Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“For thousands of years storing seeds has been an essential part of the survival preparations made by millions of prudent people fearing attack.  Seeds are hopes for future food and the defeat of famine, that lethal follower of disaster.  Among the most impressive sounds I ever heard were faint, distant, rattles of small stones heard on a quiet, black, freezing night in 1944.  An air raid was expected before dawn.  I was standing on one of the bare hills outside Kunming, China, trying to pinpoint the sources of lights that Japanese agents had used just before previous air raids to guide attacking planes to Kunming.  Puzzled by sounds of cautious digging at about 2:00 AM I asked my interpreter if he knew what was going on.  He told me that farmers walked most of the night to make sure that no one was following them, and were burying sealed jars of seeds in secret places, far enough from homes so that probably no one would hear them digging.  My interpreter did not need to tell me that if the advancing Japanese troops succeeded in taking Kunming they would ruthlessly strip the surrounding countryside of all food they could find. Then these prudent farmers would have seeds and hope in a starving land.” – Cresson H. Kearny, Nuclear War Survival Skills

Notes from JWR:

October 30, 1735 is believed to be the birthday of President John Adams. (Other sources cite his birth date as October 19th.) Adams died on July 4, 1826–just a few hours after the death of Thomas Jefferson. They both died on the 50th anniversary of publication of the Declaration of Independence.

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A reminder that the Ready Made Resources sale on Mountain House long term storage foods ends soon. They are offering 25% discounts and free shipping for Mountain House foods in #10 cans. The sale ends on November 5th, so order soon.

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I’m sure that I’ll start to get a plethora of Hurricane Sandy After Action Reports soon. But for today we present some more economic gloom and doom: another entry for Round 43 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. and G.) A $200 gift certificate, donated by Shelf Reliance.

Second Prize: A.) A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training. Together, these have a retail value of $589. B.) A FloJak FP-50 stainless steel hand well pump (a $600 value), courtesy of FloJak.com. C.) A “grab bag” of preparedness gear and books from Jim’s Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR) with a retail value of at least $300, D.) A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials, 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 43 ends on November 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Global Economic Collapse: Causes and Some Potential Outcomes, by C.D.W.T.

I believe the global economy stands on the brink of meltdown. The immediate trigger of this collapse is the European Debt Crisis, but the build up to this catastrophe has been building for years and decades.

Three of the major drivers of Global economic growth: the US, Europe, and mainland China , are all on the verge of economic slowdown, if not outright collapse. Usually, if one region of the globe is contracting other regions are growing and able to take up the economic ‘slack’. For the first time in modern history, all regions are slowing at once. This is uncharted economic territory.

I will look individually at how each region got into the economic malaise it is in and what some consequences may be.

EUROPE

Greece is the poster child for Europe’s economic  problems, but they are not alone. Europeans have lived beyond their financial means for decades and now the bill is coming due.

A immediate result will be Greece getting ejected from the Euro Currency group of nations– or they leave on their own. Greece will be plunged in economic chaos. I do not believe a Greek exit can be “managed” by the rest of the Euro Zone. A Greek exit will result in the eventual death of the Euro Currency and a return to national currencies. It will be a hot, ugly fall and  a very cold and bleak winter in Europe.

The death of the Euro Currency will plunge all of Europe into economic turmoil. This turmoil could possibly last for years as all the financial, legal, political and other questions regarding a break up get worked out. I believe the break up of the USSR gives some ideas about Europe’s future. I think that a return to military governments in some European countries that have undergone it in the past (Spain and Portugal) are possible.

About the only good news is that European defense spending is low. Unlike the 1930s , there is a slim possibility of open military conflict breaking out across Europe. However, when the BEST outcome is a low chance of nation-state warfare this shows what a mess Europe could become.

CHINA

China sits on the edge of a housing bubble that will make the US housing bubble of a few years ago seem tiny.

China has grown into a global economic power by becoming a factory to the world. When the US went into recession in 2008, China kept their factories humming by launching a stimulus program costing trillions of Yuan.

