Reloading for the 1891 Argentine Mauser – Part 3, by Tunnel Rabbit

(Continued from Part 2.) Sizing the Brass to the Chamber Assuming we have had a gunsmith evaluate the rifle, we should also fit the case to the chamber by backing out the die a full turn so that the shoulder of the case might be more than 1 to 2 thousandths of an inch longer. This process will compensate for the generous head spacing that exists in military actions coupled with the original military barrel, and remove any remaining and unneeded head space variance out of a re-barreled action. Accuracy might also be improved. The bolt should not close without …


Reloading for the 1891 Argentine Mauser – Part 2, by Tunnel Rabbit

(Continued from Part 1.) Pressure Limits, PSI, CIP, and CUP How many PSI are in a CUP? And to continue the absurdity, how many CIP’s of PSI are in a CUP? Could we be more baffled and confused? Yes! And this is all the comedic relief we can expect. To include CIP into our calculus is unnecessary, yet it is mentioned only to note that it is a competing metric used in European manuals and can be a source of additional confusion. Some of the false assumptions about the pressure limits of the Swedish Mauser may lie in the inaccurate …


Reloading for the 1891 Argentine Mauser – Part 1, by Tunnel Rabbit

Remember that 1983 movie, A Christmas Story? It beautifully recreated a classic scene that captured the wonder and magic of Christmas, the anticipation and excitement of Santa’s arrival and the delivery of that Red Rider BB gun. In my case, the rifle most recently delivered by Santa was not a Red Rider BB gun, but something just as wonderful, yet better suited to an old man who is beginning to reminisce, something that is perfectly suited for the old man, but you could not know that until you had it in your hands. To my surprise, the fit and finish, …


Twelve Live Gifts that Keep on Giving, by Mrs. Alaska

In the spirit of the season, I offer a “Twelve Days of Christmas” list of LIVE gifts that keep on giving to us here, at a remote homestead in Alaska. 1- Gallon of red wiggler worms, divided among my food gardens. They eat the kitchen scraps I toss there and rapidly improve the soil. 2 – Years’ worth of seeds (many degrade after that: check with a float/sink test each year). 3 – Rabbits (1 buck and 2 does). They can be mated at about five months and over the year, fill our larder. (In the photo at left, can …


Why A Cat Is The Most Valuable Animal on a Farm – Part 3, by W.J.

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) HOW TO MAINTAIN AN OUTDOOR CAT COLONY If you want cats to be attracted to your home or homestead, and to stay around, you need to give them food, water and shelter, and teach them that people are a good thing. And you need to encourage good traits and prevent inbreeding. Food: I did not give my outdoor colony cats the Farmina Prime lamb kibble, imported from Italy, that my indoor fur family gets. But they get decent stuff, as well as leftovers, bones, and oddly enough, wheat germ muffins. They want …


Why A Cat Is The Most Valuable Animal on a Farm – Part 2, by W.J.

(Continued from Part 1.) Mayoclinic.org has good information on hantavirus, and preventive rodent control (they do not address natural predators). They advise not keeping mice or rats as pets, unless they are tested, and then totally quarantined HOW TO CHOOSE A CAT OR KITTEN PHYSICAL ChARACTERISTICS The longer and leaner the cat is, the better. The more it looks like a cheetah the faster it will be, the higher it can jump, and the better it can hunt. While even a chunky hunk of a cat may be a good hunter, it is fighting against its body type. My Joyful …


Why A Cat Is The Most Valuable Animal on a Farm – Part 1, by W.J.

My original title for this article was: Would You Like A Rattlesnake With Your Coffee? Or, Why A Cat Is The Most Valuable Animal on a Farm. (That was a bit long-winded.) I was sitting peacefully in a recliner, sipping my morning coffee, when my beautiful cat, Rosita, jumped up onto the chair next to me. She wanted to offer me a treat to go with my coffee. A nice, tasty rattlesnake. Fortunately, she had already killed it. She held it up to me, hoping I would like it. What I liked was that it was dead, but I appreciated …


Improvised Casualty Retrieval and Transport – Part 4, by R.D.J.

