Two Letters Re: Escape From (Fill in Your City Here), 2009

JWR:
I liked JC in Oklahoma’s reply to Escape From (Fill in Your City Here), 2009 but with all due respect, I would not cut someone else’s lock. Most gates that I have seen around where I live, have a chain with a lock. I would advise cutting a link out of the chain and attaching your lock, like a replacement link. This way you keep the owner somewhat happy and still accomplish the task of passing thru the gate as well as being able to cross back through.

Now I need to get out and check what routes I might use to leave in a hurry. – Jim B

Jim,
My father-in-law just bought a Cessna 172 [single engine light aircraft] and that got me thinking about this. An option folks might consider is getting out by air. Depending on the nature of the emergency, escape by light airplane might be a very viable option for those who learn to fly and stay current enough to be relatively safe (that is to say, maybe not totally legal but good enough to pull off a single long trip in good weather). I say relatively because in a SHTF scenario, some things just don’t matter quite as much. I’d much rather risk my life flying while not totally current than wait in my single-story house for a fallout cloud to arrive.

It has been almost twenty years since I took the bulk of my flying lessons. (I had logged 45 hours total and needed only my last cross-country and a check ride when I ran out of [flight training] money) but I’ve flown a number of times since and have no doubt I could get from here to a thousand miles from here if the weather was good and I could carry or otherwise obtain enough fuel.

I figure a guy has two options for getting a plane if TSHTF. The first, and ideal, option is to have a cultivated relationship with the flight school owner or operator. If TSHTF, you call him at home and rent the plane. The second, and it is doubtless you (Jim) won’t like it, is to “borrow” a plane using a key you cut the last time that you rented it. Cycle through renting all of the planes during your instruction and you’ll have your choice of aircraft… Of course taking a plane without permission is theft, but the intention is to return the plane. If it’s life or death I’ll deal with the ethical questions later. Remember, these are flight school planes rented to students, not “another man’s food” and if it really did hit the fan, people aren’t going to be lining up for flying lessons today anyway. [JWR Adds: While I cannot condone theft, I should mention that is common practice, particularly with flight schools at small airports, to have all of the yoke or throttle locks keyed-alike, for the convenience of the instructor pilots. Also, most throttle shaft locks are not very robust. In an emergency, a pair of bolt cutters can be used to remove a lock. And furthermore, on many aircraft models, the throttle knob is held in place with one or two Allen head set screws, or made of molded plastic, and can therefore be cut, crushed, or otherwise removed, allowing a throttle shaft lock to then be slid off.]

There are a couple logistical considerations here. One is fuel. Some light planes can burn autogas (car gas) but many require leaded Avgas. In either case, you’ll need to be prepared to carry enough fuel to get you where you need to go. It is doubtful that in any situation that requires that you ‘borrow’ a plane that fuel pumps will be operational at your intermediate stops. Even if the automated pumps work, the credit card networks could be down. You might be able to siphon gas (more theft) from other parked planes bring. a self-priming siphon!) but to be safe you’re going to have to carry full gas cans. Research into lead substitutes might be useful, though I’m unsure if any suitable products exist. Better perhaps to concentrate on planes that can burn automotive gasoline.

[JWR Adds: Tetraethyl lead (TEL) is sold under the trade name Octane Supreme 130 (and other names, sold at some General Aviation flight centers, FBOs, and at automotive speed shops.) It can be used, but it must be carried in a container that has a perfect seal, even with pressure changes. Do NOT carry it in an aircraft passenger compartment. Parenthetically, there is “TEL Tale” in the biography of Charles Lindbergh. A leaky cap on a large can of TEL stowed behind his seat once almost killed him, while on a flying tour of South America. (He very nearly passed out and crashed.) Keep in mind that when used in ground vehicles, TEL will foul oxygen sensors very quickly, and of curse cannot be used in vehicles with catalytic converters. Its use would also violate Federal Clean Air standards, so it would not be legal for use on public highways. Keep in mind that TEL can be used to extend the useful life of “elderly” stored stabilized gasoline, as well as of course mixing your own high-octane blend from stored low-octane gas, so I recommend keeping a couple of bottles on hand.]

