Range Brass to Finished Cartridge, Tips For The Ubiquitous .223 Cartridge, by R.W. – Part 3

On full charge cartridges, you need to watch for defects, so:

  • Look for any swelling, cracks, splits, or thinning of the brass.
  • Check for fouling, debris, or dirt jammed into the cavity of the shell case. It may be generally noted that discoloring around the top of the case at the neck radius is common with most military surplus brass and will often be polished off in the cleaning of the shell cases.
  • Watch for any heavy corrosion or pitting, as this should be a warning that the bullet has lost some ductility and integrity due to the oxidization process, and it should not be reloaded for fear of failure during the detonation of the round.
  • Always inspect every used shell case for damage or non-conformity, prior to reloading or use.

Primer pockets should also be checked for obstructions in the pinhole leading into the body of cavity, and some like to scrape out the primer residue between reloadings. Again this article is for entertainment purposes and is not a comprehensive text.

If you are not aware, there are two major sources of reloadable military caliber, or “so called” NATO ammo (.556 x 45, .762 x 51, and so forth). The two sources of such brass are the spent cartridges from civilian ammo manufacturers and the surplus military cartridge market. The surplus military cartridges have several avenues of reaching the reloaders’ hands, but for anyone who is picking up range brass or purchasing non-refurbished, used range brass, repurposing either of these two sources of reloadable brass have their pros and cons when it comes to their use in building a new round from components purchased for reloading. The military stuff is going to take some modifications and trickery to make function at the amateur level of reloading that we are dealing with in this article. The two biggest advantages of the military surplus brass are cost and availability. The two biggest drawbacks to the surplus brass shell cases are often an elongated, case neck, length and the military specified, primer pocket crimp. The majority of the cases I seem to acquire from the range or used market, fall into the military, surplus, brass category. Military surplus ammo is usually cheaper or easier to come by, but it requires additional processing for use in reloading. There are a few manufacturers out there who are commercially reprocessing and selling used, surplus brass, but the cost starts to approach that of new brass, and often these cases are not available for purchase.

Your most logical next question might be: how do I reprocess my own range finds that are military surplus so that I am able to use them to load my own rounds? Before I answer this question, allow me to caution anyone who wants to pursue this endeavor. Always follow safe limits set by the powder manufacturer and specifications published in the manufacturer’s reloading publications for the caliber of bullet you are thinking about reloading. Using safe practices and known standards are safest ways to repurpose surplus military brass as well as their civilian cousins. A person can spend a lot of time and effort in producing ammo at home, but I will try and let you know a few ways to safely go about gaining similar, safe results. Remember at the beginning of the article I told you some might call me down right cheap, but I still follow the safest standards available, and I recommend this to anyone considering reloading their own ammo, after all we all want to remain safe and enjoy this hobby for as long as we can. Additionally, we hope we will be able to pass the skills and knowledge on to others.

I will now share some of the low cost, low tech ways that have proven safe for me during the reconditioning of spent brass so that you can have your budget left more intact to buy the components rather than the high tech tools available to rework military, surplus brass. Again, always, this information is used for entertainment purposes and should not be taken as gospel. Consult your loading manuals, copyrighted materials, and publications for data pertaining to making your own ammo.

The main tools I find necessary for the compliance to standards or re-sizing of the overall length on any used brass, whether military surplus or from a civilian cartridge used for reloading purposes, are: a case length gauge (Wilson tools) or caliper (Franklin Arsenal) for measuring the case length of the shell case. These overall case length specs are generally found in the manuals printed by the companies selling reloading presses and dies (see list above).

The second tool I find necessary for the process of re-sizing the neck length (actually the overall case length is measured, but the neck length is the part of the case shortened for reloading) is the case neck cutting tool or chuck. This cutting tool, when combined with the appropriate caliber, length gauge will allow for the safe removal of materials from the overall shell case length. Once you have chosen a method to measure case length, you then need to decide if you want to purchase a motor-driven turning tool or hand powered lathe-type cutting tool or just use a file to correct the case length. I decided to go the inexpensive (cost effective) route, and I purchased a hand drill-mounted, cutting tool to take down the neck length using a pin-mounted depth gauge (Lee or Hornady). These can be had for less than $25 for each caliber (for the chuck/cutter head, depth gauge pin, and hand adapter). I recommend asking a person you know who reloads rifle ammo, or go search on YouTube to learn more about this technique, as it is not talked about much in reloading circles. This manual method is very low tech, and it is almost as easy as filing the case neck down, but it’s a lot less time consuming and less messy.

