Odds ‘n Sods:

Cooking with lime heat, fireless cooking in medieval, renaissance and victorian times. – G.P.

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Obama deliberately emboldening America’s enemies – J.R.

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Civilians not ready for EMP-caused blackout – M.A.

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West African Ebola outbreak caused by new strain of disease: study – J.P.

HJL Adds: We’ve been following reports of this new outbreak, and there is no shortage of rumors. Unlike previous outbreaks, where the infected areas were in relatively remote areas where containment was easier, this one may be more difficult. The first response of people who hear that they may be in an affected area is to run as hard and fast as they can to get away. (They may be carrying the disease with them.) Governments are extremely reluctant to release data on suspected infections for fear of causing panic, and those who are already panicking are seeing infections everywhere they look. We will be keeping a close eye on this as it unfolds, but as of right now, potential infections outside of Africa are only rumors.

Notes from HJL:

April 21st is Aggie Muster Day, for all Texas A&M Corps of Cadets graduates. Aggie Muster celebrations/meetings are held as far away as Japan, Germany, and Afghanistan. I should mention that Jim’s grandfather (a U.S. Army Cavalry LTC) was an Aggie–something mentioned so often that everyone in his family felt like de facto Aggies, too. Other than the officers that matriculate though West Point, the four institutions that seem to have the greatest ongoing esprit de corps for graduates are Texas A&M, The Citadel, Norwich University, and VMI. Jim felt almost obliged to include an Aggie character in his novels Survivors and Founders, even though his connection to Texas A&M is two generations removed.

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Camping Survival’s Mountain House sale starts this week. Be sure to hop on over to their site and check out the savings. They’re offering up to 25% off of #10 cans and 15% off of pouches.

Guest Article: How to Set Up a Solar Electric Survival System, by LaMar

The majority of the U.S. population lives in a city or suburbs connected to a city and is completely reliant on grid power from coal, hydro, or natural gas power plants. In the event of a national or local disaster, regardless of the cause, the electricity system is the weakest link. Without power almost nothing else in a city or town will work. These disasters may be of short- or long-term duration, but depending on the weather and medical needs of your family going without power for even a short time could cause great hardship and even death. In this article I want to explain how you can set up a small affordable survival solar electric system, so that in the event of a disaster you would still have power for basic appliances, recharging phones, tools, and lights for security.

How big of a system do I need? First, you need to determine the appliances that you absolutely need to survive. That is usually a few lights for security, a cell phone recharger for communication, and possible a few rechargeable tools. A small 100-watt solar panel, one deep cycle battery, 15 amp charge controller, and a 400 watt inverter will take care of those needs. With these, you would probably have enough power to spare for recharging a laptop computer. If you need refrigeration, then consider a small chest freezer that can be run off a 100-watt panel and frozen jugs of water can be used in an ice chest for items that just need to be kept cool and not frozen.

Where do I put the panel? The panel needs to be in direct sunlight. A roof is usually the best location, facing the panel so it will get full sun at mid-day. This can be a temporary set up, only placing the panel out in a disaster or a permanent mounted system. If you want portability, in case you need to bug-out, I would suggest mounting the panel(s) on your camper/RV roof. Using a heavy-duty extension cord and power strip you can run the power into your house or take the system with you to a safer location.

What solar equipment do I need? A basic solar electric system is comprised of at least one solar panel, a charge controller, at least one deep-cycle battery, and an inverter to convert DC to AC power. You can find solar panels on Ebay or Amazon and online from around $1.00 per watt. Some packages include everything except the battery. You can get batteries locally cheaper, without paying freight charges. I recommend an MPPT power controller, which will get you about 15% more power in low light conditions, but a less expensive PWM controller will do the job. A modified sine wave inverter works fine for most appliances, but for sensitive equipment (some fridges) the more expensive pure sine wave inverters are recommended. Get a true deep cycle battery, not a Marine battery, and Trojan T105 are good batteries. AGM sealed batteries are more expensive, but if you will be storing the battery inside with you, they are recommended. How many batteries you need will depend on how long you want to store power and how much power you will use. For a starter system with a 100-watt panel, one 12volt battery or two 6volt batteries hooked in series will be fine, and you can add panels and batteries to expand your system as needed when you have the money.

