Letter Re: Fruit Crop Losses in the Great Lakes Region

Mr. Rawles,
There has been a substantial loss of several fruit crops in Michigan due to unseasonable weather (warm weather caused budding followed by freezing temperatures that killed the fruit blossoms) as reported by AccuWeather.
 
Michigan is third in apple production and produces a fifth of this country’s sweet cherries and three quarters of its tart cherries, and prices are expected to increase. SurvivalBlog readers should take advantage of sales and supplies as they find them and can or “put by” accordingly. – Home’s Cool Mom

Two Letters Re: Beans, Bullets, Band-Aids, and Birthdays

Jim:
I have to say, the recent Beans, Bullets, Band-Aids, and Birthdays article hit exactly how I view prepping for morale, especially for children (which can in turn improve the morale of adults). When I was 10 my dad lost his job and for four years he toiled at any hard labor job he could find, including roofing all the hail damaged house in the area. We went from having dessert every other dinner to barely eating and forget new clothes, we barely had money for the thrift store bargains. Luckily, there were three of us girls, so all the clothes made it down the line. Mom would manage to make each of us a special birthday outfit and maybe matching Easter dresses. Things were hard and we knew it.

That period of my life made a big impression on me, and it has affected my prepping as well. I have included similar items like puzzle books, birthday decorations, stickers, coloring books and toys that range several ages. I don’t think that sheltering kids from the coldness of the world is the best idea, because I learned to do without, and I know that now I can do it again and survive. Things will be hard in the near future, and our kids will know it. But
having the ability to make bright spots in the long dark can help make life a little more bearable.

The best way I have found to make this practice of prepping for morale is to think ahead to what you will need in the next few years and then buy off season. Wal-Mart and most other retailers always have a huge toy clearance after Christmas, craft stores like Joann’s clearance all of their seasonal decor in a regular fashion. A couple of years ago, Joann’s Fabrics had a clearance sale on all of their Halloween dress up clothes to 90%. I got $200 worth of dress up clothes for $20. I also purchased several 300 count packages of black and orange plastic silverware for $1 per bag. – Renee

James Wesley:
I agree that keeping up the morale in hard times is essential.  We are people, not robots, and we have feelings that are sometimes lifted just by a smile, a pat on the back or a small show of appreciation.  I also have what you called a ‘prize box’.  I usually get things to go in it after holidays and at yard sales.  Just recently I picked up about 20 men’s neck scarves from an Old Navy store for only .51c each!  That will be someone’s Christmas gifts next year.  I have found packs of two stretchy knit gloves for 25 cents, and they are different colors, so I give the darker shades to boys and the pastels to girls.  I also keep a good selection of wedding and graduation gifts on hand.  I have found that many times when people get married and they get a lot of gifts, they will have a yard sale and sell some of the duplicate gifts or maybe something that just wasn’t their taste.  I usually pay about $3 to $5  and put them away until I get invited to a wedding shower or graduation and use these as gifts, along with something I made personally, and I try to match the item with the honoree’s registry requests and personality.  You can always find new baby items at yard sales really cheap.  I get baby clothes, blankets, bottles, photo albums, etc. brand new, with the tags still attached and save them for when I am invited to a baby shower.   This way, I can give them much more with the small amount of money I am able to spend on gifts. 

I also have a son and several nieces and nephews that hope to be getting married in the next few years.  I know that at the rate our economy is headed, I won’t be able to spend as much as I have in the past on other members of our family, and I don’t want them to have to struggle any more than they will have to, so I have been shopping clearance sales and yard sales for nice new wedding gifts that will be useful regardless of the circumstances in which we find ourselves in the next few years.  And if nothing changes and we are all just skipping merrily along, oblivious to the eventual economic day of judgment, then these items will still be just as necessary and appreciated, either way.  I believe that with or without power there will be a need for good, sturdy cooking pots, and things like canisters, measuring cups/spoons, hand food choppers, and the like.  You would be surprised at how many people go to selling parties like Tupperware, Princess House, Pampered Chef, and things like that, and they will buy something for $40 to $60 just to help out their friend who is hosting the party.  Then they never use the gadget they bought and will sell it in a yard sale for a few dollars.  I hate to see them throw their money away, but these make great gifts to someone who is just starting out and appreciates anything. 
 
Morale is important.  We need to have something to look forward to, like a little light at the end of a tunnel.  I believe that the future will be much harder on children and young adults.  They have only had plenty and excess in most of their lives, and just having to do without will be a major culture shock for many.  But a little gift or token to remind them of the good times can really cheer us all up. – Taressa

Letter Re: Some Thoughts on Cartridge Handloading

Mr. Rawles,
Kent C.’s article about handloading is a very informative piece.  However, I’d like to provide a little supplemental information.  First off is the matter of cost.  Kent makes the point, with good mathematical support, that reloading doesn’t really save much money when reloading common calibers (your primary guns are in common caliber, aren’t they?), but there are a couple elements he did not mention.  I have a friend who, in conjunction with a couple other guys, put in a large freight order of reloading components for several different common calibers.  We’re talking five-digit bullet counts here, with equal numbers of primers and pounds upon pounds of powder.  After all the math was done, the cost per round was dropped substantially.  While this is a prohibitively expensive approach for all but the independently wealthy, organizing such a group buy could be a good move for members of a group to consider.

