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.

OPSEC and the Dangers of People You Thought Were Like-Minded, by R.S.O. in Arizona

Operational Security (OPSEC) has been around since the first Stone Age battles were fought. In an effort to provide the element of surprise and in order to keep what one had only those that need to know where told. I have always considered my friends and/or people I associate with and of what I considered similar moral fortitude worthy of my trust when it came to discussion of prepping. However I have recently discovered that not everyone is of the same mindset.

First a little back ground on me. I moved out at 18 and went on to higher education like many. I worked part time retail jobs and went to school then I was in a motorcycle accident and couldn’t get thing back on track. I joined the U.S. Army and served 2-1/2 years as an Airborne Infantryman (11B1P) and unit Armorer. After an Honorable medical discharge, I moved home and after two months living with mom and dad and not being able to find a job. I worked in the retail firearms industry for some very big names for more than eight years. I then followed my dream of a career in Law Enforcement where I have been for the last five years.

This is not your typical OPSEC that we are talking about. You know where you don’t let the boxes from your favorite long term storage company or the new big screen television stick out of the trash can. This is OPSEC regarding people you invite into your home. Whether they are family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, business professionals you deal with on a regular basis people you share common hobbies with and that may seem to have the same ethical way of thinking. The people who given the opportunity do the right thing do the right thing in our non-state of emergency day to day life. They buy the homeless person a burger, help the little old lady put the gallon of milk in her car, are in a job that is for the benefit of society, they may be Doctors, Law Enforcement, Military, or Fire Fighters. You know the types people who help people in their day to day lives.

I was recently told by an individual that I held to a higher standard than most people in the community, that he and another person on my list of Friends that I thought were like minded and trusted confidants were Prepping. You can imagine the joy these two individuals are well respected in the community that I participate in and many of my friends participate in. The first is a Sales representative for an international firearms company (Mr. Gun) and the other is a Successful business owner (Mr. Business). Names withheld for OPSEC and they are after all still friends, however they may never know what hides behind door number 1 at my house or where my family and I will end up if the Schumer does Hit the Fan.

As I’m sitting in the office of Mr. Business and we are discussing our two biggest common interest shooting sports and guns. He drops the bomb that he and Mr. Gun are Prepping for when “The Stuff Hits The Fan.” At this point I’m thinking alright I have just added two very important people to my pool of resources and possibly to my group should anything happen. I may also point out that both are in my opinion and in the opinion of many exceptional well trained, practiced, and experienced with engaging multiple threats at close distance with a handgun. Mr. Gun is also very capable with a rifle and shotgun at distance. Then he says those dreaded words “we are making notes of people we know who are Prepping and we will just go to their place and take what we need.”  I had to use every ounce of strength in my person to keep my jaw from hitting the floor and letting my secret be known. These two have told me that if I ever need anything just ask and if they could they would. In fact Mr. Gun loaned me $50 no questions asked which was paid back after my lunch break. We worked together for more than years. Chances are they have a good idea what I have for defense and my capabilities.

“Wow!”, right? Here we have two respected individuals that I have known for over 12 years talking about just taking what they need/want from their own friends. Then my mind goes into overdrive what have I told them, what do they know, what if they come to my house will my kids just open the door for them. Heck my kids call Mr. Business “Uncle.” How do I tell them not to tell them what we have or what we are doing to Prepare. I now have to figure out a way to tell my family that some of the trusted people in our lives are not to be trusted when TSHTF and that we really don’t know who these people are. I also now have to figure a way to have my kids go about as nothing has changed when we are around these two individuals.

Sounds like just a bad day right? Well it gets worse I’m at work later the same week and talking with one of my partners we are discussing firearms, as they pertain to our current profession and which ones we like. He starts talking about the television show Preppers and how he thinks it’s a good idea so he’s trying to stalk up on ammo but with the current state of things it’s difficult. Again I start to get that happy felling of finding another like-minded person. Then the conversation from earlier that week flashes to the front of my mind. So I tell him I have about 400 rounds of this so I can practice for re-qualification later this year and 100 rounds of that just to have around and a few .22 LR around. I seriously down played the amount on purpose trying to feel the waters. Then he comes out and says he just wants enough so he can go take more ammo and food from other people he knows that are stalking up. What did I just hear this is a guy I work with, a guy I trust my life with on a daily basis. I think to myself maybe I didn’t hear him correctly so I asked if he had any food set aside like they do in the show. The answer I was hoping for did not come he just stated that he would eat what he had and when that ran out just go and take it for people who told him they were prepping or those that he thought may have extra. He was adamant that he would take it by force if need be. At this point I am about to fall out of my chair here is a person who is supposed to uphold the law talking about taking other peoples life for food.

While discussing how my inventory was going and that I am close to a goal anther co-worker entered the area we were working in and started asking questions because we were looking at some new tactical gear for our personal use luckily the gear could have been for work also. I was fending off the probing questions with great flair.  Here is how the conversation went and a few example questions from that day:

Question 1: Are you guys preppers? Answer 1. I Look at my partner with the OPSEC look and ask in reply: “What is that?”

