly like it sounds. I strongly recommend this method for quail, squab, and young broilers. Remove the head and neck of the bird, as well as the lower scaly part of the leg. Generally I remove the first wing joint, as well, because it is far more hassle than it is worth to do otherwise. You may need a pair of pliers to remove the primary feathers on older chickens, turkeys of any age, ducks, and geese. Grab a handful of feathers (starting on the breast of the bird is easiest), pull against the "grain" of the feathers. On smaller or younger birds, such as quail or broilers, the skin is very tender and can be torn very easily, even when plucking. Start off with a lighter hand than you might think you need, and work up in force from there. Continue to do this until the carcass is as completely de-feathered as you can get it. You may prefer to leave the tail feathers on, and remove the tail during the next step.

Wet plucking involves a large pot of very hot water. If you are going to wet pluck waterfowl, a few drops of dish soap is recommended, to break the oil barrier on the feathers, so it is possible to do so. Prior to removing the head/neck, lower legs, and wing tips, dip the carcass into the pot of very hot water for 15-30 seconds, using the lower legs as "handles." Bring the bird out of the water, and give an experimental tug on the feathers. If they pull out fairly easily, continue plucking the bird. You may have to re-dip it if it is a large bird, or it cools off too much. Be careful to not over dip the bird, as when this occurs, the skin scalds and starts peeling. You will notice that wet feathers are very clingy, and like to stick to everything – you, the table, the bird, the pot, the post one landed on when you tried to get some off your hands. Wet feathers also don't smell particularly wonderful, which is why I rather intensely dislike this method. Once again, remove all the feathers. After this, remove the head/wing tips/lower legs.

Skinning is pretty much like how it sounds. It is trickier on poultry than it is on a mammal, however, as the skin attaches in odd seeming places. On chickens, it attaches rather firmly around the leg-thigh joint, the chest bone, along the back, and very firmly attaches at the base of the tail. The skin also tears easily, so instead of larger chunks, you generally end up having nearly strips. It can be a bit frustrating, and does remove some cooking options later. Remove the head/wing tips/lower legs before commencing; it makes the task easier.

Once the bird is plucked or skinned, very carefully cut across the abdominal cavity, effectively thigh to thigh, and then approximately down the middle (there is often a sort of ''seam" here, it may just tear a bit under tension). Only use enough pressure with the blade to cut the skin, not any more than you have to use. Scoop the offal out, being careful to not touch more of the exterior of the bird than necessary. At this point, you can try to either remove the tail entirely, so as not to risk fecal contamination, or, once you have some practice, you can detach the anus from the tail with minimal problems. Rinse the bird out and off with fresh water (as well as yourself), and get the bird into refrigerated conditions as soon as possible, preferably before you start on the next bird.

Rabbits:

Mammals are more or less the same process, regardless of size. The tools necessary may differ – I don't have the strength to crack the hip bones on a cow or pig, or most goats, and need at least a hacksaw to do that job, but I can do so with a rabbit or other small mammal with my bare hands. Rabbits make for good practice animals for larger animals later, and the process is effectively the same for anything smaller.

Hang the rabbit from your chosen point. I either used bailing wire wraps around the hock of the back legs, or twine from hay bales tied into slip knots, tightened around the hock. Either way, the hock is a good place for an anchor point.  The rabbit's head should now be pointing at the ground, and all directions from this point are referencing the current up-down direction.

Run your knife in a circle just below the anchor point, all the way around the leg. Pull the skin taut with one hand, and gently run the blade down the middle inside of the thigh to the pelvic area. Repeat on the other leg. Very carefully cut across below the vent area, making the two cuts meet. Peel the skin down the legs, and work a finger under the skin, just below the tail, until you can get the knife through to cut the skin. Leave the tail on the carcass; it'll be a useful handle later. At this point, you should be able to peel the skin down the body slowly. Don't peel it down completely yet.

Finish removing the head from the carcass; there is usually a good bit of blood at this point. In a method similar to the hock area, cut the skin at the forefoot area, and then break the bone at that point. Use the knife to cut through the ligaments, and discard the forefoot into the offal bucket. Repeat with the other front foot. It's now possible to continue peeling the hide off of the rabbit without impediments. If it sticks at any point, very carefully cut through the offending tissue, as you don't want to pull the hide out of shape (if you intend on keeping it). If you don't care, just remove it as necessary. If this were a larger animal, you would have sliced the hide all the way down the belly of it, and pulled the hide off that way. You can do that with a rabbit, but it's just as easy to split the hide after it's off as when it is on. If you intend to keep the hide for other uses, feel free to take a moment to lay it out on a wooden board, flesh side up, and sprinkle it with salt to start the initial curing process.

To break the hips easily, grasp one thigh in each hand, and bend them backwards. You will hear a crack, and possibly even see the pelvic bone fracture through the muscle, which is very thin. This should be more or less directly below the vent. At this point, very, very carefully cut around the vent area to open it, and down across the fracture. Using the gut hook, if you have it, or a very delicate touch with a straight blade if you must, cut the abdominal muscles all the way down to the ribcage. Cut through the tail bone, and use it as a handle to pull the intestinal tract down/away from the body of the rabbit, to prevent contamination. Then carefully remove the lower organs. You can remove the heart and lungs without cutting through the ribcage, but as rabbit is generally cut up instead of served whole, there is rarely reason to avoid doing so. Cut through the ribs and scoop out what remains. Rinse the rabbit, your hands, and knife (or knives) thoroughly. Then, gripping the thigh and foot of one leg, break the leg as close to the anchor point as you can. Repeat with the other leg. Hold on to the carcass, and cut through the remaining tendons and ligaments on one leg and then the other to bring it down from hanging.

