Review - Canned Cheese

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.

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:

• 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.

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. 

Review: Groats from Honeyville Grains

We tried the groats or steel cut oats from Honeyville Grains the other day.  We put them in a bowl using 1 cup of groats for 4 cups of water and then put that in our slow cooker on low and let them cook overnight.

These oats don't look anything like those mashed flat oats you may be used to in the round boxes with the quaker guy on the label.  They look a lot more like tabouli or pastina or perhaps the crumbs left over in a bag of granola?  

In a word they were awesome with a little brown sugar, cinnamon and butter.   So much better than instant or 5 minute oats there was no comparison.

FYI brown sugar, stored in moisture proof containers (i.e. heat sealed mylar bags) has a shelf life of 'indefinite'.    Bag up some and store it with your preps along with some powdered butter and sticks of whole cinnamon.  It'll go a long way toward making eating from your preperation foods enjoyable and not just a source of calories.

The cinnamon isn't indefinite but after using powdered cinnamon of over 4 years in age that was just 'stored' in its off the grocery shelf container in the back of the spice cabinet, I think storing the stick kind in a bag with O2 absorbers to prevent oxidation and loss of oils should last for many years and still be able to add a little flavor to your meals.

Review: Palmetto State Armoury - AR 15

Finally got around to putting the AR-15 kit I bought from Palmetto State Armoury together.  Assembly was pretty easy, there are a lot of tutorials available on the internets for this purpose, you do NOT get any assembly information with the kit. 

The hardest parts was going "hmmm I think these are the right springs" and not being 100% sure but really the springs are in such quantities that they do make sense for where they go. 

The front pivot pin was, as is mentioned in most videos and tutorials, the worst one to deal with.  I did manage to send the pin and spring flying but luckily my ears are good enough that I heard where both pieces landed.  I strong, strongly, advise that you drape a sheet over the weapon and your self when you do this piece if you have any concerns about losing the parts.  Trying to find a tiny detent pen that's about a 1/16 of an inch across and a 1/4 inch long is not fun even when you know where it landed. 

Other than that it assembled easily. 

Quality of work was good for everything.  The only questionable bit that I had was the trigger and hammer pins do not have anything holding them in place other than the pressure of said trigger and hammer springs.   Some kits drill and tap these pins and provide a connecting bar that you screw into both sides which makes it impossible for the pins to come out. 

Given there's no sideways pressure on the pins I don't think it's a concern but it is the one con of the PSA lower kit that I can dock them a point for compared to other lower parts kits.

I mounted a Vortex StrikeFire red dot sight on the rifle which does cowitness perfectly with the MBUS rear and standard AR-15 front sights.  I'm considering swapping out the front sight/gas block with a railed gas block to allow for MBUS pop up front sights as well but it's certainly not required.

We went to the range yesterday, primarily to let the wife and kids shoot the Glocks and Ruger 22's but also to put a few rounds through the AR.

I put 100 rounds of mixed bulk ammo through it (the $5-$6 a box) stuff.  It ate them all without a single hiccup.

I forgot my target stand though, a basic steel frame with clips.  I have a wooden break down target stand that supports multiple targets that I use for pistol shooting (don't have to carry it very far) but didn't want to set it up just for some break in shots.

As a resuilt I just picked a obvious target in the berm at the end of the rifle range, roughly 200 yards away.  Using the StrikeFire I was easily able to put all 100 rounds into an area the size of a human torso using a standing off hand position.   I can't tell you a specific group size since I didn't paper it, just watched the dust eruptions from the impacts but accuracy was more than acceptable given I wasn't benching the weapon and using the cheapest FMJ ammo I could find.

Let me also state this was without ANY sight adjustment at all.  Just bolt on and go.  POI was roughly a 1' low of POA at the distance I was shooting.  Windage was spot on.

I'm at this point satisfied with the purchase and it'll do what I want it to do, which is hit a deer sized target at 200 yards with a good degree of repeatability.  Around here, 200 yards would be a very long deer shot for what it's worth.

Once I get a chance to paper it I'll post a more accurate measurement of the weapons accuracy.

Review: Palmetto State Armory

This is a review of Palmetto State Armory, a web site that sells ammo and AR-15 parts among other things.  

Some background -

In preparing for disaster, our opinion is you should always hope your fellow man is going to treat you like you'd treat them but prepare for there to be some... potential issues.

As a result one of the things we're going to be preparing for are those who feel they have the right to take, rather than ask in a disaster scenario. 

