Notes for Saturday – March 12, 2016

Today is the birthday of science fiction author Harry Harrison, who is best known for his Deathworld trilogy. (He was born in 1920 and died in 2012.)

On March 12, 1850 the first U.S. $20 gold piece was issued. The current bullion (melt) value of a $20 gold piece (not even considering any numismatic value) is about $1,185. Lesson learned: Trust gold, not paper.

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Today, we present another entry for Round 63 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 both 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. Safecastle is providing a package of 10 LifeStraws (a $200 value)

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 63 ends on March 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.

The Survival Battery- Part 2, by B.F.

On to the firearms batteries. I am a big fan of used guns. Most of the time, a used gun has not been shot much and you can pick it up for a significant savings over a new one. Right now is a great time to pick up trade-in police department handguns. Police trade-ins make an especially good deal for the person who is buying a gun to use rather than to show off. Even though the finish may be worn and the grips in need of replacement, they may only have been shot 100 rounds per year at annual qualification. Even in the more highly trained departments, unless the individual officer is interested in additional training, the handguns are probably shot less than 1000 rounds per year. Please see this letter I wrote to SurvivalBlog with more information about police trade-ins.

Used guns can also represent false savings, if you are not careful. A gun that is no longer manufactured or one that is a cheap import can end up costing you more over the life of your ownership than you save in initial prices, due to having to replace worn out parts (or the whole gun) when the spare parts are not readily available and may be of questionable quantity. Some guns, such as AR15s in the current market, can actually end up selling for more used than new. I can’t explain why, unless it is an example of something I vaguely remember from economics class– the concept of imperfect information.

One thing about used guns, unless you are fairly confident of the gun’s history, is that you should buy a complete spring set from someone like Wolff springs. The sets are usually around $30. If you don’t have the mechanical ability to replace them yourself, a gunsmith should be able to do so for a minimal charge. If you ask nicely, maybe he or she would even let you watch and learn how to do it.

Once you buy a firearm, you need to take it out and shoot it. I put a minimum of 200 rounds through a used semi-auto pistol (150 ball and 50 defense rounds) before I am convinced it is reliable. With a new semi-auto pistol, I up the number to 500 rounds of ball and 100 rounds of defense ammo. In a used revolver, I put 100 rounds through and a new revolver 200 rounds. I also run 500 rounds through a new or used semi-auto rifle before I would trust my life to it, and I usually run at least 100 rounds through a shotgun, new or used. If anything is going to break, I want it to happen early so that I can get it fixed right away before it can cause a situation to go south.

One more thing that I want to acknowledge but not address here is defensive handgun caliber choices. I firmly believe that there is no significant real world difference between the 9mm, the .40 S&W, and the .45 acp. While one may have a slight edge in performance, another might have an edge in shootablity and magazine capacity. Another might be the best of both worlds. I believe there is no way to prove that one caliber is better than the other. Please see this article I wrote for SurvivalBlog, if you care to see more of my opinion. The great caliber debate reminds me of one of my drill sergeants who said that opinions are like noses (he didn’t really say noses, but let’s keep this G-rated); everyone has one, no two are the same, and everyone is convinced that theirs is better than anyone else’s.

Your survival battery should be reliable both in function and for the long term. A quality firearm should last beyond your lifetime. I competed in several three-gun competitions last year, and for fun I used some of the older guns in my safe in one of them. The age of the rifle, revolver, and shotgun added up to a combined 249 years. (The semi-auto rifle alone was 108 years old.) They all worked flawlessly and although I finished lower than usual, just below the 50% mark, I still finished ahead of about 150 other shooters armed with the latest and greatest. The guns in your multi-person battery should also share a degree of commonality both for training purposes and to minimize the spare parts you need to keep in inventory.

Low Cost Everyday Battery

The low cost everyday battery should consist of a centerfire handgun that you will carry with you every day. It should be powerful enough to bag a deer or deal with something larger and aggressive. It should also have a 12-gauge pump shotgun, a centerfire rifle, and a .22 rifle. Optional guns should include a .22 semi auto pistol and an easily concealed handgun for concealed carry. The battery should be able to serve to defend yourself against two-legged aggressors, although that will not be its primary purpose.

My recommendations for the low cost everyday battery are:

  • Four Ruger Super Blackhawk 44 mag (also shoots 44 special), available used for $350. You can find grip options to fit small to extra-large hands. Carry it in a cross chest holster, as it is large and heavy.
  • Four 12 ga pump shotguns– Remington 870s with slug and bird barrels, new for $350 (with aftermarket slug barrel). Be sure to pick up an assortment of choke tubes, too.
  • Two Remington 700 ADL in .308 or 30-06 with iron sights. These can be had new for $350. Buy a base level Leupold or Burris 3×9 power scope (both with lifetime warranties which would be good until TSHTF) for $200 (shared)
  • Two Remington 597 22 rifles new $135 (shared)

Optional guns include:

  • Two Ruger 22-45 .22 semi auto pistol available new for $290 (shared) Go with new, as used does not save much and a used .22 semi auto may have fired tens of thousands of rounds (back when .22 ammo was more available).
  • Two Smith and Wesson 642 .38spl without lock $350 new. Used only saves you about $25, and you don’t get the warranty. (shared)
  • One or two .177 or 22 caliber suppressed pellet rifles with built-in suppressors to use on small game. They, even the more famous name manufacturers, are almost all made in China. $100 new (shared). The.177 rifle has a faster pellet, the .22 rifle a slightly heavier pellet, so choosing between the two are a toss-up in my mind for headshots on small game.

