To Shoot or Not to Shoot?, by Mr. White

I have been a police officer for eleven years, with assignments in patrol, SWAT, undercover operations, and as a use of force and firearms instructor, I’m often asked by gun owners one question. The questions usually goes something like, “When can I legally shoot someone?” Or, “Can I shoot somebody if they do this?” Because I am prepping myself, I also talk with those who are preparing  for the collapse of society. They generally don’t ask those questions. With the possibility of no law enforcement or court system to worry about, they believe they can shoot anyone who, in anyway, is a threat to their survival. But it seems whether we are talking about everyday encounters with criminals, or preparing for a world without order, everyone is very focused on the “can I shoot” question. Which I believe is the wrong question.

While current laws may restrict people’s rights in regards to weapons, it almost always allows you to respond with lethal force, to protect a life. Even if you live in an area where the law says you cannot protect yourself, if necessary, you will protect yourself anyway. Making the question of what the law says you can do irrelevant. If you can articulate that a reasonable person would feel threatened with serious injury or death, the law allows you to shoot. It is important to know what the law says you can do. But when you are faced with a potential lethal threat you will not be asking yourself, “Can I shoot him?”

If I would have fired every time I could articulate that I felt my life was in danger, I would have shot dozens of innocent people. Many were home owners holding weapons. Some were concealing their hands, or reaching inside pockets at the wrong moment. The list would also include a person who I later confirmed was an off duty officer who pointed a gun at me while I was also off duty, and trying to come to his aid. We are both lucky I recognized a police control tactic he applied on a suspect a few moments earlier. Otherwise I would have drawn and fired. In the real world you will not be shooting at gray silhouette targets. There is a lot more going on that you have to pay attention to and process. You know you can shoot, but you will generally not shoot. Not until you can answer the real question, which is, “Should I shoot?” This question comes into play if there is any confusion about what is happening. Because of the fog of war, there is often a lot of confusion. Nobody wants to shoot the wrong person, so the fact that you automatically ask yourself this question is a good thing.

There are a lot of people out there who aren’t trying to victimize anyone, but who do really stupid things that could get them shot. They aren’t thinking about how their actions could make other people feel at risk.  While not commonly dealt with by concealed carry holders now, I think if society collapsed, these situations would be very common. There could be a great number of people moving about openly armed, mistrusting, defensive and jumpy. A lot of good people would adopt a very aggressive security posture, making contact a very delicate situation. In this environment it would take a cool head to avoid unnecessary shootings.

Of course it is also possible the threat will be so obvious and apparent that you will not ask, “should I shoot?” If I was being shot at, stabbed with a knife, or stomped by an angry mob, I wouldn’t ask myself, “Should I?” But neither would I ask, “Can I shoot?” These are situations where your mind screams, “I NEED TO SHOOT NOW!” There isn’t a lot of thinking involved. Military and Law Enforcement do a lot of training so a conditioned response kicks in and you just draw and fire, without thinking. But other than those obvious situations, pulling the trigger is not something you want to happen without making a conscious decision to do so.

People are naturally afraid of acting too late, so many say, “I’m going to shoot first and ask questions later.” If you think this is good advice think again. I know an officer who had his thumb shot off when he rounded a corner of a residence during a call. The person who shot him was another officer who thought he was shooting the bad guy, even though the officer was wearing a police uniform. Lucky for the officer, after taking off his thumb, the shotgun round struck his M4 rifle which kept the round from penetrating into his body. Shooting first and asking questions later will likely end with you shooting the wrong person. People with this mentality either have a total lack of regard for human life or are unable to control their fear. Also keep in mind, even if society has collapsed,  you will have to explain your actions to somebody.  It may be the law, your local community, survival group, family members or simply yourself. Your decision doesn’t have to be right or perfect, but it should be reasonable and not careless.

It should be obvious we need to make good shoot and no shoot decisions. I hope at this point  you understand that often it involves more than just knowing when we can shoot. Knowing all of this, how do we answer the question of, “Should I shoot?” From my experience once someone has determined where they morally stand on taking a human life, they understand the law, or their survival group’s rules of engagement, and have trained to be confident and capable of employing weapons and tactics, there are a few things that can assist you with deciding if you should shoot.

The first thing to do is minimize confusion by gaining better situational awareness. Knowing someone out there might try to hurt you is some level of situational awareness. But with shortwave, scanners, CBs, Ham radio, patrols, word of mouth and a number of other methods you can obtain a much deeper level of situational awareness.  With these tools it is possible to know what the bad guys look like, where they were last seen, what vehicles they have, and how they carry out operations. With this information not only can you attempt to avoid problems, you will be more likely to recognize known bad guys and be mentally ready to engage if appropriate.

Here is another example of how situational awareness speeds up the shoot or no shoot decision process. Imagine a scenario where you hear a gunshot in the distance, thirty seconds later you see a guy come over a hill. The man is carrying a gun, and running in your general direction. Should you shoot? It is hard to say, you really don’t have enough pieces of the puzzle to know what is going on. Did he fire the shot? Was he shot at? Is he a threat to you? Now take the same scenario, but this time, after hearing a gunshot, another member of your group radios and tells you he was just shot at by a guy wearing jeans and a camouflage jacket. Then you see a guy, matching that description, come over a hill and run in your general direction with a gun. Armed with a deeper level of situational awareness you have many more pieces of the puzzle and can very quickly decide if you should shoot.

Even if you suddenly find yourself in the middle of something and you are initially confused, you can still rapidly gain a deeper level of situational awareness by quickly observing body language, facial expressions, weapon position, clothing, gear, and things they say or do, in order to determine someone’s intent. He may be holding a weapon, but the look on his face, his posture and everything else about him might be submissive and non threatening. While it is conceivable someone might try to trick you by acting submissive and non-threatening, in the real world things usually are as they seem. Of course you still want to use caution in these situations, but often you will have to trust your instincts.  Experience and quality training is the biggest factor in being able to size people up and make quick but accurate decisions about what is going on.

If you still can’t figure out whether you should shoot, the trick is to establish lines in the sand. Basically you are saying, “If he does this, I will shoot.” An example on how to use this would be a situation where you see a stranger on your property, who is walking casually towards you. You notice he is carrying a machete low by his side. Although you might possibly feel at risk of being attacked,  you really don’t know if he intends to hurt you at all. You raise your weapon to a low ready position, and yell, “Stop! Stay Back!” You then draw a mental line in the sand and tell yourself, “If he raises the machete, or takes one more step towards me, I will shoot him.” Lines in the sand greatly assist you in making quality, quick shoot decisions, that allow you to articulate your actions. Just realize that situations are dynamic and always changing. For instance the guy with the machete may not do either, but might instead start walking in another direction, towards other innocent people. This would require you to quickly adjust to his unexpected actions and make another line in the sand decision. Real situations are complicated, but drawing lines in the sand will help you decide if you should shoot.

