Tag Archives: food

CostCo emergency food product

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Was wandering through CostCo and, much to my surprise, found this:

Interesting. The label on the bucket wasnt too helpfull so a quick trip to the manufacturers website (www.nutristorage.com) gave me a bit more info. First off, CostCo is pimping these things for about $110 versus the $200 theyre asking on the website. Contents? Mostly vegetarian items…including ‘Ala King’..yes, thats Ala King by itself. Not Chicken Ala King, not Shrimp Ala King…just ‘Ala King’. That creeps me out..sorry.

They do offer a sampler pack for twenty bucks off the website.

Im going to keep an eye open and see if this stuff winds up getting marked down any further. I’d rather stick to my Mountain House and other munchies but for a hundred bucks this might make an excellent secondary or tertiary food backup.

Reloading, Nalgene bottle, vacuum sealing, Carharts

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Been busy loading 9mm for the girlfriend. She’s burning up about 300~ rounds a week in practice and doing it on a single stage press is out of the question, and even on the Dillon 550 it still takes a bit of time. The solution, as mentioned earlier, was to acquire a Dillon Super 1050…in addition to pistol calibers it’ll do anything .30-06 length or shorter, which means I can set it up to not only crank out .223 but also .308.

Anyway, she managed to purchase:
8# of Universal Clays for $86 ($10.75 per pound)
5m Win SP primers for $75.55 ($15.51 per 1000)
5m 115 gr. FMJ bullets for $191.50 ($38.30 per 1000)
Brass is essentially free since I have gobs of it sitting here.

Before you ask, she got this stuff at the local ammo remanufacturing facility. Strictly a local thing.

Since we’re using 5.0 grains of powder, that’s about 1400 rounds per pound. In short, we’re looking at around $63.03 per 1000 rounds. Of course, 9mm is pretty cheap these days so the savings realized are less than, say, .45 ACP or .44 mag. Nonetheless, the Dillon 1050 is still an excellent purchase because it will be used on some of those higher dollar cartridges. Should be able to put together .45 ACP FMJ for around $5.95 per box of 50. And .357 Mag JHP for around $4.38 per 50. Naturally, that gets stretched if we switch from jacketed to cast bullets. The .38 Special, for example, with a 150 gr. LRN would run around $3.31 per box of 50. (All of these prices, by the way, assume reloading fired brass that you’ve already been saving.)

So, while the 1050 was a hideous up-front expense ($1500~), it should be a smart long-term investment just from the amount of money it saves on ammo. Also, its nice to be able to crank out lotsa ammo in a short amount of time and sock it away in the bunker. My supply of 9mm was getting low but now Im going to be upping the quantities of everything.

One of the LMI has 16,000 pieces of .40 S&W brass he was formerly trying to load on a single-stage press (sort of a lifetime project, I guess). I told him if he’ll pop for the .40 S&W conversion kit and dies he can come by and use this thing.
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Finally got around to picking up a 32 oz. Nalgene bottle to beat up. For trekking around I like the Camelbaks but for short jaunts the bottle is pretty good. Also, for small things that need to be protected from damage and moisture, they make decent little drysafes for all the little incidentals (esp. electronic incidentals) that you want to keep dry and protected.
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Went to CostCo last week and picked up some chicken. The boneless, skinless breasts are individually vacuum sealed and have the date stamped on them, making them soooooo perfect for the deep freeze. That’s how meat should be packaged, my friend. As an aside, if you haven’t gotten a vacuum sealer to use to take advantage of bulk purchases and sales of meat, you really should. Like many things, there is an upfront cost that can be a little intimidating but it literally does ‘pay for itself’. Example – ground beef is usually $2.99 a pound. I’ve mentioned this before, right? When its remaindered, the price drops to $1.69 a pound. This means each pound is saving me $1.30. Without the vacuum sealer, I’d not be able to store the meat for long term and would have to buy it on, generally, an ‘as needed’ basis. With the vacuum sealer I buy ten pounds and I’ve saved $13.00. After around 100# of meat, the thing has paid for itself…assuming I don’t get any even better deals. Point is, you have to be able to look past those initial startup costs and do the math. Yeah, youre gonna have to cough up $100+ upfront, but it really does turn out to be worth it in the not-so-long run.
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I’ve been wearing Carhart work dungarees lately and have been very pleased with them. They are stoutly built, reinforced, comfy, look like they’ll last forever, and come in a nice subdued olive-green color. I recommend them highly if youre looking for a pair of pants that can shrug off the abuse that would normally kill a pair of jeans. Not cheap at around $40~ a pair, but I would bet they’ll outlast a pair of jeans under the same circumstances. Only drawback – theyre a bit heavy, but like most forms of armour that’s the tradeoff.

