Repost of an Old Letter Re: Hyperinflation in Indonesia

Back in the late 1990s, I corresponded via e-mail with a gentleman from Indonesia who had read the short “Triple Ought” draft edition of my novel Patriots. One of his letters in particular (from October of 1998) had some interesting insights and a valuable perspective on what it is like to live through a period of hyperinflation. (This was back during the time of wholesale inflation of the Indonesian Rupiah.) He started his letter by responding to my request for a sample of the Indonesian paper currency for my collection. To explain: I collect fiat paper currencies that have been …


Letter Re: The Demise of Winchester and Request for Suggested Brands for Bolt Action Rifles

Jim: It’s kinda sad that Winchester is going out of production. I’ve owned a couple over the years and they gave good service. My Model 70 .308 is still a favorite gun. Light, accurate, pretty, tough. What more can you really ask for?  I don’t have Boston’s Gun Bible at this location so I can’t remember where he came out on the Remington/Winchester scale (and of course there are Browning/Savage/Ruger/Sako/Weatherby/Tikka arguments to be made – not to mention surplus guns. I wrote the homage to the Mosin-Nagant last week)… but no matter where your loyalties were seeing another finely crafted …


Odds n’ Sods:

Boston T. Party has announced the date and location for the Third Annual Free State Wyoming (FSW) 2006 Jamboree. It will be Worland, Wyoming from May 26 to May 29, 2006. (Worland is in north-central Wyoming, north of Thermopolis.)  He writes: “We are fortunate to have the use of the fabulous rifle range there for Saturday to Monday, inclusive. The Jamboree schedule is being worked out, as well as our campsite.If you plan to hotel it, get going now on your reservations. Stay tuned for more details, but we’ll see you all in Worland.’ The Jamboree will be held in …



Kicked by a Mule – An Introduction to Tactical Shotguns by Shooter

We spent an evening back in June working on our tactical shotgun drills. Everyone brought their preferred shotgun, and the instructor ran us through the basics of Tactical Shotgunning. I was really impressed to learn that most everyone was carrying a Remington 870 in one configuration or another. It is a very popular shotgun. Sturdy and robust, and like a Jeep, very easy to modify and improve. I was the only one carrying in the “anti-aircraft howitzer” mode, which is to say that I brought my goose gun with 28″ of max choke power. Everyone else had shorter barrels sans …


Letter Re: Advantages and Disadvantages of New Zealand

Hello James, I recently found your website and have been reading through the archives. You’ve put together an enormous resource that can only become more valuable over the coming years. I’ve tried to purchase your novel Patriots through Fred’s M14 Stocks but unfortunately he doesn’t ship internationally. I feel we are relatively fortunate in New Zealand regarding direct threats: 1) The closest part of Australia in 1,275 miles to the west, although the prevailing wind is from that direction. 2) We are an island nation and there are plans to close the borders in the event of bird flu pandemic. …


Letter Re: Alternate Short Term Sources for Drinking Water

Jim, An inexpensive way to store a couple hundred gallons of water is simply in install an extra water heater. Electrics are cheap (a couple bucks a gallon), and don’t even need to be electrically connected. The fresh water continually flows through, and can be drained down for short-term needs during an interruption. If installing in new construction, it’s even easier, and an electrical connection means that you have hot water in the event of a natural gas interruption. Plumbing and valving should ensure that the tank can be gravity drained, and that either heater may be taken out of …



Note From JWR:

As you can see from our new ClustrMap web visit tracker, there are now SurvivalBlog readers all over the world: http://clustrmaps.com/counter/maps.php?url=https://survivalblog.com&type=small&clusters=yes&map=world BTW, it appears that we will have a new foreign correspondent, in Brazil. I’ll have more details about that in the next few days. Thank you for making SurvivalBlog such a rapid success. Please keep spreading the word. One awareness tool that has been proven to work well is a “fortune cookie” paper strip that you can hand out at public events such as gun shows, ham radio swap meets, first aid courses, et cetera. Or you can “carelessly” leave …


Letter Re: Katrina’s Aftermath: Lessons Learned

Mr. Rawles: Well, it seems that Katrina and friends have amply proven what you and many, many other survival writers have been saying for a long time. 1. You cannot depend on any governmental agency to look out for you and yours. Not federal, not state, not county and certainly not local. You have to be fully responsible for looking out for yourself and for your loved ones. It also proved what I have always felt about FEMA‘s vaunted 72-Hour home survival/preparedness kit. 2. A 72-Hour (three day) Kit simply does NOT cut it, at all Anyone who plans on …


Letter Re: Alternate Short Term Sources for Drinking Water

Jim– Instead of water barrels a previous contributor mentioned in fashioning a water supply setup, surplused water heaters can be used. (1) They usually are sound, only have failed heater systems–just need flushing; (2) They are already fitted with correct interior piping and external pipe fittings; (3) If you can get one tank in the sun (make an insulated box–plans are everywhere), presto, a pre-heater for the hot water tank and a savings on your heating bill; (4) If you can get these tanks elevated, you should be able to get a little bit of extra pressure for draining off …


Two Letters Re: Barns, Barn Designs, and Fire

Jim: I was reviewing the Blog. this morning and saw the letter on “Barn Designs and Fire.” As a retired Lieutenant from the Fire Department I would like to make a suggestion! A 250 Gallon fuel oil tank filled with water, in a house attic or barn attic, can be piped to use a{n automatic] fire sprinkler system. Don’t forget to reinforce the weight! Use a pendent sprinkler head rated for the normal high temperature the area will receive and the temperature that you would want the head to go off. Use and a sidewall sprinkler heads for along side …


Letter Re: Do You Know Where Your Gardening Seed Comes From?

Memsahib: I have a question concerning heirloom seeds. My question is how long can a seed be stored in ideal conditions and still produce a viable plant? I am currently not at a position of having more then a very small garden, but I would like the security of a stockpile of seeds stored with me in case I need them in the future. what is a realistic storage time frame? and also what would be considered an ideal storing environment? Once the plants are harvested what is the best way to remove and prepare the new seeds from the …


Letter Re: Defensive Shotguns on a Budget

Sir, WRT the recent posts regarding “Defensive Shotguns on a Budget”, am I the only one that GREATLY prefers the Remington 870? Guess it is probably a Pepsi versus Coke type thing, but I have owned many different brands over the years, and the 870 series is what I find to work best for me. I found a few interesting discussions on the topic online at some of the links listed below, but I would suggest to everyone that if possible, try actually shooting a few different models before making a decision. I learned that lesson the hard way once …


Odds ‘n Sods:

A popular new bumper sticker: I’d rather go hunting with Dick Cheney than ride in a car with Ted Kennedy.   o o o U.S. brings back the venerable .45 ACP — at least for Special Forces Operators. http://www.strategypage.com/dls/articles/2006251215.asp   o o o A fairly definitive piece on Iran’s New Euro-denominated Oil Bourse: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=CLA20060210&articleId=1937   o o o Now H5N1 is in Germany, Austria, and Iran: http://today.reuters.com/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyid=2006-02-14T223300Z_01_L09218784_RTRUKOC_0_US-BIRDFLU.xml&rpc=22 …and in Southern Russia: http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/02/15/060215162126.c9uj06hd.html   o o o Doc at Big Secrets recommends this Water Well tutorial: http://www.lifewater.ca/