MH and that non-existent ‘big government contract’

Posted on August 19, 2012 by Commander Zero

Originally published at Notes From The Bunker. You can comment here or there.

You guys remember about a year or so ago the folks at Mountain House told their small time dealers to go pound salt because MH was dedicating it’s output of #10 cans to other, larger vendors? The rumour at the time was that MH had a gigantic .gov contract that made MH put everyone else on the backburner (which would explain MH’s multi-million dollar capital improvements in manufacturing capacity) but denied that there was a big .gov contract that caused all this drama.

I, of course, didnt believe the denials.

And then I read this:

Many things were discussed, such as the void in the marketplace they left early last year when they slowed production of Mountain House to fulfill other private brand orders, including the military. They have since changed their focus and philosophy on order fulfillment, with the consumer Mountain House brand taking priority over all other orders.

So, yeah, there was a large .gov order alright. I knew it.

Look, in business you go where the money is. Guy wants to spend a couple hundred million bucks with you on one sale, well, the guys as Steve’s Camping Store might get their order pushed to the bottom of the list….but MH really froze their small dealers out with virtually no apologies or explanations. MH makes some great stuff, and I’ll continue to buy it as I need, but I’n, spreading my net further to other brands.

But, it’s nice to know I was right.

Cannery trip photo

Posted on August 2, 2012 by Commander Zero

Originally published at Notes From The Bunker. You can comment here or there.

Yay Mormons! Trip to the cannery went smoothand quick. Got my goodies and was outta there in a lot less time than I anticipated. My thanks to the local LDS members who allowed me to accompany them. (Technically, I could have gone on my own invite but I feel more comfortable going with someone as their guest.)

Cannery trip planned

Posted on July 30, 2012 by Commander Zero

Originally published at Notes From The Bunker. You can comment here or there.

w00t! At this point it looks like we are on track for a trip to the local LDS cannery in a couple days. My mission (so to speak) this trip is to round out incomplete (“broken”) cases. Since a case holds six cans of product, any quantity of product I have that is not divisible by six gets supplemented. For example, according to my spreadsheet we have 15 cans of sugar. That means there are two full boxes of six cans, and one partial box of three cans (12 + 3 = 15) So, I’ll get three more cans of sugar and that’ll give me a total of 18 cans, or three full boxes of six cans each. Get the idea? I’ve about five different broken cases to top off.

If you’ve never been to an LDS cannery, it’s an awesome place. You know how when you go to CostCo or Sams Club you wonder if people are looking at you funny when you roll up to the register with a cart full of six cases of canned vegetables and five 50# sacks of rice? You wonder if people think you’re weird or something.. At the cannery, if you don’t walk out of there with a hand truck full of cases of canned food they look at you weird.

Prices? Uber-affordable. Matter of fact, here’s a link to their page with .pdf and Excel formats of their order list. Check the prices…good stuff.

There’s no requirement that you be a member of their church (or even a believer in anything). They start the session with a small ‘bow your head and give thanks’ moment, which I usually use to check the laces on my shoes, but other than that the whole thing is completely religion-free. You are, however, expected to put in some sweat equity….you can’t just buy the stuff, you gotta take part in the canning process. You might be asked to run the canning machine, weigh the product as it’s put into cans, put labels on cans, add dessicant to the cans, whatever. I’ts an assembly line where every one gets a role…probably a good thing since it means you gain familiarity with the process of how stuff is canned. That familiarity is handy because they will also let you buy cans and lids to use with their portable can sealer that you can check out for home use. In case you want to can stuff they don’t sell….like ammo.

Anyway, they provide an awesome service and I encourage everyone to check them out. (Locations) I usually offer to buy lunch for missionaries when I see them wandering/pedalling down the street…it’s my way of saying thanks. It’s this sort of thing that makes Mormons my favorite religious group. (That and their hot women.)

Food budget question

Posted on July 8, 2012 by Commander Zero

Originally published at Notes From The Bunker. You can comment here or there.

Out of curiosity, for those of you who track budgets….how much do you budget per month for groceries? For how many people?

Note: by ‘groceries’ I am including things you would buy in a supermarket environ that may not necessarily be food….things like toilet paper, aluminum foil, band aids, dishwasher detergent,etc….stuff you normally buy in a supermarket.

How much per month in your family of how many people?

Reason i ask, wife and I budget $400/month to feed the two of us and I was wondering how that stacks up elsewhere. (And yes, if there’s some room left at the end of the month, that grocery budget includes food storage.)

Civvy MRE’s

Posted on February 25, 2007 by Commander Zero

A very nice thread offa AR15.com regarding currently available civillian MRE’s and how they stack up. Website review here: http://www.mreinfo.com/civilian-mre-comparison.html

I like MRE’s for their durability and lack of necessary preparation. Drawbacks are they are heavy, bulkier than FD and have a shorter shelf life. However, if it were grab-your-gear-get-in-the-truck-and go time the MRE’s would probably be my first choice.

