The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods:

SurvivalBlog presents another edition of The Survivalist’s Odds ‘n Sods— a collection of news bits and pieces that are relevant to the modern survivalist and prepper from “JWR”.  Today, we focus on the new .308 PMAG drums. (See the last item in this column.)

Kentucky Sheriff Warns Residents To ‘Load Guns’

Gregg sent us this: Kentucky Sheriff Warns Residents To ‘Load Guns’

Mapped: The Median Age of the Population

A hat tip to H.L. for sending us this: Mapped: The Median Age of the Population on Every Continent

Chinese Dam Disaster Hushed Up

Also from H.L. came this note: “I thought you would be interested in this story I found on MSN: 230,000 Died in a Dam Collapse That China Kept Secret for Years. A nation 87,000 reservoirs! That is mind boggling.”

Washington Attorney General Threatens County Sheriffs

At TownHall.com: Washington State AG to Sheriffs: Put Your Political Views Aside And Enforce Our Gun Control Law…Or Else. JWR’s Comment:  The political divide that follows the crestline of the Cascades just gets wider and wider…

Rebinding Bibles

It’s been a while since SurvivalBlog readers have heard from me. Yes, I’m still around, though I have stepped down from the Managing Editor position. Instead, my family is working on our family blog as well as reactivating our Bible rebinding business. If you have a Bible or another book that is in need of a new cover or some repairs, contact us. We have a new ad running in the SurvivalBlog ad stack. You can also see some of our work on our new web page at The Treasured Book. We are still building the web site, but the shop is up and running and we’re accepting jobs. – HJL

Retreat Property for Sale in Ecuador

A new property for sale in Ecuador has just been listed at my #1 Son’s SurvivalRealty.com site. It is 5.5 acres located on the edge of a canyon with incredible views of a river.

Future of Homeschooling

Thanks to DSV for spotting this at The Christian Post: Future of homeschooling: Less religious, more regulated? A key quote from the article:

“Steven Craig Policastro, founder and executive vice president of the International Association for Creation, told The Christian Post that in recent years, the biggest change in state-sponsored resistance to homeschooling has been a “shift” from attempts to ban homeschooling to “extremely oppressive” regulations.

“Opponents of home education have realized that since they are unable to make homeschooling illegal, they can at least attempt to place extremely burdensome regulations on parent-led, home education to make it difficult or nearly impossible,” said Policastro.

“There also are constant attempts by school districts all over the country to require things of homeschool students and parents that are not required by law. There are times in which the school districts do not properly know the law, but in other instances the school board leaders do not care and they want their regulations mandated regardless of the law.””

Nevada Governor Signs Bill Outlawing Private Gun Sales

Reader DSV sent us this: Nevada Governor Signs Bill Outlawing Private Gun Sales. JWR’s Comments: There are now really two distinct Nevadas: The traditional state, representing 98% of the land area and 40% of the population, and the urban portion of Clark County (Las Vegas and Henderson) representing 3% of the land area and 60% of the population. It is high time for a partition of Nevada!

Foreign Ownership of Thousands of U.S. Aircraft Cloaked in Secrecy

Chris F. flagged this: Foreign ownership of thousands of U.S. aircraft cloaked in secrecy. Why does a small East Texas town called Onalaska have more than 1,000 registered aircraft – and no airport?  A quote from the article (with accompanying news broadcast video):

“For $5, an owner can register a plane with the FAA.

Planes registered to the name of U.S. trust carry an “N” tail number. It’s a distinction that experts say carries advantages, including allowing planes to receive less scrutiny than when carrying a tail number from a different country.

Trust company officials who handle such trusts told WFAA that they use “due diligence” when vetting owners to ensure they are reputable. However, others disagree and say too little information is readily available in the FAA registry, allowing foreigners to shield their true ownership from law enforcement.

“We shouldn’t require less information to … to register a car than to register an aircraft,” U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.) told WFAA. “If you are a foreign national … you can register an aircraft here and the government doesn’t know anything about it. Come one. It’s laughable.””

