Letter Re: A Non-Warrior Surviving Traumatic Times

Hi,
Thank you for sharing all of your info, but I have to be honest, I am so overwhelmed with it all that if or when this happens I would rather be dead.  Who would want to live like  this and what would be the reason to live?  I wouldn’t have the heart to shoot someone  to protect my food and I am a sharpshooter. I just wanted your opinion.
 
Best Regards, – Deborah C.

JWR Replies: The underlying theme to my writings is to be part of an integrated team.  That team might be just a few families living on a cul-de-sac, or it might be a small town. By being competent and confident with firearms, your group will avoid confrontations.  Very few bad guys will mess with someone with a capability to immediately drop them at up to 400 yards.  And if you don’t have the willingness to do so yourself, then team up with someone that does.  You can provide other forms of useful and valued support to a group or small community effort. (Agriculture, advanced first aid, mechanics, et cetera.)  Not everyone has to be a warrior.

Three Letter Re: Cartridge Reloading Dollars and Cents

James,
Having just read the letters regarding reloading economics, I noticed the following caveats and had two important points about them:
 
1.  “do not shoot lead bullets in a Glock” because of the polygonal rifling.  Polygonal rifling essentially creates rifling engagement angles that are less than 90 degrees, therefore whatever bullet material you use seals the bore better (because it’s easier to deform lead/copper into a rifling groove that has a more obtuse (open) angle) than a sharp 90 degree angle.    A standard cartridge fired out of a conventionally rifled barrel will travel faster out of a polygonal rifled barrel because of the superior seal that the polygonal rifling creates and that is why Glock uses those kinds of barrels, bullets perform better out of their barrels. Better seal = higher pressures,  higher pressures = higher velocities.   It needs to be noted that the HK USP series of pistols also has polygonal rifling as well as the Baby Eagle line and problem some others that I haven’t listed here.  Lead is perfectly safe to shoot out of Glocks or HKs, as long as you decrease your powder charge.  Polygonally rifled barrels do lead up any more readily than conventionally rifled barrels, in fact, because polygonal rifling seals the bore better the number one cause of leading  is reduced, “gas cutting” the increased pressure does not melt lead bases to any appreciable extent – gas cutting does.  This was all figured out decades ago by better men than me, like Elmer Keith.  Since higher pressures also yield higher temperatures (simple physics) even a conventionally rifled barrel can build up lead quickly if you use hot loads, or try to reproduce +p type ratings using lead or copper plated bullets.  It isn’t lead build up that leads to a “kaboom”, it’s nearly always a compressed load which is far more dangerous in any barrel.  Gas checks (copper jackets that go on the bottom of a lead bullet) are effective not because the leading lip of the gas check hits the rifling and splits to seal the angle of the rifling in addition to shielding the base of the lead bullet.  Don’t believe me?  Check the effective velocities of a gas checked bullet, it’s higher than just lead – less pressure leakage.
 
2.  Copper plated bullets should be treated as if they were lead when calculating your powder charge.  Because the plating is not a “jacket” but a very very thin microscopic coating of copper the hardness of the bullet is still essentially whatever the hardness of the lead that was used in casting it before plating.  The plating process does not harden the lead bullet, it seals the bore better than a copper jacketed bullet – and should be loaded accordingly otherwise you can create higher pressures and you may damage your pistol or yourself.  Always load copper plated bullets as if you were loading lead.  You get less lead fouling with copper plated bullets, but I’ve pulled lead deposits out of a pistol bore that was only shooting copper plated bullets, although it had a couple thousand rounds through it prior to the cleaning.
 
3.  Remember that the higher pressure rounds will have more problems with overpressure than low pressure rounds, typically autopistols shoot 9mm, .45 ACP, .40 S&W – I’ll ignore the other more uncommon rounds, so look them them if you’re going to reload for them., as an example only (look up your specific combination of powder, bullet, primer and casing) the following number can give you an idea of the pressures involved:
 
9mm Luger (9×19) is around 34,000 psi
45acp (45 auto) is around 20,000
40sw (40 short and wimpy) is around 32,000 psi
 
ammo manufactures spend a seriously paranoid amount of time calculating not only pressure, but the pressure curve (burn characteristics inside barrel) and they minutely examine the components after firing before determining a load is safe, they do this for each and every “lot” of ammunition they produce, if they change one component then there is a different “lot number” assigned to it and the workup is repeated for it.  Since their powders and components are custom blended and manufactured, they tend to repeat this process a lot.  A typical handloader will not have access to the testing equipment that a manufacturer has and has to be at least as meticulous.  Pressure is king and over-pressure will injure you and destroy your weapon.  In a grid-down survival situation the nominal savings that reloading will yield are offset by the very serious chance a non-expert reloader will inadvertently take.  If and when THSTF I do not plan on shooting any reloaded ammunition out of my autopistols or autoloading rifles.
 
As a side note, a few more thoughts on reloading practices:
 
The typical reloader who uses “junk brass” that is harvested from a shooting range is taking some serious chances.  Without realizing it, a handloader can work up a load that is perfectly safe in a Lake City 5.56 case, and start producing with a large range of brass cases from various manufacturers – without realizing that the internal dimensions of each manufacturers casing are different, in fact the typical Lake City nato 5.56 casing has a thicker web and thicker walls than a commercial Winchester .223 Remington case – so a perfectly safe load in a different case will yield MUCH different results and since we’re worried about pressure (as we should be) we inadvertently are producing loaded cartridges that are quite different while believing we are making a consistent product because we’re using only one type of bullet/powder/primer.  Whenever possible, use ONE head stamp AND be sure they’re of the same year of manufacture.
 
