Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.
Color me surprised…the local WalMart is carrying powder and primers in addition to the Federal .223-in-a-can.
Prices? $3.10 on primers, which is a lousy deal. But Unique was $20, which ain’t bad around here.
Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.
I upgraded the first aid kit I carry around in my bag the other day. Previously I was using an organizer from Outdoor Research. It was a tri-fold zippered organizer that worked well, but it could stand an improvement. First aid kits are fairly personal things, so I almost never find a commercial product that does everything I want. Many of them are simply an assortment of bandages and antiseptic. Part of me feels that if you have an injury that only requires a Bandaid and some Bactine, you arent really injured. However, another part of me realizes that small ‘Mickey Mouse’ injuries can get really serious, really fast if you leave them untreated and they get infected.
Originally, I was going to replace my previous first aid kit container with one of these from Maxpedition:
It had a good amount of room for all the necessities that might be called for in your average stomping-around-in-the-boonies misadventure and I really liked that it was detachable from the velcro-backed MOLLE panel. Problem was, it’s big and bulky…too bulky for most simple trips out fishing or hunting or geocaching. Great for a more extended trip or something where you’re carrying a larger-than-usual pack or where trouble is expected to be more likely than usual, but otherwise….too bulky.
So, next one was this:
This one still gave me plenty of room and organization options but was a bit less bulky. This is what I currently carry in my Tactical Tailor bag that goes with me most places. I like that it has MOLLE attachment points, as well as a couple D-rings, so I can attach it to my gear or just put it on a carabiner swinging off my pack. This is an excellent compromise between size and bulk.
Like Goldilocks said, the third one was just right:
This is the one I wound up buying several of. It’s got enough room I can stuff it with the things I anticipate needing in a non-EOTWAWKI situation, but still packs down small enough I can keep a bin full of them and toss one at the wife when she heads out the door to go hiking with the dog and say “Hey, take one of these.” For hunting, fishing and that sort of thing, where I dont want to carry a lot of gear and a lot of bulk, I go with this. It even has enough room for one of these fabulous little kits (Which I highly recommend. Sealed in a pouch to make ‘em waterproof and dirtproof, these things are awesome.)
(By the by, each first aid kit we have has a printout, in tiny type, stuffed into it with a list of materials and quantity contained within. This makes things extremely handy when calculating amounts needed to keep on hand for restocking and replacing.)
Now, I’m not going to tell you what to put in your first aid kit, that’s actually another post I have lined up for next week (or maybe the week after), but what do you do once you’ve used your first aid kit? Well, you have to restock it, of course. For storing bulk medical supplies, that lovely Hardigg Medical Chest from a few posts back would be perfect. Trouble is, $200 is a lot for what basically amounts to a waterproof Snap-On tool chest. (Plus availability is something of an issue…I see they’ve sold out and are outta stock….again.) Fortunately, there are cheaper options. I was actually tempted to get one of these older-style medical storage chests but these are simply the outer container. Like the Hardigg, they originally had a ‘dresser drawer’ style interior that is sometimes available elsewhere. However, any large waterproof container is suitable for stashing medical supplies if you organize it right. Many of these older style containers are sold locally at the surplus store as ‘bearproof’ boxes for storing edibles when out camping.
I’m very much liking this smaller, and much more affordable, container. Just the right size for stuffing in a truck box, in the rafters at your hunting cabin, or under the counter at your shop. I’ve something similar that I keep a couple medic’s shoulderbags in. The bags contain pretty much a little of everything and are identical to each other (well, yeah, of course theres more than one). This way, in a we-gotta-go-now-now-now situation I can just snag one and run out the door with the rest of the gear if I don’t have the time or space to grab everything.