Sometimes you just can not decided if the situation warrants lethal force, or the situation hasn’t quite reached the point where you believe you should shoot. Yet you know you need to do something. In these situations don’t just stand there, start moving.

Creating distance and seeking cover is something you should do in almost every high stress confrontation. Unlike pulling the trigger, which usually requires a conscious decision, moving to cover should be trained so it is a conditioned, automatic response. If while moving you decide you should shoot, then engage on the move, stop and shoot, or get to cover before firing. It is usually a lot easier to figure out what is going on, if you are not right in the middle of it. If the shooting starts, or you identify a valid threat, you are in a much better position with cover and distance. Often just by getting out of the immediate area changes the situation so that no lethal decision needs to be made.

Family members and other survival group members need to learn to key off of your actions. If you move to cover or drop to the ground to create a low profile, your family and other survival group members should know to do likewise, without any further direction. While it is good to verbally communicate, you shouldn’t need to say anything, they should learn to watch and match your actions.

Communicating is a great option when it is not yet time to pull the trigger, or you can not figure out if you should pull the trigger. Communicating is best done from a position of distance and cover. Communicating with a person who is a potential threat is a great way to recon and obtain insight about his intent. In the above scenario with the stranger holding the machete, by saying, “Stop. Stay back!” you are communicating to the person that you see him as a threat. Your weapon position, stance, commanding voice, and the fact you moved to cover, tells him you mean business and are willing and able to defend yourself. Upon seeing that, I guarantee he will start communicating with you, letting you know if he is a threat or not.

While we are talking about communicating it is imperative that you don’t communicate the wrong message to him. Unless you are convinced the situation will end with shots fired, don’t point your weapon directly at the person. If he sees this, he will likely feel in great fear for his life, and might easily feel that he has no choice but to shoot. I know everyone wants to gain every advantage they can, but muzzle sweeping someone you are not ready to shoot only obscures your view of their hands, and really amps up the situation.

Communicating also involves communicating with family or other members of your group. Family members need to learn to respond to simple commands that you may give in these moments. A simple  command like, “Bug out” should be all they need to hear. They should run, with or without you, without any questions. Communicating with other group members to alert everyone to something you see, or to obtain backup, is also very important. The bottom line is if you are not shooting, move and communicate.

The preceding information has greatly assisted me in making these very critical and important decisions numerous times. I hope you find it useful. By all means if a bad man threatens your life, and you have the means, snatch his soul. But lets not let our trigger fingers get in front of our good sense. Be safe, and God bless.

Learning From Extreme Missionaries, by Chuck Holton

As an international war correspondent, my work takes me to more than a dozen far-flung war zones every year. In my travels, I am often reminded just how thin the veneer of civilization really is, and get to meet many families caught in crisis and see the different ways they manage to survive.
A recent trip to Africa brought one of the most powerful examples, where I met a family of missionaries who have built their lives in one of the most harsh and inhospitable corners of the planet. While for most survivalists, prepping for “TEOTWAWKI” is a “what if” scenario, for these missionaries preparedness is an everyday, life-or-death reality.
They are what you could call “extreme missionaries;” Christian families who move far beyond the end of the pavement to bring the good news of God’s love to people who have no concept of things like peace, forgiveness, redemption, grace or even civilization.

When my oldest son, Mason and I landed in Nairobi, we were picked up by the T. family. They’ve been working in Kenya for four generations, and live in the far northern part of the country on the shores of the world’s largest desert lake – Lake Turkana.

When they moved there twenty years ago, the four tribes living in the area (Rendille, Samburu, Turkana and El Molo) were all at war with each other. They would often raid each others’ villages and steal each others’ camels, goats and women. There was little fresh water, (the lake is barely potable, since it has no outlet) and since the tribes considered fish to be unclean, food was also scarce. The ground is volcanic rock, and almost nothing grows in the infertile soil. Temperatures often top 130 degrees in summer, and rarely get below 100. To call it a hard, inhospitable place would be the height of understatement.
The trip to their home took 23 hours of driving from Nairobi – most of it on desert two-track and much of it requiring 4-wheel drive. We made the trip heavily armed, as Somali bandits are known to ambush vehicles in that area. Not long ago another mission family was ambushed and the wife shot in the leg. We kept a sentry posted on top of the truck at all times to keep an eye out for bandits and make them think twice when they saw a man with a shotgun. Jim has worked with the Kenyan government to be able to legally carry a firearm wherever he goes. This is necessary because of the large number of wild animals – both human and otherwise. Lions were the biggest danger, but during our drive to Loiyangalani, we enjoyed seeing camels, dik-dik, topi, and many others. Mason and the T.’s daughter spent most of the trip riding on the rack above the truck’s cab, spotting wildlife. It occurred to me that such a thing would probably get a guy arrested back in the states, but here in Kenya, the nanny state was nowhere to be found. A refreshing feeling, to say the least.
After a grueling two-day trip, we arrived at the mission station. When the T.’s first moved to Lake Turkana, they lived in a shipping container and camped out in front of it. They cooked on three rocks, like the locals. Eventually Jim identified a spring near the only stand of palm trees in the area (which all the locals used as a bathroom since it afforded the only privacy for miles). He talked the local elders into allowing him to fence off the area and then dig out the spring. He installed a cistern once he hit bedrock and then put in underground piping to four water points – one for each tribe. The spring today pumps out 230 gallons a minute of water so pure you could bottle it, and serves almost 10,000 people. Without the spring to fight over, the four tribes now live in relative harmony together in the village, something which previously would have been unthinkable to them.  It’s a great lesson on survival – working to make allies of one’s neighbors, thereby making everyone safer.

Jim and his family must be completely self-sufficient for up to four months at at time.  They have a larder which can sustain them for over a year, but gardening is impossible due to the high temperatures, desert climate and volcanic soil. Camel meat is available from time to time in the village, but other than that, they must plan, and shop for only a few trips a year to the nearest grocery store – in Nairobi. Jim’s wife, Barb, has become an expert at planning, cooking from scratch and coping with unexpected visitors from time to time. Jim and his sons supplement their the family’s protein by fishing Lake Turkana for giant nile perch.  He says they have enough fishing tackle to survive on fish for “at least a thousand years.”  They took Mason and I fishing during our visit. We spent two hours trolling the lake in a tiny john boat, which made me a little nervous since the lake is known for its giant salt-water crocodiles. Our afternoon on the lake yielded two “small” Nile perch, which fleshed out to about forty pounds of meat. We feasted on the succulent fish that night and Barb canned or froze what we couldn’t eat.

