Two Letters Re: M14 Clones

You gotta love a well put together MIA. Too bad that Springfield Armory doesn’t seem to be up to the task.
The M1A, my favorite battle rifle, but is probably the worst as far as scoping goes. Scopes of conventional eye relief have to mount very high for the ocular to clear the rear sight assembly, this makes for funky stock welds and other problems. As well the side position on the receiver of the scope mount generally has the ocular too far back and close to the eye, causing grief when shooting from all positions even when cantilevered rings are used to move the scope forward. This problem is compounded by the short mounting “pads” of the ARMS #18. Which also happens to be one of the best scope bases otherwise IMO. The Brooks style mounts have a solid rail to mount on but are heavy and bulky and start you down the path to a M21 clone.
There’s no doubt in my mind that an optic makes it easier to get good hits fast in the 300-500 yard slot that we seek to control with rack grade weapons and ball ammo. It becomes painfully clear (or not so clear, a funny ) as the ranges get 300 yards and out and the targets are of realistic color and pattern, such as those shot during our Wyoming Rifleman Challenge. Throw in a blowing dust cloud, 100 degree temps boiling a thick mirage and then have the shooters “watch and shoot” for a series three second exposure.
So far in my experience the most practical of the scoping options for the M1A is the forward mounted Intermediate Eye Relief (IER) scope. Springfield Armory sells a satisfactory mount and Leupold and Burris make decent scopes. The scope mounts low with the ocular just even with the ejection port and with the right rings about 1/8″ above the upper hand guard. This leaves the receiver open for quick cleanings or stripper clip top offs as well as trouble free ejection. The eye relief is fine with a full field of view from all positions.
I had my doubts about the Springfield Armory forward scope mount at first, it’s clam shell design clamps around a standard contour barrel and that just doesn‘t seen to be the road the accuracy IMO. While a concern it wasn’t enough to keep me from mounting one up when it came my way. I prepped the mount by chasing the screw holes, degreasing them and a drop of red Lok-Tite in each. I also cleaning the surfaces coming into contact with the barrel to degrease them and put a few drops of red Lok-Tite on both parts. Placed the mount in rough position and snugged the screws.
Getting the scope mount square to the receiver was a concern, what I ended up doing was using my scope reticule leveling tool, that is held in place by a rubber band and indexing off the top of the rear sight ears. I got it were I wanted and tightened everything in typical alternate fashion. I added the proper size hex head wrench key to my butt stock cleaning gear and also check the screws at every cleaning on the bench . The mount has never shifted as far as I can tell after several thousand rounds. This can probably be attributed to the generous girth and the length of the mounting screws. Something I did notice after a few hundred rounds was that the back edge of the mount had the finish worn off by the motion of the operating rod. No metal just the finish, so I beveled it back a bit. And hit it with some marking die to see what was going to happen next, nothing happened. I still check the mount at every cleaning but no longer expect to find it falling off.
I have IER scopes mounted on M1A’s in both Warne and Leupold QD rings and have found that both work fine. Something I did with both is lap the rings before I mounted up the scopes. I lap all my scope rings just to take any bind out of the mounting process and to help with repeatability should the scope have to come off and be remounted.
The downside to the forward IER scope is that it’s limited to 2-3/4 power magnification with no provisions, as issued, for come-ups past battle sight zero. Of course this is a real drag for the rifleman wanting to control that 300-500 yard slot.
Compensating for range is handled to my satisfaction by adding a Butler Creek elevation knob, about $25 from Brownell’s. In my experience the knob provides repeatable, precise elevation control. The laser engraved index marks are a bit over 1 MOA in value and definitely close enough to be used with ball ammo rule of thumb come-up’s for good work to 500 yards. You will be on at 600 with the rule of thumb come-up but high and you will shoot over at 700. No big deal just don’t come up the whole rule of thumb come-up. It’s easy to simply computer print the come-ups on a large mailing label stick it to the stock and cover with clear packing tape. The 2-3/4X magnification and NATO spec ball cone of fire start making 600 plus shots an iffy thing anyway when you factor in holding off for the wind. We goof around with this 500 yard plus shooting and I have tuned the data but I really consider the rig to be a solid 500 yard rifle in practical terms. With match ammo and some more magnification the IER scoped M1A could very well be stretched to 700 yards if the wind wasn’t too awful wild.
So far all I’ve done about wind compensation is holding off, using the size of the target, reticule sub tension values and rule of thumb NATO ball hold-off values . It works good enough, but gets twitchy past 500 yards.
When the IER scoped M1A is used 500 yards and in, the rifle/scope combo has proven to be a solid performer in my experience and I’m pleased with it so far. I have to say, I don’t really believe we have the right scope yet. The right scope would [be an IER with] a straight, mil-spec 30mm tube, luminated reticule, MK4 M3 style knobs and mil dots. – Dennis Ross, President, Wyoming Rifleman Association

