Spice Up Your Food Storage, by Linda P.

As a wife, mother, cook, and gardener, I find that articles on long term food storage, are basic and practical.  But when I study the recommended lists for storage items, I wince at the lack of thought that goes into flavor, texture and variety. This article is dedicated to those nurturing souls who know that in a TEOTWAWKI situation, a delicious meal will be one of the most simple of earthly comforts that we can provide to keep others healthy and happy.
 
Although basic food may keep you alive, food fatigue can be a real problem. Variety is the spice of life, and in a SHTF scenario, one of the key factors in your survival is your psychological outlook. What you eat, and how much you enjoy it can be a huge factor in bolstering or hindering that positive mental state. With some basic additional food storage planning, it is possible to make even basic grains, legumes, beans and rice much more enjoyable and healthy while taking up very little storage space.
 

Most preppers stock the basics: Italian seasoning, garlic, chili powder, salt, pepper, cinnamon and vanilla.
If you want to validate just how important variety is, try living off of only your long-term food storage for a month. You will quickly find the prospect of eating your chili powder-beans and your Italian seasoning-rice for months on end quite disheartening. There is a reason why Marco Polo traveled the world to bring back and propagate exotic spices, some of which were considered more valuable than gold. Having a stock of unique and versatile spices will provide a valuable barter item and psychological comfort in any survival situation. Additionally, many spices and herbs have wonderful healthy side benefits and medicinal uses. I will discuss some of these below as well as some deep larder essentials that are often overlooked.

The key to exploring new flavors you may not have thought of is to look past the normal American “meat and potato” diet and look to cultures who have cooked with these spices and basic storage foods for centuries; some of the cultures we will explore include Thai, Indian, and Mexican cuisines. 
Another benefit of learning to cook food from other cultures is that they have mastered making delicious dishes using small amounts of meat and dairy (or none at all). In the future this could be a necessity as meat and animal products will likely be scarce. Besides the ones listed here, feel free to explore other cultures that may expand your options such as Brazilian, Creole, Cuban, Ethiopian, German, Mediterranean, and Moroccan as many of the spices and herbs we will discuss are multifunctional and overlap a myriad of different cultures and dishes.

Spices, herbs and extract flavorings . 
Most dried spices and herbs will store well in a dark cool places for many years, but flavor will fade somewhat as the years go by. Typically this can be countered by using more dried herb to get the same flavor. Buying spices in their whole form, such as cardamom pods, cinnamon bark, whole cloves, whole nutmeg, star anise and mustard seed, and grinding later will give you the longest shelf life and best flavor. Pure vanilla extract has an indefinite shelf life, but other extracts or imitation flavorings such as almond, coconut, lemon, maple, peppermint and rum will likely only store a few years at best, and may break down or the alcohol will evaporate over time, so plan to regularly rotate these items.

With herbs, always try to grow them fresh when possible to ensure that flavor and nutrition are at it’s highest.  Set aside non-hybrid seed packets for herbs that will grow in your area; you can always check with your local nursery for advice on growing in your particular climate. Mediterranean herbs are easy to grow in zones 3-9, are not fussy about soil, and drought resistant. Look for perennial herbs will come back every year once established. Good examples include: chives, fennel, mints, oregano, rosemary, sage, tarragon and thyme. Common annual herbs that you would need to reseed yearly include basil, cilantro, dill, mustard and parsley. By growing your herbs in pots that you bring inside and keep in a sunny window for the winter you can extend how long these fresh herbs are available. Finally you can dry extra herbs at harvest by simply hanging small bunches upside down to air dry for storage and later use or trade.

There are sub-tropical plants that will provide wonderful flavor options that will only grow outside in zone 8 or higher, the good news is that they can also be grown in pots that are brought inside during the winter in colder climates.  Examples include bay trees, ginger, lemongrass, and dwarf citrus trees such as Bearass Lime, Calamondin Orange and Meyer’s Lemon. All but ginger will require a southern window with at least 5 hours of sun a day to thrive. Check the web for more detailed growing information.

Asian/Thai/Vietnamese cooking :  these are some of my favorite common herbs, spices and flavorings.  These produce light, fresh, exotic, tangy, sweet and savory dishes. Besides stews, soups and curries, you can also make wonderful sweet treats like rice pudding and Chai tea with these flavors.
Shop for these spices at an Asian/Indian grocer; they will be authentic and very affordable. Using these spices may take getting used to, so experiment!
•     Cardamom pods – the queen of spices, very aromatic! Green pods add a flowery taste to savory and sweet dishes alike, Black pods are more for Vietnamese meat stews and Pho soup. A tonic for the heart and can relieve toothaches.
•     Coriander – the seeds of cilantro, sweet, mild lemony flavor
•   Fennel Seeds – a slight licorice taste. Also used in Italian and German cooking. Good fiber, antioxidant and helps fight colon cancer.
•      Ginger – a unique spicy, hot rhizome that also aids in digestive woes and its odor helps fights depression. 
•      Turmeric – provides the yellow color and warm, peppery, earthy flavor in most curries; it supports the liver, as well as being a mild pain reliever and natural anti-inflammatory. It has even been used to settle anxiety in Alzheimer’s patients.
•     Star anise – has a mild licorice taste, often used in Pho soup. Interchangeable with fennel seeds.
•     Five spice powder – a nice basic blend of Asian spices if you want to keep it simple.
•     Lemon grass – a mild lemony taste that is essential in many Asian dishes.
•     Coconut milk – a must for the creamy sweet undertones in Asian and Indian cooking! Because of the fat it should only be stored for 2-5 years. In a pinch, use cream and coconut flavoring. You can use powdered for longer storage, but it is non-fat and lacking compared to the real thing. 
•    Fish sauce – similar to soy sauce, made from fermented anchovies. Adds a mild richness to dishes without tasting fishy and has a long shelf life.
•    Rice vinegar – will keep long term and adds the perfect, mild sourness to dishes.
•    Sesame oil – only a few drops will add that authentic Asian taste.
•  Wasabi powder – this spicy, green, Japanese horseradish powder (used as wasabi with sushi) can be used any way that you would use  horseradish for a real taste kick! You can find it in a tiny can in your Asian isle at the supermarket. It’s even good in salad dressings and mashed potatoes.
•    Other fresh veggies/herbs – these are healthy and create a ‘party in your mouth’. As discussed, it can even be gown inside in a sunny window. Mint, basil, cilantro, lime, garlic, chilies, and bean sprouts are fantastic options in these dishes. The “Basket of Fire” plant is an ornamental chili pepper plant that produces very hot, edible, peppers that may be used to add heat to a dish but removed before consuming.