The second logistical problem is payload, and it is greatly affected by the fuel problem. Most light planes cannot safely carry a full load of passengers and bags plus a full load of fuel. If you’re carrying jerry cans of gas, don’t count on taking much in the way of baggage and there’s no way you’ll be able to fill every seat with a passenger. Most of the weight and balance calculations with regard to fuel, passengers and baggage can be worked out ahead of time though, so you’ll know what you can pull off. In the end this will only work for someone who has pre-positioned their supplies [at their retreat.

This approach has advantages: Zero traffic jams. Zero river crossings. Zero chance of being looted on the highway. Again, I’m only suggesting this as a last-ditch SHTF way to get out of Dodge. I would not steal food if doing so could potentially cause someone else to starve. Same thing on a weapon, vehicle or any other item. But in my mind the the equation is simple here: My life is worth more than a flight school’s airplane. In the end this is an extremely unlikely scenario, but it’s an arrow in your quiver and a fun one to prepare for. – Matt R.

Two Letters Re: It Will Be Skills, Not Gear That Will Count in TEOTWAWKI

Jim:
I would like to whole-heartedly second Chris M’s article that skills are more important than stuff. A wide basis of knowledge provides you and your family new options as you develop courses of action to solve a specific problem during a crisis. While I’ve been stuck as a suburbanite in the Washington area for the last two years, I’ve exploited my access to military and civilian training to more than make up for my vulnerability. I’ve joined local weapon/hunting ranges, significantly improving my pistol, rifle and bow skills. I’ve become certified as a Level I Combatives Instructor. I’m scheduled to attend EMT training and certification in September. I’m getting my first batch of vegetables out of my garden in a few weeks….and then I’ll start some canning. To top it all off, I’ve gotten a basic workshop set up and I’m doing my best to do all my own small repairs. In the last two weeks, I’ve fixed problems with my car, my lawn mower and then my house. Hunting, well, that will probably be next year.

Besides the obvious benefit of saving money, I want to emphasize the feeling of self-empowerment every time I solve a problem myself. Sure, nothing goes right the first time, but I learn a lot and I do get it done (my wife would add the work “eventually” here). I recommend re-reading Mr. Kilo’s “Letter Re: Learning the Details of Self-Sufficiency” and his description of the “conscious competence learning model.” It’s all about working towards self-reliance as much as possible. After twenty-plus year in the Army as a leader and supervisor using “soft skills”, I am working hard to build up many of the practical “hard skills” that Chris already has. Hats off to you Chris! (OBTW everyone, don’t forget physical fitness!) – Conn

Sir,
A friend of mine reminds me that skills are important, but also are tools. Hard to dig a hole without a shovel.

As a practicing locksmith, I discovered during a service call, that the combination of skills plus tools plus parts is what’s needed. I can go to a locksmith call, and leave my hole saw home. Can’t install deadbolts. Or, I can have my van, but not the right lock. And many people have tools and locks, but can’t do the job. – C.A.Y.

Letter Re: SurvivalBlog Readers in Antarctica

James,
On Monday you noted reaching the 9 million unique visits mark. Congratulations! You also noted having readers on “every continent except Antarctica”. As a former employee of Raytheon Polar Services working in the United States Antarctic Program, I was able to visit two of the three permanent U.S. stations on “the Ice”. Whether the [SurvivalBlog] Clustmap will register it or not, you occasionally have had, and may continue to have people reading your blog in Antarctica.

Thanks for the great work that you do, and I am praying for your family. Regards, – J. in Texas

Economics and Investing:

Obama unveils broad financial oversight plan; blames current financial crisis on ‘a culture of irresponsibility’. New powers for the Federal Reserve? Wait a minute! Weren’t they the private banking cartel that got us into this mess, with artificially-low interest rates?

