Letter Re: The Big Chill Causes Diesel Gelling Problems in the Lower 48

Hi Jim,
My Bug Out Vehicle is a diesel truck that is also converted to run waste [vegetable] oil, on my trips to my retreat I sometimes need to tank up. As all diesel owners (should) know our new diesel is ULSD which is a new standard for low sulfur in diesel. As this fuel becomes more common and mandated more and more diesel pumps dispense it with no other option.
Important information for those running diesels as their prime source of transport.

We’ve had fleets of school buses and even our street plows taken out of commission in the -19 degree F weather we had last week with extremely bad fuel gelling. This article may explain it. Here is a quote from the article:

“The Ultra-Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD (S-15)) that we started to receive in mid 2006 has shown some dramatically different cold weather characteristics from the earlier High Sulfur (HSD (S-5000)) and Low Sulfur Fuels (LSD (S-500)).These new characteristics including higher temperature gelling, wax dropout, icing, and difficulty in treating have in the first year and will continue into the foreseeable future to provide some significant challenges to distributors and end users during cold weather. Due to these new characteristics users in areas of the US where they have not seen cold weather problems in the past, are now and will continue to see serious issues with gelling, wax dropout, and icing.”

Regards, – Eric

Bug Out Bag Preparedness Tips From the Mouths of Babes

Hello
Thank you for all the work you do. I thought I’d give you a Christmas chuckle. My small daughter was telling us the Christmas story, but it had a twist. She told us that “the wise men brought Jesus gold, food, and water, because they [Joseph and Mary] had to leave quickly and didn’t get their bags ready.” Just when you think your children aren’t listening…

Needless to say, we set her straight on the real story, but have been, and will continue to smile over that story for a long time.

Have a terrific Holiday, – Mr. O. in the Ozarks

Odds ‘n Sods:

Several readers sent us the link to this Christian Science Monitor article: Survivalist businesses surge in uncertain times. BTW the article mentions both our spin-off web site (SurvivalRealty.com and several of our advertisers.

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Speaking of retreats, readers FFF and Ben H. both mentioned that the newly-released US Census data might be useful for anyone looking to buy a retreat property:

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Michael from Texas suggested this: Google Maps Mashup Combines Your Address, Nuclear Blast

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I wish that I had better news for you for Christmas, but here is some more economic news and commentary, courtesy of Cheryl: Jobless Claims Surge to 26-Year High — US Economy Shrinks Fastest Since 9-11 — California Will Run Out of Money in February 2009 — The Party is Over if Deflation Grips the Economy — Britain’s Slide Toward Recession Accelerates — Iceland “Like Chernobyl” as Meltdown Shows that Anger Can Boil Over — US Debt Approaches Insolvency, China Currency Reserves at Risk — US Calls the Tune as Gold, Silver Plunge (PDF) — Oil Dips Below $37 on String of Bad Economic News — Increased Shoplifting is Another Sign of Bad Times — Housing Crisis Worsens as Economy Weakens

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"The giving of gifts is not something man invented. God started the giving spree when he gave a gift beyond words, the unspeakable gift of His Son." – Robert Flatt

Letter Re: Winter Solstice Slam 2008–Observations from the Pacific Northwest

Hello Jim:
I send this to you from the snowy Seattle, Washington metropolitan area where we are digging out of a fairly impressive storm of snow and icy temperatures that have plagued an unprepared area. As a cop and a Preparedness Oriented Person (POP), I have been watching the lead up to and duration of this weather event. Here are some observations:

Advance Warning & Notification
Folks in these parts complained that there was little warning of the impending snow event. Some stated that since weather forecasters were often wrong, they would be wrong about this. When you had local television outlets, NOAA, The Weather Channel and AccuWeather all providing similar information, some of us would call that a trend likely to occur. Indeed, there was anywhere from a week to 10 days advance warning and modeling showing the cold temperatures and ice. Gosh, you didn’t have to have a degree in weather sciences to understand that when warm air with moisture slides over the top of entrenched cold air, you would get snow. Media outlets correctly warned folks to prepare. In my observations, most did not heed the warning until it began to get bad. Indeed, metropolitan areas (as I type this) have seen from 6-20 inches of snow. Outlying areas are at three (3) feet or higher! That is impressive for this area.

