Traditional Tools for TEOTWAWKI, by Bill H.

Like many men, I like tools. I spent 23 years in the military, and when you move a lot, weight becomes an issue. It makes you think about the tools you own, and the things that you want to carry around with you. Just like a traveling businessman, you tend to pack light and only take what you will use. Now that I have retired and settled down, my tool collection has grown, but still remains relatively small. Just so you know I live in the suburbs, not a country retreat.

I mention this background, to make a point about the tools you may own, and contrast them with the tools that you actually use. A person should acquire tools that are useful, not just own every tool known to man. I will borrow a tool if I need it, but if I need to borrow a tool more than once or twice, I should probably own it.

To me, this is a form of self-reliance. A person should own the things they need. I am all about community and working together, but self-reliance is important for a community. If a neighbor needs a ride to the store, I am happy to help them out. If a neighbor needs a ride to the store every day for a month, they are obviously not self-reliant, they are dependent. A community with a majority of self-reliant people is much stronger than a community with a majority of dependent people. We all have a responsibility to keep from being overly dependent.

It is my strong opinion that knowing how to use hand tools is vital. This is especially important in the event of a long term societal disruption. I leave it up to you to decide what this may be, based on your own situation and environment. From the standpoint of the information presented here, I will assume this to be a grid down, no outside assistance event where shelter, food stores, and water are available.
With this situation in mind, I am discounting the use of power tools. I like power tools as much as the next guy, but they are not reasonable in a situation like this. Battery powered tools are also not viable in my opinion. Their long term use is limited and the power to recharge them (solar) could be better used elsewhere. I like power tools, but I also have, and know how to use hand tools. If I can work, hand tools will work.

The main focus for The End of the World as We Know It (TEOTWAWKI) tools is to have tools on hand that cannot be readily made. For the purpose of brevity, I will cover some basic essential tools mainly dealing with wood. I do this for the simple reason that wood will be readily available in almost any TEOTWAWKI situation. Wood can be gathered from fences, trees in your yard or park, or even demolished or abandoned buildings. (Don’t loot. Get permission to scrounge, or barter.) Wood is not only available, but also versatile, durable and reasonably easy to work with.

The first tool I recommend is a single man crosscut saw. I am not talking the kind you find in a hardware store for cutting a two by four. I am talking an early to mid-1900s saw from 30” to 48” inches in length with large teeth from ½” to 1” long. They have a traditional “C” handle on one end, with another upright handle that can be moved to the opposite end if desired. They can be used by either 1 or 2 people and can cut logs up to about 2 feet in diameter.

You may ask, “Why do I need that?” The reason is that your chainsaw will only work as long as you have gasoline. Chainsaws are loud and tell everyone you have gasoline (probably not very much for very long). What happens when your gas runs out? Gathering twigs and breaking wood to build a fire will only work for so long. Sooner or later you will need larger amounts of wood to cook, purify water, and keep warm.

Another invaluable tool is an axe. An axe is useful for splitting wood, kindling, and limbing trees. I use it with non-metallic felling wedges to split small diameter wood for creating long tool handles. It can also be used as a weapon in a desperate situation. I prefer a single bit axe with a hickory handle. The wood handle is easier to replace than fiberglass or other material.

The next tool I recommend is a good set of files. Be sure to have round, half round, and bastard files of various sizes. With files you can keep your saw and axe sharp. They are also extremely useful for creating other tools from metal. If you do not have any files, it will be extremely difficult (nearly impossible) to make them yourself.

Every household needs to have a shovel, rake and hoe. These are the basic essential tools for gardening. There is not much to explain here. A shovel is useful for sanitation purposes. There will be no garbage man and your toilet will eventually stop working even if you are able to collect water to flush it manually. You can also make a fire pit, for those without a fireplace.

An often overlooked item is a bucket. Actually you should have several EMPTY buckets. You don’t want to dump out your wheat so you can go collect some water. The 5 gallon plastic ones are durable and nest together for easy storage. Make sure they have the handles and get lids for several of them. If you have to haul water, put the lid on. There is no sense spilling water on the trip back from a pond. Buckets are good for transporting items you forage, hauling dirt, rocks, fertilizer or whatever. They make a good collector for scraps to add to your compost pile.

My next recommendation is a drawknife. A drawknife is very useful in shaping wood. I use mine a lot when making handles for tools. It is efficient, and with a little practice wood shaping goes very quickly. You can shape wood with a knife, but it takes a lot more time with poorer results. Drawknife shavings make excellent tinder.

Another uncommon tool these days is a brace drill with bits. This is also a tool that will be nearly impossible to make. It is important to have the square shank bits designed for the low speed application of a brace drill. The modern round bits will slip in the brace drill. Being able to drill holes in wood will be important for any wood based construction once the nails run out. Drill a hole. Carve a peg. Join some wood.

The follow up to the brace drill is a hand drill. These come in various sizes, but I typically only use the smaller ones for smaller precision holes. They can be held steadier, and thus not break the smaller drill bits. This is good for starting a pilot hole in the ends of boards to prevent splitting when driving a peg, nail or screw. Sometimes you just need a small hole for a rawhide loop in a handle. It may take time, but you could also drill a hole in metal using modern drill bits designed for metal.

Next is a set of bar clamps. Working with wood can be a challenge if it is moving all over the place. With a decent set of 3 or 4 clamps, (I like the quick clamps, but any bar type clamp will do), you can clamp your work to any table, bench, chair, or even a tree. This will help to keep it stable as you saw, drill or use the drawknife. Clamps reduce the manpower needed for a task, freeing someone to perform other vital tasks in a survival situation.

The final four tools on the list are not absolutely needed. They start the trip down the unending path of “nice to have” tools. It is almost certain that every person who reads this can and will expand on the list. We all have tools we feel are indispensable. By all means include those tools in your kit or preposition them so you can travel light to your bug out location.

A coping saw and extra blades is the first addition. This may seem like a luxury, and it may be in most situations, but what happens if the handle on the crosscut saw breaks? You could possibly carve a crude handle, but chances are it would not be very effective. A coping saw will allow you to cut shapes in minutes that would take hours to carve. If you take into account how small and lightweight the saw is, and the value that small package brings, I believe it is worth it.

Next is a hammer/mallet and chisels. I like a mallet, but a hammer would do just as well. You could substitute a hatchet for more multipurpose functionality, but it is unwieldy to use with chisels. Chisels can make certain work much easier. They are mostly used in more precise furniture making, but they have other applications. It would be much easier to fashion a wooden bowl with a chisel than with any tool previously mentioned.

My next tool is a sawbuck. If you are not familiar, a sawbuck is essentially two or three large X’s joined together with some cross braces. It is used to hold small to moderate logs enabling a person to work at waist level or higher. Just look up “sawbuck” on Wikipedia if you still do not understand. I use mine a lot. I clamp wood in it while using the drawknife or to drill, and I saw wood in it constantly. It will save your back, even with a chainsaw.

The final tool I like to have is a standard hand saw. A hand saw is easier to use than the crosscut saw, and virtually anyone can utilize it. They cut clean and reasonably straight and they are much better to use with lumber. You can cut small branches with them if you need to.

Four of these tools will not usually be found at your local hardware store. The crosscut saw, the drawknife, the brace drill and bits, and the hand drill. If they are at a typical hardware store, be wary before buying them. You will not be happy with the “Made in China” quality any modern look alike will typically bring you. Search your local flea markets and low end antique stores. Estate sales and Craigslist are also good places to look. Do not buy without physically looking at and inspecting these items.

I was able to purchase a drawknife at a low end antique shop for $30. It was a model from the early 1900’s and had a slight rust patina, but the edge was sharp. The cutting edge is the most important aspect. Look for no nicks or signs of improper or excessive sharpening. I cleaned mine with some 800 grit emery cloth and WD-40. You can find these new at some reputable woodworking stores, but they can be very expensive ($100 and up).

I picked up my crosscut saw through craigslist for $25 paired with a couple of other saws. It was rusty, had one broken handle and the other handle was a crude replacement, but it had all the hardware. I made new handles and restored the blade by sanding with 150 grit sandpaper, then 220 grit emery cloth with WD-40. Surface rust is okay, but saws with large flaking rust spots or excessive pitting should be avoided. The blade could break under stress. A fully restored saw could cost upwards of $100 or more. Do a little research and be picky.

