Odds ‘n Sods:

For those in the vicinity of Boulder, Colorado, Jonathan E. wrote to mention that he noticed some tanks, totes, and barrels advertised on Craigslist. (Similar drums and barrels are available on other Craigslist pages for other cities.)

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For those who might dismissively reject community building projects (like my American Redoubt concept), I recommend this piece by Brandon Smith: The Strategic Advantages Of Community Building.

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M.B. spotted this Makezine piece: DIY Bookbinding.

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There have been some great posts recently over at the Paratus Familia blog. For example, scroll down to the piece on Weck canning jars. (FWIW, we are recent converts to Tattler canning lids.)

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Hal N. suggested this audio and slide show piece about the overbearing Nanny State in California’s high desert: L.A. County’s War on Desert Rats

Note from JWR:

My apologies if my SurvivalBlog posts are fairly sparse or terse for the next six days. This is “crunch week” to complete the second sequel novel manuscript that I’ve contracted with Simon & Schuster. My wife (“Avalanche Lily“) has been helping me fine tune the last few passages. That book should be released in October or November of 2012. In the meantime, the “Book Bomb” day for for the first sequel to “Patriots” (“Survivors: A Novel of the Coming Collapse) is October 4th, 2011. Thank you for waiting until that day to order your copy! By waiting, we hope to drive the book into Amazon’s Top 20 for sales, overall. Thanks!

Some Useful Influenza Facts, by Dr. Bob

In my head it sounds like the start to a Schoolhouse Rock song….”innnn flu enza!  It’s contagious, it’s outrageous…influenza a virus that …”  Anyway, enough reminiscing about my childhood and on to the topic.  First things first:  “flu” is one of the most overused and improperly used terms in all of medicine–arguable the king of misused medical words.  Influenza is a respiratory virus.  It is not what most people call “flu” or “stomach flu”.  It is not a little cold that you have that people call into work for because they just feel sniffly.  Influenza is an enveloped RNA virus classified by its core protein subtype A, B, C.  To make it even more confusing, each virus is further categorized by its hemagglutinin and neuraminidase surface proteins.  For example, the Influenza A H1N1 virus is adorably named “swine flu” by the media and generally people are familiar with it due to the massive hype it received a few years ago.  Avian flu comes in many different types too, most notably Influenza A H5N1 among bird populations in Eurasia.  Big deal, some nerds somewhere get to figure out numbers to subtype influenza and not impress chicks, what does the normal person need to know? Classic influenza symptoms are:  fever, cough, body aches, headache (usually from the cough), sometimes sore throat (again from the cough), shakes, chills.  What influenza is not is congestion, productive cough, sinus symptoms, and gastrointestinal symptoms.  To be fair, this H1N1 “swine flu” run we had a while back did give some kids GI symptoms with their usual influenza symptoms, making it a little harder to diagnose and a little confusing for people.  Let’s just ignore that for the sake of planning for TEOTWAWKI.  

Fever and cough within 48 hours of symptoms is the best predictor of influenza.  That means a real cough and real fever.  Feeling “warm” is not a fever.  Nor is a temperature of 100.1 a fever.  Don’t care if you usually run “low”.  And the cough is a real cough, not just a tickle and not every hour.  (It’s the real deal wish you had a lung brush to scrub out your bronchus cough.)  And the joy of influenza is that it is easily spread from one person to another at your local Megalomart, school, or Thanksgiving dinner table. So, in terms or preppers, what can we do.  First, the nastiest, deadliest flus need lots of transmission and cross infection to take off and kill like the flu of WWI.  That is unlikely in TEOTWAWKI scenarios…as long as you are avoiding the government tent cities people will be dependent on if they screw up and don’t take care of themselves.  That’s not you, so you can relax a little bit there.  But, complete isolation is usually a bad thing (sorry, JWR) for most of us, and there will always be a chance of influenza infection with population mixing in any form.  Complications of influenza usually are only dangerous to older folks, pregnant women, kids under 2 years old, serious complicating illnesses, immunosuppression, Indians and Eskimos, and morbidly obese people.  Healthy adults, even without treatment, will usually be moderately to severely ill with an influenza outbreak; but then pop back up like a dandelion in Spring.  That usually is not enough for most worried survivalists, so we can talk about treatment. Treatment for influenza is done with antiviral medications that are effective against the Influenza A and B ideally.  The most effective and easiest to use is oseltamivir (Tamiflu).  It comes in liquid for kiddies, it does not have to be inhaled like another choice zanamivir (or Relenza) which cannot be used for people with pulmonary issues like asthma or COPD.  Tamiflu is unfortunately heavily controlled and monitored by the government, making stockpiling tricky.  It is also very expensive to get, usually over $100 per person per treatment.  Adds up quick.  And Relenza is even more expensive than the Tamiflu usually.  There are two other choices that are a little less expensive: rimantadine and amantadine which are both generic.  The CDC usually recommends against their use due to resistance.  Unfortunately, many of the influenza infections from 2008 and 2009 were also resistant to Tamiflu, making solid recommendations for preppers difficult at best and therefore a tough call on proper use of dollars for sense. One thing all grannies can tell you about flu…you take care of people the old fashioned way and they tend to get better.  Soup, acetaminophen (Tylenol), ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), and fluids does help.  Cough medicines are usually a waste of time and money with influenza.  

