The Four Laws of Firearms Safety

For the benefit of those that are new to SurvivalBlog, it is important to again mention The Four Laws of Firearms Safety, developed by the late Col. Jeff Cooper

1) All firearms are loaded. – There are no exceptions. Don’t pretend that this is true. Know that it is and handle all firearms accordingly. Do not believe it when someone says: “It isn’t loaded.”

2) Never let the muzzle of a firearm point at anything you are not willing to destroy. – If you would not want to see a bullet hole in it do not allow a firearm’s muzzle to point at it.

3) Keep your finger off the trigger unless your sights are on the target. – Danger abounds if you keep your finger on the trigger when you are not about to shoot. Speed is not gained by prematurely placing your finger on the trigger as bringing a firearm to bear on a target takes more time than it takes to move your finger to the trigger.

4) Be sure of your target and what is behind it. – Never shoot at sounds or a target you cannot positively identify. Know what is in line with the target and what is behind it (bullets are designed to go through things). Be aware of your surroundings whether on a range, in the woods, or in a potentially lethal conflict.

Odds ‘n Sods:

I finally got the chance to go see the movie “I Am Legend“. A friend who is not preparedness- minded went with me and he commented that he found the film terrifying only because it seemed plausible. He said that unlike “Resident Evil” which seemed like an unrealistic video game to him, “I Am Legend” was genuinely frightening. This leads me to believe that the film might encourage some erstwhile sheeple to get prepared. My friend did mention that if he was in Dr. Neville’s position he would have dynamited and bulldozed all of the buildings in a three block radius to clear fields of fire.

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Matt in Texas suggested this must-read piece economics article: Enter 2008: The System Breaks. Matt’s comment: “This article by Jim Willie is an 11 on a scale of 1-to-10 for the ‘Sphincter Quotient'”.

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Ready Made Resources has reduced the prices on the new photovoltaic (PV) power product in their line. For those of us that can’t afford a full-blown PV system, they sell the Brunton Solarport –a 4.4 watt compact folding PV panel designed to charge electronics like cell phones, digital cameras, GPS receivers, and PDAs via a USB port, as well as charging batteries for radios and flashlights, with and included charging tray. It come with a 20″ extendable power cable with a modular adapter plug. Up to three units can be linked together for more current output. See the Ready Made Resources web site for complete specifications. The price is now under $110 each!

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The Memsahib has been receiving seed catalogs in the mail ever since Christmas. Seems like those catalogs are arriving earlier and earlier every year.

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Every morning in Africa a gazelle awakens knowing it must today run faster than the fastest lion or it will be eaten. Every morning a lion awakens knowing it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve. It matters not whether you are a gazelle or a lion, when the sun rises you had better be running.” – African Proverb

Letter Re: Strategies for Saving a House in a Foreclosure Situation?

Sir,
I just read your piece on foreclosures. People who are about to get behind on their payments should contact their lender. Banks do not want the properties, they want the cash.
Some lenders are willing to negotiate a modification of the loan terms rather than accept the expense of a foreclosure and resale (usually at a loss) of the property.

Selling the house before the foreclosure process begins is better than waiting because the cost of the foreclosure will be added to the amount they have to repay the bank.
If a person knows they’re going to get behind on their monthly payments, it may be better to fall behind on the credit cards and car payments instead of the house. Credit cards will yell and threaten, but usually little else. The car may be repossessed, but if the house payment is not made it will lead to foreclosure.

Also, in most places (Idaho for sure) bankruptcy will not prevent foreclosure of a residence if the borrower is delinquent on the payments. The borrower granted the lender the right to have the house sold at auction when they signed the deed of trust.

Walking away from the house does not absolve the borrower from the obligation of the debt. More lenders are going after borrowers for a deficiency judgment when the house sells for less than the debt owed.

Finally, those who take advantage of a “Short Sale”, or a transaction where the lender is persuaded to accept less than is owed so the borrower may sell the house may be in for a nasty surprise. The IRS has determined that that portion of the debt which is forgiven may be taxed as income. The lenders will often report that amount to the IRS on Form 1099, thus creating a tax liability which may pop up later when the IRS finds the borrower has assets/income again.

