As part of our preps, we've stocked up on canned cheeses available from Pleasent Hill Grain company (great company to do business with so far).
These cheeses have an 'indefinite' shelf life but projected is several years if not decades. This assumes you keep the cans cool and dry so they don't age faster or rust out. Remember, heat kills in your prepping.
We ordered both the Red Feather and the Bega and found them fairly similar in taste and texture. Think firm Velveeta cheese for the texture. A soft very mild flavor, not unlike that of say American cheese.
They make great grilled cheeses but aren't terribly robust for eating by theirselves. They melt very well and also work in omellettes, and potentially on say a pizza although you're not going to get a great pizza out of it.
But in a SHTF scenario, simply being able to make a pizza puts you several steps up above the common person in that situation.
So, highly recommended if you're looking to add some dairy to your prep stocks in the form of cheese.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Monday, May 14, 2012
Hornady AP Reloading - Followup
Just a quick follow up, if you're having problems with accuracy using the powder meter that shipping with your Hornaday AP progressive reloader then buy the pistol rotor for it. Accuracy went from +/- .4 grains to +/- .05 grains. It goes from being literally dangerous to being balls on accurate as a result.
Highly recommended update.
Highly recommended update.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Moooo.....?
In your long term, worst case scenario, have you given any thought to dairy products? And how you're going to replace your source when the, to make a bad pun, current source dries up?
Most of those early settlers took some way to produce dairy with them. For good reason. Dairy provides a bunch of vitamins we need, calcium we have to have for our children to grow tall and strong and it's fairly calorie dense and from it we get things like butter, buttermilk, cheese and cream.
This is an area that we personally haven't found a solution for, this post is merely to get you thinking about it as well.
As we think on it, after people's food supplies run low, things like cows and goats, our primary sources of milk are going to become so much BBQ. Very few people are going to starve while their cows walk around fat and sassy. They're going to get out the butcher knives and have some steak.
And long term unless they're dying of starvation, it's one of the worst things they can do with those animals.
We full envision there not being a dairy animal remaining for as far as the starving eye can see and the hungry feet roam.
Our hope is that eventually, such animals will be recovered from distant farms and free range lands once the immediate danger of them being eaten is past.
Otherwise you can expect your children to be small, have weak/brittle bones and in general be malnourished.
Just the calcium alone in milk is needed for -
Hormone and enzyme production
Muscle contractions
Heart function
Blood clotting
Bones and teeth
A lot of the above is because calcium, and potassium, are needed for proper nerve impulses which dictate things like contaction of muscles including your heart which is kind of an important muscle.
Things like Tums or similar ant-acids contain calcium in low dosages and have a pretty long self life, 5 years by the bottle and who knows how long in reality.
Laying in a stock of things that help replace what you're very likely to not have such as dairy products is something you should give serious consideration to.
Most of those early settlers took some way to produce dairy with them. For good reason. Dairy provides a bunch of vitamins we need, calcium we have to have for our children to grow tall and strong and it's fairly calorie dense and from it we get things like butter, buttermilk, cheese and cream.
This is an area that we personally haven't found a solution for, this post is merely to get you thinking about it as well.
As we think on it, after people's food supplies run low, things like cows and goats, our primary sources of milk are going to become so much BBQ. Very few people are going to starve while their cows walk around fat and sassy. They're going to get out the butcher knives and have some steak.
And long term unless they're dying of starvation, it's one of the worst things they can do with those animals.
We full envision there not being a dairy animal remaining for as far as the starving eye can see and the hungry feet roam.
Our hope is that eventually, such animals will be recovered from distant farms and free range lands once the immediate danger of them being eaten is past.
Otherwise you can expect your children to be small, have weak/brittle bones and in general be malnourished.
Just the calcium alone in milk is needed for -
Hormone and enzyme production
Muscle contractions
Heart function
Blood clotting
Bones and teeth
A lot of the above is because calcium, and potassium, are needed for proper nerve impulses which dictate things like contaction of muscles including your heart which is kind of an important muscle.
Things like Tums or similar ant-acids contain calcium in low dosages and have a pretty long self life, 5 years by the bottle and who knows how long in reality.
Laying in a stock of things that help replace what you're very likely to not have such as dairy products is something you should give serious consideration to.
Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Stack it high, stack it deep?
A recurring thread with preparing is guns, guns and more guns.
As you might expect we have a thought or two on that. Guns and other means to protect yourself are necessary, please don't believe they're not. When Rule of Law collapses, civility shows just how thin a veneer it really is and people's selfish "I Want That!" nature comes roaring back in full force.
A lot of preppers start with guns and while that's not necessary a bad thing in and of itself, do they stop with guns is a concern.
If all you have is a gun, then everyone else becomes a target when you're hungry, or your family is hungry. I don't know any parents personally that would watch their children starve to death if there was something they could do to prevent it, even things that they wouldn't dream of doing if it was simply themselves starving.
And yet there are preppers who have stockpiled thousands and thousands of rounds of ammo, guns of every size and shape and calibre. I constantly worry just how much food they have set aside. How much water. How many seed collections. Manual tools to plant those seeds and the skills and knowledge to do so.
From a realistic viewpoint everyone should consider just how many altercations that involve deadly force they honestly believe they'll survive. And that's assuming you can see the threat coming and prepare and react to it.
I've said it before and I'll repeat it again and again. I'm a better than average shot with a weapon, I have had a lot of practice with them for decades and have fired those thousands and thousands of rounds. I've particpated in hundreds upon hundreds of hours of simulated combat in multiple environments using paintball and airsoft style weapons.
If I were lacking in any moral depth and had no respect for human life or personal property, your stuff would be my stuff. You wouldn't hear the bullet that nailed you as you were out hoeing your garden, or filling your water jug, or just looking out your window.
And I stress again, any asshat with a decent rifle with a scope can take you down in this fashion. And in America there are millions of decent rifles, with scopes. They don't have to be a great shot, they just have put those crosshairs over your chest and squeeze the trigger. And your awesome tacticool rifles and pistols and shotguns are completely worthless.
So yes, I strongly believe, in the strongest possible terms, that you should have weapons to defend yourself or you should buy lottery tickets. Because your chances of winning the apocalypse without them is about as good as your chances of winning the lottery.
But don't stack it high and deep because your chances of ever needing those thousands of rounds and living to use them is about the same.
Additionally, don't be one of those people with 20 different weapons, all of which load differently, function differently, shoot different calibres and in general have to be learned 20 times over.
Buy multiples of the same weapons depending on your needs for your family or group. This drastically simplifies your training requirements and makes it easy for everyone to be familiar with them all.
One pistol, one shotgun, one rifle in standard common calibres for defense and a pistol/rifle in 22LR for hunting small game.
That's our thinking and our plan.
Please prep responsibly.
As you might expect we have a thought or two on that. Guns and other means to protect yourself are necessary, please don't believe they're not. When Rule of Law collapses, civility shows just how thin a veneer it really is and people's selfish "I Want That!" nature comes roaring back in full force.
A lot of preppers start with guns and while that's not necessary a bad thing in and of itself, do they stop with guns is a concern.
If all you have is a gun, then everyone else becomes a target when you're hungry, or your family is hungry. I don't know any parents personally that would watch their children starve to death if there was something they could do to prevent it, even things that they wouldn't dream of doing if it was simply themselves starving.
And yet there are preppers who have stockpiled thousands and thousands of rounds of ammo, guns of every size and shape and calibre. I constantly worry just how much food they have set aside. How much water. How many seed collections. Manual tools to plant those seeds and the skills and knowledge to do so.
From a realistic viewpoint everyone should consider just how many altercations that involve deadly force they honestly believe they'll survive. And that's assuming you can see the threat coming and prepare and react to it.
I've said it before and I'll repeat it again and again. I'm a better than average shot with a weapon, I have had a lot of practice with them for decades and have fired those thousands and thousands of rounds. I've particpated in hundreds upon hundreds of hours of simulated combat in multiple environments using paintball and airsoft style weapons.
If I were lacking in any moral depth and had no respect for human life or personal property, your stuff would be my stuff. You wouldn't hear the bullet that nailed you as you were out hoeing your garden, or filling your water jug, or just looking out your window.
