Letter Re: Anti-Vehicular Barriers for Retreat Defense

Jim,
This video is rather impressive. The video description reads: “How many times have you wondered how strong those cement barriers are that you see in front of military base entrances?
From time to time someone asks what the concrete barriers are in front of controlled and secure buildings. When they are told that the barriers will stop traffic, even trucks, from approaching the secure building, they usually get a look of disbelief. In the test, the following parameters were used:

Truck weight = 65,000 pounds.
Speed at impact = 50 m.p.h.
Kinetic Energy = 5.5 Million foot-pounds.
Stopping distance = 24 inches.”

I thought that you might find this interesting. Keep of the GOOD work. Best Regards, – R.E.in Oklahoma

JWR Replies. That is indeed an impressive video. Something as simple as a three foot tall berm with a near-vertical face , or a two foot tall concrete “planter” with a vertical face can be almost as effective as the barrier shown in the video.

We live in a highly mechanized society, so in addition to intruders on foot, think in terms of how you would stop intruders that are in wheeled vehicles. Ideally, they should be stopped at a distance where they could then be engaged by rifle fire. And never forget the old military adage that any obstacle that is not in view of armed sentries is only a delay–not a real obstacle.

Stopping tracked vehicles is much more difficult, but thankfully the risk of being attacked by someone in a tracked vehicle is relatively low, and an armored tracked vehicle is even lower. Few of us have the means to construct obstacles to stop those! Depending on terrain, however, most of us can afford to erect barriers to wheeled vehicles. (Flat “plains” country is problematic.)

Three Letters Re: How to Win with Asymmetric Warfare, by Robert R.

Dear JWR,
I would like to share some links and great references from a survival lecture and slide presentation given by one of the most important (yet non-acclaimed nearly enough) contributors to our US Strategic Warfare Development by John R. Boyd, Col. USA, deceased 1997. See this PDF of a slide presentation

I had to chuckle when I read a follow up tactical criticism submitted in an article to SurvivalBlog and to the attempted re-writing and improving potential maneuverings for chapter scenario enhancements in excerpts from your revised “Patriots” novel. I so much enjoy this novel and consider it a great reference on survival tactics. I think many people are seeking printed tactical doctrine but instead are searching in printed dogma. This is the true beauty of Boyd’s, OODA and Conceptual Spiral Processes in strategic maneuvering applied in tactics–they are not static and limited only to the user’s ability to apply the processes. Your individual outcome is personalized by your individual input. I hope this information will assist us all to reach out to study and think and respond outside of the doctrine box. Even now his concepts are being adapted for use in the realms of world business applications.
Here is my analogy of OODA and Conceptual Spiral in its sublime offensive performance in survival strategic applications. As is said in [the movie] The Matrix: “There is no spoon.” – KBF

 

Hey Jim,
Let me fist say, as an outdoorsman and someone who has always felt the need to be prepared. I love your site. Tons of great info, great ideas and lots of different topics. That being said I would like to encourage you and your readers to keep things in perspective. I think we all agree that hard times are inevitable for this country and the world. We all “feel” it. But we do not know how severe, how long, how dangerous, or how chaotic the theoretical “hard times” can or even will be! I feel the need to prepare, but I pray that I never need to use it.
That being said, [Robert’s article] would have been great food for thought if it had been left at “consider going on the offensive and here are some of Sun Tzu’s thoughts”. 1 – 3 great points! But next we have some guy walking around with a suppressed pistol whacking people and shooting pre-placed sheds full of chemicals that explode.

From what I understand, you’ve written a great novel (I haven’t read yet “Patriots”) but this kind of stuff gives us a bad name. I have referred several people to this site and I pray they did not read that post. I would encourage people to be very careful when developing hypothetical situations in their heads. They have no proof that it will happen, or how bad it will be.

