Survival & Emergency Preparedness

Rethinking Gun Control

2012-01-26T20:51:00.001-05:00

Over on Blog O’Stuff, I have a couple of posts which were prompted by an article which recently appeared in a NJ Jewish paper titled, “Rethinking Gun Control.”

My posts are here and here.

New Mobile Format

2011-12-04T11:13:00.001-05:00

This morning while poking around in my Blogger Dashboard I saw that they now offer a mobile device viewing option, which I’ve enabled for both Survival & Emergency Preparedness and Blog O’Stuff. Hopefully, this will make both blogs more accessible to mobile users.

DMT Dia-Sharp Diamond Sharpening Stones

2011-12-04T11:07:00.001-05:00

Sharp tools are important for a couple reasons. First, they require less effort to use. Second, because it requires less effort when cutting something, a sharp tool is less likely to slip and cause an injury than a dull tool.

When I was a kid my father taught me to sharpen knives using Arkansas bench stones. I used them exclusively up until a couple years ago, when I tried a couple of other methods. The first was sandpaper on top of a mouse pad, to create a convex edge. The second was a Spyderco Sharpmaker. I have found the Sharpmaker to be an excellent tool for sharpening knives as long as the edge wasn't too dull, or damaged. However, its stones are too fine for major reshaping of an edge.

Recently, it became necessary to sharpen a Wustoff paring knife that had become very dull. However, I could not get an acceptable edge on it with any of my existing sharpening implements. I decided to pick up a couple DMT Dia-Sharp bench stones from Amazon. I bought two, one coarse and one fine.

The DMT "stones" are really 8" x 3" steel plates with one side coated with industrial diamonds. Each weights a couple pounds, which helps keep them in place on your workbench. They also come with rubber feet. DMT says you can use them dry or with water as a lubricant, but not to use oil. I found they worked beter with some water than dry, as it helps to keep the swarf from clogging the surface.

The coarse stone allowed me to put a proper bevel on the paring knife, after which I was able to get a semi-decent cutting edge with the fine. However, it wasn't as polished as I wanted, so I used my Sharpmaker to get a good cutting edge on the blade.

Compared with a hard Arkansas stone, even the DMT Fine is a bit coarse. I will probably buy an extra-fine grade DMT Dia-Sharp stone for final edge polishing when using them.

Packing and the Friendly Skies

2011-11-22T09:55:00.001-05:00

Here's an interesting article describing why if you must fly, having a firearm in your checked luggage may be the best way to prevent your bags from being pilfered.

{H/T Sipsey Street Irregulars.}

So, can you sew?

2011-11-20T09:44:00.001-05:00

{Old guy}Back when I was in junior high school, everyone took Home Economics classes, including cooking and sewing. Nowadays you're lucky if a kid can tie his shoes.{/Old guy}

Every so often I'll read a comment by some he-man type to the effect that sewing is women's work. Horse crap. Sewing is an important survival skill. If you know how to sew, you can make, repair, or modify clothing and gear.

For example, I recently bought a puukko from Cloudberry Trading via Amazon.com. It's a great knife and came with a high quality, handmade sheath. Unfortunately, the sheath is right handed and as anyone who's read this blog has seen, I am a southpaw. I first tried to come up with a mod to the sheath to enable lefty use, but it came out looking bad. So, I decided to make a new, left handed sheath.

It's nothing fancy but it's sturdy and works well.

First, I made a pattern from cardboard. The sheath is made from three layers of leather about 1/8" thick each: the front and back, and then a middle layer which covers the stitching so that the knife cannot cut through it. After laying out the pieces I secured them together with rubber cement.

Since you can't easily poke a needle through 3/8" of leather, I used my cordless drill and a 1/64" bit to drill the holes for the thread. The thread is artificial sinew, basically the same as waxed dental floss but colored brown. It's strong and being made of polyester won't rot.

Once I finished sewing the sheath together I used Fiebling's #121 Medium Brown leather dye to color it, then gave it a good coating of Sno-Seal after the dye dried.

I now have a unique piece of equipment which suits my needs and which cost me under $20.

Prepping for Civil Unrest

2011-11-03T10:57:00.001-04:00

Prepping for civil unrest is beginning to take on a new urgency, in my opinion. Over on Blog O'Stuff, I've posted here and here some pictures of the Occupy Oakland and Occupy Philadelphia crowds, respectively. When you have persons like the Mayor of Oakland and the President of the United States openly voicing support for communist revolutionaries within our borders, it isn't a big stretch to see this spreading and becoming more violent.

IMO, ff you live in an urban area you should be prepared with sufficient food and water to last out a week's worth of rioting at a minimum, along with fire extinguishers, first aid supplies, and the means to defend yourself and your home.

Don't get caught with your pants down.

Reminder About Your Carbon Monoxide and Smoke Detectors

2011-10-11T18:30:00.001-04:00

I'm sure anyone reading this blog has both smoke detectors and carbon monoxide (CO) detectors in their home. If not, do the right thing for safety and get them installed ASAP.

While fires and smoke are easy to see and smell with your own senses, CO is invisible, tasteless, and odorless. In short, it is dangerous because it combines with the hemoglobin in your blood and interferes with oxygen transport to body tissues. More info here.

My house is a split level, so I have two of each. One of each type is installed in the downstairs hallway outside the closet in which our furnace is located. The others are located in the hallway upstairs outside our bedrooms. My house was built in 1957, so I'm using battery powered units.

More modern units may be hard wired for electrical power. You can also get detectors which have a battery backup. That would be a good idea, since if fire or a CO problem strikes your home while the power is out you need to be alerted.

Tonight when I walked in after work I was greeted with the chirp from the downstairs CO detector which indicated that the batteries were low. While I was replacing the batteries in that one I also got did the upstairs unit. CO detectors have limited lifespans. When first introduced they lasted as short as two years, but more recent units may be good for up to seven. I checked my CO detectors and they are supposed to be good for seven years, but the manufacture date on them is 2005, so I'll be replacing them shortly. I just ordered two Kidde KN-COPP-B Front Load Battery-Operated Carbon Monoxide Alarm with Digital Display units from Amazon.com (yes that's a referral link) for delivery Thursday.

Homemade Firestarters

2011-10-10T19:45:00.001-04:00

If you were ever a Boy Scout this post is probably old hat to you. ;)

I did some testing tonight with one of the egg carton, dryer lint, and canning wax fire starters I made a couple weeks ago. To light it I put some unwaxed dryer lint on the top and lit it with sparks from a firesteel (ferrocerium rod). These will of course light readily with matches or a lighter.

Unlit fire starter:

After about a minute:

At six minutes it's going strong and giving off quite a bit of light:

At 14 minutes. As you can see the flame is getting lower.

Finally, about a minute and a half after the previous picture, it finally went out. There were still embers of cardboard glowing now that all the wax was burned off. This pic was taken after 16 minutes:

It burned pretty hot and since the flame lasts long it would be very good at lighting wet sticks. I haven't tried it myself but I have read of guys using one of these with an Esbit stove to boil water for tea or soup.

The cost for one of these is minimal, really all you need to buy is the canning wax, and you could substitute wax from candles that you can often buy for pennies at yard sales. I recommend using dryer lint from loads with mostly cotton clothing or towels.

Be very careful when melting wax. Use a double boiler and it's safest to do it outside, just in case it ignites.

Stoeger Coach Gun Range Report

2011-09-18T15:58:00.003-04:00

I have a brief range report on the Stoeger 20 gauge Coach Gun that I bought earlier this month.

I was able to put about 10 rounds through the gun today. I patterned both barrels with Remington 2-3/4" No.3 buckshot, and the equivalent from Federal. At 10 yards both loads and barrels will pretty evenly saturate the -1 zone of an IDPA target.

I also fired some Remington 2-3/4" "Slugger" slugs from 25 yards. At that range the right barrel seems to shoot to point of aim, while the left barrel is high and right.

Recoil was noticeable but not too heavy. Even though the Stoeger lacks a recoil pad, it was more pleasant to shoot than my H&R 158 Topper 20 gauge, which is about a pound lighter but has a factory recoil pad. With a good pad like a Pachmayr Decelerator or a Limbsaver, the Stoeger should be downright nice to shoot with defensive ammo.

I had one light primer strike which resulted in a failure to fire. I think it's because I failed to fully disengage the safety for that shot, and there was enough drag on the hammer to cause it to give light primer strike. Until I have the safety modified so it's manual-only, I need to make sure that I'm mashing it into the fire position.

Stoeger Coach Gun

2011-09-06T19:26:00.001-04:00

A lot of people -- including myself -- favor a shotgun as a home defense weapon. Shotguns combine effective terminal ballistics with limited range, which is ideal for the majority of Americans who live in urban or suburban areas. The most common shotguns chosen for home defense are slide or pump actions. Good quality pumps are readily available at modest cost, especially if you can find police trade-ins.

Another kind of shotgun which has seen a resurgence in popularity in the past 10 to 15 years is the side-by-side double. This is due to the popularity of cowboy action shooting, or CAS. Most CAS shooters use a short side-by-side double commonly referred to as a "coach gun," the name coming from their use in defending stagecoaches in the Old West. Probably the most common of the modern coach guns are those from Stoeger, who describes them thusly:

The Stoeger Coach Gun was developed in response to the demand for a value-priced, short-barreled scattergun for use in Cowboy Action Shooting. The sawed-off shotgun has been romanticized in hundreds of Hollywood Westerns as the stagecoach guard’s weapon of choice, and this one is as handsome as it is affordable.

Also a potent home security gun, the Coach Gun is chambered for 2-3/4” and 3” shells in 12-gauge, 20-gauge, and .410 bore.

The Coach Gun is available in blue, matte nickel, and polished nickel-plated finishes. The Nickel Coach Gun has a polished nickel-plated receiver and barrels and a black-finished, hardwood stock. The Silverado Coach Gun features a matte nickel receiver and barrels, and a standard stock with pistol- or straight-style grip, or an English stock—both in satin-finished American walnut.

The Stoeger Coach Gun is built on the same action as their Uplander hunting gun, one of which I've had for several years. The Coach Gun is basically a shorter version of the Uplander. Aside from the length, the primary difference is that the Uplander's barrels feature interchangeable choke tubes, while the Coach Gun has fixed Improved Cylinder and Modified chokes.

They Stoeger doubles simple, robust guns designed around a box lock action. As with most doubles, they feature extractors rather than ejectors. (Ejectors are required in CAS.)

Today was a vacation day and since the weather was absolutely crummy, I went up to Cabela's instead of going shooting as I'd planned. While there, I bought a 20 gauge Stoeger Coach Gun. One of the reasons I bought it is for possible use as a home and camp defense gun, as well as something to take on road trips.

While in my old post about my Uplander I expressed some reservations about a gun with extractors for HD, viewing this video from Clint Smith has caused me to reconsider. The vast majority of civilian gun usage involves no shots being fired. In the event that shots are necessary two rounds of 20 gauge buckshot will probably suffice, while practicing my reloads will make keeping the gun running feasible.

My Coach Gun is well finished and has some pretty decent looking wood on it. Actually, the forearm is really nice, with a lot of curl. The bluing is even and the metal has a good polish. The action is a bit stiff but that will improve with use.

After I got it home I took the gun down to clean off the factory preservative and properly lubricate it. While I had the gun taken apart, I lightly polished the bearing surfaces with some Flitz metal polish to help speed the break-in period. I'd wanted to remove the stock from the action so I could hose out and relube the mechanism, but the stock bolt is tight and I couldn't get it to budge. The stock bolt has a hex head with a slot for a large screwdriver. I have one that I bought so I could remove the butt from my Uplander but this gun's bolt ain't moving. I'll have to see if I can get a socket on a long extension down the bolt hole and remove it that way, then put some anti-seize on the threads before reassembling it.

Anyway, why would I want a coach gun for defense when I have a couple of perfectly good pumps? A couple reasons. First, both my pumps are 12 gauge and too much for my wife to handle. A 20 may be easier for her. Second, a double gun with 20" barrels is short, really short. For example, comparing the Stoeger with my Remington 870, the Coach Gun is at least 4" shorter, even though both guns have the same barrel length. The double doesn't have a reciprocating bolt behind its chambers, enabling the gun to be much shorter. Additionally, the manual of arms for a double is simpler than that of a pump shotgun.

The light weight and short length of the Coach Gun make it very fast handling. With the butt tucked under your shoulder it doesn't protrude very far in front of you, making navigating one's home easier. I wouldn't generally recommend trying to clear your home if you think there's an intruder, but some homes may require you to navigate from one part to another to protect a loved one.

I also mentioned camp defense as a potential use. My friends and I go truck camping at least once a year in Tioga County, PA. It's a very rural area and while we don't expect crime, there are black bears in the area, some of which have been losing their fear of humans. And unfortunately, there are good camping spots around the US where concern about criminals is warranted. Loaded with slugs, the Coach Gun would be just fine for bear. For defense against criminals my load of choice would be No.3 buckshot. Some high brass No.4 shot would be good for taking care of vermin, such as raccoons or skunks. (Mainly a concern if they are rabid. Rabies is a problem in many parts of the US, including Pennsylvania.)

I also mentioned the Coach Gun for use when traveling. Double guns take down easily for compact stowage in a vehicle, whether it's a car, boat, or aircraft. In particular, the Coach Gun takes down into a package that's 20" long. Related to this, ammo for the 20 gauge I selected is lighter and more compact than 12 gauge ammunition, although the latter remains the most popular choice.

Once I've proven the Coach Gun to be reliable there are a couple of mods I have planned for it:

1. Have the stock cut and a Pachmayr Decellerator recoil pad installed. Along with this I want the length of pull shorted by about 3/4 inch.

2. Have the automatic safety disabled. An automatic safety is tolerable on a sporting gun but not desirable on a defensive arm. Fortunately, this is a simple modification requiring removal of a small bit of metal with no impact on other functions, and leaves the safety as manual only.

I'll post a range report once I get to shoot it, probably in a couple of weeks.

More Irene Follow Up

2011-08-29T20:58:00.003-04:00

I've seen several stories calling the new coverage of Irene over-hyped, and in some measure it was. However, what a lot of folks seem to have forgotten is that even a Category 1 hurricane dumps a lot of rain on an area, and combines it with high winds. Irene may have been no Katrina, but that's far from saying it was a non-event.

I was lucky in that I only had a relatively brief power outage (9 hours, followed by a 1 hour outage). However, I did get some water in my crawlspace which has resulted in my den being filled with stuff that was in the crawlspace, while it dries out. Combine a ton of rain along with already saturated soil, and you have a recipe for flooding. Several areas including upstate New York and Vermont have seen massive floods.

Two words I repeatedly heard at work today were "sump pump." A coworker has a home with a wet basement. He'd gone and bought an auxiliary sump pump beforehand and used it along with his primary pump, until the auxiliary unit burned out. He's looking at getting his yard landscaped to better divert water away from his home, getting his basement waterproofed, and seriously considering an automatic, natural gas powered generator to power the sump pump in the event of a power outage coinciding with flooding.

Over at Snowflakes in Hell, Sebastian and Bitter have posted about their experience in trying to keep water out of their home, along with a few other major inconveniences.

Aside from the flooding, even sub-hurricane force winds can take down trees, which knock down power and phone lines. We have a lot of people in the northeast without power now, and who won't get it back for several days at least.

Keeping Your Cell Phone Working in a Disaster

2011-08-29T20:27:00.001-04:00

Instapundit links to an article at MIT's Technology Review with tips on keeping your cell phone running as long as possible in the aftermath of a disaster. The article has some good tips but one that is missing is to keep a spare, charged battery with you. Spare batteries are light and not very expensive. This is especially important for smartphones, since the large touch screens use up a lot of juice.

For example, after returning to work following the February 2010 Snowpocalypse, when Philadelphia got hit with two Nor'Easters in one week, I had the need to swap batteries in my Motorola Droid. When coming home from work, a railroad switch got frozen and SEPTA (Philly's mass transit provider) dumped me off at Wayne Junction in North Philly. I.e., da hood. I'd failed to fully charge my phone before leaving the office, but since I was able to swap in a spare, I was able to call for my wife to come pick me up.

Now that I'm using an iPhone, I don't have a user-replaceable battery. So, I got a Duracell Instant USB Charger with Lithium ion battery, that I keep in my laptop bag. Several other rechargeable batteries are available here.

With cell phones being such an important part of modern communications, and especially since pay phones are now rare, it's important to be able to keep them running in an emergency.

Hurricane Irene AAR

2011-08-28T13:42:00.001-04:00

It looks like we made it through Hurricane Irene OK. Last night we started getting heavy rain and high winds.

Power for a good chunk of my neighborhood went out around midnight last night but was restored between 0930 and 1000 this morning. That lasted for about 45 minutes and it went out again. It was restored after about another hour. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it'll stay up but we still have some high wind gusts, so I won't be shocked if it goes out again.

This morning when I called PECO to report the outage I got a recorded message indicating that they are experiencing very high call volumes and to call back later.

I finished my preps before the storm, including putting some extra water bottles (about 2/3 full) in the freezer, and a bunch in the refrigerator, to help keep them cool in the event of a power outage. I already store water in empty cleaned 2L soda bottles, plus I filled the 7 gallon jug I take camping.

We made sure that all of our cell phones, iPods, and other rechargeable items were charged ahead of time, but I forgot my Yaesu VX-5 handheld 2m/70cm amateur radio, so that's currently out in my truck charging. I did confirm that the 12v outlet-to-Powerpole adapter works when connected to my Powergate, which is fed from my 70AH gel cell.

Ten Things To Do In Advance of a Hurricane

2011-08-25T10:39:00.000-04:00

It looks like there is a good chance that the Northeast US is going to get hit by Hurricane Irene this weekend. Depending on your location there are several things you can do to prepare, even at the last minute:

1. Ensure you have plenty of food and water.

2. Fill the gas tanks in your vehicles. If you have gas cans fill them, too.

3. If you have a generator, do a test run and make sure you have plenty of fuel.

4. Make sure you have an ample supply of batteries for flashlights, lanterns, radios, etc.

5. If you might need to use an alternative cooking device, have plenty of fuel on hand. E.g., propane, Coleman fuel, or charcoal.

6. Have fuel and oil for chainsaws. Make sure it's working ahead of time.

7. Get some large tarps for quickly covering any roof or window damage due to wind or falling trees. You'll also need some means of securing the tarps - heavy duty cord, drywall screws, or nails.

8. Clean your gutters and make sure any drainage ditches or storm drains are clear.

9. Have a few hundred dollars in cash on hand.

10. Charge any rechargeable electric or electronic devices. E.g., drills, saws, cell phones, iPods, etc.

This is hardly an exhaustive list, but should get you started.

Hoppe's M-Pro 7 Gun Cleaner

2011-08-17T19:46:00.003-04:00

After reading a recommendation for it as an effective, odorless carbon remover, I ordered an 8 oz. bottle of Hoppe's M-Pro-7 gun cleaner from Amazon last week. This past weekend I gave it a try, and based on the results, I am now a fan.

I gave M-Pro 7 a tough test. I went camping over the weekend and brought two guns with me. The first was my Euroarms Rogers & Spencer black powder percussion revolver. The second was my 1945-vintage M-1944 Mosin-Nagant carbine, shooting some early 1960s-vintage Soviet surplus 7.62x54R light ball ammo.

