Most hunters and shooters know that when you fire a bullet from any rifle, that there is a specific trajectory that the bullet follows, based on gravity and wind predominantly. However, most hunters don't go to the trouble to learn the trajectory for their rifle and ammunition. The trajectory of the bullet flight will vary considerably based on factors like barrel length, barrel twist, wind speed, caliber, bullet weight, and powder charge. There are other factors, but these are most prominent. Most important among these in terms of what you can directly control and alter, is your ammunition. This means that if you use one type of ammunition to sight in your rifle and another to hunt with, you most likely won't get the same bullet trajectory and might reduce your chances of getting an animal if your shot is beyond 150 yards. Many people sight in a rifle at 100 yards with a small bullet, like 140gr, and then buy a heavier bullet, like 180gr, for hunting a larger animal. The problem is that although there is little difference at 100 yards, the trajectory of a 140gr, and a 180gr bullet is very different beyond 150 yards. The powder charge will also vary from cartridge to cartridge depending on the manufacturer. My point here is that you should sight in your rifle with the specific ammunition that you plan to hunt with, find a trajectory chart for that ammunition, and fire your rifle at different ranges. See how your results compare to the given chart, and make notes. Once you have a validated trajectory chart, take that with you when you are hunting. If you change ammunition, repeat the process again. The chart below will give you an idea of how to compensate for wind, although it may vary slightly for your ammunition.
I am in the process of building a new hunting rifle in .308 caliber, and I am planning to stock up on Silver Bear 140gr soft point ammunition, because of price and availability. This is the most reasonably priced hunting ammunition in .308 and has good reviews. If you are interested, there is a link below to the Silver Bear 140gr soft point ammunition page at ammunitiontogo.com. There is also a chart of the trajectory statistics for the Silver Bear 140gr soft point ammunition below. You should be able to find a similar chart for whatever type of ammunition that you are using.
http://www.ammunitiontogo.com/product_info.php/pName/100rds-308-silver-bear-140gr-soft-point-ammo/cName/308-762-nato-soft-point
Or try:
http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/ItemDetail.aspx?sku=AMM-690
-Richard
Just a quick offering.
I have been pouring a lot of concrete lately for my survival and other projects, and I use a program that I wrote a few years ago to calculate how much concrete is needed for each job. I have placed a link below, and it will also be available in the file archive section of this site. This is a simple tool, but it works well.
https://sites.google.com/site/centraltexassurvival/concalc.zip
-Richard
I used to think, like many people, that having many guns, as opposed to just a few, was a good idea. My thought process at that time, was that if I had guns in several different calibers, that I would have a better chance of finding ammo, or in other words, being able to shoot any ammo that I found. The problem with this was that I found myself in a situation where I had many guns, but very little ammunition for each weapon. I had pistols in .45, .357, .38, .38 S&W, .44, 9mm, and a few other odd calibers. I also had rifles in several calibers, some odd, like 7x57 Mauser. Although there is nothing wrong with any of these guns or calibers on the surface, it did create a problem for me. I liked to take a few of the guns from the collection and shoot them with friends, usually I would shoot up a box in each gun, and some of these calibers, due to rarity are expensive. Therefore, I spent my limited resources on a small number of expensive rounds of ammunition. I have since come to the conclusion that it is better to have fewer common calibers and more ammunition, which will be less expensive in a more common caliber. I am not suggesting that you cannot collect guns or that you shouldn't have multiple guns. What I am suggesting, however, is that you should collect and buy guns that use as few calibers as possible, and preferably those that are very common.
For pistols, aside from .22, everyone knows that 9mm is the most common round available, and the price of 9mm ammunition reflects that. If you are not a fan of the 9mm, that is fine, just remember, that under survival conditions, you are far more likely to encounter 9mm rounds than any other. If you are concerned about stopping power, there is a larger selection of defensive ammunition available for 9mm that is more than adequate for personal defense. Just a side note, regardless of what round you chose to carry, remember that you should not consider all ammunition the same. A lot of people buy a gun for defense, and then proceed to load it and carry it around with cheap target ammunition. It is fine to buy full metal jacketed ammunition, or FMJ, for target practice and stocking up, but you should have your personal weapon loaded with defensive ammunition. I use a jacketed hollow point, but frangible ammunition should also be considered, depending on your environment. This is a very common mistake, so do some research on your own.