We need to promote preparation, protection, self-sufficiency, educate your family, squirrel away some food! Preparation means being prepared for a whole host of situations, not writing the sequel to “The Postman” movie. Thank you for my favorite site on the Internet! – Pathfinder

JWR Replies: I agree that there is a risk of letting one’s imagination run wild, or unbridled “what if” conjecture. But I also agree with Robert that flexibility and the ability to venture and out and then employ time-proven “offense is the best defense” axiom. That flexibility would be desirable in “worst case” situations where law enforcement is non-existent and your retreat might come under a lengthy siege–a situation where you are completely on your own. Granted, the chance of an extended breakdown of law and order is small, but it is impossible to rule it out.

 

Jim,
I also have read “The Art of War” and have been in battle more then once. I agree on some of what was said but there are some things that I have used as many have in times of battle 1) you should never go into a battle without four weapons A) your main battle weapon (your brain ) B) your main battle rife C) your backup weapon [typically, a handgun] D) your back-up rifle. I will further explain: no matter what else you carry into battle is your brain–outwitting your enemy is the first thing you must do. B) your main battle rifle whatever floats your boat and become good with it until its just a another limb on your body. C) You should also become as good with your first backup weapon as your primary. (B). D) depending on what my mission was I would carry [in my vehicle] a sniper’s rifle or if it was not part of the mission requirements it would be whatever the enemy was mostly carrying and 9 out of 10 times it was the AK-47. The reason we were trained to do that was because when running low on ammo you could always get it from enemy KIAs.

Now that you have mentioned Jim’s novel, in the part of the rescue traveling by night would have been smart but also a forward scout like on a trail bike or something of that nature also would have helped and is what I would have done for several reasons. One of them not putting all my eggs in one basket (as in man power ), next is the threat of ambush, and last a forward scout would have also be handy in the ambush for flanking those problems.

Now I have blogged before about “tree tuxe”s (Ghillie suits) before. Instead of wearing multi-colored BDU or digital [pattern ACUs] both in warm weather and cold weather a ghillie would work much better. In most cases is a better camo then anything else. Even if your enemy has night vision gear, you are hard to find [when in a ghillie suit]. Next, since any people cannot get [Federally registered, $200 transfer tax] suppressors [since they are banned under separate state laws] it is a little more close up but Robert did not say anything about a knife, tomahawk , axe, or even a compound bow which all with some practice are all very good silent killers. – CDR

JWR Replies: I agree with most of what CDR wrote, except that arrows are not usually silent killers. They kill by bleeding out an opponent. If you hit a man with an arrow–even in the heart–he’ll scream bloody murder until he bleeds out. (Typically one to four minutes.) The chances of getting a perfect spine shot–and instantaneous incapacitation–are very small.

As background, I should mention that I have an acquaintance that was a medic on a CIA covert operations team in the late 1970s. On one mission, against his advice, the team leader tried using a 200 pound draw weight crossbow for taking out a sentry. The sentry screamed and yelled so loudly that he woke everyone up for a long distance. So much for “covert”. A tomahawk, a short axe (such as a miner’s axe), or a even a short-handled two-pound sledge hammer to the back of the neck or base of the skull is far superior for sentry removal.

I also agree that ghillie suits are a good option, in most circumstances. Two exceptions: Very brushy terrain where they can easily get snagged, and very hot weather, when wearing a Ghillie suit could quickly turn you into a heat casualty.

Odds ‘n Sods:

The US Federal Reserve appears poised to significantly increase its purchases of Treasury securities. These purchases are called an open market operations or “repos”, and are highly inflationary, if done to excess. Since the Accord of 1951, the Federal Reserve banking cartel has been in full control of open market operations. The credit market is presently going through an unprecedented collapse, so be ready for more Fed “liquidity pumping” and hence more inflation!

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From Reuters: ‘Second Thoughts about Fluoride,’ Reports Scientific American. Yet another good reason to move to the hinterboonies.

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Desert T., Rightcoast, and KBF all recommended the upcoming History Channel documentary series titled “Life After People“. The show premieres on Monday. (January 21, 2008.)

