Hugh’s Quote of the Day:

“Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.” John 3:10-15 (KJV)

Notes for Saturday – July 16, 2016

July 16th is the anniversary of the death of American volunteer Hugh John McCall, in Rhodesia, in 1979.

o o o

As pointed out in The Daily Caller opinion piece French Lessons, we should have learned by now that passing bans on firearms only disarms the law abiding citizen. The criminals are still criminals and will just ignore such laws. France is about as “Gun Free” as you can make a country, yet we have still seen significant terrorist activity there that use guns. Even if you could remove 100% of firearms from the country, how will you deal with homemade weapons, or 5 ton box trucks? I seriously doubt that France will outlaw trucks after the Nice attack.

o o o

Today, we present another entry for Round 65 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A Tactical Self-Contained 2-Series Solar Power Generator system from Always Empowered. This compact starter power system is packaged in a wheeled O.D. green EMP-shielded Pelican hard case (a $1,700 value),
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate that is good for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,195 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper with a hammer forged, chrome-lined barrel and a hard case to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel, which can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools and a compact carry capability in a hard case or 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
  5. Gun Mag Warehouse is providing 20 Magpul PMAG 30-rd Magazines (a value of $300) and a Gun Mag Warehouse T-Shirt; (an equivalent prize will be awarded for residents in states with magazine restrictions),
  6. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  7. The Ark Institute is donating a non-GMO, non-hybrid vegetable seed package (enough for two families of four) plus seed storage materials, a CD-ROM of Geri Guidetti’s book “Build Your Ark! How to Prepare for Self Reliance in Uncertain Times”, and two bottles of Potassium Iodate (a $325 retail value),
  8. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  9. KellyKettleUSA.com is donating an AquaBrick water filtration kit with a retail value of $250, and
  10. Two cases of meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Second Prize:

  1. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  2. A transferable certificate for a two-day Ultimate Bug Out Course from Florida Firearms Training (a $400 value),
  3. A Model 175 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $439 value),
  4. A Trekker IV™ Four-Person Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $250 value),
  5. A $200 gift certificate good towards any books published by PrepperPress.com,
  6. A pre-selected assortment of military surplus gear from CJL Enterprize (a $300 value),
  7. RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site, and
  8. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Third Prize:

  1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. A $245 gift certificate from custom knife-maker Jon Kelly Designs, of Eureka, Montana,
  3. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
  4. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances,
  7. Montie Gear is donating a Precision Rest (a $249 value), and
  8. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).

Round 65 ends on July 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Escape from New York- Part 2, by Ragnar

Evaluation

In the after action review, I realized there were a lot of things I learned and will do differently in the future:

  1. The small almost empty bug out bag approach worked great, but there were a few items I had room for that would have been game changers in the event something happened. In the event I have to survive with just the bag and its contents, I have since added a few items. The first thing I added was a small water filter (like a Sawyer mini). Water is key, and this was a big thing to have missing. Sure, I may have been able to get some bottled water (there were two large bottles in my hotel room), but water is the cornerstone and should not have been overlooked. Second thing added was a small but complete first aid kit (including trauma supplies), which had been another no-brainer item I previously overlooked. Third was a steel cup or water bottle. There was snow everywhere, but absent a vessel to melt it in it was not immediately useful in the event of a walk out. The next item was a solar charging device that is small and holds almost three full charges of my smartphone. As useful as a smart phone is, information for planning and navigation would be critical to bugging out, but what if the cell towers were all down? So now, hard copy maps and travel information are also carried. A small GPS may be a good back up item. Sure, I could walk down I-95, but that would likely not be advisable in a bug out situation. Lastly, at least $100 in small bills, in case debit/credit card infrastructure is down.
  2. The city that never sleeps… never sleeps. I have always regarded the night as the preferred time to travel and avoid the masses in any situation. In NYC, this is not a valid paradigm; in fact it means that you could have chaos at night as readily as daytime, which would impact travel plans. The city streets were almost as busy when we left our project at midnight as they were at noon. My partner and I debated at length if this was the one place where you did not want to be bugging out at 1 AM, especially since we had no practical intelligence what areas, streets or neighborhoods to avoid. Now when I travel to a new city, I do a little extra prep work, trying to have a better developed situational awareness about that area.
  3. The biggest surprise was the bags. The building in which we worked (which was part of a complex for a major financial company you would know) had tight security to the extent that you had to be registered in advance and show ID to gain entry and receive a visitor pass but there was no searching of bags or metal detectors, and everyone had a bag, usually a big bag! Between the fact that folks took the subway and the distance away they had parked if they drove, everyone looked like they were going on backpacking trip when they showed up for work. In hind sight, if they had to search all those bags with or without metal detecting, it would take all day for tens of thousands of workers, vendors, and staff to filter in and out of these huge office buildings. So they rely on employee badges and visitor accreditation/passes. While we were working onsite, I would see all these bags and backpacks stashed beneath desks and would talk to the employees about it. Many of them would open a file drawer and pull out another bag– a get home bag they had stashed in the office! All these people had been changed by their experiences on 9/11, and they were happy to discuss it. Anyone without a bag was the exception not the rule. Another big surprise was how many of these bags were tactical (i.e. they were in a Camo pattern, covered in MOLLE and compartments or obviously not “book bags”. I have always pursued the “grey man” approach, in that I try to avoid looking tactical or like a “prepper” so as not to stand out in a crowd. However that would have seemed very much the “norm” in NYC that winter. I think any major urban center would share this trait, and that means you can feel more secure and blend in wearing your back pack.
  4. The crowds are the norm. If you are from the hinterlands, farm country, or almost any small town in fly over country and have never been to NYC or another major urban area, you may not be prepared for the sheer ocean of humanity you will have to swim in. NYC is packed with more people then you can imagine. Personal space is very compressed. At times people will routinely be making eye contact and others will be sliding by you making incidental contact. You are seldom alone. You will need your situational awareness set to high and to watch your back. Residents of these places operate with different interpersonal frameworks than you do; be ready for it. My experience in other major cities, such as Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and San Francisco have been the same. Traveling as a team helped mitigate this. One of us was always the “wingman” for the other, even subconsciously at times. It would not be unusual to see some “sketchy” situations, and you need to avoid getting involved in those potential entanglements since you are in an unfamiliar legal environment and operating under the limitations and conditions of employment set by your employer.
  5. My current carry on computer bag is a soft brief case model with moderate capacity. If flying became an increasingly significant part of my travel, I would switch to the largest backpack model I could find (with a non-tactical appearance) to increase my carrying capacity as much as possible. Also, my EDC first aid kit has continued to grow in size. As I finish the edits on this article, the ISIS attack in Turkey is on the news. Over the last year, I have significantly increased the size and capability of my first aid kit that I always have with me. It all fits (barely) in a 10X6 Molle attachable pouch that I can attach easily to whatever bag I am carrying. I strongly feel that everyone traveling regularly, particularly by plane or other mass transit means or frequenting large soft target type settings, should always have with them the ability to self-rescue/treat if they are unfortunate enough to be injured in a mass casualty event. There are plenty of excellent pre-packaged trauma kits available on the market. If you add a couple of extra Israeli bandages and learn to use your kit, you have dramatically improved your odds of surviving. As a husband and father, I also have a duty to adequately train and prepare my spouse and children when they travel, but that is also a topic for another article.

Neither of us is anxious to return to NYC. We both learned a great deal during this trip and modified our approaches to traveling in similar situations. Both of us continue to rehearse and test new kit and gear when we travel for both work and pleasure. I have continued to build up my preps and modify my “list of lists”, based on my day to day experiences. We concluded that if we really had to bug out from NYC in the midst of a brutal winter on foot with a goal of reaching his base of operations 250 miles south, it would be quite an ordeal, and the odds of making it on foot were stacked against us (as in the book The Last Layover, by Steven C. Bird).

Letter Re: Monitor Your Preps!

HJL,

When it came time for the 6 month change-out of my emergency water, what a surprise to find how light the jugs felt! Both of my Reliance Products Desert Patrol 6 Gallon Traditional Jeep Style Rigid Water Containers had sprung leaks. Slow leaks, so I didn’t notice in my dry cool basement, but both were half empty. Okay, out they go! Then checking my Reliance Products Aqua-Tainer 7 Gallon Rigid Water Containers, one of them was light too, having sprung a leak some time in the not-too-distant past. One had a leak near the top from having the other stored on top of it – as is encouraged by the interlocking design, if not by manufacturer’s instructions. Once again, monitor your preps! – W.R.

