Accepting Prudent Risk

The concept of risk is something survivalists/ preppers are generally adverse to. We like to have this fantasy that we can somehow manage every risk. This is sadly not reality. In failing to acknowledge that risk inherently exists we do not make choices to manage it. Like any other choice when we do not make it the choice gets passed by in an unintentional way. Letting these decisions automatically make themselves can have disastrous results.

The benefit of assessing all the risks of a plan is that you can see the whole picture, weigh things and then make an intentional choice about which risks you are most comfortable making. Inevitably you will try to mitigate these risks and may be successful to some degree.

Let us look at a potential decision and the risks on both sides of it.

Where to live:

Option 1- Live in or immediately near(say 5 miles) a small town. Risk- People and crime could trickle in from town. In a WROL you might get sucked into some sort of tyrannical little fiefdom.

Option 2- Live 50+ miles from town in a perfect Rawlesian retreat. Risk- Earning a living will be difficult and replacing jobs could be impossible. If someone is seriously injured you are way outside of the golden hour. If things go WROL and you get attacked nobody is coming to help.  

Conclusion- The point is that each side of this proverbial coin has risk. Depending on your family, medical status, group setup and finances either answer could be right. What is best for the Smith's might not be for the Johnson clan.

The point is that 1) risk is inevitable and it exists in all choices. 2) By assessing risk you can make intentional choices that best suit your life and 3) Intentionally choosing the risks you are most able to handle (or mitigate in some way) will lead to better outcomes than just watching things happen.

Warrior School Fails Again...

So I was scheduled for a pistol class this weekend at Warrior School of unreliable people who do not conduct scheduled training. Had originally planned to do one there about a month back. They canceled it at the last minute. Not a huge deal; frustrating but I suppose things can happen. Figured I would just catch the next one. Well fast forward a month or so. Today I got an email saying this course was canceled also. I am seriously underwhelmed with these people. In fact I am frustrated and angry. Basically I've been jerked around by them for over a month.

Based on my experiences I recommend staying far away from these people. They accepted my money and twice failed to do what they said they would do which left me hanging for months. I never trained with them but generally people who are professional in one thing tend to be professional in another which really does not bode well for the Warrior School. Best case these folks do good training but are terminally unreliable.

Hell maybe they are in the business of holding onto peoples money for a couple months at a time in some interest based Superman/ Office Space type scheme. That is the best explanation I can come up with 'cuz they sure don't seem to actually want to frickin train people. There is a saying of uncertain origin that 'a satisfied customer may tell one person but a dissatisfied customer tells everybody' and it is certainly true in this case. In fact thanks to them I am starting a new 'Black List' label. All rambling aside I simply cannot suggest a student throws down their money then frees up their schedule expecting to actually conduct some training.

So that leaves me looking for a sanely priced 1-2 day pistol class to attend. Money is a consideration. I don't mind paying the going rate of $200ish (or $300 for a big name type instructor) a day for quality instruction but a 5 day course with first class lodging and gourmet chow that costs more than most used cars isn't in the cards. It looks like I am going to play hell getting anything done now that it's heating up. This wouldn't have been an issue if I hadn't been jerked around by 'Warrior's School' of people who do not conduct scheduled training throughout the spring.

Anyway now it seems I am looking for a defensive type pistol shooting course within reasonable driving distance of southern Arizona. If a place was a bit far I could make the drive the night before then sleep over someplace but I cannot spend a whole day to driving on both ends. If you have suggestions they would be appreciated.

Looks like my weekend just freed up. Fail.

Casting Call: Wanna Be Famous?

Do you and your family need a change? Something that will put family time back to the top of the priority list.

The makers of GOLD RUSH are looking for a family in need of a new challenge.

If you want more family time round the table and less in front of the tv; if you want your gadget addicted children to learn a few more life skills; if you would rather spend more time making a home and less paying for one; or if you would just like to slow things down, then this could be the show for you. 