This stimulus led to massive government waste (think “bridges to nowhere” on a massive scale) Entire CITIES were built just to keep workers employed. All that spending  during those years  led to high rates of inflation across the board.

The one thing that keeps the Chinese communist leadership awake at night is the thought of the Chinese people standing up against them and questioning their authority (Tiananmen Square is a a perfect example of this). Domestic stability is the first, second , and third priorities of the communist leadership. High inflation can and does cause instability (look at 1920s Weimar Germany and modern Zimbabwe as examples) Add high inflation with a bursting housing bubble and it leads up to economic disaster on a epic scale.

This could get ugly because Communists (regardless of nationality) have never been shy about spilling the blood of any opponents who get in their way. The PRC leadership will do whatever it takes to stay on top and in charge. I believe that “whatever it takes” could include invasions of Russian Siberia and\or Taiwan-Republic of China. Citizens tend to overlook economic problems when their country is at war. If China were to engage in a invasion of Siberia, this could result in the potential loss of tens of millions of lives since the Russian Federation does not possess the conventional military means to stop a invasion (not enough well trained infantry with substandard equipment having to cover too large a land area). They would be forced to rely on nuclear weapons to stop Chinese aggression.

Look at the recent rise in nationalistic sentiment spurred by the central government over the Diaoyu/Senkaku islands issue with Japan. I believe this is a better indicator of the true state of the mainland Chinese economy, regardless of whatever their ‘Official’ economic statistics say

UNITED STATES

The US economy still hasn’t fully recovered from the housing crisis that started in 2008. Like Europe, The US has lived beyond it’s financial means for decades. Government spending (at all levels) is out of control.

I believe that America’s future hangs in the balance. we will not know which path we will head down until the November 2012 election. I think that if President Obama wins a second term, America can forget about being the world’s sole superpower. It will mean political death to the Democratic Party to engage in any entitlement reform/cutbacks, so I believe that issue is off the table if the Democrats win on Election Day

Even if Mitt Romney is our next President, America’s economic future still has plenty of potholes ahead. Entitlement spending (Social Security & Medicare/Medicaid) are  consuming larger and larger amounts of all federal government spending with no end in sight. These entitlements need to be bought under control if America is to have  any chance in the future. Like Europe, America needs to have a cultural shift.The mentality of  dependency on the government to provide one with a certain standard of life needs to end. Every individual, and the individual alone, should determine a person’s economic success. It must not be the role of government to determine this.

Social Security was never intended (even at it’s inception) to be a American’s primary money source in retirement. It was viewed as ‘one leg of a retirement stool’ with the other ‘legs’ being a company pension and a individual’s personal savings/investments.  However, today, Social Security is the primary source of income during a person’s retirement.

The Social Security trust fund is heading towards collapse. This will mean many retirees will have a GREATLY diminished lifestyle going forward.

Like Europe, the time for easy painless solutions to these looming financial problems has come to a end. Either entitlement spending gets reformed or we all go off the fiscal cliff together.

The level of governmental spending needed to support the huge increase in the size of government over the last few years is also something that cannot continue at it’s present rate. Government faces the prospect of collapsing under the weight of spending needed to prop it up.

Consequences

Some of the consequences that will result from all of this will come in many forms. Here are some possibilities I see:

* Self-sufficiency will be a ever growing trend as people realize that government can’t afford to support them anymore. The Federal government needs to get out of a lot of things. For example, the Feds need to get out of financing home mortgages. The quasi-governmental agencies ‘Freddie Mac’ (FHLMC) and ‘Fannie Mae’ (FNMA) need to be wound down and killed. Their backstopping of sub-prime mortgages is the main reason for the housing crash of 2008. I work part time in a Real Estate office. I know that killing off these entities will destroy the housing market, but they have become bottomless money pits loaded with unrecoverable toxic assets  and I see no other choice.

* Brain drain and capital flight from weaker European nations to financially stronger ones. This is already happening as people pull their savings out of banks in Greece, Spain, Portugal and move it to German banks,

Funds may even totally leave all European financial  institutions and go overseas to less risky parts of the globe. Right now, pretty much any Greek with the means to do so is packing up and moving out of Greece, Some Irish and Spanish are not far behind in doing the same.

