Letter Re: Seeking Advice on Storing Guns and Magazines

Mr. Rawles,
I have taken your good advice and purchase a few rifles and a number of full capacity magazines as an investment,. Now how do I store them for the long term? Should I spray them with something first? Please continue to help. – James B. (a “Ten Cent Challenge” participant)

JWR Replies: The precautions that you need to take depend a lot on where you live. If you live in a high humidity climate, then you need to be particularly vigilant with your guns, magazines, and other tools. In essence: the higher the humidity, the greater the degree of protection required, and the greater the frequency of inspection for rust.

I generally recommend wearing lightweight cotton gloves when you do your gun maintenance. This is particularly important if you have sweaty hands. My college roommate was notorious for inducing rust on guns because of this, and he has always had to take special precautions.

A light coat of gun oil such as Rem Oil will suffice in dry climate. Although exotic lubricants such as Break Free CLP are great for lubricating, in my experience, they leave so little residue that they are actually inferior to traditional gun oils for preventing rust. In damp climates, I recommend Birchwood Casey Barricade (formerly sold under the product name “Sheath”.) Rem Oil and Barricade are both available from a number of Internet vendors including Brownell’s. And even Amazon.com now sells Barricade.

For long term storage all metal parts (inside and out) especially the bore, chamber, and breech face should get a coating of grease. There is always the tried-and-true USGI “Grease, Rifle”. (This product name was humorously spoken “Grease Comma Rifle” by American soldiers for many years, before the advent of the M16). While it will suffice, I prefer Rust Inhibitive Grease (RIG), which is available from a number of Internet vendors including Brownell’s. Even though you will know how the gun was treated before storage, someone else in your family might not. I therefore strongly recommend attaching a special warning note: “Warning: grease coating–bore, chamber and bolt face! Remove grease before firing!!!”

Small quantities of magazines stored inside a humidity-controlled gun vault (with a Golden Rod or similar de-humidifier) or stored in sealed ammo cans with a large packet of silica gel desiccant probably won’t need more than light coat of oil and annual inspection. Any larger quantities of magazines that are stored outside of your vault in non-airtight containers should probably be rubbed down with RIG. In most cases this requires disassembling magazines, to get at their innards. OBTW, even if a magazine is made of polymer and has a plastic follower and floorplate, don’t forget that its spring needs rust protection!

Odds ‘n Sods:

Tim in Baltimore found a great web site that shows how easy it is to make a variety of cheeses, as well as your buttermilk and yogurt.

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Experts call for global network to prevent asteroid disasters

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From the Economatrix comes some post-Thanksgiving reading to digest: For Stores, the Holiday Season May Already be Over — China’s Banks to Pump Billions into Economy — Torrent of Gloomy News Gives US Little to be Thankful For — Europe Needs Big Bailout to Put Economy Back on Track — UK Car Industry Chiefs Beg Gov’t for Help — UK Chain Stores Crash Threaten 31,000 Jobs — Citigroup Says Gold Could Rise Above $2,000 Next Year as World Unravels

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Reader Ron H. suggested this piece by James H. Kunstler: Zombie Economics: Super-inflation snap-back will occur six to eighteen months from now

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Rob at MURS Radios mentioned that he was able to acquire a number of the Dakota Alert MURS Motion Alert Transmitters (MATs) at a discount. Instead of the usual price of $99, he now has them at $89 each (plus shipping.) If you already have MURS capable radios (even from other manufacturers) or a scanner you can still receive the voice alerts from these security devices. If the MAT detects motion across its path it transmits a voice alert (such as “Alert Zone One”) on a specific MURS frequency. These devices make great driveway, footpath, gate, or game trail alarms and can help to secure your property by alerting you to intruders.

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"By using gravity as your tow line, you can sidle up to an asteroid. Maintain it for a year and that should give it enough nudge to miss the earth 20 years later." – Stanley Love

Note from JWR:

Today’s first post comes from SurvivalBlog reader Michael Z. Williamson, who is well-known in science fiction circles.

Product Review: Ultramag .50 BMG Upper Kit for AR-15, by Michael Z. Williamson

I recently tested the Ultramag .50, manufactured by Safety Harbor Firearms (SHF) of Florida.The Ultramag .50 is a bolt action, side-fed magazine, .50 BMG upper that uses the AR-15 lower and trigger group. The two big advantages to this setup are that [in the US,] the Ultramag .50 [barreled upper receiver] requires no paperwork to purchase, and is not on record as a large caliber weapon, since it is bought strictly as “replacement parts.” As far as anyone is concerned, you own an AR-15, which can be more discreet if either purchased privately, or by using a forging such as this and drilling the five holes required to legally manufacture your own “single shot” lower (though the Ultramag is magazine fed).

