Category: Retreat Security

Thoughts on a General Purpose AR-15 Rifle – Part 2, by Steve A.

(Continued from Part 1.  This concludes the article.) The mid-length and rifle length gas systems are known for operating the action more smoothly when compared to the carbine length system. The mid length gas system increases for the carbine length barrel. The longer gas tube gives a longer bolt carrier dwell time in the rifle, which lets all the moving pieces work a little more slowly and less violently but still quickly and energetically enough to let the bolt carrier move back fully and allow the bolt to strip the next round off of the magazine reliably. The entire recoil …


Thoughts on a General Purpose AR-15 Rifle – Part 1, by Steve A.

You are a safe and responsible firearms owner. After much research on the web and discussion with friends and family, you have made the decision to purchase or build up a general service AR15 style 5.56/.223 caliber rifle and accept the responsibility of doing so. You have a reasonable budget in mind. Now what? You can certainly go buy a complete factory rifle and do very well with it. However, particularly if you plan to use the rifle for a lot of different uses you may well wish to order it bult to your specifications or build it yourself. By …


Avoiding Complacence in Security, by Robert Downing

While visiting a local church, I had an interesting experience, from a Safety/Security standpoint. My wife and I attended an organ recital at a church after they had installed a massive new pipe organ. The organ was centrally placed with a massive lighting system set up around it to highlight it. The overhead lights lit up the entire area around the organ and additional lights (perhaps as many as 40 small lights) were set up underneath the organ to highlight the various pedals used by the organist. The organist (well-accomplished and semi-famous) explained to the audience the history of the …


Boers, Beans, Bullets, and Bear Soup – Part 2, by Tunnel Rabbit

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) A Rifle for the Recoil Sensitive Around here, .30-06 is more common than .308 Win.  The second most popular in my neighborhood is 6.5 Creedmoor (6.5CM), then 6.5×55, and lastly a wildcat for the AR platform, the 6.5 Timberwolf. Ideally, we would be best off to standardized on .308 Winchester. Yet .30-06 is still king in these woods. It is time tested and found to be the best all around cartridge CONUS, good for mouse to moose, and the occasional Griz, because it can shoot the heaviest .308 caliber bullets with a …


Boers, Beans, Bullets, and Bear Soup – Part 1, by Tunnel Rabbit

This morning, as per usual, I am having more black beans and black bear soup for breakfast on a cold mountain in Montana, waiting for all h*ll to break loose. I prefer beef, but presently bear meat is all that I have. The first few months of a collaspe may be the worst as the desperate and raiding gangs will be active. And then comes several years of famine.  And the rest of the Four Horsemen. Today, I must decide on whether to get a range finder, or a box of 1,000 match-grade bullets for the old war horse: a …


Locksmithing for TEOTWAWKI, by R.M.G.

Let’s take a moment to think about all the things/issues a locksmith might help us with today, that we might be able to prepare ourselves for tomorrow. We have keys and locks that secure our house, our vehicles, the storage shed/workshop out back, our place of business, our guns, our money/important papers/silver/gold. The list goes on and on, and most of it is stuff we take for granted. Many of us have no idea that there are things that we can do to better secure all or most of the things listed above and most people don’t know that there …


The Ghillie Suit: The Ultimate in Camouflage (Updated)

Note:  This is an update to an article that I wrote for SurvivalBlog, back in September of 2005.  I found that many of the included links had expired, so I have updated them. I’ve also added some important details. — Back in the 18th century, game wardens in Scotland were engaged in an occasionally deadly game of cat and mouse with poachers. These wardens–called “ghillies” in the local parlance of the day were experts in field craft. To catch a poacher was difficult, so the ghillies would cut tree or bush limbs and cover themselves with them as camouflage while …


A Retreat Locale Selection Criteria Update

When I launched SurvivalBlog in 2005, I summarized my criteria for selecting retreat locales in a series of articles. Soon after, I evaluated 19 western states, for their retreat potential. I later put that data in a SurvivalBlog static page: Recommended Retreat Areas. This article serves as a 2022 update to that page. Some Things Don’t Change A lot has changed in the intervening 17 years, but some ground truths and some key trends haven’t changed at all: The tendencies of governments haven’t changed. They’ve only grown a bit bolder and their tools for surveillance of the citizenry have become …


