State By State – Montana

Montana: Population: 903,000. Population Density: 6.1 per square mile (Rank 18 of JWR’s top 19 states). Area: 147,000 square miles (rank 4 of 50). Average car insurance cost: $671/yr. (rank 38 of 50). Average home insurance cost: $451/yr. (rank 26 of 50). Crime Safety Ranking: 10 of 50. Boston T. Party’s State Firearms Laws Ranking: 92%. Per capita income: $22,518 (rank 46 of 50). ACT & SAT Scores Ranking: 8 of 50. Montana Agriculture reference: http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/narratives/MONTANA.htm Montana Crops: Potatoes, sugar beats, sorghum, alfalfa, grass hay, and grains. Plusses: Very low crime rate! Very low population density. Minimal gun laws. Good …


Letter Re: HK-91 Magazines for CETME Rifles

Jim, just to let you know, for anyone on a budget like me, the surplus G3/HK-91 magazines for sale by Tapco function very nicely in my CETME. No hangups or malfunctions. I bought 100 of these and some require a little cleaning, but at $1.99 each they are a good bargain. With all the recent news of gun confiscation in New Orleans this may be just the “crisis” the feds are looking for to ‘slow down’ or stop entirely surplus gear. I suggest everyone buy ‘in quantity’ any firearms supplies of this nature. JWR Replies: In case Tapco has sold …


Letter Re: Been There, Done That, Got the T-Shirt

Hey, I am Mr. Sierra, and yes I bought a SurvivalBlog T-Shirt… as well as survival Freeze Dried Foods and Water Barrels and Pump…so following the advice of the Blog have done that. I do have a surplus Military Winter Sleeping Bag with a Gore-tex cover. Carrying my snubbie around as a concealed carry firearm while returning a video to store etc, is comforting, concealable, and better than my pointed index finger in my jeans pocket. 😉 One thing I read on the Blog today was about Stress Reduction [David in Israel’s article, posted on 12 Sept. ’05] which I …


Letter Re: Leatherman and Craftsman Pocket Tools

Leathermans are great, but I also have two different ones from Sears Craftsman. My favorite one has its main tool as lineman’s pliers that are slip joints, replaceable screwdriver tips, and very functional wood saw (which I think is important). Their other one that I like is a vise grip style needle nose. I bought these about 3 years ago and either they stopped selling them in the People’s Republic of New York or they discontinued them all together. I wanted to buy an extra of each. BTW–your book is great, as is your website, I bought it from Fred’s …


Letter Re: Lessons Learned from Hurricane Katrina

Dear Mr. Rawles, I post as “Preacherman”, one of the moderators on The High Road (www.thehighroad.org), a forum for firearms enthusiasts and the Second Amendment. I wanted to draw your attention to two threads I posted in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, containing “lessons learned” on the ground (I live in Louisiana). There have been many member responses, often including good points and valuable information. The threads may be found at: http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=153978 http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=154894 There are a number of other threads in our Strategies & Tactics forum dealing with lessons learned after Katrina, particularly bug-out and survival needs. I hope you’ll …


Letter Re: Survival Battery on a Budget

Dear Mr. Rawles, I have followed your writings and bought your book Patriots which I have read several times. Now I am enjoying reading your blog everyday and all the profiles and exploring your links. You have lots of great ideas and have obviously spent a lot on equipment and supplies. Not everyone has many thousands of dollars every year to put into preparations, so I am wondering if you could say something about a low-cost strategy. For example, a no-holds barred firearms battery may include (in various quantities): * FAL .308 ( most are $1,000 – $1,500) plus 20 …


Letter Re: Diesel “Rustling” in California’s Central Valley

Mr. Rawles, I thought you might be interested in this article from the LA Times today: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-rustle12sep12,0,5207254.story?coll=la-home-business With $3.25 per gallon diesel,we now have “fuel rustlers” stealing from ranchers. In your writings you always point out that our fuel storage tanks should be underground and the pumps disguised. Sound advice!


