TEOTWAWKI Simplified, by Jim S.

Most people find themselves looking at TEOTWAWKI as some sort of extended outdoorsy jaunt. Some people think of it as hard times. Me, I think it could be both, and then again it could be near mass extinction. But to make any type of sensible decision as to disaster preparation, you have to determine what is truly important. So let me simplify things for those of you all wadded up in bugout vehicles and plans for where to go and what ammo and guns are best to “protect yourself”.

First, if you are dead, then you will no longer care. Game over, “DNF” and end of the line. So item one is your life. If you have family, then there is more reason to stay alive, as they will likely need you. Simple first question: do you want to get in a firefight over your home with someone? Frankly, I can live without my home, so easy decision. [JWR Adds: That might be the case in the cities and the suburbs, where a house is just a glorified box. But for many of us that have already relocated to the boonies, our homes represent our self-sufficient livelihood, since we’ve painstakingly built up stored firewood, gardens, orchards, vineyards, and flocks. In some situations giving that up would be akin to giving up your clothes in a blizzard.] What about my vehicle? Ditto – can live and survive without it. Pride? Pecking order? All ego-baloney that can get you in bad situations and get you killed. Avoiding confrontation is the key to not getting injured or shot. There is always someone with a bigger gun or a sharper knife or younger and faster than you.

The single best thing you can have as a survival tool is knowledge. Skills come from knowledge and can be taught and learned. But your best tool is your noggin and what you have packed away inside it. Read – test – trial – learn – practice – experiment. Use your brain to make yourself capable of surviving.

Guns? Honestly, you will be able to trade a copy of ‘How to reload cartridges without a reloading press’ for a gun if serious SHTF. Likewise, you can probably think of other things you know how to do that are essentials which are easily worth a gun or just a meal or a stay in someone’s camp. Can you make a mold from river clay and cast bullets? Can you fix a generator? Do you know how to get casing head drip from an oil well Christmas tree and use it for fuel? Do you even know if there are oil wells or gas wells near you? Do you know how to make pine tar? How can you make a simple pump to pull water from a well without electricity? Can you cure and store meat without refrigeration? The historical knowledge lists is long, but go back to the 1800s and do some research. If TSHTF, electricity is likely the first casualty, whether it is from catastrophe or switched off by runaway government whackos. Hurricane Ike was a nice practice run for us here in Texas, where many of us were without juice for over a week during the summer.

If TSHTF, the first thing to collapse will be corporations, as they are all about one thing – money. And money isn’t worth anything when survival is at stake. During Hurricane Ike, people skipped work to leave town or rig up for the storm. If it is something much worse, then work will be “out of the window” for most corporate critters. We are much more worried about our families and our “stuff”.

Realize that if you know where to look and how your little neck of the woods is set up, you can find resources to survive well rather than trying to tote all you need on your back. Take a drive and look around at what will be there when nobody gives a d**n about going in to work. Excess gear makes you a slow moving and appealing target for anti-social urban whackadoos with a 9mm and a couple of magazines. People only rob from those that have something they covet, so keep your goodies minimal, versatile and simple.

Think like a sailor – minimize material resources you consider absolute essentials and get what you need between your ears where you can live off whatever is at hand. Simplify – simplify – and then simplify again. I hate to get all twisted up in trying to outline all the possibilities – there are far too many. Know that whatever it is will likely be in some form or other we were not expecting in all our planning. Lower your expectations as much as you can – imagine it very uncomfortable, because if it comes to a choice between living or retaining some comfort, I am all about living.

Remember – Murphy’s Law rules when TSHTF. The best capital for barter is knowledge – it weighs nothing, sells high and is viable currency when you have customers who need it. Skills run a very close second, but which ones are most valuable depend on what happens. Growing veggies will not matter if we nuke each other or California slides into the Pacific or Yellowstone erupts. Besides – if you can’t grow beans you are likely doomed anyway, unless you are a doctor or nurse with practical field knowledge. But again, this is knowledge – and it will trade anywhere it is needed.

That’s about as detailed as I think I need to dig into this. If you cannot wrap your mind around what I am saying, then you are unaware of the world you are living in and you honestly have not been reading your history enough. Read – learn – use your imagination. Know your own history and learn things that are practical, valuable and important to survival alone and in a group.

Lone wolves have lots of trouble surviving – that’s why they naturally form into packs. The reason we are top species on this ball of dirt is our brains. That is what may make it possible for us humans to survive cataclysm where dinosaurs could not: think!

