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

Letter Re: Results of the MURS Radio Barter Experiment

Hi Jim,
Regarding the MURS Radio Barter Experiment, I had a very good response from your readers. This experiment was thought up after reading many barter articles on your blog. While this experiment might not be typical of a face-to-face bartering experience, the results were interesting nonetheless. A few offers were under valued, the majority were close enough in value to be considered, and a few were “very well valued”. Here is a sampling of what I was offered:
90% silver coins – all ranges of values were offered including “junk” coins and Silver Dollars
Printing material – business cards, letterhead, etc.
Woodworking services (not local to me though)
Poker chip set with aluminum case
Portable water filters and cartridges
Front Sight 2 day course certificate
Several types of ammo magazines and various firearm parts
Books by Jim Rawles: Patriots, Rawles on Retreats and Relocation, and Rawles Gets You Ready Course (multiple copies of each)
High end LED flashlights
Frontline Plus flea/tick control for pets
Ammo reloading equipment
Swiss Army watch and champion knife
Camouflage clothing
Home schooling math course
Body armor
Packages of MREs

What surprised me the most was the wide range of items offered. I chose a couple of items not based on need but because I could easily barter them to someone else. I chose the camo clothing, water filters, LED flashlights, some silver coins, and the stack of Jim Rawles’ books. The clothing, books, and coins stay with me. The flashlights and water filters were successfully re-bartered locally.
Since I obtained multiple copies of the Rawles books, I shared a set between family and close friends in the hopes they would “see the light” in getting themselves prepared. (Unsolicited comment: If you
don’t have these books, then I highly suggest them. They are very informative.)

I wish to thank you and your readers for your participation in this experiment. Overall it was successful and fun! I still have some $49 MURS Radios for sale for outdoor spring and summer time activities. Thank you very much! – Rob

Odds ‘n Sods:

Reader “6xddx6” e-mailed us to say that he created a simple solar charging system for his Kenwood TK2100 MURS radios that he got from $49 MURS Radios (one of our advertisers.) For this project, he used an inexpensive photovoltaic (PV) panel from Northern Tool & Equipment. (One of our Affiliate Advertisers.) At Northern Tool’s web site, search on Item # 339973.

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Chester M. sent this news story: New Orleans Residents Arming Themselves Chester’s comment: “Better late than never, I guess.”

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Any SurvivalBlog readers that homeschool their kids–or that plan too–should visit the web site for our newest advertiser: Alpha Omega Homeschooling. You can save 11% on all products with Coupon Code TQ9E11

Note from JWR:

I was up on the roof yesterday, doing the semi-annual de-gunking of the wood stove chimney spark arrestor, and the annual cleaning of the chimney itself. A messy job, but one that is crucial for fire safety. (Creosote-fueled chimney fires are commonplace, and are almost always the result of lax chimney-cleaning discipline.) Every survival retreat owner should have a set of chimney-cleaning rods and brushes, and the discipline to use them regularly!

Letter Re: Measuring Volume for Silica Gel Desiccant in Food Storage Buckets

Hello Mr. Rawles,
I have a question concerning silica gel desiccant measurements. I have found that buying the desiccant in bulk from flower shops more economical for me, but need assistance with putting together an accurate measurement for 5 or 6 gallon food buckets. On the Alan T. Hagan [Food Storage FAQ] site, he say’s to use coffee filters to make the packets which is a good source and on other vendor sites it say’s that 1500 to 2000 cc’s is to be used for the 5 or 6 gallon bucket’s, my problem is how to measure those amount’s and the others for that matter (300, 500, 750, 1000 cc’s seem to be the usual amounts). I have a kitchen measuring cup and some conversion tables off the net but the amount that is poured seem’s over measured (measured in ml BTW, ml=cc) because it seems quite large (the homemade packets). Any clarification/ help is greatly appreciated. – Derrick