An engineer by trade, Jim has built a very comfortable and secure fortress for his family in this desolate place. A year after moving to Loiyangalani, Jim identified a seam of limestone that protruded from the lava rock in an area near the village. He then taught two local men how to quarry the limestone and make building stones of it. He then agreed to purchase all the stones they could make until his home was built. Those men are today two of the most prosperous (and hardworking!) men in the village.
From these stones, Jim constructed a two-story home that is a model of a secure survival retreat. Built in the shape of a squared-off horseshoe, the main part of the house holds the sleeping quarters (upstairs), kitchen, bathroom, living and dining areas, and a large pantry. Beneath the larder is a large “panic room” accessed through a blast-proof metal trap door. Inside are supplies for at least six months, camping gear, etc. The air vents for the panic room are disguised around the house, and built such that if some Goblin were to get the bright idea to drop a grenade down one of them, a hidden trap at crotch-level would absolutely ruin his day.
The windows are secured with built-in iron bars, and the doors made from plywood laminated over plate steel thick enough to stop small arms fire, machetes, et cetera. The stones from which the home is built would stand up to anything up to rocket-propelled grenades.

The home is situated on a knoll above the village, and Jim has made use of an old bulldozer and backhoe to ensure that there is only one way into and out of his redoubt by vehicle. The third-floor rooftop of the home is constructed with four-foot crenellated walls with flip-up metal firing ports, commanding unobstructed fields of fire in every direction. The roof also holds two 1,000-gallon potable water tanks which gravity-feed the plumbing system in the house. Two more 1,000-gallon tanks sit in the back of his old Mercedes deuce-and-a-half truck, and every month or so he drives to the spring and pumps them full, then uses them to re-fill the tanks in his home. He keeps all four tanks full at all times. His plan is to eventually dig a well on his own property to further secure his water supply.

Jim has two wind turbines (Lake Turkana is one of the most consistently windy places on the planet) and a solar array, from which he generates his power. The battery bank sits in a small locking closet in the laundry/guest bedroom.

There is a garage attached to the house, fully stocked with tools and other supplies. Between that and the laundry on the other end of the main structure, a large raised concrete patio provides shaded outdoor living space with gorgeous views of Lake Turkana in the distance. A shortwave radio enables periodic communication with other missionaries around the country. A detached petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) shed holds drums of fuel, oil and other petroleum products, enough for at least a year of use for vehicles and back-up generators. Most of their local transportation is accomplished on the four Honda ATVs which are always kept in top running condition, and are customized with winches, spotlights and small air compressors.

The T.’s have worked hard over the years to improve the lives of the people to whom they minister, physically as well as spiritually. Jim recognized that security was an absolute must for the local populace before he could bring them the good news of God’s love. So he set out to train and equip the men of the village to protect their families. By working with the Kenyan government, a local police force was established, and the men of the village were recruited into a kind of “neighborhood watch.” He taught them how to use the same limestone block he used on his own home to build stone huts for their families. For about the price of a camel, the villagers can replace their mud-and-stick huts, which are unsanitary, fire-prone and give no security, with stone huts that are much better in every way. He taught them about sanitation and convinced them that fish from the lake were safe to eat. Jim and his family are all trained in EMT and wilderness medicine, and his sons became the village ambulance service in their early teens. They constructed an ingenious “floating” litter trailer which is pulled behind the ATV that enables them to transport an injured or sick villager the six hours to the nearest clinic, run by fellow missionaries.

They started a church by holding a family Bible study every morning in front of their home. Curious tribesmen and women would come and listen as they had their devotions, eventually asking questions and one by one being converted to the Christian faith. Today the church has nearly 100 members, who have pooled their resources to build a limestone church building, which Jim designed in such a way that it also serves as an emergency shelter for the villagers in case of attack. It is flame proof, highly secure and boasts a three-story tower with firing ports covering all angles of approach.

The first night of our visit with the family, I was jolted awake at 3am by the sound of gunfire in the village, about 300 yards from Jim’s front door. I sat up in bed, but before I could react further, I heard Jim’s voice booming out of the upstairs window, “Holton! Get inside quick!”

My sleeping teenage son was exhausted from our two-day trek to Loiyangalani. Tired enough that the gunfire failed to rouse him. I jumped up and dragged his limp form the fifteen yards or so to the main house. (we had been sleeping in the laundry room). By the time we got inside, he was awake, though may not have yet remembered what country we were in. He was further perplexed when Jim appeared at the bottom of the stairs dressed in level-III body armor, kevlar helmet and boxer shorts, carrying two pump shotguns. He tossed one to me and the other at Mason, and stationed each of us near windows overlooking the front and rear of the house. That cleared the cobwebs out of Mason’s brain in a hurry.

Tense minutes passed as the sound of sporadic gunfire drifted up from the village below. Jim was back upstairs, calling the local police commander on his cellular telephone. I marveled that there was cell service this far from civilization. After a half hour or so, the firing had subsided and Jim was able to piece together what had happened: Somali bandits had raided the village intending to steal a herd of camels. To their credit, the men of the village had driven the bandits off with some well-controlled bursts of gunfire from their personal arsenals of aged AK-47s. Jim commented that several years ago, the men had no weapons other than spears and knives, and likely would have abandoned their camels, homes and families and run away. Jim’s example of preparedness has led the villagers to be much more willing to stand up for themselves and protect their families. In so doing, he has made his own family that much more secure.

Loiyangalani is still a dangerous place to live. But Jim has done just about everything possible to safeguard not only his own family, but the entire community. In addition to that, the T. family has established a training center in North Carolina called “The Master’s Mission,” where would-be missionaries spend eleven months learning skills like construction, alternative energy, animal husbandry, civil engineering, auto maintenance, personal protection and more. This enables them to survive and thrive in a third-world ministry field. But it’s not just missionaries who need these skills. Anyone serious about being prepared for uncertain times could learn from the example of this intrepid missionary family.
For photos of our trip to Kenya, visit this Flickr page. I also made a news feature about our trip which aired on the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN). An extended version of this video is available here.

JWR Adds: You may recognize Chuck Holton’s name from some of his reports on CBN (like this one), or from his web site Homesteading Today.

Letter Re: Profitable Homesteading: How to Thrive in a TEOTWAWKI World

Good Afternoon,
 As someone who has tried playing the big stock market as mentioned in Profitable Homesteading: How to Thrive in a TEOTWAWKI World, by Dusty, I’d like to add the following caution.  Don’t quit your full time job if you want to try this option.  For the past year or more we in Central Texas have been in  exceptional drought conditions.  I have a small herd of Dexter cows.  Due to the lack of grass in my sixty plus acres of native pastures I have been forced to rely on 1000 lb bales of hay and local co-op 20% protein pasture cubes.  My five adult Dexter cows and three unweaned calves consume a $150 bale of hay in approximately a week ( roughly $21/day).  The hay is supplemented with two sacks of cubes a day at a cost of $17 pr day.  Due to the drought we have been feeding for almost a year in an effort to sustain our small herd of breeding stock until the rains return.  Please note that this one year cost of $13,870 for feed alone requires that we have an outside source of income to maintain our homestead lifestyle. 

