Day: April 21, 2007

Note from JWR:

A reminder for those of you that already have copies of my recent non-fiction books printed before early April. Please update them with our new mail forwarding address. See page 207 of Rawles on Retreats and Relocation (Appendix B) and page 239 of SurvivalBlog: The Best of the Blog – Volume 1 (Appendix A)–they should both get penned with this new mail forwarding address: James Wesley, Rawles c/o Elk Creek Company P.O. Box 303 Moyie Springs, Idaho 83845 USA I have already updated the electronic master copies at Cafe Press, (the print-on-demand publisher), so any copies that were ordered after …


Letter Re: Question on Sizing a New Garden

Sir: How much square footage should I fence off (to protect from deer) for a [self-sufficiency] vegetable garden for my family of five? Thank You Sir, – P.L., near Eugene, Oregon JWR Replies: As a scant minimum, I’d recommend a 25′ x 30′ garden plot. By using French Intensive (double dug) or Square Foot Gardening techniques, you can get a huge yield out of that much garden space. But if you have the acreage available and can afford the extra fencing material, then by all means make your fenced garden plot two or three times that size. This has several …


Letter Re: Holster Recommendations

Hi Jim: I plan to open carry in my new county here in Colorado, and I’m looking for a vendor that sells attractive leather shooter’s belts and nice leather holsters for M1911s and Glocks. Do you have any preferred vendors/manufacturers you can recommend? I’ve only ever carried [pistols] on [military] Load Bearing Equipment (LBE) so this semi-casual leather belt open carry thing is very new to me, as is the civilian gun culture 🙂 – Eric JWR Replies: We mainly carry Kydex Blade-Tech brand holsters and mag pouches here at the Rawles Ranch. And for the most part we use …


Letter Re: Advice on Where to Learn Practical, Tactical Skills

Sir: USRSOG conducts a civilian S.E.R.E. (Search Evasion Rescue & Escape) class once a year. They teach primitive fire-building, Evasion techniques, field camouflage techniques, some plant identification, hand-to-hand [fighting] techniques, natural cordage making, [flint] knapping and a bunch of other things like primitive shelter making. These guys are hardcore and I’m blessed to have known them and took their class last year. This year’s class is April 27-28-29 and I think there is still time for any last minute sign-ups but your readers will need to contact them right away. Students also need proof that they are right with the …


Letter Re: Advice on Storing E85 Ethanol Fuel

Jim: I’m sorry, but that Wikipedia article gave you bad information. It’s describing the situation for E10, not E85. You’ll note it doesn’t give you a reference to a study backing up this analysis. On the other hand, this Wikipedia.page does: Ethanol Fuel Mixtures The key graph is on page 32 of that reference Similar graphs and conclusions agreeing that the sensitivity to phase separation declines as the percentage of ethanol increases are available elsewhere: From the US EPA From Cim-tek Regards, – PNG JWR Replies: Thanks for correcting my error. My humble apologies for not researching my reply more …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader Bill G. notes that VITA has added a lot of new “appropriate technology” resources to their free library since I last referenced them.    o o o Kon Tiki recommended this short documentary video: The Gun Makers of Pakistan. The documentary is politically biased, but if you ignore the commentary, the images speak for themselves. Don’t miss the close-up of the kid’s precise handloading technique.   o o o Tim P. flagged A Guide to Drilling, Reaming, and Broaching a Bolt-Action Receiver at Home for free download at the Jews For The Preservation of Firearms Ownership (JPFO) web site. …


Jim’s Quote of the Day

“…To own firearms is to affirm that freedom and liberty are not gifts from the state. It is to reserve final judgment about whether the state is encroaching on freedom and liberty, to stand ready to defend that freedom with more than mere words, and to stand outside the state’s totalitarian reach.” – Jeff Snyder, “A Nation of Cowards“