Total Survivalist Libertarian Rantfest

unless you are a multi-billionaire you might be be...

2012-05-27T11:24:15.275-06:00

unless you are a multi-billionaire you might be better served at thesurvivalistblog.com. real people, real survivors.'nuff said.

AP, My observation has been that landlords with a ...

2012-05-27T02:20:29.634-06:00

AP, My observation has been that landlords with a house are a lot more flexible that apartment complexes. Especially if you are going to add some value (security can be a selling point) and it is nothing really tacky they will probably work with you.

this book looks pretty good, do you have a discoun...

2012-05-26T22:39:21.459-06:00

this book looks pretty good, do you have a discount code for us?

Lots to think on, given my newly-assumed renter st...

2012-05-26T22:19:20.675-06:00

Lots to think on, given my newly-assumed renter status.

We're renting a well-maintained 90 Y.O. home. They don't make them solid like this one anymore.

I'll be talking to the landlord soon.

AP

yeah...and the 2nd Amendment "guarantees"...

2012-05-26T21:12:17.624-06:00

yeah...and the 2nd Amendment "guarantees" our right to arm and protect ourselves...uh huh, and there aren't whole rat packs of liberal pigs out there trying to get rid of that part of the Bill of Rights as well.

Our freedoms must be defended, even if fools like you think that we're just "pandering"

Election year pandering... The 1st amendment prohi...

2012-05-26T16:43:48.256-06:00

Election year pandering... The 1st amendment prohibits any sort of religious law already.

Tony, I would say common sense. The controls are d...

2012-05-26T11:31:07.781-06:00

Tony, I would say common sense. The controls are designed for a righty and short of buying a different gun there isn't much to do except run it in an unusual fashion operating the safety with your thumb and other controls with your finger. This is easier on a universal service pistol (Glock, XD, S&W MP, etc) because of the lack of a safety to disengage. Also several guns allow you to switch safeties or whatnot from side to side or are entirely ambi.

Guess lefty's who have been shooting awhile have gotten used to it and everything is relative.

As a left-handed 1911 shooter, the claim that a 19...

2012-05-26T08:03:35.725-06:00

As a left-handed 1911 shooter, the claim that a 1911 is not lefty friendly is news to me. Funny that, I thought I would have noticed something like that during these last five years of shooting IPSC matches with one..?

This post sounds like yet another case of "people on the Internet keep repeating something, so therefore it must be true".

Tony

Part of the reason that The Husband and I became i...

2012-05-26T06:30:11.610-06:00

Part of the reason that The Husband and I became interested in prepping/survival, etc, is the fact that if SHTF both of us are probably going to have to be taking care of other people due to our jobs (military and teaching). We prep ourselves so that we don't have to worry so much about each other and can do what we need to do to care for others.

@ 7:30, In general I don't disagree. However i...

2012-05-25T23:39:58.240-06:00

@ 7:30, In general I don't disagree. However it depends a lot on what Son #2's duty position is and what is actually going on. If he is a Company Commander it would be different than if he is assistant to the assistant #12 at division staff. Obviously depending on the situation he very well may be occupied anyway.

Son #2 is a Captain. Most likely he will have more...

2012-05-25T19:30:09.044-06:00

Son #2 is a Captain. Most likely he will have more than just his family to worry about. The troops under him will have families themselves, or have family "Back home" they will be worried about. I suspect in a SHTF situation he will have responsibilities that may preclude him leaving his post.

Military communities used to look out for each other. Maybe things have changed drastically since I was in. The post should have contingency plans for looking after families. Especially if they expect the troops to do their jobs.

Glad to help. Thank you for bringing this up, Rya...

2012-05-25T16:56:43.909-06:00

Glad to help. Thank you for bringing this up, Ryan.

AP

AP, Thanks for letting me know and helping out.

2012-05-25T16:52:15.615-06:00

AP, Thanks for letting me know and helping out.

Donate link broken. Posted and linked. AP

2012-05-25T16:16:40.668-06:00

Donate link broken.

Posted and linked.

AP

We got our feet wet first by buying a small vacati...

2012-05-22T04:50:07.271-06:00

We got our feet wet first by buying a small vacation cottage bordering national forest. Outhouse, woodstove, handpump and 5-gallon buckets for water, no electric. Typical hunting shack around here. Installed a small solar power system, mototized pumpjack for the well, running water/toilet, homebrew septic system, electrical wiring for when the generator was running, propane gas lights when it wasn't, new outbuildings. Designed and built most of the upgrades ourselves, made many mistakes, and gained some valuable experience in the process. It was our vacation 'retreat' for years, until we built a new home close by and moved off-grid full time. By then, we knew what worked and what didn't, and exactly what we wanted and what we didn't. The hunting cottage helped us get over the learning curve and likely saved us many thousands of dollars in the long run, plus probably our marriage too if we'd have just jumped in head first. YMMV.

Of real importance in rural living.... get to know...

2012-05-22T04:03:10.103-06:00

Of real importance in rural living.... get to know your neighbors.

As these 'times' of ours get harder, people turn to who they trust, help who they know, and are damn wary of strangers.