In order to attain the proper amount of brass to be removed from the case, begin the trimming process as outlined by the tool manufacturer. (It is the law, you know, to always follow the manufacturer’s instructions to the letter.) The case should then be trimmed on the outer rim and inner rim, prior to reloading, using a small trimming tool designed for this purpose (Lee, RCBS). I really like the tool made by Lee that is intended for this purpose, but anyone making a case trimmer will have their own version of the same.

The second process in repurposing the surplus brass case is to reshape the primer pocket, in order to remove the roll crimp and bevel the outer lip of the primer pocket of the shell case. There are a couple of different ways to do this. The primary method available is to use a primer pocket reamer de-burring tool (Lyman) made by several of the bullet manufacturers. These tools come in two basic sizes– one for large primer pockets and one for small primer pockets. The .223 case calls for a small rifle primer, so that is the one we need. These should be available at most shops that sell reloading supplies. This tool can be used manually or can be removed from the handle and placed in a cordless drill and used at a bit higher output. These tools should cost around $10.00 for a single primer size or purchased in kits with other bits used in the reloading process.

There are other options for re-sizing the primer pocket, but these will cost between $70 to $100 or more to purchase. I am sure there is a “break-even point”; the more ammo you shoot and reload, the easier it will be to decide the cost effectiveness of the added expense of buying this tool. One manufacturer calls this a primer swaging tool (RCBS) while others may have another name, but basically they have a die that is pressed into the primer pocket at the bottom of the case that presses the existing hole to the proper shape without the necessity of reaming or boring out the old pocket to make room for the primer by removing the roll crimp in this area.

The only other step I perform prior to starting the process of turning salvaged brass into a live round of ammo is that I use a (Lee) case lube, which often comes as a paste in a tube that looks a lot like hand cream, to lubricate the case before starting the bullet building process. I put a tiny dab of the lube on the case and work it on by hand as I place the brass in the first (de-priming /sizing) die. I do recommend that once the bullet is ready to take to the range, load in a magazine, or store in a box for later use, you wipe any residue from the bullet lube off of the shell case since it is mildly corrosive. I will often case tumble my used cases in a vibrating tumbler (Frankford Arsenal) using the corn cob media and a polishing compound, prior to starting the reconditioning of the used case. While this step is not necessary, it does give the bullet a lot more finished look and if left in the vibrator for two hours or more will remove carbon/powder residue from inside the case, making for a better purchase between slug and case neck as well as a truer case neck diameter. I leave the spent primer in the case while tumbling to keep the primer pocket from filling with debris.

I have left out a lot of the details and steps to loading a shell and turning it into a bullet, but I will possibly publish a second part to this saga. Most of the subsequent steps are considered universal, but I do recommend case sizing to the smaller diameter using the deliberately undersized die that is called a T/C die and trying to run the bulges left from detonation out of the lower case section as close to the rim end of the case as possible, taking the re-sizing die down as far as you can. In order to insure a properly-sized case for any tight tolerance chamber, I will re-size the case prior to the de-capping step and after the bullet is seated on the shell casing as extra insurance for a proper fit. I also recommend that all case necks are resized prior to the bullet being seated for optimal purchase between case and slug. There are a myriad of locations on YouTube that can tell you more about the entire process, and the video instructions with close-ups of the process can be of great help to shorten the learning curve.

As they say, “A picture is worth a thousand words” and also, “seeing is believing”.

Basically, make sure you know what gun powder to use, how much to use, and that the slug is properly seated to the correct depth for the overall cartridge length. Also, know prior to loading that the shell case is defect free and in spec. Follow all the published guidelines given in the sizing die kit, the loading manuals furnished by the powder manufacturer, quantities of powder to use, and the bullet size and weight, as the powder charge will be dependent on these parameters. You can also refer to one of the many how-to publications available as well as going to a powder company’s web site.

I left out many of the details in the steps described decamping (de-priming the case), sizing the case to tolerance, loading the case with powder (know how much to use by referring to powder manufacturer’s loading data), seating the bullet to depth, and making sure the bullet length, size, and length is compatible to the chamber of your gun. However, one thing I will recommend is that when dealing with a semi-auto load, you should try to get the bullet to a slightly smaller size than with bolt action or lever action guns by purchasing dies that are designed for semi-auto loading or you may run into chambering issues, which may lead to failure to feed or other dangerous or problematic issues at the very least, which leads to much frustration.

With the proper caution, quality control, tools training, and patience reloading the .223 can be rather satisfying as well as creating an opportunity to save a few bucks on ammo. You will also have the ability to load a custom-made round that will function in the unique niche you desire. Often we find reloading allows us to shoot a few more rounds down range with the shooting budget remaining in one piece. In addition, you will have the ability and satisfaction to produce bullets of superior accuracy and more diverse capabilities at a greatly reduced price. I would also like to add that it is a good practice to keep track of your favorite load data so you know what you are shooting at the range. Your gun may fall in love with a certain load, and you will know what that load is, if you label or journal this information.

