Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.
Interesting article from Esquire about the early, early, early years of the M16 and the problems that plagued it. I know guys who werein Vietnam who still despise the rifle even after 40 years of upgrades. Personally, I think the modern AR-type rifle is good, but, yes, it can be better. Terrific ergonomics, not so great in other areas. Anyway, its an interesting article and worth reading.
Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.
Its a lovely day here in western Montana. Or, as some have taken to calling it, the American Redoubt.
This is something I’ve been mulling over in my head for a few weeks. I’ve no problem with the notion that the preparedness lifestyle is something that is embraced, or at least not ridiculed, around here and that those unfortunate souls in places like California, Texas, Illinois, and New Jersey may want to migrate here. I dont really have a problem with that. My only problem comes from those people then trying to change the place they’ve just moved to into something it isnt. Montana has been, as long as Ive been here, a fairly live-n-let-live place. If you wanna have gay sex on top of a pile of rocket launchers while snorting cocaine and watching porn, go for it…just do it on your own property and dont do it where the kids can see it.
While I welcome more preparedness-minded individuals moving into the state I’m hoping that they leave things pretty much the way they are. For better or worse, a large amount of the preparedness community has some, shall we say, ’strong’ religious beliefs. Nothing wrong with that. I figure folks can believe whatever they want as long as they dont try to push those beliefs onto those who dont share them. Unfortunately, I’m worried that’s what is going to happen. As someone elsewhere so aptly put it, religion is like a penis – its great that you’ve got one, I’m glad you’re proud of it, but don’t wave it around in public and dont try to force it down my throat.
I’m sure they’d say “Whats wrong with wanting to make a place moral, upstanding, decent and family friendly”? Well, Montana is already all those things or they wouldnt be moving here. Additionally, some folks don’t feel that the laws they have to live under should be predicated on a religious belief they may not share. Once that starts happening we get into the whole “my god is better than your god” nonsense…whose religiously inspired laws and guidelines should we use? The Jews’? The Catholics’? I rather like things the way they are now….schools don’t teach creationism, Planned Parenthood has a location across the street from my favorite porn shop, theres a quiet and unobtrusive gay bar downtown, and religious institutions tend to stick to their own knitting.
Many people I’ve met who are into preparedness have religious values and ideals, but we seem to get along just fine. I think part of it is because the majority of these people understand boundaries and share a certain ‘rugged individualist’ value that precludes trying to impose a lifestyle on someone else. While I welcome anyone who wants to move to Montana in the name of preparedness, I hope these don’t turn into religious enclaves that wind up trying to force their values onto others through political means.
Fascinating story out of Nevada. A Canadian couple got their van stuck in the middle of nowhere and the husband left to find help. They still havent found him yet. The wife stayed in the vehicle and survived, barely, almost seven weeks.
Articles:
Rita Chretien, who vanished with husband in March, found in Nevada wilderness; husband still missing
Rita Chretien’s 49 days in the wilderness amaze survival experts
Not just Rita Chretien beat the odds: three other women’s stories of surviving the wilderness
Rita Chretien, Missing Canadian Woman, Found Alive In Nevada After 49 Days In Wilderness, Search For Husband Resumes
I’m going to say that the odds of finding the husband alive are absolutely nil. In fact, I’ll be surprised if they find a body within the next few weeks. Probably be one of those cases where they have to wait until hunting season when some hunter finds it. (Thats how quite a few small plane crashes are found.)
I was actually repacking my emergency bag (which is really a large backpack, for the sake of convenience) the other night and while there isnt enough food in there to get me through seven weeks of being stuck, there is enough in there to help keep me from having to stay trapped….parachute flares, for example. One article makes mention of a new GPS and the implication, although it isnt explored, is that the couple followed their GPS blindly and it led them onto the Road From Hell. This is similar to what happened in the Kim misadventure, although the Kims problem included reading a map without noting the warning about road closures. This epic fail was glossed over as the family then blamed everyone except, naturally, the guy who actually misread the map and got his family into the mess.
Several amazingly important lessons to be had here:
1) In the age of internet, satellites, and people everywhere you go you can still get stuck on a road somewhere and not see another human for almost two months
2) Pack emergency gear. Im adding another couple parachute flares and some more freeze drieds to my pack.
3) Stay. With. The. Vehicle.
That last part cannot be emphasized enough. People who survive these situations almost invariably do better when they stay with the vehicle. There are a few exceptions, but as a rule your chances of being found are much better if you stay with the vehicle. And, if you trick out your vehicle with a few niceties like a sleeping bag, water, stash of food and that sort of thing you may wind up becoming three inches of column space in a human interest section of the paper rather than eight inches of column space about a horrific starvation episode. (Montana guy, a few years back, was found after he and his dog had to spend a couple weeks stuck somewhere. He was fine, dog was fine. Why? He basically had a full complement of camping and survival gear in the back of his truck. He may have gotten a wee bit hungry but he didnt have to eat his dog and they didnt wind up having to put him on the Dachau diet recovery feeding program. [Yeah, if you feed a starving person like they were a normal person they tend to die. You actually have to give them starvation-level quantities of food in slightly increasing amounts to bring them back to the point where they can eat something without the sudden shock killing them. A lot of concentration camp victims died when horrified GI’s gave them their rations to eat. They meant well, but….])