I purchased a brace drill and hand drill for $2 each at an estate sale. Make sure they rotate freely without excessive noise. Be sure the chuck loosens and tightens freely (many don’t). The drill bits can be hard to come by used. Most have some surface rust which is okay, but they should only have surface rust (no deep pitting) and be reasonably sharp. In my area bits can range from $.50 to $5 each depending on length, size and condition. You can find bits new with reasonable quality on the Internet. [JWR Adds: They are best purchased in sets, to get a good price.]

Once you acquire your tools, start using them. Start with a couple of easy projects. One of the first projects I completed was a mallet. I used a piece of oak firewood for the head and a walnut branch for the handle. I shaped them with the drawknife, until I was reasonably pleased with the result. The first thing I learned was that it was a lot harder to do than I thought it would be. I also learned how to use the drawknife more efficiently. It is very cool to use a tool you make by hand. I really liked the price also, free. Linseed oil is great for a finish and preservation.

In selecting the tools listed above, I examined the needs of early settlers. What did they need to survive? What did they need to carve out an existence without electricity? I did not include farming, blacksmithing, mechanic or other specialty tools. Those tools certainly have a place in a self-sufficient household, but start with the basics. The tools I selected reflect the needs of an early homestead. The tools you pick could decide your fate. Always acquire quality tools. Cheap tools will fail, and if that happens, then so do you.

Salt for Food Preservation, by Chef N.D.

One survival item that I rarely see listed in any blogs or survival articles is salt. I know that many survival web sites and forums concentrate on the immediate survival needs of individuals and families, but what would a person do if there really was a long term necessity for survival? How would a father feed his family over an extended period of time? MRE’s last forever, but let’s face it, they are expensive and eventually will all be consumed. How will a mother feed her children when all of the canned goods and stores are finished? When you plant those seeds you stored and produce an amazing garden, how do you preserve the fruits of your labor? In assuming the worst, how do you keep your fresh vegetables edible without refrigeration or freezing? How will you feed your families in the winter when game is scarce and can mean using costly energy to try and hunt in the snow? Even if you are fortunate enough to have a secluded farm where you can raise livestock, how do you preserve the meat before it goes to waste?  My solution is salt.

I am an executive chef at a fine dining establishment in the Northwest. Though I enjoy applying the finer techniques to food, my real hobby and passion is trying to cook like people did 100 to even 200 years ago.  My family and friends consist of a lot of avid hunters and fisherman and I have had a lot of experience breaking down deer and elk.  Part of what I enjoy is taking the tougher parts of the animals and making sausage or slow cooked roasts out of them.  This simple enjoyment led me to start researching and experimenting how our ancestors treated game and even livestock to help them get through the winter.  Not only have I tried everything that I will talk about later in the article, I have even served most of them in my restaurant.  In fact I am constantly putting elk and buffalo on the menu whenever possible.  If you start the learning process on preserving your foods, you will see that they are some of the most delicious things you will ever put in your mouth.  Even in a survival situation, you will not help yourself from taking a bite, sitting back, and taking a moment to thank God for His goodness.  I encourage you all to start trying to make the things that I’ll explain below, because they might need some practice for a beginner.  Many of the things you all have probably made before (like sausage), but I’m fairly confident there are other techniques you probably haven’t. 

The key to survival back before refrigeration was being able to preserve your foods and store them for the winter.  In today’s society we see the scions of preservation techniques that were widely used on a daily basis.  Think pickles, olives, cheese, wine and beer (even spirits), bacon and sausage, and anything else you can think of that you can simply pick up at a grocery store.  Most of these require salt.  Salt is key for preservation because it creates an inhabitable environment for bacteria.  The basic rules for preservation are simple: Use salt when possible, high acid content (think vinegar and citrus), and  low to no oxygen.  If you can always remember these three things when you go to preserve your foods, you will be ahead of the game.  There are other important factors to consider, like using sterilized equipment, but in a survival situation the three rules I stated above are the most important.  If you are lucky enough to have the materials needed and the facility to be able to sterilize your equipment, then by all means please do so.  Just remember, that in survival situations, things we take for granted now will be extreme luxuries. 

Before I go on about preserving foods, I need to take a minute to talk about nitrates and nitrites.  There is a lot of bad information out in the media about how sodium nitrates and nitrites can cause cancer.  This is plain false.  Studies done by the AMA and also the Journal of Food Protection have shown that there is no correlation to these salts causing cancer.  Where the bad information came from was a study done in the 1970’s that said when nitrates were cooked at extreme high temperatures, they turn into carcinogens.  The problem with this study is that we don’t cook our food at these high temps, and if we did, nitrates turn extremely bitter when they get burnt.  Therefore, we would not eat these foods anyhow since they would then be inedible!  Also, for you vegetarians out there, most vegetables (especially root vegetables) have more nitrates in them naturally, than bacon cured with pink salts.  If you don’t believe me, look at so called nitrate-free bacon sold at places like Trader Joe’s, and you will see that they cure it with celery powder and celery juice.  In fact, according to the Journal of Food Protection, 93% of nitrates that we intake in our diets come from “normal metabolic sources, if nitrite caused cancers or was a reproductive toxicant, it would imply that humans have a major design flaw.”  So if you have a diet rich in vegetables, especially things like celery, spinach, carrots, turnips, beets, broccoli, cauliflower, any leafy vegetable, (I could go on and on and on!) then you would have died years ago of cancer if nitrates (and nitrites) were truly bad for you.

The nitrate discussion is important because in preserving food, we absolutely need nitrates.  They usually come in the form of pink salts, colored so that we won’t mistakenly use them as regular salt (consumed in high quantities, nitrates can make you sick).  Nitrates prevent the development of the botulism toxin in foods.  Cooking at high temperatures will kill the toxin but not the spores, so when you can your vegetables, if there is still a spore, it will contaminate that jar.  If you eat this, you could potentially die.  By incorporating nitrates ( a little goes a long way!), the spores are not allowed to form the bacteria and the toxin.  Basically the spore stays dormant.  The botulism toxin is colorless, odorless, and tasteless, so you will not know if the food is contaminated or not.  At this point in your survival, why risk death of you or your family by not properly using nitrates?   Pink salts are found at food supply stores or on the internet, and they are super cheap and go a long way.  For $4, you can get enough pink salt to cure 100 pounds of meat. 

So, now onto the preservation techniques.  I’m going to list what I think will be useful techniques that I think will be beneficial and relevant in a SHTF world.  I will give a brief explanation of what they are and some resources that will help you become proficient at these skills.  Again, I have personally done all of these techniques and I stand behind them 100%.  Let’s start with the simple ones, sausage making and basic curing.
If you have meat and salt, you can cure.  In today’s world, with a huge diversity of ingredients, the cures are filled with all kinds of spices and herbs.  I personally like to use things like ground cloves, turbinado sugar,  fresh thyme and rosemary, garlic, orange peel, and pepper corns in many of my cures.  Honestly, though, all you need is salt (and pink salt!).  Curing is the simplest form of preserving meat.  Think bacon.  Bacon is simply cured, and then smoked, pork belly.  (Smoking is another great preservation technique, one I use all the time, but since I am writing about salt we’ll stick with that.  Also, smoking is a great way to add additional safety to your foods, but is not as effective as salt)  Curing works because it pulls the water out of the meat and it infuses the cells with sodium.  Bacteria prefers moist areas with a balanced PH.  Curing creates an environment that is low in moisture and unlivable for most bacteria, thus making your food safe. 

When you cure, it all depends on how thick the cut of meat is.  You can tell it is completely cured when the meat becomes dense.  Before you add your cure, push against the meat with your finger.  The meat should be fairly soft and should bounce back instantly when you lift your finger back.  As the cure pulls the moisture out of the meat, and basically changes the cellular structure of the meat, the meat will become less soft and more dense.  One important note, after the meat has cured for roughly half the time needed, you need to flip it over.  This is a very important step, and will ensure your meat will properly cure.  Once the meat is properly dense, it should feel firm and will not bounce back fairly quickly.  This means that it has been cured!  Rinse the excess salt off of the meat and pat dry completely.  That’s it, you are done with the curing process and can then add additional steps to ensure proper preservation.  If this is all you plan on doing to your meat, then do your best to store in a cool oxygen free atmosphere.  If you have a cellar, store it there in a airtight container. 