Place the carcass into a refrigerated area as soon as possible. The meat can be aged for a day or so, if you prefer, frozen immediately, or even made that night.

Again, this is roughly the same procedure for almost any mammal. I've even used it on raccoons that managed to get caught in the traps set up to stop chickens from being stolen. (On a side note, to get rid of the really gamey taste, cook raccoon with onion, sliced apples and potatoes. The apples and potatoes won't be human edible afterwards, but the raccoon will turn out tasting rather like beef. Just be sure to cook it very well done.)

The art of making usable material out of the skin of animals has been in practice since the beginning of mankind. Hide tanning is one of the oldest skills known to man that is still in practice today. I'm sure that with the economy the way it is anyone who isn't rich and in their right mind won't want to pay the going price for quality leather, much less traditionally tanned leather. 

Not only is the making of leather an old practice but it was used all over the world and to a certain extent, still is today. Leather can be used for anything that needs to be durable under hard conditions such as shoes, saddles, and armor. However, the American Indians tanned a more supple, softer leather than the stiff, rugged tacking leather that we know of and are used to often known as buckskin. While being almost as durable as the shoe leather of the English settlers, it was also just as soft and porous as a cotton T-shirt. It has been told that George Washington actually ordered white buckskin pants made for his soldiers to reduce resources spent on fabric and sewing. However, with the introduction of the industrial revolution, the former art of tanning using bark and brains was replaced with chrome tanning and other chemical tanning agents. Buckskin was then replaced with denim and other strongly woven fabrics. The convenience of this “new” material out sold the small cottage business and the art of brain tanning all but disappeared. Bark tanning on the other hand is still used today and encouraged in the US to protect the environment rather than the use of toxic chemicals.

I became interested in tanning after my dad shot his first deer. While always having been raised under the classic motto of  “use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without”, I wanted to try to tan the hide. Being only about 14years old at the time I didn't really have a lot of money to spend on chemicals and professional tanning equipment. Instead started researching the original methods that could be done with nothing more than what was found in the woods or that I could make myself. So I gathered the materials I needed based on what information I had read. Even though I read a book on brain tanning and several online articles, it still took a lot trial and error for me to figure it out. I completely destroyed about 5 or 6 deer hides before I got 1 deer hide decently tanned.

Now, if we look at the practical aspects of tanning in the light of a preparedness lifestyle; we see many more uses to leather than what meets the eye. For example, If the grid was to go down and society as we know it goes back to a hunter gatherer environment, then being able to make and provide your own clothing could be critical to your survival. Needless to say leather would outlast anything that could be woven or spun and in turn also be twice as warm without sacrificing physical comfort or ease of use. Leather can also be a great bartering tool. Even now, the going price for brain, egg, oil ,   buckskin is anywhere from $15 to $25 a sq ft and bark tanned leather for about $10 to 15 a sq ft. In a post apocalyptic scenario, that could equate to canned goods or ammo.  Did I mention that leather tanned using the traditional methods is can even be eaten? If you boil buckskin, the preserved fibers in the hide basically disintegrate into moist, soft, spaghetti like texture. No, I've not eaten buckskin so I can't really say how it tastes, But I know people who were daring enough to try it and they liked it. If you've ever eaten brains, tongue, liver, you lunch meat from the local grocery store I think it can be done.

Judging from my personal experience, learning to tan is not something anyone will likely learn in any one article or book. For me it took trial and error, for others it took someone showing them or giving hands on experience in a class or personally. That is why it is important to research and learn this fabulous skill. For me, perseverance was key. Even though I had completely ruined at least 5 different deer hides before I ever got the 1 tanned it made the difference between me knowing how to keep my family clothed; during a sustained collapse or not. I believe tanning is and important skill to learn, and in hopes of inspiring someone to begin learning on their own I will outline the three basic steps in tanning. Since I've only tanned deer hides so far, I will explain as though it were with a deer hide. I do plan on tanning different kinds of hides and furs, but for now, I stay busy with deer hides.     

First, you'll need to gather the tools.  You'll need the following tools:    a scraper, five gallon bucket or two, some cord (optional), either 1 pound of pork or cattle brains (that is, if your not using the brains that came with the animal.), or about 6 eggs, or one bar of you favorite smelling bars of soap with about 2 cups of any kind of non petroleum based oil, a basic understanding of the tanning process, and a lot of willingness to work. I use an old scythe blade as a scraper because it is just sharp enough to scrape off the hair, flesh, and membrane and not so sharp that it will cut up the hide. Whatever tool usually works fine as long as its not too sharp.

Three basics step are required to successfully tan deer hides, scraping, dressing, and tanning. There are quite a few variables as far as how to complete each step, different tools for each step, and so on. Do remember that even if you were to try and tan really traditionally using one method of a certain American Indian tribe for instance, you would have to pick which tribe because they all had different methods. Every tanner has a special formula or secret ingredient that supposedly makes the hide greater in some way. The best thing for any interested beginner is to just try a few different ways of tanning on some hides for themselves and find out what works best for them.

Scraping- the first thing you need to do is get your hide ready to scrape. If it was in the freezer, thaw it using some hot water just so that it gets back to being flexible and loose just like it did when I came off the animal. If you got it from a friend or a butcher who salted it, than you'll want to scrape all of the salt off, or just proceed to fleshing.