Just the opinion of someone who is involved in the foreclosure process and not as a representative of my employer. – TheOtherChris

Letter Re: Sources for Gasoline and Diesel Fuel in a Grid-Down Collapse

Jim:
Here is a suitable electric pump that will lift fuel from underground tanks. It is 12 Volts DC, Facet Duralift pump , Facet part #40223 / Carrier part # 30-01108-01 SV (available from Carrier Transcold dealers.) They are typically used for commercial truck refrigerators. This pump is self priming to 120 inches (3 meters). Its designed to lift fuel 10 feet straight up.

It is not cheap, at an average price of $125 from the dealer, but it works. I have one on my ’88 F250 7.3 IDI Diesel to solve fuel delivery problems.

It also has a see-through water/trash separator bowl with a pre screen. Regards, – Tim P.

Two Letters Re: Small Town Newcomers and Home Development Covenants

Jim:
In my opinion Violas’s comments are balderdash! That’s my reaction to all the ranting over “restrictive covenants”. I wouldn’t buy a piece of property in any sort of subdivision that didn’t have such rules. Let me share the experience that convinced me:

About five years ago, I bought a piece of investment property in a small, rural Wyoming subdivision. Lot sizes were 3 to 10 acres and covenants were attached. Those covenants were common sense in nature. hey boiled down to simply treating your neighbor as you would be treated.

Problem was, the covenants weren’t enforced. “Nobody’s gonna tell me what I can do with my property.” You know the litany. The inevitable results:

Animals – The covenants had no restrictions against domestic or small-sized commercial operations–i.e., half dozen horses, 20 or 30 turkeys, goats, etc. Guess what happens? Some clod runs a dozen horses on a three acre lot. Takes about 90 days until all the vegetation is dead and the neighbors are treated to pulverized horse manure and dust blowing in on their pancakes every time a breeze kicks up.

Junk – Covenants allowed up to three junk cars, plus a camper, utility trailers and even farm machinery (junk or otherwise). What happens? You got it, doesn’t take long until 2 or 3 people have turned their yards into trash heaps: old tires, worn out swamp coolers, scrap metal, you name it.

Lighting – Covenants simply said we had a “Dark Skies” policy and that folks were asked to use motion detecting or intermittent lighting and that any outdoor lighting did not shine directly on neighboring property. Yep, the first thing you got is million candlepower “security lights” that blaze away from dusk until dawn.

Temporary structures – The covenants prohibit anyone from moving a camper in and living in it. However, if they were constructing a home, they could reside in a camper on-site for a “reasonable” period of time, up to two years. Thanks to unenforced covenants, a family moves in an old camper and settles in. Their septic system? They dug a hole in the ground and piped the sewage into that hole. (Yeah, thank God we don’t have to worry about covenants!)

The list goes on, but I’ve made my point. Anyway, property values drop, decent folks sell out and are replaced by down and outers who can’t afford to keep up the property. Pretty soon, it looks like Tobacco Road.

Our solution? We sold the property as soon as we realized that the covenants were being ignored. We are glad that we did! Keep the Faith, – Dutch

 

Hi Jim,
I wanted to write in response to the latest Weekly Survival Real Estate Update. He mentioned the phenomena of outsiders moving in and establishing “covenants”, restrictive ones, which help to alter the real estate landscape, among other things. This touches on something I’ve noticed in every town I work in that is experiencing growth. Dilution.
The locals at first love the idea of new services coming from the taxes and development fees from new construction. But after awhile, they find out that the new comers don’t give a rat’s furry behind about any kind of local tradition, culture, or even cordiality. They just buy-in, settle-down (maybe) and vote. The new people vote their own ways, chose a route they prefer, and eventually dilute the will and preferences of people having lived there for years, or decades.

My little town of what used to be 9,000 is now over 14,000. The extra 5,000 seem to think that “old town” doesn’t exist, or is so out-of-date that its concerns don’t matter. It’s not nice, and it’s not comfortable. Lots of the locals have moved out, and renters have taken their place, and we know about renters around here. They move in and show all the lack of concern mentioned above, and they add new problems – dirty yards, dead cars, smells and noise. They don’t care. They don’t have any investment. The newcomers form a serious voting bloc, and are ready to okay assessments and fees on the old town. We need to pay for their developments? Sheesh!