* An increase in desire for regional government and in nationalism. In the last couple months the Catalans are increasingly wanting to get away from Madrid. The Venetians don’t want to pay taxes to Rome anymore, and the Scots would rather answer to Edinburgh instead of London.

This can also be seen in a rise of nationalistic political parties, such as Golden Dawn and Syriza in Greece, the True Finns in Finland, Jobbik in Hungary, and Front National in France, among others. There is even a possibility of the military seizing control, maybe in Spain and Greece, which have both known military rule in modern times. It looks like the Swiss are preparing for some major economic and political pain across Europe.

* Here in the USA, government at all levels (federal, state, local) will have to be cut dramatically. Excessive and unaffordable public pension obligations at the state level are killing some states (California and my Illinois are prime examples). Going ahead, these states will only have two options: cut their public employees pensions, or cut other state spending to free up the pension money. This will involve pain either way, but the time for painless options went out the door a while ago. I think Marc Faber’s ideas on cutting government a minimum of 50% is a good idea (however, I would do it over months, not in three days!)

I also believe there will be a wave of municipal defaults. Several cities in California have already filed for  ‘Chapter 9’ bankruptcy protection. Filing for bankruptcy can lead to a variety of problems.

There will be more of this across the nation.

The path ahead for the global economy is shaky. Decades of over promising and overspending has bought all of us to the edge of the precipice. The needed cuts and changes will be painful, possibly even leading to outbreaks of violence, and even war. However,  no changes in policy will lead to outright economic collapse. About the only certainty will be a decrease in lifestyle and a increase in hardship. Living could become a even greater  struggle for a lot of people globally.

I truly wish the economic picture wasn’t so bleak, but I see limited options ahead for  us. I can be reached at chicagodudewhotrades@gmail.com if you wish to contact me. Thank You for your time.

Letter Re: DIY Drones on the Homestead

Dear Editor:
Although land, sea, and aerial [unmanned vehicles] are available, for the purpose of survival ‘hobbyist’ surveillance from an aerial vehicle is the best option.  A land or sea based homemade ‘drone’ would have to be large to navigate even moderate terrain or choppy water and the larger the vehicle is the more costly, dangerous and obvious it is.  Aerial ‘drones’ on the other hand can be much smaller and unobtrusive.   When we refer to drones, what we are really speaking of just a radio controlled vehicle with perhaps some fancy telemetry.   Aerial drones come in two basic flavors, fixed wing and multi-copter.   I have experience building both as well as automated lawnmowers and snowplows. 

Fixed wing
A fixed wing UAV is really a radio control airplane.  There are thousands of models available, from palm sized to nearly full scale.  Power can come from a battery or even a small scale jet turbine.  The best format for a drone would be an inexpensive expanded foam model.  These foams can withstand full speed impacts with the ground with really no damage other than a broken propeller (trust me I know).   Skillfully built and operated, the fixed wing drone could stay aloft for hours and several thousand feet up.  Operation is nearly silent when at altitude.

Multi-copter
A multi-copter is just a helicopter with more than one rotor.  A Chinook is an example of a full scale multi-copter.  Multi-copters come in several formats, having from 3 to 12 motors on arms extending from the center. Kits are commercially available, or a good multi-copter can be scratch built at home.  Design can be very robust if proper materials are selected.  The strongest units are made from carbon fiber or aluminum, with motors oriented for redundancy.   My multi-copter is about 4 feet across, weighs 6 pounds, and can lift a 4 pound payload.  These are very versatile.  I can follow a car, land on a roof, even fly to my front window and look inside the house.  Multi-copter electronics are much more expensive than their fixed wing counterparts.  Careful consideration must be paid to electronics protection.

