For the end of the word, there’s 5.56mm…for everything else, there’s money.

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“I’ve been rich and I’ve been poor, and rich is better.” – Mae West

I’ve met a lot of survivalists over the years. All of them have their own flavor of apocalypse… war, plague, famine, pole shift, EMP, space invasion, religious events, comet strikes, economic issues, etc, etc. My personal belief is that the most likely event to send folks scrambling to their bunkers will be economic. You could probably make an argument that the Wuhan Flu has proven me wrong. I don’t think so… after all, one of the side effects of this pandemic has been a level of economic upheaval, hasn’t it?

I try to be prepared for most eventualities….power outages, blizzards, etc. But, for me, I believe that the small, personal, intimate EOTWAWKI events like a job loss, illness, unexpected expense, etc, will occur with a far, far higher level of likelihood than an EMP or Chinese invasion.

So, while I keep a buncha freezedrieds and ammo on hand, I have found that having financial resources has been a lifeline more often than parachute flares have. Or, as I’ve said before, I’ve needed $50 bills far more than I’ve needed .50 BMG.

I can’t tell you what I think a survivalist should do to cover their financial butt because everyone’s situation is difficult. YMMV. I don’t have a lot of money, nor do I make a lot of money, but what I do have is an exceptionally strong desire to not be hungry and houseless. So, my money goes into a few places –

  • Cash
  • Investments
  • Metals
  • Goods

I keep cash around because it’s basically duct tape – when the world isn’t coming to an end, cash (or money) is the ultimate multitool. It puts roofs on houses, fixes flat tires, paints living rooms, digs ditches, repairs cars, replaces hot water heaters, feeds kids, transports goods, etc. When civilization hasn’t hit the bottom, cash solves 99% of your problems.

I invest on a regular basis because cash loses value if you just let it sit there in an envelope in the gun safe. (Can’t get around it…some cash must be kept on hand, immediately accessible, and that means some exposure to inflation risk.) A thousand dollars next year will buy you less stuff than what a thousand dollars will buy you this year. Thats inflation workin’ it’s mojo. If you want your $1000 to be able to buy that same $1000 worth of stuff in ten years that it could buy today… you need to have your money ‘make money’. So..I invest. And, yes, if the big EOTWAWKI happens I could lose all the investments. Thats why I have more baskets to put my eggs in than just that one. And, while I recognize the possibility of an event happening that would wipe out my investments, I’m comfortable with it’s level of unlikeliness that I don’t mind putting some money into the market. Nothing fancy…just fire-n-forget mutual and index funds. It’s worked for me so far. At some point I’ll probably put money into some more real estate as well.

I stockpile cash, I feed investments, and I buy metals. I don’t buy metals for an investment because if I need to use metals to pay for the necessities of life then the odds are pretty good that the currency has gone haywire…and why would I trade a 1/10th Eagle for a wad of green paper that is short circuiting?  I set an amount, in ounces, I want to own by the end of the year and work towards that goal. I just buy 1 oz. silver rounds or bars. Eagles and Maples are nice but not worth the premium, IMO. Gold is never cheap, no matter what form you purchase it in. Just know that you will always walk funny after buying gold but it’s worth it for the peace of mind. I have a silver coin in my desk that was minted over 2000 years ago. It can still buy me things. No nationally minted currency can say that. Yeah, you can’t eat it, burn it, or shoot it…and yet it still works as a near-global unit of exchange. Go figure. And, historically, metals is the way to go in that ‘in between stage’ where the currency is going bad but before we hit the tradeing-cigarettes-for-food stage.

I don’t stock too many things expressly for the purpose of using them as trade goods because a) thats a lot of space and b) metals and cash take care of most of those needs. But…if things ever really hit Mad Max status, having desirable goods gives you bargaining power. Don’t stock anything you can’t use yourself if you need to. For me, handguns and ammo fill the bill. Compact, valuable, and in a crisis their value goes up exponentially. If you don’t believe that  then just go try to find a box of 9mm and a G19. If you can think of a ‘civilization’ anywhere in the world right now where the currency is worthless and its basically every man for himself, there is little more valuable in that place than a firearm and ammo. A cheap 9mm (S&W SD series, Ruger P or American series, anything by Taurus, HiPoint [kinda], etc.) and a box of ammo will probably be  the next smallest form of concentrated wealth after gold. Trading guns is always a risky business, so it’s never my first choice but when natives are restless there is no denying that people will pay whatever it takes to buy a talisman that makes them feel safer. (See Current Situation.) Also, as I’ve mentioned, I don’t stock anything as a ‘trade good’ that isn’t something I can’t use for my own needs. I can always use extra food, extra guns, extra fuel, extra meds…so for me it makes sense that if I was going to keep something as ‘trading stock’ it would be those things. I don’t smoke, I don’t drink, and I don’t have a uterus, so stockpiling booze, smokes, and tampons doesn’t make sense for me. In short, if it has no utility to me if I wind up having to keep it, then I’m not spending resources and space on having it on the off chance of trading it to someone else.