AIG Refuses Crash Claims “That division [airline insurance] didn’t get any bailout money.”

Black Swan Trader Bets Reputation on Inflation

This one is a “must see”: Peter Schiff on The Daily Show (Thanks to GG for the link.)

GG also sent this from Barron’s: Will Bad News Be Good for the Dollar Again? Foreigners exited U.S. assets in April as the rally took hold. Will they return if correction hits?

Chuck H. flagged this AIM article: The Plan For Socialist World Government

Items from The Economatrix:

FBI Targets Fraud In TARP, Stimulus Fund “With billions of dollars at stake … even a small percentage of fraud would result in substantial taxpayer losses,” Mueller said. The FBI has been bracing for a wave of fraud and corruption cases stemming from the government’s multitrillion-dollar effort to stimulate the economy and help ailing banks.”

Federal Reserve to Get New Powers

California Gas Price Passes $3 Again

Retail Gas Rises For 49th Straight Day

Report: Stimulus Program Fraught with Waste For example, a $3.4 million tunnel for turtles.

US Debt is at $250,000 For Every Man, Woman and Child in US

Russia Challenges US Dollar

The Surprise is on Silicon Valley, Thanks to Obama. Silicon Valley did a lot to help Obama get elected “and Silicon Valley naturally assumed that the new president would do the same in return. It hasn’t quite turned out that way. The first surprise to many Valleyites is how innately anti-entrepreneurial the new administration has turned out to be. Candidate Obama looked like a high tech executive — smart, hip, a gadget freak — and he certainly talked pro-entrepreneur. But the reality of the past six months has been very different. “

Stocks Bear Market Rally Over “The U.S. Dollar is rising from the dead for yet another intermediate-term rally, commodities are about to plunge deeply, and stocks are set to re-test the lows of March, 2009 and/or November, 2008…. Housing hasn’t bottomed, bank failures are set to accelerate, international trade is falling off a cliff, unemployment continues its rise unabated, and earnings are dropping precipitously around the world (except for the Gold mining sector). Get out of the stock market unless you are short or a long-term Gold stock holder. Continue to hold physical Gold as an insurance policy, cash equivalent and hedge against a geopolitical crisis that dethrones the U.S. Dollar.”

The Coming Stock Market Crash: Time To Review “The bottom line (in this writer’s view) is that we are heading for a stock market crash as a precursor to a credit crunch and a further savage contraction of the world economy. Our leaders sowed the wind and we – the voters who put them into positions of power – will reap the whirlwind.”

Obama Vows Wall Street Risk Regulation, Sees Unemployment at “10%”s

US Stocks Fall, S&P 500 Have Biggest Two-Day Drop Since April

Suitcase With $134 Billion Puts Dollar on Edge

Retailers Exit Detroit: No Grocery Chains Left!

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Don’t listen to anyone who tells you that you can’t do this or that. That’s nonsense. Make up your mind, you’ll never use crutches or a stick, then have a go at everything. Go to school, join in all the games you can. Go anywhere you want to. But never, never let them persuade you that things are too difficult or impossible.” – Sir Douglas Bader, (1910-1982), The legendary British fighter pilot who lost both legs in a flying accident, but went on to fly as a fighter pilot in World War II.

Letter Re: Escape From (Fill in Your City Here), 2009

Mr. Rawles,
Concerning the article: Escape From (Fill in Your City Here), 2009, by Bill in Chicagoland, I would like to add to these comments. My 20 years experience driving the county roads and the farmer ranch roads with the Soil Conservation Service have given me a perspective of the potential for choice this road system presents.

I have a considerable amount of experience driving cross country.

I have driven from the Northern Texas panhandle across the Oklahoma Panhandle into southeastern Colorado and north to the Colorado Springs area on mostly gravel and dirt roads.

Several times I have driven the 250+ miles from Denver Colorado to Salina Kansas mainly on dirt/gravel roads or county blacktop roads. This particular trip is paralleling the major river valleys throughout this area. The interstate roads basically follow the uplands/highlands avoiding the river/creek valley bottoms. That portion of the drainage system between rivers called the upland or divide area. Up on these area you have minimum drainage systems to cross. Only when the rivers and major creeks make a jog south or southeast do you find a major drainage system to cross.