The lower need not have a bolt catch, disconnector or buffer assembly. It only needs the hammer, trigger and fire selector. A magazine release is not needed, but I believe a flush fit 10 round magazine body filled with lead would help reduce recoil, though I have not tried this yet. I did equip the lower with a MagPul PRS adjustable stock in lieu of the factory stock. The kit as tested included: 29″ barrel with fluting, 5 round magazine upgrade from 3 round, an extra 5 round magazine, back up iron sights (BUIS) and carrying handle. I opted to use an adjustable Harris bipod, not the fixed length bipod from Safety Harbor, though this was for personal preference. I’m sure their factory bipod is quite sturdy. Safety Harbor Firearms includes a heavier hammer and spring and an anti-walk hammer pin with the kit. List price for this kit is $2,595. It’s possible to save quite a bit with less options. While they do offer 18″ and 22″ barrels, those have always seemed too short for .50 BMG to me, since it was designed originally for a 36-40″ barrel. They told me delivery would be 8-10 weeks, and it arrived right at 9 weeks, in a professionally fitted cardboard box within a box, instructions for changing the trigger group, a contact number for support and a catalog for accessories.

Fit, finish and operation of the Ultramag .50 can be described as flawless. One of the magazines had a very minor ding, possibly from shipping, that made it a bit sticky. SHF said to send it back and they’d replace it at once, no questions asked.

I mounted a Smith & Wesson 4-12 X 40 scope on the integral rail. This was previously on a different rifle and rail, and my first shots were about 12″ low at 100 yards. Shooting was very consistent, and once I got zeroed the bullets went exactly where the crosshairs were, every time. This was only a warm up, and I didn’t get to shoot to any longer ranges to do a full shooting report. One of the disadvantages of flat Eastern states is finding a rifle range that will allow a weapon this powerful. I have to drive almost two hours to reach one. Recoil with the 8-chambered muzzle brake is comparable to a 12 gauge shotgun. I do recommend a recoil pad and a good shoulder seat with the stock. Seating it a little high can sting. I recommend Loctite for the scope mount—every two rounds was enough to loosen the mounting screws to where the mount would wobble. This is a problem with the scope rings that I acquired separately, which were not part of the Ultramag kit.

The .50 BMG round holds the record for sniping at 2,430 meters, and at ranges not much less can easily disable an engine or other heavy equipment. At $3.50-$7 per round and 20+ pounds, it’s certainly not a close in or primary survival weapon. However, for defending the approach to a remote retreat it’s just about the most accurate and powerful round available to civilians in the US. – Michael Z. Williamson

Letter Re: Give Your Kids $100 Billion for Christmas: An Economics Lesson

Hi Mr. Rawles,
Thanks for SurvivalBlog and for your novel “Patriots“. Both have been real eye-openers.

I have several nieces & nephews that I (like many people, I’m sure) take care of on birthdays (and sometimes Christmas) with a card and some money enclosed. This year I thought it might be fun to send them 100 billion dollars along with the card and note. I looked around, and lo and behold, several people are selling Zimbabwean currency on eBay. Prices and denominations vary, and of course it costs millions (trillions?) percent more than it’s actually worth, but we’re still talking a couple of bucks for a note. The novelty value alone is worth that, and it just might be a subtle way of giving them a glimpse of currencies and inflation, and a gentle way of giving them some perspective on how good we have it in America (and how bad things could become). And I’ll probably still throw in a twenty-dollar bill. Thanks, – Dave W.

Two Letters Re: A Vehicular BoB

Mr. Editor:

I have been a reader of this blog for a little while now and one of the earlier postings I read caught my eye: In regards to a vehicle “bug out” kit. That list was certainly a good place to start, but it was missing a few items, so I thought I would put my “two cents” worth in.

To give you a little bit of background, I would describe myself as essentially being a realist. I watch the news, I read the papers. I know what is going on around me. I am aware of today’s political and economic climate, and I understand what that does (and can) mean; not only for today but for tomorrow as well. In my opinion preparation and knowledge are the keys to not only surviving, but for nearly anything in life.

I have worked both white-collar and blue collar jobs. I have been a soldier (an NCO – I worked for a living), and I have been what I term a “survivalist” for a little over a decade now. Along the way I have managed to learn some of the lessons the easy way; reading books, talking to people, experimenting, and practice, practice, practice. While other lessons were learned at the school of “hard-knocks”; try sitting on the side of the road in the middle of a blizzard for six hours on Christmas Day with three children praying for someone else to come along to help (I’m not kidding about that one) – all because you thought “it could never happen to you”. I am an active outdoorsman; camping, fishing, hiking, small game, etc. To date I have been lucky enough to live through them all. Sometimes with a few bumps and scrapes along the way, and sometimes with little more than a bruised ego; but I have survived nonetheless. Not surprisingly on my journey I have picked up a few things: “must have” items, advice, knowledge, and most of all experience.

As for geography I have lived in the cold and wet of Washington state; the extreme cold of Colorado; the hot and dry of West Texas; and now the hot, wet and hurricane-prone area of East Texas; and this list contains items that have literally saved my life on more than one occasion, while making crisis situations a whole lot easier to deal with in others.