Another aspect of the cost factor is the effect on odd calibers.  Common caliber ammo may be cheap enough to offset financial gains of handloading, but the more obscure the caliber, the fewer sources there are for ammo.  Against my advice, another friend (read: spotter) got himself a .308 Norma Magnum.  Its long range potential is excellent, but most of his casings are resized .300 Win Mag casings due to the rarity of proper .308 Norma brass.  When we do find factory ammo or brass for it, he grabs it, but it’s pricey.

The time factor he mentions is also valid, but a lot of us younger folks have more time than money, making it a worthwhile tradeoff, not even counting the skills and knowledge developed by experimenting with handloads.
Another factor to consider is the ability to make customized ammo.  For the group sniper, reloading is almost a must.  A rifle does not develop its best possible accuracy unless the ammo is tuned to the barrel.  Without getting too technical, gun barrels vibrate when the gun is shot.  The frequency depends on many factors, including type and amount of powder.  When a cartridge is loaded in such a way as to make the barrel vibrate at its characteristic frequency, the muzzle remains effectively stationary and a tighter group results.  This can be accomplished either by a barrel tuner, which is an extra attachment that most barrels cannot accommodate, or by tuning the ammo to the rifle.  I have a Savage Model 10 in .308 Winchester that a gunsmith friend built up for me.  With various factory loads, it was at or slightly below 1 MOA.  After fiddling with some handloads, I consistently put up sub-1/2 MOA groups.  This kind of accuracy is hard to buy factory.  You might get lucky, and find a particular factory round that optimizes your rifle’s accuracy.  However, factory match ammo tends to be a lot more expensive than basic range ammo.  If you really want the most accurate ammo you can get, you’ll want to handload it. – John in Spokane

Odds ‘n Sods:

Timothy J. sent this: Red tape twister? Alabama county blocked from putting up signs directing people to tornado shelter

   o o o

The Ram Home Safety Show is coming back to Houston, Texas on June 2, 2012 at the Reliant Center, re-branded as the Home Safety and Preparedness Show.  The show is going to be bigger and better than ever with the addition of the preparedness products and services. Along with the celebrity experts Mykel Hawke of Man, Woman, Wild on the Discovery Channel, plus Colby Donaldson of Survivor, and the History Channel hit show Top Shot.

   o o o

Not easy, but if need be, it can be done: Stone Age Living. Of course, life expectancies are short… (Thanks to Pierre M. for the link.)

   o o o

 AmEx (American Expat) recommended this: How to Muddy Your Tracks on the Internet

   o o o

G.G. flagged this charming news headline: FBI: We need wiretap-ready Web sites – now

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“There are going to be situations where people are going to go without assistance. That’s just the facts of life.” – Los Angeles Police Chief Daryl Gates

Note From JWR:

Today we present two 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.

Some Thoughts on Cartridge Handloading, by Kent C.

In reading Don’s response to my first article, I’m going to write about a subject I was saving for next month, but I think is germane now. And I’ll probably forget it by then. Let’s talk about reloading, which also gets short shrift in a lot of books.

Note–I’m not going to go into a great deal of technique here. There are books on that. If you like, I can provide my e-mail address and would be willing to answer questions that way. I’m also not going to tell you what brand of press or dies I use. If you want to know, or want my opinions, let JWR know, and I’ll get you a private message.

First off, let me dispel the notion that reloading will save you money. I can almost guarantee you it will not. You will wind up spending more initially (on equipment and your first batch of components), then probably the same amount on components as you previously spent on ammo. Here’s an example:

A box of generic factory-loaded 230 grain FMJ ball .45 ACP generally costs $25 at a big box store. If you use plated bullets (more on that later), you’ll probably spend about $140 per thousand, or $.14 each. A pound of generic pistol powder is about $23. There are 7,000 grains of powder per pound. If you use five grains per round, you get 1,400 rounds out of a pound of powder for a per-round cost of $.0164, which we’ll round up to $.02. A sleeve of 1,000 primers is about $32, or $.03 each. If you’re cheap like I am and salvage brass from the range, you wind up spending about $.18 per round, or $9 per box of 50. Without averaging out the cost of equipment, you can make just over 100 rounds for what you’d pay a factory to load 50. So, why not just double your shooting for the same cash? Note this doesn’t take into account what your time is worth. That’s up to you, so I can’t put a price on it. That’s a really roundabout way of saying you’ll be doing the ballistic equivalent of dollar-cost averaging.

There are items I didn’t discuss, like buying jacketed bullets (more expensive), moly-coated lead (about the same as plated or just a bit cheaper), or casting your own (time-intensive, but potentially cheaper in the long run–like after you pay for the casting equipment). I also didn’t discuss buying brass, which can be really cheap ($.05 per round or even less) or really expensive (brand name brass can cost as much as $.25 per round).