Here are a couple of recipes to try:
Green Curry Chicken
Vietnamese Pho Soup

Indian  cooking:  Indian spices are wonderful for making rich, flavorful sauces that enliven even the humblest lentil or vegetarian dish. The overlapping spices from above include: anise, cardamom, cilantro, coriander, cumin, garlic, ginger, turmeric and coconut milk. In addition try:
•  Bay Leaves – used in many cuisines, and they also keep bugs out of food storage!
•  Cinnamon – used in main dishes as well as desserts a unique staple in Indian cooking.
•  Cloves – add a unique spicy taste to savory and sweet dishes.
•   Mustard seeds – one of the most used ancient herbs in cooking, pickling, as a condiment, and in sausage making.  Medicinal properties include helps to relieve congestion from colds, helps regulate cholesterol and blood sugar, and increases circulation helping with muscular and skeletal pain. It is easy to grow, but it prefers cooler weather. The greens are also edible and delicious.
•  Nutmeg – often used with cinnamon and cloves, it has many uses in sweet and salty foods and drinks.
•  Tamarind – has a uniquely sweet and sour taste described as apricots, dates and lemons. It comes from a seedpod and adds wonderful flavor to sauces, chutneys, and main dishes. The jarred products have and indefinite shelf life and don’t require refrigeration.
•  Blends: Curry Powder and Garam Masala – these common blends will give you that Indian flavor (without having to stock all of the individual spices).

Here are a couple of recipes to try:
Make Poppadoms  (These Indian crackers can be made with chickpea or lentil flour, or half and half)
Vegetable Masala

Mexican/Southwest cooking:  You will use some of the same repeated flavors from above such as cilantro, cumin, cinnamon,  and of course garlic and onion. Add to this a few more spices, (in plastic bags but transfer to glass for longer storage), from the Hispanic section of your grocery store such as:
 
• Chili Powder – a mix of many common spices; smoky, spicy and essential. If you don’t already have it, its a must have.
• Red pepper flakes – great for additional heat.
• Mexican Oregano – rich, earthy flavor that goes well with beans, salsa, and rice dishes.
• Fresh Chilies and Peppers – if you can grow peppers in your area, set aside some seeds. They are indispensable. 

Here are some recipes to try:
Black Beans and Rice   (you can use dried beans for more of a challenge)
Mexican recipes (Lots of classics to try)

If you are unfamiliar with cooking these types of foods, I recommend looking for marked down recipe books for the culture or cuisine that you are interested in. Bookstores or garage sales are great resources for this. If you have a favorite ethnic dish, try looking up a recipe online to print and keep in a binder. Vegan or vegetarians cookbooks can be a great resource for expanding your list of tasty meals using unique spices along with grains, rice and beans. Check out gluten-free web sites for ideas of how to use alternates to wheat flour. You may be able to use many of your stored grains in this way to make flat breads, wraps and crackers such as rice, chickpea and legume flour. There are also several books on cooking with food storage. Don’t be afraid to substitute items either, you may be surprised how easy it is to create your own meals with what you have on hand.

Top 6 Deep Larder Must Haves (that you may not have already)
In addition to the ethnic-specific and basic long-term storage foods, I would like to recommend some essentials that may not be on your list. I find that the most flexible and economic way to store food is to keep the majority of your storage to individual food items such as grains, vegetables, fruit, dairy, and meat products. Compared to “just add water” entrees, you’ll discover greatly increased savings and diversity options. Once again as much variety as you can manage will serve you well, both in flavor, texture and nutrition.

1 – Tomato Powder 
Buy this now, you will thank me later. A #10 can weighs about 4 pounds (64 oz), and costs around $23 online, and on average has the equivalent of 80 pounds of fresh tomatoes! When compared to the equivalent of other tomato products, whether fresh canned or dried, this is a bargain! Many chefs use tomato powder because of its flavor (as tomatoes dry, the flavor becomes richer), convenience and versatility. Try it in your pantry now and save space storing so many tomato products. Nutritious and high in vitamin C, here are just a few items you can make with:
• Tomato juice/sauce/paste/soup
•  Spaghetti/pizza/Marinara sauce
•  Ketchup
•  BBQ Sauce
•  Steak sauce
•  Enchilada Sauce
•  Stews/soups/curries/gumbos
•  Add tomato powder to mashed potatoes, dips, cream cheese, bread dough, salad dressings, hummus, deviled eggs, and even popcorn. 

Here is a helpful site on how to use Tomato Powder:
http://www.yourownhomestore.com/using-thrive-tomato-powder/

2 – Dried Whole Egg Powder
Unless you have continual eggs from chickens, this is a great product to have on hand.  It offers an important source of protein and can be used in baking, cooking, or simply as scrambled eggs.

3 – Dried Peanut Butter Powder
This can be used as a flavoring in Asian cooking, used for baking, or simply add oil, salt, and a touch of sugar for the best peanut butter you’ve ever had.  Another great source of protein and the kids love it.

4 – Popcorn
Popcorn is a great comfort food and crunchy snack. You can buy 50 lb bags and seal them in a Mylar bag/bucket for very little money. Popcorn is naturally non-GMO, which is increasingly being shown to cause major health problems. The kernels can even be ground and used like regular corn meal.

5 – Unsweetened Cocoa Powder 
Chocolate is the most craved foods in the world. It is a special treat used to celebrate holidays and special occasions. It has been rationed in war times and traded as a valuable commodity in peace times; what makes it so desirable? Unlike most foods, it releases endorphins that stimulate the opiate receptors in the brain making you feel more happy and relaxed, especially in times of stress. The good news is that dark chocolate is an antioxidant and is good for you.  The average American consumes about 12lbs per person per year, so don’t forget to stock this important ingredient.

6 – Seeds for Eating and Sprouting
Sprouting seeds are a critical source of nutrition in numerous, beneficial ways; it naturally increases/develops vitamins, minerals, proteins, amino acids and photo chemicals. Sprouts can even reduce gas production because of easier digestion. They can be a great way to add fresh “live food” to your diet all year long; easy to grow, you can easily sprout seeds in something as simple as a sterile jar covered with cheesecloth. Take care to rinse and drain them often to avoid harmful bacterial growth (never eat any that smell bad or look slimy or moldy). Although almost any seed can be sprouted, research before you try new seeds, as some should only be eaten cooked (like lentils and seeds in the tomato, potato and eggplant family). Here is a list of some that you may want to try that can all be eaten raw or lightly cooked by adding at the end of a stir-fry: alfalfa, almonds, Adzuki beans, beets, chickpeas, clover, cress, fenugreek, lentils, mung, mustard, peas, pumpkin, radish and sunflower.

Practice, Practice, Practice
Like other survival skills, practicing storing and using these ingredients is essential to your success.  Be sure to cook with some of your stored food now; making something new a few times a month is fun, educational, and provides invaluable practical experience. This allows you to make adjustments to food and supplies now while everything is readily available. Try some of the new spices listed above and store up what you like. Practice alternate ways of cooking such as over an open fire, on or in your wood stove or a solar oven.  Make sure you have cast iron skillets, and a Dutch oven on hand. You will learn a lot, and your experiences will differ from your expectations; it is important to iron out the wrinkles in there here an now instead of trying to figure things out in a time limited, stressful situation. 
If you are not familiar with hunting and butchering, start small with cutting up a whole chicken from the store or a whole hog from the butcher.  YouTube has lots of videos on how to hunt and skin small game like squirrels or rabbits. There are also resources that can teach you how to smoke and cure the meat if you want to increase your learning curve. A book I highly recommend is Basic Butchering of Livestock & Game by John J. Metten Jr., DVM.