Just as you gamble putting your money into Wall Street stocks, you gamble with large livestock. While your gains can be great – your losses unless you are willing to sell your stock at the local sale barn as soon as you run into trouble can be catastrophic.  If you are trying to build a sustainable herd of large stock you have to have sufficient capital or a well paying full time job to see you through the hard times.
 
Sincerely, – Pete in Central Texas

Two Letters Re: You Have to Shoot in TEOTWAWKI–Then What?

Mr. Rawles,
During my train up for my deployment to Iraq, we were taught how to properly document evidence for prosecution of suspected insurgents. Formerly, this was known as Sensitive Site Exploitation (SSE), but was renamed to Tactical Site Exploitation (TSE) a few years ago. One of the biggest things drilled into us was they did not want any American soldiers in any of the pictures. There are probably a myriad of reasons for this, but it made sense. My suggestion with taking pictures to document anything would to not have any people in the pictures to begin with, if at all possible. When taking photographs of the scene, I would recommend when starting with any bodies, to not move or remove anything from it(except for moving any weapons out of arms reach when you initially come up to them, as to help maintain the safety of you and your group). Then, once you have the initial pictures taken, search the bodies(while documenting it), and take a picture of each individual item found. Put it in a pile. Once you are complete, organize all the items next to the body, then take a photograph of the body with the items(be sure you clear all weapons, accidents happen). Then, bag it all up in a bag (we used heavy duty black trash bags), and tag it with a date, time, and if the person it’s from had some sort of identification, the name. Tag the weapons the same and store them separately, such as a gun safe.

As far as a written documentation of the event, I would normally go with a DA Form 2823, which is a Sworn Statement. However, at the bottom of the last page, it needs a signature from “a person authorized by law to administer oaths”. Quite frankly, if all you have is a neighbor to sign off on it, then so be it. Or, use it as a reference to make your own. This form is at a .mil web site, but you do not need to log in.

And I agree with Mr. Rawles: It is better to over-document it and not need it, than to not document enough and wish you had, down the road.

Good luck, God bless, and God speed, – Z.R.

Mr. Rawles,
I respectfully disagree with your response to Scott P. on how to act in the aftermath of a shooting in a SHTF scenario.

I am a law student in my final year, and though I am not an attorney yet (this is not and should not be considered legal advice), I would recommend treating each shooting on a case by case scenario. The worst thing you can do is provide the dead person’s family or an overzealous prosecutor with more evidence and ammunition. Let’s say you do document the scene, you are not a criminal investigator, you don’t know about body positions, ballistics, and the applicable legal issues. You can make a mistake that will make the pictures look worse than they are. You may mistakenly write something in an after action report that is damning to your case. You do not have an attorney with you to counsel you on what to say or not say. You are not an expert in forensics and prosecutors and plaintiff’s attorneys can twist things to make them look very bad.
 
I think that the best way to deal with a self-defense killing in a SHTF scenario you need to leave as little of a trace as possible. Burn bodies where possible. or dispose of in swamps or with chemicals if available, or bury them in unmarked graves (health concerns should govern first followed by leaving no trace). If you live in a place with lots of carrion-eating wildlife (coyotes, wolves, bears, vultures, foxes) then leaving the bodies a very far distance from your homestead could also work. I’m sure there are other and better ways, but the key is if there is no evidence then there is “no evidence.” Beyond a reasonable doubt is an extremely high threshold and without a body or any evidence there is very little of a case. However, if there is a great deal of evidence the chances of being charged with a crime increases. This is of more of a concern when dealing with politically motivated or populist prosecutions in the aftermath. 

When in doubt, do not document.  In fact, destroy any and all evidence that you may have. It is the killings with no evidence and a closed-mouthed family/retreat group who never talks to police (because you never legally have to) that will pass scrutiny, but give them reams of potential evidence and that is another story.

Regards and keep up the good work! – G.

JWR Replies: It seems that were are at opposite ends of the spectrum on this issue. In my estimation, the approach that you propose could only work for someone who lives in a very remote wilderness area with no neighbors. Even here in the relative hinterboonies at the Rawles Ranch, we have a some neighbors that live within a mile. I suspect that the majority of SurvivalBlog readers have neighbors that live a lot closer than that. So, odds are someone will hear the commotion of rapid fire shooting and they will come to investigate before you have your chance to “burn the bodies” as you suggest.

Let’s face it, even if you had a lot of time, there would be too many loose ends to tie up. Here are a few instances:

1.) Most modern guns are automatics, which means that they eject fired brass. If you were to miss finding just one piece of brass (and there might be dozens in a serious shooting affray), then there is evidence for prosecution–or at least a civil suit.

2.) Most Americans travel everywhere by motor vehicle. What are you going to do with the bad guys’ vehicle(s)?

3.) When someone dies of gunshot wound, there is a tremendous amount of blood that gets spilled and in most cases it gets splattered around liberally and at surprising distances. (When people die they tend to thrash around.) Real life gunshot wounds are not at all like you see in television shows–with just a quaint little dribble of blood and then the bad guys drops instantly to the ground and dies with a sigh. In the real world, expect to hear people screaming their lungs out, expect to see people running or even crawling for considerable distances after getting shot, and expect to see a veritable Technicolor paint job of several gallons of blood, brain matter, bone marrow, spittle, stomach contents, and feces spread far and wide. Trust me on this. In college, I worked as a security guard at a hospital emergency room. An emergency room can best be called “A place of fluids”–just one notch below a cattle slaughterhouse. And, FWIW, consider that we typically saw the patients 15 to 60 minutes after the initial bloodshed. There, the larger portion of the fluids were left behind. Places where people die of gunshot wounds are rarely tidy. (And, BTW, when they are found looking tidy, there is usually a lot more to the story.)

4.) The predators in our society tend to travel in packs. Unless you are incredibly lucky and shoot all the bad guys dead, then there probably will be a living witness, and odds are that he will be a hostile witness. You may need all of the supporting evidence that you can muster.

5.) Not only do we live in a litigious society, but we also live in a society where cell phones with integral digital cameras have become ubiquitous. Whenever there is deep drama and trauma, then out come the cell phones.

6.) Do not trust in promises to “keep quiet”, by your neighbors. History has shown repeatedly that people rarely keep such promises in capital crime cases. People do talk. Eventually the truth will come out.

7.) Modern forensic science has removed the need for 200 pounds of rotting corpus delicti for evidence to secure a murder conviction. Just one human hair with a root intact or one dried blood droplet providing DNA evidence could been deemed sufficient to corroborate testimony from eyewitnesses.