I really would like to get up there. But I gotta wonder, how many Kalifornians have already beat feet to Idaho and Montana and found that they can alter the balance? How many of my recently removed idiot neighbors have decided that the scenery is for them, and screw the locals and their backwards ways? Does the indigenous population understand what is coming their way? You’re concerned about the hordes from the cities in a TEOTWAWKI scenario, but you might well see plenty of them ahead of time. And they vote. They will vote according to their comfort desires. They may vote in a government that is hostile to your current freedoms. They may vote in politicians that will expand liberal Schumer deeper into your lives. They will do what they want, and “what’s best” for you – whether you want it or not.

I hope that the natives understand, and are prepared to fight the battles at the polls that will need to be won. If I ever make it up there, I’d really like to not see just another transplanted Californian mentality. – Randy in Central California

Two Letters Re: Grain Storage and Preparation

Sir;
We have what may be stupid question, however, we do not know how to grind wheat. We would like to ask how to prepare wheat for cooking and use.We have searched your great site but I did not find the answer on this. We would like to take advantage of this inexpensive food. Thanks so much . Your work is appreciated. – EG

 

Mr Rawles,
My family and I are doing our best to prepare for the tough times ahead. Something’s brewing, I’m sure we all can feel it. One thing we’d love to keep a store of is cracked corn. The versatility, caloric and nutritional value, etc., makes dry corn a great prospect for our stores. We get it in 50 pound sacks from our local feed store for only about $6.50, where 50 pounds of wheat now costs us $50 ($15 of which is shipping). Please advise me how best to keep cracked corn. I know it won’t keep long in the paper sacks. I’ve looked into five gallon buckets with seals in the lids, and we have a vacuum sealer. I would also like to know how dry corn holds up with climate change. Here we experience temperatures between about 5 degrees F and 120 degrees F throughout the year. Can corn be sealed and stored outside with these temperatures? For how long at best? We’re striving for five plus years if at all possible, most likely not having electricity. As time is short, please try to get back to me as soon as possible or link me to where you may have already answered these questions. Thank you very much in advance for any help at all which you’re able to offer. God bless you! – Mitch


JWR Replies: For someone planning ahead for “grid down” circumstances, I recommend getting a hand crank-powered grain mill. To make flour that is fine enough for bread baking, you need to run wheat through a mill twice. The best mills use stone burrs. Some of the less expansive mills use metal burrs. But these are just fine for making corn meal. The meal burr mills such as the “Corona” are less expensive but more labor intensive. With these you might have to grind wheat three times to make fine flour. Here at the ranch we use a Country Living grain mill. They are very efficient, and their crank wheels have a V-belt notch, which makes motorizing or pedal-power converting them quite easy. OBTW, I heard that this model will have a 15% price increase from the manufacturer on February 1, 2008, so if you want one, get your order in soon.

Metal burr grinders are available from Nitro-Pak, Lehman’s, and several other vendors. Stone burr grinders are available from Ready Made Resources, Lehman’s, and many other vendors.

OBTW, in addition to buying yourself a mill for grinding flour, don’t overlook the easiest preparation method of all: soaked wheat berries. By simply soaking whole wheat for 24 to 36 hours, it plumps and softens. When then heated, wheat berries make a nutritious breakfast cereal.

Corn stores best in whole kernels. Once it is cracked, the inner germ is exposed. This decreases its storage life and nutritive value by 80%. Running whole corn through a grain mill at a coarse setting to make cracked corn is quick and easy. A finer setting will yield corn meal.

Unless you have large scale grain bins, one of the most efficient means of storing wheat and corn for small-scale animal feed or human consumption is to buy new galvanized trash cans with tight-fitting lids. If they will be on a damp floor, put the cans up on 2×4 blocks to prevent rust. When galvanized trash barrels go on sale, buy a bunch. Another good storage method is 5 or 6 gallon food grade plastic buckets with gasketed lids. These stack well, but be advised that they are not as vermin-proof as galvanized steel bins or barrels. Determined rats have been known to gnaw their way through plastic food buckets. So if you choose this method, be sure to set traps, and check the buckets once every few weeks for signs of damage. As previously mentioned in SurvivalBlog, do not use utility-type plastic paint buckets. Even if bought brand new these can taint food, because they are often molded using non-food-grade (toxic) mold release agents.

