Note From JWR:

The bidding is now at $200 in the SurvivalBlog benefit auction for a fully tested and recently professionally calibrated U.S. government surplus Civil Defense CD V-717 fallout survey meter with remote sensing capability. The meter was donated by Ready Made Resources (one of our first and most loyal advertisers). This auction ends on October 15th. Please submit your bid via e-mail.

Two Letters Re: The Ultralight Bug-Out Bag, by Hawaiian K.

Mr. Rawles:
I really liked Hawaiian K’s ultralight article but was disappointed that no links were provided as to where we can find some of the gear recommended. Any chance Hawaiian K or you could provide that info. I am just starting out with this preparedness stuff and really don’t know where to look. Regards, Wayne

[After I forwarded Wayne’s e-mail, Hawaiian K. sent the following speedy reply:]

Jim,
Sure! For people who like to save money and learn how to make the gear themselves, try these sites:
Gossamer Gear
Backpacking.net
My philosophical approach to “retreating” is that one should try to live at the retreat site but if that isn’t possible, the site should be no further than two days hike (For an example of how vehicle-based retreating plans could be turned upside-down, imagine how EMP could block all roads with dead cars). We all have our individual ideas of what to carry but to view the contents of ultralight hikers packs, try these links:
Hikelight gear list
Backpacking.net
UIltralight
Some ideas about lightweight foods to carry
The CRKT M16 Special Forces “Big Dog” knife
The Glock 30 (only 680 grams empty.)
“Buff” headgear
Merino “Smartwool” products
A great source for lightweight and technical fabrics
Well made, inexpensive shells
Expensive but well built gear
Hudson Trail
Campmor
Lightweight shoes (the best online shoe store, hands down!):
Tilley hats
Regarding lightweight body armor, shop carefully

I think that the links above pretty much cover everything I mentioned in my article but you’ll find more information than you could ever get through by Googling “ultralight hiking”. Save your back and travel fast and light! Best Regards, – Jim K.

Letter Re: Ammunition Handloading Basics

JWR,
Sid mentioned the Lee Loader package in a recent letter. While I think the Lee Loader is an ideal addition to any survival reloading kit, it does have some caveats that were not mentioned in Sid’s letter.
While the Lee Loader is a great system due to it’s simplicity, one of it’s great problems is its simplicity. Most die sets are two dies for bottle-neck and three for straight wall. The Lee Loader combines
steps into one. What I believe the biggest shortcoming of the Lee Loader is, there is no good way to measure gunpowder reliably. While it comes with a little scoop [ladle]to fill your bullets with powder, this method for powder dispensing should never be trusted. Always verify your charges with a scale. I learned this the hard way, it cost me a rifle, but spared my face,

The other problem with the lee loader is that for bottle neck rifle it will only provide for case neck sizing, leaving the bulk of the case unsized. While for bolt action shooters this is less of an issue, for anyone with an autoloader full-length sizing is required for accurate feeding.
The solution I would recommend for anyone who shoots light calibers (all pistols, .223, .30 Carbine) is the Lee Hand Press. It offers portability similar to the Lee Loader, but with significantly more
versatility.
Again, the most important thing is to always use a powder scale. Always use the scale to verify the amount of powder, especially from the Lee powder ladles, automatic powder throwers are very good about their consistency, the powder ladles leave much to chance! Safe reloading out there guys! – AVL

JWR Replies: Thanks for those tips. One thing that I can add as an important safety measure: Always select powders that fill more than half of the cartridge case volume. This way it will be obvious if you accidentally double charge a case.

Odds ‘n Sods:

In a recent issue of the Sovereign Society A-Letter, Eric Roseman noted with alarm that the credit derivatives market is now has a massive $26 trillion (with a “T”) dollars in play. This market has more than doubled in size over the last 12 months. Roseman says that he fears that the derivatives market has become a virtual time bomb. I concur. Someday, possibly in the near future, the market will start making big swings and the hedge traders are going to get blind-sided. Losses could be in the hundreds of billions or even the trillions, making the recent $6 billion “trading error” at Amaranth Advisers look like chump change. See my recent article on derivatives for some background about the implications of hedge trading.

