Lines of Gear and Go Bags/ Assault Packs/ Get Home Bags

Alexander Wolfe wrote an excellent post today discussing Go Bags and Bug Out Bags. I am going to talk about my thoughts on 'lines' of gear. In doing so we will talk about go bags/ assault packs/ get home bags and such. 

First line gear is the most basic survival and defensive gear. You really shouldn't be leaving home without it.
Military- Survival gear (knife, fire, etc) and weapon with reload. For most deployed personnel the weapon is an M4 variant but that doesn't really matter.
Civilian- EDC/ Survival gear and potentially CCW pistol with reload. You can see mine here and also a lot of other peoples.

Second line gear is your 'fighting load'. It stores ammo, water, basic first aid stuff, a small radio, maybe a more substantial knife, etc all.
Military- Old school would be your LBE or whatever and a rifle if your first line gun was a pistol. The contemporary equivalent would be body armor, a chest rig if your pouches aren't mounted strait to the vest.
Civilian- There are a lot more options but the basics are the same. Ammo, medical, maybe a more substantial knife, water, etc. This could be a direct or linear descendant of some military system of a smaller lighter setup designed to more closely suit civilian needs. War belts and Active Shooter kits fall into this category.

Third line gear is for sustainment over a longer period. Depending on how your stuff is set up and the conditions the second line is good for a short operation or up to a day or so.The third line is for sustainment beyond that time frame.
Military- Ruck Sack with food, water, warm clothes, hygiene stuff, batteries, maybe ammo, etc all. Set up to sustain an individual within their current environment for a reasonable amount of time.
Civilian- Large bag with food, water, warm clothes, hygiene stuff, batteries, maybe ammo, etc all. Set up to sustain an individual within their current environment for a reasonable amount of time. This is where the BOB AKA 'Bug Out Bag or INCH "I'm Never Coming Home Again" type systems fall.

We could quibble about what exactly should go where and other minutia. However it's basically the way our military operates these days so I do not think many folks would disagree with the general concept.

So now we are back to the Go Bags/ Assault Packs/ Get Home Bags. I will briefly discuss my thoughts on them then move forward.

The 'Go Bag' is pretty much set up to supplement your fighting load. More mags, medical stuff, food, batteries, etc all. It typically stays in a vehicle and is grabbed to resupply or if you need to bail out on foot.

The 'Assault Pack' is used to carry equipment beyond your fighting load needed for a particular mission. Potentially that could include bino's/ spotting scopes, batteries, clothes, food, additional ammo, explosives, breaching gear, land mines, signaling equipment, etc all.

The 'Get Home Bag' is a bag designed to have sufficient stuff to get a person from where they are to back home. Generally set up smaller and lighter than the 'bug out bag' though one mans BOB might be another's GHB.

So where do the Go Bag/ Assault Pack/ Get Home Bag fall into this general system?

We could analyze the exact composition of every single kit or just make it simple and call them level 2.5. That is sort of awkward but since these kits are typically a split between supplemental fighting load and short term sustainment I think it's the best fit. This is further made awkward because many civilians do not have a 'fighting load' in their general commonly carried systems. They may have a hodge podge of stuff floating around their vehicle or a few spare mags in their level 2.5 system. Also I find the conceptual level 2.5 useful because the level of sustainment is generally for a shorter period of time than the more traditional Ruck/ BOB 3rd level of sustainment.

Yes I categorize these systems in the same range. Furthermore I would go as far as to say they are just variations of the same kit adjusted to different circumstances. A soldier or contractor operating out of a vehicle will probably have a go bag. Inevitably some chow and supplemental clothing plus life's random junk (paperback book, MP-3 player, gum, flashlight, etc) can slip in there. Really while the bag might vary that isn't any different than an Assault Pack. These kits exact composition varies in part based on your fighting load. I've seen contractors who wore 2-3 spare mags for their rifle and 1-2 for the pistol (often in a ghetto made war belt from some pouches and a spare rigger belt) then carried a bag with more of each plus smoke/ grenades/ etc. If for whatever (IMO foolhardy) reason a person in a highly kinetic situation goes with way their  2.5 line is going to have a lot of ordinance in it. On the other hand a guy carrying 8-12 mags on his body has more room for a spare sweater in the 2.5 line.

To me the 'Get Home Bag' is a civilian equivalent of the same kit. It is a fairly small purpose built kit designed to help you with a specific mission, in this case getting home. They tend to be far lighter on ordinance than a soldier or contractor's Go Bag/ Assault Pack. The reason for this is simple. Despite some folks Red Dawn or whatever militia porn fantasies the odds Joe Everyday is going to need a first aid kit, some chow, a coat and a flashlight are a whole lot higher than that he will need an AR with a dozen magazines. Now if you want to carry a dedicated fighting load plus a 'Get Home Bag' type setup good for you but as a survivalist do not carry the ammo instead of the sustainment stuff.

So anyway those are my thoughts on that. I am eager to hear yours.

 

Living With My J Frame

I've had my little Smith and Wesson 642 for a little while now. Since it's purchase I removed then ended up selling the Crimson trace laser grips and replacing them with Hogue boot grips. The boot grips are a lot smaller which lets the gun better suit my concept of use which is a little concealed carry piece. Here is what my little J frame looks like now.

I am pretty happy with it though at some point plan to set it up like Alexander's J frame with the wood S&W grips and a Tyler T grip. Aside from looking really good that setup will probably shoot better than my current grips. The only reason I haven't done it is that $60-75ish discretionary gun purchases are a long list.

My holster is a Blackhawk IWB.

It is perfectly adequate for carry in its intended role and does OK as a pocket holster. I'm not in love with it but it works; given the price point around a half rack of cheap light beer it offers a lot of value. If money were no object I would have a nice soft leather IWB holster, a Safariland pocket holster and an ankle holster for this gun. However as mentioned before gun stuff that would be nice to have is a really long list.

