Note from JWR:

Because of some factual errors and key omissions, today’s writing contest entry on “Anesthetics for TEOTWAWKI” has been removed by the Editor.

News From The American Redoubt:

I heard about another prepper-friendly church in the American Redoubt: Marble Community Fellowship. They are located at 3383 Hwy 25 N., Northport, Washington, 99157. (Northport is in the remote, sparsely-populated north-east corner of Washington.) They are 100 miles north of Spokane, on the Columbia River and are seeking conservative, patriotic families to relocate. They presently have only an event web site: MarbleCountry.com, but a brochure PDF titled “A Time for Solutions” is available upon request. Contact: Barry Byrd.

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A coin dealer that I can recommend is: American Coin and Vault, in Spokane, Washington. They are located on the corner of Wall St. & Nebraska, just north of Wellesley Street and south of Francis Street. (Full address; 5525 N. Wall St., Spokane, Washington 99205) I started doing business with them back when they operated out of a converted residence, back in the early 1990s.

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Check out Montana Brand Tools. Made in Ronan, Montana.

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I heard from my old friend Terry that Armageddon Armory (2809 Garrity Boulevard in Nampa, Idaho) has heavily restocked following the recent gun and ammo shortages. They sell locally, or can ship guns to your local FFL. They now have in stock: Many models of AR-15s and M4geries including Colt, Armalite, S&W, SIG-Sauer, Windham, Daniel Defense, Ruger, Anderson, Mossberg, Stag Arms, Bushmaster, and DPMS. They also sell AR receivers, bolts, stocks, parts and a huge pile of magazines including Magpul, Surefire, and more. They also have several models of AR-10s made by Armalite, Bushmaster, and DPMS. Other guns on hand include Armalite, LAR and Barrett .50 BMGs, various AKs, PTR91s, Mini-14s, SKSes, M1 Carbines, M1A s, Mauser M48s, several Mosin Nagants, Swiss M1911 straight pull rifles, Cobrays (“MACs”), and huge host of hunting rifles, handguns, riotguns, and .22s of all sorts including Rascal and Cricket youth rifles. One of their specialties is Saiga shotguns in .410, 20 gauge, and 12 gauge, both standard and tactical conversions, plus drums and many parts in stock. Their ammo inventory has also rebounded and presently includes .30-06, .308, 8mm Lebel, .45 ACP, 9mm, .380, 9mm Makarov, .357 SIG, 10mm, .38, .357, .44, . 45LC, and tracer ammo for .223, .308, 7.62x54R. They have lots of .50 BMG ammo in stock (new and remanufactured) including Ball, Armor Piercing, Tracer, and APIT. (Note: they have no .22LR, .17 HMR, .22 Magnum, .30-30, .30 Carbine, .30 Tokarev, or .22-250 in stock at this time.) They also sell Meals Ready to Eat (MREs) by the entree, the single pouch, by the case of 12, or by the dozens of cases. Phone (208) 465-3577, for details.

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Murders are so uncommon in the American Redoubt that nearly every one of them gets detailed news coverage.

Economics and Investing:

IRS: Cheapest Obamacare Plan Will Be $20,000 Per Family.

India’s coin shortage worsens. Gresham’s Law is showing its hidden hand. (Thanks to Diana for the link.)

Peter Schiff – Whatever the Fed Does, Gold Will Rally! US Economy Already Ruined. Schiff posits that the current “recovery” is artificial and the that Fed will increase Quantitative Easing. In the long run, interest rates must rise. Schiff foresees more QE, larger deficits, and another currency/sovereign debt crisis, so he is quite bullish on gold.

G.G. flagged this: U.S. disability rolls swell in a rough economy

Items from The Economatrix:

How The Fed’s Bazooka Misfired:  QE-Infinity Sends Experiment Awry

To Challenge These Statements Is Blasphemous

Eurozone Recovery Fades – Will The U.S. Follow?

