Notes from JWR:

Today is the official release day for Lisa Bedford’s first book: Survival Mom: How to Prepare Your Family for Everyday Disasters and Worst-Case Scenarios. It is well worth getting a copy. (My wife Avalanche Lily has read it, and she loved it.)

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Today we present two more entries for Round 39 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 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), and E.) 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 F-50 hand well pump (a $349 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.) Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy. This is a $185 retail value, C.) A Commence Fire! emergency stove with three tinder refill kits. (A $160 value.), and D.) Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security.

Round 39 ends on March 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.

After the Shooting, by Tupreco

Your bedside clock says 3:40 a.m. You have just awakened to a sound like breaking glass.  You pick up the phone to call 911 but the line is dead.  It’s dark in the house and you ease out of bed to retrieve your handgun from the closet safe just as you have practiced dozens of times.  You wait inside your bedroom door with your ear straining to hear. Someone is down the hall sliding something on the tile.    At that instant, the 30-second delay on your security system expires and the alarm begins to peal.  Another crash in the living room and you are now standing in the hall – gun drawn.  A person you have never seen before senses your presence and turns toward you while reaching for his belt.  He is close and coming toward you and has ignored your command to stop.  You don’t specifically remember firing but he goes down after two hollow points catch him in the chest.  The knife he was reaching for drops to the floor next to him as he falls.  Time seems to stand still.  Your cell phone rings and you jump – your security company is on the line about the alarm trip.  You tell them to call the police.  You hang up and call 911 and check his vitals – no pulse or breathing. Now what?

You just shot an armed intruder in self-defense. You have also just stepped into the middle of a legal minefield.  This instance is a clear case of self-defense.  Will it be seen that way? The widely-held belief that you are innocent until proven guilty cannot be presumed.  The new world you have just entered is far from ideal and the burden of proving your innocence will be on you.   What happens next? You will be anxious to talk to the first responders who just arrived, probably police and paramedics. You will also have to overcome an overwhelming and immediate desire to begin justifying your actions to anyone who will listen to you. But for now, saying as little as possible will be the best decision of your life. However, you will only restrain yourself if you know why it is so critical. And you know this because it is one of the key parts of your overall preparedness strategy.   

And So It Begins…
Who among us hasn’t considered the likelihood that we may be called upon use lethal force in self-defense or to protect innocent life?  We pray it never happens but if we are prepared to shoot someone, however justified, then we must be equally prepared to deal with the consequences.  I am constantly trying to improve the resources and skills I need to protect my family just like you.  Yet a critical part of that preparation includes knowing what will happen and what to do after you shoot.  Do you have a clue about the unbelievable complexities that will occur after using deadly force?   Do you know what resources exist to help you deal with them?   If not, then this article is your wake-up call.  It is time to act – now – so that you will be ready in such a situation.

Enter “the system”
I am not a lawyer. I am not a law enforcement officer. But I do have a some key friends in law enforcement and in state and federal courts. Realize that what is written here is not to be construed as legal advice in any way. It is an exhortation to do your homework, make a plan, and assemble a small team – a lawyer and a few key friends – who agree to be available at a moment’s notice as you will be for them.    

The daily world my friends inhabit is a legal procedural system that is designed to establish whether a crime was committed and to identify possible suspects with all haste and diligence. These are the people who just showed up at your home in response to your frantic call.  And there you stand with a gun and a body at your feet.  The police are amazing at empathizing while getting the info from you that they know you are dying to unburden yourself with.  All of this will happen before your attorney arrives.  Getting as much information from you as soon as possible is their goal and it is a certainty that what you say will be used against you if needed.  Talking without counsel will almost invariably hurt you.  Even if the shoot is clearly justified, they will still be trying to get all the details from you.  They will tell you they are trying to help and need your cooperation in order to clear you.  But helping you is not their priority.  That’s your lawyer’s job.  What are they trying to do? They are gathering information to feed to the system.  Realize that your innocence is just one of many outcomes available once the information is gathered and analyzed.  The legal system is judged successful when cases are closed and convictions are handed down. That’s their true goal – it’s not to help you get cleared of wrongdoing. They don’t work to answer to you.  They may be sympathetic but their job is to feed the system as it is currently designed. Justice may be the stated goal in broad terms but closing the case is the real objective.  Getting you justice is your lawyer’s job.  Are you getting the idea?

Do Your Research and Plan Ahead
There is good news though.  Numerous good books and resources are available to help you and several are listed at the end of this article.  My goal is to raise your awareness of this issue to a level where you realize you need to act today.  Without a plan you will be at the mercy of events out of your control. 

Start by thinking about how all of your past and present decisions and life choices will appear in the harsh light of the legal investigation you may face tomorrow. Which choices? All of them.  You will be amazed as I was about the dozens of things you do innocently every day that will be portrayed negatively by an unsympathetic legal system.  How your friends and neighbors describe what you say and do will get put on display.  Will your personality and the gun-related details of your life make you look like Joe Regular Citizen or a crazed vigilante in the hands of skilled prosecutor?   Don’t think it can happen?  It’s all about the spin. Here are a few examples:

“You own an excessive number of guns and shoot frequently Mr. Smith…looks like you finally got your chance to use one.”

“Your honor, the bumper stickers and rifle rack on Mr. Smith’s truck demonstrate a strong mistrust of government and establish a vigilante mindset.”

“The range master at your gun club has testified that you always use representations of people as targets instead of a simple bullseye Mr. Smith. I think the jury would like to know why?”

“So you have testified that the man you shot was someone who was known to you and in fact owed you money.  Can you explain why he was in your house that afternoon?”