While I am not going to lay claim at being an expert on the subject of survival or preparations; I have seen a done things that may genuinely surprise some people (while possibly boring others) and could probably go on for hours on end; but that is not my point here today. I now possess [what I feel] is enough knowledge that I can speak with at least some authority. My point in this is to allow others to learn from my own mistakes in the hopes that they don’t find themselves forced to repeat the same errors that I have made. Learn from others – that is the point in all of this.

As I write this I am proud to say that none of my vehicles are ever without the bare essentials. In my opinion it is one of the things that everyone should do, survivalist or not. I rank properly equipping my vehicles right up there with having them registered, insured, and inspected, to me it is simply a necessity, a requirement. In an attempt to make sense of this I broken the lists down into four basic areas:

Vehicle Supplies
Personal Supplies
Glove-Box Miscellaneous (loose throughout the vehicle)
General Miscellaneous

While there is some repetition between the 4 areas, this is done so for a reason – it is always a good idea to have a backup.

1. Vehicle supplies (most will fit in a small “duffle” or reasonably sized “tool bag”, kept in trunk, cargo area, or under the seat)
Jumper Cables (get the good ones)
Tow Rope (at least 1)
2 cans of “fix-a-flat”
Air compressor (cigarette lighter plug in)
Roll of Duct Tape (if you can’t fix it, duck it)
100ft of parachute cord (550 cord)
X style lug-wrench (more torque, safer, and more versatile than the ones that come with cars today)
2 1?2 ton bottle jack (again safer, and more versatile than the ones that come with cars today)
Roadside Flares (3 minimum)
Hand-held spotlight, plug in type is fine
Electrical Kit with:
Spare Fuses – vehicle specific
Spare Bulbs – vehicle specific
Small roll of Red Wire (14-16 GA)
Small roll of Green Wire (14-16 GA)
Small Assortment of Butt Splices
Circuit tester (Screwdriver type)
Electrical tape
Spare belts – vehicle specific
Spare hoses – vehicle specific
Spare thermostat – vehicle specific
Assortment of hose clamps, at least two large enough for your coolant hoses
Flashlight (2 minimum – generator type are best, LED Generator types are better)
Spare batteries – 1 set for each flashlight in the vehicle (if needed)
Tarp (8 x 10’ is usually sufficient)
Hand Tools:
Screwdrivers (4 minimum, 2 standard 2 Phillips-head)
Crescent Wrenches (2 minimum, 6” and 12”)
Slip-Joint Pliers
Needle-Nose Pliers
Wire Cutters
Channel-Locks (12”)
Socket set (basics only, 3/8” drive, SAE and Metric)
Combination Wrench set ((basics only, SAE and Metric)
Allen Wrench set
Small Hammer
Hatchet (axe)
Folding Shovel
Plastic Trash bags (2 minimum)
Coffee Can full of Cat litter (with lid)
Basic First Aid Kit, with the following additions:
Aspirin
Tylenol
Motrin
Antacid Tablets
Water purification tablets
Small tube of Neosporin
Additional alcohol pads
Additional band-aids (common sizes)
Cravat
Razor blade
Matches
Can of Sterno (large)
Wire coat hanger
Roll of bailing wire
Box of matches (at least 1 box)
Cigarette lighter (disposable, spend the buck and a half and get the Bic brand, you can’t beat them)
Water bottle
Pen(s)
Small notepad
A small stash of cash ($50 to $100)
Spare compass
Rain poncho – 2
Emergency Blanket (foil type) – 2
Candles – 6
Sunscreen
Basic Fishing kit:
Hooks
Sinkers
Fishing Line
Bobbers

2. Personal Supplies (with a little patience and forethought, this will all fit inside of and/or attached to a medium sized book-bag, i.e. backpack)
Basic First Aid Kit – duplicate of the aforementioned kit
1 pair of socks
Flannel shirt
Windbreaker
Baseball cap
Multi-tool
“Swiss Army” knife
Fixed blade knife
Basic Camping Mess Kit
Travel Toothbrush
Toothpaste
Toilet paper
Tissues
Sunscreen
Flashlights (2 minimum)
Compass
50 ft of parachute cord (550 cord)
Can of Sterno (small)
SPAM – 1 can
Tuna fish – 1 can
Rice – 1?2 lb
Lintels – 1?2 lb
“Gorp” (Trail mix) – 1?2 lb
Packet of powdered Gatorade
Zip-lock bag with:
Sugar packets
Salt Packets
35mm film canisters full of All-spice
Tea bags
Bullion Cubes
Vitamin Pills
Energy bars (3 minimum)
P-38 can opener
Rain poncho
Poncho Liner
Tarp – 5 x 8” is usually sufficient
Candles – 3
Matches
Cigarette lighter
Emergency blanket (Mylar foil type) – 2
Signaling mirror
Basic Fishing kit:
Hooks
Sinkers
Fishing Line
Bobbers
Small Hikers Trowel
Plastic trash bag (2 minimum)
A small stash of cash ($40 to $50) [JWR Adds: I recommend that be in rolls of Quarters, so you can also use pay phones.]
Water purification tablets
Canteen
Canteen cup
Web Belt

