Letter Re: Centerfire Antennas December Sale Just for SurvivalBlog Readers

Hi Jim,
I’m very impressed with the response to the ad I placed on your blog site [for Centerfire Antenna].
The SurvivalBlog customers have been some of the most polite folks we’ve ever dealt with. Looking through my web traffic statistics, most of those that have been referred through your blog have bookmarked our site.

I’m giving SurvivalBlog readers a $5 per antenna discount during the month of December. They can use the PayPal buttons and $5 will be refunded to their PayPal account when their order is processed. Or they can choose to have the refund donated to SurvivalBlog. They need to send an e-mail or note with their payment stating that they saw the sale on SurvivalBlog. If mailing payment [via USPS], they can just deduct $5 per antenna.

Also, I just read the letter from DC in Manhattan. It’s great to see a Manhattanite waking up and getting prepared! I’m praying that he eventually gets his young family out of Manhattan. A quick Google check shows a population of over 1.5 million on that island. Not good odds when/if New York is put through a state of emergency longer than a few days. Thanks again, – Ben Kanoff, Centerfire Antenna

Odds ‘n Sods:

“The Other Jim R.” sent us this: Report: World food prices to rise

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Morgan Stanley’s warning: Credit crunch alert over UK economy. (A hat tip to RBS for sending us that link.)

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From The Financial Times: Car makers warn of tough times in US

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Paulson says mortgage plan to be ready this week. My comment: Freezing adjustable rate mortgages to their “teaser” rate levels will only make the housing crash last longer. Delaying the natural market readjustment will only make matters worse.

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Son of man, speak to the children of thy people, and say unto them, When I bring the sword upon a land, if the people of the land take a man of their coasts, and set him for their watchman:
If when he seeth the sword come upon the land, he blow the trumpet, and warn the people;
Then whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head.
He heard the sound of the trumpet, and took not warning; his blood shall be upon him. But he that taketh warning shall deliver his soul.
But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand.
So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me.”- Ezekiel 33:1-7 (KJV)

Note from JWR:

Special thanks to “Jon Boy” from Atlanta, who said that he is sending us a four-year 10 Cent Challenge subscription payment ($36.50 x 4) in the form of $2 rolls of nickels. (73 rolls!) He certainly got his money’s worth by sending them in a $8.95 US Postal Service Flat Rate Box. (If the rolls had been sent at the normal “postage calculated by weight” Priority Mail rate, it probably would have cost more than $40 in postage!) For anyone thinking about doing likewise, be sure to do as Jon Boy did, and use plenty of padding and a second cardboard box inside the Flat Rate box, for reinforcement.) Once again, my sincere thanks!

Letter Re: New Bump-Resistant Door Locks from Kwikset

Mr. Rawles,
Kwikset lock company makes a “bump-pick” resistant lock [called the SmartKey]. The new locks appear to have a bar that attaches to each of the pins that interact with the key, so if one pin moves then they all have to move. Therefore all the pins have to be in the correct place at the exact same time and there is no “slop” that allows the pins to be “bumped” into place. If you get a chance next time you are around a Home Depot store they with have a display model for these new locks as they can be re-keyed by the end user without taking the lock mechanism apart.

As a contractor I have found that Kwikset brand locks not of the highest quality, but I bet that Schlage will be making a similar lock soon. This might be something to look into. – Brian S.

Letter Re: Using .22 Rimfire Conversions for Low Cost Pistol Practice

Jim:

I have just finished firing 500 rounds through an Advantage Arms .22 conversion for my Glock 17 and Glock 22 While not as accurate as my .22 Ruger pistol, it allows me to practice my shooting skills using the same holster and magazine carriers at fraction of what 9mm and .40 cost. More importantly, by using a conversion rather than a different pistol such as the Ruger, I am developing the same muscle memory, skills, and techniques I will use when shooting my service pistol. I chose the Advantage Arms over the Ciener conversion because the slide locks open when the magazine is empty, allowing me to practice my reloading skills. The conversion is well made except for the fragile factory Glock adjustable sights and only comes with one 10 round magazine. They also make conversions for the 1911 style pistols. – Bill N.

Letter Re: Thanks for SurvivalBlog!

Dear Mr. Rawles:
I am a newly-minted reader and fan of SurvivalBlog. I stumbled upon [SurvivalBlog] by doing a web search on what turned out to be one of your “Quote of the Days” from [the late] Jeff Cooper. All that I can say is that I am mega-overwhelmed at what you and the readers have put on-line. I started out by going back through your current threads, and that seemed like a lot. But then I started clicking on the monthly archive links [in the right hand column] and then I started doing searched on particular topics. Wow! I am blown away. There is so much there. It is like a comprehensive encyclopedia on preparations for survival. Along with my research at other web sites about the present-day political and economic slide, now everything is starting to click. It all makes sense. We are living in a very fragile world and it would be insane not to prepare. I am starting to build my “list of lists.” (Water is at the very top of my list. I’ll be soon ordering a Big Berkey filter–no doubt it’ll be from one of your advertisers.)

