Odds ‘n Sods:

A “Strong To Severe” geomagnetic storm is expected for up to 36 hours, starting tonight. Get ready for some pretty aurorae. Disconnecting the power cords and antennas for your primary radios and full Faraday cage protection (trash can with tight-fitting lid) for your spares would be wise. This is good practice, if nothing else…

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F.J. found this gem: Box food dehydrator

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Camping Survival’s Paracord Giveaway ends soon. Describe your favorite paracord project, or list some of your favorite uses for paracord and how you execute them, and you can win a 1,000 foot roll of top quality paracord. This contest will run through the end of September.

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A tongue-in-cheek piece over at the Rural Revolution blog had me laughing hysterically: Wood Cutting 101 by Husband of the Boss.

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Jeff H. and F.J. both sent this: Man with broken leg survives 4 days in Utah desert. F.J. notes some Lessons Learned: “(1) Water is essential. (2) Don’t panic (3) Tell folks where you’ll be! (4) Have check in times (5) Innovative using flash camera to signal plane.”

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“There is the moral of all human tales;
‘Tis but the same rehearsal of the past.
First freedom and then Glory – when that fails,
Wealth, vice, corruption – barbarism at last.” – George Gordon (Lord Byron), “Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage“, Canto IV

A Disconnect in Spot Precious Metals Prices and The Real World

I’m sure that most of you noticed that gold and silver took deep dips on Thursday and Friday. (Spot silver declined nearly 20%–almost $9 per ounce!) Then an odd thing happened last weekend: I attended a gun show deep in the American Redoubt. I was happy to see that there were four coin dealers that had rented tables there. I had brought some cash with me, hoping to buy some more silver. I also brought a few fractional gold coins to swap for silver, or perhaps even platinum. (Since spot platinum is presently priced below gold!) But my more realistic goal was to swap for silver, since there is presently a very advantageous 53.5-to-1 ratio of silver to gold prices.

But I soon found that all four dealers were sticking to their pre-dip prices. All four of them quoted me asking prices of 26 or 27 times face value for pre-1965 junk silver (90%) coins. But with the recent dip in silver futures and spot silver, the gnomes of New York said that coin dealers should have quoted me a price of around 22 or 23 times face value. Of course, in a free market, dealers can price anything wherever they’d like, and I won’t fault them for that. How can I blame them, when they probably paid 24 or 25 times face, wholesale for their current inventories of pre-1965 coins, just a couple of weeks ago. They are of course hoping that the price of silver will soon rebound. (And it very likely will.)

In the end, since the dealers were all standing firm on their pre-dip prices, I didn’t work any cash deals for silver coins or small ingots. But at least I was able to swap some “small gold” coins for a few Johnson Matthey and Sunshine Minting serialized 10 Troy ounce .999 fine silver bars.

My experience at the gun show is further evidence that the “real world” price of commodities often differ from the “official” price. In turbulent markets where we now witness huge price swings, we can expect to see these sorts of pricing disconnects more often. Be flexible, keep cash on hand to take advantage of dips, and keep close track of market moves.

Guest Article: To Build a Fire, by Bob A.

Okay, I admit it, I’m a Prepper.  The first time I read the Boy Scout Motto “Be Prepared”, I was hooked.  “Be prepared for what?” someone once asked Baden-Powell, the founder of Scouting, “Why, for any old thing.” said Baden-Powell.  My real awakening with the Boy Scout Handbook was my first introduction to fire.  Learning to make a basic campfire, a cook fire, bonfire and camp-fire television were the first tastes of what would prepare me for the future. I camped, earned merit badges and worked my way to First Class and Patrol leader all the while putting an end to cords and cords of wood with gusto.  Being a Scout taught me at a young age to think about prepping as a natural part of my life.  When I read Jack London’s epic story “To Build A Fire”, I understood that being unprepared can be the harshest schoolmaster.  So I began my life in the workaday world planning on being the one who was prepared.
Fast forward to ‘married with children’ and I can hear my patient, psych-majored, wife say, “prepping meets a basic need”.  In my mind, prepping meant to know ‘everything’ about being prepared.  It was important to understand not just how to prep, but what to prep for and to understand the root causes for why one had to prep.  Several books I read provided the best explanation of what was coming: 1) The Fourth Turning by Strauss and Howe, 2) Conquer the Crash by Robert Prechter, and 3) The Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb.   All three helped me understand what I was preparing for and instilled a real sense of urgency.  Knowing the why, I also pursued the how by reading: 1) Boy Scouts Handbook (First Edition, 1911), 2) The Encyclopedia of Country Living by Carla Emery, and 3) How to Survive the End of the World As We Know It, by James Wesley, Rawles, the best among many others.

After years of reading books, articles and blogs, it slowly dawned on me that I would never know ‘everything’ about prepping, but at least I could know ‘everything’ about a couple of things.  My work consisted of designing and building process equipment, which requires large vessels called retorts that are used to heat mercury vapor, hydrocarbons and air to over 1000F.  The retorts are kept under a mild vacuum, to prevent the conditions for combustion and fire from ever happening. After more than ten years of designing and building retorts, I became interested in biomass gasifiers, which are in many ways, similar to retorts.  My prepping had led me to look at alternative fuels for our family’s two diesel fueled sedans.  Although already easy on fuel, I was interested in what alternatives there were to using straight diesel fuel.  Peanut oil, soybean oil, palm oil, coconut oil, used fryer oil, used motor oil, LP gas, compressed natural gas and producer gas are all mentioned as alternatives to diesel fuel.  Wait a second!  What is that last one – producer gas? It is fairly common to convert a diesel to run on LP and compressed natural gas, but what was producer gas?  As it turns out, producer gas is the result of burning biomass (basically wood) with insufficient air. In fact about ¼ of the normal amount of air necessary to completely burn wood will yield a smoky, but burnable producer gas consisting mostly of Carbon Monoxide (CO), Hydrogen (H2), Nitrogen (N2) and smoke (unburned hydrocarbons).  Producer gas from a gasifier must have the smoke reformed into producer gas before it can be piped directly into the intake of a diesel engine. This could reduce, but not completely replace the diesel fuel that the engine uses.  I was intrigued by the possibility that we could use biomass to power our diesels.  After studying biomass gasification for about two years, we built our first test gasifier.  It was a batch-type, stratified, downdraft gasifier, which we built with insulated, stainless steel chimney sections and small axial blower. It was a very simple, yet excellent way to learn more about biomass gasification.  With this test unit we gasified every type of biomass we could get our hands on – wood chips, wood pellets, sawdust, cocoa shells, wood shavings, paper, and dried distillers grains (don’t ask).  In addition to producer gas, the gasifier also yields a charcoal, also known as biochar, as a valuable byproduct.