Awhile back Alexander Wolfe and I had a discussion about the size difference between compact Glock's like the G19 and J frame revolvers. Since I have been alternating carrying the two for a few months now plus the camera was already out I figured it might be fun to take some pictures then talk about my thoughts on the matter.

The Glock 19 and Smith and Wesson 642 side by side. Man who is the lucky duck that has both of these great carry options. At the first glance they look very similar in size. However as we will see appearances can be deceiving and the differences, however small, are in places where they matter a lot.

The Smith & Wesson 642 sitting on top of the Glock 19. The picture does not really show it bit the J frame is slightly offset and higher than the Glock 19 just because of the way the angles of the two guns came together. This is where the first significant difference in size becomes apparent. The length and height of the two guns are not THAT different. However as you can see the back of the J frame is curved while the back of the Glock 19 is roughly in the same location as the furthest point back on the pistols grip. The backstrap is one of the two points on a pistol that prints (shows through clothing while concealed) the most. Also it is one of the reasons the J frame vanishes under anything except a skin tight t shirt.

Looking at the two guns from the back we get a better picture of their relative height. The S&W is just a little but shorter than the Glock 19. However when we look at width it's a different story. Aside from the cylinder and the fattest part of the grips the S&W 642 is significantly thinner than the Glock 19. Also very significantly it is a lot thinner at the end of the grip. Combine that with the grip being shorter and you have most of the reason the J frame conceals much easier than the Glock 19. Personally I can hide a J frame under almost anything while the Glock 19 takes a loose button up or polo shirt that's roughly a size larger than my body.

A top view of the guns in the same position. Shows the overall differences in width and length.

Bottom line is the J frame is smaller in all the right places (barrel, width, grip size) to make it a much more concealable gun. It is much easier to conceal than the G 19. I can conceal the J frame wearing anything other than a swim suit. On the other hand the Glock 19 takes a polo or button up shirt 1 size larger than my body to conceal with a real belt to hold it.

Between the two there is no dispute the Glock 19 is a superior firearm. It holds 3x the darn bullets plus it's a much easier gun to shoot well. However that is not the point of this comparison. It's great for folks to pack a full sized Glock, M&P or 1911 with 2x reloads. Seriously good for those guys. However my observation is that most people will not actually pack a full sized heater with any regularity. The running joke that if you ask any guy who says he packs a full sized 1911 to show it to you right now he will mumble some BS about how it's in the glove box/ nightstand/ safe runs true far more often than not.

I genuinely believe in high percentage carry. Personally I carry a gun unless it is really illegal, like years in prison not 'asked to leave the establishment' kind of illegal. When you carry all the time the inevitable 'running to the store for a gallon of milk' scenarios come up. Also there are times you just plain don't feel like strapping on a larger pistol. Plus it is hot and getting hotter down here. Any gun beats the hell out of no gun.

Personally I go back and forth between carrying the J frame and the Glock 19. There is a sort of informal risk assessment for every trip. If I'm leaving our little town it's the Glock 19. If it's after 8 o'clock or so it is the Glock 19 with a light. If I am carrying a lot of cash or making a significant trade it is the Glock 19. Last weekend between my wallet, some garage sale cash and money for the the gun show I was walking around with about a grand; so I carried the  G19 on my right hip and the .38 in my off side cargo pocket.

However all things considered my lifestyle is pretty safe as there are not a lot of muggings and shootings between 3 and 6 pm. Since the risk assessment of going to the store for groceries at 4pm on a Tuesday is pretty low the J frame wins a lot. It wins because I should have a gun but don't need that much of one.

I feel adequately armed with the J frame and 2 reloads.  Sure it's not a Glock 19 with a reload. That being said what realistically concerns me these days is 1) somebody trying to rob me in the parking lot or 2) getting carjacked, the distant 3rd would be just getting caught in something here or there. Either of those  (2 probable) situations will be over one way or another before I shoot 5 rounds. The cold hard truth is that I'll have won, lost or be behind something with time to reload by then.

That being said I am in the market for a Glock 26. Sooner or later one will be saved from a life of an owner who is not me. That might just be the setup. Until then I will split my time between the Glock 19 and the S&W 642.


As always your opinion is welcome.

Project 870 Paralysis

Alexander Wolfe and Tam's shotguns are coming along nicely. My project is stalled. A week ago I would have said it was pending funds. However upon reflection I just haven't been quite sure where exactly it was going.

At this point instead of turning my shotgun into what I want the idea of simply purchasing a slightly more purpose built gun has come up. For the cost of buying an extension plus what I could probably sell my gun for one with a factory extension could be purchased. Once I $25 in a couple doo dads plus pay for shipping everything this option would probably SAVE me a few bucks. Given the randomness of used gun availability this option may or may not pan out. I'll give it a couple weeks to see what happens.

For lights I'm going to go with the surefire forend. Probably the most expensive way to skin that cat but I think its the best.

Anyway that is the status of Project 870.

Cyprus, Herbs and Taters, Smith and Wesson M&P and Ramlings

That whole mess in Cyprus was pretty interesting. The model that government will screw citizens to protect banks is proven yet again. At this point banks are playing like Nicki from Casino. Gamble and collect if they win; should they lose they do not pay. If I was a Cyprusian, or whatever they call themselves, who happened to of had 100k Euro's in the bank I would be a lot poorer and very angry right now. Like buy a hoodie and a bandana then start burning stuff down angry.

The jilt of the situation is that bank deposits were stolen levied in a one time tax to help support the EU bail out of the countries banking industry. Cyprus is unique as it is a popular place for rich to moderately well off sometimes crooked Russians to stash money. Needless to say Russians are not a big fan of this. Maybe President Putin who is a real life bond villain and the most awesome man in the world will kill them all. I'm not sure.

