Pat’s Product Reviews: Okuden Knives – Ammo Daddy, Alpha Pattern

I’ve been writing about knives for more than 18 years. However, I’ve only been to one knife show in all those years. I attended the Blade Show-West, at the invitation of a large knife company here in Oregon. I’ve been to a lot of gun shows, where there were custom knife makers displaying their wares, but I never attended an actual knife show, until about a year and a half ago.   To be honest, I was a little disappointed in the knife show – there were less than 100 tables there, and my oldest daughter and myself, were done looking at knives in short order. However, there was one custom knife maker who’s wares caught my attention. I like fancy, artsy-type knives, just like many folks do. However, when it comes down to it, I’m more of a meat and potatoes type of guy – I like working knives!   Brian Wagner, hails from Puyallup, Washington, and operates under the banner of Okuden Knives. Brian is a one man operation – he does it all himself, including making his own Kydex sheaths, with a quick detachable belt clip, that will fit on military belts or MOLLE gear. How many times I wished I had some kind of quick on/off sheath for my knife – I’ve lost count!   Wagner’s table caught my attention for the simple fact, that the knives he was displaying, were working knives – nothing fancy at all. If you’re in the military or into survival, then you want a no nonsense knife strapped on your side. I spoke to Brian for a while, along with his lovely wife, and told Brian who I was – at the time – the West Coast Field Editor for Knives Illustrated magazine, and that I’d like a couple samples of his knives for test and evaluation and a possible article.

In short order, several knives arrived at my home, and the one I really fell in love with was the Okuden Knives “Ammo Daddy,” Alpha Pattern. This is a fixed blade combat knife, make no mistake about it. Of course, it could also be used as a field knife for a hunter, however, I believe the main purpose of the Ammo Daddy is as a fighting knife.   We have a 5-3/4″ blade made out of A-2 tool steel – super tough stuff, and it holds an edge a good long time, and it’s actually easy to re-sharpen. Only thing is, tool steel rusts easily – and living on the wet side of Oregon – we have a lot of rain, and things rust – even when you take care of ’em – guns and knives included. Brian puts a heavy coat of Kal-Guard on his blades, if you want it. The sample I received has an OD green colored blade, full-tang. We’re talking a super, super strong rust-resistant finish.. The overall length of the knife is about 11″- and there is plenty of handle to hold onto – something I demand in a knife like this. Some custom knife makers short-change people with handles that I don’t think are long enough.  

The blade itself is a bit of a drop point in design, but realistically, it has it’s own design. I like the upswept portion on the top rear of the blade, for a good thumb placement in the fencing position, and there are friction grooves on the upswept portion of the top of the blade. Check out the Okuden Knives web site for photos, so you’ll know what I’m talking about. The handle material is called “Tero Tough” and is made in Oregon. It looks a lot like G-10 material and it’s just as strong if you ask me. There is a pattern in the Tero Tough handle scales, which allows the meat of your hand to sink in – for a secure grip under all sorts of weather conditions.   The handle scales are secured by three Torx head screws – a lot of knife makers would only use two screws – and that’s a mistake on a large fixed blade knife. The handle design itself has finger grooves, which I normally don’t like – I want to place my fingers – well, where I want to place ’em. However, on the “Ammo Daddy” the finger grooves are just placed perfectly. There is also an extended pommel that has a lanyard hole, for attaching a 550 paracord lanyard. Lastly, my sample “Ammo Daddy” was heat-treated by the legendary Paul Bos – who knew what he was doing. The heat-treatment process is still carried on – but Paul has now retired. I’m not sure who’s doing it for Okuden at this point, but rest assured, the heat treatment is being done “right.”  

I knew from the onset that this sample wouldn’t be going back to Brian Wagner. It sits on my desk as I’m writing this review – and it stays in one of the cubby holes on my desk, should I need it in a hurry. If you’re in the market for a custom made fighting knife, then take a look at the Okuden Knives “Ammo Daddy” or one of the other knives Wagner produces. Full retail price for the “Ammo Daddy” is $350 and that includes first-class shipping and insurance. That’s a good deal for a custom fighting knife of this quality.  

Two Letter Re: The SKS for Tight Budget Shooters

Mr. Rawles,  
Once again thank you for your work on SurvivalBlog, may God richly bless you. I read Pat’s review of the AK-47 and at the end the SKS was mentioned. I thought I would just add my 2 cents worth on the SKS.  I have had several people come to me who are on a very tight budget and cannot afford an AR, FN SCAR, or any of the other pricey weapons available.  If you are on a tight budget, I highly recommend the SKS.   I have several SKSes and AK-47s, along with the FN-FAL, CETME, and a couple of Colt AR-1s5.  I had talked with several guys about the SKS and decided it was worth a look, so I bought one.  I bought my first Yugoslavian-made SKS back in the 1990s. The total price was just under $200.  I bought 1,000 rounds and headed to the range.  I was presently surprised.  The gun is heavier than the AK-47 which eliminates almost all the recoil.  My son and I burned through all that ammo and we were more tired from holding the gun then from recoil fatigue. The next day I went back and bought another SKS, and so did my son.  

