Letter Re: Advice on Registered Suppressors

Jim:
Interesting question – is it worth it to get a Class III firearms license to legally buy a sound suppressor ([commonly, but erroneously, called a] “silencer”)?
I’d always dismissed it as a a big hassle, but I’m now told it is not the hassle it used to be. Full auto firearms are a waste of ammo for the most part, but it occurred to me that a silencer would be a huge tactical advantage:
1. No muzzle flash and very little noise to give away your position, or attract return fire.
2. No muzzle flash or noise so you keep your night vision and hearing for the firefight. Especially if shooting indoors, preventing long term hearing damage in invaluable. Post-TEOTWAWKI you really wouldn’t want your first defensive shooting to be the end of good hearing ability, now would you? 🙂
3. Can train more discreetly, and without bothering neighbors
Of course, there is the $200 tax stamp per suppressor, and the loss of privacy, etc., etc. Your thoughts on the matter? Comments from Class III folks? Regards, – OSOM

JWR Replies: Sorry, but I can’t make a blanket recommendation. Why? Every individual must weigh the risk/benefit ratio of acquiring any federally registered firearm or suppressor for themselves. As you mentioned, they do have some tactical advantages. But the risk associated with owning one is the higher profile that comes along with the registration process. That might not be an issue in some locales. Suppressor ownership is considered “cool” in some western and southern states. But it is considered quasi-criminal or even “borderline whacko” in many of the more populous Nanny States. So take regional differences into account when considering a purchase. Some SurvivalBlog readers in parts of Europe–where suppressor ownership is commonplace and virtually unrestricted–might laugh at this. But sadly, here in the U.S., Hollywood movies have warped public perception of suppressors, particularly in the big cities.

I must also mention that it goes without saying that untaxed/unregistered (illegal) purchases or home manufacture should not even be considered, since they carry the risk of a felony conviction in the US.

Although I have several friends and acquaintances that own registered full auto firearms and suppressors, I decided not to buy any. For me, even living in a rural and lightly populated pro-gun state, the risks of the high profile outweigh the benefits. But your mileage may vary.

Six Letters Re: Questions on Blood Clotting Agents

Sir:
In reply to Bill H.’s questions about Ferric chloride to stop bleeding. In the U.S. Ferric Chloride is recognized as a styptic in veterinary medicine and should be used at a concentration of 10%. Lower concentrations are progressively less effective as a styptic but become useful as an astringent. Ferric subsulfate is currently used in the U.S. in human medicine as a styptic. I see it used frequently in our hospital in the surgery department. The typical use is at full strength or 20%. Alum is another potential styptic used at 0.5 to 5% solutions (yes, the stuff for pickles). Bismuth subgallate powder is another styptic used in hospital surgery departments at full strength. These products can be obtained without a prescription. Try to acquire the highest purity possible for human use.
I fear that much of this olde tyme information is being lost to ultra modern medications. The old products still work. They have just lost favor in the brilliant light cast by the high pressure pharmaceutical sales promotions of newer glitzy products ( I was once on the dark side, selling such products). As a pharmacist, I would recommend that you befriend an older pharmacist or a compounding pharmacist where this knowledge still resides. Understand that since 1980 most pharmacy schools have shifted their emphasis to the new Pharm. D. (Doctor of Pharmacy) degree which has a greater focus on clinical issues. The older Bachelor of Science Pharmacy degree focused primarily on the older traditional pharmacy knowledge based on how to make the drugs. I work with two other pharmacists who are also survivalist minded and all of us are collecting selected textbooks. In a TEOTWAWKI situation, pharmaceutical plants will not be functioning. The olde tyme chemistry and pharmacy skills will be extremely useful to a family or local community during the hard times. I recommend that you try to acquire older (1940-1970) versions of the following texts to be able to refer to the older formulations: Remington’s Pharmaceutical Sciences, USP (United States Pharmacopoeia) and the NF (The National Formulary) as well as current and/or older copies of the Merck Manual, Merck Veterinary Manual, and the Merck Index. These texts will give you a good foundation to work with. Good Luck, – Yonah .
.