And I stress again, any asshat with a decent rifle with a scope can take you down in this fashion. And in America there are millions of decent rifles, with scopes. They don't have to be a great shot, they just have put those crosshairs over your chest and squeeze the trigger. And your awesome tacticool rifles and pistols and shotguns are completely worthless.
So yes, I strongly believe, in the strongest possible terms, that you should have weapons to defend yourself or you should buy lottery tickets. Because your chances of winning the apocalypse without them is about as good as your chances of winning the lottery.
But don't stack it high and deep because your chances of ever needing those thousands of rounds and living to use them is about the same.
Additionally, don't be one of those people with 20 different weapons, all of which load differently, function differently, shoot different calibres and in general have to be learned 20 times over.
Buy multiples of the same weapons depending on your needs for your family or group. This drastically simplifies your training requirements and makes it easy for everyone to be familiar with them all.
One pistol, one shotgun, one rifle in standard common calibres for defense and a pistol/rifle in 22LR for hunting small game.
That's our thinking and our plan.
Please prep responsibly.
Monday, April 23, 2012
Future Farmers of Post Apocalypse America
Another thing to consider during a long term incident, something that lasts more than a few months, is how are you going to feed your children? Your family and friends? You may be thinking, 'to hell with them, they should have been smarter and prepared'. But when you're doing that, think back to the good old days as the settlers started pushing across the land of ours, single wagon families.
And how many just vanished without a trace as they encountered hazards. Everything from sickness to animals to maruaders.
We survive as a race by coming together and sharing the load and burdens of providing for ourselves.
20 people can raise a barn far far faster than 20x faster than a single person can raise a barn. And with significantly less danger of injury.
The same holds true for food as well. And long term sustainable food supplies are the reason for this particular post.
What do you plan on doing when your preps run out? Whether it's 3 months or 30 months. What are your plans?
Hopefully they include seeds. A #10 can of a variety of seeds, properly stored lasts years in your refridgerator or root cellar or just buried a few feet below ground where the temperature is lower. Even on a shelf in your closet you can expect to get a few years storage.
And that can of seeds holds the potential for a year's supply of food for you and your family.
Of course it's just potential if you don't have the knowledge, skills and tools to turn that potential into food and store it for the times when there is no food growing.
We have several such cans, from different vendors as a Just In Case measure. Do you want to risk your one can of seeds being bad for some reason? Or your two cans but from the same batch?
We also have part of our stock stored in alternate locations. If forced to bug out in a hurry it might be possible to get the seeds on the way out if we cannot get the ones at our primary location.
Of course bugging out with 3 days supply of food may render having seeds a moot point. But better some chance than no chance.
Another thing you're going to want is what are called heirloom seeds. The much more common hybrids are genetically modified or GMO crops are designed to grow well and produce but the seeds you get from such plants are like a bad xerox of a xerox of a xerox. They don't breed true and the resulting generations of plants are weaker and less productive.
So make sure your seed stock includes heirlooms, not hybrids. And in most cases you're going to want only a single type of each plant. Some plants like tomatoes are naturally resistent to cross contamination but if you plant multiple types of corn next to each other, your seeds are going to quite possibly be hybrids and not in a desireable form.
Places that we've purchased seed collections from include the below. The first link is the main web site which should remain viable as long as the company exists. The second link is a direct link to their seed collection which may die over time. If you get a 404 on the second link then try the first and just search around.
Augasonfarms.com - Seed Link
beprepared.com - Seed Link
mypatriotsupply.com - Seed Link
Another thing to remember is, just how do we store our seeds once they bloom to their full potential? That there is information enough for multiple posts but short answer is, we hope you have a pressure canner and canning pot, plenty (PLENTY) of canning jars, lids and rings.
Assume at least 1 quart jar per person per day and you won't be too bad off.
And how many just vanished without a trace as they encountered hazards. Everything from sickness to animals to maruaders.
We survive as a race by coming together and sharing the load and burdens of providing for ourselves.
20 people can raise a barn far far faster than 20x faster than a single person can raise a barn. And with significantly less danger of injury.
The same holds true for food as well. And long term sustainable food supplies are the reason for this particular post.
What do you plan on doing when your preps run out? Whether it's 3 months or 30 months. What are your plans?
Hopefully they include seeds. A #10 can of a variety of seeds, properly stored lasts years in your refridgerator or root cellar or just buried a few feet below ground where the temperature is lower. Even on a shelf in your closet you can expect to get a few years storage.
And that can of seeds holds the potential for a year's supply of food for you and your family.
Of course it's just potential if you don't have the knowledge, skills and tools to turn that potential into food and store it for the times when there is no food growing.
We have several such cans, from different vendors as a Just In Case measure. Do you want to risk your one can of seeds being bad for some reason? Or your two cans but from the same batch?
We also have part of our stock stored in alternate locations. If forced to bug out in a hurry it might be possible to get the seeds on the way out if we cannot get the ones at our primary location.
Of course bugging out with 3 days supply of food may render having seeds a moot point. But better some chance than no chance.
Another thing you're going to want is what are called heirloom seeds. The much more common hybrids are genetically modified or GMO crops are designed to grow well and produce but the seeds you get from such plants are like a bad xerox of a xerox of a xerox. They don't breed true and the resulting generations of plants are weaker and less productive.
So make sure your seed stock includes heirlooms, not hybrids. And in most cases you're going to want only a single type of each plant. Some plants like tomatoes are naturally resistent to cross contamination but if you plant multiple types of corn next to each other, your seeds are going to quite possibly be hybrids and not in a desireable form.
Places that we've purchased seed collections from include the below. The first link is the main web site which should remain viable as long as the company exists. The second link is a direct link to their seed collection which may die over time. If you get a 404 on the second link then try the first and just search around.
Augasonfarms.com - Seed Link
beprepared.com - Seed Link
mypatriotsupply.com - Seed Link
Another thing to remember is, just how do we store our seeds once they bloom to their full potential? That there is information enough for multiple posts but short answer is, we hope you have a pressure canner and canning pot, plenty (PLENTY) of canning jars, lids and rings.
Assume at least 1 quart jar per person per day and you won't be too bad off.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Every Cloud Has a....
Silver is often commented on in terms of preparing for an End of the world as we know It situation, especially those relating to hyper-inflaction or economic collapse.
We have some thoughts on that subject and in full disclosure we don't have any plans to keep silver around.
As we see it there are a few drawbacks if you're expecting to just buy everything with silver dimes or bullion.
We see a lot more benefit in using money that we might otherwise tie up into precious metals in increasing our stocks of the items that will keep us alive. In using it to increase our skills and knowledge of things that would allow us to be more self sufficient rather than hoping there is going to be an economy that's civilized enough to allow us to spend our dimes rather than just getting killed for them.
Your mileage may vary with this philosophy and if you want to invest some money into silver or other precious metals then by all means go ahead and we honestly wish you the very best luck and hope it works out for you.
And obviously if you've got all your preps line out such that you have the inventory, tools and skills to get through the first 18 months without needing to barter then by all means store up some silver. We're not saying it wont' be valuable to someone. But we do believe that a economy requires a certain degree of order, law and stability to support a non-barter system.
We have some thoughts on that subject and in full disclosure we don't have any plans to keep silver around.
As we see it there are a few drawbacks if you're expecting to just buy everything with silver dimes or bullion.
- Just how much can you afford to store up between now and whenever the 'event' occurs? If it's not a hugely significant amount then you're just daytrading penny stocks with the loose change in your couch. Sure it can be fun but it's just a tiny fraction of what you'll need to survive.
- How do you plan on making change with your silver dimes or do you expect everything to cost multiple silver dimes? If the latter just how many do you plan on having again?
- You can't eat silver. And if other people are like us, we're not going to be trading you food that will keep us alive for your inedible metal. Much less bullets that you might use against us or seeds that we'll need to insure our kids survive another year.
We see a lot more benefit in using money that we might otherwise tie up into precious metals in increasing our stocks of the items that will keep us alive. In using it to increase our skills and knowledge of things that would allow us to be more self sufficient rather than hoping there is going to be an economy that's civilized enough to allow us to spend our dimes rather than just getting killed for them.
Your mileage may vary with this philosophy and if you want to invest some money into silver or other precious metals then by all means go ahead and we honestly wish you the very best luck and hope it works out for you.
And obviously if you've got all your preps line out such that you have the inventory, tools and skills to get through the first 18 months without needing to barter then by all means store up some silver. We're not saying it wont' be valuable to someone. But we do believe that a economy requires a certain degree of order, law and stability to support a non-barter system.