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Right now, the FOMC has ‘a tiger by its tail’ – it has lost control of monetary policy.  The Fed can’t stop buying assets because interest rates will rise and choke the recovery.  In short, today’s decision not to taper was driven by unimpressive economic data, the fear of a 3% yield on the 10 year Treasury and gridlock in Washington.  If the economy cannot handle a 3% yield on the 10 year, then the S&P 500 should not be north of 1700.  It is remarkable that the equity market continued to buy into easy money over economic growth.  QE3 has been ongoing for nearly a year and the economy is not strong enough to ease off the accelerator (forget about applying the brake).  Simultaneously, the S&P 500 is up 21% year to date and the average share gain in the index is over 25%.  Maybe today’s action will turn out to be short covering, but if it was not then paying continually higher prices for equities in a potentially weakening economy is a very dangerous proposition.” – Mike O’Rourke at JonesTrading  

Note from JWR:

There are now just eight days until the release of my novel Expatriates. Please wait until the release day to place your order. That way you will get the best possible price, and we might see the book up in Amazon.com’s Top 20.

Pat’s Product Review: CRKT Parasaw

Every now and then I run across one of those, “Gee, why didn’t I think of that…” products – and kick myself for not thinking of it. Anyone who has been around knives at all, probably know who Ken Onion is. He’s not only a very talented custom knife maker, but he has collaborated on a number of different knife designs, with various knife companies. I once did an article about Ken Onion, and one of his designs for Knives Illustrated magazine, when I was the West Cost Field Editor. Ken and I had a great talk on the phone – me in Oregon and he was in Hawaii – and to say he is a wild man is putting it mildly – but a lot of fun to talk to.
 
So, it was quite a surprise to me, to learn that, Onion designed a new Paracord bracelet. Anyone who is a Prepper or Survivalist, are aware of the popularity of the Paracord bracelets that folks have been wearing for a year or two, on their wrists. And, it’s a good idea, if you’re out camping, in combat or just out for a hike, to have some type of cord, you never know when you might need to lash something down, use it to replace a broken shoe lace – or any number of other emergencies that come along when you are out in the boonies or in a combat situation. So, I like the idea of the Paracord bracelet – and I own several!
 
Ken Onion collaborated with Columbia River Knife & Tool (CRKT) and created the new Parasaw bracelet. What they’ve done is, besides the woven Paracord bracelet, that you can find in many stores, Onion devised a way to place a small wire survival saw inside of the bracelet. And, the saw isn’t one of those cheap ones, either. Instead, it is a tungsten carbide coated wire saw – one that can actually cut, and it cuts quite well. The saw is encased in a plastic wrapper inside of the Paracord, and you have to unravel the bracelet to get the saw out.
 
So, you have 8 or 9 feet of Paracord – depending on the size of the bracelet – it comes in small and large, and you have that cleverly hidden wire saw, for cutting down small (very small) trees, or branches. I used the Parasaw around my homestead, to cut small tree limbs and other material, and it actually works quite well. Now, I wouldn’t be foolish enough to attempt to saw down one of the large pine trees on my place – it’s not going to happen. But you’d be surprised at the number of uses this little saw is good for.
 
I’ve always said that simple is better – and in this case, I don’t see how you can make anything more simple, than having some Paracord on your wrist, and a small wire saw hidden inside of it for emergency use. If you get outdoors a lot, you need to be prepared! Everyone in my family has the new CRKT Parasaw, and I have a few extras around – just in case.
 
One note, don’t take the Parasaw apart just to see the wire saw inside – you more than likely won’t get the bracelet back together – this is for emergency situations – not for playing around. At $24.99 each, they are a darn good thing to have – and they come in different colors, and as already noted, two sizes to fit just about any wrist. The Parasaw is very hot-seller for CRKT, and don’t be surprised if they are out-of-stock on some colors and sizes – get one now! – SurvivalBlog Field Gear Editor Pat Cascio

Jim’s Product Review: Brad Thor Alpha Jacket

Most SurvivalBlog readers have heard of Brad Thor. He is a contemporary novelist who is a master of the techno-thriller genre. Several of his books have become bestsellers, and one of them reached #1 on the New York Times Bestsellers list. Brad recently teamed up with the clothing maker Scottevest, to design a quite versatile concealment jacket that they call the Alpha Jacket. Brad arranged to have them send me one of these for test and evaluation.

When the jacket arrived I was impressed from the start. The only disappointment was seeing “Made in China” on the tag. Like so many other manufacturers, Scottevest has found that offshore production is the only way to stay cost competitive. Seeing any product from an American company that is produced in China chafes me. But in this case, I can see why it was a necessity. This jacket has a very complex design (with an amazing 35 pockets!) that is very labor-intensive to produce. If it were produced in the U.S., I suspect that the high production cost would necessitate a retail price near $350. Even with offshore production it is priced at $200.