For rifles, it is not that simple. .223 and 7.62x39 are of course very common and should be considered as your staple assault rifle round. However, these rounds are a little small for hunting. .308 is a better round for hunting, and still very common and modestly prices. .308 is by far the cheapest and most widely used hunting round today, eclipsing the 30-06 in popularity some years back. The .308 is also a good assault rifle round. It was used widely by the military throughout much of the last century, and still to a degree today. Both AR-15 and AK-47 style rifles can be purchased in .308. I personally have an AK-47 in the native 7.62x39 and consider that my staple assault rifle. Because it is so common, the 7.62x39 ammunition is less expensive than .308 and I can buy more ammunition per dollar spent. However, I have chosen to stock and use a different caliber for hunting large game, .308, and I don't plan to acquire any other hunting rifles that are not in this caliber. There are many available used and new rifles in .308, so you are not limited.
Be careful when buying used guns, however, especially if they have been re-chambered. Many old rifles, like Mausers, have been re-chambered to .308, and some cannot handle the pressure of a modern .308 load. This is also true of other calibers. Just make sure that you know the pressure rating of the gun you are buying, and the rating of the round that you are planning to use in it. Also, pressures are not always listed in the same scale; some are listed in Copper Units of Pressure (CUP) and others in Pounds per Square Inch (PSI). Below, I have listed the formulas for converting between the two.
PSI = (CUP x 1.51) - 17,902
CUP = (PSI + 17,902) / 1.51
Here is a real world example:
I had a small ring Mauser, in 7x57, with a pressure rating of 46,000 CUP. I wanted to have it re-chambered to .308, but according to SAAMI, the .308 Winchester has a MAP (maximum average product) pressure of approximately 62,000 PSI* (conformal transducer measurement). My gunsmith advised against re-chambering, for a good reason. Using the formula above, PSI = (CUP x 1.51) - 17,902, I can see that 46,000 (Mauser CUP Rating) x 1.51 = 69460, minus 17,902, gives me a result of 51,558 PSI. This is well below the SAMMI rating for the .308. You can see why most gunsmiths would be hesitant. Granted, the Mausers, as well as most other guns, were built to take a 125% pressure load, it is not worth my life to put that to the test. Even if it didn't explode, it certainly wouldn't be good for the gun over time. Also, you may say, that it would be acceptable to shoot a lower pressure hand load, which is true, but what if the gun is later owned by someone else that doesn't know the back story. That is just too dangerous to risk. My choice was just to trade the gun in on something else.
Just to follow up on the .22, I own several .22 guns and I consider them a very important part of any collection. The ammunition is cheaper by far than any other caliber and they are essential for target practice, small game hunting, and training for new shooters and children. Although they aren't very practical for defense or hunting large game, they can be used if needed. I know that deer, and other large game animals can and have been killed with .22 rifles. If I could only have 1 gun, it would definitely be a .22. They are very versatile and can be used in many situations beyond what might seem practical.
-Richard
I currently have a shelter structure built using shipping containers, that are underground. I like shipping containers, because they are inexpensive, very strong, and provide an instant place to secure goods, for survival or otherwise. There are concerns regarding the strength of shipping containers when used in an underground setting, but they are easily overcome. Shipping containers are still readily available and are starting to gain acceptance as a building material for houses and other structures. They can be stacked one upon another, and are very versatile when planning out a design, especially for multi-story and cantilevered construction. If nothing else, I think that everyone should have a shipping container stored on rural property and stocked with food and survival supplies. A bare shipping container may not be the best protection from all threats, but it would be somewhat secure and a relatively good shelter from the weather. If you cannot cover your container with concrete, either above or below ground, you should at the least clean it and paint it with a thick paint, like elastomeric. This will ensure that it does not rust while exposed to the elements. Shipping containers are made from a rust resistant type of steel, called corten steel, and while it is highly rust resistant compared to other steels, it will rust over time.
