James,
J.M.’s article on brain tanning mentions buildings and furniture held together with rawhide straps, and I thought I’d mention another such building. The roof of the Mormon Tabernacle in Salt Lake City, Utah is a particularly innovative design for its time, and because of the builders’ lack of available metals (the few metal fasteners in the roof were made from discarded ox shoes) most
of the structure depends on wooden pegs to hold it together. The builders wrapped parts of the wooden trusses in green rawhide; as the rawhide shrank during drying, it formed tight, strong straps around the trusses, preventing splitting and holding the wooden pegs firmly in place. These trusses and their rawhide straps remained in place from the building’s dedication in 1867 until the Tabernacle was renovated in 2005. – Joshua T.
Michael Z. Williamson Re: Guns for a Tight Budget Minimalist Survivalist
Dear Jim,
While I much prefer modern autos, there are many good Colt and Smith & Wesson revolvers from the early part of the 20th Century, in .38 Special (an easy to find, common caliber) that retail for $100-$250. The finishes may be well-worn and ugly, but as long as the function is sound, these are an excellent choice. The hand fitting done at the time usually exceeds what is done on modern guns. I am especially enamored of the Smith Model 1905 Military and Police, and the Colt Cobra.
For shotguns, the classic single shot is available for as little as $80 in some forums, used in good shape. I also really like the Stevens Model 520 takedown. Mine disassembles small enough to carry in the bottom of a gym bag, and cost $250. Here is a picture of one. There are many out there, usually reasonably priced, and there are plenty of spare parts for repairs. It’s a reliable shotgun, and compact enough to be discreet for travel.
I also like the 10-22, there really isn’t a better choice. It’s easily improved, I just wish the factory did most of that up front rather than leaving it to the aftermarket. It would cost the same to put in a decent trigger and round the rear of the bolt as it does to produce now, and save buyers a lot of hassle.
As to birdshot, this has been posted before, but bears repeating: Birdshot is for birds, not people. The physics of this is that a column of shot acts as a fluid, not as a mass. This means it splashes on impact with heavy targets. One ounce of shot cannot hit as hard as a one ounce slug, or a smaller number of much larger buckshot. Remember that Dick Cheney’s hunting partner was shot with birdshot and suffered minimal effects. The range was not close, but both rifles and buckshot would easily deliver stops at that range.
Also, I would like to remind readers that the “storing magazines is bad for springs” myth is from a misunderstanding of mechanics. A spring will not suffer harm within its design range. What wears out a spring is cycles and metal fatigue. Constantly cycling your magazines is bad for the magazines, and bad for the ammo that is being constantly bumped around. Load it and leave it, unless you intend to shoot it. (One exception: Some box magazines for shotguns, such as the Saiga, can deform the plastic shotshell. But his is a different matter.)