I have reloaded now for 20 years, from .50 BMG to .380 and the one thing I keep as my watch-word is that I’m loading for target ammo only and I am not trying to reproduce factory maximum pressures.  I’ve had to toss out a serious amount of ammo from time to time because I wasn’t as careful as I should have been, and in case you’re wondering – no I never considered breaking apart the casings to reclaim components – why?  Because it’s just not worth the time and potential hazards to re-use bullets that have already been crimped, and powder that may be contaminated by whatever was in the case when I reloaded it or handled it during disassembly.  Sure a lot of old codgers will say that you can avoid problems, but I have a healthy enough paranoia to toss a couple of bucks in the trash (actually I take them to a public range to put in their “red bucket”  I’ve see these same guys pull ammo out of a red range bucket – such disregard for Murphy will surely clean the shallow end of the gene pool at some point
 
It comes down to pressure and amassing as much possible knowledge about interior ballistics as is humanly possible.   Most of the “kaboom” problems that Glocks and other autopistols have had occur when a reloader tries to reproduce a hot cartridge – or as the old competitors used to call it “make major” because before a typical competition each competitors load would be chronographed to insure they weren’t using a “wimpy” load to reduce recoil and thus increase accuracy.
 
I’ve had two kabooms, both were from compressed loads in reloaded ammo (one mine and one a factory reload) I’ve met other people that have had compressed loads from factory ammo, which is a major cause of “kaboom” in police departments across the country as they use duty ammo on a rotational basis during qualifications (use up the duty ammo to issue fresh duty ammo).   I’ve shot a lot of lead out of Glocks, never had a problem – the one I reload for most often is my Glock 20 and 29 – the ultra-hot 10mm.  And in case you’re wondering, reloading for revolvers has a slightly different set of problems that can be just as dangerous as those faced by autopistol reloaders.
 
Remember that no firearms manufacturer will warranty your firearm if you shoot reloads of any kind avoiding lead in Glocks while shooting jacketed reloads is just as much a warrantee problem as the other.    Seek knowledge and understanding, understand why polygonal rifling creates higher pressures and you can anticipate and compensate for it, understand why shorter barrels are less efficient at launching light and fast loads, and a host of other knowledge that is useful.
 
For me the greatest value that I get from reloading is that I’m much better educated than a typical shooter about the products I shoot and it’s a relaxing hobby that helps keep my mind sharp.  When I first started reloading I did save a significant amount of money on ammo, but component prices have skyrocketed since then and the savings are now pretty much non-existent. – Jim H. in Colorado

 

Dear Mr. Rawles,
This was an excellent article. I have a few comments for consideration. There are several aftermarket barrels available for Glocks to allow shooting lead bullets. Search for “Glock replacement barrels”.  Many of the competition shooters I know use them quite successfully.

Reloading ammo or buying factory ammo are definitely not mutually exclusive activities. I do both. My goal it to increase opportunities to keep shooting. Where I seem to save the most is in reloading my own match ammo. Not only do I save money but my groups are significantly tighter with my reloads. The downside I see with reloading is for those of us who can be distracted into endless pursuit of the “perfect” load.

For folks who have a short memory, reloading is a good thing when ammo is either not available or is so expensive it is unaffordable.

Get out and vote. – Jim Z.

JWR,
Just a few observations about R.S.O.’s article.

I had a few issues with R.S.O.’s article on reloading and wanted to share them.

First, if you order powder or primers by mail, there will be a $25 hazardous materials fee for each package (not item, but boxes in which they’re shipped) you receive. Also, I have yet to find a business which mixes primers and powder in the same package. If you’re going to mail order either, get some friends who also reload to place orders for their needs to defray the costs (Besides, if you don’t already reload, you’re going to want some help with set up and some instruction, right?).

If you use range brass (and there’s nothing wrong with that), beware that some (mainly polymer) pistols, like the Glock, generally have issues with bulged brass at the base. Over time, this brass will not feed reliably. There are a number of methods to deal with this, like roll-sizers ($$$$$) or some specialty dies. Proceed at your peril. You can generally feel this bulge, and many dies do not size the base low enough to completely get rid of the bulge.

If you decide to buy brass (and there’s nothing wrong with that), you can lower the cost of purchase by reusing that brass. So, while $.18/round is somewhat expensive for brass, you’ll reuse most of it multiple times, spreading out the cost. If you want another way to get bulk brass, just buy loaded ammo, run it thru your favorite unloader (mine’s a M1911), keep track of the brass you shoot and pick it up after you’re done. Lots of people like once-fired brass better than pristine. (Note–If you shoot bolt-action rifles, you’ll get better results from fire-formed brass than from pristine or fully-sized brass. Use a neck sizer only after you fire form your brass, and it’ll be custom to your rifle’s chamber.)

Your mileage may vary here, but I’ve had no issues shooting unjacketed lead (moly coated and uncoated) thru my Glock. Granted, I’m more diligent about cleaning the barrel when I shoot lead thru my Glock (which isn’t often, I’m not a Glock fan), but have had no ill effects. If you want, Lone Wolf Distributors makes a great aftermarket barrel, and one of the marketing points for it is you can use unjacketed lead in it. The biggest issue with Glock is the fact that shooting reloaded ammo (yours or anyone else’s) voids your warranty, tread at your peril.

I recommend specifically against buying any Lee Precision progressive press, which is unfortunate, because most of their other equipment is outstanding an affordable. The reason I recommend against their progressives is the large number of important parts made of plastic–especially the primer feed system. I owned a Lee Loadmaster for several years, and spent a lot of money on spare parts to replace broken ones.

The Dillon 550B is NOT a true progressive press, as it requires a manual index of the shell plate. True progressive presses index the shell plate by using the lever–every time you pull the lever, the ram goes up and down, does all the operations, and the shell plate rotates. The 550B requires you to turn the shell plate by hand after each stroke.

R.S.O.’s point about buying dies made by he same manufacturer as the press is a good one, but not entirely accurate. Almost all dies are threaded the same, so they’re theoretically interchangeable. However, the depth of the place where you screw them into the press can vary. If your die bodies are too short, they won’t adjust or work properly. I currently use Lee dies on an RCBS single stage press with no issues. Lee dies have the advantage of coming with a shell holder, no other die sets do (at least as far as I can tell).