Next we changed to the Tapco SKS T6 Collapsible Stock and bought the Tapco 30 round magazines.  This is a nice piece of furniture for this weapon.  As you know, putting a lot of rounds threw this gun really heats up the forearm, the synthetic stock does an excellent job of protecting your hand from the heat.  And it helped lighten the gun several ounces.  We have tried several other brands of magazines, none have worked as well as the Tapco I highly recommend them.  The stock can be had for about $70 to $80 and the magazines run from $16 to $20 apiece.  All of our SKSes have been converted to magazines. but don’t expect to change these magazines as rapidly as an AK or AR.  The protruding “nose” on the magazine slows this down.  I don’t recommend the adapted metal magazines because you have to pull the release to get the magazines in.  The Tapco’s come with a tapered catch on the magazine so you can pop it in with one hand.  

My son, wife, and I have done a lot of shooting with our SKSes.  All three of us can consistently keep all of our rounds in a 6″ to 8″ circle, standing at a hundred yards controlled rapid fire.  Prone in a resting position we can tighten that circle to 4″ easily, taking time we can tighten to a pretty consistent 3″ (1 our of 5 inside 3″).  We have a little better success with the Wolf black box ammo verses a host of others we have tried.  But I don’t turn my nose up at any of it as long as it is non-corrosive.  When I first bought these I was getting ammo at about $125 per thousand rounds shipped and at the gun shows for under a $100 per thousand rounds.  A couple of years ago the price moved above $300 but is now back down to about $200.  I don’t know how long this will last though with inflation.   Compared to the AK-47 WASR the SKS is, in my experience, a little more accurate at longer range.  It has less felt recoil, but that is because it is heavier, and with the Tapco stock it is longer than an AK, as well.  We seldom have a malfunction and that is usually because we have put 600 or more rounds [of noncorrosive ammo] through them without cleaning them.  

Compared to the AR-15, it is certainly less accurate.  I think the AR is more comfortable to shoot because it is lighter and .223s have very little recoil. And AR-15s are very accurate at longer ranges.  My wife would rather shoot the AR and would rather carry it.  When you put six loaded 30 round magazines of .223 in her web gear versus the same in 7.62×39 and she wants the AR back, now.  My son and I are large guys, we do feel the weight difference but it is not that bad.  

Compared to the FAL and CETME, well there is a difference in accuracy especially when you get beyond a 100 yards.  There is very little weight difference and lengths are about the same.  However when you strap on ten 30 round magazines of 7.62×51 (.308) verses 7.62×39 there is a difference in weight which really surprised me.  But the SKS magazines have one big disadvantage, if you are loading up a combat vest and that is the nose on the SKS magazines.  My son and I took an old vest and adapted it for the nose on the magazine which makes it workable.  However with all those noses sticking out and crawling on your belly they have a tendency to get caught on everything.  Plus they pick up dirt which you then shove into the gun.   If you are on a budget the SKS is simply hard to beat.  If I were dropped into a TEOTWAWKI situation with only my SKS I would have confidence in the weapon to get the job done.  The price is going up on them but I still find good used SKSes for under $300.  The ammo is still less expensive than .223 or .308 and if you are buying mil spec, the ammo has a very long shelf life.  I would recommend converting it to magazines and only buying magazines with the tapered catch.  The Tapco stock is a very nice addition but is not required to make this a battle worthy carbine. – CDP

 

Sir,
I believe the single greatest improvement to either an AK or an SKS is a quality rear sight.  There are several replacement peep sights that replace the standard rear sight for both rifles, but the best solution I’ve found is the M16 style rear aperture mounted at the back of the receiver, which nearly doubles the sight radius.  Tech-Sights are the perfect solution at a reasonable price.  They are an instant accuracy improver.  I’m an Appleseed instructor, and I’ve shot Rifleman scores at Appleseed shoots with  Tech-Sight equipped SKS and AK rifles, something I’ve yet to see anyone do with standard sight equipped rifles.  Standard disclaimer:  I have no pecuniary interest in Tech-Sights. – MSgt R.

