Book Review: Journal Of A Deserter

  • Author: Jacob Maccabee
  • Copyright Date: 2014
  • Publisher: Xlibris LLC
  • ISBN: 978-1-4931-5760-0
  • Amazon Link: Journal of a Deserter
  • Audio, e-book or foreign translation available: No Suitable for children: No

This is more a story of recovery than one of preparedness, but it does spend a bit of time on wilderness survival skills, and I expect many in the SurvivalBlog audience will appreciate the struggle. Besides that, depending on how the SHTF and what any given individual may experience, the recovery may need to be part of one’s life in the aftermath.

It should also be noted that while not an autobiography, it is pretty clear, from the author’s Prologue and from the contents of the novel, this is something which the author knows from first-hand experience. This is not someone just imposing their idea of war onto the audience. This is someone who has been through it. This is someone who has borne the burden and lived with the pain, and this is someone who has found a way back to being able to live with himself.

I do not believe any of the below will spoil the novel for a reader. The story is told through flashbacks, journal entries, and pieces of the present. More than anything, it is about the journey. Most of the below is the setting for the journey.

Master Corporal Walter Elrick was a Canadian soldier serving in Kandahar, Afghanistan. His role was running the supply system for his company and driving a 10,000-liter fuel truck to take care of his own camp’s generator farm and a Joint Signals Regiment in Kandahar City. That sort of truck makes a nice target, if you are looking to blow yourself up in a big way.

Walter’s truck was indeed targeted, but by luck his run was delayed until their window of opportunity was closed, and so the bomber settled instead for a UN convoy. Walter’s group got the job of towing those vehicles back to his own compound and dealing with the bodies and the knowledge that they themselves were the intended targets. In Walter’s mind one of those vehicles was to have been his own tomb.

Not only does he have that on his mind, but his local contractor, Sherife, had quickly become his right hand man, keeping things running smoothly inside the camp and with outside contacts, too. However, Sherife’s family convinced him he would make more money working for the Afghan National Police, so he left his job with Walter only to find himself being sodomized and abused in his new job. Convinced by his cousin that participation in homosexual acts was going to prevent him from going to paradise unless he died a martyr, Sherife puts on an explosive vest and sets out to make the infidels pay. It is MCpl Walter Elrick who shoots him down as Sherife tries to gun his motorcycle into their patrol, their eyes meeting as the double-tapped rounds impact Sherife’s chest.

These experiences, plus the helplessness of being caught under mortar fire with no shelter, become the material of Walter’s nightmares. His mind shifts, and he can no longer sleep well. Then his wife divorces him. He resorts to cocaine. He cannot do his job well. Back in Canada he has a desk job, but the papers just pile up in his in-box. He is prescribed Mefloquin, but that just seems to fuel the nightmares. Then Lorazepam. It is a veritable cocktail of drugs which are thrown at those suffering from PTSD, with suicide as a far too common “final solution”.

Walter recognizes that the drugs are destroying him, and he has no support from his superiors. To them he is weak. He is not standing up as a soldier should. Seeing what he is up against and how his life will probably end if he maintains this course, Walter decides to desert and go to the wilderness to find himself. This he plans very carefully and deliberately, so that his disappearance will go undetected for as long as possible and leave no clues as to where he went.

His desertion works as planned, but nature itself does not provide the healing Walter seeks. It is not until he meets the trapper, Normand, and is put on a spiritual journey that Walter finds the peace he has been seeking. His journey is a deeply personal one, as would be the case for anyone else. It is the direction taken that makes the difference, and it is a difference of life and death.

This book is a worthwhile read, and especially so for anyone who is wrestling with their own personal demons. It is abundantly clear that the author is writing from personal experience and is passionate about his subject matter.

Speaking as one with an editorial bent and a healthy inner stickler, I found a number of errors in grammar, spelling, and word choice, yet at the same time I found that those added to my ability to empathize with Walter. That may be from my own personal experience with a gentleman who has a Phd, yet war has taken much of his mind from him, and writing is one of his many struggles.

I did not note any profanity in this book, nor is there any sex, but there are some images of war which would not be suitable for children. Walter’s nightmares are not the sort of thing young folks should have to worry about.

The very end of the book is a bit of a conundrum to me, particularly regarding the use of the Word. It leaves more room for interpretation than I would really like. Even so, regardless of what is in store for Walter short term, his long-term future is assured.

Scot’s Product Review: G-Code Holsters

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A friend told me about G-Code Holsters, when I was looking for a holster to use in “the bump in the night” kit I was putting together. I had settled on a belt, after trying several other setups, and I needed a holster for it. This is not for normal, concealed, everyday carry but rather something that I could quickly don in an emergency that would work with either my soft or hard body armor. One key element was to be able to get it on quickly, regardless of how I’m dressed. My normal carry is an inside the waist band holster, but those don’t go on quickly and work poorly with body armor. The armor hangs over waist, making it hard to draw or holster the pistol.