Have fun, be safe, and perhaps I will see you on the range. You will probably know it is me. I will be the strange fellow that comes up to you and asks if you are going to need those used shell cases to reload or if it is alright if I pick them up for you. By the way, are you finished with the empty cartridge box? I can get rid of that for you, too!

I hope I have help and not hindered you from pursuing this new hobby. I can tell you this, I never missed a beat in getting to the gun range due to a shortage of ammo, even during the last few years after some of our politicians tried to make it next to impossible. I was able to purchase components in most all cases when the factory stuff was no where to be found or way too expensive to even consider buying.

Letter Re: I-594

Hugh,

The dots to connect include the fact that almost all of this was financed by Microsoft fortunes. There’s the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s donations to the legislation. They’re also known activists for universal population control and vaccination. The past chairman of Microsoft, Steve Ballmer, and his wife gave a million or so to the anti-gun campaign. He bought the LA Clippers basketball team for a couple of billion dollars. Another heavy donor was Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft and good friend of Bill Gates. Paul Allen is also the owner of the Seattle Seahawks NFL team, which, as a letter said, is the only NFL team that donates 100% of its (political donation) money to Democrat candidates, and as we’ve seen, certainly to Democrat party causes. The anti-gun propaganda was bought and paid for by these powerful billionaires. Billionaires buy and control our politics. Only the super rich can afford to do this; small individual donors are shut out. We are coming to a stage in our history where we are reverting to the Feudal system. There are those who own it all, and we peasants are to be controlled and turned into lackeys and servants. Some of us know who our enemies are. They are the new rich who despise us and mean to conquer us, and they’re doing it. Hunker down, bunker down, and be prepared for the horrors to come. They’ve already been bought and paid for. – SHO

Hugh’s Quote of the Day:

“Now observe that in all the propaganda of the ecologists—amidst all their appeals to nature and pleas for ‘harmony with nature’—there is no discussion of man’s needs and the requirements of his survival. Man is treated as if he were an unnatural phenomenon. Man cannot survive in the kind of state of nature that the ecologists envision—i.e., on the level of sea urchins or polar bears…

In order to survive, man has to discover and produce everything he needs, which means that he has to alter his background and adapt it to his needs. Nature has not equipped him for adapting himself to his background in the manner of animals. From the most primitive cultures to the most advanced civilizations, man has had to manufacture things; his well-being depends on his success at production. The lowest human tribe cannot survive without that alleged source of pollution: fire. It is not merely symbolic that fire was the property of the gods which Prometheus brought to man. The ecologists are the new vultures swarming to extinguish that fire.” ? Ayn Rand, The Return of the Primitive: The Anti-Industrial Revolution

Notes for Wednesday – February 25, 2015

February 25th is the birthday of bluegrass music legend Ralph Stanley. (born 1927). His harmonizing and high tenor soloshave an almost haunting sound to them, but I must mention that I was disappointed to hear that he once made a campaign commercial for BHO, back in 2008. Something tells me that he now regrets having done so.

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KI4U, Inc is offering a Radiation Detector (RADSticker) for the cost of shipping ($1). First come, first served, and limit of one per customer. They’ve set aside 1000 stickers for this promotion.

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Today, we present another entry for Round 57 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 then 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 30 DPMS AR-15 .223/5.56 30 Round Gray Mil Spec w/ Magpul Follower Magazines (a value of $448) 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 Instituteis 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. $300 worth of ammo from Patriot Firearms and Munitions. (They also offer a 10% discount for all SurvivalBlog readers with coupon code SVB10P),
  6. A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials,
  7. Twenty Five books, of the winners choice, of any books published by PrepperPress.com (a $270 value),
  8. TexasgiBrass.com is providing a $150 gift certificate,
  9. Organized Prepper is providing a $500 gift certificate, and
  10. 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 57 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.

Range Brass to Finished Cartridge, Tips For The Ubiquitous .223 Cartridge, by R.W. – Part 2

