Sir,
First, thank you for all you do. I find this blog to be a wealth of information and inspiration.
Second, regarding the piece about the Mosin/Nagent, thanks for a well-written article about Mosins. I recently purchased two of them for around $120 a piece. One was a piece of art manufactured just before WW2. The stock was a rich red and the brass pieces were screwed in. I cleaned it and gave it to my Dad as a “just because” present. The second Mosin was manufactured during WW2 and was much more rough. I ended up replacing the trigger with a Timney trigger for around $90. I believe it was worth it. Not only does it provide a better, easier, more reliable safety mechanism for the rifle, but it also is set from the factory at around 4lbs (though you can choose at time of purchase on pull weight) for a much smoother, consistent pull. The stock on the second rifle and brass fittings were very rough. I ended up purchasing an adjustable stock from Archangel for around $200. Archangel also had 10 rd magazines for around $20. One issue that seems to come up is mag seating. I can say I’ve seen it, and the fix for it is to make sure you “slam” the mag home; otherwise, you may have a feed issue. This issue seems to fade with use. I now have a decent bolt action rifle that’s good out to 600 yards (I have a hard time seeing further than that with open sites) for under $600. If you want to mount a scope on the Mosin, I also researched, and there are smiths out there that can take your bolt and “bend” it for around $40. I may try that, as funding becomes available.
Third, I had to weigh in on something that was mentioned in a letter about the septic tank article. One reader brought up “not flushing any toilet paper” and to throw the toilet paper in a trash can instead. I feel the need to point out the obvious; if we’re truly in a TEOTWAWKI situation, eventually toilet paper is going to run out, probably much quicker than any of us would like. I’ve read articles of people that even now do not use toilet paper in the interest of saving a lot money and, of course, storage space. (No, admittedly, I’m not one of them.) Instead, these people use rags to clean themselves, and then they put the soiled rags in a small can with a lid next to the toilet for storage until cleaning. It seems to me that this is a more realistic solution compared to using up valuable storage space for an item that, let’s face it, is very nice to have but we could survive without.
That’s my two cents from the “left coast”. Thanks for everything, especially the knowledge! – MJ