Having been a wilderness survival and firearms instructor for many years, I never considered the need for a survival retreat until I got married and moved from the country to a small city of about 30,000.  My minimalist lifestyle had allowed me a certain level of financial freedom.  Driving used cars and fixing up a home that had been previously condemned meant I had not made a car payment or house payment in years.  I spent summers running a high adventure camp for the Boy Scouts of America and worked for city the rest of the year as a firefighter and HAZMAT Technician.  I also managed a real estate investment trust that purchased distressed properties for resale on installment. 

For most of my life I lived in the same small town where I grew up.  My ancestors had been there for generations, carving a life out of Appalachia after immigrating from Wales.  Our economic inactivity and rural location gave us some buffer against the downward spiral of society.  I would find out later that we were much more independent than the majority of Americans.  I remember being shocked the first time I met someone who could not replace the wax seal on their own toilet.  I was very close to my grandfather who grew up during the Great Depression.  He had a backup for everything.  Like most modern homes, his had a gas furnace and heat pump.  He also installed a natural gas heater that required no electric fan and a coal furnace backup “just in case the gas line froze.”  This is the atmosphere in which I grew up.  I never wondered why we had a big garden and multiple freezers.  Where else would we put the hogs we raised and butchered? 

I guess I figured that if small town life became intolerable, I could melt into the wilderness reappearing only when I needed provision from my food storage.  Growing up around Amish and Mennonites I maintained a year's supply of food to hedge income fluctuations.  I knew before I got married that most women prefer luxuries like central heat and toilets that flush without a bucket of water.  So when we married, I moved into her home in her small city and immediately felt uneasy.  I was no longer self-sufficient.  I had lost my independence.  I recognized our need for a safe house, a mortgage-free self-sufficient retreat that we could get to on foot if necessary.  My new wife is no prepper, but agreed that I could spend whatever I sold my house for on whatever I wanted if it made me feel more comfortable about my move to the city. 

This is the story of some of the major changes I have made thus far.  I have never made a lot of money, but half of those on the planet survive on less than $2 per day and I earned more than that so the only obstacle between me and savings was self-discipline.  I do not know what to tell someone who has consumed as much or more than they produced their entire life.  Those who insist on living like the rest of the world will die like the rest of the world.  I do not know what the future holds, but I do know that if we always do what we have always done, then we will always get what we have always gotten.  I share this narrative in hopes that my experience will sensitize the reader to opportunities in their own lives.  Luck is when opportunity meets preparation.  Maybe something here will help someone make their own luck.  Many of the smaller purchases have been omitted.  Few people want to hear how I bought windows for my retreat at the local thrift store although almost everything except the lumber itself is previously owned.  I have better things to do with my time than salvage lumber.  There are things I would have been done better with more money, but my goal was to shift existing resources whenever possible and stay within my budget.  Early last year, I built a house in Honduras as part of a mission team.  The Hondurans taught me to live an abundant life with very little money.  I learned to build and cook on a mud stove.  The daily lives of the very poor provided a lot of survival insight and ideas.  I have included a breakdown of my revenues and expenses.  These transactions all occurred in Appalachia and amounts will vary by region.

Selling My Home During Recession
Since no bank would dare finance my dilapidated house, I sold it and the adjacent lot on installment to a qualified buyer for my original cost of $9,000.  I bought it years ago on installment for what the seller was going to have to pay to tear it down.  In the past year I received revenue as follows:
Down payment $2,000
Monthly payments (one year)  2,000
Total received   4,000
Net Cash Flow $4,000

Guns
I fell into my first major purchase when I bought a gun collection from someone I knew who had been charged with a felony.  It would be illegal to own them after his trial and he needed cash.  I subsequently sold the ones I did not want ending up with 9 guns (including a handgun) for $1,350.  While the collection came with some ammunition, I waited for sales and spent another $500 on ammo. 
Beginning balance $4,000
Purchase gun collection -1,500
Sold junk guns +  150
Bought additional ammo -   500
Ending balance $2,150

Pantry
Like most people, my new wife bought things as she needed them.  We immediately bought three month's worth of staples for the pantry for $650.  This included six gallons of bleach and three ceramic water filter kits for about $35 each if we need to drink water from the 10 acre lake behind us. 
Beginning balance $2,150
Pantry upgrade -   650
Ending balance $1,500

Vehicle
I faithfully searched web sites for a pre-electronic diesel 4WD which I eventually found in good working order for $1,500.  I immediately sold my high mileage Chrysler 300M to a Facebook friend for the same amount.
Beginning balance $1,500
1989 Ford F-250 diesel -1,500
Sold Chrysler 300M +1,500
Ending balance $1,500

Land
At one time I attempted to form a group to buy land together.  After getting banned from a few Yahoo groups for Spam, I gave up and decided to find like minded neighbors instead.  I rolled a small retirement account from a previous employer into a self-directed IRA that allows me to purchase real estate.  Every morning for four months I checked the multiple listing service (MLS) for new listings in my target area.  I immediately drove to new listings myself contacting the listing agent directly if I was still interested.   The acreage purchased in the name of my Roth IRA trustee for $5,000 is exempt from bankruptcy assets and cannot be easily attached by creditors (if I had any) because it is in a qualified retirement plan.  I had to hike up the gated road it lies on after a snow storm to see the property which was being liquidated as part of a divorce settlement.  My initiative made me the first of many offers for the asking price.
Beginning balance $1,500
Roth IRA funding +5,000
Purchase acreage -5,000
IRA fees -   200
Ending balance $1,300

Precious Metals
I have a state employee retirement plan which allows me to borrow up to 45% of the value.  I diversified by doing so and using the funds to buy precious metals at the end of January because historical charts showed it almost always rises from there.  It has. 
Beginning balance $1,300
Retirement loan None of Your Business
Precious metals None of Your Business
Ending balance $1,300

Long-term Food Storage
Not everything needs to be freeze-dried and nitrogen packed.  Those things were purchased online from Costco where every year I also order a bucket of survival seeds.  Grains came from a bulk food co-op (ask around) truck route and packed in Mylar-lined buckets with oxygen absorbers.  Other things were purchased from the local warehouse club.  ($1,250-$1,250=$0)
Beginning balance $1,300
Long-term food storage -1,300
Ending balance $    -0-

The Retreat
Since my acreage is held through an IRA, I am not to make improvements to it that are not funded by my IRA.  Anything on blocks, however, is considered personal property and not real estate.  I could build slowly as installment payments on the house I sold came in, but want to finish this month, so I am using some of my windfall extended unemployment compensation to build a fortified, insulated, building that sleeps six.  It has a wood/coal stove (that I bought years ago for $200) and a rain catchment system.  My solar power system and other valuables are in a rented metal storage unit close to the retreat.  When I actually use the retreat, it will be considered a distribution of my account, but that will be the least of my troubles. 
Beginning balance $     -0-
Remaining land contract +5,000
Retreat building costs   -4,000
Ending balance $ 1,000
    

Jim,
I found an Internet vendor who makes and sells gun racks right here in the USA! His prices are good and he publishes the dimensions of the racks on his site so anyone who is handy can build them at home.

I know you hear this everyday but I’ll say it anyway. I sincerely enjoyed your books and SurvivalBlog. I am sorting my way through the "Rawles Gets You Ready" preparedness course.

I want you to know I appreciate your attempts to open the public’s mind to the crisis which is coming to our country. Knowledge gained and then positively applied is true wisdom. You have enabled me with knowledge and I am now applying it positively.

Best Regards, - Doug T. in West Virginia

CPT Rawles:
While there are many potential methods to emplacing a cache of supplies, I wanted to provide some insight into a very simple but very effective cache method that I have saw during a recent deployment to Afghanistan.

Most Afghans rely on the karez system for getting water for survival and watering plants. For an aerial view of what the karez system looks like, look at Michael Yon’s photo essay on water in Afghanistan. The lines of holes dug in the ground are the karez system. Some of these tunnels are very deep in order to get to the water. The Russians, unfortunately, did a very effective job of destroying karez systems during the denial phase of their war in Afghanistan. Fortunately, the Afghans are extremely resourceful, and have rebuilt many of the systems.

When one goes down into a hole, at the bottom there is a tunnel with water flowing through it. The tunnel becomes so small that a Soldier will have to remove all of his gear except his clothing. Armed with only a Beretta M9 and a flashlight, our great Soldiers go into these tunnels to clear them like the tunnel rats of Viet Nam. While clearing the tunnels, our Soldiers found that the tunnels often expanded into underground rooms with caches in them. We frequently found drugs and weapons cached in these underground caverns. Interestingly, the weapons were not rusted by the high humidity or dirty though it was impossible to get them into the underground cavern without submerging them in the muddy water.

The Afghan solution for extremely simple and cheap caches was to use an old [truck] tire tube like those that some Americans tube down rivers in. Cut the tube all the way through, which creates an open rubber tube. Fold one end over in a gooseneck fashion, and tie it off. Insert your supplies in the open end. Once loaded, fold the open end in a gooseneck fashion and tie it off. Once in the tube with both ends tied off, the equipment is protected from dirt and moisture. - W.J.

JWR,

I am a 50-something urban homesteader, selling my house to move to a rural area.

I currently own a handgun (S&W 459 9mm) and a shotgun (Mossberg 12 gauge pump) and am researching what kind of rifle would be good for my new urban homestead.

I am a good shot, not pro and not wild, just get within the target lines. I have hunted in the past with a 30-06 but feel with my age and all this would be too much for me now. Not to mention that I am a petite female at only 5'1" tall and 120Lbs.

The areas I am looking to move to are all what I call "big snow country". The wildlife ranges from Moose to pronghorn, Grizzly to badger, with the usual cougar, bobcat, wolf, coyote and rabbits, etc.

So basically my criteria is a leaver action, short barrel (no longer than 20"), accurate rifle with the stopping power for the animals I may run across or have to hunt if the SHTF.

In short the basic functions that I would like the rifle to be good at are: animal defense, food hunting, home defense (in that order). Then tack on - readily available and inexpensive ammo.

My "friends" have many suggestions from ARs, AKs to Savage, Winchester and Marlin ranging from .22 to 30-06. Somehow I just don't picture the. 22 being good unless I was a sharp shooter and could make a brain shot without thinking, as I stated previously I think the .30-06 would be "too much" for me to be accurate enough with and the "assault" rifles just don't come across or look like hunting & animal defense rifles to me.

I have followed your blog and purchased a book or two, so I value your opinion greatly and figure that some kind of lever action 30-30 would be my best choice.

That said, what type of rifle do you (or your blog readers) suggest for me? Am I way off base, or thinking with reality? - Criss K.

JWR Replies: If moose and grizzly are commonplace where you'll be living, then you have a few conflicting criteria.

First, any ammunition that will be a stopper for moose and large bears will not be "inexpensive". For example, .45-70 ammo is current around $2 per cartridge!

Second, given your small stature, you are better off with a semi-auto chambered in something with lighter recoil, rather than a "whomper" bear-stopper such as a .45-70. Unless you are a seasoned shooter, you are likely to develop a flinch if you buy a gun that is near your tolerance for recoil.

Third, lever actions are fairly fast to shoot, but you must practice the operation of the lever while the gun is at your shoulder. Many shooters--especially smaller ones--have a tendency to lower the butt to their hip when working the action. Don't get into this bad habit! But their greatest detractor is that they are very slow to reload, once the magazine has been emptied. This makes them second-rate guns for self defense. If you are on a budget, then you are better off with a bolt action that can accept stripper clips for reloading, such as a Mauser, a Lee-Enfield, or perhaps a Schmidt-Rubin. (The latter employs a unique and quite fast "straight-pull" action. You might find a Swiss K-31 Schmidt-Rubin carbine at your local Big 5 Sporting Goods store, for under $220.)

My recommendation is that if you are on a tight budget, then buy either a Yugoslavian detachable magazine SKS, or US-made AK-47 clone. Those have fairly short stocks, which will benefit you, given your stature. If your budget is more substantial, then buy a semi-auto .308. Some options include the Saiga .308, the Winchester Model 100 (long out of production, but often found used), or the Browning BAR (not to be confused with much larger military issue full-autos with the same name!). If you have a big budget, then consider an AR-10 or a Valmet Hunter .308. OBTW, I do not recommend the often-mentioned Remington 7400 (or the older Model 742). These were aptly described by a gent over at THR as "difficult to properly clean, sensitive to ammo [variations], and d**n hard to clear when you hit a feed jam." If you opt for any .308, then be sure to have the stock shortened (or in the case of the AR-10, get a 6-position collapsible stock), and have a recoil pad installed. For many years, my late wife used a Valmet .308 with a short stock and a soft Pachmayr Decelerator recoil pad. She also had the barrel shortened, and a muzzle brake installed. She considered this the best "compromise" hunting/self-defense rifle for someone of small stature. (She was 5'2", and weighed around 100 pounds.) The Valmet Hunter doesn't look like a battle rifle, but it uses the unstoppable AK action. Extra magazines are available in 5, 9, and 20 round capacity. The big drawback is that these rifles now cost around $1,100, and spare 20 round magazines cost around $250 each!

Author’s Background
I live in Northeastern Minnesota with my wife and four children ages: four to seven.  I teach and am a sports coach at the local high school in town (population 1,200).  We live two hours away from any type of big city, which in our case is Duluth, Minnesota (population 85,000).  My wife is a stay-at-home mom.  Three years ago, we built a new house four miles outside of town on 15 acres that my parents gave us.  Combined, we make just over $56,000 a year.  In just this past year, my wife and I have started making the transition to a more preparedness-minded lifestyle.  As I have scanned and read hundreds of articles online, I have found a wealth of practical information, but little in the way of practical advice for families.  I hope this article helps young families that are either on a limited budget, may feel overwhelmed in their initial stages of preparation, or both.

My Introduction to Preparedness
I didn’t know it at the time, but my introduction to preparedness came in 1999 when I sat at a large table with about 15 other men in a small town café for our weekly bible study.  A small portion of these men were worried about Y2K and urged others to prepare.  I thought they were “nuts.”  I did respect them as Christian men, however, and prayed for guidance.  Looking back, I was a squared away 24 year-old but was still spiritually immature.  At that time in my life, I felt no urging by the Lord to prepare for Y2K. 

About ten years later in the middle of a bitterly cold 2009 winter night, the power went out in my newly-built home.  My home, at the time, ran completely on electricity with no form of back-up heat.  I was lucky to have in-floor heat on both levels of my home, but the wind was howling that night, as the temperatures outside kept dropping and eventually hit 30 below zero.  With the wind chill effect, it was probably near 60 to 70 below.  My kids didn’t like how dark the house was, even though we had flashlights on hand for each of them.  I put my four children to sleep early and piled on some extra blankets.  At 7:00 p.m. it was 60 in the house and I wasn’t worried as my new home was well-insulated and built tight.  I went to call my parents, who own the 20 acres bordering the western boundary of our place.  Our phones in the house, however, all depended on electricity so I decided that my call could wait until the morning.  When I went to bed at 11:00 p.m. it was now 50 in the house and I just assumed the power company guys were having a hard time in the wind and cold.  I woke up in the early morning and noticed that it was about 40 degrees in the house and still no electricity.  I was now a little uneasy as I didn’t need pipes freezing up on me.  At 7:00 a.m. I bundled up the kids and took them next door where I knew my dad had a gas fireplace.  To my surprise, his electricity was up and running.  To make a long story short, it was just my place without power as the wires from the transformer came loose when my box moved from winter heaving.  I called the power company and they had my box fixed within the hour.  Nothing bad had happened, but it did get me thinking about a few questions:

• What if we were without power for a few days, a week, or even longer?
• What am I going to do to make sure I don’t have to be up all night worrying about my children?

Later, I called up one of the men in my bible study from years back….one of the “nuts.”  We started talking regularly and then I started emailing back and forth with his brother who lives in Alaska.  Both guys are solid Christian men with a heart for being prepared and ready.  They borrowed me the book, One Second After by William Forstchen.  Reading that book gave me a sense of urgency.  In addition, I also teach Economics, Political Science, and Finance and am very weary of today’s economy for numerous reasons.  When I got to the point where I was ready to make a commitment to preparedness for my family, here are the steps we took to get started (these are in no particular order - just how they worked for us):

Step One: Get on the Same Page with your Wife
While my wife and I agree that the man is the spiritual head of the family, it sure makes life easier in all respects when you both agree to commit to something together.  Depending on your circumstances, this may take some time, substantial prayer, and even some tutoring.  This may mean having your spouse read Mr. Rawles' excellent book,"Patriots".  It may mean having them read One Second After.  I have a friend of mine right now that would like to start preparing, but hasn’t had the courage to bring it up to his wife yet.  How is that going to work?  It isn’t.  We need to be on the same page with our wives.

Step Two: Make a Financial Plan
I first thought to myself, “I can’t afford to buy any of these items.  We live paycheck to paycheck with a nice big mortgage payment on the 25th of each month.”  My wife and I then had to decide how serious we really were.  Is this just talk, or are we going to commit to being prepared?  Do I want to watch my kids freeze to death if TEOTWAWKI takes place?  I suggest each family assess their own individual situation and then plan out their finances in two phases if possible:

• Decide if you can make a “down payment” to jumpstart your preparation.
• Then, factor in a monthly stipend for preparation goods and materials.  Think of it like paying a monthly life insurance premium, only this one will save your life.

Step Three: Evaluate Your Situation and Prioritize Your Needs
One thing to mention here:  Just because you have something on your priority list of preparation items, doesn’t mean you can go get it right away.  You have to balance your “priority list” with your checkbook.  My wife and I won’t buy anything we can’t afford.  If we have to use a credit card to get it, we simply don’t!  In our individual situation we created this prioritized list:

• A Wood Stove to heat the house and to cook on in case of an emergency.
• Installation of a hand pump on our current well for water
• Back up food:  Both short-term and long-term
• Learning new skills (Making our own bread from wheat, canning our vegetables from the garden, using non-hybrid seeds, splitting our own wood, etc.)
• Buying some added security (Guns and ammo)

For example, we decided to cash-in a $6,500 investment that I could get without paying a penalty.  We first used some of that money to purchase a new wood stove and a hand pump for our well.  Heat and water were no longer concerns for us.  What was next for us?  Back-up food.  Each time at the grocery store we spend an extra $50 on canned goods, rice, cereal, staples, toilet paper, etc. to build up a rotating pantry that will last our family of six approximately three months.

The next step for us was the hardest: long-term food.  In my humble opinion, once you decide to buy long-term food, you have entered the official prepper stage.  Now you are in.  We took $1000 from my investment and used half of it to buy a Country Living Grain Mill and all of its extra parts.  We then bought 1000 pounds of hard red wheat, 200 pounds of rye berries, and a few other staples like wheat, sugar, etc.

My friend (from the bible study) and his wife then taught us how to make the following: bread from scratch using the mill, corn meal mush from feed corn, and bannock native biscuit-type bread).  We then set up future dates to learn how to make Ezekiel bread over an open fire, as well as many other helpful tutorials we could use around the house.

Last, but not least, I used my tax return and bought a DPMS AR-15 and 1,000 rounds of ammo for an added sense of security.  If anyone would have come over to our place in a threatening manner and we had to defend ourselves, before that purchase, I only had the following: a single shot Remington Model 37 Steelbilt 20 gauge shotgun, a Remington 30-06 Model 700 hunting rifle, and my .380 Bersa with just one magazine.  With some remaining money left over, I found two spare magazines for my .380.  I have much more on my wish list that we just can’t afford at this time.  I really don’t want to have to use any of these weapons, but if the time comes where I must protect my wife and kids, I will be ready with the resources that I have.

Don't Be Intimidated By What Others Have!  Everyone’s financial situation and priorities are different.  My wife and I could have easily read what others have in the way of supplies and knowledge and just said, “There’s no way we can do that.”  Instead, we just decided to do what we can with what we have.  We have to give our plan to the Lord and let him provide for us in the ways he sees fit.  Start where you can, and get on the same page with your family.  What are you immediate needs?  Can you get them now?  If not, now you have something to save for.  If yes, that is great.  Now you can move down your list to the next priority.  We are now currently saving up for a case of freeze-dried butter powder and a case of freeze-dried egg powder.  My next big wish is to build an underground root cellar somewhere on our property.

Step Four: Include Your Kids in Everything so They are Prepared
If I tell my kids that we are having a fire drill, they can get out of their beds, crawl on the floor, open the window, take off the screens, and get out of the house in less than one minute.  All four kids also know to meet behind the shed if such a thing were to happen.  Our kids need to be a part of the process.  If TEOTWAWKI happens and our kids are so terrified that they can’t function, surviving will be twice as difficult.  I once did the fire drill while throwing pillows at the kids.  That day we taught them to be focused even if there is chaos all around them.

Our kids also help in the bread-making process, each to their own abilities.  The oldest can now turn the mill; one mixes the flour, etc.  All four of our kids also know where we store our food and they know not to tell anyone.  We tell them, “Lots of people don’t have extra grain.  It is like bragging.  Just tell people that dad’s hunting and fishing gear is in that cabinet.”

As a kid I grew up hunting and fishing with my dad, but my dad always did the “messy” work like gutting the deer and cleaning the fish.  My wife and I are doing our best to teach our kids how to fish, a healthy respect (not fear) for guns, the tips to wood splitting, how to start a fire, etc.  Our kids are too young to do a lot right now, but we always take the time to teach the “how and why” of what we are doing.  Our kids love it and are now starting to ask if they can help.  We never deny them that opportunity.

Even if your kids are young, don’t underestimate what they can do.  Here are some things we have been introducing our four young children to:

• Fishing
• Stacking, hauling, cutting wood
• How to start a fire
• Lighting a candle in the house on their own
• How to identify animal tracks
• A respect for guns – an introduction to shooting with the Red Rider
• How to cook various meals
• A familiarity with our property and our trail system
• How to use walkie-talkies
• Fire Drills and places on the property to meet
• Camping skills and helping put up a tent
• How to use a compass
• How to use a slingshot

Obviously, I am not going to hand my three year old a 12-guage shotgun and let him go in the woods.  All of our boys, however, the four-year old included, can start a fire from scratch in my wood stove or in our fire pit.  As they get older, we challenge them with the next level of preparedness.  Not only are you giving your kids invaluable skills for the future, you are helping them become self-sufficient and not reliant on others.

Step Five: Use Discernment in Finding Like-Minded Friends
My wife and I have been fortunate to find an older couple to mentor us.  We are careful not to open ourselves up to just anyone.  We live in a small town where if one person tells others something, you can assume a large minority of town knows about it.  We have many close friends that have no idea about our level of preparedness.  When we see an opening in a conversation with someone we trust, we will feel them out, and take it from there. 

Step Six: Continue to Research and Don’t Get Discouraged!
I can’t believe how much I have learned in just a year’s time.  SurvivalBlog alone has thousands of outstanding articles written by people who have been preparing for years and years.  Use the internet and any other resources of information you can find.  Like many others, my wife and I have started our own little library of books, articles, etc.  We even learned how to seal up Mylar bags in our five gallon buckets of food storage on YouTube!

In conclusion, if you are a beginning family or have a tight budget, don’t get discouraged!  Even if you just start by putting away $20 a month and save up your funds for a while.  Over time that money will grow and you will have a nice start to your preparedness plan.  Checking out books at the library is free.  Take down the notes you feel are important and then move on to another book.  Before you know it, you and your family will find that preparedness is a way of life.

I’m hoping that by sharing my experience, I can provide information that can help others in similar situations. When uninformed people think of a “survivalist”, I am most definitely not what comes to mind. I’m a twenty-four year old female, who wears makeup, has several pairs of comfortable (thrift store) designer jeans and a Creative Writing education from Johns Hopkins University. I have four cats, and live in a tiny inexpensive apartment in North Carolina. However, little do they know, my education hasn’t simply been gained from traditional schooling.

About two years ago, I found that it was getting much more difficult to pay the bills. The financial situation was steadily declining, and my tip-based income was definitely suffering. I moved to North Carolina in hopes of grasping the last threads of an economy that was doomed for difficulty. I began working as a freelance writer, writing on topics from everything from “How to Build a Windmill” to medical articles on diabetes.

However, this still didn’t seem to cover all of the bills. I hired on as a waitress, but found a lack of customers in a struggling economy. I had several credit cards from my financially irresponsible youth, which were all deferred to huge payments. I took out a loan to stop the bill collectors from calling, then defaulted on the payments in favor of paying rent. I sold my jewelry, DVDs, electronics and other items just to stay afloat. I reluctantly cashed in my stash of silver and vintage coins, which I had been dutifully saving since I was a little girl.

However, my story isn’t simply full of hardship and sacrifice. My experience being consistently broke has taught me innumerable lessons that I may not have learned otherwise. When I couldn’t afford to buy dish soap, I made my own with baking soda and borax. I mended my own clothes with needle and thread, my clumsy stitches gradually becoming less lumpy. I made chicken soup from boiling discarded chicken bones. I grew bread starter out of flour and warm water to make sourdough bread. I sprouted alfalfa and broccoli seeds in my kitchen, in a small sprouting kit I received as a Christmas present. I made my first-ever batch of applesauce from scratch, and started a small “peasant garden” in recycled plastic containers by my windows. I traded yard work for fresh chicken eggs from a neighbor, also gaining friendly smiles and a surprising amount of respect.

There are a few important items that have survived with me in my southern ‘adventure’. I have a Ruger .22 rifle with a zoom scope, and a banana magazine that holds 17 cartridges. I know it may not be enough if I needed to protect myself, but my optimism tells me "It’s something, at least!" I also have a small “Get out of Dodge” duffel bag stashed in my linen closet. It has a small camp stove, Datrex emergency food bars, a water filter, a small medical kit and a 2-person tent. I’m hoping to save up enough to renew my “Wilderness First Aid” certification from the Red Cross in a few weeks. At some point, I want to get some real training with a rifle, and begin saving up enough to increase my very small stash of ammo. I also hope to purchase a long-term supply of storage food, as well as additional supplies for my “Bug-out-Bag”.

I’ve been a long-term reader of SurvivalBlog, reading articles about elaborate water filtration systems, independent power storage, purchasing gold/silver, constructing nuclear bunkers, etc. However, there’s also information for people like me, which I truly do appreciate. I am determined to survive, even if my income remains sub-poverty level. I will continue to learn from my experiences, without relying on government handouts or welfare payments. I will become educated in resilience, continuing to slowly build my set of skills and supplies until I am confident that I could survive a TEOTWAWKI situation.
I know that for this writing contest, I am supposed to focus on practical skills that can be of use to others. I also know that many SurvivalBlog readers are wonderful people with incredibly useful talents, and knowledge that far surpasses my own. However, for people in situations similar to mine, who are scraping by each month, I’d like to offer some information that I hope will be helpful.

Making Bread Starter

This is actually incredibly easy, though it takes about a week for your bread starter to “mature”. Find a container (preferably glass), I find that a wide-mouth canning jar seems to work pretty well. You can also use glass jars from mayonnaise, honey, jam or other grocery items – Just be sure you wash them thoroughly! The cost of the finished bread loaf recipe is around $1 - $1.50, depending on the flour, salt, sugar (or honey) and oil you use.

Now, the starter recipe – 1 cup of warm water, 1 cup (preferably wheat) flour. That’s it! Blend the mixture thoroughly, cover loosely (air needs to be able to get in/out) and place in a warm area – around 70-80 degrees (temperatures of 100+ degrees will kill your starter). I put my starter on top of the fridge, since that’s where the warm-air vent is. Don’t forget to feed your starter. Feeding your starter simply involves pouring out half of your starter mixture, and adding ½ cup of flour, and ½ cup of warm water. You need to do this every 24 hours.

Your starter is done when it has a bubbly froth on top. It also should have a beer-ish aroma. This usually happens after about 4-7 days, depending on how warm you kept your mixture. After your starter is done, you’re ready to turn it into bread. Here’s the recipe I follow. I like to add dried rosemary and a bit of honey to this recipe, I think it goes nicely with the sourdough-ish taste.

Cheap Dish/Laundry Soap

I’ve found that Borax is an extremely versatile an inexpensive washing aid. You can use this recipe to make regular dish soap, automatic dishwasher soap, or even laundry detergent. The cost of this recipe is less than $1.

• 1 Cup Borax (available at most grocery stores)
• 1 Cup Baking Soda
• 1 Tablespoon Salt
• 1 Gallon Water (for Laundry Soap)
• 2 Cups Water (for Reg. Dish Soap)
• You can also mix in some bar-soap shavings, if you want to give your recipe a small boost. I find that just the soda+borax+salt mixture works in automatic dishwashers, with vinegar added to help reduce spotting. I’d recommend storing this mixture in a glass jar, only adding water when you use it for dishes/laundry/etc.

Chicken-Bone Soup

You’d be surprised at how many people throw out their chicken bones, without realizing how useful they can be in making delicious soup stock. The cost of chicken-bone soup is virtually $0.00 (since you are using waste-bits), except for the cost of any beans/vegetables/seasonings that you want to add.

After a chicken dinner, instead of throwing the bones in the trash, put them in a sizable metal pot that has a lid. Fill the pot completely with water, since much of the water will evaporate during the boiling process. You can add a small amount of salt and other seasonings if you like. Bring the water to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. You should cook until the remaining meat falls off the bones (usually about 5-6 hours). Be sure to keep an eye on the water level, as it can evaporate quickly if you don’t have a lid.

Strain the broth with a pasta strainer or through cheesecloth. There may be a significant amount of chicken fat on the top of the broth, you can either skim it off or leave it on - it’s a matter of preference. I don’t like oily soup, so I usually skim it off.

Add salt, herbs, spices, onions, carrots, potatoes and beans if you’d like. I usually use green lentils, since they are cheap ($15 for 10 lbs), and have around 18g of protein, 13g of fiber per cup. They also don’t have a “soak time”, so will soften up quickly when boiled.

Sprouts

Though starting a garden is a great way to get fresh vegetables, waiting in between harvest times can leave you without any fresh vegetables. To avoid purchasing any from the store, I like to start a few batches of alfalfa sprouts, several days apart. Alfalfa sprouts are quick-growing, and fairly nutritious. Also, sprouting is so easy! The cost of alfalfa seeds is usually around $6-7 for a 1lb bag. A whole pound of seeds lasts me for quite a while! Here’s a simple guide to starting sprouts. You will need:

• Alfalfa Seeds
• 1 Glass Mason Jar
• Cheesecloth
• A Rubber Band (or Twine)

Place around 2-3 Tablespoons of alfalfa seeds into the mason jar. Then, fill the jar with lukewarm (not hot!) water, and let the seeds soak. I find it’s best if they soak for around 4-6 hours. Cover the top of the jar with the cheesecloth and rubber band. Strain the soak water out, then shake the seeds so that they stick to the sides of the jar. Place the jar in a sunny area, and watch your sprouts grow! They should be ready to eat in about three days. It’s best to water them (fill the jar with water and strain it out) around twice per day.

I’d just like to mention that the “soak water” from alfalfa seeds is also full of nutrients. I sometimes make iced tea out of it, which is a great energizer on a hot day. You don’t necessarily have to use your soak water, but since I suppose I have a “poverty mentality”, I like to use every bit of everything!

Your needs when the SHTF will vary greatly, yet some needs rank higher than others. Of course there will be many considerations at any point on your journey, in every circumstance, regardless of the cause (earthquake, flood, volcano, terrorist attack, storm, riots, etc). In any situation the considerations will certainly include a need for food, water, shelter, body armor and helmets, vehicles, fuel, heating, medical supplies, land for security and for growing future food, and such. There is no intention to downgrade the importance of those items - yet it is my intention to get you to think about some of the basics - one basic - very strategically.

When the SHTF, what will be the first concern? In a chaotic situation, other than prayer, in terms of your supplies where will you turn first? When you stop and really think through any nasty circumstance what is the one thing that you will really need? In chaos, beyond anything else other than the immediate need for air and water, you must have weapons for immediate protection and security (if not also for food or eventual barter).

As examples, look to the riots in Los Angeles in the early 1990s following the Rodney King case verdict. Look to happenings in New Orleans, Haiti or Chile recently. Look to the couple in the novel "Patriots" escaping from gangs and mobs in Chicago in the middle of the night. What would happen if there were a nuclear attack? A tsunami hits California? A chemical attack? An asteroid strikes the Earth? Or an EMP or solar flare takes out the power grids? What if a political figure were assassinated and a that triggered riots in every major city simultaneously? What if a powerful earthquake hit a major portion of the country affecting major cities? Most cities are not prepared for such challenges. Unrest can happen at nearly any time for nearly any reason - the one thing you can guarantee will happen is utter and ultimate chaos.

Look at September 11th, 2001. Every commercial airliner was grounded and uncertainty reigned - then the markets plummeted. In the southern United States, every grocery store sells out when there is a threat of a hurricane or snow.

The challenge for most folks is that “newbies” don’t have a clue where to start with weapons. As a simple explanation, like the variety of clubs in a golf bag for different types of types of shots at different distances, many different weapons exist for the multitude of circumstances. Remember, no weapon is perfect in every situation - which is the reason for short range handguns and shotguns, and medium to long range rifles.

With that being said, I think after you do some of your own investigations you will find this series of weapons that I am proposing to be superior in many ways, yet being practical, which makes this posting critical for discussion. I would like to introduce you to the Saiga family of weapons.

In all of my studies, there is no weapon family like the Saigas. Saigas may or may not be the most superior weapon in every scenario, however they have their niche. Your need obviously depends on your circumstances and your preferences. It is safe to say that the Saiga’s offer some unique capabilities that you may not have considered. These include: reliability, durability, functionality, practicality, special purpose, and affordability.

The Saiga is an off-shoot of the AK-47. It looks like the AK-47. In fact, they are mostly Russian made, by Izhmash, at least in parts origin. Although the part availability question, since they originate in Russia will come up, (and make sure to get what you need now!) overall these weapons are worth serious consideration.

The Saiga’s are known to be fairly reliable. (Reliability improves as you use the appropriate ammunition as specified.) Original Soviet Bloc AK-47s tend to be the most durable, common rifles and the Saigas are arguably not far behind. Of course for any purchase, you do your own research and make up your own mind.

One of the important considerations is that they come in a variety of calibers. For one, you can purchase the Saiga chambered in .223, which is one of the most common rounds in the US and around the world. Furthermore, the Saiga .308 is a variant of the AK-47 (7.62 mm x 39 mm) design, yet is shoots the common (in the US) .308 round. Importantly, the .308 packs a bigger punch than the .223 and large magazines exist for both rifles (up to 25 rounds that I have found). Even though the magazines aren’t cheap, (you can probably find them for about $45 - $55 per magazine) the remainder of the considerations for the Saigas are important.

The Saiga .223 and the .308 both come standard in a 16” and 22” barrel. Other lengths may exist, however these are the two most common. In comparison to the AR-15, the .223 Saiga is just slightly heavier. Of course if you want more maneuverability and quick sighting, then go for the shorter barrel. If you want more muzzle velocity and the benefit of the doubt when it comes to improved accuracy, then choose the longer barrel.

One recommendation, especially if money is not too much of a concern for you, is to have both the Saiga .223 with the 16” barrel and the .308 with the 22” barrel. Truthfully, either Saiga with the shorter 16” barrel would be great for quick combat movements. At that same time, perhaps you should consider a longer range set up.

If you haven’t thought about a long range weapon, perhaps you would include a side rail or Picatinny rail and a good scope for the .308, which can be very effective for longer range shooting with significant knockdown power. The .308 round is very common for hunting and it is very common in many of the world’s militaries. One nice aspect of the Saiga is that they are made to handle the variations between the .308 Winchester and the 7.62 NATO case dimensions and pressures. (The variable ammunition factor is a vital consideration should ammunition become sparse in the times after TEOTWAWKI.) Make sure you consult your manufacturer’s guide for your specific weapon before selecting ammunition.

Normally, a nice long range option for hunting or sniping is the Remington 700 chambered in the .30-06 or .308 Winchester. For larger game, longer ranges, and hard targets like engine blocks, or light armor you can go with a Barret M82A1 semi-automatic in .50 BMG with a really good scope. Expect to pay $4 - $6 per round). The challenge with bigger caliber, highly precise rifles is that the prices reflect the quality. Many .50 caliber, bolt action rifles (like Barret and McMillian) are in the $2,500 range for a bolt action and around $8,000+ for the M82A1 semi-automatic with ten round magazine.

Even though the common and more affordable Remington 700s, for example, which are durable, accurate, and relatively inexpensive - about $600 in many cases (Dick Sporting Goods has a sale currently for $449 plus tax for the ADL version) - are incredible weapons, they are a still bolt action with a limited fixed internal magazine capacity (versus a semi-automatic weapon with larger, detachable magazines) which may have some limitations in a firefight. What if a good, inexpensive, larger caliber (.308) weapon were available in a semi-automatic? That is where the Saiga .308 is great to consider.

Importantly, if you are already thinking ahead, you can have .308 round for the Remington 700 and the same round for your Saiga .308 if you decide to have both - one for more long range shots and one for more "tactical" situations - even though the Saiga .308 is the “better, two in one, sniping and hunting” weapon. Even though the Saiga .308 may arguably not be as accurate as the 700 for long distance shooting, the Saiga .308 in good hands and with a good 4 - 12 x 40 scope can do the job. Overall all, having pair of weapons is a great idea, yet if you had to have just one, then perhaps consider the Saiga .308.

As you acquire multiple weapons, remember to use common calibers for all of your acquisitions since it will benefit you to be able to shoot the same, common round out of your multiple rifles. Then stockpile that size ammunition for future needs. Planning ahead and preparing is the name of the game, this is another reason for this post - the commonality yet versatility of the Saiga .308.

If it weren’t obvious for you at this point, all of the Saigas are semi automatic,. Therefore, you can punch out more rounds more quickly--one round with each pull of the trigger--than you could with a bolt action rifle because you don’t need to manipulate the bolt for each round. At least with the opportunity for extended magazines for the Saigas, you can shoot more times without touching the bolt action and thereby sending more rounds downrange, more quickly. Even though there are fantastic shooters with a bolt action rifle, in firefight you want to put as much lead accurately down field without extra steps if you can. The benefit with the Saigas is that if you can keep your eye on the target with larger magazines, you will win more battles. In dire times, aggressive action will save your life.

As a nice bonus, you have many options for adding additional features to the Saiga .223 and .308 which I will discuss in later in this article. Options are always nice and in difficult situations flexibility is paramount.

As you probably know, a shotgun is one of the best weapons for any home invasion or close quarter combat scenarios. The downside to most tactical shotguns is that the capacity of the weapon tends to hold from only 5 + 1 in the chamber round to 7 + 1 rounds typically for either the common Remington or Mossberg pump action weapons. Even though they are great weapons, they have some limitations. That’s only 8 shots! And that is on the higher end capacity shotguns that many preppers have. For serious situations involving a dozen attackers, wouldn’t you want more rounds? I don’t know about you, I would rather have one too many shells in the weapon than one too few! Also, for a mob of a ten people, how many rounds do you want? Do you only want six, and then have to reload in the midst of the fire fight?