For long term survival, however, I do not recommend leaving your container exposed and uncovered. If you are worried about radiation, you will need to make sure that your container is covered with dirt or concrete. Also, if you are looking for protection from armed attackers, a container wall is not enough, although they will stop a .22 round, they will not stop a 9mm. (I have done some testing) This may not be a concern for some, but if your goal is to buy a container and use it for a bug out retreat, you need to think a lot about security. The point here is to do what you can now, and then do more over time as you are able.
Additionally, I went to my local shipping container supplier this past weekend to buy another shipping container to add to my current structure, and I was surprised by the rising cost. When I originally bought my core containers a few years ago, I paid about $1300 per container. I did purchased another container while I was there at the container yard this past weekend for $1500. The owner of the lot told me that he had a few left at that price, and then they would be going to $2100. This is due to multiple factors: the economy in general and the value of the dollar; the demand for containers; and a reduced supply due to less shipping to the United States. As the dollar continues to decline and more people catch on to the fact that shipping containers are an easy way to secure your goods, they are going to increase in price, and may become very difficult to obtain.
By the way, I am adding this latest container as a shelter overflow for family, so remember, if you have friends and family that know you are preparing, there is a good chance their plan will be to head your way when it all goes down. Make sure you are set up the way you need to be before it is too late, and get prepared to help as many others as you can. If you cannot keep your humanity during and through a disaster, there is little point in surviving it at all.
-Richard
I can personally attest to the fact that MRE's do go bad, and I know that temperature is a big factor. If you look at the shelf life, it can be as long as ten years, or as short as a few weeks depending on the temperature. I was on guard duty not that long ago, and all we had were MRE's for our meals. They must have been stored incorrectly, because they were all bad. Basically, I just ate the crackers and hard cookies, everything that was soft was spoiled. I think that the emergency food bars are a better choice for the individual than surplus MRE's. The emergency food bars are cheaper than MRE's, provide the same amount of calories, are just as portable, and will last longer in a wider range of temperatures. I know that MRE's have a lot of varied items in them like cookies, peanut butter or cheese and crackers, but if you are storing them in a car or bug out bag, you may be unknowingly storing a rotten mess as well as having a big disappointment coming in the future, or worse, you could be in a real survival situation and not have any food. The sites linked below sell the emergency food bars in bulk and in individual bars.
http://www.campingsurvival.com/emfoba.html
http://www.firstaidkitproducts.com/product/1200C
I also have some dehydrated food, which has a 15 to 25 year shelf life. I have some made by Mountain House, which is available in #10 cans or mylar bags, and can be acquired at any camping supply store or Walmart. There are other brands as well, like the Auguson Farms brand that Sam's Wholesale carries, which is cheaper than Mountain House, if you have a Sam's membership. I have a Sam's membership, and I think that it is helpful for buying bulk food and other supplies. If you don't have a Sam's in your area, I know that there are several other warehouse chains throughout the country, you just need to do a little research. As is always the case, you can find a lot of good deals online if you look.