JWR Replies: You are correct that a cubic centimeter is the same volume as a milliliter (mL or ml). 1 cup volume is about 240 to 250 mls. So the 1,500 to 2,000 cc figure does seem very high. At first glance, I think that they might have been off by a factor of 10 when they made their calculations. Typically, what is used for a sealed 5 or 6 gallon bucket of storage rice or wheat is a two ounce (56 gram) packet of silica gel, or perhaps two packets if you live in a damp climate. But let me provide a thoroughly defined answer, since a gram is a unit of weight and a milliliter is a unit of volume. Dry silica gel weighs 680 grams per liter. When it is saturated, it weighs considerably more. But as the basis for our calculations, you can assume that the weight of dry silica gel is .68 of the weight of an equivalent volume of water. Hence:, for Water: 1 cc = 1 ml = 1 gram. (Well, to be absolutely scientifically precise, 1 milliliter equals 1.000028 cc and 1 cc equals 0.999972 ml., but we aren’t splitting atoms here), and for Silica gel: 1 cc = 1 ml = .68 gram. So, 100 grams (about 3.5 ounces) of dry silica gel would occupy a volume of 68 mls, or just over 1/4 of a cup, and 400 grams of dry silica gel would measure just over one cup.

You should always dry your silica gel before using it. This can be accomplished by placing the packets in a home dehydrator (such as the Excalibur brand–highly recommended) for 10 hours, or on a cookie sheet in a kitchen oven set to 150 to 180 degrees for 12 hours. (Make sure that the paper is not close to the heating element.) When dry, (down to around 2% moisture) 1000 grams of silica gel will occupy a volume of about 680 mls or 2-1/4 cups. So the 1,500cc (ml) figure that they mentioned would equate to more than five cups of silica gel! Whoa! We had better move that decimal place over a notch! A half cup (120 ml) of dry silica gel is plenty for a five or 6 gallon bucket.

OBTW, I don’t recommend adding any desiccant to buckets of dried beans. (Although you should add an 02 absorbing packet.) If beans get too dry, it actually shortens their useful shelf life. If they get too dry, then soaking them–even for many days–will not plump them up properly, and they will not be palatable. If you are faced with the “hard bean” problem, you can resort to either using a pressure cooker, or grinding the beans, to salvage them.

The bottom line to all this number crunching is the good news: With the aforementioned exception of beans, there is no such thing as “too much” silica gel in a dried food storage bucket. If you inadvertently use two or three times too much, there is no harm done. But it would be a needless expense unless you can get it in bulk at very low cost or find someone giving it away. As you mentioned, florist shops are a good source. Another source is piano shops. Most of the pianos that are imported from Japan come with a large bag of silica gel. (Usually 600 to 800 grams.) One of those bags is the perfect size to protect the contents of a typical home gun vault.(Be sure to re-dry it once a year, or once per quarter if you live in a damp climate.) If you make some phone calls, these big bags are often available free for the asking–or next to it–if you pick them up at your local piano store.

For those not inclined toward scrounging, commercially-made silica gel packets are available from a variety of Internet vendors such as Ready Made Resources and Nitro-Pak. Both of those vendors also sell oxygen absorbing packets, which are crucial to ensure that insect larvae won’t survive in your food storage buckets.

Two Letters Re: .223 For Long Range Sniping?

James,
Again you are “on target” with your assessment of the Blackwater / Najaf / 800 Meter video. Nice informative letter too from Griff, we appreciate that detail and background! More than just sound bites and snapshots, SurvivalBlog is about quality information.
I think what Griff stated is very informative as to the actual mission. In my mind the Blackwater guys were laying down high quality suppressive fire, but when this becomes “sniping” might largely be a matter of semantics. I guess it would be in the rate of quality hits, something we’ll never know. I am sure they were very effective in their mission, but they may have been even more effective with an M1A with a [muzzle] brake on it. To me they demonstrated the value of the AR platform as a spotter weapon to a true sniping rifle. When employed by well trained people the [.223] AR type can do a lot, but you are very correct to point out that there is a reason the militaries of the world don’t use 5.56 for sniping – it’s not very good for that purpose. The 7.62 x 51 NATO is a far more effective round and the trend is decidedly for even more powerful rounds, namely the 338 Lapua and 50 BMG. Regards, – A. Friendly