And as another point, have you actually tried to quickly reload your shotgun? How does that work for you? I don’t know about you, but when I make the effort under calm circumstances I might be able to get six rounds back into the shotgun tube in about ten seconds. And how many times like I do you stumble and drop one as you quickly push it into the tube? In a crisis, how quickly can you reload? The point is, how quickly can you really reload a “normal shotgun” putting one shell into the magazine tube at a time? It might take longer than you really want. In a tough situation, tactically you are limited by your weapon’s capacity and your reloading capabilities.

Fortunately, there is the Saiga 12. This weapon was designed for tough situations like this. The Saiga 12 is a 12 gauge shotgun that is potent weapon. It is basically the AK-47 frame with larger magazines, yet you shoot 12 gauge shotgun shells. It doesn’t get much better than that. By the way, Saiga also makes the Saiga 20 and Saiga .410 - which are 20 and .410 gauges respectively.

Several box magazine sizes are available. Magazine sizes are 5, 8, 10, and 12 rounds. 12 round magazines makes 12 + 1 round in the weapon to start. That is nearly twice the capacity of the Mossberg or Remington.

Also, think about this factor, you can more quickly put more rounds back into the weapon when you reload. You may take five seconds to reload just like with a “normal shotgun”, however when you reload, you are putting 12 rounds back into the weapon as opposed to only six to eight, with others. You also didn’t have to reload as early in the fight because you had the 13 rounds total to start with. That’s 25 rounds with a 5 second changeover. The alternative is 25 rounds with having to stop and reload one round in the tube at a time, 25 times for a total of 25, precious moments that seem like a lifetime, in the middle of a firefight. Fortunately, somebody was really thinking and designed an intelligent and practical weapon with the right mindset.

Of course the argument is that a pump action is more reliable than the semi-automatic action of the Saiga 12 and I would agree in theory. The Saiga has an adjustable gas tube where you can ensure more gas is diverted to eject the spent shell from the chamber. They have really thought of about everything, including the ability to utilize a wide variety lengths and a multitude of loads in the shotgun shells in the same magazine. Regardless of the pump reliability versus the semi-automatic argument, you can easily punch out 24 rounds from two magazines in less than 10 seconds! Saigas rarely jam.

If you are serious about protecting your loved ones and your property, you will find that 20 and 30 round drums are also available for the Saiga 12. That’s a total potential of 30 shotgun shells delivered at a target in less than 8 seconds! Using 00 buck shot in 3 inch shells, that’s equivalent to 450 round bullets of .32 caliber. That’s a hailstorm of lead. If you want to win a firefight in a short range battle, the Saiga 12 with a 30 round drum is the right strategy.

There are a few considerations for these drums for you to remember. Of course, these larger drums take up a considerable amount of space due to their design. You may need to do some planning if you intend on humping around a couple of spare drums, but it probably wouldn’t be a bad set up for one (or perhaps two) thirty round drums and to back them up with a half dozen so, twelve round magazines which can be carried more easily, with their more linear design. (They are a only slightly curved magazine).

Also, the drums are expensive. You can look to spend about $300 per drum which may be cost prohibitive for many folks. (Of course you could consider, which may be a better strategy, to buy 6 to 9 twelve round magazines for a total of 72 to 108 round capacity, compared to buying just one 30 round drum for the same investment.) When it comes to the price you need to make your own decisions. [JWR Adds: Thankfully, MD Arms recently dropped the price of their 20 round drums to less than $175. I suspect that the 30 round drums will soon come down in price, as well, with economies of scale.]

When you purchase, the magazine or drum quality needs to be taken into consideration as well. Do your homework since there are at least two companies that make the drums. (And a half dozen that make the box magazines.) Plan ahead for a potential future situation when the silly anti-gunners decide to put another unconstitutional ban on weapons and higher capacity magazines. Stockpile enough magazines! Another consideration other than simply having the magazines available for your own defense is that the magazines will jump in price if there is another ban.

One nice benefit of a 12 gauge shotgun is the variety of ammunition. Of course shotgun shells are fairly easy to load for your own ammunition preference - buck and ball is an option. Always thoroughly test your ammunition. In the magazine for maximum effectiveness, you may alternate (slugs for stopping power) and #4 buck (.24 inch diameter), 00 buck (.33 inch diameter) and 000 buck (.36 inch diameter) rounds.

One consideration is that you can use different colors for your magazines or use a label maker for certain arrangements of your ammunition. Whatever system you choose, you will be able to quickly distinguish what you have and what you are using depending on the types of situations and shots that you may encounter.

Remember, slugs are best for down range, longer distance shooting - up to 200 yards with substantial knockdown power. Buckshot is for increased opportunities to hit your target. The trick is to still have a large enough mass behind each hit; that is the purpose of the larger pellets. Make sure when you choose your ammunition that you decide to balance your purchasing for a variety of scenarios. Your best “middle of the road” buckshot round is arguably the 00 buck - each pellet is about .33 inches in diameter and the average 3 inch shell will hold around 15 pellets.

On a different note as a consideration, make sure you consider Federal gun laws. According to the US laws, with recently-imported guns, you must have a certain quantity of parts that are made in the US. Make sure that you always have a sufficient number of Sec. 922(r) Compliant Parts to adhere to the current laws. (Do a web search on "Sec. 922(r) Compliant Pats Count", for details.)

One of the perks of the Saiga family, somewhat like the AR family, is that there are many options for these weapons if you do your homework. Many accessories are available including rails for scopes including red dot scopes, adjustable stocks with pistol grips, muzzle brakes and flash hiders, and for the really serious “prepper” even a bayonet lug for that dreaded worst case.

As suggested, one consideration is to put choke tubes on the threaded end of the barrel for a tighter shot pattern. As you may know, the benefit of having a choke is to keep your pattern a little tighter to extend the effective range and functioning of this weapon with bird or buckshot. Just make sure you get what you need exactly for your weapon. Just make sure that you remove the choke and replace it with a "cylinder bore" tube when you shoot a slug, as appropriate. (If you neglect to do so, you could blow up your weapon! Always check the technical details to know which set up will be best for your needs.)You can also use the threaded end for a muzzle brake or flash hider.

Many great accessories and parts for your Saigas can be found at Dinzagarms. If you are looking for alternative muzzle attachments, front sights, tools to work on your Saiga, rails and other items, this is a great resource. Additionally, I negotiated a perk for my fellow SurvivalBlog readers. When you buy from this web site and enter the coupon code “SURVIVALBLOG”, you will receive a 5% discount.

An important factor is your sights. With the Saiga 12 shotgun you are probably better use a holo sights, with iron sights as a backup. Of course, carry spare batteries and choose a scope that makes the most sense for you. Red dot scopes are a great idea and they are ideal for quick target acquisition. You can find some good ones at Amazon.com relatively inexpensively if you get a rail for your weapon. One red dot scope that I like is the Leeper Golden Image.

Of course having good backup iron sights is important. What if your batteries run out, you experience an EMP, or if your sight gets damaged in battle? Use the Boy Scout motto: Always Be Prepared!

When you think about the possibilities of carrying and firing the weapon, flexibility and ease of transportation are vital. One of the best ways to do this is not just with the shoulder strap to allow the weapon to be slung over your back, rather use a single point tactical sling. This carrier harness comes in a few styles and can be found through on-line companies like Midwest USA.

As far as the tactical harness is concerned, you need to have an easy point by which to attach the harness clip to the weapon. One of your best solutions is with TAPCO collapsible/adjustable stock which will allow your weapon to seat nicely in your hands at the best position and with a “clip on” point where the stock connects to the weapon. You have to specifically look for the single (right or left handed) metal loop, or a double loop set up exists.

In regards to adjustable stocks, one of the benefits is comfort, flexibility, and easier use. You can do a search for these stocks since they are nearly everywhere including www.amazon.com, www.ebay.com, www.cheaperthandirt.com or again, Midwest USA. Also remember, one of the best reasons to have the collapsible stock, other than for comfort, is that the adjustable stocks are ideal for closer combat scenarios including shooting around corners. Simply, an adjustable stock is a great consideration as it is easier to handle a shorter weapon for such tight engagements. Regarding your Saiga configuration conversion, you will find this link helpful. If you become a Saiga connoisseur, check out the Saiga Forum.

Transportation of your Saiga gear will present some new challenges. The unique, long magazines and drums for the Saiga weapons need to be carried somehow. One great resource for carrying options is The Vest Guy. You may find others, perhaps even a tactical back pack.

Perhaps you have yet to consider how to function at night. Of course if you have a red dot scope, your needs are covered. What happens if you simply run out of batteries? Night sights are available and probably a good idea if your variation is compatible. As one source, try Dinzagarms.com for some basic information. MD Arms has many options for Saigas. As another great resource, they have pistol grips and drums, plus many other set ups.

As you may know, the barrel of your weapon will get hot as you shoot enough times. I never thought about it until I learned the hard way. The amount of heat generated really startled me in my younger years. It was an accident, yet a lesson well learned, therefore, consider hand guards and other variations that double as rails where you can attach options like lasers and flash lights. As a side note, only use these at the exact moment you are going to fire, otherwise you are giving away your position. For other options such as hand guards, check out web sites like DPH Arms.

Some folks are shy about recoil. In addition to a recoil pad, you may want to consider a muzzle brake because they can reduce the recoil by up to 30%. With the Saiga 12 you can easily unscrew the threading at the end of the barrel and quickly affix a brake in a matter of a minute, and many options are available. Good brakes can be found at Carolina Shooter's Supply. One of the best muzzle brakes on the market is the competition brake which comes in two forms - #2 and #1 for door breaching, which is great for close quarters because of the pointed end. Another option for the Saiga 12 is the Tromix Shark Brake. It works as a muzzle brake, flash hider, and door breaching tool. For other accessories, you can visit Tick Bite Supply.

Specifically for the Saiga .223, you can find 30 round magazines for reasonable prices if you look. Here is one example of a normally $39.95 magazine that is being sold right now for $28.95 by Mississippi Auto Arms. For Saiga .308 25 round magazines, Mississippi Auto Arms has them for $39.95 per magazine. (That’s about $5 to $15 less than most sellers of this magazine.)

For the Saiga 12, here is a ten round magazine for $37.95 for places (such as California) where magazine capacity may be limited to ten rounds. The price offered here is considerably less than the normal retail of $49.95.

If you keep your eyes open, you will find some great deals for your Saiga needs. Here is some information, modified from a recently received e-mail detailed for purchasing a weapon. 1.) Saiga 12 gauge with 19 inch barrel IZ-109 @ $489 + shipping 2.) Saiga 12 gauge with 24 inch barrel IZ-107 @ $489 + shipping 3.) Saiga 7.62x39 rifle with 16.3 inch barrel IZ-132 @ $299.99 + shipping 4.) Saiga .223 rifle with 16.3 inch barrel IZ-114 @ 299.99 + shipping 5.) Saiga .308 rifle IZ-137 @ $489.99 + shipping 6.) $100 off any converted Saiga 12 gauge shotgun. (This example is Mississippi Auto Arms, Inc.) You will have to confirm these deals with Mississippi Auto Arms, however these are some stellar deals if you are serious about picking a Saiga (or several) while you have a chance. Can you imagine picking up three Saigas for the price of one Bushmaster AR-15?

Joe’s gun shop in Coal City, Illinois earlier this year was selling Saiga 12, 12 round magazines for $35. Also, he had the Saiga 12shotgun for $449 (plus tax, cash price) - of course you would have to work out the interstate details with him or find someone in your area. Joe’s phone number is( 815) 370-8002.

For the performance of the Saiga 12, you can watch free videos on You Tube all day long. Other than the prototype AA12 (the automatic shotgun that was developed for the US military, but never adopted), you will see why the Spetsnaz were marginally favored with this weapon compared to the Green Berets in computer simulated, combat scenarios on the Deadliest Warrior show:

• Saiga 12 Highlights
• 30 round drum dump
• Saiga versus car

Lastly, one key benefit of the Saigas is the “bang for the buck.” Many Saigas can be acquired for little money compared to other similar weapons. I have recently seen the Saiga .308 for as low as $479 (plus tax), the Saiga .223 for $335 (plus tax) and the Saiga 12 for $449 (plus tax). Again, talk with Joe in Coal City, Illinois. All of these are prices for "new in box" guns. Compared to the lowest I have seen the base model Mossberg 500 for $330 from Dick’s Sporting Goods, $449 for a tactical shotgun with magazines of 12+ rounds is pretty amazing. You do your own research of course. For an idea of what is on the market, see: GunBroker.com.

Check your laws before you purchase any weapon. Hopefully with the McDonald v. Chicago case regarding the gun ban in Chicago now being argued in the Supreme Court, the 2nd Amendment will be applied to laws within the 50 states.

As you plan ahead, maybe considering stockpiling these weapons, parts, and accessories. If things do get bad in the future, you will want these weapons as your disposal. Ultimately, the Saigas are very robust weapons and they will serve you, your family, and friends for many years to come.

I will start this article with a question: What are you doing on a regular basis (i.e. daily) to prepare yourself mentally, physically, emotionally, and most of all, spiritually, to not just survive, but prevail during a violent encounter?

This is a question I ask myself on a regular basis.  I have also posed this same question to my hand-to-hand combat students.

There is no question that interpersonal violence will be fact of life for many in a post-societal collapse.  But, it is a reality in today’s society that many people (i.e. sheeple) choose to ignore.

Depending on your source for statistics, the number of instances of violent crime reported [in the US] in 2008 was more than 5,000,000.  Yes, there are six zeros after that 5!  That figure astounds and saddens me, but doesn't surprise me.

My full-time job is a police officer with a suburb of a major city that regularly meets or exceeds the number of violent acts from the previous year.  These acts of violence are prominently displayed in local newspapers and on radio and television.  Yet, for many, they refuse to accept this reality and thus refuse to prepare to for it.

Security Awareness

Security awareness needs to be a way of life for all of us because prevention is the best defense.  Now, I am not talking about paranoia, but preparation and practice.  One such example of being security minded is locking your doors once you are in your house or car.  How many times have you seen someone get into their car and talk on their cell phone or do some other task while being totally oblivious to what's going around them?  Maybe you have even done this yourself.

Speaking of locking your doors, how many of you consistently make sure that the door from the garage to your house is always locked?  I can't even begin to guess the number of burglaries that I have been on where the offender(s) found the victim's garage door open and the offender(s) then gained entry into the home via the unlocked man door.  As part of your daily OPSEC for your residence, make sure the garage door is shut and the man door is locked.

Let's take the last scenario one step further.  Just this past summer I saw several incidents in which the offender(s) pushed the center of the garage door back far enough to reach the disconnect cord for the electric garage door.  Once the opener is disconnected from the chain, they quietly lifted the garage door and stole valuable items from the garage.  Also, in one case they gained entry into the home because the man door to the garage from the house was unlocked.

A personal security tool that you can purchase for yourself and keep on you at all times is a small LED flashlight.  Streamlight, Surefire and Dorcy are just three of the quality brands that are out there.  You want a small metal one that’s not much longer than the width your hand so I am not talking about one of those big, 3 or 5 “D” cell Mag-Lites, even though those are good options for your vehicle and home. Having a flashlight already in your hand allows you to check in and around your car when you’re in dark parking lots or garages and performing OPSEC on your personal property.  You can also shine this light in the eyes of a potential assailant, causing temporary blurred vision and disorientation.  If you choose to get a flashlight, try to get one with a tail-activation switch option and that has replacement batteries and keep at least two extra batteries with you at all times.  Most people, even cops, forget to charge their lights and the lights don’t work when they need them the most.  Also, consider getting a light with the scalloped or serrated edges around the lens area.  It makes a great impact weapon should you need it.

Entire chapters can be written on personal and property security awareness.  But, suffice it say, security awareness needs to become a way life because, especially post-WTSHTF, your life may literally depend on it.

Hand-to-Hand Combat

As I mentioned earlier in the article, I am a Hand-to-Hand (H2H) practitioner and instructor.  My primary form is an Israeli H2H system that I have taught to both civilian and law enforcement.  I also teach security awareness and self defense seminars for women in the community.

I have studied several different styles of martial arts over the past 25+ years and have seen many drawbacks of traditional systems.  Most traditional systems are heavy on tradition but light in the area of combat applications.  This fact is well known and recently there has been a plethora of "new" systems out there that refer to themselves as reality-based martial arts (RBMA).

I personally believe that everyone should learn how to defend themselves with both empty hands and weapons.  Even now, depending on the size of your area, the number of officers on duty, and some other factors, our response to your 911 call could be anywhere from two minutes to an hour.  Even if our response is only two minutes, when fighting for your life that may seem like an hour.  Post-WTSHTF, police response may be non-existent. 

RBMAs have tried to step in and market themselves as the "answer" for your H2H needs.  But, there are some serious dangers involved that you need to be aware of.  First, it seems like most of the instructors or "creators" of these systems are former Navy SEALs, Green Berets, Special Forces etc.  Please take the time to learn the instructors true credentials, check references, and observe a few classes.  Also, be wary of the home study courses that claim that you will be able to defeat any attacker in seconds if you just purchase their products.

Another type of RBMA is one that relies heavily on ground fighting, such as Gracie or Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, or on joint locks, such as traditional Japanese Jiu-Jitsu, Aikido, or some blend thereof.  The goal of these systems, especially in the beginning stages, is to learn to defeat and/or control another one-on-one.  There are too many variables in a violent encounter to justify spending time wrapped up tight with just one person. 

You should train in a system that teaches you to defend common attacks, encourages aggression when appropriate, limits ground work at the beginning levels, works in multiple attacker scenarios on a regular basis and teaches empty hand vs. weapons at the lower levels.  Some of the styles I mentioned do these same things but normally at a much higher rank level which translates to much longer training time.  At our school, you will see all of the above within the first 6 months of training.  I am not saying the system I train/teach in has all of the answers because such a system doesn't exist.  However, one comment I hear consistently is how the participant felt they were ready to defend themselves after the first lesson. This was how our system was designed and is why the Israeli military and police use it to this day.

I know that there are many proponents out there that believe mixed martial arts (MMA), judo, boxing, Thai boxing and wrestling are competent RBMAs, and they are for what they are designed for.  However, these specific RBMAs are limited by rules, safety equipment, number of opponents (which there is only 1), and lack of non-personal weapons.  Don’t get me wrong, these specific systems bring a lot of good training characteristics to the party and I have participated in several of them myself.  But, the point is that you need to train beyond the limitations of these systems. 

Now, some personal thoughts about your family members training in H2H.  If your budget allows, I believe each household member should receive competent H2H training.  Encourage your spouse/significant other to train but, when it comes to your children, especially younger ones, I think you should mandate it.  My wife has attended a womens' self defense seminar and we recently discussed her attending another one.  While she doesn't take formal classes on a regular basis, she likes Tae Bo so I encourage it.  Tae Bo done on a regular basis provides her with physical fitness, is fun for her, and allows her to practice some of the moves she had learned.

As far as children are concerned, I believe that quality self-defense training is a must.  According to a study I read a couple of years ago, there are more than 250,000 assaults in public schools every year.  Based on my experience, I believe that the actual number for this is about 25-50% higher.  I know many schools don't report these incidents because they believe that it will reflect negatively on them.  I know that the training my children have been through has greatly helped them.  One of my children has had issues with a bully and has had to defend himself from an attack where the other child was choking him with both hands on his throat.  This same child was also saved from a nasty fall on concrete when he executed a perfect break fall after he accidentally tripped over an object when playing.  A real good resource for preparing your children is the DVD titled, "I Am Not a Target".  We found a copy of it at our local library and I highly recommend it.

One key aspect of having you and your family trained in a quality H2H system is that everyone should be able to recognize pre-assault indicators.  This way, if one of you doesn’t see the indicators, someone else in your family may and then they warn the rest of the family and/or attack the assailants.  This especially vital in a post-WTSHTF period when it might just be your family against "the world".

Don't Cheat Fair!

I have a specific saying and philosophy when it comes to self-defense: The only fair fight is one that I win!  I have applied this saying to both my personal and professional life.

At the beginning of this article, I mentioned not just surviving, but prevailing during a violent encounter.  You must think and train with the understanding that you may be the only thing standing between your loved ones and their potential pain, suffering, or even death. 

What are you willing to do to stop a violent assault against you or loved one?  Are you willing to scratch, bite, or dig your thumb in someone's eye?  Are you willing to hit someone with a lamp, run them over with a car, plunge a butcher knife into them, or stab them in the neck with a pen?

These are questions you must ask yourself ahead of time and be mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually prepared to do what is necessary to prevail.

One aspect of not cheating fair is using your environment.  Take a look around at the area you are in right now.  What items do you see that you could defend yourself or someone else with?  What could become a barrier between you and your attacker?  What could you strike or stab an attacker with?  Is there anything that you could throw on an attacker that could cause pain, like hot coffee?  If you are at home, how quickly could you get to a firearm should you have picked one out for home defense?  Knowing your environment is a security awareness concept that you should be practicing constantly.

Now, let's talk about biting and eye gouging.  How many of you have ever been bitten real hard?  I have and it was one of my children.  She was 18 months old and she sunk her teeth into my neck the first time I started to dunk her into a pool.  She bit me so hard that my girlfriend had to physically pry open her jaws to get her off of me.  I remember two distinct things: first, it was some of the worst pain I had ever experienced and secondly, it didn't bleed.  I know some people are scared that by biting another person, they may contract some kind of disease.  Yes, that is a valid concern.  But if you’re dead because you wouldn't cheat fair, does it really matter?  Also, if the attacker intends the attack to be a sexual assault, what are you most likely to get a disease from, the completed sexual assault or some blood from a bite?  When you bite, go for a major muscle area like the chest, shoulders, side of the neck, back and thighs.  Try to stay away from appendages such as fingers, ears, nose, or genitalia.  These areas, while being fairly sensitive, will separate from the body with enough force, which helps the attacker with the pain factor, and these areas have the tendency to bleed a lot more.  Why take the chance with blood if we don't have to?

As soon as you mention sticking your thumbs in someone’s eyes, you see people’s demeanor change.  It’s a gross thought that cause many to squirm.  When my wife was in her self defense class and the instructors mentioned eye gouges, she looked at me and said that she couldn’t think of any reason why she would do something like that to another person.  I quickly asked her what she would do if someone suddenly grabbed our son from her.  I immediate saw a physical change in her demeanor.  Her eyebrows furled, her shoulders raised and her fists clenched.  She just visualized a reason she absolutely would stick her thumb in someone’s eye.  A good account of someone doing this very thing in combat can be found in the book, “House to House”, which is about the Battle of Fallujah.

Weaponry Options

No discussion about interpersonal combat would be complete without talking about weapons.  I will focus this part on weapons that are used for close quarters combat.  These weapons will be classified as blunt, chemical sprays, edged, electric discharge, firearms (mainly handguns) and improvised weapons.

When I think of blunt weapons, I think of any object that can be swung fast and hard as to cause blunt force trauma.  Some common blunt weapons are ball bats, sticks, telescoping batons (ASP, Monodnock), kubotans and hammers.  If you carry or intend to carry a blunt weapon for personal defense, you need to practice regularly by striking fairly stiff objects such as a heavy bag or rolled-up carpet.  Many people are surprised how a blunt weapon feels in their hands when striking a hard object.  I know of several instances of where officers have had their batons go flying out of their hands when they have struck a suspect.

Chemical sprays seem to be a choice that many people, especially females, make.  Actually many chemical spray products are specifically marketed to women as self-defense tool.  Chemical sprays have their place but some things to keep in mind is that it is not instantly incapacitating to an attacker, you will likely be contaminated as well and you need to practice regularly to know your particular spray device works.  Several manufacturers sell an inert spray that can be used for training or you can buy a second can of the same kind so you can practice. 

Use of edged weapons is an area that I know I am weak in, and I continue to learn more about. It is also an area filled with many options, misconceptions and a plethora of experts.  Edged weapons are scary to face and personally, when empty-handed, I would rather be facing a pistol or other weapon in close quarters than an edged weapon.  When learning about edged weapons, make sure that sure that your training includes defense against and the offensive use of the weapon.  Spyderco and other manufactures make training knives that look just like a regular one but that don’t have a sharpened blade.  The first time that I trained with this knife it was intimidating to me because it looked so real.  Another training option I recommend is to take several pieces of heavy duty cardboard and glue them one on top of the other until it’s about 4-5” thick.  Now you can slash and stab the cardboard several times.  This will help you to decide if the knife you have chosen will work with the impact of combat.  Once you find one that can hold up to this kind of training and not tear your hand up, keep that one for training and buy a second one for everyday carry.

In my humble opinion, electric discharge devices such as stun guns, Tasers, and similar devices are the most over-hyped and misunderstood self-defense options out there.  Based on my experience and research, these devices don’t always work when needed and, especially stun guns don’t instantly incapacitate an attacker.  Add to the fact that these devices are battery and technologically-dependant, and I believe that they are very impractical, especially in a post-WTSHTF world.

For many people, the firearms option is an absolute must.  If you choose this option then you need to constantly train with it. Shooting is a very perishable skill.  Also, shooting a few rounds into a paper bull’s eye target is not training, it just helps you to get familiar with the gun. Try to shoot human silhouette or similar paper targets.  Shooting competitions, especially the IDPA, are good ways to work on your skills under the stress of competition.  Your training should include force-on-force scenario training with Airsoft, Simunitions, and/or paint ball.  Airsoft guns are a great basic training options for children and others that are not familiar with and/or are initially scared of guns.  You can work on grip, sight picture, sight alignment, trigger control, basic marksmanship and gun safety. While nothing replaces shooting real ammo, air-soft is a great option that I use myself at a mere fraction of the cost of shooting real ammo and I can do it in my home. Just make sure to get a CO2 or green gas operated gun and not a spring operated one that has to be cocked with every round.  You need to train different retention options with your gun, whether the gun is deployed or still in the holster.  You also need to train to shoot one handed with either hand and train to use your flashlight and your gun together for low-light situations.

I kind of glossed over improvised weapons in the “don’t cheat fair” section.  Use your environment to your advantage.  I have seen this done in both bar fights and by women who have defended themselves from domestic assaults.  I have seen people who have been hit with pool sticks, bottles, mugs, pool balls, 2x4s, chairs, and cooking pans.  In many cases the injuries were quite severe.  Some other options are pens, vehicles, screwdrivers, garden implements and household brooms or mops.  One great option is a small fire extinguisher that you keep in your home and/or vehicle.  These are fairly small and lightweight so they can be wielded as an effective impact weapon plus if you spray it an attackers face, it is hard for them to breath and see.  An option I hear touted a lot is putting a key between your fingers and strike that way.  For this to work, you must hit a vital area, which is very hard to do in a dynamic situation.  Plus, I believe that the impact will cause significant enough damage to your hand at impact that they keys will leave your hand and cause severe injury to you.  To see so for yourself, fold a towel over several times and put it over a small pillow that’s lying in the floor.  Now, slowly strike downwards into the towel/pillow combination.  I think you will find that just a soft strike like this can sting your hand.  A good option for your keys is keep a small chain or lanyard on it, like the ones that you see people wear around their necks.  In a self-defense situation, grab the lanyard and swing your keys in a circular motion towards the attacker like a mid-evil flail.  When choosing a lanyard or similar option, get one with as much metal as possible, especially the clip that attaches to the keys.  You want something that will hold up to the impact that will result from a strike.

A common theme for weapons is that you need to regularly train with whatever options you choose.  Consistent, quality training is must that will pay off when you need it.  Do a lot of research and networking to find competent instructors and training venues.  While nothing can equal the stress of actual combat, choose training options/venues that put you under stress, which helps prepare you for combat.  This is why force-on-force training is so critical.

Your Mind: Your Greatest Resource

Preparing your mind and your body for the realities of combat should be a constant journey, not a destination.  For average citizen, seriously hurting or killing another person is not a normal behavior and I thank God for this.  This is why we are able to have a somewhat “civilized “ society.

The military and law enforcement know that this is true and that’s why measures are taken in training to help soldiers and police officers overcome this normal resistance.  Humanoid 3-D targets, human-shaped steel or paper targets, video simulators and force-on-force training are just some of the methods used to help remove hesitation/resistance.

Along with previous mentioned training methods, you should be thinking of scenarios in your mind and how you would react to them.  We do this in law enforcement all of the time.  But, it is no longer referred to as “if/when” thinking.  This method is now referred to as “when this happens, this is what I will do”.  When you leave “if” in the equation, there seems to be room for doubt and many people are still surprised when a violent event occurs.  By using the “when/what” method of preparation, you are more likely to be surprised when a violent event doesn’t occur.

Also, you need to be thinking outside the box.  An example of such thinking is feigning compliance should someone get the drop on you and has a temporary advantage over you.  This is especially true in sexual assault situations.  Feigning compliance may cause the offender to lower his guard enough for you to launch a counter attack or it may cause him to take his eye off you long enough for you to grab an improvised weapon.  Another example in the area of sexual assault is that the attacker may get close enough for you to suddenly bite or scream into his ear.  How many of you have picked up a child who suddenly screams just about the time you get the child to your face level? It scares the heck out of you.  Screaming when in close to an attacker is a great force multiplier.

There are some great training books that will help you to prepare for the mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects of being involved in combat.  First and foremost on the list is the Bible.  One Biblical example is David, who was a great warrior who served God and protected His people.  The books "On Combat" , "On Killing" and “Sharpening the Warriors Edge ” are also great resources.

But, even with everything I have said previously, I believe that the strength to defend yourself or a loved shouldn’t come from just you because the human is a created being and thus has limitations.  The strength that you should rely on comes from God and the hope we have in His Son, Jesus, as our risen Lord and Savior.  As a Christian, I pray for God’s strength and protection on a regular basis and I hope that you do too.

I pray that this article is useful and informative to you.  I pray for our nation and our leaders.  I also pray for God’s blessing and protection for each of you and your families.

Jim,
In a previous post you mentioned that Chilean 1893 Mauser rifles were not safe to fire [standard commercially-loaded] .308 [Winchester] because of excessive chamber pressure, but that these were safe to fire 7.62x51mm NATO. In your Antique Firearms FAQ you reference antique Mausers that have been converted to .308 [Winchester]. Can you recommend some antique Mausers that are safe to re-barrel for .308? I ask because I've had a difficult time finding 7.62x51mm hunting rounds.
Thanks, - Dylan F.

JWR Replies: The rifles that I used for those .308 Winchester,. 6.5 x 55, and .257 Roberts conversions were Turkish contract Oberndorf Mauser Model 1893s, that had been deep re-heat treated, back when they were arsenal converted to 8x57 in the 1930s. That brought them up to higher pressure specifications. Around 1994, I bought 60 barreled actions or rifles with cracked stocks--most with dark bores--for between $29 and $59 each. The Turkish contract M1893 Mauser action is still one of the strongest and least expensive of the legally antique bolt actions available. They can often still be had for under $125 each. (Yes, I know that Model 1898s are much stronger, but just try to find a pre-production "German Army Trials" Model 1898 action that is of pre-1899 manufacture. Those are practically "Unobtainium.")

The Turkish contract Model 1893s were marked with 1930s dates when they were re-arsenalized, but the ATF letter (with PDFs linked in my Pre-1899 Cartridge Guns FAQ ) confirms that they are still confirms that they are still antique even if rebarreled and/or sporterized.

The least expensive way to make 7.62x51mm NATO hunting rounds is to pull the bullets of military surplus rounds with a collet-type bullet puller, and re-seat spire point soft nose bullets of identical bullet weight, with a seating die. (Typically, these are around 150 grain bullets. Use a powder scale to weigh both the originals and their replacements, to be sure.) This "Mexican Match" process does not cause any significant change in chamber pressure, and will yield practical hunting loads. It is a process that even a novice handloader can handle.

Jim:
Just in case laws change, and I must bury my collection of [modern] guns [to avoid registration or confiscation], then what do you recommend me buying for an "above ground collection" of 1898 and earlier guns? I'm assuming that they'll still be unregulated [in the United States]. That is a great exception in the law, I think!

My thanks to you in advance, sir. - G.K.B.

JWR Replies: These are my recommendations for the most practical and affordable Pre-1899 guns, at the present time:

• Finnish Model 1939 Mosin-Nagant rifles built on hexagonal Pre-1899-dated actions. (They re dated on the tangs, inside the sock.) Pat Burns is a good Mosin dealer that usually has some Finnish M39s built on antique (1898 or earlier) receivers available. (Scroll down to the second half of the yellow table of M39 listings for the pre-1899 antiques.) Please note that most of the 7.62x54r ammo on the market is corrosively primed. Search for the Russian Silver Bear 7.62x54r ammo, which is non-corrosive. J&G Sales in Prescott, Arizona often stocks it.
• Mauser military bolt action rifles. These include M1894 Swedish Mauser carbines, and the Ludwig Loewe-made 7x57mm Mausers. (Mostly made for Chilean military contracts.) The years of manufacture is marked on the Swedes, but not the Chileans. But all Mausers marked "Ludwig Loewe - Berlin" are antique, because Loewe ceased to exist in 1897, when it became part of DWM.
• Early (pre-1899) Marlin lever action rifles. The only models that are certain to be legally antique are the models for which ended production before 1899 are the Model 1881, 1888, 1889, and 1891.
• Pre-1899 Winchester rifles. In terms of ammunition availability, .30-30 and .44-40 are the best chamberings to look for. You can often find these rifles at gun shows at bargain prices, especially if you don't mind a gun with a well-worn exterior. Remember, it is the mechanical condition and bore condition that are crucial. Everything else is just a beauty pageant. Sometimes you can get lucky, and find a seller doesn't realize that what he is selling you is pre-1899, or the significance thereof. So it pays to carry a hard copy of my Pre-1899 Cartridge Guns FAQ with you, when you attend gun shows.
• Winchester Model 1897 12 gauge pump-action shotguns made in 1897 or 1898.
• Colt Model 1892 series revolvers chambered in .41 Long Colt. This was one of Colt's first swing-out cylinder designs. Now that .41 Long Colt ammunition is again being manufactured by Ultramax and a few other companies that cater to the Cowboy Action shooter market, it makes these guns once again practical to own and shoot. The double action models are largely overlooked by collectors, who are fixated with single actions, and Cowboy Action shooters, who are limited to single action guns by shooting competition rules. (Except, if I understand the rules correctly, for double action "Second Guns", if fired in single action mode.) So this leaves the double action models as some of the most affordable antique Colts.
• Smith and Wesson top break revolvers. As I've mentioned once before in the my blog, I anticipate that S&Ws will nearly "catch up" to Colt prices in the next 20 years. The .38 caliber S&W top breaks are often available for less than $300 each, and .44 calibers for less than $900. My top choice would be one of the "New Frontier" double action variants, chambered in .44-40. (The .44 Russian ammo is also quite potent, and also now back in production.) These revolvers are sold by a number of antique gun dealers including Jim Supica (at The Armchair Gun Show), and Joe Salter.

As I noted in my Pre-1899 Cartridge Guns FAQ, many antique guns models span the Dec. 31, 1898 cut-off date, so you will have to do some serial number research. (I've already documented many of the cut-off serial numbers, in my FAQ.)

You can find many pre-1899 antique guns available without a paper trail by mail order through GunBroker.com, AuctionArms.com, and GunsAmerica.com. Just include the word "antique" in your search phrases.

Introduction

I currently do not fall in the category of the less than 1% of the population that can afford the real possibility of a "retreat" on 40+ acres, based on a Rawlesian criteria. However, I do have a solid brick house on 1.5 acres in a rural area on the southern plains. For the immediate future this will have to serve as my permanent abode. I have always had an interest in outdoor survival skills, and have lived, vacationed, and worked for extended periods of time in isolated outdoor camps while working "in the bush" with limited modern comforts. These experiences have taught me numerous self sufficient survival skills: basically camping or "roughing it" comfortably while providing clean water, safe and sanitary kitchen facilities, latrines, and other amenities. In addition to some time outdoors spent tracking, hunting and fishing, these experiences have given me an "outdoorsman" background. I also believe that I have a basic "survivalist mentality" and am sure I have a better than average knowledge of the skills and planning needed to survive a variety of chaotic situations the future may bring. However, I have not prepared in the past as I should. I have only recently begun to get organized for any serious long-term survival scenario. Part of this process has been to take stock of my situation. In doing so I have identified many of the pros and cons of my lifestyle and current living conditions (I have a young family, am not close to retiring, have some debts, and am a fairly new homeowner with a mortgage). I believe the end of the world as we know it is already happening in a slow, not so subtle slide. Plan A is to keep preparing for a self sufficient life at home and hunker down, and if TEOTWAWKI is in the form of a dramatic upheaval in society (as many describe) we may have to go to Plan B (get out of Dodge), followed by Plan C (make a last ditch effort to live off the land until order is restored within a few months) or until my family unit can join up with a like minded group. I know that Plan B or C have a less than good chance of "success" (they are for true dire straits), but at least we have a fall back plan. As described below, future preparations are still required to strengthen our plan.

The following outlines my basic situation, which I suspect is comparable to that of many citizens who are in the process of preparing better for an uncertain future, and includes a variety of skills and items I have recently taken stock of. In doing so, I will provide some profile information on my current state of readiness (Part 1) while attempting to offer advice on a few sets of skills and items I haven't seen on most of the basic “beans, bullets, and band-aid” lists (Part 2).

Part 1: My Homestead and Basic Resources

Based on Rawles' criteria, my region has a moderate retreat potential.  To start with, the main detractors are that I am less than 10 miles from a large population center (over 100,000), the region has high insurance rates and is drought prone. However, we have fairly strong gun laws in this state with the right to carry a concealed handgun and an improving Castle Doctrine. Other benefits to my immediate region are that the smaller communities nearby and the wider region in general is conservative with strong Christian family values. I have a wife and several children under 13-years old. I have a stable job and pay my bills and taxes. My wife is very frugal and is the list maker. We share the common goal of insuring our family’s future, and contribute to assisting extended family, friends and community when possible. I have not been able to convince her to store the food stocks we should need for a long term period of hunkering down, or some of the other measures suggested by Rawles and others for this scenario. However, the soils are good for gardening and farming. My house is double walled (it was a pier and beam wood frame house that was moved to the current location and then bricked over), our homestead has a deep well (with a brick well house) and septic system. We have piped natural gas for heating and hot water systems, and electricity from a co-op. I have a greenhouse with plumbing, a large garage and shop with an air compressor and well stocked with tools and various home and auto repair materials. We have a small supplemental solar kit that is expandable. We plan to go to a grid-tie with backup system soon and eventually go off-grid with a hybrid solar - wind system. We regularly make a shopping trip to the nearest Habitat for Humanity Restore (we consider this a frugal man’s "home depot"), which has numerous home repair supplies and materials. We stock up on goods such as paint, PVC pipe and fittings, lumber, hardware, solid core doors, appliances and fixtures, etc. for very cheap prices. These are usually used and donated by contractors or home remodelers, and the price we pay is minimal. The money then goes to Habitat for Humanity for their operations. I search online sources for good tools and materials and have found fencing materials, farming and gardening supplies, soil, compost, PVC pipe, steel plates and pipe, appliances, and good used tools. Craigslist.com is one of go to sources for these materials - especially the free and barter goods. We obviously approach these transactions with a “buyer beware” attitude, however we have always had good luck and have met decent and interesting people in doing so. We are always looking for appropriate spare parts, tires, repair kits, hoses, belts, bolts, fluids, etc. on sale at big box stores or in classifieds. We also have other outbuildings and sheds which we have ongoing projects to modify for livestock housing and specialty workshops. I am in the process of designing a self sufficient chicken coop, and goat pens and barn. We are expanding our garden and rainwater catchment system. With any luck, I may in the near future have access to 15-100 additional acres of pasture and woods adjacent to my lot.