What maintenance is required? Solar panel output will be effected by snow and dust, so keep the panels cleaned off and facing the midday sun at all times. Even a small coating of dust will drastically reduce output. Open cell batteries will lose water through evaporation, and the cells must be refilled with clean distilled water. Keep a jug of distilled water on hand just for the batteries. Wear goggles and latex gloves when handling batteries, and be aware acid is extremely corrosive and the gasses released can be explosive. Store batteries in a safe location in a vented box outside the residence, if possible. Batteries work best when they are warm in winter and cool in summer. Battery terminal posts will become corroded from time to time. Use a battery wire brush post cleaner, available at any auto supply store, and a little distilled water to remove the corrosion. DO NOT touch the corroded parts with your hands or get it on your clothing. Check wiring as needed for any abrasions, and tighten connections. Power controllers and inverters generally require very little maintenance but understand the manufacturer’s specifications for use and follow their guidelines. Keep your power controller and inverter close to the batteries to reduce the length of DC wire runs, and use a heavy duty power cord and surge protected power strip attached to the inverter for your AC power line. A separate DC power line can be run directly off of the battery posts but must be heavier gauge wire. Twelve gauge is recommended for lights and 8 gauge for any appliance with a motor or pump. DC power lines must have an inline fuse between the battery and appliances to prevent a short that could burn through a power line and start a fire. Keeping a fire extinguisher is recommended in any home.

What about wind turbines? Unless you get over 25mph constant winds, turbines are not recommended for a survival system. They require more maintenance and special controllers and only work well if placed very high and over 50 feet. Put your money into more solar panels and batteries if you need more power. If you do get great wind and it is constant, I recommend the Air X or Air Breeze models that do not require a separate power controller and will work well in lower wind speeds.

What about other solar appliances and gadgets? I also recommend small solar appliances, like rechargeable lights and emergency radios that can be used at home or taken in a backpack. The Ambient Weather Radio and Solar D.Light are excellent products. These can be stored for use in an emergency, and the Ambient Radio has both a solar panel and hand crank and can be used to recharge a cell phone. There are lots of solar gadgets and small flexible solar panels that can be used in an emergency, but for more reliable power get a larger solar panel, controller, battery, and inverter.

My story: I have been off-grid for over 15 years, and my system is 580 watts solar and a 400-watt wind turbine. These power my lights, water pump, laptop, TV, and numerous gadgets. I started with just a 45-watt system and added panels and batteries as I had the money and the need for more power. My heat is a wood stove and propane backup. I use small DC fans and passive cooling, so my electricity needs are minimal. I have survived and thrived just fine with a small solar electric system. When my neighbor’s power is out and their houses are cold and dark, I am safe and warm in my solar-powered cabin. I have used and reviewed many solar products, and I am the author of the book “Ultimate Off-Grid Guide”. I have over 100 videos of my systems on my youtube channel.

Pat’s Product Review – Ruger 10/22 Roll-up Cases

Innovation! That’s what has driven our country. Unfortunately, as of late, so many things are being outsourced, and many products cloned or copied, with and without a license to do so. Some time ago, I reviewed the Ruger 10/22 take-down rifle. It’s a huge hit for Ruger www.ruger.com, and they keep coming out with different versions of it. Included with the 10/22 take-down rifle is a nice zip-up storage carry case, and it does the job. However, a fellow by the name of Ron Asman, thought he could do it better. I think he has.

Up front I’ll confess that I’ve worked with Ron, helping him refine and improve his design. “No”, I was not paid, and I have no vested interest in his product line. I just saw someone who came up with a “better idea” and threw-in my two-cents worth. As this article is written, at the end of January 2014, Ron still doesn’t have an absolute final product. He’s thinking of making a few more changes that will even make his 10/22 roll-up case design even better. So, what I’m reporting on are some improved cases, over the original prototypes he sent me, but the final cases will more than likely be changed a little bit more when they are finalized.

As I mentioned, the zip-up case that Ruger provides with their 10/22 take-down rifle is pretty nice. If I had one minor complaint, it would be that the case is a little too bulky or thick. Ron Asman came up with a design that allows you to place your 10/22 take-down rifle with it in two pieces, place the gun inside the sewn-in pockets, place a scope in a pocket, and then roll the case up and fasten it with the buckles. Additionally, Asman has added numerous pockets– six of them– for storing more 25-rd magazines for your 10/22 and plenty of ammo, even bricks of ammo.

The material the Asman roll-up 10/22 cases is made out of is Denier Nylon. I’m not sure which thickness, but I’m guessing it is somewhere in the 1,000 Denier thickness range. It’s super, super tough material that can take a beating. The original prototype cases I received were of a light poly material, something akin to the U.S. Army poncho liner. While functional, I didn’t believe it would give your gun much protection. It just seems a little bit too flimsy. Ron Asman, if nothing else, is willing to listen and take criticism, so he set out to improve on his original design and material.