Letter Re: Better Performance for 7.62x39mm Ammunition

James Wesley:
After personal experience testing and reviewing the tests results as reported by many parties, both layman and professionals that included photos of terminal performance on game animals and ballistic gelatin, if one uses the 8M3 bullet as found on the original 7.62×39 Sapsan, now offered on the Wolf Military Classic HP, one would have ammunition that reliably fragments after 3 inches in gelatin and penetrates 18″ much like soft point ammunition with in 100 yards, and becomes more like soft point ammunition and mushrooms after 100 yards.  The Sapsan and 8M3 bullet is discussed and recommended by an issue of Guns and Ammo dedicated the AK-47 in a comparison using Lapua and Winchester SP ammunition.  I personally have all the Sapsan I need, but if I were to purchase the Wolf Military Classic HP with the intent of using the 8M3 bullet, one can confirm that the ammunition will perform as expected by shooting at three 1 gallon milk jugs and collecting the fragments and remaining slug.  This ammunition will easily penetrate a modern vehicle and provide the 5-6″ group typical of the AK-47. I would much rather be hit with either 7.62 x 39 or 5.56 FMJ ammunition than the 8M3 bullet discussed. Photos of 200 to 250 pound game animals shot with the 8M3 are gruesome.  

Another little known 7.62 x 39 ball and FMJ ammunition that has good terminal ballistics is the Yugo M67 ammunition.  It is has the hollow tip and is the famed ‘poison’ bullet.  This comes in an annealed brass case and produces 1/2 to 1″ tighter groups at 100 yards than most AK ammo, and is what I would consider real AK-47 ammo, and all for only 17 cents per round. However, it is corrosively primed. Thankfully the AK-47 is made to handle such ammunition and is easily cleaned.  [Repeated cleaning for two or three days after shooting corrosive ammo is a must.] An acquaintance used this ammunition during deer season and was understandably unhappy when a Yugo M67 bullet destroyed the meat of both shoulders of a deer. – Eric, Somewhere in Montana  

JWR Adds: Readers should beware that some of the ammunition that comes out of the former Soviet Bloc is corrosively primed. Unlike U.S. military small arms ammunition, which was transitioned to noncorrosive priming in the 1950s, corrosive primers are still made and used in Eastern Europe. Even some very recent production ammo–including some 5.45x39mm–in commercial packaging has corrosive primers! Do your due diligence before you buy!

Letter Re: Preventing Raised Garden Beds from Drying Out

Mr. Rawles:
The biggest drawback of raised planting beds is their greater need for water.  Water leaks out and evaporates from the sides of the planting beds, as well as normal bottom drainage.  If water is scarce, or you have to supply it manually, this drawback can become serious.

Simple solution:  when constructing the raised planting bed, place a plastic liner along the inner walls all around, sealing it with sturdy plastic tape.  Do not put the plastic on the bottom of the raised bed, or you will have a mud bathtub with no drainage at all.  This will keep all the moisture inside the bed, preventing leakage and evaporation from the side walls.

If you want the plastic to last forever, you can buy polycarbonate plastic, which can take hundreds of pounds of pressure.  GrowersSupply.com carries it.

Also, a suggestion for an easy way to make permanent raised beds that don’t rot, and don’t suffer from frost heave problems.  Make them out of those decorative concrete “rocks” that are carried by most garden supply places.  These are normally used on slopes for terracing, and along patios for flower beds.  They can be made to any height, and all you have to do is lay them on top of each other.  The inside of the walls can then be lined with plastic.

The walls are meant to look a little rough and irregular.  There is no mortar, so there is no cracking from frost or settling.  They come in a variety of colors and styles, and can easily be formed into any shape you want, unlike wood, which is mostly limited to squares and rectangles.  If you want to change the shape or size, just move the blocks.  No carpentry, no concrete mixing.

If you want extra free water, set the blocks so that they tilt slightly inward, toward the bed.  Rain falling on the top blocks will flow into the bed, adding extra moisture.

This can be important for OPSEC, as it is easy to arrange the beds in typical landscaping style curves, scatter in some flowers, and make you veggies disappear.  Well, maybe not the tomatoes. – Mary M.

Economics and Investing:

[UPDATED] Silver investors: Here is one of those dips that I mentioned! Silver at under $35 per ounce is a definite buying opportunity. $35 per ounce equates to around 25 times face value (wholesale), for pre-1965 “junk” silver coins. They were a whopping 37 times face just six days ago. Buy now!

C.D.V. send this: Underwater Mortgages a Threat to Recovery; Expect No More Than 3% Growth Until Housing Recovers

Portugal becomes third euro country to get bailout. (Thanks to G.P. for the link.)

Also from G.P.: About 1 in 7 in U.S. Receive Food Stamps

Former Comptroller David Walker: Restoring Fiscal Sanity in the United States: A Way Forward

Items from The Economatrix

Why People Are Buying Silver Now

Manufacturing Index Rises, Construction Spending Rebounds Breathe in deeply and smell the landluft— the barnyard scent of hundreds of billions of magically-created stimulus dollars.

