Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“If you are taught bitterness and anger, then you will believe you are a victim. You will feel aggrieved and the twin brother of aggrievment is entitlement. So now you think you are owed something and you don’t have to work for it and now you’re on a really bad road to nowhere because there are people who will play to that sense of victimhood, aggreivement and entitlement, and you still won’t have a job.” – Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice

Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 45 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize: A.) Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate, good for any one, two, or three course. (A $1,195 value.) B.) 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, and C.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $350 value.) D.) a $300 gift certificate from CJL Enterprize, for any of their military surplus gear, E.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $300 value), and F.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo. and G.) A $200 gift certificate, donated by Shelf Reliance.

Second Prize: A.) A gift certificate worth $1,000, courtesy of Spec Ops Brand, B.) A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training. Together, these have a retail value of $589. C.) A FloJak FP-50 stainless steel hand well pump (a $600 value), courtesy of FloJak.com. D.) A “grab bag” of preparedness gear and books from Jim’s Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR) with a retail value of at least $300, E.) A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials and F.) Two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Third Prize: A.) A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21. (This filter system is a $275 value.), B.) 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, C.) Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy. This is a $185 retail value, D.) A Commence Fire! emergency stove with three tinder refill kits. (A $160 value. E.) A Tactical Trauma Bag #3 from JRH Enterprises (a $200 value), and F.) Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security.

Round 45 ends on March 31st, 2013, 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.

Dealing With Mentally Unbalanced Trespassers, by Hearthkeeper

The biggest weakness in preparedness planning is not a forgotten survival item, or too few cartridges.  The invisible weakness is lack of real time experience   It’s one thing to say your going to raise your own food, and maybe you have all the seeds and tools to do it stored away.  But if you have never actually planted a huge garden and tried to live off it your first year is going to be full of failures (see: learning opportunities) that could be potentially deadly in real survival time.  The same goes for every aspect of survival and emergency situation response.  Personally I have always wondered how I would react in a real SHTF situation.  Would I freeze?  React too slowly?  Freak out?

Police agencies recommend that you think out potential dangerous situations frequently and plan how you would react.  Such as an intruder in your house, or someone trying to break through the door.  This helps when you actually are confronted by the situation.  My husband and I have talked about what we would do, and even discussed it to a certain extent with out daughter who is 15 so she can be safe and help keep her younger siblings safe while we deal with the situation.  She often complained about it because we have always lived in the country or in small rural towns.  I have tried to tell her that drugs are still just as much a problem in these kind of communities, but like most people, she thought that if you live in a small community is must be safer.  Most people do not realize that while the population is small, the statistical drug abuse rates and alcohol rates are as high or higher than large cities.

As a woman moreover, my concern is how I would react and effectively defend myself against a man coming onto my property or into my home and threatening me and my children while I’m alone.  I am a home-maker so I am alone with the children most of every day.  This is one reason I keep firearms as protection.  Guns have been called The Great Equalizer and for women this is especially true.  I know that when it comes to a confrontation with a man I am not going to win.  Men are bigger and stronger and no Politically Correct foolishness is going to change that fact.  My father stressed that women should know how to handle guns and carry one because violent crimes against woman are common.  He taught his daughters how to use all styles of firearms with proficiency and safety so while I wish that I lived in the world of puppies and rainbows I see the necessity to posses guns.

Yesterday morning started out just like normal.  I was making breakfast for my four children and drinking a cup of coffee.  Everything was fine and dandy when suddenly my four year old son said “Mommy a man just walked through our side yard!”  I was surprised and concerned since it was 7:00 in the morning and nobody should be in our yard.  I called to my husband, who was luckily still home.  If it had been 15 minutes later he would have been gone.  I told my husband what our four year old had said and after asking which way the man had gone, which was towards the back yard, he went out to take a look.

While all this was happening our amazing guard dog golden retriever was snoring gently in corner!  My husband first looked out that back window and sure enough a man was out at our chicken run.  He let me know that and then walked out to talk to the man.  Almost instantly he was back in the house.

“Lock the doors and call 911, he said, this guys is off his rocker”  The man was at that time trying to pull down our chicken fence and when my husband asked him what he was doing he said “This is a mirror and it must come down”.  He had no slurred speech and was walking just fine but my husband said the way he looked was extremely creepy.  The man was obviously on some sort of drugs or in the grips of a psychotic episode.  

My first thought was bath salts or spice, as both of those have been in the news allot.  People in the grips of these drugs are extremely dangerous as it can cause violent psychosis to the point where they strip off their clothes and attack people.  There have been constant and increasing reports across the country of people on these drugs not just attacking but also trying to eat other people!  They do not respond to pain and have unnatural strength.

Needless to say neither my husband or I wanted to get into a physical altercation with this man.  My husband monitored him through a window while I immediately got the children upstairs and into a secure room.  Our back door is very unsecure, I could probably break through it with one kick so I was concerned what would happen if this man tried to come in.  I also considered that this man may be armed and wanted my children as far away from flying bullets with as many walls between them as possible.  This took about 20 seconds and then I was calling 911.  I felt no fear or panic, just an eerie calm with very clear thinking.  Every thought of mine was to  keep my children safe and remove the threat from my family.  As soon as I got to the phone my husband went and got the pump action shotgun loaded with slugs.  He stood by the window and continued to watch the man and report what he was doing so I could then tell the 911 operator.  