Question 2: “You know like the television show ‘Preppers’ on National Geographic.” My reply: “Never heard of it. I will have to check it out.”

Question 3: :”Do you have any food stored? My reply: “I went to the store last night and bought steak for dinner is that what you mean?

Question 4: “No. You know, like stored water? My reply: “I have a 10,000 gallon swimming pool, will that work”?

“Yes that should be good.”

Needless to say I felt bad about misleading hi. He sounds genuine but with my recent let down of learning that close personal friends and having no real way other than sarcasm and a poor attempt at wit to try and weed out the true prepper from the fisherman looking for the next Honey Hole to add to his list of house to hit when things get bad. I may get back with him and do some probing of my own. He has no skills that are of benefit to me or my group but that won’t stop me from making an ally.

I am now stuck with the dilemma of how to weed out the people who seem to be of the same mindset from the people who are of the same mindset. The question of how to let my kids know that it’s ok to trust Mr. and Mrs. Soandso right now but when things go south they are not to be trusted ways heavy on me and I have yet to do it. Telling them that they only want our food and don’t care how we survive after they take it is going to be difficult.

The fishers need to be turned be careful in how you approached this. Take time, pray, and talk to others that it will effect if these people come knocking when TSHTF. If you don’t think you can turn them don’t give them a reason to come to your door.

Thought for the day. They may be lifelong friends but are they friends for a long life? Be careful divulging to people you trust they may just be the ones coming to take what you have when the chips are down and TSHTF. If they want your help, help. Be cautious when the probing questions start get good information take some time turn it around and ask them questions make it seem as if they just planted the prepper seed, when the time is right and your sure OPSEC is good let them in to your little secret.

As always stay alert and Prepare for the Worst and Pray for the Best.

Letter Re: Sodium Chloride IV Bag Expiry Dates

JWR:
I know you are not a medical doctor, but I had a question about Sodium Chloride .9% IV bags.  They have an Expiration date on them.  Is this information valid.  It is sterile water and salt so could something like that go bad?  Is it because the plastic might leech something out over time?   We just had a lovely “stick” class with my group where we each learned how to put in an IV on each other.  We determined who was good at it, and who should never, ever approach people with a needle.    

Each person was out of pocket for only about $11 for IV bag, butterfly infusion set, and tubing.  Already had alcohol wipes and latex gloves, so it was pretty cheap, but invaluable knowledge.  One of our group is an RN so we did have some medical assistance. 
 
Thanks in advance for the answer on the IV bags.  Really appreciate what you do. – A.J.

JWR Replies: The makers’ expiry dates are absurdly short. The NaCl isn’t going to magically drop out of solution on that date.  I wouldn’t hesitate to use a bag that has been stored properly (in the dark) that is several years “out of date”, as long as the solution looks clear. (No visible floaters or discoloration.)

Two Letters Re: Surviving Snowmageddon

Dear JWR:
You don’t always need a snow plow to to free up the streets in a snow-bound neighborhood. I found a video that shows a U.S. military surplus M35 2-1/2 Ton (“Deuce and a Half”) truck being used to pack down snow. – Solar Guy

 

Mr. Rawles,
We in dry Central Texas are having the opposite problem from your “Snowmageddon” contributors: Dry wind-blizzards. On Monday, February 25th we had dry, sunny weather combined with high winds all day and night.

I stepped outside after lunch to check the mail. Uhh-Ohh. The brush pile fire we had burned almost two weeks before, and foolishly thought to be extinguished, threw wind-driven sparks out to a nearby unburned brush pile. The new fire had been burning for a half-hour, but the smoke was going away from the house. My spouse and I were oblivious that a roof-high, whipping fire was outside, while we ate lunch just two hundred yards away! When juniper (here called “cedar”) burns, it flares up to a scary inferno of flames even in mild, damp weather.

My husband got the tractor and frantically covered the pile with dirt, using the loader. I grabbed chain saws, water hoses, the air tank for the tractor tire. But the trouble wasn’t over, cinders had blown into the juniper forest! I ran into the woods and stomped/wetted a few smoldering spots. The cinders had traveled 140 feet and, thankfully, hadn’t ignited into flames. The kids stepped off the school bus and searched the woods for any other smoldering spots, none found.

I sat out all night in the truck, with shovel/water buckets, in case there was a flare-up in the cold, whipping wind. My 4G Tablet was entertainment, and served as an alarm for short catnaps. My Jack Russell Terrier, a whip-smart little companion, kept my lap and hands warm.

Lessons: (1) I will never again allow a burn-pile to be covered with dirt and smolder. Buried logs and stumps can smolder for months! One will discover how dangerous this is when you get a dry spell and a wind storm. I will make sure future burned-up piles are promptly knocked down and thoroughly extinguished. (2) Since the burn-pile was very near the county road, I was disappointed that no passers-by stopped to offer help, nor noticed the unattended flames, while we were lunching, and inform us of the problem. As other contributors have noted, get to know your neighbors well, make sure they have your phone numbers.