[JWR Adds: In my estimation, a large quantity of gear and consumables will be an asset, rather than a hindrance. As long as it is kept hidden and left unmentioned except to your most trusted friends, a deep larder can be a tremendous asset. It will carry your family through hard times, and also give you the opportunity to be covertly charitable. I also believe that it is naive to expect to be able to trade a book for a gun,–or even a huge pile of books for a gun. In a societal collapse, guns will be a precious commodity. It would take massive depopulation before they’d ever become “cheap.”

Letter Re: You May Not Need to Buy New 12 Volt Batteries

Sir:
The recent post on battery rejuvenation touts a $200 unit, but the reality is that electronic battery [pulse] desulfators for 12V batteries are widely available for as little as $25 and they do just as well. (Check eBay for the phrase ‘battery desulfator’ and for more info on units, Google search the term.) The devices I believe originated in the Army decades ago and they operate by taking a little of the battery DC and changing it to AC impulses that break down lead sulfate crystals by hitting them at a resonant frequency of the molecule. This may operate by a piezoelectric kind of effect that mechanically vibrates the crystals to self-wear them down..In any event, if a battery is not shorted out internally but is one that’s developed a high resistance coatings of crystals on the plates, this can add life. If one has electronics construction skills, you also can buy inexpensive kits for building rejuvenators. Be aware that rejuvenation takes a lot of time to take effect, sometimes on the order of weeks. The kit units can be left on working batteries to keep them from developing sulfation in the future, but eventually normal lead shedding will kill off many batteries, especially if it creates internal shorts. Then, charging current will merely heat up the short and do nothing else worthwhile. – Bert K.

Economics and Investing:

Reader RBS sent this: Government goes high-tech to redesign $100 bills. RBS warns that with each currency change, there is the risk of the advent of a blocked currency. “That is where there is one variety of note for Domestic use only and one species for foreign use.” JWR Adds: It is noteworthy that U.S. Postal Service Money Orders are already marked “Valid only in the U.S. and Possessions.” Currency controls are coming, folks!

Alasdair sent this: Greek debt crisis gets worse as EU revises figures

Items from The Economatrix:

If The US Economy Falls Will It Result In A Complete And Total Collapse Of Society?

Enjoy The Recovery While it Lasts, Inflation, Global Conflicts are Coming

Summer Fuel Price Outlook

US Faces Second Lost Depression, Why This Recession Is Different And What To Do About It

Escalating Greek Default Fears Rock Europe’s Debt Markets

Insight’s into America’s Disneyland and Our “Neo-Feudalistic, Gulag Casino Economy”

Wholesale Prices Rise in March as Food Costs Jump

Odds ‘n Sods:

Yes, our modern global society is now very inter-twingled: Volcano Ash Cloud Sets Off Global Domino Effect; Lack of Flights Entering, Departing Europe Stalls Africa War Crimes Investigation, Halts Japanese Auto Production. (Thanks to Robert B. for the link.)

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Chris Y. suggested this article at Trailspace: Human Waste Disposal in the Backcountry.

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I just found a very interesting blog that relates to personal privacy: The TechnoFascismBlog.

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Paul D. sent this: Police: 89-Year-Old Fires Gun At Intruder. Commenting on the police kindly reloading the revolver for the old woman, Paul notes: “This is great!!! Community policing at it’s best.”

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” – 1 John 1:9-10 (KJV)

Notes from JWR:

I’ve had two readers write me to ask how to pronounce Eyjafjallajökull. One of them noted: “It took me a year just to learn how to pronounce TEOTWAWKI (“Tea-Ought-Walk-ee”), so now I’m expected to learn this?) Chris Taylor of Word Around the Net explains: “Its pronounced ‘Throat warbler mangrove'”. (An homage to Monty Python.) But as for me, I’ve decided just call the Icelandic volcano “Effie.” I think that’s a nice familiar nickname, and it is probably apropos, since we’ll likely be choking on Effie’s gritty bad cooking for several years, or perhaps even a decade or longer.

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Today we present another entry for Round 28 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round will 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 between $500 and $600, and B.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze dried assorted entrees, in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources. (A $392 value.) C.) A HAZARiD Decontamination Kit from Safecastle.com. (A $350 value.), and D.) A 500 round case of Federal 5.56mm XM193 55 Grain FMJ ammo, courtesy of Sunflower Ammo. This is a $199 value, and includes free UPS shipping.

