Don’t Be Blind-Sided By a Secondary Event, by Bill W.

I’m 62 years old and live in the suburbs of a large town in Georgia (not Atlanta).  I think of myself as an intermediate prepper.  I’ve studied a lot and have plans in place for myself and my family should events turn sour.  I’ve got all the survival manuals in place and have prepared to defend my family should the worst happen.  My family is prepped and ready to go.  Though I’ve not bought much in the way of food stuff, I have all the hardware and I know where to get the food stuff on short order.  I keep an adequate supply of cash on hand.

I already know that unless there is a direct threat to my family or my home I will not be bugging out irrespective of what may happen.  Neither my or my wife’s health will support a bug out on foot.  However we do have bug-out bags ready just in case we should have to leave.  We live in a community of like-minded individuals.  My home is well prepped and a supply of water and other essentials is nearby.

I have a backup location (second home about 80 miles away) that I can go to if there is a direct threat to my family or my home.  I have the capability to load my gear and supplies and make my way there without traveling major road or towns.  My backup location is actually a better physical location (more remote, better water and game, better for gardening) for a long term event.  However I do not have the community support (like-minded neighbors) there that I have at my home.  My backup location is ready should I need it.

I am a mechanical engineer by education and a nuclear engineer by trade.  My principal function at work is overseeing the analysis of risk at nuclear and chemical facilities in the US and other industrialized countries.  This brings me to the point of what I want to discuss.

As we prepare to survive in the unknown world, a world where there are no support systems to keep us aware of what is going on outside our immediate neighborhood, we need to know a lot about what surrounds us.  As we enter into a situation where there are no utilities, everyone will be busy taking care of themselves and their families as they try to survive.  So who will be minding the industrial facilities around us?  My answer is no one.  Everyone will be minding their own retreats and families.  No one will be reporting to the nuclear and chemical facilities to make sure that they are in a safe and stable condition.

As we have become more and more industrialized, our industrial processes have become more complex.  We rely on computers and embedded processors to ensure that nuclear and chemical facilities are in a safe and stable condition.  Granted well trained employees are there to oversee the automated process and to take action if things do not go as programmed.  Without power to monitor and control the nuclear and chemical facilities and no one reporting to work to do the same, many of these facilities will become unstable over time.  Chemical or nuclear releases will become likely.

As I’ve made my plans one of the things that I have done is to take a map of my surrounding area and drawn a 50 mile ring around my house (this is true for both my home and backup location).  Within that ring I have identified the facilities that may pose a hazard to me and my family should the power and employees not be available to monitor and maintain stable conditions at the facilities that use or maintain inventories of hazardous materials.  This is not easy even for a trained professional.  It involves knowing the inventory of hazardous material stored at each facility and the effect that those materials may have on humans and the environment.  Learning the material and quantities is the hard part.  The hazards can be learned from Material Safety Data Sheets which can be found on the web.
As you may expect I was surprised at what I learned.  Even in a semi-rural area in Georgia, away for any large cities like Atlanta and in an area that we don’t typically think of as chemical ally, I found a very large number of facilities that use or process large quantities of chemical that are hazardous and / or deadly to humans and the environment.

A lot of the chemicals housed in these facilities are fairly stable while in storage without much attention needed.  But when left alone for prolonged periods of time, and in a post event period when looting and mischief may abound, they may not be contained and stable for the long term.
Another factor in my analysis is the weather and the prevailing winds.  Most of the facilities where the worst offending materials are located are to the south and east of me.  This is also true of my backup location.  That is good because where I live the prevailing winds tend to be from the west or southwest.  Seldom does the wind come directly from the south and almost never from the east.  I would hardly ever be in the direct path of a wind-blown release of material from one of these facilities.