Back when .22 LR ammo was cheap, before the current and still on-going rationing and shortage of .22 LR ammo, I could go to the local big box store and pick-up a brick of 500-rds of ammo for $15.95 and enjoy a day of plinking or small game hunting. Not any longer. When you can find .22 LR ammo, it is usually rationed (maybe one or two 50-rd boxes), and they are ten bucks each or even more. So, needless to say, I haven’t purchased any .22 LR ammo for more than a year. I can sit and wait for supply to meet demand and prices to come down. My family and I haven’t been out shooting our .22 caliber firearms much for the past year or so, since it’s just too expensive. We loved going out on a Saturday afternoon and blasting away for several hours, “killing” all manner of paper targets and other targets of opportunity.

I kept my Ruger 10/22 in the factory case, with the two pieces of the gun in the two pockets designed for it. I would keep two 25-rd magazines in and several boxes of ammo in the case. That was all the case would handle. To be honest, as I said before, it was a bit too bulky for my liking, but the gun was protected, and the spare magazines and ammo was there. Still, there had to be a better way. Ron Asman came up with a better mouse trap, if you ask me.

After you break-down your 10/22 into two pieces, you can place them in the pockets inside the case, and if you have a scope, remove it and place it in one of the three long pockets. I’m not sure how many of the 25-rd magazines the cases will hold, but it will hold more of the banana magazines than I have on hand. Additionally, you can put a couple thousand rounds of .22 LR inside the other larger pockets. It all rolls-up into a tidy package that is easy to carry. The cases come with a carry handle, and the buckle keeps everything inside the cases. You can get an optional shoulder strap too, if you want to sling the case over your shoulder.

The two cases I have are almost identical– one is in OD green, and the other is in the popular ACU digital camo pattern. At present, Ron Asman will sell both versions. He may see which one is more popular and discontinue one of the colors, or maybe he won’t. The OD green case will retail for $45.00. If you want the shoulder strap, it’s another ten bucks. The ACU digital camo case will cost five bucks more, since the material is more expensive. Ron advises that the ACU camo case might go up another ten bucks over the OD case. The camo pattern is popular. Additionally, Ron may offer a woodland camo pattern.

I closely, and I mean, CLOSELY examined both of the 10/22 roll-up carrying cases Ron sent me, and whoever is doing the sewing on these cases (and they ARE made in the USA) knows what they are doing. The seams are prefect, as is all the sewing on the cases. Some of the pockets on the inside are fastened with Velcro, and some just fold-over to keep everything nice and tidy. Without a doubt, a lot of thought, experimentation, and design changes went into the last two samples Ron sent me, compared to the two original prototypes I received.

These 10/22 cases are made one at a time. They are not mass produced. If Ron wanted them mass produced, he could have sent the design off to China. Yeah, the price would have been less, but Ron believes in keeping jobs in America and producing the best product he can manufacture. What’s not to like here?

SurvivalBlog readers are probably wondering about Ron’s web address. Well, that’s another project Asman has that is on-going. I worked with him once again, at no pay, and I have no financial or vested interest in his company on flower pot heaters. I have given him my conclusions. Ron’s own research is on-going on this project. Also, as this article is written, Ron’s website is still being worked on, but it will be up and running by the time this article appears in print. Right now, you won’t be able to order on-line, you’ll have to call Ron, but that could change as things progress.

I like when someone takes it upon themselves to see a need and work on filling that need. Sure, the Ruger 10/22 take-down rifle comes in a nice case from Ruger, but some of us require more, something different, or something that will fill a real need. Ron Asman wasn’t afraid to step forward and work on a design for the 10/22 take-down rifle. He’s had some set-backs, and he surely has taken advice to heart. Now he is producing the best product he knows how to produce, and he is struggling to keep prices down. You’d be surprised to learn how little profit he will make from each roll-up case he sells. Ron and I discussed this, and I don’t think he’s making a large enough profit margin. Still, he insists on keeping prices down as much as he can. Once again, keep in mind that each case is made one at a time, rather than mass produced on a uncaring machine.

So, check out Ron’s website, if you are in the market for something a little different and better than what the factory supplies with their 10/22 cases. I, for one, like to be a little different. I also like the last two samples I received for this article. There is nothing cheap about these cases, NOTHING! You will be the envy of your friends, who have the mere factory case for their Ruger 10/22 take-down rifles. It’s designed and made in the USA by a fellow who came up with a better idea, if you ask me. – SurvivalBlog Field Gear Editor Pat Cascio

Recipe of the Week: Dutch Oven Lasagna

B.M. answered the summons for scrumptiousness with this delectible dish:

All of these ingredients may be made fresh or dehydrated/freeze dried, and both will be delicious.