Second Prize: A.) 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 $400, and B.) two cases of Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs), courtesy of CampingSurvival.com (a $180 value).

Third Prize: A.) A copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, from Arbogast Publishing, and B.) a Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21. (This filter system is a $275 value.)

Round 28 ends on May 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.

Turning the Corner, by F.J.B.

Today there seems to be any number of reasons for the average American to turn the corner towards preparedness and being self-reliant.  Back in 1993, I would have been able to give you just as many reasons based on my observations through the 1980s.  Not surprisingly there are twice as many reasons for the average man to not start around that corner.  The reasons I have heard the most include the cost factor and objections to living so primitively.  Simply put: today’s average American is too poor and soft to endure hardships like camping, physical labor, and no TV.  These were the same objections we had to overcome and did.

My wife and I woke up one day in 1993 and realized that our children (ages 2-10-10-12) were being raised by godless leftists in the government schools and on television.  We muddled through the rest of the school year and tossed out the television.  Instead, Renee quit her job to homeschool all of our boys. This was decided over several weeks and Renee had some doubts as to her ability, but in the end she made the commitment and I committed to supporting her as best I could. We chose to use the A Beka books for most of the curriculum. Having made this decision, it was about a year later that we realized the taxes we were paying went to very few services we used.   This started me down the path of finding a rural home with lower taxes and more opportunity to raise animals and a garden. We had envisioned a log home on a mountainside sloping to a meadow with a river running through. Right about then I lost my job.  It had been our plan to make these changes with the money I had from my income in the building industry but losing the job certainly put a damper on the plans.

Not wanting to continue with the old ways, we pushed forward. As it happened, I lost my job in the spring of 1993. That summer we sold almost everything we owned at the local flea market. Sometimes we were just exchanging things. A lawnmower for a grain mill, a bedroom set for a rifle, but for the most part we saved as much as we could. Selling the house didn’t bring any real money to the table and what we did have was soon spent on a used school bus ($1,500) that was going to carry us all west to our promised land.  I rigged a tow bar behind our bus for our Jeep and one day in the fall with four boys, two dogs, and less than $3,000 we headed west.

I could write a chapter on our adventure/nightmare traveling but I’ll save that for another time. With less than $500 left, we ended up in northern Arizona in early January 1994. We had picked up a GP Medium tent with an arctic liner and set it up for the first time during a snow storm at a campsite in the national forest. Seeing a concrete picnic table at one site, it was my thought that we should place the tent over the table so we could have the comfort of the table inside. Seemed like a good idea to me. After directing the boys at holding the tent posts for about an hour we finally had the tent set up. My notion of enjoying the table was soon lost when Renee pointed out that the cold concrete table and benches just sucked the heat right out of us as we sat.  Live and learn.

We learned fast and within a few months, my boys and I could set up a GP Medium with liner and two woodstoves quicker than a company of soldiers. Staying in the national forest (with a 14-day maximum stay) saved us what little money we had left. It also helped that we had more privacy in the forest. It turned out that we always seemed to have a crowd gather around when we set up camp. The GP Medium tent is 16’ x 32’ in size and I guess seeing a man and four boys set it up was worth watching. After the work was done and the stoves were burning we’d often have someone knocking at the door post. Sometimes it was another survivalist living in the forest looking for a home cooked meal and sometimes it was just the curious having never seen a tent that big. 

One day while in the forest at a camp we had just set up. I told Renee that I was headed into the woods to do my business. I found a spot over a small hill and a stand of boulders from the site. It was private enough and there was a nice view of a small canyon just another 20 feet away. I was in the position with my paper and trowel in the ready, just enjoying the beauty of the canyon and forest. As I was there I got the strange feeling I was being watched. It really bothered me to the point I had to start scanning the surrounding area to see who was there.  As I looked across the canyon I saw a large timber wolf standing still and staring right at me.  I quickly jumped up and pulled up my jeans, turning just in time to see the wolf jump off the edge of the canyon and head towards me. Leaving my paper and trowel behind as I leapt over the stand of boulders, I saw the wolf crest my side of the canyon and knew it would be on me in an instant. Not turning back again I ran into our camp yelling, “Wolf! Wolf! Get my gun!”  Renee was at the tent door with my GP100 as I reached her. I grabbed the gun and turned expecting to see the wolf, but there was nothing. Once Renee and the boys stopped laughing at my adventure I vowed not to leave camp again without my sidearm.  Later, a ranger came by our camp to log our stay. I asked him about the wolf and was told he was a regular to that part of the forest and wouldn’t hurt anyone. Right.