A Few Final Notes
If you haven’t already taken inventory of what you have, be sure to take the time. There are lots of helpful, on-line guides for this and most long-term food storage sites have free tools to help you. Make sure you calculate enough calories for each member of your group or family as serving sizes vary widely between products.

Gaining knowledge about foraging for edible wild plants is a skill worth developing and may help you if you have to bug out and can’t carry much with you. May you eat well because of you thoughtful planning!

Letter Re: Basic Mechanics Skill and Knowing Vehicular Limitations

JWR, 
Keep up the good work! Now that everyone knows the woes of removing a tire, does anyone check the spare tire to see if it holds air etc? Most people don’t check the tires on a road trip, let alone daily driving or the condition of the spare tire. I would ask everyone to make sure the spare tire is not only inflated, but holds air for more than a day or two!

This should go before the first post: Do you have a proper (working) and weight-rated jack to lift the vehicle, and do you know where to place the jack, (i.e.: does the vehicle have a frame or or is it a unibody design)?

Do You know which wheels are locked by the parking brake? And more importantly, once the wheel is removed (if it was a parking brake wheel) how did you immobilize the vehicle so it doesn’t roll and fall on you while the wheel is off? (i.e. wheel chocks)  

OBTW, I keep small (but professional) tire plug kits around all the time. (These include a reamer, plug tool, cement, etc.) . Regards, – Solar Guy

News From The American Redoubt:

I heard that Christian war correspondent Chuck Holton has produced a great news segment on The American Redoubt for The 700 Club television show on the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN). There are several brief interviews in this segment including one with Todd Savage of SurvivalRetreatConsulting.com. That segment should first air in the next two weeks, and will be repeated for several months.

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Reader Doug C. let me know about  Made Right Stoves, an innovative maker of woodstoves in Kalispell, Montana.

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John W. sent a link to a nice picture of the Palouse Hills of Idaho.

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New Montana Law Protects Privacy of Gun Owners from Snooping Healthcare Providers.

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Secession drive gathers steam in rural Colorado: 11 rural Colorado counties feeling slighted by urban Denver will vote on secession. It’s a long shot, but an attention-getter.

Economics and Investing:

The release of the latest anti-counterfeiting edition of the U.S. $100 Federal Reserve Note is scheduled for today. The new bill has lots of pretty gold-colored elements on the right side, but like its predecessors ever since 1963, it has NO gold or silver backing. So this is just the latest in fiat funny money. I’m often asked by readers if they should gradually replace their stored cash when new currency is released. The general answer is yes, since there may come a day when the older bills are repudiated. (After all, what is the point of anti-counterfeiting features if the older currency is allowed to circulate side by side, indefinitely?)

Boehner says U.S. on path to default if Obama won’t negotiate

A Depressed Bank Of America Predicts “Agreement Is Almost Impossible As Long As Obamacare Is On The Table”

At Zero Hedge: Greece Considering Confiscation Of Private Assets

Items from The Economatrix:

Going For Broke: The Multiple Lost Decades Of US Household Income. Is It Possible To Have A Recovery While The Standard Of Living Collapses?

US Banks Stuffing ATMs With 20-30% More Cash In Case Of Panicked Withdrawals

Private Sector Adds 166,000 Jobs In September

Odds ‘n Sods:

How To Make A Super Secret Safe – For Less Than $3

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Yet another Kickstarter project… This one is for the Third Atlas Shrugged movie.

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Exactly as planned: Connecticut ammo law creates frustration and confusion

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I noticed that our SurvivalRealty spin-off site (operated by my #1 Son) has blossomed to more than 145 listings! (Do some zooming in on the map of current listings. It is amazing.)

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F.G. sent: New NFL rule forbids Off-Duty Cops from carrying sidearms into stadiums. [JWR’s Comment: A terrorist’s dream come true: all disarmed victims.]

Life in the Year 2020: America With 20/20 Hindsight

By the year 2020 we may be in the midst of (or in the early stages of recovery from) a major depression or perhaps even a full-blown socioeconomic collapse. An old saying is: “Hindsight is 20/20.” So here is a gedanken: What will people observe in the year 2020, with the benefit of hindsight?
The following is my conjecture on what folks will cite when asked: “What went wrong?”

  • Profligate government spending at all levels
  • Multigenerational welfare
  • Rampant food stamp dependence (1/6th of the populace, as of 2013!)
  • Loss of American competitiveness
  • Declining academic standards and performance
  • Decline in manufacturing and a shift to a service economy
  • A systematically debased currency
  • Deteriorating roads, bridges, power distribution, and civic water systems
  • Increasing dependence on technology and long chains of supply
  • General apathy, moral decline, and degeneracy
  • Artificially manipulated interest rates
  • A declining work ethic and detachment from traditional self-sufficiency skills
  • Socialist policies, over-regulation, and over-taxation
  • Malinvestment in everything from wind farms to Tesla Motors
  • A narcissistic, self-absorbed, and overweight society
  • A populace obsessed with popular culture, fads, gossip, fashion, celebrities, and media sensations
  • A populace that ignores genuinely important issues
  • Statism
  • Corporate welfare
  • A corrupt crony relationship between Wall Street, the Federal Reserve banking cartel, and the Treasury Department
  • Enormous, uncontrolled debt–both public and private
  • Never-ending bailouts of public and private organizations, paid for with tax dollars.

They will also ask themselves: “What could I gave done differently, to be prepared?” They will realize that they could have, and should have decided to:

  • Move to a lightly-populated farming region that is well-removed from major population centers.
  • Learn traditional skills such as gardening, canning, hunting, welding, and home mechanics.
  • Network with like-minded individuals.
  • Get out of debt. and stay out of debt.
  • Stock up on storage food and other key logistics.
  • Arm yourself and get tactically-oriented firearms training.
  • Develop a second income stream with a home-based business that will be depression proof and resilient to mass inflation
  • Assemble a reference library.
  • Train in advanced first aid.
  • Get a ham radio license.
  • Become involved with your local farmer’s market.
  • Join a local Volunteer Fire Department.

I don’t claim to have any special insight on the future. But I can certainly see social, political, and economic trends and project their likely outcomes. The current trends do not bode well. Just by themselves, the public and private debt burdens will be enough to cause major problems in coming years. Get ready, folks.

Pat’s Product Review – X Products Drum Magazines

What is “fire power?” That has been a source of debate with many gun writers and shooters for a lot of years. Now, while I’ll readily agree that, no handgun can really give you “firepower” – I believe a semiauto rifle, like an AR, AK, M1A and many other similar rifles can lay down a deadly stream of bullets towards the bad guys. Some gun writers believe that only a select-fire or full auto rifle or light machine gun can lay down some firepower, while others believe an Apache attack helicopter or jet fighter equipped with 20 or 30mm automatic cannons can truly lay down “some serious firepower. ” I guess it depends on where you’re standing at the time – on the giving end or the receiving end of the gun.
 
I know I can empty a 30 round magazine from an AR or AK in a few seconds, while that isn’t automatic fire, it is sure enough fire power to make the person on the receiving end, wish they were some place else. Ask the person who is getting shot at, with a 30 round magazine, if that isn’t fire power – bet they’ll say it is.
 