 

Hello James,
I’ve noted some discussions regarding the Springfield Armory products. Before buying [an M14 clone], folks should take a serious look at what the guys at Smith Enterprise have to offer. I’ve had several Garands rebarreled there, as well as some scope mounts installed on an M1A. Good folks doing good work!  See: http://www.smithenterprise.com/products02.html  – Dutch in Wyoming

JWR Adds: In addition to Smith Enterprise, there are also high quality M14 clones and receivers built by Fulton Armory (http://www.fulton-armory.com/), LRB (http://www.lrbarms.com/pages/1/index.htm), and several other vendors. OBTW, Smith Enterprise also make the excellent Vortex series flash hiders that I’ve had installed nearly all of my bolt action rifles by Holland’s of Oregon.

Letter Re: On Brass Recycling

Hello James,
I thought this information might be useful for the blog readers: Metal Recyclers (in the Pacific Northwest) are paying $0.97 per pound for “yellow brass” (used cartridge brass with or without a fired primer). I reload some of my own ammunition, but I had been saving non-reloadable cartridge cases, .22 brass etc. for recycle, and I took in over 100 pounds and I was able to get nearly a dollar per pound. Handy extra cash for those who have extra un-needed brass. The cash from the sale can go towards other preparedness items. Note: To give the readers an idea of the volume I am talking about – one 5-gallon pail nearly full of used cartridge brass is approximately equal to 60 pounds or more (depending on the type and size of brass cases). My pail was mostly rifle brass. God’s Blessings to You & Your Family, – Christian Souljer

Odds ‘n Sods:

We recently heard that there are several RWVA Appleseed Shoots scheduled for early 2006: in North Carolina February 25/26; in Kentucky March 25/26; and in Indiana is the last part of April. (They are still working out the date for the latter)  The cost is $45 for one day; $70 for the weekend. Shooters age 20 and under shoot free. Pre-registration is most appreciated. See: http://www.rwva.org for details.

And for those of you in the Pacific Northwest, don’t miss the annual dynamite shoot (“The Boomershoot”) in north-central Idaho. It is scheduled for April 30, 2006. It will be preceded by a Precision Rifle Clinic on April 28th and 29th.  (Highly recommended.) The Boomershootis a blast (literally) and surprisingly instructive on practical long range shooting–with a bit more excitement than a typical paper-punching high power match. (“That blowed up, real good!”) If it isn’t pouring rain, I suggest that you shoot prone rather than from a bench, to give the event more practical applicability. So bring a shooting mat or tarp. See: http://www.boomershoot.org/2006/blast.htm

Note from JWR:

We just surpassed four million page hits!   Many thanks for helping SurvivalBlog be such as success.  Keep spreading the word. If you could include SurvivalBlog’s URL in your e-mail (“sig”) footer, it would be greatly appreciated.  Perhaps something like this: 
      https://survivalblog.com — Bookmark it. It May Save Your Life!

Letter Re: Canned Butter Versus Butter Powder

Hello James,
The Blog just keeps getting better and better. Kudos!

