Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"If anything can survive the probe of humour it is clearly of value, and conversely all groups who claim immunity from laughter are claiming special privileges which should not be granted." – Eric Idle (born March 29, 1943)

Note from JWR:

The high bid is now up to $425 in the current SurvivalBlog benefit auction for several items (including an EMP-proof antique radio, four books, and a copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course) that are being auctioned together as a lot:. The auction ends on April 15th. Just e-mail me your bid. Thanks!

Letter Re: Michigan’s Upper Peninsula as a Retreat Locale

James,
I have been looking for 1-to-200 acres in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming. Ouch!!! I think that they think there is gold in them mountains. Right now I sit on 47 acres north of Dallas, Texas. Since land is so high I have moved my sights to other areas. Currently I have looked at land in Upper Peninsula (“U.P.”) of Michigan. It is very remote, very few people, gets up to 100″ of snow, has good forest, has water and just a good out of then way place. I have also been told they are firearms friendly. Land is cheap. I have both US and Canadian citizenship, a mechanic at a major airline and since 9/11 been going to school, being excepted to nursing school. I have one more year and I will be an RN, allowing me to work anywhere. Can you give me any plusses or minuses on the U.P. of Michigan? Thanks, – FJ

JWR Replies: If you can stand the severe climate, then yes, the U.P. is about as good as it gets for retreat locales east of the Dakotas. For a move to the U.P., plan to budget to build a big greenhouse (with a steep-pitched roof), and big woodshed. You are going to need both! Oh yes. Don’t forget to lay in a large supply of mosquito repellent.

Letter Re: Advice On Retreat Locales in Nevada

Jim,
I wanted to comment on the retreat areas in Nevada. I’m a native rural Nevadan. I fully agree with your last reader on the [Big] Smoky Valley. I have lived and worked in that area in past years. He was dead on about Tonopah. I want to share a little about Ely and Elko.
Ely has one of four maximum security prisons. Ely also has two medium security prisons–also called “Honor Camps”. Ely the town has been under the direction of the State. They are bankrupt. Also, there is a fair amount of mining going on in the area. A a few years ago, Las Vegas people came in and bought up all the houses that were for sale. It is [now] a summer retreat for Las Vegas. Since [this trend started], prices have skyrocketed. Again, you have to travel to to Elko to shop. I have seen temperatures in Ely winters travel well below zero with highs in the 15-20 degrees above.
Elko area is the best choice. Temperatures and snow are also an issue here. I have a friend that has 20 acres for sale about 60 miles west of Elko, 20 miles off Interstate 80. Prices are very high here for Nevada because of all the mining. [JWR Adds: House prices are soaring anywhere within commute distance to the Carlin Trend mines.] It is hard to find places to live. Apartments rent for around $900-$1200/month. RV Spaces go from $280-$650/mo. There are plentiful jobs. Elko has a Wal-Mart, Home Depot, all you need for shopping. The hospital here is more a first aid station. Any major problems and they’ll fly you to Salt Lake City. Thank You, – Alive in Elko

JWR Replies: I had only mentioned the Big Smoky Valley because it was in relatively close striking distance to the gent from the central California coast who had made the inquiry. In general, I recommend finding places in Nevada that 1.) have plentiful water, 2.) are away from the I-80 corridor, 3.) are away from the major mining operations, 4.) are away from prisons, and 5.) that have plentiful wild game. This criteria leads you to places like Jarbidge (near the Idaho state line) and the back side of the Ruby Mountains. BTW, I have some pretty deep roots in Northern Nevada–at least on one side of my family, dating back to the 1870s.

Letter Re: Advice on Magazine Duplexing Systems

Dear Mr. Rawles –

Hello again from Baltimore, Maryland, where I believe spring may have finally decided to stay this time, in spite of the inch of sleet and ice we received last week. Sounds like your family is dealing with your mud season as well.

