Street Combat – This Ain’t No Game! – Part 6a of 9, by Pat Cascio

[Street Combat – This Ain’t No Game is a SurvivalBlog exclusive.]

Chapter Four

Close Quarters Combat Shooting

No book or single chapter of a book can adequately teach a person gunfighting skills. In this chapter, I’m going to give you the basic concepts of close quarters combat shooting, or CQB as it’s commonly called. It is my sincere belief that there is no better method of deploying a handgun in a close quarters, self-defense situation than with the method known as Point Shooting.

If you’ll recall, in many of the war stories I have related to you, the distances involved were extremely close. FBI statistics prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that most gunfights take place at 21 feet or less, and in many cases the distance is “reach out and touch someone” close.

To be an effective all-around combat pistol shot, you MUST be trained in point shooting as well as aimed shooting. To lack either skill will allow a serious void in your handgun training. In this chapter, I’m only covering Point Shooting and Hip Shooting skills. There have already been enough books written on aimed shooting skills.

Basic Techniques

Before we get started, let me burst your bubble. If you’re waiting to discover the secrets of point shooting, well, there are none! Don’t hold your breath in hopes of learning something secret from the masters of point shooting. Those who know and teach point shooting have pretty well explained what they know about the subject in plain everyday English. There are no secrets!

You’ll see that the Applegate-Fairbairn method is probably the easiest to learn and retain. Depending upon your physical make-up, you may find one technique will work better for you than another. Martial artist John McSweeney teaches a method of point shooting that I call “The Swing”. Jim Wilson employs a method I refer to as “The Punch”. This is not to say one technique is better than another but only that dependent upon your own skill, dedication (which is important), and manual dexterity, you will find one technique more suitable and easier to learn than another.

In discussing point shooting with Col. Rex Applegate and studying his classic text– Kill or Get Killed, I learned the most basic problem students of point shooting have is a limp wrist. This is proven in the classes I hold on the subject. Most errors are traced to limp-wristing the handgun. When practicing point shooting, if you start seeing your hits scattered all over the target, the odds are that you are limp-wristing the gun. Lock that wrist and watch the groups tighten-up!

Another common problem you may run into is seeing your hits centered too low on the target. Simply stated, you are not raising your weapon high enough before completing your trigger pull. Another possible cause is that the weapon doesn’t fit your hand properly. With a revolver, another set of stocks (grips) may resolve the problem. With an autoloader, there is little you can do except to learn where you are naturally pointing your handgun and then adjust your wrist accordingly. This will take a certain amount of practice, but it can be done.

In discussing this problem with noted close quarters combat authorities Chuck Karwan and the late Col. Rex Applegate, both draw the same conclusion– different guns point differently! Another noted gun writer, Dave W. Arnold, who is also associate editor of HANDGUNS magazine, told me, “A gun MUST fit the hand.” Different sizes or types of grips (stocks) can help, so be advised.

If you have found a gun that fits your hand and points somewhat naturally for you and you’ve learned to lock your wrist, then let’s move on to another learning point. There seems to be some contention about either fully extending your shooting arm or not! I have seen shooters firing both ways, with slightly bent (but locked) or straight elbows. Whichever methods works best for you is the one to use. Practice is the key word here!

I teach a fully-extended elbow, as did Col. Rex Applegate, and so does Dave W. Arnold. Others, like (now retired) Sheriff Jim Wilson of Crockett County Texas and John McSweeney, teach a slightly bent elbow. Both techniques work! Find the one that works best for you and use it.

In the Applegate-Fairbairn method of point firing, the gun arm is lowered to a 45 degree angle from the ground and then brought up from the ground to fire. Other instructors/authorities teach that you should punch the gun arm straight out as in boxing and certain martial arts. I have no problem with either technique. Having an involvement in the martial arts for over 25 years, I realize the importance and accuracy of a good straight punch.

On the other hand, simply raising your hand and pointing your finger at an object also has its worth. I’m sure everyone remembers sitting in a classroom in school and fooling around, and then seeing the teacher slowly raise his/her hand and point a finger at you. It made no difference if you were seated in the front or back of the classroom; the finger was pointed at YOU! Practice both methods of getting your handgun on-target. Whichever one works best for you is the one to use. Applegate believed that you’ll learn easier and quicker raising the gun rather than punching it out. I tend to agree!

You will find, as you progress in your point shooting skills, that there are very few hard and fast rules that apply. One rule that should apply to everyone though is to use what works for you! Don’t worry about what certain gurus teach. If their way is the only way, I would suggest looking for another instructor.

Now that you have a gun that fits your hand, your wrist and elbow ( or a slightly bent elbow) are locked, let’s work our way up to the shoulder region. This part of your anatomy is often neglected. Your shoulder joint should be locked but not so locked as to prevent horizontal or lateral movement when needed. While firing, the shoulder joint should be locked and the upper and lower arm as well as the wrist should function and move as one unit in a manner something akin to an old fashion handle on a water pump, only moving up and down!

