Category: Hunting

Letter Re: Fireproof Document Boxes, Mold, and Rust

Dear Editor: The suggestions of where to hide money prompted me to write about my experiences with storing cash. I keep on hand a few hundred dollars in small denominations in the event of an interruption of cash supply . I keep the cash in a small home fire/water proof lockbox from Sentry (just large enough on the interior dimension to fit an 8.5x 11 sheet of paper, and about 2 inches deep) along with other papers I want to protect from fire. The small size obviously offers no theft protection so to secure it, as well as up the …


Inexpensive Hand Reloading Tools–Part of Budget Preparedness, by D.A.S.

“Everything in life is a trade-off.”  There’s wisdom in that and anyone who wants to be prepared has to make the best trade-offs for functionality and their budget.  Most people who prepare for emergency scenarios, whether it be civil unrest, terrorist attack, EMP, or whatever, include a firearm in their plans. A firearm provides protection and a way to harvest game that is second-to-none.  But firearms require cartridges and there’s the rub.  Unless your last name is Gates, Walton, or Rockefeller, you can’t afford to have 10,000 rounds of ammunition just setting around.  If you have regular job and are …


Letter Re: Correction on Sniping Record for Afghanistan

Hi, The article in the August 14th “odds n’ sods” (Scots Guards Sniper Kills Taliban Leader with Longest Shot) quotes the longest shot on record being this one by Cpl. Christopher Reynolds. Cpl Reynolds says it is the longest shot (confirmed kill) in Afghanistan. Apologies in advance if I am wrong, but the longest confirmed kill anywhere was done by Master Corporal Rob Furlong (Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry or PPCLI) in Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan at a distance of 2,430 meters in 2002. He used a McMillan Tac-50 rifle. The second longest was Master Corporal Aaron Perry (also PPCLI …


Preparedness Beginnings, by “Two Dogs”

I am a retired Marine Corps officer and Naval Aviator (jets and helicopters), commercial airplane and helicopter pilot, and most recently, an aircraft operations manager for a Federal agency. I graduated from numerous military schools, including the U.S. Army Airborne (“jump”) School, U.S. Navy Divers School, Army helicopter, and Navy advanced jet schools. In addition, I have attended military “survival” courses whose primary focus was generally short-term survival off the land, escape from capture, and recovery from remote areas.  Like most Marine officers, I attended The Basic School, an 8-month school (only five during the Vietnam era – my case), …


Terminal Ballistics for Big Game, by Old Dog

The following is based on over 25 years making a living as a licensed guide in Alaska and as a professional hunter in Africa. Between clients shooting game and cull hunts I have personally seen over 7,000 big game (250 lbs or more) animals die from gunshots. I have formed my opinions on terminal ballistics from this experience The Biggest Myth that I hear is faster projectiles (Velocity) kills better than slow ones. As long as the projectile stays above supersonic it will kill big game effectively with a properly constructed bullet. Second Biggest Myth is that more foot-pounds of …


Gear Up — Appropriate and Redundant Technologies for Prepared Families

I frequently stress the importance of well-balanced preparedness in my writings. All too often, I’ve seen people that go to extremes, to the point that these extremes actually detract from the ability to survive a disaster situation. These range from the “all the gear that I’ll need to survive is in my backpack” mentality to the “a truckload of this or that” fixation. But genuine preparedness lies in comprehensive planning, strict budgeting, and moderation. Blowing your entire preparedness budget on just one category of gear is detrimental to your overall preparedness. Another common mistake that I see among my consulting …


Letter Re: An Outward Bound Prepper’s Perspective

Hi Jim, I’m new to your site and books but not to the concepts and precepts. My dad had a survivalist/self-sufficient mindset with a cool mix of Native American philosophy and know-how. I didn’t eat store bought meat or baked goods until I was 10 or 12 and thought processing shoulders of venison in the kitchen was the norm. We had a huge garden and fruit tree orchard. My mom was a master at canning; although I think it should be called “jarring” because you’re putting it in jars, not cans. He collected, traded, and rebuilt guns and amassed quite …


