When one thinks of a slingshot, the image of the forked stick and rubber band hanging out of the back pocket of Dennis the Menace is usually what comes to mind. Often overlooked in the survival community, the slingshot can be a valuable addition to any survival kit or day pack.

For all intents and purposes, the best tool for taking small game that a survivalist can have, in my opinion, is a .22 pistol. Until very recently, though, it was illegal to carry them into state parks. To those who are not up to date on local and state ordinances, it can be extremely confusing where you are allowed to posses a firearm. In Colorado, a hiker can unknowingly cross land owned by three different agencies in less than half an hour while on a trail. Knowing if you can or cannot carry a survival pistol, and the consequences of getting it wrong, cause many hikers to just leave them at home. With the threat of a felony conviction, fines, jail time, confiscation of your weapon, and future headache associated, it just doesn’t seem worth the trouble.

Slingshots bridge the gap between small but possibly illegal .22 handguns and snares for catching dinner in the wild. Other primitive weapons have limitations that often leave them in the back of the pickup when you need them. Bows and arrows are unwieldy and not usually taken on simple nature hikes. The atlatl is difficult to master for even the most ardent of survivalists, let alone carrying around a 5 foot arrow. Weapons such as the boomerang and bolo take skill and are not designed for small game. Blow guns are fine but are limited to the number of darts you have brought along. Making darts by hand takes time and patience, little of which you have in a survival situation.

Today’s slingshots are lightweight, collapsible, and reliable weapons that can be utilized to kill small furbearing game and birds. Whereas traps and snares are good for catching game that might come by in a few hours; they are useless for getting that squirrel staring at you from the tree branch 30 feet away. This is where the slingshot comes into its own. It offers you the ability to silently take an accurate thirty foot shot with the option of a rapid follow up shot. Ammo for your slingshot can be anything that fits into the pouch. Steel ball bearings, marbles, lead fishing weights, and spent bullets all make good ammo. The added bonus is that if you run out, you can always pick up a stone. The more round the stone is, the better it will fly. This means you never have to worry about running out of ammo. You can shoot at anything that moves and improve your odds at getting lucky.

Mastering the slingshot is as simple as taking an empty cardboard box in the back yard and drawing a bulls-eye in magic marker. After about an hour of plinking, with a wide array of ammo and at various distances, you should have a firm grasp of the abilities and limitations of his or her slingshot. Aiming is a simple affair. The two most common methods deal with whether or not you have a forearm support. For those who do have a forearm support, hold the slingshot upright with a strong grip, pull back the sling, center your target between the tops of the braces, and let fly. For the older “Dennis the Menace” style, hold the slingshot sideways with your thumb in the notch of the supports. Draw back like a mini-bow, aim, and fire. This position allows you to get a stronger draw without putting too much tension on your wrist.

Modern slingshots are widely available at almost any big box store, costing anywhere from $10 to $25 dollars, depending on quality and accessories. Although I find sighting systems on slingshots to be unnecessary, I do recommend a slingshot with a folding wrist/forearm support. The forearm support redistributes the tension from the sling away from the shooters wrist, saving the shooter the pain and embarrassment of having the sling shot ripped from your hand and hitting you in the face. A majority of the slingshots I have seen sold at army surplus stores and Wal-Mart have a hollow handle for storage. I find this extremely useful for storing the most basic of survival kits. I have a small ziploc-style bag containing three strike anywhere matches, a cotton ball, and a X-Acto knife blade. With this, I can skin my kill, start a fire, and whittle a skewer to cook it on.

Should you feel so inclined, a simple X brace can be tied onto the supports of slingshot in order to fire arrows for larger game. After some fiddling to get the height right, simply lay the arrow into the notch made by the X brace and seat it in the pouch. Now you will be able to aim down the shaft and fire it in same manner as a horizontal bow. This method is good if larger mammals come by, such as marmot or raccoon. I find that modern arrows work best, but feel free to try and whittle yourself one out of a straight tree branch.

Slingshots can also be used to distract and defend yourself while on the trail. Not many people think about attacks that happen in national parks, but they do happen. The IRA has famously used slingshots as weapons, during the war in Northern Ireland. Although it has no guarantee of a lethal shot, a strong strike to the face, neck or groin from a hefty lead fishing sinker or ball bearing will put the breaks on any attacker looking for an easy target. Granted, you will need to be alert to possible danger in order to utilize it, but if you weren’t paying attention to your surroundings, your going to get owned no matter what your packing.

Another great thing about slingshots is the multiple uses for there parts. The surgical tubing scavenged off a slingshot can be uses as; a drinking straw, a tourniquet, or a strong a fast engine for holding or spring traps. If in the event your supports break, but the rubber sling is still good, you can make a hand spear out of it. Simply tie your band in a loop, and then loop it around your thumb and index finger. Take whatever thin stick you are using as a spear and seat in the pouch of your band. Pull back and hold the spear with the same thumb and index finger your band is looped around, aim and let go.

For those of you who want to make your own, a decent sling shot can be made in about ten minutes. First find a stout stick roughly the width of your thumb with a fairly even fork in it. Trim the handle length to suit your preferences. Next, make two small notches on either side of what is to be your supports. This is where the rubber will be seated so that it doesn’t slide off the end. If it is green wood, allow it to dry out in the sun or by your campfire overnight. This will make the wood more rigid, allowing you to get more power behind your projectile. The type of rubber you use will make all the difference. Latex sheeting, surgical tubing, and layered rubber bands make good slingshot material, but improvised elastics can be taken out of the waistband of your underwear. Prison inmates have been doing it for years. Get two lengths about a foot long and tie one end to your supports, one for each side. After that, you will need to make a pouch. This can be any square sheet of material you can cut off, from an old nylon bag or t-shirt. Make two small holes about a quarter inch from the edge and tie your rubber slings through them. That’s it. Test and modify as needed. Understand though, despite how good your whittling skills are, anything you make can be matched or beaten by a cheap commercial slingshot in most instances.

My last point I want to cover is the difference between modern slingshots with rubber tubing, and biblical slingshots like the one that David used to slay Goliath. The biblical slingshot is nothing more than a strip of rawhide about 5 feet long, with a pouch in the middle. One in had a loop that went over the middle finger while the other end was pinched between the thumb and index finger. You spun it either beside you or over your head to build up momentum and then let fly. For those who are interested in a more primitive way of hunting, the biblical slingshot is worth a look. Keep in mind though, that it requires much more skill than the modern sling shot, does not allow for a quick follow up shot, and is not as quiet.

In the end, anybody that walks into the woods should have multiple means of procuring food. Relying on only one method to catch and kill game is a recipe for hunger. The tragic fact of the matter is that most hikers rarely if ever think about what they will need if things go wrong and they find themselves hungry, cold, and tired in the middle of nowhere. A few lightweight items in the bottom of their day pack can mean all the difference. In that regard, a slingshot can be justified as a necessary survival item.

I'm often asked by my consulting clients about my specific gear recommendations. I've noticed that I repeat mentioning a lot of these, so to save time in my subsequent consulting calls, I'm posting the following list (in no particular order):

• Gamma Seal Bucket Lids. We use these constantly with our bulk storage wheat. rice and beans.
• K & M Industries waterproof match cases. The best, made by a Mom & Pop business
• Gerber Omnivore LED Flashlights. These can use AAA, AA, or CR-123 batteries. Sadly, they're made in Mainland China.
• Maxpedition gear bags. Incredibly tough and well-made.
• Dakota Alert infrared intrusion detection alarms. We leave ours on 24/7/36, here at the ranch.
• Leatherman Wave Multi-Tools. These need no introduction.
• Wiggy's sleeping bags. I've used their FTRSS bags for 20 years.
• Buttstock-mounted ammo/utility pouches. Get one for each long gun.
• Anderson Power Pole D.C. Connectors. These sure beat those enormous cigarette lighter plugs that pop apart unexpectedly
• Save The Rain Downspout Diverters. These pay for themselves just saving water for gardening, and may prove crucial someday!
• Columbia River Knife And Tool (CRKT) Tanto Pocketknives. My everyday carry knife. Buy several, because they will get "borrowed" and never come back.
• Berkey water filters. After 15 years of family camping trips, ours now has a few dings and scratches, but it is still going strong.
• Break-Free CLP . We use it on all of our guns.
• AN/PVS-14 night vision scopes. They cost more, but they're the best.
• Parachute cord. 1001 uses!

An air rifle or air pistol can be a really useful tool for anyone who needs to collect game unobtrusively while trying to survive.

I write a regular blog on airguns for www.airgunsofarizona.com . So here’s “Uncle Jock’s” take on why you might want to include an airgun in your survival kit.

Here’s a quick summary of the key advantages of airguns:

Tack-driving accuracy – High-end air rifles are among the most accurate projectile launchers on the planet. For example, Olympic match air rifles can literally put pellet after pellet through the same hole at 10 meters, and field target airgunners can routinely hit a dime at 50 yards with their air rifles. Some dedicated long-range airgunners report shooting sub-MOA groups at 100 yards and beyond.

Low shooting expense – Once you purchase your air rifle or air pistol, it will be superbly kind to your wallet. Depending upon which pellet your airgun “likes,” you’ll find typical shooting costs on the order of 1-3 cents per shot for ammunition. A sleeve (10 500-pellet tins) of high quality pellets will typically run around $120 plus shipping

Convenience and accessibility – Airguns can be legally shot in many places where it is absolutely forbidden to discharge a firearm. Check with your local authorities, but in many places, you can shoot an airgun in your backyard, basement or garage without running afoul of the law. That means you should be able to get in lots of practice at relatively low cost.

A neighbor-friendly report – Virtually all airguns are quieter than firearms (with the possible exception of some big-bore hunting models). In addition, it is rare for airguns to launch pellets faster than the sound barrier. Some airguns are inherently very quiet, and there are models that are virtually silent.

Some other considerations – You can spend as little or as much as you like, depending upon your tastes and your wallet. You can pick up a utilitarian air pistol or air rifle capable of bouncing soda cans around the back yard for under $50. Or you can spend thousands of dollars on the most sophisticated air rifles on the planet.

Powerplants:

Before you select an air rifle or air pistol, you need to understand the several different powerplants used in airguns to send the pellet downrange. Here’s an overview.

Multi-stroke pneumatic (MSP or pump-up) airguns require 2-8 strokes of an on-board lever (usually the forestock) to store compressed air in the powerplant. This is the powerplant of classic Benjamin and Sheridan air riles. They are virtually recoilless and completely self-contained, so all you need for a day afield is the gun and a tin of pellets. The power can be adjusted by the number of strokes, but once the gun has been fired, it must be pumped up all over again. Another consideration: when pumped up to the max, a multi-stroke pneumatic can be loud.

Single-stroke pneumatic (SSP) airguns also use a lever to compress air in the powerplant, but – as the name implies – require only a single stroke to fully charge the gun. This is the powerplant that was used on many older Olympic 10-meter match guns. SSPs are fully self-contained, easy to cock, highly consistent and often incredibly accurate. The power and speed of these guns is usually low, shooting relatively light match-grade .177 pellets at 500-600 fps.

Spring-piston airguns – also called “springers” – use a lever (normally the barrel or a side- or under-lever) to cock a spring and piston. When the trigger is pulled, the spring is released, pushing the piston forward and compressing a powerful blast of air that sends the pellet down the barrel. Springers are self-contained, often relatively quiet and can be very accurate, but the movement of the spring and piston within the gun before the pellet leaves the muzzle makes them the most difficult airgun type to shoot with high accuracy. Nevertheless, many riflemen can and do master shooting springers.

CO2 airguns use 12-gram cartridges, 88-gram cartridges or CO2 transferred from a bulk tank to launch the pellet. CO2 airguns are recoilless, convenient, and (in target models, increasingly replaced by PCP target models) extremely accurate. Noise levels vary from model to model. Cocking effort is usually very low, making these guns a favorite for family shooting. CO2 airguns require periodic refilling and performance can vary with temperature. Velocity will drop in wintry conditions, and rise in very warm conditions.

Precharged pneumatic airguns (PCPs) are charged with air from a SCUBA tank or high-pressure pump. This is powerplant of choice for high-energy hunting guns, Olympic 10-meter rifles and pistols, and top-echelon field target rifles. PCPs are virtually recoil-free, very consistent, and often superbly accurate. But they are not self-contained – you need a SCUBA tank or high-pressure hand pump available to recharge them, and they can be noisy.

Additional Considerations

When I think about survival airguns, here are the characteristics that I would prefer (and, as you will see, they don’t always work together, so you’ll need to pick the characteristics that are most important to you):

1. Portability. That means either a pistol or a rifle than can be readily broken down. That eliminates many air rifles.

2. Self-contained. I want to reduce the need for ancillary equipment and consumables. That eliminates all CO2 airguns (which don't work well in cold weather) and pre-charged airguns which require a tank or pump for recharging.

3. Sufficient power for taking small game. Target air pistols won't get it done. Some springer pistols make 6 foot-pounds of energy, which is sufficient if you skills allow to stalk within 10-15 yards on small game. Some multi-stroke pneumatic pistols make 8-10 foot pounds of energy. Most air rifles generate enough energy to do the job. I have reliable reports of one shooter killing a feral goat with a multi-stroke pneumatic rifle, and another shooter inadvertently killing a deer with a cheap Chinese spring-piston rifle (he was trying to chase it away from the plants in his yard and caused a pneumo-thorax).

4. Stealthy report. I don't want to be noticed. Spring-piston powerplants are inherently quieter than most others because of the smaller quantity of air used to drive the pellet. Multi-stroke pneumatics tend to generate more noise than springers, but can be quieted with barrel shrouds or by reducing the number of pumps (which reduces the power).

5. Easy to shoot well. Spring-piston powerplants are the hardest to shoot well because of their whiplash forward and back recoil. Multi-stroke pneumatics are easy to shoot well.

6. Reliability. Airguns dealers tell me that springers are the most reliable powerplant. You can usually put at least a couple of thousand rounds through one before a rebuild is needed, and some are far more reliable.

7. Ease of maintenance. Spring piston powerplants usually require a spring compressor for assembly and disassembly. MSPs usually can be taken apart with hand tools.

Specific recommendations. The Mac-1 Steroid Benjamin or Steroid Sheridan is a dead reliable MSP rifle that can easily take small game out to 30 yards, is easily broken down, but is loud at full power and very difficult to silence. A modified 1377 pistol can be built up into a small, easy take-down .22 MSP rifle. It makes a bit less power than a Steroid MSP, and can be readily silenced.

The Diana/RWS LP8, Beeman P1, Browning 800, and Weihrauch HW45 are spring-piston pistols that make around 6 foot-pounds of energy, are inherently fairly quiet (but not dead quiet) and require some dedication to shoot with high precision. Nevertheless, small game has been taken with them, especially at closer ranges.

Jock Elliott, Airgun Correspondent, Precision Shooting Magazine, and author of Elliott on Airguns.

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.

Dear James:
I was interested to read the comments on atlatls in yesterday's post "Getting Prepared: From the Homestead to Living Off the Land". By way of background, I've been interested in atlatls since an anthropology course in junior college, and a couple of months ago bought an atlatl from Bob Berg at Thunderbird Atlatls.

All the points mentioned on atlatls by the writer are true; they are simple to make (my 11-year-old nephew made his own out of scrap lumber in about twenty minutes after seeing mine), and making darts is merely
an exercise in scaling arrows up, although tuning them for best performance is more painstaking. They can launch darts over long distances (my first time out, I made a 63 meter cast without trying too hard) and with really surprising power. And anthropological studies have demonstrated that they are capable of taking game up to and including elephants. I have no doubt whatsoever that in trained hands they are deadly.

However, atlatls shafts are not easy to throw accurately. After a couple of months of occasional practice, I am proud to announce that I am now capable of consistently throwing minute-of-brushpile groups from
fifteen meters. Yesterday I scored two solid heart/lung area hits on a deer target (out of over thirty casts) from the same distance. My aim is improving, but from a survival perspective, energy spent making
an atlatl and dart and hunting with it would probably, unless you're already an experienced hunter and atlatlist, be best spent on other ways of gathering food.

Best Regards, - A Moderately Prepared Canadian.

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

Hello James,
I've read your blog daily for several months now, and although I haven't seen it mentioned, I'm sure this topic has been covered somewhere before. If not, then I hope what I discovered this week could be of use to some of your readers. I recently acquired a large lot of old shotguns and rifles, stored for many years, which needed a full breakdown and rigorous cleaning. When I removed the buttplates of these firearms, I noticed that almost all of them had a 5/8" to 3/4" hole running from the middle of the stock toward the receiver, which ranged in length from 6" to 9". My immediate thought was to use that space for a small survival kit.

I obtained a number of re-sealable capped cylinders and small ziploc bags from Hobby Lobby (all located in the bead department) which fit perfectly in the holes. Since space was limited, I focused on survival basics-- fire, water, and food. I was able to fit two cylinders into the stock, one loaded with waterproof matches, tinder, and a match striker (cut from the box and then folded [and stowed away from the match heads]). The other I loaded with hooks, sinkers, two synthetic lures, and 20' of fishing line. In the remaining space, I filled a small sealable bag with water purification tablets. I keep a multi-tool on the sling of my shotgun, so [removing the buttplate] to access the kit would be no problem. And, since they are stored in clear tubes, they slide right out, and the contents are visible. I even wrapped their tops with a length of electrical tape for further waterproofing, with the tape being of use as well, if needed. In the small space around the storage tubes, I was able to slip in a hacksaw blade and G.I. can opener. That is not too bad for a previously unused (and undiscovered) hollow in my buttstock. I also have a good stiff skeleton knife in a stiff sheath screwed directly into my buttstock [as recommended in the book Build the Perfect Survival Kit by John D. McCann], underneath an elastic sleeve that holds five extra shells. My sling has two small vertical pouches, one with a multi-tool/ knife, and the one underneath containing a very basic first aid kit and small LED light.

Of course anything could be put in the buttstock hollows, from extra ammunition to barter silver. In an extreme SHTF scenario where you might have limited seconds to grab only your firearm and run, you could have the basics for survival tucked away in the stock and stored on the sling. I hope this advice can be of use to some of your readers. Thanks again for all you do, and all the best. - Eisen, Prepping Hard in Louisiana

James Wesley:
In response to the letter asking about combination guns, I do recommend having one. I have a Savage 24C .22 LR / 20 Gauge that I take hunting more than any other gun I have. Where I live in North Carolina, I can and have taken any game that is in my area. From deer using OO buck or slugs, birds, rabbits, or any small game using birdshot or the .22 rimfire barrel. I would not be afraid of using the 20 gauge barrel on black bear either, if I had too in an emergency. When hunting, I do take a sidearm in .357 Magnum just in case I do run into a black bear as a backup. Yes, I agree that it is not a defensive weapon against multiple targets, but it does serve a purpose in having one. If lost in the woods the 24C would be the gun I would want to have. - Randy in Asheville, North Carolina

Jim,
In reading your article on choosing survival guns I noticed that you have a Savage Model 24F listed. Do you have any experience or opinions on the Valmet 412 ST, with barrels for 12 gauge and .30-06? I want to buy one but did not know if it would be a good choice for putting on the list for survival guns. Thank you ,- John

JWR Replies: Combination guns are quite useful for areas where you have the opportunity to do both big game and bird hunting on the same hunt. There is many a time that I've been out on a deer or elk hunt and wished that I had a pistol or shotgun with me to hunt grouse, especially when I've been walking back to my truck, late in the morning. At lest that way I wouldn't have gone home empty -handed.

Combination guns are of course not the best guns for self-defense. But if combination guns are the approach you want to take for hunting and garden pest shooting, then the Valmet 412 is the "Cadillac" choice. Just keep in mind that for the same cost of buying one Valmet you could buy two Savage 24s--providing a wider range of calibers. For example, you could have one that is chambered .22 LR over 20 gauge, and another that is .223 over 12 gauge.

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

James,
The Ishapore Enfield in .308 is still being built today in India. It is common to see local police carry them (rather than a pistol) as they also use them for crowd control (butt stroke).

I picked up three of these rifles many years ago when they were first being imported into the US and they are my standard truck gun these days. While I have several M14 variants and a whole host of AR variants, the $89 I paid for each of these rifles makes them cheap enough that if I lose one (if my truck gets broken into) or if I have to distribute them to neighbors, I am not out too much.

The Enfield design is a phenomenal design that was steadily improved on from the late 1800's (the Enfield was first produced to chamber a black powder round and I have loaded and fired black powder reloads in mine) until the end of WWII. Its hard to beat almost 60 years of product improvement spanning the end of the Imperial age through two world wars. The only other rifle that has gone through such a rigorous series of enhancements is the M16 series. Even the AK-47 series only went through a couple of enhancements (chief being the AKM changes which simply made them easier to manufacture but did not enhance the usability of the rifle) before it was replaced with the AK-74.

This design also shoots almost as fast as a semi-auto which is why the Brits kept it for so long even when other options such as the M1 Garand were available. Even today, in Iraq many of the British SAS/SBS troops carry the Enfield as it is a reliable, fast shooting, and deadly to long range rifle. One show I watched earlier this year (Lock and Load on the History Channel) showed a shoot out between this rifle and the M1 Garand. There was not much of a difference. On average a trained rifleman shooting a full power round like the .308 can achieve 0.1 second between aimed shots with a semi-auto rifle like the M1 or L1A1 and close to 0.15 second between aimed shots with the Enfield. - Dr. Hugh

Mr. Rawles,
I am writing concerning this letter by JIR concerning the Ishapore 2A1 rifle. He mentioned that stripper clips for this rifle are available for $13 per box of 20 on Amazon. Keep Shooting, one of your advertisers, has them for $7.95 per 20 before the 5% discount they give us for mentioning SurvivalBlog. I thought this might be a nice way to tell others about the money savings, and to support one of your sponsors. Things are getting crazy out there. Let's pray that none of this will be necessary to use. - K.J.

For budget preppers, I think the Enfield bolt action rifle is an excellent choice for a main battle rifle. Most of them are British weapons chambered for .303, which is an obsolete caliber. I don't recommend a .303 weapon, but it would be perfectly adequate if you could get ammunition. A better choice is the Ishapore 2A1 rifle. It's a redesigned Lee Enfield SMLE Mk III (one of the best rifles ever issued to an army) but chambered for 7.62x51 (7.62 NATO) and has a 10 or 12 round magazine. (The later production 2A1s have a 12 round magazine. Mine both do). This is a no-nonsense weapon in competent hands and fit for serious business.

A little known feature of the Enfield SMLE family of weapons is the speed sight, which also makes a pretty good night sight. These rifles have a U shaped post or frame around both the rear and front sights. If you paint these posts with white or luminous paint, you can quickly index the rifle in almost complete darkness. The posts are large and easy to see. It works as well as most night sights and it's free.

Other than painting the night posts to increase visibility, I don't suggest modifying this rifle in any way. It's a fine weapon just like it is. One of it's few faults is that mounting a scope is not very easy or neat because it was not designed for that. Most scopes also interfere with the capability to feed from clips. If you want to modify it much and "trick it out", you will probably be happier with a modern rifle. Right out of the box, the SMLE is pretty nice, but it's not easy to improve.

The 2A1 is fairly heavy at roughly 10 pounds loaded with a sling, and it kicks slightly harder than a .303 SMLE (or a M1A for that matter), but it feels and shoots almost the same as the SMLE. Here is why I love it:

• It fires 7.62 NATO rounds. They are standardized and easy to get. Because it has a gentle bolt action, It will also shoot .308 civilian ammunition with no danger of a slam-fire. Some .308 rounds are reportedly a little hot for a 7.62 NATO rifle, but the tolerances of the Ishapores are pretty generous. I have never heard of an actual case of one being damaged in any way by firing .308 rounds. I routinely fire .308 factory loads and reload the brass. I have never noted any signs of too much pressure or deformed brass from the chamber dimensions.
• All SMLE load from stripper clips. This is a very powerful feature that was once considered mandatory for a military rifle, but it's mostly a forgotten loading method these days. The original SMLE uses 5 round charger clips, but you can get 10 round (M-14) clips for the nato rounds and they fit the Ishapore perfectly. NcStar .308 stripper clips are available on Amazon, cost 13 dollars for 20 clips and work well in the Ishapore. Once you get used to using clips, the 2A1 reloads very fast and the sustained rate of fire using clips and the Enfield action is excellent. While not as fast as an automatic, it is still pretty good. With practice an average shooter can maintain 20 rounds per minute of accurate fire until the rifle catches fire from the heat. You can shoot twice that fast for a short string. BTW, the speed record for a bolt action rifle is held by the SMLE. Check out this article. It's not made very clear in this article, but the standard was 15 hits in one minute on a 12 inch round target at 200 yards (not 300 yards). Every recruit in 1914 had to be able to do at least that well. The real pros were twice that fast. In competent hands, this is a real killer.
  I have trained with these rifles and I am confident in their ability to hold their own in a gunfight. I can sustain well over 20 rounds per minute and hold every one within a E-silhouette target at 200m with absolute surety (I can't do very much better with an automatic). This may not sound like very good shooting, but you should try it with your choice of weapons. I consider it more than adequate. I carry a 2A1 in preference to my M1A (which is also no slouch). After training with it for a while, the SMLE rifle just feels good to me.
• 3. It is very accurate. If you take your time and really aim, you can hit about anything you can see using only iron sights. Most of the models I have fired are around 1 MOA right from the arsenal, which is better than I can shoot. The sights are excellent and adjustable out to 800 meters (and that's no lie! It will reach out that far accurately enough to kill someone' in a few rounds if they don't take some serious cover.
• 4. It's super tolerant of dirty or old ammunition. It always shoots. If you reload, you can load light loads for small game. (Warning: Be careful to use a safe load , as very light cast lead loads can leave a bullet lodged in the bore, which might then cause a virtual detonation if followed up by another shot!). I use a 120 grain cast lead bullet and 5 grains of Unique and the report is about the same as an air rifle. If you don't reload, you can buy a chamber adapter for .32 auto and shoot commercial ammunition with similar results. The 70 grain Speer loads sound like an air rifle and don't destroy small game too badly.
• 5. It's cheap to own a complete weapon system. You can still get one for around 200 bucks and since you don't have to buy scopes and rings to have a good weapon, there are no hidden costs. Clips are dirt-cheap and can be left loaded for eternity without damage. I suggest a shoulder bag to carry clips of ammunition. This is much cheaper than web gear and maybe more convenient and faster. You can use the money you save to buy more ammunition...you will need it.

So, what's the catch? Here it is, and it's a big one. You have to train with this rifle. It doesn't shoot itself. You have to manually chamber each round and then get back on target. You also have to practice reloading from charger clips to develop any kind of speed. Get some dummy rounds (at least 20 if you are serious) and dry fire it until you can do it in your sleep. Load and fire thousands of times from the standing, kneeling and prone positions. Aim your rifle at a distant target each time you dry fire it and concentrate on marksmanship and speed. Then take it to the range and do it with live rounds. This is no M16 that can be trained using only a couple of hundred live rounds. You will need a thousand at least.

I wouldn't feel under-dressed carrying a 2A1 in a gunfight unless it happens at extreme close range. Even then, it's hard to feel too outgunned carrying a SMLE. It's a very solid, reliable shooting platform that will never let you down. Having used a M16 and variants in the Army, I love the solid, feel of the SMLE. If you are on a budget and can't afford a quality automatic, scope, and lots of magazines, the 2A1 (or even a .303 SMLE or No4 rifle) gives you the ability to buy a complete weapon system for a fifth the price. The 2A1 is (IMHO) a viable choice for a survival MBR. regards, - JIR

I live in the suburbs of our nation’s capitol and of course I want to keep myself and family safe, so I have taken steps to mitigate and eliminate the dangers of my area. My challenge for a while was getting my new bride on-board with my preparations. She thought my supplies, guns and gear were “weird” and she chalked it up to my military experience and largely ignored it. If anyone else has a similar problem getting buy-in on prepping from their partners they may find this useful, it sure works better than arguing.

As Mr. Miyagi said in the Karate Kid 2 “Best way to block a punch is not be there.” Your advice to move and live in a rural setting is sound, but not practical for many people, so I do have the next best thing in a retreat on some family owned land. It is occupied by some older and retired family, so my preparations there both include and are guarded by them. I make a point to drive there and back by as many different routes as I can divine from a map reconnaissance that do not include the interstate highways. It takes more time, but it keeps us familiar with the routes and we notice any changes (Like a bridge that was getting rather rickety) that may influence our route choice if we need to G.O.O.D. She thought this was a weird way to travel, but I convinced her to go along with promises of new scenery, hidden treasures (Like a wonderful greasy spoon off the beaten track) and a more relaxed setting. I taught her how to read a military grid map and use a compass for “fun” demonstrating my old and valuable military skills. After she had been on all the routes though, she wanted to do the interstate to save time, but I knew traffic in our area is some of the worst in the country and decided to take advantage. On a holiday weekend, prime time we set out to follow the herd. It went exactly as I expected; a normal disaster. There was bumper to bumper stop and go traffic for hours. I let her drive this time and when the frustration set in, I threw in a “what if” scenario at her where a disaster had even more people trying to flee. There have been events in recent memory where people abandon their cars on the road and take flight on foot –however ill prepared they are to do so. She saw what I meant and recognized the value of both her new map reading skills and knowledge of the back roads. My back routes are no magic bullet, the Interstate was still faster, but the images I put in her head made her a bit less skeptical about my “weird” travel routines.

I visit there often, and take interest in the workings of the semi-retired farm. My wife loves it there, but thinks it strange I care so much about taking care of the place, like the time I was on-hand to help retrofit the windmill to make electricity once the water tower was full, or why we keep the grain silos in good shape even without a lot of livestock. We have a garden there, but a small one for now since my family isn’t really up to tending a large one. There are a few chickens and goats which are almost pets at this point but can certainly be put to real use if need be. The pond is stocked with fish and the woods give us a steady supply of firewood and game (But we don’t hunt much –yet.) A few weekends of sleeping in the quiet of the country and waking up to farm fresh eggs, bacon and sausage from a neighboring farm and fresh bread coming from the “weird” grain mill has her more excited about eating there than at the fancy restaurants around DC. We cook stews and barbeque outdoors, drink fresh water from the spring and pick though the garden for fresh vegetables. She learned some “weird” skills about canning and drying foods for storage from my aunt. Once we were married, I even let her into the secret back barn room that holds a family relic, which let’s just say has produced good cheer for over a hundred years. The “weird” country life became a vacation for her. I would like to live there full-time, but with the relic only producing good cheer and not cash like it used to (Too risky now!) I keep my city job.