Gas Prices And Debt To Dominate Congress In May

China To Purchase $1 Trillion In Gold; Price May Reach $2,000/oz This Year

Businesses Ordered More Factory Goods In March

The Slowing Global Economy

Odds ‘n Sods:

Beneath the Thin Veneer: Four looting suspects arrested in Pleasant Grove posing as relief workers. (Thanks to Wade C. for sending the link.)

   o o o

Selena S. recommended: How to Turn a Pallet into a Garden. (For preppers, this is most suitable for an herb garden.)

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Chris over at the ZeroGov Forums recommended this 10 minute YouTube video on the historical foundation of taxation: I’m Allowed to Rob You!

   o o o

My wife Avalanche Lily spotted this: On Small Farms, Hoof Power Returns

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"Be not intimidated… nor suffer yourselves to be wheedled out of your liberties by any pretense of politeness, delicacy, or decency. These, as they are often used, are but three different names for hypocrisy, chicanery and cowardice." – John Adams

Note from JWR:

I’m pleased to report that SurvivalBlog is rapidly approaching the 30 Million Unique Visits milestone. We now have more than one million unique visitors per month. It is gratifying to see to SurvivalBlog readers in so many countries.

Please keep spreading the word about SurvivalBlog, to family, friends, co-workers, and a fellow church congregants. Adding a link to SurvivalBlog in your mail footer “.sig” or on your web page just takes a minute. Thanks!

Pat’s Product Reviews: AK-47 vs. AK-47 vs. AK-47

I’ve received quite a few e-mails from SurvivalBlog readers, asking me to write an article on AK-47s. Well, here’s my take on the AK line-up. First of all, I only write about guns I actually own or have personally tested. I don’t take a press release and write an article based on that, like some writers (that I’ve heard have done.) There are so many different variations of “AK-47s” out there these days, it would cost me a fortune and a lot of time, to obtain samples of ’em all to test and evaluation.

The question always arises, which is better, the AK-47 or the AR-15? Well, as I’ve mentioned before, there is no “better” when it comes to guns and knives, it’s all in the perspective and intended uses of these tools. So, if you’re looking for a debate as to which gun is better, this isn’t the article. I will say, that without a doubt, under extremely adverse conditions, where regular maintenance is far and few between, the AK-47 is more reliable than the AR-15. However, I’ve yet to see an AK-47 that can hold a candle to an AR-15 when it comes to accuracy.

For this article, I tested the NoDak Spud, two Century Arms and the new ATI AKs. The Century Arms line of AK-47s have really gotten a bad reputation, and most of it, I honestly believe, is undeserved. I don’t know anyone at Century Arms, and my samples of their products were purchased out-of-pocket, so I don’t have a dog in this fight. I will say though, that for a short time, those workers at Century Arms who were assembling and modifying imported AK-47s, weren’t paying close attention to some of the details, And to be honest, the AK-47 is really hard to screw-up when you are putting ’em together or modifying ’em.  I’ve owned more than my share of Century Arms AK-47s over the years, and I’ve only had an issue with one of ’em – the gas piston was ever so slightly bent, causing it to bind inside the gas tube, which didn’t allow for 100% reliability. It took only a few minutes to correct the problem.

My local gun shop sells a lot of AK-47s, and there’s a good reason for it – they are affordable and reliable. Most of the AKs they sell are from Century Arms, in one of the many configurations that Century produces. One of the problems they have observed over the years is that the front sight is canted and not in-line with the rear sight. There is no reason for this, other than a failure of quality control on the part of Century Arms. The problem is usually easily corrected if you have a bench vise and a little bit of knowledge. Still, there is no excuse for this sort of sloppiness, if you ask me. Another common complaint about Century AKs is that, the forearms and stocks are usually sanded (to take the dings out – these are military surplus stocks) – and Century doesn’t take a few extra minutes to spray on a coat of lacquer on the wooden stock or forearm. Again, this can be easily corrected by the purchaser at home.  

One must keep in mind, that the Century Arms line-up of AKs, are very affordable for the most part – they have a few that are a bit more spendy than the others, but most of the Century AKs are made from Romanian parts. Some gun snobs will turn their noses up at a Century AK that has the “Made In Romania” stamp on the receiver. Truth be told, these are parts guns, assembled and fitted here by Century, using the correct number of US-made parts, to make them legal. I’m not going to get into the 922(r) compliance thing, you can look it up on the ATF web site if you want – the law is stupid, plain and simple!

