The NGO Security Blog

The NGO Security blog has a few manuals that may be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers. The ICRC Staying Alive Manual has a good explanation for your readers who do not have military training on the effects of military weapons and how to protect yourself from them. Plus it is interesting to read the incidents happening in the rest of the world. That is how society will be should TEOTWAWKI happen in the developed world. Incidentally, I was the dot on your global SurvivalBlog hit map that you saw in Khartoum a few months back. I work for an International Humanitarian Agency as a Security Officer. Hope it is useful to you and your readers. – PJH

Two Letters Re: Storing Coal for Home Heating at Your Retreat

Jim:
As a retired firefighter I want to mention that stored coal must be kept dry. I you do not, is will start an internal combustion fire deep in the center. To put it out, you must dig down to where it is hot. Regards, – G.C.P.

James:
You brought out some very important points about the differences between eastern (anthracite) and western coal.

Most coal stove manufacturers recommend using only anthracite coal. A few go so far as to void the warranty on their stoves if you burn anything but anthracite.

My pantry is located in an outbuilding and even though it is double-insulated and heated with 220 volt baseboard heaters with a propane-fired furnace as a backup, I believe in redundancy and installed a wood/coal burning stove “just in case”. I bought the unit from a friend who was demolishing an older home in the area. The stove is heavy welded steel plate and carries a manufacturers tag stating it is rated for wood and coal.

Even though I have easy access to an almost unlimited amount of seasoned wood, I purchased a ton of (western) coal from a local mom and pop mine for $20. (“You-Load”). While the stove burns effortlessly with wood, it is a nightmare with coal: dirty, smelly, hard to regulate. The only real use I can see for coal is to damper the stove down at night, toss in a few lumps of coal and let it smolder overnight. The fact is, my stove was just not designed to burn coal, the firebox and flue are simply not up to par with that of a stove designed from the ground up to use coal.

The second problem I have with coal is deterioration. I put my coal outdoors on a plastic tarp. Within a year, the lumps and chunks of coal had been reduced by weathering to a coarse, almost sand-like consistency. I’ve found that even if I fill a couple lunch bags with this material and toss it in, it burns much faster than solid chunks and is not suitable for overnight use.

If I were seriously interested in burning coal, I’d do two things: 1.) purchase a genuine “coal-stove” and 2.) construct a weatherproof coal-bin. – Hawgtax

Two Letters Re: Ammunition Handloading Basics

Jim
Much great information being shared in these posts, but reading the reload posts made me feel the need to point out one thing.
While reloading ammunition for revolvers and most conventional handguns is easy and fun, it is a different story for Glocks.The Glock is designed with an “Unsupported chamber” barrel which makes firing untested reloaded ammunition a dangerous affair. If the specs on the reloads are off even just a little, the result could be a nasty problem.

The ammo could cause the gun to self destruct, especially if it is a 40 caliber model. If you don’t believe me, do a Google search for the term “Glock Kaboom.”

Read it carefully, and pay close attention, it has happened many times with reloads.

I should note that I own two 9mm Glocks and fire some really well done reloads from a commercial reloading company. The ammo I shoot is specially made to be tolerated by Glocks and I’ve never had a problem with any of it. The rub is, I have nearly 2K rounds of it left from an initial lot of 4K rounds and the company where I purchased the ammo seems to have dropped off the face of the earth.

Well done reloads work fine in most 1911s, CZ-75s, SIGs, and other modern semi auto handguns. If you carry the Glock, like me, then you are obligated to do a little more research. – LK from WV

 

Jim,
In defense of what I said in my first letter about the simplicity of this system, I cannot understand how one could possibly have a near-disastrous KaBoom, if the directions were followed. There are always ways to succeed in screwing up, and I have done so myself in the past, but not with a disaster like that. Possibly if you had several different lee loader sets, and got the scoop from two sets mixed, I could see this happening.
AVL is correct in that semi-autos will feed more reliably with cases that are full length sized, you should go one step further, and get what are called ‘small base’ dies, so they will feed. At the same time, with a semi-auto, it can be very difficult to find your cases to re-load in the first place, and, the hand loader is really slow, a semi-auto will burn through ammo faster than you can get your kids to reload it!
For bolt-action rifles, especially if you are shooting the cartridges in the same rifle they were originally fired, there should be no problem closing the bolt, till the cases have stretched to the point where they need trimming. To not do this could also result in a catastrophic event. RCBS has dies that they claim prevent case stretching, and I have some, but have not used them enough to know if it is so.
The bullet supplier that I mentioned is a fledgling outfit that puts out good product, and might expand operations to rifle calibers, too, if things get rolling. Thanks, – Sid Near Niagara Falls

Odds ‘n Sods:

Some scientists claim: Climate change inaction will cost trillions

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SurvivalBlog readers D.W., T.P., R.S, and “Hawgtax” all mentioned this story: Wheat stockpiles at a25 year low. My advice: Stock up, while wheat that is already in the supply chain is still inexpensive!