Most places Rural, you are a Stranger if they didn't know your parents, haven't shared a beer on your porch, and you haven't pitched in a hand when the work load got heavy.

Very good point Chris - military surplus can often...

2012-05-21T11:22:12.726-06:00

Very good point Chris - military surplus can often be found for much less cost and is designed tougher than commericial camping supplies. SG often sell multiple items for very low cost, especially European military surplus. I've found Swiss military surplus to be well worth the cost.

When the pioneers crossed the great prairies and m...

2012-05-21T09:58:11.988-06:00

When the pioneers crossed the great prairies and mountains in their quest for land and a home they took the necessities with them. Somewhere along the way most figured out they had carried too much "stuff". Many faced hardships because all those "necessities" slowed them down. It is likely that some died as a result of not getting through the mountain passes before the winter snows as a result of their slow progress under the strain of too much stuff. Anyone who has hiked multiple day treks or hikes including steep and difficult mountain trails learns that too much stuff can drag you down. Your kit should reflect this reality. If you take everything you need or might need then you are taking too much stuff.

Re: comparing size/weight of a .38 snub vs. Glock ...

2012-05-20T21:56:48.719-06:00

Re: comparing size/weight of a .38 snub vs. Glock 19/whatever...

I must be looking at the wrong guns, because when I compare a snub-nose. 38 versus a Glock 26 (let alone a 19), there's no comparison. With the exception of the cylinder, a snub beats any double stack semi-auto hands down when it comes to width, length and weight. The bulk of the revolver is in the cylinder, whereas the semi-auto has its bulk in the grip - all those rounds have to go somewhere, right? Yes, a semi-auto gives you more on-tap firepower, but the typical snub with a flush or bobbed hammer (not the "hunchback" models) are much easier to conceal, and typically lighter - significantly so with polymer/J-frame types - and thua easier to carry. And it can't be stressed enough: revolvers are the gold standard for reliability.

For myself and others like me who don't work for Magpul or are high-speed/low drag, the good ol' revolver has a lot going for it.

I use an Opinel #8 knife as my GP knife. Cheap, r...

2012-05-20T16:19:59.744-06:00

I use an Opinel #8 knife as my GP knife. Cheap, reliable, and non threatening to cops. My oldest on is twenty years old and still going strong.

Chris, Nice! Having a couple better setups then so...

2012-05-20T12:09:23.306-06:00

Chris, Nice! Having a couple better setups then some redundant simpler ones makes sense. Cars are typically at work anyway.

I do agree that costs add up. A folding buck knife costs about $35. Three of them cost over $100. Multiply that by the dozen various small items and it can get pricey.

It also helps that the nature of these things is very modular. You don't have to go out and build 2 high end bug out bags and 4x 72 hour bags in a weekend. You can build a couple cheaper kits then some good ones and move the cheaper ones to ancillary locations, etc.

I like old gatoraid bottles for extra water storage.

I just put together 5x72 hour bags (whatever you w...

2012-05-20T11:30:06.387-06:00

I just put together 5x72 hour bags (whatever you want to call them) for vehicles and office. That covers my car, my wife's car, and all of our work locations.

The issue with decent gear is that the cost goes up rapidly when you're buying in multiples. I spent about $70 per bag. Multiplied by five you're talking a few hundred bucks. There's a tension between stocking in depth and buying quality in a world with limited resources.

One way I mitigated was by going with milsurp for some items. A lot of milsurp is intended to outfit a lot of folks with decent gear for relatively cheap. One example was the choice to go with 2 qt USGI canteens with shoulder strap and carrier. Those ran me $10 each which is the same cost as a nalgene. For most purposes I'd consider a nalgene to be superior gear but in this case I got twice the water capacity along with a shoulder strap for the same money.

Milsurp isn't always the best value but it works pretty well in some categories. Another way to save money was going the thrift store route or repurposing old stuff that would have gotten thrown out or donated.

I also threw higher quality gear into the cars. It is more realistic to have two duplicates of the more expensive stuff than to have five.

Cheers,
Chris from AK

The newly designed frame with a thicker top tube c...

2012-05-20T00:15:28.470-06:00

The newly designed frame with a thicker top tube coupled with the neon rims make the Mammoth something to behold.

womens beach cruisers

OOH! Get some tacti-cool streamers for the handleb...

2012-05-20T00:12:37.360-06:00

OOH! Get some tacti-cool streamers for the handlebars too;)

@ Alexander Wolfe, "If you can conceal a Gloc...

2012-05-19T23:48:31.700-06:00

@ Alexander Wolfe, "If you can conceal a Glock 19 comfortably enough for routine, on-body carry, then I would certainly go with that. A 19 beats a snubbie every time, until the 19 gets left in the safe or the car."

YES!

One thing I say is to carry the biggest (up to a full sized handgun not necessarily a Ruger Super Redhawk or Desert Eagle;) handgun you WILL ACTUALLY CARRY. A concealed carry handgun that you don't carry is just not that useful. It is where the road of training and theory meet the rubber of real life.

Thanks for the good conversation!