Day: December 4, 2007

Note from JWR:

Special thanks to “Jon Boy” from Atlanta, who said that he is sending us a four-year 10 Cent Challenge subscription payment ($36.50 x 4) in the form of $2 rolls of nickels. (73 rolls!) He certainly got his money’s worth by sending them in a $8.95 US Postal Service Flat Rate Box. (If the rolls had been sent at the normal “postage calculated by weight” Priority Mail rate, it probably would have cost more than $40 in postage!) For anyone thinking about doing likewise, be sure to do as Jon Boy did, and use plenty of padding and a second …


Letter Re: New Bump-Resistant Door Locks from Kwikset

Mr. Rawles, Kwikset lock company makes a “bump-pick” resistant lock [called the SmartKey]. The new locks appear to have a bar that attaches to each of the pins that interact with the key, so if one pin moves then they all have to move. Therefore all the pins have to be in the correct place at the exact same time and there is no “slop” that allows the pins to be “bumped” into place. If you get a chance next time you are around a Home Depot store they with have a display model for these new locks as they …


Letter Re: Using .22 Rimfire Conversions for Low Cost Pistol Practice

Jim: I have just finished firing 500 rounds through an Advantage Arms .22 conversion for my Glock 17 and Glock 22 While not as accurate as my .22 Ruger pistol, it allows me to practice my shooting skills using the same holster and magazine carriers at fraction of what 9mm and .40 cost. More importantly, by using a conversion rather than a different pistol such as the Ruger, I am developing the same muscle memory, skills, and techniques I will use when shooting my service pistol. I chose the Advantage Arms over the Ciener conversion because the slide locks open …


Letter Re: Thanks for SurvivalBlog!

Dear Mr. Rawles: I am a newly-minted reader and fan of SurvivalBlog. I stumbled upon [SurvivalBlog] by doing a web search on what turned out to be one of your “Quote of the Days” from [the late] Jeff Cooper. All that I can say is that I am mega-overwhelmed at what you and the readers have put on-line. I started out by going back through your current threads, and that seemed like a lot. But then I started clicking on the monthly archive links [in the right hand column] and then I started doing searched on particular topics. Wow! I …


Odds ‘n Sods:

I found this piece from Peter Schiff over at Gold-Eagle: The End Of Consumer Credit As We Know It    o o o It appears very likely that the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors will cut interest rates again at their upcoming meeting (Tuesday, December 11th). If it is a 50 basis point cut (or more), it could kick off another huge round of Dollar-dumping worldwide, and we might see the USD Index drop down into the 60s. Speaking of the Dollar’s continuing fall, RBS sent us this from The Economist: Losing faith in the greenback    o o o …