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Interesting times

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The world continues apace.

It’s hard to know whats ‘real’ and what’s just clickbait-generating hype these days in regards to to ‘shortages’ and ‘supply chain disruptions’. Oh, there’s no doubt that there’s shortages going on with factories unable to get their materials, store shelves with big gaps in them, and that sort of thing. I’m just not 100% sure why we have them. We had Wuhan Flu and it’s restrictions for all of 2020 and we didn’t see this sort of thing. I suppose you could argue that there were already plenty of things ‘in the pipeline’ and that it’s only now that it’s catching up to us. Or perhaps it took this long for the disruption in Chinese manufacturing to take hold. Or maybe longshoreman and dockworker unions have decided this is the perfect time to hold up management for more money. Or…or…or…

The reasons, to me, are somewhat irrelevant. I don’t care which iceberg hit the Titanic, all I care about is getting my lifejacket on. I suppose the smart thing to do would be to go and buy an extra set of ..well…everything. Thus far my experiences in “whaddya mean you’re out of [XXXX]” have been limited to canning lids, ammo, certain guns, and satisfactory postal service. But I suppose its only a matter of time before a bearing in power turbine somewhere craps out and, surprise, the German company that made it can’t get parts…or a ship to carry it…or someone to unload that ship…or a truck driver to haul it from the docks. It doesn’t take a lot to throw a wrench into things…there’s plenty of potential failure points along the way.

Me, I’ve been kinda sorta  preparing for this thing for a long time. Longer than some of you have been around, actually. I’m expecting, for me, some direct inconveniences but nothing too dramatic. What I’m worried about is people who should know better clamoring for .gov to “do something” and, Crom help us, thos idiots actually do something.

At the moment, the current plan to ‘fix’ things involves spending more money than actually physically exists and creating a debt that is mathematically impossible to payoff unless you go Zimbabwe, have World War III, or literally just renounce the thing like a $50 credit card bill that’s followed you since college. It seems like for all intents and purposes the notion of national debt has become meaningless except as a scorecard to see what country is in the lead for the race to the bottom.

What to do? Same as always, man: keep cash, metals, land, food, guns, meds, fuel, and that sort of thing. The same thing you’ve been doing to get ready for the boogaloo, the Rapture, the UN invasion, Xenu’s arrival, or Great Depression Mk II. From a disaster preparedness standpoint, having precious metals, money, food, fuel, and guns never goes out of style. Being outta debt helps too.

I wish I had a good track record of predicting the future but, alas, I do not…that’s why I have a basement full of food and ammo. But, I think it doesn’t take a lot of foresight to figure that as society starts to fray around the edges there’s going to be more occasions of violence that come into our lives. Whether its increasing amounts of deranged homeless wretches wandering the street aggressively panhandling and doing opportunistic burglaries, or it’s mob violence as some disaffected-group-of-the-moment decides that your ‘privilege’ is an affront to their dignity, it seems reasonable to see things getting a good bit more dangerous out there.

Price increases, ridiculous taxes, consumer goods shortages, racial violence, a renewed push towards socialism, and who knows what else is on the horizon. Is it any wonder we’re buying canned goods and 9mm?

 

PSA goes into the ammo biz?

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So this came across one of the social media platforms and someone sent it to me:

Be nice if it was true, but who can say? A good question might be “Why would some Euro ammo maker team up with PSA when they could just bring their manufactory over and make ammo without PSA’s help?” Well, a good answer might be that PSA is taking some of the financial risk in exchange for something like exclusive distributor rights and, of course, they already have a network of dealers and wholesalers. Or this might all be BS. But the notion that you can make 5.45 and 7.62×39 as cheaply in this country  seems terribly unlikely. Unions,  higher material costs, greater regulatory processes, etc, will all conspire to make US-made steel-case AK ammo as expensive as Hornady/Rem/Win 7.62AK. But…mondo props for taking a chance.

The free market, like nature, abhors a vacuum. The only question is if it’ll work.

I have cases of 7.62×39 in the Deep Sleep but it was never a primary or even secondary choice. Until someone circumvents Empty Shelves Joe’s import ban, I’ll just stick to my .223 stuff. This is a good example, though, of things to consider when picking a caliber. With virtually no domestic 7.62×39 production in any meaningful quantity, you’re pretty much relegated to imports. And relying on unreliable imports is a recipe for fail.

