Note From #1 Son:

Great news! The Vermont NAIS equivalent program has been stopped. Premises registration is no longer mandatory in Vermont. Keep in mind, however, that the National Animal Identification System is still scheduled to become mandatory. Write your congressmen now! There are frequent updates on NAIS at NoNAIS.org. For general background, see our NAIS page.

Letter Re: Uses for CONEXes at a Retreat

Jim,
You mention using CONEX overseas shipping containers as an improvised house. I have been planning on putting two 40′ containers parallel to each other, cut some openings between containers (to “open” up some room) and cutting holes for windows/doors-using the cut outs as shutters over the windows/doors. I bought “one way” containers as they are near perfect, not 7-to-9 year olds being sold cheaper-with holes, dents, rust and doors that won’t open. Forest fire and theft were my reasons for using all metal outside. Do you or any of your readers have any suggestions before I light the cutting torch to reality? [Your novel] “Patriots” has given me tons of ideas and encouragement that I can prepare. Thanks, – R.E.

Letter Re: Advice on Military Surplus .308 Ammo

Dear Jim:
Recently several of us were having a discussion about the best .308 ammo available these days. I had recently bought some South African mil-spec stuff, but somebody thought that it might be of questionable quality.

1.) What do you think of South African 7.62 ( or any of the mil-spec) as far as quality ammo vs. other brands?

2.) The South African stuff is 147 grain. What grain .308 / 7.62 bullet do you like for your MBR?

Thanks for you response. B’Shem Moshiach Yahshua (In the Name of Messiah Yahshua) – Dr. Sidney Zweibel

P.S.: I loaned out my copy of “Patriots” about four months ago and still have not got it back. It is really making the rounds!!

JWR Replies: My all time favorite military surplus .308 ball ammo was West German ball, which was imported briefly in the early 1980s. It seemed to shoot as well as U.S. match ammunition! Then in the mid to late 1990s, there was a profusion of Portuguese ball. It was also excellent. Unfortunately, it too has dried up. A couple of years back there was a decent quantity of Australian ball on the market. That didn’t last long, either. The South African .308 ball is non-corrosively primed and is of good quality. Its accuracy is comparable to U.S.ball ammo. (Lake City or Winchester/USA commercial white box.) It seem to leave a bit more powder fouling, but it is far from “messy” ammo.

Be advised, however, that some of the South African 140 round battle packs have been received from importers with tears or pin holes, and some of the ammo is tarnished. (Some suspect that at least a few lots have been re-packed. So to prevent any further degradation, my advice is to store your battle packs in large ammo cans (big 20 mm cans work great), and just in case, throw in a bag of silica gel desiccant to absorb any residual moisture before you seal the can.

From what I’ve heard, the ballistic curve for 147 South African grain ball is not significantly different from U.S. ball ammo . (I have not yet done any extensive tests.) Hence, a rifle scope with a “U.S. ball” ballistic compensating cam should work fine with the South African ammo.

Given the current shortage of surplus ammo–at least some calibers– I recommend stocking up. The South African ball ammo is a good choice, but again, the battle packs should be stored in large ammo cans with desiccant. I’ve noticed the price of South African ball is starting to creep up. Buy a bunch while it is still cheap and plentiful!

Letter Re: The “GM” Diet

Dear Jim:
Whether you might need or want to lose some weight, I find the logic behind the “General Motors Diet” (which GM reportedly had a nutritionist develop) absolutely fascinating. I think this understanding could have beneficial survival advantages to your readers. It’s the HOW and WHY it works which is so interesting, and I’ll tell you, it does work. Here are the two versions of it I am aware of:

Version 1 (With meat)

Version 2 (No meat)

Most readers here have probably heard the adage: “Store what you eat and eat what you store.” I think we all need to keep in mind a potential shock to our systems if we suddenly start eating dehydrated foods and other things that we are not used to. A survival situation is no time to have a upset stomach, or worse, other related problems shall we say. Try out some of your storage food with your family in advance so you don’t have to flush out any problems later. More good advice, along these lines, like picking what kind of beans your family will eat before you buy large quantities, can be found in the “Rawles Gets You Ready” preparedness course of which I am an owner and now a follower. – Rourke

Odds ‘n Sods:

Ain’t we high tech? I just heard that Mobitech Reader software (works with Bluetooth compatible laptops, Blackberries, PDAs, and even some cell phones) can now display RSS feeds. So you can read SurvivalBlog on the go. (Yes, we have had our own RSS feed for several months.)

OBTW, I am looking into putting some of my writings out as Mobitech/MobiPocket e-books, but I have some reservations about security that will have to be resolved first.

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Darrel Holland mentioned that he still has just a couple of seats open for his next long range shooting school, September 1-4, in Powers, Oregon. This is a GREAT training opportunity!