An additional factor in my analysis was knowing when there may be a release of a hazardous material.  As I said before a lot of the chemicals housed in these facilities are fairly stable while in storage without much attention needed.  If we ignore for a minute the potential of a release due to mischief, then weather, time, and the properties of the material (corrosive, stability over time) come into play.  Harsh weather such as severe cold, heavy rains and flooding, and severe winds can lead to early failure of storage facilities.  The corrosiveness of a material may require constant stirring, cleaning, and maintenance.  Some materials may volatize and give of harmful or explosive vapors while remaining in there containers.  Some chemical are susceptible to becoming unstable when mixed with other chemicals or water.  Some chemicals and processes give off heat which may lead to the early failure of a container.  A lighting strike on a chemical or fuel container may lead to a fire or explosion which can involve other materials and produce toxic vapors and heavy smoke.

In addition to the chemical facilities, within my 50 mile ring are two nuclear facilities.  One is a nuclear power plant which is due south.  The other is a government facility which is southeast of me.  They are both close to the 50 mile ring.

The government facility is mostly shutdown. It is in the process of being decommissioned and closed, although some new, less threatening facilities are being used and constructed.  It houses large tanks of radioactive waste that self-heat and evolve hydrogen.  If left alone, the hydrogen will build up in the tanks.  An ignition source or lighting could cause a large explosion that would result in a significant release of radioactive material.  Because it is so far away and the prevailing winds are in my favor I don’t worry about this facility.

The nuclear power plant is somewhat different.  It is due south and sometimes the winds are from that direction.  If a slowly evolving event were to occur then the reactor cores would probably we off loaded and all of the nuclear fuel would be stored in the spent fuel pools.  Assuming all power is lost and the employee are minding their families then over time the heat generated by the spent fuel would boil off the cooling water and a release of radioactive material would occur.  This process would take weeks to develop.  Again, because of the distance and direction I am not concerned.

Due to both facilities being near the ring and the unknown factors (you can’t smell, taste or see radioactivity) I would not travel very far to the south or southeast of where I live after the SHTF.

My analysis has allowed me to understand that I am not at significant risk of a secondary chemical or radiological event.  Dealing with the new conditions that follow the SHTF event that took away our way of life will be difficult enough without the fear of these types of surprises.

Everyone who expects to survive a SHTF scenario needs to understand the secondary threats around them.  In addition to the issues of no utilities, non-friendlies looking for food and shelter, no health care or support, and an unknown future, we need to know that we will not be blind-sided by a chemical or nuclear release that we are not prepared for.

If you think you are ready but haven’t looked at the surrounding chemical and nuclear facilities then you are not fully prepared.  If you plan to hold up in an industrialized area you must know what the surrounding hazards are.

Take out a map of your retreat area and draw a 50 mile ring.  Go to Google Maps and look at the area particularly on the upwind side of you (look at the Weather Channel and you can understand where your prevailing winds are coming from).  If you find industrialized areas, find out what types of chemical and nuclear hazards are close by.  Make a determination of whether you want to be downwind of a release of these materials.  Bugging out after a chemical or radiological release envelopes you may be too late (remember Bhopal).  Good luck and God Bless.

Letter Re: Safeguarding Videos of Constitutional Abuse

JWR:
One concern I have is that if I were to record unconstitutional actions by police, would my phone be seized and the videos erased?

One solution may be to record via internet stream. Then they would have to also think to take an extra step of checking for the software and logging into your account to delete your videos. Meanwhile, you could call someone from jail and request they copy the video before it gets deleted.

I found a review of the three different sites.

I recommend that you keep your recorder software signed in and ready to go and use quick locking/unlocking on the phone itself.

Even so, I urge you to comply by all written recording laws. This advice would only apply for situations where it’s not technically illegal but which might happen anyway. After all, they’re acting unconstitutionally in the first place! – C.D.V.

Letter Re: Sport Shooting for Preppers

As C.K.’s article points out almost all of the publications that cover prepping acknowledge the need for self-defense, but very little ink gets spent on developing or maintaining real proficiency.  His suggestion that readers consider either practical shooting (USPSA) or defensive pistol shooting (IDPA) really hits the target.  The follow-up letter by Sean from COS advocating hunting as another way to develop and maintain skills also hit the mark.