There are some magazine makers, who just flat out manufacture poorly made magazines, and people continue to buy them, for some strange reason. Without  high-quality magazines in your firearms, you may only be left with a single-shot firearm because the money you think you saved, by purchasing a cheaply made magazine, won’t function in your firearm – and that is not a good thing in my book. I rarely purchase any aftermarket magazines for my firearms – there are a few exceptions – but for the most part, I like to stick to factory-made magazines. Now, that isn’t the case when it comes to magazines for ARs, AKs, M1As and many other modern sporting rifles – most of those magazines are indeed what are called “aftermarket” they are made by a vendor who isn’t actually manufacturing the rifles.
 
I’ve also found that, when it comes to AR-15 magazines, many makers who manufacture magazines that hold more than 30 rounds are just marketing a gimmick. Most of those magazines simply won’t function properly – even if you only load 30 rounds into a 45 round magazine. There are also some drum-style magazines that are actually two drums that feed into your AR, that hold 100 rounds of ammo. I’ve tried several over the years, and I haven’t found one that I’d be willing to be my life on, and neither should you. [JWR Adds: In my experience, Beta C-MAG 100 round drums do function as advertised, but they rattle like a maraca when loaded, so they they should mot be considered for any sort of dismounted patrolling. ]
 
The good folks at US Tactical Supply told me about some 50 round drum magazines that they are selling, and if you’ve followed my articles over the past few years, you know I think very highly of the products that US Tactical Supply sells – they only carry the best-of-the-best in my humble opinion. And, they have customer service that is second to none, too. I made a trip to US Tactical Supply and was provided two “X Products” 50-round drum magazines for testing for SurvivalBlog readers. One of the X Products magazines is for an M14 or Springfield Armory M1A .308 rifle, the other is a 50-round drum magazine for the AR-15 style of rifle. X Products magazines are completely made in the USA, which is always a selling point in my book. We can compete against foreign-made companies and produce better products, too.
 
First up is the X Product 50 round drum for the M1A – this magazine is actually shorter in length than a standard 20 round .308 magazine is, and it is much shorter than the 30 round magazines – most of which don’t work. However, US Tactical Supply does carry the Checkmate Industries (CMI) brand of 20 and 30 round magazines for the M1A that do work. (Most no-name 30-rd mags simply are junk. In contrast, the Checkmate 20 and 30 rd mags are the best you can buy in my humble opinion. However, if you want more than 20 or 30 rounds of “firepower” for your M1A or M14, then you have got to check out the X Products drum mag.
 
Granted, any .308 semiauto rifle is going to be a bit heavy to start with, then throw-in a drum magazine, with 50 rounds of .308 ammo in it, and you are adding close to another 5-pounds of weight to the rifle. There are always some trade-offs in this sort of situation, and only you can decide how much weight you are willing to pack in your long gun. For me, this is a no-brainer – 50 rounds of .308 without having to reload is the way to go when a fire-fight breaks out. The X Product drum magazines are manufactured out of steel and Aluminum – no plastic parts at all. And, as already noted, these M1A magazines are not as long as 20 round magazines are. Plus, you can actually carry your M1A sling-arms without the drum interfering with your body.
 
There is also a spring-loaded “winding key” on the front of the magazine, as you place a round and are ready to push it into the magazine, you simply turn the “key” so the round drops right in – do this 49 more times, and you are ready to rock ‘n roll. I will admit, the winding key is a bit stout, then again, the spring that pushes the rounds up, so the drum magazine can smoothly AND reliably feed those rounds into the M1A must, out of necessity be strong. The X Products 50 round drum magazine is rated to feed 950-rounds per minute – if you can pull the trigger that fast, and reload the gun that fast. I tested this magazine in a Springfield Armory M1A SOCOM, and the magazine fit perfectly and fed every round without any problems at all. Okay, we are talking very serious firepower here, and I don’t care what your definition of “firepower” might be – 50 rounds of .308 on-tap, without having to reload is mighty impressive in my book.
 
I tested .308 Win/7.62 NATO FMJ military surplus ammo, as well as from Black Hills Ammunition 168 grain Match Hollow Point and their 175 grain Match Hollow Point, and from Buffalo Bore Ammunition their Sniper 175 grain JHP and their 150 grain Barnes TTSX poly tip load. I had zero feeding malfunctions using any of this ammo. I was a bit concerned about the JHP and poly tipped ammo feeding through the X Products mag, but every round fed without fail. I reloaded the 50-round drum magazine four times, for a total of 200 rounds down range – this wasn’t a test of accuracy – it was only to test the reliability of the magazine. I will readily admit, but the time I was loading the magazine for the third time, my hand was getting tired from winding the magazine to load it.
 
Enter the X Products 50 round drum magazine designed for AR-15 style rifles, this one is quite a bit smaller than the mag for the M1A type of rifles, and the spring on the “winding key” wasn’t nearly as stout – but still stout enough to push those rounds up as fast as you could pull the trigger. During my testing, I used Winchester 55 grain FMJ ammo, and from Buffalo Bore I used their 69 grain JHP Sniper round. From Black Hills I had a wide assortment of ammo to shoot, including their 55 grain FMJ reloads, 55 grain FMJ brand-new ammo, 52 grain Hornady V-Max, 52 grain Match Hollow Point, 55 grain Soft Point, 60 grain Soft Point and their 68 grain Heavy Match Hollow Point. And, I mixed this ammo when loading the drum magazines, and once again, no surprises, every single round fed perfectly.
 
During the time of the great ammo drought of 2013, I’m having a difficult time getting all the ammo samples I want for my shooting articles, and I have been restricting myself to only shooting about 200 rounds during a firearms test. However, I got completely carried away with my DPMS “AR” and fired more than 400 rounds though the gun, using the X Products 50 round drum magazine – it was a total blast, literally, being able to lay down that kind of fire power, without having to reload. You can fire up to 1,100 rounds per minute using the 50 round drum magazine – that is fast enough to keep up with just about any full-auto M4 rifle in my humble opinion.
 
The X Products drum magazines are coated inside and out with Cerakote for friction reduction, and to provide the reliability you demand, without using any lube, that can cause problems. The X Products drum mag is also 4-5 inches shorter than the Surefire quad stack magazine. Honestly, with this mag loaded in your AR-style rifle, it is really compact. This is “the” magazine you want stuffed in your AR, if you are using it for a house gun – if you can repel attackers with 50 rounds available, then you are in deep, deep trouble, and probably can’t save yourself. BTW, the AR mag is built entirely of aluminum with no plastic parts to break.
 
The only negative I could find with either of these X Products drum magazines is that, you are having so much fun, you are burning-up a lot of ammo in a short period of time…I don’t care what other gun writer’s or armchair experts might say, 50 rounds of ammo on tap, without a reload is firepower in my book, and if you are on the receiving end of that many rounds flying at you, I’m sure you’ll agree with this finding as well.
 
