Day: February 24, 2010

Letter Re: Purchasing an Antique Firearms Battery

Jim: Just in case laws change, and I must bury my collection of [modern] guns [to avoid registration or confiscation], then what do you recommend me buying for an “above ground collection” of 1898 and earlier guns? I’m assuming that they’ll still be unregulated [in the United States]. That is a great exception in the law, I think! My thanks to you in advance, sir. – G.K.B. JWR Replies: These are my recommendations for the most practical and affordable Pre-1899 guns, at the present time: Finnish Model 1939 Mosin-Nagant rifles built on hexagonal Pre-1899-dated actions. (They re dated on the …


Letter Re: An Easy Method to Determine a Year’s Supply of Any Regularly-Used Items

Dear James; Here is an easy way to determine a year’s supply of anything. You just need a calendar, a pencil, and the ability to count to two. Say you’re down to your last jug of cooking oil. Instead of buying one at the store, buy two, and write the item you purchased on the starting date on your calendar. Now, every time you replace that empty item, buy two more, instead of one, and rotate the oldest. At the end of the year, when you transfer over Birthdays, etc, to next year’s calendar, be sure to add the items …


Letter Re: Basque Sheepherders’ Tree Blaze Trail Markings

Jim: In the 1960s I hunted and fished in the mountains of Southern Utah and as I traveled by Jeep and on foot through the forest I became aware of the many blaze marks on the aspen trees. There was always a clear path, wide enough for my Jeep to pass near the blaze marks, After some observation and study I was able to discern the meaning of the blazes, and have used them ever since to navigate my way from one drainage, over the mountain into the next drainage. One blaze means turn right another indicates a left turn, …


Letter Re: Operational Security (OPSEC) 101

Jim, et al, Your reader was correct about what your garbage, mail, kids, etc. say about you as a preparer for when TSHTF. But keeping everything too close to the vest has negative consequences, too. So it’s very important to remain open and friendly. Not only is this the right thing to do morally, but it also offers a layer of “social protection” if needed. This is especially vital if you have no choice but to stay where you are in a compromised area. Some tips, if this is a struggle for you: First, don’t be a recluse. Everybody knows …


Economics and Investing:

GG sent this: Buy farmland and gold,’ advises Dr Doom Also from GG: Prices are rising fast, even if the CPI isn’t Corey was the first of several readers to forward this: Banks at risk of going bust tops 700. Gee, with 7,000 banks in the country, that is a 1 in 10 chance that your bank is on the list. Those are practically Russian Roulette odds. From Flavio: Harvard’s Rogoff Sees Sovereign Defaults, ‘Painful’ Austerity Items from The Economatrix: Real, Uglier American Unemployment Death By Trillions of Dollars (The Mogambo Guru) US State Pension Funds Have $1 Trillion Shortfall …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Several readers mentioned this Wired article: Extreme Test: Going Ballistic on Bulletproof Vests    o o o Our Editor-at-Large Mike Williamson sent this: Nature’s power plants; On the hunt for renewable energy, scientists revisit Mother Nature’s original power source: Photosynthesis and plants    o o o Here in the U.S., a new Federal law that allows carrying guns in National Parks went into effect on Monday. This will be a relief to our readers that live in bear country. (Up until Monday, all that could be used to stop a bear attack inside a National Park were shouts of “Bad …