We shot the R&S with 30 grains of Swiss 3Fg black powder. Swiss powder burns cleaner than Goex, but it's still black powder and leaves behind plenty of fouling. We put about 36 to 40 shots through the gun. Afterwards, no more than 6 patches wet with M-Pro 7 got the bore clean. It was similarly effective on the rest of the gun.

The Soviet surplus ammo we fired through the Mosin-Nagant is some of the dirtiest "smokeless" ammo I've shot, and of course it has corrosive primers. I also put a 5 round clip of Hungarian light ball through the gun. Again, only a few patches wet with M-Pro 7 through the bore got it clean. I followed up with a patch wet with Ballistol to verify that M-Pro 7 hadn't left anything behind, and it too came out clean.

We did our shooting on Saturday, I cleaned the guns immediately thereafter, and then I checked them the following Monday. Neither gun showed any signs of corrosion. I ran a patch wet with Remoil through the Mosin's bore and it came out green, indicating that the residual M-Pro7 and Ballistol left in the bore had been attacking copper fouling.

I am impressed with M-Pro 7. It is odorless with no fumes, not flammable, doesn't require any special ventilation, and according to the MSDS doesn't contain anything especially nasty. After years of using smelly, carcinogenic gun cleaners I think I found my new favorite.

A Couple Inexpensive, Useful Xterra Mods

2011-08-16T12:21:00.003-04:00

My daily driver/BOV is a 2007 Nissan Xterra S that I bought back in April. It's a great truck. After reading the Xterra forum I did a couple of inexpensive modifications.

First, my baby:

The Xterra comes with two cargo tie-downs near the lift gate. Unfortunately, they are cheap plastic and will pull out if
you put to much weight on them. So, I went to Home Depot and picked up a 4-pack of Stanley steel cargo tie-down shackles and a pack of selt-tapping sheet metal screws. I pulled out the OEM tie-downs and installed the metal tie-downs in their place. The screws go into sheet metal under the plastic, so they are secure. I used the left one this weekend to secure a 7 gal. water jug, worked great.

I wanted a mat to cover the plastic floor of the cargo area. It helps to keep things from sliding around and may dampen road noise a little. Nissan wants about $75 for a factory mat. Screw that. Along with the shackles I picked up a 3'x5' rug at Home Depot. Upon getting it home I took out all my crap and laid the rug inside the cargo area. I then used a piece of chalk to trace around the areas I needed to remove, then cut them off. Finally, I sealed the edges with a lighter. It even matches the truck.

The cargo box is a Contico SUV box that I bought a few years ago at Lowe's. I can highly recommend it. It's made of some sort of hard expanded foam. It does not latch although it does have two places for a padlock. I had to leave it on my back patio over the weekend because I needed the space, and it got rained on heavily. No water got inside the box.

You may notice that I also added a cargo area cover. IMO, if you drive an SUV or a station wagon it's a good idea for security to cover up whatever you keep in the back. What people can't see won't tempt them.

Making a Lockable Ammo Can

2011-08-06T10:22:00.001-04:00

I ran across this video on Youtube showing how to make a lockable ammo can, and thought it worthwhile to pass on.

Going to try Hammocking

2011-08-03T19:20:00.002-04:00

My annual camping trip to North Central PA is coming up in a couple weeks, and the following weekend I have an overnight hike planned with my brother. The North Central PA trip will be truck camping, so it'll be easy to bring a tent and a cot. In contrast, the trip with my brother will have us hiking a few miles into a state forest. Not being keen on sleeping on the ground, even on a pad, I decided to give hammocking a try.

After reading through the Hammocks forum on Bushcraft USA, and product reviews on Amazon.com, I ordered a Grand Trunk Skeeter Beater hammock. It's nicely made with a polyester taffetta body and a zip-open bug net sewn to it. There are S-hooks attached to each end, and it comes with two cords to hang it, along with some smaller diamter cord to hang the netting. There's also a sewn-on stuff sack for storage. The hang cords aren't very long and in some places you're not supposed to use rope to hang hammocks because they can damage tree bark. So, I also ordered a set of Hammock Bliss extra long tree straps. The webbing straps don't dig into tree bark like rope, and will allow me to hang the hammock between trees that are further apart.

In case of rain or squirrel poop, I'm planning to rig a tarp over me as a fly. For now, I have a cheap camo poly tarp. Assuming that I like hammocking, I'll probably get a lighter nylon tarp like an Etowah or one of the tarps from the BCUSA store.

To prevent getting bitten by bugs through the hammock, I plan on spraying it down with a permethrin-based bug repellent before taking it into the woods. I normally use DEET-based sprays but it's my understanding that DEET can damage polyester, and the last thing I need is for it to dump me on the ground.

I plan on trying the hammock on the first trip and will post a follow up after I get back.

You know preparedness is going mainstream

2011-08-01T09:26:00.002-04:00

... when you see this on the comics page:

The comment about defensive weaponry should be taken to heart, as well as the unspoken lesson about OPSEC.

(Click the comic to view full width.)

UK Surplus Soldier 95 Jacket

2011-07-16T20:22:00.001-04:00

Last week I put in an order for some first aid supplies with Warden's Surplus, and I noticed that they had some British surplus Soldier 95 jackets in stock, and amazingly, in my size. I've always like British uniforms and the price was right -- under $20, so I added one to my cart. It came the other day.

I've posted a full review with more detailed pictures on the Bushcraft USA forum.

The Importance of Testing New Gun Gear

2011-06-27T17:16:00.001-04:00

I was on vacation today and was able to get down to the range for my first extended shooting session with modern guns since February (I have been on a black powder kick since then).

Today is a good example of why you should try out new gun gear before relying upon it in earnest.

The two guns I brought with me were my Springfield Loaded M1911A1 and my 1943 Underwood M1 Carbine, which is currently fitted with a replica M1A1 folding stock, Ultimak, and Bushnell TRS-25 red dot sight. (Purists should note that I can return it to as-issued condition in about 5 minutes.)

I started out with the Carbine. This was my first time shooting it since I mounted the Ultimak and RDS. I zeroed the gun at 25 yards in about 10 shots. Along with the Carbine I'd brought three 15 round magazines, only one of which I'd used before. The other two were Korean-made mags which I got a couple years ago NIW from AIM Surplus. I was pleased to see that I had no malfunctions in 100 rounds, mostly fired from the Korean mags. Ammo was Remington-UMC 110 grain FMJ.

After I got home it looked like the Ultimak mount shifted forward a little under recoil. The barrel band spring on the replica folding stock is not quite in spec, but this hasn't been a problem when there was only a wooden handguard on the Carbine. But the additional mass of the Ultimak and RDS was enough to allow them to shift forward, causing the barrel band to jump the retaining spring. I'll see about replacing it with a GI spring.

I also experienced some annoyance with the Springfield. I wanted to try out two new Metalform 7 round magazines in the gun. I picked them up a few weeks ago from CDNN when they were on sale. From what I've read the Metalforms are good magazines at a low price.

Not in my gun, unfortunately. I had a couple stovepipes and failures to eject. I had a similar problem with a 7 round Springfield magazine that came with the gun. However, I was able to put at least 60 rounds through the gun using two Chip McCormick 8 round Shooting Star magazines with no malfunctions. Ammo was 50 rounds of Federal Champion and 50 rounds of Magtech. Both were 230 grain Ball, though the Federal seemed a little hotter.

My dad has some Metalforms that have worked well in his 1911s, so I'll give mine to him.

The point to take away from all this is to test new gun gear to see how it works for you, with your guns. Magazines which work well in others' guns may not work in yours. Accessories which seem firmly affixed may work themselves loose when actually used. Live fire is the only true test.

Homemade Firestarters

2011-06-11T15:11:00.034-04:00

If you go to any store catering to campers you'll see a large selection of firestarters designed to help you get your campfire going. Many of these work well, e.g., Lightning Nuggets, but it's simple to make your own firestarters for much less money. I made some today from cardboard, jute twine, and paraffin wax from the canning section at the supermarket.

To get the cardboard I cut the flaps from an empty beer case, then cut each flap into sections about six inches long. I then rolled up each piece and secured it with several wraps of jute twine, tied off with a square knot. Then I soaked each bundle for a few minutes in paraffin canning wax in an old pot on my charcoal grill. After a few minutes I took each firestarter out with a pair of pliers and set it in the bottom of the beer case to harden.

I tested one firestarter by lighting it with a match. It burned for several minutes with a good, high flame. It would work well to help get your campfire going if you had to contend with wet wood. Note that these won't light directly from a spark but are pretty easily lit with a match or lighter.

Be very careful when melting paraffin. The safest way to do so is in a double boiler. It's also a good idea to do this outside in case you have too much heat and the wax ignites.

Aside from rolls of cardboard you can use other household items to make firestarters. One of the best ways is to take the bottom of a cardboard egg carton and fill each pocket with sawdust or dryer lint. Use lint containing mostly cotton fibers, such as lint from drying a load of towels. Then, melt some wax and pour it into the egg carton. You then cut apart each pocket, leaving you with 12 to 18 firestarters that will burn for several minutes. Depending on how much help you need getting your fire started, you can even cut each of the firestarters into smaller sections.

Making your own camping gear is fun and can save you some money. Give it a try.

Travelling With Small Children

2011-05-22T11:15:00.000-04:00

Long road trips with small children can be an adventure for various reasons. In an emergency situation when you're evacuating from something like a hurricane or industrial accident, they can be even worse due to packed roads. I want to share some lessons learned in routine car trips that would be applicable to a bugout situation as well.

This weekend we went to a cousin's wedding up in New York. Depending upon traffic the trip can take anywhere from 2.5 to 4 hours. We've done this trip many times when visiting my family, and we've learned a lot about long car trips with small children. Our girls are now 8 and 6 years old and I wanted to focus this post on kids in that age range.

To preserve your own sanity it's important to have something to keep them occupied. I'm in my 40s and remember well long car trips with nothing to do but read, play games like "spot the pidoodle," and fight with my younger brother. The Sony Walkman and similar devices came out when I was a teen, so I had music to pass the time for the trips my family took then. Nowadays, kids have iPods, game machines like Nintendo DSes, and portable DVD players. We let our girls buy iPod Touches with money they got on their last two birthdays, so they are able to use them for music, a few movies each, and some games. Along with their DSes, the iPod Touches do a really good job of keeping them entertained while I drive.

We always ensure that our kids' iPods and DSes are charged before we leave on a trip. However, the charge might not last for a very long trip, or you might need to leave in an emergency and not have time to charge them beforehand. It's important to have car chargers for each device, and if you're bringing something that would need A/C power to charge, bring an inverter. Recent vehicles like my '07 Xterra are well-supplied with 12V receptacles. E.g., my '97 Expedition had 3, the Xterra has 4. But older vehicles may have only 1 or 2. You can buy splitters, which will turn a single 12v outlet into 2 or 3, and sometimes include a USB charging port. Amazons sells a variety of 12v splitters here.

Another thing you sometimes have to contend with is a sick child. We had that yesterday, unfortunately. It seems that my older daughter's stomach can handle only small amounts of fried or greasy food. Shortly after we got started she vomited. Most of it landed on her, her Pillow Pet, the towel she was sitting on, and the back of the front passenger seat.

Dealing with a sick kid at home is no fun but it's a lot worse on the side of the road. HAving certain items with you will make handling this situation much easier:

1. A change of clothes.

2. Unscented baby wipes to clean off your kid and the inside of the vehicle. Baby wipes are pre-moistened and don't tear as easily as paper towels. I keep mine inside a Ziploc bag so they don't dry out as quickly. You can add water to them if they do.

3. Paper towels are good to have as well; get something like these shop towels, which are tougher than regular paper towels.

4. I'd had both kids sit on old towels during the trip, mainly to catch crumbs, but in this case they helped protect the seat from vomit. A little still got on the seat so I had her sit on a blanket for the rest of the trip.

5. Water to moisten the paper towels and for drinking. Anyone who gets sick will also appreciate the chance the rinse out the taste. We had some bottled water with us but we could have used some more. Today I added a 2 liter bottle to my truck box.

6. Some large plastic bags to hold soiled items. I had some plastic shopping bags but they weren't big enough to hold my daughter's Pillow Pet. Because it was so covered in vomit we just tossed it when we stopped at a gas station about a half hour later, after driving with the windows down.

My Nissan Xterra is a storage compartment built into the front of the roof rack. As explained to me when I bought it, it's for wet items you don't want to bring inside the vehicle. You could also lash bags with soiled items to a roof rack, so bring some string. Paracord is good for this and has many other uses.

I bought some spray air freshener at the gas station which masked most of the stench for the remainder of our drive.

7. Have some Tums and/or Pepto Bismol with you to settle an upset stomach. Also have some Immodium in case someone in your party get diarrhea. If anyone in your group is prone to motion sickness then Dramamine is a must.

One item not specifically related to this post that I consider a must for long car trips is a standalone automotive GPS with up to date maps. I use and like Garmin automotive GPSes. Aside from directions, you can use the GPS to find the nearest hospital.

Make sure you keep your GPS updated. Updating the maps once a year is probably enough. I'd updated my Garmin nuvi 200w before the trip and found that the current maps of the lower 48 now are larger than its storage capacity, so I had to limit it to the Eastern half of the country. I figure that I'll get a new unit sometime next year.

I do not consider phone-based GPS an adequate substitute for a standalone unit, especially if you'll be in areas with spotty cell coverage. Without a data signal, your phone won't be able download maps on the fly, making it useless.

Naturally, it's also smart to have current maps of the areas in which you'll be travelling. The Delorme Atlas and Gazeteers are good.

Travelling with small children can be difficult but you can make it easier with some advance preparation.

Beefing Up my Home Security

2011-02-19T22:25:00.000-05:00

Over the last year or so my normally quiet suburban neighborhood has experienced several burglaries, some of which have occurred while the homes were occupied. This has had me thinking about ways to improve my home security. One of these is by installing a home security system. I am well aware that such systems do not have the magical effect on prowlers depicted in TV commercials. However, it does add another layer of warning if it's set off while we're home, and by sending us alerts could keep us from walking into a bad situation if we come home and the house has been broken into. Home security systems aren't panaceas but they are another tool in the box.

Last weekend I installed a Visonic PowerMax Pro with a built-in PowerLink broadband + GSM module home security system from homesecuritystore.com. I chose this particular unit because I wanted a system that is capable of being accessed, controlled and monitored by me over an Internet connection. I also wanted something with GSM backup in case the line to my home gets cut. The PowerLink module also enables you to connect and control X10-compatible devices like lamp controllers and thermostats. I don't currently have any X10 gear but might add a thermostat at some point.

Along with the PowerMax Pro panel I have 3 door/window sensors, 3 motion detectors, and a smoke detector. All sensors are wireless and powered by long-life lithium cells. (I'm capable of running wire but I really don't like doing it.)

I also have two Visonic CAM3100 IP cameras tied into the system. One of them is connected to my home network switch via Ethernet while the other is over WiFi. The cameras have built-in IR illuminators which improve picture quality in marginal light. I don't think they'll work that well in complete darkness, however.

Installation was pretty straightforward after I read through the directions. The installer's guide is pretty good. I did most of the configuration, i.e., enrolling keyfobs and sensors, on my dining room table before mounting the panel on the wall. One thing I made sure to do before connecting the unit to my home LAN was to statically set the IP address of the PowerLink GSM/broadband module to an unused IP on my subnet.

One nice feature of the PowerLink module is that once it's connected to the Internet, it will go out to Visonic's dynamic DNS server and enroll itself, so that in the future to access it remotely in a browser you just open http://home.visonic.com/nicknameofyoursystem and you'll be redirected to your panel. The default system nickname is its serial number. If you know your IP address you can access it directly. (I have a static IP on my home cable modem so I don't need the dynamic DNS service, but most people would.)

The PowerLink web page that is served off the box can be viewed on a Mac or PC, or on a mobile device. There's a mobile-optimized version which you can use and which works OK using my Droid's browser. The web page can be viewed over HTTP or HTTPS.

The PowerLink module automatically takes video clips with the cameras when an alarm is triggered, and will email the videos as .avi file attachments to an address you specify. I have it setup to send me email messages for general alerts (e.g., arming and disarming) and alarms. My cell phone is a Motorola Droid which is setup to access my Gmail account, so I don't need a computer to receive them.

One thing did annoy me about setup: While the installer's and user's guides for the PowerMax Pro are provided in hard copy and pretty good, the manual for the PowerLink module is provided as a web page on a mini-CD. It's pretty minimal and not really all that helpful, IMO. I work in IT so figuring out the networking stuff was pretty easy for me. The mini-CD is useless for people with access only to a slot-load optical drive, e.g., most Mac users. If you're in that boat you'll need to borrow a friend's PC and copy the contents of the mini-CD to either a full size CD or a USB stick.

I got the GSM module working today. This morning I went to WalMart and bought the cheapest prepaid T-Mobile cell phone they had for $14.95, a Nokia 1661. I also bought a T-Mobile prepaid SIM $100 refill card, which is good for a year. WM discounts the refill card a couple of bucks so you save a little compared with getting it directly from T-Mobile.

After getting the phone home and activating it on a pay-as-you go account for $0.10/minute, I installed it on the Visonic panel. To do so you must first disconnect both AC power and the battery backup. All my settings were retained but I did have to reset the system time and date.

I was pleased to see that as soon as I started unscrewing the panel's cover it started complaining about being tampereding. It also called my cell phone with a voice message alerting me that someone was tampering with the panel.

Along with the security system I ordered a yard sign, a solar powered rechargeable light for the sign, and a half dozen window stickers. Hopefully, anyone casing my house would see them and decide to go after lower hanging fruit.

Once the weather warms up I want to add some defensive shrubbery under the ground floor windows. When we moved in there was a pyracantha bush outside our dining room window. Unfortunately it was so overgrown I had to remove it. That was not fun. Pyracantha thorns go right through leather work gloves, and they hurt. You'd have to be stoned out of your mind to try to wade through pyracantha. I'm considering a new pyracantha bush or two out back, and maybe roses or holly out front.

The GSM module is working fine. I'm able to arm and disarm via SMS text message, as well as get a system status report. SMS text messaging to/from my Google Voice number works as well.

This is the first time I've bought a cell phone with a SIM card. I've been a Verizon Wireless customer for my cell phone for going on 10 years and they don't use SIMs on their CDMA network. By moving the activated SIM card to the security panel, you're moving the phone number to the panel. So, text messages from the panel come from the phone number you get when you activate the phone.

Note that before installing the SIM card you should ensure that the PIN number assigned to it during activation is not enabled (you'd have to enable it on the phone). After installing it into the panel you can enter the PIN code in case the panel needs it for some reason.

The only major glitch I ran into today was that when I wanted to add the prepaid refill card to the SIM, T-Mobile's web site did not recognize the refill card's PIN as being valid. However, when I called T-Mobile's prepaid refill 800-number from the cell, and entered the refill card's PIN, it worked.

The final step will be to arrange central station monitoring. My first plan was to use alarmrelay.com but it turns out I have an uncle in the business who should be able to get me monitoring at his cost, with no contract.

Sinus Irrigation

2011-01-25T13:12:00.001-05:00

Some portions of this post may be gross but it was prompted by the sinus infection that I currently have. Having a sinus infection or allergic rhinitis while your dealing with the aftermath of some disaster is additional stress you won’t need.

