Notes from JWR:

To support the blog’s bandwidth costs and other expenses, we have launched a new, greatly expanded SurvivalBlog Amazon Store. I did my best to select gear that is made in the United States and Canada. Here how it works: If you click on one of our Amazon links and then “click through” to order ANY product from Amazon.com (not just the ones listed in our catalog), then we will earn a modest sales commission. Please shop with our our paid advertisers first. (See the ads in the right hand bar of the main blog page.) But if they don’t have what you are looking for, then you can shop via our Amazon store, and help support SurvivalBlog. Please keep our store links in mind for all of your Amazon.com purchases. Remember that you need to click on one of our SurvivalBlog Amazon Store links first, for SurvivalBlog to get the commission. Thanks!

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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.

The Other BOB: The Bugout Bank, by Ron A.

There’s another Bug Out Bag (BOB) in the prepper family that you need to meet. It’s the Bug Out Bank, something that should be an addition to everyone’s G.O.O.D. plan. With the chaos going on in the financial world, and the uncertainty that goes hand-in-hand, the importance of this element of your plan can’t be overlooked.

We all realize there’s a bad moon rising. Let’s take a step back and look at the big picture. It’s worse that it appears from up close. The official, underreported unemployment rate is hovering around 10%. The debt ceiling “fix” was done with masking tape and rusted wire. And the results? Significant stock market plunges. Gold at record highs. Silver climbing like a cat up a tree with a pit bull behind it.

Gas is a dollar higher than just one year ago. Food costs are steadily climbing. International markets? Mayhem and manipulation. Domestic trends? Downgrades and credit crushes. Yikes.

How about your paycheck? If it’s like mine it not only hasn’t increased, it has been cut. No matter what the gnomes say, this is inflation and if you want to extrapolate the possible future, start thinking about what happens when you put the “h” word in front of it. Hyperinflation isn’t just for Banana Republics anymore.

So how can you protect yourself against the worsening storms? If you’ve taken the precaution of creating a Bug Out Bank, you’ll find yourself in a far stronger position than most, for both the short haul and the longer term.

I’ve created a small kit, roughly the size of a shaving bag, that contains items that I believe will allow me to put some space between my family and the worst of the chaos. With it I believe I can weather at least two weeks, buying me enough time to get to a safer haven or tightening up my bug-in location. Other elements of the bank should allow me to exist from that point forward with a decent financial foundation.

First, I’ve included duplicates of my credit card and bank debit / ATM card in case the electronic systems are still operational. I don’t have a lot of faith in that, but using a piece of plastic isn’t going to draw any attention and will save me from digging into my other reserves. Know where the ATMs are in your vicinity – at home, at work and along the path of any planned escape route. Look for ones that are out of the way. People will flock to the financial institutions in the case of a bank run, quickly emptying the machines, but may overlook the ATM in the local corner store or restaurant. Search them out and make a map. Withdraw your limit and make sure you do it as inconspicuously as possible.

Next, stock up on whatever you need by using your credit card. Be careful not to overspend and put yourself in debt! I know many won’t worry about that in a SHTF situation, but it’s still a good idea to be mindful of a false alarm or the eventuality of having to pay the bill. I also suggest smaller purchases to avoid being targeted as a “have” and followed by a spiteful “have not”. Besides, your stockpiles should already be well in place at this point. This is strictly for last minute purchases such as filling your gas tank or replenishing items you meant to buy but haven’t “gotten around to” yet.

Act quickly. Once the electronic banking systems go down, your plastic will be worthless. Second in my line of financial defense is enough cash to get me through the days when federal reserve notes are still being accepted as currency. People are creatures of habit. Even if things are looking extremely grim, it’s going to be hard for the average consumer-driven sheep to pass up a handful of cash. For that reason, in my Bug Out Bank I have a total of $1,250 in the following denominations:

$600 in hundred-dollar bills. I realize that it’s not likely I’ll get change for them, but the power of a $100 bill will remain a big allure to many. They should work to acquire large items or make necessary payoffs.

$450 in ten-dollar bills. This is what I consider the ideal denomination for average purchases.

$200 in one-dollar bills. I got these new and flat from bank to save space – you’ll never get circulated bills to lie flat and orderly. Perfect for paying in conjunction with the $10s or for smaller items where change cannot be made.

