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Tuesday, August 14, 2018

National Prepardness Month

QUESTION: Why does our Government have a National Preparedness Month?

ANSWER: It makes good sense to be prepared.

Preparing is simple. There are a few basic things you need:

Water - 3 gallons for each person in the household.
Food - have a weeks supply of the can goods and foods that you normally eat.
Gun - it is important that you can protect your food, water and more importantly your family.

Here is a Beginners list of things to have. A garden and some livestock is also good to have.

For additional information see the following links:

Blog Table of Contents

Or click on a label below for similar topics.

Tuesday, August 7, 2018

Fall Garden

Fall garden planting starts in August, and can yield some good healthy food for gardeners. If you have never gardened, now is a good time to start your first Practice Garden. The ability to Growing your own food from seed is a skill that can prove priceless.

A few dollars worth of Survival Seeds could prove to be the best investment you have ever made. Most households have a few yard tools, but if not, there are a few Budget Garden Preparations to consider buying.

Its not hard, just get started viewing some of our links here. Start by reading our Practice Garden post; finish up by reading Budget Garden Preparations.

For additional information see the following links:

Blog Table of Contents

Gardening Links
Gardening101 – Soil Basics
Green House for year-round food supply
Vegeta ble Planting Dates

Vegetable Days to Harvest Budget Garden Preparations
Seeds for Survival
Preppers Garden

Food Shelf Life

Aquaponics Growing your own food from seed Practice Garden

Also check out our Prepper Livestock series

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Sunday, July 15, 2018

Ammunition Reloading: Getting Started

By Bob Campbell published on in Gun Gear, How To

I seem to be one of the few writers to extensively use handloads in testing. I have always done so, and will continue to do so. That’s mainly because handloads offer real economy, custom grade performance, and excellent accuracy potential. Best of all, getting started in handloading isn’t difficult. The NRA offers handloading classes; check the website for a class near you. An experienced friend is the best bet for easy pointers and learning the mechanics of reloading. There are also good books, including the ABCs of Handloading. Obtaining several handloading manuals is a must. There are also a few tools you’ll need to get started.

Choosing Equipment

Gear is built around the loading press. You do not need a progressive press to get started. Instead, a single stage press is all that is needed. The complication of a progressive press may come later. If you are loading for only a few calibers, the single stage press may be all you ever need.

You must obtain a good quality powder scale—no shortcuts here. A good quality balance beam scale has been the cornerstone of my loading for many years. Electronic scales are very nice to have if you can afford one. Mount the scale on a level surface and treat it like fine China!

A specific shell holder for each cartridge/caliber is needed to fit the press. Loading dies are specific to the caliber. You will need a set of dies, cartridge case lube (even for carbide dies, this makes things easier), powder funnel, powder measure, and again, loading manuals. It is ok to us your digits to lube a case, but a rolling pad is neater. A cartridge case cleaner and cartridge case trimmer may be on the list if the high volume bug gets you.

You really need a loading block that holds the cartridges. I cannot imagine getting by without this. The powder measure is pre set by you to drop a specific amount of powder in the cartridge case. Be certain to check the settings from time to time against the powder scale.

Do not get into trouble with over charges! If there is any doubt, dump the powder back in the can and start over. While most loading presses have a means of priming the cartridge case during the loading cycle, I prefer a hand held tool. You will get a feel for the crunch as the primer seats. One of the best means of obtaining everything you need at a fair price is to purchase a loading kit with the press, measure, scale, and other needed items. This is a relative bargain and a neat way to get started.

Reloading

The mechanics are simple enough. With the loading apparatus set up, the first step is to resize the cartridge case. They swell a bit on firing and must be sized to the original diameter. This sizing eventually wears the cartridge case, but if you use standard pressure loads, and particularly with handgun brass, you may enjoy dozens of re-loads. The brass is resized, and the primer removed during the first step.

The case is primed on the press or by a handheld tool. Next, with the three-stage pistol die, the case mouth is flared. Powder is added during this stage in some presses. Finally, the bullet is seated and crimped in place.

I also like to have a go no-go gauge to chamber the loaded cartridge in—just to be certain it will chamber in the firearm. A pistol barrel removed from the firearm or a revolver cylinder works as well. Be certain to check for proper chambering before you load a substantial amount of ammunition.