The Problems
Folks from other regions, especially the Midwest, often chuckle when folks in the Western Pacific Northwest (Portland Metro and Tacoma-Seattle-Everett Metro) areas complain of a few inches of snow. Problem is that much of these cities are built on hilly areas. Some cities see a 500-800 foot elevation gain within the city limits, features not seen with our neighbors in the plains. Add to the mix infrequent snow events so there are few plows and you have an immediate transportation problem. The lack of plows has hampered a quick cleanup of arterials in the region along with a general reluctance to use road salts (environmental issues so heartily embraced in this liberal region). Sand pits are well away from urban areas so transportation of sand to terminal points or public works yards were hampered. Most cities and the counties have given up on side streets and less traveled rural roads, leaving them to become ice skidding messes. Many people in the region were smug that their front, all or four wheel drives would get them through the mess, up and down hills, all without alternative traction devices like chains. That has led to nearly 1,000 collisions just on the interstates alone (early estimates are that there are likely 10,000 or more collisions, spin outs, street blockages and so on in the cities which have not tallied their response counts like the state). When heavy snow started falling, roads were passable at slow speeds. However, timid drivers afraid of the snow would abandon their cars on the streets and state highways, leading to blockages. These blockages would snarl traffic, cause collisions and block major transit routes for goods and services. For the airports, a shortage of liquid de-icer led to delays and cancellations (it should be noted that one company in North America makes de-icer and a strike there led to shortages – a ripple effect). Avalanche dangers led to passenger rail cancellations. Commercial bus companies canceled their runs due to closed mountain passes or streets adjacent to their terminals that were iced over and not sanded or plowed. At one point, the roads became so poor that our chief ordered us back to the station for emergency responses only, no active patrolling. Folks would call us for the most inane stuff. Unfortunately, this was stuff we would respond to on normal weather days. However, when they were told they were on their own to solve these minor problems, they got mad! Somehow, it was foreign to many of them to that they would have to solve problems like blocked cars or icy sidewalks. Unreal and yet, expected for this area. Makes one think of the challenges people would have in bugging out if a volcano were to cork off, an earthquake to split some bridges or a WMD type event.

JIT Wasn’t In Time
Just In Time (JIT)deliveries were hampered by the road conditions. Many gas stations in the region are starting to run their tanks dry as commercial fuel carriers can’t move product safely on icy arterials and side streets. Grocery stores reported runs on staples and emergency supplies (batteries, candles and TP, just to name some items) but were limited on restocking because normal 18 wheeler rigs were downloaded to smaller trucks or bobtails, just to make it safely. Many people failed to remember the last major storm we had and did not fuel in advance, either gas cans for their generators or their vehicles. Last week, prior to the storm and to beat an expected OPEC price hike, I was refueling some gas cans and topping off my car. I had a fellow look at me and ask if I was expecting the worst. I explained that I would be ready as I had learned early. His response to me was typical of folks in this area: “Nah, we’ll have regular deliveries.” I expect his thirsty F250 must be a bit annoying to him right now, especially after both gas station in my area and many more surrounding gas stations in the area when dry. I spoke with grocery store managers in my patrol area. They reported that people needed “just a few things” to tie them over. These people came back to find limited supplies like milk or eggs and were mad at the store! Certain large grocery chain stores reported that they ran out of shopping carts as so many people crowded into the stores to get what they could when the snow began to fall and stick. A local hardware store manager told me that he had a stream of people that came into his store, angry that he had sold out of faucet covers, rock salt, presto fire logs and snow shovels. He laughed when he told me that he saw the weather trending as did the corporate offices. They sent him additional product to stock and he sold it quickly, early on to those he described as, “Preparing early and correctly.” My liberal, elderly neighbors became snowbound. They believed that the government would make sure they could drive by having a plowed road in front of their house. [JWR Adds: See this Seattle Times article for background on counterproductive city policy: Seattle refuses to use salt; roads “snow packed” by design.] My wife and I wound up assisting them with taking some supplies to them when they ran out because they could not get out to the store.

Personal Preparations
I have been though many weird storms in this area. When I started tracking the forecasts 10 days out, I made sure I had the necessary food stuffs, fuel and firewood ready. The generator was tested. The inverter cart was charged and readied. The wood was stacked for easy access from the piles. The chainsaw was tested and topped off. It didn’t take much. I asked folks both at work and in the community if they were ready to hunker down if they needed to. Most of my fellow officers looked at me and said, “it won’t be that bad. I can always go out and get some stuff.” They would have to admit to me later that it took an awful long time to go out to find that milk, or it was sheer terror driving on the roads for a half gallon of milk.

Folks in the Pacific Northwest have no reason for not being prepared. And yet, I saw the same mistakes being repeated. Folks lulled themselves into complacency, believing that JIT deliveries would be there, roads would be tended to quickly and they could get out there and take care of things, “as needed.” I have learned it is the same folks who remain prepared, time and again, and who help those who either are too sheep like to do the minor work of preparing or recognizing that bad weather, environmental or mad-made events, can and do occur.

I wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and Winter Solstice. I’m back to work in a day to deal with more snow (and more dealings with sheep). – MP in Seattle (a Ten Cent Challenge subscriber)

Four Letters Re: Long Haul Voice and Data Communications in a Post-Collapse Environment

Mr. Rawles.
Regarding long range communications: If any SurvivalBlog readers are already ham operators they can join their county Radio Emergency Service (ARES) network.It already well established throughout the US. There are county emergency coordinators who have Same Time “meetings” on a regular basis. You might even become an Emergency Coordinator for your County.