Dear Jim,
One other point to consider with military calibers is the ammunition.
Critical wounds and kills are caused by:
1.) Hitting a major organ or central nervous system (brain, brainstem, heart, lungs, liver, kidneys). In this case, any caliber is effective, but it requires precision.
2.) Trauma. for this, the more energy transferred to the target, the better. The key word being “transferred.”
3.) Loss of blood. This means penetration.
In 7.62mm NATO, US loadings are very tough ball [full metal jacket] ammo that simply drills holes. This makes it “cleaner” per the Hague conventions. At close range it punches through and much of the energy isn’t transferred to the target. However, once you back out past 100 meters or so, you have a large, trauma-causing bullet that retains energy well.
In 5.56mm, military ball is designed to shatter at the cannelure. At close range, the wounds are devastating, and can be more severe than 7.62mm. Of course, that comes at the cost of retained energy at range, meaning less energy for trauma. As I’ve noted before, the advantage of 5.56 for military purposes is the ability to carry a lot of ammo and inflict “stopping” wounds. However, in a survival situation, one should try to avoid extended firefights for many obvious reasons. Also, 5.56mm isn’t great for large game, and overkill for small game where a .22 rimfire will work.
German and Swedish 7.62mm through the 1980s, if one can find it surplus, has a similar construction to 5.56mm, but in a more powerful round. This can be devastating.

Soft or hollow point 5.56mm isn’t as good at penetrating as ball, but it does cause much more effective wounding for a longer range. The obvious corollary is, so does .308 or 7.62mm soft or hollow point. Once we cross from ballistic wounding to bullet wounding, the heavier bullet causes more damage. End of story.
For myself, I certainly intend to keep AR-15 platforms on hand for several reasons, along with a good supply of ammo. Depending on the scenario, I might consider taking it as a primary rifle, but I hold military trophies for my marksmanship, practice with it regularly and have a
But for conservation of ammo, space and weight, all around utility and reliability, the first gun to have on hand is a bolt action 7.62mm [NATO], 8mm or 7.62x54R with a cheap case of milsurp and some commercial hunting ammo. Alternately, one can file or cut the points of military ammo to the core to gain a softer bullet (only an emergency measure for people who are experienced handling ammo, because of the potential danger).
After that would be a semi-auto 7.62mm which offers some additional flexibility and capacity. The AR-10 is excellent, shares common features with the AR-15 for familiarity, and is pricey. Both the HK91 and the FAL are available in the US for moderate prices as new weapons or kits. In all cases, I recommend military calibers because of the price and availability. – Michael Z. Williamson

Odds ‘n Sods:

The Green Mountain Gear “SurvivalBlog Group Buys.” for brand new-in-the-wrapper military specification C-Products M16/AR-15 30 round magazines at less than $10 each ends at close-of-business tomorrow. (Monday, March 26th.). See my original post on this for details, including the special Group Buy coupon codes. Don’t miss out! If the pending Federal ban is enacted, these magazines will suddenly be $30 each.

  o o o

The 2007 Idaho “Boomershoot” is now just over a month away. It is not too late to make a reservation. You just gotta love Idaho. There aren’t too many places where shooting at high explosives is considered a sport. Seriously, this annual event teaches good marksmanship, which is a worthy goal. From all accounts it is also a tremendous amount of fun.

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By way of The Daily Reckoning, economist Chuck Butler, writing in The Daily Pfennig notes: “In the statement released at the conclusion of its two-day meeting, the FOMC acknowledged recent data that shows both higher inflation and a weaker economy. This is pretty much a worst-case scenario for Bernanke and his boys (and girls).”

