Day: July 14, 2008

Note from JWR:

Wow! We are rapidly approaching the milestone of four million unique visits to SurvivalBlog. Not bad for a “niche” blog. Thanks for helping to make SurvivalBlog such a success. Please continue to spread the word. There is just one day left in the current SurvivalBlog Benefit Auction. The high bid is now at $370. This auction is for two cases (12 cans) of Mountain House freeze dried foods in #10 cans donated by Ready Made Resources, valued at $260, a course certificate for a four-day Bushcraft & Survival Course valued at $550, 25 pounds of green (un-roasted) Colombian Supremo coffee …


Letter Re: Report From an Enthusiastic XD Pistol Shooter

Hi Jim, I recently bought a Glock 21 (.45 ACP). Although the pistol works great, it did not fit my hand well and it tended to point to the right as I brought it up to fire. I have large hands so it was not a “large gun, small hand” problem. I love my Glock 19 and Glock 27 so there is no anti-Glock bias here. For comparison, I bit the bullet and bought a [Springfield Armory] XD Tactical in 45 ACP. Renting a gun is not an option where I live, so if you do not know someone with …


Letter Re: Stocking Level Advice for a Preparedness Newbie

Hi James, My name is Heather. My husband and a couple of friends started discussing your novel “Patriots” and that they wanted to be prepared. I began reading the book to get an idea what my husband was talking about. I found it very interesting and informative, however, being the more logistical minded of us I am at a loss as to where to start. We have four children under the age of 11 and live in downtown Salem, Oregon. We both work so we have some money to begin preparing with, but what do we start with? And if …


Letter Re: The Mil-Spec AR-15 Parts Chart

Jim, Maybe Chris S. misunderstood the AR reference chart that you referenced. I just wanted to defend the comparison link on ARs you posted. It is accurate on the quality. Remember, this list is only for specific models from a particular manufacturer, but is also overall a good gauge of how that manufacturer makes things. If xyz manufacturer properly stakes the carrier key sometimes (as Chris pointed out, his was better than the Bushmaster listed), and not all the time, they aren’t going to get the “X.” This is because they do not consistently or reliably produce quality. I can …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Krys in Idaho spotted this: World Bank’s Zoellick: Food prices high until 2012    o o o Cheryl sent us this troubling article over at The Market Oracle: Fannie and Freddie Credit Implosions Are Too Big to Bail Out    o o o Anyone that owns both an AR-15 and an FN 5.7mm pistol might be interested in the new 5.7 AR upper receiver groups made by FN. Apparently FN is finally now shipping them –unless this seller is marketing vaporware.    o o o Some Deep Schumer: IndyMac ‘Bank run caused by Senator comments’


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Hopefully the FDIC insurance will take care of it. I’m also kind of kicking myself for not taking care of this sooner, sooner as in the last couple of days.” – Alan Sands, a former IndyMac Bank customer; quoted on Friday, July 11, 2008, commenting on how he was unable to draw funds after his bank was closed by Federal regulators in the midst of a bank run.