Category: Self-Defense

Two Letters Re: Here Comes Winter!

Dear JWR, I enjoyed the great advice from Peter H. on being prepared in the winter. As a life-long Chicagoan and having spent lots of time snowmobiling in upper Wisconsin, please let me offer a few additional tips on dressing for cold weather. Keeping warm in the cold is all about layering underneath and waterproof on the outside. I prefer cotton clothes to the newer athletic-type wicking clothes which don’t seem to hold the heat as well. Start with cotton long underwear which is snug but not too tight. A second pair of long underwear is all you should need …


Letter Re: Shoot or Don’t Shoot–Moral Implications of the Split-Second Decision to Take a Life

Hi James, Thank you for the work that you do. In reference to this quote: ” As a side note: There is a video commonly shown to police academy students that depicts a real situation where a man armed with a knife attacked an armed police officer from across a room (10-to-15 feet). I have heard that merely viewing that video (and communicating the fact of said viewing) to a prosecutor can result in the dismissal of charges related to shooting a person who is threatening you with a knife. (While you’re armed with a gun). YMMV. Research carefully.” I …


Gear Up — Appropriate and Redundant Technologies for Prepared Families

I frequently stress the importance of well-balanced preparedness in my writings. All too often, I’ve seen people that go to extremes, to the point that these extremes actually detract from the ability to survive a disaster situation. These range from the “all the gear that I’ll need to survive is in my backpack” mentality to the “a truckload of this or that” fixation. But genuine preparedness lies in comprehensive planning, strict budgeting, and moderation. Blowing your entire preparedness budget on just one category of gear is detrimental to your overall preparedness. Another common mistake that I see among my consulting …


Letter Re: Shoot or Don’t Shoot–Moral Implications of the Split-Second Decision to Take a Life

James, I’ve gotta chime in here. Jeff R.’s submission is great but I think he overlooked one very important point. He said: “If you are involved in a shooting and it appears there may be an official inquiry, forget flashy, emotional phrases that uninformed people throw around, such as “shoot-to-kill,” “shoot-to-wound,” or “shoot-to” anything. Facts, not flash, will win the day. You didn’t shoot to do anything other than to stop the action and end the danger to yourself and your family. The old shoot-to-kill question is a trap that has been used on police officers in court; “if you …


Shoot or Don’t Shoot–Moral Implications of the Split-Second Decision to Take a Life, by Jeff R.

It doesn’t have to be TEOTWAWKI for a person to be faced with the choice of shoot or don’t shoot. Everyday in the United States a police officer somewhere makes that choice (sometimes they choose “don’t shoot”). All too often, average Joe or Jane Citizen must make that choice. Hopefully dear reader, that day will never come for you, but if it does, here are a few things to help you not hesitate when necessity requires that you pull the trigger, and to help you live with the consequences. Decide now that you will shoot another person if it becomes …


Letter Re: Recommendations on Discreet Self Defense Weapons and Training

Mr. Rawles: I am at a disadvantage to your American readers. I live in a suburb of London, and travel by train to work each day. Street crime is now out of control in some neighbourhoods, but I cannot carry a weapon. I must say that I’m envious of Americans that can carry concealed pistols and revolvers. Here, I cannot even carry a pocket knife. Are martial arts effective, and if they indeed are, then which one will be most effective with not too much time for training? What do you suggest? Thanking You in Advance, – G.H. in England …


Preparedness Through Joining the National Guard, by Christopher D.

Several months ago, a man wrote an article for the SurvivalBlog detailing the ups and downs of being a prepper while serving on Active Duty. As a former Active Duty soldier I could appreciate what he was saying but more than anything else I found myself being thankful that I was now doing my prepping while serving in the National Guard. Many preppers join the local volunteer fire department or rescue squad in order to learn valuable skills for free that could help in an emergency. They also do it so that they can learn skills that will help pull …


Letter Re: An Outward Bound Prepper’s Perspective

Hi Jim, I’m new to your site and books but not to the concepts and precepts. My dad had a survivalist/self-sufficient mindset with a cool mix of Native American philosophy and know-how. I didn’t eat store bought meat or baked goods until I was 10 or 12 and thought processing shoulders of venison in the kitchen was the norm. We had a huge garden and fruit tree orchard. My mom was a master at canning; although I think it should be called “jarring” because you’re putting it in jars, not cans. He collected, traded, and rebuilt guns and amassed quite …