 

Mora

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It’s a not-a-secret in the preparedness community that the ‘Mora’ knives are, it seems, quite the bang-for-the-buck. They’re a no-frills sheath knife of simple materials, simple construction, and they apparently do knife-tasks pretty well.

I was curious to examine one and form my own opinion since a) I had never gotten to handle one and b) I’m always looking for an excuse to buy gear (which, really, is pretty much why this blog exists). So, I trundled off to Amazon and ordered a couple. Specifically, these::

I mean, for eighteen bucks, why not? As an aside, the Glock knives that I like for their affordability and ruggedness are twice the price.

So whaddya get for eighteen bucks? Well, I wouldn’t call it a survival knife, although like any edged instrument it can certainly be pressed into that service…whatever service that may be. It’s not something for breaking windows, prying open door jambs, hacking through doors, or that sort of thing like my BK&T stuff. But 99% of the time, my knife needs are…cut stuff, slice things, poke holes in things. And this knife looks like a good choice for that. I’d call it a ‘sportsmans knife’. It’s quite well suited for cleaning out fish and deer, campsite chores, and that sort of thing.

The internet will show people ‘testing’ knives by ‘batoning’ them…where they put a knife on the edge of a log and then hammer it down through the log to split it for kindling. I suppose that’s a test of durability or something. I think the best test is to simply use it and abuse if for a season or two and see what shakes loose. I’ll take it out this hunting season and see if I can disassmble Bambi with it. If it turns out to be a good piece of gear I’ll pick up a half dozen for keeping in storage. And if not…hey, its only eighteen bucks.

 

Those hideout,bugout,cabin, last ditch, barn guns

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Theres a false economy, of sorts, in preparedness regarding ‘backup’, ‘bugout’, or ‘last ditch’ gear and guns. For example, someone will have some cool Tier 1 guns and gear for ‘the boogaloo’, and then they’ll say that at their supersecret bugout location they’ve got a couple HiPoints, a few Mosin Nagants with cases of 7.62x54R, and a few Maverick 88 shotguns as their ‘backup’ in case they have to leave home with nothing but the clothes on their back and the gear in their vehicle.

Now, let’s examine that thought for a second. What is the circumstance under which you would be forced to use that ‘backup’ gear? Well, reasonably, that circumstance would be one where you needed your top tier gear but it was, for whatever reasons, unavailable. Makes sense, right? So here’s the likely scenario…[Big Event] occurs that you’ve been preparing for..but it happens when you’re away from your tricked out 1911, super razoo Wilson AR15, and you’re thunderous Benneli M4. But, ‘no problem’, you think. You were smart and cached some backup guns just in case. So, you trunlde off to HideyHole Mk.I and retrieve your Bersa, Mosin Nagant, and Stevens 311. Now you’re ready to take on the apocalypse!

See, here’s the problem – if you have hit the stage of life where you need your Tier 1 stuff and don’t have it, then your life is, by definition, at a point where your backups should be at least as good as your Tier 1. Or, put another way, if the stuff youre putting away ‘just in case’ isn’t good enough to be your everyday Tier 1 stuff, then when youre forced to use it you’re going into the apocalypse riding a Hyundai.

If a Mosin Nagant wasnt your first choice for the zombie apocalypse, why would you stash one away as your backup 2nd choice? Because, follow me on this, if you don’t have access to your first choice gun, then that 2nd choice gun becomes your new first choice gun. And a Mosin Nagant is no one’s first choice.

Me, mt ‘run out the door gun’ would be, in all likelihood, and AR and a Glock…just like 90% of survivalists and police across the country. And the stuff I stick away in a secondary location as backup? An AR and a Glock. And that remote, probably-never-need-it tertiary backup? AR and a Glock. Because when it’s some stormy, dark, wretched night and I’ve spent three hours driving back roads to the Beta Site hoping no one followed me, and I unpack the Pelican case under the floorboards, the level of comfort, reassurance, and confidence I’ll get from those guns will be several orders of magnitude greater than what it would be if that case contained an SMLE and a Makarov.

This isnt exclusive to guns, by the way. Your day to day “go to” flashlight might be a $175 SureFire or Streamlight, and then you tuck a $20 MagLite at your cabin. Or you buy a $100 Ka-bar or BK&T knife for your EDC bag and stash some Made In China crap in your ’emergency supplies’ that you keep at your uncles ranch.