With arm, wrist, and shoulder locked together, now is the time to either simply raise the pistol to just below eye level or use the punch technique and simply punch your gun arm toward the target. Don’t throw your gun toward the target. This only works in the ole “B” westerns. Dave W. Arnold feels that timing of your trigger pull is the most important aspect of point shooting. Once on-target, the trigger pull is now completed immediately! Without hesitation, do it NOW!

Dave W. Arnold’s thought is that you don’t start your trigger pull after your gun comes on-target. Rather the trigger pull starts before getting on-target. John McSweeney and myself believe that you should be on-target prior to starting your trigger pull! Practice, and use what works best for you.

Before continuing on, I want to repeat what Dave Arnold told me in a phone conversation. He said, “Aimed shooting is ALWAYS better.” I couldn’t agree more with Dave. Please don’t misunderstand Arnold’s comment to mean that he favors aimed shooting over point shooting.

Such is NOT the case! Arnold simply means that when time and circumstances permit, an aimed shot is a much better route to take than a point shot. As any experienced point shooter will admit, aimed shots are not always possible due to distance, time, light conditions, et cetera.

After an initial exchange of gunfire, one should be looking for cover and/or concealment. Then aimed shots can be taken at the assailant. Make no mistake, during a close encounter of the deadliest kind, point shooting is what works and is what you will use if you are trained in its proper techniques. Dave Arnold states that from the draw, he can get off two shots using the point shooting method (at five meters) approximately 1/2 second faster than he can using the aimed technique. This can make the difference between who wins and who looses. To borrow from the late master gunfighter Bill Jordan, “There is no second place winner in a gunfight.”

I hate for anyone to use the term “expert”, as you’ll find I prefer the word “authority” over “expert”), but some self-appointed “experts” will tell you that you must use a different stance when point shooting. For that matter, I recently read an article by one of these experts, who claimed you must use a different stance when shooting a snub-nosed revolver in order to control recoil. That’s not true!

A good, natural stance with the feet spaced evenly and comfortably apart will get the job done. Some shooters prefer that one foot be advanced slightly in front of the other; others demand that the right foot is placed slightly forward of the left or vice-a-versa. Hey, whatever works best for you is the technique to use. If you’re not comfortable with your stance, you won’t shoot worth a plug nickel!

If you already don’t have a copy of the video Tactical Point Shooting (Vigilante Publishing, P.O. Box 592, Ontario, OR 97914) please be sure to obtain a copy. This video has myself, John McSweeney, and Sheriff Jim Wilson demonstrating the three different types of point shooting techniques discussed in this chapter. Plus, there are some interesting comments by Col. Rex Applegate.

Crouching! Some folks teach it, while others don’t. I personally don’t teach a forward crouch for the simple fact that you’ll crouch instinctively when the lead starts flying! There is nothing wrong with practicing a forward crouch, however. Col. Rex Applegate stresses the crouch in his text KILL OR GET KILLED, and I have no problem with that. Most of what I teach is based on the Applegate-Fairbairn method of point shooting. It worked for Fairbairn & Sykes with the Shanghai Municipal Police, and it worked for Applegate during WWII and afterward. Thousands of troops were trained by Applegate using this method, and untold hundreds or thousands of lives have been saved using this method!

A quick review of the 10 steps involved in the Applegate-Fairbairn Method of Point Shooting are in order:

  1. Select a handgun that fits your hand
  2. Replace the grips for a better fit (if necessary).
  3. Lock your wrist.
  4. Lock your elbow.
  5. Lock your shoulder.
  6. Get into a comfortable stance (for your own physical make-up).
  7. Either raise or punch your handgun toward the target.
  8. Trigger control.
  9. Seek cover, and then place aimed shots (if necessary).
  10. Follow-up if necessary.

Mirror Training

John McSweeney, Prof. Bradley J. Steiner, and other point shooting authorities advocate the use of a full-length mirror as one of your training tools when practicing point shooting. Now, don’t go off and try to out-draw yourself in the mirror. Perhaps the late Bill Jordan could do it, but the rest of us can’t! In this section we’ll cover some training methods you can use at home to improve your point shooting skills. In addition to dry-firing, mirror work is probably the most important aspect of practice at home.

You will need to purchase at least a 3/4 length mirror. Get one large enough that you can see your entire body. A full-length mirror is even better. Mount it in a spot that permits enough room to draw your weapon and allows for various body movements.

John McSweeney advocates that your initial dry-fire practice should last 15 minutes per day for the first month or so. Live-fire practice should take place at least two times per month with a minimum of 50 rounds fired. After your first month of dry-fire, you can taper off to two or three times a month for the rest of the year. After that, practice dry-fire once a month for 15 minutes.

