Category: Hunting

Letter Re: Advice for an Unprepared Greenhorn

Hello Mr. Rawles! I love your blog, and visit at least weekly, more often daily. The current economic situation is sickening. I mean, actually making my stomach hurt, as I am not prepared. I just recently was hit on the head with the motivation to get prepared. The only problem with that is that I don’t even know where to start. Food? Weapons and Ammunition? Medical supplies? I am the patriarch of a family of 4. My wife and I, and our two children, both 10 and under. What I could use your advice on is just what I mentioned …


Range Report: Advantage Arms .22 Conversion Kit for the Glock, by Everyday Prepper

To start off let me say I’m in no way affiliated Advantage Arms or Glock. I don’t get paid to advertise or test their products and I definitely don’t get paid to write reviews. I took the Glock out today with the Advantage Arms conversion kit installed. I wasn’t exactly skeptical of the kit after reading about it online but I was expecting to have some sort of break in period. I opened the kit up and out fell an orange piece of paper that instructed me to put some oil on the parts in the picture. I grabbed the …


Letter Re: Firearms Battery Recommendations

Mr. Rawles, Thanks for all of the informative posts at SurvivalBlog. Based on your recommendations, I’ve put together the following list of firearms (all I currently own is a 38 year old .22 rifle): Springfield XD .45 ACP ($568) — for concealed carry, self defense Mossberg Model 500 Special Purpose Mariner 12 gauge Shotgun 9 Shot ($423) — for home defense, hunting Remington Model 700 Varmint Tactical Rifle .308 Winchester, 22 in with Muzzle Brake, Bolt Action ($643) — for hunting, possible tactical/precision use in TEOTWAWKI scenarios Rock River Arms LAR-8 .308 Caliber Standard A2/A4 Rifle ($1,170) — for tactical …


Letter Re: Controlling Your Inner Gun Nut–Balanced Preparations are a Must

Hello Jim, Like many readers I have always been somewhat of a gun nut. Back when I was young and single I spent a lot of money on guns and ammo including items I didn’t really need that have since accumulated over time. I was single and had money to spend. Fast forward to the present with wife and kids and money is tight. There is not much left for prepping. So I decided to take stock of what I really need for my core battery of weapons/ammo and sell the rest and use the proceeds for prepping. Here are …


Letter Re: Some Storage SNAFUs

Jim: Why do the incredibly robust “cheap” imported AKs have chrome lined bores , yet some of the expensive and finicky American-made ARs not chrome lined? Well, if you live in a humid climate, it makes a difference. I made the classic error of storing my guns in gun cases. In fact, that’s the worst way to store them as the humidity accumulates inside. One of them had nearly rusted solid in three years. Thanks to the ministrations of another firearm enthusiast, all my guns are being de-rusted, dipped in preservative oil and mylar bagged along with oxygen absorbents, rust …


How To Make Den-Type Game Traps, by Terry B.

Den Traps are my favorite type of trap, and knowing how to make and use them may be the most important survival skill you ever acquire. Once you grasp this concept, you will have the ability to provide fresh meat for yourself, friends, and family, for the rest of your life. So, what is a den trap? Den Traps are the best permanent trap design ever invented. A den trap is simply an artificial den or burrow, built to shelter wild game animals until you are ready to harvest them. A Den Trap has many advantages over any other type …


Letter Re: New High Performance .410 Shotgun Slugs for Self Defense?

Dear SurvivalBlog Editor, Anyone considering the 410/.22 long rifle combo or any other 410 bore shotgun for survival use should take a look at the new state of the 410 slug. It is far more powerful than before and has potential as a defensive weapon against dangerous animals, human attack or as a big game getter. Those interested in details may find it at Hoening Big Bore South. You may want to check this out occasionally as work continues on new loads for smooth bores and barrel offerings. – James Hoening JWR Replies: In my estimation the standard factory .410 …


Letter Re: Rampant Inflation in Steel Products

Hey Jim, I used to make my living as a construction electrician and had several big steel Greenlee brand tool boxes with my tools. There is usually one in the back of my truck all the time. Price of gun safes has continued to rise, so I took one of my boxes and cut out a plywood rack for my guns, then filled in around the rack with polyurethane foam. After it was set and cured, I painted the urethane foam flat black. The fit and finish on my Greenlee tool box/gun safe is good enough to protect my weapons, …