This puts the total for the four person everyday battery at $4,170 or $1,043 per person for the recommended and $5,650 or $1,413 per person if you include the optional guns. You could make some substitutions depending on your preferences. For example, the Glock 21 in 45acp would be marginal for bear or feral cows; the Glock 20 in 10mm would be a better option. If you went with the large frame Glocks or similar guns, which are available used for about the same price as used Super Blackhawks, then they would also serve for the Social battery, saving money.

Comments: It may take a bit of shopping to find these guns at these prices, but it is not impossible. If you are really into bargain hunting, you can beat all these prices significantly. For example, I bought a Super Blackhawk for $225 at a pawn shop and a Stainless Blackhawk in 45 colt for $250 at an auction.

I am a big Remington 870 fan. However, the Mossberg 500 would be a good choice, too, if you prefer that brand. While you can find older 12ga pumps from second tier manufactures as low as $100 or new Turkish and Chinese import pumps for as low as $150, the Remingtons and Mossbergs are reliable. They are out there in the millions and have tons of accessories available for them. Based on personal experience, I would avoid used Mossberg 500s unless they are really inexpensive (like under $150), because most of the used 500s I have bought or looked at over the years have been shot so much that they have a number of worn out parts that need to be replaced, especially the plastic safety button which Mossberg will not sell you; they want you to ship the gun in to them.

You may ask “What about the 20ga for smaller framed shooters instead of the 12ga?” Lower powered 12ga rounds such as AA shells or reduced recoil buckshot or slugs really don’t recoil any more than a 20ga, and they have a more effective shot column. Just be sure to get a stock of an appropriate length, such as a youth stock or an aftermarket AR-15 style collapsible stock.

The Social Battery

It should be able to equip four people for defense against bad guys. I am not spec’ing out a go-to-war battery, as that gets more into the realm of the paramilitary than prepping, so keep that in mind as you read through the recommendations. Now the best option will be to avoid confrontation, but if that is impossible you need to be prepared to meet aggression with overwhelming force. Each member of the team will need a service sized handgun and a rifle in suitable calibers and of course you will need to be sure to stock spare parts.

The slug barrel equipped shotguns can pull double duty for social purposes. You may want to consider folding or collapsible stocks for moving around in tight quarters and also mounting a flashlight.

For the social additions to the budget battery, I would go with the following:

  • Four used police trade Smith and Wesson M&Ps in .40 S&W available for $325 with three magazines. New M&Ps at $399 are also a good choice.
  • Four new Ruger AR 5.56 rifles in 5.56mm. I would not recommend optical sights, as the ones under $200 will probably only last a year with a lot of use, and the ones over $200 take it out of the budget category and also probably will only last a year or so. Instead learn how to use iron sights and practice with them. The Ruger 556 should run you $630.

The total for the Social battery comes to $3,820 or $955 per person. Polymer guns have been around since the 1970s and are still going strong. My HK VP70 manufactured in 1975 still shoots fine (although it is an odd design). One of my Glocks is a 1984 model with over 1000 rounds per year through it. I still compete with it. A well-known gun writer has documented over 100,000 rounds in his Glock. As much as I would like to recommend Glocks as a part of this budget battery, the used ones you are most likely to find are older generation guns that do not have adjustable back straps to accommodate folks with different sizes of hand. That is why I am recommending the M&P. I suggest getting it in .40 because of the large number of police trades in the market right now. The Bosnian manufactured Springfield XD family is another option. I have owned one, and they are good guns. I just have a problem with Springfield raising the price by a couple hundred dollars years ago after they took over importing them and changed the name from the HS2000 to the XD9.

If you absolutely cannot bear the thought of polymer guns, then go with a low cost 1911 from Armscor. They are a Philippine company that has been around for 100 years and makes 1911s under their own name and for a lot of other importers’ brands, such as Rock Island Armory, STI, Cimarron, Charles Daly, and Auto Ordnance. They make huge quantiles of 1911s each year and are ISO 9001 certified, assuring quality. You can find them starting at $390. Personally, I like 1911s, but I think they require more training and practice to use than modern DAO handguns. 1911s do have the advantage of a large selection of aftermarket parts and accessories available.

As to the AR 15 MSR (Modern Sporting Rifle), today everyone makes AR15s and you can find them in the market as low as $499. Prices go up and down. Around Christmas 2014 you could snatch up a Bushmaster Carbon 15 for $350 after rebate with other decent ARs going for $400. Although the less expensive ARs will probably work fine, remember they are built with parts from whoever the lowest bidder is at the moment. I believe that spending a bit more for a quality manufacturer, like Ruger, is worth it for a gun that needs to last you for years.

