Odds ‘n Sods:

Matt in Texas sent the link for this Acres USA article in PDF format on the Prehn method for spring development: Milking Water from the Hills

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Frequent content contributor M.P. sent us this one: The Case Of The Vanishing Bees–Beekeepers In 22 States Report Insects Disappearing In Huge Numbers

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“Going, going…” Rob at $49 MURS Radios tells us that his supplies of the used MURS radios that he has been selling at $49 each is dwindling fast. He reports: “I expect only another few weeks of availability at the current rate of sales. Once they are gone, that’s it. I do have a small supply of Kenwood TK-260G, 5 watts, 8 channel VHF portables (currently programmed on business itinerant frequencies) for $79 that includes the radio, antenna, good used battery, belt clip, and drop in charger.”

Notes from JWR:

The high bid is now at $300 in the current SurvivalBlog benefit auction for a brand new Schecter “Warthog” Electric Guitar. This is an awesome guitar from Schecter’s Tempest series is decorated in a military aviation motif. It was kindly donated by Schecter Guitar Research. (Where there are some SurvivalBlog fans.) This guitar has a $729 retail value. Please tell any of your friends that are guitarists about this auction, which ends March 15th. Just e-mail me your bid. Thanks!

We are seeking additional overseas correspondents and/or Profiles for SurvivalBlog, particularly in countries with high crime rates, countries with religious persecution, and/or countries with recent insurgencies or economic troubles such as: Afghanistan, Angola, Argentina, Bolivia, Bosnia, Brazil, China, Columbia, Congo, Cote d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Haiti, India (preferably someone living in or near the Kashmir), Indonesia, Iraq, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Liberia, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Mozambique, New Caledonia, Nigeria, Pakistan, The Philippines, Somalia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Thailand, Togo, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe. Our readers would benefit from your “lessons learned” and even just hearing about your day-to-day experiences. (How you survived hyperinflation, how you’ve avoided kidnapping, your countermeasures for street crime, et cetera.) I’d also appreciate hearing from anyone that has recently lived in a high crime inner-city area in the United States.

The pay for your writing: zero.  (Well, perhaps the occasional free book or sample merchandise.) The rewards: tremendous.  You’ll know that you are helping many thousands of people gain valuable knowledge and motivation to be able to survive, if and when the First World starts to resemble the Third World. Don’t worry about your spelling or grammar. We’d like your input, even if English is not your first language. I’ll handle the editing. Thanks!

Letter Re: The Pending Federal “Assault Weapons” Ban (H.R. 1022)

Jim,
Have you read through this bill? The way things seem to be going/looking, is that 4-shot/capacity turnbolts will be all that’ll be “allowed”. Yes; I am scared. Any thoughts/comments/advice/assurances?- Ben L.

JWR Replies: The H.R. 1022 bill scares me, too. Paragraph (L) is the nasty catch-all. That paragraph leaves the determination of what constitutes an “Assault Weapons” up to the arbitrary whim of the Attorney General (AG)–a political appointee. (Remember Janet Reno?) The real weasel phrase in paragraph (L) is “…and a firearm shall not be determined to be particularly suitable for sporting purposes solely because the firearm is suitable for use in a sporting event.” That phrase is the “back door” that they leave open for banning M1As and virtually any other model that the AG deems sufficiently ugly or “evil” looking. The NRA warns us that this law would also “begin backdoor registration of guns, by requiring private sales of banned guns, frames, receivers and parts to be conducted through licensed dealers.” In case this law ever morphs into a more draconian mandatory registration or confiscation law, I recommend that all American “black gun” gun owners look seriously at buying a few “sporting” semi-auto such as a Valmet Hunter, Galil Hadar, HK SL6 (or 660), SL7 (or 770). Also consider FN-49s, which have a fixed 10 round magazine and no pistol grip. Ditto for M1 Garands, which use a 8 round en bloc clip. You should also show foresight and look beyond this particular piece of pending legislation. In the event of eventual “worst case” legislation–e.g. universal registration or confiscation of all modern firearms–you should hedge your bets by buying a few pre-1899 cartridge guns. (Such as those sold by The Pre-1899 Specialist.)

