The Best Fire Starter Kits

Being properly equipped to survive the harshest of terrains requires the proper tools. A Fire Starter Kit is one of the basic tools that is needed in such situations. Fire Starter Kits comes in different types.

Storm Proof Match Kit

This is a special type of matches, designed to be moisture proof. Some persons doubt if this actually exist, in actual sense, it does and it comes, well packaged in a water proof container. This is a very important type of matches as each match is capable of staying lit for up to 12 seconds even after being submerged in water. This is an inexpensive fire starter kit.

Tinder pouch, blowpipe and pencil sharpener

This is a fire kit that can be assembled by almost anyone. It comprises of a small tinder pouch which is actually an old tobacco pouch made into a small leather bag. In the bag is a small tube used as a blowpipe, tinder and kindling that can be gotten from the immediate surroundings. A pencil sharpener can also be included to sharpen the wood, giving it a pointed tip. This combination forms a great fire starter.

EXOTAC nanoSTRIKER XL Outdoor Fire Starter

Sometimes, during camping, a lighter and matches may not be an obvious solution for starting a fire. In such case, EXOTAC nanoSTRIKER XL Outdoor Fire Starter becomes the desired alternative. This method of starting a fire may seem too primitive, but it is better than most other methods. It is made up of anodized aluminium, based on a previous version, however, this is more improved design, handling a larger ferrocerium rod resulting in more durability surpassing the previous versions.

Sparxgear Fire Piston

This makes fire lighting easier and more fun as it makes use of an improved fire starting technology that originates form South East Asia. It is made of a hollow cylinder and a piston. The piston is forced down the cylinder to create an ember which can be used to light a tinder. It is a convenient alternative to matches and lighters.

Magnifying Glass and a Tinder

This makes a great combination for a basic fire starter kit. Looking at objects through a magnifying glass makes an object larger. This is because an area 1/32 inch in size at the focal point is spread across an area 2 or more inches at the lens, this makes the object about sixty times the size. When the sun rays hits a lens, the rays is directed to the focal point. Instead of making an object larger, all the light from the 2 inch surface is directed to 1/32 inch area this makes that spot about 60 times hotter. This is sufficient heat to light up a tinder and start up a fire.

Magnesium Fire Starter

This is an ideal fire starter kit that is recommended for back packers, fishermen and hunting expedition. It is so simple to use. All that needs to be done is simply scrape off magnesium with a knife, ignite the shavings by scraping the spine of the block to create sparks. This generates enough heat to light up tinder.

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Untraceable SHTF Comms

EchoLink

This is a program where Ham repeaters are wired into the internet. This is obviously only going to work if the grid and the internet are working but if you mask your IP, use proxies, VPNs, TOR, etc… you’re location will be fairly secure. This program only works with a valid call sign issued by the FCC. You can also use this on a laptop and (illegal activity warning) jack into the outside phone technician box on a random house to get your access, hell, everyone has high speed internet now a days… OR, use someones free WiFi like the public library or McDonald’s. The options are literally limitless if the grid is still up. They also have smartphone apps but as I said in the video, USE A BURNER PHONE and DO NOT link up any accounts on that phone or BINGO you’re busted!

FLDIGI

I mention it in the video but here is the link DOWNLOAD ME HERE.

National prepper frequencies – DON’T USE THEM!!!

You can bet your ass these frequencies will, as well as already are, being monitored by the bad guys. OPSEC, OPSEC, OPSEC!!! These plague frequencies are as follows:

• 80 Meters – 3.818 MHz LSB
• (TAPRN Net: Sundays at 9 PM ET)
• 40 Meters – 7.242 MHz LSB
• 40 Meters Morse Code / Digital – 7.073 MHz USB
• 20 Meters – 14.242 MHz USB
• 20 Meters Morse Code / Digital – 14.073 MHz USB
• 2 Meters – 146.420 MHz FM
• 440 (70 cm) – 446.420 MHz FM
• FRS/GMRS – Channel 4 (462.6375 MHz)
• CB – Channel 4 (27.005 MHz)
• MURS – Channel 4 (154.570 MHz)

 

Stay the hell away from and avoid these like you would the plague.