Renee was the first to find work and I took up keeping the camp, cooking meals, schooling the boys, and seeking a place to start our home. 
It didn’t take long to find affordable land in Arizona. The boys and I hiked for many miles on an old ranch land until we found a 50-acre place in the middle of an old 60,000 acre ranch. It was a bit larger than a ¼ mile square and had several good house sites. Further, it was “for sale by owner” and I was able to negotiate a “delayed settlement”, “owner financing”, and the “right to occupy”.
This allowed us to set up camp on the property and save enough money to make the down payment in four months. Not having to deal with breaking camp every two weeks was a great feeling. The boys got extra freedom to wander and I could put in more permanent fixtures at our camp. We soon sold the bus and bought an old pickup truck along with a trailer for hauling water to our property.
Renee continued working while I kept up with the boys and started planning our house. Once we settled on the property, I started cutting the best looking junipers for the post foundation of our cabin.  I had found a solid outcrop of rock just below a cow path along one of the hillsides near the center of the land.  I dug down only a few inches to expose the rock that would support the cabin. Not having to dig any farther down than that, I placed the chainsaw cut juniper tree posts right down on the rock and started the house. Almost every weekend the boys and I spent searching for materials for the ranch cabin.
For the most part we used what we could off the land in timber and stone and paid cash for the rest. We were lucky to have found a saw mill close by. It was an old mill and the owner knew what he was doing. He sold us all the rough-cut ponderosa pine we could haul at a time.  

Once under roof we began our search for a woodstove. This was one of my biggest concerns. Renee had given me specific details on what was acceptable after many burned fingers and smoking pot holders. The stoves we had been using in the tent were the standard GI issue stoves. When they burned they burned hot, sometimes cherry red.  They were also not an airtight stove that would keep a fire all night unattended. And while they were relatively affordable, the stove we now needed was always expensive.  One day while in the big city 75 miles away from our ranch, I noticed a metal recycling scrap yard. High on a pile of iron was the stove I had been looking for! It was a Timberland Double Door with a large flat top surface suitable for cooking on! This was God looking out for Renee (or me). I was ready to drop a large sum of money on this right there. To my surprise, they only wanted the going rate of scrap iron per pound (less the weight of the fire bricks) for the perfect stove.  We later added a kitchen addition to the cabin with a standing pilot propane oven but the Timberland stayed on as the primary heat source for the home.

While building we used the water trailer as our water storage as well. Once the cabin was finished Renee hinted that she wanted running water in the kitchen sink. Being off grid with no well I had to come up with a workable solution.  We bought a 2,500 gallon water tank at a ranch supply store. Placing this tank on the hill where the bottom was above the height of the kitchen faucet I ran 2” pipe off the tank to the outside wall of the kitchen.  This gave us excellent water pressure to the faucet entirely gravity flow. Hot water for showers and dishes was heated by both the woodstove and the kitchen propane stove. Later, we added a propane instant water heater to the system.

Showers were accomplished in a shower house we built off the cabin. A wood decked walkway off the rear led to a small building with deck floors and a hook at the ceiling. At first we had a canvas military water bag with a large daisy shower head. The heated water was carried out and poured into the bag. We could take as long a shower as two gallons of hot water would allow. 

Being “off-grid” meant that, aside from the chainsaw, the boys and I were using only hand tools to build our home.  We could not afford solar power or generators until much later and for the most part we lived as early Americans did. We worked during the day, slept at night, used oil lamps when needed, heated with a woodstove, and had an outhouse for you know what. The only real luxuries we enjoyed those first years were a propane grill and our portable radio.  For nighttime entertainment as a family we listened to the AM radio shows. The boys enjoyed listening to KFI out of Los Angeles and their Radio Classics like The Shadow and The Jack Benny Show. During the day we hunted, killed rattlesnakes, and searched for arrowheads.

At one point Renee quit working and took up running the ranch while I worked locally where ever I could. Renee started a small garden that kept us in tomatoes and peppers to cook up with the average 18 eggs a day that our 24 chickens gave us. Her 30 goats supplied enough milk for everyone and all the cheese we could eat.

As the money came in we added on and upgraded and eventually got to solar panels and a generator. We even had one of the first satellite uplinks for Internet connection from our off-grid ranch.
It should be said that our sons are all men now. Two of them still live out west after going to local universities and the oldest is now out of the US Army, having gone to West Point. Our choices were not always the right choice but they were ours to own. I am proud of the job my wife did homeschooling our sons and while three of them do not actively live a survivalist’s life, they all know how to.