IMPORTANT NOTE:  children should NEVER be given aspirin with any viral illness that has a chance of being influenza!  Kids can develop a serious problem called acute toxic-metabolic encephalopathy, or Reye Syndrome.  The last thing any of us would want to do to our kids is to make their brains and livers fail due to our stupidity.  Follow the basic rule of kids and aspirin don’t mix and you will be fine.  There is always acetaminophen and ibuprofen for kids and there has not been any link found to Reye Syndrome with these medications. Final question all preppers are still asking themselves:  should there be a stockpile of Tamiflu on the shelves with my food and ammo?  Depends on your underlying medical conditions, your ability to avoid mixing with the infected population, and isolating those suspected to have influenza quickly.  Most of the Tamiflu taken now is to help people get back to work quicker and feel better faster. WTSHTF it is doubtful that we are going to care too much about that.  But, if your entire security force is laid up for a week sicker than dogs and your place is overrun by healthy pirates, then you will wish you had some.  Cost/benefit analysis on this one is really tough…as mentioned so many times in the past you will have to be the judge and trust yourself on this call.  Stay strong.

JWR Adds: Dr. Bob is is one of the few consulting physicians in the U.S. who dispenses antibiotics for disaster preparedness as part of his normal scope of practice. His web site is: SurvivingHealthy.com.

Pat’s Product Review: The Para P14 Returns

Para Ordnance started the trend with hi-capacity 1911-style handguns back in the 1980s. People said it couldn’t be done – putting more than 7 or 8 big ol’ .45ACP rounds in a 1911 frame, and still have a gun you could wrap your fingers around. Para Ord proved everyone wrong! Para didn’t start out with a complete 1911, instead, they manufactured a frame only. And, people could simply fit the slide, barrel and other upper parts onto the Para frame. I still remember the first Para frame I saw – it wasn’t nicely finished, and it was a little bit bulky. Still, it fit the hand fairly well.

Para Ord was started in Canada, and several years ago, they made the move (wisely) to the USA. They also changed their name from Para Ordnance, to Para USA – to indicate where all new Para firearms are being made. I’ve owned several Para handguns over the years, all have been the smaller models – I never owned the full-sized P14, which really started it all. I contacted long-time buddy, Kerby Smith, who handles the marketing for Para and requested a sample. Smith asked me to hold on for a bit, as Para was re-introducing their P14, and the wait was worth it, too.

What we have in the P14, is a full-sized “Government” model 1911, that holds 14 rounds in the magazine. The gun weighs in at 41 ounces, just a tad heavier than a standard 5″ Government Model 1911. The new P14 is all black, coated with Para’s proprietary Para Kote — a tough stuff synthetic finish. The rear sight has 2 white dots, and the front sight is a red plastic Hi-Viz style “pipe” that gathers light and makes for one outstanding sight picture. The pistol also has a beavertail grip safety and single side thumb safety that is of the extended “combat” style – easy to reach to snick on and off.

Trigger pull on my P14 sample is dead-on at 5 pounds, and super crisp. I thought about lightening the trigger pull a bit, but after firing the P14, I decided to leave well enough alone. The gun is a tack-driver, plain and simple. The sample I got is serial number 2 –the second gun off the production line. I’m sure Para kept serial number 1 in their collection. The P14 also comes with two Mec-Gar made 14-round magazines – some of the best mags made, plain and simple. In the past, Para Ordnance of Canada made their own magazines, and the springs were stout – making it difficult to get the last round or two loaded in the magazine without busting your thumb or using a magazine loader. The Mec-Gar magazines loaded all 14 rounds easily, without aid of a loader. [JWR Adds: The earlier magazines can be distinguished by their “Made in Canada” markings. This distinction should be of interest to those living in New York state, where post-1994 manufactured magazines that can hold more than 10 round magazines are banned. Yes, you can still find pre-ban Para Ord magazines, of up to 15 round capacity!]

Para has gently “melted” the original P14 dimensions in all the right places, including the grip area of the frame – it is only slightly larger in circumference (and I mean every slightly) than a standard 1911 frame. The front strap of the grip also has serrations to aid in gripping the P14. Interesting that Para didn’t include their Power Extractor [seen on earlier Canadian-production Para Ords] on the newly re-introduced P14. Instead, it has the standard 1911 extractor. I’ve read reports on the Internet (and you have to take most things with a grain of salt that you read on the ‘net) that people had lots of problems with the Power Extractor breaking. I’ve had several Para handguns with the Power Extractor and didn’t have any problems at all. Nor did I have any problems with extraction during my testing of the P14 sample, with the standard 1911-profile extractor.

The P14 comes with a match-grade 5″ stainless barrel that is throated and polished. My sample fed everything I put through it and never once stuttered or stammered – with the two Mec-Gar magazines that came with the gun. I purchased some Para-made P14 magazines to add to the two that came with the gun. These mags were the older ones – they were made by Para Ord in Canada. The springs were super-stout, and on several of the magazines, I couldn’t get the last couple of rounds loaded into them – even with the aid of a magazine loader. Not to fear, Para’s warranty covers magazines as well as their guns. I returned the 7 extra mags I purchased to Para, with a note explaining how difficult they were to load. Two weeks later, I received a package with 7 nickel plated 14-round mags, and they all worked perfectly. Para USA has an outstanding warranty and their customer service is great, too.