Jim:
Goodness gracious, no, don’t use ferric chloride! Where do people get these ideas? It’s not even used in the so-called styptic pencils (aluminum sulfate or titanium dioxide). According to the Merck Index (which is not the same as the Merck Manual, it lists chemicals and some drugs with their chemical properties) Ferric chloride is an astringent, not a styptic…and it’s toxic, also.
If someone is willing to invest in very small quantities of expensive chemicals from the Radio Shack for first aid purposes, they should invest in the right stuff. It’s great to be able to ‘make do’ with a multi-tool and a rock, but I’ve found that I always do a better job with the right tools at hand.
Most bleeding will stop with the application of direct pressure, or elevation, or using a pressure point. Failing that (which works 99.999% of the time) a tourniquet can be used. The blood stopper products are for very rare, specific instances of certain injuries that don’t lend themselves to conventional treatment.
In a wood or metal shop? Make sure the guards are in place, “read, understand and follow all the safety rules” as that guy on television says, and get a real first aid kit.
On that subject, the only product like that, that has not only been FDA approved but actually tested in controlled, blinded medical research published in legitimate journals, is Quik-clot. It’s what I use. Disclaimer: I have no interests in the company of any sort, I just buy their stuff – at market prices.
But, something I’ve used on animals after cuts from wire or rocks, is instant potato flakes. Just put them on the wound, the effect is similar to that of some of the approved products that I don’t use…and it’s cheaper. I can’t suggest using it on a person, of course. – Flighter

Mr R
Quik-Clot is the best available product for instantaneous hemostasis
It’s available in both powder/packet, and impregnated-bandages. It works. I’ve seen it in action with my son, who lacerated an artery in the hand. www.z-medica.com
It’s even been used intracorporeally in a trauma case, written up in the Journal of Trauma Surgery. Although not recommended for this, it worked
It costs about $17 per packet, can be purchased in a coyote-brown trauma pack with compression bandages and a tourniquet for about $35, and is worth every penny. I don’t know the bandage cost, but the site would have it. This should be in everyone’s car and home medical kits.
THIS SHOULD BE IN EVERYONES’ CARS AND HOME MED KITS ….Off subject, I’d encourage everyone to get the books Ditch Medicine (by Hugh Coffee) and Emergency War Surgery ([Martin Fackler, et al], Desert Press ) And to just think about what they’d need to handle the kind of mundane and exceptional injuries that are likely in normal and extranormal circumstances. – MP

 

JWR,
Bill H. in Birmingham, Alabama wrote that using Ferric Chloride felt like a cautery iron, or worse. That was an ingredient of the older-style clotting agents.

The latest and greatest is Celox. This stops just as fast and doesn’t burn. There is a Group Buy [for Celox] in progress at WarRifles.com by Broadsword. He and his wife are great folks for the cause of survivalism. BTW, SurvivalBlog is well-followed by many of the readers at WarRifles.com. Keep up the good work, – Gilmore in Arizona

Mr. Rawles:
I’ll let doctors speak to treatment but as someone who worked in a famous lab researching blood coagulation let me make a few general statements about clotting. There are two clotting pathways, extrinsic and intrinsic. As an organism the body cannot allow uncontrolled bleeding either internally or externally. However the clotting cascade is fairly long and includes some check points because to have blood clot when it shouldn’t is also dangerous to the organism.
There is a substance in skin that starts the coagulation process when the skin is broken (this starts the extrinsic pathway). One thing a lot of people don’t know is that the clotting cascade involves a number of steps and the timing of these steps can determine the speed of clotting. We spent a lot of time researching the structure and action of
Factor VIII and Factor IX. Factor VIII is the classic hemophiliac factor, if you have a very low level of it you will have a lot of problems in any situation where you need for clotting to occur. But the distribution of Factor VIII is across the whole spectrum, some people have 100% of normal but many people do not. I measured my own level in an assay and found I have about 20% of normal. This means my blood will clot but slower than someone who has a higher level and that is what I have in fact observed when I get cut. So people should realize that there are wide variations in efficiency of clotting from individual to individual and they should expect that. – Karen L.