Many articles and even most of the survival fiction stories provide descriptions and explanations for the “right” guns to buy.  “Survival Gun Selection” on the left side of survivalblog.com is an excellent overview of the equipment and rationale, but even this article avoids two other gun issues that are critical, especially for those of us with a wife who carefully monitors our combined survival investing.

Those two issues are:

1.) How many rounds should be put aside for each type of weapon for self-defense or hunting assuming TSHTF and ammo is no longer readily available?

2.) On some kind of rolling forecast, how many rounds should be budgeted for maintaining proficiency for each year between now and when TSHTF?

My wife knows that I would rather buy an extra 500 rounds of 40 S&W than another two cases of Mountain House Chicken a la King.  But seriously, how would you make the argument for the number of rounds to keep on hand?

For example, we have four hunting rifles in .223, .243, 7mm-08, and .308 for most North American hunting plus a .375 H&H mostly for bear.  Following the same reasoning as in Sean’s letter, we draw for resident permits each year and usually get a deer and an antelope and occasionally an elk.  Even with pre-season practice and testing my own hand loads, it is really hard to justify more than 40 to 50 rounds per year for each of the bigger calibers.  The .223 with a big NightForce scope sees a lot more action since it is used for varmint hunting throughout the year.

Our primary carry pistols are all in .40 S&W.  Without participating in regular matches as C.K. suggests, we do extended shooting sessions about twice a month with 40 to 50 rounds per gun.  Just for skill maintenance, we go through 600 or more rounds per year per pistol.  We also have several 1911s that have been displaced by the high capacity polymer pistols, and they probably see no more than 100 rounds per year apiece.  At those same practice sessions, we also shoot at least two 30-round magazines of 5.56 through our M4rgeries.  For the pistols and the ARs, we use the drills we learned at Front Sight at the 4-Day Defensive [handgun and rifle] courses.  (Very inexpensive course certificates, thanks to eBay, and highly recommended.)

In your novel “Patriots”, shortly after most of The Group gets to the retreat in Idaho, the characters perform an inventory of their supplies (food, tools, supplies, clothing, guns, and ammo):   “As for ammunition, we are in excellent shape – in all nearly 300,000 rounds, almost half of which is .22 rimfire.   …Joe Schmo on the street probably only has a couple of hundred rounds on hand, on average.”

On my first reading of the book several years ago, I thought this was a bit excessive.  Now, I am not so sure. 

Take out the .22 LR (150,000 rounds) and divide the remaining 150,000 rounds by 12 or 15 people.  That leaves 10,000 to 12,500 per person.  Split that number between hunting (maybe 10% – 1,000 rounds across all hunting guns), defensive pistol (say 30% or 3,000 rounds) and defensive rifle (the remaining 60% or 6,000 rounds).  If half of the defensive pistol ammo was intended for skill maintenance, those 1,500 rounds would last for only 4 or 5 years of practice.

When my son and I attended the 4-Day Defensive Handgun Class at Front Sight earlier this year, we each went through 720 rounds in four days.  A year ago and prior to the classes, it would never have occurred to me that the two of us would chew through almost 1,500 rounds in just four days – in practice!.  Then, I got on the phone with my oldest boy who had served with the 1st Marines in Fallujah.  I was stunned to learn how many rounds went through the average rifleman’s M4 in a single firefight.  He told me that he usually felt under-equipped with only eight 30-round magazines on his gear.

My next thought is that we are talking some serious money.  Let’s say 3,000 rounds of 5.56 primarily for practice at $350 to $400 per thousand plus 3,000 rounds of higher quality 5.56 at $500 to $600 per thousand.  The AR-15 ammo could set you back $2,500 to $3,000.  Assume roughly the same cost per round for .40 S&W (9mm a little less and .45 ACP a bit more) for practice and for high quality defense rounds for your carry pistol, and we can add $1,250 to $1,500 for your primary handgun.  The hunting ammo will likely run $20 to $30 per box of 20 except for the .223 which in a pinch could also use the ammo for your AR.  The 1,000 rounds of good quality hunting ammo could set you back another $1,400 to $1,600.  Enough ammo to feed the whole battery can easily nudge into $5,000 or $6,000.