This brings up a couple interesting points. As TEOTWAWKI Blog noted it is important to have some cash on hand. A month's cash expenses (food, fuel, medicine, incidentals) is a good reasonable goal. More would not hurt if your overall situation merits it. Given the effectively negative interest rates these days if you have more lying around one could go to 2-3 months cash expenses.

Claire Wolfe brought up a good point about considering how much cash you have in the bank. This is something that concerns us. We have a lot of money, by percentage and considering our life situation in the bank. Over the next several months we are going to do something about that.

Some dude in Tuscon is looking at handing out shotguns to low income women in high crime areas. I cannot see how it could make the war zone that is low socioeconomic status Tuscon any worse. Heck it might just make things better.

Today for dinner I heated up some frozen meatloaf MIL made when she was here. Did up some crashed potatoes to go with them. I liked that Greek oregano and green onions from the gargen were part of it. That is pretty cool. It looks like one of the strawberries died. The other strawberry plant I think is going to be fine.

So I've been hanging around in gun shops to buy ammo recently the opportunity to handle a couple of guns has come up. I really liked the ergonomics of the Smith and Wesson M&P. That gun feels great in my hand. It would be a very hard sell to get me to purchase a 9mm that isn't a Gen 3 Glock but I like the M&P a lot. Should I decide to buy a .45 it might be an M&P.

Also handled a Rossi Ranch Hand. That thing might just be a stupider gun than the damn Judge. A lever action pistol caliber gun you need to hands to reload, seriously people. If it's compatible with a bigger stock you could (of course pay $200 and fill out some forms first) make a Cowboy SBR I guess. Seriously folks just get a revolver that beats this piece of junk in about every possible contest.

Been doing a lot of reading about the battle of Grozny (the first one in late 94 to early 95) for some work stuff. Will probably talk more about that later. There are definitely some lessons to be learned and it is pretty interesting.

Well I'm bored of writing now so it's time to end this.

Hope you all are having a great weekend.

Admin Request to Close Out EDC Contest.

Zombie Guy #10 please contact me to get your copy of The Blighted by Archer Garrett. The rest of the winners info has been passed to the sponsors. I will get the wildcard together and out shortly. 

Again big thanks to the the advertisers who made this contest possible:
LPC Survival
LuckyGunner.com
Camping Survival
and Archer Garrett 

10 Lower Prices Solutions to Survivalism

A few ways to make preparedness fit your budget a bit better.

1. Prioritize. I know this is is a far bigger thing and really arguably negates the rest of the article but I do need to touch on it briefly. Choosing preparedness stuff instead of other things is a very valid option. I find it easier to have the goal in mind and do the math working towards it. Example doing the math that at 4 bucks a pop you would need to choose drip from home instead of fancy coffee 15 times to get the medium fixed blade knife you want or 10 nights out at $50 a pop to buy a rifle or whatever. For me this makes it a choice to prioritize that specific goal instead of just general budget tightening which kind of sucks.

 2. Cut down on your vices. Drink less, smoke less, chew less, gamble less, go from $5 coffee out to drip from home, use that money to prepare. [This is probably #1 for overall life improvement but for saving cash to fund preparedness, which is the topic of the post, I put it at #2. The reason is that prioritization (which also touches on vices) is more all encompassing.]

3. Buy used. Many things can be had gently used for 50-80 cents on the dollar. Once you take the tags off, use it a couple times and it will have a few scratches or wear marks anyway so save the $$$.

4. Build the same systems but with lower priced (but not junk) items. Common Mans $150 BOB by TEOTWAWKI Blog (though I think it's more of a Get Home Bag) is a great example of this.

5. Get basic guns. A tight budget does not mean to buy cool guns because you like them  and then skimp elsewhere. If you can't afford food you definitely can't afford an AR and a Glock, let alone an M1A and a high end 1911 with a bunch of mags each especially with prices these days!. It means you need to get basic but quality guns that will serve your needs but not bust the budget. The odds you need an AR-15 over a bolt action 30'06 or pump shotgun or a Glock 19 over an old SW Model 10 are a lot lower than that your family will start eating drastically less. Honestly if tomorrow our gun collection was a 30-30, a bare bones Rem 870/ Moss 500 pump shotgun, a pair of .38/.357 revolvers (his and hers) and a .22 it would be a decent enough setup. If we had 2 of everything and I had a J frame as well as a bigger revolver (aside from her pistol) it would be a good setup. Bought over time most folks can afford a $400 30'06 or 30-30, a $300 shotgun, a $300-400 pistol and a .22 of some sort along with plenty of ammo to go with them.

6. Get items that serve a lot of purposes. If money is tight it might not work in the short term to have 6 dedicated preparedness knives (huge camp, medium general purpose fixed, small fixed, folding EDC, multi tool and "fighting") a folding saw a hawk or hatchet and an ax. Instead a small ax or hatchet/ hawk (AO dependent), a medium sized fixed blade and a folding EDC/ multi tool (lifestyle dependent) might just be it. Those 3 tools would handle most all of your realistic preparedness cutlery needs.

Coming back to guns because we dudes tend to gravitate there and thus overspend limited resources which should be spent elsewhere. In terms of guns that can do a lot of things compact sized pistols are a good one. A Glock 19 or 3" small/ medium framed revolver can fill a lot of roles adequately. A pump shotgun with long and short barrels can do a ton of things. Toss in whatever center fire rifle fits your lifestyle and budget best then round it out with a decent .22 and you are good to go.