Vehicles: I drive a diesel 4x4 pickup, my wife has a fuel efficient VW with a gas engine. I am currently beginning to restore an early 1970s model Toyota Landcruiser. The skills I am learning to restore this vehicle (replace all old and worn mechanical parts, hoses, fluids etc.), and the versatility of this heavy duty wagon will be very useful in an uncertain future. It will soon be a bug out vehicle that can go anywhere, just not very fast. I am developing new “jack of all trades” skills and have always been able to tackle basic home and vehicle maintenance work, but lack experience in advanced auto mechanics or construction. I am planning some long term gas and diesel storage. Since diesel is easier to store for long term, the diesel truck will probably be the last working vehicle we will have if TSHTF.

In addition, I have a 31-foot early 1970s Airstream travel trailer. It has been fully refurbished and is basically self-sufficient with a few modifications. With additional water filters made from four tubes of PVC (gravel, charcoal, fine screen filters, and chlorine) an emergency water source can be pumped from to supplement the tanks. With an added solar trickle charger, the batteries can keep the lights and ventilation fans on. With enough propane, cooking and heating could be maintained for an extended period of time. I plan additional modifications to harden this trailer and improve its utility as our "escape pod". I do not have a private retreat, but hope to someday afford a sufficient amount of land in a good location (with Rawles' list of security details in mind) as a retreat. To keep costs down, all I need is suitable acreage with natural resources such as water and timber. We could transport the Airstream for shelter. I had a family member in the 1980s who had some land in the mountains, cut a small road in, leveled an area on the slope, dug a trench, lowered his Airstream trailer into the trench (stocked with guns, ammo and freeze dried food), and buried the whole thing as insurance against a "red army" invasion of CONUS. I never got to see this and do not know how long the stores lasted, but have recently considered a modified version of this tactic. By digging a ramped trench to back or pull a trailer into I could have concealment; using the back dirt as bunkers it would have built in mass for a ballistic barrier; natural insulation for heating and cooling; and other benefits. Mainly it is less expensive than building an underground bunker. In the mean time and until I can acquire private retreat land, with my diesel truck and “escape pod” I can bug out with the family and dogs anywhere within 400 miles on one tank of gas and be self sufficient for several weeks to months. Without additional food and supply stores or the benefit of a sustainable retreat location, this is obviously not satisfactory as a long term solution.

At present, I don't anticipate many scenarios which would require fleeing the homestead, so Plan A is really to continue to prepare and hunker down. As I mentioned, I am fairly close to a large population, but live in a rural area with dependable neighbors and open land flanking my homestead. In keeping Plan B as a working option, my wife and I plan several trips a year to educate the kids for a self sufficient lifestyle learned from camping, hiking, fishing and hunting and take these opportunities to practice outdoor survival skills. Other Benefits of preparing the homestead  as a "modified full time retreat" include the ability to pay off a few remaining debts as soon as possible. Except for the mortgage, I should be debt free in about 2 years. With a little luck and hard work, we will decrease this time and be financially independent sooner. I live close to work and can be home in 10 minutes, with little chance of running into any escaping hordes on TEOTWAWKI day. By homesteading, I feel I can meet many of the needs that Rowels and others have outlined for surviving TEOTWATKI.

I have a basic set of kits, tools and skills to feel a level of confidence that I can take care of my family in a crisis, and with some efficient planning, preparing, hard work, prayer, luck and protection from a guardian angel, we will be among the survivors if TSHTF.

Battery
Shotguns: I have owned a Remington 870 pump shotgun since I was a young teenager and am proficient in bird and small game hunting. I have studied self defense use of the "scattergun" or "streetsweeper" and feel confident I could protect my family and property if needed. I have recently purchased an 18.5” open choke cylinder barrel (riot gun barrel) and keep buckshot for home defense. I have about 300 rounds of various birdshot loads, 40 deer slugs, and several boxes of the buckshot. I would like to take some self defense training and properly engage in a long term training regimen - for all calibers and categories of guns I currently have. I also have 20 gauge, bolt action shotgun. It is solid, dependable and good for small bird and game hunting. 20 gauge shells take up slightly less storage space then 12 gauge, and we have about 120 birdshot shells in 20 gauge.

Rifles: Col. Jeff Cooper was a proponent of the Scout Rifle. (The specifications: .308 caliber, less than 1 meter in total length, less than 7.7 lbs, with a long eye relief scope (LER) and a tactical sling). I have a pseudo scout. I shoot a Remington 750 Woodsmaster chambered for a .243 Winchester. With a 22 inch barrel and OAL at 39 inches, 7.5 lbs, and full scope, it is meets most of the specs for a scout. Additionally, Col. Cooper lists this type of gun as appropriate for young or small-framed people (like myself). Also, my wife and 12 year old son will be able to shoot this rifle (my wife was formerly in the Army and is one of the only women I know who has qualified on the M16). One thing I like about the .243 is that I can shoot it a lot with no recoil pain. Since I am less proficient with the rifle (compared to the shotgun) I need to practice more often with this rifle. It is a semi-auto feed and could carry five shots. I have a regular neoprene sling and BSA 3-9 x 50 scope, best used for deer hunting. I have left the iron sights installed and could drop the scope if needed. Following Cooper's criteria for proficiency, I should be capable of shooting less than 4" in 3 shot groups at 200 yards. I need more practice. I am better with the .22 LR rifle and have two: a single shot and a bolt action. While varmint hunting with friends, I have found that a semi-auto is much more practical (rabbits are not easy to hit on the run). I plan on obtaining one soon. A dependable, basic AR-15 style rifle is also high on my list of needs; we need to protect the livestock from predators/coyotes. I bet my wife will enjoy showing me how to field strip and operate it!

Handguns: I have a Ruger P345. This semi-auto hand gun shoots the classic .45 ACP, but fits my small hand and frame, is relatively light weight (compared to a 1911, or large .357 or .44 magnum revolver). It is appropriate for concealed carry, but I carry my .380 much more comfortably. I have studied Col. Cooper's Modern Method and have been practicing a version modified to fit my gun's specifications. I currently have about 500 hundred rounds of .45 ACP ball for targets or varmints, several hundred rounds of JHPs (I prefer the CCI Lawman 200 grain JHP, aka “The Inspector”) and add a box of 50 whenever I have a chance. If I plan on shooting 50 rounds at the range or on a friend’s ranch, I buy 100 rounds. I also have a semi-auto .380 which is easy to carry concealed. It is a Bersa (Argentinean) and a clone of the classic Walther PPK. The .380 Remington JHP 88 grain bullet can penetrate well enough into a solid wood backstop I use for target practice. It is half the size of my .45 and works well in an everyday concealed carry situation. I don't shoot this weapon as much as I should, but am more accurate in short range (under 20 feet) with it. To quote Cooper: “The purpose of the pistol is to stop a fight that someone else has started, almost always at close range." He also stated that a pistol is used to help get you back to your rifle if you are separated in a fight.

I keep a few of Jeff Cooper’s quotes handy to always remind me why I have a small battery. He also states that, "the police cannot protect the citizen at this stage of our development, and they cannot even protect themselves in many cases. It is up to the private citizen to protect himself and his family, and it is not only acceptable, but mandatory." I also learned from Cooper to think strategically more than tactically and demand of myself proficiency in my gun use. In addition to shooting at targets basically in my backyard, I try to practice shooting in non-target range situations. Hunting and plinking on a friend’s ranch offer some of the few opportunities where I can practice scenarios in handling and shooting firearms in real life situations of being constantly armed with long and short guns (proper gun handling with a group of people, in and out of vehicles with weapons, hunting & target practice in different seasons and different times of day and weather).

Working Dogs
Although all of our dogs are pets and part of the family, they serve multiple purposes. I decided to mention them in my profile for others to consider the attributes of these breeds. I have a Catahoula. This is a multipurpose dog supposedly bred from the first Spanish War Dogs that the Conquistadors brought to the Americas in the 16th Century mixed with Native American dogs. The Catahoula is a ranch dog bred in Louisiana and trained for various tasks: cattle or goat herding, small varmint hunting (they can tree coons and are even known to climb trees in pursuit), hog hunting (they can be trained to pursue and kill wild hogs in specially trained teams of three dogs), and bird hunting (they can point and hold). Although a single dog cannot be trained to do all of these tasks, this is a very versatile breed or working dog that I think would make an excellent survival breed. They are very intelligent and loyal as a family protector, have a medium to large build (50-70 lbs), and are good guard dogs. They do have short coats and would not be a great choice for an outdoor only dog in a location with long cold winters. We also have two Chihuahuas (my wife's dogs), the only use I have for these little dogs is that they make great indoor alarms. If the doors open, windows rattle, or a vehicle comes near the house, we hear the Chihuahua alarm! They are bred for rodent catching and I wish I could use them for this task, but my wife is afraid that they would die from eating poison ingested rats or mice if we used them for such... In a SHTF situation, I would unleash them in the food storage area and let them earn their keep. They are very small and need minimal food and water. If allowed to do what they were originally bred for, I wouldn't doubt they would contribute to the family security by keeping the vermin out of the food storage area.

Our “need to do” list is long. It includes:

• Food preparation and storage
• Improved garden
• Solar pump and new well and storage tank sufficient for several days of no sun
• Propane tank to convert from natural gas, if necessary
• High security fence around 1.5 acre homestead
• Complete reloading bench & tools (have basic scales and brass)

Part 2: Primitive Survival Tools & Skills

If we have to fall back on Plan C (G.O.O.D. and live off the land - at least to supplement our diet), then I have a basic knowledge of primitive outdoor survival skills that should help me to work hard at supplying my family with some basic necessities. In addition to hunting, fishing and tracking skills, I have practiced the primitive arts of making a fire using a fire bow, making and using a hand drill, and flintknapping. I do not offer the following as a substitute for modern tools and techniques, but as an emergency supplement or replacement. We have progressed from Stone Age tools to steel and computer age materials to our own benefit, but the stone age tools and techniques helped man survive for many thousands of years and they could have a use in modern survival situations. Just as with any modern tools (firearms, chainsaws or a 4x4 diesel truck), the manufacturing/maintenance and use of the "primitive" tools is not easy to learn and one should not acquire these skills after your life depends on them. Also, just because these are referred to as "primitive" tools, doesn't mean they are not carefully and expertly made or mastered. I have a lot of practice and can manufacture (through flintknapping) a basic stone knife and set of scrappers that would be suitable for wild game and food processing. With additional practice, I continue to improve my skills in manufacturing stone dart tips for arrows or spears. I have not attempted to make a bow and need to practice this, but have assisted an old friend in the process. However, one expedient tool I can make for throwing a projectile is the atl-atl (or dart thrower).

The atl-atl is a primitive weapon which was used by our early ancestors for thousands of years before the bow and arrow was invented and copied. It is capable of launching a projectile (called a dart) very accurately and with enough velocity to penetrate and kill large game efficiently. Native Americans hunted bison and other large game with this simple tool kit. It is made by carving a shaft of wood with a handle and a spur (or cup) which the dart is seated in before launching it. The atl-atl is about 24-30 inches long, and can be carved from a tree limb (ash or many other hard but not brittle types of wood can be used) with a small hook or stub of a branch left for the spur. It is advisable to attach two finger loops on the handle end. These make it easier to keep the atl-atl in one's hand while throwing the dart. This simple tool allows the kinetic energy to be stored while the arm is in motion (a lot like a baseball pitcher’s motion using the arm and wrist). The dart can be projected 6 times farther than a hand-thrown spear with 150 times the foot-pound energy. With practice, the atl-atl can be accurate to 100 meters, but is best used at close range of around 20 meters. Its value as a survival tool is that it can be easily manufactured and operated silently. Hunting can be conducted with no noise to attract unwanted attention in any situation. One drawback with its use is that the hunter (or thrower) is basically standing and in the open while launching. With practice this can be minimized with camouflage and technique. One uses an atl-atl with minimal effort, and throws it by taking a step or two forward and launching the dart with a quick snap of the wrist. It really doesn't take much effort and is successfully done using a motion like casting a fishing line with a rod and reel. In fact, during demonstrations with 8-16 year old school kids, I have observed that the girls who are just trying to learn to do this without too much embarrassment out-throw the boys who are going for world record launches! 

The atl-atl's "ammo" consists of darts about twice the length of a standard arrow up to 5 or 6 feet. In fact, two modern aluminum arrow shafts can be screwed together with one set of fletching and one dart tip or point. Using natural stems of cane, willow shoots, bamboo, reed, or straight saplings would require a series of steps to complete a working toolkit for the atl-atl. A dart can be made in three parts: a foreshaft, a shaft, and fletching. The fletching is a row of feathers, usually short, trimmed one-sided wing feathers, glued to the base end like on an arrow. They are in three rows with a slight twist to provide steady flight and rotation. One outdoor survivalist (Alloway, 2000) also suggests using credit card strips set into the shaft, what a great way to put that plastic to use after TEOTWAWKI! Instead of a notch, like on the base of an arrow, the atl-atl dart base has a round divot for seating the shaft of the dart to the spur on the atl-atl. The foreshaft (made of a short 3-4 inch piece of shaped hard wood) is attached to the stone or metal point with glue (or tree sap) and sinew. All of the joints or areas on the shaft, foreshaft, and fletching that could spilt have to be reinforced with cordage or animal sinew. Acquiring these materials takes time and knowledge as well, but natural fiber string and "gorilla" glue or similar glue works great. Tree resin (such as pine) works as a natural glue to help hold the cordage intact. Once assembled, the foreshaft is jammed into a joint or hole on the “front” end of the shaft (opposite the fletching). This replacement technology allows for the need to make and carry only a few shafts, which are labor intensive to make, while having multiple foreshaft sections to reload with. The shaft sections also must be straightened. One way is by steaming and drying the wood or reed shaft while bending with a shaft straightening tool (a small block of wood with a round hole through it will work or a stone with a straight groove in it to run the shaft through until it dries). Use the "pool cue" or woodworker's test to eyeball it and see if it is straight. The shafts can and should be retrieved after launching. The other benefit of the foreshaft is that upon impact with the prey, it separates from the shaft leaving the sharp metal or stone point and 3 or so inches of foreshaft embedded where it causes massive internal bleeding as the prey's muscles contract and expand while running. The shaft can then be retrieved and reloaded with another foreshaft armed with a point. A blunt dart shaft or foreshaft can be used to stun or kill small birds and prey with just a fire-hardened wood tip - no need for "expensive" (labor or material cost) points. A side note on terminology: the term "point" or "projectile point" refers to the head, as in "arrow head," of the "projectile" - which is a general term for an arrow, spear or dart. The atl-atl "dart" is not a "spear" (which is a short, inflexible stabbing weapon). An atl-atl dart is a very advanced tool and took our ancestors many years of trial and error to develop as a silent, multi-component, high velocity, manual weapon. 

Fire making is another primitive art that is extremely important in an outdoor (or indoor) survival situation. A "fire bow" kit is easy to make out of natural materials found in most environments (desert, forest, mountain, plains, etc.) and is easy to master with practice. The kit contains a fireboard, socket, drill (or fire stick), and bow. The small bow (made like a toy bow and arrow) is made using a curved, stout but flexible branch or stick (about 24 inches long) with a bow string. The string can be made from a shoelace or parachute cord (natural fiber cordage can be used but tends to break from the rapid motion and friction it has to endure). The string is attached with enough slack to twist a short fire starter stick (called a drill or shaft) in it. It should be adjusted to be just tight enough - not too tight to be difficult to turn, and not too slack where it won't create the friction need to start a fire. The bow is rapidly manipulated (in a motion like a hand saw) to twirl the fire stick rapidly on a notched plank (called the fireboard). The fire stick (8-12 inches long) should be of soft wood (like willow or cottonwood) with a rounded, dull tip on one end that will help produce the ember; and a pointed tip that will seat in the socket (which is held in the non-bow hand) on the other end. The socket has to fit in the hand comfortably and is gripped to hold the twirling fire stick in place. It should be a cupped rock, but hard wood or a dish shaped piece of scrap iron can work. The notch on the fireboard, or plank, is to allow the fine saw dust (created during friction) and the important small ember to fall through on a bed of tender. Dry grass, a dry bird's nest, wasp nest, pine needles, cotton, or steel wool make good tender. The fireboard (plank) should be of dry wood, at least a half-inch in thickness, and thick bark is often the best plank. Pine is very useful in starting a fire due to its flammable resin content and can even be used when damp. Care should be taken to have all materials ready before starting to use the fire bow. This takes some effort, but preparation is most of the battle. Only a small ember is created in the process and must be handled appropriately. This is “cardio vascular” exercise and can produce a quick sweat. Use care to keep sweat from dripping onto the tender or plank and extinguishing your ember. Google these tools for pictures and other tips. One the ember is produced and lands or is placed in the tender, blow long, steady breaths to get a flame. Add this to your pre-set kindling and build up a good fire. (See other entries in the survivalblog for light security and safe methods of laying in wood.) 

One item in everyone's G.O.O.D. kit, BOB, vehicle glove box, bedside table, pocket, belt or boot should be a good steel edged knife. It is one tool that we should all hope to never leave home without. However, if separated from a good steel blade, or to supplement a small knife in a survival situation, one can manufacture a substitute tool kit from stone. Flintknapping is a skill our ancestors used for thousands of years to produce most or all of the tools needed to hunt, gather, and prepare most if not all the food and materials needed to survive in most of the climates humans have ever "survived" in. Hunting, butchering, and game processing, vegetable gathering and processing, hide scrapping and prepping, leather work, wood work, and many other tasks (including mortal combat) can be conducted with stone tools. A basic flintknapping tool kit for producing these tools includes: one or more hammerstones, soft hammer billets made from wood and/or deer, elk or moose antler, antler tines for pressure flaking, and a leather pad for protecting the palm and leg. It is not easy to do, and has a steep learning curve. I will outline the basics and suggest further research, kit assemblage, and practice be planned as part of one's overall survival strategy. There are numerous flintknapping groups across the U.S. and a variety of resources to help one get started. Besides the basic "knapping kit" described above, the main resource needed for flintknapping is a good quality "flint." There are various minerals that can be knapped (chert, obsidian, fossilized wood, quartzites, and others) and identifying useful materials is something knappers and archaeologists who study these primitive techniques do. I suggest Google research on this and a trip to visit a local geologist, rock quarry, rock shop or mountainman's rendezvous to start learning how to identify the right raw materials.

Once preparations are made, please remember that this is a potentially hazardous activity. Knapping is done by smashing a "core" (usually a fist sized cobble of a quartz material) with a "hammerstone" (a stream rolled dense stone, also usually quartz which needs to be solid and hand held). This is done usually by holding the core in or near one's lap or on the thigh. A near miss can cause pain or injury, and rock spalls are the desired result (which can fly in all directions and penetrate flesh, eyes, or bystanders. This should be done over a tarp (to help in cleanup) or in an area that is not a living space, especially one that isn't walked on barefooted, by people, pets or livestock, or used for food processing or sleeping, etc. Eye protection, leg padding, gloves or a leather pad are necessary personal protective equipment (PPE). By striking the core with the hammerstone at a controlled angle, a "flake" can be produced. In fact, one of the longest lasting technologies known to man is called "flake technology." Numerous flakes can be created in just a few minutes of knapping from one core. These are then selected for their ultimate use: arrow points, dart points or spear points; double edged or beveled knife blades; hide scrappers, etc. A core can be used multiple times and reduced to a very small fragment. A good knapper can pick up a core, visualize what he or she wants/needs to make, take a whack or two, pick up the flake, and continue the process. To make a bifacial tool (sharpened on two sides to hold an edge longer and able to penetrate flesh better) the knapper then can switch to the next tool in the kit, a soft hammer billet. These are "soft" hammer because they are softer than the stone material being shaped. In general terms, I think of knapping as whittling stone. These billets are about the size of a hammer and held and operated the same way. They are made from solid antler (deer, elk or moose) and sawn or cut to length. The base of the antler makes the working end of the billet and is ground or sanded round (a lot like the round end of a ball-peen hammer). This is then used to more accurately strike the chosen flake (held by a piece of leather in the off hand and held stable against the padded thigh or a bench) and continue to shape the flake and sharpen its edge. The billet can be used to get the basic shape of the tool set up. The final step is to use the antler tine (or a rigid copper wire with a wrapped tape handle) as a "pressure flaking" tool. The prototype tool is then held firmly (with a glove or leather pad) against the thigh or bench, and the pressure flaking tool is placed just off the edge to be sharpened/worked. It is pressed firmly with a short popping motion toward the working edge which is away from the midline of the tool (difficult to describe, but fairly easy to do with a little practice). This is done to take off very small bits at a time (called micro-flakes) and continued around the sharp edges of the tool until the final shape and sharpness is obtained. To make arrow, dart or spear points or other tools like knives (that have to be hafted to a handle or dart shaft to be usable), the base of the stone tool will be shaped to fit a handle or shaft. The hafted end will need to be dulled (so it doesn't cut through the cordage used to haft it or bind it to a shaft) by gently grinding it on a stone. Even expert knappers have relatively high failure rates doing this, but practice helps with the odds. Beginning with the basic flake produced by cracking open a core, one can expediently produce a sharp cutting implement that is sharp enough to cut deeply into flesh. A raw flake will lose its edge quickly, but with ample stone cobbles around, this technique can be repeated and improved with practice. A raw flake with a little bit of work along the edge can hold a fairly sharp edge for small cutting tasks, and be "retouched" with minimal effort to maintain its sharpness to complete a job like butchering small game, cutting edible parts of a useful plant, etc. Again, these are no substitute for a good, American made, steel knife blade, but just may be needed in a survival situation. Hopefully, none of you will have to rely on these tools and techniques to survive, but I also hope you find time to learn a little more about them and practice once or twice, just in case you do need to rely on some primitive survival tools.

References:
Desert Survival Skills by Alloway, David. Published by University of Texas Press. Austin, Texas. 2000. 

The Art Of The Rifle

Over the last four years I've bought at least eight rifle slings. From the over the shoulder slings (which do not keep the weapon anywhere near ready) to complicated tactical slings. A year or two ago I ordered the "end all be all" of Tactical slings at the recommendation of a sales associate, then got it home and have had a hard time working that thing. It was complicated and I could not get it to work as described. Frankly, in a SHTF situation, I probably would have hog-tied myself with it, leaving myself bound, gagged and defenseless in the presence of an attacker. I had started to think that maybe it was just me, maybe I was the problem and maybe I was expecting too much from a sling.

My criteria was simple though:

1. The sling needed to be rugged and well made.
2. The sling needed to keep the rifle on the front of me near ready.
3. It needed to be simple to use.

# 3 was really important to me because in a panic, I can't be fumbling with a sling. If I am not armed and need to become armed in a flash, I need to be able to just throw it on when on the move. If I am alerted to a potentially dangerous situation, I need to be able to put on the sling in one easy step, preferably at a dead run.

Stepping back a bit, you may be asking what the big deal is, asking why I have been on such a quest to find a good sling. Sure, I could rely on my hands to carry my rifle(s) but even holding the rifle with one hand leaves me one handed if I am going about my day and performing actions other than shooting. If I need two hands, even if I stay relatively close to the rifle, then I still have to make my way back to the rifle if someone is watching and chooses to take advantage of the situation. (It is not difficult to imagine a food raider taking advantage of seeing me prop my rifle against the side of the house while I carry things to the shed.) If I use an over the shoulder sling, then I need to reach behind me or drop the sling off before I can get the rifle into a firing position. So to me, a sling is a very important part of the whole weapon system. It allows you to keep the rifle on your body at all times, near the ready.

Last week I had a friend suggest a different sling to me. It was the Spec. Ops Brand Lonestar Rig - Single Point Sling. (Spec. Ops. Brand makes other slings, but I have not used them.) The sling was $35. When I opened the package, I could tell that it was very well made and rugged, one of the better ones that I have come across. It was simple. I attached it to my rifle in a couple of minutes and when I need to use it, I just toss it on... no muss, no fuss. It keeps my weapon near ready on the front of my body and allows me to use both hands for other activities while keeping my rifle in an effective location. So, I got finally found exactly what I wanted. Now I'm going to also buy a couple more of these for my other rifles.

I have no skin in the game with this company, I don't own stock in it and I don't know anyone that works for them. They simply created a high quality product that meets my needs, so I thought that I should tell others about it, so that maybe you can skip the eight other types of slings that I tried first.

Spec. Ops list this sling for $45 and I found it at Academy Sports for $35. - CT in Texas

I occasionally hear from consulting clients that get stuck in the rut of "over -planning". They do so much planning for training, and planning for stocking up, that they never seem to get around to doing either! Lengthy "to do" lists are worthless if they never get implemented. This sometimes reaches absurd lengths, as illustrated by one of my clients that showed me a spreadsheet on his laptop PC, in which he not only compared prices from various vendors for ammunition, but also tracked the changes in their prices, over the course of two years. I asked him: "Well, when did you buy, and how much did you buy?" His reply: "Well, none yet, actually, but I've found the best sources, and I've logged their price increases, shown in dollar prices here, and in percentage terms, here. Look here: This company has increased it prices by 12% less than these others. Now look at this column: their prices are up an average of only 21% since this time last year." So, while he was busy fiddling with his spreadsheets, the purchasing power of his money went down by more than 20%. He would have been ahead by at least 20+ percent, if he had just bought ammo a year earlier. But instead, he sat idly by and watched the value of his dollars melt. And these were dollars kept in a typical bank account, perhaps earning only 2% interest. (If he had invested precious metals, then he would have at least stayed ahead of the price increases on ammo.)

The foregoing instructs an important point: Avoid infinite planning cycles, and get started with some concrete steps at preparedness. Clip some coupons and go to you local discount grocery store or "Big Box " store, and actually lay in some supplies, when prices are favorable, of course. If you are not sure exactly what you should buy, or about the shelf lives of various foods, or how to repackage them in oxygen-free sturdy containers, then get a copy of the "Rawles Gets You Ready" family preparedness course. The bottom line is that a good plan today beats a perfect plan, tomorrow. Or, as we often used to quote in the US Army: "Better is the enemy of good enough."

Mr. Editor,
In his article "Surviving an Expedient Ambush Roadblock While Traveling by Vehicle", M.W. was incorrect when he wrote, "The lead vehicle should place their vehicle at a 45-degree angle to the direction of travel and the weapon system should then be employed across the hood so that the engine block provides a [limited] ballistic shield for those person(s) providing cover[ing fire]."

Do not stand leaning over a vehicle[, thinking that it will provide ballistic protection.]. At 200 yards .30-06 FMJ will penetrate 20 inches solid white pine. It will just as easily penetrate the sheet metal of a vehicle and you. See Hatcher's Notebook.

Have one or more shooters take cover in defilade in a ditch. If terrain permits, then have one or two take cover on a hillside so as to shoot down on the bad guys.

Remember:

A.) You cannot see through [most] concealment.
B.) You cannot shoot through cover.

BTW I saw a episode of [the television series] Jericho that showed the defenders leaning across cars. I wonder which idiot they chose for technical advisor. - Vlad

JWR Replies: I concur! To amplify on your advice: If you are ever in the unenviable position of being caught in the open, with only a car or truck to provide marginal cover, then make the best of it. Getting down prone will reduce your target signature by 80%. And if you have no available intervening terrain that will provide cover (i.e. you are an open, forward slope), then get as low as possible, positioning yourself so that both a vehicle wheel and the engine block between yourself and los hombres malos. Tires and tire rims are actually fairly difficult for bullets to penetrate intact with any regularity, so they too afford marginal protection. If you are returning fire from a prone position behind a car, keep in mind that it might suddenly take a 7 inch drop, when a tire is punctured, so do not put any part of your body under a vehicle while in the midst of a firefight.

Dear Editor:
The suggestions of where to hide money prompted me to write about my experiences with storing cash. I keep on hand a few hundred dollars in small denominations in the event of an interruption of cash supply . I keep the cash in a small home fire/water proof lockbox from Sentry (just large enough on the interior dimension to fit an 8.5x 11 sheet of paper, and about 2 inches deep) along with other papers I want to protect from fire. The small size obviously offers no theft protection so to secure it, as well as up the fire protection, I put the lockbox into a fireproof gun safe. I always felt that this was the best way to store it until I ran into a little problem.

I infrequently open the lockbox just because the nature of what’s in it isn’t needed often. Once after a couple of months I opened it to find that the currency had molded (not mildewed) while sitting in the lockbox. It was my first experience at laundering money.

I take two steps to avoid this problem. First I place the money in an envelope and vacuum seal it. Secondly I place in the lockbox, about a half cup of silica gel desiccant, with indicating beads, in a coffee filter and check the condition every few months replacing as needed.

I’ve never had any corrosion problems with any of the firearms in the safe so I have to assume that the issue is with the lockbox. In my mind either the rubber seal allowed the currency to draw moisture from the humidity in the air, or the currency had enough moisture in it to cause problems when it first went into the lockbox.

I thought this was something that could save someone a little heartache. - Kentucky Possum

JWR Replies: If your document lock box is marked "fireproof" then it probably has a moisture-bearing insulation, typically Calcium Silicate. The moisture is part of what makes it fireproof.) This insulation BTW, will eventually induce rust on your guns if stored in the same vault, unless you take precautions. Place in the vault either a large (1/2- pound) bag or canister of Silica Gel (rotated by drying in an oven or in a food dehydrator at 160 degrees F overnight, four times a year), or use a Golden Rod dehumidifier, continuously.

The same types of linings are used in "fireproof" file cabinets at gun vaults. And coincidentally, because these linings eventually lose their moisture, their "fireproof" ratings expire after a few years.

For anyone that might have found my warnings about feral dogs (such as in my "Pulling Through" screenplay) somehow alarmist, see this article: Sheriff: Georgia couple likely killed in dog attack. Too bad that you need a license to carry a firearm openly in Georgia. Parenthetically, we have the occasional grizzly bear that passes through, here at the ranch, but at least we are regularly armed, so we have a fighting chance. IMHO. the open carry ban in Georgia is a racist anachronism that should be abolished.

And speaking of open carry, our compadre Tamara mentioned this: Man carries assault rifle to Obama protest -- and it's legal. The mainstream media is in veritable fits of apoplexy about this, but I have news flash for them: This was in Arizona, where open carry is legal. Get over it!

Yesterday (Tuesday), I was interviewed by Fox News about open carry, in their "Happy Hour" market wrap-up show. Unlike my previous appearances on the show, I actually had time to get a word in edgewise. I offered them one of my old sayings, which in full is: Much like a muscle that atrophies with disuse, any right that goes unexercised for many years devolves into a privilege, and eventually can even be redefined as a crime.

I am a retired Marine Corps officer and Naval Aviator (jets and helicopters), commercial airplane and helicopter pilot, and most recently, an aircraft operations manager for a Federal agency.

I graduated from numerous military schools, including the U.S. Army Airborne (“jump”) School, U.S. Navy Divers School, Army helicopter, and Navy advanced jet schools. In addition, I have attended military “survival” courses whose primary focus was generally short-term survival off the land, escape from capture, and recovery from remote areas.  Like most Marine officers, I attended The Basic School, an 8-month school (only five during the Vietnam era – my case), which is still designed to produce a second lieutenant who is trained and motivated to lead a 35-40 man platoon of Marines in combat.  This course covers everything from field sanitation to squad and platoon tactics, artillery and other ordnance delivery, communications, reconnaissance, intelligence, firearms training, and much more.   Later, I attended the Marine Amphibious Warfare School and the Command and Staff College, both follow-on schools and centered upon the academic study of tactics and strategy as they applied to the missions of the Marine Corps.  I flew helicopters offshore in the Gulf of Mexico and across the U.S. I found out first hand how thoroughly corrupted is the federal bureaucracy and the government, in general.  Not a pleasant experience. I’d rather have been flying. I have bachelor's and master's degrees.

As a result, my wife of forty years and I seem to have been moving endlessly from place-to-place.  Nevertheless, I have tried in each place to do what I could to maintain a level of self-sufficiency for my family that varied greatly with locations and personal finances. My intention here is to try to share some of the less-than-perfect ways that I have tried to accomplish that end. 

Only in the last few years, primarily as a result of the political and fiscal situation in the U.S., have I begun reading some of the huge amounts of literature about how one can prepare for serious long-term off-the-grid survival.  I have found that the preparation required to be ready for that contingency seems to be endless.  I do not want to talk about all of those preparations.  Others have done so very well, and besides, I’m not there, yet.  What I would like to do is to talk to those, perhaps like me, who are not true survivalists in the commonly referred-to sense, but who are genuinely concerned about the future of this country, and might desire, like me, to begin to prepare. Perhaps my elementary and simplistic efforts might be of help to someone else who is beginning to think about the subject of preparedness.  There are many scenarios that might require this, but the two that I am thinking most about are economic collapse and electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack. I’m building small Faraday boxes, but not doing much else for EMP.

My thinking on begins with my own estimation of the basic problems:  shelter, water, food, fuel, and security.  I view these as the most critical needs, whether living in a tent or other outdoor shelter or here in our rural home in West Virginia. Here I have and often take for granted what I have -- shelter, well water, a small stream, a pond, a rain barrel; canned, dried, frozen, and freeze-dried foods; fuel for the generator and portable stoves, kerosene heater and lanterns; factory-made and reloaded ammunition for any one of several firearms.  Edible plant books. Gardening books. Encyclopedia of Country Living-type books. Reloading books. Hunting books. Tracking books. A few novels devoted to the “what ifs” of the future, including Jim Rawles' excellent "Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse", for example.  Books to fill an entire bookcase.  The Boy Scout Field Book sits right there next to the military survival manuals, as do Tom Brown's Field Guides, the The Foxfire Book series, a canning book, field medical books, and quite a few others.

Those are the basic things about which I think. I have been thinking about them for quite a while, in fact, longer than I even realized.  Perhaps I’ve been thinking about them ever since I was a young lad.   For example, my very first “survival book” was the Boy Scout Field Book, the original of which I still have (circa late-1950s edition). It is still a great reference if one is looking for an all-in-one manual for starting fires, making simple shelters, recognizing game tracks, tying knots, and much more.  I note that it is still available on Amazon.com. (It’s probably been scrubbed to favor the politically correct, but don’t know [JWR Adds: Yes, I can confirm that unfortunately it has been made politically correct--with the traditional woodcraft skills showing any injury to innocent and defenseless trees duly expunged. So I advise searching for pre-1970 editions!] ) One does not necessarily need the SAS Survival Handbook or the U.S. Army survival manual. I have them and have read them. They do cover security problems, but then don’t cover other topics.  Alas, there appear to be no “perfect” manuals, and the Boy Scout Field Book is no exception.  But it’s not a bad beginning. And so I was beginning the journey even before I knew that I was. 

I think that my first education in “survival” came at about fourteen. That’s when I first shot a .30-06, an old [Model 19]03 Springfield. It pretty much rattled my cage.  Mostly, my older brother and I used to track and shoot small animals in the deep woods of Missouri as youngsters.  We were “issued” ten rounds of .22 LR ammo by our father, a retired USAF pilot, to be used in a bolt action, single shot, .22 rifle with open sights.  One would be surprised what that meager handful of loose ammunition could do for one’s choice of shots, one’s ability to be patient in waiting for the shot, and for one’s great satisfaction at having brought home six or eight squirrels for the cooking pot, having used just those ten rounds – and sometimes, but not often, less.  My point is that the knowledge of firearms is, in my view, basic to the notion of preparedness and in surviving in the wild. And it need not be exotic or overly complicated in nature.  One can surely attend modern schools that will teach one to double-tap a cardboard target or silhouette at seven yards with a semi-auto pistol, as well as basic and advanced tactical rifle courses, but very basic survival skill with a rifle can be had without much cost if one is committed to learning the skill and if one disciplines oneself. Start with only one round, and work up from there.  As Col. Jeff Cooper used to say, “Only hits count.”  In a purely off-the-grid survival scenario, I can envision that .22 LR rounds would be very precious, indeed.

Consequently, and even though I own handguns and rifles that will shoot .45 ACP, .44 Magnum/.44 Special, .357 Magnum/.38 Special, .380 ACP, .223, .25-06, .270, 7mm-08, .308, .7.62x39, .30-30, .30-06, and .45-70/.457 WWG Magnum (a wildcat), I shoot a .22 rifle and pistol more than all of the others, combined, and normally at least twice a week. And I’m hoarding them, as well as shooting them.  I have the capability to reload all the calibers (except .22 LR/Magnum, of course) above, as well as shotgun ammo in 12 and 20 gauge. I wasn’t really thinking of “survival” when deciding to do this about twenty years ago, but was interested only in having the capability to shoot more, and to do it more cheaply. Yet it appears that much of that ammo could be used for barter. I had never even considered this until reading some of the recent “survival novels.”

My apologies.  I’ve wandered into the weeds here, as I could do forever on my favorite subject.  Suffice it to say that whatever firearm one chooses – and make no mistake, one is necessary in my opinion -- there are all kinds of reasons to choose one over the other, depending on the situation and the person. One must endeavor to shoot it well. Owning a firearm is of almost no consequence, at all, unless it is properly employed.  Personally, I prefer a M1911 .45 ACP pistol and a 7.62 M1A SOCOM, while my wife is comfortable with the milder .38 [S&W] revolver and 20 gauge. pump shotgun.  I won’t even begin to get into the debate over .223 vs .308 and 9mm vs. .45 ACP.  Suffice it to say that in Vietnam I had the opportunity to see the effects of all of these, and I chose for my own security the .308 and .45 ACP.

Having got my favorite subject out of the way, I’ll talk about one that is likely even more important.  Water.  It is amazing how complicated this can be, and how many choices one has to solve this problem.  I have not yet solved it.  I have put up a rain barrel, and plan to get a couple more.  It’s amazing how rapidly a 55 gallon barrel will fill in even a moderate thunderstorm.  I got mine from Aaron’s Rain Barrels. http://www.ne-design.net/. I’ve camo-painted the first one to make it recede into the bushes that surround it.  