Sausage making is similar to curing except that you are adding fat.  Sausage will not last as long as cured meat unless you add an additional step like cooking it once it is done or smoking it after you’ve mixed it all together.  Sausage is basically an emulsion.  An emulsion is when a fat is mixed with another medium.  Think a vinaigrette salad dressing.  The oil won’t naturally mix with the vinegar, so you have to either blend it, or shake it, or whisk it carefully to combine the two ingredients.  This is called an emulsion.  Sausage is an emulsion of fat and meat.  One note to mention, is that if you can, raise pigs.  Pigs naturally have the correct ratio of fat to meat in most of its body.  You want to have a fat content of around 25% – 30%.  The pork shoulder naturally has this ratio, so all you have to do is literally grind the shoulder and you’re done.  If you will raise beef, sheep, or hunt game, it will be good to have pork fat to add to these.  Pork fat is a very neutral fat and won’t change the flavor of the meat.  I know we are talking about survival and the flavor preference might not be too important, but a pig will generally have excess fat that you can use for the making of sausage from other animals. 

I highly encourage you to find a way to have pigs at your safe house location.  In the mean time you can learn how to butcher, process, and store the animal and have the best tasting pork you will ever have.  It’s a win-win situation.  If you don’t have casings, don’t worry about it, sausage is, in my opinion, best when formed into a patty and then stored.  Just don’t over handle the ground meat and you will be ok.  Another item that I think is necessary for a safe house would be to have a meat grinder.  Without one, you will have to chop all the meat with a knife, which will take a ton of time and severely dull your knives.  In a survival situation, time is always going to be short and you will always need your tools at their best.  A meat grinder will help the job of making sausage a quick task. 

Another form of curing is air curing.   This method is fairly easy to do, but takes time and practice.  You will still need salt to do so, but the air (and time) does the job of sucking out moisture from the meat.  Prosciutto is an air-cured ham from Italy.  Most countries that have a heavy supply of pig have a version of an air-cured ham.  Basically, you salt it pretty heavily for about three weeks.  After three weeks time, you then rinse the excess salt off and pat dry completely.  Then you want to wrap it in whatever you have available to protect it from flies and bugs.  If you have cheese cloth, use it.  Burlap sack, great.  You then hang it outside for about a year.  I’ve seen people create a box using a wood skeleton and surround the skeleton (with the ham inside) with a very fine mesh wire screen.  This ensures that flies and mosquitoes cannot lay eggs in the meat, and also keep critters like squirrels and birds from getting to the ham.  If you live in a hot climate, store it in your cellar, if you live in a fairly temperate climate with all four seasons, (and the summers don’t get too hot), you can hang it from a tree limb or a post outside(just make sure it gets a ton of shade). 

As it sits out all year, the water in the meat will evaporate and leave a nice salty meat.  This is a product that I would encourage to use as a meat seasoning.  Add it  to soups or stews to flavor the product (save your salt for preserving, not daily cooking).  One final note on the air-cured ham, as it ages it will start to grow white mold.  This is OK!  White mold is what you want.  It will cover the ham and help protect it.  Simply cut the mold off when you are ready to store or consume the meat and you will be fine.  In fact, some of the other products you store may get white mold sometimes.  Don’t worry, you will be fine as long as you cut off the part that has mold on it.  What you don’t want is green mold.  If your preserved meats ever have green mold, throw it away!  Don’t even bother trying to save it, you will get sick and you may even die.  It is not worth it! 

One final preservation technique that I would like to elaborate on is the confit method.  This method is probably one of the best for preserving meats, because it does three things to the meat to preserve it.  It cures it, it cooks it, and it seals it from oxygen.  And, it is the best tasting way to cook anything, period.  Pork belly confit makes bacon taste like cardboard.  Basically a confit is a meat that is cured, and then slow cooked until it is fall apart tender in its own fat.  Now in a survival situation, you may have to use pork fat in all instances, but if you have enough chicken or duck fat saved up you can use that too.  Basically, whatever the meat is, you cure it like mentioned above.  Typical time frame is about 2-3 days for poultry and ducks (or geese), and about a week for pork belly.  If it’s thicker than 2-3 inches, you may need to cure it for 10 days to 2 weeks, but you get the point.  After it is finished curing, you will roast the meat at about 250 degrees submerged in its own fat for about 6-8 hours.  Then you simply pull the container out of the oven (or whatever you used to cook the confit in) and let cool.  If you only have one roasting pan, then move all of the meat and fat to another container making sure the meat is completely submerged.  Let cool.  As the fat cools, it will seal up the container locking out oxygen.  As long as the seal doesn’t break, the confit will last for months if stored in a cool dark place. 

A couple of things to mention about confit, is that it takes a lot of fat (another reason to raise pigs).  If you plan on raising chickens or hunt duck or geese, every time you butcher one, save the fat and slowly cook it until it becomes liquid.  Let it cool and solidify and then store in an airtight container.  This will help the fat last longer.  Note, the fat in this state won’t last for months, so if you plan on making a confit, try and gather enough fat as soon as possible.  If you raise pigs and have excess back fat or jowl fat (after making your sausage) this will be easier to accomplish.  In a survival mentality, fat is a good thing.  I know we are raised on not being obese and eating low fat foods, but in a survival situation fat is a good thing.  You WILL need the calories and stores that fat provides.  Many vitamins our bodies need are fat soluble and store in our fat.  This is very important to remember in a survival situation.  The confit method is fairly simple and is probably one of the best ways to preserve your meat.  I highly encourage you to try this at home a few time and become proficient at it.  It may save your family’s lives some day. 

There are many books that talk about curing meats and sausage making  and the like, but the one that I think is the best, that has great ratios of salt to meat, and is very easy to understand is Charcuterie by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn.  They have great recipes in there and they are tried and true recipes and methods.  They also have many more types of preservation techniques listed that might be something you want to take a look at. 

For your vegetables, if you are able to can your vegetables, I highly encourage you to do that.  If you can’t in a survival situation, then here are some guidelines that I recommend.  These steps might seem like overkill, but it will ensure your safety.  First off, I would recommend everybody to pickle their vegetables they are planning on preserving.  Now don’t think like “pickle” pickling, you know the dill pickles at the store.  Pickling refers to vinegar and salt.  Basically, if you find a ratio you like of vinegar, sugar, and salt, just boil these ingredients together, let cool and use this for your pickling liquid. Take your jars if you have them, fill them up with the vegetables you are planning on pickling, and fill up the rest of the way with the liquid.  Put a tiny pinch of pink salt in each jar, to make sure you won’t get sick  from botulism.    If you can fill the jar all the way up so there is little to no air in the jar when you seal it, the better.  Again, if you can and know how, boil these to properly seal the lid.  Vinegar may be hard to come by, but if you have access to things like apple trees and pear trees, you can juice them and make vinegar (that process is for another article).  The thing to remember is to have the acid content and salt to inhibit bacterial growth. I’ve pickled all kinds of vegetable from garlic, onions, beets and celery, to cucumbers, peppers (of all kinds), and eggplants.  They will last for weeks if not months just sitting in the liquid without any precautions to oxygen.  They will last years if you do the necessary work to create an oxygen free environment.  And they taste great too. 

Vinegar and salt are useful to feed your family when you don’t want to risk having to cook.  If you think having a fire and smoke will attract people to your location (in the short term) soaking your fish, or other types of meat in a salt-vinegar solution will make it edible and safe to eat.  It will still have a raw texture, but will be safe to eat.  The acid will literally “cook” the meat without heat.  Think steak tartar and ceviche, or Italian crudo.

Having salt available to use to preserve your meats and produce will go a long way to helping you and your family to survive in the long run.  You will also be able to use salt to make cheese (if you have milk producing livestock) and breads.  If you have decided that salt is a necessity, I would go with the Kosher salts.  They have a bigger size than table salt, and it goes further as well.  Kosher salt is fairly cheap, about $2 for three pounds.  If you have a safe location that you plan on going to in the need for survival, I would recommend stocking up as much salt that you can store.  It will never go bad, and if used correctly will keep your family fed and alive for years.  Survival is not just a chain of decisions to make when the time comes, but a lifestyle choice.  If you are truly concerned about you and your family’s survival, then take the time now to prepare.  Learn how to farm from local small farmers.  They are always looking for volunteers and the knowledge you gain from them will be valuable.  Take the time to learn what medicines you can glean from nature and how to preserve food stuffs from nature as well.  Surviving will be much more than a bug out bag to safety.  That will be the first of many challenges to overcome when the SHTF.   Think long term and prepare and you will be further ahead than most of the people in today’s society. 

