Practical Survival Radio Communications – Part 2, by G.H.

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CONTROL THE AIR

Controlling the air often means transmitting, when necessary, large quantities of information accurately in poor conditions in a short amount of time. Even operators that are interested only in the hobby side of radio may fall into an emergency with the radio being the only source of working communications. Communications in an uncomfortable situation or actual emergency requires a much different style than “ragchewing” with friends on the radio as a hobby. If an emergency is the first time an operator faces a communication challenge, the likelihood of successful communications is poor.

Practice, Practice, Practice

Radio operators that control the air understand the following concepts:

To be better prepared to handle emergency communications practice being a “Net Control Operator”, even in a hobby club, on a regular basis. The purpose of a regular net is to ensure that both radio equipment and radio operators are working properly. The role of the Net Control Operator is to facilitate and control a “radio meeting” between many people attempting to transmit information. Performing the duties of Net Control Operator allows the operator to gain confidence and learn to control the transmission of information by listening, communicating and documenting all at the same time. These skills can become critical in an emergency and practice makes the likelihood of success greater.

Another method used to improve the ability to communicate successfully with a radio in an emergency is to participate in American Radio Relay League Field Day events, held twice each year. Some operators may believe that Field Day events are only for the hobbyist cashing points or bragging rights. However, during Field Day events, operators put up a makeshift station usually well away from civilization and test their ability to receive and transmit information in very poor conditions and without grid power. Participating in Field Day events teach operators to convey extremely high volumes of information accurately, in as short of a period as possible and under simulated stress. Several Field Day events may be required to ensure an operator is, as an example, able to self-deploy an antenna, without help.

Participating regularly as a Net Control Operator and in Field Day events strengthens the operator’s ability to control radio communications in difficult situations and can reduce anxiety when communicating in an emergency becomes necessary. Even in minor incidences such as helping stranded motorists in an area lacking cellular services, practicing Net Control Operator skills and being able to convey accurate information in poor conditions comfortably will help.Continue reading“Practical Survival Radio Communications – Part 2, by G.H.”

JWR’s Recommendations of the Week:

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Here are JWR’s Recommendations of the Week for various media and tools of interest to SurvivalBlog readers. The focus is usually on emergency communications gear, bug out bag gear, books and movies–often with a tie-in to disaster preparedness, and links to “how to” self-sufficiency videos. There are also links to sources for both storage food and storage containers. You will also note an emphasis on history books and historical movies. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This week, I’d like to emphasize the book Square Foot Gardening. (See the Books section.)

Books:

Reader “M” wrote me to recommend these quite practical books:

How to Survive Off the Grid by Tim MacWelch

Square Foot Gardening (3rd Edition) by Mel Bartholomew

The Minimalist Woodworker by Vic Tesolin

Primitive Technology: A Book of Earth Skills by David Wescott

Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon

Man Among the Ruins by Julius Evola

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Reader Matt B. wrote to suggest: “Although it’s long out of print, I highly recommend the 1964 book, Your Engineered House, by Rex Roberts. The book explains the correct location of rooms for climate design, along with some basic engineering, weatherproofing and construction techniques. As a building designer, it’s changed all of my assumptions about how homes should be designed and built. Some of the technical details are outdated, but anyone who knows how to build can extrapolate the main ideas. There is an edition that was revised by Charlie Wing in 1987.”

And reader N.S. recommended: Secret Empires: How the American Political Class Hides Corruption and Enriches Family and Friends. He notes:  “This book exposes the corruption of the Bidens in the Ukraine and the Bidens & Kerry clan in their dealing in China, Along with Pelosi’s son, and his dealings with wholly owned COSCO (a Chinese state wholly owned company) and it’s affiliates. Then there is Obama’s friends and close allies profiting from Obamas policies on energy reduction, namely coal and  natural gas. Mitch McConnell’s wife & how her family and the McConnells have enriched themselves from her fathers dealing with the Chinese government. And that’s just scratching the surface. Reading this will enlighten you as to the hard core corruption and balancing on the verge of being an illegitimate government our present government is. It will change the way you think and how/who you vote for in the coming elections. Our present government is anything but your friend. For well over 100 years they have only existed to enrich themselves and maintain as well as increase their power over the people.”