So, given the above time frame and with a little practice, you’ll become a much better point shooter than the average police officer, who only aim fires his gun during the annual or semi-annual qualification course. To quote Sheriff Jim Wilson, “If you want to become good, you should practice; if you want to stay alive, you’d better practice.”

Now that you have set up a practice schedule, you’ll need to plan exactly what you’ll be practicing. As already mentioned, don’t try to outdraw yourself! The first thing you should do is practice either punching your gun forward or the Applegate method of simply raising (remember the KISS principle– Keep It Simple, Stupid) the gun from the low, “ready” position. Look at where the gun’s muzzle is pointed. Is it pointed at your mid-section or toward your kneecap? Is your wrist locked or limp? Remember, a limp wrist is the major cause of errors in point shooting (and aimed shooting as well). A limp wrist will bind up most autoloaders, causing a serious malfunction that may take several life-threatening seconds to correct.

Focus your attention on yourself in the mirror, not on your gun! Martial artists teach you to focus all your attention on your intended target, not on your own fist or foot. If you are focusing your attention on your target, you’ll find that your gun will be pointing at that target.

Learn where your particular handgun points. Does it point naturally for you, or is it a gun that points too low or too high? Remember Dave Arnold’s comments earlier about grip replacement. It can definitely aid when using a revolver or less so when using a semiautomatic handgun. By the way, I’m NOT a big fan of most rubber grips on guns. They don’t allow you to adjust your grip when indexing your gun. The rubber grips made my Michaels of Oregon (P.O. Box 1690, Oregon City, OR 97045 503-557-0536) are the exception. If you take a hold that is too low or too high with most rubber grips, you won’t be able to adjust your grip without reholstering or using your other hand to hold the gun.

Now that you have been focusing on bring your gun on-target, you should begin practicing trigger control. Remember, Dave Arnold states that trigger control is THE MOST IMPORTANT aspect of point shooting! Arnold is a world-class shooter and spent 18 years with the elite British South Africa Police force in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe). While with the BSAP, he was with the counter-insurgency service commanding anti-terrorist units against guerrillas. By the way, Arnold’s book– Shoot A Handgun – should be in your library. It is available from PVA Books, P.O. Box 2216, Canyon Country, CA 91351. (You may write for details on cost and shipping).

Noted point shooting authority John McSweeney states that your trigger pull should start when the gun is brought on-target and NOT BEFORE OR AFTER it reaches the target! Again, I agree with McSweeney. McSweeney and I are personal friends as well as professional associates. McSweeney and I recently co-authored a book entitled SWAT Battle Tactics, available from Paladin Press. I know and respect McSweeney, both as a point shooting instructor and also as a martial artist, since he introduced karate to Ireland. While some of our techniques are different, both have the same end results!

Okay, now that your gun is coming on-target and you have mastered your trigger pull, what’s next? Glad you asked. You did ask, didn’t you? Good! Practice stepping off with both feet. No, not at the same time! First practice stepping toward your target with your right foot and then your left. Practice facing your target square on, with your feet evenly spaced apart and on the same plain. Keep both knees slightly bent (as in any style of martial arts) at all times. Practice stepping back with one foot and then the other. To a practiced shooter, distance is on your side. If possible (unless backed into a corner), you should try to put as much distance between yourself and any deadly threat.

It’s getting easier isn’t it? Your wrist, elbow, and shoulder are locked; you’re punching or raising your gun on-target. Your stance is looking good, and that trigger control seems to work. You can move in and out at will. That’s all there is to it, right? Nope, afraid not! Your upper torso should act as a turret, and you should be able to swing your upper body toward the right or left without moving your feet. Okay, this is where many folks run into a problem. They tend to swing the gun arm right or left instead of swinging their entire upper torso toward their target. Sure, some master exhibition shooters, like McGivern, Beegle, Cox, Topperwein, and others, would swing their gun arms toward their target and make consistent hits. The average (and aren’t most of us average, even if we don’t like to admit it) shooter simply can’t swing just their arm with a gun in it and have it stop where they want. You need to swing your entire upper body.

The question comes up from time to time regarding use of the two-handed hold when point shooting. I teach the use of a two-handed hold, but I stress the one-handed hold. A two-handed hold is usually used from the low, ready position and NOT from the draw (at least in my method). The two-handed hold is not very conducive to the punch out method of point shooting, although there is one instructor out there who teaches students to punch-out from the two-handed hold. Try it for yourself. Does it work? I didn’t think so! What you may want to do is practice punching out with the one-handed hold, placing your initial hits using this method of point shooting. Then, bring your other hand into play and go into an isoceles stance. This is advocated by Dave Arnold, and I have tried it; it works! Although, be advised; this technique is NOT for the beginner. It takes time, patience, and practice!