I have visited a lot of preparedness and survival sites. They all seem to either be amateurish or have big axes to grind. But yours is a breath of fresh air: No whacko rants, no diatribes, no flame wars, no “I think it could work this way” conjecture (that clown Dakin at the Bison Blog drives me crazy with his un-tested “this might work” ideas), no foul-mouth childishness, no political bickering, no racism, no anti-Semitism, none of that!

I also just read your “Pulling Through” movie script. They have got to make that into a movie! I just wish I knew where the Rawles Ranch was. I’d like to be your next door neighbor! I’m sure lots of other people would too, so I guess its a good thing that you keep your “Bat Cave” [location] a secret.

I heard about your site just before I started a week of vacation for Thanksgiving. Good timing! Otherwise I would have had to call in sick! I spent 10+ hours a day digging through the archives and taking notes. I have so much to do to get ready!

So again, thank you for putting this huge resource on the net for free! I’m heading out to the post office tomorrow to get a money order for a two year 10 Cent Challenge [subscription]. That’s the least that I can do. (I’m doubtful that anyone that reads SurvivalBlog more than once a week could live with their guilty conscience for not doing the same.) I’m also going to order a copy of your prepper’s course and your books.

God Bless You! – Aaron, “Somewhere East of the Rockies”

Odds ‘n Sods:

I found this piece from Peter Schiff over at Gold-Eagle: The End Of Consumer Credit As We Know It
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It appears very likely that the Federal Reserve’s Board of Governors will cut interest rates again at their upcoming meeting (Tuesday, December 11th). If it is a 50 basis point cut (or more), it could kick off another huge round of Dollar-dumping worldwide, and we might see the USD Index drop down into the 60s. Speaking of the Dollar’s continuing fall, RBS sent us this from The Economist: Losing faith in the greenback

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RBS also sent us a link to a recall from Gerber–not the baby food company, the knife company. The recall is for their Made-in-China “Exchange a Blade (EAB) models.

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Kudos to Mike F. for finding us some data from Brigham Young University that revises the shelf life estimates for many storage food for as long as 30 years: New Findings for Longer-Term Food Storage. Keep in mind that “life sustaining” is not synonymous with full nutritive value. So be sure supplement your food storage program with some double-encapsulated multivitamins and a plenty of sprouting seeds. (Fresh sprouts are an ideal source of essential vitamins.)

Note from JWR:

Today is the last day to take advantage of the 33% off sale price for the “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course with accompanying audio CD. The course is only occasionally sale priced, so don’t miss out. Place your order online before midnight, or if sending a check or PMO be sure to get your order postmarked with today’s date.

Letter Re: Preparedness for Less Than a Worst Case, From an Eastern Urbanite’s Perspective

Hello Jim,
I am very new reader of your blog and am just now starting to go through the archives. Based on what I’ve read so far, I commend you on putting together a useful, fact-intensive blog on “survivalism” (whatever that means), that isn’t geared towards loony, off-the-reservation, tinfoil hat-type readers, who believe that 9/11 was a plot masterminded by Halliburton.

That said, one problem I suspect I will have with your blog is that you consistently seem to be preparing for an extreme, and more-or-less permanent, breakdown of society—or TEOTWAWKI, if you will. In one of your blog posts, you noted that the problem with preparing for TEOTWAWKI, is that “between now and then, you have your life to live.” This statement is particularly true for those of us who don’t live out West, don’t live in rural environments (let alone, gasp, urban east coast cities), have young children, drive a minivan, and enjoy otherwise the soft, latte-sipping lifestyles of Yuppiedom in the second Golden Age of American wealth.

My family and I fall into that category to a great deal. Don’t get me wrong: I e-ticketed most of my courses at Gunsite, so I’m no head-in-the sand sheeple. And I’m a pretty capable empty hand fighter. But I also grew up in the suburbs and didn’t exactly spend my youth learning to trap, fish, hunt, or plant seeds. I am married to a lovely wife who has no interest in learning to run a carbine, and we have a young daughter who prevents us from grabbing bug-out rucks and heading off to the bush for two weeks. In any event, if we ever managed to actually get from our 30th floor apartment in Manhattan to the bush, I’m not sure we’d know what to do.

The point I’m making is that there are a lot of people like us—people who live in cities, who don’t feel in the least bit at home in the outdoors, who aren’t going to learn about land nav or plotting azimuths, who aren’t going to buy a bug-out retreat in the country that is going to lie empty 52 weeks a year, and who are basically screwed if TEOTWAWKI actually and truly arrives.