My P14 sample is one of the most accurate 1911s that I’ve ever fired, period! Now, keep in mind that, this is a factory gun, not some custom 1911. It seemed as if Para might have built-in some kind of “radar” into the P14, that allows the gun to get on-target and place all the rounds where you want them to go. I fired over 500 rounds of various ammo through my P14, and as I mentioned, I didn’t have any malfunctions of any kind. I had Buffalo Bore 185 grain JHP +P, 230 grain JHP +P and their several other of their .45ACP loadings. Now, you’ve got to remember, these .45ACP rounds are all stout +P from Buffalo Bore – and the P14 had no problems at all with the heavier recoil. One thing I like about the P14 is that, with the slightly “chunkier” grip, it helps spread out the recoil impulse.

I also had some Black Hills Ammunition on-hand for testing. I had the usual assortment of .45ACP, including their 185 grain JHP, 185 grain JHP +P, their 230 grain FMJ and 230 grain JHP loads. Additionally, I had their 230 grain JHP +P load and their newest 185 grain JHP Barnes X-Tac load – which is an all copper JHP load, that reportedly will penetrate about 24% deeper and the bullet stays together – it expands nicely, but stays together as their is no lead core – the bullet is formed entirely of copper. I also fired Winchester‘s “USA” white box 230 grain FMJ rounds through the Para P14, and this is a great target load and economical as well.

I honestly wish I could say there was a “worse” load when it came to accuracy in the P14, but this gun shot all loads just about equally well. The Para P14 sample I had just kept putting all the rounds into one ragged hole at 25-yards, with me shooting the gun over a rest, over the hood of my car. I actually was getting bored with the P14, it just kept putting all my rounds where I wanted them to go. I mean, what’s not to like here? If pressed, I’d have to give a nod to the Black Hills 230 grain JHP as the most accurate load I tested, but it only beat out all the other loads ever-so-slightly.

I did do some additional testing on the side with the new Black Hills 185 grain JHP Barnes X-Tac load, firing into water-filled gallon milk jugs. As advertised, the bullets held together and fully expanded, and they did, in fact, penetrate deeper than other JHP rounds. I’ll be covering this in another article in a few weeks. However, if you have the opportunity to check out some of these new loads from Black Hills, you’ll be surprised at how deep the hollow point cavity is.

If I did my part, I could easily keep 5-rds inside of an inch and a half (at 25-yards) – with some groups a tiny bit bigger, and some a little bit smaller. I did manage several groups of 1 inch – that’s match grade accuracy – from a factory gun. Again, what’s not to like here? And, if there’s one thing we all need to keep in mind, especially when looking at a full-sized gun for survival purposes, and that’s how many rounds they hold and how accurate and reliable are the guns. I think it’s a good idea to have more rounds for a gun, and what better place than to carry those extra rounds in the gun itself – the on-board magazine! It’s hard to find fault with a 1911 that holds 14+1 rounds on-board. That’s enough to put an end to most fights, and you also have a second mag that comes with the P14. And, if you aren’t carrying at least one reload for your handgun, shame on you!

I have a lot of 1911 holsters laying around, and the P14 fit all of them. Now, you’ve got to remember, the P14 weighs slightly more than a standard 1911 (unloaded). However, when you insert a full magazine with 14-rounds in it, the gun weighs quite a bit more than a 1911 that only holds 7 or 8 rounds. You need a good holster and a strong, wide gun belt, to support this full-sized gun with a fully loaded magazine. I like the Blackhawk Products Serpa belt holster – it holds the gun tight and close to the body, and it also has the “Serpa” retention device, that keeps the gun locked in the holster until you draw it – then you simply press in on the retaining tab on the holster (as in a natural draw) and the gun is released for a draw. I also used a small belt slide holster from Safariland to carry the P14 – this is about as minimal of a holster as you can get, and it really held the gun close to my body, however, it was a bit uncomfortable when seated in my SUV for some reason.

If ever confronted with a TEOTWAWKI situation, I’d probably strap on the Blackhawk Serpa tactical thigh holster – one of my favorite carry rigs, for serious tactical work. You can also attach two spare mag pouches on this Serpa holster – that gives you 43 rounds of fight-stopping .45 ACP power on-hand. I also tested a Blackhawk leather belt holster, with a thumb snap, and the P14 nestled in there perfectly, as well as carrying the gun a bit higher on the waist, making it more concealable.

My test and evaluation of the Para USA P14 was uneventful for the most part – the gun just perked along without any malfunctions, and it sent all the rounds downrange where I wanted them to go. The P14 will fit in just about any holster made for 1911s, and that’s a good thing. There is a limited lifetime warranty from Para USA on their guns, and they have outstanding customer service, too. The P14 retails for around $950. That is not cheap, but not too spendy, either – it’s right in the ballpark for a high-quality 1911, that will do all your ask of it for self-defense or survival purposes. Now my only problem is, as usual, trying to find a way to come up with the funds to purchase my sample – it’s not going back to Para USA!