It can be expensive. A reasonably reliable AR from a known manufactuer (not a ‘custom’ gun built in your kitchen from a ‘Vic’sPlumbing And AR” lower) is probably gonna be around $700. Figure that it’s a gun youre sticking away in the rafters in your shed, or hiding under a floorboard at Uncle Steve’s ranch, it can be kinda painful to just basically stick $700 in a hole and leave it there for possible perpetuity. But, if the day comes that you ever need it….you’re gonna be real glad you sucked it up and spent the money.

 

Albino brain chiggers

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In case you don’t get the reference.

It snowed, technically, yesterday. Just enough sleet and flakes to qualify as snow. But, like a positive test for Wuhan Flu that sends your school into pants-crapping panic mode, first snow sets into motion the winter stuuf that needs doing. Stuff gets put away, winter stuff gets taken out of storage, etc, etc….and on an emotional level we resign ourselves to the fact that, yes, the year is coming to a close.

For me, the biggest takeaway for this year is that it started under Trump and ended under Biden. I’ll let you figure out which one I think is going to go down as having caused more damage to the nation.

Time to get the Filson wool outta storage, dust off the boots, get the ECWCS underwear out, put the air conditioners away, put the winter module into the Bag O’ Tricks(tm) and get ready for the long, dark winter of my soul Montana.

Ah, fall…we hardly knew ye.

What with ‘supply chain disruption’ and various Wuhan Flu restrictions, this should be an entertaining holiday season. Fortunately, my resilience is at the point where supply chain disruptions mean very little to me…either I already have plenty or I have a way to deal without out. Hopefully, you are as equally resilient. We shall see, no?

Bring on winter. Let’s see who makes it to spring.

Dumbest AR ever

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I came across the worst AR in the world today and…almost bought it.

I’ll skip the backstory…lets jump to the point where the guy says “I have an AR I wanna sell”. And what an AR it was… Steiner DBAL up front, a Hera CQR stock, BAD Lever, QD sling, etc, etc. Very cool looking gun.

And, like the super hot looking chick who turns out to be a dud in the sack, that’s all this gun was…all sizzle, no steak.

First off, the Hera stock? Looks cool as hell. And..thats about it. My biggest gripe was that the detent and spring for the selector switch is held in the AR receiver, normally, by the pistol grip. On the Hera, you take the spring, tuck it into a little rubber sleeve, and stuff that sleeve into an open slot on the side of the gun. Seriously. Its held in place by friction. WTF?

Next up, that Steiner DBAL? Well, I had to look closer…it was some knockoff that had absolutely no IR value whatsoever. Just a flashlight and a green laser in a butch looking housing to make you look like a operationally operating operator.

Next up? Side charging AR upper. No lie. While you might think thats pretty cool, here’s why it isnt – the AR is a pretty well sealed receiver. Put a magazine in, close the dust cover, and crap pretty much has only one or two small ingress points. On a side charger, though, theres no dust cover and you have to have a long slot cut in the side of the receiver and thats gonna allow ingress of dirt and other stoppage fodder.

And the real death stroke to this whole deal…which I should have noticed Immediately…was that there was no serial number on the receiver. Or any other marking than SAFE and FIRE. Curious, I opend the receiver and beheld lots of chattered aluminum that had been milled away with an angry beaver. Yes, it was the dreaded 80% lower. Now, there’s nothing wrong with that except…while the feds are cool with you building your own gun, they are very uncool with you selling your own gun. You gotta stamp some names and numbers on that thing if youre gonna sell it.

Now, I have a bucket of Anderson $39 stripped lowers here so it might have been worth it to buy the thing, throw away the lower, and put on a Poverty Pony lower with a serial number and all the other fedgoon-required goodness…but I am not buying a kitchen table AR. With a gimmick stock. And an airsoft-grade laser/light.

But…from a distance and without looking closely, it looked sooooo sweet.

Moral of the story: much like hot chicks that are lacking in the boudoir, don’t fall in love with appearances. Check out that gun closely. Especially check to make sure its got a serial number.

The guy that has that thing is kinda stuck with it unless he gets a serial number stamped on it, or he finds someone who doesnt care about it’s status. Caveat emptor, kids.