http://www.mountainhouse.com/
http://augasonfarms.com/
-Richard
Wild edibles can make the difference in a survival situation and save your life. Although meat is a better source of fat and protein than wild plants, hunting and trapping game is never easy and it is not reliable for consistently keeping food in your system. Wild edibles are extremely nutritious and contain essential vitamins and minerals. In fact, in some cases, wild plants can have up to 500 times the nutritional value of their domestic counterparts. So if they are so nutritious, you may ask why we bother going to the supermarket at all. There are several reasons, but some are more important to the concepts of survival. First, unlike their domesticated relatives, many wild plants have very short seasons where the plant either fruits or is edible. Secondly, many plants are only partially edible meaning they are only safe in small quantities or only part of the plant is edible. This is also true of many of the plants that we grow in our garden or buy in the store, but we know from our traditions what parts to eat. Most importantly, many wild plants are highly toxic. The misidentification of plants sadly still produces deaths even in modern times. The Buddha, for instance, died by eating a poisonous mushroom that was gathered by accident while collecting edible mushrooms. Additionally, by design or by a product of evolution, many poisonous plants mimic edible plants and the differences can be very subtle, case in point, Poison Hemlock and Queen Anne's Lace (Wild Carrot) look very similar, so be careful. In total, about two-thirds of all plants contain at least a poison part, so you are twice as likely to choose a poisonous plant, if you are just choosing plants at random. My advice is to keep it simple and avoid plants that are not easily identified or have a poison twin. You will find that many of the edible plants will be immediately recognizable to you even if you didn't know that they were edible before. I have included a list of easily identifiable plants and trees that are common and do not have a poison twin. Although this is just a small list of available plants, I believe in taking the safe route and keeping it simple. Find out what common edible plants grow in your area and try to memorize just a few that are very common and that you are already able to identify. Most specialists suggest that you learn about 10 edible plants to start with, and then go up from there.
Research these on your own, they are found all over the U.S.:
Pine Trees (Nuts, Inner Bark, Needles for Tea)
Oak Acorns (After par boiling to remove bitter taste)
Cactus Fruit
Blackberries (Fruit, Leaves for Tea)
Grapes (Leaves and Fruit)
Sunflower (Seeds, Leaves, Roots)
Wild Plums (Fruit only)
Wild Persimmon (Fruit)
Greenvine (Stems, Fruit, Young Roots)
Native Pecans
Native Walnuts (Hickory)
Mesquite (Beans)
Mulberry (Fruit and Leaves)
Hackberry (Fruit)
-Richard
Throughout human history, until the late 19th century, the fastest way for a man to travel was on the back of an animal or on a drawn chariot. Within a few decades of the first automobiles and trains, we were soaring through the sky at ever increasing speeds. At the same time, due mostly to industrialization, families began to leave the rural farms across the land and swelled the cities. Within two generations, the ancient knowledge that man had passed from father to son for more than 100 thousand years was mostly lost. After World War II, people continued to flock to the cities and for the first time in known human history, we raised an entire generation of humans that lacked the knowledge to feed themselves. My Grandmother, who was born in 1924, cooked poke weed when I was a child. Poke weed is a wild plant similar to spinach that is poisonous if not prepared correctly. She learned to identify and prepare poke weed from her mother, yet failed to pass the skill to my mother. My grandmother now while healthy for her age, lacks the eye site to identify the plant. Fortunately, I have chosen to pick up a mantel that would otherwise be lost to my family forever. This example is not an isolated incident. Every child learns the fact that you can start a fire by rubbing two sticks together, but very few are taught the methods, which are very complicated. In this blog, we will discuss the rule of three. The rule of three states that you can live three minutes without oxygen, three hours when exposed to extreme low temperature, three days without water, and three weeks without food. What we discuss further, however, is that under the right conditions, without the warmth of a fire, you can be on the road to death and completely incoherent in less than twenty minutes. The number one killer of individuals that get lost, even for a short time, is hypothermia. The ability to produce fire is by far the most important skill that ancient man possessed. We will cover the skill of fire and many others in this blog in detail over time. I will attempt to cover every skill needed to survive. I want to stress also that this blog is not only a survival site, but also an attempt to shed light on the value of ancient knowledge and asks the following question: Why would we as a society give up the most important knowledge that man has every possessed, the knowledge of nothing less than survival itself? I don’t want you to think early on that I am opposed to technology, because I am not. Humans have made some great discoveries and because of this we enjoy very comfortable lives. There is very little in life that I like better than to sit in my easy chair at home and pop in a good DVD on my big screen. Add to this a bag of microwave popcorn with a ton of butter and I am in heaven. I then have to work off the butter on the treadmill the next morning because I work at a desk and have little opportunity for real exercise. I am also not suggesting that we all become hunter gatherers again either, because that is a very hard life style with a high mortality rate. What I am suggesting, however, is that we can retain just a few minimal skills from our forefathers so that in the rare case of an emergency, we are prepared and we know how to survive. The common thought is that these skills are an anachronism and that modern man has no use for them, yet people get into these situations very often. For now it is sufficient to say that you can find yourself in a survival scenario quicker than you think. I know that you have heard these stories on the news, a story about a couple of lost hikers or a story about someone that ran their car off the road in a remote area and survived on their own for a few days. The point is that these things happen and they can happen to you. This simple knowledge discussed in this blog took thousands of years to develop but is fading so fast. You and you alone have the responsibility to gather as much of this knowledge as you can and pass it on to your children. Don’t let it die so quickly. So many of our ancestors gave their lives to give us this gift of knowledge, don’t be so quick to throw it in the trash pile. As a final note, I offer this: Our society as we know it may not stand forever and our children’s future survival may depend on the knowledge passed down through the ages. Whether in 100 years or 1000 years, history shows us that we will face disasters, natural or otherwise, that will put our technology to the test. There are many great civilizations that have risen and fallen throughout time that left a period of technological darkness in their wake.