$20 in quarters. Useful for pay phones if cell phone service is unavailable or bus / train fare if you’re in a city. Failing those needs, Charles Bronson once devised another good use for them.

Now on to the meat of my Bug Out Bank: silver. Realizing that it calls for a bit of optimism that my first two stages (plastic and paper) will be functional for very long, I’ve prepared accordingly. As the mainstream media reports more and more about the value of gold and silver, and the fact that the general public is becoming more aware of the inherent precious metal value in pre-1965 US silver coins, I’ve converted a portion of my savings into them with the specific goal of using them as currency. In fact, I’m betting many readers here have done the same. Some stores, like this one, are already accepting them.

I have accumulated 550 silver dimes and 34 silver quarters. As of this writing they’re worth $2.80 and $7.00 each, respectively, for a total of about $1,780. I figure that will get me food, water, fuel or whatever else people have and are willing to barter for. The only downside is their weight. It’s not much, just under 4 pounds, but it is added weight just the same. It’s a trade off I’m more than willing to make, however. “Worth its weight in silver” comes to mind.

Be sure to store them in such a way that you don’t jingle like Scrooge McDuck as you walk around. I use coin rolls. The main reason is so I can take out just one roll at a time if I need to use a coin and not display a sack of treasure that alerts people to how much I really have. To avoid tell-tale clinking, paper bank rolls work nicely since I’m able to roll down the paper on unfilled rolls. I’ve also experimented with using plastic tubes and putting cotton in to fill any gaps. Cotton balls have other uses, so this is a good alternative.

That covers cash and cash equivalents. I know that’s a lot for most people. It is for me as well. I made a lot of sacrifices to get to these levels. Clearly not everyone has the same financial realities. But the plan can be scaled down to fit any budget. Grow the numbers as you’re able.

I also keep copies of my important documents in the Bug Out Bank. These serve to establish my identity and preserve the important information I will need during and after a G.O.O.D. scenario. I’m going under the assumption that I won’t have my wallet, and have therefore ensured that I have placed everything I need in the bag. These are color photocopied front and back and include:

  • Driver’s license
  • Social Security card (ironic, I know)
  • CCW identification card
  • Insurance cards

I keep originals of:

  • Credit cards and bank / ATM cards, as mentioned earlier
  • My passport and my family members’ U.S. passports

I also keep a USB/flash drive with scanned images of all of the above plus photo documentation of my home and automobiles with license plates showing. I have scanned copies of my will, house deed, car titles, insurance paperwork, health records and other important documents. I have photographs of my valuable possessions with serial numbers shown on a sheet of paper next to the item, where desired. Clearly, this information needs to be securely encrypted, something that has been covered on this web site before by people far more experienced than I.

I want to touch on some unique elements of my Bug Out Bank. These are items that currently can be bought for a few cents each in most cases. However, in the case of a long-term societal collapse, they’ll be difficult or impossible to create from scratch and will prove valuable as barter items. I’ve intentionally limited myself to these items due to their compact and lightweight nature. I have filled an Altoids tin or small pill bottle with each of the following:

  • Safety pins
  • Small and medium sized fish hooks
  • Aspirin
  • Ibuprofen
  • Anti-diarrheal pills

At this point it started to become tempting to trespass onto Bug Out Bag turf, so I resisted the urge and focused on what I was willing to carry that is most likely to be both barterable and in demand.

Realizing that possessing that much cash and silver carries a risk, I’ve also hired a sleeper security guard in the form of a lightweight, compact .38 special revolver. There’s no need for the gun/caliber debate here. This is strictly a “backup to my backup” gun and something that always stays in the bag. As always, be certain you follow your local laws regarding concealed carry and use of firearms. Concealment of the bag is also a priority, the method of which differs with each reader’s situation. Use your head – there’s obviously a lot at risk.

It took a lot of time, work and determination to get all the assets together for my Bug Out Bank, a constant evolution until I was able to reach my goal. I hope it can serve as an inspiration and template for yours. When you’re grabbing your pack, don’t forget this BOB. He can mean a huge difference in your ability to provide for yourself and your family.

Some Observations on the Precious Metals Markets

You might noticed that on Monday (August 15, 2011), the spot price of gold was fairly flat, but that spot silver was up substantially.

Just as I predicted last week, it appears that Mr. Market has belatedly realized that silver needs to catch up to the recent advance in gold prices. To get back to a 40-to-1 ratio, silver would have to advance to $43.41 per ounce.