Letter Re: .22 Rimfire Conversion Kits for SIG-Sauer Centerfire Pistols

Dear Jim: Recently, I purchased a .22 conversion kit for my SIG P226 .40 S&W pistol. I was not aware that SIG was making such a unit until I saw it in the gun shop. Although pricey, ($369 factory price, $315 store price, [and I] managed to get one for $295) I went ahead and bought it. I can happily report that this conversion worked flawlessly out of the box. While I did not have the opportunity to really test it for accuracy, I was able to bounce a pop can around at fifty yards. The three kinds of ammo …


Letter Re: Ammo Types and Storage Ratios for a Precision .308 Rifle

James I have a friend wanting my advice. He has a Glock [Model] 22 [.40 S&W] , an AR-15 [5.56mm NATO], a Ruger 10/.22 [rimfire] and a Remington 700 VTR [bolt action .308]. He has 5,000 rounds for the Glock, 10,000 rounds for the AR and 6,000 rounds for the 10/.22. He has no .308 semi-auto rifle and [says that he has] no plans to acquire one. He wants to lay in a supply of around 2,000 rounds for the Remington 700 VTR. It shoots under 1/2 MOA with 168 grain Federal Gold Medal Match, and around 1 to 1-1/2 …


Ten Tips to Save Money on Ammunition, by Mr. Yankee

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As prices increase, many shooters are looking for ways to take the bite out of their shooting budget. Here are ten tips to help: Take the bite out of your shooting budget: If you are like most, you did not buy nearly enough ammo over the past few years. Most of us told ourselves that our budgets just couldn’t be stretched any farther. So our ammunition reserves either dwindled or stayed static despite knowing that prices were rising. Boy are we sorry now! Anyone who was not paying attention had a severe dose of sticker shock when hunting season arrived, …


After 10 Years–Some Observations and Lessons Learned by a Y2K-Era Prepper

It was June, 1998. Y2K was a salient topic of conversation. It got my attention. When the electricity went off and there would be no water to drink, and no fuel to move food to the JIT grocery stores, I could see things getting very ugly. I had been willing to fight for this nation as a member of the US Army. Now it was time to fight for my household. I bought a Springfield Armory M1A. I bought a safe to store it in. I bought another M1A (for the spousal unit of course!) I bought ammo. Lots of …


Two Letters Re: Alternatives to Firearms for Defense and Hunting in a Survival Situation

Mr. Rawles, In his article [Alternatives to Firearms for Defense and Hunting in a Survival Situation], Bill H. missed something very important in his segment on air rifles, the modern large bore pre-charged pneumatic (PCP) rifle. I have a Quackenbush .308 caliber. It shoots standard .308 diameter cast lead bullets into one hole at 25 yards and does about 800 to 900 feet per second. It is my first choice for killing stray/feral dogs. Filling the reservoir with a hand pump is a tiresome job and plinking with the gun is not fun due to the work it requires. However …


Alternatives to Firearms for Defense and Hunting in a Survival Situation, by Bill H.

While in a modern setting there is no replacement for a well maintained firearm, individuals who read Survival Blog are well aware that the terms “Modern”, “Optimal” and “Best Case” are unlikely to apply in the not so distant future. Most tools can serve more than one purpose. A large Crescent wrench can be used as an impromptu hammer for example. Likewise your .308 battle rifle could be used to hunt rabbits, but it has several drawbacks to be being used in such a way. However just as a proper tool kit has a hammer as well as a Crescent …


Letter Re: Ammunition Reloading for Survival

Jim, I saw the article that mentioned Reloading for autoloading rifles, and some comments that seemed to not completely answer questions people may have. It is important to note that reloading any caliber is a delicate undertaking for any gun you are about to trust your life with. The use of case gauges is an important one, but for the part-time reloader they are an expensive investment (~$30-50 each!). A much easier method is to test the cartridge in the firearm, to accomplish this, if you are working on either a progressive or single stage press, reload a few rounds …