Letter Re: Switching to AR-10 Rifles

James:
I happened to notice that in a recent posting you’d mentioned transitioning at your ranch from a FAL platform to a Stoner-designed AR-10. I imagine that a number of your readers would be interested in how this decision came about. I’ll I bet a number of other readers would be interested to hear why. – P. Z. in Arizona

JWR Replies: The decision to switch to AR-10s was based upon the following factors:

1.) Training compatibility. Since my kids all did their transitional training to high power shooting using M4geries, and some of them might end up serving in the U.S. military.

2.) Parts shortages and expense. The supply of L1A1 (and FAL) parts is definitely drying up.  So there is the question of long term sustainability for our firearms battery. A nice British L1A1 parts set (sans receiver) now sells for $500 or more. As of 2005, military rifle parts sets could no longer be imported with barrels because of a BATF dictate. Meanwhile, AR-10 parts are getting more and more common, and falling in price, since there are now more than 15 AR-10 makers in the States

3.) Magazine commonality with HK91s. Since we have a couple of HK91 clones here at the ranch, it will be nice to be able to share magazines.

4.) Weight. AR-10s weigh more than a pound less than a FAL, L1A1, BM-59, HK91, or M1A. So for the same weight as an iron-sighted L1A1, we can carry an AR-10 with an Trijicon ACOG scope.

5.) Magazine availability. I’m the sort that likes to have a dozen or more spare magazines on hand for each rifle. L1A1 magazines are now selling for more than $30 each, new in the wrapper. Metric FAL magazines cost just a bit less. But because a huge quantity of magazines was released by the German government scrap metal prices HK G3 alloy magazines now sell for less than $6 each in new or like-new condition, and can often be found for under $3 each, used. Steel ones are just a couple dollars more. The U.S. is now awash in G3 magazines, since the German government apparently sold off even their large war reserve of magazines. The folks at KeepShooting.com even have some that are still brand new in the German Ordnance 5-packs, even though they were made in the 1960s.

For anyone who is considering buying an AR-10, I strongly recommend buying one that is made by CMMG or SI Defense. Both of these companies offer AR-10 variants that use the inexpensive HK G3 magazines. (Be sure to specify the “G3 magazine compatible” lower receiver when look for a rifle) And do yourself a favor: Buy 50 spare HK magazines per rifle. That will insure a multi-generational supply of magazines for your family. I expect several other AR-10 makers to soon begin producing rifles that can accept the ubiquitous G3 magazine. Someday, you grandchildren will thank you for your foresight.

Letter Re: Hidden Entrances, and Secret Rooms

If you do a web search for “hidden entrances” or “secret room” you’ll see some photos and video of various novelties like bookcases on hinges and stairways that open up to reveal hidden rooms behind/under them. While these can be a lot of fun before SHTF, especially for kids, I just wanted to put out a warning that these types of entrances aren’t really concealed at all in a TEOTWAWKI situation. For starters, if you found these solutions on the Internet, then bad guys can find them too.

Even if they didn’t do their online research beforehand, you can bet that looters going through nice neighborhoods are going to figure out very quickly that some of them have safe rooms, and bookcases are the most common type of hidden entrance. Trapdoors under area rugs and safes behind picture frames on the wall are pretty easy to find, too.

You also need to factor in what your house is going to look like after a fire. If your hidden entrance is made of wood, i.e. a bookshelf, it’s not going to be there after a fire, and looters are going to see the metal door behind it and wonder what’s in there. You’re not planning for a fire, you say? But you are planning for TEOTWAWKI, right?

There’s no reason to rely on ineffective entrance concealment, because for little or no additional expense, you can create a hidden entrance that nobody’s going to find. I will briefly describe one type of hidden entrance that’s a vast improvement on the bookshelf door, make a general suggestion about hidden entrances, and then hint at what I’m putting into the house I’m building without giving the bad guys any details they could use.

Turning a basement entrance into a closet with a trapdoor in the floor is a solution that has been described before, but I would like to suggest a few measures to make it truly concealed:
1. Build the closet walls, ceiling and floor out of durable, fire-retardant materials, like concrete. You can retrofit an existing home this way, but the closet won’t stick out after a fire if the whole house is built out of said materials. 
2. Make the entire closet floor into a trapdoor, so that nobody can make out the outline of the door. This requires some precise construction, as the edges of the door need to be flush with the walls of the closet. Watch out for scratch/rub marks left on the walls when you open the door. Durable, fire-retardant carpet can be used to fudge the edges a little, and having walls made of a durable material can help. Think long and hard about what two materials you want to be rubbing up against each other when you open the trapdoor.
3. Whatever material you use for the floor of the closet, make sure it matches the flooring of the hallway immediately outside the door. You can be sure that a looter standing on a tile floor in your hallway and looking at a plywood floor in your closet is going to investigate further.
4. Make sure your trap door is every bit as solid as the floor in the hallway. If someone steps inside, there should be no give in the floor or unusual creaks. This part is tough because it works against another consideration, that you need to be able to open the door. Ideally, if you have a floor that’s 8-inch-thick concrete, then you want a trapdoor that’s also 8 inches of concrete, poured into a steel frame. The only problem with this type of door is that most people won’t be able to lift it.
5. Don’t have any visible handles on your trapdoor. This can be accomplished either by designing it so that a handle is not necessary, or using some sort of temporary handle that you can bring with you into the basement, so that it’s no longer usable for people outside.
6. If your trapdoor is going to be on hinges, then make sure that the hinges are concealed by the door when it’s in the closed position. Seeing hinges on the far wall when the closet door is opened is going to be a dead giveaway.
7. Finally, you should seriously consider a non-traditional trapdoor design that doesn’t lift to open. Instead, have a heavy concrete floor poured into a steel frame that is mounted on wheels that run on sturdy tracks underneath. Think garage door, only much sturdier and a single piece, not reticulated. When your basement is not in use, the door just rests in place, and doesn’t open when people step on it, because it’s too heavy to move easily. But when you need to open it, you just get inside the closet, plant your feet on the floor (use sneakers or bare feet for traction) and push your hands in the opposite direction against the doorframe. The floor then slowly slides back, revealing the staircase underneath. Once you and your loved ones are safely inside, you lock the door in the closed position from the inside in such a way that it’s held tight and doesn’t slide or rattle. One advantage of this design is that you can leave shoes or other items on the floor toward the front of the closet, as long as you don’t open it completely, and they’ll still be there when you close it.
8. For realism, go ahead and keep some shelves or a dresser in the closet. But bolt them to the wall so that they stay in place when you slide the floor, and make sure they’re not so wide that they block you from entering.

If you build an effective trapdoor entrance that resembles a closet floor in every possible way even to a determined investigator, then it’s extremely unlikely that a bad guy will find it. Or more precisely, if the bad guys find your basement, they will find it in some other way, for example finding out from your neighbors (you didn’t tell them, did you?), or by spotting your ventilation pipes.

The closet trapdoor entrance to the basement described above is what I’m building into my next house, but the basement is for friends/extended family. For the living quarters for myself and my immediate family, I’m going a whole order of magnitude better on the concealment front. I’m not going to describe the actual design of the entrance because I don’t want bad guys to read about it, but I will throw out a few general ideas to help fellow readers of SurvivalBlog.com think about their own designs.

1. The entrance to the secret bunker is from inside my safe room. This means that after entering the safe room, I have time to consider options, monitor the situation through video cameras, and make decisions. The bad guys won’t be able to get into the safe room for at least five minutes, probably much longer, so I can calm down and think about whether I want to call the police, surrender the house to the bad guys and retreat to the bunker, or even come out and fight. Another advantage is that bad guys are likely to stop looking for secret rooms once they get into my safe room. The general recommendation here is to give the bad guys a decoy, something to let them think they’ve figured it out. Yet another advantage is that I can tell trusted friends about the safe room and tell them that’s where I’m sleeping without letting them know about the existence of the bunker. I can also access the bunker at any time without anyone having a chance to see me doing so, if I keep the safe room locked.
2. My safe room has a semi-secret emergency exit separate from the entrance to the bunker. If the bad guys manage to use a cutting torch to get into the safe room, they will find the emergency exit quickly, and note that it’s open. That’s where they think I went. If I didn’t have an emergency exit, they would wonder where I am, and keep looking.
3. My bunker is outside the outline of my house. A bad guy can look at any house and think, “is there a basement under there or just a crawlspace?” Once they find a basement that matches the dimensions of the first floor, then they’re likely to stop looking.
4. The entrance to my bunker is concealed in such a way that bad guys would have to destroy some very durable materials to even be able to see that it’s there. However, I do not have to destroy anything to be able to open it.
5. I’m having contractors build the basic structure, but I’m building the hidden entrance and some other architectural elements myself, after they leave.

