“Who wants to die? Everything struggles to live. Look at that tree growing up there out of that grating. It gets no sun, and water only when it rains. It’s growing out of sour earth. And it’s strong because its hard struggle to live is making it strong. My children will be strong that way.” ? Betty Smith, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Today, we present another entry for Round 56 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $12,000+ worth of prizes for this round include:
First Prize:
Second Prize:
Third Prize:
Round 56 ends on January 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.
First prize goes to SheperdFarmerGeek for “Ebola Unafraid: A Preliminary Ebola Treatment Protocol, Part 1” & “Part 2” as well as “Making Your Own, Part 1” & “Part 2” which was posted on October 27, 28 and November 11, 12. He will receive the following prizes:
Second Prize goes to JMD for “Survival to Go, Part 1” & “Part 2”, posted on October 30th and 31st. He will receive the following prizes:
Third Prize goes to Kestrel for “Preparing Game Meat For The Table”, posted on November 16th. He will receive the following prizes:
Honorable Mention prizes ($30 Amazon.com gift certificates via e-mail) have been awarded to the writers of these fine articles:
Note to all Prize winners: Let us know your current e-mail address. We will also need the UPS and USPS addresses for each of the top three prize winners.
Round 55 ended on November 30th, but Round 56 has started, 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. Those articles that we received for Round 55, but that did not get published in time will be automatically entered in Round 56.
Every single skill, tool, ability, or prep for survival that you acquire should be viewed as an asset. With that state of mind, you can look at your chances of survival in various situations, evaluating where your strong and weak spots are. Just as you would diversify your financial portfolio through multiple investments in different areas, you must do the same with your survival portfolio. Don’t put all your eggs in one basket! If you don’t have a survival portfolio, it’s time to build one.
Having an organized approach to survival helps keep your mind from screaming and the fear of the unknown at bay. While fear is a natural and healthy response and an excellent motivator, as humans, we can choose to keep our panic “in the basement”, allowing us to go forward when faced with situations that are severe or traumatic. This idea defines bravery, and bravery as well as skill can be cultivated through planning and training.
Once you are ready to create your plan, make a hard copy. Sit down either by yourself or with any participating members of your survival group and write out a plan, covering as many aspects as you can. The plan that follows is part of my family’s plan, written in stages. This is not the entirety of the plan nor the portfolio, but it includes important aspects for a family disaster plan.
The following is an example of how to begin building a survival portfolio. This list is not all inclusive, and of course things can be added or stripped away from this list to more fully fit your survival needs and plan. However, this will give you a medium through which you can identify your strengths and weaknesses and begin prioritizing your next steps.
The “sets” of survival are broken into three categories, consisting of Mind-set, Skill Set, and Tool Set.
For organizational purposes, this is an easy to understand and follow list that provides answers to the question of basic necessities to survive during and after a disaster, in a wilderness survival situation, urban survival situation, or in the case of societal breakdown. The three categories are listed in order of importance. Mind-set is first, because it is the catalyst for every other part of survivability.
After mind-set comes skill set. After all, what good are the tools if you can’t use them? This isn’t to say you shouldn’t start or continue gathering tools and/or preps; it just means that your energy is better to be focused on being able to effectively use the tools you have to accomplish the goal you are looking to achieve.
The first four skills are the absolute most important. These address the four essential needs in a survival situation and are listed in order of priority.
(This particular tool-set is for a bag. It does not imply that it is a list of all needed tools.)
And finally, the tools…
“GO” BAG CONTENTS LIST:
Optional: Pepper spray gun and/or flares/flare-gun
*Note:
I suggest putting as many items as possible into zip-lock bags, but absolutely use zip-lock bags for those items noted with (“in zip-lock bag”) in the contents list. Zip-lock bags have so many uses– as water containers, gloves/mitts, waterproofing, and shoe covers, just to name a few. Additional Ranger bands are nice as well, as they can be used for so many things that it is ridiculous not to carry as many as you can. For example, they can be used as large rubber-bands (obviously), for making a sling shot, as a long burning fire-tinder (even in wet conditions), for holding gear together, making traps, condensing “airy” items, making a waterproof seal, keeping pant-cuffs secure, and the list goes on and on.
Also, yes, all of these items and more can fit in one reasonably-sized bag. Creativity in the item sizes you choose, how you pack, and packing items inside of other items make this possible.
In addition, you may want to carry firearms and extra ammunition. I specifically did not include these items on the list for personal security reasons as well as to make the list applicable to more individuals.