 

Receive Only

If all you want to do is gather as much information as you can then just get receivers. A good, digital police scanner and a good, side-band capable shortwave receiver with continuous frequency coverage are all you will need.

Always, always, always do your own research. I can’t stress that enough. I AM NOT A RADIO GOD!!! I am just another average extra class ham radio operator that happens to also be a prepper wanting to share my knowledge with the community. There are so many things you need to know, this is just a primer. For instance, proper grounding of equipment, antennas, etc… is not only critical to keep your expensive equipment safe from lightning but also diminishes noise in the signal and allows for clearer communications. It’s a whole other world to learn about.

I’ve included some pictures of my setup for reference.

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Video Review: Magpul Dynamic Handgun

This is a review of the Magpul Dynamics video “The Art of Dynamic Handgun“. To sum it up quickly this video is the bomb!

This is a 4 DVD set with the first 2 discs being the main course. The 3rd is a basic concealed carry course and the 4th is a disc on various drills (I’ll list these below). Mixed in among all the training is detailed talk about equipment. Guns, Ammo, Suppressors, Holsters, Belts, Lights, Lasers, etc… along with the outtakes. These are flat hilarious. Unlike just about every other firearms training video from other people I’ve watched this one is professionally done. Most videos are shity quality but this one is not.

The main course includes 8 different students. These students are all men except for 1 woman. Between the men you have 2 cops, 2 marines and 2 people in the firearms industry. The woman is a college student pretty fresh to firearms.

At the end of the 2nd disc they run each student through realistic scenarios. All do well except for Willie, the girl. She had an even more realistic scenario thrown at her in that one of the targets was a friendly. Needless to say she shot the friendly and ricocheted off a car roof. Like they say, the range is the place to screw up.

It is a little disconcerting that there are not more average Joe shooters but this can work to our advantage as preppers. Let me explain. You see, if the Schummer really hits the fan hard not only will you be defending against untrained shooters but trained shooters alike. Some of these may be wearing armor. Plate armor is available to civilians now, not just police and military. So if you see what appears to be armor or the shots aren’t having the desired effect a head shot is needed. Unfortunately they didn’t cover head shots but you do get to see how the professionals operate which can be a huge advantage.

Disc 3 is the basic concealed carry course. And when I say basic, I mean basic. It’s OK for someone new to concealed carry but if you’ve been carrying for years there will not be much new. What I did like about it is they incorporate potential injuries into the training so you’ll be drawing and shooting with your reaction side hand only. If you’ve never done this, check it out.

Disc 4 is the drills. This is done with 2 full speed presentations, 1 30% speed and 1 50% speed, all with various camera angles. This disc can get monotonous and the drills are almost always repeated at least twice, not only to drive in the visual familiarity but, I’m sure, to fill up the disc also.

So as to not make you go through the tedious process of writing down all the drills I have taken the liberty of doing so for you. Here they are:

• Kneeling from holster
• Prone w/slight cant
• Straight prone
• Urban prone (weapon & reaction side)
• Supine static
• Supine falling
• Failure to battery (2&1 handed)
• Failure to feed (2&1 handed-like ball and dummy)
• Stovepipe (2&1 handed)
• Double feed (2&1 handed)
• Administrative reload
• Standard draw
• Drop leg holster draw hands at side
• Drop leg holster draw interview stance
• Drop leg holster draw surrender stance
• Drop leg holster draw reaction hand holster spin
• Drop leg holster draw reaction hand leg pinch
• Weapon hand only draw
• Weapon hand only Drop leg holster
• Reaction hand draw leg pinch
• Reaction hand draw holster spin
• Tactical reload
• Speed reload
• Speed reload Weapon hand leg pinch
• Speed reload Weapon hand holster reload
• Speed reload Reaction hand holster reload
• Speed reload Reaction hand leg pinch
• Barricade standing weapon side
• Barricade standing reaction side
• Barricade kneeling weapon side
• Jacket draw
• Jacket draw Speed reload
• Long shirt draw both hands
• Long shirt draw weapon hand only
• Long shirt draw reaction hand only
• T-shirt draw both hands
• T-shirt draw weapon hand only
• T-shirt draw reaction hand only

 

That should be enough to keep you busy!

