Odds ‘n Sods:

Please pray for the people of the fledgling nation of South Sudan. Following a well-monitored landslide vote, the south (primarily populated by Christians and pagan animists) is seceding from the predominantly Muslim northern half of the country. Independence Day is scheduled for July 9, 2011. May God grant them peace and liberty. I am hopeful that an international group will be formed to help direct aid to the new nation, and to help arm its citizenry so that they can defend themselves from Muslim aggression. (The recent genocide in the adjoining Darfur region is still fresh in our minds.)

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Reader Rick M. sent this little gem: Intruder Calls 911, Afraid Homeowner May Have Gun

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Brian G. sent us this: Scientists warn of ‘dangerous over-reliance’ on GPS

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Speaking of GPS, Bert K. forwarded this: GPS chaos: How a $30 box can jam your life.

Note from JWR:

Today we present another entry for Round 33 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include:

First Prize: A.) A course certificate from onPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795, and B.) Two cases of Alpine Aire freeze dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $400 value.) C.) A 9-Tray Excalibur Food Dehydrator from Safecastle.com (a $275 value), D.) A 250 round case of 12 Gauge Hornady TAP FPD 2-3/4″ OO buckshot ammo, courtesy of Sunflower Ammo (a $240 value), and E.) An M17 medical kit from JRH Enterprises (a $179.95 value).

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

Third Prize: A.) A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21. (This filter system is a $275 value.) , and B.) Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy. This is a $185 retail value.

Round 33 ends on March 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

You’re Ready for the Outlaws, But What About the In-Laws?, by Ellie Mae

I’ve been a daily visitor to SurvivalBlog for nearly three years now.  I really can’t believe it has been that long since that desperate day when anxiety from losing my job took over and compelled me to search for survival information on the Internet.   You see, I was a 20 year mortgage originator.  Not only had I lost my job when my company folded, it was clear to me that I and millions of others had lost any ability to make a living in that crumbling industry.  The music stopped while I was chasing the dollars and it was game over.  At first, I was sneaking around learning how to store water and food.  Next, a budding interest in gardening blossomed into a permaculture addiction.  And all the while, I was reading and becoming acutely aware of how fragile the whole system is and how we had been lulled into such a vulnerable state. By now my self-sufficiency agenda was becoming clear to my husband and although well employed, he too feared the house of cards could collapse and take with it the dollar. Collecting that fiat paper had been all we knew to do to prepare for the future or an emergency.  We were out of the closet with each other and now prepping together instead of worrying and toiling alone.  Together we took the plunge into guns and target practice, skill learning and resource gathering.  Each step helped relieve some of the uncontrolled anxiety we were feeling and prayer still works on the rest.

My husband and I are in our late forties and this is a second marriage for both of us.  Between us we have six young adult children, two are married and there is one grandchild.  None of the children live with us and never have, since we were married only a short four years ago.  Aside from supporting the youngest who is in her last year of college, they are all employed, living on their own and generally great  kids.  Unfortunately, none of them seem to take this preparedness stuff too seriously.  They listen and even engage in conversation, but no real action.  They are busy living their life the way we taught them and they don’t seem to have time to be concerned.  In a way, I am envious of them. We both raised our children as Christians, in the suburbs, playing every sport available etc.  Suburbanites…. Now we have learned things we would like to introduce to our grown children and the teachable moments are few and far between.  So we try to prepare for everyone.  This is where things get difficult!

