Category: Self-Defense

Some Needful Things

I’m often asked by my consulting clients about my specific gear recommendations. I’ve noticed that I repeat mentioning a lot of these, so to save time in my subsequent consulting calls, I’m posting the following list (in no particular order): Gamma Seal Bucket Lids. We use these constantly with our bulk storage wheat. rice and beans. K & M Industries waterproof match cases. The best, made by a Mom & Pop business Gerber Omnivore LED Flashlights. These can use AAA, AA, or CR-123 batteries. Sadly, they’re made in Mainland China. Maxpedition gear bags. Incredibly tough and well-made. Dakota Alert infrared …


Confronting Kleptocracy–Identifying The Looter Mentality

A recent opinion column The New York Times was titled: The Moral Ambiguity of Looting. Ambiguity? There is nothing ambiguous about it. Let’s have the moral courage to be forthright and uncompromising on this issue: Looting is the theft of property that lawfully belongs to another. There are no “ifs, ands, or buts”. Looting is unconscionable and cannot be tolerated in a civilized society. Once looting begins, it soon devolves into: “You have it, I want it, I’m taking it.” And once looting is sanctioned, then where is the dividing line on “acceptable” plunder? Do you draw the line at: …


Letter Re: Afghanistan is 7.62 NATO Country

Dear CPT Rawles: I’d like to bring your attention to a paper prepared at Ft. Leavenworth, titled, “Increasing Small Arms Lethality in Afghanistan: Taking Back the Infantry Half-Kilometer.” Essentially, the old M14 rifle has not yet met its demise, even though Jimmy Carter did order the destruction of 700,000 M14 Rifles. As you have known for years, the 5.56 NATO cartridge is not the best cartridge for a Main Battle Rifle. You have written extensively regarding this issue in your books. For some time now, I have witnessed a sizable number of M14 Rifles, in various configurations, from the original …


The Realities of Interpersonal Combat: How Are You Preparing?, by Officer Tackleberry

I will start this article with a question: What are you doing on a regular basis (i.e. daily) to prepare yourself mentally, physically, emotionally, and most of all, spiritually, to not just survive, but prevail during a violent encounter? This is a question I ask myself on a regular basis.  I have also posed this same question to my hand-to-hand combat students. There is no question that interpersonal violence will be fact of life for many in a post-societal collapse.  But, it is a reality in today’s society that many people (i.e. sheeple) choose to ignore. Depending on your source …


Letter Re: Purchasing an Antique Firearms Battery

Jim, In a previous post you mentioned that Chilean 1893 Mauser rifles were not safe to fire [standard commercially-loaded] .308 [Winchester] because of excessive chamber pressure, but that these were safe to fire 7.62x51mm NATO. In your Antique Firearms FAQ you reference antique Mausers that have been converted to .308 [Winchester]. Can you recommend some antique Mausers that are safe to re-barrel for .308? I ask because I’ve had a difficult time finding 7.62x51mm hunting rounds. Thanks, – Dylan F. JWR Replies: The rifles that I used for those .308 Winchester,. 6.5 x 55, and .257 Roberts conversions were Turkish …


Six Letters Re: Empty Hand Survival

Mr. Rawles, I have black belts in two different styles of martial arts: Okinawan Karate and a form of Japanese Jiu-jitsu. I can say without a doubt though that studying Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu/Grappling and Mixed Martial Arts (grappling and kickboxing) is bar none the best and most effective way to learn to fight and made my previous training largely irrelevant. You don’t need years to become effective in grappling styles as I’ve seen people with six months of training take down and submit much larger opponents who were fighting as hard as they could. In addition to this, the focus on …


Letter Re: Purchasing an Antique Firearms Battery

Jim: Just in case laws change, and I must bury my collection of [modern] guns [to avoid registration or confiscation], then what do you recommend me buying for an “above ground collection” of 1898 and earlier guns? I’m assuming that they’ll still be unregulated [in the United States]. That is a great exception in the law, I think! My thanks to you in advance, sir. – G.K.B. JWR Replies: These are my recommendations for the most practical and affordable Pre-1899 guns, at the present time: Finnish Model 1939 Mosin-Nagant rifles built on hexagonal Pre-1899-dated actions. (They re dated on the …


