Nuke ’em till the glow

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Its always an interesting development when  package shows up with this curious label:No, it isn’t depleted uranium .308 rounds. (Those get hand delivered by guys who don’t like to use their real names.) Nah, its a very mundane and unexciting set of Trijicon HD night sights for my Glock 10mm.

Fiber optic is used alot for front sights these days and while they glow nicely in most light my experience has shown them to be fragile, prone to breaking or falling out, and susceptible to damage from gun cleaning solvents. I’d rather spend the hundred bucks and swap out for some heavy-duty steel sights with self-luminating dots than be surprised when I pull the gun from the holster and wonder where the orange glowy thing at the front went.

I’d shopped around a bit and looked at the various brands of night sights…Trijicon, Ameriglo, Glock, etc…and decided that for the difference in price I may as well go with the Trijicons. They are kinda the big name in radioactive glowy sights.

Are night sights really a necessity? Especially when every gun on the market these days usually comes with a rail to accommodate a light? Mmmmm….its subjective. For guns that I carry all the time, I definitely want the night sights. It’s dark half the time, right? And while I could buy a holster that would accommodate a mounted light, by the time you buy that particular specialized holster, and add a good light, you’ve spent what you would have spent on quality night sights.

Am I saying that night sights are a substitute for a mounted light? Heck no. I’m just saying that most of the time we don’t carry a mounted light on the gun we carry every day under out jackets and shirts…so having night sights is good idea.

One other thing I like is that for my nightstand gun (which does carry a mounted light) having night sights makes the gun easy to find in the dark.

Oh, and before I forget…..sight adjustment tools are very much worth the money to have. A hammer and punch is no way to sight in a pistol.

Thanksgiving sales

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Happy Thanksgiving. When you’re giving thanks don’t forget to take a moment and thank yourself. After all, you absolutely coudn’t have done it without you.

So, now that thats out of the way, lets talk Black Friday Friday Of Color sales. Your fastest and most prolific place to find them will be on Reddit. r/gundeals is where you’re gonna wanna spend your time (and money…youve been warned.)

However, here are two I wanna point out while I have your tryptophan-addled attention:

Palmetto is at it again with the deal on MP5 magazines.I bought ten of these last time and they were all MKE manufacture, which is apparently a good manufacture. (Yes, I know the history of MKE…the usual “build it for our military in our country and then when the contract is over we’ll take over the factory and make them ourselves”)I’ve got three MP5 clones so I can always use some quality mags, but I’ll be danged if I’m gonna buy a dozen OEM HK mags when they clock in at around $70@. They really do hate me and think I suck. So…ten more from this deal to put back in the Deep Sleep for Der Tag.

Next up: how does major manufacturer 9mm ammo sound for $190/1000 and free shipping? That catch your attention? Yeah, me too. Limit one per customer from the guys at Cheapammo.com . Same story on Fiocchi .223…$375/1000 with free shipping. Sale starts at 9am EST Friday. Snooze and you lose. They did a similar sale last Thanksgiving, as you may recall, and your buddy Zero made sure to get some. Glad I did because this stuff never goes down in price or down in demand. Can’t be too thin, to rich, or too well-stocked.

Friday of Color is, effectively, here and it’s time to be strategic. Remember: amateurs talk tactics, the pros talk logistics.

 

Followup – Article – An AR-15 ammunition factory built to supply the military shifted to commercial sales and is now tied to more than a dozen mass shootings

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An agreement between the Army and one of the nation’s largest ammunition manufacturers is receiving new scrutiny because of a little-known provision allowing a government facility to produce hundreds of millions of rounds for the retail market.

Over more than a decade, contracts between the Pentagon and a series of private companies have permitted an Army site, the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant, to become one of the world’s largest commercial suppliers of cartridges for AR-15-style guns.

The usual statements, from the usual people, about the usual ‘solution’. The free market abhors a vacuum, and while any departure from the 5.56 ammo market will eventually be filled it would be unreasonable to not expect economic law to occur in the short term: when supply is low and demand is high, prices go…up.

No one has enough ammo. More is, by and large, always better. Unless you’re swimming or on fire you cannot have too much ammo. The savvy survivalist, if they don’t already have a goodly amount of the stuff, should take this as a warning that there may be some changes coming up in the market and prepare accordingly.