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I noticed that a gent on The FALFiles is selling a pair of scarce (discontinued) Cherokee AH-100 SSB-capable handheld 11 Meter/CB transceivers.

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Our #1 Son mentioned that NoNAIS.org has a new post about the (in)security of RFID tags.

Note From JWR:

Do you have a blog of your own? We have had our own RSS feed for several months. Please add a SurvivalBlog RSS syndication link or syndication window to your blog site if you think that it would be apropos. Thanks!

Three Letters Re: Clarification on Calcium Hypochlorite for Water Purification

Jim,
It has been almost 20 years since I had a chemistry class, so you may want to check this with a chemist. Wanderer posted the following comment:

“I stopped at the local Big Box lumber yard and they had Calcium Hypochlorite, (a.k.a. Pool Shock) it was concerning as it states 50% Calcium Hypochlorite and 50% Other Ingredients. Making it a 50% available Chlorine.
In common language, … is this adequate? It does not seem to be of the 70% goal you mentioned on your earlier post.”

He was referring to the EPA web site comment:

“… since the calcium hypochlorite has an available chlorine equal to 70 percent of its weight.”

The Wanderer’s comment about his purchase making 50% available chlorine is not quite right. Calcium hypochlorite, Ca(ClO)2 will ‘release’ chlorine and oxygen ions when mixed with water. The EPA comment actually means that pure calcium hypochlorite can release enough chlorine ions equal to 70% of the weight of the amount of the compound used. For instance, if 1 ounce of pure calcium hypochlorite is mixed with water, 0.7 ounces of chlorine ions will be released. If the mixture that Wanderer bought is 50% inert, then using one ounce will only release 0.35 ounces of chlorine ions. Also, I am not sure of the density of calcium hypochlorite, but any measurement like this should be sure to differentiate between mass and weight. If the density is close to one, then using a volume measure for ‘ounce’ is probably good enough. If not, then the amount used should probably be measured on reasonably accurate scale (and not a balance). Please check my work if you can.
Thanks, – M.W.

Sir,
I have found granular calcium hypochlorite at our local Kinetico (water softener) store. They sell a package of two 8 oz bottles distributed by a company called Better Water Ind., Inc. 209 North Tyler Street, Tyler, MN 56178, phone: 507-247-5929. [At their site] click on their “products” link and scroll down to “BWI Certified Chlorine.” I notice that they have [packaging ] available from 3.5 pound jars up to 100 pound drums! The product is sold as a well sanitizer pack called “Well Safe” and comes with one 8 oz bottle of granulated chlorine (73% calcium hypochlorite) and one 8 oz bottle of chlorine pellets that are 73% calcium hypochlorinate.- Opus

Good Evening:
I also went to my pool supply store to obtain calcium hypochlorite. They had Poolife brand “TurboShock.” It was $14.85 for 5 pounds. Active ingredient:calcium hypochlorite 78% and other ingredients 22%. No one was aware of the substance of the other ingredient. I called the National Poison Control Hotline to find out. They also stated the ingredient was not known but, was a [inert] filler of sorts and not harmful.
I’m satisfied. I could decontaminate my well and everything else [for a long time] with 20 pounds of Turboshock. – Lauralei

Letter Re: Storing Ethanol Blend Gasoline?

Jim,
Here in the DC area the gasoline supplies are by law blended with (I think) 15% ethanol. I’m familiar with the requirements for storing standard gasoline, but have no idea if the ethanol blend poses any problems for long term storage. Do you have any advice or knowledge that you can share with your readers on this? – Shawnee

JWR Replies: Sorry, but that goes beyond my expertise. Perhaps some of the blog readers would care to comment.

Letter Re: “Ural” Russian Motorcycles with Sidecars

Jim,
I saw a great motorcycle here in North Idaho that I thought would be of interest to the readers of SurvivalBlog. I spotted a fellow gassing up a motorcycle with a sidecar and I decided to take a quick look. It looked like an excellent restored WW2 era motorcycle, something that conjured up thoughts of Steve McQueen in the movie ‘The Great Escape‘. I found out though that this bike was in fact brand new, a Russian copy of the German BMW motorcycle–www.imz-ural.com for lots of info. The paint scheme was Camouflage and the [Ural Patrol model’s] very handy sidecar’s wheel is attached to the drive shaft to facilitate 2WD. The owner stated that the bike is very dependable, loves the dirt roads in the area and averages around 31 m.p.g. This struck me as a very useful mode of transportation if and when the price of fuel climbs even higher. With the sidecar it would make a great grocery-getter or you use your imagination. Seems the technology, now 70 yrs old, was reverse engineered so it is nearly identical to its German counterpart. This might be something worth looking into. Best Regards – Jason in North Idaho

Odds ‘n Sods:

Petromax Lanterns: This gent on The FALFiles is selling the genuine article–originally from German Bundeswehr surplus.