 

Jim:
No doubt, bleeding is scary, but bleeding in the vast majority of survivable wounds can be stopped with simple pressure or a pressure bandage. There are coagulants on the market (Quik-clot and Hemcon) but unless you are either a surgeon or can get to one (or a vet), if you can’t stop the bleeding with pressure alone (the scalp is an exception), you’re patient is probably not going to make it. Hemcon (unless a femoral or brachial artery for which Quik-clot is indicated) is preferred as Quik-clot burns like heck. The worst burning with Quik-clot is at the skin layer so try to keep it off the skin. Quik-clot should not be for surface/oozing bleeding. A great use for Hemcon bandages is for hard to control scalp bleeding externally. If you’re going to use one of these powder coagulants, get the versions that are in bandages (for Hemcon) or little sacks (for Quik-clot). The earlier versions where you just pour the powder into a wound can (if a femoral bleeder) get squirted out of the wound by the force of the arterial bleed before they can work.

In general, for bleeding you can:
1) Apply direct pressure
2) Apply a pressure bandage
3) Use pressure upstream on arterial pressure points
4) Cauterize (portable cautery devices are available, the Aaron Bovie change-a-tip is what I have)
5) Use the clotting agents as per above
6) You can use a tourniquet on the extremities (Write down the time it was applied and make sure anyone who takes over care knows about it).
7) Apply a hemostat or ligate the artery

If you’re more sophisticated and have the money, you can get Factor 7 (Novoseven), but it’s not without risk and has been associated with blood clots. The idea is that if you have a patient that is going to bleed to death, the clot is secondary.

Better to focus on not bleeding in the first place (body armor anyone?) and some advanced medical skills like surgical cricothyrotomy and airway management (anyone can learn to use a combitube) and decompressing a pneumothorax. Perhaps next would be learning to run an IV. If you give fluids IV, remember, if you water down the blood too much, it can make the bleeding worse by diluting the clotting factors and raising blood pressure. A little shock is a good thing. Getting more advanced, you need to manage the lethal triangle (hypothermia, coagulopathy and acidosis.) This will be done by (1) keeping the operating room at 100 degrees F (2) use of whole blood and (3) managing blood pH respectively. A contraindication to a hot emergency room would be in the case of cardiac arrest where you actually want to cool the patient to inhibit apoptosis.

If all you have is some sterile gauze, (heck you can use your clothing) just stuff the wound tight and apply pressure until you can get to more definitive medical care. If you have a wound packed tight, long term, you will decrease circulation in tissue that can be salvaged. (Causing it to die, increasing the need for debridement so if no help is coming, keep that in mind.) Quik-clot would be appropriate for a femoral or brachial artery but if you’re on your own, you’re looking at an amputation next, so I hope you have some muscle relaxants, painkillers, and sedatives. – SF in Hawaii
P.S. I’m not a doctor so if an emergency room doctor wants to criticize this response, have at it.

JWR Replies: I’m not doctor either, but I would recommend avoiding the use of a tourniquet unless everything else you have tried has failed and you still fear that your patient will die of blood loss before transport to a hospital. The simplistic guidance that the U.S. military has given on tourniquets for the past 25+ years is: “If you apply a tourniquet, chances are that the limb will be lost.” Yes, that is generalizing and overly simplistic, but overall it is still a good proviso.

I should also mention that in addition to the aforementioned Quik-Clot, Hemcon, and Celox, there is a competing product called TraumaDEX. From what I’ve read, it has proven efficacy, and does not cause a burning sensation. (It is a potato-based formulation.) It is sold by a number of Internet vendors including Ready Made Resources.

Odds ‘n Sods:

As if things couldn’t get any worse in Zimbabwe, the latest estimate is that the annual currency inflation rate could reach 24,136% by December. This quote from the article reminds me of accounts of the hyperinflation in Weimar Germany: “This weekend bread prices rose again, to Zim$20,000 per loaf. At the beginning of the week, one loaf was selling for around $9,500.” The exchange rate to the US Dollar is now approaching Zim$65,000 to USD$1. I’ve said it before (and hopefully I won’t have to say it again): Comrade Mugabe and his band of fools must go!