She works in a government office building and a few times they have been locked down for potential outside threats –seems to be a normal disaster lately. Every time has luckily turned out to be nothing but it has put the thought of terrorism in the front of her mind. I pointed out to her a real emergency could last more than a day and the office vending machines wouldn’t keep everyone sustained for long. She then agreed to store some food and water –but nothing else I suggested in her office. After her office was issued and trained on some cheap disposable gas masks and she saw people making light of the flimsy things she realized the masks and extra filters I had in my office, car and home were not so “weird”. Sure enough she finally took the “prep” bags and all of their goodies I had made for her to her car and office.

One summer we got hit with a string of bad thunderstorms which had an uncanny ability to knock out our power for hours. This normal disaster gave me the chance to show her my generator and solar powered gear was not so “weird”. My generator kept the fridge/freezer cold, the sump pump going, the air conditioner cooling and even our computer & internet connection going. My travel solar setup kept our cell phones & “weird” 2 way radios charged as well as ran a radio to bring us news and entertainment. It rained so hard and so much the check valve on our sewer was forced to close, eliminating our ability to use the plumbing for a few hours. It didn’t last long enough to bother us, but my portable toilet and old army sanitation manual about latrines were no longer “weird”.

That same summer we were attending a barbeque at a neighbor’s when another normal disaster struck; my neighbor’s one propane tank went empty. She thought my overstock of these was “weird” until that day when I casually plucked one from my storage and loaned it to the neighbor –with still plenty to use for my own house.

Last fall some friends of ours walked in on a burglar robbing their home. The man had grabbed a kitchen knife and threatened them as he made his escape out the back door. Luckily our friends were not hurt, and my friends were suddenly asking me questions about home defense. I have an alarm system, two watch dogs, a safe for my guns and valuables and a concealed carry permit for the pistol I always have on me. My wife was already on board with the alarm system, just thought I was “weird” for training watch dogs, disliked my insistence she lock up her good jewelry in the safe and didn’t care for me carrying a gun much –until my friends had their encounter with crime. I bought her a pistol, taught her how to use it and sent her to a class to get her own permit. She now goes with me to the range and I have also taught her how to shoot my AR-15, Benelli M4, Benelli Super Black Eagle and Remington 700. She now knows at least how to shoot to defend herself and maybe get a meal. She came to her own realization that guns were like women’s shoes –different ones are required for every occasion. So our arsenal here and at our retreat isn’t “weird” anymore.

The first hard freeze of winter made another normal disaster when a water main in our area broke and the utility advised everyone boil their water for a day before drinking it. My “weird” supply of bottled water suddenly came in handy. I told my wife that my “weird” water filter, rain buckets, five gallon pails with lids and sturdy cart could all be used to supply us with safe and clean water from rain, pools and nearby stream if things lasted longer than our bottled water.

This winter afforded another teaching moment when we got sucker punched with 28” of snow. (That’s a lot for here). I drove her by the big box store and grocery stores, and pointed out the throngs of people scrambling to lay in supplies they should have already had. One store was out of milk, another was rationing eggs to be “fair”. Again I planted the seed of what would be happening in a real emergency. My “weird” hunker down supplies of food and other goods became less strange.

We were well prepared with quality snow shovels, ice scrapers and multiple 50 lb. bags of salt to dig out. I also have a “weird” large supply of firewood and kerosene heaters stored in the attic. She actually remarked about how secure she felt knowing we wouldn’t freeze even if the power went out for longer than my “weird” generator and fuel would last. For fun once we had dug out I took her to some home improvement stores and pointed out the empty shelves where these items had been a day before, and the desperate people searching for goods that simply were not there. She commented how everything in our area got “picked over” because of the large population here, so suddenly the seasonal shortages of Halloween Candy and Christmas decorations took on a more sinister quality for her.

These “normal disasters” as I like to call them serve as warnings and training opportunities I think she has finally gotten the message, and now she makes some choices that surprise me, like a large supply of feminine hygiene products that has showed up here and at the retreat. She was a fan of the famous money advisor, Dave Ramsey, before prepping and has correctly drawn corollaries from his advice –“Live like no-one else so you can live like no-one else.” 

I’ve been reading SurvivalBlog for almost a year.  I am thankful for the advice that I receive each day.  I have had a “be prepared” attitude for about 30 years, although the past two years have thrown several speed bumps and roadblocks my way.  Two years ago my son and his family were in a life threatening accident.  I spent almost every penny I had saved toward retirement to help my daughter-in-law recover.  This year I fought for and won custody of three of my grandchildren from my daughter.  So now, instead of planning for TEOTWAWKI for just myself, a 50 something divorced woman, I now am the proud “parent” of three elementary aged children.  Even with these changes to my situation, I am still actively preparing.  I wanted to share what I am doing with your readers, so that those who are still in the thinking stages rather than the action stage can see that it’s not too hard to begin. 

Years ago I decided to create a written plan.  I started with my basic premises.  First, I assume that I will live where I’m at forever.  I live 10 miles from a city of 100,000 and 15 miles from a city of 500,000.  While it’s really close to a lot of people, it’s not in the direction that the masses of people would head toward.  I have five acres with a good house, a good well, a great climate for growing food and lots of storage.  With that in mind I need to set up the house and yard to fully sustain me and now the three grandkids.  I also need to make some changes along the property boundary to make it less welcoming.

Second, I assume that when I retire from my government job that my pension income will exist.  That doesn’t mean that it won’t be reduced, I expect the government to steal some of my pension.  (Most people just think that we are given money but I put in 20% of my income into this pension fund) I also expect to receive some social security benefits and plan to start collecting my money as soon as I hit the minimum age.  Barring any additional family disasters, I also plan on having cash on hand.  I am working hard to cut my expenses to almost nothing.  That way I can retire sooner and live prepared rather than being in a state of getting prepared. 

Third, I assume that the weather patterns may fluctuate as they have throughout time, but I will not buy into any of the global warming and cooling as something that we can truly prevent.  If the environmentalists wanted us to change our habits and become more energy efficient, I wish they would have just come out with that statement.  Or, they should say that we can alter our microclimate (planting trees lowers the temperature around our homes, paving roads and parking lots raises the temperature in the city, lakes add to the humidity) rather than trying to scare people into believing that we are destroying the world. 

Fourth, I will practice, as I know that when you practice, the act becomes second nature. Times of trouble is not when you should be learning new things.    

Fifth, I do not panic.  Part of this is because I practice.  Part is because I do not allow myself to be influenced by the news story crisis of the day.  I behave very level headed and am rational.  I know that my attitude and my actions will influence those around me to be either calm or crazy.  I vote for calm.

Sixth, I trust God.  I know that God expects me to take care of myself…or at least to prepare myself to take care of myself.  I can not say I don’t need to be educated, or prepared, or dedicated because God will provide.  I am expected to work hard.  God will take care of me if I try to take care of myself.

The first thing I did in my quest for independence was to determine what I really needed.  The stuff.  I also figured I probably have 30 more years to live, although I hope I’m blessed with much more.  Now I have three more people in the house.  How would I figure how much I need?  I decided to keep track of what I did and what I used.  I started by going through my entire house, room by room, and making an inventory of everything. 

Let’s start with household items.  There are items that can last forever: dishes, glasses, pots, pans, furniture.  There are items that are used up daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly.  Well, how much do you need for the next 30 years?  I started keeping track of what I was using.  Keeping track of exactly how much food purchased, how much toilet paper, paper towels, soap, shampoo, etc. was used in a year gave me a very good idea of what I would need for 10 or 20 or even 30 years.  Then I just started buying extra.  It was simple.  Every time I went to Costco I’d buy an extra laundry detergent, bleach, dish soap, 409, Simple Green, vinegar, etc.  I probably have a 10 year supply on hand without any pain at all. 

I don’t have a basement but I do have a huge garage.  It holds my truck, tractor, freezer, tools, and what seems like miles of floor to ceiling shelves.  It looks like a mini Wal-Mart.  Now that I have the grandchildren, I have devoted space for bins of clothing.  The bins include the basics in every size: jeans, t-shirts (long and short sleeve), sweatshirts, jackets, socks, underwear, hats, gloves, and shoes.  I also sew and have fabric, thread, and am well stocked with sewing supplies. I keep it very organized.  I witness my friends buying things that they know they have somewhere in their homes but they are so disorganized they have no clue what they have or where to find it. 

I’m not going to discuss weapons to any real extent.  This topic is definitely best left to someone who knows what they are talking about.  I really get into this topic on this blog so as to learn more.  I do have a .22 pistol, a .22 rifle, and a 12 gauge shotgun.  The last thing I shot was a rooster who was roaming my yard and continuously tried attacking me.  I know I should have more protection and I also need to involve the children in gun use.  Maybe this summer we will all go to gun camp and then set up a practice target in the back yard. 

Change your diet! Stop eating instant boxed stuff.  If nothing else, you will save lots of money.  Learn to cook.  Learn to bake.  You can buy a pound of yeast at Costco or Sam’s for the same price as three small packages of yeast at the grocery store.  I love the 5 minute bread recipe.  6 cups flour, 3 cups warm water, 1 ½ tablespoon yeast, 1 ½ tablespoon chunky salt (kosher, sea, etc.).  Mix it together with a spoon. Let it rise an hour.  Put some flour onto the counter and pour the dough onto the flour.  (At this point I like to add Italian seasoning to half the dough) Shape into individual rolls or two round loaves.  Bake 350 for 15 minutes.  Noodles are another one of our favorites.  Flour, egg yolk, water, salt. Mix and roll out.  Cut into whatever shape you want.  We use the pizza cutter and make crazy shapes.  Boil for about 10 minutes. 

My garden is my hobby but also something that I’ve set up to feed myself, the grandkids, and my animals.  Since moving to my property 12 years ago I’ve planted fruit trees and plants with most of my spare money.  I have oranges, grapefruit, lemons, limes, kumquats, apples, avocados, cherries, peaches, nectarines, pears, plums, apricots, kiwi, figs, olives, loquats, mulberry, blackberries, raspberries, almonds, asparagus, and probably some others that I’ve forgotten.  I’ve been canning for 30 years now.  If I can’t can it or freeze it we eat fruit and vegetables in season or we don’t eat them.  The only fruit or vegetables I buy are bananas, pineapple, and mushrooms.  I have lots of gardening tools, at least one for each of us so we can all work together: shovels, rakes, hoes, hoses, irrigation parts.  I also have seeds on hand.  It is crazy to spend the money on the latest fad of “non-hybrid seeds in a container for only $150.” Sure, it will grow you a garden, but is it what you like to eat?  Will those varieties do well in your area?  Go to your local nursery and pick up seeds of vegetables you eat.  Have a garden like mine.  Each year I let some of the beets go to seed in the beet section of my garden, I smash a pumpkin on the ground in the pumpkin section, I let broccoli go to seed, etc.  I don’t have to replant the entire garden each year.  The stuff just comes back.  I do replant the corn, eggplant, and peppers.  I do save seed each year to make sure I have a several year supply of all my vegetable seeds.

We have sheep and goats for meat and chickens for eggs.  Although they are easy to raise, I don’t raise rabbits or hogs due to religious dietary restrictions.  I don’t have enough property for a steer because I don’t want to have to rely on buying hay.  I don’t milk the goats because I don’t have time.  I do buy beef and chicken from the store but know that at any time those purchases can stop and we can provide all our meat needs. 

I have a 500 gallon propane tank that never has less than 250 gallons in it .  The propane is used for cooking, heating the house, and the hot water.  We don’t use much for heating the house.  I try to keep the heater turned off during the week.  Since I am at work and the kids are at school, I don’t need to waste propane heating an empty house.  On the weekends I use the woodstove.  Worst case scenario, I would use wood to cook with, heat the house with my wood stove, and at some near future point, set up a solar hot water system. 

We are on a well so we aren’t relying on city water.  My next project (with money from my tax return) will be to set up a solar power system to charge batteries for running the well.  We don’t usually have much wind so I don’t think a wind generator would work.  I’d also like to set up solar for a backup for my appliances.  I don’t need a huge solar system since we use minimal amount of electricity.  We really do conserve on electricity.  My electric bill is only about $40 a month for the refrigerator, freezer, washer, dishwasher, microwave, television, computers, and the kids leaving all the lights on.

Fortunately, we don’t get sick often.  I keep a good stock of vitamins and OTC medicines.  I haven’t been able to convince our doctor to write a prescription for extra medications but I have been able to stock up on some. I do have a large stock of supplies for injuries.  I have a rescue bag in each vehicle plus a large supply at home.  I do want to remind people that even minor injuries can use up lots of supplies.  You need lots of gauze, gauze, and more gauze.  And, gloves, gloves, and more gloves.  Rescue workers will change their latex gloves every 5-15 minutes.  Read the articles already posted about medical supplies.  Go through your cabinets and see what you use.  Buy lots of them. 

We have a great library at home.  Classic books, new books, survival books, cook books, just about all topics for all reading levels.  I also have school books: math, science, grammar, and history for each grade level.  We also have games, puzzles, and cards.  Lots of indoor activities for the kids to do.

We have tons of office supplies: paper, pencils, erasers, pens, paint, crayons and markers, tape, staples, and glue.  Whatever amount you think you need, double it, or triple it!  Take advantage of the end of summer back to school sales. 

Exercise and being active is important.  This past summer I made an obstacle course for the grandkids (and me).  We have tires to run through, a sprinting area, cones to zigzag around, ropes to climb up trees, nets to crawl under, and a cross country running track.  I also set up a tetherball pole, a basketball hoop, badminton and volleyball net, croquette, whiffle ball, and a soccer goal.  We also go hiking and bike riding.  They think it’s just for fun.  I know that being in good condition helps keep the mind in good condition.

Sir:
The next thing that I would like to cover is mode of transportation. When the society collapses more likely you will have to leave your home. Having a 4x4 vehicle that is equipped with everything that you need to survive would be everyone’s choice for travel but that sometimes might not be possible. In the broken society there is no law. Everyone and everybody is a target. Traveling in the vehicle on the road or off the road is extremely risky. First, vehicles make noise and everyone can hear you. Second, vehicles are big and they can be seen. It is just way too hard to travel in the vehicle and not to be spotted. In a vehicle you will be ambushed by groups and the individuals. One of the reasons for this is that there will not be enough gas and just you traveling in the vehicle will make everybody think that you are a rich target and you will be attacked. If you plan on traveling long distances, you will be ambushed and if you might survive one or two ambushes but you will not be able to survive every ambush that you might encounter. Like I mentioned before, when the society collapses, there are no laws and everyone makes their own laws any way they like it. In Bosnia there were armed individuals and groups that would shoot at the vehicles just for fun to see how quick they can stop it and trust me, two M53s (Yugo version of German MG-42 light machineguns) supported with several AKs will stop most of the civilian vehicles very quickly. Traveling in the vehicle would be easiest way, but this might be putting yours and your family lives in danger but when the times comes, every individuals will have to decide for themselves on how they will travel and they will not have a lot of time to make this decision, so plan ahead.

My preferred method to travel was on horseback. The horse is quiet and it can go across terrain that not even 4x4 can. The horses also don’t require you to carry around jugs of spare gasoline since their food grows all around you. I would also recommend traveling on the horse back in the area that is covered with anti-personnel mines (minefields). Believe it or not, horses are extremely smart animals and sometimes they know where not to step. If your horse does step on a mine, you have a lot more chance to survive since his body will create some buffer between you and the blast and might give you another chance. The horse will also hear way before you any movement or any signs of life and if you know your horse, you will be able to read these early warning signals.

Since I am talking about animals, next thing that I would like to cover is food that they provide. While I was on the move, I was never long enough in one spot to grow a garden, but catching an animal for meal was another story. Good part of Bosnia is mountainous and wooded area, and there was some wild life to hunt at beginning but later on, this has changed and it was harder and harder to find wild life. First thing that I would like to recommend is to have some kind of small caliber weapon for taking small game. Shooting a small rabbit with 8 mm Mauser does not leave you a lot of meat to eat. Also learn to set traps for small animals. In certain parts you could hunt with your firearms but then you might be somewhere where you can’t shoot since you don’t know where exactly you are or what is around you. Another thing that you should learn is how to field dress an animal. I understand that a lot of people hunt and know how to do this but there are also people who have never hunted or seen an animal be field dressed and just seeing this might make them sick. Another reason for knowing how to field dress and animal is that you want to get maximum amount of food from it. You might not get to many chances to take an animal and when you do use everything from it that can be used.

Clothing
The next thing that I want to cover is clothing that you wear. Most of survival oriented people, including myself, would wear some kind of military camouflage uniforms for several good reasons. Some of the reasons are durability, most of the military uniforms are quality made and will outlast a lot of civilian clothing. Pockets to store things since uniforms have a lot of them in the right places. Blending in with natural backgrounds, since military uniforms are not made out of colors that stick out. Recognition of other members of your group by having all of the group members wearing same camouflage pattern. If you will wear military type of uniform, make sure that you have some civilian clothing with you as well. If you are captured by military, militia, armed renegades or anyone else, you will be treated as a combatant just because of the military clothing that you are wearing. Even if you are not armed it won’t help you out. I have personally witnessed a young man pay dearly just because he was wearing old Yugoslavian Army boots. The mentality of you enemy might be that you are a combatant if you show any interested in military equipment. So, if you are wearing military clothing be ready to lose it quickly and change in to something else. If you are captured in the middle of nowhere with any kind of uniform on and no other clothes to change in to, that could be bad for your health.

Another thing that I want to cover is one of the important pieces of your equipment, and that is flashlight. I had a low quality flashlight (I though it was good because there was nothing better on the market) and it died on me the first time it got wet. In the USA there is unlimited number of good quality flashlights so if you are going to have a flashlight make sure that you have a good one. And have backup one as well. Flashlight is a must have item and the cheap one will not last you long. This is true with any other equipment. I understand that times are hard and money is the issue for a lot of people but buying quality equipment will probably save you money in the long run since this equipment will usually last for the long time. One thing that I really wish I had was night vision device. Most people know the area that they live in and can move around that area in the middle of night without any problems, but when you end up in the different part of the country, and you can’t orient your self and is middle of the night, this can become challenging. Night vision would be tremendous help.

Although I previously mentioned bartering with ammunition, one other thing that I would like to mention to have for trading is cigarettes. I did not even think about this before things went bad but I was lucky to have a grandmother who smoked two packs a day and she always had several cartons of cigarettes stored. The smokers become so desperate that they will give you almost anything for a cigarette. I have see people in prison and refugee camps become so desperate that they would pick every leaf of all the trees in the yards, dried them, wrap them in the old news paper and smoke them. A lot of people got sick of this since they were smoking everything they could find.

The one topic that I would like to cover last and I think that this is one of the most important topics is what happens if you are captured prisoner. Humans are some of the worst animals and will commit atrocities that are far worst that any wild beast could do. And the worst part about this is that humans will do it for no good reason and that they will find humor in at while they are torturing someone. Animals kill because they are in fear, protecting their families or hunt for food but we, humans, are the ones that will do it for no good reason. I was captured as a prisoner and have promised to my self that if I survive I will never become a prisoner in a society with no laws again. After the war I have moved to USA and since then have served in Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Balkans both as a soldier with elite unit of US Army and as a private contractor and during my deployments I did not know if I will survive the deployments but I did know that I will never again be captured. This is something that every individual needs to think about. If society collapses and you are captured, you will be at the mercy of your captors, who might not have any mercy. There wont be laws and rights to protect you and nobody will be there that you can call for help or complain to. I hope that I was able to provide at least some useful information for the readers and gave them some ideas. Keep your powder dry. - The Bosnian Survivor

Mr. Rawles,
I want to thank you for having this site and presenting people with opportunity two obtain useful information that could save their lives one day. I have been dedicated reader of your blogs for some time and now think that is my time to contribute some information instead of just reading it. I have survived through collapse of former Yugoslavia and the years of war that followed after. I will try to cover as much of different topics that pertain to every day survival. No matter on how much the person is prepared, it might not be enough.

I was born and raised on farm in Western Bosnia and we always had enough food and supplies on the farm to survive at least one year without any contact with the outside world. We grew our own wheat and corn and always had enough flour for at least three years. We also had cows, chickens and sheep for dairy products, meat and eggs. The sugar and salt would be purchased in the 50 pound equivalent bags. Besides the motor vehicles we also had horses that could be used for farm work and transportation. We even made our own brandy and had at least three years supply of it. During the peaceful times, before the collapse, we only had one firearm, Yugo M57 Tokarev pistol, with about 50 rounds of ammo, but after the things started to go down the hill, are family arsenal improved. We added a Russian PPSH 41 [submachinegun], a Yugo M48 Mauser [bolt action rifle] and a Yugo SKS [semiautomatic] rifle to our arsenal, but we only had few hundred rounds for the each weapon. A lot of times it was really easy to obtain weapons but getting the decent amount of ammo was more challenging. My father was in the reserve status of Yugoslavian Army so he was issued a M48 Mauser but only got 40 rounds of ammunition with it.

When the things started to go bad, we were under impression that we would be okay; since we are on the farm and that we can just live there until everything was over. Boy, where we wrong. When the fighting broke out, the villages, small towns and farms were systematically cleared of people, looted and destroyed. You had a better chance of surviving if you lived in an apartment in the big city of if you lived in the farm that was further away from the front lines. It does not matter how good your house is built, it will not sustain few direct hits from the T-72 tank. Also, it does not matter how well you are armed, unless you have numbers on your side (number of armed people), and you dig in and try to protect your property, you will be over-run and destroyed. Yugoslavia had a fairly strict gun laws before the collapse, basically, you could own pistols, shotguns and bolt guns but after the collapse nearly everyone was equipped with selective fire battle rifles.

I would advise that you don’t keep everything that you have in one location. I was forced to leave my house and take off with just my backpack and weapon. If you can, keep a bug out bag [cached] a few miles away from your house so that you could go to it, if you are forced to abandon your residence. Be prepared to not return to your home for years and try to have another place to live in another part of the country or even some other country. I was not able to go back to my home until years later. Stash as much ammo in different locations as you can. I did not have enough ammo in the first place and whatever I had was used or traded within first month of me leaving my home. Ammo was good trading currency and could get you a meal at any time. Local paper currency was basically worthless but if you had foreign currency, then you were in better shape. At that time German Mark was most popular currency in Europe and could get you anything in former Yugoslavia during the war. The Gold and Silver were good to have but it was harder to find someone that would accept gold and silver as form of payment .

People that lived in big towns also had their share of problems. If they lived in apartment buildings, they were dependent on central heat and when the things started to go bad, there was no more fuel to heat these apartments. Not that many people had wood burning stoves and the winters in Eastern Europe can get really cold. I would advise that if you don’t have a wood burning stove, to get one and store it somewhere until you need it. You will need it not just for heat but also for cooking. The people that had stoves or were able to obtain them or make them then had another problem, getting the firewood. If you live inside of city that is surrounded and you can’t just go outside of city and cut some trees down, obtaining firewood can become your daily battle for survival. Burning your furniture, books, park benches, trees from the parks and every other tree that you can find will be normal. I would advise that if you are going to have a stove either store at least one winter supply of firewood (if you have a place to store it at) or have a plan where you get that firewood when you need it. Another issue that people from the cities faced was the shortage of water. Some people ended up digging wells in the courtyard of their apartment buildings but majority of people who tried this were unsuccessful since they were digging where there was not water or old city utilities were under the places where they tried to dig. Most of the people were forced to make daily runs to water points and bringing the water back to their families. Water points were favorite targets for snipers. Having extra water jugs will help you minimize your visits to water points.

Since this is my first post, I will not make it too long and will stop here until the next time. - A Bosnian Survivor

James Wesley,
In September 2008 a chain of events began which got me thinking about food storage and survival. Living in a small bedroom community to a moderately large city we’ve always had food, water and electricity, except for an occasional day or so when we have a storm. However things changed when Hurricane Ike rolled through the Ohio Valley (along the Ohio river). We had power outages and destruction city-wide of the magnitude of what you would normally see from a tornado that hits part of the town. But in this case a city of 1.5 million was without power for weeks and 24 Kroger’s grocery stores had to throw out all perishable food in dumpsters and were closed for close to a week. Add all of the businesses and school and transportation closings food wasn’t being delivered. Although our problems were never as bad as Katrina or Galveston it really drove home that we were not prepared.

During the storm I couldn't stop thinking of “my kids”, Boy Scouts in the poorer part of the town. They had no utilities and little food. I was a day away from taking a cook stove and setting up a mini food kitchen at a church near where they live. But what could I buy in bulk at Sam’s that they could cook on a fire for them live off of? Rice and beans, beans and rice, as Dave Ramsey says. (But I hate Dave’s arrogance).

An then the stock market crashed 9/29/08. So in three weeks what was a reality only on television had come to my town… to my front door. A probable economic meltdown. A lousy choice of Presidential candidates, one that was very anti gun, and the other that was looking to close the "gun show loophole" as well as not being versed in the world political arena. It felt like end times.

As the man of the house I realized how ill prepared I was to take care of my family. I had been talking about the future of gun control due to our potential next president but I didn't have food storage or anything resembling survival preparedness on my radar.

In the beginning months I have put several $100 of short term food, can goods, bags of rice, beans, sugar, salt, etc “on the shelf”. I bought two Mosin rifles and then to celebrate the election of our new anti-gun President I went out and bought an AR-15 the day after the election. Then I bought an AK and then I bought another AK, then I bought son .22’s and on and on.

I began adding a few hundred worth of food each month to “the bunker” as we jokingly call the garage. My wife is actually impressed that we will have food on the shelf that she can go get when she doesn’t have something in the house. The goal of course is to pack away a year of food supply and then some.

As far as long term food I did order and receive 2 of the 5 gallon sealed Red Wheat buckets, but at about $150 delivered for both it will be slow for me to stock the long term, air sealed, supplies.

One of the first things I ordered was a dozen 100 hour emergency candles from BePrepared.com. Being a Boy Scout for over 40 years made be appreciate their domain name, but the final price of $3 each got me to order from them. I also got a very nice wheat grinder from them too. I looked at a lot of wheat grinders on the Internet but in the end came back to BePreparred.com and trusted their expertise and recommendation and ordered from them.

Next I just purchased received two of the Vario Katadyn Dual water filtration water filter hand pumps. As we do a little backpacking and camping I felt I could justify them with the wife. By the way the Katadyn’s came from ManventureOutpost.com.

Now a few times over the first 12 months of prepping I’ve ordered Mylar bags, oxygen absorbers and diatomaceous earth from SurvivalUnlimited.com. I purchased got a 20” 5mm bag sealer from DougCare.com. I’m now vacuum bagging many food items as well as stocking spices, cereals and other supplies like matches and such.

I’ve also read a lot in many forums about survival guns and have standardized the majority of my firepower on 9mm handguns and rifles, 12 gauge shotguns and a 22 rifle and 22 pistol for small food hunting. For 9mm handguns I already had two Rugers and a Kel-Tec pistols but I did add a nice Springfield XD9 to the collection. I’ve since been blessed to purchase a Springfield XD9 subcompact, which is now my carry gun. On the rifle side I also wanted to stick with 9mm and already had a Highpoint 9mm carbine, so I picked up an Olympic Arms AR-15 in 9mm [Parabellum]. For a shotgun I went with the Mossberg 500 Deer and Field 12 gauge with two barrels which is at Dick’s for $340. My son has a Remington 870. In the 22 family and I chose a Savage 22 LR Bolt action and a Savage semi-auto, each about $160 at Dick's. For the pistol I got a 22 Ruger Mark III which I believe many forums list as a very reliable 22. My son and I also bought a few Mosin Nagant M44 rifles (WWII Russian surplus we bought at $80 each). We had been buying 300 round tins of 7.62 x54r ammo for $64 a tin every few months which now are selling for about $100 a tin. This are great rifles and a blast to shot. Many armies used a variation of these rifles for over 75 years and they have proven to be very reliable and extremely accurate at 300+ yards. Now that I have met my basic armory equipment list the goal is to sock away about 10,000 rounds of each cartridge or shotshell. After I get this all laid in and my year food supply then I’ll come back and look at different caliber guns, but for now I want to keep the ammo shopping list simple. The other thing I’m looking to do is duplicate all of the guns I purchase so I have parts if I have a breakdown of any kind. On my shopping list is to purchase a 5.56mm AR-15. I did just buy a 30-06 Winchester at a gun show recently. I noticed that with all of the ammo shortages .30-06 ammo never sold out at Wal-Mart. It seems to be good hunting ammo and capable of some good ranges.

Some other items I purchased are two small generators of the same make and model, once again so I have a backup. I also purchased an 1980s step van that has provided me with 6 months of storage and transportation for my Scout Troop. If things ever got bad I could dump the Scout gear and head to land we access to about an hour away.

I’m sure there are several other little things like that I’ve ordered over the year. I know that some of this makes me seem like a nut but I’m not going to be the man God wants me to be if I don’t protect and provide for my family, parents, and in-laws.

If my wife ever did the math on what I’ve purchased, more than $3,000 in guns, $3,000 in food, $1,000 on a generator she would be upset but I also know that she respects my desire to protect my family in the best way I can. She also knows that this has made me confident and secure in my daily life and that will go a long way to help me more successful in my job and life.

The biggest confidence builder for me was to take the two-day Appleseed rifle training program. I never had any experience hitting a target (I just pointed the rifle down range). Appleseed has given me all kinds of confidence and a skill to build on.

Lastly, I read several blogs and visit several forums. SurvivalBlog is certainly where I start most evenings. Then I’ve got a list of about five forums that I try to read daily. I’ve added this forum to my list as it makes sense to support those around me and build friendships.

I’ve broken my Survival preparation list down into the following and listed each topic on a separate Excel Spreadsheet where I can collect information and do calculations on: Quantity, Food Shelf Life, Shelf Space, Cost Per Unit, and Equipment to Buy.

Lastly I signed up for Life memberships with the NRA and GOA, and $3 per month for your Ten Cent Challenge. Periscope up, head down. - Don E.

Jim:
Car batteries are designed for one thing and one thing only - delivering a bunch of power for a very short period of time. Said time is measured in seconds, not minutes, hours, or days.