Odds ‘n Sods:

Cops Not Welcome, Says Washington State Restaurant Owner – B.B.

HJL Comments: I wonder how He will feel about that when he needs them to solve the inevitable robbery?

o o o

Newly Declassified 28 Pages Reveal ‘Dry Run’ Two Years Before 9/11 Attacks – L.B.

o o o

Clinton to Resettle One Million Muslim Migrants During First Term – Now that’s scary!

o o o

The Reasons Why The Globalists Are Destined To Lose – P.W.

o o o

The Roots Of Black Lives Matter Unveiled. “Special report reveals stunner: Except for website, there is no actual organization.” – P.M.

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil. For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.” – Psalm 37:1-2, 7-9 (KJV)

Notes for Friday – July 15, 2016

July 15th is the birthday of actor Brian Austin Green. Many SurvivalBlog readers associate him with his role in The Sarah Conner Chronicles.

o o o

Today, we present another entry for Round 65 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A Tactical Self-Contained 2-Series Solar Power Generator system from Always Empowered. This compact starter power system is packaged in a wheeled O.D. green EMP-shielded Pelican hard case (a $1,700 value),
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate that is good for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,195 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper with a hammer forged, chrome-lined barrel and a hard case to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel, which can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools and a compact carry capability in a hard case or 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
  5. Gun Mag Warehouse is providing 20 Magpul PMAG 30-rd Magazines (a value of $300) and a Gun Mag Warehouse T-Shirt; (an equivalent prize will be awarded for residents in states with magazine restrictions),
  6. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  7. The Ark Institute is donating a non-GMO, non-hybrid vegetable seed package (enough for two families of four) plus seed storage materials, a CD-ROM of Geri Guidetti’s book “Build Your Ark! How to Prepare for Self Reliance in Uncertain Times”, and two bottles of Potassium Iodate (a $325 retail value),
  8. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  9. KellyKettleUSA.com is donating an AquaBrick water filtration kit with a retail value of $250, and
  10. Two cases of meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Second Prize:

  1. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  2. A transferable certificate for a two-day Ultimate Bug Out Course from Florida Firearms Training (a $400 value),
  3. A Model 175 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $439 value),
  4. A Trekker IV™ Four-Person Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $250 value),
  5. A $200 gift certificate good towards any books published by PrepperPress.com,
  6. A pre-selected assortment of military surplus gear from CJL Enterprize (a $300 value),
  7. RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site, and
  8. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Third Prize:

  1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. A $245 gift certificate from custom knife-maker Jon Kelly Designs, of Eureka, Montana,
  3. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
  4. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances,
  7. Montie Gear is donating a Precision Rest (a $249 value), and
  8. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).

Round 65 ends on July 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Escape from New York- Part 1, by Ragnar

There you are, in your off grid solar powered survival complex somewhere in the Redoubt, in a very carefully selected location, stocked to the rafters with every conceivable supply and armament. You are completely prepared for literally anything that might happen. ”Bring it” is your motto. Happy and confident that you have reached the pinnacle of prepping, you sit down at the keyboard to take care of some work e-mail. You open the first email and find, congratulations, you’re going to New York City! New York City?

For those of us who have not moved to the middle of nowhere and set up a robust home-based business to take care of all our financial needs, the question we run into most often is will our prepping survive first contact with the real world. For the majority of us, prepping means prepping in the real world with all its limitations, variables, and complications. A very large percentage of us routinely travel in the course of our employment. Given this fact, you can either decide that traveling is a risk you have to assume and cannot be prepared for, or you can look at travel as another opportunity to hone your prepping skills and open your eyes to a wide array of contingencies.

