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!

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.

Today, we look at the Choate Machine and Tool Company M1 Carbine Military Folding Stock. This stock is designed to fit original U.S.G.I. M1 Carbines, but also fits the Plainfield brand of carbine, the Auto Ordnance M1 Carbine and some UniversalM1 Carbine clones (early 1950s models, built with military surplus parts), but will not fit the later Universal or Iver Johnson carbines. Here is a photo.

Installation is drop in, though it was a snug fit, which is good. The stock has positive tension when folded but doesn’t latch. It latches in the open position very positively. The stock swings open handily, and the release button is easy to use. Construction is glass-filled nylon with blued steel hardware and sling swivels. Robust, durable and very well made. It’s shootable when folded, and I could still reach the safety and magazine release with my finger, and the bolt release with my thumb. Those with large fingers might find it a bit tight. However, the positive tension, rather than locking, folded action means even large fingers can operate the controls with little trouble.

Ergonomically, I found the tapered pistol grip very comfortable in size and angle, and the stock very pleasant for a folder. It didn’t really feel like a folder, actually, and I was easily and comfortably able to get a good cheek weld and sight picture. It was also acceptable to my wife and daughter, who are both shorter than I with smaller hands. The butt is a little narrow, but the M1 doesn’t have enough recoil for this to be a problem. Balance is right at the magazine when open, about an inch forward when folded.

The top and side mounted slings are great for either shoulder or subgun carry modes, or a single point sling.

I don’t really see a need for the swivel on the pistol grip, and would rather they converted the hollow area to storage with a trapdoor. I took off a couple of sharp corners with a few file strokes. Those would be my only criticisms of this fine piece of hardware. It is American made and well worth the money. - SurvivalBlog Editor At Large Michael Z. Williamson

JWR Adds: I've always been a fan of Garth Choate's products. They are properly engineered and built to last. I used Choate stocks exclusively, back when I was sporterizing pre-1899 Turkish Mausers, back in the early 1990s.

One word of warning on M1 Carbines: They are fun little guns to shoot, and they are historically interesting to collect, but they shoot an under-powered cartridge that is not a reliable man-stopper! If you want a carbine that is better capable of stopping an opponent, then buy a Ruger Mini-14. They are about the same dimensions as an M1 Carbine and have similar handling characteristics, but at least they are chambered in .223 Remington. (Which itself, in my .308-centric opinion a just marginally capable stopper.) BTW, Choate also makes several types of Mini-14 stocks, including a folding stock.

If you own an M1 Carbine, the then in my opinion it should be relegated to use on small game, or as a transitional trainer for teenagers, and nothing more!

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,
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

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:
Buryl misses the point to storing coffee. Freeze dried blocks of ground coffee wrapped in aluminum foil pouches and vacuum packed is my preferred method, but I also store instant coffee crystals.

I recommend not getting addicted to coffee. I can take it or leave it. But it is a wonderful trade/barter item. Especially after six months or a year or more have gone by after the SHTF and there is no coffee to be found anywhere, a stash of coffee will be good as gold with its purchasing power. Storing jerked meats and especially honey as barter items are favorites of mine. Of course one has to be ultra careful who he trades food and ammo with. I would never trade with anyone I didn't know or not from my home area.

I also recommend stockpiling ammo, especially 22 Long Rifle (LR) ammo, because I think it will become the currency post SHTF. It is light, easily portable, and you can carry a bunch of it. If each cartridge has about the same purchasing power after the SHTF as a dollar has now. And with the scarcity of such ammo and supplies post-SHTF, I think 22 LR ammo will be worth its equivalent weight in silver. People that now can't afford to stockpile gold can still stockpile ammo, especially 22 LR ammo at 3 or 4 cents per round. - R.L.

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

I am unable to make my home self-sustaining.  So, unfortunately, my family will probably become refugees in a true SHTF scenario.  My focus presently is in becoming desirable refugees rather than shunned refugees.  The key is minimizing any negative impact (extra logistics of all sorts) and maximizing any positive impact (filling in weak spots) to someone that is geographically fortuitous.  I was challenged to figure out how a small family could best become a wanted commodity when food is tight and security isn’t. I determined the key for us was that everything carried needed to be dense in value. Density equals mass divided by volume. In our case, mass would be the battered value of the item; volume was limited by the size of our packs. We can’t carry enough bulk food, but we can carry items that will have an excellent post-SHTF (bartered) value, an example would be trading  batteries for an illuminated-reticle or starlight scope in exchange for food.  Keeping our packs small (but danged heavy) will give us an additional advantage if we need to make a small camp.

Skill sets are valuable.  I am fortunate to have become a physician.  Talk about (trading) food for thought! I am trained in Internal Medicine, so much of my skill set depends on a working infrastructure, that is, availability of medications, imaging (X-rays, CT, MRIs and the like) which will be useless once the grid goes down.  To make up for that, I have been certified in ATLS (Advanced Trauma Life Support) and ACLS (Advanced Cardiac Life Support), the former being far more useful in extended emergencies.  Further, I have also trained in mass casualty scenarios.  I have been stashing typically needed and well tolerated medications in a FIFO set-up in my home, from antibiotics to blood pressure pills.  In a legally gray area, I have some potent narcotics (barter/ransom/medical use). I also have a good stock of scalpels, retractors, Celox and the like to maximize my worth. The first lives my first aid kit may save might be my family’s. My skill set will be in demand, and I hope with the other positives below, worth enough to take in extra mouths to feed. But I recognize, perhaps better than non-medical people, that the quality of medical care will quickly revert to the level practiced before the advent of antibiotics and other modern pharmaceuticals. Think Civil War or WWI where a gut-shot was a death-sentence.  Garlic may have some ant- microbial properties, but it pales compared to a few doses of modern antibiotics.  Being a doctor in a SHTF scenario may be like being a sailor in the middle of a desert: lots of knowledge but only able to apply a small fraction of it.

My wife is an educator and now teaches special needs kids.  If the Collapse is a bad one, kids will still need to learn, and there is more to teaching than just putting material in front of kids, as anyone that homeschools will agree.

Those are our special skill sets. You can never have enough skill sets, and we plan to further develop our skills.

Our two children are too young to be useful for anything except giving us joy, . And dirty laundry.

We have been buying weapons in standard calibers – 45 ACP, 5.56, and 22LR.  I have given myself the luxury of owning a PS90. I rationalized the purchase by the fact that it supports a 50 round magazine of 5.7 rounds and bridges the gap between a pistol and a longer rifle. In reality, it looks really cool. Four mags on my hip (and one in the rifle) gives me 250 rounds. In an urban/suburban location, which will be the most difficult part of our journey, I do not see a need to shoot over 100 m. Most action will likely be under that, and that is the niche for the PS90. Additionally, it’s bullpup design keeps it short and maneuverable in a vehicle without sacrificing accuracy (it has a 16 inch barrel).  More importantly, we have packed way about 150 pounds worth of ammo in our G.O.O.D .bags and another 70 lbs in our BOB’s. We have so far two extra ARs and three Glocks for barter/trade. We don’t have a weapon for the 22LR, but either we will (Ruger’s 10/22) or it’s for barter. Our bags are meant to carry the lead at the sacrifice of food. It may be easier to barter rounds (heavy but small) for food (light but large).  If we do make to the hinterlands, having our ammo added to the favorably situated ‘castle’ will be a bonus.  My wife and I both shoot accurately to 200 m, and well enough at 300 - 400 m to keep the philistines away. We continue to practice our shooting skills by range time and class time. We will get far.

I’ve begun a ‘collection’ of survival knives and high quality folders by buying two at a time (again, two is one, and one is none).  They will be needed en route and, like ammo, possess an excellent weight to bartered value.  My guess is that knives will lost or broken and there will be a demand for them.  In the same category, are redundant Katadyn water filters kits.  Extras were purchased because they are small and will barter well. Bolt cutters were bought because they will be useful traveling and also in barter. Bic lighters, assorted tiny screws for spectacles with jeweler screwdrivers , rechargeable CR123 and AA batteries, extra Gerber multitools, quality compasses, 550 cord, several small but bright flashlights (Fenix brand – 1 or 2 CR123 batteries and they pump out over 180 lumen and fit on a keychain or a rifle), two Old Testaments, and 2 American flags fill the small spaces in the gear.  We keep thinking on how to improve our “stock” and get more bang for the buck with ‘value dense ‘ items. I thought of the extra eye-glass screws after having my own come apart just as I got to work and spent a miserable day squinting.  Someone missing their glasses won’t function at near capacity and the eye glass screw may be the equivalent of the nail that caused a horse to be lost, then a rider to be lost etc.

We also have our own gear and clothing, using the layer approach with an outer hardshell in camouflage.  We both have packed two pair of extra boots, either for the long haul or barter.

These items get thrown into the trunk along with our Camelbaks, and our mountain bikes (with extra tubes and tires) go on top supporting a few jerry cans of gasoline lashed between them.  If we can’t get to a refuge with available gas or the roads become impassable, then we load the bikes up and ride/walk until we are welcomed.

If we’re lucky, the Collapse will wait until we can move to a more geographically desirable location and all these purchases will remain useful while we focus on new needs (stored food, long term water and power and etc). If not,  I have improvised a plan that adapts to our situation and hopefully will change our refugee status to a valued team-member.

This is written in part because there has been no view from the prepared refugees.  There may be more preppers without a safe haven than those able to develop a safe haven, not because of any deficit or laziness on their part, but because of reality.  In addition, all preppers cannot move to a sparsely populated area in the US for if they did (imagine merely 10% of NYC, LA, and DC doing so during by the end Obama’s administration), those areas would no longer be sparsely populated! So think of what you can carry that can be bartered for things you can’t carry and that will make you into a valuable  team member.

I have worked hard to become a doctor (and perhaps even harder to remain a doctor is this crazed system) and to be able to give charity rather than receive it.  If I am to receive the charity of shelter from someone who is able to do so, I will be sure that we do more than just pull on own weight.  We will add security, in the short and long haul.

So if TEOTWAWKI happens, keep a lookout for strangers who may have much to offer. But for the grace of God, it might have been you unable to live in a geographically desirable area and looking to add to an established sanctuary.

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!

I have been reading your blog for quite some time now and I have a different outlook that I would like for you to comment on if you would be so kind. I have seen multiple references to pre-1965 coins being good for barter in a post-SHTF environment, but I do not follow this reasoning. I live in Dallas Texas, and frequently converse with other like minded people about survival preparation and the world climate and, until I told them about the high melt value of pre-1965 coins, they had no idea it was greater than the face value. It should not have struck me as odd as I myself had no idea of this before I began reading your blog. These are well informed people, so it made me wonder how common this knowledge was. I began asking various people about this, and not one person had any idea that these coins had a higher silver value than their face value. Here is my perspective on this subject.

In a post SHTF environment some people will have prepared and some won't. However, regardless of this, when it comes time to trade with others the universal doctrines will apply. 1. You will have to have something that I want for me to trade you what you want. 2. A think worth what someone is willing to pay for it, not it's asking price. Now, if the vast majority of people have no idea that pre-1965 coins are almost the same as silver, most of them will likely have no desire for them at all, or worse, think that you are trying to scam them by pushing a trade with a currency which is likely defunct. Further, due to the probable lack of access to information, it is unlikely that people would be able to research the claim that these coins are worth more than their face value. Thereby keeping the populace at large ignorant of their true commodity value, and keeping the coins out of the trading markets.

I believe that the only scenario in which pre-1965 coins could come to be regarded as a barter good would be if people that already knew of their value agreed to take them in as trade for something that the ignorant populace already believed had value, such as ammunition or food. Again, however, there is a very small percentage of the populace that has knowledge of the melt value of pre-1965 coins, much less has a stockpile of them to use after the SHTF. Therefore, I believe it to be unlikely that there would be enough people, in enough varied locations, willing to make a sufficient number of trades of their items for coins for the trend of pre-1965 coinage as a barter good to become ubiquitous in the "villages" or "trading posts". Due to these perspectives, I find it to be unlike that the new "villages" or "trading posts", that spring up out of the ashes of our previous society, will use pre-1965 coins as even an uncommon trading good.

Most of the idea behind amassing coins for preparedness I believe to be tied to the value of silver, and the above illustrations assume that silver will be valued after the crash. However, after the crash I do not find it likely that silver will have any value at all for the the majority of the people. Very few people will be so well -prepared that they will have enough that they can concern themselves with amassing hard wealth for when society returns. I am certain that the majority will be trying to just survive as best they can. While there will be a Rolex or a diamond ring traded for a few tins of tuna, this will likely be an uncommon occurrence as society continues to devolve. Few people will have so much that they can trade away usable resources for hard value items in mass. While people may have the memory that silver used to be valuable, after having spent some time circling the drain with the rest of society, it is unlikely that they will have found a use for it since it can neither be used to defend nor feed one's self. It is more likely that a wealthy man will be one that has enough food, warmth, defense, and shelter to survive indefinitely. That only leave silver coins as an easily identifiable currency.

So, let us suppose that there are places that have almost gotten back to some sense of civilizations, such as the "villages" or "trading posts". As such they will likely want to use some form of currency. However, as we look to the past to inform the future, it is more likely that each community, or group of communities, will develop their own individual currencies in an effort to avoid counterfeiting and theft. Historically, in the absence of a centralized government, individual communities do what they feel they must to survive and to insure that they function as smoothly as possible. This is likely to focus more on food and defence, items that provide life stability, than it is on amassing hard value items.

In order for silver coins to have a value a person needs to want them from you more than they want to keep what you want from them. I can not see any functionally use for silver after the crash. I know that there are a great many very intelligent people that firmly believe that these coins will have a high value post SHTF, so I feel like I must be missing something. I would be most appreciative if you would share your views on the reasoning that I have outlined. I am very hesitant to invest in pre-1965 coins as a future barter good until I am convinced that it is a better investment than just using the same money to buy more food, guns, or ammunition. The ideal of having a compact, universal, and non-degrading barter good available when the time comes is very appealing, I'm just not sure that it is silver coins. - Russell from Dallas

JWR Replies: I stand by my prediction that in the event of a currency collapse, pre-1965 junk silver will very quickly become adopted as a de facto barter currency. Many people may not presently be familiar with these coins, but once the US Dollar's value disintegrates, people will wise up to what constitutes real money, very rapidly. Adaptability is in the nature of free markets. It won't take more than a couple of months for prices to stabilize in the new reality of silver coins, packs of cigarettes, boxes of .22 cartridges, and gallons of gasoline--in barter. I predict that within a month, the sound of ringing silver coins will become familiar--starting first at "mom and pop" stores and at farmer's markets. These coins will be eagerly sought in barter, because they encapsulate all of the key attributes of a genuine tangible currency: recognizability, scarcity, durability, portability, fungibility, and divisibility. Being 90% silver, they also have useful industrial value. No barter currency is perfect, but pre-1965 coins come very close, at least for use here in the United States.

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.

Most of the survival information published today comes from thoughtful and hardy men who plan, prepare, and protect themselves and their families from disasters.  My admiration and appreciate for such men cannot be overemphasized. I doff my hard hat to all of you. There are, however, some elements of survival that are perhaps better served from a woman’s perspective. In particular, this article focuses on barter goods – those items that can be traded to other survivors for an improved quality of life or for basic necessity.

For purposes of clarity and ease of reference, this article is divided into age groups.  That’s because each age group has a specific set of needs and wants, aside from basic survival supplies. Let’s get to it! 

Infants and Toddlers
Baby Formula: Mixed with water, formula is an essential component of a youngster under two years of age when the mother is unavailable due to illness or injury or death, or the mom is not lactating. Containers of dehydrated or condensed formula may be bartered to those who need it.  It may also become necessary to barter for it. Although the condensed version can be heavy and bulky, it is often more desired for its flavor.  Additionally, it requires less water for mixing. Dehydrated formula is easier to transport and one package produces more product than wet formula, but it requires more water for dilution and its taste is less pleasing than condensed. Of the two basic forms of formula, however, this survivalist would opt for dehydrated formula as a useful and valuable barter item.   

