Category: Retreat Security

Letter Re: Small Unit Tactics in a Post Collapse Environment

Captain Rawles, In addition to the points you made in reference to stealth and scarce ammunition supplies post collapse, in your commentary on the named article, I would make a second point: While the squad level tactics described have proven to be rather effective for active duty military in offense;  the average Joe and his family unit will most likely not have those kinds of numbers.  The average familial size seems to be right around four, these days.  So unless one is lucky enough to have found/joined/founded a group for this purpose, when it gets to be Schumer time the …


Letter Re: Small Unit Tactics in a Post Collapse Environment

Hi Jim,  I agree 100% with your addenda to Gunfighter’s article, Small Unit Tactics in a Post Collapse Environment. As a consultant myself, I have had to stress (particularly to the younger crowd of OIF and OEF veterans) that Survivalists have to operate differently than Soldiers, due to the military’s reliance on body armor, advanced medical resources, et cetera. If anything, I seek out Vietnam Vets as consulting associates, for their experience in individual techniques (usually all from the prone position), from the pre-Kevlar, pre-IBA, pre-MOLLE days. I met many of them when I attended Jungle Warfare school back in 1983. …


Small Unit Tactics in a Post Collapse Environment, by Gunfighter

The time may come when all order and civility have broken down into chaos and unrestrained evil. You were a wise prepper and worked through your list of lists, acquiring all of the necessary knowledge and tools for survival. All of your bases are covered. Your survival retreat is intact and manned by your entire survival group. Each individual is most likely capable of firing a weapon and you probably have a survival retreat defense plan in the event a band of raiders, or some other group of people who wish you harm, decides they want to take what isn’t …


Product Review: FLIR Scout PS24 Thermal Imager, by Kip R.

The price of thermal imaging has dropped to the range of Gen III night vision – about $2,000.  My bug out location has a valley with a stream at bottom and a wooded hillside, plus surrounding pastures and woods.  I wanted the tactical advantage to be able to tell if predators (particularly 2 legged) were in the trees at night.  I purchased an FLIR PS24 handheld from Sportsman’s Guide, member price $1979.97, and shipping is often free if you wait for a coupon code sale.  After waiting about five weeks, it shipped factory direct from FLIR.  My darling wife asked: …


Letter Re: Upgrading Your House Window and Door Security

Mr. Rawles: Although filtered HVAC systems make for comfortable and healthy inside air quality, even the most efficient draw heavily on AC mains. Insulated airtight walls and windows reduce heat loss and in windy areas reduce dirt infiltration. I would never consider powering a cooling system with solar power but heater blower motors can be so powered. This works well for dual stage furnaces that switch from heat pump to natural gas or propane for emergency heat. Fireplaces are as old as houses but rather than just building any old firebox, I researched fireplace design. When building my ranch headquarters …


Letter Re: Upgrading Your House Window and Door Security

James, In response to this posting, while something is better than nothing, I am not a fan of putting up anything on windows or better screws or latches for doors or a covering for windows unless it really adds to equation and the cost is reasonable for the return on expenditure.   As an example, a neighbor added a steel frame with mesh, its costs was about $6,000, it is very pretty with double sided keyed deadbolt and heavy latch/striker plate.  Their security factor went way up, sadly the burglars decided to enter from the side yard and wrapped a concrete block into …


Upgrading Your House Window and Door Security, by Happy Hal

My darling wife read the article on Lexan and asked me to contribute the following. My professional specialty lies in the area of windows and doors. How to Prepare Doors Replace the short screws (3/4″) in the door lock plates with longer ones minimum 3″ but 4″ would be better. The 3″ are # 8 but the 4″ are #10 almost twice as strong. There are two each on the strike plate of the depress plunger and two for the deadbolt. These screws enter the studs making a considerably stronger safety connection than short screws that only penetrate the light …


Letter Re: Lexan for Bulletproof Windows

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Dear James, I have recently purchased raw land to build my retreat. Soon I will begin building a home, and wish to equip it with windows which can resist small arms fire. I can obtain Lexan in 1/2″ thickness, and my question is, will I need two pieces of glazing in each window, or three (or more)? I do not think it likely that I will be shot at with anything larger that .50 caliber. Your thoughts on the matter are most welcome. Thanks, – Zoomer JWR Replies: To begin, I must warn readers that acrylic Plexiglas and polycarbonate Lexan …


Four Letters Re: Could America’s Farmers and Ranchers Face a Rhodesian Future?