You may want to design a disaster plan or a similar plan for your family. This is what our family’s disaster preparedness plan looks like.
PLAN A-
Grab go bags, family medical bag, pets, and we as family follow location procedure:
LOCATIONS:
(This is a list of “Safe points” where we can gather and strategize. If location 1 is compromised, we go to location 2. If location 2 is compromised, we go to location 3.)
*Note: Son 1 procedure Plan.
*Note: Ribbon system in use.
OR
PLAN B-
The procedure for Plan B goes into effect in the event that our family is unable to maintain “standard of living” in our home in a survival/disaster/WROL situation. (For example: if our home is compromised, if water/food/shelter resources have been damaged or compromised, or if continuous engagement of “enemy forces” is unsustainable during the “Event” we have found ourselves in, or some scenario similar to these takes effect, we engage Plan B.)
I have not included a copy of our Plan B procedure for operational security reasons.
Ribbon procedure is to be used for non-verbal communication between family circle members. The ribbon that the family member carries is to signal to another family member that they have been at the designated meeting place and have moved on to another (secondary or third) meeting place. The ribbon is to be tied in a highly visible area that can be easily seen by the other member(s) of the family so that a member looking for the ribbon does not need to spend extra time searching for the ribbon or family member they are looking for.
Each member of our family circle that is applicable to have and use the ribbon system for communication signaling will each have their own color ribbon so signaling will be easily determined.
The color of ribbon for each family member is as follows:
Son 1- Yellow Ribbon
Daughter 1- Pink Ribbon
Mom- Red Ribbon
Pop- Orange Ribbon
All ribbons are of high visibility colors (neon or bright) so as not to be confused with other markers that may be in the area that has been chosen for ribbon “marking”.
Another piece of the portfolio that is important is to take time to practice your plan and skills. Make a schedule for practice drills and include all group or family members. Make it engaging and exciting so all involved want to participate.
DRILLS:
Fire Drill– The purpose of this drill is as a readiness exercise in the event of a house fire and/or nearby fire. There will be multiple levels to this drill.
Zombie Intruder Drill– The purpose of this drill is as a readiness exercise in the event of a “Zombie” intruder. Now, obviously this exercise is not solely for “Zombie” intruders. I have chosen this theme based on my family’s interests and what I thought would be the most fun and exciting for the participants in this drill. This is a multiple level drill wherein participants are able to go through the motions of an intruder in the home and what the responsibilities and procedures are for each and all individuals participating in the event.
National Disaster Drill– The purpose of this drill is as a readiness exercise in the event of a National Disaster, such as a grid shut down, major earthquake, hurricane, WROL, nuclear event, or similar event). This drill is not limited to an entire National Disaster; however, I chose this as the title because one would act similarly if the event only effected a region, state, or district. This is a multiple level drill with the fourth level leading directly into the Plan B “Bug Out” drill and procedure.
Plan B (“Bug-Out”) Drill– The purpose of this drill is as a readiness exercise in the event that the participants home location has been fully compromised and the group will not be able to enter back into the home for whatever reason. This drill is mostly a singular level drill and should be enacted as a “without vehicle” practice first but may be enacted “with vehicle”, if desired. For this drill, the participants will follow Level 3 of the National Disaster Drill, followed by a 5-10 mile, two-day hike (depending on the health and level of the participants). If it is a 5 mile, two-day hike, participants should hike 2 ½ miles to their “camp” location, spend 24-36 hours, making a camp and surviving, and then proceed to “break down” camp, “leave no trace”, and hike back to their starting point. The same procedure is followed for the 10 mile hike, but the participants hike 5 miles each way. This drill should be treated as a “real world” exercise. Also, during “camp hours”, scouting procedure should be practiced.
The “drill leader” (the individual hosting the drill) should keep either written or recorded notes for any and all drills to identify weak areas as well as progress and to make notes of anything to be added to a plan, procedure, or drill. Also, the participants should discuss the drill when the drill is over. This will help everybody have a better understanding of the roles each individual participant plays as well as how to work as a whole more effectively. The discussion portion proceeding each drill is as important as the drill itself. Communication is a major key of efficiency in almost all aspects of life. The “drill leader” may want to keep notes for the discussion portion of the drills as well.
Our family’s drill schedule has a drill about twice a month. This schedule suits my family, but other groups may want to schedule differently. Make sure everyone in the group has a hard copy of the drill schedule.