Grain storage is a crucial aspect of family preparedness. Grain will soon no longer be cheap or plentiful, so stock up! Readers JP and Commander Zero suggested this Financial Post (Canada) article: Forget oil, the new global crisis is food And meanwhile, we read: Japan to Increase Emergency Stockpiles of Grains, Wheat has jumped to $10 per bushel, but I anticipate that it will go much higher in the next year. Stock up, in quantity. Buy plenty for your family and your livestock. A total of 200 pounds of wheat and 50 pounds of corn per family member are good figures for planning purposes for a family without livestock. I also recommend buying plenty of extra for barter and charity. You’ll soon be glad that you did

Speaking of charity, if you store extra wheat and/or corn for charity, remember that your charity recipients will need a way to process that grain. So be sure to be on the lookout for a few inexpensive used grain mills. You can often find used Corona brand mills (or similar) on eBay or on Craig’s List

Letter Re: Strategies for Saving a House in a Foreclosure Situation?

Hi Jim,
Are there any strategies, (i.e.- negotiations, dickering, etc…) that you can recommend for a after a TSHTF situation in which the government has raised taxes so much that you are hinging on hanging on to your retreat? Any examples that worked back in the 1930s? I know you can relate due to your family’s history that you have spoken of. What could we do as a plan to save our properties?
Who can we expect to knock on the door, (i.e.- what entities)?
Do you think there will be more motivation to seize productive ground?
Do you think there will be more motivation to seize ground that has equity in it?
Do you think there will be more of a chance of the Government or the Lender coming to knock on the door if you fall behind on your mortgage payments or property tax installment?
Do you think legal representation will actually prove beneficial under such implied circumstances?
Would you recommend being overly helpful to them at that hypothetical point, or would you recommend dragging your feet hoping that maybe they go on to a quicker seizure of someone else’s property?
These are questions that I hasten to type, but, maybe someone has thought of the aftermath and can offer some good sound advice since we will unlikely be able to communicate or have access to the Internet under such circumstances, nor afford an expensive Attorney. – The Wanderer

JWR Replies: I’d like to address this from two distinct angles: tax delinquency and mortgage delinquency. I’ll address mortgage delinquency first, since it is far more likely.

Mortgage Delinquency:

It may sound like an elementary precept, but when you buy any property using a mortgage, you don’t really own that property until the mortgage is paid in full. It is the banker’s house, not yours, until it is entirely paid off. In essence, in the eyes of the law the lender is still the owner. If you get delinquent in your payments for long enough (it varies depending on the state where you live), then you can count on foreclosure and if need be, being forcibly evicted. Currently the county sheriff’s deputies in California’s post-bubble Central Valley are presently busy with a lot of evictions.

Before talking about delinquency and foreclosure, I should mention one protective measure. State laws vary, but a Declaration of Homestead can help protect your house (and typically just the one acre that it sits on) from creditors in some circumstances. Be sure to research your state’s declaration of homestead law thoroughly. In many states, a homestead exemption is automatic–you aren’t required to file a homestead declaration in order to claim the homestead exempt status. Again, these laws can vary widely, so do your homework.

Here are some of my thoughts on the four most-often suggested solutions for preventing foreclosure:

Borrow money from friends or family members: This might be an option, but unless you know for certain that you can meet the new payment schedule, then don’t do it. It will only cause familial strife that could last for decades.

Borrow from a different bank to get back up to date on past-due payments: This can be accomplished by means of a second mortgage, but I must warn readers that is having trouble paying a first mortgage, then taking out a second mortgage is most likely just a stop-gap measure.

File in Bankruptcy Court (Chapter 7 or 13): Generally not recommended, since it could take decades to recover. You could conceivably keep a mortgaged house when going through either Chapter 7 or Chapter 13.

Sell the property: Most people consider this a last resort, but my personal opinion is that it should be the first option that you consider. Typically, if you find new financing then you will most likely fall behind again on your payments and the end result will be the same: foreclosure. So it is usually best to cut your losses and sell the house. If you are in a situation where you “upside down” in the mortgage (where the value of the property has declined to below what you still owe on the property), then it is probably best to just pack up and move, and mail you banker the keys. (This has recently been dubbed “jingle mail.”) With continuing sharp declines in house prices expected in the next few years in the over-bought coastal markets, I predict that the “Midnight Flit” will become a commonplace occurrence.