Things I wish they would have worked on:

Head shots. They avoid this like the plague. They focus ONLY on center of mass. Now, granted with head shots you have a greater risk of flyers but you have a much higher kill ratio.

More scenarios. Hey, we learn better when we have different scenarios thrown at us. They could have put more and random scenarios on the drill disc instead of repeating the drills.

More average Joe shooters. As much as I liked watching Willie shoot (especially in the scenario dressed in a micro mini skirt) there should be more average people in the video that don’t have years and years of experience. We need a good mix of people. Many will say Costa’s dad is average but I beg to differ. It is however nice that they threw in an older person with a wheel gun.

Overall, even with my wish list for the series I still give it a 5 star rating. This video is a MUST WATCH for any prepper, gun enthusiast or casual concealed carry citizen.

Practice, Practice, Practice, otherwise carrying that gun may get you killed instead of saving your life. Remember, nothing, including this series is a substitute for genuine hands on training.

The video can be purchased off Magpul’s website or off of Amazon.

Don’t forget to Like, Share, Comment and Subscribe. Share the love and keep on prepping.

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Holster Review: Alien Gear Cloak Tuck 3.0

This is my review of the Alien Gear Cloak Tuck 3.0 IWB holster. This is their top of the line IWB holster.

So, here are my thoughts. Ordering to the door took 9 work days which is commendable as they estimate 12-14. Packaging is nice. There are plenty of video reviews on YouTube about the packaging and the holster so I’ll get into the meat of my review… The holster its self.

I messed around with all the different configurations possible with this holster and ended with the slide side all the way up and the grip side all the way down giving the maximum cant.  This works best for me because I spend a lot of time in vehicles. This position gets the magazine off my back. My particular holster has the custom plastic mold for my Springfield XDm 4.5″ 9mm which is no small pistol and not the easiest to conceal.

I am wearing it in the 4:30 position which is the factory recommended position and it is by far the most comfortable, though I kinda like the 5 o’clock position too but have to put my shoulder out of joint to draw from it. From 4:30 I don’t have to dislocate my shoulder. I did, initially seem to have problems drawing but realized it was human error. What was happening is when drawing the grip side clip would stay on the belt like it should but the soft part of the holster would bend and the holster would come part way out of my pants. Come to find out there were a few things going on here. First, I was thumbing the soft part of the holster by the slide. Second, I had the retention too tight and Third my belt was a soft piece of shit. I now wear a 5.11 Tactical Double Duty Belt which holds this up very nicely.

Back to the holster. Time will tell of it’s durability but from other reviewers I have read it will be a very durable holster. Keep in mind these are NOT kydex holsters. They are Boltaron plastic, which is a very durable plastic. Here is an explanation about that plastic versus kydex.

As far as the tuck-ability of this holster is concerned it is definitely tuckable. Where I have issues is I’m a tall guy and wear tall tuck in shirts. If the shirt tucks really far into the waistline then the fabric will scrunch up a little bit by the holster. Also if you’re skinny like me it will still be hard to completely conceal a full size firearm like my XDm. Just remember something, 99.9% of people out there aren’t looking at you trying to figure out if you’re packing. I don’t know if you’ve noticed but most people are smart phone zombies. They probably wouldn’t notice if you had one in your hand. Also keep in mind there are people out there that ARE looking. Cops, Security Guards, Other CCW holders, etc… It’s still in your best interest not to print and this holster does a DAMN good job of that. Even with a relatively tight fitting shirt on you still won’t know I have my pistol on me unless you put your hand on my lower back / hip, and unless you’re my wife, kids or chiropractor you better keep your hands off!

Fit and Finish? I tried and couldn’t find one blemish or flaw. The neoprene backing is very comfortable against the skin and the “alien” material feels a lot like premium leather, though I know it isn’t. It does provide plenty of grip on the firearm though.

To be honest I can’t find anything wrong with this holster which is out of character for me. I guess I’m just that impressed and I highly recommend this holster for someone needing to wear tuck in shirts. One request I have for Alien Gear? IWB Tuckable Magazine holsters to match. Pretty Please! I would love to be carrying my 2 extra mags also and it would help balance out the load.