Postscript: The high winds picked up again, a week later, (March 5) and blew the dirt off the pile, exposing embers from last week’s accidental fire. After piling more dirt on, we are waiting for forecasted rain this weekend so we can tear down this dangerous pile of buried embers, allow the old stumps to burn and extinguish it for good. – Sarah in Central Texas

Update on The New Israeli E-Lander (Tavor) Steel AR Magazines

Back on January 13, 2013 I mentioned the availability of steel AR-15/M16-compatible Tavor magazines, made in Israel, being sold by a company in the U.S. called The Mako Group. These were priced at $18.70 each. I personally ordered more than 100 of them on January 11th. My order just arrived on March 7th.

I was very pleased with the fit and finish of the magazines. Mine came with white followers. Their finish was glossy black and quite slick feeling. They have gave reinforced magazine retainer tabs. The E-Lander company maintains stringent military specifications and they have ISO certified and NQA certified (TS16949) processes.

I test fit several 30 round E-Lander magazines (both loaded and unloaded) in the magazine wells of six ARs here at the Rawles Ranch. I should mention that their lower receivers on these ARs came from four different makers. The magazines went into all six lowers with no difficulty whatsoever, and they dropped free with a touch of the magazine release. I also test fired one full magazine, and it fed wonderfully. Since they are steel, these magazines should give a lifetime of reliable service.

So the good news is that they ARE shipping, but they are obviously deluged with orders and that is causing long delays. Be patient, folks! We can safely assume that Mako Group is shipping orders sequentially from the date that orders are placed. So anyone who ordered their magazines from Mako during the week of January 13th should be seeing the Big Brown Truck of Joy fairly soon. And for anyone who orders any henceforth, you can expect at least a two month delay.

One odd thing that I noticed was that the magazines that I received were all marked “M.D. 02.13” So with a February manufacture date, these would have had to have been shipped to New York via air freight. This leaves me convinced that The Mako Group is doing their best to fill orders in a timely manner. But they obviously have a LOT of orders, and have developed a two month+ backlog.

Delayed orders are just part of life in the era of BHO, Dianne Feinstein, and Piers Morgan. Get used it. There will be continuing shortages, delays, and deep back-orders. I expect this situation to continue for at least a year. It will take that long for the manufacturers and importers to catch up. BTW, America’s gun hating television talking heads all deserve awards for boosting gun, ammunition, and magazine sales to all-time highs. Because of those oh-so-vocal gun grabbers there will be an extra two million AR-15s produced in the U.S. this year, and untold millions of full capacity magazines made or imported. That just warms my heart.

To their credit, The Mako Group did not raise their prices after the Sandy Hook massacre. They could have easily cashed in on the crisis and doubled their prices, but they left them right at $18.70 each. That tells me a lot of about the company’s management. Bottom line: The E-Lander magazines are worth the long wait. – J.W.R.

Auction Update: PVS-14 Gen 3+ Night Vision Scope to Benefit C.R.O.S.S. Ministries

CURRENT BID is $3,600 (Bid by Reader D.J.G.)

Simply e-mail us your bids. I will post regular updates on the bidding. The final deadline will be Midnight EST on Monday, March 11, 2013. Thanks for your generous bids in support of C.R.O.S.S. Ministries.

We are continuing a benefit auction of a brand new AN/PVS-14 Gen 3+ Night Vision Scope. All proceeds (100% of your bid) will be donated to C.R.O.S.S. Ministries. (A very worthy Christian ministry that is sharing the Gospel of Christ in South Sudan. Their outreach method is unique: They are teaching rural villagers tactical marksmanship, water purification, and firefighting skills, free of charge.)

The monocular is one of these. (The same model that we use here at the Rawles Ranch.) These night vision scopes normally retail for around $3,600. (Although Ready Made Resources sells them at the discounted price of $2,695.) This monocular was kindly donated by Ready Made Resources, in cooperation with Night Ops Tactical.

Economics and Investing:

Debt based delusion: Fed spending far outstripping revenues, balance of trade, and business inventories decline.

Analyst: Bitcoin Took A Key Step Towards Going Mainstream, And That’s Why It’s Been Going Crazy The Last Two Day . Wow!: I just checked at CoinMill and the BTC to USD ratio was at 40.91 to one! (Almost $41 to buy one BitCoin.)

Gold Core reports: Russia, Korea And Central Banks Accumulate Gold On Dip Below $1,600/oz

Items from The Economatrix:

Service Industries In US Grow At Fastest Pace In A Year

JPMorgan:  The Consumer Spending Slowdown Is Here

Billionaires Dumping US Stocks, Economist Knows Why

Odds ‘n Sods:

K. mentioned a great piece over at the Backwoods Home web site: Low-cost raised beds. [JWR Adds: That design will work for a couple of seasons. But in the long run it has “more work” written all over it. Here in the Inland Northwest, the preferred material for building raised beds is usually 2″ thick cedar planks. Most of the small cedar mill operations have a “seconds” pile where they sell random-length boards that don’t meet marketable standards, for various reasons. (Wane, checking, punky spots, et cetera.) This lumber sells for just a small fraction of the cost of the higher grades. With each $80 to $100 trailer load of cedar “seconds” I’m able to build four raised beds that are 12 feet long, 4 feet wide and 18″ deep. They will last for decades, even in our wet climate. OBTW, I always staple on 1/4″ mesh wire netting to the bottom of each bed to keep the moles out. ]

   o o o

Mike Williamson sent a link to a graphic that illustrates the TSA’s latest “though shalt nots” for penknives on commercial airliners. It is bothersome that not only must the The Powers That Be make the sheeple jump through flame-filled hoops, but they keep changing the specifications of the hoops.

   o o o

Rand Paul Filibuster: Hour By Hour Footage Archive. Meanwhile, some “moderate” Republicans (read: RINOs) sided with BHO & Company. I was glad to see that a few left-wingers chimed in, in support of Rand Paul.

   o o o

I noticed an interesting ongoing thread over at The Mental Militia forums: Creating Hidden Storage

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“This morning, I’m pleased to join the President, the Vice President, and countless Americans in calling on Congress to enact legislation addressing gun violence – including measures to require universal background checks, impose tough penalties on gun traffickers, protect law enforcement officers by addressing armor-piercing ammunition, ban high-capacity magazines and military-style assault weapons, and eliminate misguided restrictions that require federal agents to allow the importation of dangerous weapons simply because of their age.” – Attorney General Eric Holder

Note from JWR:

Today we present another two entries 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.

A Prepper’s Holiday by C.E.B.

A preface: This article is not about the perfect excursion to relieve your tensions regarding coming doom and gloom. If you need a vacation from your constant worry, then you have become slave to it. Slaves don’t get to take holiday in Babylon! I wanted to share with friends and family some holidays that I feel were instituted specifically with the prepper in mind.

Many of us are well aware of the practical advantages of observing the sabbath. For those of faith it becomes obvious through practice. Those who are not religious but still enjoy a day of rest will doubtless recognize that this day of laziness is not wasted. Not only does it offer us time to relax and recharge, but time to reflect on the six days of work (or perhaps lack of.).

My family have long been observant of the sabbath but had never observed other festivals of the Bible. (I don’t propose to convince the reader whether these festivals are commanded or not of modern generations, however.) I have chosen to celebrate them with my family and teach them to my children.

The keeping of these celebrations offers practical advantages to the faithful which only experience reveals fully and words do not suffice.

I have decided to only write about the two holidays with which I am most familiar and for which I have the most affection. Others more experienced may rightly point out that I deny justice to the wonderful holidays I have not included. But, my experience is limited by our slow rate of travel round the sun and lack of encouragement I received from our local spiritual community. Of the major holidays required of the ancient Hebrew people, I find most useful the holidays of Pasach and Sukkot, otherwise known as passover and tents/tabernacles.

Celebrating these holidays starts by finding them. It’s not as simple as looking to the calendar and saying “Look, July 4th. Fireworks!”. Yet it is simple none the less, and does not require inspection of a device that must be carried with you or placed on your wall. Every small child learns quickly that the sun passes across the sky during the day and the setting sun marks the end of outdoor playtime. Some (my children) learn that time of day and direction can be generally ascertained by watching for this sign. What was once common knowledge to the lonely shepard and astrologer alike and is no longer common knowledge, is that by watching the moon it is possible to determine what day of the month it is with a small margin of error. It won’t help determining the days of the civil or gregorian calendar, of course. Noting the phases and completion of moons and counting them will help you determine when to have all of your nuts and berries packed away in your squirrel nest and when you should expect to emerge to plant your crops and assist in livestock giving birth. When you have been cut off from normal social contact and modern media, and your 20xx calendar doesn’t arrive in the mail because there is no USPS or Fedex, and when you have long forgotten whether it’s Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday, or August, or September, the moon will be there for you!

The first sighting of a crescent moon indicates the beginning of the month. There are differences among observers regarding whether the day of the crescent or the day before is to be regarded as day one in the month, however I am content that the idea serves as a model for a people reliant upon providence of nature or deity. Meetings among remote groups of related or united people can easily be arranged in advance without need of device simply by counting the passage of days from the sighted crescent, which will appear the same day for my family in Oklahoma as our relatives and friends in neighboring states and communities. The anticipation of celebration or solemn ceremony heightens awareness of the passing days and lends to a more accurate count. There is always the possibility of cloud coverage for a particular region, in which case some communities may not be able to sight the crescent. For the benefit of those whose sighting is obscured, ancient Israelite communities that had clear view and could sight the crescent would sound a horn at high elevation enabling other expectant peoples or individuals to begin a count regardless of cloud coverage. The use of this horn of course is to protect against the margin of error previously mentioned.

Exodus 12 contains the first mention of my Prepper’s holiday. It is a document that modern scholars can agree has been used for more than two thousand years and contains the story of an ancient people fed up with slavery. When the protagonist Joseph arrived in a foreign land he found wealth and prosperity after great ordeal. This wealth and prosperity was shared for many generations but ultimately his descendants found themselves slaves to the system that had been of such benefit. Many patriots today can relate to this predicament. In preparation for the coming declaration of freedom for these people, a holiday was provided. This holiday is not simply a time to munch down, or hope for a new toy. It is a mental and physical preparation for the conditions required of a free people. Passover approaches and it is fitting that I should share this event first.