My wife’s reaction was that much money could buy a whole lot of beans and band-aids!

How about the benefit of your wisdom for all of us in that same predicament?  How many rounds is a reasonable budget for skill maintenance?  Assuming as I do that ammo will be one of the very first things to disappear from stores, how many rounds of quality defensive ammo is enough?

Your current thoughts would be greatly appreciated. – Don M.

JWR Replies: I’ve always made a distinction between ammo for target practice, and ammo for TEOTWAWKI. The latter is always kept in reserve. Aside from target practice ammo, I consider 1,000 rounds per handgun and 2,000 rounds per battle rifle a bare minimum. Here at the ranch, one entire wall of JASBORR is lined with heavy duty ammo can shelves, but much of that ammo is for training or is intended for eventual barter.

Economics and Investing:

G.G. flagged this: The Media Won’t Touch this Story About the End of the US Dollar

Coincidentally, M.E.W. noted one large paper that just did: How US debt risks dollar doomsday: The US dollar is getting perilously close to losing its status as the world’s reserve currency. Should it cross the line, the 2008 financial crisis could look like a summer storm.

Mac Slavo: What is America’s Economic Breaking Point?

Items from The Economatrix:

The Illusion of an Economic Recovery

Jim Sinclair Has Something to Say

US Economy Grows at Tepid 2.2%, Misses Estimates

Oil Prices Rise On Improvement In US Manufacturing

Odds ‘n Sods:

Another Self Reliance Expo will be held in Colorado Springs, Colorado on May 18-19, 2012. There should be a half-dozen SurvivalBlog advertisers with booths there.

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Tim J. suggested this article: More families building their own tornado shelters

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Courtesy of Chris M.: Lockdown–The coming war on general-purpose computing, by Cory Doctorow

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Seed for Security has announced a new bonus offer. You will receive a free Garden Bean Collection with the purchase of two Garden Bean Collections. This is a $14.99 value. Included in this collection (all seed counts are approximate): Jacob Cattle Beans or Soldier Beans (150 seeds), French Horticulture Beans (150 seeds), Provider Green Bush Beans (150 seeds), and Grandpa Neff’s Mix (150 seeds).

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Motive Force: Homeowners decide to have some fun demolishing their home, so they rented an APC to take it down, KARE reports.

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"What is the meaning of a gold standard and a redeemable currency?  It represents integrity.  It insures the people’s control over the government’s use of the public purse.  It is the best guarantee against the socialization of a nation.  It enables a people to keep the government and banks in check.  It prevents currency expansion from getting ever farther out of bounds until it becomes worthless.  It tends to force standards of honesty on government and bank officials.  It is the symbol of a free society and an honorable government.  It is a necessary prerequisite to economic health.  It is the first economic bulwark of free men." – Walter E. Spahr, Professor of Economics at New York University

Notes from JWR:

Today we present another entry 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.

A Second Look at the Mosin-Nagant Rifle, by Frog

I got myself into prepping and survivalism after the turn of the century, so my main resource was the Internet. That in and of itself was a whole learning process, as well — but the scope of this article will focus on what appeared to be an amazing find in that great, infinite Google. $80 for an accurate, reliable, rugged bolt-action repeater that was on-par with a .30-06, ballistically… and had dirt-cheap ammo, to boot? There had to be a catch, and oh, how the forum-goers toting $5,000 AR setups assured me (and plenty of people in similar metaphorical boats) that it couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn (from the inside), it blew up, all the bolts stuck, the triggers were horrible and couldn’t be fixed, and the corrosive ammo wasn’t worth the trouble.

Boy, how I learned how wrong they were. Though I’ve had a fascination with the rifles for quite some time, I ended up acquiring other weapons first, as fate would have it. However, I’ve since gotten my own example, and no longer have to bother friends or roommates to get a chance to toy around with one (although an acquaintance at gunsmithing school had a beautiful 91/30 he’d refinished the wood on, himself).