Chew Toys: Chew toys aren’t just for dogs.  Very young children like chew toys, too. The toys help with teething and they keep a child content when parents are busy. Be sure to acquire those that have no extraneous parts, and any painted surfaces must be non-toxic and non-allergenic. To be safe, buy those that are made of new materials and have little or no decoration that could come off, including surface colorations. Go for the plain models, in other words. The child who wants a chew toy is not looking for anything fancy, just something to mouth.  Do not acquire a chew toy that could be swallowed or could block the airway. The toy must be too large to fit wholly within the child’s mouth. Any store specializing in infants and toddlers should have a wide array of acceptable chew toys, although they may prefer the term “teething ring” to “chew toy.”  Most people working to survive a disaster of any type are not going to plan for something as specific as a child’s chew toy. They will, however, soon learn that their young one will be much happier and therefore much less fussy if there is something fun and safe to chew on. The toys will make good barter for adults with young children, and chew toys take up little space and weigh next to nothing. If teething infants are not part of your survival group, these toys may be used as dogs’ chew toys or as older children’s playthings if not too infantile in decoration. Keeping the toys simple will make them more versatile.

Pull Toys.  Toddlers like to walk, and when they walk, they like to drag something along with them. A few inexpensive pull toys will provide hours of enjoyment for them.   If the toy makes a little noise, the fun is doubled. Beware those that have excessive parts – they are harder to repair and could become a choking hazard.  

Hard candies add a sweet touch in what may otherwise be a sour situation.  Kids love candy, and giving them an individually wrapped hard candy at midmorning or mid-afternoon may be a treat that eases the change in routine which is an unavoidable part of any survival scenario. Although there are some drawbacks to storing candy, the rewards for doing so will offset any problems.  Store them in rodent proof containers and in a cool, dry location and they should be good for 12 months or more. Dental hygiene may be difficult, and too much of anything is seldom good, so ration the dole and don’t divulge the hiding place. Families will want to add some candy to their provisions, so lay in a supply of individually wrapped hard candies.  [JWR Adds: The ingredients for candy store much longer that wrapped candies, but even old candy that has "gone sticky" is generally still safe to eat. An annual candy-making session can be a lot of fun for kids, and it is also economical. Our favorite to make at home is molasses taffy.]

Clutch Toys.  Yard sales often provide an inexpensive source for small, fluffy clutch toys. These are toys that young children can carry with them for comfort and companionship. Look for small, soft toys and dolls that are clean and, whenever possible, brand new in the package. All loving parents want their children to be happy whether in good times or bad, so items that children want will make good barter items.      

Ages 10 – 13
Brain & Drain Items. This age group may be the most difficult to keep occupied and happy. Full of energy, full of questions, and accustomed to technological gadgetry, these young people need to keep their minds and their bodies busy. They need to use their brains and drain their physical energy.  A few jigsaw puzzles or pocket-size game books (don’t forget the pencils) will suffice for after-dinner wind-down time, but these kids need something more challenging and physical during the day.  A couple of Frisbees or a boomerang may keep the boys busy for a while. Girls may enjoy a small cosmetic set (with a built-in mirror) or a compact sewing kit with several colorful fabric scraps.  Don’t forget decks of cards for those inclement weather days. A small paperback book enumerating card game rules will help resolve the disputes that invariably arise from such games. Decks of cards for specific games, such as Pinochle, Crazy Eights, Touring, and Old Maid will make a more interesting barter item. Get generic decks of cards as well as  decks of specific card games to use as small, lightweight trade enticements. A colorful, genuine jump-rope would be prized by any girl in this age bracket. And boys might enjoy a Nerf ball.  I’d steer clear of baseballs and the like in order to avoid injury and damage. Kids this age are creative and will make up various games with simple items when they get bored. Having some of those simple items as barter bait may be a good investment.  

Ages 14 – 17
Independent & Vital.  This age group wants to be treated as adults, that’s true whether in a survival situation or not. Treat them as such.  These young adults should be given some responsibility, for their own sake and so that the true adults have fewer tasks. Give them something meaningful to do and they will prove themselves. Let them instruct the younger children.  Perhaps they can devise a gentle means of discipline for their siblings.  Ask them to forage, if necessary. Assign tasks to them that require some thought and/or some physical prowess, and make those tasks unique to them. Provide them with some of the trappings of adulthood.  Adult trappings for young men may include:  a good quality knife, a multi-tool, a locking cache box, or their own small tent for privacy.  The females in this age category may appreciate name-brand cosmetic kits, a shoulder bag (purse), or a colorful pair of sandals. These young people are seeking their place in life. They want to be set apart yet they also want to be an important part of the family. Items that help them attain a sense of usefulness and equality will be practical in barter negotiations.

Senior Citizens
Along with infants, this age group will likely need the most attention and care. That is not to say they should be ignored or resented, but it does mean they present an opportunity for the clever and well-prepared barterer. Having what they need and want may enable you to get whatever you need and want.

Personal Care.  Denture cream, magnifying glasses, packets of facial tissues, hand creams, bucket hats (this style of hat is often worn by both men and women), cold packs, heat packs, compact chess and checker sets, large print puzzle books (don’t forget the pencils), condoms, over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medications,  Ben-Gay, Vick's Vap-O-Rub, hard candies, and sunglasses.  While perhaps not as vigorous as they once were, these elderly folks can provide much depth and affection in a family, particularly for the children.  They should be treated with the respect and care they deserve. When they or their family have nothing to trade, a caring person will provide the barter item anyway. That’s what keeps us human.  

Adults
Almost Anything.  Those people who fall between the ages of 19 and 64 carry the majority of the burden in providing for themselves and their families in all life’s situations.  Of course there are exceptions, but generally speaking that age group has the largest responsibility for the care and feeding of all others. As a trade-off, though, this age group is also the least likely to need extra help and supervision.  Still, we all like to have our own needs and desires fulfilled.

Some good barter items for this group, and in general, include pocket knives (get some small and colorful ones for the ladies), condoms, individual cosmetics, WISP (Colgate product) toothbrushes, .22 ammo, honey, Vaseline, sturdy work gloves in various sizes and colors, romance and mystery paperback books, spare batteries in various sizes,  feminine and masculine baseball-style caps, pocket sewing kits with spare buttons, eyeglass repair kits, used hand tools (hammers, wrenches, screwdrivers, folding pruning saws), tampons,  pencils and pens, journals, and bags of jerky. A word of caution:  don’t trade anything to anyone that could later be used against you or your family. For example, don’t barter ammo or a fixed-blade knife to someone you don’t trust, unless you absolutely need what they have and can’t get it elsewhere.     

Conclusion
No one can plan for every survival scenario.  What we can do, however, is set aside some items that can be bartered for those items we forgot, used up, or never knew we would need. The purpose of barter goods is to acquire honestly and peacefully what we want and need during times of trouble. These items also work well as charitable gifts to those in a worse way. All the items listed in this article are inexpensive and easy to acquire now, so start acquiring them now.  They take up little space and their individual weight is negligible.. Most of these things can be set aside for years, with nary a concern for their stability. Some can be obtained at yard sales or discount stores, other items can be purchased over a period of time. Each item will prove its value, whether for the specified age group or for a purpose not outlined above.  In other words, you will not be wasting your valuable space, time, or money by acquiring some or all of these items in small quantities.  I urge you to study the suggestions, think of some of your own, and create a separate bin, box, or bag for barter items.  Then place that container with your other survival gear. Good luck and God bless!

I receive several e-mails each day from readers asking whether the currently-unfolding economic depression will be inflationary or deflationary, whether it will last long, and whether or not the US Dollar will be supplanted by a new currency. My answer is simple: "All of the above." Back in early 2008, I warned that a depression with simultaneous inflation and deflation was possible. As I've mentioned several times in my blog, here in the US we are likely to see a continuation of the current gradual deflation followed by a period of mass currency inflation. Plan accordingly.

Try to start looking at prices in terms relative value. In a world of hyperinflation where everyone is a millionaire, absolute prices area almost meaningless, but watching relative prices and values is crucial. For example, a loaf of bread and a gallon of gas have sold for roughly the same amount, since the late 1970s. This outlook on prices is what I call The Rhodesian View. To explain: Those who have lived in Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) since before the change of government eventually learned to adjust their conceptions of "price" and "value". This new outlook was necessitated by the destruction of the national currency by Comrade Mugabe. His hopelessly inept and horribly corrupt government embarked on a systematic looting of the country, which included mass inflation that later became hyperinflation. At one recent point, the Zimbabwean dollar was inflating so rapidly that it lost half of its value each few hours. (An annual inflation rate of more than 200 million percent.) Similarly, nine years of hyperinflation and multiple currency recalls in Argentina had the net effect that to buy what had cost 1 Peso in 1983 would have cost the equivalent of 100,000,000,000 Pesos in 1992.

After having been accustomed to a very gradually eroding dollar for so long, it will be difficult for may people to adopt the Rhodesian View. Once inflation sets in, nearly all assets denominated in dollars will suffer horribly. This will be particularly true for dollar deposit accounts, and pensions. Those folks that don't adapt quickly will get blind-sided by inflation. Some investments like stocks will be re-valued and still retain some value because of the intrinsic value of the underlying assets (such as company's inventory, equipment, land, and facilities). Thus, they might be able to "keep up with inflation", at least in the early stages of an inflationary spiral. But most other dollar-denominated investments will be wiped out in a mass inflation.

Now lets's look at the prospects for mass inflation in the US: Say, for example, that in 2007 your house's value peaked at $350,000, but on paper it has subsequently lost $100,000 in value. (So it is now valued at $250,000, even though your property tax assessment might erroneously still show its value somewhere north of $300,000.) Fear not! Mass inflation will "restore" the dollar value of your house in just a few years. But the bad news is that shortly thereafter, inflation will be galloping along so rapidly that $250,000 may buy just one typical automobile. And then perhaps a year after that, $250,000 will only buy you a bicycle. And then perhaps less than another year later, $250,000 will only buy you a loaf of bread. Be ready, folks, and adopt the Rhodesian View of economic reality. Keep informed, be flexible, and shelter you assets in barterable tangibles! Granted, we may see no more than 20% inflation in the next few years, but the snowballing effects of mass inflations are impossible to predict. Once the psychology of double-digit or triple-digit inflation sets in--namely the anticipation of continued inflation--it becomes virtually self-perpetuating, often continuing beyond a corrective change of monetary policy, (Ben Bernanke may shout "stop help presses" (and raise the prime rate and restore the bank reserve requirements), but the paper chase may continue for many months.

I've said this often in SurvivalBlog: The time has come to begin sheltering part of your net worth in practical tangibles. These include firearms, common caliber ammunition, precious metals, full-capacity firearms magazines, high quality tools, and productive farm or ranch land that can double as a survival retreat. Once inflation kicks in, prices set in dollars will become almost meaningless, and saving "money" will become a pitiful joke, as the dollar's value melts in the fiery furnace of inflation.

Start thinking in terms of relative value, potential usefulness/productivity, ounces, and gallons, instead of dollar digits.

Get used to bartering. It is a valuable skill that will become crucial in the next decade. Practice barbering now, rather than after a crisis begin. (Learn from your mistakes now, while the consequences are small and not life threatening, rather than later, when the consequences could be much greater.)

Develop savvy about precious metals. Buy the references and tools you'll need be able to spot fakes. Practice calculating relative values. You must get handy with a pocket calculator and some standard references. (I have several listed later in this post.) For example, you should be able to calculate the values of a one ounce silver "trade dollar" round versus pre-1965 silver quarters versus a box of of .45 ACP 230-grain ball ammunition. And, with just the knowledge of the day's closing New York spot prices for silver and gold, you should be able to quantify the number of 90% silver dimes that would equal the value of 10 gallons of gasoline or the gold contained in a 1/2-ounce Gold Canadian Maple Leaf or a 2-Franc French "Rooster" or a Swiss Vrenelli. Does this sound daunting to you? If so, then you need to study and practice!

As you build up your stockpile of barter goods, you must simultaneously build your knowledge base about barter goods--especially ammunition, guns, fuel, canned foods, and precious metals--since those will all be sought-after, in a monetary crisis. Assemble a reference library that can serve you both for establishing the authenticity of goods, and for establishing their relative values. Be sure to print out some useful data and weight conversion formulas, and keep those pages in a reference binder. In my estimation, if you don't already have your own copies of the following books at home, then you are behind the power curve:

• Flayderman's Guide to Antique American Firearms and Their Values
• Blue Book of Gun Values
• The Official Red Book: A Guide Book of United States Coins 2009
  
• 2009 Standard Catalog of World Coins 1901-2000
• 2010 Standard Catalog of World Coins 2001-Date
  
• Antique Trader - Antiques & Collectibles Price Guide
  
• Wristwatch Annual 2009: The Catalog of Producers, Prices, Models, and Specifications
• Jewelry & Gems the Buying Guide: How to Buy Diamonds, Pearls, Colored Gemstones, Gold & Jewelry With Confidence And Knowledge

In closing, remember that it will take time and practice to get accustomed to dealing in a barter economy, and thinking in terms of real value rather than "dollars". In times when dollars are like grains of sand in an hourglass, tangibles will represent a fixed yardstick. Take the time to practice bartering now, when the stakes are low. Start attending gun shows, coin shows, antique shows, and flea markets. And be sure to gather those key reference books now, while they are still readily available. Someday, you may be very glad that you did!

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. 

"Welcome to the savage world of the year 2009". That was the tag line of the 1992 sci-fi film Freejack , starring Emilio Estevez. Do you remember it? The movie that featured Cadillac Gage V100 wheeled APCs painted in bright colors? My old friend All-Grace-No-Slack-Really-Reformed Kris just reminded me about this movie. Kris noted: "It was a bit corny but it had some good scenes and characters such as Amanda Plummer as the gun-toting nun." This film provides an insight on what futurists then thought 2009 would be like, as well as a retrospective on life in 1992.

Let's look back at 1992: It is amazing how much the world has changed since 1992. To me, it doesn't seem that long ago. In 1992 I was 32 years, old, and our first child was an infant. In 1992, .308 ball cost $180 per thousand rounds, a Colt M1911 cost around $350, and cases of MREs could be bought at gun shows for around $30 each. Back in those days, I was running a mail order business from home, selling magazines. I was buying M1 Carbine 15 round magazines in cases of 100, for $90 per case, and re-selling them by the onesees and twosees for $3 per magazine. (One of my "get rich slow" ventures.) In 1992, you could still buy a plane ticket for cash, and stroll right up to the departure gate without a ticket in hand. Yes, there was a metal detector, but you could board a commercial flight with a pocketknife with a single-edge blade less than 2-1/2" long. (Remember when knife catalogs had "Airline approved" models?) In 1992, gasoline was $1.05 per gallon ($1.09 for premium), and a good loaf of bread still cost 49 cents. In 1992 you could take a car trip into Mexico or Canada, with a smile and the wave of your state driver's license.

In 1992, I owned a small ranch near Orofino, Idaho. House prices there ranged from $39,000 to $155,000. (In 1989, we had paid $29,000 for an unfinished house on 40 acres.) Silver started that year at $4.20 per ounce, but drifted down to under $3.70 in December. (It was still in the midst of a two-decade long bear market.) A semi-auto AK-47 cost $179, an AR-15 was around $500, and an M1A was $800.

Fast forward to 2009: The local gun shops are chronically short of ammunition, and what little they do receive from their wholesalers sells out immediately, at an average of $1 per round. Today .308 ball costs $900 per thousand rounds, a Colt M1911 costs around $1,200. A case of MREs can cost upwards of $90, and a loaf of bread is anywhere from 99 cents for the dreadful "air bread" to $4.69 for the good stuff. Gas is back up to more than $2.50 per gallon. A semi-auto AK-47 costs around $700, a low-end AR-15 is around $1,200, and a standard grade M1A is $1,600 if you can find one. Today, people line up like sheep and remove their shoes before boarding an airplane, and opening a checking account requires umpteen pieces of identification. Now, thanks to "Homeland Security" regulations, they will turn you down if you don't have a physical street address. (BTW, that gets a bit sticky here in The Unnamed Western State, where lots of my neighbors live so far back in the boonies that they don't have a street address. The bankers get all befuddled if you start quoting the Township, Range, and Section numbers of your quarter-section.

In 2009, house prices are still plummeting from their 2006 highs, but still quite "spendy." A house around Orofino with a good spring now costs around $400,000. Who knows? In the current bear market, the price of houses may not bottom until they are close to their 1992 levels. Oh, and wait a minute! Firearms manufactuers are now working around the clock, and prices are expected to soon come back down. In 1992, a Steyr AUG cost $800, but then they peaked in 2008 at around $4,000. But now new production AUGs (made by Steyr in the US) have hit the market for under $1,800. You gotta love a free market economy. Maybe the more that things change, the more they remain the same.