3. Glove-Box Miscellaneous (kept loose in the glove box, in the vehicles console, or in door pockets)
Package of Tissues
Cigarette Lighter
Small Multi-tool
“Button” or other small compass
Map of local city you are in, and the state(s) you are traveling – or expect to travel.
Small tube with a mix of aspirin, Motrin, and Tylenol.
Pen(s)
Small notepad
A small, durable pocket-knife
Small Flashlight
One $20 bill

4. General Miscellaneous
Fuel can – store empty; you never know when you will run out of fuel two miles form the nearest gas station. If you are evacuating, fill up as you leave – this will reduce your risk of fumes/explosion.
One gallon of potable water
1 Qt Engine Oil (minimum)
1 Qt Transmission Fluid (minimum)
1 Pt Power Steering Fluid (minimum)
Assortment of “bungee” cords

Now I am sure that I have probably missed a few items here, but this list is fairly comprehensive. Please feel free to add items to it – I am always eager to learn more.
If you look through it, you should be able to think of one (and most of the time multiple) uses for each and every item on this list. With this setup you basically have what you need whether you are accompanied or alone and whether you stay with the vehicle, leave the vehicle, or are for some reason forced to separate your party (never a good idea – remember there is always strength in numbers). But you get the point.

In colder climates, add more food, and more warmth items (sleeping bag, snow boots, candles, or a heavy coat?). In warmer climates add more fluids and more shade (bottled water, additional hats, or maybe an umbrella?).

On to the next topic – How much does all of this cost? Well that can vary widely. Many of these items can be had at the local dollar store, while other may take a little bit of searching. Check Wal-Mart, your local Military surplus dealer, the flea markets, and pawn shops. You might be surprised just how far you can make your dollars go. Plus don’t try to do it all in one shopping trip – you will just frustrate yourself. Keep your eyes open when you are at the grocery store or out doing your normal shopping; pick up a few items here and there, and just slowly equip your vehicle. Within a month or two you will suddenly find your vehicle is much better equipped than it ever was before.

As to the vehicle preparation mentioned in the earlier post, this is all good advice. But again I would add to it. Create yourself a short checklist of items that you check weekly and monthly. Follow the owners manual that came with the vehicle, they tend to be fairly comprehensive.

Some tricks I have learned include:

Remember to check the air pressure in your spare tire regularly. A spare doesn’t do any good if it is flat too.
Don’t forget to check the brake fluid, power steering fluid, and windshield washer fluid too, these are often over looked.
Never, ever overfill any of your vehicle’s fluids.
Keep all of your lights clean, headlights, brake lights etc. The better they work, the better you see, and are seen.
Whenever adding accessories to your vehicle: make additions that work, and that matter before you worry about “pretty”. Think of it this way – which is more important (and useful) on a full-size truck – a good trailer hitch, or a pair of fancy mud flaps? You get my point.
When adding electrical accessories, always use the next heavier gauge wire, it will handle to load better, last longer, and prevent not only short circuits, but fires as well.
A good CB is always a wise investment, but make sure that it is installed properly.
Engine and Transmission oil cooler can extend the life of your vehicle – and mean the difference between getting there and getting stuck – especially in hot weather and heavy traffic. They are definitely worth the money.
Own a truck, van or SUV? Look into an oversized fuel tank and/or a spare fuel tank with a transfer pump. It may be expensive, but it will pay for itself over time; between having the ability to fuel up for a cheaper price per gallon, combined with the extended range the vehicle will now have – it is definitely worth at least considering.
Consider installing an aftermarket, oversized fuel filter. Cleaner fuel means longer engine life. Plus some of the newer vehicles don’t even have an inline fuel filter – they are mounted inside the tank itself. Who was the genius that came up with this gem anyway?
If your vehicle doesn’t have them, install tow hooks both front and rear. They do not have to be conspicuous, but they need to be there.
Don’t skimp on wiper blades, buy the good ones and replace them often. If you can’t see, you can’t drive.
Keep the engine bay clean – it makes finding a leak a whole lot easier, and makes life a whole lot more pleasant when making repairs.

It also it isn’t a bad idea to add seasonal items to your kits. For example if you live in area prone to snow, you should probably have a set of tire chains/cables with you in the colder months, but then why would you want to carry them in July?

Lastly a few words of advice:

First: know how to use everything you put in your kit. Practice with it before you put it in the vehicle – few tools are as dangerous as the ones in the hands of the uninformed.

Second: check your local laws on exactly what is considered a weapon, and what is considered concealed. You may want to think twice before you run out and buy that shiny Rambo knife with the 12 inch blade and have it strapped to the outside of your back pack sitting under your seat.

