I’ve been rereading some of the classic texts from the ‘Golden Age’ of survivalism. Tappans ‘Survivial Guns’, Bensons ‘The Survival Retreat’ and a few similar texts.
With the benefit of hindsight its almost impossible to imagine that these guys were serious about thinking that a Soviet invasion or missle exchange was just a heartbeat away. But it was. I remember the shelter drills in school when I was a kid. I knew there was a difference between the shelter drill and the fire drill but it never occurred to me what that difference was until only a few years ago.
Benson’s book is interesting because he came out with a sequel to it only a few years ago. In it he mentioned that his focus has changed from being concerned with the enemy without (foreign militaries, the Soviets) to the enemy within (fedgov). Neither book, however, in my opinion really tells the reader anything they haven’t already figured out on their own.
Also interesting is some of the very dated (this was, after all, a book that came out in 1983) ideas and recomendations. Put it in context – your assault rifle was going to be an HK, FAL (a genuine FN), or an AR-15. Your handgun was a 1911 or a Smith & Wesson. The AK series was discouraged because of ammo availability. Solar power and battery technology was a hoped-for solution to energy problems. And, of course, almost everything was predicated on being safe from nuclear fallout.
Ah those heady days……..
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Was cleaing up my Tactical Tailor bag last night. It’s the bag I carry around most of the time when I go anywhere. When I leave in the morning it gets thrown in the truck and its usually never too far when I’m ranging from the house. I was going through the first aid kit in there last night and realized I need to replace the antiseptic wipes that were in it. After a year of bouncing around in there the foil packets, although appearing to be just fine, develop integrity problems and the towelettes inside dry out, becoming worthless. So…annual restocking and inspection of the various first aid kits around here.
Been a good year…except for the occasional small cut or scrape I haven’t needed to use the thing all year. And any year you don’t need to do extensive bandaging on yourself in the field is a good one. Of course, that’ll probably change here as soon as I start riding my bicycle again.
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Speaking of bicycle, I need to tune it up and get it ready for the summer. With gas heading back towards three bucks a gallon theres no point in wasting the stuff. Plus, its always nice to just go exploring on some of the trails around here. Plus it’s a nice option to have for when the roads are otherwise impassable. Although a nice KLR650 would be nice.
I’ve got to admit, sometimes I really miss the old Cold War suvivalism days. Mutally Assured Destruction. Now there’s a threat you could really sink your teeth into! Economic collapse? Peak oil? Terrorism? Pfft! *Imagining Red Dawn dude holding his AK over his head and yelling “Wolverines!”…on top of the Prudential Building.* Boring. I like my SHTF fantasies to glow in the dark. (Okay, not really, but it was a lot more interesting than preparing for the dollar to plummet.)
I vividly remember reading one of those “survival” books in the mid-80’s and I’ve been trying to figure out which book it was ever since then so I can re-read it. The only details I remember are that the author reccomended an AR-180 for the rifle and a 1911 for a sidearm and strongly implied that if you picked anything else you were as good as dead. He also talked about how to armor the radiator and engine compartment of your vehicle to keep rounds from disabling your truck.
It wasn’t “Survival Guns” because I’ve read that since then and the AR-180 reccomendation isn’t in there. It may be something else by Tappen, or Benson or somebody else altogether.
Any ideas? I know you’ve read alot of stuff from this era so I figure you might know.
Btw, I just picked up a copy of one of Jerry Ahern’s adventure novels from 1983. It’s “The Takers,” and, as far as I can tell, it’s a stand-alone novel not related to any of his series. I’m going to get rid of it when I’m done. Want me to send it to you?
That’d be swell, thanks. A buddy of mine has collected the entire Ahern ‘Survivalist’ series off of eBay including the two stand-alone books. Ahern was still cranking those things out as late as the early 90’s.