Make no mistake, with enough practice, just about anything is possible with point shooting. The two-handed hold, punch out method will work with enough practice! Practice is the key word here. How much practice are you willing to put into your point shooting skills? If the two-handed, punch-out method is what you want to use, go right ahead and do it, but remember to practice.

Letter Re: Watchman Fatigue

HJL,

Very sobering indeed! Abortion is a sin for which we obviously have to pay as a nation. Let us add to the 56 million surgical abortions the untold numbers of abortions caused by the pill and by IUDs. “What God has put together, let no man tear asunder.” God Almighty put together love and procreation. Repent and be saved. – JLJ

Odds ‘n Sods:

Record number of Americans abroad giving up citizenship. – G.G.

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What could possibly go wrong? “Most Of The Existing Workers In The Saudi Oil Fields Are Yemenese. And There Are Over 4 Million Yemenese In Saudi Arabia”. – H.L.

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An excellent post on Ron’s outdoor blog about gun care products. – TMG

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SurvivalBlog reader T.J. sent in this reminder about the safety of your storm shelter: Woman Drowned In Her Storm Shelter

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Bills Will Shield Police Officers From Their Own Body Camera Recordings. – T.P.

Hugh’s Quote of the Day:

“And it came to pass, as he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the sabbath day, that they watched him. And, behold, there was a certain man before him which had the dropsy. And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day? And they held their peace. And he took him, and healed him, and let him go; and answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day? And they could not answer him again to these things.” Luke 14:1-6 (KJV)

Notes for Saturday – May 09, 2015

Today, we present another entry for Round 58 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $12,000+ worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course (a $1,195 value),
  2. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be 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,
  3. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper with a hammer forged, chromlined barrel and a hard case to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR type rifle to have 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),
  4. Gun Mag Warehouse is providing 20 Magpul pmags 30rd 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.),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A pre-selected assortment of military surplus gear from CJL Enterprize (a $300 value),
  7. A Model 120 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $340 value),
  8. A $300 gift certificate from Freeze Dry Guy,
  9. A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo,
  10. KellyKettleUSA.com is donating both an AquaBrick water filtration kit and a Stainless Medium Scout Kelly Kettle Complete Kit with a combined retail value of $304,
  11. TexasgiBrass.com is providing a $300 gift certificate, and
  12. 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 FloJak EarthStraw “Code Red” 100-foot well pump system (a $500 value), courtesy of FloJak.com,
  3. Acorn Supplies is donating a Deluxe Food Storage Survival Kit with a retail value of $350,
  4. The Ark Institute is donating a non-GMO, non-hybrid vegetable seed package–enough for two families of four, 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,
  5. A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials,
  6. Twenty Five books, of the winners choice, of any books published by PrepperPress.com (a $270 value),
  7. TexasgiBrass.com is providing a $150 gift certificate, and
  8. RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site.

Third Prize:

  1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. 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,
  3. *Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security,
  5. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances,
  6. APEX Gun Parts is donating a $250 purchase credit,
  7. Montie Gear is donating a Y-Shot Slingshot and a Locking Rifle Rack (a $379 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 58 ends on May 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.

An Emergency Hand Pump For A Well, by C.P.

1

After looking at various sources for deep well hand pumps for use in an emergency and noting that the price (some being over $1,000) was out of line for me, I decided to make my own unit. My static water level is about 65 feet, yet I was able to construct a workable unit using schedule 40 PVC plastic that cost me about $80. It’s amazingly easy to build and will pump a five-gallon bucket of water in about three minutes. So, if you decide to make one, here’s how I did it.

Your well casing should be 5” or more, or you may not be able to get past the pitless adapter with the pipe. I recommend disconnecting the electrical source to the pump by tripping the breaker before continuing.

Take off the well cap to find how far it is from there to the water level below. (This is the static level; see the note below.) If it’s no more than 70 feet, then this pump will work for you. Beyond that, it may work for another 10 feet or so, but more effort is needed to obtain water when you pump.

Using a flash light, look at the pitless adapter, which is a few feet down. You will need to determine if you can get a 1¼-inch schedule 40 PVC pipe, with a coupling and foot valve on the end, past the adapter. Just use an eight foot piece of the PVC with a male threaded coupling glued on the end to which you will attach a brass foot valve. You will need to file or grind off the hex nuts on the coupling. If it goes past the adapter, you’re on your way.

Next, you will need to bore, or drill, a hole in the well casing cap for the pipe to go through. Hold a short piece of the 1¼-inch pipe on the cap where you want the hole to be. (It should be above where the pipe will pass the pitless adapter.) Then, scribe a line around that. Remove just to the line. We do not want a coupling to pass through this hole; only the pipe! Check that the piece of 1¼-inch pipe will just go through the hole. A pipe coupling will sit on top of the well cap and hold the entire unit in place when installed, which is why the hole has to be accurate.