I wholeheartedly agree with R.S.O.’s point on the manuals. If you use a recipe someone else gives you, you’re risking losing vital body parts. Don’t be that guy/gal.

R.S.O.’s point about Boxer and Berdan priming is a good one, but many foreign manufacturers of handgun ammo use Berdan primers. Look into the case, and if you see two small holes instead of one relatively large one, it’s not reloadable.

When cleaning your brass, a tumbler is not strictly necessary, it’s just the most efficient and easiest method. You can clean brass with water and let it dry. When you go thru the sorting operation, make sure you check the cases for dings, dents, Berdan priming, and cracks. Dings and dents may not be a problem, discard Berdan and cracked cases. Also discard any steel and aluminum cases, as they’re generally poor candidates for reloading.

R.S.O. is mostly correct that you don’t need to lubricate most handgun brass if you use carbide dies. However, having reloaded a bunch of .500 S&W Magnum, I recommend lubing long cases, even if you’re using carbide dies–I snapped a Lee Loader trying to resize .500 brass without lube. Additionally, most bottleneck cartridges (like many popular rifle calibers) require some lube to make the operation effective, even when you use carbide dies. I can’t say this is strictly true for calibers like .400 Corbon or .357 SIG, but I refuse to own pistols chambered for these cartridges–they are answers to unasked questions, and if you’re going to go to the bother of chambering a pistol to mostly .40 S&W or .45 ACP, why not just go with the straight wall version and use heavier bullets?

R.S.O. omitted a step–you have to prime the cases. Make sure you use the appropriate primers. One thing to note, some popular calibers (like .45 ACP) have manufacturers who have switched from large to small primers, so pay attention–especially if you’re using range brass. It is generally not smart to interchange rifle primers for pistol primers–there’s a reason why they make primers specifically for rifles and pistols. Also, be aware that using a magnum primer in a non-magnum cartridge will give you inconsistent velocity.

Three additional sources for reloading supplies:
www.midwayusa.com (based in Columbia, Missouri)
www.brownells.com (based in Montezuma, Iowa; they recently acquired Sinclair International)
www.grafs.com (based in Mexico, Missouri)

Recipe of the Week:

Martha in Indiana’s Whole Wheat Bread
 
3 cups warm water
1 1/2 tablespoons dry yeast
1 tablespoon honey
Dissolve the honey and yeast in the water in a large crockery bowl.
Pray for 5 minutes while the yeast “activates”, becoming foamy.
Stir in 3 c. W.W. Flour, stir for 5 minutes to develop gluten.
Add 1/3 c. Honey, 4 teaspoons salt, 1/2 c. Applesauce and stir for another 5 minutes.
Add flour (6-7 cups) till a stiff dough is formed.
Turn out on floured board and knead until elastic and smooth.  A good test to see if it is kneaded enough is to pick up the dough and then drop it, it shouldn’t stick to your hand.
 
Place dough in a greased crockery bowl and place in a slightly warmed oven into which you have put a pan/bowl of warm water.  Dough rises much better in a warm (not hot!), moist, environment. Let rise for 40 minutes or till it doubles in volume.
 
Punch down and divide/shape into 4 loaves.  Place in pans and let rise for 40 – 60 minutes in a warm/moist oven.  Remove from oven and preheat to 350 degrees, bake for 40 minutes or until it sounds “hollow” when loaf is thumped.  After turning out to cool, I baste the tops of the loaves with butter.
 

Chef’s Notes:

I’ve used this simple recipe for whole wheat bread for almost 30 years.  It always turns out well. I have ground my own flour using hard red winter wheat and used it in the recipe as well as store bought whole wheat flour, both work equally well.

Useful Recipe and Cooking Links:

OldTimeRecipes.us

Fajita.biz

Do you have a favorite recipe that you have tested extensively? Then please e-mail it to us for posting. Thanks!

Economics and Investing:

Ruh Roh: Europe’s Invisible Bank Run Accelerates. (Thanks to B.B. for the link.)

J.D.D. sent this: Nightmare foretold if Greece heads for euro exit

The lingering legacy of the shadow inventory – homeownership rate will bottom in 2014. Goldman Sachs predicts homeownership bottom.

AmEx (American Expat) spotted this: Gold & Silver Decline: George Soros Nearly Quadrupled Gold Stake in Q1

James K. sent this: Economist Nouriel Roubini predicts trouble ahead for economy

Mr. Singh sent this link: John Embry interviewed by James Turk again (on the 18th May 2012) Embry notes: “If you are negative on gold, then you must be positive on currency.” (He can’t see that such a position makes sense.)

Odds ‘n Sods:

Kevin S. suggested this piece : Be Resilient, Part I: How to Measure Resilience

   o o o

Steve H. sent this: New FBI Surveillance Backdoors? Six Key Points

   o o o

North Korea ‘executes three people found guilty of cannibalism’. One man… “reportedly resorted to cannibalism after supplies to the city dwindled in the wake of the government’s disastrous efforts to reform the currency triggered rampant inflation and worsened already critical food shortages.”

   o o o

Ol’ Remus of The Woodpile Report recommended this piece: How Government Wrecked the Gas Can

   o o o

Finding a pre-1899 gun among junk

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“If you are unwilling to defend your right to your own lives, then you are merely like mice trying to argue with owls. You think their ways are wrong. They think you are dinner.”  – Terry Goodkind in “Naked Empire“

Note From JWR:

Today we present three more entries for Round 40 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. It is a $439 value courtesy of Next Level Training. 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 40 ends on May 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Fitness by the Acronyms, by Jeff in Texas