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Water predicament you've gotten us in!
Here are some links that you might find useful in terms of have ways to clean and purify questionable water.
http://shop.monolithic.com/products/just-water-ceramic-drip-filter
http://www.shared-source-initiative.com/biosand_filter/complete_biosand.html
http://en.howtopedia.org/wiki/How_to_Filter_Water_with_a_Sand_Filter?
http://www.cms-uk.org/GetInvolved/TheConcept/Construction/tabid/311/language/en-US/Default.aspx
The below comes from the Zombie Hunters web site and originally posted by navarre1095.
Link - http://zombiehunters.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=50970
Disaster plan for water utility customers
Water is essential for survival. The ground trembling and shaking caused by earthquakes
can crack or break the lines that bring fresh water to your house. Trees that are uprooted
during severe storms can also pull mains right out of the ground! Stocking water reserves
and learning how to purify contaminated water should be among your top priorities in
preparing for a disaster. At the very minimum, you should store a 72 hour emergency
supply of water for each member of your family. Emergency officials estimate that you
should plan on being self sufficient for the first 72 hours following a major disaster. It is
highly recommended that you store at least a two week supply of water for each member
of your family. Since everyone's needs differ depending on age, physical condition,
activity, diet and climate, the amount of water you will need to store may vary from
official recommendations. A normally active individual needs to drink at least two quarts
of water each day. Hot weather can double that amount. Children, nursing mothers and
those ill of health will require more. You will also need additional water for food
preparation and hygiene purposes. Store water in thoroughly washed plastic, fiberglass
or enamel-lined metal containers. Don't use containers that can break, such as glass
bottles. Never use a container that has held toxic substances. Sound plastic containers,
such as soft drink bottles, are best. You can also purchase food-grade plastic buckets or
drums. Do not use plastic milk jugs! The plastic is brittle and the lids come off easily.
There is also the danger of not completely removing the milk residue which will become
a breeding ground for bacteria.
• Containers for water should be rinsed with a diluted bleach solution (one part
bleach to ten parts water) before use. Previously used bottles or other containers
may be contaminated with microbes or chemicals. Do not rely on untested devices
for decontaminating water.
• If your water is treated commercially the water utility, you do not need to treat
water before storing it. Additional treatments of treated public water will not
increase storage life.
• If you have a well or public water that has not been treated, follow the treatment
instructions provided by your public health service or water provider.
• If you suspect that your well may be contaminated, contact your local or state
health department or agriculture extension agent for specific advice.
• Seal your water containers tightly, label them and store them in a cool, dark place.
• Calendar a date six months from now to refresh your water supply. Drain old
water into the garden, clean out your container(s) and fill with fresh water.
[Hint: If you use two-liter soda pop bottles, you can store these under beds, in the
corners of closets, behind your sofa....think about this activity as a priority rather
than an inconvenience and you'll find many places where you can store your
emergency water.]
As a general rule store a total of one to three gallons of water per person, per day.
Emergency Water Sources
If a disaster catches you without a stored supply of clean water, you can use water in your
hot-water tank, in your plumbing and in ice cubes. As a last resort, you can use water in
the reservoir tank of your toilet (not the bowl), but purify it first. Swimming pools are
large resources for water. But contain toxic chemicals that are not fully removed by many
purifiers. Use swimming pools and water beds as sources of water for sanitation rather
than for drinking purposes. To use the water in your pipes, let air into the plumbing by
turning on the highest faucet in your house and draining the water from the lowest one.
To use the water in your hot water tank, be sure the electricity or gas is off, and open the
drain at the bottom of the tank. Start the water flowing by turning off the water intake
valve and turning on a hot water faucet. Do not turn on the gas or electricity when the
tank is empty.
As we stated before, should an earthquake or tornado strike this area, there is a good
chance that the mains carrying drinking water to your homes may be damaged. Water
quickly becomes a precious resource following many disasters. It is vital that all
household members learn how to shut off the water at the main house valve.
• Cracked lines may pollute the water supply to your house. It is wise to shut off
your water until you hear from authorities that it is safe for drinking.
• The effects of gravity may drain the water in your hot water heater and toilet
tanks unless you trap it in your house by shutting off the main house valve (not
the setter valve in the plastic box by the curb—this valve is extremely difficult to
turn and requires a special tool).
Preparing to Shut Off Water
• Locate the shut-off valve for the water line
that enters your house. It may look like the
sample pictured here.
• Make sure this valve can be completely shut
off. Your valve may be rusted open, or it
may only partially close. Replace it if
necessary.
• Label this valve with a tag for easy identification, and make sure all household
members know where it is located.
If you need to seek water outside your home, you can use these sources. But purify the
water before drinking it.
• Rainwater
• Streams, rivers and other moving bodies of water
• Ponds and lakes
• Natural springs
Avoid water with floating material, an odor or dark color.
Emergency Water Purification
Boiling Water Method
Boiling is the safest method of purifying water. Bring water to a rolling boil for 5
minutes, keeping in mind that some water will evaporate. Let the water cool before
drinking.
Boiled water will taste better if you put oxygen back into it by pouring it back and
forth between two containers. This will also improve the taste of stored water.
Chlorination Method
Chlorination uses unscented liquid chlorine bleach to kill microorganisms. Follow these
recommendations:
• For one quart water use 2 drops of unscented liquid chlorine bleach. If
water is cloudy, use 4 drops.
• For one gallon water use 8 drops of unscented liquid chlorine bleach. If
water is cloudy, use 16 drops.
• For 5 gallons water, use 1/2 teaspoon of unscented liquid chlorine
bleach. If water is cloudy, use 1 teaspoon.
• For 15 gallons water, use 1 1/4 teaspoons of unscented liquid chlorine
bleach. If water is cloudy, use 2 1/2 teaspoons.
• For 55 gallons water, use 4 1/2 teaspoons unscented liquid chlorine
bleach. If water is cloudy, use 3 Tablespoons bleach.
[Note: There are approximately 100 drops in a teaspoon}
Add unscented liquid chlorine bleach to the water, stir and let stand for 30 minutes. If the
water does not taste and smell of chorine at that point, add another dose and let stand
another 15 minutes.
If you do not have a dropper, use a spoon and a square ended strip of paper or thin cloth
about 1/4 inch by 2 inches. Put the strip in the spoon with an end hanging down about 1/2
inch below the scoop of the spoon. Place unscented liquid chlorine bleach in the spoon
and carefully tip it. Drops the size of those from a medicine dropper will drip off the end
of the strip.
Purification Tablets Method
In addition to having a bad odor or taste, contaminated water can contain microorganisms
that cause diseases such as dysentery, cholera, typhoid and hepatitis. You should
therefore purify all water of uncertain purity before using it for drinking, food preparation
or hygiene.
There are many ways to purify water at home. None are perfect. Often the best solution is
a combination of methods. Before purifying, let any suspended particles settle to the
bottom, or strain them through layers of paper towel or clean cloth.
Distillation Method
Distillation involves boiling water and then collecting the vapor that condenses back to
water. The condensed vapor will not include salt and other impurities. To distill, fill a pot
halfway with water. Tie a cup to the handle on the pot's lid so that the cup will hang right
side up when the lid is upside down (make sure the cup is not dangling into the water)
and boil the water for 20 minutes. The water that drips from the lid into the cup is
distilled.
http://shop.monolithic.com/products/just-water-ceramic-drip-filter
http://www.shared-source-initiative.com/biosand_filter/complete_biosand.html
http://en.howtopedia.org/wiki/How_to_Filter_Water_with_a_Sand_Filter?
http://www.cms-uk.org/GetInvolved/TheConcept/Construction/tabid/311/language/en-US/Default.aspx
The below comes from the Zombie Hunters web site and originally posted by navarre1095.