Article – California law bans small off-road gas engines, including lawnmowers and chainsaws

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Ah, California….every time I think you’ve woke yourself into a new depth of stupidity, you one-down me.

The new law will ban the sale of all off-road, gas-powered engines, including generators, lawn equipment, pressure washers, chainsaws, weed trimmers, and even golf carts.

California, a state with a history of disaster due to being situated on the terrestrial equivalent of Jell-O, has decided that any new generator you buy can’t run on a gas engine. So, when ‘the big one’ finally hits you’re supposed to haul out your Newsom-approved generator that runs on unicorn flatus and .gov overreach.

As the article says, it bans the sale of new gas powered non-vehicles. Two things to note…’sale’ and ‘new’. So, expect Nevada to add generators to the big box of Pmags they keep by the door at the border gas stations. And, I’d expect that propane-powered generators will find a new market as well.

There’s gonna be a lot of Honda EU2000’s getting UPS’d into California from ‘private parties’ over the next few years, I’d imagine. Can’t wait to read about how the ‘reasonable’ and ‘common sense’ legislation to ban these terrible weapons of war climate change won’t aooly to ‘only ones’ like municipalities and their various agencies.

If I had the money, I’d buy a chunk of dirt right on the border with California and run a general store full of Pmags, generators, gender-specific toys, fireworks, and everything else California bans, and I’d probably make enough to retire in three years.

I wanna go hug my EU2000 right now.

Article – One man’s shopping trip turned scavenger hunt shows how the supply-chain crisis has created an ‘everything shortage’

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During an everyday errand run, The Atlantic’s staff writer Derek Thompson said he found that snarls in the global supply chain had created an “everything shortage.” Thompson said what should have been a quick errand run for an at-home COVID-19 test, some paper towels, and prescription drugs turned into a sort of multistore scavenger hunt.

The shopper went to a CVS, whose at-home COVID-19 tests and paper towels had sold out. Then, he went to a Walgreens that had run out of everyday prescription medications, as well as a Target, whose ransacked shelves were “alarmingly barren, like the canned-food section of a grocery store one hour before a hurricane makes landfall,” he said.

Pretty much everyone, at being told we were facing a pandemic, figured “Ok..pandemic…so load up on canned goods and avoid other people”. But very few folks seem to have sat down and thought out the downstream consequences…schools close so parents stay home with kids instead of going to their truck driving job, without a driver the materials don’t get to the factories on schedule, production schedules are wrecked, whatever does get manufactured can’t get distributed on schedule, etc, etc.

I guess it’s no surprise that this sort of thing is going on. And, by and large, I’m about as prepared for it as can be, but it’s rather annoying to see the US slide into the sort of stereotpyes we used to have about the Soviets standing in line for toilet paper.

What’s worse is that some idiot somewhere is braying “Government should do something…” about these ‘shortages’ and, Crom help us, .gov might actually do just that. And if you think that having .gov manage a sector of industry is a good idea, you clearly don’t mail a lot of packages or get your paycheck by mail.

‘Tis interesting times we live in. We will all get through it, of course, but they are interesting nonetheless.

 

Also: Why the Supply Chain Is Tangled Up in Knots

 

Its the Zimbab-way

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So the notion being pointed out is that, rather than raise the debt ceiling by a trillion dollars, why dont we just avoid the whole mess and mint a trillion-dollar coin instead?

Or, in other words (mostly Robert Mugabe’s), why don’t we just print the money we need?

And then some wag at the Mint says:
“Voila, we’d have bought ourselves the equivalent of a trillion-dollar increase in the debt limit, without any impact on inflation,” says Diehl.

Without any impact on inflation? Isn’t the textbook definition of inflation that you increase the money supply you cause the currency to lose value? Am I missing something here?

The future is going to be either a) horrors born of economic malfeasance or b) horrors born of the steps taken to mitigate the economic malfeasance. Either way, it’s a lot of canned goods and bargain-store shopping in your future.

Video – Debt ceiling explained

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The video is ten years old, so the numbers have changed…upwards…but the reasoning still seems relatable.

Unless there is a bout of hyperinflation, or another World War, it’s going to be mathematically impossible to pay off the national debt. Now, whether or not any level of national debt is a good or bad thing is something to mull over. But what irks me is how, even at the municipal level, the answer is always ‘raise taxes’ and never ‘cut spending’.