Harry’s Book Review: The Royal Wulff Murders

Author: Keith McCafferty
Copyright Date: February 2012
Publisher: Viking
ISBN: 978-0-670-02326-4

Audio, e-book or foreign translation avail? Yes–Kindle
Suitable for children? No, and probably not for the ladies either.

When I received my stack of fiction books to review for SurvivalBlog, the novel The Royal Wulff Murders caught my eye right away.  From the description of the murder victim and of Sean Stranahan’s studio I knew this book would have an element of humor worked into the mystery.  In fact, given the author’s day job (Survival Editor of Field & Stream) and the setting for the novel I seriously wondered if there might not be a cameo appearance by a Patrick F. McManus’ character such as Sheriff Bo Tully.  In the end, no such luck on that count, but the book was a fun read, and there was indeed a bit of humor worked in where possible.

One order of business which I should mention up front for the SurvivalBlog audience is that this book is not written to the same standards that are required for SurvivalBlog.  There is a bit of profanity and and quite a number of sexual references such as you could expect of a men’s locker room.  The profanity is primarily a matter of the character of Rainbow Sam Meslik, a colorful fishing guide, who is pretty rough around the edges.  Given he is the first character the reader meets might be a bit disturbing to some readers, but he is followed by some slightly more civilized characters and the language is toned down substantially with most of them.  The sexual references are fairly constant throughout the novel.  Pretty much any sexual analogy that can be made is made, all the way to considering a trout to be a phallic symbol.  Additionally, all the important characters are divorced and they all seem to be looking for some action with the opposite sex.  There are several times when they find it, however, McCafferty leaves the story with the closing of the door and then picks up again the next morning.  There is nothing graphic about any of these encounters, but it represents a lifestyle of lower standards than those of SurvivalBlog readers.

Introduction to characters and the build-up of the story line takes the first fifty pages.  After that the story moves along fairly quickly.  There are several characters for the reader to wonder about as suspects in the murder, as well as holes to fill in with regard to the motive.  The important elements of a good “whodunit” are all present.  The reader will not be disappointed in that regard. Keith McCafferty has done a great job of developing his characters for this story.

Most important is Sean Stranahan, a recently divorced, somewhat self-employed water color artist and one-time private investigator who lives out of his studio, marked ôBlue Ribbon Watercolors (and Private Investigations)ö and drives a battered Toyota Land Cruiser.  He seems to be better at fly-fishing than anything else, but he’s a good looking, likeable guy with a reasonable head on his shoulders.

Miss Velvet Lafayette, in the words of Doris Sizemore (you have to love McCafferty’s ability to come up with names for these characters) is T-R-O-U-B-L-E.  But nice trouble, and a mystery herself.  It takes Sean a while to find out that her real name is Vareda Beaudreux, and this a good time after she shows up at his studio to hire him to find the fish her father had caught in the Madison River precisely one year prior.  As with everything else about Miss Beaudreux, there’s more to the story than first meets the eye.

Martha Ettinger is the elected sheriff of Hyalite county.  Though tough and capable, she is continually pushing to prove herself to anyone who might doubt whether or not she is fit for her position on account of her gender.  Her teammates areb’t exactly the best and brightest, so she is playing make-up for them as well as for any perceived inadequacies on her own part.

Throughout the story the characters are plausible and consistent.  There are dramatic scenes and narrow escapes, mysterious shooters and figures who vanish into thin air.  Being that this is a mystery I don’t want to offer anything that would spoil it for the reader.  I will simply say that McCafferty does a good job of wrapping up all the loose ends nicely by the conclusion of the story.  The reader is neither left hanging, nor disappointed in the outcome.

The story also includes an education on the topic of “whirling disease”, a serious threat to the populations of rainbow trout.  According to a news release from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service from January 1997, the disease has wiped out an estimate 90% of the native population of wild rainbow trout in Montana’s upper Madison River.  It is possible for anglers to unwittingly spread the disease from one river to another.  This is a real issue and the education this book offers is worthwhile.