If making from dehydrated/freeze dried, reconstitute per package instructions.

Ingredients:

  • 1 Deep 12-inch Camp Dutch oven (DO)
  • 1 23 oz. jar of your favorite Spaghetti sauce
  • 2 8 oz. cans of tomato sauce
  • 1 14.5 oz of diced tomatoes (with Italian seasonings, if available)
  • 1 pound of hamburger or Italian sausage (omit or replace with TVP, for a vegetarian version)
  • 1 1 pound box of lasagna noodles (dry)
  • 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
  • 1 cup of shredded Mozzarella cheese
  • 1 16 oz. of cottage cheese
  • 1 Tbsp. of Italian seasoning
  • 1 tsp. Salt
  • 1 Tbsp. Pepper

Directions:

  1. Prepare hamburger and then combine with Spaghetti sauce, tomato sauce, and tomatoes.
  2. In a large bowl, mix all cheeses, then add Italian seasonings, salt, and pepper. Reserve 1 cup of cheese mixture for the top.
  3. In your Dutch Oven (DO), which has been lined with heavy foil or a liner up to and over the rim, place a layer of lasagna noodles. The noodles will of course have spaces around the edges since the DO is round and the noodles are hard and rectangle, but just break pieces to fit the edges. Remember this is not rocket science; it is much better. On top of the lasagna noodles put a thin layer of the cheese mixture. (You can add it in very small dollops using your hands, if you want to.) Pour some of the sauce mixture over the cheese. Add another layer of noodles and press down to help ensure that the sauce and cheese have no air pockets. Continue to layer cheese mixture, sauce, and noodles until you reach the end of your sauce. Add the reserved cheese to the top.
  4. Wrap a layer of heavy foil over inside of the lid and back over the top of the lid to hold it onto the lid of the DO, so that the inside of the DO is completely lined with foil when the lid is in place. Prepare the coals for cooking, and then cook lasagna at 350 degrees for 1 hour. (For a 12-inch DO, that would be 24 coals total, with eight on the bottom around the outside edge and 16 on the top around the outer edge.) Check for doneness. Remember to turn the DO ¼ turn clockwise and the lid ¼ turn counter clockwise every 15 minutes. I prefer to serve this with fresh garlic cheese bread, which I made in a DO, of course. For a great dessert, I would recommend a nice chocolate/raspberry/white chocolate DO cobbler, with grape juice to drink. This will keep the heart and body warm and well fueled.

NOTE: You don’t have to line the DO with foil, but this dish is acidic as well as having flavors that will definitely remain in the seasoning. Unless you have separate DO’s each for for Savory, Sweet, Breads, and other categories of foods, I would use the foil for this one. You will want to be sure to clean, oil, and heat the DO again afterwards to ensure the seasoning is intact, if you don’t use foil. Foil will prove to be a force multiplier in reducing your clean up time, however.

Nutrition information:

  • Serving Size: As much as you can get before it’s gone.
  • Calories per serving: Some (if too many, eat less; if not enough, eat more).
  • Calories from fat: They all fell out when you broke the noodles.
  • Protein: I don’t know about “Pro”, but definitely some skilled “tein”.
  • Carbohydrates: A few. (Refer to calories for regulating.)
  • Sugars: Of course!
  • Meets or exceeds the Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for Yummm.

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

Letter Re: United States Economy and Status

HJL –

I have been a student of economics my entire life. From my early college education in the ’70s and ’80s to continued research for hobby, and for work I have tried to understand the micro and macro perspectives of the U.S. economy.

We are at a place in history that is without precedent. Never has a nation with the responsibility of the reserve currency of the world made such dangerous bets with its economy and currency.

The decisions of the Treasury and FED to head off an electronic bank run in 2008 prevented what would have been the most catastrophic and rapid financial collapse in history. They leveraged everything to right the ship, and it worked. The hope was that it might stimulate demand. Quite the opposite has occurred. We have trillions of dollars sitting on bank and corporate balance sheets, and the debt that should have been wiped out remains. It’s all dead money. The M1 money multiplier is at an all time low of 0.7– unheard of before 2008. It is a death sign. Likewise, M2 money velocity fares are no better at a modest 1.6 or so. The government conveniently stopped reporting M3, but others create this data privately. Labor force participation tells the true tale of woe, not unemployment. Asset appreciation is false because of the stimulus of trillions of dollars that may never end. Gold prices are manipulated and HFT is the norm. The real cost of living rises, while real standards of living fall.