In years past, I would also have suggested at least one AK47 variant or even an SKS as optional, just because of the availability of ammunition for them. I was surprised to note in Tappan’s book that Jeff Cooper even recommended a rifle in “30 Russian short”, but the days of the $300 AK and $100 SKS are over, as are the days of the $100 case of 7.62×39 or 5.45×39. The Remington 700s will work if you need to reach out and touch someone or shoot through a small tree, but I don’t believe preppers will really need tactical precision rifles. Please see my SurvivalBlog article on sniper rifles for preppers if you are interested in more on preppers and sniping.

The next installment will look at the mid-level and high end batteries.

Avalanche Lily’s Morning Dew: The Lesser of Two Evils

I have felt inspired to write to you of what is on my mind and heart. I’ve decided to publish “Avalanche Lily’s Morning Dew” as a column that will intermittently appear in SurvivalBlog whenever the inspiration strikes. It is my hope that my thoughts enlighten you and exhort you to draw closer to our Lord in these Last Days!

I recently read an interesting essay by Rachael Dawson that was titled: Should You Vote for the Lesser of Two Evils? That piece articulates some of the same thoughts I’ve had during the past twelve years. I’ve often pondered whether I should vote for the man who is the lesser of two evils. The key point is this: Should I abstain, or should I “write-in” my preferred candidate? Frankly, the past three election cycles have left me feeling disenfranchised–especially so, in the current presidential campaign.

My fellow countrymen have not offered a candidate that I would want to have as my President over these Great States. I cannot bring myself to vote for Trump, since he is promoting far right corporatist statist rhetoric, which is nearly as bad as Clinton’s far left quasi-communistic statist rhetoric. Mark my words: Either of them would be dictatorial and would ignore Constitutional constraints and the Rule of Law, using their executive powers to do whatever they wish. Meanwhile, Ted Cruz is a member of the establishment and a Republican Party “tool”. If he were elected I believe that he wouldn’t have enough backbone to stand up to (and will inevitably capitulate to) his presidential (One World Order) handlers, in anything they wish. I cannot in good conscience vote for the lesser of two evils. I cannot face my Lord and Savior knowing that I voted for someone (like both Trump and Clinton) who are openly immoral, promote abortion, and the other aberration of God’s divine order. Neither of them will honor our Constitution, specifically the Bill of Rights. Neither of them support Israel’s right to defend herself as a sovereign nation. Neither of them will truly honor the Lord our God, the Creator of the Universe, and His statutes. Observing the lack of righteous candidates, we know we are under the Judgment of our Lord God. Coincidentally, after seeing Rachael Dawson’s article this morning, our family, during our family devotion read this scripture:

“Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem, which hast drunk at the hand of the LORD the cup of his fury; thou hast drunken the dregs of the cup of trembling, and wrung them out. There is none to guide her among all the sons whom she hath brought forth; neither is there any that taketh her by the hand of all the sons that she hath brought up. These two things are come unto thee; who shall be sorry for thee? desolation, and destruction, and the famine, and the sword: by whom shall I comfort thee?” – Isaiah 51:17-19 (KJV – Emphasis added)

Here, I must mention that I do not believe in the spurious doctrine of Replacement Theology, which asserts that America or the modern church in Western Nations have somehow become the “New Israel”. In scripture, Israel is Israel. Neither America nor the modern Church has replaced the nation of Israel. However, history does repeat or at least rhyme. Scripture can be applied to other nations for our learning and understanding.

Please read both Rachael Dawson’s essay and the comments that follow, which are insightful. Diligently ponder and pray about your role in the next election. My heart is heavy about this, and the prospects are sickening.

We need to be ever-repentant. We need to be deep in God’s Word and prepared to meet our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ From Nazareth. Jim and I believe and hope that, although our nation is now under judgment, God will have mercy on the families that belong to Him in the days that are coming. That is our fervent prayer! – Avalanche Lily

Letter: Long-Term Gas Storage

3

Hi Hugh and Jim.

I am trying to figure out what to do regarding safe long-term gas storage.

There are some that recommend treating gasoline with Pri G and sticking it in a HDPE plastic drum filled to the top. Others suggest that if you treat the gas every year with Pri G it will last “forever”, even ethanol gas. There seem to be a few common sense caveats, like cooler is better, temperature swings are bad, and you need to keep the tank full, et cetera to give themselves an out. I find this hard to believe.

I have tried the plastic barrel thing with ethanol gas and am three years into it. I am blending about 50/50 with fresh gas. One of my vehicles has the “check engine” light on, and the owners manual suggests I got a bad batch of fuel.

Ideally, I would bury a tank, but that isn’t possible. I am not going to store the gas in a climate-controlled environment as some suggest.

I have found a source of 91 octane ethanol-free gas. I have found a rust-free 275 gallon fuel oil tank. My thought is to paint the tank with rustoleum a few times and hide it in some shrubs, out of the sun, and treat the gas with Pri G and keep it full. The temp will range from minus 5 to 95 here. I am considering wrapping the tank with foam insulation (or bales of hay covered with a tarp), but I think perhaps condensation will form on the tank and the tank will not dry out and that will expedite oxidation of the steel tank even with the rustoleum paint. Perhaps epoxy paint? Another concern is expansion/contraction. With plastic I think it is less of a problem but with metal if the tank is sealed, could a seam pop or could metal fatigue occur over time? I could add a small vent and put a “balloon” over the vent. Or if the tank is full enough, could I not worry about the moisture/condensation inside as ‘Pri G’ will cure all problems as folk from Pri G suggest?