In addition to the portions of the survival portfolio that I have included, you or your group should take into consideration having the following plans and lists in your survival portfolio:
Make sure you are keeping all of your information (lists, plans, maps, drills. et cetera) in an organized, easy to understand, hard copy system. It is also suggested to keep duplicate copies of everything in your portfolio on a flash drive.
JWR/Hugh,
I loved this article about alternative means for obtaining food. Much of the information was repeat for me, as I do a lot if those things already. I would add as a point for anyone trying to get into trapping that unless you are in a very target rich environment, trapping has a low rate of return. Typically, traps will catch something 1 out of 5 or 1 out of 10 times. Either the animal misses it, or a non-target animal trips the trap. I would recommend having multiple traps (like 6 or 12) and some snare wire around to really take advantage of non-firearm protein gathering. Also, a 110-conibear trap is great for many small game species and can be baited or placed in runs. They’re also cheap and available used from old or retiring trappers. Don’t forget a cheap crayfish trap too. Bait it with fish guts and you’ll have dinner in no time! – JPR
Automatic recount for GMO labeling vote in Oregon gets deadline . – RBS
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BLM backs off wolf-coyote killing derby
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Yellowstone tries to shock lake trout to death
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Montana: Owner of extravagant Flathead Lake island home seeks to reduce tax value by $32M
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Wikipedia has an interesting global map of “Unpopulated or nearly unpopulated” regions. Zoom in on North America, and note how much of The American Redoubt is considered under-populated. Fewer people will mean fewer problems, in the event of a societal collapse.
Gold Is A 6,000 Year Old Bubble
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The kids aren’t alright: The trend continues to renting.
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Items from Mr. Econocobas:
Black Friday Fizzles With Consumers as Sales Tumble 11%
Ruble Falls to Record Amid Bets Russia Intervened to Stem Slide
Oil Shock Streaks Across Globe From Moscow to Tehran to Caracas. Ready for $40?
Ferguson protester used (modified) police radios to interfere with cops, charges allege. – T.P.
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The Anatomy of a Protected Battery
Is my battery protected? – P.M.
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Putin’s government now says Russians can now carry guns for ‘self-defense’. – RBS
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How to remove a fish hook from a finger
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“If quick, I survive. If not quick, I am lost. This is “death.” ? Sun Tzu
Ready Made Resources is currently having one of their best Night Vision unit sales along with the offer of 20 pre-1965 US silver dimes for each $100 of Mountain House food.
Welcome to SurvivalBlog’s Precious Metals Month in Review, where we take a look at “the month that was” in precious metals. Each month, we cover the price action of gold and silver and examine the “what” and “why” behind those numbers.
Gold hit a 4 1/2 year low of $1,131 an ounce in the first week of November, then posted three straight weeks of gains to the $1,200 level. The rally was snuffed by the November 27th OPEC meeting, where oil production was maintained at its current levels. The resulting crash in crude oil futures pulled the currencies of oil-producing nations down and boosted the dollar. Since energy costs make up a large part of inflation, crashing crude oil prices pulled gold downward.
Silver was pulled to multi-month lows on November 5th, along with gold, closing at $15.32/oz. It recovered later in the month to hit a closing high of $16.67 on the 25th.
The story of the month could be summed up as “Flying Dollar, Crashing Oil.” The U.S. and the U.K. seem to be the only two major economies with their sea legs in a storm of volatility and disinflation.
The economic month really started on November 6, when non-farm payrolls fell 16,000 short of expectations. Unemployment was reported to have fallen to 5.8% from 5.9%, but the “real” unemployment numbers are at 11.5%. (The Labor Department now pretends that you don’t exist if you’ve been unemployed for too long.) The gains were in retail and hospitality– sales clerks, bartenders, and hotel maids. Those are real quality jobs, there. (Not!) Nearly 7 million people are stuck in part-time jobs, and sometimes in more than one, in order to make ends meet.
David Stockman explains why the employment numbers are a sham in his article “The Fed’s Paint-By-Numbers Delusions About The Labor Market.”
Despite new records in the stock market, more and more people “in the know” are worried about an impending crash. DeutscheBank sees a higher probability of economic turmoil ahead than the probability of an upside to current conditions.
Kansas City Federal Reserve president Esther George is finally getting some allies in her common-sense analysis of the bubbles in real estate and equities.
If some of your family or friends don’t believe that there is a stock market bubble, show them this Bloomberg article that shows that Apple is worth more than the entire Russian stock market.