I would strongly recommend that our fellow readers get their ham Operator License no matter what. There is no longer a Morse Code requirement [for the Technician license] and the test in relatively simple . Then you can legally buy equipment, legally use it, as well as join the ARES community based organization, You will be privy to what’s going on locally from a much larger perspective. If you choose, you can become FEMA certified and you will gain access to a nearly endless and very informative set of FEMA online communications. Believe me when I say the communications coming out of FEMA can be eye openers.

I would also recommend that you set up an emergency backup power system to a 12 volt “base station” in your radio “shack”. The 12 Volt radios use about 1 or 2 watts and a battery backup from a deep cycle battery that is solar charged will last a very very long time. I also have an older CB system in my Shack, just in case. There are still truckers that use CB radios. – Carl In Wisconsin

 

Hello again, Mr. Rawles,
I am still doing the “Ten Cent Challenge” (about a year) and I read the blog everyday. Since I last wrote to you that I was improving my Rifleman skills but I have also been working on my radio skills. I decided that getting a Ham radio license would be beneficial to me and my family and community, so I made a goal to get knowledgeable, equipped, and licensed. Before starting I hardly knew the difference between AC and DC power so I first got the Boy Scout Merit Badge books on Electricity, Electronics, and Radio. Then I picked up a manual from the Amateur Radio Relay League (ARRL) and started learning about radio. I thought your readers might be interested in knowing some details about amateur radio and it’s advantages in difficult times.

The FCC issues three licenses for amateur radio: Technician, General, and Extra. Pretty much anyone can become licensed. There is no age limit. All you have to do is pass the written test for the license level you want to obtain. There is no Morse Code test anymore. The cost is $14 per test and you can check on the ARRL web site for a test site and time that is convenient for you.

Just like with firearms and other tools, different radios and different frequencies and different transmission modes are good for some things but not for others. With a Technician license, you can transmit on certain frequency ranges (called “bands”) that are said to be in the Very High Frequency (VHF) and Ultra High Frequency (UHF) ranges. These frequencies really only work with line-of-site so they are good for local communications, like with search-and-rescue or talking to your buddies around town. With General and Extra licenses you can transmit on lower frequencies in what’s called the High Frequency (HF) bands. These frequencies are better for farther-than-line-of-site communications because the signals in these frequencies bounce off the atmosphere and can go quite long distances, hundreds and even thousands of miles, particularly at night.

There are several modes of radio transmissions, each having advantages. Voice communication of course is the most natural mode but it also uses the most bandwidth and requires a pretty clear signal for intelligibility. Continuous Wave (CW), the mode used for Morse Code, uses a tiny amount of bandwidth and sometimes is the only way to communicate at some distances and ionospheric conditions. Morse Code is not a quaint old mode that geezers continue to do for fun. It sometimes is the only way to make contact, and it is used very frequently for long distance communication. And finally there is Digital communications which also use little bandwidth but which does require the use of some sort of computer to process the signals. There of course are many flavors of each mode and there are other lesser-used modes, like video, image, and satellite communications, but those are probably less useful in a survival situation. But they are all open to amateur radio operators.

For my equipment, I opted for the most portable configurations available. VHF\UHF radios are readily available both in mobile configuration (meaning they are in a vehicle) and in portable configuration (meaning something you carry). For HF portable configurations, there are not as many options. The two leading portable HF radios are the Yaesu FT-817 and the Icom 703. I went with the Icom 703 and got all the necessary accessories to use it in the backpack configuration. So now I can walk around and make contact with people hundreds of miles away.

Power is always an important consideration for radios, especially portable radios. Mobile radios can be powered by the car battery. It seems that each radio has it’s own power connector and I wanted to create some sort of standard power connector that I could use to plug everything into. It turns out that the Amateur Radio community has been dealing with the exact problem and they came up with the Andersen Powerpole connector [JWR recommended!] for DC-powered devices. They wanted a connector that was gender-less, did not require tools to connect or disconnect, and that could handle fairly high levels of amperage. I put an extremely short Powerpole line with fuses on the car battery, then connected a long Powerpole wire from this wire to the inside of the cab of my truck, and then put a four-way Powerpole splitter on the end of it all. Then each device has a Powerpole adapter with fuses than I can plug into the splitter in the cab (or any other Powerpole connector). This has worked out really well and is very modular. I have an adapter to plug any DC device into any DC power supply I know of.