When installed the foot valve should be submerged about six feet in the water, so you will need enough 1¼-inch schedule 40 PVC pipe for that length, plus the static level of the water, plus about four feet extra. For example, if your static level is 50 feet, you will need to purchase 50 + 6 + 4 feet of schedule 40 PVC pipe. I used 10 foot sections of pipe, and that worked well. Get the same amount of ¾-inch schedule 40 PVC pipe, which will form the piston. Figure how many couplings you’ll need for each size of pipe, and buy extra ones in case you need them.

I sanitized each piece by putting the foot valve, all couplings, T’s, and elbows in a bucket of bleach solution, and soaking them for awhile. Then, I placed them on a clean towel to dry and covered them until they were needed. The inside of the 1¼-inch pipe and the outside of the ¾-inch will be sanitized after installation, as I will explain later.

For your layout, place the piece of 1¼-inch pipe (with the foot valve attached) near the well casing so that it is pointing out in the direction you want the layout to go. Keep it all off the ground using saw horses, ladders, chairs, or whatever. Be sure to use the proper primer and glue for PVC, and then glue all the 1¼-inch pipes together, EXCEPT (pay attention, as this is a Very Important Point) do not put glue on the end of the pipe that will come up through the well cap (the last pipe from the well on your layout)! Hold off on putting glue on the top coupling yet!! First, slide the well cap through the hole you made, with its bottom toward the well, and THEN glue on the last coupling– the one that will sit on the well cap when it’s in place.

An hour or so after the glue has set, you can sanitize the outside of the pipe with a solution of bleach water and a clean rag. Use clean hot water to rinse off the bleach residue on the part that will be submerged, if you want. Anyone who will touch the pipe now should thoroughly wash their hands first. Slowly begin feeding the pipe down the well. In order to keep it off the ground, about three people should walk with the pipe as it advances. (Watch that the well cap doesn’t slide down and hit your hand or head!) Attach the well cap to the casing, and trip the breaker if you want.

Look at the enclosed diagram for the 1¼-inch above well cap set up. Glue this up, except item 1 & 2, and install it in the coupling on the well cap. Allow the glue time to set.

Now, for the ¾-inch piston. (See notes below) Glue on a flat type cap on one of the 10-foot sections. Then, glue up the remaining sections, keeping it all off of the ground. You can wash this layout with a little soapy water. On the top piece of pipe, drill a 1/8 inch weep hole about seven feet down on it so water will drain and not freeze in winter. Allow the glue to set for an hour and insert this layout into the 1¼-inch pipe. Let this pipe to rest on top of the foot valve, and extended about a foot out the top of the unit for now. We’ll cut it off to proper length in a minute or so.

Insert a plug in the water outlet elbow but don’t glue it, and carefully pour a bleach solution in the 1¼ inch pipe untill it’s full. Let this remain for at least a couple of hours, in order to sanitize the unit. Now pour the ¾-inch pipe to about ½ full with the solution, as this will make it easier to pump up and down.

Pull the ¾-inch pipe up another three inches, and mark a line on it level with the 1¼-inch pipe opening. Pull it up a few more inches, and cut it off at the line. Don’t let go, or it will drop below the opening and you may have to remove both pipes to get it out. Make sure it’s dry, and then glue on the handle. Keep the pipe up so that the handle isn’t supporting the entire piston for at least 45 inches. You can then remove the plug and pump out the bleach solution. When doing the pumping action, try to go as straight up and down as possible.

Notes:

In the layout of the pipes, make sure your ¾-inch pipe couplings will not be coming through any 1¼ connectors on the upswing to eliminate a possibility of a snag. I actually laid out the 1¼-inch pipe on the ground butted together, then laid the ¾-inch pipe beside it to visualize the up stroke of the ¾-inch pipe, usually 1-3 feet. Also, If the weather is very cold, the pipes may not be very flexible; pick a day of say 60 degrees or so. Keep the well casing covered while the cap is off to prevent insects or debris from dropping in. Static level can be determined by using fishing line with a steel nut tied on the end and a bobber tied about two inches above the nut. Lower the nut until you feel the slack, and then mark the line. Pull out and measure from the nut to the mark.

Parts List for 1 1/4-inch Pipe Portion:

  • 1 – 45 degree elbow
  • 1 – plug
  • 2 – male couplings, threaded on one end (See ### note below.)
  • 1 – female coupling, threaded on one end
  • 1 – 1¼ x ¾ inch bushing (slip) # 23914 at Lowe’s. I found one at Tru-value Hardware by Genova that’s easier to file out. (See *** note below.)
  • 1 – brass foot valve. I recommend Lowe’s ProPlaner # PPFV125NL.
  • Needed pipe and couplings for your total depth
  • Primer and gluefor the PVC fittings

### – The Hex nuts on the male coupling that holds the foot valve will need to be removed so it will go past the pitless adapter. Grind or file them off.