We are still survivalists. We sold our ranch and moved back east several years ago after staying out west for about 14 years. It became clear to us that water is everything for survival and the west has too many water issues. The ranch sold quickly to a California family looking to get out of their situation and into a better life. The lessons we learned have made us stronger and more ready to take on what’s coming. The funds from the sale of our ranch bought us a 100-acre mountain farm sloping to a meadow with a river running through. Renee and our youngest son helped finish a modest cabin with solar power, and as soon as I can I’ll be building that log home we had envisioned.

Letter Re: A New Fungus Among Us

James,

I saw this on the net and thought that your readers may not have heard of this yet: Deadly Airborne Fungus Spreading in Northwest.

Heads up folks:

“A potentially deadly strain of fungus is spreading among animals and people in the northwestern United States and the Canadian province of British Columbia.”

“The spore-forming fungus can cause symptoms in people and animals two weeks or more after exposure. They include a cough that lasts for weeks, sharp chest pain, and shortness of breath, headache, fever, nighttime sweats and weight loss.”

“The new strain appears to be unusually deadly, with a mortality rate of about 25 percent among the 21 U.S. cases analyzed.”

According to the CDC, C. gattii has become endemic to the Pacific Northwest.

Regards, – Edward K.

Letter Re: Map Reading and Land Navigation for G.O.O.D. Planning

Jim:
Unless I’m mistaken, 1:50,000 scale maps are military only. Civilian topo maps in the US (produced by the USGS) are 1:24,000 scale. If there are any 15 minute quadrangle maps still available they are 1:62,500 scale. Neither are compatible with military grid readers or scales.

Here is a source for map scales and protractors available in a variety of scales – print or copy them on transparent material and have at it.

Regards, – Flighter

Economics and Investing:

The IRS Goes Clubbin’. This illustrates that taxing officials will show no restraint in their expanding quest for revenue, in the coming years. Flea markets, farmers’ markets, gun shows, and any similar perceived dastardly bastions of free enterprise are doubtless next on their list. (A hat tip to RBS for the link.)

Also from RBS: Peak Phosphorus, and Why It Matters, by James Elser and Stuart White.

The Grudge Match Over Your 401(k)

Items from The Economatrix:

US to Shine Light on Derivatives Trading

Next Bubble: $600 Trillion?

IMF Trims Estimate of Losses From Financial Crisis

The Great Debate: Are Stocks Overpriced?

More Downside Risk Ahead for Oil and Gold

Home Sales Rise as Unemployment Claims Fall

GM Repays $8.4 Billion Bailout in Full. Oh but wait… GM Used Bailout to Repay TARP Loans, Senator Says

Odds ‘n Sods:

“Hobo Matt” sent us this: Time, Water Running Out for America’s Biggest Aquifer

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By way of Tamara over at View From the Porch comes this link: Not Your Typical CCW Class. (JWR’s comment: That makes sense to me!)

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Eric S. flagged this piece from The Albuquerque Journal that illustrates how folks can survive in an austere environment: On a Dusty Mesa, No Water or Electricity, but Boundless Space. But of course, without gasoline for vehicles to haul cistern water, they’d be in for some deep drama.

Letter Re: You May Not Need to Buy New 12 Volt Batteries

Jim:
The 12 volt DC lead-acid batteries employed in most readers’ vehicles, power storage systems and backup supply systems are expensive, have finite life spans and are a critical link in the timely operation of
equipment required to respond to short term and long term grid-down situations. Aged batteries become unreliable, but are difficult to keep in a state of readiness and when deemed “spent” their replacement puts a drain on already limited financial resources.

Most people have battery chargers and the know-how to use them in an effort to keep older – or infrequently used – batteries in a charged state so they can be relied upon when needed. This is, however, time
consuming and the unpredictability of battery depletion, through sulfation and other age-related deterioration, makes it difficult to keep your batteries in a constant state of readiness in a cost-effective manner that is not manpower intensive.

If a battery has reached a truly terminal stage of decay, such as failure of inter-cell connections, lead plate breakage or separations and similar situations that require mechanical reconstruction, then the battery should be recycled – it’s beyond repair by ordinary mortals. But if the battery is mechanically viable and just badly aged, there is a very good chance that it can be brought back to a very useful state with a device that is relatively unknown but commercially available. I will not claim that it can be made as good as new, but my own results were very satisfying.