Two Letters Re: Cost Comparison: Factory Loads and Reloaded Ammunition

James, Grandpappy isn’t comparing apples to oranges correctly. His reloaded ammo pricing is for premium self defense bullets, which cost $150 or so per thousand. Most people are going to reload cast lead, which would cost $50 or 60 per thousand for a .40 S&W for example. If you price new premium self defense ammo, like Doubletap, it is going for around $700 a case. If you purchased new brass (why?) Hornady or Speer premium SD bullets, you would still be able to build your own (which we supposedly should not due to legal concerns) SD ammo for half the …


Cost Comparison: Factory Loads and Reloaded Ammunition, by Grandpappy

There are some significant cost differences between reloading shotgun shells and reloading pistol and rifle ammunition.  The following cost summaries illustrate these differences (all cost data collected in June 2009): Pistol Ammunition Summary: $0.270 = Total Cost of one New Factory-Loaded 40 S&W 165 Grain Pistol Cartridge. $0.206 = Total Material Cost to Reload one Used 40 S&W 165 Grain Pistol Cartridge. $0.064 = Cost Savings of Reloading one Used 40 S&W 165 Grain Pistol Cartridge. Rifle Ammunition Summary: $0.800 = Total Cost of one New Factory-Loaded 308 Caliber 165 Grain Rifle Cartridge. $0.480 = Total Material Cost to Reload …


Letter Re: Keep Ammo in Original Boxes?

Mr. Editor, I’ve purchased ammo for self protection and for future barter. Is it best to keep the ammo in the original boxes (e.g. the nice green UMC boxes with the plastic insert that holds the rounds in place) and put those boxes into ammo cans? Or should I just dump all the ammo into an ammo can loose? I could fit many more rounds in each can by dumping them in loose, but I’m concerned about impacting the future barter value of the ammo. And also, if I end up selling some of the ammo before TSHTF, I would …


Zero Your Rifle with Just Two Rounds, by Pete C.

What makes our rifles fun? Shooting them! However, we have all seen first-hand the spike in ammunition prices since the 2008 Presidential election. American’s in fear that they will soon not be able to get ammunition because a possible government bans, smart bullets schemes, etc; citizens have been stockpiling ammunition causing a stress on the market. This in turn causes shortages and prices rise. Here I will discuss a simple and inexpensive way for you to stop wasting ammunition and money; and zero your battle rifle (or any that you might “come across” during a TEOTWAWKI situation) with only two …


Letter Re: Gun Show Report–A Window of Opportunity?

Jim, On Sunday, I attended what is billed as the largest gun show in North Carolina and thought you and your readers might appreciate an update. What I saw lead me to believe that supplies of black rifles and magazines are catching back up to demand but that ammunition and reloading components remain in short supply — especially primers. When I attended the November show, I had to wait in line 30 minutes or so just to get in. I heard the March show had a two hour wait. Today, there was no wait at all. It was crowded inside, …


Letter Re Advice for College Students Living Abroad

Hi, I’m a student from Singapore studying overseas in Australia and I’m also a Christian. I have been following your blog for quite awhile, and there are some things I would like to ask. First, what advice can you give to students studying overseas? As a student, I stay on my own in a rented place, and probably will have to move every six months or so, so stockpiling food and goods are only feasible for about a month or two worth of food, as I will have to shift everything I own on my own to my new place …


Letter Re: Life Under South Africa’s Gun Laws, by Joe Ordinary Voortrekker

This article is a response to a large and glaring preparedness dilemma for myself. Being a law abiding citizen I cannot willfully put myself or my family into a situation where we can be held legally liable for the commission of a crime. If I had a ‘run-in’ with the law because of my beliefs on firearms and freedom, it can and will put my family at risk. Unfortunately we live in a country where the liberty of its citizens is at the mercy of the State. South Africa is for all intents and purposes a ‘Free and democratic’ country. …


Letter Re: Rethinking Uncommon Rifle Chamberings

Mr. Rawles- I read “Patriots: A Novel Survival in the Coming Collapse” a couple of weeks ago and enjoyed it. Thank you. I wanted to mention: I try to follow conventional wisdom about caliber choices for SHTF weapons. Interestingly, in the current ammo shortage, it’s still somewhat easy to get ammo for oddball calibers. For example, if one needs 7.5×55 Swiss, 7.65x54R Russian or 7.5×54 French, many online dealers have it in stock, while 9mm, 45 ACP, 12 gauge buckshot, 308, 223, 7.62×39 etc., are very hard to come by. For people who don’t have the budget to stockpile a …