Why are drainage systems death to bugging out? You can cross them only on bridges, and bridges are [logical ambush sites and hence potentially] death traps.

Here is an example: West of Oklahoma City, you’ll see that I-40 strikes out to the west.

Now, let’s clarify something. [Even in most plains states,] there are no paralleling roads to interstates that extend for extensive distances. Yes, there are some that may parallel for 20 to 30 miles. But as soon as the interstate jogs you get the paralleling road intersecting the interstate or its diverting away in a direction you may not want.

If you do not know your area well, you can get boxed in quickly.

West of Oklahoma City striking in a southeasterly direction is the Canadian River. The interstate crosses the Canadian river in the Hinton/Geary area. That is some 35 miles west of Oklahoma City. The next Canadian river crossing on the north side of the interstate is just northeast of Thomas. That is 23 miles west and 13 miles north of the interstate.

So…you come barreling out of Oklahoma City and find the interstate clogged. Look again at the map. The city of Oklahoma City has a major river running through it. The North Canadian River. You cannot get on the Interstate. The bridges going over the North Canadian River south are filled with traffic. You opt to set out west through Oklahoma City on a street that will take you west to El Reno and then on to points west following the Interstate. But you cannot do this on the north side of the interstate.

And the south side of the Interstate is closed off because of the bridges across the North Canadian River are jammed full.

The road system on the north side is a maze of closed roads, dead end roads that all end up down in the Canadian River valley. And in the 60 miles west of Oklahoma City only one bridge crosses the Canadian River on the north that can keep you on any kind of westerly tract. That’s at Thomas. The closer bridge only gets you down to the interstate and it will be clogged full at that point.

So you make it to Thomas overland on the secondary roads.

What now?

You now have a dozen or more large creeks all running southerly into the Washita River. You have to cross them if you continue cross country.

Yes, you can get on Highway 33 west but I would guess that many others will have the same idea.

You also have Foss Lake complex and its National Wildlife Refuge area to get around.

Another major obstruction.

Going west now on secondary roads you will notice the interstate drifting in a SW direction. You are getting further away all the time.

Backtrack: What did you miss on the map? By the way, what map am I now looking at?

A copy of a DeLorme Atlas & Gazetteer [Get one for your state, and contiguous states].

You missed the railroad bridge. Where?

Find Bridgeport between Hinton and Geary. See the railroad track symbol where it crosses the river.

Now, the following separates the men from the boys. When I was 16 my buddy’s father was the Missouri Pacific’s depot agent in Larned, Kansas. We knew the train schedules. We conquered our fears and put my 1948 Dodge car on the rails. Yes you can drive down the rails. You do not have to let the air out of the tires. Just slow down when you go over road crossings and switches. We rode the rails for miles. We even crossed over the Arkansas River railroad bridge. That was scary to think about the wheels coming off the rails way out over that 150 yard long bridge. But we drove this way, and so can you.

You will need to be very cautious doing this. Sending people ahead with radios to the top of a close high point so they can see the tracks some miles away. Giving you time to cross. What speed can you expect to make? We used to cruise 10 to 15 miles per hour. My 1948 Dodge had a traditional hand throttle that you could set.

[JWR Adds This Proviso: Hy-rail pickups and dedicated speeder vehicles have been previously discussed in SurvivalBlog here and here. Please read those article and heed the safety and liability warnings. Riding rails on car tires without supplementary alignment aids is foolhardy. There is a lot that can go wrong in a hurry! Don’t attempt improvised rail travel this unless it is an total SHTF disaster situation and there is absolutely no alternative, and only then with someone playing “ground guide”, and with certain knowledge of the train schedule (or by doing so only on a rail line that is known with certainty to be inactive.)]

This is dangerous. Be careful. It is also illegal.

