Odds ‘n Sods:

Survival Blog reader S.H. recommends a site with free PDF field manuals, including TC9-56 SKS Rifle, M16A2, et cetera: http://www.chqsoftware.net/catalog/freestuff.php This Canadian company also has a interesting looking CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) training series…something folks should consider if they are in an urban environment.

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Missouri Teenager Survives a 1,300 Foot Tornado Ride:
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/breaking_news/14158868.htm

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The H5N1 virus responsible for the current virulent strain of bird flu has mutated into two genetically distinct strains, US scientists have confirmed. They fear this could increase the risk to humans – and complicate the search for  an effective vaccine. See: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4828078.stm

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Greenhouse Theory Smashed by Biggest Stone: http://www.physorg.com/news11710.html

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An interesting blog: “Urban Ecology, Renewing the World One Backyard at a Time”: http://www.futureofecology.blogspot.com/

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Rourke (moderator of http://groups.yahoo.com/group/survivalretreat)  recommends this site on the Asian Avian flu: http://www.birdflumap.com (Be sure to see the three week spread of the 1918 Pandemic.) See:http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/influenza/maps.

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SurvivalBlog’s global readership is growing. See: http://clustrmaps.com/counter/maps.php?url=https://survivalblog.com  You can now click on the map to zoom in for detailed maps showing hits in various regions.

#1 Son’s Quote of the Day:

“As it now stands, they all seemed to agree, USDA’s proposed program could be compared to a finely crafted blueprint for a concrete blimp. It may look great on paper, but out in the real world, no amount of hot air will ever get it off the ground. – Livestock Weekly on NAIS

David in Israel on Blasting Supplies

In a time where large machinery is unavailable because of fuel shortages, blasting becomes even more important. It is a viable means of clearing stumps, excavating, and clearing rock slides. Tannerite is available in the mail from Skylight Explosives. Tannerite a binary blasting mix which if prepared on site immediately before blasting, and requires no permit. Speak to Danny Tanner, a G-d fearing man, and friend to the small Jewish community in Eugene, Oregon. A  few years ago I took some 19 and 20 year old guests to shoot with Danny. You should have seen the look in the eyes of the six New York yeshiva boys as we set out to fire battle rifles at 100 meter distant dynamite sticks. That was priceless! These guys had never even held a firearm before what a day. Unfortunately Danny didn’t have time to grab his Class 3 guns before that shooting trip. Skylight gives blasting safety classes and this is a very worthy investment. See: http://www.tannerite.com/

 

Two Letters Re: Advice on Long Term Moth-Proof Clothing Storage?

Jim:
I love your site. As to moth balls, I’m pretty sure they are a moth repellant and have no effect on moth larva. So, once you pack your clothes in a moth-proof container, they will do absolutely no good against moths and they’ll make your clothes stink. If a moth has already laid eggs, the little darlings will still hatch and chew up your clothes. After all, flying moths don’t eat clothing, only the larvae do.
That said, I have heard that moth balls act as a rodent repellant also. So, if you’re worried about mice, rats, squirrels, etc making a nest out of your plastic wrapped clothing, then moth balls might keep them away. Thanks for the information that you provide. – Marty

 

Jim:

I’ve had good luck storing wool clothing items and blankets for years by using Space Bags and aromatic cedar wood – a piece of wood in each bag. So far, so good. Semper Fi – Sarge

Letter Re: Shelf Life of Batteries?

Mr. Rawles,
You had an inquiry on your site about long term storable charged batteries. Such a topic came up recently on the amateur radio reflector called hfpack. There is one such battery that is well suited for storage. It is called a silver chloride battery, and they are activated by adding salt water. One use is in torpedos – see http://www.naval-technology.com/contractors/electrical/hbl/.
 Another source of information is at:
energy.sourceguides.com. These have a high energy density, but are primary cells and not rechargeable. Still, if you plan for an urgent one time need arbitrarily in the future, silver chloride batteries may be the best bet. – “Sun Dog”

Letter Re: PTR-91 Clones of HK91 Rifles

James:

One of your readers asked about the PTR-91 clone of the HK91. I think it is a very good battle rifle. For @ $700 you get an accurate, .308 cal, magazine fed rifle designed for combat. I prefer the 308 over the .223/5.56 round for the extra power and penetration. If you do the math with bullet weight and velocity, it calculates out to around 2.5 times more energy. If you disagree with this you can delete point as I don’t wish to stir the pot. I am not an expert but I am experienced with weapons from my military and law enforcement careers and have reloaded since my teens. I am just getting back into reloading at close to 40 years of age. I have a PTR-91 and love it. Open sites at 100 yards with just a block for a rest, I was able to keep a 2″ group. I am no sharpshooter either. I can do very well with a scope, but suffice it to say that this rifle will definitely out shoot most shooters. The rifle weighs a little over 9 lbs. Magazines are very affordable [still under $3 each] and have not had a jam or failure to feed (FTF) yet. I have found only two drawbacks to the rifle and one is because I am left handed. The charging handle is definitely designed for a right handed person but a lefty can get used to it. I also wish that the bolt locked back after the magazine is empty so you know instantly that the rifle is “dry”. I had the chance to check out the rifle side by side with an HK91 and was still impressed. If you can find a better battle rifle in .308 for less, I want one. You have a great Blog.- “Nightshift” From the Gulf Coast.

Odds ‘n Sods:

A SurvivalBlog reader mentioned a source for MRE entrees, MRE crackers, full MRE meals, and T-Packs: See: http://www.longlifefood.com/

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Joining the U.S. Army and Marines, the U.S. Air Force jumps on the digital camouflage uniform bandwagon: http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,91425,00.html?ESRC=dod-b.nl

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Survival Blog reader S.H.sent us this news story: “Oregon family found after 17 days in mountains.” Always nice to see some happy news in the media these days. It seems that they were prepared. “The family lived through the ordeal on dehydrated food and other provisions.”
See: LINK

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The folks at The Pre-1899 Specialist  report with chagrin that their incoming e-mail was not getting through for a couple of weeks due to a mail server glitch! If you’ve sent them any e-mails recently and got not reply, please re-transmit it!

Letter Re: A Source for Night Vision Scopes

Hi Mr. Rawles,
I read your novel Patriots for the first time a few months ago and wanted to tell you that it was one of the most educational and eye-opening books that I have read. Plus, the plot made it difficult to put the book down once I started reading! Patriots really opened my eyes to many survival and self-sustainability issues that I hadn’t considered previously and for that I want to thank you. I think it is a true service what you have done to those just learning about these issues and so I have been recommending your book to everyone I know. I also recently came across your blog and have found this to again be a great source of information.
I sent an annual payment for the ten cent challenge a couple of days ago and wanted to help contribute with a bit of information for anyone looking for night vision devices (NVDs):
I was looking for a night vision monocular and after researching several of the sites, I came across an interesting offer on www.opticshq.com. They carried all of the popular models plus a device called the “Mini-14”. This is a Gen-3 device, which in comparison to the PVS-14, is 1) smaller and lighter, 2) waterproof to 66ft, 3) uses only one AA battery (or smaller lithium battery) instead of two, 4) comes with several additional accessories, and, 5) is comparable in price or even slightly cheaper.
The only feature that it lacks in comparison is that it doesn’t allow manual adjustment of the gain, which I’ve read might be an issue in urban environments (the gain does adjust automatically though). Now, the interesting offer on this site was that they had obtained some ‘Select’ versions, which included the [amplification tube manufacturer’s] data cards and were guaranteed to be above certain thresholds in features such as line pairs per millimeter (LP/mm), signal to noise (S/N) ratio and sensitivity. Moreover, they offered a hand-select service which assured receipt of the very best of these units. “Mike” is the one to talk to there. He was very helpful in educating me about the differences between the various models / brands as well as some of the more general NVD information. There is a also a nice forum on their site where users discuss the different units.
I decided to purchase the unit and have to say that it is by far the single most amazing acquisition that I have ever made (truly worth every penny). The clarity and brightness at night is jaw-dropping! And, I would have to believe that this is one of the finer examples of a Gen-3 device. So, I just wanted to pass along this information in case it would helpful to anyone interested in these devices.
Thank you very much again for what you have done in educating everyone and I look forward to many more daily blog updates! – Scot