Lastly, consider that the standards of evidence required in a civil suit are much lower than those needed in a criminal case. Just ask O.J. Simpson. (Some have claimed that he “got away with murder”, but then he lost $33.5 million in the civil suit filed by Ron Goldman’s relatives.)

Nothing is more damning in the eyes of a jury than a defendant’s attempts to conceal or destroy evidence. I stand by what I wrote: If your actions were righteous self defense, then document your evidence, don’t try to destroy it.

Letter Re: Some Thoughts on Burning Coal

James:
It’s been interesting to see the buzz about coal lately. Certainly something worth looking in to. I’m not for or against it, but I do have a few comments:

If you are into blacksmithing, a coal supply will serve multiple purposes.

Not all coal is equal. High grade coal is less sulfurous than low grade coal, though I only notice that when I am working with open burning coals like over a forge. It may not be an issue in a stove. I don’t know but it might be worth washing low grade coal. It’s something I want to look into.

When I worked over coal every day for a few months, I developed a bad cough and wheeze. Ventilation in any context is important when dealing with coal.

Also, machine dug coal (which is all coal now) can be dusty. This too can be adverse to your health.

The spent coke from your coal could have many useful purposes, like as a substitute for vermiculite as a soil additive [, in moderation]. – J.D.D.

Economics and Investing:

J. McC. suggested a piece over at the Of Two Minds blog.

From Kevin: $100 Bill: The Fed Has a $110 Billion Problem with New Benjamins

Items from The Economatrix:

Has Portugal’s Debt Default Clock Begun To Tick?

New Normal on Wall Street: Smaller and Restrained

Payroll Tax Cuts Raise Worries About Social Security’s Future Funding

Japan Logs First Trade Deficit Since 1980

New Prediction — Economic Collapse:  First To Europe Then To U.S. And World

11 “Stunning Revelations” From a Confidential Economics Memo To Obama

Odds ‘n Sods:

Dan P. suggested an alarming white paper, published by the normally non-alarmist IEEE: A Perfect Storm of Planetary Proportion: The approach of the solar maximum is an urgent reminder that power grids everywhere are more vulnerable than ever to geomagnetic effects

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An editor at BoingBoing wrote a nice variation on the recent Reuter’s wire service article: Preppers: suburban survivalists.

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Check this out: 1LessonSelfDefense.com

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Seed for Security has announced a new bonus promotion that will enable gardeners to get a head start on their harvest. A Spring collection, which consists of five generous seed packets for early Spring planting, will be included free with every order over $45. The packets in this collection are: Lincoln Peas (approximately 300 seeds), Early Jersey Wakefield Cabbage (approximately 400 seeds), Bloomsdale Spinach (approximately 800 seeds), Detroit Dark Red Beets (approximately 400 seeds), and Bouquet Dill (approximately 200 seeds). This is a limited time offer.

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Common sense prevails: Gun Owner ID Cards Soar In Chicago

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“The bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding, go out to meet it.” – Thucydides

Note From JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 39 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize: A.) A gift certificate worth $1,000, courtesy of Spec Ops Brand, B.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795, and C.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $350 value.) D.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), and E.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo.

Second Prize: A.) A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol. It is a $439 value courtesy of Next Level Training. B.) A FloJak F-50 hand well pump (a $349 value), courtesy of FloJak.com. C.) A “grab bag” of preparedness gear and books from Jim’s Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR) with a retail value of at least $300, D.) A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials, and E.) two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value) and F.) A Tactical Trauma Bag #3 from JRH Enterprises (a $200 value).

Third Prize: A.) A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21. (This filter system is a $275 value.), B.) Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy. This is a $185 retail value, C.) A Commence Fire! emergency stove with three tinder refill kits. (A $160 value.), and D.) Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security.

Round 39 ends on January 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

A Woman’s Journey Towards Firearms Acceptance, by The Little Woman

Disclaimer:
I am a novice enthusiast. I will no doubt get concepts, practices or terminology wrong, in spite of a fair amount of research.  Forgive this please…..

I blithely lived out 51 years of life with a gun phobia. I have no idea why they scared me so, but scare me they did, and so I spent the bulk of my life with a generalized “guns must be bad because I’m afraid of them; they hurt and kill people” mindset.  My darling husband wasn’t really into shooting, when we married and since. He had an old .22 rifle that  he traded for in 1976 that was used maybe once every 2-3 years to shoot at a “varmint“, and I remember 2 or 3 occasions of going out plinking with someone’s handgun, that I wouldn‘t (couldn’t!) participate in: that was as far as our household ever got with firearms. And of course with my phobia I was always insistent that the .22 stay in the garage, or the shed, or the barn. No dangerous guns in my house, no sir.

Then came March of 2008. My “awakening“, my “becoming aware”. It started with Chris Martenson’s Crash Course, wandered into SurvivalBlog, and soon I was on my way toward becoming a full fledged prepper. So with my reading, and my believing of what was is coming down the pike in terms of our sustainability and survivability, firearms became a subject I was going to have to address. The simplistic liberal teachings I had always believed, that “guns kill people”, therefore “less guns means less killing“, were teachings that I soon realized I needed to really think through. Was it just my phobia? Was I being rational with my gun bias? What did statistics say? Why do people keep guns in their households? What is this 2nd Amendment stuff I keep reading about, and why might it be important? How does one’s personal morality fit with gun ownership? So I started reading and I started thinking. It seems silly and redundant for me to go into all of what I learned/came to realize (preaching to the choir here, I know!), and would take too long; suffice it to say that I came to see that the use of firearms in defending oneself and one’s family against thieves and killers, or unconstitutional governments or gangs, is not an immoral choice. I came to see the truth in the saying (paraphrasing here) “when guns are illegal, only criminals will own guns”, and I came to see that guns can save a life in more-than-equal measure to taking one. Ultimately, embracing preparedness finally did what nothing else could do for me: I saw the need for not only having guns in the house, but for learning how to use and care for them myself.

How did I start? was deathly afraid of the things.  My first step was having my husband bring the .22 into the house. I looked at it and I lived with it, every day. It was never shot, but just having it in the house was a necessary first step for my phobic self. After a few weeks I felt ready (gingerly, very very gingerly) to handle the rifle, to have my husband explain to me how it worked, what it ate for fuel, what safe handling of the thing meant. I kept telling/reminding myself that I was committed to learning about firearms, committed to getting over this phobia. This would be a recurring thought-process throughout my entire journey: “mind over matter”. It became easier as time went by, as I discovered that shooting can actually be fun. But early on it was a struggle. I had to work through safe use of firearms = handling = familiarity = beginning acceptance. Handling and learning about the gun helped immensely.