The first part of the scraping process is to flesh the hide. The goal of this part is to get all of the big chucks of meat, fat, and membrane off of the hide so that all you can see is the white part of the hide. Its up to you if you save the hide junk or not. I don't because I don't need it, but I know people who use it as dog treats. I know that the Inuit Indians up north save all of that stuff for tallow and to eat in stews and such. Who knows, if we ever come to TEOTWAWKI, than I might just be eating some hide meat.

Next you de-hair the hide. There are many ways to go about this step; I soak the hide in a wood ash/water solution known as the buck. This is to raise the pH of the hide toward the alkaline side of things so that the emulsified oils can penetrate later when you dress the hide. The other purpose of the buck is to swell the hide so that the hair will slip and kind of fall out on its own. This is a good step, but isn't necessary. Some people just soak it in water until the hair slips. I've done both and always prefer to buck the hide. It make everything much easier!

Now that the hide has been fleshed and de-haired, the flesh side of the hide has to be scraped again to get all of the membrane off. Even though that side has already been scraped, there is still an underlying layer of membrane called the Hypo-Dermis. that should be removed. If the hide was bucked, then it has to be done because the membrane has been stained by the ashes which might cause skin issues if it's left. If you just soak it in water really good instead of bucking the hide, you don't have to worry about that as much. In fact, some people leave the membrane because it gives a nice fuzzy feel to it. I don't like the fuzzy feel, so I don't keep the membrane.

Now that the hide has been successfully scraped, it should be rinsed thoroughly to get all of the hair and junk off of it. If the hide was bucked than it would be a good idea to either give it a vinegar bath, or soak it in a creek. The reason being that the alkalinity needs to be rinsed out either by balancing the pH levels with acidic vinegar, or by a constant current to whisk the alkalinity out of the hide. I use vinegar because we always have it in our house and it's easily at my disposal. But if we needed that vinegar for preps because the grocery store is being looted you can bet that I'll go down by the creek to rinse my hides! Just remember that if you use vinegar to only use about 1/4 cup per 3 gallon. A little goes a long way.

Dressing- This is the easy step. A lot of people really freak out about this step, but since I'm crazy enough to mess with dead animal skin, I guess I'm crazy enough to mess with dead animal brains! In truth, however, I seldom tan a hide with just brains. Since not every one who gives me deer hides also gives me the head and I simply refuse to spend money on tanning, I have to conserve my brains (thus the title). But, since we also try to save soap for washing, oil for cooking, and eggs for eating, I somehow have figured out how to mix them all together into one happy family. I also never mentioned that you can also use the liver and eyes. A little too grotesque? Well then there's also corn, jojoba berries, yucca root,  and even aloe juice. The goal is to coat the inner fibers of the hide with emulsified oils so that when you soften the hide it doesn't stiffen up. The hide becomes stiff because of the individual fibers in the hide locking together

There is a couple of things that needs to be done to get the hide ready for the dressing. Once the hide is rinsed, all of the moisture needs to be wrung out really good. And when I say really good, I mean REALLY good! The idea is to have it as dry as possible without getting it too dry. What I usually do is I get a strong stick, like an axe handle, and throw the top of the hide over the clothes line pole. Once the hide is over the pole so that there's more hide hanging off of one side of the pole than the other. Then put the other end of the hide over the end that's already on the pole so that there's a hide loop. Roll the two sides of the hide together and put the stick in the middle of the hide loop. Twist it until you can't twist any more then hold it until the water leaving the hide becomes just a drip and untwist then twist the other way and repeat. Once the hide is wrung as wrung gets, (trust me, you'll know) you'll need to stretch it back open so that the hide is all white again. Remember that the hide will still be wet in some spots and this is fine. Nobody is going to get every last drop of water out of the hide. Besides, you'll have to wring it after it is dressed and re-dress it a few times before the hide is ready to soften anyway.

Dressing the hides goes as follows: get about 2 cups of whatever emulsified pudding you plan to dress the hide in, mix it with 3 to 5 gallons of hot water, and work the hide into the dressing. A good dressing to start with would be about a half dozen eggs of any kind , or about 1 pound of brains. Once the hide is worked into the dressing thoroughly, leave it for a while and wring it again. I usually wring my hides at least 3 times to make sure that the dressing penetrated all of the pores good enough. Should the dressing not penetrate good enough than stiff spots will occur resulting in a hide that is not uniformly soft.

Tanning - First, the hide needs to be softened.  This is done by working the hide continuously until it is completely dry. If the hide is not dry by the time you quit working it, than it will get stiff.

There are 2 different ways to soften hides, 1) hand softening, 2) frame softening. The first hide I ever tanned was hand softened and I vowed to myself that I would never do it again. There is nothing wrong with the method itself, it's just that I couldn't figure it out and when I tried, I failed. I feel lucky that I  eventually tanned 1 hide using that method.

The general idea behind hand softening is simply to keep stretching the hide in multiple directions constantly. Some people use a steel cable pull the hide against the cable using a back and forth motion. On the other hand, some simply stretch the hide between their knees. The benefit of this method is that at any moment that you might need a break, you can put the hide in an airtight bag so that is doesn't dry out and get back to it when you have time. One way or the other, it is important to keep stretching and working hide until it is dry.