Do you have someone credible with experience in this for advice? I think the whole community would benefit from an honest discussion on this. There are very many variables to consider.

HJL replies: There is certainly a significant amount of bad/misinformation along with alot of marketing hype that is centered around selling product. Here is the problem with gasoline in a succinct form:

Gasoline is a combination of petroleum distillates. Some are light, some are heavy, and there is everything in between. Over time, the lighter distillates evaporate leaving the heavier ones behind. Stabilizers can slow the process but not stop it. You can rejuvenate gas by bubbling butane or propane through it (a process which I am sure I don’t have to further explain the dangers of; this would fit in the “famous last words” category of the proverbial red-neck: “Here, hold my beer!”).

The reason liquid petroleum gas (LPG) lasts forever is because it is fully contained, typically in a thick sealed metal container, and nothing evaporates. Gasoline is usually stored in plastic containers, which leak. A vented container will breath these lighter distillates with temperature changes, which is why that shed with the gas can inside it always smells like gasoline even when the lid is tightly on the can.

Ethanol complicates the issue because it is hydroscopic and will absorb moisture out of the air. When enough moisture is absorbed, it separates out. The ethanol also evaporates leaving the water behind.

The only way you can reliably store gasoline for long-term storage is to keep the lighter distillates from evaporating, which means you need a container that is completely sealed and strong enough to handle pressure and some abuse. (An LPG tank comes to mind.)

The government, of course, does not like this idea because you end up with a pressurized container that tends to spew liquid over everything when you crack it open. (The original NATO gas cans are a prime example and are pretty good but not legal, especially in Kalifornia for this reason.)

In short, a non-sealed container will not make really-long-term storage feasible no matter how much stabilizer you put in it. The lighter distillates are necessary for the consistency of gasoline. A sealed container makes for a potential explosive device (never mind that the government is okay with LPG tanks; you just apparently can’t have pressurized gasoline tanks).

Personally, if I wanted to store gasoline for an extended period of time, a converted 1000-gallon LPG tank is how I would do it. Don’t expect to get a county permit for that any time soon though, and it is cost prohibitive, even if you go with a used tank. Ideally, you should rotate through your gas storage so you are always using the oldest while storing the freshest.

A much better alternative is to go with at least one diesel vehicle and store that fuel instead. There are far fewer issues involved in storing diesel or kerosene.

Economics and Investing:

The Curious Case Of The 550 Million Missing Barrels Of Crude Oil

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Commercial property bubble gets out of control: Commercial real estate is now up 102 percent from the lows reached in 2009.

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Items from Professor Preponomics:

US News

Demand Agencies Go to the Chopping Block (Government Waste Fraud and Abuse) This is an excellent opinion piece written by columnist Cal Thomas. Excerpt: “We live in troubled times. The institutions we once trusted no longer seem reliable.”

Feds Paid $709,000 to Academic Who Studies How Glaciers are Sexist (Daily Caller) “Merging feminist postcolonial science studies and feminist political ecology, the feminist glaciology framework generates robust analysis of gender, power, and epistemologies in dynamic social-ecological systems…” Meanwhile, the U.S. Debt Clock/a> keeps on ticking!

International News

It’s Time to Dump Non-Market Economy Treatment (Cato)

Exclusive: China to Ease Commercial Banks’ Bad Debt Burden via Equity Swaps – Sources (Reuters) Excerpt: “The quality of assets held by banks is worse than it looks, analysts have said. To avoid stumping up capital and to protect their balance sheets, some banks have under-reported bad loans and under-recognized overdue debt.”

The Collapse of Italy’s Banks Threatens to Plunge the European Financial System into Chaos (The Economic Collapse Blog)

ECB Pulls Out All Stops with Rate Cuts, Stimulus Boost (Reuters)

Personal Economics and Household Finance

Failed Obamacare Co-ops Have Not Repaid $1.2B in Federal Loans, Docs Say (Fox News) Prepare yourselves and your budgets. More health insurance premium hikes are coming. Excerpt: “In some states, these losses will be absorbed by other insurance companies—which means, by the policyholders of other insurance companies who have to pay increased … premiums…. “In other states, doctors, hospitals and individual patients stand to suffer large out-of-pocket losses due to the co-op failures….”

Alabamians’ ObamaCare Deductible are Rising Again in 2016; Here’s How Much (Yellow Hammer News) Alabama is not alone.

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

Odds ‘n Sods:

More reasons to get your kids out of publically-funded schools, even higher education schools: For the second time in 15 years – UC-Berkeley Law School Dean Takes Leave Of Absence After Being Sued For Sexual Harassment

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Several readers sent in the links to this article: FBI Now Spying on HS Students, to ID and Weed-Out “Extremists & Anarchists” for Pre-Crimes

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Despite the Democratic narrative over the Supreme Court vacancy, Republicans have no constitutional duty to vote on Supreme Court nominees – Sent in by P.M.

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Police Confiscate Guns from Concealed Permit Holder Who Believes in Bigfoot – And this even with a signed statement from a doctor that he presents no danger to society. How far away is this from having your weapons confiscated because you believe in the existence of an all-powerful entity who can and will control all aspects of the universe? – Sent in by B.B.