I have been living "Off the Grid" for fifteen years, and can assure your readers that vehicle batteries can only handle 3-5 complete discharges before they are useless, i.e., after but a few discharges they cannot be recharged and expected to hold said charge. Ergo, they are the wrong choice for any task where discharge exceeds the constant charging input into the battery. They will not last, and the monies and the time procuring and cabling such will have been wasted.

If one intends to utilize batteries and a charger of whatever source to power lights or equipment of any sort, only use "Deep Cycle" types as the plate construction used in these is designed for multiple deep-discharges. The number of discharges varies given the size of the battery itself, and can range from as few as 100 to well over 2,000. Yes, in the case of batteries, size matters.

Another little hint: When engaged in the mathematics of power generated in relationship to end use, whether from solar, microhydro, wind, or fuel powered generators, remember that when using a battery to "store" generated power, factor in a loss of 6% of the power produced due the requirements of the chemical reaction in the battery. Period. And never forget that "Volts X Amps = Watts". If you don't model your production and usage with these numbers in mind, say goodbye to your batteries.

On the way out the door, one more bit of advice, this on "Phantom Loads." Many of the appliances we buy today are never actually "off", even though one believes such is the case. A few decades back, the appliance manufacturers decided to stroke our egos because having to wait a few seconds for an appliance to "warm up" was frustrating. Now such a wait would border on a personal insult. We demand "instant on" from everything, and this comes with a price. Even "off", many of your appliances consume power. Either you pay the power monopoly for it, or if "Off the Grid", you deplete and perhaps even destroy your batteries.

The easiest way to find how much your favorite appliance is robbing you is to buy a little device called a Kill-A-Watt [electricity usage monitor], about $30.00 or so, available at hardware stores and places like Lowe's and Home Depot. One plugs it into the wall and then you plug the appliance into it, with the appliance still "off". Much to your surprise and then chagrin, a little digital readout tells you how many "watts" that appliance uses when it's "off". Pardon the pun, but the results will "shock" you. That television that is presumed "off" may well be using 30-40 watts constantly, 24-7-365. Add in stereo components, computers, printers, and all those other things that we believe make life worth living and pretty soon we're talking about real money. And if you are dependent on a battery bank, well, you get my drift. It's more than just money.

Solution? Whether "Off the Grid" or dependent on a power monopoly, put all such appliances on power strips, and when you want them truly off, shut down the power strip. Then "Off" really means "Off". There's no point in paying for something your aren't using, and if out there pioneering, ignoring this will destroy your batteries, Good Luck! - J. Mo

James,
I noted with concern one item in the recent blog article: How to Capitalize on Urine, Car Batteries, Wood Ashes, Bones and Bird Schumer, by Jeff M. He recommended using car batteries for lead to cast bullets from. As a caster myself I have learned that this is an extremely hazardous thing to do. The lead plates in car batteries are impregnated with arsenic and calcium to aid the the chemical reaction to generate electricity. Melting these down will generate arsine gas which is highly poisonous. He also recommended using lead wheel weights. [Traditional lead alloy] wheel weights [made before the recent switch to zinc] are the preferred metal for most bullet casters. While they contain about a quarter of a percent of arsenic they do not contain calcium and do not generate arsine gas when melted. Safety First!
God Bless, - Jim E.

Ironically, I'm not talking about a person while writing this article. The truth is that in many situations, a firearm will be a Provider, Defender, and Companion, and more. Thus, it is only fitting that I shed some light on the very real necessity of proper firearms selection and maintenance.

In order to condense this article, and to prevent the inevitable debates, I am not going to list my preferences. Simply put, firearms are a means to an end. Whether it is the means of procuring game, fending off looters, quelling a riot, distracting and buying time, or just giving peace of mind, firearms are a “Leatherman” tool for many situations. But in order to ensure that they work when you want them to work you must have diligence in the proper selection, maintenance, storage, and operation of the weapon.

Selection- Ensure that the firearm you choose meets your specific need. What are you going to use it for? Hunting (what kind of game?) self defense (who/what are you defending yourself from?) skill honing (what skill are you trying to hone?) These should all be factors that weigh in when choosing a new/used firearm.
Many people, (me included) are always looking for the best deal. But when purchasing a firearm, you need to know where it is appropriate to cut corners in order to save money. For example: you walk into a store to buy a Brand X Model ###. There is a new one for sale for $550. Next to it there is the same model, used, for $350. Clearly the lower price would appeal to most of us, as there is a lot we can do with the difference! But here are a few things to consider/ask when purchasing a used firearm:

• Who was the previous owner? Was it an elderly man, a teenager, a soccer mom who carried it for defense, a gang member? Clearly these are extreme cases; nevertheless, this will give you a general idea of how the tool was cared for.
• How many rounds were fired through the firearm? Just like miles on your car, rounds through a firearm affect in the same way. General operation of the action, accuracy, and safety of the firearm can all suffer from "high mileage."
• What is the condition of the firearm? This sounds like a no brainer, but minor cosmetic flaws on a stock or grip, as well as some worn paint or bluing generally is not an issue. Deep pitting in the barrel, on the other hand could mean the difference of life or death!
• Bells and whistles. Does the new firearm come with an improved stock or trigger? A smoother action? Increased capacity? Or has the old (used) model had custom work done to it? A trigger job? Forcing cone lengthening (shotguns) etc? These may not be things you need, but if you plan on getting them later anyway, you may save time (and money) by purchasing them all at once.

Care - So now you have your firearm selected based on need, price, use, and however else you came up with to talk your significant other into letting you spend the money on it! It is now time to go sight-in / zero your weapon, learn its function and operation, and practice. But before you do, ensure that you take a little bit of time to care for the weapon first! I know what some of you may be thinking: Yes it is common sense to perform some level of maintenance prior to operating a weapon for the first time; however this is an article for the lowest level of firearms knowledge. We all must start somewhere!

Out of the box: if you purchased a new weapon, or if the used weapon came with an owner’s manual, this is the time to read it. [If not, then find a PDF of manual online, either from the gun maker's web site, or from Steve's Pages.] For all us free-thinking men, who hate reading directions, this one may be your exception. Building a garden bed wrong may take time, but improper operation of a weapon may take lives. Read your manual for proper assembly / disassembly, safety operation, etc. If you do not have a manual, or are a visual learner like myself, YouTube has an extensive FREE collection of videos. Just type your make and model, and watch the videos pile up!

So now that you have a basic familiarization with your weapon, take it apart as far as instructed in the manual. (This is what we call "operator level" disassembly.) For further disassembly, seek the help of a competent gunsmith! Once your firearm is taken apart, it is time to clean the weapon. Even if it is brand new out of the box, it is important to clean the weapon, as some packing grease is designed simply for corrosion resistance in transit and storage. In fact, it is dangerous to shoot a gun with grease in the bore. There are many different methods that can be used to clean the weapon.

After being in the military just a short time I had cleaned my weapon cleaned with Break-Free CLP as well as some not recommended expedients like shaving cream and Simple Green. Like weapon selection, everyone also has their own idea for cleaning and lubricating weapons, so at the end of this article I will list several good, proven brands, and let you experiment for yourself!

Once all of the firearm components are cleaned, it is time for reassembly and lubrication. A simple rule of thumb is that --t with the exception of the chamber-- if there is metal to metal contact, lube it up! The environment will be your biggest factor with lubricant. It can be too hot, too dry, too cold, too wet, etc. etc. One example I can give from firsthand knowledge. On my deployments to Iraq, I lubricated my weapon with a “dry” lube. You simply sprayed it on, and it formed a dry film on the components. This provided enough lubrication to aid in weapon function, but was not over lubricated enough to attract all of the dust in the desert to land on my firearm. Inversely, on my deployments to Afghanistan, I used a grease based lubricant (for the same weapon) there was less dust there to worry about, but the duration of our operations were longer and required a longer-lasting lubricant. Also, in the harsh mountain winters, the lubricant would not freeze up.

The single most important component that affects accuracy (aside from proper shooting techniques) is the barrel. Ensure special time and care is taken on cleaning the bore. A rule of thumb is to always drag the cleaning device in the same direction as the bullet takes. [JWR Adds: Be sure to pull the cleaning rod straight, as the last couple of inches of rifling are crucial to peak accuracy.] If you are shooting copper jacketed bullets, you may want to consider copper solvent for the barrel. You may look down a freshly-cleaned and notice nothing, but a couple wipes with the solvent, and you will be a believer!

Ensure that you clean your firearm at least as often as you shoot it. If it has been a while, give it a quick cleaning, or if it has been exposed to the elements, give it a once over. Rust can creep up faster than you think. And it doesn’t matter if you have the quickest draw in the west if you have the rustiest gun in the east!

Storage of your firearm is critical as well. Keep it in a controlled climate, free from dampness, and dust. If you bury your firearms, take extra care in waterproofing, and include moisture absorbing (silica gel) packets. If you have children, educate them, and ensure extra safety measures are taken.

 Here are a few brands of tried and true cleaning and lubrication products. Find the ones that works best for you, and buy plenty!

Cleaning:
            Hoppe's
            Remington
            Otis
            Birchwood Casey
            Shooter's Choice
            Break-Free CLP
            Kleen Bore
            (And in a pinch, carburetor cleaner and brake cleaner work well.)

Lubricating:
            Otis
            TW-25
            Mil-Spec
            Remington
            Tetra-Gun
            (And in a pinch, motor oil in small amounts or vegetable oil)

Note: Be careful what chemicals you use on plastic pieces, and around optics or accessories. Some cleaners and solvents may discolor or otherwise ruin the material!
           

This has been a ground level article on weapons selection and care. It is in no way the only way to do things, just a way that has worked for me, and has been learned through blood sweat and tears. I hope that it saves you all of them! Enjoy your firearms, and care for them so that they can care for you one day, be it putting food on the table, or preventing your family from being food on someone else’s! Practice, Practice, Practice, and Happy Hunting! - Survival Ranger

Jim,
First of all I am glad your newest book "How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It" is selling very well. It is a great book and I think just about everyone could benefit from reading it and having a copy on the shelf to reference. Anyway my question is about firearms spare parts. I have stashed a good amount of cash to purchase spare parts for my essential firearms and am not sure what to get. Thanks to a previous post here I have a a list for the AR platform. I am however just about clueless for the Remington 870, the Glock 9mm and the M1911. I have done some looking online and have seen lists here or there which are completely different from each other. I know you use the Remington 870 and the 1911 at the Rawles Ranch so I imagine you have thought those over a little bit. Also any thoughts you or your readers have about spare parts for the Glock platform would be highly appreciated.

Thank you very much for your time and effort. - TheOtherRyan (Co-editor of Total Survivalist Libertarian Rantfest)

JWR Replies: For some suggested spare parts to keep on hand, see these articles in the SurvivalBlog archives and at my static pages:

• My FAQs on magazines (M14/M1A, M16/AR-15, FAL, M1911, and M1 Carbine.) Magazines are often the most crucial spares. Readers are urged to get a good education before shopping for spare mags. Don't waste your money on unreliable aftermarket junk!)
  
• Lists of my recommended spare parts for AR-15s/M4s, Ruger 10/.22 rifles, M1911s and Clones, and Winchester Model 1894s
• Discussion of real world M1911, Glock, and XD parts failures, by a firearms instructor
• Discussion of Mini-14s
• Discussion of M1911 pistols spare magazines
• Brief discussion of Glocks spares, and Glock spare parts vendors
• Recommendations on Glock spares, from a legendary senior gunsmith
  
• Brief mention of FN-FAL spares and parts vendors
• Discussion of G3, M14, FAL, and L1A1 parts sets
• More discussion of AR-15/M4 spares
• A list of recommended spare parts sources (Also includes a list of some likely-to-fail AR-15/M4 parts)

Beyond those references, you should talk with specialist gunsmiths that are well-experienced with your particular models. Be sure to ask them not only about high breakage parts, but also high loss parts. Some parts under spring pressure tend to go flying across the room, during disassembly. Have you ever spent a half hour with a magnet, trolling through shag carpet in the search for a tiny, errant spring detent? I have!

In closing, I should remind readers to take full advantage of the SurvivalBlog archives, via the "Search Posts on SurvivalBlog:" box at the top of the right hand bar. If your question is technical, then odds are you can quickly find the answer in the more than 7,600 archived posts. They are all available free of charge.

The survival battery is a key issue for any prepper, as one of the biggest short-term concerns in a SHTF scenario is security. Stored supplies and learned skills are all for naught if you can't protect the supplies from theft or survive to put those skills to use. While I would love for everyone to have a chance for a top of the line Main Battle Rifle (MBR), they do not run cheap, nor is the ammunition cheap these days. While modern rifles have undoubted advantages, there are also a large number of older weapons that remain capable, and which most citizens can buy online with a little paperwork.

To trade firearms in interstate commerce, one must have a Federal Firearms License - an FFL. Once upon a time one could acquire a Type 01 FFL (also known as a dealer FFL) as a "home FFL" at a reasonable price and without too much trouble, but since about the Clinton administration they've become much tighter - looking to allow only those selling firearms for a profit. One option still remaining to us mere citizens is the Curios and Relics (C&R) FFL or 03 FFL) is a "collectors" license which allows you to purchase firearms on the C&R list in interstate commerce. This means that you can buy C&R handguns out of state, or can buy online and have them shipped directly to you through a "common carrier". A purchase at a gun show or dealer on a C&R FFL can legally dispense with all the paperwork and checks normally required - a signed copy of your C&R and payment is all that is needed. The C&R list is comprised of all firearms over 50 years old as well as firearms determined by BATF to be of special collector value. Some short-barreled firearms and large caliber "destructive devices" have been released from NFA status on the C&R list. Others (including all machineguns to my knowledge) remain NFA items despite their C&R status.

Why would a survival prepper want C&R firearms? Despite their age, there are some very capable firearms on the C&R list. If you're looking for a nice bolt-action rifle there are plenty of WWII era rifles that are both affordable and extremely accurate, such as the Mosin-Nagant (Russian WWI and Soviet/Finnish WWII), the Mauser (German WWII and Czech post-WWII), and the [Schmidt-Rubin] K31 (Swiss). If you're looking for an MBR on a budget you can look for an SKS (7.62x39), an FN-49 (multiple calibers including 8mm Mauser, .308, 7mm Mauser, and 30-06), or an M1 Garand (30-06), all of which are reasonably capable weapons even today. In many cases these are almost new (or totally new) rifles placed in storage before being replaced with newer models. For a reasonable price (and a little cosmoline cleanup) you can have a durable, high-quality rifle.

For pistols, I like the the TTC/TT33 in 7.62x25 Tokarev as a rugged "beater" pistol for cheap target practice (how can one beat 11 cents per round these days?), and at 1,400-to-1,600 fps, full metal jacket 7.62x25 can often penetrate NIJ Level II body armor. For a nice little plinking pistol I like the CZ-82 in 9x18 Makarov - a nice $200 pistol in a reasonably capable cartridge. While I wouldn't recommend it as a primary sidearm, its capable enough to stash one with 1,000 rounds or so in a burial tube or a pre-positioned store, or simply to get some target practice with more recoil than a .22 in a low-cost package. You can find .45 pistols (including WWII era M1911s) and 9x19s as well, though demand has often pushed the price up near the new cost (or above for true collectors' items).

With a military surplus ("milsurp") C&R gun of the right caliber you should be able to take advantage of available surplus ammunition to reduce training costs. For the price of 400 rounds of .30-06 I can buy a Mosin-Nagant bolt action rifle with 1,200 rounds of 7.62x54R ammunition (or 400 rounds and four Mosin-Nagant rifles). Once I have the cash I can add a "Dragunov" type (usually a Romanian PSL) as a longer-range MBR in the same caliber to round out the armory. And since this isn't a "pistol" caliber, you can purchase all the Armor Piercing (AP) or Armor Piercing -Incendiary (API) ammo you want. Sure, it isn't quite as sexy as a more modern solution (FAL/HK/M1A + .308 bolt action), but it'll save you $400 or more on the rifles alone. And don't discount the lower ammo costs - ammo turns money into skill. There's little point worrying about 2.5 MOA vs 1 MOA accuracy if your training limits you to 4 MOA.

The availability of modestly priced weapons also gives added flexibility when considering how to arm "guests" or how to have firearms available for trade in a SHTF scenario. A few bolt action rifles, battle carbines, or surplus pistols held in reserve can allow you to make guests useful in security or hunting without degrading the armories of the principal preppers. The more paranoid may also make sure that any new arrivals are using only "obscure" or "oddball" calibers (that you've stocked in some quantity) to encourage their loyalty - if you're the only source of ammunition for a particular rifle it remains most valuable when you're working in line with the goals of the primary preppers. It would certainly be preferable to only work with trusted individuals, but we do not control every situation we find ourselves in - only our reactions. One can have an option and not use it, but you can't use an option that you haven't given yourself.

Don't want a Federal FFL on your record? You can do almost as well by making friends with a C&R holder. A C&R is not a dealer license - you are not permitted to run a business on it, although incidental profits on sales are acceptable. A C&R holder may however purchase multiple firearms of the same type looking for a particularly high quality specimen - and as a friend you could offer to buy an uglier gun that's merely a "good shooter" from them. You both win in such a case - you get a nice firearm with little paper trail at a good price, and the C&R holder gets a better quality rifle for their collection. It should also be noted that as a C&R holder you do not need to go through an NICS check nor file form 4473, since the transfer is between FFL holders. Additionally, unlike a dealer FFL your bound book is your own, and does not need to be surrendered if the FFL expires. The ATF can request an inspection once per year while you hold the FFL, but cannot drop in randomly and must allow for off-site inspection of the firearms in the bound book and the bound book itself.

I would highly recommend that preppers consider a C&R license and firearms, particularly the military surplus weaponry, as a valuable resource. Cheap and rugged weapons together with lower-cost surplus ammunition make an attractive package - even if they're not your primary tactical weapon, they're perfectly functional as a secondary arm for hunting, scouting, or other such tasks. They're also very attractive for an emergency cache or a pre-positioned store, as the lower cost enables you to purchase more weaponry for your investment. This is one of the few crumbs the Feds have seen fit to leave us mere mortals - we may as well take advantage of it while we can!

James,
I enjoy your blog. I'm praying the Lord's peace during your mourning. I greatly enjoyed the recent letter on Lessons-Learned from Alaska.

I'd like to add:
One way to deal with condensation on a rifle, or other piece of equipment, in cold climates is to bag it in plastic [such as a trash bag) outside, before entering a warm area. Once inside, the condensation will build up on the exterior of the bag. Once the rifle, or other equipment, comes up to the indoor temperature it may be removed from the plastic cover [and checked for condensation].

Lord Bless and Keep and Shine. - Cloudwarmer

James,
Going through some old gear last month, I found my food supply lists and notes from 1976-79. I thought the old list might be of interest and the lessons I learned during the first three years in the remote Alaska bush may be helpful to a few of your readers. I do not recommend Alaska for a TEOTWAWKI retreat but the lessons I learned the hard way may be helpful to any one in a cold climate.

I grew up in California listing to stories from my grandfather about Alaska and the Yukon. When I graduated from high school my grandfather gave me his remote trapping cabin in Alaska. At 18 I had a lot to learn and discovered many things the hard way. I was lucky to survive the first year.

When I got to Alaska I met my Grandfather’s old trapping partner. He told me that the cabin was fully stocked with everything including food. Enough food and supplies for at least one winter. When I started asking him questions on how to trap he told me “sonny I have not got the time to teach you and since you don’t have to build the cabin you will have time to figure it out. He added half under his breath” providing you do not fall through the ice or freeze to death. He also said something to the effect that if he had not owed my grandfather a favor he would never give his ½ of the cabin to a long haired hippy kid from California. I had to promise the old Sourdough that I would have all of his traps flown back to town at the end of the trapping season or buy the traps from him.

My first winter was a disaster.

Before this the longest I had been in the wilderness was a 23 day Outward Bound survival class that I attended the year before and I had never spent a winter in a cold environment.

To get to the trapping cabin it was at least a two week walk from the end of closest dirt road or a 1:20 hour flight in a bush plane. The cheapest way to fly to the cabin was in a Piper PA-18 Super Cub on tundra tires. The pilot told me he could carry 1 passenger and 200 lbs of supplies or a total of 400 pounds of supplies and no passenger.

When the pilot dropped me off he told me “If I am in the area I will check on you” He did not have any charters that way so he did not check on me that winter.

I got out of the plane with a full back pack of gear, a duffel bag of supplies and a 30-06 rifle. I had to walk a few miles to the cabin. I left the duffel bag in a tree to retrieve later. With a full back pack and my rifle I walked as fast as I could to the cabin. I was excited to see “My cabin” at last. What a shock I had when I saw the cabin! The old Trapper had lived many winters in the cabin and told me it was built strong. What I found was a small log shack with a dirt floor and sod roof. In the cabin a wood stove, a hand built bed frame and table. A old bed mattress suspended by wire from the rafters. There were traps, snow shoes, ax, bow saw, one man cross cut saw, files, a lantern and the other basics that are needed to survive the Alaska winter as a trapper. The trapper had not been to the cabin for four years. At least 60% of the food supply that I was counting on had been eaten by rodents or had spoiled.

First lesson learned! If you count on food to be there when you need it, You better have had your food stored in a very secure way or you may go hungry. Theft is also something to be considered in today’s society and in TEOTWAWKI losing your food cache would be disastrous

Most people think it must have been boring spending 4 ½ months alone in a cabin. The reality is I was too busy just trying to cut enough wood to stay warm and skin the marten, fox or wolf that I trapped or shot. I was cold, hungry and exhausted most of the time. I never had the time to get board. Being a green horn at trapping I only averaged 1 animal a week and it was usually shot instead of trapped.

The first winter at the cabin.

As soon as I walked into the cabin I I knew I was in trouble. I did not have the 4-to-5 month supply of food I needed. I had a topo map of the trapping area only but did not have the maps to get me back to the road or town, Second lesson! Make your Egress plans ahead of time and have at least 2 good contingency plans.

Thankfully in the cabin there were two steel drums with snap ring lids that were full of dry goods and on the shelves were some cans of dried goods that were also still good. The following list is what was still edible in the cabin as best as I can remember

• 50 lbs Bisquick
• 50 lbs Beans
• 25 lbs Rice
• 10 Lbs Lentils
• 20 lbs Oatmeal
• 10 lbs Coffee
• 2 lbs black pepper
• 10 lbs Crisco
• 4 lbs Honey
• 25 lbs salt

The supplies along with a young moose I shot did keep me alive but it was no fun. I had youth and enthusiasm on my side and knew the situation was temporary. I decided to just make it a challenge and kind of live some of my grandfather's stories first hand for myself. I had in my pack 1 roll of toilet paper but there was none at the cabin

Third Lesson! Birch bark, snow or small pine cones work but make a very poor substitute for toilet paper. I also learned later that winter that at -40 your butt will freeze to a wood toilet seat in the outhouse. Make a toilet seat for the outhouse out of hard blue Styrofoam for winter will make using the outhouse less of a pain in the butt.

As fall quickly turned to winter the lake next to the cabin froze and the temp continued to drop. The high quality mountaineering boots I had used in the high Sierra mountains of California and Nevada were not anywhere near warm enough and did not have removable liners so the boots were hard to dry.

Forth lesson Pac boots with 2 sets of liners or bunny boots are must have items for cold environments.

Many times during the winter I could have shot Grouse or Ptarmigan If I had a 22 pistol. That would have added much wanted variety to the menu. The other problem I learned is if you get a wolf or wolverine in one of your traps a 30-06 blows too big a hole in the hide and destroys most of the value of the fur.

Fifth Lesson! a .22 rifle or pistol is a must have item.

After 2 months my clothes were in bad shape. Most Light weight high tech clothing used for backpacking or mountaineering is not designed for day to day hard use and does not hold up to rigors outdoor work for the long haul. High quality wool clothing does a lot better over the long haul and is not susceptible to melting next to a fire like nylon is. Yes wool is heavy and takes longer to dry but in my opinion for working in the woods wool is the way to go.

Sixth lesson ! clothing made for loggers, Surveyors and commercial fisherman may be heavy but it last a lot better than sporting gear. Filson is the best.

My diet was boring and I was always hungry after two months. I started getting sick and my teeth seemed to be getting loose. It finally dawned on me that I had no intake of Vitamin C. I may have had Scurvy. Remembering something I learned from my grandfather I started eating rose hips that were dried and still hanging on a few bushes near the cabin. Thankfully we did not have deep snows that year so I could find a few rose hips. I was lucky! Seventh Lesson! make sure you have a source of Vitamin C.

Every time I took my rifle inside the warm cabin it would condensate and the rifle would get wet.

Eighth Lesson If you bring a rifle into a warm cabin from a below freezing environment it will condensate, this promotes corrosion in addition the moisture in the bolt may be frozen the next time you are outside in the cold. If you do bring a weapon in from the cold strip it down, dry it and clean it. I left my rifle outside next to the door for most of the winter and only brought it in to clean. This would not work in a TEOTWAWKI so other tactics will have to be developed.

One morning there was a small earth quake that got me to thinking of my family and the outside world. Started felling very alone. Starting thinking what if the Russians had dropped “the bomb” I would not know it.

Lesson #9! Being able to at least hear what is going on in the outside world helps your mental attitude a lot. A radio to listen to the news was smoothing I longed for.

Snow shoes are easy to use and most anyone will figure them out quickly. When you are working on snow shoes you will fall now and then. Lesson # 10 tape the muzzle of your rifle to keep snow out of the barrel when you take the invariable header into the snow. I use electrical tape or put a condom over the muzzle of all my rifles in the field to keep everything out of the barrel. It will not affect accuracy unless you are shooting over 300 yards.

The winter was full of hardship and big education. I did enjoy it but given a choice I would not want to repeat that Winter. In the spring I sold my furs in Anchorage. The fur buyer could tell I had never trapped before as the way I had prepared the pelts was poor at best. I got .20 cents on the dollar for my pelts and I think that was generous on the part of the fur buyer. 4-½ months of hard work and after paying the bush pilot along with the money I still owed the trapper I would have less than $100. The trapper met me at the fur buyer after paying him for his traps he was now very friendly and asked me many questions. He encouraged me to go back for at least one more winter. He told me to go get a bath and haircut and meet him at the White Spot cafe down the street in downtown Anchorage and he would buy me a good meal. While eating he handed me a the following list

• 90 lbs bisquick
• 50 lbs Beans
• 50 lbs Rice
• 25 lbs Salt
• 25 lbs Lentils
• 20 lbs oatmeal
• 10 lbs Sugar
• 10 lbs lard
• 10 lbs powdered milk
• 10 lbs split peas
• 10 lbs Tang [freeze-dried orange juice powder]
• 10 lbs coffee
• 10 lbs noodles
• 1 case tomato paste
• 5 lbs strawberry Jam
• 4 lbs honey
• 2 lbs pepper
• 5 gal White gasoline
• 4 large boxes wood matches
• 24 large Plumber's Candles
• 8 rolls toilet paper
• 6 lantern mantels
• 7 Lbs Trapping wire
• Gun oil
• Trapping lures and scents

This was the list of supplies that the trapper had the pilot bring to the cabin each spring when the plane came to pick him up. This filled what would have otherwise been an empty plane. In early April the lake next to the cabin was still frozen so the plane would land on skis and taxi next to the cabin. The pilot and trapper would put the supplies into the cabin then the pilot flew the trapper back to town.

The Trapper then informed me that he had purchased the supplies for me and was having them flown to the cabin along with 2 more steel drums to safely store the supplies in.

The "Rifle and a Backpack" Myth

I often get a chuckle from people that think they can fill a back pack and head into the woods and survive long term with what is in a back pack. Until recently I spent most of my life guiding in Alaska and in Africa. I spent an average 110 days a year living out of a back pack under a tarp or in a pup tent, and another 180 days each year living in a remote cabins without electricity or running water.

In an uninhabited game rich environment with a rifle and only a back pack of gear I could survive for a period of time. How long could I survive? I do not know as there are too many variables.

What I do know is in the case of TEOTWAWKI where many people would be fleeing the cities and overcrowding the wild places looking for food I could not survive trying to live off the land with only a back pack full of gear. There will simply not be the recourses available. If a skilled person had no ethics they could take to stealing, looting, probably murder/cannibalism they might make it long term starting with only a back pack full of gear. For me and my family I believe in preparing now and stocking up while food and supplies are available and reasonably priced.

In the early 1980s I bought a lot of my supplies from a sporting goods/gun store in Anchorage. The store maintained an excellent inventory for hunters, trappers or survivalists. The store manager could talk the talk on both survival and hunting. One fall he hired me to take him on a 14-day bow hunting trip into the Alaska bush and film the adventure. He also hired a young guy that had just moved to Alaska from Georgia to help carry camera gear. I was concerned regarding the greenhorn from Georgia and even more concerned when I saw his marginal gear. The Georgia greenhorn however did fine and was a huge help on the trip. The trip however was a complete failure. The store manager had every neat gadget I had ever seen and many that I had never heard of. His pack was too full to carry any of the food or camera gear. He was out of shape and his pack was also too heavy for him to comfortably carry. After the float plane dropped us off on a high mountain lake we planned to walk for a week to my cabin hunting Dall Sheep on the way. Then at the Cabin we planned to hunt Moose and Grizzly. During the first 2 days the store manager left a lot of gadgets and some much needed gear on the trail to lighten his pack. I was stunned as I thought this guy knew his stuff but he was totally bewildered on how to apply his knowledge or gear in the field. One of the things I still clearly remember is he actually dumped all of his extra socks and his rain gear at the first nights camp. Leaving that gear behind cost him dearly. The Greenhorn from Georgia was a farm kid and was able to adapt to the Alaska bush even with his marginal gear and lack of knowledge of the Alaska bush. The store manager never made a single stalk on any animal as it became a challenge to just get the store manager to the cabin. By the time we got him to the cabin his feet were so badly blistered he could hardly walk and could not even carry his own pack or bow. This rambling story actually has a point. I had heard the store manager tell many people before our trip that with his properly equipped backpack he could easily survive in the bush indefinitely. My grandfather use to say: "Ignorance is bliss but it will not put food on the table."

My Second Winter

I still had a lot to learn but this winter was a lot better. First thing when I arrived at the cabin was to see that the supplies were all there and in fine shape. I also had topo maps and now knew 3 different routes to get back to civilization. It was at least a 2 week walk but I at least knew the routes to get there.

