Year: 2009

The Reliability of the Gas Tube-Driven AR-15/M16/M4 Design is Again Questioned

Several readers wrote to mention these articles: How Reliable is the M16 Rifle? and, a follow-up: The M16 Argument Heats Up, Again. This is sure to raise a ruckus with some of the SurvivalBlog readers that are owners of AR-15s, registered (Class 3) M16s, M4geries, and even AR-10s. Before you send me a fusillade of angry letters, please note that most of the failures mentioned in the After-Action Report (AAR) were with M16s and M4s that had been used in very high volume of fully automatic fire–something that they were not designed to do. (After all these are individual weapons–not …


Letter Re: A West Texas Retreat Locale

I recommend that SurvivalBlog readers consider the land here in the desert of West Texas for rural remote retreats that are affordable and located away from the major city targets. The desert acts as a sandy, hot, dry, moat around such retreats…and will attrite gangs of marauders roving out of the ruined cities. Land out here around Balmorhea, Texas is cheap by your standards: $300 an acre average. The San Solomon spring brings in 26 million gallons of fresh water daily to the one mile square irrigation/fishing lake two miles east of Balmorhea. Balmorhea is about two miles south of …


Letter Re: Retreat Construction, Afghan Style

James- One of the most notable features of the architecture here in Afghanistan are the adobe-walled compounds called qalats. Looking at them, especially from the air, it seems to me they would be an excellent style of construction for those with the time (and money) to build their own home retreat. See this photo. As you can see in the picture (which shows attached qalats for three or more families), a qalat can be almost a miniature castle, complete with a tower or towers. The walls are thick adobe, requiring demolitions or tank cannons to breach. (If you’ve got enemies …


Influenza Pandemic Update:

Reader Karl B. sent this new item that he spotted on a news wire, dated 29 October: Unidentified virus kills 30 in western Ukraine. Since I was unable to find a link to the English translation of the piece (originally from a Kiev television outlet), I’ve decided to post it in full: [Presenter] An unknown deadly virus has taken lives of over 30 people in western Ukraine. The preliminary diagnosis is viral pneumonia. The results of analyses are to be made public early next week. According to the latest statistics, some 12 people died in Ternopil Region, 11 in Lviv …


Economics and Investing:

SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large Michael Z. Williamson pointed us to some commentary by Peggy Noonan in The Wall Street Journal that sheds some light on attitudes about the current recession: We’re Governed by Callous Children. GG flagged this: Junk bond revival stokes credit bubble fears GG also sent us this troubling piece, from England: More quantitative easing is on the way – and that’s a good thing. The UK government considers debt monetization a good thing? Watch out! Items from The Economatrix: Oil Hovers Near $78 on Positive US Economic News World Markets Fall as US Recovery Doubts Linger Three …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader Bill R. recommended the RadioReference.com. Here is Bill’s description of the site: “It is the only site that I’ve found that covers county 911 dispatch in my county in rural northwestern Tennessee. This is a good site to find out what’s going on at any time. There is a wealth of real time information here, as well as threads and discussions re: 911 comms, amateur radio, and all things radio.”    o o o The folks at Ready Made Resources have announced that they are having another free drawing for November. It will be for a Lifesaver 4000 water …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“I find it simply fascinating how little is currently being written about the big bull market in gold. Where anything is written, it’s almost a warning that ‘gold is volatile,’ that ‘speculators are driving gold up,’ or that ‘the gold shorts are simply being squeezed.’ Never a word about the Fed creating new inflationary oceans of liquidity, never a word about the dollar losing its purchasing power, never a word about real money rising against all other asset classes. Silence reigns regarding what could be the most significant bull markets in recent history.” – Richard Russell


Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 25 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. First Prize: A.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost between $500 and $600, and B.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees, in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $392 value.) and C.) A HAZARiD Decontamination Kit from Safecastle.com. (A $350 value.) Second Prize: A “grab bag” of preparedness gear and books from Jim’s Amazing …


How to Capitalize on Urine, Car Batteries, Wood Ashes, Bones and Bird Schumer, by Jeff M.

Throughout the last few centuries, mankind has been building and building up, combining raw materials and energy to create… stuff. This stuff is scattered all over urban population centers, and many of it can be used for basic life-sustaining purposes. I thought I’d write in and share some information I’ve gathered over the years in my work and in my hobbies, as it relates to sustaining life if you’re trapped in an urban area. I’m enumerating the primitive uses of some very basic components for those interested, this wasn’t meant as a guide for building any of this stuff, further …


Two Letters Re: Experience with a Shallow Well Hand Pump

Two Letters Re: Experience with a Shallow Well Hand Pump Mr. Editor: Jim W. in Indiana did a wonderful thing, he became utility independent for his water. Not to be critical but constructive, I didn’t see where he made any mention of drilling a small (1/8”) hole in his drop pipe down into the casing about five feet down, to allow for water to drain out of the top section of the pipe to avoid the water from freezing within it. One would think that Indiana might experience some below freezing temperatures. Without drilling the relief hole, one could experience …


Letter Re: Archiving How-To Videos From YouTube

Dear Jim, I would like to commend you on your new book, “How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It”. It has a plethora of great information and a welcome addition to my preparedness library. As far as Internet information available for preppers, YouTube has an abundance of information ranging from food storage, weaponry, survival skills and many other topics. The videos are very useful. I would like to let everyone know that there is a simple program that they can use to download and convert YouTube videos for reference and/or storage. The YouTube Downloader enables …


Economics and Investing:

SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large Michael Z. Williamson sent this: Number of Utah jobs created by federal stimulus ‘inflated’ GG was the first of several readers to mention a recent piece by economist Nouriel Roubini: Mother of all carry trades faces an inevitable bust Damon S. sent us this bit of gloomage: Small-Business Bankruptcy Filings Up 44% Year-over-year, Equifax Data Shows Items from The Economatrix: US Inflation to Appear Next in Food and Agriculture. Here is a quote from the article: “While most mainstream economists such as Nouriel Roubini are warning of deflationary threats to the U.S. economy, it is our …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader B.B. sent this: U.S. sees shortage of ammunition. I’m glad that I bought most of mine in the early 1990s. Back then, military surplus 7.62mm NATO ball was just $5 per box, if you shopped around.    o o o Damon mentioned this article in Backwoods Home magazine: Consider the 20-gauge shotgun, by Massad Ayoob    o o o KT flagged this: Russian sniper rifles take aim at American market



Note from JWR:

I just got word from James Talmage Stevens, the author of the book Making the Best of Basics – Family Preparedness Handbook (just greatly expanded and revised, for the 11th Edition), that he is extending the special sale price on the book, just for SurvivalBlog readers. If you wait another day, the price will go up by $5, so order your copy before midnight, tonight. (Tuesday.)