These examples demonstrate how quickly any simple innocent act can be spun negatively and strung together to make you look like the criminal and portray the person who broke into your house and attacked you as the victim.  The recommended books and links will be great resources to open your eyes.  Use them and start today to assemble a plan. You will want to assemble a small team who can mutually agree to be available should the need arise.    Meanwhile, here are some things to get you started.

Key Areas to Consider
When is lethal force legally justified? Case law justifying lethal force throughout the U.S. is generally consistent and of necessity is severely limited.  The only time lethal force is justified is when someone reasonably believes that their life or the life of someone else is in immediate jeopardy.  The justification only exists while the threat is present (or perceived to be present).  In the opening scenario, you pointed your gun at a knife-wielding attacker who was ignoring your commands to stop. But the moment he drops the knife or turns and retreats does he cease to be an immediate threat? If a reasonable man would conclude yes, then the justification for lethal force ceases as well. Someone stealing your stuff? Nope. Breaking into your house? Not unless you truly believed (and can justify by the circumstances over and over later) that you believed your life was in danger.

“I did everything in my power!” You will be asked what you did to address the threat prior to shooting.  In escalating order these things include fleeing, a verbal command, physical restraint, use of pepper spray or some other object, and finally your firearm.  If any of these things are available you will be asked why you did not or could not use them before resorting to lethal force.

“I was in fear for my life!”  There are many ways to express this but the reality is that you must genuinely believe that you were in fear for your life or that of another and saw no other way of escape before you will be cleared for using lethal force. Repeat it early and often.  Expressions of remorse are normal and can be helpful or may be construed as guilt.  That is why you should say very little and insist on speaking to your lawyer before making a statement or agreeing to be questioned.

“I had no choice but to shoot!” If the attacker continues to advance and can’t be deterred any other way, the last resort may be to fire your weapon.  Self-defense doctrine suggests you should keep firing until the threat ceases.  Next, any secondary threats (such as an accomplice) should be dealt with. Once the threat ceases then contact the authorities as quickly as possible, usually via 911.

What you will do after the shooting is over? You will now be in a highly agitated state and are capable (likely) to do and say things you will regret later.  These are normal tendencies but with some forethought and planning, the damage to you can be minimized.  If you do not call 911 right away it will go poorly for you.  This is the conventional wisdom and it makes some sense.  Calling quickly and rendering aid will support the fact that you are the victim here and did not want to kill anyone.  Say as little as possible because EVERYTHING you say from here on out will be used against you if it can be.  The minimum suggested is something like. “This is John Smith of 123 Main Street. I was just attacked in my home and was afraid for my life.  Please send an ambulance because someone has been shot.”   

After calling 911
After you call 911, you lose control of events almost immediately. For starters, the phone you just used to call 911 on is usually ‘locked’ so you cannot make any other calls on it.  Calling your lawyer or a support team member as soon as possible is advisable (on another phone) and say little except that you want to help and will make a statement after speaking to your lawyer. If your lawyer is not available, call a prearranged friend (you have a team, right?).  Have them make all necessary calls for you (lawyer, family, pastor, etc.) as you may be unable to do so. They will be questioned later about why they got a call from you so quickly so their response needs to be solid as well. 

Then the police will arrive and they won’t know who the good guy is. Their first priority is officer safety followed by bystander safety, securing the scene, and then determining what just happened.  Make sure they know it’s you that called.  Having a just-fired gun in your hand is not the best way to greet them. Make sure your weapon is secured and safe.   It will be confiscated by law enforcement immediately and this is routine.  Your hands may be bagged to preserve evidence of gunshot residue (GSR). Permission to search the rest of your house will be requested (or may just be done if there are exigent circumstances).  The stated explanation will be to secure everyone’s safety but equally important will be to examine what role you played in the events.  Avoid this if you can.  Hopefully your other firearms are locked up and secure and not all in one place should the decision be made to confiscate them.  Do not appear to be a threat in any way. 

Stop Talking!
When they start pressing you with questions, it will get tricky.  There is surprisingly little consensus on what or how much to say.  The rule here is “Less is better”.  I should point out that an officer involved in a shooting is presumed innocent pending an inquiry and is treated very differently than a citizen.  He is given representation immediately and is not required to say anything until the rep or lawyer can meet with them and they have a chance to calm down.  They are usually placed on paid administrative leave for several weeks. You and I will have to try to go to work in the morning. Yet if we try to take the same approach by wanting to confer with counsel before giving a statement, it is presumed we are trying to hide something. Doesn’t seem fair but it is true. The standards are very different. I believe by now you are getting the idea.

Some expert suggestions
Massad Ayoob, noted expert in the self-defense use of firearms suggests that people memorize these five steps and use them immediately and nothing more.

  1. “This person attacked me.” – establishes you are the victim.
  2. “I will sign a complaint.” – further confirmation you are the victim
  3. Point out evidence that supports you before it disappears.
  4. Point out witnesses before they disappear.
  5. “Officer, you will have my full cooperation after I have spoken with my attorney.”

His further suggestion is request medical attention for yourself as you may be unknowingly injured, in shock, or something similar. It will also get time for you to regroup your thoughts to avoid saying incriminating or conflicting things.

Alan Korwin is a widely-read 2nd Amendment rights author from Phoenix. Here are his new Safety Rules for Self Defense from his book After You Shoot

  1. If you shoot in self defense you must then defend yourself against execution for murder
  2. When you drop the hammer plan to cash in your life savings for your lawyer’s retainer.  Avoid this unless your life depends on it.
  3. Sometimes the innocent get decent treatment and sometimes they don’t
  4. It’s always better to avoid a gunfight than to win one.
  5. If innocent life doesn’t depend on it, don’t shoot. And if it does, don’t miss.

