Letter Re: Getting Yourself–and Your Rifle–Fitted for Body Armor

Dear Jim:
Boston T. Party backs up your opinion on the value of Body Armor – to quote: “… An order of magnitude advantage” (“Boston on Surviving Y2K and Other Lovely Disasters“).
you posted a good letter from Ryan that mentioned adjusting your buttstock length to account for Body Armor, web gear, etc. The main point to test all your gear – all at the same time – is a real nugget of wisdom. It’s amazing the glitches that pop up that you can never foresee until you test.

One thing to note – 2″ is probably a little too much compensation in buttstock length unless you have very thick clothing and web gear as well. Ultra-light Polyethylene Rifle Plates are just under an inch thick (~2.5 cm.) but the most protective Level IV Ceramic Rifle Plates are only 0.75″ (~2 cm). So an inch of adjustment with web gear is probably a good estimate.
We offer both Ultra-light Polyethylene and Ceramic Rifle Plates with a “shooters cut” on the Front plate. So, with this taper at the top of the plate, you can get a buttstock plant directly onto your body (or soft armor). See this photo page. So you would have just 0.25″ (~6mm) of soft Body Armor under the buttstock with “shooters cut” plates.
Yours Truly, – Nick – Manager, BulletProofME.com Body Armor

JWR Adds: My approach at compensating for the thickness of body armor and/or heavy winter clothing is as follows: Size your buttstock with assumption that it will be used in conjunction with body armor or heavy winter clothing. Then, in instances where you are shooting in casual circumstances without body armor (or in warm weather), simply add a slip-on recoil pad to make up for the difference in stock length. That pad can be removed in seconds, if circumstances change.

For any readers with HK91s or CETMEs (or clones thereof), I recommend that you buy a couple of inexpensive spare military surplus G3 stock sets s from Cheaper Than Dirt. They currently have G3 stock sets on sale for under $10, complete with a pair of handguards and a pistol grip! (See item # MGR-281 in their latest catalog.) With a price like that, you can afford to buy several stock sets and get creative. Do some WECSOG experiments with a hacksaw, two-part epoxy, and various recoil pads–while of course saving your original stock in its original configuration. OBTW, I am not a fan of the G3 “A3” collapsing stock, since it has a buttpad that is uncomfortably small and curved, and its stock rails do not provide a consistent cheek weld. An A3 stock might be useful in confined spaces (such as defending a vehicle), but otherwise, I do not recommend them.

For any readers with M1As, I recommend that you buy a few inexpensive spare stocks from Fred’s M14 Stocks–they have thousands of M14 stocks in inventory–and shorten them as needed, adding recoil pads in the process. OBTW, I am particularly fond of the Pachmayr “Decelerator” recoil pad. One of your spare stocks should be cut extra short, to accommodate any small-statured shooters at your retreat. Just keep in mind that when you switch stocks on an M1A or M14 that it may have to be re-zeroed. Test your rifle’s accuracy with each of your spare stocks well in advance of Schumeresque times.

For any readers with AR-15s or AR-10s, I recommend that you buy a complete spare collapsing (CAR-15/M4 Carbine style) buttstock assembly. You should preferably one that has three or four adjusting “position” notches. For fine-tuning the length of pull, someone skilled with a drill press can add additional adjustment notches.

We use L1A1s here at the ranch, three of which are equipped with extra short length-of-pull “Arctic” Maranyl stocks. These stocks were used extensively by the British Army in Northern Ireland in the 1970s, where they wore body armor for foot patrols in inimical places like Ulster and Belfast. Thankfully, L1A1 buttstocks have hard plastic pads that come in several lengths, although changing them is a bit time consuming, since the recoil spring nut must be removed. Arctic length Maranyl stocks can occasionally be found on eBay. Unfortunately, metric FALs–at least “as issued”–do not have as much stock length flexibility as L1A1s. However, as with an HK91, you can buy a couple spare stocks and do some WECSOG experimenting. The limitation, however, is the protruding recoil spring tube.