Third: in regards to knives, multi-tools, hand tools and the like – you generally get what you pay for. That cheap knife at the flea market is normally just that – cheap. It may be better than nothing at all, and the truth is that if that is all you can afford – then fine. But understand that up front.

Fourth: when choosing the storage bags to put these items in – think about the size, shape, and color of the bag you buy. There is not a right or wrong here, get what fits your situation. And think about the straps. There may be a situation where you find yourself forced to carry these bags, so good shoulder strap are important. And just as with knives and hand tools – you generally get what you pay for.

Lastly, a word about any and all foodstuffs you keep in your kit: remember that all food expires sooner or later – a even water can only sit for so long before it is no longer fit to consume. Trust me when I tell you that yes, even SPAM can and will go bad with time (you really, really don’t want to know how I know that). So rotate your foodstuffs regularly.

The long and the short of it is that some sort of vehicle kit really should be in each and every car, truck, SUV, or van on the road. With a little bit of thought and not a whole lot of money we can all prepare ourselves better. No traveler should be without what they consider to be the basics. – David H. in Southeast Texas

[JWR Adds: Thanks for those great lists! The only additions that I’d make to your lists are a fire extinguisher, and depending on whether off-road travel is anticipated, more robust pioneer tools. These should include an ax, pick, shovel, and if space permits, a Hi-Lift jack.]

Jim,
Hugh D. sent in a good letter about using his trailer as a large bug-out kit. The concept isn’t bad (as long as he’s on the road and off again before the masses figure out something is wrong) but then he said this:

“This has been overcome with careful planning on our part. First, we have mapped out likely hide spots for ourselves and the trailer – mostly campgrounds on National Forest lands,” and then regarding some cabins near the campground, “…we can move into a nice, if rustic, survival retreat.”

No offense, but I wouldn’t exactly consider this careful planning. If Hugh doesn’t think that for every marked camping site in America there aren’t 100 guys (who also own guns) already thinking about that same site, he’s crazy. Worse, he has no claim of “right” when it comes to those cabins. He is no more entitled to a cabin there than the next guy that comes along and wants to evict him and take it for himself. Furthermore, he’s got kids in diapers (I do too) – he isn’t going to be able to defend both his family and his “stuff” in a public campground whose location is published on every map and travel guide in America.

I’d suggest that Hugh reconsider his plans. The trailer is good but find somewhere else to go. As an example, I live in the Dallas area and have friends who own a ranch about three hours away in central Texas and can be reached using a number of combinations of country roads and state highways. It’s on 500 hilly acres twenty miles from the closest town, whose population is a couple thousand people. You can’t see a single building on the ranch from the state highway – you have to drive a winding county dirt road a few miles to get to the houses and barns. My friends who own the ranch think I’m nuts (they aren’t survivalists by any means, but retired city folk who wanted to run a peach orchard in retirement). Nonetheless, they have agreed that if I need to get out of town I can come down there with no prior notice. – Matt R.

Odds ‘n Sods:

A brief update on magazine prices that I’ve observed in gun shops and at recent gun shows: M16 (AR-15) magazines have jumped from around $17 in October to close to $40 each. The hot seller in that category, BTW, seems to be MagPul PMAGs. The once cheap and plentiful US M1 Carbine 15 round magazines were under $3 each in the early 1990s. After the 1994-2004 Federal ban expired, they were around $8. But in just the past two weeks they’ve catapulted to $25. The so-called “SWAT” factory original 20 round SIG P226 magazines went from $36 to $60. “Glockamole” original 33 round Glock 9mm magazines went from $28 to $59 each. Needless to say, these are substantial jumps, and I expect much larger price increases, as BHO‘s inauguration date closer. There is intense speculation on the chances of a “high capacity” magazine import ban via executive order. Absent a ban, new production will catch up with demand and prices will normalize, but before that happens I suspect that BHO will unleash a flurry of executive orders in his first few weeks in office. One of those decrees will very likely be a magazine import ban. In my estimation there is 90% chance of an import ban from the executive branch, and a better than 50% chance of a renewed domestic production ban, through an act of congress. My advice: Buy any top quality magazines that you can find at reasonable prices. Presently, they are better than money in the bank.

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We’ve received another flurry of news and commentary from The Economatrix. At the top of the list is a “must read” piece by Marty Weiss; Citigroup collapses! Banking Shutdown Possible — Financial Crisis Thanksgiving in America — Gold Set to Explode Higher on Inflation — Investors Dump Dollars, Fiat Paper for Gold — Banks Still Refusing to Lend — China Cuts Interest Rates as Panic Spreads — Toyota Woes Deepen, Ratings Downgraded — GM Goes Begging in Europe — Goldman’s US Gov’t-Backed Bond Opens the Way for Others — Fed “Spitting in the Wind” with New $800 Billion Gambit? — Food Prices Will Rise Next Year Causing Export Bans, Riots

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Robert at JRH Enterprises mentioned that they are having their third annual “Black Friday” sale. Dozens of items have been considerably marked down, including several that are downright “loss leaders.” The sale will be extended to Sunday, this year. Don’t miss teh TRC3A Wireless Seismic Intrusion Detector sets!