My rifle is a round receiver Tula, 91/30. I was lucky enough to get one with an excellent bore, bolt, and all the accessories (oiler, tools in cloth wrap, sling, bayonet and two ammo pouches), while paying only $90 in-person. $80 online is still a perfectly fair price, even after transfer and shipping — though I would advise anyone purchasing multiple specimens, or other qualifying weapons, to consider a Curio and Relic license, if that is in your interest.

The rifle’s main detriment that I’ve determined thus far? The sights. They’re not bad — though I’m biased, and apparently an abnormality when it comes to American shooters raised with traditional American guns, for the most part. However, the majority of my open-sight shooting since adulthood has been with an AK variant, which has very similar sights, anyway. That doesn’t change what they are, though; crude, dark, and on some guns, not even adjustable to make your point-of-aim the same as point-of-impact. A $5 part fixes this, and I suspect that the better quality sample you acquire, the less likely the phenomenon is. If you’re new to Russian sights, try to remember that it’s something you get used to. There’s nothing directly ‘wrong’ with them; they’re not always as precise, and they’re just different.

In the course of my life to date, I’ve fired three Mosins, including my own. They have all been 91/30s, and I have never seen any of them malfunction, not that bolt actions are particularly susceptible. A common story I found online, initially, had me worried about ‘sticky bolt.’ Don’t believe everything you read, though; degreasing the gun (with one of a variety of methods, or multiple, ideally) will eliminate this problem nine out of ten times. My rifle’s action is as smooth as my Mauser. Sticky bolt happens when cosmoline is not completely removed from the gun, and subsequently heats up and turns to a very sticky, unfavorable substance. Removing it is slightly harder after that happens, but still easy, in any case. Make sure you remove all cosmoline before shooting your rifle at all. While it won’t wreck the gun, it’s just not a good idea to let it build up.

Another problem mentioned for the guns is the relative difficulty of mounting a scope. A traditional job can be done to flop the bolt handle and fandagle a mount like the sniper Mosin variants had, and while those are fine, they are not my recommendation. The Brass Stacker mount goes over the rear sight, solidly locks, and allows a scout-style scope to be mounted — my choice being a Simmons Prohunter in fixed 4x power. The mount is superior to similar ones not only in quality, but in that it allows the rifle’s iron sights to stay on the rifle, unchanged. Any weapon you have for real-world use should have iron sights, even if it also has an optic. Right now, that translates to being able to keep hunting if your scope malfunctions; post-SHTF, that could mean still making accurate hits instead of area-effect fire after an optic goes down. Regardless, a scope is not necessary with these weapons; [the Finnish army marksman] Simo Hayha demonstrated that well enough. My strategy thus far is going to be to scope two rifles (for me and my lady-friend), and keep the rest with iron sights, mainly as backup and hand-out weapons.

If you’ve never shot a Mosin, and you get an opportunity to, accuracy test it and you’ll be surprised. Obviously, surplus ammo is less accurate than current-manufacture, but a scoped 91/30 will absolutely keep up with other surplus rifles. I wouldn’t feel under-gunned shooting it against a Mauser, assuming it wasn’t sporterized. If you picked a good rifle and use good ammunition, 1 MOA isn’t uncommon with quality optics. Iron sights, expect whatever your proficiency level is; my rifle outshoots me, and I’m not a terrible shot, by any means.

One unfortunate thing that is true of Mosins is that the stripper clips suck. No bones to pick about this one; rimmed casings make them awkward. Some are completely unusable, others just difficult, but they’re nothing I’d ever trust my life to. Furthermore, they’re expensive! While SKS stripper clips are cents a piece, Mosin ones can be as much as $3-5 per clip! For an $80 rifle, that’s not worth it, to me — but they’re unreliable, either way, and I thusly recommend sticking to hand-loading [the internal magazine on] these [with individual cartridges]. For what they are, if you’re doing everything correctly, an absolute speed-reload shouldn’t be as necessary as with other weapons. Make your shots count and learn to load by hand as quickly as possible.