Why would anyone go to the risk or bother to reload their own bullets, if all things are equal? For instance, why reload if reloading materials are just as available as finished bullets and conversely there are no shortages or sticker shock encountered in either? That’s a good question. My advice is to leave no stone unturned, dig a little deeper, and keep all of your options open. Not all bullets are created equal, of course. Even if all manufacturers made the same specifications, performance and accuracy would vary wildly, or else the science of punching holes in paper to find a optimal load would not be necessary. Furthermore, some calibers, grain weights, bullet types, and powder loads may be nearly impossible to find and purchase at the cheaper price mentioned previously. Hollow points, soft points, various grain weight, bullets, or specialty loads, such as match loads, tracers, semi-armor piercing, and the like may not come in a factory-loaded cartridge, or it may be almost impossible to afford to shoot or practice with them due to their price or lack of availability. Most of the low cost .223 ammo out there today is going to be of the ball ammo, full metal jacket, or target grade ammo with average speed and grain weights, which will have a speed around the 2800 to 3200 fps (feet per second) and average grain weight between .50 and .55 grains in a fmjbt (full metal jacket, boat tail slug). Any of the other variations of grain weight, speed, and slug configuration will generally cost you a lot more per round to shoot with some of the match grade, expansive tipped or heavier grain bullets costing over $1.00 per bullet. All things being equal, if you are just plinking and want to go to the target range to hunt and stalk a paper target, I recommend purchasing the practice ammo, getting the “run of the mill” target stuff, and skipping reloading at this time, until the next ammo crunch occurs; then, pull up this article, get both your credit card and calender (because you’ll be waiting for items on back order), and start over at the beginning. However, if you think you might need to hunt or shoot something other than paper, you might want to look into reloading.

Let me draw you back from my rabbit trail a second and try and coach you through a few money-saving tips of the .223 reloading process. First, I have a few options, which you may want to consider, that may save you money. Keep in mind that as a hobby we do not take into consideration the time it takes to produce a cartridge at home, or the price of making your own becomes much more ambiguous if not downright problematic.

Let’s just say for the sake of argument, you decide that I might be on to something, and you have been able to practice hand loading with a friend. Since you believe you have the aptitude and fortitude to make your own rounds, you have purchased/accumulated slugs, powder, primers, and brass shell cases, watched 25 videos on reloading at various YouTube sites, and located a source(s) of reloading equipment. Before you take the final plunge of purchasing any reloading equipment, I recommend the following:

  1. First of all for the sake of ease and climbing safely on to the learning curve of reloading, I recommend a single stage press as your primary learning tool. The secret of learning any new endeavor is to survive long enough to get good at it by doing it safely and correctly. I believe is by keeping it simple that you will be keeping it safe.
  2. Next, do your homework and go online to determine fair market prices for your reloading equipment needs. Most of the primary manufacturers of reloading equipment will have a package deal that offers most everything you will need on the hardware side of reloading to get you started– press, scale, funnel, primer, powder dispenser, and other sundry tools including reloading manuals or booklets on proper load data for most of the common calibers being used today. You will typically need to purchase a set of reloading dies, but there are even kits out there that may have these included in several of the more popular caliber configurations.
  3. Once this is done, I then recommend you check prices at your local gun shops or reloading supply house. If their prices are even remotely competitive, I would give the local store the nod. You never know when you might need to get those last minute supplies for reloading, and going local will keep these shops around for just such a trip. If you cannot get close to a fair price from your local dealers, then I recommend a gun show at a larger venue if your area is fortunate enough to have them. If all else fails, go to the Internet and try your hand at eBay or Amazon. Each one of these options has their pros and cons, but I have had success with all of them, and hopefully you will also.

If you had good fortune, during the time you spent learning and practicing how to reload with a friend, you were informed of or noticed one thing almost immediately– of all of the components that it takes to make a bullet go out of the end of the barrel of your favorite shooting platform, all of the items are consumables, except for the shell case. (What did I tell you about the saving of brass and packaging?) Folks out there in reloading land understand that brass is a wonderfully ductile metal that can be worked easily with the proper tools and dies into a reusable product. (It may be noted here that there are some who cast pistol caliber slugs at home, but for the average reloader this is not an option in the making of the rifle rounds, due to the higher muzzle velocity causing the need to use a copper jacketed bullet. That’s all for another time and another article!)

HACK ALERT! One of the subcategories of the reloading hobby is coming up with cheap alternatives to acquiring new shell casings in order to make new bullets. As seen above, the brass case is the one component that is reused multiple times in the reloading process, and this gives the home reloader an edge over the manufacturer of new ammo when it comes to production costs. It should be noted here that there are at this time, several manufacturers using reconditioned brass. These include Black Hills as well as others, and they’re offering these bullets at commercial outlets. Some local “garage shops” in your area may be doing the same and offering ammo for sale at the local gun show. The reconditioned ammo (made from used brass and new components) can generally be had at a cash advantage over the brand new stuff, but once again your savings is not going to be found with the target variety ammo, rather it’s with the more exotic loadings for your cartridges.