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Reader Eric S. sent this: Wealthy may be next in line in U.S. home crisis

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"There exists a law, not written down anywhere, but inborn in our hearts, a law which comes to us not by training or custom or reading, a law which has come to us not from theory but from practice, not by instruction but by natural intuition. I refer to the law which lays down that,if our lives are endangered by plots or violence or armed robbers or enemies, any and every method of protecting ourselves is morally right." – Marcus Tulius Cicero (106-53 B.C.)

Note from JWR:

Today we present another article for Round 14 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The writer of the best non-fiction article will win a valuable four day “gray” transferable Front Sight course certificate. (Worth up to $2,000!) Second prize is a copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, generously donated by Jake Stafford of Arbogast Publishing. Round 14 ends on January 31st, so e-mail us your entry soon! Remember that articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival will have an advantage in the judging.

How to Win with Asymmetric Warfare, by Robert R.

As preface, I would like to say that I abhor violence and believe killing should only be done when absolutely necessary, but if things in America ever deteriorate to the point of national collapse, with murderous gangs of looters, or other violent oppressive groups wandering the land, it might be worth going on the offensive instead of sitting tight and hoping for the best. Even in the most well-defended retreat, a dedicated group of aggressors has all the time in the world to devise an attack strategy that could defeat you. They could rain .50 caliber rounds on you from a mile away, or take pot shots at you any time you peek out a window or attempt to go outside, until you run out of food or ammunition, or they could set your retreat on fire.

Sometimes it is necessary to go on the offensive to erase the enemy capability to do you harm. One or two well-equipped, well-trained individuals can defeat a much larger force. Unconventional tactics must be adopted, with a guerrilla “hit and run” strategy in mind. Sun Tzu wrote the widely known “The Art of War” [which is available as a free e-book.] It is still taught in military institutions around the world. The concepts laid out all those years ago are still the same that work today.

For the sake of brevity, this is my extremely condensed version of The Art of War. (I suggest that you get a copy and study it.) These are the principles that guide my ideas in resisting an government gone crazy, foreign invasion, or terrible social disorder where all Schumer has broken loose.

1. When you avoid battle, you are invulnerable. When you partake in battle, you become vulnerable. (this ties directly with Concept 2:

2. Only choose the battles that you know you will be victorious in. Having the wisdom to avoid battles you cannot win, and knowing how to strike when you cannot lose, makes you invincible.

3. It is greater to take the enemy’s weapons, equipment, food, resources, than it is to destroy them.

Concepts explained

1. It is pretty easy to understand this concept. If you never attend the gun battle, you can never get killed in the gun battle. If you decide to show up, you risk being shot. This brings us to the next concept, which is extremely simple if you keep concept #1 in mind, but extremely complicated because…

2…there are in infinite amount of possible variables that could contribute to your tactical situation. The enemy may or may not have snipers over looking his “weak” points to pick off possible troublemakers.
The enemy may or may not have any number of tools at his disposal, from land mines, to guard dogs, thermal night vision, surveillance drones, or any assortment of lethal and unseen assets intending to capture or kill you.

This is where knowing your enemy comes into play. You have to make a study out of the enemy. When do certain activities happen? (Guard shift changes, meal time, sleep time, patrols, et cetera.)
What is left unguarded and when? What is the chain of command? Where are the communications located? What events will cause a mobilization of forces? All these questions and many more must be asked and answered. It only benefits you to know as much as possible about your adversary.

All that information helps you to decide if you can potentially make a strike against your enemy without taking losses, or by taking acceptable losses. Acceptable losses in a group of five family members may mean that only a plan that is likely to produce no losses is acceptable. But if you are taking part in a full scale guerilla war against an occupational military force, then some losses may be acceptable if certain objectives have to be met for victory on a strategic level.