Needless to say I was excited, but then my wife says I’m always excited about something or other, having been born fully caffeinated.  Now I could make producer gas and biochar simply and on demand.  With some development time, stainless steel fabrication, and a digital control system – I could see this becoming an entire new business.  I made a plan for our prototype and my faithful sidekick, Jake, drew up good looking solid model drawings, which he then built.  To our surprise, the unit worked and generated producer gas that we flared off in an impressive blue flame about two feet long.  To our amazement, we also got it to power a 5 kW gasoline generator which we converted to run on producer gas using the tri-fuel generator kit available from US Carburetion.  So I showed my wife the unit, showed her how it operated, the big beautiful blue flame, ran the generator and told her my idea of how this was the basis for a whole new business.  Her immediate response, “That’s great dear – but don’t quit your day job.” Well I haven’t given up mercury retorts, but I could tell by her enthusiastic response that she was behind me all the way. 

Soon after, young Jake and I were discussing gasifying the various types of biomass, whether hardwood, softwood, nutshells, paper, and grains, and how the process seemed to be straightforward. Our conversation got around to size and again how simple the process was to gasify average size wood chips, wood pellets and other “average” size biomass, just as we could easily gasify small size biomass like fine sawdust.  I mentioned to Jake the importance of testing the other extreme, to which he immediately shot back, “then gasify logs”.  Ouch! Now that smarted.  Wood blocks, can do; small branches, check; short 2×2 cutoffs, no problem; but logs, full size logs?  That little challenge from Jake, faithful apprentice and right-hand man, forced me to think about the real reason we were doing what we were doing.  We really needed to be prepared for the time when the gasoline, diesel fuel, LP and natural gas were gone.  The time when the natural gas pipelines were empty, when we had used the last of our LP tanks, and when our diesel fuel and gasoline tanks were empty.  What happens then?  How would that happen? Whether war, EMP, political upheaval, famine or plague – it matters little.  Because when you’re cold and it’s dark, no one is interested in motives or underlying causes, you just need heat and light. 

All that would be left as a renewable resource would be our firewood, but how can we effectively use firewood?  Normally, the traditional campfire can provide heat to warm you up, cook your food, dry your clothes, signal your location, and provide you with adequate light to see and read.  However, under abnormal situations involving the high stress of no shelter, extreme cold, deep snow, high winds and driving rain; building a fire can be a lifesaving, but tricky proposition especially for the inexperienced and unprepared.  This is the part where having read Jack London’s short story, “To Build a Fire” was crucial to my thought process.  If you never read it – now is a good time.   Just what does it take to properly build a fire in extreme conditions?  It requires: first, shelter from wind and cold surfaces like snow; second, a good quantity dry wood; third, some kindling consisting of dried wood cut in thin sections or slivers; fourth, some flammable tinder, which can catch and hold the smallest flame or spark; fifth, all-weather waterproof matches or flint and steel; sixth, knowing the process of assembling the wood, kindling and tinder that will enable you to start and maintain the fire; and seventh, practice.   The best campfire resource on the web that I’ve seen is The Campfire Dude who provides you with solid information matched with years of practical experience.  Making a campfire is not that easy, in fact it requires skill under good circumstances, and can be near impossible in high stress situations.  Add to that the fact that a campfire is absolutely the least efficient means to burn wood to generate warmth and you may well be permanently disappointed. 

Jake and I had learned that it was easy to gasify almost any biomass using our downdraft gasifier, as long as it had been nicely chipped, chopped, pelleted, trimmed, dried and graded for uniformity.  However to gasify logs required a completely different approach, we found a clue at the 2010 U.S. Biochar Initiative Conference at Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa. There we saw several versions of inverted downdraft stoves and were intrigued by one large unit in particular.  One big problem was that it required electric power and a blower to operate – we were not interested, as our unit had to operate without power.  Instead we developed an idea, which used the updraft heat from the fire to drive the necessary airflow to feed the fire in place of the electric blower. We designed the layout for our basic prototype from our initial calculations, which required that we place correctly sized openings for primary and secondary air and chimney. Proper location, sizing and spacing all were important, in that they determined, how fast the wood burned, how hot the fire got and how completely it burned the wood fuel.  We built our first unit and were again amazed that it worked at all.  Our testing used metal containers, which ranged from 5 gallon metal pails holding 12 inch long split wood to 30 gallon cans where we tested full sized logs. 

We discovered in our first test that:
1) The burn was extremely hot, enough so to warp the metal container,
2) The wood burned with no visible smoke except on startup,
3) 20 pounds of wood burned down to less than 5# of biochar, and
4) The burn lasted more than two and one-half hours. 

Thus was born our “Commence Fire!” Emergency Fire and Heat unit, which includes:  one 5 gallon shrink-wrapped container, chimney, 20# of hardwood pellets, tinder/fire starter, stormproof matches, metal cups, water pouches, single servings of tea and a reflective Mylar blanket. 

To operate the Commence Fire!, first strip off the shrink wrapping, remove the shrink tube from inside the chimney, firmly pull the chimney completely up until it locks in place, charge the unit with the tinder/firestarter mix by pushing it completely down the chimney, remove a stormproof match from its package, light it and immediately drop it down chimney. 

Within five minutes of opening the shrink wrap, your fire should be well established. Next fill a cup with water and in a few more minutes you will have boiling water ready for hot tea.  Immediately search for about 100 pieces of small diameter logs and branches that are dead but still off the ground, and which you are able to break into 12” lengths using your hands or feet.  Lean the accumulated wood, even if wet, on the Commence Fire! unit to get it dry – as you will be using this wood as a continuing source of fire.  It is also recommended that you stack rocks up around the outside of the container to be heated and later brought into your tent or sleeping bag for long lasting warmth. Proper positioning of the Mylar blanket enables you to shield yourself from wind and rain, while reflecting heat from the backside of the unit.

You probably know that you can remain conscious for only three minutes without air. You may not know that you are likely to remain conscious for only three hours without adequate shelter and heat in extreme cold and wet conditions.  To reverse the effects of exposure and hypothermia you need the means to provide heat and shelter to reduce exposure and the means of increasing your core temperature by drinking warm liquids. With the Commence Fire! you have a unit with everything you need to start and maintain a fire in any weather and to provide shelter and warm liquids fast, especially when it is pre-positioned and ready in your BOV, retreat, cabin, boat, or cache.

