Two Letters Re: Amassing Copper Pennies–By the Ton!

Dear Jim: I enjoy and appreciate your site. I am concerned about the gentlemen [TRK, who stated in a recently-posted e-mail that he is] amassing tons of copper pennies. I understand his desire to hedge against inflation, but it seems risky to do so with a $60,000 investment in copper pennies. I didn’t want to see your readers get wiped out by following his bad advice. Let’s remember, you can’t fill your belly with pennies, nor can you bandage your wounds with them. While pennies are certainly tangible, preparedness is all about useful tangibles. Beans, bullets, Band-Aids. Preparedness is first …


Two Letters Re: The Mil-Spec AR-15 Makers–Parts Chart

I imagine you are going to get a lot of e-mails stating the chart [posted on an Internet Forum] that you cited is inaccurate. At least in the case of the all-factory Bushmaster, I own I can say there were at least a couple of missing “X”‘s [in the chart]. Likewise, I question who exactly was the metallurgist who placed a “1” in the barrel steel column. Also, Bushmaster has a lifetime warranty. It’s right on their web site and I can assure you they honor it. When I had a parts breakage issue after thousands of rounds put through …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Readers Josh W. and John M. both sent us this article link: Black Box Warning for Antibiotic    o o o Eric found this: As food costs soar, it’s back to basics for meal planners. Eric’s comment: “What a wonderful chance for folks to start learning about eating their food storage foods and saving money! I think about my friends who have hundreds of pounds of red winter wheat put up and no idea what to do with it – they have no [grain] mill and don’t eat whole wheat bread or whole wheat anything. As someone who has been …




Letter Re: The Pulp Hook–A Labor Saving Device for Moving Firewood

Hi Jim, Several years ago I was hunting black bear in the boonies of Canada. As I came out of the bush I could see a native cutting fire wood. As I walked towards him I watched him at work and he did something completely out of my experience. He had what I thought was a hay hook which he proceeded to snap into a cut piece of birch. He then turned towards his pickup and carried the piece of firewood stuck onto the end of the hook. He got to the pickup, swung the piece of firewood onto the …


Letter Re: Solar Flare Spike in 2012?

Jim:Regarding your recent interview on Fox Business about the significance of 2012: When I was a teenager, it was the Mayan 2012 [calendar] event that got me interested in preparedness. I ran with a bit of an impromptu Boy Scout like crowd (we weren’t Boy Scouts but our parents encouraged us to hunt, fish and camp). It was fun imaginary scenario when we were kids. I grew out of my Mayan 2012 phase. As an adult, I am preparing for a solar 2012 event. Essentially, a couple of years ago, I came across some research by a guy who was …


Letter Re: Amassing Copper Pennies–By the Ton!

Jim, I read a recent blog of yours that was posted on “Gold is Money” regarding hoarding of 5 cent “nickels”. The penny is a much better deal (currently at just about 2.5 times their face value) and [as you’ve mentioned in SurvivalBlog, Ryedale has developed and sells a machine for under $500 that sorts by metal composition. [It sorts] 300 coins per minute. I have been amassing copper pennies for a little over one year now. Here is a summary of my plan that I’ve posted on the”Gold is Money” forums: I’ve got five tons of 95% copper and …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Hawaiian K. pointed us to an article by Robert Silverberg, over at Asimov’s: The Death of Gallium. The Peak Oil crowd may be interested to hear about disappearing elements. The crux of the problem: Infinite demand, and finite supply. Reading this makes me want to go out and invest in Gallium, Hafnium, and Indium–the elements themselves, or mining companies.) Or perhaps I should go for the speculative gusto and invest in a deep sea vent mining company.    o o o Tim P. mentioned this piece over at WorldNetDaily: Congress examines EMP threat–Iran believed to test missiles for attack on …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"Today Americans would be outraged if U.N. troops entered Los Angeles to restore order; tomorrow they will be grateful. This is especially true if they were told there was an outside threat from beyond, whether real or promulgated, that threatened our very existence. It is then that all peoples of the world will plead with world leaders to deliver them from this evil. The one thing every man fears is the unknown. When presented with this scenario, individual rights will be willingly relinquished for the guarantee of their well being granted to them by their world government." – Henry Kissinger, …


Note from JWR:

The high bid in the current SurvivalBlog Benefit Auction is 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 courtesy of www.cmebrew.com valued at $88.75, and a set of 1,600 U.S. Military Manuals, Government Manuals, and Civil Defense Manuals, Firearm Manuals on two CD-ROM disks, valued at $20. Please e-mail us your bids, in $10 increments. The auction ends on July …


Letter Re: Some Transceiver Antenna Questions

Jim; By purchasing a 60-inch collapsible antenna, I was able to get a lot more range out of my hand-held transceivers, but that’s all I know. Can you give a short tutorial on antennas? What is a ground plane, when is it necessary? Would full wavelength be better than 1/4 wavelength? For a base system, would you recommend Yagi or something else? Thanks, – SF in Hawaii JWR Replies (Updated): To begin, one-half wave antennas are theoretically the most efficient. Shorter fractional wavelength antennas (quarter-wave, 1/8th-wave, et cetera) are used primarily for compactness and lower cost. I was told by …


Letter Re: Roger Mills County, Oklahoma as a Retreat Locale

Hello Mr. Rawles, I live near the town of Cheyenne, in Roger Mills County, which is in western Oklahoma. For your information: Roger Mills County has a population density of just .75 people per square mile. Not a single stop light in the county. Not a single major franchise business in the county. Local pharmacy, bank, motels and restaurants. A very high percentage of the county are what you call “millionaires” because of the production of natural gas wells. We have a very low crime rate. There are people in this area who have not locked a door nor removed …


Odds ‘n Sods:

A consulting client asked me what brand of AR-15 or M4gery that I’d recommend he buy as a secondary weapon. By coincidence, I had earlier that same day received a link from reader Bill N. that features a chart that shows which AR makers use full mil-spec parts. Before seeing that chart, I would have recommended Lewis Machine & Tool (LMT), but now it looks like Noveske Rifleworks has the edge. You may ask: Why not Colt ARs? I despise their concessions to political correctness–namely their over-grown lower receiver pins, weak chopped-out (half circle) bolt carriers, and their now perennial …