Now, quality never comes cheap, and the price for the M1A/M14 X Products drum magazine is $275 and for the AR drum magazine the price is $210 Now, I’m not advocating that you purchase half a dozen each of these magazines. However, what I would suggest is that, you purchase one or maybe even two of these magazines. If you are a police officer, in the military or a Prepper, load one of these 50 round drum magazines in your rifle, and then use other “standard” magazines for your reloads. If I got into a fire-fight, it would be VERY reassuring to have 50 rounds of ammo available during that crucial initial engagement, without having to reload. Laying down a lot of bullets at the bad guys at the start of a gunfight can make a big difference in my book. Keep their heads down, while you move from one position to another. Fire and movement!
 
These are the magazines you want in your gun – at the start of a fire fight! – SurvivalBlog Field Gear Editor Pat Cascio

Colorado Flooding Aftermath: A First Hand Report, by Roger I.

I lived in Jamestown Colorado until three weeks ago, and was prepared for various disasters, mostly fire, and I always expected a road system to exist.  Wrong-o!

I have a more keen sense of the Lord’s blessings, and they are amazing. The outpouring of support from the various communities that I’m in has been amazing.   I am walking in abundance, but not everybody is. My life has had a hard reboot – I was in some middle-aged doldrums – no more! I anonymized my name and corporate affiliation in the narrative, otherwise, it’s unedited, and reflects my understanding of the events at different times, as things unfolded.

This is a narrative of surviving a flood in a small mountain town of 350 persons in Boulder County, Colorado.  After several days of unusual rains, the situation was described as a 500 year flood event.    On Sept 11 I was having barbeque with a friend, and it started raining.   No big deal.  On Sept 12, I could not get to work, because of road flooding, the power was out, and I was prepared with radio, walkie talkies, electricity and food.  I thought we’d down for a couple days, or maybe a week.  On Friday, Sept 13, it became clear that we were cut off from the larger world, and that something extraordinary was occurring.  I was well prepared for the wildfires that come here, but not a flood. I always thought that the road system would exist – and that was the biggest gap in my planning!

Here’s a stream-of-consciousness description of events, unedited.

Roger’s Jamestown Flood Narrative #1 – Evacuation Sept 18 2013

The Bad:

Last Friday, Sept 13, a Chinook helicopter evacuated my wife and I from Jamestown, Colorado with 3 cats, a backpack each.

Even if the main road is open after weeks or months, my house in town on a minor dirt road was across a bridge. Bridges belong to the  town, as does the water system. Rebuilding Jamestown may occur at the earliest a year, or not at all, depending on FEMA. Given the damage in Lyons, Longmont and Boulder … well, Jamestown,  with  300 people doesn’t take  priority. On  Tuesday, Sept  24, I am mounting an expedition with a couple 4WD vehicles to winterize  the houses, and get 2 cars worth of possessions. Getting things out must be done on foot, over a makeshift bridge and ford with backpacks – even a wheelbarrow or wagon isn’t  possible, and I’m hiring some younger friends that meet the inflexible  Sheriff’s requirement of having a Jamestown drivers license. I am concerned about squatters and looters, but  the area’s secure for a week or so.

There is no vehicle access to the town. Jamestown may not be rebuilt – we’ve all heard of a ghost town.

Some great  learning opportunities! Did I mention that FEMA forms are full of  questions that you need legal papers to answer? Did I mention that Hospice Thrift Shop is the best  in Boulder? Did I mention that learning to live without my own car is a challenge? Did I mention that learning to use the bus system (which is quite good here) will be a hoot?

The  Good: Really, I’m blessed. My friend Norm picked us up from the Chinook [CH-47 military helicopter] at Boulder airport, and let us stay in his spare bedroom.

Rental with 3 cats is difficult, but it turns out my friend had a tenant not pay rent on Sept 1, and he just had evicted him and the guy left the place  smelling of cat piddle – perfect for someone with three cats! No need to paint, re-carpet, or even put an ad out for a new tenant, it was all done on a handshake.

My wife and I dropped in to my job to do the admin work of setting up a new house. It  is  so good  to have  a place with phone, printer and internet to perform change  of address, phone  service, and so forth.

Someone from my work  offered to loan a spare car!

The future – I may  have lost a house, but may still have  a primitive cabin! My old house above  Jamestown  survived, and because it has a well (with water  that  is rust-colored) and is on the main road may become habitable if they rebuild the road.   Currently, accessibility is via  seasonal mountain dirt roads and the commute to Boulder is 3.5 hours.

How great  is it to have housing, transportation and work’s understanding of the situation?

It’s  a disaster, but not a tragedy.

Roger’s Jamestown Flood Narrative #2 – from response to recovery Sept 22 2013

The initial disaster response is complete.  Immediate physical needs of housing, furniture and transportation are met.   Martha & Marc S. loaned me a Prius, and it’s a blast to drive!  Not having internet really hurts, but will be done Thurs, Sept 26.    I’m ahead of the curve in the physical world, but behind in the infosphere, and that’s okay.   I can spend way too much time on a computer. Last  week, my wife had an urgent care incident involving  a tiny nick on a finger that turned to a big infection requiring antibiotic injection.   If we had stayed in Jamestown, we would have been in real trouble. Wash your hands!

Weather permitting, I’ll muster a team on Tues Sept 24 to recover valuables. This is done with backpacks across a footbridge, and the distance is only 1/2  mile across  a new stream, and up a steep hill.   Our cars are not accessible, and still no word on a temporary bridge to retrieve them. At least our buildings are intact, but they are now buildings, not homes or rental houses. We’ll also perform winterization of cars and buildings (drain traps must have anti-freeze, empty water heaters, washing machines, etc). Greg, Rick,  and Nate are loaning 4WD trucks, and I look forward to using trained engineers as pack animals 😉 I also have a couple young volunteer firefighter friends.  I rent a house to one of ’em, and every time he did a call, I told him to take $50 off the rent, to show my appreciation of his public service.   Of course, he’s eager to help too.  Karma works.

FEMA help is a mixed blessing.   They provide a lot of help, but are pretty nosy. I paid my taxes for 40 years, and getting some back would be soooo nice. FEMA is a road show – they may leave here this week, so coordinating their inspectors with my Jamestown expedition is challenging.    It  may require 4 trips to Jamestown. My wife is affected financially, as she was a landlord, and now has only a meager state pension, (in lieu of Social Security), and now has rent expenses as well as loss of income. She will be navigating state  and local government assistance, as well as  FEMA. Funny how our plans can change  – I thought I’d be trimming the trees and doing some fire mitigation this month.   That’s  one pain in the neck that I don’t have! (Later we see this wasn’t true ! )

For  my geek friends,   this has been a life-reboot, and I’ve just gotten past POST, and am in that place where you’re waiting and waiting for the OS to come up and display the logon screen.

I  have the understanding of my company management team at this time – folks I know do not have the work flexibility that I’ve been blessed with.  The outpouring of generosity from employees is noteworthy –  I asked for a  bed, and had 3 on Friday by noon.  I have better cookware  and cutlery that I had in Jamestown.    Physical goods are abundant,  and buying them doesn’t make much sense – money’s  a lot harder to come by than stuff.

That’s all for now!

“It’s a disaster, not a tragedy”

 

Roger’s Flood Narrative Three Wednesday Sept 25 A backpack expedition:

On Tues, Sept 26, my wife and I went on an expedition to retrieve our belongings from our homes in Jamestown.