Indoors, most folks believe that their fireplaces will be their backup heat. But the harsh reality is that a fireplace can be only slightly more efficient than a campfire in extracting heat from wood.

JWR Adds: The author makes an interesting new stove and tinder kit dubbed Commence Fire! It will soon be reviewed in SurvivalBlog by Pat Cascio. It is notable that the kit is specially dry-packaged for use in an emergency, so the contents stay dry, even if its shipping box gets soaking wet. Here is a demonstration of a Commence Fire! kit. 

Disclaimer (per FTC File No. P034520): I accept cash-paid advertising. To the best of my knowledge, as of the date of this posting, none of the companies mentioned in this article have solicited me or paid me to write any reviews or endorsements, nor have they provided me any free or reduced-price gear in exchange for any reviews or endorsements. I’ve been told that they will be providing Pat with one of their kits for test and evaluation, but nothing else. I am not a stock holder in any company.

TB Review for TEOTW, by Dr. Bob

OB?  Not bad if you need one.  CB?  Good times on the road.  PB?  Quite tasty–with or without J.  BB?  Good training gun for kids to start with.  TB?  No thanks.  Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis.  The disease is poorly understood in the US due to rare infections until the last 20 years or so, TB went nuts here and peaked in 1992.  New York City was in some areas more than three times the national average for infections per 100,000 population.  There were many reasons listed for this spike, but the two biggest were immigration and AIDS.  TB has steadily declined in the US since that time, which you would never know from watching the news.  Just like shark attacks, we are exposed to a lot less TB than we probably think due to over-reporting of such stories.  But, TB does pop up more when people are poor, dirty and stressed–like we all will be WTSHTF.  Abuse of drugs, tobacco, and alcohol are all know to increase the likelihood of contracting TB.  So is being underweight, vitamin D deficient, and iron deficient.  Chronic disease and immuno-compromise are also big risk factors for developing TB.  Most TB cases are from immigrants in the US, with more than half of all US cases in foreign-born individuals.

The treatment of TB will not be something possible in the small, self-sufficient communities created by a major grid-down event.  The good thing is that TB will probably not be an issue in these environments either.  If there is a member of your family or group infected currently with TB, they will need to live on the periphery of your community and avoid crowded contact to reduce the likelihood of transmission.  More than a third of household contacts test positive for TB with an infected family member.  Best advice:  that person needs to be in their own separate household.  Not only coughing, but also singing produces the formation of droplets that carry TB.  Risk of infection would exist with socializing with others, which could be markedly reduced with surgical masks on both TB carrier and the people he or she is mixing with.  There would still be risk, albeit very small without a coughing, laughing, or singing fit.  (We invite comments about this risk if you have the knowledge).

TB cases will likely rise in populated areas with no monitoring of the cases and less treatment available WTSHTF.  With less mixing of the population in preppers and rural folk without trips to airports, Mall of America, and the Wal-Mart; TB rates may actually fall in theory.  Open air and non-crowded environments help reduce transmission of the disease.  Crowding and poverty in areas with infected individuals are the real boosters of risk.  Avoid crowding and poverty, even at TEOTWAWKI.  You may have heard this somewhere before, but plan ahead.  Avoid populated areas with TB-infected individuals that will likely inhabit the major federal camps that will pop up to “help” people.  Self-reliance means better health.  TB infection will really not be a major issue for those groups and families that are independent WTSHTF.  Stay strong.

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

Letter Re: Some Low Power DC Lighting Solutions

Hi Jim,
I’ve been chasing some practical technologies that have proved useful to me. I hope that you find them useful as well.
 
As you know, power usage in an off-grid environment is a purse to be tightly controlled. After all, when you make your own, you cautiously guard it’s use.
 
I‘ve been using LED strings from Inirgee.com for the past number of years at the off grid ranch and have been well pleased. 
 
I’ve used the warm white and the cool white and learned I like warm white inside and cool white outside.
 

Recently I got adventurous and toyed with the Chinese/Hong Kong manufacturers on eBay. Most of my lights use the 1157 single pole DC light sockets so that’s what I centered around. I started out with these since the US guys have already toyed around and found what they liked but, of course, their price is higher.
 
Then I also got the cheap Chinese ones to try out. I also found these. They work well and put out light in 360 degrees.

Next, I tried the plate style light fixture. They come with Velcro backing so you can stick them up. They work very well for overhead or desk lights or simply put into RV-style house lamps. Here are three different eBay offerings: One, Two, Three. 

Then I ran across a super nice floodlight, 1,000 lumens and pulls ~.6 amps. A lot of light with a very minimal current draw.
 
All in all, the overall current reduction has been ~80% less than I was using and the lights are comfortable and reliable.
 
Nice thing about putting these floodlights on the ATV and tractor is at night, I can turn off the engine and leave all the lights on and not worry if I’m going to run the battery down. 5 to 6 hours of very bright light at night and the engine always starts.

One convenient method for portable applications of the floodlights has been to use a (military) BB-2590 lithium battery (rechargeable of course) powering a single floodlight and it ran continuously for seven days.
 
All in all, should power go away, using the aforementioned DC lighting solutions makes life a lot more tolerable. And before that should happen, the cost of illumination is drastically reduced I hope you find an acorn or two in the foregoing that helps you.
 
Best Regards, – The Army Aviator

Three Letters Re: Small Scale Alternative Energy in Suburbia

Mr. Rawles:
In a recent SurvivalBlog post, Alan W. wrote:

“It has a 400w inverter with a modified sine wave output. During Hurricane Irene the
only thing that I could get it to power was a standard lamp with an incandescent light bulb! It wouldn’t run tools or electronics.”

I believe he is drawing the wrong conclusion from this experience. Instead of blaming the (admittedly inferior) “modified sine wave” inverter, he should have blamed himself for not testing his equipment before the emergency struck.

I own a number of inexpensive inverters with “modified sine wave” ranging from 175 watt to 1000 watt ratings, and have found they run almost everything I have tried to power with them. I have run lights, both incandescent, CFL, and long tube fluorescents with both old magnetic and modern electronic ballasts. I have run sound reinforcement equipment
including mixers and power amplifiers (with a slight buzz but no damage).

Every night I run my CPAP [sleep apnea breathing] machine and charge my cell phone using an inexpensive 200 watt rated “modified sine wave” inverter running from a deep cycle battery that is charged by a small solar electric system.

One way to be almost absolutely sure that an electronic device will be happy running from a “modified sine wave” inverter is to look at the acceptable power voltage range. Many electronic devices today have “universal” power supplies that will accept any voltage from 100 to 250 volts. Such universal power supplies have zero problems using the less than great output waveform of inexpensive inverters. Both my CPAP and my cell phone charger have such universal power supplies.