As a SurvivalBlog Fiction Book Review Editor I would be remiss if I did not mention this book’s value as survival fiction.  In that regard there is not a substantial amount of material present.  There are some details about tracking and some creative thinking for the sake of an escape, but that’s about it.  Perhaps of most value is simply an understanding of the setting and lifestyle of the American Redoubt.  The novel includes characters from three different cultures in that region:  the native American Indians, the year-round locals and the fair weather vacationing wealthy.  Understanding those and how they interact is an important matter for any who are considering life in the American Redoubt.

In short, The Royal Wulff Murders is a good read, but most definitely a “guy” book.

Letter Re: Self Defense Without Firearms

James:
Concerning the recent article on traditional weapons, I have a couple of comments:

Knife fighting:  Stabbing may have it’s place, but a good knife fighter will slash and cut.  Someone who stabs with a knife is relatively easy to disarm.  Someone who slashes is much harder to defend against.  A stab wound is unlikely to be instantly fatal.  A slashing attack directed at tendons can instantly render the victim defenseless and eliminate his ability to fight back or flee.  (See the following link for more info http://www.martialbladeconcepts.com/

A word of warning regarding arrows:  If you shoot a compound bow do not make arrows out of wooden dowels. Wooden arrows shot from a compound bow are likely to shatter from the energy generated by the bow and do more damage to the shooter than the target.

Recipe of the Week:

The Late Memsahib’s Molasses Taffy

Ingredients:

1 Cup granulated Sugar
1 Bottle (1-1/2 Cups) Dark Molasses
2 tsp vinegar
1-1/2 Tbsp Butter
1/8th tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Baking Soda

Coating: Powdered Sugar

Directions:

In a THICK 3-quart saucepan, mix molasses, sugar, and vinegar. Heat and stir CONSTANTLY until it reaches the hard ball stage.
Remove from heat. Add butter, salt and soda. Stir until foaming stops.
Pour into -a well-buttered pan. Pull the taffy by hand until it is light and stiff.
Using buttered scissors, cut into bite-sized pieces (1/2 diameter cylinders x 1 inch long. Roll in powdered sugar. Keep cool to prevent candy from sticking together.

Chef’s Notes: This is actually more of a hard candy than it is a taffy. Pulling taffy is an art and great exercise. Be sure to butter your hands and have a couple of able helpers (also with butter on their hands.) makes a beautiful golden-colored brittle taffy.

Useful Recipe and Cooking Links:

Home Candy Making

Candy’s Life

Currently Available as Free Kindle e-Books:

Favorite Farmers Market Recipes

Eating for Weight Loss (How to Lose 100 Pounds)

30 Perfect Popcorn Recipes : How to Make Sweet & Savory Gourmet Popcorn at Home

Cake Recipes from Scratch – Grama G’s Top Ten Can’t Get Enough Cake 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:

Steve W. mentioned a Numismaster article about nickels. Although it is presently illegal, it almost inevitable that following a debasement that the law willl change, and there will be large scale nickel melting.

Do I detect a hint of panic? IMF Calls on Euro Authorities to Stand Behind Deposit Insurance. (Thanks to Rhonda T. for the link.)

Quantitative Easing: QE3 Is Coming and Here’s How To Prepare

12 Signs Showing The Next Recession In The U.S. Is Underway

Items from The Economatrix:

This Is The Government:  Your Legal Right to Redeem Your Money Market Account Has Been Denied

Why the US is in an Invisible Depression

Too Big To Fail – Fed Proposal Allows Banks To Seize Your Money

Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader “Tin Can” sent an article about someone who earns demerits for judgment but bonus points for creativity: Camouflaged Residence Discovered in California Park. It was interesting to read that growing dope in California is now a crime only if it is done “without a permit.” (For cultivation of medical marijuana.) It should be mentioned that this man is just one of many in a long succession. Back in 2009 I mentioned in SurvivalBlog a father and daugher who had secret residence in a Portland, Oregon park, and a news story about a hermit who secretly lived for at least three years inside the “secure” Los Alamos nuclear research reservation in New Mexico.