While all six children would be welcomed to our retreat with open arms, there are others that come along with them.  While only two are currently married, the others are involved in some lengthy relationships that may result in more in-laws. I am an optimist, a peace maker and a diplomatic person.  I believe that the significant others of our children would all add value to our group and be able to contribute something. My husband may disagree about the potential contributions of some but he is in complete agreement about their inclusion in the group.  This may seem an obvious conclusion to some, but I firmly believe these decisions need to be discussed in the open before a crisis to avoid any last minute disagreements. My nightmare begins when I consider the other familial bonds.  In particular, we have one daughter-in-law (official and also the mother of our only grandchild) who is dysfunctionally close to her dysfunctional family. These people are living breathing examples of everything wrong with our country.  While I believe them to be generally decent hearted people, they are card carrying members of The Ugly American Association.  Picture politically apathetic, fast food eating, video game playing (males), shopping mall wandering (both), Coach purse carrying (females), no life insurance or savings holding (neither), job hopping, baby-making, non-breast feeding, obese, insulin dependent, American Idol and Bachelor watching, gun loathing, lethargic and of no notable talent, skill set or physical ability group of five adults and currently four children.  Our son, who married into this tribe is their rock and his wife would never leave her family.  Of course, none of them will have prepared for even the most minor emergency, never mind the big Schumer.  They will be in need and our son who refuses to be alarmed will be unprepared. 

I don’t mean to sound harsh, but sitting in a room for a few hours with this group of people for birthday gatherings, ballet recitals and such is almost more than my husband and I can bear.  So it becomes obvious that there is no way we could accommodate this group at our retreat when the SHTF.   I have to assume that our son, his wife and our granddaughter will not bug out to our place without the rest of that clan.  They all live in two houses and spend most of their waking hours together.  We will have to make it very clear who is included on the retreat guest list. While it is difficult to accept, we will most likely not be joined by our oldest son, his wife and our only grandchild. After acceptance of our retreat limitations, our son’s leadership role in his wife’s family and refusal to prepare; we have embarked on Plan B to attempt to assist him with this daunting responsibility that he doesn’t even know he owns.

In addition to Plan A -the ongoing retreat preparations for the remainder of our family, we have compiled the following list of actions to help light the way for our son and his adopted clan.

  1. Present maps showing different routes to the retreat and explain that he, wife and daughter are of course on the guest list…but it’s invitation only and limited resources and space availability. OPSEC explained.
  2. Create a basic bug out bag for him (highlighting the importance for the safety of his baby girl) and suggest he has the others follow suit. We will highlight their need to include maps to wherever they intend to bug out.
  3. Attempt to get him to the shooting range. We have tried this twice and failed…we will continue to reach out to him.
  4. We will give the gift of “Patriots” the next gift giving season.
  5. We will share fresh fruits and vegetables from our garden to attempt to develop an interest in nutrition and sustainable gardening. We do this, but usually at our home- This time we will deliver.
  6. We will deliver storage food as well.
  7. We will ask him to tag along when we purchase a generator in the next few months. 
  8. We will play Wii with him to express interest in something he likes and hoping for reciprocity. (Think shooting range)
  9. We will stop spamming him with articles and blogs that he never reads and doesn’t seem to appreciate.

Instead we will make a notebook of useful information available during an emergency.

  1. We will pick up our granddaughter at least twice a month and attempt to foster a love of knitting, cooking, gardening and general love of outdoors activities.  No television!
  2. We will love them and accept that they are God’s children and know that we have done everything within our means. Pray.

We must consider the possibility that our wishes will not be respected with regard to our son’s in-laws.  When the SHTF I can imagine he may be unable to behave “cold-heartedly” enough to leave them behind.  I can see him asking us “What was I supposed to do, leave them there to die?”  Of course the answer is “You were supposed to tell them to prepare.”  However, a single “I told you so” is enough.  In the event we are faced with this circumstance, we will have extra rations and gear to temporarily help.  We can be charitable, but we cannot be responsible. Since most of these adults are dependent on insulin or high blood pressure medication etc, I assume they will need to move on rather quickly to a location where meds might be available.  We currently have no need to attempt stockpiling those types of medications.