I on the other hand prefer to frame soften. Using this method requires some wood to build a frame with, some cord to lace it into the frame with, and a stick to soften it with. The benefit of this method is that the hide stretches wider and thinner rather than in whatever shape that it happened to be in when it finished drying. Yeah, you can't put a bag on it when your ready to quit, but the hide also dries faster because more of it is exposed to air at once. However, the key still is to work the hide until it is completely and uniformly dry and soft. If the hide should try to dry up, take it out of the frame and throw it back in the dressing before it dries too much. Otherwise you'll have a dried up, stiff mess that won't take the dressing as easily.

Once the hide is softened, jump up and down in celebration, because the hide is tanned! Now, you have the option to either smoke the hide, or leave it white. Wood smoke has a natural chemical in it known as formaldehyde that will create tiny little “bridges” between the fibers that you worked to hard to preserve so that should the hide ever get wet it would retain it's softness. A lot of people actually machine wash their hides to knock the smoky smell off of them. Also, smoking the hides gives them some color. What color depends on what kind of wood is used, the moisture level of the wood, how old the wood is, etc. I've gotten shades everywhere from light tan to dark brown.

There are a few different ways to smoke hides. Some people make a tepee and drape the hide over the fire. I've tried this method before and didn't like it because it took too long to completely smoke the hide. Instead, I glue the hide together lengthwise leaving one end open so that it resembles a case or a pouch. I then tie cord to the two top corners of the “hide case” and hang the hide from a branch, pole, or anything of the appropriate height. Once the hide is hung as described, I get a old coffee can, build a fire in it,  let the fire die so that its only coals, then put my smoking material on the coals so it produces smoke. When I get my smoke, I put the hide over the coffee can and tie it on so that the smoke goes into the hide and create almost a balloon with the smoke in the hide. Using this method requires that the holes be sewn shut so the smoke doesn't leave the hide. Once the hide is smoked it will last a very long time. I suggest washing it a few times, hanging it on the clothes line overnight, soaking it in water or something to knock the smoke smell off of it.

As I mentioned before, learning to tan from a single article on the internet is not likely. It took me hours and hours of research, talking to people on online discussion forums, experimenting with different methods, and a lot of trial and error. This article is really nothing more than a teaser and a crash course on some tanning basics. I encourage anyone truly interested in preparing or survival skills in general  to educate themselves in this incredibly rewarding and useful art.   

We all know how possible a grid down scenario is.  While we have been stuffing our pantries and freezers with food to sustain us, what happens when there is no electricity to run that freezer?  If it is winter time in a northern place then it would be fine and we could use Mother Nature.  But what if you live in a southern area where the temperature does not remain below freezing?

One solution would be to home-can your food. Also home canning is a very inexpensive and frugal way to add to your food stores.  Not to mention you know exactly what goes into those jars.  No bug content in my catsup like there is with the commercial type.  If you have worked in a commercial cannery then you will understand why I do not want to feed that stuff to my family.  It is horrifying to see what is actually deemed “acceptable”.

Let’s start out by talking about the equipment needed.  First thing you would need a good quality canner.  They can be purchased pretty much anywhere.  Most require a rubber gasket between the lid and the pot in order to produce a seal and build the required pressure in order to raise the temperature to a point that pathogens are destroyed inside your jars.  But then what do you do when the gasket fails (they generally last 3-5 years) on your canner and you have no store to go buy another or the internet to order one?   My suggestion would be to invest in a canner that does not require a gasket, or to stockpile several spare parts and gaskets for your canner.  There is one brand of canner that does not require a gasket.  It is the “All American Canner”.  They are quite pricey to buy initially but when you figure many years of service without replacement gaskets the price goes down.  This canner has a machined rim that is so precise that it does not require any kind of gasket.  You have to be careful to not boil it dry and warp it.  But with careful use and care it should last your lifetime.  My canner is 31 years old and still going strong.

Then there are those pesky metal lids that can only be used one time.  Wal-Mart generally carries these lids.  I say generally because last fall my Wal-Mart in our town decided it was past canning season and sent all of theirs back to the warehouse.  Then when I went to the Wal-Mart Supercenter in the next town they were out.  I finally found some at the hardware store in town.  The prices have also gone up on these.  They were .99 cents a dozen a couple years ago and now the cheapest I can find them for is $1.63 when Wal-Mart has them and $2.49 at the hardware store.  So what happens when the grid is down and no stores or internet is available to buy any?  The solution to this is tattler reusable lids.  I have some and plan to buy a lifetime supply soon.  I have experimented with them and they have proved reliable over and over.  They are pricey for the initial investment but over the long run they pay for themselves quite quickly.  They are a 2 piece plastic lid with a rubber gasket.  As long as you do not damage the gasket they will work over and over.  You have to be careful when opening your jar so that the gasket does not get cut with your opener.  They are also tricky in that you have to get used to not tightening the rings down on them until after processing.  The trick is to tighten the ring down and then back it off about ¼ of an inch.  Then you process according to recommended times and pressures.  When you take the jars out of the canner use mitts and tighten each ring down on the jars.  Set your jars on a towel and allow them to cool.  After they have cooled completely then you can remove the rings.  The only other drawback is that you can not write on them.  Since they are reusable writing on the lids would cause a problem the next time you used them.  So after they are cool and you remove the rings make sure the jars are clean and place a small piece of masking tape on the lid and write on it.  Or you can write on the jar itself with a magic marker as this will wash off the glass.  You can get them in a bulk deal for about .50 cents a lid.  Since the metal ones are about .20 cents a lid you can see how fast they would pay for them selves.   It is as easy as picking up the jar once you removed the ring to be sure they have sealed.  If they have not then the lid will come off in your hand and the jar will stay on the counter!