Notes from JWR:

Radio talk show host Steve Quayle kindly mentioned SurvivalBlog in his show recently, generating more than a thousand new visitors to SurvivalBlog. This demonstrates that there are a lot of people interested in preparedness that have never heard of SurvivalBlog. Please continue to spread the word, particularly on talk radio shows. Thanks!

A brief follow-up on our recent SurvivalBlog benefit auction for a Schecter “Warthog” Electric Guitar: The nice folks at Schecter Guitar not only threw in a free hard case, but they also sent it via Second Day Air (at no charge) to make sure that it arrived in time to be presented as a birthday gift. I just got the following note from the high bidder:

Jim,
The guitar arrived last night and it was more than I had hoped for. My son was ecstatic. It is absolutely gorgeous, and it sounds great. My son was very happy with the versatility and design of the instrument. I also wasn’t expecting the hard case that was included. I could blather on and on about it. Thank you so much for the “Warthog” and for making sure that it was delivered on his birthday. Please extend our thanks to whoever your contact is at Schecter. I suspect that this will be the first of many of their guitars at our house. God Bless, – D.C.

Letter Re: Advice On Retreat Locales in Nevada

Sir:

I am writing in regard to posting about Advice On Retreat Locales in Nevada, particularly about the Big Smoky Valley area. I am very familiar with the Big Smoky Valley and surrounding areas, I have camped, hiked, hunted, etc. there. There are numerous hot springs and ghost towns peppered throughout the valleys . The mountains are impressive and Mt. Jefferson is one of my favorite areas.

Now here’s the “but”: as for a retreat area: the area is very remote, everything will have to be brought in. The summers are very hot with range fires every year and the winters are extreme with heavy snow and temperatures plunging to -20 degrees (without the wind).

Water would be a critical issue, as there isn’t very much of it available. There are cattle and mining operations all over the area and I believe that securing any water rights would not be easy. The land is mostly under federal control and is leased out as open range for the cattle operations.

The closest town, Tonopah, is the county seat for Nye County. Tonopah is interesting, but any outsider is treated with suspicion. Law enforcement, both local and state, like to check newcomers and people passing through. Don’t even think of driving over the speed limit within 20 miles of Tonopah, you will receive roadside customer service. The last time I passed through, I was obeying all traffic laws but I was stopped by two state troopers for having mud “obscuring” the rear licenses plate on my truck.

It seems that Tonopah’s last heyday was when the MX Missile system was being developed there in the 1980’s. Since then, the missile project has been cancelled and the stealth fighters and the stealth facilities have moved to Utah and Arizona. There’s even talk of moving the county seat to Pahrump were the majority of the county’s population is located, over 165 miles away. Making any money as a start up business would be difficult, and the jobs don’t pay all that much. Unless you’re a government worker. Even the full service “gentlemen’s clubs” (brothels) have closed up shop. One would have to have enough money put away to last for some time.

Your best bet for remote areas worth looking into in Nevada would most likely be in Elko and White Pine counties, there’s water and the summers are not as hot. The town of Ely, in White Pine County, does have the state’s [only] maximum security prison. Something to keep in mind.

The Big Smoky Valley and surrounding areas are a great place to visit, but life there would be challenging at best. Best Regards, – Desert T

Letter Re: Lee Handloading Tools

Jim,
I’ve been following the links to all the surplus ammo dealers..most of that ammo is corrosive, old junk. Totally unreliable. This is a great time for people to start reloading, on the cheap! Here is a great link to Lee brand cartridge reloading tools. I bought the Challenger press kit and now reload .308 and 8mm Mauser. Lee Precision has the best prices I’ve seen and the product is top notch..The hand press is also cool. Its easy and after the initial investment things really go down in price: bullets, powder and primers are still cheap and brass, at this stage if you don’t load too hot will last many times (5-to-12 times). Great for practice at the range. [By handloading, you can make your own ammunition and] avoid all that messy corrosive junk that can foul or even ruin your firearms. – Jason