*** – This bushing will need to be filed out with a round rasp file to the point where a ¾ inch pipe will slide in and out easily, but not sloppily.

Parts List for ¾-inch Pipe Portion:

  • 1 – – Tee
  • 3 – end caps; flat on the end works best
  • Needed pipes and couplings

Letter Re: Communications in Dark Times

HJL,

I want to point out one thing J.B. might have overlooked. Part 97 of the FCC’s rules governing Amateur Radio allow the government to suspend privileges in an emergency. While they can’t turn off the airwaves, there are things they can do:

  1. Monitor the airwaves. (It’s difficult to cover them all, but possible.)
  2. Jam signals in popular frequencies (if not all).
  3. Arrest violators.
  4. Turn off at least some if not all repeaters. (Our county’s repeaters are partially funded by our EOC. All employees of the EOC are amateur operators, and they can control all of our county’s repeaters.)
  5. Intimidate enough sheeple that your messages might not get passed on.
  6. Monitor for RF coming from your location without being on your exact frequency. If they have withdrawn your privileges, any RF coming from you is a violation, no matter whether it is FRS, CB, or Amateur.

Also remember that Amateur Radio is NOT private. Anyone can legally own and operate a receiver, and coded transmissions are forbidden except on designated frequencies and for Morse code only.

What you might choose to do after WROL is up to you, but depending on the circumstances the above might still be possible. – F.K.

Economics and Investing:

This is a Major Buy Signal for Gold

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Rental Armageddon continues: Federal Reserve shows housing to be a big push in household net worth yet we are hitting a generational low of actual homeownership.

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Items from Mr. Econocobas:

Oil Price Recovery May Be Too Much Too Soon – This is an interesting read for sure.

Part-Time Jobs Soar By 437,000; Full-Time Jobs Tumble, Stay Firmly Under Pre-Recession Highs

Video: How Will Fed React to Jobs Data? – Rick Santelli puts it all in perspective here at the end.

Japan National Debt Rises To ¥1,053,357,200,000,000

Odds ‘n Sods:

A useful map for those considering moving: Here’s Where in the Country You’re Most Likely to Become a Victim of Violent Crime. – JBG

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After Nearly Claiming His Life, Ebola Lurked in a Doctor’s Eye. – D.S.

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Tracking kids via microchip ‘can’t be far off,’ says expert. – G.M.

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Bedtime Reading to Kids “Unfairly Disadvantages” Others . – S.D.

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Battle erupts over censorship of 3D-printer gun plans. – H.L.

Hugh’s Quote of the Day:

“If they confess their iniquity and the iniquity of their forefathers, in their unfaithfulness which they committed against Me, and also in their acting with hostility against Me— I also was acting with hostility against them, to bring them into the land of their enemies—or if their uncircumcised heart becomes humbled so that they then make amends for their iniquity, then I will remember My covenant with Jacob, and I will remember also My covenant with Isaac, and My covenant with Abraham as well, and I will remember the land.” Leviticus 26:40-42 (KJV)

Notes for Friday – May 08, 2015

May 8th is the birthday of missionary and U.S. military intelligence officer John Birch (born 1918, died August 25, 1945). He is considered by many to be the first American casualty of the Cold War.

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Seed for Security is running a great sale. Their Super Survival Pack is now 20% off. It’s a total of four pounds of survival seeds and two pints of healthful grains, all packaged for long-term storage. Their seed is heirloom, non GMO, and none is hybrid. This offer is for a limited time.

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Today, we present another entry for Round 58 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $12,000+ worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course (a $1,195 value),
  2. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be 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,
  3. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper with a hammer forged, chromlined barrel and a hard case to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR type rifle to have 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),
  4. Gun Mag Warehouse is providing 20 Magpul pmags 30rd 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.),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A pre-selected assortment of military surplus gear from CJL Enterprize (a $300 value),
  7. A Model 120 Series Solar Generator provided by Quantum Harvest LLC (a $340 value),
  8. A $300 gift certificate from Freeze Dry Guy,
  9. A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo,
  10. KellyKettleUSA.com is donating both an AquaBrick water filtration kit and a Stainless Medium Scout Kelly Kettle Complete Kit with a combined retail value of $304,
  11. TexasgiBrass.com is providing a $300 gift certificate, and
  12. 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 FloJak EarthStraw “Code Red” 100-foot well pump system (a $500 value), courtesy of FloJak.com,
  3. Acorn Supplies is donating a Deluxe Food Storage Survival Kit with a retail value of $350,
  4. The Ark Institute is donating a non-GMO, non-hybrid vegetable seed package–enough for two families of four, 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,
  5. A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials,
  6. Twenty Five books, of the winners choice, of any books published by PrepperPress.com (a $270 value),
  7. TexasgiBrass.com is providing a $150 gift certificate, and
  8. RepackBox is providing a $300 gift certificate to their site.