In a TEOTWAWKI situation if you are at your retreat in the winter you will probably also get into a routine. That could be both good and bad. Think security and mix the times up so ambush is harder for the goons to set up.

Winter set in, an in my second winter in the cabin, it did not take long to get into my routine. Every day starts the same. At approximately 6:00 A.M. The alarm clock goes off. What I mean the stove has only a few coals left and the cabin is freezing so I have to get up and stoke the fire. Then step outside into the extreme cold. Cut a log into rounds and this is done in the dark. Then go down to the lake still in the dark (batteries for the flashlight are too precious to waste and so is gas for the lantern) carefully chip the ice around each of five fishing lines with a hatchet. Pull up the hook hoping for a burbut (fresh water ling cod) reset the bait, haul water back to the cabin. If I had not caught a fish for breakfast then on the meat pole next to the cabin I used the saw and cut off a frozen chunk of caribou. Still dark and I am cold, step into the cabin warm up my frozen hands, dry my gloves and cook breakfast on the wood stove. Then put the dutch oven with beans, lentils or rice on the wood stove to rehydrate while I am gone for the day. Pack my lunch: two pancakes with a slab of cooked caribou meat in the middle, also put one tablespoon of tang into my insulated water bottle then fill it with hot water from the pot on the stove. Warm tang makes a nice mid morning warm up on the trail and is a source of Vitamin C.

As it is just starting to get light strap on the snow shoes and head out pulling the sled. If it has not snowed I can walk on top of the packed trail with the snow shoes on the sled.

The day is spent dragging the sled checking and resetting traps while constantly looking for a wolf, fox or wolverine to shoot. During each day I must also find a dry standing dead spruce tree to cut down and limb with the ax then using the sled haul it back to the cabin. Must always be on my main trail with everything tied onto the sled before it is completely dark. Days are short: the mid-winter sun is only up for 4 ½ hrs. I used my flashlight is only for emergencies.

Following a packed trail is easy in the dark just remember to get behind the sled on any downhill or the sled will hit you in the back of your legs and could break a snowshoe or your leg. Usually get back to the cabin long after dark.

Lesson # 11 Cross country skis are no substitute for snow shoes.

The snow shoes at the cabin were old and on the last legs of useful life. Instead of bringing a new set of snow shoes I had purchased a new set of back country cross country skis to the cabin. I thought I would use the snow shoes as a backup. Learned that skis are not as good to work on as snow shoes for doing chores or trapping. Skis have a place and can save time but are not a replacement for snow shoes. In snow country snow shoes are essential and skis are a nice luxury.

Each night when I finally arrive at the cabin I am tired and hungry. First thing is to start the fire then fix dinner. After dinner if I was lucky that day I can light the lantern and skin whatever I had trapped or shot after it has thawed. 9:15 PM is the highlight of the day! I get to listen to the AM radio for 45 minutes.

Lesson #8 and had brought a radio this time. Always hoping Caribou Clatters has a message for me from my family. Allow myself 45 minutes to read by lantern or candle light. 11:00 PM re-stoke the fire and collapse on the bed. The radio, dinner and sleep are the reward of a day’s hard work. Around 2:30 AM the fire has burned to just a few coals and I get cold, get up put more wood on and go back to sleep. The next thing I know it is 6:00 AM the fire has burned to just a few coals and it is freezing in the cabin and the day starts all over again.

Lesson #12 In a cold winter climate Use no oil in the bolt or trigger assembly of your rifle as it may freeze. I tried to shoot at a wolf (a wolf hide was then worth $450) when I pulled the trigger on my rifle it only went click. The firing pin would not strike the primer with enough force to set off the primer. After the second try and another click the wolf ran off and out of range. That was only an expensive lesson. In a TEOTWAWKI it could have been some one shooting at me and I would have had a useless rifle.

On my daily trips to check the fishing lines and get water I knew the ice was 28” thick and still getting thicker each week. A December day the temp was -27 F and I was crossing the outlet end of a small lake to check out some tracks. Not worrying as I thought the ice was 28” thick everywhere I fell through the ice and found myself waist deep in water. This was two miles from my cabin It was all I could do to make it to the cabin.

Lesson #13 any out let or inlet of a frozen lake may have thin ice also a warm spring or other things can cause thin ice. The fire was out in my stove and no coals were left. I had a very hard time getting a fire started and as a last resort used white gas and almost burned down the cabin.

Lesson #14 have the kindling and all the fixings of a fire ready any time you leave your cabin. You never know when someone may be at the end of their strength and need to get a fire going.

One evening in early January I returned to the cabin to find a note and care package on the table from the bush pilot. The pilot had brought me a bag of oranges, a fruit cake and a newspaper. He also left three letters from my family. It was if I had won the lottery

As the snow got deeper during the winter I started finding that many animals liked to use my packed trail. I learned never underestimate the danger of a moose particularly in the winter if they are on a packed trail they may charge you instead of going into deep snow. I had a cow moose chase me up a tree then stomp my on sled and break one of my snow shoes.

Lesson #15 Moose are dangerous, especially late winter

In early February I came across Grizzly tracks in the snow. I was shocked as I thought that bears would be in the den all winter. I followed the tracks and found the bear had made a moose kill.

Lesson # 16 Grizzly bears and black bears do not truly hibernate and may be out of the den during any month of the year. Over the years I learned if a bear is away from his den in the winter it will be hungry and grumpy.

As a kid I loved watching western movies. It seemed to me cowboys wore their handgun in a low slung fast draw holster and I thought that was cool. The western style fast draw holsters I tried in the bush were useless. I now see that some law enforcement and military teams are using a thigh mounted holster. I am not disputing the tactical points of that method but if you are working in the woods you will occasionally fall into snow or mud. That is when you want your hand gun in a full flap holster or in a normal holster worn under the last layer of clothing. Getting your hand gun into your hand fast is of no use if it will not fire when you need it.

Lesson #18 Select holsters that will allow you to comfortably carry your hand gun with you at all times and will protect the weapon from the elements. I have tried over 40 different holsters and method of carrying my handgun. I strongly suggest you experiment now on how to carry your own handgun. Find something that works for you. I presently use three different holsters:

• A holster that I use to carry concealed when I am in a city environment.
• A holster when I am working in the bush.
• A holster when I am flying float planes.

In March, the bush pilot landed on the frozen lake with 400 lbs of supplies. He helped me put the food into the steel drums for the next trapping season then flew me back to town.

I had spent 160 days alone in the bush trapping. I sold my furs to the fur buyer in Anchorage. After paying the bush pilot for the supplies and flights to the cabin and back I had cleared $2,700.

I learned a lot that winter and over the years refined the old trappers list to keep me well fed and a lot happier.

A More Complete Supply List

After my experiences the first two winters, I composed the following list. This is for one man for five to six months. It was refined for my personal taste and needs in the Alaska bush. The old trapper that I got my first list from made do with a lot less than what I took. This list is tried and true and not a just theory that someone made up. I had around 200 traps and ran the line on snowshoes, foot and skis. Cut my firewood by hand (no chain saw) and hauled my water from the lake in buckets. It was hard work 12-15 hours a day 7 days a week and I burned a lot of calories. Using the following list I ate well and always had plenty of supplies left in the spring:

• 50 lbs Flour
• 50 lbs Bisquick
• 25 lbs Pancake mix
• 35 lbs Sugar
• 50 lbs Pinto Beans
• 25 lbs Rice
• 40 lbs Salt pork
• 25 lbs Salt
• 10 lbs Dried prunes
• 10 lbs Raisons
• 10 lbs Dried apricots
• 10 lbs Dried apples
• 10 lbs Dried peaches
• 25 lbs Oatmeal
• 10 lbs Honey
• 2 cases Tomato paste
• 25 lbs powdered milk
• 15 lbs [canned] Butter
• 25 lbs Corn meal
• 25 lbs [canned] Cheese
• 20 lbs Spaghetti Noodles
• 10 lbs Crisco
• 15 lbs Hot cocoa mix
• 10 lbs Dried eggs
• 5 lbs Strawberry Jam
• 3 lbs Apricot Jam
• 2 boxes Pilot bread
• 1 gal Maple Syrup
• 180 Multi vitamins
• 180 Vitamin C
• 1 lb [powdered dry] Yeast
• 180 Tea bags
• 1 lbs Pepper
• 1 lbs
• Baking soda
• 8 lbs
• Dried onions
• 1 lb Baking powder
• 1 lb. Corn starch
• 24 oz Garlic powder
• 12 oz Vanilla
• 2 rolls aluminum foil
• 1/2 gal Dish soap
• 5 bars non-scented soap
• 36 Canning lids (to can meat if we had a winter thaw or for leftover in the spring)
• 8 oz Hydrogen peroxide
• 2 oz Iodine
• 12 rolls Toilet paper
• 2 Small sponges
• 2 Scrub pads
• 1 roll Duct Tape
• 4 boxes of wooden Matches
• 24 Plumber's candles
• 500 rounds .22 long rifle hollow point ammo
• 100 .308 ammo 125 grain hollow point varmint ammo
• 20 rounds .308 ammo 180 grain (for Moose or Caribou )
• Trapping license and regulations
• Hunting license, moose tags and caribou tags
• New snowshoe bindings
• 1 truck inner tube
• 3 New hacksaw blades
• 2 New Ax handles
• 8 Bow saw blades
• 36 oz Lanolin
• 6 Disposable lighters
• 12 gal White gas [aka Coleman Fuel]
• 12 Lantern mantels
• 6 oz. Gun oil
• Trapping Lures, urine and musk
• 10 lbs Trap wax
• 2 rolls Survey ["flagging"] tape
• 1 pair Heavy Neoprene trapping gloves
• 7 lbs Trapping wire( 50% 12 ga and 50% 14 ga)
• 50 ft Trap Chain #2 and #3
• 24 Links
• 24 Swivels
• AM Radio with 8 extra 9 volt batteries
• 8’ New stove pipe for cabin stove
• 4 Leather awl needles and 50’ waxed thread
• Extra shoulder straps for pack frame
• Extra hip belt for pack
• New lid for fry pan 14”
• 100’ - 3/8 nylon rope
• 12x18” glass to replace cracked window
• Personal items
• 1 Wool Jacket
• 2 Wool pants
• 2 Work pants
• 1 Pair insulated Carhartt coveralls
• 4 Pair work gloves
• 2 Pair heavy winter over mittens.
• Winter trappers hat
• 1 pair
• Pack boots with 2 sets liners
• 1 pair Bunny Boots
• 1 Wool sweater
• 4 pair long sleeved wool shirts
• 3 pair Wool long john pants
• 3 pair Wool long john shirts
• 8 pair Wool socks
• 8 pair Cotton socks
• 6 pair Underpants
• 1 Bible
• 2 flying ground school books
• 6 Short sleeve Cotton shirts
• Tooth brush
• Tooth powder
• 2 rolls dental floss
• Carried or in an external frame pack:
• 1 .308 rifle
• 1 22 pistol (Colt Woodsman)
• Rain coat
• Rain pants
• Insolite sleeping pad
• Sleeping bag
• 10x12’ and 4x8’ light nylon tarps
• Flashlight
• Flashlight batteries
• Binoculars, 10x40
• Green River skinning knife, caping knife, boning knife.
• Small stone, small file and small diamond steel
• Compass
• Topo maps 1:250,000 scale
• 2 Candles
• Matches in waterproof container
• Lighter
• Small cook pot with lid
• Water bottle
• 100’ Parachute cord
• Small First aid kit with Large suture needles and suture, in sealed pack
• Mini channel locks (Snap-on) used for sutures and other things
• Pack repair kit
• ¾-length Hand ax. (Estwing)
• Small shovel
• Bow saw with extra blade
• 1 pair wool socks
• Wire snares
• Fish hooks and line
• 25’ .042” stainless wire
• 1 lb Dried soup mix

Dear SurvivalBlog Readers:
The immediate impression of most shooters, upon hearing "Kalashnikov", will involve the words cheap and reliable. Non-shooters will often maintain a huge negative connotation to the AK-47 and its variants, though they may not recognize the maker's name. I will not delve into the rifle's history today, but instead intend to highlight a weapons platform and illustrate the finer points in favor and against its use.

The AK-47 is a legendary weapon, known for its ability to fire under incredibly challenging circumstances. While some rifles may require regular and frequent care to keep them running properly, it is a commonly-held notion that the AK platform requires only ammunition and a clear chamber to function reliably. Of course, the rifle will perform better and will be far more durable if properly cared for, but if one should find himself engaged in a protracted struggle and without the room, tools, or time to safely maintain the weapon, the owner of an AK variant is going to find himself very satisfied with its performance even if several days, weeks, or months pass without cleaning or lubricant application. This is the core of my survival philosophy: “My weapon must fire every time, without fail, without an excess of labor on my part.” While I will regularly strip, clean, and lubricate my rifle, it should not be picky or prone to jam should I fail to do so for a longer period of time. The Kalashnikov family of weapons has absolutely proven itself in this arena for several decades.

Where else can one find a massive stock of .30-caliber rifles in a military configuration for under $600 each? Certainly not in an AR variant platform. While I heartily endorse the rough and ready nature of the ROMAK WASR-10, the only alternative for a shooter who wants a full-power cartridge in a semi-automatic, magazine-fed rifle is the Saiga line, in which the discriminating shooter can find .223, .308 Win, and 7.62x39 rifles which fit within the budget restriction. However, I always recommend a WASR on the grounds of parts commonality. The Saiga line of rifles uses a different magazine well, requiring modification to use military surplus and commercial 30-round magazines - and their proprietary magazines are expensive.

My number one reason for recommending a WASR over a Saiga is the availability of replacement parts and aftermarket accessories. The AK parts market is a leviathan in our country, with numerous small shops dedicated to crafting excellent quality parts for Kalashnikov rifles. The rifle is ubiquitous enough that most gunsmiths will have an easy time modifying just about any part of the rifle or adding any part you might come across. As a last aside, I've never attended a gun show at which AKs, ammunition, and parts were not available.

If you anticipate that a TEOTWAWKI scenario would shut down some of this availability, you may rest assured. Plans for the AK are available online (print and laminate a set today) and any talented machinist should be able to design, build, and test replacement AK parts with minimal difficulty or investment. If your chosen machinist is outfitted with alternative power arrangements, he or she should have no problems replacing worn parts - or even stamping entirely new receivers – during or after a crisis or SHTF scenario.

A shooter who doesn't have the $1,200-2,000 required for a high-quality full-bore rifle and glass may just find that an AK and good scope will fit better into a smaller budget, and offer comparable battlefield performance to a trained marksman. Above every other consideration, the quality of the shooter and his or her training is paramount. While a life-long, talented and devoted shooter may wring every last bit of potential from his or her rifle, the vast majority of us will be incapable of getting the best possible groups with our rifles until we’ve had significant range time and quality, professional training. In most cases, the AK offers an opportunity to acquire rifle, glass, ammunition, and ample training for the price you’d pay to get rifle and glass in some of the AR-15 or M1A designs.

As with all things in life, we take the good with the bad. The AK platform does, clearly, have some of the latter. If not, wouldn't everyone be an AK shooter?

First, an out-of-the-box AK will not have tack-driver accuracy. Nor would we want it, if it did. A "new" AK rifle, fed the most economical Wolf-brand commercial ammunition, will generally deliver a 2-4 MOA (MOA =[Roughly one] inch at one hundred yards) performance. For most AK owners, the knowledge that they can hit a circle averaging 3" in diameter at one hundred yards is plenty. These shooters always aim center-of-mass, and rely on the power of the 7.62 x 39 cartridge, which is fully capable of taking down the particular kind of big game for which it was designed.

There are a few AKs out there which possess better-than-typical accuracy, and which in the hands of a good shooter can produce 1-2 MOA groups. However, the vast majority of AK owners will never tune their rifles to the extent necessary to get this tight, because the steps necessary to wring this performance out of the rifle will also have a deleterious effect on the reliability of the firearm. Imagine that you have a two-ended spectrum; on the left, you have "looseness" or reliability, and on the right, you have "tightness" or accuracy. The AK-47 may be tuned to for either purpose, though the platform has a natural affinity for the reliability side of the spectrum.

The other negative with the rifle platform is the perception it engenders in civilians and in professional shooters. Non-shooter civilians will tend to recoil at the sight of an AK-47, as though it were possessed by the demons of the old Soviet Union. It has strong associations with our old nemesis, as well as revolutionaries, rebels, and terrorists. This is mostly because it has been a cheap, reliable rifle for people too poor or too politically isolated from the US to buy the M16 and other Stoner-derived weapons.

Professional shooters such as soldiers, mercenaries, and police will generally recognize the distinctive silhouette of the AK and the sound of its report, and have a tendency to associate both with a hostile force. This is largely because they and their allies carry the US-designed platforms, while the gang members, rebels, insurgents, and terrorists they've been fighting often carry the Kalashnikov.

Overcoming this prejudice pre-TEOTWAWKI is more a matter of common sense and restraint (not carrying openly except when at the range), while post-TEOTWAWKI few will encounter discrimination against someone willing to carry a rifle and help defend the community.

In conclusion, the Kalashnikov pattern deserves consideration from two groups of survivalists: those who can't afford to properly outfit an AR-15 or M1A or equivalent, and those who perceive rock-solid reliability as a paramount feature in a firearm. Even in the case of those who can afford a “better” rifle, the AK offers economy of savings which can be hard to ignore. It carries only the drawbacks of larger shot groups and perceptions among the general population, which can be overcome through practice and some wise decisions regarding the presentation of the weapon. - Z.M.

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.

“Everything in life is a trade-off.”  There’s wisdom in that and anyone who wants to be prepared has to make the best trade-offs for functionality and their budget. 

Most people who prepare for emergency scenarios, whether it be civil unrest, terrorist attack, EMP, or whatever, include a firearm in their plans. A firearm provides protection and a way to harvest game that is second-to-none.  But firearms require cartridges and there’s the rub.  Unless your last name is Gates, Walton, or Rockefeller, you can’t afford to have 10,000 rounds of ammunition just setting around.  If you have regular job and are working on being prepared as a contingency, you can’t spend all your money and time on ammunition.  There are too many other things that need to be bought and done.

This article assumes you know some basic nomenclature.  If you look at a centerfire cartridge, that is almost any [modern brass-cased[ cartridge except a .22 you’ll see on the bottom a circle that is the primer, which is the contact explosive which sets off the main gunpowder charge.  The cartridge case is the brass tube that holds the primer and the bullet.  The bullet is the projectile that the powder charge forces down the barrel and out to do the actual work.  Fully loaded and ready to shoot, this is called a cartridge. 

Reloading your ammunition is a way to get multiple shots from one cartridge case.  Reloading treats the bullet, primer, and powder as expendables, and recycles the brass case to be used again.  Here again, there are trade-offs.  You can easily spend over $2,000 for reloading supplies for just one cartridge and need a full-size workbench just to reload your ammunition  $2,000 buys a lot of ammunition and unless you are a competitive shooter who shoots hundreds of rounds a week, this is probably not the way you’ll want to go.  You can step down to a couple hundred dollars for a reloading press and dies that will do an excellent job, but still is bulky and hard to transport if you have to leave in a hurry.

There is a way to reload that only takes up about as much space as a paperback book and only requires a wooden stump and a small chunk of wood to completely reload ammunition if you have the consumables: the Lee Loader. This simplified reloading device was invented in 1958 by Richard Lee.  Although the center fire rifle and pistols reloading kits did not come around until a couple of years after that.  I recently purchased a couple of loaders for less than $20 each online on sale.  This will give you easily over $100 to spend on consumables.  You can stock up quite a bit of primer, powder, and bullets for the $100 (at minimum) you saved by going with a Lee Loader. 

These loaders have superb accuracy and lengthen the life of the case because they only size the neck of the case.  A regular press with dies sizes the whole body which is necessary if your brass has been fired in more than one firearm.  However, if you’re only using one firearm for that caliber, the brass will fire form to fit that chamber like a glove.  The accuracy is second to none.  For over seven years, according to the Lee web site, the Guinness World Record for accuracy was held by ammunition loaded by a Lee Loader. 

[JWR Adds: Because these small hand presses do not full-length re-size cases, they may prove unsuitable for reloading ammunition for many semi-auto rifles, but they usually work fine for single shot and bolt action rifles. ]
  
The small plastic case contains four or five parts that let you de-prime, size, re-prime, charge, and seat the bullet on the case.  I’ve seen a video on You Tube of a man starting with a once fired case, completing all the steps and having a round ready to go in 40 seconds.  I wouldn’t recommend going this fast.  Although, after using one to reload several hundred rounds, you’ll begin to get a rhythm that will increase your speed.

The first step is to de-prime the case.  The kit comes with a de-priming pin and de-priming chamber which basically holds the base of the cartridge but doesn’t support the spent primer.  By sliding the pin through the case neck onto the primer, a simple tap with either a non-marring hammer or a piece of wood drives the spent primer out of the case. 
Here’s where an extra not included in the kit can be very handy.  A case-specific trimmer can be used to make sure that the brass hasn't flowed forward and your case has hence become too long.  The
load card that comes with the kit gives the maximum trim length of the cartridge as well as the maximum overall length.  So another extra that would be very handy is a set of calipers. 

The second step is resizing the neck.  The largest part of the kit is the resizing chamber which is just a piece of steel machined to the size of the case.  By putting the case into the chamber and driving it home with whatever you used to de-prime the case, you size the neck to fit the new projectile. 

The third step is to re-prime the case.  With the case fully seated in the sizing die, a new primer is set on the priming chamber cup up.  Then you turn the sizing die upside down so that the base of the cartridge is pointing down and place this over the priming chamber.  They are made to fit together so that the pocket and the primer will match over each other.  Then the priming rod is fed into the case mouth just like the de-primer which was used earlier.  A couple of good solid whacks will seat the primer into the pocket.  Because of variations in pocket depth and primer sensitivity, you should make sure that your head is not above the case when doing this.  Although I’ve only had it happen a few times and never had the priming rod fly out, I’ve heard stories of this happening and the pop of the primer going is enough to startle you.

[JWR Adds: I strongly recommend setting the priority of purchasing a Hand Priming Tool. This is not only safer, but will provide far greater consistency in primer seating depth. It is also a tool that you will want to keep, if and when you graduate to a more sophisticated bench-mounted reloading press. With the "feel" provided by hand-priming tool, you will get great consistency, which helps contribute to making the most accurate and reliable ammunition.]

While priming, the base of the case will be driven a short distance out of the sizing chamber. You should put the case on the de-priming chamber because it will protect the primer from any impacts and will make it much less likely to detonate. Use the priming rod to push the case far enough out of the mouth that it will come loose from the sizing die and set on the de-priming chamber.
The next step is to put your powder into the case.  The top of the sizing chamber will now act as a funnel for inserting the powder.  The Lee kit comes with a powder scoop sized in cubic centimeters and a list of powders that will work with this cartridge and this scoop.  The best way to do this to achieve maximum repeatable accuracy is to pour the powder into a larger container, dip the scoop down below the level of the powder, bring up and rake across the top with a stiff piece of paper, like a business card.  From there, you simply dump the powder into the top of the sizing die to charge the case.
Once the case is loaded, all you’ll need to do is insert your projectile.  Use the seater that is integral to the priming chamber to set the bullet by hammering the bullet into the case mouth, creating a newly-loaded cartridge.  Here’s a place where the calipers I spoke of earlier would come in very handy again.  You could check the seating of the bullet to a factory-loaded case.  But a pair of inexpensive calipers would be very handy to make sure the bullet is seated to the proper depth. 

After this is done, you will have a fully-loaded cartridge. However, for the sake of efficient motion, if I am reloading a box of cartridges, I will go through and de-prime them all first and then load them all in batches.  Before you start, you should also wipe down the cases to make sure there is no grit that could case wear on your loader. 

Another nice thing about this way of reloading is that it doesn’t require special lubricant like most other presses.  It also doesn’t require a powder scale, although it could be useful if you want to work up a special load for your firearm. 

So here’s a way to reload a complete cartridge that only takes minimal space, weighs little, doesn’t require a bench or any special tools that don’t come in the case and can load high quality ammunition.  It also costs less than a fifth of what other reloading systems would cost, giving you more money for either consumables or other projects.

Hi,
The article in the August 14th "odds n' sods" (Scots Guards Sniper Kills Taliban Leader with Longest Shot) quotes the longest shot on record being this one by Cpl. Christopher Reynolds. Cpl Reynolds says it is the longest shot (confirmed kill) in Afghanistan. Apologies in advance if I am wrong, but the longest confirmed kill anywhere was done by Master Corporal Rob Furlong (Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry or PPCLI) in Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan at a distance of 2,430 meters in 2002. He used a McMillan Tac-50 rifle.

The second longest was Master Corporal Aaron Perry (also PPCLI in Operation Anaconda) at 2,310 meters.

The third longest was the legendary Gunnery Sergeant Carlos Hathcock (USMC) in South Vietnam 1967 at 2,286 meters.

None of this is to take away from the brilliant work by Cpl Reynolds, but just to keep the Daily Express honest in their reporting. - Anon. Lima

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

The following is based on over 25 years making a living as a licensed guide in Alaska and as a professional hunter in Africa. Between clients shooting game and cull hunts I have personally seen over 7,000 big game (250 lbs or more) animals die from gunshots. I have formed my opinions on terminal ballistics from this experience

The Biggest Myth that I hear is faster projectiles (Velocity) kills better than slow ones. As long as the projectile stays above supersonic it will kill big game effectively with a properly constructed bullet.

Second Biggest Myth is that more foot-pounds of energy = better killing/stopping power. Foot pounds of energy is just a mathematical figure and has very little to do with stopping or killing power.

Bullet diameters and bullet design has more to do with killing/stopping power than speed. The best hunting bullets are the ones that perform over the widest range of velocities, leave the largest permanent wound channel, will not brake apart when they hit heavy bone and will consistently exit the animal on a broadside shot.

On big game larger heavier bullets kill better than smaller faster ones.
At close range, a flat-nosed 540 grain bullet fired from a .45-70 at 1,550 FPS has far more stopping/ killing power than any of the .30, .338 or .375 magnum. But at the same time a projectile with a flat trajectories is easer to make good hits at longer ranges than the slow moving 540 grain slug from the .45-70.

Faster bullets do give better trajectory and extend the range we can make good hits at. A good hit with a smaller caliber is always better than a poor hit with a larger caliber

For consistent kills on big game, the larger caliber bullet the better and the heaviest bullet for a given caliber will have the best knock down power.

For the first third of my guiding career I thought that perfect bullet performance was to find the bullet in the hide on the far side. That way all the energy has been absorb by the animal. . Over the years I changed my opinion for the following reasons

1. Exit wounds leave a lot better blood trail.

2. Granted, most shots taken are broadside but if a bullet cannot punch through an animal with a broadside shot and exit the animal then it does not have enough penetration to go end to end on an animal. You do not always get broadside shots while hunting and rarely get a broadside shot on a charging or fleeing critter.

3. I want my bullets to be able to break heavy bone and continue to penetrate deeply afterwards.

4. I no longer believe that it is the energy that kills but the size of the wound channel.

There is no best bullet (or caliber) for hunting. Even the best designed bullet will occasionally fail to do the job it is intended to do, Poorly made or poorly designed bullets will conversely give spectacular killing results from time to time.

It is the trend that is important in bullets. From my point of view a half dozen cases of good or poor bullet performance is not much of a trend. Around a hundred is what I want to see. I once witnessed a Kudu (elk-sized African Antelope) shot at 40 yards with a .416 using a 400 grain swift a frame. The well placed bullet hit the Kudu broadside. It ran off and we had to track it for two days. The shot placement was good the cartridge and bullet excellent but it still failed. The same client shot a cape buff with all the same conditions/shot placement and the buff fell over dead with the one shot. The bullet exited after breaking the shoulder. Neither of these isolated cases proves anything.

All bullets are a compromise: No Spire point bullet will ever have as good of terminal ballistics as a flat meplat bullet and no flat nosed bullet has as good of arrow dynamics as a spire point.

The best killing and the best knock down bullets have a large flat nose with a sharp edge (large meplat). Elmer Keith and J.D. Jones have both promoted this concept with handgun bullets. The best example for a rifle is Randy Garrett’s 540 Grain .45-caliber bullet loaded in his .45-70+P ammo. Up close this round has more stopping power than conventional hunting bullets shot from the .458 Winchester Magnum. Now the Garrett 540 grain bullet is fantastic at close range but not what I would recommend for long range situations and it will not feed reliably in most bolt actions. Check out the Garrett ammo web site, read the data how his .45-70 ammo out-penetrates the .458 Winchester.

I have had clients make clean kills on big game using every thing from .223 to .50 but the best consistency for clean kills was with large [diameter] heavy projectiles. Most of my career I used one of three calibers: 308 Winchester, .375 H&H and .470 [Nitro Express]. For cull hunts and wolf hunting I used .308. Every 7.62mm diameter bullet can kill. Military ball [aka full metal jacket (FMJ)] was supplied for most cull hunts. Ball is the worst, but it works in a pinch. The best killing bullets I found in .308 caliber was the [Nosler] Fail Safe and Barnes X bullet. There other very good bullets but the Barnes and Fail Safe stand out in my mind.

For guiding in Alaska and for African plains game I used 375 H&H. The .375 diameter 300-grain Sierra is a wonderfully accurate bullet but at close range it comes apart and sheds it’s jacket fairly often so I do not recommend it for big Bear, Cape Buffalo, Hippo or Rhino. The Barnes, Nosler partition, Swift A-frame and Trophy Bonded are all wonderful .375 projectiles and usually hold together at close range. I would use any of the 4 and pick the one that shoots the best in your particular rifle.

I am not a fan of the .375 for Cape Buffalo, Hippo or Rhino. The .416 or .458 with the Barnes X or trophy bonded seems to be the most consistent killer at all ranges on the thick skinned game. A good .470 or .500 double rifle is best for the big stuff but not many can justify spending $10,000+ for a double rifle and at least $10 per round of ammo.