Getting a Mosin quickly teaches you about corrosive ammo. I’m still learning, on that account, but the method I’ve been using is to disassemble the gun, spray the metal parts down with Windex to soak, and then let more Windex flow through the bore. Apparently, the ammonia is thought to be good for removing corrosive salts, but I can’t attest to that. Some people use hot water to the same effect, and I wouldn’t feel uncomfortable doing so. In any case, after your corrosion-cleaner of choice, clean the rifle as normal — though, thoroughly, especially if you don’t shoot often or are going to store the rifle for any length of time. Better safe than sorry. Surplus ammo has acceptable, although certainly not outstanding accuracy. Don’t be afraid of corrosive ammunition if it’s your first experience with it. Again, it’s just different; take care of the gun and it’ll take care of you.

While the rifles aren’t light, they’re very well-balanced. A fiberglass stock would help, but again, I don’t recommend getting that simply because of the price. Recoil is stiff, but not overly so. If you’ve fired a .30-06 in a similar configuration, a 91/30 is nothing new. Carbine variants will blow your hat off and singe your hair, though. While they’re very cool, I find the longer rifle makes more sense because of the role I’ll be describing for it to fill — and again, because it’s much less expensive than its smaller cousins.

With all of this being said, what is a Mosin, to a prepper? I have to preface by making it clear that I understand there are better alternatives, but it needs to be said that there is not a better value in a centerfire survival weapon, especially to a newcomer into survivalism. A Mosin is a budget marksman’s rifle, or sniper rifle if outfitted properly. For under a hundred dollars, you have a full-power centerfire rifle with inexpensive ammunition that can take down game animals, and easily incapacitate any threats — and better yet, at range. While a 12 gauge shotgun can be similarly inexpensive if a good deal is found (and I recommend a Remington 870 per person in your group’s arsenal), a Mosin allows you to effectively neutralize threats at a greater distance, with greater accuracy, and significantly less expensive ammo.

Ambush is the prepper’s friend. Guns-blazing shootouts are not what you want, whether it’s a roving band of outlaws, or coalition forces you’re having to deal with. In most situations, distance is preferable, and this also allows greater use of stealth and camouflage, and potentially using the landscape to your team’s advantage, as well. Ground forces fear snipers, and deploying snipers effectively makes for an insane force multiplier. An $80 rifle and a little training will take you a lot farther than a spendy AR and no experience.

While I have to encourage everyone to find the autoloading carbine of your choice (I recommend the AK most of all, though I prefer the FAL, excepting its price tag), remember that the longest-serving rifle in history isn’t obsolete just yet. They make great gifts and backup weapons, and are easy to encourage new preppers to invest in. Inexpensive, reliable, accurate, and fun as Heck to shoot. If you’re new to shooting, get one and practice on the cheap. If you’re seasoned, get a few and hide them away — along with a few spam cans of ammo, of course.

Letter Re: Low-Cost Knives for Long-Term Survival

Mr. Rawles,
I am writing with regards to M.B.’s piece. I have had the 12″ Ontario machete (economy version) with the the “D” handle for the past two years. I would completely agree that this is an uncomfortable handle which can be difficult to obtain a proper grip on.

However, I solved this problem cheaply with a little bit if DIY, by folding some tough tissue paper and wrapping it around the handle two or three times. I then wrapped the handle and tissue in electric insulation tape, using about two layers of tape.

Since doing this, the machete is much easier to handle and I can get a much firmer grip on it. It has received regular use on the trail, mainly for chopping large kindling or clearing brush, and the new grip has even survived being submerged in water (after I slipped at the side of a river and fell in) without any damage or ill effects to the new grip.

Thank you For the great blog! Regards, – Stephen C.

Letter Re: Home Water Storage in Water Cooler Bottles

Hello.
I am a brand new prepper. Within the last year I have been introduced to the world of Prepping and preparedness by a co-worker of mine. I have been reading up on as much as I can, but despite my efforts at increasing my knowledge and awareness of disaster preparedness, I am woefully un-prepared for even the slightest disaster or minor interruption of my accustomed lifestyle. I am beginning to acquire some extra food items, and I am making small steps toward expanding my food and water storage.