The other equipment you would need is reusable and you would not need to worry so much about replacements.  They are:

Jar lifter
Small pot for boiling the lids
Jar funnel
Water bathing pot for processing pickles and fruit, you can also use your canner without the lid for this, but I like a separate pot to water bath in.
Pot holders or oven mitts
A large ladle for filling jars
A canning book (I like Putting Food By) There are many different ones available.

Now that we got the boring equipment part out of the way we can move on to the good part…

There is a great satisfaction to having your cabinet full of what I call convenience foods.   I like to can food in a way that I can open the jar, heat it up and Presto dinner is ready.  I love to make soup and when I do I make it 5 gallons at a time… I do not add any pasta to it when I make the big batch then I will remove only what we are going to eat for that meal to add the pasta.  (Pasta does not can well it only gets mushy).  Then I can all of the leftovers in quart jars.  Meat loaf, meat balls, barbecued meat, roast in gravy, taco meat, spaghetti sauce with the meat and even left over gravy in jars makes for a very speedy meal and can even be prepared by the less culinary gifted people in your home should you be unable to cook.  Remember that what ever you can always process it for the recommended amount of time for the ingredient requiring the longest processing time.  For example I made venison soup a few days ago.  It had venison, barley and vegetables in the soup.  The venison would require the longest processing time, (90 minutes at 15 lbs for our altitude and for quart jars).  So that is what the soup got processed for. 

When you can meat it does change the flavor and texture a bit.  Using this meat is as easy as opening the jar and draining the liquid.  You can process meat either hot pack (already cooked) or raw pack.  Canned chicken flakes easily for making things like enchiladas and you can buy the lesser cuts of beef that would normally be tough; after you can them they are very tender.  Any kind of left over meat can be canned for use at a later time whether it is the roast and gravy or taco meat.

Canning meat (Raw pack)
Raw pack is the easiest way to can meat.  Simply cut the meat into chunks and pack into the jar leaving about an inch of headspace (the distance from the top of the meat to the top edge of the jar).  Wipe the rim of the jar (you must make sure there are no food particles, grease or chipped rims or it will not seal).  Place a boiled lid on top and screw on a ring.  Then process at the recommended time and pressure. We are at a little over 1000 feet.  I process meat for quarts 90 minutes at 15 lbs and pints for 75 minutes at 15 lbs. You can NOT process meat in a water bath.  It MUST be pressure canned.  When processing raw meat you do not add any liquid.  The broth is made as the meat cooks in the jars.  Begin timing after your canner has reached the correct pressure per your specific canners instructions.  After the timing is over slide your canner to a cool side of the stove and allow it to cool.  Do NOT try to reduce the pressure rapidly by running water on it or helping the pressure to escape.  This will cause seal failure.  After the canner has cooled and there is no longer any pressure inside it then remove the weight and lid.  Using a jar lifter remove the jars to a towel on your counter.  Remember they are VERY hot at this time and you will see the contents still boiling.  If you are using Tattler lids this is the time to tighten the bands down.  After the jars have cooled off (over night) then remove the lids and wash the jars.  The jars may have grease on the outside of them from processing.  Always write on the lid or tape what the contents are and the month/year of processing.  Home canned meat should have a shelf life of about 5 years if done properly.

Canning meat (Hot pack)
This is the way you would can any leftovers.  Heat what ever you are going to process up (Soup, meat and gravy, taco meat, etc).  Then using the jar funnel ladle the food into the jar leaving about 1 inch of headspace.  Then follow the directions above.  Remember to always process for the time required to process the longest amount recommended for any one ingredient.

Canning Meatloaf (Raw pack)
You must use wide mouth pint jars for this.  Otherwise the neck of the jar will not allow your loaf to slide out.  Do not add eggs or fillers (oatmeal, bread crumbs, etc).  Mix your ground meat with the seasonings you wish.  I mix sausage and hamburger together with a can of drained diced tomatoes and a bit of Italian seasoning.
 Then pack the mixture into the jar leaving an inch of headspace.  Wipe the rim. Place on lids and rings then process the recommended time/pressure.  When it is done you will have a nice loaf of cooked meat in a broth with fat on top.  When you are ready to eat it open the jar and drain the liquid.  I like to slice the meatloaf to make sandwiches.

Canning Meat Balls (hot pack)
Make your meatballs (mix meat and seasonings).  Do not add any eggs or fillers.  Bake them in the oven to brown them.  Then place the balls into jars and cover with liquid (I use half strength V8 juice) Process the recommended time/pressure.  The meat balls make a great snack for kids and easy to make meat ball subs, spaghetti, etc.

Canning soup or roast (Hot pack)
Make your soup or roast.  Make sure if you are canning roast that it is cut into small enough pieces to fit into the jar and then come back out easily.  Do not add any pasta to your soup prior to canning.  If you are going to want pasta in your soup then wait and add it after you open the jar.  It is very easy to open the jar heat it to boiling then add a handful of noodles and cook them in the broth.  If you try to can pasta it only gets mushy. 

Canned Gravy: Depending on what you use to thicken your gravy it may thin out and need to be thickened with corn starch after you open the jar.  Corn starch will break down if it is cooked too long so corn starch thickened gravy will also thin back out with processing.