Now we need to discuss setting up to reload. There’s need-to-have equipment and nice-to-have equipment. Then there’s equipment that depends on your intended volume of reloading.

At the most basic level, you need a press, dies, a powder measure, scale, and a priming system. (Yes, I realize there are volume systems which allegedly obviate the need for a scale. I don’t trust them. Tread at your own peril.).

Dies have four basic functions. They make the case round again and eject the spent primer. They “bell,” or expand, the case mouth to allow you to put a bullet into it. They seat the bullet to the required depth (more on that later). And they crimp the case into the bullet. There are many quality dies out there at a variety of prices. I personally recommend against Forster or Redding, unless you’re loading match-grade (read: sniper-grade) ammo. I have a mix of Lee, Hornady, and Dillon. RCBS also makes quality dies. Any of these four companies are quality makers. Note: Lee dies come with a shell holder for a single-stage press, the others do not. All of them come in handy storage cases.

One of the things you’ll have to have is a set of calipers, to measure the overall length of the finished round. Bullets seated too long won’t chamber. Bullets seated too short might cause excessive pressures in your chamber. You don’t need to buy a set from a reloading supplier (Harbor Freight Tools, Lowe’s, and Home Depot also carry them), but make sure you have a set.

The press is what the dies and shell holder screw into and provide the leverage to do the functions mentioned above. There are four basic types of presses. Hand presses are portable and are intended for low volume loading in the field, like for hunting ammo or doing load development.

Single-stage presses are what most people use to start. You perform a single function on the press with one die, then switch dies to change functions. Most people do all of their sizing and decapping first, then move to expanding the case mouth, etc. I have one of these for my low-volume operations, like magnum pistol and all of my rifle loading. Many single stage presses are sold in kits with all of the must-have pieces of equipment.

Turret presses allow you to mount all of your dies on the press at the same time, and switch dies by turning the turret. You could perform all four functions on a single case until you’ve produced a round of ammunition. I’ve never had one, so I can’t say whether it’s worth it.

Progressive presses are the opposite of the turret press, in that you mount all of the dies simultaneously, then the case moves from station to station to complete each step. This is for high-volume reloading and requires a somewhat large dedicated area to do it. Most progressive presses have on-board priming systems and powder measures, which takes care of a bunch of other steps and minimizes equipment requirements. Many people switch to a progressive press to increase their loading rates. I started out on a progressive press, because I was getting into USPSA shooting when I started reloading. Some progressive presses are sold in kits with the most-needed extras.

A powder measure puts the requisite charge of gunpowder into the case. Progressive presses have powder measures on the press itself. For single-stage reloaders, you’ll have to mount it separately on your bench. Lee Precision dies come with a dipper to measure powder (I’ve never used one, because these types of “one size fits no one” solutions don’t appeal to me–your mileage may vary).

ALL powder measures work on volume. That’s how you can use multiple powders in the same measure. This brings us to the need for a scale. You can use digital or a fulcrum scale, but you need something to measure to a tenth of a grain. I use a digital scale, but you might want a spare in a Faraday cage or a spare fulcrum scale if you’re sweating an EMP.

The final basic piece of equipment is the priming system. If you’re using a single-stage press, there is a variety of priming systems to use on a press, or you can buy a separate hand primer. I tend to use a hand primer, but that lets me sit on the couch and prime brass while watching a movie or TV (Note: for all of my single-stage reloading, I’m a “coffee can” reloader, more on that in a bit.). Progressive presses have priming on board the press and prime on either the up or down stroke (relative to the movement of the ram or shell plate assembly. I prefer priming on the down stroke, because it gives me more feel for the primer seating. Your mileage may vary.

One thing I didn’t mention is a reloading manual. Some are printed by powder manufacturers, others by bullet companies. Lee Precision includes a set of recipes in their die sets (Note: the recipes are pretty conservative, so you won’t get maximum performance, but you’ll be safe). I prefer the powder manuals, because you get an idea of how the powder performs against a wider variety of bullet types than those made by the bullet companies (who publish against the types of bullets they manufacture, rather than a generic bullet). Some have a variety of manuals and cross-reference them. I tend to use one brand of powder, so I don’t have to do that. (Note: Hodgdon Powder is a Christian-owned company, and that’s the main reason I use them. That’s my only stated preference in this article.)

A couple of other notes. If you buy carbide dies, you won’t have to lubricate most handgun brass. If you are reloading long handgun brass (like .500 Smith and Wesson Magnum), handgun brass with a bottlenecked case (like .357 SIG or 5.7×28), or are reloading rifle ammunition, you’ll have to lubricate the brass, regardless of the type of dies you buy. Some lubricants will compromise your powder and primers, so I generally relegate those to my single-stage operations. Aerosol lubricants are easier to use than those in a bottle, which you normally lubricate by rolling across a pad.

I also referenced “coffee can” reloading earlier. When I use a single-stage press, I do each operation separately and move the brass between coffee cans during each operation. So, I clean my brass, then put it into a container. Then I size and de-prime, moving from one container to another. If I had to lubricate the brass, I clean it again and put it into a container. Then I prime it, taking from one container, priming the brass, then putting it into another. Then I charge with powder, seat and crimp a bullet, then put it into a container for transport the range.