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SurvivalBlog reader J.E. mentioned: “I ran across this link via a productivity site: Free e-textbooks for a myriad of subjects, at http://www.textbookrevolution.org/ Very useful, with of course the standard disclaimer about not depending on electronic documents being accessible in a ‘situation’.” #1 Son adds: Our readers that have home-schooled kids may find this useful as well.

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Jim K. forwarded this link to a site with some interesting photos of improvised up-armored civilian “contractor” vehicles in Iraq. As the old Doobie Brothers song goes: “Oh Blackwater, keep on rollin’…” I suspect that some of the contractor vehicles in The Big Sandbox also now carry anti-IED jammers. (Commercial off-the-shelf CREW-2 equivalents.) Or if they don’t, they should!

Note From JWR:

If you find that what you read here is worth ten cents a day or more to you, then please become a Ten Cent Challenge subscriber to SurvivalBlog. Subscriptions are entirely voluntary, and gratefully accepted.

Letter Re: Retreat Locale Recommendations in Texas

Dear Mr. Rawles,
In answer to your query, let me share a few observations:
1. Gillespie and Kerr Counties are a paradise. The Guadalupe is a good river, and there is a lot of fertile and secluded canyon-bottom where folk can live their lives in peace. Those secluded canyons are frequently bordered by godless rocky outcrops. The other good thing about that part of the world is that the Germans that populate the area don’t tolerate lawlessness. Period. Fredericksburg in Gillespie is so German that municipal politics is still Protestant-Catholic. Kerville is little different. New Braunfels is similar, but is too close to the Interstate.
2. Other than the undesirable proximity to San Antonio, Atascosa county is a good pick. Farmland is exceptionally fertile. Most notable crop is Poteet strawberries.
3. McMullen is pretty country, but you’re a touch closer to Mexico than you might want. In the period of the Republic, the original border of Texas was the Nueces river. There was something of a no-man’s land between the Nueces and the Rio Grande. I’d be a touch sensitive about moving down there.
4. Van Zandt is a touch too close to Dallas. If I were going to East Texas, which is generally the most fertile part of the state, I’d move further south and East toward Palestine and Rusk. Note that the state prison population is concentrated in East Texas, and this may have an adverse impact on social stability. In Texas, the pre-industrial pattern of settlement was entirely water dependent. Generally speaking, I-35 represents a major (inactive) fault-line, the Balcones Fault. There is a dormant volcano in Austin, about 11 miles from I-35 (pilot knob). Each of the major towns (San Antonio, Austin, Waco, Dallas) along I-35 is located at the point of highest navigation, where planes and forests of East Texas break into rockier and more arid ground. Each was the site of Indian encampment prior to white settlement. The buffalo and the Indian followed the fault line for 5,000 years before we got here.
Generally speaking, there is a lot of incredibly fertile farmland (the blackland prairie and the piney woods in East Texas, and, in the West, the usable land is almost entirely within stream beds. The Hill Country West of I-35 from Lampasas to San Antonio has great aquifers. The land is can be really hard and arid if you are far enough west of 35 to be removed from the major centers of population, but, if you get in a good valley, it’s beautiful.
If I had to make this decision from the hip, I would recommend counties where you find a lot of German town names in central Texas. There are still people down there that speak a German accent with a trace of English. [JWR Adds: I agree. Those German immigrants had a good eye for water sources and fertile ground.]
Just so you’ll know, I abundantly resented of one of your plot choices in “Patriots”. Your decision that Texas would be one of the states pacified by the UN Goon Squad is not in touch with the mentality and level of armament of the people of Texas. To put this in perspective for you, I had lunch today with a member of the state legislature who has a ‘Secede’ bumper sticker on the back of his truck. Otherwise, I thought the book was quite compelling. Keep up the good work. Best Regards, – K.A.D.

Letter Re: Recommended Pre-1899 Action for a Custom Bolt Action Rifle Project

Sir::
I am looking for a non-FFL Mauser type action in 8mm for conversion to .444 Marlin. I desire [something] similar to 1888 Commission rifle or compatible [as a source] for a complete bolt and receiver. I would consider complete rifle, if shootable. Money is no object, if is the object spelled cheap. I am direct and on fixed income yet desire to do this project. – Pete

JWR Replies: For building a pre-1899 bolt action chambered in .444 Marlin your best starting point (read: strong, yet, inexpensive) is a Model 1893 Oberndorf (Turkish contract) Mauser. The same action is suitable for re-barreling to 7 x57 Mauser, 6.5 x 55 Mauser, 8×57 Mauser .257 Roberts, and even .308 Winchester. (Since these actions were all deeply re-heat treated when they were arsenal converted to 8×57 Mauser in the 1930s.) A great source for complete Model 1893 rifles is The Pre-1899 Specialist. (One of our advertisers.) They sell these rifles for $100 less than Sportsman’s Guide. Tell them that Jim Rawles sent you.