I tested two Century AKs, one was the WASR-10 with a full wooden stock, and the other was the WASR -10 with the under-fold stock. Both guns were great shooters, simple as that. I did have two failures to feed on the first magazine through the under-fold stock, and I expected that – there were some burrs on the bolt or receiver rails. After the first two failures to fully feed, the under-fold version just plugged along without any problems. The full wooden stock WASR-10, it never missed a beat from beginning to end. Accuracy with both of these Century AKs was running around 4″ at 100-yards – that’s about as good as I can get with most AKs. There’s a trade-off when you want more reliability – you lose some accuracy potential. I understand that the AKs that are coming off the Century Arms assembly line these days have USA-made barrels, and I would expect slightly better accuracy with these new barrels. Again, this is another stupid ruling from the folks at the BATF: AK parts sets can no longer be imported with the barrels. So they’ve resorted to using US-made barrels on the guns. On both of the Century samples I tested, and on many other Century AKs, I’ve found really great trigger pulls – most around 3-1/2 pounds. I believe this is due to the Tapco trigger and sear that Century uses. Again, certain parts on imported AKs have to contain a certain number of US-made parts – like a Romanian trigger and sear somehow makes an AK a “bad” gun, and a US-made trigger and sear make it a “good” gun.

I also picked-up a well-used AK-47 that had “NoDak Spud” marked on the receiver. Near as I can tell, NoDak Spud only makes the receivers and other folks assemble them into AKs of some type. Whoever did the work on this gun – didn’t know quite what they were doing, in my humble opinion. First of all, the attempt to parkerize the gun wasn’t successful – the gun easily picked-up rust in our damp climate of Western Oregon – even though I had sprayed Birchwood Casey Barricade on the entire gun. The NoDak Spud sample was very rough, to say the least. Whoever assembled it, also forgot the retaining spring, that is used to keep the trigger pin in place, and the pin would work itself out, binding the action up, until I could break it down, and get the pin back in place. I corrected the problem with an e-clip and the pin never worked itself loose again. (A 7 cent fix!)   The wood on the forearm and the stock were rough, and I cleaned ’em up with some sandpaper and steel wool. I then prepped the wood with some primer and spray painted the stock and forearm in a flat back – the gun was looking better at this point. Aside from the aforementioned trigger pin working loose, there were no malfunctions of any type during my testing. Accuracy was what you’d expect – in the 4″ range at 100-yards, if I did my part. I used a variety of Wolf and Brown Bear Russian-made noncorrosive ammo in my testing. It is inexpensive and it always goes “bang.”

The last AK I tested is from ATI, and it is quite a step up from the Century Arms AK. Only slightly more in cost, too. The ATI version of the AK has a milled receiver, the NoDak Spud and Century Arms versions have stamped receivers. The obvious quality in workmanship is there on the ATI AK, you can see it and feel it. The ATI weighs in at about 3/4 of a pound more than the stamped receiver AKs. The ATI also comes in a nice hard plastic carrying case with two magazines, instruction, cleaning equipment, etc.   The ATI AK was nicely blued, and there were no sharp machining marks on the gun – and it’s marked “Made In The USA” too – that means a lot to some folks – me included. The ATI was a much tighter gun than any of the other AKs I’ve owned over the years, and I expected some malfunction because of this. I tested the gun dry – no lube – and it never missed a beat. Then again, it’s an AK – they can take all kinds of use and abuse, and keep on going. The forearm and stock are made of wood, and it appears that the forearm is from Russia – both the forearm and stock were nicely finished and covered in a clean lacquer for weather-proofing the wood – nice!   I expected the ATI to shoot better than the Century Arms and the NoDak Spud – well, it did, but only by a little bit. If I did my part, I could get groups at 3 1/2 inches at 100-yards, but not all the time. Still, the quality is there in this ATI version of the AK…my local gun shop has another ATI AK sitting there, and I’m thinking real hard about getting it, too – just takes money.

One thing that I have found common in most AKs is that, the magazine usually have to be fitted slightly. Keep in mind, AK magazines are made in a lot of different countries, by different tooling, and some makers don’t take the care we take in the USA to make sure things are nice and tight. The two mags that came with the ATI would lock in the mag well, but it took two men and a small boy to get the mags out. A couple minutes with a file took a small amount of material off the mag stud (lower portion) to make the mags fit properly. The same was done with the NoDak Spud and Century Arms AKs. I like my mags to snap in and out without a lot of effort, and once the mags were fitted, I sanded down the lower portion on each mag stud so it was nice and smooth. The mags – all that I have – and it’s a lot – will lock-up and come out of all my AKs without any problems.

There’s a lot to be said for the 7.62×39 round. It can reach out there and touch someone a little harder than the .223/5.56mm rounds can. However, the .223/5.56mm rounds do more damage – at least when used within the limitations of the distance involved. The .223/5.56mm rounds do more tissue and organ damage than the 7.62×39 rounds, when up and close and personal distances are involved. So, we have longer range possibilities with an AK because of the round – it’s heavier and a bigger caliber and had greater retained energy, at range. However, with the AR, and the 5.56mm round, does more damage and the ARs are more accurate. You can also carry more 5.56 ammo than you can 7.62×39 ammo – if that’s a concern. [JWR Adds: The AK-74 is chambered in 5.45×39, which has similar weight and size characteristics to 5.56mm NATO.] AK magazines are also more rugged than the standard alloy AR magazines.