In the long run, a ratio of 20-to-1 or perhaps even 16-to-1 is realistic. So again, if you have enough secure storage space, then buy silver rather than gold.

If you want to ratio trade out of gold into silver, I recommend that you do so soon.

And in related news, did you notice that spot platinum has jumped to $1,796 per ounce? Last week, I had mentioned that gold jumped up to within $2 of the price of platinum. But that didn’t last. It doesn’t take long for disparities to get worked out in a free market, or even in a quasi-free market.

Letter Re: Prepping for Missionaries and Other Long-Term Foreign Workers

Hello, 
I have been a regular reader of SurvivalBlog and am very grateful for your efforts in maintaining such a great resource for those of use concerned with survival-related topics.  I would like to make mention of a recently-published book that is one of the best I have read in this field: Everything That Follows Is Based on Recent, Real-Life Experience That Has Been Proven to Work: Professional Survival Solutions, by James Shepherd-Barron 

Here is a description: “James Shepherd-Barron has worked in more than 26 countries, including the conflict zones of Iraq, Kosovo, Croatia, Central Bosnia, Burundi, and Rwanda. Once a helicopter pilot for the British army, he now runs a humanitarian affairs consultancy, working with the Red Cross, World Health Organization, UNICEF, and other clients. When not “on mission,” he advises and trains senior UN operational staff.” 

It would be very appropriate to make reference to this book in relation to the recent Prepping for Missionaries post since Shepherd-Baron’s expertise is in training aid workers and missionaries to manage the challenges of living and working in crisis situations that are about as close as anyone can get to experiencing an actual WTSHTF scenario.  What’s unique about the book, compared to the dozens of survival books out there, is that Shepherd-Baron’s advice is based on what he, and thousands of other foreign aid workers and missionaries, have directly found to be effective in actual civil wars, disaster zones, and communities living through long-term crisis and conflict.  The title of the book is, perhaps, too long and difficult to remember.  But book itself has the advantage of being in a very compact, neutral paperback format without conspicuous words like “survival” in a large font on the cover: most survival books have covers that call attention to the reader when consulting the book in public places.  I have not personally been on a mission in a conflict or disaster area but I provided logistical and administrative support for aid and development projects managed by a major university and funded by USAID.  Shepherd-Barron’s book should be essential reading for everyone considering missionary work and for anyone concerned with the realities of surviving WTSHTF. 

Letter Re: Pat’s Product Reviews: Rossi Ranch Hand

Hello,
Pat says, “FedGov regulations mandate that you have to have at least a 16″ barrel on a rifle, with an overall length of 26” – if your rifle is any shorter, then there’s lots of red tape and have a $200 tax for a Short Barrel Rifle (SBR), and I just don’t care to give the FedGov any more reason to come knocking on my door. “

He then offers up a review of the lever-action $536 Rossi Ranch Hand Pistol, which has a 12″ barrel, 24″ length.

I would suggest Pat review the following pistol:

Romanian AK-47 Draco Pistol 7.62x39mm. They sell for around $350.

It is a semi-auto pistol in AK-47 that takes 30-round magazines and can also take a 90-round drum magazine. It has a 12.25″ barrel and has 21″ length. It weighs 5.5 pounds.

Just as the Rossi does not require any Fed red tape nor $200 SBT transfer tax, neither does the Draco.

Best Regards, – Dave C.

Economics and Investing:

Reader R.P.B. recommended this: World Debt Guide: Owe Dear (an interactive graphic showing sovereign debt versus GDP.)

Truckergirl sent this: 10 Signs That Economic Riots And Civil Unrest Inside The United States Are Now More Likely Than Ever.

Lorimer Wilson posted his analysis on the silver-to-gold price ratio and potential tops.

Daily Bell Briefs: SEC Goes After S&P / World Bank to the Rescue? / Death & Democracy in the Middle East / States to Embrace Online Gambling.

Some commentary from Tam (of the always entertaining View From The Porch blog): When everybody’s a millionaire…

Mr. M. sent this: Food Prices Could Hit Tipping Point for Global Unrest

Odds ‘n Sods:

C.D., suggested this great chart on food cravings: What You Want vs. What You Need. Most of these conditions could be prevented with a good quality vitamin and mineral supplement tablet (or powder), plus a bit of extra Magnesium, and plenty of water.

   o o o

You’ve got to have some place for your tangible investments: Booming business of fear: Sales of safes soar. OBTW, be sure to bolt down your safe securely, and conceal it well! Nothing beats a vault that is hidden behind a false wall. (Thanks to Eric S. for the link.)

   o o o

John R. pointed me to this frightening article: The Pentagon’s Fake Jihadists.