Glock parts, Wakefield eggs

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Spare parts for the Glock 19’s arrived yesterday from Lone Wolf. Granted, Idaho is just a long rifle shot away from here but their turnaround time was pretty ggod. With shipping factored in each spare assembly came to $6.50 ea. Dropped one in the girlfriends G19 and we’re back in business. Not that it slowed us down in the least…know why? Redundant backups my friends, she could simply carry her G26 (and use her G19 mags if so inclined) or use my G19 (Since I usually carry around a G17). Nonetheless, spare parts for all guns. Thats the lesson for taoday.
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Hey, I noticed REI is no longer carrying the Wakefiel instant eggs that impressed me so a few years ago. Hmmmm.

When you find a good piece of gear, buy it and buy alot of it ’cause you never know when its gonna go off the market.

Discount meat, politics, Bactine wipes, Battle Bag

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Not a bad shopping day yesterday. Hit the bargain meat bin and found 1# bricks, vacuum sealed, of 85/15 (85% lean) Angus ground beef marked down to $1.99. Sealed up nice and tight and in a very convenient brick shape that makes stacking the frozen flesh quite easy. It gets the date written on the package and then its off to the deep freeze. Mmmmm…beefy goodness.

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I do believe I’m ready to give up on the prospect that government will become nicer and less intrusive. The Patriot Act reauthorization is bad enough, but theres a host of other legislation going on that just makes a bad situation worse. Technically, politics isn’t that important to my preparedness except when it conflicts with my ability to get gear… but the more federal police powers that are thrown about the more likely it is that guys like me are going to get under the microscope for ‘suspicious’ behavior. Low profile seems the only recourse.

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Im a bit annoyed with the Bactine antiseptic wipes that I purchased last year. These things are packaged like a little hand-wiping towlette you get with an order of ribs. Little foil pouch (like a condom) and inside is a wet towelette saturated with Bactine. Figured it would be perfect for my first aid kits. Apparently, after time, the packaging degrades to the point that the Bactine starts seeping through the foil paper. Grrrr… so I either have to replace it every year or find something else to use as an antiseptic wipe. Very annoying. Plus, Ive always liked that Bactine smell.

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Blackhawk has a new product out that might solve my quest for a bag for my .308 gear. Its their “Battle Bag”. Lets get this out of the way and call it what it is: it’s a man purse. It’s a shoulderbag with pockets for magazines , radios, etc, etc. Might be just what I need to keep all my .308 gear in one place. No mention of it having webbing but otherwise it seems like an interesting product. Sugg. Ret. Is $100 but who pays retail in this world? Usual colors, but I think I’ll go with the goes-with-everything OD.

Grocery bargains; shooting; winter observations; Have Deuce And A Half – Will Travel, long knives

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Got some good deals at the local Albertson’s last night. I mention this not to brag (not that I dont brag, its just that this isnt one of those times) but to illustrate a point I made yesterday – you can add to your levels of preparedness without spending huge amounts of cash. Matter of fact, I would wager that on $10 a week you could put together a hellacious amount of food within a year. But, back to the bargains…

The local Albertsons had its usual weekly “10 for $10” sale. Alot of times these sales are for the ‘store brand’ versions of things which is not necessarily a bad thing. However, this time they had one of the staples of my pantry on sale…jars of spaghetti sauce. And not the store brand either…26 oz. Ragu in various flavors – $1 ea. Normally, theyre about $1.50. Over in the frozen foods, the frozen dinners that the bunkerbabe takes to lunch for her work were knocked down to $2 from $4@. So, we picked up a case (dozen) jars of spaghetti sauce and we got 5 of the frozen dinners. Thats an outlay of $22 to purchase what would normally be $38. Total savings? $16. Which means it was like getting 8 frozen dinners for free or another 1.3 cases of spaghetti sauce for free. The spaghetti sauce goes in the cupboard, the dinners go in the freezer, and we pat ourselves on the back for saving $16.

