Category: Retreat Logistics

Letter Re: An Exercise in Humility–Starting a Poll on Embarrassing Mistakes

Jim: Freeholder’s comments on the need for real world experience in animal husbandry are part of a larger issue. How can we gain hands on experience in so many diverse survival skills and still have time for work, family, friends etc? Even if we wanted to, how many stupid mistakes would we make without someone mentoring us? It’s just as important to know what doesn’t work as what does. This blog has had a lot of great ideas of what to do. Now I’d like to see some of what not to do, otherwise, I’m likely to do that same …


Letter Re: Cargo Trailers Not Advised for G.O.O.D. Travel

James: I’m not a regular user of cargo trailers; I do own a 26-foot boat with a long-tongue trailer. Whenever I trailer the boat and whenever I have had occasional need for a cargo trailer, I have been the source for entertainment for bystanders. I think I inherited this failing from my father–but that’s another story. My point: is, unless you are really adept at trailer handling, you may want to consider the fix you will be in if, while trailering to your secure location, you come upon a street barricade with armed folks. The attendant super adrenaline rush, together …


Top Ten Suggestions for Stocking Up, by Mr. Yankee

Continuing the theme of being part of the solution and not part of the problem when crisis strikes, consider that the time to stock up is before a shortage occurs. We may disagree on the reason why, but it seems obvious that we are living at the tail end of a historic period of plenty. Whether you feel that the price hikes we are seeing are due to peak oil, developing nations gobbling up natural resources, or active war zones sucking in all available oil and ammunition, you can not deny that prices (especially for fuel and metals) have increased …


Letter Re: Survival Kits and Salt Storage

Sir: I came to the survivalist mindset by the strangest of all possible paths – a literary one. I would probably be considered more of a “self-reliantist” than a survivalist, but I see that as a fine point. I’ve always been the sort of guy who has wanted to know how to make things from scratch, and I’ve learned a lot in my planning efforts. I’ve been slowly compiling an encyclopedia of important skills and knowledge that is now in excess of 1000 pages and includes things from the most primitive tasks to the light-industrial. I thought I might offer …


Two Letters Re: SHTF Shopping

Dear Editor: SF in Hawaii had some good ideas in his post on Imminent SHTF shopping. However, I strongly disagree with his plan to pick up chicks and rabbits at the last minute — “Items that require maintenance that you don’t want to deal with pre-SHTF (i.e. guard dog, male and female rabbits and chicks (for raising meat) and the food and housing that they will require.” It requires skill and experience to successfully raise rabbits and chickens, skill and experience that don’t come in a few minutes time. (It also requires skill and experience to train and handle a …


SHTF Shopping, by SF in Hawaii

There are two types of survivalist [“Schumer Hits the Fan”] (SHTF) shopping. Pre-SHTF, and Imminent-SHTF. Let’s look at both of them . Pre-SHTF These are things you buy now while there is no immediate threat and no mobs of desperate people trying to get the same thing. People who know you think you are eccentric but mostly harmless. The readers of this site already know what kinds of items to store in advance (food, guns, ammunition, etc.) and so it will not be repeated here. Conceptually, these items should have long term storability, and in terms of food be used …


Letter Re: Lee Handloading Tools

Jim, I’ve been following the links to all the surplus ammo dealers..most of that ammo is corrosive, old junk. Totally unreliable. This is a great time for people to start reloading, on the cheap! Here is a great link to Lee brand cartridge reloading tools. I bought the Challenger press kit and now reload .308 and 8mm Mauser. Lee Precision has the best prices I’ve seen and the product is top notch..The hand press is also cool. Its easy and after the initial investment things really go down in price: bullets, powder and primers are still cheap and brass, at …


Letter Re: The Firearms Battery and Ballistic Wampum–Shallow and Wide, or Narrow and Deep?