Enough of my rambling this is the bottom line. Shot Placement is the Single Most Important Factor.
For big game use the largest caliber with the heaviest bullet that you can shoot accurately. I would rather a client show up on a Grizzly hunt with a 30-06 that he can shoot well than a have him bring a .375 that he does not shoot accurately. Use premium hunting bullets--not target bullets--for big game. - Old Dog in Alaska

I frequently stress the importance of well-balanced preparedness in my writings. All too often, I've seen people that go to extremes, to the point that these extremes actually detract from the ability to survive a disaster situation. These range from the "all the gear that I'll need to survive is in my backpack" mentality to the "a truckload of this or that" fixation. But genuine preparedness lies in comprehensive planning, strict budgeting, and moderation. Blowing your entire preparedness budget on just one category of gear is detrimental to your overall preparedness.

Another common mistake that I see among my consulting clients is an over-emphasis on either very old technologies or on the "latest and greatest" technologies. In the real world, preparedness necessitates having a bit of both. At the Rawles Ranch we have both 19th century technology (like hand-powered tools) and a few of the latest technologies like passive IR intrusion detection (Dakota Alerts), photovoltaics, and electronic night vision. My approach is to pick and choose the most appropriate technologies that I can maintain by myself, but to always have backups in the form of less exotic or earlier, albeit less-efficient technologies. For example, my main shortwave receiver is a Sony ICF-SW7600GR. But in the event of EMP, I also a have a pair of very inexpensive Kaito shortwaves and a trusty old Zenith Trans-Oceanic radio that uses vacuum tubes. Like my other spare electronics, these are all stored in a grounded galvanized steel can when not in use.

Here is my approach to preparedness gear, in a nutshell

• Redundancy, squared. I jokingly call my basement Jim's Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR)
• Buy durable gear. Think of it as investing for your children and grandchildren. And keep in mind that there'll be no more "quick trips to the hardware store" after TSHTF.
• Vigilantly watch Craigslist, Freecycle, classified ads, and eBay for gear at bargain prices.
  
• Strive for balanced preparedness that "covers all bases"--all scenarios.
• Flexibility and Adaptability (Examples: shop to match a 12 VDC standard for most small electronics, truly multi-purpose equipment, multi-ball hitches, NATO slave cable connectors for 24 VDC vehicles, Anderson Power Pole connectors for small electronics--again, 12 VDC)
• Retain the ability to revert to older, more labor-intensive technology.
• Fuel flexibility (For example: Flex fuel vehicles (FFVs), Tri-fuel generators, and biodiesel compatible vehicles)
• Purchase high-quality used (but not abused) gear, preferably when bargains can be found
• If in doubt, then buy mil-spec.
• If in doubt, then buy the larger size and the heavier thickness.
• If in doubt, then buy two. (Our motto: "Two is one and one is none.")
• Buy systematically, and only as your budget allows. (Avoid debt!)
• Invest your sweat equity. Not only will you save money, but you also will learn more valuable skills.
• Train with what you have, and learn from the experts. Tools without training are almost useless.
• Learn to maintain and repair your gear. (Always buy spare parts and full service manuals!)
• Buy guns in common calibers
• Buy with long service life in mind (such as low self-discharge NiMH rechargeable batteries.)
• Store extra for charity and barter
• Grow your own and buy the tooling to make your own--don't just store things.
• Rust is the enemy, and lubrication and spot painting are your allies.
  
• Avoid being an "early adopter" of new technology--or you'll pay more and get lower reliability.
• Select all of your gear with your local climate conditions in mind.
• Recognize that there are no "style" points in survival. Don't worry about appearances--concentrate on practicality and durability.
• As my old friend "Doug Carlton" is fond of saying: "Just cut to size, file to fit,, and paint to match."
• Don't skimp on tools. Buy quality tools (such as Snap-on and Craftsman brands), but buy them used, to save money.
• Skills beat gadgets and practicality beats style.
• Use group standardization for weapons and electronics. Strive for commonality of magazines, accessories and spare parts
• Gear up to raise livestock. It is an investment that breeds.
• Build your fences bull strong and sheep tight.
• Tools without the appropriate safety gear (like safety goggles, helmets, and chainsaw chaps) are just accidents waiting for a place to happen.
• Whenever you have the option, buy things in flat, earth tone colors
• Plan ahead for things breaking or wearing out.
• Always have a Plan B and a Plan C

If you are serious about preparedness, then I recommend that you take a similar approach.

Hi Jim,
I’m new to your site and books but not to the concepts and precepts. My dad had a survivalist/self-sufficient mindset with a cool mix of Native American philosophy and know-how. I didn’t eat store bought meat or baked goods until I was 10 or 12 and thought processing shoulders of venison in the kitchen was the norm. We had a huge garden and fruit tree orchard. My mom was a master at canning; although I think it should be called "jarring" because you’re putting it in jars, not cans. He collected, traded, and rebuilt guns and amassed quite a collection. I grew up reloading cartridges and sanding/staining stocks and thought nothing of it at the time. He taught us to hunt, fish, camp, garden, live off the land and many other things that I took for granted at the time. He passed away last year but his lessons and way of being in the world still guide me to this day. From reading your novel I now know why he left us a 25 pound bag of really, really old silver coins.

As I have been reading your book and the blogs posts, I keep jotting notes to myself of things that have expanded my knowledge or ones that I would “pipe-in” on. I keep thinking I should read the entire archive of blogs first before piping in but realize that might take a very long time. I get bogged down in all the heavy duty technical talk and find myself putting it down or signing off for awhile. I feel very simplistic compared to a lot of the bloggers and find that I’m beginning to questions my own philosophies and preparedness. I’ve been stashing stuff for 20+ years but it has always been with the mindset of whether it can fit in a backpack or the back of my truck. I’m more of the Doug Carlton type. I can fill a backpack and disappear into the woods for many, many months and live very comfortably. And yes, shock-shock, I am a woman of small/lean stature.

I spent 10 years working for Outward Bound and 25 years backpacking/exploring North America . I’ve extensively scoped out where I would head and have created some caches along the way. I lived the majority of two years “out” and was amazed when I returned to “civilization” how much I appreciated instant fire, instant hot water, instant heat, real beds, not camping in snow, and not having to sleep with my boots in my sleeping bag to keep them from freezing overnight. Still, with all my experience and skill, the more I read of your book and blogs the more I’m wondering: Did I miss something?

I was reading through the Retreat Owner Profiles and kinda felt inadequate until some thoughts started hitting me. Could these people live/survive without the majority of all this stuff? If they had to choose 10 items, other than what they were wearing, to survive what would they be? (Hint: one of mine is heavy duty paper clips). If they had to choose three items what would they be? Do they know how to find dry wood and start a fire when it has been raining nonstop for two days? Could they curl up under a Ponderosa Pine without a tent and sleep a rainy night away? How would they react around bears, mountain lions, and the sorts? What if they got hurt out in the woods, could they handle it? How “tough” are they without their guns? The questions just kept coming and I started feeling less inadequate.

Since discovering your web site and starting all the reading my thoughts are definitely evolving. At my house I have been stashing for years what I call “luxury” stuff that would be part of a stable retreat. Within a year I will be getting a healthy inheritance and you now have me seriously considering creating a retreat at one of my “finds” from all the years of exploration. Colorado, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, Washington and British Columbia have been my playgrounds for years. Over the last 20+ years of “playing” I have been honing in on where my bit of wilderness would be.

Also, thanks to you and your web site, I am now going to go back and take my brother up on some of his recent offers. One of which pertained to my dads extensive gun collection. I was home a couple of months ago and my brother took me into the “secret” room that housed a lot of my dad’s “toys”. We grew up calling them “toys” because my dad was somewhat adamant about people outside the family knowing anything about his extensive collection of guns, knives, arrowheads, old coins, et. cetera. I was staring at a room full of guns (amongst other things) and he told me take whatever I wanted. All I took was one small handgun because most of them are what I call “guy guns”. They were big, beefy, heavy, etc. Now I am thinking even if I can’t use them, I can trade them for something more my size. Without having me ingest an encyclopedia on guns, what would you suggest? I’m 5'5", 110 pounds, with small bones. I have access to most any new gun at cost or below cost. My brother would tell me not to by new but to go with unregistered older models, but some of the newer ones are seriously slick.

I have lots of thoughts and tips about living/surviving in the woods but it seems a lot of your web site is devoted to established retreats and I’m not there yet. So, I will keep reading and evolving my thoughts. You got me digging out all my old topo maps of the western states and going back through my experiences there. I am going to Oregon in a week, Utah in three weeks, and northern Montana in a couple of months. I had planned on just doing more re-exploration but will now have a more focused approach. So, thanks! Take care and keep your socks dry, - Sharon

JWR Replies: It is a pleasure hearing from a reader with extensive backwoods experience. You will find that invaluable. I often say that there is no substitute for hard-earned practical experience. It comes with some years, and with putting one foot in front the other, over hill and dale--chalking up considerable mileage off of pavement.

As for your firearms question: My wife is 5'4" and is under 100 pounds. Her primary rifle is a Valmet Hunter .308 semi-auto, which is a rifle generally carried by much larger shooters. The trick was having both the stock and barrel shortened, so that the rifle would fit her properly. She also had a Pachmayr Decelerator recoil pad installed. That rifle has taken a lot of deer in the past 15 years, since it has also been used by our teenagers, while growing up. Don't miss some of the letters in the SurvivalBlog archives about gun choice for smaller shooters. Just type "small-statured and shooters" into the "Search Posts on SurvivalBlog:" search box at the top of the right hand bar.

Good luck with your search for a suitable retreat. For my selection rationale, and some detailed locales suggestions, see my book "Rawles on Retreats and Relocation".

James,
Grandpappy isn't comparing apples to oranges correctly. His reloaded ammo pricing is for premium self defense bullets, which cost $150 or so per thousand. Most people are going to reload cast lead, which would cost $50 or 60 per thousand for a .40 S&W for example. If you price new premium self defense ammo, like Doubletap, it is going for around $700 a case. If you purchased new brass (why?) Hornady or Speer premium SD bullets, you would still be able to build your own (which we supposedly should not due to legal concerns) SD ammo for half the cost. And practice? Much, much cheaper with lead bullets.

Recent online ammo vendors (who have in stock) are trying to charge almost $500 for a case of .45 ACP 230 grain hardball (look at Natchez). You can load 230 grain lead roundnose (LRN) and duplicate the factory load for maybe $130 or so with good hard cast bullets included. Compared to today's ridiculous ammo prices, you can make up the cost of your reloading setup in a case or two of ammo. Anyone who wants to shoot more than 500 rounds a year should be reloading. Thanks! - M.S.

Jim:
Grandpappy had a great article on reloading, but what about time? Time is money. Reloading is very time consuming. Between [the time required for] collecting the fired brass, sorting the brass, cleaning [or tumbling] the brass, de-priming the brass, adjusting brass specs to factory (sizing, case length, primer pocket, etc…), this alone is a huge labor and use of time.

This, and my worsening eyesight that keeps me from enjoying precision hand loads, is why I gave up on reloading and sold all my equipment and supplies. BTW, I made a bundle of cash selling my new and used brass and primers. Wow! I quadrupled my money.

No one seems to factor in time. I don’t know about you, but have a long list of to-do projects and brass prep is not one of them.

I’m sure glad I bought hard and heavy in ammo back in the old days. I’m set for my life and probably the life of my kid too. - Robert

JWR Replies: I agree that reloading is time-consuming, but it is a valuable skill. For anyone that makes a six-figure salary, it is probably not worthwhile as a hobby at the present time. But for the rest of us, that don't make that much money, and a have a bit of time on our hands, it is well worth doing. It is particularly worthwhile for students and retirees. I love listening to music, and find that since it is a relatively quiet activity, reloading is a soothing, almost cathartic experience. But, of course, "your mileage may vary." Regardless, it is a valuable skill. I recommend that SurvivalBlog readers at least take the time to learn how to do it, and lay in the appropriate tools and supplies. Reloading capability might prove invaluable in a long-term collapse.

OBTW, don't overlook taking the same humidity precautions for powder and primers that you do for loaded ammunition. On that note, I should mention that I prefer using used Tupperware boxes for storing primer and percussion caps. They are airtight, yet they pose less of an explosion risk than metal ammo cans, in the unlikely event of a house fire. (I look for Tupperware containers whenever I go to garage sales, thrift stores, and farm auctions. Powder cans seal quite well by themselves. Again, for the sake of fire safety, they should be stored in a "blow open" plywood cabinet. Again, resist the temptation to store it in something confining like a 20mm ammo can.

There are some significant cost differences between reloading shotgun shells and reloading pistol and rifle ammunition. 

The following cost summaries illustrate these differences (all cost data collected in June 2009):

Pistol Ammunition Summary:
$0.270 = Total Cost of one New Factory-Loaded 40 S&W 165 Grain Pistol Cartridge.
$0.206 = Total Material Cost to Reload one Used 40 S&W 165 Grain Pistol Cartridge.
$0.064 = Cost Savings of Reloading one Used 40 S&W 165 Grain Pistol Cartridge.

Rifle Ammunition Summary:
$0.800 = Total Cost of one New Factory-Loaded 308 Caliber 165 Grain Rifle Cartridge.
$0.480 = Total Material Cost to Reload one Used 308 Caliber 165 Grain Rifle Cartridge.
$0.320 = Cost Savings of Reloading one Used 308 Caliber 165 Grain Rifle Cartridge.

Shotgun Shell Summary:
$0.240 = Total Cost of one New Factory-Loaded 12 Gauge 2.75-inch #7.5 Shot Shotgun Shell.
$0.410 = Total Material Cost to Reload one Used 12 Gauge 2.75-inch #7.5 Shot Shotgun Shell.
-$0.170 = Additional Cost to Reload one Used 12 Gauge 2.75-inch #7.5 Shot Shotgun Shell.

Shotgun Slug Summary:
$0.631 = Total Cost of one New Factory-Loaded 12 Gauge 2.75-inch One-Ounce Shotgun Slug.
$0.738 = Total Material Cost to Reload one Used 12 Gauge 2.75-inch One-Ounce Shotgun Slug.
-$0.107 = Additional Cost to Reload one Used 12 Gauge 2.75-inch One-Ounce Shotgun Slug.

A more detailed cost analysis that supports the above numbers appears at the bottom of this article.

The above data is based on average costs as of June 2009.  I did not select the lowest possible cost nor the highest possible cost for each item.  Instead I used the average cost. 

If a person wanted to prove a specific point then he or she could easily select a set of extreme cost data that would support his or her point of view.  For example, a person could compare the cheapest reloading materials to the most expensive factory-loaded ammunition and show a large savings.  Or a person could compare the most expensive reloading materials to the cheapest factory-loaded ammunition and show a loss.

Since I am not trying to encourage or discourage reloading I used the average cost numbers for each material to provide a more balanced perspective.

The above data suggests that the average person could save a little money by reloading pistol and rifle ammunition. 

On the other hand, the average person would save money by purchasing new factory-loaded shotgun shells instead of reloading empty shotgun shells.

The above conclusion is the same one I reached in 1974 when I first investigated the costs of reloading ammunition.  In 1974 I could save money reloading both pistol and rifle ammunition but I would have paid a premium if I had tried to reload shotgun shells.

The above analysis does not take into consideration the cost of the reloading equipment.  If a person were to invest $290 in reloading equipment plus $40 in one set of reloading dies in a specific caliber, then that person would need to reload the following number of empty cartridges to recover the cost of the total investment of $330:

5,156 Pistol Cartridges = $330 divided by $0.064 savings per pistol cartridge, or
1,031 Rifle Cartridges = $330 divided by $0.320 savings per rifle cartridge.

This clearly illustrates that a person would need to reload a lot of ammunition in order to break even on his or her investment of $330 in reloading equipment that includes one set of reloading dies.  Therefore, the average person would probably be better advised to invest in new factory-loaded ammunition if he or she can still find it available for sale.

However, if factory-loaded ammunition becomes increasingly difficult to find, or if its price continues to increase, then a person might want to consider the reloading option as a viable alternative.

Some additional information about the reloading process is at the following page on my web site.  This following web page also discusses the art of bullet casting and how to reduce your lead bullet cost to approximately $0.05 per bullet using clip-on lead wheel weights and ordinary solder that contains tin:

How to Get More Ammunition During Hard Times.

A general discussion on how to improve your marksmanship ability when shooting at paper targets is at the following page on my web site: How to Hit the Target Bull's-Eye.

The following detailed cost information is provided to support the cost data at the beginning of this article. This cost data is based on the average costs for each material as of June 2009:

Pistol Cartridge (40 S&W 165 Grain FMJ):
$0.030 = Primer Cost ($29.99 per box of 1,000 divided by 1,000).
$0.016 = Average Powder Cost ($15.79 per pound divided by 959 cartridges per pound).
$0.160 = Average Bullet Cost ($15.99 per box of 100 divided by 100).
$0.206 = Total Cost to Reload one Used 40 S&W Pistol Cartridge.
$0.270 = Average Cost of one New Factory-Loaded 40 S&W Cartridge ($13.49 per box divided by 50 rounds per box).

Rifle Cartridge (308 Caliber 165 Grain):
$0.030 = Primer Cost ($29.99 per box of 1,000 divided by 1,000).
$0.120 = Average Powder Cost ($21.99 per pound divided by 184 cartridges per pound).
$0.330 = Average Bullet Cost ($16.49 per box of 50 divided by 50) .
$0.480 = Total Cost to Reload one Used 308 Rifle Cartridge.
$0.800 = Average Cost of one New Factory-Loaded 308 Cartridge ($15.99 per box divided by 20 rounds per box).

Shotgun Shell (12 Gauge 2.75-Inch #7.5 Shot):
$0.039 = Primer Cost ($38.99 per box of 1,000 primers divided by 1,000).
$0.049 = Average Powder Cost ($18.49 per pound divided by 378 Shells per pound).
$0.290 = Average Shot Shell Cost ($50.99 per 11-pound bag divided by 176 Shells per bag).
$0.032 = Average Wad Cost ($7.89 per bag of 250 Wads divided by 250).
$0.410 = Total Cost to Reload one Used 12 Gauge Shotgun Shell.
$0.240 = Average Cost of one New Factory-Loaded 12 Gauge Shotgun Shell ($23.97 per case of 100 shells divided by 100 shells per case).

Shotgun Slug (12 Gauge 2.75-inch One-Ounce Slug):
$0.039 = Primer Cost ($38.99 per box of 1,000 primers divided by 1,000).
$0.107 = Average Powder Cost ($18.79 per pound divided by 175 Shells per pound).
$0.560 = Average One-Ounce Slug Cost ($13.99 per 25 Slugs divided by 25).
$0.032 = Average Wad Cost ($7.89 per bag of 250 Wads divided by 250).
$0.738 = Total Cost to Reload one Used 12 Gauge Shotgun Slug.
$0.631 = Average Cost of one New Factory-Loaded 12 Gauge Shotgun Slug ($9.47 per box of 15 slugs divided by 15 slugs per box).

The cost of the empty metallic brass shell case and the empty plastic shotgun shell is not included in the above figures because those items are being reused and therefore they may be considered a “sunk cost.”  A sunk cost is an expense that was incurred in the past and it is not relevant for future purchase decisions.  In other words, after you have paid for the factory-loaded ammunition, and you have fired that ammunition, then you have the choice to either: (1) discard your empty shell cases, or (2) re-use those cases.  If you decide to re-use your fired shell cases then you do not incur any new additional expense.

Sales tax and/or shipping expenses were not included in the preceding data.  These costs would be unique to your geographical location and they would equally impact all the above costs by the same ratio.

The above costs for new factory-loaded ammunition are based on the cost of that ammunition at a Wal-Mart in the southeastern United States as of June 2009. 

Mr. Editor,

I've purchased ammo for self protection and for future barter. Is it best to keep the ammo in the original boxes (e.g. the nice green UMC boxes with the plastic insert that holds the rounds in place) and put those boxes into ammo cans? Or should I just dump all the ammo into an ammo can loose? I could fit many more rounds in each can by dumping them in loose, but I'm concerned about impacting the future barter value of the ammo. And also, if I end up selling some of the ammo before TSHTF, I would imagine keeping the rounds in the box would make the seller happier. Any thoughts?
Thanks for what you do. - Alex

JWR Replies: Unless space is at an absolute premium (such as for someone on a live-aboard boat) I recommend that you leave ammo in the original factory boxes, as it will be worth far more in barter, or in an eventual cash sale. Just as importantly, you will also be able to keep "like lots" together. (Usually lot numbers are printed on the inside of the box flaps.) There are sometimes subtle differences between lots, and the point of impact can vary a bit. This particularly important for long range rifle shooting. Also, although they are rare, ammunition recalls are not unheard of. Without lot numbers you'll have no way of correlating ammo lots to recall notices. And, needless to say, store those in mil-spec ammo cans with soft seals.

What makes our rifles fun? Shooting them! However, we have all seen first-hand the spike in ammunition prices since the 2008 Presidential election. American’s in fear that they will soon not be able to get ammunition because a possible government bans, smart bullets schemes, etc; citizens have been stockpiling ammunition causing a stress on the market. This in turn causes shortages and prices rise.

Here I will discuss a simple and inexpensive way for you to stop wasting ammunition and money; and zero your battle rifle (or any that you might “come across” during a TEOTWAWKI situation) with only two rounds. If you have been in the military, you know that the current procedure for zeroing the M16 type of rifles wastes time and ammunition. The military will allow up to eighteen rounds of ammunition (in three round shot groups) to be fired per soldier in order to zero their weapons. This allows several variables such as breathing, trigger squeeze, stock weld, etc. to affect the zero.

Borrowing techniques from expert hunters, everyone can easily streamline their zeroing procedures and only use two rounds of ammunition to quickly zero their weapon. This method works whether zeroing iron sights or scopes, and it will work on many different kinds of rifles with reliable adjustable sights (AR-15s, AR-10s, M1As, FN/FALs, etc). The purpose of this method is only to provide the shooter with a weapon that places rounds on target. It does this while saving time and ammunition.

Required Items:

• A safe shooting location (range) providing at least 25 meter shooting distance.
• One solid bench rest (many ranges have these for use, or they can be purchased from many gun shops or on-line, ranging in price from $50 - $150 or more, but then it is yours.
• Your chosen weapon (for example, an AR-15 using iron sights)
• 25-meter zero target (for example, an E-type silhouette)
• One extra E-type silhouette (cut out from another zero target)
• Staple gun and tape
• Eye and hearing protection

Zeroing Method
Place the mechanically zeroed weapon (See FM3-22.9 at the link below on mechanical zero) securely in the bench rest and use the adjustments on the rest to put the rifle sights directly over the center of a 25-meter zero target, or the desired aim point and fire one round at the target. To compensate for the weapon’s recoil, you should (if needed) again use the bench rest adjustments to move the rifle sights back over the desired point of impact. Make sure that your weapon is on safe.

Now walk downrange with the extra cut out E-type silhouette and tape it directly over the impact point of the round fired. Walk back to the weapon (still secured in the bench rest) and carefully move the sight picture directly over the taped-on target. To do this, simply raise or lower the front sight post for elevation corrections and turn the rear-sight (windage) knob either left or right to make corrections.

You should now have your sights aligned precisely over the actual point of impact on the target. If you have been careful not to make the rifle slip within the bench while making the adjustments, it should now be zeroed. To confirm the zero, simply move your sights back over the original target (using the adjustments on the bench rest) to the desired point of impact and fire a second round. If the rifle is zeroed, this round should hit the desired point of impact. Get up and move again downrange to confirm the hit. If the round is not at the desired point of impact, simply repeat the procedure from the second round’s point of impact on the zero target. This simple procedure allows you to zero a rifle quickly by moving the point of aim to the point of impact.
The use of a bench rest eliminates the need to fire three rounds of ammunition to obtain a shot group before making sight adjustments. If the first round is not true, the second (confirmation) round will alert you to this fact, and you could than repeat the process.

Yes, there are other items that you can purchase that will assist you with getting a weapon zeroed. Laser bore sights for example are great and easily obtained from gun shops or on-line sites and range in price from $40 - $150 or more. With these items, you can zero your rifle quickly without even firing a single shot saving both time and ammunition. However, if you do not have the correct caliber laser or insert sleeve to change to a different caliber; or the mini-watch batteries run dead and you have no way to replace them, the laser bore sight will do you no good. If you already have one though, don’t get rid of it. Sometimes there may be a situation in which you are in an area where discharging of a firearm to zero may not be possible.

In addition, there is a wonderful company called Shepherd Scopes that developed a patented dual reticle system that gives you a point of reference inside the scope allowing you to zero the scope/weapon with just one shot from a bench rest position. These scopes however range in cost from $700 - $800 apiece. I would rather spend funds on purchasing more ammunition, as we all know from reading SurvivalBlog.com, that ammunition could one day be more useful than silver for the purposes of barter.

In closing, zeroing your rifle makes it more effective. This expedient two-round method will give you confidence that your sights and bore are aligned even if you happen to “pick-up” or borrow a weapon from a friend; have limited time or limited ammunition. Understand that different positions, body armor, winter clothing, etc. will change your head position, but your bore and sights will be properly aligned/zeroed. Having a zeroed weapon is a fundamental you can build on. The rest is up to you. Good-luck and God Bless!

References:
- Ammo Price Hike Has Many Biting the Bullet
- WorldNetDaily, There was ammo on these shelves …Nationwide shortage leaves gun owners scrambling, paying extra, Zahn, Drew, March 31, 2009.
- FM 3-22.9 Rifle Marksmanship M16A1, M16A2/3, M16A4 and M4 Carbine
- Shepherd Scopes

Jim,
On Sunday, I attended what is billed as the largest gun show in North Carolina and thought you and your readers might appreciate an update.
What I saw lead me to believe that supplies of black rifles and magazines are catching back up to demand but that ammunition and reloading components remain in short supply -- especially primers.

When I attended the November show, I had to wait in line 30 minutes or so just to get in. I heard the March show had a two hour wait. Today, there was no wait at all. It was crowded inside, but not jammed like the first post-election show. Still, a healthy amount of business was being conducted, far more than two years ago when I last attended as a dealer.

My first stop was to pick up the smokeless powder that I use to load .223. It was sold out at my normal dealer. They had a big sign that said "No Primers." I found another dealer and bought two pounds. The price was reasonable. He had only magnum pistol primers in stock. He told me the price as $48 per thousand, but he expected it to settle back down in three months. I did not see any other primers in the entire show. Several folks were selling bags of 100 pieces of brass, but no one was selling 1,000 piece bags of it or other large lots, and prices were up. So brass and primers remain in short supply. Possibly it is all going to commercial ammunition production.

I was surprised to see that there were lots of new black rifles available -- more than I had expected. There were plenty of AR-15s well as AR uppers and lowers. Despite wider availability, prices remain high. The cheapest plain vanilla AR-15 that I saw was $1,080, with most guns starting at $1,200 and anything with an adjustable buttstock and rails instead of the older forearm starting at around $1,600. In fact, I would say $1,600 was the average price for a Bushmaster or a S&W M&P. Of course, there were still $3,000 guns for sale, but no one was showing much interest.

Stripped lowers from the lesser-known manufacturers were going for about $139 and full lowers with an adjustable buttstock from Rock River Arms were $359. I was looking for a spare bolt and bolt carrier, but never found one. I also saw that part kits for lowers were in short supply. So if you are planning on piecing together a gun, it might make more sense just to buy one complete. You could wait weeks for parts and possibly spend even more when all is said and done.

AK-47s were widely available, as were the Ruger Mini-14 and Mini-30. AKs were running in the $600 and up range while SKSes were closing in on $400. A CETME rifle with a Century Arms receiver that cost $300 five years ago was not going for a shockingly high $1,295. I only saw one Springfield Armory M1A. It had a stainless steel barrel and was $1,695. FALs were scarce and at least as pricey.

Based on this show, magazines seem to be back to reasonable availability. Used AR-15 magazines were $9. New .223 alloy magazines from C-Products or DPMS were starting at $15 at most sellers. MagPul polymer magazines were $25 to $29, depending on the model. They were some available, but limited quantities.

Pistol dealers were doing a very robust trade. I saw many more people buying pistols than I did long guns. There were dealers with 20 tables just lined up with Glocks, Springfield Armory pistols, SIGs, Smith and Wessons, Kahrs, Kel-Tecs and just about anything else you could see. Every pistol dealer had people sitting in chairs filing out paperwork.

Rifle ammunition was in decent supply. I saw at least three dealers that had stacks of 1,000 round cases of new, commercial .223/5.56 from Federal XM193 and/or PMC for $459 and up. Many others had Wolf, Bear or other Russian or Eastern European ammo. There were also folks selling "remanufactured" ammo -- 500 in a .30 caliber ammo can for $275. Since this was the second day of the show and near the end, I was surprised at this availability -- all the anecdotal evidence I had heard lead me to believe cases of .223 would be sold out. .308 ammo was harder to come by, with very little domestic production available. There was a moderate supply of Russian calibers and one guy had a pallet of 8mm [Mauser] that didn't seem to be selling.

Pistol ammunition was much more scarce than rifle ammo, especially in common calibers. I saw only one dealer with .380 (for $35 a box) and only a few with 9mm. Dealers had signs saying "No 9mm" or "No .45 ACP." Self defense ammo with a good hollow point, such as Gold Dot or Ranger SXT were going for $45 or $50 for a box of 50 rounds. There was more .357 and .40 [S&W] and good supplies of less common calibers like .44 Special. I only saw one dealer with bricks of 1,000 .22 LRs, but plenty were selling the small 50 or 100 round boxes.

If this one show is any example, I would say that the industry is doing a good job or meeting the increased demand for firearms, albeit at the expense of the secondary market. Demand remains high, but is down from the surge in the months immediately following the election, and supply is now catching up. The threat of additional legislation, assault weapon bans and magazine bans remains and is likely to grow rather than recede. As a result, this may be a good window of opportunity to buy a new firearm. While it is possible prices will drop if we reach an over supply situation, I personally think that is unlikely in the next two or three years unless the Republicans win an awful lot of seats in the next congressional election.

The strong sales of pistols and lack of availability in pistol caliber ammunition leads me to believe that many people are worried about rising crime and are arming themselves. This is consistent with the up tick in people taking concealed carry courses. One has to wonder if the same lines that produced pistol ammo have been converted over to rifle calibers and if we are destined to see shortages in one or the other for some time to come.

