The Home Medical Kit Revisited, by Dr. Bob

Medical supplies are an essential part of survival and planning can really save you some headaches. You cannot have too much gauze nor too many Band-Aids. Seriously, if you have the room then keep buying them. Sterile gauze is worth having a small amount of, and non-sterile a much larger amount of. band-Aids of all shapes are recommended, I really like the Nextcare tattoo type because they stick so well and help with blister protection as well as all sorts of small cuts. I am not really a big band-Aid person as I like blood and scars, but to each his own. If you feel the need to stop bleeding, nothing beats good old fashioned pressure.  There is an old saying in medicine:  “all bleeding stops eventually”s.  I guess it is supposed to be partly humorous but also is meant to calm those that tend to freak out dramatically at the site of blood.  Pressure on wound for a good two minutes stops the majority of bleeding wounds from knives, sharp edges, and puncturing.  Holding pressure directly is the best way to approach bleeding, then after it slows or stops, then wrapping it with a nice tight bandage with gauze between will stop 95% of non-horrific injuries.

Ace wrap is great to have for a large variety of reasons, including holding together splints, wrapping larger injuries, and making a sling. It can be rewashed and used over and over until its springiness is lost. Getting a variety of sizes from 1 inch to 6 inch is the best idea, with more of the middle sizes like 2 and 3 inch. Chemical ice packs are really a good idea if there is no grid and therefore no ice. How many is a guess, most of the time if you had access to cool or cold water from creeks or springs that would eliminate most of your need for an ice pack. If you won’t have access to these cooling sources, then you need to make room for more chemical ice packs than someone with a nice cold creek or spring on their property. Splints are as simple as 2 sticks wrapped with duct tape, to fancy and expensive blowup units. My favorite are the simple moldable foam splints available at any medical supply store.

To close small wounds, super glue gel or steri-strips are good for largely non-mobile skin like the forehead or mid arm, leg, etc. If it doesn’t bend much, it’s non-mobile skin. For mobile skin, sutures might help, but if you don’t or can’t get them, then gauze and pressure is your best bet. Super glue gel is easier to control than the watery stuff and doesn’t stick you to the person you are trying to help as much.  If the wound bleeds then the gel will just run all over and do absolutely no good.  If the bleeding from a wound just keeps oozing slowly, you have to use sutures or steri-strips to stop it and close up the wound.  Even steri-strips are very tricky with bleeding as they won’t stick to blood.  You have a solid 8 hours to repair any injury, so the key to wound closure is SLOW DOWN and relax unless you see pumping blood shooting out of you or your pal.  Sometimes, wrapping a wound and coming back to it an hour later makes all the difference in the world.

Besides having the supplies to repair and care for these flesh wounds, you need to have a person available with a stomach for the job. Someone in your small tribal society will be the medical person, so make sure they know how to use the supplies and that they are available.  The “Mary Gray” of your group (see Jim’s novel “Patriots”) needs to train another secondary person to be an assistant or a primary medical person if the 1st choice is missing or gone.  There is nothing worse than everyone freaking out because of blood and the person with the stuff and stomach being a long way away. Don’t wrap any bandages or gauze over super glue wounds for a couple hours, of course. Sutures are nice, but you need the little pliers or needle driver to use them, don’t forget that. Same with a curved needle and thread, it has to either be big enough for your hotdog fingers or get a pliers or driver. The little pliers needed for this is different than the mighty pliers listed in non-medical supplies for pulling teeth, they will not be interchangeable.

So, to sum up, get a good-sized bag for all these supplies as you may need to move it to a person rather than the person to your supplies.  Pack it in order of importance, when you run out of room keep the remaining supplies on the shelves in your prepper area with the food and ammo in a cool, dry place.  Gauze, band-Aids, Ace wrap, chemical ice packs, splints, tape, steri-strips, super glue gel, sutures or curved needles, pliers or needle driver all go into the bag.  The bag necessary for these items is really not that big and will not be that heavy.  Keep two ice packs in the bag and lots of backups on the shelves.  Keep one splint in the bag, a variety of band-Aids, a variety of gauze and ace wraps, and a “set” of supplies for wound repair with backups for all these items on your shelves.  There are certainly many more items that others recommend and that may be fine for some folks, this is a basic non-medical layperson recommendation.  With a skilled, proficient medical person in your group your needs may be much more sophisticated, expensive, and extensive.  Most people are not going to be performing surgery and pulling off blood-typing and transfusions.  For those of you out there that will comfort and pray over the GSW victim WTSHTF, these recommendations will work.  Questions and comments are always welcome. 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.

