Month: December 2007

Letter Re: More on Retrofitting CONEX Containers for Habitation

Hello, I am a big fan of SurvivalBlog, and read it almost every day. I am sending a two year 10 Cent Challenge subscription to you in rolls of nickels. I am doing some research in preparation to doing a buildout with [CONEX] containers next to the site of my future home. I found an interesting guide by Bob Vila. I am including a few more links I found interesting that other readers may find useful. News Stories about building out of containers: MSNBC SFGate Treehugger.com There are also some excellent books on the subject available from Amazon.com. There are …


Letter Re: The Importance of “Weak Side” Firearms Practice

Sir, A recent shoulder injury has alerted me to the fact that my weak side drills were totally inadequate. Just tucking the strong side hand in and using the weak side does not equal the reality of having a useless and painful limb effecting balance, movement and concentration. This is a very humbling experience. I will try to use some sort of “handicap” rig to duplicate the effect at the range. Safety is the first rule. Long gun drills will be a real challenge. Sincerely in your debt for the great blog, – Spud JWR Replies: Al of the major …


Letters Re: A Tactical Hack for R.C. Model Cars

James, The letters reacting to my friend’s mobile, radio-controlled Glock platform make some very good points. The triggering systems of these particular machines were built on very simple eccentric cams (powered by cannibalized motor-driven wheel components) that were intentionally de-powered after a single revolution. In this configuration, shots were limited to about a one second interval, requiring another push of the button for another shot. It could’ve been made into a “rapid fire” mechanism but the builder didn’t see any advantage to such a modification. The trigger used a redundant system of three simultaneous frequencies in order to compensate for …


Odds ‘n Sods:

`Decoupling’ Debunked as U.S. Collapse Infects World o o o I heard that Green Mountain Gear is reducing their inventory of new-in-the-wrapper original West German Bundeswehr contract HK91/G3 magazines. All of these are Rheinmettal made! The 10 pack sale special is just $74.99 plus postage. Shipped via US Mail. (The total will be adjusted for postage when charged/shipped.) o o o SF in Hawaii suggested this Self-Priming Manual Siphon Pump. The price seemed a bit high, so I did a price comparison with the tried-and-true Black & Decker Jackrabbit hand pump. (Which can also be used to prime a siphoning …



Note from JWR:

Today we present another article for Round 14 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The writer of the best non-fiction article will win a valuable four day “gray” transferable Front Sight course certificate. (Worth up to $2,000!) Second prize is a copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, generously donated by Jake Stafford of Arbogast Publishing. Round 14 ends on January 31st. Remember that articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival will have an advantage in the judging.


Your Life in Your Pocket by John T.

A significant part of being prepared and being able to weather a crisis is having information. Remember, those in charge now will make it their first priority after TSHTF to return to the status quo. Banks and mortgage companies will do everything possible to continue banking and lending. Landlords will do whatever it takes to make sure they continue to collect rent from their tenants, and any police or military personnel you come into contact with will be very unhappy if you cannot prove who you are or otherwise deflect suspicion. You can call having critical information available during and …


Letter Re: Solar Ovens

Hi, I have been reading your blog for a few days now and I am shocked to find that you have never mentioned solar cooking. Seems that everyone that would be reading your site would be interested in something like this. It requires no fuel, produces no smoke, requires very little attending-to while cooking (frees you to do other things rather than cook for a few hours) they are small and easily stored. pretty much everything that one would want in a cooking device. they even work when its not really sunny out. I would think that refueling a retreat …


Four Letters Re: A Tactical Hack for R.C. Model Cars

Jim- [Regarding Hawaiian K’s letter]: Just want to offer a caution to anyone who might experiment with a firearm mounted on a radio controlled vehicle of any type: While modern Radio Controlled (RC) stuff is generally very reliable, there are many scenarios in which a partial failure of batteries, transmitter, receiver, servo, radio interference, unintentional collision with an object, or simple human error could cause the mounted firearm to discharge unintentionally. If any of your readers intends to experiment with such a setup, I hope it will be under very tightly controlled circumstances. Regards, – Rich S.   James: The …


Odds ‘n Sods:

A reminder that BulletProofME.com’s special free shipping offer for SurvivalBlog readers, ends on Wednesday, December 12th    o o o Eric S. flagged this useful piece: Honey Beats Meds at Soothing Kids’ Cough    o o o The high bid is now at $250 in the SurvivalBlog benefit auction, for six items: 1.) a Katadyn Pocket water filter, (with a $200 retail value) 2.) a Watersafe field water test kit ( a $27 retail value), both donated by Ready Made Resources, 3.) A copy of the latest edition of “The Encyclopedia of Country Living” by the late Carla Emery (a …




Letter Re: A Tactical Hack for R.C. Model Cars

James; A late acquaintance of mine was something of a hacker/genius. Prior to Y2K, he developed several cute but deadly machines based on radio-controlled toy cars that he’d picked up at garage sales. These were fitted with tiny wireless cameras and ingenious harnesses for the Glock [Model] 19. He showed me how they functioned in a field test which displayed a couple of them firing at targets at his command. It was a strange feeling to watch his laptop screen, line up a target with a joystick and then fire it quite precisely at the push of a button! The …


Two Letters Re: Storing Nails–Crucial for Preparedness

Jim: [You had mentioned in yesterday’s post: “…one of my unfulfilled quests in life has been to find a small hardware store that is going out of business and getting to ask the owner: “How much for all of your fasteners?” (Hopefully, at or below their scrap metal value.) That would be quite a coup.”] FYI, never be shy! Several years ago the local Scotty’s [hardware chain store] was going out of business; after many weeks of slowly reducing the prices.On the final weekend I approached the “soon to be unemployed” manager and offered to buy all the remaining large …


Weekly Survival Real Estate Market Update

Advantages to Mid-Winter Real Estate Buying One strategy in buying a survival retreat that I often mention to my consulting clients is making a scouting and/or buying trip in mid-winter. This has several advantages:. 1.) You see the effects of microclimates, first hand. Visiting a property in the summer and imagining what it looks like with snow on the ground is not realistic. You need to see for yourself, in mid-winter. (January is best, in the northern hemisphere.) If you ask the seller or the listing agent how much snow to expect, the answer will almost universally be “not much” …