Brass can be purchased new, of course, and even purchased used, but scavenging brass from one of your local public or private gun ranges can save you huge amounts of your reloading dollar. Some of these resources may not be available to you, but if you have a public range, picking up spent cartridges is a very real possibility for procuring brass. This may or may not be highly competitive where you live, but around these parts it has become very much so due in large part to a lot of retired or unemployed folks supplementing their income or their hobby of reloading, by finding, sorting, and selling or trading used brass. This brass picked up from the range will usually need to be sorted by caliber, manufacture, and condition (damaged cases are not uncommon); it must also be cleaned and then processed for home use or marketed for sale or trade. Some of the range-find brass may wind up on the market at gun shows or gun stores. Most can be had in bulk for the reasonable price of $0.05 to $0.10 per round. Often, for $10.00 you can get 100 once-fired cases at these locations. This can be a savings of 50% over the retail prices of new brass, in most cases (no pun intended).

While on the subject of purchasing new brass for reloading, it is often nice to be able to start your reloading experience or training using new brass. There are a few advantages to using new brass to make your first few batches of reloads. A few advantages are that they are:

  • ready to use,
  • require no reworking of the case nor any need to measure the case for the correct specifications of the caliber you are working with, and
  • will offer a degree of uniformity and compliance that are what a reloader dreams of when re-sizing his used cases.

The brass can often be found at the same locations as mentioned earlier in the article, using any one of your vendors of choice. If you purchase brass in large quantities (500-1000), you will normally save a few cents a case and often shipping, and these savings can add up. As noted earlier, there are huge savings to be had by procuring shell cases in used condition. It should be noted here that brass cases are not the only form of cases manufactured, as there are also cases made of nickel plate brass, mild steel, and aluminum with a smattering of other materials used but not normally found. In most instances, the brass and nickel-plated brass are reloadable. The problem comes in when you understand that the militaries of the world specify and/or often use Berdan primers, whereas the civilian rounds produced for the mass markets are made with a Boxer primer. The good news is that I have not encountered or heard of any cartridges being made for the .223 cailber using Berdan primers. I am not sure, but it may be because the small primers, called for in the .223, are seldom specified with Berdan primers, but in the category of good information to be aware of, put this information in your tool belt for bullets using large primers, such as the .308, 30-06 and other military calibers. More than one reloader has been surprised when trying to decap/deprime a mil spec shell case and broken the decaping pin off of the arbor of the die. [Editor’s Note: European manufactured brass is generally Berdan primed unless it was made specifically for the US domestic market. While you generally don’t have to worry about that if you are purchasing new brass, those who reload need to check carefully, because there is quite a bit of imported ammo that is Berdan primed.]

Many shell cases will be able to be reloaded after reshaping with the proper die for at least five times or more, prior to defects forming on the cases, such as the primer pocket being worn or the case neck splitting (more technical nomenclature to be sure), but if you are going to reload then you will probably have already learned the terms I just mentioned. There are ways to extend the longevity of the body of the brass, BUT ON THE PRIMER POCKET there is NOT SO MUCH.

Letter Re: To Camo or Not To Camo?, by J.M.

HJL,

J.M.’s point about having an agreement with your team about what to wear when you are approaching a team compound so you can be recognized as belonging to part of a team brought up a very good point that I think deserves closer examination. Basically what J.M. is talking about is a method of authentication. He also did bring up some of the weak points of using this as authentication, such as if you get commonly available camouflage will someone be able to infiltrate? Let’s take it a step further. What if you get extremely custom one-of-a-kind camouflage and you feel that you can rely on it, and then one of your team mates gets captured, killed, or loses their gear? Now do you feel that method of authentication is still reliable, when people might be able to get even closer without raising an alarm? My point is think about your methods of authentication. There are three factors of authentication, which are: 1) Something you know, 2) Something you have, and 3) Something your are. We should take these into account as we establish our SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures), both for initial approach to the post as well as when returning from patrol or hunting/foraging. Also, keep in mind, not only should there be a method for folks approaching the retreat to authenticate themselves to those already there, there should also be a way that the occupants of the retreat can authenticate themselves to those approaching and indicate that it is safe to come in. So what are some ideas that could be used? Something you know: You could use a challenge and a password such as the D-Day Flash! Thunder! (Keep in mind there was a backup for that with the little cricket clickers the GIs were issued.) The downside of this is someone could overhear and compromise the password. You could make this more complex by having a date or weather-related password rotation. You could use a flashlight to send a specific series of long and short flashes. It could be actual Morse code but does not have to be. You could have a specific hand signal or a way to carry your gear.

To authenticate a “safe to approach/ friendly occupied post” you could open the shutters of a specific window or place a specific blanket on a clothes line. Certain folklore states that certain patterns of quilts on clothes lines were used as signals for the underground railroad. This was debunked by quilt scholars in the 1990s, but just because it’s not historically true does not mean it’s not a good idea. So what other signals could you hide in plane sight? What about one that states it’s unsafe to approach and meet at rally point A? Just think this out and see what other things you could come up with for signals for authentication?

How about something you have?