The holiday is determined by counting 14 days from the sighting of the first crescent of the spring, at which point the moon will appear nearly full. The light provided by the full moon allows for nighttime activity which may be regarded as clandestine by those not participating. On the first night an animal is slaughtered. It is to be a year old male sheep or goat. The practical reasoning for this is not obvious to those who don’t tend some sort of livestock, but those of us who witness a large number of hatched cockerels or bucklings kidding in spring, quickly adapt to the idea of dispatching the year old rooster that has begun attacking guests, or the young buck, newly invigorated with his masculine hormones, decides he’s going to begin ramming you. Because new bucklings are born, and the yearlings have already done business with the does, these guys are obvious candidates for culling before the big break from captivity.

Instructions for the holiday include placement of a sign upon the dwellings of confederated parties in order to prevent death by friendly fire. Participants are instructed to prepare along with the culled yearlings, bitter herbs, and bread made without yeast. You will find that edible bitter herbs are abundant for the wilderness traveler, and that flat dry bread packs nicer and lasts longer than the puffy and moist Wonderbread that we use to encase a picnic lunch. The meat is to be entirely consumed the first night. None is left to rot, attract scavengers, or be confiscated. All of this activity is done with awareness of the events to come and so the instruction to eat with cloak tucked into belt, shoes on the feet, and staff in hand is a protocol for SHTF preparedness. On this night (and every full moon) our family checks survival gear and makes certain that everything is ready to go should the need arise to head out the door forever to secure the blessings liberty.

Instructions for the holiday include seven days during which unleavened bread is to be prepared. In the zeal to produce a bread nearly void of yeast it is necessary to remove all yeast from the house in order to prevent airborne yeast from infecting the dough. This requires thorough cleaning and inspection of the home. In the process of looking for something so tiny and seemingly insignificant as invisible yeast, you will uncover every other imaginable flaw in your dwelling as well. Discipline in making this activity a yearly occurrence will provide the practitioner with a deeper situational awareness of his or her fortress and improvements that need to be made over the following year.

I have read that COSTCO is offering 6 gallon pails of long term storage foods. This may or may not be practical for you. For “do it yourself” types the preparation of unleavened bread serves as a wonderful model for homemade meals that pack lite, last long, and leave no plastic package behind as evidence of travel route. During these seven days the practitioner rests from labor and prepares mind and body for dangerous adventure and develops resolve concerning the decision to be free. As the full moon wanes, light sensitivity of the observer adjusts to the change resulting in excellent nighttime vision in comparison to those not preparing for the event or recently acclimated to operating by moonlight.

Moses told the Israelites to keep this tradition for all generations to come. It is a constant reminder of the path from slavery to freedom coupled with some very logical strategies to continually prepare for recurrent need.

The second holiday I want to share with you is Sukkot, also called festival of the tents or “booths.” It is first mentioned in the book of Exodus chapter 23. After the exciting events surrounding the departure of the Israelites from Egypt, these newly freed people endured forty years of life on the run, living like vagrants in temporary shelters built from whatever they could scrap together in the wilderness. To be sure, this was a hard thing. Though slaves, these people had been living in modern homes according to Egypt’s standards and had no experience with “camping out”. They were apparently accustomed to fresh produce from the market and found no vendors in the barren Sinai Peninsula. Freedom is beautiful, but it is not easy.

The festival of tents is practiced in remembrance of the condition freed slaves often find themselves in. Upon release from incarceration, a felon may quickly learn that he has difficulty finding housing, employment opportunities may not be sufficient to provide adequate nutrition, and his social interaction and advancement among those not sharing this sad state is stifled by stigma. Newly obtained freedom is like this, and this is the situation faced by that ancient tribe.

Instructions for the practice of this holiday are found in Leviticus 23 and Numbers 29. Again this festival is found by sighting the crescent in the seventh moon and counting 15 days, when the moon should be fullest. The practice involves the building of a temporary shelter of locally obtained materials. Presumably the Israelites used very crude materials to build dwellings. In our family we camp out and cook in our Sukkot booth for seven nights. We build pole structures from cut or fallen limbs and cover with jute cloth made for deer blinds, lining the interior with cheap lightweight tarps as windbreak/insulation. We build our stove from clay and/or stone found at the location. Everything is done under the assumption that we have limited resources for this temporary situation. This entire planned event forms a real impression on the mind of a child. They love to have a go at making their own structure, and starting their own fire to cook their own food. It is a holiday event that celebrates the accomplishment of being able to make it on your own without the luxuries of the place you left behind. Following through every year with this practice at a prescribed date allows the participants to gauge attained growth and develop a sense of which deficiencies need to be addressed. This holiday along with passover and feast of weeks forms a chain of celebrations which coincide with important harvests. We found in our days spent living in the Sukkot booth this past year that aside from the hay harvest we were wrapping up with, the wild grape vines were full of ripe fruit and the hackberry, pear, and persimmon trees which dot the Oklahoma landscape were covered in ripening little blessings as well. We consumed piles of wild grapes during our celebration and made puckery faces eating the persimmon flesh.