A neighbor of mine – a Ph.D. Chemist – came across, researched and subsequently purchased a device known as the Renaissance Charge Rejuvenator. He has already brought a dozen lead-acid 12V batteries back from near useless states. I borrowed the ‘Rejuvenator’ unit, and attached it to three different 12V lead-acid batteries of my own over a 4-day period. In each case the battery, which had previously been unable to retain a decent charge, was “brought back to life” and held a good charge making it usable for employment as a car battery, a source of energy in an inverter set-up or other traditional arrangements.

The Rejuvenator works best if you use it repeatedly, drawing down the battery between applications. For my own batteries, I used the unit until it indicated “done” (green light), then I placed a load on the battery and drew it down to about 11V, gave it a rest period of about 8 hours and then ran the unit through another cycle to charge it back up and apply a “second dose” of the unit’s proprietary repair process.

The Rejuvenator is not exactly cheap at $200 (delivered) but if you bring two “mostly dead” large capacity car batteries (or just one heavy duty tractor battery) back to useful life you’ve pretty well paid for the unit and after that everything is free. You might consider splitting the cost with a good neighbor or two.

I submit that readers would be well advised to do some research and consider purchasing one of these units to extend the life of the many batteries they already have in use, in order to avoid the high costs associated with replacement. I was stunned when I counted and realized that I have fourteen 12V lead-acid batteries on my ranch. Just as an aside, I have no vested interest in the company that makes the units, and will receive no compensation if this recommendation should result in sales for the Renaissance-Charge Company, though it couldn’t hurt if you mention that “Ted from Careywood” sent you. They may be inclined to give some sort of small discount, though I have no control over that. In any case, the cost/benefit analysis seems to make it a good deal, especially for those who use lots of battery banks to avoid dependence on the electrical grid. Best Regards, – Ted

Letter Re: Some Useful Online Resources

Howdy,
I love the blog. I am preparing for regional disasters associated with living in Los Angeles and I thought your readers might like these two links.

The first one is Global Security.org where among other things, they have free e-copies of [nearly] all of the current Army Field Manuals.

The second one is a bit out of context but I think is quite informative given the nature of this community, it comes from DisasterSafety.org which as it happens is a building contractor web site that certifies builders to build and/or retrofit buildings to withstand natural disasters and such. They have a builders guide in PDF format has some interesting data on each state in the U.S. and what their flood zone is in nice color maps. Pretty nifty, I thought.

Happy reading. Best, – Sergeant Knuckles

Seven Letters Re: Choosing the Appropriate Handgun for You and Yours

Introductory Note From JWR: Lest this devolve into an endless “Ford Versus Chevy” type debate, after today’s posts, I don’t plan to post anything further on this particular thread.

Hi, Jim,
You’ve been getting lots of info about the “caliber wars” (again) and being the die-hard “don’t care what caliber you got” aficionado I am, I thought you and your readers may find some interest in this article: The “Center Mass” Myth and Ending a Gunfight. Maybe it’s the definitive report on the handgun “caliber wars and which does what to whom”.

Thanks for a great site, Jim. I appreciate it. – Shy III

Jim,
Just a few points from a slightly different perspective on practical handguns for personal protection and carry. As an NRA trainer I’ve been training civilians for a little more than 20 years, and have some counterpoints to the fine article by Officer Tackleberry. As to caliber and bullet configuration the military is required to use ball ammunition for both rifle and handgun per the Geneva convention. Civilians carrying for self defense generally are not as limited, unless your state has such limits. Well placed shots from a hollow point in .35 caliber (.38 Special, .357 Magnum, .380 Auto, 9mm, etc.) are all excellent choices, but in my opinion are the lowest end of the firepower spectrum that I would select.

People with a law enforcement or recent military background have a perspective of a handgun more as a potentially offensive weapon, but the vast majority of the folks I encounter have no offensive training, and should approach the handgun as a defensive tool. There are some important steps you need to consider when carrying a handgun. The first is to never be in a situation where you have to use it if possible, by practicing and having good situational awareness, The second is to have it in good working order and for you to have practice with it until the operation is second nature. Dry practice drills with dummy ammunition (for proper weight) are a good way to learn proficiency with drawing, holstering, making magazine changes, and clearing. Finally, practice firing on the range as much as you can (or can afford). As a civilian using a defensive tool, you’ll statistically never run into a situation where you’ll actually need to reload the cylinder or magazine. We tell our students that if you’re in that situation, you’re in over your head, and that sometimes life just stinks. Remember that police not only have the larger magazines, but more importantly have a radio and backup.