Freeze dried ice cream sandwiches

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ETA: The Aborted Launch and Meteoric Rise of Astronaut Ice Cream

CostCo has been, as of late, carrying some Mountain House freeze dried meals in an ’emergency pack’. This is in addition to a couple other ‘survival bucket’ products that CostCo is carrying. Personally, I’d buy the MH product rather than the other survival food available at CostCo. At least the MH includes some minor degree of real meat…not TVP or ‘chicken flavor‘. (For example, these kits don’t offer ‘chicken soup’. No no no. They offer ‘Chicken flavored soup’ or ‘Beef flavored stew’. Because if you say ‘chicken soup’ then you better have some actual chicken in there or you could be construed as having misled the buyer.

Anyway…

In addition to the Mountain House emergency pack, I noticed that CostCo is also carrying these:

First off, you do not add hot (or cold) water to reconstitute this stuff. You simply eat it as is. I’ve had these before and many people have as well…theyre kind of a novelty in the world of survival food. Does it taste like ice cream? Well, yes. But it gets a bit gummy in your mouth. Still, its pretty cool and a nice treat.

Would I buy these? Nah. I mean, if you want something to hand out to impress your friends at a picnic, yeah. But its kinda expensive. Still, when you’re manning that roadblock after the fallout settles it might be a nice break from the MRE’s and Spam.

Trolling ATFE

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I had to order up a new stack of 4473 forms (“yellow sheets”) last week. Apparently I can just go online and order them so thats what I did. Now, I really can’t stand the ATFE but the hard truth is that I have to put up with them to have an FFL, and having an FFL makes things a lot more economical and beneficial for me in terms of gun acquisitions and value to the tribe. So, I put up with them.

But sometimes….you just wanna poke the bear.

The bundle of forms arrived at my PO box yesterday:Yeah, I know it was thirty years ago….so probably the drone at the ATFE clearing house has no idea of their history….or simply doesn’t care….but I still find this amusing.

Article – Inside the American Redoubt

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North Idaho has long been home to those seeking to escape the looming collapse of America. This is a region doused in frontier spirit; a land where people openly carry guns, and where bounty hunters still operate, tracking down fugitives hoping to bolt into Canada. It is here, on rugged fringes stalked by mountain lions, bears and wolves, that the American Redoubt was born.

Yet another article about the ‘American Redoubt’, as coined by Friend Of The Blog ™ ,Rawles.

The article doesn’t really cover any new ground, but I usually read these things with a critical eye because invariably they tend to imply a sinister racial overtone. People see ‘Idaho’, ‘Survivalist’, and ‘Bunker’ and the association is made. This article seems to skate around that but there is this gem “the Redoubt, and the man behind it, have become a threat to liberal America”. I wouldn’t have phrased it that way. Any threat is the kind posed by any idea that has the potential to change a  person’s beliefs.

Its the same ‘threat’ posed by reading ‘Atlas Shrugged’ or studying a new religion – a change to your way of thinking and evaluating the world. And, if someone thinks ideas are a threat then maybe they need to re-evaluate the belief they hold that feels so threatened.

The notion of a ‘Redoubt’ isn’t a threat to anyone except people who prefer that individuals who want to think for themselves be isolated from other like-minded folks. And, here’s the cool thing about living in a somewhat-free country – if you move to the Redoubt and don’t like it, you can move back.

Anyway, interesting article if you can adjust your footing for the slant.

Article – How Long Does Canned Food Last? Here’s What You Need to Know

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Here’s the good news: Canned goods actually last indefinitely if they’re kept in good condition, according to the USDA. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’ll still taste optimal ten years from now! There are actually several factors that limit the shelf life of canned goods, but in general, foods that are more acidic will expire sooner, while low-acid canned foods will actually last for longer. If you’re wondering about specific canned foods, though, here’s how long they’ll last on your shelf, as well as in the refrigerator after you open them.

Anyone who has been into preparedness/survivalism knows that canned goods last well beyond their ‘best by’ or expiration date. The internet is replete with stories of people eating canned goods that are five, ten, fifteen years old. Some things, like high-acid foods (pineapple, tomatoes, etc) don’t last long but most other stuff does. I’ve had canned meats that were several years past their dates and I’m still here.