The Meme of Crushroom: A Key Retreat Architecture Element

One bit of retreat architecture that I’ve often recommended to my consulting clients who are designing (or retrofitting) retreats is the inclusion of a protruding entryway foyer, that I call a crushroom. Passing this advice along to you gives me the chance to employ one of my horrible puns: The Meme of Crushroom. A crushroom is a controllable confined space, typically an entry foyer, that can be covered with small arms fire or subjected to irritant or obscurant smoke or sprays. The outer door (or barred gate) to the crushroom is normally left open, but has a spring loaded self …


Two Letters Re: Cost Comparison: Factory Loads and Reloaded Ammunition

James, Grandpappy isn’t comparing apples to oranges correctly. His reloaded ammo pricing is for premium self defense bullets, which cost $150 or so per thousand. Most people are going to reload cast lead, which would cost $50 or 60 per thousand for a .40 S&W for example. If you price new premium self defense ammo, like Doubletap, it is going for around $700 a case. If you purchased new brass (why?) Hornady or Speer premium SD bullets, you would still be able to build your own (which we supposedly should not due to legal concerns) SD ammo for half the …


Cost Comparison: Factory Loads and Reloaded Ammunition, by Grandpappy

There are some significant cost differences between reloading shotgun shells and reloading pistol and rifle ammunition.  The following cost summaries illustrate these differences (all cost data collected in June 2009): Pistol Ammunition Summary: $0.270 = Total Cost of one New Factory-Loaded 40 S&W 165 Grain Pistol Cartridge. $0.206 = Total Material Cost to Reload one Used 40 S&W 165 Grain Pistol Cartridge. $0.064 = Cost Savings of Reloading one Used 40 S&W 165 Grain Pistol Cartridge. Rifle Ammunition Summary: $0.800 = Total Cost of one New Factory-Loaded 308 Caliber 165 Grain Rifle Cartridge. $0.480 = Total Material Cost to Reload …


It Matters Not Whether Inflation or Deflation–You Need to Protect Yourself, by Gentleman Jim from Colorado

No matter who you are, where you live, or whatever your political proclivities, economic trends such as inflation/hyper-inflation/deflation simply don’t care which party you belong to, who you voted for, or whether you’re believe in Keynesian “prime the pump” spending by the government, or not. The laws of economics may be somewhat fungible and give us surprises from time to time, but overall: * They don’t care whether you love the earth, hate the earth, drive electric tiny-cars or huge Hummers or travel by foot or horse. * They don’t care whether you’re in a blue state or a red …


Welcome to the Savage World of the Year 2009

“Welcome to the savage world of the year 2009”. That was the tag line of the 1992 sci-fi film Freejack , starring Emilio Estevez. Do you remember it? The movie that featured Cadillac Gage V100 wheeled APCs painted in bright colors? My old friend All-Grace-No-Slack-Really-Reformed Kris just reminded me about this movie. Kris noted: “It was a bit corny but it had some good scenes and characters such as Amanda Plummer as the gun-toting nun.” This film provides an insight on what futurists then thought 2009 would be like, as well as a retrospective on life in 1992. Let’s look …


Letters Re: Advice for an M4 and AR-15 Newbie

Some tips to ad on to your good advice [in reply to the letter “Advice for an M4 and AR-15 Newbie”]: The field manual is good, but these two books coupled with some classes from Front Sight, EAG Tactical, Magpul Dynamics, Viking Tactics, Vickers Tactical, CSAT (Paul Howe), or another reputable school are the most valuable. Green Eyes and Black Rifles: Warriors Guide to the Combat Carbine  by Kyle Lamb. The M16/M4 Operators Handbook by Mike Panone. Kudos to the writer for “buying right, buying once” with the LMT. That is a very nice rifle. Regarding spare parts: The BCM …


Letter Re: Advice for an M4 and AR-15 Newbie

Hello JWR: I recently bought my first AR-15[-family firearm], a Lewis Machine and Tool (LMT) Defender Carbine. I was wondering if you had any advice as to a good starter “book” on the AR generally, but also one that would assist in my rifleman’s training. I am an intermediate shooter on rifle, but am finding the AR to be a beast unto itself as far as “how” to shoot it. Can you recommend any text on complete takedown, best cleaning practices, replacement parts, and marksmanship with the M4 version of the AR would be very helpful. Thanks! – JB in …