An Overview of Handloading .45 ACP by Pat Cascio

I’ve had numerous requests from SurvivalBlog readers for some articles on reloading, and in particular, on how to reload. It is beyond the scope of any single article to teach anyone how to reload in several easy steps. There are many videos and reloading manuals available that can teach you, step-by-step, how to reload. There are also some on-line courses you can take to teach you how to reload. There isn’t anything magical about reloading, it’s really pretty simple and enjoyable – I’ve been reloading for more than 40 years now, and I personally find it a relaxing way to spend my time.

It doesn’t take a lot of money to get started in reloading, either. You can get a simple, single-stage reloading press, powder scale, reloading dies, etc. for about $100 – add a couple good reloading manuals, primers, powder, brass and bullets and you’re ready to get going. One of the best things about reloading is the savings you’ll get by rolling your own ammo – you can reload most ammo less expensively than you can purchase it off your sporting goods dealer shelves. Plus, you can tailor loads to your own particular guns if you want the absolute best accuracy from a particular gun.

If you’re serious about survival, or serious about firearms, then you owe it to yourself to get involved in reloading. I make no claims as to being any sort of expert when it comes to reloading. My good friend, John Taffin, who is also a gun writer, is one of the best when it comes to reloading, and I often consult him when I have a question about reloading a particular round. I had a magazine editor offer me a regular column on reloading not long ago, however, I turned him down. As I said, I’m no expert when it comes to reloading. I do it because I enjoy it and find it very relaxing.

Most of my reloading is limited to only a few calibers these days. I reload the .45 ACP, .30-06 and .300 Winchester Magnum – that’s about it! I probably shoot the .45 ACP round more than any other caliber, so I’m only going to cover this round in this article – besides, it’s one of my favorite rounds. That’s not to say I don’t reload other calibers, but the above three are the calibers I’ve reloaded the most.

I don’t own a reloading library, instead, I have a couple good reloading manuals I consult, and my favorite is the Speer reloading manual #13, and one of these days, I’ll get #14. I also use the Nosler Reloading Guide, (5th edition). There is also a wealth of reloading information you can find on-line from a number of bullet, brass and powder companies – and it’s free information, too.

The .45 ACP (Automatic Colt Pistol) has been around since 1905 – that’s a good long time, and it has developed a solid following as a fight-stopping round. John Browning chose a 230 grain bullet at 850-feet per second for his 1911 handgun, and this is pretty much the “standard” for this round. Oh, to be sure, there are many ammo companies, like Black Hills Ammunition and Buffalo Bore Ammunition that produce some outstanding +P loads for the .45 ACP. However, I’ve never loaded my own .45 ACP ammo to anything except standard velocities.

Tim Sundles, who owns and operates Buffalo Bore Ammunition, turned me on to Rim Rock Bullets which is owned and operated by Frank Brown. Frank also manufactures the hard cast lead bullets that Buffalo Bore Ammunition uses in their rounds that use hard cast lead bullets. So right off the bat, I had a lot of respect for Rim Rock Bullets – if Buffalo Bore is using ’em in their ammo – then I knew they would be good.

Much of my own reloading for the .45 ACP has been either 230 grain FMJ, 200 grain SWC, 185 grain SWC and 185 grain JHP bullets. For shooting pleasure and target practice, it’s hard to beat the 185 grain SWC and 200 grain SWC lead bullets. My only complaint about using lead bullets in the past have been they were soft lead, and they really get a gun dirty and the barrel needs extra time to clean it – and I don’t enjoy spending a lot of time cleaning my guns – I’d rather be out shooting.

The Rim Rock 200 grain SWC bullet is lead, hard cast, so there is no excessive leading in your barrel – what’s not to like here? I wish I had discovered Rim Rock’s hard cast bullets long ago. And, truth be told, the hard cast bullets aren’t very much more money than soft lead bullets are. You can get 500 hard cast lead bullets from Rim Rock for $76.50 and that’s cheap enough if you ask me.

Okay, when reloading any semiauto handgun round, you need to put a taper crimp on the bullet – not a roll crimp. I’m not gonna go into great detail here, but most semi-auto rounds, like the .45 ACP headspace on the rim of the case. So the case mouth can’t be rolled over the bullet’s groove, like you can do on [straight-case] rimmed rounds. (Such as the .38 Special that headspace on the rim of the brass.) And it takes special care to get just the right amount of taper on the brass/bullet so the rounds will headspace properly. It’s a trial and error sort of thing, that you’ll learn as you get into reloading for semi-auto handguns.