Letter Re: Pedal-Powered Bug Out Vehicle

Mr. Rawles,
I’ve been a fan of yours for a long time. I read your novel on line years ago and it had a real impact on my thinking and my preparation efforts. I’ve been coming to your site since the second day it was on the net. I’m a former pilot in the Air National Guard and I’m a degreed electronic engineer and I presently work for a large avionics manufacturer. I’ve been giving this transportation issue (transportation availability after the Schumer hits the…) some thought and I found this very interesting web site:
http://www.andygraham.net/railrod/AndyKeithRide.htm
As you can see this guy has invented a side by side recumbent bicycle that can not only go on the road but it can also go on railroad tracks. Both riders can pedal. As I looked at this vehicle I realized that it could be modified in a number of ways. It could be modified to add cargo racks. It could be modified to add a golf cart electric motor with deep cycle batteries for power. A canopy could be added on top to keep the sun off of the riders. Also attached to the canopy could be solar cells that could be used to recharge the deep cycle batteries. Solar cells have become more efficient and cheaper in recent years.
Anyway such a vehicle would be potentially an excellent recreational vehicle now, and then later an excellent bug-out vehicle.
Anyway here is an idea. Perhaps you could contact this guy and make a deal to sell his plans for this vehicle on your web site. Possibly pay him a royalty. Maybe you have an associate that would be interested in building this vehicle. I would be willing to help with the design of the electrical and electronic parts. I thought this, if done right, could potentially increase your revenue. I know I would be willing to buy a set of plans, or subcomponents to build a vehicle like this one.
Anyway its just an idea. Thanks for your time. Best of Luck, – S.W.

Odds ‘n Sods:

A little bird just told me that Oregon Freeze Dried’s shelves are just about empty, with no re-supply expected until June or July. The demand for long term storage food, spurred by the global spread of Asian Avian Flu has been tremendous.  If you want any freeze dried foods then order them soon, while there are still supplies in the pipeline. If you wait another month, you will probably be out of luck. We have four different advertisers that sell freeze dried foods. Please consider giving them your business, and be sure to mention SurvivalBlog when you do.

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If you own a cell phone or pager, be sure to take a look at: http://www.thealertsystem.com. This is a alert system that sends out e-mails to subscriber mobile devices for less than a dime a day. It was started as a project to keep the inventor’s like minded friends informed of the latest important news, and to coordinate any bug out/in. Since then, at considerable expense this project has been scaled up to handle thousands of subscribers.

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New Home Sales Plummet in February:
http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/03/24/D8GI0TIO0.html
I expect this trend to accelerate. Since so many houses have been bought “on spec” in the past two years (up to 35% of home sales in some markets), a down turn in the market will make speculative home investors nervous, prompting them to jettison them, creating a progressive down-ratcheting effect.

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I was recently asked by a SurvivalBlog reader about my favorite news sources. Of course judiciously applying the appropriate bias/Schumer filter (since there is no such thing as unbiased journalism), they are:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/
http://www.csmonitor.com/
http://www.newsmax.com/
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Front_Page.html
http://www.drudgereport.com/
http://www.defensetech.org/
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/
http://www.gold-eagle.com/

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Houston Residents are Fed Up with Hurricane Katrina Refugees:
http://chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/3745006.html

Jim’s Quote of the Day:

"The things that will destroy America are prosperity-at-any-price, peace-at-any-price, safety-first instead  of duty-first, the love of soft living, and the get-rich-quick theory of life." – Theodore Roosevelt

Note From JWR:

If you know of any potential advertisers for SurvivalBlog, please give them a call or drop them a line to encourage them. I need to find about 20 more advertisers if  I’m going to be able to put bread on the table when I quit my day job and take up writing SurvivalBlog full time. (Starting next month.) And needless to say, a few more "10 Cent Challenge" contributions would also be greatly appreciated.

Today we feature another entry in Round 3 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. This article is a first hand report about a Revolutionary War Veterans Association (RWVA) shoot in Ramseur, North Carolina.  The writer of the best contest entry will win a four day course certificate at Front Sight. The deadline for entries for Round 3 in the writing contest is March 31, 2006.

Letter Re: Swiss Fallout Shelters

Mr. Rawles,
I came across a website which I thought your readers may be interested in, especially if anyone is considering building a fallout shelter.
The Swiss, perhaps the torch bearers of civil defense and preparedness, have made available online a listing of what they call “Civil Protection Components.” Essentially they offer a list of parts approved for use in shelter construction that have been tested to meet or exceed their requirements for use in a shelter. These parts lists comprehensively cover building construction parts, sanitation, ventilation, electronics, generators and transmission equipment. On top of it all the Swiss have tested all parts for both shock resistance and EMP resistance. Company names and addresses for all of these recommended parts are included as well (seems to be mostly Swiss companies).
I thought this info would be a boon for your readers:
\Swiss Site
Kind Regards, – Brian A.