For better or worse, what with the floundering economy and the impending ‘overhaul’ of the health care system, being able to handle the minor medical emergencies that spring up is probably going to be even more important than it is now. Just having the materials on hand is going to make a big difference. Even if there isn’t a shortage or availability issue, .gov keeps mucking around and time-tested OTC medications that we’ve relied on for years are getting nerfed….heck, even my favorite The Green Death (aka NyQuil) had to reformulate and now isnt quite as effective as it used to be. So, yeah, stockpiling medications is in the cards.
At some point, I’ve got to sit down and make a list of all the books I’ve got here on the subject. I’ve got a bunch, but only a handful are, in my opinion, absolutely mandatory for any well-stocked survivalist’s library.
Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.
(Reuters) – When Patty Tegeler looks out the window of her home overlooking the Appalachian Mountains in southwestern Virginia, she sees trouble on the horizon.
“In an instant, anything can happen,” she told Reuters. “And I firmly believe that you have to be prepared.”
Tegeler is among a growing subculture of Americans who refer to themselves informally as “preppers.” Some are driven by a fear of imminent societal collapse, others are worried about terrorism, and many have a vague concern that an escalating series of natural disasters is leading to some type of environmental cataclysm.
As is almost always the case with thise little ’snapshot’ articles, the comments are more interesting than the article itself.
Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.
Oh sweet Crom, I want this…………..
Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.
The novelty of this white stuff on the ground is fading fast….
Last year I was thinking it might be nice to have a set of these:
And, like an idiot, once the snow faded away I didn’t follow up on it. Now I’m cursing myself because I could really use a set of these things right now. So, I checked the SG catalog this morning and not only do they have the ‘classic’ style of snowshoe they also have the more popular version:
What’s the difference? Well one is more maneuverable than the other, mostly. For the price, I’m thinking I’ll get a pair of each to try out.
What i really could have used yesterday was this little number to haul my stuff back to the house yesterday.
We usually don’t get this kinda weather in this part of Montana but that’s really no excuse…there’s nothing to say I will always be in this part of Montana and, apparently, from time to time we do get a bit of a snowpocalypse going on.
Looks like I’m gonna have to free up a few bucks and get these snowshoes before they sell out like all the other cool stuff I want and never seem to get around to getting.
Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.
Well, it’s officially more snow than I’ve seen dumped at one time in about, oh, fifteen, maybe twenty years. The wife called for a ride back from work last night and I said “Ok, I’ll be there in five minutes”. Hell, it took me twenty minutes just to shovel the truck out and push it outta its parking space. The snow is already over the top of my pac boots. Driving anywhere is either an exercise in stupidity or a challenge to four-wheel drive. Me, I’m no fool….rule number one of avoiding any disaster is to not be there. Hence, the truck stays parked and if I need to go anywhere, I’m going on foot.
I’ve already helped dig out two stranded motorists…both people who should have known better than to be driving in this crap in their Tauruses and Camrys.
Supplies? Well, I need another 12-pack of Coke but otherwise there’s nothing we need that would warrant a trip through this crap and it’s attendant risk. I’ve enough beef and chicken in the freezer to keep me going for a couple months. This weather has me wishing I had gotten one of these. After walking to the shop in the morning it would be nice to have a hot bowl full of chili or soup to have for lunch.
The dog, of course, is thrilled with the snow. He winds up having to bound through it like a dolphin breaking the surface…yes, he’s a dog with porpoise.
The forecast is for more of this stuff, which means I really shouldnt plan on being anywhere the next few days except at the house or at the shop. Fortunately, because we are a prepared and practical household we’re in a good position to simply ’shelter in place’ and stay put. Heck, between Netflix, Warcraft and internet porn there is pretty much no reason to leave the house.
So, let it snow…if nothing else it’ll be some vindication and perhaps some bragging rights, depending on how bad it gets.
Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.
It was only a matter of time ……..
From the folks that brought you The Chainsaw………
Part of me is appalled. But the intellignet part of me says that this is actually not a bad idea. Folks have been tacticooling leverguns for a while now, but this is the first one from the factory like that. If youre in a locale that prohibits a semi-auto this might be a good choice. It’s very much a ‘rule beater’ like Remington’s 7615P carbine.