Let me start with this statement: You should be in good cardio condition to survive the acronyms, and I can help you get there. Like the guy that sells Men’s clothing say’s … “I guarantee it!”
Why is it important? Because life ain’t a video game! Anyone that visits this site more than once, I would hope, has enough knowledge to know you won’t be playing this game sitting on the couch. And while it would be nice to think of all our fellow men as “good people” … we know when the going gets tough: the un-prepared and desperate folks, and bad guys, will get going.
Even if you live in the perfect dream come true enclave in the Great American Redoubt, you still have to protect it, and you still have to hunt/gather/plant/harvest food and water. If you have a retreat, but don’t live there – you have to get there – and don’t assume you’ll be able to drive. If you live in a big city, suburb or small town – sooner or later, you gotta leave the house. And when you leave your house, whether to patrol you’re area, gather intelligence, scavenge for food/water, or are forced to leave – you need to be in good enough physical condition to stay ahead of the bad guys. It would be nice if you were so stealthy, that you could always avoid dangerous encounters. But when you come face to face with trouble, you have two choices: Fight or Flight. I won’t go into ‘fight’, since that’s a whole different topic and I just read a great article by Gunfighter on small team tactics; but for ‘flight’ – there is no choice but to be in the best condition you can. And I don’t care how far out of shape you are, you can improve. Frankly, if ANYONE depends on you, then you owe it to them to be in good enough shape to do your part and help out.

Brief Background. I was very active in my 20s and early 30s. But the combination of getting married (and my wife is a great cook), having a job that keeps me at a desk 8+hrs/day, and generally staying home with the family ….. all came together, so that by the time I was in my early 40s, it’s fair to say I was out of shape – big time. I’m 6 feet tall, but weighed 225 pounds, with a medium frame. However, at the age of 47, I achieved Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do. That Black Belt test was the most grueling physical thing I have ever done. How did I go from around 45 pounds overweight, and not able to climb two flights of stairs without breathing hard – to surviving a 5hr beating that is a Black Belt test?

This is how you get there, no matter what kind of shape you are in now: Set some goals, Get off your ‘six’ and start, create and follow a training plan. I’ve included mine to help you get started.
After getting in the physical condition required to survive a Black Belt test, you might ask – what are you training for now? For me, it’s simply to be in good enough condition to stay ahead of trouble. At age 50, I don’t pretend that I can take on all threats alone, martial arts training or not. So my goal is that, as I mentioned at the start of this article , if I have to ‘flight’ from a situation, I have a plan: if they run – I run faster, when they start to slow down to a jog  – I keep running, when they slow to a walk – I keep jogging, if they stop – I keep walking. My goal is to put some distance between myself and the threat, and plot my next steps from safety. Knowing that predators are usually after easy targets, they usually won’t follow you for long. And in the condition most folks are in these days, they can’t. So my training goal became: be able to evade, run/jog/walk, for as long as it takes. In my estimation, that would put me in good enough condition to elude most threats. You can tailor your end state goal to your environment and situation. But don’t fool yourself … you cannot be invisible, and will not be able to fight in all circumstances. Except Chuck Norris, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him run?
How to begin … Make a commitment and start! Set a goal and commit to improving. You don’t have to climb Mt. Everest by the end of week one. By taking it in steps, you will be able to get there. As you achieve a milestone, set a new one, until you ultimately get in the condition you think serves you well. For me, the first thing I needed to do is get my weight down to a reasonable, healthy level. I targeted 180lbs, based on where I was before I got married. Second, I needed to be able to function with my heart rate up in the 170-180bpm range for an extended period of time, with short periods of going full out. When I started training in martial arts, I could not even spar for two minutes before being winded! So the strategy is to improve over time, and be realistic. It took me a year to get to where I could jog five miles without stopping, at a pace to finish in one hour. That’s 6mph, or a 10 minute mile. Pretty reasonable target. And in the process, I dropped 45lbs in about six months.
Depending on where you are, you can start at any level below.

·         Starting Out
   My initial training step was to walk for an hour, as fast as I can. Keeping track of how far I went in that hour. If you are out of shape and overweight … you might do this several weeks, or a few months, to start building some cardio strength. Be patient and persistent.
·         Two Intervals (Walk and Jog)

   My next step was to begin adding level of difficulty in intervals. As I mentioned, I could only jog for about 2 minutes when I started. So what I did was … jog for 2 min, walk fast for 5 min, and repeat. At first, I couldn’t do that for an hour, I ended up walking more than jogging. It took me a few weeks to get there.

   Next step is simply to keep increasing the intervals. When I go to the gym, I do intervals in minutes. When I go to the county park and run either on the ¼ mi oval running track or the 2 mi trail, I switch between doing intervals by time or distance. It’s nice to mix it up so you don’t get bored. Start off by just trying to keep moving, whatever pace you run so you can jog the whole ¼ mile, then walk ¼ mile, repeat and keep that up for an hour or 5 miles, whichever comes first. When you can do that, move to jogging ½ mile, walk ¼ mile. Then jog 1 mile, walk ¼ mile. Etc, etc. Until you can jog the full five miles. Once you can jog five miles, work on pace. The first time I was actually able to jog five miles without stopping, it took me a little over an hour. Over time, I was able to pick up the pace, and now I can jog five miles in about 40-45 minutes. Why did I pick five miles? A professional trainer once told me: “If someone can run five miles, I can train them to run a marathon”. So I thought is must be a good target?
·         Three intervals (run/jog/walk)

   Now that you have a good cardio base, you can start to train for evasion scenarios. It’s time to add a third interval – sprinting. As with the plan above, I add time or distance in the mix for sprinting. Initially, I used the same strategy as above, to continuously improve. I downloaded a free interval timing app to my iPhone, but you could do the same thing with a watch. Try starting with 15 sec sprint, 30 sec jog, 2 min fast walk, repeat. Not as easy as it sounds, especially after an hour. Keep increasing to a target you believe will meet your needs. Again, my goal is to be able to sprint until the bad guy slows down and put a little distance between me and the threat, then stay ahead until I get to a safe area. I am getting to where I can flat out sprint for a several minutes, run hard at a fast pace for several minutes more, decreasing to a jog for a minute or two to recover and allow my heart rate to drop, the run hard again if needed.