Autopilots 
This is a bit of a catch all term and can best be divided into stabilization and flight control.  For a fixed wing vehicle, stabilization can be done inexpensively with hobby gyros.  This will automatically correct the flight to straight and level after any deviation.  Flying is much more simple.  Flight control is added on top of stabilization.  Generally flight control is via GPS radios with waypoints programmed via a computer.   You end up with a radio controlled airplane that once launched will fly, to a point(s) and circle, take video, etc. and fly back.  Video feed is also possible, but even a cheap video camera will record nicely from the air.

For multi-copters stabilization is absolutely necessary.  Humans can not control anything this complex alone.  For a multi-copter  the stabilization essentially compiles  normal inputs, from a radio or flight controller,  along with gyro and accelerometer data from the vehicle.  The stabilization computer then calculates the desired speed for each motor.  Multi-copter stabilization is very effective.  I can literally shove my x8 multi-copter in flight and it simply autocorrects back to its original position and heading.    Multi-copter flight control is very similar to fixed wind control, via GPS waypoints, although ultrasonic range finders can be used indoors.   The stabilization in my multi-copter is capable of controlled flight in 25+ mph winds.
Please keep in mind that there are FAA and FCC rules governing radio control aircraft, drones and video downlink radios.

Uses
After months of tinkering, crashing and spending probably thousands of dollars, you will have a drone that will fly in a stable manner.  You will be able to control it with your radio and maybe you invested enough for a flight controller and video down link.  What do you do with this new toy?
Due to payload and range restrictions, an aerial drone is not suited for really anything other than surveillance/reconnaissance.  Honestly, in a survival scenario, my multi-copter in not even on the bug out list.  That is not to say that these things are useless to a prepper though.   I have video of my house and neighborhood.  I can easily fly above and look down undetected.  If I wanted to, I could peer into window on a high rise.  Whether bugging in, or at a retreat a bird’s eye view of your environment is very much a force multiplier, although I sometimes think a camera on a $10 kite with a long sting is an equivalent option. Regards, – Rockhound

Letter Re: A Wikipedia Offline Reader

James;
Speaking of offline Wikipedia tools, there are a number of offline readers available for your laptop computer. I have found these:

None of these are great, but they are all free. – Regards, – Patrick W.

JWR Replies: Thanks for sending those links. The 3.5 Gigabytes required to store LeftistAgendaPedia Wikipedia complete with graphics is a good reason to remember to buy a laptop with a larger hard disk drive, the next time that you need to replace yours.

News From The American Redoubt:

I noticed that Dale Fricke Holsters (up in Montana) has expanded their line. Since we store our guns loaded in our vault, we’ve put their great little Zacchaeus holsters on all of our Glock and XD pistols. (The Zacchaeus holster adds new meaning to the word minimalist!)

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The latest flying video from Ttabs is both beautiful and a geography lesson: Moses Coulee and the Ice Age Floods.

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Idaho was ranked #2 in the recent list of 10 Best States to Retire.

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Idaho Towns Welcome Firearms Despite Gun Control Crackdowns Across the Country. (Thanks to Heidi C. for the link.)

Economics and Investing:

Part I: The Road To Bullion Default, and Part II.

R.C. sent: Thirteen American Cities Going Broke

Reader Jim W. sent: Switzerland Prepares Army for Euro Zone Fallout

Items from The Economatrix:

The Next Stock Market Crash Will Be Bigger Than “Black Monday”

Orders For US Capital Goods Stagnate As Spending Slumps

230 Hedge Funds Suddenly Cried Out In Terror And Were Suddenly Silenced

John Williams:  Dollar Sell-off And Hyperinflation By 2014

Odds ‘n Sods:

New ‘One-Shot’ Rifle Sight Could Make Snipers Deadlier Than Ever

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Reader J.B. used Wayback Machine to find this 1990 FDA article: The Canning Process: Old Preservation Technique Goes Modern by Dale Blumenthal

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All too predictable: Storm sets off frantic rush for supplies across East Coast. (Thanks to Jared B. for the link.)

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Jason F. suggested a new adjustable serpentine belt that would be perfect to keep in your vehicle and shop.