To sum up:
1. Use decoys. Give smart bad guys something that makes them think they’ve found everything. 
2. Don’t use hidden entrance designs that you’ve read about on the Internet. Come up with your own.
3. Don’t make a choice between concealment and ability to resist a brute force attack. Use both.
4. Better concealment is not necessarily more expensive. “Secret” doors that a kid can find can be more expensive than a truly secret door.

There’s a lot more that I could add, but I’m going to stop there for OPSEC reasons. I hope this is a useful starting point for readers to think of their own designs. Remember: if you invent, design and build the secret entrance yourself, then it can remain a secret. If you rely on commonly available templates or employ others to build it, then by definition it’s not a true secret. – With Regards, – Dale T.

Economics and Investing:

Several SurvivalBlog readers sent this: Euro zone finance ministers agreed a 130-billion-euro ($172 billion) rescue for Greece on Tuesday to avert an imminent chaotic default after forcing Athens to commit to unpopular cuts and private bondholders to take bigger losses.

G.G. flagged this: Congrats, US Government: You’re Scaring Web Businesses Into Moving Out Of The US. (SurvivalBlog’s recent server migration to Sweden is just one small example.)

Over at Whiskey & Gunpowder: Gather ye nickels while ye may…

Steve in Georgia sent this: Iranians desperate as dark economic clouds gather

Items from The Economatrix:

Editorial:  A Sand-Castle Recovery

Preparing For The Collapse Of The Petro-Dollar System

How The Fed Steals Your Life

US Economy Still Raising Questions

Odds ‘n Sods:

JRH Enterprises is celebrating their 20th year in business with a big sale on Third Generation Pinnacle Autogated night vision devices. New true mil-spec AN/PVS-14 monocular/weapon sights with a 5-year warranty available as low as $2,695, and upgraded Gen 3+ versions available as low as $2,995. JRH also has the AN/PVS-7B Goggle sets new and available in third generation Pinnacle autogated on sale for $3,095. The sale ends soon, so don’t dawdle.

   o o o

My recent interviews on The Alex Jones Show have now been archived. I was the guest in the second hour on Wednesday, February 15th, and I was also interviewed at length in their News Hour on Friday, February 17th.

   o o o

My friend Rex in the Redoubt lamented that S&W has enthusiastically jumped on the Taurus Bandwagon of Shotgun Wheelgun Absurdity and introduced The .410 Governor. The next step up in the arms race came from Taurus, in a prototype 28 gauge revolver that they dubbed the “Raging Judge XXVIII”. (I’m not making this up, folks!) So Rex jokingly suggested that S&W “…ought to introduce what he proposed calling “The Governator“: A 12 gauge NFA revolver: guaranteed to put the bad guy down, and to put your wrist in a plaster cast.

   o o o

Some great news from Canada: Conservatives and enthusiasts cheer the end of the long-gun registry. (A hat tip to Paulette W. for the link.)

   o o o

Long before the Clone Wars will come Drone Wars. (Thanks to G.G. for the link.) And speaking of drones, Kevin S. recommended this piece over at Global Guerillas: Build yourself a Drone NOW (before they become illegal)

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“We’re on the threshold of disaster. We need to increase food production by 50 to 70 percent on less land with less resources, less water and, frankly, not enough technology.”- Dr. Nancy Irlbec, Associate Dean of academic affairs for Colorado State University’s College of Agricultural Sciences, describing global food production and the demographics of the 21st Century.

Note From JWR:

Today we present another two 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.

All You Need to G.O.O.D. You Can Carry on Your Back, by Charles M.

In 2000 my wife and I decided we would do a through hike of the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine.  The distance traveled would be 2,168.5 miles of foot trails through the wildernesses of the eastern United States.   We climbed more than 250 mountains.  Our elevation change was equal to climbing Mount Everest from sea level to the summit and back nineteen (19) times. The trail is very challenging and can be dangerous (two people died on the trail the year we hiked).  The trail follows the crest of the Appalachian Mountain through fourteen states.  Although this was a long “backpacking trip” it required us to have everything we needed to survive the outdoors for an extended time while living and walking through all weather conditions.  Rain, sleet, snow, hail storms, 100 degree weather, in it all we walked an average of 14.7 miles a day, seven days a week for months.  The lessons learned are very valuable when it comes to surviving extended periods of having to “make it” on your own.  I’ve read many books, articles and heard many conversations about what is needed to survive natural disasters, terrorist attacks or bad economic times, but until you’ve spent weeks and weeks in the wilderness with just what you can carry, that information at times is valuable but very often overstated and dangerous.

Our adventure began on the 3rd day of March 2002 and ended September 26th 2002.  The first night out it was 0 degrees with a 15 below zero wind chill.  The first two weeks on the trail were not much better with most days not getting above freezing.  We had to hike with our water bottles next to our bodies to keep them from freezing.   When it became uncomfortable during the day we could put them in our packs in an outside pocket but turned them upside down so the freezing would occur in the bottom (now the top) and we could remove the bottle and turn it upright and remove the lid and drink.  At night we would put our water bottles and water filter inside our sleeping bags at the foot of the bag to keep them from freezing.  In the mornings we would turn our tent wrong side out and shake the frozen moisture out of the tent.  The amount of water given off by the body’s respiration and perspiration during sleep is amazing and a problem when it is 20 degrees in your tent.  During the summer months there was a record drought for most of the eastern U.S.  We had days in access of 100 degrees and very little water.  At times we collected water from ditches, cattle ponds and once from a deep tire track in the forest service road we crossed. In the White Mountains it took 2 hours to collect just 2 liters of water.   We found a rock crevice that had a small trickle of water.  We would collect it in our spoon and put it in our bottles.  By the end of the trail we had walked from winter in the Georgia mountains to summer in Pennsylvania to winter on Mount Katahdin in Maine.

What allowed two people over the age of 50 to complete this hike was preparation and knowledge of personnel abilities and skills and equipment. By the time we started our hike we had our pack base weight down to 12 lbs plus food and water.  We could hike for 10 days and not have our packs weigh over 45 lbs. and have over 4,000 calories per day in our meals.  We only carried what we used and every item had multiple uses.  If we didn’t use it at least once a week we didn’t take it.  We saw early on that carrying things for “just-in-case” created more problems than the advantage of having it “just-in-case.”   We realized that carrying too much, too fast and too many miles, people got hurt too soon and went home too soon.

Preparation
Planning is one of the most important factors in accomplishing such a daunting task of surviving in the outdoors for an extended time. It appears to be difficult for a lot of people to understand the importance of preparation when it comes to difficult task.  We like most people read as much material as possible on long distance hiking and specifically the Appalachian Trail.   We read every journal we could find on the Internet and garnered as much information as possible.   We took notes, studied maps, made list of materials, explored where we could get food supplies and the more we knew the more confidence we had in completing the task.  The benefit of all our planning became evident very quickly on our trip.  As we made our approach to the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail on Springer Mountain in Georgia we met several other hikers starting their “through hike.”   The first thing we noticed were the large packs.  One young man was carrying a 108lb pack and when I asked him what he had in it he said, “only the necessities.”   Another hiker had a pack that he had weighted at the ranger station that was 78lbs.  Of the eight people we met that first day on the trail only one finished the hike and actually climbed Mt. Katahdin (the northern terminus) the same day we did.  Then there were the Boy Scout troops with their 50 lb packs and the scout leaders with their 75lb packs full of “necessities.”.  They would look at our packs and ask the question, “how long are you out for?”  When we said “six months” they had a very puzzled look on their face and would ask the next question, “why are your packs so small?”  When we answered we just carry what is “necessary” they would give us a curious look and walk on by.