Since ham radios need a decent amount of power to transmit, portable radios usually need a fairly large battery pack, and often require Lithium-ion batteries. Portable power is a concern because lugging around a car battery would totally defeat the purpose of having a portable radio. When the radio receives signals it doesn’t require much power, only when it transmits. I got an Icom T90A VHF transceiver which comes with one Lithium-ion battery pack. Extra battery packs are quit expensive. What I found out is that there is an battery pack adapter that lets you put in 2 size AA batteries inside it, and it is in the exact same form as the Lithium-ion battery pack. The downside is that the voltage in this configuration only has about 2.5 V versus the 7.3 V of the supplied Lithium-ion battery pack, which also means that you can’t transmit on high power. But, it turns out that there are Lithium-ion batteries that have the same dimensions as AA batteries (but without the knob on the positive end) called “14500” batteries. They are 3.6V each so two of them together would be 7.4 V which is very close to the supplied Lithium-ion battery pack. Actually it turns out that all that’s in the supplied Lithium-ion battery pack is a couple of 14500 batteries. So rather than pay $50 for an extra battery pack, I paid about $7.50 for a couple of 14500 Lithium ion batteries. I bought a total of 20 “14500” batteries for the equivalent of 10 battery packs for about $75 rather than $500 for replaced Icom battery packs. Incidentally, almost all laptop batteries just have a similar type of battery in them called “18500.” So if you wanted to replace your laptop battery you could just carefully open the battery case and re-solder new 18500 batteries inside. They are about $4 a piece and there probably are only a few (4-6) of them in any given laptop battery. Note that Lithium-ion batteries need to be charged in a charger specifically designed for Lithium-ion batteries. And because the voltage of Lithium-ion batteries is about 3 times greater than AA batteries, you shouldn’t try to use Lithium-ion batteries in devices that only take regular AA batteries or you will probably fry something.

It can take a lot of time and effort (and money) to learn how to effectively communicate using amateur radios, so why bother? I think the advantages are that you have means to communicate that do not rely on any system at all. There is no central radio system and you supply your own power so you don’t even need the power grid. You are essentially using the electromagnetic spectrum itself as the communication medium. You don’t need any other equipment besides two radios to communicate. Short distance radios like the Family Band radios you can buy at Wal-mart are good for very short distances, like just outside shouting range. They are good for around the ranch, on patrol, and in a convey. And you probably don’t really want outsiders eavesdropping on your communications. For communicating over a few to several miles, VHF radios work well. For across-town communication, city-to-neighboring-city, and rugged terrain operation, VHF is the way to go. And if there is a repeater close by, you can communicate with anyone else as long as you both can communicate with the repeater. This is why repeaters are often on mountaintops, so that people on opposite sides of the mountain can communicate. I bought a book of all the repeater locations and frequencies in the nation and I keep this with my VHF transceiver.

But if you want to talk to some across the state, in the next state, or even in another country, you would need an HF radio. In the television show Jericho, the townspeople are just dying to know what’s going on outside their town. They don’t know what the governor is doing, let alone the President. They don’t know if the National Guard is coming. They don’t know what cities got hit by the bombs. They don’t know who did it. They basically had no information. If someone had an HF radio they could get all sorts of information. They could also transmit to others what they know. They could even contact family and friends to tell them that they were all right, and could find out if those family members and friends were all right, too. Shortwave receivers are better than nothing, but you are limited to only receiving information, and usually just from voice modes (no Morse Code, digital, or even some types of voice modes) from commercial and government broadcasts. You can’t ask questions. You are still largely relying on the “communication systems.” But with an HF radio, you don’t need any system at all to communicate long distance.

Sometimes you want private communications and sometimes you want to be able to communicate with lots of people. Use short-distance Family Radio Service (FRS) radios for more private communications. When you want to receive news and to give out news, you want to be talking on frequencies and modes that everyone else is. This is when you’d want to use amateur radios, particular on the HF bands. Besides amateur radios, Citizen Band (CB) radios also can help with getting and giving news. I got a CB radio for $26 on Amazon and a $35 antenna from Radio Shack. This radio plugs can plug right into the cigarette lighter of the car and the antenna is just about 2 feet tall and sticks to the roof of the car with a strong magnet. No difficult installation required. No license is required to use it and there are plenty of people on the CB bands. There’s even a dedicated “emergency channel,” channel 9, that is only supposed to be used when someone has an emergency and is probably monitored more than any other channel. You get a lot of the advantages of amateur radio (like no “system” required to use it, people are already listening on it, it is highly mobile and\or portable) but for a fraction of the cost and effort. I think this is a cost-effective solution for listening to what people are saying, being able to communicate to others with no reliance on any system, and being able to call for help if needed. All for about $60 that you can even just keep in the trunk of your car if you’d rather not have it out all the time.

