Odds ‘n Sods:

I was saddened to see that the BOGO acronym has changed: It started out meaning “Buy one, give one”–a form of charitable giving–with the Bogo Light campaign. (Wherein someone buys a solar-powered flashlight and the manufacturer also provides one as charity to an African villager. This commendable program is still going on.) But I’ve noticed that BOGO has crept into the Internet marketing lexicon in a perverted form. The Madison Avenue advertisers have turned it into “Buy one, get one (free)”–nothing more than a 50% off sale.

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I just heard that Ready Made Resources is now down to less than 800 infrared chemical light sticks remaining in inventory. With the recent State Department ruling, there will be no more of these produced for the US civilian market. Stock up now, while there still some available at a reasonable price. When used with surface trip flare actuators, these are ideal for perimeter security. Since these are infrared wavelength emitters, they can only be seen through starlight scopes and night vision goggles–the bad guys won’t know what hit them! OBTW, one technical tip, which was suggested by The Gun Plumber over at The FALFiles: “After the light stick is expended, cut the end off, dump the liquid and glass ampule [and discard safely], then tape the plastic tube to your MiniMag flashlight to make a IR wand–the plastic tube is the IR filter!”

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Thanks to RBS for sending this Bloomberg article: Bankruptcy Law Backfires as Foreclosures Offset Gains

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The high bid is still at $400 in the SurvivalBlog benefit auction, for four items: a Baygen Freeplay Summit AM/FM/Shortwave digitally-tuned radio, and a Baygen Sherpa hand crank flashlight. These were kindly donated by Ready Made Resources, one of our most loyal advertisers. Also included in the auction lot is a copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, from Arbogast Publishing, and an autographed copy of my novel “Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse”. These four items have a combined value of more than $350. The auction ends on November 15th. Just e-mail us your bid.

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. … The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. … We cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. … I am convinced that life is 10 percent what happens to me and 90 percent how I react to it." – Charles Swindoll

Note from JWR:

Today is set aside in the United States to honor our military veterans. For those of you are are veterans, thank you. And for those of you that have family members, friends, neighbors, church brethren, and co-workers that are veterans, I encourage you to make the effort to express your thanks and to welcome them home.

Please give tangible support to those that are currently serving on overseas tours, and keep them in your prayers. I highly recommend the Any Soldier letter writing and gift-giving program.

Letter Re: Comments on FAL Rifle Gas Regulation

Mr. Rawles:
These sage comments on FN FAL gas adjustment from my friend and colleague, John Krupa, Director of Training for DSA [an American maker of FN FAL clone rifles. The following is re-posted with the permission of DSA]:

“Not knowing that one can control gas-flow on this weapon has led to countless customer-service calls to DSA, complaining that the rifle ‘doesn’t work.’ The following is laid out in great detail in the Owners’s Manual, of course, but we are happy to explain to each owner how the gas-regulator works and then walk them through correct gas-regulator adjustment. Invariably, when we’re finished, like a miracle, the rifle suddenly runs fine!

(1) The gas vent is directly behind the base of the front sight. We start the process with the gas-regulator set to the full-open position, which is # 7 on the gas-regulator dial. The vent-hole will be visibly open all the way. Next, we start to close off the gas-regulator vent by turning the dial clockwise two clicks, which will place it at # 6. You will now see that the vent hole is partially occluded. From here, we can start our live-fire, function testing.

(2) Charge a magazine with a single round of ammunition. Insert the magazine into the rifle and chamber the round. Holding the rifle in a normal, standing position (bench-resting is not recommended) aim into the impact area and fire one round. When the bolt fails to lock back, [we can conclude that] not enough gas is driving the piston into the bolt group for a complete cycle of operation. So, close the gas regulator another, single click, which will put it at 5 1/2, and then repeat the one-shot drill. Continue to close off the gas-regulator, a click at a time, until consistent (three in a row) bolt-lock is achieved

(3) When the bolt thus consistently locks to the rear after firing a single round, insert a magazine charged with five rounds, load the rifle, and fire all five in rapid succession. Once again, the bolt needs to unfailingly lock to the rear as the last round is fired.

(4) Once your rifle passes the ‘five-round test,’ close the gas-regulator two more clicks! The gas regulator is now ‘set.’ Just about all rifles we issue for student use have a final set at 4 to 4 . That is pretty standard.

(5) When the rifle gets hot, dry, and dirty, and starts short-cycling, you
can use the gas-regulator dial to quickly make incremental increases in gas
pressure, instantly restoring the rifle to normal functioning.