Some of the things we did to check out our equipment was just common sense.  Every time it would rain or snow we would put on our gear and head out on an all day hike through our neighborhood.  I expected the white van from Bellview Sanitarium to show up any minute with the jackets to carry us away. We live in the historical district of our hometown and the area is very hilly, so, it was a good starting point to practice. We got some strange looks from our neighbors. A lady one morning asked if we were going mountain climbing?! We said “Yes, 250 of them”. She smiled and went back into her house and probably dialed the phone.  

At other times we would pitch our tent in a downpour in our backyard and spent the night cooking and eating our meals in the rain (you cannot eat in your tent because of animals, from bears to mice will invade your sleeping quarters) and it paid off, we never slept in wet bags or tent in six months.  When it was below freezing we hiked and learned how to layer our clothes.  We learned what to take off and when to take it off.  We knew we would be alone, sometime days from the nearest town or road and we had to get it right the first time.  In the first month alone on our hike over 25% of the hikers we knew quit because of poor preparedness for the drastic changes in weather.   The struggles became very depressing and they stated, “this is no fun.”  Preparation made it fun and rewarding.  I’ll never forget the beauty of the ice storm we had in the Great Smoky Mountains and we were 35 miles from the nearest road.  I’m glad we took it seriously, during our hike a fellow hiker we knew died of hypothermia in the White Mountains in New Hampshire.  Not only were we prepared with the right clothes and equipment we were prepared physically.   By the time we were at the half way mark in Pennsylvania, over 75% of the hikers had left the trail.  A considerable number had left because of physical problems the majority of which were either feet or knee issues.  Walking in pain is part of the hike. We lost all of our toenails and had some sore knees and foot problems but “no blisters.”   Two thousand feet downhill walks with a heavy pack are a killer on knees and feet.  “Toe bang” is what they call it when your shoes are not large enough and your toes hit the end of your boot.  In a day or two you have black toes with a lot of pain.  Preparation avoided this and all of the other issues that we faced.

By the end of the first week on the trail we came to an outfitter in Georgia that sits on the trail.  (Literally, the Appalachian Trail goes through the building.  It is a little of the trivia on the Appalachian Trail).  The outfitter was going through individual packs and sending “stuff” home.  He said on an average day at the peak of the starting days (end of March through April) he ships out over 500 lbs of gear he has taken out of hiker packs.  The conversation around campsites each night covered only a few things; food, miles, next water source and pack weight. With over 1,000 miles of hiking experience before our hike, we were still tweaking the contents of our pack the entire hike.  The only thing we added to our packs on the entire hike was Thermarest micro pads (we shipped the closed cell pads home in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia).  They were awesome!  Sleeping on the ground for six months got a lot better when we swapped  12 oz pads for 1 lb., 2 oz pads.  I carried three Band-Aids for 2,168.5 miles.   I don’t carry band-aids now.   If I need one, I’ll use a piece of duct tape with Toilet Paper and triple ointment over the wound.  Everything must have multi-use abilities or you don’t need it.

You will never know what will happen around the next ridge or over the next mountain but you can develop the skills and habits that will enable you to deal with what ever happens; good or bad.  It will take more than a few weekend trips.  Weekend trips will not give you enough situations to correct your gear nor will it give you the fatigue you will encounter on 100 to 200 mile hikes.  You can run, jog, ride bikes and do 10k runs but 100 miles in the woods carry a pack will indicate very loudly what is wrong with your set up.  And trust me it will show up… you will end up cutting the labels out of your shirts and the unused pockets out of your pants.   You will get rid of the “stuff” you just couldn’t do with out.  You will need to spend extended periods in what ever the predicted situation may be.   Weeks of consistent “practice” will hone your skills and purge your equipment into a workable tool set. 

Basic gear list:

First, what you carry depends on how far you’re going, where, and when. Camping and backpacking magazines may make it seem as if you’re doomed unless you have the latest gear. But, new equipment for even an overnight hike can easily run $1,000 to $2,000 or more. Don’t worry. You can plan a hike on the Appalachian Trail without bankrupting yourself in the backpacking store.  Most of our gear we collected over years and less than 25% came from a name brand or a known outfitter (i.e., REI).  
What should I carry?

Packing for a day-hike is relatively simple:

    * Map and a good small compass (learn to use them first!)
    * Water (at least 1 quart, and 2–3 on longer hikes in hot weather)
    * Warm clothing and rain gear and hat
    * Food (including extra high-energy snacks)
    * Tent peg (used as a pick to dig a “cat hole” to bury human waste)
    * First-aid kit, with duct tape for blister treatments
    * Whistle (three blasts is the international signal for help)
    * Garbage bag (to carry out trash you find on the trail, some people are slobs!)
    * Sunglasses and sunscreen (especially when leaf cover is gone)
    * Blaze-orange vest or hat (in hunting season)
    * Toilet paper (take out the paper center and flatten your half roll and put it in a Ziploc bag)

On longer hikes, especially in remote or rugged terrain, add:

    * Small LED head lamp
    * Heavy-duty garbage bag pack liner (water proofs gear, an emergency tarp or to insulate a hypothermia victim)
    * Sharp small pocket knife (In 50 years in the backwoods hunting everything from bear to wild boar or hiking wilderness areas in high desert in Utah I’ve never needed a Rambo survival knife.)  I have field dress probably a 100 large game animals with nothing but a three inch bladed folding knife.
    * Fire starter (a few birthday candles, for instance) and waterproof matches or butane lighter (I have carried real flint and a small piece of file steel, but I have to admit I do it just to impress the younger hikers!)

Overnight and extended trips:

If you’re planning to spend weeks out in the wild, I suggest you go to the Internet and read the trail journals of thru-hikers (Appalachian Trail, Continental Divide Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail) and use their “knowledge by fire.”  After 2,000 miles you pretty much know what works and what don’t.  Most Appalachian Trail backpackers carry the following items, in addition to the day-hike checklist and some method of treating water. Some items can be shared with a partner to lighten the load:

    * Shelter (a tent or tarp) 3 lbs or under.
    * One lightweight pot, one medium size spoon (Lexan works great)
    * Stove (a small ultra lite backpacking model [about 6 to 10 oz], with fuel) we use a tuna can with denatured alcohol.  In an emergency you can build a small fire.
    * Medium-sized backpack (big “expedition–size” packs are usually overkill and are heavy)  Try to get a pack that weighs under 4 lbs.
    * A pack cover or plastic bag for rainy weather
    * Sleeping pad (to insulate you from the cold ground)
    * Sleeping bag of appropriate warmth for the season (usually 2.5 lbs or under, depends on how cold you sleep)
    * Food and clothing
    * Rope or cord (to hang your food at night and many other uses in camp) (1/4 in or smaller braided nylon)
    * Water filter or another method of treating water (I now use drops of household bleach when out alone)
    * Ultra light stuff-sacks for sorting packing clothes, food (sack is used with cord to hang at night to keep it away from varmints, I’ve had raccoons to chew holes in tent to get to a pack of chewing gum!), and other items.
    * Zip-Loc bags (put everything in them, they are awesome and can serve as water carriers)

Remember that renting gear or buying used equipment are low-cost options when you’re first starting out.   Test and try out expensive equipment before you buy.  Make sure it fits and you are comfortable.

Do I have the right clothing?

Hope for the best weather; pack for the worst. Clothing to protect you from cold and rain is a must—even in midsummer and especially at higher elevations. Avoid cotton clothes, particularly in chilly, rainy weather, which can strike the mountains at any time of year. Wet cotton can be worse than nothing and can contribute to hypothermia, a potentially fatal threat.  A hiker slogan you should remember and adhere to,  “Cotton Kills.”  Synthetic fabrics such as polypropylene and various acrylic blends will help protect you against the dangers of hypothermia.  Layer your clothes—a “polypro” shirt, synthetic fleece, and a coated nylon or “breathable” light weight waterproof outer shell will keep you both warmer and drier than a single heavy overcoat in cold, damp weather.

Remember, hiking will make you sweat, no matter the weather.  We’ve hiked in 20 degree weather in shorts and one long-sleeved poly shirt.   Shedding thin layers enables you to regulate your body temperature more effectively than choosing between keeping a heavy jacket on or taking it off.

Is my footwear adequate?