Simply described, sinus irrigation is the process of flushing out your sinuses with an isotonic solution of water and salts. The goals of doing so are to remove extra mucus, allergens, bacteria, etc. Under normal circumstances your body does this naturally by producing mucus (about a liter per day), which captures airborne contaminants, which you then get rid of by either blowing your nose or swallowing it. Yummy.

However, when we get sick or have an allergic reaction (e.g., to ragweed or dust) the natural process isn’t enough to clear our sinuses. Over the counter medications can help, but decongestant sprays like Afrin carry the risk of easily getting addicted to them (BTDT).

Neti pots have been used for nasal irrigation for centuries in India, but the first time I read of sinus irrigation was on Jerry Pournelle’s The View From Chaos Manor. One summer about six years ago I decided to give it a try, after a particularly bad allergy attack that my prescription antihistamine couldn’t knock out.

The first kit I picked up was by Ayr. It worked well and sold me on the concept. It brought me some additional relief from my allergies. I’m now using a kit from Neilmed.

After trying it for my allergies, the next time I got a sinus infection I used the rinse to see if it would help. In my experience it does. Instead of having a head filled with a mixture of bacteria and snot, the rinse flushes out the infectious brew, which seems to promote healing. We also now use saline rinses on our daughters when they get head colds and sinus infections. It provides them with some relief.

To make my rinse solution, I like the Neilmed packets mixed with tapwater. If your tapwater isn’t sufficiently clean, use distilled water. You do not want to introduce any irritants or pathogens into your sinuses, you’re trying to flush that stuff out.

The results people get from sinus irrigation varies. I find it helps both my allergies and sinus infections. I still need to use a prescription antihistamine with a decongestant much of the year. Other people have reported better results, while a few find that it doesn’t help, much at all. It is something you should consider for the medical part of your preps.

Fire Starting With A Firesteel and Wood Shavings

2010-12-24T13:34:00.000-05:00

I just got a Kodak Playsport pocket sized camcorder and made my first video.

Hope you find it informative.

Waterproofing Cotton Canvas

2010-11-24T07:52:00.000-05:00

A lot of very useful military surplus gear is made from cotton canvas. Canvas is rugged and depending on the sample, may be somewhat naturally water repellent. When wet, the fibers swell and keep out more water.

However, if you expect it to be exposed to drenching rain you'll want to treat the canvas with something to make it more water resistant. Traditionally, this was done with a variety of substances, ranging from boiled linseed oil or beeswax, to alum salts or parafin.

One waterproofing treatment which has been available over the counter for several decades is Sno Seal. Its main ingredient is beeswax and it's been sold for the purpose of waterproofing leather. I've been using it for years on stuff like my boots and leather possibles bag. It's also good for use on holsters because it does not soften the leather. Last night I decided to give it a try on some canvas.

A few years ago I bought this canvas shoulder bag at a gun show. It was marked as being a Czech bread or gas mask bag.

It's a nice little bag suitable for carrying some stuff on a day hike. Here's what it looks like now that I've given it a coat of Sno Seal.

The Sno Seal slightly darkened the canvas and gives it a waxy feel. If you look closely you can see some beads of water. After waxing it I held it under a runng faucet for about 20 seconds. The water ran right off.

If you want to try this I suggest applying some Sno Seal onto a small, inconspicuous area of whatever you're trying to waterproof in case you don't like either the color or feel.

While modern materials have many advantages over traditional outdoor gear, the older stuff still can work well.

Lantern Fuel Warning

2010-11-23T14:23:00.000-05:00

Link.

WARNING:
NOVEMBER 2010

VERIFY THAT THE FLASH POINT OF ANY KEROSENE THAT YOU
PLAN TO USE IN ANY OIL LAMP OR LANTERN OR KEROSENE HEATER IS
BETWEEN 124 AND 150 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT.

We have started receiving reports of lanterns developing "run-away" flames where the flame flares up and runs out of control.

When this happens, the only way to extinguish the flame is to smother the lantern. Place an inverted bucket over the lantern, or shovel dirt on it to extinguish the flame.

Upon investigation, we have discovered that the W.M. Barr & Co. is now packaging Paint Thinner labeled as Klean-Strip® 1-K Kerosene. I have personally spoken with a representative of the W. M. Barr & Co. to verify this fact. Here is the link to the MSDS sheet showing that the product they are selling as kerosene is actually paint thinner, and has a flash point of 101 degrees Fahrenheit, and thus should not be used in oil lamps and lanterns.

KLEAN-STRIP 1-K KEROSENE is sold nationwide, and should not be used in any oil lamps or lanterns.

THE MINIMUM FLASH POINT FOR KEROSENE FOR USE IN OIL LAMPS AND LANTERNS IS 124 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT.

The W.M. Barr & Co. also produces Klean-Strip® Klean Heat® Kerosene Substitute which has a flashpoint of 145 degrees Fahrenheit, can be used indoors in oil lamps and lanterns.

Sunnyside Corporation 1-K Kerosene has a flash point of 124 degrees Fahrenheit, and can be used outdoors in oil lamps and lanterns.

Please be careful with what you put into your lanterns. Use proper fuel!

Upon buying a new gun …

2010-11-15T12:57:00.001-05:00

… the first thing you should after getting it home is to field strip, clean and lubricate it.

Why?

A few reasons:

1. You want to verify that it’s in good condition. As with any factory produced good, sometimes lemons slip out the door. And with used guns, you want to be sure that there aren’t any hidden signs of neglect or abuse.

2. New guns are frequently shipped not with lubricant but with a long-term corrosion inhibitor. For example, the blued Ruger P-90 which I used to own came from the factory slathered in an anti-corrosion grease, which was rather sticky. Others are shipped bone dry, e.g., the stainless Ruger SP-101 which I bought last week.

3. Used guns are frequently filthy with powder and metal fouling and congealed lubricant. For example, this year I bought myself a birthday present in the form of a WW2 vintage S&W Victory Model revolver. This is what it looked like inside before I cleaned it:

After a proper clean and lube the action works very smoothly. Prior to doing so, it could be charitably described as “gooey.”

4. By field stripping, cleaning and lubing a gun that’s new to you, you’ll gain familiarity with the mechanism, which will help you troubleshoot if you run into problems.

If you buy a new gun you should get a owner’s manual with it, detailing proper care. If not, locate the maker on the web and either call them for a manual (most will mail you one for free) or download a manual.

Manuals are also available from some other sites. For example, Steve’s Pages is a treasure trove of shooting related information, including a large collection of owner’s manuals in PDF format. I’ve also seen owner’s manuals on Scribd.

So, before you take a new gun to the range, take some time to learn how to properly maintain it. Doing so will help ensure that it works when you need it.

Saturday Night Range Report

2010-11-13T23:10:00.000-05:00

Over on Blog O'Stuff, I've posted a range report about three pistols:

My old reliable Browning Hi Power Practical.
My new Ruger SP-101.
My father's new Rock Island Armory M1911A1.

Check it out.

Wool Shirt Update

2010-11-07T19:13:00.003-05:00

Last month I wrote about the two wool field shirts I bought, one American and one Canadian. Now that the weather has cooled down I’ve had the chance to test them out some more.

The American shirt is noticeably softer and less scratchy. On the other hand the Canadian shirt is a bit heavier and more wind resistant. I wore the American one as a shirt-jac this morning on my Harbor Freight run and found that it offered little protection against the wind.

After getting back from HF I switched to the Canadian shirt for the time I was out mounting the security light, and I also wore it this afternoon when we all went up to the local playground. The temp today peaked at about 50 degrees F. but it felt a lot colder due to a constant strong wind. I was much more comfortable with the Canadian shirt as my outer layer.

Keeping in mind their respective limitations I am very happy with both shirts. I just wish it was easier to find either of them in size XL. Even with shipping from Canada, the Canadian shirt was quite a bit cheaper than newly made commercial equivalents.

Harbor Freight Run

2010-11-07T18:49:00.001-05:00

I got a flyer from Harbor Freight (the home of cheap Chinese tools) earlier this week, so this morning after clipping some coupons, I took my younger daughter on a trip to the local store.

Aside from deals on leather work gloves, a cheap set of mechanic’s gloves,a set of hole saws, and a kite for the kids, I picked up a couple things which may be of interest to preppers.

First was a 9 LED flashlight powered by 3 AAA batteries. With a coupon from the flyer it was free. Based on past experience with similar Chicom made lights, these cheap LED flashlights work fine for light use. It’s no replacement for a good flashlight like a SureFires or a Streamlight, but for leaving in the door pocket of my truck as a secondary flashlight , it’s perfect.

More interesting was the 36 LED Solar Security Light (item #98085) with a motion sensor which I got for under $20. I mounted it to the side of my shed facing my driveway. It’s powered by a 6V NiCad battery pack which is supposed to charge in 6 to 8 hours of sunlight.

Before mounting it I wrapped some electrical tape around the seam where the front and back meet, in order to improve the weather resistance. I’m going to look into making a better seal for where the plug from the solar panel attaches to the light itself.

I ran into one problem when mounting it. The mounting holes on the back are marked as being 2-11/16th” apart. In reality they are about 2–1/2” apart, which meant I had an extra hole in my shed to fill with some silicone sealant. That was annoying.

Tonight I reread the instructions which came with it and it said to leave it off for 2 or 3 days before first use, in order to fully charge the unit. When I went out to turn it off it detected me and lit up the area nicely. The amount of light it provides is pretty good for my application – lighting up the top of my driveway when we come home at night, and lighting up any nighttime interlopers. If it works out well I may get a couple more. Even if the battery pack lasts only a year or two, it’s made up of several AA NiCads, which I can replace easily.

Being NiCads, it’ll be interesting to see how well it works in colder temperatures. I suspect to see some degradation when it gets below freezing.

Just One Rifle

2010-10-13T21:05:00.000-04:00

I recently got this question from a reader:

I was wondering with all you testing of assault rifles, which one would you chose if given the choice, " I can have only one" ?????

First, to be pedantic, an "assault rifle" is a select fire rifle which fires an intermediate power cartridge. However, in modern American vernacular the term has come to mean a military style semiautomatic rifle. The meat of my answer follows:

It's not an easy question to answer. Pretty much off the bat I'd narrow my choices down to an AK, an AR-15, and M-1 Carbine, or a VZ-58. Rifles like the FAL, CETME, or G3 are great pieces but I'd want something lighter.

I think at this time I'm leaning towards a Kalashnikov with the following features:

1. Chambered for 7.62x39. With softpoints it offers better terminal ballistics on either criminals or medium game than 5.45x39 or 5.56x45. Ammo is plentiful and cheaper than 5.56, though military surplus 5.45 is the cheapest available centerfire rifle ammo.

2. Folding stock, for storage and transport. I have AKs with fixed stocks, an Ace folder, an East German folder, a Tapco T6 M4-style stock, and an underfolder. The Ace is the most comfortable of the folders but the E. German folder is probably the most robust. A regular fixed stock is the best for comfort and durability. (An exception for me are the Yugoslav fixed stocks. The comb is too high for me to shoot them comfortably.)

3. A flash suppressor. This is mostly to protect the shooter's night vision, not so much conceal him from anyone else. The Norinco Type 84 flash hider seems to work well. Muzzle brakes reduce recoil but greatly increase blast and flash.

4. A red dot sight. My eyes ain't getting any younger and one area a factory stock AK lacks is in the sights. They are OK at short range but suck for work beyond 100 yards. Worse, they are hard to see in low light. Also, if for some reason I don't have my glasses then I can hardly see the iron sights even under perfect conditions. The Combloc side mounts work well but most of them place the optic too high for a good cheek weld. Tonight I installed an Ultimak on my SAR-1 and mounted a Bushnell TRS-1 RDS. This setup is light and mounts the optic so that it cowitnesses with the irons. I.e., I can use the iron sight through the RDS if the latter dies.

5. A milled receiver is nice but not a must-have. In my experience, a milled receiver rifle just feels smoother and more solid than most rifles with a stamped receiver. On the other hand, my Yugo underfolder with a 1.6mm stamped receiver feels as solid as my milled Bulgarian rifles. For some reason my MAK-90 which also has a 1.6mm receiver doesn't feel quite as solid.

6. Plastic handguard with a steel heat shield, like those from K-Var. All you have to do is fire off a couple magazines in quick succession to understand why. Wood handguards, or plastic without a heat shield can get so hot you can't even hold them.

The main reasons for choosing an AK over an AR-15 is ease of maintenance and long term durability. AR-15s are reliable rifles but have a lot more parts, some of which are small, and overall the rifle requires more maintenance. Also, an AR-15 can be rendered inoperable if the buffer tube gets dented or bent. An AK could be made inoperable with damage to the gas tube but it's easier to replace than the AR's buffer tube. That said, the AR-15 has better ergonomics and is generally more accurate, often quite a bit more accurate.

For decades the AK had one big advantage over the AR-15/M-16 in the magazine department. Aluminum AR-15 magazines are about as robust as a soda can. As far as I'm concerned with the advent of the Magpul P-Mag it's now a wash.

My Century Arms VZ-2008 (VZ-58 clone) has turned out to be a reliable piece, after a break in period. My reason for not choosing it is that at least in the US, it's still a bit of an oddball, with comparatively limited access to spare parts or magazines.

Other rifles like the Robinson Arms XCR or the MSAR STG-556 are quality arms but like the VZ-58, spares could be an issue unless you stocked up in advance.

I'm a big fan of the M-1 Carbine. In my experience they've been reliable and they are certainly fun to shoot. However, they are 100 yard guns and .30 Carbine ammo is no longer as plentiful or cheap as it once was. And while .30 Carbine JSPs by all accounts work extremely well on bad guys, it's a marginal round for any game animal larger than a coyote. So, if it came down to having only one semiauto rifle, I'd have to pass on an M-1 Carbine.

Of course, I reserve the right to change my opinion at any time. :-)

US and Canadian Military Surplus Wool Shirts

2010-10-04T21:07:00.000-04:00

With colder weather coming soon it's time to start thinking about Fall and Winter clothing. One old standby for cold weather wear is the USGI M-1951 wool field shirt.

The M-1951 shirts are easily found and cheap, even in near new condition. Unfortunately, most are size S, M, or L. The XLs are getting difficult to find. Last weekend I checked one of the surplus dealers at the Valley Forge gun show and came home with a size Large M-1951 for $15.

The Canadian military issued a nearly identical copy of the M-1951. I found a Canadian seller on eBay with them in stock and ordered one back on 9/10. It arrived on 9/21. After shipping the cost was about $33.

Both shirts appear to be unissued. The fabric of the Canadian shirt is a little darker than the US shirt, and the Canadian one is made of coarser wool. The US shirt is noticeably softer to the touch. Both shirts are made from 85% / 15% wool / nylon. I'd say construction quality is about equal between the two but the US shirt had more loose threads to snip.

Both shirts feature seams in the back taking in their girth. If the shirt feels tight around your midsection you can carefully tear out these seams to make it a little larger.

The US shirt is a size L, the Canadian is XL. I am 5'6" and weigh about 180 lbs. (beer gut/built in SHTF food reserve). I wear 34" sleeves and 17.5" neck. The US shirt fits me OK but it would be nice if it was an inch or two longer. The Canadian shirt fits a bit more loosely in the shoulder area, which I find more comfortable. I tried layering them and the Canadian shirt fits comfortably over the US shirt.

I tried each one individually as a layer underneath my Mountain Hardwear Alchemy softshell jacket. For this use the US shirt works better due to the slim cut of the softshell's sleeves.

I wore the Canadian shirt as an outer layer when I went to the range yesterday. Conditions were partly sunny with temps were in the 50s and it worked well as a light jacket. Once the temperature got past 60 I had to take it off, since I started to get too warm.

Tonight I wore it on a one mile walk around my subdivision in a light rain with a little bit of wind. I was especially interested in how weatherproof it is, even though it's not really designed as a wet weather jacket. I was out for about a half hour and I stayed dry, however. The contrast between my arms and torso and my legs, which were covered by my jeans, was dramatic. As expected, the denim of my jeans quickly wet through. The shirt did not allow any water to pass through until I stuck my arm under a stream coming off the corner of my roof. The wool shirts won't be replacing my softshell for wet weather (especially if there's wind), but it's nice to know that if I'm wearing it and I get caught in some light rain, my core will remain dry.

One big advantage wool clothing has over modern technical garments is that it's safer if you're around open flame, including campfires. If a burning log pops and a spark lands on your wool shirt, no big deal, it'll go right out. If that same spark lands on fleece, a soft or hardshell, it'll melt a hole in it.

The US and Canadian milsurp wool shirts are old technology but they still work very well. The USGI shirts can frequently be found for under $20. Even at $33 shipped, the Canadian shirt is a bargain compared with a similar commercial product.

East Coast Super Soaker

2010-10-01T10:07:00.000-04:00

Here on the East Coast we've had a few days of rain, saturating the ground. Last night we got another heavy storm which dumped about ten inches of rain in my area. Some places got up to 21 inches. That, plus the saturated ground resulted in widespread flooding. The local news is currently showing some deep flooding in Delaware County, including a half-submerged school bus.

When I pulled into the parking lot at my train station this morning there were only a handful of cars. I parked, turned the radio to the local AM news station, and pulled up SEPTA's web page on my Droid. Service had been suspended on my train as well as the two other lines I can use as a backup to get into center city Philadelphia. Parking a full size SUV in downtown Philly would cost me at least $25 for the day, plus getting home would be a real PITA. At that point I decided to just work from home today.

Some things to keep in mind when dealing with storms involving heavy rain and wind:

Pay attention to the weather reports on the radio, TV and/or web. Keep an ear open for flash flood warnings.
Related to that, a smartphone can be very handy for accessing situation reports on the web, aside from communicating via voice, SMS, and email.
Keep up with household maintenance such as your gutters, drainage ditches and make sure that any trees near your house are trimmed back.
Be aware of road and mass transit conditions, so you don't get stranded somewhere.
If possible, have alternate routes, but be aware that you may be stuck in one location for awhile.
Since you may get stuck somewhere for awhile, keep enough cash and a credit card with you. It's also a good idea to keep some emergency supplies in your vehicle. Don't forget a poncho.
Do not try to drive through deep water. You won't know how deep it is and you can't see what's in it, which could damage your car. Just as bad you could get stuck. In some situations you may get swept away.
Employers should give strong consideration to allowing employees to work remotely via VPN or other remote access technologies like LogMeIn.

Fixing Up a USGI Aluminum Canteen

2010-09-22T20:33:00.000-04:00

Last weekend I went to the gun show in Valley Forge and found a 1945 vintage USGI aluminum canteen and carrier for $25. (I remember when they were a few bucks.) I like the old metal canteens because unlike plastic vessels you can heat water in them. Plus, compared with plastic canteens, they're just cool.

The canteen and cap were in good shape but the cork gasket was missing. So, I went to Lowe's in search of a replacement. I'd read of using a silicone end cap for for pipes as a source for gasket material, but couldn't find any in stock. Naturally, the store staff was nowhere to be found.

I did find over in the adhesive section some DAP food/aquarium grade sealant/adhesive. (The link is to Grainger.) I put a layer a couple millimeters thick inside the top of the cap, being careful to keep it off the threads. Then I let the goop cure for a couple of days.

Tonight I filled the canteen with water, screwed on the cap, and shook it vigorously. It didn't leak, so I'm going to chalk up this experiment as a success.

One mod I may make is to attach the cap with a snap link to the body of the canteen. That will allow me to remove the plastic cap and place the canteen over a fire.