Upgrading an Inexpensive Gun Safe, by PrepperDoc

Many prepared individuals have an alternate living location. It might be called a “retreat,” a “bug-out house” or simply their “vacation home.” Perhaps in a “safer” location or in a state with more favorable legal climate on important features of self-provision and security. This alternate living location will typically be stocked with valuable implements and provisions, likely including firearms, ammunition, cash, precious metals and other valuables. Sitting vacant much of the time, it might become a lucrative target even in “normal times” before the national situation has even significantly deteriorated. A thief entering the vacant home would have ample time …


Keep Flashlights Running In All Situations – Part 2, by J. Smith

(Continued from Part 1. This concludes the article.) Battery Alternatives When one acquires one or more of these flashlights, how do we keep them running if the batteries are not available at the local store or there is not power during a blackout to run a battery charger? Over time I have come to appreciate four types of batteries or cells to power my flashlights and buy them accordingly. AA lithium or rechargeable NIMH, CR123 primary cells, 18650 rechargeable lithium ion and cells or batteries that are built into the light and charge by USB or magnetically. These cells can …


Keep Flashlights Running In All Situations – Part 1, by J. Smith

“The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it…” (John 1:5) A real light can get people’s attention. Not long ago, as we sat inside of our home one night, I heard a thud sound and excited commotion on the street. I peeked out of the window and saw a car with people milling about. I went out on my deck to see if I could offer my assistance, using one of my favorite lights – a Malkoff ‘Hound Dog’1. Without pointing it directly at anyone, (I use the spill or edge of the beam) and …


Update: The Big Picture — Grid Up Versus Grid Down–Oil, Soil, and Water

The following is an update to an article that I posted in SurvivalBlog back in September of 2005, shortly after Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast: — Before selecting a retreat locale, It is crucial that you decide on your own worst-case scenario. A location that is well-suited to surviving a “slow-slide” grid up scenario (a la the deflationary depression of the 1930s) might not necessarily be well suited to a grid down situations. As stated in my post on August 15, 2005, a grid down situation will likely cause a sudden onset variation of TEOTWAWKI with a concomitant mass …


Where Are Your Red Lines?, by Domesticated Ranger

Editor’s Introductory Note: The following article is graphic, and not for the squeamish. Some folks should probably skip reading it. — It finally happened. The fecal matter has well and truly impacted the rotating air oscillation device. The Schumer Hit The Fan (SHTF) situation is well underway. Societal norms are out the window. People are struggling just to stay alive. But your garden is thriving because, after all, you are prepared. Not only is your garden growing and thriving, but you have put measures into place to help keep your garden safe. You put up a fence made off hardware …


Mass Body Disposal, Post-Collapse, by Don Shift

This article discusses disposal of dead bad guys or large numbers of dead strangers, not disposal of “your” dead. You will obviously treat your loved ones and friends differently. The health protocols and technical aspects will also apply to the burial of loved ones. In my discussions of less-lethal force and crowd control, I advise against “just shoot everybody” as a tactic in all but the direst of circumstances because lots of dead bodies have to be disposed of. In Iraq, oftentimes the wives and mothers of dead insurgents would come out to claim and remove their loved one’s body …


More Guerilla Warfare Lessons From Ukraine: Drones

The Russian army’s invasion of Ukraine has now been in progress for two months. First hoping for a quick and decisive victory, they have been thwarted by the stolid resistance of Ukraine’s active army, bolstered by reserves, foreign volunteers, and lots of ad hoc resistance, by the citizenry. The conflict has all of the hallmarks of Fourth Generation Warfare (4GW). And some would argue that with a strong cyberwarfare component, it has elements of Fifth Generation Warfare (5GW). A Drone War While anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs) have deservedly attracted the media spotlight, it is the use of drones that might …