I’m in the “luxury” stage of my pantry building and recently calculated the cost/benefit of storing butter. I figure butter would not only provide a psychological boost during bleak times, but would make a great barter item as well.

I looked at three different methods:

1, Canned Butter Powder – Storage life of 6 to 8 years. Requires reconstituting. Cost per pound of table ready product – $8.45

2. Canned Butter – Storage life of 3 to 5 years. Requires no reconstitution. Cost per pound of table ready product – $5.26

3. Can your own. (www.endtimesreport.com/canning_butter.html) Storage life of 3 to 5 years. Cost per pound (buying butter at a shoppers club) – $1.69, plus cost of jars.

So… if I’m willing to provide the labor, I can stock up on real butter for less than half the cost of the butter powder, even factoring in a 50 percent shorter shelf life with the home-processed product. I’ve found that’s a pretty typical spread between rolling your own or paying for someone else to spice and dice. – Dutch in Wyoming

Two Letters from D.B. Re: M1A Rifles, Modifications and Scout/SOCOM Variants

JWR:
A couple of tidbits regarding the king of the battle rifles:

M14 magazines are now just $10 each at Midway – they have secured a lot of Taiwan mags – these are made on USGI machinery that we sold to the Taiwanese. Yes, I feel stupid for having bought my supply @ $35 each!  [JWR’s Comment: If they are blued, then they are Taiwanese. If they are gray phosphated (Parkerized), then odds are 90% that they are mainland Chinese.]

The “chopping” of the barrel from regular length to scout length is a very complicated operation requiring the re-milling of the spline [cut] on the barrel, etc.. Fulton Armory has the gear/expertise to do it, but not sure of anyone else. They are a bit slow due to their backlog of work.

USGI parts have become scarce so newly manufactured Scout & SOCOM [variant]s should be checked out for having “real” parts and newly manufactured ones swapped out accordingly.  [JWR’s Comment: Nearly all Springfield Armory M1As made since the early 1980s have less than half original USGI parts.  Up until about 1985 you could special order one with Springfield Armory’s “All GI Parts” option.  IIRC, that cost an extra $200+.  I bought my first M1A in 1981–a special-ordered heavy barrel Super Match in an E2 stock with the “All GI Parts” option. That rifle cost $880, which was a fortune in those days. But these days just an E2 stock with all of the metal parts costs around $600.  That is one of the reasons that I switched to L1A1s.  But I still miss that Super Match. Sniff!] 

If it would help, I could share some modifications that were passed on to me by Clint Smith at Thunder Ranch/learned from use – let me know if you want them. – D.B.

In a follow-up e-mail, D.B. added:

JWR:
These are what I have done to prep my M1A for Schumeresque use:
1. On the advice of Clint Smith at Thunder Ranch, I filed the front sight blade down the point where the rifle is zeroed at 100 yards with the rear aperture bottomed out. This way you don’t have to worry about the peep getting bumped down/off your zero when you are carrying/using your rifle. You need to determine what the best round for your use is – Talon demilled USGI ball, Hirtenberger, Winchester 150 soft point, etc.. Depending on your anticipated engagement parameters, maybe it should be set for 275/50/300 yards.
2. Again, per Clint, I put grab loops on the bottom of the USGI M14 mags [to facilitate getting them out of magazine pouches quickly.] Clint originally recommended the 100 MPH tape loops. However, knowing the life expectancy of 100 MPH tape under heavy use/heat/sweat/rain is 6-12 months, I went a step better. Bought 1/8” stainless steel cable from the hardware store and drilled a hole thru both sides of the magazine and created a loop of wire with a ferrule. Then put JB weld over the ends of the clipped wire to prevent the painful little poking that occurs from a frayed wire. Size them large enough to fit gloved fingers. These are the “sack of hammers” approach – yes, there are commercially made Mag-Pulls, but if my life is on the line, I want it Russian/11B grunt/Jarhead/sack of hammers tough. Clint was OK with the arrangement on my next trip. Also, can them clip empty mags to a carabiner after a magazine swap–as opposed to using a dump pouch – just my way of skinning this cat – YMMV.
3. Skateboard tape on the USGI metal butt plate so it doesn’t slip off during MOUT ops/movement. The recoil pad that Springfield Armory put on doesn’t help me use the rifle for it’s secondary purpose (a pugil stick – WARNING – those who insist on using the varmint round .223 platform, you can only use that miserable excuse for a rifle to butt stroke the bad guy one time – better make it count!)
4. Krylon wasn’t around when I did it to mine, but that is what I would use now to stripe/disrupt [camouflage] the solid black of the rifle. Paint the metal too – keeps it from rusting – the Brits are famous/infamous for it.
5. Take a Dremel tool and put air holes in the top hand guard to ease cooling. I don’t have any empirical data showing “X%” cooling rate improvement, but it makes me feel better that I am caring for the rifle as best I can. Recommend removing it B4 drilling so you don’t go too far/into the barrel.
6. The insides of the ears protecting the front sight blade are painted gloss white to reflect as much light as possible onto the blade as long/as soon as possible during reduced visibility.
7. I drilled holes in the side of the foreend and using 1” rings mounted a 6P Surefire to the stock. According to Surefire, they won’t withstand the recoil, but I have only replaced one bulb over the course of Urban Rifle, a symposium at Gunsite, and lots of training. I use the G2 [light] now, it is cheaper by 1?2 – I used Brownell’s bedding compound to epoxy in the nuts on the inside of the stock so they meet the 11B level of reliability – while mine is on the correct side of the stock (right hand side since I shoot the weapon the best way/as a southpaw) it works just fine for the wrong sided use (right handed) as well – guess you could try on the bottom, but could affect your prone/barricade shooting/get in the way more
8. I don’t hang an extra mag on the butt – you need to be able to “switch hit” from right to left shoulder to properly operate in MOUT scenarios and one of those is prohibited by having a mag on the butt stock
9. Consider heavily training opposite handed – the rifle “sings” when you run it left-handed – you can see the breech without removing the weapon from your shoulder – you can run the bolt from a better mechanical advantage/keeping your left hand on the pistol grip – I am left eye dominant and fairly ambidextrous, so this rifle rocks for me – YMMV
10. I have an M60 sling on it to hang the rifle from my neck/be able to drop it in case of malfunction to transition to sidearm – need a one point hook system, but haven’t been able to develop that yet
11. Use the cleaning kit area in the buttstock for it’s intended purpose
12. Have a ruptured case extractor on your line one level of gear – if you have any reloads in your BOB replace them with factory, and better yet, USGI rounds to preclude ever using the tool
13. Learn to use a spoon [stripper clip guide] and stripper clips so you don’t have to carry so many mags
14. Only use USGI mags on this weapon!
15. I drilled out my aperture to make it into a true ghost ring after shooting my first scout rifle – you can still be precise, but it really speeds up your ability to hit closer targets quickly
16. The second M1A (remember the motto: Two is one, one is none) is set up with a Leupold M3 scope on SWAN/ARMS QD levers. (Sorry, but SA’s mount is not stable.) Unitized gas system, stainless match barrel and trigger, bedded stock – I made out of leather with USGI sleeping pad padding, a cheekiest to get my eye socket aligned with the scope – there is no such thing as a “chin” weld – you must have a secure place to lay your face behind the scope to get accurate shooting. At Precision Rifle, I ran the tower drill getting 2 hits out of 20 rounds trying to use the chin weld – after 2” of sleeping pad and athletic tape were added, the group shrank to .75 MOA out to 600 yards. This rifle has a M1907 leather sling and skateboard tape on the buttpad for slippage prevention. I have not drilled the handguard on this one as it would contribute to mirage problems.
17. Remember – you sweated and cussed humping the ammo for this 9-to-10 pound pig – it turns cover into concealment, so make every one of them count–get a hit! Hope these help our patriots out there! – D.B.