We have a very shallow stream down the hill that I need to dam so that it keeps only about a foot-or-two deep pool for gathering some water. It flows into a large pond, of which we own half (The owner of neighboring property owns the other half.).  But that’s over a hundred-yard trek downhill with empty buckets, and the same distance uphill with full ones.  Now, while that is okay for a backup, in my thinking, because I’m going on 63 years, I prefer to have something closer.  So my next “big” purchase will be a Simple Pump that allows one to drop a pump and pipe though one’s existing well casing down to below water level and extract water by means of a hand pump or DC motor attached to a battery which, in turn, will connect to a solar panel.  This is much, much cheaper than a Solar Jack.  At $1,200 for the hand pump capability (I’ll add on the DC and solar later), it’s a bargain, for me. See: http://www.survivalunlimited.com/deepwellpump.htm.  
I’m not recommending it for anyone, yet, as I haven’t got one. It has plenty of good reviews, and I’m willing to try it.  My apologies, but I am just talking about how I, for one, intend to solve my “water problem.” 

I’ve also started collecting clear plastic soda bottles for use in Solar Disinfection (SODIS), see; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_water_disinfection.  I’ve set up a rack for putting out the bottles in a sunny place.  Again, that’s a backup, but I’ll use it.

I have bought three different water filtering devices, the best of which is the Swiss-made, all-stainless Katadyn Pocket Microfilter.  It works wonders in that shallow stream and pond down the hill.. [JWR Adds: The same Katadyn filter model is available from several SurvivalBlog advertisers. They deserve your patronage first, folks!]

With the exception of the Simple Pump, these solutions are relatively cheap and effective, if not producers of great volume.  So far, they are what I’ve come up with.

I won’t go much into the food problem. It isn’t quite as complicated as the water problem.  I’ve either got to have it [stored], grow it, or kill it.  I’ve started storing all kinds of Mountain House freeze dried #10 cans (with expiration date dates in 2034), two-serving meals from Mountain House (expiration dates circa 2016), and numerous grocery store-type canned foods (expiration a couple years), in addition to dried beans, rice, Bisquick (sealed in plastic bags with desiccant inside), salt, sugar (Domino, which are sold in one-pound plastic tubs), olives, peanuts, wheat, etc.  Basically hit-or-miss, so far.  I need to get this “food problem” organized and do it right.  But it’s a start.  I think we’ve got only about a 60-day supply now, for two.

I’ve got two Coleman two-burner stoves.  One is a butane stove, and the other a dual fuel (white gas or unleaded gas), as well as several small backpacking stoves, the best of which is a MSR Whisperlite International, which uses virtually all fuel (unleaded, white gas, kerosene, diesel, and maybe even corn oil).   I was heavily into backpacking when we were stationed in Hawaii in the late 1970s, and still have all the gear.  After having one knee replacement and hedging doing another, I’ll not be backpacking if I can help it.  Nevertheless, I have two bug-out bags with essentials in them, ready to hit the trail if need be.  I’ve saved up and bought two good Wiggy's bags and a couple of his poncho liners.

Concerning backpacking stuff, I can recommend a book that I read back then called The Complete Walker, by Colin Fletcher. I haven’t read it in at least a decade, but its import is such that I remember much of it.  He emphasizes simplicity in gear.  That is to say, don’t pack a tent if you can get by with a tent fly – which you cannot in cold weather. I’ve still got my old three-season tent, but am saving up for a four-season. And he emphasizes: don’t worry about pounds – worry about ounces.  That is to say, if one is packing tea bags, remove the labels from the bags.  Ounces.  Remove all packaging material unless it is absolutely necessary (usually never). Don’t carry a “mess kit,” nor a knife, fork and spoon set.  A spoon will do (I’ve done it) along with a pocket knife. Now I have so many knives of so many types that I can’t remember them.  Personally, I’d go for a multi-tool.  But it’s heavy.  I never used to carry a weapon while backpacking.  Of course, it was (and is) illegal in Hawaii, but I think one would be remiss in not doing so today.  There was so much good advice in that book that helped me in the USMC, if nothing more than when packing my helicopter before a mission, or a car, trailer, or truck to move across the country.  “Think ounces, not pounds.”  I always think about Mr. Fletcher’s advice when I pack.

Anyway, I think I’ve got the camping stove angle covered in spades.  That is, until the fuel runs out.  Same goes for kerosene heater and lanterns (5).  My plan is to pull out our pellet stove and replace it with a free-standing wood stove.  Pellets are nice, but they must be bought, and the price is getting exorbitant, according to my pocket book.  They likely will be non-existent in a crunch. 

I connected a 12,000 Watt/50amp gasoline generator when we moved into this house nine years ago, as I have with every house in which we’ve lived for the last two decades.  I’ve got it wired through a transfer box to the circuit-breaker panel, a job that I did myself. It works, and it’s safe.  The main reasons for having this were to run the 220V[olt AC] well water pump and to run the refrigerator and our free-standing freezer during power outages.  But I’ve got it wired, anyway, to nearly every circuit in the house, except the other 220V appliances – water heater and heat pump.  It is somewhat selectable. That is to say that I can choose which circuits I want to power by engaging or disengaging the switches on the transfer box.  The problem is that it uses gasoline. So in a long-term outage it would soon become useless.  I’ve had the propane gas company come out to estimate what it would cost to get a dedicated 100 gal propane tank for the generator.  It would be about $500, but then, in addition to the 50+ gallons of gasoline, butane tanks, and white gas that I keep stored in a separate outbuilding, it would make a great explosion when hit with a tracer round.

Which brings me to the subject of security.  We live in a split-level home on about ten acres of forest.  The property is surrounded by other similar-sized properties of seemingly like-minded individuals.  I gleamed this because everyone out here shoots.  The sweet sound of gunfire can be heard at times in a full circle.  West Virginia, at least, has still got its priorities straight in this regard.  But I digress. This is a frame house with half of it below ground in front, but framed in back, which faces the forest.  The forest, itself, is a maze of downed pine trees blown over by the wind, interspersed with small saplings, vines and low brush.  Not a likely avenue of approach for anyone but the most determined.  For those who are determined, the downed trees would make excellent cover and concealment.  So I have a security problem to solve there, as well as at the front. 

I’ve started buying rolls of barbed wire and baling wire.  Unfortunately, I do not have access to dynamite, which we used to be able to buy in a hardware store in the 1960s.  We used it back then to blow stumps while clearing the land for our house.  I am thinking of buying a bunch of used railroad ties to build cover in the back; I’ve thought also of bricks and sandbags.  Problem is we’re reaching the point in all of this where the house would begin to look like a fortress, of sorts, to all but the most ignorant observers.  So there’s a line here concerning security versus “normalcy” that I must cross sooner or later.  Inasmuch as my wife is a few years older than I and is on constant medications, I’m afraid that finding a retreat (if we could even afford one) would be out of the question, as access to doctors, hospital and pharmacy are a necessity. Nevertheless I’ve got the bags packed and gear ready to throw into the pickup (Toyota 4x4 – like to have one of those older model American trucks, but I think they are getting rare, at least around here.  And what there are will likely go to the Cash for Clunkers Program….grumble, grumble. What will they think of next?).

So it looks to me as if we are here for the duration of the crisis, or sooner, if they try to take the guns from my cold, dead hands.  Speaking of, I still have to build a cache or two for guns and ammo and a few other necessities. 

And since I’ve more-or-less made that decision (here for the duration), I’ve thought of organizing the apparently gun-loving neighbors.  I’ve begun to buy walkie-talkies, if not field phones and commo wire.  I’ve got solar panels and several batteries (need to get a mega deep cell or two, however) to run the small battery chargers and the CB radio. My shortwave is up and running.

I will have to wait to talk to the neighbors, whom I rarely see, much less know.  I can just imagine the words that would come out of their mouths if I were to mention to them the notion of forming a security “company” and establishing a perimeter.  “That old retired Marine down the road is nuts!”

So that’s what I’ve got to say.  I do hope it at least stimulates some thought for those who are starting out trying to prepare, as I am.  All of this shows me that one “problem” in this “survival” business leads to several more, and they in turn lead to even more problems.  Lots to do. So I’m glad I’m retired.  I’ve got time to think about it.  If I were rich, I could do a lot more and likely in a far away place, but as it is, we do with what we have.   I have to use the lessons taught to every Marine:  Improvise, Adapt, Overcome.  

Long Live America.  Keep the Faith. - “Two Dogs”, Col. USMCR (ret.) in West Virginia

In descending order of frequency, the 78 readers that responded to my latest survey recommended the following non-fiction books on preparedness, self-sufficiency, and practical skills:

The Encyclopedia of Country Living by Carla Emery (Far and away the most often-mentioned book. This book is an absolute "must" for every well-prepared family!)

The Foxfire Book series (in 11 volumes, but IMHO, the first five are the best)

Holy Bible

Where There Is No Dentist by Murray Dickson

"Rawles on Retreats and Relocation"

Making the Best of Basics: Family Preparedness Handbook by James Talmage Stevens

The "Rawles Gets You Ready" preparedness course

Crisis Preparedness Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide to Home Storage and Physical Survival by Jack A. Spigarelli

Gardening When It Counts: Growing Food in Hard Times by Steve Solomon

Tappan on Survival by Mel Tappan

Boston's Gun Bible by Boston T. Party

Seed to Seed: Seed Saving and Growing Techniques for Vegetable Gardeners by Suzanne Ashworth

Survival Guns by Mel Tappan

Boy Scouts Handbook: The First Edition, 1911 (Most readers recommend getting pre-1970 editions.)

All New Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew

When Technology Fails: A Manual for Self-Reliance, Sustainability, and Surviving the Long Emergency by Matthew Stein 

Back to Basics: A Complete Guide to Traditional Skills, Third Edition by Abigail R. Gehring

Preparedness Now!: An Emergency Survival Guide (Expanded and Revised Edition) by Aton Edwards

Putting Food By by Janet Greene

First Aid (American Red Cross Handbook) Responding To Emergencies

Making the Best of Basics: Family Preparedness Handbook by James Talmage Stevens

Nuclear War Survival Skills by Cresson H. Kearney (Available for free download.)

Cookin' with Home Storage by Vicki Tate

SAS Survival Handbookby John "Lofty" Wiseman

Root Cellaring: Natural Cold Storage of Fruits & Vegetables by Mike Bubel

Outdoor Survival Skills by Larry Dean Olsen

Stocking Up: The Third Edition of America's Classic Preserving Guide by Carol Hupping

The American Boy's Handybook of Camp Lore and Woodcraft

Emergency Food Storage & Survival Handbook by Peggy Layton

98.6 Degrees: The Art of Keeping Your Ass Alive by Cody Lundin

Seed to Seed: Seed Saving and Growing Techniques for Vegetable Gardeners by Suzanne Ashworth

Emergency: This Book Will Save Your Life by Neil Strauss

Five Acres and Independence: A Handbook for Small Farm Management by Maurice G. Kains

Essential Bushcraft by Ray Mears

The Survivor book series by Kurt Saxon. Many are out of print in hard copy, but they are all available on DVD. Here, I must issue a caveat lector ("reader beware"): Mr. Saxon has some very controversial views that I do not agree with. Among other things he is a eugenicist.

How to Stay Alive in the Woods by Bradford Angier

The New Organic Grower by Eliot Coleman

Tom Brown Jr.'s series of books, especially:

Tom Brown's Field Guide to Wilderness Survival

Tom Brown's Field Guide to Nature Observation and Tracking

Tom Brown's Guide to Wild Edible and Medicinal Plants (Field Guide)  

Total Resistance by H. von Dach

Ditch Medicine: Advanced Field Procedures For Emergencies by Hugh Coffee

Living Well on Practically Nothing by Ed Romney

The Secure Home by Joel Skousen

Outdoor Survival Skills by Larry Dean Olsen

When All Hell Breaks Loose: Stuff You Need To Survive When Disaster Strikesby Cody Lundin

The Last Hundred Yards: The NCO's Contribution to Warfareby John Poole.

Camping & Wilderness Survival: The Ultimate Outdoors Book by Paul Tawrell

Engineer Field Data (US Army FM 5-34) --Available online free of charge, with registration, but I recommend getting a hard copy. preferably with the heavy-duty plastic binding.

Great Livin' in Grubby Times by Don Paul

Just in Case by Kathy Harrison

Nuclear War Survival Skills by Cresson H. Kearney (Available for free download.)

How to Survive Anything, Anywhere: A Handbook of Survival Skills for Every Scenario and Environment by Chris McNab

Storey's Basic Country Skills: A Practical Guide to Self-Reliance by John & Martha Storey

Adventure Medical Kits A Comprehensive Guide to Wilderness & Travel Medicineby Eric A. Weiss, M.D.

Rodale's Ultimate Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening: The Indispensable Green Resource for Every Gardener  

Special Operations Forces Medical Handbook (superceded the very out-of-date ST 31-91B)

Wilderness Medicine, 5th Edition by Paul S. Auerbach

Four-Season Harvest: Organic Vegetables from Your Home Garden All Year Longby Elliot Coleman

Back to Basics: A Complete Guide to Traditional Skills, Third Edition by Abigail R. Gehring

Government By Emergency by Dr. Gary North

The Weed Cookbook: Naturally Nutritious - Yours Free for the Taking! by Adrienne Crowhurst

The Modern Survival Retreat by Ragnar Benson

Last of the Mountain Men by Harold Peterson

Primitive Wilderness Living & Survival Skills: Naked into the Wilderness by John McPherson

LDS Preparedness Manual, edited by Christopher M. Parrett

The Long Emergency: Surviving the End of Oil, Climate Change, and Other Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-First Century by James H. Kunstler

Principles of Personal Defense - Revised Edition by Jeff Cooper.

Survival Poaching by Ragnar Benson

The Winter Harvest Handbook: Year Round Vegetable Production Using Deep Organic Techniques and Unheated Greenhouses by Eliot Coleman

James,
Just sending this letter as a quick update to the situation with ammunition and "black guns" or defensive weapons in Canada. Contrary to what many people think, Canada does allow citizens to get licensed and own firearms of most types. Basically anything except full auto weapons unless you previously owned one years ago and were grandfathered after that particular portion of Nazi legislation was implemented.

This last weekend I was fortunate to attend Canada's largest gun show in western Canada located in Cow Town, Calgary, Alberta. This gun show is nothing compared to the big shows across many of the US States (about 500 tables) however, none the less, it is an opportunity to meet with all the big vendors from across the country and pick up ammo and supplies with cash for OPSEC reasons, while you still can.

Its interesting to note that like the USA, supplies are rapidly drying up as far as defensive firearms, loaded ammo and reloading components but not yet reaching the levels of devastation as seen in the USA., yet. What we are seeing is this, because of the lag time with bureaucratic red tape processing of ammunition and firearms coming into Canada from the USA, there are a number of good-sized stockpiles of ammo and firearms that are still trickling through Canada Customs and into the local guns shops six months after the orders were placed which was about the time the supply runs began in the USA. I fear however that this will very soon no longer be the case due to the supply issues south of the border. For those in the know, we recognize that our window of opportunity to purchase such items is rapidly coming to a close. Massive supply runs have not yet begun, however supplies are drying up rapidly as preppers and those ahead of the ball are consuming the majority of the common calibers and associated reloading components.

Also very interesting: The vast majority of gun shop owners and vendors up here are completely asleep at the wheel where the supply issues are concerned. Many of them actually think that the delivery trucks will always be there to bring stock for their shelves. I've actually heard comments from such people as this "The government will not allow this to happen as it will hurt the firearms industry". What have they been smoking? When I was at the show in Calgary this last weekend, it was rather humorous to approach many of the vendors who had the only significant quantities of the major calibers of ammo at this show (.45 ACP, .40 S&W , 9mm , .223, etc) and simply walk up to them, ask them how much for case lots of ammunition and then actually haggle with them and eventually purchase it at a much lower price than they were originally asking. If these folks knew that their supply was near complete extinction they wouldn't even be selling it or would at least jack the price in accordance with the principles of supply and demand. But it was great for me, though. No complaints.

It was a good show where Canada was concerned, mainly because we mopped up what the golden horde was willing to trade for soon to be useless paper dollars (big laughs over that) and we were able to get the supplies that we know will soon be gone. We have reason to believe that the last of those cross-border ammunition imports might be done and over with and we will shortly see panic hit the regular gun crowd in Canada who will be left to fight over the odd box of shotgun slugs and pistol rounds at best.

Thanks for all you do. I hope this information is of interest to fellow Canadian SurvivalBlog readers. - Luke Duke

Jim,
I just got back from attending the Knob Creek Machine Gun Shoot near Fort Knox, Kentucky. I have never seen the ammo situation as bad there as it was on April 3rd to April 5th. I took four other people that have never been there and told them that they would be able to satisfy their needs at this show over any other. Boy, was I wrong! Supply on certain items was either non existent or had decreased dramatically. Several nationwide ammo dealers didn’t even show up and I have seen them there for 10 consecutive years.

9mm +P+ Israeli SMG ball or tracer – last November.was $100 now $150 per thousand (Pat's Reloading told me that they had gone through four Semi-trailer loads of the stuff and this was nearing the end of it.) I loved this stuff because I couldn’t even touch the components for $100, especially tracer.
.223 Israeli ball was $375 per thousand at Pats reloading
.223 Israeli tracer was oddly less expensive than ball at $149 per 500. I looked through mine and about 10% appears to be Lake City (early to mid-1990s). Purchased at Pat's Reloading
.223 Federal 2008 production XM193 was $450 per 500. Don’t even think about what that equates to, "per case".
9mm was in somewhat short supply. I heard one supplier tell a customer that he brought two pallet loads with him, but the dealers bought it all before the show even opened.
7.62x39 Last November Golden Tiger was $180 a case. I didn’t see one single case of the stuff and Wolf was $300 a case.
7.62x54R was holding steady at $160 for two sealed tins (about 880 rds)
30-06 Greek sealed tins of 240 rds was up from $59 to $100.
.308 South African $90 per battle pack of 200 rds.

While there was some pistol ammo, it was not stacked up by the pallet load as usual and self defense loads were either in short supply or exorbitant in price. I did somehow manage to stumble into some Blazer nickel plated case 165 grain solid point 40 S&W ammo for $15 per 50 and some .223 IMG (Guatemalan) that was boxed but tarnished for $375 per 1,200 round case. Time to dig out the reloader and supplies.

On the Magazine front, nearly all [of the once inexpensive and plentifull magazines] now have jacked up [prices].
DSA still had nice metric FAL mags for $7 and 30 round [.308 L4] Bren gun mags that fit FALs (inch and metric) for $30. I would have bought some but I am still mad at them at playing "the DSA waiting game" for some [FAL] receivers. I have waited on two of those receivers now for going on a year, continually being promised that they "have them in stock", and being sent my money back twice. This is my forth go around with them 1997, 2001, 2003 with only one [order] being successful. [Minor rant snipped.]
AK magazines: still some around for $12
G3 aluminum mags $5
[HK] G3 steel and CETME were all $15 except for one guy who still had them for $5
Cope's Distributing was completely out of the used (law enforcement trade-in) Glock and SIG magazines that they formerly had for $10 each. They did have some KCI Korean Glock magazines for $12 that looked respectable and see to have a good reputation so far.
SVD and Romak 3 mags had dropped from $100 to $60 (for a 4-pack) in November. Now back up to $85.

AR parts kits were in short supply. Model 1 sales sent a reduced table and barely had anything. a FFL dealer behind me at the Doublestar/J&T Distributing table told me he had bought 55 full kits from Model 1 Sales and he would be sold out in 2-3 weeks so he was buying more from J&T. The owner of J&T told me that she ran out of stuff before the show even opened to the public and had to send a van back to load up with more stuff. J&T’s cheapest kit was $555 without a chrome bore. They sold out of kits by noon and were going to have to send another van back for more.

On the AR-15 lower receiver front, a FFL dealer friend of mine there told me that the log jam for receivers appeared to have eased as he was able to buy them for $88 wholesale once again and take delivery in a reasonable amount of time.

On the whole, the current situation seems to favor those moving into the AK-74 realm. AK-74 kits were $495, receiver flats were $12, transferable receivers were $60 and the ammo was $300 per 1,300 rds (in sealed tins). There never seems to be much competition for that ammo. I am thinking about getting a 5.45mm AK.

As I started my journey into preparedness, one of the areas I pursued was getting my Concealed Carry Weapons (CCW) license (sometimes called Concealed Handgun License (CHL) or Concealed Carry License (CCL)). I thought it might be helpful to Survival Blog readers to share my recent experiences related to obtaining my CCW license and getting to a point where I felt comfortable carrying a concealed weapon in public. I know there is some concern regarding obtaining a license that puts you on record as a gun owner/carrier, but that is the trade off of being able to legally defend yourself and is a decision each of us must make.

In a full TEOTWAWKI situation, concealed carry is likely not much of an issue, as most everyone will be carrying openly. However, it is possible, if not likely, that a less than full TEOTWAWKI will occur where there is increasingly more crime and yet some semblance of law enforcement is still in place. This limbo between where we are today and complete lawlessness may last a long time. You could be considered a criminal by illegally carrying a concealed weapon for self protection.

First, a little background regarding CCW. Most states are either “shall issue” or “may issue” in regard to CCW licenses (nice of them to offer something already provided for by the Second Amendment). Both Illinois and Wisconsin do not allow concealed carry at all and a few other “nanny” states (California, New York, New Jersey, etc.) are “may issue” and only provide licenses in very limited circumstances. There is a complicated set of state reciprocity (which states will honor another states license), especially considering that many states offer non-resident permits and a few states only honor resident permits. The best source I have found to understand the laws pertaining to individual states is the HandgunLaw.us web site. Even though there are sporadic attempts to nationalize concealed carry, I do not believe this will happen which is probably a good thing (the federal government, especially the current one, would likely make things much worse).

I applied for and subsequently received my CCW license about 18 months ago in Idaho, my state of residence. My first several months of carrying a concealed weapon was limited to having my gun in the car (in a somewhat hidden spot) anytime I left the house. My concern was that, even though I had some experience shooting handguns and rifles, actually carrying a weapon in public carries a high level of responsibility and I did not have enough confidence in my ability in handling the weapon or in having the proper mindset as to how to respond to the variety of situations that could present themselves.

I made one of the best decisions of my life when I attended the Four Day Defensive Handgun class at Front Sight. Not only did those very intense four days enable me to gain familiarity and confidence in handling my Glock 23 but started me down the road to good marksmanship. The range work (about 75% of the class) focused on gun handling safety, proper mechanics for drawing the gun and shooting, and shooting accuracy. Just as important was the classroom work at Front Sight where they discussed a wide range of topics related to self defense, including the legal ramifications of even a justified shooting and the color codes of awareness. The most important thing presented was that you should only present your weapon if you are in fear for your life or grave bodily harm and, if you do present your weapon, you should be prepared to shoot until the threat is stopped. This may sound simple but there are many shades of gray here that each individual must come to grips with.

One of these gray areas involves protecting others. Of course, there is no question regarding protecting my family who would get a higher priority than even myself. My personal decision is that I would also use deadly force to protect my friends. Here is where it starts to get gray. Do you protect acquaintances or strangers? While it would be very difficult to stand by and let someone be harmed or killed when you could have done something to stop it, the real issue is: Do you know enough of the circumstances about the event? How do you know for sure who the bad guy is? Is the person holding the gun seeming to threaten someone an off duty cop or even another CCW who is restraining a bad guy? You certainly cannot count on presenting your weapon to get everyone to stop until it can be sorted out. Chances are pretty good that the bad guy (or the off duty cop) holding the gun will not surrender and you will either be shot or have to shoot them.

Another gray area is: how far do you go to protect your stuff? You are only legally able to shoot someone if you are in fear of your life or grave bodily harm. In most states, you cannot legally shoot someone who is just taking your stuff. For example, if someone pulls a gun (or knife) on you and demands your wallet, you could shoot them if you were in fear for your life. However, if you see someone stealing you car and you shoot them while they are driving away; you are likely in deep trouble. An exception (in most states), called the Castle Doctrine, is that you do not have to be in fear for your life if the bad guy is inside your house. Be sure to check your state laws on use of force!

Prior to the class, I had begun to read the defensive handgun forums primarily regarding hypothetical and actual defensive scenarios. I highly recommend these forums. My favorites are: Defensive Carry Forum, Concealed Carry Forum, and the Glock Carry Forum. Even though there are many different opinions expressed on these forums, hearing them helps to solidify your own mindset as to what you would do in a variety of situations. It is important to think this through thoroughly prior to carrying a weapon because there will likely not be time to do so when a situation arises.

The main point is that you need to go out of your way to avoid a gunfight. This is illustrated by the fact that in a gunfight, you risk everything (including your life) and don’t win anything. The ramifications to your life of even a good shooting are such that it is something to be avoided if at all possible. Those ramifications can include financial ruin, losing your job, tarnishing your reputation (at least among the non-violent types), or even incarceration. Now that I am armed, I am more able to resist the macho urge to stand up to someone because I know that escalation could be deadly. It also doesn’t hurt to have witnesses that say you tried to walk away or de-escalate the situation in case the unavoidable does happen.

After attending the Front Sight class, I made the leap and started carrying in public all of the time. This is where you start to figure out the type and manufacturer of holster which is going to work best for you. Most people end up with a drawer full of holsters since it is difficult to evaluate a holster without wearing it with different clothing options and sometimes in different positions for some period of time. Again, the defensive handgun forums can provide a wealth of opinions regarding the variety of holsters available. Some holsters are adjustable for height and/or cant, which make them more versatile but also extend the time to figure out the most comfortable concealed position. I could write many pages on all of the options and types of holsters available since I did considerable research and tried many of them personally.
To simplify, the most common holsters are either OWB (outside the waistband) or IWB (inside the waistband). They can be worn in various positions (usually described but referencing the numbers on a clock with straight ahead being 12:00). Many people carry “behind the hip” at 4:00-5:00 (for right handed people) or 7:00-8:00 (for left handed people) with some amount of forward cant (grip of gun forward and barrel angled toward the rear). That cant (typically 10-20%) allows for a more natural grip on the gun for drawing from that position as well as provides better concealment than a straight drop. I could never get comfortable with this behind the hip position, maybe because I am not very limber and I have bad shoulders making it difficult to reach behind my hip both for getting the holster positioned initially and for access to the gun when needed.

The 3:00 position allows for a straight draw and is the most comfortable, even when sitting. Since it is on the apex of your hip/waist, it is a little more difficult to conceal but is a good option in winter when jackets and coats are common. You just need to make sure that you won’t be put into a position where you will need to remove your cover garment. I have found that a fleece vest works very well to conceal a handgun at 3:00 and you can still wear and remove a heavier coat and keep your weapon concealed.

I have gravitated toward “appendix carry” at about 1:00-2:00 using an IWB holster, especially in the summer. It allows for excellent concealability and access and can be concealed with just a light shirt. This position also allows you to be able to visually make sure you are not “printing” (outline of the gun showing through your clothes). There are a large number of IWB holsters available and some of them allow a shirt to be tucked in between the pants and the top of the gun if you need to have your shirt tucked in. I did have to go up one size in pants to accommodate the holster and gun being inside the waistband.
Cross draw is another option and works well for people who spend a lot of time driving. Other options that have drawbacks but may be useful for some people include SOB (small of back) holsters, shoulder holsters, and ankle holsters.[JWR Adds: As previously mentioned in SurvivalBlog I consider SOB holsters too much of a risk for back injuries, particularly for anyone on horseback, or that is riding motorcycles or ATVs.] I use a fanny pack (worn in the front) sometimes, especially when hiking. A fanny pack in public tends to scream “gun” to most law enforcement and some bad guys. For women, carrying in a purse is an obvious choice. However, you have to be very careful not to set it down anywhere where someone else could get access to it. A purse can also be the target of someone trying to snatch it, which not only deprives you of your means of self defense but gives your weapon to your attacker. There are other options that each individual should look into to meet their specific need.

To maintain and even improve the level of proficiency gained at Front Sight, there are a few approaches. The obvious one is to do a lot of shooting. With the cost of ammunition these days, this can be very expensive. A .22 conversion kit for your carry gun will help to minimize the cost of putting a lot of rounds down range. An alternative is to mix in dry practice. Personally, I like to try to maintain 10%-20% of my practice time as live fire but sometimes that is even difficult to achieve. Dry practice can help to maintain muscle memory for drawing, sight acquisition, trigger pull, and even malfunction clearing. An obvious important safety concern when dry practicing is to absolutely insure that the gun is unloaded. I know that sounds pretty basic but a clear delineation of starting and stopping dry practice will help to eliminate a very bad experience of a negligent discharge. Unload the gun and double check that it is unloaded. Then remove all ammo from the dry practice area. Check again to make sure the gun is unloaded. Even then, make sure you dry practice target has a good backstop and make sure you never point the gun at anything you would not want to destroy. At the end of the dry practice session, remove any dry practice targets, load and holster the weapon, and go as far as to say out loud, “The weapon is loaded and dry practice is over.”

I have applied for and am awaiting receipt of my Utah non-resident permit which will make me legal in more states (33 states in total). I am also planning to attend Front Sight again in a few weeks and take the Four Day Practical Rifle class to gain more proficiency with my battle rifle. I even talked my wife into taking the Four Day Defensive Handgun class at the same time. - AceHigh in Idaho

Jim,
I’m writing you today after our rural home/retreat was broken into while we were at work. I thought it would never happen to me, Oh, was I so very wrong. First things first, thank you for convincing me to purchase a safe and after reading the suggestion many times in you blog I eventually bolted it down. This is the only thing that saved me from losing the safe and all of its contents. The Sheriff told me of another burglary where the didn’t have his very large ("they can’t move it--its too heavy") safe bolted down and they took the whole thing. After much thinking, online research and discussions with the local locksmith/safe dealer with 40 years of experience, I have some suggestions that may be of use to my fellow SurvivalBlog readers:

ANCHOR YOUR SAFE!!! I cannot stress this enough. I had a fairly low end safe and they were not able to get into it (they almost did) nor were they able get it out of the house. The Sheriff's deputy estimated they worked on it for two to three hours to no avail. These thieves tore a wall out to try to gain more access to it.

I have decided that a safe is my final line of defense from a burglar.

First thing, put gates at the entrance to your retreat and lock them as I now have. Put all tools out of sight as the thieves used my hammers, pry bars to work on the safe. Reinforce the door jambs in your home. I have added 3-inch screws to the door hinges and a steel plate behind the striker plates with 3 inch screws. If your budget permits add an alarm with an outside strobe light. This may or may not help depending on where your home is located. We are on a paved county road with our retired neighbor who has a line of sight to our home a quarter mile away. If it would happen again our neighbor would be there in short order. As for dogs, I don’t know, I have three and they did not stop them. From what I have gathered unless you have a trained security dog they don’t help much, they just kick them out the door and go about their business. Don’t leave keys/combinations in your home while away. They opened every cabinet door, drawer, trunk, dresser, night stand, picture frames and closet in the house and emptied them. There was only one cabinet door they didn’t open which was the one with my truck keys in it which was in the driveway.

Don’t put anything in or under the beds, ours were all flipped upside down. Don’t leave any firearms out and loaded while away, you don’t want to come home and be confronted by your own weapon in the hands of a criminal. Do what you can now before a burglary to make your home less inviting to a thief. If they want in they will get in given enough time. I feel bad saying this but if your neighbors’ home is less secure than yours they will go visit your neighbor. My worry now is they have been in my home, will they be back since they know I may have something worth getting.

After a lengthy discussion with the locksmith/safe technician. The strongest way to secure to concrete is the Powers/Rawl brand wedge bolt +. Don’t use the lead "bullets" or drive in anchors. He told me a story of removing 16 safes for a chain of stores that were bolted down with these style anchors. If you can get a pry bar started under one corner you can pull them right out. The wedge bolts cut threads in the concrete with no inserts. He stated you will pull the floor out of the safe before the anchors pull out. If you’re anchoring to a wood floor and you have an unfinished basement you should use a steel plate. Use 1/8” or 3/16” [thick] flat steel plate large enough to catch at least three floor joists. Screw the plate to the bottom of the floor joist. Use an extra-long drill bit to drill down from the safe thru the steel plate. Get hardened bolts long enough to be installed from the bottom, cut a piece of pipe slightly larger than the bolt but shorter than the floor joist is tall and slide it over the bolt as you are installing it. This will make it very difficult to cut the bolts as the pipe will spin freely on the bolt. Be sure to "double nut" them inside the safe. The last step is to weld the bolt heads to the steel plate.

Thanks for all the good information on your blog. I hope maybe someone reading your blog my find some of this info useful and maybe prevent someone from entering their home. I didn’t sleep well for a week, the wife and I are still a little on edge and everyone who drives by is suspect! This makes you feel very insecure knowing someone has been in your home and went thru all your things. I wish I would have made our place more secure before and maybe this would never have happened! The Sheriff told me this is getting much more frequent and I agree it will get worse. God Bless, - Jason in Missouri.

JWR Replies: Thanks for that letter, Jason! Hopefully it will motivate folks to up their level of home security and vigilance. I agree that the home gun safe should be the last line of defense. One intermediate line of defense is concealment. Burglars cannot attack a safe if they don't know it exists. See the SurvivalBlog archives for a variety of articles and letters that discuss hidden rooms, such as this one, or this one, both from 2007.

JWR:
I saw the article on how Cabela’s shares surged based on gun sales. Let me tell you, we are in the midst of a feeding frenzy here in Colorado.

First, its not just guns, its all of the accessories as well. I had to return some items from Christmas to Sportsman’s Warehouse and found that the whole gun department was basically empty. They only had some black powder firearms and a couple of shotguns. Nothing else. I had run into this before Christmas when I bought my two oldest boys new elk rifles – and got the last .308 bolt action and the last .30-06 bolt action to be had. But I figured after Christmas things would be better. Well, they are not. So unless you shoot something odd like a .22-250 forget getting ammunition right now let alone a gun. And the cleaning kits were sold out as well. And holsters, ammo belts – you name it and if it was shooting related it was gone.

Now in my wanderings in the store I also found that communications gear is also disappearing off the shelves. I had a brief conversation with the kid that was working there and it turns out that this is another trend they are seeing. Basically all of the walkie-talkie units that can take ear buds or microphones are gone. The only things left are some cheap FRS units. The same thing was at work with the flashlights – all of the better units (like the Surefire models) were gone. I begin to wonder what is at work here – am I being paranoid or is this the next run on “near tactical” equipment?

Now I shoot as much as I can when I am in country so I go through a lot of reloading supplies and bulk ammunition. I have been told by some of the national dealers that I buy from (in bulk lots of 10 cases per caliber per order) that they are almost all sold out as well. One sales person related to me that they had run through over 10,000 cases of .223 that week alone and could not keep any in stock. Common calibers are gone – 9mm, .45 ACP, .38/.357, .223, .308, 7.62x39 – and less common ones such as the .40 are hard to get. So unless you happen to be shooting something that is very uncommon, keep your eyes open. I did however with a week of scrounging manage to come up with one box of 7.62 match grade ammo – the 175 grain M118 loading. Fortunately my long range precision gun likes this ammo so I bought it.

This is one trend that if you were not way out in front and loading up on ammunition, guns, and accessories, you would not be able to catch up now. - Hugh D.

Hi Jim,
FYI, just got done shopping at Midway [for ammunition handloading components] and all of the .308 150 grain soft nosed bullets priced at $25.00/100 and under are gone. All gone! This includes all round nose and flat point for 30-30. Only some of the premium stuff is available. The next best deal is a Lapua 150 grain at $42.00/100. Guess I'll have to top off with the only decent spitzer, a 125 grain Sierra Pro-Hunter at $22/100 if I can't find 150 grainers elsewhere. I suppose these can be reliable through a[n M1] Garand and are certainly adequate for deer. I've also shopped all over for loaded 9mm Luger JHP and it's all gone as well. Yes I shoulda got the XD-.45 instead, yet common ammunition that can be shared with the rest of the family and in case the gun fails the ammo would not be wasted. I have plenty, but more would be nice. The same can be said for the cheap 7.62x39 and M2 ball (.30-06). All gone, everywhere. There does appear to be some 7.62 NATO out there.

Cabela's seems to have a fair selection of all .308 spire point bullets and 9mm/.45ACP JHP, and a very limited amount (500 rounds) of the cheap 7.62x39, and limited quantities of .223 and .308.

The run on ammunition continues and is amazing. A report from the latest gun show in our area described [buyers with] dollies stacked with cases that emptied the place within three hours. What is the most shocking is that reloading components are also disappearing. - E.L.

Jim:

News of the [U.S.]Attorney General asking for renewal of the Assault Weapons ban (on behalf of Obama) went out across the Internet last night [Wednesday, Feb. 25th.] Here was the result I saw: There was a line of about eight guys in front of my local gun shop this morning, waiting for the doors to open. This was at 9 a.m. on a Thursday morning, mind you. I was one of them. Most of the guys looked to be in their 30s and 40s--so we were taking time away from work to be there. (In my case, it was a "dental emergency". Obama has me grinding my teeth at night!) We got in the door, and I immediately saw there wasn't much left on the shelves--mostly just pump [shot]guns and bolt-action [rifle]s. There were just two centerfire semi[automatic]s in the rack: some POS no-name AK that looked like it was built from a beater parts kit, and one of those woosie S&W AR[-15] clones with no flash hider on but with the Mossy-Breakup camouflage paint job. Those both sold in the first few minutes. The owner said that he doesn't expect [to receive] any more black guns for three or four months!

One thing you definitely had nailed: They did not have a single high-cap magazine left in the store, except the one that came in the mag well of the AK I mentioned.

I cleaned out the last of their .45 and .308 ammo--just a few boxes. There was not a round of 9mm, .223, of 7.62 [x39mm] Russian to be found. Those was some slim pickin's! I wonder: What will they have left by Saturday night? - Ray H. in Virginia

Yesterday, in Part1, I discussed the "safe" and counter-cyclical occupations for the unfolding economic depression. Today, I'd like to talk about one specific approach: self-employment with a home-based business.

I posted most the following back in late 2005, but there are some important points that are worth repeating:

The majority of SurvivalBlog readers that I talk with tell me that they live in cities or suburbs, but they would like to live full time at a retreat in a rural area. Their complaint is almost always the same: "...but I'm not self-employed. I can't afford to live in the country because I can't find work there, and the nature of my work doesn't allow telecommuting." They feel stuck.

Over the years I've seen lots of people "pull the plug" and move to the boonies with the hope that they'll find local work once they get there. That usually doesn't work. Folks soon find that the most rural jobs typically pay little more than minimum wage and they are often informally reserved for folks that were born and raised in the area. (Newcomers from the big city certainly don't have hiring priority!)

My suggestion is to start a second income stream, with a home-based business. Once you have that business started, then start another one. There are numerous advantages to this approach, namely:

You can get out of debt

You can generally build the businesses up gradually, so that you don't need to quit your current occupation immediately

By working at home you will have the time to home school your children and they will learn about how to operate a business.

You can live at your retreat full time. This will contribute to your self-sufficiency, since you will be there to tend to your garden, fruit/nut trees, and livestock.

If one of your home-based businesses fails, then you can fall back on the other.

Ideally, for someone that is preparedness-minded, a home-based business should be something that is virtually recession proof, or possibly even depression proof. Ask yourself: What are you good at? What knowledge or skills do you have that you can utilize. Next, consider which businesses will flourish during bad times. Some good examples might include:

Mail order/Internet sales/eBay Auctioning of preparedness-related products.