Book Review: Nothing To Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea

Dear Mr. Rawles,
Here is my review of the book Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea, by Barbara Demick. This a book with great insights for preppers and survivalists, especially in the famine food area.  As you are aware, North Korea suffered a disastrous ten-year famine in which possibly as many as 20% of the population died of starvation and most of the rest were severely malnourished.  This book is about several families and how they did and didn’t make it through those years.  Particularly striking to me were instances where they were eating and, more-or-less, surviving on sawdust, corncobs, grasses, weeds and all manner of other things that even hard-core survivalists disdain. The daily ‘meal’ at a college was turnip leaf soup with salt.  I had the impression that the turnip leaves were somewhat sparse as well.  Sometimes a spoonful of cornmeal that had been cooked for hours to plump it up was added as a treat.  In latter years, one woman was getting up before dawn to pick whatever weeds had sprouted during the night before others found them.  Both her husband and son starved to death.

Some ability to grow some sort of vegetables was a real key to surviving.  A well-off family made it through on seaweed, rice and shreds of carrots and cucumbers.  They were eating better than everyone except the very elite government leaders.

Also, notable was how informal markets and bartering arose, even under massive government oppression,  and was a survival mechanism for many.  Those who suffered most were those who didn’t have and couldn’t find any barter-able skill.  The skills that were valuable would be of interest to many preppers.  The ability to make things and cook things were especially useful.

I think that you and your readers will find the book of interest. – Nancy S.

Economics and Investing:

We Are in ‘Worse Situation’ Than in 2008: Roubini. (Thanks to Neil H. for the link.0

S.M.O. sent a link to some astute observations by Jeffrey Snider about what he calls a silent run on fiat currencies: Ghosts of Lehman And a Budding Bank Crisis.

U.S. Debt Held by Public Tops $10 Trillion for First Time—Up 59 Percent Under Obama

Federal, State, and Local Expenditures as a Share of GDP at WWII Levels. (Thanks to G.G. for the link.)

‘Houseboats’ for Rough Economic Waters

G.G. sent this: Chart Shock: The Real Unemployment Rate is 22%

K.A.F. liked this humorous piece over at Business Insider: Dear Ben, Please Print Us More Money

Items from The Economatrix:

Gold, The Best Safe Haven We Have

John Williams’ Forecast:  “Catastrophe Ahead”

What’s Going on With the U.S. Economy?

Regulators Close Two Georgia Banks; 2011 Total is 70

Oil Down nearly 3% Despite Storm

Odds ‘n Sods:

I’ve asked Avalanche Lily to put this at the top of my Christmas list: FLIR Scout PS24. I never thought I’d see a good quality compact thermal imaging monocular below $2,500. What a pleasant surprise. Note to our overseas readers: Sorry, but these are Federally export-restricted.

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For just three days, September 6th through the 8th, Safecastle will offer a 25% discount on Mountain House cans (and pouches, too)!

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Bob S. sent this: Minnesota landowners livid over mineral contracts.

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John Jacob Schmidt, the host of Radio Free Redoubt has announced that he is organizing a volunteer network of ham radio operators, for disaster contingencies. If you are a ham living in American Redoubt region or in an adjoining state, then please e-mail John if you’d like to be involved.

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The latest absurdity from Nanny State Britannia: London Refuses Kids Tickets to Gun-Related Olympic Events. Well, based on their idiotic convoluted logic, they shouldn’t let kids see the Olympic javelin throwing competition, either–because it might “glorify” javelins! (Thanks to D.B. in Seattle for the link.)

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“The vice of capitalism is it’s unequal sharing of blessings. The Virtue of Socialism is it’s equal sharing of misery.” – Winston Churchill

Notes from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 36 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize: A.) 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 B.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $300 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo, and E.) An M17 medical kit from JRH Enterprises (a $179.95 value).

Second Prize: A.) A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol. It is a $439 value courtesy of Next Level Training. B.) 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, C.) A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials, and D.) two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 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, and C.) Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security.

Round 36 ends on September 30th, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Start Small, Plan Ahead, and Set a Realistic Timetable, by Christian Rebel

I’ve only been in the survival community for one to two years; I still need quite a bit of work to do before I’d dare say I’m prepared enough to survive a severe blizzard let alone some life changing and significantly prolonged event. I get a little overwhelmed by all the work I still have to do and frustrated by how precious little resources I have to work with. I’m a 21 year old unemployed college student still living at home in an apartment complex 20 minutes from a city, as you can see my options are limited. Limited not eliminated; my situation is not a hopeless one, neither is any reader out there who finds themselves in the same boat as me (be it limited resources or inexperience). There are still many things we can do to build a solid foundation  onto which the rest of our survivalist futures will rest upon. Here are just a few things I’ve learned to do, I hope it helps others out there just starting off in their preparedness planning.

I live in an area of the country famous for temperamental weather patterns, the only constant expected here is snow and lots of it in the winter time. My first step is to deal with the most likely threat first and work my way up from there. SurvivalCache.com did a fantastic piece on this called the “Survival Pyramid” the pyramid (from top down) is formed by how much supplies equipment and resources are needed depending on the situation. For example the top tier is the most common of events, small weather events (like the blizzards I mentioned) power outages and anything run of the mill that requires the bare minimum of preparedness is in this segment.