Continue reading“JWR’s Recommendations of the Week:”

Preparedness Notes for Tuesday — January 21, 2020

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On this day in 1968, the siege of Khe Sanh began, as NVA regulars surrounded the USMC hilltop airfield near the Laotian border. Fearing a repeat of the French Army’s 1953 Dien Bien Phu debacle, the Pentagon assigned maximum round-the-clock air power to the region, including B-52 bomber strikes, to break the siege. According to the Infogalatic wiki this was “‘the most concentrated application of aerial firepower in the history of warfare’. On an average day 350 tactical fighter-bombers, 60 B-52s, and 30 light observation or reconnaissance aircraft operated in the skies near Khe Sanh.” More than 100,000 tons of bombs were dropped in the area. American casualties during the siege were 274 killed and 2,541 wounded. ARVN casualties were 229 killed and 436 wounded. The NVA took massive casualties, before withdrawing. MACV’s report estimated 5,550 NVA killed and more 8,000 wounded. (Only 1,602 NVA bodies were counted, but the NVA was famous for recovering the bodies of their KIAs, partially for propaganda reasons, to “deny body count.”) Khe Sanh was finally relieved by American and ARVN ground forces on April 6, 1968.

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 86 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A $3,000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from veteran-owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  7. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Second Prize:

  1. A gift certificate from Quantum Harvest LLC (up to a $2,200 value) good for 12% off the purchase of any of their sun-tracking models, and 10% off the purchase price of any of their other models.
  2. A Front Sight Lifetime Diamond Membership, providing lifetime free training at any Front Sight Nevada course, with no limit on repeating classes. This prize is courtesy of a SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous.
  3. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  4. A $300 purchase credit for any of the products from EMPShield.com
  5. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  6. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  7. An assortment of products along with a one hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

Third Prize:

  1. Good2GoCo.com is providing a $400 purchase credit at regular prices for the prize winner’s choice of either Wise Foods or Augason long term storage foods, in stackable buckets.
  2. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  3. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  4. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances.

Round 86 ends on January 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Practical Survival Radio Communications – Part 1, by G.H.

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Like many families, the miles between me and my brothers are many. Fortunately, we hold a conference call every Wednesday evening to stay in touch. We have been doing this for nearly a decade. Realizing how important communications are to all of us, and from my role as the Logistics Chief for our County during major emergencies, I accepted the assignment of finding communication tools that will ensure communications no matter what. It did not take long to realize that radio communication works when all others fail. I obtained my amateur radio license and have the honor of recognition by the American Radio Relay League for public service in the management of emergency communications.

Good communications are important in day-to-day routine lives and may become critical during stressful situations or extreme emergencies. During normal day-to-day situations, traditional communications methods such as telephone, texting and e-mail work flawlessly. However, minor incidents that occur in an area without cellular service or major events that knock out electricity and the internet require different tools for communications. In today’s world, there is no reason to lack the ability to communicate and a radio that can transmit and receive works when all else fails.

There are many published articles outlining the benefits and importance of amateur radio for survival purposes and this is not another one. While this article may introduce concepts that will spur unlicensed readers to obtain a radio license, it intends to provide concepts and tools any radio operator should use regularly to remain proficient in radio communications when an emergency does develop.
During Hurricane Michael, my family anxiously awaited news from my brother living directly in the path of the terrible storm and for more than four days, we did not know if he was alive or dead. Cellular services were down, texts did not go through and he was not able to get out to the highway to find an area where services worked. Continue reading“Practical Survival Radio Communications – Part 1, by G.H.”

Letter: Thoughts From a Richmond 2A Rally Attendee

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As we all now know, the 2A rally in Richmond, Virginia on January 20, 2020 to protest the tyrannical gun laws proposed and/or passed by Governor Ralph Northam and his Democrat cronies, proved uneventful. This not only shows that gun owners are some of the most peaceful and law-abiding people in the country, but also that the hysteria drummed up in the weeks preceding the event was just that, hysteria. In fact, if I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard “Civil War 2”, “It’s a trap”, “buffalo jump”, “false flag”, “Boogaloo”, or dozens of other terms designed to incite trepidation in members of the preparedness community, I could be writing this from the comfort of my own survival island.