Locksmithing

Gunsmithing

Medical Transcription

Accounting

Repair/refurbishment businesses

Freelance writing

Blogging (with paid advertising) If you have knowledge about a niche industry and there is currently no authoritative blog on the subject, then start your own!

Mail order/Internet sales of entertainment items. (When times get bad, people still set aside a sizable percentage of their income for "escape" from their troubles. For example, video rental shops have done remarkably well during recessions.)

Burglar Alarm Installation

Other home-based businesses that seem to do well only in good economic times include:

Recruiting/Temporary Placement

Fine arts, crafts, and jewelry. Creating and marketing your own designs--not "assembly" for some scammer. (See below.)

Mail order/Internet sales/eBay Auctions of luxury items, collectibles, or other "discretionary spending" items

Personalized stationary and greeting cards (Freelance artwork)

Calligraphy

Web Design

 

Beware the scammers! The fine folks at www.scambusters.org have compiled a "Top 10" list of common work-at-home and home based business scams to beware of:

10. Craft Assembly
This scam encourages you to assemble toys, dolls, or other craft projects at home with the promise of high per-piece rates. All you have to do is pay a fee up-front for the starter kit... which includes instructions and parts. Sounds good? Well, once you finish assembling your first batch of crafts, you'll be told by the company that they "don't meet our specifications."
In fact, even if you were a robot and did it perfectly, it would be impossible for you to meet their specifications. The scammer company is making money selling the starter kits -- not selling the assembled product. So, you're left with a set of assembled crafts... and no one to sell them to.

9. Medical Billing
In this scam, you pay $300-$900 for everything (supposedly) you need to start your own medical billing service at home. You're promised state-of-the-art medical billing software, as well as a list of potential clients in your area.
What you're not told is that most medical clinics process their own bills, or outsource the processing to firms, not individuals. Your software may not meet their specifications, and often the lists of "potential clients" are outdated or just plain wrong.
As usual, trying to get a refund from the medical billing company is like trying to get blood from a stone.

8. Email Processing
This is a twist on the classic "envelope stuffing scam" (see #1 below). For a low price ($50?) you can become a "highly-paid" email processor working "from the comfort of your own home."
Now... what do you suppose an email processor does? If you have visions of forwarding or editing emails, forget it. What you get for your money are instructions on spamming the same ad you responded to in newsgroups and Web forums!
Think about it -- they offer to pay you $25 per e-mail processed -- would any legitimate company pay that?

7. "A List of Companies Looking for Homeworkers!"
In this one, you pay a small fee for a list of companies looking for homeworkers just like you.
The only problem is that the list is usually a generic list of companies, companies that don't take homeworkers, or companies that may have accepted homeworkers long, long ago. Don't expect to get your money back with this one.

6. "Just Call This 1-900 Number For More Information..."
No need to spend too much time (or money) on this one. 1-900 numbers cost money to call, and that's how the scammers make their profit. Save your money -- don't call a 1-900 number for more information about a supposed work-at-home job.

5. Typing At Home
If you use the Internet a lot, then odds are that you're probably a good typist. How better to capitalize on it than making money by typing at home? Here's how it works: After sending the fee to the scammer for "more information," you receive a disk and printed information that tells you to place home typist ads and sell copies of the disk to the suckers who reply to you. Like #8, this scam tries to turn you into a scammer!

4. "Turn Your Computer Into a Money-Making Machine!"
Well, this one's at least half-true. To be completely true, it should read: "Turn your computer into a money-making machine... for spammers!"
This is much the same spam as #5, above. Once you pay your money, you'll be sent instructions on how to place ads and pull in suckers to "turn their computers into money-making machines."

3. Multi-Level Marketing (MLM)
If you've heard of network marketing (like Amway), then you know that there are legitimate MLM businesses based on agents selling products or services. One big problem with MLMs, though, is when the pyramid and the ladder-climbing become more important than selling the actual product or service. If the MLM business opportunity is all about finding new recruits rather than selling products or services, beware: The Federal Trade Commission may consider it to be a pyramid scheme... and not only can you lose all your money, but you can be charged with fraud, too!
We saw an interesting MLM scam recently: one MLM company advertised the product they were selling as FREE. The fine print, however, states that it is "free in the sense that you could be earning commissions and bonuses in excess of the cost of your monthly purchase of" the product. Does that sound like free to you?

2. Chain Letters/Emails ("Make Money Fast")
If you've been on the Internet for any length of time, you've probably received or at least seen these chain emails. They promise that all you have to do is send the email along plus some money by mail to the top names on the list, then add your name to the bottom... and one day you'll be a millionaire. Actually, the only thing you might be one day is prosecuted for fraud. This is a classic pyramid scheme, and most times the names in the chain emails are manipulated to make sure only the people at the top of the list (the true scammers) make any money. This scam should be called "Lose Money Fast" -- and it's illegal.

1. Envelope Stuffing
This is the classic work-at-home scam. It's been around since the U.S. Depression of the 1920s and 1930s, and it's moved onto the Internet like a cockroach you just can't eliminate. There are several variations, but here's a sample: Much like #5 and #4 above, you are promised to be paid $1-2 for every envelope you stuff. All you have to do is send money and you're guaranteed "up to 1,000 envelopes a week that you can stuff... with postage and address already affixed!" When you send your money, you get a short manual with flyer templates you're supposed to put up around town, advertising yet another harebrained work-from-home scheme. And the pre-addressed, pre-paid envelopes? Well, when people see those flyers, all they have to do is send you $2.00 in a pre-addressed, pre-paid envelope. Then you stuff that envelope with another flyer and send it to them. Ingenious perhaps... but certainly illegal and unethical.

From all that I've heard, most franchises and multi-level marketing schemes are not profitable unless you pick a great product or service, and you already have a strong background in sales. Beware of any franchise where you wouldn't have a protected territory. My general advice is this: You will probably be better off starting your own business, making, retailing, or consulting about something where you can leverage your existing knowledge and/or experience.

---

In closing, I'd like to reemphasize that home security and locksmithing are likely to provide steady and profitable employment for the next few years, since hard economic times are likely to trigger a substantial crime wave. After all, someone has to keep watch on the tens of thousands of foreclosed, vacant houses. (If not watched, then crack cocaine addicts, Chicago syndicate politicians, or other undesirables might move in!)

Mr. Rawles:
I took your advice you posted last year and have been investing in some high cap magazines. I've bought about $2,000 worth since the [November 2008 presidential] election, and I haven't had any second thoughts. Thank you sir, your advice is making me a tidy profit. The 75-round Romanian [RPK] drums that I bought for $135 each the day after the election are now going for $250 each. And the 31-round Glock 9 milly magazines that I paid $33.50 each for are now going for $65 each. Oh, I found +2 [magazine floorplate extension]s for those, so now they are all 33 rounders. I figure those mags will be over $100 each in a couple of months.

My real coup de largesse was this past weekend, when I went to a local gun show here in Texas. (There is a gun show just about every weekend, somewhere in Texas. Some just take a day of driving to get to!) The place was a mad house. It took 30+ minutes to stand in line just to pay to get in the door. People were buying mil surplus ammo and magazines like crazy. Basically the ammo and mags were all sold out by noon on Saturday. And most of the "black guns" were sold out buy the time they closed the doors Saturday night. Prices on magazines have basically doubled since the election.

Anyway, just after the show opened, I was scanning the tables, looking for high cap magazines--what else--when I spied a Mini-14 GB stainless, with an original Ruger-made 30-round magazine tucked up next to it. I was about to ask [the seller] if he'd sell the magazine separately, when I glanced at the gun's price tag: $400! I just about died of an infarction on the spot. That is a great price on a fairly scarce model. (The "GB" is the LEO-sales model, with factory-installed flash-hider.) The seller--a nice old gentleman and a Korean War vet--said that he had put less than 500 rounds through it. The rifle's looks matched the story, so I whipped out four Franklins and a copy of my driver's license to show I was "Free, white and 21". Anyway, we got all set (private party sale--my only way to business) to get the gun out the door, and the old timer says, "Oh wait, don't forget the [factory shipping] box, and the magazines, they come with it." He reaches under the table and lifts up a shoe box full of original Ruger 20s and 30s, some of them still in the white boxes! I nearly had a second heart attack. There were 11 [magazines in the box, of which] six were 30 rounders. That's like $900 worth of magazines, these days! Later at the show I also scored four 20 round Beretta M92 "Robocop" mags, two [Steyr] AUG 42-rounders for $30 each, five AR-10 mags (for just $40 each--I've seen them advertised on Buddy's board for $80 apiece!), a half-dozen "Okay [Industries]" M16 mags, and big box of nearly new [Austrian] STG[-58] FN/FAL magazines--which for some weird reason are still around $15! I bought 23 of those. I talked the guy down to $12 per, since I cleaned him out.

Speaking of FAL .308 mags, my next purchase (already agreed, by phone) will be a DSA [FN/]FAL clone. I have to drive 115 miles each way to pick it up. I found it private party, [listed] on GunsAmerica.com. I'm now tapped out, but my dad is lending me the cash. I explained the situation, and he says that it is wise to buy it. [He said:] "We'll have a good chuckle about the price, in a year or two!"

Here is my strategy on mags: Buy what you can, while you can--while prices are still halfway reasonable. I don't own a Beretta 92, an AR-10, or an AUG, but I figure I can always trade [for what I need] later. And I practically had to buy that FAL, since I found all those magazines. (What a great excuse to buy a gun.) My only regret is that I didn't have the cash to buy more magazines at the show. At the rate prices are zooming, Beta [C-MAG]s will pretty soon be back to $750 apiece, just like during the [1994 to 2004 Federal "Assault weapons" and 11+ round magazine] ban. .

Thanks again for your advice, sir. Your were right about silver. You were right about magazines. And for that matter you were right about derivatives, too. The world seems more and more like the first chapter of "Patriots" every day. (What, were you psychic?) I'm taking [your novel] to heart. I got all my "beans", and "bullets" in hand, now I just have to work on the "Band-aids". Thank You, Sir! - Matt E. in Texas (Soon to be a 10 Cent Challenger and an Appleseed qualified rifleman.)

JWR Replies: I'm glad to hear that you stocked up. You won't regret it. Those extra magazines will make fine barter items, both before and after a "Crunch." OBTW, I'm not the only that is one advocating investing in magazines. The following is from a recent e-newsletter from firearms training guru Gabe Suarez:, advocating preparedness: "...Then get as many magazines as you can justify. Glock magazines are going for about $35 now. A year ago they were under $20, and dealer price two years ago was about $12! At the height of the assault on freedom known as the Crime Bill, they were selling for $125. Forget Ameritrade, buy magazines."

Mister Rawles,

My husband and I have two editions of "Patriots", both heavily highlighted. I shudder to think that your books sounds all too prophetic about now.

I've seen you reference The Appleseed Program [of rifle matches and clinics] on your web site, but I can't determine if you have ever been to one of our events. If you haven't, it is truly worth the time, since we are about more than just marksmanship. That is just the hook to get people to come.

We teach the history of the beginning of the Revolutionary War and the mindset of the people involved. Somehow Appleseed changes people. It gets people off their rears to come and it gets prompts many to take up the call to spread the word of involvement. It gets people thinking. Appleseed has given me hope that there are good committed people out there and that with them, not all of America is lost. It has also proven to be an excellent way to meet like minded people. If the worst comes to pass, I have the marksmanship skills to survive and I now know many others who do as well.

My husband and I are new instructors, as we have taken up the call. We are involved in teaching in the Southwest, but there are classes around the country, so everyone should be able to find one relatively close by. The training is highly effective and I have yet to see anyone, even experts, leave without some new skills.

Sincerely Yours, - G.F.in New Mexico

Hello Jim,
A little follow up to MJM's article on basic marksmanship. He is 100% spot on. The fundamentals and basics of marksmanship are the foundation that all shooting is built on. I would recommend seeking out NRA high power competition to improve their rifle shooting skills. High power shooters are always looking for new people and welcome them with open arms and are willing to teach. Plus the matches are just plain fun and gives you goals to strive for and measure your progress against. Also don't forget Fred's Appleseed program as well. Take care, - Jeff in Ohio

As many people will remember from the last "Assault Weapons" Ban (AWB) [in the US, which was effective from September, 1994 to September, 2004] there was a time window before the law took effect. Once it took effect, however, pre-ban purchased receivers could not legally be built into "assault weapons" unless they were in AW "format" before the ban took effect. So what does one do to get around this? It's a rather silly technicality, but so are a lot of other legal issues. In this case, your stockpiled receivers need to be in AW "format" before any ban takes place. If you can't afford to buy full kits for every receiver, you have to find other ways to meet the letter of the law. Remember that while you are innocent until proven guilty, government agencies often play by different rules, and of course, legal fees are expensive if you have to prove your innocence.

In the case of AR-15s or other firearms with sectional receivers, this means you need one complete upper with all the allowable evil features--bayonet lug, threaded muzzle or flash suppressor. Install a proper trigger kit into each receiver, and then attach the upper to it. Document this with photographs. You want one photo that clearly shows the serial number and one that clearly shows the attached "Evil features" on that receiver. (This also applies if you have already built a weapon from a stripped receiver and need to document that it was done before the cutoff date.)

It is acceptable to use digital photos for this purpose, but do not edit them in any way--experts can tell, and any edits call into question the credibility of the entire photo. Ideally, have the photos or the actual shoot witnessed by a lawyer or notary, although friends you can trust to step up and testify on your behalf will suffice. You need to "place" the photos, which means to add matter that documents the time and location of the shot. Set the camera clock for a proper timestamp and date on the photos. Consider adding a [dated] newspaper banner under the weapon and/or using a notable background such as your house or vehicle (if you can shoot outside) to add additional placement. To increase the continuity between the close-up and the overall photos should they ever come to court, place items in the setting that are obvious placers--a few long matchsticks resting on the weapon, or a trail of string over it, that would be hard to replace exactly for a different photo. Do not move or disturb the object(s) between the two shots. Print hard copies and archive CDs on your premises and at least one place off premise--a trusted friend or relative, with a lawyer or in a secure box under a different name that cannot be seized--since dishonest law enforcement have been known to do that to prevent any evidence for the defense.

Once you've created and documented your AWs, you can defer buying other upper receivers/features until your budget permits. You did create that receiver into [a complete] AW format [rifle] before the ban. Therefore, by the letter of the law, it [demonstrably] is always an AW. (This assumes that future bans are similar in construct to prior bans at state and federal level). If your local culture is gun friendly, be seen at ranges and gun shows with your legal AWs often. If any legal question arises, you want lots of local citizens, range officials and law enforcement who will testify that of course Joe Preparedness has AWs. He's had them for years, all legal, long before that ban took effect.
The photos are also useful if you decide to sell an AW at some point in the future--you can clearly document that it was in fact [built as] an AW before the cutoff date. They can also serve for insurance purposes. - Michael Z. Williamson [with additional input from his wife Gail Sanders, She is an honor grad of the Defense Information School, and a combat, forensics, and public affairs photographer.]

JWR Adds: I'm not a fatalist when it comes to re-enactment of an AWB. By all means contact your representatives numerous times, by multiple methods (mail, phone, and e-mail) and express most vociferously, your estimation of the Constitutionality of a new ban, especially in light of the recent D.C. v. Heller Supreme Court decision. With that said, I must also state that I am a realist: We all saw what happened last year when the congresscritters were deluged with phone calls, running by some estimates at a ratio of 25-to-1 opposed to the TARP Bank Bailout Bill, yet the majority of our so-called representatives still voted for it. This demonstrates that the congress is now no longer responsive to the electorate. So I can only conclude that given political expediency and the nature of quid pro quo dealings inside the DC Beltway, there will be more "Change" made than the American people want. There is a very high likelihood that some flavor of "Assault Weapon" and full capacity magazine ban will be enacted during the first three month "honeymoon" period that will be enjoyed by the BHO Administration and the Democrat-dominated congress. There may also be a separate importation ban, via an executive order, perhaps in first two weeks that BHO is in office.(One BHO camp insider told me that he'd heard talk of "more than a dozen January Surprise executive orders".)

My advice: Take the appropriate countermeasures: Stock up, especially on magazines, and "cover your tail in paper" using the method that Mike Williamson suggests. Someday soon, you may be very glad that you did.

Jim,
I enjoy reading your blog and have improved my preps exponentially since I began following you. I don't know how many dozens of [telephone] consultations you do annually, but you and I spoke for an hour earlier this year. I live on Long Island, if that rings a bell. I feel that it was money well-spent.

The post on vehicle stops was informative. You mentioned Boston T. Party's "Boston's Gun Bible" as a reference source. I have read all his books, fiction and non-fiction alike, and found him to be both entertaining and informative. If I may, I suggest letting your readers know that he has a book devoted solely to interactions with law enforcement. His book is entitled "You and the Police" and can be found on Amazon.com for as little as $10.88 at last glance. This book covers all phases of dealing with law enforcement including traffic stops, roadblocks, airports etc . It also tells you what the police are allowed to do and what your rights are during a "contact", "detention" and "arrest". I have purchased copies for myself, family and friends. As the cover of the book states :If you don't know your rights, you have none!"

Thanks for the blog. It's my first stop each morning. God Bless, - Ken B. in New York

Jim,
I wanted to contribute this the following to your ongoing discussion on high capacity magazines.
Selling high capacity magazines is normally a small part of our business, but that changed last week. Between October 31 and today, we have sold more than I normally sell in a year.
I had stocked up anticipating increased demand, but was nowhere near prepared for the huge surge in sales that we experienced. A normal order was 3 to 6 magazines, now it is 12 or more and we have had several customers buy in quantities of 100+. As a result, we are completely sold out of AR-15 magazines. I have had 400 on order since before the election, hopefully to arrive some time later this month, but many are already allocated to back orders. I could use 1,000 more magazines, but I have no idea how long it will take the manufacturer to produce them, where I will be on their waiting list, or how much their price will have increased.

I sold out of Glock Model 23 magazines and am very low on Glock 19 magazines. I was able to re-order, but my supplier was out of a couple of varieties and the price has increased $2 each on the rest, so we had to raise prices. My profit margin was only $5 on Glock magazines, and one of my other suppliers is now quoting wholesale prices that are equivalent to what my retail price was.
This feeding frenzy should be an example to everyone who has delayed some of their preparations. Don't wait until the panic starts -- buy your long term storage food now. Get a water filter and grain mill while you still can. Buy your silver during the current dip. Survival supplies are tight, but things will get worse before they will get better. I have been in the survival business since before Y2K. (BTW, I have a 1997 edition of [your draft edition novel] TEOTWAWKI in its three ring binder on my bookshelf) and this is the busiest we have been since early 1999. - Dave (of Captain Dave's)

Mr. Rawles
I found this online - it is at an AR15.com forum where folks are presently discussing who is raising their magazine prices and who isn't: Stay safe. - David B.

JWR,
Brownell's has still not raised any of their prices, as of this week. I have an account with them and bought a bunch of mags (AR and AK). Most of these are going to be traded off to my brother and some other contacts. Brownell's AR mags are still $12.50. These are good quality and I have never had a problem with them. FYI, - Sarge

Sir,

I've seen similar goings on here in Memphis. General threat of mob violence on the night of the 4th and after if The One lost the election, so I went to pick up some extra buckshot and I figured a couple extra boxes of .45 while I was at it. First went to Sportsman's Warehouse, but they were out of just about everything in the major pistol calibers except the exotic and high-dollar loads. The mountain of 9mm ball they'd laid in planning to put on sale this weekend was reduced to less than a mole hill.

They were also pretty much out of buckshot, too. Bear in mind that this is an outdoor sporting goods "big box" and not a gun store per se. I left there empty-handed and headed over to Guns & Ammo, my usual stop for same. I knew something was really up when a guy coming out as I went in had two black Glock cases and a blue SIG box in his arms and his son was carrying a double-arm-full of handgun ammo boxes. Once I got inside the store, it looked like Christmas Eve in there; people lined up three deep at the counter, which is about 50 feet long. All six employees were going like mad trying to keep up with the sales. I got the last half-dozen boxes of Hornady TAP buckshot and a few boxes of Winchester Ranger .40 and high-tailed it. Looks like everybody's a bit worried, and with good reason. "May you live in interesting times," indeed. - Booth

Jim:
A recent post said that Cabela's in Texas was out of ammo. I live in central Indiana and my local Gander Mountain store is (by now) out of .223 and other popular Battle Rifle calibers so I thought I would buy on-line like I usually do. What a shock. Able Ammo, MidwayUSA and Cheaper Than Dirt are out of just about everything in Battle Rifle calibers. I've never seen anything like this ever. Most are not even accepting back orders. I stopped by a local but out of the way gun store and had trouble finding a place to park. The employee's said you could not move around in the store on Saturday and the owner said he was thinking of going out of business after the first of the year. Interesting.

Friday, before work, my wife and I stopped by our local police department to request Concealed Carry permits. We got there Friday morning, 10 minutes before they opened. I was first in line and the lady asked me why everybody wants gun permits? Apparently it was a busy week for her. By the time I was fingerprinted and left the lobby was full of people, mostly couples, all seeking similar permits. These were all professional people. I live in a bedroom community where we have the highest per household income in the state. Something interesting is happening on in our country and intelligent hard working professional people feel the need to be able to protect themselves.

At a local outdoor shooting range, which was very busy despite 38 degree temps and wind, I talked to as many people as I could. They are mostly male in their late 30's to 50's. I ask them how long they have owned their weapon and the usual answer was "Since Tuesday!" There are a great many new shooters out there and they are not hunters. While they were not seeking training, at least they know if their weapon will fire if needed. I rarely see the same people again. Apparently, if the gun works, it works and that is the end of it. - Russ in Indiana

Here's a beginner's list I made for my [elderly] father today:

Food
{Brown pearl] rice does not store well. Neither does cooking oil so that needs to be fresh. No, Crisco doesn't count.
Coconut oil would be your best bet.
Wheat berries - 400 pounds - bulk order at your local health food store
Beans - 400 pounds - bulk order at your local health food store
Mylar bags
Spices
Salt
Country Living grain mill
propane tanks, small stove and hoses to connect
freeze dried fruits, vegetables, eggs and meat if you can find them.
Water
500 gallons of water [storage capacity. Rainwater catchment is a common practice in Hawaii]
Water filter

Cooking
Cast Iron Cookware

Firearms
FN PS 90

10 PS 90 magazines

5.7 handgun

10 FN 5.7 handgun magazines

5.7 ammo

Training: Front Sight four day defensive handgun course. (Note: eBay sometimes has course certificates for $100!)

Body armor: Nick at BulletProofME.com

Medical
Personal medications
Augmentin antibiotic
Up to date dental work
Painkillers
Bandages
Iodine
Anti-fungal spray

Finances
$10,000 cash in small bills
100 one-ounce silver coins (GoldDealer.com or Tulving.com)

Transport
Gasoline in 5 gallon cans or better yet, this.
Gas stabilizer
Mountain bikes
Air pump

Miscellany
Flashlights
Rechargeable Batteries
Battery charger
Hand held walkie talkies
Topographical map of your area
Spare eyeglasses
Shortwave radio
Home generated power
12 volt battery system
Good backpack
Good knife
Good compass
Good shoes
Bar soap
Toothbrushes
Dental floss
Toilet paper
Fishing kit
Salt licks
Connibear traps

Regards, - SF in Hawaii

JWR Adds: The following is based on the assumption that SF's father also lives in Hawaii: Because of the 10 round magazine limit for handguns, I recommend that Hawaiians purchase only large bore handguns for self defense--such as .45 ACP. Both the Springfield Armory XD .45 Compact or the Glock Model 30 would both be good choices. The "high capacity" advantage of smaller caliber handguns is not available to civilians in Hawaii, so you might as well get a more potent man stopper, given the arbitrary 10 round limitation.

Jim,
I'd recommend that "Greenhorn" should take a look at your "Profiles" page. I learned as much reading them as I do reading the blog! As you say, starting a "List of Lists" is invaluable to preparedness. It is the only way I can keep track of what I have on hand, whether it be too much or too little. And, just because I know it is a weak spot with everybody, more medical supplies is always a good thing.

Also, most gun shops have a layaway program, so it's possible to at least start paying on another rifle or handgun. When you get one of these items, make sure the ammo to feed it is your very next purchase! I'd rather have just a couple of good, solid guns and lots of ammo, than a lot of cool-guy stuff and only one magazine of ammo for each.

Make a habit of checking eBay, Craig's List and the local papers for good deals on things. If there is a sale at the local department store, I strongly recommend "buying ahead." Meaning, buying children's winter clothing in the spring when the stores are trying to clear it out, and buying a couple of sizes up. Same with shoes. Another great investment. This is one of those tangible investments that Jim speaks of all the time!

Most of all, stay calm! Breathe! Even having a few extra cases of beans and rice will put you ahead of most of your neighbors. Make sure the whole family is involved, and especially that your wife is your partner in everything you do. Take care. - SJC

Jim,
Bill from Ohio has a number of great observations about carry issues for females. Among the issues he mentions about hip holsters built for men:
1) Because of a woman's hips they tend to cause the butt of the weapon to dig-in to a woman's waist
2) Because women have hips, upon which they wear their belt they have less room to lift the weapon before it impinges into their armpit.
3) Because of factors 1 and 2 the FBI cant further complicates a natural draw for women.
I'd like to mention a holster made by Blade-Tech that addresses all three of these issues.

The offset allows for a normal vertical weapon carry by offsetting the distance from waist to hip. The drop isn't a dramatic drop like a thigh rig -- it just gives the woman a holster to armpit distance more comparable to what a man experiences. Finally the cant is fully adjustable to include straight drop, FBI, and even muzzle forward.
I have no financial relationship (other than being a customer) with Blade Tech. Just wanted to point out this groundbreaking product. - Keith in the Inland Northwest

Jim,
As a follow-on to Pistol Holsters for Women, my wife had good luck with a Galco Lady Gunsite for a full-size 1911. This holster has an angled belt attachment, holding the gun vertical with the grip away from the body. This is not an effective concealment rig, as the gun sticks out from the body. It can get in the way until you get used to it. And of course, they don't make 'em anymore. - Simple Country Doctor.

Sir,
In the recent letter regarding Holster Recommendations for Women, I found that I could understand that there is a problem, but was having a hard time visualizing it. A quick Google turned up an article on the subject. It does not offer the exact same solutions to the problem, but it does have diagrams.

As a guy, I found this very useful to understanding the problem. It is probably a lot safer than harassing the next female police officer I see with endless questions about her firearm. Somehow I doubt the officer--or my wife--would appreciate me pointing/shifting/tugging on the officer's gear and person just to satisfy my curiosity about this problem. - Jeff

James:
Bill in Ohio brings up nearly everything I was going to write about yesterday (but killing blackberries and renovating the spring got in the way). His descriptions of the various holsters and how they fit on women is spot on and I doubt I could have described them as well. Everyone needs to read them very carefully, and learn!

Unfortunately, I learned all that the hard way. For over 30 years, I have carried a pistol when horseback riding, and I can assure you that as a 5'3" woman, with hips and breasts, it is no easy thing. And over the years I have come to the conclusion that the traditional thigh-tiedown type holster works best. The cowboys had that one right!

There are a couple of reasons why I use this set up. First off, it's easy and comfortable, even if you carry a good-sized pistol (in this case, a Dan Wesson .357 with a 6.5-inch barrel.) The only problem I ever had with it was that the Pachmayr grip rubbed a hole through the lining of my long riding coat. So I covered that place with Cordura.

The second reason is that while I was trying out various ways of packing that pistol, I had that big pistol at the small of my back. That worked okay, once I worked out how to get rid of the "bounce" when going faster than a walk. (I had to wear the belt so tight it was uncomfortable) But that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was taking a bad fall one day, and landing on the damn thing! Ouch!

So, I nixed the belt/small of the back idea, and went back to the thigh holster.

I do sometimes carry a smaller pistol (9mm Ruger with a 2-inch barrel) at the small of my back. I rigged a fanny pack with a synthetic holster, and that works well.

I have often wondered if anyone has tried to modify (or if someone already makes) a holster integrated with one of those neoprene back support belts. It would seem to me that this would work very well. Something like a pancake holster sewn onto the belt at the small of the back. It would be comfy, wouldn't bounce, and if done right shouldn't be too difficult to draw. So, unless someone comes up with a better idea, I'm sticking with my thigh tie-down.

Oh, something else in regards to packing a weapon when riding. You should always keep your weapon on your person! If you get dumped (or your horse takes off while you are taking a leak.) you do not want to be without your defense. I also carry water, a couple power bars, a small first aid kit, and a Leatherman in my fanny pack as well.

Many of my riding friends have made fun of me over the years because of all the stuff I carry with me. I have big saddlebags, stuffed with everything I might need. But all that teasing sure stops in a big hurry when someone needs something that I happen to have! ( Like toilet paper, a tampon, a shovel, or even my gold pan!) I also take a lot of flak for usually riding the smallest horse with the most gear.

Take care, and my thoughts are with your family. I hope Memsahib is on the mend! - Mrs. JD

JWR Replies: Like you, I am not an advocate of "small of back" (SOB) holsters. They are particularly risky when riding a bicycle, motorcycle, ATV, or horse! You are fortunate that you didn't take a harder fall, or you might have suffered a spinal injury. I have read accounts of a few law enforcement officers that had severe injuries because of SOB holsters. I'm not willing to take that risk.

Hello Jim,

Like many readers I have always been somewhat of a gun nut. Back when I was young and single I spent a lot of money on guns and ammo including items I didn't really need that have since accumulated over time. I was single and had money to spend. Fast forward to the present with wife and kids and money is tight. There is not much left for prepping. So I decided to take stock of what I really need for my core battery of weapons/ammo and sell the rest and use the proceeds for prepping. Here are some lessons learned:

It's important to have balance in your preparations between weapons and everything else. An M1A battle rifle is no more important than a Troy-Bilt tiller or a good pair of Danner boots. Ammunition has appreciated greatly in value and been an excellent investment (although [that was] not my original intent). My stocks of 7.62x54r, 7.62x39 and .303 British have at least doubled or tripled in value. A friend recently stated that Portuguese 7.62 NATO [ammunition in sealed battle packs] would have been a much better investment than gold. It would be nice to hold onto this ammunition longer and allow it to appreciate some more but there are other critical supplies that take precedence. You are correct when you state "tangibles, tangibles, tangibles" as a store of value. Hope this provokes some thought. - Jeff in Ohio

JWR Replies: Your observations are spot on. Prioritizing and logistical balance are crucial.

I can personally attest that Portuguese 7.62 NATO battle packs were indeed a great investment. Because of the Memsahib's recent large hospitalization expenses, I've been forced to liquidate many of my tangibles. For example, I recently sold two cases of "Port". (Each wooden case has 1,000 rounds, packed in 200 round battle packs. Each case weighs about 65 pounds.) These cases cost me $180 each in 2001. I just sold them for $475 each, and I've seen them recently sell for as much as $500 each. It is notable that there are very few bonds, stocks, or other investments that have appreciated so well in four years. My only regret is that I couldn't afford to buy 30 or 40 cases at $180 each! As some of the characters in my novel often lament: "Oh well. Hindsight is 20/20."

Jim:
Why do the incredibly robust "cheap" imported AKs have chrome lined bores , yet some of the expensive and finicky American-made ARs not chrome lined? Well, if you live in a humid climate, it makes a difference. I made the classic error of storing my guns in gun cases. In fact, that's the worst way to store them as the humidity accumulates inside. One of them had nearly rusted solid in three years.

Thanks to the ministrations of another firearm enthusiast, all my guns are being de-rusted, dipped in preservative oil and mylar bagged along with oxygen absorbents, rust inhibitor tabs and desiccants.
I don't want to talk about what happened to the barrel of my M21 so just don't ask. If you live in a humid climate, then consider the PS90. Mostly plastic, hi capacity, very ergonomic.
I also learned about the weight limitations of gamma seals. I just noticed that when I put ammo in five gallon buckets with Gamma seal ls on them, if I go over three buckets high, the bottom seal breaks and falls into the bucket. Now I limit it to two high and only lightweight buckets on top. - SF in Hawaii

JWR Replies: Thanks for being so frank. Perhaps other readers learn from your mistakes and avoid some costly problems.

A humid climate dictates extreme vigilance for gun storage. Here is my general guidance:

1.) Clean thoroughly, lubricate heavily, an a inspect frequently.
2.) If storing guns in a vault or a wall cache, invest in a Golden Rod dehumidifier. But don't expect it to be a miracle panacea. Mark your calendar with reminders for monthly inspections!
3.) Never, ever use a muzzle cap for more than an hour or two. They are for use in the field, not for storage!
4.) R.I.G., silica gel, and and VCI paper are your friends.
5.) If you use grease or a heavy coating of oil in a gun bore and/or its chamber, then be sure to tag the gun with a prominent reminder to yourself to remove the grease it before firing. (Not doing so can be a safety hazard!)
5.) Do NOT use oxygen absorbing packets for gun storage! These are designed specifically to kill insect larvae in stored food. These packets use a chemical reaction of moisture, salt, and ferric oxide (rust!) to consume the oxygen in a confined space. These packets can be bad news for stored guns. Instead, I recommend that you use silica gel to prevent rust. Silica gel packets also have the advantage that they can be re-used many times if you dry them out in an oven or a dehydrator overnight. (Since they employ a chemical reduction process, oxygen absorbing packets can only be used once.)

Jim,
Long before the current trend in drop-leg holsters, we used some in Army Aviation to clear the armor on the seats in some specific aircraft. The one I flew had more armor coverage, and frankly even a drop-leg wasn't going to work, so the shoulder holster was the way to go for me. Tanker wear shoulder rigs, as well as desk jockeys for the very same reason. Your pistol needs to be out of the way to do your primary job. That's the Army though. Just because Big Army does it, or uses it, it doesn't mean it's really a good idea for you as an individual. There's a lot of junk the Army uses to great effect that is just useless for the individual or small-group survivalist. Don't ever base what you need on what you see the Army, or even contractors, using. The missions are entirely different. Buy and use what you need.

That being said, drop-leg rigs are great for wearing directly on your belt, or a dedicated gun belt, along with a knife. If you remember Trasel's post a while back about gear he mentioned keeping your knife, etc. on your trouser belt, so you always have it with you, if you ditch, or just don't have your web gear. Sage advice there. A drop-leg, or even a shoulder rig, does this for you. By using the right holster (that's key there), you can have it attached to your person, and clear your web gear. If you have to ditch your web-gear, your gun and knife are still with you.

While most schools frown on shoulder holsters because of safety concerns, and the complexity of sidearm retention, in many cases it's a good choice. Pilots have used them forever, and it's unlikely you'll face a retention situation in your own cockpit. Same with tankers. I remember a picture of a P-38 pilot in the Pacific that had the usual USGI WWII shoulder rig, with the shoulder strap also going through a mag pouch and survival knife. Not a bad set-up for his use, and worth thinking about for a lot of reasons. Not the perfect rig for a night on the town, but it obviously worked for him. Even what's perfect in a schoolhouse training environment might not be perfect for you. The key is to go with what works for you.

Whatever holster you choose, if you have more than one try to keep to one system. If you're using a Safariland 6004, look at a holster with the self-locking system (SLS) for concealment, or go without [secondary] retention. What you don't want is different retention systems to deal with. Using a 6004 with SLS on your leg, then using a thumbsnap for concealment, and using a level three retention holster for belt use isn't a wise move. [For the sake if kinesthetic memory] you want to make the same movements each time to get the gun out.

Sometimes you can modify stuff to work. The Safariland 6004 is often the subject of some surgery which allows it to ride higher and much more comfortable for many. Sometimes you can get holsters that do many things. The USGI M12 [aka Bianchi UM-84 series] holster can be adapted to many different types of carry. I frankly don't think too highly of that holster, but many think USGI means it's the way to go. They're cheap enough I suppose. I currently use an Eagle brand drop leg that the drop leg flap can fold over so you can use it both as a conventional belt service holster as well as a drop leg. It rides high enough to be out of the way in drop-leg mode, and low enough to clear gear. The full flap, with Fastex fastener means it's secure no matter what I do, and the full-flap velcros out of the way to allow an open top configuration with a thumbsnap retention as well. It pretty much does it all for me from admin to tactical and it's all the same holster, so training is simplified and it's cheaper to buy one good holster than several different ones (though I always seem to buy several anyway). It's doesn't do concealed carry well, but most CCW holsters are either non-retention, or thumbsnap, so again there's nothing to re-learn in a fight.

As for slings, I said before the Israeli type has a lot going for it, and that's what I use. You can beat it in specific tasks with other slings, but for all around lugging a rifle around and still be effective with the sling, they're great.

While I agree on having different sets of web-gear for each rifle, I don't agree on caliber/weapon specific. I think they should be universal for what you're equipped with. That way all that needs to change is the magazines, and not the whole set of web gear. Weapon-specific web gear is too specific, in my opinion. Regards, - Doug Carlton

Hey Jim,
I used to make my living as a construction electrician and had several big steel Greenlee brand tool boxes with my tools. There is usually one in the back of my
truck all the time.

Price of gun safes has continued to rise, so I took one of my boxes and cut out a plywood rack for my guns, then filled in around the rack with polyurethane foam. After it was set and cured, I painted the urethane foam flat black.

The fit and finish on my Greenlee tool box/gun safe is good enough to protect my weapons, keep them locked and secure. It also has the advantage of handles and skids so it can be loaded into a pickup or bug out trailer to get to the remote retreat in a hurry. If necessary, I can load it with a forklift, or a chain hoist, or muscle it on with three other men.
Anyway, I thought you might be interested in my improvised gun safe.

The steel tool boxes can still be bought from Lowe's [hardware store] for $199. Regards, - Lawrence, editor of SurvivingTheDayAfter@yahoogroups.com

JWR Replies: Thanks for that cost-saving suggestion. Just keep in mind that "portability" works both ways. It is essential that you secure your vault, box, or chest to a floor or a very sturdy wall, to prevent burglars from hauling off "The Whole Shebang." Be sure to use heavy duty lag bolts!

It was June, 1998. Y2K was a salient topic of conversation. It got my attention. When the electricity went off and there would be no water to drink, and no fuel to move food to the JIT grocery stores, I could see things getting very ugly. I had been willing to fight for this nation as a member of the US Army. Now it was time to fight for my household. I bought a Springfield Armory M1A. I bought a safe to store it in. I bought another M1A (for the spousal unit of course!) I bought ammo. Lots of it. I bought gear. I bought food. I became awakened to the idea of being self-reliant.
That was 10 years ago. Y2K didn’t cause a global melt down. (Although I have a friend in the service that sat in a command bunker holding his breath at Y2K – the government didn’t know what was going to occur.) I have not had to live through or endure Hurricane Katrina. No participation in the 9/11 attacks. In fact, I can’t claim a campaign ribbon for any disasters. Am I upset or sorry that I have changed my life to follow a path of self-reliance? Most definitely, absolutely not!