I know when I started reading the survival web sites I flipped out realizing how many things could disrupt my life and require me to survive on my own for an indefinite period of time. I began thinking It could happen any day now. I need a kit for this and something in my car for that. I need to make more money and start storing food, NOW! Frankly it was a miserable feeling, I was always anxious and always felt defeated. I had created an idol, I wasn’t sticking with the faith knowing God would provide for me if events beyond my control and beyond my capacity to prepare for happened. Also I wasn’t feeling like a real survivalist, prepping should give a certain amount of confidence and peace of mind because you have a plan.

That peace of mind only came for me when my priorities were set (aka put God first) straight and when I set up a realistic goal for starting out. That realistic goal can only be achieved (adequately and efficiently) by sitting down and planning before the crisis is happening. Right now while the world is sane and your mind is calm and focused write down what you would need to make it through a survival situation. You won’t have this luxury while the event is hours away or happening right this very second and you’re in a crowded half empty supermarket trying to find bread and soup for the next few days. This also helps you realize the important stuff that you over looked trying to get all the essentials taken care of. The other important items? Toilet paper, feminine products, tooth paste etc. All the little stuff you know will bite you in the nose the minute you’re out of it and you have no way to get it.

Finally set up a timetable so that you can eventually extend your small term plan into a long term plan in a realistic but efficient manner. For example I’m writing this in August, my starter two week winter survival plan’s deadline is December 1st. The deadline is placed far enough in advance for me so that I can ensure to meet it. Realistic deadlines will give you the proper motivation needed to get the job done at a steady pace (this idea was taken from Southernprepper1, a very great survivalist and fantastic teacher on YouTube, I highly recommend everyone check him out). And once you’ve met that deadline you’ll see that this isn’t so bad, it can be done, and done right. Next you’ll stretch your supplies from two weeks to a month, then a year supply with a planted garden for perpetual food supplies. Before you know it you’ll be Bugging Out with the best of them.

 

Learn

Turns out survival skills require quite a bit of knowledge and a varied skill set.

In this day and age we’re surrounded by information, it won’t be too hard for you to learn more about all things preparedness.

For starters there’s the machine you’re sitting at right now. The internet gives everyone access to the largest storage center for information and idea sharing ever created in human history. To make this search for knowledge on the vastness of the web more fruitful and dare I say fun I recommend a Stumble Upon account. StumbleUpon.com is a more entertaining and less tedious version of Google-like searching. Create the account and put in what your hobbies and interests are, (yes survivalist is an option) then hit the “stumble” button. The next thing you know web sites you’ve never even heard of on a standard Google search will be popping up at random ready to display valuable information to you.

But of course the old fashion book still has a place in this digital world (after all when the Schumer hits the fan we’ll need something to reference to) in my college library I was able to find a survival resource book that is no longer in print. I happily spent free time in the library between classes reading it and taking notes. The library is free people, and I’m sure you pass at least one on your various travels. You can even search the selves from the internet these days making finding books that much easier.

Of course there’s not just skills but equipment that you must learn about too. Product reviews on shopping web sites aren’t always the most reliable source of information since they can contain one or two people who didn’t know how to properly handle the product (it happens frequently with electronics, an almost 100% five star rating ruined by a select few that can’t program the television or sound system the right way). More often than not though they can help give you a better idea of the quality of a product. Professional reviews of products on web sites devoted to survivalism are the best since these people know how to handle the equipment and can give you an accurate reading on how well it truly performs. However, personally, the best book I’ve read on gear selection (for a beginner that is) has to be Camping for Dummies by Michael Hodgson. It gives a great overview of what to look for in backpacks, boots, and sleeping bags to get the most for your money.

Of course not all things can be learned from merely reading. Once you have the money and ability I strongly recommend taking courses in first aid and basic wilderness survival. There’s something about being instructed and physically doing the actions that instills a sense of confidence that is vital in chaotic and stressful situations that require a sound, focused, and prepared mind to deal with them.

Preparing YOU

One part of survivalism that is finally receiving attention is the need for us to stay in the best physical shape possible so that we can meet the possible demands of a Schumer hit the fan situation. Thankfully, if you’re creative and do a bit of research on strength and conditioning, you’ll find out that it’s not that difficult or expensive to start your own custom workout regimen. I’ve been blessed with a best friend that is also an aspiring personal trainer (he also won a strong man bench-press competition last year, hey I have to brag) he has given me a great amount of advice and has developed a training system to meet military and martial artist standards of fitness. The workout schedule goes as follows (just to give an example):

Monday: Strength Training 8 reps 3 sets 1 minute rests between sets
Tuesday: Cardio a series of movements executed on the punching bag. Rest as needed
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: Endurance Training 15 reps 2 sets 2 minute rests between sets
Friday: Quick Cardio a series of simpler movements executed on the punching bag (only  more of them) rest as needed.

The workouts only take me about 30 minutes a day and afterwards I don’t feel so exhausted that I can’t move. I feel great actually and the results are worth it.

Another part of survivalism that has finally taken root in the community is having the proper mind set to deal with the tough decisions and events of a Schumer hit the fan situation. Again SurvivalCache.com has done a brilliant piece on the emotional and mental toll of taking another person’s life in the name of self-defense. Southernprepper1 does a series of videos that act as if a WROL (Without Rule of Law) situation is actually occurring.