The thesis of this presentation is several fold:

1. There are no extensive long parallel roads along most interstates.

2. You must have a set of the DeLorme atlases or similar detailed maps for where you are going. Better to have a set for every state that surrounds you. If you live in the prairie states get a set for every state within two states in every direction.

3. You also need to have a map showing just the counties and the river systems.

4. You must drive you routes in advance on both sides of the interstate.

Note that Item #3 above is necessary to have a map of the rivers. You can plot a general route that will keep you on the uplands/divide between the river/creek systems when you cross country.

The system described here is good only for the plains states between the Rockies and the Mississippi River. It will work in the area between the Missouri and Mississippi further north in most of those areas. But once you get into the Ozark highlands, the southern deserts off the Rocky Mountains and in the swampy country next to seashores and the Southern States it does not work.
Nor in the Appalachian mountains. The west coast is another whole problem.

The central portion of the US, the prairie states have a grid road system laid out in township and sections. This allows a great amount of choice for travel. Areas that do not have this system are much more constrained as to overland travel.

Driving cross country you will find [some straight] dirt and gravel roads that can be negotiated at 45 to 60 miles an hour. Be cautious and slow down at every road junction and at the crest of all hills that you cannot see over. Some where out there you will crest a hill and find a slow tractor pulling a swather or a large combine with a 20 foot wide head on it suddenly in your way. You must use caution on these back roads. Do not assume that all dangers are marked. You may find dead end roads just over a crest with a 4 foot tall wall of dirt and a deep ditch in front of you at 55 mph. Crash, end of journey. Be careful of bridges. There are still may bridges out there with wood decking. It can be weak, have nails sticking up and or tire wide gaps in them. I have also seen concrete bridges built by the WPA in the 1930s with holes in the deck more than two feet across and not marked with any warning signs.

Vital equipment for cross country driving:

1. Binoculars or spotting scope

2. Weather scanner

3. Maps

4. Jacks with wooden blocks to put under them for support.

5. Shovels

6. Tow chains

7. Tire chains.

8. Bolt cutters and wire cutters

Beware of sudden rain showers on dirt roads. Soils high in clay particles will shed rain and appear to be shiny. They are called ‘slick spot’ soils. You will not sink into them. But rather your vehicle will just want to slide over into the ditch if the road is not flat. These roads are slick! It is possible to put a vehicle into a low gear; get out and walk along the side steering and pushing or pulling sideways to keep it in the center as you walk along. Better when there are several people to help. I have accomplished this for stretches of road further than one quarter of a mile when I worked as a District Conservationist with the Soil Conservation Service.

Avoid showers in the distance. Drive out of their way if possible. Stop on a stable section of road and wait for the sun to come out. Slick spot roads can dry out in one hour or less and be drivable as if no rain fell there for days.

Genuine cross country driving:.
If you find roads blocked with wreckage, power poles, washed out bridges, trees and or a group of freebooters who demand tribute, then you need to have thought of an alternative.

There is an alternative to simply turning around and being chased.

Cut the wire on the fence and drive away out across the land. Best done out of site of the freebooters. Wire the fence back up so it is not too obvious that someone has exited the road at that point. You will need bolt cutters. A 24 inch pair will suffice. For chains at gates or locks you need a 36 inch-long set and a hacksaw blade with extra blades. Carry along several locks. If you cut off a lock replace it. If you have to come back you can open it quickly and lock it putting a good barrier between you and any belligerents that want to discuss the situation with you.

If you lack a lock that looks like the one you have cut. Super glue it shut. You can always re-cut it a second time if necessary.

Carry with you two 2x4s that are 10 feet long, each pierced with 20 penny nails arrayed close together. Drill holes that are just small enough to provide the friction to seat the nails so they will not come out easily. Drill two 5/8 inch holes in each end. Cut half inch rebar stakes 12 to 16 inches long and sharpen then to a decent cone shape on one end. You will need a 4 pound hammer to seat them into a roadbed.