Hi Jim, You may have answered this question before, but I haven’t seen it addressed specifically. Over a significant period of time reading about (including the Profiles of people on your blog) and talking with people about preparing for the future, I’ve noticed two schools of thought regarding establishing a firearms battery for use in the event of societal breakdown. (Although the concept could be applied to most areas of preparation.) The two are: 1. Maintaining a broad range of firearm types and calibers, but in a shallow depth of supply. The idea here seems to be that of maintaining …


Two Letters Re: .223 For Long Range Sniping?

Dear Jim, I’d like to kick in my two cents worth on the Blackwater snipers in Najaf, seeing as how I was in country when it happened and know a number of the people involved. There appears to be a great deal of Monday morning quarterbacking going on regards this incident, so I will lend some background on it. The entire thing started when US troops tried to shut down Moqtada Al Sadr’s newspaper and arrested a number of his henchmen (I won’t call them lieutenants, because they’re not worthy of it). The response from Sadr’s followers was rather unexpected …


Letter Re: Advice on Aftermarket Barrels for Glock Pistols

Jim, I am contemplating purchasing the Glock 21 (.45 ACP). I am concerned that it is not a fully supported chamber, should this be a worry with the low pressure round like the .45 or is it just a factor in the higher pressure round like the .40 caliber. I have larger hands and the grip is not a problem for me. I hear that you can get a replacement barrel that fully supports the round, would you recommend this. Thanks for any help with this matter, JWR Replies: The Glock 21 is a good choice, especially after adding tritium …


Three Letters Re: Comments on High Capacity .45 ACP Pistols

James, In the late 1990s I bought a Para Ordnance P-14 [double column magazine M1911 variant], without first test shooting one. I never could get it to shoot well, the sights sucked and the grip turned out to be too fat (this was before somebody invented the slimming grip panels.) Anyway I sold it after about 1,000 rounds. The good news was I sold it just before the California magazine ban went in[to effect in January, 2000) and I just about tripled my money on that gun and all the magazines that I had. There is not really any group …


Letter Re: Stocking Up On Full Capacity Magazines

Jim, I took your advice and recently purchased some more full capacity mags for my Glock. Glockmeister has new mags for $20.00 a piece right now as well as +2 extensions for $15.50-to $18.00, Glock 33rd(!) 9mm mags for $39.00 and rebuild kits for $20.00. Another great deal is at Dillon Precision. They sell Arredondo’s [Glock magazine base pad] extenders that increase the capacity of smaller calibre mags by 5-6 rds and larger calibers by 3-4 rds. These aren’t cheap at $39.95 each but quality is reportedly very good and really adds firepower to your pistol. If the socialistas have …


Letter Re: Stocking Up on Augmentin–the Antibiotic of Choice

Jim: I’m somewhat reluctant to offer blanket medical advice to non-patients, but after reading SF in Hawaii’s comments about Augmentin (Amoxicillin-clavulanate) bears comment. There is no ‘one best antibiotic’ for all purposes. Antibiotics have to be administered based on the specific type of bacteria causing an infection. Administering the wrong antibiotic doesn’t just not work, it causes bacteria that are not killed outright to become resistant to it – which can cause problems down the road. People have pathogenic bacteria in and on them all the time, when something causes them to go out of balance and cause disease. At …


Four Letters Re: Comments on High Capacity .45 ACP Pistols

James: You asked for comments on the Taurus 24/7, so I thought I would give you my opinion. The major appeal of this gun to me was the price. I got mine for about $315 brand new with three magazines. Aside from price, the other deciding factor was the ergonomics. With the Ribber grip, the gun is very comfortable to hold and to shoot. Since I bought the gun for my wife, who has small hands, this was a major factor. The manual safety was also important to my wife, although I don’t find them necessary if you know what …


Letter Re: Honey–Storage Life, Crystallization, Storage Quantities, and Medicinal Uses

Jim: I was at Costco this week and paid particular attention to the bulk honey supplies they had . (I was buying a few 96 ounce jugs of Clover brand honey – good stuff). I had last purchased some of the same honey two months ago. It is now up nearly 80 cents from that time. In speaking to a friend who is involved in honey sales and production of bee related product, waxes, etc, they are very concerned about Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) and declines in the [bee] populations. They agree with points made at Survivalblog that prices will …