Letter Re: Constructing an Improvised CB Radio Antenna

Jim,
Regarding the recent blog article “Constructing an Improvised CB Radio Antenna”, here is a site that has good construction info and a few graphical images of custom built CB antennas This site by Signal Engineering adds some antenna theory for those inclined to learn more about CB antennas.
If you are into experimenting with antennas, I recommend getting an antenna analyzer from MFJ. They are fairly inexpensive (as far as test equipment go) yet will yield very helpful tuning and optimization information. You can purchase one for use in nearly any radio service (ham, CB, VHF/UHF. etc).- Rob at Affordable Shortwaves

Odds ‘n Sods:

SurvivalBlog reader “Rightcoast” mentioned that the new anthology of post-apocalyptic fiction titled Wastelands, from Night Shade Books, is now available for ordering. (I first mentioned this book back before it was available for ordering.) The authors include M. Rickert, Cory Doctorow, and Richard Kadrey.

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We live in a very remote, lightly-populated area “somewhere west of the Rockies”, so our daytime radio reception is pitiful. (Although at night, it is fantastic on the AM and shortwave bands.) Since we enjoy listening to Internet radio webcasts and podcasts such as sermons, I recently got a small FM transmitter that allows us to broadcast inside our house. This way we can listen to any audio from our computers (audio CDs, podcasts, RealPlayer files, MP3 files, audio from DVD movies, et cetera) on our radios throughout the house. These transmitters have about a 100 foot range, and are are sold by C. Crane Company. We have been doing business with C. Crane since the mid-1990s, and have found them to be very reputable.

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Freeze Dry Guy has announced a special for January and February on a One Year Supply of Mountain House freeze dried vegetables: These are freshly packed, includes one six-can case each of the following: Freeze Dried Corn, Freeze Dried Green Beans, and Freeze Dried Green Peas. This is a total of 384 1/2-cup servings in three cases (18 cans) of heavy duty enameled #10 (one-gallon) cans with a 30 year shelf life. (You may substitute a case of Instant White Rice if you prefer.) No cooking required, just add hot water, wait 5 minutes, serve and enjoy. Pricing: One 3-case unit, shipping included within the lower 48 states is $320 (save $36), or Three 3-case units for $940 (save $129)

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Reader N.L. suggest a how-to piece on underground propane tanks.

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From RBS: U.S. Hospitals Plagued by Ten Times More MRSA Superbug Infections than Previously Thought

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"Like waves on the seashore, an incessant drip of a faucet, or the perpetual nag of the proverbial mother-in- law, your dollars as a store of value and labor are continually clipped and filed down by the Central Bankers’ silent tax." – David J. Taffi, of Taub Associates, commenting on inflation

Note from JWR:

Today we present another article for Round 14 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The writer of the best non-fiction article will win a valuable four day “gray” transferable Front Sight course certificate. (Worth up to $2,000!) Second prize is a copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, generously donated by Jake Stafford of Arbogast Publishing. Round 14 ends on January 31st, so e-mail us your entry soon! Remember that articles that relate practical “how to” skills for survival will have an advantage in the judging.

Constructing an Improvised CB Radio Antenna, by Dim Tim

I have put a great deal of the info I have gleaned from SurvivalBlog to good use in my own preps. To reciprocate, the following is one of hopefully many bits of survival information that I plan to pass along to all the readers, in the hope that it will help someone else.

A short time back I read a few posts on some survival communications issues, and found them to be very helpful. They also got me to thinking about something that I did back around the start of the eighties, that I believe would be a great piece of survival gear for the folks using Citizen’s Band. (CB or 11 meter ) and some 10 meter users.

One day, I came upon the thought that if the radio still worked, but the antenna became lost or damaged, what would I do then? How would I be able to talk to my group, let alone listen in to any other chatter. Having a bit of electronic knowledge ( two year tech. degree in industrial electronics ) I set about to make an expedient antenna system from inexpensive, and commonly found materials. The result was a simple antenna that would work in a pinch, and was easy to transport, and would be as good as, or better than a commercial one. Enter the simple dipole antenna.

A dipole is a pair of wires or conductors connected to the “ground” and the center conductor of the coaxial antenna cable, and stretched out either in a vertical or a horizontal position. Most “whip ” style mobile antennas are around 102″ in length ( this is the number that antenna designers use in their standing wave ratio (SWR) to frequency calculations, to match an antenna to a particular radio to achieve maximum efficiency ). Using this as a reference point, I bought a 25′ roll of solid aluminum clothesline wire at the hardware store, a small package of solderless, crimp style connectors, a small package of 1 1/4″ wood screws, and a roll of electrical tape. The only other things you will need are a couple lengths of 550 paracord, two lengths of 1 1/2″ dia. ( about 4-5″ long ) dowel rod, and a 2×4 block about 6 to 8″ long. To start, take the 2×4 block and 2 wood screws, and screw the wood screws only a couple of turns into the wood, placing one at each end, about an inch or so back from the ends. Next, take the coaxial antenna cable, and carefully strip back the outer jacket about 6″ and undo the braided wire, and twist it into one individual length. Next, strip back the insulating jacket over the center conductor about 1/4″. Attach a crimp connector to each wire, preferably by soldering, or by securely crimping with a pair of electrician’s crimping pliers. Next, take and wrap the exposed, twisted, braided wire with a bit of the electrical tape.