Let me share with you the good and the bad of what I have done in the last ten years. So often, people new to self-reliance are like ants at the foot of a mountain staring up with their head touching their back wondering how in the world they will ever be able to replace modern society and be able to take care of themselves WTSHTF. Well, truth be told, you can’t do it overnight unless you’re Warren Buffet. I am walking, talking living proof, however, that you can make significant progress. Let me show you!

In order to show you that you do indeed have cause for hope, let me share a few of my screw-ups. How about the initial purchases I made while in a state of “marked concern” when I became “self aware” with regard to self – reliance. The money I invested in self-reliance was my spousal unit’s “down payment on a house”. Do you think this view of “my nest” versus “the world may end” led to some intense “discussions”? You bet your last dog flea it did. For much of the intervening 10 years I have been the one prepping while my wife harbored a severe grudge against the entire topic because I spent our money for the house down payment on crazy self-reliance materials. A grade of “F” to me for consensus building. She is just beginning to come around in the last two years. Poster child example of a bucket of wet sand. (If two guys fight, they belt each other like two crazed wolverines. Eventually they realize they were stupid for fighting, shake hands, forgive and are back to being friends. Kinda like a cow urinating on a big flat rock – big splash and splatters, but it dries up pretty quickly. Get in an argument with a gal and it is like pouring water into a bucket of sand – the surface may dry after a bit, but it stays wet down in that bucket for a long time.)

I very religiously squirreled away Gillette Atra razors because that is what I used each day. The handle that you click onto the blade cartridge gave up the ghost after many years of faithful service. The stores don’t sell them anymore! Now I have three dozen packs of five cartridges with no way to use them to shave! Fortunately, I did find a second/spare handle in my stores and will be able to use them up. Did I re-learn some valuable lessons? You bet!

Two is one, and one is none.
You need to see what you have (inventories!)
Store what you Eat/use – I did great on the cartridges, but forgot spare handles!

In the run-up to Y2K I bought a dozen 6 volt golf cart batteries to be able to set-up some kind of power system in the house. Great intent. No photovoltaic panels No wiring until last year. They have been “stored” sitting on pallets in a friends storage building for 9 years because I have not been able to get to the replacement power system yet. I could have used that money for a higher priority item.
The spousal unit and I built our home last year. We did many things very right. Some learning experiences occurred, however. Maybe chief amongst them is my underestimation of the massiveness of the size of this endeavor! I joke with friends about not being free from the To Do list to be able to get into trouble for at least five years! Fix the septic pond berms. Sort out the “scrap” lumber. Put a deck on the back of the house so the [building] code Nazis will give us the permanent occupancy permit. Fix the leaking pressure tank in the basement. Fix the DR mower. Mow. Clear 30 trees dropped to get the septic pond clearance (not done with that one yet). Cut and split and stack firewood. The list goes on. Don’t get me wrong – I would not trade my homestead back for city living for anything. Was I able to foresee the "second & third order effects” of the change to a country homestead? Nope. Not even having read Backwoods Home magazine for 8 years. Thank God I listened to my in-laws and did not try to finish the upstairs interior construction while living downstairs!

Prior to Y2K I tried very hard to create a group. It failed in many ways. Had Y2K caused the feared problems, we would have been road kill. Okay, we would have been the third or fourth critter on the highway run over by life, but we were nowhere near ready to deal with WTSHTF/TEOTWAWKI. The Yuppie Queen and her husband went right back to spoiling their princess/daughter, buying Jaguars, clothes, and hair implants. You know - living the typical American city life. The other couple moved out onto 20 acres in a very rural county and raise goats and chickens. I am on 20+ acres and moving in a self-reliant direction. Two out of three ain’t bad!

I endured the gauntlet of multiple careers trying to find a fit for who I am. Thankfully, my spousal unit was trained well by her farmer parents. We never carried any debt other than the mortgage. One thing we did do smart was under-buy on our home with a condo (sixplex) in town. No car payments. No credit card payments. We kept 3-6 months of expenses in savings. One business venture was as a franchisee for Idiotstate. Massive mistake. Four years with no income for me and a net loss of $60,000 overall. What preps could you get done with an extra $60,000? I am certainly not happy I put one in the “L” column. I am not proud of failing. I am proud of jumping into the fight and giving it my 110%. As they used to tell me in the military, “What an opportunity for character building!” Learning lesson for me was that I should never have stopped Soldiering. I simply have green blood. I have returned to the Army by working as a tactical/leadership contractor at a nearby Fort and getting reappointed into the National Guard. Will a deployment take me away from directly protecting The Lovely Spousal Unit (TLSU)? Yes. Does staying employed doing what God designed me to do mean we’ll have a steady income? Likely. Does a pension check from age 65 on make us better able to care for ourselves? You betcha. The world may not disintegrate in 30 days. It may actually remain fairly normal. One has to prepare for that contingency as well.

By now you have to be thinking “What a knothead! This guy couldn’t find his fourth point of contact if you put one hand on a cheek!” Well, not so fast there Skippy! I have a thing or two that should go in the “W” column. I should give you a massive dose of hope! Let me describe to you in a quick overview where I have come to in my 10 year quest to become more self-reliant. First, about our home…

Home
Your home is your castle, right? Well mine actually kinda is. It sets on a chunk of land that is 20+ acres. The terrain is rolling and 95% wooded. It butts up against a cemetery to the north, a 900+ acre conservation area to the south, a river to the west, and a section line to the east. The home is an Insulated Concrete Form (ICF) structure. The walls are 1” of concrete fake rock veneer, 2.5” of foam, 8” of reinforced concrete, 2.5” of foam, 5/8” of sheetrock. It is “round”, being made up of 12 wall sections each 8 feet in width. Two stories with a basement. About 1,800 square feet of living space. (2,700 with the basement, however, that area is not finished yet.) Geothermal heating/cooling and a soapstone wood stove. Metal roof. No carpeting – oak floors and tile. The wellhead is inside the home so I don’t have to worry about winter breakdowns or freeze-ups, nor losing access WTSHTF. We are running at top speed towards the 20% equity checkpoint in order to get rid of the bankster-invented Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) extortion racket. (We have a credit rating of 804, so the “risk” the bank incurs by carrying our note is a freaking joke!). It suits our lifestyle very, very well. Our intent was to have a very low maintenance home. Having lived here one year in two more weeks, it looks like we have a very big check mark in the “W” column. More details on the design/floor plan in a future article!

Weapons & Training
We have an M1A set-up for combat, and one set up for long-range precision work. The Glock 21 [.45 ACP] is the base pistol for the household, with one for each of us and a G30 [compact Glock .45 ACP] as back-up. The Lovely Spousal Unit (TLSU) doesn’t carry a rifle or carbine, just the pistol. (More on that later.) Training for both of us includes Defensive Handgun 1 and Team Tactics with Clint and Heidi Smith at Thunder Ranch. I have also had General Purpose, Urban, and Precision Rifle with Clint. I completed a special symposium at Gunsite (pistol, rifle, shotgun, carbine). I am an NRA Certified pistol, rifle, and home defense instructor. I have several other weapon platforms as a “Dan Fong” kind of guy. The two rifles with accoutrements, and the four pistols with same were certainly not cheap. Nor was the training. I do, however, know how to properly employ them now.

Food & Supplies
The spousal unit & I could stretch the on-hand food to cover two years. Canned freeze dried is 45% of it, bulk buckets is 45%, and “normal use” food is the last 10%. We have built a rolling rack set of shelves for the 3rd part to ease rotation of the canned goods with each grocery store trip. No, I haven’t found the secret spy decoder ring sequence on how to rotate the bulk and freeze-dried stuff with our normal, both of us work, lifestyle. The sticking point for this area I see is that WTSHTF, Mom & Dad in-law, Sister-in-law, Brother-in-law with wife and two princesses (one with hubby), and my Mom & her husband will show up on our doorstep. That makes for an even dozen mouths to fee

Security
Now for a bit more detail. First topic up, IAW my military training, is Security. The base of everything here is God. I have chosen to bend my knee to Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. I can amass all the weapons, ammo, food and “stuff” you can imagine, but He is the one ultimately in charge. I am charged to be a prudent steward of His possessions - my family, property, vehicles, food, weapons, ammo, etc.. I am definitely striving to be the ant storing things for the winter. If you ain’t right in this area, it will really matter in eternity.

Part of your security is weapons. There are sheeple, wolves, and sheepdogs. I am definitely in the 3rd category. In today’s world your “teeth” are your firearms. I plan from a Boston T. Party paradigm of having a battle rifle. Hence, the M1A. Were I starting over today, I would likely go with a FAL, but now "I will dance with the one that brung me". Or maybe just accept the brilliance of the M1 Garand at $620 delivered to your doorstep from the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP). I do have two of these. Hard to argue with .30-06 ball. I renovate Mausers as my hobby and so have a .35 WAI scout rifle. A second one in the more common 7.62x51 chambering is in work now. I laos have a Mossberg 835 [riotgun], two Ruger 10/22s (one blued, one stainless), Ruger MKII stainless .22 LR pistol, S&W 625 pistol in .45 ACP/.45 Auto Rim, a few Enfields, and a couple of Mosin-Nagants round out the field.

Let me detail for you the path to get to the Glocks. I think it may save you some of your money. I received a Colt Gold Cup [M1911] .45 ACP pistol from my Dad as a graduation gift from the Hudson Home For Boys [aka USMA West Point]. Great intent. A weapon as a gift – how can you ever be wrong in doing this?! However, a terrible choice as a combat weapon. The Gold Cup is a target pistol. Tight tolerances. Feeds only hardball, and that can be tenuous proposition. I carried it on the East-West German border leading patrols. The rear sight broke twice. The front sight shot off once and tore off twice. It was a jammomatic. I hated it. Sold it to a guy that wanted to target shoot.

Took that money and bought a stainless Ruger P90DC. Sack of hammers tough. always goes bang when you pull the trigger. Inexpensive as far as handguns go. After some marked de-horning, you could even make it run in a fight without shredding you at the same time. One marked problem. Two [different weight] trigger pulls [for first round double action versus subsequent round single action.]. This started to teach me to throw the muzzle down as I pulled the trigger in double action. This nasty habit caused a problem when you were firing the 2nd through X rounds, as now it operates as a single action. TLSU had a heck of a time with it at Thunder Ranch. Clint loaned her his G21. No more trigger problems.

Still bowing at the altar of the 1911, I bought a Kimber Compact to carry instead of the Ruger. (I still have the Ruger – it is still “the gun that my Dad gave me” and no one buys the P90 used for anywhere near it’s initial cost, so I can’t sell it without taking a significant bath on it.) The Kimber was going well. Then I got a little too aggressive at slamming magazines home in the shortened grip and jammed it. Then the recoil rod unscrewed itself during an IPSC run and seized the gun while messing up the trigger. Off to Kimber. Free warranty work and 48 hours without my self-defense pistol. Now I have no confidence in the pistol. I Loc-Tite’d the recoil rod and staked it so it wouldn’t come undone again. Then I sold it.

Glocks cost roughly one-half of what a Kimber does. Crummy factory sights, but all my pistols wear tritium anyway. No ambidextrous safety required. My short fingers are mated to big palms, so I can handle the grip. TLSU has been trained on the Glock Model 21 (G21). It ain’t an issue of psychological derangement like many guys get about their 1911/Glock/H&K/Springfield, but it is a comfortable and working relationship between Glock & I. I have a G21 and a G30 for both of us. They always go bang accurately and they have never rusted. I am not pleased with Gaston [Glock]’s refusal to take responsibility for any mistakes they make in manufacturing. No problems with the G21 however. A pistol is what you use to fight your way back to your rifle, which you shouldn’t have laid down in the first place.
M1As hit my safe because it is what I knew from the service. They also fire a full power cartridge, 7.62x51. It makes cover into concealment. I don’t have the other 10 guys in an infantry squad fighting with me so I can maneuver under their covering fire. I have to hit the bad guy with a powerful blow once and move on to the next wolf/bad guy. Mouse guns firing rabbit rounds don’t scratch that itch for me. To each his own. My two are old enough to have USGI parts and good quality control. Here are the mods I made to my “combat” M1A. Maybe they will help you:

Krylon paint job to disrupt the "big black stick" look
M60 [padded] sling
Front sight filed down so that zero is achieved with the rear sight bottomed out
Handguard ventilated
National Match trigger group, barrel, and sights (came as a “Loaded” package from Springfield)
Rear aperture drilled out to make it a ghost ring
Skate board tape on slick metal butt plate
For the “Surgical” M1A (it shoots1/2 minute when I do my part):
National Match loaded package
Trigger assembly additionally tuned at factory
Unitized gas system
Factory bedded
Stainless barrel
Swan rings and QD bases
Leupold M3 3.5-10x40 scope
Handmade leather cheekrest

Other weapons - I have two M1 Garands. Both were bought from the CMP. One is stored offsite with a "Bug-In Bag" (BIB). One is a Danish return, less wood, that I re-stocked. TLSU has claimed this one as hers. Ammo from the CMP is cheaper than any other cartridge out there, save the communist surplus stuff. An M1917 Enfield (also from CMP) is in the safe, along with a 2A, a #3, and a #4. A VZ24 is stored offsite. The first Mauser I renovated is sitting there as an additional .30-06 with a Trijicon 3-9x40 tritium-lit scope. A Remington 700 with Leupold VX-II scope is in the safe, but likely to be sold soon. A Mosin-Nagant (M44 or M38) ride in each vehicle.

I formerly had [Ruger] Mini-30s. I could never find any 20 or 30 round magazines that would function reliably. I sold them and got SKS carbines. When I quit holding out for TLSU to become a Warrior and carry one, I sold them off to fund other toys. I am pondering the purchase of an AK folder because it is a sack of hammers tough and can be transported discretely. I don’t know if I have ever come out on the positive side when selling a gun. Now I have to re-buy an AR-15 to have one for training purposes. The SKSs could be useful for arming the family showing up on your doorstep. Hindsight being 20/20, I would caution against selling any gun you buy. (The 700 mentioned above is a 2nd precision weapon and I have no AK to train with. Still deciding.)

Ammo is required to feed these weapons. I have over 10,000 rounds of 7.62x51. I have over 10,000 rounds of .22 LR. No, I don’t think these amounts are enough. Now that the costs of ammo have risen to heart stopping levels, I really don’t feel like I bought enough in the past! I need to plus up the quantities/smatterings of other cartridges that I have like .30-30 Winchester, .270 Winchester, .40 S&W.

The location of my home is the best I could get balancing competing requirements. It is as far from the city as we can get and still stomach the drive to work. It is between two major line of drift corridors – 12 miles to the major one, 8 miles to the secondary one. It is bordered by neighbors on only one side. The folks in the cemetery don’t say much. The critters in the wildlife area are more vocal - the ducks, turkeys, geese, hoot owls, loons, coyotes sound off regularly. We don’t mind. About 95% of the property is wooded. A few hickory, lots of oak. walnut, (unfortunately) locust trees are all there. The local river comes out of it’s banks about every other year and blocks our driveway for several days, but never comes near the house. The German Shorthair is long in the tooth for security, but she is there. A new pup is in the pipeline.

I would feel a great deal more secure if the homestead was picked up and dropped into Idaho or Alaska. It is about as good as we can do, though, staying near a major city so we can have decent paying jobs. There are some improvements we can make though. I just bought a weather alert radio from Cabela’s today. Tough to hear tornado sirens when you live miles away and have 1 foot thick walls! We need a driveway monitor/alarm. Again, the superior insulation of the walls means we hear nothing outside. I can see the utility of sandbags if things got really ugly. Some more land line communication assets would be useful. I think an AR-15 for training people would be useful, as would an AK. Overall, I think we have done pretty well in the security arena.

Our Home
We started the 10 years in a condo. It was part of a six-plex set on a small pond. I hate Homeowner’s Associations and their covenants! We could afford the mortgage on one of our two paychecks. Good thing! I didn’t get a paycheck for four years. We scraped by. Two years after re-entering the job market we built our house. We worked on the plans for five years. Beware! Finding a property piece and building a non-shoebox home on it is not for the feint of heart! You effectively are funding the construction of a mini town. You build and maintain mini roads (your driveway). You must build and maintain a mini sewage plant (Your septic system/pond). You must build and maintain a mini water plant. (Your well.) You must perform mowing and tree removal for the mini parks of your town (Your “yard”/acreage). I will write a separate article detailing our construction woes.

Let me highlight some of the self-reliant features of the house for you. We did not want to spend a constant stream of Federal Reserve Notes [FRNs]on maintenance. We used insulated concrete form (ICF) construction for the structural strength and the energy efficiency. The metal roof should outlast us. The geothermal and the R-50 walls of the ICF are paying us back the initial investment in construction costs. We opted for no carpeting due to the track in mud nature of the property, having a dog, and me having allergies. Wood and tile floors don’t hold dirt like carpets do. Less fire hazard as well. We used commercial steel doors for the exterior and security-need spots. They have ASSA [high security] locks. They have peepholes.

The basement has a 10’ square root cellar for the storage of canned produce from the garden. It also has a safe room/shelter. 12” of concrete overhead. The well head is enclosed in it. Land line telephone and power service into it via buried lines. Food stored in it. DC wiring in place to the attic for when we get to the photovoltaic [PV] system. We also ran DC wires to each room in the house for the use of LED lighting off of a battery system. The soapstone wood stove augments the electrically driven geothermal. (In spite of several damaging thunderstorms this past year, we have not lost power so far – great job juice Coop!)

The stairwell was kicked out onto the W/NW of the house. This shields the house from the hottest part of the day’s sunlight, and the coldest winter winds. We made the stairwell an extra foot wide. What a huge nice difference that foot makes to walking up and down each day, not to mention moving stuff up or down them! The mud porch/entry was set up for coming in with muddy boots, or for snow covered coats. We should have made it 1’ wider, as it can be a little tight. The bench is great for donning/doffing boots. The tile is easy to clean the muddy paw prints, human or canine, off of.
Windows were one of the few areas that caused some fireworks. TLSU wanted a green house in order to take advantage of the great view of the property. I wanted firing ports to defend against mutant zombie hordes. I am still hugely uncomfortable with the nakedness the windows leave us with. Yes the view is great, but what about when we experience incoming rounds, or more mundanely, when someone comes out to the property while we are away from the house all day at work and they help themselves to our stuff? Some relief is in sight, however. We are pricing Shattergard vinyl film for the ground floor windows.

Things That are Still Need on the Home
The great thing about the R-50 ICF walls is that they are R-50 and pretty tough. The bad thing is that they are R-50 and pretty tough. We can’t hear anything without a door or window being open. Hence the just purchased weather alert radio for us from Cabela’s this week. It is kind of eerie waking up at 0200 hours and having no idea if the thunderstorm is just a thunderstorm or if it is a tornado. The television is useless when the rain is so heavy that the dish won’t get a signal. With regard to 2-legged varmints, a driveway MURS Alert system is on the purchase list as we have had multiple invited guests show up, beat on the front door, and have to walk around to the living room windows to get our attention so they can be let inside. Okay for invited guests – certainly too close for uninvited varmints!

The entry hallway was one of TLSU’s “must haves” in the house layout. It has worked out well in terms of traffic flow and such. The security door at the foot of the stairs is a tough choke point to deal with at 0500 in the dark. No light installed there means nothing is visible through the peephole. I will have to install a camera and/or light so I don’t open it to let the dog out in the morning and get rushed by 2-legged varmints.

So far, the only commo needs are between myself and TLSU. When the sister-in-law, brother-in-law, parents-in-law and my Mom show up and we start pulling security, we will need to be able to talk more. I have an old set of TA-312 [field telephone]s and wire for the primary LP/OP, but obviously will need more in this area. Just not a sexy/fun area to spend FRNs on for a combat arms kinda guy, but I am working on the self-discipline needed.

We did look ahead and sink the FRNs into running 12V wires in the home for future installation of PV panels and batteries. Obviously things like the Shattergard film, more food, more Band-aids, etc., are of a higher priority though. We are working our tails off to reach the 20% equity mark to get rid of the PMI extortion as well. I still have an ASSA lock to install on the shelter door, and one to put into the basement door. Other projected door enhancements include armor plates for the front, outside basement, shelter, and outside storage doors. There just never seems to be enough $ to go around, does there?

The other major source of fireworks during the home design/build was on-demand water heaters. Having taken a 30 minute hot shower with one in Germany for 5 marks while on an FTX, I well understand what a brilliant piece of technology they are. TLSU, having never been outside of CONUS cannot give up on the electric water heater. She still doesn’t believe that the electricity will ever go out for more than an hour or two. Wouldn’t it be great to be able to draw hot water at the kitchen sink, and take a hot shower from a propane fired on-demand heater? She doesn’t get it yet. Obviously not something to break up a marriage over. We really did very well on the whole house building thing. The opposite of what everyone warned us about. I am pretty proud of that performance!

Food
We started a garden this spring. So far, it is an endeavor run by TLSU. Spinach, onions, carrots, lettuce, potatoes, beets, and some herbs. I have not been able to convince her to expand the size. She wants to learn in steps and I am the whacko that orders 100 seedlings at a time from the conservation department, which then overwhelms us in the planting department. For example, the first iteration of this tree-planting endeavor, we got them the Thursday before Easter weekend. Friday night and all day Saturday we planted our buns off. TLSU was indeed a great Trooper about it, planting right along with me. Sunday was spent at church and pigging out at family’s homes for Easter. Monday I had shoulder surgery to grind off bone spurs and remove cartilage chips. Too much, too fast. But at 7 FRNs per 12 seedlings, how can you argue? I have to admit though, that after two years of the 100 seedlings, I am ready to give it a rest. This year we settled for seven apple saplings. Initial inspection of the cherry, pecan, oak, walnut and persimmon seedlings around the house reveals about an 80% survival rate. Only another 10 years and we will be getting food from them!

The initial freeze dried and bulk storage food needs to be rotated. Anyone figured out how to do this kind of at home cooking when the two of you work? The canned/”normal” food is now being rotated with each grocery store trip. We have canning jars for this year’s veggies and the root cellar has a robust collection of shelves to store them on. How much is enough? I don’t know. Four geographically separate and secure stashes of three year’s worth of food for all of the family? Who knows!?

Medical
I have Boo-boo kits just about everywhere now. You know, the band-aid and antibiotic salve with ibuprofen kit that handles 90% of life’s issues in this area. Now comes the high-dollar investment stuff. The combat blow-out packs for gunshot wounds or serious car wrecks. I did go along on a buying trip to a medical warehouse and got some catheters, sutures, gauze pads, etc.. I did get in on the last great iodine buy before our loving big brother government banned the sale of iodine to us mere citizens. (It is a stewable ingredient to make drugs, you know – “we must deprive/punish all to protect you from a few. Oh, well, you don’t need to be able to sterilize water anyway – we’ll take care of you on that too….”)

TLSU and I eat very healthy food – locally raised beef with no antibiotics or growth hormones. No growth hormone dairy products from a local dairy. Spinach from the garden. There are sugar detectors on the doors. Also, no chips allowed. We get to the dentist regularly. We both do Physical Training (PT) . She jogs 3 miles, 3-4 times per week. I run over lunch at work about 4 miles, 4-5 times per week and lift weights twice per week.

“Needed Still” list includes: Blow out kits, more bandages, more hospital type stuff, more medicines, syrup of ipecac, more antibiotics, more feminine stuff (think of a vaginal yeast infection with no drug store open), drinking alcohol, poison Ivy soap and remedies, athlete’s foot cream, more baby wipes, more hand sanitizer, all forms of baby stuff, get the bone spur ground smooth in my other shoulder and the cartilage chips taken out, get rid of the cat (allergies).

Vehicles
We still have the same vehicles we had in 2001. A 1998 Toyota Corolla bought with 30,000 miles, and a 1999 Ford Explorer bought with 45,000 miles. Both were paid in full when bought. Both avoided the 25% loss of value when driving a new car off the lot. The Corolla gets 37 MPG. I hate it. Every bit of plastic on it has broken – the car door locking mechanisms, the trunk lock, the ventilation system fan. It gets 37 MPG. I can’t find anything to touch that. The Ford is too big to get decent mileage, and too small to really be a useful truck. It is paid for and has AWD/4WD. It always starts. Both vehicles have BIBs and gas masks in them. Both have trunk guns. Both have roadside gear to help ourselves out of a jam. We are saving for the replacement of them both. We are going to be saving for quite a while. We need more cash in the BIBs and Bug Out Bags (BOBs)

All of the preps in this section were done via Cabela points. I bought gas and paid for business expenses - everything I could pay for with a credit card was paid for with the Cabela’s credit card. You get points at some sickening rate of $.01/FRN spent, $.02/FRN in the store. However, when you buy $6-8,000/month of stuff between personal and business stuff, it adds up! The gear for the BOBs & BIBs, weapons gear and parts – a significant percentage – 85%+ - came from Cabela [credit card bonus] points. When I got birthday or Christmas monetary gifts I spent them on self-reliance items. We did this never incurring any interest penalties because we zero the balance out each month. Our BOBs are set-up to sustain us for 10 days. They are packed in Cabela’s wet bags for load out in five minutes. Originally I sought to wear a tactical vest and ruck. After two unsuccessful winter BOB campouts where I could barely waddle one mile with both of them on at the same time, I dropped the vest. TLSU’s back is in tough shape due to scoliosis, so she is not humping any mammoth rucks with the extra three mortar rounds and can of 7.62 linked. We also decided that the G21 was what she could carry and dropped the SKS and chest pouches of 10 round stripper clips. Her ruck is a Camelback Commander. That is as big of a ruck as she can hope to carry without killing her back. We are not leaving home to go on a combat patrol in Hit or Fallujah. We are fleeing some kind danger and have every intention of avoiding additional entanglements, to include government hospitality suites in stadiums.

The Lovely Spousal Unit (TLSU)
I started self-reliance the wrong way. No consensus development. I saw a danger and acted. I am a male/sheepdog/warrior type. I am not sure that I could have ever persuaded her to participate in any meaningful manner before Y2K. She has only recently begun to do so after eight years of seeing me provide for and protect her. I was, however, stubborn/strong enough to do what I thought was the right thing and to heck with what was popular. Most “males” check their gender specific anatomical gear at the wedding alter and continue on in sheeple status. I get that females are the nurturers. I get that they work from an emotional starting point, not logical. Not wanting the tornado to destroy the house or the hurricane to wreck your and the adjoining three counties is, at best, the French method of addressing life. TLSU is finally helping me to rotate food via the grocery store purchases. She no longer rolls her eyes or sighs disgustedly when I spend my Cabela points to buy gear. Once I explained to her that I was planning to shelter and feed her parents and siblings and that our one year of food wasn’t going to feed all of them for very long, she started to get on board. She even likes spending the points off of her Cabela’s card now. She is running 3-4 times per week and gets some PT from work outside in the garden. She has come a long way. As best as I can tell, she will not ever be a warrior. We have come a substantial distance from sleeping on the couch each time a self-reliance topic hits the table of discussion though. A definite and growing check mark in the “W” column!

Skills
Skills that I have acquired:

Rifles – renovating Mausers and training at Thunder Ranch helps your ability to use these tools immensely.
Soldering – fixing plumbing leaks myself vs. paying a plumber $200 to show up and start billing me for work
Building – I invested 13 full work weeks of time during the building of our home helping the contractor. Some of it was the nubby work of cleaning up the scrap and sawdust. Some of it was banging in joist hangers. I laid all the tile and 95% of the wood flooring in the house.
Fix-it – the DR Brush mower has long passed it’s warranty period and while performing quite admirably, does need attention every now and then. The 1974 F100 demands attention regularly. Each of these repair work challenges teaches me a little more about mechanical items and taking care of things myself.
Sewing – Yes, my dear Grandmother taught me to sew buttons, and my Mom taught me to survival sew/repair things. A 1960 gear driven Singer sews nylon gear though!; )
Skills still needed:
More First Aid – it appears that a first responder or wilderness 1st aid course may be in the cards for this year.
More Hand to Hand – my goals and objectives list has had this goal on it for several years. Good news – I got started on knocking it off the list. Bad news, it revealed an “old man” shortcoming in my shoulder. Good news, I am getting the shoulder fixed (hopefully) during “normal” times versus after Schumerization. I just may get ambushed and not have my trusty M1A in hand. Having unarmed defense skills means never having to be a steak dinner/victim.
More riflesmithing – each birthday or Christmas gift of money has been partially apportioned to the purchase of gunsmithing tooling. I need more practice with the tools I have. I still need more tooling. I recently secured Parkerizing gear, but have not gotten the metal stands for the tanks built. Still, progress is progress and I can already do more to maintain weapons than 95% of the population.
Knife making – I just cringe at the idea of spending $300 for top quality knives. CRKT is my friend. Even better is learning to assemble the scales and blank myself. Eventually, knowing how to forge blanks myself would be useful.
Mill lumber – with 95% of my property wooded, I have the material to be self-reliant with regard to my lumber needs. I need a way to saw the tree into lumber though. First, the mill, then the skill to use it. Then I have the gear to diversify my income and help others.

Have I always done the smartest thing? Absolutely not! Much to the crazed satisfaction of a former operator buddy, I have cycled through the “best/high dollar” gear approach to the “sack of hammers USGI/AK” school of self-reliance. Don’t get me wrong – I ain’t surrendering my Kifaru rucks anytime soon! However, there were a great number of FRNs spent on those self-reliance tuition payments! Have I learned a lot? Absolutely, yes! Am I better able to maintain my independence and protect and provide for my family? Absolutely, yes! Could you do better than I did? Good chance. Have you done as much as I have in the last 10 years? Only your freedom, loved ones, and the quality of your life post-TEOTWAWKI depend on the answer to that one.

I often stress that a key to survival is not what you have, but rather what you know. (See my Precepts of Rawlesian Survivalist Philosophy web page.) In part, I wrote:

Skills Beat Gadgets and Practicality Beats Style. The modern world is full of pundits, poseurs, and Mall Ninjas. Preparedness is not just about accumulating a pile of stuff. You need practical skills, and those only come with study, training, and practice. Any armchair survivalist can buy a set of stylish camouflage fatigues and an M4gery Carbine encrusted with umpteen accessories. Style points should not be mistaken for genuine skills and practicality.

To expand on those precepts, consider the following:

Balanced logistics are important for everyone, but absolutely crucial for someone that is on a tight budget. If you have a three year food supply, then a quantity miscalculation for one particular food item will likely be just an inconvenience. But if you only have a three month supply, then a miscalculation can be a serious hazard. Be logical, systematic, and dispassionate in your preparations. You need to develop some detailed lists, starting with a "List of Lists." Be realistic and scale your retreat logistics purchasing program to your budget. Avoid gong in to debt to "get prepared." A friend of mine who was a Physician's Assistant went way overboard in 1998 and 1999, stocking up for Y2K. The massive credit card debt that he racked up eventually contributed to a prolonged mental depression.

Choose your retreat location wisely. If you can't afford 40 acres, then be sure to pick the right 5 or 10 acres. Finding a property that adjoins public land, and/or property with like-minded neighbors, can make a huge difference. The smaller your land-buying budget, the longer your search should be, to get the most for your money. In today's plunging real estate market, don't overlook the possibility of finding a foreclosed ("bank owned") farm or ranch at a "below market" price. Watch the foreclosure listings in your intended retreat region closely. Two foreclosure monitoring services that I recommend are RealtyTrac.com and Foreclosures.com.

Buy used instead of new. It goes without saying that your purchasing dollars will go farther if you concentrate on quality used tools, guns, and vehicles. Remember that preparedness is not a beauty contest. There are no "Style" points awarded. So owning gear with some dings and scratches is not an issue. Just be sure to inspect used items very carefully. In the case of buying a used vehicle, it is worthwhile to run a check on the vehicle's history through a service like CARFAX. This will reveal if the vehicle might have been repaired after a major collision. Also, hire a qualified mechanic to do some checks before you buy a used rig. That will be money well-spent!

Clip coupons, watch and wait for seasonal sales, shop at thrift stores, go to garage sales and flea markets, attend weekend farm and estate auctions, and learn to watch Craig's List and Freecycle like a hawk. The only thing better that finding inexpensive used items is having thing given to you. This is a common occurrence with Freecycle. For example, it is not unusual to have someone give you several dozen Mason-type canning jars. Just be sure to return the favor, in the spirit of Freecycle.

Strike a balance between quality and quantity. I'm a big believer in the old adage: "Better is the enemy of good enough." Why buy a $320 Chris Reeve folding knife when a used $30 CRKT or Cold Steel brand pocketknife bought on eBay will provide 95% of the functionality of a custom knife? Buying at 1/10th the price means that you will have money available for other important logistics and training.

Take advantage of free or low-cost training. The WRSA, for example, offers shooting and medical training at near their cost. I've discussed other such training opportunities at length previously in SurvivalBlog. In my Precepts page, I noted:

Tools Without Training Are Almost Useless. Owning a gun doesn't make someone a "shooter" any more than owning a surfboard makes someone a surfer. With proper training and practice, you will be miles ahead of the average citizen. Get advanced medical training. Get the best firearms training that you can afford. Learn about amateur radio from your local affiliated ARRL club. Practice raising a vegetable garden each summer. Some skills are only perfected over a period of years.

Learn to distinguish between essentials and non-essentials. Do you really need cable television? Eating out? snacks from the vending machine? ? Use the cash generated to buy the really important things, like storage food.

When you don't have cash, then apply sweat equity. Do you need pasture fence or garden fence at your retreat property? Don't hire someone and "have it done" Do it yourself. Not only will you save money, but you will also learn valuable skills. You might even lose some of that flab around your midsection, in the process. Also consider that people are often willing to barter their excess tangibles in trade for your skills and time. Do you have an elderly neighbor with a big gun collection? Then offer to paint his house in trade for a couple of guns or a few of those heavy ammo cans that he won't live long enough to shoot? In my Precepts page, I wrote:

Invest Your Sweat Equity. Even if some of you have a millionaire's budget, you need to learn how to do things for yourself, and be willing to get your hands dirty. In a societal collapse, the division of labor will be reduced tremendously. Odds are that the only "skilled craftsmen" available to build a shed, mend a fence, shuck corn, repair an engine, or pitch manure will be you.and your family. A byproduct of sweat equity is muscle tone and proper body weight. Hiring someone to deliver three cords of firewood is a far cry from felling, cutting, hauling, splitting, and stacking it yourself.

People often assume that because my blog and novel are widely read that I am wealthy. I actually have a very modest income. The only reason that our retreat is so well stocked is that I have been systematically stocking up for 30 years. I am not a "yuppie survivalist" as at least one fellow blogger claims. I gave up my Big City salaried job years ago, to concentrate on living self-sufficiently. Part of this was a conscious decision to raise our children in a more wholesome environment. The major drawback is that the Rawles Ranch is in such a remote area that we don't get into town very often.

The Memsahib Adds. The good thing about living so remotely is there are no shopping opportunities. Even if I had the urge to indulge in some retail therapy, I'd have to drive more than two hours to do it. The next best things you can do is cancel your magazine subscriptions. If you analyze the contents of most magazines you will realize that they are designed to make you dissatisfied with your clothes, your home decor, garden, electronics, autos because they aren't the latest, greatest, and most fashionable. I also highly recommend selling or Freecycling your television, for the very same reason. A couple of exceptions to our magazine rule are Backwoods Home, and Home Power, since they are both light on advertising and heavy on practical skills.

In closing, do the best you can with what you have. Be truly frugal. I grew up in a family that still remembered both our pioneer history and the more recent lessons of the Great Depression. One of our family mottos is: "Use it up, wear it out, make do, or do without." I thank my mother for passing that wisdom along to my generation, and I am doing the same, with my children.

Jim:

You wrote in reply to a recent e-mail from "Billfour": "JWR Replies: That is a great suggestion. Just beware of any desiccant that has any additives, dyes, or scents. A perfumed desiccant would be fine for tool storage, but potentially a disaster for food storage."

I've just been through this. Tidy Cats Crystals has perfume, which I discovered after getting it home and opening it. (I'll use it for my stored ammo.) The brand that I have found that has no perfume is the Amazing Cat Litter brand. It only has silica gel as the stated ingredient on its Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS). Also, the chunks of silica gel are larger, with much less dust. I used twist-ties and brown coffee filters to wrap-up an ounce at a time, which is the approximate amount needed for six-gallon pails. - Ham

Hi, James
There is always a need for desiccants for various uses, be it food storage, caching, or other projects. Most who need such things already have a favorite supplier, but I'll make another recommendation for the sake of saving a few bucks. Any local grocer, pet supply dealer or Big Box store carries silica-gel cat litter in amounts from 3 to 30 pounds: Tidy Cats Crystals is one such product, though there are many. A rounded tablespoon place in a square of mesh fabric purchased in a craft/hobby department (where it can be bought by the yard--think about the bird seed packets at weddings) and securely tied [or sewn shut] will work well when placed in the desired container; depending on the need, they can also be spooned directly into the bottom of the vessel. Note that I'm suggesting the clear-blue "Crystals-only" type which are pure silica; one doesn't want the silicate-clay "Blend" which is also offered.

Being silicate, they have the potential for re-use by oven drying. Compared to the cost of individual commercial [silica gel] packets, this is a bargain. Regards, - Billfour

JWR Replies: That is a great suggestion. Just beware of any desiccant that has any additives, dyes, or scents. A perfumed desiccant would be fine for tool storage, but potentially a disaster for food storage.

Sir:
I live in an area of the south that is fairly rural. People her still plant gardens, can, hunt, raise livestock and I believe could if need be survive longer than most in a crisis time. Don't get me wrong I am stocking and preparing for a long term survival and defense possibility.

My question is this: The 40 acres I live on is situated on a ridge in this area surrounded by deep flowing rivers,streams and creeks. These water ways separate the area I live and a metropolitan area 80 miles in one direction and another 60 miles. In a full collapses such as in your novel "Patriots" would it be feasible to block or make impassable these bridges as to route the flow of scavengers and marauders away from my area. Also it would funnel any that would find their way in to my area in from one defensible direction.

I'm talking about doing this only in the event of a full collapse as in TEOTWAWKI. The only real protection the people in this area will have will be themselves and their neighbors. Our group will be large enough to defend our stronghold at the size it is now. I just think that a more controlled area with fewer entry points would be easier to defend. Now we are not going to box ourselves into a hole, but limiting vehicle access just would be prudent. If we pulled back closer there are four smaller bridges that are less than a mile away that would close our "back door" from unexpected visitors. Most of our neighbors are self reliant and I believe in that situation would agree that limiting access would be to all of those in the "enclave's" best interest. I'm not talking of destroying them--only blocking them with junk cars and such. We have a lot of heavy equipment between us and it would not be a problem. Typically the bridges are in low spots so they are also easily defendable from higher ground. I know this sounds extreme but we are planning long term defense and survival. - Southern Survivor

JWR Replies: Legally and ethically, as an individual you can only block roads on your own property. But if a small community makes a collective decision to block a road or bridge, then that is another matter. I would assume that every state in the Union has laws forbidding blocking any public road. Further, as both police (in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, under color of law) and various protestors have found, Federal law prohibits blocking interstate freeways.