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The Werewolf (our correspondent in Brazil) recommended the novel Liberation: Being the Adventures of the Slick Six After the Collapse of the United States of America. The novel is available in paperback. Probably not of much value to buy as a reference, but you might see if your local library has a copy.

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David V. tipped us to a great piece by Mish Shedlock about the New Jersey State Pension Fund fiasco. This is starting to play out just like I have been warning since March of 2008.

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Nothing can destroy a government more quickly than its failure to observe its own laws, or worse, its disregard of the charter of its own existence.” – U.S. Supreme Court Justice Tom C. Clark, in Mapp v. Ohio, 1961

The Time Has Come to Cache Some Cash

Looking at the escalating global credit collapse it now appears to be precipitating global economic depression. I can foresee conditions in the United States getting far worse in the months to come. There is now a fairly high likelihood of a general banking panic, with a large number of bank failures.

The next few years will most likely be marked by significant deflation, followed by a tremendous surge of consumer price inflation. (Much of the $7.7 Trillion in bailout money that Uncle Sugar has promised will be created via highly inflationary monetization.) As the Mother of All Bailouts (MOAB) grows, so does the risk of inflation. In the immediate future, the US Federal Reserve is likely to lower interest rates to absurdly low levels, in an attempt to re-ignite the sputtering economy. This probably won’t work any better here than it did when the Bank of Japan tried it a decade ago. Since interest rates will probably remain low, the profit you would make by leaving funds in passbook savings accounts is pitiful. Returns on stock have been negative for many months, and will likely continue to be. So you won’t be losing much by setting aside cash.

My specific recommendations:

1.) If possible, set aside the equivalent of up to one-half of one year’s income in greenback cash or cash equivalents (including silver and gold coins). If this means divesting more of your dollar-denominated investments, then so be it. You should be getting out of those, anyway. As I mentioned before, under the current economic conditions, they wouldn’t be gaining that much, anyway. A fireproof hidden wall or door cache would be best, but there is little muss and fuss in burying some cash. Perhaps you could use one of those wide-mouthed Nalgene water bottles that are no longer consider safe for use with drinking water. Of course make sure that you aren’t the only family member that knows the location of the cache– just in case for some reason you assume room temperature.

2.) Top off your fuel tanks–gas, diesel, and propane. This is a good time to do so, for two reasons: The recent slump in crude oil prices to around $50 per barrel has made most petroleum-based fuels and lubricants less expensive. Take advantage of this dip! Secondly, if you buy in the next few months, you will be buying winter-formulated gasoline. Of course take the normal precautions with PRI-G or STA-BIL type fuel stabilizer. If you heat your home with coal, then fill your coal bin to the brim.

3.) Catch up on any deferred yet nagging projects at your home and/or retreat. The time for procrastination is over. This means everything from dental appointments and car repairs to having your septic tank pumped.

4.) Take another look at your “list of lists” and see if you’ve overlooked any crucial tasks or acquisitions.

5.) As I’ve mentioned recently, one of your top priorities between now and January 20th (when BHO will be sworn in) should be purchasing semi-automatic firearms in common military calibers, and a large supply of top quality full-capacity magazines. After those are in hand, concentrate on buying bulk ammunition.

Letter Re: The Year Gift that Cards May Spell “Gotcha”

James,
I stumbled over this, earlier this week, and I feel it may be of interest to you and your readers. Certainly, this warning needs to be passed around to as many as possible, here in the US.
Many retail stores are planning on declaring bankruptcy after the holiday buying season is over. Many more are planning on closing down stores, once the holiday sales have emptied inventory.
This means trouble for one of our newest ‘gift choices’, the Gift Card.
Gift cards are not actual money. They are treated as “Unsecured Loans” from the purchaser, to the company who issued the gift card. Unsecured loans are the last to be paid off in a Bankruptcy situation, and are usually just written off the books. Gift cards from a Bankrupt/closed company will rarely be honored or transferred. They become useless pieces of plastic.
Additionally, should you give a Gift Card to someone, they could find that all the branches of the Company/Store in their area are closed. And you usually can’t use a Gift Card on their web site!
So, to be prepared this year, please try and avoid Gift Cards. But if you must, then use these guidelines:
1.) Purchase Visa or Mastercard Pre-paid cards. Target and Wal-Mart gift cards are also probably safe, as these companies have not announced major store closings.
2.) If you must buy a gift card, please check the Snopes link for a list of stores that are closing down or declaring bankruptcy:

This list is semi-regularly updated. Also, putting the name of the store/chain into “Google News” (news.google.com) will give up-to-date information.
Remember, restaurant gift cards are included! Bennigans declared bankruptcy and folded hundreds of locations a few months ago. – Brian, in Austin, Texas

Two Letters Re: A Vehicular BoB

Jim:

There was some interesting commentary posted to your blog about a vehicle bug out kit and how to keep your vehicle running during a time of troubles.