Besides a pistol, the belt carries a magazine dump bag, magazine pouches for pistol and rifle, and a pouch for a Surefire 6P flashlight. The dump bag holds spare batteries for the Surefire, along with a spare bulb for it and some gloves. A final pouch holds a compression bandage, tourniquet, some nitrile gloves, and a pair of EMT shears. On the chance I might decide to go with the shotgun, I clipped on some holders for 12 gauge shells. I hang a pair of amplified hearing protectors next to it.

The belt itself is kind of like a police duty belt with Modular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment (MOLLE) attachment points. MOLLE is used to combine tactical gear by the U.S. and other militaries. It is extremely versatile. The belt can go over whatever I’m wearing for pants and then, if I have time and feel the need, I can add armor.

I had all of the other stuff, but I didn’t have a holster that I felt worked well on this sort of belt, especially if I were to add the body armor. Heeding my friend’s advice, I took a look, and G-Code appeared to have exactly what I needed in their OSH RTI Kydex Holster. It is as the name says, made of Kydex and costs $37.45. It is intended primarily for outside the waistband carry and offers ready access to the pistol. I discovered that it actually offers a lot more.

G-Code, you see, has a system. You can buy the holster and then wander about their site and find a number of ways to attach it to most anything, yourself included. The one I used is part of their Rapid Transition Interface (RTI) system. It ran $40.75. RTI allows you to quickly detach the holster from one mount and move it to any other RTI adapter. The way this works is there is an aluminum hanger that mounts on the holster and a wheel-like adapter that can mount on a number of holders offered by G-Code. The hanger snaps into the wheel, which has a very secure lock to hold the holster in place.

This is popular with folks who like to carry a pistol on a tactical vest at times and on a belt at other times. If you are moving in and out of vehicles, for example, you can have your weapon on the vest for easy access in the vehicle and then move it to your belt when on foot.

They have belt slides, paddles, MOLLE mounts, drop belt slides, and leg mounts you can choose from. I’m not that fond of drop mounts, but they work well for others. The paddle mounts could be useful, if you need to go without a belt. They hold pretty well on pants alone.

Another trick is to hang an RTI adapter someplace in your car or on the side of your bed or desk and put the holster and pistol on it as needed.

A nice thing when you move your handgun from one mount to another is that you are moving a holstered pistol, which is safer than unholstering it and moving it to a different holster. You can move it with one hand if necessary.

You can adjust the rake of the holster a bit with the RTI mount I used. This allows you to make it work with your mode of dress, position of carry, and whatever else you are carrying.

The only drawback I could see for RTI is it does add some to the thickness of the holster, but that worked well in setting mine up for use with armor. I needed to space the holster away from my body to ensure clearance for the armor. If you want to have a thinner rig, you can get paddle, belt, and MOLLE mounts that attach directly to the holster without the RTI adapter. Since all of this stuff is modular, you have a huge number of choices on how you set up your rig.

Surprisingly, you can even get an inside the waist band adapter for your G-Code OSH. This won’t work with RTI, so it isn’t rapid change, but it does work well. You can make a number of adjustments in ride height and rake, so it fits you and your needs. I have been happy with mine, although I think a purpose-built IWB holster is better. The OSH is made of very heavy duty, thick Kydex, which isn’t optimal for IWB. It is, of course, optimal for the primary purpose of the OSH, outside the waistband carry under hard use.

You get a choice of having a shirt guard or not on the OSH. The shirt guard helps keep your shirt from getting tangled up as you try to holster the pistol, so I highly recommend it. This isn’t so important on a duty type belt, but it’s very helpful on an inside the waistband. I would get it, just in case I needed it later.

The OSH, like most Kydex holsters, is formed by bending a sheet of Kydex around the handgun it is being made for. This leaves a sort of U-shaped creation. The open side of the U is closed with rivets. Like many Kydex holsters, there is also an adjustment screw so you can set how much tension you want holding the pistol in.

Besides the OSH, G-Code makes two similar holsters that I have not handled. The first is the XST. The OSH retains the holster by friction, while the XST adds a strap that pops off when operated by the thumb. The second is the SOC that includes a retention system similar to the XST, while adding an interesting system of interchangeable cowlings that adapt the holster for an assortment of weapon-mounted lights or no light at all. The XST and SOC use all of the same mounting accessories as the OSH. Both holsters appear to be thicker than the OSH to accommodate the strap system. The XST costs $37.45 without RTI and $48.95 with.