Third Prize:

  1. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  2. 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,
  3. *Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  4. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security,
  5. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances,
  6. APEX Gun Parts is donating a $250 purchase credit,
  7. Montie Gear is donating a Y-Shot Slingshot and a Locking Rifle Rack (a $379 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 58 ends on May 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.

A Decade of Prepping, Do’s and Do Not’s, by R.R.

My experience in survival preparedness has spanned roughly a decade now, from my early 20’s into my early 30’s. I have learned a lot along the way and would like to share my experiences, varied as they are, on many subjects. These are only my opinions. Your individual circumstances will vary; you can take from this what you will and ignore the rest.

Money

The number one most important survival consideration is that NOW, while money is worth something, you had better get HOT on MAKING MORE MONEY. Ten years ago, I was absolutely convinced that the financial system was imminently going to implode. Therefore, instead of investing money and time into being able to expand my own financial growth, I poured every spare penny into weapons, ammunition, equipment, et cetera. These are all things that are useful, but in the long run I did more harm than good.

Although we all know that one day the reckoning for this world will come, the game can go on much longer than anyone can imagine. It is their system, and they will keep it going as long as they can keep looting this country and destroying it from within. This could take another 10-20 years. We just don’t know. So always invest in yourself, in new skills, in new businesses, and in your capability to generate money. Have a second job, learn a trade, and just increase your income somehow. Preparedness becomes so much easier when you are making $10,000 a month instead of $3,000. Spend a year or two right now creating that larger income stream for yourself and you will suddenly be able to afford the best weaponry, optics, free dried foods, gear, and more. Skills can always defeat equipment, but when you have enough money to buy the best equipment and also go take excellent training, you are going to be an order of magnitude better off. Money opens up a lot of doors.

Relationships

Most of the people reading this blog are probably men. Guys, survival is not just about having an arsenal that the terminator would be envious of; it is also about having a life that you love. This means having companionship, a wife, kids, and a legacy. Our individual lives are not that important in the grand scheme of things. This is going to sound like it has nothing to do with survival, but hear me out. Go take dancing lessons. Yes, dancing lessons are imperative to your survival situation. A man who can dance salsa is going to be able to attract a woman ten times easier than a man who can’t dance. Good luck finding a mate by preaching about Austrian economics and derivatives. This can come later, once she knows you are a fun and happy go lucky person who keeps her laughing. (Save the Rambo persona for the cannibal raiders down the road.) Ensuring the survival of our way of life means having children to pass our values and culture on to, and you need a woman to have your children.

So, do yourself a favor and find out where you can learn salsa. Then, go find yourself a mate. Absolutely do not bring up guns, politics, or preparedness until you can ease her gently into it. Women are wired differently than men, and it behooves you to approach these topics very cautiously, as not to upset her idea of what the future might be. Women fall in love with an idea. If her idea of life with you is nothing more than living in an underground storage container and eating beans while repelling cannibals, well guess what, she is going to pass that idea up for another idea.

Physical Preparedness

If you think that working out at the gym a couple of times each week is going to be the same as living off the land and building a community, you are absolutely going to be in for a physical and mental shock. I have personally gone from working a construction job and going to the gym five times a week to working on an oil rig for 28 straight days with 12-hour shifts every day. I thought that I was in shape and strong, but what 95% of the population considers to be hard work is a walk in the park. I realized this when I went to work on the oil rig.

Our ancestors would spend all day long tilling the earth, day after day. They would swing an ax, swing sledge hammers, split wood, haul heavy equipment, and do this from sun up to sun down. Their bodies were conditioned from a young age to work for the entire day. This probably prevented them from a lot of injury, but for all the rest of you who work regular office jobs, your body will be prone to injury when you make this transition. I wanted to tell you about different types of pain, because you are going to become familiar with pain, and it is good to have an idea about what is serious pain and what is not.

You will deal with muscle soreness, naturally, being the most mild pain of them all. After the soreness will come aching joints, from your fingers to your wrists, and especially your knees. Aches can get pretty uncomfortable, but you should never worry about aches, because they will go away with some good food and rest. The harder you work, the more you must eat. You absolutely must follow that rule. The body can withstand a tremendous workload as long as you are fueling it with plenty of calories and nutrition! That cannot be emphasized enough. You will begin to fall apart if you do not heed this advice.

Stabbing pain is something more serious, and it is likely from some kind of injury. I can only assume you will not have a doctor around or access to any real medical care. So you have to be able to function-test your body. This means that you basically check for range of motion, and if something is giving you stabbing pains, then you just need to stop aggravating it or you will run the risk of truly injuring yourself. Restricting movement or supporting it somehow with improvised braces or supports can help.