I had just that exact experience one recent winter. While I travel for business regularly, usually it is by vehicle. I will drive seven hours before I will fly two hours, because of the inherent advantages of driving, from a prepared person’s perspective. Flying, particularly post-9/11 is terrible, and you spend most of your time in an airport rather than actually traveling, and getting all your EDC gear through security is not possible. Traveling by vehicle presents certain advantages and disadvantages and is a topic for a separate article. However, on a regular basis, I must fly in the course of my employment. I usually cannot control the destination and time of year. Recently this resulted in my having to fly to, of all places, New York City! Now there are not a lot of places you can travel that are as hostile to the prepared traveler as New York City, and I was very worried about how I would adapt. To make matters even more challenging, it was for four days in the dead of winter. I survived the experience and have conducted my own “after action review” to see what I can learn from the experience. I decided to share those observations with you, so you might be better prepared in your struggle to prep practically in your day-to-day world.

It would be helpful to know a bit about me and my background, to evaluate my approach and philosophy. I am a dyed in the wool “trip wire” prepper who has been oriented towards preparedness since the Y2K event. “Trip wire” means that while I have a broad base of preps and plans, I have several “trip wires” or triggering events defined, which will cause me to dramatically accelerate food and water storage beyond current levels (aimed at surviving a one month civil/weather/global emergency). We have specific plans and lists of material to secure on short notice in quantity. I acknowledge that such an approach will not fare well in the event of a sudden Mass Coronal Ejection in the Carrington class or perfectly executed EMP attack (as in the book One Second After. However, in order to remain sane, I am preparing for those things that are most likely to affect my family from a statistical basis first, and then move towards the less likely possibilities. I know that the Yellowstone caldera mega eruption is overdue in geologic terms, but in terms of statistical probability, the thing I am most likely to experience and have to ensure my family’s survival through will be a civil/financial/economic/political crisis as a result of those fools in Washington D.C. I am an avid outdoorsman, hunter, fisherman, and reader, who lives in the Southeastern quadrant of the United States, in a place that would likely not require a bug out, unless a volcanic vent suddenly opened in my backyard. Nonetheless, we do have a fairly remote 150-acre property that is a one hour drive from our home. The property has shelter and would be our bug out location, if our tame city suddenly became uninhabitable. I travel regularly due to my job and do not consider myself one of those people who would struggle to travel, operate, and live off the land if circumstances required it.

My adventure to New York City can be broken down into three phases– preparation, execution, and evaluation.

Preparation

Due to the nature of the work I do, I had notice of the New York City trip well in advance, and due to the size of the “project” I was able to have a partner on the project and fortunately I was able to arrange for a close friend and like-minded (prepper) co-worker to be my project partner. We had many discussions on how to prepare and were excited that we could have a “dry run” experience that we could learn from. Living in different cities, we arranged our flights so we would meet up at the hub airport and then fly into the city together. This way we were a team the whole time we were in NYC. When we left, we flew out on the same flight and parted ways at the hub airport for the second leg of our trip to our respective home bases. The weather forecast was terrible– single digit high temps, below zero at night with light snow off and on for the duration of our visit. When I fly, I never cease to be amazed by the number of business people flying carry on or carrying nothing other than a briefcase/computer bag, regardless of time of year, destination, or weather. They do not have outer wear or shoes you would want to walk very far in. My experiences have shown this to be sheer folly. I almost never fly carry on, since there is no way to bring the minimum of contingency equipment or clothing in a carry-on bag, in my opinion. I travel in clothing and outerwear that is commensurate for the weather and time of year, such that I could walk to my hotel if need be and sufficient to hike home in, if there was an “event”. In my checked bag would be a mostly empty small bug out bag that contained some maps, a knife sharpener (small tool), a fire steel and striker, a lighter, tactical flashlight, headlamp with backup batteries for light, a full-sized multi-tool, and a folding knife. (This one item–the folding knife– took nearly an hour of research, and regardless how small, it was still dicey. Definitely do not leave the clip showing when you carry it.) I also spent time reviewing maps of the several blocks around my hotel, which was one block from my work site, and knew where every grocery, drug, and hardware store was located. This is especially important in a city setting where things could be right in front of you and you would not recognize them, since it was not a super store or strip mall. If I needed to forage for supplies in a pinch to carry in the empty small bug out bag, I knew exactly where to go. I also carried additional layers of clothing, should I find myself on foot in zero degree weather.