While our other children may present similar challenges, at this time there is none so apparent as the above mentioned.  I cannot tell you how many hours I have spent evaluating our options.  It is heartbreaking to think of our son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter being somewhere else during a collapse. There just isn’t any other alternative without compromising the safety and security of the rest of our family. I will continue to pray for my son to prepare and for the flock to follow suit. Take inventory of your people and their connections.  Make decisions now while you are calm of mind because in a crisis situation you may not have the capacity to make a rational decision.  Know who you can count on and let others know to what degree they can count on you. Survival plans should not be vague nor should they leave room for misunderstandings.

JWR Adds: I’ve found that the best way to keep kids and visiting relatives from wasting their time watching television is to not own one.

Update on the SurvivalBlog Archive CD-ROM Project

We were planning to release the SurvivalBlog 2005-2010 Archives CD in late January but this was seriously delayed. Unfortunately, the production team at Cafe Press inadvertently produced blank CD-ROMs and mailed them them to the 27 beta testers. It took more than three weeks and countless phone calls for Cafe Press to admit their mistake and to issue refunds. We are now in the process of starting another beta test, using a different company for production order and fulfillment, Lulu.com. The production version (v.1.0) should be ready for ordering by late March. Many thanks for your patience! (In the meantime, the Kindle archive for 2005-2010 is available for $9, via the Amazon.com store.)

Letter Re: Coastal Southwestern Oregon as a Retreat Locale

Howdy Mr. Rawles;
I live up on the south coast of Oregon, I live close to adjoining Del Norte County, California.

These areas are very low in population density, lot’s of good fresh water, good fishing and hunting, lot’s of agricultural land good grazing land and a decent climate/ (There are few freezes, no snow, and very little ice.)

Del Norte is a little better than southern Oregon because there is more farm and grazing land and it’s far far away from large  cities, railroads and major freeways and a slightly better climate. But on the down side, it’s still in California! The south Oregon coast is even more isolated than Del Norte. The one major road to it is narrow and prone to landslides to the north. The road to the Rogue valley is narrow, twisting, long and also prone to slides. Because of this, the south Oregon coast will be easy to keep isolated as there are few bridges over the rivers and they can be easily blocked as can that road from the Rogue Valley.

One thing you forgot to remember is that WTSHTF, oil [and all oil-derived products] will be scarce or unavailable! You cannot depend upon a internal combustion engine to be reliable transportation.You will need to settle in a area that’s not up on top of some hill, too exposed, too far from town, no agricultural land or grazing, worse climate. A little elevation on a south slope is desirable if there is good agricultural land nearby.

You may end up on “shank’s mare” or a bicycle for transportation.

Go to Google Earth to get a close look at these areas and see for yourself.

For light, I would not depend upon a battery flashlight, a shake or crank flashlight, lamp and radio would be far better. Know how to make fire without matches!

Don’t depend only on a rifle to get game, learn to make traps, snares and “primitive” weapons like bows, arrows and spears. The are also much quieter. Learn to knap stone and to heat treat the right kind of stone to make it easier to knap.

Ammo will be limited or even unavailable WTSHTF!

The book Survival Skills of Native California is a good one to acquire. There is lots to learn there on how to live off the land from north to south.

There is much to learn and too little time left to learn it, the sooner you start the better. – Sheila from the South Coast of Oregon

 

Letter Re: Battery Options for LEDs and Small Electronics

Jim,
I have read and enjoyed both your books. I have told all my like minded friends about them.

Regarding LED flashlight batteries: I have a flashlight from Sportsman’s Guide that uses two of the CR123 batteries, it will also use the #18650 lithium ion battery. One of these takes the place of two of the CR123 batteries, and last much longer, and is rechargeable. The charger can use either 120 VAC or 12 VDC input voltages. I have a system set up that uses the Harbor Freight 45 watt solar panels. I bought mine on sale for $149 and use them to charge a NAPA-branded Booster PAC [“aka “jump pack”]. I can then use the booster pack to power my Accu-Manager battery charger or to power my Yaesu 2800 ham radio. The booster box has a 12 VDC outlet on it.

Keep your powder dry, – C.K.M.