7. Put in the time. Oh you are busy too, well make some choices. Watch less tv or something. Learn stuff from people you know. Helping them is a great way to do this. Ask somebody to HELP YOU fix your car or wall or whatever and just maybe they will do it. Say you will HELP THEM with their next project and you'll get a phone call in a bit. Expect to carry some stuff and do some other nugg work but you will learn stuff. Also once they see you care enough to put in the time and energy most folks will go out of their way to help you learn.


8. Avoid mistakes. Buying items that don't fit your needs/ wants must be avoided at all costs. I have a variety of stuff that has been purchased then cast off to be extras or backups or sold at a loss. Even if you research enough to find out an item is quality there is the ever unquantifiable ergonomics. If money was tight I would only buy items I could personally handle and ideally try out (like borrowing a friends for a week) before purchasing.

9. Trade. There are some balancing acts there as you have to be a bit flexible but can't lose sight of your real needs as you can't afford to get unneeded or significantly lower priority stuff.  On the other hand turning your unused guitar and amp (or whatever) into the backpack and sleeping bag you need is just irresistible. Sometimes, though rarely especially with vastly different types of stuff, you can trade strait across. However more often you end up selling the music stuff to get money which pays for the camping gear.

10. Gifts. This isn't exactly a savings but it does help. Instead of asking for stuff you don't really need for birthdays, Christmas, etc ask for preparedness stuff you can use. Many folks would be happy to get you a preparedness item of comparable price than whatever the usual gift might be.

That is about all I can think of right now. Anyway I hope these ideas help give people some ideas on how to become better prepared on lower budgets.

Edited to include: After Snoops comment I went back and put them in what I feel is rank order. 

Naval Special Warfare Center Survival Kit Request

The Naval Special Warfare Center cough Seal Team 6 cough is looking to buy a bunch of survival kits. Their requirement list is pretty specific and interesting. Check it out here. Might just have to make myself a little kit. Between this article and TEOTWAWKI Blogs pocket survival kit series I have a pretty good idea on the direction to go in.

EDC Contest Winners

#1 CF #22 with 124 votes wins 3 Sport Berkey Water Bottles donated by LPC Survival ($69 value)
#2 Meister #20 with 74 votes wins 1 Blackhawk Holster donated by LuckyGunner.com ($50 value)
#3 Tricia #26 with 37 votes wins 1 Snare-Vival-Trap cough garote cough donated by Camping Survival ($17 value)
#4 Zombie Guy #10 with 32 votes wins 1 copy of The Blighted by Archer Garrett.

 The Wildcard goes to  Thomas #4. To be in high school and already on the right track in survivalism is pretty awesome. This guy is going places.

To the folks listed above please send me an email (from the same account your entry came from) with the address you want the prize sent to. If you fail to do so within 7 days the prize will be forfeited and I will pick an alternate winner.
 
Out of the prizes but rounding out the top 10 and gaining honorable mention are:
#5 Ray #33 with 20 votes he is tied evenly with Brian #6 who also has 20 votes
#6 Michael W #32 with 19 votes
#7 Brock #24 with 12 votes
#8 Garret T #25 with 11 votes
#9 Jacob #1 with 8 votes
#10 Matt #21 with 5 votes

I personally appreciated the participation of my fellow bloggers. In no particular order:
American Mercenary
TEOTWAWKI Blog
and Arma Borealis

A big thanks to the the advertisers who made this contest possible:
LPC Survival
LuckyGunner.com
Camping Survival
and Archer Garrett 
Please check out their sites. They support this blog and make these contests possible so please go to their sites and buy something. Tell them I sent you.

Getting Started, "I Can't Afford To Prepare", Gardens and Inflation

TEOTWAWKI Blog had an interesting discussion. "One to-do that I walked away with was the need to put together a real budget sensitive kit, and from off-the-shelf stuff. I did the $40 a week series, but even that's out of reach for a lot of people. A $150 or so total investment is probably a good starting point." Continue reading here. 

I commented there but felt like elaborating on the topic. It doesn't matter what you WANT to do it matters what you put meaningful effort towards doing. I would not mind being able to speak Chinese or squat 500 pounds but am not really doing anything to make that happen. Anybody can say they want to be prepared but if they aren't willing to do something about it that is all talk which counts for jack and shit. The point is that wanting to be prepared (or anything else) simply doesn't matter, what we DO matters. I'm not saying somebody not actively pursuing preparedness is bad or whatever, there are lots of good folks who it's just not their thing.

We make choices in life. Having expensive hobbies is a choice, eating out regularly is a choice, going out on the town all the time is a choice. Like I talked about previously well prepared individuals tend to have some things in common.

For what it is worth I find deciding on a goal and then figuring out how to make it work is the way to go. It's like the pay yourself first financial concept. The other option is to wait till the end of the month and inevitably there will be nothing left.

It's the same with space (historically another hot topic). If you look for easy to use storage space that is not currently filled with anything or be obtrusive on living spaces there isn't any in most homes, especially the small ones where space is already an issue. On the other hand if you come at it that your home is going to fit 30 buckets of stored food, 2 contico bins of gear, a backpack and a small gun cabinet then somehow you will figure out a way to make that work.

Of course people should be realistic. A one income family of 6 pulling down 20k a year can't financially do what a high powered couple bringing in big money can. 5 years of food for 6 people and 100k in ammo is not going to fit into a 30 foot RV. Everyone's situation, finances, schedule and goals are different. If $40 (or less) a pay period is what you can put into preps then do it. Have a plan, shop sales and make that money go as far as it can. If you are really short on space then do the best you can and once that is done try to work alternate locations or caches.

One mistake I think many people starting out in survivalism make is getting frustrated at what they perceive to be a lack of timely progress. This is short sighted at best. Focusing on progress is far more meaningful. Like Jim Wendler said "If you bench press 225 and want to do 275 first you need to do 230". Slow progress adds up over time if you are consistent.