Concept 2 is to only fight when you know you will win. This is done by gathering as much information as possible and putting yourself in your enemy’s shoes so you can choose when, where, and how you want to fight.

3. If possible, recover any assets from your enemy that may be of potential use. Magazines, weapons, armor, night vision, batteries, anything. This also means gathering items of possible intelligence value like; unit patches, force deployment maps, supply information, duty rosters, and chain of command information. You could even steal uniforms for possible impersonation of enemy forces in later operations. Your victory is all the sweeter if your engagement not only produces dead bad guys, but extra weapons and supplies to continue the fight and lessen the strain on your own supplies.

Make the best use of your money to allow you the most capabilities in combat.

Arm and equip yourself in a manner that allows you flexibility in tactics so you can choose to fight and win in instances that someone might normally be unable to fight at all. For example.

Example: John decides he is going to buy an M1A, a FAL, two AR15s, two Mini-14s, one Glock, one SIG pistol, one HK pistol, and a couple of revolvers. He buys 10 sets of woodland BDUs and 3 pairs of GI combat boots. He spends an additional $2,000 on all the different spare magazines that he will need for all his different guns. He spent roughly $12,000 for everything and is essentially limited to carrying one rifle and a sidearm, and being camouflaged in a woodland environment no colder than 45 degrees. The other weapons will stay at home and he can’t go out on operations during the winter months because he would freeze.

Example: Bill buys an AR-15, mounts an EOTech sight with night vision capability and an AAC suppressor, along with 500 rounds of subsonic .223 ammunition. He buys a set of decent Generation III night vision goggles. He buys a few sets of BDUs for the summer months and heavier clothing for the winter months, including cold weather boots. He also buys a .45 pistol with suppressor and pretty much all .45 ammo in the 230 grain weight is subsonic already. Last but not least, he buys a tactical vest to carry all his magazines and side arm in for easy access.

Bill spends about the same amount of money as John, yet is a much more well-rounded warrior. He can operate in just about any climate, save for extreme weather. He could sneak around at night with night vision goggles and utilize his suppressed weapons to take out any threats with barely making a sound [that could be heard more than a short distance away]. (Subsonic ammunition is essential.)

Bill could sneak into an enemy camp and quietly send potentially dozens of people off into the after life with his suppressed pistol, and walk away without anyone ever knowing he was there. John on the other hand could do no such thing. John would stumble through the darkness, possibly bump into someone, and discharge his weapon, waking up everyone within a mile.

So try to spend your money in ways that add to your capabilities. Some redundancy is good, but some flexibility is very important as well.

Be creative in your tactics Be creative in your fighting. Use outside the box thinking. For instance:
In many previous wars, weapons have been booby trapped to explode when fired. Ammunition can be loaded to explosive pressures and left for the enemy to find. Poisons quietly poured into tomorrow’s breakfast ration during the night could potentially incapacitate a large majority of the enemy force in one sitting. Creating diversions to draw attention away from your main objectives is often a good idea. Setting fires in multiple places simultaneously creates confusion and panic. You get the idea, just be creative. Use all things to your advantage!

Most people reading this blog have probably read JWR’s novel, “Patriots”: Surviving the Coming Collapse“, so I will use a few examples of how things could have gone differently if the characters in the book had some other equipment on hand during some of their battles.

Somewhat early into the book, a number of vehicles try to attack the retreat but are stopped by small arms fire and are eventually killed after a gun battle with some well trained and entrenched defenders. Just to throw out an idea for additional defensive measures. Create pieces of cover for attackers to use when attempting to overtake your position. If you are over looking 200 yards of open grass, you place seemingly harmless things leading up to your position that can be used as cover. Maybe a small shed that one might think is used for storing tools.

When attacked, enemy forces will try to use this shed for cover and will take refuge behind it. Unknown to them, the shed is filled with 50 pounds of Tannerite[–a binary explosive target mixture that is legal for individual to own without any permit or license in most of the US–] and gasoline. When they get close enough to use it for cover, you shoot the shed, detonating the explosives and fuel, creating one h**l of a blast and fireball, and eliminating [or at least badly discouraging] the attackers that were hiding behind it.