Expect unbelievable levels of scrutiny
Every decision you have made in your life up to this point will come into question at some point.  You will have to justify the pertinent ones….Here are a few ways you will be challenged for starters:
1. Why did you shoot? Why did you feel threatened?
2. What did you do/say prior to shooting that could have prevented this?
3. Why that choice of pistol…shotgun…type of ammo?
4. How long or why did you wait to call 911?
5. Who else have you contacted? Why?
6. Did you know the victim? (Notice that now he is the victim and not you?)

Remember that the job of the police and prosecutor is to get you to tell them as much as they can get from you before your lawyer arrives. By the way, the time to establish a relationship with an attorney is before all this happens as part of your team.  Don’t ask for an attorney – you must request to speak with YOUR attorney.  Make sure you have one.  Korwin’s After You Shoot has some great suggestions about how to put a team together. 

Self-Defense Resources
Books
In the Gravest Extreme  by Massad Ayoob
Self Defense Laws of All 50 States by Mitch Vilos
After You Shoot by Alan Korwin

Videos
“Don’t Talk to the Police” video – Professor James Duane
“Don’t Talk to the Police – a Police Officer Responds” video -Virginia Beach Officer George Bruch

Web Sites
US Concealed Carry Association Supports ways to be a responsible CCW holder
GunLaws.com Web site of firearms author Alan Korwin
FirearmsLaws.com Web site of attorney and author Mitch Vilos
Armed Citizens’ Legal Defense Network An education and legal defense organization
Massad Ayoob Group – Training and education on personal protection and self defense

My Simple Plan
Our Plan is very simple so it is also easy to remember.  I am fortunate that I know a lawyer who is also a prepper, a sport shooter, and a friend.  Two like-minded friends have agreed to be the team and we do this for each other.  If any of us is involved in a self-defense shoot, we place what we call a Tiger Call to as many of the others as we can reach.  We all have a second small disposable cell phone for this purpose. I carry both phones at all times.  If one of us were to be involved in an incident these are the steps we have agreed to once the incident is contained and both 911 and the authorities alerted. The plan goes into effect when the Tiger Call is made.

Phase 1 – Immediate actions

  • Call the lawyer immediately.  Our code phrase within the group is “This is a Tiger Call on behalf of Joe Smith.”  If unable to reach the lawyer, someone goes to his office or house as appropriate. Our lawyer has also given us a backup lawyer if he is unavailable or if he is the one involved in the shoot.
  • Contact all other team members. Decide who will coordinate.
  • Meet near the scene and attempt to observe and video events.
  • Do not interfere or identify your presence and do not attempt to contact Joe

Phase 2 – Follow-up

  • Contact pre-planned individuals so rides, child care, bail, moral support, etc. is available.
  • Contact employers as planned to arrange for time-off without arousing alarm.
  • Consolidate all notes and observations in writing. Sign, date, and photocopy them.  Make duplicate copies of all recordings.  These will all be given to the lawyer.
  • Joe will contact the Tiger group as soon as possible. 

Phase 3 – Family support

  • The family will be in disarray and will need immediate support.  Call secondary support friends and implement help as needed.
  • The Coordinator will facilitate assistance and keep tabs for coordinating follow-up.

An occasional drill can be very helpful. Our first practice run helped us realize that we needed small kit like a B.O.B. just for Tiger Calls. Mine has bottled water, snacks, pencils, paper, mini binocs, and a cheapie video cam.

Now You Have Your Wakeup Call
A TEOTWAWAWKI scenario may not come in a broad encompassing sweep or last indefinitely.  To the victims of the recent localized tornados it was more like the end of my world – a sort of personal micro-burst if you will.  If you use lethal force without being suitably prepared you will experience a SHTF event all your own. 

The thugs who show up to steal, kill, and destroy give neither warning nor thought to their actions apart from what they can score from you.  However, the aftermath of a self-defense shooting will be life-changing for you. We all think about how to best prepare for numerous possible scenarios yet will completely overlook this area. I avoided this for years for the same reason I avoided preparing a will.  I didn’t have the experience to know where to begin. It’s uncomfortable to think about dying. It’s equally uncomfortable to think about what to do if you shoot someone.  Being responsible means doing your research and making a plan.  So now I have both the will and plan for after a shooting.  Do your research and make your plan.  And by God’s grace you will never need to use it.

Stuff Hits the Fan 101, by Mrs. S.

I grew up in the suburbs of Houston, Texas. I was raised by a single mother who didn’t have time for much besides working to pay bills. I wasn’t lucky enough to grow up on a farm or learn canning or learn any useful survival/life skills besides how to cook Hamburger Helper and I was doing that at the ripe old age of 10. I did become a pro at making stew though and I could probably tell you 101 ways to use pasta. And thanks to my grandmother I could even crochet you a scarf if you’re lucky and if I have the spare time between working as a realtor and raising six kids, who are now ages 10-to-22.
 
Getting married, moving away from home at the age of 18 and becoming a military wife introduced me to a lot of new people, new ideas and I was able to learn things along the way that have prepared me for almost any event that may occur in the future that would take most of us out of our comfort zones, be it a job loss, world financial crash, hurricane, government collapse or any disaster that may hit my area. When your husband is out of town for sometimes as long as a year at a time, you have lots of time for reading, television watching and experimenting and that is what I did and continue to do with my current husband who also works long hours. I didn’t think of it as prepping or hoarding or whatever terminology you want to give it. I didn’t have a book that was specifically about a SHTF (I really don’t like that acronym but it is one most people understand so I’ll use it) scenario and there was no Internet back when I started down this path in the 1980s. I just felt in my gut this instinct that I should always be ready for “something”. Maybe that was a result of being so close to the fire so to speak because my husband was in the military and his whole career revolved around preparing for what might one day happen, maybe it was from listening to my grandparents talk about the Great Depression or maybe it was a higher being and verses I had read in my Bible about what one day might happen to this world but regardless I started preparing for something that may never happen in my lifetime but if it does…I’m ready and I want to teach my children to be ready and hopefully these skills and knowledge will be passed on from generation to generation so if “it” ever does happen my loved ones will not only survive but prosper.
 