At the risk of slipping into tomorrows post I put some more energy into the garden today. Right now we have a few plants. I am toying with ordering some nonhybrid heirloom type seeds and trying to sprout then grow them. There is still time to do so, though not enough to dilly dally for very long before doing so. It would be nice to grow some strawberries and a few other things. Our situation lends itself to container gardening for a variety of reasons. Any advice (where you buy small quantities of seeds from, sprouting, container gardening, harvesting seeds, etc all) would be greatly appreciated.

Has anybody else noticed that prices of stuff just keep climbing? I swear gas is up 10 or 20 cents this week. We aren't eating better but the cost keeps rising. Am I alone on this?

EDC Contest Roll Up

Hey Everybody, I wanted to put all the EDC contest entries together before we start the voting. So here they are. Before we get going here is a quick reminder of what our contestants are competing for:
1st Place: 3 Sport Berkey Water Bottles donated by LPC Survival ($69 value)
2nd Place: 1 Blackhawk Holster donated by LuckyGunner.com ($50 value)
3rd Place:  1 Snare-Vival-Trap cough garote cough donated by Camping Survival ($17 value)
4th Place: A copy of The Blighted by Archer Garrett.
Wildcard: This one goes to whoever I want to give it to for whatever reason I feel like. It will be a grab bag donated by yours truly. The exact makeup is TBD depending on what I have lying around  and may include books, gear, medical stuff or even a couple silver dimes. ($30+  value).
Check out the details and my example post here. 

Now without further rambling lets look at the entries:
 #1 Jacob
#2 Max in Colora
#3 Mike in Wisconsin
#4 Thomas
#5 J in Dallas
#6 Brian
#7 Dan
#8 James
#9 Kim
#10 Zombie Guy
#11 Alexander Wolfe of TEOTWAWKI Blog
#12 H
#13 Heather of Arma Borealis
#14 AM of American Mercenary (not in for prizes but I wanted to include it in the discussion)
#15 JW
#16 WPW
#17 Mike in Sweden
#18 C
#19 Mike
#20 Meister
#21Matt
#22 CF
#23 John
#24 Brock
#25 Garret T
#26 Tricia
#27 Levi on the Farm
#28 Jake
#29 Archer Garrett. You can check out his books on Amazon.
#30 Brian N
#31 Dave B
#32 Michael W
#33 Ray
#34 Chris the other half of Arma Borealis
#35 Jack

Please take a look at the posts as voting will (baring technical difficulties) start tomorrow.


*If there is a bad link someplace please let me know.

Firearmagedon Tailing Off?

TEOTWAWKI Blog called it a few days ago and over the past 24 hours it has picked up the pace a bit in AZ (specifically Southern AZ).

AR prices are trending solidly down. I think the folks who came too late to the 'double the new price for your used AR' party are starting to realize there are not people left who can/ will pay $1,600+ for a basic PSA/ Oly/ DPMS/ Bushmaster let alone a generic Franken AR. I am now seeing these guns more in the 1k-1,200 range but nobody seems to be buying, at least in a hurry. Low end AK's like WASR's and Yugo's are down to the 1k range for the most part though I did see a Polish 74 at a $650 asking price.

Some mags seem to be slipping down in price as well. Saw some PMAGs for 30 (gently used I think) to 35. USGI in the $30 range. A few Tapco AK mags at $25 a piece. Factory full capacity pistol mags, especially of the Glock flavor, Ruger BXP-25's and some other less common stuff is basically not available. Though one guy had Ruger BXP mags listed for $70.) This is weird because this stuff was being listed, albeit at stupid prices, a week or two ago. The only thing I can figure is buyers are waiting it out and potential sellers are not desperate.

The one sad face, at least in my AO is ammunition. Evil semi auto ammo is next to unavailable at sane prices. On the private market 7.62x39 is running 45-50 cents a round (steel) in quantity and higher for smaller lots. .223/5.56 is going for 75 cents a round (brass, a bit less for steel) or higher. .308 is occasionally available a box or two at a time in more expensive hunting loads at a buck and a quarter a round. Anything on the private market is about a buck and a quarter a shot.

Other rifle ammo is generally available and prices are relatively unchanged.

Pistol ammo is sporadically available at close to pre panic prices if you do not care about manufacturer/ load. It is solidly available at higher prices in stores that marked it up and on the private market. Mark ups vary for 40% to 100+% with 9mm ($20/50 is the best deal I have seen in awhile) packing the highest premiums. Interestingly premium type defense ammo is still widely available. As Tam would say "Bubba and Cletis aren't buying more than a mag of them there holler points". I suppose the folks who are able and willing to stock the good stuff deep did it awhile back, probably at better prices.

Shotgun ammo is fairly available locally if you are not picky.  Of course the low cost Walmart type buckshot is gone but it is available at slightly higher prices.

.22lr is available in small quantities. Everybody has shifted to just making the little 50 and 100 round packs. Most stores I have been to recently has at least a few boxes, usually with a 2-3 box limit. A person can get the stuff but not necessarily in their favorite flavor.

Without the benefit of a crystal ball I would say that unless you are really desperate, which we could arbitrarily describe as less than a fighting load of mags (7x30's or 11x20's for a rifle, 4 mags for a pistol) and enough ammo to reload them all 3x, holding off might be a good idea. Your money will probably buy a lot more gun stuff in 2-4 months.

[Of course the decision would need to be based on multiple factors. The first of which is your finances, the price difference means a lot more to some folks than others. The next would be the totality of your other preps as well as your overall 2A preps. Example a guy with 6 Glocks and a trunk full of mags for them but only 3x mags for the sole M&P is in a fine spot overall. Don't stress only having 500 rounds for the .308 if you have 10 cases of ammo for the AK, etc. The last factor would be what you think is going to happen.

Anyway that is what is going on here in Southern Arizona. What is going on in your neck of the woods?