JWR Replies: Keep in mind that there are now rechargeable Li-Ion CR-123 batteries available. Previously, I was only able to find inefficient 120 VAC-sourced chargers available for these batteries, but now DC-to-DC chargers are available.

Letter Re: Minutes Mean Miles

Sir:
Depending upon your vehicle, even a small sedan can have a tow hitch installed. If the need arises all you have to do is hitch up a trailer and go.  Think of it as the ultimate grab and go bag, on wheels.  

Granted, depending upon resources and vehicles one can expand upon this any number of ways.  Our solution has been to remodel a horse trailer to hold an extensive amount of preps, provide for sleeping space if needed, propane cooking, lighting and heating capabilities, bench storage and fold down tables, etc.  The fact that it appears to be an older used horse trailer helps with OPSEC and living in a rural area it doesn’t arouse any suspicions. It’s totally locked and sealed and one cannot see inside since we have modified the windows with dark smoked panels.  It’s insulated, paneled, carpeted, wired for 12 volts DC (VDC), solar powered, stocked and ready to go.  

This eliminates the need for us to worry about what to pack.  We can hook up the trailer and be off in under five minutes.  It’s also a good way to carry extra fuel, propane tanks etc, without being obvious or having to use all the interior space in my SUV for such things.  I still carry two small backpacks of gear in the SUV along with a larger 72 hour kit, but the trailer is setup for an extended G.O.O.D. scenario.  

In addition I have remodeled a Class A motor home that runs on 110 VAC, 12 VDC, photovoltaic system, wood cook stove (backup) and a generator and is kept fully fueled and ready to roll.  It holds 90 gallons of water, with built in ceramic filters and has about three months worth  of food stored onboard. With a 90 gallon fuel tank it has a range of approximately 800 miles depending upon terrain and conditions, without refueling.  The motor home provides all the amenities of home without compromising on comfort or facilities.  

Our retreat from our current location is just over 600 miles on a route of remote, rural highways with little traffic during normal conditions.  We currently live in the motor home and am slowly migrating closer to the retreat location and within the next year will be living there full time.  In the meantime I keep my eyes and ears busy keeping abreast of societal conditions that might warrant a quick move.  

For the time being we rent private, rural spaces to park the motor home away from cities and towns (hence the slow migration, they aren’t always easy to find).  I am privileged in the fact that I work from home, running an internet hosting and email service that provides a good income, allowing me to work anywhere I have good cell reception for tech support phone and cellular modem.  

My spouse and I are very aware of the fragility of our current society and maintain a constant readiness.  We can uproot and be off in under five minutes in an emergency, 30 minutes if we bothered to add the container garden to our travels.  With the two of us driving we have the SUV, motor home and the horse trailer which can be towed by either vehicle.  This level of mobility gives us the ability to leave at any time day or night and not be dependent upon the availability of fuel stations or any other resources that would slow us down.  The SUV is kept always at least ¾ of a tank and the horse trailer holds 30 gallons of fuel stored, giving us an 800 mile range for the entire caravan.  

Just a thought for those of you who might consider an alternate option for bugging out. – T.B.

Letter Re: The Coming Shortage of Nickels

James,  
You will have soon received a flat rate Priority Mail box containing $150 in nickels (inside a thick cardboard reinforcement liner) that I sent you. I sent you those coins for two reasons:

One: I should have been a [voluntary] Ten Cent Challenge subscriber, starting from back when I began reading SurvivalBlog in 2008. The nickels cover not only the past three years, but also pre-pay my subscription for the next year, too.

Two: Last week my local bank finally cut me off (and other bank patrons, too), from buying more than one roll [of nickels] at a time. You were right: “The window of opportunity is closing.” In the summer of 2008, shortly after I started reading your blog and your novel, I started buying $40 in nickels (rolled) every time I went to the bank. I work just two blocks from the bank, so it was real easy to do on my lunch hour. The tellers must have thought that I’m in the vending machine business. Now, about 200-odd trips to the bank later, I now have accumulated more than $8K face [value] in nickels. So that one small box of nickels (soon to arrive) is just my small way of saying “thanks” for the heads-up on nickels.