In what will surely be spun as a public relations win for the tyrannical Left, there was not an ANTIFA goon or counter-protestor in sight to justify the cries of Richmond being a modern-day Lexington and Concord.

Much like other events that promised to be flashpoints of civil unrest, relentless tales of horrific outcomes at Richmond failed to play out, leaving gun owners and the preparedness minded to defend ourselves from misguided beliefs that we suffer paranoid delusions concerning the collapse of civilized society and rule of law.

Standing in stark contrast to the peaceful gathering I witnessed, almost every preparedness-themed web site I visited during the lead-up to this event used hypothetical extremes in order to stoke the embers of what is clearly a flailing “doom porn” industry– with SurvivalBlog being one of very few exceptions. Everyone from a former Navy SEAL to your garden-variety prepper used this event to promote their books, YouTube channel, or web sites in order to garner clicks and profit off the fear of others.

One thing that became clear to me in the hours following the rally is that despite what may have been their original intent, many survival-based authors and vloggers have morphed into preachers of a form of schadenfreude. Doubling down on years of failed predictions, I’ve read their responses belittling those who dared question their theories about Richmond or declined a seat on the doom train. Where once there was a modest desire to help the masses prepare in a reasonable and measured fashion, now it seems as if their only redeeming moment would be to yell those immortal words, “I TOLD YOU SO!” while standing atop a mountain of spent shell casings and MREs as the rest of the world burns around them.

Which leads me to the point of this letter: At what point do we, the rational and critical thinking members of the preparedness community, stop allowing those motivated by personal gain and notoriety to be the spokespeople for our movement? When do we stop clicking on the “Prepare for WW3!”, “Economic Collapse This Year!”, “Civil War 2 Any Day Now!” videos and articles that financially contribute to this over-the-top fearmongering?

It is my opinion that this type of notoriety only distracts from the true purpose of the preparedness mindset. It also deters new members who could potentially add to our strength as a group, but detest the thought of living in what they have been convinced is a near-constant state of fear and cynicism.

For now, the reality in Virginia is that Democrats will continue their push to disarm law-abiding citizens and any legislation they pass will be countered with lawsuits that could take years to settle in court. By all means, we should continue to prepare for the worst. Those unforeseen moments when we must defend our rights and our way of life from the forces of evil and tyrants, not to mention local or global catastrophes, always lurk in the shadows. Surely, there are enough real threats in our world that we don’t have to base our reasons for preparing on outlandish prophecies of doom and promote those that profit from them.  – D.D. in Virginia

SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt

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This weekly column features news stories and event announcements from around the American Redoubt region. (Idaho, Montana, eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, and Wyoming.) Much of the region is also more commonly known as The Inland Northwest. We also mention companies of interest to preppers and survivalists that are located in the American Redoubt region. Today, we focus on Washington State Representative Matt Shea. (See the Eastern Washington section.)

Idaho

Committee passes rules affecting hunting, trapping

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‘Huge undertaking’: Highway 21 reopens after ITD clears snow from road north of Idaho City

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Crews rescue doe that fell through ice at Hauser Lake

Continue reading“SurvivalBlog’s News From The American Redoubt”

The Editors’ Quote of the Day:

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“The principle that the majority have a right to rule the minority, practically resolves all government into a mere contest between two bodies of men, as to which of them shall be masters, and which of them slaves; a contest, that-however bloody-can, in the nature of things, never be finally closed, so long as man refuses to be a slave.” – Lysander Spooner

Preparedness Notes for Monday — January 20, 2020

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Today is also the birthday of Congressman Richard Henry Lee (1732–1794)

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On January 20, 1981, 52 American hostages were released by the Iranian government, following 444 days of captivity, to be reunited with their families. Not coincidentally, Ronald Reagan was sworn in is President, the same day.

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I just heard about a new retreat property listing, over at SurvivalRealty.com: A remote lakeside house, at the very eastern tip of Maine. It is only about two miles to the Canadian border or to the Atlantic ocean.

CRKT Clever Girl, by Pat Cascio

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I can’t keep up with all the CRKT new knife releases that they come out with. Many come out mid-year, and I can’t spend all my time on the ‘net, searching all the web sites, that have products our that might interest SurvivalBlog readers. So, I was surprised when I heard from the CRKT public relations guy who told me about the new Clever Girl folder. This knife really isn’t aimed at the female market, not that a lot of our readers, who are ladies, wouldn’t love this folder…its massive and it will sure get the job done.