This jacket’s design is so advanced that it has an operator manual. The pockets and special features are so diverse that for the sake of brevity, I’ll just refer you to the maker’s web site for details. Even a large handgun can “disappear” in this jacket’s voluminous pockets. (In my tests, using a Glock 21 and a Glock 30, I found that it was best to use a holster clipped to a larger rectangular piece of sheet hard plastic to eliminate any “printing” of the pistol’s outline or any telltale sagging of the jacket. (I used a “roto” paddle-style holster clipped to a piece of plexiglas.) Even someone physically groping the jacket from the outside would just think that it was a large paperback book or perhaps a Kindle or a similar-size electronic device.

The jacket’s exterior is a quiet and nonreflecting charcoal gray fabric with an unusual texture. The maker claims that this fabric has a reduced IR signature. (I didn’t have a chance to verify that with my PVS-14 night vision scope.) It should be great at night, in shaded forests, or in urban environments, but black is a color not often seen in nature (except in shadows), so it would stand out in high contrast in most natural environments, during daylight.

The jacket that I received is a size Large, and it fit me well, although it was a bit baggy in the midsection. (I’m 6’2″ and a fairly muscular 193 pounds.) I suppose that once you loaded up the jacket with a pistol, extra magazines, a cell phone, a Surefire light, a Kindle (or Netbook) and assorted do-dads, that all of that extra roominess would be appreciated. And I’ve been told that some of the roominess is intentional, for an “armor cut,” meaning that it allows room for body armor to be worn underneath.

The jacket’s main zipper is quite stout, but most of the others seemed a bit lightweight, for my preference. Time will tell if they have sufficient durability.

One interesting feature is an RFID-blocking pocket, designed to protect your passport or “smart” credit cards from scanners.

Another neat feature is a cell phone pocket with a clear plastic window that allows you to operate the phone while it is still in the pocket. (Or if you have an iPhone or MP3 player with a display, you can read the details on the music track that is being played.)

One other feature that deserves special mention is a pair of short vertical zippers in roughly kidney position at the waist. These can be zipped up to allow fast access to a pistol carried on the belt over the buttocks, for either right-handers or left-handers. For those who carry concealed, this feature alone makes the jacket worth buying!

All in all, I was impressed with the Alpha Jacket. Brad Thor came up with an exceptionally good design, and it was well executed by Scottevest. For serious preppers, this would be a great jacket to acquire for everyday wear, since the 35 pockets could be loaded up as a veritable “wearable bug out bag” that would not attract any suspicion.

Letter Re: Natural Gas Powered Generators in a Disaster–Their Compressors, and Yours

James,
Thanks for the information you deliver every day. I have recently gone on Social Security Disability and have some money to further our preps. My wife and I will hunker down in place, that being said, we have done what we can to make this as easy as possible. We can heat our home without electricity, but still need a solution for limited electric needs in the event of power outage. We are looking at the Honda EU2000i portable generator with the multi-fuel upgrade. In our years here we have never lost our natural gas supply, but have often lost our electric power. We propose to hook the genny up to our house gas supply, ready to go into service when the lights go out. 15 amps of 110 AC plus the 12 DC power would be a great addition to our supplies. Given we have beans, band aids and defense, this is a big purchase at $1,200 or so. I’m looking for advice.
Thanks, – Michael From Pennsylvania

JWR Replies: That is probably a decent solution, but only if your local gas utility provides natural gas via local wellhead pressure (possible in Pennsylvania, given your oilfields) or if they supply remotely-sourced gas via natural gas-powered line compressor stations.  If they use grid electricity-powered compressors stations (which is still the norm), then the gas pressure could stop after a couple of days of a power grid failure. But if they use natural gas-powered line compressors FROM END TO END, then you’d be fine.

You need to call your local utility and ask for a subject matter expert to talk to, to be sure. DO NOT settle for “happy-happy” front office assurances of system reliability and continuity. You need to talk with an engineer who knows about their set-up, first hand.

The second issue is the requisite size of your generator. Most residential refrigerators normally draw around 12 amps, but the peak load (on startup), expressed as Locked Rotor Amps (LRAs), can be substantially higher. Your generator needs to be able to handle that LRA load. You will need to research the LRA rating of your particular refrigerator’s compressor. Here is an example: (Click on “Specifications.”) This is a typical modern 23-cubic foot refrigerator that draws 8.5Amps when running, but the Minimum Circuit Required is 15 Amps. The latter reflects the LRA requirement.

