Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"There is nothing which doth more agreeably concern the Senses, than in the depth of Winter to behold the Fruits so fair, and so good, yea better, than when you first did gather them…….You will taste your fruit with infinite more gust and contentment, than in the Summer itself, when their great abundance, and variety, rather cloy you than become agreeable. For this reason therefore it is, that we essay to teach you the most expedite, and certain means how to conserve them all the WInter, even so long, as till the New shall incite you to quit the Old." – John Evelyn, The French Gardiner, London 1675

Letter Re: Advice on Communications Scanners

Dear James,
I was talking to my neighbor today and he showed me his Uniden Bear Tracker 800 scanner, a now discontinued model. That got me to thinking that I probably should get one for emergencies. But the thing is I don’t know what you should look for in a police scanner. Also I’m on a budget and I’m not willing to spend more than $100 on a scanner, but most cost quite a bit. That’s why I’m looking for a reasonably priced scanner, though I’m having problems finding one. Any recommendations or help would be gladly accepted.
Regards, – MG Mikael

Mikael:
Since you are on a budget, your best bet is to find a used scanner on eBay, hopefully for $80 to $120. (This may take a few diligent weeks of putting low bids on successive auction, to have a winning low bid.)

From the SurvivalBlog archives, here are a couple of useful references with scanner model recommendations:

General advice on communications monitoring.

and,

A “trunked traffic” capable scanner.

Letter Re: Simulation of Pandemic Influenza – Preparedness Implications

Jim,
I appreciate everything that you and your readers are doing to help change the mindset of people around the world.
I was reviewing the May/June issue of a health care trade magazine that contained a report on a simulation carried out in Philadelphia at the start of this year dealing with pandemic influenza. While much of the discussion was relevant only to health insurers, the scenario that served as the simulation is detailed below. Readers can draw their own conclusions of the type of things that they should prepare for.

The following is exerted from: Raymond, A.G. (2008). Pandemic Influenza. AHIP Coverage. 49(3), 18:

A Simulation: Twelve “All-Too-Real” Weeks of Pandemic Influenza
After years of warnings a deadly flu grips the city [Philadelphia]. As the simulation begins, 2,000 suspected cases of pandemic flu have been reported in the Greater Philadelphia area, with at least 13 deaths. State and local health officials are starting to carry out the CDC‘s recommendation to isolate and treat with antiviral medications anyone with confirmed or suspected pandemic influenza, and encourage people to reduce contacts that might spread the virus. People who are infected can be contagious for a day or more before they develop symptoms, which range from fever, cough, sore throat and muscle aches, to severe respiratory diseases and other life-threatening complications.

Soon, doctors’ offices and hospitals are inundated with the sick and “worried well”. Hospitals report ER waiting times as high as 15 hours with few beds available for new admissions. Medical personnel are stretched to the limit, and some are showing signs of infection.

Businesses are experiencing high rates of absenteeism, and schools are closing. Domestic and international travel and shipments are slowed or cease entirely. Groceries and pharmacies are quickly emptied of essential supplies and restaurants and malls are empty.

The medical, economic and social consequences are devastating.

After nine weeks, the number of cases in the Philadelphia area has escalated to more than 100,000, deaths are in the thousands, and the city’s hospitals and clinics are overwhelmed as they try to provide adequate care for huge numbers of victims along with their usual patient population. Morgues, hospital mortuaries, and funeral homes are challenged in their ability to care properly for the soaring number of dead.

Public safety and sanitation are major concerns, critical medical and food supplies are running low, and much of the economy has come to a standstill because of high employee absenteeism and a lack of customers. Internet and cell phone service is disrupted as home workers create system overload, and service workers are unavailable to respond. Normal everyday activities end as people avoid shopping, dining out, and social gatherings of all kinds.

The first wave is ending; attention turns to recovery and preparation for a second.

At week 12, the number of new infections is subsiding, but a second wave of pandemic flu is spreading overseas. In the USA, an estimated 40 million people have been infected and nearly one million have died, including 25,000 in the Greater Philadelphia area.

The economy is in free fall. As consumers limited their spending, business have cut back production and laid-off workers, and small businesses are closing altogether. Antivirals and antibiotics are scarce, vaccines for the pandemic strains are still months away, and the medical system is still short on staff, beds and supplies. Fear and isolation have taken a heavy toll on the public, with increasing accounts of depression and other signs of stress. Can the city begin to recover and also prepare for a second-wave pandemic?

