Category: Retreat Security

Letter Re: Rules of Engagement and Escalation of Force for the Armed Citizen

Recently Fox News published an article about a Hew Hampshire man being arrested on reckless endangerment for discharging a firearm into the ground as a warning shot to stop a burglar. Reading that article got me thinking about what rules of engagement and escalation of force would look like for civilians. As a former infantry officer and combat veteran of the U.S. Army, I am familiar with the Army’s rules of engagement (ROE) and the use of escalation of force (EOF). Soldiers have a clearly defined set of rules of engagement and escalation of force for different scenarios from peace-time …


Defending Static Positions in a Survival Setting, by J.G.

You’re a prepper.  You have stores of food and water, supplies, commo gear, and everything you could conceivably need in order to survive the Apocalypse.  Unfortunately, that also means that you’re a target.  Eventually everyone in the neighborhood will figure out that you and yours are maintaining your weight while everyone else in society is starving, and your neighbors will cease to behave in a neighborly way.  To say “Oh well, I guess I should have prepared” is not the human way.  They will attempt to take your provisions by force.  This is one of the primary reasons that I …


Simple Defense Tactics That Can Save Your Life, by Belle Ringer

As a woman, I had heretofore never envisioned myself in the scenarios I am about to describe.  The decay of our society and culture has made it necessary for me to know how to defend myself.  It hasn’t been an easy decision to make, but professional training in proper handgun handling has empowered me.   Through hours of practice, I am learning to be a responsible and proficient handgun owner.  I take my privilege of carrying a gun seriously, and recent national events should serve to inform all of us to avoid violent encounters whenever possible.  I carry a gun …


Letter Re: Home Security in Great Britain

Mr. Rawles: First of all, I would just like to say a huge thank you for all the advice, expertise, and survival techniques that you have bought to my attention through your books and your blog. I never realised just how much of a risk our current climate is, and how likely we are to get to a state of “every man for himself” survival. My name is Steve. I am a 21 year old living in the West Midlands county in the heart of Great Britain. I have always had survivalism in my blood, and have always liked to …


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 …