As far as the tool issue, most motors require 7 to 10 times their running power to start. It is possible that the 400 watt inverter was simply not big enough to run the device he tried to use.

It is also very possible that he had a defective inverter.

He also stated:

“An inverter with a pure sine wave output is a much more expensive design
(and is the same output as your house electric) and is typically larger. It
is often used in back-up power supplies for computer systems.”

Most reasonably priced computer UPSes sold in the home and small business market, have “modified sine wave” outputs, not “pure sine wave”. Our computers at home are running on four different APC brand UPSes, all of which have “modified sine wave” outputs. This is another example to disprove the common myth that electronics can’t run on “modified sine wave” inverters.

And, regarding:

“I realize that the typical generator uses a cheaper inverter and that may
be fine for a few lamps and a refrigerator, but I want to run medical
equipment, Televisions and a laptop during outages.”

The “typical” generator does not use an inverter. The modern inverter generators popularized by Honda with their very quiet EU series of generators do use inverters, and the Honda models have a pretty good “pure sine wave” output.

There may be medical equipment that has a problem running on “modified sine wave” inverters, but I suspect many dealers and manufacturers claim pure sine wave is required for liability reasons rather than any actual technical reason. Again my CPAP is perfectly happy running on “modified sine wave” power.

Laptops mostly have universal power supplies these days which don’t much care how good the power is you feed to them. In the case of a laptop a better solution is to use a power supply that runs directly from the 12 volt DC battery. This is much less wasteful of energy.

Televisions and radios may pick up noise when running on any inverter because even the best “pure sine wave” inverter has RF trash on its output. Try this before hand and see how much of a problem it is in your situation.

JWR wrote in reply:

“Even the best inverters produce AC power with a slightly clipped or distorted waveform.”

This is true. You can largely clean the power up by using a Harmonic Neutralized Constant Voltage Transformer such as the models made by Sola. I have both a small 50 watt and a large 1,000 watt Harmonic Neutralized Sola and use them to provide clean power to very finicky “power prima donna” electronics. The downside of these transformers are that they are large, heavy (my 1000 watt transformer weighs 80 pounds), waste some of the power, and are expensive even if bought used.

JWR Also mentioned:

“Also, when sizing your system remember that the larger the inverter, the
higher its “idle” current draw will be.”

That is a very important point. That is why I use a small 200 watt inverter to power my CPAP machine and my cell phone charger. Nothing larger is required. Regards, – R.R.

 

Jim:
As a former truck driver, I have used inverters to power all sorts of things in the truck for about 10 years.

I have run various power tools, laptops, desktop computer, and even a deep fryer,cooker combo on my inverter.

The little cigarette lighter plug style inverter puts out around 50-70 watts. It would not power my laptop, but it would charge the battery, it works great for the little household adapters. They usually run around 30-40 dollars at a chain truck stop.

I used a Cobra 800 watt inverter that powered a desktop computer and CRT monitor. This was back in 2000 when laptops were still very expensive compared to desktops. It was mounted in the truck where the television normally goes. I could go many hours on the four batteries in the truck while still being able to start the engine later.

I later upgraded to a 1000 watt inverter to power my cooker, after having problems with my truck mounted diesel genset. With the high maintenance costs of running that little diesel generator, I would have been better off buying 6 or 8 additional deep cycle batteries and installing a second alternator. I spent nearly as much on the little generator as I did on the care of the 500hp Detroit diesel that got me down the road. – M.B.

 

James:
Instead of spending a lot of money to get a pure sine wave generator or inverter, I’d like to remind SurvivalBlog readers of something that has been mentioned here before: You can place a UPS power backer in the line between the generator/inverter and your electronics. Let the generator charge the UPS battery with squarish sine waves and run the electronics off of the inverted battery power by the backer which is made to run sensitive electronics. I started using UPS seriously when our local power company (famous for high voltage spikes) kept burning out high quality spike protectors. The UPS power backers, take spikes, browns and square waves all the time providing clean power to your electronics. A power drop won’t even drop the satellite TV connection. The down side is that you have to replace the battery every few years or so. I’ve had the internal batteries last for as long as 5 and as few as 2. Almost every electronic device I own is on one except for large current drain items like laser printers and appliances. Those items stay on surge protectors which I do replace as they fail. – F.B. (15 Miles From Asphalt)

Economics and Investing:

Pierre M. sent this: Bank of America is Becoming a “Counterparty Risk” Like Bear and Lehman

Over at Fierce Finance: Banks downgraded, but is too-big-to-fail really over?

G.G. sent a link to a noteworthy news article dated September 19th that I had missed: Israel Has Dumped 46 Percent of Its U.S. Treasury Bills; Russia 95 Percent

Also from G.G.: Virginia regulators closed another bank, bringing the nationwide tally of bank failures to 72 for the year.

Items from The Economatrix:

Oil Falls Below $80 On Demand Concerns

Global Leaders Struggle to Calm Recession Fears

Signs of China Slowdown Add to Dim Global Outlook

Bernanke Triggers October Crash Early

Odds ‘n Sods:

John R. spotted this: Hay The Latest Target For Thieves As Prices Skyrocket

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P.L. recommended an informative firearms article by Grant Cunningham: Lubrication 101

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Allie in Montana mentioned an amazing truly “minimalist” Kydex holster: The Zacchaeus Concealment Holster, made by Dale Fricke Holsters. It is particularly useful for those that like “Mexican Carry”, but that don’t want a gun to slip too deep down their pants. (That can be embarrassing, not to mention unsafe!) Having the triggerguard fully enclosed is particularly important for pistols that lack a thumb safety lever (and with or without the “safety in the trigger”) such as Glocks, FNPs, SIG P250s, and Springfield XDs. These clever little “holsters” are so small that they can be left on a loaded gun even if it is inside a pistol rug, in a pistol rack in your gun vault, or tucked in a glove box or “jockey box’ of a vehicle. I’m buying several of them, just for peace of mind with my Glocks and XDs.

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F.J. recommended this over at Life Hacker: Build Bicycle Panniers from Kitty Litter Buckets

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Michael Z. Williamson (SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large) flagged this: You’ll eat what you’re told and like it.

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Between the hand wringing over Greece and the Eurozone, the Palestinian-related hair-pulling at the UN, the stock market cra**ing the bed, and NASA running around yelling that the sky is falling, the only way you can tell the front page of CNN.com from SurvivalBlog right now is by the graphics and color schemes.” – Tamara, at the View From The Porch blog

Note from JWR:

Today we present another two entries 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.

