Note from JWR:

Today we present another two entries for Round 33 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 $392 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A 250 round case of 12 Gauge Hornady TAP FPD 2-3/4″ OO buckshot ammo, courtesy of Sunflower Ammo (a $240 value), 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.) , and B.) Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy. This is a $185 retail value.

Round 33 ends on March 31st, 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 Hard Truth About Starting Your Survival Homestead, by Mitch M.

I have noticed a frightening trend being used by many of the “survival seed” companies that have started up in the past several years. The same trend shows up on many “survival/ prepping” web sites. This is pushing the idea that in TEOTWAWKI one merely needs to open the bucket and have an instant survival homestead. That isn’t necessarily so. Does buying the latest fancy rifle with rangefinder, laser pointer, and fancy toilet paper holder make you a marksman?

There is a range of preparations and skills necessary for running a successful farm or homestead. That is why our forefathers often screwed up and starved to death. If all the pieces are not there then the potential exists for failure. Today this is heartbreaking. In TEOTWAWKI this can be fatal.

Let me preface my remarks by saying that I have killed more plants, lost more animals, and had more failures than I would have ever envisioned when I first started my hobby farming. I am a police officer by trade not a farmer. It shows. Right now I have a nine-day-old baby pot-bellied pig in a box next to me. He was born on an 18-degree day and his mother didn’t care for her first litter. When I found the six piglets in the nesting hut, they were already hypothermic. I lost the first in less than an hour while still trying to get Momma Pig to care for them. Once the decision was made to bring them in and bottle feed them I hoped they would be okay. I was wrong. My wife and I worked and fed day and night and gradually watched all but one of these precious little creatures die. This was with veterinarian’s and local expert’s tips. My one little boar seems to be doing well.

Losing the offspring was heartbreaking after caring for them. It is also expensive in lost revenue. Locally, the piglets run from $50 to $200. That means potentially $1,000 lost from my profits already this year. Today that is lamentable. Tomorrow it may be deadly. What if this litter was one from my Yorkshire sows that was going to supply meat for my kids? There is a learning curve involved here. Now is the time to be making mistakes not in TEOTWAWKI.

The Garden of Eden in a Bucket group would have you believe that these skills can be learned and preparations made after the fact. In truth this is too late. The time to make mistakes is now while you can still purchase food from a farmer’s market to replace your failures, not when your children are praying for their next meal. We must start today building our knowledge and skill base to handle the chores necessary to a successful homestead. We have to start the garden, plant the fruit and nut trees, and start husbanding the animal today in order to have the ability to do so when TEOTWAWKI comes. Perhaps it is because we are further removed from our food sources now that we must relearn the skills of the past. These are not innate abilities. They must be cultivated

A garden doesn’t just happen. It takes planning, work, skill, luck, and plenty of prayers. I have been growing a garden of one size or another from a few tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers for fresh use to three to 4 acre canning gardens that took full time work to keep up. Lack of experience is a big problem in the amount and consistency of harvest. Even experienced gardeners have bad years. The difference is that they usually have some harvest. Inexperienced gardeners often lose the whole crop. Gardening is a skill best learned by doing it not just reading about it.

In the beginning one must choose the location for the garden. This should be done based on soil type, drainage or water availability, and sunlight. Different parts of the country have different soil types and needs. Some are more acid or alkali than others. Did you realize that the soil will vary on your property? The south side of my yard is hard packed red clay with no real topsoil. Grass will grow but is severely affected by drought. To the north of the house is where all of that topsoil was pushed as fill when the lot was leveled and the house built. That is where we chose to put the garden. This location also provides good sunlight with no trees to the east, south, or west. We are in the process of planting fruit trees to the north side of the garden since this will not affect the amount of sunlight. This location provides good drainage and access to water. Right now that means access to hoses but hopefully this year we will install guttering on our metal roof and build a rainwater recovery system to provide for our needs.

When your life depends on it is not the time to start breaking ground on a garden. How are you going to do it? Are you going to use a shovel? Good luck. I have and it has been slow going with about four wide rows added each year. The ground was initially run over with a tractor with a tiller attachment behind it. That was probably a mistake since it just chopped all of the grass roots and rhizomes up and sprigged the garden with them. The tiller only cut about 8 inches through the sod. It was more like aerating the soil than prepping it for planting. I had to then resort to the shovel and rake to get my rows made. I use wide rows about 42 inches wide for planting. This allows me to reach the middle from either side but minimizes the area taken up by walk space. I would love to frame them in but have not had the money to do so. My rows are 36 feet long, and I have been able to break and cultivate about four new rows each year. Remember this is practice for not having the modern conveniences. This garden has been a learning process and is a long term prep.

As I said, I have had a battle with grass and weeds due to starting off wrong. Apparently I had done too good a job on that lovely lawn. I would have been better off spraying the area with Roundup first. I prefer to use natural methods but I do have to admit its effectiveness. Hand weeding and hoeing are tough on the back. It is better to kill of as much as possible first before planting. One can use chemicals to accomplish this. You must decide how you feel about them. You can also use a heavy layer of mulch to kill off the grass. This is slower and can have its own problems. I don’t recommend using hay for this. Hay contains the seed heads of grass stems. It can bring in more problems than it fixes. Use leaves, straw, or grass clippings in a layer at least four to 6 inches deep and be prepared to wait a few weeks to kill it off. Better is to lay a layer of newspaper or cardboard down first then cover it with your mulch. The great thing about this is that it improves the soil as it kills weeds and grass. Leave it alone and plant right through it if you choose. This method was touted by the great Ruth Stout who wrote several books about her “no-dig, deep mulch” methods. Doesn’t sound like it can be accomplished overnight does it?

I have tried a new approach this winter. I have the garden fenced off with “hog panels” and have it divided into two paddocks. The pair of pot bellied pigs is in one section and the four Yorkshires are in the other. Both share the area with four geese, a tom turkey, and assorted ducks and chickens. The pigs are constantly turning the soil over and working organic matter into it. Hopefully between the birds, sunlight, and freezing most of the weed seeds will be eliminated. There is not a sprig of grass to be found. This should be a viable way to expand a garden post Schumer. I feed them vegetable left-overs from the local fruit stand. They reward me by stirring in fresh manure daily. Any leaves, saw dust, and other mulches are thrown in for them to stir into the soil. I will have to report on the effectiveness of this method in the fall.

Notice earlier I said natural and not organic. Organic has come to be a USDA term for nothing. Organic produce in a major-chain store is no better than standard produce. They have subverted the word. I am talking about natural production methods like God intended. Composting, mulching, and fertilization should be accomplished working with not against nature. God knew what he was doing when he designed the system. It is when we try to act contrary to his laws that things fall apart. Leave any natural thing including stone alone and let the weather and the microorganism have their way with it and it will break down and return to a state usable by plants as nutrients. Compost is the best thing available for improving soil tilth and fertility. No man-made product comes close. The only problem is it takes time. Start now.

I mentioned the doomsday seed vaults earlier, and I know that it sounds like I am against them. Actually I think you are a fool if you don’t have something like them. Seeds for Security and Everlasting Seeds have wonderful products that give a security and peace of mind to any prepper’s future. They have put together seeds designed to maximize your food potentials in your survival garden. I keep a running supply of seeds that I rotate on a yearly basis. This way I have fresh seeds available at any time. I use a lot of open pollinated seeds now for safety. I can always save seed if needed and do so for practice each year. I do grow hybrids also. I know, I know, sighs of disgust. Get over it. Hybrids produce more crops for less work in most instances. They have been bred to give the most bang for the buck whether it’s disease resistance, taste, or vigor. Remember that being a hybrid is not a bad thing; it just means that the plant won’t reproduce true to form with all the traits that made you choose it in the first place. You can still save seeds from them they just won’t reproduce true in the offspring. You can still grow plants from them and they will share many of the original traits. Hybrids are good to have on hand early in the gardening experience because they usually have a vigor that exceeds either parent. As your skills improve you can work with the heirloom varieties.