The big worry this month in Europe and Asia are deflation and recession. After China announced stimulus measures, the European Central Bank said it would be boosting inflation as soon as possible, Japan fell into recession, and the financial press has been all about deflation. David Stockman notes: “No, the problem in Europe is not too little inflation in the short-run; it is staggering levels of taxes, public debt and interventionist dirigisme that represents a permanent, debilitating barrier to growth.”
Protests in Mexico continue, as federal officials openly show their disdain for the citizens and more corruption is exposed at the highest levels of government. Could we be seeing the start of a “Mexican Spring” that will clean out corrupt and brutal police and bring down politicians on the take? Perhaps we’d see fewer illegal immigrants, if they weren’t scared that the police would execute them for protesting the conditions that they live in.
Despite an ever-increasing crackdown on gold smuggling in India, illegal gold continues to flood the market. The government of Bangladesh reported this month that seizures of gold shipments being smuggled into India increased by 100 times this year. In India, October saw a 17-month high for gold imports into the country, as over $4 billion worth of the yellow metal was brought into the country (legally) during the month. This obviously doesn’t include the amount of gold smuggled into India, which has been on the rise this year with the introduction of an unprecedented 10% import duty on gold, along with other restrictions intended to curb imports and cut the government’s trade deficit. Gold consumption in India through the end of October this year has surpassed the totals from all of 2013. Plummeting oil prices gave the Modi government some leeway to pleasantly surprise the people at the end of November, when it suddenly scrapped the “80:20 rule” that forced gold importers to have 20% of all gold they brought in, made into jewelry and sold overseas before being allowed to import more.
There was lots of manipulation news in November. JPMorgan Chase, CitiBank, Royal Bank of Scotland, UBS, and HSBC agreed to pay a total of $3.3 billion in fines between them to regulators in the U.S. and U.K. to make currency manipulation charges go away. The Feds have warned the other banks to take advantage of a “bank amnesty” and come forward to admit currency market manipulations by December, or else.
CitiGroup, which is the world’s largest currency market participant, was kicked out of the ECB currency group for manipulation.
In addition to rigging forex trades, Switzerland’s largest bank, UBS, has also admitted to misconduct in the precious metals market after being caught at what Swiss regulators called a “clear attempt” to manipulate precious metals benchmarks.
MF Global (or what is left of it) settled claims of manipulation of the platinum and palladium markets to the detriment of its clients, and a new lawsuit was filed in New York claiming that HSBC and Goldman Sachs did the same thing.
DeutscheBank, after admitting months ago that it was under investigation by German authorities and dumping its base commodities business, decided the heat was too much and went ahead and closed its physical precious metals operations. They will still remain eyeballs-deep in the “paper gold” market of futures and derivatives, however.
The revolving door between the New York Federal Reserve and Goldman Sachs caught a banker in the butt this month, as Goldman Sachs fired a banker who had brought secret Fed documents with him when he was hired by the “too big to jail” bank. This probably would not have happened, except that the secret tapes by Fed investigator Carmen Segarra were made public, which showed Fed supervisors telling investigators to ignore illegal activities by Goldman Sachs.
New York Federal Reserve President and former Goldman Sachs chief economist William Dudley found himself unable to sway a Senate panel that everything was fine regarding his agency’s oversight of Goldman Sachs.
With a history of a revolving door for employees between the “too big to fail” bank and the New York Fed, Congress is closer than ever to passing legislation to force the Fed to clean up its act. Politicians on the right and left may unite to strengthen laws to reverse the “regulatory capture” (infiltration of an agency by the entities it is supposed to regulate) that many see Goldman Sachs exercising over the NY Fed.
If successful, this could mean actual prosecutions against bankers for market manipulation, instead of the “pay and fine and not admit guilt” practice now in effect. Beltway insiders say that there is little chance of any such law passing, however.
November 19 treated us to a blatant market manipulation around noon, flushing stops in both direction using leaked Swiss gold referendum poll numbers as excuse. Gold and silver were driven drastically down. The “players” then waited for a while for new stops to be initiated, then shot the prices back up to make money on both sides.
The “Flash Boys” (high-frequency traders who use computer programs to make thousands of manipulative trades in a second, then cancel them) have started taking advantage of thin Asian gold market volumes around Chinese lunch hour to manipulate gold prices. It has become so bad that even Reuters has noticed.