They are all now in ammo cans (following your advice), forming a very imposing wall in my “Hidey Room” that my wife teases me about. I also have about 30 cans of ammunition–assorted calibers, lined up on the opposite wall in there. She says that both [the nickels and the ammunition] will give us protection not just from the soon-coming hyperinflation, but also incoming small arms fire and gamma ray radiation! That stack of 42 ammo cans (holding $188 face [value of nickels] in each can) is so darn heavy that I only feel safe with it on a [concrete] slab floor. I estimate that it weighs about 1.5 tons! Without the advance warning on coming events that you provided, there is no way that I would have “beat the rush” on nickels.

I was born much too late (1966) to get any silver coins at face value. But thanks to you, I’ve been getting nickels with a built-in 40% return, but costing me just face value!

OBTW, I have no doubt that there will be a “by the bag” bullion market for nickels within a couple of years, regardless of any change in the current “no melting” law. People recognize true value, and they always price it, accordingly. Just like you, I’m amazed at the rapid and fluid reaction of a free market.

With My Thanks, – Karl H. (A Comfortable 70 Miles From Green Bay)

Avalanche Lily’s Bedside Book Pile

Here are the current top-most items on my perpetual bedside pile:

  • I recently watched a series of DVDs produced by The West Ladies. These amazing ladies have a great wealth of practical knowledge. They really know what works for self-sufficiency. I watched Homestead Blessings: The Art of Gardening and Homestead Blessings: The Art of Herbs. I have another titled Homestead Blessings: The Art of Canningthat I still need to watch. (There are many others in their DVD series.) From the outset, I was impressed by the years of collected knowledge and wisdom that these DVDs impart. I was also impressed by the genteel dress and bearing of the West Ladies. They were natural, down to Earth with their easy to understand presentations of gardening methods and Herbal gardening and uses. They wore beautiful skirts and blouses that I’m sure they made themselves. The videos themselves were full of bright colors displaying their beautiful home and gardens. In my opinion, these videos are geared more toward a female audience. The young women in our household were very excited about the herbal video. They soon mixed up some of the teas that were presented. The West Ladies are excellent role models for up-and-coming young ladies. I highly recommend their DVDs.
  • I just received a review copy of the near-future novel “American Apocalypse: The Collapse Begins“, written under the pen name “Nova”. The novel is an outgrowth of a series of posts on the Calculated Risk blog–a blog which you’ve surely seen linked from SurvivalBlog. It is published by Ulysses Press–one of Jim’s three publishers. My initial quick skim of the book shows that it has some foul language, so this is definitely not one for the kids. I’ll post a review after I’ve read it.
  • I really love reading Enola Gay’s Paratus Familia blog. I read it regularly. I’ve been very interested in following Maid Elizabeth’s progress in preparing to become a midwife. I’m very impressed with the skills she has learned. It was fascinating reading her recent description of her foray into phlebotomy: her own father consented to be her Guinea Pig. The level of medical planning and acquisition of instruments, bandages and medicines that her family has accomplished is admirable. If you need some help in getting started in stocking up on medical supplies, then check out Enola Gay’s blog posts.

Economics and Investing:

Reader L.I.Z. sent this: Using new metals in U.S. coins could impact counterfeiting, public safety and a lot more. Collect you cache of nickels now, before their minting composition is debased.

Meanwhile in commodity news: Are High Nickel Prices Here to Stay?