We are working with a major cable network channel to cast for an incredible new documentary series. If you would like a trial run at a life less ordinary then this is your chance. We are offering a taste of life outside the rat race. No gadgets, no junk food, no social media taking over. Land, space, fresh air and plenty of challenges await those looking to try something new… 

We look forward to hearing from you. Don’t forget to tell your friends too.

documentarycharacters@gmail.com

Ryan here: Based on my anecdotal observation of how people have/ can be portrayed as well as obvious OPSEC/ PERSEC concerns I would have a hard time recommending this sort of thing to others. This guy is definitely not interested. Regardless of my personal opinion somebody here might be interested so I'm passing the info along to you all.

Anybody in Northern Louisiana?

Hi, I am interested in opening a dialog with any readers living in Western Central Louisiana, specifically the greater Alexandria to Leesville/ Ft Polk area. If you have solid *current* knowledge of that area and are willing to let me bother you with a few questions please send me an email @ theotherryan@yahoo.com. Maybe we can grab a beer or something down the road.

-Ryan

Pic Post

I really hope this one ends badly for the folks of Westboro Baptist. Those hate mongering assholes have been screwing around at funerals asking to get stomped for years. If there is any ambiguity in my statement I really hope a mob of angry Slayer fans inflict seriously bodily harm to every member of this protest old enough to legally drive a car.

Range Report: Glock Test Fire, Burris MTAC, Tula .223 and Commie Guns

The Glock 19 with steel guide rod and 3.5lb trigger connector was great. The lighter trigger connector really makes for a great shooting package. I do not think it's unsafe or anything, just a cleaner more crisp trigger. Wouldn't want to get some 1 pound gamer trigger or whatever but this setup is just fine IMO. I would guesstimate the increase in accuracy based on this modification is 30%. The PMC 115gr FMJ's I was shooting were great. The only sad point in this area is I only had 1x 50 round box to shoot. Along these lines I noticed Lucky Gunner has Glock 19 mags for $31 which is a good deal these days.

Brought the .22 Browning Buckmark along for the ride. I have no legitimate reason it has not been coming along more frequently. Anyway I brought it along today. The gun has been sitting well lubricated for probably 4 years, I just took it out, loaded a mag, started shooting. It was great, the odd dud but that is .22lr for ya. Being able to shoot a pistol until I get bored without consideration of the cost was big fun. I know .22 ammo is hard to come by these days though it is out there. I've stashed about 1,500 rounds of .22 during this whole mess without paying silly prices so it is out there.

The pistol shooting went better today than last time, pretty good for my current skill set/ level of practice. I credit the 3.5# connector and a half dozen mags of .22 to warm up.

I was updating some inventories yesterday. Glancing through them I found out we have a bit more than 2x the .22 ammo I thought put back. For whatever reason the number in my head was really wrong. Glad it was wrong short not long. Now I feel better about having the 3 inflation adjusted 333rd bricks of .22 ammo I got recently be range meat.

Speaking of range meat I shot that Tula 223. It functioned fine, no misfires or jams. At the risk of speaking without even semi scientific evidence I will give some impressions. It seemed to be slightly less accurate than Lake City or PMC. Sufficient for putting lead into targets but not what I would want to have loaded for the stereotypical movie shoot the guy behind the hostage scenario. If the price difference between Tula or Wolf steel cased .223 vs brass cased stuff was sufficient I would not hesitate to purchase it again.

As usual the MTAC was great. Have found it works better during the day with the illum turned off. The large heavy circle that surrounds the reticle lets you get onto target really fast, sort of like an Eotech. The only downside is I shot half the .223 I brought along at 200-400m without realizing I had the scope set at 1 power. Obviously I do better at distance with 4x magnification.

Since I was with some people the opportunity to shoot their guns came up. Played with an SKS a bit. We briefly touched on them in the Basic Guns series. The SKS is a classic import case of studs and duds. Some are awesome and others completely suck. The sucky ones could probably be fixed by a competent gunsmith familiar with the platform but it destroys the economic benefit of the SKS. Sort of like putting $ 5k into a car that once it is running will be worth $5,500 it probably isn't a great plan. The one I shot was great and had a pretty nice finish to boot. At the right price they are a decent rifle to have as an all around gun or a backup/ giveaway gun. This makes even more sense if you already have an AK and a bunch of ammo put back. Sort of like I said before my evaluation of the SKS as a rifle for $200ish is very different than for $500+.