Link - http://zombiehunters.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=50970
Disaster plan for water utility customers
Water is essential for survival. The ground trembling and shaking caused by earthquakes
can crack or break the lines that bring fresh water to your house. Trees that are uprooted
during severe storms can also pull mains right out of the ground! Stocking water reserves
and learning how to purify contaminated water should be among your top priorities in
preparing for a disaster. At the very minimum, you should store a 72 hour emergency
supply of water for each member of your family. Emergency officials estimate that you
should plan on being self sufficient for the first 72 hours following a major disaster. It is
highly recommended that you store at least a two week supply of water for each member
of your family. Since everyone's needs differ depending on age, physical condition,
activity, diet and climate, the amount of water you will need to store may vary from
official recommendations. A normally active individual needs to drink at least two quarts
of water each day. Hot weather can double that amount. Children, nursing mothers and
those ill of health will require more. You will also need additional water for food
preparation and hygiene purposes. Store water in thoroughly washed plastic, fiberglass
or enamel-lined metal containers. Don't use containers that can break, such as glass
bottles. Never use a container that has held toxic substances. Sound plastic containers,
such as soft drink bottles, are best. You can also purchase food-grade plastic buckets or
drums. Do not use plastic milk jugs! The plastic is brittle and the lids come off easily.
There is also the danger of not completely removing the milk residue which will become
a breeding ground for bacteria.
• Containers for water should be rinsed with a diluted bleach solution (one part
bleach to ten parts water) before use. Previously used bottles or other containers
may be contaminated with microbes or chemicals. Do not rely on untested devices
for decontaminating water.
• If your water is treated commercially the water utility, you do not need to treat
water before storing it. Additional treatments of treated public water will not
increase storage life.
• If you have a well or public water that has not been treated, follow the treatment
instructions provided by your public health service or water provider.
• If you suspect that your well may be contaminated, contact your local or state
health department or agriculture extension agent for specific advice.
• Seal your water containers tightly, label them and store them in a cool, dark place.
• Calendar a date six months from now to refresh your water supply. Drain old
water into the garden, clean out your container(s) and fill with fresh water.
[Hint: If you use two-liter soda pop bottles, you can store these under beds, in the
corners of closets, behind your sofa....think about this activity as a priority rather
than an inconvenience and you'll find many places where you can store your
emergency water.]
As a general rule store a total of one to three gallons of water per person, per day.
Emergency Water Sources
If a disaster catches you without a stored supply of clean water, you can use water in your
hot-water tank, in your plumbing and in ice cubes. As a last resort, you can use water in
the reservoir tank of your toilet (not the bowl), but purify it first. Swimming pools are
large resources for water. But contain toxic chemicals that are not fully removed by many
purifiers. Use swimming pools and water beds as sources of water for sanitation rather
than for drinking purposes. To use the water in your pipes, let air into the plumbing by
turning on the highest faucet in your house and draining the water from the lowest one.
To use the water in your hot water tank, be sure the electricity or gas is off, and open the
drain at the bottom of the tank. Start the water flowing by turning off the water intake
valve and turning on a hot water faucet. Do not turn on the gas or electricity when the
tank is empty.
As we stated before, should an earthquake or tornado strike this area, there is a good
chance that the mains carrying drinking water to your homes may be damaged. Water
quickly becomes a precious resource following many disasters. It is vital that all
household members learn how to shut off the water at the main house valve.
• Cracked lines may pollute the water supply to your house. It is wise to shut off
your water until you hear from authorities that it is safe for drinking.
• The effects of gravity may drain the water in your hot water heater and toilet
tanks unless you trap it in your house by shutting off the main house valve (not
the setter valve in the plastic box by the curb—this valve is extremely difficult to
turn and requires a special tool).
Preparing to Shut Off Water
• Locate the shut-off valve for the water line
that enters your house. It may look like the
sample pictured here.
• Make sure this valve can be completely shut
off. Your valve may be rusted open, or it
may only partially close. Replace it if
necessary.
• Label this valve with a tag for easy identification, and make sure all household
members know where it is located.
If you need to seek water outside your home, you can use these sources. But purify the
water before drinking it.
• Rainwater
• Streams, rivers and other moving bodies of water
• Ponds and lakes
• Natural springs
Avoid water with floating material, an odor or dark color.
Emergency Water Purification
Boiling Water Method
Boiling is the safest method of purifying water. Bring water to a rolling boil for 5
minutes, keeping in mind that some water will evaporate. Let the water cool before
drinking.
Boiled water will taste better if you put oxygen back into it by pouring it back and
forth between two containers. This will also improve the taste of stored water.
Chlorination Method
Chlorination uses unscented liquid chlorine bleach to kill microorganisms. Follow these
recommendations:
• For one quart water use 2 drops of unscented liquid chlorine bleach. If
water is cloudy, use 4 drops.
• For one gallon water use 8 drops of unscented liquid chlorine bleach. If
water is cloudy, use 16 drops.
• For 5 gallons water, use 1/2 teaspoon of unscented liquid chlorine
bleach. If water is cloudy, use 1 teaspoon.
• For 15 gallons water, use 1 1/4 teaspoons of unscented liquid chlorine
bleach. If water is cloudy, use 2 1/2 teaspoons.
• For 55 gallons water, use 4 1/2 teaspoons unscented liquid chlorine
bleach. If water is cloudy, use 3 Tablespoons bleach.
[Note: There are approximately 100 drops in a teaspoon}
Add unscented liquid chlorine bleach to the water, stir and let stand for 30 minutes. If the
water does not taste and smell of chorine at that point, add another dose and let stand
another 15 minutes.
If you do not have a dropper, use a spoon and a square ended strip of paper or thin cloth
about 1/4 inch by 2 inches. Put the strip in the spoon with an end hanging down about 1/2
inch below the scoop of the spoon. Place unscented liquid chlorine bleach in the spoon
and carefully tip it. Drops the size of those from a medicine dropper will drip off the end
of the strip.
Purification Tablets Method
In addition to having a bad odor or taste, contaminated water can contain microorganisms
that cause diseases such as dysentery, cholera, typhoid and hepatitis. You should
therefore purify all water of uncertain purity before using it for drinking, food preparation
or hygiene.
There are many ways to purify water at home. None are perfect. Often the best solution is
a combination of methods. Before purifying, let any suspended particles settle to the
bottom, or strain them through layers of paper towel or clean cloth.
Distillation Method
Distillation involves boiling water and then collecting the vapor that condenses back to
water. The condensed vapor will not include salt and other impurities. To distill, fill a pot
halfway with water. Tie a cup to the handle on the pot's lid so that the cup will hang right
side up when the lid is upside down (make sure the cup is not dangling into the water)
and boil the water for 20 minutes. The water that drips from the lid into the cup is
distilled.
Friday, April 13, 2012
Security
One thing that's we've considered and consider over and over again is what happens in a social collapse, temporary or longer term, when law gets tossed aside.
It always starts with the looting of "I need an upgrade" items. TV's, stereos, computers, etc as the tissue thin veneer of civilization is tossed aside as the fear of reprisal and punishment goes away.
And then people start to get hungry and thirsty...
Can you as a family protect yourself against a mob?
No, you cannot. Don't lie to yourself. Mob Rule is phrase for a reason. You're unlikely to be the Spartans holding back 10 to 1, 50 to 1, 100 to 1 odds. And remember what happened to them.
In any situation where violence rises, someone's going to get hurt. And in a situation where medical help is unlikely to be found, what are you going do to if it's you? If your child is on the ground with a lung punctured by a bullet? Your wife is bleeding out where a broken bottle cut into her neck?
Better to not get in that situation don't you think?
You can, with sufficient force and brutality, possibly disrupt a mob. Even cause it disperse. But then you have a whole lot of people who are pissed, afraid and coveting your stuff. And some of them are going to be fair shots with a weapon, all it really takes is one person who's a decent shot to wreak havoc with your carefully laid plans for laying low.
And depending on your situation, they're going to find you. Starving mobs of people are going to go door to door trying to find food and water, whatever they can find. And given the number of guns in this country, they're going to be armed. And hungry enough or having hungry enough people, wives, children, friends depending on them for their lives that the life of someone they don't know weighs less in the balance of their qualms at taking your stuff through force up to and including lethal force.
So what can you do? As best as we can determine you have three options, at least good options.
Option 1: Get lucky and overlooked. Be the mouse in the walls, the roach under the cabinet who only scurries out at night when there's no one around.
Cons: Luck is a fickle bitch and never to be depended on.
Option 2: Be part of the group big enough and strong enough, and well armed enough, that only the most and truely desperate will attempt to take what you have.
Cons: You have to share all your goods with those who didn't have the foresight to do so and thus potentially come out the worse for the bargain if you all end up starving to death before you can get a new source of food that doesn't include each other.