The Dutch did it, the Germans apparently can’t, and the Swiss might. They may repatriate their gold, that is. The Dutch National Bank shocked the precious metals markets this month when they announced that they had pulled 122.5 metric tons of their gold out of the NY Fed. This accounts for 20% of the total national gold reserves of the Netherlands, and it reduces Dutch gold held in New York from 51% to 31%.
It didn’t take but a day or two for the right-wing Front Nacional political party in France to demand a total audit of French gold reserves, including the serial number of every single bar, and also demand a study to decide whether to repatriate gold reserves held overseas.
On November 30th, the Swiss vote on a gold repatriation referendum that will essentially put the nation on a 20% fractional gold standard.
Gold forward rates (GOFO) are the interest rate someone pays to borrow dollars, while using their gold as collateral. This is a common practice for short-term financing. When the GOFO turns negative, it signifies a shortage of physical gold. Instead of people paying interest to borrow dollars, they are paying interest to borrow gold (with the expectation that they can buy more gold to pay back the loan before the due date.) This usually signifies a shortage of readily-leaseable physical gold in New York and London. We have seen a deepening GOFO rate, even out to six months. Current GOFO rates are at 14-year lows.
The huge physical gold outflows from the West to Asia since the big price drop in 2013 is reducing the amount of gold in the West. The situation is being exacerbated by economic sanctions against Russia for their seizure of Crimea. Mining companies in Russia are unable to export their gold to the West, so the Russian central bank is buying it up to keep them in business.
While this Russian gold may come back into the market in the future, it is doubtful that any of the gold sold to Asia will be seen in Good Delivery trading warehouses again.
The U.S. Mint had a happy Halloween, selling 1.4 million ounces of silver American Eagle coins that day. This was the highest daily sales since January 13th, when the new 2014-dated coins first became available. Annual Silver Eagle sales are less than 1.3 million from second annual record in a row, even through supply was rationed from January to July, and supplies ran out on Nov 5 and did not resume until Nov 17.
The Royal Canadian Mint recently had to put Silver Maple Leaf coins on allocation (rationing). Although sales for the third quarter were down from last year, at 5.4 million coins, 20.8 million were sold in the first three quarters. The RCM only reports bullion sales in their quarterly report, which means a lag in sales figures.
Gold demand in China through Hong Kong is up 2.9% this month, marking the third month in a row of increases. Most of this was jewelry, as Hong Kong is the favorite place for mainland Chinese to buy gold jewelry. Gold bars are increasingly being brought into China via Shanghai, or directly into Beijing, to avoid the eyes of the West. Hong Kong’s reporting methods, a legacy of their history as a British colony, are more transparent.
Dubai’s unique weight loss contest, where citizens earn physical gold based on how much weight they lose, ran into a problem this month. The government ran out of enough gold to award the winners! Extra coins were ordered, and the award ceremony has been rescheduled for next month.
The terrorist army of ISIS had Western media eating out of their hand again this month, as they announced that they would be minting “Islamic State” coins in gold, silver, and copper. CoinWeek had an editorial explaining why this is just a bunch of bull.
Former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan has been getting a lot of attention over his positive statements about gold recently. Even CNBC covered his quote that gold is going “measurably higher.”
Here’s a clip from the interview:
INTERVIEWER: But do you think that gold is currently a good investment given what you’re saying about the potential for turmoil?
GREENSPAN: Yes. Economists are usually perfect in equivocating. In this case I didn’t equivocate. Look, remember what we’re looking at. Gold is a currency. It is still by all evidences the premier currency where no fiat currency, including the dollar, can match it. And so that the issue is, if you’re looking at a question of turmoil, you will find, as we always have in the past, it moves into the gold price.
Here is the total transcript. (The part about gold starts about halfway down.)
Gold miners are in a hard place right now, as it is estimated that 75% of gold producers lose money at a spot price under $1200. These lower prices mean that some of the “in the ground” gold ore is no longer profitable to mine at these prices and have to be written off.
In the “could this happen here?” department, we find out that the people in Crimea STILL can’t get their money back.
By the time you see this on Monday, we’ll know whether or not the Swiss Gold Repatriation Referendum passed or not.
GoldCorp CEO Declares Peak Gold in 2015.
Analysts at Johnson Matthey estimate that the five month long miners’ strike in South Africa this year will cause the platinum supply deficit for 2014 to reach 1.1 million ounces.
Will ASEs make a new all-time record for the second year in a row, or will the U.S. Mint be ordered to resume restrictions on Silver Eagles to prevent the bad press for the Keynesians in the Fed?