The point here is that you can buy food that you normally eat and like and get it cheap enough to stock up if you watch for the sales and strike while the iron is hot.

Also, you dont necessarily need a sale…you just need space. A 1# bag of rice vs. a 50# bag of rice – I havent had to buy rice in a while but in a 50# bag (which gets repackaged to a 5-gallon bucket with lid) it comes out to around $0.25~ per pound. So if you paid more than 25 cents for that plastic bag of rice at the supermarket you could have done better. Ditto for things like pasta, beans, etc, etc.

Enough about this, Im trusting you see my point.
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Went shooting the other day. 200 gr. RN out of a k-frame .357 are a bit much. Out of the N-frame, however, theyre juuuuuust fine.

Shot the .308 a bit. Shot 1 7/8″ at 200 yards which is just under MOA for five shots. Finally. One of the LMI let me try some of his handloads. Lapua brass, match primers, Lapua bullets….definitely could see a difference. I’ve been shooting the less-than-precision-manufactured Remington brass because, honestly, I just happen to have a bunch of it. Looks like Im going to have to order some Lapua or Norma match brass.

Also shot the Yugo SKS. Folks, if you havent bought one of these cheap ($150~) guns yet you are going to be kicking yourself later on …. believe it. Good, solid gun shooting a cheap cartridge capable of keeping looters at bay yet the gun is cheap enough that youre not too concerned if it gets lost or stolen. And, like the AK, its quite reliable. Get ’em while you can.

Ten years after the end of the world I think the most prevalent guns will be Rugers and AK/SKS rifles…..they just. dont. quit.
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Winter approaches. The cold weather module is back in my TT bag. Kerosene was running around $22~ for a 5-gallon drum up at Lowes. And I smiled a big smile at myself because when they had it marked down to $5 a drum I bought a dozen and still have them. (Thats bragging.) I really need some new boots and need to get that taken care of…esp. since hunting season will be here soon.
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Fascinating story here about a guy who took it upon himself to drive his personally owned military truck to deliver aid to Katrina victims. He put on his old uniform and sailed through all the roadblocks, got shot at, returned fire, got robbed, and had a very interesting final encounter with three thugs when he stopped to change a tire. I can freely admit I wouldnt have done 1/10th the things this guy did, out of his own pocket, because Im just too selfish in that way. But its a good story and theres some interesting info in there.
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Now that, for the most part, the heroic moments are done with the blame game starts. Police chief, Mayor, Governor, Director….all forming the traditional circular firing squad and taking shots at each other. Is there seriously anyone who didnt see this coming? Certainly theres some folks that seriously need to be run out of town but theres also going to be a few loyal troops falling on their own swords to spare theirl eaders. Regardless, reputations and expections for various organizations like FEMA are going to take damage. Even the Red Cross’ sterling image has been mightily tarnished. Matter of fact, after reading here and there about some of the ‘our way or the highway’ policies of the RC and other organizations, and their utter disdain for local responders and inability to work with other .orgs, I really don’t think theres any national-level relief agency that deserves my support. However, from what Ive read there are scads of local/regional .orgs that deserve support and praise. Church groups, VFD’s, private companies, and the like. I think organizations tend to do a better job when the affected area is in their home area…it gives them motivation and, this is important, it gives them a certain accountability since they have to live among that population later.

Flectar parkas, ZipLoc body bags?, recipe, topo mapware, chokepoint musing,Mayoral musings