Now for the nice-to-have equipment. I like to have a bullet puller to correct my mistakes and salvage bullets and brass. I also have a tumbler to clean my brass and save wear and tear on my dies, but you can get the same result by putting your brass in a mesh bag (like the kind ladies buy to wash their delicates) and running them in the dishwasher. Some people have bullet and case feeders for their progressive presses, but I find them too expensive to buy at this time (maybe if I ever win a lottery). The last thing you probably want to have is a case block. At its simplest, this is a block of wood with a series of holes drilled into it to keep them together and keep you from knocking them over and spilling your powder all over the place. You’ll only have to do this once to understand.

There are other considerations, but this pretty much covers the basics. If you can, have a friend walk you thru the process and give you suggestions, or check out a book at the library.

To address Don’s basic question, I still buy some loaded ammo, even though I reload. Rimfire isn’t reloadable, so I buy that, obviously. I don’t reload shotgun shells (although I’m considering starting to, so I can generate my own supply). I buy some rifle and pistol ammo to ensure I always have a ready supply, in case I don’t have time to reload ammo before I need it. So, the simple answer is, if you’re reloading, keep a supply on hand to supplement your reloading. Figure out what you have on hand for components, then buy about half that much in loaded ammo. Use only reloads for proficiency shooting.

For my purposes, I have components for about 500 rounds of ammo to reload at all times. Some, like 9mm or 5.56, I have at least a thousand (I have 3/4 of a five-gallon bucket of 9mm brass, for example). I also have a growing supply of factory-loaded ammo.

I also try to limit my purchases of odd-caliber weapons. 9mm, .40 S&W, .357 Magnum, and .45 ACP are the most common calibers of handgun ammunition in America. .223, .308, .30-06, and 7.62×39 are the most common rifle calibers. Your survival weapons should be in those calibers for defense against humans or taking game larger than rabbits (use .22 Long Rifle for that). If you have hunting weapons not in those calibers, I’d recommend keeping at least 200 rounds for each weapon you intend to employ.

Aside–I recently purchased a self-defense rifle in .300 AAC Blackout, mostly for close to midrange work and the wide variety of bullet weights it can employ. I have 200 rounds for it and plan to get that up to at least 1000.

One thing to remember is that .308 Winchester and .223 Remington are not the same as 5.56 and 7.62×51 NATO, respectively.

A final set of notes-much of the supply of foreign-manufactured ammo is Berdan primed, and is not reloadable (because of how the primer pocket is formed). If you want your factory-loaded supply to be reloadable, look for Boxer primed ammo. Also, steel-cased or aluminum-cased ammunition should never be reloaded. Steel-cased ammo will gall your dies. Aluminum-cased ammo will be compromised after the first firing. Neither will work for you, regardless of primer type.

Good luck, and I wish you happy reloading!

Beans, Bullets, Band-Aids, and Birthdays, by Kathryn T.

“Morale is the greatest single factor in successful wars,” said 34th U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower.  I would add that morale is the greatest single success factor in any stressful situation, whether it be war, civil unrest, financial collapse, earthquake, snowstorm, serious illness, or job loss.  The means for keeping morale high is different depending on the person in question.  For adults, that may mean stockpiling tea, coffee, or brownie mix.  For children, though, it often means continuing to recognize the celebrations of happier times.

To that end, I keep a “prize box” in our basement.  Throughout the year, I fill it with small gifts and good deals I find.  These are not the “big” presents my children write on their wish lists, but instead, amusements they may like costing under $10.  Don’t misunderstand: I am not advocating buying “Made in China” junk toys you could find in any Happy Meal.  I am talking about items of quality that bring a small “wow” factor to an otherwise potentially dreary time.  For instance, if I visit the spring Scholastic 50% Off Book Fair (held at Scholastic warehouses nationwide for teachers and homeschoolers – see their web site for dates and locations), I might put half a dozen books in the box for my children at $2 each.  Or, if I find a new-looking title at our library used book sale, I will hide it away for a future birthday, Easter, or Christmas gift.

Some people may find this practice frivolous, and perhaps it is when faced with life or death situations.  But few of us have been faced with such a situation as yet.  However, when confronting “personal disasters,” stockpiled gifts and other goodies can make a big difference in attitude. 

For example, in November 2008, when my husband’s company unexpectedly told employees it may be forced to liquidate at the end of the year unless it received a huge infusion of cash, my “prize box” provided Christmas gifts for my children.  Without it, we would have had to forego gifts that year.  It was unconscionable to buy toys or books when we would possibly not be able to buy groceries or make our mortgage payments in six months.  While going without Christmas or birthday gifts is a hard daily reality for many, it is a difficult conversation for a parent to have with an eight-year-old child, and one that I was relieved to avoid.  My prize box was the difference between happy children and disappointed ones, and thus, between happy parents and discouraged ones.
 