The flash supressor is a nice touch since that means a fella with a sound supressor could thread it on and have absolutely zero noise from the action cycling after the round is fired. Not sure about the need for a telestock, but, as long as youre pimping it out…. I do like the rail option for a tactical light, though. Put on a regular stock, keep the rail for a light, keep the flash supressor, add a forward scope mount fo a ‘Scout’ scope and you’d have a handy little carbine.
I’d love to see this offered in a ‘Combo-Pak’ like their shotguns were. Get the 464 carbine and it comes iwth regular wood furniture and a thread protector so you can swap out the parts between a ‘tactical’ gun and a ‘hunting’ gun…..similar to the package they offered where you got a 500 shotgun with a hunting barrel and a short barrel, and a woodstock and a pistol grip.
Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.
You guys remember Sarah Connor Jr.? The mom with the scattergun who made a home intruder into a six-column-inch article in most major media outlets? Well, apparently she’s received a bit of an upgrade. (Only really good linkage I found was on Facebook)
(GunNews Magazine) – At the January meeting, GSL President John Boch brought up the story from New Year’s Eve of Sarah McKinley from Blanchard, OK. This 18-year-old mother lost her husband to cancer on Christmas Day 2011 and less than a week later, two opportunistic, armed thugs try to break into her home, probably to rape her. She barricaded her front door with her couch, then got her shotgun, her baby and her phone and retreated to the back of the residence.
For twenty-one minutes she waited for police to arrive as the two men tried to force their way in through both doors. Bad guy #1 was on the verge of breaching the front door when the 911 operator told Sarah not to shoot unless the intruder made it inside the house. The bad man got in far enough to begin climbing over the couch when young Sarah McKinley perforated him with her boom-stick. Amorous bad guy #2 suddenly sobered up and decided he had to be somewhere else and later turned himself in.
Boch spoke with the Blanchard police and they have nothing but praise for how McKinley handled the unfortunate situation. “It doesn’t get much more righteous than this one,” a detective told Boch.
McKinley’s primary home defense gun, the shotgun, was taken for evidence. “We’ll probably have it for at least a couple of months,” the detective said.
Mr. Boch and some friends decided to make a difference and make sure Sarah McKinley has a replacement home-defense shotgun. Antonio Luna, a part-time adjunct staff instructor with Fortress Defense Consultants, made some contacts and lined up a gun. The Blanchard police chief referred Mr. Boch to a trusted, nearby gun dealer, Nathan Morrison of KAIROS Services, LLC., and offered to send a squad to give Sarah a ride to pick up the shotgun once it arrived.
Everyone at Blanchard PD, from the chief down to the front desk clerk, expressed profound and sincere appreciation for any help we or others could provide. “Anything you can do to help with be very much appreciated as that young woman is having a very difficult time right now,” the desk clerk told Mr. Boch.
Mr. Luna secured most of the money needed for a bare-bones Remington 870. A day later, at the Tuesday evening GSL meeting, Mr. Boch asked GSL members to help come up with a $100 to $150 in order to trick out the shotgun with a side-saddle, sling and to take care of any incidental costs. After Boch started a hat around with $10, a few minutes later, GSL members came through with not one, but two hats, stuffed with $487.
Sarah McKinley’s gun arrived on Martin Luther King’s birthday. It’s a tricked-out Remington 870 Express 12ga with a Hogue fore-end and 13” youth stock, a Mesa Tactical 8 round side saddle, Trijicon ghost-ring tritium sights, an Advanced Technologies mag clamp swivel mount and a Vickers Tactical Blue Force two-point sling. Also included are a few boxes of Federal Personal Defense 00 buck, which the gun loves.
The gun was test fired before shipping. Ryan Stoy, of ZX Gun in Goshen, IN told Boch, ”I test fired the gun this afternoon. It’s a good gun. I built it up myself and it’s what I would want someone I care about to have.”