It’s best to realize now, in the foundational stages that is, that survivalism is not meant to be treated like an evening out with the guys. It’s not a perpetual camping trip and it isn’t an excuse to get all your cool guns together and play Rambo. It’s a serious business that requires a mature and prepared mind to handle the stress and uncertainty of this new reality that you’ve been thrown into.

Reach Out

We can’t survive alone, in your planning stages as well as your execution of the survival plans you are going to need help. I made the mistake of trying to do it all on my own at first, then I read a SurvialCache.com article on talking with your family about being prepared. I started including my mother (whom I live with) in the conversation on the matter, turns out she had some ideas I never would’ve thought of and she was more than willing to help contribute to the effort. I can tell you it feels good having someone around to help shoulder the burden and it looks like the plans will be moving faster because of our collaboration.

Especially when you’re just starting out you’re going to need help, you’re going to need the experience and knowledge of others to get off on the right path. Never be afraid to ask for help from the survival community, if there’s one important and fantastic thing I’ve learned from joining the various survival web sites it’s how friendly and helpful even the most experienced veteran survivalist is. They know what’s out there, what can rock worlds and change life as we know it in an instant, they preparing for it and they’re more than happy to help you prepare for it too in any way they can. It kind of reminds me of the old days before there was this useless Nanny State system, when neighbors hit a financial rough spot they helped each other out. They made dinners and brought it over to the affected family, they offered help in fixing whatever was broken free of charge, and even left $500 in an unmarked envelope addressed to a needy family (something which happened to my mother at church once).

In the past month I’ve been blessed many times by my church family covering my six because of such tough times (I write this article on a very nice laptop that was given to me as a birthday present, among other things, to help me get through college and reach for a better future).

“Woe to the man who falls and lacks a brother to help him up” says Ecclesiastes 4:10. It is a fatal error to believe you can survive all by yourself. You can do a lot to make yourself less dependent on the government for protection, and make yourself less dependent on modern infrastructure like the power grid and supermarkets. But the bottom line is at some point and time you’ll need someone to “cover your six” because you need the safety of numbers, because you don’t know how to do something but a friend of yours does, or simply because you need someone around for moral support.

Don’t let the prideful “I can do it myself” mentality dig in early in your preparedness plans, it will most certainly be your Achilles Heel when stuff really starts falling apart. We became a strong, stable and prosperous society by benefiting from the trades of talents and knowledge from each other. The same strength, stability, and prosperity can only be achieved in survival situations if we benefit from each other.

With much love and hope that everyone stays safe and secure in all their plans, – ChristianRebel

Letter Re: Inverters for Disaster Preparedness

Jim:
There have been several recent articles on UPS systems and inverters. Most of the current inverters use MOSFETs or similar sensitive solid state switching devices. These are the hardest stressed components of the inverter. Spares should be a consideration. In addition many modern inverters use custom chips that may not even be available now, so not at all after TEOTWAWKI. Consider this, inverters have been around for quite along time. The best design that I have worked with and designed circuitry for is the McMurray-Bedford inverter. It is a simple design that originally used thyratron tubes and later, SCRs. This inverter can be built very simple, yes you will need to hand wind the commutation coils which are air core and you will need some oil capacitors, wind or find a suitable output transformer, many options here, harmonic filters if you want the best sine wave output,
but not always required, depending what your loads require. The industry common DC buss voltages are 135 VDC, 270 VDC and 405 VDC. But you can design around most anything as long as you realize as the DC buss voltage goes down, the DC current will go up and so does the size of the power components. As far as the control electronics and oscillator are concerned you can build it with common op-amp technology, transistor technology or vacuum tubes if you want to. Since this is technology that has been around for quite some time much information can be found in older electronics and electrical engineering books and even on the Internet. If you want to prepare using this technology collect some large power SCRs and oil capacitors, look at some other people’s designs too. Some complete schematics of early Emerson Electric, through the mid 1980s are some very excellent and robust designs. That product started to suffer when microprocessors were phased in their designs. If you can get your hands on them–and I have seen them in surplus stores–any of the small 20 KVA or 40 KVA 120/208 VAC in and out inverters that use the 135V DC buss, you will have a nice UPS that will be rugged, sine wave output as they all had harmonic filtering. (Think 10 car or deep cycle batteries in series, or better yet larger single cell UPS batteries). That, along with a collection of spare SCRs, fuses and a few other components and you will be set. They are not the most efficient inverters around but they are very reliable. Hospitals and others have used them for years.

They can easily be made to run on single phase 240V AC input, built in battery charger, and you have the advantage of 3 phase output. Emerson at that time also made some very rugged variable frequency drives that run on single phase and have a 3 phase output that have standard TO-3 transistors as the output devices. Very rugged and reparable, I have fixed several I found surplus to run various machine tools that were 3 phase for people to have in their garages, i.e. Bridgeport mills, lathes etc. Once I fixed one
it never needed fixing again. Usually the surplus ones just have a blown transistor or two. I regret not obtaining some of the smaller UPS systems as they came to the surplus market a few years ago. Now that my eyes have been opened by JWR and his fantastic blog, if the price is right I may get one or later I will build a smaller, say 5-10 KVA one. I have always liked and designed things that are as simple and reliable as possible, the K.I.S.S. principle.