Stocking The Prize Box
What should an individual put in a prize box?  Aside from LED headlamps or flashlights (big hits with kids), I recommend stockpiling prize box items that require no batteries or electricity in case your celebration comes at a time when the power is out and batteries are required for more practical items.  I try to select items that have “double duty,” meaning they would thrill my children in everyday times and also be useful in emergency situations.  I have pre-purchased:
–          Books (Newberry Award winners [like Hatchet] are good bets.  Include a variety of picture books and chapter books, even if your children are not old enough to read them by themselves.  Read-alouds are powerful bonding tools and can ease a child’s stress considerably.)
 
–          Yarn (Your daughter can knit, right?)
 
–          Sewing patterns for doll clothes or costumes (Your son can sew his own Civil War re-enactor jacket or Roman soldier tunic!  My son sewed his own red tunic that has been used for everything from dress-up to drama productions.)
 
–          Fabric or small fabric squares (My daughter makes these into doll sleeping bags, but they could also be used for quilts or regular clothes.)
 
–          Swiss Army knives (Salvation Army stores and garage sales sometimes sell these cheaply.)
 
–          Colored duct tape (Girls nowadays are using them to make fashionable purses, but duct tape has a million uses.)
 
–          Colored gauze bandages (Teenage girls are using them as hair decorations, but they also make good gift ribbons or good — gasp! — bandages, of course.)
 
–          Camping gear (Consider a campfire popcorn popper.  It’s like Jiffy-Pop, only better. Or, consider some flint and steel.)
 
–          Fishing gear such as tackle boxes, lures, hooks, and fillet knives (These are big hits with teenage boys.)
 
–          Small musical instruments, such as recorders, penny-whistles, jaw harps, or harmonicas. (Caution: these can be annoying if parents are noise-sensitive.  Whistles are good for signaling in the woods.)
 
–          Craft kits (Use those 50 percent off coupons from Jo-Ann’s or Michael’s.  Consider home-made beeswax candles, soap-making, or moccasin-making kits.)
 
–          Chalk for concrete or a mini-slate (Pioneer children often did their lessons on slates to save paper, which was expensive.  You can obtain a wooden mini-slate for $5 at Handwriting Without Tears: http://shopping.hwtears.com/product/SLT/products-by-type )
 
–          Crayons, colored pencils, fun regular graphite pencils with holiday designs, and drawing pads (These are often on sale for under 50 cents during back-to-school sales beginning in July.  Even if your child already owns these, every kid loves brand new crayons!)
 
–          A white board and wipe-off board pens in a variety of colors (Costco has a great selection.  These can be used for homeschooling, too, if necessary.)
 
–          Hair ribbons, clips, and bows (Think durable, but attractive.)
 
–          Scented soap, lotion, and hand sanitizer (Bath & Body Works sells 1 oz. pocket sized hand sanitizer for $1.50 each.  That may sound expensive for such a small amount, but preteen girls like the colors and scents and they can ward off influenza or other potentially dangerous viruses.  They are also small enough to carry on airplanes without sparking the TSA’s wrath.)
 
–          Playing cards (A book of card games might be a good addition, too.  Cards can also be used to build card houses.)
 
–          Herb window box garden or sprouts garden (Did you know that sprouts can be a very useful part of your food stockpiling strategy?  They mature in three to five days and can grow indoors during winter.  They contain lots of nutritious enzymes, vitamins, and minerals.  You can buy a fancy Kid Sprout Kit for $17.76 , but I bought a Burpee one at Home Depot for my daughter for $8 and I saw an herb garden online for $4.99.)
 
–          Travel sized board games, such as chess (Be sure to include a game that your entire family can play together at the same time and not just two-person games.)
 
–          Small LED lanterns (Some have kid-friendly designs like Hello Kitty.)
 
–          Hard candies (Look for individually-wrapped pieces in bags so that candies are easy to divvy up and do not stick together.)
 
–          Chocolate (Chocolate does not store well long-term as it turns white and chalky, but I have bought high-quality chocolate and rotated it every six months to a year; this is not hard!  Yum!  This is also a good barter item.)
 
–          Cake mix and frosting or raw ingredients like cocoa to make cakes (Remember to store an egg-substitute for a binder to replace raw eggs if you do not have your own chickens.)
 
–          IF I already have a good supply of non-electronic items, I have occasionally purchased DVDs or CDs, when the price is low enough ($5).  (We have battery-operated CD and DVD players.)  But, of course I would not keep these as my sole prize box items.

Re-purposing

If the hard times have already hit your household and you have not yet stocked your prize box, look around your home for items you can “re-purpose” for celebration’s sake.  For instance, for her birthday, I gave my daughter gold earrings that were mine as a child.  These heirlooms have added meaning and didn’t cost me anything more than cleaning them.  Dig out old streamers, extra balloons, vinyl window clings, or other decorations and use them all at once for impact.  Cut some flowers from your garden or the lilac bush in the vacant lot, put in a vase, and wrap with a (pre-used) bow.  This works great for teenage girls (and moms!).