After trying to rip down the fence the man was now hitting his head repeatedly against it.  I told the operator to warn the responding officers that the man appeared to be hallucinating.  Now my husband told me the man was shaking and twitching and had again switched to trying to tear the fence down.  

Within four minutes of the initial 911 call the officers were on our property, which is one of the great things about living in a small town.  As soon as they arrived and had engaged in conversation with the man my husband went and put the shotgun away.  No need to get into an uncomfortable discussion on our firearms.

The man went with the officers with no struggle thank goodness and we then gave our statements.  Apparently the man had been causing trouble all night but since the previous people had not wanted to press charges he was allowed to walk.  We pressed charges for trespassing simply because the man otherwise would have been let go to terrorize some other family.  In jail he would be evaluated and not let go till he sobered up off of whatever he had taken.

All in all I think we handled the situation just right with only a few mistakes.  The first mistake was my husband going out and confronting the man without any defensive weapons.  Due to the fact that people hyped up on street drugs are often impervious to pain and display extreme strength this could have been really bad if the guy had gone after my husband.  My husband is very physically fit and strong.  He also is pretty confident on handling dangerous situations, but if taken by the element of surprise he could have been overpowered before he could react.  I of course would have gotten the shotgun immediately and dealt with the situation but my husband would have been injured.

Also I should have been armed as well.  That way if the guy had gotten through my husband and the shotgun he wouldn’t have gotten through me.

The after-effects of this incident were what you would expect.  There was much soothing needed for my children, and we had to explain why the man was acting the way he did.  That night both me and my husband had a hard time sleeping.  Also my husband came up and hugged me right after the police left.  We had been having an ongoing marital debate about locked doors.  I always keep the doors double locked even though we live in a small town and this annoyed my husband when he would come home at night.  My statement every night was the same.  “I don’t want anyone able to just walk into my house!” to which he would then blow off as unnecessary paranoia.

After this incident however he told me that if he ever gave me trouble about the locked doors again I was to punch him in the face!

During this whole incident I certainly felt concerned, but not panicked   The main reason for this was because both my husband and I are armed and know how to use them.  This man was not getting into our house.  This gave me a real calmness.  I cannot imagine what I would have felt like if we had not been armed and had to rely on nothing more than a locked door to protect us.  I have been teased often by anti gun family members about my penchant for carrying defence weapons.  But as I have heard stated many times before you don’t need a gun until you really need a gun.  And then if you don’t have one you are screwed.

What really disturbed me was what would have happened if one of my children had gone outside to feed the animals like they usually do while that man was out there.  They would have tried talking to him not realizing he was unbalanced.

I definitely recommend planning out what you would do in situations like these. It is so important to think out your priorities and who does what in a crises.  From our previous discussions it helped us spring to action and not panic.

As a last note we are this very weekend re-enforcing our back door so that it will take more than a hard tug to get through it.

Letter Re: Retreat Properties in Southwestern Oregon

James,
In response to C.D.’s letter “Advice on Retreat Properties in Southwestern Oregon” found here:

I would suggest this person change their retreat property search to just east of “the hill”. Klamath County and Lake County are within driving distance to allow continued work in Medford during the week (if renting in Medford) and travel to the retreat on weekends. I would suggest triangulating a search between Klamath Falls, Lakeview, and Bend (Deschutes County) or Prineville (Crook County). Personally, I set the western edge of the Redoubt at the eastern edge of the Cascades.

There are several advantages to these counties:
1. Significantly lower property prices.
2. Lower property tax rates.
3. Significantly lower population density.
4. Less intrusive county governments. The difference is stark. See
these:
http://personalliberty.com/2012/07/30/man-arrested-for-collecting-rainwater-on-his-property/

http://www.heraldandnews.com/breaking/article_945b079e-5ff9-11e2-b8ab-001a4bcf887a.html

5. More traditional conservative values. Less statist views among the people. Preparedness as a way of life – not something new.
6. Less trafficked area (no I-5 corridor).
7. Not within 100 miles of the border – AKA the DHS “civil rights free zone”.
8. High gun ownership rate. (Too many people west of the Cascades support gun control.)
9. High concentration of “awake” people. More Gadsden flags per square mile than anywhere I have been, and I have traveled a lot.
10. Less “polluted” with “Californian” influence.
11. Colder climate deters golden horde refugees in winter. Cascades serve as a natural barrier to the west. (And the Sierras do the same to
the south.)
12. Fewer pot growers.
13. Still has significant agricultural base.
14. More NFS land than Jackson county.
15. A local population that is willing to fight back when they think they are being wronged. See:
http://www.klamathbucketbrigade.org/a_history_of_KBB.htm

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2535654/

Along with some disadvantages:
1. Potentially less economic opportunity.
2. Weather is not as favorable for food production; shorter growing season.
3. There are still some pot growers here.
4. Water is less plentiful, and in some areas can be problematic. See:
http://www.theclimategatebook.com/dam-idiots-caught-using-junk-science-on-klamath-river/

http://www.myoutdoorbuddy.com/fishing_hunting_water_report.php?water=705

http://www.klamathbasincrisis.org/

http://www.klamathbucketbrigade.org/

Take care. – B., from the (hopefully) southwest corner of the Redoubt

Letter Re: Appendicitis and TEOTWAWKI

Regarding the discussion about appendicitis – While it is definitely not something you want to try at home, in 1961, Soviet physician Leonid Rogozov, removed his own appendix. He was the only physician in a Soviet Antarctic expedition station. In the words of a Russian account:

“At night, on the 30th of April, 1961, the surgeon was being helped by a mechanical engineer and a meteorologist who were giving him the medical instruments and holding a small mirror at his belly. Laying half bent on the left side, the doctor made a local anesthesia with novocaine solution and made a 12cm incision in the right iliac region with a scalpel. Either watching in the mirror or by touch he removed an inflamed appendix and injected antibiotic in the abdominal cavity. In 30 or 40 minutes from the beginning of the operation there developed a faint and giddiness and the surgeon had to make pauses for some rest. Nevertheless, by midnight the operation lasting 1 hour and 45 minutes was over. In five days the temperature normalized, in two days more – the stitches were taken out.”

There are few survival stories that can top that one. – Stephen in Florida

Letter Re: Insulin Dependent Diabetics When TSHTF

Sir,
Like so many others, I thank you for all that you and your family do with SurvivalBlog. It is immensely helpful. I just caught up on a bunch of recent posts related to diabetic preps and thought I’d toss in my 2 cents’ worth.

For the record: I am a (female) type 1 diabetic, diagnosed at age 13 and currently in my mid-thirties. The info below is based entirely on my own 20+ years of personal experience; I am not in any way a medical or pharmaceutical professional. As always, consult a medical professional if you need advice regarding diabetes management – YMMV.

I am currently taking Lantus once daily (basal dose) and Humalog with every meal (bolus dose, thrice daily). I am personally still a little freaked out by needles (can apply them to myself, but prefer to do so as minimally as possible), thus the idea of having an insulin pump semi-permanently attached is not appealing. I am still old-school, with syringes & vials (this becomes important later). I test my blood sugars before every meal, and keep a written record to help spot patterns of highs or lows, so that I can adjust my dosages accordingly.

When I started contemplating diabetes management and long-term preparedness, two problems stood out: the ability to acquire a stash of meds, and the ability to store them. I’ll address these in that order.

How does one acquire even a minimal store of vital meds when severely constrained by both budget and insurance bureaucracy? A sympathetic doctor is very helpful if you can find one (mine is only a phone call away; I usually address him as “Dad,” and he’s on board with the whole prepping thing), but there’s not much he can do if my insurance won’t play along. The thing that helped me the most in building up a supply of insulin is the fact that one vial of insulin lasts me more than one month, but less than two. Ditto test strips for the glucose meter. The idea is to refill like clockwork every month, whether you need to or not. Over time your stash will accumulate ahead of your actual usage. You may be able to refill every three or four weeks, instead of monthly (gives you at least one extra month’s supply every year) – ask your pharmacist, or just go up to the counter and try it. If it’s too soon for your insurance to pay out again, they will tell you when to come back. Note that this probably won’t work for pills – they know exactly how many of those you will use in a given time frame. I use this strategy for test strips, too – they are just a little cheaper on prescription with a copay than OTC (over the counter), although if you have the budget for it you can just walk up and ask for them. Store brands work just as well as the big names, as long as you have the meter to match.

Other supplies (syringes, alcohol swabs, lancets, extra/replacement meters) are readily available OTC, and should be part of your regular prepping budget just like water, food, and other goods. Do the math on how many you use in a day/week/month, multiply by how long your prepping time frame is (i.e. 3 weeks/3 months/3 years), and build up to your goal. Extra alcohol swabs are good to have in the first aid stores anyway; I keep my spare meter(s) in a Faraday cage, with the rest of the last-ditch electronics.

Once you have it, how do you store it? FYI, I personally break a LOT of rules. See disclaimer above re: medical advice. The micro-print on the insert tells you to keep insulin at 36-46 F if unopened, below 86 or refrigerated after opening, and that you must discard the stuff 28 days after you open it, regardless of whether the vial is empty. And don’t freeze it, either. Expiration dates on my refills are nearly two years from date of purchase.

I have NEVER discarded a drop of insulin just because it was 28 days old. My vials last about 40 days, and I have never had a problem. The vial currently in use rides around in my purse, at room temperature, the entire time. Still no problems. Last year, I started to carry spares of each type, in addition to the ones currently in use, with me at all times. This means that by the time I finish one, rotate the spare into use, then use it up, it has spent 80-100 days out of refrigeration, at room temp. STILL no problems.

A word about grid-down: you really can’t let this stuff freeze, and it will denature (become completely inert and useless) above 80-86. If you are caught out in winter weather, remember to keep your insulin warmish but not clear up to body temperature. Try a pocket; in the BOB/GHB is probably a bad idea. If you are dealing with summer temperatures and need to keep it cool, IT JUST HAS TO STAY BELOW 80. Do a web search on “Frio case” for a nifty little portable evaporative cooling pouch (I am not affiliated or compensated in any way, just a satisfied customer). There are other companies with similar products. For medium-term grid-down, I have a cooler-sized propane-powered fridge; a root cellar would be a more permanent, less fuel-dependent option. I would not care to test both expiration dates AND temperature tolerances with my entire store of meds. I have yet to push past an expiration date, but I figure that slightly expired insulin has to be better than no
insulin at all. I appreciate the input from an earlier poster on the subject.