Environmental Emergencies, by K.G. EMT-P

One of the most often overlooked and underestimated issues regarding first aid are environmental related injuries.  In the event that ambulance services and advanced medical personnel are unavailable, there are measures that a person can take to alleviate symptoms, prevent organ damage, and possibly save a life.  From my own personal experience as a paramedic, I have found that these emergencies are usually unexpected even in people who are in relatively good medical condition.

Environmental injuries are problems we don’t usually encounter on a regular basis in our daily lives.  While our bodies can usually compensate for extreme environment exposure, the natural protective mechanisms that our body provides can sometimes prove to be inadequate.  When these extremes are too much for our bodies to handle, the result may lead to shock and even death. 
There are basically two extremes that a person is likely to encounter; extreme hot conditions and extreme cold conditions.  Heat related injuries, or hyperthermia (abnormally high body temperature) can result in heat cramps, heat exhaustion, or heat stroke.  Cold related injuries, or hypothermia (abnormally low body temperature), can result in chilblains, frostnip, or frostbite.  Another environmental injury not related to hot or cold conditions is trench foot, also called immersion foot, which is similar to frostbite.

There are preventative measures that should be taken in order to ensure that the chances of these types of injuries occurring are avoided.    Dehydration is a symptom that presents early and can be avoided by drinking plenty of water.   Wear proper attire accordingly for the environment you expect to be exposed to.  Wear loose, light colored clothing, and a wide-brimmed hat to provide shade in hot weather.   In cold weather, make sure to cover all exposed skin, and layer clothing to provide dead air space to act as insulation from the cold.  One should be careful to not layer to the point of sweating.  If sweating occurs, you should begin removing layers, as sweating will quickly lead to hypothermia.  Monitoring the amount of physical exertion in extreme environments, getting plenty of rest, and maintaining a proper diet are also important factors in regulating body temperature.

While anyone can be affected by these extremes of climate and temperature, it is often those with certain risk factors that are at a higher risk of developing an environmental illness.  Risk factors include:

  1.  Age of the individual – Children and elderly are at higher risk because of their inability to tolerate variations in temperature.
  2. Current health of the individual – Fatigue, hypoglycemia, malnutrition, and other chronic health issues such as diabetes, cardiac related illnesses, respiratory disease, and mental instability can interfere with the body’s ability to recover from environmental exposure illness.
  3. Medications – Many medications can affect body temperature.  For instance, diuretics can worsen hyperthermia; beta blockers affect the heart rate and can interfere with the regulation of body temperature.  Anti-psychotics and antihistamine medications can also alter the temperature in certain deep tissues of the body.
  4. Level of acclimatization – This is the person’s ability to adjust to changes in environmental conditions, or climate.
  5. Length and intensity of exposure – Factors such as humidity and wind can contribute to the susceptibility of environmental illnesses, and accelerates the effects of exposure on the human body.

Heat Related Injuries
Signs, symptoms and treatment of heat related injuries are best described as follows:

  1. Dehydration – This occurs when your body does not have as much fluid as it needs, and usually leads to other heat related disorders if not addressed immediately.  Signs and symptoms may include nausea, vomiting, abdominal discomfort, blurry vision, decreased urination, skin loses elasticity, and altered mental status (confusion, disorientation, etc.).  Note:  Thirst is a poor way to identify the level of dehydration.  Treatment includes rehydration by drinking fluids if the person is conscious and able to hold fluids down.  Encourage them to sip small amounts of water frequently, rather than to take large amounts at once.
  2. Heat cramps – This occurs when a person’s muscles are overexerted while exposed to hot temperatures.  Signs and symptoms are sudden painful cramps of fingers, arms, legs, or abdominal muscles, weakness, feeling dizzy, moist and warm skin.  Treatment consists of removing the person from the environment by placing them in a shaded area.  If the person is alert, have them drink a sports drink (such as Gatorade, Powerade, etc.) if available, or substitute by mixing a solution of 4 teaspoons of salt to a gallon of water.  Salt tablets are not recommended because they may cause stomach irritation.  You may even try massaging the painful muscles, and placing moist towels on the forehead to reduce body heat.
  3. Heat exhaustion – A mild reaction to heat exposure.  If not treated, it may lead to heat stroke.  Signs and symptoms include increased body temperature, skin is cool and clammy with heavy sweating, and breathing will be rapid and shallow with a weak pulse.  Other symptoms may include diarrhea, weakness, headache, anxiety, numbness and tingling, impaired judgment, and sometimes loss of consciousness and even psychosis (hallucinations or delusions).  Treatment for heat exhaustion includes placing the person in a shaded area, lay them on their back with the legs elevated, remove or loosen tight clothing especially around the neck and wrists, and cool them by fanning but not to the point of causing them to chill or shiver.  If the person is conscious, have them drink a sports drink if available, or substitute with the salt solution mentioned above. 
  4. Heat stroke – This occurs when the body is unable to regulate its core temperature, and can cause damage to kidneys, liver and brain.  Signs and symptoms are lack of sweating, hot, red, dry skin, but may still be moist from prior sweating, deep respirations that become shallow, rapid respirations that become slow, a rapid pulse that may slow down later, confusion, disorientation, unconsciousness, and possible seizures.  Treatment includes removing the person from the environment to a cooler environment, attempt to rapidly cool the person by removing the clothing and placing a wet sheet over the body.  Fanning and misting with water may also be necessary, but be careful to not cool to the point of shivering.  Please note that cold water immersion or sponge baths should not be attempted, as this can cause a rapid change in body temperature and result in shivering causing further complications.  If the person is alert and able to drink, fluid therapy should be attempted with a sports drink or using the salt solution.  Seek advanced medical care if available.