I spent a lot of time agonizing between the OSH, XST, and SOC, and in the end, the simplicity of the OSH won me over. I might try one of the others in the future, though. The retaining strap could be of value when covering rough terrain, though the retention screw on the OSH will easily hold the pistol when the holster is held upside down and jiggled.

I should point out that these prices are for the holster alone. You also need to select a carry mount which will add to the cost.

There are a number of other interesting items in their product line that I hope to review in the future. The HSP D3 magazine carrier system looks especially interesting, as it allows you to design just what you want to carry magazines in a form that minimizes space on a belt or vest. They also have pocket holsters, a concealment holster, revolver holsters, and a number of other carriers for shooting gear. The website also features a number of informative videos.

All of the G-Code gear I’ve handled is well made and solid. There are several choices in color, including an assortment of camouflage patterns. Being the boring sort, I chose plain old olive drab. The hardware is of good quality and spare parts are available on the website. They also have adapters to use other brands of holsters on their mounts.

G-Code has a contract to the U.S. military to supply holsters, which is a good endorsement, in my view.

Customer service from G-Code was great. My IWB adapter had a bad snap, and it was repaired quickly and without hassle. We all make mistakes, and the question is how we deal with them. G-Code gets an A. They didn’t know I was going to be writing a blog article, either. I was just another dweeb who bought a holster. They even offered an upgrade, but I was keen on trying the adapter and stuck with it.

Speaking of my bump in the night kit, on the off chance anyone is interested, I took a circuitous route arriving at the belt system. Initially, I just figured pistol in hand was all I needed. Then, thanks to training, I learned that arriving police might easily mistake someone with pistol in hand as a threat. Having a holster in which to secure the pistol would be a lot better than dropping it on the ground. I, therefore, planned to put on my normal inside the waistband CCW carry holster. Then we had some nasty home invasions in a nearby urban area that made me think I might want a long arm and some extra ammo, if things were to “go North”. (I’m a Southerner, so “going South” is a GOOD thing.) I might also want to put on the soft body armor I had for riots when I was a photographer or the hard armor I bought a couple years ago.

Since I had spent 30 plus years working as a photographer, I thought a shoulder bag like the ones I carried camera gear in would work. A carbine class showed me the error of those ways. Working a carbine and pistol is not the same as working cameras. The straps for the bag, for example, fouled my holster and magazine pouches. The bag kept flopping around and was never in the same spot, which left me groping for gear.

Going back to the drawing board, I tried a couple of chest rigs. Some of the folks in classes I’ve taken used them, so I figured they were worth a try. I’ve had some shoulder injuries, however, and it turned out that a loaded chest kit is awkward for me to get on quickly. Then there is the issue of armor. I would have to decide which to put on– armor and vest rig or just the vest rig. If armor goes on too, then the vest rig has to go over it. If I decided to put on the chest rig and then decided I need armor, I had to pull off the rig, put on the armor and then put the rig back on. I tried these combinations at the range, and they badly interfered with my normal IWB holsters and the belt pouches for pistol ammo. I also finally realized that getting the IWB holster on in a hurry was not so hot, either. It required pants with a belt to retain the holster. I might not have time to put those on and could wind up in pajamas and no holster. Even if I had on pants with a belt, it takes time to get the IWB on.

I next decided to try going straight to the hard armor in a carrier with MOLLE and festoon everything onto it, magazine pouches, first aide gear, dump pouch, pistol holster, et cetera. This was another error. I am no longer young, and hard armor is heavy. (Mine is steel and very awkward to get on, though the ARES plate carrier silencer I mentioned in another article helps.) The weight of hard armor tremendously reduces mobility, and I realized I would only use it for holding a defensive position. I might go with the soft armor, if I wanted to be mobile, but I desired to keep that in its concealable carrier, which couldn’t carry extra gear.

That’s when it dawned on me that a belt might be a good idea. It could carry all of my gear and be quick and easy to put on over most any form of clothing. I could add armor as the situation demanded without having to take anything off.

I first tried a GI pistol belt I had on hand. It held everything and was easy to get on, but after a range trip, I discovered that the magazine pouches and other gear tended to wander around. That’s not so good when what you are looking for has moved. Still, the concept appeared to be going in the right direction; I just needed a belt that would secure everything in a fixed location.

I then picked up a MOLLE belt, and lo and behold, it all appears to work as intended. So far though, it’s a lot better than anything else I’ve tried, in both dry practice and range drills. It works with both pistol and long arms. I still want to use it in a class to see if I am missing anything, but I think I am close to solving this problem. What I did may not work for you, but hopefully my progression may help you find your own way. For some, the chest rigs work really well as does putting gear on a plate carrier. The key is to test it and be sure it works for you.