The "Freejack" script was loosely based on Robert Sheckley's novel "Immortality, Inc." The screenwriters had a few things right, but plenty of things wrong. For example, the "destroyed ozone layer" hasn't wrecked our health. And I don't feel at risk of my brain being hijacked. But, then again, I don't own a television.

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.

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

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.

James,
I too purchased a PTR-91 [HK91 clone] rifle and ordered 50 magazines from PTR 91 Inc. The shipping was reasonable and when I received them, there were [actually some free "bonus", for a total of] 55 magazines. They ranged from good to like new condition and had dates all the way from 1963 thru early 1990s. For $107 delivered, I got 55 magazines and a very big smile on my face. - M.E.K .

Greetings -
Just wanted to say "thank you" for suggesting the PTR-91 as a battle rifle option. I will freely admit to getting caught up in the AR-15 hysteria but I have come to my senses and saved money thanks to SurvivalBlog.

German surplus G3 alloy military surplus magazines in good to excellent condition are easily available in quantity for $3-to-$4 each. Contrast that with AR-15 mags at $15+ each, and that's a 5:1 ratio. Or, for the same $90 folks are paying for a single AR-10 mag, they can get more than 25 surplus G3 mags, shipped! In addition, while AR-15s are nearly impossible to find at $1,000 or less, I am finding PTR-91s on the shelf for $1,100 just waiting to be bought. Yes, 7.62mm NATO is more expensive than 5.56 NATO, and the G3 mags are only 20-rounders, but all in all I can't think of a better, low total ownership cost battle rifle than the PTR-91. - JT in Michigan

Sir:
I followed the link in Thursday's blog to this I followed this news story: 45 percent of world's wealth destroyed: Blackstone CEO. It stated: "Between 40 and 45 percent of the world's wealth has been destroyed in little less than a year and a half." I don't see how Schwarzman can be right about that. The factories are still there. the farms are still there. The houses are still there. And there are still warehouses full of everything from Machinery and bar stock to Sponge Bob Squarepants toys.So what has been destroyed are just "on paper" profits, not any real wealth. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but what is to stop us from just revaluating things, and getting along with life? Thanks, - F.T.G

JWR Replies: You are mostly right, but partly wrong. You are correct that there has been very little real tangible wealth that has been destroyed, other than inventory that might be discarded for lack of a market, some half-finished commercial and residential building projects that will eventually get bulldozed, and some perishables that have been delayed in transit and that went to waste. You are also correct that most of what still exists tangibly has genuine value. But consider that an under-utilized factory produces fewer goods than a fully-utilized factory. (OBTW, on that note, we can thank President Obama for at least keeping America's gun, ammunition, and magazine factories working at a fever pitch.)

So let's step back and look at the big picture...

What has been destroyed:

1.) Asset Values:
This goes without saying. Reader FTG is correct that facilities and capital equipment are physically intact, but their values have been greatly reduced. I expect to see this process continue for several more years.

2.) Wages and Buying Power:
By cutting out overtime, reducing shifts, idling assembly lines, canceling re-stocking orders, reducing pensions, scaling-back benefits, and laying off employees, there has been a great contraction in wage-earning income and hence buying power--even to the point where people are having trouble making their mortgage payments. This leads to a chain collision of missed house payments, foreclosures, and evictions. Worse yet, it means even more houses will be dumped onto a market that is already flooded with "excess inventory."

3.) Credit, and the Perception of Credit-Worthiness:
As I've described before, the economy is presently in a phase characterized by revaluation--as the various market sectors probe for new market prices.(Economists call this "Price Discovery.") Simultaneously, lenders are are positively petrified to lend to their heretofore "credit worthy" clients. There has been so much debt re-packaging that has gone on, that it is now very difficult to reliably assess any accurate values of assets and to evaluate loan risk

4.) Consumer Confidence
Much of the consumerism that built up in the US for the past 30 years was a Spendthrift mentality, created by the bygone oceans of "Easy Credit". Both that credit and the resultant spending are now gone. And I do mean gone. In previous recessions, there had been brief declines in consumerism, but I can foresee that this one one will be different. This will be more like the 1930s, where the nation developed an entire generation of penny-pinchers. Don't get me wrong--I consider this a good thing! Saving is admirable. Overspending is foolish. But from the standpoint of economic recovery, this could delay recovery by several year, since a large portion of the economy had built up around the concept of women with 25 pairs of shoes, and men with three sets of golf clubs

5.) For Many, the Hope of Retirement at Age 65:
Millions of American that were nearing retirement have lost any hope of retiring. Aside for the holdings of a few crazy "gold bugs" (like SurvivalBlog readers), their IRAs and 401(k)s have been devastated. There are also some company pension plans that have gone "poof" or that will surely be scaled back considerably. I don't want to gloat, but those of you that took my advice three years ago and sold their dollar-denominated investments and invested in tangibles have come through the credit market collapse virtually unscathed. Some of you even came out ahead. Meanwhile, those that left their money in stock-heavy 401(k) accounts have been devastated. Losses of 30% to 50% have been the norm. Ouch!

6.) Carefree Mobility:
Before the housing bubble burst, people could easily change jobs, sell their houses (at a profit!) and move from coast to coast without much inconvenience. But to do so now constitutes major trial and tribulation. Up to 40% of people with mortgaged homes now have negative equity--meaning that the remaining principal of their mortgage now exceeds the market value of their house. (This is commonly called being "upside down" in a mortgage.) So now, even for someone that can make their mortgage payments, changing jobs to a new locale beyond commute distance means losing their house and starting over. And if they go with the "jingle mail" method, it means starting over with a ruined credit rating.

7.) The Last Shreds of Job Security:
Following the trend set by Silicon Valley, when the "Dot.Com" bubble burst in 2000, many industries are now getting positively ruthless about cost-cutting. There is now a constant barrage of news of layoffs, reduced benefits, and cutting our perks. Don't expect "normality" to resume to the corporate workplace in our generation. Any vestiges of "job security" have become a thing of the past.

What Will Likely Continue to Be Destroyed:

1.) Further erosion of asset values.
The price of real estate (both residential and commercial) will likely continue to decline until either A.) The economy starts to recover, or B.) Inflation kicks in. If it is the latter, (which is what I suspect, sooner or later), property prices will start to rise only because general price inflation has grown. But this will be a false recovery in real estate. Real property values will continue to decline, while the currency unit itself is being destroyed. Yes, your house may be worth a several million dollars, but what will a million dollars buy you in such times? The same may happen with stocks. In the presence of inflation, news of a "stock market rally" will be nothing but fiction if the currency. Amidst the "Happy Days are here again" hoopla, real values will still be in the dumpster.

2.) More job losses and further-reduced wage-earning hours

3.) More failed pension programs

4.) The dollar itself as a currency unit. This recent news article was a subtle warning: The Swiss central bank has already fired the first shot in the global currency war. I expect large devaluations--both formal and informal--by many nations in the near future. The bottom line is that the US Dollar is doomed.

What will Remain and Gain:

Tangibles, Tangibles, Tangibles! I've been harping on that theme in SurvivalBlog for three years. Again, those of you that took my advice are mostly sitting pretty. Silver and gold have doubled, as have ammunition and many full capacity magazines. Productive farm and ranch land has held most of its value, while at the same time suburban real estate has plummeted. If you have not yet transitioned out of dollar-denominated investments, then do so immediately. (The current stock rally is nothing but a sucker rally in the larger context of secular bear stock market So this is a good opportunity to bail out.)

The present-day wave of deflation will likely be followed by a period of sharp inflation. At some point, all those trillions of "magically created out of thin air" dollars that will needed for the Mother of All Bailouts (MOAB) will inevitably catch up with the Dollar. My closing warning: Be ready for some serious consumer price inflation, most likely starting in 2010.

It's nice to know how many guns you have to share amongst those mags, or better yet how many magazines do you have to share amongst multiple like model rifles or pistols for that matter. That's how I count them to see if I feel like I have enough or not. Plus, I like to count in the possibility of adding another gun or two into that particular category at a later date since buying extra mags is always cheaper than adding a new gun. If nothing else, extra mags are a great investment for later sale or barter especially if the current snake oil salesman in charge signs a new assault weapons ban into law.

As an example, I got caught with just a couple of AK and AR mags when the Assault weapons Ban (AWB) took effect in 1994. This was before the "preparedness mindset" for me which came later in 1996 when I found JWR's novel draft "The Gray Nineties" [--an early draft edition of "Patriots" ]. I was not nearly so gun market savvy as I am today. I was the typical gun owner/collector with one each of several guns without any thought to caliber consolidation or commonality of magazines for logistics purposes. In the same vein I may have had a couple 20 round boxes of 223 or 762x39 ammo laying around with really no thought of having anymore than what I needed to go to the range one time for about an hour's worth of shooting. In hindsight it was absolutely shameful--like 99% of the sleeping gun owning public.

Then the Assault Weapons Ban of 1994 was signed into law and there was a run on certain guns, ammunition, and magazines--much like we are seeing now--that swept the country overnight. Back then, I was way behind the curve on that and I got caught off guard. At the time $6 for a nice but used USGI M16 magazine was common and a new mag might set you back $10. Overnight if you could even find some for sale you had to pay double or triple that. Same with Glock magazines as another example. They went from +/- $15 for a new one to $40-$45. [JWR Adds: In 1999, I saw gun show dealers asking and getting $75 each for 13 round Glock 21 magazines, and $150 each for 33 round Glock 17/18/19 magazines!] This market environment went on for the 10 year life span of the AWB until it "sunsetted" in 2004. Prices went down and availability went back to normal until just before the 2008 election. Since 2004 I have been eagerly buying all the magazines I needed, or thought I might ever need in a lifetime. I learned my lesson. In anticipation of the election I was counting on the ignorance and gullibility of the general populace so I made a last bulk purchase of magazines. Good thing too! Just this past summer (2008), I bought a little over $1,000 worth of various magazines, and in particular Glock 17 magazines from my favorite place. At that time they were $16.99 all day long. The election came and now they are $24.99 from the same place, and even so they are still the cheapest I can find among my many regular sources. More recently, SIG magazines for have gone up at most places for instance. Pre-election they usually went for right at $30. One of my regular places has gone up a little bit to $33, but I've seen that most other places have jacked them up to $40. It was and is the old "short supply and high demand" syndrome, due in part to all the panic buying that could have been avoided if done a little bit at a time like I've done over the past five years.

As bad as the prices got then, what's going on now is far worse in terms of availability. Having lived and financially suffered through the '94 AWB, I still can say I've never seen anything like this before. This is easily twice as bad as the '94 AWB, and no legislation is even close to being signed into law yet. I lived and paid dearly through the '94 AWB and I feel like I can speak on the topic of what's happening in the gun market right now with some authority. In other words if you find a deal where they haven't gouged the prices, then I recommend buying extra beyond your immediate needs. Knowing what you know about your arsenal of freedom, I'd say stop buying guns and concentrate on ammunition and a few more magazines as a priority. You can't drive a Corvette if you can't afford the gas, so to speak. The mistake they made in 1994 was not going after the ammunition and they realize that now. If the majority of gun owning America is still anything like I was back in 1994, any possible self defense in a civil unrest situation would be short lived without adequate ammunition supplies already in place. And who's got time to reload the one or two magazines they got with the rifle in the middle of a fire fight? When it comes to magazines, more is better. I suspect this mood has improved among gun owners in general and that the lesson of the '94 AWB still smells fresh to some. As evidenced by my coworkers who come to me for 'gun advise", I still believe the majority are gun rich, but magazine and ammunition poor so to speak.

Now that I've gone on entirely too long you should have noticed the theme: Buy more magazines where you need them and even if you don't as long as the prices aren't gouge level. Buy more ammunition for your major battle rifle caliber at every opportunity because it certainly isn't getting any cheaper and availability is scarce. Look at Ammoman.com and AIMSurplus.com. They are just plain out of all the common caliber ammunition. That is very telling, but it also concerns me the most. In case you feel overwhelmed at the very expense of it all, I give the example of a co-worker who recently got on the same page via my Christmas gift of JWR's novel "Patriots" .. On pay day this coworker without fail goes to the local Horse Tack & Gun Shop and buys two or three twenty round boxes of commercial .223. Whatever he can afford that pay day. Although he was quite behind the 8 Ball in the beginning, he has over 500 rounds now and he just picked up three extra M16 magazines. His little bit at a time strategy is working nicely, and I have seen his overall mood improve as his supply grows along with his confidence. He has also has been using the "copy can" method at the grocery store and his progression in that department has really improved his state as well.

As a general recommendation I advise the following with the caveat that you add the same minimum amount of used generic (cheaper) magazines for range use. I know it's extra money but you can't go wrong by then adding a second batch of new factory magazines as you can locate and afford them until you've doubled that original minimum. I can assure you they will make a nice investment later down the road. Keep those brand new magazines back in the "break glass in case of emergency" box. That will be your long term storage box that you don't touch until TSHTF. Buy .50 caliber ammo cans for a safe place to store magazines, with a bag of desiccant thrown in for good measure. I've actually vacuum packed mine for long term rust free storage. Keep the used but reliable generic mags about for immediate availability and for range use. [Some snipped, for brevity.]

As a absolute minimum I recommend the following. Hopefully you are in or can get into a position to consolidate caliber and like model firearms if for nothing other than a logistics standpoint. Having to find, purchase, and store several different calibers, and multiple types of magazines can make an already expensive proposition downright discouraging.

(10) Ten brand new magazines per main battle rifle (This under most circumstances should equate to basic load + spares)
(7) Seven brand new magazines per pistol (This also under most circumstances should equate to basic load + spares)

and,

(1) Main Battle Rifle per adult or responsible teenager
(1) Main Sidearm per adult or responsible teenager

And of course, in my opinion one of the most often neglected items: professional training, and appropriate web gear to carry those magazines and your sidearm.

Hello Jim,
Been learning a lot from Survival Blog, thanks for the great work. I'm just wondering if sterling silver and 14 karat [gold] jewelry (plain [rings or chains], or gemstones would make good bartering items? Have been thinking of selling them and using the money for preparedness, etc but wondered about this.

Thanks very much for all the useful information. - Mrs. H.

JWR Replies: Although at first blush keeping jewelry on hand might seem practical, in actuality its drawbacks outweigh its benefits. Perhaps metals, but gemstones are a definite no. Gemstones--either diamonds or colored stones--will not be trusted by 99% of your potential bartering partners. Gold or silver chains might be trusted by some trading partners, but only if they were clearly marked for their purity, and if you were to carry a compact pennyweight scale, to establish the weight of the chain (or a chiseled-off length of chain).

Parenthetically, I should mention that as first popularized by the "Flying Tigers" (AVG) in China, early in World War II, some military aviators, Special Forces soldiers, and mercenaries have habitually worn heavy gold bracelets. They have worn these with the intention of being able to trade links from these chains for assistance from villagers, if they should become stranded in Third World countries. This is a sort of a "Get Me Home" insurance policy. These chains are often flaunted at VFW halls and have been touted by a few armchair survival writers, but I have my doubts about them working well in post-TEOTWAWKI First World countries. Ironically, your average First World urbanite or suburbanite is actually far more ignorant about precious metals and testing their purity than the average "ignorant" Third World peasant. (Many peasants know how to use a touchstone and even and more sophisticated merchants would know how to do an acid test, while the average American would be clueless about any of that!)

In my estimation the "precious metals chains" approach to barter will have very limited utility in most anticipated post-collapse situations, The biggest problem will be convincing your bartering partner that the gold or silver that you are offer is genuine, confirming its purity to the nearest half-karat value, and establishing its weight and hence its value. It is far far easier to have a pocketful of widely recognizable pre-1965 mint date circulated "junk" 90% silver US dimes, quarters and half dollars. And of course there is always "Ballistic Wampum." Someday soon, common caliber ammunition may become the coin of the realm.

My advice to anyone that has set aside any "extra" (non-heirloom) jewelry, earmarked for barter: Sell it, and use the funds generated to buy pre-1965 90% silver US dimes, quarters and half dollars,.

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

JWR,
I agree with you on the machine tool issue. You end up with a lot of tooling and accessories by buying a shop. Things like rotary tables, angle plates and clamping stuff make this approach a bargain. A few grand goes a long way if you dig into [the replacement costs]. Like you say, [in the depth of the recession] there will be a lot of stuff out there. I have a good set of machinist tools but no machines and have been thinking the same thing.