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I noticed that a particularly nice HMMWV is for sale on eBay.

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The recent revival of the CBS Jericho television series (following the much-publicized “nuts” fan protest campaign), may spell for success for the The Sarah Connor Chronicles series, planned by the Fox network for 2008. (There is also a Terminator 4 movie in pre-production, slated for release in 2009.) Perhaps survivalist fiction is now carving a substantial niche in the mainstream America’s media appetite. This gives me hope that my Pulling Through screenplay might get noticed by a producer. But I’m probably just dreaming.

Letter Re: Questions on Blood Clotting Agents

Sir:
As a hobby machinist, I spent some time prowling sites catering to the hobby. Did, when I was out of work for a while and had the time. A most interesting reference showed up on several “foreign” sites. (Outside the u.s.)

Posters were recommending the chemical Ferric Chloride as a coagulant. According to the texts, it would stop heavy bleeding on contact. Presumably, it chemically cauterized the wound. I have spilled it into minor scrapes, by accident. It felt like a cautery iron, or worse.

I lack knowledge of biochemistry. But I am aware that both iron and chlorides are present in blood. That’s why it’s so corrosive to my machines. The busted knuckle syndrome. Perhaps it simply coagulates open bleeding quickly.

So, the questions posed are thus:
1) Is Ferric Chloride truly a good coagulant?
2) What is the optimum dilution (percentage)?
3) At what dilution does it lose effectiveness?

I write to ask you to pose these to your regular readers. There appears to be a wide knowledge base in your readership. I am hoping there are some knowledgeable in the subject.

Ferric Chloride is available at Radio Shack as an etchant for making circuit boards. The purity is not really what I would ask for in First Aid. But when one is bleeding severely. Any port in a storm, so to speak.

Obviously, such treatment should not be used on spurting wounds, or sucking chest wounds. But as a shop treatment? A lathe or table saw can take a finger, or a hand, faster than it can be said. – Bill H., Birmingham, Alabama

JWR Replies: Your question goes far beyond my expertise. Perhaps some of the doctors that read SurvivalBlog would care to comment. I’d also appreciate their comments on commercially available clotting agents for treating trauma.

Two Letters Re: Convincing the Unconvinced that TEOTWAWKI is Possible

Good Evening JWR:
I am very thankful for you site. It has catapulted our preparedness agenda, leaving 99% of our friends and family lost in a smoke screen of Utopian chatter. We have been in a preparedness state of mind and action since hurricane Andrew. Approximately 3 million had the same experience and are unmoved.

Here is my problem: Many of your readers still “don’t get it”. The three primal needs are water, food, and shelter. Now I agree 100% with the ability to defend your home, and family. You will buy the ‘BIG’ gun, the intermediate rifles, the short range rifles, and the handguns, and all the ammo you can carry and hide. Obtain the knowledge of how to repair them within reason, then it is time to get back to the primal needs. For all the talk on transportation, once you get to your retreat…where are you going? Bicycles? Give me a good horse that mows the yard and gives me fertilizer. Low energy refrigerators? A 36 inch well will suffice, that you can drop a wire basket down into to keep food cool or the old fashion spring house.

In my opinion, the Amish and Mennonites have the right idea for a self-sustained life style. A closer look might help a few people.

If you can’t eat an ear of corn that you have flicked the worm off of or pulled the worm out of your peach then you might think you are going to throw some seeds in the ground and they will instantly grow. Jack and the Bean Stalk was a fairy tale.

One last issue on food storage. You will need to be able to can food. But the math might be a little off. If you put up green bean and plan on eating one jar per week (hardly a sustaining diet) , that would be 52 canning jars and lids for one item for one week. If you canned 10 vegetables for 1 year that would be 520 jars/lids per year. Jars can be used over and over, [but] canning lids are a different story. Canning lids for bartering? I don’t think so. I don’t believe you can have enough.

