Odds ‘n Sods:

Ben L. suggested posting a link to this Reason online article: Gun Control’s Twisted Outcome–Restricting firearms has helped make England more crime-ridden than the U.S.

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Today we welcome a couple of new Affiliate advertisers to our roster: SafetyGlasses.com in the U.S. (they sell shooting glasses, ear protection, Nomex/Kevlar gloves, and hydration packs), and MacWarehouse in the U.K. (Just in case a Mac iBook Laptop or an iPod is a survival priority for you. <vbg>) Whenever you use one of our Affiliate links and place an order–with more than 60 companies in nine countries–we get a little piece of the action, which helps support SurvivalBlog. (Of course please patronize our paid banner advertisers first.)

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Frequent contributor Michael Z. Williamson mentioned an interesting web page on Fire Pistons. Speaking of fire making,take a look at this Wikipedia page. Who knows when primitive skills might someday save your life? Learn bushcraft skills and pass them on to your children.

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The high bid is now up to $275 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:, with a combined retail value of around $370. The auction ends on April 15th. Just e-mail me your bid. Thanks!

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, to discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practice resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms, and, if it proved to be mean, why then to get the whole and genuine meanness of it, and publish its meanness to the world; or if it were sublime, to know it by experience, and to be able to give a true account of it" – Henry David Thoreau – (1817 – 1862) – Walden or Life in the Woods

Note from JWR:

The high bid is now up to $250 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:, with a combined retail value of around $370. The auction ends on April 15th. Just e-mail me your bid. Thanks!

Letter Re: Advice On Retreat Locales in Nevada

James:

I’m a retired Christian, a widower, living on California’s central coast. I’m a ham radio enthusiast. I don’t feel safe anywhere in California. California is only going to get worse as time goes on. So I am looking for a retreat location that is away from large population areas. I now have a few resources available to do this. Please let me know if you know of anything in the $40-to-50K range. I’m thinking about Nevada. Somewhere quite remote that will not be on the “shopping list” of looters, or in the path or refugees in the event of TEOTWAWKI. Blessings, – Dave

JWR Replies: Hmmm… $40K to $50K won’t buy you much land, these days. If you don’t mind arid climates, then under your circumstances I’d recommend that you start your search in west-central Nevada. (It is a fairly straight shot for you through Yosemite National Park on Highway 120 in summer months, but the small highway passes are closed in winter, necessitating a longer trip, via I-80 through Reno. If you take the Pacheco Pass, then Highway 99, and then Highway 120, you avoid all of the major freeways.) BTW, if you are 62, you are old enough to qualify for a Forest Service “Senior Pass” (formerly called a “Golden Age Passport), for a one-time fee of $10, so you won’t have to pay to transit Yosemite National Park on each trip to Nevada.

Look first around Dyer, Nevada (the Fish Lake Valley) near Boundary Peak, just east of the California state line. There are 10 to 12 acre parcels there selling for around $50K, but it is one of those “private, gated community” type developments that has CC&Rs and allows only stick-built houses with a minimum square footage. (No manufactured homes.) And it is very likely that their CC&Rs would also frown on ham antenna arrays. (A big shiny Yagi might look like a thing of beauty to you, but probably not to the HOA busybodies.) Perhaps you could buy some land outside of the HOA development, but nearby so that you could still interact with the community for barter purposes.

Next, look farther east, around the Big Smoky Valley area, north of Tonopah, Nevada. There is some nice land on the northwestern edge of the valley–with year-round creeks and a few trees–that adjoins the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. Keep the faith, and proceed with prayer. If God wants you to be anywhere in particular, he will open doors for you.

Letter Re: Advice on Aftermarket Barrels for Glock Pistols

Jim,
I am contemplating purchasing the Glock 21 (.45 ACP). I am concerned that it is not a fully supported chamber, should this be a worry with the low pressure round like the .45 or is it just a factor in the higher pressure round like the .40 caliber. I have larger hands and the grip is not a problem for me. I hear that you can get a replacement barrel that fully supports the round, would you recommend this. Thanks for any help with this matter,

JWR Replies: The Glock 21 is a good choice, especially after adding tritium sights and having a grip reduction done. There are three good reasons to get an aftermarket barrel: 1.) They have traditional rifling, which is less prone to fouling than the polygonal rifling on the Austrian made originals, 2.) As you mentioned, they have a more fully supported chamber, and 3.) It leaves your original barrel available to use as a spare.