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14 Unique Water Towers From Around the World

Notes from JWR:

I will be the featured lecturer at the Get Prepared Expo (via teleseminar) on Saturday, November 3rd, 2012. This is an expanded repeat of a very popular event. There will be 100 Exhibits and 70 Seminars. You can save 20% by buying your admission passes in advance at GetPreparedEXPO.com ($8 for a one-day pass, or $15 for a weekend pass.) The expo will be held November 3 and 4, 2012 at the Ozark Empire Fairgrounds in Springfield, Missouri.

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October 29th is the birthday of World War II cartoonist Bill Mauldin (Born 1921, died January 22, 2003). His son, economist John Mauldin, is often quoted in SurvivalBlog.

Pat’s Product Review: Crimson Trace MVF-515 Laser

I know that over the years, and in many articles, I clearly stated that when lasers for firearms first came on the market, they were mostly considered “toys” by most professionals, myself included. The lasers back in the day, were big and bulky, cost a lot of money, and the battery run-time was short. Additionally, there really wasn’t any way to holster a handgun with a large laser on it – no one made holsters to fit the cumbersome handgun lasers. So, for the most part, lasers didn’t catch-on, at least, not right away. They were a rich man’s toy.

Today, there is a  huge line of laser products for rifles, shotguns and handguns made by with Crimson Trace Corporation (CTC). I’ve tested a number of CTC products over the years, and have been totally impressed with all of them. I’ve toured their manufacturing plant, and got a real insider’s look at all that is involved in producing CTC products. It isn’t simply a matter of slapping a red or green light on a module and shipping it out the door – a lot of research and development is involved in coming out with CTC products. Just the R&D alone is quite a project, and it requires a lot of work to come up with the various lasers for the many firearms that CTC lasers are installed on. Then we have the production department, and I’m here to tell you, a LOT of work goes into assembling a pint-sized laser for handguns. Plus, each and every laser is individually focused before it is shipped – again, no small project, to be sure. I’ve watched CTC technicians assembling lasers, and it is a meticulous job – one I clearly couldn’t do because I couldn’t even see some of the wires they were attaching inside the units – they are very thin.

CTC was the first company, to my knowledge, to come out with “instinctive” lasers. Now, what does that mean? Well, many laser units have to be switched on and off – it takes a decisive movement. Instinctive lasers are just what it sounds like – they come on “instinctively” – you don’t have to think about it – just grab your firearm as you normally would, and when you do, the pressure on the laser by one of your fingers automatically turns the laser on. Release the pressure and the laser goes off – couldn’t be any easier than that – you just don’t have to think about it – the laser is ready to go on when you need it. There are a few units that also have an on/off switch that you can use to keep the laser turned off if you don’t think you’ll need it – the 1911 grips lasers come to mind. I personally keep CTC lasers turned in, if they have that switch. I don’t want to have to think about it – I want my firearm ready to fire when I’m ready to fire.

The CTC product under review today is their MVF-515 laser, and this is for a railed AR-15 type of rifle. Although, you can also attach it to a standard forearm if you attach a separate rail to it. However, many of the standard “plastic” forearms don’t stay in the same place – they tend to wiggle around a bit, throwing-off the laser from the intended aiming point. However, for CQB use – up close and personal – the laser won’t be “off” by enough to matter if you are taking a center-of-mass aiming point. Still, it’s wise to use the MVF-515 on a Picatinny railed forearm for best results. For this article, I used a parts AR – the lower receiver was from POF USA – and they make piston-driven ARs – but also sell lower receivers that can be used to assemble a direct gas impingement upper or a piston-driven upper – my sample has a standard Direct Gas Impingement upper, there is also a quad-rail forearm, and the MVF-515 slipped right on without any problems.

Now, the MVF-515 sample I received had the green laser aimer – and you can even see the bright green dot from the laser in bright sunlight – so long as the target is very far away. I believe lasers are best used at 50 – 75 feet, especially in daylight. Even though you can see a red or green laser from hundreds of yards away, you can’t readily ID you target at that distance to make a clean kill shot. So, I believe lasers are best reserved for up-close and personal use. CTC also offers a separate laser module unit – this means you can switch the laser module out in a few minutes from red to green, or green back to red. CTC send me a separate red laser module to test with the green MVF-515 unit. And, it only takes a minute or two to change the modules back and forth.