Let’s end this month with the first part in a series of infographics from Visual Capitalist, on the looming problem of “Peak Population.”
Steven Cochran is the Senior Content Writer for Gainesville Coins
Bad things can happen in the dark, and one of the great comforts we have is being able to make light. Light allows us to perceive our surroundings and make our way without stumbling. One thing I am seldom without is a good compact flashlight in my pocket.
Over the last few years, weapon-mounted lights have become popular, especially in law enforcement circles. They are probably even more popular in Hollywood entertainment, and if you can stand the stuff, you will probably see at least one scene in almost any action TV show or movie with the hero searching about with a blinding light attached to his/her weapon.
On some levels, this gives me the creeps, since I’ve had Colonel Cooper’s Four Rules of Gun Safety burned into my brain. One of them tells me not to cover anything with the muzzle I am unwilling to destroy. The way most people, especially on the tube, search with a gun mounted light means that sooner or later, they will sweep things that should not be shot. To get around this problem, some trainers suggest that if we search with a weapon light, we should use reflected rather than direct light. The idea is that if we point the gun and light at the ceiling, light will bounce down and illuminate the room well enough to spot a problem. We can also get the same effect by bouncing light from a wall or even the floor. All this is fine, if we have a surface that reflects light well. However, if we are outside, for example, it isn’t going to help much. We also have to consider what is downrange when we point our weapon at a wall, ceiling, or floor. That’s one of the other rules: be sure of one’s target and what is beyond it.
For me, the better approach is to search with a handheld light, but that doesn’t mean I eschew a light on my weapons, particularly the long guns. There are a number of techniques to use a handheld light with a handgun, and they can work pretty well, though they are not as easy as using one mounted to the gun. I have yet, however, to feel very comfortable using a handheld light with a long gun, especially something like a pump shotgun that requires manual operation of the action. Further, once we have identified a threat, I have no problem with the weapon being pointed at him (or so close that the weapon light keeps him lit up). At that point, it is really nice to have both hands free to operate the gun, especially a shoulder fired arm. We also might want to use a phone or radio.
Once I decided that I wanted lights on my defensive guns, I had to do a bit of study to figure out what to get. Quantifying the light helps us decide if a particular light does what we need it to do. There are a couple of measurements– lumens and candelas– that we often see in regard to flashlights and weapon lights. Lumens measure the total output of the light. Candelas measure the brightest point in the beam of light that comes out of our device. This is where it gets confusing. We can have a light with a lot of lumens that are spread widely but don’t have much of a concentrated hot spot, so candelas are low. Alternatively, we can have a very tightly focused beam with a lot of candela but not very many lumens so that there isn’t much light outside the beam, but the beam can go long distances. The distance variable does depends on some other issues, like how much moisture or haze is in the air. There are many combinations of these two variables. You can get more information on this here or here. The second link is specific to the Streamlight brand of light, which is what I’m writing about.
In choosing a light, ruggedness is also critical as are decent ergonomics. If the thing goes dark at the first shot or you can’t get it on and off easily, it isn’t much good. The ability to get it turned off is pretty important, as your bright shining light is also a bright shining target.
When I decided to get a weapon light, I wanted a good value for the dollar, but I certainly didn’t want to buy junk. Since the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security were not funding my purchase, I had to hold my initial purchase to about $100, which brought me to the Streamlight TLR-1 which goes for about $105.00 these days. The TLR-1 uses an LED light source and is powered by two CR123 3-volt lithium batteries. Streamlight claims the LED will go for 50,000 hours and the batteries will provide a 2.5 hour of run time with the illumination staying constant until the batteries croak. I’ve found the battery life to be pretty accurate, and I hope to never encounter the end of life of the illuminator. It is claimed to be waterproof to one meter for five minutes. I have gotten one of mine wet, but it wasn’t immersed. I haven’t been able to make myself throw it in the tub to test this point. They claim it is shockproof, and mine has stood up to a lot of .223 and some 12 gauge. The light usually lives on an AR at all times, even for daylight practice, and has never stuttered through a good 3,000 rounds or so. I put it on a shotgun to see if it would hold up to slugs, and I noticed no issues. I also ran a couple hundred rounds with it on a Glock 19; again, I had no issues. I did get some fouling on the front lens, but it wiped off easily.