So, say that you approach a hill crest slowly and glassing the road ahead, you see a group of freebooters down the road. They see your heads and cab of a pickup sticking up over the crest. Whooom, here they come. Get out the spiked 2×4 and nail it down across the road with the rebar. Leave and when they come roaring up over the crest their tires will have lunch with the spikes. Flat tires have a way of ending pursuit.

If you encounter groups of people who are belligerent but appear not to be shooters. Place a spiked 2×4 across the front of your steel safety grill and make a run for them. They will not want to get spiked as you go by. It will keep them away from the windows and doors.

[JWR Adds This Proviso: Caltrops have been used as a defensive measure for centuries. I have my doubts about their utility in daylight, but they might prove useful at night. To be useful in daylight for defense against vehicle-borne looters approaching a retreat slowly, caltrops or tire spikes would have to be concealed, which is a huge legal liability. Because we live in very litigious times, I DO NOT recommend using caltrops or tire spike strips in in anything but an absolute worst-case TEOTWAWKI situation, where you are completely on your own to defend your retreat, and there is no longer a functioning law enforcement or court system. Using them in any lesser situation is an invitation to a hugely expensive civil lawsuit and possible criminal sanctions. An ambulance-chasing attorney would have a field day, and the likely result would be that you would lose everything that you own in settling a lawsuit. Ironically, this is an example of where using deadly force against an intruder (namely, a firearm) is less likely to result in a lawsuit than a non-lethal weapon. Civil court juries tend to be very sympathetic to “maimed” plaintiffs, and are prone to award disproportionately huge “pain and suffering” damages. Caltrops and tire spikes are banned in some states in the US, and Australia. With all that said, commercially made caltrops are available, as are tire spike strips, although most manufacturers will only sell them to law enforcement agencies ordering on department letterhead. The best of these use hollow spikes, so they can defeat even self-sealing tires. And example of this type is the HOllow-Spike TYre Deflation System (HOSTYDS), manufactured in the UK.]

Crossing Interstate Highways
All interstate roads will have at some point a significant water gap.

It will be big enough for you to drive through. Be very careful. These can have plunge basins formed on the down stream side that are many feet deep. Can be clogged with old fence wire and tree limbs. They can be swampy and full of washed in silt that is solid on the top and unstable to support weight underneath. You can get stuck and never get out.

Scout these places carefully.

Remember you may be driving under the interstate that is packed above with people who have gotten desperate.

And you may be able to just drive up to the interstate, cut a fence on one side and drive across weaving through parked cars, perhaps, if you are lucky.

Get the maps. Study them. Drive the [primary, secondary, and tertiary] routes. Anything less is a modified death wish.

Rule #1: Leave early.

Rule #2: Remember, you can never schedule an emergency.

– JC in Oklahoma

Economics and Investing:

F.G. sent this: Restaurants on the Ropes

Thanks to for this link: Airlines adjust as demand slides. “Nevertheless, IATA expects passenger yields to fall by 7% this year and cargo yields to decline 11%” The manufactures also expect fewer orders for planes.

Also from F.G. comes this Wall Street Journal piece: Retailers Flee a Dying Detroit

KAF flagged this: U.S. likely to lose AAA rating: Prechter

Items from The Economatrix:

German Newspaper Article Thinks [Ponte Chiaso] Bonds May Be Real.

Timeline of Events and Updates as they Happen

Weisenthal Talks the $134.5 Billion Bond Seizure on Glenn Beck Treasury: Can’t comment because of on-going investigation.