During our “lean” Easter, I divided candy into twice as many plastic eggs than I usually use.  Even though I had less candy than in previous years, I was able to make a huge impression on the kids by making it look like more (impressions are everything).  The hunt lasted longer and the kids didn’t notice that each egg contained less.  The lesson here is to spend more time on presentation.  Wrap gifts carefully and beautifully!
During our “lean” Christmas, I knitted the kids hats.  I bartered extra hats with my neighbor for a dress for my daughter and a matching dress for her doll.  My neighbor knows how to sew and had the fabric already, but she cannot knit.  Her husband worked for the same company, so we were in the same boat for trying to create a holiday celebration from nothing and she was receptive to my proposal.  (Be sure to ask far in advance of the celebration to give the other person time to make the gift.)

Also, I made an extra effort to unpack and use all of our Christmas lights and decorations.  We don’t own a lot of decorations, but there are always a handful that end up staying in the boxes because I don’t have time to unpack them or find places for them.  That year, I used extra lights on the banister railing, even the ones that were “half out.”  I mixed them with another strand that was “half out” so that no one was the wiser.  It looked especially festive.  I used greens cut from an evergreen tree on the window sills.  I also made a special effort to focus on the non-commercial aspects of the holiday, spending extra time with the children playing board games and reading Bible stories and other uplifting tales aloud.  (The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson is hilarious and part of our annual tradition).

My children knew that Daddy may not have a job after the New Year, so they had low expectations for Christmas gifts and festivities.  (We had adjusted their expectations accordingly with gentle, but honest, conversations throughout the season.)  On Christmas Day, after all of the prize box gifts were opened (wrapped with re-used gift bags, of course), my children announced that it was “The best Christmas ever.”  That really warmed my heart, especially when, otherwise, the world seemed to be weighing on my shoulders.

Granted, one should not stock a prize box at the expense of being able to stockpile food or other necessities.  But, if your beans, bullets, and Band-Aids stash is looking good, you may want to consider stockpiling some niceties that will keep your troops happy.

Letter Re: Don’t Be Blind-sided By a Secondary Event

Dear James:

I second the motion – any nuclear power experts on the blog that can comment on the threat from further catastrophes in Japan, or similar catastrophes happening here in the US?

Quite frankly I had not paid enough attention to Fukushima.  What I am finally reading is incredibly disturbing.   To summarize, we have a fragile earthquake, and tsunami damaged building, holding tons of highly radioactive and unstable nuclear fuel rods – on the building’s second storey, 100 feet in the air, in an active earthquake zone.

Here is a photo.

Here is a quote: “If an earthquake or other event were to cause this pool to drain this could result in a catastrophic radiological fire involving nearly 10 times the amount of Cs-137 released by the Chernobyl accident.”

This would be TEOTWAWKI for Japan.  I would love to hear from an expert how bad this one event would be for the US, especially the West Coast…

Even more ominously for Americans, the US is just as vulnerable to repeating the same catastrophe as Fukushima – because of a decades-long reliance upon insecure on-site water pool storage of nuclear waste.  This was supposed to be a temporary expedient before stable long term removal and secure long-term storage of nuclear waste.   The safer, and more expensive alternative, of on-site dry cask storage, has been resisted (dry cask storage has come through largely unscathed in Japan).

“The Worst Yet to Come? Why Nuclear Experts Are Calling Fukushima a Ticking Time-Bomb”

“Experts say acknowledging the threat would call into question the safety of dozens of identically designed nuclear power plants in the U.S.”

It Gets Worse…

Beyond the storage pool dilemma is the fact that nuclear reactors need a functioning power grid to keep the coolant flowing to prevent meltdown.  If the grid goes down, it is just batteries and diesel / propane generators to keep the coolant flowing.  If the fuel re-supply  doesn’t show up in time, meltdown occurs…

Natural News has the best overview of the threat I have seen:

“Solar flare could unleash nuclear holocaust across planet Earth, forcing hundreds of nuclear power plants into total meltdowns”

It is disturbing to fathom, but it appears that any disaster that takes the power grid down for an extended time, and disrupts the delivery of generator fuel, could easily turn a large chunk of the US into a nuclear contaminated wasteland.

Any nuclear scientists with a considered opinion on this?

The number of “Black Swan” scenarios that could take the power grid down for an extended time are legion:  EMP strike, or Coronal Mass Ejection (CME), a New Madrid quake, “The Big One” on the West Coast, war or terrorist attack, just to start the list…

Are we living on borrowed time?

Is the Southern hemisphere the only really desirable bug-out location for any scenario involving the power grid going down long term?

See this map.

Regards, – OSOM

JWR Replies: The American Redoubt region is relatively safe from contamination from nuclear power plants. It is noteworthy that all but one of the nuclear power plants in CONUS that are up-wind of the region have either been shut down or are so hopelessly entangled by lawsuits that they are unlikely to ever be operational. (The one operating plant is Columbia Nuclear Generating Station, near Richland, Washington.) In contrast, the eastern United States does indeed have many, many significant spent fuel storage pond meltdown risks, in the event of a long-term grid power failure.