Working a garden now also lets you learn what varieties you like the taste of. There are literally hundreds of varieties of tomatoes. Tomatoes are supposed to be bright red, period. Actually on the advice of a friend who runs a feed store I tried a pink variety, Arkansas Traveler, a couple of years ago and found it to be an instant favorite. It’s not as pretty, but it sure is good. An added bonus is that it happens to be an heirloom variety that breeds true. When do you start seeds where you live? What is the date of first and last frost and freeze? What varieties grow well on your soil? Will your family eat them? What diseases are in your area? Do you really want to wait to find out after the Schumer hits the fan?

Why haven’t you planted your fruit and nut trees? Are you waiting until after TEOTWAWKI to do it? Too late. The best time to have planted them is already gone but you can start today. The soft-fruits are the way to go for quick production. Brambles and grapes give a quick return for the investment. They will fruit quickly, usually within the first year or two after planting. Plums, figs, peaches, and blueberries usually take from two to four years to become productive. Hard fruit trees like pears and apples take even longer. Start with the oldest and largest trees you can afford. Dwarf trees mature faster than standard stock. Nuts are a long term investment. They may take twenty years to produce. When you plant remember to plan for the grown size of the plant. Also think about where the shade will fall so you don’t ruin your garden. Buy from a local nursery not the big-box stores. The local nursery will cost more but they will have varieties suited to your climate.

Do you have your pens built for your livestock? What about the materials to build them with, wire, wood, posts, sheet metal? Not yet huh? Okay do you have your medicines, wormers, milk replacers, and colostrum for emergencies like mine with the piglets? Not yet? See where I am going? I raise a variety of animals and have for several years and still got caught off guard with this last litter (didn’t know she was bred and she is pot-bellied after all). I had no colostrum on hand and had to wait until the piglets were almost a day old to get some in them. Do you think it will be easier to find these things after old Schumer shows up?

You need to plan now for what animals you want to raise, where you want them located, and how to care for them. You need to know how a ruminant’s stomachs (4) work. You need to know which plants will kill your goats (rhododendron family such as azalea). What is the gestation period for a pig? A rabbit? How long do you incubate chicken eggs? Ducks? Geese? What do you plan to feed these animals when you get them? There is a lot of effort required in keeping small stock. The time to practice is now. The time for mistakes is now.

This is the time to be learning and developing the skills necessary for a Pennsylvania homestead. No one on this forum would advocate buying a firearm now but waiting until the Schumer hits the fan to buy ammo and learn to shoot. Sweat in practice saves blood in battle. Start sweating.

The Ethics and Methodology of Sniping after TEOTWAWKI, by P.A.

Introduction
Having served as a scout-sniper section leader in the United States Marine Corps’ Fifth Marine Regiment for two years from 2002-2004, I would like to share my thoughts regarding the application and role of sniping and long-range precision marksmanship (herein defined as shooting beyond 700 yards) in a TEOTWAWKI scenario.  Since the end of my enlistment I have had the opportunity to discuss emergency preparedness scenarios with the well-prepared, the well-grounded, and those that were neither.  Given my background the subject of sniping frequently comes up, and the sum of those conversations have led me to believe that there is a significant understanding gap between the popular idea and the reality of sniping and the ethical considerations that should, but usually do not, go along with that understanding.  After a discussion of the ethics of sniping, I’ll look at scenarios, provide an overview of marksmanship methodology, briefly examine sniping equipment and close with a few resources for further research.

No matter what you read on the internet, war and TEOTWAWKI are not the same thing.  War is inherently offensive, while surviving TEOTWAWKI should be inherently defensive.  Preparation is your best defense against becoming the dangerous parasite that poses the greatest threat to recovery after TEOTWAWKI.  If you have been caught materially unprepared, you should at least have worked to develop some knowledge or skills that will allow you to be a contributing member of a more prepared community, thus helping to ensure your survival without posing an undue burden on what functioning society is left.  As this pertains to sniping, we must consider the appropriate uses and consequences of strategically defensive sniping.

Sniping, at its core, is ideally the art of killing an enemy from a concealed position at a distance where they cannot effectively threaten you.  You are blind siding someone; it is the antithesis of a fair fight.  While conflict is about survival, all of us understand that the ends do not always justify the means.  For example, we can all agree that non-combatants should never be targeted or exploited, even if there is a potential gain to be had.  In a typical firefight the enemy poses an immediate threat to your life and the moral justification of killing that enemy is one that falls even within the established norms of a civilian society.  However, taking on the posture and therefore the mantle of a sniper removes both the immediate threat to your life and the clearer justifications that can be found in other forms of self-defense.

Each individual in our sniper platoon had to wrestle with this issue and come to their own decisions.  Our best snipers, and those who dealt most effectively with the psychological aftermath of war, were those who gave this and other considerations due and thorough  thought before they came into the platoon, during their training, and over the course of our deployed combat operations.  They approached their job professionally and rationally.  They were patient, grounded, smart, professional and lastly competitive.  These are the qualities of a sniper.  I am 5’8”, 150 pounds, when I was a sniper I wore glasses, and have always been a bit of a bookworm.  Being a sniper is not an image, and certainly not the image you see on television, it is a combination of skill and talent directed by determination and focus.  I am a Christian, and have always sought to understand my actions’ consequences to my relationship with God.  Ultimately He is the one we must answer to, and I do not believe that He would be pleased with my casually taking a human life.

With the immediacy of a firefight unavailable, a sniper in TEOTWAWKI must wrestle with the problem of threat identification.  At ,1000 yards through an eight power scope the gross details of a man are barely discernable – especially if there’s mirage.  Given that every other person carrying a firearm is not necessarily an enemy during TEOTWAWKI, it follows that it will be nearly impossible to determine whether or not an unknown person at long range is a threat.  Even assuming you observe them with a high-power spotting scope, the actions of a person at those ranges, particularly if they are unaware of your presence, are unlikely to reveal their morality or motivations.  If you can’t determine whether or not they’re a threat, and you haven’t been able to communicate that further approach will be regarded as hostile, you shouldn’t be killing them.  So, unless the person approaching is part of an armed war band that’s been burning and pillaging their way towards you (a la the situation depicted in the novel One Second After), you will never know if you’re killing a threat or a potential ally when you send that bullet humming downrange.

As I see it, sniping could justifiably be employed in a few circumstances after TEOTWAWKI.  The following four scenarios are not all-inclusive.  Careful consideration of your situation and the likely threats that you will face will help you to refine these ideas or add others.

  1. If you have a primary avenue of approach to your residence you could post notices along that approach.  Those notices should delineate measures that individuals can take if they want to approach without drawing fire.  Laying aside arms, getting out of vehicles, approaching in small groups during the day, etc. are reasonable precautions to demand from unknown persons.  This kind of “checkpoint oversight” is a reasonable circumstance for the employment of a high-caliber weapon capable of disabling a vehicle.  A sniper in a distant and concealed position could observe and cover by fire such a “checkpoint” without unduly compromising their safety.

2. If an individual or group makes a deliberately covert approach, then their motives are questionable.  They may pose a threat, or they may be trying to determine if you pose a threat.  Such a group, once spotted, may be engaged with a warning shot.  Their reaction will dictate whether or not further engagement is necessary

3. If someone in your group has been kidnapped or if a group with demonstrated hostile intentions has been located (i.e., the war band mentioned above), then offensive actions may be appropriate and a sniper can be used to eliminate leaders, sentries, lights, or other high-value targets before an assault or rescue.

4. Planned meetings with groups whose motivations are questionable could be covered by a sniper.  In such circumstances the sniper’s hide should be selected and occupied well in advance of the meeting.

 

Terrain Limitations
Sniping (the field application of long-range marksmanship) is only effective in terrain which provides long-range fields of view.  Grab a map, Google Earth, or get up and go look around; are there 700+ yard fields of fire around where you are/plan to be?  In many parts of the US, there are not, and the capabilities of a sniper rifle and the time spent learning how to use those capabilities are going to be wasted for want of a clear, long-range shot.  Mountains, deserts, and relatively treeless areas are most likely to provide this kind of terrain.  On a related note, do you have a 700+ yard range to train regularly?  Precision marksmanship is a perishable skill, and while taking a basic course will improve your marksmanship, you will not rise to the consistent level of skill required unless you have the room to train regularly.  So, before investing in the equipment and training necessary to become a sniper, ask yourself if you’ll ever have the space to put that gear and training to use.