Most of my life, I’ve only used single-stage reloading presses. This means you can only perform one reloading step at a time. You need to de-prime your old brass, then re-prime it, add your powder and then your bullet and seat it. It takes time to do each step. Usually what I’ll do is take about 500 pieces of brass and punch out all the old primers, then I’ll use a hand primer to seat new primers – at some point, down the road, when I’m ready to start loading the brass – and this could be months down the road – I’ll get my reloading dies all set and adjusted and start measuring and pouring powder in my empty brass, then seat the bullets. Like I said, I’m not gonna try to teach you to reload in this article. There’s more to it than this – and one step is to get a case tumbler to clean your old brass and make it nice and shiny before reloading it.

I like a single-stage press as I feel they give me more control and I can precisely load each round exactly the way I want it. I have several single-stage reloading presses, but the one I use most was given to me by a friend from Alaska (now deceased) and it’s an ancient single-stage press made by Pacific. I use this press because it works best for me, and there is the nostalgia there – it was given to me by a good friend. I also have several Lee brand single-stage reloading presses as well. The only time I used a progressive reloading press was when I worked for the late Col. Rex Applegate – he loved shooting .38 Special rounds and it was my chore to keep the good Colonel well-supplied in this caliber. Still, I prefer single-stage reloading presses for my own use. Sure, you can pump out hundreds or thousands of rounds faster on a progressive press. However, as I mentioned, I find reloading very relaxing and I’m never in a hurry to reload.

There are any number of good reloading powders you can find for rolling your own .45 ACP rounds, however, I’ve found that the ol’ standby of “Unique” to take care of a lot of my reloading chores – it’s been around forever and it’s, well…”unique” in that it is very versatile. The .45 ACP doesn’t have to be loaded to high velocities to get the job done all the time. For sheer shooting pleasure, I like to keep the 200 grain SWC load under 800 f.p.s.. I’ve found that with the hard cast 200 grain SWC bullets from Rim Rock, and 5.4 grains of Unique, I can keep these bullets moving along at slightly under 800 f.p.s.. Remember, when working up any new load, to reduce your starting load by about 10% and work your way up to the desired velocity you want – and keep an eye out for excessive pressure – one way is to look at your empty brass for flattened primers. Of course, this isn’t the only sign of over-pressured rounds. You’ll learn as you go along.

The Rim Rock 200 grain SWC is not only a good bullet for target practice, it’s also a good round for self defense and small to medium game out in the field. You don’t always need super-hot rounds in a .45 ACP to get the job done. Remember, you are already starting out with a bullet that is almost half an inch in diameter to start with – so it’s gonna make a big hole going in. The Rim Rock hard cast lead bullet is gonna give you some good penetration and it’s gonna hold together for you and not easily deform when hitting bone, either. I did some non-scientific testing on the Rim Rock bullets, shooting them into water-filled milk jugs, and it easily penetrated through three milk jugs – I ran out of milk jugs for more testing after several tests of penetration.  However, all the Rim Rock bullets looked as if they could have been cleaned-up and reloaded once again. (Tough bullets, to be sure!)

For target shooting, you can load the 200 grain SWC Rim Rock bullet down a bit, by using 4.9 grains of Unique powder, which will have that bullet traveling at slightly more than 700 f.p.s. and it’s a very accurate round for punching holes in paper and “killing” rocks and other targets of opportunity out in the field.

I tested the Rim Rock 200 grain SWC hard cast bullets in several different M1911s and there were no feeding problems – the rounds slid out of the magazines and into the chambers without any problems – not something I can say of soft lead SWC bullets at times.

I knew from the start, that these bullets would be good ones, if Buffalo Bore is using ’em in their ammo, then I knew they’d be good stuff. Frank Brown, at Rim Rock Bullets, is one of the good guys. Check out his web site, and I’m sure you’ll find some bullets you’ll want for your own reloading projects. Frank Brown deserves your business. As I said at the start of this article, I’m not “expert” when it comes to reloading, but I’ve been at it for more than 40 years, and I know quality bullets when I see ’em – the Rim Rock 200 grain SWC samples I had are high-quality in every respect. And, if you buy in large quantities, shipping is only $15 for up to 70 pounds of bullets – that’s a deal!