I don’t recommend closing the gas-regulator completely, as you suggested in your last Quip, unless absolutely necessary. What concerns me is not excessive wear-and-tear on the rifle. The DSA/FAL is a robust, military rifle that is designed for heavy use in hostile environments. It will take whatever you can give it! Nor is my concern with accuracy. Practical accuracy is unaffected by gas-regulator adjustments. Nor is my concern with recoil attenuation. Soft recoil is nice, but we can all handle recoil. The real problem is with case-extraction that is so violent it may result in cases being literally pulled apart as the bolt moves to the rear. The front half of the case may thus be left in the chamber, resulting in a stoppage that cannot be corrected
in the short term.

With regard to ammunition:
Ammunition quality is all over the map! Ammunition from dubious sources, reloads for example, typically exhibit inconsistent head-space and inconsistent pressure. DSA, of course, recommends against the use of such poor-quality ammunition, except in exigent circumstances.”

Comment: John Krupa is the resident expert, and I will surely defer to his judgment on this issue, and my advice to FAL owners is that they adhere to his,
foregoing instructions. The thorny issue is, of course, “exigent circumstances!” When I have my FAL, some magazines, and a supply of ammunition about which I know little,
and I’ve been invited to participate in a fight that is starting immediately, best bet is to begin with a rifle whose gas-regulator is closed off. I’ll put up with recoil, and I’ll take my chances with case-separation, just as long as I can be assured my rifle will complete each cycle of operation. Conversely, when I know what ammunition I’m going to feed it, and I have time to go through the foregoing gas-regulator adjustment routine, and a range where I can do the mandatory live-fire, I will surely tune my weapon to maximum advantage. No contestation there.

Of all dubious ammunition, the most suspect is reloads. Cases that have been reloaded multiple times are stretched, weakened, and thin in spots. They are the ones most prone to case-separation, described above, and inspection may not be helpful. From the outside, one can seldom tell if a case wall is dangerously thin. “Once-fired-reloads” is a commonly-used platitude, but how can anyone really know how many times a particular case has been reloaded? Reloads are thus not recommended for use in any autoloading rifle. – John

Letter Re: Two Book Recommendations

Mr. Rawles,
I have just finished “Hard Times” by Studs Terkel, an oral history of the Great Depression, and recommend it to SurvivalBlog readers. It is a fascinating chronicle, a series of narratives from people who lived through it from all walks of life, and it really communicates a sense of what desperate times can be like. Most Americans have forgotten this and little is taught in schools. For example, there are several narratives that dealt with a farmers uprising in Northwestern Iowa. Apparently a local judge was too quick to bang the foreclosure gavel and a mob had his head in a noose before being talked down. The book also gives some rather harrowing accounts of what a financial collapse is really like and how it affects folks.

I am also in the process of reading “My Side of the Mountain” [by Jean Craighead George] to my seven year old son. I’d forgotten how wonderful this book is, chronicling the efforts of a 12 year old boy to live off the land in upstate New York. It provides a lot of information about edible plants and ways to get by in the wild, and has really captured my son’s imagination. One interesting thing I had not recalled: the protagonist is able to derive salt by boiling hickory chips. Are you familiar with this method? I might give it a try, living in a region with few natural sources. Thanks, and keep up the good work. – Charlottesvillain
.
JWR Replies: That lore on hickory chips may or may not be well-founded. At first glance, I would think that the natural concentration of salt in hickory wood or bark would be so low that it would take a huge volume of hickory to boil down just a small quantity of salt–hence highly labor intensive. I have read that hickory is used in preserving some hams. Perhaps what the book’s author referred to was lore about a method that had been used to recover salt, after salt-curing hams. That seems quite plausible. If any readers can either amplify or refute the foregoing, please let me know via e-mail, and I will gladly post it. (I highly value the vast breadth and depth of knowledge that is collectively held by SurvivalBlog’s readers!)

Note from JWR:

I just got word that a brand new free “In State Firearms Sales Board” is now up and running. It just went live a few hours ago. No charge, nada, zip. Photos are allowed. Again, at no charge. The concept of this site is to arrange private party firearms sales between residents of the same state. (This avoids running afoul of the Federal regulation that restrict interstate sales except through an FFL.) Since the sales will all be intrastate, they will be safely outside of Federal jurisdiction. Of course consult your state and local laws before posting or responding to a post. This new board exists because of the generous donation of web hosting and bandwidth by the fine folks at Best Prices Storable Foods (aka The Internet Grocer). They have been a loyal SurvivalBlog advertiser for more than a year. I’m sure that they would appreciate your patronage.

Letter Re: Safety Tips on Hi-Lift Jacks

I’ve used my Hi -Lift jack for years. I concur with the writers’ comments. One extremely important part of using one of these safely was omitted. The rule while a vehicle is up off the ground is that you always place jack stands under the vehicle or you are placing your life in jeopardy. This goes for a Hi-Lift jack and any other jack. A short ‘it happened to me’: While making repairs on a very hot humid day, the asphalt didn’t hold the jack base (it sunk a little due to the heat), fortunately I completed said task quickly and came out from under the vehicle. Then, right before me the jack slowly started tipping over and the jack stands stopped the vehicle before the whole thing went over. Invest in some jack stands!- flhspete.