What you must be in the habit of is the proper and safe way to use common tools. For example, you must be in the habit of properly positioning your body so that when you swing that sledge hammer and it glances off whatever you were trying to hit, it doesn’t clip your knee cap on the way down and cause an actual injury. I cannot tell you how many times I have seen people do exactly that. Just imagine you are on your retreat, where you have been splitting wood for eight hours straight, your hands are aching terribly, your muscles are exhausted, and you are mentally about to quit, and your ax slips out of your hands and cuts your foot wide open. Toughening up for hard labor is not a fun thing to do, but get in the habit of using your tools safely, at a minimum!

Food Storage

With the best intentions I have pretty much tried every method of food storage that you can think of. I have settled on freeze-dried food stoage. The other methods I have found to not work for me for a few reasons:

  • Preparation time. Other methods required a lot of time. It’s better for me to spend that time working more and making more money.
  • Pests. Even sealed in mylar bags with oxygen absorbers and then placed into sealed food-grade buckets, I have still had pest issues.
  • Weight. Normal food weighs more and takes up more space.
  • Spoiling. Freeze-dried food doesn’t spoil for decades. It may seem like freeze-dried foods are expensive, but if you factor in things like the time you will save, the guarantee that pests will not ruin it, and that it will almost never spoil and holds the best nutrition value over the years, I think freeze-dried storage is the way to go right off the start.

Firearms and Training

There are a thousand idiots out there giving advice for every real professional you might find. Do yourself a favor in the beginning and read the book On Combat. This will drive home the importance of reality-based, stress-inducing training. Weapons are secondary to training and tactics, period. As long as you have a reliable weapon that you will be mentally prepared to aggressively use, then you will do better than all the arm chair commandos who only ever shoot at stationary paper targets on a flat range on a nice sunny day. I own a non-standard rifle– the Steyr AUG– and all my friends always tell me that if I get into a SHTF situation I won’t be able to find parts or whatever else. That’s not true. There will be so many corpses with AR15s laying around that if I need another gun, I will pick one up. I have met countless morons with weapons, zero training, and zero combat mindset. The ground will be littered with unfired rifles.

For hand-to-hand fighting, just go right to www.scars.com and subscribe. Practice it with your team. My good friend is an expert in the system, has been in hundreds of real life fights on the street as a cop, and never lost a single fight, period. I am skilled at an intermediate level and still surprise others trained in the more well-known systems, with the simplicity and effectiveness of SCARS. You will find a lot of negative stuff about it online, but that comes from ignorance. It has the fastest learning curve, most scientifically-developed concepts, and trains the mind and not just the body. To give one sentence that sums up why SCARS is the best: There are no defensive moves in SCARS, only offensive movements.

So, to sum it up, make more money, dance yourself into the arms of a good woman, work hard like your ancestors, train for reality, and study combat.

Letter Re: Ancestry Story

HJL,

It looks like there is a differing view that counters the story you linked to… Facts matter!. – D.S.

HJL Responds: There is always more than one side to any argument; this one is no exception. However, the author of the “Facts matter!” article that you are referencing, while making the accusation that the original author is twisting “the facts” to suit his purpose, does the exact same thing. Given both articles, here are my concerns:

  1. Does anyone who submits their DNA to Sorenson Labs (Ancestory) have a reasonable expectation that their DNA will be used for any purpose other than genealogical research? Is there a clearly marked disclaimer in Sorenson’s documentation that your DNA may/will be used for any purpose other than what you intended it for?
  2. Was there a court order issued for the original search that identified the possibility of a match? I’m not talking about simply identifying the person who Sorenson previously anonymously identified to the police, allowing them to then obtain a court order either. Was there a court order for the original match that identified that there may be a person of interest to the police?

    If it’s not obvious here, I’m having trouble with the idea that Sorenson tells its clients that they will hold their client’s data confidential and then releases enough information to law enforcement to suggest that a warrant may be authorized or that they would run the test in the first place without a warrant.

  3. After following “leads” generated by the DNA, a suspect was identified and was forced, by court order, to give a DNA sample. Ultimately, this was a wild goose chase, wasting tax dollars and causing untold harm to reputations. Is that sample now part of the law enforcement DNA database or has the data been destroyed and the record expunged, as it properly should be? How are reparations being made to deal with damaged reputations from false allegations made based upon questionable evidence?
  4. As best I can tell, this is now a documented case where an innocent person received a court order out-of-the-blue compelling them to produce DNA which has now become a permanent part of the law enforcement DNA database because a third party (relative) donated DNA to a lab to help find family members and that lab subsequently used the database for purposes other than what it was intended for (or at least what they represented that it was intended for). How exactly is that a win for the Constitution?