Honestly, you can’t lose if you pick an AK-47 of just about any type for your survival purposes. If looking into a Century Arms AK, I’d take a close look at the front sight, and make sure it’s not canted from dead center. And, work the action – make sure it doesn’t bind before you buy the gun. I know, Century Arms backs-up their guns, but it’s a pain-in-the-butt to have to send back a brand-new gun for repairs.

The Century Arms AKs I tested, run in the $500 price range. The NoDak Spud – about the same. The ATI I purchased was $569 and it honestly was worth the little bit of extra over the Century Arms version, in my opinion. The quality and workmanship were “there” with the ATI version. Some of you asked me to review the Arsenal line of AKs – I’ve only handled them, and couldn’t bring myself to pay the extra money over a lesser AK version. If I’m gonna be spending $800 – $1,000, you’d better believe I’m gonna be looking at an AR of some type.

So, don’t believe all the horror stories you’ve read on the ‘net about Century Arms AKs – for the most part, they are putting out some really good AKs, for a good price. However, if your budget will allow it, take a look at the ATI AK – I think it’s worth the extra money. In any case, it’s hard to beat an AK-47, no matter who makes it, it’ll save your bacon, when the chips are down.  – SurvivalBlog Field Gear Editor Pat Cascio

JWR Adds: Let’s face it: Most folks do not have the cash for a “Cadillac” solution like a Valmet M62 or one of the new SIG 556R rifles. (The latter outwardly looks like a SIG 556 but it is chambered in 7.62 x39 and uses standard AK magazines.) Rather, I recommend a “Chevy” solution, like the Bulgarian AK or the Russian Saiga AK. They are relatively inexpensive, but very reliable. The “Chinese Bicycle” solution is to find a used SKS carbine. These use a 10-round fixed magazine, but these can legally be replaced with a 30 round “semi-detachable” magazine in most jurisdictions.

Letter Re: Observations on the Recent Tornadoes

Dear James,
As most of your readers know, on Wednesday, April 27, 2011, one of the worst tornado outbreaks in history hit the Tennessee River Valley area of northern Alabama, northern Georgia and south central Tennessee as well as parts of north central Alabama such as Birmingham and Tuscaloosa. Over 140 people were killed in northern Alabama alone and the final death toll from these storms will probably exceed 350. Hundreds of people in these areas lost their homes and are suffering greatly as a result. Please pray for these families as they cope with the loss of property and, mostly sadly, the loss of loved ones. The storm also affected the lives of most inhabitants as all of the main transmission lines from the Tennessee Valley Authority in northern Alabama were damaged or destroyed by tornadoes and high winds, leaving almost half a million people without electric power. This included those from the Brown’s Ferry nuclear plant (whose three operating reactors all went into emergency shutdown). Our power was out for more than four days.

As a resident of these parts, I have some preparedness observations! On our community’s level, most gasoline stations lost their power, and therefore their ability to pump gas. The same was also true of grocery stores. About two days passed before generators were brought in to power some gas stations and food stores, and the first stores to open quickly had long lines of people. Fortunately, some grocery stores opened even before they had power – but they would not allow people inside the stores as they were too dark. Why are grocery stores not made with windows all around the building to allow some light in? One had to give an order of desired non-perishable items to a store employee, who then would proceed into the store with a flashlight to find and bring them! It underlined to me that most people do not seem to even have a few days of food or gas stocked up to meet even a short term crisis as this. We were very fortunate that this was basically a widespread local event and not a national event, as trucks still brought in supplies, food and gas. The main problem was the lack of electricity to pump the available gas or to preserve frozen and refrigerated food and power the stores’ lights and payment processing systems. Now on a personal level, we did fairly well but there were a few things we could have done better. I will list categories of items and what we did in each category. My hope is that this will be beneficial to most of you to hear about real life preparedness and how it played out in this admittedly not totally TSHTF event.

Food: We were fortunate to have a decent quantity of high quality grains (including whole wheat, millet and oats). We were also fortunate to have a generator which we used to keep our refrigerator running and preserve the frozen and refrigerated food we had. To prepare grains, we have a hand-cranked Country Living Grain Mill which is awesome at preparing quality flour. For cooking, we used our Alpaca kerosene cookstove. We had plenty of kerosene for this (which we normally keep on hand to power the kerosene heater we would use if it were cold outside and a power outage occurred). Fortunately the temperatures were very nice (even if the volatility of the weather wasn’t!) and we only needed the kerosene for cooking purposes. We also have a Grover rocket wood cooking stove that we could use if needed, but the kerosene stove is a bit easier to control. We were a bit low on fresh fruit when the weather struck, and it would have been nice to have more on hand than we did. Fortunately, one of the grocery stores that opened the day after the storms had plenty of fruit and we were able to purchase some while only waiting 15 or 20 minutes in line. That was a real blessing!