JWR Adds: The only other modification that I recommend for an M1A is painting the handguard FLAT black. The original brown finish on USGI .fiberglass handguards tends to reflect as they get older and worn. OBTW, speaking of handguards, you mentioned: “Take a Dremel tool and put air holes in the top hand guard to ease cooling”  Personally, I don’t recommend that. Ventilation holes or slots will put “mirage” heat distortion lines up into your sighting plane. (This is primarily an issue for long range match shooting with iron sights.) Also, avoid the early USGI ventilated handguards (the ones with the parallel rows of slots)–they were discontinued because they tend to be fragile.

Letter Re: Recommended Silver Bullion Dealer

Mr Rawles,
I just wanted to send you a note suggesting another dealer from whom to buy $1,000 face value bags of [pre-1965] junk silver. I am not affiliated with him in any way, just a happy customer. The dealer is Hannes Tulving, [in southern California.] His web site is: http://www.tulving.com. In my experience he deals in primarily in bullion, and very little in numismatic products. I’m a very happy customer and have referred several people to him over the years. – E.L.

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

“Guns and ballistics have fascinated me since boyhood, and I hope this elemental pleasure will endure, for it has offered me a great deal of pleasure as well as kinship with others that only ballistics and a cozy campfire could possibly create. Such cartridges as the .270 Winchester, .300 H&H Magnum, .30-06, and even some for the big-bore British favorites are as interesting to me as though magic were contained in these combinations of figures….What has been the result? I have reached up to the gun rack and taken down the .30-30 carbine by some process of natural selection, not condoned perhaps by many experts by easily explained by those who spend long periods in the wilderness areas. The .30-30 Winchester carbine is light, short, easily worked through dense forest areas and, when carried over arduous trails, lends itself well to canoe, pack-horse, and dog-team travel. Also it is vested with the crowning glory-the open hammer and the lever action, which symbolize the outdoors as do the pattern of a snowshoe or a canoe.”  – Calvin Rutstrum, The New Way of the Wilderness, 1958

From David in Israel on Expedient Shelter/Greenhouses

James:
I was looking over some of my old Mars proposals and wanted you to give a spin off to try in your colder area. This is an idea that popped into my head during my 105 minute bus ride as I thought about how most survivalists have no idea how to feed themselves or where they will live once they bug out.

The idea is a double wall UV-transparent greenhouse with spacers between to make for good airspace insulation. Hydroponic tubing of a larger diameter would be connected to a curtained off outhouse toilet (and a runoff gutter rain barrel) returning nutrients to the loop under the black plastic ground sheet feeding the plants. A black cover could be added
during snow (melt it away) or at night for more insulation. A small domicile could be located at one end and curtained off. The attractive feature to this (it could be a kit) is that a landless survivalist or a poor farmer could set up a real food producing system and home in 1-2 days in any place with water supply and even poor soil, sand is best.
The real problem is clogging the tubing with feces… and toilet paper could not be used in this system. Sludge from the compost pile would be dumped occasionally into the toilet.

X-meters of UV plastic
x-meters black UV plastic
x-feet of PVC tube (frame)
x-feet PVC hose perforated (large enough to stay clear)
1-composter toilet (plumbed into system, crank mixer/pump)
x-sandbags (ballistic protection)
1-runoff rain barrel (plug/valve near bottom to plumb into system)
1-hand pump kit
x-assorted vegetable starters
x-bamboo starters
1-Tyvek instruction manual on how to setup and heat shelter, germinate and grow seeds and cuttings.
A hand pump, pipe, and a sand spike would be a nice addition for the kit buyer. including sand bags in a kit would allow making of a “meklat” shelter partially dug in for those who want ballistic protection. This would likely last a maximum of 1-to-2 years but this would allow a permanent settlement to be built.

JWR Adds:  I have one point of disagreement: “Night soil” (composted human waste) should not be used as fertilizer for growing vegetables.  The risks far outweigh the benefits!  I suggest only using waste from cattle or other herbivorous livestock for such a scheme.