Finally, the recent sales explosion in firearms and the sudden lack of availability in the market should be a lesson to anyone sitting on the survival fence. Do not put off your preparations any longer. A sudden change can suck all the supplies out of the pipeline and result in months of backorders for long term storage food, water filters, medical supplies, etc. The just-in-time supply situation is a precarious one and any small shock can upset the balance, resulting in shortages and price increases. - Captain Dave

Hi,
I'm a student from Singapore studying overseas in Australia and I'm also a Christian. I have been following your blog for quite awhile, and there are some things I would like to ask.
First, what advice can you give to students studying overseas? As a student, I stay on my own in a rented place, and probably will have to move every six months or so, so stockpiling food and goods are only feasible for about a month or two worth of food, as I will have to shift everything I own on my own to my new place whenever I move. That being said, I have roughly about a month's supply of food stored up, but it is mostly in rice. If things go bad, I won't be able to eat well, but will survive (I stocked up on some vitamins as well. Not healthy I know, but better than nothing.). Additionally, what kind of food should I buy and store? Currently, I am thinking about baking hardtack, as they are easy to make and store well. I also have about 20 liters of water, and am able to purify more than 100 liters of water using water purification tablets and I also have a bottle of plain bleach.

As I am not in my home country, and if anything happens, I have no 'safe' place to go. Other than going into the bush, which will not happen, as I have no bush skills, the only choice I have is to hunker down and try, if possible, to get a flight/ship back to Singapore. With such limited options, I am worried about what to do WTSHTF, which is ever more likely, given the current swine flu going around. While I do know a family staying in a relatively rural area, I do not know if I am able to get there as their acreage is quite a distance away from my place and I have no transportation. Also, I am not sure if they are prepared and stocked up for any crisis, so there is no guaranty that they will be able to take me in. I would greatly appreciate some advice over this issue, as it is the most important issue, and also advice on whatever you think I am lacking in below.

Supplies: I have managed to gather some stuff over time, some medicine/first-aid(learned some first-aid when younger, and still know the important stuff), lights (some military stuff, since I have done my national service, a couple of wind up torches as well for backup/indefinite use), fire starting equipment (lighters, matches, fire starters, candles, no flint due to being unable to find someplace that sells it), lightweight cooking equipment (billycan, metal bowls and tins, utensils). Not much, but been trying to convince my parents to send over some more supplies I have, which are mainly military stuff (nothing illegal, but will raise some questions; excuse is they are for paintball, etc). Additionally, for food I have about 10 kg of rice, plus enough canned food for a week (or more, if I ration it), 6 liters of packet milk, about 20 packets soups, cooking spices (very good for making whatever you have taste better), salt, etc. For toiletries, I got plenty of toothpaste/toothbrushes, toilet rolls (about 2 months worth), soap/shampoo, etc.

Self defence: Nothing much, since there are strict airport rules, and can't get a gun over here or in Singapore either. I keep a Swiss army knife on me all the time, but that is mainly for use as a tool, as normally there won't be any time to take it out. I learned tae kwon do when young (almost got my black belt, but was unable due to circumstances), and am trying to learn more methods and techniques of fighting. If it comes down to a fight, I am fairly confident that I can hold my own against one or two people, but I have been trying to improvise weapons that will allow me to escape. I have been trying to find a place to learn Krav Maga, which is an Israeli martial art designed to teach you to fight anywhere, any how, and any time, against multiple opponents that may or may not be armed, with various weapons. They focus on being ready to fight at all times using whatever it takes to survive (aka all the dirty fighting techniques). I think that it is a very useful martial art to learn, as it is the most realistic form of combat, and teaches you how to improvise on the spot (They have two rules: 1. survive, 2. Try not to hurt your sparring partner.). In any case, I think the most important thing to have is to be aware of your surroundings and people that are around you. An armed man is hard to be beaten, unless taken by surprise, and an alert man is hardly ever taken by surprise. As a side note, I recently bought a slingshot, not that I expect it will be of any good for defence, but rather more for hunting small animals if things really go south. Just need to get around to practicing with it.

Day to day carry: I carry with me a Swiss army knife, some medicine/first-aid, water purification tablets (for 20 liters), a small LED light, a lighter and some money in small notes in a small pouch close to me everywhere I go. Planning to add on another pouch with more medical supplies, especially for this swine flu outbreak. I also have a SOG multi-tool that I can add on, but chose not to as people will really question what I am doing with 2 knives and all those stuff. Also, wherever I go, I also bring along at least 1 liter of water, a torch, a poncho, additional first-aid supplies, hand sanitizer, a bar of soap and a couple of cereal bars. If I am on a long trip (more than a day or a few hours by car), I would bring along additional stuff, like more fire starting equipment, extra food, extra water, a spare torch, and a spare change.

Skills: I learned basic first aid when young, learned tae kwon do, crude fire making (not too good), cooking, sewing (very basic, mainly for repairing/modifying clothes) and cycling (although my area is very hilly, so I hardly cycle). I am trying to learn more skills, like bushcraft, Krav Maga, hunting (doubt I will be able to), and brush up on my fire starting skills, although in light of the recent bushfires, it may be a bad idea. Also I am handy with simple repairs (mainly a crude temporary fix), and like to innovate and make new stuff.

Swine Flu: I have been trying very hard to raise my stock of food and medicines ever since I heard about the swine flu, but due to time (university) and financial constraints, I can only stock up so much. I have been buying paracetamol tablets, aspirin, face masks (box of 100, plus various other dust masks), anti-bacterial hand gel, hydrogen peroxide, and am looking for surgical gloves, proper N95 equivalent face masks, Sambucol, more water purification tablets, antibiotics, Betadine, bandages, etc.

Economic crisis: I have been looking around for a place to purchase silver bullion with whatever spare cash I have, but have been unable to find a dealer. I am hoping to get at least 150 ounces of silver in 1-ounce to 10-ounce bars before the economy gives way, which I suspect won't be long. I pray it doesn't happen, as my home country will be hit really hard as it is focused heavily in the financial sector, but being a realist, I think eventually my family will have to move over to Australia, as at least it has farmland, natural resources and a very social welfare-focused government as well.

Thanks for all your effort to educate people about the coming world situations and how to prepare for it. What you are doing can mean life or death to many people in the future when the world crashes and burns. - DieReady

JWR Replies: By all means, do team up with a rural family, if you can. If you cache a large quantity of food with them, you will be assured of being welcome there WTSHTF, since you will be a benefactor for the family. In such circumstances, food is a much better investment than silver! If you can pre-position your storage food and most of your gear there, you can plan to bug out via mo-ped.

There are two ways of looking at obstacles to preparedness: 1.) As reasons to give up, or 2.) as challenges and opportunities for growth. For example, your hilly terrain can be seen as an opportunity to build strength and endurance, rather than as an excuse for not bicycling. And just because you can't find a local martial arts center that teaches Krav Maga, don't lapse into inactivity. Study whichever art is available locally. Just be sure to find the best full contact dojo in town. Furthermore, don't look at airport security restrictions as a the lowest common denominator for your self defense preps. If you are going to be in Australia for an extended period of time, then there is no reason why you shouldn't go ahead and purchase a few key "dual use" self defense items, such as a half dozen 15 minute road flares, a machete ., and a six-C-cell black MagLite ..You might also see if these is a local archery club--perhaps affiliated with your local university. Practice at least twice a week with your slingshot! They can indeed be quite useful if you take the time to practice. For your silver purchases, be willing to look further afield for dealers, or if need be, to buy from a reputable mail order dealer. Concentrate on the positive aspects of prepping, shepherd your available funds, train consistently, and you'll make progress!

This article is a response to a large and glaring preparedness dilemma for myself. Being a law abiding citizen I cannot willfully put myself or my family into a situation where we can be held legally liable for the commission of a crime. If I had a ‘run-in’ with the law because of my beliefs on firearms and freedom, it can and will put my family at risk. Unfortunately we live in a country where the liberty of its
citizens is at the mercy of the State. South Africa is for all intents and purposes a ‘Free and democratic’ country. However, our government is an openly socialist government. They require the dependency of its citizens, every law that is passed is to ensure a more conformist and dependant populace.

One of the laws that was passed was the Firearms Control Act of 2000. It is another of a long stream of attempts to remove the right to bear arms in South Africa. This act and the previous one allow for highly controlled and restrictive legislation. Below, I will give a brief overview of the pertinent points as it relates to the rights of individuals to keep arms. It is however, the root of my dilemma. No
matter how many or types arms I would like to possess, or what types and amounts of ammunition I would like to keep, I am controlled by the State every step of the way with 101 different [regulatory details.]
Before I get to South African firearms legislation, let me give you some insight as to where my thoughts stem from. Basically, after reading through the Profiles of survivalists on SurvivalBlog,
and the recommendations of the most esteemed JWR. I could see no way that I could become ‘squared away’ on the arms and ammunition side. Our laws in South Africa are just too restrictive! That however has changed, as there is a way. All it took was a little bit of lateral thinking and a copy of "Patriots" . Well actually the other way around, the lateral thought came after the second reading of "Patriots".

In this article I’m going to talk from a South African perspective and relate this information from our view. What I am hoping and intending is that it will get people to think through their firearm purchases and utilize every aspect or at least as many aspects as possible of the law for their own benefit. The South Africa situation may or may not apply to you, however this article is not intended for the US readers of SurvivalBlog, but more to people that live elsewhere and to give them the hope that there is potentially a way. The idea is to think laterally and use the rights that have been allowed you in every way possible.

Here is a brief synopsis of how the South African Firearms laws are applicable to ordinary citizens. For the ‘casual’ owner, people are restricted to a maximum of four firearms. The breakdown is as follows:

• One Handgun
• One Shotgun
• One Rifle (Not Semi Auto) (With associated proof that you hunt)
• One Casual Sports shooting firearm ([another] one of any of the above)

Only one of the first two (Handgun/Shotgun) may be designated a self defense firearm and there are legal ramifications if you shoot someone in self defense with another firearm. If you are a dedicated
sportsman/hunter/collector you are able to increase your firearm collection, but always under strict monitoring and conditions. And you have to have proof, proof and more proof.

Also we need to re-license every 2, 5, or 10 years depending on the type of license. Along with additional costs, competency tests, fingerprints, home/safe inspection and vetting of you by your family and/or neighbors, etc etc ad nauseam. The way that I see this is that the Government wants the public disarmed, and they are making it harder and harder and a real pain in the sphincter to re-apply for their licenses, so most guys just give up and hand their weapons in.

With Ammo, you may only possess a maximum 200 rounds of any of the calibers that you are licensed for. Possession of a single [loaded] round of any other caliber is illegal unless you are a licensed cartridge collector. (This is another painful exercise, and will not assist in stockpiling ammo) As for components. Bullets, brass cartridge cases and magazines are not regulated. However primers and propellants are. With primers, no more than 2,400 of any size. In addition, so are some spare parts, barrels, sears etc. (BTW, a spare barrel is considered a firearm in South Africa [, since pressurized gun parts are regulated. Effectively, the barrel rather than the frame or receiver is considered the "firearm"])

As an aside, I have watched the debate on concealed carry in the US with interest. In South Africa we are legally bound to carry [handguns] 100% concealed, no open carry, unless you are in Law Enforcement. So the question is with laws like this, how does one stockpile firearms and ammo? And what is the best way to get the maximum out of the minimum we are allowed to possess.
The only way that this can be done is to prepare for possible scenarios that may develop in the future. This is the tack that we have taken:

1) Get legally diversified with the correct calibers.
2) Keep only calibers that allow you to maximize your long term defense potential
3) Stock up on unregulated items that will allow for barter even if it’s not one of your calibers.

Okay, so I just mentioned that one needs to have the correct calibers This is, as everyone knows a very subjective statement. So how did we decide what the correct calibers are? In a scenario where there is true TEOTWAWKI then there will be a source of readily available arms and ammunition. Courtesy of our Law Enforcement and Military. Looking at these services, we see that the following calibers are the most common.

12 Gauge Shotgun,
5.56 NATO (AKA .223)
7.62 NATO (AKA .308)
and 9mm Parabellum (9x19mm ["Luger"]).

My logic and methodology here is to maximize my options in terms of usable and obtainable ‘components’ while still keeping within the framework of our legal system. I have also decided that we will not
apply for further weapons licenses as I do not want nor require the additional infringement of my privacy nor the ‘red flags’ that come with owning a ‘large’ firearms collection. So based on the highest
OPSEC possible in this situation, here is what we have done.

For a handguns I have chosen a .45 ACP my wife a 9mm Parabellum
For shotguns we have both chosen 12 gauge Pump actions
For casual Sports Shooting my wife has chosen a .22 LR pistol, and I have a scoped and suppressed .22LR rifle.
For hunting rifles I have chosen a .308 and my wife a .223
So our choices above keep us [both] at the four gun limit, no additional background checks and gives us a broad spread of calibers that will allow us to store primers, powder, and some ammunition.

On the unregulated side we have and are currently stocking up on the following. Virgin and fired brass in all of the above calibers, in addition to this we add any fired brass that we can scrounge. Various design and weight bullet moulds with the same methodology, factory made bullets in rifle and handgun calibers. Reloading dies, in any and all calibers that we can get. However we do concentrate on the dies for the brass that we have. (There is no point in having dies and no brass.) Cleaning kits and components, and lead and tin stocks, as well as reloading presses. For [rifle and pistol] brass reloading, we have standardized on Lee brand turret presses and the single stage RCBS Rockchucker as most can be had at very reasonable prices on the secondhand market here. For shotgun shell reloading we have standardized on Lee Load All.

Now the logic behind this. If ever the SHTF in a big way, we will be able to drive off most attacks, however if this degenerates into an extended and protracted “Patriots"-like scenario we should have all of the ‘makings’ to use captured weaponry as well as being able to supply and reproduce the correct ammo for such captured weaponry.

There are a few points to remember.
1.) Pressure and primer differences in military and civilian ammo. Know what you are doing or don’t do it!
2.) Always stay within the law, while the law is the law. Becoming an illegal ‘arms hoarder’ will get you into a heap of trouble, which only leaves your family at risk.
3.) OPSEC, OPSEC, OPSEC don’t brag around the braai (Barbecue) as to what you will do when TSHTF. Or what you have stockpiled, hidden, buried etc. Personally, I find that very few people in South Africa have a preparedness/survivalist mentality. If you start discussing what you are doing be circumspect in every aspect.

Finally, as an aside, Just this last week we were given detailed information about the preps of a ‘new age’ religious Doomer ("The sky is going to fall in 2012") that lives just outside a small town over
400 kilometers away. This person has told her family about her preps and this news has now traveled all over the country. We now know almost everything that she has done including evacuation and storage details. The family (rightly?) believes she is a nutcase and actively ridicule her preps. [An OPSEC breach like this presents] a very scary scenario.

Mr. Rawles-
I read "Patriots: A Novel Survival in the Coming Collapse" a couple of weeks ago and enjoyed it. Thank you.

I wanted to mention: I try to follow conventional wisdom about caliber choices for SHTF weapons. Interestingly, in the current ammo shortage, it’s still somewhat easy to get ammo for oddball calibers. For example, if one needs 7.5x55 Swiss, 7.65x54R Russian or 7.5x54 French, many online dealers have it in stock, while 9mm, 45 ACP, 12 gauge buckshot, 308, 223, 7.62x39 etc., are very hard to come by. For people who don’t have the budget to stockpile a lot of ammo, this may justify keeping at least one [rifle chambered in a] non-standard caliber in the arsenal. The bolt action Russian, Swiss and French rifles are relatively inexpensive, sturdy, and hard hitting. The fact that the ammo is in good supply during a nationwide ammo shortage is a bonus.

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.

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.

Hi Jim,
A man with the Customer Service department at Midway explained that backorders are expected to continue and there appears to be no reduction in demand. Browsing their web site, I see 'expected' delivery dates pushing further into the future, and up to six weeks delay for the less expensive and common caliber hunting bullet, mostly .30 caliber bullets. Many premium bullets are also on 'back order' since my last visit. And now, even less common caliber bullets are backordered as well as other reloading components and reloading tools. The shortage at Cabela's also continues. The Civilian Marksman Program (CMP), advises that delivery could take 100 days for their still inexpensive M2 ball (.30-06) for the M1 Garand [and many other] rifles.

I believe that you've mentioned the possibility that "Ballistic Wampum" could be more useful than silver for the purposes of barter. The ammunition and component shortage is making a me believer. If events unfold as they might, the shortage could become increasingly severe and chronic. It may actually now be easier to obtain silver than bullets or certain and popular loaded ammunition. Over the last two years, I've done better with ammunition than silver, and have decided to trade in silver if necessary, for bullets. In memory of the Lone Ranger, silver would be a poor substitute for lead as the sectional density of a sliver bullet would be significantly less and therefore less effective. As I am no Lone Ranger, I would need all the advantages possible, and rather have the good stuff.

More folks are waking up everyday, and I suspect most of them will feel the need to protect and feed themselves. Many of those folks will be without the means to do as they discover that they cannot afford buy a good supply or any supply, and if able, may find that shipment could be months into the future. The Fed's recent action makes continued and escalating hyper inflation a given. If delivery in months away, prices might change, or delivery might become impossible at some point. I'd error on the side of caution. - E.L.

We may soon depend on all of what we have learned over the years. Putting all of the threads of knowledge together into a tapestry of self-sufficiency, and survival capabilities, is part of the lifelong quest for our family’s security. We learn from many sources and experiences such as: family, church, friends, teachers, teammates, co-workers, reading books and SurvivalBlog, and hopefully from our mistakes.

Preparedness Skills from our Grandmas and Grandpas

The foundation for preparedness begins with my childhood in Michigan. We lived in Lansing where my great-grandmother was next door and my grandmother lived next door to her. My father was born in great-grandma’s house after the family moved to the city during the early 1900s. My sisters and I spent weekends and summers alternately at my mom’s family dairy farm, which was just outside of the city, and at my dad’s family cabin “up north”. These were the richest times of my life. We knew all of our grandparents and some of our great-grandparents very well. My great-great-grandfather still lived in the old log cabin when I was born in 1956. We have been fortunate to have had five generations alive consistently from then until now. The wealth of love and knowledge you gain from your extended family is irreplaceable.

The “old timers” told stories of hardship during the great depression and the dust bowl era (we live an area that was the largest prairie east of the Mississippi.) Memories of crop failures with tales of early and late frosts were passed down. There were also hunting and fishing stories passed down as we learned to hunt and fish with older family members. There were bigger than life lumberjack stories and stories from Prohibition and the World Wars. I learned to safely handle and accurately shoot a .22 rifle with peep sights when I was six or seven years old. I walked the roads with my grandpa squirrel hunting. We ice fished on local lakes and went to Tip-Up Town USA every year. All of this adds to ones persona and the early experience helps awaken the necessary “survivalist” traits.

On a working dairy farm you rapidly learn about life (and death). Animal husbandry and caring for the land lead to sustainability. Animals do become food and harvesting the crops sometimes seems little reward for the hard work. The milking must be done every day and chores do not wait. As a kid I learned to drive tractors and pick-ups to and from the fields. We mowed, bailed and then stacked the hay in the mow. Alfalfa, oats and corn were the field crops. Pigs, chickens, and sheep were raised along with the dairy cows and we cleaned the barns and spread manure.

Knowledge is passed down from generation to generation such as when to plant, where to plant, when to harvest, and how to raise the animals. There were many topics of conversations at the Sunday breakfast table. Many things are debated and discussed after chores and before Church. Most times the conversations continued outside the Church after the sermon. It was the only time you saw the other farmers. When you are a little guy you tended to be quiet, pay attention and learn.

Grandpa was a farmer and Grandma was a one room school teacher. Grandma also taught vacation bible school during the summer break. Us kids learned how to tend good gardens and helped preserve the food we raised. We took care of the barn animals while the uncles milked. We hauled water to the bull pen and helped milk as we got older. Survival skill sets from the farm come from being part of a close knit community with a solid work ethic. There are strong religious underpinnings with good people engaged in caring for one another as well as the animals and the land.

Preparedness from "Roughing It”

The log cabin “up north” had a well-house for getting water and an outhouse for getting rid of water. There was a wood fired cook stove for heat and kerosene lamps to play cards under. There was a red checkered oilcloth on the table with cane chairs around it. The place was originally homesteaded by my great-great-grandfather in the late 1800s (a few electric lights were added at some point.) We used to go up on Friday night after Dad or Grandpa got out of work. The next morning started with an awakening trip to the outhouse and then fetching a bucket of water from the well house and kindling for the wood stove. On a cold morning you stepped lively until the fire was going.

Once the stove was hot, Grandma would cook buttermilk pancakes on a griddle that my great-grandmother had used in the lumber camp. Eggs and bacon sizzled in a cast iron skillet. Clothes were washed on a washboard in a wash tub and then hung out to dry. You took a bath in the river. During the summer we would fish morning and evening and water ski on the nice days. The family summer vacation was spent camping in a tent along the river or at a state park. The old cabin was also used for small game hunting in the early fall and deer camp in the late fall / winter. We would take walks in the woods and look for morels and other edible things like may apples, hickory nuts or raspberries and huckleberries. Animal tracks were learned and followed with hopes of a glimpse. Life was considered sacred unless needed for food and being a part of nature became obvious. A leave no trace and waste nothing ethic was being born.

Opportunities for further wilderness and pioneering skill development were provided by Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts. My mom and dad were actively involved in Scouting when I was growing up. Teamwork and sharing responsibilities for the group were learned. Outdoor cooking and keeping things sanitary were heavily emphasized. Food poisoning is no joke – we had one patrol that damn near killed us with their meal. We learned to wash our hands and boil the crap out of everything. Hiking and backpacking skills were beginning to be developed in the Scouts. We day hiked a 20 miler once a year on the Johnny Appleseed Trail - the Scouts version of the death march. You had to carry a full pack if you wanted the patch. We also hiked the Pokagon Trail in northern Indiana and learned to camp in the winter.

While living in Pennsylvania (later in life) I started winter backpacking with a few of my buddies. We went in the winter both for the solitude it offered, and to learn the special skill sets required for survival in the cold. There are beautiful views from Seven Springs and other spots along the Laurel Highlands Trail during the winter. This experience then led to the development of technical mountaineering skills. The books Basic Rockcraft, Advanced Rockcraft and Knots for Climbers were memorized along with study of the book Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills. Skills were practiced and ingrained.

My first solo backpacking / climbing trip came in the summer of 1980 in the Organ Mountains of southern New Mexico. I later solo climbed most of the 4,000 and 5,000 footers in New England (many in winter). I met a like minded climber on one of those hikes and we made a summit bid on Mt. Rainier in June of 1998. I also began the solo circumnavigation on the Wonderland Trail that year. I set the first tracks both that year and when I completed the circuit in June of 2001. Map and compass skills were required. Primitive camping while carrying everything you need to survive for two weeks is a tough proposition. It was tough in my 30s and 40s. It’s even harder now that I am in my 50s. G.O.O.D. to the deep woods is doable but it would be a hard life.

Responsibility and Teamwork

We learned to be responsible and self-sufficient during our childhood. We learned to play without other kids around and had chores to do for our allowance. I learned to gather the wood and light a fire as soon as I was old enough. You pumped the water and filled the reservoir if you wanted warm water for washing up. You learned to use guns and knives as tools while you learned hunting techniques and cleaned the game for the table. Being a responsible hunter meant taking ethical shots and using what you kill. Catching and cleaning fish, then cooking or smoking them were all part of being a good fisherman. To go along with these survival skills you also need the ability to share knowledge and work as a team.

Most of the skills you learn will help you to fend for yourself one way or another. The only problem is summed up with the statement “no man is an island”. You will need others sooner or later. My sisters and I developed basic teamwork skills while setting up camp. The girls helped mom and I helped dad. We had a “system”. This was carried further in Scouting. Some Patrols set up tents while another set up the kitchen. These valuable lessons were used later in life as I went through boot camp and during service in the military. I served on small boats as part of a search and rescue team in the USCG.
Teamwork helps to overcome the steep learning curve and high risk of being a self-sufficient survivalist. You can do things as a team exponentially quicker and safer than you can by yourself. Your bunkmate becomes your partner in boot camp and later becomes your shipmate. You learn “one hand for yourself and one hand for the boat”. As a team you can survive what would kill you alone. In a bad storm someone has to steer while someone bails out the boat. One person couldn’t do it. Avalanche in the back country is another perfect example - by yourself you are probably dead. Doing things alone is great - but it may cost you your life. Skill and knowledge can’t cover your a** like a buddy. It’s nice to have someone else on the rope with you; they are your only hope.

Teaching everyone at least something you know and learning from everyone something you don’t know can only make the group stronger. If someone gets sick or is tired someone else can step up. CPR is a good example here. In the back country one person can’t help himself. One person helping may bring back the life but it better happen quickly. Two people allow you to send someone for help while rendering aid until you are too tired to continue. Three people allow almost indefinite support. Two can alternate CPR while waiting for the one who left for help to return with the defibrillator. If help is real far away, then it’s done. There is a point of no return. Remote locations usually cross that point which is a distinct disadvantage (unless the SHTF).

Without teamwork you will usually die if something bad happens. Everyone has to be a good shot. Everyone needs to be able to render first aid. The group is only as strong as the weakest link and precious resources are spent covering someone’s a** that’s not up to speed. Teach and learn and cross train. Remember what you did as a kid and don’t sell the kid’s of today short. Teach them the skills they need and allow them to grow into the responsibility. Being part of a team or extended family that functions like a team is fun. The action of being responsible for one another is at the root of any team.

The Prepared Family

The family is the primary source of knowledge. Some survival skills to learn right along with reading, writing and arithmetic are: swimming, knot tying, fire building under all conditions, where to get water and how to make it safe to drink, safe gun handling and accurate shooting, hunting in fields and the woods, fishing in rivers and on lakes, first aid, camping, boating, gardening, making things “homemade”. You can’t start learning or teaching these things too soon.

10 years ago we moved back home to Michigan after living all over the USA. I had come home for my Grandpa’s funeral and was returning to New England. Something was wrong and I couldn’t put my finger on it. That’s when the light came on and as I drove it became apparent that I was going the wrong way – both figuratively and literally. We were chasing the so called “American Dream”. Losing my grandfather and returning to the north woods had shown me where home really is. It is with family and God and where your roots are. I had drifted away from the true values I had learned early in life.
I resigned my position, cashed out the 401(k), and bought the homestead from grandma. We planted 24 fruit trees and installed irrigation systems for the gardens. We pruned the grape vines back and tended to the asparagus beds. My wife renewed the old flower beds and I have replaced the split rail fence. We re-roofed everything. The folks put down another well up the field and had another septic system installed for their travel trailer. We had a 100 amp power drop installed and we also buried a power cable from the field to the trailer for a 12 volt system (small scale solar and wind).
I once again could use guns after living in the tyranny of Massachusetts. (I refused to get an Firearms ID card so my guns never left the house in 16 years.) I taught a niece and nephew to shoot with the same .22 that grandpa used to teach me with almost 50 years ago. My nephew, now an 8th grader, got his first deer this past year. No one believed him when he came home and told them. He did it on his own.

Things have now come full circle in our life. My grandma lives with us in her old house through the summer. My sisters are both Grandmas themselves now and they are taking care of our mom and dad. The kids have great-grandparents and a great-great grandmother. My understanding wife of thirty years and I live here on the homestead as stewards of the family heritage. The whole family gets together up here once or twice a year. We know how to provide for and take care of each other. If the SHTF my sisters and the rest of the family will head up here to the homestead and once again adopt the ways of our Great-Great Grandpa and Grandma. Everything we have learned through our lives will serve us well. Skill sets from the north woods and from the farm are derived from living simple, living manual and living with nature as part of nature.

We used to fall to sleep on a feather tick mattress while listening to rain tapping over our heads in the loft of the old log cabin. Bedtime stories were told as we drifted to sleep and the whippoorwills sang into the night. We didn’t think that the day would come that just about all of what we learned from our family and from our life would come into play. Thank God for our tight family and all of the distilled knowledge passed down to us. I now live in a home built over the site of the original log cabin and now we have 7 generations since my great-great grandparents first cleared this piece of land. It looks like we will be talking of another “Great Depression” soon and the complete cycle renews. Do we learn from our mistakes?

Preparedness Skills and Materials

We’re preparing for the future and I hope to teach what I can to as many people as I can before it’s over. We can survive well if we draw on one another’s strengths and knowledge. It starts with the family and moves out to the extended family then to the neighbors and on to town folk and into the blogosphere. Many people have grown up in similar circumstances and have similar experiences. We must practice our learned skills and trades all of the time to stay fresh and perpetuate our way of life. We must keep acquiring new skills and more materials for survival. Preparedness is a constant quest.

Survival trades that I've learned:

ASE Certified Master Auto Technician
Journeyman Machinist and Apprentice Welder.
Experience with all aspects of house construction from framing to finish work, including house wiring and plumbing for water, gas and DWV systems.
Professional ditch digger and home brewer of beer.

Survival tools, equipment, and material acquired over the years:

Comprehensive set of Snap-On hand tools, diagnostic equipment and garage.
Several redundant computers and complete wi-fi coverage with satellite internet.
All of the carpentry, plumbing and electrical tools needed to build a house.
All of the tools required to garden both manually and with gas engines.
Fence building tools and supplies.
5,500 watt gas generator.
Wood stove and saws, axes, mauls, wedges.
Stores of food, bits of gold and silver, books and manuals, and lots of lead.

Survival firearms battery:

Auto-Ordinance Model 1911A1 .45 ACP (I qualified Marksman in USCG)
Stag Arms AR-15 with 20” Bull barrel, 5.56 (I qualified Expert in USCG)
Marlin .22 WMR (squirrel / varmint gun)
Mossberg .22 LR (shot this since 1962)
Ruger M77 Mk II .270 Win. (my deer rifle)
Winchester Model 94 .32 Win. Special (got my first deer with Grandpa’s gun)
Mossberg 12 ga. 3 -1/2” Ulti-Mag in Camo (turkey / duck / goose gun)
Winchester Model 1897 12 ga. 2-3/4” (I've shot this gun since 1969)
Reloading equipment and supplies (loads for Barnes Bullets)

Survival Quest 2009 (the final pieces I'll need for grid down and "zombies"):

Ruger M77 Mk II .300 Win Mag with optics
A manual water pump (the old pump is gone)
Wind turbine and photovoltaic panels for water pumping and power generation.
Battery bank and inverter
More kerosene lamps
Night Vision for the AR-15
Radios

James,
We finally caught up on magazine sales in late February, filling our last outstanding back orders, and I actually have a limited number of C Products AR-15 magazines in stock and some Magpul PMags (which I really like). The manufacturers tend to send out a half of an order and then a few weeks later, the balance of it. They are clearly allocating inventory across their customer base and I would estimate that they are running two to three months behind. The delivery situation is getting worse, and my guess is that new orders placed today would likely arrive in June or July.

