Letter Re: Feeding Problem With an AR-15 Chambered in 7.62×39

JWR, Agreed [with your comments] on the kludge of AR-15/7.62 variants. However, since he already has the upper. I might suggest the purchase of another lower [the “AR-47”], that is intended to directly take AK mags, eliminating the [straight magzine well] problem. I’ll be honest, these things kinda suck, the fit and finish on them is truly horrible. I’ve assembled a few of them into California-legal configurations, they do work, but getting them to fit with the upper, and everything else is a pain in the a**. Personally, I would be inclined to just replace the 7.62×39 upper receiver group …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Mike the Blacksmith and Ben L. both mentioned this article: Bird flu virus ‘still smoldering,’ U.S. expert says    o o o William S. Lind, writing in Counterpunch, penned this thought-provoking piece: When Will the First IED Strike Cleveland? (A hat tip to Eric S. for recommending this article.) According to IED experts, the terrorist IED threat shows spiral development. My personal prediction is that IEDs in the Middle East will soon display far greater sophistication. It is an inevitability of Fourth Generation Warfare. In perhaps just five years, “mud hut tribesmen” will be employing unmanned aerial vehicle borne IEDs …



Note From JWR:

Today we remember the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. It is estimated that 2,403 Americans were killed, and 1.178 injured. It wasn’t the first time that as a nation we were blind-sided. The events of 9-11-2001 proved that it could happen again, and sadly similar attacks are likely to occur. We are thankful for the sacrifices of our soldiers, sailors, and airmen.


Letter Re: Communications for Disasters–Are Scanners Useful?

Jim, A very good shortwave portable is the Sony ICF-2010. It is an older portable from the 1980s but is a very strong performer with its synchronous detector. It is often found on the used market and eBay. One fact that many sellers don’t know is that you need to have fresh AA batteries in them for memory retention or the unit will not even function. Many sellers believe that their radios are broken when in fact only need fresh batteries. The unit can be run of D cell batteries or via an AC adapter. Another thing that “goes wrong” …


Letter Re: Feeding Problem With an AR-15 Chambered in 7.62×39

Hi Jim, In reference to magazines for the Colt [AR-15 chambered in] 7.62×39 [,the AK-47’s cartridge.] Have you had any experience or feedback with the ones that have the AK type mag. welded to the top of an AR type mag.? I think they call them Frankenmags? Thank you, – Tom JWR Replies: Because of the sharp angular transition between the curved Kalashnikov magazine and the straight AR-15 magazine well, they don’t work very well at all. You can expect lots of “failure to feed” jams. The sadly inescapable problem is that the 7.62×39 Russian cartridge uses a steeply tapered …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Readers David D. and Bret F. both recommended a speech transcript at the Energy Bulletin site: Closing the ‘Collapse Gap’: the USSR was better prepared for peak oil than the US.    o o o Michael Z. Williamson sent this link, with this comment: “Further evidence that the “inevitable” Atlantic [La Palma] megatsunami is merely hype.    o o o Rourke (moderator of the Jericho Discussion Group) noticed that SurvivalBlog was linked in the entry on “Survivalism” at conservative commentator Glenn Beck’s “Glennpedia.”  


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“For extraordinary heroism, distinguished service, and devotion above and beyond the call of duty. During the first attack by Japanese airplanes on the Naval Air Station, Kanoehe Bay, on 7 December 1941, Lieutenant Finn promptly secured and manned a 50-caliber machine gun mounted on an instruction stand in a completely exposed section of the parking ramp, which was under heavy enemy machine-gun strafing fire. Although painfully wounded many times, he continued to man this gun and to return the enemy’s fire vigorously and with telling effect throughout the enemy strafing and bombing attacks and with complete disregard for his own …


Note From JWR:

Please take the time to visit the web sites of each of our paid advertisers. They have some great products at very competitive prices. If and when you do buy, please give your patronage to our paid advertisers first! If they don’t have what you are looking for, then move on to the web sites for our affiliate advertisers.


Letter Re: Link to Western US Climate Summaries

Western U.S. Climate Historical Summaries is another great link for those researching retreat locations in the western states. Includes 30 years’ averages for monthly max/min temperatures, precipitation and snowfall for a stunning number of locations (258 in Oregon alone). Great data on frost-free growing days. Also shows record temps, snow and rainfall — you see how the locals got those weather stories. Take care, LM.


Letter Re: Communications for Disasters–Are Scanners Useful?

Hi Jim. I concur with your answer to the post regarding communications and scanner monitoring for disasters. I chose to and recommend implementing both multi-mode and redundant communications. Being that it may be virtually impossible to replace never mind repair most receivers and transceivers it is imperative to have at least two multi-band radios. Some good general coverage models that are still available are the venerable Radio Shack DX 300, DX 302 the DX 400 and the DX 440. The DX 400 and DX 440 are Sangean-made [chassis] in Radio Shack cases. All three radios are quite sensitive, wide band …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Writing in yesterday’s Daily Reckoning, editor Bill Bonner observed: “People who lend in dollars get repaid in dollars. An obvious consequence of a falling dollar is that lenders have to expect to get less back than they originally invested. In the last few weeks, the dollar has lost about 5% against the euro. Yet, the 91-day T-bill lending rate is only about 4.90%. Go figure. Lenders expected only 4.9% on their money – for a full year. And in a few weeks, they’ve lost more than that, in international terms. What’s more, they still have to pay taxes on the …



Note From JWR:

We had elk and tomato sauce with our spaghetti dinner last night. Yum! We all love the taste of “elkison” here at the Rawles Ranch. There is no shortage of elk in this region. Speaking of which, the elk have recently come down out of The Unnamed Range of Mountains (TUROM) to winter in our valley. In hard winters–as it appears this one will be–we dispense a bit of charity in the form of salt blocks, C-O-B sweet feed mix, and hay to the local deer and elk. We also sometimes see wild turkeys, bear, and moose here at the …


Letter Re: Safe to Shoot 7.62mm NATO Ball in a .308 Winchester Civilian Sporting Rifle?

Hey Jim, My father recently gave me a Winchester Model 88 [civilian lever action sporting rifle] chambered in .308 [Winchester]. I’ve acquired a few rounds of 7.62×51 ball from a separate source. Can I use that ammo in the rifle? I’ve Googled to no avail. Can you help? Thanks, – d’Heat JWR Replies: The short answer to your question is: Yes. From a precise technical standpoint, they are not identical cartridges. Military 7.62mm NATO is almost dimensionally identical, but actually a hair longer than the SAAMI dimensional specs for .308 Winchester. Military 150 grain full metal jacket (“ball”) loads have …