Creature Soup:
Soup has long been a way to cook food for multiple people at a minimum of cost and difficulty.  Soup is a very easy meal to prepare and you do not need frozen or box mixes from the stores to make it (Contrary to popular belief).  The limit to the kinds of soup you make is only limited by your creativity and availability of food stuffs to put in the pot. You can make it with meat or without, with grain, pasta or rice or without, or even with or without vegetables. The art of soup making has literally been around since we discovered fire and started cooking our food.  It really is just a matter of putting various foods into a pot of water and cooking it together.  It can be served hot or cold.  It can be preserved by canning it or freezing it.  It can be cooked on any heat source including a camp fire.  If using an open fire then place the pot over rocks or bricks set over a bed of coals.   Placing it directly over the flame would be too hot.

Remember that in a survival situation Soup has many advantages over canned, store bought ready to eat foods:

1. It can be made with anything you have on hand, can catch, shoot or forage
2. It provides liquid at the same time as the meal to decrease dehydration
3. The salt content of home made soups will be a lot less than that of store bought (excess salt consumption will increase you water requirements)
4. It provides a nutritionally balanced meal that is filling and warming.
5. It can be eaten hot or cold
6. It can be preserved by canning or freezing
7. It can be kept warm on the back of a wood stove or camp fire for your whole family to eat at will.

Disadvantages:

1. You have to cook it
2. You need heat to cook it

Equipment Needed:
Large soup pot with a lid (Mine holds 5 gallons), the thicker the bottom the better
Long wooden spoon, you want to be able to stir and scrape the bottom when the pot is full
Heat Source
Water
Any kind of meat, vegetables, grain, seasonings

Creature Soup (Recipe)

You will need:
1 large soup pot
1 long wooden spoon
A heat source for cooking (camp fire or wood stove will work just fine)
1 creature killed, cleaned and cut into pieces (any small mammal: rabbit, squirrel, raccoon, or even a piece of a larger creature such as a deer shoulder, etc)
Water to fill your pot
Vegetables (any kind will do) or cat tail shoots cleaned and cut up
Grain (any kind barley, steel cut oats, cracked wheat, rice etc)
Spices (what ever strikes your fancy and is available i.e.: Onions, celery, peppers, salt, pepper, poultry seasoning, thyme, rosemary, etc)
Pasta if you want

Place your creature, seasonings and water into the pot.  Make sure there is enough water to thoroughly cover the creature by several inches.  Cook slowly over a low heat with the lid on.  In order to make a rich broth and have tender meat you will need to simmer it (not boiling) on low for several hours.  Keep adding water as necessary to keep water over your meat by several inches.  Once you notice the meat falling off the bones take it out and set it aside. By now the broth should smell yummy and have a nice rich color to it.  If it is too weak for your taste you can add some bouillon.   Tomatoes make a nice broth also.  Add your grain to the pot at this time. Continue cooking slowly at a simmer.  Stir frequently, as the grain cooks it will have a tendency to stick on the bottom and burn.
When the creature is cooled enough so that you can handle it remove all the meat off the bones, cut it into small pieces, across the grain of the meat and replace the meat into the pot.
Watch the grain.  It will take a couple hours at a simmer to cook the grains until they are soft.  If you are using fresh vegetables, add them when the grain still has a bit of a crunch to it.  If you are using canned vegetables then add them when the grain has cooked to a soft texture and continue to simmer only to heat them up.  Add pasta last as it only requires a few minutes of boiling to cook.
This soup will provide a filling nutritious meal.  Any leftovers may be canned into quart jars for eating at a later time. Always process your jars for the recommended time for the ingredient requiring the longest processing. If you are cooking it on a woodstove the soup pot can be kept on the back corner so as to keep it warm for several hours.  Stir and add water as needed to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pot or drying out.

You can even can Bacon slices, bacon bits, etc.  What you put into jars really is as great as your culinary skills and imagination.  It is a great way to utilize leftovers so that they are not wasted and a great way to add to your food stores without spending a lot of money on store bought canned meat.  Just remember to always process the safe time and pressure for your altitude for the ingredient that requires the longest processing.  Also remember that spices tend to get stronger after canning.  So if you think there is a little too much oregano in your meat balls you need to add more meat before you process or your meat balls will really have too much oregano when you are done.

Problems with canning:

Then there are the problems that will arise while you are canning.  You know it is always easier said than done.  Trouble shooting a canner can be frustrating if you have no idea what is wrong and there may be no one you can ask.  The first thing you need to do is to get familiar with the various parts of your specific canner.  Generally most canners have parts that are similar.  You have the pot and the lid.  The pot is just that the pot.  It has locking lugs that align with the lid in order to lock down the lid and keep it from blowing off during processing.  The lid however has many parts:  The lid, the handles, the stem, the weight, possibly a gasket, possibly a gauge, a high pressure relief, a locking mechanism, possibly wing nut clamps.

Here are some problems you may encounter and possible causes and solutions:

Problem:  The lid will not fit on right
            Possible cause and solution

1. The locking lugs are not properly lined up
1. Place the lid on top of the canner with the lid handles a little off set from the pot handles.  Line up the lugs by sliding it back and forth until the lugs fit together and the lid slides down.  Then turn the lid until the handles on the pot and the lid line up.
2. If your lid doesn’t not want to slide easily once it has seated on the lugs then coat the gasket with a small amount of vegetable oil to help the gasket to slide on the pot.