Option 3: Get you and yours so far away from anyone else that you vanish. This also requires a bit of luck to stay off the grid.
Cons: You're alone with your problems. Anything of a serious nature can wipe you out. Google pitcairn island for an example of this. And you have no defense at all from the guy with a rifle crouched down at the edge of your corn field as you're trying to plant it.
We'd ask that you consider these options as you stockpile your preperations and assume you're just going to close the door and be okay.
It always starts with the looting of "I need an upgrade" items. TV's, stereos, computers, etc as the tissue thin veneer of civilization is tossed aside as the fear of reprisal and punishment goes away.
And then people start to get hungry and thirsty...
Can you as a family protect yourself against a mob?
No, you cannot. Don't lie to yourself. Mob Rule is phrase for a reason. You're unlikely to be the Spartans holding back 10 to 1, 50 to 1, 100 to 1 odds. And remember what happened to them.
In any situation where violence rises, someone's going to get hurt. And in a situation where medical help is unlikely to be found, what are you going do to if it's you? If your child is on the ground with a lung punctured by a bullet? Your wife is bleeding out where a broken bottle cut into her neck?
Better to not get in that situation don't you think?
You can, with sufficient force and brutality, possibly disrupt a mob. Even cause it disperse. But then you have a whole lot of people who are pissed, afraid and coveting your stuff. And some of them are going to be fair shots with a weapon, all it really takes is one person who's a decent shot to wreak havoc with your carefully laid plans for laying low.
And depending on your situation, they're going to find you. Starving mobs of people are going to go door to door trying to find food and water, whatever they can find. And given the number of guns in this country, they're going to be armed. And hungry enough or having hungry enough people, wives, children, friends depending on them for their lives that the life of someone they don't know weighs less in the balance of their qualms at taking your stuff through force up to and including lethal force.
So what can you do? As best as we can determine you have three options, at least good options.
Option 1: Get lucky and overlooked. Be the mouse in the walls, the roach under the cabinet who only scurries out at night when there's no one around.
Cons: Luck is a fickle bitch and never to be depended on.
Option 2: Be part of the group big enough and strong enough, and well armed enough, that only the most and truely desperate will attempt to take what you have.
Cons: You have to share all your goods with those who didn't have the foresight to do so and thus potentially come out the worse for the bargain if you all end up starving to death before you can get a new source of food that doesn't include each other.
Option 3: Get you and yours so far away from anyone else that you vanish. This also requires a bit of luck to stay off the grid.
Cons: You're alone with your problems. Anything of a serious nature can wipe you out. Google pitcairn island for an example of this. And you have no defense at all from the guy with a rifle crouched down at the edge of your corn field as you're trying to plant it.
We'd ask that you consider these options as you stockpile your preperations and assume you're just going to close the door and be okay.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Fish Antibiotics Part II
Please do your own research in this area, we're not advising anyone to do this, only offering up our decision for entertainment value as they say to avoid potential lawsuit.
After much (very much) deliberation and research we've added fish anitbiotics to our prepping kit. We're going to vacuum seal them in mylar along with O2 absorbers (overkill hopefully since they're sealed in theory already) and stash them in the fridge and replace them within reason or while we can.
Some places now require a prescription from a vet before buying these. This may become the norm rather than the exception. Make your own decision as to when you should start buying these if you're going to.
We found post after post indicating that the fish products produced by Thomas Labs were identical to the ones produced by the same company for humans. Same shape, color of gel cap, pill mold, lettering and numbering and dosage sizes.
Given one of my children just had strep and required amoxicillian for it we felt that not laying in a supply of these antibiotics as a JIC measure where we were completely unable to recieve medical help long term that not having them could lead consequences that outweight the risks.
After more research I decided to go with the fishy equivilent of Amoxicillian, Ciprofloxacin, Ampicillin and Cephalexin. We're trying to focus on the ones that don't turn toxic with age.
Based on our research these have a longer shelf life than the expiration date and some like Cipro remain very viable out to 10 to 15 years based on governmental studies. Perfect for a prepper.
I really really really hope that I never under any circumstances have any need to see if antibiotics labeled not for human consumption work on humans. But I also really really really would hate to be watching someone burn up with infection without making some preperation to do something about it.
In addition to the biotics I've purchased a drug guide, a nurses guide and printed out all the information on these anit-biotics including what they're typically used for, dosages, side effects, complications and collisions with others.
Of course diagnosing the source of any given infection without years of medical school and practical experience is a shot in the dark at a distant target while someone's jabbing you with a sharp stick during an earthquake. Do you know the difference between an upper and lower GI infection? Do you know which biotic to use?
But sometimes you have to take the shot. Or at least get the rifle ready so you have the choice when that life or death shot comes up.
After much (very much) deliberation and research we've added fish anitbiotics to our prepping kit. We're going to vacuum seal them in mylar along with O2 absorbers (overkill hopefully since they're sealed in theory already) and stash them in the fridge and replace them within reason or while we can.
Some places now require a prescription from a vet before buying these. This may become the norm rather than the exception. Make your own decision as to when you should start buying these if you're going to.
We found post after post indicating that the fish products produced by Thomas Labs were identical to the ones produced by the same company for humans. Same shape, color of gel cap, pill mold, lettering and numbering and dosage sizes.
Given one of my children just had strep and required amoxicillian for it we felt that not laying in a supply of these antibiotics as a JIC measure where we were completely unable to recieve medical help long term that not having them could lead consequences that outweight the risks.
After more research I decided to go with the fishy equivilent of Amoxicillian, Ciprofloxacin, Ampicillin and Cephalexin. We're trying to focus on the ones that don't turn toxic with age.
Based on our research these have a longer shelf life than the expiration date and some like Cipro remain very viable out to 10 to 15 years based on governmental studies. Perfect for a prepper.
I really really really hope that I never under any circumstances have any need to see if antibiotics labeled not for human consumption work on humans. But I also really really really would hate to be watching someone burn up with infection without making some preperation to do something about it.
In addition to the biotics I've purchased a drug guide, a nurses guide and printed out all the information on these anit-biotics including what they're typically used for, dosages, side effects, complications and collisions with others.
Of course diagnosing the source of any given infection without years of medical school and practical experience is a shot in the dark at a distant target while someone's jabbing you with a sharp stick during an earthquake. Do you know the difference between an upper and lower GI infection? Do you know which biotic to use?
But sometimes you have to take the shot. Or at least get the rifle ready so you have the choice when that life or death shot comes up.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Reloading Ammo
One of the things we're doing is reloading ammo. This allows us to have the basic components of ammuntion without having to invest in any specific type. In some fantasy OMFG we're going to be without resources for a generation, this seems like a good plan.
The reality is, reloading your own ammunition allows you to either practice for less, or shoot more often for the same amount of money.
If you do your research you can find powders that work for both pistol and rifle and thus use them interchangeably. Research is a PITA though. There are far more bullets, primers and powders than most companies want to do the research for so reloading manuals have only at best a moderate listing of each for any given calibre.
Here are some links to help you though -
Hodgdon Powder provides data on quite possibly the broadest amount of data and does it for free on their site.
Yeah that's about it for free on the web that we've found.
You can also pick up reloading books by Lyman, Hornady, Speer, Hodgdon from places like Amazon.
I'd strongly advise printing out the data from the Hodgdon site AND picking up at least one reloading manual, two would be better. Remember, 3 is 2, 2 is 1, 1 is none. You don't want to 'guess that's right' with ammunition.
Depending on the calibre and the gun you can reload the ammuntion for far less than you can buy the finished product for retail. Smaller calibres, especially pistol, aren't as a big a savings, but larger pistol and most rifle are a lot cheaper to reload for.
We went with the Hornady Lock n Load Progressive reloading unit. We ended up getting it on Ebay because all the vendors were out of stock but got a good price on a NIB unit and free shipping. It comes with 'almost' everything you need. We chose it based on reviews and specifications. Your research might lead you to a different conclusion.
The cheapest online source we found, but out of stock, was at Natchez Shooters Supplies.
Some of the nice things about it are:
It's fast, in theory anyway. You can crank out a couple of hundred rounds an hour easy and if you're uber as many as 500 an hour.
5 positions on the turret which we have filled. Many others are four position only so you either must double up on one position or leave out a pretty important one like the Powder Cop die which gives you a visual indicator of how much powder you have in a cartridge.
