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Wouldn’t you?

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Minding my own business, I swing by the shop to visit my buddy. I notice a styrofoam clamshell box on his desk. Hmmm.

  • Me: Whats in the box?
  • Him: Thompson Contender
  • Me: What caliber?
  • Him: .45 Colt / .410
  • Me: Ugh. Whaddya want for it?
  • Him: $150
  • Me: Uh..Ill be back in a few minutes. I gotta swing by an ATM.

And thats how that happened.

I actually already have two Contenders and a handful of barrels. My favorite is a 21″ .30-30 carbine sitting in a Choate stock. With open sights it weighs just under five pounds. A wonderful lightweight carbine for running through the timber.

And for a hundred and fifty bucks….why not? I think the .45/.410 barrel is useless, so I’ll dump it on eBay and get $150 for it which will make the frame and furniture a freebie.

I like the Contender as a test platform for my reloads. As a break open single shot it eliminates a lot of variables and makes an excellent test platform. Does it have any survivalist-centric special uses? I suppose someone will think that the interchangeable nature of the barrels gives some sort of advantage but….no. Why wouldnt you just have a .22 rifle, a .30 bolt gun, maybe a .223 of some kind, in full-size repeating guns? About the only advantage I can see is that if you live in some environ that limits the number of firearms you can own, it might be useful. But, really, its just a fun gun to play with various calibers.

Sure, I’ll slap the 14″ .44 barrel on it and go knock down Bambi. But in a world where knocking down an animal means the difference between full bellies and starvation? I’ll use the gun that gives me the most advantage and thats probably gonna be a .308 of some kind.

But for a hundred and fifty bucks….why not add a little range toy to the collection? Especially if I can get it to pay for itself by unloading that .45/.410 barrel.

Kerosene

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A few weeks ago, I replaced my oldest kerosene heater with a brand new one. This was a good thing. But…that meant that I had two kerosene heaters that were not, for logistics sake, identical. This was a bad thing. So, in the name of logistics, I picked up another identical heater to the new one. So, I have two new identical heaters and an older one which is now being relegated to tertiary or loaner status.

But, the amusing thing at Lowe’s was this obscenity:

Do the  math…thats $14 a gallon for kerosene. Inconceivable!

Now, if you’re a savvy survivalist, you wouuldn’t be buying the stuff in 2.5-gallon quantity anyway, right? No, you’d be heading over to Cenex and pumping it yourself into your 5- or 55-gallon drums for a heck of a lot less than $14 a gallon.

Heck, I bought some off Craigslist a few years back and I was annoyed it was $2.86/gallon. But, thats because my great $1/gallon purchase twenty years ago spoiled me.

But it was interesting to see that someone, somewhere, thinks this stuff is worth $14/gallon.

Fortunately, I’ve got about a hundred gallons sitting back so….I’ll pass on $14, TYVM.

CostCo canned pork

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A few years back I tried some of the canned pork from CostCo and was less than enthused. Was up there this weekend and saw a new brand there and figured it might be worth investigating.

I really have a love/hate relationship with canned meats. I love their utility, value, and logistical help. I just hate the way they smell. I have said it before and it’s true: all canned meat, when you open the container, smells like cat food.

Nonetheless, man does not live on canned chicken and canned beef alone. So I picked up a sleeve of these cans and will try them sometime during the week. Probably in a stir fry or some similar dish.

Of course, you can always can your own meat and save a few bucks but I rather like the compact package of a can like this. If I were going to store a fairly large quantity of canned meat, home canning would be my first choice since this stuff winds up running about $4.64/#. But for a grab-and-go sort of situation, it would certainly be more transportable than a large glass jar. 

Some rice, a can of this stuff, a jar of some type of sauce (Kung Pao, perhaps), some vegetables (canned or freeze dried), and a little sesame oil and you’ve really got something going on.

Anyway, when I crack one of these open I’ll report back and let you know whats what.

 

Video – What Does The FDIC Do When Your Bank Fails

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This video was from 2008…the last time bank failures were the Big Thing in the news. I’d imagine that the process has changed a bit since then, but it is still interesting nonetheless.