While not many areas present the space appropriate for long-range marksmanship, I would argue that there is a much more probable place for equipment and training in the “designated marksman” (to use a military phrase) range of about 400-700 yards.  These ranges require a good firearm/scope/ammunition system, and descent training, but nothing as specialized as the 700+ yard “sniper ranges.”  400-700 yards is beyond the effective range of run-of-the-mill shooters equipped with small arms, and thus provides you with a meaningful ballistic advantage.  As a moral advantage, your ability to distinguish friend from foe is significantly better at these shorter ranges.  A semi-automatic .308, such as an AR-10 or M1A would be my weapon of choice for this duty. (I’ll have more about equipment later.)

Terms to Know

Ballistic advantage: the positive difference in maximum effective range between your gun and your enemy’s
Caliber: the diameter of a bullet (in the limited sense of the projectile as opposed to the entire cartridge, though the term bullet is often used to refer to a cartridge) as a portion of an inch; a .50 caliber bullet is ½ inch in diameter
Cartridge: the assembled primer, case, powder, and bullet; often called “round”, and often mistakenly called a “bullet”
Foot-Pound: a unit of measure for force, used to describe the energy a bullet possess at a given range
Grain: a unit of measure for small weights; used to weigh bullets and powder
Hand Loading: making ammunition yourself from its constituent parts
Match Grade: ammunition made to very tight tolerances suitable for precision shooting
Maximum Effective Range: the furthest range that a weapon system can capably engage a target, not the absolute distance a bullet can travel
Mil: the distance between the center of one mil-dot and the next
Mil-Dots: the circles or ovals superimposed over the crosshairs in a mil-dot scope; used to determine range to a target
Minute of Angle: MOA is the angular unit of measure equal to 1” per 100 yards, so 1 MOA at 500 yards is 5”; used as a measure of accuracy or shot adjustment in precision shooting; a precision rifle should hold at least a 1 MOA group with match-grade ammunition
Mirage: The effect generated by heated air rising off the earth; easily seen over a road on a hot day
Sniper ammunition: used to refer specifically to match-grade military ammunition issued to snipers
TEOTWAWKI: The End Of The World As We Know It

Marksmanship
Long-range shooting requires brilliance in the basics of marksmanship. A sniper rifle and match grade ammo do not a sniper make!  Professional instruction by a qualified teacher is imperative to mastering long-range shooting.  Front Site is one of several shooting schools across the country that offer precision shooting courses to civilians.  Beyond the basics, precision shooting requires an understanding of ballistics, wind, and the application of shooting formulae.  Wind and range estimation and adjustment are the most critical skills that a long range marksman can possess. And while these skills cannot be learned without hands-on training and practice a few things are important to know before you begin the trigger-pulling aspect of your training

Range estimation can be achieved through a wide variety of technical aids (mil-dots in a scope, a range finder, maps, etc.), but wind estimation is another matter.  While a wind gauge can tell you what the wind speed at your position is, it will not tell you what the wind is doing 800 yards downrange.  For those of you in hilly or mountainous country, the convoluted terrain can give you nightmares as you try to determine an adjustment for a shot involving multiple different winds.

Training in wind estimation is a relatively straightforward matter.  Keep a wind gauge and a copy of the Beaufort wind scale (see below) with you during your day-to-day outdoor activities.  When there’s a wind, use the Beaufort scale to estimate what the wind velocity is, then use the gauge to verify or correct your estimate.  Along with the environmental signs, learn how wind feels at certain speeds.  With training, you will be able to feel the difference between a 12 and a 14 mph wind on your cheek, useful if you live in a desert where there’s not much vegetation to indicate the wind’s speed.  As you are doing this watch your environment several hundred yards out.  Are the signs there the same as where you’re standing?  Is the wind blowing in the same direction at the same speed?  If not, what appears to be affecting it?  By observing, questioning, and practicing you will become adept at reading and understanding the wind.

BEAUFORT WIND SCALE

NAME

WIND SPEED

DESCRIPTION

MPH

KPH

calm

<1

<1

calm; smokes rises vertically

light air

1-3

1-5

direction of wind shown by smoke but not by wind vanes

light breeze

4-7

6-11

wind felt on face; leaves rustle; wind vane moves

gentle breeze

8-12

12-19

leaves and small twigs in constant motion; wind extends light flag

moderate breeze

13-18

20-28

wind raises dust and loose paper; small branches move

fresh breeze

19-24

29-38

small-leaved trees begin to sway; crested wavelets on inland waters

strong breeze

25-31

39-49

large branches move; overhead wires whistle; umbrellas difficult to control

Range estimation is most easily done with a laser range finder, but that does have limitations.  Range finders don’t work well in foggy or rainy weather conditions.  Range finders designed to work at 700+ yards are expensive; beware inexpensive range finders designed for golfers.  Range finders’ greatest limitation is the fact that they require batteries.  If you have a range finder, enjoy it and use it to verify your other range estimation methods.  The most applicable range-estimation technique for precision shooters is using mil-dots inside your rifle or spotting scope to determine range.   In this a mil-dot equipped scope the mil-dots are the feint dots that run along the thin crosshairs. 

To determine range with a mil-dot scope, an object of known size must be measured in mils, broken down by tenths.  A mil is the distance from the center of one mil-dot to the center of the next.  Thus, the brown cardboard in the picture to the left is approximately 5.8 mils tall and 5.6 mils wide.  That size is computed in a formula (see below) and the range in yards or meters can be determined.

It is worth noting that with an 8 power scope this method becomes increasingly difficult to use past 700 yards due to the apparent size of the target with respect to the mil-dots and human error.  A more powerful scope and/or lots of practice can help compensate.

These skills are not easily acquired, and must be learned in the field.  Becoming a proficient long-range marksman requires an outlay of time and money which will only tangentially carry over into improving your tactical shooting abilities.  In short, don’t train to be a sniper and assume that your room-clearing skills will improve right alongside.

Shooting Formulae
Precision shooting requires math; sorry folks!  Calculating range to target, windage compensation, adjustments for a moving target, and compensation for other more obscure variables is accomplished through shooting formulae.

To use these formulae you need some basic ballistic data for the ammunition that you are shooting, which should be available from the manufacturer.  Needless to say, doing these calculations is time-consuming, especially if zombies ate your last calculator.  So, it is most efficient to perform these calculations ahead of time and compile them in ballistic charts which you can use for quick reference.  Many such charts can be found online, saving you considerable time.  While deployed in combat operations I kept a windage-adjustment chart taped to my sleeve for easy reference.

When referencing raw ballistic data or pre-compiled charts, be sure to take into consideration the circumstances under which the data was compiled.  For example, a military ballistic chart for the standard-issue M118 sniper round was compiled using a 24” barrel Remington 700 military sniper rifle (the M24 or M40).  If you happen to be shooting an M118 round out of a rifle with a 20” barrel your bullet’s muzzle velocity will be slower and subsequent performance with not match exactly with the published ballistic data.  This information may be available directly from the manufacturer if you cannot find it online.