A cheaper alternative to the USGI aluminum canteens are the surplus French aluminum canteens. They appear to have a wider mouth than the US canteens, which could be handy if you wanted to put ice cubes in it, for example.

Bannock: A Simple Camp Bread

2010-09-11T12:48:00.000-04:00

A traditional camp food, and one that's easy to make without a full fledged kitchen, is bannock. I just tried my hand at making bannock for the first time and it came out good. I used the recipe found here. In case that link disappears, here is the recipe:

2 cups flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
2 tablespoons sugar
2 pinches of salt
Sometimes people will add other ingredients like cinnamon or berries.

Mix the ingredients well then mix in enough water to make a dough. I used regular all purpose flout but you could use whole wheat flour for a more nutritious meal.

Since I was making it for only myself I halved the measurements.

To cook the bannock I used a new 8" cast iron skillet that I bought this morning at the local supermarket. I first cooked a few slices of bacon in the skillet to start seasoning it, then drained most of the grease and then put in the dough. It took up the whole pan but I was able to flip it over after about 5 minutes using a spatula. Flip it when the bottom is golden brown. Another five minutes or so and it was done. Check that it's done by poking the center to make sure the dough is cooked.

I topped the bannock with some grape jelly and had it for lunch along with the bacon. Tasted great and it's filling.

Depending on how sticky you make the dough (which depends on how much water you add), you can cook bannock by making a "rope" and wrapping it around a stick and then cooking it over a campfire. I've also read of it being cooked on flat rocks heated in a fire.

For camping or an emergency evacuation, one could make up premixed Ziploc bags of bannock dough, sans water, then cook them up upon reaching a rest stop or campsite. According to the link above, cooked bannock also freezes well.

Improved Hobo Stove

2010-09-03T18:03:00.002-04:00

A few years ago I wrote about a hobo stove which I made from a coffee can. I got home early today from work and decided to see if I could improve it. I succeeded and posted my results, along with some pictures, here.

Garmin nuvi GPS Recall

2010-08-28T20:22:00.001-04:00

From Garmin:

Garmin is voluntarily recalling certain nüvi devices that contain a specific battery that was manufactured by the battery supplier within a limited date code range. Garmin has identified potential overheating issues when certain batteries manufactured by the third-party battery supplier within a limited date code range are used in certain Garmin nüvi models with a specific printed circuit board (PCB) design. It appears that the interaction of these factors can, in rare circumstances, increase the possibility of overheating, which may lead to a fire hazard. Although there have been no injuries or significant property damage caused by this issue, Garmin is taking this action out of an abundance of caution.
The recalled devices include a small subset of the following nüvi model numbers:

nüvi 200W, 250W, & 260W
nüvi 7xx (where xx is a two-digit number)
You can determine your nüvi model number by looking at the label on the back or bottom of your nüvi.

Go to Garmin's site and enter in your device's serial number. It'll tell you if your unit needs to be sent in for service.

Thank you

2010-08-28T17:05:00.001-04:00

Thank you to those readers who have purchased stuff after clicking on a link to Amazon.com from this site. Every so often I get a gift certificate from them which helps on my own Amazon orders.

By no means am I making any significant amount of money from my Amazon affiliate links, but their gift certificates are a nice surprise when I do get them.

Standalone vs. Cell Phone Based GPS

2010-08-23T08:19:00.000-04:00

A family trip this weekend reiterated for me why I do not think that cell phone based GPSes are viable 100% replacements for dedicated GPSes in your car. At least, not yet.

We went up to Sullivan County, NY visit with some of my family. The route we take to get there passes through NE PA, including the Delaware Water Gap. My cousin, who's house we went to, lives in a rural area in which cell phone signal is spotty and often depends on how you orient your phone.

For navigation we had directions but also brought my Garmin Nuvi 200W, and both my wife and I have Android-based smartphones (a Droid and a Droid 2) with GPS integrated with Google Maps. The Droids use the Verizon 3G data link to download maps on the fly. In contrast, the Garmin stores maps locally.

We had no or poor cell phone signal, or no 3G for a good part of the drive. Notably, the times when we had no signal were the times when the GPS was most needed. I.e., rural back roads with poor signage and no street lighting. If we had needed to depend on a phone-based GPS we'd have been out of luck.

There are a few applications designed to allow you to download and store maps offline in case you lose your cell phone signal, e.g., Maps (-). However, this may not help you if you need to significantly deviate from your route, or if you need the GPS in an emergency and the cell network is down.

If your cell phone GPS usage is limited to areas with good cell coverage and don't consider your GPS unit as part of your emergency preps, then you don't need a standalone unit. As for me, I'll be updating the maps in my Garmin soon.

New SAS Smock

2010-08-14T11:33:00.000-04:00

In the past I've posted about a couple of cotton jackets which I own, my replica Second Pattern Denison Smock and my EOTac Field Jacket. Both are nice pieces of kit but I've had a hankering for one of the more modern British combat smocks. However, I wanted one in olive green, not DPM camo, since OG doesn't stand out as much when wearing it in an urban or suburban environment.

Unfortunately, non-DPM British combat smocks are not easily found on this side of the pond. Sportsman's Guide currently lists desert DPM camo surplus smocks, along with Mil-Tec branc British-style smocks in CCE camo (which is French, AIUI). Also, I've seen well-used woodland DPM smocks at I. Goldberg's in Philly, but not in my size.

That left me with one option: ordering a smock from the UK. I've been eyeballing the smocks from S.A.S.S. for awhile and by all accounts, they are extremely nice. However, they are really spendy. Like over $200 after shipping is taken into account. I really didn't want to spend that amount of money right now.

After some more searching I found the eBay store of "CFI-Military." He listed a "British Military Army SAS Green Windproof Combat Smock" L42.99 + L25 shipping. When I ordered one on August 1st, the exchange rate worked out to a total cost of $110 and change.

I was rather pleasantly surprised when the smock arrived a mere five days after I ordered it. Here is a picture of the smock:

And the garment tag:

The smock is made from olive green 65/35 poly/cotton gabardine fabric. It has four bellows pockets on the front, two on the chest and two at the bottom of the smock. There's a map pocket on the top left inside, and two poacher's pockets at the bottom of the smock on the inside. Each of the poacher's pockets are big enough to hold a field stripped MRE. There's a pocket on the right sleeve big enough to hold a space blanket or bandage. On the left sleeve there's a pocket for a pen and a small notepad.

Map and poacher's pockets:

The hood and the shoulders are lined with a second layer of fabric. The hood had a drawstring in the front and a second one in the back. I cut the front drawstring to prevent getting choked and put cord locks from REI on each half. There are drawstrings at the bottom and midriff, which I also added cord locks to. The two-way, full-length zipper is covered by a stormflap which can be closed with Velcro. There are rank tab slides (basically vertical epaulets) on both the front and back. I may remove one or both of these. The cuffs are adjustable with Velcro tabs.

Cuff detail:

Rather than being sewn directly to the fabric, the buttons are sewn to cotton tapes which in turn are sewn to the fabric. This makes them easier to work with gloves on.

Detail of pocket flap and button:

Back of the smock showing hood adjustment tape and rank slide:

Upon first inspection, the smock appeared to be generally well made but with a number of excess threads which needed trimming. However, a closer inspection revealed one defect which would have caused me to return it for an exchange had I purchased it from a domestic supplier. Specifically, the stitching around the buttonhole of the lower left pocket was very bad and had unraveled. Since I didn't want to mail it back to England I just got out my sewing kit and redid it myself, which took about a half hour.

I ordered an XL, although it's marked with the metric size 180/108 (height/chest in cm). Wearing it over a t-shirt there's plenty of room without feeling like I'm wearing a tent, but it also fits comfortably over my Polartec 300 SPEAR jacket.

The sleeves are a little long on me but not uncomfortably so. The body is long enough so that it covers me down to mid-thigh. CCW with this smock will be easy.

A couple nights ago I wore the smock on a walk around the block. It was drizzling and there was a 10 MPH wind, with temps in the 70s F. Not much of a test but I felt no wind through the tightly woven gabardine. I'll be able to test it out better once the temp drops about 20 degrees.

Yesterday I washed it in warm water then dried it on the delicate cycle. I didn't notice any shrinkage. This morning I sprayed it down with a can of Scotchguard to make it more water repellent and stain resistant.

One may wonder why I'd want a cotton outer garment when I already have modern technical outerwear. As I've written about previously, cotton or blends have a a few advantages over modern hard and softshells. First, they are more breathable. Second, they aren't as vulnerable to sparks flying off a campfire. Additionally, they are quieter in the woods and may be less reflective of IR. That said, because cotton is not waterproof like a modern hardshell, when there's the possibility of encountering wet weather it would be prudent to carry either a poncho or a light weight modern waterproof jacket, like my Marmot Precip. The latter can be worn between the smock and your insulating layer. Doing so protects the waterproof jacket from wear and tear, is quieter, and allows you to access gear in the smock's pockets.

I'm in the process of equipping the smock so that in effect, it's a wearable survival kit. So far I've added a first aid kit carried in one of the poacher's pockets, a Silva pocket compass/thermometer in the top left pocket, and a Fisher Space Pen in the left sleeve pocket. I'll be adding things like a bandanna, a cigar tin based kit with fire starting stuff, a length of paracord, and a few other things.

These smocks are practical wear for when you're out in the woods if you keep the limitations of cotton or poly/cotton garments in mind. The Brits still issue similar smocks as part of their combat kit. Overall, I think the SAS smock from CFI Military is a pretty good deal for us Yanks looking for this type of garment.

How to Recognize the Signs of Someone Drowning

2010-07-22T16:43:00.000-04:00

Hint: It's not like what you see on TV or in the movies.

If you read nothing else today, read this.

Book Review: The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse

2010-07-17T21:07:00.001-04:00

I've been meaning to do a review of The Modern Survival Manual: Surviving the Economic Collapse, by Fernando "FerFAL" Aguirre for quite awhile now. Well, here it is.

Most of the survival guides which I've seen, such as Tappan On Survival or the works of John Wesley, Rawles (he spells his name with the comma) recommend heading for the hills in the event of a socio-economic collapse, or better yet moving out to an isolated rural location before the SHTF. This recommendation is based on the theory that if the economy collapses, the have-nots will soon turn their attention to the haves and loot them for food, luxuries, and the womenfolk. Thus, it's best to maximize the distance between yourself and the urban looters who will come for your stuff once their foodstuffs and supplies are exhuasted.

FerFAL takes a different approach, one worth listening to, because unlike Tappan or Rawles, he has actually lived through an economic collapse. In his case, it was the 2001 collapse in Argentina, and its aftermath. Rather than telling you to move to a rural retreat, FerFAL recommends you stay in "civilization" and enhance your skills to cope with how society evolves after a collapse.

One very important point the author makes regarding isolated rural retreats is that if you are attacked, help is a long time coming, and likely won't arrive until well after the criminals are long gone. Examples of this are white farmers in rural Argentina, South Africa and Zimbabwe, who have suffered horrific home invasions in recent years. If you're located in an urban area or a suburb, there is a much better chance of help arriving in time. As with many things, choosing where to live is a balancing act and you need to weigh this factor, along with many other.

Although Argentina's economy collapsed in 2001, by and large the country did not devolve into some Mad Max-esque post-apocalyptic wasteland. Although crime skyrocketed, people figured out ways to cope. For example, private security became a booming field.

While it may not be The Wasteland, property crimes and robberies have become much more common in Argentina. FerFAL spends a lot of time discussing how to deal with this, from situtational awareness to carrying a pistol for self defense. American survivalists often fixate on the best rifle for a SHTF scenario. In reality, the most important gun to have in the one you can take with you. IOW, a pistol. FerFAL favors a Glock and also likes the Argentine FM Hi Power (a Browning Hi Power produced under license from FN). In general, he likes high capacity modern pistols since there are numerous cases where a good guy is confronted with several assailants. Here in the US most defensive gun uses don't even require shots fired since criminals are generally loather to confront someone resisting with deadly force. In the aftermath of an economic collapse, criminals may be more desperate, and thus more willing to take risks. This is something to take into account if things ever get to that point in the US.

That said, after you get a suitable pistol and holster, you should still have a suitable home defense rifle or shotgun.

Aside from the dramatic increase in crime, one thing FerFAL emphasizes is that in the aftermath of an economic collapse, one of the keys to survival is adaptability. In other words, you may need to change how you make your living, and may need to do a variety of things rather than holding down just one job.

FerFAL also discusses the use of precious metals (PMs) as barter material/alternate currency after a monetary collapse. Reading his take on this (both in the book and on his blog) caused me to reevalute my own position on PMs, which I'd previously dismissed.

FerFAL's book is not without its faults. The book is self-published. English is not his first language and it would benefit from the attention of an editor. There's also some coarse language which some people may find offputting. That said, this book is unique (or nearly so) in that it is based on the real life experience of living through an economic collapse. As such, it deserves a spot on the shelf of anyone concerned about the direction in which the US is heading.

Heimo's Arctic Refuge

2010-07-17T12:43:00.000-04:00

Heimo's Artic Refuge is a 53 minute video about the Korth family, some of the last people living a real frontier lifestyle in the wilds of the Alaskan Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

If you liked Alone in the Wilderness with Dick Proenneke, you'll like this.

Amazon Sales on Swiss Army Knives

2010-05-24T09:38:00.002-04:00

FYI, Amazon is heavily discounting Swiss Army Knives. No emergency/survival kit is complete without one. (Yes, that's an Amazon Associates link.)

The Safepacker Holster

2010-05-11T21:29:00.000-04:00

In a previous post I recommended bringing a pistol along with you when taking a walk in the woods for defense against both criminals and animals, especially wild or unrestrained aggressive dogs. When carrying a pistol it is important to have a good holster which will both protect the gun and allow for easy access.

The gun I've carried the most frequently is a Smith & Wesson Model 640, which is a small 5 shot revolver. It's small enough to fit into a pocket. I've frequently carried it in a pocket holster in a cargo pocket in my EOTac Field Jacket. However, I've wanted to pack something with a bit more punch and that's easier to shoot under stress. I also wanted something with a higher capacity, after encountering a couple of unleashed dogs simultaneously.

Since I don't need to be concerned with large wild animals in Pennsylvania (I am not worried about black bear), this meant one of my 9mm autoloaders -- a Springfield XD9, Browning High Power, or SIG P225. (I might be willing to go with a 6 shot revolver if it's a medium frame piece in .38 Special or .357 Magnum.)

Concealed carry was also desirable. Although open carry is legal Pennsylvania (including in Philadelphia so long as you have a concealed carry permit) it tends to draw unwanted attention from law enforcement and urbanites unaccustomed to anyone other than a cop carrying a pistol.

Based on these requirements and reading several reviews posted on some online forums, I decided to give the Safepacker from The Wilderness a try. I ordered on in the "Commander" size which would fit any of the pistols mentioned above.

The Safepacker is made from nylon fabric over a closed cell neoprene foam core. The main body of the holster has two compartments, one for the gun and the other for a reload. The main compartment is covered by a flap which is secured by a fastex buckle. The front edge of the main compartment is closed with Velcro, allowing an easy draw. The flap also has hidden pocket secured with Velcro. On the back there's a wide belt loop that wraps around and secures with Velcro on both the back and the front. The top has a hand carry loop and two D-rings for adding a shoulder strap (not included). The Wilderness ships Safepackers with a small carbiner snapped to one of the D-rings, to hold your keys, etc.

My Safepacker is black and could be easily mistaken for a case for binoculars or other gear, as it doesn't really look like a holster. Fabric and stitching are of high quality and don't look like they would show appreciable wear for quite some time.

After receiving the Safepacker I tried it out with a few of my pistols. As expected, the XD9 and Browning High Power fit perfectly. Out of curiousity I also put my Springfield M1911A1 in it. The Springer is a full size 1911 with a 5" barrel and despite my Safepacker being labeled as the "Commander" size, my full size 1911 fit fine.

I also tried it with my 1952 Polish Tokarev which fits well, as does my 2" S&W Model 15 revolver. It would probably take up to a 3" K-Frame as long as it had a round butt. A 2" J-Frame fits with plenty of room to spare. I'd like to find a 2.5" Ruger Speed Six to try but they are pretty uncommon. Anything larger will require the "Government Model" size Safepacker, or larger.

As with any holster, how comfortable it is when carrying depends in large measure upon your belt. You can have the best holster ever made, but if you hang it off some wimpy belt it will flop around, droop, and generally be uncomfotable. For the past several years my everyday belt even when I'm not packing has been a Mitch Rosen gunbelt purchased from Dillon Precision. It's stiff and supports the weight of a holstered handgun well. The Wilderness sells their "Instructor" belts which are also suitable for use as a gunbelt, but would look out of place in my normal business casual dress.

After using the Safepack for the first time I am quite pleased with it. The wide belt loop stabilizes the entire unit on my belt and it's comfortable to wear. The loop will allow you to attach the holster to a backpack's waistbelt, something most holsters cannot accomodate. Accessing the pistol is similar to other full flap holsters, though I find the Fastex buckle especially easy to undo while still being secure. It's definitely easier than releasing the flap on a GI M12 holster, for example. Further, the design of the Safepacker lends itself to use as a pistol case for transport to and from the range or for storage.

If you're in need of a well made flap holster which offers excellent protection for your gun, while at the same time not looking like a holster, you should give the Safepacker from The Wilderness a very close look.

Do You Have a Backup Water Supply?

2010-05-03T10:46:00.000-04:00

Most Americans take a reliable supply of safe drinking water for granted. For most of us, it's a given. However, this weekend the greater Boston metropolitan area was placed under an advisory to boil water due to a rupture in a gigantic underground water pipe. Over two million folks were affected.

In other locales safe water supplies have been interrupted, for example, many areas of the Gulf Coast lost most major utilitites, including water, after Hurricane Katrina. Aside from natural disasters, there's also the specter of terrorists contaminating the water supply or attacking treatment plants.

There are a few things you can do to prepare yourself for a water supply interruption:

First, store some water in your home. Empty 2L and 3L soda bottles work well for this. Clean them out thoroughly with hot soap and water, add a drop or two of plain, unscented sodium hypochlorite bleach, and store in a cool dark place. Bottled water from the store is of course fine, but more expensive than doing it yourself. FEMA recommends storing a minimum of one gallon of water per person per day, for at least three days' worth. This is really cutting it close, especially for hot environments when you may be expected to be exerting yourself, e.g., cleaning up hurricane damage.
If you have advanced notice of a possible water supply interruption, fill your bathtubs and any buckets you have. Even if this water isn't drinkable you can use it for flushing toilets.
Second is having a water filter. The small hand pump units sold for use by hikers work but require a lot of manual effort. Better are gravity based units. I recently bought a Katadyn TRK Drip Gravidyn Water Filter from Amazon.com. The Katadyn unit basically consists of two stacking plastic buckets and three filter elements. You pour contaminated water into the upper bucket then wait for it to drain through the filters into the bottom bucket. You can then get your filtered water via a spigot in the bottom bucket. The Big Berkey Water Filter System with 2 Black Berkey Filter Elements
is a similar system but is made from stainless steel instead of plastic.
It's also a good idea to keep a gallon or so of chlorine bleach around for disinfecting water. The EPA recommends using 8 drops per gallon, while the American Red Cross recommends twice that.
When disinfecting water, whether by using bleach or a filter like the Katadyn or Berkey, it's a good idea to strain it through something like a coffee filter or cloth first, if it's at all cloudy. Doing so will extend the life of your filter and help remove unpleasant crunchy bits.
In my opinion, boiling water is the last resort for making it safe to drink. Boiling takes time and uses fuel, both of which may be in short supply after a disaster.