Bullet crimp differs, with the revolver generally getting a medium crimp for most loads and a heavy crimp for Magnum loads. The self-loader gets a taper crimp. Rifle cartridges generally use two stage dies. While simpler rifle cartridges demand greater leverage, a small single stage press isn’t ideal.

Handloading is enjoyable for its own sake and allows greater amounts of ammunition to be fired for the same budget, and also tweaking loads for the individual rifle or pistol. It is a worthwhile pursuit that is well worth your time.

Are you interested in learning to handload? Do you have a reloading tip? Share your question or answer in the comment section.

Bob Campbell is a former peace officer and published author with over 40 years combined shooting and police and security experience. Bob holds a degree in Criminal Justice. Bob is the author of the books, The Handgun in Personal Defense, Holsters for Combat and Concealed Carry, The 1911 Automatic Pistol, The Gun Digest Book of Personal Protection and Home Defense, The Shooter’s Guide to the 1911, The Hunter and the Hunted, and The Complete Illustrated Manual of Handgun Skills. His latest book is Dealing with the Great Ammo Shortage. He is also a regular contributor to Gun Tests, American Gunsmith, Small Arms Review, Gun Digest, Concealed Carry Magazine, Knife World, Women and Guns, Handloader and other publications. Bob is well-known for his firearm testing.

View all articles by Bob Campbell

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Tags: Handloading and Reloading, Hornady, Lyman, RCBS

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The right amount of Ammo

How Much Ammunition Is Enough?

The ammunition industry has been a very exciting place for the past few years. In addition to an influx of new hunters and shooters, we’ve also seen a number of individuals stocking up on various calibers of ammunition in anticipation of future shortages. The reasons to stockpile ammunition vary. But regardless of your reason to acquire a cache, how much is a sufficient quantity?

JR Note: There is no such thing as too much, except in one location. See: Right Amount of Ammo

Our (CTD) newest guest blogger, Selous Scout, writes about just this in his post “How Much Ammunition is Enough?”

The argument over how much ammo to buy and store is one of the most widely contested subjects on the Survival/Militia internet forums today. Many feel that only 500 rounds total is necessary while others suggest amounts that would require heavy trucking to move about.

All things considered, the amount of ammo you need to store is directly tied to what your perception of what TSHTF will consist of and how you go about preparing for it. The amount of ammo required by a homeowner protecting the contents of his home after a natural disaster is considerably less than the Survivalist preparing for a multi-generational economic collapse/NWO takeover/Government suspension of civil rights scenario.

In one you may have to protect yourself and property for several months while in the others your succeeding generations (if there are any) will have to rely on what you stored up for them. So where does this put you? Since this relies on your personal beliefs, no one can tell you what will suit your needs. You must evaluate what may possibly happen during your SHTF period and purchase accordingly.

Do you feel that you will have to fight off the ravening hordes of un-prepared sheeple?
Do you plan on supplementing your stored food with small game?
How good of shot are you? Can you do one shot kills on an attacking feral dog pack?

If you like to shoot as a hobby you may already have reloading equipment and lots of supplies. It is a worthwhile hobby to take up as it can cut the cost of ammo for your favorite non-common caliber, whether it is a wildcat load or an obsolete military caliber, and it is also fun. But how much is enough?

Perhaps the best way to approach this is to set up a purchasing plan. Work out on paper (or computer) the most likely scenario to happen in your area sooner than later. If you do not have supplies to get you thru 72 hours of your favorite SHTF, that is your primary concern. If you don’t have one, buy your primary weapon for your arsenal and several hundred rounds to go with it. Next purchase a weeks worth of storage food. Then purchase water purifying supplies that will clean 50 or more gallons. Alternate your purchases each month building on what you had before until you have reached a level at which you are comfortable.

Once you have done this, then plan for the next most likely scenario. Using this technique you can slowly build up a supply of food, water, gear and ammo without sacrificing one group of items for the sake of another. You will also be able to add gear for the least likely scenario without sacrificing for the most likely to happen.

Now that you have met your most dire needs and prepared for those what ifs, you can begin to stock-up on ammo.

But what do you buy?