Range-determination Formula
Ryds = (Hyds*1000)/Hmil
Ryds = (Hin*27.77)/Hmil
Rm = (Hin*25.4)/Hmil

Wind-adjustment Formula
WMOA = ((RYDS/100)*VMPH)/RC
Wmil = (((RYDS/100)*VMPH)/RC)/3.438

Moving Target Compensation
Ldft = ToFsec*SpoTfps
Ldmil = ((Ldft*12)-6)/((Ryds/100)*3.438)

Variable Key
R = range
W = windage
Ld = lead
H = height of target
in = (in) inches
yds = (in) yards
m = (in) meters
RC = range constant
V = velocity
ToF = time of flight
SpoT = speed of target

Equipment
While much ink has been spilled over the comparable merits of various firearms, scopes, and calibers, there are a few things that most can agree on.  One is that you cannot skimp on equipment used for precision marksmanship; buy expensive, quality equipment.  Match-grade ammunition is what you want for precision shooting work.  Try out different brands and different loads for your gun as some guns respond better to certain loads.  Experienced shooters may want to consider hand-loading their ammunition; many champion competition shooters do.  A purpose-designed rifle needs to hold a 1 minute-of-angle group (1” per 100 yards range to target) out of the box; some excellent rifles are guaranteed to hold .5 or even .25 MOA, though you’d have to be a better shooter than I am to take advantage of such quality!  Scopes and the rings that hold the scope on the rifle are just as important as the rifle itself.  While I highly recommend learning to shoot on iron sights, a scope is a necessity for precision shooting.  Given our discussion of mil-dots earlier you’ll already have deduced that you don’t want to consider a scope without them (or some other equivalent integrated range-finding aid).

A few accessories that you’ll want to seriously consider: A cheek-rest if your rifle doesn’t come with an integrated variable one.  Being underfunded Marines, we made ours out of green duct tape, closed cell foam and moleskin, but some very nice ones are on the market.  Bipods are very useful and a worthwhile addition.  If you don’t have one you’ll want some kind of brace for the front of the rifle.  We used more closed cell foam taped into a pair of parallel braces on our rucksacks or butt packs.  Also a good sand-sock is used for propping up the butt of the rifle by the non-trigger hand while shooting.  This eliminates another source of vibration that comes from contact with that hand.  I made mine from a one pound bag of peas wrapped in a pair of socks.  It’s functional and survival-riffic!

Caliber
I would recommend two rounds as top contenders for an anti-personnel precision shooting system: the .308 (7.62x51mm for you military types) and the .300 Winchester Magnum.  Smaller calibers, such as the .243 or .223 may have extremely high muzzle velocities, but their bullets lack the mass to counter the drift caused by wind and are thus inappropriate for long-range shooting.  On the other end of the spectrum, there are only a few descent contenders in the magnum round field; the .338 Lapua Magnum, .408 Chey Tac and the .50 BMG are the most widely accepted.  Major Plaster in the book The Ultimate Sniper analyzes five other magnum rounds against the .300 and discusses the deficiencies to be found in all of them.  The .338 Lapua Mag, .408 and .50 were not included on this list (though I believe they are discussed in his newer edition), and are large enough, expensive enough, and specialized enough that they are not truly suitable for a side-by-side comparison with the .308 or the .300 Win Mag. 

.308 vs. .300 Winchester Magnum
Off-the-shelf match-grade .308 ammunition is widely available, Match-grade .300 Winchester Magnum is also available, but in somewhat less variety.  Both rounds have quite a few excellent firearms which will chamber them.  They have a relatively flat trajectory, the ability to counter the effects of wind, and retain energy at long range (which translates into “stopping power”).  On this last point, a military M-118 173 grain .308 sniper round has 545 foot-pounds of energy at 1,000 yards, while a 200 grain Federal Premium .300 Win. Mag has 995 foot-pounds of energy at the same range.  Compare these to a 230 grain Speer .45 ACP pistol round, which at the muzzle has 404 foot-pounds of energy.  In other words a long range rifle bullet has more power when it hits its target a 1000 yards away than a standard pistol round at point blank range.

The .308 is the standard US military sniper round and can engage targets at 1000 yards.  However, Major J. Plaster makes a strong case in favor of the .300 Win. Mag in his book, citing superior energy at range and superior ability to counter the effects of wind.  The .300 Winchester Magnum pushes the maximum effective range of a good shooter out past 1.000 yards, but the ammunition is pricier, barrel life shorter, and the kick nastier than with a .308. 

Two primary choices present themselves when it comes to precision rifles: bolt action or semi-automatic.  While it is easier to make a bolt-action rifle more accurate than a semi-auto, there are quite a few tack-driving semi-auto sniper rifles on the market.  However, the semi-auto will cost more.  The choice here comes down to the rifle’s purpose.  A semi-auto can be used more effectively at closer ranges where volume of fire becomes more important, but using your $2,000 sniper rifle as a general battle rifle may not be a wildly effective use of resources.  It’s a decision you have to make based upon projected use and funds.

 

Closing thoughts and caveats
I believe that it is critical to keep morality in mind as we consider preparations for a possible TEOTWAWKI.  In the end, it is about more than simply surviving, it is about surviving and remaining the people we want to be.  When we pull ourselves back up by the bootstraps will you be able to look your grandchildren in the eye and recount what you did to survive?  When your Day comes, will you be able to do the same to God?

On a more technical note, there is a world of information on precision marksmanship and firearms/ammunition that I only alluded to or glossed over.  If you are considering pursuing this as a hobby, sport, or survival tool, then seek out quality information and qualified instruction – it will make for a shorter, easier, cheaper, and more enjoyable road.

Resources:
The Ultimate Sniper by Major John Plaster, 2006, ISBN 1581604947
Front Sight’s 4-Day Civilian Precision Shooting Course.
Sniper Central: a sniping-oriented site with very polite forums; there is a great deal of very excellent information about ballistics on this site if you look for it
Sniper’s Hide: another site/forum for snipers and precision shooters
Long Range Shooter: another good site for long-range shooting

JWR Adds: I also highly recommend Darryl Holland’s long range shooting school. His classes will be taught this year in Powers, Oregon and College Station, Texas.

Letter Re: Cold Weather Patrol Tactics and Techniques

Dear JWR:
Regarding the recent Cold Weather Patrol Tactics and Techniques article, just one note about condensation prevention from bringing a cold weapon indoors. Packing or leaving a heavy duty garbage or similar bag outside and placing your weapon inside the bag can greatly reduce condensation from the indoor climate. Just place your weapon completely inside the bag. I like to compress the opening in my hand like a balloon opening and instead of blowing into this opening, I suck as much air out as I can with my lungs. If two or more deep inhalations are required to remove excess air after manual compression of the bag, remember to close your hand around the bag opening to avoid the bag expanding. Once you are satisfied you have removed as much air as possible, tie the opening very tightly with a rubber band, tape or the bag itself. I have found this technique to nearly eliminate all condensation on the weapon as the metal warms to ambient indoor temperature, but the plastic bag will have some moisture on the outside.

I do not recommend the usage of heavy duty compression or vacuum bags if the weapon is your first line defense arm. Unless these bags have a rapid way to open and extract your weapon, I prefer the tear-away and cheap garbage bags to allow rapid rearming when needed. However, as an aide to the air removal, I have seen the usage of small hand pumps and even a small battery powered air mattress inflator used in a reverse role. – J.G.

JWR Replies: That is a good suggestion. Of course, once a gun fully equalizes to room temperature, it should soon be removed from the bag, so that any trace of moisture doesn’t settle on the gun an induce rust.

Three Letters Re: How Your World View and Preparedness Mindset are Influenced by Your Eschatology

James:
Regarding the recent piece on eschatology and prepper Christian world views: We must suffer.

I’m not sure which is correct; post-trib, pre-trib, mid-trib, post-mil, whatever. But I know this: Some hold to pre-trib rapture simply because of an assumption that God won’t let His children suffer. But that turns a blind eye to the unmentionable suffering of Christians in the world today.

The Bible tells us to expect suffering: “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom.” (Acts 14:22) Peter said, “Do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you” (1 Peter 4:12). In other words it is not strange; it is to be expected. And Paul said (in 2 Timothy 3:12), “Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”

Two reasons to prepare anyway Two reasons it’s not foolish to prepare even if you are pre-trib: 1.) You might be mistaken on your interpretation of the Bible. Do not arrogantly assume you are correct about a topic for which there is considerable debate amongst intelligent, godly scholars (applies to post-trib as well). Such hubris will only harm people. I’m hoping the rapture happens before the tribulation and living as though it won’t. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. 2.) These might not be the last days. Don’t assume that simply because many nations are headed for great difficulty that Christ is definitely coming. You’d have thought Jesus was coming any second during the last days of the Great Depression when the Dust Bowl consumed your food and Hitler was rising to power.