Almost anything related to AR-15s/M4s is backordered. Spring sets, repair kits, accessories, bolts and bolt carriers, etc. Even magazine repair kits have dried up. I probably have close to $4,000 worth of merchandise on back order from Brownell's for our web-based store. Prices are rising as well. Wholesale cost on Glock magazines have jumped to what used to be our retail sales price. We've seen a 60% jump in the
wholesale price since the election.

The ability of these producers to ramp up production is limited. Many are running extra shifts or hours on existing machines, but none of them want to add new equipment because the capital expense will take so long to recoup. If the law changes and their products are suddenly banned, their income will drop off a cliff and the new debt burden could just force them into bankruptcy that much sooner. So the pipeline is constrained due to the uncertain future. This is another lesson in why it is better to prepare sooner than later.

My advice for anyone who wants to buy ammunition by the case lot and black rifles is to try GunBroker.com. I do not sell there, but I have been doing some personal buying there. Sellers have items in stock, but prices are not low as the auction format tends to float prices up when demand is high. Still, you can buy ammo by the case, complete guns, complete lower [receiver]s and stripped lowers as well as magazines and accessories.

I wish you continued success, safety and security, - Dave of (Captain Dave's)

JWR Replies: That matches what I have been seeing. As recently as September, an AR-15 "Lower Parts Kit" (the hammer, trigger, sear, pistol grip, trigger guard and assorted pins, springs and detents needed to complete building a stripped AR-15 receiver) was selling for as little as $49. Today, they are very scarce, and selling on Gunbroker.com for as much as $125 each! There are so many folks frantically parting-up ARs that there is a genuine shortage of not just the receivers themselves, but also the little "fiddly bits" piece parts!

JWR,
I attended a gun show in a Southern state this weekend and wanted to share my observations. I got there very early and was among the first ten in line. By the time we were allowed to enter, the line was out the door of the building and around the corner. I'd estimate around three hundred people in line. I left the show a mere hour later and the room probably had in excess of eight-hundred people and the line was still quite long.

Ammo, of course, went fast. I was able to acquire all the ammo I desired, in all my favorite calibers, with no problem, from my regular favorite vendor. His prices were the same as four weeks earlier, which both surprised and pleased me. Other ammo vendors were doing brisk business, as well, but some of their prices were dramatically higher. By Sunday afternoon, my vendor had extinguished their bulk ammo supply in .223.

My attendance was centered on finding a good deal on an AR-15 full upper, at a decent price (a relative term, of course). Most AR-15 full uppers were going for between $700-$1100, depending on manufacturer and features. The vendor from whom I'd planned on buying was, surprisingly, not there. The very last table I came to, however, had five AR-15 carbine A3 uppers, made by Model 1 Sales, the vendor from whom I'd hoped to buy. Mine came out to $611 with bolt carrier assembly and charging handle, which was easily the best deal at the show, since I'd seen the same basic configurations for $100-$500 more. Most astonishing was the deal I found on Sunday when a vendor was laying out a used DPMS AR-15A2 in excellent condition for a scant $799. She wouldn't hold it for me and by the time I returned with the necessary funding five minutes later, it had been sold. Most fully assembled ARs, used or otherwise, were going for $1,100-$2,500.

Magazines are definitely going up in price, dramatically. The [formerly inexpensive fairly plentiful US government] contract O'Kay Industries AR-15 mags are now $12-20 in used condition, and new ones are $15-25. P-MAGs at the show were $28-35 and obviously becoming scarce. Springfield XD9 factory mags were going for $28-40, way up from the $21 each that I had paid just two months ago.

One last note. I picked up an ARMS rear sight #40 for $110 and even managed to run across a brand new Vortex flash hider for $60 (I've been searching for one for several months now). Average prices there, I guess, maybe a little high.

I've also noticed more and more private sales by people buying and selling person to person, increasing one's odds of finding a good deal. Just the sort of activity that makes Charles Schumer's hoplophobic blood curdle. I spent $1,500 at this show and got probably half of what I could have bought a year ago for the same money. I suspect this time next year will find me saying the same thing again. Ordnance...at inordinate prices.

May God bless your continued endeavors, - Shrike

Sir;
I recently got a Mossberg "Mariner" [12 gauge pump action] shotgun as my main home defense type gun. What size shot should I use for home defense? (The owner of my nearby gun shop said to use #8 bird shot, since buckshot or rifle[d] slugs 'will go though two houses." Is that true?) Thx, - Perry Noid in St. Paul, Minnesota

JWR Replies: I'm afraid that your local gun shop owner was spouting some oft-quoted urban folklore. For some genuine, Grade-A, tested truth on this subject, see this Box 'OTruth article.

For what it's worth, I am still a big believer in using #4 Buckshot for home defense. To my mind, it strikes the ideal balance between penetration and likelihood of a high number of vital organ pellet hits. The standard factory 12 gauge 2-3/4" load of #4 buckshot contains 27 pellets of .24" diameter. That is definitely a home-invasion countermeasure!

In these trying times when civilizations are at the brink of disaster and many people are already in personal collapse, we should look back through history to find out how to salvage what we have and how to survive what is to come. [Minor rant snipped.] It seems that economic collapse is imminent and that at some point in the near future it is going to be every man for himself. As we watch countries collapse, global economies fail and people across the world starve and die, I ask myself has any culture or civilization in history gotten it right?

The nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyle led by the American Indians may be the way that many in the future may need to survive. The thought of a survival retreat is nice, but what if a toxic gas cloud is coming your way? Or a band of starving armed men and women discover your location and decide that you have what they want? Are you equipped for a small arms battle? Lets face it, most of us are not. Many of us still need to live in an urban environment to make a living (while we still have the need) and having a stocked retreat is just not feasible. When the sh*t hits the fan you have to ask yourself, will you have enough time or even be able to get to your survival retreat? For most of us the answer is simply no. So how can we prepare for the impending collapse that most certainly awaits all of us? Thinking like an Indian may be the answer to your concerns. Mobility can be the key to survival. Having a plan of escape for several different scenarios and banding together with other like-minded people and loved ones who have also planned ahead to deal with the inevitable collapse of our society. Going where you can survive for short periods of time comfortably and being able to use the natural resources available to you wherever you may end up, can be the answer to survival for you and your loved ones.

The Indians moved with the food, with the climate in small tribes, which was best suited to their survival. They learned to use what was provided by nature to live, wild edibles and medicinal uses of plants, as well as some amount of farming and of course hunting. But they also learned to take only what they needed so that when they were to return they would have what they needed again. This is a lesson that most of us in modern society have long since forgotten. We have for so long here in America lived the life of gluttony (which has probably led to collapse of more societies than we realize) that when the end comes most of us will not know what to do or how to survive, which will not end pleasantly for those of us stuck in the urban areas. Those of us who plan ahead and have the ability to survive on the go while getting out of the way of the sh*t storm that will be left behind in most urban areas after the end comes. We will be the ones that will thrive in the face of adversity. We will be the ones left to create a better way--a way that works.

As I contemplate the future happenings I know with utmost certainty that the plan that I have derived will keep my loved ones and me safe and out of harm's way. For I have thought and planned like an Indian would, made preparations to survive on the go with a minimal amount of supplies but with the knowledge required to get what I need from what nature has to offer. But you may ask what if nature is damaged beyond repair, then how will you survive? Well my answer is simple, at that point nobody will survive and mankind will cease to exist. A gloomy thought but still one worthy of contemplation.

The reality is there is no right or wrong answer or single philosophy that is the definite end all to be all correct way to do it for any situation. Survival is fluid and every situation has to be dealt with accordingly. Creativity as well as preparation will see you through. Remember that nature taught the Indians how to survive, they didn’t have books, schools, survival manuals or hospitals etc… and they did just fine until the European man came with their gluttony and took from them what was theirs, to exploit it for their gain and greed.

As I end my letter, I leave you with this:
“Prepare yourself with the knowledge that you hope you never have to use, and you and yours will be just fine.” - MMJ

JWR Adds: I will append MMJ's article with the caveat that based on studies of skeletal remains, the average life expectancy for pre-Columbian Native Americans was only 18.6 years. That was before white men brought with them European diseases. As Hobbes put it so succinctly: "...the life of man, solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short." A pampered sedentary lifestyle may be bad for one's cholesterol numbers, but a hunter-gatherer nomadic lifestyles is no picnic.

At this juncture, for the sake of balance I'll also re-post something that I originally posted to SurvivalBlog back in September of 2005:

You should discard any fantasies that you might have had about strapping on a backpack and disappearing into nearby National Forest to “live off the land.” IMHO, that is an invitation to disaster. Too many things can go wrong: You will lack sufficient shelter. You will not be able to carry enough food reserves. Your one rifle and your one pistol, and your one axe, once lost or broken will leave you vulnerable and unable to provide for your sustenance or self defense. Any illness or injury could be life threatening. Even just a dunking in a stream in mid-winter could cost you your life. Also, consider how many thousands of urbanites will probably try to do the same thing. Even if you manage to avoid encounters with them, those legions of people foraging simultaneously will quickly deplete the available wild game in many regions. Furthermore, on your own you won’t be able to maintain sufficient security. (You must sleep, after all!) For countless reasons, playing “Batman in the Boondocks” just won’t work. So forget about the "one pack" solution, other than as a last resort--for example, in the event that your retreat is overrun.

Any of you that do not live at your intended retreat location year round should have a “Get out of Dodge” (G.O.O.D.) pack ready at all times. Keep it in the trunk of your car in case circumstances force you to hike all or part of the way to your retreat. (A sub-optimal situation, as described in my novel "Patriots".) Be sure to inspect your G.O.O.D. pack regularly and rotate any first aid supplies, chemical light sticks, jerky, dried fruit, or other perishables.

While MMJ's planned approach of traveling in a group is preferable to a solo “Batman in the Boondocks”, I still have my doubts about its viability, especially in harsh climates.

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!)

I was raised in a missionary family, on nine different mission fields around the world. At the age of nineteen, I went out to serve the Lord on my own in the former Soviet Union. I had no formal Theological training, but was accepted by the missionary societies of my denomination because of my experience under my father and my willingness to go to dangerous areas.

I married, and my wife and I have now six children. A few years ago, due to some changes in my theology, I fell out of favor with my denomination and had to return home to the USA. I was faced with a situation of suddenly having to feed and care for a large family with: 1. no formal education/training/skills of any kind and 2. very little understanding of the southern American culture that I found myself living in. I was forced to take very low-paying jobs and survive on a low-income.

With our savings we were able to buy a small rural house and 7.5 acres in the southeast. We were able to pay cash, I wanted it to be ours with no strings attached, regardless of what the future held. I figured that at the very least we would have a roof and some plantable land. I bought in the area my parents lived in to help care for them as they progressed in years.
Our income is very limited. I work at just above minimum wage. I work a full-time job and another part-time job. I am thankful that the Lord provides.

As I studied current events I became concerned about the possibility of a world-wide economic and/or societal collapse of some kind, or a societal break-down here in the USA resulting from any number of possible reasons. I had witnessed the chaos of the nineties in the former Soviet Union, had watched doctors and physicists sweep streets and live off of potatoes and bread for months on end, and I was concerned about my responsibility to feed my family should a similar collapse happen here.

What can you do when you have very limited means? Actually there is much you can do. It amounts to setting goals and getting your family on board with you. The first thing I did was (after my wife and I had many long talks and she began to see things in a similar way), I gathered the family around and explained everything to them. I explained about our limited means, exactly how much money was coming in, how much went to utilities, fuel, etc. I explained what I believed the dangers were. I explained what we needed to do as a family. Let me interject here that after being born and growing up on a third-world mission field, they were far from spoiled children! They were accustomed to living in tight quarters, washing in cold water, eating cheap, and basically just "roughing it."

My first priority was for two weeks worth of provisions. We began to buy a few extra cans of food when we went shopping. I set a goal of 20 dollars per week for prepping. Some weeks ten dollars of canned goods and/or dried foods like rice, beans or noodles, and ten dollars in ammo or medical supplies. Some weeks just food, some weeks just extra gasoline. We bought gas cans at thrift stores and garage sales for a dollar apiece, Large scented candles (better than nothing) at closeout sales and garage sales for 30 and 50 cents, and just about anything we could scrounge that might come in handy if the lights went out. It did not take us long to build up enough supplies to last two weeks in an emergency. We had enough gasoline to drive to work for two weeks (if needed), enough food for our family plus a little extra, and candles, radios, batteries and other odds and ends to get by.

I had also along the way added to my ammunition stocks for my Winchester .30-30, and my bolt-action .22 LR.
After we reached the point where we felt we had enough for a two-week catastrophe, we began to focus on the six-month time frame. This opened up many entirely new possibilities. since the food required for this amount of time was such a major expense, we had to make sure that it would last for several years. This raised the issue of long-term storage in buckets, mylar bags and oxygen-absorbers. We had to save for months to buy an order of oxygen-absorbers and mylar bags on e-bay! We found low-cost buckets and began to fill them with rice, feed corn, corn meal, noodles, beans etc. Anything that was inexpensive. We taught the children to like corn-meal mush and grits since they might get quite a bit of it one day!

Gradually we worked our way up to 30 buckets. At this point I made a strategic decision. I decided that we needed to invest our extra funds in gardening. Not entirely stopping the food storage, but reducing it in favor of procuring means and experience in growing and canning our own food. We began to buy canning jars and lids to put away in the attic for the future. My father gave us a tiller with a blown engine which we were able to get fixed, and we began to garden. The first garden was not very well thought-out. Some things grew, some did not. But we learned. We learned first-hand what pollination means and about soil fertility. We learned about bugs and blight. We gained valuable experience.

We also invested in chickens, and watched some of them die, some of them be eaten by neighbor's dogs, some get eaten by our dogs, and the hardy survivors begin to lay eggs. We watched them eat their own eggs and learned to give them calcium. We let half of them free range and half range in portable pens that we built which have an open floor that we could move each day to fresh grass. We learned how to make them roost and lay where they were supposed to.

We bought some rabbits and learned a lot, real fast! We experimented with many types of portable cages for rabbits which would allow us to move them from one grassy spot to another without giving them time to dig a burrow. Sometimes we would wake up and find rabbit carcases torn to shreds, because a neighborhood cat had gotten to them. My kids handled most of this, and they learned things the hard way.

If you haven't figured it out yet, We were totally green. I spent my life traveling and overseeing the translation of Christian literature into foreign languages. My wife is a musician. We had zero experience at any of this, and no one around that we knew to advise us. We had to learn everything from scratch. We bought a goat and promptly saw it attacked and killed by a stray dog. That hurt, financially as well as emotionally. After sending the dog to join the goat "on the other side", I bought another goat. and then another. These have survived. We have learned to care for them.

Gradually I am seeing my children grow confident in their relationship to the animals under their care. Gradually we are learning the needs of these animals and how to make them produce for us. If we had had some kind of hands-on training, it would have saved the lives of a lot of animals, but we didn't. I am happy to announce a much higher survival rate for animals that we bring home now.

I felt like I needed a greater firearms capability (what man doesn't?). I thought long and hard. At first I bought a Mosin-Nagant since they were so cheap ($75) and the ammo was dirt-cheap as well. I then began to consider what type of semi-automatic I could afford. I looked at the prices of ammo which was very critical since I would have to train my entire family to shoot. At the time the best deal for us appeared to be the SKS rifle. It was cheap (a good quality Yugo[slavian SKS] was less than $200), dependable, semi-auto and the ammo was very cheap at the time. I later added a cheap 12 gauge pump, and last but not least, a 17 round Bersa Thunder 9mm. After purchasing these guns I began to pick up ammo for them when I could find it on sale. I have gradually gotten up to about 500 rounds for each of them.

I then turned my attention to our home and it's defense. While we live in the country, we are close to our neighbors 100 yards +/-, about five miles from a small town, about 15 miles from a large town, and about 90 miles from Atlanta (upwind fortunately). My greatest concern is our proximity to the road. The house is only about 65 feet from the dirt road in front of our house. A looter or burglar/rapist could be at the door or windows before the dog barked. In response to this my next expenditure is to be fence posts, fencing, and barbed wire, along with a row of thorny bushes in front of the wire next to the road.

Our house is a soft target, offering no ballistic protection. My remedy/forlorn hope is to have plenty of sand and gravel on hand, and to start checking the thrift stores for pillow cases to buy and store. perhaps we would have time to bag up sand bags and at least harden up certain corners or rooms of the house. We also have several large piles of sandstone (we live on top of a mountain) which could be placed strategically and then perhaps sand bags on top of that. We could also cut logs and add that to the mix.

Our water supply is a [grid-powered] electric well. This is one of my biggest worries. We have made it a priority to buy a generator at least strong enough to run the well and freezers for an hour or two a day. I know that this is only a temporary solution but is about all we can handle right now. I am very thankful for the non-fiction writing contribution about the siphon pumps for wells such as mine, that offered up new possibilities which I have not had time to address yet. We also have a neighbor 1/4 mile away which has an artesian spring on his property, though it has extremely high iron content. I have purchased two 330 gallon plastic livestock watering tanks and several drums which I can fill at the first sign of trouble. I can also load them on my little trailer and pull them down to the neighbor's to fill up from his well. I just need to check on the ramifications of the high iron content.

I am also trying to fill up as many containers as possible with gasoline. I add Sta-Bil and plan to use/rotate it yearly (as long as the price stays low). I would like to keep at least 250 to 500 gallons on hand at all times. I buy old gas cans at yard sales and just found a source for cheap 55 gallon drums with sealed lids ($3). I may start using them instead.

Our immediate plans are to build more pens and raise more chickens and goats, maybe a pig or two. We also look forward to planting a much bigger garden this spring and maybe use some of our hard-won experience of last year. We also want to involve the kids in martial arts classes if we can afford it, as well as herb-collecting hikes from the local community college field school (which are free and fun). We want to spend more time with them in the woods and in the garden so that they feel comfortable there and begin to think about survival from their own perspective. We also are beginning to exploit the library for free resources for them to study on various topics.

The future of this country looks grim. As Christians we have "read the back of the Book" and we know Who wins. Our responsibility is to be good stewards of the talents we have, perform our duties as husbands and wives, mothers and fathers, and ultimately, to trust Him for that which is beyond our vision and power.

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."

Hello JWR,
I hope everything is going well for you and your family! Every day that passes makes me realize how blessed I am to be out of the states and living at a great retreat location in Chile.
I was reading your site yesterday and saw your article asking for information about foreign gun laws. I recently purchased a new shotgun in Chile and will share that experience with you. First, I don't think most Chileans follow the gun laws here. The law is that you must register every weapon you own, and registration is limited to three per person, but no limit per family. That means I could register three in my name, three in my wife's name, etc. Laws state you must keep your weapon in your home and if you transport in somewhere else, you must ask for permission and get a form to do so. If you are stopped by the police and have a weapon without the transport form, they have the right to seize it. (I have been stopped many times for a registration check, and they have never searched the vehicle or asked about weapons, so this is a very remote possibility in normal times, IMHO).

From those restrictions, you can see why I feel most Chileans don't follow the law. I wanted to ship down my grandfather's old Mossberg, but since it didn't have a serial number, and the associated government paper hassle, I just bought a new one here. When buying from a dealer, you have to follow the rules, and being a foreign national residing here, I went along (for my first). I wanted a basic Mossberg pump action 12 gauge, and the dealer informed me I had to pass a hunting exam before I could buy the gun. He gave me some example tests, true-false questions, and I went to register for the test. Not being a native spanish speaker, I was a little worried about the exam. It cost about $24 US to get a study book and pay for the test. The exam covered all the separate hunting laws for the country, broken down by state. I had to know the dove daily limits for a region 1,500 miles from my house! Unbelievable. I managed to luck through the test and pass with a 70%, even though none of the test questions given to me by the dealer were on the test- wouldn't you know it!

Once I had my hunting license I returned to the gun dealer/ sport shop. I paid for the gun, and then they took me to the local Chilean army office to register it. On the way, the dealer casually mentioned I had to take a test there to ensure I knew the proper care and maintenance of the shotgun I was buying! I had no idea what those names were, so I had about 10 minutes to learn what a sight, breach, stock, etc were called in spanish, and I lucked my way through another multiple choice test on basic maintenance, and how many shells I was able to buy at a time, etc. What a pain! Now you see why I think most chileans skip this law. Everyone was quite nice and helpful, it was just the process that stank.

The next step was needing the police to check my residence on the application to ensure that I lived there. Well, I live 150km from this town, and I could not take possession of my gun until my residence was checked. For this reason I used a friend's residence in the town. I was checked out and returned the next morning for my shotgun. What an ordeal. Total cost, not including the shotgun itself, was about $60 US. Fortunately, now I have my legally registered shotgun, even though it is registered at a residence far far away, so it would take some searching to find me if the officials were so inclined. Obviously my next weapons purchase will be from an locals to skip the whole bureaucratic nightmare. Since I live way off the beaten path and know the local police, I am not worried, but the national system here is set up for potential confiscation if necessary- remnants of the 1970's and the civil war/Pinochet days.

Hope you find this informative. Chile is a great country for old German rifles and such like. I look forward to getting a Winchester .44-40, .357, and other weapons off of the grid. I've actually had my folks bring down boxes of rifle shells and deer slugs in their airline luggage- no problem with customs. In other news, I now have my pigs, chickens, and the sheep are on the way! Fresh eggs and ham through any crisis! Best wishes. - Bruce

Jim:
I am soon buying my first shotgun and wanted to know if you would recommend it. It is a Remington 870 Express Super Magnum which handles everything from light 2-3/4" loads to heavy 3-1/2" magnums interchangeably, in a ribbed 28" barrel. I am looking at it for home defense. Best regards, - Greg

JWR Replies: The 3-1/2 inch chamber is only an issue here in the US when shooting at high-flying ducks and geese, using the now-mandatory steel shot. For home defense, a 3" chamber, or even a 2-3/4" chamber on the older guns is sufficient. Don't pay extra for a gun with a 3-1/2" chamber. Spend the difference on getting a spare 20" barrel with slug sights. That is the barrel that you will want for home defense. OBTW, for the greatest versatility, try to get all barrels with "Rem-Choke" screw-in choke tubes.

Sir;

By way of profession, I am a CPA (M.S. in Taxation), economic survivalist by persuasion. One thing you may want to caution readers about is the Internal Revenue Services' position on bartering income. Always, always, always talk to a competent tax advisor regarding your particular situation. Under the current administration, self-sufficiency activities such as bartering with others for services or goods may be considered a reportable and taxable activity on the part of both parties.

Just a "heads up" to all, we all want to stay within the letter of the law. Thanks for the listen - C.

Sir,

Craigslist can be frustrating, for example, you see a super deal, you call early, have the cash and can buy now, but the seller says, "well, some guy called at 6 a.m. and is coming to buy it this Sunday. Sorry." Out of politeness, you didn't want to call at 6 am, but because you didn't, you lost the ability to buy the item because the seller is a "first call-first serve" seller, and not a "first cash-first serve" seller.

On the other hand, it is irritating when you set an appointment, spend $20 on diesel to drive to the seller's home, and arrive to find someone else loading the item in his truck. Maybe sellers ought to put a Terms-of-Service in their ads! (I personally am a First-Cash seller, but cancel later appointments immediately upon sale). - Willow, in Texas

Jim:

[Because of their posting rules], one must be very circumspect in listing or putting a "Want to Buy" (WTB) ad on Craigslist.com if it concerns guns, ammunition, or reloading.
They will delete your posting in a "New York Minute". - D.O.

JWR Replies: I've seen the same thing happen, many times. Do not mention firearms in the title line of any Craigslist post, even if you live in an ultra-conservative state like Wyoming. Some hoplophobic do-gooder will indeed zap your post almost immediately. I've heard that it is best to "bury " mention of your willingness to swap "sporting goods" in posts on other topics. For those that specifically want to trade a firearm or ammunition, I recommend advertising on a regional gun board, such as the Northwest Firearms Board. , or in one of the many local newspapers or advertising giveaway papers (such as the "Nickel" and "Penny Saver" type papers) that offer free or low-cost classified ads.

Mr. Rawles:

Even though Craigslist does not allows firearms and ammunition advertisements, it is still beneficial sure to check the Sporting Goods section. In my my local Craigslist there are "47 speed bicycles, AK brand", and similar items regularly for sale. - J.M.

Hello,
Is a Ruger [Mini-14 .223] Ranch Rifle a good low cost battle rifle choice? Apparently they are not for anything past "medium range". (Honestly I don't know what that means.) Although the new Mini-14s [with] 580[-prefix] serial numbers are supposedly more accurate at longer ranges than previous Ranch Rifles. I am interested in going to an Appleseed event sometime later this year and was wondering if this might work for their program. Also if it is a good gun I was going to go ahead and buy the 20 round factory Ruger magazines. Thanks, - Clint C.

JWR Replies: In my opinion, even the latest production variants of the Ruger Mini-14 Ranch Rifle are a marginal compromise choice for a .223 battle rifle. But they might be a good choice for folks in California, where many other semi-auto rifles are already banned by state law. But be advised that they won't be exempt from the proposed Federal ban. (Yes, "Ruger Mini-14" is on the updated ban list. They made it under the radar back in 1994, but they won't in 2009.)

The drawbacks to Mini-14 Ranch Rifles that I can see are:

1.) The fragile flip-up rear sights on the earlier-production guns. Buy a couple of spares, even if you plan to use the provided scope rings.

2.) Their expensive magazines. (Buy only original Ruger-made 20 or 30 round magazines, and get at least eight of them. (The after-market magazines are most often junk that often do not feed properly.) AR-15s are inherently more accurate than Mini-14s, but they do require more frequent cleaning. It is noteworthy that magazines for AR-15s cost less than half as much as original Mini-14 magazines.

3.) They lack a flash-hider. But this can of course be quickly remedied with an aftermarket flash hider (such as those made by Choate), most of which do not require gunsmithing.

4.) Their marginal accuracy, compared to ARs. From what I've heard, with the possible exception of the new 580-series (et sequitur), Mini-14s shoot groups that average nearly twice as large as an AR with the same barrel length. This is a function of the barrel-to-stock contact at the lug at the front of the handguard. (Design demerits to the late Bill Ruger!) Yes, they can be tinkered with, but why pour money into a rifle to make it shoot straight, when you can get the same accuracy "right out of the box" with an AR?

5.) They lack the ubiquity of the AR-15 series. This has implications to everything from availability of magazines, to spare parts, to accessories (you can get anything imaginable for an AR), and to even training. Anyone that is prior US military service from around 1966 onward will likely already know how to handle, shoot, zero, and field strip an AR, because they are mechanically almost identical to M16s and M4s. In contrast, Mini-14 mechanical training is something that is well-known by former prison guards, more than anyone else.

So, all in all, I'd opt for an AR-15 clone or M4gery rather than a Mini-14. The AR's accuracy, profusion of available spare parts, and readily-available magazines gives them the edge.

But again, for someone living in one of the gun-deprived states, a Mini-14 might make sense. The other notable exception is in tropical climates, where if you buy the all-stainless steel composite-stock Mini-14 variants, they'll have better long-term resistance to corrosion than ARs.

As preciously discussed in SurvivalBlog, the next step up from an AR or AK would be an HK91 clone, such as those made by PTR91 Inc. (Formerly JLD), and up until some recent legal trouble, by Vector Arms. The 7.62mm NATO cartridge is far more capable than 5.56mm NATO, especially beyond 250 yards. The magazines for HKs are also dirt cheap. (As little as $5 each for German surplus G3 alloy magazines. That might make a big difference in the near future, since another 11+ round magazine production ban looks very likely.) I'd recommend buying an HK91 clone if you can afford it--that is if you can even find one, is today's frantic market.

I took your advice and ordered some FN-FAL magazines from What-A-Country, and they were promptly delivered. However, I was surprised to find that the military surplus magazines were quite dirty with what appeared to be black sand, and slightly oily. Is that common for used magazines? As a first time battle rifle owner making my first military surplus purchase. I don't know if this is common practice or not. If it is, what is the best way to properly clean the magazines so they can be used? Any advice or a link to a web site with additional information would be appreciated. - SteelerFan

JWR Replies: That isn't very unusual. When buying military surplus, I'd much rather get oily or greasy mags, because that indicates that an effort was made to protect from rust in all those years of storage.What-A-Country imports most of their magazines from Israel. And the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has almost always done a good job with storing weapons and accessories. (For example, I've seen Lee-Enfield rifles that had been in storage in an Israeli warehouse for 50 years that still looked arsenal-new, once the grease was removed.)

I once bought a large batch of Thompson SMG magazines that were practically pumped full of grease. Yeech! It took a lot of time to degrease those.

OBTW, if the magazines that you bought are grungy inside, it doesn't take long to disassemble them. If there is a lot of grease, you'll need to use a solvent (such as Birchwood Casey Gun Scrubber), otherwise just wiping them down with paper towels will usually suffice. But again, be sure to examine their interiors. (Needless to say, the usual safety provisos on avoiding skin contact and inhaling vapors of Tri-Chlor-based solvents apply!) One you've cleaned the magazines inside and out, wipe them down with a light coat of oil, or perhaps a heavy coat if you live in a region with high humidity. and for long-term storage in a damp climate, RIG is ideal. (But then, of course someday you'll be back to square one--removing grease, before use.)