Hiking boots are optional for day-hikes but recommended for overnight and long distance hikes over rough terrain. Old-style heavyweight mountain boots are usually unnecessary now that good-quality lightweight boots are widely available. The most important thing is that boots or shoes fit well and are well broken-in before you hit the Trail: Nothing ends a hike quicker than blistered feet, and even minor blisters can become infected and cause serious trouble. Backpackers can expect their feet to swell; long-distance hikers should buy boots half a size to a full size larger, to allow room for this.  My feet grew a full size in six months on the Appalachian Trail.   After trying on your boots or shoes, bang your toe on the floor behind you.  If you toe touches the end of the shoe then they are too small.  You will get black toe real fast on the downhills.  Boots do not last forever.  I wore out three pairs of very good boots and was on my fourth pair when we finished our through hike.

Buy good equipment.

My backpack is 15 years old and has over 4,000 miles on it and still going.  Our water filters will last about 500 gallons before replacing the cartridge and weighs less than a 16 oz.  Our two-man tent has over 300 nights in the mountains and is still as good as new and weighs only 3.5 lbs.   

Being prepared.

My wife and I keep our backpacks packed and ready to go.  If we need to bug out quick I just sling them over my shoulder and grab my .22 rifle and I’m ready for at least 10 days without concern for anything.  If a longer time “out” is required I can procure what is needed for food and fuel.  We lived in the woods for 6 months with lightweight packs and had everything we needed and were very well prepared for everything the weather and terrain had to offer.  All you need you can carry on your back.

“Only to the white man was nature a ‘wilderness’, to us it was tame”, Chief Luther Standing Bear.

You can follow our preparation and hike by reading our journals and seeing our photos at: TrailJournals.com/papasmurf.

Firearms Training/Exercise #1, by Sparky

I have been a “gun nut” for some time now and I think that everyone should own a firearm of some sort whether it for personal carry or just home protection.  With everything that has been going on in today’s world, I can see no better time to own a firearm. There comes a big responsibility with owning a weapon of any kind and you must make sure that you are up to taking on that task.

I believe that good shooting skills are going to be needed very soon to come.  We are set in the front seat to possibly see a major change in life, as we know it.  When the less fortunate have nowhere to go they are going to come for you. Buy a firearm and learn to use it.  You can already see this happening every day, from people with handguns robbing convenience stores to home invasions. Buy a firearm and learn to use it.    There are approximately 14 million people (at least that is the number that the Government is putting out) out work in the US.  Desperate people will do desperate things in times of need especially when there is a family involved, Buy a firearm and learn to use it.  I think I said that earlier somewhere?  Here is where I step in and hopefully help you learn for use it.

I would like to start something here at SurvivalBlog that I hope everyone will find helpful in their firearms training.  I would like to pass on my training and experience to everyone in this community.  I would like to start making a post at the first of every month with firearms training exercises for beginner, intermediate and advanced shooters. I know that I will/should be under scrutiny from Mr. Cascio, since he teaches firearms training.  I would expect nothing but the best for the people here!  It will start off slow because I don’t know any of the ability levels of any of the readers here.  I DO NOT want anyone getting hurt trying to push too hard to fast.  Hang in there.  By posting every two weeks, it will give people ample time to work on the exercises with whatever time they have set aside for weapons training (hoping that everyone has this time set aside on a regular basis.)

Of course, I cannot tailor the training exercises to everyone’s specific weapon but the core fundamentals are still the same – proper breathing, trigger squeeze, trigger control, barrel action, sights (fixed/iron or optics), etc.  Most of the exercises that I will post will be more focused around iron sights.  Optics makes things easier but what if there was an EMP or your batteries die and your EO-Tech won’t turn on?  Do you have the same confidence to make that shot with iron sights?

I could think of no better time to begin than right now to start! 

Here are some basic fundamentals to remember when shooting:

 Take your time and work the fundamentals so that you do not start making bad habits that are going to be hard to break later on.  Repetition is your best friend when shooting and can be your worst enemy.  This is why it is key to work on the proper ways to do things.  I recommend dry firing your firearm on a daily basis (check with your manufacturer to see if it will harm your firearm first.) For the most part, centerfire weapons are okay to dry fire.  The most affected by dry firing are .22 rimfire guns.  The reason or that is the firing pin will actually hit the back of the chamber, which will flatten the tip of the firing pin or in some cases, even break it. [JWR Adds: See the many safety warnings about the clearing procedures, ammunition separation discipline, and use of a safe backstop for dry practice! Limited dry practice with a rimfire can be accomplished without damaging the gun if you insert a piece of fired brass in the chamber. But generally, you should do your dry practice only with centerfire guns.]

  • Holding a pistol is like shaking someone’s hand.  If you squeeze too hard then you will harm what you are trying to accomplish.  The hand that you are holding the grip with (considered your strong hand) should be light and your supporting hand should do most of the squeezing (strong hand ~30/40% and your supporting hand ~60/70%).  Be sure not to over squeeze because you will hurt your result. See: Travis Haley on Proper Grip Technique.
  • Trigger control or Resetting the trigger is key to being able to place multiple rounds on target with better speed.  What is resetting the trigger? When you fire a round keep the trigger back.  Slowly let up on the trigger (after the slide has cycled) until you hear it “click”.  At this point your trigger is reset and ready to fire again. (If you are dry firing you will have to rack the slide for the trigger to reset).  If you are firing rounds downrange, concentrate on your front sight and keep it on target while you are resetting the trigger.  Your next squeeze will be shorter than the first one.  For dry firing, rack the slide and put you sight back on target and start resetting your trigger.  Every shot should be made in this way! See: Resetting The Trigger.
  • You have to have a good strong base to manage the recoil and get back on target for multiple shots.  A good stance will also help your steadiness when aiming.  Your feet should be approximately shoulder-width apart, with the right foot (lets assume everyone is right handed) slightly back.  The ball of your right foot should be should be lined up somewhere in between the arch and the back of your left heel.  Your right foot should be pointed slight out. (Lefties: your stance will be the exact opposite).  You should have a slight bend in the knees and slightly at the waist. You want to have your weight over the balls of your feet.  This will give you the ability to move in all directions quickly and be able to maintain sight picture.  Your chest should be squared up to the target so that you maintain a “modified” triangle with your arms and the point being the pistol.  Your elbows should be slightly bent outwards, not downward and your shoulders rolled forward.   When you shoot the weapon will be pushed more straight back than up.
  • When you present your pistol to the target make sure that you are pushing it straight out and you are not raising it up with your arms locked out.  When you draw your pistol from its holster make sure that you keep it tight to your body keeping your wrist and forearm inline until you get to your chest and then you pick up your supporting hand and press straight out.  While you are pressing out slowly take out the trigger slack so that when you are at full presentation your next squeeze goes bang! See: Draw from holster and present Pistol
  • Breathing is another key to accurate shooting.  You have to control your breathing if you want to make accurate shots on target.  It doesn’t matter what position you are in, if you are winded then your sight is moving up and down as you inhale and exhale.  The best time to make an accurate shot is at the bottom of your exhale.  There have been people that have argued with me on this point saying that they shot better at the top of their inhale.  Try it out for yourself.  I have been taught to shoot at the bottom of your exhale and here is what I was told:  When you inhale your body naturally tightens up, your chest moves and can slightly raise your arms up pushing your weapon up or push against your butt stock, all causing you sights to move.  When you exhale, there is a natural pause before you inhale.  At that very point your body is at its most relaxed position where there is no movement. 

There are a couple of things that, in my opinion, everyone should have to help assist in his or her shooting with any weapon:

  • A good sling.  If you are going to have a sling on your weapon then why not make it a multi purpose tool?  I currently have Viking Tactics slings on all if my rifles.  Knights Armament makes small blocks that mount on a Picatinny rail system that has a swivel and a push button quick release loop to detach the sling (Push-Button Swivel & MWS Forend Rail Mount). See: V-TAC Sling Instruction & Part 2
  • Good Optics.  There is a plethora of different optics to choose from.  You should find one that is comfortable and you shoot well with it.  Most are expensive but if your life depended on it would yours to fog up or not work?  For my battle rifles I have went with EO-Tech since they are AR-15s.  An M4/AR-15 is really only a 200 meter gun (I will cover later because I know that this comment kicks a hornets nest).  An EO-Tech is made so that if it is mounted (without a detachable mount) directly to a flat top and the center of the sight window will be inline with your Iron sights.  So if your batteries die, you can still have a clear line of sight to use your iron sights.  I can use my EO-Tech just fine at 200 meters but not as effectively at 300 meters.
  • Setting your sights.  For pistols I like to zero them at 25 yards.  Depending on what you are shooting you might hit slightly higher at 5 yards but it is not even enough to worry about.  For an battle rifle (lets look at the M4/AR-15) I like to set my zero for the event that might occur.  I bounce between a 50m and 100m zero.  I always use a 62gr. round with a penetrating core, so I know how may clicks to move my sights to get to each setting.