A few more things to consider:

* If you are married and can only afford one firearm, select the one that may be used by the smaller of the two persons, usually the wife. That Desert Eagle may be macho, but if she can’t move the slide it’s pretty much rendered useless.
* For new shooters, revolvers are easy to use. If they malfunction (as in go click), you simply pull the trigger again, with no complicated clearing drills.
* In a stressful situation, especially when firing at a human being, your first shot will miss and go high 98% of the time
* Most encounters occur within 1 to 7 yards and are over in 15 seconds or less.
* Only use factory ammunition for the following two reasons. The misfire rate is statistically very low and reloading can put you into the very unenviable position of defending yourself in civil court as Dr. Frankenstein working late in the lab cooking up your lethal bullets

Some of these considerations aren’t as important in TSHTF situations, but until then practice often, shoot straight, and be safe. – LVZ in Ohio

 

Sir:
I read with great interest Officer Tackleberry’s recent post. He makes an excellent case for standardizing on the 9mm for his family. I find myself agreeing with many of his points but standardizing on .45ACP is still the right decision for my family.

I am a CCW instructor and I have made many of the same arguments Officer Tackleberry made to my own clients. Finding a pistol that fits your hand and your shooting style is far more important than focusing on caliber. The ammunition industry is doing a fantastic job of creating lethal bullets in all pistol calibers. I shoot better groups with a 9mm than I do with a .45ACP (I always qualified Expert with my M9 when I was in the Guard).

So why did I standardize my family on .45ACP?

– Compatibility: My Dad owns the retreat property. His primary semi-auto pistol is a 1911 Colt Commander that he has owned since 1973. With the exception of two, my semi-auto pistols are .45ACP 1911s and Glocks.

Proficiency: When I was courting my wife, I taught her to shoot my Glock 22 which is chambered in .40S&W. Not long after we were married I enrolled her in an NRA Personal Protection class where she had an opportunity to shoot other pistols. Much to my surprise she shot better with pistols chambered in .45ACP. I got her a Glock 21 for home defense and a Glock 36 for carrying.

Cost: It is true that 9mm ball is more economical than .45ACP ball. However .45ACP ball is more economical than 9mm hollow point. Frankly, I would rather spend the money on ammo that has a proven track record of knocking down fanatical enemy ranging from the Moros of the Philippine Insurrection all the way to the Taliban of Afghanistan. As for actually going to the range I really don’t shoot as often as my friends think. I spend more time doing dry fire drills and I am still able to maintain my proficiency.

In closing I want to say that I totally respect Officer Tackleberry’s position on adopting the 9mm. If it weren’t for the fact that my Dad and my wife prefer the .45ACP, I would have standardized my family on .40S&W!

Keep your powder dry and keep em in the Black! – Cascinus

 

Jim,
Thank you for opening up this can of worms called 9mm versus .45 ACP. Both work well regardless of the bullet configuration. Do I prefer one over the other? Yes, but I won’t say which one.

In all of my travels overseas I have been armed and it is almost universally with a 9mm. Most generally it is with a 9mm Glock.
What can I say about the Glock? Its the AK-47 of the pistol world. I’ve seen them (both the Glock 17 and the AK-47) go bang every time you pull the trigger in deplorable conditions. When you travel on national highways in Iraq or Afghanistan you get dust — find talcum powder dust — into everything. One contractor ditched his high-end full custom 1911A1 after just one run. A few hundred miles and he had repeated stoppages. In the end he used a Glock 17 and swapped his M4 for an AK-47. Both work in extreme conditions.

Can you get better performance with a .308 and a .45 ACP? Sure. If your gun goes off.

I’ve got Glocks in 9 mm, .40 SW, and .45 ACP and at home carry the .45ACP. But as soon as I go overseas on a project I carry the Glock 9mm as I know I can also get ammo for it just about anywhere (the nasty FMJ stuff the Egyptians load in lots of cases).

For competition shooting I use my Para-Ord P14 (double stack 1911 configuration) as it does have finer controls especially the trigger pull. But I can clean and lube it between strings if I have to. Not much like real field usage. – P.K.