Problem: Canner will not reach correct pressure.
Turn off your burner and Slide the canner to a cool spot to cool down before trouble shooting the problem.

Possible cause and solutions:

1. Gasket not sealing
1. Soak gasket in hot water for 15 minutes
2. if gasket seems loose on the lid then you can stretch the gasket by working your way around with both hands pulling on it
3. try a coating of vegetable oil
4. Replace gasket
2. not enough heat
1. Increase heat
3. If you have a canner with wing nut type clamps then it is possible one of your clamps is not tight.

Problem: Old faithful erupting on stove. 
Steam is pouring out from under the lid.  Slide the canner to a cool spot to cool down before trouble shooting the problem.

            Possible causes and solutions

1. Lid locking mechanism did not lock
1. Try Jiggling the lid to get the mechanism to lock.  Some canners are very picky about the lid placement and this mechanism.
2. Food is hung in the lid lock mechanism
1. Make sure your lid and jars are clean before processing.
2. Check the gasket, under the gasket and the lid lock mechanism for pieces of food.
3. Gasket not sealing
1. Soak gasket in hot water for 15 minutes
2. if gasket seems loose on the lid then you can stretch the gasket by working your way around with both hands pulling on it
3. try a coating of vegetable oil
4. Replace gasket if it is dry, hard, cracked or torn.
4. If you have a canner with wing nut type clamps then it is possible one of your clamps is not tight.

Problem: The high pressure valve just popped
(Hurry and throw a damp rag on top of the valve so that you do not lose your jars, do not get your hand in the way of the steam it will burn you).  Slide the canner to a cool spot to cool down before trouble shooting the problem.

Possible causes and solutions

1. Stem is clogged
1. Always make sure your pot and lid is clean before you use it and make sure your jars are clean when you put them in.

Problem: The pressure regulator quit jiggling and is now just blowing a steady stream of steam
            Possible cause and solution

1. Too much pressure in pot
1. Turn down your fire a bit, this will take trial and error to get just the right amount of heat

Problem: The pressure regulator quit jiggling and is not blowing steam out
            Possible cause and solution

1. not enough pressure in the pot
1. Turn up your fire a bit, this will take trial and error to get just the right amount of heat

Problem:  You just bought a new gasket for your Mirro Canner and now it won’t seal or the gasket only lasts a few times of running the canner before it fails again.
            Possible cause and solution

1. Turn your pot over and look at the manufacturing date.  It will generally be stamped on the bottom of the pot somewhere. The Mirro 22qt made before 1983 requires a different gasket than is sold at the hardware store now.  You probably have the wrong gasket.  There are several sites on the internet that sells the older replacements.  You can call the manufacturer to make sure of what part you need.  Gaskets that are used regularly should last 3-5 years.  Usually what causes them to fail is not using them and they dry out.

Problem:  Lids not sealing
            Possible causes and solutions

1. Rims not clean when lids are placed on
1. Wipe the rims with a clean damp cloth before placing your hot lids on them
2. Pressure being dropped too fast
1. Never drop the pressure artificially.  Allow the pot to cool on its own.  By dropping the pressure it causes negative pressure in your pot and will pull the jar contents out into the pot from under the lids.
3. Using used metal lids
1. Never reuse a metal lid.  The only lids suitable for repeated use are Tattler lids with gaskets.
4. Not enough headspace
1. Leave about ¾’s of an inch between the top of your food and the top of your jar.  The jars will boil in the canner and if you do not have enough empty space in the jar then the contents will be pushed out of the jar causing grease and food to get under the lid.
5. Rings not tight on metal lids
1. Tighten rings over metal lids prior to processing
6. Rings too tight on tattler lids before processing or not tightened down after processing.
1. Tighten and then back off the rings over a Tattler lid ¼ inch then tighten the rings after the jars are processed and removed from the canner.  Use an oven mitt the jars are HOT!!!

Remember: if at any time you lose the pressure in your pot you have to start re-timing the food from the time you rebuild pressure!!

Remember: Always let the canner vent steam for at least 10 minutes before placing the weight on the stem.  This allows the air to evacuate the pot and makes sure the stem is clear.

Remember:  Always make sure your canner is clean and the jars are clean before canning or you can clog your stem.  Inspect it before each use.

Remember:  Always make sure you have enough water in the pot to run the entire processing time.  If you let a canner run dry you will warp the pot and break your jars.

Remember:  NEVER drop the pressure purposely by removing the weight or running cold water over the pot.  Always allow the pot to cool naturally by only sliding it to the cool side of your stove or counter.  Failure to do this can cause steam/burn injuries, broken jars and seal failure.

Remember: Any time there is a problem with your canner gently and carefully slide it to a cool place and then leave it alone until the pressure has subsided.  If too much pressure builds it will make a howling sound from the steam escaping the escape valve or from under the lid.  The escaping steam will burn you!!!