Another situation the characters found themselves in was when they were driving to go rescue two of their own who hadn’t been able to make it to the retreat. On the journey they encounter a road block and one of their members is shot and killed. That night the two remaining members of the rescue team ambush the road blockers and kill them during a pretty one sided shootout.

If the rescue team had a set of night vision goggles they could have traveled completely by darkness and possibly avoided detection. Also, upon spotting the road block, one member could have approached the road block on foot with a suppressed pistol and neutralized all the threats as they slept without drawing any attention to the area with loud gun shots and without risking any team members in a shootout.

I hope that this helps everyone think more outside the box when considering their preparedness plans. Be as aggressive as possible without being reckless. Remember the basic concepts and think, move, and fight like a predator.

Letter Re: Potential for Gold Confiscation in the U.S.?

Hi Jim.
I’m pretty sure you know this but I thought i would pass it along anyway. I just went through this trying to explain some of the history of 1933 to a friend.

Presidential Executive Order 6102 (From: President of the United States Franklin Delano Roosevelt to the United States Congress, 5 April, 1933)

And yes, you are very correct that most of this is coming from coin dealers trying to sell overpriced stuff. Here is an explanation.

Here ia quote from Congressman Dr. Ron Paul on gold confiscation:
“If it gets bad enough, they’ll declare a national economic emergency. They’ll take over the banks, all business and industry. They may even try to confiscate our gold. I served on the Gold Commission for eight or nine months while I was in Congress along with fifteen other members. I brought up the subject of confiscation. The power to confiscate gold is still on the books as the law of the land. I urged the full Commission to recommend Congress repeal the power to confiscate gold in an economic emergency. We pushed it to a vote and I was the only one that voted to recommend to Congress that we never again contemplate taking the gold of the American people. The fifteen other members voted it down. The power is still there on the books, and they can do it any time they wish.”

Also read: What You Need To Know Before You Buy Numismatics. And from Gary North’s web site, read this: Gold Confiscation: How Big a Threat? by Franklin Sanders

Regards, – Dave M.

Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader “O.E.” suggested Jim Willie’s recent commentary: Threat of Sovereign Wealth Funds. O.E.’s comment: “This is an interesting article on these new contraptions. The fire sale of America has begun.”

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Several readers sent us a link to a piece by economist Jim Sinclair: The Panic Starts. Jim Sinclair is really ringing the alarm bells. In times like these I think that he has good reason to be an alarmist.

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Nicole suggested this article by Greenpa as a counterpoint to those who are touting switchgrass as an ethanol source. OBTW, since “Greenpa” has been living the life for 30 years off-grid, some of the bits in his Little Blog In The Big Woods archives are quite instructive. Although our politics differ considerably, I recently added him to my blog roll.

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“Costa Rica Jones” mentioned this bit of ethanol technology news : New GM Partnership Aims for Cheaper Ethanol by 2011

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing." – Theodore Roosevelt

Note from JWR:

The high bid in the current SurvivalBlog Benefit Auction lot is now at $120. The auction is for a Brunton Solarport 4.4 watt photovoltaic panel (a $140 retail value), a Deluxe Outdoor Survival Tool Kit (a $70 retail value) –both kindly donated by Ready Made Resources as well as seven other items: A copy of the latest edition of “The Encyclopedia of Country Living” by the late Carla Emery (a $32 retail value), an autographed copy of my novel “Patriots” (a $23 retail value), an autographed copy of my nonfiction book “Rawles on Retreats and Relocation” (a $25 retail value), and a SurvivalBlog Key Logistics Tote Bag (a $17.50 retail value), and an autographed set of Michael Z. Williamson’s “Target: Terror” modern military fiction sniper trilogy, from Avon books: “The Scope of Justice“, “Targets of Opportunity“, and “Confirmed Kill“. This auction ends on February 15th. Please e-mail us your bids, in $10 increments.

