Letter Re: Ladies Supplies for TEOTWAWKI

Jim:
Per your ladies supplies post, one thing not mentioned were menstrual cups. I used to use these and they were a great alternative to tampons and pads (although the dual uses for those as bandages and recoil pads can’t be overlooked). There’s a lot of information in the wiki page here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menstrual_cup
I personally vouch for the Keeper:
http://www.keeper.com/
But there’s another brand called Mooncup:
http://www.mooncup.co.uk/
At a cost of about $20-30, they’re far more cost effective than regular products, and theoretically usable for years. I bought new ones annually but even then they’re still inexpensive. And they even work for those with a latex allergy. – Kit



Letter Re: A Special Cast Iron Cookware and Soap Combo Pack Offer

for SurvivalBlog Readers

Jim,
As I read the blog, I note that little is being said regarding cooking and hygiene. Both are essential for survival I would to make a special offer to SurvivalBlog readers:. Our huge PLP-1 package of soap products and our LCC3 cast iron Combo Cooker, all for $200 plus shipping. The shipping cost is an extra $100, since the combined weight is 97 pounds.

Cast iron cookware is heavy, but it cleans with ONLY water, which makes it ideal for an emergency. Soap last a long time, so stock up. It will be good for barter and personal hygiene.

The SurvivalBlog Combo Pack includes:
LCC3… Combo Cooker, 2 pieces 3 qt., 10 1?4″ diameter, 3″ depth, 12 lbs. This item is a skillet, a fryer, a Dutch Oven, and the lid converts to a griddle!

and,
PLP-1 Soap Product Package
This is estimated to last an average family (2 adults, 2 children) 12 to 24 months depending on quality of water and when used as directed. $199 (Save $45.50)
Contains:
2 – 25 lb. Boxes (800 ounces) Seafoam Laundry Soap
1 – Gallon 9 lb. (128 ounces) Shampoo Concentrate
84 – Bars Complexion Beauty Pure Soap
1 – Gallon Seafoam Dish Glow Concentrate
1 – Lock-Top Squeeze Bottle Dish Glow Dispenser
1 – Lock-Top Squeeze Bottle Shampoo Dispenser
1 – 1-oz. Laundry Soap Scoop
(Complete Instructions included. Package Weight 85 lbs.)

This special pricing ends on August 15th. To place your order, send a $300 Postal Money Order with the notation “SurvivalBlog Combo Pack” to:
Promised Land Products
382 Adams Lane
Dillon, Montana 59725
Phone: (406) 834-3611





Note From JWR:

I’m in need of a few more Retreat Owner Profiles, to round out the collection. (My goal is to post 25 of them, including at least five from overseas readers.) So if you “live the life”, then please write up your profile in the same format as those already posted, and e-mail it to me. Be sure to change enough details to maintain your anonymity. Thanks!



Letter Re: Hillbilly Housewife–A Cost-Saving Home Cooking Web Site

Jim-
You absolutely must alert your readers to Hillbilly Housewife. Be sure the Memsahib reads “Apron Evangelism.” Hey, I read it, so you can read it too–it’s a wonderful observation on housewifery. I guarantee you and your readers will be hooked on this clever woman’s ideas. ‘Nuff said; I’m going back to her web site for more reading! – B.B.

JWR Replies: Great stuff! Thanks for the recommendation. I’ve just added her site and her blog to our Links page. OBTW, the site also has instructions on making do-it-yourself ladies supplies.



Letter Re: Railroads Tracks and Right of Ways as Bug-Out Routes

Sir:
I thought that I would put in my 2 cents on accessing property with a bolt cutter. If you need to go through a gate don’t cut the lock unless there is no other alternative! Snipping a link out of the chain next to the lock and allowing the lock owner to relock the gate next time they come by is much more forgivable than making them run in and get a new lock cut keys and distribute keys to whoever needs them. Many times we will snip out a link and put our own lock on the chain so we use our lock and others use theirs. I appreciate the resource your blog is to us! – SC



Letter Re: The Importance of Storing Salt for Preparedness

Jim:
I asked about this a long time ago and no one knew what I was talking about they thought I was talking about those salt blocks you buy for cattle and stuff: so I tried to find myself where the old “salt licks” were in those old westerns we always read. Here was what I found after three hours of research. There is an Internet resource that says there are over 1,400 [“Lick” or “Saline” locales] all over the USA. But they don’t list individual ones just how many per state. For those places I can’t find [listed licks], I guess you’ll have to trek to the ocean or the Great Salt Lake area…get some good shoes!

Georgia:
——-
Austell (formerly called Salt Springs)

Kansas:
——-
Osawatomie Salt Works, Miami County (five shallow wells produce salt water,.then processed.)
Tuthill Marsh, Republic County
Hutchinson, Lyons, Kingman, Kanoplois
Salt mines (underground)

Kentucky:
———
Blue Licks Battlefield State Park, Nicholas County
Big Bone Lick (used by Daniel Boone), Boone County
Big Sandy River

Missouri
—————-
St. Genevieve and Jefferson Counties (Namely the Saline and Little Saline creeks)
Kaskaskia
Montesano Springs (Kimmswick)
Arrow Rock
Boonslick and Saline counties also have salt.