In the west, there is still the risk of minor contamination from Fukushima. At worst, we might have to dump milk from dairy animals for a few months if there is another big radiation release. But thankfully, the inverse square law hasn’t been repealed. Distance is on our side!

Letter Re: Maps, Legends, and Ground Truth

Hello James, 
Our contribution to being prepared was a Sunday drive. Here is what we did:
 
An essential piece of equipment for anyone contemplating any kind of emergency relocation are good maps.
If your relocation is a “bug out” due to deterioration of local conditions you need to have a plan.
In consideration that my current well placed rural residence might be a point of contention for those who want to ‘borrow my belongings and harbor unnatural urges about the occupants I have taken to making exploratory trips about my county.
Even though we are sheltering in place an alternative potential must be considered and planned.
My place: Oklahoma west.
That’s the only description I will give of my location.
 
I rely on a copy of the Oklahoma Atlas & Gazetteer. (A DeLorme detailed Topographic Map in large book form).
The scale of this map is one inch to 3.2 miles or approximately 1/3 inch to 1 mile.
It is not large enough to show any details other than gross features.
But the main usage of this map is to have an index of roads that could be used to provide a retreat or controlled movement to a place of safety.
Most of the roads are identified at corners with a street/road sign like you see in towns.
 
A second major source is a product of Shearer Publishing, 406 Post Oak Road, Frederickburg, Texas 78624 (1-800-458-3808).
It is titled: The Roads of Oklahoma (from “The Roads of…” series) and was printed in 1997.
 
Note: These map books are no longer available at your local Wal-Mart store. They are gone gone gone. But can be purchased on line from the publishers or through Amazon.com. They just contain too much information that could be used by people who want to cause damage to the citizens of USofA.
 
The DeLorme maps have only seven symbols listed for identifying roads. The Roads of Oklahoma has eleven symbols.
 
On May 6th my wife and I set out in our 1986 Ford F-150 pickup with 450,000+ miles on it to explore an area of remote rangeland along a very large major river. This river valley is perhaps 2 to 3 miles wide on the flats.
It’s total width from divide to divide is on the scale of 20 to 30 miles.
The unoccupied areas of hills, draws, canyons are in some locations covered in dense trees, mesquite, plum bushes, sagebrush and the phreatic Tamarack tree (water waster).
Wildlife and feral hogs abound.
 
We drove some 110 miles on this trip with a stop for lunch in about 4.5 hours.
Using the DeLorme map we located the closet town and state highway.
Then continued into the river valley on county roads often crossing ranches under open range conditions.
Finally the differentiation between road, oil field service road and ranch access road became muddled.
The map was not sufficiently detailed and google map indicated it was wrong in several cases.
Misidentifying ranch trails for roads.
I did not have a GPS in my vehicle so cannot comment on the potential for GPS systems that potentially could have helped us identify the correct road.
We continued on towards the river looking for the cross over road that would loop back the way we came but several miles on east.
 
Somewhere along the line we missed our crossover road.
Now up to a point we were able to absolutely tell our location using the road signs in the corner of the sections.
But we soon moved past them into an area of miles and miles of unmarked roads.
Many of which were not show on the DeLorme map.
 
Our local sheriff is a friend who we exchange confidences with to a point.
Several years ago I mention that our county was really isolated by this river on our one side because only one bridge crossed it.
The river is sandy and you just do not cross it in even a four wheel drive vehicle.
ATVs at some point, yes.
When it is dry it looks easy but will sink you to the frame of your vehicle in a twinkle of the eye.
 
But he mentioned to me that there was ‘another’ bridge ‘up their’ that the oil companies had installed so their pumpers could get pickups across to service wells.
He said, it is kinda a secret and not well know out side of a small area.
Otherwise they would have to make a detour of some 40+ miles just to get 1/2 mile to the other side of the river.
 
Well, lost and still on a good solid road suddenly we broke out of the Tamarack trees and here was that bridge he had described.
We drove across and eventually came out on a US highway, 43 miles north of where we started and on the other side of the river.
 
I failed to take with me “The Roads Of Oklahoma” book of maps. Of course I consulted it when I got home.
The scale is 1 inch = 2.5 miles.
A much larger scale that includes a more detailed legend of kinds of roads.
It also contains topographic lines that give an appreciation of the lay of the surface.
 
The Roads Of Oklahoma does show the road that leads to the bridge.
But the bridge is not marked on that map nor the DeLorme map.
It does show the blacktop road changing to a gravel graded and drained road to an unimproved road.
This information was not on the DeLorme map nor on Google.
 
At home I brought up the Google Map URL.
Looking at the Google map I could see exactly what we did to get to the locations we visited.
But Google did show the road leading to the unidentified bridge although the bridge was not show on the map.
The kinds and conditions of the roads were not indicated on the Google map either.
 
But we had a successful trip. I believe in knowing your area for miles and miles in all directions. Only driving roads will provide you ground truth.
This is what the Recon Scouts in the military provide. They collect information for the decision makers.
 
In the future I and others may not have the time to collect detailed information. That can only be gathered now.
 