Most of us concentrate on using the vehicle for a short period of time to get out of Dodge and then [if need be] plan on walking from there.

I would suggest that we also look at using the vehicle as our bug out kit. At least at first when we have to get out quickly, and if we don’t have a longer term farm/ranch that we are planning on going to.

We have a number of children we are responsible for and the thought of walking with a backpack miles and miles through hostile territory with children does not sit well.

Besides, the number of diapers we would need to carry, let alone the children, makes a bug out from a vehicle impossible. And no, we won’t leave the kids behind.

We have also practiced our bug out several times over the years (lets go camping to the kids or lets go to grandma’s for my wife …) and it is painfully obvious that without a full day’s preparation we can not get the whole family ready and on the road. So we have modified our camping trailer to act as our bug out kit. That’s right, the whole trailer. This can be done with RVs of any sort as well as with large SUVs and trucks. In these cases simply pre-pack a large duffel bag or Rubbermaid containers with supplies that can be loaded quickly.

In the trailer we have placed tools, supplies, and all the other items for an extended disaster stay that would force us out of our house. Figure six months to one year minus the food supplies (I’ll talk about that below) and guns. The trailer has been modified to have a PV panel on top to charge the batteries and we have a generator that we can take with us and power up the trailer with. The water tank is full and again has been modified to filter water coming into it (while I will take clean looking water from an unknown source, I won’t try to filter pond water etc. into the tank). Plus we have several bottles of bleach in the trailer to put into the water tank to kill off any unwanted bacteria.

Guns and ammo are set up pre-packaged anyway so that if we had to walk out (doubtful) we just need to grab a rifle and pistol and their accompanying go-packs (pre-loaded magazines in carriers such as the Eagle shoulder bandolier that holds nine AR-15 magazines). Hence we have about five minutes worth of work to load firearms and their supplies.

In the event of a major disaster we would also need to load additional food into the trailer. We figure that this would take us about two hours maximum as the one bay in our garage has been converted to storage duties. Hence back the trailer up and start to shovel cases of food into it. In theory we would be ready to ride out a six month disaster that forces us from our home with about four hours of effort on our part.

This leaves us with two critical items that can not be readily carried – water and fuel. This has been overcome with careful planning on our part. First, we have mapped out likely hide spots for ourselves and the trailer – mostly campgrounds on National Forest lands. Using these campgrounds does two things. First, they normally have pit toilets already in place. Second, many of them have water sources that are gravity fed from streams and the like or have a well/pump pre-installed that can easily be run off of the generator we have. We make it a point to talk to the campground hosts to find out the location of the wells or water supplies when we camp there over the summer.

To overcome the fuel issue (and bulk ammunition storage, and additional supplies that we might not have time to toss in) we have managed to find a couple of deserted, roofless cabins in the woods near the campgrounds. The Forest Service used to maintain (and still does in places like Alaska and along the Appalachian Trail) cabins for hikers. In many places these are still marked on maps. But over the years of neglect many of the cabins have fallen apart and only the walls and fireplace/chimney remain. Close to two of these cabins which are to of our two primary bug out spots. We have managed to cache additional supplies near the cabins. In one case it was inside an abandoned mine not more than 100 yards from a Forest Service cabin which was only about 1?2 mile from the campground we have decided on.

What this does is also set us up for a longer term survival situation as well. During the initial days of chaos after a major, societal collapsing event, nobody is going to look for abandoned cabins without roofs. During this time we will be snug, if more than a little cramped, in our camping trailer. When the situation looks like it will not stabilize anytime soon, then as the weather gets nicer, we have the tools (already in the trailer) to replace the roof on one of these cabins in short order. Strip the trailer of items such as the propane stove, etc. and we can move into a nice, if rustic, survival retreat.

I will add that since many of these cabins were built in the 1930s they have rock solid walls made of large logs and cement. Almost like the walls that bunkers are built out of . . .

With the two caches we have, and with the trailer in tow, we figure we can ride out a year or two in the woods in relative comfort. And if we are forced to displace we can do so relatively quickly even with the kids. – Hugh D.

 

Mr Rawles.
I just read the letter from the gentleman in Central America regarding bug out vehicles. He advises replacing a the starter battery of an auto-transmission vehicle with a deep cycle battery. I think that’s not ideal for anyone further north than Florida. Good quality deep cycle batteries are not very good at giving up lots of current in a short time, e.g., starting an engine. Under good circumstances (oversized battery, warm ambient temps, fuel injected engine in good tune, etc), they will act as a starting battery. But in challenging conditions, particularly cold weather, they can struggle to provide the amps a starter demands to crank a stubborn engine.

Best bet for that role is a compromise battery: Deep cycle/starting. These batteries are more durable than a starter battery when repeatedly drained for powering electrical devices. They are not as durable as a true deep cycle. But they also have some of the cranking “oomph” to provide lots of amps quickly, for starting a motor.