New Mexico:
———–
Guadalupe Peak

Ohio:
—–
Little Salt Creek or the Scioto Salt Licks in Jackson County.

Pennsylvania:
————-
Gardeau in the southeastern corner of McKean County

Utah:
—–
Great Salt Lake

Virginia:
——–
Roanoke

West Virginia
—————
Big Sandy River

West Virginia:
————–
Kanawha Valley area (buffalo licks) near Malden

England:
——–
Cheshire area

Israel:
——-
The Dead Sea

Malaysia:
——–
Gunung Tahan Park – 14 different salt licks

 

POSSIBLE SITES: (unproven or unsure)
————–
Beersheba, Tennessee
Bledsoes Lick, Tennessee
Eureka and Hot Springs, Arkansas
French Lick, Tennessee (Nashville?)
Bullit Licks, Kentucky
French Lick, Indiana
Teltin Park, Togiak Park, Alaska
Bradford, Tioga, Potter, and Cameron Counties, Pennsylvania
Salt Creek Falls ,Oregon
Salmon River, Idaho
Colgate Licks Hot Springs, Idaho [JWR Adds: Been there, seen that. It is an amazing place for wildlife viewing. BTW, the nearby Jerry Johnson Hot Springs are worth the hike for a dip.]
Death Valley, California
Searles Lake, California
Kaibab, Arizona
Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

JWR Adds: It recommend that all SurvivalBlog readers who live in inland regions do some research on natural salt deposits near your intended retreats. That could be quite valuable knowledge in the event of TEOTWAWKI,





Note From JWR:

The high bid in the SurvivalBlog benefit auction (for the RWVA Super Shooter’s package is still at $150. Our special thanks to the RWVA and Fred’s M14 Stocks for sponsoring this fund raiser! (The prize is worth $250+.). Please submit your bids via e-mail. This auction ends on the last day of July. OBTW, speaking of the RWVA, they have a Rifle Instructor’s Camp coming up at the end of August in Ramseur, North Carolina–a great opportunity for you to learn how to teach others how to shoot like a pro, including your own family members.



Letter Re: Ladies Supplies for TEOTWAWKI

Mrs. Rawles:
In the event of long-term TEOTWAWKI, a few questions come to mind – how did women deal with menstruation? I know this subject may be distasteful; but, reality check! Can a survival group stock up on enough toilet paper and “sanitary napkins”? Maybe telephone books will suffice for toilet paper, but what about “tampons” etc? In my experience, most “primitive” societies just let Nature take its course. Are our women (and men) prepared to do the same? What are your ideas? It’s coming!

The Memsahib Replies: We stock up on them just like we stock up on the other necessities of life. We had the opportunity to stock up on tampons almost ten years ago at near wholesale prices. Since they have an indefinite shelf life we have saved an incredible amount of money as I have been rotating our supply . See John Pugsley’s book The Alpha Strategy for more on this stockpiling approach. I think that tampons will be a highly desirable item for barter in the event of TEOTWAWKI .
To answer your other question, what did our ancestors do? They used rags which they washed and reused. Here are links to Norwegian knitted pads and Italian washable pads, probably from the 19th century which will give you some ideas on pads that women can make for themselves. Some modern women are using rewashable pads. Here is a source for one company that sells them.



Letter Re: Perpetuation of Corrosive Ammo Cleaning Mythology

Jim,
Please stop the perpetuation of dangerous [(to equipment)] mythology regarding cleaning firearms after shooting corrosive ammo. It’s not magic. Not understanding how to clean your guns or why can seriously and dangerously corrode guns in a matter of hours.

The text from Mike’s letter to SurvivalBlog is italicized:
Cleaning after corrosive ammo. It depends on how much moisture the gun is exposed to how quickly it needs cleaned. In my safes with “Golden Rod” heaters I have no trouble for one to two weeks. Sitting in the garage in Ohio’s notorious humidity, a few days seems the maximum. Of course, chrome lined barrels are far less of a problem.

No serious problems so far. Gun corrosion rates are directly related to ambient humidity.

If it may be a while before I can get my guns cleaned, I douse them in WD-40 (I buy it by the gallon can – cheaper).

Cleaning corrosive residues from guns necessitates that the gun owner realizes that the corrosive residues are salts, most notably potassium chloride. Salts are ionic solids, and only dissolve in water. Just try dissolving a teaspoon of table salt (sodium chloride) in a glass of 100% alcohol or gasoline to see what I mean. (Granted, there are specialized organic solvents that will dissolve salts, but we’re talking about gun owners, not laboratory chemists.) “Dousing” guns in WD-40 doesn’t seem like it would do a whole lot. Rinsing them out with hot water definitely will.

To clean, I use one of several different methods. Hot soapy water is probably best. Immerse the muzzle in a bucket of it and brush in such a way as to really wash it out. If the water is hot enough, the gun will flash dry on it’s own.

I simply pour hot, nearly boiling water from my coffee maker carafe into the chamber and let it run out the muzzle. A quick brushing with a little soap removes the bulk of the powder fouling which may prevent occluded salt from being rinsed away the first time.