Specifically, these ones have been ineteresting me since I stumbled across their website a few months ago: http://www.readymeal.com/

It is worth pointing out that with the increasing amount of ‘retort pouch’ food found in supermarkets today you could probably come up with your own MRE pouch of food simply by doing a careful shopping trip. You would, of course, probably pay more in the long run but your menu selection would be exactly what you want.

Food, reloading, Stag AR

Posted on February 10, 2007 by Commander Zero

Of the MHFD’s that arrived the other day, fifteen cases were for me & the girlfriend. (Because, really, al my acquisitions now are for me and her rather than just me). So, she see’s the five foot high stack of boxes in the kitchen and says “You know, I think we’re doing okay for food.” I agreed and said it was probably time to move onto something else. Her reply? “Ammo.” Well, you can never really have enough, can you?

Just got back from CostCo with 2 50# bags of rice to replace the pre-Y2K stash that I’ve finally finished. The girlfriend helped me funnel both bags into a 15 gallon blue barrel and didnt think there was a single thing wierd about the whole thing. Anyone else, their wife or girlfriend would roll their eyes and sigh someting about ‘wierd interests’.
=====
Ordered up the .38/.357 conversion for the Dillon Super1050 today. .38 Special ammo ( and to some degree, .357 Mag ammo) are dirt cheap to load and quite versatile. Plus, I;ve got about a dozen guns here chambered for them. Most of the .38 ammo will get LSWC or LRN bullets for general use. The rest will get 125 or 110 JHPs. The .357 ammo will mostly get 125 and 158 JHPs and some will get heavier bullets designed more for penetration than anything else. Quantity desired? 5,000. One evening with the 1050 will be all it takes.
=====
Got the dealer package for Stag Arms today. Their lowers are cheap, cheap, cheap and more interestigly, you can pay an extra $20 and get a letter from the factory stating the lower you have was never built into a rifle. This leaves you open to build it into an AR pistol if youre so inclined. If we get another assault weapons ban those ‘pistoled’ receivers would probably be worth more, IMHO, since you vould hten build them into rifles or pistols.

Bumble Bee ‘Prime Fillet’ packaged chicken breast

Posted on January 8, 2007 by Commander Zero

Im a carnivore and although a bowl of instant potatos, seasoned rice, or buttered spaghetti with cheese is a very warming, comforting thing I still need meat to make a meal feel like a meal. Unfortunately, meat doesnt have the stable-at-room-temperature life of, say, dried beans. Sure,you can buy canned meats and there are folks who swear Spam is actually tasty and yummy. I find all canned meats, except tuna, just a bit creepy. When you open the cans Im always reminded of cat food.

So…whats a carnivore to do for that quick fix of striated muscle tissue that makes any meal more pleasin’? Well, MRE’s usually have a meat component but lets be real – MRE’s are adequate for their task, they arent exactly so good youd eat ’em if you didnt have to. (Although some are pretty good.)

However, I found this new product in Super Wallyworld a couple months back and after staring at it in the cabinet for several weeks I finally decided to try it.

Linky

Instructions say to use a frying pan or a microwave. However, I dont normally carry a frying pan or microwave in my gear bag. I do, however, carry a canteen and canteen cup which fits nicely on a backpack stove. So….deposit pouch into canteen cup of boiling water and let sit for 5 minutes.

Pouch is of the heavy, metalized kind we’ve come to expect from MRE entrees. Heavy duty stuff. To be safe though, you probably donbt want to reuse the water youre heating it in since some inks or other nasties may migrate off the exterior of the pouch into the water. Six minutes was plenty of time to heat up. Removed chicken and put it on a plate. Looks good and smells pretty good. Texture is a bit soft…a little firmer than a chunk of chicken you;d get out of some soup. The cut of meat was trimmed pretty well and looked quite appetizing. Taste was better than anything Ive had out of an MRE pouch. The flavorings (in this case ‘garlic and herb’) were a bit strong but I t hink that would be greatly mitigated by serving it with the usual bland accompaniments like rice, potatoes, pasta, etc. Would make an excellent candidate for sandwichs or, since it shreds fairly easily, tacos/burritos.

Shelf life is approx. two years but I would be quite confident its as long as the average MRE entree….Can probably, although I havent tried it, heat it on any hot surface just like an MRE (exhaust manifold, engine block, hot conduit, pavement at noon, etc, etc.)

Not cheap, but really really convenient. A package of Idahoan just-add-water potatoes, this stuff, maybe a can of corn or other vegetable and you can have a decent meal using just water and a backpacking stove. Im going to have to see if I can find a price on these things in bulk to beat WallyWorlds pricing. Wouldnt mind having a dozen or so on hand. They’d also be convenient for quick meals at home.

More importantly, I dont have to become a vegetarian.