Canned food, for me, is the first line of long(ish) term food. Canned vegetables, meats, sauces, etc. all are part of my layered food storage. Canned food is heavy to transport, but for a static situation it’s an excellent first choice.

Sadly, I know survivalists who have family members that will, under no circumstances, eat anything that is beyond that somewhat arbitrary ‘best by’ date (which is not the same thing as an expiration date, BTW.) Look, when the apocalypse gets here, in whatever form the destroyer chooses, and you havent had a real meal in days, you’re not really gonna care that the can of Hormel or Dinty Moore ‘expired’ six months ago. Crack it open, heat it up, and eat….you’ll be fine.

Link – With Tourniquets, You Get What You Pay For

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Friend Of The Blog ™ ,Rawles, over at SurvivalBlog has a link to this gem:

All 50 study volunteers were successful in applying the CAT tourniquet in under 60 seconds. With the MTET, only 40 combat medics (80%) succeeded, with the MTET requiring a longer median time overall to complete the task. In addition to failing the 60-second test, mechanical failures (14%) were encountered in the form of a bent windlass rod, ripped stitching, and a deformed buckle. I don’t need to tell you that mechanical failure of a tourniquet can mean the difference between life and death.

I’m amplifying ,Rawles’ post because while I am a fan of saving a buck, there are some things that one should just not cut corners on….stuff that keeps you from dying is some of that. A new real-deal CAT is less than thirty bucks. Paying half that for a knockoff only seems like good sense if you don’t really believe that there may someday be a time you’re gonna need the thing. And when you do need it, and your knockoff doesnt work right or breaks, and you’re watching the red stuff pouring out of you, you’ll happily pay anything to have it stop. Hope you enjoyed the $15.

I’m not saying don’t cheap out on some things, I’m just saying don’t cheap out on this.

When these things are on sale from a trusted source I will buy a bunch. And when they come up for sale again, I’ll buy more. Theyre great gifts, good trade items, and if you’re gonna carry one you really should be carrying more.

Maybe you read about someone in a car acccident or accidental shooting and their just-as-good knockoff TQ saved the day. Great, I’m happy for them. But they rolled some dice and got lucky. For me, being a survivalist is about always working to improve the odds in my favor. I’ll pay the extra fifteen bucks rather than spin the wheel next time something happens that makes me go “Uhm…thats not good.”

Article – An AR-15 ammunition factory built to supply the military shifted to commercial sales and is now tied to more than a dozen mass shootings

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While The Times found that the “vast majority” of rounds sold from Lake City to retailers end up in the hands of law-abiding citizens, they have also shown up in a number of mass shootings.

Rounds from Lake City have been tied to at least a dozen mass shootings, including the 2012 Aurora, Colorado movie theater shooting, the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida, and the 2017 Las Vegas Strip mass shooting, the deadliest in US history, the report says.

Gotta boil that water nice and slow so the frog doesn’t notice.

Its not enough to keep banging the drum about ‘assault weapons’ being bad. You have to keep that idea at the front of the public’s mind or you lose the narrative. So the media (or the people controlling them) keep the beat going….AR-15’s bad, AR-15 magazines bad, and now, AR-15 ammo bad. Do it long enough and hard enough and even the Fudds will start in with their ‘no one needs an AR15’ spiel. (Jim Zumbo has entered the chat.) [Sidenote: we now have .35 and .40 caliber rifle cartridges for using the AR as a hunting platform…so the notion of ‘not suitable for hunting’ has kinda evaporated. Although, honestly, an AR-10 has always been just fine for hunting.]

This is just more coordinated media manipulation to keep the fire burning that we need a 1994 Assault Weapons Ban: The Next Generation. As always, while you may not be able to prevent a ban you can be prepared for it. All it takes is resolute will and some money. Skip the jet skit, put off the new 72″ TV till next year, drive the clunker for another year…..take the money and buy what you need and what you think you’ll need.

Did LC ammo show up at ‘mass shootings’? Maybe. So what? LC probably cranks out millions and millions of rounds per year. The percentage of that ammo used in crimes? A fraction of a fraction of a percentage….just like ‘assault weapons’ themselves.

Go buy another AR. Go buy another dozen mags. Go buy another case of ammo. Even if they never ban them again you’ll still be ahead of the game just in terms of beating inflation and future price hikes.