Recap:  The house is standing and undamaged, but after the flood, there’s no longer a road  to get  there. The old road that took 30 minutes  to get to Boulder is gone, and some dirt roads must be used, but they’re damaged, and the route takes 1.5 hours, and is downright hazardous. In winter it will be impossible to get from Boulder to Jamestown some of the time, and dangerous at all times.

We were able  to get to with 1/4 mile of the house, then we had to cross a makeshift foot  bridge, climb a mud path on a hill with a rope to stabilize yourself, and  backpack everything we wanted out.    Besides getting our things, we wanted to make a start on winterizing the houses – all the water must  be blown out from the  P-trap pipes on dishwashers, washers, sinks, bathtubs and toilets and replaced with antifreeze in order to have a drain system in the springtime.

We enlisted the aid of Nate VanDuine (software engineer), Victor Smith (firefighter), David Lindquist (firefighter), Chris Ryan (firefighter) and Rick Sutherland (painter).   Using  software engineers as pack animals is always an iffy proposition, but after some training, Nate did great.   Also,  Greg Walter graciously loaned the use his 4WD pickup, as did Nate.

It was a beautiful day, and our mission was pretty successful – we got  clothing and computers, but didn’t get things like books, cookware, or furniture, obviously! Friends at work and in general, and the thrift stores have all provided  wonderful support.   On Friday, I put out a call for a bed on an employer-sponsored board, and had three offers by noon! People are incredibly generous, and work is incredibly supportive at the local and national level.

Dealing with FEMA  is  my next challenge.   Gathering paperwork is tedious, as is waiting in line, but all in all, I’m impressed with the FEMA response, and with the compassionate and helpful attitude of the workers.   The delivery of services isn’t perfect, but the people are pleasant, and that makes a world of difference.  They really must have learned a lot from previous disasters, because my experience is pretty good. One big thing they learned from Katrina is  to let people bring pets on the helicopters. my wife and I have our 3 cats, and that’s huge.

In order to get aid for our non-accessible houses, we need to be physically present for FEMA inspectors in Jamestown, and the only scheduling mechanism is telephone at the last minute.

The rumor yesterday was that a temporary road will be up within about a week, so that  we can retrieve our cars in Jamestown.   Not having access to your  car and house is frustrating – so  near yet so far! It’s unlikely that the road system will be rebuilt before 1.5 years (two summers), and may not  get rebuilt at all. The water system is a different – because the main access road is a county road, it might get rebuilt. However, the water  system is from 1930s WPA work, and was rickety – it’s owned by the town of  350 persons. Now that the distribution system is damaged, and the main plant will go unattended,  it strikes me as unlikely that we’ll get the tax base together  to rebuild it to modern standards. A  well isn’t an option due to state regulation.  So have a house that’s  inaccessible at present, may be uninhabitable for at least a 1.5 years, and possibly forever. As mentioned in the first  narrative I may have a house in a ghost town, but it will make a great weekend getaway – the night sky will be very dark, and perfect for my 13″  Dobsonian reflector!

“It’s a disaster, not a tragedy”.

Roger’s Flood Narrative Four Sunday Sept 29

The finish line for the sprint and start of the marathon, and a word of advice to the prudent.

Sunday Sept 29 2013

It’s been 2 weeks since I was evacuated via Chinook helicopter from the Colorado flood.  I can finally use the Biblical and Epic as adjectives without hyperbole. Since then, I’ve seen an outpouring of generosity from the communities I’m in that’s been incredible.  I never thought I’d have so much goodwill to manage!

A few bad things I’ve seen after the event:

The drunks in my town started “borrowing” bottles from their neighbors who were not home. Societal breakdown happens quickly, and normally honest people become criminals of opportunity. I also experienced a theft after the flood, and that stings. You can’t let down your guard, and have to be vigilant when fatigued, and at the same time gracious to others who were affected. These events bring out criminals of opportunity and they hurt those on the margins the most. I’ve seen of the homeless and marginal members of society hurt a lot. The scene of a mentally ill person at the FEMA site harassing the guards and evacuees haunts me still.  He was eventually arrested.   I can’t imagine how the security folks, police and FEMA workers maintain their civility and humor. I’ve seen scammers trying to game the system and swindle refugees, which is shameful. I’ve tried Korean toothpaste from the Red Cross and wow – they sure make a different-tasting product.  However, Red Cross will get my donations in the future – for feeding us at FEMA sites, and the general immediate assistance they provide.

In terms of life experience, I was in a rut, and the good news is that I’m not in a rut any more!

The finish line for the sprint: A temporary road has been built, and I’ll retrieve the cars today. My FEMA administrative will be finished tomorrow. The time for disaster, new housing for my family, a psychological reboot and return to a semblance of normalcy has been two weeks of running on adrenaline.

Today, Sunday Sept 29, I’m going up for my final FEMA inspection. The drive there is grueling – it takes a couple hours up rutted dirt roads with a lot of traffic and breakdowns, and it will be worse in winter. The FEMA guy and I missed each other on 2 previous occasions. There isn’t land line or cell phone there, and a commute of two hours and missing someone makes me depressed.   On the other hand, when God made time, He made lots of it, so I try to enjoy the aspens turning, and there’s plenty of chores to do in Jamestown. At 60 years of age, I get a few joint aches doing this much physical work under a deadline, but I’m thankful that I’m in good enough shape to do it at all. JWR’s advice about physical and spiritual fitness is to be taken seriously. I did, and now I’m glad for it.

Writing four narratives helped immensely, so that I have some understanding of my new situation, and to get help from folks.

The start of the marathon: Our buildings are undamaged, but uninhabitable due to lack of access and water.  You just can’t drill a well, legally, and putting in a cistern and having water trucked may have legal as well as logistical challenges. I have yet to winterize the houses, but I’m hiring that out to locals. I need to complete a fire mitigation project that I was in the middle of, and will now hire that out too.   Expensive. Ouch. The time for a new road to looks like summer 2014. In that time, I hope to rebuild my home, but I have to consider living in an unfamiliar community – which is not a fate worse than death, despite my initial feelings about it 😉   My bucolic lifestyle had it’s downsides, and the ability to get a pizza delivered has some charm. Defending the old homestead from fire, looters, and squatters will be a challenge. I don’t know if I’m up to being a combination fire and police department. Winterizing the houses so the pipes don’t burst, and maintaining the septic systems is necessary until a water system is restored, and the FEMA funds are uncertain.  If a water system is funded, the time frame is unclear, and there’s no guarantee it will be concurrent with a road, but you never know.     I realize more keenly now that homes require constant maintenance and use to keep them habitable. And there’s changing building code and occupancy requirements by local government.   The folks relocated by fires in Boulder county found that only a few percent were able to rebuild to code. Insurance does not cover inaccessibility due to flooding, and I’ve noticed that things have become more expensive than when I was a lad. My best case scenario is re-occupying the house by fall, 2014. That’s what I’m hoping for.

This is going to be an interesting engineering and planning exercise, and I’m up for it !

Here’s advice in one word.

Laminate.

I had a disaster plan in place with a friend in a neighboring community. We discussed it in advance, and the plan had a list of procedures to follow. The plan was for a fire, but it adapted to a flood.