-Richard
I have been using fire steel (Ferrocerium) and flint to make fire for a long time and I have found that the best value fire steel comes from http://www.firesteel.com/. Their fire steel is high quality and very inexpensive. I keep a fire steel rod with me at all times, including a small rod that I keep in my wallet. If you get caught in a survival situation, fire can be the difference between life and death. Fire has many uses including warmth, light, cooking, protection from animals and insects, as well as being a real boost to moral. Learning to make fire by a primitive means is difficult, but rewarding when you succeed. It gives you a sense of accomplishment, as well as a connection to the earth and to our past. I believe that everyone should know how to make fire with several primitive methods and learn to identify the needed materials that are found in their area.
I also have a good method for making char cloth if anyone is interested in primitive fire. For those who don't know, char cloth is carbonized cloth that is used to catch and grow a spark that mimics the natural fungi that primitive peoples used in fire making. What I do is take any old, 100% cotton fabric, cut it into 3" x 3" squares, take 10 squares and fold them inside a piece of aluminum foil, and poke a few small holes in the foil. I then put it on the gas grill for 15 minutes or so. You will see smoke exit the holes, and when it stops, you should be ready. The idea is that you are burning the cloth outside of the presence of oxygen, and you leave behind the carbon. This char cloth that is produced will catch and grow the smallest spark. This is great for any primitive fire starting.
If anyone has any general questions about fire, I also have experience with several other ways of producing primitive fire, like friction or compression. I have been very successful in the past making fire with methods like flint, bow drill, or pump drill.
-Richard
I am wondering what best idea is for radio communications. I found this radio below, that will work for 2 meter ham, MURS, and FRS/GMRS.
http://cgi.ebay.com/TYT-TH-UVF1-UHF-VHF-Dual-Band-Handheld-radio-1750-tone_W0QQi\
temZ180584993632QQcategoryZ163855QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp5197.m263QQ_trkparmsZa\lgo%3DSIC%26itu%3DUCI%252BIA%252BUA%252BFICS%252BUFI%252BDDSIC%26otn%3D10%26pmod\%3D160375068624%252B180473740805%252B250670162284%26po%3DLVI%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3\D5297230430789231175#ht_4334wt_1139
Currently I have a CB base station for long range communications, and a set of FRS/GMRS radios for tactical communications. I have a ham license, and I want to start taking advantage of it. I have a lot of experience with military radios, but I am new to the HAM world.
I like the MURS radios, but they are limited to only 5 frequencies. However, they have more power and a greater range than FRS/GMRS, because MURS are VHF and FRS/GMRS are UHF. I think a good option is to use a radio that can tune to multiple frequencies and then tune them to the MURS or FRS/GMRS frequencies, this also allows you to use digital privacy codes and push up the wattage. (Just mind the FCC rules for now)
As for FRS/GMRS, I have a set of the Midland GXT900VP4, and they are good radios. We use FRS/GMRS in my Guard unit because we are moving to more civilian friendly frequencies for rescue and relief, and I have personally used the Midland GXT900VP4 out to 4 miles. The distance depends on the terrain. When they rate the distance of those radios, it assumes line of sight, so they will work for the rated distance on open terrain, like water or hill to hill. One thing about the Midland GXT900, is that they have a voice scramble feature that is not available in the newest model, the GXT1000. The voice scramble feature violates the FCC rules, so you need to be careful with that feature.
