Letter Re: Retreat Locale Recommendations in Texas

Dear Mr. Rawles, In answer to your query, let me share a few observations: 1. Gillespie and Kerr Counties are a paradise. The Guadalupe is a good river, and there is a lot of fertile and secluded canyon-bottom where folk can live their lives in peace. Those secluded canyons are frequently bordered by godless rocky outcrops. The other good thing about that part of the world is that the Germans that populate the area don’t tolerate lawlessness. Period. Fredericksburg in Gillespie is so German that municipal politics is still Protestant-Catholic. Kerville is little different. New Braunfels is similar, but is …




Letter Re: Recommended Pre-1899 Action for a Custom Bolt Action Rifle Project

Sir:: I am looking for a non-FFL Mauser type action in 8mm for conversion to .444 Marlin. I desire [something] similar to 1888 Commission rifle or compatible [as a source] for a complete bolt and receiver. I would consider complete rifle, if shootable. Money is no object, if is the object spelled cheap. I am direct and on fixed income yet desire to do this project. – Pete JWR Replies: For building a pre-1899 bolt action chambered in .444 Marlin your best starting point (read: strong, yet, inexpensive) is a Model 1893 Oberndorf (Turkish contract) Mauser. The same action is …




Odds ‘n Sods:

“No sheep in the house!” In recent weeks we have been pasturing our small flock of Jacob sheep inside the fenced acre right near our house, to work the grass down. (The goal has been to minimize wiildfire danger.) While here at the house, the sheep have been getting into a little mischief. Yesterday our ram developed a taste for the leaves on our grape vines. So I’ll have to put up a small protective fence. They’ve also decided that our front porch is the safest place to sleep. So every morning we get to sweep the “Rasinets” off the …










Letter Re: Clarification on Calcium Hypochlorite for Water Purification

Hello James, In reading your post on Tuesday May 16th on Water Purification, I have done some looking into this important topic. The link you provided from the EPA web site states below verbatim: “Granular Calcium Hypochlorite. Add and dissolve one heaping teaspoon of high-test granular calcium hypochlorite (approximately 1/4 ounce) for each two gallons of water. The mixture will produce a stock chlorine solution of approximately 500 mg/L, since the calcium hypochlorite has an available chlorine equal to 70 percent of its weight. To disinfect water, add the chlorine solution in the ratio of one part of chlorine solution …




Letter Re: Packing Priority and Vehicle Signs to Facilitate G.O.O.D.

I have read your blog as well as your book “Patriots” for a long time now, along with other web sites and articles. I find great information, some of which I must print out and save. I started an accordion folder with printouts, sorted by type, such as…food, shelter, skills, firepower, etc. Can’t leave these on a computer since retrieval without electricity would be impossible. I believe the more probable catastrophe will be an economic one, possibly related to terrorist activities and have planned accordingly. I have my small retreat, eight acres in the North Georgia mountains, four acres in …




Odds ‘n Sods:

I recently heard the following sad tale from a reader: “My retreat property in Oregon burned to the ground last year. I had a friend call and tell me he saw [footage of] my chimney on Fox News. Fortunately, I didn’t have much [stored] in the house, and my four forty-foot (CONEX) storage trailers came throughout without a scratch, praise God. Regarding our planned rebuilding, we anticipate purchasing a manufactured house, which has concrete board siding and a fiberglass composition tile roof, which is fairly fireproof, but not able to stop anything with any velocity. We anticipate going underground for …







Note From JWR:

The bidding in the the SurvivalBlog benefit auction for a copy “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, ($149 retail) is currently bid at just $20. The course was donated by Jake Stafford of Arbogast Publishing. Please submit your bids via e-mail. This auction ends on September 15th




Letter Re: Camouflaged Swiss Bunkers

Dear Mr. Rawles, Regarding your mention of Swiss mountain bunkers on August 1st, you might be interested to know that the Swiss photographer Christian Schwager published a book on camouflaged Swiss bunkers, and also had several exhibits including one in Zurich at the Swiss Museum of Design (Museum fuer Gestaltung). A lot of bunkers were nearer to the northern borders, so there was also a lot of urban camouflage. Since the bunker designs were [tailored] due to individual units, there is a lot of variation and a range of folk artistry (so to speak). Some photos were of high valleys …




Letter Re: Recommendations on Solar Battery Chargers?

Jim, Could you maybe put the word out as to where to find a good reasonably priced solar panel for charging Ni-MH batteries? Thanks. – Gung Ho JWR Replies: I recommend Ready Made Resources for solar battery chargers, although there are several other Internet vendors that sell comparable products. But I can vouch for RMR’s reliability and customer service. If you are on a budget RMR’s compact Universal Solar Charger at under $28 is the way to go. But this model charges just two batteries at a time. If you have a bigger budget, any of the Global Solar brand …




Letter Re: U.S. Military Surplus Backpack VHF Transceivers

Jim and Memsahib: I talked with a fellow on 6 meters FM yesterday. He is a military radio collector. I wish that you could have heard this conversation. He collects everything, and has about every military radio. He said that he stopped buying more a few years ago because the prices got too high. After 9-11 prices skyrocketed. He also said the AN/PRC-77 is one of the radios to stay away from. The blow out their finals too easily. The older AN/PRC-25 is much better. Also that the new AN/PRC-168 are superior [in reliability to the AN/PRC-77.] Also, he said …




Odds ‘n Sods:

The White House warns: a weak strain of Asian Avian Flu may already be in the U.S.    o o o SurvivalBlog reader MP dropped me a line and mentioned that Orson Scott Card, the author of the military sci-fi classic “Ender’s Game,” has posted the first five chapters for his newest book, “Empire.” From the description on Card’s web page: “The American Empire has grown too fast, and the fault lines at home are stressed to the breaking point. The war of words between Right and Left has collapsed into a shooting war, though most people just want to …