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Reader Mr. Natural wrote in with this: Finally. ATF Reveals The Number of US Registered Machine Guns

Transferables: 175,977
Pre-May Dealer Samples: 17,020
Post-May Dealer Samples: 297,667

Wow. Way more posties than I’d have thought. But read the whole thing. It’s quite interesting. But it begs an unanswered question just as important: “How many registered machine gun owners are there?” Which brings up a point never, ever aired by the MSM: Full-auto’s have been registered since the National Firearms Act of 1934– 82 years. Since that time fewer than a dozen have ever been used in a crime of violence by their registered owner.

ATF cannot be bothered to compile the exact number. Why? Because your government doesn’t waste money on pro-gun stats, of course. It doesn’t fit the narrative. There’s nothing to see here. Move along, citizen. But do the math, 82 years. Almost half a million guns with fewer than a dozen crimes. (HINT: It’s a leetle-bitty small percentage with several zeroes to the right of the decimal point.

Hugh’s Quote of the Day:

“And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord.” 1 Kings 8:10 (KJV)

Notes for Friday – March 11, 2016

Today is the birthday of author Douglas Adams (born in 1952). He is the author of Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.

Also on this day, the Great Blizzard of ’88 struck the northeastern United States (1888).

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Today, we present another entry for Round 63 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 both 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. Safecastle is providing a package of 10 LifeStraws (a $200 value)

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 63 ends on March 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.

The Survival Battery- Part 1, by B.F.

I recently “rediscovered” the late Mel Tappan’s book Survival Guns. I remember reading his articles in Guns and Ammo and Soldier of Fortune back in the ’60s and ’70s, and I had a copy of Survival Guns when I was stationed in Germany as a small arms repairman in the mid ’70s. I left that copy in the unit’s common library when I PCS’d back to the world and had not thought about it until lately when I found a reprint available on Amazon.

A lot of writers have shared their thoughts about what should constitute a survival battery. JWR, for one, has suggestions in his list of lists, available on this website. His novels also present good ideas about what does and does not work for in TEOTWAWKI situations as do his nonfiction books How to Survive the End of the World As We Know It and Tools for Survival.

While I am not anywhere near the class of these writers, I still want to share my thoughts on different survival batteries, based on today’s markets and availability. Here’s a little about me. I have been a gun nut since the mid-1960s and served as a 45B small arms repairman on active duty in Germany, supporting everything from 1911s to four deuce mortars. I have been a member of various shooting teams and a competitive shooter and firearms instructor since 1975, and I am currently an NRA certified instructor. I am a combat veteran and have (depending on how the Army chooses to count it at the moment) either 18, 23, or 32 years of service. I am also a bargain hunter, which is a bad combination for a gun nut, and have accumulated far too many guns over time, I think I am finally getting to the point where I can control this and focus my “collecting” activities a bit more and have started to sell some of the guns I haven’t shot for a while (or maybe ever). Some of them have been gathering dust in my safe since I stocked up prior to Y2K.

Getting back to Mel Tappan, after re-reading Survival Guns I was pleasantly surprised to note how relevant it still is forty plus years later. I would recommend it as a great resource to anyone seriously interested in prepping. He has chapters comparing various rifles, handguns, and shotguns, plus one on accessories, and others. He also makes recommendations for the contents of several different survival batteries for different groups of preppers and includes descriptions of the survival batteries of several well-known authorities on the subject, including Col Jeff Cooper.

Now as much as I like Tappan’s recommendations, the firearms world has changed quite a bit since he wrote his book and made his suggestions for survival batteries. I’m not saying that the batteries he recommends would not serve today, but some of the guns he suggests, such as the High Standard model 10b shotgun, the Beretta BM59 battle rifle, and the Colt Python revolver, have become high priced collector’s items that are no longer manufactured. Other guns he recommends have been superseded (at least in my mind) by higher quality, more accurate, less expensive alternatives. Additionally, the availability of stainless steel firearms, corrosion resistant factory finishes, and improvements in quality of factory guns have made a number of his suggestions for such things as aftermarket finishes or custom rifles superfluous. These are not bad ideas; they are just not as high a priority as they were in the 1970s. More to the point, there are entire categories of guns, such as polymer framed pistols and highly accessorizable AR15 and AR 10 rifles, that have come into existence since the late 1960s/early 1970s.

The one place I disagree with Tappan is his recommendation of combination guns, such as the Savage 24 series. I have owned a number of these types of guns, which usually consist of a rifle barrel mounted above a shotgun barrel. I have found them clumsier to handle than a single shot shotgun and less accurate than a single shot rifle. The argument for these guns is that you have both a rifle and a shotgun available to you just by carrying one gun. Used Savage 24s sell for $500 to $600 in my area of the country, which can be three times the combined cost of both an inexpensive .22 rifle and a single shot shotgun; I just can’t justify it. That said, if it works for you and you believe the premium is worth it, then go ahead and add one to your battery. I think a good alternative is a Rossi three barrel set. I have one with.22, .243 and 20ga barrels that cost me $180 new on sale.