Recipe of the Week:

Venison Pork Sausage Porcupines (from Mama in Texas)

We hunt each deer season, and make our own seasoned ground sausage.  This is a great make-ahead recipe for busy evenings.  This also freezes well.   Our 3 year old son loves helping me make these, but enjoys eating them even more!

2 lbs ground venison pork sausage (seasoned)
1 cup water
1 cup white rice uncooked
1 14.5 oz can tomato sauce
4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
 
Preheat oven to 350.  Grease a 9×13 dish and one smaller dish as well.
Combine meat, rice, and water in a large bowl.  Mix well.
Using a cookie scoop or your fingers, form meat mixture into 2 inch balls.  Place into greased dish.
In another bowl, mix the tomato sauce and Worcestershire sauce. If you want to thin the sauce with water, you can.  Pour sauce evenly over meatballs.
Cover dish with foil and bake for 40-45 minutes. 
 Serve with ketchup or siracha chili sauce for dipping.  
 

Useful Recipe and Cooking Links:

Sausage Recipes

Venison Recipes

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

Economics and Investing:

Travis Brown of How Money Walks On Fox Business: Is It Worth Moving To Another State To Save On Taxes? Brown says that taxpayers worth $2 Trillion have already moved. Note that $45 billion in net worth has moved out of California, primarily to Nevada, Arizona, Oregon, Texas, and Washington. The interactive web app at Brown’s site is fascinating.

Speaking of voting with our feet, see the report: Location Matters, published by the Tax Foundation.

Michael Noonan of Edge Trader Plus: Gold And Silver – Fed Taper? Never! Never, Never, Ever

The U.S. Economy Is Close To Imploding

X22 Report: Please Believe Us,The Economy Is Recovering, Really!!

G.G. sent this one: Women Waiting Tables Provide Most of Female Gains in U.S.

Items from The Economatrix:

The Fed Is Trapped, and the Taper Won’t Happen Until the Market Tanks

US home sales hit 6½-year high but could slow soon

Gold, Einstein, And The Great Fed Robbery

Odds ‘n Sods:

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

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Winston Churchill once famously said: “History is written by the victors.” But I’ve noticed an exception to that rule: The history of Rhodesia’s Bush War. In this case, the victors were a gang of largely illiterate, communist (and quasi-communist) nincompoops who very quickly wrecked and looted the nation. Since the end of the war and the establishment of Comrade Mugabe’s Proletarian People’s Paradise there have been at least a dozen books published about the Bush War by former Rhodesians, but just handful that were written by the ZANLA , ZIPRA, and FROLIZI “War Veterans.” (The ex-terrorists who took power.) And not surprisingly, it was the “winners” who turned out to be the real losers, and it is the books by the exiled Rhodies that have had the lion’s share of book sales. (The books written by the former terrorists–often with the help of ghost writers–have had laughably weak sales and are mainly read by leftist academics. The only one that merits a mention is Dzino. Memories of a Freedom Fighter by Wilfred Mhanda, and even it is replete with sour grapes for Mugabe and his ZANU henchmen.) Some quite factual books about the war that I can recommend are: Fireforce: One Man’s War in the Rhodesian Light Infantry, The Saints: The Rhodesian Light Infantry, A Martyr Speaks, The Bush War In Rhodesia: The Extraordinary Combat Memoir of a Rhodesian Reconnaissance Specialist, Shadows of a Forgotten Past: To the Edge with the Rhodesian SAS and Selous Scouts, Pamwe Chete, and The Rhodesian War: A Military History. 21st Century survivalists can learn some valuable lessons by studying the history of this conflict, in which isolated farms often had to provide their own defense against the “terrs.”

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I was recently interviewed by Rory and his friends in a SGT Report podcast.

Notes from JWR:

September 22nd in the birthday of the late Lieutenant Colonel Ronald Reid-Daly (born 1928, died August 9, 2010) who founded and commanded the Rhodesian Selous Scouts. His history of the Selous Scouts, titled Pamwe Chete, is a fascinating to read but very hard-to-find book.

I’d also like to wish a happy birthday to J.M.

—

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.) A $300 Gift Certificate from Freeze Dry Guy. G.) Two BirkSun.com photovoltaic backpacks (one Level, and one Atlas, both black), with a combined value of $275, H.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo. and I.) 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., E.) A Tactical Trauma Bag #3 from JRH Enterprises (a $200 value).