New .308 PMAG Drums

Blog reader Tim J. wrote to mention the imminent release of the PMAG® D-50 LR/SR drum magazine. These 50-round drums will fit most AR-10 family rifles. The folks at MagPul claim the same high reliability as their D-60 AR-15 drums. Note that this new model weigh 4.5 pounds loaded, so they are of course something for retreat perimeter security, rather than patrolling. I expect the demand for these will be strong, so place your order early. Brownells is already taking pre-orders for them. And I’m confident that GunMagWarehouse.com and several other  magazine sellers will soon list them.

You can send your news tips to JWR. (Either via e-mail of via our Contact form.) Thanks!




32 Comments

  1. While I truly love all things Magpul, the drum is a toy too far – 1st, one can duplex two 25 round Pmags and get the exact same capacity. The cost for this is $45. 2nd, I tried the duplexed mags in my home defense AR-10 for two weeks. Even just carrying the thing around the house from safe to bedside, the 4.5 pounds makes the thing just too heavy. I am 5’10” and weigh 225. I use 35 pound barbells to do curls when I work out and do sets of 45 push-ups. I am not Arnold, but no wimp. The decrease in speed moving the carbine around with 50 rounds of 7.62×51 on board is simply more than I think reasonable to accept. While neat, this is mostly a toy only suited for 2 things – change money into brass and noise quickly, or to use in an OP/LP when the perimeter is under attack. Then, I could have bought multiple 25 rounders and duplexed them for the price of one drum.

    1. Yes, you have good points there. But dismounted patrolling against hostile armed personnel is the quickest way to die. Period. Irregardless of weapon weight or caliber.

      Watch the real life movie Restreppo. Pay attention to how guys were killed, and who survived, where they were, and what they were doing. Then take a very hard look at the nature of threat you think you’ll face.

      We will not have 155’s, 105’s, 81’s, 60’s, A10s, Apaches, etc, to bail us out. How many rounds will you need to take out a hostile drone?

      I just pre-ordered a D50. It will be perfect for the AR10 on a bipod and vehicle mounted activity. My primary is to use the 20 round mag, not 30’s, and just four of those in the double stack side by side carrier, and yes my old back feels them. But for vehicle mount and from cover, the fewer mag changes, the better.

      In my younger days, my retirement goal was to get a Barrett 50 but I can’t handle that anymore….even my heart and chest hurt after a couple rounds. And AR15s really aren’t capable of slowing down vehicles. AR10 is the solution.

      God Bless

      1. I have a Ruger SR-762 which I bought for its power, not its portability. I wanted a civilian legal version of a machine gun. I was a M60 gunner back in my day and I appreciated its firepower. So, weight isn’t a factor. Having 50 rounds available would be exactly what I’m looking for.

        My only concern would be its reliability. I’ve seen YouTube reviews saying that drum magazines have feeding issues and tend to jam a lot.

        Illinois has legislation pending that would ban the sale of Standard Capacity Magazines. While I do have a lot of mags, including 20 – 20 round Lancer L7 AR-10 magazines, I’m looking to buy more while I have the chance. So, I want to spend my money wisely.

        1. Hi Kevin. I trained in 1973 on the M60 with all instructors who survived the RVN, but only fired on the range a few times after that. Thanks for sharing about your Lancer mags and your 762. Both were news to me. I like the look and just read one writeup which liked the Ruger but complained a bit about the trigger pull. What’s your opinion?

          I got an 18″ Diamondback to protest I-1639 here, then a 20″ PSA after I reflected upon what my thoughts on the future hold.

          Your L7 mags look pretty sweet, but I went for cheap and abundant Hexmags: About 15 bucks each in the 20 capacity.

          https://gunmagwarehouse.com/10-pack-of-hexmag-ar-10-sr25-308-7-62×51-20-round-polymer-magazine.html

          Thanks for posting. I always appreciate others sharing here. God Bless

  2. Sheriffs office going down the drain. Why do the democrats find plenty of money to spend on illegal aliens and ignore our internal problems. Thanks Nancy for your compassion for your fellow countrymen. I guess they make up for their lack of care by allowing millions of men, women, and children to become addicted to illegal street drugs. Been out on the streets of your district of San Francisco lately? Careful where you step, better get an up to date feces and needle map. So sad.