Oh, how the hell could I forget price??? You WILL NOT find a comparable holster for the same price. Don’t let the price fool you. This holster is, in my opinion better than holsters costing twice as much.

I gotta admit, one of the reasons I choose Alien Gear is because they are not only committed to the 2nd amendment, they also have a sense of humor!

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Control the Food. Control the People

It’s long been known by dictators and tyrants that if you want to control a people you need only starve them out. If you can control the food supply, you have near total control of the nation. I believe whole heartedly that the government and corporations alike are working overtime to tighten their grip on our food supply. Not a week goes by when you don’t hear about crop failures and food shortages. Some of this is legitimate, some is not and I’d dare say most is manufactured. Let me just list a few of the ways I believe they are doing this.

Codex Alimentarius

This is the UN’s plan to basically destroy all organic food and nutritional supplements. It’s too detailed to get into in this short little post so I challenge you to learn about it. Here’s a link to a quick info sheet. What do they want? Money, Power and GMOs.

GMOs

These are not only killing people they are taking over and converting non-GMO crops to GMO crops. Monsanto, the same people who developed Agent Orange, engineer your food. What’s worse is its getting to the point you have to use their seeds because of…

Chemtrails

Geoengineering through chemtrails is proven and admitted. Dropping aluminum, barium and strontium into the atmosphere to reflect the sun and cool the planet to combat glo-bull warming is the purported goal but some of us realize the true agenda. Problem is non-hybrid heirloom seeds won’t grow when inundated with aluminum, barium and strontium but GMO seeds that are tolerant to these are gladly sold by Monsanto.

Ethanol

Just imagine how much more food there would be if we’d stop using out farmland to grow a totally useless gasoline additive. There would be NO food shortages.

Haarp

….and others like it are 100% capable of pushing the jet-stream around and heating up the ionosphere creating a whole slew of strange weather events, even earthquakes in diverse places. I’m sure this is why the entire country’s weather is totally screwed up this year.

Propaganda. Just telling us there is a shortage when there isn’t to raise prices, cause a run on the supermarkets and create an artificial scarcity is probably the most used and most successful tactic employed today. Never, Never, Never trust the government or their propaganda arm the main stream media. Never believe the official story.

Solutions

So as a prepper the solutions should be common sense. You can’t save the world but you can save your family and perhaps your neighborhood depending on it’s size and if you can influence them beforehand. Below is a short list of how you can avoid the government controlling you by controlling and growing and stockpiling your own food supply. Now, I’m going budget minded here because, well, 99% of Americans like yourself can’t just go out and dump 10 grand on long term food storage…

Copy canning

This is so simple. When shopping if you normally buy 1 can of beans then buy 2 and put the second in storage. Thus concept can be used for all nonperishable items, even TP. Just watch the mice with stockpiling TP.

Long term food storage

Not many people can dump a few grand on a 1 year+ food supply. However, most can buy an MRE a week or a Mountain House packet a week, etc… Eventually you’ll have that 1 year supply.

5+ gallons of rice and beans

This is a quick and cheep way to build up a good sized supply of storable food. 5 gallon Home Depot bucket (which just happens to be food grade) + Mylar bags off eBay + oxygen absorbers from the same + WHITE rice or beans from the store. All in all its very cheap and will last for a long time. I say white rice because brown rice spoils quicker. I know, sounds racist doesn’t it… Oh well.

Gardening

Even if you live in an apartment you can do some gardening. Containers in Windows. Sprouting. Edible potted plants, etc… However it’d be best to have a real garden. Learn complementary gardening techniques to save space and if you have tons of space plant a food forest. Also plant fruit and nut trees if you can. Replace ornamental bushes, shrubs, flowers, etc with ornamentals that are edible and remember to NOT chemically treat your lawn because those dandelions and clovers are also edible among other things.

Livestock

The people who can do this one will vary. Where I live I’m not allowed any form of livestock. A couple things to consider though. In lots of places if you name your animals they are now considered pets and you can keep them. Also animals like rabbits can be “indoor livestock” that nobody needs to know about if you keep your mouth shut. Also quail can be raised in a garage very covertly.