A great bug-out 12VDC battery is an deep cycle/starting combination of absorbed glass mat (AGM) construction, because of the flexibility it offers. They are pricey and don’t hold as many amps, pound for pound, as a good quality flooded battery, but they are very durable, lose their charge slowly when unattended, requiring less care. They can safely be pressed into service for many indoor duties because they don’t vent hydrogen when charged, and they can’t leak acid. I’ve got a deep cycle/starting combo AGM that I keep around the house. It started life as a trolling motor battery about eight years ago. Since then, it’s been used to jump start cars, as a starter for a generator, as a battery backup for a personal computer, and to run an inverter during an extended power outage. It’s sitting under my desk right now. If the power goes out, my PC, monitor and Internet connection will keep running for five or six hours. In a pinch, if I need it, I can disconnect it and use it to jump start a car, run a fridge on an inverter, etc. Very handy to have one of these around. Regards, – Rich S.

Odds ‘n Sods:

Montana real estate agent Viola Moss sent us an interesting snippet from The Christian Science Monitor, that illustrates that while most residential real estate is going down in value, some agricultural rural real estate is going up: “Farmland is hot property these days. Nationwide, it is up nearly 9 percent from a year ago. Iowa farmland has increased in value 18 percent. South Dakota’s value has risen 21 percent. The rise reflects rising profits from agriculture. The use of corn to create ethanol has driven up the price of corn and beef cattle that feed on corn. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that farmers will earn a record $95.7 billion this year, 10.3 percent more than last year and 57 percent more than the 10- year average of $61.1 billion. While some wealthy landowners celebrate this, average farmers and young people who want to own their farms are shut out. “There are a whole lot of young people wanting to farm – both children of farm families and young people from cities and suburban towns who want to farm,” says Teresa Opheim, executive director of Practical Farmers of Iowa. “The price of land is making it very, very difficult for them to get started, even to come up with a business plan that’s viable.”

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The DFer mentioned that The Wall Street Journal recently ran another fairly informative article about EMP.

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“Nines” flagged this: Five injured during protest in Iceland over economic meltdown., and Jack B. sent us this piece on the same topic: A near-riot and parliament besieged: Iceland boiling mad at credit crunch. As a whole, Icelanders are fairly peaceable people, so it takes extraordinary times to elicit such an uproar. And here is the latest news, courtesy of Cheryl: Dow Extends Rally, Broader Indices Close Mixed — FDIC’s List of “Problem” Banks Swells to 171 — US Economy Fall Worse than Expected — UK to Suffer Severe Recession — Pre-Budget Report (UK): World Economies Taking Radical Steps Over Threat of Recession — UK Middle Class Tax Hikes Fund Bailouts — Is Britain Going Bankrupt? (Ambrose Evans-Pritchard) — UK: New Mortgage Lending Predicted to Fall Below Zero, Report Warns — Fed Throws New Lifeline to Stressed Households — US Home Prices Continue to Dive — Germany Facing Worst Slump Since 1949 — Russian Analyst Predicts Break-Up of U.S. — Barron’s: Has the Fed Mortgaged its Own Future? — After CitiGroup, is BoA Next? — More Customers Resume Using Old-Fashioned Cash

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Justin suggested this interesting article in this month’s edition of Vanity Fair magazine: “Wall Street Lays Another Egg”

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KAF sent us a link to a set of plans for converting a refrigerator into a meat smoker.

Note from JWR:

The high bid in the SurvivalBlog Benefit Auction is now at $1,050. The auction is for a large mixed lot that includes:

A.) 15 brand new 30 round M16/M4/AR-15 magazines from JWR‘s personal collection. These include four scarce and desirable brand new HK steel “Maritime Finish” magazines, and 11 new USGI alloy magazines made by Center Industries. (Note that most of these were made during the 1994-2004 Federal ban, so most of them have restriction markings, but those became null and void after the ban sunsetted.) Even if you don’t own an AR-15, these magazines are great to keep on hand for barter. (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.) In today’s frenzied market, these magazines have a retail value of at least $460..

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

C.) An assortment of loose leaf teas, a box of Bellagio hot chocolate (25 individual packs), and your choice of $50 worth of ground or whole bean roasted coffee. (A combined retail value of more than $150), all courtesy of CMeBrew.com.

D.) A case of 24 cans of canned storage butter, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $110 retail value).

E.) A carton of 10 rolls of Hydrion fuel test strips, (with a retail value of $85), donated by UR-2B-Prepared.com.

F.) “Alone in the Wilderness” book and 2 DVD Value Set on the life of Richard Proenneke (a retail value of $51.95) courtesy of Camping Survival.com

G.) An EVAC Easy Roll Stretcher kit, (a retail value of $49.95), donated by FrostCPR.com.

This auction ends on December 15th. Please e-mail us your bid for the entire mixed lot.