Next, take a pair of wire cutters, and cut two 102″-long pieces of the clothesline, and make an eye hook at one end of each, and unscrew the wood screws on the 2×4 and attach one wire “eye” to each ( do not screw the screws down all the way yet.) Next, take the dowel rods, and drill a hole through the side about 1 1/2″ from the end, and then the other, repeating the same for the other dowel. The holes should be large enough to thread one of the clothesline ends through one, and a piece of the paracord through the other for each one. Now, connect one of the coaxial antenna wire connectors to the wood screws on the 2×4 block and tighten the screw down so that the connector will not pull loose. Do the same to the other. Next, take the loose clothesline wire end that is connected to the braided wire and pass it through one end of one of the dowel rods and wrap around the dowel and a couple of turns around itself so it will not pull back out of the dowel.

Before attaching the other element, place an accurate SWR meter in the antenna line to check the match. Thread a length of the 550 Paracord cord through each of the dowel insulators. Now thread the other clothesline (the one connected to the center conductor of the coaxial wire) through the dowel about 4-6″ and make an L-shaped bend so it won’t pull out of the dowel. Set the SWR meter to check your match according to the meter’s instructions. If the match is too high, then take a pair of wire cutters, and trim the end back just 1/4″ at a time until you get the lowest [reading] match you can possibly achieve.

Important note: Care must be taken when trimming the antenna, because you can’t put the cut pieces back! Once you have the best match you can get, finish off the end of the wire the same as the first. Now stretch it up between two sturdy objects, and try it out. I have been able to get the same range as a commercial one with mine.

JWR Adds: Some provisos: Be sure to waterproof all connections with RTV silicone, or something similar. Be sure to have an antenna connected whenever transmitting, to prevent damage to your transceiver. Since nearly all CB radio transceivers are set up with vertically polarized antennas, it is important that you rig your antenna vertically. (This way, the geometry of your transmitting wave will match the vertical geometry of the receiving antenna.) This may seem counterintuitive when you are looking at a dipole, but trust me, you should set it up with the two elements running up and down. And, of course, all of the usual antenna safety precautions apply.

Letter Re: Ballistic Protection of Straw Bale Houses?

Jim,
I love your blog site and appreciate the service that you provide. I stumbled on SurvivalBlog several months back and quickly ordered your novel [“Patriots”]; loved it and found it to be life changing event.

I am a former Infantry Marine of 13+ years medically retired from wounds received in Fallujah in November of ’04. Needless to say, I have had some pretty major paradigm shifts (in the line of preparedness and government encroachment) since I retired in August of ’06. On with my question: I have done quiet a bit of ballistic demonstrations on the usual and conventional building materials, but have not ever seen what protection straw bales offer. My wife and I are partial to that method of construction for its fire protection and insulation properties. I’d love to here any insight you may have. Thanks, -Jon

JWR Replies: Unless straw bale houses have a thick outer stucco or adobe clay coating (two inch or greater thickness), then they are poor at stopping small arms fire. Just one layer of sandbags works much better than even two straw bales back-to back (4 feet thick.) For that reason, I prefer ICFs, tire houses (“Earthships”), monolithic domes, or traditional reinforced masonry construction over straw bale.

Letter Re: U.S. Climate Data Available Online

Jim:
Some comments on studying climates and microclimates: I do a fair amount of this professionally, and there are a couple more things worthy of discussion:

1) when looking at a specific area, in which a subject property is located, pay particular attention to low areas where cold settles. These areas will freeze first. Crop performance will vary widely.
Study not just the winds, but the exposure–the microclimate. Solar, wind, rainfall and snowfall patterns.

2) Do not build with haste. We encourage people to live with a property in as-is conditions for a year if they can, so that they can fully understand what the seasons are like all over the subject property. This is obviously not possible for everyone, but if there is a rustic cabin on the site, chances are it is in the best location for exposure, proximity to gardens, pastures, etc. It is likely that someone lived there long enough to understand the property.