I have millwrighted machines for people from closed machine shops. I used a Ryder rental with a lift gate and rolled the machines on bars (a Johnson Bar is very helpful.) The Egyptian method works! I had to remove the table from the Bridgeport to get it through a doorway. The lathe was easier (longer base, lower center of gravity). Buy capable machines and beware of buying equipment with three phase motors.
Thanks again, Jim. Best Regards, - Mike from Michigan

Jim
An incredible place to get used industrial tools and equipment is H.G.R. Industrial Surplus, in Cleveland, Ohio. They have 12 acres of equipment under roof. The quantity and quality and very low cost is remarkable. Just check their web site for a complete list of what they have. It changes daily. I've found that it is very well worth a drive through states to go there. - Jim Fry, Curator, Museum of Western Reserve Farms & Equipment, Ohio

James,
I bought one of these milling machines sold by Lathemaster.
This is one of those Rong-Fu 45 clones, what they call a bed mill; the table stays at the same height and the head goes up and down. It's a good machine for the money, but not in the same league as big knee mill. Of course, it doesn't cost $5,000, either.

Like any other low-cost bed mill, it isn't rigid enough to take really heavy cuts. If you try, it flexes, and the cut goes sideways a little. But if you work your way up to the intended line taking shallow cuts, it's fine. I've made quite a few things with mine, mostly out of aluminum and titanium.
I'm very happy with it. That said, when I get the space, I'll get a true CNC machine, probably the Tormach PCNC.

In anticipation of this upgrade, I got Tormach tooling for my Lathemaster mill, which turns out to be a pretty nice thing anyway.
Thanks, - PNG

Jim:
Three follow-up observations:

First, Do not mill in a drill chuck. as one letter said to do. It will cause the drill chuck to fall off of the taper it is attached to, and can also break the jaws.

Second, [If taking the 3-1n-1 approach,] Grizzly.com is at the top of everyone's list.

Third, Take a technological step back 100 years, and everyone should try and find a shaper! See this Wikipedia page. After all, a mill is only good until the cutters run out! - Tantalum Tom

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!)

Introductory Note from JWR: The following was posted at the Mike's Madhouse forum, one of the Baen's Bar Forums. (This is the forum moderated by SurvivalBlog's Editor at Large, Michael Z. Williamson.) It illustrates how incredibly naive some newbie gun owners can be. It also underscores a couple of my oft-repeated mantras: Survival is not about gadgets. It is about skills. And, tools without training are almost useless. Owning a gun doesn't make someone a "shooter" any more than owning a surfboard makes someone a surfer. Reading this letter made me laugh hysterically, but it also made me sad to think that for each "rescued' newbie that is successfully mentored by a skilled shooter, there are probably one or two others that remain blissfully ignorant. Even worse, some of these latter-day gun owners might think that merely buying several thousand dollars worth of guns and paraphernalia has somehow made them "prepared." Here is the post:

"This last week I had a conversation with a associate at work. First let me tell you about him, he's a little liberal and by that I am saying someone who is left of Obama. He starts up the conversation with "you know about guns right, could you teach me how to shoot my guns," at this point I am speechless, I mean this person is about the most liberal person I know. First I have to pick up my jaw and my hamster fell out of his wheel is laying on its back doing the kick'en chicken. Flabbergasted that I am I ask what type he owns and he tells me that they are "those M16 machine guns and a 45 cal automatic."

Having known him for about six years and he is a friend (we agreed to not talk about politics and religion years ago) I asked, "What does your wife think about the guns?" He answered: "Oh she knows we bought two of each" (Jaw on floor, Hamster now in critical condition), you have to know his wife more to the left than him, and the last time she visited [my home] I had to swear that all the guns were locked up so the children were safe.

The first thing I ask, do you have a gun safe, answer: "No and don't worry we haven't bought bullets yet." I tell him sure, I will walk through weapon safety and will teach him to shoot. By the way where did you buy the weapons? His answer: The local local "sporting warehouse" . I told him to bring the weapons Friday and I will go over range and weapon safety, and we'll go to the range on Saturday (today).

On Friday afternoon he brings the weapons and accessories over. Now I won't say the salesman saw them coming but, he sold him: two Pelican rifle cases with locks,two Blackhawk drag bags, two Pelican pistol cases. The "M16 machine guns" turned out to be a pair of S&W M&P PSX [semi-auto only M4 clone rifles] each with a Trijicon ACOG and with a green laser and forward pistol grip with flashlight and with bipod and only one magazine [for each emphasis Mike's] about the only missing accessory is the latté maker (a whole 'nother story)

Now I have seen decked out M4s before but this was ridiculous. With all [items] mounted weight about 15 lbs unloaded. The .45 turned out to be a Kimber SIS with 2 magazines and a shoulder holster and a belt holster with a gun belt, magazine holder. Now he isn't hurting for money but this is taking him to the cleaners. So first thing I start taking off cr*p, laser goes, pistol grip with flashlight goes, I start to take off the Trijicon but did you know that the M&P does not come with iron sights?

I had to ask [facetiously] why they didn't get a laser for the Kimber. His answer "It's on order."

Next, I put all the excess stuff in the handy Pelican box and walk through weapon safety. If you notice there were no eye or ear protection, cleaning kits [included] with all this gear [that he was sold].

First thing, I show them how to disassemble and clean the M4 and Kimber. I decided that we would start with the pistol and that I would bring a 22 for them to start with. The range went well we started with the targets at 5m then to 7m, 10m and so forth.it went flawlessly. No great groups but at least they were hitting the targets. We shot about 500 rounds of . 22 and ended with 200 rounds of .45.

They had fun and [I helped to create] another [enthusiastic] gun owner. I got them to start using a my favorite gun shop for their future purchases. (She liked my SIG P226 and wants one now).

We stopped at the warehouse [store] and returned some of the excess equipment, about $1,500 worth. I told them to practice the basics, and then if they wanted to they could get other accessories. I will be taking them to a different range tomorrow for the M4. Wish me luck. Now, if I could only revive my hamster!"

The Mother of All Bailouts (MOAB) keeps growing. SurvivalBlog reader PhotoTom sent us this: U.S. Tries a Trillion-Dollar Key for Locked Lending. Here is a snippet: "The Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve plan to spend as much as $1 trillion to provide low-cost loans and guarantees to hedge funds and private equity firms that buy securities backed by consumer and business loans."

I've been warning about the likelihood of hedge fund collapses for years. This first trillion dollars in bailout money for the hedge funds is little more than a kind gesture between banking buddies. But it won't magically restore liquidity to a global credit market that measures in the hundreds of trillions. International liquidity is still frozen, asset values are still plunging, the level of opacity and obfuscation are nearly total, and the level of mutual trust betwixt bankers is miniscule. The current "Price Discovery" system is a joke. Most of the once-touted collateralized debt obligation (CDO) derivatives, for example, are so onion-layered that there is no effective method to judge their safety. And we cannot depend on "neutral third parties" to judge value, risk, and credit-worthiness. The so-called watchdogs at Standard & Poors, Fitch, and Moody's, we have learned, were complicit in the subprime Housing Bubble swindle. They were on the take. Who wants to buy packaged debt instruments when they may contain toxic debt? Who is going to lend in that environment? I can foresee that the write-downs may eventually be as deep as 80% for many derivative instruments such as CDOs and credit default swaps (CDSs).

I stand by my prediction of massive hedge fund failures and redemption suspensions. The next wave will likely come in early April, when hedge fund earnings (or more likely the lack thereof) are announced at the end of Q1.

An aside: Two of my consulting clients are hedge fund managers. Both of them are looking for extremely safe, remote, and self-sufficient rural retreats. Who can blame them? More than most other observers and certainly more that the still clueless talking heads on CNBC, hedge fund managers can see the enormity of the economic crisis, its full implications and the most likely final outcome. And that outcome will be a lot more like The Road Warrior than it will be It's a Wonderful Life.

Dollars and Real Money

Do you recall my mention that the US Dollar's recent gains against the Euro are more of a function of banking weakness in Europe than it is of any real strength in the Dollar itself? This article with accompanying graph prove my point: Financial Crises And Public Finances: Where Is The Greatest Risk? (My thanks to veteran economist John Mauldin, who pointed me to the BCA Research web site.) According to Mauldin, Europe is just one small step from a total systemic banking collapse. I concur. If one European nation's banking system fails, the rest may follow, like a house if cards. The American banking system may be precarious, but the situation is even more tenuous in Europe. My advice? Get out of paper currencies (both the Dollar and the Euro) and buy practical tangibles. Things like Silver, gold, stainless steel (handguns) and lead (the JHP variety). Forget fine art, vintage wines, and collectibles. Those are all headed into a downward spiral. But if by chance you do fancy any of those, just wait until we reach the depth of the Depression, and you'll be able to pick them up for 20 cents on the dollar. Presently, you should be getting out of your dollar-denominated investments, and stuffing your home gun vault vault full of battle rifles, large bore autopistols, and full capacity magazines. A few bags of pre-'65 junk silver make nice ballast for the bottom of the vault. The current (and most likely short-lived) strength in the Dollar represents perhaps your last chance to pay down your debts and shelter your assets in tangibles.

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

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.

Mr. Rawles:
I'm thinking about buying a Bushmaster AR-10 type rifle that comes with with one clip. What features should I look for, especially these days? Are the magazines an issue? Thanks, - C. in Oregon

JWR Replies: Let me start with a pet peeve. The terms clip and magazine are not synonymous. A clip holds cartridges only at one end, whereas a magazine complete surrounds a cartridge. In the context of modern detachable magazine battle rifles, a clip is what is used to fill a magazine. Please do not call a magazine a clip, especially around children. They are impressionable, and I 'd hate to see another generation growing up to use faulty nomenclature.

In today's frantic market the over-riding concern for AR-10 buyers is interchangeability of magazines. Some brands of AR-10s will accept inexpensive metric FN-FAL magazines, while others will accept only purpose-built AR-10 magazines. Let me explain:

Only a few brands of AR-10s take the plentiful FN-FAL magazines. The brands that can accept FAL magazines are American Spirit, Bushmaster, and Rock River Arms (RRA) . (BTW the new RRA LAR-8 will take metric FAL mags and "inch pattern" L1A1 magazines, with the large forward locking lug.) FAL magazines are still fairly inexpensive--as little as $14 each. I recommend that you buy 25+ of them. Someday, you'll be glad that you did.

The Armalite, Knight Armament (KAC), and DPMS brand AR-10s take only purpose-made AR-10 magazines. As reader "Mr. Smith" pointed out, the KAC and DPMS can use magazines interchangeably but the Armalite lower uses a magazine that is not compatible with the other two. M14 magazines can be converted, but only to fit the Armalite AR-10.

Mr. Smith also mentioned that CMMG is about to produce AR-10 lowers that will take very inexpensive German Army surplus G3 magazines! These are compatible with DPMS upper receivers. For anyone that plans to build a new AR-10, this is the lower to use! It is noteworthy that CMMG also makes a lower that is compatible with DPMS-type AR-10 magazines.

MagPul Industries announced 7.62x51 polymer magazines for the KAC and DPMS AR-10s at the 2009 SHOT Show. Based on the track record of their polymer 5.56 magazines, these should be great. They key question is: Will they make it into production before a new Federal; ban is enacted?

The going rate for 20 round Armalite, KAC, and DPMS steel AR-10 magazines is $65 to $75 each, and climbing. That means buying 20 spare magazines will nearly double the acquisition cost of a rifle. Yikes! If you know anyone that owns those brands of AR-10, tell them to buy plenty of spare mags, soon. After the upcoming ban, they will be $200+ each. I'm not kidding.

The bottom line: In today's market, unless you are absurdly wealthy, you should buy only AR-10s that can accept standard metric FN-FAL magazines, or HK G3 magazines!

If the next few years go the way some are expecting, and the country moves in the direction of an authoritarian socialist state, the gray man will do some things his friends may not expect nor initially agree with:

The gray man will put a pro-government bumper sticker on his vehicle, in contrast with the beliefs in his heart.

The gray man will smile when the police come to his door to collect his firearms. He’ll happily hand over his registered weapons at the door and thank the officers for their work, while his cache of unregistered weapons is safely hidden away.

He’ll be first in line to receive his sub-dermal ID chip, and will smile as it is implanted. He’ll then return home and remove it himself, treat and stitch the wound himself, wear long-sleeve shirts until the wound heals, and rub the scar with oil until it disappears. He’ll carry the chip under his sleeve or inside his watch so as to blend in with society, until such time as he wishes not to be seen or tracked.

He’ll gladly take his government issued credit card, and will use it for regular purchases like groceries and gasoline. However, on the weekends he’ll leave it on his coffee table next to his ID chip, and he’ll take his silver coins and ammunition to the illegal farmer’s market for barter and open discussion.

He’ll go to the library and check out the books on the government’s suggested reading list and use them as examples to quietly teach his children what not to believe.

If one day he and his family should disappear, the authorities will check their databases. They’ll see that his car has not passed through any turnpike billing checkpoints. They’ll see that his credit card has not been used anywhere unusual. They’ll see via their satellite RFID map that all members of his family are still located in their home, and they are currently viewing government programs on their internet-television.

Days will pass, and they’ll go to his home and see that his vehicle is gone. They’ll enter and find a small pile of ID chips sitting next to a government credit card and a RFID turnpike billing pass. Next to this will be a note, thanking the officers for their good work. - E.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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,
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.

I have been shooting M1911 steel-framed Colt .45 ACPs for more than 35 years, and up until now, I've always considered myself a M1911 die-hard. But through those years, I've seen the price of Colt pistols and spare parts radically escalate. My first M1911-series pistol was a slightly-used Colt Commander that I bought in 1981 at a San Jose, California gun show, for $160. (In those days, you could pay cash for a pistol from a fellow private party, and walk out the door with it, sans any paperwork. Sadly, things have changed in California--and that was one of the main reasons that I migrated to a free state at my first opportunity.)

I have bought and traded my way through a dozen more 1911s, since the early 1980s. In the early 1990s, when stainless steel Colts became available, I sold off my blued-steel Colt pistols and bought a pair of stainless steel Gold Cup .45s, for around $350 each. I remember that The Memsahib was aghast when she heard that the price jumped to $505, just a few years later. More recently the retail price of the same pistols has galloped up to $1,116! In my estimation that is an absurd price, when you can buy a polymer-frame Springfield Armory XD .45 for around $500, or a polymer-frame Glock 21-SF .45 for around $550. (And even less, if bought used.)

The 1911 design is nearing its 100th birthday (sniff!), and although it is still a great design, I can see the wisdom of moving on to a more modern design with two-column magazine. And even though I have a lot of training hours and muscle memory invested in the M1911 platform, I consider it now well worth the time and trouble to transition to polymer. I can literally buy twice as many pistols if I sell off my Colts. I will also end up with pistols with considerably larger magazine capacity. (13+1 , versus 8+1 for the single-stack Colts.) The other advantage is durability. In so-called "torture tests", the reliability of both the XD (20,000 rounds in one test) and the Glock (still shooting after insane levels of abuse) have been well documented.

Selling off my accumulation of spare parts (nearly a tackle box full), extra magazines (about 40), and various holsters and mag pouches will be time consuming, but again, I think that I'll come out ahead.

Now that spare parts are becoming available for Springfield Armory XD .45s, I think that will be my logical choice. Speaking of XD pistols, I highly recommend that SurvivalBlog readers take advantage of the "Get a Gun" package deal at Front Sight, that was recently extended for a few more weeks. This training plus XD pistol plus field gear plus references package is a tremendous bargain. Effectively, you'll end up with a free pistol. I've had overwhelmingly positive feedback from the SurvivalBlog readers that have taken advantage of this offer. I realize that he offer sounds almost too good to be true. But it isn't a fantasy or some shyster come-on deal. It is a genuine offer, and hundreds of people have already completed the training and gone home very well trained as the proud owners of very reliable XD autopistols. (BTW, I'd like to hear from more of you. E-mail me your impressions of the training.) Don't miss out. OBTW, the winter months are the ideal time to take a course at Front Sight. In the desert climate of southern Nevada, January and February can be in the 70s. You do not want to go there in July! The Memsahib and I both took the Four Day Defensive Handgun course, and loved it. It is truly outstanding training!

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!