 

James:
To help settle the argument, I suggest checking out the ParaOrdnance line of 1911s. Para-Ords have been around a long time and have proven reliability. Although I don’t own one, I do know of their handguns. In short, some of their models deliver .45 ACP, high capacity (see various models), as flat as other 1911s and don’t weigh much more (except for the extra .45 ACP ammo weight) than their competitors. This is a very old discussion and that’s why Para delivered it first in the late 1980s. – Flhspete

 

Jim:
“Diz” stated in his recent letter that handgun skills are perishable and that it is necessary to practice with a lot of ammo on a regular basis, which causes the .45 ACP to be more cost prohibitive than the 9mm cartridge. I felt compelled to counter his argument and hopefully debunk a popular misconception from negatively affecting the wallets of your readership. Many people believe that to be a good shot, you need to shoot a lot. This is false. Practice does not “make perfect”, practice makes permanent. Good practice makes you good, but if you practice garbage, you will be a garbage-master. Most of shooting, especially defensive handgun shooting, is based on muscle memory. Muscle memory is created from frequent repetition of an activity- in this case, rapid and smooth presentation from the holster, proper sight picture, sight alignment, trigger control, and a surprise trigger break with sights on your target. This should be followed with an after action drill, which includes scanning your environment for further threats and breaking the “tunnel vision” that follows a shooting incident. Your after action drill should also include seeking cover after the initial shooting and making sure that any dangerous threat to you no longer exists, whilst simultaneously checking your weapon, doing a tactical reload, and if applicable, checking yourself for bullet holes (most people don’t immediately know they’ve been shot). Frequent shooting practice (even with the relatively lower recoil of the 9mm) will inevitably lead to the development of certain patterns that will negatively affect the shooter’s accuracy and overall performance. No matter how professional you are, (or think you are) you will start to develop the involuntary tendency to either flinch (raise the weapon’s muzzle slightly as it fires, in an attempt to escape the recoil), buck (push the weapon’s muzzle slightly down as it fires, in an attempt to fight against the recoil) or jerk the trigger (pulling the trigger instead of pressing it, hoping to get the unpleasant recoil feeling over with).

The best way to combat these tendencies is to put the emphasis on your training on dry practice. It is free, takes 10-15 minutes a day to retain the “perishable skill,” and contrary to a prevailing belief, it will not damage your weapon unless it is a rimfire.

Dry practice (not ‘Dry-fire practice’), when done properly, will greatly increase your skill at no cost to you. It consists of setting up a target against a secure backstop (such as a wall in your basement or earthen berm in your backyard), unloading your weapon, your magazines, and yourself of any and all ammunition (there is no excuse for negligent discharges; the real safety is between your ears), eliminating all distractions in your immediate environment (turn off your television, cell phone, and lock that door), and verbally telling yourself that you are beginning your dry practice session. You should then go through the forms, presenting from the holster, sighting on your target, and smoothly pressing the trigger for a surprise break. Practice emergency reloads with empty magazines. Practice your after action drills. Important: Only practice malfunction clearance drills (with live ammunition) on the range, not in your house. This should be obvious, but is not to some people. Once you have finished your dry practice session (anything longer than 20 minutes or so will start to give you diminishing returns), you should take down and put away your dry practice target, verbally tell yourself that your dry practice session is over, and return your weapon to your preferred condition if you carry concealed.

Live-fire practice on the range should only be done to validate your dry practice. It should not be the bulk of your defensive weapon training, as it is both expensive and counter-productive to developing good skill. It should be minimal, ideally not consisting of more than 50 rounds at a time. With proper dry practice, you will see your shots hit their mark dead-on when you visit the range.

Keep in mind that a 50% rule applies to defensive shootings. It basically states that [under stress] you are only about half as good as your average day of training. When you are really consistent in your training, 50% of that is often sufficient to save your life.

You should use the most powerful cartridge you can comfortably handle, but remember that at the end of the day, an increase in energy is no substitute for proper shot placement.

Thanks for all you do, Jim. – Lost Boy, Front Sight Instructor

Mr. Rawles-
I just wanted to add one more perspective to those arguing about which pistol cartridge is best to carry. My view: Stop worrying about it. Pick a handgun and caliber that is comfortable for you to shoot and carry. Pick a handgun you can afford, for which there is a ready supply of ammo to stockpile. Instead of worrying about one stop shot statistics and anecdotal tales of handgun stopping power, put your time into practice and other preparations. Keep your long gun(s) properly maintained and practice with them as well.

It’s an argument analogous to the “skills beat stuff” view. The different defensive calibers are all tools that can get the job done when wielded correctly.

As always, love the site. Keep up the great work! – Rich S.