KAF forwarded this: U.S. sets $223 Billion Monthly Deficit Record

John R. recommended this piece by Bob Chapman: The Fed Distorts The Economy With Inflation

Items from The Economatrix:

Burst of Hiring Could Mark Turning Point for Jobs  

Factory Orders Up in January, Helped by Airplanes  

Food and Fuel Bills to Rocket, Warn Ministers and UN Report

February Jobs Report:  Unemployment Falls Again 

Odds ‘n Sods:

Fred the Valmetmeister sent this fun video clip: Live Fire With a [Replica] Civil War Cannon. You gotta love the cannon ball lodged the tree trunk…

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Joe G. spotted this at The American Rifleman‘s web page: The M14 Enhanced Battle Rifle The changing nature of the war in Afghanistan led to the re-issue of the 7.62×51 mm NATO M14 rifle.

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Richard S. recommended this piece from Canada: Lorne Gunter: Opposing self-defence means opposing democracy itself

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I noticed that Amazon recently dropped their price on “Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse” to just $8.16. (That is 45% off the cover price, and their lowest price ever.) Meanwhile, the Kindle edition was reduced to just $7.75. Oh, and speaking of “Patriots“, the folks at the Target Rich Environment blog posted a favorable review.

Note from JWR:

Today we present the first column from SurvivalBlog’s new Field Gear Editor, Pat Cascio. Many of you will recognize his name from the various gun and knife magazines where he has written for more than 18 years. He has written for monthly issues of American Survival Guide, Handguns, Gun World, American Handgunner, as well as for annuals produced by Guns, American Handgunner, and Guns & Ammo.

Pat has also tested thousands of knives, both for knife magazines (like Knives Illustrated) and for his own use. He has also designed several knives that are currently being produced. He spent more than 35 years actively in the martial arts, and holds Black Belt rank in five different martial arts, with a 6th Degree Black Belt in one art. He also spent three years working for the late, and legendary Colonel Rex Applegate, who taught him a lot about knife fighting and knife design.

Pat summarizes his product reviewing philosophy: “I don’t pull any punches in my Test and Evaluation, and if a gun or knife isn’t up to my expectations – you simply won’t be reading about it. I don’t waste my time writing about junk guns or knives or any tools, for that matter.   I plan to write gun and knife articles for SurvivalBlog on a fairly regular basis. If you have any questions, please e-mail me, and I’ll do my best to answer them for you, if I have an answer. Please don’t send questions about what is the best gun, or best caliber to use for self-defense, since there is no “best”. It all comes down to shot placement. People have been stopped dead in their tracks with a lowly .22 LR, and others have stood after taking several hits for a .44 Magnum. So, there is no magic bullet or perfect gun. Any gun or caliber is a compromise.”

Pat’s Product Review: Ruger SR40 Pistol

The handgun under review in this article is, the Ruger SR 40. The SR40 is the bigger brother to the 9mm Parabellum Ruger SR9. I jumped on the SR9 when it came out, as did many other gun writers. However, the new SR9 wasn’t without some birthing pains. The trigger pull was very gritty, and there were some reports of the SR9 firing if dropped. Ruger is quick to acknowledge when there is a problem, and they quickly sent out a recall for the first run of SR9s. Most owners got their guns back within a couple weeks – with a free magazine for their troubles.  

The Ruger SR40 is chambered in, .40 S&W, just in case the model of the gun didn’t give it away. What we have in the SR40 is a glass-filled polymer-type frame, with a stainless steel slide, weighing in a slightly over 27-oz, with the 4.14″ barrel. This is a full-sized duty gun, to be sure. However, I’m sure Ruger will eventually chop the SR40 down, as they did with the SR9, and make a more compact version for easier concealed carry. The SR40 can be had with either a brushed stainless finished slide, or a stainless slide that has a Nitridox Pro Black coating.  Three-dot, fully adjustable sights are standard, and they are extremely rugged. There is also an ambidextrous (“ambi”) safety and ambi magazine release. I like both features. As with many handguns being made today, there is a Picatinny-style rail on the frame of the gun for mounting a laser or light – good idea!  