Also got to shoot a Mosin Nagant carbine, think the guy said it was a Chinese Type 53. That gun was a hoot! Solid potential for accuracy despite very mediocre sights and reasonable scoping options are available if one wants to go that way. Best of all it's in a centerfire .30cal rifle cartridge that normal folks can afford to go shoot a hundred rounds on a semi regular basis. Aside from being a useful backup/ trade type gun it's a range toy at a reasonable range toy price. I really want one; maybe for my birthday.

Well that is what happened this morning at the range.

Syria, Anonymity in a Connected World and Life

Meant to write a good gear review today except all of a sudden it is 9 o'clock in the evening. I'm tired physically and emotionally. Been talking to lots of folks about lots of things. Maybe something will pan out but who knows. Talking to lots of folks for every deal that actually pans out is part of life I guess.

Been thinking about Syria. If there is a positive side for us getting involved I can't really see it. The talk about arming the rebels has increased. Honestly I am ambivalent about the whole thing. Don't know anybody who lives near there so whatever happens is fine.

The concept of anonymity has been on my mind lately. Stuff ranging from the easy Wally World throw away phone to getting a storage space, utilities or maybe even a short term place to stay without anybody being the wiser. I think it's important to be realistic. Things have changed a lot since the widespread use of computers and even more since 9/11. You can go ahead and toss all those 90's era Paladin Press Get Yer Fake ID in 4 Easy Steps books into the recycling bin. Beating a simple database search or official inquiry is probably a lot more realistic than evading the full force of a first world government, particularly if that government is the US.

Other than that not a whole lot is going on. About to end another work week which is nice. Looking forward to maybe tossing a few rounds downrange. The ammo situation seems to be getting better so I've been able to replace at least enough to shoot a box now here or there. Catching up on some sleep will be nice also.

Anyway that's what is going on here.

Quote of the Day

"I'll take the simple life. Give me an AK-47, a good guard dog and a nymphomaniac who owns a liquor store."
-Bob Brown on "The Unit"

Quote of the Day and Discussion

“Everyone has a plan – until they get punched in the face.”
-Mike Tyson

Some years ago I had the occasion to be in a situation where a bunch of people got punched in the face within a controlled environment. Some of them were people who would not otherwise find such circumstances and others were guys like me for whom it was just another Friday. Blood lust aside it was very interesting. You could tell without a doubt who was getting popped for the first time by the way they reacted. Never trust anybody who hasn't been punched in the face.

The implied task is that you need to become accustomed to violence under controlled circumstances now while the opportunity to learn before it matters still exists. Get used to it while you can.

I am not going to be writing a post today. All of a sudden it got late. Will crank out something good tomorrow unless I don't.

Sick Daughter Blues

Daughter has been sick a lot more than is normal over the last couple weeks. Today she went to the doc to get the results of some tests. All sorts of stuff was off so the doc told Wifey to take her to the ER at the premier children's hospital in the region (thankfully it's not THAT far away). He also said to prepare for something serious to be wrong. Since they are all the way at home I'm just sitting here by my phone. Kids being really sick is scary and frustrating. I do dangerous things for a living but this really bothers me. Problems I can just sit and watch are far worse than any problem I can fucking do something about. Give me a couple meth maggots with evil intentions in a dark parking lot or an ambush over this sort of thing any day.

Some other annoying shit happened today also but none of it really matters. Honestly it's just icing on the crap cake. May write something later. Not that the blog is important enough to merit it parse but that would give me something to do instead of sitting here and worrying. Hopefully some good news will come shortly and this will turn out to be a fairly minor thing. If prayer is your thing it would be appreciated.

Later,

Ryan

Odds N' Ends

The lettuce, spinach and green beans went into pots today. That was big fun. This whole growing my own vegetables thing is pretty cool. Also I'm excited to say it looks like I'll be involved with an intro to canning thing in the near future.

Had dinner and a couple beers at a local bar. Since neither driving slightly inebriated or taking a cab appealed to me I decided to hang out drinking water and reading till the booze wore off. I am currently reading Ghost Wars:The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001. I got halfway into this book way back in IBOLC but it lost my interest. These days I am a lot better informed on Afghanistan and the players involved, through research and personal experience, and am probably more patient so it's a bit easier to get through.

