Letter Re: Advice on Military Surplus .308 Ammo

Dear Jim: Recently several of us were having a discussion about the best .308 ammo available these days. I had recently bought some South African mil-spec stuff, but somebody thought that it might be of questionable quality. 1.) What do you think of South African 7.62 ( or any of the mil-spec) as far as quality ammo vs. other brands? 2.) The South African stuff is 147 grain. What grain .308 / 7.62 bullet do you like for your MBR? Thanks for you response. B’Shem Moshiach Yahshua (In the Name of Messiah Yahshua) – Dr. Sidney Zweibel P.S.: I loaned …


Letter Re: The “GM” Diet

Dear Jim: Whether you might need or want to lose some weight, I find the logic behind the “General Motors Diet” (which GM reportedly had a nutritionist develop) absolutely fascinating. I think this understanding could have beneficial survival advantages to your readers. It’s the HOW and WHY it works which is so interesting, and I’ll tell you, it does work. Here are the two versions of it I am aware of: Version 1 (With meat) Version 2 (No meat) Most readers here have probably heard the adage: “Store what you eat and eat what you store.” I think we all …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Ain’t we high tech? I just heard that Mobitech Reader software (works with Bluetooth compatible laptops, Blackberries, PDAs, and even some cell phones) can now display RSS feeds. So you can read SurvivalBlog on the go. (Yes, we have had our own RSS feed for several months.) OBTW, I am looking into putting some of my writings out as Mobitech/MobiPocket e-books, but I have some reservations about security that will have to be resolved first.    o o o Darrel Holland mentioned that he still has just a couple of seats open for his next long range shooting school, September …




Three Letters Re: Clarification on Calcium Hypochlorite for Water Purification

Jim, It has been almost 20 years since I had a chemistry class, so you may want to check this with a chemist. Wanderer posted the following comment: “I stopped at the local Big Box lumber yard and they had Calcium Hypochlorite, (a.k.a. Pool Shock) it was concerning as it states 50% Calcium Hypochlorite and 50% Other Ingredients. Making it a 50% available Chlorine. In common language, … is this adequate? It does not seem to be of the 70% goal you mentioned on your earlier post.” He was referring to the EPA web site comment: “… since the calcium …


Letter Re: Storing Ethanol Blend Gasoline?

Jim, Here in the DC area the gasoline supplies are by law blended with (I think) 15% ethanol. I’m familiar with the requirements for storing standard gasoline, but have no idea if the ethanol blend poses any problems for long term storage. Do you have any advice or knowledge that you can share with your readers on this? – Shawnee JWR Replies: Sorry, but that goes beyond my expertise. Perhaps some of the blog readers would care to comment.


Letter Re: “Ural” Russian Motorcycles with Sidecars

Jim, I saw a great motorcycle here in North Idaho that I thought would be of interest to the readers of SurvivalBlog. I spotted a fellow gassing up a motorcycle with a sidecar and I decided to take a quick look. It looked like an excellent restored WW2 era motorcycle, something that conjured up thoughts of Steve McQueen in the movie ‘The Great Escape‘. I found out though that this bike was in fact brand new, a Russian copy of the German BMW motorcycle–www.imz-ural.com for lots of info. The paint scheme was Camouflage and the [Ural Patrol model’s] very handy …


Odds ‘n Sods:

Petromax Lanterns: This gent on The FALFiles is selling the genuine article–originally from German Bundeswehr surplus.    o o o SurvivalBlog reader J.E. mentioned: “I ran across this link via a productivity site: Free e-textbooks for a myriad of subjects, at http://www.textbookrevolution.org/ Very useful, with of course the standard disclaimer about not depending on electronic documents being accessible in a ‘situation’.” #1 Son adds: Our readers that have home-schooled kids may find this useful as well.    o o o Jim K. forwarded this link to a site with some interesting photos of improvised up-armored civilian “contractor” vehicles in Iraq. …




Letter Re: Retreat Locale Recommendations in Texas

Dear Mr. Rawles, In answer to your query, let me share a few observations: 1. Gillespie and Kerr Counties are a paradise. The Guadalupe is a good river, and there is a lot of fertile and secluded canyon-bottom where folk can live their lives in peace. Those secluded canyons are frequently bordered by godless rocky outcrops. The other good thing about that part of the world is that the Germans that populate the area don’t tolerate lawlessness. Period. Fredericksburg in Gillespie is so German that municipal politics is still Protestant-Catholic. Kerville is little different. New Braunfels is similar, but is …


Letter Re: Recommended Pre-1899 Action for a Custom Bolt Action Rifle Project

Sir:: I am looking for a non-FFL Mauser type action in 8mm for conversion to .444 Marlin. I desire [something] similar to 1888 Commission rifle or compatible [as a source] for a complete bolt and receiver. I would consider complete rifle, if shootable. Money is no object, if is the object spelled cheap. I am direct and on fixed income yet desire to do this project. – Pete JWR Replies: For building a pre-1899 bolt action chambered in .444 Marlin your best starting point (read: strong, yet, inexpensive) is a Model 1893 Oberndorf (Turkish contract) Mauser. The same action is …


Odds ‘n Sods:

“No sheep in the house!” In recent weeks we have been pasturing our small flock of Jacob sheep inside the fenced acre right near our house, to work the grass down. (The goal has been to minimize wiildfire danger.) While here at the house, the sheep have been getting into a little mischief. Yesterday our ram developed a taste for the leaves on our grape vines. So I’ll have to put up a small protective fence. They’ve also decided that our front porch is the safest place to sleep. So every morning we get to sweep the “Rasinets” off the …