   o o o

Reader L.M. flagged this: Mexico urges U.S. to review gun laws after Colorado shooting. Lee’s comment: “Now that is funny, especially since [much of] Mexico is run by gun-toting drug lords and corrupt politicians.” JWR Adds: In Mexico, (where it is very difficult for mere mortals to even own a gun and those in military chamberings like 5.56mm NATO are completely banned), the murder rate is 18 per 100,000 inhabitants, while in the U.S. it is 4.8 per 100,000 inhabitants. One mass murder in Mexico in 2010 had 72 victims. And another on 2011 had 145 victims. (The 12 dead in the Colorado “Knightmare” seems small, by comparison.) They’d best get their own house in order before they see fit to criticize…

   o o o

Freeze Dry Guy just started a 25% off sale on Mountain House Foods in #10 Cans. Order soon!

   o o o

This makes me wonder… TSA Let 25 Illegal Aliens Attend Flight School Owned by Illegal Alien. (Thanks to G.G. for the ;ink.)

   o o o

Reader S.E. suggested a web site that has an extensive ham radio manual download page and also many modification documents for a wide variety of ham radios.

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"Any people anywhere, being inclined and having the power, have the right to rise up and shake off the existing government, and form a new one that suits them better. This is a most valuable, a most sacred right – a right which we hope and believe is to liberate the world. Nor is this right confined to cases in which the whole people of an existing government may choose to exercise it. Any portion of such people, that can, may revolutionize, and make their own of so much of the territory as they inhabit." – Abraham Lincoln, in an address before Congress, January 1848. (Before he became an unremorseful statist.)

Note from JWR:

Today we present another two entries for Round 41 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize: A.) A gift certificate worth $1,000, courtesy of Spec Ops Brand, 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.

Second Prize: A.) 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. B.) A FloJak FP-50 stainless steel hand well pump (a $600 value), courtesy of FloJak.com. C.) 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, D.) A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials, and E.) two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value) and F.) A Tactical Trauma Bag #3 from JRH Enterprises (a $200 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.), and E.) Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security.

Round 41 ends on July 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Safe Drinking Water, by Lloyd T.

We all know that three days without water and we are incapacitated and nearing death.  We all know that water from streams, lakes, ponds and rivers if consumed “raw” can lead to parasitic infection.   We also know that those same sources may be polluted with pesticides, insecticides, heavy metals, and a host of other contaminants.  These can lead to sickness and to death. 

If you find yourself in a situation where it is drink or die, then drink of course and hope for the best, right?   In a worst case scenario that might be the only choice you have, and you might very well get lucky.  A better alternative is to know how to treat the water so that it is safe.  The following techniques require at least a fire-safe container, or plastic sheeting, or PET bottles, bleach or iodine.
The simplest technique of removing parasites is to boil the water.  Pasteurization will take place at just 160 degrees F after 6 minutes.  Bringing water to a boil and letting it cool off will also do it [but it is overkill.  You don’t need to actually boil the water [, but if you don’t have a dairy of candy thermometer, it is one way to make sure that the microorganisms in the water are sterile or dead.]  This does not remove chemical or metal content.

Treatment with common household bleach works quite well.  Use regular bleach, not bleach with scents  in them.  The chlorine in the bleach is the same chlorine used in water treatment plants.  If the water is cloudy, let it stand until the particulate matter settles, then decant the clear water – or filter the water through coffee filters or clean cloth or whole chunk charcoal.  Do not use briquettes, they contain chemical binders that can leach into the water.   When the water is clear add 8 drops of bleach per gallon.  Stir or shake well and let it set for at least 30 minutes before drinking. 
If you use tincture of iodine (2%) mix in 20 drops per gallon of clear water, shake or stir well and let set for 30 minutes.  In both cases, Iodine or chlorine, use more if you cannot filter the water.  How much more?  There are too many variables to give a single answer.  Use your best judgment.  Also let it stand longer so that the disinfecting chemicals have more time to work their magic. 

If heating water to 160 F isn’t possible and you don’t have bleach or iodine then there are still other methods that you can use. 

Solar distillation is an effective way to remove contaminants.  This is a simple process, but a slow one.  It will not produce a large volume in a short time.  It can keep you alive though.  The materials required are plastic sheeting, clear is best, and a clean bowl or small pot.  Begin by digging a large diameter hole shaped like a shallow dish bowl.  The size of the hole depends on the size of the plastic sheeting you have.  A manageable size would be three feet in diameter.  The depth should be twice the depth of the bowl or pot you will be using.  The hole should slope up on the sides to the top to maximize the amount of water surface exposed to the sun.  A thin large sheet of water will evaporate faster than a deep small hole of water will.