It would not be fair use to re-print Tappan’s lists and then post changes, so I will just suggest my ideas. I’ll split the list between an everyday battery and a more “social” battery, and will present three different cost levels– one for the thrifty person, like me, on a tight budget; a mid-price list; and a “money is no object” list. I’m not going to focus on what to carry as a limited battery during a bug out or what to keep in your car or truck as a part of a get home bag. Rather, I will focus on what should make up the battery at your retreat or wherever you choose to reside after TEOTWAWKI.

I will talk about ammunition for break in, but I will not get into amounts you should keep for TEOTWAWKI. JWR has recommended ammunition quantities, and I can’t really think of anything you would want to do differently, except buy more after the rest of your preps are taken care of. Just because of the uses they will be put to, you will probably not need as much ammunition for the everyday battery as you will for the social battery.

Both batteries will be sized for a group of four people with varying levels of skills, dedication to shooting and practice, and different builds. The everyday battery will provide basic self-defense against two- and four-legged critters and hunting capabilities. The idea is that these are the guns you will need for everyday use and will always have either with you or near at hand when you are doing chores or other activities. Can you buy a decent battery for less? Yes. However, some of the parameters I am trying to cover include reliability and interoperability.

I am also not going to specify special high powered guns for “grizzly country”, because in a post SHTF world I believe that there will be plenty of feral hogs and cattle roaming around that could be even deadlier than grizzlies, since they won’t fear humans. Powerful “grizzly guns” will be needed just as much in Iowa, which has no native bears as they will be in Alaska, Canada, or the rest of grizzly country.

Let’s start with accessories and practice. You should have at least one holster for each handgun and more if you will be using alternate forms of carry based on what your activity or on temperature and weather. All of your rifles and shotguns should have slings. This will make it less likely that you will leave them somewhere else, like in a truck or at your house, when you need them. The rifles should have shooting slings, while the shotguns should have carrying slings. Even if you use a bipod or shooting sticks for rifle shooting, you should get training and practice shooting a rifle with a sling. The Appleseed foundation offers good low cost training, including proper use of the sling. Col Jeff Cooper’s book The Art of the Rifle is also a great source on use of slings and proper techniques. As to practice, try to shoot your rifle and pistol at least once a month now with a minimum of 100 rounds. Practice now, before TEOTWAWKI, so you can replace the ammunition you use up. Your practices should be more than just launching rounds downrange as quickly as you can pull the trigger. They should be focused on specific skills. Google searches will return quite a few practice drills from reliable sources.

Other accessories you will need include magazine and ammunition pouches, cleaning kits and supplies, and gun cases. Reloading is something you should look into. If you don’t know much about it, then talk to a knowledgeable salesperson (be sure they really are knowledgeable) at a gun store or large sporting goods retailer like Cabelas, Scheels, Bass Pro, et cetera. You can also take a reloading class from an NRA certified reloading instructor or join a local gun club and learn from fellow members. We could spend a lot of time talking about accessories and reloading, but that is not really the focus of this article. One important thing that I believe most people forget about or don’t stock in sufficient quantities are spare parts. For some guns like AR15s and 1911s, you can purchase pre-packaged repair parts kits. For others, you may need to order part by part from a company like Brownells or Midway. If you do go with Brownells, then talk to one of their technicians and get their recommendations about what parts to stock.

The next installment will begin the recommendations for what should make up a battery.

Letter: Rocket Stoves and Tiny Pressure Cookers

Dear Mr. Rawles and Mr. Latimer,

I read with interest your recent article on rocket stoves and slow cooking. I would like to note that while rocket stoves do use less fuel, a person can also burn less fuel and save time with a pressure cooker. Many people are totally unaware that there are very small 1.5 liter pressure cookers for sale that use very little fuel to cook a delicious and healthy meal. If you are going to go to the trouble of using an efficient stove, it pays to use efficient cooking vessels. I recently made two YouTube videos your readers might like. I did a review of my 1.5 liter pressure cooker and made a super fast 60-second goulash with it, and I also made a video experimenting with cooking with my tiny pressure cooker using tea light candles and three small bricks on my balcony.

Thanks for fighting. – R.M.

Economics and Investing:

Chinese Exports Plunge 25.4 Percent Compared To Last Year

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Deflation Is Coming To The Auto Industry As Used Car Prices Drop, Off-Lease Deluge Looms – Sent in by RBS

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Items from Professor Preponomics:

US News

Former BP CEO Expects More US Bankruptcies (Fox Business)

International News

Italy Isn’t Greece — It’s Worse (Business Insider) Excerpt: “…banks will be allowed to cleanse their balance sheets by packaging the NPLs and selling them to investors, along with enticing government guarantees for the least risky portions of the debt. The catch? The securities must be priced at market rates.”

ECB Monitoring Liquidity Levels at Some Italian Banks – Sources (Reuters)

EU Notes Economic Imbalances in France, Italy and Elsewhere (Wall Street Journal) Excerpt: “…France, Italy, Portugal and others have excessive imbalances and require tighter monitoring, urging them to move quickly with economic changes.” Note: The Wall Street Journal requires sign-in and/or subscription service for access to some content.

Saudi Arabia is Trying to Borrow Billions from Banks (Business Insider) Excerpt: “…the assets will last only a few more years at their current rate of decline, while the bond issues have started to strain liquidity in the banking system.”

