November In Precious Metals, by Steven Cochran of Gainesville Coins

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.

Precious Metals Market Drivers in November

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.”

MEXICO UNREST

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.

INDIA

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.

MANIPULATION

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.

BANKS CONTROLLING THE FED

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.

REPATRIATION

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.

NEGATIVE GOLD FORWARD RATES

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.

On The Retail Front

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.

Market Buzz

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.

Looking Ahead

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

Scot’s Product Review: Streamlight Weapons Lights

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

Recipe of the Week: No Ta-mater Chili, by H

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.

Ingredients:

  • 4 pounds lean beef stew meat or brisket, trimmed of most of the fat
  • 3 Tbsp cooking oil
  • 5 Tbsp chili powder (Use more, if you want it. I use 8 or 10 Tbsp.)
  • 1 Tbsp comino powder (This is also called cumin. Use more if you like it.)
  • 2 baseball sized onions, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces (You can use softball sized onions, if you like.)
  • 5 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon ground oregano.
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste (I use about 1 Tablespoon of each, to start.)
  • 1 Tbsp hot sauce from Louisiana or Texas (Don’t use hot sauce from someplace back east.)
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 can dark beer, optional

Directions:

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.

  1. Start by chopping the meat into ¼ to ½ inch pieces, but don’t get wrapped around the axle getting a uniform size. You could also grind it using a grinder plate with LARGE holes.
  2. Heat a large cast iron pot over medium high heat, then add cooking oil. After the oil is hot, add meat. DO NOT BROWN THE MEAT! Stir it frequently until it turns a uniform gray color. The meat will typically release a lot of water. This is good.
  3. Stir in the chili powder, comino (cumin), onions, and garlic. Add water as necessary to keep the mass semi-fluid. Add a beer, if you want. (Dark beer is better.) Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally for about 45 minutes.
  4. Stir in the oregano and about half the salt, black pepper, hot sauce, and cayenne pepper. After this simmers 5 or 10 minutes, adjust the seasonings to your taste and simmer another 45 minutes, or longer if you have time, stirring occasionally and adding more water when necessary to keep the mass semi-fluid. Remove from heat, and refrigerate overnight, or set out on back porch if it’s cold enough.

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!

Letter Re: Free Word Processing Program

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.

Economics and Investing:

The spot silver price dropped more than $1 at the opening bell November 30. This may be the buying opportunity you’ve been looking for.

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Look at the property tax “debt” already accumulated on the Brown’s property and listen to how local officials in New Hampshire refer to that debt… as “our money”. I’m telling you, we live in a country packed with apparatchiks and collaborators. The Browns were chained to a tax treadmill, were slaves in every sense of the word – by dint of their attempt to “own” real property in America – long before they were issued life sentences by the federal court. -D.W.

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The Road to Zimbabwe is Paved With Central Bankers’ Good Intentions

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Ten Commandments for Buying Gold and Silver

Odds ‘n Sods:

CNN is lying when they say Ferguson protests were ‘peaceful’. – T.P.

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KnifeRights’ First Annual Ratings of Worst Anti-Knife Cities and Best States for Knife Owners. – G.G.

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Christian beliefs put student in danger of expulsion. – D.S.

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Vaccines Will be Made from Human Cancer Tumors. – RBS

Even if you weren’t previously anti-vaccine, this should make you pause. Human tumor cells!?! Human embryo cells!?! Has the FDA lost its collective mind?

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What a Single Nuclear Warhead Could Do. – T.P.

Notes for Sunday – November 30, 2014

Today, we present another entry for Round 55 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 hardcase 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 1 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 $448.95) 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 $300 gift certificate from CJL Enterprize, for any of their military surplus gear,
  7. A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $300 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.
  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. Ambra Le Roy Medical Products in North Carolina is donating a bundle of their traditional wound care and first aid supplies, with a value of $208, and
  7. APEX Gun Parts is donating a $250 purchase credit, and
  8. SurvivalBased.com is donating a $500 gift certificate to their store.
  9. Montie Gear is donating a Y-Shot Slingshot and a Locking Rifle Rack. (a $379 value).

Round 55 ends on November 30th, 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.

How To Obtain Protein From Alternative Sources Without A Firearm, by Rockvault

We, Americans, like our protein, and in a prolonged hunker-in-place situation one of the many inconveniences we will be faced with will be the difficulty in enjoying our nightly beef, pork, chicken, or fish, let alone finding enough protein to maintain the health of ourselves and families. Sure, vegetarian-based diets can keep you alive, but even in a TEOTWAWKI situation why go without meat when it might not be all that hard to source and may be local to your home, camp, or hide-out, too.