As for the Chinese radios, they may not be the best, but they have a lot of features for the money. There are better alternatives for more money, you just have to search for the same features. I will add one note. With many of the name brand radios, they lock down many of the frequencies to appease the FCC, so make sure you know whether the radio you buy is completely unlocked or if if has to be hacked to open all of the frequencies. (Caveat Emptor)
I would like to know what are you using and how is it working?
-Richard
I have been looking into some body armor, and I have found that although you can get used armor pretty cheap now, new vests are starting to get really cheap as well.
This company, bulletproofme.com, sells used panels for $30 and $60 for level 2 and 3A vests. If you bought 2 panels, you could make your own carrier and have a level 2 vest for about $60 or level 3A for about $120, or you can buy a new carrier for about $30 extra.
http://www.bulletproofme.com/Bullet_proof_Vests_Catalog.shtml
New carrier for about $30 on ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/POINTBLANK-BODY-ARMOR-BULLETPROOF-VEST-CARRIER-SZ-50-52-/180\596372048?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a0c61f250#ht_2354wt_1139
However, looking on ebay, you can now get used vests for about double the price above, but you can get brand new vests really cheap now also.
Used 2 vest for $110 with shipping:
http://cgi.ebay.com/PACA-BODY-ARMOR-LEVEL-II-POLICE-BULLET-PROOF-VEST-XS-/160503\380675?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item255ebf3ac3#ht_3270wt_1139
New 2A vest for $160 with shipping:
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-GERMAN-KEVLAR-BODY-ARMOR-BULLET-PROOF-VEST-XL-GL-/300501\024223?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item45f741bddf#ht_1088wt_1139
Used 3A vest for $185 with shipping:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ABA-Ballistic-Vest-IIIA-3A-bullet-proof-vest-XL-/22070606981\
6?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item33631b5d38#ht_500wt_1156
New 3A vest for $250 with shipping:
http://cgi.ebay.com/BRAND-NEW-BULLET-PROOF-VEST-BODY-ARMOR-IIIA-3A-/110537427881\?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19bc8b4ba9#ht_2983wt_1139
I guess it depends on your budget. Do you think it is better to buy a new 2 or 2A vest, or would it be better to get a used 3A vest. In my case, I need to get vests for more than one person, so the dollar figures are compounded, but it is getting to the point that the new vests are not that much more than the used ones. I do know at the very least, that you should avoid the Second Chance armor that was sold in Germany and in the U.S. that is not Kevlar. I have also been thinking of buying one of the used panels from bulletproofme.com and inserting it in my laptop backpack that I carry to work, just in case.
Let me know what you think.
-Richard
I have had some interested in how my galvanized corrugated steel shelter was constructed, so I will give a brief description.
Basic Materials (From Engineer's Description):
1 78" DIA X 10' LONG CMP (16 GA) W/ (2) END CAPS
1 30" DIA X 4' LONG CMP (16 GA) LATERAL W/ (1) CAP
These materials were provided and welded together by Texas Corrugators in Round Rock, Texas, but any fabricator could duplicate it. Basically, it is a 78" x 10' pipe that has end caps welded on each end, and is then braced with angle iron across the vertical axis and horizontal axis of the end cap. A 30" hole is cut in the larger pipe, and the 30" pipe section is welded to the larger pipe as an entrance over the hole. A 30" plate was also cut to cover the entrance, and
given a handle so that it can be lifted into place by hand. My goal being to later fabricate a more secure entrance hatch. All welds were requested to be water tight and spay panted with a galvanizing coating. I later welded hooks on each end so that it could be lifted with the backhoe. I did not request any penetrations for air ventilation or other services, because I planned to incorporate those in the hatch design, but you must have some plan for this, because each person needs at least 3 cfm (cubic feet of air per minute) to breath and up to 10 cfm to feel ventilated and cool when it is hot.