Hunting & Fishing

Without a reliable food supply you’re going to want to hunt. Anything from squirrels to moose and everything in between. Then there’s fishing. Usually this nets (pun intended) more success but in smaller quantities. A good mixture of both would be preferred. Depending on your climate hunting in the winter and fishing in the spring to fall is primarily the best way to go. In a SHTF scenario ain’t nobody going to care if you have a license.

Canning

If you have a garden you’re going to have a hard time keeping it all from spoiling if you don’t have unlimited refrigerator space. Plus if the grid is down and it’s summer good luck there. Canning is an awesome way to preserve your veggies or even the meat from game you’ve bagged.

Dehydrating

Also a very good method of preservation. I prefer this method for making jerky out of game meat but it can be used for so much more. You don’t need electricity for this either. A dehydrator can be made very simply without the use of the grid.

Foraging

This is a skill all preppers should know and regularly practice. Know what grows in your area and what and how you can consume it. However don’t just get the knowledge, develop the wisdom and practice preparing and eating it. I’ll use acorns as an example. Acorns are everywhere up here. My first attempt at eating them a few years back went OK but not stellar. I had researched how to prepare them so I knew you had to boil off the tannin. However I didn’t do enough water changes. I then roasted them and ended up throwing a days worth of work away because they were just too damn bitter to eat. Do this now while hospitals are still readily available just in case you misidentify something. Word of advice, stay away from the Nightlock Katniss.

Notice I never brought up freezing or refrigeration for preservation. I did this because first of all space is very limited and second because electricity will be very unreliable to nonexistent when the Shummer hits the fan.

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Review: 5.11 Tactical Double Duty Belt

The 5.11 Tactical Double “Duty” belt is a very nice pistol belt for the price but I’m not sure I’d refer to it as a duty belt. A duty belt is typically bigger and beefier and used to carry equipment easily, in a readily-accessible manner, while leaving the hands free to interact. This is more than just a pistol and mags. This is radio, cuffs, taser, etc… I would not consider this belt a “duty” belt.

Description from their website: “With a dual-layer reversible design that offers two different color options, the 1.5” Double Duty TDU® Belt offers exceptional versatility in a quick and efficient design. Crafted from rip-resistant nylon, the 5.11® Double Duty Belt incorporates a durable non-metallic buckle that won’t set off metal detectors, making it a great choice for both air travel and EOD. An easy thread belt tip ensures fast on and off, and 5 rows of stitching provide maximum stability.“

First of all the price. $23. This is a very inexpensive belt for what it delivers. You can’t even get a decent belt at Wal-Mart for what this belt costs, and this one will out last any belt you get at Wally World.

The belt is two sided so you can wear either the black side for dress or to be less obvious or you can flip it around to it’s colored side (either green or brown depending on your choice) if you’re not worried about people spotting the belt. With most of the zombies out there today this won’t be a problem anyways. I like mine green-out unless dressing up.

This belt is a 1.5″ (You can also get 1.75″) belt so it’s the biggest you can get without having special pants with bigger loops. Five horizontal stitches keep the nylon weave stiff. In the month I’ve worn it it really hasn’t gotten floppy at all and holds up my fully loaded XDm, 2 full spare mags (19 rounds each) and Gerber suspension Multi-tool without breaking a sweat. To do that with my old leather belt I had to wear it really tight. A little TMI warning… Wearing a belt too tight really irritates my gut so having a belt I don’t have to over tighten to carry my gear helps immensely. Also, make sure you get the fit right because at first it’s not easy to adjust like a typical belt with holes. Once you get use to it, it does get a little easier to adjust. Also given the buckle design the buckle and belt do stick out quite a bit.

Customer service. For a company like this it sucks. It took 3 weeks to get my belt. 2 weeks after ordering I emailed customer service wondering why I haven’t even so much as gotten a order or shipping confirmation email. FOUR DAYS LATER they emailed me with that confirmation and a tracking number. When I finally did receive it everything was great. Packaging was adequate and nothing was damaged.

Sizing. This is important! These belts are NOT sized by your waist size like a typical belt. They are sized by belt length. Measure your current best fitting belt tip to buckle and order one size up from the number, especially if you’re going to carry inside the waistband. I wear 38″ waist pants even though I’m a 36″ waist because I carry IWB a lot so I need the room. The belt I ordered was the XL which is for 40″-42″. It fits perfect with about 6″ of belt to spare. Moral of the story? Measure twice, size up, order once.