On the plus side guns are becoming more available. The local shop has a variety of evil black rifles and semi automatic pistols. They are also doing pretty well on mags. A variety of AR mags including PMAGs at $22ish were present. They had limited pistol mags, I think mostly various Ruger and XD mags plus a few Glock 19 mags at $32ish.

Ammo is trickling into the shops and flying out. A lot of guys are showing up at Wally World early in the morning. Some to meet their own needs and some to resell at stupid prices. The local shop sold 7k in .223 in 2 days with a 3 box per customer limit. Personally I'm semi actively looking and buying when prices are right.

As summer hits here we are seeing consistent temps in the 80's. My little .38 J frame is definitely earning its keep. The G19 is really only viable for open carry these days. However given that it I'm in Arizona that option is legally on the table and socially acceptable to boot. Sort of depends on my mood and the risk of a given venture. Since I'm much more of a grocery store at 4pm than an ATM at 3AM kind of guy the risk is usually pretty low.

In writing this rambling, I'm too lazy to do something serious post I realized that a month ago I wrote basically the same thing. Big fun.

Busy Day and Gun Selling

Had a long day at work today. On the plus side I ended up getting the 200 rounds of 9mm (Win white box) needed for upcoming training @ 30 cents a round. After that ended up selling my 30'06. That puts me out of the caliber. Think it's just temporary. Will probably own another one, albeit in a different configuration, sooner or later. Time will tell.

Well anyway I've been slacking a little bit lately. Put some much needed admin energy to the blog. Efforts at work have been draining me mentally. Will put out something good for tomorrow.

Garand Officially Sold, Tuscon Fun and Various Ramblings

Well the Garand sale was finalized. I do not miss it. The Garand is not an especially practical gun and too expensive to hold onto for collectible's sake or to regularly shoot as a plinker for fun. I am also glad those resources went to other things.

Slowly but surely I am swapping a big messy collection for a slightly less big collection that makes a lot more sense. Part of it is simplifying by eliminating calibers and such. The other part is that I am pretty much done compromising. Selling and trading close enough guns for just right guns if you get what I mean.

Now that the Garand is gone I am halfway toying with getting rid of my other '06. I've been wanting to migrate to .308 anyway so this might be a good excuse. We will see what happens there down the road. 

Spent a fair bit of time driving around Tuscon today from errand to errand. Half of the city looks like a ghetto war zone though in fairness the other half is pretty nice. Diamondback Police Supply was big fun. Plenty of AR's, AK's, etc and some pistols but not much ammo. No .22lr, 9mm or .223 to be had today. Looked at some holsters and such. Ammo aside it is a very well stocked store that is fun to go through.

Wifey and I genuinely like it down here. If there were not the minor issues of undocumented citizens illegal alien criminals and drug cartels with their associated local gangs we would probably settle down here. There is sort of a weird hippy redneck fusion thing going on that suits us really well.

I'm bored of writing now so it is time to wrap this post up.Hope you are all having a good weekend.

 Take care of each other,
Ryan

Firearmagedon Price Check

How much is the following stuff running in your AO? How is availability?
AR-15's?
PMAGS?
USGI/ aluminum AR Mags?
.223/5.56 ammo?
AK's?
AK mags?
7.62x39?
SKS's?
What about .308 ammo?
Glock 19/17's?
Glock 19/17 mags?
9mm ball?
.38 special?
.40?
.45?

Gardening Fun

Well I haven't killed our plants yet. They are now inside/ outside plants only coming in when it is going to get cold. This wouldn't work with 40 plants but for the few we have it's easy enough. Probably care too much about them and have taken to calling them my dirt babies. I find the whole thing pretty calming.

Also I am trying to get some taters going. We had a few that MIL must have got while she was here that were forgotten and started sprouting. I figured why not and tossed them into some containers with dirt. Hopefully they get going.

Today I stuck some green onions into a glass of water to hopefully sprout. The reason for this is that we never need a whole package of green onions, just a little bit. This way I can cut off just what we need for a meal. Plan to do the same thing with some cilantro.

Might just get some sprouts going also. I like them in sandwiches and salads. 

I think this is about as far as the garden is going this year. Next year hopefully we are in a place where I can go a bit further.