There are many reasons to think these days are indeed the last days. I’m 75% sure we’re in them. It’s the other 25% which bothers me: History is littered with great upheavals and all along they were sure it was the time to see Jesus. Even in Paul’s day they were saying it was the last days (2 Thessalonians 2).

Yet I’m 100% sure America will suffer great poverty within my lifetime — unless we have a mighty miracle. When we see winter coming we should prepare: “Four things on earth are small, but they are exceedingly wise: the ants are a people not strong, yet they provide their food in the summer…” (Proverbs 30:24,25 ESV)

Physically and spiritually James Rawles at SurvivalBlog.com is doing a great job teaching us how to physically prepare. One way to spiritually prepare is to start with many of the incredibly rich, free resources by Dr. John Piper. Start with the short videos, then listen to or read the other messages. Short video: America’s Ugly Exported “Gospel” Short video: Why Did the Bridge Collapse? Where Is God? (My favorite!) The Suffering of Christ and the Sovereignty of God , Don’t Waste Your Cancer,   Doing Missions When Dying Is Gain

Book that’s now free thanks to generosity: Suffering and the Sovereignty of God. (Both it and its study guide are free.).

More goodies: Essential Resources

The Bible can be deeply soul-satisfying in times of suffering, and I’m thankful for Dr. Piper’s work in exposing these truths.

Meditate on your Bible Much of the Bible is written for hard times, and up until now we’ve been living in Disney World so it hasn’t made as much sense. Half of the Psalms will pop off the page once things really start rolling. The writings surrounding the Babylonian capture are particularly applicable.

I suggest you start right now by reading Matthew 6:19-34 and Habakkuk 3:17-19 out loud. It seems to have a stronger effect when you read it out loud.

Also see Luke 12, the Psalms and Lamentations.

Memorize your Bible — with some excellent help I’m really bad at memorizing Scripture, but I’ve got some crutches which work wonders. David said, “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” (Psalm 119:11) (Yes, I wrote that from memory.) One day I was worried about the bee colony collapse disorder when Habakkuk 3:17-19 immediately popped into my head. I didn’t have to think, “What’s that verse about food?” It just immediately came to mind. The Spirit kept me from sinning by reminding me of a memorized passage.

I’ve got the “Hide the Word” CD series because I’m really bad at memorization. (Free samples here.) They definitely work, and are worth their weight in gold. You can also get Seeds Family Worship, the Glory Revealed CDs, and this free scripture memorization series. Also see Amazon’s and Google Shopping’s offerings. Worth their weight in gold!

Trust God. Oh that more Christians would trust God in hard times! He suffered more than any of us so He understands suffering (Hebrews 4:15).

He knows what we need before we ask (Matthew 6:8). He promised that if we seek first the Kingdom that food and clothing will be provided (Luke 12). George Mueller proved this with over 50,000 specific answers to prayer for specific needs.

One day He will deliver us from all suffering: “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:4 ESV) Amen! Come quickly Lord Jesus.

In summary, it’s wise to prepare for both physical and spiritual suffering, whether you are pre-trib or post-trib. Even if nothing happens you’ll still have goods left over to give to the needy. – C.D.V.

Dear B.H. in  North Central Idaho,
Your letter was well thought out and delivered and I agree with some of the statements you made.  However, I struggled with your claims on the eschatology of some of the religions you mentioned such as Mormons and Seventh Day Adventists.  Having many close friends in both those churches and knowing what they believe, I’m sorry sir, but they don’t meet the criteria you assigned to them.  There are far more believers outside of those churches, and considered more mainstream, that believe in the Rapture.  The last time I spoke to my Mormon and Seventh Day Adventist friends they were preparing for a long hard ride through the Tribulation or any other catastrophe that might befall us.  Many of them are doctors, medics, teachers, and community volunteers who are out there helping their fellow man just as you suggest and they are doing it now–not waiting for a TEOTWAWKI.  I know because I am in the emergency medical field and a community volunteer and that is where I met many of them.  Might I suggest that rather than focusing on our differences we might instead focus on what we do have in common so that we might work together for the good.  “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and  a house divided against a house falls. ” – Luke 11:17. Respectfully,- J.H. in Washington State

 

Mr. Rawles,
Regarding the recent article on SurvivalBlog entitled “How Your World View and Preparedness Mindset are Influenced by Your Eschatology”:

Some readers may be interested to know that all three books recommended by B.H. are available (digitally) for free on Dr. Gary North’s Freebooks page.

Economics and Investing:

Avalanche Lily spotted this: Report Card on Obama’s First Two Years. Those commodity inflation numbers look very troubling. What we are now witnessing is not so much commodities going up as it is the U.S. Dollar going down in purchasing power. If you haven’t done so already, then start shifting out of Dollar-denominated investments and into tangibles! Don’t overlook buying long term storage foods as both a hedge on inflation, and as a survival reserve for your family for times of scarcity.

Analyst Warns of 2015 Bank Crisis Amid ‘Upbeat’ Davos. “The fundamentals haven’t been addressed at all,” Wilkinson, a London-based partner at consulting firm Oliver Wyman, said in an interview at the Hotel Morosani Schweizerhof. “The things that caused the previous crisis — loose monetary policy and trade imbalances — they’re actually bigger now than they were then.”

B.B. sent us the link to the latest from the NIA: Americans Will Flock Into $5,000 Gold and $500 Silver

Our friends in Appenzell, Switzerland at The Daily Bell posted this: Central Banks Now Creating Hyperinflation?

Items from The Economatrix:

Bernanke Warns of Catastrophe if Debt Limit Not Raised  

Egypt Diverts Media Attention From US Economy  

GOP Plan Would Let States Go Bankrupt; Prospect Rocks Bond Market  

Bernanke Speech Helps Push Stocks Higher

Inflation Watch:

Companies Stock Up as Commodities Prices Rise. (This sort of hedging can of course start a snowballing effect.)

Why Global Food Price Inflation Really Matters  

Reader B.B. highlighted this: As World Becomes Zimbabwefied, Cotton Futures Surge 17% In One Month

Treasury TIPS: A Looming Disaster for Small Investors

Inflation ‘Higher Than Official Statistics Reveal’. (An interview with Marc Faber.)

Supermarket surprise: smaller servings, same price.

Bond Market Flashes Inflation Warning: Jump in U.S. Treasury yields signals market fear that Fed is behind the curve on prices

Odds ‘n Sods:

F.G. sent a link to some amazing photographs of the largest snow and ice storm to hit the U.S. in decades.

   o o o

Kayaker, 64, completes marathon paddle across Atlantic. (Thanks to Patrick T. for the link.)

   o o o

You may have heard of the documentary film “Far Out” that profiles Heimo and Edna Korth’s trapping family who live year-round in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). The documentary is again available at VBS.tv.

   o o o

Reader “InyoKern” wrote to recommend the IMCO Windproof Lighter from Austria. These were originally known as the “Trench Lighter” and date back to WWI. InyoKern’s description: “It has the benefits of a Zippo but is lighter weight, quieter to operate, doesn’t leak, and the flame can be separated from the housing to light a stove or fire like a match. They sell for less than $12.”

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“There is a difference between an ‘optimist’ and a fool. An optimist is somebody who looks at bleak facts and decides to make the best of the situation that they can. A fool is somebody who looks at bleak facts and decides to ignore them because they are too upsetting.” – Matt Savinar, Editor of Life After The Oil Crash

Letter Re: Planning for Training

Sir:
I noticed the great recent piece by B.D. on the importance of training. Here is a follow-up to that:

All too often as Americans we tend to focus first on the material side of things. That is, “I have to have the right gear to train with.” No, not necessarily.

Proverbs 1: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction. Even for the non believers this is the best place to start when it comes to training and learning. A haughty spirit hinders proper learning. Unfortunately you see this all too often in training. Ego and pride issues in both men and women preclude many from getting the most they could get out of the instruction available to them.