I don’t mind hard times but I will be really angry with myself if I have not prepared appropriately. Thank for listening, – Lauralei

 

Mr. Rawles,
After reading your novel “Patriots” and researching about proper disaster preparedness, I am ready and willing to start seriously preparing for surviving economic collapse and/or Katrina-like disasters and the rampant looting that follows both — the problem is that my parents aren’t so ready or willing.
Whenever I bring up the subject of having extra food and water in the house, I’m told we don’t have the space or the money. When I bring up the subject of firearms, they flat-out refuse to allow guns into the house. When I tell them about all the possible disaster scenarios that could happen in the near future, I am told to “quit being so negative!” In short, they don’t know (or don’t care) about what could happen if hyperinflation hits, if all the oil ran out next month, or if the United States gets into a nuclear conflict with another major power. The scariest thing is that if these problems came up they believe “the government will take care of us.”
If I had the ability to move out and start preparing on my own, I would — but I am just a poor college student with no car, no job, and no money, so: is there anything I can do to make my parents realize that:
a) something bad could probably happen in the near future that causes all h*ll to break loose
b) the government probably can’t (or won’t) do anything to fix it, and
c) the best way to ensure our survival is to take the proper steps and prepare for all possible scenarios the best we can. Thanks, – MJS in Tucson, Arizona

JWR Replies: All that I can recommend is to try to get your parents to read your copy of my novel. I’ve been told that this has worked for a few others with their heads in the sand. Some folks that were in full-scale Pollyanna denial did a 180 degree turn after reading the book. I can’t make any promises, but it may be worth a try.

Letter Re: Save Your Fired Cartridge Brass

Dear Jim and Family,
In the beginning of a collapse, you carry a concealed weapon, and deal with the police if you have to use it. Gunfights [typically] last 4 rounds or less, and its usually just one attacker. In theory, after the fight and you’ve survived, you get it back, eventually. Use a revolver or automatic, your choice, just be sure its small and light enough you always carry it.

As the collapse deepens, you start encountering more and more threats, packs of them. They attack your vehicle, they go after your home, they try to stop you with roadblocks and hostages. It only gets worse as your survival makes you a bigger target for them. The Golden Horde descends and committed amateurs require a lot more firepower to dissuade. As we’ve read in the Argentina diary by FerFAL, you need volume of fire, and cheap ammo so you can fire lots, spray and pray to drive them off. JHP if at all possible. At this point, the police are coming late or not at all, and investigations are perfunctory and dismissive as long as the bribes flow.

Traditionally, these collapses don’t last, and things get better again, with more happy motoring and mass consumption of products… but that’s the past. The future is a touch more simple and ugly. The mass quantities are over because the cheap energy is over. Along with those are mass ammunition supplies. Eventually, after years of self defense shootouts and MZB assaults, you start getting low on ammo. You reload your brass, you shoot semi-auto. You pick up your brass but you start running out. It doesn’t fit right, its got overpressure damage due to firing in a dirty chamber, incipient case-head separation, cracks, etc etc. What to do? Your automatic pistol needs specific care and feeding to stay reliable. What indeed…

The revolver is a finicky beast, despite what you’ve heard. Carefully tuned by a decent gunsmith they’re a dream to shoot and usually very accurate and amazingly reliable (tuned, mind you). Replacement parts are not drop in, but require fitting and polishing by a smith, which will cost around $1,000. That said, they’re relatively simple and most importantly: they don’t throw brass. After all the MZBs are mostly dead, a few loners are left wandering around, most of them wary of you or harmless. You’ll still need to carry a gun to be safe but you probably won’t need a rifle for day-to-day chores or killing snakes in your garden. A revolver is ideal for this job. You can save and reload the brass because the empties are still in the gun. You don’t have to crawl around in the dirt, looking for the .40 S&W, one of 43 [pieces] left in your collection, you are sure its over here somewhere. With a revolver, the brass is in your hand.