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The schedule of upcoming Appleseed Shoots was just updated at the RWVA Blog. Be sure to take advantage of this inexpensive rifle training when the touring trainers come to your region!

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North Korea might now have The Bomb, but it doesn’t have much electricity. OBTW, I generally recommend areas without many city lights for survival retreat locales. But needless to say, that doesn’t apply to North Korea!

Notes From JWR:

Today we welcome our newest advertiser: CivilDefenseSupplies.com. Be sure to visit their site an check out their wide range of products, including 72-Hour Survival Kits, Communications Equipment, Emergency Foods, Lighting, Emergency Water, First Aid, and Night Vision Gear. Welcome aboard!

Because I will be traveling on behalf of a consulting client, I will not be taking any new mail orders from October 24th to November 8th. Thanks for your patience. During this time I will of course still be making my daily blog posts. (I’ve never missed day, and I don’t intend to!)

Storing Coal for Home Heating at Your Retreat

James;
One thing I haven’t seen discussed at SurvivalBlog is coal. It is an excellent survival fuel. I would recommend purchasing ten tons of coal for your survival retreat. When the SHTF, you would basically have over a three year supply of energy, with no trees to chop. Best of all, there are no storage problems. You can leave it in a pile, or bury it in a hole. It will keep and will not degrade.
Coal is very cheap. If possible, get a low sulfur anthracite coal. However, if your budget is tight, you can get a higher sulfur coal. The concern would be corrosion in your stove pipe. But even if you use high sulfur, a 3 year run shouldn’t be a problem. If you want something real cheap, try to get hold of petroleum coke. It used to sell for $5/ton. Great for heating, but it will be high in sulfur. A lower sulfur form is called needle coke or anode grade coke. You might attract some suspicion ordering a large load, so you might want to stress the farmer approach. Also, coal is used as a filtering media, so you can claim you are using it for bio-diesel production. Claim it absorbs the glycerin. Or just purchase smaller lots. Filter grade anthracite is readily available in 1-ton super sacks. This will cost a little more though.
Regards, – J.D.P.

JWR Replies: We have indeed mentioned coal in the blog, but not in quite a while. For any of our readers that have never burned coal, keep in mind that coal burns very hot and hence a typical woodstove grate may burn out when you switch to coal, which could put your stove’s firebox at risk. Make sure that your stove has a cast iron grate that is compatible with coal. (Talk to your local stove dealer if you aren’t sure.) OBTW, if you own a home without a coal bin, you can sometimes order coal for delivery in pallet boxes. (Often this is a bit less expensive than bagged coal, and the boxes are easier to store in bulk quantities if you don’t have a basement that is already set up for coal delivery and storage, or if your planned coal storage exceeds your existing bin’s capacity. A few of these big pallet boxes stacked two-high in your barn is an investment in peace of mind, since coal stores indefinitely. Ironically, even though there is more coal mined in the western U.S. than in the east, home heating coal seems to be more expensive west of Ohio, and coal for the consumer (home heating) market is downright hard to find in some western states. (And what we have here is nearly all low sulfur lignite or sub-bituminous coal, since that is what is principally mined in the west.) I know one gent in Nebraska that insists on burning only Anthracite, and he mail orders it from Lehman’s in Ohio. But that is a “spendy:” way to buy coal. For some background and practical “how to” on heating your home with coal, see the Anthracite Coal Forum.

Lastly, I should mention that if you plan to have a home blacksmithing forge, you should lay in a supply of coal and coke, even if you don’t plan on heating your home with coal. Here is one handy resource on home blacksmiths.