I don’t know how much the MVF-515 weighs, but it was under a pound – maybe even half a pound. I’m not one of these folks who will take a 6-1/2 to 7 pound AR/M4 rifle or carbine, then add another 5 or 6 pounds to it – just doesn’t make a lot of sense in my book, no sense at all. Part of the concept behind the 5.56mm round is that, you have a small, light-weight package to shoot this round through. I couldn’t tell you the number of ARs that I’ve seen with all manner of toys attached to ’em – to the point where you really wouldn’t be able to carry the gun very far comfortably, nor would you be able to deploy it rapidly. Still, a lot of mall ninjas and armchair commandos insist on attaching everything they can buy on their ARs, no matter how impractical it all might be. Sorry, I’m of the old school, in that, less means more, and the less I can attach to my ARs, the better I like it. As a matter of fact, most of my ARs don’t have quad-rails on ’em, so I’m not tempted to hang a lot of junk on ’em to start with. We can agree to disagree on this – if you are comfortable adding a lot of useless toys on your ARs, then go for it. As for me, I’ll go the opposite direction, and only put on my ARs the bare essentials.

What we also have with the MVF-515 is a powerful 150/200 Lumen LED light module – it’s built into the MVF-515 so you don’t have to attach a separate light – nice, real nice! The anodized tang is the foundation for the rock-solid foregrip on the MVF-515 and is made out of 6061-T6 aircraft grade aluminum for a lifetime of service. The laser and light are instinctively activated as you hold the weapon, and activation switches are ambidextrous – which allows the operator to select the light or the laser individually or simultaneously.  On top of that, both the light and the laser are functions are programmable with three illumination modes to select from including: independent momentary, strobe or constant on. A master on/off switch permits complete shutdown of either the laser of the light.

The material that the actual MVF-515 us made out of is black polymer – super tough stuff. The overmold rubber activation switches are easy to activate, too. Laser battery life is 6-hours of constant on – and will last a lot longer by using it on/off – just when needed. The laser is sighted at the factory for 50-feet, and if you need to adjust it for longer distances, it’s easily done with supplied Allen wrenches. The MVF-515 also has a 3-yr full warranty – should you have any problems.

Okay, enough about the specs of the CTC MVF-515, how did the unit actually work in practice? Well, I’m here to tell you, that attaching the unit couldn’t be much easier – only takes a minute or less. However, the user has to decide exactly where to place the unit on a quad-rail – some folks like ’em farther out on the quad-rail than others, some like ’em as close to the mag well as possible. I took the middle ground and placed the MVF-515 just about in the middle of the POF USA M4 sample – it felt extremely comfortable there for me – not too far and not too close. I did experiment with the laser placed as far forward as possible, and found it tiring to have to have my left arm extended so far forward on the quad-rail. Experiment to find the “sweet spot” for your own use when you get an MVF-515 for your gun.

With the green laser module attached, I headed out to my usual shooting spot and set-up a target at 25-yards away. Even though it was very sunny out, I could still easily see the green laser dot on the target without any problems. I fired and found that the shots were just a tad lower than where I was aiming. Again, this unit is sighted-in at the factory at 50-feet, you can adjust the point of aim/point of impact to your own liking. I didn’t really see any need to make any adjustments for my use – the difference between the aiming point and point of impact were enough to matter. I tried aiming at some trees and brush with the green laser attached, and the green dot was all but lost in the bright sunlight. I switched over to the red dot laser – again, this only takes a few minutes to do. While I could still see the red laser dot on my target in the bright sunlight, I had to struggle a little bit to focus on it – which wasn’t a surprise. For daytime use, the green laser is the way to go if you are expecting to take a shot under bright sunlight. For low-light or indoor shooting the red dot was more to my liking. While the green dot laser worked well under low-light conditions, it was actually a bit too bright – the red laser dot was easier on the eyes. Experiment with both and make your own choices…what’s nice is that, if you purchased the MVF-515 with either the red or green laser attached, you can purchase the other color laser separately and it only takes a few minutes to change out the laser module.