The good news from Maryland is that the state’s bans on assault weapons has died in committee. a 5-5 deadlock has prevented the bill from moving forward into the house, so the issue is dead once again for this year. The bad news is that the federal ban still looms on the horizon. I have known for some time that it isn’t a matter of if laws like these are approved, it is a matter of when. As a result, I have made several investments in “hardware” over the last few years, and am now in the process of acquiring magazines and the like for them.

I would like to know your opinion of the “Mag Cinch” system, where two mags can be fastened together for quick and easy reloads. It looks slick, and sounds like sound concept, but I’ve never actually used one either. I also haven’t been able to find one that works with the FAL or any other .308 battle rifle either. I see them for AKs and ARs, but nothing for HK93s, CETMEs, or FALs. Do they make a Mag Cinch for any of these rifles?

My new [expanded edition] copy of “Patriots” arrived over the weekend. I will begin devouring it tonight. Take care and God Bless. – Tim in Baltimore, MD

JWR Replies: I’ve always considered dual or triple magazine systems a bit “gadgety.” Its something that the “Tommy Tactical“/Arm Chair Commando crowd all seem to consider a must. But IMHO, if you can’t solve your immediate tactical problem with one magazine without a lightning fast reload, then you are severely outnumbered. You should have been working as part of a fire team! But, in fairness, I suppose that they might make sense for a G.O.O.D. or Escape and Evasion situation where you are on your own and you need to lay down a lot of suppressive fire, to break contact.
At this juncture I should also mention that one problem with duplexed or triplexed magazines is that you typically carry just one of these duplexing do-hickeys, and all of the remainder your ammo in standard magazine pouches. So where do you put the duplexed magazine once it is empty? (Since they don’t fit in ammo pouches.) I surmise that you could put a parachute cord loop on it, and once emptied, clip it to a carabiner on your web gear. (Like some of the Blackwater boys do.) But again, aside for some specialized situations, the whole duplex/triplex magazine concept seems like more of a Mall Ninja fashion statement than something that is truly practical.

Odds ‘n Sods:

For those considering relocating, I found some interesting statistical data on various cities at Sperling’s Best Places. I may be quoting them in the next edition of Rawles on Retreats and Relocation

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The dehydrated squirrel meat advertised by Best Prices Storable Foods is causing a bit of controversy. The vendor created this page as a joke, but it does raise a valid issue. I find is odd that many folks in the politically correct crowd think that eggs from a hen that has never seen the light of day are “yummy”, and some even consider box-raised veal “tasty”, but they are repulsed by the thought of eating something like “free-range squirrel meat. “

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Postal Service unveils ’forever’ stamp, immune from rate increases. These might be a good inflation hedge!

Note from JWR:

Are you getting 10 cents a day worth of useful information out of SurvivalBlog? If so, then please sign up for a Ten Cent Challenge subscription. These subscriptions are entirely voluntary, but they do help keep my family fed. Thanks!

Letter Re: Practical Information on EMP Protection for Home Electronics

Sir:
Thank you for your hard work. I am not sure if this was covered here before and, in the case it has not, I wanted to supply the following information to help suppress fear regarding electromagnetic pulse (EMP) and specifically, its effects on communications equipment. I am tired of reading “seal the radio in a metal ammo can, place the ammo can in an old microwave and place the old microwave in an old refrigerator, which is then buried under 8 feet of earth,” et cetera.

Here is the reference for a four-part article in Amateur Radio Relay League (ARRL) Magazine, QST, 1986.

“Electromagnetic Pulse and the Radio Amateur”
Part 1: Aug. 1986 pp.15-20, 36
Part 2: Sep. 1986 pp. 22-26
Part 3: Oct. 1986 pp. 38-41
Part 4: Nov. 1986 pp. 30-34

The study is more than 20 years old and radio/computer gear has changed significantly, but the fundamentals have not changed. The end of Part 4 describes the simple steps that should be taken for EMP protection and they do not involve wrapping the radio with aluminum foil or burying it. Thank you for a great site! I hope that this is helpful. – The DFer

JWR Adds: The DFer is correct when he states: “…radio/computer gear has changed significantly” in the past 20 years. Microcircuits are far more complex and vulnerable. In 1986, typical integrated circuits (“chips”) had 3 to 5 micron gate dimensions. Nowadays, they are typically “sub-micron” (smaller than a micron.) The smaller the gates, the greater the risk of EMP.