Recipe of the Week: Loose-Meat Sandwiches

Well, ground beef just ain’t as cheap as it used to be, is it?!! Still, in many instances, it is an economical choice for feeding the family. Both recipes below double excellently for a larger family.

Homemade Sloppy Joes

  • 1 lb. ground beef
  • 2/3 c. barbeque sauce
  • 1 Tbsp. soy sauce
  • 2 tsp. sugar
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • ½ tsp. ground ginger
  • 4 hamburger buns

Brown and crumble ground beef in skillet till done; drain grease. Add rest of ingredients and stir well. Simmer at medium-low heat for 10 minutes. Serve on hamburger buns. Makes 4 servings. – L.H.

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Do you have a favorite recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers? Please send it viae-mail. Thanks!

Letter Re: CERT Training

Regarding CERT Training: Thinking about volunteering your time with your local Department of Emergency Management? You may need to leave your concealed carry at home!

I submitted an application to join a volunteer section of the Pierce County Washington Department of Emergency Management. I received a packet in the mail that contained additional forms that needed to be submitted. One of the forms was a Pierce County Department of Emergency Management Emergency Worker Registration Form. One item had to do with certifying my non-drug use and also prohibiting “any concealed weapon possession while engaged in emergency worker activities” . The reference for this was WAC 118-04-200.

I reviewed WAC 118-04-200 and could not find any mention of weapons. I decided to fill out the forms, except I drew a line through the portions referencing concealed weapons. I submitted the forms and included a note on the front of the forms packet noting my action made in paragraph 3.

I received an E-mail thanking me for my interest but that they “could not accept an application that has been modified”. They also stated that “If I would like to re-submit my application without alterations, they would be glad to send it through the review process.” I also received a phone call from a department manager who basically stated the same policy, adding, that it was the local sheriff that levied the requirement.

This letter is not meant to reflect negatively in any way about the specific section of Emergency Management I was attempting to volunteer for. I have the highest respect for its members and their outstanding dedication to their mission, but for all of those who are responsible citizens who want to help their neighbors and fellow county residents, you may want to “stretch the truth” when it comes to filling out the forms.

I fully understand that if I had been asked to work in school or federal buildings during an emergency, there would never have been a question about my not being allowed to carry a weapon. However, for the county to have a zero tolerance and forbid ANY possession is unacceptable in my opinion, especially during an major emergency situation. – Wrangler57

HJL Replies: We have covered this subject before. There is no requirement from a federal level other than laws already on the books. i.e. Schools, Courthouses, et cetera. Your state may have laws that apply that are more restrictive and counties/cities may have even more restrictive laws. If you are volunteering with an organization, you need to know what the scope of that organization is, and you are responsible for adhering to those laws that you may be subject to during your tenure with them. I am quite confident that if TEOTWAWKI happens, most of those laws will be ignored, if not actually thrown out the window. However, while you are simply practicing or responding in a situation that is anything less than TEOTWAWKI, you must adhere to them. As you have discovered, you are also at the whim of the organization’s leader. If that leader is your sheriff, or if the leader defers to the sheriff and your sheriff won’t let you carry, you are stuck with that decision. Only you can make the decision as to whether to ignore or obey the rule and to what extent you do it, but by the same token, there may be consequences either way that you may be subject to.

Odds ‘n Sods:

We posted the original article on the “sneaky” changing of SCOTUS opinions without notification. It now appears that someone has programmed an alarm for it. Clever piece of code exposes hidden changes to Supreme Court opinions. – G.P.

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5 Native American Survival Medicines Secretly Made At Home. – H.L.

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Confiscation and Rebellion. – B.B.

Obama praises the Australian gun laws without mentioning that a linchpin of the whole concept is the mandatory confiscation.

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Obama Facilitates The Rise Of The Caliphate. – B.B.

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Text and Video: Video from ISIS fighter shows aftermath of ‘liberation’ of Mosul. – RBS

Notes for Sunday – June 15, 2014

Today we present another entry for Round 53 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $11,000+ 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. Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  4. A $300 gift certificate from CJL Enterprize, for any of their military surplus gear,
  5. A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $300 value),
  6. A $300 gift certificate from Freeze Dry Guy,
  7. A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo,
  8. A roll of $10 face value in pre-1965 U.S. 90% silver quarters, courtesy of GoldAndSilverOnline.com, (currently valued at around $180 postpaid),
  9. Both VPN tunnel and DigitalSafe annual subscriptions from Privacy Abroad (a combined value of $195),
  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. APEX Gun Parts is donating a $250 purchase credit, and
  12. TexasgiBrass.com is providing a $300 gift certificate.