The light mounts on a rail. They give you adapters to fit most rail systems. The U.S. military’s Picatinny rail is probably the most common, but there are some proprietary ones out there, and Streamlight is kind enough to provide adapters for them. The rail mount is spring loaded, so it snaps onto the weapon and then you tighten a little screw to secure it. I would prefer a lever, but their systems works pretty well. You can get it tight enough with your finger, but I’ve had one come loose. I simply use a coin to give it a bit more torque.
The switch is located on the rear of the light and is ambidextrous. You can push it one way and it stays lit while you hold the switch pushed; it goes off when you release the switch. If you push it the other way, it stays on until you push it off. I found I could use it on the Glock or the long guns without much trouble. That said, I did buy the remote switch for the long guns, and I’ll write more about them later.
The thing puts out “up to 12,000 candela peak beam intensity and up to 300 lumens measured system output,” according to Streamlight. This is pretty bright. There is a hot center spot that fades into a wide circular beam that, as it approaches the edge, gradually rolls off to darkness. It is pretty dazzling to look into from 15 yards, particularly if one’s eyes are dark adapted, but it isn’t stunning if you look away quickly. I have seen lights with higher ratings that will rock you on your heels, but this one will just bother you pretty badly. I’ve seen figures that say you can see 200 meters with it. However, with brand new batteries in it and used in the hazy, moist air around the lake where I live, it peters out past 75 yards or so. You would do better in dry, desert air, but I can’t be sure how much better.
It is 3.39 inches long, 1.47 inches wide, and 1.44 inches high. It weighs 4.18 ounces and is constructed of machined aircraft-grade aluminum. I have dropped them with no ill effects, except that they left a mark on the floor.
If you want to use one on a handgun, there are holsters available for many handguns with the light attached. They have been on the market for almost ten years, and Streamlight has sold enough of them to establish a firm market for holsters.
I liked my first one enough to buy a second one, which wound up on the spare AR that my son or wife might use.
Streamlight couldn’t leave well enough alone and added products to the same line. The TLR-1 HL is in the same form factor as the TLR-1, but they modified the beam. It has 630 lumens and the same 12,000 candelas. The idea is that it projects a wider beam with the same strength in the middle hot spot. To get the wider beam, it has to have more lumens; the cost of more lumens is less battery life, which drops to 1.25 hours.
I have not used this light but wanted to mention it. My thought is that it would be better for use on a handgun, especially indoors. By spreading the light beam to cover more area, it would enhance situational awareness while not reducing the ability to see at a distance or to bother a bad guy. It costs a bit more than the TLR-1, $122.00 with the standard switch.
Streamlight also makes another variant of the TLR-1, the TLR-1 HP. This light uses the same body as the TRL-1 but has a much larger reflector, so it can throw a longer beam. It is intended for long guns and puts out 46,000 candelas and 200 lumens, while running for 1.75 hours. It extracts $122 with the standard switch. It is bigger and heavier than the TLR-1 at 4.83 inches long and 5.3 oz.
While I haven’t used the regular TLR-1 HP, I have used the TLR-1 Game Spotter, which is the same unit with a green LED. The idea is that green light does not spook game at night. Although the hogs I was hunting recently refused to cooperate for a test, other animals milling about in the dark seemed unfazed by the green light, so I deemed it a success. I have spoken to several hunters who swear by them and haven’t found any that swear at them. Changing the light to green costs about 25% of the light, as the candelas drop to 31,000 and the lumens to 150.
The beam on this light has a very dazzling hot spot in the center, and it rolls off to a sharp cut at the edge. The overall beam, as expected from the specs, is smaller in diameter than the TLR-1 but not by as much as I expected. It reached a bit further than the TLR-1 in my damp air, perhaps 100 yards. Streamlight claims 350 meters, which it might do in clear, dry air but not along my lake. This light does have the “rock you on your feet” effect when the center spot hits your eyes but only for that small portion of the beam.
The Game Spotter goes for $111.00 with the standard switch and $159.00 with the remote switch for long guns.
I don’t, by the way, see using the TLR-1 HP or the Game Spotter on a handgun, due to the size of the reflector. If you want to try the green light on a handgun, they make a filter that can be used on the TLR. It goes for $18.00. I tried it and was pleased at how little light seemed to be lost. It was noticeable, but the light was still very useful in the dark.
Streamlight makes variants of most of these lights with a strobe. The idea is that the strobe will disorient an opponent. I’m sure it would, but I also get a bit disoriented by them myself, so I chose not to get that option and saved some money. If you can deal with being behind a strobe, though, it would be worth considering.