First, let’s go over some assumptions. Let’s recognize here that we’re at least six months into a TEOTWAWKI event and that all of the larger game animals in your area, including deer, bear, elk, antelope, and similar wildlife have already been harvested for food. Secondly, your stocks of canned or frozen meats are nearly exhausted. Furthermore, let’s also assume that you…

  1. either have lost your firearm and/or ammunition or for some strange reason chose not to include a firearm in your survival kit,
  2. have very little ammo left from defending your homestead in the first few days after the event, or
  3. do not want to discharge your firearm out of concern for alerting others of your location.

So you are left to harvest your meats with other methods. Finally, you will see that this “how to” article is written from the perspective of living in the eastern United States.

Techniques

The techniques for catching or killing the animals presented here are simple and require only basic preparation, in most instances. Most importantly, you do not need to be a survival specialist to have these few methods work for you. This is why techniques, such as snares, dead falls, and trap lines, are not discussed here; it is my opinion that they are not going to prove effective for the novice. Also, it is not the purpose of this article to provide you with skinning or meat preparation instruction or recipes for your harvest. Those instructions can readily be found elsewhere.

For most of the animal species covered here, live box traps of various sizes are your best bet for gathering a meal. Be sure you have more than one, and have different sizes– at least two. I like the traps from Havahart and Tomahawk. Forget the wooden traps, as you’ll want a metal frame so that you can lock the trap to a tree. As for a cable lock, there is no need to go overboard here. You are not going to stop the guy with a pair of bolt cutters as he could always just cut the trap apart. Cheap cables and locks from Home Depot or Lowe’s are what I use.

Animals

Squirrels

Squirrels are at the top of my list, because they taste good, are abundant, and are also relatively easy to prepare, once you’ve tried it a few times. Live cage traps work very well. Just this summer my father trapped and relocated 12 gray and/or fox squirrels from his backyard using a live box trap. Peanut butter or sunflower seeds are my bait of choice; squirrels are not picky.

Rabbits

I’ve found rabbits to be difficult to live trap. However, if you know where they frequent, trails to their dens can often be located and a small leg hold trap can be used, such as a #1 muskrat trap. Just don’t forget to stake the trap down, as I did with my first trapping experience. If you don’t stake it, you’ll be out a meal and a trap. Another proven method is to use a sling shot. This requires practice, a lot of it. However, this is a fine opportunity to involve your children in the food gathering process. Leave the slingshot work to them. Slingshots are cheap, as you can see here and here. Rabbits will be the easiest target to start with, based on their size and the ability to stalk them without scaring them off.

Groundhogs

Here is another animal that will easily fall to a box trap. Also, if you locate the chucks hole, a leg hold trap may be effective. Every woodchuck I’ve ever dealt with has had a lot of insects in its rough hide, so be sure to keep them outside when skinning/butchering. The meat is somewhat tough. Apple cores and sunflower seeds are my preferred and proven baits for groundhogs.

Raccoons

This is the only animal I’ve never eaten myself, but I’ve caught them in box traps before. They will eat just about anything, and since they will eat just about anything, I imagine the meat is a lot like bear meat in that it depends on what the animal has been eating that will heavily influence the taste. Raccoons are nocturnal animals, and any raccoon wandering around during the day should most likely be avoided, due to the risk of it carrying rabies.

Chipmunks

Once your young ones get good at hitting a rabbit with the slingshot, they can test their skills on the ubiquitous chipmunk. If they are good with a BB gun or air gun and that is an option, chipmunks will make good targets for them. Also, a small box trap baited with peanut butter or any seeds will make it a lot easier. Butterfly the little guys and grill them whole on a stick or with a basket. Spend your time wisely; the return on investment is very low here.

Fish

I’ve long thought than a commonly overlooked item missing from many of the disaster-preparation supply lists I’ve seen is fishing tackle. The species targeted here don’t require expensive or even sophisticated tackle or much skill. Instead of by species, I’ve broken this section down by type of habitat, as the local habitat you have available to you will dictate the type of fish and fishing you’ll be doing.

Wild Trout Streams

Depending on where you live, an abundant food source could be very nearby. In large sections of the rural and even not-too-rural east, thousands of miles of streams are inhabited by naturally reproducing trout, typically native brook trout or wild brown trout. If you are lucky enough to know of or find one of these waterways, it could provide a steady source of nourishment.