My advice: Proceed with your Glock 21 purchase, preferably from a private party at a gun show. Or you can find in-state private party sellers by searching “by state” at www.GunsAmerica.com. Once you have it in hand, have Trijicon or Meprolight tritium sights installed, and send the frame to ArizonaResponseSystems.com for a grip reduction. (Or buy the Glock’s new M21-SF variant, that comes from the factory with a reduced, M1911 contour grip.) Replacement barrels and critical spare parts are available from Lone Wolf Distributors or Glockmeister. As previously mentioned, the best source for extra magazines is probably Natchez Shooters Supply. Buy at least 8 or 9 spares!

Letter Re: Unexpected Climate Change

Dear Jim and Family,
The movie The Day After Tomorrow was on FX (cable TV channel) tonight. The first hour is entertaining weather disasters and fun science building up, the second hour was a travesty which insulted intelligent people and scientists everywhere. But it was pretty, and it’s just a movie. It’s okay for it to be half cr*p as long as its entertaining.

The reality of climate change is much more interesting, and considerably slower paced. This week I found a web site with a drought map which is updated weekly. US Drought Monitor. It is pretty darned interesting.

Another little reality is the West Coast (California, Oregon, Washington) has its entire climate based on the Longshore Drift, which is powered by the North Wind from Alaska. This wind causes upwelling of nutrient rich cold water along the coastline to several hundred miles out on the continental shelf. This water provides food for plankton, fish, and birds. It also drops summer temperatures inland and reduces evaporation along the coastline. Without this cool water current, there’s no food for the fish, no fish to catch, no salmon, and the weather starts to resemble that of Baja Mexico. That sounds pretty good until you realize that Baja has pretty dead water with not much in it. The ocean’s equivalent of a desert: oxygen poor, toxic thanks to algae blooms, and not healthy for people either. This is happening now, and has been a problem for the last 4 years, which (perhaps) coincidentally corresponds with years of drought. The North Wind has started late each summer, usually after high numbers of birds have died. Most of the Salmon are gone, for various reasons but the oxygen problem is the main culprit. You’d think this would be limited to California, since its a state which clearly offends God, but Oregon is suffering too and there’s a lot of Christians up there. Its Eugene that gives the state a bad rep.

This isn’t the best part. With warmer temperatures, the waters can support unusual weather for the area: hurricanes. I say unusual because they are such in the last few thousand years, however they’re Not unusual in the geologic record. As a geology student, I got to see the sedimentation of hurricanes, event (storm) by event (storm) in coastal sandstones called “Turbidite Sequences”. Turns out that California (and Oregon) used to get some pretty severe weather we normally associate with Southern Mexico, Florida, and the Gulf Coast. I’m talking category 4-5 hurricanes every year. Yes that seems strange, but the winds control the currents and the currents & winds control the weather. ANd the weather controls the food supply, which controls population movements and can turn a remote retreat location into a deathtrap.

Or something really weird can happen. Like summer rains and monsoons can start flowing into California, along with those hurricanes. See, normal California and Southwestern weather is brief winter rains followed by months of spring, summer, and fall drought. In the old days, Northern California got rain from October to May, and that was perfectly normal weather. Nowadays is January to February, and the rainy season is punctuated by long drying periods so the aquifers don’t fill, the streams empty, and it just resembles a desert. It sucks, but that’s how it is. This is a transitional period. Perhaps things will change back next year, but perhaps they won’t.