After a few months I felt ready for some back-pasture plinking. Not so scary anymore, actually kind of fun. Familiarity with the gun was working. Feeling safer and more competent with what I was doing was working. But it was time to take things to the next level, a level I couldn’t achieve with my husband. So sorry, but husbands as a rule are not good gun-trainers with gun-newbie wives. They are not as concerned with safe practices as we are, and they have the “I’ve always done it this way so this is the way you do it” –  mentality. (Gotta love ‘em, but don’t always have to learn to shoot with ‘em.) And of course in my case, I have a husband who hans’t done a whole lot of shooting himself. It was a classic case of the blind leading the blind.

How to start some gun-education for me? I thought about seeking out area gun ranges or clubs to find professional training, but found none closer than 25 miles away, my work schedule was problematic, and really I still felt too intimidated with my lack of gun knowledge to try them for starter training. I don’t even know what gun(s) I should learn to shoot! What now? Hallelujah – Women On Target (WOT) days to the rescue! I don’t remember how we found out about them…..online?  (My journey towards firearms has been in conjunction with a woman friend), but we did indeed find out about this wonderful resource. WOT days, sponsored by the NRA, are an absolutely excellent resource for women wanting to learn about firearms. A full day of shooting, with caring and patient instructors, in all manner of firearms, with a fine lunch and an affordable price – this is a day not to be missed. The workshops are short and low-key, suitable for novices and more experienced shooters alike. They are set up to just allow women the experience of shooting a variety of guns with no performance pressure under safe and comfortable conditions.  Newbies are welcomed and coddled, and the instructors at all of the workshops I attended just wanted you to be successful at some manner of shooting. They went out of their way to make us feel comfortable and safe and competent. And the women-only camaraderie makes the day way fun, everyone supports and cheers achievements, and there’s great swag at the end of the day too!

We shot all manner of guns: different high-powered rifles, various sizes/calibers of handguns, shotguns, black-powder rifles, and archery was included too. It is an opportunity to figure out just what kind of gun you/a woman is most comfortable with. I initially thought that while I had my bit of background with a .22 rifle, I needed to learn to shoot a handgun, as a handgun is obviously the best choice for women. I wanted to learn what was the best handgun for me. Well, surprise. After my first two WOT days (I have since attended a third), I realized that I am a shotgun woman. Can’t explain it, there is no reason for it, but out of all the shooting I did, the shotgun was the gun for me. It was the fun factor. Both workshops used both semi-autos and pumps, and I immediately gravitated to a pump action shotgun as a firearm I could actually have fun with. It was a defining moment. (A confession: pumping that action is downright sexy.) I had found a firearm that “spoke to me”, and therefore one that I was interested in learning about and becoming competent with. This, it seems to me, is where a newbie interest starts, with finding a firearm that has the fun factor.  My friend who has attended all the workshops with me is starting to become a high-powered rifle aficionado, against all odds. She, like me, had started this learning process thinking that a handgun was what she wanted to focus on, but her exposure to target rifles convinced her otherwise (and I see venison in my future as a result of her unexpected affinity for the hunting rifles. The woman is uncannily accurate for a newbie!) . Bottom line: a WOT day can start the process toward learning what firearm is the one a woman naturally gravitates to. The one she can have an interest in and wants to earn competence in. The one that has some fun factor. And that is the gun that the newbie woman should focus on, whatever it may be.

Because let’s face it, a modern life is a busy life. Full-time jobs, children and grandchildren, homemaking and caretaking: adding a new hobby/learning-experience can be a hard thing to fit into the day. So even though learning a firearm is serious business, finding one that she finds fun to shoot means that she will find/make the time to practice and learn. I think this is such an important point that it cannot be overstated: you have got to find a firearm that your woman can have fun with, before she can or will commit to learning and training.

As for me, deciding that I wanted to learn to shoot a shotgun ended up being the way around the last vestiges of my phobia, with it becoming something I so enjoyed doing. Yes, I should become familiar and proficient with handguns, and rifles, and other tools of self defense. But I have to start somewhere, and since I realized that I am never going to be a true gun freak, it made sense for me to focus my energies on the one gun I truly enjoy shooting. I must have my own shotgun. I want to learn about and become familiar with and practice with and become competent with my very own one gun. I looked around for recommendations. After extensive internet research and lots of  local “good ol boy” questioning,  I decided that the Remington 870 Youth Express 20 gauge pump action was the gun for me. Ease of use, affordability and reliability were all criteria that the Remington seemed to offer. And my research told me that a 20 gauge shotgun makes a decent home defense weapon.

And they were right. Oh, she’s a honey! I can’t tell you how much I’m enjoying shooting this gun. I’m not yet terribly proficient in target-shooting (though I ain‘t half-bad, either) but I am at this point quite competent in proper shouldering and follow through (no bruises!), quick loading and safe carrying. My accuracy will improve as I practice more out in the pasture with the cheap manual clay-thrower we got for me, We are able to get out for practice about twice a month. I’m so far sticking to 2 ¾” field loads in it; later I want to branch out to practice with buckshot, which load I understand is more suitable for home defense – I will have to learn to switch out the choke tube. And we last month installed a sling on my shotgun, so that I could/can now tote my gun cross country or in the field easily, if a situation would require it. Perhaps later I could even be responsible for putting some meat on the table!

My gun phobia is all but gone. (I am, however, left with a very healthy respect for safe practices. I joke to my husband that there are none so safe with a gun as the formerly gun phobic. We know that all guns are always loaded, and always know exactly where that barrel is pointed.) And my beginner training continues. My friend and I this fall attended a three-day Becoming an Outdoor Woman (BOW) weekend that my state holds – another remarkable learning opportunity for women.  Three days of  3 and 4-hour workshops in all sorts of outdoor skills, with lodging and meals – it’s a kind of “summer camp for women“. I of course signed up for all of the beginner shotgun workshops, and learned so much more about my shooting stance, and sighting, and the classroom instruction on how a shotgun actually works was fascinating (go figure: that I could come to enjoy a classroom lecture on how a shotgun works!) I came away with a new appreciation, and new tools, for learning how to use my shotgun.  My goals for the coming year are to attend an Appleseed Weekend and a Hunter’s Safety Course.  Both seem basic and must-do in my newbie quest toward firearm learning, safety and competence. I have also now found a “mentor”, a friend of my husband who will help me learn disassembly, cleaning, and choke tube switching of my shotgun. And I am looking again at the gun clubs within driving distance, that I dream of perhaps setting up some more-professional one-on-one training for me. I’m learning all of this slowly but surely.

So, there is my little story. I understand that I am nowhere near ready to repel a home invasion, or to be asked to join the 673rd Shotgun Infantry Fighting Rebels (Hey, I can see it happening). Still, I am starting to feel empowered, and competent, and oh so much more self-sufficient. (And I’m having a lot of fun too!) It is a wonderful thing, this feeling of knowing that whatever may come in the months and years ahead that I am better prepared to defend myself, my family, my homestead. And my feelings of empowerment are something that I think any gun shy or gun phobic woman can come to embrace, with proper and patient exposure and instruction.