Proverbs 15:33 says “The fear of the Lord is the instruction of wisdom; and before honor is humility.” Humility. Interesting word you rarely see in our day and age. We want to be so “proud” of all of our achievements and accomplishments. Yet Scripture teaches us that God “resists the proud” and brings Grace to the humble.

I can’t tell you how many times in the last 2 and 1/2 decades of training that I’ve seen people hampered by their pride and ego issues. Certainly I have not been immune to it at times also. Yet we don’t learn with a closed mind. Yes, those new ideas might seem odd to you. Yes, they might be different from what you learned 40 years ago in the military. Yes, they may be different than what the police academy taught you. That doesn’t mean they don’t work!

Don’t be afraid to “lose” in training. This one is going to be a real blow to the pride and ego’ites. You can afford to lose in training. Getting shot with a simmunition or plastic BB isn’t the end of the world. Getting knocked out or having to “tap out” to a choke isn’t the end of the world. Should you set out to lose? Obviously not! But my point is that it’s training and -with the proper attitude- training is about learning – not competing. That’s a different realm.

When you lose in training you should learn from that loss. Certainly their is going to be a “learning curve” with any new skill. Would you rather experience that learning curve in the gym or in the force-on-force shoot house or would you rather experience that “learning curve” out on the street in a real encounter?

However when your main concern is only winning, then often times you miss the important lessons being taught. Yes, some techniques you can “muscle through” with a smaller adversary. Often times when you fight someone your size or larger, that won’t work. Meanwhile you’ve missed learning how to properly work the technique because you did it your way. Here again- pride and ego issues.

In training, allow yourself to get into a bad position or situation just to practice getting out of it. How often do you start a force on force drill on your knees with the opponents Airsoft or Simmunition weapon pointed at your head? How often do you start hand-to-hand practice with your opponent in back mount with a choke already sunk in? Impossible situations? No, just really tough situations. This is where the person that doesn’t really want to face reality says “I’d never let myself get into that position in the first place.” Yep, you and the tens of thousands that have already experienced it. Yet limiting your training to only the “best possible scenario” is like saying “well it will never rain so I don’t need an umbrella.”  You need to know how to react in unpleasant situations like this. Like Sonny Puzikas, a renowned trainer says “you can either think that you know, or you can know.”

Training shouldn’t be easy or set up in such a way to make us “feel good about ourselves.” If your leaving your training sessions like that, I would submit to you that you need to bump it up a level. You should leave training saying “I need to work on (fill in the blank).” Now is the time to push yourself. Now is the time to get in shape. Now is the time to learn.

Back in high school I remember their was a lot of talk about “on the job training.” For us as survivalists, “on the job training” won’t always be an option. Learning how to most efficiently manipulate your weapon under fire is not very conducive to learning- or survival for that matter! For serious survivalists, we want to learn and experience as much as possible before hand to avoid “on the job training” during bad situations.

Good luck and good training! – Robert (from the Survival And Preparedness Forum)

Note from JWR:

Today we present another two entries for Round 33 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 $392 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A 250 round case of 12 Gauge Hornady TAP FPD 2-3/4″ OO buckshot ammo, courtesy of Sunflower Ammo (a $240 value), 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.) , and B.) Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy. This is a $185 retail value.

Round 33 ends on March 31st, 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.

Shooting on a Shoestring, by John M.

Finding great self-defense weapons on a tight budget can be a challenge. There are tons of tactical weapons out there, but if you’re like a lot of us, the trick is finding something that you can afford.  If you’re one of those folks – this guide is for you.

Finding Your Gear

The used market is the place to look – prices are usually lower than retail.  Some states restrict advertising of certain kinds of used guns.  That makes it tougher, but not impossible to find stuff. 

Word of mouth and asking around (“know anybody that’s looking to sell something?”) can turn up leads.  Make friends in gun stores and get to know people. They’re often buying/selling/trading.

If advertising guns is unrestricted in your state, then pick up a local “shopper” advertising paper and/or check out the classifieds in the local newspapers.  Be persistent, be patient and when you find something you’re interested in, you can get on the ‘Net and check out the reviews.  An easy way to do that is to Google search the firearm you’ve got your eye on. [JWR Adds: I have found GunBroker.com, AuctionArms.com, and GunsAmerica.com to be excellent sources. The new GunListings.org page might also prove useful. To keep your gun buying both legal and private, at some of these web sites you can use an “Advanced Search” feature to limit your searches by State, and to only private seller listings. I strongly recommend that you buy only from private parties if that is legal in your locality. Of course consult your state and local laws first!]

If you’re not concerned about the paperwork involved with buying a firearm in a retail gun store, you’ll find that pawn shops and sporting goods outlets often stock used or consigned weapons at reasonable prices.  Some shops will let you try before you buy, or you can go to a commercial shooting range and rent guns that you’re interested in, before you lay down your cash.

A couple of thoughts about “paperwork” – the forms you fill out and the info you give whenever you buy a gun at a gun store. First, the government tells us that the info you give to get their permission to buy the gun (the instant criminal background check) is required by law to be destroyed.  Maybe they do, maybe they don’t – either way, you give them the info, fill out the Form 4473 and register yourself. The 4473 has to be surrendered to BATFE on demand, or when the store goes out of business.

Second, every gun that is sold retail for the first time, along with the buyer’s name, address, etc., is entered into BATFE’s E-trace system; and that is made available to any LEO or police department that subscribes to it.  In other words, you’re registered with your new gun. If that’s okay with you,then happy shopping!

Cheap Shotguns:

Shotguns are the definitive fight stopper. Devastating out to about 25 yards or so, there’s something inspiring about the sound of a 12 gauge racking a round into the chamber. The good news is, for $200 to $300 can find you a very serviceable gun. Tactical models, special finishes, stocks, and slings all raise the price quickly.

What you don’t want

Double barrels, single shots, and anything other than 12 or 20 gauge.  Double barrels look cool but they are slow to reload and only have (surprise!) two shots.  Singles go bang half as much and suffer from the same slow reload drawback.  Experts like Clint Smith of Thunder Ranch can make a single run almost like a semi-auto. But you ain’t Clint Smith.

What you do want

Late model guns from Remington, Mossberg, and Winchester are probably your best bet – The Remington 870, Mossberg 500 and Winchester 1300 all have their fans. The 870s I own have been completely reliable. Ditto my 1300.
Pump shotguns are plentiful on the used market.  They are relatively cheap, easy to use, reliable and have a stout kick.  When you shoot one – keep that in mind – it kicks.
Pumps are generally less expensive and finicky than semi-automatics. What to feed them? Another good debate topic (and oh, how gunnies love to argue!). To keep it simple, buy plenty of double ought buck for social work and bird shot (# 7 or 8) for practice. Bird shot is currently going for about 20 cents a round.
Shotgun shells in 12 or 20 gauge are common now and will likely be easier to find than any other gauge when the stuff hits the fan. I know .410s are popular, especially among the Taurus Judge 5 shooter crowd and the derringer community.  To me, it’s still a boutique round. But, you pays your money and takes your choice.  I’ll take a 12 or a 20, thanks.

Rifles:

A rifle, effectively used, is usually the best thing to take to a gun fight. For our purposes, we are only looking for a semi-automatic military type rifle. Why?
Good ones can still be had for cheap and they offer a level of durability and reliability far beyond their low price. Military weapons are built tough for a tough job – warfare. That translates into a tough dependable weapon in any situation – always an advantage.
Bolt actions are less desirable because of a lower rate of fire compared to a semi-automatic. Should you get into a firefight, you want to have all the firepower you can muster.
On the other hand, bolt actions like the Russian Mosin Nagant can be found for less than $200, and they fire a potent 7.62×54 round.  They also may have an accuracy advantage.
There are few affordable semi-auto military rifles on the open market for less than $400.  Except the venerable SKS.  The SKS come with a WWII-style wood stock (no “fancy-smancy” black plastic stuff on these), a crude (but effective) safety that blocks the trigger, usually some kind of canvas olive drab sling and a 10-shot magazine. If you were only going to own one rifle, this one is worth serious consideration. Developed in Russia in 1944, it enjoyed a short life as a front line battle rifle and was replaced three years late

r with the AK-47.  SKSes were then used by nearly all the old Soviet bloc countries, other communist countries like China, and client states like Vietnam and Cuba.  It is still used in insurgencies around the world. Capable of firing 10 rounds of 7.62×39 ammunition (roughly the same ballistics as a 30-30 round), they are loaded by inexpensive stripper clips or one at a time.  It is reliable as a quartz watch, virtually unbreakable, cheap to feed, easy to maintain (it can be, like most army guns, disassembled without tools), reasonably accurate and common on the market.