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. A full set of all 26 books published by PrepperPress.com (a $270 value),
  8. Two cases of meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value),
  9. Dri-Harvestfoods.com in Bozeman, Montana is providing a prize bundle with Beans, Buttermilk Powder, Montana Hard Red Wheat, Drink Mixes, and White Rice, valued at $333,
  10. TexasgiBrass.com is providing a $150 gift certificate,
  11. Organized Prepper is providing a $500 gift certificate, and
  12. RepackBoxis 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. A MURS Dakota Alert Base Station Kit with a retail value of $240 from JRH Enterprises,
  6. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances,
  7. 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
  8. SurvivalBased.com is donating a $500 gift certificate to their store.

Round 53 ends on July 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.

Getting Started With Reloading, by M.H.

Here’s a little about where I am coming from. My Dad first started me reloading ammo, casting and swagging bullets over 50 years ago. In that time I have reloaded and fired ammo from the .380ACP to the .50 cal BMG and, to a lesser degree, shot shells in skeet gauges. I operated an “at home” business, where I have cast millions of pistol caliber bullets, which paid for my shooting “addiction”, and sponsored a IPSC Grand Master and a CAS state champ. In addition I carried the big, brand names in bullets, powder, primers, brass, and reloading tools to 20+ gun shows a year for nearly a decade. In that time I have enjoyed working with thousands of customers from neophytes to national competitors across many varied disciplines that make up shooting sports. I learned from all of them, and I am still learning. It is satisfying to “roll your own” and then enjoy the fruits of your labor with a successful hunt, a day at the range punching paper, or competing for gold.

First, let’s talk safety. You are using components that go “Bang”. You do not want a “BANG” or a “phit”. So remove the distractions– no radio, TV, kids, alcohol, or smoking. Wear eye protection. You always do when shooting, right? Some say to wear hearing protection also, but I do not. Yes, a primer exploding in an enclosed space is loud; think .22 lr. I know! When loading on a “progressive” I like to hear the functioning as you cycle the handle and avoid a malfunction before it happens. It is possible to detonate upwards of 100 primers on a “progressive” press. It has happened. I have neither seen this nor personally known anyone who has, but I believe that if you are paying attention and hear a problem, this is very unlikely. I have seen primers seated side ways, upside down, and crushed into the previously spent primer; there’s no bang. Primers are forgiving, up to a point. However, if primers are the spark plugs, then powder is the fuel, and it currently comes in 150+ varieties. Just as certain fuels fit different applications, powders do also. Loading a variety of ammo types will require more than one powder. You absolutely do not mix them or mix them up. Only have one powder open at a time. When finished, return the unused portion to its properly labeled container and continue to the next task. Using an unsuitable powder may only result in a stuck bullet in the barrel or someone “wearing” half of a rifle receiver as a new “face piercing”! Modern smokeless powder does not explode per se, but it burns very rapidly, especially when contained as in a casing. In the open it burns very vigorously with lots of flame and escaping gas. A clean loading bench, with flammables (think bore solvents and oils, and unused powder, primers and ammo) stored in their proper containers away from the bench, is required housekeeping. A fire extinguisher is a smart idea. Do not mix food and reloading. Handling bullets, which contain lead, is obviously something to avoid around food, but there are also contaminants on spent primers and the fired brass casing, which you do not want to ingest. Wash up after working with components. Okay, here’s last item. I promise. Use only published loading data from reliable sources, then cross reference it with a second (or third) source, and start with the beginning load recommendations and “work up”. Every firearm is different, as are each manufacture’s bullet, case, primer, and powder. Keep good records as to what you load.

I am only talking here about brass cases with “Boxer” primers. You can reload steel, imported ammo with “Berdan” primers, but the effort is not worth it. Shotgun loading is different enough to be treated as a separate subject.

To start simple and build on that, I am going to divide ammo into two different types– “straight walled”, such as a .45ACP, and “bottle necked”, such as a .308. I wish to further divide those into two sub-types that I roughly label as “low pressure” and “high pressure”. Now you may be wondering why I just don’t make the division between hand gun ammo and rifle ammo and be done with it. There are carbines (rifles) in 9mm, .357mag, and so forth, and there are hand guns in 30-30 and .233, to mention only a few. So the process or steps in reloading a spent case is more dependent on its “shape” than the firearm it is used in.