I don’t talk about survival skills or preparing for any cataclysmic event with my extended family or my friends because I know they’d just think I was crazy and I don’t ever want to worry my children or have them live in a constant state of fear but I do want them to learn so in our house we call the preparations “getting ready for hurricane season.” Most of the people I know have the proverbial “it will never happen here or it will never happen to me” mindset. That is fine for them but not for me and mine. They know we live in the country and we grow a garden and we have a lot of animals. They make fun of us, ask us how we can live so far out and why we don’t just buy our veggies at a Kroger’s supermarket. That’s fine, but one day if the SHTF scenario happens then whose door do you think they will show up at? Exactly, mine. Because they will remember that Mrs. S. grows her own veggies and has guns and ammo and raises her own chickens and has cows at her back door. Only problem with that is the part we aren’t telling anyone and that is that we have another even more remote place that we are stocking and getting ready so that if the SHTF event ever occurs we will be leaving here because we feel that every hungry soul in Houston is going to head outside of the city limits and end up on our doorstep and we don’t want to be here when that happens.
 
When Hurricane Rita was due to hit in 2005 we got a taste of what would happen in the event of a disaster. We had nowhere to go so I sat on my deck and watched the farm to market road close to me turn into a parking lot. Several vehicles ran out of gas and there were no gas stations open because those people were evacuating too. There were no bathrooms so the street was littered with whatever people could find to relieve themselves on the side of the road. And I’ve never seen so much trash on my road. We were afraid to go to bed that night because those people might break into our house. One of my kids suggested we open a lemonade stand on the corner. We’d have probably made a fortune!  Regardless, that storm didn’t even blow away a plastic bottle that I’d left out off of the deck railing but it did teach a lot of people a valuable lesson, that they weren’t ready.
 
When Hurricane Ike hit in 2008 we thought we were ready. We weren’t going to evacuate after seeing the results of Rita, we were going to stay home and ride it out. I’d made sure that our above ground pool was emptied and cleaned and then filled it with clean well water and a little chlorine bleach straight from the bottle. I’d gone to the store and bought supplies and we’d battened down the hatches. My uncle had come over to wait out the storm with us and he and I stood in the garage and watched the storm blow by. Once again it didn’t do much damage at our house. Just a few fallen limbs. Then my current husband who was 42 at the time started feeling sick within minutes of the storm passing. He got dizzy and couldn’t walk. The phones, both land lines and cell had all stopped working a few hours earlier so I couldn’t call 911 but I knew he needed help and none of my skills as a Realtor were going to help at this point even though I had learned CPR as a Girl Scout Leader for my daughter’s troop. We loaded him into the car and headed into town 10 miles away. The storm hadn’t done much damage at my house but the streetlights were out and some were hanging so low one nearly hit my windshield. There were trees down everywhere and I had to navigate carefully around them. I had my hazard lights on the whole time. When we got to town I needed to make a left at what was once a light but was now just wires dangling down to the ground to get to the ER and no one [in the oncoming lane] would let me turn. The traffic lights weren’t working so why should they stop? I got a glimpse of how humanity becomes under stress. My uncle had to get out to stop cars and I pulled my Suburban out in front of them with a “you will let me turn into the ER or we’ll both get killed” mentality. I have raised six kids, so you can’t bully me and get away with it because I’ll push back! I got him safely to the ER which was packed with people and later learned that he’d had a stroke due a blocked carotid artery. Yes, even 42 year olds can and do have strokes, especially when they are out of shape, they dip tobacco and are under severe stress. Luckily for him he survived it and has very little residual damage except for poor vision and vertigo. We learned a valuable lesson that day. We still weren’t ready.
 
So that is the who and why of Mrs. S. in a nutshell. The whole point of this however is for you to learn something. So the following bullet points are my suggestions on what you should know, do or start learning now and what you should have on hand or stored so that if a SHTF scenario occurs you won’t have to show up on Mrs. S’s empty doorstep. There isn’t enough room here for me to list everything so I suggest you go online and order some books on surviving under tough situations. Do web searches on “prepper books, survival books, first aid books, Amish books, canning, homesteading, animal husbandry, gardening, etc” because there is a lot of information out there. You can go to Netflix and watch a television series called “The Colony”, it gives you an eye opening view of life in a post collapse situation although not everyone is going to be living with an engineer a doctor and a handyman who can build cars out of toothpicks MacGyver style, ha ha. There’s another show we watched called Survivors which was a post flu pandemic scenario. (Not to be confused with the television show Survivor where you outwit your fellow Survivor opponent on a pretty tropical island somewhere.) There’s also the Out of the Wild series on The Discovery Channel which I enjoyed. The old episodes are on Netflix. It will really open your eyes if they aren’t opened already. So, here’s the list and remember….this just touches the surface of what you need to know to be ready for a life changing event.