(An aside: At this point in time [December 2011], I really hope to be given the time to get more proficient with my gun, before I have a true need for it. I worry more and more that such time is running out. I wish that I had started earlier.)

In summary:

(1) Try to get her involved! Think of ways to get your newbie woman to see the wisdom of having shooting skills. Think of ways to expose her to firearms. Exposure can grow into acceptance. Acceptance can grow into enthusiasm.
(2) Consider WOT and BOW. See above, and Google for information on programs in your state.  Women-only workshops can help take the fear, the mystique, and the performance pressure out of shooting, and allow her to find the “fun factor”.
(3) Find the firearm she considers fun. It doesn’t matter which one or type, if she can find the fun in shooting it she will be more likely to want to learn. Any start is a good start toward learning shooting skills.

God bless, happy shooting, and may we never need to raise our guns in fear or anger.

Letter Re: Comments on SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Prizes

Jim:
I recently won the third prize for the survivalblog writing contest and I thought I would give back to the SurvivalBlog readers a review of the items I received as a way of saying thanks. The items I received were a Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21, expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy, and two Super Survival Pack seed collections, courtesy of Seed for Security. I received all the items quickly and with two of them I also received congratulations cards on winning which was a very nice touch in my opinion. I want to take the time to respond back to these, and all the survivalBlog prize donators with a big thank you. Your efforts are helping to drive one of the best collections of how to articles available on the net.

The first item I want to review is the Royal Berkey water filter. When I received the box I was impressed with how well packaged the item was. I then removed the filter from the box and I must tell you these look even better in person than it does in the pictures. I was also taken with how small it actually was. I had always imagined something the size of the tea dispensers you see in restaurants. Instead it was closer to the size of a coffee percolator, a large one, but still smaller than I expected, very impressive for something rated at four gallons of flow per hour.  The box contained everything I would need to get started except the water.

The filter housing is made of stainless steel and does not feel flimsy at all; it feels like it could handle being moved around a lot. You can really see why these are considered the gold standard for water purification. I would in no means call it bug out bag capable, but if you need to move it around your retreat local you would not have to worry about it coming apart. This would be a good item to put in a dedicated bug out vehicle that had some storage capacity to allow you to travel with it. I could actually see permanently installing this in an RV or other similar setup to provide safe drinking water on the road. As an emergency supply for those planning to bug in this would be invaluable, especially if you have a local source of water that might become contaminated once the SHTF. With no water, or questionable water, from the pipes this item will give you the flexibility you need to manage your drinking supply.  This would also provide an excellent long term camping solution to ensuring clean drinking water.
                 
The next item I received was the item from Natural Cozy. Now this is a bit harder for me to review being a guy and not needing these regularly. They are very nicely made items, to the point that when I took them out of the package I started to think of other uses I could use them for. They are very soft and absorbent feeling, something I am going to have to assume is a good thing. I was also struck by the thought that they would make excellent bandages in an emergency.  They are strongly stitched and appear that they can take a lot of use.

I introduced these items to the wife and daughter and the reaction was interesting. At first I will admit they were a little hesitant about these items. Both of them are products of modern society and frankly tolerate my prepper ways, mainly because I have the last say in my house on these issues. They have been raised to think of disposable as clean and anything else as dirty. There perception changed a bit once I started to ask them what their plans in this area were once things went south and they could not pop over to the local store and grab a box of hygiene products whenever they wanted. I pointed out that the local stores supplies would most likely be gone in a week and that we simply did not have the space to store enough to last them more than a month. I did offer to help to help them to figure out the middle ages method of control involving a rag and dried moss. Once they realized I was serious they suddenly got a lot more interested in these items. Their impression seemed to be that while they were not interested in using them right now, that once SHTF they would be very interested in them. Since then my wife has commented a couple times she is actually glad that we have them.

From my point of view I am also glad to have them. While I don’t personally need them I have a sneaking suspicion that I am going to be real glad I have a supply once they get scarce. I may run my house and control things, I am not sure I could stand the insurrection caused by two of the ladies of the house with no midol, no chocolate, and no hygiene pads. I can at least plan to furnish to them one of these pieces and save myself a lot of headaches in the future! Until then I have put them in a long term storage bucket marked plumbing supplies.

Finally I want to talk about the seeds for security package I received. The package contained two sets of their super survival packs and I must say I was impressed. Each set contains multiple packages of heirloom seeds packaged in their own Mylar packs. I found this to be very desirable over the more common #10 can method of packaging as I only had to open the pack I needed to use, not the entire collection at once. The packs are also nice because great care was taken to package sets of seeds that have the same growth needs. The spring pack, for example, contains everything that should be planted together in the spring, followed by a summer pack, a fall pack, and a winter pack. Grain packs are also included so that you can keep you separate rotation of grains going at the same time as your main vegetable garden. Each set of seeds came with detailed planting instructions. Add a farmer’s almanac to this mix to find the proper starting times for each season in your area and you are golden. This set is as close to fool proof gardening as you can get.

Again I wish to express my gratitude to these sponsors for sending out these items. The water filter and seeds were next on my list for items I needed to stockpile. The hygiene products should have been on my list and were not. I am glad they got moved up and covered now that I have thought on them more. If you don’t have these items yet I strongly suggest you run out and get them after you have your initial stockpile of food started.

Letter Re: You Have to Shoot in TEOTWAWKI–Then What?

Mr. Rawles,
I recently saw another preparedness site pose a question: “what happens after the crisis is over…???” The question was this: Once the SHTF and the world “resets itself” and the rule of law is re-established, certainly some form of government will start asking  who shot who, what crimes were committed, and generally start prosecuting the bad guys. I feel very certain that I can now keep my family and I safe and sound through your educational efforts. But I am not clear how I will defend my efforts weeks, months, or years after the fact.

If possible, could you discuss what your thoughts are, not so much in the surviving, but “cleaning up the mess” after things most certainly will return to normal? I know this is a broad topic, but I cannot see where it has been talked about very much. I don’t intend to loot, steal, or rob anybody… but I am prepared to defend what is mine. Thanks, – Scott P.

JWR Replies: While there are bound to be some inquiries, the chances of them focusing on you are slim. But just in case it does happen, my recommendations for my readers in The United States are as follows:

1.) If you live in a “Castle Doctrine” state, then post lethal force warning signs in both English and Spanish, immediately after the onset of a crisis.

2.) If there is a shooting incident, then do you best to end it forcefully and decisively, but show restraint. Don’t continue to shoot once a group of attackers begins to retreat. Entry wounds in the back are hard to explain.