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On the front line of the riots with the police A police officer, whose anonymous blog has captivated thousands, tells of his shock, exhaustion and terror after confronting the mob. Here is an interesting companion piece: Britain’s in crisis: the real causes of chaos on streets.

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Tam over at the View From The Porch blog recently had a link to a story that will probably put a lump in your throat: Actions that make heroes: Medford man returns rare handgun to Medal of Honor winner.

Note from JWR:

Great news! We’ve tooled up with a new vendor to produce the SurvivalBlog 2005-2010 Archive CD-ROM. Now, unlike with Lulu.com, you don’t need to sign up for a membership. The new vendor (Kunaki) also accepts payments both via credit cards and PayPal. And the price is lower too! (Just $11, plus $4.30 postage, to most U.S. and European addresses.)

On Markets, Manipulation, Regulation, and Nationalization

On August 12th the newspaper headlines had some exceptionally bad news: Four European Nations to Curtail Short-Selling. This is an ill-advised panic move, following some massive losses on the European stock markets. (The French CAC 40 index is down 18.2 percent thusfar in August. Meanwhile, the DAX was down 15% in just a week.) Banning short selling does not bode well for the free market, nor for any meaningful stock pricing numbers that we can rely on.

As the nascent global credit crisis deepens, we can expect more monkeying with the markets, on both sides of the Atlantic. For example, the already highly-manipulated COMEX precious metals market will probably become less free, and less transparent. I predict that if the spot price of gold gets above $1,900 per ounce, the COMEX regulators will raise margin requirements to absurd levels–just like they did with Silver Rule 7 to stop the Hunt Brothers in 1980.

At the risk of sounding like someone from the Tinfoil Hat crowd, there are also persistent rumors of the Federal Reserve buying up stock shares. This has been attributed to the President’s Working Group on Financial Markets (commonly called the Plunge Protection Team.) The Fed is also very quiet about what it calls Permanent Open Market Operations (POMO). And of course the same net effect has been accomplished indirectly on a grand scale through massive infusions of credit, via the Quantitative Easing monetization mechanism. (This is where money is created ex nihilo as the government buys its own debt.)

Another threat to free markets and investor freedom of choice is a legislated nationalization of our IRA and 401(k) accounts. The estimated $14 trillion in those accounts are the choice fruit that some in government have been eyeing for many years. If enacted, a nationalization scheme will likely “invest” in a mix of government-managed stock purchases to make Wall Street happy, and “annuities” (Read: worthless Treasury paper), to make Tim Geithner happy. They’ll no doubt claim that they’re doing so “for our safety.” Thankfully, this hasn’t progressed beyond a lot of Think Tank talk, yet.

Never underestimate the ability of politicians to manufacture a crisis to fulfill their goals.

Pat’s Product Reviews: Rossi Ranch Hand

I grew-up during the Golden Years of television – the 1950s and early 1960s. Many television programs produced during that time were westerns: The Lone Ranger, The Cisco Kid, Bonanza, Wanted: Dead Or Alive, Wagon Train, Johnny Yuma, Gunsmoke, and many, many others. One of my favorite westerns was Wanted: Dead Or Alive starring the late Steve McQueen, who played a bounty hunter – going after bad guys for a reward. And, more often than not, Steve McQueen’s character “Josh Randall” was always side-tracked doing good deeds for folks. What made this program so interesting was the gun that “Josh Randall” carried: A cut down Winchester Model 92 in .44-40 caliber, that had a barrel length of about 10-12 inches, with a large lever loop for operating the action. Funny thing was, “Josh Randall” carried 45-70 rounds on his pistol belt. Go figure.

I think every kid (and adult) wanted a cut-down rifle like the one “Josh Randall” carried – I remember having a toy gun that looked like this gun, as well as a holster to go with it. I grew-up, and I’ve always wanted a similar gun, but I didn’t care to jump through the FedGov red tape to have a cut-down rifle. FedGov regulations mandate that you have to have at least a 16″ barrel on a rifle, with an overall length of 26″ – if your rifle is any shorter, then there’s lots of red tape and have a $200 tax for a Short Barrel Rifle (SBR), and I just don’t care to give the FedGov any more reason to come knocking on my door.