All of the preparations I have described herein are very basic, and common knowledge to the readers of this blog. My hope is to share a practical method of incorporating productive behaviors into, or understanding them to be present within, ancient traditions and festivities which I find most wholesome to embrace. When practiced with regularity like a fire drill, and with the attention which accompanies exciting events and holidays, preparedness can become an enjoyable tradition for your family that will endure for generations. If these are not your traditions or you don’t feel comfortable practicing traditions foreign to you, find these practical applications within the tradition of your people. If you have no traditions, it’s time to start some!

Establishing a Community of Like-Minded People, by P.S. in Virginia

Whenever you read fiction stories about surviving TEOTWAWKI, reading articles here on SurvivalBlog or any other similar site. One of the things that keeps coming up is its best to form a group of “Like Minded People”. Here is what I have put into motion and my future plans on how I hope to accomplish it. Any feedback is always welcome.

My situation is my age being in my mid-50s and having a disability. It would be wonderful to find some like minded people in their early 20s or 30s who have the strength and ability to do what I am unable to accomplish or have the physical stamina to fend off any opposing evil at the gate. Unfortunately I’m not really going to find those kind of folks with there being such an age difference. People with disabilities can still do many things to help out, we just have to do them differently.

I found what works the best for me in finding like minded people is to stick around my own age group. People who grew up in the mid 50s to mid 70s are a prime target. People who understand what it was like to work hard for a living and realizing that things are not just given to you but you had to earn them. I think modern technology is great but it is also going to be our undoing in the long run. There is some merit to grow up using your imagination as a child for entertaining yourself than finding it in a video game. As kids growing up and playing Army out in the woods, we were learning how to build forts, set up defenses , working together as a team and forming strategies without even knowing it.

When finding like minded people in my age group it’s going to be very rare to find someone who is not in some form of needing medical assistance. But, this is not such a bad thing either, some of us old hornets still have a lot of sting left in us and we posses knowledge and skills that are not found in just any book. Something that comes to mind is two of the people that I’m working on served in Viet Nam so they are not strangers to a vicious enemy. I believe for the type of BOL I’m looking for in the wilderness I would prefer someone who is familiar with jungle fighting but would love to find anyone with experience in setting up military style defenses.

One of the things I have done is to join the County CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) program. Here I have found men and woman mostly near my age group who are in some way concerned about being prepared. Some of them take the course just for their own knowledge in what to do to better prepare for an emergency around their own home but you will find others who extend it to a further means. Many of the people I have been meeting have in some way been involved in the military or in some form of Emergency Management / Training and are retired.

About two years ago I had the opportunity in my county to take an amateur radio course. We had an individual in our CERT program who was very much into this hobby and was involved with putting on the course. I signed up and spent four Saturday mornings for four hours sitting in lectures that I had no idea what they were talking about. The good thing was for the course we needed to pick up the book: The ARRL General Class License Manual.

First let me explain, there are three classes of Ham Radio licenses: Technician, General and Amateur Extra. Each class offers more benefits to having the license, basically more frequencies you can use. Well in the back of the manual, there were test questions that you could study and these test questions were word for word as they were on the exam. There are also online sites you can get into and take practice tests, over and over again. Hind sight being 20/20, I would have just studied all the questions, memorized the answers and gone in and challenged the tests when the exams became available. I hate to say it, but I passed my General exam without even knowing how to turn on a radio. For the first two years I had done nothing with my license because anytime I would meet a ham radio enthusiast and ask a question, they would just open up with all the techno knowledge they had to impress me that I walked away more confused than before I asked.

This all changed one night about two weeks ago while at a CERT meeting, I met a man in his mid-60s who was into ham radios. After talking with him for a few minutes and explaining my situation, he laughed and told me it was people like that was his reason he was not involved in any clubs anymore. We exchanged phone numbers and he told me to give him a call and he would hook me up with a radio I could borrow and get me on the air. This past weekend I went over to his house and in the two hours I spent with him, I learned more than the 16 hours in the class. He also put me in touch with Associated Radio, a small family owned business in Kansas that he has found to be very good in dealing with for ham equipment. The owner’s name is is Dan. I now have being shipped a Yaesu FT 2900 R and a TRAM 48″ magnetic mount antenna. Once I get the system my friend will help me get it mounted in my SUV and programmed.

While my new found friend was helping me with the radio, I also learned he was a prepper but not so open about it. We talked about different things and found we had more in common than we realized. This is someone I plan on working with to see if he has an interest in combining forces for later down the road. It’s wonderful to find someone who is very knowledgeable but doesn’t come across as the type who has to prove it or make you feel stupid for their own ego.