Letter Re: Potential for Gold Confiscation in the U.S.?

Hi Jim,
I’d very much like your opinion on this matter. I’ve been investing in gold and silver bullion for a couple years now. One source from which I made one of my purchases stated that he believed that gold and silver are going to be confiscated from citizens by our government when the economy implodes and that the confiscation will take place soon after an announcement is made without warning, that the face value of the gold will be reset to $42.00, which will be the sum that’s reimbursed upon confiscation. He argued that investing in pre-1933 collectable silver and gold was not liable to be confiscated, due to some arcane law that protects coins with numismatic value. He also claimed that the central banks, the IMF, WTO and the Bank of Rothschild, when they conduct their internal audits, do so with their bullion priced at $42.00 per ounce.

Now, I didn’t just fall off the turnip truck and I’m old enough to smell a dung pile from a long way off, so his whole argument stinks to high heaven and I’m sure you’ll agree. To make matters worse, he claimed that he hadn’t sold bullion to anyone in about three years, due to the dangers of confiscation and the subsequent warnings to his customers. He did a lousy job of back-peddling when I reminded him of his eagerness to sell me bullion less than a year ago, which he did (I have the signed receipt). Needless to say, I didn’t buy anything from him today, nor will I ever. This certainly doesn’t mean
that I think pre-64 silver isn’t a very sound investment.

My question to you is what are your feelings on government-conducted gold/silver bullion confiscation? Is this truly a real threat? The dealer claimed that even Dr. Ron Paul has said that confiscation is a real issue (I know it has been done before, in 1933, I believe). My guess is that it will not be an issue, before I sell mine (preferably before the poop hits the prop), however I’d like to hear your side of this. My decisions are my own responsibility, but I do value your opinion. Many thanks for your time. Stay safe, – HHH

JWR Replies: Like you, I think that the talk about a second gold confiscation is mainly hot air. It is noteworthy that most of those touting this “looming threat” are coin dealers that primarily sell rare coins!

With that said, non-numismatic gold coins and gold bullion were indeed confiscated by the FDR administration during the Great Depression. Individuals cold hold no more that $100 face value in gold coins, except for collectible or numismatic coins. (In that instance, they paid everyone $20.67 per ounce in paper money for their gold, and then soon after raised the official gold price to $35 an ounce and realized a handsome profit. Running a national government is quite a racket!) In effect, private ownership of gold bullion was banned in the US from 1933 to 1974.

Nobody can completely rule out a similar confiscation decree during an economic crisis sometime in the future. The safest forms of gold in such circumstances would probably be (in order of safest to least safe): 1.) pre-1933 mint state numismatic mint state US gold coins (MS-60 grade or higher), 2.) low grade “about uncirculated” (AU) pre-1933 numismatic US gold coins (AU-58 or AU-59 grade), 3.) American Eagle gold bullion coins (issued by the US mint, 4.) jewelry grade gold nuggets, 5.) numismatic coins from other countries (such as high grade gold Sovereigns) 6.) gold bullion coins from other mints (such as Canadian Gold Maple Leafs, Chinese Pandas, Aussie Kookaburras, South African Krugerrands, and so forth), and finally, 7.) serialized gold bullion bars from private mints like Johnson-Matthey.

As background: In the numismatic world, coins are graded on the Sheldon Scale, with numeric rankings from 1 to 70. A “1” would be a melted, barely recognizable round lump that used to be a coin. A “70” would be an absolutely perfect fresh from the mint without even a single detectable scratch. Most coin collectors buy coins in the AU-58 through MS-60 to 67 range.