The Peak Oil collapse is not quite generational, but almost. In some places it will be. In others it won’t. The recovery that comes after about 20 years of misery and shortages and temporary bouts of violence (or true anarchy), will eventually end. After two decades of poor or no-police presence, distrust will be such that going armed is the only way to go in many places. However, you will probably find yourself not needing it very often because those 20 years very effectively killed off the most aggressive people, and organized the smart ones into those more able to use, not kill the peasant class, which may include you. You won’t have access to spare brass (copper is in short supply now, and will be expensive or impossible to get by then), so having brass is a good idea, stockpiling it and the dies and such needed to load.

As to caliber for your revolver… well, in the old west gunfighters used .35 caliber (slower that .357s), lawmen used .44 and .45 caliber. While the .45 LC cowboy action pistols are fun shooters, they’re slow to unload and reload, which I’d call a major problem. I’m aware of bullet swaging hobbyists (make the bullets from lead wire and copper tubes) who can get .454 Casull velocities out of .45 “Long” Colt revolvers which are built strongly. It also bears point that the .44 Magnum can be easily loaded at .44 Special velocities which is more like a .45 ACP in recoil and every bit as effective and comfortable to shoot, so as long as you’re reloading anyway, load it to match your preference in recoil. There’s also the .41 Magnum, which is between the .357 and .44 in power and recoil, basically a hotter 10mm/.40S&W. Taurus is fond of the chambering for some reason and is selling quite a few models with it, which makes me wonder. Besides two-legged predators, you’ll be dealing with feral dog packs, cougars, and black bear which have been eating the dead and see you as a meal (no really, that’s why the lions in The Ghost and the Darkness were eating people: poor disposal of corpses taught them that people were food). While animal attacks will be infrequent, you must carry a gun to protect yourself.

The short of it is, buy a sturdy automatic for the first and second parts of the collapse, and a revolver for the third. Best, – InyoKern

Odds ‘n Sods:

Chuck alerted us to this piece of commentary from Eugene Linden, published by Business Week: From Peak Oil To Dark Age?

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S.F. in Hawaii mentioned that he found a Wikipedia page on Olduvai Theory, which ties in to Peak Oil.

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I heard from SurvivalBlog reader “BVance” that the James Wesley Rawles Wikipedia article has been flagged for lack of notability–mainly because it lacks references. The gent that wrote the original wiki entry is currently deployed in Afghanistan and tells me that he has just sporadic Internet access and hence doesn’t have the time to add the apropos web references. Could some kind SurvivalBlog reader–that has experience with formatting Wikipedia references–please do so? Thanks!

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"Contradictions do not exist. Whenever you think you are facing a contradiction, check your premises. You will find that one of them is wrong." – Ayn Rand

Note from JWR:

Congrats to Ed Z., the high bidder in the SurvivalBlog benefit auction for a selection of 17 survival and preparedness books. Special thanks to Ready Made Resources for donating most of the books in this auction lot.

A new auction begins today. This one is for a batch of 10 brand new original Imperial Defence SA-80 (AR-15) steel 30 round rifle magazines. (See photo.) These were original British military arsenal made (with tags marked “ENGLAND”), 8 are black finish, and 2 are gray finish, all brand new, with 8 of them still in wrappers. Most of these are of recent manufacture, with light green anti-tilt followers. These magazines have a reputation for flawless function and their steel construction gives them multi-generational durability. They have a retail value of at least $26 each . ($260 for the batch of 10.) These will fit and function in all .223 M16s, AR-15s, CAR-15s, and M4s, as well as the new AR-180B and a few other guns. (Such as the new Remington pump action police rifle and the OA-93 pistol.) Please do not place a bid if you live in a locale where these are restricted. Just send us your bid via e-mail. Thanks!