The AK-47 beats the SKS in firepower (30+ rounds versus 10).  It is lighter, faster to reload (mags versus stripper clips), and in military guise, has full auto capability. It is renowned as one of the most reliable (read, unbreakable) rifles in the world. The good news is that both are commercially available in the US (the AK being a semi-automatic only here). But the AK is a good deal more expensive – $600 and up. In contrast, I was recently able to find a couple Chinese SKS’s for $175 each.
The 7.62×39 round has been used to harvest deer and other medium game. SKSes are sufficiently accurate with standard sights to take game out to about 150 – 200 yards. At this writing it is runs about 27 cents a round. Cheap enough to practice with.
The stripper clip can be a very fast way to reload the rifle, assuming you practice and have a strong thumb. 
In short, if you’re looking for a powerful, multi-use, affordable, tough rifle, the SKS is the one to beat.

Beyond the SKS, prices go north. Next in line, price wise, might be an AK copy – variants sell under different designations. For example, a desirable used Mak 90 (a 1990s Chinese AK, stamped receiver, sporter AK with an awful looking thumbhole stock) can be had for $500 – $600. If you can afford one, go for it.
AR-15 clones, M1s, M-14s, FALs, FNs, etc., will cost you more. There are better rifles, but there are none at a better price point than an SKS.  At the end of the day – all of them go bang when you pull the trigger.  Nobody I know wants to stand in front of one!

Mini-14s

Loved and hated, the Ruger Mini-14 has been around since the 1970s and it is a durable semi-auto that has controls like Garand type rifles of yore (the M1 and the M14), [but uses a short-stroke gas piston like an M1 Carbine]. It shoots the ubiquitous .223 round and it is worthy of consideration to anyone wanting a .223 fighting gun. They can be found around $500 on the used market.

Older Mini-14s (serial number 180,XXX and up) are known for their reliability and their fair to poor accuracy – 7 inch groups at 100 yards aren’t uncommon. On the other hand, that level of accuracy in a combat gun is acceptable and not much worse than the SKS or the vaunted AK-47s. Later models have had mixed reviews and are reported to be more finicky about magazines. A common fix is to use factory Ruger magazines exclusively.
Newer models (with serial numbers above 581,XXX) are claimed to be more accurate and reliable.
Mine run consistently and hit with acceptable accuracy – even though they’re 30 years old. An advantage I’ve found with mine is that they shoot steel case Russian .223 happily.  A lot AR-15s don’t.  In a survival situation, it would be an advantage to have a rifle that will digest whatever ammo you have or acquire. Finally, Mini-14s are low maintenance and easy to field strip – without tools. That’s a plus in unpredictable circumstances.

A final thought on rifles: When the curtain goes down on the good times, 7.69×39 and .223 ammo will then, as now, probably be around in quantity.

Handguns:

Handguns are easily concealed and easily used in a self-defense situation. Most gunfights take place at close range and this is where handguns do their best work.
I am a Glock shooter.  I love ‘em.  I also love 1911s (usually Colts – older models), and good Smith & Wesson revolvers (.44 Magnums are still “the most powerful [widely produced] handgun in the world” for this Dirty Harry fan!).  Why do I love Glocks?  I bought my first one in the late 1980s and it’s never let me down. Recently I completed an intense three-day shooting school – over a thousand rounds down range and not a single failure, not one, nada – that from my old Glock 17, the one I got in the 1980s.  They are ugly, they run, and they are accurate. They are also light, easy to conceal, clean, maintain, and nearly rust-proof. What’s not to love?
Used ones turn up in the paper at around $500. 

If you are one an even tighter budget, the how about a used P85 or P90 series Ruger 9mm?  $375.  Mine has been running since around 1985.  Sure it’s big.  Sure it’s ugly.  But it’s accurate and reliable.

Used Beretta 92s (civilian version of the Army’s official M9 sidearm) are around for $400.  Does it run? Yes.  Accurate?  Yes. Easy to maintain?  Absolutely. Remember that that 9mm ammo is relatively inexpensive and ubiquitous.

Before you turn your nose up at 9 millimeter pistols, remember we’re doing this on a budget.  Are there better calibers?  Probably.  But none cheaper to practice with.  There are excellent self-defense 9mm bullets available as well, which make the 9mm a serious combat gun. For the money, they are hard to beat.

Final Thoughts

The most important thing you can do after you get your gun is learn how to run it well – that includes safe handling and good marksmanship.  Good training will help you hone both. If you can’t afford training, consider one of the excellent training books by masters like John Farnam, Jeff Cooper, or Massad Ayoob.  There are some great training DVDs available for rent at Smartflix.  The advantage to DVDs is you get to see the tactics and techniques in action. [JWR Adds: Also take advantage of low cost training at the Appleseed Shoots.]

Weapons don’t make you a master.  You have to master your weapon.  While you might not have the latest tacticool gun, experts say that marksmanship is largely a matter of practice and good trigger control – regardless of your equipment.  As Clint Smith says, “Use what you got!” – J.M.

How Your World View and Preparedness Mindset are Influenced by Your Eschatology, by B.H. in North Central Idaho

A few weeks back a young reader asked a question about preparedness and the coming tribulation.  I was surprised that you left out a third option in your response.  I tried to write a quick note but soon realized a comprehensive response or article was warranted.  So here it is.

Since the Second Great Awakening (a time of spiritual revival and activity) in the 1830s the Christian Church has embraced the theology of Pessimism.  This time of revival saw a clear shift in end times belief or eschatology.  The traditional and historical view of the Church was of Dominion Theology which is quickly making a strong return today through the Reformed Christian Movement.  Let’s explore both thoroughly so we can understand how one’s position of eschatology will ultimately define their world view and preparedness mindset.

In the 1830s, the spiritual culture in America was in upheaval and change.  Concurrently we saw the rejection of Dominion Theology and the movement to Theology of Pessimism.  Likewise, we saw the emergence of the Church of Jesus Christ and the Latter Day Saints (LDS), Jehovah’s Witnesses (JW) and Seventh Day Adventist Church (SDA).  Coincidentally, all four now rely heavily upon Biblical speculation, new or post-Biblical prophecy and focus heavily on end times topics for weekly liturgy or rely heavily on apocalyptic content for their church identity.  We also saw the introduction of humanism at  the pulpit and in worship explaining today’s flowery and repetitiously-hypnotic songs of worship which lead people to see Jesus as a “Therapist in the Sky” (self-focused worship like Two Footprints in the Sand” rather than the Conquering King of everything.)  Dominion Theology uses Psalms for it’s majority of worship music.  The idea being that the Psalms are songs written by a warrior about God’s strong nature and Dominion of creation.  Plus, singing God’s own words back to Him in worship seems to make a lot of sense.

The commonality between the modern mainstream church, LDS, JW and SDA is the prophetic interpretation.  Its highly speculative without using standard rules of hermeneutics, historical imperative or Biblical interpretation (using the Bible to interpret the Bible).  They all include some form of Theology of Pessimism.  Why do I call it the Theology of Pessimism?  Because that is exactly what happens when you embrace that eschatology.  Let me explain.  If I were a youth football coach and I walked into the locker room and yelled at the kids every day telling them…”your nothing, you stink, you will never be a winner, your going to go out and get your butt kicked every day, we may win the game at the very end but your going to lose the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th quarters.”  What kind of team do you think I would field?  Exactly.  A team with the understanding that no matter what it does it will lose, be irrelevant, be persecuted and tried and eventually need a “life raft” called the rapture to whisk them away to safety before the real bad stuff happens.  Wow!  What a message.  Come on people-come join the losing team.  Christ died for us but let’s be a bunch of loser’s and be Satan’s doormat together! 