In my last email to you, I reviewed the .22 caliber adapter for the HK91 and how I was a “Rifleman In Training.” I am still am in training, but I am going to Front Sight in a few weeks and I plan on going to an Appledseed Project Boot Camp in the spring. I am committed to do it now, whereas before I just thought it would be a good idea. I keep on trying to improve my skills and have some other things I am going to be learning which perhaps I’ll detail in future emails. I try to keep things simple and try not to get to clever with preparedness. Sometimes you just gotta walk into the trade school and ask to talk to a counselor, or buy that radio book, or sign up for a class even though you really don’t know anyone and you don’t really know what you doing. To me, it is my duty as a father and member of my community to consistently do all I can to improve my skills to help out whenever trouble strikes.- Still A Rifleman in Training

Jim,
I am sending you this message via my VHF ham radio sitting in my ham shack using only battery power and my laptop to reply. The connection from my radio via airwaves into the Internet is via what is called a gateway. I could also do this from my car, or on a mountain top using only batteries and a portable antenna. I could also do it via HF or UHF.
I could use a mode called PSK31, and if you had a ham radio I could send it to you in this same format peer to peer with no internet connection needed. So, my point is that anyone with just a [“No Code”] Technicians license can do this. The license is $15, and a simple 35 question test. I hold what is called an Extra class license AD7VV and so can use more advanced modes to communicate.

I have many friends who are doing what the writer of that letter suggested, but it takes practice. God bless you, and have a blessed Christmas season.- Michael H.

 

Mr. Rawles,
In light of yesterday’s mention of ham Radio, I thought I might offer a little more information on how my fellow ready can get involved and equipped, and why. It bears mentioning up front that in most countries, Amateur Radio (“ham”) is subject to some government licensure and regulation. For instance, in the US, the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) creates the laws and issues you the right to use Ham frequencies. In the US, it is illegal to transmit on the Ham bands without an FCC issued license and call sign. So follow the rules, and get licensed. It really is easy, I did it with my dad’s help when I was ten years old. Now the good stuff:

Ham radio is indeed a fairly robust form of communication (even capable of running off of small solar panels in the case of handheld radios), and for the most part, the Ham Radio community itself is very emergency preparedness oriented. There are numerous Ham groups across the US with the sole purpose of maintaining and practicing communication under disaster conditions, and most local area clubs participate regularly in related drills, classes, and actual disaster coordination.

Becoming a “ham” involves learning some of the technical aspects of radio and electronics, and for good reason. You don’t want to be without those skills, because Amateur Radio is a very do-it-yourself hobby. You have to hook up your equipment and know how to operate it. You have to understand the basics of RF theory so you can buy (or build) the right equipment.You are responsible for safety in your gear and the way you use it. But that makes it a very rewarding and open-ended hobby. It may sound daunting, but like I said, it’s easy enough for kids to grasp. And the things you learn in the process are invaluable steps toward greater self-sufficiency in many other areas.

Now, in the US, the FCC requires that you pass a test to be licensed as a Ham Radio operator. Learning and studying for this test is the only real effort required to become a ham. The good news is you can study much of the material for free, the testing is often free, and there is only a nominal fee for getting a license. Here are some great resources online:

QRZ.com’s How To – More information for those interested in pursuing a license in the US.
ARRL’s Exam Site Index – Find the exam site nearest you.
QRZ.com Site Map – Find practice exams and lots of other information from active hams, including forum.
FCC Ham Site – Information on licenses, processes, etc.
Thanks, – Little Bird

Letter Re: What Are the Best Magazines for Investment?

Dear JWR:
I took your wise advice posted in the blog back in October and stocked up on magazines for all my guns. I ‘ve even bought some mags [for other guns] that I just plan to buy, such as M14 magazines for my eventual super match M1A buy. But what I’m thinking is, I should also do is by even more magazines just “on spec”, knowing that with Obama coming in[to office, that] a ban of some sort is more likely that not. What types/model high capacity magazines would be best to invest in, for the most possible gain?

I love your blog. I read it almost every day. I recently “did the honest thing” and became a Ten Cent Challenge subscriber. (I’m the one that sent you a roll of silver Mercury dimes.) Thx, – Pat H.

JWR Replies: First, I must mention: I refuse to use the term “high capacity” magazine. As our friend Boston T. Party correctly pointed out, “High capacity” is a political term, designed to foster dislike and distrust by the Generally Dumb Public (GDP). The correct term should be “full capacity“. What is being foisted upon us by the Barbara Boxers and the Chuck Schumers of the world are 10 round reduced capacity magazines. A limitation to anything less that full capacity is a diminution of our full and proper right to keep and bear arms. Further, from a practical standpoint, speaking as someone that lives in grizzly bear country, don’t ask me to carry just a 10 round magazine in my XD .45, when I could have 15 or more cartridges. It conceivably might take more than 10 rounds of .45 ACP to stop a charging grizzly. And I have serious doubts that Mr. Ursus A. Horibilis will stop and wait patiently if I yell “Time out, while I reload!”