You can go to a powder through expander die which apparently lets you both size the case at the same time that you put powder in it and thus recover one die position.
You can go with the base model which means for every cartridge you have to insert an empty shell manually into the starting position and a bullet into the almost completed shell. You can buy an automatic empty case feeder and eliminate that step. And as I understand it you can also buy a bullet seater that will drop a bullet into the case for you. All you have to do then is just pull the lever and keep your eye on the powder cop to make sure you don't over/under charge a bullet.
Some of the bad things and issues we ran into:
Out of the box the indexing was off, it wouldn't consistently index or rotate the shells into the correct position with each pull of the lever. Research on the web finally pointed me to the 'pawls' or the teeth that run along the index tray under the bottom of the unit. The left one was really loose and had apparently shifted during transit just enough to make it not work. With a little turn (actually a big turn because I didn't know what I was doing) it worked. What I actually did was think that the hex screw was supposed to hold the metal tooth looking thing in position. So I cranked it down. Now it didn't work at all. Well [bleep]. So I backed it back up a couple of turns and tested it and miracle of miracles I accidently hit the right spot with that ham fisted display of turning and go it set right to index. What had been a frustration was now indexing like a swiss clock.
You do NOT get a primer flipper tray. Seriously WTF? These things are just molded plastic that can't cost more than a couple of quarters to make. Why not include one with the $400 reloading kit?
The powder measure is wildly inconsistent, like a full grain off for me so far and when the acceptable range between minimum and maximum load for the powder we're using is 0.5 grains, that's ridiculously dangerous.
I've broken the thing down twice now and thouroughly cleaned it per the videos on youtube using the recommended product, Hornady One Shot to no avail. I can sometimes get a string of charges that are within 0.02 of each other. And then one will shoot up .5 grains or drop by .5 grains.
FYI you NEED a scale capable of weighing these small amounts. There are a number of them on the market specifically for this but in researching them, the mechanical beam scales, they all apparently suck since around 2009 or 2010. About the time they started being made in other countries. Check out the reviews on places like Midway USA. Great reviews up to around 09/10 and then consistently bad ones after that. After a lot of digging I eventually found some recommendations for a scale that's not designed specifically for weighing powder but rather gemstones.
Jennings Mack 20 scale.
It has a resolution of +/- 0.02 grains and is reasonably cheap. Like anything electronic it's subject to variance but by making sure that it's zeroed out for each weighing it's very repeatable. I keep a empty casing that weigh exactly 62 grains for testing loads. I weigh the cartridge to confirm we're on mark and then TARE it out to 0 and then fill the casing and weight it again to see how much powder is going in. I then dump the powder and at random weight the casing again to verify it goes back to 0.
I'm still looking for a good beam scale, the internets consensus is get something made by Ohaus scales in the USA from 5 or more years ago. So I'll be lurking on ebay for something like that. Digitial is great, as long as you have power to run it.
Work on the inconsistency is still pending. Armed with more internet knowledge I'm going to try the following:
Oddly though I've also found posts that say the meter doesn't work as well when it's less than 1/4 full. And with the baffle in place it's always going to be the equivilent of less than 1/4 full.
I'll follow up this post with the results of that.
I'd be remiss if I didn't include links to sources for cheap components based on my extensive research (we're cheap bastards) and after doing business with some -
Midway USA - Not the cheapest but they have stock on some stuff when no one else has and they're prices aren't the highest.
Powder Valley, Inc - Good cheap source of components. Recommended in several places by reloadings.
Natchez Shooters Supply - Fast shipping. The site mentioned by NutnFancy of youtube fame.
Graf & Sons - Also mentioned/recommended on several reloading forums.
Once Fired Brass (A subsidary of Tech Equipment Sales) - Fast cheap shipping, they use USPS with their 'if it fits, it ships' boxes. The brass was exceptionally clean and obviously tumbled to shiny state.
The reality is, reloading your own ammunition allows you to either practice for less, or shoot more often for the same amount of money.
If you do your research you can find powders that work for both pistol and rifle and thus use them interchangeably. Research is a PITA though. There are far more bullets, primers and powders than most companies want to do the research for so reloading manuals have only at best a moderate listing of each for any given calibre.
Here are some links to help you though -
Hodgdon Powder provides data on quite possibly the broadest amount of data and does it for free on their site.
Yeah that's about it for free on the web that we've found.
You can also pick up reloading books by Lyman, Hornady, Speer, Hodgdon from places like Amazon.
I'd strongly advise printing out the data from the Hodgdon site AND picking up at least one reloading manual, two would be better. Remember, 3 is 2, 2 is 1, 1 is none. You don't want to 'guess that's right' with ammunition.
Depending on the calibre and the gun you can reload the ammuntion for far less than you can buy the finished product for retail. Smaller calibres, especially pistol, aren't as a big a savings, but larger pistol and most rifle are a lot cheaper to reload for.
We went with the Hornady Lock n Load Progressive reloading unit. We ended up getting it on Ebay because all the vendors were out of stock but got a good price on a NIB unit and free shipping. It comes with 'almost' everything you need. We chose it based on reviews and specifications. Your research might lead you to a different conclusion.
The cheapest online source we found, but out of stock, was at Natchez Shooters Supplies.
Some of the nice things about it are:
It's fast, in theory anyway. You can crank out a couple of hundred rounds an hour easy and if you're uber as many as 500 an hour.
5 positions on the turret which we have filled. Many others are four position only so you either must double up on one position or leave out a pretty important one like the Powder Cop die which gives you a visual indicator of how much powder you have in a cartridge.
You can go to a powder through expander die which apparently lets you both size the case at the same time that you put powder in it and thus recover one die position.
You can go with the base model which means for every cartridge you have to insert an empty shell manually into the starting position and a bullet into the almost completed shell. You can buy an automatic empty case feeder and eliminate that step. And as I understand it you can also buy a bullet seater that will drop a bullet into the case for you. All you have to do then is just pull the lever and keep your eye on the powder cop to make sure you don't over/under charge a bullet.
Some of the bad things and issues we ran into:
Out of the box the indexing was off, it wouldn't consistently index or rotate the shells into the correct position with each pull of the lever. Research on the web finally pointed me to the 'pawls' or the teeth that run along the index tray under the bottom of the unit. The left one was really loose and had apparently shifted during transit just enough to make it not work. With a little turn (actually a big turn because I didn't know what I was doing) it worked. What I actually did was think that the hex screw was supposed to hold the metal tooth looking thing in position. So I cranked it down. Now it didn't work at all. Well [bleep]. So I backed it back up a couple of turns and tested it and miracle of miracles I accidently hit the right spot with that ham fisted display of turning and go it set right to index. What had been a frustration was now indexing like a swiss clock.
You do NOT get a primer flipper tray. Seriously WTF? These things are just molded plastic that can't cost more than a couple of quarters to make. Why not include one with the $400 reloading kit?
The powder measure is wildly inconsistent, like a full grain off for me so far and when the acceptable range between minimum and maximum load for the powder we're using is 0.5 grains, that's ridiculously dangerous.
I've broken the thing down twice now and thouroughly cleaned it per the videos on youtube using the recommended product, Hornady One Shot to no avail. I can sometimes get a string of charges that are within 0.02 of each other. And then one will shoot up .5 grains or drop by .5 grains.
FYI you NEED a scale capable of weighing these small amounts. There are a number of them on the market specifically for this but in researching them, the mechanical beam scales, they all apparently suck since around 2009 or 2010. About the time they started being made in other countries. Check out the reviews on places like Midway USA. Great reviews up to around 09/10 and then consistently bad ones after that. After a lot of digging I eventually found some recommendations for a scale that's not designed specifically for weighing powder but rather gemstones.
Jennings Mack 20 scale.
It has a resolution of +/- 0.02 grains and is reasonably cheap. Like anything electronic it's subject to variance but by making sure that it's zeroed out for each weighing it's very repeatable. I keep a empty casing that weigh exactly 62 grains for testing loads. I weigh the cartridge to confirm we're on mark and then TARE it out to 0 and then fill the casing and weight it again to see how much powder is going in. I then dump the powder and at random weight the casing again to verify it goes back to 0.
I'm still looking for a good beam scale, the internets consensus is get something made by Ohaus scales in the USA from 5 or more years ago. So I'll be lurking on ebay for something like that. Digitial is great, as long as you have power to run it.