Most readers will know that when it comes to folding knives, I like the blade to be between 3.5 inches and 4 inches in length. And, more often than not, a blade on a folder that is 3.75-inches just seems about perfect in my hand for some reason. I’ve been testing and writing about knives for 27 years now. And needless to say, since I got my first knife, when I was about  five years old, I’ve had an interest in many types of knives.

I’m from a time, back in the 1950s, and even into the 1960s, when it was common for school age kids to carry a knife and not for self-defense…we often played games, like throwing a knife – not smart when it’s a folder – they broke – or played Mumbly Peg. And, teachers didn’t think anything of it, when you were on the playground, showing one of your buddies your new folder that you’ve been carrying. How things have changed!  Many states, including my state of Oregon, forbid school aged kids to carry a “weapon” like a knife – and it calls for an automatic one year expulsion if you are caught. Common sense has gone out the window.

My wife’s family runs a 2,000-acre ranch here in Oregon, and like most farm and ranch kids, they carry a folding knife because they actually need it every day for some chores. Now, those kids have to remember to remove a folding knife from their pocket or belt, before going into school. There are still many common sense teachers and school administrators these days, who recognize that farm/ranch kids need a knife, and if “caught” with it, simply confiscate the blade for the day and tell the student to not bring it to school again.Continue reading“CRKT Clever Girl, by Pat Cascio”

Recipe of the Week: Hungarian Goulash

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This week’s recipe is for Hungarian Goulash. It is a recipe excerpted from the scarce book Nine Hundred Successful Recipes, by Lulu Thompson Silvernail. This book, from my own book collection, was published in 1923. A recent change in U.S. copyright law now puts most pre-1925 books in the public domain.

Lulu Thompson Silvernail’s emphasis in this book was recipes that included hard red winter wheat flour. This entire recipe book is just part of the extensive bonus content that is included in this year’s SurvivalBlog archive waterproof USB stick. The USB  sticks are now available for pre-ordering.

Ingredients

1 Ib. beef or mutton
1 medlum sized onion
1 small green pepper
1/4 cup bacon grease [Other oils could be substituted, to suit modern tastes]
1 cup boiling water
8 large size diced potatoes
1 cup rich [whole] milk
1/2 teaspoon paprika
2 teaspoons salt
Dash of cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon white pepper

Directions

Remove tough portions of meat and cut in cubes the size of walnuts.

Place bacon grease, chopped onion and pepper in skillet and simmer for 10 minutes, keeping the skillet covered.

Add the meat to onion and pepper mixture and simmer and brown in skillet for at least 15 minutes, leaving skillet uncovered.

When brown, add the cup of boiling water and the diced potatoes. Cover the skillet and let cook till potatoes are tender, but not too soft.

Last, add the milk, salt, paprika and pepper.

SERVING

Serve hot.

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Do you have a favorite recipe that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers? In this weekly recipe column we place emphasis on recipes that use long term storage foods, recipes for wild game, dutch oven and slow cooker recipes, and any that use home garden produce. If you have any favorite recipes, then please send them via e-mail. Thanks!

Economics & Investing For Preppers

Here are the latest news items and commentary on current economics news, market trends, stocks, investing opportunities, and the precious metals markets. We also cover hedges, derivatives, and obscura. Most of these items are from the “tangibles heavy” contrarian perspective of SurvivalBlog’s Founder and Senior Editor, JWR. Today, we look at the recent spike in spot palladium. (See the Precious Metals section.)

Precious Metals:

Lyn Alden: Silver Price Forecast: Most Likely A Strong Decade Ahead

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Palladium Hits New Record; Gold’s Gains Continue to Chip Away. Here is a pericope:

“Spot palladium was up $53.36, or 2.5%, at $2,185.63 per ounce at 3:00 PM ET (20:00 GMT). It earlier hit an all-time high of $2,193.

Palladium futures settled up $44.20, or 2.2%, at $2,123.30, after touching a record high of $2,126.55 earlier.

Palladium, the commodities star of 2019 with a 55% gain, is once again leading the pack, with a return of nearly 11% year to date.