Around the US large amounts of electricity are transmitted by high voltage DC. The Sylmar inverter in Southern California is the closest high voltage VDC, (500,000 VDC) inverter to me connected to the Pacific Intertie originally used mercury arc rectifiers, as a kid you could look through the fence and see it and hear it. The new station now uses thyristors instead of tubes. I think Edison and Tesla are smiling and have become fast friends in Heaven today, as both AC and DC are equally important in power transmission.

I hope some day our family is blessed to move to the American Redoubt and I will gladly help anybody that is interested build and maintain rugged and reliable survival electronics. I would love to teach others especially children what I can. Sparking an interest in a child’s mind makes me so happy it’s exciting for me too. I know because that’s what started me out in electronics.

Thank you James for all you do and God Bless all. – Jimmy in California

Letter Re: The Little Things

This experience was thought-provoking, and many of D.M.L.’s ideas were interesting.  But there were two ideas that have not been tested or proven, so at this point they are only ideas.  First, J-B Weldwill not repair a cracked Briggs & Stratton two piece fuel tank.  They are made of black HDPE, and there is no proper glue for that.  I have personal experience with this.  HDPE is heat welded when two pieces must be joined.  You have to determine your Briggs & Stratton model number and order a replacement gas tank from Amazon.com.  I got mine for my Briggs & Stratton 6.0 hp Quantum engine for about $31 and it came in only three days. [JWR Adds: This underscores the importance of regular maintenance and starting up you backup generator under load, monthly. That is the only sure way to be 99% sure that your genset will start on the first pull and run smoothly, when disaster strikes.]

Second, the pump on an old Coleman white gas stove usually has a leather gasket in it that dries out so it won’t seal.  Use a pliers to pry off the C-ring and disassemble the pump.  Massage some vegetable oil into the leather gasket to fluff up the leather and put it back together.  Be careful and don’t put the leather gasket in up side down.  Usually the pump will work unless it was so bad it was cracked.  Don’t use motor oil on leather; it will deteriorate.  Like D.M.L., I used to rely on my Coleman stove and lanterns for emergencies, but I got tired of rehabilitating those leather gaskets.  I found a [Chinese] propane canister stove at 99 Ranch Market for $15 with 8 oz propane canisters for $1. I picked up ten of the canisters.  Your local Asian market should carry them.  This setup is very highly reviewed on Amazon.com, which also stocks them. 

I love your blog.  I’d like to contribute when I can. – R.E.R. in San Diego

Letter Re: Hurricane Irene Lessons Learned

James,
Thanks to the information presented in your book “How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It” we were able to “weather” Hurricane Irene without much difficulty. It was amazing to the pandemonium at the super markets; people were waiting for water to be brought out from the stockroom and wondering whether they would “die of thirst”. If they had only looked over their shoulder they would have seen a pallet filled with cases of soda (on sale: four cases for eleven dollars). The same goes for D-cell batteries; people were lamenting that they didn’t have batteries for their flashlights; if they were only to look up they would have seen plenty of flashlights that took AA batteries and a plentiful supply of batteries to go with them.

There were of course long lines at the gasoline stations; I had been keeping the tank in my car at least 3/4 full (thanks advice from the “Fong-man”character in “Patriots” if I’m not mistaken).
 
Everyone in my neighborhood was extremely calm and we checked on each other. One of my neighbors had just returned from the mountains so we were able to give her some of water and supplies I stockpiled. We were only without power for 14 hours and the [public utility] gas and water were still functioning.
 
One thing I did after a few days was to conduct a “post mortem” on my contingency plan. For example, I took your weekend challenge but was unaware that our hot water heater, which runs on gas also requires electricity [for ignition.]  Some of my supplies and gear could have purchased for much less; especially one of the pre-packed go-bags I purchased.
I live with an older parent. I was okay with the devotional candles and the flashlights but I was worried about my elderly mother stumbling around with a hand held light source.
 
Thanks again for publishing this information; I’m sure you’ve made a difference in a lot of people’s lives. – Greg T.

[JWR Replies: Thanks for your encouraging feedback. In my experience a headlamp (such as a Petzl) is ideal for keeping your hands free for other tasks. They can even be used by elderly folks with walkers.

Letter Re: Experiences of a Novice Gardener

Jim:
My message to J.B. is: don’t give up after just one season. I’ve been gardening since I was very little. Having a green thumb has little to do with luck or heredity but much to do with experiential knowledge of what plants like/don’t like and require to thrive. We moved to our current residence about 13 months ago. I started my new garden from scratch over existing sod- starting last June when we moved our pony to the property, even before the house was completed. I love to experiment whether it is by building a homemade incubator and trying to hatch my own chicks or trying different ways of amending the soil. I’m also a cheapskate. For this reason I decided to try creating my raised beds out of recycled newspapers(which I traded for my free range eggs) covered with the used stall bedding from our pony, used chicken bedding and the fall leaves and kitchen scraps that usually make up my compost pile. I planned to till all the organic matter together in the spring, rake it smooth and add a 2-3 inch layer of topsoil over the top for the seedbed as the organic matter wouldn’t be decomposed by spring. I knew this would probably work reasonably well from past experience growing green peppers in a small layer of potting soil on top of my compost bins. I knew I wanted a large garden but probably couldn’t get enough raw materials in the first year to fill the entire 14×70 ft space I had available, to the desired 12 inches deep. I used easy-up corners and 2×8 8-foot cedar lumber for the sides. The corners are extremely easy to use and only a hammer is needed to put the beds together. I used 4-6 layers of newspaper on the bottom to kill out the existing grass. Did I mention I’m also a lazy gardener?