Letter Re: Ammunition Handloading Basics

Jim,
I just got an order I sent for a couple days ago. 240gr. .44 cast bullets. It is my first time dealing there, but they look great, everything they are supposed to be. I got them from http://www.prettygoodbullets.com/ They also have .38, .40, and .45. I have been reloading for years, mostly pistol calibers. A good way for a newbie to start would be with a [hand held] Lee Loader. It is low-tech, and slow, but quality ammo can be made this way. All that is required besides the components, (primers, powder, and projectiles) is a soft mallet, and a sturdy workbench, and maybe some case-lube. The directions that comes with the loader set includes information on powder selection for specific bullet type/weight. No scale required, they include a small dipper that is calibrated to the caliber and powder required for the bullet selected. it really is an ingenious little set-up. All that for just under $22.00! Like the ad says, this pays for itself in a couple hours.
If one wants to get into other loads, then it is wise to invest in a good scale. I is not a bad idea to do so anyway, if you want precision ammo. For general plinking, the lee loader is adequate. Probably good for man-sized targets out to 200 yards for rifles, YMMV, depending on ability. As with anything, consistency is the key. The more uniform you can repeat the process, the more accurate your final product will be.
So, a pound of powder, about $20.00 or less, (I haven’t bought any for a while), a brick of primers, also around $20.00, I think, and your selected bullets, of which the cast bullet is the most economical, and will make just as big a hole as the more expensive copper jacket type, especially at pistol velocities. I got a beautiful 185 lb 11 point whitetail that scored 172 6/8 with my .44 mag, using a Keith style wadcutter, at about 75 yards. I can hit clay pigeons off a fence pretty consistently at that distance, with that bullet.
A word about primer selection; I know of a few who say they use magnum primers for all loads. Not a good thing. If you are loading a magnum round, then OK, but it is best to stick with what is called for. A good reloading manual can be very valuable if you want to start experimenting.
It is NOT wise to think you can do things like add a ‘bit’ more powder to a load, as a ‘bit’ more can increase pressures by several times the original load.
It is also wise to avoid drinking or smoking while reloading, for obvious reasons. A double charge in a case will make your favorite weapon into a hand grenade!
I have a block with 50 holes in it, and I charge the cases in it, and then visually look into each before I start seating bullets, just to be sure they all look the same. Safety first is very important. Another rule to keep in mind, is never have more than one type powder open at a time, and always use the original container, so it doesn’t get confusing.
Reloading is a very rewarding past-time, and it could extend your ammo supply as long as your components hold out. Cases can last pretty good if you follow reasonable levels of pressure.
One little trick I have learned, it is wise to clean the primer pockets of residue, after ‘decapping’ the cases. I use my cordless drill with a short piece of multi-strand electrical wire that just fits the pocket. It cleans it out, and doesn’t hurt the brass case. If you skip that step, you could end up with a ‘high primer’, which could possibly cause a ‘slam fire’ in a semi-automatic, or maybe drag on the face of the frame on a revolver.
I have reloaded thousands of rounds so far, and have yet to have a ‘dud’.
There are many out there who have developed a favorite load for each firearm they own that will out-shoot (in terms of accuracy) factory ammo. Each firearm is an individual, and what is a perfect load for one will not work quite as well in another. Now we are talking 1/2″ groups @ 100 yards and like that. That takes a good bit of experimenting, but can be fun, and will keep you in practice.
While talking about each firearm being an individual, as an example, I have a .22 pistol that will shoot any ammo I put in it, except Federal. It will jam several times with each magazine. A friend has one just like it, and those are his favorite ammo. It is always wise to try each of whatever is available to see what works best in your particular firearm. They can be particular.
There is much more to reloading, like cases stretching over several uses, but that comes from ‘hot’ loads’, but can become a factor over time even from reasonable loads. Come to think of it, I have never needed to trim any of my .44 brass, and I do not load them light. I do find a split one, once in a while. It is good to have a quality firearm, my Ruger Super Blackhawk takes that okay, and I don’t even know when one splits, till I am reloading and notice it while inspecting cases before I start. You can’t be too careful. – Sid, near Niagara Falls

Odds ‘n Sods:

“Its called a cricothyrotomy not a tracheotomy…” I’ve noticed the new Jericho television series has sparked some interesting threads of conversation at The FAL Files, AR-15.com, and many other Internet forums. SurvivalBlog’s frequent content contributor Rourke has even started a Jericho-dedicated Yahoo discussion group. Check it out. OBTW, we don’t own a television here at the Rawles Ranch, so don’t ask me my opinion about the series, or anything else on television for that matter. (We only watch “Elk-evision”, from our porch.)