In the midst of all this speculation about a second gold call-in, one thing is almost certain: Silver is far, far less likely to be included in any future confiscation than gold. This is simply because there is too much of it. (It is roughly 17.5 times more common than gold, at least underground.) The logistics of a silver confiscation–that much weight an bulk–would be monumental. Storing the mountain of confiscated silver would also be a huge problem. I suspect that silver bullion bars might presumably be included in a confiscation, but probably not US silver coins. After all, in the eyes of the law, a pre-1965 silver dime is still nominally “circulating” and is worth 10 cents if traded for FRNs. A Village Idiot can still spend silver dimes and quarters at their face value. A few school children do, unknowingly. These both explain why these coins occasionally pop up in circulation.

I earnestly believe that the chance of another gold confiscation is very small. But if you are the ultra-cautious type, then you might want to diversify your portfolio into mostly pre-’65 U.S. “junk” silver coins. Then, depending on the size of your portfolio, perhaps buy a few MS-60 grade pre-1933 mint state US gold coins. (But be advised that by doing so you will be paying a big premium over their bullion value.) Unless you are an expert on coin grading, then be sure to buy only PCGS or NGC certified “slabbed” (plastic encapsulated) professionally graded gold coins. The difference of just one grade number between an MS-64 and MS-65 could double (or halve) the value of a coin. Do not just take the dealer’s word on it. Buy only PCGS or NGC slabs!

Letter Re: Getting Yourself–and Your Rifle–Fitted for Body Armor

Dear Jim:
Boston T. Party backs up your opinion on the value of Body Armor – to quote: “… An order of magnitude advantage” (“Boston on Surviving Y2K and Other Lovely Disasters“).
you posted a good letter from Ryan that mentioned adjusting your buttstock length to account for Body Armor, web gear, etc. The main point to test all your gear – all at the same time – is a real nugget of wisdom. It’s amazing the glitches that pop up that you can never foresee until you test.

One thing to note – 2″ is probably a little too much compensation in buttstock length unless you have very thick clothing and web gear as well. Ultra-light Polyethylene Rifle Plates are just under an inch thick (~2.5 cm.) but the most protective Level IV Ceramic Rifle Plates are only 0.75″ (~2 cm). So an inch of adjustment with web gear is probably a good estimate.
We offer both Ultra-light Polyethylene and Ceramic Rifle Plates with a “shooters cut” on the Front plate. So, with this taper at the top of the plate, you can get a buttstock plant directly onto your body (or soft armor). See this photo page. So you would have just 0.25″ (~6mm) of soft Body Armor under the buttstock with “shooters cut” plates.
Yours Truly, – Nick – Manager, BulletProofME.com Body Armor

JWR Adds: My approach at compensating for the thickness of body armor and/or heavy winter clothing is as follows: Size your buttstock with assumption that it will be used in conjunction with body armor or heavy winter clothing. Then, in instances where you are shooting in casual circumstances without body armor (or in warm weather), simply add a slip-on recoil pad to make up for the difference in stock length. That pad can be removed in seconds, if circumstances change.

For any readers with HK91s or CETMEs (or clones thereof), I recommend that you buy a couple of inexpensive spare military surplus G3 stock sets s from Cheaper Than Dirt. They currently have G3 stock sets on sale for under $10, complete with a pair of handguards and a pistol grip! (See item # MGR-281 in their latest catalog.) With a price like that, you can afford to buy several stock sets and get creative. Do some WECSOG experiments with a hacksaw, two-part epoxy, and various recoil pads–while of course saving your original stock in its original configuration. OBTW, I am not a fan of the G3 “A3” collapsing stock, since it has a buttpad that is uncomfortably small and curved, and its stock rails do not provide a consistent cheek weld. An A3 stock might be useful in confined spaces (such as defending a vehicle), but otherwise, I do not recommend them.

For any readers with M1As, I recommend that you buy a few inexpensive spare stocks from Fred’s M14 Stocks–they have thousands of M14 stocks in inventory–and shorten them as needed, adding recoil pads in the process. OBTW, I am particularly fond of the Pachmayr “Decelerator” recoil pad. One of your spare stocks should be cut extra short, to accommodate any small-statured shooters at your retreat. Just keep in mind that when you switch stocks on an M1A or M14 that it may have to be re-zeroed. Test your rifle’s accuracy with each of your spare stocks well in advance of Schumeresque times.