Let me begin with a brief history and a few insights into my journey towards being prepared for The End of the World as We Know It (TEOTWAWKI.) I was born and raised, until the age of 7, in one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United States (the greater Los Angeles area). At which point my parents came to the realization that city life was no way to raise a family. So, they moved my sister and I to the Central San Joaquin Valley and began my education in rural life. At age 18 I joined the military and was able to witness rural life in Texas, Illinois and finally South Dakota (where I spent 4-1⁄2 years). While in South Dakota, I married a local girl, my wonderful wife of 25 plus years. As a result of that marriage, I was introduced to a deeper and somewhat more rudimentary rural lifestyle, by her and her family. As a city boy who was never comfortable with the city lifestyle; I had found my calling. After serving my Country, along with with my wife and then three children returned to the San Joaquin Valley to start the next chapter of our lives. As it turned out that was to be a very short chapter. We quickly realized that what I had believed to be a rural community was in reality very urban. Shortly before we headed back to the Valley her parents moved to the Northwestern portion of the American Redoubt, of course we didn’t know it would eventually be labeled as such at the time. During our brief stay in the Valley we had the opportunity to visit the in-laws and decided that was the place for us. We have now been living the very rural life of the American Redoubt for the past 20 years.

My education in the art of self sufficiency began at about age four when my Grandmother--who started her family before the Great Depression--began to teach me to garden, harvest fruit and to fish. Both of my parents have a love for fishing and continued where my grandmother left off. At the age of 8 my parents began to raise rabbits for butcher and made sure to involve their children in the raising and butchering. My mother continued to teach us the art of gardening, cooking and preserving the food that we produced until it was time for me to leave home. This was done in order to teach us the value of the food on our table along with the joy and sense of accomplishment that comes from putting it there. At about this same time I was blessed with the gift of a Red Ryder BB gun. I was taught the proper safety and use of the gun and after an acceptable amount of time under strict supervision I was allowed to practice with it, under minimal supervision, whenever I had free time. (At this time I would like to say that any of you who are attempting to prepare and either haven’t yet learned to properly handle a firearm or haven’t become proficient as of yet, get a BB gun and shoot thousands of rounds with it, then progress to the .22 Long Rifle and repeat. It is my opinion that the cost and intimidation level are such that you will comfortably progress to the more lethal calibers with much less trepidation). By age 13 I was hunting pheasants and working part time on the neighboring dairy. These things having been taught to me by my father or neighbor, respectively, who were both born in the 40s. While stationed in South Dakota I had the great privilege to get to know two of my wife’s Great Uncles, one of whom was born in the late 1920s and the other in the early 1930s. These two crusty old gentlemen decided that a 19 year old kid might be worth their time to teach a thing or two. They taught me to saddle and ride a horse, how to harness a team, the basics of putting up hay with a team of mules, and most importantly how to grind wheat and make delicious fresh bread from the resulting flour. Upon moving to the American Redoubt the revelation of my level of ignorance was astounding. I was soon learning to run a chainsaw, fell trees, build fence and do a lot of my own repairs on most anything. My father-in-law, a man born in the late 1930s and who lived the rural lifestyle his whole life, was the one to point me in the right direction for many of these tasks. My mother-in-law (whom I won’t date as that wouldn’t be proper) has continued to teach my wife and I food preservation methods. For the last 20 years we have been leasing a house on a 4,000 acre ranch. That lease payment is made by working for the owner of the ranch. The owner of the ranch is a man in his early 80s. He continues to work the ranch every day, mostly by himself. From this man I have learned most of what I know about farming and a lot of what I know about animal husbandry. During our 20 plus years of living here we have managed to befriend some of the families that have been here for forever and a day. From this corner of our lives we have been privileged to learn to properly slaughter, butcher and preserve large livestock and wild game. The man most responsible for our knowledge had been taught by his parents and they were of an age and background to know a bit about depression survival.
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As you have probably noticed, there is a theme to my little history lesson. Yes, I am giving the approximate age of almost every one of the mentors that I have listed. As I’ve been reading the blog and many of the archives, I haven’t come across a single mention of what I feel is one of the greatest assets that one can to tap into, in order to survive in the long term after TEOTWAWKI. I wish to admit that I haven’t read all of the archives and probably won’t find the time for all of them, but from what I can tell, no one has been preaching the value of our elderly. These people have either lived through the Great Depression or were a lot closer to it chronologically than most of us. They may not be able to perform many of the tasks of survival in the long term, but they can certainly pass on their knowledge of “How To”. In addition to their knowledge there are many tasks that they can perform with more knowledge, confidence and experience than those of us that may be stronger of body. Things like cooking, canning, repairing tack, maintaining firearms, watching children, snapping the beans, shucking the peas and on and on and on. With some of these chores removed from the shoulders of the younger generations, more can be accomplished in a day, making a better life for all. I realize that a lot of people out there are thinking of the elderly, but from what I have read it appears that they are only thinking of what they have to do in order to take on the burden of providing for them. I say that they are not a burden to be taken on, but an asset just like the thousand pounds of grain you have stockpiled, the medical supplies you have so carefully laid away or the guns and ammo that you will use to protect it all.

In this life my wife, my kids and I have reached the point where we provide most all of our own meat through our livestock. We can provide the hay to feed them. We grow most of our own vegetables and some of our own fruits. We have the ability to preserve our food. We cut the wood for 100% of the heat for our homes. We have the ability, wherewithal and fortitude to defend it all. Without the knowledge that was freely given, by those that came before, we would never be as prepared to provide the basic needs for ourselves and our extended family and friends WTSHTF, as we are right now. I would like to suggest to those who are planning to provide for the elderly members of their family to please rethink the asset vs. burden issue. I believe that if you are to take the asset side of the issue and treat them as such you will gain some valuable information and they will be more interested in helping where they can instead of sitting around just consuming the assets that you do have. No one wants to feel that they are useless and just a drain on those around them. If you make use of their knowledge and abilities, they will not feel that they are a burden and will truly be an asset to themselves and the group as a whole.