Two Letters Re: Seeking Advice on Swimming Pool Chlorine for Treating Drinking Water

James,
Your advice is excellent; however, one of the best tools to have for checking [water] sanitation levels is a DPD [Diethyl-paraphenylene diamine reagent] test kit available from Taylor or Hach, to name a few.
I do not recommend OTO [orthotolidine reagent] kits as they are not as accurate as DPD. A 5mg/L initial shock should take care of most contaminants.
After you have treated any water with bleach, it should be tested for free chlorine residual after 30 minutes of contact time. Water with a free chlorine residual of 4 mg/L should not be ingested for long durations as it can cause mild digestive tract issues.
NOTE: The suggested residual is between 0.5 and 1.0 mg/L (parts per million or ppm). The EPA requires all discharge to have less than a 1.0mg/L free chlorine residual before
leaving the process flow.
The great thing about chlorine is that it will kill 95+% of all the biological contaminants; however, chlorine cannot kill giardia cysts as their outer covering is very difficult to break down. One other potential problem with the use of chlorine to treat surface water is the formation of bromide compounds which are cancerous; however, unless the precursors, carbon compounds, are present the formation rate is very low. If you are treating a contaminated well, the chance of bromide formation is even lower.
If you can pre-filter and add bleach to your water then allow the free chlorine level to drop to 0.5mg/L, placing the treated water in an opaque, sanitized vessel for long periods of time should be fairly safe as long as the initial feed stock was fairly free of organic matter to begin with. Thank you for all your hard work keeping us prepared for what ever may come. Sincerely, – Drew

Jim:
Using calcium hypochlorite to disinfect water is a good idea. However, rather than trying to dump some amount of pool shock chlorine into a tank and hoping that it dissolves and mixes with the water, a better idea is to mix a slurry of it in a plastic bucket (it will corrode a metal one) and pour and mix the slurry.
Also, the halide (halogen, chlorine or iodine ions) need to be in contact with the water for some amount of time before they can kill all the bacteria – and that time is dependent on the temperature of the water. Colder water takes longer.
To test the degree of halogenation in water, I suggest that people get a pool water test kit and use it. They are very inexpensive, and easy to use: Simply get a (clean) bucket of water that’s been treated, and use the pool water test kit (for halogenation), ideal ‘pool water’ is about 2 parts per million (ppm) chlorine, drinking water should be between 2 and 5 ppm when treated – the chlorine will gas off over time, as long as the water isn’t likely to be re-contaminated (in an open top tank, for example) it doesn’t really need to be retreated. Dump the ‘test’ water out, [orthotolidine] OTO isn’t too good to drink.
The test kit will have directions but basically you put the test water into a clear chamber, add a reagent–usually orthotolidine (OTO)–to the chamber, and compare the color to the provided chart. If the water tests too low, add more slurry, if too high, next time don’t add so much. People will be able to figure out the approximate ‘right’ amount pretty quickly.
The military chlorination kits (for Lister bags and water buffalos) suggest as much as 10 ppm. This is to allow for high levels of organic material in the water (which adsorbs the chlorine, keeping it from disinfecting the water, and allowing the water to not be retreated too quickly); you probably recall drinking beverages so treated with as much fondness as I do. – Flighter [His article follows]

How to Disinfect Water, by Flighter

How to sterilize water? Simple: You don’t need to ‘sterilize’ water. Sterilization is the destruction of all microorganisms in, on and around an object. What is needed, is disinfection (killing of pathogenic (disease causing) organisms).
Disinfection can be done many ways, including filtration, heat, ozonation, and chemical disinfection.
Despite many stories to the contrary, simply boiling water will disinfect it. At any elevation you’re likely be at the boiling point of water is high enough to kill (or denature) anything in the water. You don’t need to boil it for any particular length of time, just get it boiling at a good rolling boil.
Filtration is a good method, you should use a filter that has an absolute rating of 0.2 micron diameter or less (0.1 micron). Personally, I use iodine crystals (Polar Pure™ first, then filter the water.
Chemical disinfection is the use of various chemicals (usually a halide like chlorine or iodine) in the water. It’s usually a quick, economical and effective method.
Here is a summary of water disinfection chemical usage based on the Wilderness Medical Society Practice Guidelines 2nd Edition, edited by William Forgey, MD (page 63):
For chemical disinfection, the key is the concentration of halogen, in parts per million (halogen to water):

Concentration of Halogen

Desired Concentration Contact time
@ 5oC / 41o F		 Contact time
@ 15o C / 5o F
 Contact time
@ 30o C / 86o F
2 ppm 240 minutes 180 minutes 60 minutes
4 ppm 180 minutes 60 minutes 45 minutes
8 ppm 60 minutes 30 minutes 15 minutes


How to get the desired concentration of halogens, for various products:
Iodine tablets, also known as: tetraglycine hydroperiodide; EDWGT (Emergency drinking water germicidal tablets); USGI water purification tablets; Potable Aqua (trade name); Globaline (trade name):
4 ppm – 1/2 tablet per liter of water 8 ppm – 1 tablet per liter of water.

