SurvivalBloggers: A note on finding Lanolin, for making Ed’s Red bore cleaner: Lanolin is readily available in the breast feeding supply section at most big box department stores, or baby specialty stores. A full tube the (last I checked) is $8-9 but it lasts a very very long time. (And I once scored an unopened, factory sealed tube at a garage sale for 25 cents.) – Alyssa
Dear Mr. Rawles, I heartily agree with the “Weapons Maintenance — A Missing Element, by Odd Questioner”. I would add that having lots of good bore cleaner handy makes maintenance a lot easier. There are MUCH better and cheaper bore cleaners around than the classic Hoppes No. 9. Ed’s Red bore cleaner has been around for over 20 years now and has been mentioned before in your blog. Even so its a good thing to repeat once in a while. “Ed’s Red” bore cleaner is credited to C.E. Harris. Its an excellent, easy-to-make and inexpensive bore cleaner and lube. It …
Dear Mr. Rawles, Here is the definitive test to determine whether ammunition is corrosive or not. The procedure is credited to Small Arms Review publisher Dan Shea. This test is simple, quick, cheap and conclusive. THE BRITE NAIL TEST 1. Take a suspect round, pull the bullet and dump out the powder. I like to also take a known corrosive round as well for a benchmark. 2. Take a few brand new “brite” (i.e. non-galvanized) steel nails with a head size just large enough to fit into the case mouth. Degrease the nails in acetone or other and roughen them …
For the past several months, Tim Sundles, who runs Buffalo Bore Ammunition has buried me in some of his newest ammunition offerings. Somehow, I think he doesn’t like me. He just keeps coming up with more and more new loads for hunters and for self-defense use, for me to test. Seriously, I don’t know of any ammunition company, that is as innovative as Buffalo Bore is. Some of the big name ammo companies might come up with a couple new loads each year – if that. Most are content to sit back on their past accomplishments – not Tim Sundles! …
Over the years, as I’ve been perusing the pages of SurvivalBlog and various other sites, one thing had been missing the whole time, and to my own mind, I completely missed it too. It wasn’t until this weekend that the point was driven home quite clearly. You see, I was out shooting with friends, and taking in a glorious day. In the course of plinking cans and putting various sheets of paper out of their misery, my favorite M1911 light-framed .45 ACP jammed. The slide was nearly locked solid, and after finally clearing out the cartridge and the magazine, I …
While we are all preparing for something most of us are not financially secure there for we must stretch our Dollars as long as we have them as a form of currency. Here in falls the concept of reloading your own ammunition. Because face it we need to practice and we need to store for when the supply runs out. Let’s start by doing a little math, Ammo 9mm Luger Winchester USA 115 Grain FMJ 1190 fps 100 Round Box $21.11 x 10 = $211.10 bought online. Now let’s order the individual component parts online and see how much we …
Dear Mr Rawles, I’ve been reading your archives. I loved the December, 2011 SurvivalBlog article titled Barter, Post-TEOTWAWKI: The Micro Store. This one is a natural for me. One way that I have been collecting barterable items is at yard/garage/estate sales. Estate sales in particular are excellent for the micro store collection. You hit the kitchen area and get current food items for your own stores and then the bathroom for bandages and sample size items such as soap, shampoo, shaving gel, toothpaste and so forth. I’m not talking about items used but items never opened; I have even found …
In reading Don’s response to my first article, I’m going to write about a subject I was saving for next month, but I think is germane now. And I’ll probably forget it by then. Let’s talk about reloading, which also gets short shrift in a lot of books. Note–I’m not going to go into a great deal of technique here. There are books on that. If you like, I can provide my e-mail address and would be willing to answer questions that way. I’m also not going to tell you what brand of press or dies I use. If you …
I got myself into prepping and survivalism after the turn of the century, so my main resource was the Internet. That in and of itself was a whole learning process, as well — but the scope of this article will focus on what appeared to be an amazing find in that great, infinite Google. $80 for an accurate, reliable, rugged bolt-action repeater that was on-par with a .30-06, ballistically… and had dirt-cheap ammo, to boot? There had to be a catch, and oh, how the forum-goers toting $5,000 AR setups assured me (and plenty of people in similar metaphorical boats) …
James, To follow up on M.B.’s article: I use the 12″ Tramontina machete all the time. Using a hacksaw to make it more pointed, I dropped the point 7/16″ and put a 1 3/4″ long false edge on top with a 1/8″ wide bevel, and this shortened the blade to about 11 3/8.” It was easy to get the top edge perfectly straight with a file. This drop point makes it an effective stabber without weakening the blade. The cutting edge was sharpened with a double cut bastard file, then a single cut smooth file to put a 1/8″ bevel …
The purchase of good-quality knives for long-term use can be a huge challenge for preppers. Buying a knife is a lot like hiring a lawyer: when you ask how much a good one will cost, the answer you get is often, “How much would you like to spend?” A good knife for general usage often starts at $80 to $100, and prices can quickly escalate into the hundreds of dollars. Knife aficionados on the online forums often speak of spending several hundred dollars for the “perfect” survival/tactical/combat knife from a famous custom maker. To collectors and to some users, this …
JWR: Just a note about current firearms inventories at the major distributors from a 25 year industry veteran. A majority of the medium to large size firearms wholesalers are experiencing significant stock shortages and inventories are at a “historic low”. AR and AK inventories (regardless of manufacture or builder) are drying up very fast. Most wholesalers are not taking back-orders from dealers on these items until the smoke clears. Even handgun inventories are starting to get very thin, especially center-fire semi-autos. The situation on ammo is better, but many industry retail purchasing agents coming out of this year’s SHOT Show …
James Wesley: For use as an unobtrusive and inexpensive alternative to purpose-built weapons safes, I recommend finding an old, non-functional soda vending machine. Remove the guts (we call it the ‘stack’) and refrigeration system, but leave the lights in the door. (Be careful, the light ballast wiring will bite: 5,000 volts). Tap into the 110 Volt AC wiring on the vending machine to power your Goldenrod Dehumidifier. Store your valuables inside where the guts used to be. Lock the door and keep the key. [If it will be at your private business but in a location that might …
James, First of all thank you for running SurvivalBlog as it is has been a valuable source of information. Years ago, you mentioned Zanotti Armor as a high quality gun safe company, I’m glad you did, as I am now a very happy customer! I ordered the ZA-3 6-foot–the largest safe available from the company–and it fits my needs perfectly. It only took two of us to move all the [modular] pieces to the basement and assemble the walls. It required two extra pair of hands to assemble the top and door. I ordered the safe in June and received …
Much has been written about what particular guns are best for home defense and SHTF, but I haven’t seen much about taking care of these weapons when gunsmiths are not around. Let’s look at what typically causes firearms to fail. As a gunsmith, the main cause of firing malfunctions I see is dirt. This can be crud built up from dust collecting in oil forming a grease-like substance, or rust, or build-up from burned powder (carbon), or residue from the casings or shells. The second most encountered problems stem from magazines, or broken or weak springs. Lost pins or screws, …