SHTF Shopping, by SF in Hawaii

There are two types of survivalist [“Schumer Hits the Fan”] (SHTF) shopping. Pre-SHTF, and Imminent-SHTF. Let’s look at both of them .

Pre-SHTF
These are things you buy now while there is no immediate threat and no mobs of desperate people trying to get the same thing. People who know you think you are eccentric but mostly harmless. The readers of this site already know what kinds of items to store in advance (food, guns, ammunition, etc.) and so it will not be repeated here. Conceptually, these items should have long term storability, and in terms of food be used in a rotating manner so that they are used before they reach the end of their shelf lives. IMHO, a good way to get a resistant female significant other to get on board is to tell her to pick out a case of her favorite chocolate bars and tampons/pads for your pre-SHTF stash.

Imminent SHTF
If you haven’t done your Pre-SHTF shopping, shame on you. The best you can hope for is to get there first. Put on a rucksack and while everyone else is in shock, you call your group/wife/friends and get to the COSTCO or wherever. You will be competing with others for items.
If you have already done your Pre-SHTF shopping, then items that you by during an imminent SHTF could include:

1- More of what you already have
2- Items that you don’t store in large amounts because they have shorter expiration dates such as fats, oils, meats, batteries and fuel. [JWR Adds: Don’t forget chemical light sticks.]
3- Items that you haven’t already bought because they are expensive and need the money more than the item during normal times (i.e. more/better guns)
4- Items that you haven’t bought already because in addition to their price and expiration dates, you cannot use them under normal circumstances, such as antibiotics.
5- Items that require maintenance that you don’t want to deal with pre-SHTF (i.e. guard dog, male and female rabbits and chicks (for raising meat) and the food and housing that they will require.

Here is where your preparation pays off. You zig while everyone else zags. You don’t want to be in a throng of hungry and frightened people scrabbling for what’s left on the [supermarket] shelves. Since you already have done your Pre-SHTF shopping, you are in no immediate need of anything. Instead, think of what else you might want to get and buy it while others are ransacking the shelves of the local grocery store for canned tuna, rice, bottled water and D-cell batteries. You’ve got your shopping list and you call your team and assign items to purchase.

Consider the nature of the SHTF. Stay away from the crowds. If a violent riot is a mile away, don’t go to the gun store to get another shotgun. Everyone else is going there. You already have your guns and ammo right? Go to the hardware store and get razor wire (or barbed wire), 2×4’s, nails, fire extinguishers and smoke inhalation masks/hoods. If the banks are shutting down, don’t go and wait on line there. Instead, go to the ATMs and local check cashing place. Think out of the box or get buried in one.

You want to be ahead of the learning curve of the masses. You can be by virtue of three things.

1 – You’ve already taken care of the necessities so you can avoid the crowds.
2 – You aren’t going into shock since you already saw this coming.
3 – You don’t have to think about what you’re going to need. You’ve already thought about it, made your list, and know exactly where to get it.

Special note: Depending on the nature of the SHTF, you may need to pay with cash. If the grid is going to go down, don’t expect stores to take your word for it that your checks and credit cards are good, and it’s too early to pay with gold or silver unless the shop owner is present and it’s a mom and pop store. As such, if you don’t have a chunk of cash buried in the yard, the very first thing you (or a member of your team/family) may need to do is to go to the bank and ATMs and get some cash out while you can.