Well that custom pattern of uniform is something you have, but we already saw how that could be compromised. What else could you do with something you have? What about combining something you have with something you know? Now if the uniform is stolen, they might not get the full authentication procedure, which will help alert your team mates. So you could take the flashlight signal and change that to a specific colored laser issued to everyone. Now okay, if the laser is stolen, they might not know it’s an authentication tool. Even if they know that, now they have to know to approach a specific part of the retreat with a specific on/off pattern.

You could take the uniform idea and add the knowledge that you must approach the post with your hat off in your left hand with your right pant leg bloused into the boot and the left one hanging free. It looks silly, but who would think to do that if they stole your uniform and learned of the retreat location?

I think that something you are, while an effective (yet not fool proof and in many cases able to be faked) tool in today’s times, I don’t think this will be the most reliable means of authentication in a TEOTWAWKI situation. Electronic biometrics are expensive, can be fragile, and power for them might not be available. Plus, in most cases, the subject has to be closer than you would want them to be if you were not sure who it is that is approaching your retreat. You might say, how about keeping pictures of all of the team mates? There are two problems with this. First, I would make sure you had them as part of your emergency destruction SOP, if you got overrun. For the second problem, imagine this scenario. You have a somewhat chubby, pale, clean-shaven team mate who is stuck 500 miles away from the retreat when SHTF. He ends up having to spend quite a while roughing it and hoofing it to the retreat. What are the chances he is going to look like his picture or how you remember him when he gets there? This is why I say, while there are three factors of authentication, I would prefer to rely on a combination of the first two for a TEOTWAWKI situation.

Okay, so what happens if you don’t loose your stuff but are taken hostage instead? What if the bad guys see someone out foraging that they figure is from a retreat and they take him hostage and follow their tracks back to the retreat? Should they go through torture to avoid giving a signal? Should they risk being a friendly fire casualty by approaching without a signal? This is where “duress” signals come into play. This makes it look like you are authenticating, but in actuality you are signaling that you are under duress and it gives your team warning to tactically deploy with discretion to give you and your new companions a proper greeting. Duress signals should be added as part of the SOP for replies from the compound as well. If you are overrun or surprised through treachery while part of your party is out, you want the ability to appear to be signaling them all clear in the eyes of the adversary while in reality sending the signal that all is not well. – G.V.

Economics and Investing:

The Day the ATMs Run Out… – D.S.

o o o

Goldman Sachs Acts as Economic Hitman Against Public School Districts. – H.L.

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Items from Mr. Econocobas:

Video: Is Another Recession Looming for the U.S.? – This is a must watch in my opinion. You have to bear through his delivery, but the information is very good.

Banks Face U.S. Manipulation Probe Over Metals Pricing

Oil Rebounds After Libya’s Largest Field Shuts Down

European Commission Accepts Greek Economic Measures After Review

Odds ‘n Sods:

Pakistanis face a deadline: Surrender fingerprints or give up cellphone. – JBG

o o o

Anything that is scarce, or perceived as expensive, will be stolen – Water thefts on the rise in drought-stricken California. – S.B.

o o o

FedEx Refuses to Ship a Digital Mill That Can Make Untraceable Guns. – G.G.

o o o

It’s a bit expensive but very interesting. Flow Hive Honey on Tap Directly From Your Beehive. – S.G.

o o o

Not Enough Evidence Cops Who Shot Unarmed Man 16 Times As He Lay In Bed Acted With ‘Malice’. – T.P.

Notes for Tuesday – February 24, 2015

Today, we present another entry for Round 57 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 then 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 30 DPMS AR-15 .223/5.56 30 Round Gray Mil Spec w/ Magpul Follower Magazines (a value of $448) 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 Instituteis 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. $300 worth of ammo from Patriot Firearms and Munitions. (They also offer a 10% discount for all SurvivalBlog readers with coupon code SVB10P),
  6. A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials,
  7. Twenty Five books, of the winners choice, of any books published by PrepperPress.com (a $270 value),
  8. TexasgiBrass.com is providing a $150 gift certificate,
  9. Organized Prepper is providing a $500 gift certificate, and
  10. 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 57 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.

