Letter Re: Are Model 1893 Turkish Mausers Capable of High Pressure Rechambering?

Sir: I recently bought a “no FFL” antique German (Oberndorf) Mauser Model 1893 (Turkish contract) from The Pre-1899 Specialist that had been rebarreled to .308 Winchester and turned into a nice sporter that looks just like a modern hunting rifle.  I read on another web site that they don’t recommend re-barreling Model 1893 or Model 1895 Mausers for modern high pressure cartridges like.308.  What do you think?  JWR Replies: The re-arsenalized Turkish contract Mausers were far and away the strongest of the 1893-to-1896 series small ring Mauser bolt actions. Because of their re-heat treating (quite deep), they are stronger than …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Have you ever wondreed how to decipher the date codes stamped on canned foods? See: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Fact_Sheets/Food_Product_Dating/index.asp    o o o A Portland Oregon TV station warns of the Tsunami risk on west coast of the United States: http://www.katu.com/news/story.asp?ID=82990    o o o More on the planned non-nuclear “Global Strike” Trident missiles: http://www.flightinternational.com/Articles/2006/02/07/Navigation/194/204486/Global+strike+concept+raises+hopes+and+fears.html    o o o Another record trade deficit: http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/02/10/D8FMANN00.html


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"In Italy, for thirty years under the Borgias, they had warfare, terror, murder and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love, they had five hundred years of democracy and peace, and what did they produce? The cuckoo clock." – Orson Welles as Harry Lime in The Third Man (Screenplay by Graham Greene)


Letter From “Falsemuzzle” Re: Black Powder Guns in Survival Planning

Jim: An appropriate addition to your selection of firearms should be a black powder (BP) revolver and longarm. Many very fine guns of these types are sold all over the U.S. and so detailing the good and bad of each is probably beyond the scope of this commentary. Many prefer their own experience in the area when choosing a good BP firearm, and so I will not try to express my own biases here. What counts is having them. In terms of mobility, pre-cast bullets would be the best bet. In terms of a permanent site, storage of raw lead …


Letter Re: Defensive Shotguns on a Budget

Dear Jim: Mr. Bravo is right on the money regarding Mossberg shotguns. They are inexpensive and reliable. At IDPA shoots (www.idpa.com) I see problems EVERY match with auto shotguns, but far fewer problems with pump guns. The pump gun is a little slower to run, but the major problem of short stroking the pump is quickly corrected on the fly, while the autos can jam and are completely out of action. The only mechanical thing I have had go wrong with my Mossberg 500 or 590 is the safety’s spring loosening up after 10 years, with the safety coming on …


Two Letters Re: Alternate Fluids for Bore Cleaning and Gun Lubrication

Jim – Use “Ed’s Red” for a great home made weapon cleaning solution. See: http://www.building-tux.com/dsmjd/tech/eds_red.htm. I made a couple of gallons a long time ago and I’m still working on them… Regards, – G.T. Hi James, Possibly the best information source on the web for “homemade cleaners” is here: http://www.frfrogspad.com/homemade.htm Regards, – “Moriarty”


Letter Re: Road Blocks

Jim, As with any obstacle, roadblocks will only be effective if covered by fire. Also obstacles must be tied into the terrain and the overall fighting plan. Digging an anti-tank ditch across a road [in level country] won’t stop anyone if they can just drive around it. The French Maginot Line was a great obstacle, but the Germans just went around it. So any roadblock has to tie into other natural or artificial barriers. A roadblock that denies the only bridge that crosses an otherwise impassible river is a good example of one that ties into the terrain. However, if …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Disarming gun owners wasn’t enough for the hoplophobic Scots. Now they want to ban knives, too. See:   http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/55905.html and http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/4691634.stm Laddies, its time to call Mel Gibson. You could use another William Wallace “Sons of Scotland!” speech about now…   o o o Only six year too late, President Mugabe is asking Zimbabwe’s displaced farmers to return: The http://news.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/02/09/wzim09.xml. Good luck Comrade. They’ll come back, but not until after you and your henchmen have been sent packing.   o o o Some of the Cell Phone Tracking web sites that we mentioned last week are being shut down: http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2006/2/8/212731.shtml?s=ic …



Note from JWR:

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Alternate Fluids for Bore Cleaning and Gun Lubrication

SurvivalBlog reader L.M. alerted me to an informative article at Armalite’s web site about how automatic transmission fluid can be used as a firearm bore cleaner, and how motor oil can be used as a gun lubricant. Even if you are committed to Break-Free and Hoppes #9 (like me), this is good to know WTSHTF and cleaning supplies get scarce. See: http://www.armalite.com/library/techNotes/tnote64.htm.


Letter Re: Road Blocks and “Spider Holes”

Hello James, I have been thinking back upon your novel Patriots and the importance the “spider holes” played.  That sparked another memory, one of discussion some time ago in the blog about blocking roads, one gentleman even mentioned dropping a tree across his drive if necessary. What would be a good, better, best barricade of the next four,… and what else could you suggest? 1). Dropped Trees/ telephone pole, logs, et cetera 2). Large boulders, (3′ on up) 3). Posts buried but sticking up to random heights 4). Some sort of a berm or trench In line with my first …


Letter Re: How to Buy Silver?

Jim, Why [do you] recommend [serialized] 100 ounce silver bars when 90% silver coins are selling at spot and the bars are at spot plus $.30 (this is from www.cmi-gold-silver.com in Phoenix)? It seems like silver coins would be the better choice because they are cheaper and more versatile than 100 ounce bars. – Springmtnd JWR Replies: If you can buy circulated pre-1965 U.S. silver coinage at spot, that is fantastic. Even after the recent dip, most dealers currently charge around 7 times face value ($7,000 per $1,000 face value bag.) As a point of reference, a $1,000 bag with …


Two Letters Re: Changing The Retreat Locale Paradigm: Cellular Phones and Two-Way Satellite Internet Systems

Sir, Firstly let me congratulate you on taking your blog full-time. It has proved an excellent resource for myself and getting friends and family to see the benefits of preparedness. Almost as effective as your novel, in fact! I hope resources will permit me to become a contributing reader in the very near future. A quick note on Cellular Broadband for remote locations, several companies are now offering broadband speed to cell phones or mobile devices(such as the Palm Treo or the RIM Blackberry). Several of these phones can act as a modem: by attaching the cellular phone to the …


Odds ‘n Sods:

I just learned that Ken Timmerman, my former colleague at Defense Electronics magazine, has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize! See: http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2006/2/8/111611.shtml?s=ic Back in the late 1980s Ken was living in Paris and was a columnist for Defense Electronics. At the time I was an Associate Editor, and I edited some of his columns. Since he was in tight with folks in both Parisian defense and diplomatic circles (he speaks fluent French), we had some fascinating conversations and on-line chats.) In the same era, Ken edited the Middle East Defense News newsletter (a.k.a. MEDNews.) His most recent book, “Countdown …