I’m the most optimistic survivalist in the world… I think the likelihood of a localized EOTWAWKI (job loss, injury, hurricane, transmission replacement, etc.) will happen more frequently and sooner than the big one (EMP, comet strike, Xenu, etc.), As a result, my priorities, financially, are on cash and investments….metals and trade goods are in that order. I’ve needed plumbers far more often than I’ve needed combat medics, and my financial planning reflects that.

Anyway, thats how this particular survivalist arranges his financial resources. You do what you think makes sense to you and your situation, but do something. Don’t be caught flat-footed if the world ends, and more importantly, don’t be caught flat-footed if it doesn’t. A solid retirement if the world doesn’t end, and a basement supply depot if it does….that’s kinda what I’m shooting for.

How’d that shoulderbag search go?

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Well, funny you should ask…I narrowed it down to two candidates and, being a bit of a gear queer, ordered them both. First one to show up today was the Emdom. Expensive? Oh yes*, but on first blush I have to admit…it’s got some interesting design features. I’ll be banging it around for the next week and see how I like it. It’s a bit heavy on the ‘tactical’ side of things…more of a tactical bag than a ‘wandering the boonies’ bag. But we shall see.

The other one I ordered was this guy. I like the looks of it, we’ll see how it’s utility stacks up.

There are two roles I’m looking to fill. One, is a smaller, handier, version of my Bag O’ Tricks. Something that lends itself to a bit more ‘everyday use’ without looking like Burt Gummer. The other role is as a bag for any activity in the boonies. Fishing, hunting, hiking, geocaching, etc…something to carry the Ten Essentials, a jacket, water, food, compass, FAK, and the usual stuff. But a smaller kit than my hunting pack.

So far, the Emdom is pretty sweet. I need to load it up and give it a good workout. Stay tuned.

 

* = Expensive gear is, often, worth it. I’m not one of these survivalists who craps on people who buy ‘expensive yuppie survivalist gear’ because a) I can afford it and b) just because you want to take pride in poverty doesn’t mean I have to.

And a thank you to the generous readership

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I didn’t want to forget to mention – last week as I was collecting the mail from the PO box after my sojourn, I found a thoughtful card and some greenmail from a reader. I wanted to make sure to thank him publicly for his help in keeping the lights on and the domain registered. When the apocalypse gets here and we’re drinking homemade hooch after a long day of slaughtering zombies and hanging Quislings, me and the post-apocalyptic coeds will raise our canteen cup in a toast to your generosity. Salut!

By the by, anyone who sends me something in the mail and provides a return address will wind up getting on the Paratus card mailing list. So…you’ve got that going for you, which is nice.

And, as long as I’m engaging in wanton self-interest, if anyone finds these brain droppings entertaining.interesting/amusing/educational/pornographic please feel free to contribute over at Patreon. It’s those few contributors who help to make this a better world by making sure everyone gets their recommended daily allowance of Zero.

The passing of G Gordon Liddy

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G. Gordon Liddy passed away.

Buffoon or patriot, man’s man or political joke, he was probably all that and more. His book ‘Will’ was probably not the best choice for inspirational reading by a 14-year-old boy, but thats about what happened. I found it to be an interesting book, somewhat inspiring, and it wasn’t until many years later I realized that all biographies have a healthy dose of…shall we say ‘fiction’…in them just by virtue of who their authors are. Nonetheless, it was certainly an entertaining book.

I wouldn’t call Liddy a role model in the classic sense, but as unhinged and showman-y as he was, there were a few things you could be 100% certain about when all his other qualities could be questioned as mere pretense and theatrics. I think he genuinely was a patriotic man, and he genuinely loved his country.

Yeah he was flawed, theatrical, blustery, self-aggrandizing, and a bunch of other things….but he did have a certain BFYTW attitude that he wasn’t scared to trot out at the powers that be. And thats always a trait worthy of respect, in my book.

So…roast up some rat over a candle, once youre done holding your hand over the flame, in remembrance.