Are you getting into gardening this season? Maybe expanding your existing garden.

A Personal Note

H, I received the letter. Will get to the bank then post office either this afternoon or tomorrow. Somehow or another I will tell you when that is done. Would have sent this in an email but my account is wonky today.

-Ryan

My Interwebz is Wonky Today

It seems to be toying with me working one second and not the next. As such I am not going to put a lot of energy into a post that might get eaten. Should be back to our normal scheduled ramblings tomorrow.

AZ and Open Carry

So I have been down here in Arizona for a few months. We like it a lot. The weather is generally real nice, stuff is pretty cheap, very pro gun. (For background we come from a pretty gun friendly open carry legal state.) This brings us to open carry.

First I will discuss trends I have seen in OC down here and then we will talk about OC as a concept. Pretty much every time we go to a place with a lot of folks (like Walmart or a grocery store or a festival/ parade) I see at least one person open carrying. Almost all the folks open carrying are (at the risk of judging ethnicity by appearance) white men. I have seen 1 Hispanic fellow open carrying and 2 women.

Personally ,with no statistical backing, I do not think there are more people packing guns around  than at home in the PNW. I just think the ratio of open carry is a lot higher down here in Arizona for whatever reason.  Should anybody have actual evidence that shows different I would love to see it.

Broadly speaking most seem to be lower middle to middle class (for whatever that means). There have been no definite trends in terms of guns. A few Glocks, a few Kel Tech's, some double action wheel guns, either a black powder pistol or a single action revolver, a nice stainless 1911 and a Sig. As to holsters I have seen 1 nice leather rig (the guy with the 1911 who also carried 2 spare mags and either knew what he was doing or at least how to buy like he did), a few kydex holsters, some various cheapo leather rigs, and a bunch of el cheapo Uncle Mikes nylon rigs.

I do appreciate that everybody we have interacted with that was open carrying was very nice. The (to some people) scary looking biker dude packing a SAA knock off in an Uncle Mikes holster with his significant other trying to find the right toy for some little kid were nice to us and Walker. A chick packing a Kel Tech (PF9?) was quite pleasant and careful not to smoke near our kid at a parade. They were probably good folks or at least realized armed people need to behave at a higher level.

Now it is worth touching on Open Carry as a method of carry. My YouTube acquaintance Hoss USMC is a big open carry advocate as well as a patriot. I have talked it a bit with him in the comments of various posts on his channel. Anyway...

Open carry is a deterrent to problems. Strait up folks are a lot less likely to try and mug you if they see a handgun. I used to need to travel to a pretty sketchy town for basic services. Packed my 1911 OC and never had any issues. Some people might say folks will target you because you have a gun but I think that is dumb. People who want to steal a gun will break into a house or a car that has a Glock/ XD/ HK sticker on it, not try and roll a dude packing a pistol who will likely shoot them.

A lot of folks try and talk about the statistics of cops getting killed with their own guns or whatever and relate them to open carry. This is invalid because cops are in an oppositional situation with a lot of criminals and marginalized folks. That just does not relate to Joe Bob open carrying a pistola to Starbucks then Bed Bath and Beyond and eventually for some sushi. He is not in an oppositional situation with any thugs.

Personally I do not open carry as a rule. I OC if in a state where that is the only way I can legally carry. Did so in my trip down here. This is mostly for my wife. She would rather not have people looking at us and such stuff which I understand.

Concealed carry gives an advantage in terms of tactics because you could surprise a person with a weapon.

Family Fire Team Complete

Kiddo #2 was born this morning. 7 pounds 13 ounces, 19.5 inches long all the right numbers of fingers and toes. It looks like this kid has some will to live because she is taking to nursing just fine which is great. Walker seems to like her which is good. She also seems to be a solid sleeper which is good. Time will tell on both of those things of course.

Anyway figured I would let you all know so please forgive me if correspondences are delayed or whatnot. Posts are scheduled for awhile which should help things. There are a few more entries to our EDC contest that helped a lot here.

Tonights Conversation

Wifey- I'm mad at you. I only have the energy to be nice to one person today, all things considered it should be Walker. Beside he didn't do anything to me.

Me-What did I do to you?

Wifey- Impregnated me!