The only saving graces of the proposed ban are that it only affects new manufacture and importation. That still leaves a lot of existing (“grandfathered”) guns and full capacity magazines. If it passes, I predict that this law’s effect will be much like the 1986 machinegun freeze. And you’ve seen what has happened to the prices of Class 3 guns. The law of supply and demand is inescapable. Prices went up a lot during the 1994-to-2004 Federal ban. This time, prices will surely skyrocket even more, since this is a much wider-reaching law. My advice: Stock up, especially on magazines. Buy at least a dozen for each of your guns. Buy hundreds, if you can afford them. Again, based on the experience of the 1994-2004 ban and the 1986 Federal machinegun “freeze”, I expect magazine prices to at least triple. If you can, buy lots of extras, even for models that you don’t own, to use for barter. Buy a mix of mostly commonplace magazines (like HK91, FAL, and AR, and M14), and a few exotic ones (like Glock 33 round, Galil, SIG, Valmet, et cetera.) There may come a day when practically no amount of cash will buy you a pre-ban semi-auto or detachable magazine, but trades will still be considered.

Prices are still reasonable, because the full implications of this pending legislation have not yet registered with average American gun owner. For example, the last that I heard, TAPCO was still selling alloy 20 round HK91 magazines (that also fit CETMEs) at 50 pieces for $50. I think that in a couple of years such prices will seem like a dream. BTW, be sure to buy only factory original or original military contract magazines. Avoid all of the after-market junk.

The only other suggestion that I can make is: call, e-mail, and FAX your congressman frequently about this bill or any similar legislation. H.R. 1022 is blatantly unconstitutional legislation, plain and simple. And the only two assurances that I can make are: 1.) Regardless of whether or not this bill passes, the guns and magazines that you buy in the next six months will likely gain much more value than any money you put in the bank, and 2.) You can trust in God’s providence.

Letter Re: Stocking up on Horse Tack

Jim,
If there were an EMP event, what would be the primary mode of transportation: shank’s mare; the bicycle; horses? Likely all three would rate pretty high on the list of most likely. Accordingly, are most prepared? I would anticipate most have the necessary footwear. A bicycle would be viable for personal and logistics transport…if one has an appropriate unit and the maintenance supplies…in fact, this would be a practical way to move young children from one location to another as they already have their bikes.

But what about the eventual and likely need for horse transportation? While it may be and is very impracticable for urbanites to keep horses for post-EMP days, it is very practical for urbanites (and others) to keep and maintain a complete component of necessary equestrian tack: a saddle that fits; quality bridle and reins; halters; saddle blankets; feed sacks; leads; gun scabbards; saddlebags; etc. See, being lucky enough to ‘acquire’ a horse would be quite possible; however, ‘acquiring’ the tack/gear to outfit a mount is another story altogether. Better prepared than wondering one day why you weren’t. Anyway, just a notion. Keep up the great work from your undisclosed venue. – Matt, Somewhere South of Kentucky & North of Alabama

JWR Replies: You are right that horses will be very important, post-Crunch. So buying horse tack is a great idea, Matt! You can also consider those purchases part of your “just in case” Peak Oil insurance and just one more “tangible” investment. Just be sure to keep that leather well oiled, inspected often, and away from moisture and vermin. (Mice and rats do love to chew, and chew, and chew.) OBTW, one alternative is purchasing the biothane nylon tack that is now favored by some “endurance” riders. Regardless of what tack you select, think ahead in terms of maintaining your tack. Buy extra hardware, rolls of different widths of nylon webbing (in olive green and brown, of course) sheet leather, leather working tools, a sewing awl, spools of heavy nylon thread, Barge Cement, Shoo Goo, et cetera. Those are all available from Tandy Leather Company. I have found that slightly used tools can often be found at garage sales, flea markets, and via eBay, from people that flirted with the hobby, but gave it up when they discovered that it was too much like work. BTW, those tools and supplies could form the basis for a second “post-Crunch” source of income or barter. Also BTW, I predict that post-TEOTWAWKI there will suddenly be lots people that want to carry handguns daily, but that will be short on holsters. (Just ask the average American gun collector if he has a practical holster for each of his handguns.)