One thing that I have been thinking about of late, is the topic of water storage. I have already determined that when the SHTF I will be bugging in, as I have a family with two young kids, and really nowhere else to go. I need to make room in my house for all of my appropriate storage needs. Right now I have a small water cooler in my house, and use the large 5 gallon bottled water jugs. As I was pouring myself a glass of water the other day, I wondered if it would be possible to use those 5 gallon water bottles for my water storage. What I would like to do is to store an extra bottle every time I have the water delivered until I obtain a suitable amount for storage. I was also wondering if I could re-use the empty bottles as well for additional storage. As I look at the bottles, I don’t think they are meant for long term storage.

My question is: Would those water bottles be a suitable method of long term water storage, and is there a way that I could provide for a better seal around the opening that would allow them to be used for long term storage? Thank you for putting up this blog, and all of the valuable insight that comes with it. I would appreciate any advice on my question. Thank you. – Matt B.

JWR Replies: Yes, those work fine. In my experience, the plastic caps that come from the spring water companies are adequate if you tape them on. But be sure to first lightly chlorinate the water. The bigger issue is exposure to sunlight. Be sure to store your water in a dark place such as a closet, to prevent algal growth.

To make water that has been stored many months more palatable for drinking, you can aerate it. This can be accomplished with a wire whisk or a hand-crank rotary egg beater. Or, lacking those, you can just rapidly pour the water back and forth between two glasses several times.

Economics and Investing:

Gary S. spotted this: The Next Metal Crisis: Copper

The cascading waves of debt implosion – 5 charts looking at debt leverage, velocity of money, and contagion impacts from the European crisis.

25 Horrible Statistics About The U.S. Economy

The Daily Bell reports: Austerity Staggers, Germany Blows Up?

Items from The Economatrix:

Maybe No Housing Rebound For a Generation

US Slowdown Intensifies Global Economic Crisis

Signs of Slowing Economy Drive S&P Down in April

Five Banks Fail in Worst Week Since April 2011

Odds ‘n Sods:

There will be a new Survivalist Show held in Mesa, Arizona, on May 19th. This one-day show will be held at the Commemorative Air Force Museum, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Proceeds will benefit the museum. As a bonus, attendees will also have the opportunity to tour the war bird museum at no extra charge. For information, call Lance Baker at: (480) 229-5691.

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Rhonda T. mentioned an interactive summary of state self-defense laws that was posted by CNN: Expanded self-defense laws

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Our newest advertiser, Be Prepared Now, has a kit of 27 varieties of non-hybrid survival vegetable seeds packed in a heat sealed Mylar bag available for $40.49. They also have a waterproof first aid kit with sutures for $22.49. Their shipping is always free.  To get these prices, use the coupon code SurvivalBlog (one word). This coupon code will give you 10% off all their merchandise.

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Hopefully not a bellwether, HandgunLaw.us reports that New Mexico has just dropped concealed carry permit reciprocity with Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Kansas, Louisiana, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia from the list of states they honor. Presumably, this is because of differences in testing standards for permit holders. New Mexico will now only honor CCWs from five states: Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota and Oklahoma. The last thing we need is “trade war” on CCW permits! (Thanks to Tim M. for the alert.)

Notes from JWR:

Today we present another entry 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.

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But first, a publishing update from your editor.

Publishing Schedule Update From JWR

Here are some updates on my upcoming book release dates from Atria Books and its subsidiary Pocket Books division:

Founders Cover

 

To explain: “Founders” is the second sequel to “Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse”. It is set contemporaneously to the first two novels, but in different geography, with some crossover characters. This novel details the epic cross-country trek of Ken and Terry Layton that was just briefly described in “Patriots”. There are also storylines at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana, and in the vicinity of Fort Knox, Kentucky.

I am presently drafting the non-fiction book “Rawles on Guns and Other Tools for Survival” for Penguin Books as well as two more novels in the “Patriots” series that will be published by E.P. Dutton. (Penguin is a subsidiary of E.P. Dutton.)

Special Note: Please wait until the actual release dates of each book to order, to give them the best position in the Amazon and Barnes & Noble sales rankings as well as on the New York Times bestsellers lists.