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The Seattle Post Intelligencer newspaper published a recent “scare tactics” article by Tom Paulson that begins: “Hundreds of undocumented chickens live in Seattle, a clucking time bomb planted right in the urban core that poses just as great a risk for deadly bird flu as any rural chicken should the severe Asian strain of avian influenza…” I fail to see how “hundreds” of domestic chickens constitute any significant threat compared to the hundreds of thousands of migratory and resident wild birds in the city. By both weight and volume there is far more duck, goose, and pigeon poop than there is chicken poop in Seattle.

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A reminder that Mountain Brook Foods of Tracy, California is running a special one month sale just for SurvivalBlog readers. Until the end of October, the following discounts will be available for in-stock items only:
20% off Orders of $100 to $249
30% off Orders of $250 to $499.99
40% off Orders over $500, not to exceed $2,500.
To place your order go to www.mountainbrookfoods.com. There you will see there full line of storage foods and books. Note, however, that their web site lists only their standard pricing. To get the SurvivalBlog October special pricing, enter “SurvivalBlog” as the coupon discount code. If you have any questions about this special offer or any their products you can contact Mountain Brook at: support@mountainbrookfoods.com or call toll free: (877) 668-6826.

Note From JWR:

Today’s first article is a forwarded piece, penned by John Farnham, a well-respected firearms instructor in the U.S. His school is just one of a handful that I consider qualified to teach truly. practical firearms shooting. (Based upon personal experience my favorite is Front Sight. I haven’t yet attended any of Farnham’s training, but I’ve heard that it is great.)

What If?, by John Farnham

What if? Here is the “What if?” question that is silently circulating among federal agencies: Israel is currently fighting, as far as it is concerned, for its very national existence. Few in Israel don’t believe that every, last Israeli ( man, woman, child) in the entire county will be casually massacred, in place, when Iran/Hezbollah successfully invades.
When that happens, all of Western Europe will do little more than scratch itself! Israel has not a friend in the world, save the USA, and the UK. Curious that the same people who don’t think the United States should be fighting terrorists in Afghanistan and Iraq, wildly cheer Israel for doing the identical thing in Lebanon! I guess it is okay for them, but not for us, eh?
It is widely believed Israel has an arsenal of deliverable, nuclear weapons . In fact, there is little doubt that is true. Iran will have something along that line soon, and we all know Hezbollah to be simply the “provisional branch” of the Iranian armed forces. Of course, Russia and China have operational, nuclear arsenals too, as do, to a lesser extent, India, and Pakistan. In addition, there is a considerable amount of fissionable material, left over from the Cold War, that is completely unaccounted for. Heaven knows where it is!
So, there is a high probability, getting higher with each passing day, that an above-ground nuke will go off, on purpose, somewhere in the world before the current crisis subsides (if it ever does). There well may be more than just one!
When that happens, this is what we can look forward to here in the USA:
Life, for us, will change forever.
Airports will shut down immediately. In fact, all travel, save walking, will be extremely restricted. Plan on being treated like a criminal no matter where you go. Plan on not getting anywhere fast. Those caught away from home will be stranded for weeks or months. For Americans vacationing in foreign countries, even Mexico and Canada, reentry will be all but impossible.
“Martial Law,” or some version of it, will be imposed in every place. That means curfews, endless checkpoints, and mass detention centers, everywhere.
Television and radio will be offline. Hard, reliable news will be difficult to come by. Wild rumors will circulate, unchecked.
Communication via telephone, cell phone, and computer will be cut off immediately. The whole system will melt down. Restoration will be slow an d tedious. It may be weeks before you know the status of separated friends and family.
All sales of guns and ammunition will be stopped immediately, along with sales of liquor, fuel, and some drugs.
Military mobilization, on a national level, will commence in earnest. Most roads, mass transit, heavy vehicles, busses, aircraft, and ships will be immediately commandeered for military use.
Politicians, at all levels, will take extreme measures to protect themselves. The rest of us will be the recipients of little more than lip service. We’ll see paranoid mayors, like [Mayor] Nagin in New Orleans, send their police house to house confiscating legally-owned firearms, ammunition, even food (you’ll be accused of “hoarding”) from good and decent people who are unlikely to resist violently. The indecency of such public criminality will never even occur to them.
As we saw in New Orleans, violent criminals, individually and in gangs, will commit burglaries, robberies, arson, rape, and murder, largely unhindered by police (who will be completely overwhelmed). Those caught unprepared will, as always, make useful victims.
There will be chronic shortages of everything you can imagine. Cash will become worthless. Until some universal faith in government is earned and eventually restored, the new currency will be food, ammunition, and batteries.
Decent people, entire neighborhoods, will have to band together for protection. Large sections of urban areas will be considered too dangerous to enter, even by police. In France, this is the case now!
Delivery of basic, infrastructure services, like water, gas, and electricity, will become intermittent and unreliable.
I promise you, liberal, anti-gun snobs will be the first ones at your doorstep sheepishly begging to borrow one of yours!
Many among the naive and unprepared will not live through it. Individual preparedness, including reserves of food, water, guns, ammunition, personal competence and resolve, et al, will see you through it. My advice is to ge t prepared now, while you still can. “What if?” is, in fact, the wrong question. “What when?” is the right one! – John Farnham Defense Training International, Inc.