Redefining Dollar Stores, by Michael Z. Williamson

At one time, dollar stores (former called “five and dime” stores) sold closeouts, leftovers, seconds and special deals.  Increasingly, though, they’re selling purpose-made, second-rate, third world junk made just for that purpose.  I would never trust any tool from such a store–they’re of pot metal and guaranteed to fail.  They are not, in my opinion, “better than nothing”, because they cost money, give you a false sense of security, and don’t accomplish anything.

I would recommend finding both actual overstock and closeout stores, and thrift stores, as well as frequenting garage sales.  At the latter two, older tools without the shine and modern high-tech shaping are perfectly functional, usually better made, and often available even cheaper than at dollar stores.  You can often find kits missing one or two pieces, pick them up separately for a mismatched but complete kit, and have name brand quality for pennies on the dollar. – Michael Z. Williamson (SurvivalBlog’s Editor at Large)

Three Letters Re: Beans, Bullets, Band-Aids and Hygiene

Mr. Rawles,
 
I read the article regarding “Beans, Bullets, Band-Aids, and Hygiene” by Jason L. I thought I would contribute our family’s method of making laundry detergent. In stead of paying an exorbitant price for laundry soap, we make our own using Borax, Washing Soda, Fels-Naptha soap and hot water. This is the Duggar Family laundry soap recipe. I give proper credit to that family for the recipe, and it works great. Our clothes have a light clean scent and the monetary savings is tremendous. The simple and cheap ingredients make it very easy to store supplies to make literally thousands of gallons of laundry soap. Thanks for the great blog, as I visit it every day. – J.W. in Missouri 

Mr. Rawles:
My family’s initial solution to the toilet paper problem was simply to buy two cases every time we needed one case. This was an easy way to stock extra paper.
 
The house we live in now is partly constructed of poured in place fiberglass entrained concrete with # 6 rebar on 12 inch centers. Because every previous house I have ever lived in eventually became short of space, this time I constructed a separate 15 x 30 x 10 foot concrete building (walls and roof) with high security, outward opening steel doors. An internal concrete wall divides this building. Half of it houses a generator and large diesel tank. The generator portion has baffled electrically actuated steel shutters for cooling/ventilation when the generator is running and the exhaust flows through a hospital muffler exiting through the roof. The other half of this building is for storage and contains shelves, two freezers one stopping time on freeze dried food, a large refrigerator, microwave, and washer/dryer.
 
But back to the toilet paper. Our surplus was stacked on top of the freezers and refrigerator and by the time it reached the ceiling, we had a nice reserve. Because all things eventually reach the end (a pun of course), this nice supply of TP was deemed inadequate to meet our long term requirements. So I cast about for a better alternative to the left hand.
 
We stocked the following:
 
Product: Toilet Tissue, 1 ply, jumbo roll, 2000’/roll, 12 rolls/carton KC107223 by Kimberly Clark. Amazon price $ 65.72 from the Factory Depot
 
(2,000 foot/roll) x 12 rolls = 24,000 feet;
 
24,000 feet / (2 feet/average wipe) = 12,000 wipes;
 
12,000 wipes/ (1 wipe/average bowel movement every two days) = 24,000 days;
 
24,000 days/(365 days/year) = 65 years 8 months.
 
If the dedicated prepper would stock a carton of 12 of these rolls per family member, all should have happy bottoms for a nice long time.
 
Sincerely, – Panhandle Rancher

 

James,
I’d like to comment on the article “Beans, Bullets, Band-Aids and Hygiene, by Jason L” specifically on his plans to get a Wonder Washer.  Having owned one of these for more than ten years now I’d like to point out a few things about it people need to keep in mind.  First, the Wonder Washer is small compared to most washing machines we are used to using today.  I’ve used it on extended camping trips in our trailer and it works well enough for small items like socks and underwear.  I have yet to be able to fit a pair of heavy pants into it though nor would I be able to clean sheets from a Queen sized bed.  It works well enough for twin or single sheets or those lightweight sleeping bag liners that are sold.  I’d suggest getting a couple of water tubs and a laundry plunger and a washboard for larger items.  If you want to have your heavy clothes dry in less than a week during the most humid times of the year (here in Colorado we get a “monsoon flow” during parts of the summer and line drying becomes close to impossible) you also want to get a wringer.

I’d also add that the small size of the Wonder Washer makes it great for infrequent washing for one or two people, but with a family of seven at this point there is no way we’d be able to keep up with any laundry other than underwear and socks anyway.  Now, just imagine having an infant and all those diapers to wash as well. – Hugh D.