  1. Have a safe place to go in the event you need to leave and if you plan to go to someone else’s house, make sure you have permission or you might get met at the end of a shotgun. Don’t wait for evacuation orders. Leave at the first sign of trouble. If nothing else, think of it as a little vacation and if you leave a little to late, take the roads less traveled. Learn them now so that if your GPS isn’t working you can navigate your way safely out of town. Buy maps and keep them in your car. Most states have web sites where you can order them for free or go to a State’s travel welcome center and get one there.
  2. Volunteer with the Boy or Girl scouts so you can start learning basic survival skills. It’s amazing how many people in this world don’t even know how to start a fire. Speaking of fire, have lots of water proof matches, lighters and a magnesium fire starter. Having a fire can mean the difference between life and death. You can also make fire kindling using Gulf wax, an egg carton and lint from your dryer. Google it. It’s a Girl Scout trick I learned (I learned to cook on the bottom of a coffee can too!). Learn how to make candles or buy cheap ones at the dollar store. I prefer beeswax ones myself. [JWR Adds: All those new open flame sources around your home will make fire fighting skills just as important as fire starting skills. Buy several fire extinguishers or your house, and one for each vehicle. Study how to use them.]
  3. Take a CPR class and learn basic first aid then stock up on first aid supplies. Watch videos online about first aid. My current favorite is Dr. Bones and Nurse Amy. I learned to do stitches that way recently. Join your local volunteer fire department so you can use those skills you are learning.
  4. Start buying extra non-perishables and canned goods now because once the SHTF you can forget it. I like to buy freeze dried products because they can last for many years without expiring. There are several online companies to order from. Google “freeze dried foods”. I like the #10 cans but I have a large family. Regardless, most of those last 20+ years sealed and two more years even after being opened but read the labels. If you don’t know how to can foods, find someone who does and learn. Look at it this way, you can always give some homemade stuff away at Christmas time. My family loved last year’s Pumpkin butter when I planted too many pumpkins in my garden.
  5. If you have the space and live in an unrestricted area, buy some chickens and start your own flock. Contrary to popular brainwashed opinion the eggs are safe to eat. We’ve been eating eggs from our chickens for nearly 10 years and we aren’t dead yet. I read Storey’s guide to raising chickens and that and trial and error taught me all I need to know about raising this food source. Hint: stop using ant poison granules in your yard our you’ll lose a lot of chickens. I like to order my chicks from Murray McMurray hatchery online but they sell them at feed stores and some farmers will sell to the public as well. You can also check with your local 4H club and go to livestock auctions. We don’t eat our chickens, just their eggs but if we had to we could. I keep a minimum of 12 but that is a lot of eggs per week even for my large family!
  6. Get a generator or alternative energy source now. Plain and simple. Personally, I like to have more than one source because generators run on gas and you could run out of gas and then what? My two choices are solar panels as a back up to the generator but I live in Texas where we have a lot of sun so maybe wind power could be your alternative power source.
  7. If you need to buy some land go to your local Realtor or do your own search online. One of my favorite web sites is Landsofamerica.com. There I was able to find lots of good deals. 50 acres for under $50,000, yes it’s on there! Hint: look in states like Tennessee, Arkansas and Oklahoma if you are in or close to any of those states.  Don’t buy land that is a two day’s drive away from your main home though. You want to be able to get there safely, not run out of gas trying to get out of Dodge. If you are lucky enough to not need to live close to town then you can live at your remote location and that isn’t an issue but for us we have to still live close to town so my husband can work. My job as a realtor allows me to work from anywhere. 
  8. Get a gun and learn how to use it. As a woman I prefer lighter guns with little recoil. Recoil is what a gun does when you fire it and it jerks your arm up. Not including the guns my husband has I have my own .25 handgun, .380 handgun (I wanted a pink one but they didn’t have any!) and .22 rifle. I’m your average sized woman at 5’5” and I can handle those guns easily even if I would need to use more bullets to take down my target. The important thing is that I be comfortable with the gun I am using and relying on to feed me and keep me safe. I used that .22 rifle to run off a cougar in my back yard once. I didn’t kill it, but it decided it didn’t want to stick around and eat any more of my chickens. I sure wish I had gotten a picture of that cat. My hunting family still thinks I was seeing things and just shot at bobcat!
  9. Have some sort of water storage set up or be near a water source like a creek, lake, river with year round water. A seasonal creek is great except when you have no water in the winter! I don’t mean “near” like a mile near. Carrying buckets of water from a mile away or more would be too much even for my football playing sons! I mentioned earlier that I have an above ground pool. I bought it at Wal-Mart for about $300. I keep it filled year around “just in case”. The week that my husband was in the hospital after Hurricane Ike passed through I was very thankful for that pool water. I used our huge Cajun turkey fryer pots to boil water on a Coleman propane stove for drinking, cleaning and cooking and used unheated water for flushing toilets even though we followed the “if it’s yellow let it mellow” philosophy that week because mom was not toting water all day. I was alone here with my kids and I was easily (I use that term lightly at my age) able to carry water in from the back yard as we needed it. I took showers at the hospital when I’d visit my husband but if I’d had to I could have heated pool water to bathe in. My next big purchase will be a Big Berkey water filter unit. I can’t wait to get it and try it out.
  10. Learn how to grow your own fruits and veggies. Trees are great for the environment and great for a hungry belly. Most fruit bearing trees require at least two of the same kind to produce and some don’t start producing for several years. You can also get a book on foraging and learn what you can and can not eat from nature. Most people don’t even know that those pesky Dandelion “weeds” are great on a salad.

 
I hope that I have provided some useful information to get you started on your journey to being prepared in the event of a catastrophic event in your area. Don’t be caught with your pants down. SurvivalBlog has lots of valuable information and resources that I hope you will take advantage of. I recently enjoyed reading James’ book, How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It which led me to his blog. Be sure and read it as a follow up to this article, because he covers many things that even I hadn’t thought of yet. Good luck and God bless.

Economics and Investing:

Ian R. flagged this must-read piece by Ambrose Evans-Pritchard: Global liquidity peak spells trouble for late 2012.