Letter Re: How to Bake Over Boiling Water

Here is how to bake bread over boiling water:  Get wide mouth pint mason jars, or empty cans all the same height, and grease them with shortening. ( Oil will make a more gummy texture but is fine to use also.) Many cans have little ridges in the center and make it much harder to get the final breads out.
Set the jars in a pan and fill with water to 2/3 of the jar height. Jam in enough empty jars if necessary so they don’t tip. Or stones, anything. They must fit snugly and not fall over. Bring water to a boil.
Make batter. Typical yeast dough bread recipe needs 10-12 pint jars 1/3 full of dough. (For bread, you need the jars out of the water, fill them 1/3 full and let rise. Or use the quick recipe which may use twice as much yeast. Then put them back in the dry pot and add hot water. )
For cake mix, cornbread, muffins, etc, with about 2 cups of dry ingredients, use 4-5 jars half full.
Cover loosely with clear plastic wrap or a Baggie, rubber band around the top. You need air to escape as it cooks but steam to stay out. For long term prepping, maybe aluminum foil would be better, or lids greased underneath placed loosely on the top.
Cover the pot. Bread and cake will take maybe 45 minutes, heavier corn bread will take an hour. Overcooking is not a problem for the most part. Try and keep the water level up, if you can boil water in another pot and add it, if necessary. This recipe is very “forgiving.”  You can make the batter and put it in cold jars in cold water and then put the whole thing over a fire, and start timing it when the water gets hot.
Slide out for pint size loaves of bread.
You can make smaller cakes or muffins, just fill jars 1/4 full of batter for one cup sized results.
Try some butter, cinnamon, and brown sugar in the bottom of the jar, and mix raisins in the bread dough. Fill 1/4 of the jar or a little less. This makes nice survival cinnamon rolls.
The bread will not have a crust, but you can slice it and toast it in a pan or over a fire.
Remind your children that many early settlers cooked this way. Boston Brown Bread was a popular dish made by early New Englanders to eat with Boston Baked beans.

Here is one recipe for Boston Brown Bread:
2 c. whole wheat flour( or 1 c whole wheat and 1 c rye)
1 c. yellow cornmeal
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 c. raisins (optional.)
2 c. buttermilk, room temp.( or just use milk from that powered milk in the preps pile)
3/4 c. molasses ( or honey)
Generously grease 2 (1 pound) coffee cans or 3 (1 lb.) vegetable or fruit cans; set aside. In a large bowl, combine whole wheat flour, rye flour, cornmeal, baking soda and salt. Add raisins, if desired. Toss to separate and coat with flour mixture.
In a medium bowl, combine buttermilk and molasses. Stir into flour mixture only until dry ingredients are moistened. Turn into prepared cans, filling evenly. Cover cans tightly with 2 layers of foil; tie with string. Place a rack in a large kettle. Place cans on rack. Place kettle over low heat. Add boiling water until halfway up cans. Cover; bring water to a gentle boil. Steam bread 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Add more boiling water during steaming, if necessary. Carefully remove bread from cans. Cool on racks at least 30 minutes before slicing. Makes 2 or 3 small loaves. 

Letter Re: On Physical Conditioning by “Bings”

Just a quick note on Bings post, taking up a martial art may be the perfect activity for many people on this site. Not only can you get in shape, but you will learn some self-defense techniques (more or less, depending on how ‘martial’ the art is) and do it with a group of people who are WAAAAAY nicer and more approachable than people in your average gym. Classes are usually made up of all sorts of people, including athletes, housewives, businessmen, kids etc. Everyone welcome and everyone is very helpful, since they all started the same way, on the lowest rung of the ladder. One of the things I love about it is that you get out of it what you put in to it, work harder, gain more, learn more. You can make every hour a good workout if you want to, you can practice in your living room if you need to, you can develop a warrior mindset, you gain grace, power, flexibility, endurance, discipline – what’s not to like?  Keep up the good work! – M.W.