Apply oil to all parts exposed to the water as it removes all of the oil residue and rust is a certainty! I prefer LSA (available from Sarco, $6.95 per quart) or CLP (which I pick up at Knob Creek for about $10 per quart). If the hot soapy water is a problem I use Hoppe’s Copper Solvent which contains ammonia, followed by Hoppe’s #9 [bore cleaning solution], then oil. The ammonia helps rinse away the corrosive salts, not to mention removes some copper fouling.

I would recommend using a volatile, water-displacing solvent such as alcohol or acetone to remove traces of water, followed by a non-volatile gun cleaner – and then storing the gun horizontally, or at least muzzle-down until proper gun cleaning can be performed. In any event, store the gun in as dry an environment as possible.[JWR Adds: If using acetone, be very careful not to let it contact your skin. Wear disposable exam gloves, and work only in a well-ventilated area!]

There is a myth that ammonia somehow “breaks up” or “breaks down” the salts that are responsible for corrosion. This is a complete falsehood. It’s the water that the ammonia is dissolved in that dissolves and rinses away the salt.

There is an excellent discussion of the probable origin of these myths in Hatcher’s Notebook, by Julian S. Hatcher, on pages 334-360. It is a very scientific study and explanation of why guns corrode, and how to clean guns so they don’t.

Most important, IMHO, is to inspect the gun every couple of days after cleaning and again a week or two later to make sure that you did not miss some odd spot and rust is developing. While I admit cleaning a PKM, Goryunov or AK gas system after corrosive ammo is a bit of a pain, the [low] price of the ammo certainly justifies it. Remember, when these guns were new and being used by the military, corrosive was the only kind of ammo available! A note on Hoppe’s #9 – the older formula contained Benzene which worked very well at removing corrosive residue. Trouble is, the stuff is hazardous so it is not in the current formula. Hoppes still will clean a gun of corrosive residue but more effort is required! Same for some WWII / Korea era GI bore cleaner.
The Hoppe’s original formula contained nitrobenzene, not benzene. This may or may not have helped to dissolve salts, but it still isn’t anywhere nearly effective as water.

As a final note, make sure to clean the bolt face, action, and firing pin channel, since corrosive primer residues can build up on these areas and cause serious problems resulting in failures to feed or fire. – Virginia Gun Nut and “Patty”



Odds ‘n Sods:

Gold Price Rally is No Flash in the Pan: “Gold fever rages on despite the metal’s 24 percent jump in a month to 26-year highs followed by an even faster retreat. “This is a serious bull run. Those people who think it’s a bubble ready to burst might be disappointed,” Tony Dobra, director of global commodity derivatives at Standard Chartered Bank, told Reuters.

   o o o

A home security tip, from one of those infinitely-forwarded e-mails: “Put your car keys beside your bed at night. If you hear a noise outside your home or someone trying to get in your house, just press the alarm button for your car.The alarm will be set off, and the horn will continue to sound until either you turn it off or the car battery dies” My comment: Car alarms are largely ignored in all but the most quiet neighborhoods. My advice is to pursue this course of action in the event of an attempted home invasion, in this order: riot shotgun and flashlight at hand, press your car alarm and/or home alarm panic button, then dial 911.

   o o o

From Newsmax: Newt Gingrich Says That World War III Has Begun.

   o o o

JRH Enterprises has extended the sale price on their popular “Patriot Pocketscope” 2nd Generation U.S. night vision scope. Newly revamped with c-mount lens, better optics and hand strap. These retail for $649.95. JRH has held over the price of $549.95 just for SurvivalBlog readers. Mention SurvivalBlog when you order and received FREE shipping in the lower 48 states!





Note From JWR:

Starting the month, I will be mailing free autographed copies of my novel “Patriots” as “Blinding Flash of the Obvious (BFO) Awards:” These are for anyone that e-mails a letter or article for posting on SurvivalBlog that includes what I deem to be a particularly brilliant, novel, or useful concept. There is no set schedule–I will make BFO Awards on just as the mood strikes me.



Letter Re: The Importance of Storing Salt for Preparedness

Jim,
Here is an absolutely fascinating article about gorillas and salt that I came upon whilst browsing the Foxnews.com site. I seem to remember an article on your blog, not too long ago, discussing pretty-much the same thing. This is something which might prod your readers all-the-more to stock-up on [blocks, bags, and boxes of] salt. – Ben L.

JWR Replies: Unless you literally live next to a salt marsh, I cannot overemphasize the importance of storing salt. The Memsahib and I formerly lived in the Upper Clearwater River Valley of Idaho. In that region, deer and elk would walk many, many miles to get to natural salk licks (such as The Colgate Licks), where they would congregate in large numbers. Salt is important to store, both for preserving food and as a practical means to attract wild game. (It is noteworthy that in many locales, natural salt licks are off-limits to hunters, since hunting there is too easy and hence not considered sporting. That ought to tell you something.) I recommend that you store several times more salt than you think that you’ll ever need. Salt is cheap and plentiful now, but in the event of TEOTWAWKI it will be a scarce and valuable commodity. Salt also has a virtually unlimited shelf life.