Letter Re: A Positive Experience at Front Sight

Mr. Rawles:
I just got back from a Two Day Defensive Handgun course from Front Sight. I contacted them after reading about their school at your blog, and they said that their best advertising was by ‘word of mouth’ , and if I was interested, they would give me a free two day course, so naturally there was no way I could refuse. I attended from 6 to 8 Oct. and was awed by their professionalism. A truly unique experience. I have nothing but great comments for the school. Thank you for the info. Please feel free to quote me anytime. Sincerely, – P.R.M.

Letter Re: Field Gear for Kids

Dear Jim,
Our family camps quite a bit for re-enactments, so the kids are used to fairly rough conditions. They have appropriate gear for most eras from Viking to US Civil War.
However, my daughter went on her first Brownie campout this weekend. She has sleeping bag, backpack (which was a full load for her at 20 lbs), spare clothes, first aid kit, Surefire and pocket light, walkie talkies and teddy bear. She also always insists on taking a couple of bottles of water. (She selected all this stuff. I’m very proud of my 8 year old.)
It would be nice, and I’m going to research, something children can use akin to web gear for carrying canteens, first aid kits and accessories.
Small 1.5″ Web belts and US issue compass pouches come to mind, with flashlight sheaths and other small accessories. Any advice is welcomed. – Michael Z. Williamson

Odds ‘n Sods:

One of my recent web searches turned up this interesting site: Owl’s Nest Plantation–a supplier of herbs and spices, in bulk quantities.

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Administration Iraq Study Group considers a partitioned Iraq. Don’t they remember what happened when Pakistan was partitioned from India?

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Reader D.W. sent us a link regarding the collapse of the Amaranth Advisors derivatives trading firm: A $6 billion gamble gone bad. Here is a quote from the article: “The hedge fund Amaranth Advisors, which is preparing to shut down after losing more than $6 billion because of bad energy trades, expects to cut about 60 percent of its work force within a week. As many as 250 of Amaranth’s 420 workers will be dismissed, said Charlie Winkler, the company’s chief operating officer… …The firm said it is seeking an orderly process to sell about $3 billion of remaining assets and return proceeds to investors.”

See my recent article on derivatives for some background about the wider implications of hedge trading.