For now, this is only a simulation. – Dave in Alabama.

Letter Re: Ammo Types and Storage Ratios for a Precision .308 Rifle

James
I have a friend wanting my advice. He has a Glock [Model] 22 [.40 S&W] , an AR-15 [5.56mm NATO], a Ruger 10/.22 [rimfire] and a Remington 700 VTR [bolt action .308]. He has 5,000 rounds for the Glock, 10,000 rounds for the AR and 6,000 rounds for the 10/.22.
He has no .308 semi-auto rifle and [says that he has] no plans to acquire one. He wants to lay in a supply of around 2,000 rounds for the Remington 700 VTR. It shoots under 1/2 MOA with 168 grain Federal Gold Medal Match, and around 1 to 1-1/2 MOA with assorted hunting rounds we’ve tried.

I told him he should have some 168 grain Federal Gold Medal Match for precision work, some hunting ammo and some ball ammo.

In your opinion, what is a good percentage of each to have on hand? Thanks, – Craig W.

JWR Replies: For a precision rifle, I’d recommend this laying in an ammo supply at this ratio:
60% 168 grain Federal Match
20% 165 grain hunting load, such as Winchester silvertip. (Pick a brand/bullet weight with a trajectory that is close to the Federal Match, so they’ll be no need to re-zero.)
15% Ball
4% Tracer
1% AP and/or API, if you can find any. A large gun show in an unrestricted state such as Nevada or Kentucky would be your most likely source. Bring a wad of cash, since you can expect to pay $4 to $6 per round!

Note: Keep in mind that the tracer and incendiary bullets will leave a residue that is hygroscopic (and hence corrosive)–so set that ammo aside for just WTSHTF and clean your rifle thoroughlyfor three successive days after shooting any! Just like when shooting corrosively primed ammunition, a rifle’s bore and the face of the bolt are at risk of getting pitted if you don’t clean it scrupulously and repeatedly.

I recommend that you zero the rifle with the Federal match ammo, and then do bullet drop comparisons with each of the other loads. Work up a bullet drop and wind drift card for each load, all the way out to 1,200 meters. Laminate those cards to make them weather resistant, and keep them with the rifle at all times. (A stock pouch is handy for this purpose.)

Consult your state and local laws before purchasing any tracer, AP, or API ammunition.

OBTW, a good place to watch for ammo on sale is GunDeals.com.

Odds ‘n Sods:

WB in Texas mentioned a book review of the now-classic $50 and Up Underground House Book, written from the perspective of a reviewer that has actually built one of his own.

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Jack B. flagged this article from Pakistan: Oil-fired budget to skyrocket inflation. Jack’s comment: “Economic woes in Pakistan are just another red flag in the soon to be world wide crunch! Like ripples in a global pond, country after country reverberates with like stories.”

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Eric found this article from the UK: It used to be deer poaching, now rural gangs move into the oil business.

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Eric also found this article at Der Spiegel: The United States Federal Reserve Bank faces a general audit by the International Monetary Fund

Note from JWR:

The re-launch of SurvivalRealty.com (our spin-off web site) is now in progress. If you are looking for retreat property, then check it out! OBTW, if you know of anyone that has a retreat-worthy property for sale, please let them know that free ads are available for the first month, and thereafter, they will cost just $1 per day! Both real estate agents and “For Sale By Owner” advertisers are welcome.

Letter Re: Help With a Non-Preparedness Minded Spouse

Dear Jim and Memsahib,
I have been discussing preparedness lately with several of my close friends. One of the things that has aided me in winning friends over to being preparedness minded is your book. Usually, once loaned to a guy, the fellow sees how plausible something like that really is and they begin to prepare. The problem is this; overwhelmingly we find have trouble with our wives. My wife, for example, says please don’t talk to me about that stuff; just tell me to get in the car when its time to go and I’ll go. She tolerates my extra purchases and the buckets in various stages of filling, but she doesn’t like to talk about preparedness. I even present it all as a message of hope, as an idea of peace in the midst of the storm from a God given common sense to prepare (Proverbs 6:6). I tell her that I do this so that we can be okay and help others. She still doesn’t want to talk about it. Several of my other friends have had similar experiences. I have been wondering what we can do. No offense, but they generally have little or no interest in reading your book, partly because it is overwhelmingly male in its tone (thanks for that). But the tactical speak, and all of the military acronyms drive the cover shut in my experience.