Mr. Rawles;

The Old Yooper's statistics on range brass may be somewhat skewed in favor of automatic pistol cartridges because revolvers do not [involuntarily] eject spent rounds. Few cops are 'gun guys' but anyone who reloads saves their brass. This is easier to do if you don't have to chase them, so a higher percentage of auto pistol cartridges are left behind. This having been said, I don't think anyone will go far wrong stockpiling 9mm, . 40 S&W, and .45 ACP--both live rounds and spent brass. The pocket pistol cartridges are less attractive to reloaders, but I would not overlook .38 Special and .357 Magnum.

JWR Adds: And some revolver calibers that are favorites of handloaders, such as .41 Magnum, probably won't be found at all, unless someone accidentally drops a piece! Nor can I imagine anyone that owns a .454 Casull or one of the new .500 S&W revolvers just walking away from their brass.

With an economic depression looming just in front of the world and post-Peak Oil price shocks on it’s heals (according to Mat Simmons peak oil is history, it happened in May 2005, check his web site out) it would be good to have something for barter better then that green toilet paper we haul around for the same purpose. I think firearms ammunition would be an ideal selection. It is relatively compact, portable and usable. But what calibers to stock pile. Up until the commodity boom hit I was buying fired brass cases by the pound from a shooting range down in Kentucky, and having them shipped up to me in Michigan. Unfortunately about 2007 scrap brass started paying better and the range then starting selling it to the Chinese, thank you free trade.

The brass was swept up off the floor of there outdoor range and put into boxes and shipped up to me. There was no sorting of anything, it’s called range brass and I got what was fired that day, both pistol and rifle. I performed a statistical analysis on the type and quantity of the different brass I received for the last three shipments in the summer of 2006, the last time I got any brass. It’s nice to know what you’re getting for your money and it’s a lot of fun to do the study, although, when I’ve told people about things like this they look at me like I was from Mars. You need to understand that this type of study is a snapshot in time of what was being shot over three different times in the summer. I have performed these studies for both years I received brass from them.

It would be a waste of resources to have something that there is little or no market for. Therefore, if you’re going to store ammunition for trade what is the most common?

The top 10 brass types were, in descending order, as follow,,
9mm Parabellum (Luger) 38.9%
40 S&W 22.3%
45 ACP (45 Auto) 18.8%
38 Special 4.6%
380 Auto 4.5%
223 Rem. (5.56x45mm) 3.8%
357 SIG 1.8% - This one may be an anomaly, it was <.1% i n the last study.
32 Auto 1.5%
357 Mag. 1.4%
44 Mag. 0.4%

The remainder of the brass total 2% for all types combined. In the study before this one, 40 S&W and 45 ACP were flipped in order, this tells me, that the 40 S&W is gaining in popularity over the 45 ACP, at least with law enforcement.

A total of 36 different cartridge types were in my 2006 summer shipments. As you can see most of the brass was for pistols. Do not be confused about the results, people go to the range too site in there rifles and stop, more or less. Also this range was very popular with law enforcement.

Conclusions:
This study should be considered valid only for the most common pistol cartridges shot. Rifle cartridges are totally another matter. However for barter purposes the top three or four are a good bet. This may seem intuitive but as an engineer I deal in factual information, not conjecture. Well, unless of course, conjecture is all I have to go on that is. If anyone has information on this subject, I would like to see it. Thank you, - The Old Yooper

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) soon after BHO comes to office, and a domestic production ban (via an act of Congress), soon after that. These bans will freeze the numbers of "grandfathered" magazines in private hands and will likely triple the market price of all magazines of 11+ round capacity.) Buy plenty of extras for barter--even for models that you don't own, but that will likely be in high demand. There may come a day when owners won't be willing part with magazines for anything but astronomical prices, but they'll probably still be willing to barter on a rational; "value for like value" basis.

Put an emphasis on gun and full capacity magazine purchases for the next three months, followed by some extensive ammunition purchases soon after the presidential inauguration.

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

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

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

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

Sir,

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

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

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

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

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

Jim,
I am a new reader of SurvivalBlog but I am already hooked. I realize that I am woefully unprepared to defend and care for my family if and when TSHTF. I live in New Jersey and commute to New York City every day, and work in finance. After 9/11, when I lost several dear friends, I took some steps to prepare for a short (several days to a week) disruption or an attack. I purchased a generator, several hundred MREs, bottled water, and iodine pills. I even applied for a firearm purchase permit but never bought a weapon.

Working in the capital markets, I have see firsthand over the last few month show how close we have come to a complete breakdown in the monetary and payments system. As a person who is generally a free market advocate and non-interventionist it troubles me deeply that the government has had to step in to try and salvage the banking system. However, I can say that in the days before some of these programs were announced, we were probably much closer than people think to a severe systemic financial collapse. I saw firsthand the panic and fear that prevailed on Wall Street in those few days, and it was real.

Hopefully we will be able to pull out of this current crisis. But in the spirit of preparing for the worst, I realize that I have much to do in order to get ready for TEOTWAWKI. So I do have a few questions that I hope you can answer. While I am sure some of these have been answered for previous newbies, I would greatly appreciate your opinion and advice.

What is your suggestion for a retreat location for someone living in New Jersey? I have read your "Recommended Retreat Areas" section and it looks like most of us east of the Mississippi are in some trouble. However, I am tied to my current location in terms of my employment and extended family. I am relatively blessed in terms of financial resources, so it is potentially feasible for me to purchase an out of state second home to use as a retreat. I do worry about access in a SHTF scenario. Highways potentially clogged, gas in short supply, etc. Is a 2-to-3 day drive by car or longer escape location feasible? There are relatively rural areas within 2-5 hours by car that we could choose, but none approach the remoteness most on this site seem to favor.

This also seems to be a common question but what about firearms? New Jersey is quite restrictive. The permit I got after 9/11 expired so I recently reapplied and should get my new permit in a couple months. I am not a complete neophyte but pretty close. I have hunted a few times with friends and have done some target practice at the pistol range. I know I need training. I also fear that the new administration may impose even more restrictive legislation limiting access to firearms so I want to move relatively quickly in assembling what I need. Here is what I am thinking:

handgun: there is no concealed carry in New Jersey so for home defense I am thinking something on the larger side, maybe a S&W Night Guard in .357 Magnum? Or does an autoloader with a higher capacity (maximum 15 round magazines in New Jersey) make sense? Maybe the SIG P220 in .45 ACP?

.22 rifle Suggestions? Id like something I can also teach my son on (he is 7) in a few years. What do you think of the US Survival .22LR? How big should I go? I don't think I'm going to need something for very big game but who knows. Is a .308 sufficient or should I look for something heavier like a .338 Lapua or a .30-06? Should I also have a tactical rifle? Remember that New Jersey has a pretty broad definition of "assault rifles" that are banned.
Shotguns: Likely would like to have at least one "riotgun" type and at least one for hunting. Suggestions?

Ammunition: How much is enough?I have seen that Cabela's sells reloaded/remanufactured rounds in bulk. Are these a good deal or are factory rounds superior to the point that the bulk reloads should not be considered?

Training: I am planning on taking several of the NRA courses that are available in my area for each of the weapons types I purchase. I have read the glowing reports on Front Sight and will try that as well if I can get the time. Any other suggestions?

I know I have a lot to learn in many areas such as food gathering/storage and basic survival. I have learned a lot from you already. I appreciate all you do on this blog, Jim. You provide a great service.
God Bless. - S. in New Jersey

JWR Replies: You are in a difficult locale, but I quite regularly get similar questions from consulting clients in Washington DC, Baltimore, and New York City.
I recommend that if you can afford it, that you buy a rural retreat, and stock it very well. If you prefer a warmer climate, then I recommend eastern Tennessee. If you don't mind cold and snow, then consider the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Pre-position 90% of of your tools and logistics at your retreat. If you are worried about burglary, then rent a commercial storage space that is near your retreat.

As I've mentioned in blog many times, I recommend that you keep always enough gas in cans on hand for one trip "Outta Dodge"--to get you to your retreat. (This ties in with the need to pre-position nearly everything at your retreat.)

In answer to your question on handguns: In New Jersey, your best bet is probably either a Springfield Armory XD in .45 ACP or perhaps a Glock Model 21 ( also .45 ACP.) BTW, you should take advantage of Front Sight's Gun & Gear & Training offer--that includes essentially free XD pistol. BTW, low cost firearms training is also available from the RWVA in the east and the WRSA in the west.

In answer to your other questions:

>.22 rifle Suggestions? I'd like something I can also teach my son on (he is 7) in a few years. What do you think of the US Survival .22LR?

The US Survival .22 LR--like all of it predecessors including the original Armalite AR-7--has a tendency to jam. It also has a fairly rudimentary peep sight that in my opinion has an overly-large rear aperture. I recommend that you instead buy a Rogue Rifle Company Chipmunk .22 single shot rifle for your son. Depending on his maturity, you can probably start training him with it under very close supervision at age 7. (The Chipmunk is a tiny rifle. It is made to the minimum dimensions allowable under Federal law.) For the rest of the family, buy a stainless steel All-Weather Ruger 10/22. Once your son is about 10 years old, you can buy a spare stock for the Ruger and saw off about two inches from the butt to provide a shorter length of pull, for transitional training. Slightly used "takeoff" standard birch wood stocks are readily available for under $15 each, since Ruger .22 rifles are often used as gun rebuild platforms, typically using fancy laminate target stocks.

> How big should I go?...

The .308 Winchester will suffice for everything two-legged or four-legged in North America with the exception of grizzly bears and moose.

> Should I also have a tactical rifle?...

Keep an inexpensive .308 bolt action in New Jersey and .308 battle rifle (as well all your magazines over 15 round capacity) in a wall cache at your retreat in a free state. As previously noted in SurvivalBlog I generally recommend the FAL, L1A1, HK91, AR-10 or M1A. And, FWIW, up until a week ago, I would have also recommended waiting for the about-to-be-released Kel-Tec RFB .308 or the Rock River Arms (RRA) LAR-8 .308 Caliber, in Mid-Length. However, in today's market, beggars can't be choosers. Buy whatever .308 battle rifle you can find, but be sure to line up at least eight spare magazines first. (You don't want to be stick with a rifle with one magazine!)

> Shotguns: Likely would like to have at least one "riotgun" type and at least one for hunting. Suggestions?

Buy a Remington 870 Express 12 gauge Combo set. (These come with both a bird barrel and riotgun barrel. It takes less than two minutes to switch barrels. BTW, Mossberg also produces a quite similar "Combo" set, that is very reasonably priced. The only drawback is that the Mossberg 500 Combo's bright blued steel is more prone to rust than the phosphate finish on the Remington Express models.

> Ammunition: How much is enough?

"Enough" is a subjective term, depending on the depth and duration of the situation that you anticipate, how much bartering you plan to do, and how much trouble you expect to encounter. (In an urban or suburban area, you might have to fire hundreds of warning shots to repel looters. But here at the ranch, we are in the process of filling at least five deer and elk tags this season, but we'll likely fire less than 10 cartridges.) If anything, err on the side of larger quantities. Any ammo that excess to your needs will be worth its weight in gold for barter and charity.

>...I have seen that Cabela's sells reloaded/remanufactured rounds in bulk. Are these a good deal or are factory rounds superior to the point that the bulk reloads should not be considered?

Bulk reloads are fine for target shooting but only can be depended on for self defense shooting situations if they come from a reputable maker, such as Black Hills Ammunition.

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

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

Cooking
Cast Iron Cookware

Firearms
FN PS 90

10 PS 90 magazines

5.7 handgun

10 FN 5.7 handgun magazines

5.7 ammo

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

Body armor: Nick at BulletProofME.com

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

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

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

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

Regards, - SF in Hawaii

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

Regarding my recommendation to stock up on full capacity magazines, reader David B. noted this in an e-mail yesterday morning: "[The discount mail order dealer] Cheaper Than Dirt [is] already gouging us based on our fear of Obama being elected. Overnight, their price for Mag-Pul [brand AR-15/M16] magazines went from $15.97 each to $29.97 each. Wow. They just lost my business forever." David's note intrigued, me, so I just spent some time at the Cheaper Than Dirt (CTD) web site and compared their new prices with their latest hard copy catalog (dated November, 2008). Here is a brief sampling:

Glock Model 20, 21, 22, 31, and 32 full capacity factory magazines were all $19.97. Now some are $29.97 and others $39.97 Ouch!

Glock 33 rd. 9mm magazines were $44.97. Now $49.97 (Note: I bought a pile of these for $26 each, about a year ago, and I'm glad that I did!)

Ruger factory 20 rd. Mini-14 magazines were $59.97. Now $69.97

Beta CMAG 100 rd. double snail drum for Mini-14 were $299.97. Now $399.97

LR .308 19 Round Blued Steel mags made by DPMS (for their flavor of AR-10 rifles) were $39.97. Now $49.97 (But out of stock)

M14 and M1A .308 20 Round Parkerized "Military Style" [commercial copy] were $11.97. Now $29.97 (But out of stock)

AR-15 .223 30 Round, Bushmaster factory mags were $29.97. Now $49.97

FN P90/PS90 5.7x28mm 50 rd. magazines dropped from $69.97 to $59.81 (At least a some good news!)

All in all, I have doubts that the aforementioned price increases were all triggered by CTD's suppliers. But I wouldn't go so far as to call the increases "gouging". Pricing is a function of supply and demand. In a free market, prices eventually reach equilibrium. And I'm sure that the current demand is skyrocketing. I certainly know that my personal demand is! For example, I just placed a "top off the inventory" order with one of my favorite suppliers, CDNN Sports. I was pleased to see that as of yesterday, none of their prices had increased. I did notice however, that they are now sold out of many magazines, including quite a few SIG, HK, and Springfield Armory XD pistol magazines. My advice: Stock up now, while magazines are still available at fairly reasonable prices. I anticipate that there will be some significant shortages for the next few months. But after BHO's inauguration in early 2009 all bets are off. If, (as I've predicted), an executive order banning importation of so-called "assault weapons" and "high capacity" magazines is enacted, there could be some huge price increases!

One of my long-standing Precepts is that every prepared individual should be ready for both barter and dispensing charity. Today, I'll be briefly discussing barter. Being ready to barter is not just a matter of having a pile of "stuff" to barter. While barter and charity logistics are important, what is even more important is what is between your ears.

A Bazaar Experience

Bartering takes practice. Dickering is an acquired skill. Short of buying yourself a plane ticket to Marrakech, I suggest that you start attending gun shows, garage sales, and flea markets. Learn how to haggle.

One of my long standing Rawlesian Precepts is having the skills and material acquired to conduct barter in a post-collapse society. Much has been written about what goods to keep on hand for bartering. But precious little has been discussed in survivalist literature on the skills required to barter effectively, and how to protect yourself from fraud.

I recommend that you practice bartering on a very small scale at first, to sharpen your eye for value and your ability to dicker in a manner that will result in a fair trade. (Mutually agreeable and mutually beneficial.) The occasional transaction where you end up slighted is hardly cause for concern. But unless you develop the proper bartering skills, you'll end up on the weaker side of bargains again and again, and thus fritter away your tangible working capital. The attributes that will put you in a superior bartering position include specific knowledge about what is being traded, knowledge about who's sitting on the the other side of the table, and good old-fashioned "horse trading sense".

Knowledge and References
The more you know about the goods being exchanged the better you'll be able to dicker. Armed with this knowledge, you'll be able to honestly, yet persuasively talk up the virtues of your own goods, while politely talking down the defects of your trading partner's goods. Hence, the the greater your technical knowledge of the goods, the better. Take the time to study and develop an 'appraiser's eye' for the condition of used merchandise, the relative value of goods from one maker versus another, and knowledge of the overall market . With that knowledge you can articulate the scarcity of any particular item in your barter stock. (After all, as with any other free market transaction, the key factor in determining value is the supply-demand ratio.) If you are trading for a collectible item then knowing how scarce they are can put you at a tremendous advantage in negotiation. It is important to gather as many references as possible about the items that you plan to barter. Francis Bacon said it best: "Knowledge is power." You need to authoritatively know which maker, model, variation, grade, year of production, etc. to look for. Product expertise helps makes you a savvy buyer or seller. There are dozens of references on specific types of tool, guns, and collectibles that are valuable to keep on hand. For example, two of the most important ones that I 've found for firearms are: "The Blue Book of Gun Values" and "Flayderman's Guide to Antique Firearms and Their Values."