Naturally reproducing trout streams are the key, because state wildlife department stocking trucks that dump trout into streams and rivers will be long gone. Many out there would likely be surprised at the little unnamed trickles that wild brook and brown trout will inhabit, especially brook trout, as they are the only trout native to the eastern United States and can be found in most mountainous and forested locations from Maine to Georgia. These trout often live in relatively infertile, freestone streams, which means they can’t be too picky about what they eat, so passing up a meal is usually not an option. Plus, recreational fishing pressure won’t be a problem, which could be good or bad. Blue-ribbon trout streams will likely draw the attention of many looking for a meal. However, the out of the way, nameless runs may be overlooked and contain enough small brookies to provide steady meals. Keep in mind that a ten-inch fish in these streams would be considered a trophy, but a half dozen six-inch fish could realistically be harvested in less than an hour.

As for tackle and techniques, simple is best in this situation. A spinning rod and/or fly rod, appropriate reels to match, line, leader, hooks, and a few simple fly and spinner patterns will be all you need. As a kid, we would catch countless brookies four to seven inches long on a small hook tipped with a piece of night crawler. Now, I use dry flies and can usually do the same. Any live bait will do. Artificial lures– tied flies or spinners– will eliminate the need to gather bait, but they may not be as effective for gathering a quick meal, at least without a moderate level of knowledge on fly fishing.

Farm Ponds

For bluegills, large mouth bass, catfish, and similar fish, small ponds dot the landscape of much of North America. Fortunately most of these impoundments contain at least some type of fish life. Chances are the inhabitants will be accustomed to seeing people, farm animals, and farm equipment moving along the banks, and they will not be easily spooked. The easiest and fastest way that I’ve found to harvest pan fish from a pond is using a fly rod. No reel is even required if you can see the fish from shore. Just tie a leader of at least eight or nine feet to the last eyelet of the rod, and tie on a rubber spider or foam fly on the line. These fly patterns are nearly indestructible and there is no need to gather or store live bait. In the summer, pan fish and bass are on their nests, or redds, and become aggressive. These are usually the biggest (adult) fish and can be coaxed into an “aggression strike” by dragging any lure, bait, or fly in or near the redd. Pulling too many fish off the redds will inevitably lead to less young fish next year though. For catfish, any bait on the bottom is good. Animal hearts and livers from your previous harvests can be used here.

Other waters

Finally, find any river, lake, creek, run, brook, or swamp that you can get to; it should be able to provide the opportunity to harvest some type of fish. Pan fish, small mouth bass, creek chubs, suckers, carp, and other species that most consider today to be “junk fish” for eating and that, if caught, are thrown back could one day– after TEOTWAWKI– be viewed as a delicacy. (A quick note on carp: They are big and easy to spot, but they are notoriously shy and will spook if they see you or if you present your bait too overtly. Remember, if you can see the fish, the fish can see you. Some don’t care (think bluegills) but most do. Be stealthy if you are after them.)

Birds

Since we’re working under the assumption that we don’t have a firearm or don’t want to use it, birds are going to be difficult to provide us with a food source. Three notable exceptions exist.

Eggs

Harvesting any bird eggs could be done from either cavity-nesting or platform nesting birds. However, you’ll need to harvest the egg within four days of it being laid, to insure minimal embryo development.

Trapping

Trapping cavity nesting birds in their nests is a second method to avian protein sources. Again, your efforts may be limited by the size of your quarry. To me, a dove isn’t worth the hassle to hunt, since it is so small. However, I’d likely feel very different if I was hungry. That said, trapping a sparrow in a bird house isn’t going to satisfy your cravings for protein. The bigger the better, so try to locate duck, owl, kestrel, or large woodpecker nests within reach. This source is most likely going to be a “target of opportunity”.

The Goose

The “highlight” of the bird section is the Canada goose, which is plentiful year-round in the central and northern United States. In fact, it is hard to find a pond or stream without one or multiple pairs of geese in the breeding season. In the nesting season, Canada geese will not abandon their nest with eggs, which are found on the ground, near a body of water. In fact, they will fight you or any other threat that comes too close to the nest. This is a two-fold win for you if you come across an active nest. First, kill the geese and then gather the eggs. I’ve never raided a goose nest, but I can attest that goose bites do hurt a bit, but it should be a quick fight. Approach the nest when both birds are nearby and you’ll double your goose meat supply. Finally, as mentioned above, it is best to get to the eggs soon after they are laid, before much embryo development has occurred.