 

Tax Delinquency:
This was the situation that my great grandparents were in, back in the 1930s. They owned a large sheep ranch in northern California. At the beginning of the Great Depression they were land rich but cash poor. By the end of the Depression, that had neither much money or land. By 1942, the county had taken most of the ranch for back taxes.

The only safe and sure prevention for such situations is to have cash in the bank, or highly liquid tangibles (such as precious metals). With cash in the bank you can sleep well, knowing that you’ll always be able to pay your property taxes. The property tax rates vary tremendously from state to state. The tax rates tend to be the highest in the northeastern US, and lowest in the south and the west. Needless to say, I recommend relocation to states with low property tax rates.

If and when you can’t pay your taxes, you can try some legal maneuvers, but once the deputies arrive, don’t try anything melodramatic. They are just the instrument of the courts, and it is in the courts that you must find your remedy and recourse. When it comes to foreclosures, unless you live in a county with a particularly corrupt government, I don’t thing that it will make much difference how much equity you hold, and or whether or not the land is productive. If you get in arrears on your taxes, they will be “equal opportunity destroyers.” The tax sales may get delayed in some cases, but inevitably if you don’t pay the taxes, then the land will be seized.

OBTW, speaking of forfeiture for back taxes, if you are looking for bargain retreat properties in rural regions, you can occasionally find small parcels that are available for just the price of catching up on their back taxes. (Again, state laws vary widely.) Typically these are undeveloped parcels that were bought decades before. The owners, often out of state, changed mailing addresses, and somewhere along the line–often because of a death in the family–the property was forgotten, the taxes lapsed, and with no mail forwarding address, the property was eventually seized by the county for back taxes. You can find some such properties through services like Foreclosure.com. But in some cases you have to visit the County Recorder/Assessor’s Office to find out about such parcels. You should get to know the people at your Recorder’s office anyway, so if nothing else this is a good excuse to go and visit.

Letter Re: The Precious Metals Bull Charges Onward

Jim-
You noted gold reaching an all-time high on Wednesday the 2nd of January. But this writer says: “I’m not really sure how all the ‘Gold at 27-year high’ headlines came to be, but my own calculations tell me that gold would have to break at least $2,400 an ounce [adjusted for inflation] to break its supposed 27-year high.”

If that argument is accurate, perhaps it is not yet time to think about getting out of gold 20% at a time just yet. – Robert B.

JWR Replies: The “adjusted for inflation” calculations on the real value of gold are indeed valid, but those folks seem to assume that there are free markets. Sadly, there aren’t–they are unfortunately manipulated in a number of ways. The missing variables in calculating the next likely market tops for silver and gold are A.) market regulation, and B.) central bank metals selling and leasing. If The Powers That Be (TPTB) decide that the prices of gold and silver are getting “inflated” then they can either change the trading rules–like the CBOT and COMEX did in 1980, when they drastically raised the margin requirements on silver futures contracts and capped silver futures contract holdings, to stop the Hunt Brothers silver rally–or they can simply announce that there will be some big government gold sales. (Sales of hundred of tons of gold are commonplace.) Either of those would crash the relatively thin metals market. I believe that manipulators will start making such moves when they start to feel discomfort as rising precious metals prices reveal the real value of the fire kindling that they call “money”. I predict that this discomfort will reach painful proportions once the price of gold passes €1,000 Euros per ounce. The emperor cannot afford to be seen sans-culottes. If and when TPTB want to push down the price of metals, they will. I am merely recommending that SurvivalBlog readers conservatively unwind the speculative side of of their metals portfolios before this happens. I recommend that take your profit and reinvest your capital in other tangibles such as productive farm land.

An aside: The whole concept of the gold price being “inflated” is laughable, since it is the un-backed paper currencies that have been unbridled, while the metals have effectively been stable. There is only a limited supply of gold in the world, but a virtually unlimited supply of paper and ink. Understanding the “price” versus “value” of precious metals is all a matter of perspective. As economist Howard J. Ruff pointed out three decades ago: An ounce of gold would buy a nice man’s suit a century ago, and one ounce will still buy a nice suit today. It is not the value of gold that has changed, but rather it is the value of the fiat paper currencies that has changed. They have all been destroyed by inflation at various rates

There is one other factor that makes metals market predictions almost impossible: the small size of both the “above ground” precious metals market and the market for mining shares. Both of these are so small compared to the global “digits” economy, which–even without derivatives–is measured in trillions. The capitalization of all of the mining companies in the world combined is smaller than the capitalization of the Big Three auto makers. The metals markets are so thin that they are quite vulnerable to manipulation.