Similarly, knowing exactly how to properly gauge the condition of a used item is quite important. For example, with firearms, the percentage of original bluing remaining, cracks or wear to a gun's stock, bore condition, chamber condition, bolt face erosion, action tightness, headspace, and so forth all make a huge difference in the value of a used gun.

Detailed knowledge is also crucial when determining the value of a rare coin. (For most of us, that knowledge is too specialized. It can take many years to develop coin grading skills, so a novice can get in over his head very easily. The difference between an MS-66 coin and an MS-68 coin is very subtle, yet that difference can mean thousands of dollars difference in a coin's price. I therefore recommend that novices only trade professionally graded coins that have been graded and sealed (or "slabbed") by either PCGS or NGC. A coin dealer Blue Sheet is a crucial reference for measuring the current value of coins with particular mint marks and dates, in any given grade on the Sheldon Scale. Even having an out-of-date Blue Sheet is better than nothing, since it will show relative values of coins, which change fairly gradually. Again, this is not for a novice, or part-time dabbler. (FWIW, even though I have been buying rare coins for more than 20 years, I still consider myself effectively a "novice" level since I don't ge frequent coin grading practice. Hence, I only buy slabs. ("A man has got to know his limitations.")

Tools

To be ready to barter with bullion gold cons or scrap gold it is important to have a touchstone, an acid test kit, test needles, a very accurate scale, and a set of Fisch coin authenticity dimensional gauges.

When bartering for canned goods it's important to have a Julian Calendar (since some packers use Julian dates) and a hard copy of this chart showing how to decipher date of pack codes from various canners and packers.

For liquid fuel it's important to know if the fuel has been contaminated or adulterated. (Coincidentally, one of our newest advertisers, UR-2B-Prepared.com sells water test strips.

For batteries, it's important to have a voltmeter. (For the greatest versatility, buy a Volt-Ohm meter with test probes on leads, rather than a typical tray-type home battery tester. )

For examining the the fine details of just about anything--such reading hallmarks--a jeweler's loupe (magnifying glass) is a must.

For evaluating firearms, as a minimum buy a 6 foot tape measure and a fiber optic bore inspection light.

Dickering Tactics
Above and beyond getting technical knowledge is the hard to quantify "people skill" of dickering. Dickering skills can take years to develop. Part of this is learning how to "read" the face and body language of the gent on the other side of the table. How anxious is he to unload something that he has, or to acquire something that you have? How quick they are to make or accept an offer is a key indicator. And if there is a savvy trader sizing you up, you have to learn to keep a "poker face", not revealing how excited you are to see a particular item being offered.

Take your time in carefully examining any item offered to you. This accomplishes two things. Firstly, it gives you the opportunity to spot any flaws, defects or signs of wear on the item being offered. Secondly, the more time that you spend examining the item will lead the seller to subconsciously start to doubt the value of what he is offering. If you're in a flea market or gun show situation once you have an item in your hands you are essentially free to examine it without fear of someone else buying it. Take your time!

If you make an offer for an item, and it is rejected or the counter offer made is ridiculously low than the very best thing you can do is put the item back down on the table. This psychologically distances you from the item, and again, makes the seller begin to doubt it's value. In the dickering process one of the most valuable phrases that you can use is "Is that the best you can do?" If the seller won't budge, and you are close to an acceptable price, the next best thing to do is to offer to sweeten the deal with additional goods offered on your side of the bargain. If you still can't reach an agreement it probably wouldn't hurt to subtly talk down the value of what's being offered to you, and talk up the value of what you are offering. "This is a mighty fine widget it's too bad about this crack and this wear... If it weren't for that, I think your asking price would be fair."

The next most valuable thing you can learn to say is to say nothing. After making an offer and receiving a counter offer, silently start counting to twenty. There is something about a long pause that causes all but the most stalwart dickerer to want to fill that silence And nine times out of ten, they will fill that silence with another offer, usually one that is more agreeable.

As a last resort, if you are still at an impasse in reaching an mutually-agreeable trade, your tool of last resort is to thank the seller and start to walk away from the table. This will be your final gauge of just how anxious the seller is to move his merchandise. If you hear "Wait, wait, wait, come back here...", then you know that the seller still has room to negotiate on price or quantities. Keep in mind however, that this is a dangerous tactic. Once you walk away from a table without he seller voicing objection, but return later, you have subconsciously boxed yourself into the previously-offered price. If you come back later for the same item, the seller will know that you are anxious to purchase it, and did not find a better deal for a comparable item elsewhere, so they'll probably hold to the same price.

When selling, keep in mind that you can negotiate downwards, but not upwards. Always make your initial asking price somewhat higher than what you really want out of it. Some people will not agree to even a good deal, unless they can extract at least one price concession from you. So, set a fairly high price, and then negotiate downward.

If your counterpart brings an item to offer to you, but that item is of no interest to you, always thank him for his time: 'Thanks, but I'm not interested in that right now. Do you have any X available?", describing what you are looking for in trade. Remember, a sales venue is an opportunity to gather information about other items a seller may have available, but may not physically have with them. It may not hurt to make arrangements to see them at the next event, reminding them to bring those items so you can make a deal next time.

Image

When going to attend a flea market, gun show, or horse trading session, it is important to "dress down". If you wear a fancy Rolex watch, or fancy designer clothes, consciously or unconsciously your counterpart will size you up as being made of money. So dress very casually, including your shoes. Leave your jewelry, pens, and nice watch at home. Wear your cheap plastic-cased digital watch for these excursions.

You also need to learn to be observant about your counterpart. Is he a collector, that happens to sell on the side, or is he a journeyman salesman, who makes a livelihood at the business. Is he retiring and selling off inventory? Is he someone selling merchandise on behalf of a friend or relative? The bottom line is: just how anxious is your counterpart in making a deal?

Timing and Rapport

When approaching a vendors booth or table for the first time it is important to first wait until the vendor has finished dealing with any previous customers. Don't interrupt a man when he's making a deal! Smile and make eye contact, and if appropriate for the venue, introduce yourself and shake hands. If you are a fellow vendor, it's important to wear your badge, or otherwise make it known that you also have a table or booth. This lets the seller know that he is talking to a wholesale rather than retail customer. This can make a tremendous difference when negotiating price. Even if the vendor appears to have a pile of worthless junk on his table (with perhaps a few nice items of interest) make a point of expressing your admiration for his merchandise. Say something like "You've got a real nice inventory here" or "I can see that you have good taste in widgets". This is an important step in developing rapport with you counterpart. While it doesn't hurt to point out a defect on an individual item while negotiating for it, do not "run down" the quality or condition of everything that you see. Doing so could skunk the entire deal-making process. OBTW, don't be shy about pointing out defects in your own merchandise. "Oh, in case didn't noticed, there is one dent here..." That lets your customer know that you are reputable.

Another key aspect of understanding buying and selling psychology is the "stage of the game". At the beginning of a show or sale most journeymen sellers arrive inventory rich, and cash poor. Near the end of the show, they will likely have more cash (or precious metals) on hand and then will be in a better position to make offers. Although some of the best items may have already been sold, one of the best times to make a purchase or trade is near the end of a show, when some sellers have had a "slow show" At flea markets and gun show wait until just before the vendor's "tear down" and pack-up time begins. Depending on their situation they might feel desperate to make a good sale or a couple of good swaps so that they can feel that they've made the show worthwhile. So, if you saw an item earlier in the show, and could not negotiate an agreeable price, wait for the end of the sales event. This, BTW, is particularly valuable tactic if the item in question is particularly bulky or heavy. It is the unspoken goal of every seller to "go home light".

If you encounter a seller that has the sort of merchandise that you think would be of future interest, then it's important to get that seller's particulars so that you can contact him later. Take copious notes. The same applies when you encounter a seller that has a particularly valuable area of expertise or a rare stock of items--especially spare parts. These are people well worth "networking" with.

Never Trade Hard for Soft
When negotiating a trade, keep in mind the absolutely fundamental rule: "never trade hard for soft". This means, if what you are offering in a trade is a compact, valuable, durable, tangible item, that is in short supply, or highly valued, the don't make the mistake of trading it away for items that are less durable or desirable. Otherwise, at the end of the day, your counterpart will be going home with the better goods than you. The only exception to this rule would be if your counterpart is willing to trade a much greater quantity of his items and that you know that you have a ready market for them. A corollary to this rule is, that it is better to trade your bulky for his compact. (Or as one aging gun show vendor I met in put it, "Don't never trade away handguns for rifles or shotguns." That is simple yet sage advice.) This is particularly important in venues where space is at a premium, and you are paying for the use of that space.

In closing, barter takes time to learn. Invest that time. Also invest in the proper references. Lastly, invest in a stock of top quality barter goods that you predict will be sought-after in a post collapse world. With the right goods and the requisite knowledge, you and your family will never starve.

Mr. Rawles:
To suppress or not to suppress: there is no question. (A hat tip to The Bard.) Many in the preparedness community are apprehensive about the acquisition of ["Class 3"] National Firearms Act (NFA) items. [These include machineguns, short-barreled rifles (SBRs), short-barreled shotguns (SBSs), and sound suppressors. There is a background check, fingerprinting, paperwork required, and a $200 tax per transfer.]

There are reams of writings about "remaining under the radar". I do not share those misgivings. Neither do tens of thousands of other legitimate gun owners. A caveat: under no circumstances should anyone build/construct/ any NFA style weapon or device. The penalties, legal and hazard to shooters are not worth the effort. If you want the right to inventory said items and you live in a state which prohibits the same, then move. Follow the legal steps required to obtain them. Sleep better. Enjoy!

First a few facts.
There are the following weapons, devices, the predominant number in civilian hands. The information is derived from Small Arms Review magazine, May 2008. Some of the numbers are civilian police, manufacturers and private security agencies. Again, the overwhelming number is in civilian hands. A grand display of this fact is the Knob Creek shoot and the hundreds (thousands?) of auto weapons matches all over the nation.

National statistics. (from the BATFE) 158,671 suppressors. 36,536 short barreled rifles. 97,903 short barreled shotguns. 49,052 AOW (Any other weapons). 400,739 automatic weapons. Remarkable. Again, most of these are in private collections.

There has been only one prosecution of a licensed owned or a Class 3 for misuse since the 1934 act that established the NFA regimen. A police officer used a department registered sub-gun to kill his wife. There exists no other case law according to a close friend who defends many gun related cases. There are no statistics on destructive devices (DDs) .

My home state. 2,427 suppressors. 485 short barreled rifles. 1,038 short barreled shotguns. 691 AOWs, and 5,489 automatic weapons.

My first acquisition of NFA interest was in the late 1970s. It has continued ever since.
Another fact. Any small arm up to the .50 BMG can be suppressed, including shotguns. Except revolvers. I refer to Small Arms Review again. In my opinion the best monthly reference on small arms within most budgets.

There are number of auto weapons in my inventory. My passion is suppression. This post will concern suppressors otherwise known as "cans".
My first acquisition was an Ingram gun in .45 ACP. Cost? $150 [, in the late 1970s.]. They are now listing near $3,500. (Investment is a great excuse for acquisition) A MAC-10 without a can is a contradiction. I acquired a RPB can with plastic wipes. Replaced the wipes (they add noise and add inaccuracy) with a convex muzzle wipe. There are 10,000 rounds through that combo, without a malfunction. Ken Hacakthorn, in the 1980s said that this combo is "good for a gunfight in a phone booth". I find it good to 25 yards or less. Hmmmmm....Would you prefer a slab side [M1911] with 8-to-10 rounds or the MAC combo with 30 rounds?

Next came the SSG in .308. I sent off to Ciener for a can. Mine was the first suppressed [Steyr] SSG 69 in the nation. Reduces report to a dull thud when heard downrange. Adds accuracy as almost all muzzle cans do. If you acquire such, match projectile to twist. Use full power loads, ball or whatever. Most subsonic ammo uses 200 grain projectiles. In the usual 1/10 twist .30 caliber weapons this could result in a baffle strike (internal) and ruin the can or the weapon. Same goes for light projectiles. Match projo with twist. Enjoy.

Then a Ciener can for the .223 788 Remington. Death to varmints. In the ensuing years there has been added; a Ciener Ruger MKI with integral suppression. Also a Johns Guns 10/22, again integral.

A note on integral suppression. All integrally suppressed cans are meant to be shot with high velocity ammunition. These manufacturers port (drill holes) in the barrel close to the chamber. Usually the barrels are shortened in handguns. It is critical to use the right ammunition. Do not use the Mexican Aguila .22 60 grain ammo. Remember, match twist with projectiles! Baffle strikes [very bad things] are most common in .22 rimfires. The suppression quality is astonishing in .22s. Some makers build their products to be easy to self maintain/clean. Ciener did not. Johns guns and others do. Inquire before purchase.

For quiet elimination of pests I have a Ruger 77/22 with a can from Gary's Guns Inc. of Waukesha, Wisconsin. Cheap and effective. There is also a Marlin .17HMR with a Gemtech can. I spoke with Dr. Phil Dater about this one. He enjoyed prairie dogging so much with his .17 he had to invent a can for idid.

Other cans are Gemtech on an M16. There are significant reports of serious hearing damage to troops in Iraq due to shooting inside buildings or vehicles. Cans prevent this. The downside, cans superheat in full auto fire and are best employed in semi-auto. Cans also blowback lots of fouling due to their gas entrapment. Malfunctions increase with the use of cans on auto weapons. Its a tradeoff most preppers could accept. I do.
The M92 Beretta, the Walther.22, the Marlin Camp Carbines in .45 ACP and 9mm, and other do nicely with cans.
Ciener made a nice can for one of the bolt guns.from Old State Arms Company (They make .50 caliber rifles)
There is also a Gemtech can which I can transfer between either of my two Bushmaster .308s.

There are a total of 17 cans in my inventory. I have also fired cans on the HK MP5 (integral), The MK2 STEN (integral) Both ran well. (I am a certified instructor with HK).
Needless to say further acquisitions are planned.

Preferences. Many states, mine own included, have no law or administrative code on using cans for hunting. Be sure to check your state laws and fish & game regulations!
I prefer muzzle cans with the Gemtech Bi-lock mounting systems. Threaded muzzle cans should come with a thread protector when the can is dismounted. My MK1 Ruger from Ciener had to be disassembled after 5,000 rounds or so. I had to take it to a gunsmith to dismount due to sealants which Superglued the assembly shut.The lesson here: If you require repairs/maintenance that you cannot do yourself, Make sure that your repair point is in possession of the proper Federal License. Ordinary gunsmithies cannot take in such work. you hand over a NFA weapon or device for repair, and you are not present [in the shop from beginning to end] for said work, then that is an illegal transfer. Illegal. 'Nuff said?
There is a plethora of can makers in the market. I have cans from Ciener (no longer manufacturing cans) Gemtech is among the best. RPG is defunct. AWC makes good stuff, as does Special Ops Shop and others.

Cans are cheap. Most running $200-to-$900 depending on integral (you pay for the gun too)...Bi-locks and muzzle boosters add to costs.

Wet versus dry cans. I have hundreds of rounds through "wet" cans. Some require filling with water. Others require grease packing. Water (wet) cans require refilling to maintain efficacy. A pain in the gunfight. I have one grease pack can. Effective on the Marlin Camp Carbine. Leaves a smoke signature after rapid fire, which is not good. Without a booster, it causes malfunctions on the Glock 21.
Lesson, stick to dry cans.

Cost to register [each item in the U.S.]? $200. - Mr. X

Jim
Like you, I'm constantly trying to find out what the best knives are. There are so many, at so many different prices, that it is easy to get sidetracked.
With the articles my friend Phil Elmore and I write at The Martialist, we have gone through hundreds of knives over the years. Some great, some are not so spectacular.
Let me tell you about the ones I have grown fond of. Not all of them are cheap, but many are.

1. CRKT Grant Hawk D.O.G. [deadbolt over grabstep] Lock. Its an open body, easily sharpened folder with a strong lock that is almost impossible to defeat. CRKT no longer makes them, but the D.O.G. lock is available on eBay all the time. Easy to clean if you use it to dress a game animal as well.

2. Spyderco Para Military. A shortened, easier to handle version of the large Military, I know of several soldiers, hunters and first responders who carry these in their go bags.

3. CRKT M-21 Carbon fiber special forces. I chose it because I think the tanto blade, which is used in the M-16 series, is really only useful for cutting someone out of a wreck, a crashed plane, or fighting with a goblin who is wearing body armor.