One day last week I volunteered to do some admin work for the CERT program. I was working with a gentleman who also does a lot of volunteer work with CERT and in talking with him, I found out he was involved as an instructor in Emergency Management in New York City and was at the Twin Towers on 9/11. Like my ham radio friend, this gentleman also served in Viet Nam. We shared like interests and had a lot in common, some things we disagreed on but nothing that would hold me back from bringing this person into the club. Actually you want someone who does not always agree, brings out other options to look at as long as you can team up and work together. He was slowly building up his preps in buying much needed items such as fire arms and was working on obtaining other supplies. In talking with this gentleman I wanted to hurry him along some in his prepping efforts so I mentioned a couple of books to read, Patriots by James Rawles and One Second After by W. R. Forstchen.  Also in our conversation he mentioned he has a son with one of the SEAL Teams. On hearing this, my mind went into mental overload and started racing with all sorts of thoughts. This is a person I definitely want to get to know much better and would love to meet his son. If for nothing more than to thank him for his service.

A third person who has been a long time friend of mine and use to be my boss in the Coast Guard many years ago is now a Pastor at a church in Florida. where he is planning on retiring in a couple of years. After he retired from the Coast Guard, he went into nursing school and he now works one day a week in the Emergency Room at a busy Florida hospital. He and I have been sharing a dream of one day buying a couple of Class A type motor homes and touring the country with our wives in tow (not literally in tow, they can ride inside). In one of our conversations I had mentioned that this type of unit would be good for getting out of Dodge if the SHTF. He mentioned that this was part of his plan in getting one but had to get his wife onboard that things are not looking good and they needed to start making more preparations.

A fourth person I know is a good friend of mine and I hire him any time I need work done on my home he’s a very talented carpenter and also loves to hunt. He and his wife have a 5th wheel camper and they go camping and hunting regularly with it. With the construction field being slow, he is doing mostly work by word of mouth and would not be able to put a lot of funds into prepping but he brings other talents to the table.

My wife and I have been working hard scrimping and saving to get this house paid off which will soon come to light. I highly recommend this as part of your prepping efforts. I have been actively looking for land where we can pick up some acreage that has a year round fresh water spring and boarders a National Forest. When I find the right piece I hope to be in a position where I can afford it. Once I find the right place I will take time and set it up with gardens, off grid power systems and security measures. I’m now thinking on ways how I can set up several motor homes and camouflage them into the landscape. My ham radio friend has just purchased a Class A motor home and he has found a good dealership that will work with you and has a good reputation. My friend in Florida also has a member of his church who owns a motor home dealership so finding a good deal should not be a problem.

In my making plans for where to find land to establish my BOL Community one of the sites I use is: LandAndFarm.com. You can go in, find any State and any County within the State and see what’s available. In my mind, I can see the property I’m looking for, now I just have to find out where on earth its located.

I have purchased a map of the United States and have mounted it to a piece of cardboard. I have been in the process of locating where nuclear power plants are and using a colored push pin to mark their location. You can use the distance scale on the side of the map to make yourself a small round disc to place under the push pin to represent the distance you want to be away from the plant such as 25 miles. I found this information here.

If you have settled in on one State in particular you can just get a larger more detailed map of that State and work with that. Being a member of AAA has many benefits but one being free maps and information books on areas. When finding a location I use a more detailed map to locate major roads and highways. I want to identify what I feel will be heavy traveled routes and stay away from them. Google Earth on the PC is also a wonderful program.

Also located on this map I make note of prevailing winds, earthqauke-prone regions, and so forth. Two of the sites I use for this are: NOAA Seasonal Drought Map and Natural Disasters Map.

As I mentioned in the beginning, I have a disability and so do some of the people I’m meeting. So something that is important is where hospitals and medical centers are located. For this information I use this site. These places may not be up and running in a full blown out disaster but they will be up until then and maybe for a short time after.

At times I have found some decent properties that seem to have some potential then once I find something that I may like I go into: www.bestplaces.net and I can enter the town or county and pull up records of the area. One of the things I look for is the crime rate. Some places that seem like good potential actually have a crime rate higher than the National average. I can understand one day when the toast is burnt  people are going to get ugly and crime will go up but I don’t see the need to start off with it at an already high level.

My plan is slowly coming together and I’m finding the right people that are like minded in my way of thinking. Other than my two long time friends, the other two just came into focus within the past two weeks or so. I have to believe that the Good Lord is making things happen by bringing these people into my life for a reason. Real life past experiences have shown me this. I have in my mind the skill sets I’m looking for in a person and eventually the Good Lord brings them around. Like I mentioned, I waited two years just to find someone who can help me with the Ham Radio. When I find that piece of land I’m looking for, part of my plan is to get my friends to join me out there camping at times and see what we can come up with or bounce some ideas off them.

You can go into various web sites and look to meet online “Like Minded People” but I find that can be very dangerous so use extreme caution, you really do not have any idea who you may be opening up your life too. Having before used online dating sites and finding out the profiles are not always accurate in describing the person I would shy away from that. What has worked for me was joining the local CERT program and getting involved with that. Here you can actually meet the people, work with them under emergency situations and disasters and see how they hold up. You can also figure out who you can work with and who you can’t, the ones who pitch in and help and the ones who like to jump in and take charge. I would shy away from the people who jump in and take charge thinking their way is the only way. This may work out good at a disaster but not so good in a group of folks who are trying to survive. Working with your Emergency Management also puts you in the know of what is available in your local area for resources and the ability to do some networking. If you do enough volunteering, you may actually find yourself in a position where you can set up programs and policies that will be of a benefit to you. You can find out a lot about a person such as religious and political beliefs without giving out to much information about yourself just by working with them.