3.) If you take a life in self defense, make every effort to report it and get a law enforcement officer to come and take a report. If the police, sheriff, or coroner can’t come (for any reason), then work your way down the list of civil servants until you get down to National Guardsmen, fish and game officers, and the local dog catcher. Some sort of official report is better than no report. (The lack of a report might later cause suspicion of foul play.) Be sure to ask whoever takes the report to also draw a diagram of the scene, and to take digital pictures. They might someday prove crucial to avoiding an exhumation.

4.) If, because of the disaster situation you can’t get any official to come and take a report, then ask you neighbors to come and assist you. You and your neighbors should draw a diagram of the scene, and take digital pictures. Take pictures from all angles, and roll the body (or bodies) over and photograph the exit wounds. Avoid taking any grinning “gory glory” shot, or making any demonstration of glee or “good riddance”. Look appropriately somber and be respectful of the dead.) Write a detailed account of the incident, and have your neighbors sign and date it. Do this as soon as possible. If there were any witnesses, have them also write an after-action report and sign and date it. Once any semblance of law and order is restored, have all of the statements notarized, and file them with your local police or sheriff’s department office. At the same time, turn in any captured weapons, identification, personal effects, or vehicles as evidence. (You do not want any appearance of having profited in any way from the incident.)

5.) If circumstances dictate it, the burial of any bodies of deceased looters should be done with as many witnesses as possible, in full daylight. Be sure to photograph the event. Give them a proper Christian burial, and mark the grave site. Record the GPS coordinates in your report.

If and when there is any subsequent finger pointing, I suspect that it will be the ambiguous incidents that will warrant investigation. Those that properly document self-defense shooting events will face little scrutiny. The foregoing may sound a bit extreme, but never forget that we live is a very litigious society. Even if you a cleared of any criminal wrong-doing, there is always the threat of a civil suit, by relatives of the deceased hombres malos. If in doubt, over-document what happened.

Letter Re: Some Thoughts on Burning Coal

Hello Jim,
I would like to make a few observations on Dale’s letter concerning alternative heat and home power.

My first would be his perspective on the use of propane as a primary fuel source.  I have used propane for heating, emergency spot heating (no electric required), cooking, and domestic hot water for more than a decade, and with proper planning it is a very reliable and cost effective fuel source that stores well long term, and can also be used to power most generators with an inexpensive conversion kit..  I currently have two 1,000 gallon above ground tanks, holding a combined 1,600 gallons, which can provide my energy use (minus electricity) for approximately 15-16 months of normal use, or 24+ months in austerity mode.  These tanks and associated hardware (regulators and plumbing) have paid for themselves many times over, due to the fact that a large bulk propane purchase in the summer can save upwards of $1 per gallon over peak winter prices.  Tank maintenance is as simple as keeping grass and other plants mowed or otherwise removed from the tanks, and the occasional wire brush and painting of places when the paint may peel.  In more than a decade I have had no issues with leaks, although we do shut off the valve from one tank until the other is nearly empty, in case that situation should occur.

Use of coal for home generation of electricity vs. its use at the utility scale is not only a matter of scale, but one of technology.  I have friends in the power generation business, and commercial power generation uses very fine tuned and sophisticated steam generation arrangements.  The coal is first powdered and injected with air into the firebox of the boiler system.  The dry (non-condensing) steam in the system runs at temperatures of 600+ degrees, with very high pressures, and is used in multistage turbines that are finely balanced.  Although a small version of this type of system might work at the home scale, the hardware would be cost prohibitive.  Small stationary boilers running steam generators and turbines or pistons (like the old steam locomotives) might be doable, but these actually require nearly constant management and maintenance, and if you don’t know exactly what you’re doing, can have catastrophic failure modes.  Operating such a system pre-SHF would also most likely require an operators license and inspections of the equipment.

One possible alternative would be a Stirling engine, like the ones manufactured by Stirling Technology Inc., in Athens, Ohio.  They claim that their ST-5 engine can power up to a 3.5 KW generator, using only a heat source.  I only know about this company because some friends who work at the local university and share my self reliance interests have mentioned it to me.  I don’t know any of the details about the unit nor it’s cost, but I do think that the required generator is not included.

One final thought on coal is something that I recall from a Mother Earth News article from perhaps 20 years ago.  The author dug a huge hole on the back of his rural property, lined it with rubber/plastic sheeting, dumped in something like 50 tons of hard coal, covered the coal with additional sheeting, and then replaced the soil.  He re-seeded the area with grass, and called it something like his personal post apocalypse coal mine.  I’ve never had the space or money for such a thing, and you might need to keep an eye out for the EPA if you did this today, but I’ve always remembered it as something I thought was a clever and interesting idea.

Good luck, – LVZ in Ohio

Economics and Investing:

Reader Dale C. sent this example of urban myopia: Yahoo rates College Majors That Are Useless. [JWR’s Comments: These geniuses seem to have concluded that there is no need to study how to raise food, when you can just buy it from a supermarket. (That’s where they think meat comes from: “You know from those plastic-wrapped trays.”) The urban elitist view seems to be that any venture where one is at risk of getting their hands dirty is “useless” or somehow offensive. The their minds, farming, ranching, and mining are out, but high finance, LBOs, and derivatives are in. But I have a news flash for them: Simply passing money from hand-to-hand creates nothing. Unless you first mine it, grow it, fish for it, or breed it, then you haven’t created any new wealth. Any later processes merely improve on what has been created or extracted. The post-industrial “service economy” is a myth. Do want to build real wealth, geometrically? Then raise pecus.]

The editors of The Daily Reckoning warn that Fed currency swaps are again growing rapidly. This points to a massive bailout of Europe in the works, and more debasement via monetization.
 
Infographic: A Look at the Gold Tree; Where Gold Comes From and Where it Goes
 
Is Europe Throwing Us into a 1930s Moment?

Items from The Economatrix:

Kodak Files For Bankruptcy

The Wall Street Money Machine

US, Europe Face More Ratings Cuts In Coming Years

Stock Market Rally Still Missing One Thing:  Crowds

Odds ‘n Sods:

I was recently interviewed by Doug Belkin, a reporter with The Wall Street Journal for an article that he is writing about the growth of the preparedness movement. He would like to interview a few preppers that are chiropractors (an unusually large segment of the SurvivalBlog readership), to ask them about why being preparedness-minded fits in with their career and their world view. Send him an e-mail, if you are interested. For your privacy, I would recommend that you use a pseudonym.

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I just heard about this new blog: Salvation And Survival: A Woman’s Perspective On The Times We Live In. Great stuff. I have encouraged her to continue to post regularly!

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Martin P. sent a YouTube video link on parabolic solar cookers.

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An odd news story to file under: “Avoid Deep Schumer”: Texas woman stranded for five days in Idaho wastewater pond.

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Drew at Handcrafted Chicken Coops wrote to mention that they make a wide array of coops, catering to survivalists and back-to-the-landers in the USA.