Enter Rossi USA and their Ranch Hand – which is technically a “handgun” by their definition. Rossi didn’t start out with one of their lever-action rifles and cut it down. Instead, the gun was designed and designated as a “handgun” from the start. The Ranch Hand has a 12″ barrel with an overall length of 24″ with it’s abbreviated “stock.” There’s the ever-popular large lever loop, just like the one on Wanted: Dead Or Alive, too.

I waited over a year to get my sample Ranch Hand, and I had requested one in .44 Magnum (they come in .45 Colt and .38 Special/.357 Mag) too. However, the only sample available was in .38 Special/.357 Magnum, so I snapped it up. What we have is a rather large “handgun” that weighs in at 4 pounds, that is different than most other handguns on the market. Puma came out with a similar gun a few years ago, however, they were selling for about $1,200 retail – the Rossi Ranch Hand retails for $536 – less than half the price of the Puma version.

With a gold bead front sight and an adjustable leaf rear sight, the Ranch Hand affords a very sharp sight picture. The rear sight is adjustable for windage and elevation, using the rear sight elevator for making elevation adjustments, and for windage adjustments. (You have to tap the rear sight left or right in the base until you get the desired point of aim/point of impact. The Ranch Hand holds 6 rounds in the tubular magazine, plus one in the chamber, giving you 7 rounds available. There is also a saddle ring – but it’s for looks – I don’t see it being used unless you are mounted on a horse, and even then….? The Ranch Hand is nice and evenly finished in a beautiful blue finish, too.

The front foreend and stubby rear “stock” are made out of hardwood of some type, and nicely fitted and finished, too. I suppose, in a pinch, you could use the “stock” and mount it to your shoulder, but it’s not very comfortable – I tried it!  There is also a steel butt plate on the “stock” as well. Trigger pull was really nice at about 5-lbs, and it was very crisp, too. There is a manual safety on the top of the receiver, too – right where the hammer rests. The lever-action was very smooth and sure, something that can’t always be said about some lever-action rifles.

The overly large lever – well, I tried to “twirl” it (unloaded gun, of course) – like “Josh Randall” did on the television show, but the Ranch Hand locks-up tightly and wouldn’t allow any twirling. Perhaps over time, when the lever action loosens-up a bit, it might work. However, this only attests to the tightness and how well the gun is fitted – not a bad thing at all.

I had a variety of .357 Magnum ammo on-hand from Buffalo Bore Ammo from 125-gr JHP all the way up to their 180-gr “Heavy” hard cast lead load. I started out with the Buffalo Bore 180-gr LFN round, and this baby lets you know that you have some serious power in your hands. Remember, most .357 Magnum loads are designed for revolvers or traditional handguns – the Ranch Hand has a 12″ barrel, so you are gaining quite a bit of velocity. Buffalo Bore’s owner, Tim Sundles, tells me that, in a lever-action .357 Magnum rifle, that this load is equal to a 150-gr .30-30 round – I believe him – it really “kicked” in the Ranch Hand. Only problem I had was, this load, being heavier than most other .357 Magnum loads was hitting about 3″ high at 25-yards. I moved the rear sight elevator down to its lowest position and it brought the point of impact down another inch. I then removed the rear sight elevator completely, and I was about an inch high at 25-yards with this load.

I tried the Buffalo Bore 158-gr JHC .357 Magnum load, in the Ranch Hand, with the rear sight elevator back in place, and at its lowest position – once again, the gun was shooting a bit high at 25-yards – about 2″ high. I removed the rear sight elevator and the Ranch Hand was hitting just slightly above the point of aim – not too shabby. I tried the Buffalo Bore 125-gr JHC round, with the rear sight elevator back in place, once again set at its lowest position, and this round was impacting dead on. So, it appears that the Ranch Hand is set-up, at least my sample was, for 125-gr .357 loads to high point of aim, point of impact at 25-yards, this isn’t a bad thing. I also tried the Buffalo Bore Tactical Short Barrel Low Recoil, Low Flash .357 Magnum load, and this round also high right-on at 25-yards. BTW, this load doesn’t have a lot of recoil, and it was designed for snub-nosed .357 Magnum revolvers.