Asian Stocks Drop on NY Manufacturing, Commodity Prices

Oil Below $70 on Dollar Gain, Equity Market Drop

Wall Street Sees Worst Day in a Month

California Puts 90-Day Hold on Foreclosures

Long Beach May Inbound Cargo Down 22%, Outbound Off 26%

Projection: It Will Be Years Before Jobs Return To Much of the US

Bond Volatility and Interest Rate Swaps “This China story was intended to mask the real events, to blame them in part for the US bond instability, and to divert attention away from a potentially important threat. Not only has the housing market stalled, with new mortgages and refinanced loans hitting a brick wall. The other major threat is to the Interest Rate Swap, those powerful credit derivative contracts that tie together the bond world in complex knitting. The instability of US Treasurys on the long maturity (10-year & 30-year) and on the short maturity (so far just the two-year) will surely unleash great firestorms of disruption, heavy losses, and raging fires for the big banks. It is next! It will be the greater second chapter to the Credit Default Swap opening salvo. Twice as many IRSwaps exist than CDSwaps, a story that bankers refuse to discuss.”

GM’s Deal Erased Many Average American’s Savings

US Credit Card Defaults Rise to Record Level in May

Hedge Funds in Cayman Islands Withdraw from UK Banks

Odds ‘n Sods:

Heather H. sent this: A ‘time bomb’ for world wheat crop

   o o o

Gordon sent a link to a video clip on the enormous Cold War bunker beneath the Greenbriar Hotel.

   o o o

Shelf Reliance (one of our advertisers) is giving away a Harvest 72″ food rotation system in a free drawing. Visit the Shelf Reliance blog to enter. The Harvest 72″ is valued at $459 and can hold up to 600
cans, making it perfect for a healthy food storage supply. The winner will be announced on Friday, June 26th.

   o o o

Greg C. sent us the link to this Wall Street Journal piece: Imagine Breaking Up The United States

   o o o

Three gun rights articles, first from Paula: Gun Rights Groups Plan State-By-State Revolt, several readers sent this:

Twenty-three AGs tell Holder no dice on semi-auto ban renewal and Patrick M. sent this: Montana Gun Law Challenges Federal Powers

Notes from JWR:

I’ve heard just three complaints about bookbinding errors, in copies of my novel “Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse” . In all three cases, there were dozens of repeated pages, where the corresponding correct pages were missing. Yikes! (In the book publishing world, this is called a “folio sequencing error”.) I suppose that this small number of reported errors is not bad for a book with more than 30,000 copies in print, but it is still troubling. If you have purchased a copy of “Patriots” with a binding error, then please call, e-mail or write the publisher and let them know which pages were repeated, and they’ll provide a free replacement copy:

Phone: 1-800-377-2542
E-mail: ulysses@ulyssespress.com
Snail Mail: Ulysses Press, P.O. Box 3440, Berkeley, California 94703

—

Today we present another entry for Round 23 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest.

First Prize: A.) A course certificate from OnPoint Tactical. This certificate will be for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses. (Excluding those restricted for military or government teams.) Three day OnPoint courses normally cost between $500 and $600, and B.) Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried foods, courtesy of Ready Made Resources.

Second Prize: A “grab bag” of preparedness gear and books from Jim’s Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy (JASBORR) with a retail value of at least $350.

Third Prize: A copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, from Arbogast Publishing.

Round 23 ends on July 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

It Will Be Skills, Not Gear That Will Count in TEOTWAWKI, by Chris M.

The topic I will cover is one I have not seen on SurvivalBlog. Everybody is caught up in the equipment side and not concentrating on the training. I have two examples several months back our dryer started squeaking & we had to stop using it. I am a trained air conditioning technician. At first I thought about going out and purchasing a new dryer and then I had a thought: I have fixed multi thousand dollar air conditioning units, how hard could it be? After two days it was back up drying clothes and for a lot less money than a new dryer would cost.

The other example was Saturday night a week ago I killed a feral hog and with some help from the friend that owns the land where I killed the pig, we quickly had it in the chest freezer. You ask, “how do these two examples apply to TEOTWAWKI preparedness?”

I am 50 years old; things I take for granted younger people do not understand or do not have the ability to do. Can you sharpen a knife? Can you tune a small engine? How about sharpen a chainsaw? I have been trained as an equipment mechanic and then trained as a HVAC tech. I have also taken first aid training, I am not an EMT but I know the basics. I have fixed several small appliances. My father was a carpenter. He taught me the basics of construction, such as how to build a wall and how to hang sheet rock. I had a small business that repaired rental properties in Texas.