FWIW, here’s my current personal Imminent SHTF Shopping List.
Rent a 20′ moving truck
I want more than I can carry in my car.
Financial
Withdraw cash at banks and ATMs and empty the safe deposit box of any valuables before the banks close down.
Transport
Gas cans
Gasoline
Mountain bikes
Dirt bike/Motorcycle

Food and Water
Fats and Oils
Meats and proteins

Medicine
Antibiotics -prescription*
Painkillers -prescription*

*You should carry prescriptions for any drugs you may want to get in your wallet at all times. Do you want to have to go home and look through your files when the balloon goes up and time is of the essence?
Defense
More ammunition – can you ever have enough?
Rifles and shotguns – see above.
Camping gear
Extra shoes
Water filters
Batteries

Livestock-Pet store
Baby chicks and baby rabbits, both sexes.
Their food, water and housing needs

Conclusion:
Have this thought out ahead of time. Have copies or your list, delegate tasks to those in your circle and move fast while everyone else is glued to the television set waiting for the government to tell them what to do. – SF in Hawaii

JWR Adds: Deciding whether or not to venture away from your home or retreat when disruption looks imminent should not be a taken lightly. Risks will likely outweigh the benefits if it means “fighting the crowds” at the stores. (Literally.) Nor do you want riffraff seeing your vehicle heaped with new purchases and then following you home. Ditto for nosey neighbors.

In my writings, I have always stressed that we should “Be part of the solution, and not part of the problem.” I consider that the litmus test for determining the right course of action in any disaster. By logical extension, that mindset pushes us in the direction of dispensing charity and assisting civil authorities in restoring law and order. By stocking up well in advance you will be one less person that rushes to the supermarket just after the SHTF.

Odds ‘n Sods:

I was doing some web wandering on the topic of night vision gear, and I came across this video tutorial on How to Transform Your Webcam Into An Infrared Cam, (This has possibilities for retreat security.) Because the price of infrared LEDs has plummeted, it is now affordable to use arrays of IR LEDs as the light source. Think of the possibilities. And for those of you are aren’t electronics do-it-yourselfers, battery-powered IR motion detector camera systems are available from Ready Made Resources

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A reader mentioned that because of a scheduling conflict, he had to cancel his Thunder Ranch Urban Rifle course reservation for next month, and forfeit his deposit. Perhaps another SurvivalBlog reader would be interested in filling his slot, since they are booked solid for the rest of this year. The course dates are April 25-27. Anyone interested they should call: (541) 947-4104.

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The National Association of Realtors reported that the inventory of unsold homes rose to 3.75 million units, up by 5.9 percent from the January level, but there was an odd jump in sales last month, attributed to unusually warm weather.

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession. I have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first." – Ronald Wilson Reagan

Note from JWR:

I’m in need of a few more Quotes of the Day. If any of you have a favorite, please send it in. OBTW, special thanks to reader “Redmist” who sent dozens of quotes, many of which I’ve posted in past three months. Thanks!

Letter Re: A Source for Pre-1965 U.S. Silver Coinage

Jim,
I love your blog, it’s the only one I read, really. I’m writing to recommend APMEX.com as a source of precious metals, and pre-1965 [U.S.] silver coinage. I took your advice, and the advice of others, and decided to begin a precious metals investing program, starting with pre-’65 coins, and a few 1 oz American Silver Eagles. I searched all over the net looking for a place that would take a small order from a beginner, and found few, They sold large amounts, and there was always a call from a sales rep involved to complete the order process. Enter APMEX.com. Their prices certainly seem competitive to me, I bought Silver Eagles (their choice of years, since it’s cheaper, and I’m only in it for the silver content) and got them for $14.43 each, They also sell pre-’65 coins in lots as small as $1, although it is more expensive that way, but I found a deal for $10 face value for under $98, and ordered $20 face. The order process was completely online. The price “locks in” for 10 minutes when you click the submit button, and you can pay by credit card, which seems to be rare. They do charge a 3% fee for using the credit card, and in the future, I’ll be sending checks or money orders, but WOW! I received my order within a week, and I’m very pleased. I hope this helps your other readers, who may be waiting and saving because they cannot buy a whole bag of coin, or work nights like me, and aren’t awake for a sales rep call. OBTW, I received my signed copy of “Patriots”, and read it that same day. Excellent! I learned a lot, and enjoyed it. Thanks for writing it!
God Bless, – R.D.