Door Knockers and Strap Hangers

Teotwawki Blog brought up The Doorstep Problem and it is worth discussing. In fact it is probably on the quarterly fundamentals rehashing list. So here we go.

There are a few fundamental questions to consider:

1) Do I/ we want to help this person? If you have been wanting to yell at somebody and maybe point a gun at them for years then the decision is simple.

2) Can I/ we afford to help this person? This is a question of how much food (or whatever stuff) you have, how many people it needs to feed and the suspected length of the situation at hand. I could feed the whole neighborhood for a 3 day power outage and a bunch of folks for a month to ride out a natural disaster. On the other hand if we are talking about 6 months or a year or maybe more the division gets bad in a hurry.

3) Under what conditions am I/ we willing to help this person?

Now to some discussion.

I think it is reasonable to keep your preparations from acquaintances and casual office buddies. It's easy enough to avoid those discussions with these folks. Worst case for casual acquaintances who say "I'm coming to your house" the response of "No you are not, I have a gun and know how to use it" is probably sufficient.

However close friends and family will know to some degree that you are prepared and we tend to like them a lot more. Maybe it will be because keeping things from these folks is harder as we are closer to them or that they are around more and will eventually see a stash of canned essentials or a few boxes of freeze dried food. So we are going to focus primarily on more than casual acquaintances.

The old adage that you can get murdered alone or starve to death together bears some consideration. There is a balancing act here. On one hand any decent security setup is probably going to involve several or ideally more like a dozen plus healthy military age (broadly 16-60ish) adults which probably means at least 2 or more likely 3 times that number of people with kids, elders and the infirm. However at some point the math just doesn't work. Most folks have a hard enough time trying to make bills, save and get prepared for their immediate family, let alone a 40 person extended clan. If you do not have enough food in the short term and the space and stuff to produce food in the long term it's just not going to work.

I think conditions under which you might be willing to help a particular person are worth giving serious consideration. Are you willing to let them camp in the back 40, use whatever shelter they bring and eat their own food? Will you provide them with some food, tell them you cannot spare more later and send them home? Are they going to sleep in the den and basically be treated as family? Can they bring 4 poorly behaved pit bulls? What about granny?

[People often lack any sort of realistic shelter plan for those who are coming over to ride things out. Travel trailers are a fine idea. Slapping up a couple basic rooms with bunk beds in the basement is a fine idea. Turning an old shed into a bunk house is a fine idea. The point is to have a realistic plan of some sort.]

There are not really clean cut answers here but it is worth figuring out the answers for your situation. I think it's worth mentioning that the time to talk about this stuff is BEFORE something happens. That gives folks a legitimate opportunity to meet your conditions or find an alternative plan. Also it puts you on as solid ground as you can be when your cousin who was told he can camp in the back 40 and eat his own food shows up empty handed.

I think strap hanging family are probably the most underestimated problem for your Rawlesian type pre planned survivalist group. When the chips are down many folks realize that blood actually matters a lot. Most people simply will not turn away their parents or siblings. At least with a more natural group of some family and close friends there is a bit of overlap and you know each other. On the other hand if your 'group' is 6 random families all with their own relatives and close friends the numbers get out of control in a hurry. Depending on peoples family situation and proximity the issue may be pressing. Again the answer is thinking about these problems and coming up with a realistic plan before you need it.

I do not have all the answers. Close family and friends we would help as much as possible, more distant relatives and  casual buddies would probably get some help and other folks would get told to kick rocks. My answers might not be right for you but it's where I stand on the thing.

Thoughts?

EDC Contest Entry #23 John

Hey Folks, I am pleased to bring another entry for our EDC Contest. First we will quickly recap what is going on. The broad strokes are this. I want to share and discuss the stuff we carry around every day AKA EDC. Taking pictures of our stuff and talking about it is my goal.

The prizes will be as follows:
1st Place: 3 Sport Berkey Water Bottles donated by LPC Survival ($69 value)
2nd Place: 1 Blackhawk Holster donated by LuckyGunner.com ($50 value)
3rd Place:  1 Snare-Vival-Trap cough garote cough donated by Camping Survival ($17 value)

Wildcard: This one goes to whoever I want to give it to for whatever reason I feel like. It will be a grab bag donated by yours truly. The exact makeup is TBD depending on what I have lying around  and may include books, gear, medical stuff or even a couple silver dimes. ($30+  value)

Check out the details and my example post here. 

 Onto Entry #23

Just found your blog from TEOTWAWKI blog and really enjoy your style of writing and its content. this is my entry into your edc contest.

Top to bottom:
Columbia Singletrak watch with a digital compass feature and the temperate
Standard cheapo composition note pad
Wallet with just the normal wallety stuff
Camillus folding knife with removable starter in the handle
Gerber suspension multi tool
Full size Bic  lighter, pen and Sharpie
streamlight stylus pro flashlight

All of the above is what is on me regularly along with a Altoids tin which has in it:

Non aspirin
Shortened pencil wrapped with duct tape
Mini Bic
Mini Gerber para frame knife
Streamlight microstream
Triple anti biotic
Alcohol wipe
Burn cream
2 band aids
4 matches with a strike pad I cut off a box
Folded index card

The Altoids tin tends not to keep shut v

 -End-

TEOTWAWKI Blog Talks Snubby .38's

TEOTWAWKI Blog's post The Snub Nosed Revolver is an excellent post that directly relates to our recent talk on Small Revolver Choices.

Small Revolver Choices- SW Airweight .38?

We talked before about whether I should get a revolver or a little semi auto.

Anyway I decided to go with a little revolver. There were a lot of different considerations involved in this.