I have no idea why anyone would keep money in the bank. It earns virtually no interest, so that’s not really a valid reason. I suppose the only real reason is because youre simply afraid to trust your nest egg to a gun safe or a hole in your backyard.

The notion, expressed in the video, that the FDIC won’t cost the taxpayers anything because the FDIC gets its funds from premiums paid by the bank is…well…a platttude to allay the concerns of people who are paying attention. If enough banks fail, or enough banks with large losses, that backstop that the FDIC is holding will evaporate. And, as they said rather clearly in the video, they then ‘borrow’ from Treasury. Which means…..the taxpayer is on the hook.

When I was younger I recall meeting people who had parents who lived through the Depression, or grandparents who did, and some of them never recovered any faith in banks.

My own banking needs are pretty small….I keep money in a checking account to fund my debit card for various purchases, and thats about it. The rest of my money goes into silver, gold, investing, Roth, and cash-in-hand. If any of those tank, I’ve got enough elsewhere to keep me going. And if it all collapses…silver and gold become worthless, the banks disappear, the cash devalues to zero, and the stock market crashes. Well, thats a situation where money is way down the list of priorities and food, ammo, and fuel become primary measurements of wealth.

But…if you see some guys in suits outside your bank at 4:59pm on a Friday patiently waiting for the last customer to leave….well….maybe you might wanna get back on line and make a withdrawal.

“Last Of Us” this weekend?

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Since I need a new post-apocalyptic show to watch since The Walking Dead finally ran its course, it’s looking like ‘The Last Of Us’ will be my new fix. Honestly, I think that if ‘Jericho’ hadn’t had to work within the constraints of network television and instead could have had the brutality and harsh language that TWD and TLOU are able to emply it would have made things a bit more real. Because, lets face it, the apocalypse is not going to be clean and free of harsh language.

I should also mention that I think it would be quite a hoot if they could get Lennie James to guest star on Last Of Us. Given his predilection for end-of-the-word projects like Jericho and The Walking Dead, he could wind up being the new Charlton Heston (“If its bad and its the end of the world, Charlton Heston is there!”)

My plan was to wait until the entire season of Last Of Us was done and then watch the whole thing in one enormous binge session. So, it’ll be time to order some pizza, grab a few Cokes, fire up the TV, and let the bad times roll.

I have, however, watched a few highlights of the show on YouTube and what I’ve seen so far looks pretty good. There’s definitely some dark and grim undertones, and I’ve no doubt it’ll be rather gritty in spots. But….wouldn’t you think the end of the world would be?

And, of course, even though it’s fiction it is still a nice opportunity to wargame a bit and imagine what you’d do in similar scenarios and what your gear choices might be.

Anyway, if I can steal the time this weekend I’ll watch Season 1 and see how it goes.

Lotsa lids locally

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A few months back it seemed like you could not find canning lids for love nor money. As it turned out, from what I’ve read, US made canning lids are basically made at only one or two facilities and then sold to the major canning suppliers to be rebranded. Much like how, I am told, there are only a half dozen outfits that actually make AR lowers for all the various brands you see out there.

I was tooling around in the supermarket the other day and, interestingly, there was no shortage of canning lids and other canning supplies. Did the supply chain get caught up? Did the ‘panic’ die down? Probably a combination of both. But much like the Great Primer Scare of the 90’s, it’s a good lesson of how something can go from plentiful to unobtainium in the blink of a news report.

I have no doubt people will populate the comments section with tales of how theyve reused canning lids dozens of times, or that they use the reusable brand of lids and have had barely a hiccup.

This may be true. But its not ideal. As far as I’m concerned, when it comes to jar lids for canning the first choice, by a large margin, are brand new US-made lids from a reputable manufacturer. And I don’t mind spending the money to do that. “But what will you do when you run out of lids?” Well, my first order of business is to have enough of them on hand that this sort of thing is pushed down the ranks of statistical likelihood. The same question could be asked about the guy with the reusable lids….what will you do when they finally get damaged or worn enough that they arent safe to use? Their response will, no doubt, be “that’ll take years”. Well, guess what, I’m buying an equivalent amount of years worth of lids.