That leads to the weird thing. If we get summer monsoons, it changes the whole climate in the Southwest. It means lightning in a state that rarely sees any in the lowlands. It means tornados and hail. It means thunderstorms and flash floods. It means living pasture in currently dry regions, which is a real boon to ranching and dairy, but death to the orchards. It means heavy rain in the lower reaches of the Sierras and summer snowstorms. It also means rain reaching Nevada and the desert regions of California and Arizona (and Utah), with storms coming from the Southwest, via Hawaii, what we call the “Pineapple Express”. Imagine that happening a couple times a week all summer long in places where it never used to rain, so the SW, starts to get like the SE. Humid, wet, water soaking into the aquifers, rivers running, plants changing. It also means that a lot of dry lakes fill, starting at salt marshes and swamps but eventually able to host fish, deer, elk, mountain sheep, migrating birds, antelope, willows, alders, cottonwoods. Land in Nevada would become not only habitable but valuable. With the change in direction of the weather, new banana-belts would also develop, as they’re based on direction of rainfall and spots downwind from mountain ranges experience warming during storms on the far side. That’s more long-term.

In the short term, you’ll see a few storms, and a few hurricanes creeping north up Baja, a long way from Los Angeles, but as the ocean temps rise on the California and Oregon coastline, the further north the storms can go before breaking up. And like I said, there’s evidence in the geologic record of hurricanes striking the coast North of San Francisco. It could be some time before that happens, or it could happen in a dozen years, then more quiet for another dozen. Lots of factors are involved making precise prediction foolhardy. In the meantime, keep your eyes peeled for summer rain in California. It could be a harbinger of a serious change in climate, perhaps for the better. Best, – InyoKern

Odds ‘n Sods:

Many of you have already seen this video clip of a Blackwater shooter plying his trade in Najaf, Iraq. (Warning: some coarse language, but no gore.) Talk about taking the wrong rifle to a gunfight! It appeared that he was dinging Bad Guys at “800 Meters” with a .223. He surely would have been much more effective with a scoped .308 Winchester. (Such as a match grade M14.) He had the wrong tool for the job, but at least the man behind the rifle appeared fairly competent. (He was not using the traditional fire discipline of a sniper, so obviously he was either very excited and wasting ammo, or he was in a truly “target rich environment.” (It is hard to say which.) Regardless, it is an interesting video to watch. OBTW, note his fumbling during his later magazine changes, under stress. As the instructors at Front Sight are fond of saying: “Remember: In the stress of a gun fight you will only be half as good as your worst day at the range.”

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K&S dropped us a line to mention that the classic Thermette (aka “`Benghasi Boiler”) is back in production. This device was invented in 1929 by New Zealander John Ashley Hart . They are still hand made in New Zealand, from solid copper.

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French-speaking readers of SurvivalBlog should be aware that there is a new French language forum on emerging threats and survivalism, called Le Projet Olduvai.

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“The technologies which have had the most profound effects on human life are usually simple. A good example of a simple technology with profound historical consequences is hay. Nobody knows who invented hay, the idea of cutting grass in the autumn and storing it in large enough quantities to keep horses and cows alive through the winter. All we know is that the technology of hay was unknown to the Roman Empire but was known to every village of medieval Europe. Like many other crucially important technologies, hay emerged anonymously during the so-called Dark Ages. According to the Hay Theory of History, the invention of hay was the decisive event which moved the center of gravity of urban civilization from the Mediterranean basin to Northern and Western Europe. The Roman Empire did not need hay because in a Mediterranean climate the grass grows well enough in winter for animals to graze. North of the Alps, great cities dependent on horses and oxen for motive power could not exist without hay. So it was hay that allowed populations to grow and civilizations to flourish among the forests of Northern Europe. Hay moved the greatness of Rome to Paris and London, and later to Berlin and Moscow and New York.” – Freeman Dyson, Infinite in All Directions (1988)

Note from JWR:

We had a great view of a Golden Eagle on our way home from church yesterday. It was on the ground within 10 feet of the road, snacking on a road-killed deer. (Raptors aren’t picky, this time of year.) I pulled our car to a stop on the shoulder just 25 feet away, and instead of taking wing, the eagle just hopped 20 feet up the hill and stared at us. (No doubt wondering why we had been so rude as to interrupt its meal.) I’m regularly amazed at the variety of wildlife that we see at the Rawles Ranch, and on our trips to town.