The Kel Tech 9mm is at least temporarily rejected. If one comes up at a deal and it is from a person I know (that will say if the gun sucks or not) maybe but for now I think not. There are a whole flock of new subcompact single stack 9mm's but I want to see how they fare and let some kinks get worked out.

There were a variety of options but I quickly narrowed it down to a Ruger SP 101 .357 mag or a Smith and Wesson .38/.357. Lots of other companies (Taurus, Charter Arms, etc all) make decent revolvers but I am looking for something that I'm not going to have issues with or want to replace in 2 or 3 years.

After some consideration the role I am looking to fill is a carry piece smaller than a Glock 19. This will give me some options and since I will be in Arizona through the summer that is important. I do think the steel framed models are probably more durable over the very long term. However since subcompact revolvers tend to be guns that get carried a lot and not have crazy round counts so to me the issue is negligible. Also this is another consideration in buying a quality revolver. My concern about the SP 101 is that despite being small it is heavy enough to be problematic for my intended use of summer or casual carry.  Also I tend to want to go lighter for a carry gun which makes the air weight smiths a good option.

[Eventually this little revolver will be paired with a stainless steel .357 or some variety. A Ruger GP 100 4" would be nice but a 3" SP 101 might just be the ticket.]

Alexander Wolfe of TEOTWAWKI Blog noted you do not get a lot from the .357 cartridge (vs the .38 special) in a snubby and there are probably shoot-ability issues in lighter guns. I would be inclined to go with a .357 mag and load .38's just to have the chamber capacity if it ever came up. So I got to looking. Around here SW stainless .357 mag's of the small variety are semi rare and in the air weight flavor they might as well be made of unobtainable and have diamonds for night sights. Nice guns but way more coin than I want to spend.

Anyway the combination of my preferences, budget and availability makes me think a Smith and Wesson Airweight .38 special as the best available option. Thoughts?

EDC Contest #11 Alexander Wolfe

Hey Folks, I am pleased to bring another entry for our EDC Contest. First we will quickly recap what is going on. The broad strokes are this. I want to share and discuss the stuff we carry around every day AKA EDC. Taking pictures of our stuff and talking about it is my goal.

The prizes will be as follows:
1st Place: 3 Sport Berkey Water Bottles donated by LPC Survival ($69 value)
2nd Place: 1 Blackhawk Holster donated by LuckyGunner.com ($50 value)
3rd Place:  1 Snare-Vival-Trap cough garote cough donated by Camping Survival ($17 value)

Wildcard: This one goes to whoever I want to give it to for whatever reason I feel like. It will be a grab bag donated by yours truly. The exact makeup is TBD depending on what I have lying around  and may include books, gear, medical stuff or even a couple silver dimes. ($30+  value)

Check out the details and my example post here. 
Onto Entry #11 by Alexander Wolfe of TEOTWAWKI Blog which is an excellent blog I read daily.

Ryan -

I humbly submit my own personal daily equipment, nothing too flashy and definitely all carried on a daily basis. Backed up with a daily carry bag and vehicle kits.

Contents are:

Smith & Wesson 642 with S&W grips and a Tyler-T Grip. I've found this combination quite good for concealment purposes and controllable when shooting. While the Smith isn't an ideal weapon, it is easy enough to conceal in a wide range of clothes and carry methods--pretty much anywhere, any time--and gives 5-for-sure rounds of respectable .38 Spl. A decent enough compromise, especially given my low risk lifestyle. I will eventually pick up one of the new pocket 9s and see how they fare, though.

The holster is an el-cheapo Uncle Mikes, which is actually the most comfortable holster I've owned. Snubby is worn AIWB at about 1:30, and the padded nylon helps with comfort (as does the shape of the revolver's grip vs. an auto). The Uncle Mike's holster can work as a pocket holster and removes easily enough if needed, too.

Spare ammunition is carried in a Safariland Comp I, which works much better than the more common HKS loaders, and is lower profile to boot. I will add another speedloader and speedstrips often, but the single Comp I is daily carry stuff. More ammunition and heavier firepower in the vehicles, if needed.

Flashlight is a well worn Surefire E1B. The tail cap wore out this past year and was replaced with a tail cap for an E1E, which Surefire was kind enough to send my way free of charge. The best part of this light is the pocket clip--best pocket clip around, amigos. Surefire has a big upgrade coming for the E1B this year - 200 lumens! - and this one will get relegated to a backup. This rides IWB at about 11 o'clock.

Knife is a Spyderco P'Kal, carried more for defensive purposes than utility, but it will open up boxes fine, too. The wave feature is excellent, and the P'Kal's grip shape allows it to be used effectively in the reverse/edge-in grip I favor for the kind of up-close-and-desperate work this would be used for. Worn high in my right front pocket.

Pen is a Lamy 3-function pen - two pens and a mechanical pencil. Quite nice. Rides in a shirt breast pocket.

Key chain take offs are a Leatherman PS4 with the pliers swapped out in favor of full-sized scissors and a Fenix LD01. Both on McGizmo clips.

Watch is a Citizen Eco-Drive I received as a present. Solar powered, which is kind of cool. I've been wearing it for a year now and it doesn't look thrashed, which is more than I can say for many watches I've owned.

The rest of the stuff rides in my wallet (an Eagle Creek) - Bogota lock tools, water purification tablets, a micro usb drive, BFE Labs Ultralight Kit knife and a home made sheath. The wallet also has plenty of spare cash and cards if I need to buy my way out of a problem.

Not pictured is my iPhone 5 - used to take the picture - and a pair of reading glasses.

 -End-

What Did You Do To Prepare This Week?

Things were pretty crazy here getting used to having the new little one at home. All is well with child #2 but it is a lot to adjust to.  Still managed to get a few things done.

I sold a revolver to free up some cash and make room for a new gun. Leaning pretty hard towards a smaller stainless .357 magnum but we will see if something cool pops up. Then again I am going to re look what is on the gun/ defensive accessory list and maybe just wipe it out.