I will talk about reloading “straight walled” hand gun ammo and add the differences about “bottleneck” (rifles), as I go through the steps. In this group the most common examples are 9mm, .40 S&W, 45 ACP and .38 Special/.357 Mag. I will divide thlow pressure– .45 ACP, .38 Special, (.380 ACP, .44 Special, and 45 Colt would also go here) and high pressure– .30 Carbine, 9mm, .357 Sig (bottleneck), .40 S&W, 10mm, and all the magnums.

The first step is to sort the brass by caliber, inspect for any cracks or splits (and ask yourself why), and clean same. Inspect again. For this, you will need a vibratory tumbler, media, media separator, and a polish designed for brass. A table, good lighting, and cookie sheets for inspection are a plus; bins and buckets are useful for storage.

You are going to need a “set” of reloading dies. These are caliber specific, with some exceptions. The most notable are .38 Special/.357 Mag, .44 Special/.44 Mag, and .40 S&W/ 10mm; you can use the same die set, only adjusted for length. Straight-walled dies come in steel and “carbide”. You want carbide; they do not require you to pre-lube the brass and remove later. You can find carbide rifle (bottleneck) dies. You still have to lube them, but they are longer-living and expensive. Clean brass is the key to die longevity. You do not want to force grit into dies, scratching them and every case thereafter. You will also see “small base” dies in .223/.308/.30-06; these “squeeze” the case slightly more than standard, so as to chamber more easily in an auto loader.

With the properly adjusted dies on a single stage or progressive press, the brass is squeezed down in diameter to allow it to be easily chambered and grip a new bullet. At the same time the spent primer is punched out.

Here “bottleneck” cases have to be checked for length. You will need a dial caliper to measure this value and a way to trim to obtain the proper length. There is a maximum and “trim to” length listed for each cartridge. Trimming may not be necessary after each firing, but you need to check. Keeping various lots of brass separated, as to how many times it has been fired, cuts down on the work load. Depending on the caliber, once you start getting more than an occasional failure, you may then junk the whole lot rather than risk a jammed or damaged firearm. Occasionally, you will find a batch of Mil brass that was fired in a MG, and you cannot get a second loading. So, beware of brass you may pick up that is not yours. Keep it separate. Now, I will risk a little more with my practice ammo but save my best for serious social work.

A new primer is pushed into place using the above mentioned press(es) or a hand tool. The primer must be below flush. If you have a”high” primer, you could have a slam fire from the bolt striking same before the round is chambered (ouch!) or a misfire due to the lack of energy of a handgun’s lighter striker/firing pin/hammer parts not able to finish seating and initiating the primer. You have choices here on brand, standard or magnum, et cetera. Stick to the load data.

You reduced the diameter of the case above. Now you need to “bell” the case mouth to accept a new bullet, as little as you can, just enough so as not to damage the base of the bullet, especially a soft lead bullet. A bevel base versus a flat base helps. (About brass: Brass work hardens– the more you stretch and squeeze a case, especially the mouth, the more brittle it becomes until it cracks or splits.) You do not do this step on bottleneck rifle cases, except for lead bullets, say for reduced loads and/or “low pressure” rounds like a .30-30. This hardening can be reversed with annealing, but that is Reloading 201. (Some progressive presses combine “belling” and powder drop at the same time.) Now you add the powder. One manufacturer supplies “scoops” of known volumes that hold specified weights of a specific powder; this is simple, cheap, but restrictive. Using a powder scale– a balance beam with adjustable weights or electronic version– you can weigh each individual charge; this is slow. Alternatively, you can use the scale to adjust a powder measure to throw the correct weight, which is fast. This could be a stand-alone unit or mounted on the press. When loading with a single-stage press and loading blocks, visually check each case powder level. On a progressive, watch the powder measure operate. You don’t want any empty or double charges, please! ( “phit” and “BANG”) With the variety of different powders available (or presently not available) this is the most versatile. From a prepper POV with as few as four powders you could load almost all handguns plus 30 carbine, 300BLK, .223/5.56, .308/7.62, .30-06 and 12 ga., and with two addition powders there is little you could not load, if you have the dies. (A note here about powder suitability. Simply, what works say in a “low pressure” caliber may work in a”high pressure” cartridge but at reduced performance and the reverse not at all. Changes in case volumes and bullet weights are a couple of variables. Whole books are written on interior ballistics. Enough said. Now you may seat a new bullet. The seating depth is important. COL (cartridge overall length) is usually specified in the load data. It is dependent on bullet shape, flat nose or round, weight, crimp or not (more in a minute), and magazine or cylinder length. For example, my Remington 700 PSS “likes” a specific bullet and COL =<1/2 MOA,. My AR “scatters” 55gr FMJs all over the paper.