I actually don’t can very much at all. Its only in the last year that I’ve started canning some of the meat purchases rather thatn tuck them in the freezer. Prior to that the only things I canned were the occasional gumbo or soup. However, there is an undeniable convenience to having jars of food ready-to-go when you’re hungry. Nothing to thaw and in a pinch you can always eat the room temperature contents without heating.

As Bidenflation continues to screw with food prices (Thanks Brandon!) it makes more sense to, when you find a good deal, capitalize on it and preserve it for that later day when its either unavailable or priced out of your range (either due to job loss or wild inflation). And to do that…lids.

If you’re that rare survivalist who isn’t knowledgeable or informed on the how-to’s of canning, or you’ve just been too intimidated by the process, you really should invest a few bucks and take a swing at it. It’s a marvelous way to preserve food long term without the expense of a freeze dryer or the liability of a blackout-vulnerable freezer.

Recommended reading: Ball Book on Canning

Recommended canner: Anything from All American

Those All-Americans, by the way, are not cheap but it is a buy-once-cry-once sort of thing. Yes, you can buy a Presto or Mirro cheaper but the sheer ruggedness of the AA, and its gasketless design, will pay dividends down the road.

But you know what? Even if you don’t can, pick up a buncha lids because its one of those rare consumer products like matches and .22 rimfire that are cheap to buy, cheap to store, and have virtually no real adequate substitutes that you can make at home.

PMC “Battle Packs”

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In terms of ammo packaging, there really isn’t a lot of choice out there. Once you get past ammo that is packed in an ammo can at the factory, you really don’t see much other than the usual cardboard boxes.

Fiocchi had their ‘Canned Heat’, a pull-top can that held loose ammo (which has been adopted as packaging by a couple small outfits) but it isn’t something you find very easily. For durability and environmental protection, nothing seems to beat the ubiquitous green GI ammo can.

However…..

There is what is colloquially referred to as the ‘battle pack’. This is a heavy plastic or vinyl pouch, very similar to what MRE’s come in, that holds several boxes of ammo. The idea is that you dont have the weight or bulk of an ammo can, but you do get the environmental protection. Here’s some military ones I picked up a while back:

Those vinyl pouches? Battle packs.

It’s not a bad way to store ammo for run-out-the-door use. I’d store it in an ammo can for transit between locations, but for ‘grab a rifle and pack and run out the door’ situation it’s quite handy. And you can just tuck it on a shelf somewhere and it’s pretty much good to go as long as you protect it from crush damage.

Unfortunately, this kind of packaging of ammo is usually (not always) seen only on military ammo. However, PMC has brought us this:

PMC Battle Packs

PMC has their own version of the battle pack, and being a curious survivalist I picked some up to examine. First off, I like PMC ammo. About thirty or forty years ago they were a somewhat unknown brand and often relegated as ‘cheap foreign ammo of dubious quality’. Nowadays, its a different story. The South Koreans live a SCUD’s launch away from some crazy North Koreans….as a result, they take their ammoand weapons manufacturing pretty seriously. I mean, technically they’re still at war since the 1950’s. I’ve been very happy with the quality of their ammo and regard it as same or better quality that Rem. or Win.

They offer their battle packs in the usual military rifle calibers and all the common pistol calibers. The packaging isn’t as durable  as, say, a steel ammo can, but they are pretty handy for packing away in a bugout bag.

I’ll probably toss a pack of this stuff in 9mm with the Ruger pistol/carbines I’ve stowed away. Sort of a ‘Post Apocalypse Party Pak’.

New heater

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A couple months ago, the thermocouple for the furnace decided to crap the bed. As you know, the thermocouple, on a gas appliance, is what keeps the device from sending gas to the burners when the pilot light is out. Its a part that regularly fails. Could be a year or two, could be ten years…but you’d be a smart man if you kept some spares on hand and learned how to replace them. I was not a smart man.