While we might follow the path of Japan with a 20+ year stagnation, and that seems to be our course, history hates a vacuum; it hates stagnation even more. Something ultimately breaks the logjam– war, collapse, or disease. All break the paradigm of a failure to change in unexpected ways.

We should all expect great change while understanding the speed and timing are beyond our ability to accurately predict. It reminds me about the saying of going bankrupt. It starts slowly, then it goes really fast. I am amazed the dollar is still accepted in world trade, yet expect it to change in only days when it fails. This generation has no historic precedent to use as basis for prediction. Only by studying history can we possibly understand what lies ahead. The fourth turning must certainly be ours.

Regards. – S.L.

Hugh Replies: I agree with most of what you have said, but I’m not sure if the decisions made in 2008 actually worked or not. In my current thinking, I’m pretty sure they just kicked the can further down the road and ensured that when (not if) the adjustment happens, it will be far more catastrophic. As far as economics go, I’m not even sure history helps us at this point. Never before has every major economy been based upon fiat currencies and debt so high compared to GDP. I am certain it will self correct, but what form that takes is a mystery to me right now.

Odds ‘n Sods:

An interesting plant that may provide some useful resources for those inclined to Self Sufficency.

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Raindrops and toilets can potentially power your home. – G.P.

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UAV Pilot Charged with Felony. The government’s double standard at work again. – T.Y.

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Oklahoma will charge homeowners who generate their own power Taxing off grid homes in OK. – G.P.

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Hide a secret room in plain sight. Secret bookcase door. – CDV

Hugh’s Quote of the Day:

“The ‘private sector’ of the economy is, in fact, the voluntary sector; and…the ‘public sector’ is, in fact, the coercive sector.” – Henry Hazlitt

Notes from HJL:

On this wonderful Resurrection Sunday, I was blessed by a letter sent in by SurvivalBlog reader A.W. I’d like to share it with you too:

Hi Hugh,

I discovered “How Can I Keep From Singing?” in Rawles’ novel Patriots and have been curious about its origin. His book says it’s a Shaker hymn and other sources claim it’s a Quaker hymn, so I was surprised to learn [by a determined google search] that it was actually written in the mid 1800s by Robert Lowry, a Baptist minister, who also wrote “Shall We Gather At The River” and three others that are in my Baptist Hymnal but not familiar to me.

Although I’ve listened to Enya’s version, I find the echo effect she uses to be way too fuzzy for the song. I have found an MP3 by a voice that fits the song and nestles just right in my soul.

James Loynes is a Welsh baritone who has a mellow voice and good diction and conveys a sincere feeling for the music and lyrics. This url has both sheet music versions and a vocal with quiet accompaniment

I am so happy to have found this that I felt urged to send you the info. – A.W.

Lyrics

My life flows on in endless song
Above earth’s lamentation
I hear the sweet, tho’ far-off hymn
That hails a new creation
Through all the tumult and the strife
I hear the music ringing
It finds an echo in my soul
How can I keep from singing?

What tho’ my joys and comfort die?
The Lord my Saviour liveth
What tho’ the darkness gather round?
Songs in the night He giveth
No storm can shake my inmost calm
While to that Refuge clinging
Since Christ is Lord of heaven and earth
How can I keep from singing?

I lift mine eyes; the cloud grows thin
I see the blue above it
And day by day this pathway smoothes
Since first I learned to love it
The peace of Christ makes fresh my heart
A fountain ever springing
All things are mine since I am His
How can I keep from singing?

JWR Adds: It is noteworthy that Enya omitted the name of Christ in her version, perhaps in an attempt to make the hymn more palatable to a wide audience. She should have displayed more backbone!

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Today we present another entry for Round 52 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. Autrey’s Armory – specialists in AR-15, M4s, parts, and accessories is donating a $250 gift certificate,
  10. 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,
  11. TexasgiBrass.com is providing a $150 gift certificate, and
  12. Organized Prepper is providing a $500 gift certificate.

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, and
  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.
  8. SurvivalBased.com is donating a $500 gift certificate to their store.

Round 52 ends on May 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

An Eye for Eyes, by B.A.