NOTE: These tablets should be gunmetal gray in color when used – if rust colored, they are useless:
The free iodine has combined with atmospheric moisture. The bottles should be kept well sealed and replaced often. Checking the tablets in the bottle just exposes them to moisture in the air.For 2% iodine (tincture of Iodine) (gtts=drops)
4 ppm – 0.2 ml (5 gtts) 8 ppm – 0.4 ml (10 gtts)
NOTE: Tincture of Iodine should not be used as a wound treatment, so this is not a good option for a ‘dual use’ item.

10% povidone-iodine solution (Betadine™)
NOTE: Solution only, not the “Scrub”variety – Since Scrub has soap in it
4 ppm – 0.35 ml (8 gtts) 8 ppm – 0.7ml (16 gtts)

Saturated (in water) Iodine crystals (Polar Pure ™)
4 ppm – 13 ml 8 ppm – 26 ml

Iodine crystals in alcohol
0.1 ml / 5 ppm 0.2 ml / 10 ppm

Halazone tablets (Monodichloroaminobenzoic acid)
4 ppm – 2 tabs 8 ppm – 4 tabs
NOTE: The old Vietnam era chlorine tabs are decades out of date. Chlorine tabs decay even more rapidly than iodine tabs. Not recommended.

Household bleach (Clorox™)
4 ppm – 0.1 ml (2 gtts) 8 ppm – 0.2 ml (4 gtts)
Note: Bleach offers a relatively economical method of treating large (gallons) of water at a time. 4 liters is approximately 1 gallon.
For very cold water contact time should be increased.

If drinking this water after disinfection, flavoring agents (drink mixes, etc) can be added: This must be done after the period allocated for disinfection ([otherwise] the disinfecting agent will bind to the organic material and not work).

Letter Re: Request for Investing Advice from a U.S. Reader

Mr. Rawles:
I’ve seen you mention precious metals, and silver in particular, pretty often in your blog. I’m new at this. What is your guidance on a safe (conservative) way to invest? What percentage in precious metals? Thanks, – TZK in Central Kentucky

JWR Replies: I recommend that SurvivalBlog readers should put at least 25% of their portfolios into gold, silver, and barter goods, and roughly 50% into productive farm ground–a retreat to occupy year-round–in a lightly populated region that is well-removed major metropolitan areas. The exact ratio of investments will vary, depending on your age, indebtedness, risk aversion, and other circumstances. Parenthetically, I have stated before that I believe that the fractional reserve banking system should be abolished, and that the U.S. should return to the gold standard. I consider any investment denominated in un-backed paper dollars risky, at least in the long term, since the US dollar, as a currency unit is doomed. It faces the same fate as all other un-backed currencies throughout history. In the long run, they will all inevitably revert to their actual value, which if measured either by weight or per square inch is comparable to toilet paper.

Odds ‘n Sods:

Four readers all sent me this same link: World oil supplies are set to run out faster than expected, warn scientists

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Reader RBS recommended this book excerpt article: The Ethic of the Peddler Class, by Frank Chodorov

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“Alfie Omega”, KonTiki, and Hawaiian K. all sent the link to this recent article at the Jeff Rense web site: Lowest Food Supplies In 50-100 Years

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Losing it All: Home Foreclosures Reach Record Levels

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“It is perfectly possible to get what you think you want and be miserable. It’s possible too, to never get it but deeply enjoy the process of trying. In this world, there are only two tragedies. One is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it.” – Oscar Wilde