To be prepared for a crisis, every Prepper must establish goals and make both long-term and short-term plans. In this column, the SurvivalBlog editors review their week’s prep activities and planned prep activities for the coming week. These range from healthcare and gear purchases to gardening, ranch improvements, bug-out bag fine-tuning, and food storage. This is something akin to our Retreat Owner Profiles, but written incrementally and in detail, throughout the year. We always welcome you to share your own successes and wisdom in your e-mailed letters. We post many of those — or excerpts thereof — in the Odds ‘n Sods Column or in the Snippets column. Let’s keep busy and be ready!
Jim Reports:
I had a fairly hectic week, starting with three vehicle oil change and repair appointments in a row on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, in three different towns. First, a pickup truck oil change, then an SUV brake job, and then a UATV steering box replacement. On Thursday I was on the road to a gun show, that I attended just on Friday. But on the way, I dropped off a cow-calf pair to their new owners. (I drove our pickup with our three-horse trailer in tow.) Those two critters were the last of our old herd. We are now building a new herd with all A2/A2 stock, from another small cattle breed. We already have a bull and a disrelated cow-calf pair with the more desirable genetics. We will also soon be buying a couple of disrelated heifers.
I shipped out five Elk Creek Company orders this past week.
On my way home from that gun show trip, I dropped by my FFL Buddy’s house. He had several pre-1899 guns waiting for me, that I had bought at out-of-state auctions. To explain: Many auction houses have been buffaloed by the overbearing ATF and now insist on all guns being shipped to FFLs — even pre-1899 antique guns. They often say that they do this “just to be safe.” That is really silly and not in accordance with the law. Of course, my buddy with the FFL then just hands the antiques to me, because as pre-1899 guns, he cannot legally enter them in his ATF Bound Book. They don’t belong there any more than BB guns do. Per the Gun Control Act of 1968, pre-1899 guns and blackpowder replicas are not classified as “firearms.”
I usually buy him dinner, as a thank you for taking those deliveries for me.
I stayed up late last night, adding six new guns to the Elk Creek Company online catalog. There are both pre-1899 cartridge guns and several modern percussion blackpowder guns. These include a scarce 1898-dated Swedish Model 1896/38, a very early production S&W Model 2 single-action .32 S&W revolver, an early early production stainless steel Ruger Old Army with a three-digit serial number, a Chilean Model 1895 Mauser 7.62mm NATO arsenal conversion, and a scarce SAKO Mosin M39 “SKY” Finn on an 1896 Antique Receiver. Take a look!
On a hike out to the west end of the Rawles Ranch, I noticed that the brackens are growing taller than usual, this year, because of the rainy spring. That is usually a sign that we are going to have a bumper crop of large Huckleberries. Yum!
Now, Lily’s part of the report…