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From Newsmax: President Bush signs ports security bill. This law is aimed at stopping terrorists from secretly importing nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons into the United States inside one of the 11 million shipping containers that enter the nation each year. Most of these are currently not inspected.

 

 

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"The hour is fast approaching, on which the Honor and Success of this army, and the safety of our bleeding Country depend. Remember officers and Soldiers, that you are Freemen, fighting for the blessings of Liberty – that slavery will be your portion, and that of your posterity, if you do not acquit yourselves like men." – George Washington (General Orders, 23 August, 1776)

Note From JWR:

The bidding is now at $200 in the SurvivalBlog benefit auction for a fully tested and recently professionally calibrated U.S. government surplus Civil Defense CD V-717 fallout survey meter with remote sensing capability. The meter was donated by Ready Made Resources (one of our first and most loyal advertisers). This auction ends on October 15th. Please submit your bid via e-mail.

Two Letters Re: The Ultralight Bug-Out Bag, by Hawaiian K.

Mr. Rawles:
I really liked Hawaiian K’s ultralight article but was disappointed that no links were provided as to where we can find some of the gear recommended. Any chance Hawaiian K or you could provide that info. I am just starting out with this preparedness stuff and really don’t know where to look. Regards, Wayne

[After I forwarded Wayne’s e-mail, Hawaiian K. sent the following speedy reply:]

Jim,
Sure! For people who like to save money and learn how to make the gear themselves, try these sites:
Gossamer Gear
Backpacking.net
My philosophical approach to “retreating” is that one should try to live at the retreat site but if that isn’t possible, the site should be no further than two days hike (For an example of how vehicle-based retreating plans could be turned upside-down, imagine how EMP could block all roads with dead cars). We all have our individual ideas of what to carry but to view the contents of ultralight hikers packs, try these links:
Hikelight gear list
Backpacking.net
UIltralight
Some ideas about lightweight foods to carry
The CRKT M16 Special Forces “Big Dog” knife
The Glock 30 (only 680 grams empty.)
“Buff” headgear
Merino “Smartwool” products
A great source for lightweight and technical fabrics
Well made, inexpensive shells
Expensive but well built gear
Hudson Trail
Campmor
Lightweight shoes (the best online shoe store, hands down!):
Tilley hats
Regarding lightweight body armor, shop carefully

I think that the links above pretty much cover everything I mentioned in my article but you’ll find more information than you could ever get through by Googling “ultralight hiking”. Save your back and travel fast and light! Best Regards, – Jim K.

Letter Re: Ammunition Handloading Basics

JWR,
Sid mentioned the Lee Loader package in a recent letter. While I think the Lee Loader is an ideal addition to any survival reloading kit, it does have some caveats that were not mentioned in Sid’s letter.
While the Lee Loader is a great system due to it’s simplicity, one of it’s great problems is its simplicity. Most die sets are two dies for bottle-neck and three for straight wall. The Lee Loader combines
steps into one. What I believe the biggest shortcoming of the Lee Loader is, there is no good way to measure gunpowder reliably. While it comes with a little scoop [ladle]to fill your bullets with powder, this method for powder dispensing should never be trusted. Always verify your charges with a scale. I learned this the hard way, it cost me a rifle, but spared my face,

The other problem with the lee loader is that for bottle neck rifle it will only provide for case neck sizing, leaving the bulk of the case unsized. While for bolt action shooters this is less of an issue, for anyone with an autoloader full-length sizing is required for accurate feeding.
The solution I would recommend for anyone who shoots light calibers (all pistols, .223, .30 Carbine) is the Lee Hand Press. It offers portability similar to the Lee Loader, but with significantly more
versatility.
Again, the most important thing is to always use a powder scale. Always use the scale to verify the amount of powder, especially from the Lee powder ladles, automatic powder throwers are very good about their consistency, the powder ladles leave much to chance! Safe reloading out there guys! – AVL

JWR Replies: Thanks for those tips. One thing that I can add as an important safety measure: Always select powders that fill more than half of the cartridge case volume. This way it will be obvious if you accidentally double charge a case.

Odds ‘n Sods:

In a recent issue of the Sovereign Society A-Letter, Eric Roseman noted with alarm that the credit derivatives market is now has a massive $26 trillion (with a “T”) dollars in play. This market has more than doubled in size over the last 12 months. Roseman says that he fears that the derivatives market has become a virtual time bomb. I concur. Someday, possibly in the near future, the market will start making big swings and the hedge traders are going to get blind-sided. Losses could be in the hundreds of billions or even the trillions, making the recent $6 billion “trading error” at Amaranth Advisers look like chump change. See my recent article on derivatives for some background about the implications of hedge trading.