The preceding reminds me of another point: Having cash! While some stores (such as Lowe’s and Home Depot) quickly activated backup power and were able to process credit/debit card transactions, most grocery stores could not. The store where we purchased our fruit was calculating prices the old fashioned way: calculators and pencils and open cash drawers! My advice is to have plenty of food that can be stored at room temperature! While we were able to keep our refrigerated food from spoiling with our generator, we still would have been fine without it (although our diet would have been a bit different!).

Water: Fortunately, we never lost water service during this event. Water was always available on tap whenever we needed it. However, I wasn’t sure that we would always have water, so I filled up a bathtub with water to use for flushing toilets and the like if needed, and filled up potable water containers for drinking water. We also have a Berkey Light water filter that we use on a regular basis already. I recommend having your water resources squared away before a crisis occurs!

Fuel: Within a day after the disaster, long lines formed at the few gas stations that were able to quickly get emergency power. While we were fortunate to have half a tank or better in our three vehicles, we did not have much gas in storage containers. It was one of those things that I had wanted to do but did not yet get around to doing. Most of you know how that goes! I had roughly a gallon and a half or so of gas to run our generator, which would only have given us at most two days of run time. I tried to siphon gas out of our vehicles but it seems that most newer vehicles these days have anti-siphoning systems. My advice would be to ensure that you have enough gas on hand to run your generator for a week. Fortunately, the son of our neighbors (who were out of town) had come by to check on their home and had power in his town (about 30 miles away). He was very kind and gave us gas on two occasions so that I did not have to stand in the long lines at the few pumps that were open. This was enough to see us through until power was restored. But my advice is not to be dependent on others’ charity if at all possible! Make sure you have enough fuel on hand to weather (pun intended!) the most likely crises you might face. Also, be sure to have plenty of fuel on hand for any non-electric cooking devices you plan to use in a crisis. In our case, this was kerosene and wood. We added PRI-D preservative to our kerosene, and our kerosene heater worked great on three year old kerosene that was so treated.

Lighting: It is amazing how dark it can be inside a home without power! Fortunately, we had plenty of flashlights and the batteries needed to power them. Most of our flashlights were LED and therefore put out a lot of light with minimal energy use. We also had some oil lamps that we had purchased back during the Y2K scare at the turn of the millennium, and we used one of these along with some candles during this time. We stationed flashlights in each bathroom to make it easy to use the facilities. I recommend everyone have plenty of LED flashlights and batteries on hand.

Security: Due to the widespread lack of power, the local authorities imposed a dusk-to-dawn curfew on the whole area. Reports so far seem to indicate that crime either remained the same or actually went down during this event. Our local police were very vigilant and I saw them stopping a curfew violator right in front of our home! We also had our own security implements (firearms) available and well stocked with ammunition. Fortunately there was no need to use them, at least so far, during this time.

Finances: As I alluded to earlier, many of the businesses that were open but had no power operated on a cash-only basis. We were fortunate to have some cash on hand to pay for goods. I was amazed that Lowe’s quickly had activated backup power and was actually processing credit card transactions (and I used the debit card when I could) but this was the exception rather than the rule in the first day or two after the widespread power outage occurred. When it comes to purchasing, cash is king in disasters. Keep plenty of cash on hand at all times!

Charity: One way to emotionally deal with a disaster is to reach out to others. By God’s providence, I was able to help with some of the cleanup efforts in one of the towns that was devastated by the tornado outbreak. I realized how fortunate we were as most of the homes in the neighborhood I worked in were totally destroyed and unsalvageable. Carrying debris from devastated homes and yards to the curb is a sobering experience but was very helpful. Some of the residents of these homes were there helping to clean up as well and expressed great appreciation for the help. But in order to administer help to others, it is important to have one’s own house in order first! I am a follower of Jesus Christ, and reaching out to others is a desire all true believers have. So, I encourage all of you who know Him and accept Him as Lord of your life to cultivate your relationship with Him and your relationships with others who know Him. Part of the community of believers is reaching out to others in need.

My prayer is that our experience in the midst of the recent tragedy in northern Alabama would be helpful to the rest of you. Blessings, – R.A.

Economics and Investing:

I called this one right: Silver struggles again after futures market raises margin requirements. (Back on April 21st, I had written: “Also, be forewarned: The COMEX Governors are soon likely to slam on the brakes on the precious metals markets by changing their trading rules. (Most likely by raising margin requirements.) Prices will get very volatile. Be ready to take advantage of any steep sell-offs.”)