Barring TEOTWAWKI, it seems to me that we are infinitely more likely to face moderately scary scenarios, like Hurricane Katrina and necessary urban evacuation, some urban 1970s style civil disturbance but nothing like Mogadishu, high-intensity individual criminal acts, a low-order terrorist event nearby and the accompanying panic, or some other situation shy of the worst case scenario.

We urbanites can prepare for those events, while not being entirely distracted from our workaday “ordinary” lives, or dedicating ourselves to trying to get off-the-grid. I certainly have made some attempts to prepare. For example, I have no doubt that we’re in the 99th percentile of Manhattan preparedness by virtue of the fact that we own:

– a well maintained and fueled Honda CRV with GPS, local region street maps, XM radio (for news), an empty 5 gallon gas can, and various vehicle repair tools
– a (legally permitted) pistol and shotgun, and enough ammunition for a firefight and reload under civilian ROEs
– $4,000 in cash
– a week of MREs and water, full rations
– a PVS-14 [night vision] monocular
– soft body armor
– basic camping equipment
– various tools like a good knife, a pry bar, Surefire lights, chemlights, paracord, etc.
– a fully stocked medical kit, 30 days of scrip drugs, and a copy of “Medicine for the Outdoors”
– personal hygiene gear
– a roll of 1mm poly sheeting and a ton of 100 mph tape
– full face respirators and disposable N100 masks
– GMRS radios, shortwave radio, a hand crank radio
– a ton of batteries
– a USB key and a 500 GB backup drive with all our important information
– 1 box of critical paper documents
– clothing suitable for the seasons
– baby stuff

Most of this gear is boxed, labeled, and stored in a single closet that we’ve dedicated to SHTF equipment. The other stuff (car, guns, cash, key documents, etc.) could be policed up in 10 minutes, and is written down on a checklist. If we had to, I reckon we could shelter in place for a week, or we could bug out in an hour (assuming, of course, Manhattan was not totally gridlocked).

I’d be very interested in your thoughts about what urbanites should be doing to prepare for bad times, given the restrictions of space, limited knowledge of/interest in outdoorsman skills, “Yuppie” lifestyle constraints, etc. Thanks. – D.C.

JWR Replies: For someone that lives on Manhattan Island, you are definitely quite well-prepared!

Some preparedness upgrades that I’d recommend for you:

1.) Pre-positioning some supplies stored with friends or relatives, or perhaps in a commercial storage space, at least 150 miles out of the city, on your intended “Get Out of Dodge” route. (For that dreaded “worst case.”)

2.) Adding a rifle to your firearms battery. With New York City’s semi-auto and magazine restrictions, you might consider a .308 Bolt action with either a small detachable magazine, or perhaps a non-detachable magazine. A Steyr Scout would be a good choice. Some semi-auto rifles that might be approved include top-loading M1 Garands and FN49s. (No doubt easier if you are a member of a CMP-associated shooting club.) If you can’t get permit approval for any modern rifles, then there is a handy exemption for long guns “manufactured prior to 1894 and replicas which are not designed to fire fixed ammunition, or for which fixed ammunition is not commercially available.” You might consider a pre-1894 production Winchester Model 1876 or 1886 in an obsolete caliber such as .40-60 or .45-90. (See my FAQ on pre-1899 cartridge guns for details. Be sure to select rifles with excellent bores and nice mechanical condition.

3.) A small photovoltaic panel for recharging your flashlights, radios, and night vision gear batteries.(Along with a 300+ Amp Hour 12 VDC “Jump Pack” (such as JCWhitney.com‘s item # ZX265545) and 12 VDC “DC to DC” battery charging trays and the various requisite cords.)

4.) A supply of antibiotics.

5.) Consult your local fire code, and store the maximum legally-allowable quantity of extra gasoline, assuming you have a safe place to store it. (I realize that most Manhattanites have their cars stored commercially with no additional storage space, and it can be a 20 minute car-juggling exercise just to get your hands on your car, depending on how “deep” you are parked.) If extra gas will be stored in your vehicle, then be sure to get one or more Explosafe brand fuel cans, and strap them down securely so that they will maintain their integrity in the even of a vehicle collision. You might consider upgrading to a mid-size 4WD SUV (such as an E85-compatible Ford Explorer) and have it fitted with an auxiliary roof rack where you can carry extra gas cans. (Again, I realize that most Manhattan parking garages have height limitations, but do your best.)

Letter Re: Preparedness While on Business Travel–What to Pack

Jim,
I’m a frequent flyer and I enjoyed the article by LP on what to consider bringing on business travel [“Preparedness While on Business Travel –What to Pack“]. Here are some additional ideas:

Water – I carry an empty bicycle type water bottle through security and fill it at a drinking fountain before my flight. This keeps you hydrated during your flight and from having to use the water glasses in your hotel room. (FYI – they don’t really clean those glasses.)