My three mistakes:
1. Not taking with me and utilizing the additional source of information in The Maps Of Oklahoma.
2. Not comparing the DeLorme map, The Maps Of Oklahoma and my Google maps before I left.
3. Assuming that the maps were absolutely correct….they were not…but the lack of details is in the scale and misjudging oilfield access roads for public roads by the publishers.
 
We had a cell phone with us. We experienced no mechanical breakdowns. And we treated this excursion like a trip to the parking lot of a big box store. We should have played “what if” this was real.
 
Recommendation: Gather as many sources of maps as you can about your area.
I did have a plain paper copy of our whole county which shows where roads are closed.
But this information is also on the other two maps.
I also have a plat book of the county that shows ownership of the land detailed section by section.
An additional source of information are Soil Conservation Service (now dubbed the Natural Resource Conservation Service) soil surveys.
They are usually only published once but are based on actual aerial photographs.
Copies of them can get real scarce quickly.
Especially if they were published back in the 1960s, 1970s or 1980s.
Usually they are free to local land owners upon request.
 
As previously mentioned in SurvivalBlog, the USGS is having a $1 sale for selected topographic map quadrangle sheets.I have a few for my area.
But plan tomorrow to purchase a complete set for my surrounding area if they are still available.
 
The mile square sections and the 6 mile a 6 mile square Townships are a maze or roads that are without parallel in the world.
The central part of America is gridded off in this huge maze of roads.
It is a maze that is virtually uncontrollable.
 
It is your friend if you know how to access it and use it.
But it requires extensive ground truth of road trips correlated with all the map information you have.
 
While driving note where there are abandoned house sites with storm cellars. There are many here.
Mark where the large watershed structures are ( good for fishing, duck hunting, camping and riding out a civil storm for short period of time).
Note where there are working windmills as a source of water.
And there are hundreds in this area.
Old abandoned houses, barns and sheds could be temporary shelter in a time of great need.
Visit all of the public campgrounds near lakes and wildlife refuges that are near.
They may be a refuge for you for a critical period of several days.
 
But get to know your territory. Do not be afraid to get territorial if you need to protect your family.
 
Planning, intellect and sound thinking can and will defeat those with a B.A. degree in barroom babbling. B.A = bad **s.
 
You must be smarter than you adversary and better informed. – J.W.C. in Oklahoma

Economics and Investing:

Several readers wrote to send this: Canada Stops Making Cents as Flaherty Lets Penny Drop. JWR’s Comment: Don’t miss the last line of the article: “The penny, with two maple leaves on one side and a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II on the other, has lost 95 percent of its purchasing power since it was first produced by the mint.” If journalist Quinn were more discerning and incisive, he could and should have written: “Since 1902, the citizenry of Canada has been slowly robbed of 95% of the purchasing power of their currency, through insidious inflation. The worthlessness of the penny is a reflection of that.”

Abandoning austerity, France goes into fiscal denial: Socialist Hollande triumphs in French presidential poll

Contagion and the viral spreading of debt based systems – CEO pay at regional banks surge on average to $10.5 million thanks to bailouts while austerity is forced onto the middle class.

G.G. sent this: Young Italians flock to become shepherds

Philip W. suggested a piece by Jeff Berwick at Lew Rockwell’s site: Forget Retirement… and Retirement Savings

Items from The Economatrix:

Roubini:  Expect Stagnant US Economy In 2013

America’s Safest Long-term Investment Is Gold

Gold Price Drops Three Straight Months For First Time Since 2001

Odds ‘n Sods:

A new listing at SurvivalRealty.com caught my eye: Not only is it being sold with a fully-stocked larder and full fuel tanks, but it is also in my old stomping grounds: Orofino, Idaho Retreat. (There is also a dedicated web site for the property: IdahoRetreatForSale.com.)

   o o o

Douglas C. mentioned that there is a surprisingly good summary of Societal Collapse on a Wikipedia page.

   o o o

Hooray! The long-anticipated Kushnapup Saiga bullpup stocks are finally shipping. I trust that they will be worth the extended wait.

   o o o

Offshore retreats have their drawbacks, even if you are a well-known local philanthropist: McAfee Founder Arrested in Belize on ‘Bogus’ Charges. (Thanks to R.C. for the link.)

   o o o

Belle Ringer, over at the Salvation and Survival blog had some good commentary on the 10th Amendment.

Notes from JWR:

A few months ago, we transitioned to housing SurvivalBlog on a dedicated server in Sweden and as a precuation asked everyone to write down the IP address: 95.143.193.148. In addition to survivalblog.se, we’d also like to establish a couple of other low-bandwidth offshore mirror web sites for SurvivalBlog. This is one of our independent Continuity of Web Service (COWS) insurance measures.

Does anyone outside of the U.S. have any inexpensive server space available? Preferably this would be in a country without close ties to the United States, like Finland, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Portugal, Thailand, an independent island nation in the Pacific, or a nation in the southern tier of South American countries. Please e-mail me if you own a server with space available at an affordable price. Thanks!

—

Today we present a product review from our volunteer Field Gear Editor, Pat Cascio.