Range Brass to Finished Cartridge, Tips For The Ubiquitous .223 Cartridge, by R.W. – Part 1

One of the ways I have saved money in the past, to make room in my budget for other prep items, is by learning to load my own ammunition. I love capitalism, as I believe competition breeds innovation and competitive pricing and usually provides the consumer with a variety of options from which to choose. As a good consumer in a capitalist economy, I try to spread my loyalty (brand loyalty) around as I find products that meet my needs and budget. I believe that trade-offs of quality versus price will need to be balanced with value-added engineering and budgets. I have a great wife who spurs me on to pursue my dreams and desires, and I try to return the favor, however, reality sets in when my need for “caliber diversity” collides with the family budget. Suffice it to say that I have become very creative and efficient at having reliable and plentiful ammunition on hand for my most favorite calibers, for present and future use. This ammo that has been attained has come through resourcefulness, creativity, perseverance, tenacity, and innovation. At present, the round counts are approaching my goals and diversity standards and will meet my training requirements. Naturally, the ammo I produce at home has supplemented my round count, since I’ve learned how to safely make my own bullets. Bulk purchases have combined buying power, which has also helped me toward my goals.

As in all hobbies, there are several key tools, techniques, manuals, skills, and components that must be acquired prior to initiating the actual process of engaging in the joy of hands-on experience. Reloading bullets is no different, and in many ways it is more exacting than most. Some of the tools of the trade include, but are not limited to the following:

The new nomenclature, skills, and knowledge may at first intimidate anyone who wishes to enter into the mysterious, satisfying, yet potentially dangerous hobby of reloading your own ammunition. Just bear in mind that 2 Timothy 1:7 tells us, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” Part of the adventure of learning new skills is overcoming obstacles that others may find too hard to hurdle. The reward of any new skill is in the newly-learned accomplishments and understanding the fact that knowledge is power!

For anyone who dares to enter here, I have listed some of the more common manufactures of cartridge reloading equipment (in no particular order) for hand guns and long guns. They are as follows: Lee, Hornady, Lyman, RCBS, Reading, and Dillon. This list is merely to mention a few of the better known manufacturers of hand loading dies, fixtures, tools, and presses. Each manufacturer has its own key selling points in the industry, but generally speaking, Lee is going to be on the lower end of the price spectrum, while Dillon will generally be at the higher end; however, there are no sure bets, and different manufacturers will have their own areas where they excel that make them a “go to” or “must have”, regardless of what your budget allows for.

Since I titled this document tips for the .223 cartridge, I will basically stay with that caliber and walk it through with as much thought to budget and practicality as I can muster. This article is not an extensive “How to reload a .223 cartridge” instruction; rather, it is meant to address the specifics of retooling of used shell cases and is written for entertainment purposes only.

While I did mention earlier that I have no loyalty to brands, I DO HAVE A FEW I PREFER, judged on my biases, past experiences, satisfactory results, affordability, and research. This is not a product review, so I will not go specifically into or expand on a product’s strong points, but I may mention a few brand items in passing. As I am not trying to sell or convince you of the merits of any particular product, consider that my advice is worth about what you paid for it when it comes to brand names. This article is for educational purposes only, so what I tell you is merely my opinion and should not be viewed as a “how to manual”, selling point, starting point, or any kind of sponsorship. Opinions are like fingers, and most of us have several of them. Your mileage may vary, and your choice of manufacture may also, but if you have to stick within a budget I would ask that you remember the general guidelines mentioned above as a starting point.

In some instances, the question that might be asked is “Which comes first, the chicken or the egg?” In this instance, the more appropriate question would be, “Which do I get first, reloading equipment and tooling or the components to reload?”

In an ideal world, I would answer “Whatever you can afford first.” However, if you are currently doing much shooting, it would be a good idea to start saving your spent brass and the packaging your ammo came in (more about this later). It is often difficult to know where to start in reloading your own ammo. Here, I am referring to a completed round as one that safely goes bang and spits out the end of the barrel of a gun at the desired speed and accuracy specific to the caliber in question. Please see the glossary listed at the bottom of this article for clarification, if need be, since this article is not being submitted in a gun or a shooting magazine but is intended for the thrift-minded prepper. After all, the Lord does call each of us to be good stewards of our resources. Hopefully many of the tips and hints listed here will help you save on the cost of target shooting.

If you are blessed with a family member, acquaintance, or friend who reloads their own ammunition, I recommend you set aside some time to meet with them and have them help you work on the details and techniques of making bullets. If not, then I recommend you go to YouTube or the like and type in your favorite caliber and/or “how to reload it”. You will be overwhelmed and pleasantly surprised with how much information is out there on this subject.

While I will not make you an expert, I do want to walk you through the tips and a few basics that I have had success with in reloading the .223 bullet.

I have helped more than one friend learn about reloading, and some have given it a go, though some have decided that they would rather buy their ammo from a gun store, online sources, gun show vendors, or elsewhere. At the time of this writing (early 2015), ammo is relatively plentiful in all but a few odd calibers, and some of the prices for new, factory-made rounds from many of the .223 manufacturers are almost cheaper than the cost of ammo components (slugs, powder, primer, and shell case) necessary to make your own bullets. Again, I am not brand loyal nor trying to sell a product, but many of the Russian brands of ammo, such as Bear, Wolf, Tula, and the like can be had for $0.25 or so a round. There are domestic brands out there that can be had for similar prices even with brass shell cases that can usually be reloaded in .223. This, of course, has not always been the case and is always subject to change.