Letter Re: Magpul Dynamics The Art of the Tactical Carbine DVD Set

I also thoroughly enjoyed The Art of the Tactical Carbine DVD as an instructional video to become more proficient in carbine operation.  I also agree, Chris Costa’s drop pouch explanation is hilarious but at the end, he makes a more important point: “You, the shooter, have to determine what you want to do.”

In most of the training I’ve taken with tactical carbine and pistol operation, the emphasis has generally focused on winning the fight without much consideration for long term logistics.  This has given much credence to the practice of emergency reloads – dropping the mag to get the fastest possible reload and more rounds on target.  This has merit as civilians when we can just go out and buy new kit we’ve lost or soldiers and security contractors who can just go to a quarter master to replenish lost stores. 

In an “End of the world as we know it” scenario, AR-15/M16 and Model 1911 magazines likely will be worth their weight in gold as there probably will be few if any retail shops or bin rats available to resupply anyone.  If you watch the extra footage drill Chris Costa and Travis Haley perform, you’ll count no less than three mags dropped in under 60 seconds.  There’s no guarantee you’ll be able to win a fight and be able to collect your kit and even if you do, dropping mags does add fatigue that can eventually cause them to break or malfunction.

To that end, it’s important to consider that while dropping your empty magazines (or any kit for that matter) may allow you to perform a reload a few seconds faster right now, it may also turn your semi-automatic carbine or pistol into a single shot, breech loader six months in the future.

While there’s strengths and weaknesses to both the emergency/speed reload and tactical reload/reload with retention, it’s a good habit to get into not taking for granted the ability to replenish your kit and training yourself to recognize what circumstances would merit either techniques.

Economics and Investing:

America’s Poorest States. [JWR Notes: I was surprised to see Montana on the list. Of course up there they are strong on barter and self-sufficiency, and that economic activity simply doesn’t register in dollar terms. A large portion of the population in Montana cuts their own firewood, hunts, and has a vegetable garden. My consulting clients in Montana tell me that lots of transactions are paid for in firewood, shed antlers, and even frozen huckleberries.]

Ayn Rand Institute president Yaron Brook the annual Ayn Rand dinner: The Coming Collapse: “We Can Buy Time, But We Can’t Change the Outcome”

Deep in sewer debt: Jefferson County Approves Deal With Creditors. (A hat tip to Sue C. for the link.)

Items from The Economatrix:

Unemployment Rates Rose in Majority of States

Household Wealth Dipped in Spring

Oil Drops as US, Europe Clash Over Debt Crisis

Almost 1 in 6 Americans Living Below Poverty Line. (Of course keep in mind that the American definition of “poverty” includes living with cable television, a car, XBox, air conditioning, et cetera.)

Odds ‘n Sods:

Five Minutes and Twenty Nine Seconds of Terror: Dramatic New Video of Japan Tsunami

   o o o

Greg C. sent this: China Consolidates Grip on Rare Earths. Greg C. notes that China now dominates the world’s compact fluorescent bulb market, so they can charge what they’d like. And, by law, we will must buy these more expensive bulbs–we will no longer be able to buy traditional incandescent bulbs. Further, the fluorescent bulbs will contaminate our landfills with mercury. Doesn’t it feel great to be a part of the Green Revolution?

   o o o

File Under: “Most Ethical Administration in History”, “New Era of Responsibility”, “What Have You Done For Me Lately?: White House Pressure for a Donor?

   o o o

Camping Survival’s Paracord Giveaway is still in progress. 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.

   o o o

Ryan S. sent this news from California: Gun control bill in Governor Brown’s hands. It is incredible that they want to ban the open carry of unloaded guns! California is such a lost cause. It is high time for conservative gun owners in California to vote with their feet. Gun control refugees are welcome in the American Redoubt.

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Folks, did you hear that? The authorities in L.A. say there’s nothing to worry about. I’d love to see their dumb faces when Malibu and Beverly Hills get sucked into the gurgling maw of the Pacific. Where are they going to plug in their electric cars then? Ha, ha, ha.” – Woody Harrelson as Charlie Frost, in the movie 2012

Letter Re: Another Job Opportunity in Northwest Montana: CNC Machining Programmer

Jim
First of all, thank you for your blog. I read it every night. I read your post about an employee search in Montana last night. I am doing a similar search. I need a highly skilled CNC programmer and I just can’t find one. We are located in Kalispell, Montana.