Work on the inconsistency is still pending. Armed with more internet knowledge I'm going to try the following:
- Clean it for the third time.
- Rub the inside of the powder measure, top to bottom, with a anti-static dryer sheet.
- Spray it with graphite spray lube to make the powder less likely to stick.
- Insert the baffle that came with the press but without any instructions or indication as to what it was for. It's just a oval piece of metal that's bent in the middle and apparently it goes inside the powder measure with the hump at the top. This prevents the weight of the powder from changing the pressure as the powder goes into the charging meter.
Oddly though I've also found posts that say the meter doesn't work as well when it's less than 1/4 full. And with the baffle in place it's always going to be the equivilent of less than 1/4 full.
I'll follow up this post with the results of that.
I'd be remiss if I didn't include links to sources for cheap components based on my extensive research (we're cheap bastards) and after doing business with some -
Midway USA - Not the cheapest but they have stock on some stuff when no one else has and they're prices aren't the highest.
Powder Valley, Inc - Good cheap source of components. Recommended in several places by reloadings.
Natchez Shooters Supply - Fast shipping. The site mentioned by NutnFancy of youtube fame.
Graf & Sons - Also mentioned/recommended on several reloading forums.
Once Fired Brass (A subsidary of Tech Equipment Sales) - Fast cheap shipping, they use USPS with their 'if it fits, it ships' boxes. The brass was exceptionally clean and obviously tumbled to shiny state.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Why Prep?
For us the reason to prep is quite simple. We have house insurance down to and including earthquake insurance (yes we have them, just not like in cali). We have car insurance including uninsured motorist. Life insurance, health insurance.
And with prepping we have society insurance.
And you know what the best thing is about having society insurance, if you plan it right you pay for it once and re-up every few years for a minimal fee.
Once you've got your year+ food supply cached away using 30+ year foods and storage methods you're done with food prep unless you just want to add some variety to it over time.
Once you've got your water supply set up, you're mostly done with it. Just purge it every few years and refill it to insure you have sweet water. And luckily, in this country right now, you can store 50 gallons away for a few pennies.
Once you've got your bug out bags set up? You're mostly done. Just swap out your food preps in the BoB every 5 years give or take to make sure they're tasty and nutritious.
Once you've got your means of protection (and please don't be so naive as to think you won't need it or so stupid as to think using it is your food prep) you're done. Modern weapons and ammo properly stored lasts a life time.
Once you've got your alternate energy prep's stored away? Done.
There's no recurring monthly bill like you have with every other type of insurance.
And the best part of society insurance? It's not ever truly wasted. If you one day decide that the world has no chance of ending, no pandemic, war, hyper inflation, solar flare, super volcano, world storm, alien invasion, whatever your end of the world flavor might be, you can sell your preps, eat the food and use the water to wash your car.
And quite likely by that point the year of eating that food you'll save a ton of money. Our food preps have cost us about $2000 to provide over a years worth of food for our family. That's less than we spend normally. And we've locked that price in. No matter how much food prices continue to go up, we can avoid a years worth of high prices at some point if we need it.
And with prepping we have society insurance.
And you know what the best thing is about having society insurance, if you plan it right you pay for it once and re-up every few years for a minimal fee.
Once you've got your year+ food supply cached away using 30+ year foods and storage methods you're done with food prep unless you just want to add some variety to it over time.
Once you've got your water supply set up, you're mostly done with it. Just purge it every few years and refill it to insure you have sweet water. And luckily, in this country right now, you can store 50 gallons away for a few pennies.
Once you've got your bug out bags set up? You're mostly done. Just swap out your food preps in the BoB every 5 years give or take to make sure they're tasty and nutritious.
Once you've got your means of protection (and please don't be so naive as to think you won't need it or so stupid as to think using it is your food prep) you're done. Modern weapons and ammo properly stored lasts a life time.
Once you've got your alternate energy prep's stored away? Done.
There's no recurring monthly bill like you have with every other type of insurance.
And the best part of society insurance? It's not ever truly wasted. If you one day decide that the world has no chance of ending, no pandemic, war, hyper inflation, solar flare, super volcano, world storm, alien invasion, whatever your end of the world flavor might be, you can sell your preps, eat the food and use the water to wash your car.
And quite likely by that point the year of eating that food you'll save a ton of money. Our food preps have cost us about $2000 to provide over a years worth of food for our family. That's less than we spend normally. And we've locked that price in. No matter how much food prices continue to go up, we can avoid a years worth of high prices at some point if we need it.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Shelf Life
Remember, properly stored rice, wheat, oats, beans will last longer than anyone prepping will likely live and still be nutritious.
By properly stored, the items have to be repackaged into food safe containers, preferably sealed in mylar to block light which degrades the items and then the oxygen needs to be removed or reduced.
You can remove the oxygen in several ways, the easiest by far is to use O2 absorbing packages which are pretty cheap and readily availalbe. Go overkill with them. Why risk 30 pounds of wheat by trying to save 25 cents by putting in one less O2 absorber.
When we repackage our food into 5 gallon food grade buckets, NOT buckets with just HDPE #2 on them but ones guarenteed food grade, take the recommendation on O2 absorbers which knowing the market like I do are overkill to sell more product and then add 20% more in absorbtion quality.
If 4 500cc O2 packages are recommended for a 5 gallon bucket of wheat or rice, I put in 5. At what I pay for them, that's 25 cents more per bucket. Do you really want to risk opening that bucket of rice 10 years (or next month) down the road and find it filled with dead weevils and egg husks and no wheat because you cheaped out on a quarter?
Those #10 cans of dehydrated foods, packed with 02 absorbers or nitrogen flushed, there are numerous reports o them being opened 10, 20 even 30 years later and being perfectly good and just as tasty as they were the day they were canned.
Just like you pay house, care, life, health insurance, pay a little here and there and set up society insurance. Just like the others, it's hopefully wasted money, but those times it turns out to not be wasted, there is no substitue.
By properly stored, the items have to be repackaged into food safe containers, preferably sealed in mylar to block light which degrades the items and then the oxygen needs to be removed or reduced.
You can remove the oxygen in several ways, the easiest by far is to use O2 absorbing packages which are pretty cheap and readily availalbe. Go overkill with them. Why risk 30 pounds of wheat by trying to save 25 cents by putting in one less O2 absorber.
When we repackage our food into 5 gallon food grade buckets, NOT buckets with just HDPE #2 on them but ones guarenteed food grade, take the recommendation on O2 absorbers which knowing the market like I do are overkill to sell more product and then add 20% more in absorbtion quality.
If 4 500cc O2 packages are recommended for a 5 gallon bucket of wheat or rice, I put in 5. At what I pay for them, that's 25 cents more per bucket. Do you really want to risk opening that bucket of rice 10 years (or next month) down the road and find it filled with dead weevils and egg husks and no wheat because you cheaped out on a quarter?
Those #10 cans of dehydrated foods, packed with 02 absorbers or nitrogen flushed, there are numerous reports o them being opened 10, 20 even 30 years later and being perfectly good and just as tasty as they were the day they were canned.
Just like you pay house, care, life, health insurance, pay a little here and there and set up society insurance. Just like the others, it's hopefully wasted money, but those times it turns out to not be wasted, there is no substitue.
Balanced Diet after SHTF
One thing to be concerned with after any situation where regular meals may be up to you and what you have stored or can gather.
In a side note, for those who are depending on being able to hunt for meat, please take a look around, our country doesn't have the animal life it once had in terms of supporting people. Heck I'd go so far as to say our world doesn't. Watch Survivorman and see how much food a highly trained, experienced and practiced survivor finds when dropped down in the middle of nowhere. The take-away is notice how often he goes hungry. Now make that one guy a couple, or a family of 4, or two families of 8 or a group of 20. How far is that one snake, handful of edible grass gong to go with that many people?
So back on topic, one of the things that those of you who are stockpiling grain, honey and salt should also consider is the human body requires a lot of amino acids to function properly on top of all the vitamin'y and mineral'y things we need.
Some of those amino acids can typically only be found in meat, honest to goodness animal flesh.
You're also at risk of malnutrition thanks to a deficiency of B12, Iron, D, Calcium, Iodine and Omega-3 fatty acids.