·         Advanced Training?

   First and foremost – you can start training in a Gym, on a treadmill. But that just doesn’t duplicate real world. You will find that actually running on a track is harder. And a jogging trail is a step up in difficulty from a track. So to keep taking in to the next step, keep making it more real … Try running trails, up and down hills, thru heavy woods, tall grass, in the middle of the hot summer, even in the rain. All that keeps it interesting, and you won’t get as bored doing the same thing day after day. Secondly, mix up the training – variety is more fun. Some days I just jog. Some days I do mix up intervals based on time – two intervals (2 min jog / 5 min walk), some days three intervals (15 s sprint / 30s jog / 2min walk), or mix up the distance ( ¼ mile sprint, 1mile jog, ¼ mile walk). Also, I have found it helps me to take a day off and rest. I don’t work out on Sunday, regardless of whether I missed a day during the week, for whatever reason.

   Lastly, consider training with your G.O.O.D., BOB, or SWM (stays with me) gear. What are the chances you may have to evade while toting one of these? How far can you walk with a 50 lb G.O.O.D. pack? Can you jog with a 20 lb BOB? How fast can you run with a SWM bag? (Mine is a medium size fanny pack.)

Measuring Success. Obviously, one measure of success is the increase in distance and rate you can run. But, if you are like me, you want cake and to be able to eat it too. The best part of all this is, you can eat what you want, and still get in shape. You don’t have to eat grass and pine cones, join a gym or hire a personal trainer. Here is tip … Get a cheap bathroom scale, and learn some simple math to measure success. Your Weight = Food – Exercise. Understand, to get your weight where it needs to be, it doesn’t matter what you eat, as much as if you are burning it up. This article isn’t about nutrition, just how to know if you are moving in the right direction. So, jump on the scale each day, and if over time: a) weight stays the same – then you are burning the food you eat, and are balanced; b) if, over time, weight is increasing – you are either eating too much or not exercising enough; c) if, over time, your weight is decreasing – you are expending more energy than you are eating. It’s really pretty simple.

I use these free iPhone apps and found them to be very valuable:

  • WalkingGPS – This is a great app to track exactly where you have been, and it even plots your path on a map. Measures distance, time, rate, and even altitude change. I’ll bet the first time you walk what you ‘think’ is five miles, you are way off, it’s further than you think. This will keep you honest. It’s also easy to see the pace you are moving at in real time. So you know if you are jogging at 4mph (15min mile), 6mph (10min mile) or 10mph (6min mile). I’ll bet the first time you try to run at 8mph you are shocked at how fast that really is?
  • IntervalTimer – I can set it up to alert me when it’s time to walk, jog, sprint and listen to music at the same time. I’ve saved several … Jog/Walk: 2m/5m, 10m/2m or Sprint/Jog/Walk: 15s/30s/2min, 1m/4m/1m, etc.
  • Lose It! – great way to track your weight over time, and does a great job of helping you keep track of calories if you want to.

 

Teach Your Children Well, by Vicki W.

My daughter was recently in an Earth Science class where a discussion took place.   The other students didn’t know that the dandelion with the yellow flower and the dandelion with the white seeds were one and the same.  And this is from students who have taken numerous public school science classes and will soon be out in the adult world.  As I told this to a close friend, she made the observation that this will be the level and skills of people we will be dealing with should TEOTWAWKI happen.  My heart hurts that children aren’t taught to think and how to ask appropriate questions.  Some never develop a thirst for knowledge.  They are simply unprepared to live an independent and self-sufficient lifestyle.

As a 12-year homeschooling mom, I have some thoughts and ideas to share with others concerning children and the area of preparedness.   I realize that many readers of Survival Blog may have already raised their family and would instinctively pass by this article.  But are any of you grandparents, aunts, uncles, or neighbors of younger children?   I recently spent the day with a curious youngster who asked many questions of “how” and “why” I was doing things throughout the day.  It occurred to me what an opportunity it was to engage a young mind and body into the everyday life of a prepper.
Children can be very intelligent.  My husband’s mother loved to tell the story of when they hired a handyman to do some wiring in their home.  My husband, who was 3 or 4 and didn’t talk much, quietly said “It won’t work.”  Sure enough, when his dad got home the wiring wasn’t done correctly and the lights didn’t come on.  They were wowed at the thought that their young son could see this.
In parenting, my first thought is that a child must be involved in what the mom, dad, or perhaps another adult is doing.  Do your very best to not put the child aside to play while you “get some things done.”  At first, having the child assist you will certainly slow you down, but after a while the child can be a real asset as he learns to think and process ideas.

About a month ago I visited a friend to discuss vacuum sealing mason jars and brought various supplies to demonstrate.  The three young children in the family were fascinated by the discussion and function of vacuum sealing.  The 7-year-old boy suggested an experiment to try and it worked!  But what would he have learned or been able to contribute if he were merely told to go play?
In my own prepping journey, I have researched sun ovens.  I do intend to purchase a professionally manufactured one, but right now I am experimenting with a solar funnel cooker made from a car windshield sun shade.   I can only get the temperature inside the cooking pot to 225 degrees, but it will definitely cook food on sunny days even if the weather is chilly.
My curious young neighbor asked plenty of questions when I set the cooker up on the patio.  I was conducting an experiment to increase the temperature by putting a mirror in the funnel.  (Surprisingly, my efforts failed as I got higher temperatures without the mirror).  But it was “fuel” for me and my young friend to discuss.

Here is a link to show you how to build your own for under ten dollars.  And it shows a father and his daughter working together to make the video and demonstrate the oven.  Awesome!
What fun to involve a child and cook things like “baked” potatoes, brownies, or simply heat up already cooked food (for quick and impressive results).  You both learn important skills that could actually be used in emergency/disaster situations.  As your skills grow, you can research more recipes to try and build on the knowledge you have gained.
This past year I saw some videos on the StoveTec Rocket Stove.  For my birthday I asked for and received one.  It is an amazing stove that I will get many years of use from.  It will be invaluable in the event of emergency, but it’s also fun and practical to use now.  After we ordered our stove, I stumbled across a video that showed someone who made a rocket stove with a few pieces of concrete.  It’s called a Redneck Rocket Stove.  Here’s a link to show how it works and how to make it.