Letter Re: Leatherworking as a Post-TEOTWAWKI Occupation

Dear Jim,
Basic leatherworking [suggested in the recent poll on potential TEOTWAWKI home businesses] is fairly easy, if time consuming. Shears, a punch and strong thread are all that’s needed. Fine work or more elaborate items than pouches, belts, hats and such take practice, but the leather can frequently be salvaged from mistakes and reused.
I think the most important aspect of the skill for a TEOTWAWKI environment would be skinning, curing and tanning. Brain, urine, vegetable and oak tanning are time consuming (Everything about leather is), but books exist and functional (as opposed to pretty) leather isn’t too hard to produce. It’s worth practicing once or twice now.
Also don’t forget that dried rawhide, or leather boiled for a few seconds. (Oil isn’t necessary. Water is preferred) is hard enough to armor against cutting edges and some blunt impacts. –
Michael Z. Williamson

JWR Adds: Most SurvivalBlog readers will recognize the name Michael Z. Williamson (since he frequently sends us e-mails), and many of you have probably read some of his books. (He is a well-known science fiction and military fiction writer.) But you may not have heard that he is also a part-time sword and knife maker. He is a co-owner of a custom edged weapon biz called, appropriately enough Sharp Pointy Things. He has also considerable experience doing historical reenacting. So when Mike mentions the utility of boiled leather for armor, he speaks from first hand experience! And for any of you thinking about about buying any sharp pointy things to prepare for that dreaded multi-generational TEOTWAWKI (“MGTEOTWAWKI”) scenario, then Mike is the man to see.

Odds ‘n Sods:

Simon M. mentioned that following Mossberg’s lead, the newly-minted “we’re conservatives, honest!” management at Smith & Wesson has jumped on the “survival kit” band wagon. They now offer “Disaster Ready” kit packaging for four variants of their Glock-like Sigma Series 9mm and .40 S& W pistols. Simon says: “I see that the kit is missing a good knife and a holster. I hope there is a good flint in the Pocket Survival Pack. Now if they did one of these [kits] based on there M&P15 (AR-15) that would be a bit better.” As previously mentioned in SurvivalBlog, S&W already offers a survival kit tailored for the Montana/Alaska/Canada “bear country” market including one of their whompin’ huge .500 revolvers.

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I’m often asked for gunsmith recommendations. One that I can recommend highly is Rich Saunders, who operates CGW in Gardnerville, Nevada. He is an awesome FAL/L1A1 gunsmith that has branched out into other gunsmithing work, including AKs. Rich has done five FAL-type rifle builds for me in the past four years. (Three L1A1s, an L2 heavy barrel, and a custom inch magazine compatible “Para“.) He does amazing work. All five of these rifles were absolutely gorgeous guns that function flawlessly. Rich also does custom coatings on firearms, and now sells knives and field gear. Highly recommended!

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Bob B. mentioned this book review of The Dangerous Book for Boys. Sounds like my childhood!

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"Can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with his wrath?" – Thomas Jefferson, Works 8:404; P.P.N.S. p. 141.

Note from JWR:

The high bid is now at $250 in the current SurvivalBlog benefit auction for a brand new Schecter “Warthog” Electric Guitar. This is an awesome guitar from Schecter’s Tempest series is decorated in a military aviation motif. It was kindly donated by Schecter Guitar Research. (Where there are some SurvivalBlog fans.) This guitar has a $729 retail value. Please tell any of your friends that are guitarists about this auction, which ends March 15th. Just e-mail me your bid. Thanks!

Poll Results: Best Occupations for Both Before and After TEOTWAWKI

In no particular order, the following are the first batch of responses to my poll question on the best occupations or home businesses for both before and after TEOTWAWKI:

Locksmith/Home security systems installer/repairman
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Beekeeping
Small scale vegetable gardening.
Growing herbs (medicinal)
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1) Electricity:
a. Recharge batteries for folks, rebuild the bad batteries, and lots of folks don’t know squat about electricity for lighting, etc. Got several methods: Solar, miscellaneous generators powered by hand, animal, wind and even the old one lung gas engine with that darn heavy flywheel.
b. Also use the above for communications when there aren’t cell phones or twisted pair communications. HF, VHF, UHF and Wi-Fi.
c. Also for Wi-Fi between homes and towns if computers survive.
2) Maintain RVs and trailers with their associated systems: furnaces, lighting, water, pumps, et al.
3) Make more Stills like the one I have and produce nerve tonic and fuel.
4) Medical: Apply those smelly herbs I find, grow and use. Not to mention sewing up the occasional cut and tear, set the odd bone and generally try to avoid surgery (Ha!) Let’s not even talk about handling boils, although that will be around too.
5) Sorta medical: Collect, cure the Knick-Knick and sell tobacco.
6) Use my HF radios to send mail to and from families far away.
7) Make leather cups for pumps when there isn’t any molded rubber around.
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Growing and maintaining quality heritage based [heirloom /non-hybrid] produce for a local farmers market but also a “seed saver” program to provide quality heritage seeds for sale or barter for future gardens.
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Almost anything in the medical field: EMT, Nurse, doctor
Stay at home parent
Teacher/tutor
Translator – post TEOTWAWKI, there won’t be handy computer programs to help out, and there are a lot of non-English speakers in any suburb, let alone anything larger
Tailoring/Alterations
Chef/cook
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1. Mechanic / bodywork man. People tend to hold onto cars and equipment much longer during hard times, and fix up their existing vehicles instead of buying new.
2. Handyman – Same basic idea as above. Also lots of work installing insulation, wood stoves, energy-efficient appliances, security improvements and of course repairing damage from natural disasters.
3. Musician – The guy who can play the guitar always seems to do okay anywhere where people suffer. Whether it’s in a prison, a starving country torn up by civil war, or just a campfire with a bunch of tired cowboys, people want to be able to relax and forget about the real world for a while.
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Clothes and shoe manufacturing/repair
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Dentistry/Oral Surgery
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Make/sell small DC generators, and use them for charging batteries for cash/barter), as shown at The Epicenter.com
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Health care (physician, nursing) is always good.
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Farmer or Rancher (self-sufficient and rural)
Mechanic (keeping stuff running)
Any sort of health care provider – Doctor/Nurse/Paramedic/EMT (*the only down-side is you may get wrapped up treating endless victims though)
Veterinarian
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Farrier/blacksmith
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Leatherwork. “It is a booming business for skilled leather workers right now; people will pay ridiculously high prices for custom made goods. Being able to build and mend saddles, shoes, bags, belts, and all manner of useful items is not only a handy skill to have, but there’s decent money in it. Right now, it’s more of a luxury to most people to have leather goods custom made for them, since there are many other options on the market for our everyday needs. But once the supply of cheap garbage from China is cut off, and our technology is thrown back a couple hundred years, leather will return to its place as an essential material. And knowing how to work with leather will be a prized skill. As well as having the proper tools to do it.”
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Chicken raising/breeding
Bee-keeping
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Mechanic – “An automobile or aircraft mechanic (and perhaps some other similar crafts) has developed the skills to repair a number of existing devices in addition to the devices they were specifically trained on, i.e. generator/appliance repair or gunsmithing.”
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Electrician
Blacksmith
Mechanic
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Farm equipment repairman
Armorer
Welder

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1. Survival skills trainer/practitioner (firearms instructor, gunsmith, hunter/trapper, adventure guide, blacksmith, carpenter (if with manual tools), plumber, cooper, potter, candle maker, stonemason/bricklayer, etc.). Skills that you can use or have value in trade, and that do not depend upon electricity are definitely the most valuable of all occupations. Having an array of these skills is the very best.
2. Physician (especially general practice, surgeon, or OB-GYN)
3. Farmer/rancher
4. EMT, RN, midwife
5. Survival supplies dealer
6. Engineer (mechanical, electrical, civil, metallurgical/materials) – if practically oriented and skilled outside of the computer, and not management.
7. Electrician (power generation & distribution, communication
8. Army, Marine, or SpecOps military officer below rank of General (for both hard skills and leadership)
9. Engine repair / mechanic / machinist
10. Teacher
11. Lawyer (just kidding!)
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Nurseryman with perennial food plants- berries, fruits, herbs, rhubarb, horseradish, Jerusalem artichokes, etc.
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Solar power technology business

Four Letters Re: One Common Caliber for Retreat Rifles and Handguns?

James:
I would like to add a comment on the viability of the “same caliber pistol and rifle” concept. The .357 Magnum offers an interesting choice for a survival rifle.
In a revolver, the .357 is certainly powerful enough to be considered a defense caliber by most folks. The 16″ barreled Winchester or Marlin lever action rifles can push out a 180 grain slug at close to 2000 fps with handloads, making it usable on deer out to 150 yards or so.
Loading up light .38 special loads makes this rifle capable of taking small game without destroying all the meat.
The .357 is easy to load with tools like the Lee hand loader, and runs just fine on cast bullets. Depending on the load, you can get over 1,000 rounds of 38 Special out of a pound of powder, and store everything you need to cast and load in a 50 cal ammo can.
Depending on your needs and whether you think you’ll be spending a long time away from civilization, having an easy-to-sustain weapon for game getting and home defense could make sense.
A 10-shot lever action is certainly not a substitute for a modern battle rifle, but it’s easy to shoot and not intimidating to women and young shooters.
Just my $.02 – J.N.