Food – I carry 4-6 Cliff [“sports energy” type candy] bars in my laptop bag and my checked luggage. These are dual purpose and can be used anytime there is a need for calories. (like when your stuck on the bloody tarmac for 3 hours) Store, eat and rotate these just like you would your storage food at home. They come in lots of great flavors and can be found at most grocery and drug stores. Look for them [when they are on sale] under $1 and stock up.

Clothing – This is a tough one that I have I hard time abiding by, but I’ll expand on what LP said in his article. On the plane, wear clothing appropriate for your “mission” and the climate you are traveling to, near, or across. It may be 75 degrees F at home, but if your flying to Toronto in the Winter, you should consider wearing some warm weather gear on the flight. If you rely on packed clothing, remember that if your plane is forced down, or if you have a runway mishap, you will be forced to leave the plane without any of your luggage. This happened to me personally a few years back when my plane skidded off the runway in a snow storm. We were evacuated via the slides and loaded on buses and taken to an airport that was essentially closed where we were told that we couldn’t get our luggage until after the “crash” investigation was completed. Fortunately, I did get my luggage promptly the next morning, but it doesn’t take TSHTF thinking to imagine what might go wrong in a scenario where you are trusting the airline to deliver your luggage. So, even if your only mission is to make it to your sales call that next day…. be prepared.

Transportation – If you are forced to travel home without a vehicle, consider finding a bike before you try to walk home. Urban locations are packed full of pawnshops and Wally Marts that sell very inexpensive bikes. I’m a cyclist, so I have an advantage here, but I would think that even the most inexperienced cyclist would make better time, and be more comfortable, on a bike, then hiking cross country. Even if you have a rental car, you might want to get a bike too, and put it in the trunk. You might not make it home on that last tank of gas and I wouldn’t want to be waiting for days in a gas line.

Tech – Download the free Google Maps application for your phone. It provides great maps, traffic, and sat images. I also just read that it can be used to fix your location.
Keep a backup of your emergency phone numbers, personal and financial records with you, encrypted on a USB drive. If something happens at home and your family needs info, you may need to access it from your location. – RR

Letter Re: Reactions to Preparedness Course

Hello Jim,
I have been reading SurvivalBlog for a year or more, and have thought about buying the “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course. When I saw it go on sale for 33% off, I thought more seriously about it, but still procrastinated. This morning I saw that the sale had been extended until December 3, that really got me thinking, but I still hesitated. I sat down to lunch a little while ago and was interrupted by a Jehovah’s Witness that handed me a pamphlet telling me to prepare for the End Of The World As We Know It. That did it. I just sent in my order for the course. I can take a hint! Thanks, – M.A.B., Burlington, Texas

Odds ‘n Sods:

The folks at Ready Made Resources mentioned that they are now down to their last 90 bottles of Polar Pure. Because this product uses iodine crystals (which have been deemed a methamphetamine “precursor chemical” by the DEA), once the small remaining supplies have sold out, there will be no more Polar Pure produced in the US. This is your last chance to stock up, folks! Note that because of the short supply, Polar Pure is no longer listed in the Ready Made Resources online catalog. There is a limit of five bottles per customer. To order, call: 1(800) 627-3809. You must mention that you are a SurvivalBlog reader when you call–this is an exclusive offer.

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Don’t miss the article that Tim P. sent us: New subtype of Ebola suspected in Uganda. If a new Ebola mutation were be easily transmissible (not just through blood contact), it could conceivably start a pandemic that would eclipse the Black Death.

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Hundreds of SurvivalBlog readers bought handheld MURS band radios from Rob at $49 MURS Radios, back when he was one of our advertisers. He stopped advertising only because he could no longer find a supply of the used Kenwood MURS transceivers. Well, now Rob is back in operation, offering brand new, factory fresh, Kaito KA1102 PLL Dual Conversion AM/FM/SW receivers with full factory warranty. Each comes with three AA NiMH rechargeable batteries, wall charger, manual, stereo earbuds, suede carrying case, and an external wire antenna, for $69 each. Buy two and the price drops to just $65 each. Shipping is $9.50 via US Priority Mail for up to two radios. Rob mentioned “I am ordering these radios in batches so if my stock runs out, I will have another batch within a few days. By doing this I can keep my overhead low and the price stays low. These radios are quite compact–small enough to store in an ammo can for EMP protection.” This deal is only being offered to SurvivalBlog readers. Details, reviews, and photo at: AffordableShortwaves.com

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Matt in Texas sent us a link to some commentary by Peak Oil guru James Howard Kunstler: The Last Days of the United States Dollar

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"In general, the art of government consists of taking as much money as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other." – Voltaire (1764)