As I've mentioned in SurvivalBlog several times, it is best to pick a property that is situated away from channelized areas (also known as "lines of drift.") A ridgetop location is generally quite good, but this of course raises the age-old issue of clear fields of fire versus concealment. The best possible solution would be to have a cleared area for at least 50 yards, yet still have a solid screen of trees close to any nearby thoroughfares. This necessitates having at least 20 acres--which is out of the price range of many preppers. In the end, it comes down to compromise, and tailoring your defensive preparations to your locale and to your personal "worst case" expectations.

In my years of consulting work, I've met many folks that have confided that in the event of an absolute worst case--the dreaded "Mutant Zombie Biker" scenario--they plan to block public roads or even destroy bridges. Two of my consulting clients own large Caterpillar-type tractors. I've urged them to not use those Cats to move earth and rock to block roads, but rather to possibly use them as mobile road blocks. Parking a Cat crosswise at the end of a two-lane bridge (with its blade lowered) will stop most vehicles. OBTW, when doing this, don't depend on just a keyed switch to disable the vehicle. Just a few types of key variations were made and/or they can easily to bypassed ("hot wired".) So a mobile roadblock must be disabled by temporarily removing or disabling a crucial ignition, fuel, or hydraulic system part. (See how utility companies do so, for some examples.)

By using a mobile road block that is under armed observation 24/7, you will minimize the risk of alienating your neighbors. Who is to say how long a crisis might last? If you were to block a road with earth or rock piles, or even with wrecked cars, you would probably infuriate any neighbors that decide to return to a normal life of work and commuting, as well as any that resume hauling produce or livestock to market.

Also, as I've pointed out many time in the past: Physical obstacles are just delays--not absolute safeguards. People will find a way through them, over them, or around them--on foot if need be. Also, given enough time, almost any obstacle can be reduced or removed. This necessitates covering any obstacle with armed sentries. For a community in a post-collapse situation, this is best accomplished by 1.) a mobile roadblock, 2.) prominent warning signs, and 3.) covered by one or more well-camouflaged sentries equipped with scoped battle rifles and radios, from a 200+ yard distance. Just one rifleman in a ghillie suit, set back in a tree line can have a tremendous psychological impact in defending a roadblock. ("Where did that shot come from?") In my estimation, the traditional "armed party of men" standing behind barricades manning a roadblock is a thoroughly antiquated carry-over from the Ancien Régime. In the modern context, it is just an invitation to take casualties, as well as a waste of manpower.)

Ammunition storage is one of the survival planning trinity: ("Beans, Bullets and Band-Aids"). But what happens when you run out? You can’t plant a garden for 7.62mm NATO or cut up old sheets to make .45 ACP. In this case you need to at least consider the practice (some would say art) of ammunition reloading. Speaking from a perspective of more than 10 years experience, I can honestly say that reloading is no more difficult than repairing a leaking faucet and baking a loaf of bread. It is very similar to making up a recipe with a few mechanical interventions. It is also relatively safe, so long as you don’t try to smoke while measuring powder or try to seat a primer with a hammer. I will limit this discussion to center fire metallic handgun and rifle cartridges, but similar considerations would apply to shotshell reloading.

First, let me present an introduction on ammunition components. There are four basic ingredients to loaded ammunition: Primer, powder, brass case, and projectile. We will handle each in order. We need to be precise in our use of language (Thank you Jeff Cooper!) A cartridge or round is one unit of loaded ammunition. A bullet is the projectile of a cartridge (in the same sense that a clip is different from a magazine). Let me stress at this point that if you already have all the components, it is far better to put it together now rather than later. Reloading takes time, something that may be in extremely short supply in a TEOTWAWKI situation. If your ammunition inventory is adequate, you should consider keeping some components for barter or future use, but the majority of your powder should be in loaded ammunition!

Primers and powder are the two things which cannot be reused and require an industrial capacity to produce. Making primers out of matchstick heads or smokeless powder out of nitric acid and cotton should be regarded a fantasy for individuals wanting to survive. While black powder can be made relatively safely, it will not function well in modern firearms. There is a reason the old-time black powder cartridges were as big as cigars, smokeless powder is far more efficient and safer to handle as well. In other words, if you are considering reloading sometime in the future, you should store some primers and powder now while they are available. (A political aside: In addition to banning guns and ammunition, there have been legislative attempts to ban reloading components.)
Primers come in two sizes each for both pistol and rifle for a total of four sizes: Small pistol, large pistol, small rifle and large rifle (Pistol in this sense includes revolver cartridges). The small version of each type is designed for smaller cartridges and vice versa. While small pistol and small rifle are essentially the same size (likewise for large pistol and large rifle), they are designed to ignite vastly different powder charges. Mixing them up can lead to disaster. An example of a small pistol primer cartridge would be the 9mm NATO (also known as 9x19, 9mm Parabellum and 9mm Luger). The .45 ACP uses a large pistol primer. The 5.56mm NATO (aka .223 Remington and 5.56x45) uses the small rifle primer, and the 7.62mm NATO (aka .308 Winchester and 7.62x51) uses the large rifle primer. Due to the difference in size between small and large, confusion would be difficult and impossible to use incorrectly, but do not confuse pistol and rifle primers of the same size.

Besides the four basic sizes, there is a myriad of subtypes, including standard, magnum, match and military grade. Magnum primers are a niche market and not used in common caliber ammunition (Note .357 Remington Magnum does not use a magnum primer), so you can safely ignore them. Match grade primers are supposedly made with tighter specifications and better quality control. Military primers typically have a “harder” cup and require a strong firing pin impact to ignite, but are less likely to be punctured by a misshaped or pointed firing pin or suffer a slam fire in semi-autos with floating firing pins. The differences in my experience are minimal to nonexistent and you can safely ignore them and go with standard primers. Typical military style weapons (in good working condition) such as AR-15s FN/FALs and M1As work fine with standard primers. Likewise, the difference between the manufactures such as Federal, Winchester, Remington and CCI are also minimal.

Reloading powder (also called canister grade propellant) is available in a confusing array of types from multiple manufacturers. The most distinguishing characteristic is know as burning rate, with a huge spectrum between the slow and fast burning (arbitrary unit designation). The burning rate is controlled by several manufacturing techniques. First is composition. Powders can be either single or double base, with the double base including a proportion of nitroglycerin in addition to the nitrocellulose. The size and shape (spherical or rod shaped) of the powder granules also dramatically alters the burning rate as does various coatings applied in manufacture. The burning rate is tailored to the pressure limits of individual cartridges as well as the projectile weight and barrel length. The general rule is faster powders are used in handguns and slower powders in rifle ammunition. Smokeless powder is listed by weight (typically in grains, one pound is 7000 grains) for a given charge, but is usually measured volumetrically to obtain the desired weight. This is one reason I prefer spherical (also called ball) propellants. The spheres measure much more uniformly when metered by volume.

Just as we simplified the primer issue down to four basic types, the more than 100 different powders available can be vastly simplified for personal reloading. For example, I typically store only four different powders and could go with two in a pinch, one moderately fast for handguns and one moderately slow for rifles. Now, let me discuss safety. While smokeless powder is very stable, it is flammable. Unless contained in a closed space (such as a cartridge) it will only burn, albeit vigorously. It will not explode if dropped or otherwise mistreated. Primers on the other hand are designed to explode if crushed. Treat them as you would treat loaded ammunition. Both components prefer a stable room temperature without excessive humidity and will survive almost indefinitely in such an environment. One thousand primers takes up about as much space as two decks of cards and an eight pound jug of powder is about the size of a gallon of milk.

Our next component is the brass cartridge case, hereafter simple called brass or case. Apart from factory new brass, most reloading is done with used cases. These can come from collecting your own to scavenging the local shooting range. I prefer to reuse my own brass since I know its’ history, but “when times get tough….” When scavenging brass, one needs to be extremely careful. Modern factory ammunition is made with several different metals besides brass. Steel and aluminum are the most common and are definitely not reloadable in a safe way. They need to be crushed and disposed of. In addition, some foreign ammunition is Berdan primed (discussion beyond the scope of this article) and also is not easily or safely reloaded. The problem is that externally, it is near impossible to tell the difference. For safety’s sake, discard everything which doesn’t have a recognizable domestic US factory stamp on the case head (Winchester, Federal, Remington, etc.). Another problem arises with surplus military brass. These frequently have crimped primer pockets, and while reloadable, require special care which will be discussed later. All collected brass should be cleaned and sorted by caliber. Be careful here since some shooting range ammunition (not necessarily “common caliber”) can be very similar. For example, a 9x21 is only slightly longer than the much more common 9mm NATO, but would be catastrophic if it functions at all in a common 9mm. Another common “competition cartridge” (not “common caliber”) is the.38 Super, which is also very similar to the 9mm NATO. Again, the safest bet is to discard (or otherwise sequester) any brass without a legible case stamp indicating caliber.

When scavenging brass, it is also important to discard those with cracks in the case mouth. This is typically due to the “work hardening” of the brass during repeated resizing operations. Cases with small dents induced during ejection in a semi-auto can usually be reused in my experience for routine plinking ammunition, but shouldn’t be used for loads pushing the pressure limit. In fact, I wouldn’t use scavenged brass for any “top end” load since internal volume can vary significantly.

The business end of loaded ammunition, the projectile (aka bullet), also comes in a withering array of sizes and weights. For simplicities’ sake, there are two main types, either lead or jacketed. Both types can come in several styles such as full metal jacket (FMJ), hollow-point, spitzer, round nose, truncated cone, semi-wadcutter, etc. The only safety caveat here is that “pointed” bullets, such as spitzers, must not be used in tubular magazine rifles (such as lever action .30-30’s) since the cartridges are “nose to tail” and recoil could fire the stacked cartridges. In this case the bullet point is acting like a firing pin to the cartridge in front of it.

Factory bullets are sold in a specific bore size, commonly measured in thousandths of an inch, and weight, commonly measured in grains. This is where a lot of confusion is introduced because of the “naming nomenclature” of our ammunition. For example, .38 caliber is actually 0.357” and is one reason why .38 Special can be safely fired in a .357 Magnum. To add to the confusion, our naming nomenclature is used for a marketing perspective, rather than precise use of language. For example, both .38 Super and .357 SIG use 9mm bullets (0.355”) instead of the logical .38 caliber (0.357”) bullets their names would indicate. Here is a table of common caliber ammunition bullet sizes and range of bullet weights:

While it is possible, making jacketed bullets from scratch is difficult. Cast bullets, on the other hand, are relatively easy to make with appropriate tools and supplies. Safety note: Molten lead burns skin like almost nothing else, and lead fumes are dangerous, so adequate ventilation is absolutely critical. Tools needed include a melting pot with spout or ladle, bullet mold and water bath/bucket. Lead can be obtained from wheel weights (make sure they are lead, other metals are used) or by “mining” the berm at the shooting range. This “dirty” lead will need to be washed, melted, all non-lead metal (steel weight clips, bullet jacket material, etc.) removed and flux added to remove dirt. I prefer to obtain cleaned and fluxed lead from other sources (eBay, etc.) but it is more expensive and as always.

The keys to making good cast bullets are a properly heated and smoked mold. Nonetheless, the first few casts will likely be misshapen, and need to be thrown back into the melting pot. I prefer the micro banded or “tumble lube” bullet molds by Lee Precision since they typically don’t require resizing and are easily lubed with their Liquid Alox bullet lube.

There are several caveats with regard to using cast bullets. First is that lead bullets leave a residue in the barrel (commonly called leading), particularly when fired at higher velocities (greater than 1200-feet per second) and become significantly worse the higher you go. Second, barrels designed to “swage” the bullet (most typically Glock with their hexagonal rifling) will cause excessive pressure when fired with lead bullets. A simple solution is a drop in replacement barrel with conventional rifling like the Lone Wolf brand.

The velocity limitation imposed with using cast bullets can effectively preclude their use in semi-auto rifles since effective operation is severely limited at the lower velocities. Thus, if you are planning to reload rifle ammunition, I would suggest a supply of jacketed bullets of appropriate size and weight for your particular firearm.

So, now you have your supply of primers and powder, bullets (either cast or store bought jacketed) and a fresh supply of brass from the recent firefight with the Mutant Zombie Hordes, where do you star?. Reloading consists of eight steps: Cleaning the brass case, decapping the spent primer, resizing the brass case, re-priming the brass case, belling the case mouth to accept the bullet, charging the case with powder, seating the new bullet and reshaping or crimping the case mouth. Several of these steps can be accomplished at the same time, such as decapping/resizing the brass case, case mouth belling/powder charging and bullet seating/crimping but I will discuss each separately.

Cleaning is usually done with a vibratory cleaner with a mild abrasive such as ground corn cob. I prefer the Dillon products, but others are equally useful. Depending on the state of your brass, all that may be needed is a quick wipe with a paper towel. It is critical to handle each case to examine for damage and discard suspect ones.

Decapping the brass case consists of running a punch down the case mouth to push out the old primer. This is where care must be exercised in cases with crimped-in primers. After decapping crimped-in primers, the primer pocket must be reformed to accept a new primer. This can be accomplished by reaming the pocket with a primer pocket reaming tool or re-swaging the pocket.

Resizing the brass case is mechanically complex, but is easily accomplished with an appropriate resizing die and reloading press. It is necessary at this point to bring up the concept of headspace. Headspace is simply the distance from the bolt face of the firearm to the point where further advancement of the cartridge into the chamber is stopped. Rimmed cartridges headspace on the rim, since that is what prevents the cartridge from going further into the chamber. Rimless cartridges either headspace on a belt (in “belted” magnum cartridges, serves same function as a rim but leads to easier feeding), on the shoulder of bottleneck cartridges or the case mouth in straight-walled ammunition. This is an important concept since if the cartridge is too long for the chamber; the bolt will not close correctly. If it is too short, the firing pin may not strike the primer, or worse, it may push the cartridge further into the chamber before ignition, where pressure locks the case in position and pushes back on an unsupported case head. Brass is weak compared to steel and the pressure pushing the case head back to the bolt face may stretch the brass to where it separates from the body of the cartridge. This is known as case head separation, and puts extremely hot gas under tremendous pressure venting right next to your face. Beside the risk of injury or damage to the firearm, you now have the task of removing a now headless cartridge out of the chamber before the firearm can be reused.

Resizing the brass case consists of squeezing down the now slightly expanded fired case back to nominal size. Because of the stresses imparted, lubrication is usually necessary (except in straight-walled ammunition using carbide dies) and is easily accomplished with a simple spray of case lube prior to resizing. This reforming of the brass makes the metal hard and brittle and limits the number of times it can be done without cracking (most commonly seen as cracks in the case mouth which undergoes the most change in size). The only dimension which is not squeezed back to nominal size is the overall length (OAL) and each subsequent resizing operation tends to lengthen the case neck. After resizing a couple of times, the neck may need to be trimmed in order to get the OAL back into specification. I usually discard such brass, since it is removing brass which has come from somewhere else in the case, thus weakening it to some extent. This is not so much a concern for low pressure cartridges such as .45 ACP but can be significant in higher pressure cartridges. In a TEOTWAWKI situation, re-annealing the brass (heating up and quenching) and case trimming may be necessary to get the most life out of a given case.

Re-priming is simply the act of inserting a new appropriate size primer into the brass case. This can be done either on the press, or with a handheld re-priming tool. If I am using a single stage press (where each step is done on a batch of brass before moving on to the next step), I prefer to use the handheld tool. If I am using the progressive press, I leave it up to the press in its sequence of events.

Case mouth belling is the process of slightly enlarging the case mouth to provide ease of bullet insertion. This step is typically not necessary with boat-tailed jacketed bullets, but is critical with cast lead bullets to prevent shaving of the soft lead.

Powder charging is another critical step, similar to resizing. First, you need a recipe. Good sources for a recipe are the powder manufacturers’ and bullet manufacturers’ loading data books. The powder charge must be matched to the cartridge, the weapon and the particular bullet. Load data will typically list a starting load and a maximum load. You need to stay within these limits. Variations within these limits looking for optimum accuracy is know as “working up a load”, and is the source of a lot of enjoyment in these times prior to TEOTWAWKI. Powder dispensing is usually done by adjusting the volume of powder to give a specific weight charge. The ultimate in precision is accomplished by hand weighing each charge, but volume dispensers are much more convenient for routine reloading. Periodic checking of the weight of a “thrown” charge is warranted to make sure your settings haven’t changed.

Bullet seating is simply the process of seating the bullet on the case mouth and pushing it down into the neck (or the body in straight-walled ammunition) so the cartridge OAL is within specification. Once the die is adjusted for the correct depth, subsequent members of the batch will have the same length.

Following bullet seating, reforming the case mouth or crimping the bullet to prevent movement under recoil may be necessary. There are two types of crimps. Taper crimping simply smoothes out any belling and snug’s up the case mouth like a turtle neck sweater. This is used in straight-walled ammunition like pistol cartridges where you need the “step off” from brass to bullet in order to headspace correctly. Roll crimping actually cinches up the case mouth, much like a clothes belt, to provide purchase and prevent movement. Bottleneck cartridges and rimmed revolver cartridges are usually roll crimped.

So what kind of supplies do I need to “roll my own” now or when times get bad? Basic equipment would consist of:

Reloading manual.
Single stage press (Lee makes a nice, inexpensive one).
Die set for your caliber (available from several manufactures).
Powder/bullet weight scale.
Dial caliper/micrometer.
Hand priming tool.
Powder funnel

For the consumable supplies, I consider the amount needed for 1,000 rounds of loaded ammunition. I choose this not only because it is a nice round (and comforting) number, but because our weights are measured in grains and there are 7000 grains in a pound. If you know the charge (or lead bullet) weight, you simply divide the number by 7 to tell you how many pounds are needed to make 1,000 rounds of ammunition. For example, if the charge weight of powder is 35 grains, 35 divided by 7 equals 5, so I will need 5 pounds of powder to make 1,000 rounds with that powder. If my bullet mold makes 230 grain bullets, 230 divided by 7 is slightly less than 33, so I will need 33 pounds of lead to make 1,000 bullets.

For my logistics, I limit myself to “common caliber” ammunition. For handguns, this means 9mm NATO and .45 ACP. For rifles, this means 5.56mm NATO and 7.62mm NATO. For handgun reloading, I mostly use two moderately fast powders both of which work fine for 9mm NATO and .45 ACP. These are Hodgdon HP38 and Accurate #5 powders. These have similar burning rates, but the HP38 uses a significantly lighter charge which makes it more economical.

For rifle reloading, I choose two moderately slow powders both of which work fine for 5.56mm NATO and 7.62mm NATO. These are Hodgdon H335 and Accurate 2230. Likewise, the burning rates are close and charge weights nearly identical. Since cast lead bullets are not appropriate for these rounds, you will obviously need 1,000 jacketed bullets for either.

Supplies Needed for 1,000 Rounds by Caliber:

Like baking bread, reloading can be enjoyable and a real valuable skill in bad times. The costs associated need not be excessive. - NC Bluedog

JWR Adds: While 5..56mm NATO and .223 Remington have quite similar case dimensions and loading specifications, they are not completely interchangeable. For example, it is not considered safe to shoot commercial soft nose .223 loads in a semi--auto rifle chambered for 5.56mm NATO. The same warning applies to 7.62mm NATO and.308 Winchester. Use caution and use the appropriate safety equipment when storing powder and primers, when reloading ammunition, and when melting lead/bullet casting. Study the standard safety warnings before you begin!

James;
One skill that will be in great demand by almost everyone in a post-TEOTWAWKI environment will be a skilled and resourceful ammunition reloader. Equipment is relatively inexpensive and downright cheap if you know where to look. Pawn shops almost never buy reloading equipment because it is slow and, or difficult to move. I have made arrangements with a few pawn shop owners and when a batch of reloading stuff comes available from estates they just give them my number. No matter how much gear there is, a pawn shop will only offer, if they even make an offer about a hundred bucks. I usually try to offer the widows a fair price but in the end you are still buying for pennies on the dollar. Often reloading gear will be given to you if you show an interest and a little respect.

It is an opportunity to acquire odd caliber dies, bullets, brass and often large stores of powder. The old reloading books are great references for older powders that will still be usable if stored properly. Always store your powder in a cool, dry and dark place. I am using some 30 year old powder that was stored this way and it works just fine. One can never have too much powder, [too many primers,] or too many reloading manuals.

Any gun shop that sells reloading equipment has free loading data provided my the powder and bullet manufactures and these small books can be acquired by writing, calling or going to the powder and bullet companies web sites. These are invaluable resources as they try to show case how versatile their products can be and the large reloading manuals will leave out some less than ideal powder, bullet, caliber combinations that we may be forced to try some day simply because of space limitations and the large manuals are somewhat expensive although necessary. Remember that we are trying to make safe reliable ammo that will suffice for the purpose at hand and we are not trying to come up with the perfect powder, bullet combo that will better factory ballistics.

JWR is right when he suggests that you stock only common caliber ammo in large quantities for yourself. However, there are still going to be quite a few .32 Winchester Special, 38-55 and especially 30-30 Winchesters around that will need ammunition and all three of those caliber cases can be made from fired .30-30 cases. A host of calibers can have their brass cases formed from the very common .30-06 such as .270 Winchester and .25-06 just by sizing the necks down. The.308 Winchester (7.62x51mm) is the parent case for .243 Win,..260 Rem, and 7mm-08. Simple neck resizing is all that is necessary and all it takes is a little knowledge and the correct dies.

Much more elaborate cartridge conversions can be done by annealing the cartridge brass (necks only--never the bases) simply by standing the cases in an inch of water, heating them until red with a torch and then knocking them over to cool in the water. This softens the brass and makes splitting case necks less likely. Brass work hardens as it is reloaded and this process is a useful skill to prolong case life even for common calibers. Calibers like the 7.5x55mm Schmidt Rubin in the well made Swiss [K31] rifles that have flooded the market the past few years are easy to fabricate from the very common .308 Win cases if you know where to look for specs and the place to look is "The Handloaders Manual of Cartridge Conversions" by Donnelly & Towsley from Stoeger Publishing. It is a great resource and it covers more than 1,000 cartridges in detail with accurate drawings, capacities and dimensions. With this book a set of good calipers, micrometer and reloading data there are very few calibers that one can not reloaded.

Anytime someone asks you if you want a small lot of odd caliber of brass take it and clean, sort and store it. It doesn't matter if you don't have a gun in that caliber, someone, somewhere will or it might be used to create cases for another caliber There are only four sizes of boxer primers so stock up on those. Large rifle, small rifle, large pistol and small pistol and don't worry about magnum primers just use one of the hotter standard primers such as Winchester 's Stainless. The only caveat here is gas auto loading rifles should only use CCI #34 or #41 hard military primers to prevent slam fires.

There are some powders that are very versatile and can be used for many calibers, for example Unique handgun powder can be used for just about every pistol caliber. It might not be the perfect choice for certain cartridges but it would certainly serve the purpose.

Reloading skills can be bartered for other things because a firearm without ammunition doesn't even make a good club. As charity you might be the only person that can give a family a means of self defense by reloading ammo for them that is impossible to obtain any other way.

Since you can't reload .22 rimfire ammo, buy a couple of the 550 round boxes every time that you are at Wal-Mart, or mail order 5,000 round. cases. This is something that almost everyone can afford. While you are making connections at the pawn shops pick up some used .22 rifles, I often can buy Glenfield and Marlin autos for less than 50 bucks apiece if I shop in the spring and avoid the 1st and 15th of the month and go on the first of the week. Pawn shop owners are more likely to cut you a deal at these times because of cash flow. What a great trade item or gift to some deserving but unprepared family

Bullet casting equipment is often included with reloading equipment and this simple skill is another arrow in your quiver. The Cast Bullet Association has a free forum that has a wealth of knowledge and any question that you have will be answered by the top experts in this field in an informative and entertaining way. Cast bullets were used for all hunting and war purposes for centuries before jacketed bullets came along in the late 1800s. You will notice that some of the cast bullet rifle shooters are getting 10 shot groups around an inch at 200 yards! I assure you that my efforts have never been that amazing but then I'm not a top competitor.

Making bullets and reloading ammo could make your talents very sought after over a fairly large geographic area so be prudent about your security measures. Word of your skills might bring about many barter opportunities that otherwise might be impossible. As charity, you might save an entire family's lives for very little investment of resources and we all want to help the good guys out if we can. Folks will want to insure your safety if you have built up a relationship with them and provide a necessary service.

I have an extensive list of reloading equipment but have invested less than the cost of a FAL or M1A. I've been at this for almost 40 years now and have taught Boy Scouts, housewives, service veterans, preachers or anyone that asked the necessary skills to produce quality ammunition. Several times I have been given firearms simply because ammo was unavailable and I haven't failed to produce good safe ammo for any gun yet. Get your beans, bullets and band-aids in order first, and then get started looking for the tools and acquire the skills to become the community Ammo Cobbler. - East Tennessee Hillbilly

Mr. Rawles:

You recently wrote: "Oxygen absorbing packets would have no efficacy for ammunition storage. (These are designed just for killing insect larvae in storage foods)." Sorry, Jim, but that's not quite correct. Oxygen absorbing packets come in a variety of sizes and do their job very well. Their job? Absorbing oxygen. They are placed in packets of food such as jerky to reduce amount of oxygen which degrades the flavor of the food. That they also make life more difficult for bugs is a side-effect.

The ability to absorb nearly all the free oxygen in an enclosed space makes them uniquely qualified for preservation of a variety of things - including guns and ammo. Back when Y2K was the big issue, I enclosed an SKS [carbine], a hundred rounds of ammo and several oxygen absorbing packets in a plastic tube with and glued-on caps. I stored it outside for a year before I opened it up to check it out. When I made my initial cut into the pipe I was rewarded with a "hiss" as air entered the pipe. Since oxygen comprises about 16% of our sea-level atmosphere and since it was now tied up in the packets I was left with a partial vacuum inside the pipe. Upon reassembling the rifle, I loaded it with the ammo it had been stored with and fired it.

I need to point out that this experiment was conducted in Oregon, a fairly wet climate, and that after close inspection of the rifle, I found no rust on any of the metal. Obviously, oxidation of the steel couldn't occur when the oxygen wasn't free to combine with the iron. - D.Y.

JWR Replies: I should have been more thorough in my reply to that letter, when I mentioned Oxygen (O2) absorbing packets. Instead of dismissively writing "...have no efficacy for ammunition storage" I should have written "...are not the best choice for ammunition storage". (I will update that post.) I will elaborate:

If you are the "belt and suspenders" type, then by all means use both desiccant packets (such as silica gel) and O2 absorbing packets. But of the two, desiccants are much more reliable. The formation of rust takes two ingredients interacting with ferrous metals: moisture and oxygen. Ditto for oxidation of copper and brass. Without moisture present, corrosion will not occur with typical atmospheric oxygen levels. Hence, O2 absorbers are not "uniquely qualified", as you asserted.

Both types of packets will work in protecting guns or ammunition is sealed containers, but desiccants have far more reliable efficacy. The biggest problem with typical food grade O2 absorbing packets is that there is no easy way of insuring that they were handled properly before they came to you. The O2 absorbing packets that I have seen all have gas-permeable coverings. If the seal on the outer package that the packets were shipped in was compromised, or if they were removed from their original packaging and later re-packaged, then they will have virtually no usefulness. They are effectively "used up" when they come in contact with a large volume of air for more than a few hours. And once used, these packets cannot be reactivated at home. You have to buy new ones.

But unlike O2 absorbing packets, if you use silica gel desiccants, you can reactivate them by simply putting them in a dehydrator (or in a kitchen oven on a 150 degree F setting) overnight. Using this method, they can be used over and over. This is vastly superior, especially in the context of a survival situation where regular commerce is disrupted. And, as I've mentioned previously in SurvivalBlog, in the present day, desiccants are often available free for the asking. Just make a few phone calls. Piano shops often get musical instrument shipments that include large desiccant packs. Most of these get thrown away.

So if you are going to depend on one of the other for firearms and ammunition storage, in my opinion you should choose silica gel desiccants rather than O2 absorbers. OBTW, beware of re-using any packets that you find in jerky packaging. These sometimes include an integral moisturizing packet, to prevent jerky from becoming too dry. Those packets would of course be counterproductive, for ammunition or gun storage. Again, only use O2 absorbing packets that are factory fresh, and preferably that come vacuum shrink wrapped. Otherwise, you have no way of knowing whether or not they have already been chemically neutralized.

James,

I finished my copy of the [post-nuke novel] "Malevil" [by Robert Merle.] One scene that was particularly well done was when the looter/vandals start destroying the wheat planting. I could see myself paralyzed by the dilemma: If they completely destroy my garden,then my family's survival becomes less--perhaps very much less--probable. When I start shooting them their probability of survival drops to zero.

From my understanding of decision making, especially decision making under stress, it is very important to have crystal clear, absolutely unambiguous triggers or "switches". Pull that trigger or switch and the pre-made decision is implemented.

Triggers need to be revisited as circumstances change. Rowdies pilfering pears from the tree in your yard should elicit a different response today than it would after TSHTF.
I can make the case that anybody who does not demonstrate absolute respect for another's private property will imperil other's lives post TSHTF. Post TSHTF, the margin for error will be very much less. The margin between a child surviving until the next harvest, or not surviving, could easily be as small as 25 pounds of corn or wheat. Under a "Malevil" or "Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse" scenario I think I would have few qualms about shooting. However, circumstances that are less absolute would be very difficult for me.

I suspect that you have given the topic substantial thought. Is there a short list of questions to "test" a circumstance-a short list that would be of use to the SurvivalBlog community? Thank You, - Joe and Ellen

JWR: Replies: One important yet sadly under-emphasized aspect of preparedness is access to less-than-lethal weaponry.

Having less-than-lethal weapons available to supplement your firearms is important for two reasons: 1.) To show restraint and respect for human life, and 2.) To keep you out of jail for reckless endangerment, assault, attempted murder, or murder. I cannot overstate the point that the chances of a full-blown multigenerational societal collapse are very small, Thus, the odds are that you will still have contact with functioning police and sheriff departments, and might end up answering to the criminal justice system if you use unjustifiable or disproportionate force in self defense.

Of course if someone is shooting at you, you have the right and duty to defend yourself and your family. (As a Christian, I found this piece by Brandon Staggs, and this Crusader Knight piece helped me resolve this issue with certainty.)

Do not endanger yourself unnecessarily just for the sake of employing less than lethal weapons. There could very well be a situation where you think that you are dealing with an unarmed intruder, only to have them then produce a concealed weapon. If that happens, it could easily get you killed. For that reason, I recommend concentrating on less-than-lethal weapons that you can employ from a distance. Anything "up close and personal" has multiple risks. One of the principles that is stressed again and again when training police officers and prison guards is that proximity increases risk. If you can maintain distance form your opponent, you will minimize your risk of being overpowered or killed. This also meshes nicely with the "defense in depth" approach that I stress with my consulting clients. By placing multiple barriers between your family and the bad guys, you will greatly increases your chances of avoiding harm.

Sometimes a display of force will be enough to discourage looters to go find easier pickings. One of my consulting clients is rancher in the intermountain west that has large a 3/4"-thick steel plate hung up on chains above his perimeter fence gate, which is 250 yards from his house. (He has a typical western ranch entry gate with a very high, stout crosspiece.) He's told me is that his intention is that if miscreants stop and show signs of forcing his gate, he will used a scoped FAL rifle to apply several rapid shots to that steel plate. He calls it his "Go away" bell. Hearing that "bell" will be a clear message to the malo hombres: "You have 250 yards of open ground to traverse to get to my house. Do you feel lucky, or bulletproof?"

In hours of darkness, in genuinely Schumeresque times, it is likely that a semi-auto burst of tracers fired over the heads of a gang of looters might have a similar effect. One of my readers also suggested placing Tannerite targets in prominent positions around a retreat perimeter. Depending on the circumstances, that might be a good technique for getting ruffians to leave.

Please don't mistake any of the foregoing as sure solutions. Merely scaring off looters might not be sufficient. Certainly don't use displays of force more than once, per customer. The first time should be their only warning. Be prepared, if need be, to follow it up with a genuine dose of RBC if they persist and thereby demonstrate that they plan to do you in.

Here are some other non-lethal weapon options:

Pepper Spray Alarms - either trip wired or set off by electronic sensor. These can fill a room with pepper spray in seconds. One variant fires up to four times in sequence. A friend of mine has one of these mounted in the vented bottom of a mailbox on his porch. It is wired for activation (on command) from inside the house.

"Ferret" 12 gauge shells (These are shotgun shells, that instead of lead pellets contain large capsules of CS tear gas or OC powder. They form an irritant dust cloud, on impact. These are not very effective outdoors, but they are very effective in enclosed spaces. Say, for example, you saw an intruder enter your garden shed, but would feel endangered if you left your house to approach the shed to confront him. Two or three Ferret rounds fired into the shed would probably do the trick. (Passing through a sheet of plywood, in fact, is the best way to get full dispersal from a Ferret round.

CS riot control grenades. These are similar to a smoke grenade, but issue forth huge clouds of CS smoke. I see a few of these at gun shows, including some that were marketed by Smith & Wesson. They can be thrown, but also could also be rigged to be set off by pulling a cable or lanyard, from a considerable distance. Since most of these these are pyrotechnic, be forewarned that there is a fire hazard. Some of the latest ones use CO2 to propel a vapor.

Rubber bullets and beanbag rounds. These are deigned to bruise rather than penetrate. (This ammo was originally designed for riot control.) Be careful to aim fairly low to void any pellets striking you opponent in the face.

Speaking of these, I've heard of rubber bullets being used on moose and bear in residential areas. These critters often become destructive, typically tearing apart people's fruit and nut trees. Rubber bullets and 12 gauge beanbags are a non-lethal solution.

Pepper gas and CS (liquid stream or fog) dispensers. These are risky because they requite proximity. But at least the dispensers are small and can be kept close at hand. Here at the Rawles Ranch we have occasional ursine visitors, so except in winter (when bears are denned up) all of the members of our family habitually go armed whenever we step more than a few yards away from our house. Before they were old enough to carry handguns, our children usually carried large 15% pepper spray (OC) canisters.

Tasers. These could be practical, but again, they are only useful with about 15 feet. I don't recommend them unless you live in a gun-deprived locality.

Stun guns. Even worse than a Taser, these require direct contact. I don't recommend them

Impact weapons (Batons, kubatons, walking sticks, et cetera) These are at the bottom of my list because they require immediate contact. They also require considerable training and practice. Their application in subduing someone is practically a martial art form, and is much, much more difficult than portrayed in movies and television. Too little force can merely be antagonistic or possibly result in a miscreant disarming you and use the weapon on you. . Too much force can be crippling, disfiguring, or lethal. (Any blows to the neck or head, for example, are potentially lethal, and if you use them, in the eyes of the law it would not be much different than pulling the trigger of a gun.)

You might also find some other weapon possibilities at the Less-Lethal.org web site.

Without having non-lethal weapons available, your only other choice would be attempting to use a lethal weapon in a less than lethal manner (typically, with warning shots.) Do not consider using a firearm with the intent to wound an opponent. By doing so, at the very least you will create an adversary that will most likely seek vengeance whenever and wherever he can get it: There is nothing quite like a vendetta, particularly during a period of lawlessness. He may later ambush you. He may snipe at your retreat from long distance. He may poison your well. He may burn your grain fields. He may even wait and later meet you in court, where he will have some nasty scars to display. I regularly get letters from readers, asking about using bird shot or the proverbial "shotgun loaded with rock salt". Those are both likely to either get you killed, or get you sued out of all of your worldly possessions. In short: don't consider using any intentionally maiming weapon.

Whenever you use amy weapon, you need to think through the implications. Even what looks like a "worst case" situation might suddenly and unexpectedly end. When order is restored, you could be facing your opponent in the most dangerous arena of all: the courtroom.

Think Through Anticipated Levels of Force

When police officers train, they typically learn force escalation. An officer doesn't doesn't use his service automatic on an unruly drunk. That would be considered grossly disproportionate force. Law enforcement officers have detailed rules of proportionate force and force escalation drilled into them from Day One at the academy. Civilians are not held to quite the same standards, but proportionate force and reciprocal escalation of force are both long-standing precepts used by the court system in judging guilt or innocence.

There might be a situation where uninvited guests are raiding your garden or fruit trees. If it is dark (quite likely), you may not be able to determine if they are armed. In such a situation, it might be better to have alternatives like trip flares or remotely triggered floodlights. Also see some of the recent SurvivalBlog posts on infrared (IR) floodlights and/or IR cyalume trip flares used in conjunction with Starlight technology (light amplification) night vision gear. These will give you a strong advantage and most likely send the ruffians to flight.

Is Mr. Badguy there to siphon the gas out of your vehicle, or steal the vehicle itself? Does he want apples from your orchard, or does he want to kill you and take over your retreat? Is he there to steal a couple of chickens, or to kidnap your daughter? Does a stranger merely want a handout or is he looking for the chance to carry out a home invasion?

How can you determine their intentions? That is a toughie. But there are some red flags to watch for. If a party that is approaching your retreat dwelling is entirely armed men, then odds are that they have murder on their minds. But if a group includes women and children, the threat level is likely much lower. (They probably wouldn't endanger them if they were expecting lead to soon be flying.) Are they dressed in normal clothes, or in BDUs and war paint?

Is law enforcement help available? If law enforcement evaporates at some point in the future, even people living inside city limits may be in a comparable situation.

There is an old saying: "When the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a nail." Make the effort to acquire non-lethal weapons. I'd hate to see a SurvivalBlog reader use excessive force, just for lack of a less-than-lethal arrow in his quiver. Use them, when possible, but again only if and when doing so won't endanger yourself or your family.

Ironically, in many cases it is easier in the US to acquire lethal ammo than it is to buy non-lethal ammo and items like CS gas grenades. (Often, although they are legal to possess in most jurisdictions, because of company sales policies they can only be ordered on law enforcement letterhead.) So finding what you need might take a bit of looking and/or require the aid of sympathetic intermediaries. Two closing proviso: Consult your state and local laws before ordering any weapons, be they lethal, less-than-lethal, or non-lethal. None of the preceding should be considered legal advise. Consult your local laws and, as appropriate, seek qualified legal counsel.

In the next few paragraphs I'll be tackling four issues that for many years, I've labelled "The Four Gs." One of my contemporaries, Richard "Doc" Sweeny, even made the concept into and acronym: GGGG, for "God, Gold, Guns, and Groceries."

God.
I consider faith in God the cornerstone of my family's preparedness. Faith in God's sovereign control of the future gives my family hope and peace in these troubled times. If there is no hope, then why prepare? Our hope is in Christ Jesus.

Groceries.
There are continuing reports of shortages around the country of wheat flour, corn meal, rice, and cooking oil at some of the "big box:" stores such as COSTCO and Sam's Club. This phenomenon is not uniform. Some readers tell me that it is "business at usual" at their local stores, while others report "one bag per customer" rationing signs have been posted, and a few report empty shelves. With galloping wholesale prices and shortages at the wholesale level, I expect these spot shortages to continue.