Letter Re: The Female Side of Surviving

Jim et al,
Having seen [the movie] ‘300‘ this last weekend and the cable documentaries about the Spartans, one particular concept stood out. Debates about the culture, the movie, and such aside, I was stuck by the idea that to raise strong and capable men that it was essential that they be born of strong, independent and capable women. Elite Spartan women had a level of freedom that was nearly unprecedented in the ancient world and as young girls went through much of the same training as the boys.

This is not generally the case today. As I’ve been learning about preparedness and exploring the resources on the Internet, I find there are very few women who are actively involved. When they are, they seem to either being only interested in household/cooking/supplies management, or come from the occasional family that goes counter to this trend. I am a firm believer in a well-rounded skill set and I live with a husband that has little interest in preparedness. (Thus the initiative is on my shoulders). I know how to cook from scratch, the basics of food storage, how to do just about any fiber-art and can cure most common ailments with plants growing in my local environment.

What I’m looking for now is where can I learn skills that are not as typical for my gender role, without having to suffer an undue amount of harassment? What would you suggest for someone to go from having never touched a firearm in their life to being survival-proficient? What about basic mechanics, auto repair, wood working, building, and more? Has anyone really looked into the gender issues of preparedness and survival, especially long-term, and who’s writing might you suggest? Sincerely, – Lily in Minnesota

JWR Replies: The firearms training at Front Sight is excellent and women students don’t feel intimidated there–whether travelling alone or with their spouse. There is no macho posturing or belittling there. If you are on a budget, don’t overlook the very inexpensive rifle training offered at the RWVA Appleseed Shoots. As for learning car mechanics/repair, wood working, house building, and so forth, you might make some inquiries locally about barter. In recent years, many small communities in the U.S. have introduced local currencies–essentially a tangible form of barter credits.

Letter Re: Selecting a Retreat Location in Australia, by Mike McD.

Jim,
To answer your key question: “Are there some particular towns that are well-removed from the major population centers on the east coast –perhaps up in The Wet– that would be well-suited as safe havens?” You would need to define what constituted a major population center.
There are five cities/regions with a population over a million [people]: Sydney (due to their close proximity to Sydney I would include the cities of Newcastle [pop 510,000] and Wollongong [pop 275,000] as part of Sydney), Melbourne (including the city of Geelong [pop 165,000]), Brisbane (including the Gold Coast/Tweed region [pop 485,000], the Sunshine Coast region [pop 215,000], and Toowoomba [120,000]), Adelaide, and Perth.
Once you put these aside we are left with the following cities with a population of greater than 100,000:
Canberra [pop 325,000]
Hobart [pop 203,000]
Townsville [pop 150,000]
Cairns [pop 125,000]
Darwin [pop 111,000]
Launceston [pop 105,000]
Albury-Wodonga [pop 100,000]
Of these Canberra and Albury-Wodonga are out as they are within 300 miles of Sydney and Melbourne as well as on the main line of likely advance for the respective Golden Hordes.
Launceston and Hobart are on the island of Tasmania.
Townsville is home to 3 Brigade (light infantry) and RAAF base Townsville (home of the Army’s 5th Aviation Regiment).
Darwin is home to 1 Brigade (mechanised) and RAAF base Darwin (which is a major air base used by Australian and US aircraft – including B-52s and B-2s).
Places up in The Wet (such as Townsville, Cairns, and Darwin) are cyclone prone. Retreats in these areas need to be able to withstand the worst category 5 cyclones.
On balance if I was looking for a place on the east coast of the mainland, I would be inclined to look at the coastal hinterland of Queensland north from Rockhampton up to Cairns (600 miles {1000km} north) . It is far enough north of Brisbane’s population cluster and far enough south of the Torres Strait to avoid a potential influx of people from Papua New Guinea. It has good rainfall and soil fertility. The people tend to be more independently minded, pro-gun, conservative and Christian. Think of the Bible Belt of the US with the relaxed Aussie attitude. (See map.)

The distances to get to even Rockhampton from Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne are huge (400 miles {650km}, 750 miles {1200km}, and 1250 miles {2000km} respectively). Living in in those cities (or on the coast between them) my first choice of G.O.O.D. vehicle would be sailing boat (which could also open up other retreat areas such as Tasmania or New Zealand).
Being in the Navy with access to (and having helped written a few) classified studies into mass illegal immigration scenarios I’m limited in exactly what I can say. I will say this: if I was looking at a retreat in the north or north-west of Australia I would locate my retreat at least 60 miles from the coastline. – Mike McD

Letter Re: Stocking Up on AR-15 Lower Receivers?

