Category Archives: Uncategorized

Radio activity, Florida hurricane, flu musings,

Posted on by

Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.

The girlfriend has a loaner radio from her ham club. We need to set up an antanae for it and since we were going to be doing that I figured I'd pull my radio out of storage and hook it up as well since both radios operate on the same frequencies (Mine is an RCI-2950dx…noted for its 'modificationability'). For the antanae, its going to be a simple and cheap dipole for now since, well, I'm cheap.So we'll do the math to determine optimal length, cut the antanae, connect it to the insulator, plug in the coax, set up the SWR meter, and, maybe, get the bloody thing working. Pictures? Maybe, if I can remember.

It has, however, come to my attention that I need to pick up a battery charger for the 12 volt marine battery I keep on hand to power this thing in a blackout. One BatteryBuddy added to my list…
=====
God. Hates. Florida.

One of the cuties on my friends list  rode out the hurricane in grand style….steel sheeting over the windows, generator and fuel, thundertoys, and she seems to have weathered it just fine. I'd love to post some of her pics but I gotta clear it with her first. However, she gets major Zero points for being ready and prepared. Coolest thing? She has no water pressure at the moment but she does have a full swimming pool…niiiiiiice. Why is that cool? Because, my friend, you then have several thousand gallons of chlorinated water to bathe and wash with…and flush toilets. Even with a some minor hurricane debris like a lawn chair or some shingles in there, as long as you dont have the neighbors dog floating belly up it should be fine for non-potable uses. And a hot bath is a fine non-potable use.
=====
Bird flu. Hmmmm. As I read it, the situation is thus – an extremely virulent strain of flu is infecting birds across Asia and is now showing up in Europe. Migratory and wild birds are transmitting it to domestic birds. The concern is when/if the flu mutates to a version that jumps from birds to human.

The great flu pandemic of 1917 (I think thats the right year) was the last time we saw such a beastie. My grandmothers sister died in that one. There were stories, some more true than others, of rail/trolley cars starting with a load of healthy people and finishing the route with a load of corpses. The advent of modern air travel certainly would make the likelihood of infection spreading faster even greater. Not much you can do for it except be prepared to isolate yourself from other people. Might be a good idea to practice the most basic precaution against any infectious disease: soap and water. And for the love of Crom dont put your hands near your face after touching money, a doorknob, a telephone or anything else that a hundred wheezing, mucous-dripping people may have already touched. Buy the yuppie bottle of hand sanitizer and use it.

Is a government enforced quarantine a likely course of action in this case? The current administration seems to be thinking it is. Now, think about this…when the government says “Everyone MUST leave.” like in Hurricane Katrina, what happened? Right. So when the .gov says “Everyone MUST stay.” what do you think is going to happen. Uh-huh.

Hand sanitizer, soap, bleach, repeat.
=====
This is more personal politics than preparedness but….if you have one of those Big Brother neighborhood watch cameras monitoring your neighborhood you should know that paintball guns are readily available from a myriad of sources. That is all.
=====

Gasoline, guest sheeple, lightsticks, Mythbusters and experiments

Posted on by

Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.

Local gas prices are down about $0.35 from their high of almost $3 a few months ago. The prices are still, to me, high but then I've probably been spoiled in terms of gasoline prices. If you think that gas prices are unfairly high the solution is to either reduce your usage or use it more wisely. Seems cut and dried to me.

Anyway… the whole experience, which may very well be repeated in the future, certainly illustrated a bottleneck in our society…fuel availability. The preparedness experts have always said that in a major crisis fuel stations would be either unable to operate due to power concerns, out of gas, or rationed. We saw all of that in Texas and Luisiana this summer, so it went from being paranoid-theory-by-a-doomsaying-nutjob to hard fact. Shrug. I learned a lesson from it….stored fuel, treated for long-term storage, stored in a good container, and rotated on a schedule is just as important as all those cases of MRE's and AK ammo. I'd already known that fuel was important, but this reinforced it to a rpeviously unheard of degree. Even those of us who know to store fuel are, I bet, learning some lessons….like you can never have too much, that some containers are better than others, that people will be desperate when their tank guage reads 'E' and theres a 3/4 mile long line at the pump.

I think it was Frankilin who said something along the lines that experience was an expensive (or dear) school but some will learn at no other.

Me, I learn.
=====
A post over in the survivalist community asked what to do when the Big Day occurs and your relatives or firends who always said “Disaster? Heck, Im just going to come over and stay with you! Heh heh!” actually show up on your doorstep expecting to be able to take advantage of your farsightedness.

Tough call.