I've had a half dozen anxious e-mails from readers in the past week, complaining that their storage food orders have been delayed, that they can't get a firm answer on delivery dates from the vendors, or that the vendors won't even return their calls or e-mails. In nearly all of these instances, the companies in question are not SurvivalBlog advertisers. I've heard from several vendors that the big packing and canning outfits like Mountain House and Alpen Aire are essentially sold out of stock on hand, and that their order backlogs are at least 30 days, and growing. The problem is that in "normal" times, these companies serve a "niche" clientele. They just aren't scaled to handle the order volume when more than 1% or 2% of the population places orders. I witnessed a similar situation back in 1999, just before the Y2K rollover. Some good news that I can mention is that several of our advertisers such as Ready Made Resources actually still have some storage food on hand. It is actually on the shelf ("in captivity") and ready to ship. For any of their items that are back ordered, just be patient. You may have to wait four to six weeks. The other good news I can offer is that our advertisers all have good reputations. (If they didn't, then they would not be allowed to advertise on SurvivalBlog.) The most reputable food storage vendors will not bill your credit card until the day that your order is actually shipped. Beware of small "fly by night" vendors that don't keep any inventory on hand and that will bill your credit card weeks ahead of when they know they can ship. If you buy from a vendor that is not a SurvivalBlog advertiser, my advice is simple: pick your order up in person only from stock on hand, and pay cash on the spot. If you are taking delivery personally, then there is no need to leave a paper trail. Buying with a credit card is advised, in instances where immediate delivery is not promised. In that case, your credit card's "charge back" buyer protection policy could protect you if you are defrauded. Keep in mind, however, that a charge back complaint often must be made within 30 days of the time of purchase.

Guns.
The next presidential election is huge question mark: Will the Democrats take the White House? And if they do, will another so-called "assault weapons" and "high capacity" magazine ban be legislated in the US? (Something similar to the 1994-to-2004 Federal ban.) At present, these possibilities are difficult to predict. But even if the "worst case" (namely, another ban with no sunset clause) doesn't come to pass, I still consider battle rifles, full capacity magazines, and ammunition to be good investments and excellent barter items. If nothing else, like other nonperishable tangibles, they are good hedges on the falling dollar. Stock up, but do so quietly. If it is legal to do so in your jurisdiction, make all your gun purchases from private parties with no paper trail. Keep your eye on the local newspaper classified ads, as well as ads from sellers in your own state on GunBroker.com (on-line auctions) or GunsAmerica.com (fixed price sales--usually more expensive) Search only for sellers from your own state. That way, you won't run afoul of the Federal law that prohibits the transfer of a modern (post-1898) gun across state lines, except through a FFL dealer. It might also be worth your time to drive long distances to some of the larger gun shows in your own state. Once there, you should of course buy guns only from private parties.

The upcoming Heller v. US supreme court decision should be interesting. I suspect that instead of striking down all Federal gun laws--which they rightfully should--the supreme court justices will pen a decision that is tightly worded and hence will only apply to just that one gun ban in the District of Columbia.

OBTW, for any of you that think that my advocacy of gun ownership and training is somehow un-Christian, all that I can do is direct you to Christ's words in Luke 22:36.

Gold.
I'm addressing gold last, for a reason. You've undoubtedly seen the recent headlines like this one: Gold at $1,000 on Weak Dollar, High Oil. Keep in mind that $1,000 is a psychological barrier. This might trigger some profit taking that could push the spot price of gold down as far as $920 per ounce. Take advantage of such dips. However, don't get caught up in precious metals buying fever. Your key responsibility is to provide for your family, not to be a speculator. Don't even think about investing any of your money in precious metals until after you have all of your crucial "beans, bullets, and Band-Aids" preparations well in hand. If you don't have an honest one year food supply, then stop wasting your time hitting reload at the Kitco web site! (You probably won't get the web page to load with any regularity anyway. The recent spike in gold and silver prices have generated so much web traffic that it has nearly crashed Kitco's server. You might have better luck at the Swiss America web site.)

Remember: You can't eat gold! There may come a day when you need to barter for day-to-day essentials. In such times, barter goods like common caliber ammunition or one-gallon cans of kerosene will be more sought-after than gold. Recognize precious metals for what they are: storehouses of wealth and hedges on the dollar. Think of them as a "time machine". They can be trusted to preserve your wealth from one side of an economic collapse to the other.But do not expect them to keep your family fed in the midst of a socioeconomic collapse.

An afterthought: Perhaps I should add a fifth "G"", for Ground. I have long been a proponent of buying productive farm land. The nationwide market for real estate is clearly in a tailspin, and probably won't bottom for several more years. But I firmly believe that the price declines will not be nearly as significant for good farm ground. Just be sure to be a wise buyer. Study local markets thoroughly (including soil surveys), and don't feel rushed into making a purchase. In today's market, time is on your side. I now recommend keeping a close eye on foreclosures, using services like Foreclosures.com or RealtyTrac.com.

President Bush has embarked on the final phase of Pax Americana and is ushering in an advanced imperial stage that will endanger every living American. The coming election will assure us that every American will have his Second Amendment rights infringed or predated upon in some fashion no matter which party succeeds (is there a difference except the spelling?). Perennial readers of this site are better versed than most in the predatory nature of the state and its ability to target and vilify those it wishes to eliminate eventually whether through political neutralization such as Trent Lott or lethal means such as Waco or Ruby Ridge. I'd like to focus this essay on the practical application of what Boston T. Party refers to as "liberty's teeth" or small arms. There are plenty of organizations like Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership (JPFO) and Gun Owners of America (GOA) which will provide you with all the intellectual ammunition you need to know why you should be armed; I want to tell you how. I want to offer a bare-bones primer on how to get started in amassing your personal armory (contrary to what the government says, an arsenal is where weapons are manufactured) and using the weapons you obtain. I have a military background that spans two decades, shoot competitively and currently instruct tactical firearms so I have left the armchair a few times.

There are plenty of sites from which you can obtain this information but I wanted to provide a fairly painless gateway to get started if you are beginning from ground zero. The black helicopter crowds are chockfull of hunker-down survivalist information which for the most part suffers from their barely hidden desire for the apocalypse to occur coupled with their propensity to be armchair enthusiasts unfettered by real world application of firepower. On the other end of the spectrum, you have the nation's largest gun prohibition organization, the National Rifle Association, selling plenty of safety-oriented gun practices (while winking lustfully at the Beltway media and other hoplophobes) and ignoring any martial aspects of weapons or gun handling the Founders wrote the Second Amendment for in the first place.

1. Establish a mindset much like the Flinters in F. Paul Wilson's novels. Fully embrace the initiated non-aggression principle. This is not a call for armed revolt or insurrection. This is summed up as leave me alone or else. Whether you own weapons now or not, you should be fully decided that when, not if, the government comes around to seize them you will relinquish them one round at a time. Or you have had the foresight to properly cache spares and you can hand over that Lee Harvey Oswald Carcano to the nice young men in black ninja suits who are from the government and just want to help you. If you have any doubt about that, stop reading this and take any weapons you now own and donate them to a paleo-conservative or libertarian who cares. You may continue reading if liberty means more than lip service. The right to self-defense should be beyond question to this audience.

2. If you bought one book on the subject, buy Boston T. Party's book, "Boston's Gun Bible" (revised April 2002). Hey, we're on LRC, you always want a book on the subject. As a matter of fact, this logical and sound compendium of gun stuff is worth a whole shelf of gun tomes. Read it two or three times and always have a highlighter in hand. He's done all the work for you. You just have to read and heed. It has had a perennial place on my nightstand since I bought it. While those new to the gun community will be amazed at the pedantic disagreements that enliven every corner of the gun culture from ballistics to weapons choice, enquiring minds will really be energized by the level of intellectual ferment once you get the gun habit. If one only read the New York Times or the Los Angeles Times, you'd think all gun owners were backward hillbillies who only Jim Goad could love. Like so many American subcultures, there is a niche for every need or desire. For instance, I disagree with his number-one choice for a battle rifle (M1A versus FN-FAL) but that is the nature of the enterprise.

3. Write this on your whiteboard one hundred times: I will never, ever buy a weapon from a Federal Firearms Dealer (FFL). I will only make private party purchases through gun shows, the classifieds or through friends and neighbors. The Feral (no misspelling) government has developed a devilishly clever system using the BATF as their stalking horse to enable a de facto and de jure gun registration system established at the central government level every time a weapon is purchased at a brick and mortar gun shop. Check your risk tolerance and local and state laws to determine the regulations regarding private sales but the litmus test is easy. If you see guns for sale in your local newspaper classifieds, it is under the government radar (for now). Recent events such as the spate of college campus shootings and the attempts by local and state governments to regulate and suppress every manner of arms employment and provisioning should convince you that time is short. The same applies to ammunition; buy it at a gun show for cash as there is no requirement for a permit (yet) in most states. I hope you are fortunate enough to live in a state unlike Illinois or some of the Borg states in the northeastern part of these united States. When buying these weapons through private sales, always be prepared to walk away if it smells funny. Never buy any weapon that even appears to be fully automatic or is hinted to be. The Class 3 licensing system in the US regulates these firearms in a very draconian fashion under the auspices of the 1934 National Firearms Act. The government has a history of entrapment and provocation. Ask Randy Weaver if a half-inch on a ruler is hazardous to your health or that of your family.

4. I could write a book on what to buy but that is beyond the scope of this essay. Armed conflict is a discipline of distance. Different firearms have envelopes of lethality as distance is increased which is also a factor in accuracy. To paraphrase Boston, a pistol is what you fight your way to your rifle with. Spare no expense since your life depends on these tools. At minimum you need a rifle and pistol for every member of your family. The Glock pistol is the hands-down winner for accuracy and reliability. As to rifles, if you are poorer than dirt, scrape up $100 and buy a Lee-Enfield .303 rifle. These bolt actions are highly serviceable for social work. If you have more money, invest the hundreds and thousands it will take to get a proper battle rifle such as an FN-FAL, M1A or HK91 and all the equipment and ammunition to accompany each rifle for its care and feeding. Be sure to have a minimum of 25 magazines per rifle and ten per pistol. From this point, once you have started to empty your wallet, more equipment will start to appeal to you such as load-bearing gear, body armor and all manner of shooting accouterment. The sky is the limit (and your income).

5. Pay for the very best firearms training you can afford; a single digit percentage of the gun culture pays for professional training and this is the greatest shortcoming you can have. No matter how American the concept of having the most elaborate toys, if you can't employ them, then their value is moot. Go to Google or Metacrawler, type in firearms training in your state and see who offers it locally or go to the nationally renowned training centers like Gunsite, Thunder Ranch or Firearms Academy of Seattle (my personal favorite for value and quality). Take your spouse, too. She is your primary team-member.

6. Teach your children well. The gun culture has roots as far back as the first settlers in North America. This continuity is a result of parents passing on their knowledge and weapons to their progeny to continue down the line. Exposure to guns early enough can make liberty contagious.

Remember, guns don’t kill people, governments and the criminals they create do. - William Buppert, February 18, 2008

James,
I have to disagree with some of C.D.'s measures listed in his letter (i.e. using Scroogle and Zone Alarm) and refer your readership to the best article I've yet seen on the great difficulty in online anonymity: The Ugly Truth About Online Anonymity Also note comment on the linked article 12 - even if all else could be secured, the moment you behave according to your established surfing profile, you'll be spotted. Kind Regards, - J. in Kyrgyzstan

JWR Replies: I have my own perspective about online activities: Do the best that you can to cover your cyber trail, but don't get so paranoid that you withdraw to hide under a rock. In the context of political action, the day that you go off-line for the sake of privacy or anonymity, then your political opponents have won. In the context of physical preparedness, if you go off-line for the sake of privacy or anonymity, then you have isolated yourself from any like-minded potential allies. It is impossible to build a survival network without taking some risks. And if you are adverse to taking any risks, then you are relegating yourself to a "team" with just one member. A solitary individual is ineffective and vulnerable.

One individual that I greatly admire recently castigated me in an e-mail for having posted F.L. in Southern California's letter titled: "Keeping a Low Profile is Crucial for Preparedness". I think that his criticism went a bit too far. My position is that everyone should strike a balance between maintaining privacy and blatant visibility. There is an old Japanese proverb: "The nail that sticks up get hammered down." I believe that there is value in employing what David in Israel refers to as The Gray Man approach. (Blending in with your neighbors, to be unremarkable and unmemorable.) But the other end of the spectrum is being so vocal, and so visible that you end up being the #1 on the most wanted list. Each individual should consciously set their own parameters, based on their personal circumstances, prayer life, and their comfort zone.

Regardless of where you place yourself on the continuum of visibility, never, ever, give up your guns. That is an inviolable and absolute line in the sand. Without an effective means of self defense and the common defense, a man is just another sheep for the slaughter.

Start your retreat stocking effort by first composing a List of Lists, then draft prioritized lists for each subject, on separate sheets of paper. (Or in a spreadsheet if you are a techno-nerd like me. Just be sure to print out a hard copy for use when the power grid goes down!) It is important to tailor your lists to suit your particular geography, climate, and population density as well as your peculiar needs and likes/dislikes. Someone setting up a retreat in a coastal area is likely to have a far different list than someone living in the Rockies.

As I often mention in my lectures and radio interviews, a great way to create truly commonsense preparedness lists is to take a three-day weekend TEOTWAWKI Weekend Experiment” with your family. When you come home from work on Friday evening, turn off your main circuit breaker, turn off your gas main (or propane tank), and shut your main water valve (or turn off your well pump.) Spend that weekend in primitive conditions. Practice using only your storage food, preparing it on a wood stove (or camping stove.)

A “TEOTWAWKI Weekend Experiment” will surprise you. Things that you take for granted will suddenly become labor intensive. False assumptions will be shattered. Your family will grow closer and more confident. Most importantly, some of the most thorough lists that you will ever make will be those written by candlelight.

Your List of Lists should include: (Sorry that this post is in outline form, but it would take a full length book to discus all of the following in great detail)

Water List
Food Storage List
Food Preparation List
Personal List
First Aid /Minor Surgery List
Nuke Defense List
Biological Warfare Defense List
Gardening List
Hygiene List/Sanitation List
Hunting/Fishing/Trapping List
Power/Lighting/Batteries List
Fuels List
Firefighting List
Tactical Living List
Security-General
Security-Firearms
Communications/Monitoring List
Tools List
Sundries List
Survival Bookshelf List
Barter and Charity List

JWR’s Specific Recommendations For Developing Your Lists:

Water List
House downspout conversion sheet metal work and barrels. (BTW, this is another good reason to upgrade your retreat to a fireproof metal roof.)
Drawing water from open sources. Buy extra containers. Don’t buy big barrels, since five gallon food grade buckets are the largest size that most people can handle without back strain.
For transporting water if and when gas is too precious to waste, buy a couple of heavy duty two wheel garden carts--convert the wheels to foam filled "no flats" tires. (BTW, you will find lots of other uses for those carts around your retreat, such as hauling hay, firewood, manure, fertilizer, et cetera.)
Treating water. Buy plain Clorox hypochlorite bleach. A little goes a long way. Buy some extra half-gallon bottles for barter and charity. If you can afford it, buy a “Big Berky” British Berkefeld ceramic water filter. (Available from Ready Made Resources and several other Internet vendors. Even if you have pure spring water at your retreat, you never know where you may end up, and a good filter could be a lifesaver.)

Food Storage List
See my post tomorrow which will be devoted to food storage. Also see the recent letter from David in Israel on this subject.

Food Preparation List
Having more people under your roof will necessitate having an oversize skillet and a huge stew pot. BTW, you will want to buy several huge kettles, because odds are you will have to heat water on your wood stove for bathing, dish washing, and clothes washing. You will also need even more kettles, barrels, and 5 or 6 gallon PVC buckets--for water hauling, rendering, soap making, and dying. They will also make great barter or charity items. (To quote my mentor Dr. Gary North: “Nails: buy a barrel of them. Barrels: Buy a barrel of them!”)
Don’t overlook skinning knives, gut-buckets, gambrels, and meat saws.

Personal List
(Make a separate personal list for each family member and individual expected to arrive at your retreat.)
Spare glasses.
Prescription and nonprescription medications.
Birth control.
Keep dentistry up to date.
Any elective surgery that you've been postponing
Work off that gut.
Stay in shape.
Back strength and health—particularly important, given the heavy manual tasks required for self-sufficiency.
Educate yourself on survival topics, and practice them. For example, even if you don’t presently live at your retreat, you should plant a vegetable garden every year. It is better to learn through experience and make mistakes now, when the loss of crop is an annoyance rather than a crucial event.
“Comfort” items to help get through high stress times. (Books, games, CDs, chocolates, etc.)

First Aid /Minor Surgery List
When tailoring this list, consider your neighborhood going for many months without power, extensive use of open flames, and sentries standing picket shifts exposed in the elements. Then consider axes, chainsaws and tractors being wielded by newbies, and a greater likelihood of gunshot wounds. With all of this, add the possibility of no access to doctors or high tech medical diagnostic equipment. Put a strong emphasis on burn treatment first aid supplies. Don’t overlook do-it-yourself dentistry! (Oil of cloves, temporary filling kit, extraction tools, et cetera.) Buy a full minor surgery outfit (inexpensive Pakistani stainless steel instruments), even if you don’t know how to use them all yet. You may have to learn, or you will have the opportunity to put them in the hands of someone experienced who needs them.) This is going to be a big list!

Chem/Nuke Defense List
Dosimeter and rate meter, and charger, radiac meter (hand held Geiger counter), rolls of sheet plastic (for isolating airflow to air filter inlets and for covering window frames in the event that windows are broken due to blast effects), duct tape, HEPA filters (ands spares) for your shelter. Potassium iodate (KI) tablets to prevent thyroid damage.(See my recent post on that subject.) Outdoor shower rig for just outside your shelter entrance.

Biological Warfare Defense List
Disinfectants
Hand Sanitizer
Sneeze masks
Colloidal silver generator and spare supplies (distilled water and .999 fine silver rod.)
Natural antibiotics (Echinacea, Tea Tree oil, …)

Gardening List
One important item for your gardening list is the construction of a very tall deer-proof and rabbit-proof fence. Under current circumstances, a raid by deer on your garden is probably just an inconvenience. After the balloon goes up, it could mean the difference between eating well, and starvation.
Top Soil/Amendments/Fertilizers.
Tools+ spares for barter/charity
Long-term storage non hybrid (open pollinated) seed. (Non-hybrid “heirloom” seed assortments tailors to different climate zones are available from The Ark Institute
Herbs: Get started with medicinal herbs such as aloe vera (for burns), echinacea (purple cone flower), valerian, et cetera.

Hygiene/Sanitation List
Sacks of powdered lime for the outhouse. Buy plenty!
TP in quantity (Stores well if kept dry and away from vermin and it is lightweight, but it is very bulky. This is a good item to store in the attic. See my novel about stocking up on used phone books for use as TP.
Soap in quantity (hand soap, dish soap, laundry soap, cleansers, etc.)
Bottled lye for soap making.
Ladies’ supplies.
Toothpaste (or powder).
Floss.
Fluoride rinse. (Unless you have health objections to the use of fluoride.)
Sunscreen.
Livestock List:
Hoof rasp, hoof nippers, hoof pick, horse brushes, hand sheep shears, styptic, carding combs, goat milking stand, teat dip, udder wash, Bag Balm, elastrator and bands, SWOT fly repellent, nail clippers (various sizes), Copper-tox, leads, leashes, collars, halters, hay hooks, hay fork, manure shovel, feed buckets, bulk grain and C-O-B sweet feed (store in galvanized trash cans with tight fitting lids to keep the mice out), various tack and saddles, tack repair tools, et cetera. If your region has selenium deficient soil (ask your local Agricultural extension office) then be sure to get selenium-fortified salt blocks rather than plain white salt blocks--at least for those that you are going to set aside strictly for your livestock.

Hunting/Fishing/Trapping List
“Buckshot” Bruce Hemming has produced an excellent series of videos on trapping and making improvised traps. (He also sells traps and scents at very reasonable prices.)
Night vision gear, spares, maintenance, and battery charging
Salt. Post-TEOTWAWKI, don’t “go hunting.” That would be a waste of effort. Have the game come to you. Buy 20 or more salt blocks. They will also make very valuable barter items.
Sell your fly fishing gear (all but perhaps a few flies) and buy practical spin casting equipment.
Extra tackle may be useful for barter, but probably only in a very long term Crunch.
Buy some frog gigs if you have bullfrogs in your area. Buy some crawfish traps if you have crawfish in your area.
Learn how to rig trot lines and make fish traps for non-labor intensive fishing WTSHTF.

Power/Lighting/Batteries List
One proviso: In the event of a “grid down” situation, if you are the only family in the area with power, it could turn your house into a “come loot me” beacon at night. At the same time, your house lighting will ruin the night vision of your LP/OP pickets. Make plans and buy materials in advance for making blackout screens or fully opaque curtains for your windows.
When possible, buy nickel metal hydride batteries. (Unlike the older nickel cadmium technology, these have no adverse charge level “memory” effect.)
If your home has propane appliances, get a “tri-fuel” generator--with a carburetor that is selectable between gasoline, propane, and natural gas. If you heat your home with home heating oil, then get a diesel-burning generator. (And plan on getting at least one diesel burning pickup and/or tractor). In a pinch, you can run your diesel generator and diesel vehicles on home heating oil.
Kerosene lamps; plenty of extra wicks, mantles, and chimneys. (These will also make great barter items.)
Greater detail on do-it-yourself power will be included in my forthcoming blog posts.

Fuels List
Buy the biggest propane, home heating oil, gas, or diesel tanks that your local ordinances permit and that you can afford. Always keep them at least two-thirds full. For privacy concerns, ballistic impact concerns, and fire concerns, underground tanks are best if you local water table allows it. In any case, do not buy an aboveground fuel tank that would visible from any public road or navigable waterway. Buy plenty of extra fuel for barter. Don’t overlook buying plenty of kerosene. (For barter, you will want some in one or two gallon cans.) Stock up on firewood or coal. (See my previous blog posts.) Get the best quality chainsaw you can afford. I prefer Stihls and Husqavarnas. If you can afford it, buy two of the same model. Buy extra chains, critical spare parts, and plenty of two-cycle oil. (Two-cycle oil will be great for barter!) Get a pair of Kevlar chainsaw safety chaps. They are expensive but they might save yourself a trip to the emergency room. Always wear gloves, goggles, and ear-muffs. Wear a logger’s helmet when felling. Have someone who is well experienced teach you how to re-sharpen chains. BTW, don’t cut up your wood into rounds near any rocks or you will destroy a chain in a hurry.

Firefighting List
Now that you have all of those flammables on hand (see the previous list) and the prospect of looters shooting tracer ammo or throwing Molotov cocktails at your house, think in terms of fire fighting from start to finish without the aid of a fire department. Even without looters to consider, you should be ready for uncontrolled brush or residential fires, as well as the greater fire risk associated with greenhorns who have just arrived at your retreat working with wood stoves and kerosene lamps!
Upgrade your retreat with a fireproof metal roof.
2” water line from your gravity-fed storage tank (to provide large water volume for firefighting)
Fire fighting rig with an adjustable stream/mist head.
Smoke and CO detectors.

Tactical Living List
Adjust your wardrobe buying toward sturdy earth-tone clothing. (Frequent your local thrift store and buy extras for retreat newcomers, charity, and barter.)
Dyes. Stock up on some boxes of green and brown cloth dye. Buy some extra for barter. With dye, you can turn most light colored clothes into semi-tactical clothing on short notice.
Two-inch wide burlap strip material in green and brown. This burlap is available in large spools from Gun Parts Corp. Even if you don’t have time now, stock up so that you can make camouflage ghillie suits post-TEOTWAWKI.
Save those wine corks! (Burned cork makes quick and cheap face camouflage.)
Cold weather and foul weather gear—buy plenty, since you will be doing more outdoor chores, hunting, and standing guard duty.
Don’t overlook ponchos and gaiters.
Mosquito repellent.
Synthetic double-bag (modular) sleeping bags for each person at the retreat, plus a couple of spares. The Wiggy’s brand Flexible Temperature Range Sleep System (FTRSS) made by Wiggy's of Grand Junction, Colorado is highly recommended.
Night vision gear + IR floodlights for your retreat house
Subdued flashlights and penlights.
Noise, light, and litter discipline. (More on this in future posts--or perhaps a reader would like to send a brief article on this subject)
Security-General: Locks, intrusion detection/alarm systems, exterior obstacles (fences, gates, 5/8” diameter (or larger) locking road cables, rosebush plantings, “decorative” ponds (moats), ballistic protection (personal and residential), anti-vehicular ditches/berms, anti-vehicular concrete “planter boxes”, razor wire, etc.)
Starlight electronic light amplification scopes are critical tools for retreat security.
A Starlight scope (or goggles, or a monocular) literally amplifies low ambient light by up to 100,000 times, turning nighttime darkness into daylight--albeit a green and fuzzy view. Starlight light amplification technology was first developed during the Vietnam War. Late issue Third Generation (also called or “Third Gen” or “Gen 3”) starlight scopes can cost up to $3,500 each. Rebuilt first gen (early 1970s technology scopes can often be had for as little as $500. Russian-made monoculars (with lousy optics) can be had for under $100. One Russian model that uses a piezoelectric generator instead of batteries is the best of this low-cost breed. These are best used as backups (in case your expensive American made scopes fail. They should not be purchased for use as your primary night vision devices unless you are on a very restrictive budget. (They are better than nothing.) Buy the best starlight scopes, goggles, and monoculars you can afford. They may be life-savers! If you can afford to buy only one, make it a weapon sight such as an AN/PVS-4, with a Gen 2 (or better) tube. Make sure to specify that that the tube is new or “low hours”, has a high “line pair” count, and minimal scintillation. It is important to buy your Starlight gear from a reputable dealer. The market is crowded with rip-off artists and scammers. One dealer that I trust, is Al Glanze (spoken “Glan-zee”) who runs STANO Components, Inc. in Silver City, Nevada. Note: In a subsequent blog posts I will discuss the relationship and implications to IR illuminators and tritium sights.
Range cards and sector sketches.
If you live in the boonies, piece together nine of the USGS 15-minute maps, with your retreat property on the center map. Mount that map on an oversize map board. Draw in the property lines and owner names of all of your surrounding neighbor’s parcels (in pencil) in at least a five mile radius. (Get boundary line and current owner name info from your County Recorder’s office.) Study and memorize both the terrain and the neighbors’ names. Make a phone number/e-mail list that corresponds to all of the names marked on the map, plus city and county office contact numbers for quick reference and tack it up right next to the map board. Cover the whole map sheet with a sheet of heavy-duty acetate, so you can mark it up just like a military commander’s map board. (This may sound a bit “over the top”, but remember, you are planning for the worst case. It will also help you get to know your neighbors: When you are introduced by name to one of them when in town, you will be able to say, “Oh, don’t you live about two miles up the road between the Jones place and the Smith’s ranch?” They will be impressed, and you will seem like an instant “old timer.”

Security-Firearms List
Guns, ammunition, web gear, eye and ear protection, cleaning equipment, carrying cases, scopes, magazines, spare parts, gunsmithing tools, targets and target frames, et cetera. Each rifle and pistol should have at least six top quality (original military contract or original manufacturer) full capacity spare magazines. Note: Considerable detail on firearms and optics selection, training, use, and logistic support are covered in the SurvivalBlog archives and FAQs.

Communications/Monitoring List
When selecting radios buy only models that will run on 12 volt DC power or rechargeable nickel metal hydride battery packs (that can be recharged from your retreat’s 12 VDC power system without having to use an inverter.)
As a secondary purchasing goal, buy spare radios of each type if you can afford them. Keep your spares in sealed metal boxes to protect them from EMP.
If you live in a far inland region, I recommend buying two or more 12 VDC marine band radios. These frequencies will probably not be monitored in your region, leaving you an essentially private band to use. (But never assume that any two-way radio communications are secure!)
Note: More detail on survival communications gear selection, training, use, security/cryptography measures, antennas, EMP protection, and logistical support will be covered in forthcoming blog posts.

Tools List
Gardening tools.
Auto mechanics tools.
Welding.
Bolt cutters--the indispensable “universal key.”
Woodworking tools.
Gunsmithing tools.
Emphasis on hand powered tools.
Hand or treadle powered grinding wheel.
Don’t forget to buy plenty of extra work gloves (in earth tone colors).
Sundries List:
Systematically list the things that you use on a regular basis, or that you might need if the local hardware store were to ever disappear: wire of various gauges, duct tape, reinforced strapping tape, chain, nails, nuts and bolts, weather stripping, abrasives, twine, white glue, cyanoacrylate glue, et cetera.

Book/Reference List
You should probably have nearly every book on my Bookshelf page. For some, you will want to have two or three copies, such as Carla Emery’s "Encyclopedia of Country Living". This is because these books are so valuable and indispensable that you won’t want to risk lending out your only copy.

Barter and Charity List
For your barter list, acquire primarily items that are durable, non-perishable, and either in small packages or that are easily divisible. Concentrate on the items that other people are likely to overlook or have in short supply. Some of my favorites are ammunition. [The late] Jeff Cooper referred to it as “ballistic wampum.” WTSHTF, ammo will be worth nearly its weight in silver. Store all of your ammo in military surplus ammo cans (with seals that are still soft) and it will store for decades. Stick to common calibers, get plenty of .22 LR (most high velocity hollow points) plus at least ten boxes of the local favorite deer hunting cartridge, even if you don’t own a rifle chambered for this cartridge. (Ask your local sporting goods shop about their top selling chamberings). Also buy at least ten boxes of the local police department’s standard pistol cartridge, again even if you don’t own a pistol chambered for this cartridge.
Ladies supplies.
Salt (Buy lots of cattle blocks and 1 pound canisters of iodized table salt.)
(Stores indefinitely if kept dry.)
Two cycle engine oil (for chain saw gas mixing. Gas may still be available after a collapse, but two-cycle oil will probably be like liquid gold!)
Gas stabilizer.
Diesel antibacterial additive.
50-pound sacks of lime (for outhouses).
1 oz. bottles of military rifle bore cleaner and Break Free (or similar) lubricant.
Waterproof dufflebags in earth tone colors (whitewater rafting "dry bags").
Thermal socks.
Semi-waterproof matches (from military rations.)
Military web gear (lots of folks will suddenly need pistol belts, holsters, magazine pouches, et cetera.)
Pre-1965 silver dimes.
1-gallon cans of kerosene.
Rolls of olive drab parachute cord.
Rolls of olive-drab duct tape.
Spools of monofilament fishing line.
Rolls of 10 mil "Visqueen", sheet plastic (for replacing windows, isolating airspaces for nuke scenarios, etc.)
I also respect the opinion of one gentleman with whom I've corresponded, who recommended the following:
Strike anywhere matches. (Dip the heads in paraffin to make them waterproof.)
Playing cards.
Cooking spices. (Do a web search for reasonably priced bulk spices.)
Rope & string.
Sewing supplies.
Candle wax and wicking.
Lastly, any supplies necessary for operating a home-based business. Some that you might consider are: leather crafting, small appliance repair, gun repair, locksmithing, et cetera. Every family should have at least one home-based business (preferably two!) that they can depend on in the event of an economic collapse.
Stock up on additional items to dispense to refugees as charity.
Note: See the Barter Faire chapter in my novel "Patriots" for lengthy lists of potential barter items.

Mr. Rawles:
My wife and I enjoy your web site immensely. I do have one question for you. I know we are targeting how much food/water supply we need for long-term survive but how much ammo do you think the average family should strive to purchase/store? Thanks, - David K./p>

JWR Replies:
It is important to maintain balance in your preparations. Food storage, first aid supplies, and heirloom seed storage should be priorities. But after those have been taken acre of, it makes sense to stock up on ammunition. As long as you store your ammo in sealed military surplus cans, there is no risk in over-estimating your needs, since ammunition has a 50+ year storage life if protected from oil vapors and humidity. Consider any extra ammo the ideal barter item. The late Col. Jeff Cooper rightly called it "ballistic wampum."

For your barter inventory, I recommend that you stick to the most common calibers: For rifles: .22 Long Rifle, .223, .308, .30-06 (and in the British Commonwealth, .303 British.) For handguns: 9mm, .40 S&W, and .45 ACP. For shotguns, 12 gauge and 20 gauge. As I've previously mentioned, you might also buy a small quantity of the "regional favorite" deer cartridge for your area, as well as your local police or sheriff's department standard calibers. (Ask at you local gun shop.)

I consider the following figures minimums:
2,000 per battle rifle
500 per hunting rifle
800 per primary handgun
2,000 per .22 rimfire
500 per riotgun

If you can afford it, three times those figures would meet the "comfort level" of most survivalists. In an age of inflation, consider that supply better than money in the bank.

Ammo prices have recently been galloping, so do some comparison pricing before you buy. Bring photocopies and "print screen" print-outs with you when you shop, as bargaining tools. Typically, the larger gun shows each have several large ammunition vendors.

Some Internet ammunition vendors that I recommend are: AIM Surplus, Cheaper Than Dirt, Dan's Ammo, J&G Sales, Midway, AmmoMan.com, Natchez Shooter Supply, and The Sportsman's Guide. Both to save money and to maximize your privacy--since umpteen heavy crates being unloaded from the back of a UPS truck is pretty obvious--I recommend that you be willing to drive a distance take delivery in person from a regional vendor. Ammo is best bought by the 3/4 ton pickup load! Also, keep in mind that by buying in large quantities all at once from a big vendor, you will typically get ammo for each caliber all from the same lots, which will result in more consistent accuracy.

Hi JWR.
I read the responses to my article and wanted to write a reply that addresses Pathfinder's comments, which in a nutshell said my examples with [registered] suppressors [for firearms] and night vision were dangerous and would give the wrong idea about being a "survivalist".

Pathfinder, I appreciate your worry that some people may have an over active imagination and end up doing some bad things given the ideas for possible tactics to use in an absolute worst case scenario, or that these tactics may scare off people who are just learning about survivalist information and browsing the site. However, as you said yourself, "we do not know how severe, how long, how dangerous, or how chaotic the theoretical "hard times" can or even will be! I feel the need to prepare, but I pray that I never need to use it."

You are totally correct. that "We do not know how severe, how long, how dangerous, or how chaotic" things will be. For all we know, a terrorist nuke could go off in Los Angeles tomorrow morning, crash the world economy, have complete breakdown of law and order, martial law, and implementation of numerous executive orders (that are already on the books) that would turn the United States into something worse than Nazi Germany within a month. So since I don't know the future and what it may bring, what harm could it be to allow my imagination to consider the absolute worst possible scenarios and what I would need to do to survive them? Night vision and suppressors have excellent non-combative uses. It is nice to star gaze with night vision, and having suppressors lets me shoot without hearing protection on.

But if things ever really go south, I can use those things and all the clever tricks I can think of, to defeat my enemies and be a shining example of what one free American can do without the aid of a Nanny government. The greatest strength is in you, the individual citizen. With our freedoms we can arm ourselves, train ourselves, and protect ourselves and our neighbors during times of crisis. That is what America is supposed to be about, safeguarding the inherent rights and freedoms of the individual human being to allow for the greatest growth and strength of each individual. I choose to exercise my right to bear arms, of all kinds, and am proficient in their use. And should danger of any kind ever arise to threaten myself, family, friends, community, or country, then that danger will be met by what is the single best answer to all dangers--a prepared American citizen. - Robert R

Dear Jim:
Boston T. Party backs up your opinion on the value of Body Armor - to quote: “... An order of magnitude advantage” ("Boston on Surviving Y2K and Other Lovely Disasters").
you posted a good letter from Ryan that mentioned adjusting your buttstock length to account for Body Armor, web gear, etc. The main point to test all your gear - all at the same time - is a real nugget of wisdom. It's amazing the glitches that pop up that you can never foresee until you test.

One thing to note - 2" is probably a little too much compensation in buttstock length unless you have very thick clothing and web gear as well. Ultra-light Polyethylene Rifle Plates are just under an inch thick (~2.5 cm.) but the most protective Level IV Ceramic Rifle Plates are only 0.75" (~2 cm). So an inch of adjustment with web gear is probably a good estimate.
We offer both Ultra-light Polyethylene and Ceramic Rifle Plates with a "shooters cut" on the Front plate. So, with this taper at the top of the plate, you can get a buttstock plant directly onto your body (or soft armor). See this photo page. So you would have just 0.25" (~6mm) of soft Body Armor under the buttstock with "shooters cut" plates.
Yours Truly, - Nick - Manager, BulletProofME.com Body Armor

JWR Adds: My approach at compensating for the thickness of body armor and/or heavy winter clothing is as follows: Size your buttstock with assumption that it will be used in conjunction with body armor or heavy winter clothing. Then, in instances where you are shooting in casual circumstances without body armor (or in warm weather), simply add a slip-on recoil pad to make up for the difference in stock length. That pad can be removed in seconds, if circumstances change.

For any readers with HK91s or CETMEs (or clones thereof), I recommend that you buy a couple of inexpensive spare military surplus G3 stock sets s from Cheaper Than Dirt. They currently have G3 stock sets on sale for under $10, complete with a pair of handguards and a pistol grip! (See item # MGR-281 in their latest catalog.) With a price like that, you can afford to buy several stock sets and get creative. Do some WECSOG experiments with a hacksaw, two-part epoxy, and various recoil pads--while of course saving your original stock in its original configuration. OBTW, I am not a fan of the G3 "A3" collapsing stock, since it has a buttpad that is uncomfortably small and curved, and its stock rails do not provide a consistent cheek weld. An A3 stock might be useful in confined spaces (such as defending a vehicle), but otherwise, I do not recommend them.

For any readers with M1As, I recommend that you buy a few inexpensive spare stocks from Fred's M14 Stocks--they have thousands of M14 stocks in inventory--and shorten them as needed, adding recoil pads in the process. OBTW, I am particularly fond of the Pachmayr "Decelerator" recoil pad. One of your spare stocks should be cut extra short, to accommodate any small-statured shooters at your retreat. Just keep in mind that when you switch stocks on an M1A or M14 that it may have to be re-zeroed. Test your rifle's accuracy with each of your spare stocks well in advance of Schumeresque times.

For any readers with AR-15s or AR-10s, I recommend that you buy a complete spare collapsing (CAR-15/M4 Carbine style) buttstock assembly. You should preferably one that has three or four adjusting "position" notches. For fine-tuning the length of pull, someone skilled with a drill press can add additional adjustment notches.

We use L1A1s here at the ranch, three of which are equipped with extra short length-of-pull "Arctic" Maranyl stocks. These stocks were used extensively by the British Army in Northern Ireland in the 1970s, where they wore body armor for foot patrols in inimical places like Ulster and Belfast. Thankfully, L1A1 buttstocks have hard plastic pads that come in several lengths, although changing them is a bit time consuming, since the recoil spring nut must be removed. Arctic length Maranyl stocks can occasionally be found on eBay. Unfortunately, metric FALs--at least "as issued"--do not have as much stock length flexibility as L1A1s. However, as with an HK91, you can buy a couple spare stocks and do some WECSOG experimenting. The limitation, however, is the protruding recoil spring tube.