Bruce Krasting: America is Using Tricks to Hide a Debt Crisis Worse than Greece

Bill Whittle: The Vote Pump

Lee M. sent this: Banks foreclosing on churches in record numbers

Another incipient muni bankruptcy: Stockton residents watch their port city slip away: “Within three months, the Central Valley city of 300,000 could become the nation’s largest municipality to file for bankruptcy…”

Odds ‘n Sods:

Tomorrow (Wednesday, March 14, 2012) is the last day of Ready Made Resources’ sale on Mountain House canned freeze dried foods. They are offering 20% off and free shipping. The sale ends at midnight Eastern time, so order soon!

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The Free Film Girl has created a list of freely downloadable public domain survival and preparedness-related videos that might be helpful.

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Homeless by Choice: How to Live for Free in America. (Thanks to SurvivalBlog’s Poet Laureate G.G. for the link.)

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This has some terse, straightforward wording: House Concurrent Resolution 107. Too bad that our Congress probably won’t have the backbone to enact it.

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File under Wonders Never Cease: A breath of fresh air: Clever gadget transforms the air from your lungs into energy to charge your phone

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"There is no nation on earth powerful enough to accomplish our (the United States) overthrow.  Our destruction, should it come at all, will be from another quarter.  From the inattention of the people to the concerns of their government, from their carelessness and negligence, I must confess that I do apprehend some danger.  I fear that they may place too implicit a confidence in their public servants, and fail properly to scrutinize their conduct; that in this way they may be made the dupes of designing men, and become the instruments of their own undoing." – Daniel Webster, June 1, 1837

Pat’s Product Review: SIG Sauer P226 MK25

I still remember the very first “SIG” pistol that I ever saw. It was back in 1980, and I was an FFL dealer. A fellow asked me to order him a Browning BDA .45 ACP. At that time, I hadn’t heard of the Browning BDA. It wasn’t until I actually received the gun for the customer, that I discovered the Browning BDA, was, in fact, a SIG. At the time, this fairly new gun, was being imported by Browning. It just didn’t take off back then, for some strange reason – it was probably a little bit ahead of it’s time. [JWR Adds: The Browning BDA (in 9mm) was developed to compete in the U.S. Army trials for a replacement for the M1911. Eventually the Beretta M92 won out, to become the U.S. M9, and it is still in service. But SIG’s compact P228 did win a later contract, and was designated the M11.]
 
How things have changed! The SIG Sauer lineup of handguns and long guns has really grown over the years. And, it wasn’t too long ago, that SIG handguns were being made in Germany, and imported into the USA. Now, most SIG firearms are made right here in the USA. Part of the reason for making SIG firearms in the USA was a financial decision – the (then) German currency was killing the US Dollar, and SIG firearms were costing a lot of money. I was hoping that when SIG started manufacturing firearms in the USA, the prices would come down a bit, Well, they did, but only a little bit. [JWR Adds: Buying a few spare firearms of popular models in common fighting calibers is a good hedge on inflation. My first Ithaca 37 riotgun cost $180, and my first S&W Model 28 cost $208. Inflation marches on…]
 
What one will find with many SIG handguns is that they have a metal frame (aluminum) instead of polymer. Oh, that’s not to say SIG hasn’t jumped on the polymer-framed bandwagon. They have done so with some of their handguns such as the modular SIG P250. And, today, many people think that only polymer-framed handguns are worth having, or are the ars nova — “the” thing to own. Well, I guess I’m still a little old fashioned in that I still like metal frame handguns, and the SIG Sauer P220/P226 family of pistols is made with aluminum alloy frames. Some of the later ones are made with stainless steel slides. With the SIG Sauer P226 MK25, however, the stainless slide is Nitron coated. This is a dark, blue/black coating. The slide is still stainless steel under that coating.
 
I’ve lost track over the years, of the number of SIG Sauer handguns I’ve owned, but its safe to say, I’ve owned several dozen different versions. My favorite SIG, the P228, isn’t being made any longer – it was replaced with the P229. I thought the P228 balanced better in my hand than the P229 does, but that is just my take on it. Over the past three years, I’ve owned a number of full-sized SIG P226 handguns, in both 9mm and .40 S&W. I prefer my P226 in 9mm, as the .40 S&W versions only hold 12 rounds in the magazine. If I’m going to pack a full-sized handgun in .40 S&W, then I’ll pick one that holds 15+ rounds in the magazine. Again, just my feeling on things. Though the .40 S&W is a better man stopper than the 9mm, if you stoke a 9mm pistol with some good hollow points, a person won’t be able to tell if they were shot with a 9mm or a .40 S&W. (And I don’t care to get into a debate over which round is “better” for self-defense…it’s a debate that has no end, just like the 9mm vs .45 ACP debate that raged for years. It still comes down to shot placement, no matter what caliber you are shooting.
 
I’ve owned the “basic” SIG P226, as well as a factory rebuilt one, also the P226 Combat, with a desert tan frame. I really liked that one. (I wrote the front cover feature article for the Guns magazine Annual 2010 edition with the P226 Blackwater limited edition.) SIG broke away from Blackwater after some unfavorable publicity that Blackwater received in Iraq, and they discontinued the relationship. SIG now produces the Tac Ops, which is basically the same gun as the Blackwater gun – without the Blackwater markings. I’ve also had a SIG P226 in .40 S&W as well – bought it used. The gun under review today is the newly released P226 MK25.
 
For all intents and purposes, the MK25 starts out as a basic SIG P226, and some changes were made. The MK25 is the current US Navy SEAL 9mm handgun, and the SEALs gave SIG permission to sell this gun to the public. The slide is Nitron coated, and the frame hard anodized black. All external and internal parts are “phosphate” coated, for resistance to salt water – and the SEALs operate in water, so this was needed. The barrel is also phosphate coated externally. We also have night sights on the MK25, and there is an anchor on the left side of the slide, as well as the Federal Government UID tag on the right side of the slide – the same markings that are on the guns sold to the US Navy SEALs – this is an exact duplicate of the gun issued to the SEALs.
 