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The schedule of upcoming Appleseed Shoots was just updated at the RWVA Blog. Be sure to take advantage of this inexpensive rifle training when the touring trainers come to your region!

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North Korea might now have The Bomb, but it doesn’t have much electricity. OBTW, I generally recommend areas without many city lights for survival retreat locales. But needless to say, that doesn’t apply to North Korea!

Notes From JWR:

Today we welcome our newest advertiser: CivilDefenseSupplies.com. Be sure to visit their site an check out their wide range of products, including 72-Hour Survival Kits, Communications Equipment, Emergency Foods, Lighting, Emergency Water, First Aid, and Night Vision Gear. Welcome aboard!

Because I will be traveling on behalf of a consulting client, I will not be taking any new mail orders from October 24th to November 8th. Thanks for your patience. During this time I will of course still be making my daily blog posts. (I’ve never missed day, and I don’t intend to!)

Storing Coal for Home Heating at Your Retreat

James;
One thing I haven’t seen discussed at SurvivalBlog is coal. It is an excellent survival fuel. I would recommend purchasing ten tons of coal for your survival retreat. When the SHTF, you would basically have over a three year supply of energy, with no trees to chop. Best of all, there are no storage problems. You can leave it in a pile, or bury it in a hole. It will keep and will not degrade.
Coal is very cheap. If possible, get a low sulfur anthracite coal. However, if your budget is tight, you can get a higher sulfur coal. The concern would be corrosion in your stove pipe. But even if you use high sulfur, a 3 year run shouldn’t be a problem. If you want something real cheap, try to get hold of petroleum coke. It used to sell for $5/ton. Great for heating, but it will be high in sulfur. A lower sulfur form is called needle coke or anode grade coke. You might attract some suspicion ordering a large load, so you might want to stress the farmer approach. Also, coal is used as a filtering media, so you can claim you are using it for bio-diesel production. Claim it absorbs the glycerin. Or just purchase smaller lots. Filter grade anthracite is readily available in 1-ton super sacks. This will cost a little more though.
Regards, – J.D.P.

JWR Replies: We have indeed mentioned coal in the blog, but not in quite a while. For any of our readers that have never burned coal, keep in mind that coal burns very hot and hence a typical woodstove grate may burn out when you switch to coal, which could put your stove’s firebox at risk. Make sure that your stove has a cast iron grate that is compatible with coal. (Talk to your local stove dealer if you aren’t sure.) OBTW, if you own a home without a coal bin, you can sometimes order coal for delivery in pallet boxes. (Often this is a bit less expensive than bagged coal, and the boxes are easier to store in bulk quantities if you don’t have a basement that is already set up for coal delivery and storage, or if your planned coal storage exceeds your existing bin’s capacity. A few of these big pallet boxes stacked two-high in your barn is an investment in peace of mind, since coal stores indefinitely. Ironically, even though there is more coal mined in the western U.S. than in the east, home heating coal seems to be more expensive west of Ohio, and coal for the consumer (home heating) market is downright hard to find in some western states. (And what we have here is nearly all low sulfur lignite or sub-bituminous coal, since that is what is principally mined in the west.) I know one gent in Nebraska that insists on burning only Anthracite, and he mail orders it from Lehman’s in Ohio. But that is a “spendy:” way to buy coal. For some background and practical “how to” on heating your home with coal, see the Anthracite Coal Forum.

Lastly, I should mention that if you plan to have a home blacksmithing forge, you should lay in a supply of coal and coke, even if you don’t plan on heating your home with coal. Here is one handy resource on home blacksmiths.