Although I love my StoveTec stove, I must say the “Redneck” one is cheap, EASY to set up, and with adult supervision, a child could operate and cook on it.  As you can see in the video, this is an efficient little stove fueled by sticks easily gathered in the yard.  I plan to teach some classes in disaster preparedness in our community and will demonstrate this little stove, as I think every family should know how to make and set up one of these stoves in their back yard.

In reality, an open camp fire and little ones cause me to be more than a little jumpy and nervous.   From what I have read, children in 3rd world countries have fallen into open cooking fires and
have been horribly burned.  But this technology makes a contained fire that, with supervision, is much safer.  With adult help, a child from age 7 on up could be taught fire building skills and outdoor cookery.  So whether you want to roast some hot dogs and marshmallows on a starry summer night, cook a side dish to accompany meat grilled on the BBQ, or want to cook up a fantastic chili or stew, the rocket stove provides the means to hone those outdoor cooking skills for yourself and your child.

A word of caution.  You know your child.  Only you can decide when they are responsible enough to do this without supervision.  I do urge you to err on the side of caution when it comes to fire safety.  When finished, make sure the fire and coals are completely out.  You wouldn’t want your carelessness to be the reason of a fire disaster.
In continuing on our preparedness journey, my husband saw a need to “get out of town” and about 8 years ago we were able to move to the country.  This by itself was invaluable as we saw and heard our first mockingbird, realized that the sunrise and sunset pattern changes with the seasons, that the moon rises almost an hour later each night, that the constellations are in different places according to time and season, and many other amazing things.  We looked and learned and discussed and learned some more.  Can you REALLY eat dandelion greens and make jelly from the flowers?  Can plantain really take the itch out of mosquito bites and poison ivy as well as take the swelling out of bee stings?  Could an old fashioned remedy of plantain and soaking in Epsom salt reverse the horrible flesh damage caused by a brown recluse spider bite?  Even when the doctor said it was the worst case he had seen and my brother would have to endure surgery to remove a large amount of damaged flesh?  Yes, we learned all this and more by simply stopping to ask questions, look and observe, and gather information when we didn’t know the answers.

Something we did in our family is to choose good books to read aloud from the time the children were little on up to the teen years.  These books have made impressions that will be with us a lifetime.  It was a time investment on my part, but I believe the returns from the information gained was well worth the effort.  Everyone loves a good story.  When you can actually learn while being entertained, so much the better.
We started with the Little House on the Prairie series.  This pleased my daughter, but my 6-year-old son said he was not going to listen to a story about girls!  I read aloud anyway and he inched his way closer as he became interested in the story.  Needless to say, we finished that series and it is a happy memory we share.

Stories of hardship and perseverance are always good ones to read.  It was probably my fascination with pioneer life that put me on the preparedness path I am on today.
Another set of books that we especially enjoyed was the Little Britches series by Ralph Moody.  The first  book, Father and I Were Ranchers and the third book, The Home Ranch, are most enlightening.  Like the Little House books, these are also true stories. They will especially appeal to boys 10 and up, but contains information both genders can learn from.  The young boy, Ralph, tells how his family moved out west, endured hard times, and then the father dies.  Ralph becomes the man of the family and goes to work to provide for his mother and siblings.  It is an amazing example of working hard and overcoming adversity.  It is also a loving tribute to a father who knew how to think, how to solve problems, and who in turn taught his son to do the same.

The book Lost on a Mountain in Maine by Donn Fendler is a fascinating true tale of a young boy who is lost in the wilderness and almost doesn’t make it out alive.  This story is invaluable to open up discussion of what and what not to do when lost in the wilderness.

A favorite story we read aloud, Freckles , is a work of fiction by Gene Stratton Porter. “Freckles” was orphaned in the early 1900’s.  His hand had been severed from his arm and he was simply left on the steps of a building when he was a baby.  Upon turning 18, he is released from an orphanage in a large city, and must now live and provide for himself.  He ends up at a logging camp and is given an opportunity to prove himself on a job, in spite of his handicap.  The grueling days, overcoming fear of the wilderness in which he finds himself, and battling thieves has you rooting for Freckles.  It is a real page turner.  A book is great, in my opinion, when it can engage children through adult level.  My daughter recently recommended it to a guy friend to read and he loved it.   My sister borrowed our book to take on a trip with her husband.  She read it aloud while he drove.  After the first chapter her husband said his “emotions had emotions.”  They, too, were drawn into the story and learned many things about natural science as well.

Another book we enjoyed was Carry On, Mr. Bowditch by Jean Lee Latham.   It tells of a young boy whose dreams of an education are dashed when his father puts him in an apprenticeship which he legally can’t break.  He works hard and then self-educates as he finishes his obligation.  His main text book was a King James Bible.  He then goes on to change nautical history.  Although I was hesitant about reading this book in the first few chapters with my teens (due to it at first being geared to a younger audience and talked about “luck” which I do not believe in), I was glad we continued on.  It transitions to when the boy gets older and decides he wants to learn and be educated more than anything.  This is based on a true story that clearly shows the need for self-education and how to do it.
Whether we choose to homeschool or not, parents are their children’s teachers.  And as we prepare for the worst and hope for the best, we need to ask “How will children be educated in an TEOTWAWKI situation”?  Families may have no choice but to homeschool.  How do you prepare for that?

Locate good materials (even through garage sales and thrift stores) and keep them for the future. Do not only buy math books and dry text books (they DO have their place), but choose good quality books such as I have mentioned and whet their appetites for lifelong learning.