Cold related injuries
Signs, symptoms and treatment of cold related injuries are best described as follows:

  1.  Hypothermia occurs when a person’s body temperature falls due to heat loss caused by exposure to cold weather.  A person’s body will naturally try to warm itself by producing “goose bumps” or shivering.  Signs of mild hypothermia are shivering, impaired judgment, slurred speech, and stiff muscles that cause uncoordinated movements such as stumbling or staggering.  Person’s with severe hypothermia will become confused and disoriented, possibly to the state of euphoria or a sense of well-being.  Shivering will stop, and muscles will become more rigid.  To treat for hypothermia, begin by removing any wet clothing.  Lay the person down on their back and cover them with blankets, and prevent from further exposure to moisture.  Heat packs may be used, placing them in the armpits and in the groin area or between the thighs.  If heat packs are not available, heated rocks from a campfire may be used.  Be sure to cover heat packs or rocks with a cloth to prevent burns.  You may also use your own body as a heat source to assist re-warming of a partner by simply lying next to them under the blankets.  If you are re-warming specific parts of the body, you may place the frozen areas like, hands or feet, on your chest or abdomen.  Take care to handle the patient gently, as rough handling may cause disturbances in the heart.  If the person is conscious and alert, you may give them something warm and sweet to drink.  Do not give them alcohol or caffeine.
  2. Frostbite occurs when tissues in the body freeze, typically in fingers, toes, ears, nose cheeks, or any exposed skin.  The person may complain of a burning or itching sensation.  The affected area will be red at first, which is known as frostnip.  As the freezing reaches deeper tissue, the skin will become white and waxy in appearance, hard to the touch, and blisters may form.  There may not be any pain at first, but could become numb, leading to severe pain as re-warming occurs.  Do not attempt to re-warm if there is the possibility of re-freezing, such as the need to continue walking from a dangerous situation.  Do not puncture any blisters, and do not massage or rub the frozen area.  Cover the area with loose, dry dressings and seek advanced medical care if available.

Trenchfoot
Also known as immersion foot, trenchfoot is similar to frostbite but does not require freezing temperatures to occur.  The term “trenchfoot” comes from World War I when soldiers were forced to stand in trenches with standing water.  Although today we don’t usually find ourselves standing in trenches, trenchfoot can still be caused by wearing boots and socks that have become wet, either from walking in rainy weather, or from our feet sweating.   The most important thing to remember is prevention.  Keep your feet dry and frequently change into clean socks.   If possible, waterproofing your boots with mink oil or other waterproofing products can help in the prevention of this environmental injury. 

While environmental injuries can encompass anything from altitude sickness to zombie infiltration, the topics discussed here are related to extreme weather conditions only.  Some other topics regarding environmental injuries you may want to investigate are chemical or radiation exposure, drowning or near-drowning, bee stings, snake bites, etc.  With any injury that might require first aid, prevention is the best medicine.  It is always a good idea to keep a well stocked first-aid kit handy.  I would recommend anyone and everyone to take a course in CPR.  An EMT class or other basic first aid training would also be beneficial. 

Beans, Bullets, Band-Aids and Bibles: Faith When the World Falls Apart, by Pastor Terry

As preppers we have all heard of the Three B’s those would be beans, bullets and Band-Aids. An alliteration for food, protection/sufficiency and medical supplies. We should know their importance and for the most part practice it as part of our lifestyle. In our home we utilize a fourth B, the Bible. Let me explain why we feel the Bible is just that important.

I am a bi-vocational pastor serving in the Blue Ridge of the Appalachian Mountains. In case you don’t understand the meaning of bi-vocational I support my wife and I with a full time job while I pastor a full time church. Small rural churches utilize this type of pastorate very successfully. There is a stereo-type that is inappropriately applied to bi-vocational pastors, one that questions their qualifications. I have earned degrees in electrical/electronics technology and hold an earned Doctorate of Theology from an accredited seminary.

Why did I go through that seemingly self centered introduction? I feel it is important for you to know a little about me considering the subject I am writing about. “Faith when the world falls apart” you see it is easy for you and I to talk about our Christian beliefs when things are going well, but, when the world comes unraveled faster than a cheap sweater, our faith is subject to do the same. Just like you, I get up early, go to work every day, come home and take care of my homestead and family, plus I have the responsibility of pastor to a small group of Southern Baptists at a local church. In addition to this my wife and I are preppers.

Some see the pastor as a wimpy little man who is sickly, who preaches three times a week and is never heard from until he is called upon to do a wedding, funeral, baptism or similar activity. Unfortunately this all some people see of their pastor, but the pastorate is much more. It is about people. Likewise the Bible is about people and their faith in God along with His willingness to answer their prayers. Faith is arguably the most powerful force on the face of the earth. People put their faith in many things, each other, equipment, stores, weapons just to name a few. I want challenge you to think about these things a little differently, think of them as instruments of faith. If you are a person of faith (in God) then you know He can use anything or anyone to meet the needs of His people. For faith to be effective it must be understood and to understand it we need our Bible. Ideally a concordance and good Bible dictionary would make a wonderful trio but if you have a good study Bible handy and are willing to use it God can and will work miracles through it. As you read through my article think about the Bible as your fourth B.

We do approach prepping from a biblical world view, believing that at some time in the future the Lord will rapture the born again believers (the Church), removing us from the Great Tribulation spoken of in the book of Revelation. Furthermore we understand the Bible to teach prepping from both the old and new testaments. For example the book of Proverbs tells us in chapter 30 there are four things upon the earth that are little but extremely wise; the ant, the spider, the locust and the conies (small fury animals that live in the rocks of Sinai). Each of these are used to represent an aspect of prepping; the ants are not strong but they prepare their food in the summer when it is abundant, the conies make their homes in strong fortified places, the locusts have no leader but they work in groups to accomplish their work and survive and the spider is able to defend itself and establish itself in any area.

So how do I approach the “4, B’s”? The answer is much like you do. We store food that is bought and grown in our small garden. Our goal is to keep at least one year stored. Sometimes we fall short sometimes we exceed but we are usually in the ballpark. We have medical kits and first aid kits; my wife has extensive medical training from her military service. She has put together supplies needed for simple colds and flu to minor surgery. We have firearms for hunting and home defense along with an ever-growing supply of ammo.  We also have traps, fishing gear, tools, hand powered equipment and many other necessities for a prepared homestead. Unfortunately pastors are viewed as weak and passive and sadly enough some are, but that wasn’t God’s intention for the pastor. We were to be leaders among His people and examples before the world. Look at your history! During the Revolutionary war England exclusively blamed the war on preachers and pastors, claiming they enflamed the attitude of independence by preaching it from the pulpits. This led to an attempt by the British government to destroy all remnants of religion that did not vow loyalty to the throne of England. Here in the colonies the result became known as the “Black Robe Regiment” a band of preachers and pastors who fought along side the citizen militia while providing spiritual support and encouragement. Pastors are still targets today, targets of the biased media, targets of those who begrudge our message and in an ever increasing role target of the political machine (if we don’t adhere to their doctrine). 