Safe drinking water is critical for sustaining life. Think ahead and get prepared so that if your supply is interrupted you have something to fall back upon.

Some Random Observations After a Walk in the Woods

2010-04-26T10:45:00.000-04:00

Over the past few weekends I've been able to get out in the woods a few times. Some random observations:

1. BDU pants are better than jeans for woods loafing. The looser fit makes navigating steep trails easier. The BDU's tighter weave may also be somewhat less water absorbent than denim.

2. A hat with an all-around brim is better than a ball cap. On my walk yesterday I wore an OD boonie hat which I picked up last week at I. Goldberg's in Philly. The 360* brim provides better protection against sun and rain, especially for your ears and neck. Also, compared with a hood, a hat allows you to better hear your surroundings.

3. In dense woods you'll frequently hear people well before you see them, if you're not making too much noise yourself.

4. If your pack has a sternum strap use it. Without the sternum strap, the shoulder straps of my Maxpedition Baby Condor sometimes slip off my shoulders. The sternum strap keeps them in place and also seems to put a little weight onto my chest, further distributing it.

5. Waterproof footwear is good. If it's rained recently you're going to run into muddy spots on the trail. I'm quite pleased with my Merrell Moab Gore-Tex cross trainers.

6. A walking stick makes traversing steep terrain a lot easier. I've been using my Irish Blackthorn walking stick from Fashionable Canes. Aside from steadying yourself, a walking stick can be used as a pole for a fly, and in extremis makes a decent weapon.

7. Related to no.6, carry a pistol if you can, especially if you will be in an area in which you'll be encountering people. Unfortunately, there are bad people in the woods, but just as frequently you'll encounter dogs. Now, I like dogs but they are potentially aggressive, dangerous animals. And a lot of people seem to think it's perfectly OK to let their dogs roam free, and if you run into one that's less than friendly, you're going to want something to defend yourself with. Against a pack of dogs a walking stick isn't going to cut it.

8. Whenever you venture into the forest there's the possibility that you'll need to stay overnight. You could get lost, bad weather could blow in unexpectedly, or you could get injured. Bring some supplies with you to make it more comfortable. At a minimum, bring the following:

* Water in a canteen or bottle, a metal cup in which to heat water.
* At least two ways of starting a fire (e.g., matches and a lighter).
* Tinder. In an emergency you don't want to be searching high and low for dry tinder. Take a ziploc bag full of dryer lint and/or commercial tinder like Esbit hexamine tabs. A couple sticks of fatwood will help you get a fire going quickly.
* A flashlight and/or headlamp. The latter is very handy because you don't need a hand to use it.
* A poncho or lightweight tarp. I like a poncho because it's more of a multipurpose item.
* At least 20 feet of strong string. I like paracord (AKA 550 cord).
* A sharp knife. It doesn't need to be big.
* Some high energy snacks.
* A pocket sized space blanket. These will help break the wind and retain body heat. The silver or gold color also makes you more visible to rescue parties.
* Some method of signalling for help. If you're in an area with cell service, nothing beats a cell phone.
* Don't forget to let someone know where you're going and when you expect to return.

A Couple New Traditional Knives

2010-04-09T10:26:00.000-04:00

I just picked up a couple new traditional knives from SMKW.

(Click thumbnails for full sized pictures.)

First, a Condor Nessmuk knife:

For a knife that costs less than $30, it's not bad. Fit and finish are OK, not great. It's comfortable in the hand and slices pretty well, now that I sharpened it and polished the bevel. (The edge needed work out of the box.) I may smooth the matte finish of the rest of the blade then give it a nice patina with vinegar or mustard. The sheath is good, heavy leather and was stitched well.

Next, we have a Case Trapper with chrome vanadium blades and red jigged bone handles. Workmanship is excellent and both blades came shaving sharp.

Finally, I put them together with a 'hawk I've had for awhile, for a "Nessmuk Trio."

Not much you couldn't do in the woods with these three tools.

Important Info About Credit Cards

2010-04-05T11:30:00.001-04:00

One of the most important things about emergency preparedness is getting you financial house in order. For the past several decades, credit cards have been a critical part of most Americans' finances. How they will be issued and the fees associated with them will be changing.

This article from Yahoo Finance gives you a summary of how things will be changing. If you don't use credit cards, great. If you're like most Americans and you do use them, read the article to get an overview of what to expect.

PSL-54C Range Report

2010-03-08T13:59:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I picked up a PSL-54C rifle. Anyone in need of a semiautomatic centerfire rifle firing a full power round, which is easily scoped, should give the PSL a look. If the PSL meets your needs the combination of relatively low cost and cheap ammo makes it a worthwhile option.

I got the PSL to the range for the first time yesterday, and posted a report over at Blog O'Stuff.

Smartphones and Facebook in the Aftermath of the Haitian Earthquake

2010-02-16T13:39:00.000-05:00

I ran across this story from Haiti today, about how a smartphone and Facebook were used in the aftermath of the recent earthquake.

You cannot count on cell phone or Inter service being available in the aftermath of a disaster, but you should be prepared to take advantage of them if they are available.

Commuter SNAFU

2010-02-12T22:14:00.000-05:00

Tonight's commute home turned into a real SNAFU and an example of why you should be prepared to deal with unexepected situations, especially during Winter.

Background: I work in Center City Philadelphia, PA, and commute to and from there on the SEPTA R6 line. In the past week, we had two Nor'easters blow through, dumping around 40 inches of snow in the Philadelphia region. (We're at 71.6" of snow for the season, making it Philly's snowiest on record.)

My ride into town today was delayed about 45 minutes. My train home was a few minutes late leaving Suburban Station, then when we got a bit past Temple, sat on the tracks for about 40 minutes. Apparently, a switch was frozen in place, preventing my train from getting on the correct track for the remainder of the trip. Eventually, we got diverted to Wayne Junction, a station not on the R6 line. Incidentally, it's not in what I'd call a good neighborhood. More like, "Da hood."

I got off the train at Wayne Junction and called my wife and asked her to come get me. Thankfully, she exactly where to meet me, since she drives by the station on her way to work. I had to wait at least 45 minutes for her to arrive, however, due to heavy Friday night traffic and poor road conditions left over from the storms.

OK, so why is this a preparedness post? A few reasons:

1. The temperature was in the 20s. I was appropriately dressed in a fleece vest, Wall's Blizzard Pruf jacket, wool gloves, ball cap, and Merrell Outlander boots with wool socks. I started to get cold about 10 minutes before my wife showed up but I could have held out a while longer. Many of the other people on the train weren't as well dressed for the conditions, most notably in the lack of a hat and/or hood on their jacket. Also, while tight pants and high heeled boots look great on fit young women, they don't insulate all that well, nor are such boots good for walking in snow.

2. I was stuck down in the 'hood and needed someone to come get me. Commo was in the form of my cell phone, a Motorola Droid. This helped me in identifying exactly where I was with the built-in GPS and Google Maps. My battery was getting on the low side so I was able to swap it out for a fully charged spare. (This is one reason why I won't get an iPhone -- no user-swappable battery.) If the Droid had failed I also have a Blackberry on me, which I have because I'm a floor captain at work. I'd say for most folks a second cell phone is overkill as long as you have a spare charged battery, or some kind of booster that you can plug into your cell phone.

3. On the way home, we got diverted onto a side street. Now I understand why Philly schools have been closed since Wednesday. The roads in Philly are atrocious. The side street was covered in a good 6" of hard packed snow with ruts. My wife's Mazda 5 got caught in a rut so I got out an pushed, to make sure she didn't drift into a parked car. I was really glad I was wearing my Merrells.

Two things I will change: I'll add a knit watch cap and a snack bar or two to my bag. I already have a 24 oz. Nalgene bottle of water, a flashlight with spare batteries, first aid kit, and even a space blanket. Had it been raining or snowing I had an umbrella to keep the precipitation off.

Just because you're within the realm of "civilization" doesn't mean you won't have to deal with some uncomfortable situations. Be prepared.

Snowpocalyspe Gear Review

2010-02-11T18:56:00.000-05:00

As you may know, the Mid-Atlantic region just got hit with the second Nor'Easter in less than a week. This has given me the chance to wring out some gear.

Troy-Bilt 5524 snow blower: I bought this about five years ago directly from the manufacturer. At the time it was their smallest two-stage unit, with a 24" wide by 18" high cut. It's worked spendidly this week, though the 5.5 HP engine did get bogged down a bit at one point by the heavy wet snow we got this time. As long as I took care not to try and force it through too much snow at a time. I believe that the current model is a little more sophisticated than mine, e.g., it has a crank to adjust the chute.

Wall's Blizzard Pruf Jacket : This is a traditional cotton canvas work jacket with a hood that I picked up at WalMart last year. Carhartt and Dickies sell similar jackets. It's fleece lined and warm into the upper 20s with no extra layers underneath. Because it's cotton, I sprayed it down with a NixWax water repellency treatment, which helps a little. I wore it for several hours out in blowing snow yesterday and I stayed warm and dry, but even after brushing off most of the snow, it got wet once I came inside and the snow melted. It takes a long time to dry, too. Good for work around the house but I wouldn't want it in the field if I expected foul weather, unless I had a shell or poncho to put over it.

Mountain Hardwear Alchemy Softshell Jacket: I bought this at REI last Fall and have worn it a lot while commuting. It's very water resistant -- unless you're in a sustained downpour it'll keep you dry. It's also windproof. I wore this over a wicking t-shirt, flannel shirt, and my REI Polartec 200 fleece vest when I went out last night to clean off the cars again and wound up staying outside for about a half hour to do one more run with the snowblower. Even though it was in the 20s with a strong wind I stayed warm and dry. I wore it again today when cleaning up after the snowplow came through and it was plenty warm.

If I was sedentary in this weather the Alchemy wouldn't be warm enough, but for strenous activity it's fine. The main thing I'd change on this jacket would be to make the cut a bit less slim in the sleeves, to facilitate layering over a fleece jacket. Also, pit zips would be nice, and the next softshell jacket I buy will probably have a hood.

Orc Industries PCU Level 5 Softshell Pants: These are USGI technical softshell pants. I ordered these factory direct on February 2nd, after Punxatawney Phil saw his shadow. They arrived yesterday. I wanted something that I could wear over jeans, BDU pants, sweats, or even just long johns that would be water resistant, wind proof, and more breathable than my German surplus rain pants. I am quite pleased with them. Note that these are not waterproof, but the only moisture that made its way inside was when I sat on a chair with some snowmelt, and even then my behind didn't get too wet. They are very windproof, as well. IMO, these make a good, less expensive alternative to civilian technical pants. Unlike some civvie softshell pants, these have no fleece lining, so they're just a shell.

One feature of these pants that I took advantage of are loops inside down near the hem on each leg. I used these today to tie on some paracord stirrups to hold the pants down over the tops of my boots to seal out the snow. I didn't do that yesterday and they rode up exposing my ankles.

Military Morons has a good review of the Orc pants here, which find I very on-target.

REI merino wool hiking socks: I wear these or similar socks from Wigwam every day, unless I'm wearing sandals. Comfy and warm, even when wet.

Merrell Outland Mid-Height Boots: These are waterproof and although not insulated, in combination with my REI merino wool socks are warm enough down into the teens when I'm active. They come up a bit over my ankles so for this storm I could've used higher boots. (Once I made paracord stirrups to prevent my softshell pants from riding up this was a non-issue.) The Merrells have good Vibram soles which provide good traction on slippery surfaces. The one downside to these boots is that they are not very breathable, resulting in sweaty feet if it's warm.

New Address and Site for The Shooters' Bar

2010-01-30T15:18:00.002-05:00

The Shooters' Bar -- the Internet's oldest freely-available list of pro-RKBA attorneys has a new site and a complete site redesign. Updating TSB had become a bit of a pain as the list grew. The new site has one page per state and allows me to more easily update it using RapidWeaver, from where I can then upload the changes to the Web.

The new address is http://www.theshootersbar.org/.

If you maintain a page which links to the old version, please update your link.

Finally, along with the new site are some new attorney listings.

Marmot PreCip Jacket Review

2010-01-17T14:43:00.000-05:00

Yesterday while up at REI checking out their Winter clearance sale I wound up coming home with a Marmot PreCip rain jacket (which unfortunately was not on sale).

For several years I've taken a layered approach to outerwear since it allows you to combine different garments to meet changing climate conditions on the fly. I have a couple of hardshells and a softshell. One could say I've become a bit of a jacket whore. What caught my eye about the Marmot Precip was the very light weight, which I find attractive since I spend a couple hours each day commuting on a train to and from work in Center City Philadelphia. A heavy jacket is nice if I'm waiting for the train but can get uncomfortable once I'm actually on it.

Anyway, Marmot bills the Precip as "value-oriented rainwear for backcountry and urban travelers." It weighs only 13 oz. and is made using Marmot's PreCip DryTouch breathable laminate. Note that the laminated is bonded to the outer ripstop nylon shell and there's no lining. Some reviews have noted delamination after a few years but Marmot has replaced those jackets under warranty. Other features of the jacket include a generously sized, adjustable hood which fits comfortably over a hat, pit zips for ventilation, two zippered pockets, a shock corded hem, double storm flap over the zipper, and taped seams. The hood can be rolled up and secured with a Velcro tab. The PreCip jacket is available in a variety of colors, ranging from subdued to putrid. Mine is "Dark Cedar," which is very close to USAF sage green. It's a nice low key color that looks good in the city or the woods.

Marmot notes on their site that the PreCip is sized for layering over a fleece or softshell. I found the sizing to be good, fitting comfortably over my Polartec 300 SPEAR fleece or my REI Polartec 200 hoodie. Compared with my other hard shells the sleeves seem better sized for layering, allowing more freedom of movement.

Yesterday was nice with a temp around 50 degrees F. and a good breeze. I took a one mile walk with my family around the neighborhood in the new jacket. I had it layered over a couple t-shirts and the REI fleece hoodie. The combination was comfortable but after about 10 minutes I opened the pit zips. Today the weather was more typical of January: upper 30s with a steady rain and some wind. I took another one mile walk, this time wearing the PreCip over a t-shirt, cotton flannel shirt, and an REI fleece vest made from Polartec 200. This combination was comfortable for the half hour I was out. The PreCip blocked the wind well and kept my upper half totally dry, even when I stood under a fairly heavy stream of water dripping from a tree in my yard. Again, the pit zips were welcome. The hood fit well over my ball cap and kept my head and face dry. It doesn't "batten down the hatches" as much as the hood on my Mountain Hardwear Exposure II parka, but this shell is more of a rain jacket than the mountaineering-oriented Exposure II.

A couple changes which would improve the PreCip jacket in my opinion would be a mesh lining for better ventilation and protecting the waterproof laminate, a Napolean pocket and perhaps making the body a couple inches longer. If Marmot does lengthen the design they should add a two-way zipper, as well.

The lightweight PreCip packs up into a small space and would be a good choice for a traveler needing a shell that can be stowed in a carry on bag. It protects well against rain and wind. The light weight does come at a price. I can't see the PreCip as being as durable as heavier hard shells. For brush busting in the woods or activities like three-gun, in which you might find yourself rolling around on the ground, something heavier will stand up to abuse better. However, for trail hiking, travel, and commuting, the PreCip looks like it should be a good choice.

ECWCS Fleece SPEAR Jacket

2010-01-17T13:48:00.000-05:00

For a little while I've been looking for a new fleece jacket, since my trusty old Columbia Titanium jacket is starting to show its age. However, spending North of a hundred clams for something made from recycled soda bottles wasn't sitting well with me. For example, I am very unimpressed with the very popular Denali from The North Face, and the only heavyweight fleece from Mountain Hardware that my local REI carries is the Monkey Man. No thanks, I don't want to look like Sasquatch.

So, in looking around online at the beginning of January I ran across the "Polartech Fleece Jacket, ECWCS Liner" at Omaha's.   This is a black fleece jacket made of Polartech 300 issued to GIs as part of the ECWCS layering system. I've seen the same jacket advertised as a "SPEAR (Special Personal Equipment Advanced Requirements) jacket." For $39.95 and made in the USA, I figured it was worth a shot.

The shipment from Omaha's arrived six days after I ordered for the jacket, along with a few other items. Upon inspection, the ECWCS Liner is a pretty standard fleece jacket. The labels inside show that it was made for Goodwill Industries and there is a NSN (NATO Stock Number).

It has two handwarmer pockets and two large mesh pockets inside. The zipper is two-way. The ends of the sleeves are adjustable with Velcro tabs. There is a windproof nylon yoke, along with nylon patches along the outsides of the forearms. The yoke does not cover the back of the two-ply collar, which is a bit disappointing. Also, the collar cannot be fully zipped all the ay up over my 17" neck.   Sizing in the rest of the torso is a little generous. I ordered a Large and while the sleeve length is perfect the body is a bit long, which is OK because it won't ride up if I bend over. (I am 5'6" tall, with a 44" chest, 34" sleeves, and a beer gut.) I suspect a Medium would've fit but this fits comfortably over a sweater. The armpits have pit zips for ventilation. The bottom hem can be tightened with elastic shock cords on both sides.

Like most fleece jackets, the ECWCS Liner is not very wind resistant. To test it I took a walk around my block the night it arrived. The temperature was 29 degrees F., with a 5 MPH breeze. I wore the jacket over typical city clothes: a cotton undershirt and a cotton/poly button down Oxford shirt. What I found was that as expected, the breeze -- whether from my walking or the wind -- penetrated the fleece easily. Until I warmed up from the walk I felt a chill where the breeze was blowing against me. However, it wasn't too bad and I could tell that if worn under a shell, the ECWCS Liner would provide good insulation.   I tried it out under my EOTac Field Jacket and my Mountain Hardwear soft shell, and it seems to layer a bit better than my Columbia jacket. The sleeve adjustment tabs slip inside the outer garment more easily.

Since getting the ECWCS jacket I've worn it into work a couple of times. Once was under my soft shell and once by itself layered over another fleece, on a calm day.

I am happy with this purchase. The jacket is warm, comfortable, pretty well made, and a good alternative to the high priced fleece jackets from name brands.

Security Vulnerability in Adobe PDF Reader

2009-12-16T08:47:00.002-05:00

FYI, because much of the info you download from the Internet is in PDF format.

There is a zero day security exploit for the Adobe PDF Reader that is currently out in the wild and for which there is no patch. It exploits a vulnerability in Reader’s Javascript implementation.

Details here.

If you must use Adobe Reader you should disable Javascript until this is fixed.

On Windows, launch Adobe Reader and go to Edit > Preferences > JavaScript and uncheck Enable Acrobat JavaScript.
On a Mac, launch Adobe Reader go to the Adobe Reader menu > Preferences > JavaScript and uncheck Enable Acrobat JavaScript.

Alternative free PDF viewers are Preview.app on Mac (included with OS X), and Foxit Reader on Windows.

Thoughts on the Dollar Carry Trade

2009-11-20T09:22:00.002-05:00

Over at Blog O'Stuff.