We presently manufacture rifle barrels, pistol barrels and complete rifles. I am looking at buying a $300,000 machining center, but until I find at least one person to program it and set it up then I can’t put in the order. [Some additional information on the company deleted, for OPSEC.] With the new CNC machine, we will be able to make M1911 pistols, AK-47s, bolt action rifles, AR-15s and many others. I am trying to talk my chrome lining supplier into setting up a branch out here in Montana. Anyone who is a fully-qualified CNC programmer and willing to relocate to Kalispell should e-mail me their resume. Sincerely, – Brian Sipe, President, Montana Rifleman, Inc.

Note from JWR:

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

First Prize: A.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795, and B.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $300 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A $250 gift certificate from Sunflower Ammo, and E.) An M17 medical kit from JRH Enterprises (a $179.95 value).

Second Prize: A.) A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol. It is a $439 value courtesy of Next Level Training. B.) A “grab bag” of preparedness gear and books from Jim’s Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR) with a retail value of at least $300, C.) A $250 gift card from Emergency Essentials, and D.) two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Third Prize: A.) A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21. (This filter system is a $275 value.), B.) Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy. This is a $185 retail value, and C.) Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security.

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

Beans, Bullets, Band-Aids and Hygiene, by Jason L.

Everyone knows the rules, stock up on as many beans, bullets and Band-Aids as you can afford. As important as the big three are I feel that Hygiene is more important than some. Over the last few months I have been monitoring my family’s use of shampoo, soap, laundry detergent, deodorant, toothpaste and bathroom amenities. I can firmly tell you I am not prepared for this area.

How often do we just jump in the shower, grab the shampoo and squeeze a glob onto our hands before washing our hair for 20 seconds and washing it all away? My family likes using body wash and this is done the same way. Grab the squishy ball, squirt some on then wash away the grim. This is fine when we have a Wal-Mart, dollar store or other resource to buy more soap next week but how long will it last and do you have enough saved up? I recently completed a survey of my family on how much shop we use. I am going to make some suggestion on how to make yours stretch longer.

My son and I use the most soap. Maybe we are wasteful or maybe we just get dirtier I’m not sure. I do know that I used a bottle of Dove body wash in 3 weeks. That’s 13.5 ounces in 21 days, about .64oz per washing. My son used slightly more and my wife slightly less though she consumed allot more shampoo (I’ll attribute that to my thinning hair and her long luscious hair). I then tried an experiment where I reused some soap squirt bottles. I was able to get allot more soap/per washing with this approach. I was able to stretch my 13.5 oz several months. It did not feel like I was using that much less soap and the squishy ball still made allot of suds but the total really added up. A few times I would need to double pump when I had been working under a car or in the ditch but for 90% of my washes this worked fine.
 
A great way to clean up quickly before coming inside was suggest on another site I read. Since then I have tried it and it works rather well. Simply put a bar of soap in an old onion bag and hang near an outside water source (mine is near a frost free hydrant). The advantage is readily avail soap and the neat works well to really scrub the grim.

Toothpaste is another big spender for us. We grab the tube and squeeze out as much as we want. I’ve made myself and my son a ¼” rule. We now put on ¼” of toothpaste and brush away. I see no difference when I am done except we don’t have the toothpaste boogers that always end up in the sink after washing because we use all the toothpaste we put on our brushes. A side note from a friend, by brushing 1-2 times a week with your opposite hand you stimulate the other side of your brain which helps make you more ambidextrous (this could be useful in a firefight if something was to happen to your dominate arm).

I always get a kick out of someone stocking 1,000 rolls of toilet paper. I see this is impractical and a wasteful use of resources. I am going to stock some but more for a barter item for people that think they need it. In the last several years I have traveled to several countries and while they have toilet paper a majority of the people I have stayed with do not use it. How do they clean themselves? They way everyone did 200 years ago. WATER, simply use some water to clean your butt and wash your hands good with antibacterial soap. You can store hundred of gallons of soap in less area than it would take to store 200 rolls of toilet paper and it would last you so much longer. Also using toilet paper your septic system will fill up rather quickly. If you do not having running water and a septic system that is working correctly I would suggest digging a cesspool. I have seen these made by simply digging a 6’-8’ deep pit 8’-10’ diameter and laying cement blocks on edge. You then put some type of lid on the structure and cover with 2-3′ of dirt. Leaving a cess pool uncovered is asking for trouble. This is a pooling place and leach field in one. It’s not currently looked upon favorably but would work fine after TEOTWAWKI. I feel this is a much better approach to the dig and bury method suggested by some. In the case were no running water is avail I would suggest making a form of outhouse to sit above one You could use reclaimed water from the roof to flush a toilet and have a vent several feel above the outhouse.