A word about BOB/GHB: don’t forget the extra syringes! You may be able to get away without finger sticks for a couple of days, but don’t try skipping the shots. And for crying out loud, throw alcohol swabs in so you can keep the whole process clean. You should carry enough to match the quantity of insulin you carry around every day. For me, that’s about 50-90 days.

A word about syringes and lancets: I break the rules, big time. I reuse both of these items, and have for more than a decade with no ill effects (no infection, no noticeable difference in site irritation). Lantus does not play well with others (I can’t mix it in the syringe with another type of insulin), so I use one Lantus needle every two days. I keep that vial and syringe tucked in same interior pocket of my purse, next to my spare vials. I use one other needle for all three of my daily Humalog injections, and one lancet for all three (or more) daily blood tests. So I go through three syringes and two lancets in two days, plus six test strips and alcohol swabs. I originally did this on a purely economic basis – I couldn’t afford to blow through four syringes and three of everything else, every single day. Now I’m just used to it, and why spend more than I have to? You may not want to take measures this extreme (and if you are prone to infections or irritation at your injection sites, DO NOT ATTEMPT this). It may come in handy if you need to stretch your supplies.

A word about insulin pumps: I don’t use one, so don’t take only my word for it. But I have heard from those who do that the cartridges must be discarded every three days, empty or not, due to risk of infection. This would make it difficult or impossible to sneak your supply ahead of your usage. And my dad (who has spent his career in emergency medicine, and is an EMS medical director) has confided that he is glad I’ve never gotten one, because they seem to be associated with a higher risk of hypoglycemic reactions. I know there are a lot of people out there who love their pumps and wouldn’t go back to vials/syringes for anything, but IMHO insulin pumps are not the best choice for preparedness.

One more thing. Diabetes management is a three-way balancing act with medication, food, and exercise. We all know we’d be better off eating right, exercising, yada yada blah blah blah. I did not realize what a dramatic difference that last one would make until I started self-defense classes last summer. My insulin requirements started to drop almost immediately; at this point, my dose is down twenty percent across the board! And still falling! (I’m getting ready for a belt test this month.) And I’ve lost two clothing sizes! And I know how to put fingers, fists, feet, elbows, knees, heel palms, head butts, and shins into an attacker’s soft tissue, from a crazy number of vantage points! (Yes, it’s krav maga. “We do bad things to bad people.”) Bottom line, getting in shape is part of both diabetes management and emergency preparedness. Find something you like, that is useful and fun, that you will stick with.

Thanks for reading; hope it comes in handy.
Keep your powder dry and your insulin cool! – Sarah in Missouri

News From The American Redoubt:

The folks at Bison Barrels (near Gillette, Wyoming) also make complete custom rifles.

   o o o

Of Plowshares and Swords. “We happy farmers of the American Redoubt…”

   o o o

Some eastern Idaho schools to get gun safes. (Thanks to R.B.S. for the link.)

   o o o

House clears bill protecting Idaho-made firearms

   o o o

Black Dog Machine down in Nampa, Idaho is making magazines as fast as they can, without sacrificing quality control. Their web site still shows that they have some of their .22LR magazines for ARs and 10/22s stock.

Economics and Investing:

U.S. Game Changing Renewable – Geothermal Power. Note that the preponderance of the nation’s geothermal potential is in the Rocky Mountain States and the Intermountain West. The American Redoubt just keeps looking better….

Signs of the Times: Food stamps put Rhode Island town on monthly boom-and-bust cycle

Could The “Cyprus Fiasco” Occur In The U.S.?

Brian S. like this piece by Charles Hugh Smith: The Deeper Meanings of Cyprus

A 15% Haircut for Italian depositors? Tyler Durden of Zero Hedge mentioned this quote in a Handelsblatt newspaper article from Commerzbank chief economist Jörg Krämer: “‘So it would make sense, in Italy a one-time property tax levy.’ suggested the Bank economist. ‘A tax rate of 15 percent on financial assets would probably be enough to push the Italian government debt to below the critical level of 100 percent of gross domestic product.'” See the original Handelsblatt article here and an automated translation here.

Items from The Economatrix:

Jim Sinclair:  Gold Is Going To Take Out $1,600

Former US Treasury Official – US Financial System To Collapse

Forced Loans They Can Take Your Money Giving You {Worthless} Government Bonds

Odds ‘n Sods:

Emergency Essentials is continuing their semi-annual Mountain House Sale.  All Mountain House cans are priced 20-25% off.  The sale is for one week only, ending the night of March 21st at midnight. 

   o o o

D.C. recommended this: An Orwellian America

   o o o

Pantry Paratus has recently added American-made Chop Rite brand grinders and presses to their catalog. These are made in America and have been since the late 1800s. In fact, if anyone has an old antique Enterprise brand meat grinder, that is the company’s original name and all of the replacement parts and attachments are still available. These grinders can be used for meat, fruit, or nuts. They are Old School, and built to last. A good quality grinder is a must for off-grid living, and in the event of dental problems as a jaw injury, they could be a lifesaver. (They will chew when you can’t.)

   o o o

Reader Tim R. sent: Zimbabwean police are interrogating young children (aged 4-6) at school about whether their parents have radios. The police are confiscating wind up radios in night time raids.

   o o o

RBS sent us some BigGov warnings that sound a lot like descriptions of normal folks: Complete post of FBI Terrorist Watchlist Pamphlets