I will take time here to help with understanding the cost of reloading components. We are assuming the cost of a new target load of .223 is running around $0.25 to $0.30 a round or about $5.00 for a box of 20, which is the typical for most ammo vendors. Now, let’s calculate the cost of the ingredients and the price to make our own round of ammo. We need to know the following costs:

  • slugs (.224 dia, 22 cal, 100 each, 55 gr. FMJBT) cost about $9.00 per 100 or 9 cents each,
  • powder cost about $22-$24/lb and at around 25 grains of powder a case; I can usually get about 200 rounds per pound, so powder cost about about 10 cents a round,
  • primers cost about $30-35 per thousand, so they run about 3 cents each, and
  • new brass cost about 20 to 25 cents each.

So, according to the above calculations, that means that each hand-loaded cartridge is going to cost (9 + 10 + 3 + 20) 42 cents each. Now, I believe that figures don’t lie, and I have not even calculated the cost of equipment or the time it takes to reload into this yet. Obviously I can not afford to load my own ammo for 80% over the cost of a factory-made round, unless I am able to control my cost better. One of the obvious choices that will lower my cost would be to find brass at the lowest cost I can, which goes without saying. I can also try and get powder and slugs at a less expensive price. Primers are a little tougher to get a better deal on, however, if I buy in bulk I may knock a cent or two off of the powder price or the slug price by going to a specialty outlet and purchasing in quantities of say eight pounds of powder at a time and 500-1000 slugs at a time. Still, the greatest margin for savings will come when I get the brass for nothing. So, let’s redo the math again with our new cost savings. We will estimate the new prices for the components to be (8 + 9 + 3) $0.20 a round, which is certainly much easier to take, and now you can see how I can afford to invest in some reloading equipment if I take a few steps to control my cost and keep the expenses down to a more reasonable rate. The real savings come into play when I am able to load the specialty rounds that I would pay $1.00 a round or more to purchase. You’re probably wondering how we were able to make the price drop so dramatically by removing one of the purchasing aspects of the brass shell case. THIS IS THE HACK or TIP I WILL SPEND A MAJORITY OF THE REMAINDER OF THIS ARTICLE ON!

Letter Re: Finding Other Preppers

Dear Mr. Latimer, I am struggling with an issue and hope you can give me some guidance. I recently made a purchase in a preparedness business that opened in a neighboring town. The owner of the store had several questions regarding my life and specific questions about my level of preparedness. His questioning was more than trying to sell his products. (What supplies do I have? Describe the location and terrain of my home. What water sources do I have? What are my neighbors like? Am I a member of a group? et cetera) I understand his reasoning, but I was uncomfortable, to say the least. I was the only customer in the store, but I was still very vague in my answers and paid for my purchase with cash in order to remain anonymous.

The business owner was relentless about having me attend monthly meetings with a like-minded group he is a part of. They have monthly guest speakers, some of whom I do not trust at all. One was a law enforcement member whose character is questionable. I do not know this businessman and am not ready to join with him at this time. I have a group of friends and family who I feel comfortable with, and I do not want to jeopardize them or our preparations and safety. This gentleman gave me information about others in his group, which also made me uncomfortable. Although vague, I now have information that could be used against them, if I were that kind of person, which I am not.

I feel that this man and his group have supplies that could be of benefit to my group, but my locations are of a much greater benefit to him. I own two rural properties with multiple water sources, including a natural spring. My secondary location, a 40 acre farm, borders a national forest and has natural boundaries that make it difficult to gain access from two directions. I have nurses, a medical doctor, farmers, and police officers that are friends of mine, and I have various blue collar workers as neighbors at both locations. I also have a third location owned by my cousin that is very rural with natural boundaries that make it an excellent bug-out location, too. In fact, it isn’t easily found or accessed. You have to know how to get there in order to find it.

At what point do I make connections with other groups? How do I find them? How much do I trust them? How much information do I give them? If they are telling me information about their group members, I know they will tell information about me. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with others. Sincerely, – C. L.

JWR Responds: When it comes to group dynamics and inter-group contacts, each situation is unique. So I can’t give you specific guidance. All that I can tell you with safe assurance is:

  1. Be wise with whom you associate.
  2. Be cautious about what you reveal.
  3. Assume that anything that you tell anyone “in confidence” always has a good chance of being revealed to others.

In general, I recommend that you handle information about yourself, your group, your retreat, and your preps the same way that military and intelligence agencies handle classified information: Strictly on a “need to know” basis, with compartmentalization. – JWR