I should mention that, at the start of my shooting, the gun was hitting to the left a couple of inches. It took a little “whack” with a plastic hammer to move the rear sight to the right, and get the point of impact right on – piece of cake! I had no malfunctions of any type during my testing, and I fired the Rossi Ranch Hand over a dozen different times, and occasions over several weeks. To be honest, this gun is just plain fun to shoot! At the end of my testing, I found half a box of Remington UMC 125 grain JHP .357 Magnum in my ammo stash. So, I tested it as well, and the Ranch Hand didn’t like this ammo at all for some reason – it was all over the target – any place from dead center hits, to hits on the far side of the target – right and left – to off the top of the target. Go figure? I know most guns shoot certain types, brands and weight of ammo better than other brands. But I was really shocked at how the Remington UMC load wouldn’t group well at all. So make sure you test various types of ammo in your guns, to make sure your gun likes a particular brand. In this case, the Rossi Ranch Hand simply performed poorly with the Remington UMC load.

Now, while the Ranch Hand was a lot of fun to shoot, I started wondering about the practical application for such a gun. I don’t see myself carrying it concealed, but I do see myself getting a leg holster, like the one “Josh Randall” used to carry his sawed-off Winchester Model 92 in – just for nostalgic purposes. So, I had to scratch my head, and wonder what purpose the Ranch Hand would serve. Well, it didn’t take me long to realize that, this gun would make a perfect gun to stash in my emergency box in the back of my car, along with a couple boxes of ammo, and my other emergency supplies. I also see the Ranch Hand being carried in a BOB, and this is where it would really shine. There might be times when you need a handgun, and other times, when you might need to really reach out there and “touch” someone – and with the Ranch Hand’s 12″ barrel, you can really reach out there – and hit your target.

So, putting nostalgia aside, and the absolute fun factor of the Rossi Ranch Hand, the gun does serve a couple very practical functions. I would be comforted, knowing that, if my rig broke down out in the boonies or in the mountains, that I’d have the Ranch Hand in my emergency box, and it could take care of all but the biggest game and any two-legged threats. I wouldn’t hesitate using the .357 Magnum Buffalo Bore 180-gr Heavy load against the black bears in Oregon – it would get the job down in short order. And, with some of the lighter .357 Magnum loads, or even .38 Special loads, it’ll take care of most two-footed threats you might encounter as well. Personally, I’d stoke the Ranch Hand with .357 Magnum loads and never look back at the .38 Special load.

My only problem now is, coming up with the bucks to purchase my sample Ranch Hand – but I’ll figure it out for a couple reasons. Number one is, the nostalgia associated with Wanted: Dead Or Alive and number two is the pure fun factor of shooting the gun – did I mention it was fun to shoot? Lastly, is the survival/practical application of having this gun in the e-box of my car – it would be very reassuring to know I’d have this gun and some hot-stepping .357 Magnum loads on tap in an emergency situation. Looking back, I’m glad that I was sent the Ranch Hand in .357 Magnum instead of .44 Magnum. This is because .38 Special and .357 Magnum ammo is a lot less expensive to shoot, and in my opinion, the .357 Magnum will take care of “business” for me.

– SurvivalBlog Field Gear Editor Pat Cascio

JWR Adds: The pragmatist in me says: Rather than buy a four-pound abbreviated lever action for one’s bug out bag, why not just buy a Dan Wesson Model 715 revolver, with both a 2-1/2″ barrel and a 10″ barrel? That way you could have the best of both worlds. (Concealability with the short barrel, and in some circumstances, long sight radius for long range shooting.) The revolver, complete with two barrels, a barrel wrench and a feeler gauge would weigh less than four pounds. With practice, barrel changes can be done in less than 90 seconds.

Tetanus: A Nasty, Fascinating Bug, by Dr. Bob

Nearly everyone has heard of the famous “lockjaw”, but not everyone knows that the cause is tetanus infection.  Even fewer people have actually seen a case of tetanus, even in the medical circles it is a rare event in the U.S.  There are only 233 cases reported from 2001 to 2008–or 1/10,000,000.  Deaths are even more rare here in the States, and of those 233, 31 were fatalities.  Most deaths were people over 65, presumed to be less than optimally immunized.  