The Pessimism plays out in our world view and culture.  This is the exact reason the Christian Church of today is vastly impotent and useless in affecting our culture for Christ and has no cause for impacting future generations.  Why would someone be interested in a two to three generational plan of action when they continually are looking to the sky for an exit.  The modern church has a lack of generational  purpose and is waiting for the “Mother ship” to come take her away so why bother with high standards or pursuits in great education, pursuit of cultural victory by making good wholesome movies and music, art, government, a clear lack of generational mindset of positive change in our communities and culture for the long-term—all missing because of pessimism.

Furthermore, this subsequently manifests itself in our prepping.  We now focus inwardly on individual and family prepping at the expense of the world around us.  We have recently experienced this mindset first hand where the local Christian community is so inwardly focused in can soon be described as incestuous or inbred in its nature with a refusal to anchor or be a pillar of Christian action in the daily culture of our community.

Do you want to just survive or thrive?  Do you want to see hard or troubled times as the end of times or the opportunity to move the gospel forward and advance our Christian culture back to where it was in the days of old?  Are you prepping to be a self-sufficient island, hoping to outlast the looter carnage or are you planning with other preppers to be ready for commerce and trade?  To profit from the coming hard times by creating wealth and providing an avenue for a large hungry labor pool to create stability and peace or the opposite?

I pointedly say to Mr. Rawles that he has been a great leader in waking people up to the need to prepare but there seems to be a general focus upon isolation rather than a direct plan within a small town infrastructure.  My belief is to be in the small town setting, just outside or close enough for walking.  This way one can be active with the town marshal, help organize the churches, organize and improve farmer’s market, create relationships and networks that will be ready to weather the storm.  Fact—we will need other people, that stinks.  Guess what?  We sin and they sin and all the other mess that goes with it is exactly where God wants us.  All the folks who are removed by distance and geography will soon regret it when fuel is too expensive or valuable to burn just so they can get to a market to get something they need.  Their well-planned retreat becomes an island of exile from community, commerce and fellowship.

Therefore, my position is that Dominion Theology is the organic world view of Christianity and the most appropriate world view for prepping.  Dominion Theology states that Christ is King, has dominion over all of creation, He is sitting on the throne and will not get up until His enemies are made His footstool (complete cultural and political dominion).  It also believes that the Book of Revelation means what it says when it was written for the early church (tribulation warning for churches of Asia minor in regards to Nero) and that prophecy was fulfilled and closed in A.D. 70 with the great harlot being destroyed and the Jewish temple de-constructed in Jerusalem (just as Jesus said).  We are now in the Church Age or millennium and that the “1,000 years” was not literal but symbolic of many generations.

Instead of trying to convince you with a lengthy dissertation, I will just recommend three books and throw out a clear challenge to do some study. The first book is to gain clear understanding of Biblical language and themes starting with Creation and ending with Revelation.  David Chilton’s “Paradise Restored: A Biblical Theology of Dominion” does just that.  Next is to gain a clear understanding of Revelation and how Biblical themes, Jewish symbolism, worship themes and New Testament references lead us into a clear understanding of Revelation and not a disjointed and far-fetched speculation or fiction of end times.  I believe that David Chilton scored a scholarly victory with “The Days of Vengeance: An Exposition of the Book of Revelation.”

The final and most difficult to find book is Dr. Kenneth L. Gentry’s  “He Shall Have Dominion: A Postmillennial Eschatology (Third Edition: Revised & Expanded) ”–which has yet to be scholarly answered by the theological scholars of today.  The likes of Dallas Theological Seminary and others have been convincingly silent and can’t or won’t respond to the clear and definitive work by Gentry.  The Christian church made a left turn in the 1830s and its time to get back on track.  So the challenge is to read these and not be convinced of the falsity of Dispensational Pre-millennialism. 

In closing, why is this important to prepping?  It determines your world view and your prepping focus.  I say it is a mistake to “hunker down” in your remote retreat for several reasons.  Being close (walking distance) to a small town allows one to be influential in town politics, community activity and supportive of local commerce.  Also, it allows Christian fellowship in mature and formal settings. Specifically, when things go to Schumer and fuel is over $10/gallon you’ve just removed yourself from influence and positive activity if you live a long way out.

Do you have a plan to help organize local churches to feed, clothe, commune and minister to locals who will be looking for leadership?  Have you segregated yourself from them hoping they feed upon each other, thus limiting your charity to the the scarecrows that crawl by so you only have to give “until it hurts”?  In the Book of Acts the commitment was clear and complete. Do we consider charity limited to materials goods or does it include your time and energy?  As Christians, do we deny the employment of fellowship as charity just because we risk bodily harm being away from the retreat?  “Feed the poor” Jesus says. but modern survivalism says each to their own with a little for charity if they can make it past the killing time.  I say that is the wrong approach.

Yes, beans, bullets and Band-Aids for your family.  But a plan to be ready in the small town you influence will keep the hordes away from your property, maximize efficiency of charity, allow for pooling of resources and labor and set the stage for commerce, profit and thriving.  Rothschild said,  “When there is blood in the streets—buy!”  The clear message is to be ready for opportunity and use it for generational victory and not a temporary patch until the mother ship arrives.  Christianity isn’t “Calgon take me away”- (an old soap commercial) but is “Freedom!”– (Mel Gibson from Braveheart)

Gloria Deo, – B.H. in North Central Idaho

Letter Re: Tips on Wild Food Foraging

Jim:
I just wanted to add a note to a well-written article. In addition to wild plant collection, I would seriously look to ornamental plants in the landscape as sources of both edible foods and medicinal plants. I currently work at a botanic garden and have been identifying and eating wild plants as well as ornamental ones for more than 20 years. I also teach plant identification.

As your article points out, season is everything. I am confident that I could walk into the woods from May through September and probably not starve to death. Late Fall and Winter are different. However, I could survive for a much longer period eating the plants that have been planted throughout the neighborhood. While most were planted for their ornamental qualities, they also have edible or medicinal qualities.

Plants such as crabapples, serviceberries, barberries, roses, certain dogwoods, and a few dozen different perennial flowers are all sources of food that should be considered.  

As for the “yuck” factor that your friends have, it has been my experience that some people will never eat anything unless it comes from a grocery stand, or is prepackaged food. They have been so conditioned to believe that anything that has not been washed is going to make them sick. Most will not even give some of these plants a little taste. Or worse, some believe that it is beneath them to even try. If the Schumer hits the fan like a lot of the predictions out there, I can assure you there will be a quick, steep learning curve as to which plants you can do what with. Many will get sick, and some will die from eating the wrong plant or berry. Experimenting with the wrong plant can be deadly. And if you need food now, just walking into the woods with a book to start to learn how to identify which plants are good to eat and which will kill you will only accomplish a slower rate of starvation for yourself at best. Start learning how to identify them now. Learn where certain plants like to grow. Scout out your neighborhood and see where the best trees, shrubs, and flowers are at.

Learn how to use these plants. And most importantly, understand that “Edible” does not mean “good to eat”. “Edible” means you will not flop over dead if you do consume it. – Dan D. Lion

Letter Re: Buy It Wholesale–Free Food Now and Free Food Later

Mr. Rawles

Thanks for posting the article “Buy It Wholesale–Free Food Now and Free Food Later”. It has given me much to think about. It also introduced me to Restaurant Depot. I discovered that they had a store an hour drive from me. Their on-line sale flyer showed that they had boneless skinless chicken thighs for just $0.85 per pound in a 40 pound carton. I can report that 40 pounds of chicken make 18 quarts of canned chicken. I canned it mostly in pint jars since there are just two of us. This is far less expensive than commercially canned chicken.

Everything the author said about the place is true. They have an amazing selection. I am sure we will make them one of our regular suppliers. Thanks, – R.A.