First thing to understand is that in a natural disaster, life will go on outside of the affected zone. This means that ammo will continue to be produced by the respective manufacturers and what you have accumulated through your purchasing plan should be sufficient for your needs.

However…

If we were to experience an economic breakdown, with riots and such, martial law would most likely be imposed, some people disarmed (most likely the wrong ones), and no ammo available for the foreseeable future, if ever again. Let the experiences of those who suffered the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and other disasters be a lesson to you.

Lesson 1
You can be forcibly removed from your home for “your own good”! In a future disaster, your food and supplies may be seized and redistributed to the sheeple.

Lesson 2
You will be disarmed for the general good. You may be shot if you do not co-operate willingly. You may never see your firearms again.

Lesson 3
The government is inept at responding to disasters of this scope.

Lesson 4
Those with the guns make the rules.

Those with extensive reloading supplies (hidden away) will be in a fairly good position, but you can not reload .22lr!

The barrel life of most average modern (WWI and up) military firearms is up to 50,000 rounds fired with proper cleaning techniques and controlled rates of fire of 5 to 10 seconds between shots.

This is also true of most .22lr’s.

So now we reach the answer for a multi-generational firearm. Buy for the life of the barrel. Unless you own a Ruger 10/22 and a select few other makes, the ability to replace the barrel will exceed the skill of most users, especially after TSHTF. The 10/22 has an easily removable barrel and a spare can be stockpiled along with other spare parts needed to keep your rifle humming.

100,000 rounds of .22lr = $2000.00+ in today’s money. This is a large, forbidding outlay of cash for a lot of us, so the answer is to continue to purchase over time, and storing in metal ammo boxes.

Now you ask, What do I need with all that ammo?

YOU don’t need all that ammo. But your children and grandchildren may. If a MG-SHTF (multi-generational) happens it is likely .22lr will never in the foreseeable future be manufactured again!

Therefore, what you have put aside will be more valuable than gold. Literally. Where someone may sneer at your Krugerand they may jump at the chance to barter for a handful of .22lr.

Don’t forget, a certain amount will be spent in training new hunters and will not contribute anything to the stew pot! Also, prices will continue to climb and eventually, the Government may ban ammo sales altogether.

Ok, now what about the other calibers?

The same goes for the other calibers of your arsenal. You may want to buy some of each caliber at the same time or rotate it like you did with your gear. I would not buy 100,000 rounds of anything unless I had a secure area to store it in, away from confiscation and looting, in an area you feel secure in caching it, or at your secure retreat. Also, do not neglect other aspects of survival just to buy ammo.

Stockpiling large amounts of ammo is not for everyone. I do not advocate it if you have little or no disposable income to prepare with. But for those thinking of buying gold or silver for TEOTWAWKI, I would recommend that you first consider ammo. For barter purposes, stocking up on some of the less common calibers might give you the leverage you need to get that one item you want and need which nothing else will budge. Reloading dies in these calibers will insure a steady customer for your trade goods.

A lot of people say that bartering ammo is a bad idea as it may be used against you (me included), but I think that once the situation has stabilized to the point that community bartering is occurring on a regular organized basis, this danger may be past. Bartering at an established trading post will help alleviate some of this danger once they have been created (and they will).

So, for my last recommendation.

Buy a black powder flintlock rifle and learn how to make your own black powder. Store extra flints as well as barrels, lock mechanisms, bullet molds and lead. You may well then truly have the ultimate rifle for civilizations end.

Selous Scout is a 52 year old single father of 2 teenage boys living in the Pacific Northwest. He has been actively involved in survival preparations since he was 19 years old, and an avid backpacker and hiker from the age of 14. He enjoys the outdoors and loves all season camping. Selous Scout created his blog, Something Wicked Comes to share some of his insight and accumulated knowledge with those just starting out with survival prepping. He is also writing a serialized novel that he posts on his blog called “The Cache” which will be published early next year.

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Tags: Ammunition, Preparedness, Survival

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The right amount of Ammo

Tuesday, July 10, 2018

The State of Gun Control

By Dave Dolbee published in General

Is it time to pursue real solutions to criminal violence and forget about a war on law-abiding gun owners? Of course it is. In fact, that is the only solution that has ever had a chance or reducing gun-related crime. By definition, laws only apply to the law abiding when it comes to prevention, but that has not stopped or slowed the anti-gunners’ “commonsense gun safety” agendas.