3) Understand the neighboring properties, their owners, occupants, and passers-through, both human and animal. Don’t expect that just because you think you have the best place for a house, that it’s without complication. Ever seen a new house built right on top of a game trail frequented for decades by moose, deer, and predators? Nice big windows to many species look like opportunities to graze just beyond the reflection. Deer inside homes in the forests are not uncommon. Moose once in awhile too. Where there are deer, there may be bear, cougar, etc. It might be downright interesting, to wake up and find a moose in your great room. Take care, – Thomas S.

Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader “FFF” recommended some commentary from Patrick Buchanan: Subprime Nation

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For any of you that have been dragging your feet on taking a course at Front Sight: they just announced their biggest freebie offer ever. The Memsahib and I have both taken the Four Day Defensive Handgun course at Front Sight, and we can vouch that it is absolutely top notch training, even for experienced pistol shooters. And BTW, the Springfield Armory XD .45 that is included in the offer is a fine choice for self defense. Here in the States it is now just as popular as the Glock 21. Hopefully more spare parts will soon make it into the pipeline, which will make the XD .45 the ideal choice for a defensive handgun.

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Don’t miss the new Montana retreat listing on SurvivalRealty.com

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Signs of the times: Russian police hunt for thieves who stole a 200-tonne metal bridge

Note from JWR:

Congratulations to Kevin B., the high bidder in the recent SurvivalBlog benefit auction for an HK Emergency Flare Launcher and 28 flares. Today we begin a new auction. This one is for a Brunton Solarport 4.4 watt photovoltaic panel, kindly donated by Ready Made Resources (a $140 retail value) as well as seven other items: A set of Michael Z. Williamson’s sniper trilogy books, a copy of the latest edition of “The Encyclopedia of Country Living” by the late Carla Emery (a $32 retail value), an autographed copy of my novel “Patriots” (a $23 retail value), an autographed copy of my nonfiction book “Rawles on Retreats and Relocation” (a $25 retail value), and a SurvivalBlog Key Logistics Tote Bag (a $14.50 retail value.)

Letter Re: U.S. Climate Data Available Online

Jim,
I’m not sure if this has been covered here before, but here are a few links to Government climate data and maps in the US. Microclimate data are represented as well, to a degree limited by the number of stations:

Climate Maps of the United States – Lookup Page

Monthly Station Climate Summaries – By Station

U.S. Climate Normals

For those interested in wind speeds and patterns across the USA for whatever reason, the map link above can be supplemented with the data for the major population centers.

Thanks again for your hard work, – The DFer

JWR Replies: Thanks for sending those links. They are very useful for both assessing the “livability” of various locales. Along with prevailing wind maps (which are useful for radioactive fallout prediction), I consider maps an essential planning tool. I strongly recommend that anyone considering retreat locales should do a climate study first. It is notable that climate and growing season duration are what caused us to rule out areas east of The Great Divide when we went searching for the Rawles Ranch.

Letter Re: Snap Shooting Skills

Sir;
The recent SurvivalBlog article on snap shooting was great. I think that there is one useful thing to mention and that is how body armor vests (particularly thicker ones with rifle plates) change the way you shoot. The first and most obvious change to the proper way to shoot both rifles and pistols is to always face the target with your body armor! This means facing your chest directly towards the enemy, it really changes the way snap shooting works. Bringing rifles on target while keeping your chest straight toward the target is something that needs to be practiced for awhile. Doing the same with pistols is easier but still must be practiced. When wearing body armor also change the way you shoot from the prone to reflect the protection of the vest. Instead of the traditional strong side knee bent lying mostly on your weak side the way to do it is flat on your chest straight to the target so the vest protects you as much as possible.

The second way that body armor changes the way you shoot is ergonomics. Vests add thickness to all sides of your upper body. If your long gun has a stock that is exactly the right length for you [when wearing street clothes] then it will be roughly two inches too long. This is where M4 or HK91 adjustable stocks are real nice. Web gear is also going to fit smaller. These little things get to be a significant problem after a while. Try to get some hours at the range practicing snap shooting. Practice shooting with your entire kit (weapon, web gear, body armor, [and helmet]) now, so that if you need to change something you can do it before you really need the stuff–[in times when] going online and ordering a larger vest or shorter stock will probably be impossible.

