Month: March 2007

Letter Re: The Firearms Battery and Ballistic Wampum–Shallow and Wide, or Narrow and Deep?

Hi Jim, You may have answered this question before, but I haven’t seen it addressed specifically. Over a significant period of time reading about (including the Profiles of people on your blog) and talking with people about preparing for the future, I’ve noticed two schools of thought regarding establishing a firearms battery for use in the event of societal breakdown. (Although the concept could be applied to most areas of preparation.) The two are: 1. Maintaining a broad range of firearm types and calibers, but in a shallow depth of supply. The idea here seems to be that of maintaining …


Odds ‘n Sods:

“The Army Aviator” mentioned: Scott at American MilSpec has a really good phosphorescent paint for $12.50 per bottle. He says that it works best if you lay down a thin coat of white, then the Phosphorescent paint then a coat of clear. “It’s so cheap, I got two bottles, painted everything and have hardly tapped the first bottle. Stuff goes a long ways. Also handy on light switches, flashlight mounts, locks, or any other place you might need a quick reference in the dark. I figured it’d be Bravo Sierra but the dang stuff works!+   o o o Hawaiian …



Note from JWR:

Green Mountain Gear has just announced the first of a series of Green Mountain Gear “SurvivalBlog Group Buys.” This one is for brand new-in-the-wrapper military contract C-Products M16/AR-15 30 round magazines at near wholesale pricing. (Most dealers charge from $14 to $17 for these , but in the Group Buy they will be less than $10.) These full military specification 30 round alloy magazines have durable gray Mil-Spec moly coating, and the latest orange anti-tilt followers. Pricing is as follows: 10 magazines: $9.99 each ($99.90) Shipping is $5 50 magazines: $9.65 each ($482.50) Shipping is $7 100 magazines: $9.30 each …


Letter Re: Intestinal Flora and Health

Hi Jim, I have gotten a lot of information from SurvivalBlog and thought maybe I could contribute something in return. I recently also became a Ten Cent Challenge subscriber and urge all of your readers to do so. I am not a big believer in doctors or drugs, except only when absolutely necessary. After all, doctors are the #3 cause of deaths in the U.S.! There has been a lot of talk in SurvivalBlog about maintaining good health and nutrition and making sure to stock lots of vitamins and other supplements, and I heartily agree with this. One thing that …


Two Letters Re: .223 For Long Range Sniping?

Dear Jim, I’d like to kick in my two cents worth on the Blackwater snipers in Najaf, seeing as how I was in country when it happened and know a number of the people involved. There appears to be a great deal of Monday morning quarterbacking going on regards this incident, so I will lend some background on it. The entire thing started when US troops tried to shut down Moqtada Al Sadr’s newspaper and arrested a number of his henchmen (I won’t call them lieutenants, because they’re not worthy of it). The response from Sadr’s followers was rather unexpected …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Further evidence that Costa Rica is not a safe place to relocate: Escazú home invaders target dwelling of U.S. embassy employee. (From the A.M. Costa Rica e-newspaper.)   o o o Reader PNG mentioned: Jerry Pournelle has web-published a column he wrote for Survive magazine in 1983. It’s worth a read.    o o o For the remainder of March, Safecastle is discounting their Mountain House #10 cans by 30% and shipping them free when 8 or more cases are purchased. This deal is available to Safecastle Royal buyers club members only, until March 31. The offer applies to our …



Note from JWR:

I am seeking recommendations from SurvivalBlog readers on real estate agents in the U.S. that are “survival minded.” My goal is to be able to provide a list of licensed agents all over the U.S. that are knowledgeable about survival retreat selection. (I might even set some sort of standards for “SurvivalBlog Retreat Specialist Certified” agents.) This is mutually advantageous to all parties involved: land/house sellers, agents, and land buyers. By working with a “Retreat Specialist” that understands the unique criteria for survival retreats, there will be no wasted time showing properties that aren’t suitable. Most buyers would also appreciate …


Letter Re: .223 For Long Range Sniping?

JWR: I’m a proud Ten Cent Challenge member, and enjoy reading SurvivalBlog daily. I would like to point out something that might not be readily apparent about that Blackwater Sniper incident in Najaf that gets so much press, and it leads to a greater point about the usefulness of small caliber precision rifle fire. The art of sniping is fairly new in the field of war craft, and new and creative ways to employ sharpshooters are being developed quite rapidly. The only limiting factor in sniper efficiency is the inability of infantry commanders to understand and effectively employ snipers on …


Letter Re: The Psychology of Denial in the Information Age

Jim, I was interested in your response to Bill H. who wrote about the Psychology of Denial. Your suggestions were excellent, and Bill’s ideas were good also, but I fear those suggestions will convince very few people. I just turned 60 and have been a “prepper” since about age 10. I grew up in the Cold War and my folks were scared silly about a nuke attack (we lived in the Sand Francisco Bay Area). We had a rudimentary bugout bag…in 1956! We always maintained about a month’s worth of food and bottled water. While our preps were very inadequate …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Ben L. suggested posting a link to this Reason online article: Gun Control’s Twisted Outcome–Restricting firearms has helped make England more crime-ridden than the U.S.   o o o Today we welcome a couple of new Affiliate advertisers to our roster: SafetyGlasses.com in the U.S. (they sell shooting glasses, ear protection, Nomex/Kevlar gloves, and hydration packs), and MacWarehouse in the U.K. (Just in case a Mac iBook Laptop or an iPod is a survival priority for you. <vbg>) Whenever you use one of our Affiliate links and place an order–with more than 60 companies in nine countries–we get a little …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, to discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practice resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, …


Note from JWR:

The high bid is now up to $250 in the current SurvivalBlog benefit auction for several items (including an EMP-proof antique radio, four books, and a copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course) that are being auctioned together as a lot:, with a combined retail value of around $370. The auction ends on April 15th. Just e-mail me your bid. Thanks!


Letter Re: Advice On Retreat Locales in Nevada

James: I’m a retired Christian, a widower, living on California’s central coast. I’m a ham radio enthusiast. I don’t feel safe anywhere in California. California is only going to get worse as time goes on. So I am looking for a retreat location that is away from large population areas. I now have a few resources available to do this. Please let me know if you know of anything in the $40-to-50K range. I’m thinking about Nevada. Somewhere quite remote that will not be on the “shopping list” of looters, or in the path or refugees in the event of …