Collect enough rocks to make a complete circle around the circumference of the hole.  Lay one sheet of plastic in the hole to line the bottom.  Cover the edges of this plastic with enough dirt to keep it in place.  Fill this hole with water to the edges.  Place the bowl or pot in the middle of the hole of water.  This will be the collection container.  The inside of the collection container must be clean.  You may need to place a rock or piece of metal inside the collection container to keep it from floating out of position, if so make sure it too is clean. 

Lay a second sheet of plastic over the top of the hole, weighing it down with the rocks you collected.  Leave a little slack in this sheet.  When it is secure around the edges place a small amount of dirt on the edges of the plastic.  You want a fairly good seal, or you’ll lose some of the water you would otherwise be able to drink.  Place a small rock on top of the top sheet directly above the collection container.  This will slope the plastic down to a point above the collector.  As the sun hits the plastic it will evaporate the standing water.  That evaporated water will be trapped against the underside of the upper plastic and condense, then run down the plastic to the point above the collector and drip into it.  When enough water has accumulated remove it and set the apparatus back up.

If you have clean flexible plastic tubing you can run the tubing to the collector, coming out the edge of the hole and suck the water out periodically, saving the work of restoring the solar still each time you collect water.  If you don’t have the tubing it’s no big deal.  Obviously you should choose a sunny location for the solar still, and you can make more than one to increase production.  The hotter the ambient temperature, the more direct the sunlight, the faster it will work.

Another system for biological disinfection is to use the sun’s ultra-violet rays.  This is a simple and easy method.  It can also produce as much water as you can find containers to disinfect in.  Clean, clear PET bottles of two liter or smaller size are the container of choice.  Clear glass works, but not as fast. 

Put clear filtered water inside a PET bottle, set it where it will be in direct sunlight, and wait four hours.  The suns UV rays will kill the biologicals in the water.  The bottle should be horizontal, not standing up.  Angling the bottles to perpendicular to the sun is best, roof tops work well for this.  Of course remove any labels that would block the sun.  That’s the short explanation.
For maximum effectiveness fill the bottle ¾’s full, cap it and shake vigorously, then fill the rest of the way.  This helps to introduce oxygen into the water.  The oxygen enhances the UV exposure and kills pathogens faster.  On partly cloudy days where you are receiving more than 50% sunlight during the day 6 hours is required.  On overcast days where you receive less than 50% sunlight 12 hours.  UV penetrates overcast days, but at a lower rate.  This doesn’t work during heavy cloud days or rain.  To be safe and if you have the time, two full days of sunlight would be optimum.
PET allows UV rays through.  PVC blocks UV rays and may also introduce chemicals you don’t want.  Most bottles that contain consumable liquids are PET.  Clear glass works, but glass blocks some of the  UV rays.  If using glass then double the exposure time.   This method does not remove chemical or metallic contamination, only biological.   This is a system that is being introduced to third world countries around the globe.  It is simple and effective, relying only on being able to find sufficient PET bottles to work.  Plastic bags also work.  Use sandwich type bags, or any other type of food grade clear plastic bag.  Make sure the sun doesn’t have to penetrate more than four inches of water though.  If the only container you have requires more than four inches of penetration, shake or move the water several times and give extra exposure time.

Another way of obtaining water is a transpiration trap.  Locate a leafy bush, wrap a plastic bag around the end of the bush and seal as well as you can against the stem that you placed it over. Get as many leaves inside the bag as you can.  Plants transpire, or give off water vapor, all the time.  The plastic bag catches that moisture and condenses it.  Periodically check the amount of water and when enough, you can probably drink it straight out of the bag.  Caution – do not do this with poisonous plants such as oleanders.  You might get some of the poison in the water. 
If you use a clean bag that is well sealed this water might be clean enough to drink.  It has been “filtered” by the plant itself and will most likely not contain contaminants.  However, it can be polluted by whatever is on the leaf’s surfaces.  The best thing to do is to follow the UV disinfection routine after collecting the water. 