Letter Re: Request for Clarification Regarding Diesel Engine Invulnerability to EMP

Jim, after checking out the articles on the best transportation during EMP, I’m a little confused. I read, but may not have understood, that the older pickups (1988) with diesel engines were best. Also that 1994 and older were best, and that the newer trucks are protected today. Can someone help since I am looking for a diesel pickup? – G.C. JWR Replies: Frankly, I’m also a bit befuddled by the conflicting data. Perhaps some kind soul out there that has more knowledge on the subject than I do can clarify exactly which makes/vintages of diesel engines are EMP resistant, …


Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"The right of self-defense is the first law of nature; in most governments it has been the study of rulers to confine this right within the narrowest possible limits. … and [when] the right of the people to keep and bear arms is, under any color or pretext whatsoever, prohibited, [then] liberty, if not already annihilated, is on the brink of destruction." – St. George Tucker, Judge of the Virginia Supreme Court 1803


Note from JWR:

Today, I’m covering Louisiana, the seventh of 19 states in my rankings of states by their retreat potential. Note that I wrote the following a year ago–long before Hurricane Katrina arrived. I certainly was right when I warned “Coastal Louisiana and +/- 50 miles inland is in the hurricane zone”–but I didn’t need to be any sort of sage with arcane knowledge to figure that out…


State By State – Louisiana

Louisiana: Population: 4.5 million. Population Density: 94.2 per square mile (Rank 2 of JWR’s top 19 states). Area: 47,751 square miles (rank 8 of 50). Average car insurance cost: $928/yr. (rank 30 of 50). Average home insurance cost: $721/yr. (rank 2 of 50) Crime Safety Ranking: 50 of 50. Boston T. Party’s State Firearms Laws Ranking: 94%. Per capita income: $23,090 (rank 45 of 50). ACT & SAT Scores Ranking: 34 of 50. Plusses: Mild climate. Low property taxes. Firearms freedom. Minuses: Coastal Louisiana and +/- 50 miles inland is in the hurricane zone. Very high population density (by western …


Zimbabwe’s Tragedy Continues

If you want to see a full scale “slow slide” economic collapse in action–one that rivals the severity of what I portrayed in my novel Patriots–then just look at modern day Zimbabwe. Comrade Mugabe and his ZANU-PF cronies have absolutely ruined a once prosperous nation. Please take the time to read the August and September letters archives at the Cathy Buckles web site. IMHO, Zimbabwe needs our prayers, and a vigorous counter-revolution!


From David in Israel Re: Survival Psychology and Stress Reduction

In my days as EMS system director I had to do quite a bit of psych and stress management on my firefighters and medics. We were living the survivalist lifestyle where every day was TEOTWAWKI for the people we responded to when we were on shift. Humans and animals share a common bond deep in our nervous system. Deep below out intellect and ego we have two basic modes fight/flight or rest/digest. We live our whole life sliding in between these two areas. When you feel stress form being shot at by terrorists or worrying about your credit card bill …


Letter Re: Leatherman Wave Pocket Tools

James, I noticed that you asked for some input on knives. Well, I just wanted to tell you that I have been using a Leatherman Wave tool since they came out…what, six years or so?….And the last year it has been used everyday on my job as a Handyman. I just don’t know what I would do without it. It is a fine tool and knife, that will stand up to some hard use. Though I have always tried to use it within reason, and not abuse it to much (the day I tried to make it work as a …


Letter Re: Feral Dogs, Pre- and Post-TEOTWAWKI

Hello, This link is to a newspaper story from Johnson County, Iowa, regarding a huge pack of feral dogs that is terrorizing a small town, West Liberty, about 15 miles southeast of us. Iowa City, the “capitol” of Johnson County is an extremely anti-gun, liberal town and this is an interesting battle about wild dogs, self protection, property rights etc. Thank you for everything that you write and promote.See: http://www.press-citizen.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050909/NEWS01/509090313/1079