Dear Reader,

As a person who has been blessed with not needing reading glasses, I am usually happy to read lists on prepping that tell the readers to make sure that they have extra prescription glasses in case they break their everyday glasses and cannot get new ones due to unforeseen circumstances. It’s one more place I can save a few dollars. That’s great, but is it really that simple? Many times I have glossed this fact in my mind. I wear sunglasses everyday. They are cheap and available everywhere, which is a good thing because I am a little rough on them. Between the odd time when I sit on them or toss them onto a parts-strewn surface and scratch the daylights out of them, mine have a relatively short lifespan. I used to hang them on my head. Unfortunately, the cover crop is thinning out too much and cannot hold them there any longer. After the second smashed pair that fell off backwards, I start hanging them on my shirt. Now most of my t-shirts have a slight ‘V’ in the collar that my wife hates. If I do not hang them, they get forgotten and, therefore, bent, broken, or lost. As a professional driver they are an important part of my everyday carry. Of course I never thought of it as such. You do not want to drive far without a pair when driving into the sunrise or sunset or when facing a horrible glare off equally horrible city buildings, traffic, or in the winter on the Prairies when everything is white for miles. I drove a week once with a plastic Snoopy pair because I needed them and could only find one set in my size at a gift shop. Beggars cannot be choosers, and I was begging. The last thing I grab when I leave the house is a pair. I also snatch a pair when going to the garden or to work on equipment. I like the slight amber lens because while driving it helps me to notice animals. These same glasses help with the green brown contrast and go straight from my work truck to my hunting truck. The UV protection and anti-glare contrast are very helpful. Coming from a hunter, it may sound strange, but I would rather see and slow down for an animal than hit it. I do not feel that unnecessary death is something that I can live with as a cost of doing business. Additionally, these plastic trucks seem to disintegrate on impact with June bugs. As much as I use my sunglasses I had never before thought, “What if this was the last pair that I could ever buy? Have I even considered how I can protect my eyes from everyday things that happen? If the SHTF, how many things am I going to be doing that can be less than healthy for my eyes? Do I have extra sunglasses for when the lenses become crazed with scratches or milky? What about when they fall apart?”