As for the installation, we used a rented backhoe to dig a hole about 6 inches wider in all dimensions and then set the shelter in the hole and encased it in concrete that we ordered from our local concrete delivery company. In the end, it turned out that the hole wasn't a perfect fit, and we ended up using more concrete than planned, so you may want to get your shelter and hole the way you want them before you order your concrete. After this was complete, we covered the shelter with a concrete foundation and garage.
This was my first complete underground shelter. I am currently constructing a new shelter in a different location that is about 8 times larger. I am of course stocking my shelters with enough food and supplies to support myself and my family for a length of time that I feel is needed.
-Richard
Guns are the first priority for long-term survival in terms of defensive weapons, but a long knife or short sword can be a good multifunction backup. I think that this has been true throughout history. Even if you had been a Greek or Roman, you wouldn't pull your sword until you ran out of everything that you could shoot or throw (i.e. spears and bows). The Roman Gladius swords and Samurai Wakizashi swords were around 16 to 20 inches, and the Greek swords were even shorter, 10 to 14 inches. These swords are good models of a practical length for a side arm weapon. Based on my martial arts experience, I prefer an Asian style blade, but you need to find something that you are comfortable with. While some have suggested modifying a cheap machete, which would work in a pinch, I would rather purchase something now that is designed for the task and made out of a good thick steel (Machetes are stamped, not forged). You want something that is a high carbon steel .6 to .9 percent carbon depending on length, preferably tempered. Here are some brands that make their knifes and swords using that standard:
Kabar, Fallkniven, Gen2, Cold Steel, Windlass Steelcrafts, Scorpion Swords,
CAS(Hanwei), and Schrade(Old Timer), among others.
I think the take away here is that it is a good idea to have a well built, all-purpose blade with you at home that is at least 10 inches long with a point that can stab if needed. I would never want to bring a knife to a gun fight, but if I was forced into a knife fight, I think I would want something more than just your average pocket knife. That is the whole point. However, if the hard times go on long enough, everyone may run out of ammo, in which case, we may be using spears and bows for primary defense, and maybe even knives and swords. I personally own several swords of various types, and I consider them to have value in terms of defense, however, currently there are laws that govern the carry of such dangerous weapons, so be careful. YouTube is full of young teens making sword cutting videos, but they fail to realize that you can easily sever a limb, and swords are not toys. Survival is about life and death scenarios and although survivalism is a hobby for some people, preparing and learning survival skills is ultimately about saving lives and protecting yourself and your family.
I want to also note, that although this post is relating to the use of knives for defense, and not directly related to knives for wilderness survival, there are many things that are common to both uses. You should check local laws, but in Texas, you can carry a knife with a blade up to 5.5 inches on your person, but you can have a longer knife if you are camping or hiking. Again, I would recommend a thick, carbon steel blade made by one of the companies listed above. I am partial to Kabar, but these are all good brands. In the field, I carry a Kabar BK-2, which is 5.5 inches long in my backpack, and a Kabar "Johnson Adventure" Potbelly on my belt, which is 7 inches long. The uses for a knife in a wilderness survival situation are endless. Practical survival requires some form of cutting tool, if you don't bring your own into the woods, you will need to know how to make one if you want to survive. At some point, I will do a post on stone knives and tools, which I have used in the field before.
-Richard
As a test investment, I just bought some 1 oz Canadian Silver Maple Leaf coins about a year ago. They are .9999% silver and have a face value of $5 Canadian each. I had planned to buy more in the future, since everyone was talking about metals. Although I agree that metals are a far better investment than the U.S. dollar, I decided to sell them and invest the money in other commodities. When I bought the silver, it was at $16 an ounce, and I sold it at $28 dollars an ounce. Although this would seem to be a good return, it really shows how the dollar is declining. After selling my silver, I took the money and invested it in two other precious metals that I think will be far more valuable in the future: lead, in the form of ammunition, and tin, in the form of canned food.