If you have towels, during a heavy dew you can collect water by dragging the towel through dew-laden grass and wring it out into a container, then collect more.  This water should also be sun treated if possible, or boiled or chemically disinfected. 

Fog traps can also be made.  They are not difficult to make, but only work in a heavy fog.  Hang large sheets of plastic or other sheet like materials and collect the water that adheres to them.  With plastic, shape the bottom of the sheet into a curve that brings the water down to one point and place a container beneath it.  With cloth sheets wring the sheet out periodically.  This water will be as clean as the surface you collect it on.  You may or may not have to disinfect it, although it is a good idea to.

Water heaters are also water storage tanks.  They come with a drain valve on the bottom.  Each water heater will contain many gallons of drinkable water.  This is particularly handy for short term water shortage problems, such as grid power failures. 

Safe drinking water is an age-old problem, and is still a major problem for much of the world’s population.  In a survival situation the last thing you need is to become sick or parasite ridden.  There isn’t much time, three days or so, to solve the problem.  Knowing how to treat water is of paramount importance.  Starting right away on the treatment process is necessary.  If you can produce a surplus of water, do so, but remember to store the water in clean vessels.  If the water is stored for a long period of time, treat it again.   The above treatment options can leave small traces of contaminants that won’t be a problem at the time, but if stored long enough those contaminants can breed and re-infect the water.

Self Defense Without Firearms, by Daniel W.

Now I know y’all like your guns, and that’s fine. I like mine too. I once heard someone say, “If you don’t have gold and silver you’re doomed.” Now these two things are also very important, but I question how this man planned to defend his precious metals without a well-stocked armory.

As Mr. Rawles himself has said, guns are tools much like those found in a carpenter’s tool box. Each fills a different role. But although guns are good at a great many different things, there are some roles which are difficult for them to fill. For instance, here in the United States you have to pay the BATF a $200 tax for each suppressor you purchase. But knives, bows and crossbows are silent by their nature [although the arrow and blade recipients are often quite noisy]. And in the most of the gun-restrictive states you are better off carrying a knife than trying to smuggle a pistol. [JWR Adds: Be sure to check your state and local laws. For example in California it is a felony to carry a concealed fixed blade knife of any length on the first offense!]

Which brings me to my point: While they should in no way be relied upon as a primary means of defense, cold weapons (Essentially meaning weapons other than firearms, usually primitive in nature, such as the aforementioned bows and knives) have their place in the Survivalist arsenal for special situations. Don’t pretend to be a ninja with them, because there’s a 99.9% chance you’re not. (If you are one of the 0.1% of SurvivalBlog’s readership who is a practicing Ninjutsu student, then I salute you.)

Knives
Carrying a knife is a lot like prepping in general: Some people will view you as strange and paranoid. That is, until they get into a situation where their life is in danger. Then it’s suddenly, “Hey, you have your knife with you, right?”

Thing is, knives have about a thousand uses which have nothing to do with violence. I certainly don’t recommend doing this, but I once used a knife to widen a hole for a doorknob. You can safely use them to open packages, cut rope, cut food, do limited woodworking, the list goes on and on.

Their use as a weapon is an added bonus, but strong caution must be advised. Straightforward combat is where the combat knife is weakest. It can be done, but you’re likely to get just as wounded as the opponent that you’re attacking.

If a knife is to be used, it should be used with stealth, against a lone target. Keep in mind that you’re not trying to give your enemy the death of a thousand cuts. Deep abdominal and throat stabs with a knife are much better than slashes.

There are many ways to grip a knife, but there are two that I usually use. The one is pretty standard: Essentially just a clenched fist around the knife handle. This is usually called the hammer grip. The other grip is called the reverse grip, and is like the hammer grip except that the blade extends from the bottom of the hand rather than the top. In the latter grip, your thumb rests against the pommel to support it for thrusting. In practice, I use the hammer grip for the few times I want to do slashing (which again is not the optimal way to knife fight.) and the reverse grip for stabs.