We often shop dollar stores for cheap antibacterial soap. Generally we can get a 1gal jug for fewer than five bucks. Don’t be afraid to check the clearance racks at holidays for the unique seasonal scents like burn turkey, eggnog, holiday mint and pine tree up your nose. These go on sale dirt cheap and after TEOTWAWKI no one is going to care what they smell like as long as they don’t smell like a wet dog and are clean. I also get LAVA brand soap from Wal-Mart. I get the 2pack in the automotive department for under $4, if you shop the beauty section it’s more. I don’t know why but I’ll walk the extra 100 feet to automotive to save the money. By shopping for cheaper brands and specials we have been able to accumulate a year’s supply of soap for under $100.

How will you do laundry after TEOTWAWKI? I certainly don’t want to use my fuel to run the clothes washer. Maybe you have an alternative like this wonder washer ? I do not have one yet but this is high on my list. You can watch reviews of it on YouTube. Until then I have installed a double bowl utility tub in our washroom. I have been told that you can force soap through cloths by using a plunger. I would recommend a separate new never used plunger for such activities. Start with your cleanest wash first and move to the dirty stuff after you go. The gray water I routed outside via PVC piping into a raised garden to utilize the spent water best. My wife washes several things by hand now and while it may not be fun she can do laundry in this fashion if need be. Laundry detergent should be stock up as well. I normally stick with name brand soap but for stocking I use and off brand powdered detergent. By shopping around at places like bobbarker.com you can buy 45 lbs of detergent in a 5 gallon bucket for $40. This is a great fast way to have the soap one needs on hand to do cloths. We all know that we will be working hard and longer and will get much dirtier WTSHTF make sure you have enough to keep clean.

My house is fed water with an underground spring that has a shallow well pump connected to it.  We pipe our water just over ½ mile to our houses. This spring use to run to the factory that use to site where my property is currently located. It has been in use for well over 100 years and to my knowledge has never dried up. There is enough drop from the spring location to my house to supply me with fresh water. I simply need a way to move it though the house and heat it for showers. I am in the midst of working on either a solar powered setup with 12 volt DC RV pumps or by a water wheel using an AC generator head. The Solar may be my best option for now, however after TEOTWAWKI I doubt that the EPA would bother me much if I installed a Pelton wheel on the stream that runs through my property.
 
To heat my water I am going to rely on an old fashioned wood stove. I do not have the particulars worked out yet but my plan includes having a Kitchen Queen cook stove that I can use for heating water and cooking on. In the summer this would force us out of our house so a smaller stove would be able to boil water. I am working on acquiring a solar heater that I can connect to run in the warmer months of the year for showers, washing et cetera. This again will require some type of 12 volt DC pumping system to supply water up to the roof and then gravity will take over and bring the water back down to be used.

I feel that being clean will be one of the best luxuries when TEOTWAWKI happens. I also feel that if you are not clean you will be more apt to get sick. It’s something we take for granted now but by making some small changes you can find out how much soap, shampoo and toothpaste you will need to stay healthy and clean.

Four Letters Re: Para Ord Pistols and Serpa Holsters

SurvivalBloggers:
I normally don’t respond to criticisms of my articles, we are all entitled to our opinions on guns. However, I would like to point out that the letter G.N. sent to SurvivalBlog about my Para USA P-14 articles needs some clarification.
 
First of all, I can only report on the guns that I have personally tested – period! I’m sure some folks might have had problems with their Para Power Extractor – then again, regular extractors break as well. I have owned several Para 1911s over the years, some with the Power Extractor, and some without – and I had zero problems with neither extractor system.
 
I’m not one who believes everything I read in gun forums on the ‘net. If you were to believe everything or even half of what you read, you’d believe that no one makes a good gun, especially a good 1911. And, I’m not only talking about 1911s – if you believe what you read on many web sites about guns, every gun made is “junk” according to most people who post blogs or their opinions. If all these guns were junk, how can any gun company stay in business? And, if G.N. believes that Para USA makes junk guns, then why are they growing, year-after-year, and with more and more models? I don’t think Para could build guns with no one buying them.
 
As for the Mec-Gar magazines that were supplied with my P-14, I’ve found that Mec-Gar makes some of the best magazines in the world. In fact, they supply magazines to nearly 50 gun companies. If Mec-Gar is making such bad magazines, then why do so many gun companies use their magazines? If G.N. can manufacture better magazines than Mec-Gar does, then he should do so, and not criticize someone else’s products!
 