I've been around guns all my life, while they terrify me for what they can do, I understand them, I enjoy them and I derive no small amount of pleasure from my skill with them.  But my fear of them ensures I do everything I can to make sure that they don't go off when I don't want them to.

When asking around on the Zombie Hunter forums for recommendations the name, rather the initials PSA kept getting bandied about.  Now the ZH forums are populated by a level of professionlism and technical knowledge that I found surprising given the 'purpose' of the site, that of dealing with a zombie apocalypse.   As a result, we took a hard look at those recommendations and went with PSA, primarily to be brtually honest because they had stock where BCM aka Bravo Company USA and RRA aka Rock River Arms did not.  

The review -

To wit, I've placed four orders with PSA, two for ammunition, they're simply cheaper on the cheap stuff than others and two for parts.  When you're breaking in a weapon, you don't want to burn money on ammo that's good when all you want to do is get the machinery running smoothly. 

I've also ordered an upper kit, lower parts kit and stripped reciever from them for the purposes of building my own AR-15.

They've done a servicable job so far, shpping while not instant was within reasonable expectations.  Quality of parts so far appears to be good.   They've even gone so far as to call me about an ammo order where they were out of a specific type of ammo that I ordered that was marked as in stock when it was atually out of stock.  Not only did they call me but when we got disconnected during a phone transfer they called me back.  To make up for 'my troubles' they swapped out my ammo of choice with a better grade and on top of that gave me an additional box for no extra charge.

As a result we're going to have have to side with all the other Zombie Squad folks who said to put them on the short list of vendors when considering AR-15's.

Review: Usa Emergency Supply

As part of this ongoing blog we're going to post our reviews of the products and companies we've actually dealt with in our virgin efforts at preparing for potential diaster that might make it necessary to depend on ourselves for an extended lenght of time.

The first on the block is USA Emergency Supply.

We weren't directed to this site other than through the magic of Google.  But the first thing that struck me is they have a professsionally done site.  This doesn't necessarily mean anything more than they have the money to pay someone to do it but it's rarely a bad sign.

In digging through the site to a greater degree we found them to have all kinds of good information.  They also list their drop shippers, they don't actually maintain stores of foods for instance, they just drop ship it to you from other vendors.

This isn't a bad thing per se and is a common mechanic that many companies use. 

They do charge a small fee for this, the prices they show for everything they drop ship are marginally higher than what you'd be charged going directly to the end vendor.

What you're paying for is the one stop shop appeal and as USA ES takes paypal unlike some of their suppliers if that's your preferred payment method it might be worth it to you.

They had everything we needed in the way of food storage, food grade pails, lids including gamma lids which can be re-used/resealed and oxygen absorbers which are used to kill the little passengers that come along with all those grains.

In researching the company I found no bad reviews and no on with prices in the same ballpark.   They also were noted for their discrete shipping, no "This is going to a prepper!" type markings on their boxes. 

So far I've placed two orders with them, both were shipped quickly, next day in fact and I was sent both order confirmations and shipping detail emails quickly.

I have no faults with them and can recommend them for your food storage or acquisition needs without any hesitation.

Review: Zombie Hunters Org

Let us be honest and say that the name of this site is more than a little odd unless you just happen to love zombie movies like we do.  In spite of that name though, Zomibe Hunters is a wealth of professional, educated and technically qualified sources of information to help you prepare for and live through any disaster scenario you might come up with.  Even ones that aren't caused by the undead rising from their graves to eat our brains.

The forums are the real treasure for this site. They're heavily moderated, there is no sexism, racism, politicalism, religousism tolerated.   If you have an agenda, this is not the place for you. 

Instead those kinds of posts are heavily clamped down on.  You cannot discuss anything that deals with an illegal material, actions or nature.  You can talk about disasters all you want as long as you don't drag politics or politicians into.  No one there cares what your opinions are, they want to know what you know that might help them survive a disaster or to provide that information to you.

You'll find information on storing food, recommendations for the best tasting long terms storage foods, how to prepare it and how to make sure you don't die of malnutrition.

How to deal with the young and old and the furry when you're facing a disaster. 

First aid, what to pack and what to leave to the experts.  With real experts providing this information, service medics, EMT's, paramedics, firefighters, general practitioners all providing a wealth of information on how to do what you can to prepare for dealing with injuries and what to leave the hell alone because your lack of skill and training will only get someone killed.

I can't recommend this site highly enough if you're looking for a huge pool of smart individuals to throw your questions at.