Okay, enough on the boring features of the gun – if you want to read more, go to Ruger’s web site for further information. I’ll admit, I’m a fan of the .40 S&W caliber – in some guns. In the SR40, it makes sense – as I can see law enforcement departments taking a close look at this gun for duty issue. Make no mistake, Ruger doesn’t make “artsy” type handguns in my humble opinion. Nope, they produce meat and potato handguns – meant for the working Joe!   I’m a fan of Glock handguns – at least most of them. I like the short trigger pull, and the high magazine capacities on many of the Glocks. However, the one Glock I don’t care for is their Model 27 – that is their sub-compact .40 S&W pistol, that holds 9+1 rounds. I just find the Glock 27 harder to shoot than it should be – it torques in the hand, and shot-to-shot recovery is slower than on many other .40 S&W handguns. I’ll say, that to date, I believe the new Ruger SR40 is the softest shooting .40 S&W on the market in my humble opinion. Recovery time from shot-to-shot is very fast, and the thing is super accurate, too. With 15+1 rounds on-hand, I find it comforting, to say the least. The SR40 is only slightly, ever so slightly bigger than the Glock 23, which is also a .40 S&W chambered handgun, that holds 13+ rounds.  

Now, as most SurvivalBlog readers know, when we talk about “survival” we are talking about what you might have to survive, at any given time. It may be a close encounter on the mean streets of America. It could be surviving a home invasion. Or, it could mean survival on the battlefield, or when the SHTF. I think the Ruger SR40 can fit into any of these survival situations. I find I can easily conceal the SR40 in a Blackhawk Products ballistic nylon holster underneath a loose-fitting shirt or other cover garment. Ruger has a list of factory holsters that will fit their handguns, on their web site. (BTW, I wish more gun companies would do this when they come out with new model handguns. It’s always been a hassle in the past, to find a holster that will fit newly introduced handguns – many times, it’s trial and error. Ruger takes the guesswork out of it, by listing holster makers that make holsters for their newly introduced handguns. Why more gun companies aren’t doing this is a mystery to me. ) 

Ruger really did a good job on the trigger pull on the SR40. It is very short and crisp. Like the Glock, Ruger has installed a safety lever inside the trigger itself. Additionally, you have the already mentioned ambi thumb safety, as well as an internal passive safety, and on the top of the slide is a neat little indicator that pops-up when there is a round in the chamber – it can be seen as well as felt (in the dark) so you know if you have a round in the chamber. Reset on the trigger is very short, which made for some fast and accurate shooting with the SR40. Resting the SR40 over a sleeping bag on the hood of my car, I was able to keep most of my shots within 3″ at 25-yrds.   I tested a variety of .40S&W ammo in the Ruger, and had zero malfunctions. Ammo tested was from Black Hills Ammunition as well as Winchester and lastly, some super-hot ammo from Buffalo Bore Ammunition that was a real eye opener. I used the blue box (reloaded) 180-gr FMJ ammo from Black Hills for a lot of my shooting, as well as their fantastic red box (new ammo) 155-gr JHP – which would be an excellent carry load for self-defense. The Buffalo Bore ammo I used is their 155-gr JHP +P stuff, that was screaming out of the barrel at 1,300 f.p.s.. The Ruger can handle it – but don’t shoot this load in your Glock! I also fired quite a bit of the Winchester 180-gr FMJ ammo as well as their 180-gr JHP Bonded JHP. Any of these Jacketed Hollow Point loads would make a dandy self-defense load, to be sure.  

I can usually find something to fault in most guns and knives I test. However, when it came to trying to find fault with the SR40, I couldn’t find anything bad to say about the gun, it’s a real winner in my book. It will come as no surprise, that Ruger also prices their guns where the average consumer can afford them. While the SR40 has a suggested retail price of $525, they can usually be found heavily discounted in most gun shops and sporting goods store – what’s not to like here? We have a gun that feels extremely good in the hand, shoots any kind of ammo you feed it, comes with a spare magazine, and will last you a lifetime, and it’s affordable. In my book, the SR40 would be an excellent survival handgun, and will fill many needs.