JWR Adds: Thanks for mentioning that. Steel jack stands are available locally at nearly any auto parts store.You can also purchase a pair by mail order for less than $25 from JCWhitney.com 4WD Parts (Part # ZX077430NI.) Your mention of soft asphalt reminded me that special Hi-Lift jack bases–designed to distribute a jack’s weight more broadly on soft ground–are available from 4WD.com. (Part # 672)

OBTW, here are a few more safety tips. Resist the urge to buy four jack stands. They are only safe to use in pairs. You need to leave at least two of a vehicle’s wheels resting on the ground and lift only one end of the vehicle at a time. If the ground is slightly uneven, then lay at least 18″ wide scraps of 3/4″ (or thicker) plywood under each jack stand. Never jack up a car on a slope! And, needless to say, never work alone when jacking up a vehicle.

Letter Re: Curious About “Curio and Relic” Firearms Laws in the US

Hi Jim,
I read from time to time “C&R eligible.” Can you please post a quick note on the SurvivalBlog that explains what that is referring to, as it relates to firearms. Blessings, – Mark B.

JWR Replies: I often write about the full exemption in the Federal law for pre-1899 guns, but I haven’t given much attention in the blog to Curio and Relic (C&R) guns. A Type 03 Federal Firearms License (FFL) is issued by the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) . It allows individual C&R collectors to purchase across state lines some specifically listed firearms and ammunition for their personal collections. These post-1898 firearms and ammo are classified as a Curio or Relic only under certain circumstances. The following is a snippet from the ATF web site:

To be recognized as curios or relics, firearms must fall within one of the following categories:
(a) Firearms which were manufactured at least 50 years prior to the current date, but not including replicas thereof;
(b) Firearms which are certified by the curator of a municipal, State, or Federal museum which exhibits firearms to be curios or relics of museum interest; and
(c) Any other firearms which derive a substantial part of their monetary value from the fact that they are novel, rare, bizarre, or because of their association with some historical figure, period, or event. Proof of qualification of a particular firearm under this category may be established by evidence of present value and evidence that like firearms are not available except as collector’s items, or that the value of like firearms available in ordinary commercial channels is substantially less.

The ATF’s list of eligible C&R guns and ammunition has been assembled piecemeal since 1968, and parts of it therefore show no rhyme or reason. For example, some Winchester Model 1894 “Trapper” short-barreled rifles with specific serial numbers have made their way onto the list, while hundreds of others have not. The BATFE’s list of eligible C&R guns is sporadically updated and posted at the BATFE web site.

The Type 03 Curio and Relics License doesn’t permit the license holder to deal in firearms as a business. It is strictly a collector’s license. (With a C&R license, you can buy and sell guns, but only with the intent of improving your collection–not as a way to make a living.) Guns that are not specifically C&R eligible would still have to be obtained through someone with a Type 01 dealer’s license. At present, the Class 03 license fee is $30 for three years. If you are interested in getting a C&R license be sure to first check our your state and local laws that might also affect your firearms purchases. Next, read though the extensive information at Cruffler.com.

I generally discourage all but the most ardent gun collectors from getting a C&R license. If you are persistent, you can generally find the guns you want inside your own state from a private party seller. (For example, see my Note at the top of today’s posts.) If you definitely plan to buy several 50+ year-old military surplus rifles per year, then it might be worthwhile to get a license. Otherwise, the cost/benefit ratio must be considered. One factor to consider: All Federal Firearms licenses require record keeping, and those records are subject to annual inspection by ATF agents. An error in record keeping is a Federal crime. Also consider that having a Federal firearms license–even just a Type 03 C&R–will raise your profile with law enforcement at all levels. In the event that our nation’s gun laws change, FFL holders will probably be under intense scrutiny. And finally, as a FFL holder, your records .are subject to audit (no more than once per year), and you conceivably might be asked to present any guns listed in your records for inspection. (Who knows how the regulation might change in the future. But for now, ATF agents cannot search the home of a Class 03 license holder without warrant.)

In essence, a license is the granting of a privilege to conduct an act that would otherwise be illegal. Holding a license makes you subject to a new jurisdiction and holds you to a high record-keeping standard. Think that through. There are serious implications to obtaining any license. Don’t leap into getting one without first weighing the costs and benefits.