I don't have to worry about it because with one exception I dont have any friends who aren't into preparedness…at least, none that are close enough to actually come by. Now, I do have friends who are not as prepared as I, and I have some who are more prepared than I, but short of a catastrophic loss on their part none of them would show up without supplies. Of course, theres always simply not being home when the hordes come a-knocking…simply be at your #2 location…although for many of us that isnt a real choice yet.

I suppose, if it isnt too late, you simply keep your mouth shut and not let anyone know just how prepared you are. If its too late, well, then you either pretend youre not home or you start making some tough choices.
=====
I need to head up to CostCo and see if they have their annual Halloween cyalume lightstick package for sale….although it wouldnt surprise me if the lightstick manufacturers are dedicating their output to disaster relief efforts..after all, thats where the money is.
=====
Hats off to the Discovery channels 'Mythbusters' program. In the past, theyve experimented with some myths that have use to me… can you blow up a car by shooting into the gas tank? (nope) Will diving underwater save you from gunfire (yes..if your at more than 3' under) and that sort of thing. Latest episode I saw had them firing a .50 BMG into a swimming pool to see what happens. Surprisingly, the bullet failed to reach the bottom of the pool…instead, like every other high velocity bullet, it immediately started breaking up when it hit the water.

Box O' Truth (linked to in an earlier post) also did some even more impressive tests against bulletresistant glass and sandbags. The sandbag one was quite eye-opening and I reccomend it highly. It basically showd that a stacj of sandbags makes you impervious to most small arms fire…good to know.

Gasoline, guest sheeple, lightsticks, Mythbusters and experiments

Posted on by

Local gas prices are down about $0.35 from their high of almost $3 a few months ago. The prices are still, to me, high but then I’ve probably been spoiled in terms of gasoline prices. If you think that gas prices are unfairly high the solution is to either reduce your usage or use it more wisely. Seems cut and dried to me.

Anyway… the whole experience, which may very well be repeated in the future, certainly illustrated a bottleneck in our society…fuel availability. The preparedness experts have always said that in a major crisis fuel stations would be either unable to operate due to power concerns, out of gas, or rationed. We saw all of that in Texas and Luisiana this summer, so it went from being paranoid-theory-by-a-doomsaying-nutjob to hard fact. Shrug. I learned a lesson from it….stored fuel, treated for long-term storage, stored in a good container, and rotated on a schedule is just as important as all those cases of MRE’s and AK ammo. I’d already known that fuel was important, but this reinforced it to a rpeviously unheard of degree. Even those of us who know to store fuel are, I bet, learning some lessons….like you can never have too much, that some containers are better than others, that people will be desperate when their tank guage reads ‘E’ and theres a 3/4 mile long line at the pump.

I think it was Frankilin who said something along the lines that experience was an expensive (or dear) school but some will learn at no other.

Me, I learn.
=====
A post over in the survivalist community asked what to do when the Big Day occurs and your relatives or firends who always said “Disaster? Heck, Im just going to come over and stay with you! Heh heh!” actually show up on your doorstep expecting to be able to take advantage of your farsightedness.

Tough call.

I don’t have to worry about it because with one exception I dont have any friends who aren’t into preparedness…at least, none that are close enough to actually come by. Now, I do have friends who are not as prepared as I, and I have some who are more prepared than I, but short of a catastrophic loss on their part none of them would show up without supplies. Of course, theres always simply not being home when the hordes come a-knocking…simply be at your #2 location…although for many of us that isnt a real choice yet.

I suppose, if it isnt too late, you simply keep your mouth shut and not let anyone know just how prepared you are. If its too late, well, then you either pretend youre not home or you start making some tough choices.
=====
I need to head up to CostCo and see if they have their annual Halloween cyalume lightstick package for sale….although it wouldnt surprise me if the lightstick manufacturers are dedicating their output to disaster relief efforts..after all, thats where the money is.
=====
Hats off to the Discovery channels ‘Mythbusters’ program. In the past, theyve experimented with some myths that have use to me… can you blow up a car by shooting into the gas tank? (nope) Will diving underwater save you from gunfire (yes..if your at more than 3′ under) and that sort of thing. Latest episode I saw had them firing a .50 BMG into a swimming pool to see what happens. Surprisingly, the bullet failed to reach the bottom of the pool…instead, like every other high velocity bullet, it immediately started breaking up when it hit the water.

Box O’ Truth (linked to in an earlier post) also did some even more impressive tests against bulletresistant glass and sandbags. The sandbag one was quite eye-opening and I reccomend it highly. It basically showd that a stacj of sandbags makes you impervious to most small arms fire…good to know.