Incoming Train Wreck and Gold Prices

2009-11-18T11:39:00.002-05:00

Found on PrudentBear, via Clayton Cramer:

The rise in the gold price above $1,100 per ounce last week is a pretty good indicator that something has changed. For 18 months, the gold price had been in a trading range topping out around $1,000. It has now broken out decisively from that range. The opportunity for the world's central banks to change policy and affect the economic outcome has been lost. The world economy is now locked on to an undeviating track towards another train wreck.

At most times, the gold price is not an economically significant indicator. In 1980-2000, it declined irregularly from $850 to around $280, and movements in it seemed to have had little or no effect on the global economy. That's what you'd expect; even at $1,000 per ounce, the global production of gold is only around $100 billion annually, which would put the entire world's gold extraction industry only 17th on the Fortune 500. When Gordon Brown sold Britain's entire gold reserves in 1999, at a price below $300 per ounce, it seemed a defensible decision. I went to a meeting in 2001 hosted by a diverse group which believed that the U.S. Treasury was conspiring to suppress the gold price, and my main thought was: why would Treasury bother?

However, in relatively few periods, gold becomes of immense importance. When investors lose trust in conventional currencies, because monetary policy appears set to debauch them, gold is the immediately available safe haven. During such periods, gold's former importance as a store of value becomes uppermost in the public mind, and its price becomes a major economic indicator.

The entire article is worth reading. In a related vein:

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Gold prices surged to record highs yet again Monday, topping $1,139 an ounce, as investors continue to favor the precious metal over currencies like the U.S. dollar.

Gold for December delivery jumped $22.50, or 2%, to settle at a record $1,139.20 a troy ounce Monday. That easily trounces the closing price for Friday, when gold settled at its previous record of $1,116.70 an ounce.

After the close, the price continued to move even higher in electronic trading.

Link.

I don't consider myself a "gold bug." However, a couple things caused me to revise my thinking about gold and other precious metals:

Comments by Fernando "FerFAL" Aguirre, author of the Surviving in Argentina blog. He does have real-life experience with this, after all.
Second-hand comments by someone high up the food chain at a major Wall Street investment firm, relayed to me through my accountant back in the Spring.

In my opinion PMs are worth serious consideration as a prep, not necessarily as an "investment" in the sense that they'll increase in value, but rather as a hedge against inflation and/or the drop of the dollar's value against other currencies, which will cause the cost of imported goods to rise.

Edit 11/18/09 at 12:38: I should clarify number 2, above. The discussion was not about investment advice. Rather it was about the state of the economy then and where we thought it was heading.

"Us and Them" in a Societal Collapse

2009-11-03T08:53:00.000-05:00

Over on Survivalblog, JWR posted a letter from a retired US Army warrant officer with experience in several real-world SHTF situations.

Having worked for the Army for 27 years in a number of different failed countries I may have a unique perspective on survival that I would like to share with your readers. I believe most of the "survivalist community" is vastly underestimating the impact that other humans are going to have on their plans. Hunkering down and waiting for everyone to die off is a simplistic plan and I believe has almost no chance of working. You may be able to hide your retreat, but you can't hide the land it sits on. That land itself may become a scarce commodity if the US transitions to an agrarian economy.

Food is the key resource. Most communities are at risk because they simply don't have enough calories stored to get them through any kind of crisis. But, storage is no more than limited capital to allow people time to grow more food. Food production requires land....if your retreat is sitting on farmable land, it will be a scarce resource.

Carrying capacity of the US using non-petroleum farming techniques is far lower than most of your readers probably think. Also, most areas of the US, especially cities, don't have anywhere near enough farm-able land to go back to some kind of agrarian pattern. Without public infrastructure and modern transportation, we are going to experience a huge die-off caused mostly by starvation. In a total collapse scenario without immediate restoration of the economy, basically everyone who lives in a city is doomed unless they can take over some kind of farm land.

Go read the whole thing.

Eotac Operator Field Jacket Review

2009-10-31T20:01:00.001-04:00

Last Saturday I attended the Second Annual Zombie Shoot at Langhorne Rod and Gun Club. One of the shoot sponsors was Rogue Elite, owned by my friend JY. He gave me an Eotac Model 502 Field Jacket in Lizard camo to T&E. The jacket is also available in OD, coyote brown, and black.

I've had a couple different kinds of field jackets/combat smocks over the years -- a couple American M-65s and a replica of a British WW2 Second Pattern Denison Smock from What Price Glory.

The M-65 field jacket design draws its roots from the M-43 field jacket that GIs wore during WW2. It's a cotton shell with an insulating liner that buttons in. From WW2 through the 1980s it was issued in OD green, then in woodland camo. (Commercial copies have been made in other colors and camo patterns, like black, navy, and desert camo.) It's a pretty good Winter coat, but even with the Quarpel treatment, only water repellent, not waterproof. The M-65 has four pockets and a hood which rolls up into the collar.

The Denison smock was originally intended as a garment which could fit over a paratrooper's clothing and web gear during a drop. It provided camo, extra pockets, and was intended to prevent the web gear from getting caught in the parachute's lines. It also became popular with the Commandos and some officers wore them as status symbols.

The Denison has four external pockets and two internal. WW2 Denisons have only a half zip and are thus pullover garments. They are a shell only. A notable feature of the Denison smocks is the "tail," which hangs down from the back and can be snapped between the wearer's legs so to prevet it from riding up during a jump. They do not have a hood and are made from cotton twill.

The Eotac field jacket was based on a 1950s European (I believe it was French) design. Like the Denison, it's made from 9 oz. cotton twill and is therefore somewhat wind resistant. The fabric is preshrunk has been given a DuPont Teflon treatment to add water and stain resistance. This won't make it waterproof but should extend the life of the fabric. I may spray it down with Scotchguard to add a little more water repellency.

Like the Denison, the Eotac has a half zip for the top half of the front, while the lower half can be secured via snaps. Unlike the Denison it's not a pullover, which makes donning or doffing it much easier.

What I really like about the Eotac field jacket is the number and arrangement of pockets. There are no less than seven pockets on just the front of the jacket:

Two cargo pockets near the bottom.
Two more on the chest,
Zippered Napolean pockets behind the chest bellows pockets, and
A pen pocket sewn to the front of the left chest cargo pocket.

There is also a small zippered pocket with a pen slot on the top of the left sleeve. This might be a good place for a bandage or a space blanket. All four cargo pockets have elastic loops sewn in, which can be used for securing flashlights, pistol magazines, knives with pocket clips, etc. The cargo pockets can be secured shut with snaps; there are two rows of snaps per pocket which you can use according to how full each pocket is.

Aside from the exterior pockets, there are also four pockets on the inside, two near the bottom and two on the chest. These can be securely shut with Velcro straps and also have the elastic loops.

All the snaps on the cargo pockets are covered with rubber, so they don't click when they bang against something.

The cargo pockets are perfectly sized to hold a S&W J-Frame revolver in a pocket holster. My Springfield XD-9 with a 4" barrel will fit in the cargo pockets without flopping around. A 5" M1911 is a little too big to fit in the pockets but it looks like a Commander would fit. The elastic loops in the pockets can be used to secure revolver reloads in a Bianchi Speed Strip. If you're packing an autoloader, the elastic loops are sized to properly fit a double column 9mm or .40 S&W magazine or single column .45 mag.

With all these pockets one could lose track of gear you're carrying. That said, if you keep things organized, for some who is in a situation where full "rattle battle" gear is overkill, a properly setup Eotac Field Jacket could act as a form of load bearing equipment in lieu of a combat vest. If a situation develops where you need to investigate something around the home or farm in a hurry, a properly setup Eotac FJ would allow you to get ready quickly with a sidearm, reloads, flashlight, battle dressing, etc.

Other features of the jacket include a Mandarin collar, epaulets, a drawstring around the bottom, and elastic cuffs with adjustable snaps.

Like the Denison smock, the Eotac FJ lacks both a hood and a means of adding an insulating liner. Of course, one can still layer, and if you have the proper size FJ, wearing it on top of a fleece jacket or vest would be a good combination down to around 30 degrees, possibly a bit colder.

So why in this age of modern fabrics like softshells would you want an old fashioned cotton field jacket? Ruggedness, for one. Softshells are nice (AAMOF, I have an expensive Mountain Hardware softshell), water and wind resistant. But if you think you'll be going prone, busting through brush, or other activities which similarly abuse your clothing, it's hard to beat the tough wearing appeal of cotton. Additionaly, compared with syntehtics, cotton breathes much better. For example, at the aforementioned LRGC Zombie shoot where I got the Eotac FJ it rained all day, with temps in the 60s F. I wore a set of German surplus rain gear (parka and pants). They kept the rain off but I sweated quite a bit, so by lunchtime I was soaked anyway. I would not have been much wetter had I worn my Denison to the shoot.

Also, it's my understanding that as long as you don't wash a cotton garment with detergent that has brightners in it, it'll be less visible through night vision gear than nylon. One could layer the Eotac FJ over a modern technical fleece or softshell for the best of both worlds.

Finally, compared with synthetic hardshells, a cotton jacket is quite a bit quieter when you brush against foliage.

There are a couple things which would improve the Eotac FJ, in my opinion:

1. As mentioned above, a full-length, two-way zipper. I understand the rationale behind the current half-zip, but I prefer a full length two way zipper. I may take mine to a tailor and have it replaced.

2. A roll-up hood similar to the one on the M-65 FJ would be nice. At least some of the current British combat smocks, descendents of the WW2 Denison smock feature this.

With those two nit-picks aside, the Eotac Field Jacket is a really nice piece of kit with excellent attention to detail. The quality of workmanship is top-notch. The fabric is high quality and the sewing is excellent.

Zombie Shoot and Lessons Learned

2009-10-26T09:48:00.000-04:00

Over on Blog O'Stuff I posted an after action report for Langhorne Rod & Gun Club's Second Annual Zombie Shoot. I posted it there since we all know zombies aren't real (Oh really?). After my description of the stages, though, I've included some observations about gear and shooting which are relevant to preps, so check it out.

Money in War-Ravaged Iraq

2009-10-08T13:35:00.000-04:00

I found this article from Mises.org interesting, in light of the possibble collapse of the US dollar due to government mismanagement of the economy:

There has been much ado concerning the Federal Reserve's doubling of the monetary base this past year. Many believe a currency crisis or hyperinflation of the dollar is imminent. Some go as far as to say that this crisis will destroy America.

...

In the villages, houses and boats needed to be repaired or rebuilt, roads needed attention, and parents wanted to get their children back in school. In order to do all these wonderful things, a medium of exchange was needed. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending onhow you look at it, the villagers did not put much faith in the paper money printed by the government in Baghdad.
As this was an agrarian society the villagers turned to a time-tested medium of exchange: livestock. In the villages all households had some sheep, and the more affluent houses had very large herds. Goods were exchanged, debts repaid, and business contracts agreed upon all using sheep as money.

...

The river water, while great for crops and livestock, was not ideal for human consumption, and therefore clean drinking water became a very valuable commodity. The bottled water brought in from the larger cities was one of the most sought-after commodities in the village, and I soon noticed villagers pricing items in not only sheep, but bottles of drinking water as well.

Then there was the standard wartime medium of exchange: cigarettes. The villagers smoked cigarettes every evening with chai tea. They were bought in the cities and brought back by the truck load. As a result they were not as valuable as sheep or bottled water; however they served as small change for the villagers.

Full article.

Adapt and Improvise

2009-10-08T13:30:00.000-04:00

(Originally posted on Blog O'Stuff.)

When law abiding people are subjected to oppressive gun laws which make it difficult to obtain weapons, accessories, and ammo, they improvise. Over at the Firearm Blog there are a couple of posts describing how a gun enthusiast in Nigeria is making the best of a bad situation.

According to the first post, Nigeria's gun control laws are very strict and civilians are pretty much limited to shotguns. Unfortunately, Emmanuel was only able to obtain a Turkish made shotgun with a pistol grip stock, sans butt stock. Pistol grip only (AKA "PGO") shotguns have very limited use. Compared with a shotgun having a conventional stock, a PGO shotgun is much harder to shoot well. Improvising with a piece of steel rod and a walking stick, Emmanuel made a butt stock so that he can more effectively use his shotgun.

In the second post, Emmanuel recounts how the only ammunition available is birdshot. Birdshot is fine for birds and small game but a poor choice for self defense. It doesn't offer enough penetration to reliably reach vital organs and stop a determined aggressor.

Once again, Emmauel improvised. Using a metal plate, a nut and a bolt, to make a mold, he extracts the birdshot from shells, melts them, and casts his own slugs.

Go check out the links, they are worth your time.

10 Commandments of Concealed Carry

2009-10-07T13:36:00.000-04:00

From Mas Ayoob. Read it.

Thoughts on Selecting a Home Defense Shotgun

2009-10-06T20:30:00.000-04:00

For my first substantive post after resuming this blog, I am going to discuss selecting a shotgun for home defense. This post is based on a reply I made to an email list which was prompted by a member's question about getting a female friend equipped to defend herself, so read it in that light. The friend is a newcomer to shooting, lives in a rural area, and aside from defense against bipedal predators, also has some black bear on her land.

Of note, this is not idle exercise for her, either. She's already had a couple of incidents which could've gone sour. When seconds count, the police are only minutes -- or in her case longer -- away.

In large measure what's below is based on this thread in the Shotgun forum at THR.

Some key points gleaned from that thread and elsewhere, including my own experience:

1. 20 gauge guns are often recommended for women because everything else being equal, they recoil less than 12 gauge.

2. Everything is not always equal. 20 gauge guns often weigh much less than 12 gauge shotguns. Thus, they recoil just as badly as a 12.

3. If she is strong enough to handle the weight of a 7 lb. 12 gauge I'd go with that, set it up with the correct length of pull stock with a GOOD recoil pad (Pachymar Decellerator or Limbsaver, or a Hogue stock with their recoil pad. Hogue sells a youth-length stock which a lot of men use on fighting shotguns b/c a short length of pull is advantageous in that application. I have one on my HD Mossberg 500.). Proper gun fit is very important. If necessary have a gunsmith shorten the stock and install a recoil pad.

4. Use light loads for initial familiarization. E.g., low brass target loads with #8 or #7.5 shot. Birdshot is usually a poor choice for self defense because it doesn't penetrate well. (See the pictures of testing against ballistic gelatin, here.) If you must use birdshot, use high brass loads with larger shot sizes. Remember that the higher the number the smaller the shot. E.g., #8 shot is smaller than #4 shot. Also, #4 birdshot is not the same as #4 buckshot. Buckshot is larger.

5. For defense get some reduced recoil 00 buckshot from Federal, Remington, Hornady or Winchester. This stuff is more expensive than the bulk packs you can find at Wal-Mart but kicks much less and often patterns better. Lighter recoil allows faster shot-to-shot recovery. This may need to be ordered online if you cannot find it locally. For what it's worth, I use the Federal reduced recoil 00 "Tactical" buckshot with "Flite Control" wads in my HD shotguns.

6. 12 gauge ammo is the most common and is frequently less expensive than 20 gauge, especially when it comes to buckshot and slugs.

I saw that Wes suggested a single barrel 20 gauge. The problem with these is that they are light and thus kick hard. (I have an H&R Topper 20 gauge and it's not real fun to shoot. A 12 gauge single barrel is worse.)

Some specific gun recommendations:

1. If your budget permits, pick up a used slide action 12 gauge such as a law enforcement trade-in, either a Remington 870 or a Mossberg 500. They are generally pretty easy to find, cheap, and spare parts are readily available. I picked up my 1951-vintage Remington 870 Wingmaster for $170 out the door in the Summer of 2008. Prices have gone up a bit since the November 2008 election, but LE trade-ins are still a good choice. Many of these shotguns have seen a fair amount of time in racks, have been loaded and cleared many times, but shot very little. As a result, they may be somewhat rough on the outside but very smooth operating. My Wingmaster fell into this category.

If your are not willing to practice enough to get familiar with the manual of arms for a pump gun then move on to #2 or #3 below.

2. Used side-by-side double barreled 12 gauge shotgun, e.g., a Savage/Stevens 311 or Stoeger Uplander.

3. Used side-by-side double barreled 20 gauge shotgun.

Note: Unfortunately, these days a used double gun will probably cost more than a used slide action shotgun.

4. Single barrel shotgun. Despite the fact that they hold only one shot, they can fired quite quickly with some practice. A downside, as noted above, is that because of their light weight, they tend to kick hard. Get a good slip-on recoil pad and this can be mitigated somewhate. One very nice thing about them is that used singles can be acquired very cheaply, often for $100 or less.

You'll note that I did not mention semiautos. I am not a fan of semiautos for new shooters. A manually operated shotgun will typically be more reliable and easier to fix if something goes wrong. A manually operated gun is also easier to learn fire discipline with. YMMV.

Whatever you buy, if you're buying a gun for someone else, make sure she is the one who ultimately chooses the gun, so that she's more likely to have a gun that fits and that she's comfortable with.

Finally, just having a gun does not mean that you're armed. You need training on how to safely load, unload, and shoot the gun. Just as importantly, you need to know the laws governing the use of deadly force in your jurisdiction. GET TRAINING.

Reopening for Business

2009-10-06T20:10:00.000-04:00

I've decided to bring this blog back out of hiatus. Even with no posts since January, it's still getting a decent number of hits. With the current state of the world economy, I feel that the information I can share here is very much on point.

So, anyway, here we go again.

Refocusing

2009-01-24T09:17:00.000-05:00

I've decided to refocus my blogging efforts on my main site, Dave's Blog O'Stuff. Separating out this blog was an interesting experiment, but it'll be easier for me to manage one site instead of multiple blogs. I won't delete this blog but for the foreseeable future, topics which may have appeared here will instead appear on the Blog O'Stuff.

Clearance on Dickies Clothing

2008-12-21T12:16:00.000-05:00

I just ran across this deal and pass it on. Dickies makes workwear that's good for use out of doors in emergencies. I ordered one of their Arctic Shield jackets for myself for $22.99 with free shipping.

Link .

Deaths Caused by Natural Disasters in the US

2008-12-17T18:27:00.000-05:00

Via Yahoo:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Heat is more likely to kill an American than an earthquake, and thunderstorms kill more than hurricanes do, according to a "death map" published on Tuesday.

Researchers who compiled the county-by-county look at what natural disasters kill Americans said they hope their study will help emergency preparedness officials plan better.

This is definitely worth a look. It will help you see what the most likely natural disasters are in your area, or an area you'll be visiting, and assist you in preparing accordingly.

MSI Wind Netbook Review

2008-12-15T11:43:00.003-05:00

A laptop is an important part of emergency preparedness. Here's my review of the MSI Wind Netbook.

Trijicon Reflex II Gun Sight

2008-11-02T08:45:00.003-05:00

Last week I picked up a Trijicon Reflex II model RX06-10 1x24mm sight for my Colt 6520. The Reflex was considered one of the best non-magnified dot sights in the 90s but in the last several years has fallen behind Aimpoints and EOTechs in popularity. That said, they are still worth looking at.

The reticle of the RX06 which I bought is a 12.9 MOA amber colored triangle. I like the triangle as an alternative to the more common dot. Like a dot, it offers quick sight picture acquisition but allows precise aiming with the tip of the triangle.

During the day, the reticle is illuminated by ambient light collected and focused through fiber optics. In darkness it is illuminated by a tritium lamp. No batteries are used in the unit.