Personal Economics and Household Finance

Home Depot Will Reimburse Customers $13M for Data Breach (Time Money) Excerpt: “The home improvement retailer will set up a $13 million fund to reimburse shoppers for out-of-pocket losses, and spend at least $6.5 million to fund 1-1/2 years of cardholder identity protection services.”

Why the 401(k) isn’t Working for Millions of Americans (Business Insider) Excerpt: “Nearly half of all working-age families have no money in retirement accounts at all. The median family has $5,000 saved. Even for people between the ages of 56 and 61, the median retirement account savings is a paltry $17,000.”

Will Your Job Disappear? (USA Today)

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

Odds ‘n Sods:

As we listen to the mainstream media’s portrayal of the Feds actions, we hear how the BLM was threatened by an unruly mob, taking aim with sniper rifles and obviously out of control. Of course, there are always two sides to every coin. Reader H.L. sent in this thought-provoking article on the issue. From Showdown to Show Trial: The Bunkerville Crackdown is Just Beginning

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Circulating virulently on social media: Gen. Boykin: First Transgender Man Enters My Daughter’s Bathroom Won’t Have to Worry About Surgery

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An excellent 20 minute video (or a pictorial essay, your choice) on a Message to the Voting Cattle.

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When the aerial video of the Lavoy murder was released by the FBI, those who are familiar with spy drones recognized the blacked out portions of the video despite the FBI’s protestations to the contrary. Now comes this revelation: Pentagon admits it has deployed military spy drones over the U.S.. Any one want to bet on whether the drone was armed as a contingency plan in case Lavoy evaded the roadblock? Article sent in by Reader P.S.

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Documents Reveal US Army Indoctrinated Soldiers on Dangers of ‘White Privilege’ – Sent in by W.C.

Notes for Thursday – March 10, 2016

On March 10, 1893, New Mexico State University canceled its first graduation ceremony because its only graduand, Sam Steele, was robbed and killed the night before.

On March 10, 1910, China officially ended slavery. But unofficially, China now has one of the world’s largest slave populations. These are mostly political prisoners, working in prison factories. Sadly, there is no way of reliably knowing whether or not most of the “Made In China” merchandise that you buy might originate from these prisons.

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Today, we present another entry for Round 63 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 both 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. Safecastle is providing a package of 10 LifeStraws (a $200 value)

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 63 ends on March 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.

Are We Prepared?, by Michael G.

We heard a medical doctor issue a warning before the dawn of the new century that we needed to get prepared. All of the engineers interviewed in IEEE Magazine at the time said we were in trouble. I did not want to face my family at the dinner table regretting there was no food because I did not heed qualified warnings. I had to act. We considered what we might need and went out and purchased what we could afford by priority. We prepared as though we were preparing for war and assumed we would have to make it on our own. Love of family and understanding that fiat currency will someday become worthless causes us to continue preparing.

Food was, is, and will be the chief concern. Adding only water to prepare food would be an advantage to us in an austere environment. Having food that is already in cans eliminates labor and the risk of crop loss. Sampling different dehydrated and freeze-dried foods taught us which ingredients we liked and what to avoid. For example, apple slices taste great, dices good, and flakes bad. We learned not to assume scrambled eggs, brown rice, and all milk powders keep well. Some entrees become off-flavored with acidic tomato and acrid cheese powders. We learned that sealing cans in nitrogen and keeping them cool extends their shelf life. We stored vitamin and mineral supplements with desiccants and oxygen absorbers in Mylar bags in sealed buckets. Some savings have been made by buying in bulk, not having to make frequent trips to the stores and procuring items prior to inflation. I have to say that every power outage was painless for us.

Planting perennials, especially pears, cranberries, and elderberries, produced favorable results. We are adding honeyberry bushes for an earlier fruit. Our hazelnut trees gave us nuts, so we planted more trees. Growing garlic is amazing. Open-pollinated seeds are essential to our gardening plans. We plant only crops requiring little care. We have had much success with carrots and greens. Kale is particularly nutritious. We compost leaves and vegetable parings for three years. The planting areas are rotated annually. Unfortunately, it is not realistic for us to raise animals.

We had the pleasure of meeting the owner of Bison Pumps. After a demonstration, we decided to buy one of his water pumps. The hand pump fits our well casing exactly and satisfies our needs when power is not available. We continue to use and stock gravity water filters. Probably the greatest thing we realize by living in the country is having our own water supply.

We can heat both the house and water with our flat-topped wood stoves. We have insulated tanks with spigots for saving hot water from the stoves. Stove top ovens, sun ovens, kerosene burners, and rocket stoves are counted on for cooking and for heating water. Solar showers are also available. Of course I get warmed twice from the firewood!

Considering a year-round need for firewood prompted me to buy multiple, quality felling axes, saws, splitting mauls and sharpening files. I had to stock hardware, building supplies, hand tools and repair items we anticipated needing. It has been sweet having everything on hand for recent jobs.

Fire extinguishers are kept charged throughout the house. Trees and brush have been cleared around the house and a 700-gallon concrete dike placed near the well for fire protection. A generator driven pump, solar-powered battery-driven pump, hose, portable spray tanks and buckets are kept handy.

