Day: December 5, 2006

Note From JWR:

We had elk and tomato sauce with our spaghetti dinner last night. Yum! We all love the taste of “elkison” here at the Rawles Ranch. There is no shortage of elk in this region. Speaking of which, the elk have recently come down out of The Unnamed Range of Mountains (TUROM) to winter in our valley. In hard winters–as it appears this one will be–we dispense a bit of charity in the form of salt blocks, C-O-B sweet feed mix, and hay to the local deer and elk. We also sometimes see wild turkeys, bear, and moose here at the …


Letter Re: Safe to Shoot 7.62mm NATO Ball in a .308 Winchester Civilian Sporting Rifle?

Hey Jim, My father recently gave me a Winchester Model 88 [civilian lever action sporting rifle] chambered in .308 [Winchester]. I’ve acquired a few rounds of 7.62×51 ball from a separate source. Can I use that ammo in the rifle? I’ve Googled to no avail. Can you help? Thanks, – d’Heat JWR Replies: The short answer to your question is: Yes. From a precise technical standpoint, they are not identical cartridges. Military 7.62mm NATO is almost dimensionally identical, but actually a hair longer than the SAAMI dimensional specs for .308 Winchester. Military 150 grain full metal jacket (“ball”) loads have …


Letter Re: Tool Chest Needs of the Survivalist

As a survivalist, you need a complete set of tools to keep your stuff running. As this could include cars, trucks, tractors, motorcycles, ATVs, bicycles, snowmobiles, little red wagons, etc. You might think that is already a fair number of different types of tools required. But what about other things you might need tools for? Some examples: Weapons – tools used by a gunsmith or armorer are rather specialized. General – Hammers are a common, but what about sledge hammers? What about post-hole diggers? Axes? Hatchets? Roofing hammers? Crow-bars? Saws? Levels? Mattocks? etc., etc., etc. Plumbing – Requires some specialized …


Silver–I Really, Really Told You So!

I noticed that the spot market price of silver closed at over $14 per ounce yesterday. Back when silver was around $7 an ounce I told you that silver was likely to double, and now, just 17 months later, it has indeed. I also predicted that silver would out-perform gold. I was right about that, too. As I’ve stated before, I think that we are in the opening phase of a multi-year bull market for precious metals, and a bear market for the dollar. I hope that you folks took my advice and bought some silver. Back on August 6, …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader H.V. suggested this article: Zimbabwe Finance Minister promises to slash inflation by two-thirds. What a vast improvement! If he manages to accomplish this, then the inflation rate would only be around 400%, annually. Please pray that Comrade Mugabe and his henchmen leave Zimbabwe soon and that they are replaced with a legitimate, competent government. o o o Fred The Valmet-meister mentioned that he was experimenting with his Civil Defense surplus Geiger counter and was shocked at the high readings from his lantern mantles. “With Coleman [mantles], I got 800 – 1000 millirad. I also have a set of Primus …