I had a pair of sunglasses once that I left in the car in winter. When I hopped in and put them on, my body heat caused the lens to crack in half. You do not go very long without finding yourself with a new pair. Right now I have the option of buying new tools (safety glasses are tools) to use. What about down the road when they start breaking or wearing out? I know that my safety glasses have saved my sight while using the grinder. I have thrown out many a pair that had too many burns in the line of sight. Also, while using old wire wheels, I have picked lots of loose wires out of my clothes. One time I thought I was stung on my face but really had one lonely wire sticking straight out of my upper lip. Sure you say, that is a power tool, and after the SHTF we will be using hand tools. Well, then, I suppose you have never broken a drill bit. Even hand tension can send pieces of high carbon steel flying like it was shot from a slingshot. Additionally, since most people will be doing things that they have never done before, I am certain that there will be quite a few improperly used hand drills, not to mention that casehardened mild steel punch and chisel set that can be bought cheaply from an import tool store. They may be a cheap way to fill your Armageddon survival fantasy toolbox, but the first time your strike sparks, you will realize that those little pieces flying around you are dangerous. For the more adventurous prepper you may get into torches and welding. Cheap safety glasses will save you the first time you are soldering a pipe and manage to leave a couple drops of water in the line. Believe me, molten lead can sputter. (This also applies when casting bullets.) I have several shirts that are only used now for plumbing, because of the lead melted into them. The little mixed gas brazing tanks can be bought cheap and used when there is no power. Their goggles are handy, and you can pop out the dark lens and just go with the clear ones as an expedient dust goggle. If you plan on welding, well, you have more money than me. If the power stays on, my wife has the best auto darkening helmet I could find. It is good for stick welding, mig/tig, torch, and if you leave it off you have a great grinding shield. Yes, she is the welder in my family. It is simple common sense. She is great at it and wants to weld. Stick your pride on the shelf in the shed, and let those who can do. In many of those weird movies that have post-apocalyptic themes, the people many years into the future are wearing some kind of welding goggles. Why? They are industrial use. Fairly cheap safety glasses and replacement lenses are available now. You should buy some. For the cost of the one pair of ultra cool Oakley’s, you can have dozens of clear, smoked, amber, or mirror safety glasses and replacement lenses. Buy some for the whole family. Ever since I first saw that ad that everyone has seen with the sunglasses that have stopped a bullet, I have thought about what it would be like to have that kind of protection. Of course, if everyone who was nasty enough to shoot at you would be kind enough to only use .22 short at the range of 50 feet or more, that would be great. Realistically, just like the military, I have come to the conclusion that the simplest form of danger to your eyes is the best one to protect for. I am talking about dust, wind, little bits of stuff blasted into your face, and of course simple bad luck. Think bad luck is not important? How about the last time you walked into a tree branch that was perfectly level with your head and scratched up your face? What about those psychotic little flies whose only purpose in life is to commit suicide by dive bombing your exposed eyeball, while you are busy doing something outside? Think that cannot happen at an inopportune moment? In the SHTF time, you will be outdoors alot more often than you are used to– possibly up to 24 hours per day. When I first thought of this, I went down to the local Salvation Army store and found three pairs of skiing goggles. I paid $3 for two pair and $3 for the third pair. This beat the pants off the surplus ones for $20. Considering that I plan to use sunglasses most of the time, it was still nice to find a cheap backup. I also use them when shooting. Sure I learned without them, but the little things have taught me better. I first started when I learned black powder. The guy who showed me, (yes, I had an enthusiast teacher) said that you never know 100% of the time what is going to happen. Sure, things are very well made, but a firearm is a controlled explosion. He put a cap on an empty chamber and fired it. That thing was mangled. He said that he had never been hit in the face with a fragment of brass, but he was never going to take the chance. I took that lesson to heart. Now, all shooting is done with glasses. I stopped shooting one brand that was made by a drunken gintaster in an un-named factory, because I noticed too many flattened primers and too many burnt casings, suggesting breach blowby potential. If that had happened, it may not destroy the firearm, but it can send oil droplets and dust (even rust flakes or carbon cakes, for those who do not clean their weapon properly), at high velocity into your face. This can seriously affect your health and well-being if that second shot is a must. As well, when reloading ALL steps can be dangerous. I have a quarter inch scar on my left index finger from trying to catch a dropped shotgun hull before it hit the ground. The primer burst with my hand beside it. Sometimes it is best to step back and let things fall. Things happen. Yes, I was wearing safety glasses. The reloading manuals all say that you should wear them at any time you handle propellants and primers. Left to my own devices, I did not know any form of commonsense as a child. I had many days without eyebrows. Looking back I am absolutely amazed that I did not take an eye out. I did have instruction about this though. My grandfather (may God rest his soul) was blinded in one eye during WW2. He would never even allow me to use a lawn mower without first putting on safety glasses or, at the very least, sun glasses. If you refused, you could not work at his farm. Grandfather had a tough life finding work, as a man with no depth perception. He always had a job, but he also had lost several in his life because the company would not allow a one-eyed man to work machinery. He used a glass eye, but eventually he was found out. It is not the same now, but back then that was life. I understand now why he was so upset when us, grandchildren, took unnecessary risks. He was trying to protect us from his life. He taught me to use my first gas power tools. When I got old enough to finally use a chainsaw, I automatically put on the glasses. I do not use just glasses anymore, because as anyone who has used a chainsaw knows pieces of wood fly everywhere. I worked in forestry for a while, and it was required that we use full face shields whenever we started up our saws. I found that the wire mesh one worked best, because in the summer it allowed a breeze to cool your face and did not fog with your sweat or breath. If you are buying your saw, go to a proper dealer. They will have these great helmets that have the shield and ear muff attachments. I may not work with a saw professionally, but I still keep this stuff for when I cut firewood. Now, even when fully blind one can be a productive member of society, and these changes are good. Making full use of people, instead of giving them pity or ignoring them, gives them good value and self determination. Discrimination is wrong, but what about after SHTF? If you loose an eye, are you going to be able to bag the wild game that your family needs to eat? If it is your shooting eye,can you protect yourself properly with one-half of your vision being a blind spot? What if you lose both eyes from some accident and suddenly have no way to properly support yourself or your family? Blindness will most likely be a death sentence for those after a SHTF situation. Those born that way will at least have the advantage of always being that way. You w ill have a learning curve that most likely will be insurmountable, unless you already have a large community or family that will be willing to take care of you and yours while you adjust. If your community has certain standards, they may only assist in a finite number of charity cases. Also, the government could use your situation as negative, in regards to who is useful versus who is not. I am sure that there are charts and triage requirements that say a one-eyed person has less value. It would be a shame to have to be separated from loved ones because they meet a certain criteria and you no longer do. Going back to eighteenth century medicine is not going to be easy. When you are on your own and cannot get a doctor to check out your pinkeye that you got because something got in there and infected it, you may loose your sight. Right now you buy your milk at the market. If the time comes that you must get it yourself, you will find very quickly that cows love to wrap their tails around your head while milking. Those tails, covered in dust and sometimes excrement, can put foreign matter into your eyes. This can very quickly turns out bad. Flushing them with warm milk does sometimes help clear up that infection, ironically. Several years ago my wife got metal splinters in her eye while at work. She was driven to the emergency room and got fixed up proper. It was an accident. This same accident, in a SHTF world, would have left me trying to use her eyebrow tweasers, while she screamed and flinched at every move I made. When you have no way to fix the problem, the best thing to do is try to prevent it the best way that you can before it can become a problem. Having some safety glasses or even sun glasses around, plus extras, can keep you in the habit of using them too. Just because it is a pain to go get them or that you lost them are no excuse, when it comes to protecting your eyes. I had an uncle who also lost an eye, but it was because he was too impatient to walk across his shop and get a pair of safety glasses.