4.Spyderco waved Endura. If you can get it in VG-10 steel, the Endura is a top flight choice. The wave feature was designed by Ernie Emerson and first came out in their Emerson Commander. The wave makes it a simple matter to open the knife one handed.

5.If one looks hard enough, it's easy to find a used Spyderco Chinook II folder on eBay. Designed by James Keating, that knife is robust enough to field dress an Elk, help cut up wood for campfires and yes, even use in self defense against an attacker if you get caught away from your handgun or shotgun.

What about fixed blades?
I like my Fallkniven F-1 fixed blade. Its designed right, with respect to the designs of Loveless, and is useful as a pilot's knife. I know of at least one army pilot in Iraq who has one strapped to his web gear every day as he goes out in his Blackhawk helicopter. Mine has been used to field dress three deer, a friend borrowed it to cut up a black bear with, and I've carried it during every camping trip for three years.
At this point, mine is in the go bag in the back seat of my Ford Explorer, along with camping gear, several loaded glock mags and numerous shotgun shells.
The great thing is, any of these knives can be found for less than a hundred dollar bill. - Lawrence K.

Mr. Rawles:
I'm a survivalist newbie. I'm thinking about purchasing a gun. I don't know anything about guns, but I have had a negative opinion about them for a long time. But [now] I'm thinking I might need to get one. What would you recommend for a total novice who would prefer to not have to own more than one?

JWR Replies: Owning one gun is like owning one carpenter's tool, and expecting it to handle all of your construction and repair needs. What single tool would you choose? A hammer, a pair of pliers, a saw, or a screwdriver? That may be oversimplifying, but I'm sure that you get my point.

I suppose that some could get by with two guns, namely: one shotgun (for both big game and bird hunting and self defense) and a .22 rimfire rifle (for small game hunting). But you'd still lack having a compact gun for concealment, and you'd also lack a long range rifle to defend yourself or hunt at long distance. (Shotguns don't "reach" beyond about 80 yards, even with slug shells.)

To start off let me say I'm in no way affiliated Advantage Arms or Glock. I don't get paid to advertise or test their products and I definitely don't get paid to write reviews.

I took the Glock out today with the Advantage Arms conversion kit installed. I wasn't exactly skeptical of the kit after reading about it online but I was expecting to have some sort of break in period. I opened the kit up and out fell an orange piece of paper that instructed me to put some oil on the parts in the picture. I grabbed the oil they shipped with the kit, put the drops on the slide where they wanted me to and rubbed the oil with my finger to spread it around some.

I took a piece of standard 8.5"x11" sheet of printer paper and hung it up. Next I paced off 10 meters and turned to fire. The magazine seated perfectly just like my original Glock magazines. I chambered the first round took aim and pulled the trigger. Bang! Nice, I thought. There was almost no recoil and the gun hit pretty close to where I was aiming. I went ahead and fired a few more at a slow and controlled speed then I just let the last six or so speed their way to the target as fast as I could reasonably regain my sight picture. At the end of those 10, I went up to the piece of paper and measured the spread of hits and they all fell within a three inch circle, save one. (Though I think that one was me getting a little trigger happy.)

I finished the day by placing 10 to 20 targets out and running training drills to help with quicker target acquisition and movement. I fired in the neighborhood of 120 rounds (give or take five rounds) and never had a jam or malfunction of any kind.

It wasn't an intense break-in but I was impressed at the quality, feel and accuracy of the kit.

If Advantage Arms wouldn't have stamped their name on the slide you wouldn't even know it was a company other than Glock that created the kit. With the market for these kits (I waited eight weeks while they caught up on back orders) I'm surprised Glock hasn't jumped on this boat and started creating their own.

I'm not a professional instructor but I think the advantages to this kit are obvious. While I'm not shooting my standard caliber with its standard recoil I'm getting much more training time in and it's much cheaper. I can practice every drill and training exercise I know for five times as long thanks to the cost savings. If you are worried about the recoil and muscle memory issues you can always finish your shooting day with your original caliber by removing the kit (as simple as field stripping the Glock) and putting your original hardware back in place.- Everyday Prepper

JWR Adds: Advantage Arms also makes .22 LR conversion kits for Model 1911 pistols, with an equally good reputation. Both of these conversion kits are available via mail order to US customers with no FFL paperwork, since they do not include a pistol frame.

Mr. Rawles,

Thanks for all of the informative posts at SurvivalBlog. Based on your recommendations, I've put together the following list of firearms (all I currently own is a 38 year old .22 rifle):

• Springfield XD .45 ACP ($568) -- for concealed carry, self defense
• Mossberg Model 500 Special Purpose Mariner 12 gauge Shotgun 9 Shot ($423) -- for home defense, hunting
• Remington Model 700 Varmint Tactical Rifle .308 Winchester, 22 in with Muzzle Brake, Bolt Action ($643) -- for hunting, possible tactical/precision use in TEOTWAWKI scenarios
• Rock River Arms LAR-8 .308 Caliber Standard A2/A4 Rifle ($1,170) -- for tactical use in TEOTWAWKI scenarios

I wanted to only have to stock one rifle ammo so I tried to choose a hunting/precision rifle and an AR rifle that could use the same cartridges.

What is your assessment of the selections I made? I would really appreciate any suggestions before I make the purchases.
I never served in the military and have no experience with hunting rifles or ARs, so after I make the purchases I plan to get some training from a good local instructor. However, I wanted to get trained on my own firearms so I can become familiar with them.
So, I need advice about the following related items so that I make wise purchases that all work well together since this is an area in which I have no experience:

1. Sight recommendations for both rifles (I live on 10+ heavily-wooded acres in the Virginia Blue Ridge mountains)
2. Recommendations for LAR-8 magazines (exactly what to buy, recommended web sites)
3. Ammo sources/recommendations. I was considering .308 Win (7.62x51mm) 145 grain Prvi Partizan .
I wanted to lay in a large stock of ammo that I could use in either of the two rifles and didn't know if this was a good selection or not. I don't want to buy good guns and bad ammo. I need recommendations and sources that a newbie can follow without getting ripped off.
4. Ammo recommendations for the handgun and shotgun. There are so many choices, it's hard to decide. (manufacturer, cartridge and shell recommendations)
5. I would also appreciate a concise list of minimum spare parts / accessories I should consider for the firearms I purchase and supplier recommendations.

Thanks again for all of your help.- ALG

JWR Replies: That would make an excellent, quite versatile battery.

IMO, the Remington 700 is a bit over-priced, compared to the Savage Model 10 series, which is functionally identical (every bit as accurate), and costs about $250 less.
Since you live in a heavily-wooded area, you probably won't need a long-range rifle, but it might come in handy. Consider it your lowest priority purchase.

In answer to your questions:
1.Since you are in heavily-wooded country, leave the LAR-8 set up with iron sights. A scope on a battle rifle only makes sense in open country. However, you might want to get a low-power starlight scope for night security. I recommend the Trijicon 3-9x40mm Trophy Point scope for your bolt action. With a tritium-lit reticle, it will give you better night shooting capability than a traditional scope. Trijicon scopes are available from CGW one of our loyal advertisers.)

2. Buy either standard military surplus 20 round metric FN-FAL magazines, or inch pattern L1A1 magazines. The Israeli metric magazines were made on Belgian (FN) tooling and are some of the best metric magazines. You can get these from several vendors including WhatACountry.com. Inch magazines are more scarce, but they are a bit more sturdy than the metric magazines. If you can find them for under $16 each, then buy inch (L1A1) magazines. Otherwise buy metric. (Which can be had for as little as $8 each, in quantity.) You can often find inch magazines on The FAL Files Marketplace Forum, or on Buddy's Board.

3. The Prvi ammo has had mixed reviews, possibly because of un-even quality control, so I don't recommend it. A good factory load that can be used in both your rifles is the ubiquitous white box Winchester "USA" 150 grain full metal jacket 7.62mm NATO. (Although it won't have quite the peak accuracy of 168 grain match grade, in your bolt action. But that isn't a big issue unless you are shooting more than 400 yards.)

For all of your ammo purchases, shop around for the best prices. It is best to buy each caliber all at once, so that the ammo will come from the same manufacturer's lot. (for consistent accuracy.) For recommendations on discount ammo vendors, see this SurvivalBlog post. Once you've identified the best prices by mail order,do some comparison pricing at a major gun show. Bring cash so that you don't leave a paper trail.

4. For the XD-45: Federal HydraShok .45 ACP, 230 grain
For the riotgun: Winchester or Remington #4 Buckshot 12 gauge, and a much smaller supply of 12 gauge Brenneke Rifled Slugs

5. A spare firing pin, extractor, and ejector for each gun is a good starting point. OBTW, if your Mossberg comes with a plastic safety switch, then upgrade it to a sturdier aftermarket steel switch.

For a source for spare parts for Springfield Armory XD pistols, see this SurvivalBlog post.

Buy the LAR-8 parts directly from Rock River Arms.
For the LAR-8 rifle, in addition to the aforementioned spare firing pin, extractor, and ejector, you should also buy:
1- firing pin retaining pin
1- extractor retaining pin
1- ejector retaining pin
1- buffer retaining pin
1 pr.- handguards (the most fragile part of the rifle, in my experience)

To get your XD .45 pistol free with some top-notch training, highly I recommend that you take advantage of Front Sight's "Get a Gun" training and gear package offer. It is worth flying across the country to take Front Sight's Four Day Defensive Handgun course. The Memsahib and I have both taken it, and it outstanding.

Hello Jim,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

As prices increase, many shooters are looking for ways to take the bite out of their shooting budget. Here are ten tips to help:
Take the bite out of your shooting budget:

If you are like most, you did not buy nearly enough ammo over the past few years. Most of us told ourselves that our budgets just couldn’t be stretched any farther. So our ammunition reserves either dwindled or stayed static despite knowing that prices were rising. Boy are we sorry now! Anyone who was not paying attention had a severe dose of sticker shock when hunting season arrived, and it is just getting worse. This is not an “I told you so” piece despite my advice to stock up on ammo in articles from late 2006 and early 2007. This is a warning about what is coming next and what you can do about it. It is too late to buy cheap ammo. You will never see brass cased, Boxer-primed 308 of good quality for under $200 per thousand again. You will never again see even steel cased 7.62x39 to feed your $99 SKS for $99 per thousand. You will never again see 9mm Luger (Parabellum) for $12 per 100. Not only has the price of factory loaded ammunition soared, the price of reloading components have begun to climb as well. What can you do? Here are 10 steps you can take to offset some of the financial bite in your shooting budget.

#1) Shop wisely - use the Internet and toll free phone numbers to research current prices and comparison shop. Information is power; use it to your advantage. Some sites raise prices more slowly than others. Some include shipping in their prices. Be sure that you are matching apples to apples when comparing prices and factor every penny including shipping and sales taxes when you are making mail order purchases.

#2) Watch for retail bargains at local stores. If your local gun shop or back country general store has an odd box of cartridges or shotgun shells with a five year old price sticker on it. Buy it. The price of ammo has literally doubled in the last five years. Even those last few dusty corners will be cleaned out soon. If you can take advantage of a ‘first in last out’ inventory system, do it before someone else does. Every once in awhile the larger stores like Dick’s and Wal-Mart will run ammunition sales with discounts on case quantities that still seem reasonable. If you see a good sale, stock up! [JWR Adds: Also look for ammo that might still be available pre-inflated prices at on table of private sellers at gun shows. When you do find a bargain, be sure to ask "Do you have any more of this elsewhere?" Look for ammo at garage sales, and estate sales. It might even be worthwhile to place a "want to buy" ad if there are free or low-cost classified ads in your area.]

#3) Roll your own. Reloading has long been a means of saving a few dollars as well as improving the quality of loads tweaked for your rifle. Despite the recent increase in the cost of reloading components, you will still pay less for ammo you load yourself than for off the shelf factory loaded ammunition. The price of reloading components and equipment have begun to climb as the cost for materials and interest in reloading have increased. The prices will climb higher. So now is the time to buy. If you shoot on a regular basis, your savings from reloaded ammo quickly offset the investment in reloading equipment. This is especially true if you pick up a used press. Classified ads and estate sales are the places for buying reloading equipment. A good quality press like the RCBS Rockchucker can frequently be found for less than 50% of the retail price for a new press and will have several decades of hard use left in it. I recommend that you start watching for used reloading gear.

#4) Buy used. Not only can firearms and reloading tools be found at bargain prices, many an old hunter was an avid reloader who left behind a bench full of components when he met the Lord. I’ll happily pay for partial boxes of projectiles, primers, or powder (in the original containers) and make use of those components building my own loads. If you happen to run across full or even partial boxes of factory loaded ammunition at gun shows, garage sales, or auctions you may be able to get it at a fraction of the retail cost as well. But use caution. Never, ever shoot reloaded ammunition of unknown quality. You are literally gambling your life if you shoot someone else’s reloads. There are very few people who I trust my life to. I am just not willing to pull a trigger on a cartridge that might be unsafely loaded.

#5) Stock up! It is too late to get the bargains that were available a few years ago. But it is not too late to stock up before further price increases, taxes, tariffs, and out right import bans. Despite the current market price: buy primers, projectiles, and powder while it is still legal and anonymous to do so. A day is coming when you will need a permit to buy powder. I think it will be within our lifetime. Buy 22 rim-fire cartridges. You can’t reload them, so stock up on them for you and for the next generation. It is prudent to stock up on anything that you use regularly, even without waiting for a sale discount. With inflation at over 10%, “investing” in assets like food and ammo has a better return than the stock market. Plan ahead. Don’t buy just for this weekend or this season. That is the thinking that got you wishing that you had more ammo on hand. Prices are going to continue to climb. Buying in bulk now will generate savings over the long term.

#6) Make your shots count. "Spray and pray" is neither tactically nor economically sound. Make your plinking sessions count. Aim every shot carefully. When testing new reloading recipes, test small batches for signs of pressure and accuracy. Try three or five round test batches instead of ten or twenty round batches. The same is true for sighting in a new scope or a new rifle. Check the target every second shot instead of after each full magazine.

#7) Retool. If your chief reason to plink is for backyard entertainment, consider swapping out of centerfire ammunition to 22 rimfire or even a low cost pellet rifle. Another option is the kits that convert your rifle or pistol to fire 22 cartridges. Shooting a more economical cartridge may pay for the cost of a [.22 LR] conversion kit or a new 22 rifle in as little as a single weekend’s shooting. By way of example, if you shoot 500 cartridges of 22 long rifle (at three cents each) over the course of a weekend instead of 500 cartridges of 308 (at 53 cents each). You save a whopping $250! Just let that sink in for a moment. Plinking with a 22 instead of a 308 saves two hundred fifty dollars every 500 trigger pulls. Wow! That adds up fast and the savings won’t stop with the first $250. It will continue for every similar shooting session you have in the future.

#8) Make use of your skills. Let your investment in shooting sports generate savings in other budgets. Put meat on the table. Moose, elk, mule deer, white tail, pronghorn, turkey, geese, hares, rabbits, pheasant, duck, partridge, squirrel – all are tasty and every bite on your plate saves money out of your grocery budget – especially if you learn to dress and butcher the game yourself. Besides the financial savings, you’ll have a sense of pride like little else when you know that the freezer is full and you have all the jerky you can eat because your hunts have been successful.

#9) Waste not. With scrap metal selling at or near the all time high, don’t waste the byproducts of your range time. Even if you do not reload your cartridge cases or shell hulls, someone else might be willing to pay for the chance to reload them or as salvage. Keep this in mind when you shoot Berdan primed brass. I have been unable to locate a current US retailer of Berdan primers, but that may change in the future. Even steel and aluminum cartridge cases have value as scrap and of course the lead itself can be reclaimed to smelt and mold into new musket balls, bullets, and shot, as well as being sold as scrap metal. It may seem like more work than it is worth, but remember that the prices are climbing and the sand bank behind your favorite target may already hold several hundred pounds of lead.

#10) Fight back. Be vigilant. Be proactive. Vote against new tariffs, taxes, and bans. Vote against candidates who restrict your freedoms, raise license fees, and create access permits or talk about doing so in the future. Encourage and educate not only your friends, co-workers, and neighbors, but also the next generation so that they will do the same. We may not be able to stop the global forces aligned against our shooting sports but if we work together, we might just slow them down long enough to preserve the sport and keep it affordable for one more generation. - Mr. Yankee

Jim,
I saw the article that mentioned Reloading for autoloading rifles, and some comments that seemed to not completely answer questions people may have.