They also make versions with laser sights for aiming. I’m intrigued by that idea and might try one at some point.
Something that helps these lights work better on long guns is one of the remote switches Streamlight offers. These are pressure switches about three inches long and a half inch wide that are sometimes called “tape switches”. A few of the lights are available in kits that include all the needed parts to remote the switch; these kits usually save you some money. If you are converting an existing light to the remote switch, you need to change out the door over the battery compartment. The door contains the ambidextrous switch for operating the light; this feature has to go in order to make room for the connector for the remote switch. The new door retains the switch on the side a right-handed shooter would typically use. It goes for $35.00.
Next, you need the switch itself. There are two versions– the straight wire one and the coiled wire one , both costing $35 each. The coiled switch is marketed for pump shotguns, but I prefer it on any long gun, as the coiling helps keep the wire out of way. Both switches include clips to attach them to a rail. All this means you need a rail on both sides of the weapon, unless you want to use the provided adhesive strip. I’m not fond of the adhesives, as I find they often fail plus they make it hard to remove the switch and wire if you want to use them on a difference weapon or just get them out of the way for some reason.
The switches are the momentary contact sort, which means you press them for light and let go for dark. They work well. Some like to position them for use with their thumb (my choice), while others like to use them with their fingertips. It’s all personal preference. We normally mount the light on the handguard, but there are grips that can attach to the handguard that hold the light.
Flashlights and weapons lights are a crowded market area that seems to get more congested every day. Streamlight has solid products worth checking out.
Personally, I am trying to get a light for every long gun that we might employ for self-defense, but I’m still relying on handheld lights for handguns. Part of that has to do with only having one handgun that can mount a light, but the bigger part is my comfort level with using a handgun with a handheld flashlight. I am far less comfortable using a long gun with one, so my priority has been to put the money there. Perhaps if I find a larger supply of funds, I’ll start adding more handguns with rails and lights. However, I’m seeing other, more important priorities at the moment and among them are lights for the long guns. As always, my solutions may not match your needs, so put some thought into it.
– SurvivalBlog Field Gear Editor, Scot Frank Erie
It’s called No Ta-mater Chili ’cause Charlie Goodnight didn’t have no ta-maters on the trail drives, comprende? If you have to ask who’s Charlie Goodnight, you got no bidness making chili inna first place! Look him up! Also, look up his partner Oliver Loving while you’re at it. Now there’s some preppers for you.
The day before you want to eat the chili, cook it. It will always taste better the second day. If you are incapable of advance planning, or just ignorantly insist on eating chili the same day you cook it, start early in the morning and let it simmer all day. Time and low cooking temperatures are your friends with stew meat or brisket.
The next day, heat to a simmer and cook for as long as possible, three hours minimum. The longer the better, and all day is best. Always remember that time and low temperature are your friends in tenderizing the meat, thickening the juices, and also turning the juices a nice deep brown color. Stir occasionally and add water as necessary to keep the mass semi-fluid.
Check for taste at least once an hour before you want to eat, and adjust as necessary. If you’ve cooked the chili long enough, the onions will have disintegrated. You could add some fresh chopped onion the last half hour or so for texture, if you want. Serve with hot cornbread or warm flour tortillas whenever possible, with hot sauce on the side. Feeds six or so, more or less.
If beans are desired, and I will not be judgmental on that decision, use two or more 15-oz cans of pintos, kidney, or ranch beans. Mash one can up into a paste and use it to thicken the sauce. Adjust seasonings after adding the paste. Add the other can or cans about an hour before you eat, and again adjust seasonings as necessary.
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Do you have a favorite recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlogreaders? Please send it via e-mail. Thanks!
Hugh!
Thank you for posting RBS’s link for the free WP program. We also use Libre Office, but even more, we have completely abandoned MS in favor of Linux. A fair amount of my work involves keeping our real estate website updated, which we use Kompozer photos for which we use a free program called GIMP, maps and more, and have gone completely down the open-source route. Linux has just released Linux Mint 17.1, which is, IMHO, by far the finest Operating System out there– even better than Apple’s. It’s not for everyone, but I encourage anyone who is looking to remove themselves from the software slavery of MS or Apple to consider Linux. It’s as easy to use as Windows, is much more customizable for those who like to do that, requires no anti-virus or anti-malware programs, and doesn’t crash.
We have found it to be one more opportunity to remove ourselves from the debt and money slavery society. – A.L.