Laminating a plan brings it to a level of formality that’s executable, and if it rains cats and dogs, you can still read it!

The Lord’s blessings and lamination are a powerful combination!

Roger’s Postscript and Debrief Sunday Oct 6

Situational awareness was key to taking the right course of action. During the rains, after the 2nd bridge washed out, those of us on one of the “islands” that now define Jamestown got together at the 1-room schoolhouse. Most folks didn’t understand what was happening, and thought that we’d be back up and running in a week or two, and that between the individual preppers and the government, we’d be up and running in a couple weeks. I had a talk with a friend that I regard as bright, and he simply said “I was in Katrina, and I can tell you that Jamestown is done for a year.” That sentence made my situational awareness change, and I could take appropriate action. Most folks didn’t get it until a week after they were off the helicopters. I was able to set up a new household based on that one sentence, and I’m now helping others, and participating in small-town government plans to rebuild. Whether we can raise the money is unknown, but there’s enough infrastructure left for it to be worth a try.

Some of JWR’s readers will take issue with me using FEMA.  Don’t judge me.   They are there with money, helicopters and housing. They were effective and compassionate. I suspect that a small town in Colorado can get different treatment than the nightmare that was Katrina, just on the basis of scale.  One of the things that they learned from Katrina is to let people bring pets – many folks had an attitude of “I won’t leave without my pet”, and they were able to make that a non-issue. I will let JWR know in a year whether I would have used FEMA in the aftermath again.

Families with children were easy to evacuate, older folks were harder. The older folks would not have fared well had they stayed. One had a suspected heart attack, and there was no way to get help to him. Don’t be too attached to your home in a genuine disaster.

About 20 people remain in Jamestown.    Some of these have a good chance of over-wintering, and they are all deep preppers whose homes were not in the flood plain.   They are all in the 55 year and up age group, for some reason.  These are the folks who own backhoes and excavators, and there are 6 of them. They will get the rebuilding contracts. Another four are more granola oriented, and they  have experience from Peace Corps living in Third World countries, and they’ve lived off-grid lives of simplicity for years. They will get the house maintenance (winterize and watch my house during diaspora) contracts. One of the cannabis grow ops was well set up, and that family will thrive, barring crop failure. The others are drunks and young hippies, who appear self-reliant, but just happened to luck out.  I expect a cull of these folks.

I’ll check back in a year and let you know my experience with FEMA and more.

Letter Re: Living Off The Land: Delusions and Misconceptions About Hunting and Gathering

Jim,
This letter is in response to your link to a post by Ross Gilmore: Living Off The Land: Delusions and Misconceptions About Hunting and Gathering.  It’s a well-written article and I’d like to expand upon it.

I’ve been teaching Stone Age skills for 29 years and I’ve spent most of my adult life in the backcountry of Idaho and British Columbia.  I never purchased meat or fish from a store for about 20 years, though I consumed a lot.  I’ve lived Stone Age for short periods of time, living completely off the land using only the skills and tools of long ago… handmade longbow with obsidian-tipped arrows, stone knife, cordage snares and deadfall traps, etc.

I’ve now moved to the other wilderness, Los Angeles, where I’m sharing my skills and learning new lessons every day… but that’s another story.

Meeting one’s caloric needs directly from the land is an idea filled with Dances with Wolves romanticism.  Most people have no idea what it’s really like.  I have been reduced to such a weakened state from lack of calories that walking 100 yards required stopping to rest, and that was after only a week of living off the land.  That experience occurred in the mountains of Oregon in the Hell’s Canyon Wilderness in May, “springtime.”  Spring in the mountains there meant that I was snowed on, hailed on, and rained on, and water froze solid every night.  I was likely burning through at least 7000 calories per day, and my main source of calories, bisquitroot (Lomatium spp.), provided 2-3 calories per gram.  Now, 2-3 calories per gram is very high for most wild food, but I still required about 15 pounds of it per day to break even!  I couldn’t eat that much.

However, something that Ross Gilmore doesn’t point out is that there is a transition period during which our bodies acclimate to new foods.  Much of that acclimation takes about a week, after which a person more efficiently processes wild foods and more efficiently utilizes the energy.  We adjust.  Part of the adjustment comes from our flexible metabolism: our metabolism shifts to match food intake.  When there is inadequate food, we have a desire to move slower and sleep more.  That’s why “Naked and Afraid” people lay around so much.  However, a person getting close to adequate calories after the transition from conventional to natural food sources will feel more energized after that weeklong adjustment.

Trapping is the way to go for efficient harvesting of calorie-dense food.  My success rate for traps is 1 kill for every 3-4 traps set, per night.  However, most of the survival instructors that I’ve met lack the experience to set traps in the best locations, quickly and efficiently.  Paiute children were reported to set up to 75 deadfall traps in a day, using trap sticks previously made.  Now, at my success rate, that means about 20 critters per day.  The ground squirrels in Paiute country are huge, but let’s figure a mix of ground squirrels, pack rats and mice and estimate half a pound of meat, organs and fat per animal.  That’s 10 pounds per day.  An average adult needs about 2 pounds.

But let’s be realistic.  Most instructors cannot set more than a dozen Paiute deadfalls in a day and their success rate is dismal.  And I’m talking about the people who teach this stuff for a living.

Understanding local resources intimately is key, as Ross pointed out.  So is timing.  Harvesting and storing acorns at the appropriate time means food is always available, and some of the California tribes consumed up to half of their year’s calories via acorns.  However, most tribes did not store huge amounts of food during pre-agricultural times.  They didn’t have to.  The keys are intimate knowledge of the environment, timing, extensive knowledge and skills, and action.  Rise early in the morning to stand hunt, then set traps in the mid-late morning while opportunistically hunting, forage easy items as you go, middle of the day process food/work around camp/make traps and tools, then during the evening hunt or set more traps while opportunistically hunting.  Each day cover 2-5 miles, depending on your environment.

When I lived in areas with chipmunks, setting a deadfall trap resulted in almost 100% success within a few hours.  In the Midwest during summer, a day in the woods covering 5 miles while carrying a bow would yield way more calories than required in the form of snakes, frogs, chipmunks, perhaps a grouse or larger animal, and a wide variety of plant foods that are consumed on the go.

In the mountains of Idaho and British Columbia, one elk provides 350 pounds of meat.  When you include the fat, organs and bones (lots of fat is stored within the bones, which must be smashed and boiled to extract) and take the time to properly preserve the animal, you can leisurely enjoy the rest of your year!  Most of the meat I preserved in Idaho was simply cut thin and laid over bushes where it dried just fine in one day.

In Ross’ example of living off the land, legally, in New York, conditions would be tougher.  Killing 12 bucks is illegal and keeping to the hunting season would be difficult, but there are many other easier sources of calorie-rich foods.  Raccoons, beaver, cats and dogs (during the Zombie Apocalypse), and rodents… these animals are easy to trap in abundance in the right areas.  Remember, 1 success out of every 3-4 traps set by a skilled individual.  Imagine a marsh with muskrats and beaver, plus raccoons working the banks, and an abundance of cattail roots, shoots and seeds (yes, you can fluff up the dry seed heads and flash burn the fluff from the seeds.  Very tasty and high in calories.)  Marshes also have waterfowl, possibly fish and crayfish, frogs, snakes and turtles.  FYI, every animal in North America can be eaten, including skunk.  I’ve done it.  