I’ve got five gallons of water, five gallons of gas, a backpack full of essentials, in the truck, along with a headfull of preparedness info and an attitude of caution, and I still won’t go out driving if the weather looks bad. Why buy trouble? But if I got stuck on a logging road somewhere you can bloody well believe that I’d have no qualms about staying put and riding it out. Thats why I carry a backpack full of gear in the truck. It’s also why I dont blindly trust a map or GPS.
Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.
w00t! Apparently being a nice guy does have its benefits.
When I was helping my buddy move last week we had some time to kill so we visited a military surplus place. Amongst all the fascinating stuff was a slightly scuffed but otherwise brand new Pelican 1650 case. Marked at $150, which was a pretty fair deal, but Im a notoriously cheap bastard. I have to feel like Im getting a deal. Even if it was a smoking bargain at $150, I need to know that I got it for less…even if I wind up getting it for $149.
So after the moving was done (just me and him and two 24′ truckloads of gear being tranfered from storage units, into the trucks, and then unloaded at his new home) I said “Go back there and if that guy will take $125, pick it up for me.”
My buddy just came by a little while ago and dropped off the case to me. I asked “Did the guy take $125?” “Nope.” “Oh. Well what do I owe ya?” [dismissive wave of hand] “Nothing. Thanks for your help.”
How awesome is that! A broken down CAR-15 or Model 12 will fit inside nicely, as well as a plethora of handguns and ammo. And, check this out, the thing has wheels and a telescoping luggage handle! It may wind up becoming my winter survival kit container since its lockable and weatherproof. Anyway, its an excellent piece of kit and the price was right.
(And, honestly, all I expected for my help was some dinner and the pleasant conversation of good friends…however, im not going to complain!)
Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.
So the kill order for Osama Bin Laden was signed by the guy who won a Peace Prize? It is worth pointing out that Bin Laden was found using information gotten by methods Obama did not support, from people detained in a manner Obama promised to put an end to, housed in a facility Obama promised to shut down. So, that means the person most responsible for this turn of events is not Obama but……
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Interesting thing about downturns in the economy, you start seeing all manner of goodies showing up in pawn shops. I happen to find myself in one today and found a genuine US military sleep system , in its stuff sack with its three bags, for $79. Might have to go and pick that up if its still there in a few days. Be nice to have one as a spare to keep in the truck at all times or something similar. Although, with summer kinda sorta approaching, the focus isnt so much on staying warm as it is on staying hydrated. Fortunately a 5-gallon jerry can of water sits in the back of the truck and takes up virtually no room.
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Out of curiosity, I went back to Rosauers to see if they still had the #10 cans of storage food on sale. They did, but the quantity is dwindling. I did some math and it appears theyve sold, in the last two weeks, somewhere around 1300 cans of the stuff. I looked at what remains and it was mostly soup mix, pancake mix, bread mix, and instant milk. Both types of egg mix, both fruits, hiney, and butter powder were gone. I’m hoping that the store will decide to make this a regular stocking item and, more importantly, develop a relationship with the distributor that allows me to special order.
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Speaking of preparedness supplies, someone told me there was a military surplus place outside of town that I should go visit. The guy running the place is into preparedness, I am told, and might prove to have some useful stuff. Heck, I love cruising the aisles of surplus stores looking for cool stuff. Headed out there and, sure enough, the guy is into it big time. Matter of fact, he basically did what I did – decided to get into the business in order to facilitate his own acquisitions. He had some nice stuff and I got a decent deal on a little Surefire weapon light for $80 plus 3 silver halves. (Yes, he’ll take silver.) Other than a few fuel can racks that I picked up for the truck, I didnt see anything I didnt already have or couldnt live without but that doesnt mean I wont go back. Never know whats gonna turn up. His prices were, in my opinion, a little high but I bet I can dicker around enough to bring them to a level Im comfortable with. Also, it was nice to stand there and chat about the end of the world without worrying about what people were thinking. Thats worth a couple bucks right there.
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To carry the topic further, while I was in Idaho helping a buddy move (and 50,000 rounds of ammo does not move easily) we came across a really cool surplus store. They had a Pelican case there I very much would like to have as well as some other goodies. Between the gun shops and the surplus stores I may have to make a roadtrip to C’D’A every once in a while.
Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.
For me, there is no victory in the ‘war on terror’ until I can get on a plane with an unopened 20 oz. bottle of Coke in my pocket and no TSA fingerprints on my crotch.
Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.
I was helping a friend move this weekend. Spent the last couple days over in Idaho. We had a few hours to kill while waiting for the rental truck to become available so I figured we would hit a few gun shops. Lemme tell ya, kids…..they take their boomsticks pretty seriously in Idaho. Check out this fairly rare number:
Cool, no? I know what youre thinking….”Wow, someone took an HK SL8 and made it into a G36 clone!”. Thats an interesting thought, and also not quite correct. Check out the receiver markings that I’m pretty sure you wont see every day:
Yup. Its a real factory semi-auto G36 sitting in the display counter at a little(!) Idaho gun shop. The proprietor told me an interesting story about it and the five others he has just like it. First G36 Ive ever handled. Didnt get to shoot it (yet) but it was very nice ergonomically and I liked the optic. Price? If you have to ask……
Also saw a little semi-auto MP5-PDW clone that for $2600 could have gone home with me but, really, who has that kinda coin to drop.
A++++ for Idaho. Will visit again.