  3. Nobody should have to register any property with anybody, including planes and cars. If you don’t want foreigners to have property then extirpate them. That would be liberty for us and our posterity. Period.

  4. RE: KY Sheriff, Many fine men and women in law enforcement, but, when did we as a nation stop being our own first responder? In actuality, aren’t civil resources second responder’s?

    RE: WA AG, Mr. Ferguson knows this law violates the US Constitution and at least two sections of the WA State Constitution whose own preamble state’s that the US Constitution is the supreme law of the land. I always thought it took a Constitutional convention to change the US Constitution and not the popular vote of a State’s controlling population center. His very remark of no court finding the vote/law unconstitutional, only serves to instill on my opinion of how corrupt and usurping our legal system really is.

    1. Re. the US Constitution applying to WA, as JWR stated, “The First Question is Always Jurisdiction” in an article titled such here at: https://survivalblog.com/first-question-always-jurisdiction/

      In it is stated, “All of the fallaciously-assumed Federal authority over firearms and ammunition is derived from the Commerce Clause (Art. 1, Sect. 8, Clause 3), which mentions jurisdiction over only interstate commerce.”

      It sounds like a revolutionary statement in a post-Lincoln republic. Our Founders would have just politely nodded at it.

  5. Re. WA sheriffs defying State law.
    The federal government has no jurisdiction in this issue per Article 1 Section 8 (list restricting it to just 21 areas of jurisdiction).

    State sheriffs are responsible to enforce laws approved by the citizens of their State. The only basis for the sheriffs refusal to enforce this new State law would be IF (I am not familiar with WA’s State constitution) they believed it was unconstitutional based on WA State’s constitution.

    1. @Montana Guy,

      Sheriffs are not tied to any state, but rather to their respective counties/townships, and are accountable for the people within their communities. They are not beholden to any state Constitution as their prime directive, but to the Federal Constitution.

  6. RE: WA AG: seems that when trump cracked down on illegal immigration the gov and the ag came out and declared that they didn’t like those laws and would not enforce them. Now he wants to threaten law enforcement for not enforcing laws that are clearly in violation of WA and U.S. Constitution.

  7. I’ve said it before, but there’s a massive divide growing within CA as well. There are more gun owners here than anyone can fathom, and we’re reaching our limit for tolerance of this nonsense. There’s been a resurgence of support for the State of Jefferson (which won’t happen, but provides a barometer of the community sentiment), and I personally know many people – including LEOs – who are not complying with the recent ramp-up in Assault Weapon laws reclassifying the definitions. Everyone simply has their ARs disassembled to avoid registration and/or prosecution.

    Here’s a kicker. Due to the textual definitions of what constitutes an “assault weapon” here, my AR-15 with all the goodies such as flash can, collapsible stock, foregrip, etc. is NOT an assault weapon simply because I installed a temporary 10-round fixed magazine. But my semi-auto Browning BAR deer rifle which has been in the family and in CA since the 1990s is now an assault weapon because it has a detachable mag, regardless that it only holds 3 rounds! If you put them side-by-side and asked anyone to identify which one is the “bad” gun, they will never get the answer correct.

    I – being a good citizen – sent a letter to my State Senator Dianne Feinstein (my eye twitches just typing that name), and I received a form letter response from her team saying how she supports hunting and the ownership of related rifles. NOPE!…you just made my BAR an illegal contraband weapon, you liar, and forced me to disassemble it and never use it again within CA so I don’t get arrested.

  8. WA Bill Initiative -1639

    I don’t mind if people on the left disagree with us, but I do mind when they are intellectually dishonest, and then try to subjugate us to their will. WA sheriffs must feel the same way.

    First, Attorney Ferguson, I have never seen one of these “semiautomatic assault rifles” upon which an “enhanced background check” must be performed for sale at retail gun stores. Only our military, or collectors with special federal licenses, are allowed to own assault rifles, and they aren’t semiautomatic, they are switch selectable between semiauto and full auto or 3 round burst. We haven’t been able to buy anything like that over the counter since 1986.