Hi Jim,  Reading your article brought back many memories of the period in our land during the 1970s. We lived on the Eastern border and were regularly attacked at night and even during the day and the culprits ran back across the border into Mozambique. We attended many funerals of fellow farmers and their families. One point of interest that you do not mention is that groups of farmers (neighbouring) hired Militia groups of experienced soldiers. Normally about 10 people plus a leader who in some cases was a white man. They patrolled the farm area at night and set up …


Picking the Imperfect Retreat Location, and Making the Best of It, by Michael C.

I think I’m the the position of many out in the real world. I’m strapped for cash. Feeling the time crunch that I must do something soon or be caught up with the unprepared masses and get overrun. I’m also feeling the responsibility for my immediate and extended family whether they are preparing or not. It’s a huge burden to bear when you have been raised to be the “man” of any situation that might affect you and your family. That being said, I’m also a logical, common sense person. I approach things like this: 1. Look at the situation …


Could America’s Farmers and Ranchers Face a Rhodesian Future?

I envision one possible future for America that is fairly bleak, at least in the short term. If the economy deteriorates the way that I anticipate, and if the power grids ever collapse, then it could trigger that dreaded “worst case” situation. Such a socioeconomic collapse could precipitate a large population die-off in metropolitan regions, a bit less in the suburbs, and even less in the countryside. But an extended period of lawlessness would still cause considerable loss of life and property in rural areas. There will surely be a lot of refugees from urban areas, and some of them …


How Police Training Can Help The Survivalist: An Officer’s Perspective, by N.D.

Something I have noticed among the “prepper/survivalist” community is a growing distrust of local law enforcement accompanied by the stigma of an “us versus them” mentality. I decided this would be a good place to start, and will provide some background on myself. I too am a survivalist. I am also a certified police officer in the state of Arizona. I am a double degree major in Criminal Justice, Homeland Security and Counter Terrorism.  From my experience, most in law enforcement are like me: they get into this line of work for a desire to help those in need. I …


Picking The Perfect Hidden Retreat Location, by L.M.

Everyone knows the perfect location for family survival is the number one issue in being prepped.   How do I pick the perfect location should be the number one question in a prepper’s mind.  Many different survival instructors and writers have different ideas on locations and some even have scoring formulas to give your chance of survival.  I have a combined prospective on picking the perfect location from my military training and my working in the Third World as a trainer and combatant.  Let’s look at how I picked my location and facilities.   First, one has to be aware of the …


A Survivalist Plan of Action and a Survivalist Mindset, by Ringo

I have recently retired from the military and have began to dig deeper into the survivalist arena. I have always been interested in this area for quite some time but have not really dedicated the amount of time that I want due to job requirements, life events etc. I have been reading all the blogs, videos and write ups about prepping, survival and there are a lot of good information out there. So I decided to use my 26 years of military experience (4 yeas Infantry, 6 years Long Range Surveillance and 16 years Special Forces)  and apply pertinent concepts …


A Combat Gear Primer by Andrew A.

What is combat gear, and why do you need it? Well, your combat gear is simply your gear that you wear from day to day, in a combat situation, or more aptly for us, a TEOTWAWKI situation. I am a young prepper living in the central Carolinas. I have been collecting military gear, such as uniforms, helmets, vests, and such for over 8 years. Over those 8 years, I’ve seen what the average soldier wears through combat in Iraq and what a Delta operator might wear in Afghanistan. However, please keep in mind that as preppers, most of us have …