 

Mr R
Interesting post on pistol cartridges in carbines. Since becoming a regular reader, I’ve taken up reloading. I have a couple observations about handgun & long gun combo as a novice.

The concept makes sense to me, from the versatility standpoint. When I started looking at what we had and what we might get, I settled on the .38 Special /.357 magnum revolver plus Marlin 1894 carbine combo. We already had revolvers for those cartridges. The ease of reloading and obtaining components for those calibers was attractive. The Marlin carbine is robust, easy to carry and shoot, respectably accurate up to 100 yards ( even for my middle-aged eyes, with iron peep sights) …. and Corbon manufactures a “heavy” 200 gr round designed for light game. Various powder and bullet combos coming out of the Marlin’s 18″ barrel make it a pretty decent round. As a reloading novice, I noticed that Alliant 2400 worked well for both .357 hot n’ heavy rounds, as well as for intermediate 7.62 x 39 mm rounds. Again, some commonality in supplies drew us.

As you note, a good bolt gun, or good semi-auto intermediate-cartridge gun ( AR-15, SKS ) is surely going beat a “handgun” round, but we felt that those needs could be addressed later, and they were. We got bolt guns ( CZ 527 ) that launch the 7.62 x 39mm round, enhancing the ability to use that round, and conversion uppers (Olympic Arms ) that will allow the .223 / 5.56 NATO ARs to fire the same 7.62 x 39 cartridge.

Following the “path of simplification and versatility” works well for us You are on the money again, particularly as regards 9mm / .40 S&W “long guns” Their price, versus a Marlin 94 carbine is pretty much a dead-heat. If I can effectively load .38 Special /.357 Mag, anyone can. Light loads ( .38 Special) are are great for 2″ revolvers, and the heavyweights ( .357 ) work well in medium and large frame revolvers and the Marlin. We can all handle their recoil.

Novice observation: We looked at accuracy/reliability/cost for our bolt guns, and settled on the CZ, and Savage. The Savage line (Model 110 series) has ” package guns” with low-cost scopes already aboard and bore-sighted, and they are acceptably accurate. We got very nice Bushnell 3200 Elites in both regular and Firefly reticles at www.DigitalFoto.com. (The best prices we could find, believe me) and they are as accurate as will be needed. Their 110-line has both 30.06 and .308 packages, covering the cartridges I assume most folks will have or are planning on.

Your emphasis in [your novel] “Patriots” on self-illuminating (tritium) sights and scopes is one that readers should have burned into their consciousness and purchasing plans. Batteries die. Replacement batteries may not be available, and they have to be installed, maybe under stress. Why bother [when you can get tritium lit scopes that don’t need batteries]?

In a pinch, the small ( 1.5″ ) red light sticks ( try Botach Tactical ) can be carefully affixed to barrels, giving low-light capability–better than none. Luminescent paint can be applied to rear and front sights. Anything trumps nothing. I’m currently re-reading “Patriots”. Thanks for the info. Best Regards, – MurrDoc

 

Jim:
Great subject. Anyone that desires cartridge commonality out to check out the Beretta Storm Series. Now certainly weapon choice is one of personal preference and typically based on purpose, familiarity and geographical location. If one is looking for a true defensive weapon with some crossover potential for sporting than I believe you out to at least give the Beretta CX4 Storm series a serious look. Not only does the carbine, CX4, come in three different cambers (.45, .40 and 9mm), Beretta has a matching cambered handgun. Additionally, the magazines are cross platform compatible. Yes, the .45 ACP magazine used in the CX4 carbine will also fit the Beretta’s Cougar 8045 handgun. Other positives on the CX4 would be its lightweight, easy to mount accessories, easily converted to accommodate a right or left handed shooter, easy to break for cleaning, easy for a non-armorer to remove and replace defective components. Some negatives would be trajectory, range and limited steel site adjustment capability. Semper Fi, – Richard N.