Wikipedia outlines some of the problems with lacks of these things and where they can lead -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarian_nutrition
As a result, stock up on your multi-vitamins, yes I know the old saw about American's having the most expensive urine in the world thanks to their taking multi-vitamins and not processing them but I'd rather piss out 50% of a multi-vitamin than be deficient in B12 and have unrecoverable nerve generation.
Also plan on growing some nut trees. And get started on those now, nature isn't in any rush to provide you with food. And toss in a 25lb bag of iodized salt in your kit, it costs nothing or next to nothing and a litle goes a long way.
In a side note, for those who are depending on being able to hunt for meat, please take a look around, our country doesn't have the animal life it once had in terms of supporting people. Heck I'd go so far as to say our world doesn't. Watch Survivorman and see how much food a highly trained, experienced and practiced survivor finds when dropped down in the middle of nowhere. The take-away is notice how often he goes hungry. Now make that one guy a couple, or a family of 4, or two families of 8 or a group of 20. How far is that one snake, handful of edible grass gong to go with that many people?
So back on topic, one of the things that those of you who are stockpiling grain, honey and salt should also consider is the human body requires a lot of amino acids to function properly on top of all the vitamin'y and mineral'y things we need.
Some of those amino acids can typically only be found in meat, honest to goodness animal flesh.
You're also at risk of malnutrition thanks to a deficiency of B12, Iron, D, Calcium, Iodine and Omega-3 fatty acids.
Wikipedia outlines some of the problems with lacks of these things and where they can lead -
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarian_nutrition
As a result, stock up on your multi-vitamins, yes I know the old saw about American's having the most expensive urine in the world thanks to their taking multi-vitamins and not processing them but I'd rather piss out 50% of a multi-vitamin than be deficient in B12 and have unrecoverable nerve generation.
Also plan on growing some nut trees. And get started on those now, nature isn't in any rush to provide you with food. And toss in a 25lb bag of iodized salt in your kit, it costs nothing or next to nothing and a litle goes a long way.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Fish Antibiotics
If you've ever had a sick child with strep or anything really and noted how quickly antibiotics tames such a infection, and if you're a prepper and wondered what you'd do after something might happen that might block or delay proper medical care then perhaps your fish might be something to consider.
Fish apparently take the same antibiotics that people do. The question is are they as pure? Are the binders toxic to people?
After doing some research apparently a lot of people, who purport to be medically trained, say maybe. Now I could tell you I'm a anything from a EMT to a pharamicist to a GP. You have no way of verifying that. (I'm not). Much like you have no way of verifying most anything you read on the web.
But based on my research am I going to add some fish biotics to our hope chest? Yes, yes I am. I'm going to do as much research as I can to try and insure I get the best quality such items that I can but in a situation where it's either watch someone die or suffer brain/organ damage from extreme fevers or risk giving them anitbiotics made for fish then I'm going to likely fall down on the fish.
I strongly advise you to do your own research and I under no cirucmstances say that my decision should influence yours. I merely offer this information up for edutainment purposes and any harm you suffer is your responsibility.
I offer up these links as a way to get you started with that research and remember as part of that research you need to document which antibiotic functions with what type of infection. They are not a magic bullet, one type can be worthless when treating any given infection.
We don't endorse or recommend any of these but provide them for comparisons only. Again, do your research.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8r97xoSOEjM
http://www.survivalblog.com/2010/07/a_doctors_thoughts_on_antibiot.html
http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/hp.asp
http://www.lambertvetsupply.com/Categories.aspx?id=3649
http://www.medi-vet.com/fish.aspx
http://www.rxlist.com/drugs/alpha_a.htm
http://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/index.html
Fish apparently take the same antibiotics that people do. The question is are they as pure? Are the binders toxic to people?
After doing some research apparently a lot of people, who purport to be medically trained, say maybe. Now I could tell you I'm a anything from a EMT to a pharamicist to a GP. You have no way of verifying that. (I'm not). Much like you have no way of verifying most anything you read on the web.
But based on my research am I going to add some fish biotics to our hope chest? Yes, yes I am. I'm going to do as much research as I can to try and insure I get the best quality such items that I can but in a situation where it's either watch someone die or suffer brain/organ damage from extreme fevers or risk giving them anitbiotics made for fish then I'm going to likely fall down on the fish.
I strongly advise you to do your own research and I under no cirucmstances say that my decision should influence yours. I merely offer this information up for edutainment purposes and any harm you suffer is your responsibility.
I offer up these links as a way to get you started with that research and remember as part of that research you need to document which antibiotic functions with what type of infection. They are not a magic bullet, one type can be worthless when treating any given infection.
We don't endorse or recommend any of these but provide them for comparisons only. Again, do your research.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8r97xoSOEjM
http://www.survivalblog.com/2010/07/a_doctors_thoughts_on_antibiot.html
http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/hp.asp
http://www.lambertvetsupply.com/Categories.aspx?id=3649
http://www.medi-vet.com/fish.aspx
http://www.rxlist.com/drugs/alpha_a.htm
http://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/index.html
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Ruger 10/22
I won't go into a lot of depth here on the Ruger 10/22. It's been around for decades and is still just as good as it ever was.
I will though detail my experiences with the one I currently own.
It's the standard carbine model with the front barrel band. i.e. the cheap version you can pick up for under $200.
Accuracy was all I could ask of it. Offhand standing position with iron sights I was able to shoot a 1.5" group at 20 yards with 10 rounds. For a 22 I can't really ask more than that. The sights were spot on, no adjustment necessary.
One thing I didn't like about this particular weapon is several FTF or failure to feeds. In most cases racking the slide enabled the partially chambered round to chamber correctly. In some cases it didn't and I had to eject the magazine and tip the case out of the weapon. In these cases it had a serious dent in the side of the casing.
Granted I was using cheap-o bulk ammo, the kind sold in bricks of 350 to 500 rounds. It also was the weapons first trip to the range and I specifically didn't do anything to it in order to get the 'out of box' experience.
Also granted, this weapon's reliability while of some concern is hopefully never going to need to be used in a situation where relibility might mean life or death. A .22 long rifle is for shooting targets and hunting small game. It is not designed for or very capable of anything more in the hands of the vast majority of people. It 'can' do some of the things a larger calibre can do on a OMG can you believe that? basis but please do not bet your life or the lives of your family on it.
I am going to order a stock with a collapsible butt stock though, as is the weapon is just a little too long for the children.
The younger boys took a couple of magazines before they were able to get on paper with reasonable chance of success at 20 yards but my oldest son did surprisingly well his first attempt with the rifle, getting roughly half his magazine on paper, a splatter zombie rat for the fun of it.
His second magazine he was going for head shots and had a decent sized group about a couple of inches above the head. Perhaps evetnually a DMR AR-15 is in his future.
I will though detail my experiences with the one I currently own.
It's the standard carbine model with the front barrel band. i.e. the cheap version you can pick up for under $200.
Accuracy was all I could ask of it. Offhand standing position with iron sights I was able to shoot a 1.5" group at 20 yards with 10 rounds. For a 22 I can't really ask more than that. The sights were spot on, no adjustment necessary.
One thing I didn't like about this particular weapon is several FTF or failure to feeds. In most cases racking the slide enabled the partially chambered round to chamber correctly. In some cases it didn't and I had to eject the magazine and tip the case out of the weapon. In these cases it had a serious dent in the side of the casing.
Granted I was using cheap-o bulk ammo, the kind sold in bricks of 350 to 500 rounds. It also was the weapons first trip to the range and I specifically didn't do anything to it in order to get the 'out of box' experience.
Also granted, this weapon's reliability while of some concern is hopefully never going to need to be used in a situation where relibility might mean life or death. A .22 long rifle is for shooting targets and hunting small game. It is not designed for or very capable of anything more in the hands of the vast majority of people. It 'can' do some of the things a larger calibre can do on a OMG can you believe that? basis but please do not bet your life or the lives of your family on it.
I am going to order a stock with a collapsible butt stock though, as is the weapon is just a little too long for the children.
The younger boys took a couple of magazines before they were able to get on paper with reasonable chance of success at 20 yards but my oldest son did surprisingly well his first attempt with the rifle, getting roughly half his magazine on paper, a splatter zombie rat for the fun of it.
His second magazine he was going for head shots and had a decent sized group about a couple of inches above the head. Perhaps evetnually a DMR AR-15 is in his future.
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