My point is that living off the land is easy under certain conditions and with a lot of skill, and that it requires specific actions.  My point is also that most survival instructors do not have the skills or experience to teach it well.

What really doesn’t work is the idealized notion that “I’ll just go out and find food.”  I have many years of experience in identifying plants and learning how to efficiently harvest and process them.  I’ve learned by doing.  I’ve set traps that fell down before an animal found it, or the animal stole the bait.  I’ve spent countless days watching deer trails and walking back to camp empty-handed.  You have to put in your time.

I have yet to see a television show in which the participant/s follow an intelligent course of action for long-term living.  Most of the shows are about toughing out the conditions until they get back to the safety and abundance of civilization.  What a shame.  The outdoors are portrayed as a dangerous place to get out of.  That mentality does not provide good information for someone who is serious about meeting his needs directly from the land in ways that are easy and efficient.  Eating a few willow buds, as “Survivorman” Les Stroud did on one of his episodes, and proclaiming, “Mmmmm… this will give me some energy” is inexcusable.  It’s lying.

One last comment about Ross’ article: dried mashed potatoes are nice if you want a tasty conventional addition to your wild foraging, but it’s not the most efficient food to bring.  Fats and oils contain 9 calories per gram.  That’s the food to carry if you are wanting maximum calories.

Get outdoors, get dirty, practice real skills in real situations, and bring a lighter and “back up” supplies… just in case.

Chris Morasky, Ancient Pathways of SoCal

JWR Replies: I agree with you and Mr. Gilmore! In many of my writings over the years, I’ve warned that the “Batman in the Boondocks” approach is foolhardy. Anyone who thinks that they can a carry all that they need in one backpack to survive in the wilds for extended periods is fooling themselves. That would be perilous even in the present day. But to expect to be able to do so in the midst of a societal collapse is just plain laughable. Just think how many other people will simultaneously be attempting to “live off the land.” Except in very remote regions, the streams and rivers will be fished out and the wild game will be largely shot out and trapped out, in less than a year. And what little game remains will be quite spooked. A self-sufficient farm with a variety of crops and livestock, hay cutting ground, and an adjoining woodlot is a much more realistic solution

Letter Re: Camouflage Utility Uniforms

Mr. Rawles:
You made mention of the Army adopting some Multicam variants for standard [field utility] uniforms; I’m not too surprised by this. The Army’s move from BDUs (and DCUs for deployments) to ACUs, and finally Multicam, has an enjoyable history of stupidity and corruption (hard to imagine with the military, I know). Having worn ACUs in both garrison and deployment/combat, they’re wonderfully light to wear…and get easily torn up and ripped up, unlike BDUs/DCUs. ACU are also terrible at actually camouflaging the wearer, unless you spent all your time in a grayish pastel quarry….which, of course, are rarity in Iraq and Afghanistan. Overseas, we stood out like garish sore thumbs.

Multicam, on the other hand, is a camo pattern that’s actually effective at concealing folks, and best of all, it bears resemblance to former camo patterns, as opposed to the digitalized garbage. Perhaps Multicam will improve the ACUs as well (doubt it), but I don’t dread wearing them.

Downside is, this is many more hundreds of millions of dollars needed to be spent to outfit folks, to buy uniforms, and flood the surplus market with outdated ACUs. Oh, joy. If they take out the velcro and return to (quiet) buttons for things, that’ll work out well too (buttons last longer than velcro…who knew? ;-).
Anyway, just my 2 cents. Yours, – CPT C.K.

Economics and Investing:

Sue C. suggested this: What would a U.S. default look like?

The FBI’s Plan For The Millions Worth Of Bitcoins Seized From Silk Road

H.L. sent: Property owners in Lake Mead forced to leave their own homes until government shutdown ends. [JWR’s Comment: I’ve often warned about the risk of being a “inholder” on Federal land. Here is one implication that has come to pass.]

Items from The Economatrix:

‘You Should Be Concerned’: Obama Warns World Markets There Is No Guarantee U.S. Will Avoid Defaulting On Its Debts

Jobless Claims Rise, And Hiring Remains Slow

The Rise Of A Semi-Employed America: Amazon To Hire 70,000 Part-Time Workers While Merck Will Fire 8,500 Full-Time Employees. Before Recession 4 Million Part-Time Workers, Today Over 8 Million.

Odds ‘n Sods:

Fires prompt recall of 15 million surge protectors. (Thanks to H.L. for the link.)

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The NPR affiliate in Charlotte, North Carolina reports on The Rise Of ‘Prepper’ Culture, in a 51-minute roundtable discussion. They spend some time semantically hairsplitting between the terms “prepper” and “survivalist.” But based on their definition, many of the “Doomsday Preppers” featured on the National Geographic show of the same name would actually be survivalists.

   o o o

Seeing “art” like this tripe makes me feel ill. What would be more appropriate would be a sculpture made out of the tens of thousands of those idiotic cable locks that are now sold packaged with most new guns in the United States.

   o o o

Cheryl N. sent: Training Al-Qaeda To Be More Efficient Killers Is Now An Essential Function Of The US Government

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As part of the publicity blitz for Expatriates, I was recently interviewed by the folks at The Prepper Recon Podcast. (Wherein we discuss much more than just the novel.)

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Reminder: Until October 15th, the SurvivalBlog 2005-2012 Archive DVD is sale priced at just $11.99.

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"It is our duty to endeavor always to promote the general good; to do to all as we would be willing to be done by were we in their  circumstances; to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly before God. These are some of the laws of nature which every man in  the world is bound to observe, and which whoever violates exposes himself to the resentment of mankind, the lashes of his own  conscience, and the judgment of Heaven. This plainly shows that the highest state of liberty subjects us to the law of nature and  the government of God." – Samuel West, On the Right to Rebel Against Governors, 1776

Notes from JWR:

Today is the birthday of science fiction author David Brin. (Born, 1950.) He wrote The Postman, which was very loosely the foundation of a movie by Kevin Costner.

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Today we present another entry for Round 48 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), F.) Two BirkSun.com photovoltaic backpacks (one Level, and one Atlas, both black), with a combined value of $275, G.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo. and H.) A roll of $10 face value in pre-1965 U.S. 90% silver quarters, courtesy of GoldAndSilverOnline.com. The current value of this roll is at least $225.

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.) $300 worth of ammo from Patriot Firearms and Munitions. (They also offer a 10% discount for all SurvivalBlog readers with coupon code SVB10P.), E.) A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials F.) A full set of all 22 of the books published by PrepperPress.com. This is more than a $200 value, and G.) 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.) Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security., F.) A Tactical Trauma Bag #3 from JRH Enterprises (a $200 value), and G.) A Nesco / American Harvest Gardenmaster Dehydrator with an extra set of trays, and the book The Dehydrator Bible, from Mayflower Trading. (A $210 value.)

Round 49 ends on November 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.