We (Boch, Luna, etc.) are weighing options for either giving McKinley a check for the remaining cash, or making arrangements to (legally) get her a personal defense caliber revolver.
There is a trust account set up to help Sarah McKinley. If you missed the meeting and would like to contribute to help this girl have a better year in the Year 2012, here is the contact information.
Sarah McKinley Trust Fund
Chickasa Bank & Trust
405 485-2300
Ask for Leah.
Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.
An ‘all you can eat’-type of place down the street from me has shuttered up and is selling off their fixtures and supplies. Why, oh why, does this happen when I have no money? What do they have that I want? Well, there’s actually a good bit of stuff in there that lends itself to the preparedness lifestyle.
First and foremost, there are shelves to accommodate #10 cans…the kind of shelves where the cans roll to the front so you use up oldest stock first. That could be handy. More handy, there are bunches of #10 cans of foods that I actually use.
One thing they have that I really have a desire for are cafeteria trays. Yeah, cafeteria trays. Not the compartmented ones, just the normal flat ones with a raised lip at the edges. Why do I need them? These things are perfect for cleaning handguns. Everything is in one place, parts cant roll away and any solvent issues stay on the tray. Definitely gonna get some of those.
Then theres a few sundry items….cheap bowls and plates, gallon jugs of sals, hotsauce, etc….I’m sure that if I wanted I could buy a lifetime supply of paper napkins but those arent as useful to me as other items.
I was hoping for some steel wire shelving but that was one of the first things to go, unfortunately. The larger fixtures, like the ginormous Hobart mixers, ovens, etc, are way too big for me to get any use out of them. Some of the utensils might come in handy though.
It’s a sad thing when a business goes under. It’s the death of someones dreams and hopes. But, the business circle of life goes on and scavengers like me come in and pick the carcass. Opportunity is sometimes pretty tacky in how it presents itself, but present itself it does………
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Honest to Crom snow day today. Probably about five inches of the stuff so far. I’m tempted to put on the winter whites, the bunny boots, and take the bioweapon out for a romp in the snowy hills. He loves him some snow. This weather is also a reminder that I need to go through my bag and make sure I have the proper cold weather gear in it, just in case. As you may recall, I wound up with an embarrassment of riches in terms of gloves/mittens so a few of those will get packed with the usual gear as ‘extras’.
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Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.
TACOMA, Washington (AP) — A snowshoer who was lost in a blizzard for two days on Washington state’s Mount Rainier said he stayed alive by digging out a snow tunnel and burning dollar bills for warmth.
Yong Chun Kim, 66, of Tacoma, said he carried a lighter and other emergency supplies and burned personal items: extra socks, Band-Aids, toothbruash, packaging, and lastly $1 and $5 bills from his wallet.
Kim, who served in the South Korean military in the Vietnam War, told KOMO-TV in Seattle that skills he learned as a soldier helped him survive. He said he wasn’t scared. He kept waiting for the sounds of the helicopter — though severe weather conditions prevented park officials from using one to search for Kim.
“I’m a lucky man, a really lucky man,” he said in an interview Tuesday afternoon from his home.
Nice article with a happy ending. Two things jump out at me here….
First, this guy kept his head together. It sounds like he didn’t panic and, most importantly, he didn’t give up. He simply accepted the situation and figured he was just going to wind up being really late. Attitude, as we all know, makes a huge difference. None of his comments in the article sound the least bit defeatist…this is a guy with the classic ‘positive mental outlook’ and he made it just fine.
Secondly, important pieces of gear need to be secured. He lost his radio in a subsequent fall. I don;t want to Monday morning quarterback but a critical piece of gear like that, especially once he realized he was lost, should have been secured with a lanyard or in some sort of pouch that would have kept him from losing it.
I’m betting next time he does this sort of thing he’ll carry some different gear, maybe something with more emphasis on fire/fuel, but this could have been a lot worse and it sounds like he did pretty well for himself.