I wish that, when I was in law enforcement – public or private – that the MVF-515 would have been around, I surely would have had the MVF-515 mounted on my AR or M4 back then. The intimidation factor alone, with a red or green dot on a bad guy’s chest is often enough to put a stop to any further hostilities if you ask me. I know that, if someone were pointing a gun at me, with a laser on it, and I saw that little red or green dot over my heart, I’d think twice before making a move – simple as that. Another nice thing about lasers is the fact that, they allow for VERY rapid target acquisition – you don’t have to close your eye to get on target – both eyes are open. This really makes it fast getting on target with a bad guy. If you are a home owner, and your bedside has a laser on it – anyone who might be breaking into your house will wish they were some place else if they saw that laser pointed on their chest – I know I would, if I were a bad guy.

In firing more than 500 rounds of various Winchester http://www.winchester.com/, Black Hills Ammunition http://www.black-hills.com/ and Buffalo Bore Ammunition http://www.buffalobore.com/ though the POF USA parts gun, the CTC MVF-515 never came loose, nor did it need any adjustments when I switched from the red to the green, and back from the green to the red laser modules – the point of aim stayed the same – and I really did switch the modules back and forth a number of times. The MVF-515 never worked itself loose from the quad-rail, either – and I can’t say that about some other lasers I’ve played with over the years. While this wasn’t a test of the POF USA parts M4, the gun performed great, never missed a beat – whoever built this M4 up, knew what they were doing. I was getting one-hole, 3-shot groups all day long with all of the above ammo at 25-yards – you can’t ask for better performance than that. I couldn’t pick a winner from any of the ammo – all ammo went into one hole at 25-yards!

Anything negative about the MVF-515? Well, not really. The unit performed as it was supposed to. However, take some time to go over the instructions and learn about the different modes that the laser and light have to offer – and practice the different modes – it does take some time to get it all mastered.  I really liked the strobe from the light – it would easily confuse someone who looked at the light – and if they had a weapon, it would make it difficult for them to deploy it against you. The steady “on” mode for the light is also really nice – again, if a person is temporarily blinded, it makes it difficult for them to attack you. The strobing laser is sort of cool, too – it catches your attention in no uncertain terms.

Full-retail for the MVF-515 with the green laser module attached is $649 http://www.crimsontrace.com/products/manufacturer/ar15-m16-rifles and you can add the replacement red laser module for $249 more – a bit spendy? Yes, but you are getting Crimson Trace Corporation quality (and made in the USA, too) and they don’t make junk – simple as that! I believe the MVF-515 would be an asset to anyone who uses an AR or M4 for self-defense. I know this product is used by thousands in our military and in law enforcement. If you want the best-of-the-best, for a worthy addition to your AR or M4, then this is the one product I highly recommend that you attach – you can keep most of the red dot holo sights – I’ll take the MVF-515 for CQB use…for long-range shooting, a holo red dot is great to have, though. But for CQB, I can’t think of a better thing to add to your AR or M4 – and it won’t weigh the gun down like so many other “toys” tend to do – and many of those toys will fail you when you need ’em most – the MVF-515 won’t fail you under harsh conditions. You should also be aware that, many green dot lasers don’t work well when temps drop below freezing, the  folks at CTC figured out how to overcome this with their green laser module. If you want a laser for $29.99 – then go out and waste your money – you’ll be sorry you paid a red cent for junk. If you want what is the best instinctive lasers on the market, then CTC is the only way to go in my humble opinion.

If you plan on using your AR or M4 for self-defense – I honestly can’t think of a better product to add to your gun. If you are in law enforcement or the military – there is no excuse to not have an MVF-515 mounted on your weapon – it can and will save lives – simple as that. Save your money and buy the best!