When showing the sight to my father we discovered an interesting thing about the amber reticle. Thirteen years ago Dad suffered a neuropathy in his right eye. (Similar to a stroke but in his optic nerve.) One of the effects of the neuropathy was to reduce his ability to see red. He mentioned to me that he's having problems seeing the red reticle of the EOTech mounted on his Colt 6721 and can see the amber reticle of the Trijicon much better. So, Trijicon may be making another sale soon.

The housing of the optic is made from cast aluminum and it very stout. Sight adjustments are made using an Allen key. While this means you need a tool to adjust the sight, it also means that once zeroed, it's not easy for the sight to become unzeroed.

My Reflex came with an RX10 mount (hence the "RX06-10" monker above). This is a gooesneck mount that attaches to an AR-15's or M-16's carrying handle, placing the sight between the handle and the front sight tower. It's very solid. Because the mount and sight are lightweight, the rifle still balances fine. If the sight were to go down, I can still use the irons just by lowering my head a little.

Side note: I bought my Reflex at a local shop. When inspecting it before finalizing the purchase I discovered that the mounting bolt and wingnut were missing. Having bought a lot of toys from this shop, I was able to get $20 knocked off the price. After getting the unit home I was able to canibalize the mounting bolt and wingnut from an unused Hakko AR-15 carry handle scope I have, and mount the Trijicon. I've since reached out to Trijicon through AR15.com and should be getting the parts sent to me. In the interim it's mounted and usable.

The main criticism of the Reflex sight that I've seen in recent years is that the reticle isn't bright enough and can wash out. This is especially true when aiming from a dark area out into a well-lit area. The RX06 comes with an adjustable polarizing filter (RX20) which screws into the front of the sight to mitigate this. The downside to the filter is that although it increases contrast between the reticle and the target, it also reduces light transmission. If the shooter keeps both eyes open when aiming, the effect isn't bad IMO.

Yesterday I went to the range to zero the sight. I got it on paper at 25 yards then zeroed it at 75. The triangle reticle lends itself to shooting tight groups on paper but still allowed me to do quick snapshots at some bowling pins. The RX20 filter is a must-have for any of the 1x24mm Reflex sights IMO. My firing point was under cover and my targets were in full sunlight. Without the filter the reticle was washed out but with the filter it was easily visible, even against white targets.

The Trijicon Reflex II is a great little sight in my opinion. It isn't the most modern tech but for most civvies it's certainly enough. (Never having been in the military I can't opine on how well it would do in combat, but I suspect it would acquit itself well.) It is light, rugged, and allows quick, precise aiming.

UPDATE 11/03/08:

I received the proper mounting screw and wingnut in the mail from Trijicon today. Kudos to them for great customer service.

More About the Denison Smock

2008-10-22T19:35:00.000-04:00

In my last post I described the replica Denison Smock I picked up last month, and my trial of Nikwax Cotton Proof water repellency treatment. Last night tested I how windproof the smock is. It was 48*F with a 15 MPH wind gusting to 20 MPH. Wind chill was about 42*. I took a 25 minute walk around the neighborhood wearing only a long sleeve cotton t-shirt underneath and remained comfortable.

Due to the large cut of the smock it'll work well for layering in cool, dry conditions. For example, I have a Columbia Titanium fleece jacket made from Polartec 300, which is nice and warm but not windproof. I also have a lighter weight fleece vest from REI. A combination of one or two of these plus the smock should be warm down into the low 30s, maybe a bit lower. For layering in conditions when it's likely to rain I have a German surplus flecktarn rain parka made of something like Gore-Tex, which will fit over the Denison Smock. (I picked up the German jacket at I. Golderg's last year in virtually-new condition for only $25. I need to go back and get matching pants.)

IMO, the Denison Smock or a similar jacket makes a nice piece of gear for cool, dry conditions. They should offer good wear resistance, and unlike synthetics, don't melt when exposed to flame (though of course it may burn). For military use I'd pair it with wool for layering due to this factor. The Brits still issue smocks, though they've gone to a full zip design and they're now made in the current DPM camo. These are available as surplus for reasonable prices.

For what looks like the Rolls Royce of combat smocks, check out Drop Zone Tactical's Recce Smock.

Testing Nikwax Cotton Proof Treatment

2008-09-28T12:51:00.000-04:00

Most of us have heard the phrase "cotton kills," when referring to clothing to be used in cold weather. That's because cotton loses all of its insulation properties when it gets wet.

However, cotton does have some qualities which make it desireable for use in clothing. It's common, mostly inexpensive, wears well, and the right weaves can be very windproof. So, if there is a way to make cotton material less vulnerable to getting wet it's worth giving a try.

Earlier this month I bought a replica second pattern Denison Smock from What Price Glory. The Denison Smock was issued to British paratroopers, commandos, and snipers during and after World War 2. I'd wanted one since first learning of them in the book With British Snipers to the Reich.

The Denison Smock is made of tightly woven cotton twill fabric. It should be pretty wind resistant (I haven't been able to test that yet since it's only September) but as it comes from WPG, isn't water resistant. Wanting to use the smock while out in Fall and Winter weather, I looked around for a water repellency treatment. After a bit of searching on the Internet I ordered a bottle of Nikwax Cotton Proof from Campmor.

Nikwax's directions instruct you to start with a clean article and then apply it with a brush or through washing in hot water. You can do this in a clothes washer but I didn't want to have to get any residue out of my washer, so instead, I filled a 5 gallon bucket with hot water, and added the correct amount of Cotton Proof. I then imersed the smock in the bucket, swishing it around to make sure all the fabric was wet. I then let it sit for about 15 or 20 minutes, swishing the smock around a few times during the soak. Afterwards I rinsed the smock until the water ran clear, and let it air dry.

Today was the first time I was able to test the water repellency. It's misting and 64 degrees F. I put on the smock and took a one mile walk around my neighborhood. I was out in the mist for about 25 minutes. It's a short test, but during my walk the mist just beaded on the outside of the smock. Underneath I stayed dry except for my sweat (it's a bit warm to be walking around in one of these things). After I got home I stuck my arm under the water dripping from my roof to simulate raindrops falling on the smock. While the Cotton Proof kept the mist out, the larger drops went right through, wetting my arm.

Based on this short test, the Nikwax Cotton Proof treatment adds a limited amount of water repellency. It will keep mist out for awhile but rain is going to get through treated material easily. For rain, you're going to want actual rain gear made from modern materials.

Some Hurricane Related Links

2008-09-15T09:01:00.000-04:00

Articles relating to power outages associated with disasters, especially hurricanes:

Gustav After Action Report

2008-09-13T20:25:00.001-04:00

OVer on Arfcom, "charlesb_la" posted an AAR describing his experience riding out Hurricane Gustav in an apartment in Baton Rouge. It's worth reading.

Ike Looking Ugly

2008-09-12T08:47:00.001-04:00

Brendan Loy at Weathernerd is blogging about Hurricane Ike. In short, while Ike is likely to remain a Category 2 Hurricane, it's likely to have a huge storm surge when it hits Texas. If I was in its path I'd be bugging out.

Follow Up on Some Lessons Learned From Paintball

2008-09-10T08:30:00.004-04:00

I received the following email from Jim Scott in response to my post back in April, in which I described some lessons I learned while playing paintball with a tactical approach. Jim has graciously given me permission to repost his email here, in order to spread additional lessons.

It was refreshing to read a post about simulated combat that didn't read like a failed Rambo script.

Taking lessons from simunitions fights, as well as real field conditions (Kuwait, Iraq x 2, and Afghanistan) I'd like to add a few points to what you said.

As far as gear goes, all of the gear used by military guys in combat, or areas likely to be attacked is of a flame retardant nature (i.e Nomex) this is due to the large number of individuals that get burned (gas from vehicles, IEDs, whatever...fire is surprisingly common in war zones). If you are wearing a moisture wicking fabric like UnderArmour the material will melt to your skin and cause all sorts of problems.

Additionally you mentioned gloves, some guys like gloves with gauntlets, personally I have a set of Wiley X gloves ( CAG-1) , they have this reinforced polyurethane pre-formed bit over the knuckles that protects them, but at the same time isn't restrictive. Also they are made of nomex, and leather, so they are tough, and still very easy to work in.

http://www.opticsplanet.net/wiley-x-combat-assault-tactical-gloves-cag-1.html (Not the best price, but the right item)

Another area you addressed was eye protection. Eye protection tinted during the day, and clear at night, is a must. Flying debris is EVERYWHERE. And Murphy's Law dictates the SECOND you take your goggles off, you're going to end up with dust, bugs, brass, something hitting you in the eye. Also, lets face it, even a small gnat hitting you in the eye feels like you just got speared with a C-130. The Army created a list of ballistic goggles and glasses that are rated for wear (APproved Eye wear List, or APEL) that all services use, and has multiple designs that accept prescription inserts. Note, I said inserts, not lenses. This is actually better, when your lenses get scratched to Hell, and they will, you replace only the cheap lens, and not the expensive insert. I have Uvex, WileyX, and ESS systems.... I like the ESS the best, they come in both a normal, and a narrow fit for smaller faces (like mine). A little anti-fog cream from a SCUBA store, and you are in business as far as fogging goes. (The downside is they will now attract dust like a magnet). Also the prescription insert (without which I would be hard pressed to hit the broad side of a barn) is fitted in a plastic frame that is a lot more comfortable than the other two.

http://www.gearzoneproducts.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=76 ESS ICE system

Now here is something you didn't mention. Knee and elbow pads. They are GREAT. No two ways about it, when you are getting mortared, shot at, or even just have to work on the ol' truck being able to drop to your knees and land on foam padding beats the heck out of getting the sharpest rock in the middle east jabbed into your kneecap. I like the type that have eleastic and slide over your feet. They stay put just fine most of the time, and unlike inserts, or strap-on pads, when you siddenly find youself trying to climb/sleep/take a dump, you can slip them down around your ankles and out of the way, without taking them all of the way off.

And then comes the last item. Hearing protection. You need to hear the bad guy, however explosions and gunfire tend to make it where all you hear is ringing....so this time, I'm going to drop a mad expensive name...ready? Here it is : Surefire. Yep. The flashlight guys. They make earplugs that fit under helmets, glasses, goggles, whatever you are wearing, and block out hazardous noise (gunfire) while not blocking normal sounds (range commands, your buddy talking, haji-bob sneaking up on you, etc.) Plus as an added bonus you can plug them all the way up, and sleep through WWIII if needed. Also, they are cheap...like 14 bucks, so you can get a few sets to replace the ones that walk off. (I've never lost mine...I have, however, had a number of sets decide that they wanted to strike out on their own with out me. Maybe go to California, become movies stars... I wish them luck)

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/561898-REG/Surefire_EP4_MPR_EP4_Sonic_Defenders_Plus.html Earplus.

As far as tactics go, everything you said was spot-on. The only thing I'm not sure if you noticed was moving across open, or poorly covered areas can be ..... well, less than fun. The method we are taught, as dumb as it sounds, is "I'm up, they see me, I'm down." Basically, you have to get up (crouched running, move for no more than 1-2 seconds, then DROP...roll to one side or the other, spring up, repeat. This prevents the bad guy from getting a good, aimed shot at you...by the time he acquires you, you are down and rolling. If you think "I'm up, they see me, I'm down" it keeps you on a good cadence.

On a side note, you were talking about sights. EO Tech holo sights are (pardon my language) F**king Awesome. They are damn near unbreakable, if you manage to break the lens, whatever is still there will work, they are waterproof, NVIS compatible and shock-proof. You're going to pay an arm and a leg for it, however with any luck you will not get that arm or leg shot off at a later point because of it. You don't have to be right in line with the thing to shoot, if you can see through it and put the reticle on the target, you're going to hit the target. Plus the big "pucker factor" friendly view port and bright "place bad guy here" reticle is second to none.

(I'd give you a link to the site, but my wallet cries softly, and my wife threatens to divorce me every time I look at it.)

Finally a note on training. Focus on using good habits (seek cover and concealment, remember the difference between the two, good muzzle discipline, etc.) whenever you are playing, training, or just goofing off.... when you suddenly find yourself in a high stress setting you don't think about what you are doing, you don't actively think about what is going one..hell you don't even really have time to be scared, you just react. and you react like you trained to react, be that good, or bad. So do everything you can to make it good.

That's my two cents,
Happy Hunting,

Jim

Thanks Jim!

Powering Your Home During an Outage

2008-09-03T13:42:00.001-04:00

Popular Mechanics is running and article here on powering your home with a generator during an outage.

General Honore on Gustav

2008-09-01T08:58:00.002-04:00

Lt. General Russell Honore led the military response to Katrina. With Gustav just about to hit Louisiana, he offers these comments:

We need to build a culture of preparedness. We need to assure that every kid who goes to school in America knows how to swim. The number of EMS teams and ambulances is not tracking with the growth in population. We need to teach more of our people first aid.
The federal government ought to be there to back the states up, we need to build a culture of preparedness in each. Why are we sending people there to issue them ice and water? We should be empowering people to act locally. The key to hurricane preparation is family preparation. If families are prepared, we lose fewer lives.

EXACTLY!

Gustav Diary

2008-08-31T15:05:00.002-04:00

ShaneS of Listening to Katrina has a new section up on his site, dealing with Hurricane Gustav. Not much there yet but I expect that will change.

Ridin' Gustav

2008-08-31T10:37:00.002-04:00

I just ran across this new blog: Ridin' Gustav, A blow-by-blow liveblog of Gustav, from Mid-City New Orleans. Marcus, the author, seems to be pretty well prepared. Hopefully, he comes through OK.

Hurricane Gustav

2008-08-31T09:21:00.002-04:00

I've been a bit busy lately with other things so I haven't had the time to post regarding Hurricane Gustav. I see now that an evacuation has been ordered for New Orleans.

Here's NOAA's website tracking Gustav's progress. The current forecast shows it hitting New Orleans.

Finally, ShaneS's Listening to Katrina remains the best website I've seen for showing you how to prepare for disasters, including hurricanes.

Choosing an AR-15

2008-07-18T10:06:00.001-04:00

The following query was posted to a mailing list I'm on:

Am thinking about purchasing an AR15 but there are many different
models. Which do you recommend for both home protection and emergency
hunting? I would definitely want one that chambered both .223 and
5.56.

Also what is the best scope for both quick target aquisition and very
precise (1 or 2 inches) shots out to say 150 yards? Would a zoom be
best? Also do they make a good scope that is also night vision?

And this is what I posted in reply:

I recommend going over to AR15.com and perusing the technical forums,
along with the various tech manuals they have onsite.

In general, when looking for an AR15 to be used for defense I regard
the following features as requirements:

1. 5.56mm chamber. This improves reliability and allows you to shoot .
223 or 5.56 spec loads safely.
2. Chrome lined bore and chamber. Improves reliability and makes it
easier to clean.
3. Flat top upper receiver, which greatly simplifies adding optics.
4. Properly staked bolt carrier. Loose carrier keys contribute to
functioning problems.
5. Barrel twist of 1:9 is fine but 1:7 is better, because it will
handle heavier bullets.
6. A lightweight or M4 profile barrel is better than a heavy barrel on
a defensive rifle. HBARs are fine for target shooting but slow you
down for defensive work.
7. No match triggers on serious rifles. They aren't rugged enough.
8. Avoid the temptation to hang all sorts of tacticrap off your rifle.
9. I like having a telescoping stock. Aside from making the rifle
more compact for storage, it enables me to adjust length of pull for
different clothing (e.g., t-shirt vs. winter coat) or different
shooters.

My rifle is a Colt AR-15A3 Tactical Carbine. The one feature I may
change on it is the barrel, it's a 1:9 twist HBAR. I'd prefer a
lightweight 1:7 twist barrel. Based on what I've read by instructors
who see lots of ammo go downrange, Colts tend to be the most reliable
of the major manufacturers. You pay a premium but on a defensive
rifle reliability is the single most important factor.

I've added a DPMS ambidextrous safety because I am left handed.

Unless you are running a suppressor or a short barreled rifle, a gas
piston upper is unnecessary. Learn to properly clean and lube your
rifle and it'll be reliable. (Hint: run it wet.)

For civilian defensive use the best choice for an optic is probably an
Aimpoint, non-magnified red dot. The Aimpoints offer very long
battery life, are very rugged, and fast. I have an IOR Valdada 3x25mm
CQB scope, which offers low magnification (important for me because if
I lose my glasses I'll at least have the scope) and is built like a
tank. I bought the IOR as a less expensive alternative to a Trijicon
ACOG.

I would avoid a zoom optic on a defensive carbine unless the highest
power is 4x. Murphy's Law dictates that when you need to use the
rifle up close the scope will be zoomed to the highest magnification,
which will slow you down. Illuminated reticles are a good, so you can
see them in poor light.

Stick with USGI milspec aluminum magazines or Magpul P-Mags. The
British and Singaporean steel mags are good, too, but may benefit from
replacement springs and/or followrs. HK mags are good but grossly
overpriced. Avoid no-name or USA-brand magazines, which are junk.

Site to Check Your Bank's Health

2008-07-16T14:11:00.001-04:00

I ran across this today and thought it was worth passing on. This site will let you check on the health of your bank, something important in today's financial climate.

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/safesound/ss_home.asp

A Potential Bio-Weapons Lab in Iran?

2008-07-13T13:41:00.001-04:00

From Foxnews:

Hundreds of African monkeys are being taken from their natural habitat and sold for scientific experiments, as well to a "secretive" biological laboratory in Iran, London's Sunday Times reported.
In an undercover investigation by the Times, Tanzanian animal trader Nazir Manji said he sells some 4,000 vervet monkeys a year to laboratories all around the world for about $100 each
...
The biological research institute, which has headquarters near Tehran, has been accused in the past by an Iranian opposition group of conducting biological weapons testing, it is reported, further fueling suspicions that the monkeys are being used for nefarious purposes.

Full story.

Well, that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.

Picked up a Remington 870

2008-07-12T16:00:00.003-04:00

I bought a Mossberg Mariner a couple of weeks ago, and earlier this week I got a LE trade-in Remington 870. I think I got shotgunitis. :-)

I traded off a Mini-14GB which didn't meet my reliability requirements, and got the 870 (plus some store credit). It has a 20" barrel, wood butt with recoil pad, wood corn cob forend, and a 20" barrel with rifle sights. It has the regular 4 round mag, no extension.

The bluing has some dings and marks. There are a few dings on the wood but not too much. I field stripped tonight and it was very clean on the inside with only a few wear marks.

According to Remington it was made around 1951, based on the serial number. This is a very early 870. I don't believe that 20" rifle sighted barrels were available then, so it's probably not the original barrel.

There are a couple of pics of the gun here.

Today, I installed a Fortman's left handed safety conversion. This took about 10 minutes, including getting out my set of gunsmith's punches. I still prefer my Mossberg's tang safety but this makes the Remington a lot more user friendly for me. The only other accessories I'm planning are a butt cuff or side saddle for extra ammo, and a sling. I considering maybe getting a magazine extension, since the gun hold only 4 rounds in the magazine. I may hold off on that and get a longer sporting barrel instead. In any event, I'm going to shoot it before I add anything else.

Along with the LH safety from MidwayUSA, I got a five boxes of Federal 2-3/4" low recoil 00 buckshot, and two boxes of the low recoil Tru-Ball slugs. The latter worked very well in my Mossberg Mariner, and I expect even better results in the Remington, with its rifle sights.