 

Sir:
The recent “One Common Caliber for Retreat Rifles and Handguns” letter got me rethinking the ideal of caliber commonality. Not handgun and rifle in the same caliber – but the ideal of only one rifle caliber for everything. In a perfect world, this would be the most efficient use of money and time and gear redundancy. One would own one rifle caliber and one platform, say, several M1As and a boatload of .308.
But this paradigm is predicated on the assumption of unlimited amounts of inexpensive ammo, to feed the requirements of ongoing practice and training. Four years ago, this made perfect sense. Back then, I bought many cases of the Portuguese .308 milsurp at $150 a case. At that price, I could keep five cases around, and burn through a case a year for practice and training. But now, with .308 milsurp pushing a surreal $500/case – and worse, the prospect of the supply literally drying up – I’ve had to shift gears. I can no longer shoot much .308. Now, I’ve reverted to “hoard” mode in that caliber. [Even] .223 has been following a similar price trajectory.
As a result, I’ve been motivated to diversify rifle calibers, somewhat against my “caliber commonality” philosophy. For example, the AK-47 isn’t my favored platform, although I have one – but cases of 7.62×39 can be had easily for $160. So I bought five cases of that, and am looking to buy a second AK-47.
In the years ahead of perpetual wars and hence perpetual military-caliber ammo shortages, I think we need to be flexible, even at the cost of losing commonality, and accruing redundant ammo stockpiles. It’s important to have ammo, not just for a rainy day, but for the ongoing duties of practice and training. – Don in Philadelphia

JWR Replies: The current ammo shortages and the recent hefty price increases do indeed put a new spin in preparedness planning. If a large quantity of inexpensive non-corrosive ammunition in a caliber like 8×57 Mauser, 7.5 Swiss, 7.62x54R, or 7.62×39 become available, then folks should seriously consider stocking up (to the tune of several thousand rounds all at once, preferably all from the same lot), and then buying one or two guns in that caliber. These would preferably be either pre-1899 Federally exempt antiques (such as those sold by The Pre-1899 Specialist), or via in-state private party sales (sans paper trail). These rifles and their corresponding ammo would be designated for use as “secondary/training” arms. Watch for upcoming sales at the major surplus ammo dealers such as AIM Surplus, Cheaper Than Dirt, Dan’s Ammo, J&G Sales, Midway, Ammunitionstore.com, Natchez Shooter Supply, and The Sportsman’s Guide.

Odds ‘n Sods:

Ralph H. pointed us to this article: Cheap solar power poised to undercut oil and gas by half

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Mike in Seattle recommended this “must read” piece at The Market Oracle: US Housing Market Crash to result in the Second Great Depression

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SurvivalBlog reader Doc Holladay notes: “A possible relocation area is the vicinity of the Big South Fork National Recreation Area in Kentucky/Tennessee. This is about as isolated as it gets east of the Big Muddy.”

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Without God, there is no virtue, because there’s no prompting of the conscience. Without God, we’re mired in the material, that flat world that tells us only what the senses perceive. Without God, there is a coarsening of the society. And without God, democracy will not and cannot long endure. If we ever forget that we’re one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under.” – Ronald Wilson Reagan, speaking at a prayer breakfast.

Note from JWR:

Wednesday will be the last day of my February special “support our troops” sale on copies of the new expanded 33 chapter edition my novel “Patriots” . If you place an order directly with me during February, and you have us mail it to an APO or FPO address, then the price is just $12 per copy, plus $3 postage. (That is $10.99 off of the cover price–right near my cost.) I now offer a couple of additional payment options for book orders: both AlertPay and GearPay. (I prefer AlertPay or GearPay because they don’t share PayPal’s anti-gun political agenda.) In my experience, AlertPay has a frustratingly labyrinthine account set-up procedure, but GearPay seems much quicker and easier to set up.
Our AlertPay address is: rawles@usa.net
Our GearPay address is: rawles@usa.net
Our PayPal address is: rawles@earthlink.net

Letter Re: Who Needs a Hummer H1?

Jim,
I was browsing around by way of “Steyr Puch” (long story) and came upon the following URLs. My oh my, I thought; “I won’t need an H1 Hummer after this.” (The topmost link has some 4×4 prices at around $10,000+). Okay, they’re gasoline/electronic ignition, but look at those those prices [versus $30,000 for a commercial HMMWV H1]. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Steyr+Puch&btnG=Google+Search
http://www.eurotruck-importers.com/pinzgauer.htm
http://www.staufferclassics.com/pinzgauer.html

Regards, – Ben L.

JWR Replies: Even though getting spare parts for European military surplus trucks can be a problem here in the States, I’m a big believer in Pinzgauers and Unimogs. At the current surplus vehicle prices, you can practically afford to get a second vehicle with some body damage to cannibalize for spare parts.