There has only been one reported infant case in the U.S. in that time period, and that was with a mom that was not immunized.  You may be getting the message here, but let me spell it out for you:  GET YOUR TETANUS SHOT!  All arguments against a tetanus vaccination are just noise. Keep it up to date and keep it current.  You need a shot every 10 years, and once it gets beyond six years if you a nervous prepper you should probably get it updated. So, let’s get into the details and weird, fun stuff about tetanus.  Tetanus infection is caused by Clostridium tetani bacteria, which lives in spore form in soil, dust, and animal feces.  The spores sit dormant in our environment waiting and hoping with their little spore minds for a dirty wound to get into.  They then transform (robot transformer noise inserted here) into the bacterium and start to grow.  The incubation period for tetanus spores can be from a single day to months later.  As they grow, they make this nasty tetanus toxin called tetanospasmin which messes with your motor neurons which control your muscles.  It is released when the bacterium are actually killed by time or your own immune system.  They actually get you when you kill them, how cool is that?  Very.  Anyway, the toxin then affects your nervous system and causes muscle spasms that look like this: , sweats, fever, rapid heart beat, high blood pressure, trouble swallowing and breathing due to the spasms it causes.  The most common and famous symptom is of course the painful spasm of your masseter muscles in your jaw, sometimes strong enough to bust your molars in half!  Ouch.

The good news is that tetanus will not grow in healthy tissue, it needs wounds, skin infections, dead tissue, or foreign bodies to invade.  Most often the types of things people get that can allow a tetanus infection to start are splinters, gun shot wounds, puncture wounds, crush injuries, open fractures, burns, animal bites, non-sterile injections, umbilical stump infections (infants), dental infections and even ear infections.  90% of tetanus infections can easily be traced to a wound or infection source, but 10% or so are more devious and are likely to start with a simple scratch or small crack in the skin.  Most tetanus infections tend to strike the elderly, diabetics, or IV drug addicts. WTSHTF one of these will be missing very quickly due to getting shot a lot or being cured by lack of supply. Diabetics will have an obvious change to their diets and lifestyles, and will need to be vigilant against wound infections.  Elderly folks can prevent being victims of tetanus by keeping their vaccinations up to date.

There are four types of tetanus infection to review.  The first is neonatal tetanus infection.  Babies don’t like dirt, at least at first.  They should be delivered in as clean an environment as possible and special care needs to be taken of their little umbilical stumps after the cord is cut.  Basically, an umbilical stump is an open wound, and it should be treated as such.  Non-immunized moms have given their babies risk of tetanus infections.  Don’t be one of those moms.  There are certain cultures that also do stupid things to the umbilical stump which increases the risk of tetanus infection.  Don’t rub weird stuff on an umbilical stump!  Your weird cultural practices of rubbing ghee, oil, juice, or whatever on the kids new shriveling cord needs to stop.  End of that story.  The bad thing is that babies tend to die more than adults from tetanus infection, usually from 10-60% of the neonatal infections are fatal.  Final messages about neonatal tetanus: Keep deliveries clean, umbilical stumps clean, and moms vaccinated.

Next types of tetanus infection are cephalic and local.  Usually caused by a head or neck wound, cephalic tetanus will usually progress to generalized tetanus like the local infection does.  Cephalic tetanus causes more of an immediate and local spasm due to the location of the wound.  The cranial nerves are usually affected; and besides the almost immediate lockjaw that occurs, there are lots of facial muscle spasms, neck muscle spasms, and swallowing troubles right off the bat with this type of tetanus.  Cephalic tetanus is really a local tetanus, which is the next type of tetanus to discuss.  Local tetanus, as already mentioned, usually progresses to the generalized type just like cephalic tetanus.  It can cause local symptoms of spasm at the site of the infection, and rarely the infection will stay localized to that area close to the wound.  Sometimes local tetanus will affect the abdominal muscles and confuse people.  It will not always be next to or close to the wound causing it, making it seem like the person may have appendicitis or another surgical problem in the abdomen instead of a tetanus infection.  This gets tricky to figure out, so for our discussion, let’s keep it simple and categorize this type as near the wound causing it.  Both these types of tetanus can, and usually do, progress to the generalized type of tetanus infection.

Generalized tetanus gives the symptoms that we have already reviewed.  Half of people get lockjaw, but the stiff neck, spasms, risus sardonicus (sardonic smile, think of The Joker in Dark Knight), rigid abdomen, apnea (irregular breathing) due to spasm of neck or chest muscles, and trouble swallowing.  Usually symptoms will last 4-6 weeks from their onset, due to the ongoing effect of the toxins released even after the bacteria are dead.  Treatment of generalized tetanus is best done in an ICU with anesthesia and IV medications. (Not likely in TEOTWAWKI.) 