So, my request is that the Memsahib writes or has ghost written, a book on preparedness and survivalism from a woman’s point of view. You know, something to bring out that prepared mother instinct in these ladies. Please help before we are all sleeping on stacks of buckets!

Thanks for the consideration, – Trevor

The Memsahib Replies: First, you need to be thankful that your wife trusts you and trusts your judgment about the state of the world. Many people are in complete denial. Many people contend that our nation will always be a super power and we will always be able to give our children a better life than we had. She probably has family members and friends that are telling her that your belief in the fragility of society is silly or downright whacko. Be thankful your wife is willing to trust your judgment even if it goes against her parents, her siblings, and her best friends.

Be thankful that your wife trusts your judgment so much that “she tolerates my extra purchases and the buckets in various stages of filling.” Many other preppers are married to spouses who resent any part of the family budget being spent on storage food or tactical gear.

Your chief complaint is that your wife “doesn’t want to talk about it.” Let me explain why she and many other wives don’t want to talk about it. Your wife’s greatest drive is for the happiness and prospering of her children. When you talk survival as a man you are thinking in terms of the big picture. It is a challenge and you will prove your manhood by surviving. But, when you talk of survival to your wife. She is thinking specifically how your dark future is going to impact her babies! She has dreams for her babies for a hope and a future. How is the storybook wedding that she dreams of for her daughter going to happen in TEOTWAWKI? How are her sons going to find sweet Christian brides when you all are living in a bunker?! What about her fantasy of a family vacation with all her grandchildren to Hawaii? Will there even be commercial flights in your vision of the future? When you talk of survivalism you are dashing all her cherished dreams for the future. She might follow your headship to prepare for the gritty life you envision. But, she would rather not talk about it. She must live in her hope that the future for her darlings won’t be the struggle to survive that you foretell.

You say, “I even present it all as a message of hope, as an idea of peace in the midst of the storm from a God given common sense to prepare.” And she thinks “how can there be hope and peace in your survivalist future?” She knows Jesus said, “For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed [are] the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck.” (Luke 23:29). No, she cannot see any hope and peace for her beloved children in the days that you say are coming.

Trevor, the bottom line is: She is not a man and if you keep expecting her to react like a man you will do one of two things. You will either drive her into a state of depression, or you will so alienate her that she will completely reject all preparations.

Thank your wife for trusting your judgment, and get some male friends talk “gloom and doom” and “Ain’t it awful” with! Sincerely, – The Memsahib

Letter Re: The Five Minute Bank Run

Dear Mr. Rawles:
I wanted to tell you a personal experience I just had at the bank that scares me to death. If you think a bank can last a few days during a bank run, then you will be very surprised by my story.

I wanted to withdraw $10,000 from a JP Morgan Chase Bank branch in a local Houston [, Texas] suburb. Chase is the second largest bank in the US and Houston is the fourth largest city in the US. I went in and said: “Can I please have my money?” The teller disappeared for 10 minutes and then came back, and told me to my surprise that “We don’t carry that much cash on hand”. I was shocked. I said: “Are you kidding me?” She went on to explain that, even though this was a payday weekend at the end of the month (which means they have more cash on hand than usual), if I took that amount from them, they would be completely out of cash in a few hours. They suggested that I travel seven miles to a larger local Chase branch and ask them.

So, I drove over to the larger Chase branch. When I got there, they had only one teller working (now think about the implications of one teller working during a bank run with hundreds of people in line). After waiting in line for 10 minutes, I walked up to the teller and asked her for the amount. She then told me that she would have to go into the vault to see if they had enough money there! Now this is getting scary because I was starting to think that I might not get my cash – and this isn’t even a bank run! She came back with the cash and gave it to me, but then told me that I need to call ahead next time for that amount. Hmmm… $10,000 just isn’t that great an amount and now I need to call ahead?

I wanted to tell you this story because the implications are very scary: the second largest bank in the USA in the fourth largest metropolitan area only has enough cash on hand to allow one depositor to empty his/her account. A bank run in the USA would only last five minutes because only a handful of people will be able to get their money out [in cash].

