Year: 2006

Letter Re: Field Gear for Kids

Dear Jim, Our family camps quite a bit for re-enactments, so the kids are used to fairly rough conditions. They have appropriate gear for most eras from Viking to US Civil War. However, my daughter went on her first Brownie campout this weekend. She has sleeping bag, backpack (which was a full load for her at 20 lbs), spare clothes, first aid kit, Surefire and pocket light, walkie talkies and teddy bear. She also always insists on taking a couple of bottles of water. (She selected all this stuff. I’m very proud of my 8 year old.) It would be …


Odds ‘n Sods:

One of my recent web searches turned up this interesting site: Owl’s Nest Plantation–a supplier of herbs and spices, in bulk quantities.   o o o Administration Iraq Study Group considers a partitioned Iraq. Don’t they remember what happened when Pakistan was partitioned from India?   o o o Reader D.W. sent us a link regarding the collapse of the Amaranth Advisors derivatives trading firm: A $6 billion gamble gone bad. Here is a quote from the article: “The hedge fund Amaranth Advisors, which is preparing to shut down after losing more than $6 billion because of bad energy trades, …



Note from JWR:

Today we welcome our newest advertiser: Inirgee, a low voltage lighting mail order firm in Goodlettsville, Tennessee. You may wonder what 12 VDC Christmas lights have to do with survival. But think this through: Using part or all of a string of LED lights is ideal for survival lighting with a minimal power source. Just one small photovoltaic panel and a pair of 6 VDC golf cart (deep cycle) batteries can provide you with lighting, communications gear, a police scanner, and a small battery charging tray. This sort of setup is ideal for either someone that is on a tight …


Letter Re: Advice on Ammunition and Precious Metals for Barter?

Mr. Rawles, I recently read your post about your attending a coin show in California. What are your recommendations for getting started in collecting a few gold coins in case the monetary system collapses (I don’t have the foggiest idea how to begin)? How much should I purchase, what types, and in what quantities? I assume that having a couple extra cases of shotgun shells and a few boxes of .22 [rimfire] rounds will also go a long way in a barter environment (not to mention a water filter or two.) Any advice or direction that you can share would …


The Ultralight Bug-Out Bag, by Hawaiian K.

Editor’s Note: The following article presents a distinctly different approach to packs than that recently recommended by FDG in his two part article. While FDG recommended a lightweight approach, “Hawaiian K.” recommends and “ultralight” approach. Both approaches have their merits. What you select may depend on the severity /duration of your anticipated scenario(s) as well as the distance to your intended retreat or back-up retreat. Another variable is your fitness/health in general, and the condition of your back in particular. As they say in the car commercials: “Your mileage my vary.” (YMMV.) One of the most common topics of conversation …


Letter Re: Prospects for the UK after TEOTWAWKI

Jim, “PJ”s letter concerning rising crime in the UK seems to pin it directly on the poor, the Traveller Community and immigrants. The “Traveller Community” for example, isn’t just made up of “gypsies”, many white, middle class kids are joining it because they regard life in the UK as becoming increasingly twisted due to misplaced priorities (which is hard to argue with). By the way, I just read today that ethnic “gypsies” have asked for recognition of their own holocaust during WWII, something that is conveniently forgotten by people like PJ who need to have a foreign scapegoat to blame …


Odds ‘n Sods:

A nightmare for the intel analysts in Z Division: A defiant North Korea conducts a nuclear bomb test   o o o North Korea’s bomb ‘would kill 200,000’   o o o The folks at The Pre-1899 Specialist told us that their recently acquired batch of 8 x 57 pre-1899 Turkish contract Oberndorf Mauser rifles is going fast. This is by far the nicest batch of Turks that they’ve ever had. Since they were all made between 1894 and 1896, they are Federally exempt “antiques” –which means no paperwork required for delivery to most of the 50 States. (They come …



Letter Re: Prospects for the UK after TEOTWAWKI

Jim The Times Online article that you cited regarding the Woman victimised by yobs highlights a very real danger that will present itself when the normal order of things breaks down. The UK has a massive underclass of welfare dependant, socially excluded individuals who live in inner city areas. It is by no means a problem exclusive to the inner Cities. There are council sink estates in most parts of the UK. Many of these individuals are the result of multi generation benefit dependency. They are often poorly educated and lacking any real prospect of meaningful employment. In addition there …


Letter Re: Long Term Underground Storage of Guns

What do you consider “long-term? If it’s anything over a year and you expect to store the guns in a damp climate, you will have to protect them from more than just ordinary conditions. Way back in 1999, when everybody was worrying about Y2K I conducted an experiment in gun storage. First, I bought a four-foot long piece of 6” dia. ABS pipe. I know, most people think PVC is best, but I’ve seen too many pieces of PVC that have cracked when hit or bent over a piece of rock. ABS is much more flexible and resistant to such …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Getting America Really Ready.    o o o Experts warn of an accidental atomic war: Nuclear missile retrofitted for conventional attack on Iran could set off alarm in Russia.    o o o I noticed that Wiggy’s (one of our first and most loyal advertisers) currently has their excellent Combat Desert Parkas on sale.



Letter Re: Apex, N.C. Chemical Plant Fire as a Case Study in G.O.O.D. Realities

Jim, My wife and I woke up at 5 a.m. (Eastern time) to NPR (you have to know what the enemy is up to) with the lead story a hazmat fire at a haz waste recycling company in Apex, NC, several miles to the east near Raleigh, NC. Something over 16,000 residents of Apex have been urged to evacuate so far as a large plume of a chlorine-like smelling substance moves through the area. All local, state and federal agencies have been called in to assess and 300 firefighters so are are waiting until daylight (7am-ish) to go in assess …


Baking Whole Wheat Bread With Your Storage Wheat, by B.B.

You should plan to be dependent on stored food until your second crop comes in. Wheat is the least expensive and longest-lasting and most nutritious of the basic foods and should be the backbone of your stored foods. Figure on a pound per person per day, thus about 700 pounds per adult-size person over the two-year storage plan. This is about a loaf of bread per day, which will nicely supplement the other stored foods in your larder. You want “thrice-cleaned, Turkey-red Hard Winter Wheat”, with moisture content at less than 10%. Store it in food-grade plastic buckets; treat it …