As with all later P226 handguns, it has a 4.4″ barrel, weighs 34-oz, and comes with an accessory rail for mounting lasers or lights – or both. The MK25 is ship with three 15-round 9mm magazines. Most other P226 9mms come with only two magazines. Nice to have three mags – one rides in the gun, and you can carry two spares on your belt or tactical holster. For concealed carry, I would recommend the Blackhawk Serpa belt holster.
 
As already mentioned, there are night sights on the MK25. SIG calls them SigLite night sights. They afford a great sight picture in daylight hours, and outstanding sighting in low light. The SigLite night sights really glow brightly, too – brighter than I’ve seen on some other brands of night sights. We also have a 10.0 lbs double-action trigger pull, and the single-action trigger pull is a super sweet 4.4 pounds. That is an outstanding single-action trigger pull if you ask me. It has just a little take-up, and the gun goes “bang” after that. There is the frame-mounted decocking lever. If you have fired the gun, the hammer stays cocked after the first round, for subsequent single-action shots, but you can safely de-cock the gun using the frame mounted decocker.
 
Over the years, I’ve never had a SIG P226 that wasn’t an outstanding shooter in the accuracy department. I’d be hard-pressed to say one P226 shot more accurately than another for the most part. And, the MK25 isn’t any different when it comes to accuracy. I tested the MK25 with 9mm ammo from Black Hills Ammunition and Buffalo Bore Ammunition and the only ammo I used was either +P or +P+ loads for this article. No wimp loads!
 
Now, to give the MK25 a really different type of test, I ran the gun dry – no lube on the frame rails or or slide – the gun was completely dry! I don’t recommend anyone do this as a regular practice, though. However, I wanted to see what the MK25 could do under harsh conditions where lube might not be available. I only had one bobble – that was the first round fed out of the magazine – it didn’t fully chamber for some reason. After that, there were zero problems – the gun just kept running and running.
 
I like a 124 grain JHP round in 9mm, as I feel they penetrate a little bit deeper than 115 grain JHP do, and they usually shoot a tad more accurately in my experience. However, the MK25 shot the new Black Hills 115 grain +P Barnes hollow point best – if I did my part, I could keep my rounds slightly under 2″ most of the time. I’ve been doing a lot of testing with this Black Hills Barnes bullet in different calibers and I’m really sold on it for self-defense work.
 
I fired the Black Hills 124 grain JHP+P as well as their 115 grain JHP +P rounds, and they were great performers – giving me groups about 2 1/2 inches – again if I was on my game and doing my part. I also fired several different +P and +P+ loads from Buffalo Bore…the the SIG thrived on the +P+ loads, it really seemed like it was enjoying those +P+ loads for some reason. I fired both 115 grain JHP and 124 grain JHP loads in +P and +P+, as well as the Buffalo Bore 124 grain FMJ +P+ “Penetrator” load. This is the load you want if you need super-deep penetration from your 9mm handgun.
 
As I already mentioned, I did not have any problems, after the first round didn’t fully chamber. I did note however, that towards the end of the 400 round mini torture test, the slide was getting a little sluggish – but the gun never failed to chamber a round and go “bang” when the trigger was pulled. That says a lot about any handgun – if they can run without lube – there’s not a lot of handguns that can do this – I know that Glocks can, but every other gun that I’ve tested dry, have stopped working in short order.
 
I really like SIG Sauer handguns, and one of the reasons is because they are sooooo accurate. The new MK25 is no different than any other SIG I’ve shot over the years when it came to accuracy. I’m sure if I did more testing, I’d get those groups down to under and inch and a half. I would probably have to resort to non+P ammo for that, as some of the hotter rounds don’t always give the best accuracy. However, the Black Hills and Buffalo Bore 9mm +P and +P+ rounds were putting all the shots where I wanted ’em to go at 25 yards, over a rest, across the hood of my car. As an aside, I’ve had a lot of people ask me if I’ve ever shot my car when shooting over the hood. Well, the answer is – yes! It happened once, with a .22 LR rifle with a scope. I put a crease in the hood of my car – but I’ve never actually shot through any car parts.
 
With many new magazines, the springs are stiff in the SIG 9mm handguns. I’ve run across this with quite a few handguns. What I like to do is, load-up all my magazines to full-capacity, and let ’em sit for a couple weeks. After that, the magazines are much easier to load without resorting to using a magazine loader – I rarely use one of those, though.
 
I also obtained some Mec-Gar SIG P226 magazines – these hold 18 rounds, instead of 15 rounds like the ones that the factory provides. I don’t know how Mec-Gar does it – getting those extra 3 rounds in the mag. The SIG factory mags have a flat metal floor plate. The 18 round Mec-Gar mags have a polymer floorplate that only extends a tiny bit below the mag well opening – not enough to really matter. The Mec-Gar mags loaded easier than the factory SIG mags did, for some reason. And, the SIG factory mags are actually made by Mec-Gar over in Italy. The 18 round Mec-Gar mags seemed to feed a little smoother, too – or it could have been my imagination. For my money, I’d go with the Mec-Gar 18 rounds – as they are giving you 18 rounds on-tap instead of 15 rounds. And, in a fire-fight, every extra round you have on-tap might be needed.
 
There’s nothing bad I can say about the new SIG P226 MK25, it performed great under the harsh conditions I set for this test and evaluation. The accuracy is better than you get with many other handguns – then again, SIG Sauer is known for producing accurate handguns (and rifles), so it came as no surprise that the gun was so accurate – it’s good enough for SWAT work, and if it’s good enough for the US Navy SEALs, then its more than good enough for me. The full-retail price is $1,142. That is a steep, but then again, you get getting renowned SIG quality and reliability. Personally, I’ve always thought the P226 should have won the US military contract for a new 9mm pistol – but Beretta won. Nothing wrong with Beretta, but I think the SIG P226 is a better gun all the way around.
 
