Day: June 26, 2006

Note From JWR:

The high bid in the SurvivalBlog benefit auction (for a fully stocked M-17 Advanced Medical Bag/Rucksack) is at $255. Special thanks to the fine folks at Ready Made Resources, who kindly donated the kit. Please submit your bids via e-mail. This auction ends on the last day of June. Today we present another article for Round 5 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The writer of the best non-fiction article will win a valuable four day “gray” transferable Front Sight course certificate. If you want a chance to win, start writing and e-mail us your article soon. Round 5 ends …


A Survival Retreat for Under $1,000, By Wolverine

Call it a survival retreat, hunting cabin, or summer cottage, a place away from the crowds and turmoil of the cities is a dream most of us share. Some folks plan out a survival retreat in such detail that long-term storage, over lapping fields of fire, and fuel supplies are worked out. Others, like myself, approach it as a vacation spot that can be readily converted if need be to an alternate living location. Back in the late 1960s my family had a small two-room cottage on a lake in northern Michigan. The cottage had no electricity, no running water, …


Two Letters Re: Shocking Facts About Wolves, by Steven UP

James: Steven UP’s article is self serving. He writes to stir up hysteria and emotions. Much of his “thesis” is pure bunk, conjecture, speculation. I am a former resident of the Upper Peninsula. I was born and raised there and lived in the U.P. for the first 40+ years of my life. While I live in nearby Wisconsin currently, I still regularly visit family and am currently looking for property in the U.P. for my retirement place. I resent this article by someone who has only been in the U.P. less than 15 years. He is writing to try to …


Letter Re: .50 BMG Rifles

Hello Jim, After much research and test shooting several of the available conversions out there I finally decided upon the ALS [AR-15 lower] conversion. Darren Wardle in Oregon hand builds them in his factory on CNC [Computerized Numerical Control] equipment and test fires each upper for accuracy before shipping. Darren is a world class record holder in the FCSA and his work is first class. His price is very reasonable but the wait is [currently] almost a year. Worth it, in my opinion. – D.C.


Two Letters Re: The Current Ammo Shortage and Galloping Prices

Jim: Perhaps it’s a regional thing, but there seems to be an ammunition shortage in the United States. Here in NY, 7.62×39 has doubled in price in the past year. It is to $200 per 1,000 when you can find it. At last weekend’s gun show only two of the 40 tables were selling 7.62×39 and one of those vendors only had 500 rds. The bad news is thus that it is too late to stock up on cheap 7.62×39. The good news is that your investment in ammo [already] on hand has doubled in value. 308[Winchester] is still available …


Odds ‘n Sods:

David in Israel Recommends: An excellent idea is to buy several dozen “button compasses” and scatter them in the pockets of your gear. That way you will never be without a compass.    o o o Wow! Our global hit map (from ClustrMaps) is showing even better distribution this month. OBTW, I heard from Jake Stafford that the new “big box” preparedness course is selling well to readers in Europe and Australia. I’m glad to see that SurvivalBlog is so popular around the world.    o o o The BBC reports: A shooting war with Iran could triple the market …