Needless to say, I am getting all my money out, ASAP. – W.D.in Texas

Letter Re: The US Tax Giveaway Economic Stimulus Charade

Mr. Rawles,
On June 27, 2008 the following Associated Press headline was on Yahoo Finance: After-tax incomes and spending show big gains. “The millions of economic stimulus payments gave a massive jolt to household finanances (sic) in May, sending after-tax incomes up by the largest amount in 33 years.”

Q: Does borrowing money from the next two generations, while saddling our grandkids with principal and interest repayment obligations to foreign countries really now count as “after tax income”?

A: Not to regular SurvivalBlog readers.

Regards, – Kevin A.

JWR Replies: Those with the Big Government mindset would answer: “Oh, but we just owe it to ourselves!” Or as J. Wellington Wimpy, from the Popeye comic strip would say: “”I’d gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today!”

FWIW, I’m planning to spend my IRS “stimulus” check on some more full capacity magazines (aka “high capacity” in the liberal lexicon) and some .45 ACP ammunition, while they are still somewhat affordable.

Letter Re: Victory in the DC v. Heller US Supreme Court Decision–With Some Reservations

Hi Jim,
I was just reading your very excellent SurvivalBlog [post on the Heller decision] this morning. A great site you have.

Regarding Mr. Gura, don’t be too hard on him because he appeared to throw machine guns under the bus at oral argument. I believe that Gura made a tactical decision not to discuss machine guns because he knew that, for now, the machine gun issue was a loser of an argument, and would distract from a more important first step: getting the Second Amendment declared as an individual right. Now that the court has declared (as those of us who can read plain English have known all along) that the right to keep and bear arms is an individual right, we can work toward machine guns and carrying weapons for self-defense outside the home.

Besides, if you look at what Gura actually argued (quoted in your post), Gura does not say that constitutional protections don’t apply to machine guns, he merely repeats what US v. Miller has already stated, that if weapons are show to be not normally in use by the Militia, then we might not have a right to these. But machine guns are in use by militia members. Just go to Knob Creek every Fall and check out the action at the Machine Gun Shoot. Moreover, as you noted, government can’t illegally ban a class of weapons, wait 70 years, and then make the absurd claim that such weapons are not permitted under the Second Amendment because they aren’t in common use at the time the case is finally litigated 70 years later.

Remember that the reason why we got a ruling like the one we got in Miller is because the defendant did not show up and present evidence that sawed-off shotguns were in common use at the time. This leaves ample room for future litigants to demonstrate common use of machine guns, SBRs, SBSs, and suppressed weapons. I don’t think we’ve lost anything here.

I believe that restoring the Second Amendment to its rightful place alongside our other Constitutional rights will be the “new” civil rights movement for the next generation. Gradually we will chip away at laws intended to burden the lawful use of firearms, just as activists in the 1950s and 1960s chipped away at laws intended to oppress minorities and women. The Second Amendment recognizes an important right for citizens who intend on self-governance. I look forward to seeing it restored to esteem equal to that with which our society regards the First and Fourth Amendments. Best to you, – A.L., Esq.

Odds ‘n Sods:

Several readers mentioned this “must read” article from England: ‘The Archers’ brings the idea of a self-sufficient community to the fore

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My brother sent me this link: Something May be Wrong with the Sun–and the Weather Could Get COLDER

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Hawaiian K. and Steve spotted this over at the Kitco forums: US meltdown within weeks?

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There are now just three days left in BulletProofME.com’s special sale on Interceptor Body Armor and Kevlar helmets, just for SurvivalBlog readers.

Letter Re: Kudos for the WRSA’s Medical Training

James,
I would like to recommend to anyone looking for medical training in grid down austere environments to attend the 2-1/2 day course offered by Western Rifle Shooter’s Association (WRSA). My wife and I recently attended their course in Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho this past weekend, and found the course informative and thought provoking, considering ing the times ahead of us. Hands-on training in suturing, wound triage, and trauma wounds were a plus to our animal husbandry skills. Another great aspect is [meeting] the like-minded people that attended this event.

The Western Rifle Shooter’s Association is scheduling more clinics this summer, so look for their ads. BTW, I also recommend their rifleman classes. – Kepha in Idaho