Note from JWR:

Congratulations are in order for Joel Skousen, who by God’s Grace recently walked away from the crash of his Glasair kit plane, in in a forced rough field landing, following a fuel system failure. The crash landing occurred last Tuesday near Spanish Fork, Utah, on the return leg of cross country flight to Las Vegas. Joel was a fighter pilot in the Vietnam era, and has had countless hours of stick time as a private pilot, ever since. He kept a cool head in the incident, and that helped save his life. His plane was thoroughly pranged, but he walked away with nary a scratch. Joel Skousen is well-respected and well known to SurvivalBlog readers as one of founding fathers of the modern preparedness movement. He is the author of the excellent books Strategic Relocation–North American Guide to Safe Places and The Secure Home.

Pat’s Product Review: SIG-Sauer M400 Enhanced

1

Without a doubt, the hottest selling long-gun these days is some sort of AR-15/M4 type of gun. Thanks to the efforts of anti-gunners like Dianne Feinstein and Barack Obama, with their proposed bans on certain classes or types of firearms, there has been a run on these types of guns that has never been seen before. With looming threats of banning certain types of firearms, as well as magazines over 10 rounds, the American People are waking up, and are spending their hard-earned money on what they presume will be banned or regulated. Without a doubt, this has led to a buying frenzy, like no other in firearms in history to the best of recollection. This has also led to a shortage of ammunition, the likes we have never seen before, and I suspect it will take the ammo companies a couple years to catch-up with supply and demand. The hottest-selling ammo right now is .22 LR followed by .223 Rem/5.56mm and then 9mm – however, most calibers are in short supply these days. Retail prices on ammo has about doubled or even tripled in may instance. Some mail-order ammo reseller companies have completely ripped-off their customers – what used to cost $150 now cost almost a $1,000 for certain types of ammo. I hope that SurvivalBlog readers are taking note of which companies are doing this, and won’t throw their business to these companies. I know I won’t!
 
For the past three months, I’ve been testing the SIGSauer M400 Enhanced version of their M4-type carbine. This is, for some reason, one of the most in-demand M4-type rifles on the market these days. At my local Wal-Mart, they usually carry a SIG-Sauer M400 in-stock. However with the recent buying frenzy, these firearms go out the door as fast as they come in. For several months now, there have been customers camped out in the sporting goods department of my local Wal-Mart store. They arrive early in the morning, and borrow some folding chairs from the camping section, and sit at the gun counter, waiting for UPS or FedEx to arrive with a few M400 guns. Some days none arrive, and some days only a few arrive.
 
I requested the M400 Enhanced version, because I wanted something a little bit different. The Enhanced version comes with a flat-top receiver, that has a fold-down rear sight. It is also equipped with MagPul Original Equipment (MOE) furniture – butt stock, pistol grip and forend. I like the look and feel of the MagPul furniture, especially their butt stocks. The M400 also comes with a MagPul 30 round magazine. (An aside: You had better get plenty while you still can. MagPul is located in Colorado, and they have promised to move from that state, if they enact a ban on magazines over 15 rounds. If MagPul does indeed move, it will take quite a while for them to set-up shop again, so get some of these mags while they are still available – or before they get banned by the FedGov with some of their looney legislation that has been proposed.)
 
The M400 is a 5.56mm caliber rifle, that can also handle .223 Remington, and FYI they are not the same caliber. If you happen to have a rifle that is a .223 Remington caliber, do not shoot 5.56mm ammo through it without consulting the manufacturer’s web site!  The M400 is also direct impingement via a gas tube, just like the original AR-15s are. Overall length is 35.6-inches long with the stock fully open, and 32.5-inches with the stock fully closed. The barrel is 16-inches long with a 1 in 7 inch twist, so you can fire some heavier bullets. The gun weighs in at 6.7-pounds and the trigger pull is stated at 7.8-pounds, but my sample felt much lighter than that, with no over-travel or grittiness at all. There is also a flash suppressor on the end of the barrel and the barrel has a unique shape to it – not quite M4-ish, nor is is plain, either – check it out on the web site. The barrel is forged with a phosphate coating on the outside, and chrome-lined inside, that helps it stand-up to harsh weather conditions. The lower receiver is forged aluminum – 7075-T6!
 
Okay, so we have a very well made M4-type of carbine, but what sets it apart from any other similar carbine, by any number of makers? Well, that’s a good question, and first of all, it is manufactured by SIG-Sauer, so you know the quality and workmanship is there – just like it is in all SIG products. You can also get a plain-Jane version without the MagPul MOE furniture on it, for a little less money. And, the Enhanced version comes with black furniture, OD green or tan – my sample was black. For the slight difference in price between the plain-Jane M400 and the Enhanced version – go with the enhanced version.
 