Other Sources

There is a reason I’ve listed this section at the end, as these would all be an equal last resort for me and my family’s protein supply.

Frogs

If you have any body of water near your location, such as the farm ponds mentioned above, frogs might be an option during the warmer months. The bullfrog, leopard frog, and pickerel frog would generally serve as the largest and most common sources. The easiest way to harvest frogs in my experience is during the breeding season and at night. For the bullfrog in the east, that is June and July. A spotlight or flashlight will stun them and a frog gig, net, your hands, or two-by-four will do to catch them. As you probably guessed, the legs are the edible part. Many rave over the taste, but I’m personally not as impressed.

Crayfish

Almost every moving waterway and even some ponds in the east contain crayfish. When I was a child, on camping trips we would catch them in an acid-mine-drainage stained, farm runoff filled, and muddy little tributary and boil them over the campfire. They are not exactly gourmet, but considering the environment they were sourced from they were not all that bad. Look for crayfish by turning over rocks. Crayfish swim backwards, which you’ll quickly figure out. A net or seine might help you catch them, The tail/abdomen is the edible part, just like a shrimp. Be sure to remove the carapace (shell) before eating.

Freshwater Mussels

One particular stream near where I grew up contains 27 different species of freshwater mussels. Once you’ve found a supply, it is as simple as picking them up. Freshwater mussels themselves are not poisonous, but chemicals and algae in/on them might be. So consider a few preventative measures before eating. These include letting the mussel live in clean water for a few days before consuming them, cleaning off the outside of the mussel with a stiff bristled brush before cooking them, and only cooking mussels that are closed tight. Open shells mean that the mussel is dead or dying, and these should not be harvested.

A note on eating fish, crayfish, mussels, et cetera: Your local environmental conditions will determine how safe aquatic life is for you to eat over the long term. Looking back, those crayfish from that little sulfur-stained run are probably not a good idea to consume every day, but one time didn’t seem to hurt me.

Conclusions

Hopefully, the ideas and techniques discussed above will be a benefit to you and your family, if the need should arise. Preparing and trying these non-traditional food items could be a good source of family fun. I know that this coming summer I’ll be making an effort to try frog legs again. My hunch is that frog tastes like the water body it lives in, and since the little creek I tried frogs from before included the effluent from more than one broken septic field, I might like it better this time.

If you have to start from scratch and purchase (new) two box traps and locks, a fly rod, or spinning rod and reel, basic tackle, a leg hold trap, and a slingshot, the total on the “budget plan” should come to no more than $300. Chances are you already have some of these items or can acquire them used for less. With a little preparation and reasonable cost, you can be well prepared for making sure that your loved ones have access to protein sources in case of a TEOTWAWKI event.

Letter Re: Light Tactical Trailer– The M1102

Hugh,

D.A. is correct in that the HMMWV trailers are awesome. However, to clarify, DOD is selling off all the M1101 trailers, which were purchased beginning in the mid 90s for use with the M998 series HMMWV. When the addition of armor and additional load capacity required modification to create the Heavy HMMWV, DOD also created the M1102 trailer. The only difference between the M1101 and the M1102 is the data plate (which allows and additional 800lb of payload). No, I can’t explain why DOD couldn’t buy new data plates rather than new trailers.

For info on the trailers see this site.

The relevance? If you go looking for a M1102, you won’t find many since the DOD is still buying them, but there are many M1101 available. It’s EXACTLY the same trailer, and they are great. Most are new or near new. Few have bows/canvas tops.

You can buy DOD surplus direct at auction from the DOD contractor www.govliquidation.com (who recently lost the contract). The new auction contractor is at www.govplanet.com, who just started last week. Govplanet.com is to auction all rolling stock (wheels or tracks). Everything else will still be govliquidation.com. Read the terms and conditions closely. The purchase price is bid + the auction surcharge.

Other great deals at present are hundreds of M923 series 5t 6×6 trucks. There are great units selling in for under $5000. They’re diesel, automatic with air brakes, but you must have Class B CDL. There are indications that early HMMWV are going FINALLY to be auctioned off (vs scrapped). Transfers to Fire Dept (with title) just began. There are hundreds of M998 (early HMMWV) presently listed at the DOD/GSA surplus site. In the next few weeks they will start to show up at govplanet.com, if they will actually be auctioned to the public.