Two Letters Re: Lee Handloading Tools and Surplus Ammo Quality

Jim,
I took note in Jason’s recent message regarding Lee reloading tools, and I must say I agree wholeheartedly. I have a Lee challenger press, and strongly recommend it.
In fact, I recommend the Lee Anniversary Reloading Kit with “Modern Reloading” Manual (available from MidwayUSA: for $89.99 plus shipping). It comes with everything except dies, primers, powder, brass, and bullets. Oh, a set of calipers is a handy thing to have too.
The case is the most expensive part of the cartridge to make, requiring multiple steps in shaping the brass into the final cartridge case. Reloading can significantly cut costs for the casual shooter, as well as allowing the more advanced shooter to develop and refine more accurate loads.
There is, however, one point that Jason made that I disagree with: that military surplus ammo is unreliable junk. Not so! The Swiss GP11 is fantastic (great if you have a K31 rifle), Polish 7.62x54r Light Ball is excellent fodder for the Mosin-Nagant (it is corrosive, but the Mosin is a cinch to clean), South Africa made some great .308, and Greece makes excellent .30-06 M2 Ball ammo (available from the CMP). Milsurp ammo has been stored in unknown conditions for unknown lengths of time, but with few exceptions, it’s perfectly suitable for a fun afternoon out at the range.
That, and there’s a fair amount of boxer-primed, reloadable military surplus ammunition — I myself have nearly two thousand pieces of .30-06 brass that I got from Korean-made military surplus (KA and PS head stamps, the former being corrosively primed, the latter being non-corrosive). Buying the ammo in the first place was cheap, and now I have a goodly supply of brass. For those concerned with the safety of military surplus ammo, a kinetic bullet puller is inexpensive, and one can remove the bullets, dump out the old powder (makes good fertilizer for plants), remove the primer if desired (be extremely careful when de-priming live primers — it might make more sense to chamber the primer-only cartridge in a gun, then fire it [while being careful of lead emissions, of course], and then de-prime the spent primer). All one needs to do then is re-prime the cases, charge the case with a suitable amount of powder, and re-seat the bullet. No need to buy more brass and bullets. I’ve done this with some of the unreliable and occasionally unsafe Indian .308, and rendered it quite consistent and accurate. Cheers! – Pete

JWR Replies: I agree that the quality of military surplus ammo varies widely. There have been some with erratic pressure. There is also a lot of corrosively primed ammo still on the market, most notably WWII vintage .303 British and a considerable amount imported from the former Soviet Bloc in various calibers. But some, such as the Swiss GP11 that you mentioned is outstanding. And I wish that I had bought several hundred thousand rounds of West German .308 ball when it was on the market back in the early 1908s. That stuff very accurate.

 

JWR,
I think I’ve written you about this before, but when it comes to Lee, I feel the need to caution others often. I have been a reloader for almost 20 years (limited only by how old I am), and I started using lee reloading equipment. When I was a teenager, the price point was great. However, as I’ve gotten older and been able to afford equipment from other manufacturers, I rarely use anything made by lee.
Lee does make some good products, their bullet molds, (the ones that use “tumble lube”) and their lube sizing dies (that go with the molds) are versatile and low cost. The other product I highly recommend is the Lee factory crimp die. As for the rest of their products, I’ve found them to be strangely engineered (they dump the primers into the bottom of the press) and I’ve also found them to be of poor quality. If you are interested in reloading ammunition for yourself, I highly recommend buying tools from another manufacturer (RCBS is my favorite) as your funds allow. Having equipment is better than not, but having good equipment makes reloading much easier, safer, and produces higher quality reloads. – AVL