Spent some time more with the Solo Stove and think I've pretty much figured it out. Just got to fiddling with the Solo Pot 900. Pretty psyched about that combo.

This weekend a lot of time went into working on my systems. The EDC bag was totally stripped down. After taking all preparedness stuff out of it I reinserted a personal survival kit, one of those heavier space blankets, a cheapo first aid kit and a pouch for a steel water bottle. Need to pick up a bottle of water purification tablets to go in there and it will be good to go.Will probably talk about it this week.

The rest of the stuff plus a bit more went into a commercial hiking style backpack. I added a few more things and it is shaping into a pretty decent heavy get home bag/ bug out bag. Need to go over it again and plug a few small holes then things should be good to go. We will talk more about this once I finish the last little bit.

Coming up next week I am going to order a few odds and ends. Also plan to keep working my systems and talk about the stuff in my EDC bag. Speaking of EDC bags Teotwawki Blog is doing a series on them which should be interesting. May change mine a little bit based on stuff that comes up there. Also Wifey said I should go shooting so that will probably happen early this week.

What did you do to prepare this week?

A few things to share just to clear out some tabs:

Teotwawki Blog noted that CDNN investments has (had anyway) PTR-91's at sane prices.

They also linked to an excellent site Congress.org that makes it super easy to write all of your federal or state representatives in one shot (instead of looking them up and wading through their websites). So click on this link and tell them what you think about the current hysteria and the Second Amendment in general. If you are not sure what to say Ruger put together an excellent blanket letter. Send it to your federal and state reps today. I did and it took like 5 minutes.

Apparently 100k people joined the NRA in the last 18 days. I was one of those. If you are not a member join the NRA today. They are not as extreme (in a good way) as GOA but they actually have clout. Join GOA also if it makes you happy.

$19 30 rd AR mags IN STOCK. I can't vouch for this company or the mags but if you need AR mags at this stage in the game beggars cannot be choosers.

Niche Gear

Do you have something that isn't used often but sometimes it is just right?

For me a shoulder holster is a great example of this. I generally do not like them as a way to carry. To conceal it you have to wear a pretty heavy over garment so you could pack OWB on the belt anyway. However for long car trips a shoulder holster is the ticket. Far more comfortable and accessible than any other on the body option. The one I am using these days is a Galco Miami Classic which was previously reviewed. A great holster but pretty spendy which drives a lot of folks away from them. Once upon a time I had a Blackhawk Shoulder Holster. You will not mistake it for a Miami Classic however it worked just fine at a cost I could afford at the time.

Another nitch item I have is a Hill People Gear Kit Bag. I haven't really reviewed it but TEOTWAWKI Blog did a solid review awhile back. This piece of gear is the answer for concealed carry with a heavy pack. However that isn't something I do much. Probably shouldn't have bought it when I did but oh well. They are a cool company and it is a good product. In coming years as the kids get older and we are more active in the outdoors it will earn it's keep. Still really want a Mountain Sarape. It seems like a woobie on steroids that can do a lot of things.

What is a niche piece of gear for one person might be a key EDC item for another. A longtime co conspirator carries his High Power in a Miami Classic every day. On the other hand a leather IWB holster like I use all the time is rarely in his rotation. Different lifestyles and situations make some items more important and others less so.

Common sense says you should not put much energy or money into nitche items until the more everyday ones are addressed. However at some point it makes sense to get a few useful items even if they are not useful all the time. While I do not like throwing money at problems sometimes there is just a right tool for the job and it makes sense to have that tool.

What nitche items do you own and use?

Happiness is a Brownells Box at Your Door

I ordered 10 more PMAGs and some various spare parts from Brownells on the 17th of December and it showed up at my door this evening. In the time it took for them to ship the price I could get for them has multiplies 3-4 times. However those are just paper gains because I am not selling them.

We did not need them but I wanted more PMAGs. Wish I would have ordered 4 more so we would have a nice even number. I'll tack them onto my next order and if they show up that is nice and if not oh well. Honestly we are above ratio (20 per gun) so they aren't needed but I like PMAGs and want the option to continue using them. Spare parts were to replace some taken from inventory to finish (after me losing/ breaking a couple things in my AR-15 lower receiver build) and fill some holes we had.

5 Lessons from the Panic in 2012 at Teotwawki Blog was worth reading and thinking about. All in all if things get ugly we are not in a bad spot. Mostly this is because we were not in a bad spot before this whole current mess. The vast majority of this preparation was done over a few years at normal prices and deals when I could find them. We have picked up a few things including this order but they were really just rounding things out. This mag order was icing on the cake so to speak.

Also I knew what our shortages were and acted upon them. Not perfectly.  The day those mags were ordered I SHOULD have purchased an AR-15 stripped lower for a pistol build when prices were sane. Don't have a great reason why, this just didn't happen. If something sticks I will really regret that mistake. Beyond that anything I would want (a complete AR pistol to go with that lower or a PTR-91) would have been cost prohibitive for us.

The only thing that really came to mind except the stuff covered in Alexanders post is the benefit of having some money lying around. We have been able to surge on some things because at little to no notice there was money to do so. If we had no money that would not have happened. 

Anyway those are my thoughts on that. Hope you are doing well filling whatever shortages you may have.

 

From Around The Web

Arma Borealis is a blog by a couple who are regularly show up around here. Good stuff. Not at all related to the other links today. Just wanted to mention it.

Chicago: Americas gun free killing fields  

America Doesn't Have a Gun Problem, It Has a Gang Problem

5 Lessons from the Panic in 2012 at Teotwawki Blog. Have what you need on hand. Know where your shortages (a relative term) are. If supplies may become interrupted act without hesitation to fill said shortages.