This is where the fourth “B”, our Bible ,comes into play. If you have a Bible in your house then your retreat should not be without one either, neither should your G.O.O.D. bag/kit be without one. When there is only you and a small group of like minded men and women in a stressful and possibly dangerous situation you will be strengthened, encouraged and given hope by God’s word. When personalities clash because of cramped living conditions time spent alone with the Bible can provide you with the spiritual insight you need to properly handle a difficult situation. If you are called upon to lead a group what will you base you decisions on, democracy is fine but how will you determine your vote? The Bible can provide insight into making every decision. The group as a whole may go a different direction but you can be at peace with your vote and how you arrived at it. When read and studied there are military strategies that can be used for retreat protection and defense as well. What about the need for group worship, someone can take a Bible with some study and prayer time and put together a very encouraging and productive study. After all when TEOTWAWKI comes, there probably will not be many churches open for normal services; many will take on roles as homeless centers, hospitals or hospices with the pastor being occupied in those capacities. Unfortunately many pastors will simply flee the responsibility they have committed themselves too, if you are in this situation someone may have to step up, without a Bible that will be hard if not impossible to do.

What about children? How will you calm them? Anyone who has visited vacation bible school or Sunday school has heard stories like Noah’s ark, Daniel and the lions den, or the Christmas story and Easter story. These and many more can be very soothing, educational and encouraging to children. The Bible can be used to guide them through activities or conduct plays as entertainment for young and old alike. Also children may not have our experience in life but they are very observant and can come up with very difficult questions, your Bible can be a source of answers and comfort for them during this time.

Most every prepper has stored firearms and sufficient ammo for protection of property and hunting game. We are prepared for the worst. Aren’t we? Have you ever shot anyone? Have you ever taken the life of another human being? How much thought have you given it? I’m sure some of our brave military have been in this situation and they understand the point I am trying to make. I’m not trying to soften anyone up. You see I too believe in protection of life and property and I will enforce it when and if necessary, I expect you will do likewise. After the adrenaline rush is over and you sit down alone and relive the event that just unfolded, how will it affect you? Having a Bible to rely on during this time can be crucial for the spiritual and emotional health of someone coping with a traumatic event such as a gunfight. Being able to show someone where God permits this action and does not hold that person accountable can be the difference between a person living a normal life or living under the question of guilt for many years.

Finally there is a topic that I believe is near and dear to each one of us, injury, sickness and death. During a social/economic collapse many things will take place, among them will be gunfights, sickness, disease and even death. If a friend or colleague of yours is shot and there is a possibility that it is fatal, can you give them hope to cling too. This may be all they need to survive, but could you provide it? In the case of influenza, dysentery, malnutrition, pneumonia or any other illness or disease could you comfort the ill or the family of an ill child? The Bible gives us a foundation and the words to provide hope to men and women in these situations and those similar to them. There are many instances where miracle recoveries have taken place because of faith that was provided from the words of the Bible. Faith is very powerful and it will be very necessary during TEOTWAWKI. Just as people will live during this type event they also will die. Conducting a funeral can be one of the most difficult things a pastor can do, what if there was no pastor available, but it must be done. What if you had to do it?  Without a Bible where would you get the words that would provide comfort to the family? The word of God is powerful and it could provide the difference between someone giving up or continuing to work for a better tomorrow.

I remember a line from the Clint Eastwood movie “Pale Rider” when the town boss gets off the train and asks his son about the gold panners the son tells his dad that they were beaten down until a preacher took up with them. Irate; the boss tells them: “That’s the worst thing that could happen, he can give them hope.” That’s what the Bible can do for you it can give you hope when life seems darkest. Make it the fourth B in your preps.

Three Letters Re: Basic Rifle Marksmanship–Is It That Basic?

James:
That was a great article on marksmanship and very relevant for me as this last weekend I participated in an Appleseed shoot.  The instructors are volunteers who did a great job (and refused any monetary tips).  It is a great organization!  They covered many of the topics you mentioned in this article.  For the first time in my life I feel like I finally have the fundamentals necessary to be a skilled shooter.

I’ve grown up plinking with BB guns and .22 rimfires all my life and have always been a decent shot.  Assuming 95% of your readers will say ‘duh!’ to one of my biggest lessons learned over the weekend but when acquiring the target I would keep the sights exactly on target throughout my breathing cycle.  I was using a lot of muscle control to keep it on target.  I learned to allow the sight to drift up during inhalation and as I reach the bottom of my breath it should naturally fall back precisely where I wanted it. 

I had also always looked at a sling as just a way to carry my gun and have my arms free.  The instructors took us through a variety of methods that used the sling to stabilize the gun while shooting.  My favorite is to detach the sling from the stock, create a loop and slide it over your upper arm. This technique made the gun extremely stable. 

Not only do you get to practice shooting but they also give great stories on American history.  We were amazing marksmen back during the War of Independence.  The British wore their redcoats as did the officers but the officer’s colors weren’t nearly as faded as the typical solider and so the officers made for easy targets.  The disproportionate number of officers lost in battle was a testament to the militia’s marksmanship.

I started the weekend shooting fairly well and by the end of the day I was shooting much tighter patterns.  One woman thee had never touched the gun and as we were going through safety at the beginning of the day she asked what the muzzle was.  Her first shots were all over the target.  By the end of the day she was doing very well.  Check out the Appleseed program.  I wish this country was full of marksmen again! Regards, – James K.

 

Sir,
I feel compelled to respond to the post regarding rifle marksmanship. Sticking with the M16/AR-15/AR-10 family, my major points of contention include the reloading drill, malfunction handling, trigger-pull advice, and accuracy standard.

Firstly, the reloading drill described is that which is commonly taught for pistols, raising the weapon into your “workspace”, while allowing you to use your peripheral vision to guide the magazine into the pistol without taking your eyes off the target. Not only would raising a rifle in this manner be awkward (even with practice), it will be slow – much slower than with a handgun. Further, the difference between tactical and combat reloads should be discussed. A tactical reload is executed before the weapon runs dry, whenever you feel you have a second to top off the rifle with a spare mag. It is not done when a bad guy is staring at you, so you have the luxury of retaining the mag either in a magazine or dump pouch. The fresh magazine should be in your weak hand before you release the depleted mag in case your situation rapidly changes…you don’t want to have a bad guy pop around the corner when the mag well is empty and you’re still reaching for another magazine. A proper tactical reload involves gripping the depleted magazine, releasing it with the trigger finger, immediately inserting fresh magazine, then securing depleted or empty magazine, and it is easy to hold two AR/M16 mags in one hand using a “index finger and thumb” grip on the full magazines (bottom of magazine in your palm), and grabbing the partial mag between your index and middle finger This nearly eliminates the time you are standing there with, at best, one round in your rifle. The combat or speed reload is to be used when the weapon runs dry and a threat still exists in your immediate vicinity – drop the magazine using your trigger finger as soon as you feel the recoil buffer lock to the rear, while reaching for a fresh magazine with your weak hand. Better to lose or damage a magazine than catch a round in the chest because you took an extra second or two to fumble with your pouches.