Solar power is expensive, and our latitude limits it; but it is necessary for some of the things we want to do. If I have any regret, it is not having enough alternative energy to do more.

Quality footwear, merino socks, layered clothing, water-resistant and insulated coats, watch caps, broad-rimmed hats, bug gear, bandannas, and work gloves are all stocked. It is nice to have a wife who is a seamstress whose sewing machine can run off the inverter. Clothes can be washed in the manual washing machine with wringer and then dried on the clothesline.

We stocked up on soap products and personal hygiene items. For all of Cal Ben Pure Soap products that can be bought in bulk, visit their website. We added a composting toilet (http://natureshead.net/), built an outhouse, and have since set up a sick room in our home according to the SurvivalBlog article by G.A. (RN). Large concrete tanks with lids were placed outdoors for future waste containment.

I had being prepared drilled into me as an Eagle Scout and know that medical help can be stretched or non-existent in an emergency. After completing Red Cross First Aid and CPR in high school I longed to take additional training. I was uneasy imagining trauma care and squelched the desire by telling myself that emergency medicine was for professionals. The articles in SurvivalBlog by LEO Medic Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 and Part 5 liberated me from my fears and enabled me to focus on what I could do. Renewed and motivated, I completed 150 hours of advanced first aid, EMT refresher classes, and Prehospital Trauma Life Support. I was privileged to have some of the very best teachers out there, including one who had just completed a course in Tactical Combat Casualty Care. All the Paramedics gave me confidence and competence to be a Wilderness First Responder. The training unexpectedly made me aware how narrow is health and how important is safety to avoid the need for treatment.

I felt naked on the way home having only my bare hands to use in a medical emergency. I committed from that day forward to carry medical gear. My IFAK items are stuffed in a Blackhawk drop leg medical pouch purchased from a discount dealer. I outfitted Doc Blue’s Family Medical Kit , bag only, with medical supplies to carry in my truck. I modified the contents of an AMP-3 Outfitter for my grab bag and have oxygen in a shoulder strap carrying case at the house. I stocked the kits according to LEO Medic’s advice to my level of certification, except I chose to have Chito SAM gauze, which is now FDA approved. (Info on Chito Sam gauze is available online.) I read EMS materials to stay fresh. It is great to cover medical care with my wife, who may have to apply emergency care someday. Basic life support training is for everybody, or should be. BLS is mostly non-invasive or topical in application. The primary focus is on preservation of cell oxygenation. I am glad that my first two patients were low maintenance. A lady in a motor vehicle accident had an acute stress reaction only. A co-worker had a concussion only, with no increased cranial pressure. I learned not to become a casualty in an emergency and to be observant. Deescalating the situation makes it better for me and for my patient. It is up to me, as a good Samaritan, to find the problem and fix it until I can get higher help.

We have 2-meter portable radios plus a mobile in the vehicle and a base station in the house. We have extra batteries and chargers for the portables. The mobile is fused at the truck’s second battery and the wires run inside conduit to reduce the chance of a short occurring under the hood. The base station operates on voltage-regulated battery power, which is solar charged. We have tested reception at various locations in line of sight of our base station for simplex operations when we cannot make use of local repeaters. Voice-activated head sets allow for hands-free operation. Ham radios can be used without a license in an emergency, but obtaining licenses was easy and allowed us to set up communications and practice transmitting with COMSEC. Scanners enable us to listen to worldwide broadcasts.

We are not planning to go anywhere except occasionally to a local orchard or to our friends’ house nearby. A truck with 4-wheel drive and fuel additive, bicycle with baskets and puncture resistant tubes, cart, sled and snowshoes provide for our transportation. On good days we walk a mile on our dirt road together. To get in shape I walk three to six miles on cleared trails daily. In bad weather I use the rowing machine.

Massad Ayoob’s books In the Gravest Extreme and Stressfire greatly influenced us about personal protection and prompted us to make additions in discipline, armor, and munitions. My petite wife is relieved to have appropriate, one-shot stopping power with a 20-gauge shotgun that is furnished with a youth stock. Having guns with the same action and ambidextrous safety allows for joint handling. Slings and ammo carriers provide retention. Lasers and tritium night sights are useful when sighting with the non-dominant eye or in low light conditions. An outdoor backstop with realistic targets for live fire and the use of dry-fire rounds to achieve muscle memory keep us in practice. Pressing a weight straight up from the shoulder, 100 reps each day, produces steadier arm support of long guns. We used Joe Nobody’s book Holding Your Ground as an independent evaluation of our defenses.

Proving survival systems is when it really gets interesting. Then things overlooked become apparent and demand solutions. Some notable instances:

  • acquiring a target and seeing the gun’s front site in the dark;
  • keeping the basement from freezing;
  • damage from corroded alkaline batteries; and
  • having to add bypass diodes to a string of solar panels.

These were discovered from testing. We bought some magnesium oil to treat pains from increased manual labor. I don’t think we will stop preparing until we have to sequester. So far, we found only one family close by doing much the same.

Our spiritual preparation was complete before we started preparing physically. The only change we made is we now use text-only KJV Bibles. Without man-made notes and commentary, God has more room to meet with us. The faith of Jesus Christ enables us to endure to the end. -M.G.