The resource I used to learn about this method is the Lazy Gardener’s Guide to Gardening which I read several years ago. The method is called “Lasagna gardening.” No tilling or sod lifting required. I got the first 20 feet or so filled in the fall to a depth of about 18 inches using leaves and mixing in the stall bedding. By spring I was nowhere near to having the 70 ft length filled. I continued to add manure mixed with bedding through spring. I’ve read that one should stop adding manure 1 month prior to planting. I used this as a suggestion, not a hard and fast rule. After tilling the first 25 feet  this April, I added topsoil from a pile left by previous owners from when the pool was dug. A key addition at this time was a few handfuls of super phosphate sprinkled on the topsoil before I raked it smooth. Phosphate is the P in the N-P-K formulation of fertilizers. I figured I had plenty of Nitrogen from the manures and P is essential for the formation of strong roots and plentiful flowers and therefore fruits/vegetables.

I planted 75 strawberry plants, onions, spinach, 2 types of lettuce and peas into this area. The next area of the garden had no fall leaves and only stall and chicken bedding (added during winter) covered with the same 2-3 inch layer of topsoil. I planted 36 store bought broccoli plants, about 30 tomato plants I grew in the basement, and 5 rows of short season sweet corn with squash between the rows to discourage raccoons. The broccoli is still producing in early September in zone 5. The tomatoes did well after a rough start. I lost several to frost as I pushed the planting date a little too early. I did this knowing I had about 50 spare plants in waiting. The varieties were Roma, Early Girl and  Beefsteak. Rabbits ate my plants well into spring despite plastic fencing around the perimeter (totally inadequate, hoping to get the chain link installed by next spring.) Tomatoes are now producing and I am getting a few into jars for the winter.

The sweet corn was ready by the 4th of July in a year where no one else had corn that early. The key was early planting and generous nitrogen available which speeds maturity. The corn was small but delicious and I even had enough extra to freeze several bags. The next area of the garden was a mixture of sand and topsoil, courtesy of my neighbor and his tractor. It was a 50/50 mix. I used this for my potatoes as I didn’t feel good about growing root crops in fresh manure. Again I sprinkled Super P  before planting. I have been digging potatoes since 4th of July and they seem to have liked the sand mix. I was now into mid May for planting and still didn’t have the full 70 feet of space filled. I continued to dump bedding from the horse, chickens and now the guinea pigs into the empty space, on top of my newspapers and cover the whole thing with a thin layer of soil and a sprinkle of super P. I managed two bean plantings, two weeks apart before I got burned out hauling soil by the wheel barrowful across the yard. I didn’t quite reach the end of my 70 ft garden this growing season (about 10 ft left). Rabbits really took a toll on the beans early on. Most recovered and I am currently canning green beans every 3 days and hoping for a 3rd flush before the end of the season.

I  owe much of my success to prior knowledge. I have worked in the seed corn and soybean industry  and also the green house industry in the past. If I had to sum up the knowledge that helped me be successful in my first year, this is how I would do it:

1. It is not necessary to dig existing sod if one uses Lasagna gardening method
2. A fine seed bed is necessary for good germination (ergo the layer of fine topsoil)
3.  Phosphorus is necessary for roots and blooms and most soils can benefit from its addition (if you are not getting any blooms, this is the first thing I’d recommend adding)
4. Sweet corn is a heavy feeder (of course, because it is in the grass family)- the fresh manure didn’t burn it a bit. Plus it needs to be planted in a block or next to a field of field corn to pollinate well (if you are not growing heirloom varieties/ plan to save seed)
5. Beans planted in too high a nitrogen situation will not set pods, but will instead grow lush vegetation and few pods.
6. taking advantage of companion plantings (squash with corn and the greens planted between the young strawberries) yields more in a smaller space.
7. many plants will recover from a light frost and/or rodent defoliation given time and proper care.
8. squash family members are also heavy feeders

 

NEW KNOWLEDGE GAINED THIS YEAR:

  1. The fresh manure didn’t burn the plants like I’ve been told it would. Maybe because of the layer of soil? Or the combination of the wood based bedding to tie up some of the nitrogen?
  2. Picking each and every day for beans, and every third day for broccoli has kept the plants producing over an extended period- all spring and summer for the broccoli and since early July for the beans. The key is to not let the plants develop any mature seed or in case of broccoli, flowers.
  3. Providing support to the peas and tomatoes greatly increased their yields
  4.  The strawberry plants which were not heavily shaded by other plants  (volunteer pumpkin vines) put out many more leaves and runners in their first year
  5.  Chickens love the squash vine bugs that eventually killed my vines, one at a time, the tomato horn worms and the bean leaf beetles. Little ones (chicks) work best as they don’t trample the veggies or reach as high to eat the tomatoes

It’s what you don’t know that will get you! Good luck and happy gardening. – E.G. in Indiana