Two Letters Re: Living Off The Land

James:
I just finished “Tree Crops” by J. Russell Smith which just became one of my favorite books. In it he briefly mentioned edible nuts from pine trees. I did a scroogle search and found a great place in Canada that sells these types of pines. My favorite so far is the Korean Pine. Everybody grows pines for blocking winter wind and for privacy so why not pick a breed that gives you food? They grow in areas as cold as Zone 1 so this would be great for a lot of the northern retreats. One last thought is that Pine Nuts would be a great hidden emergency reserve of food because no mutant zombie biker would ever think of the nuts in pine cones as food. – Adam in Ohio

Jim:
Just chiming in on the commentary from today: I have been reading The SAS Survival Handbook by John “Lofty” Wiseman There is a lot of information about edible plants and procedures to use to test plants you are unsure of. The book is full of other valuable survival info too as you would expect.

Another old source for good survival skills is our very own armed forces publications: field manuals (FMs) and training manuals (TMs). One was called Survival, Evasion and Escape (FM 21-76) but it has changed names now [as a multiservice “Survival, Evasion and Recovery” manual.] Plus, the good ‘ol [U.S. Army] Ranger Handbook is an amazing source of information!
Sincerely, – Tanker

Odds ‘n Sods:

From Business Times Online, by way of SHTF Daily‘s posts: President Sarkozy warns of ‘economic war’ as dollar falls to new low

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Reader BDB suggested this article at FMNN: China Drain US Dollars- Telegraph, Bloomberg Confirms

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Bill W. sent us this link to a Wired News article: The End of Oil is Upon Us. We Must Move On – Quickly.

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Ben L. found this one: Never bring a taser to a gun fight

Note from JWR:

The high bid is still at $400 in the SurvivalBlog benefit auction, for four items: a Baygen Freeplay Summit AM/FM/Shortwave digitally-tuned radio, and a Baygen Sherpa hand crank flashlight. These were kindly donated by Ready Made Resources, one of our most loyal advertisers. Also included in the auction lot is a copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, from Arbogast Publishing, and an autographed copy of my novel “Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse”. These four items have a combined value of more than $350. The auction ends on November 15th. Just e-mail us your bid.

Letter Re: Safety Tips on Hi-Lift Jacks

Jim:
Please warn your readers of the potential dangers of using a Hi-Lift jack (a.k.a. farm jack [or Sheepherder’s jack]). I am a member of a local Jeep club and while we require each Jeep have one on outings, we don’t allow anyone to use theirs unless they’ve been trained in their use. People have been killed by these crude (but necessary) machines and many, many, many have been injured. A fellow in our club had his jaw broken and cheekbone fractured years ago when lowering his Jeep after doing a trailside repair. When raising a load do everything to prevent your head or body from being directly above the handle. Make sure you move the handle through the entire range of travel and watch the “dogs” or pins to ensure they are engaging the beam holes and walking up the way they should. When you reach the desired height, leave the handle in the fully up position. Use a bungee cord to secure it in this position. Lowering a load is probably the most dangerous process of using the jack. Again, keep your head and body out of range of the handle. Once the handle “clicks” into position at the bottom of the stroke the entire load will literally be in your hands. Anticipate an immediate load pushing the handle upward! This is where most injuries occur. Work the handle through the entire range of movement and keep watching those pins to make sure they are engaging properly. Keep in mind too that these jacks aren’t terribly stable, do everything you can to help brace and/or support the load before you ever consider getting under a vehicle while using one of these. I suggest some experimentation with these jacks at home, on a level driveway, etc. before ever attempting to use one in the field. Furthermore, I recommend you buy nothing but the actual Hi-Lift brand jack manufactured by Bloomfield Manufacturing Co. You can download a safety brochure in .PDF format from their site. Don’t risk your life using some cheap Chinese jack sold at a discount tool shop (good luck getting replacement parts for these anyway). Bloomfield makes rebuild kits and replacement parts for all their products – always keep a Hi-Lift rebuild kit in your rig. In addition to lifting your vehicle, these jacks can be used in combination with tow straps/tree straps and used as winches. They can also be used as big clamps, presses and spreaders. Regards, – Tanker

JWR Adds: Thanks for sending those tips. In addition to vehicular use, we have found our aging but still quite serviceable pair of 47″ Hi-Lift jacks to be indispensable around the Rawles Ranch. Most frequently we use them for pulling old fence posts. Bolting on a two-foot length of heavy chain just below the lifting surface (using a large Grade 8 nut and bolt) adds tremendously to a jack’s versatility for tasks like fence post pulling. I agree that it is important to keep a factory (white box) rebuild kit handy. But the most important thing to keep in mind is to keep the jack’s pair of pins well lubricated. Typically, people abuse their jacks–leaving them out in the rain. The pins rust, and then then the pins get stubborn. If a pin gets stuck in the out position while you are lifting a load, it can be a very bad thing!