James,
I have been reading SurvivalBlog for a few months now, and I have to say that you are doing a great job! I have taken your Ten Cent Challenge, and look forward to renewing for next year. I have been following [the U.S. Congress] bill H.R. 1022 and your advice to stock up on “assault weapons” and/or high capacity magazines. If one cannot afford multiple weapons would you recommend buying a quantity of [AR-15] lower receivers in the hopes of building them up to full guns at a later date? – Kevin

JWR Replies: That is a good idea. AR-15 receivers can be used not only to build an AR-15 or M4gery, but also a variety of other guns that share the common lower such as the BRP Guns “XMG” MG-34 semi-auto and Spider Firearms Ferret .50 (a very accurate .50 BMG bolt action single shot rifle), and even the “it would be absurd if they didn’t have to make it” DPMS pump-action .223 (for use in states like California and New Jersey that ban most detachable magazine semi-autos.) You can currently get Stag Arms AR-15 lower receivers for as little as $89 each if you buy two or more. For your privacy, the best way to buy would be from a fellow private party at gun show. (Assuming that this doesn’t run afoul of your state and local laws.) Unfortunately, stripped receivers very rarely make it to the “secondary market.” Scour all of the gun shows in you area for the next few months. You never know, you might find someone that bought a stripped lower and never completed a planned “build” project. Of course if you live in a state that has outlawed private party sales–where all transfers must be processed with FFL paperwork–then this is a moot point. Go ahead and buy several through your local FFL. You might even be able to get the dealer to waive part or all of the transfer fee if he wants to buy a few for his own inventory and you can get a lower “quantity” price from a manufacturer or distributor. One final proviso: Any new ban legislation might specify that a firearm must be completed before the law goes into effect in order to be “grandfathered.”

Odds ‘n Sods:

Investment Guru Jim Rogers Sees U.S. Property Crash

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Any SurvivalBlog readers that are considering relocating to northern Idaho should contact Todd Savage of Coldwell Banker Real Estate in Bonners Ferry, Idaho. He specializes in what he calls “tactical real estate.” At any given time, he has several “off the beaten track” properties available with either spring water or shallow wells. Properties with contiguous U.S. Forest Service or state land are also fairly common in the region. Todd is a SurvivalBlog reader, so he understands the unique requirements of survival retreats. He won’t waste your time showing you properties that aren’t suitable, since he researches, previews, and evaluates specific parcels and only those that meet his stringent requirements are filtered down to potential buyers. Tell him that Jim Rawles sent you. You can contact him via e-mail: toddsavage47@gmail.com or cellular phone: 208-946-1151

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Keith mentioned that he found the Dietz #DHL2000 lantern at www.lanternnet.com, selling for just $18.95–a real bargain. Keith’s comment: “I’ve owned Dietz lanterns for a while and they work well. This DHL2000 lantern can perform dual functions of lighting and heating and burns both kerosene and lamp oil. It’s worth a look.”

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"Violence, naked force, has settled more issues in history than has any other factor, and the contrary opinion is wishful thinking at its worst. Nations and peoples who forget this basic truth have always paid for it with their lives and freedoms." – Robert A. Heinlein

Note from JWR:

The high bid is now up to $200 in the current SurvivalBlog benefit auction for several items that are being auctioned together as a lot: 1.) A late-1940s-vintage Airline brand all vacuum tube (highly EMP resistant) AM tabletop radio in a attractive bakelite cabinet. It works very well. and, 2.) A special five book package including: one autographed copy of my “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course, one autographed copy of Rawles on Retreats and Relocation , one autographed copy of SurvivalBlog: The Best of the Blog – Volume 1, one autographed copy of my novel Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse, and one copy of The Encyclopedia of Country Living by the late Carla Emery. These items have a combined retail value of around $370. The auction ends on April 15th. Just e-mail me your bid. Thanks!