If you think the idea of a gun fight is terrifying, knife fighting is even more so –definitely not for the squeamish. Disable your opponent quickly and by whatever means possible and be prepared to bandage multiple wounds of your own when the fight is over.

Bows
The bow, while not as effective in modern combat as shown in the movies, still has several advantages over guns.
First, it is silent by nature. [Although, again those on the receiving end will probably scream prodigiously unless you are lucky enough to sever their spine and have them bleed out quickly.This makes it suited to hunting both four-legged creatures and stealthily taking out lone opponents.

Second, arrows can be handmade with simple materials if necessary. Wooden dowels are very inexpensive at your local hardware and general stores. Look for ones which area about 1/3rd inch in diameter. Then, cut them down to match the draw length of your bow. Cut a notch in one end with a serrated knife or a handsaw. Cut it deep enough that the bowstring fits snugly inside.
Then, about three quarters of an inch from that draw a line around the circumference of the arrow. There are several ways to make fletchings, including feathers and plastic, but my favorite is explained in this video. I have tested it and found it to work, as long as you are good with your measurements.

Arrowheads can also be done several ways. If you’re wanting to siphon your inner caveman, you can go for the flint approach. This is not recommended. If you just want to sharpen the end of your arrow but don’t want to add weight to it, you can actually use a pencil sharpener to carve it to a fine point. This is good in a pinch, but you’ll have to adjust your aim. This is because the head weighs down the arrow. This sounds like a bad thing, but without that weight at the tip, the arrow jumps up when you shoot it, causing you to overshoot your target unless you correct your shot.
What I’ve found to be a cheap alternative to store-bought heads is gluing nails to the arrow’s end with woodworker’s glue. This is what some bow hunters in Africa do, (without the glue though, they carefully hand-inlet theirs) and it works pretty well [for small game].

If you have a big budget you can buy an assortment of arrows with very fancy heads, such as springing blades. They’re expensive, and will probably break if you miss, but if you hit you can be pretty sure that whatever you just shot will bleed out quietly.

Another advantage of arrows is that they can very easily be made into incendiary weapons. Simply wrap some cotton around the tip and douse it in oil or alcohol or another flammable material, and light it with your choose of lighting implement when you’re ready to shoot. Arrowheads can also be dipped in poison, if you’re looking for a way to deliver it.

As for shooting with a bow, keep in mind that this is not the Hunger Games, and you are likely a lot less “Elite” than you make yourself out to be. If you’re shooting at humans, like I said with the knife, aim for lone targets from stealth. Keep in mind that arrows travel in an arc, and where you aim might not be where the arrow ends up. If the arrow has no head, it will probably overshoot.

Depending on the distance from your target you will have to angle your shot upwards, which is a skill that takes a lot of practice. A rule of thumb is to aim for the head, because even if you undershoot that you’ll get a chest shot. Horizontal accuracy is not amazingly hard to achieve with a bow, but watch out for wind. If it’s an especially windy day, you’re probably better off sticking to your guns.

Crossbows
Crossbows negate some of the disadvantages of a bow, while retaining all the advantages. For one thing, you can keep a shot loaded with a lot less effort. They’re also easy to sight with. Some of the more expensive models even come with scopes. In addition, they generally have a lot more force behind them. An added bonus to this is that they travel in a much more straight line than bows do, meaning less aim adjusting. Crossbows are often more expensive than bows, but the above advantages may make it worth it for you.

Slingshots
Acquiring ammo for slingshots is even easier than it is for bows and crossbows. Look for appropriately sized rounded rocks. That’s about it. If you want to get fancy you can pick up steel balls at a hardware store. With a little training, you can become pretty accurate with the darn things. I wouldn’t recommend using them against humans unless absolutely necessary, but they could be pretty nifty against birds and small game.
In addition, there are some people who do crazy things with slingshots. And then can teach you how. Who I’m talking about is this guy: Joerg Sprave.

An absolute legend of the slingshot world. If you’re willing to endure occasional adult language, you can pick up a lot of neat tricks on this channel. I just recently made his sling pistol, and it was a great learning experience.