Body armor is a big purchase (about the price of a decent battle rifle especially if you get [SAPI] rifle plates). After stocking a good pantry full of food and a basic firearms battery for each adult (with plenty of ammo and accessories); I can not think of another more useful item to have. – Ryan

JWR Replies: I agree with you wholeheartedly that body armor should be a high priority purchase. It is one that is often overlooked by my consulting clients. As your budget allows, each adult family member at your retreat should buy a Level IIIA concealment vest and a Kevlar helmet. If you have a big budget, then also buy an Interceptor Body Armor (IBA) vest (or equivalent).

If I had to choose between buying a second gun and buying body armor, I would definitely choose the body armor! Consider it part of your life insurance–the type that insures that you don’t die–as opposed to traditional life insurance that pays after you die. (Well, technically, it would be “assurance”, rather than “insurance”, but you get my point.) Do some comparison shopping, for price, quality, and proper fitting. (The latter is crucial.) One vendor that I recommend offers all three is BulletProofME.com. (I was recommending them long before they ever became a SurvivalBlog advertiser.)

Letter Re: The Value of a Dollar as Currency Unit

Howdy Jim,
Regarding the quotation by Dr. Walter E. Williams wherein he writes about “dollars as being ‘certificates of performance'” it reminds me of discussions years ago of the nature of money. Perhaps it may be condensed down to something such as, “Money is a measure of life energy.”

Whether it is fiat paper currency, or silver or gold coinage currency, or electron-charged cyberspace currency, what it measures and thereby accounts for is life energy. As an example consider the different measures of value we accord to an ounce bar of pure silver and an ounce coin of the the same material. The difference is the amount of life energy involved in making the coin. (“The only people who ‘make money’ are the people who work in a mint. The rest of us have to earn it.” – Earl Nightingale) The life energy expended in turning the silver ore into a pure-silver bar makes the bar more valuable than the ore. The life energy expended in turning the pure-silver bar into a pure-silver coin makes the coin more valuable than the bar. The different values we accord these various forms of this one material are the amount of life energy we humans are willing to invest or exchange in order to posses or control these different forms of this one material. Whatever medium of exchange we use (paper, coin, electron, or other), it serves as a measure of life energy.

Thank you again for all that you and yours are and do. Regards, – Lex

Feedback on the “Maxed Out” Consumer Credit Documentary

Sir,
Today I went through some of the links on SurvivalBlog that I might have otherwise passed over, for whatever reason. I came across the Google Video link: Maxed Out. Normally I would not have taken the time to watch an hour-and-a-half video on the computer, but I was curious just because you would take the time to post it up on your site. I knew that credit cards would one day become a problem, but even in my wildest dreams I never could have imagined anything even close to what is contained in that video. For those of you who have not seen it, go and do so! Go as soon as you read this, and pass it along to everyone that you know that has a computer. If ever there was any doubt that we were being used and manipulated for evil reasons, by evil people, then this should remove all that doubt.

Years ago I had two department store credit cards that I thought that I would never get paid off, but I [eventually] did. I paid the minimums, just like everyone else. However, I saw “the flaw in the slaw” and used every chance that I could get a bit of extra cash, to help pay it off quicker. As soon as I did, that was it. I had finally had enough. I have never had another [credit card] since. Recently, my auto insurance company, as well as a few others, have sent me notices to the fact, and now I pay a small amount extra on my premiums because I have a lower credit score, because I don’t owe anybody anything other than my regular monthly bills (my house payment is not included, because it is paid for.) At first I was mad beyond belief, that I had to pay more, because I was smarter than the rest of the people who bought into the Credit Card Fairy Tale. (You all know that one, where your life will become sooooo much better! After a few phone calls that went nowhere, I decided that the powers that be, had me by the short hairs. In retrospect, and after seeing this video, I can see that I am getting off cheap. Weighing all the factors, I am still ahead in the long run. So as Mr. Rawles has pointed out in so many other of the daily pages, pay off your debts as quickly as you can. And if you do decide to keep your cards, ask yourself this very important question: are you really happier that you have them? – Dim Tim

JWR: Replies: I do recommend having at least one “no annual fee” major credit card, just to keep on hand for emergencies such as car repairs on cross-country trips. But unless folks have the self-control to never use them, or at least never use them for impulse purchases (so that the balance can be paid in full each month, with no interest charges), then I recommend that they leave their credits card locked up in a home vault, or simply cut them up.