Overall, despite the slow customer service (which may have been a fluke as I’ve never had a problem before) I do highly recommend this belt and other products from 5.11 Tactical. I also have two of their holster shirts and love them though they won’t handle my XDm. They handle my wife’s LCP very well and are also handy for holding other things like wallets, keys, flashlights, etc…

To order from them goto: http://www.511tactical.com/double-duty-tdu-belt-1-5.html

Order one today and in the meantime don’t forget to Like, Share, Comment and Subscribe. Share the love and keep on prepping.

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Rotating through my extra gasoline

In a previous post I wrote about my extra gasoline stash and how I like to keep my vehicles as close to full as possible just as good practice.  The basic theme of the post was that I always try to keep the prepping mentality somewhere in my mind, because even little things can make a difference.  According to many seasoned survivalists/preppers, it’s not only about having stuff but more importantly having skills.  I would argue that maintaining good situational awareness (even about how much gas I have) falls into the “skills” category, even if it is a bit of a stretch.

My extra gasoline stash isn’t much really, 11 gallons total stored in 5 and 6 gallon red containers.  If you think about a BugOut scenario however, where gas might be tough to find or long lines could be clogging up gas stations an extra 11 gallons on the back of my trailer becomes quite significant.  The 20 gallons in my SUV equals roughly 350-400 miles of distance that I could travel before needing more gas.  The extra 11 gallons that I try to keep full in the garage represents an extra 200 miles on the road, quite a long distance when considering possibly fleeing from a natural disaster or other SHTF event.

Now to the point of this post, my vigilance reference keeping my gasoline fresh and usable. In my motorcycles I use a product called STA-BIL to keep the gas in the tanks fresh through the winter months.  I could do this with the gas cans in my garage but I find it easier just to cycle through my supply.  I’ve read that gas can stay fresh and usable for 2 to 4 months in gas cans, so every couple months I dump the stored gas into my car and then re-fill the cans at the pump.  It’s a pretty simple scenario that only needs repeating a few times a year, but like I wrote about earlier it’s the little things that often get overlooked and end up being a big deal when the SHTF.

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SHTF shopping on the cheap at the dollar store

These days most items found at dollar stores cost more than one dollar, strange but true.  Retail outlets like Deals, Dollar General and others might have a few bargains in the store but they have strayed away from the true essence of what a dollar store should be.  Prices of just about everything have gone up exponentially over the past decade making true dollar stores hard to find, that is until today.  A tip lead me to a dollar store 20 minutes from my house, and I was shocked to find that truly everything in the store was $1.00 or less.  Sure you had your share of crappy items (do I really want to trust a tool kit that costs $1) but for other SHTF necessities this place was a boon.  You could do some serious damage in this place on the cheap.

I focused mainly on hygiene products, picked up some cleaning supplies, and grabbed a few other miscellaneous items which could come in handy.  My total bill was $89, which I suspect would have been more like $300 had I gone to a regular supermarket or even Walmart.  To give you an idea of the price discrepancies which existed between this place and your everyday store, I picked up a case of 12 name brand energy shot drinks for $12.  These things go for $3 to $3.50 in most gas stations.  The savings were truly unbelievable when considering what these items cost normally and the fact that I was buying in bulk.  When I was checking out the store clerk asked if I was buying all of these items so that I could donate them.  Sure, that’s exactly what I’m doing.

Quite a bit of hygiene products were purchased in order to supplement my current hygiene stash.  If you read my other posts you would know that I feel that these items are severely underrated, much of the research that I have done on prepping reveals that people tend to focus on the big 3: food/water/weapons.  Those people should try going a few weeks without brushing their teeth, or washing with soap.  What about the ramifications of not having a way to cleanse your hands after pooping or working with dead animals.  Some soap and water or hand sanitizer could go a long way to prevent disease or an upset stomach.   For the women out there, I’m sure they would not want to be on their period without having pads (or whatever it is they use) to help keep them sanitary.  The examples can go on forever but the bottom line is hygiene products are absolutely essential and I was really excited to be able to pick up quite a bit for really great prices at this store.