For any readers with AR-15s or AR-10s, I recommend that you buy a complete spare collapsing (CAR-15/M4 Carbine style) buttstock assembly. You should preferably one that has three or four adjusting “position” notches. For fine-tuning the length of pull, someone skilled with a drill press can add additional adjustment notches.

We use L1A1s here at the ranch, three of which are equipped with extra short length-of-pull “Arctic” Maranyl stocks. These stocks were used extensively by the British Army in Northern Ireland in the 1970s, where they wore body armor for foot patrols in inimical places like Ulster and Belfast. Thankfully, L1A1 buttstocks have hard plastic pads that come in several lengths, although changing them is a bit time consuming, since the recoil spring nut must be removed. Arctic length Maranyl stocks can occasionally be found on eBay. Unfortunately, metric FALs–at least “as issued”–do not have as much stock length flexibility as L1A1s. However, as with an HK91, you can buy a couple spare stocks and do some WECSOG experimenting. The limitation, however, is the protruding recoil spring tube.

Letter Re: Constructing an Improvised CB Radio Antenna

Jim,
Regarding the recent blog article “Constructing an Improvised CB Radio Antenna”, here is a site that has good construction info and a few graphical images of custom built CB antennas This site by Signal Engineering adds some antenna theory for those inclined to learn more about CB antennas.
If you are into experimenting with antennas, I recommend getting an antenna analyzer from MFJ. They are fairly inexpensive (as far as test equipment go) yet will yield very helpful tuning and optimization information. You can purchase one for use in nearly any radio service (ham, CB, VHF/UHF. etc).- Rob at Affordable Shortwaves

Odds ‘n Sods:

SurvivalBlog reader “Rightcoast” mentioned that the new anthology of post-apocalyptic fiction titled Wastelands, from Night Shade Books, is now available for ordering. (I first mentioned this book back before it was available for ordering.) The authors include M. Rickert, Cory Doctorow, and Richard Kadrey.

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We live in a very remote, lightly-populated area “somewhere west of the Rockies”, so our daytime radio reception is pitiful. (Although at night, it is fantastic on the AM and shortwave bands.) Since we enjoy listening to Internet radio webcasts and podcasts such as sermons, I recently got a small FM transmitter that allows us to broadcast inside our house. This way we can listen to any audio from our computers (audio CDs, podcasts, RealPlayer files, MP3 files, audio from DVD movies, et cetera) on our radios throughout the house. These transmitters have about a 100 foot range, and are are sold by C. Crane Company. We have been doing business with C. Crane since the mid-1990s, and have found them to be very reputable.

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Freeze Dry Guy has announced a special for January and February on a One Year Supply of Mountain House freeze dried vegetables: These are freshly packed, includes one six-can case each of the following: Freeze Dried Corn, Freeze Dried Green Beans, and Freeze Dried Green Peas. This is a total of 384 1/2-cup servings in three cases (18 cans) of heavy duty enameled #10 (one-gallon) cans with a 30 year shelf life. (You may substitute a case of Instant White Rice if you prefer.) No cooking required, just add hot water, wait 5 minutes, serve and enjoy. Pricing: One 3-case unit, shipping included within the lower 48 states is $320 (save $36), or Three 3-case units for $940 (save $129)

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Reader N.L. suggest a how-to piece on underground propane tanks.

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From RBS: U.S. Hospitals Plagued by Ten Times More MRSA Superbug Infections than Previously Thought

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"Like waves on the seashore, an incessant drip of a faucet, or the perpetual nag of the proverbial mother-in- law, your dollars as a store of value and labor are continually clipped and filed down by the Central Bankers’ silent tax." – David J. Taffi, of Taub Associates, commenting on inflation