Side Note: With an M4/AR-15 if you set your zero at 25m your POA (Point of Aim) and POI are the same (minus wind of course) as 300m.  Zero at 50m and your POA and POI is again the same at 200m (with a 5.56mm 62gr. Bullet).  In a combat situation would I take a 200 to 300m shot with an M4 if there were no sniper around. YES, only if the situation called for the shot(s) to be taken.  In a collapse/grid down of the US would I take that same shot? NO!  Why is there a difference you might ask?  In a collapse/grid down situation, I would want to remain as hidden as possible even if I had my sniper rifle.  I would want to stay as hidden as possible not to bring attention my way unless I could not help it.

  • A timer of some sort.  I recommend a digital one from Competition Electronics.  They are pricey at $129.95 USD but they are well worth it to improve your shooting.  The way they work is when you push the start button there is a buzzer that sounds at random intervals so you don’t know when it will go off.  Once the buzzer is sounded, the timer will record the times of your shots.  That way you can see how long it takes you from shot to shot.  You can learn so much from these timers.  I know that many people will/can not buy one of these timers so as long as you can use a stop watch or something to time your draw to last shot.

Lets keep it simple to start off.
Exercise #1

  • Beginners
    • Pistol: Dry fire for at least one hour every day and work on the fundamentals of breathing, front sight post on target, your grip and trigger control.  When your setting there on your porch aim at something 5 yards away or why your watching television or whatever, aim at a stationary spot and practice good habits.  It doesn’t matter whether you are sitting and standing.  If you can practice more then that is better.
    • Pistol and Battle Rifle: At the range, work only from the 5 yard line.  Work on the same fundamentals as dry firing but with live rounds.  TAKE YOUR TIME!  Make accurate shots!  Run your gun dry.  Learn to know what it feels and sounds like when your firearm is empty (more for the battle rifle because you can’t immediately see if the bolt locks back).  Practice your reload without taking your eyes off of your target or be looking at your next. Watch as Travis Haley demonstrates just what I am talking about.
    • Work on getting tight groups.  Don’t worry about speed–it will come.  Stick with the fundamentals.  Muscle memory is what you are working on right now.
  • Intermediate
    • Pistol: Dry fire at least one hour every day.
      • Set up 2 bullseye targets roughly two feet apart.  At 5 yards from the ready, draw your weapon and fire 3 rounds at each target.  Complete within 6 seconds with all rounds inside the 8-ring.
      • If you do not have silhouette targets just used bullseye targets.  Place 4 targets (2 targets one on top of the other and same for the other 2.  Preferably 2 different sizes with the lower one the bigger) two feet apart.  At 5 yards from the ready, Failure Drill: 2 rounds to the chest (bottom target) and 1 to the head (top target).  Complete within 7 seconds with all rounds in the 7-ring.
      • Run each drill each drill at least 5 times so that you have to at least reload during shooting.
    • Battle Rifle
      • With your current zero, shoot from 5, 15, and 25 yards to get a point of aim (POA) and point of impact (POI).  Write it down for later review.  Write down all of your POA and POI for future review to be put in the memory bank.
      • Same as above drills at 5 yards and then from 15 yards.  Using iron sights, account for the POA and POI and place all rounds inside the 8-ring.  Complete within 5 seconds from 5 yards and 8 seconds from 15 yards.
      • If you do not have silhouette targets just used bullseye targets.  Place 4 targets (2 targets one on top of the other and same for the other 2.  Preferably 2 different sizes with the lower one the bigger) three to four feet apart.  At 5 yards from the ready, “Z” Drill: 3 rounds center mass/lower target, right to left and then place a single round in the head/top target of each target starting with the right.  Keep all rounds in the 8-ring for time.
      • Run each drill each drill at least 5 times so that you have to at least reload during shooting.
  • Advanced
    • Pistol: Dry fire at least 30 minutes everyday.
      • Set up 2 bullseye targets roughly two feet apart.  At 5 yards with your back to the target, turn and draw your weapon and fire 3 rounds at each target.  Complete within 6 seconds with all rounds inside the 8-ring.
      • Set up 2 bullseye targets roughly three feet apart.  Load 8 rounds in 2 magazines.  At 15 yards, start walking to the targets.  Fire 5 rounds at one target, take a knee, reload and fire 5 rounds at the other target.  Shoot for time.
    • Battle Rifle
      • Same as above pistol drills.
      • Set up 5 bullseye targets roughly 3 feet apart.  At 15 yards from the ready, fire 3 rounds per target while moving laterally from both, right to left and left to right.  Keep all rounds in the 8-ring for time.

Happy shooting, everyone!

Letter Re: .22 Handguns and Other Options For Self Defense

James,
I’m writing to follow up on the recent SurvivalBlog article “.22 Handguns and Other Options For Self Defense”. Another consideration to keep in mind when discussing the .22 rimfire: In a TEOTWAWKI situation the need for stealth will be paramount. The .22 LR cartridge lends itself to silencing better than any other caliber. [JWR Adds: Most of the “Target”-designated .22 LR loads are subsonic.] I think the legal purchase of a suppressor in the U.S. (“All NFA rules apply”) should be very high on the “to do” list of every “prepper”. The ability to silently eliminate pests, and to take game (in extremis) could go a long way in keeping you under the radar.
  
I’ve heard the old argument about being put on a Government “list” by buying a $200 transfer tax NFA item (suppressor, full auto weapon, short barreled rifle or shotgun) but the truth is that if you have bought any type of firearm, been on Internet sites such as this, or bought any number of items with a credit card or over the Internet you are already on one or more likely many “lists”. – Regards, – R.A.S.

Economics and Investing:

Michael W. sent: Alan Simpson: Financial markets will turn on U.S. – Freeland File (This is Part 4 of a longer interview–all worth watching.)

Does the Fed Print Money? Of Course! Jim Bianco Calls It “Fraud, Counterfeiting”

Items from The Economatrix:

Oil Set For Biggest 2012 Weekly Gain

Credit Suisse The Sequel:  “Probability Of The Largest Disorderly Default Loss In History On March 20 Has Increased

Gold Demand Hits New Records As Europeans Stockpile

Harvey Organ: MF Global Customers will not receive their money

Odds ‘n Sods:

Don’t Just Survive, Thrive. (In a recent podcast, Lew Rockwell talks with Tess Pennington about how to make the most of your survival resources.)

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Rick B. sent the link to this very useful set of charts, over at The How Do Gardener: Freeze and Frost Dates

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Russ S. sent this: Lehmann Aviation’s LFPV UAV . (Apparently the cool Landrover 109 is not included.)

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Commentary from JohnGaltFla: I am a Patrioterrorist

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Keith K. mentioned some lessons from a Mexican vehicle ambush: A Standard Feature Is Proving Deadly On Armored SUVs

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

The entire TSA paradigm is flawed. It requires an impossibility for it to succeed. For the TSA model to work, every single possible means of causing danger to an aircraft or its passengers must be eliminated. This is an impossibility. While passengers are being frisked and digitally strip-searched a few dozen yards away [inside the ostensibly ‘secure’ area], cooks and dish washers at the local concourse “Chili’s” [restaurant] are using and cleaning butcher knives.” – Former FBI Agent Steve Moore, writing in his G-Man’s Cafe blog

Note From JWR:

My #1 Daughter has launched The M16 Rock ‘n Roll Store at Cafe Press, to raise money for her “college and ammo fund.” Her T-shirts, mouse pads, mugs, phone covers, iPad covers, and other products all include the slogan: “Long Live Rock n’ Roll” and a photo of an M16 / M4 lower receiver with the customized selector switch markings: “Silence”, “Classical”, and “Rock n’ Roll”. This design was inspired by a description in my novel “Patriots”.