    Second, why do you people keep calling gun control, or better yet, civilian disarmament, “gun safety” ? I learned real gun safety in the Boy Scouts when I was eleven years old, and the poop you are feeding WA residents in this bill isn’t it.

    You people on the left have no problem ignoring immigration law or drug laws or forming a seditious resistance movement against a democratically elected president, but you want this law enforced which violates an enumerated constitutional right?

    You want to put semiautomatic rifles in the same category as handguns, so you can regulate them even more. A handgun is the primary weapon of choice for a criminal because it is easily concealed. A semiautomatic rifle is the weapon of the Militia. No country ever won a war outfitting their troops with handguns. It’s pretty clear what your intentions are here.

    I commend the WA sheriffs for following their conscience and having the integrity and sense of honor and duty to stand by the oaths they took to the US Constitution. As far as Attorney General Ferguson, people like you we hanged after the Nuremberg Trials.

    1. “A semiautomatic rifle is the weapon of the Militia. No country ever won a war outfitting their troops with handguns.”

      Good point. I’m going to borrow that line for future use in dinner table conversations with relatives. 🙂

  9. I agree on the partition of Nevada. There is Clark county and then there is the goobermint land. While an independent new state of ” La Plata” would be great, I just don’t know how it would fund itself. Remember the goobermint does not pay property taxes. If Rural Nevada ever does succeed, I’m on my way.

  10. Communists only understand one thing- a bullet forcibly inserted at high speed into the immediate habitat inside their craniums. The best way to ‘change’ their minds.
    Why do I mention this ? I believe that the “Time” is coming, quite unfortunately. The next “civil” war will be waged over guns, illegal immigration and abortion.

  11. RE: Wa. Sheriffs refusal to enforce. County Sheriffs are beholden to the counties in which they are elected in and no others, they are elected and answer to the people of those counties. They take an Oath of office to Support and Defend the US Constitution as well as the Constitution of their particular state. All that being said, they cannot enforce a law which is contrary or in opposition to the US Constitution. Any law or regulation which is not authorized under the US Constitution is null/void and not a law. Hence Wa. 1639 is not enforceable.
    All states are beholden to the US Constitution as a stipulation of being one of the 50 States. You can’t just make laws up as you would like. Wa. AG can go pound sand……

  12. Two thoughts from my son. He is a commissioned law enforcement officer and was the “top gun” of his academy. Born in Alaska, he is a natural shooter.

    He said my recent purchase of a Magpul/60 is just OK. He prefers two thirties for speed, reliability and efficiency. (I reminded him that I am old and like to sit).

    Also, related to the sheriffs, my son and his fellow officers (including local sheriffs’) feel that all this anti-police stuff and “liberal” interference is leading (eventually) to calls for a national police force.

    Just a somewhat qualified opinion.

    1. Yeah, won’t happen. A National Police force will be at severe odds with local jurisdictions, and it won’t go over well. Just look at all the friction between the ATF, FBI, DHS, ICE, DBP, etc. and local Sheriffs/police/mayors. There’s too much varying levels of independence streaks across the country to allow for a National Police force to operate.

      Nobody likes being told what to do by someone who walks in and declares himself in charge. Too many Sheriffs will (constitutionally) bar NP from enforcing any actions within their townships. Such ultimatums have already been given in the past when the Feds have attempted to muscle their way through a local community.

  13. Many people have a misunderstanding of the Constitution, including many Patriots. It is the Supreme law ,but only in regard to those powers assigned by the States and limited the Constitution itself. If you want to understand the Constitution and relevant founding documents go to krisannehall.com! You’ll get an education that’s well argued and foundational.

  14. I recently heard a rumor that the DHS wants to take over the job of the local sheriffs in the country. Like I said this is just something I heard, but it seems the Liberals might be all for it. That way THEY can control who has firearms and what laws to enforce, and the Constitution can be damned! I know a LOT of citizens will hate this, but I realize that as time continues that the majority of people are being propagandized into believing that the government knows better than we the people. Just say’n.