The article linked at "Box O' Truth Tests Elmer Keith-style DumDum Bullets" contains a very dangerous statement: "5. Cutting the end off a rifle Ball [full metal jacket (FMJ)] cartridge projectile will definitely make the bullet expand or break up..." DO NOT DO THIS! By cutting off the tip off of a full metal jacket (ball) round you have in effect created a pinched copper tube, open on both ends, filled with a plug of lead. Upon firing, it is possible to blow out the lead plug, leaving the tube (jacket) lodged in the barrel. When the next round is fired, the bullet will encounter this obstruction in the barrel, causing damage to the firearm and possible personal injury. Commercial soft point bullets have a solid base to preclude this from happening. Regards, - John in Colorado

Mr. Rawles,
Thank you very much for your web site. I have been reading it every day for the last two months. It is a wealth of knowledge. Read your book as well. I have been researching food, water et cetera for quite a while and your site has helped a great deal. My family will be quite prepared for whatever in short order. The one thing that ha me confused is web gear/tac vest/ALICE gear. In your book you refer to a certain type of web gear but I am having trouble putting all of the pieces together. I am ex-Coast Guard and not at all familiar with land gear. What web gear goes with what pack and belt, et cetera? Can you help me with a list of compatible gear or recommend a book or manual? Thanks, - Kurt in Washington

JWR Replies: There are umpteen opinions out there on web gear, so take the following as just one man's view. Although they are currently all the rage, I am not a fan of load bearing vests. I still primarily use the old tried-and-true ALICE gear, although I have upgraded from the traditional "Y" suspender harness to the more heavily-padded Eagle Industries Ranger "H"-harness.

The new modular MOLLE (spoken "Molly") vests are more versatile than the older-generation Woodland camouflage vests that have stitched-in magazine pouches, but I prefer having nearly everything handy at belt level. I've found that it is slow and cumbersome to get magazines in an out of pouches that are any higher than my solar plexus. So that is why I'm still an ALICE LC-2 vintage dinosaur. But as they say, "Your mileage may vary" (YMMV).

Adding body armor to the equation changes things considerably, since full Interceptor Body Armor (IBA) with a MICH helmet weighs anywhere from 19 to 25 pounds, depending on sizes and how many add-on pieces--such as upgraded SAPI plates--are included. And keep in mind that those figures do not include the weight of ammo, magazines, a full hydration bladder, and various wunderkind gadgets. When wearing non-concealment body armor, a load bearing vest/carrier does make sense. Talk to the folks at BulletProofMe.com (one of our advertisers) for details on getting set up with body armor, pouches, and hydration systems that are practical and comfortable. As I've mentioned before, fitting is crucial with body armor, so talk with an experienced dealer with a big inventory and responsive customer service policies that can fit you properly.

Here is a brief overview on the older ALICE generation US military web gear. Greater detail can be found in FM 21-15, "Care And Use Of Individual Clothing And Equipment", which can often be found at Amazon.com, Midway, GR8Gear.com, and LoadUp.com

Here is a PDF of a Fact Sheet on the latest MOLLE generation US military web gear. Since this is the era of the high tech Stryker soldier, most of the "documentation" for MOLLE gear is actually in the form of instructional DVDs. Oddly, I've never seen these DVDs for sale in the civilian world. (But no doubt the Airsoft Mall Ninjas have a secret distribution system, via Bit Torrents or some such.)

The majority of ALICE and MOLLE items will interchange--meaning that in most instances you can clip an ALICE magazine pouch onto a MOLLE vest, or attach a MOLLE pouch onto a ALICE belt. Don't be worried about mismatched colors or camouflage patterns. Practical civilian survival "ain't a beauty contest." In real world camouflage, randomness is a good thing. Anyone that tries to tell you that all your gear has to be "color coordinated" is a poseur.

Both ALICE and MOLLE gear is available from U.S. Cavalry Store. (BTW, if you follow that link then we'll get a little piece of the action when you order.)

Jim,
I've only been reading your blog for a short time, but I find it both interesting and informative.

Having been a hunter for the last 56 of my 64 years, I do wonder why anyone who plans on getting out of Dodge and heading for the woods would want a battle rifle with ball ammo when we won't be bound by anything like the Hague Convention as to the ammo we use. Seems to me, that soft points would be a better choice and if the SHTF. My M1A will be traveling with me and will be loaded with hunting ammo.

My personal choice, if I could only carry one firearm, would be a 12 gauge shotgun with rifle sights. With slugs, it's good to over 100 yards for big game and men, with 00 or 000 [buckshot shells] it's great for self defense and you don't have to be all that good a shot, and #6 shot works well for smaller game. I came very close to using mine this year on elk because my grandkids scammed my .308 and 30-06 for their elk hunt and I don't have anything else that's legal for hunting.

Forting up in our home [in the city] also seems like sure death if those who mean us harm are intent on doing so and have a pint of gasoline and a match, so hitting the road for a less urban environment sounds like the best thing to plan for.

At any rate, I like your site and it has been added to my favorites. - Don J.

JWR Replies: I was an M1A owner for more than 25 years, before recently switching to L1A1 (inch pattern FAL) rifles. I switched only because the cost of spare magazines and spare parts for M1As was becoming prohibitive. (An original USGI M14 parts set (everything except a receiver) now costs in excess of $1,200, and I just recently saw one advertised for $1,500!)

You are correct that in most defensive shooting situations, there will be no need to penetrate armor, and the mushrooming effect of soft nose ammo will be preferable. However, I recommend the use of soft nose ammo for .308 battle rifles only for handloaders. Let me explain my rationale: Military 7.62 NATO brass is not identical to civilian .308 Winchester brass. It has a thicker case head, and is hence more robust. Military ammunition is also loaded with less sensitive "hard " primers, that differ from civilian primers. Also, some civilian .308 loads exceed the military pressure specifications for 7.62 NATO. The following is a quote from the M1A manual PDF available at the Springfield Armory web site:

"The M1A is designed and built to specifications to shoot standard factory military 7.62 NATO ammunition. The specifications for standard military ammunition include harder primers to withstand the slight indentation from the firing pin when the bolt chambers a cartridge. This slight indentation is normal. The use of civilian ammunition with more sensitive primers or hand loads with commercial primers and/or improperly seated primers increase the risk of primer detonation when the bolt slams forward. This unexpected "slam fire" can occur even if the trigger is not being pulled and if the safety is on. Use of military specification ammunition will help avoid this."

The most cost effective approach to providing soft nose ammo for 7.62mm NATO battle rifle is to use a collet-type reloading press bullet puller, and pull the FMJ projectiles from standard 150 grain 7.62 NATO ball ammo. Then re-seat 150 grain spire point ("spitzer") civilian soft nose .308 bullets, such my old favorite, the Sierra 150 grain spitzer boat-tail. Repeat, repeat x 1000. This is time consuming, but it will give you appropriate soft nose loads with safe pressure an safe primers for your M1A, and it will save you about 30% on the cost of commercially-loaded ammo. Technically, this is still "handloading", so it will void your warranty, but you'll have safe and cost-effective loads that will mushroom on impact.

Jim
Here's my feeling on what pistol mags to obtain. Obviously, if you have a high capacity handgun, it behooves you to have at least ten mags for it. I actually have 30 Glock Model 19 mags since I already have one and contemplate picking up another that a friend wishes to sell.

I'm also trying to pick up Glock 17 mags, even though they stick out the bottom of my G19. I really want a Glock 34 long slide 9mm, and figure that the only way I may be able to get mags for it down the road is to have them on hand. They fit my [Model] 19, and stick out a little, but that's okay. [JWR Adds: There are magazine "filler" sleeves made for the compact Glock pistols, making them more comfortable to hold when using full-size magazines--such as G17 mags in a G19, G22 mags in a G23, and G21 mags in a G30.]

I want to warn you folks of one thing about Glock magazines. I am under the impression that the company will be making the new Glock 21s, Glock 19s and some others in the "SF" [Short Frame] variation, which has a thinner frame, and is more ergonomic. The problem is, while he new SF mags will fit the older Glocks, the old [pre-SF] Glock mags won't work in the newer SF models. Apparently the mag body is cut for the mag release in a different place. Thus, I'd recommend getting the older version of the model you want, or just get the new SF mags. Right now, as I said, I think only the Model 21 and 19 Glocks are made in the SF variation.

If you have an odd pistol, pay close attention to magazine availability. My favorite carry gun is my Walther P-99 in 9mm. Mags were in the $50 range, which made them hard to afford. Every now and then, a company like CDNN gets trade-in mags, which are priced affordably. CDNN were selling the trade in SW-99 mags (which are the same gun essentially as the P99 for $28. I was able to pick up two, but the company ran out the day after the election, and hasn't gotten anymore. Since I like this handgun, I may have to bite the bullet and lay out twice as much as what I give for Glock 19 mags to get a supply for this pistol. I think the lesson is, if you have a Browning 9mm, or a Ruger P95, or a high cap handgun you don't see every day, it would make sense to buy the mags while you can. - Lawrence K.

JWR Replies: I have been told that the SF mag catch notch (on the front of the magazine) can actually be cut by hand, with an X-Acto knife, to retrofit older Glock magazines. BTW, I'm confident that some enterprising individual is sure to soon produce cutting jigs, to make this job easier .

Mr. Editor;

How can you tell people they should 'invest' in magazines? That doesn't make sense. They are a commodity, that can be cranked out in huge numbers. - E.G.B., near Atlanta

JWR Replies: Magazines were until recently a commodity but their status as a commodity is is now dubious. As I described in this article, Federal "bans" and "freezes" often spread economic chaos. When governments interfere with free markets, prices can get crazy. Just look at what happened to price of small containers of Freon, a few years ago.

Based upon our knowledge of what happened during the last magazine ban (circa 1994 to 2004, and thankfully terminated by a sunset clause), and seeing a new presidential administration with hoplophobic tendencies waiting in the wings, it is safe to assume that a new ban is fairly likely. It is therefore wise and prudent to stock up, in anticipation. My advice is to buy all the full capacity magazines that you and your children will ever need, plus a few more, as an investment. In as little as six months, you may be very glad that you did! If a new ban is enacted, it is very likely that the prices of most magazines will double, and that some may triple or even quadruple.

Dear JWR:
I took your wise advice posted in the blog back in October and stocked up on magazines for all my guns. I 've even bought some mags [for other guns] that I just plan to buy, such as M14 magazines for my eventual super match M1A buy. But what I'm thinking is, I should also do is by even more magazines just "on spec", knowing that with Obama coming in[to office, that] a ban of some sort is more likely that not. What types/model high capacity magazines would be best to invest in, for the most possible gain?

I love your blog. I read it almost every day. I recently "did the honest thing" and became a Ten Cent Challenge subscriber. (I'm the one that sent you a roll of silver Mercury dimes.) Thx, - Pat H.

JWR Replies: First, I must mention: I refuse to use the term "high capacity" magazine. As our friend Boston T. Party correctly pointed out, "High capacity" is a political term, designed to foster dislike and distrust by the Generally Dumb Public (GDP). The correct term should be "full capacity". What is being foisted upon us by the Barbara Boxers and the Chuck Schumers of the world are 10 round reduced capacity magazines. A limitation to anything less that full capacity is a diminution of our full and proper right to keep and bear arms. Further, from a practical standpoint, speaking as someone that lives in grizzly bear country, don't ask me to carry just a 10 round magazine in my XD .45, when I could have 15 or more cartridges. It conceivably might take more than 10 rounds of .45 ACP to stop a charging grizzly. And I have serious doubts that Mr. Ursus A. Horibilis will stop and wait patiently if I yell "Time out, while I reload!"

For investment, I recommend that you concentrate on magazines for popular European high capacity pistols, such as Beretta, Glock, SIG, and HK. The greatest gains will be seen in magazine prices for models that have just recently been introduced and for which there is now just a scant supply in the country. Magazines for the new Springfield Armory XDM ("M" as in Mega capacity--this latest model holds 19 rounds!) would be another good choice. Although Springfield Armory is an American company, their XD series pistols and magazines are imported from Croatia. If there is an import ban enacted early in Obama's first term, I expect all XD magazines to at least triple in price, and XDM magazines to perhaps quintuple in price. I'm not kidding.

The SIG P250 is another perfect example. Here is a gun that was only recently introduced. Its magazines do not interchange with pistols from other makers. The majority of new P250 owners presently have just one or two spare 9mm magazines, and no spare .40 or .357 SIG magazines. (The pistol is modular, allowing it to be quickly converted to other calibers.) If and when an importation ban is enacted, these owners will be screaming for magazines. I wouldn't be surprised to see the price of spares to jump to $125, or more. If you think that P250 magazines are currently scarce and expensive, at $43 each, just wait a year. If a ban is indeed enacted, these magazines could be a tremendous investment. But even if there is no ban, even as a commodity these magazines will be a good hedge on future inflation. (Under those circumstances, don't expect them to gain value, but as a practical tangible they will at least hold their value, even in the blistering heat of mass currency inflation.)

Another good example is the 31-round "Glockamole" magazine made for the Glock Model 17, 18, 19, and 26. These magazines jumped from $30 each to a whopping $150 each during the 1994-to-2004 Federal magazine ban. Three months ago--when I bought my pile for investment--they were $27 each. They've just recently jumped to around $50 each. I expect them to at least double again in price, if a new ban is enacted. In fact, even standard magazines for Glock are likely to at least double in price, and probably go even higher.As evidence, I can cite that when the last ban was enacted, the price of 17 round Glock Model 17 magazines jumped from $18 to $75 each.

Again, IMHO, at present your investing emphasis should be on imported full capacity magazines, since an import ban could be put in place with nothing more than an an executive order.

Jim,
Regarding the comments from PPPP and Hugh D.: I couldn't agree with them more! Both were exactly spot on! The person shooting is 99% of the equation. Training (and lots of it) is the most important aspect, and in the long run, will probably wind up being more expensive than the firearm itself (instruction, gas to the range, ammo consumption and cleaning supplies are just to name a few).

I strongly urge your readers to partake in any excellent training afforded by professional institutes such as Front Sight, OnPoint Tactical, Suarez International, et al. If these locations are too distant, I hope they can find an experienced friend or relative to help them develop good habits in shooting.

Sometimes people get too caught up in statistical analysis and numerical comparisons. I did not write that piece to attempt to illustrate one as better than another. I enjoy shooting all of the calibers mentioned (and many more), and easily see the benefits of each. I am sort of remiss that I did not point out the different circumstances in which I find each major rifle caliber best. But I'll leave that up to the shooter to determine for his or her own purposes.

While my article had many statistics, I must reiterate that none of it means a darned thing without a competent shooter. Handgun/Rifle ballistics and their effective ranges are nice to know for new shooters, at a glance, to better illustrate the limitations of any firearm (mostly with effective range, bullet drop and penetration). But the only way to see those numbers (all taken with a grain of salt) in action, is to go out and shoot. We can be Keyboard Commandos on the internet all day long, but in the end, talk means nothing without practical experience. While the numbers in my comparison look "definitive," they are merely a composite; hashed together to simply compare and convey energy/speed of bullets beyond the muzzle.

The real test is: does the shooter know how to best utilize what firearm he or she has to its greatest potential? Some can adapt available firearms to certain situations better than others. Eyesight, body size and ergonomic preferences factor in, but in the end, it boils down to experience. There are a few natural prodigies out there when it comes to shooting; but for most of us, all that bullet velocity or energy doesn't mean a thing if you can't hit your target consistently...and the best way to do that is to shoot (and shoot, and shoot, and shoot...rinse and repeat as necessary).

Shoot enough, and you'll develop that skill as almost a second nature. But don't kid yourself, it takes years of routine trigger-time. It doesn't come overnight. I'm still working at it. Even when one gets fairly good, it still has to be maintained just like any other skill.

Whether it be 9mm or .45, 5.56 or 7.62x39 or 7.62 NATO or .30 Carbine...get out and shoot, and shoot often! And be safe out there people! Always wear hearing/eye protection, and follow the Four Basic Rules of Firearms Safety.

Personally, I feel all shooters ought to be able to consistently hit a man-sized target at 50 yards with a handgun, and at 300 yards (preferably 500) with a rifle (as often advocated by both William Buppert and the late Jeff Cooper).

Yes, ammo is expensive. It's the most expensive it has ever been, but, it's also the cheapest it's ever going to get. See you all at the range! - Kyrottimus

Jim,
At the risk of pestering you, I was curious about your opinion of Mosin Nagant rifles. I have seen them advertised on J&G Sales for anywhere from $69 to $199, with folding bayonets. The advertised condition is "very good". What do you think? It appears that there is pretty widespread availability of 7.62x54r ammo for this weapon as well. Thanks, - MAJ Kevin X., USAR

Kevin:
Here is brief response. (I get 60+ e-mails per day, so forgive my brevity): I do like the Finn M39 Mosin rifles --some of which are available on pre-1899 antique actions--but the little carbines (all legally modern, requiring paperwork) kick like a mule. The 7.62x54r cartridge is a bit more powerful than .30-06.
See: this article on early Mosin Nagant rifles and my Pre-1899 Antique Guns FAQ.

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.

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:

The recent article [by Kyrottimus] that stated that at 50 yards a typical 45 ACP and 9mm [Parabellum] will have the same energy is wrong.

.45 ACP 230 gr ~390 ft/lbs (528 joules) @ 875 fps (JHP)
9x19mm Luger/Parabellum 115 gr ~385 ft/lbs (521 joules) @ 1,225 fps (JHP)

His additional assumption, that bullets will slow equally in an air mass, is also wrong.

I noticed that he listed the fps for a 9mm cartridge at 1,225 fps. This is the energy for a 9mm +p+ range cartridge, while comparing it to the 45 ACP ball cartridge, not a +p rated bullet. How convenient for the crowd that believes 9mm and 45 to be "equivalent". The Winchester Ranger +p 230 gr ball is rated at 985 fps out of my barrel and it's ballistic coefficient makes it retain more energy at 50 yards than the lightweight 9mm 115 gr cartridge. So while not trying to get into the age-old 9mm versus 45 ACP fight, he's perhaps unintentionally dishonest in his comparison. I would hazard a guess that the data itself was simple cut and pasted, and the writer is unused to vetting his writing.

I also found a big error, where the writer says: "Note that grains in bullet mass differ from from the "grains" of smokeless powder (nitro-cellulose) propellant, which is not used in this article." He couldn't be more wrong. I thought there was something up when he equated grain weight to carats and then to grams - I don't think this is a reloader or someone more conversant with ammunition - no reloader I know could ever make this mistake. [JWR Adds: I think that what he meant write was that a physical grain of powder does not necessarily weigh one grain. But you are correct that powder is weighed in the same "grains" scale as bullets.]

When he talks of the destabilization of a typical rifle round, he also describes what actually happens erroneously, when referring to the centrifugal force of the cartridge "failing", and "the laws of inertia, resistance, velocity and mass" being the deciding factors after the "spin fails". He uses big words, but I'm positive he doesn't know what the interactions of those forces are. Using words like 'critically destabilizes' sounds like he was quoting something again, and not instructing the reader. You know, as do I, that [Col. Martin] Fackler [the lead author of the NATO Emergency War Surgery manual and numerous ballistics studies] explained all of this stuff very simply and very succinctly - and rotational forces are a primary reason for jacket and bullet fragmentation, they do not "usually fail" as he writes. - Jim H. in Colorado

Jim:
"Point blank" is not just vaguely "... a few yards from the muzzle" as Kyrottimus stated.

Here is the official definition:
In external ballistics, point-blank range is the distance between a firearm and a target of a given size such that the bullet in flight is expected to strike the target without adjusting the elevation of the firearm (see also gun). The point-blank range will vary with the firearm and its particular ballistic characteristics, as well as the target chosen. A firearm with a flatter trajectory will permit a nearer minimum and further maximum point blank range for a given target size, while a larger target will allow for a longer point blank range for a given firearm.

We need to teach the correct usage of terms, not colloquialisms. - Beach

James,
Although I'm retired from federal law enforcement, I am far from being a firearms expert or zealot. For me, a weapon was just a tool furnished by the agency to conduct business. Things (and my opinion) have changed a bit now - although I'm still not as aggressive as a lot of preppers.

That said, I have a question regarding the reliability of magazine's that one might keep loaded (i.e. in a nightstand) for months or years. Wouldn't the magazine springs tend to (eventually) take-on a "set" that would reduce reliability? Should we replace certain springs with better(?), rotate the magazines every few months to relieve the compression loading on the springs ... or ?

To make this question more specific I'm asking about factory magazines for a SIG P229 (.40 S&W) and a Model 1911 (.45 ) ACP.
I would be interested in your opinion on the topic generally. Thanx, - C.

JWR Replies: In my opinion, the entire "springs taking a set" premise is over-blown. I've been told by a metallurgist that only a coil spring that lacks proper tensile strength at the time of manufacture will show weakness significantly over time, under compression. Ditto for magazine feed lips. So if a magazine is properly manufactured, then this should not be an issue within the span of a couple of generations. With that said, as an ultraconservative "belt and suspenders" type, I do rotate my loaded magazines once per year. (I keep only half of my standby magazines loaded, at any given time.) But shooting that ammo in target practice--my favorite way to "rotate" it!--is more for confirmation of having reliable ammunition than it is about magazine trustworthiness.

In 1989, I took part in firing two 7-round M1911 magazines of .45 ACP ball ammo (with 1943 headstamps) that had been stored loaded continuously since the end of WWII. These two magazines had been left in the back of a desk drawer in a manila envelope with a 1945 postmark. Not only did the cartridges all fire, but the pistol functioned without a single failure to feed. I just wish that I had shot video of the event. These days, that clip would probably do well on YouTube.

One thing is for certain: If you have troublesome magazines, do not attempt to "tweak" them, by bending their feed lips or stretching their magazine springs. Both of these methods will only make matters worse, because you will be destroying tensile strength of the steel. If any magazine you own is not 100% reliable, then either A.) strip it as a source of spare parts (namely, its follower, floorplate, and floorplate retainer), and discard the rest, or, B.) paint its floorplate red, so that it will be relegated to "target shooting only" status. The last thing that you want is an unreliable magazine mixed in with the good ones that you 'll trust your life to, if an when times get Schumeresque.

Mr. Rawles,

In your novel ["Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse"], you mentioned having bolt action rifles fitted with flash-hiders., to kinda "tacticalize" a civilian rifle. What type of flash hider do you recommend, these days? My gunsmith (locally) says that he can thread the muzzles on my two bolt guns to 1/2 x28 threads. But all of the flash hiders with that thread that I've seen advertised are for 5.56/.22 bullets. Solutions? Thanks Much, - Marty in Rhode Island

JWR Replies: Previously, I used drilled out Vortex flash-hiders, to provide .308 bullet clearance. But I now recommend the Hurricane flash-hider, made by a home-based gunsmith that does business under the trade name "Moses." He advertises them at the FALFiles Marketplace. You might ask for them to be made ito the Rawles Special specifications, to wit:

2.5 inches long
Twist prongs (similar to the Vortex)
.30 caliber bullet clearance
Two rear grooves
1/2 x 28 RH threads (Same muzzle thread specification as M16/AR-15)
Very dark gray Parkerizing.

Disclaimer; I have no remunerative interest in these flash hiders. I'm just a very satisfied customer.

As I've mentioned previously, I recommend leaving a muzzle brake on your rifle in normal times. This does not attract unwarranted attention when out hunting, or when visiting your local rifle range. If and when the Schumer Hits the Fan, you can quickly switch to the flash hiders. (Be sure to do some target tests with both the flash hider and muzzle brake, to make sure that the different barrel harmonics don't change the bullet's point of impact.)

The muzzle brakes that I prefer are made by Holland's of Oregon. (You may recall that they were previously a SurvivalBlog advertiser.) Darryl Holland has set up four bolt actions and a Valmet Hunter for our family with his muzzle brakes, and I've been very pleased with his work.

OBTW, we also use olive drab Holland's of Oregon brand zippered-nylon buttstock pouches on our bolt actions. These also work well for holding small (4 or 5 cartridge) detachable magazines. These stock pouches have very comfortable neoprene cheekpieces. I noticed that they are not currently cataloged at the Holland's web site, but I believe that they should still be available. (Call to inquire.) This is an exceptionally well-made item.

Mr. Rawles,
I have taken your good advice and purchase a few rifles and a number of full capacity magazines as an investment,. Now how do I store them for the long term? Should I spray them with something first? Please continue to help. - James B. (a "Ten Cent Challenge" participant)

JWR Replies: The precautions that you need to take depend a lot on where you live. If you live in a high humidity climate, then you need to be particularly vigilant with your guns, magazines, and other tools. In essence: the higher the humidity, the greater the degree of protection required, and the greater the frequency of inspection for rust.

I generally recommend wearing lightweight cotton gloves when you do your gun maintenance. This is particularly important if you have sweaty hands. My college roommate was notorious for inducing rust on guns because of this, and he has always had to take special precautions.

A light coat of gun oil such as Rem Oil will suffice in dry climate. Although exotic lubricants such as Break Free CLP are great for lubricating, in my experience, they leave so little residue that they are actually inferior to traditional gun oils for preventing rust. In damp climates, I recommend Birchwood Casey Barricade (formerly sold under the product name "Sheath".) Rem Oil and Barricade are both available from a number of Internet vendors including Brownell's. And even Amazon.com now sells Barricade.

For long term storage all metal parts (inside and out) especially the bore, chamber, and breech face should get a coating of grease. There is always the tried-and-true USGI "Grease, Rifle". (This product name was humorously spoken "Grease Comma Rifle" by American soldiers for many years, before the advent of the M16). While it will suffice, I prefer Rust Inhibitive Grease (RIG), which is available from a number of Internet vendors including Brownell's. Even though you will know how the gun was treated before storage, someone else in your family might not. I therefore strongly recommend attaching a special warning note: "Warning: grease coating--bore, chamber and bolt face! Remove grease before firing!!!"

Small quantities of magazines stored inside a humidity-controlled gun vault (with a Golden Rod or similar de-humidifier) or stored in sealed ammo cans with a large packet of silica gel desiccant probably won't need more than light coat of oil and annual inspection. Any larger quantities of magazines that are stored outside of your vault in non-airtight containers should probably be rubbed down with RIG. In most cases this requires disassembling magazines, to get at their innards. OBTW, even if a magazine is made of polymer and has a plastic follower and floorplate, don't forget that its spring needs rust protection!

Hello Jim,
I've finished reading your fine novel "Patriots" several weeks ago, and have passed it on to another like-minded individual. I've also been scouring your web site daily for the last several months, and gleaning extremely valuable information not only from you, but the many fine individuals who add excellent links to current events. I have forwarded your link to others, and have it saved as "required reading" daily.

A brief background on our family; I had been one of the Y2K aficionados, and had lived on the Big Island for many years. If it were still just my wife and myself, we would probably still be there. But having children changes everything. I became involved in politics there as a fund raising chairman for a twice successful Republican, who was seated in the State house on Oahu, hoping that we could make a difference. But after 10 years there, (and the birth of our first daughter), I determined it was time to relocate back to the mainland. China had also recently bracketed Taiwan, and expressed they could now hit Los Angeles with their now-successful missile launches. (Thanks to Loral Corporation and Bill Clinton). If the balloon ever goes up, I fear that Hawaii will be in deep kim chi.

I had done extensive research from Kona on the best place to settle on the mainland. We had traveled to the mainland numerous times, and visited all of the locations I deemed appropriate. We looked at Prescott, Arizona in the southern extreme, Grand Junction and Estes Park in Colorado, Mazama, Twisp, and Sequim, Washington (in the rain shadow of the Olympic Peninsula), Driggs, Idaho, Whitefish and Missoula, Montana, along with several others. I had multiple criteria as determining factors, such as growing season/weather, local political mentality, and economic vitality. After visiting everyone of these places, I had decided southern Oregon was an area that could conceivably weather both a nuclear exchange and long term social upheaval. I did not believe it was practical to "bug out" to a retreat locale, but would be "bugging home" from a business trip in any "event". We learned in the restaurant business that there are three things important for a successful endeavor, and those are "location, location, location". I have second -guessed my decision many times, but have sent a tap root down with the kids in school. So I would advise your readers to seriously consider their location, and to relocate to a desirable community, as I feel time is short.

With that segue Jim, I have a question for you, and would seek your council. I have a dreaded sense of foreboding with the recent election results, as I'm sure many of your readers do. After Y2K, my preparations for long term unrest had lapsed, and I feel into a state of complacency. I have slowly accumulated a fair number of firearms to protect my family over the years, and have acquired a couple of thousand rounds for each main battle rifle. The additional magazines have arrived in the mail, (thanks for that great link to CDNN by the way), and I feel I'm somewhat prepared in this regard. If only I could convince my wife to shoot.

At any rate, my question is this: I don't know if I should head to the local gun show today, or to the local store for sustenance for the family. I feel that if we are to buy ammo/firearms, it must be now, as Barack Obama could make us all felons with the stroke of a pen. All he has to do is to sign a treaty with the U.N., or file an Executive Order. So what should we do, buy guns/ammo, or additional food?

BTW, I continue to pray for the swift and complete recovery of The Memsahib. God Bless. - Steve in SW Oregon

JWR Replies: First, do not neglect buying storage food for your family. But in my opinion the outcome of the recent presidential and congressional election dictates putting a higher priority on guns and accessories for the next few months. We are living in exceptional times, and that calls for temporarily re-sequencing our priorities.

If your State law law allows it, then buy your guns from private parties--not Federal Firearms License (FFL) holding dealers. Private party sales of modern (1899 and later) guns across state lines (in "interstate commerce" ) are banned under Federal law, but intrastate sales are still legal in most states. (Be sure to consult your state and local laws!)

Buying a gun through a licensed dealer leaves a prominent and permanent paper trail. Here are some relatively low profile alternatives:

Private party (non-FFL) sellers that are fellow Citizens of your State, at gun shows in your State.

Private party (non-FFL) sellers that are fellow Citizens of your State, advertising in newspaper ads.

Estate sales, garage sales, and farm auctions operated by private party (non-FFL) sellers that are fellow Citizens of your State.

Private party (non-FFL) sellers that are fellow Citizens of your State advertising at GunBroker.com (Use the "Smart Search" feature, and select "USA only - State where item is located")

Private party (non-FFL) sellers that are fellow Citizens of your State advertising at GunsAmerica.com (Use the "Advanced Search" feature, and "LIMIT TO STATE". You can also select a check box to exclude guns that were listed by FFL holders.)

Pre-1899-manufactured "antique" guns chambered for modern cartridges, either in-state or out of state. (No FFL is required for Federally-exempt antiques. See my Antique Guns FAQ for details. Again, your State and local laws may vary, so do your homework.)

One of president-almost-elect Obama's publicly stated goals is to "close the gun show loophole." Clearly he wants to end private paperwork-free firearms purchases. This leaves us just a brief window of of opportunity to stock up what may need to be a decades-long supply. Be sure to buy plenty of full capacity magazines, since it is very likely that there will be an import ban (via executive order) s