In Closing
They won’t make you a ninja, but in certain situations they can be pretty useful. For one thing, with the exception of the crossbow they’re a lot less regulated than firearms. They can help you to conserve precious ammo, and give you the ability to make silent kills on small and big game without the BATF paperwork and $200 transfer tax for purchasing a registered suppressor. All good things, in this pilgrim’s opinion.

Peace, and God Bless. – Daniel

Letter Re: Long Term Public Employee Pension Obligations

Dear Editor:
First off, as a Federal Law Enforcement Officer, a Senior Patrol Agent in the United States Border Patrol, I am getting tired of being vilified by the media and American public for picking a career that has a somewhat decent retirement system. I’m tired of my Union being vilified. In fact, I’m just tired of being vilified in general. It seems like most people are just suffering from sour grapes for not having picked a career that has a somewhat decent retirement system. Why should we be punished for taking a job that offered this retirement? Shouldn’t this be directed at the people in charge that created this benefit? I worked in a job with a mandatory retirement of 57. I am a union officer but we cannot bargain for wages or retirement. Our wages and retirement are set by congress because we are Federal Law Enforcement.

I work 50 hours a week minimum. That is our standard work week. I work outside in all types of weather conditions. My last station was in south Texas. During the summer months, the temperature was always over 100 degrees with 70-90% humidity. For at least 30 of those days, the temp was over 110 with the same humidity. I’ve been rained on, hailed on, spent hours in the hot sun and hours in the freezing cold. Bitten up by bugs, snakes and torn up by the local plants. Ridden in vehicles in 100+ degree heat with no working air conditioning for hours in a day. I have been shot at, cut and been in fights for my life, including one on a moving train. This is the life I chose. I chose this life to make where I live safe for my family and friends and to defend our way of life.

Our retirement system is the way it is because we burn out so fast. By the time we are able to retire we are usually so torn up from the job we cannot do another job. I’ve lost 70% of my hearing in my left ear, (not from shooting), and 30% in my right. I’ve had surgery to repair a damaged joint which will never be the same, but I still do the job. I wake up with aches and pains in all my joints from having spent years walking over uneven ground and up and down hills, but as I said, I chose this career.

I contribute 3% of my salary to my government retirement. Not much you say, but in the civilian corporate world, most companies provide 100% of the employees’ retirement without employee contribution. To make sure I have a decent retirement, I contribute to a voluntary retirement system. I contribute 18% of my salary, (set by IRS law), to this and it is invested in different markets as I designate. I also spent seven years active duty Army. This time will count towards my retirement, but I have to "buy" this time. I will retire with 27 years of active federal service.

I do all this so I can retire with 47% of my averaged, highest three years of salary. When I hit mandatory retirement, my middle child will be 19, and my youngest will be 13. This gives me a four person household, (my middle son can stay at home while he is in college). My retirement will only be $15,000 a year above the poverty level for a family of four. Don’t forget though, I still have to maintain health insurance because I don’t qualify for Medicaid, Medicare or Obama care or I will have to pay an IRS penalty. Also, the average life span for a retired Law Enforcement Officer is very short. So, I have to make sure that my wife is taken care. To do this, I have to take a $500 per month cut in my retirement benefits to provide survivor benefits. This way, if I die, my wife will get half of what I was getting in retirement pay. So my $35,000 a year retirement just went to $29,000. Not bad you say. How about all the doctor bills because my joints are all chewed up and need replacing or the health effects I suffer from being exposed to bacteria and viruses that come with doing this job. That $700 a month Cadillac insurance program that the media says I have only pays about half of what that is going to cost. But again, I chose this life.

Remember folks, when you paint a picture with a broad brush, you tend to smear the small details. In this case, when you smear government workers in general, you smear those of us that put our lives on the line day after day, and we do it all for a pittance. We do it for ourselves, we do it because of our families, we do it for our friends and we do it for our ideals and beliefs.

We do it because it is the right thing to do and we do it because no one else will. – T.R.

Letter Re: Some Experiences With Handling Trash

James:
I have some thoughts on the article regarding the disposal of trash.  It was interesting and thought provoking, however I think in a situation where services were not going to come back you would find that that amount of rubbish you generate would be quite small.