I don’t know how long SIG will sell the P226 MK25, but I’m betting it will be limited. I’ve got mine, and it’s not going back to the factory. I just wish the IRS refund check would get here soon so I can pay off my test sample. – Pat Cascio (SurvivalBlog’s Field Gear Editor)

Letter Re: Cabela’s Recon Hunt Software

James Wesley:
I would like to let everyone know about an application called Cabela’s Recon Hunt. It has a very low cost, gives access to every map that is offered to the public. Lots of maps can be stored off line (depending on the memory capacity of your device) and one of the best features is that you can make notes that say where you saw game at certain GPS coordinates. (Or perhaps where there is a cache of supplies stashed. Though I wouldn’t label it as such.) But on a hand-held device enclosed in a Faraday cage this could be very a very useful way to plan several routes to several potential bug-out spots. I know reliance on electronic items is a liability (needing a way to provide power and such) but this liability can be overcome with any variety of hand crank, solar, or even wood heat USB chargers available. Further, it provides the ability to store large number of [PDF] manuals, guides and references. It can also provide a much-overlooked commodity touched upon in the movie The Book of Eli: music. Music is an excellent way to avoid being overtaken by a foul situation. But I digress.

Cabela’s Recon Hunt, its available for less than $12 USD. Simple and compact, access to a large amount of maps, but the real use would be to store what you need because if the grid goes down you probably won’t be able to access anything you don’t already have stored, so make your choices and key considerations wisely.

I hope I haven’t sounded too much like an advertisement. (I don’t have any financial interest in this product or in Cabela’s.) Be well, – Albertus

JWR Adds: I would call this software “Redoubt Friendly.” It has pre-loaded public land boundaries and big-game hunt unit maps for 11 western states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. (Yes, that includes all of the American Redoubt states. Tres cool.)

Letter Re: Sugar and Salt Storage

JWR:
As many of you out there are doing, food storage will be key to survive the future. Mylar bags with food grade buckets are a great way of storing your food and I applaud the recent article "Sugar and Salt Storage. I would like to add my own little experience so that others may possibly benefit from it. Instead of using one 2×4 across the top of the bucket, use two. Gather the top of the mylar bag, then sandwich it between the two 2x4s, using C-clamps if needed. Then fold it over for sealing, using the extra surface of the added 2×4 for ironing, making it more stable. It worked well for me. – Joe Rotorhead

Recipe of the Week:

Notutopia’s Long Term Storage Chicken Ragout 

Serves Four

The dry ingredients for this recipe (everything but the chicken meat and the water) can be multiplied and bulk mixed and then vacuum packed in quart size mason jars with an O2 absorber for long term storage.

1 c dried diced or sliced carrots
1/2 c dried sliced celery
1/2 c dried diced or sliced potato
1/4 c dried sliced mushrooms
1/4 c dried sliced olives
1/4 c dried chopped onion
2 T tomato powder
1 T dried parsley
1 c dried peas
3 cubes chicken bouillon
pinch of anise seed
ground pepper, to taste

2  8 oz. cans of boned chicken (or fresh equivalent)

Directions:
Bring all ingredients in 7 cups of water, to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer and cook until tender for 15 minutes.
Add in the chicken, cook 5 more minutes.

Useful Recipe and Cooking Links:

Bill M. in New York recommended Utah’s Chef Stephanie Petersen’s web site, where she explains and shows how to use Honeyville and Augason freeze-dried / dehydrated ingredients to self-produce pre-mixed long-term (25 yrs) food storage meals in a jar.  Her  “52 Method” web page explains how to do it, and includes downloadable (PDF) shopping list needs, recipe cards, tutorials and features on-line videos showing how to make 12 + different long-term (multi-serving) food storage meal mixed and stored in wide-mouth quart mason jars with oxygen absorbers. She is always adding new recipes. All of this information is contained as you browse this web page. She has many other great recipes included on her web site.

Jen. K. suggested a web site with lot of great antique recipes: FoodTimeline.org

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

Economics and Investing:

RBS sent this: Bud Conrad: The Only Way Out Is to Inflate; Austerity not working?more money printing on the way

G.G. flagged this one: Jobs Recession Now 49 Months: Longest Since WWII

Matthew N. noted this article: Harrisburg to skip bond payments due next week. JWR’s Comment: Take a lesson from the sovereigns and just call it a “credit event.” No cause for alarm. Move along, folks. Nothing to see here.

Items from The Economatrix:

Financial Bubonic Plague

Not So Fast On That Whole Economic Recovery Thing

Wall Street Up On Jobs Data, Brushes Off Greek Default

Odds ‘n Sods:

M.H. sent this video: Life in a CONEX. Note that building codes in many states would restrict this, but in most of the American Redoubt states, there is no building code outside of city limits.

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And speaking of the advantages of the American Redoubt, read this: Jeff Knox praises ‘losers’ of Brady Center’s national scorecard.

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Can you spell shrapnel, boys and girls?” Family’s surveillance cameras rolling as tornado hits West Liberty. (Video is from the March 2, 2012 tornado in West Liberty, Kentucky. Thanks to Jay in Missouri for the link.) If you live in tornado or hurricane country, then build a proper shelter!

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“MRSA Me!” Reader Lee M. wrote to mention an article that sheds some light on how easy it is to catch MRSA. The article mentions that you can contract it by just touching an infected wound when you have an open cut or sore on your own body.

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One more strong reason to take Venezuela off of your travel or expatriation locales list: Hugo Chavez: Fighting Crime by Disarming Innocent People. (Thanks to G.G. for the link.)