For investment, I recommend that you concentrate on magazines for popular European high capacity pistols, such as Beretta, Glock, SIG, and HK. The greatest gains will be seen in magazine prices for models that have just recently been introduced and for which there is now just a scant supply in the country. Magazines for the new Springfield Armory XDM (“M” as in Mega capacity–this latest model holds 19 rounds!) would be another good choice. Although Springfield Armory is an American company, their XD series pistols and magazines are imported from Croatia. If there is an import ban enacted early in Obama’s first term, I expect all XD magazines to at least triple in price, and XDM magazines to perhaps quintuple in price. I’m not kidding.

The SIG P250 is another perfect example. Here is a gun that was only recently introduced. Its magazines do not interchange with pistols from other makers. The majority of new P250 owners presently have just one or two spare 9mm magazines, and no spare .40 or .357 SIG magazines. (The pistol is modular, allowing it to be quickly converted to other calibers.) If and when an importation ban is enacted, these owners will be screaming for magazines. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the price of spares to jump to $125, or more. If you think that P250 magazines are currently scarce and expensive, at $43 each, just wait a year. If a ban is indeed enacted, these magazines could be a tremendous investment. But even if there is no ban, even as a commodity these magazines will be a good hedge on future inflation. (Under those circumstances, don’t expect them to gain value, but as a practical tangible they will at least hold their value, even in the blistering heat of mass currency inflation.)

Another good example is the 31-round “Glockamole” magazine made for the Glock Model 17, 18, 19, and 26. These magazines jumped from $30 each to a whopping $150 each during the 1994-to-2004 Federal magazine ban. Three months ago–when I bought my pile for investment–they were $27 each. They’ve just recently jumped to around $50 each. I expect them to at least double again in price, if a new ban is enacted. In fact, even standard magazines for Glock are likely to at least double in price, and probably go even higher.As evidence, I can cite that when the last ban was enacted, the price of 17 round Glock Model 17 magazines jumped from $18 to $75 each.

Again, IMHO, at present your investing emphasis should be on imported full capacity magazines, since an import ban could be put in place with nothing more than an an executive order.

Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader Chris M. sent this from UPS: Global Supply Chains Not Ready for Challenging Times

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Jim G. sent us a link to a YouTube clip with some timely humor: Sponsor an Executive

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Eric sent this big batch of economic train wreck news and commentary: Where’d the bailout money from taxpayers go? Shhhh, it’s a secret — Bailed-Out Executives Got $1.6 Billion in 2007 — Housing crisis worsens as economy weakens — House-price stabilisation is not imminent — Banks brace for an ugly 2009 — Mortgage Re-Defaults Rising With No Sign of Slowing — Revising Loan Modifications — Will the Bubble Burst Aspen? — Downturn hits vacation enclave of New York elite — Life Without Bubbles — Another Reason Not to Trust So-Called Economic Experts — English bailiffs get power to use force on debtors — Fiscal Insanity Virus Rapidly Spreading the Globe Part 1 (Mish Shedlock). And Cheryl (aka The Economatrix) sent us all these: Dow Falls Fifth Straight Session On Grim Data Reports — US Home Prices Drop at Near-Depression Pace — US Property Developers Seek Government Aid — UK’s Brown Wants 27% Interest On Loans to the Poor — RBS Case Highlights Foreclosure Threat Even When Mortgages Have Been Paid — Global Jobless to Rise By 25 Million — New Zealand Recession Deepens — Champagne Sales Collapse — Ukraine Crisis Escalates Fears Over Gas Supplies — Why the US Trade Deficit is Worsening and Dollar Implications — The Great Stock and Commodities Deleveraging Crash of 2009 — Belgian Gov’t Collapses Over Fortis Bank Selloff — Growing Signs of Workers’ Unrest in China — Great Depression Plus Hyperinflation — [US Refiner, Distributor, and Truckstop Chain] Flying J Files for Bankruptcy — US Army Ready if Downturn Gets Out of Hand — Four Really, Really Bad Scenarios

Letter Re: Long Haul Voice and Data Communications in a Post-Collapse Environment

Mr. Rawles;
In the event of total meltdown, have you thought about using bulletin board systems (BBSes) as a means of communicating? If, and that could be a big if, the phone land lines were still operating, but ISPs were down, then a BBS would be a excellent way to keep folks informed. Pre-Internet I ran BBSes with multiple phone lines with great success. Just an idea.