You would not be bringing more “stuff” into the house as you would not be shopping and anything you did already have you would recycle as there would be no chance of getting those storage jars etc any longer.  So all those tins, jars containers etc would eventually be used in one way or another.

If you haven’t already, you should already be moving away from a disposable life, for starters it is cheaper than continually buying disposable products.  Paper plates are not a way of life here except for picnics so if you use paper plates on an every day basis I think a change is in order.  Disposable nappies are expensive and cloth nappies are not much work at all (and healthier for your baby’s bottom), washable menstrual pads just as easy (and more comfortable in my opinion).

Kitchen scraps should always be given to the chooks or the garden, you would be cooking from scratch and there would be very little on-going trash from any packaging.  Change now and purchase as little packaging as possible, if there is packaging try and recycle it, paper and cardboard in to the garden, glass jars for preserving and storage etc, if you do buy packaging make sure you can recycle it.
Repurpose items that are no longer used for the original purpose, learn to sew and fix or change the clothes you no longer want, reuse items for another reason, or just don’t buy too much in the first place, just the things you need. 

Have two uses for items you bring into the house and think about it before you buy: what is the life span of this item, can it be used for more than one purpose and can it be recycled on the property?  Don’t create rubbish to start with.

So basically, don’t buy disposable products, and make sure the packaging is recyclable, long term your rubbish would be minimal and mostly recyclable.  In a TEOTWAWKI situation there would be no more items randomly bought on impulse and anything you already had would be saved like our grandparents did.

Regards To You, – Kathryn in Australia

Economics and Investing:

Rhonda T. suggested a New York Times slideshow on Stockton, California’s bankruptcy.

Steven M. sent: Subterranean Swiss Hotel Sells for Shocking Price. “In what may be the deal of the century, a lucky buyer paid just $1,020 at auction for a luxury underground hotel in Switzerland worth an estimated $3.8 million. However, keep in mind, it IS a former artillery bunker.”

G.G. sent this: Regulators close five small banks in Georgia, Florida, Kansas, Illinois for total of 38 US failures in 2012

 

Items from The Economatrix:

One-On-One With Craig Roberts #2:  Libor Fraud Now Part Of The System

S&P 500 Nears “Ultimate” Death Cross

US Home Starts Rise to Highest Level Since 2008

Fed Says Growth Was “Modest To Moderate” In June

Odds ‘n Sods:

Bryan E. recommended this for all the techies out there: Raspberry Pi

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O Kwame, Where Art Thou? Plan to Raze Detroit Empty Homes in Final Stages. FWIW, there is fine agricultural soil under all that urban blight. Perhaps someday Detroit will have a future as a farm town.

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Some good commentary over at Off Grid Survival: Anti-Gun Groups use Tragedy in Colorado to Push Gun Control Agendas. Of course, the statists won’t mention the fact that the movie theater chain banned concealed carry in their theaters. Once again, a mass murderer picked his playground of slaughter carefully–a place where he’d only find unarmed victims. If just one patron at the theater had a handgun, training, and guts, he could have stopped that psycho “Joker” long before he had the chance to shoot 70 people. The result could have been like the self-defense shooting at the cyber cafe just a few days ago in Ocala, Florida. But instead, there was tragedy. And undoubtedly the biased mass media will concentrate what happened in Colorado and ignore what happened in Florida.

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Reason #169 to move out of New York City.

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Reader C.D.V. found an interesting Russian news television segment showing a well-prepared Landbesitzer in Austria.

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.” – Revelation 2:5 (KJV)

Notes from JWR:

On July 21, 1899 Ernest Hemingway was born in Oak Park, Illinois. He was a great writer, but his personal life was a shambles. It ended with his suicide in 1961. Enjoy his books. Learn from his mistakes.

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Today we present another two entries for Round 41 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize: A.) A gift certificate worth $1,000, courtesy of Spec Ops Brand, 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.

Second Prize: A.) 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. B.) A FloJak FP-50 stainless steel hand well pump (a $600 value), courtesy of FloJak.com. C.) 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, D.) A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials, and E.) two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value) and F.) A Tactical Trauma Bag #3 from JRH Enterprises (a $200 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.), and E.) Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security.

Round 41 ends on July 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.