In a lot of preparedness articles I have read, the authors caution you to know how to use your supplies.  The time to learn is not after disaster strikes.  How true this is.  So make the best of the time you have now.  Whether you have a 3-year-old, a teen, or are just a concerned friend of a family with children, start investing in the lives of young people now.  Teach them skills.  Even if you are just beginning to learn yourself, involve the kids in what you are doing.  Ask them questions and wait for the answers.  Help them think through problems.  Help them come up with solutions. Help them help themselves.  Their lives (as well as yours) may depend upon it.

Cartridge Reloading Dollars and Cents, by R.S.O. in Arizona

While we are all preparing for something most of us are not financially secure there for we must stretch our Dollars as long as we have them as a form of currency. 

Here in falls the concept of reloading your own ammunition.  Because face it we need to practice and we need to store for when the supply runs out.  Let’s start by doing a little math, Ammo 9mm Luger Winchester USA 115 Grain FMJ 1190 fps 100 Round Box $21.11 x 10 = $211.10 bought online.  Now let’s order the individual component parts online and see how much we save Winchester Bulk Bullets 9mm 115 grain FMJRN = $105.10, Winchester Small Pistol Primers 1,000 = $29.95, Powder 1 pound about $20.00, Winchester Bulk Brass 9mm = $176.30.  Ok total to load your own 1000 rounds of 115 Grain FMJ = $331.35 now you’re saying to yourself that’s $120.25 more than if I just bought it already loaded there’s no savings to heck with this idea right?  Wrong!  Take a look around next time you go to the range or your favorite outdoor shooting spot how much 9mm brass is just laying around.  LOTS and LOTS all you have to do is pick it up, and as for the powder on average you can load 1200 to 1400 rounds of ammo with just 1 pound.  Hmmm, so let’s take just the price of brass $176.30 out of the equation that will leave us with a grand total of $155.05 for 1,000 rounds of loaded ammo that is a savings of $56.05 or roughly 27%.  Greater savings can be had by buying plated and lead bullets. (If you shoot a handgun with a Polygonal rifling such as a Glock DO NOT USE unjacketed lead bullets!)

I think if you have made it this far into the article you are now saying to yourself but the equipment is expensive.  This statement is true for the most part however there are many different manufactures to choose from thus making it a matter of figuring out how fast you want to load your 1000 rounds.  You can get a RCBS ROCK CHUCKER SUPREME PRESS you will need to buy Dies (single stage) for MSRP $ 202.95, or a Lee Breech Lock Challenger Press you will need to buy Dies (single stage) for MSRP $94.00 or a Lee PRO 1000 9MM LUGER (progressive press includes Dies) for MSRP $254.00. Another option is the Dillon Square Deal ‘B’ (progressive press includes Dies will not load Rifle ammo) for MSRP $379.95 or the Dillon RL550B you will need to buy Dies (progressive press loads Rifle ammo) for MSRP $439.95.  I can go on and find all the presses that are available and put prices in here but then I might as well just open a store and sell the stuff too. (Note to self, find investor open store)  Ok do some more research on your own talk to friends other people at the range find out what they like and WHY.  Before we get too much further I am not employed by nor do I receive any kickbacks from any of the above mentioned Manufactures, however I was at one time employed by Dillon Precision.  Yes I do like there products I have used them for over 10 years and the Lifetime “No-B.S.” Warranty is great!  Links to some key manufacturers mentioned are listed at the bottom of this article.

You will need to buy Reloading Dies for most of the machines listed.  The Dies range in price from about $29.95 to $63.95 depending on which company you go with.  If you by a Lee reloader and Dillon Dies you may need to buy 1 more Die for the system to work correctly and yet if you buy a Dillon machine and Lee Dies you may not use 1 of the Dies. My strong recommendation is to use Dies made by the same company that made your Reloader.

Most of the companies also have some sort of case prep Deals (i.e. Starter Kits) these kits should include a Scale that weighs in Grains (the industry standard unit of measure), a case tumbler (the thing that cleans the brass), media (the actual cleaning material), a bottle of polish (so the brass is shiny again), a set of dial calipers (used to measure the dimensions throughout the loading process), and a Reloading manual (this is where we find all the data needed to make SAFE ammo).  On a side note your-cousins-sisters-boyfriend once used X amount of powder Y on a ### grain bullet will cause you to BLOW UP your GUN, HAND, FACE, and other things you DO NOT want to BLOW UP!!!  If someone gives you a recipe for a load look it up in a RELOADING manual before ever trying.  Your Best friend in reloading is your RELOADING Manuel get lots of them cross reference them with each other if it’s not in a book DO NOT TRY IT!!  Most powder manufactures put out FREE manuals every year or so. BUY multiple Manuals from different manufactures they are worth it, lots of research has gone into them so you will not hurt yourself.

Your initial investment will be around $1,000 for one caliber this is a lot of money.  However if money is no longer good for anything other than fire starter then having it will do you no good. Invest in Heavy Metals (lead) keep a comfortable amount on hand.  Set a minimum and maximum number of loaded rounds that you want to keep on hand then set a minimum number of projectiles, primers, and pounds of powder that you want as your supply.  Remember that powder and primers are the only parts of the ammo that may go bad if not stored properly or for too long.  Powder should be bought and rotated often if you buy 2 pounds every time you stock up use 1 from your old supply and put the 2 new ones into your reserve.  Then the next time you buy powder use the ones on the shelf to load and put the new ones in their place on the shelf.  This practice is much like rotating your stored food. 

Loading rifle ammo is a little more complex than handgun ammo but the primary principles are the same with a few added steps.  Rifle brass has to be identified as boxer or Berdan primed, brass cased or steal case.  The Berdan cases have two off-center flash holes and are difficult to de-prime because of this without special Berdan tools and very time consuming.  I have heard of steel cases being reloaded however I strongly recommend against it due to the case being more rigid than brass and possibly having unseen cracks that would cause a catastrophic failure.