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Sportsmans Guide is again selling the fabulous Flectar parka combo – liner and parka for $20. Their #JX5M-86391X ( http://www.sportsmansguide.com) I’ve got four of these (one for everyday use, one for the truck, two for storage) and am thoroughly pleased with them. When the girlfriend BunkerBabe took her shooting class and the weather turned nasty she was immensely pleased to find one of these parka/liner combos stowed in a drybag in the bag of the truck…that was worth $20 right there.Theyre superior to the US issue field jackets in a bunch of ways. It looks like these are seasonal offerings so get ’em while you can. Good stuff.  Zero approved.
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I was in Albertsons the other day and found, check this out, extra-humongoid ZipLoc bags. Seriously. ZipLoc is making body bags! (“Keeps freshness out!”) Actually, theyre not quite that big…but they are 2’x2.7′ (“XXL”) and 2’x1.7′ (“XL”). Not sure I’d trust them on long-term waterproofness but they would be just the ticket for storing your sleeping bags or backpacks in such a way as to keep dust, dirt and moisture off them. These would be perfect if you had to toss your pack in the back of a truck and didnt want the rain/snow to get to it. Multitudes of uses limited by your imagination. I’ve picked up a couple boxes and will give a review of them later. In KatrinaWorld these would be great for keeping sleeping bags, clothes, portable devices, etc, etc protected from mold, damp and moisture. Im quite excited.
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Homemade noodles in chicken broth
1½ cup flour (either freshly ground whole wheat
or white
¼ tsp. salt
2 eggs, reconstituted or fresh
Place flour in mound on board, making a nest or well in the center of the mound. Pour eggs into nest. Beat the
eggs with a fork, gradually bringing the flour into the mix. Work the dough into a ball with your hands, picking up only as much flour as it takes to make a stiff, but workable ball. Knead the dough for about five minutes. It should not stick to the board. If it seems too moist, add a little more flour; if too dry, dampen your hands and knead longer. Divide the ball into quarters. Cover three and reserve one to work with immediately. Lightly sprinkle board with flour and roll out dough, pulling it into a uniform thickness oval. Make it as thin as workable and let rest in a warm, dry place. Repeat with other three quarters. When all dough is dry, but not stiff and brittle, roll like a jelly roll, cutting into desired thickness with a sharp knife. You can then either fluff out to separate and then carefully hang to dry or lay it flat to air dry for an hour. Pour a quart of chicken broth (or use dry chicken granules to make a broth) into a large pot. Add diced, canned, or freeze dried chicken meat, if desired, as well as onion, carrots, and spices as wanted. Bring to a medium boil, then carefully add noodles, simmering just long enough to make them tender. The flour on the noodles provides natural thickening. You’ll get raves for this simple, yet satisfying meal.

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One of the things Ive been wanting to buy is map software for printing out your own topo maps. I see alot of uses for this stuff…not the least of which are:

  • Evaluating routes and alternate routes out of your area
  • Getting a broader picture of a property’s layout
  • Using in conjunction with a GPS for geocaching
  • Scoping out hunting and camping areas

Where it would really shine is if you found a pice of property you wanted to purchase for a retreat or other use, you could generate the top, check it against GPS coords, and then get the satellite image. How utterly cool would that be? Know where every ravine, gully, draw, creek, and neighbor is without getting away from your computer. (Although, obviously, theres no substitute for boots-on-the-ground.)
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I was thinking about how if you had survived Katrina, had five gallons of gas in your car, and decided it was time to leave you’d be severely screwed by not knowing what bridges, overpasses and other chokepoints were still usable and which weren’t. And you could really use up gasoline in a hurry driving through town looking for a bridge that wasnt washed away. The solution is to first of all know where all these chokepoints are, then find out somehow which ones are still usable. Maybe recon on bicycle? Ask a passing NG, if they look harmless. Tough situation to be in. Just enough gas for one chance and you can’t blow it. So, either have lotsa gas or lotsa info or both. And think ‘outside the box’ in terms of avenues of exits. Roads work, but so do railroad tracks/rightofways, bicycle trails and other usually-not-used-with-a-car avenues. This is where maps come in handy. I like to think that local broadcasting would be making announcements about which avenues were accessible and which werent but we’ve all seen how relying on gov’t pays off, right?
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Speaking of the Big Sleazy, it appears the mayor is now going to allow people to start repopulating parts of New Orleans. Never mind that a week ago he had his flunkies enthusiastically shoving grandmothers into cattle cars trucks to be taken for ‘processing’ for their own ‘safety’. FIrst off, as far as Im concerned the mayor of New Orleans is a puppet-figurehead for who’s really calling the shots – the feds. And thats fine, I can see him wanting to look like he actually has something to do. But I guarantee you this man’s career in politics , anywhere else in the country, would be toast…but Louisiana has a political history that beggars logic. Were it up to me, he’d never have a job in government again..which, unfortunately, means thats exactly what he’s going to have.

Speaking of beggars, I want to point out that the biggest recovery efforts in terms of rehabbing buildings, removing debris and the like are being done privately. Businesses are taking the steps to get up and running on their own and thats why they will succeed and rebuild cheaper, faster and better than the government will do it.