For general advice/assistance on repairing/operating DOD surplus vehicles, a great collector/enthusiast site is at: www.steelsoldiers.com

-R.S.

Hugh’s Quote of the Day:

“And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: and lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:16-17 (KJV)

Notes for Saturday – November 29, 2014

Today is the birthday of Clive Staples (“C.S.”) Lewis, who was born in 1898 and died 22 November 1963.

o o o

Today, we present another entry for Round 55 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 hardcase 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 1 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 $448.95) 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 $300 gift certificate from CJL Enterprize, for any of their military surplus gear,
  7. A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $300 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.
  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. Ambra Le Roy Medical Products in North Carolina is donating a bundle of their traditional wound care and first aid supplies, with a value of $208, and
  7. APEX Gun Parts is donating a $250 purchase credit, and
  8. SurvivalBased.com is donating a $500 gift certificate to their store.
  9. Montie Gear is donating a Y-Shot Slingshot and a Locking Rifle Rack. (a $379 value).

Round 55 ends on November 30th, 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.

Light Tactical Trailer– The M1102, by D.A., DVM

Bugging out? Got a pickup or big SUV but not enough room to carry everything you want to take with you? Consider the military’s solution to the limited cargo space in their HMMWV (Humvee), the M1102 Light Tactical Trailer.

Our government (i.e. using our tax money) purchased a LOT of these all-aluminum trailers for our military, and they are built to last and take a beating. A local man had two of these for sale, tied down on a bigger trailer and parked on a busy corner with a sign on them. I called him, and he was asking $2,500.00 each. The original sale price was $8,954.00. I bought mine for $1,800.00, cash, and it is like new. I’m sure people are buying these surplus trailers from government liquidators and reselling them in many states.

The primary contractor is Silver Eagle Manufacturing Company– a subsidiary, located in Portland, Oregon, of Electrospace Systems and Chrysler Company. There are a lot of new open trailers available for less money, and used open and closed trailers, too. A good two-horse trailer would be fine also, but few “civilian” trailers can withstand the rough-road or off-road punishment that the M1102 can. The fat, high tires are great for off-road travel, and they are like new, showing hardly any wear.

The unitized body or hull of the trailer is made of aircraft grade aluminum and chromoly steel. It’s really thick, heavy-duty aluminum, and therefore rust-free. It was designed to carry 2,840 pounds but will probably take more, and mine came with a woodland camo canvas top with attached tubular hoops. A very nice, lockable fiberglass top is available from Amtech Military Products for about $4,000.00, new, plus nearly $1,000.00 for shipping from the factory in Washington to the northeast U.S. It weighs 370 lbs. but can carry an additional 500 lbs. on its roof! I’m not sure if they are available through military surplus sources, but if so, they would be a lot less!

If the canvas top deteriorates, it would be simple enough to buy a camo tarp to tie down over the hoops. Without the hoops, an aircraft cargo net would work well to keep things from bouncing out or being blown out. The trailer is rated for 55 miles per hour on primary roads, but who’s checking?

The interior of the bed is about 80″ wide by 85″ long, and the sides are 22″ high. On the floor of the bed are twelve heavy-duty, flush, swivel “D”-ring tie downs, and there are 1″ strap tie-down positions all around the top edges on the outside, which the canvas top’s straps loop through.

The trailer is complete and ready to pull, if you have a Humvee, that is. This is not the standard trailer hitch that hooks to a ball on your vehicle. Military trucks have a pintle hook that connects to a big steel donut on the trailer. It’s kind of like making a circle with your index finger and thumb of one hand, then putting the circle over your other thumb and “locking” them together with your other index finger. Pintle hooks and 2″ hitch adapters are readily available online.

The harder part is the fact that the trailer lighting is 24 volt. It’s simple enough to switch out all the bulbs for 12 volt models, but the electrical connector is a 12-pin NATO item. I solved this problem by ordering the mating plug and making a jumper cable with a standard flat pin 7-way commercial connector. The wiring connected as follows: Red wire, left turn signal to NATO pin B, stop light. Brown wire, right turn signal to NATO pin J, stop light. Green wire, running lights to NATO pin E, tail lights. White wire, ground to NATO pin D, ground. Military vehicles also have convoy lights, blackout stop lights, and other sockets/pins on their connector that are not used.