Both of these drills should be executed with the weapon still in [the pocket of] your shoulder, pointed down range. Please note that he tactical reload works well with an AR-15/M16 because the magazine is easy to grasp with the support hand before it is released and falling through the air; it is not advisable for handguns or non-AR family rifles that don’t allow you to use your otherwise unoccupied trigger finger to eject the magazine.

Next, I take issue with the advised malfunction drill. “Immediate action” is sufficient to fix many malfunctions (failure to feed being relatively common, as it is possible to bump the mag release on
cover/obstructions). The memory aid we use is “tap, rack, bang” – slap the bottom of the magazine with your support hand to ensure it is fully seated, charge the weapon with the same hand while canting the weapon to take a quick glance at the ejection port/chamber area – and if you see no brass traffic jam, pull the trigger. If no “bang”, execute “remedial action”, releasing the magazine into your support hand, tilting the ejection port 45 degrees toward the deck, and operating the charging handle three or four times while shaking the weapon in an effort to clear a double feed or other malfunction. If one were to attempt an immediate action as advised, and the magazine has not been seated, “pulling the charging handle several times” will not solve your problem, as the bolt will continue to slide over the top of the next cartridge in the magazine. If the weapon experienced a partial-feed, pulling the charging handle once should eject a round and chamber another. If it double-fed or experienced another sort of jam, you have probably just made the problem worse with your multiple (and unnecessary) charging attempts. If “tap, rack, bang” doesn’t work – and it takes about 1.5 seconds to execute – take cover and pull the magazine for remedial action.

As for trigger pull, short-stroking is well and good for match shooting or firing deliberately on a target that is not poised to kill you, but it is not for saving time – if you’re trying to save “precious
milliseconds”, the implied condition is that your life may be saved by shortening the time between shots. If fractions of a second truly matter, trying to “slowly” short-stroke a trigger is counter-productive
and failing to reset it properly may get you shot. Slightly “jerking” the trigger is not likely to impact accuracy to a degree that will make a difference on a human-size target inside 100 yards. Short-stroking is
a deliberate shooting technique that should not be integrated with “combat marksmanship” training – it violates the “KISS” method.

In zeroing, I’d advise beginning at 25 yards/meters in order to ensure you’re at least “close”, especially if you don’t have the luxury of a 5’x5′ target board. It’s not necessary to fine tune at this range, but
if your rifle’s sights are significantly out of adjustment, you may be “chasing the paper” for a bit at 100 yards. Typically two or three rounds at 25 yards is sufficient before moving out to longer range. I am
worried that many inexperienced shooters will be discouraged by the 1 MOA “standard” in the previous letter – we are preparing for the unpleasant possibility of shooting people with an AR-15; if your weapon comes from the factory capable of firing 1 MOA, great. However, a 4-5 MOA battle-rifle or carbine will pretty consistently put a round in someone’s torso out to nearly 500 yards – which will be under rare circumstances anyway. More accuracy is better, but don’t beat yourself up over it – you’re not going to be required to shoot for the ten ring when a bad guy is down range trying to kill you. We are not talking about taking 800 yard head shots with our .308 “sniper” rifles. If you’re shooting for score, tight groups take a higher priority. If you just need to put a 5.56 through somebody’s lungs at 200 yards, don’t sweat it that you shot a four inch group on the range last week. Semper Fi, – Missouri Marine

Hi Mr. Rawles,
 I really enjoyed reading the Basic Rifle Marksmanship article.  It contains a large amount of good information but if I may I would like to offer a different take on some of what the author states.  He states that in your stance your dominant or strong leg should be slightly forward.  It has been my experience in both handgun and long gun shooting that your strong or dominant leg should be slightly behind your non-dominant leg.  This is a much more comfortable shooting stance and helps to keep your balance while absorbing recoil.  As for magazine changes he recommends pointing the rifle muzzle towards the sky while keeping your eyes on target.  I would advocate keeping your eyes and muzzle on target while executing your mag change.  Magazine changes can be critical to winning a gunfight and should be practiced often with your weapon of choice.  Many weapons are constructed so an empty mag drops free and why catch an empty mag when milliseconds are critical?  Let it drop and be reaching for your reload.  As for malfunctions I didn’t see anything about the most common malfunction which is a stovepipe.  A stovepipe, which is an empty shell casing that didn’t fully eject and usually sticking out at about a 90* angle is easily cleared by sweeping it out with your hand.
 
Lastly, I would like to offer a different approach when shooting from behind cover.  The author recommends getting up tight to the cover and placing your support hand against the building and using it to support your rifle.  When you brace against the building consider that your muzzle will be extending beyond the corner you’re shooting from and you can’t see around that corner.  This will leave your muzzle hanging out there subject to being grabbed.  When you get close to your cover it also becomes necessary to expose more of yourself to return fire.  Next time you go to the range try standing off 2-3 feet off of your cover.  The cover isn’t any less effective now that you’re a few feet behind it rather than right on top of it. You’ll find that less of you is exposed as you slice the pie and address targets from the outside in.  It also eliminates the opportunity for someone to grab your muzzle from the other side of the cover or barricade.  These are just another way of doing things.  I don’t claim to have the way just another method for our readers to try. – Carl L.

JWR Replies: I’d only add the proviso that those who are preparing to survive a major societal disruption (like most Rawlesian preppers) have more of “Third World” view of logistics. Unlike current circumstances–where there is a reliable supply of replacement magazines on short notice–we may have to adapt to an economy of scarcity. Magazines will become priceless and almost irreplaceable. A magazine that gets lost or scrunched will be cause for alarm or even mourning. I therefore recommend:

A.) Practice using a dump pouch, for empties. In TEOTWAWKI, saving you magazines will be worth that extra second, in all but the most dire lead conversations.
B.) Buy only top-quality magazines, selected for strength and durability. (For example, if you own an AR-15, your primary “carry” magazines should be HK steel “Maritime” magazines rather than the relatively fragile USGI alloy magazines, or buy PMAG polymer magazines which are famous for their strength.)
C.) Stack your spare magazines deep. You can never have too many. (And any that are truly excess to your needs will be very desirable for barter.) and,
D.) If you have an M1 Garand or other rife that automatically ejects clips or links off into the weeds, then buy a very large quantity of spares.