Handgun lying over a copy of the United States constitution and the American flag.

You have to understand the opposition to understand how to counter the fallacy of their arguments, so here it goes.

Common Sense Gun Control

Gun control advocates continue to call for their so-called “commonsense gun safety” measures. Essentially, this can be broken down into two main concepts. The first is universal background checks. According to The National Institute of Justice “effectiveness depends on… requiring gun registration.”

Historically, gun registration has led to gun confiscation. First, they say they want to “innocently” just know who owns guns and which ones they own. Then, they have a substantial list to force the confiscation. Besides, how does a list of gun owners prevent crime? It does not. However, that has not stopped politicians such as Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL) from recently introducing yet another a bill in Congress that would create a national registry of all firearm owners.

Assault Weapons

The second objective is a ban on so-called “assault weapons.” Gun control advocates seem to believe one gun is deadlier or more dangerous than others and somehow limiting access to a class of guns would then prevent crime. To do this, they point to recent tragedies. However, Charles Whitman opened fire from a Texas clock tower, killing 16 people and wounding 31 before officers killed him.

Whitman used knives and multiple firearms during his spree—none of which would meet the definition of an “assault rifle.” Gun control advocates do not seem to understand that you cannot simple pass a law and prevent future tragedy. It is not the gun that commits the crime, it is the person. That fact does not seem to have resonated with the American Medical Association, which recently reaffirmed its endorsement of a ban on “assault weapons,” including the confiscation of all such firearms from Americans at large.

Fortunately, to date we have been able to stop the efforts of the antis in Congress. Why hasn’t Congress adopted these proposals? Quite frankly, the answer may be as simple as commonsense. Neither of the antis’ concepts would accomplish their stated goal of reducing or preventing crime. Licensed dealers, who are required to clear every sale through the National Criminal Background Check System (NICS), sell most of the guns. Even where private party sales are allowed, the seller accepts the responsibility for ensuring the buyer may legally purchase the firearm before the transaction may legally takeplace.

On top of that, to address recent failures of the NICS system, Congress passed the Fix NICS bill to address the governmental units that were often not reporting criminal records to NICS. It was just such a NICS failure that allowed the Texas church shooter to buy a rifle. Ironically, a citizen who shot him with an AR-15 ended his spree. Do gun control advocates really believe criminals will do background checks on each other?

As for “assault weapons,” President Clinton signed the “Assault Weapons Ban” in 1994. It was not renewed 10 years later when studies showed it had no effect on crime reduction. The federal NICS law, passed in 1993, prohibits registration of guns and gun owners. Congress has repeatedly rejected gun registration based on bitter historical lessons. Why? Just before the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Congress forbade gun registration and reaffirmed the Second Amendment based on how the Nazis used registration records to confiscate firearms from their intended victims. That lesson is as appropriate today as it was then.

The registration records were critical to the Nazis who overran France in 1940, imposed the death penalty for not turning in guns, and conscripted the French police to ferret out violators. Despite the chance of being executed, numerous French citizens did not surrender their firearms. Readers of The Shooter’s Log often comment that they would not surrender their weapons either. I am sure there are many other Americans who would not as well.

Such experiences are as old as humanity. Tyrants, conquerors, and dictators of every breed have sought to disarm their subjects in order to dominate and exploit them. It was that lesson which our founding fathers understood well when they penned our Second Amendment protections.

Conclusion

Gun control is as alive and strong as it has ever been. Do not be fooled. It is a cancer. Often being harbored in the body of America and unseen until it rears its ugly head. The appointment of a new Supreme Court Justice will be critical to the future of the Second Amendment as we know it. Until then, all we can hope is that the anti gunners will pursue “common sense” solutions to criminal violence and forget about their war on law-abiding gun owners. The law abiding are not the ones committing crimes, and the lawbreakers will not follow new laws any more than have obeyed the old ones.