It is important to note that reloading any caliber is a delicate undertaking for any gun you are about to trust your life with. The use of case gauges is an important one, but for the part-time reloader they are an expensive investment (~$30-50 each!). A much easier method is to test the cartridge in the firearm, to accomplish this, if you are working on either a progressive or single stage press, reload a few rounds as dummies. This means no powder, no primer, just case and bullet, and test them in the gun for fit and feed. Do not test fit live ammunition unless you are in a place where a discharge is allowed. (For most of us [that live inside city limits] this means a firing range). Numerous negligent discharges have resulted from people not following proper safety precautions, and even if you do this is never a guarantee that a mechanical problem won't develop causing an accidental discharge.

If you have issues with reloading bottle-neck rifle cartridges, a likely fix is to use small base dies, these will size the brass down to a smaller size, and will size more of the case than a standard full-length sizer. However, the added working of the brass will result in earlier failure of the brass.

When it comes to [reloading] dies, I recommend against buying those made by Lee Precision, I have had far too many cases that were mangled, scratched, or had other defects resulting from the poor quality of Lee [brand] dies. One thing to be especially careful of when using Lee dies is the decapping pin will sometimes stick in the flash-hole, if you are working on automated loading equipment this will likely detonate the [fresh] primer when you go to seat it. (Most other manufacturers have switched to a headed [de-capping] pin, making this an extremely rare problem.). RCBS, Redding, and Lyman all make very good and sturdy dies from hardened tool steel, Dillon offers tungsten-carbide sizing dies for bottle neck rifle cartridges, if you have money to spend, the Dillon dies
will likely outlast your grandchildren, provided they have an adequate supply of decapping pins (RCBS, Lyman, and a few others offer free replacement parts, Dillon believes these to be a consumable item, and charges for them).

Regarding the differences between Military and Commercial cartridge specifications

You are absolutely correct, 5.56 and .223 have the same external case dimensions, but for the most part the similarities stop there. 5.56 has a SAAMI maximum working-pressure of 55,000 PSI, where as the .223 [Remington] maxes out at 50,000. If a 5.56 round is fired in a .223 firearm, then pressures are likely to be extreme, another key difference is the 5.56 chamber and throat dimensions are different, the engraving force will be reduced, and there is the potential for some gas leakage to the rear, a cumulative effect of this will be lower over-all pressures.

However, with .308 [Winchester] and 7.62mm NATO [the specification difference] is slightly the other way, but for different reasons. The .308 and 7.62mm NATO rounds are functionally identical, while there was some disagreement about the chamber pressures generated by some commercial ammo (SAAMI maximum some say is 62,000 PSI) and some military ammo (maximum pressure at 50,000), there seems to be a larger issue with the military chamber being longer, and thus being harder on the brass. If you are reloading, you can account for these differences with your selection of load and powder. That is one of the true advantages of reloading your own ammunition.

In all likelihood, anyone using a good quality military semi-auto in 7.62mm NATO isn't going to notice any difficulty using commercial .308 ammo. But keep it in mind if you ever do encounter problems.

I hope all is well Jim, glad to see you are getting some more public exposure. It seems that the population at large is waking up, I had a co-worker hand me your book "Patriots" the other day. I giggled a bit to myself and told him I already had the book. Even my mom started asking me questions about the SurvivalBlog site, after hearing about it on the news. Lets hope all the people who are waking up to the unpleasantness we are all facing are able to head it off and clean up this mess before a lot of people have to get hurt. Sincerely, - Drew

JWR Adds: Part of the problem in discussions regarding commercial versus military cartridge specifications is that some of the specs are written in terms of pounds per square inch (PSI), while others are written using Copper Units of Pressure (C.U.P.) They are not the same scales!

James,

You might want to mention that reloading for semi-auto rifles requires an extra measure of care. After sizing, cases should be checked with a Wilson or Dillon case gauge to make sure they are
are sized correctly. Maximum overall case and cartridge lengths have to be adhered to

[Clint McKee,] the owner of Fulton Armory is very "down" on reloading for semi-auto battle rifles, and I believe most of the [bolt out of fully-locked position] Kabooms with AR-15 type rifles have occurred with reloaded ammo. While one should be very careful when reloading ammunition of any type, one must be very, very careful when reloading ammo for semi-auto rifles.
Thx, - "Walter Mitty"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Supplies Needed for 1,000 Rounds by Caliber:

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

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

Thankfully, the Federal ban on 11+ round firearms magazines "sunsetted" in September of 2004. But sadly some bans are still in effect at the state and local level. Most notably, these laws are still on the books:

No pistol or SMG magazines with a capacity over 10 rounds in Hawaii. (High capacity magazines that only fit rifles are allowed. (For example, since there are AR-15 pistols, AR-15 magazines are banned.)
No magazines with a capacity over 10 rounds in California, District of Columbia, Massachusetts, and New York. (See State Penal Code 265.23 for details. To the best of my knowledge, 11+ round magazines that were made before 9/94 can be legally purchased by residents of New York.)
No magazines with a capacity over 12 rounds in Chicago, Illinois
No magazines with a capacity over 15 rounds in New Jersey; South Bend, Indiana, or Aurora; Illinois
No magazines with a capacity over 20 rounds in Maryland, Wichita, Kansas, or the City & County of Denver Colorado

In recent months, I've noticed several ads on the Internet for full capacity (11+ round) magazines with the statement "Available in Kit Form for residents of New York and California." One of these advertisements was for Polymer AR-15 PMAGs, which didn't go into production for the civilian market until late 2004! Obviously, customers risk getting into trouble if they buy complete parts sets for magazines that were not made before September of 1994.

Private possession of "high capacity" magazines made after September of 1994 is a felony in New York. Similarly, in California, possession of "high capacity" magazines that were not owned by an individual on or before December 31, 1999 is a felony. (And, since the now-defunct Federal ban of 1994 to 2004 was in effect at the time that this law was enacted, that would also effectively mean that Californians would own only pre-9/1994 magazines.) So what these sellers are offering buyers in those states is the chance to get a felony conviction which would mean losing their right to vote and their right to own a gun for the rest of their lives. I strongly recommend that readers that live in states or cities with restrictions resist the temptation to skirt the law by buying magazine parts "kits". A felony conviction is always a life-changing event.

In such cases, the burden of proof is on the prosecuting attorney, and there is of course a presumption of innocence. Unless there is a post-1994 sales "paper trail", or unless they have post-9/1994 date markings, any magazines of the types made before 9/94 will surely be presumed to be pre-ban. But it would be very easy for a prosecution team to prove that PMAGs didn't start to be available on the civilian market until late 2004.

OBTW, I should mention that similar laws are in effect in other countries. For example:

In Canada: No semi-automatic rifle magazines (except rimfire) with a capacity over 5 rounds, and no pistol magazines with a capacity over 10 rounds. (There are exemptions for members of competitive shooting teams.)
In New Zealand: No centerfire magazines with a capacity over 7 rounds, and no rimfire magazines with a capacity over 15 rounds. (There are exemptions for some licensed "certificate" holders.)

Disclaimer: The aforementioned laws are not all-inclusive lists. Nothing in this post or any of my other posts represent legal advice. Research your state and local laws, and consult a qualified attorney that lives in your jurisdiction.

One closing thought for SurvivalBlog readers that live where these idiotic laws exist: Vote with your feet!

Jim,
There is a fairly heated discussion going on at the FALFiles Forums about how useful a shotgun is in a Schumer Hits The Fan (SHTF) situation. I was curious, what exactly is your take on the issue?

Personally, I do not feel a shotgun can effectively replace a rifle, however, it still proves an effective tool when the extreme-close situation arises.
I suppose one can distill this argument down to only "defensive purpose" shotguns such as those built for tactical situations (3" chambers and open/cylinder choke), those you aptly refer to as "riotguns". While the effectiveness of a shotgun for hunting small game is readily apparent, where exactly would a defensive shotgun come into play using either various types of buckshot or slugs?
In what circumstances would a shotgun be a superior choice to a battle or assault rifle? Examples?

I, as well as many, value your opinion on the matter. Best Regards, -- Kyrottimus

JWR Replies: While semi-auto battle rifles are more practical for most defensive shooting (most notably because of their capability at both short and long range), riot shotguns can definitely be effective at short range. In the dense North Woods, there is seldom any shooting beyond 50 yards, so they are adequate there. (Riotguns can be effective to 40 yards with buckshot and 90+ yards with slugs.) I also generally recommend riotguns for urbanites that live in cities or states with harsh restrictions on semi-auto rifles. In a city (again, range limited, by terrain) a repeating riotgun is generally more useful than a bolt action rifle, so if those are your only options, then go for a shotgun. But with all that said, assuming that you don't live in a liberal fantasyland like New Jersey, if you only have the money to buy one rifle (and the requisite training)., or one shotgun (and the requisite training), then buy a semi-auto battle rifle!

With the addition of a spare "bird" barrel, shotguns can also be useful for foraging, since they are the only effective means of wingshooting. (And the only legal method, in many countries.)

Also, police have found that shotguns firing slugs can be more effective and safer than a rifle, in the specialized task of removing a door from its hinges. Speaking of which, building "entry" is incredibly dangerous, and frankly I can't foresee the need of the average prepper to ever do so. But you never know. There was that one chapter of "Patriots"...

A couple of provisos:

Despite popular misconceptions popularized by Hollywood, shotguns must be aimed, much like a rifle. The bead sights that are installed on most shotgun barrels are insufficient. I recommend either buying a replacement barrel with rifle sights, or having these sights retrofitted.

Be sure to do some pattern tests at various distances with your shotgun, using full-power buckshot loads. (I generally prefer #4 buckshot--not to be confused with the much smaller and and much more common #4 birdshot, which is a standard load for duck hunting.) Even if you have a shotgun with a wide open "Cylinder bore" (no choke), you may be surprised how tightly it shoots, especially inside of 10 yards. Again, you can't just vaguely point, you have to aim. If you plan to shoot slugs, again do some tests and zero your gun's iron sights.

OBTW, I highly recommend the Four Day Tactical Shotgun course taught by Front Sight. This course builds skills, builds confidence, and dispels a lot of myths.

Front Sight has been a SurvivalBlog advertiser for nearly as long as I have been writing the blog. The Memsahib and I have both attended four-day courses at Front Sight, and we can attest that the training there is absolutely top notch. We were both very impressed with the world class quality of the instruction and the quiet professionalism of the instructors. The Front Sight experience is hard to put into words. You really need to experience it for yourself.

To be prepared for the potentially dark days ahead, I highly recommend that at least one member of your family attend Front Sight, and then come home and cross-train the rest of the family. Owning a gun doesn't make you "shooter" any more than owning a surf board makes your a "surfer". Training is crucial. When the Schumer hits the fan, you need to be confident and competent with firearms. That only comes with proper training and regular practice. The bottom line: Get the best training available. And that is exactly what you will receive at Front Sight.

You might have noticed that there are now two ads for Front Sight in our scrolling ads. The new ad is for their very generous "Get a Gun" training and gear package offer. This is their biggest promotion ever, and it includes so much free gear that you would be crazy to to not take advantage of it. This offer includes all of the following:

Four Day Defensive Handgun Course ($2,000 Value),
30 State (One Day) CCW course ($500 Value),
Seven Dry Practice Manuals ($280 Value),
Limited Edition Stainless Steel Folding Knife with Front Sight Logo ($300 Value),
Front Sight Armorer's Bench Mat ($40 Value),
Front Sight "Any Gun Will Do-- If You Will Do!" Shirt ($30 Value),
Front Sight logo hat ($20 Value),
Front Sight Instructor Belt, Holster, Mag Pouch, Flashlight Pouch and Flashlight ($230 Value),

and, your choice of a brand new in-the-box, Springfield Armory XD Pistol in 9mm, or .40 S&W or .45 ACP (a $600 value.) Needless to say, I suggest getting the .45 ACP variant.

I highly recommend Front Sight's training. Again, it is truly world class. Their new "Get a Gun" offer is an amazing 4-to-1 "exchange in abundance." If up 'til now you've been hesitating about taking a course at Front Sight, then by all means quit hesitating, and take advantage of this offer. It is a genuine bargain!

OBTW, if you have any questions about this offer, feel free to e-mail me. If I can't answer one of your questions, then I will get a answer from Front Sight.

Dear Jim,
Regarding East Tennessee Hillbilly's otherwise excellent summary of reloading: In the back of the Arsenal of Democracy I keep a case of each caliber I shoot. The 7.5 Swiss cartridge has a wider case, thicker base and thicker rim than .308. I don't believe it's possible to fabricate 7.5 Swiss cartridges from .308. - Michael Z. Williamson

JWR Replies: I have read that .284 Winchester brass can be re-formed to 7.5 Swiss without much difficultly. The same thread mentions that Graf & Sons sells virgin Boxer-primed 7.5 Swiss brass that they had made up with their own head stamp.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jim,
You mentioned the following in your List of Lists:
"WTSHTF, ammo will be worth nearly its weight in silver. Store all of your ammo in military surplus ammo cans (with seals that are still soft) and it will store for decades. Stick to common calibers, get plenty of .22 LR (most high velocity hollow points)."

High velocity .22 rimfire can be heard from a long way off. Would human predators stalk you and close in for the kill? Think stealth after the SHTF. Here are some figures:

High velocity 22 40 grain @ 1,250 fps (hypersonic) = 136 foot pounds of energy

CCI 22 CB Long 29 grain @ 720 fps= 33 foot pounds of energy

Aguila SSS 60 grain @ 950 = 120 foot pounds of energy

Remington subsonic 38 grain @ 1,000 = 95 foot pounds of energy

Please take the time to read Tossing "Rocks" - Shooting Subsonic .22s, -- a comparison of four subsonic 22 rounds.

JWR Replies: There is some value in buying subsonic ammo, for stealthy pest and small game shooting. If that is your goal, then buy the Aguila SSS Subsonic. These are like CB caps on steroids. They are very quiet. A quantity of 500 to 1,000 rounds should suffice. Subsonic "target" ammo is made in small quantities, so it can literally be twice to six times as expensive as the mass-produced high velocity .22 rimfire varieties. The Aguila SSS, currently sells for $4.49 for a box of 50, even from a discount mail order dealer like Midway! (Expect even higher prices in retail gun shops.)

For barter purposes, (your largest stockpile), buy high velocity, factory name brand (Winchester or Remington) hollow points. In actuality, standard 40 grain round nose has almost identical terminal effects as a hollow point. (The hollow nose looks great for marketing purposes, but at typical rimfire velocities, it doesn't case significantly increased expansion.) But since the majority of your barter customers will not be ballistics experts, they will assume that hollow points are somehow "better" and hence they will likely be willing to allow more in trade for them.

If you are going to store both subsonic and hypersonic rimfire ammo for your own use, then do some extensive testing with each of your .22 pistols and rifles. Accuracy can vary substantially, so match your rifles to their most accurate cartridges. The point of impact ("bullet drop") will also vary considerably when switching ammo, necessitating re-zeroing. If you have numerous .22s rifles, then you might consider making one of them with a scope your "dedicated" platform for shooting subsonic ammo. Zero it in carefully for use with one particular type of ammunition, and mark the rifle accordingly . (For example, an adhesive sticker on the scope marked "Zeroed for PMC Moderator Subsonic.")

Consider this: If you are in a situation where bad guys head toward the sound of gunfire, then you had better have something a lot more powerful than a .22 rimfire rifle in your hands when they arrive.

In an absolute worst case scenario, where you don't want to attract any attention, pest or small game shooting with a high-power .22 or .25 caliber air rifle is both quieter and less expensive than shooting with subsonic .22 rimfire ammunition. For survival shooting, I prefer manually pimped models, rather than CO2-powered. If money is no object, then get something like a Beeman R1 .22 Double Gold or perhaps even a Weihrauch HW 100S. These are available from Pyramid Air (one of our affiliate advertisers), and several other Internet vendors. Compared to the cost of shooting expensive subsonic ammunition like Aguila SSS, even an expensive air rifle will pay for itself after shooting just a few thousand rounds. If you are on a budget, then Get a Gamo Big Cat, or Gamo Carbine Sport. Both of those use .22 pellets. For a medium budget, a Walther Falcon Hunter (either .22 or .25 caliber, around $270) is a good choice.

The other advantage of air rifles is that you can legally conduct target practice inside city limits,