Category: Hunting

Pat’s Product Reviews: Ruger’s Model 77 Hawkeye in .300 Winchester Magnum

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Without a doubt, the .300 Winchester Magnum (“Win Mag”) round, is my all-time favorite round in a high-powered hunting rifle. What I like about the .300 Win Mag round is, you can load it down (if you load your own ammo) to the velocities of a .308 or 30-06, and it’s just fine the way it is, in the factory loadings as well.   In a life-changing situation, where there may be a break-down of law and order, you may find that you need some type of high-powered rifle, that can really reach out there and touch someone. Or, for …


Pat’s Product Reviews: Benchmade Marc Lee “Glory” Knife

Pat’s Product Reviews: Benchmade Marc Lee “Glory” Knife Make no mistake, I like big knives. I don’t care if they are folders or fixed blade knives, I like mine big. I’ve found over the years, that a big knife can do more than a little knife can, in most situations. Don’t get me wrong, small knives have their place, too. However, I’ve just found that a big knife can do just about all I ask of it on a daily basis.   The new Benchmade Knives, Marc Lee “Glory” Knife, was made to commemorate US Navy SEAL, Marc Lee, who …


Product Review: Gamo Airguns CFX Combo

Airguns are a useful thing to have around for pest control and small game, can be backup weapons when necessary, and are legal in many places where regular firearms are not.  They are relatively quiet, inexpensive, and the ammunition (pellets) can be bought by the thousand for little money. The Gamo CFX Combo air rifle is a handy package, that includes a .177 caliber air rifle with muzzle brake/muffler and 4×32 telescopic sight.  It shoots 1,000 fps with lead pellets, and is actually supersonic (1,200 FPS) with PBA (Performance Ballistic Alloy) pellets.  These are harder metal and harder hitting up …


Letter Re: Ammunition Storage and Do-It-Yourself Desiccants

Hi Jim.   Dry wall is made of Gypsum, which is composed of Calcium Sulfate Dihydrate, with the chemical formula CaSO4·2H2O. It is found naturally and also made Synthetically by Flue Gas Desulfurization at some coal-fired electric power plants. Synthetic Gypsum can be used interchangeably with Natural Gypsum in some applications. There was a problem with drywall from China which contains too much Sulfur probably from the flue gas desulfurization process. When Water is absorbed by the bad drywall, Hydrogen Sulfide is formed which induces corrosion in some metals. I would not trust using drywall as a desiccant for ammo storage. Just think …


Two Letters Re: Ammunition Storage and Do-It-Yourself Desiccants

Hi Jim,   I wanted to share with others of how I make my own desiccant packs. Go to a craft store like Michaels and in the flower department you can buy a box of silica gel that is used for drying flowers. I then get a box of family sized tea bags (these are twice the size of regular tea bags but any size will work) Use needle nose pliers to remove the staple that holds on the little piece of cardboard used to squeeze the bags, empty out the tea and use a spoon to now fill the …


Three Letters Re: #10 Cans for Ammunition Storage

Hi Jim,   For some time now, I’ve been using spare food-grade oxygen absorbers with my long-term ammo storage in regular ammo cans. I keep a regular supply of O2 absorbers in a Mason Jar that I re-vacuum each time with the now famous Alvin Vacuum sealer / Tilia Mason Jar Adaptor.   Being able to stack ammo cans is also good. Seeing the sides of the cans squeeze towards the center (and hard to re-open): Priceless. This is one of the reasons why 5.45x39mm Russian is my favorite MBR round: The surplus Soviet ammo is already delivered that way! …


Letter Re: #10 Cans for Ammunition Storage

Mr. Rawles,   I have searched your site and others for detailed information on long term storage using sealed #10 cans.  Are there any drawbacks?  I can buy cans from the LDS cannery for around 1.00 a piece, which is much cheaper, by volume, than regular ammunition cans.  Any information you or your readers could provided would be greatly appreciated. – John S. JWR Replies: The #10 steel can is awesome! For food storage, they don’t suffer from the gradual oxygen transmission (permeability) weakness of HDPE buckets. For ammo storage, they work nearly as well as military surplus ammo cans. But …


A Single Dad With Kids, Prepping to Our Fullest, by Kurt G.