We have a couple unique features on the M400 that set it apart from other M4-type of firearms. First of all, we have a tensioning device in the lower receiver – this is a spring-loaded pin, that takes any slack out of the upper and lower receiver – no rattling between the upper and lower, and the upper and lower are perfectly matched, too. A lot of AR-type guns require a little rubber tensioning device that you insert into the lower, to take-up the slack between the upper and lower receivers to the two parts don’t rattle. Secondly, there is a spring loaded pin in the upper receiver, that goes into the chamber, and this applies pressure to the extractor that is in the bolt. What purpose could this serve? Well, one of the parts that wears out or breaks is the extractor. With this spring-loaded pin, keeping pressure on the extractor, it allows a good bite on the rim of a round, and this aids in extraction. It also helps keep the extractor from blowing out, should you have a hot round that might let loose – bringing your gun to a deadly stop – when you don’t need it to. So, two really great ideas were incorporated into the M400 by SIG. They also incorporated a ambidextrous magazine release. And, they also have ambidextrous mounting points on the lower receiver for installing a single-point sling. Here’s where I have a complaint. SIG didn’t include any type of sling, not even a mil-spec two-point sling. And, if you want to mount a single-point sling on your M400, you have to purchase the little sling adaptor that snaps into one of these two mounting holes. Come on, SIG, you could at least have included a cheap $5 mil-spec sling or gone the extra mile and included some type of single-point sling with the mounting hardware.
 
With the ammo shortages we are seeing these days, it’s even a bit hard for gun writers, to lay their hands on sample ammo, and I’m no different than any other writer – it’s hard to get ammo these days, but my usual suppliers came through for me. From Winchester Ammunition, I had their USA brand 55-grain FMJ ammo – which I like to use when testing an AR-type gun for function – and I run through several magazines as fast as I can pull the trigger – no malfunctions at all with the M400. From Buffalo Bore Ammunition I had their superb 69-grain JHP Sniper load – which is always an outstanding performer. From the good folks at Black Hills Ammunition, I had quite an assortment of ammo. I had their 55-grain FMJ reloads as well as brand-new ammo. Their 52-grain Hornady V-Max, 55-grain Soft Point, 60-grain Soft Point, in reloaded and brand-new ammo, their 68-grain Match HP and lastly, their 75-grain Heavy Match Hollow Point (HP) load. In all, over a three month period, I burned-up close to 1,000-rounds of ammo – again, something I regret doing, as replacing all that ammo is hard to do right now, but I’m still begging!
 
My M400 sample didn’t much like the Black Hills 52-grain V-Max load, and I suspect its because of the 1 in 7 inch barrel twist, which is more suited for heavier loads – but this load still came in at around 3.5 inches at 100-yards if I did my part.The Black Hills 55-grain FMJ, 55-grain Soft Point and 60-grain soft point loads all came in slightly under 3-inches – not bad, but not as good as I expected. The Black Hills 68-grain Heavy Match HP starting shrinking my groups under 2-inches, again if I did my part – and my accuracy testing took place over 3-months, in all types of weather conditions. Things started to get very interesting when I fired the Buffalo Bore 69-grain JHP Sniper load – I was getting groups about 1.5-inches, and I was starting to get impressed with the M400 sample. However, when I tested the Black Hills 75-grain Heavy Match HP load, I consistently got groups under an inch and a half. Again, I shot in all types of weather, and some days were better than others in the accuracy department. I did manage some groups under an inch and a half with the Buffalo Bore 69-grain JHP Sniper load, but the Black Hills 75-grain Heavy Match HP load was ever so slightly more accurate in my M400 sample.
 
I’d like to see SIG-Sauer offer the M400 with either a 1 in 7 inch barrel twist, as well as a 1 in 9 inch barrel twist. I believe the 1 in 9 barrel twist would give better performance with lighter bullets, like the Black Hills 52-grain Hornady V-Max load and even lighter loads. And, the 1 in 9 barrel can still handle bullets up to about 69-grains a little bit better than the 1 in 7 barrel could – in my humble opinion. However, when going over 69-grain bullet weight, you’d want the 1 in 7 barrel twist. Now, I will say that, during all my testing, I never once cleaned my M400 sample and I had no malfunctions. I was also testing Italian Gun Grease lube in the M400, and found it to hold up quite well over several months of testing. Now, seeing as how I never cleaned the M400 during all my testing, I know the barrel was getting dirty and fouled – so this could have contributed to accuracy not up to par with some of the ammo tested. I think, with proper maintenance, and a good break-in period, and proper barrel “seasoning” the M400 will be a pretty consistent shooter in the accuracy department with most bullet weights getting you 2.5 inch groups on a regular basis. Of course, the different bullet weights also shoot to a different point of aim – I zeroed the M400 for a 55-grain bullet at 100-yards. Needless to say, some rounds hit dead-on, some slightly lower and some slightly higher. But the groupings were there – the gun can shoot and it shoots quite well – and I was only using the open sights – not a scope mounted on the gun – and you can easily mount a scope or red dot sight on the flat-top receiver.
 
Now for the bad news, the M400 is hard to come by right now – even at your local Wal-Mart. And, I’ve been checking some of the gun selling web sites, like GunBroker.com, and people have been going crazy bidding or buying the M400 – over the past couple of months. The M400 has been selling for $1,800 to as much as $2,400 while the suggested full bolt retail is only $1,234.00 on the SIG web site, That can be attributed to supply and demand. Again, some gun sellers are taking advantage of the short supply and jacking-up their prices on anything AR or AK these days. I have no problem with a gun dealer making a decent profit, but when they go way above and beyond, and rip people off because of shortages, I simply won’t do business with them. And, the M400 is probably one of the most in-demand M4-type carbines out there right now, and they are still a bit hard to come by, but prices have started to come down a little bit. And, if you want to camp out in your local Wal-Mart sporting goods department, you might possibly get your own M400 for under the suggested retail price. Much as I don’t like Wal-Mart, I will applaud them for not taking advantage of the current supply and demand, and they have kept their prices where they were before all this market turmoil started last December.
 