Mossberg 500 Dissassembly/Reassembly Video

2008-07-11T20:13:00.000-04:00

This is quite good.

Mossberg Loc-Box Review

2008-07-07T16:27:00.002-04:00

I recently decided to switch to a shotgun for my primary home defense piece. To that end, I picked up a Mossberg 500A Mariner in 12 gauge. Once the gun was proven at the range, I needed a way to secure it from curious kids.

I ordered a Loc-Box directly from Mossberg. It consists of two primary parts: the Loc-Box itself and a hook that goes into the muzzle of the gun.

Here's a pic of the main unit, with my shotgun in it:

The main reason for the hook is to stabilize the gun. The locking part of the unit is what secures it. Here's a pic of the muzzle:

Per the instructions, you are supposed to mount both parts to the wall by screwing them into a stud. Mossberg supplies three long wood screws for doing so. I did it slightly differently, attaching them to pieces of wood which are attached to the wall; one piece of wood was already in my closet, while the one for the muzzle hook is a scrap I attached to the sheetrock using Gorilla Glue and 8 drywall screws.

To use the Loc-Box, you unlock and open it. Then, slide the gun's muzzle up onto the hook, and then hang it on the hook through the open ejection port (the gun's action has to be open to put it in the Loc-Box). Then close and lock the unit. Here is a pic of the unit unlocked and open. You can see the hanging hook in the middle.

By hanging the gun on a hook through the open ejection port, there is no way to bring the gun into battery with the gun in the lock. Also, nothing goes inside the trigger guard. I specifically did not want a trigger lock because they can cause accidental discharges with loaded firearms.

As you may be able to tell, the hook that you hang the gun upon, and also the muzzle hook, are vinyl coated to protect your gun from scratches. The inside of the Loc-Box is padded, but the inside lip on the right is not. I covered the lip with electrical tape to prevent my shotgun from getting scratched.

The Loc-Box comes with two keys. I have one on a keychain on a hook hidden in the closet, with the other on the keychain I keep in my pocket. I can see fumbling for the keys in an emergency, especially in the dark, so I'll probably unlock the unit at night, then lock it in the morning. As shown in the picture, the Mossberg Mariner has the safety on, action open, one round of Remington OO buckshot on the carrier, and four in the magazine. A full reload rides in an Allen butt cuff.

Cost with shipping from Mossberg was around $40, which I consider reasonable. I do not believe that this will stop a determined thief. However, for those of you who need a device to secure a shotgun against curious children*, this is a good option. Aside from Mossberg's own shotguns, it will fit a Remington 870, and probably most other slide action gun, and many autos as well.

* I have two small children. I am firm believer in gun-proofing kids, rather than trying to child-proof guns. They know to not touch my guns without me there. But until they are older I wanted a second line of defense against curious hands.

Mossberg 500 Mariner Range Report

2008-07-07T10:07:00.001-04:00

Back on June 24th I bought a new Mossberg 500 Mariner 12 gauge pump shotgun, to be used as a home defense gun. I got it to the range for the first time on July 3rd.

The gun has an 18.5" cylinder bore barrel and a capacity of 5+1. It's bone stock except for a Limbsaver recoil pad, a sling in QD Uncle Mike's swivels, and an Allen elastic butt cuff for spare ammo. The sling will be coming off once it's put into the Mossberg Loc-Box that I bought for keeping the gun in my closet; I don't want it hanging up on anything in the house.

I shot it at ~10 yards and 25 yards with three kinds of ammo, all 12 gauge 2-3/4" shells:

- Remington Express OO buck
- Winchester Ranger low recoil OO buck
- Federal low recoil Tru-Ball slugs

At 10 yards, the Remington buck stayed on a 9" paper plate. At 25 yards the pattern opened up significantly, but enough to put most of the load into an aggressor's chest. The Winchester Ranger buckshot did not pattern as well as the Remington. It would be interesting to see how each load would do through a choked barrel.

I had wanted to try Federal low recoil OO buck with Flite-Control wads, but the online vendors I checked with were all out of stock. I hope to pick up some and give them a try in the future. Another buckshot load that I think will be worth trying will be Remington's reduced recoil OO buck loaded with 8 pellets, vs. the standard 9 pellet loading.

I was very impressed with the Tru-Ball slugs. They recoiled noticeably less than even the Winchester low recoil buckshot, and seemed pretty accurate. My Mossberg has only a bead front sight but it was easy to keep all my shots on a paper plate at 25 yards with the slugs. I have no doubt that they would group much better if the gun had rifle sights. However, since my intended use for it is home defense at across-the-room range, I am planning to keep the factory bead sight.

The Mossberg had no malfunctions. The first round of Winchester buckshot which I fired required an extra strong tug on the forearm to eject it, but that's an ammo issue, not a gun issue, IMO. Follow rounds of Winchester also exhibited sticky extraction, though not quite as bad. Aside from that, the gun ran well and has a smooth action. I was able to rapidly put lead on target out at 25 yards, which serves my purpose and then some. I would not hesitate to grab it if I needed to go into harm's way.

The Limbsaver recoil pad works well. Compared with other 12 bore guns with recoil pads that I've fired, the Limbsaver is much more effective in taking the sting out. That is not to say the gun is a powder puff. About 30 rounds was all I could comfortably handle before the recoil started bothering me. Between my friends and I, we put about 60 rounds through the gun today.

In summary:

I'm dissappointed with the Winchester Ranger low recoil buck, so I'm glad I bought only 25 rounds of it. The 3 remaining boxes of Winchester buckshot will be used for practice only. (Note that this load may run fine and pattern well in your gun. Try it in your gun before writing it off.)

I am very pleased with the Mossberg 500 Mariner shotgun, the Limbsaver recoil pad, Remington buckshot and Federal Tru-Ball low recoil slugs. I'm looking forward to more trigger time with the Mossberg.

New Mossberg 500 Mariner Shotgun

2008-06-24T14:05:00.001-04:00

Today I purchased a new Mossberg Model 500 Mariner shotgun. Main use for this will be as a home or camp defense gun. First, some background as to how I chose this piece.

After several years without firing a shotgun, last year I picked up a Stoeger Uplander 20 gauge double. Intended usage was sporting and home defense. After shooting it I liked it but decided I wanted a gun that ejected empty cases if I was going to rely on it for defense. Yes, I could learn to work with extractors but I want to eliminate ejection as one more factor to worry about if I have to use the gun to defend my home and family. One less thing to worry about.

Since I like double guns I looked around for a coach gun with ejectors. No dice. Since the target market for coach guns is CAS, and that requires extractors, all the new coach guns come with extractors. Phooey.

That left me looking at autos and pumps. I didn't want an auto. A pump will function with pretty much any ammo. There are reliable autos but I have more confidence in the reliability of a pump. YMMV.

Currently, there are two major pump guns on the market, the Remington 870 and the Mossberg 500/590. For me the Mossberg has one feature which makes it more desireable: the top mounted tang safety. I am left handed and the Remington's cross-bolt safety (unless I found a southpaw 870) works backwards. Yes, I can learn to work with one but why complicate matters, if a suitable alternative exists?

The Dick's Sporting Goods near me had a couple of suitable choices. The first that I looked at was a 20 gauge Mossberg 500 Super Bantam All Purpose Field. This is a blued gun with a 22" barrel, recoil pad, and removable stock spacer. I really liked the idea of the short length of pull. The Super Bantam fit me pretty well but it was [I]light[/I]. Only 5-1/4 pounds according to Mossberg's web page. That would make a great gun for carrying but recoil with it is going to be [B]stiff[/B], even in 20 gauge.

Next up was a Mossberg 500 Mariner in 12 gauge with an 18.5" cylinder bore barrel with a bead. The metal has Mossberg's MarineCoat finish, which looks like electroless nickel (not sure if it's that or something more high speed). I like the idea of a finish which reduces the amount of maintenance I need to perform. It's not pretty like bluing but this is a tool. Also, the flat silver finish probably makes the gun look a bit bigger and scarier, which is a bonus if I ever need to unlimber it for defense. (I regard this as a [I]bonus[/I], not as something to be relied on.) Like the Super Bantam it came with black plastic furniture, though it lacks the removable spacer to adjust LOP. It does have a recoil pad. Weight is 7 pounds. It fit me pretty well, the price seemed reasonable at $369, so I decided to buy it.

Along with the gun I bought a 100 round value pack of Remington #8 target loads, just to get familiar with the gun. I'm going to pick up some reduced recoil buckshot and slugs for serious work. Aside from ammo, the only accessories this gun will get are a shell holder for the butt stock (already on though not shown in the pic below), a sling in QD swivels, for outside use, and a Mossberg Loc-Box so I can safely store it in my bedroom. I also picked up a 12 gauge Hoppe's BoreSnake.

Depending on how well I can shoot slugs in it, the Mariner might even see duty for deer hunting.

After getting it home I field stripped the Mossberg and lightly oiled it with Ballistol, and removed the plug so I can fill the 5 round mag. I BoreSnaked the barrel which showed signs of being proof fired and not cleaned thereafter.

My next step is to BA/UU/R.

Obligatory new gun pics here.

Disaster Recovery Trial Run

2008-06-11T09:58:00.002-04:00

Over on KSL, I've reposted an email from Alexander Rhoads of Iowa, who had to put his law firm's disaster recovery plans into effect, due to flooding.

Check it out.

Ordered Some Mylar Bags

2008-04-24T19:40:00.003-04:00

Tonight I ordered 100 gallon sized mylar bags, along with 100 O2 absorbers, as mentioned in my last post. We'll put some of the rice I purchased on Monday in canisters but at least half of it will get sealed in the bags to stay fresh until we get to eating it. I'll have plenty of bags left over, which I plan to fill with other bulk foods to be purchased in the near future.

I ordered the bags and O2 absorbers from Sorbent Systems. They have a page here which shows how to seal the bags using a regular iron, for those of us without commercial grade sealers.

Load Up The Pantry

2008-04-22T12:22:00.002-04:00

From the Wall Street Journal:

Load Up the Pantry
April 21, 2008 6:47 p.m.

I don't want to alarm anybody, but maybe it's time for Americans to start stockpiling food.

No, this is not a drill.

You've seen the TV footage of food riots in parts of the developing world. Yes, they're a long way away from the U.S. But most foodstuffs operate in a global market. When the cost of wheat soars in Asia, it will do the same here.

Reality: Food prices are already rising here much faster than the returns you are likely to get from keeping your money in a bank or money-market fund. And there are very good reasons to believe prices on the shelves are about to start rising a lot faster.

Full article here.

I am currently looking into getting setup to seal bulk purchases into mylar bags with oxygen absorbers, so they don't spoil before we use them. I'll be posting about that. In the meantime, another good read is this food storage FAQ.

Food Rationing Hitting the US?

2008-04-21T15:46:00.003-04:00

Americans hear about food shortaged in the Third World frequently, and to our credit, we're the most generous people in the world when it comes to sending foreign aid. But food rationing in the US hasn't been an issue here for decades.

Now comes this story:

Major retailers in New York, in areas of New England, and on the West Coast are limiting purchases of flour, rice, and cooking oil as demand outstrips supply. There are also anecdotal reports that some consumers are hoarding grain stocks.

At a Costco Warehouse in Mountain View, Calif., yesterday, shoppers grew frustrated and occasionally uttered expletives as they searched in vain for the large sacks of rice they usually buy.

Full story here.

After reading the story above, I took a trip over to our local BJ's Wholesale Club (similar to Costco). There seemed to be no shortage at this particular store, but while I was there I figured it would be a good idea to pick up a couple bags of rice, along with some other staples.

No reason to panic yet, but this bears watching.

Yaesu Update

2008-04-18T21:29:00.003-04:00

Now that I've had my Yaesu FT-7800R in the truck for a little while I have a better idea of how it works. In a word: Great!

As I expected, it's a much more sensitive receiver than the VX-5RS handy talkie I'd been using, even with the same antenna. For example, I listen to the radio on my short drive to the train station each morning. It's common for me to pick up repeaters from Lancaster and even Harrisburg (I live just outside Philadelphia).

Last night I took my laptop with G4FHQ's FTB-7800 programming software out to the truck, and added a bunch of repeaters in anticipation of this weekend's trip down to Arlington, VA. After loading in the settings for repeaters in MD, DC, and VA, I had the radio scan through them. I picked up traffic from a couple repeaters in Baltimore. Remarkable! I haven't yet tried hitting those repeaters and suspect that I'll be able to listen to them from a much further distance than I can hit them with my transmissions, but this is still impressive performance.

Spyderco Sharpmaker and Gerber Diamond Pocket Sharpener

2008-04-08T19:39:00.005-04:00

Part of every toolkit should be at least one sharp knife. Knives of course wear with use and require sharpening. Up until now, I've relied mostly on traditional sharpening stones or a Smith's sharpening system (similar to a Lansky).

Last weekend I asked my father to bring over his Spyderco Sharpmaker for me to try. I used it to touch up a couple of blades and was impressed with how easy and fast it was to get a good edge. So, Sunday night I ordered one from Knifecenter.com. While I was on their site I also ordered a Gerber Diamond Pocket Sharpener. UPS dropped them off today.

Before using the Spyderco I read the included written instructions and viewed the instructional DVD.

The Sharpmaker consists of a base, a set of medium grit ceramic rods, a set of fine grit ceramic rods, and two brass rods to act as handguards. When assembled the ceramic rods are set to give you a selectable edge angle of either 30 or 40 degrees. (See a picture here.) You hold the blade vertically and move it against the rods.

After dinner, I used it to sharpen several of my knives: a Case Moose with chrome vanadium blades, an Ontario RAT-3 with a 1095 carbon steel blade, a Benchmade Griptilian with a 440C stainless blade, a Schrade LB7 Bearpaw with a stainless blade, and a Mora Swedish Army Knife with a stainless blade. None of these knives were dull to start with, but now they're sharp. I had especially good results with the RAT-3, the clip blade on the Moose, and the Griptilian, all of which are now like razors (and I have the bald spots on my forearm to prove it).

I am impressed with not only the ease of using the Sharpmaker, but also with the speed one can put a sharp edge on a knife with it. Also, as shown in the video, the tool can be used to sharpen other implements like axes, serrated blades, and even scissors.

It's much easier to keep the blade vertical and move it against an angled surface, than it is to keep the blade at a constant angle and move it against a horizontal stone. This is a large part of why the Sharpmaker works so well.

The Gerber Sharpener consists of two sets of diamond grit coated rods, one fine and one coarse, in a plastic handle. You place the blade in the "V" between the rods and draw it through. It works fine for quicky sharpening jobs in the field. I used the fine rods to touch up the large blade on my Victorinox Explorer SAK, and it worked well.

Freehand sharpening with a stone remains a valuable skill. However, for routine sharpening of most knives, I'm going to use the Sharpmaker because I get better results with it than anything else I've tried. The Gerber sharpener will go into my possibles bag after I add a lanyard of some bright yellow string, to help me find it if I drop it. It weighs almost nothing and will serve to put a usable edge on a knife if it gets dull in the field.

Remember, dull knives are dangerous. They require you to exert more effort to cut something, which increases the likelihood you'll slip and cut yourself. Sharp knives are much safer. The Spyderco and Gerber are good tools to help you keep your knives sharp.

Some Lessons Learned From Paintball

2008-04-06T12:55:00.001-04:00

Yesterday I went up to Skirmish USA in the Poconos to play paintball for a friend's birthday. Aside from a chance to run around in the woods and get muddy, I tried to approach it as a force-on-force learning experience. Keeping in mind that there are certain rules which decrease realism (e.g., hits below the elbow or knee, or on the gun don't count, the paintball guns hold a lot more ammo than any gun that's not belt fed), and the fact that rather than a bunch of trained operators each team was more like an uncoordinated mob, I think there were a few lessons to be gained as to the use of *real* force. In the end, it was still an exercise in which two groups of "armed" people were trying to shoot each other.

In no particular order:

1. People hide behind things when you shoot at them. If this was a real firefight, I'd want a round that offers good penetration. E.g., 7.62x39 or 7.62 NATO. I've witnessed multiple 5.56x45 bullets get stopped cold by a sapling which was maybe 3" in diameter. For home defense this may be an advantage. For combat, give me something that will turn cover into concealment.

2. Peering out from concealment is frequently enough to get you shot in the head. I think I got hit in the face/head 3 or 4 times yesterday.

2(a) Frequently, the only shot you may get on an opponent is of a head or other body part sticking out. For anything further than 20 yards, you're going to want a rifle, unless you have a shotgun with slugs and you can shoot it as well as a rifle. I hope to have a rifle if I ever get in a firefight.

3. Even when behind cover or concealment, frequently you will get shot by someone you didn't know was around.

4. That said, it's safer to stay hidden than to try closing with your enemy. Let him come to you and you'll survive longer.

5. When operating in thick woods or a built up area, there may be 40 people within an acre or two, and you may still not see anybody, friend or foe. The same applies if it isn't a paintball game. Some kind of short range radios for tactical commo would be *very* valuable.

6. Gloves are good. They allow you to drop to the ground without scraping your hands and provide limited protection against glancing blows. I wore Mechanix brand mechanic's gloves, which are thin enough to allow you to be reasonably dextrous. I wore these gloves in a practical carbine match back in December and they worked well for real shooting (I won the iron sight class, AAMOF). I got them at Lowe's.

7. Well-aimed suppressive fire can keep your opponent pinned down so he can't shoot you or your buddy. This is NOT "spray and pray." Rather, if you see an enemy behind cover, you can put rounds close to him, which will prevent him from poking out at you. Obviously, civilians don't usually have the luxury of using suppressive fire in defensive situations, since we need to be careful about not shooting innocent bystanders. Unfortunately, your opponent may not care. Keep this in mind so you can adapt your tactics to fit the situation.

8. Plain black iron sights won't be easy to see in the woods or inside a dimly lit building, especially when it's overcast or near dawn or dusk. At a minimum, your front sight should have a white or orange insert or paint. A (real) gold or ivory bead, or fiber optic front sight will be much better. A red dot sight is better yet. Fiber optic sight inserts and illuminated optics are two of the best innovations in the gun world ever, IMHO.

9. Even though I wasn't in any kind of danger, this kind of exercise made my adrenalin level skyrocket. Unless you are the kind of person who's unfazed by anything, expect your heart to be pounding. This is less of a factor if you're in good physical shape. Unfortunately, I'm a fat middle aged guy.

10. If you wear glasses or goggles, get some anti-fog coating if it's at all humid. Until I got some "Fog[Tech]" wipes from the pro shop I couldn't see much because my glasses and protective mask kept fogging up. If you can't see, you can't fight.

10(a) If you wear protective goggles, pick ones that wrap around so they don't limit your peripheral vision. The masks supplied by Skirmish USA eliminated peripheral vision, which exacerbated my inability to keep track of my surroundings. OTH, this helped simulate the tunnel vision many people report in the aftermath of a real encounter.

11. When involved in a force-on-force encounter (real or simulated), getting shot is a very real possibility. There's a good chance you won't even see who shoots you. Unlike the movies where the hero gets shot in the arm but goes on to prevail, expect to get shot in the hands, arms, face, head, chest, back, butt, and groin.

11(a). Yes, I got hit a two or three times in the crotch. Thankfully, I was wearing my spare ammo carrier so that it covered up my boys, so it didn't hurt. If you decide to practice force-on-force with airsoft or paintball, wear protection down there.

12. "Too much ammo" is an oxymoron.