 

The little things

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It’s funny…when The Walking Dead started I said that I was more interested in how people dealt with the increasing infrastructure failure than I was with the gratuitous zombie-killing violence. I was more interested in how people coped with the loss of gasoline, electricity, communications, etc, etc. And now that TWD has hit the stage where infrastructure has failed epically I find myself not really watching the show much. But, I watched tonights episode and it reminded me of some things.

Backstory: will-they-or-wont-they couple, Carol and Daryl are walking along a trail heading back to their camp. Carol is having trouble prying open the cover on her canteen and Daryl hands her his Swiss army knife so she can use, presumably, the screwdriver blade to pry the thing open.

Later, Daryl is far from home and his motorcycle sputters to a halt. He find that the fuel hose has rotted through and torn. He scavenges some hoses from abandoned vehicles and prepares to repair his bike…and then notices he never got his Swiss army knife back. He tries to use his large fighting knives but they are too big to get into the small reaches of the bike motor. With no tools to fix his bike, he goes looking for tools until he finds a couple zombified military personnel. He dispatches them, rifles their web gear, and finds a couple Gerber multitools. With multitool in hand, he repairs his bike and can return to his camp.

The takeaways seemed to be: two is one, one is none -when he ‘lost’ his primary multitool he had nothing to back him up. Even one of those dorky keychain multitools would have helped. And although he really should have had a small basic tool kit on his bike, in a world where getting stranded can be life-or-death it might be a good idea to have spares of critical gear like multitools.

I suppose another takeaway would be that you never loan out your personal equipment to help someone else if the lack of that equipment will harm you later. Carol should have handed him back the knife after she was done with it, and he should have had presence of mind to make sure it was immediately returned to him.

I have a nice Leatherman Wave that was gifted to me about..hmmm… 15 years ago, I used to carry it around all the time but it chewed holes in my jeans at an amazing pace. But it has tremendous sentimental value so I keep it. My everyday pocket knife is one of these  which I have been extremely pleased with. But…there’s a very good reason to keep a multiool around and I need to get back into the habit of having one as an everyday carry item. Nine times out of ten, if I need a screwdriver or somerhing like that, I’d rather just grab a purpose-built tool from the tool rack and do what needs doing. But I need to remember that the whole point of survivalism is to be ready for the unexpected which often occurs at the worst time, at the worst place, under the worst conditions. Like trying to replace a fuel hose on your motorcycle as the zombies shuffle closer and closer.

Multitools have improved over the last 15 years, and they have some lighter ones that still offer a lot of useful functions without costing me a pair of new Carharts every five months. I actually have a gen1 Leatherman tool in my Bag O’Tricks. That thing really needs to be upgraded…but its better than no multitool. I suppose at some point I should go shop for new ones and see what sort of cool developments have hit the market in the last decade and a half.

But…the eipsode of TWD was thought-provoking in that it showed how a small failure…not getting the Swiss army knife back…could cascade into bigger problems in a post-apocalyptic world. So…either don’t loan out critical gear (my first choice), or make sure to get it back immediately. And, a spare isn’t a bad idea.

 

2021 goals

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Financial goalkeeping continues for 2021. I finished off my desired annual goal for my emergency fund. That means that in the first three months of 2021 I hit my anual goals for my Roth, HSA, Emergency Fund, and silver stash. Next years goals will be to increase them all by 50%.

Since I’ve met those goals, I can now loosen up with my personal spending but, really, I’ll probably keep throwing money into things and get a head start on 2022’s goals. Not many people complain about saving too much money.

Just as well because with the current administration in charge, I have serious reservations about the economy. You don’t just manufacture $1.9 trillion and think it isn’t going to tip the inflationary scales a bit. “But Zero..if you believe an inflationary period is coming, then having money in the bank is the last thing you want!”, I hear you cry. This is true. This is why I won’t put all of whatever ‘extra’ money I have into cash in the bank (in the gun safe). It’ll go in the bank, in the gunmakers pocket, in the gold coin shops coffers, and in WinCo’s cash registers. And…perhaps…some landowners bank account?

It’s probably time to start putting away cash towards that ultimate survivalist must-have: a chunk of middle o’nowhere. That’s gonna be a serious amount of financial wrangling. But…hard to be a paranoid, right-wing, gun-crazed survivalist without a nice home in the boonies for people to label as ‘a compound’. Fortunately, of all the states in this fractured union, Montana probably has the most amount of realtors who don’t bat an eye when someone wants a piece of real estate that is inaccessable in winter, remote, and far from the madding crowd.

