Letter Re: Advice on Pistol Caliber Carbines

Jim and Family: I just found out that I can get a 16″ rifle here in Hawaii. I was considering an Uzi but am uncertain about the differences between model A and B. Also, the stamped metal doesn’t excite me, but I think having such a gun fills an important role in my armory. For travel out of the stronghold, it takes the place between carrying a .223 or .308 rifle suitable for home defense and reaching out and touching someone and walking about with a handgun. For travel when the world is in quasi-collapse and I want more rounds …


Ethical Preparedness for WTSHTF, by SF in Hawaii

What (if anything) are you willing to kill for post-SHTF? To consider this question, first let’s start with a quote on justifiable homicide from Wikipedia: Under early Athenian law, it was considered justifiable homicide to kill an adulterer caught in the act or a burglar caught in the act at night… in eighteenth century English law , it was considered a justifiable homicide if a husband killed a man “ravishing” or raping his wife (Blackstone, Wm. at p. 391), but modern law treats this as only a circumstance that will mitigate murder to a conviction for manslaughter . In other …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Novelist Michael Z. Williamson sent us a link to a PDF on Combat Loads in Afghanistan. Mike’s comments: “It shows march, approach and combat loads of troops in Afghanistan, for reference for building bug out bags. Obviously, a civilian bag will be lighter on batteries and ammo, and heavier on food, water and shelter. But this is a handy reference for comparison.”   o o o A pointed history lesson from the Von Mises Institute: Inflation and the French Revolution–The Story of a Monetary Catastrophe    o o o From The Chicago Tribune: Layoff fears part of ‘new normal’ — …



Notes from JWR:

The high bid is now at $210 in the SurvivalBlog benefit auction for a batch of 10 brand new original Imperial Defence SA-80 (AR-15) steel 30 round rifle magazines. The auction ends on July 15th. Today we present another article for Round 11 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The writer of the best non-fiction article will win a valuable four day “gray” transferable Front Sight course certificate. (Worth up to $2,000!) Second prize is a copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, generously donated by Jake Stafford of Arbogast Publishing. I will again be sending out a …


Cutlery Considerations for TEOTWAWKI, by Gage

In a post-TEOTWAWKI environment many of the services we take for granted now will be nonexistent. We will be growing or own produce, butchering our own livestock, cooking our own food, performing our own minor surgeries and protecting or own lives. We will have to rely on our own skills, knowledge and equipment. Of all the tools available to humans none has more importance than a wide selection of cutlery. History has revealed to us six simple machines that revolutionized the world: the wheel, the lever, the pulley, the inclined plane, the screw, and the wedge. As you may have …


Press Awareness Increases on the Nascent Real Estate Market Collapse and Credit Implosion

In the past few days, I’ve had readers forward me links to several very disturbing articles on the declining real estate market and what appears to be the opening stages of a full blown global credit implosion. First, I read this: Mutually Assured Mayhem: Wall Street is on edge, scrambling to buck up Bear Stearns and avert a domino-effect debacle. Then came this very telling piece: Bear Stearns Meets Possums in Georgia as Foreclosures Increase. The key quote in the article: “No lender wants to own real estate, but at the same time you can’t just unload these properties because …


Letter Re: How and Why to Get Physically Fit

Jim: Hello again from a very wet England. I’ve been reading with interest the articles on physical fitness and would just like to add my two penny-worth. Cross country skiing is generally considered to be about the best form of aerobic exercise, inasmuch as it works pretty well all the muscles. The Nordic company do a ski machine that retails new around $700.00, but second hand they sell [on eBay)] for peanuts. Here is an example of one currently on that well known auction site. GBP 15.00 is about $30.00 – a very small price to pay for the ultimate …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Surprise, surprise: Retail Food Prices Jump Five Percent in 2nd Quarter We also read Consumers paying higher food prices as corn prices soar , and Biofuel demands keeps agricultural prices high, OECD-FAO report    o o o Some strange summer weather in London, England.    o o o Our friend Tom at CometGold.com recommended this article: Cioffi’s Hero-to-Villain Hedge Funds Masked Bear Peril in CDOs. Tom’s comment: ” ‘Move along, nothing to see here…’ (Insert footage of Detective Frank Drummond from Police Squad! standing in front of an exploding fireworks factory).”




Two Letters Re: Recommendations on Glock Spares and Upgrades

James, When I was a police officer I carried a [Model] 1911. In 1992 I was hired to instruct, among other things, firearms for associate degree police science students. In that year we bought 13 Glock M-17s. It is my estimation that those first Glocks in inventory have put 90-to-110 thousand rounds downrange in the associate degree and the police academy. We have broken five trigger springs and have had three front sights fly off. There have been one extractor break on the 17s, however, three broke on the M22 (.40 S&W). Having five Glocks in inventory here at the …


Letter Re: Some Results From the CDC’s Asian Avian Flu Preparedness/Education Budget

Hi Jim, I’m a regular reader and 10 Cent Challenge contributor. I just wanted to pass on a little info that struck me as very unusual. I live in Louisiana, too close to New Orleans unfortunately. In my mailbox on Saturday, I received a 32 page publication from the Louisiana Dept of Health & Hospitals. It is titled “How You Can Be Prepared for a Flu Pandemic” Individual & Family Handbook. What do they know that we don’t? The state spent $663,594.40 publishing 1,658,986 copies of this Handbook under a grant support from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). This …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Remember that there is now just one week remaining for the $500 Interceptor Body Armor (IBA) vest special from BulletProofME.com. July 12th is the deadline. Anyone who has shopped for body armor knows what a great deal $500 is for a new Interceptor vest. Don’t miss out on this deal. OBTW, I recently received another recommendation for the company: ” I thought you would like some more feedback on your new advertiser, BulletProofME.com. After extensive searching for a vest supplier last year I bought one from BulletProofME.com. Because I had never purchased a vest before I had a lot of …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“All of the government’s monetary, economic and political power, as well as its extensive propaganda machinery, will be enlisted in a constant battle to drive down the price of gold – but in the absence of any fundamental change in the nation’s monetary, fiscal, and economic direction, simply regard any major retreat in the price of gold as an unexpected buying opportunity.” – Irwin A. Schiff