As to the Serpa holster from Blackhawk! Products. Once again, I believe that G.N. is nit-picking here. It would seem that G.N. has his preferences, just as we all do, and he reports, without providing any facts, that there has been numerous accidents with people drawing their handguns from a Serpa holster and the gun going off. Well, if people simply followed the rules, and kept their finger off the trigger until the sights are on the target, they wouldn’t have any problems. I’m not personally aware of any such incidents involving the Serpa holsters. I’m not saying it can’t happen, but I’m not aware of it, You can have an accident using any type of holster – period!
 
The Para P-14 I tested had their new Generation II Para Kote on it – perhaps G.N. failed to read this, or research this on his own. Once again, it would appear to me that, G.N .is just nit-picking my review on the P-14, the magazines and the Serpa holster.
 
Look, I give an honest review on all the products I test for SurvivalBlog, as well as the magazines that I write for. I’ve been doing this for 20 years, and I’ve been involved in shooting for about 45 years. If I didn’t know what I was talking about, then I wouldn’t earn a paycheck from the gun magazines I write for. I would like to suggest that G.N. do his own review of Para USA products, I don’t claim to be any sort of “expert” in anything. If there was something negative to report in a gun, knife, holster, ammo or any other products I test and evaluate for SurvivalBlog, I’d report my findings. I’m not under contract to any company to give their products favorable reviews – I call ’em the way I see ’em. – Pat Cascio

 

JWR,
I purchased a Para-USA GI Expert .45 ACP two years ago.  I broke one of the magazine followers the first night (my fault) and called Para the next day.  The friendly voice in parts said he’d send me a new one free!  When they arrived, they’d sent two of them so I’d have a spare.   They have great customer service!

At the range I had two stove-pipe jams with cheap steel-case ammo, but all else (FMJ and hollowpoints) fed and ejected fine.  After the first 200 rounds there were no jams, even the steel-case crap.   It now has about 1,000 rounds though it, with zero problems.   Talk about accurate?   For this being their bottom priced model, it has a match barrel that shoots tighter groups than I can hold.

Yes, the black finish is wearing where it contacts the holster.  I bought this pistol to shoot, not stare at.   I use a black Sharpie to cover worn areas, and used bright orange paint to cover the rear of the front sight.  I recently added Crimson Trace laser grips for after dark.  It’s a great pistol for CCW and home defense.
 
Also, I use Serpa holsters daily with various Glocks, SIGs, and the 1911. I’ve never had any problems – ever.  Never been to a range where my Serpa holsters were considered a problem, either.
 
Stay low, – GeoMonkey

Mr. Rawles,  
Another problem with the Blackhawk Serpa holsters in when you use them hard in the dirt. We train Close Quarters Battle (CQB) and hand-to-hand in a pit. The dirt clogs up the release and you cannot get the handgun out of the holster. – N.H. Hillbilly

 

Jim:
I have been using Serpa holsters for several years with Glocks and a M9 during a mobilization to Iraq. The release for Glocks and M9’s positions the trigger finger alongside the frame above the trigger. To press the trigger the shooter has to curl his/her trigger finger and drop it down to enter the trigger guard. As long as the shooter keeps the finger straight it is virtually impossible (unless one has extremely short fingers) to hit the trigger even if you drop the finger down in line with the trigger. All you will do is touch the front of the trigger guard. The problem occurs when a shooter curls his finger to hit the release and then gets sloppy about not keeping the trigger finger touching the frame until the sights come on target. Bottom line is, KEEP YOUR FINGER STRAIGHT and outside of the triggerguard unless your weapon is aimed at the target. (Safety Rule #2). People shouldn’t blame equipment for sloppy gun handling. – Bill N.

Economics and Investing:

J.J.H. sent this: US taxpayers could be on hook for Europe bailout

Europe’s Response To Geithner’s Advice: “I’d Like To Hear How The United States Will Reduce Its Deficits … And Its Debts”. (Thanks to Jonathan B. for the link.)

J.B.G. sent this: Eurozone: A nightmare scenarios.

John R. was the first of several readers to mention The Economic Collapse video Part 1 and Part 2.

Items from The Economatrix:

Dumpster Diving?

Geithner:  Economy in “An Early Stage” of Crisis

US Poverty Rate Spikes as Incomes Decline

Fuel Pump Woes Won’t Go Away

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
But shun profane [and] vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.” – 2 Timothy 2:15-16 (KJV)