Two Letters Re: David in Israel on Mobile Multi-Mode Survival Communications

Jim:
I would just like to point to a very nice (if somewhat costly) piece of radio equipment, The Buddipole from: http://www.buddipole.com/  It is an extremely flexible antennae system, which gives you coverage from the 40 meter band through the 2 meters – it is possible to tinker with a lot of different setups and it has a proven track record and is currently in use with your Special Forces teams as well as numerous hams. Budd Drummond who runs the company also has a very good customer service and is a great person to discuss antenna needs with. (Just for a teaser: the smallest variation of the system weighs 2 pounds and is approximately 13 inches long – how is that for portability?)

As for further investigations into “stealth operations”, I would like to recommend this site: http://www.tech-pro.net/g4ilo/index.html , its a ham in England with interesting solutions to running low to none visibility stations with various equipment. – “Beau-Cephus”

James:
 Regarding the HF stations in today’s blog: The “MFG” cited should read “MFJ”.  [JWR adds: I just went and fixed that. Thanks!]
See: http://www.mfjenterprises.com/index.php
I would also recommend a BETTER quality than the little travel tuner. Why go so small when your already toting around a pack full of other gear. The SGC ADSP2 is way overkill at $130 its a bit much for a survival station. I would also suggest adding a good set of headphones to the list. The “spool of wire” should be a bit more descriptive. What kind of wire, For power? for antenna?, co-ax? If for power, then you should not have a very long run. If for antenna the list should also include “antenna building” supplies such as insulators and center conductors. Might want to include some coax to connect the antenna to the radio as well as some patch cables to connect he radio to the tuner. The Ham stick is a single band antenna, you would need a pack of hamsticks to cover many bands as well as a ground mounting system. No mention of how your going to connect or hold the UHF/VHF antenna up in the air. Need some mast and co-ax Why go to a sub laptop, use a normal sized one. Again you already need a Sherpa to carry all this stuff. How big of a solar panel does he plan on carrying? The 706 draws 2 amps at idle with no audio, Its a power pig and not very solar friendly. Same issue with the battery Not sure if he talking about 16 D cell batteries. If so they things will be drained in just an hour with JUST the 706. I can drain a car battery in a weekend if I leave my 706 on all the time. Not that this is not a good radio, I have 4 of them, but his List is just incomplete and not functional as a portable station without a good power source handy. Also just a note, the 706 will go on the AM broadcast band with mods, Its just above the 160m ham band. If you want a true ham portable station the SGC 2020 or the Yaesu 817 is your only option. If you want a GOOD package station then the Yaesu 897 is a good option. – Gary in Ohio

Letter Re: The Great Debate–Puru Saxena Explains the Fed’s Interest Rate Hikes

I enjoy most of what Survival Blog puts out, but the Puru Saxena article is a bit misleading. Mr. Saxena seems to be a bit confused into thinking that 1) all inflation is the same and that 2) control is the same as eliminate. The Federal Reserve’s monetary policy is, has been since its inception, and will most likely continue to be creating inflation. This is not at issue, as the Fed is happy to point out. What Mr. Saxena seems to say is that control over inflation should equal eliminating inflation. The Fed strives to keep inflation within a small range of values (from about 2.0 to 4.0% a year) and manipulates some choice interest rates as well as the monetary supply via the bond market. In this sense, the Fed is most certainly controlling inflation to be a known acceptable value, as opposed to “hyperinflation” as seen in Germany post-WWI. The “grim reality” that Mr. Saxena posits is not only true, it should not be a surprise. Mild inflationary economies are not only more pleasant to live in, they are more stable as they contribute to the ability of banks to loan money, businesses to take loans and individuals to profit. Any economy can self-destruct if enough of the right people do the wrong thing, but it isn’t because of the existence of inflation.
In the interest of full disclosure, I am merely an Economics student and will certainly yield the floor to anyone with greater experience in the field, but I felt the need to offer an alternate point of view. – P.H.