Also, while on that topic, has there been any discussion as to shortwave frequencies that you may support? Is there/are base stations set up for relays of news and information? A survival Net so-to-speak. I come from a hard core marine/yacht background and the are cruiser nets worldwide, depending on what ocean you are in at the moment. Something like that for landbase usage would, to my way of thinking, help to ease folks’ minds, pass on latest news and to quiet down the rumor mills that spout false info. I can’t stress the need for people to become well versed in the ownership and usage of shortwave amateur sets. They can be had on the cheap and be in use now! This is not something that you have to stash away until you need it but a tool that you can enjoy for years to come. They are also a good way to access e-mail accounts when your current provider is down. I won’t this all this here as there are books on this topic and pages of programs that will work with a SSB/Ham system, either land-based or marine based. – LAS

JWR Replies: Since traditional telephone services, DSL, cellular services, ISPs, and the Internet are all more or less dependent on grid power, I expect them to all go down within a few days of each other, in the event of major catastrophe. There will, however, be some utility in ham radio based packet radio and digipeter networks, that can operate like BBS servers and even like a quasi-Internet. These can operate over long distances in the HF ham bands. There are also some regional 2 Meter Band networks that are partially served by photovoltaic-powered repeaters. So parts of those networks might also remain intact. Because many older hams are retiring, there are lots of used radios and packet TNCs on he market, selling for very reasonable prices.

Rather than “re-invent the wheel”, I recommend joining and expanding existing packet HF BBS networks, such as those listed at Totse.com. One word of warning: Do not just bookmark the Totse page. Like all the other World Wide Web pages, the Totse page will vanish if the power grid goes down. So be sure to print out an updated hard copy, roughly twice a year. (Mark your calendar.)

I also recommend joining an existing topic-based scheduled (“same time, same frequency”) HF ham call in. Perhaps some SurvivalBlog readers that are active hams can recommend an existing scheduled meeting time and frequency to discuss preparedness topics.

Parenthetically, I should mention that since the sunspot number is currently fairly low, this is now a great time to join a network. (If you can get connectively now–with such poor skywave propagation–then odds are that you will be able to do sp just about anytime in the future!)

Letter Re: Comparing the Big Three Battle Rifle Chamberings in the United States

Jim,
Regarding the comments from PPPP and Hugh D.: I couldn’t agree with them more! Both were exactly spot on! The person shooting is 99% of the equation. Training (and lots of it) is the most important aspect, and in the long run, will probably wind up being more expensive than the firearm itself (instruction, gas to the range, ammo consumption and cleaning supplies are just to name a few).

I strongly urge your readers to partake in any excellent training afforded by professional institutes such as Front Sight, OnPoint Tactical, Suarez International, et al. If these locations are too distant, I hope they can find an experienced friend or relative to help them develop good habits in shooting.

Sometimes people get too caught up in statistical analysis and numerical comparisons. I did not write that piece to attempt to illustrate one as better than another. I enjoy shooting all of the calibers mentioned (and many more), and easily see the benefits of each. I am sort of remiss that I did not point out the different circumstances in which I find each major rifle caliber best. But I’ll leave that up to the shooter to determine for his or her own purposes.

While my article had many statistics, I must reiterate that none of it means a darned thing without a competent shooter. Handgun/Rifle ballistics and their effective ranges are nice to know for new shooters, at a glance, to better illustrate the limitations of any firearm (mostly with effective range, bullet drop and penetration). But the only way to see those numbers (all taken with a grain of salt) in action, is to go out and shoot. We can be Keyboard Commandos on the internet all day long, but in the end, talk means nothing without practical experience. While the numbers in my comparison look “definitive,” they are merely a composite; hashed together to simply compare and convey energy/speed of bullets beyond the muzzle.

The real test is: does the shooter know how to best utilize what firearm he or she has to its greatest potential? Some can adapt available firearms to certain situations better than others. Eyesight, body size and ergonomic preferences factor in, but in the end, it boils down to experience. There are a few natural prodigies out there when it comes to shooting; but for most of us, all that bullet velocity or energy doesn’t mean a thing if you can’t hit your target consistently…and the best way to do that is to shoot (and shoot, and shoot, and shoot…rinse and repeat as necessary).

Shoot enough, and you’ll develop that skill as almost a second nature. But don’t kid yourself, it takes years of routine trigger-time. It doesn’t come overnight. I’m still working at it. Even when one gets fairly good, it still has to be maintained just like any other skill.

Whether it be 9mm or .45, 5.56 or 7.62×39 or 7.62 NATO or .30 Carbine…get out and shoot, and shoot often! And be safe out there people! Always wear hearing/eye protection, and follow the Four Basic Rules of Firearms Safety.

Personally, I feel all shooters ought to be able to consistently hit a man-sized target at 50 yards with a handgun, and at 300 yards (preferably 500) with a rifle (as often advocated by both William Buppert and the late Jeff Cooper).

Yes, ammo is expensive. It’s the most expensive it has ever been, but, it’s also the cheapest it’s ever going to get. See you all at the range! – Kyrottimus

Odds ‘n Sods:

Frequent content contributor KAF suggested sci-fi novelist David Brin’s nonfiction book “The Transparent Society“ as a useful reference when considering retreat OPSEC in this modern era of Google Earth. BTW, its was Brin who authored the novel “The Postman“, which Kevin Costner later put on the big screen, with uneven results.

