Wednesday, September 29, 2021

Ammo Prices September 2021

 

 

We are seeing substantial improvement in Ammo prices after escalating during the 2020 riots on the west coast.  But prices are still much higher than 2019.  With the huge inflation that started under Biden/Harris, and their ban on imported Ammo from Russia, it is unlikely prices will ever reach 2019 levels again. 

Name brand 9mm FMJ 115g Ammo is selling at about $0.60 per round, or about $30 per box of 50.  This compares with $60/box in 2020, and $13/box in 2019.

Economy brands can be about 15% lower than well-known brands like Federal and Winchester, but not when ammo is hard to get. When supplies are tight, economy brands will cost nearly the same as name brands.

A Winchester 9mm 115g FMJ bullet will have 1190 feet per second velocity and 362 ft-lbs. of energy. An economy brand may offer 1150 fps and 350 ft-lbs. of energy or 3.4% less, but at double-digit lower cost, it would seem to be a good value for target shooting.

Next month, we will look at the bargain brand prices for 9mm.  

 

For more information, click below.

 
 

 

 

Monday, August 23, 2021

Alone Season 8 Food Harvested by tool

In Season 8, we estimated foraging food gathered based on comments on the show and compared that with the other tools for the following results.  There were also some lessons learned in this season.

 

It is important to note that for the first 45 days, the participants were not allowed to use Gill Nets, due to local fish and game laws.  So the gill net could have been about 2X higher under other circumstances.  A lesson learned, was that deep water gill nets were performing much better.  Had everyone realized this, the gill net could have been much more productive. Instead, it was in 3rd place behind a Bow & Arrows.  Considering hand fishing lines and gill nets, both combined were still in 3 rd place, but access to deep water would likely be a game changer.

The Bow, in the hands of a Master Hunter like Clay was able to bag a deer.  The producers said he got about 50 lbs of meat from this, I would have thought more, as it was not a small deer. This along with a grouse, also by Clay, but the Bow & Arrows in second place behind Foraging.

Onions, berries and dead fish & fowl on the shore line, along with some information from the producers and Theresa, Foraging appears to have provided more food than all other methods combined.  

Snare Traps, have been very successful in previous shows when the ground was covered with snow.  This show was no exception, but there was limited snow for the first 30 days or more. 

Summary:

Foraging is the top food source, which if done while hunting with your Bow, the second highest food generator, should increase your yield on both, and use your limited calories wisely. 

Normally deep water fishing lines and gill nets would be set early, but deep water was limited and gill nets were prohibited.  Despite the weak performance this episode, these should till be important tools to have. 

Snare trapping is also important, with an increased focus after the snow falls.  In some cases, it may be worth hunting over one of your snare traps with a rabbit in it, if the predators can be killed and eaten.  This would also reduce the risk of your traps being robbed during the night while you sleep. 


For more information, click below.


 
 
Survival Pack (Security Patrol or Bug Out pack)  
Greenbriar (catbriar) 
Top 10 List of Prepper info
Top Rated Prepper Handbook Posts of all time
Top Rated Prepper Website
Top 15 Prepper Movies or Shows'
Or click on a label below for similar topics

 


 

Saturday, July 3, 2021

Alone Winners 1-7

 

‘Alone’: The Winners from Every Season

* The article below contains spoilers for the first seven seasons. Do not continue reading if you don't want to find out the winners!

The HISTORY® Channel’s hit survival series Alone is back like never before and taking place in the most dangerous location yet—the Canadian wilderness on the shores of Chilko Lake. As we head into the new season, check out all of the past winners below and relive their victories by watching every season without signing in. Who will take home the prize this year? Tune in starting Thursday, June 3 at 9:30/8:30c to find out.

Alan Kay, winner of Alone Season 1
David McIntyre from Alone Season 2
Zachary Fowler from Alone Season 3
Ted and Jim Baird from Alone Season 4
Sam Larson from Alone Season 5
Jordan Jonas from Alone Season 6
Roland Welker from Alone Season 7

Friday, June 25, 2021

Secret Garden

You can turn your living area and surroundings into a Secret Garden by planting edible perennials around your house, apartment, condo, park, trails, woods, creeks, ponds and any public access area.

Start by looking at your nearby area for garden beds, hedges, planters, etc. to see what you can plant close by.  Then look at a Satellite Map of your area to identify places like trails, waterways, parks, etc. that you can legally get access to. 

Around your area, try and plant some of the following:

  1. Fruit & Nut trees; Figs & native pecans are good, but any other low maintenance tree that produces food each year without humans action necessary.  Fig trees can be grown from cuttings, or cutting a finger size limb off of a regional variety that performs well and putting it in moist soil.  
  2. Asparagus is a great vegetable that produce early spring food, and continues to produce for several months, as long as it is not over harvested.  It resembles a flower bed or hedge plant that most people would not recognize and can be grown most anywhere.  Plant roots are available to purchase for a few bucks, or Heirloom Seeds or the Mary Washington variety can be planted and grown, but may take more care to get them going.
  3. Black berries, blue berries, muscadines, wild plums, and persimmons are all good to plant most anywhere. 
  4. Jerusalem Artichokes and Sweet Potatoes are a good root vegetable that will be largely unnoticeable by others and can be grown most any place.
  5. Spinach is a good cool weather plant that will be largely unnoticeable by others and can be grown most any place.

If necessary, grow some in pots inside, on your patio or porch to get them started. 

Once you know what grows well, begin transplanting some to surrounding areas.  Plant things that will blend in with the surroundings, and look similar to other vegetation in the area.  For example, if a hedge bush dies, replace it with a tea or blue berry bush.  Plant them on holidays, when the apartment staff is off, &/or early in the morning when few are awake.

Look for places that are already dirt surfaces like flower beds, and transplant a single plant there, with a label, or something to show this was intentionally planted, so the Gardner or lawn care people will not destroy them.  Once you get one plant growing successfully, add more. 

In nearby ponds and along creeks, you want to plant Cat Tails and Arrowhead, which are wild edible plants.

Over time, you can develop a large collection of edible plants.  In addition, if there is a park near by, feed the ducks and pigeons there. They would be a great source of emergency food if ever needed. 

Also good to identify the locations of any places that might have food or supplies for Salvaging if necessary.  For example a grocery store distribution warehouse is a good idea.  Keep old paper phone books and maps to use if the internet is down like in a power outage.

We have a number of gardening links below and in our Table of Contents that you should also visit.


For additional information see the following links:

 
Also check out our Prepper Livestock series 


Power Outage Preps
Power Outage Heater
DIY Solar System 
The SHTF Day One
Survive a 2 week Power Outage

https://www.foragingtexas.com/