In addition to the hygiene items I picked up various lengths of bungee cords, tubes of Krazy glue, matches, duct tape, zip-loc bags, aluminum foil, a few batteries (I already have a decent stash) and some thin razors.  Most of those items speak for themselves as far as what they could be used for, but I like the bungee cords especially for helping to create shelters while in the woods or to tie items down in the back of my trailer.  Krazy glue has a million uses, one of them being to mend wounds when you have no other means available.

Overall today was a great success.  I don’t see myself going back to the store anytime soon, maybe every few months just to check for anything new.   I am glad I was able to pick up all of these items at once and for a great price, they are a truly great supplement to my SHTF stash.  Even if I or my family were not able to use all of these items they could come in very handy in a barter type situation, that’s for damn sure.

“Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.”

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2 way radios are now in my SHTF inventory

Communication is a vital part of our everyday life.  In a SHTF situation typical means of communication might not be working (eg cell phones, land line).  Therefore I decided to purchase some 2 way radios as a backup method of communication that my family could utilize if times got hard and other systems were down.  I’m thinking we could use them if we had to conduct movements in separate vehicles, or if I had to make runs for water or other life sustaining items (leaving someone at home).

As with any purchase I did my research online prior to getting the Motorola MR 350R.  The reviews posted online were great, and the features which these radios come with coupled with the relatively cheap price ($50) make them a great purchase.  I’ve just started playing with the features but already I like the fact that these have:

• Weather Alerts
• Privacy Features
• Vibrate Option
• Built in Flashlight
• Hands Free Mode

The range on these radios would probably be the overriding negative feature, in that the 35 mile maximum range is optimal at best (I’m standing on a mountain and you are in the valley with no obstructions in between us = 35 mile range).  Having read the reviews I knew that the touted range was suspect at best, and realize that in urban areas 1 to 2 miles  will probably be the extent of the range capabilities.  That’s perfectly fine with me and we will just have to operate keeping these limitations in mind when we employ the radios.

Upon receiving the radios I opened them up and gave them a full charge overnight.  I went over the manual and realized that these things were quite a bit more complicated than I had originally thought.  They are capable of doing much more than I need them to, so initially I just settled for figuring out the basics.  I wanted to figure out the channel + privacy code features and the weather alert feature, and then brief up the rest of the family on how to employ them properly.  These tasks took me about 15 minutes to figure out, after which I spent time reading up on how to properly store the radios.

When considering storage, I wanted to protect the radios in the event that my area experienced an EMP and other forms of communication were knocked out.  A bit extreme maybe, but hey if I’m going to be all-in I might as well take the extra precautions.  In any event the solution turned out to be an easy one: an old microwave. As it turns out the way microwaves are built make them perfect for shielding electronics  from EMP threats, and as luck would have it I have a little microwave sitting in the basement that has been unused (and uncleaned) for at least 5 years.  Cool and gross at the same time.  Once I had my radios charged up I put them in the microwave and shut the door: mission accomplished.

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source http://www.survivalgearblog.com/2-way-radios-now-shtf-inventory/

Maintaining proficiency with weapons

Proficiency when using weapons is important, because no matter how well trained we are rust can form on our shooting skills as well as our weapons cache.  When I talk about being proficient I realize there are different levels of proficiency, surely what I consider to be proficient is a far cry what a military special operator or civilian swat member (someone who shoots thousands of rounds a week) would consider proficient.  You have to put things into perspective I guess, I can’t afford to shoot thousands of rounds a week but I’m also not being dropped off by a helo in order to kick down a door to snatch an HVT (High Value Target) in some foreign land.  I can however drop a moving target within 300 meters or so, or put a few rounds into a small group while firing in Close Quarter Battle (CQB) drills from distances of 25 meters and closer.  Pulling the trigger is just one part of the game, if you didn’t already know. Becoming familiar with the parts of the weapon, cleaning it and your magazines, knowing about the different types of ammunition available and most importantly knowing how to be safe when doing all of this all fall under the label of what I regard as being proficient.