I have the jumper cable clamped to the removable 2″ hitch adapter and pintle hook, so that when I need to hook up the trailer I simply plug one end into the existing socket on the SUV and the other to the trailer’s NATO plug. There’s a bracket on the tongue in front of the box to hold a standard Army Jerry can, with a belt strap to hold it down. The running lights are also recessed to prevent them from getting smashed.

The trailer is equipped with huge 37 X 12.5R 16.5″ low-pressure (17 lbs.) tires with 30-mile run flat inserts. The hitch is connected to hydraulic surge brakes with automatic breakaway, and independent lever-operated left and right mechanical parking brakes. Two stanchion legs are carried on the front of the trailer. These are inserted in sockets on the rear corners to stabilize the trailer when disconnected and leveled by using the tongue jack. This creates a very stable platform for loading and unloading. A Marine I know used one of these trailers for sleeping quarters during Desert Storm!

Four thick “D”-ring tie-downs are on each corner– two in front and two in the rear. Everything about this trailer is heavy duty, including the safety chains. The drawbar hitch eye is fairly high, at 29.5″, but the pintle hook hitch adapter plate has several height positions. The deck height is 34.5″ and ground clearance is 16″. The suspension is unusual, incorporating fully independent progressive rate trailing arms. The springs are actually torselastic rubber chords, and there are two shock absorbers. Wheels are the same as on the HMMWV, with eight lugs.

In order to get it registered and licensed, I had to run it over a certified scale and get an official weight slip. I was issued a plate, but I haven’t put it on, nor does it have a plate light. I’ll make a license plate bracket to slip over the tailgate, if I need to move it over the roads, but if the SHTF I don’t think anyone is going to be worried about plates or if it is legal.

I’ve pre-loaded my trailer with non-perishable, weather-resistant supplies, including tents, camouflage canopies, sleeping bags, a military surplus stove, LP gas canisters, cooking equipment, a shovel, an axe, and a pick. The Plano 1819 XXL storage trunks hold most bigger items, with 3.7 cubic feet of storage, and they provide protection as well. They have built-in brackets for tying down, and I used bungees to anchor them to the “D”-rings in the floor. They also nest when stacked. The smaller Plano 1619-00 56-quart tote tub is handy for stowage alongside the bigger trunks and also nests when stacked.

The boxes are numbered, and a complete inventory of each one makes it easy to find just what you need during unpacking. No, I didn’t pack like an assault landing ship, last on, first off, but you could. Pack the tent last. About one-fourth of the space at the rear of the trailer is left open to throw in last-minute things, like perishables, water, ammunition, and high-value items. Large volumes of water are not necessary, if you are in an area with small lakes, streams, or rivers. The LifeStraw Personal® water filter and LifeStraw Family 1.0® water purifiers allow you to safely drink from just about any outdoor water source.

The center of balance is about ten inches in front of the axle, so loading heavy items, like ammo and fuel, in this rear area will help balance the trailer. I plan to add a row or two of hickory rails to the inside of the canopy hoops to protect the inside of the canvas cover in case things shift around during rough travel. That’s really the only other modification I can think of to make this beast more perfect for the job, other than that hard top.

My driveway extends around behind part of our house, so I keep the trailer back there, partially hidden from the street. The woodland camo really works with the backdrop of a blue spruce and various bushes. Those who’ve noticed it and asked what it’s for, I respond with, “I use it for camping”. It would make a perfect camping trailer, too, and basically that is what bugging out is going to be about. That is, unless you have a cabin or Redoubt location ready to go to. We have some major national forests within an hour’s drive of home that I have already checked out for retreat.

Just about every survival or prepping item I had stored in my basement is now in the trailer, freeing up more shelf space for freeze-dried and dehydrated food, peanut butter, honey, sugar, and salt, et cetera. The boxes are also packed with some redundancy, such as fire starters in nearly all of them, knives, paracord, and ponchos (remember “Rambo”?). In case I have to abandon the trailer and grab just a couple boxes, I should have some essentials in whatever I take. Using the trailer also gives me more space in our SUV or pickup to carry high-value supplies, including guns, ammo, and food. If there’s an EMP, however, the trailer won’t be going anywhere unless I can get a pre-1980 vehicle to pull it. I have a 1975 Honda CB200T to get my wife and I out of Dodge if that’s what happens.

I love my “TRAILER, CARGO M1102,” and hope our country doesn’t go down the tubes, but I feel a lot better about my preps knowing it is ready to hook up and head down the road.