Antibiotics are recommended for the treatment of tetanus, and there are lots of antibiotics that are helpful in killing the bacteria.  The best is metronizadole, which is recommended as the first-line treatment.  After that, Penicillin, Cephalexin and other Cephalosporins, Doxycyline and other Tetracyclins, Azithromycin and other Erythromycins, Vancomycin, and Chloramphenacol are all effective against tetanus.  One that is not is sulfamethoxazole (Bactrim), which is used in the treatment of MRSA and many wounds.  The best treatment choice available is having a treatment choice.  The wound also needs to be cleaned and dead tissue removed (debrided).  As you can start to recognize, tetanus treatment is a lot easier with vaccination to prevent the disease than it is after getting it.

So, in TEOTWAWKI, what do you really do with a person that is suspected to have a tetanus infection?  Well, with the fatality rate in adults ranging from 8-50%, prayer never hurts.  The interesting thing about tetanus symptoms:  they are triggered by loud noise, bright lights, and touch.  How spooky is that?  Placing a tetanus victim in a cool, dark, quiet place will help their symptoms and may help improve their survival.  While the fatality rate is high for non-immunized people and nearly zero for those immunized, even after our ten years runs out and there was no tetanus vaccine around, the immunity would continue to help survival and has shown to be a predictor in survival even after vaccination is older than ten years.  The other way to confirm the diagnosis is also pretty cool:  a spatula test.  Touch the back of their throat with a tongue depressor or Q-tip and usually you will trigger a gag reflex.  With a tetanus infection, touching the throat will cause the jaw to clamp down on the instrument and spasm.  So don’t use your finger!  The test is only really necessary when trying to decide between a tetanus infection you suspect or a possible dental infection causing a tight jaw.  As already mentioned, usually the wound plus symptoms equals tetanus.

Besides antibiotics, medications like diazepam (Valium), Baclofen, and Magnesium can help with the spasms if you have it.  Most likely you will not, so it’s back to the treating the person like and mushroom and then praying for them.  Don’t go the way of blues musician Joe Hill Louis, Henry David Thoreau’s brother, and Robert E. Lee’s favorite horse Traveller–all dying of tetanus.  Keep up with your vaccinations and get your kids vaccinated too against tetanus.  Kids start at two months of age getting a Tdap shot, don’t miss this chance to protect your child.

Stay strong and stay vaccinated against tetanus.

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.

Letter Re: A Source for Qiviut Socks

Several months ago a SurvivalBlog post recounted a man’s survival while iced-in in a remote area. He credited a life-saving cache left by a local property-owner with saving his life. Included in the cache was a pair of qiviut socks. After reading the article, the socks continued to fascinate me — as I am somewhat cold-blooded and even wear wool socks in summer. After much research, I decided to try a pair and searched the internet. I found one source, in Canada, that sells the socks (70% Qiviut, 20% Merino, 10% nylon) and ordered a pair. I’ve found the product to be good quality, and decided to buy another, but only if they could tailor to the changes I wanted. They were very responsive and customized the sock to my cuff and length desire (ankle, calf, etc).

The source is Spruce Haven Farm. At their web site, enter ‘qiviut’ in the search box. Again, if you don’t like the style shown or are unsure of the size, use the ‘contact us’ tab to open communications. – Desert Dawn

Economics and Investing:

At The Daily Bell: Richard Maybury and Rick Rule on Why More War Is Likely, the Future of the US Dollar and Why Neither of Them Vote

Another from The Daily Bell: Thomas Jacob on the New Swiss Gold Franc, Why the EU Is a Bad Idea and Why an IMF Managed Currency Would Be Tragic

Arnaud de Borchgrave: Black swans galore: As U.S. superpower status fades, ‘Arab Spring’ gives way to global chaos. (Thanks to J.B.G. for the link.)

Michael W. sent this: Tracking the money from stocks to gold.

 

Items from The Economatrix:

Shoppers Lift Economy But Will They Keep Spending

Some $4 Trillion Wiped Off World Stocks In Two Weeks

US Default Scare Leads To Biggest Weekly Surge In Non-Seasonally Adjusted M2 In History

When Will Silver Catch Up With Gold’s Stunning $100 Advance?