(Continued from Part 3. This concludes the article.) HOW TO CARRY A STRETCHER OVER BROKEN GROUND OR RUBBLE, OR UP / DOWN STAIRS, LADDERS, SLOPES – If you have enough people, assemble a minimum of six stretcher bearers and a team leader for even the shortest move- in dark and confined spaces use at least one person to light and / or guide the way – avoid hurry – wear safety helmets and work gloves and protective ‘work’ boots – drape the patient with a heavy blanket if moving / waiting in cold weather and exposed places but leave eyes …


Improvised Casualty Retrieval and Transport – Part 3, by R.D.J.

(Continued from Part 2.) This log-rolling procedure maintains the patient’s entire body in neutral alignment, minimizing any untoward movement of the spine. (Procedure assumes any upper and lower extremity injuries are already immobilized). Then: 1. Prepare the spine board or stretcher with straps, placing the board next to the patient’s side. The straps are to be positioned for fastening later across the patient’s thorax (chest), just above the iliac crests (hip-bones), thighs, and just above the ankles. Straps or tape may be used to secure the patient’s head and neck to the long board. 2. If you have a cervical …


Improvised Casualty Retrieval and Transport – Part 2, by R.D.J.

(Continued from Part 1.) FIRST RESPONSE AT THE SCENE – BE SAFE! Be aware of the hazards involved in responding to a call for help. Develop an understanding of the safety and priorities at the scene of an incident. Know how to call for assistance (you do have your Baofeng (12) or equivalent, don’t you?) Most accident scenes are uncontrolled and potentially dangerous. DO NOT BECOME A CASUALTY YOURSELF – STOP, LOOK, LISTEN and SMELL. The first priority at any accident scene is your own safety, followed by safety of the victim.  Finally, the safety of everyone on site must …


Improvised Casualty Retrieval and Transport – Part 1, by R.D.J.

If I’ve seen one… then I’ve seen one. That is all that means. But did I learn anything from it? CASEVAC Casualty Evacuation: what we need to know and do, when we need to move the immobile ill or badly injured with our own resources? Disclaimer One The following article relates entirely to retrieving and moving casualties both ill or injured, when the situation is such that no one is gonna come and help you anytime soon: not within The Golden Hour, nor even within The Tarnished Day. (1) ‘Cause at the time of writing, 99.5% of serious injuries and …


An Important Time For Giving, by SaraSue

If anyone has funds to spare, I want to remind SurvivalBlog readers that the communities in Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee are still suffering the devastation from Hurricane Helene.  Since our government failed these people, We The People have responded en masse to take care of them.  There are people still living in tents as the snow starts to fall.  Many many people have donated trailers, Buddy heaters, blankets, clothing, and food to help keep these families intact. You may ask why those people are still living in those devastated areas.  Many have no other place, or the funds, …


Growing Up in a Survivalist Family, by J.W.T.

Growing up, I attributed my father’s penchant for hoarding to having had a Depression-era childhood. We were comfortably middle-class in the 1960s—a three-bedroom, one-bathroom ranch house, a Ford in the driveway, and never hungry—but I heard stories of my parents’ lives in the 1920s and 1930s, especially on Thanksgivings, when my uncles drank too much and reminisced about the old days with my father. My mother still made her own clothes if she didn’t can fruits and vegetables as her mother had, and my father threw nothing out: his old Army camouflage duds, every used nut and bolt, and the …


Photovoltaic Power and Prepping – Part 4, by B.S.V.

(Continued from Part 3. This concludes the article.) Question: Will I have power when the grid is down? Question: Can I get net metering with a solar-only system, or do I need storage? Battery size With all the information above, you will be better situated to properly size your storage system. Just be aware that (unless you’re in a totally different socioeconomic class than I) you probably won’t get all the storage you want. I started off with the idea that I wanted to be three-days independent of the grid. When I found the cost of that, I scaled back. …


Photovoltaic Power and Prepping – Part 3, by B.S.V.

(Continued from Part 2.) When it came to setting angles, my installer wanted to install at the U.S. default angle of 20 degrees. That angle serves the most people across the country in most situations. Now, I’m a taller-than average, bigger-than-average guy and wear extra-large gloves, so I know one-size does not fit all. You must consider what is best for you and your goals and not just what may be the rule of thumb. I happened to hear the guys talking about the angle after they had already set the poles in the ground. Like I said, I hadn’t …