Oh, I knew it was the thermocouple. And thermocouples are pretty standardized. But do you know what is not standardized? The means of accessing the thermocouple. That is to say, while I have the part, and know how to swap the part, I had no idea how to successfully disassmeble my furnace to get to the par.

So I did what any smart person would do who didn’t want to spend money they didn’t have to – I went to YouTube and looked for instructional videos.

TL;DR – wound up having to have someone come in to swap it out, but video’d the entire process so I know how to do it next time.

But this post isn’t about that, although there are some good takeaways there. This post is about that the heat went out when it was 0 degrees out and the ‘supply issue / labor issue’ bugaboo said no one was coming to fix my furnace for about three days.

Worried? Nope. Went to the basement and pulled the kerosene heaters out of storage. I have two. Why two? Well, first of all (say it with me) one is none and two is one. Also, I wanted one for the basement to keep the pipes from freezing, and one for the living area to keep the humans from freezing. So, two.

What surprised me was that when I pulled the trashbag dust cover off the heater I was delighted to find an index card clipped to the top of the heater with a clothespin. It said that the heater was last used, cleaned, fully refueled, and had its batteries changed on a particular date a couple years ago. Sweet. Future me is very impressed with past me’s thoughtfulness. (Yes, batteries. All kero heaters can be lit with a match if you need to, but most use a couple C-batts to power an igniter to light the heater. But, you can work it just fine without the batteries if you need to. More of a convenience, really.)

But, heater #2 is a bit dog-eared. It works, but it’s definitely seen better days and perhaps it is time for a replacement. So, of to Lowe’s. First thing I noticed was that kerosene was $35 for 2.5 gallons. This is wildly absurd. Even at your local green-handled Cenex pump its still expensive. Fortunately, I’m prepared. A few years back I bought out someone’s Y2K stash for $2.86/gallon. And prior to that, there was the Great Kerosene Closeout at Home Depot which pretty much set me for the forseeable future.

So, it was off to Lowe’s yesterday for a new kerosene heater. One left in stock. I assembled it, filled it, let it sit for a while so the wick would soak up fuel, ran it for a while to burn off any oils and whatnot, and now it’ll go into storage with a happy little index card taped to it with all the necessary info. But…a few other things are worth noting.

Any piece of gear can, and will, fail. This is why I have two of these things. So, in addition to keeping the instruction manual with the heater for quick reference, I’m also ordering a spare wick or two (which, fortuitously, both heaters use). I also keep a couple siphons on hand as well. Most importantly, in the box with the kerosene heater gear is a CO detector and spare batteries. There’s no room for error with this stuff. Get a carbon monoxide alarm and use it.

And, finally, a couple really good, really large fire extinguishers. I never, ever fuel these things indoors and when I fuel the outdoors I always have someone standing by with a fire extinguisher….just in case.

Also, I bring the heaters out onto my porch to light them or extinguish them. I light them, wait ten minutes, and then bring them inside. When I want to turn them off, I take them outside, turn them off, and let them sit for ten minutes before bringing them back inside. This avoids the annoying smells they make when you start/extinguish them.

So…thats the big prep-related activity this weekend. New kero heater.

 

Insomnia + Gunbroker + low impulse control =

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What do I do with all these pistols? Well, my original intent was to pack them away for that oft-prophesized Rainy Day. Nowdays, though….it’d be a diluvian-sized bit of precipitation to require as many of these things as I have sitting in storage.

Four pistols and eight magazines fit into a Pelican 1400 case, safe and snug (not that these guns need babying) as they await Der Tag. And..I’ve several of these Pelican cases sitting on the shelf.

You know whats tough, though? Finding quality holsters for these things. Oh sure, you can get an Uncle Mikes nylon POS but I want better than that. They do fit in the UM84-series of holsters, which is nice, but if you want a nice DeSantis, Galco, or Bianchi holster that’s made and molded to fit these things…good luck. I hit eBay for used ones and they almost never turn up…these guns were just never very popular. There’s plenty of off-brand leather and kydex out there but…Im a snob.