Iain Harrison is the new PR/Marketing guru at CTC – and if his name sounds familiar to you, it should – he was the winner of the first season of the popular “Top Shot” television program. Iain went above and beyond to get me the MVF-515 samples for this article. And, Iain wouldn’t have joined the CTC team, if he didn’t think their products were the best-of-the-best. – SurvivalBlog Field Gear Editor Pat Cascio

Letter Re: A Wikipedia Offline Reader

Hi James,
I am a big fan of yours way over from Czech Republic. I want to thank you for all the so valuable information you share. You really changed my view, in fact you opened my eyes.

Lately I was thinking about the offline Wikipedia and its importance in a prolonged grid-down scenario with no access to the internet. The text Wikipedia dumps are great and I started to think about how to get them in a Kindle-like reader. It seems someone did it already (WikiReader Pocket Wikipedia) and since I haven’t found it mentioned anywhere on your blog, here is a link. And Amazon sells them for around $15. It runs on two AAA batteries. It also has some limitations, the most of which I am concerned about is the lack of tabular data in the articles, which might convey potentially useful information. Details on limitations can be seen here.

Be safe and I look forward to reading more great posts on your blog and hear you more on Coast to Coast AM podcasts. Best Regards, – Petr T.

Recipe of the Week:

Jan C.’s Buckwheat Shortcake

This came from an early 1900s recipes book:

Take three or four teacupfuls of nice sour milk, one teaspoonful of soda dissolved in milk; if the milk is very sour, you must use soda in proportion with a little salt. Mix up a dough with buckwheat flour thicker than you would mix the same for griddle cakes, say quite stiff. Pour it into a buttered tin and put directly into the stove oven and bake for thirty minutes, or as you would a shortcake from common flour.

It takes the place of the griddle cake, also the shortcake, in every sense of the word — nice with meat, butter, honey, molasses, etc. No shortening is used.

If any is left, wet the top a little and warm it up for the next meal; it is just as good as when fresh.

Chef’s Notes:

Note from the book: “The author urges everyone to give it a trial, saying from personal experience that a dyspeptic can eat it, when no other warm bread could be tolerated. He also warns that sometimes, at the first trial, one may fail from the milk being too sour for the amount of soda used, or from making the dough too thin.”

Useful Recipe and Cooking Links:

Mrs. R.L.B. liked this site: Dutch Oven Dude

Currently Available as Free Kindle e-Books:

The Way It Was: Old World Italian Recipes For New World Cooks

Top 30 Easy & Delicious Burger and Sandwich Recipes

Do you have a favorite recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers? Please send it via e-mail. Thanks!

Economics and Investing:

Is The World Abandoning The U.S. Economy?

Phoenix Capital Research outlines why Spain is Totally 100% Beyond Saving

G.G. flagged this: Over $60,000 in Welfare Spent Per Household in Poverty

Items from The Economatrix:

Marc Faber:  US Stocks Could Fall 20%

Buffett:  “No Question” Global Economy is Slowing

Connelly:  The Countdown to the Fiscal Cliff Has Begun

Sales By US Mint Of Silver Outpace Gold Over Fifty-Fold

Odds ‘n Sods:

Joe K. sent: 9 Ways to Make Fire Without Matches–Videos that teach us other methods of creating fire

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Reader Pierre M. sent a link to some history that might be unfamiliar to some blog readers: .357: The First Magnum.

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The Wanenmacher Gun Show will beheld in Tulsa, Oklahoma on November 10 & 11.  This is billed as the world’s largest gun show, with more than 4,100 tables–a whopping 5.7 linear miles of tables, if thery were all placed end-to-end. (Thanks to Tom B. for the reminder.)

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H.L. was the first of several readers to send this news story link that has some valuabe OPSEC lessons: Foreclosed family watches helplessly as craigslist crowds strip house bare. Oh. adn speaking of OPSEC: Handgun found inside hollowed-out book donated to Valpo library. (Thanks to Steve C. for the latter link.)

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Reader B.B. spotted this: What will you give me for this list of great bartering websites?