Approach friends or people you know and work with that you feel comfortable with and strike up general conversations. You can be conducting an interview without them even knowing it and getting a feel of their beliefs. I feel it’s best to keep a very low profile of my prepping activities and not spill the beans until I feel the time is right. I have many friends and neighbors whom I have known for years and would love to have them involved in prepping and setting up a community. I’ve tried talking with them and trying to get them working on it but they just say they need to or would like to but just don’t have the finances, don’t have the time, blah blah blah. In the end they say that if anything happens they will just come out and stay with me and my wife. Wrong! Right now they have jobs, the stores are well stocked and they have the same opportunity as I do. My wife and I are not scrimping and saving to have the funds to prepare for their benefit. When I do find the land, it will be a closely guarded secret.

            2 Corinthians 6:14, Be ye not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers:
            Deuteronomy 22:10, You shall not plow with an ox and an ass together.

As always, good luck in your preps and God Bless…

Letter Re: A Newbie’s Perspective on Raising Chickens

To follow up on chicken coop design article “A Newbie’s Perspective on Raising Chickens“, please consider: 

My first coop had chicken wire all the way down to the ground.  The possums would get one on each side at night, bounce the chickens from side to side (chickens are stupid at night) and then they would grab one through the wire and extrude them through the wire eating as they went.  Within a month they were all gone.  The whole thing was very disturbing.

My new coop has plywood sides with hardware cloth (1/2″ squares) on the upper part.  As in the article, mine is closed in with plywood siding on three sides (1/2 way on the ends) and open at the top on the remaining sides with siding on the bottom part (all the way around)  The closed in area has the nesting boxes.  I did a closed in room behind the nesting boxes so I can access the boxes by lifting a small door in each box on the rear wall.

In the chicken run area, I used chicken wire at the top and roof but I used hardware cloth for the first two feet off the ground.  Raccoons and possum are proficient climbers and will easily access the coop mentioned yesterday.  There is also nothing to stop an owl or chicken hawk.  We have panthers and I am sure an open top will not stop them.  if you put a pressure treated wood piece at the bottom perimeter in the dirt as a nailer, it will be very difficult for an animal to dig in.  I have not had any problem.  I did use cypress fence lumber in the beginning and that has rotted out.
 
Additionally, I put a thin stainless floor over pressure treated plywood in my coop, sloped it slightly towards one wall, left an small 3/4″ gap under the wall bottom plate which is what the studs are fastened to  (supported on short 3/4″ wood blocks every two feet) and I put a 3/4″ piece of wood in the gap (loose)  to keep the snakes out.  Removing the wood plug allows me to wash down the floor.  If you taper the wood block and point the taper to the inside, it will funnel the waste out.

I am having a problem with something getting my larger birds during the day while they are free range, mainly the turkeys but the loss is manageable.  A fake owl has stopped most of my chicken hawk losses during free range.
 
In my garden area next to the coop, the chicken wire buried in the ground has rusted away and this weekend project is to put another wood nailer on top of the first one to refasten the shorter wire.

And regarding the recent article on underground caches I must mention you need to put a hard secondary cap over a rubber cap or a plastic bucket that is buried at a shallow depth.  This protective secondary cap can be made of thicker hard plastic, aluminum, steel, or pressure treated plywood.  I have cows (and they would collapse a rubber cap or a bucket.  A metal cap prevents that.  Of course metal will show up with a metal detector which would be good for you if you are caching so that would be bad if you have unwanted people searching.  With a cap, you can also use a probe to help relocate your items if the soil is not rocky. If you bury deep enough, you could use a dummy scrap metal piece above the cap to fool a coin shooting metal detector.

Auction Update: PVS-14 Gen 3+ Night Vision Scope to Benefit C.R.O.S.S. Ministries

CURRENT BID is $3,100 (Bid by Reader M.V.)

Simply e-mail us your bids. I will post regular updates on the bidding. The final deadline will be Midnight EST on Monday, March 11, 2013. Thanks for your generous bids in support of C.R.O.S.S. Ministries.

We are continuing a benefit auction of a brand new AN/PVS-14 Gen 3+ Night Vision Scope. All proceeds (100% of your bid) will be donated to C.R.O.S.S. Ministries. (A very worthy Christian ministry that is sharing the Gospel of Christ in South Sudan. Their outreach method is unique: They are teaching rural villagers tactical marksmanship, water purification, and firefighting skills, free of charge.)

The monocular is one of these. (The same model that we use here at the Rawles Ranch.) These night vision scopes normally retail for around $3,600. (Although Ready Made Resources sells them at the discounted price of $2,695.) This monocular was kindly donated by Ready Made Resources, in cooperation with Night Ops Tactical.