Product Review by Michael Z. Williamson: Choate Machine and Tool M1 Carbine Military Folding Stock

Today, we look at the Choate Machine and Tool Company M1 Carbine Military Folding Stock. This stock is designed to fit original U.S.G.I. M1 Carbines, but also fits the Plainfield brand of carbine, the Auto Ordnance M1 Carbine and some UniversalM1 Carbine clones (early 1950s models, built with military surplus parts), but will not fit the later Universal or Iver Johnson carbines. Here is a photo. Installation is drop in, though it was a snug fit, which is good. The stock has positive tension when folded but doesn’t latch. It latches in the open position very positively. The stock swings …


Getting Prepared: From the Homestead to Living Off the Land

Introduction I currently do not fall in the category of the less than 1% of the population that can afford the real possibility of a “retreat” on 40+ acres, based on a Rawlesian criteria. However, I do have a solid brick house on 1.5 acres in a rural area on the southern plains. For the immediate future this will have to serve as my permanent abode. I have always had an interest in outdoor survival skills, and have lived, vacationed, and worked for extended periods of time in isolated outdoor camps while working “in the bush” with limited modern comforts. These …


Letter Re: Miniature Survival Kits Inside Gun Stocks

Hello James, I’ve read your blog daily for several months now, and although I haven’t seen it mentioned, I’m sure this topic has been covered somewhere before. If not, then I hope what I discovered this week could be of use to some of your readers. I recently acquired a large lot of old shotguns and rifles, stored for many years, which needed a full breakdown and rigorous cleaning. When I removed the buttplates of these firearms, I noticed that almost all of them had a 5/8″ to 3/4″ hole running from the middle of the stock toward the receiver, …


Letter Re: How I Made My iPhone a Useful Survival Reference

Mr. Rawles: I loved the letter on the iphone. In addition to what LC listed there are also ballistics calculators for the math-challenged like me. (iStrelok is free and works pretty well). One caveat to consider with the mighty smart phone is the fact that it could potentially be used to locate your location and perhaps even as a bug to listen in on conversations. One work-around is to buy an iPod Touch. You loose the phone and GPS features, but you can still carry God’s word and all your multimedia in your pocket! Thanks again for all you do …


Letter Re: Marksmanship Training

Sir: My name is Kent, I’m an 11 year veteran of the Active Army and National Guard, and I’m currently serving my third overseas tour, in Iraq. I have been in the Infantry for the entire time in the military, and I’ve taken it upon myself to seek outside training where available. I have been reading your blog off and on for the past year. One of the things that firearms proponents and enthusiast fail to mention a lot of is alternate shooting positions. Something I learned in Sniper school (even though I did not pass the course) is that …


Two Letters Re: The Ishapore 2A1: A Budget Battle Rifle

James, The Ishapore Enfield in .308 is still being built today in India. It is common to see local police carry them (rather than a pistol) as they also use them for crowd control (butt stroke). I picked up three of these rifles many years ago when they were first being imported into the US and they are my standard truck gun these days. While I have several M14 variants and a whole host of AR variants, the $89 I paid for each of these rifles makes them cheap enough that if I lose one (if my truck gets broken …


The Ishapore 2A1: A Budget Battle Rifle, by JIR

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For budget preppers, I think the Enfield bolt action rifle is an excellent choice for a main battle rifle. Most of them are British weapons chambered for .303, which is an obsolete caliber. I don’t recommend a .303 weapon, but it would be perfectly adequate if you could get ammunition. A better choice is the Ishapore 2A1 rifle. It’s a redesigned Lee Enfield SMLE Mk III (one of the best rifles ever issued to an army) but chambered for 7.62×51 (7.62 NATO) and has a 10 or 12 round magazine. (The later production 2A1s have a 12 round magazine. Mine …


Normal Disasters, by Blane

I live in the suburbs of our nation’s capitol and of course I want to keep myself and family safe, so I have taken steps to mitigate and eliminate the dangers of my area. My challenge for a while was getting my new bride on-board with my preparations. She thought my supplies, guns and gear were “weird” and she chalked it up to my military experience and largely ignored it. If anyone else has a similar problem getting buy-in on prepping from their partners they may find this useful, it sure works better than arguing. As Mr. Miyagi said in …