An ingredient for cleaner emissions and better performance from gasoline-powered engines, palladium has been boosted again in the past two weeks by a supply squeeze in major producing countries South Africa and Russia.”

o  o  o

Goldman Says Gold Is A Better Hedge Than Oil

Economy & Finance:

At Zero Hedge: US Consumer Prices Accelerate At Fastest Since Oct 2018

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Another at Zero Hedge: Repo Shrinkage Begins In February: That’s When Fed Cuts Each Term Repo By $5 Billion

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This was mentioned by the McAlvany Intelligence Advisor: $1,163,090,000,000: Federal Spending Sets Record Through December. This CNSNews article begins:

“The federal government spent a record $1,163,090,000,000 in the first three months of fiscal 2020 (October through December), according to the Monthly Treasury Statement released Monday afternoon.

That was up $48,008,200,000 from the $1,115,081,800,000 (in constant December 2019 dollars) that the federal government spent in the first three months of fiscal 2019.

o  o  o

At Wolf Street: Fed Pays $35 Billion to Banks, $6 Billion to Reverse-Repo Counterparties in Interest for 2019, Remits $55 billion to US Treasury

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Treasury to start issuing 20-year bonds to fund ballooning deficit

Commodities:

What to Watch for in Commodities in 2020

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OilPrice News reports: Bad News For Oil: Refinery Profits Are Sliding

Hedge Funds:

Hedge Funds Could Make One Potential Fed Repo-Market Fix Hard to Stomach

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Fed Considering Lending Cash Directly To Hedge Funds In Next Repo Market Crisis

Forex & Cryptos:

In The WSJ: U.S. Drops China’s Currency Manipulator Label Ahead of Trade Deal

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Stop Hunting With the Big Forex Players

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Bill to Exempt Small Crypto Transactions From Taxes Returns to US Congress

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Jameson Lopp: What are the Key Properties of Bitcoin?

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Sorry Bulls, Bitcoin Isn’t Going Parabolic Just Yet: Here’s Why

Tangibles Investing:

Millennials, priced out of homes locally, shop for investment properties online

o  o  o

Finally Legal: Cars You Can Bring to the U.S. in 2020. JWR’s Comment: It is unfortunate that most Land Rover Defenders are still considered “Gray Market.” Clearly, clearly, we are governed too much, in every aspect of our lives, folks!

Provisos:

SurvivalBlog and its Editors are not paid investment counselors or advisers. Please see our Provisos page for our detailed disclaimers.

News Tips:

Please send your economics and investing news tips to JWR. (Either via e-mail of via our Contact form.) These are often especially relevant, because they come from folks who closely watch specific markets. If you spot any news that would be of interest to SurvivalBlog readers, then please send it in. News from local news outlets that is missed by the news wire services is especially appreciated. And it need not be only about commodities and precious metals. Thanks!

Preparedness Notes for Sunday — January 19, 2020

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January 19th is the birthday of General Robert E. Lee.

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This is also is the birthday of the late Carla Emery (born 1939, died October 11, 2005). She is well known in self-sufficiency circles as the author of The Encyclopedia of Country Living. (This book was re-released in a 40th Anniversary edition.)

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SurvivalBlog Writing Contest

Today we present another entry for Round 86 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The more than $12,000 worth of prizes for this round include:

First Prize:

  1. A $3,000 gift certificate towards a Sol-Ark Solar Generator from veteran-owned Portable Solar LLC. The only EMP Hardened Solar Generator System available to the public.
  2. A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any one, two, or three day course (a $1,095 value),
  3. A course certificate from onPoint Tactical for the prize winner’s choice of three-day civilian courses, excluding those restricted for military or government teams. Three day onPoint courses normally cost $795,
  4. DRD Tactical is providing a 5.56 NATO QD Billet upper. These have hammer forged, chrome-lined barrels and a hard case, to go with your own AR lower. It will allow any standard AR-type rifle to have a quick change barrel. This can be assembled in less than one minute without the use of any tools. It also provides a compact carry capability in a hard case or in 3-day pack (an $1,100 value),
  5. Two cases of Mountain House freeze-dried assorted entrees in #10 cans, courtesy of Ready Made Resources (a $350 value),
  6. A $250 gift certificate good for any product from Sunflower Ammo,
  7. American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is providing a $300 certificate good towards any of their DVD training courses.