Letter Re: Ammunition Handloading Basics

Jim,
I just got an order I sent for a couple days ago. 240gr. .44 cast bullets. It is my first time dealing there, but they look great, everything they are supposed to be. I got them from http://www.prettygoodbullets.com/ They also have .38, .40, and .45. I have been reloading for years, mostly pistol calibers. A good way for a newbie to start would be with a [hand held] Lee Loader. It is low-tech, and slow, but quality ammo can be made this way. All that is required besides the components, (primers, powder, and projectiles) is a soft mallet, and a sturdy workbench, and maybe some case-lube. The directions that comes with the loader set includes information on powder selection for specific bullet type/weight. No scale required, they include a small dipper that is calibrated to the caliber and powder required for the bullet selected. it really is an ingenious little set-up. All that for just under $22.00! Like the ad says, this pays for itself in a couple hours.
If one wants to get into other loads, then it is wise to invest in a good scale. I is not a bad idea to do so anyway, if you want precision ammo. For general plinking, the lee loader is adequate. Probably good for man-sized targets out to 200 yards for rifles, YMMV, depending on ability. As with anything, consistency is the key. The more uniform you can repeat the process, the more accurate your final product will be.
So, a pound of powder, about $20.00 or less, (I haven’t bought any for a while), a brick of primers, also around $20.00, I think, and your selected bullets, of which the cast bullet is the most economical, and will make just as big a hole as the more expensive copper jacket type, especially at pistol velocities. I got a beautiful 185 lb 11 point whitetail that scored 172 6/8 with my .44 mag, using a Keith style wadcutter, at about 75 yards. I can hit clay pigeons off a fence pretty consistently at that distance, with that bullet.
A word about primer selection; I know of a few who say they use magnum primers for all loads. Not a good thing. If you are loading a magnum round, then OK, but it is best to stick with what is called for. A good reloading manual can be very valuable if you want to start experimenting.
It is NOT wise to think you can do things like add a ‘bit’ more powder to a load, as a ‘bit’ more can increase pressures by several times the original load.
It is also wise to avoid drinking or smoking while reloading, for obvious reasons. A double charge in a case will make your favorite weapon into a hand grenade!
I have a block with 50 holes in it, and I charge the cases in it, and then visually look into each before I start seating bullets, just to be sure they all look the same. Safety first is very important. Another rule to keep in mind, is never have more than one type powder open at a time, and always use the original container, so it doesn’t get confusing.
Reloading is a very rewarding past-time, and it could extend your ammo supply as long as your components hold out. Cases can last pretty good if you follow reasonable levels of pressure.
One little trick I have learned, it is wise to clean the primer pockets of residue, after ‘decapping’ the cases. I use my cordless drill with a short piece of multi-strand electrical wire that just fits the pocket. It cleans it out, and doesn’t hurt the brass case. If you skip that step, you could end up with a ‘high primer’, which could possibly cause a ‘slam fire’ in a semi-automatic, or maybe drag on the face of the frame on a revolver.
I have reloaded thousands of rounds so far, and have yet to have a ‘dud’.
There are many out there who have developed a favorite load for each firearm they own that will out-shoot (in terms of accuracy) factory ammo. Each firearm is an individual, and what is a perfect load for one will not work quite as well in another. Now we are talking 1/2″ groups @ 100 yards and like that. That takes a good bit of experimenting, but can be fun, and will keep you in practice.
While talking about each firearm being an individual, as an example, I have a .22 pistol that will shoot any ammo I put in it, except Federal. It will jam several times with each magazine. A friend has one just like it, and those are his favorite ammo. It is always wise to try each of whatever is available to see what works best in your particular firearm. They can be particular.
There is much more to reloading, like cases stretching over several uses, but that comes from ‘hot’ loads’, but can become a factor over time even from reasonable loads. Come to think of it, I have never needed to trim any of my .44 brass, and I do not load them light. I do find a split one, once in a while. It is good to have a quality firearm, my Ruger Super Blackhawk takes that okay, and I don’t even know when one splits, till I am reloading and notice it while inspecting cases before I start. You can’t be too careful. – Sid, near Niagara Falls

Odds ‘n Sods:

“Its called a cricothyrotomy not a tracheotomy…” I’ve noticed the new Jericho television series has sparked some interesting threads of conversation at The FAL Files, AR-15.com, and many other Internet forums. SurvivalBlog’s frequent content contributor Rourke has even started a Jericho-dedicated Yahoo discussion group. Check it out. OBTW, we don’t own a television here at the Rawles Ranch, so don’t ask me my opinion about the series, or anything else on television for that matter. (We only watch “Elk-evision”, from our porch.)

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The Seattle Post Intelligencer newspaper published a recent “scare tactics” article by Tom Paulson that begins: “Hundreds of undocumented chickens live in Seattle, a clucking time bomb planted right in the urban core that poses just as great a risk for deadly bird flu as any rural chicken should the severe Asian strain of avian influenza…” I fail to see how “hundreds” of domestic chickens constitute any significant threat compared to the hundreds of thousands of migratory and resident wild birds in the city. By both weight and volume there is far more duck, goose, and pigeon poop than there is chicken poop in Seattle.

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A reminder that Mountain Brook Foods of Tracy, California is running a special one month sale just for SurvivalBlog readers. Until the end of October, the following discounts will be available for in-stock items only:
20% off Orders of $100 to $249
30% off Orders of $250 to $499.99
40% off Orders over $500, not to exceed $2,500.
To place your order go to www.mountainbrookfoods.com. There you will see there full line of storage foods and books. Note, however, that their web site lists only their standard pricing. To get the SurvivalBlog October special pricing, enter “SurvivalBlog” as the coupon discount code. If you have any questions about this special offer or any their products you can contact Mountain Brook at: support@mountainbrookfoods.com or call toll free: (877) 668-6826.