D.B. in Seattle suggested this piece by Niall Ferguson: Sticker Shock. It begins: “The Fed may deny it, but Americans know that prices are rising. In this week’s Newsweek, Niall Ferguson takes a look at the Great Inflation of the 2010s.”

Loyal contributor C.D.V. forwarded this: John Williams: Hyperinflation and Double-Dip Recession Ahead

David W. sent this: Detroit’s exodus will continue without a revival. A 25% loss of population in the past decade, and no end in sight!

Items from The Economatrix:

Weak Dollar Gives US Factories Strong Lift ’11

Bin Laden’s Death Lifts Dollar But Hits Gold, Silver, And Oil

Think or Swim Hikes Silver Margin to Double That of CME

Never-ending Money Printing

Stocks Wobble As Earnings Rally Slows

Oil Falls On Stronger Dollar And Supply Forecasts

Odds ‘n Sods:

Steve M. sent this interesting article link: Special report: As pirate attacks grow, shipowners take arms

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Humor Mode On: When planning your food storage program, don’t overlook your dog. (A special hat tip to B.B. for the link.)

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Greg N. suggested this: Thoughts after the devastation.

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K.A.F. mentioned that the American Prepper’s Network offers free downloads as well as “at cost” CD-ROMs of dozens of survival and self-sufficiency books.

Letter Re: Observations on the Recent Tornadoes

Mr. Rawles, I just finished reading the letter from R.A.  “Observations on the Recent Tornadoes”.  I live in the northern Alabama area also, less than five miles from the path of what has just been reclassified as an EF – 5 tornado. (For your readers in non-tornado prone areas, an EF – 5 is the most powerful category of tornadoes with winds in excess of 200 mph, completely tearing even substantial concrete and brick buildings from their foundations), and I can agree with the author’s points.  A few additional comments:

1)      Have a good radio handy that includes both a NOAA weather channel and normal AM/FM stations, and make sure it has multiple sources of power.  Alabama alone experienced over 20 tornadoes last Wednesday, and the stormy day began in the early morning, with multiple rounds of severe weather broken by short periods of calm until around 6:00 p.m. when the final tornadoes moved through.  Although I find that our local weather forecasters on television provide the most precise info as long as power is up, the NOAA weather radio is incredibly important once power goes out, but more rounds of bad weather are still expected.  And once the storms were over, the normal AM/FM stations were a lifeline to the world.  For five days we had no power, land-line phone, or internet, and only spotty cell service.  My radio, with those wonderful Eneloop batteries and a hand-crank back-up, provided all our sources of information. 

2)      It’s very helpful to have FRS or GMRS radios to communicate with trusted neighbors.  I had saved back an old-fashioned phone that requires no electricity for use, knowing that in a lack of electricity most land-line phones used these days won’t work.  I still think that’s a good idea to have one of those .  But when the phone lines are taken out too, it doesn’t matter what type of phone you have – it’s not going to work – and relying on a cellular network is taking quite a chance.

3)      I had no refrigeration capability, and decided to try an old method of keeping some juices, water, sodas, etc. cool.  I watered down several small towels, wrapped each bottle in one, and set them in areas where they would receive a slight breeze.  I re-wet a couple of times each day.  Even though our daytime temps were in the 70s, I managed to have cool drinks due to the evaporation/wind effect of the wet towels.  I don’t suggest trying this with milk or other products that are more easily spoiled, just items that taste better when cool.

4)      Support local law enforcement efforts, and work to elect common-sense officials.  When up to half a million people are without power ( the Huntsville metro area had NO power coming in to the utility grid for several days), some places would be making headlines for the crime and looting.  The night of the tornadoes, we had a looting attempt in which someone tried to break into a gas station.  To head off crime waves, our city police and county sheriffs worked together to implement a dusk-to-dawn curfew that was unilaterally enforced, and as R.A. commented, completely minimized crime for the duration .  It allowed the police to focus on dealing with true emergencies resulting from the lack of power rather than on looters and traffic accidents resulting from a lack of lights at night.   

It was a temporary public safety restriction, but a very practical one that was supported by even my most libertarian friends, and it was lifted as soon as the majority of the power was reestablished .  And lest you think that our sheriff is a liberal, eliminate your rights individual, in his same announcement about the curfew, he made it quite clear that “you have the right to protect your property”.   That looting attempt I mentioned?  The alleged offender was shot and killed by the gas station owner.  No charges were filed against the gas station owner, and it was made quite clear where law enforcement sympathies would be.  Given the number of gun owners around here, looting never got off the ground after that and we remained crime-free during a week of the worst natural disaster this part of Alabama has ever experienced.

I encourage your readers to pray for the 250+ families who have lost loved ones and the thousands of families in this state who now have either no home or a home too damaged to live in .

Thanks for all you do, – C.K.