    1. I’ve heard the same rumor. Only I had heard that it was the leftists in congress that had made the suggestion and starting the push for implementation. The also want to control local police departments and transfer control authority to DHS. Sounds like they want to do away with not only the counties but the states as well. These folks are begging for a shooting war with the American people. I fear they are going to get their wish.

  15. Washington AG vs Sheriffs: The AG says the sheriffs need to obey the will of the people. I would argue that the sheriffs are indeed obeying the will of the people who elected them. They are also obeying the constitutions of the US and Washington. As far as I can tell, both say something like the RIGHT to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. A law that is contrary to both the supreme law of the state of Washington and the supreme law of the US, is no law at all, therefore null and void, and should not be enforced. The sheriffs are indeed correct to not enforce this despicable law.

    The Kentucky sheriff: Sounds like a good man trying to do his job the best he can with nothing to work with. The thing that keeps me from moving to Kentucky is all the corruption throughout the state. The whole state is in as bad a fiscal condition as Commiefornia and Nazi York and very ILL-inois.

    On the partition of Nevada: The people of those affected counties in the proposed new State of La Plata need to take a vote on separation. The same goes for the State of Jefferson, the State of Liberty, the State of Superior, and the State of North Michigan. Just take the vote, if the majority wish to separate, just do it. It worked for West Virginia. The State of Virginia was never asked if WVa could separate. A lot changed with Lincoln. That was one of the major changes that is never talked about and should be pushed to the hilt throughout the US. It’s one of the biggest problems in the US, not enough states. If more states were to subdivide, getting back to a constitutionally limited republic would be a heck of a lot easier.

    And how do you fund these new small states? The key words here are SMALL States! Initiate a realistic state sales tax, users fees that reflect the actual value of the service provided, very limited government, no pensions for politicians, no duplication of services between the state and the counties, and finally take the bureaucratic pensions off the backs of the citizens and put it where it belongs on the backs of the bureaucrats themselves. Don’t initiate a state income tax and do away with property taxes and implement revenue sharing with the counties based on state taxes collected in the individual counties. It’s not hard, just do it.

  16. Concerning the Ecuadorian property: it looks like suicide to me. Take a careful look at that river view. There are several fresh, raw landslide scars, big ones, going down into the river.

    While the land above the river leading to the bluff where the house is isn’t visible in the photos, the drop off looks extremely steep. Unless the bluff is made of rock, rather than earth, the whole thing is going to wind up in the river at some point.

    I think number one son should re-check this property. I enjoy looking at most of them, and would love to move into several of them. Not this one. Look out below!

    I take this quite seriously. My mother was in a house on a bluff on Long Island when the hurricane of 1935 (I think) came through. The wind was so loud that the huge pine trees that went down around the house could not be heard as they fell. And the barrier island was missing when the storm was over. So was much of the bluff.

    Apart from being a death trap, it’s a beautiful place to live.

  17. In regards to the Kentucky sheriffs department, now would be a great opportunity for the folks in that county to form militias in order to help keep their citizens safe from crime. Obviously the militias wouldn’t have any legal right to make arrest ( unless maybe it was a citizen’s arrest ) but just the presence of organized armed men and women patrolling the area MAY deter criminals who would take advantage of the absence of real deputies in real patrol cars. It would also help folks to equate the word “militia” with neighbors who are looking out for them. Then as soon as proper funding arrived for the sheriff’s dept. the militias could fade away.

    1. The Sherriff has the right to deputize, simple answers to problems are the best. In our county we have volunteer citizen deputies, they take care of a lot of administrative and routine patrols. As a mater of course most are retired and are civic minded with some free time on their hands. Older people are much more prone to giving back to their communities than young people who think that if they donate to some trumped up schemes to save something; the planet, Rain forests, lemmings etc. they are actually doing something productive while only lining the pockets of the perpetrators of these revenue scams. Good examples are the failed Welfare Programs, Red Cross as well as the United Nations which suck most of every dollar donated up with administrative costs.

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