Most die sets seat and crimp as one step. I use a separate crimp die for better quality ammo. Rimless auto loaders– 9mm, .40’s, and 45’s– headspace on the case mouth, so a slight taper crimp is used. How much? If you placed the bullet against the edge of your bench and pushed with your thumb it should not move. A 45 cartridge feed from a magazine has a dynamic ride to the chamber. If the bullet were to be pushed into the case significantly reducing the volume a dangerous amount of pressure could result. Revolvers headspace on the rim. A roll crimp is used, if the bullet has a crimp groove. Magnum revolvers must have a strong crimp to prevent bullet jump and moving forward due to inertia, thus preventing the cylinder from rotating (bad in a gunfight). You will crimp .223/.308, if the bullet has a groove, as in Military type bullets; otherwise case neck tension holds the bullet.

Now you have a completed round, or 50 (or 100 or 1000). Inspect each round. Run your finger tip over each primer, looking for a high primer or other fault. Does the length look right? How is the crimp? Is there any excess lube shaved from a lead bullet? At this point is when you remove the case lube from the sizing step above. Observe the bullet on “bottleneck” rounds laid flat on the bench (clean) and rolled back and forth; it should not “wobble”. A further check is to “drop” a round into a “check die”. Is the roung a “go” or “no go”?

Now box or bag. Label the box or bag with date, load information, reference to your notes and so forth. Keep the box size to 50 or 100, even if you loaded 1000. By keeping your stop, check, and packaging to 50 or 100 rounds, you will not end up with a 50 cal can with 800+ rounds, not knowing when the automatic powder measure went dry. (Don’t ask.) Set any suspect lot aside. You can pull them apart and check further.

I have just scratched the surface here, as you can surmise. As with any prep or skill building, you start will small steps. Pick up your brass, clean it, choose one caliber to start (straight walled is best), get a set of dies, a scale, a press, load data, powder measure, powder, primers, bullets, calipers, blocks, boxes, bags, miscellaneous tools, and supplies. Before you know it, you will have accumulated all you need for your first 1000 rounds– all for less than the cost of a new handgun.

What are you waiting for?

Three Letters Re: Ching and Rhodesian Slings

Scot,

I wanted to thank you for your review of the Ching Sling on Survival Blog. Eric and I attended some classes together at Gunsite, and became friends. I was much saddened at his unexpected passing at WAY too young an age.

Your comments brought back some fine memories and for that I thank you! I have a Ching sling on my hunting rifle and really like it.

o o o

Hello,

The book mentioned, M/SGT James R. Owens’ book Leather Sling and Shooting Positions is also available in an updated PDF version on CD-rom from Mister Owens’ website : http://www.jarheadtop.com/Books.htm – S.H.

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SFE:

I can concur without reservation on Andy Langlois and his leather slings. He made the Ching Sling for my Steyr Scout, back in early 2003. He’s a gentleman and a craftsman, and you can trust his word and his products. Now, after taking a shotgun course from Tom Givens of Rangemaster, I find myself in need of a 12-ga butt cuff, and there’s no question where I’ll go to get one. Semper Fi – JPP

Thoughts on Nevada, by SFE

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” John 15:13

That scripture came to my mind as I thought about the tragedy in Nevada when two soulless people murdered two police officers and a good Samaritan who marched to the sound of the guns and paid the ultimate price by placing himself in harm’s way in the defense of others. Without seeking to second guess the dead and without full information, I would like to make a few comments.

I’m assuming that everyone is aware now of the shooting in Las Vegas. A man and woman entered a restaurant and shot dead two police officers, Alyn Beck and Igor Soldo, who both had wives and children. They then went to a nearby Walmart where news accounts based on police sources say a citizen– Joseph Robert Wilcox, who had a concealed carry permit– chose to confront the man with his handgun. Some accounts say the man had fired a shot into the ceiling and was screaming for people to leave.

The evil ones clearly used good tactics in both encounters. They worked as a team. Witnesses told police that one scouted the restaurant witnesses and then both returned, walked past the officers, drew weapons, and turned and murdered them. When they went to the Walmart, they separated. The woman was then able to engage the citizen from behind.

We can always debate the wisdom of getting involved. Many people I know argue it is unwise to do so. That may be true, but I wonder how one would reflect back knowing that they might have averted a greater tragedy. For what little it might be worth, I think Mr. Wilcox was a hero for taking the chance. He may very well have slowed down the bad guys and allowed others to escape while police officers arrived to contain them.

In any case, out of any tragedy, there are things to learn. A first point I wonder about is that Mr. Wilcox is said to have confronted the man. I would like to know how. Perhaps if the videos are released, we will see what transpired. We have been told he was not able to get a shot off before being taken down himself by the woman. Did he move to a protected position? Did he choose to verbally challenge the bad guy or was he attempting to shoot him as quickly as he could score a hit? A lot of emphasis is placed on verbal challenges in some shooting schools, but I sometimes wonder if that impedes shooting efficiency. Ecclesiastes tells us there is a time for every purpose and in the case of a man entering a store firing a gun and screaming at people, it is probably a time to shoot and not a time to talk.