I’m a single dad (32 year old) of three amazing children, Aaron 12, Sarah 11, and Savannah 3, and this is our journey. In 2008 we had lost everything, my job, our house, our jeep, the truck and pretty much everything else. We did manage to keep our four door sedan as our source of transportation. We were fortunate to have family who had a 2nd home and welcomed us to use it. I had prepped a little here and there for the past10 or so years but was still learning and very naïve to what being prepared really meant. …


Pat’s Product Review: The Saiga 12 Shotgun

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Awesome! That’s the best word I can come up with, to describe the Saiga 12, 12 gauge shotgun. Most people believe that only full-auto assault rifles, machine guns or submachine guns can offer-up “fire-power.” Well, I’m here to tell you that the Saiga 12 shotgun, can hold its own against many full auto guns – at least, given the limited range of a shotgun. Right now, the Saiga 12, is one of the hottest selling firearms across the country. There are several reasons for this, first of all is that, this is one fantastic shotgun for self-defense. Secondly, the BATFE, …


Reloading On the Run, by David L.

Your house might be secured. In your basement or workshop you have your reloading outfit, your press, your scale and all of your dies. You can load thousands of rounds in a couple of days if you choose. So what if you have to leave your home in case of the proverbial excrement hitting the rotating circulating blades? How will you pack up your reloading outfit? How much ammunition can you possibly carry if the need arose? Ammunition runs out, especially if you can’t get to the store to replenish that supply and you are away from home.   In …


Traditional Archery in a TEOTWAWKI

I felt prompted to write to point out some advantages to traditional archery, especially for those that might not be all that familiar with archery as a family sport. First, a little about me. I am 56 years old and have been an archer since I was 14. My dad was an avid outdoorsman who introduced me to a .22 rifle when I was six years old. I still have that rifle and used it to teach my wife how to shoot when we first married 36 years ago and am now using it to teach my nephews to shoot. …


A Firearms Battery on a Budget, by J.J.K.

There has been a lot written about firearms in a SHTF scenario. Plenty of information about which firearms are the “best” and which calibers are the “best” and so on. I have no interest in proceeding on that same tack. If you have the money, you can make any firearm choices you want, and if you have the time and authority, you can coordinate with those who are likely to show up to your retreat. Neither of these is possible in our personal situation. My wife and I have both been unemployed for well over a year. My unemployment is …


Letter Re: Seeking Advice on Household Moves with Firearms and Ammunition

Sir, What advice could you give for moving one’s store of firearms and ammo a considerable distance in a relocation within the continental Unites States?  I am in one of the reasonably free northern New England states and figure that if I can make it through New York state without being stopped I can breathe a relative sigh of relief.  Still, I envision a scenario where the vehicle with the supplies is never left unattended.  And if I had to make this move alone I would consider doing so in a motor home so that I would only have to …


Hunting for Food, by Jim W.

For many reasons hunting as a sport has diminished over the past thirty years in the United States.  Video games, the everyday rat race, lack of interest in the outdoors, and life in general have taken the front seat to a sport that not only brings family and friends together but instills in people a true appreciation of nature.  I consider myself part of a very small but lucky percentage of people.  Growing up I had great role models in my family, from both a religious and moral view, as well as an outdoor perspective.  My grandfather was a game …


Hunting When SHTF: Why Your Plan Isn’t Going to Work, by Conover

I have worked as an ungulate habitat biologist in a western state for a number of years now, and I think it’s given me a rare perspective.  There is a large hole in the plan of the casual survivalist that I want to talk about.  It lies in the animals you will be hunting when the Schumer Hits the Fan (SHTF).             Ungulates are the large hoofed mammals that roam our continent. In the continental U.S. these include: Bison White Tailed Deer Mule Deer Pronghorn Antelope Elk Bighorn Sheep Mountain Goats Obviously for someone with limited ammo, which is all of …