Odds ‘n Sods:

Eric S. sent this one: Deadbeat America: Late Payments Soar. It is not reassuring to see that late payment rates are spiking in relatively “good times” with an employment rate that is just starting to falter. Obviously American consumers have collectively gone deep into debt. In the next recession we will undoubtedly see unprecedented delinquency and default rates, followed soon after by a spike in personal bankruptcies. Oh, but wait a minute, US bankruptcy laws have become less lenient.

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And Eric also forwarded us this: Americans Sold Out to Foreign Firms at Record Rate

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From The Oil Drum editors: Oil Price Touches $100 a Barrel; Signal of Pending Oil Shortages Ignored

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Passenger jets get anti-missile devices

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“There are two methods, or means, and only two, whereby man’s needs and desires can be satisfied. One is the production and exchange of wealth; this is the economic means. The other is the uncompensated appropriation of wealth produced by others; this is the political means.” – Albert Jay Nock

Letter Re: Rolled-Up Sleeves Work

Jim,
Do you think the subject of work gets underplayed in the survivalist movement? It seems that most of survivalist conversation is about firearms, bug-out tanks, and quasi-military offensive and defensive [tactics and] strategies. What about work, hard manual labor? Yes, work is a ugly four letter word. It is a “hard” word that implies sore muscles, sweating, fatigue, things that it is “hard” (pun intended) to put a happy face on.

Firearms are fun, fun to talk about, shop for, practice with, and debate my choice is better than the other guy’s choice. If the SHTF there may be many firefights, or there maybe very few firefights. What is for certain is there will be a lot of hard manual labor that someone is going to have to perform.

Here is an example of the point I am trying to make: If one has a private 300-yard firearms shooting range, and a 10′ x 12′ enclosed heated building at one end, built for the sole purpose of shooting in any weather. Perhaps another person might say, “wow, if I had my own shooting range like that, I would be shooting all the time”.

However the guy with the private range spends most of his time working, laying in 8 to 10 cords of split firewood, fixing chainsaws, repairing and painting buildings, building new buildings, fixing machinery, fixing roads and driveways, caring for animals, tending and harvesting the garden. Running a small home business. Planting cash crops to pay for the paint, lumber, and yes, the firearms.
It seems there is this unspoken idea or subconscious feeling that if you have enough firepower and are among the chosen few to escape the urban institutions for the insane; that one will arrive at the place of “bliss”. That the hard part is over, that one has escaped, one has achieved a sizeable victory, and now things will be easy or easier.
Yes, I know that survivalists don’t really think that is true, they know at some level that it will never again be easy.
And yet over and over people write to you (Jim) listing their firearms inventory. Some other survival blogs, books and magazines devote the preponderance of space about the perfect firearms, as if the single most important factor in survival is: “have the right firearm”. Please keep up the good work, – DAV

JWR Replies: Thanks for mentioning the sweat factor. When talking in abstract terms about preparedness in a blog, it is easy to lose sight of the numbers of hours and gallons of sweat required to make some of these preparations come to fruition. I can assure you that we expend plenty of sweat here at the Rawles Ranch. In the past year, most of this effort has been on fencing work. Since the price of hay shot up last year in the western US, there has been a lot of livestock available at either greatly reduced prices, or even free for the taking. The Memsahib took this opportunity to increase our livestock headcount. Consequently, it also meant that we had to greatly expand and improve our perimeter fencing, cross fencing, gates, corrals, and chutes.

Meanwhile, we have also expanded our garden plot, and that took laboriously digging umpteen post holes in rocky ground for the fence posts. The posts, BTW, were all from cedars that I felled here on the ranch, cut to 12 foot lengths (to provide a 9 foot high fence). This of course also necessitated dragging the posts, peeling them, and painting the bottom three feet of each with a bug-resistant copper-based solution. Read: work, work, and more work. The “bliss” factor only comes at the end of a hard day when I can enjoy a glass of iced tea and switch to my light work–blogging.