Execution

The trip went according to plan with no major hick-ups. The cab driver who took us to our hotel spoke little to no English and was totally lost. We had to navigate for him via our smart phones to help him find the small one-way street our hotel was on. The first day of work, it was a very disconcerting feeling to find ourselves half way up a very tall office building in New York City. The views were amazing, especially of the freedom tower going up where the World Trade Center used to be. Looking out across the city from this height, we could validate and visualize our route(s) if we found ourselves on foot at some point. We would work all day and night, leave the work site around midnight, and go out for a late dinner and beverages. We would discuss the day and what we had both learned and “war-game” what we would do if we had to leave on foot that moment. We both learned a great deal, and the experience caused us to re-evaluate aspects of our preps at home and when traveling.

Letter Re: Moving to Alaska

Hugh,

This is just another opinion, but it may help. I moved to Alaska when I was young. I lived there for 28 years. It was a glorious time. Alaska is a beautiful place. It is a great place for young people who have lots of energy and are unafraid of work, seasons, and learning new things. I learned to hunt, to fish, to reload ammunition, to cut my own meat, and I got married.

We now live in the Redoubt. There are lots of former Alaskans here. Why did we move? First, Alaska becomes more difficult to deal with as one ages. The long, dark winters and the short summers don’t allow you to grow many garden crops without a heated greenhouse. The fact that we moved 13-14 degrees south has made life easier for our aging bones. Remember, you will not be young forever. – J.W.

Economics and Investing:

The Fundamental Reason The Silver Price Will Explode Much Higher Than Gold

o o o

Venezuela’s Oil Production Plunges To 13-Year Low. Venezuela’s oil production fell to a 13-year low in June as the economic crisis continues to eat into the nation’s only source of export revenue, and there are no signs of a rebound.

o o o

Helicopter Money——The Biggest Fed Power Grab Yet

o o o

Japan, Helicopter Money, Cold Fusion And The Disastrous Endgame

o o o

SurvivalBlog and its editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for details.

Odds ‘n Sods:

Is Hillary Guilty? – “It takes Bill Whittle 93 seconds to show Hillary Clinton guilty of violating three separate Federal statutes. It takes another three minutes to explain why she and Obama simply DO NOT CARE.” – B.B.

o o o

The Feral Irishman: Pokemon Go. Here’s a synopsis of the new Pokemon game that is now more popular than twitter on smart phones. The whole 12 minutes is worth watching, but pay particular attention to the 1:30 mark. I am ready to make even guests in my house check their smart phones at the door. – HJL (Warning: Some profane language in this video.)

o o o

Christian Youth Choir Likened To Nazis, Isis (In Scotland) – The reason? “The youths’ church follows biblical teaching on homosexuality, abortion and other hot-button issues.” – M.R.

o o o

Terrorism strikes France again: Bastille Day massacre: At least 73 dead after truck attack in southern France – A.S.

o o o

Michigan State Police To Conduct Roadside Drug Tests In Pilot Program – DSV

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Western Europe presently exists in a state of anarcho-tyranny. The governments of Europe can’t prevent Islamic terror or migrant rapes, but it can arrest any citizen who worries about these awful acts on Facebook. The power of the state is increased at the cost of its citizens’ liberty — with no security in return.” – Scott Greer, in a Daily Caller opinion piece

Notes for Thursday – July 14, 2016

July 14th is the birthday of Colonel Einar A. Malmstrom. He was born in 1907 and died August 21, 1954 near Great Falls, Montana, in the crash of a T-33 jet. He was a decorated Air Force pilot, a Luft Stalag POW survivor, and test pilot. Malmstrom AFB was one of the settings for JWR’s novel Founders. (The base was named in Malmstrom’s honor.)

o o o

Today, we present another entry for Round 65 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The nearly $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A Tactical Self-Contained 2-Series Solar Power Generator system from Always Empowered. This compact starter power system is packaged in a wheeled O.D. green EMP-shielded Pelican hard case (a $1,700 value),
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate that is good for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,195 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper with a hammer forged, chrome-lined barrel and a hard case to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel, which can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools and a compact carry capability in a hard case or 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
  5. Gun Mag Warehouse is providing 20 Magpul PMAG 30-rd Magazines (a value of $300) and a Gun Mag Warehouse T-Shirt; (an equivalent prize will be awarded for residents in states with magazine restrictions),
  6. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  7. The Ark Institute is donating a non-GMO, non-hybrid vegetable seed package (enough for two families of four) plus seed storage materials, a CD-ROM of Geri Guidetti’s book “Build Your Ark! How to Prepare for Self Reliance in Uncertain Times”, and two bottles of Potassium Iodate (a $325 retail value),
  8. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  9. KellyKettleUSA.com is donating an AquaBrick water filtration kit with a retail value of $250, and
  10. Two cases of meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Second Prize:

  1. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  2. A transferable certificate for a two-day Ultimate Bug Out Course from Florida Firearms Training (a $400 value),
  3. A Model 175 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $439 value),
  4. A Trekker IV™ Four-Person Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $250 value),
  5. A $200 gift certificate good towards any books published by PrepperPress.com,
  6. A pre-selected assortment of military surplus gear from CJL Enterprize (a $300 value),
  7. RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site, and
  8. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Third Prize:

  1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. A $245 gift certificate from custom knife-maker Jon Kelly Designs, of Eureka, Montana,
  3. A large handmade clothes drying rack, a washboard, and a Homesteading for Beginners DVD, all courtesy of The Homestead Store, with a combined value of $206,
  4. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances,
  7. Montie Gear is donating a Precision Rest (a $249 value), and
  8. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).

Round 65 ends on July 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Reloading Ammunition For WTSHF- Part 2, by S.B.

Having removed the spent primer, you now need to insert a new one. There are specialty tools available for this, as well as attachments to do this on your press. How your particular setup will work depends entirely on what equipment you buy, but all methods insert a new primer into the primer pocket in the base of the brass case. Exactly which primer you need depends on your cases. For example, some 45 ACP cases use small pistol primers, and some use large pistol primers. Your specific round formula ca be found in your reloading manual (e.g. standard or magnum primers). Once a new primer is inserted you are ready to charge with propellant.

Charging is accomplished by pouring a measured amount of propellant into your prepared case. Your reloading manual will have charts showing a starting load and a max load for various propellants when used with particular bullet weights and types. Use the chart, and start with the starting load and work your way up until you find a load you are happy with. How you measure the charge depends on your equipment and the type of propellant.

In general, most reloaders either weigh their charges or use a volumetric powder measure. For precision, weighing charges is most accurate. A charge is measured in grains. This is an English measure, wherein there are 7000 grains in one pound. That’s pretty small. I started out weighing my charges for accuracy. Eventually, I set up the volumetric powder drop by making minor adjustments until a dropped charge weighed almost exactly what I wanted it to be for my round. I still spot check while loading, to make sure the measure stays the same during the whole loading process. Consequently, I only use my powder drop for pistol rounds, because that is what I shoot the most. That way I don’t have to readjust every time I change to reload rifle rounds. Some propellants are not well-suited to volumetric measures. Some propellants, including my favorite for .308, are extruded. This means the propellant looks like a bunch of small sticks. These tend not to flow well into some powder drops, including mine, so I prefer to weigh charges when reloading using these propellants.

Once you have a charge measured, you pour it into your case mouth. I use a funnel. Take care to make sure you only have one measured charge in your case. I don’t have to worry too much about this, because for every round that I reload one charge of propellant fills the case well over half-full. It is enough so that a double charge would overflow the case. This is not the case with all propellants, and I still do a visual inspection of every charged case to make sure they all look the same. A double charge is very dangerous and can cause catastrophic failure of your firearm and serious injury. Take all reasonable steps to avoid one.

Once the propellant is in the cases, I don’t like to leave them sitting around for too long. Some people will charge one case, then move immediately to seat a bullet on that case; if that works for you, go for it. It seems more efficient to me to work in batches. I will charge a batch of 100-200 cases, having them all stacked neatly in old factory ammo boxes or reloading trays, and then the whole batch will be ready to seat the bullets.

Your reloading die set will have a seating die. You will want to set this up according to the manufacturer’s instructions and to accommodate the overall length of your completed cartridge, which is found, you guessed it, in your reloading manual. Then it is simply a matter of putting the case, which has been charged with propellant, onto the ram of your press, putting a bullet on top, and guiding it into the die. Many people, myself included, will run a couple of un-charged cases through to seat bullets first, just to make sure that the length adjustment is right on. You also need to use caution when changing any component of your round. I once switched from 55 grain full metal jacket bullets to 55 grain pointed soft point bullets in the middle of a .223 run, because I had run out of FMJs. Despite the bullet similarity, my cartridge length was off by a significant amount until I readjusted my seating die.