Lately, we have heard so much about lone gunmen that it could be reasonable to jump to the conclusion that the man marching into the Walmart was the only threat. Mr. Wilcox may have fixated on the obvious danger. We don’t know if he scanned the area for other threats before engaging. Many defensive shooting classes stress the dangers of not engaging alone without someone to cover your rear, but that’s not always possible. They also tell us of the frequent use of “tail gunners” by teams of bad guys. This is someone who does not reveal themselves unless necessary. A standard part of most drills now is assessment of both the target and surroundings, which involves looking backwards and around as quickly and often as possible during an encounter.

Mr. Wilcox was with a companion who he sent to safety. This was commendable and important as the companion was apparently unarmed. It might be good to have a discussion with those you travel and shop with about what to do should you find yourselves in such circumstances. I’ve told my family to move away from me for a start and carefully move to safety.

We don’t know how much or what sort of training Mr. Wilcox had. I’ve been fortunate to have had some good classes, but this doesn’t mean I would have remembered or applied any of it, so don’t take my comments as saying I would have done any better. A bottom line, however, is training does help us think about these things. I wish I had the citation, but I once read that people who think about the what-ifs often do better than those who don’t. The article I read interviewed survivors of disasters, and many of them had set plans into the back of their minds about what they would do if anything went wrong. Those plans often helped them.

Many of us have chosen to be armed, and we do need to think of these matters. A book I treasure for its clarity and brevity is Lt. Colonel Jeff Cooper’s Principles of Personal Defense. In it, he writes about the need for rapid and decisive action. Lt. General George S. Patton also spoke to this, saying in a brief paraphrase, that a good plan executed now is better than a perfect one executed tomorrow. It is often said that mindset is the most important weapon. Mindset includes not only the willingness to fight for what it right but the ability to do so with cunning.

I don’t know what I would have done in Las Vegas. I hope I would have had the courage to act, and I hope I would have done so with skill, but I do know my first priority would have been for my family’s safety.

I’ve will keep the families of officers Beck and Soldo and Mr. Wilcox in my thoughts and prayers. I am happy that their murderers are no longer able to harm others. – Scott Frank Eire, SurvivalBlog Field Gear Editor

Odds ‘n Sods:

Securing Your Six: Teacher’s Edition. – Mike Williamson, SurvivalBlog Editor At Large.

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Iraq’s Vulnerable Christians Further Imperiled by Jihadist Advance – P.M.

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NASA and NOAA agree: Solar Max has arrived, but this “mini Max” is not like any other solar maximum of the Space Age. Solar Mini-Max . – A.D.

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Liar, liar! 12 major problems with Hillary’s Benghazi chapter. – H.L.

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Video: Husband and wife shoot gunmen who try to enter their St. Louis home, killing 1, police say . Text with two-minute video. – T.P.

Hugh’s Quote of the Day:

“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” 2 Timothy 3:1-5 (KJV)

Notes for Saturday – June 14, 2014

Today we present another entry for Round 53 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The $11,000+ 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. Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  4. A $300 gift certificate from CJL Enterprize, for any of their military surplus gear,
  5. A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $300 value),
  6. A $300 gift certificate from Freeze Dry Guy,
  7. A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo,
  8. A roll of $10 face value in pre-1965 U.S. 90% silver quarters, courtesy of GoldAndSilverOnline.com, (currently valued at around $180 postpaid),
  9. Both VPN tunnel and DigitalSafe annual subscriptions from Privacy Abroad (a combined value of $195),
  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. APEX Gun Parts is donating a $250 purchase credit, and
  12. TexasgiBrass.com is providing a $300 gift certificate.

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. A full set of all 26 books published by PrepperPress.com (a $270 value),
  8. Two cases of meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value),
  9. Dri-Harvestfoods.com in Bozeman, Montana is providing a prize bundle with Beans, Buttermilk Powder, Montana Hard Red Wheat, Drink Mixes, and White Rice, valued at $333,
  10. TexasgiBrass.com is providing a $150 gift certificate,
  11. Organized Prepper is providing a $500 gift certificate, and
  12. RepackBoxis 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. A MURS Dakota Alert Base Station Kit with a retail value of $240 from JRH Enterprises,
  6. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances,
  7. 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
  8. SurvivalBased.com is donating a $500 gift certificate to their store.

Round 53 ends on July 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.