Everyone is still talking about metals as an investment, and although they are more portable than commodities like food or ammo, they are only good if you can find someone to buy them from you, or trade them for other goods. You cannot eat silver or use it to defend yourself. Although I still have a few other coins, which I consider to be a last ditch means of trading for goods if I need to relocate after a disaster or dollar crash, I am still investing most of my money in physical food or ammunition. When I say most of my money, I mean it. I no longer feel safe investing in or saving U.S. dollars, therefore I am taking all of my spare money and investing it in some type of physical commodity. I believe that this is a good idea and that it serves two purposes. First, by translating my paycheck into commodities, I am helping to stimulate the economy, which may not save the dollar in the long run, but might give us more time. Secondly, if something happens, I have goods on hand to support myself and my family.
Commodities, for me, include anything I think that I might need to survive the next few years, from batteries to toilet paper. You may not agree that this is a valid form of investment, but prices are rising at a faster rate than the rate of return on most investments. Anything that I buy this year will be more expensive next year, and if I buy next years goods at this years prices now, I automatically make a gain on my investment that is equal to the percentage increase in the price of those goods. Although this strategy may not work for everyone, depending on how much you have to invest, I think that it should be part of everyone's investment plan to some degree.
Once you have all of your goods, you need some place to put them, and you need to secure them. My strategy is to put them underground, but if you can't do that, a locked room, building, or storage container will work. I will do a post on secure storage at some point.
-Richard
My primary goal is sharing the hunting and survival knowledge that I have from my experience growing up and living in the country, as well as my time in the military as an Emergency Management Specialist. I have always been interested in primitive skills, and in preserving them for the future. I also believe that the modern culture that we have built is based on a very fragile framework of technology(i.e. Electricity), that could collapse at any time due to a natural or man-made disaster. This places us in a unique situation, the skills of our forefather are almost lost to history at a time when we may desperately need them again, as individual and in large. I would seek to promote a sense of self-sufficiency to all those whose read my posts or watch my videos, but also a sense of respect for the ancient way of life, and the recognition that the future world may very well only support cultures that can marry the old ways with the new.
I am not an alarmist, nor am I prone to panic, but I can see the writing on the wall. We are running out of the resources that literally fuel our world as we know it: oil, water, food, etc. Although we may find solutions for our current problems, I doubt that we will escape without suffering a few lean years at the least. There are many scenarios that you can focus on, but the solution for the individual is the same, to be prepared. In any survival situation from a wide disaster to just wandering too far off of the hiking trail, the skills and mindset to survive is the same, the only difference is the scale. I do not know what is coming for us in the future, therefore, I must prepare myself and others to survive in any situation. In reality, it comes down to just a few things: ensuring your supply of oxygen, regulating your body temperature, maintaining your supply of clean water, and providing your body with energy in the form of calories. Everything else is just a bonus. It doesn't matter what the scenario is, survival is survival. I will discuss many topics here, that relate to all aspects of survival from my perspective from lean-to shelters to fall-out shelters.
I have the unique benefit of having had two primary influences in my development as a survivalist. First, my father, having been in the Army and serving in Korea, as well as being an avid hunter and outdoors-man, wanted his sons to be able to survive in any situation. As a young child, my father told me that one day, without notice, he would take me out to the woods and that I would have to survive on my own and make my own way back. Although he never did so, he repeated the warning throughout my childhood and through my young adulthood. Along the way, he made sure that I was acquiring the skills that I needed to survive in any situation. Through my own passion and experiences, I have continued to grow those skills over my life. My other great influence as a survivalist, was my grandfather. My grandfather was an ordained minister and believed that the end of the world was soon to come. He gave me an interest in the study of the end of the world, called Eschatology, and although my early years were spent studying the Bible, in Greek and Hebrew, as well as modern translations, over time I began to research other cultures such as the Mayans, Hopi, Egyptians, Sumerians, and others.
-Richard