Overall, I was very favorably impressed with my SIG-Sauer M400 Enhanced sample, and I’m keeping it. Now all I have to do is find the funds to pay for my sample, but one thing is certain, it will not be going back to SIG. The gun is well-made, has some features other M4-type carbines don’t have, is quick handling, and the accuracy is there, with a variety of ammo. So, if you’re in the market for a well-made and popular M4-type of gun, give the SIG-Sauer M400 a close look – if you can even find one. And, if you do find one, don’t hesitate, buy it ‘because if you put it down, the guy next to you will buy it right out from under you. – SurvivalBlog Field Gear Editor Pat Cascio  

Harry’s Book Review: Ashfall by Mike Mullin

Book Title: Ashfall
Author: Mike Mullin
Copyright Date: 2011
Publisher: Tanglewood Publishing Inc.
ISBN: 978-1-933718-55-2
Audio, e-book or foreign translation avail? Yes–Kindle
Suitable for children? Perhaps late teens, but very dependant on the values you want to pass on to them.

Ashfall is the first book in a trilogy of novels by Mike Mullin. This is a story of what the world could look like if Yellowstone blew up, portrayed through the eyes of a 15/16 year old boy who must quickly become a man in order to survive.

Alex Halprin is alone in his home in Cedar Falls Iowa on a Friday evening when the blast happens. His family had left earlier that day to visit an uncle’s
farm in Warren Illinois, but Alex had refused to go along with them on account of his disdain for the smelly farm. Alex much preferred the idea of staying home and playing World of Warcraft. His parents decided it wasn’t worth yet

The author makes it clear that Alex isn’t exactly a pleasure to live with. He regards his little sister as a brat and argues with his mom on everything.
It is also somewhat telling that his parents left him without any “admonition(s) against wild parties and booze. Mom knew my social life too well, I guess. A couple of geeks and a board game I might manage; a great party with hot girls and beer would have been beyond me, sadly.” (p.3)

Alex does have one well earned source of pride however: A display case of ten Taekwondo belts, from white to black. The skills those represent are the one thing going for him in the book.

SPOILERS AHEAD!

That Friday night while mining gold in World of Warcraft Alex feels a bit of a tremor, which was odd because earthquakes are not the norm in Iowa, and then the power goes out. Suddenly there is a loud crack and the floor under Alex tilts and he finds himself sliding across the floor where he ends up trapped when his desk follows him to the wall, leaving him in a little triangular cavern. It is only a minute before he smells smoke and feels the wall behind him beginning to warm up. It takes everything he has to escape this predicament, but he manages to get out and find that part of the house is fine, but the part he was in is on fire. Finding that the neighbors’ cell phones do not work he runs the six blocks to the fire station. No one’s phone or radio works there either, but Alex is able to prevail on the firefighters to come and put out the fire at his home.

Once the fire is out the situation can be assessed. Something evidently fell from the sky and hit Alex’s home. (There is room for some scientific debate
about this, but the author makes mention of the science behind this in the afterword.) The rest of the homes in his neighborhood all seem fine, but no one
has any power or phone service of any type.

Alex’s mom had evidently asked Darren and Joe, the gay couple next door, to keep an eye on Alex while the family was gone. His own home partially destroyed, Alex goes to stay with them. At this point the noise begins. It is a wave of sound that hits like a gust of wind and sounds like endless, exceptionally loud thunder. It is literally painful and makes conversation impossible. The noise keeps going all night long and is still there in the morning. Except, along with the noise, there is ash. It is not until lunchtime that the noise stops, but the ash keeps coming, along with the smell of rotten eggs. Then the noise starts again around dinner time. There are several more hours of the thunder, plus endless ash. Once the noise finally abates, then comes rain. The mix of water and ash creates a new set of problems. A crash outside the house reveals the gutters and eaves pulled off one side of the house. Within minutes the same thing happens on the other side. And trying to walk in the wet ash is all but impossible. It is like walking in wet cement.

The next morning Joe decides to excavate the barbecue grill from under the ash and set to work cooking the food which has begun thawing in the freezer. The food is a heavenly respite, but while napping that afternoon someone starts banging on the front door. When Joe opens the door in rush three thugs armed with a baseball bat, a length of chain and a tire iron. The ensuing fight ends with an enraged Darren shooting the thugs with a pistol and Alex fleeing to escape the nightmare.

The only problem is, the world into which he flees is no better than that which he left behind.

His shoes lost in the muck while fleeing, he quickly realizes he has no place to go, but he knows he doesn’t want to return to the blood soaked home of Darren and Joe. The best option he can come up with is his own ruined home. There he changes into his father’s clothes and shoes. His bicycle a failure in the wet ash, he ends up finding his father’s old cross country skis and sets off to find his way to Warren Illinois.

His first stop is the taekwondo dojang where he hopes to pick up his training weapons for the sake of self defense. He finds the studio looted and trashed,
but does manage to find his instructor’s bo staff. Conflicted as to whether or not she would mind, but deciding that circumstances are anything but normal, he sets off for what will be an extremely challenging and arduous trip.

That’s a summary of about the first seventy pages.