Do you hunt? And are you planning on hunting to supplement your meat supply if not how do you expect to put meat in the freezer after TSHTF? By hunting you learn where to look for game. Small game hunting can teach you where to find rabbits and squirrels are at certain times of the year. Also when you make your first kill you will have a hands-on butchering class. You can not make a mistake that can not be repaired before it gets to the table. I remember the first feral pig a friend killed I was at my parents’ house when a friend called and ask if I had butchered a hog? I said no but I have sure put enough deer in the ice chest that a pig could not be that hard.
I have also gar
dened quite a bit. When I was a child some of the first memories are of working in the garden. We did not raise all of our food but we raised a significant portion. We had a cow and chickens. I helped my mother can vegetables from the garden. I have caned tomatoes I have raised in my back yard. I can make my own soap. I also know where to get the lye with out going to the store. (Wood ashes).

What do you read? Back Home, Backwoods Home, and Mother Earth News magazines–although Mother Earth News is not as good as she once was. I keep all the Back Home and Backwoods Home that I pick up. I also found several books that will be passed on once I go to my final reward. I have books on a variety of topics from engine repair to gardening and other topics.

Do you reload the ammo you practice with? You can store more powder, primers and bullets in a given space than loaded ammo. Then when you shoot some you can reload to re-supply. Shotgun ammo is very economical when you reload. I would not suggest that you use reloaded ammo to defend yourself. Use store bought. I talked about the pig I killed a couple weeks back I used a Savage model 40 in 22 Hornet. The cartridge I used was reloaded and in fact was a case that had been reloaded several times. I have reloaded a variety of calibers and presently I can keep my guns shooting for awhile. I also cast lead bullets for a number of my guns and I am planning on getting a few more molds for different calibers. Also think about this I have in my gun safe a. 22 Hornet, .223 Remington and a .22-250. They all take 223 caliber bullets. I have bought a lot of .223 caliber bullets, mostly 55 grain weight. I can use the same bullet in all three. I also I am going to purchase a shot maker and will be able to produce shot for my own use and barter. I am stocking up on primers and bullets.

What do you watch on television? I watch Discovery and the Science channel. People talk about gas powdered tractors gasoline has a shorter shelf life than say diesel or propane for that matter. I have not seen propane discussed much on the blog for a motor fuel. Propane has a “forever” shelf life. Also, you can still find Ford Model 8 or 9N tractors that were powered by propane. As long as the propane did not leak out it was good and the tractors could sit idle for a long time and did not have to have the carburetor cleaned.

The reason I mentioned television shows is this one program I watched 2 to 3 years ago had a teams on an oceanic island. The team had to do some projects, one of which was they had a diesel powered go-cart. Both teams were given some sesames seeds and a machine that could make oil out of the seeds. The first team to start their go-cart and get it to run a course distance won the event. This got me to thinking that all trucks, generators, tractors should be diesel powered. You can make your own fuel!! The inventor of the Diesel engine was Dr. Rudolf Diesel, a German who envisioned a system where German farmers were not dependant on fuel sources that came from outside Germany! Remember the pig I killed? If it had been a survival situation.  I would have rendered the fat to oil and could have used it in my truck and drove 20 or so miles or used it in a generator or plowed the garden with a tractor.

The upshot of the foregoing is that what you have in your hands is not as important as what you have between your ears. Learn all you can. Take classes at your local community college. Read all the preparedness’ magazine’s and books you can. Concentrate on survival skills. Learn to start fires without matches and to build a temporary shelters. Learn to maintain your car or truck, local community colleges are great places to learn vehicle repair and you can save money in the short run. Imagine if something broke and you needed it to survive. Could you fix it? Stockpile spare parts for the most important items. Ford 8 of 9n tractors are great and look simple. But if the clutch went out, could you replace it? I have done that and it’s not as easy as you might think. Repair manuals are not an option, in my thinking. They are a must.