After the bullet is seated, there is the question of whether or not to crimp your bullet into the case. Mostly this is done to prevent bullets from getting set-back into the case as a result of a myriad of factors (recoil under fire, rough handling, et cetera). There are several schools of thought here, but it all boils down to what type of firearm you will be using the round in and how you will be storing the round until you use it. I typically put a light taper crimp on my completed rounds, and this is accomplished by adjusting the seating die to crimp at the same time that it seats the bullet. Some others use a separate die for crimping. Please note that revolvers are different, and rounds for revolvers typically have a serious crimp called a roll crimp. I don’t have any revolvers, and thus I have no experience reloading for them, so I will leave that topic to someone who does have that experience.

Now that you have a completed round of ammunition (or several of them), you need to store them. There are many ways to store ammunition, and I won’t pretend that mine is the best, but this is what I do, just as an example.

The place I buy my pistol projectiles ships them in batches of 500 (with space to spare) in fairly sturdy cardboard boxes. Once I had reloaded a bunch of pistol ammunition and determined that I had filled all of my available small containers, I started looking at these cardboard boxes lying about. I can comfortably fit 350 completed rounds in each of these boxes that originally held 500 projectiles. The box weight is close enough that I don’t worry about breaking the box, and they are packed tightly enough that I don’t worry about them rattling around too much. Three hundred and fifty rounds is a good amount of ammo for one or two range sessions for me, so I don’t have a bunch of partial boxes, making it hard for me to keep a handle on my inventory. I do use USGI and plastic ammo cans but not usually for bulk ammunition storage. A USGI ammo can would likely hold over 1200 rounds of 9mm, if packed in bulk. That is too heavy for me to throw in the range bag and go shoot.

My .223/556 ammunition is stored in reused factory boxes of 50, with a few 50 round plastic storage boxes in the mix, and then combined into .50 cal. USGI ammo cans or large plastic ammo cans. I have only recently exhausted my supply of used factory boxes, so now I’ll have to find another option. I am really not a fan of storing pointed rifle rounds loose in bulk boxes, so I suspect that I may buy used stripper clips and store my .223 ammo on those. As a bonus, it makes it quick to reload AR-15 magazines.

My .308s are in used factory boxes of 20 and a couple of plastic storage boxes of 50. The factory boxes combine well into USGI and plastic ammo cans, but the 50 round boxes are a little bulky. So far I still have plenty of used factory boxes, as I don’t go through too much or produce much with a .308 bolt action. However, one of my other hobbies is building ARs, and I envision increasing .308 production once I finish my AR-10 build.

Once you have gotten the hang of reloading, the opportunities to improve your shooting are endless. For example, I once traded for a bolt action rifle that I planned to use for hunting. I got a great deal on it. When I shot it, I discovered why: My group at 100 yards with factory ammo looked like a shotgun pattern. It was terrible. Rather than swearing and throwing the rifle off a bridge, which was my first inclination, I decided to do a ladder test. This is loading three rounds with a starting charge of powder (from the reloading manual), and increasing the powder charge by small steps, like a ladder, to determine if there was a “sweet spot” for this rifle. I fired my first three round group with the starting load, and through the spotting scope it looked as if I had missed the target with two of the three rounds. As I approached the target, I found out that, no, all three rounds had hit in basically the same hole. The guy who traded the rifle to me probably did so because he couldn’t get acceptable groups with factory ammo. It just turns out that the rifle liked a load slightly less hot than most factory loads.

There is something rewarding about being able to produce your own ammunition. The process is not hard, and there are plenty of resources available to help you. I encourage you to evaluate your own circumstances to see if reloading is appropriate for you. If you do take the reloading plunge, I hope that this has shown how reloading can be accomplished without spending a ton of money or having a great deal of space. Also, nothing that I do or described above requires any electricity, so it is perfect for someone who lives off the grid, or for WTSHF. Until that time, keep your powder dry and God bless.