Hopefully it is evident that this book addresses a potential reality and survival challenge. The subject matter is relevant to the SurvivalBlog audience, however, I would be remiss if I did not also inform this audience that the novel does not uphold the same values as are promoted on SurvivalBlog.
It is not a matter of language or explicit behavior, but more a matter of modern social values.

The first thing to strike me was the gay neighbors and the mother’s choice of them for keeping an eye on her son while out of town. I can’t see how it added anything to the plot, and in spite of all the noise that is made by those of such a persuasion they still constitute a substantial minority. It is a
noticeable choice on the part of the author.

I then noticed the replacement of traditional male role models with females. It started with the taekwondo instructor and is continued with a mayor and Darla, Alex’s travel companion. Throughout the novel, anyone helpful or capable of making wise decisions is female. Most males encountered are either villains or largely helpless geeks. One or two of these situations might have been discounted as coincidence, but by the end of the novel it is a fairly consistent pattern. The only males who did not fit the pattern are the gay couple at the beginning and the uncle who we meet at the very end, and the uncle is portrayed as a fuddy-duddy.

It was also remarkable that Alex missed his mom so much, but had very little to say about his dad. If anything, his dad was nothing more than a benign
background character in Alex’s life. At the age of fifteen Alex was able to wear his dad’s pants and fill his dad’s shoes.

Religion is also cast in an unfavorable light. The first example is the Baptist church in Cedar Falls. They were all gathered together on the roof of their
building where they were waiting for Jesus to come save them. It is pretty clear the author doesn’t view these as rational folks.

Later on Alex is rescued and kept alive by a Christian woman and her daughter. Nothing bad is said about this woman, but she dies a most horrible and degrading death at the hand of the vilest of the villains.

The last contact with anyone religious is in the FEMA camp where the Baptists are feeding the children. The one lady who seems like she could be able to help just up and disappears with no real explanation as to why. In short, God comes across as useless in this novel.

The last issue with regard to values is that which seems to be the ultimate goal of the novel: The boy gets the girl. Except in this book, the symbol of
success is not a pair of rings, but rather a pair of condoms.

Given the values represented in this book I cannot recommend it to anyone in my family. For others these perspectives may not matter, but for the sake of the standards upheld on SurvivalBlog I believe they do. Be advised.

Letter Re: A Lesson About Rat Poison

Sir,
Thank you for your service and for your tremendous witness and testimony shown through your blog!
I am not an expert on poison, but a recent event made me realize this is probably an important topic to cover on this forum. My forum searches did not produce anything on this subject.

About a month ago, my daughters small dog wondered into the garage while I was taking out the trash. When I went back into the living room I found him eating something green… which turned out to be an old rat poison bait he found in the corner of the garage. Knowing these can kill in a single feeding (he’s very small) I rushed him to the all night emergency animal clinic with the remains of the poison cube in a small Ziploc. They asked me what type of poison he ate and I produced the green cube. They said they are all green and that there were no tests available to determine what kind it contained. One type was treatable and the others weren’t. Fortunately they were able to make him throw up and basically empty everything from his stomach. I have been treating him with supplements (just in case) for a month and he is doing great.
Here are the key lessons that I learned… If you are storing food and decide to place poison with the storage and on the approaches:
1.      know the exact poison you are using
2.      keep the original boxes just in case
3.      know the treatments and be prepared to administer
4.      place them in a way protected from children and pets
5.      monitor them regularly
There are many different kinds of poisons available for rats/mice/etc. It is my recommendation to only use a type that IS treatable. These may not be as fast working, but at least you have a chance to save a child or pet.
A common type of poison I found that is treatable is called Brodifacoum – which should be listed as the primary active ingredient. There are many brands that offer this product. This type is highly lethal (4 to 5 days) and attacks the body’s production of vitamin K causing the blood to lose its ability to clot. As with my daughters dog, you may be able to treat an exposed animal by forcing them to throw up and giving them vitamin K supplements twice a day. I purchased some beef flavored vitamin K tablets from my vet to ensure he would eat them and that he received the proper dose. Note that this poison is 2nd generation.. so it lasts much longer in the body (from 20 to 130 days) than older similar types. My vet felt we successfully emptied his stomach and that I had caught him before he ingested much at all, so she recommend I treat him with supplements twice a day for 30 days just to be safe.
I’m sure there are many readers who have more knowledge on this subject and particularly the medical aspects of human ingestion. I look forward to their comments.

If someone decides to use poison and has any doubt at all about the type you have… I recommend that you throw it all away. Start over with something you know is treatable and obtain the treatment. – J.W.M.

Letter Re: Real Estate Prices in the American Redoubt?

Mr. Rawles,
Now that you’re recommending we all vote with our feet and move to the American Redoubt, it seems you have created a demand that is causing prices to rise in those areas. How are those of us who wish to stay out of debt supposed to pay upwards of $300-400,000 for a retreat? – Barb in the Frozen Mid-West

JWR Replies: I only have about 300,000 readers. Of those, less than 5% are likely to make a move to the Redoubt, so their impact will have a negligible impact on housing prices.

The bargain retreat properties are remote and either off-grid or outside of commute distance to any large employers. Many suitable retreats can be found at our spin-off site: SurvivalRealty.com.

Also be sure to watch for foreclosure and short sale listings.  There are some bargains out there!