Having said all that I went out shooting this past weekend.  I took my  brother along in order to get him accustomed to firing my AR15.  He has shot my other guns before but never my rifle.  I went over the basics with him: safety first, how to orient the weapon, how to shoot the weapon, reloading and other tips.  He had a blast and from the grin on his face I knew he was hooked.  The only minor inconvenience was that it was quite muddy out there, the type of mud that sticks to the bottom of your boots (1 to 2 inches worth) when you walk around.  It’s not a big deal as I have been in much worse with regards to suck factor, but I also never had to climb back into my car (as opposed to a HMMWV or MRAP) with muddy boots before driving home.  Needless to say I had some cleaning to do (actually the floor mats are still muddy as of this posting, I got lazy and continue to put it off).

My brother did about 75% of the shooting and I was fine with that.  I’ve shot thousands of rounds in my lifetime and as this was his first time with a rifle I wanted him to enjoy it.  When I did get up to shoot I worked on two things: my breathing and shot placement from the prone position (laying down), and transition drills while moving from my rifle to my pistol.  Basically engaging targets while moving with the rifle with well placed 2 round shot groups, and then transitioning to my pistol and finishing off the target with a few more shots.  It is much harder than you would think, and for someone like me who does not shoot as much as he would like it is truly revealing when you see rounds go wide of the target.  I’m pretty sure if my shots weren’t kill shots, they at least wounded the target effectively putting the would be assailant out of action.  This  of course is how I console myself for a sub par performance.

In any event I considered the day a success, we had a great time shooting and knocking the rust off is never a bad thing.  It’s always good to keep up the skill set in the event of SHTF / TEOTWAWKI.  I do tend to wonder, in a real SHTF situation I’m not sure how much shooting I will be doing, especially at other people (unless in self defense).  I figure if I am shooting at someone they are probably shooting back at me.  In a SHTF situation where medical treatment facilities are not readily available a bullet wound is not something I want to be faced with.  You have to be smart in these type of situations, and a gun fights usually never end up going the way you want them to.

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source http://www.survivalgearblog.com/maintaining-proficiency-weapons/

Pumping water by hand is my solution

In previous blog posts I identified what I thought to be a huge problem in my SHTF “hunker down” strategy. We are prepared to bug out in an event where it becomes impossible to stay in the local area, but a best case scenario would see my family and I remaining in our house and holding out as long as possible. The problem which I thought I had identified was my basement, and the high probability of it filling up with water if the SHTF and there was no available and reliable power. Of course a basement full of stagnant and nasty water would seriously impede our ability to stay in the house, and let’s not forget that most of my SHTF stash is in the basement itself (potentially being ruined).

My house was built to accommodate for the water, in that when it rains the water drains down underneath the basement and is funneled into a sump tank. In the tank is a sump pump, which (once the water reaches a certain height) pumps the excess water out into the street. In the event of a power outage the pump does have a water backup system which relies on municipal water pumped through our existing water pipes to create a suction effect (a secondary pipe in the sump tank). This suction pulls the water out of the tank and spits it out away from the house. Those who built this house clearly had a primary and backup system in mind which would operate in the event of a power outage, but they clearly did not have a SHTF / TEOTWAWKI situation in mind during which long term power outages and public resources would probably be knocked out for quite a while. This was the puzzle I had to solve, how to remove the excess water from my sump tank in order to keep my basement dry in a SHTF situation.

Enter the solution: a hand pump, a nice little device which can pump up to 12 gallons of water a minute. The basic premise of this device is pretty simple in that it only requires the pump and a motivated individual. You attach a hose to both ends of the pump utilizing an adapter and hose clamp fittings. You then run one hose down into the water of the sump tank and the other hose out of the basement window and once the water level starts rising you manually pump the water out away from the house. I realize this concept seems very labor intensive and I’m sure it would be, but I would rather have to labor over a hand pump for a few hours than face a basement filled with a foot of water. I also realize that this could potentially turn into a daily task during the times when we get lots of rain but there is really no other option at this point.

The bottom line is I have found a decent solution to a problem which originally had me pretty concerned. I now have a tertiary method to pump the water out of my sump tank, thus keeping my basement dry (in theory) when it rains. Most likely I would only need to utilize this method in a serious SHTF scenario during which public services were knocked out for an indefinite period of time.

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source http://www.survivalgearblog.com/pumping-water-hand-solution/