 

Mussete bag

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Back in the day, Ahern’s pulp-series, ‘The Survivalist’, had it’s main character carrying his spare speedloaders, binoculars, and other small items in what was called a ‘musette bag’. Basically, its one of those little buttpack bags that you see from time to time in military surplus venues.

I’ve been wanting something similar, but just s smidge bgger, and am having no luck. Don’t confuse it with a messenger bag, although they are very similar. The musette bag is a bit smaller, in some armies it was called a bread bag, or a foraging bag,  and is usually carried by a sling that clips to a couple attachment points on the bag.

Anyway, I’ve been trying to find a modern version with absolutely no luck. I’m looking for something made in the USA, has a large flap covering, a couple exterior pockets, removable sling, tactical color, and perhaps a bit of MOLLE. Tried Spec-Ops, SOE, and a couple other features. This is almost exaclty what Im looking for, but its always out of stock. And before you suggest one of the myriad of ‘active shooter bags’ out there, no, that isn’t quite right either. Those are too blocky..I want something less rigidly formed. Also be nice if it could fit an MP5k.

Open to suggestions…..and, hey, don’t just say “You should go look at X”…that’s helpful but not as helpful as actually providing a link to X.

People Of The Gun looking out for their own

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I just completed a trip to NYC. My last, I think, for the forseeable eternity. I was flying out but driving back. Since I flew, I couldn’t take any guns with me without causing a buncha headaches. But…where there’s a will, there’s a way.

A neighbor was helping me move furniture and I noticed he had a spare pistol mag on his belt. Hmm. I watched him a bit more and, sure enough, on his left hip there was a bulge under his sweater. Ok, time to start giving the signs and countersigns that I, too, am of the Brotherhood of The Gun.

“Whats that a spare magazine to?”
“Oh, thats for my VP9.”
“Oh, you’re a gun guy?”
“Yeah, I do handgun instruction at a range and shop about a mile from here….”

And after talking guns with him long enough for me to realize he’s a gun person, and long enough for him to realize I’m a gun person, the ice was broken and the fun began.

“I’M a dealer from out of state. I’m looking for something for the ride back to Montana. Have anything cheap and used in stock?”

“Well, I think we have a Taurus snubbie..”

“Any .38 ammo?”

“No.” Pause. “I can bring you five rounds from home, though.”

And thats exactly what we did. I showed up at the shop the next day, pulled a copy of my FFL out of my phone, and wound up with this:

Junk on the bunk

A Taurus snubby, Ruger LCP, and a genuine NYPD Gen2 G17 complete with the utterly horrendous NY-1 trigger. Makes a staplegun look like a Hammerli. Then, after the paperwork was done and my wallet was lightened, me, him, two fo the other clerks, and an off-duty cop stood around jawboning about guns for 45 minutes.

Oh, and they literally went through their desk drawers and gave me all their loose ammo…..”For the trip”. Some dinosaur stuff……38 RNHP Nyclads, Gen 1 Glasers (I mean early, early, early Glasers), miscellaneous .380 and .38 ammo, etc. And they threw in a 15-rd Glock mag because they can’t sell it to NYC residents, and kicked in a box of PMC 9mm ball as a way of apologizing for the $80 in sales tax that I was charged.

And then…I simply walked out the door with my purchases. In Westchester NY.

One of the few perqs of having an FFL.

But…this is how my tribe, The People Of The Gun, operate. Once its established that you really are a genuine ‘gun guy’ and not some Call Of Duty poseur whose entire gun knowledge comes from Stallone movies and video games….well, gun guys look out for each other.

So, I’ll be sending a thank you package of some Montana goodies, some .22LR (which they were out of), and a couple ten-round Glock mags that are about as useful in Montana as a 2 cu. ft. beer fridge.

That was the entire highlight of what was otherwise a long and exhausting trip.

But…I made gunbuddies behind enemy lines! Told them to come out here sometime and we’d do a whole suppressed, full-auto, high-capacity, short-barrelled extravaganza that would make Charlie Schumers head spin in a fit of liberal outrage.

People of The Gun, man. Thats my tribe.

And…I would bet that most of you have a similar story. Some time when you were doing something, encountered another guy who had some indicator he was a gun guy, struck up a conversation, and the next thing you know he’s helping you change a flat tire or youre helping him unload roofing from his truck.

Busy life

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Once again, I’m gonna have to be quiet for a few days while I attend to ‘real life’ stuff. Dammit. Might sneak in a few small posts, but expect this coming week to be quiet. Use the time to go buy new gas cans or something.