Second Prize:

  1. A gift certificate from Quantum Harvest LLC (up to a $2,200 value) good for 12% off the purchase of any of their sun-tracking models, and 10% off the purchase price of any of their other models.
  2. A Front Sight Lifetime Diamond Membership, providing lifetime free training at any Front Sight Nevada course, with no limit on repeating classes. This prize is courtesy of a SurvivalBlog reader who prefers to be anonymous.
  3. A Glock form factor SIRT laser training pistol and a SIRT AR-15/M4 Laser Training Bolt, courtesy of Next Level Training, which have a combined retail value of $589,
  4. A $300 purchase credit for any of the products from EMPShield.com
  5. A Three-Day Deluxe Emergency Kit from Emergency Essentials (a $190 value),
  6. Two 1,000-foot spools of full mil-spec U.S.-made 750 paracord (in-stock colors only) from www.TOUGHGRID.com (a $240 value).
  7. An assortment of products along with a one hour consultation on health and wellness from Pruitt’s Tree Resin (a $265 value).

Third Prize:

  1. Good2GoCo.com is providing a $400 purchase credit at regular prices for the prize winner’s choice of either Wise Foods or Augason long term storage foods, in stackable buckets.
  2. Three sets each of made-in-USA regular and wide-mouth reusable canning lids. (This is a total of 300 lids and 600 gaskets.) This prize is courtesy of Harvest Guard (a $270 value)
  3. A Royal Berkey water filter, courtesy of Directive 21 (a $275 value),
  4. Expanded sets of both washable feminine pads and liners, donated by Naturally Cozy (a $185 retail value),
  5. Two Super Survival Pack seed collections, a $150 value, courtesy of Seed for Security, LLC,
  6. Mayflower Trading is donating a $200 gift certificate for homesteading appliances.

Round 86 ends on January 31st, so get busy writing and e-mail us your entry. Remember that there is a 1,500-word minimum, and that articles on practical “how to” skills for survival have an advantage in the judging.

Cold Weather Considerations – Part 6, by JM

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Editor’s Note: This is the concluding installment in this article series.

Firearms

No article on prepping would be complete without some discussion on firearms, and using them in winter conditions can present some unique challenges. Firearms are precision machines made from metals and polymers, and cold weather can have some big impacts. The materials themselves can become brittle at extremely low temperatures, so you should avoid sudden sharp impacts if possible. Shooting a firearm can heat up the barrel and other parts pretty quickly and cold temperatures can cool them back down rapidly, which can cause weaknesses in the materials, so you should start off with a slower rate of fire if possible so it warms up more slowly.

The more complex the firearm the more likely it is that it will be impacted by winter conditions. Break-action and bolt-action guns are pretty simple and tend to be reliable under any conditions; lever-action and pump-action guns are slightly more complex but tend to be relatively easy to clear if a problem does occur. Semi-automatic and automatic firearms are precision instruments with tight tolerances, and are the most likely to be impacted by winter conditions. Revolvers tend to be a unique case – I’ve talked to some people that have never had a problem with them in winter conditions, and others that have had jams and freeze-ups frequently. Whatever you plan on using, make sure you practice all aspects of firing and manipulation in cold, wet and snowy conditions.

Any liquid including lubricants can freeze up in a firearm and cause problems. Many common lubricants start to gum up around 0°F, which can cause jams and other malfunctions. You should ensure that every part of your weapon is dry of lubricant by disassembling it and wiping it down before using it in winter conditions, and switch to a low-temperature lubricant like Moly Coat, Slip 2000 or Break Free CLP in the winter. Water can also cause problems, especially with fine blowing snow that can get into everything and melt, then freeze up.

There’s a phenomenon known as ‘spindrift’ snow that consists of very fine snow particles being blown around by wind vortices, and it can get into the tiniest cracks. You should seal up any openings on your firearms including closing dust and optics covers, and cover the end of the barrel using a condom or electrical tape. Don’t forget to cover any openings in muzzle brakes, flash suppressors, etc. as well as the end or the barrel. A note from a friend of mine on using condoms – if you plan on using them to cover the end of your barrel, make sure you tell your spouse about them before they find them in your stash.Continue reading“Cold Weather Considerations – Part 6, by JM”