Keeping yourself with vision (not visually impaired) in the future could require nothing more than simply spending a few dollars on a few items now that most of us never think about until it’s time that we need them.

Letter Re: Reloading Ammo

Hugh:

I was a little surprised at your comment “It is tough to reload cheaper than bulk ammo for pistol though” in your reply to CR’s letter. As an example, I reload .45ACP under 15 cents a round using 200 grain lead bullets from Missouri Bullet Company. The bullets are under 10 cents each, add a primer for 3 cents and 2 cents of powder, and there you are. I crank these out at 300-400 per hour on my progressive, at a leisurely pace.

I checked on ammo prices at the local farm store this afternoon and .45ACP is running 50 cents a round. Perhaps some can find it cheaper in bulk, but my prices for reloading are well under anything I’ve seen for .45ACP in bulk or otherwise.

I get a kick out of others watching me shoot my XD’s at the range, peeling off 10 rounds at a crack; they clearly think I’m independently wealthy to be able to shoot that much .45, but I always end up telling them how I can afford it– I reload.

To get the price down you have to buy in bulk– no 100-bullet orders, no 1-pound powder orders, no buying primers 100 at a time. I buy bullets in the thousands, powder by the 8# keg, and primers 5000 at a time. But Hugh, if you do it right, you can save a lot of money reloading or, as I do, shoot more than I otherwise could.

Of course, your mileage will vary; if you have Glocks with octagonal rifling, lead bullets aren’t advisable, and thus you may, if you like Glock, be forced to reload more expensive plated or FMJ bullets. But if you can reload lead, and use quality lubed bullets, you can save a ton, or shoot more.

Love the blog. Keep it up. – M.D.

HJL Replies: For your practice and fun ammo, you can reload on the cheap. However, the actual questions was about prepping ammo, which I understood to be ammo used primarily for the possible protection of your preps. For that ammo, you cannot run the brass into failure, nor can you spend time during the firefight collecting your brass so you can reload for the next assault. In those cases, your reloading costs are significantly higher because you generally need to use jacketed bullets, and you must have brass for every round you count. When reloading once-fired or new brass, your cost per round will only be slightly lower than domestically produced bulk ammo and may be higher than many imported ammo (in the standard 9mm or 45acp offerings). With other cartridges, YMMV. Handloaded rifle ammo is almost always less expensive, even when buying virgin brass.

Of course, once you have the investment in the reloading hardware, it’s difficult to let it sit idle when you need rounds, no matter what the cost.

Economics and Investing:

How many Americans live paycheck to paycheck? A nation living precariously close to the financial edge.

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Gold Doomed or Resting? Gold vs. Major Currencies; Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley Reiterate Sell Signal

Gold Doomed or Resting? Seldom is sentiment so bad for something that still appears to be a long-term bull market.

When in doubt, it pays to take the opposite side of what Goldman Sachs publicly says. Goldman has a history of not only being wrong but betting against its own recommendations. – P.S.

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Items from The Economatrix:

It’s Time To Ditch The Consumer Price Index (CPI)

Q1 Earnings Season Summary: More Than Half Have Missed Revenues

Keynesianism: The Road To Hell?

Initial Jobless Claims Beat; Continuing Claims At Lowest Since Dec 2007

Odds ‘n Sods:

New York gun owners shrug off tough new rules: What happens now?. – G.G.

The more people who standup to the tyranny, the more others will join them.

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First Connecticut Arrest for Unregistered Assault Rifle? – I expected that there would be an arrest at some point, which might trigger a valid challenge to the law in a court system, but illegally shooting squirrels in front of two police officers and then admitting to owning banned weapons wasn’t what I expected.

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IRS Among Agencies Using License Plate-Tracking Vendor . – PLC

As we expected to find, it isn’t just the LA police that consider ALL cars to be under investigation at all times.

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Western lawmakers gather in Utah to talk federal land takeover – P.M.

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The United States of SWAT?. – B.B.

With the militarization of every federal agency and every police force, we are seeing a rising number of situations where the agency is attempting to enforce things they have no right or real training to enforce. It seems eerily similar to the infamous “brown shirts”.