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Reader Michael H. notes: “[My friend] Art was just reading in an airline magazine article that mentioned in 1960, 1 in 9 people in the US were overweight or obese and we averaged 8.5 hours of sleep daily. Now 2 in 3 are overweight or obese and we average 7 hours of sleep.” It sounds like people must be eating large bowls of ice cream while watching the Tonight Show. It goes without saying: Get regular exercise and lose that spare tire if you want to be ready to pull through the coming hard times.

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Just a few days left! More than 550 SurvivalBlog readers have bought Foodsaver vacuum packers at the special December sale price. We get a little “piece of the action” for each one that is sold. So this a is a great way to save money and to support SurvivalBlog! Don’t miss out on this sale! You can buy a FoodSaver v2830 for $59.99 (originally $169.99) with free Standard Shipping for orders over $100, directly FoodSaver.com. Be sure to use code L8FAV28 at checkout. This offer is valid during the month of December, or while supplies last. By buying foods in bulk and re-packaging them in more handy (single meal size) vacuum bags, you can save a lot of money on your grocery bill. Buy a FoodSaver. You’ll be glad that you did!

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SurvivalBlog regular Michael Z. Williamson mentioned Grabill Meats, a small company in Indiana that produces canned meats at competitive prices. (Roughly $3 per pound, before shipping.) They we-pack can beef chunks, pork chunks, boneless chicken, boneless turkey, and ground cooked beef in 14 ounce and 27 ounce sizes.

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The day’s economic news: First Paul in Texas sent us these two cheery headlines: World faces total financial meltdown Bank of Spain chief. and IMF chief warns 2009 may be ‘even darker’. And the industrious sent us all these: Five articles illustrate how global shipping is sinking fast: 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 — Toyota Posts First Ever Annual Loss — Obama Team Plans Biggest Boost in History to Save American Economy — Bush’s Detroit Bailout Looks Like Path to Bankruptcy — Warning of Wave of 2009 UK Retailer Bankruptcies — China Cuts Rates for Fifth Time in 90 Days — Japanese Exports Fall Record 27% — US Gasoline Seen Hitting $1 Per Gallon in 2009 — World Wide Bankruptcy Wave About to Hit — Protectionist Dominoes are Beginning to Tumble Across the World — Irish Banks Saved by $7 Billion Bailout — Canada to Give GM, Chrysler $4 Billion — Money Market Funds Reel as Yields Near Zero — COMEX Gold and Silver Price Manipulations are Bashing Precious Metal Investors, Miners and Shareholders

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"No state or policy can prosper unless the groundwork is moral." – Thomas Masaryk (1850 – 1937), founder and first president of Czechoslovakia

Notes from JWR:

I just noticed that we are nearing the milestone of six million unique visits. Thanks for making SurvivalBlog such a great success! Please help spread the word about SurvivalBlog. Links to SurvivalBlog in your personal web page and/or in your e-mail footer would be greatly appreciated.

The high bid in the SurvivalBlog Benefit Auction is now at $1,000. The auction is for a large mixed lot that includes:

1.) A large “be ready to barter” box of full-capacity gun magazines, from the JASBORR. This box includes: 12 – Used original Bundeswehr contract HK91 (G3) steel 20 round magazines, 6 – Used original FN of Belgium-made FN-FAL alloy 20 round magazines, 6 – Used AR-15/M16 USGI (a mix of Simmonds & Colt made) alloy 20 round magazines, and 2 – New and very scarce original FN (Belgian-made) US M1/M2 Carbine blued steel 30 round magazines (marked “AYP”) . All of these magazines are of pre-1994 manufacture (and hence legal to possess in New York.) These magazines have a combined value of approximately $450. Note: If you live in a state where full capacity magazines are banned, then you must choose to: refrain from bidding, or designate a recipient in an unrestricted state, or re-donate the magazines for a subsequent auction.

2. ) A brand new in box Big Berky Water Filter, with your choice of either four white ceramic filter elements or four black filter elements. This is a $329 retail value, courtesy of Ready Made Resources.

3.) A huge lot of DVDs, CD-ROMs and hard copy nuclear survival/self-sufficiency references (a $300+ value) donated by Richard Fleetwood of www.SurvivalCD.com

4.) A NukAlert compact radiation detector donated by at KI4U.com (a $160 retail value). 

5.) A desert tan SOG Trident folding knife, courtesy of Safecastle. (a $92.99 retail value.)

6.) A case of 12 recent production full mil-spec MRE rations (identical to the current military contract MREs, but without the civilian sale restriction markings). This is a $90 retail value, courtesy of CampingSurvival.com.

Thus, the combined retail value of this combined lot is at least $1,275. This auction ends on January 15th. Please e-mail us your bid for the entire mixed lot.