The principal steps of reloading handgun ammo.  You will start by acquiring your brass, and then separate it by caliber.  The next step in the process is to clean and polish it this is accomplished by using a tumbler and a medium such as crushed corn cob or crushed walnut shells and adding in a polishing compound.  The polishing compound is not necessary but it does make the brass look almost new again.  Step number three is to separate the media from the brass.  In step four you will start the transformation from fired case to loaded ammo by sizing the brass using hopefully a carbide re-sizer for the appropriate caliber being loaded.  If not you will have to lubricate the brass before sizing.  In step five you will be flaring the case mouth, this makes it easier to insert and seat the projectile.  Step six is adding the proper amount of gun powder for the chosen load.  Be very careful to not over or under charge the load this too can cause a catastrophic failure.  In step seven you will be placing the projectile in to the top of the case so that the properly adjusted bullet seating Die will press the projectile into the case.  Step eight is to crimp the brass and remove the bell from the case mouth, so that the bullet will be held securely.  This will keep the projectile from being pushed back into the case in a semi-automatic handgun or shaken loose in a revolver.  Step nine in this process is to use your micrometer to check the overall dimensions of the loaded round.  The best part of this process is finally here you’ve made several small batches with different powder weights.  You’ve placed them in separate containers and labeled them accordingly, you now need your reloading log book (this is just a notebook that you keep) with the load data entered onto different pages the only thing missing is in the results section.  Now it’s time to go to the range and find out which batch works best in your gun or guns. Don’t forget to enter your results!

The difference between rifle and handgun ammo reloading comes at the beginning of the case preparation.  Rifle brass will need to be measured prior to loading if it is too long you will need to trim it to within the specifications listed in your loading manual.

The reason to reload is so you will be able to resupply yourself and your group with quality low cost ammunition for training and during a SHTF scenario the ability to stay in the fight.

I hope this article has given something to think about and give you another option for procuring one of the three primary supply that are needed in TEOTWAWKI: Beans, Bullets, and Band-Aids you can never have enough.  As always stay alert and Prepare for the Worst and Pray for the Best.

Online Vendor Resources:

www.DillonPrecision.com
www.LeePrecision.com
www.RCBS.com

Letter Re: Childbirth at Home, by J.C.

Dear Editor:
There are a few errors in J.C.’s article posted 5/19/12. I am a registered nurse that has delivered many babies in hospital and in home and other emergency locations. My comments are in bold type.

J.C. wrote:
 
Make sure to never pull on the baby’s head. Do apply gentle downward traction while someone pushes firmly down superior to mother’s pubic bone.

This counter pressure is usually only done if there is a problem delivering the shoulders not as a routine intervention.

Once the baby delivers the top shoulder, then release all pressure by everyone and tell mom to push.

It is much easier on Mom and baby to have the mother get on her hands and knees which opens the pelvic area significantly and allows the baby to proceed with the process of being born without interventions.
 
Some items that I would like to touch on would be minor complications. One such issue is that the “water never broke” or the placenta has not ruptured.

These are two separate conditions that the writer is treating as the same thing and it is not. Placentas should not rupture. Placentas are embedded into the uterine wall at the beginning of the pregnancy and supply via a cord (the umbilical cord) all the nutrients and oxygen that the baby needs during life in the womb. The writer is referring to two different structures that develop throughout the pregnancy, the amniotic fluid sac also called the bag of waters, holds the amniotic fluid within which the infant is cushioned and the placenta which is attached to the uterine wall and provides all the nutrients and oxygen a baby requires. A ruptured placenta is not what the writer means.

“If this is the case, you will have to rupture the placenta”.

You cannot nor should not rupture a placenta which is usually attached higher up the sides of the uterine walls.

Be careful that you do not hurt baby. Try to pull the membrane away from the baby and make a small puncture or incision. Then pull it apart with your fingers.

This statement is a “how- to- do” direction on rupturing the membranes of the amniotic sac, which really should only be done by a professional but it does not relate to the previous statement about the placenta. You want the placenta to be delivered ” intact” or all in one piece if not, retained pieces of placenta will cause problems that even in this day and age can result in the loss of a mother’s life if not addressed quickly.

I am an RN of 38+ years of experience  and have taught graduate nursing school for years so I fee confident in commenting on this subject from both a professional and personal point of view. I have another grandchild to deliver at home in December.

With My Regards, – P.C.

JWR Replies: Thanks for your sharing your expertise. I have already made immediate corrections to J.C.’s article, and re-posted it.

Economics and Investing:

JPMorgan’s losses grow

Massive Inflation Coming, Warns Donald Trump. (Thanks to Pierre M. for the link.)

Ned M. suggested this: Geithner Comes Clean: “I Don’t Understand It”

I found a link at The Drudge Report to this: $12,984–Increase in Debt Per Household Since First 2011 Bipartisan Spending Deal

Items from The Economatrix:

The $1.024 Billion Bank Run

Why A Greek Exit From The Euro Would Mean The End Of The Eurozone

Over 55 and Jobless, Americans Face Tough Hunt

Odds ‘n Sods:

Drugmakers weigh emergency supply plan for Greece

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Patrice Lewis of the excellent Rural Revolution blog posted her account of the recent Preparedness Expo in Colorado.

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Those gadgety folks at Uncrate posted this: Bug Out Bag: Everything that you need to survive and thrive in the Apocalypse, all stuffed conveniently into one pack. (Thanks to Greg P. for the link.)

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Tara McKelvey of The Wall Street Journal asks: Could We Trust an Army of Killer Robots?

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Pinellas residents flock to ‘Chickens 101’ to learn about raising backyard hens. (Thanks to Greg C. for the link.)

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, [even] unto the end of the world. Amen.” – Matthew 28:19-20 (KJV)

Note From JWR:

Today we present two more entries for Round 40 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. Both of them are about childbirth. (There was a third, “Childbirth at Home, by J.C.”, but it was removed post facto because of a prior copyright.) 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. It is a $439 value courtesy of Next Level Training. 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 40 ends on May 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.