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Tags: Gun Control, Second Amendment

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Sunday, July 8, 2018

The .22 LR for Hunting and Survival

By CTD Blogger published on in Ammunition

It’s cheap by comparison, abundant, and fun to shoot. It’s the most common and most popular round on the market and is often derided as having little practical use outside of target practice and plinking. The .22 LR cartridge is often lauded and condemned in the same breath. Why? Despite its shortcomings, I feel it has a serious role in a practical survival rifle.

Box of Remington .22 Viper ammunition with a green background and white and gold type

Almost every shooter started out with the humble .22 LR rimfire cartridge. It’s versatility as a training round and a small game hunting cartridge is well known, although the usefulness of a lightweight and reliable .22 rifle is often downplayed due to the round’s relatively low energy and reputed lack of “stopping power.”

Despite the small punch it packs, the .22 LR cartridge can still be enormously useful in the right hands.

As a survival tool, the .22 rifle serves its purpose well. In addition to being effective against small game, such as squirrels and rabbits, the .22 long rifle cartridge can also be used to take larger game with the proper shot placement. Game wardens have long targeted poachers who use quiet .22 rifles to surreptitiously and illegally take deer.

Anecdotal accounts of hunters using .22 ammunition for feral hog and coyote control abound on the Internet. Using rimfire ammunition and rifles to take large game such as deer is illegal in most areas, although in a survival situation it is possible to harvest such game with a single well-placed shot.

For personal defense, the .22 is not necessarily ideal. Detractors point out that an aggressor can withstand multiple shots from a 40-grain, .22 caliber bullet before being significantly incapacitated. Yet, all it takes is one well-placed shot from the same gun to end a fight. In some circumstances, the mere fact that there is incoming fire may cause an attacker to rethink his or her plan.

While the .22 LR may not be the most ideal round for hunting or personal defense, it can get the job done. In a survival situation having a .22 is better than having no weapon at all.

Brown Marlin Model 60 rifle on a white background, barrel pointed to the right

In terms of the best “bang for your buck” it’s hard to beat a Marlin Model 60 autoloading rifle. This reliable rifle has been around for 50 years and has earned its reputation as an inexpensive, accurate and dependable firearm. The Model 60 is a tube fed semiautomatic rifle that comes with iron sights, though a rimfire scope can be fitted. New Model 60s can be found for less than $200.

The Model 60 isn’t your only option of course. There are a number of other fine .22 caliber rifles that work well as a survival rifle.

The Marlin Papoose and Henry U.S. Survival rifle are both good examples of .22 survival rifles that break down to be able to be stored more easily.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention what is probably the most popular .22 rifle of all time, the Ruger 10/22. Unlike the Marlin Model 60, the Ruger 10/22 uses a detachable box magazine for quicker reloads. Like the Model 60, there is an enormous amount of aftermarket accessories for the 10/22. If you can think of the accessory, someone somewhere probably makes it for the 10/22.

One thing that is important when feeding an autoloading .22 is your choice of ammunition. Mr. Completely shared his thoughts on rimfire ammunition choices a while back. Bulk packs of Federal seem to be a popular choice. These copper plated rounds tend to feed in most automatic rifles and handguns with very few problems. Still, they aren’t the most accurate and tend to have misfire rates at slightly less than 1%.

CCI Standard ammunition tends to be a bit more accurate, and its Green Tag ammunition is sorted by weight for consistent performance. For most autoloaders, the best bet is CCI Mini-Mags. Even the roughest semiautomatic actions can digest Mini-Mags with little fuss.

When storing your .22 ammunition, make sure to keep it in a location where it is not affected by moisture. Exposure to moisture can easily cause .22 rimfire cartridges to fail to fire. Ziploc or vacuum sealed freezer bags are cheap insurance to keep your .22 cartridges dry.

The .22LR may not be the best round for any number of roles, but it is versatile, cheap, plentiful and easy to store in large amounts. The ability to have a small rifle capable of taking small game, as well as standing in as a defensive weapon can prove incredibly useful in a survival situation.

For around $200 you can purchase a small .22 rifle and 500 round of ammunition; a small price to pay for such a useful tool.

What was your first .22? What is your favorite now? Share in the comment section.

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Tags: .22 Long Rifle, CCI Ammo, Marlin, Rimfire Ammunition, Ruger 10/22, Ruger Rifles

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