CFP-90

Posted on by

Mmmph! The GunPimp has two brand new never-been-issued CFP-90 packs with the often-missing daypack for sale. $150 ea. Grrr..

Anyone know what the going price is these days?

Economics of reloading

Posted on by

Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.

Im always surprised when someone tells me what a staggering good deal on ammo they got and the price, to me, seems rather high. The reason for this is because I do alot of reloading on my own and Im amazed more poeple don't. Yeah, theres a time element involved (which is mitigated if youre willing to pop a few hundred bucks for a top notch progressive press like the Dillon) but alot of times the savings are worth it.

Lets crunch some numbers…

Constants:
Powder is $18.00/# which comes out to $0.0025714 per grain
Primers are $17.50/1000, or $0.0175 each
We'll assume you have been saving your fired brass

9mm 115 gr. FMJ:
Bullets – $47.25/1000 or $0.04725 per bullet. We'll use 5.0 gr. of powder, or .$0.0128 worth.
Total cost for a cartridge: $0.07755, or $3.88 per 50 rounds.

Not bad, but 9mm is cheap enough to buy that you may as well not bother reloading for it (unless youre after some sort of exotic velocity or bullet).

.45 ACP, on the other hand, is never cheap…
Bullets – $85.80 or $0.0858 per 230 gr. FMJ bullet. We'll use 7.6 grains of powder, or $0.0195 worth.
Total cost for a cartridge: $0.1228, or $6.14 per 50 rounds.

The real savings is in the high end stuff…take, for example, a .30-06
Bullets – $98.70 for some 150 gr. Rem. soft points. $0.0987 per bullet. We'll use 52.5 grains of powder, or $0.1349 worth.
Total cost for a cartridge: $0.2511, or $5.02 per 20 rounds.

ANd, if youre one of the belted magnum guys, the .300 Win. Mag.:
Same bullet as the .30-06. 60 grains of powder, or $0.1542 worth.
Total cost for a cartridge: $0.2704 or $5.41 per 20 rounds.

.357 Magnum? (158 gr JHP)
Bullets – $64.45 or $0.06445 per bullet. We'll use 14 grains of powder, or $0.0385 worth.
Total cost for a cartridge: $0.1204 or $6.02 per 50 rounds.

“But Commander”, I hear you cry, “Who has the several hundred dollars necessary to buy the gear to get started?”
Fool! Only the weak and liberal democrats pay more than they have to!
You can get a decent setup from the folks at Lee for less than a hundred bucks. Not the best gear in the world, but it would load pistol ammo for you all day long on a single stage press. If you shoot .45 ACP at normally $10.99 a box you could pay for the setup within 21 boxes (1050 rounds)

If you dont mind spending a bunch more, RCBS makes a very good setup for about $300~.

Finally, the Dillon 550B or even the Square Deal are great for churning out lotsa ammo in a hurry.

Reloading is like any other hobby, you have to learn a few things but if youre worried about blowing yourself up you've got a very melodramatic idea of whats involved. If you can follow a recipe, you can reload. Guys alot stupider than you, and with worse equipment, have done it for years.

However, Im of the mind that you still need factory ammo. Why? Couple reasons. First of all, no matter how much experience I have and no matter how good I am at reloading, I'm going to feel a bit more comfortable with quality commercially loaded ammo (and that means Win., Rem., Fed., etc….not Texas Discount Reloads). Secondly, if, for whatever reason, I have to use ammo for trading I am going to be far more likely to take quality 'name-brand' commercial ammo than suspect reloads…and that works both ways – a fella is more likely to take a sealed box of factory ammo from me in trade than a drawstring bag filled with mixed-headstamp .223 reloads. Really, its a perception thing.

One other aspect to reloading thats worth considering if you dont already reload is the versatility. For example,

  • you can reload subsonic ammo for your supressed toys. 
  • You can reload ammo in a configuration that is not normally served by the factories (example, you have a 98 Mauser in 8mm but want to shoot a subsonic lead roundball for whacking squirrels). 
  • You can make armour piercing or tracer ammo in a non-standard caliber (somewhat illegal, mind you. However, you'd have the ability to pull the bullet from a perfectly legal round of .30-06 M2 AP ammo and reload that bullet into your .300 Ultramag whcih would give you some hideously nasty penetrative power. Seen it done with a .300 H&H…drilled a hole through about 1″ of steel plate.) This will also work with pulling steelcored bullets from .223 SS109 and dropping them in your .22-250 or [shudder] .220 Swift.
  • One more thing to think about, and this is for all of us tinfoil-beanie crowd… when they change the laws to require you to sign for ammo, or tax it to the point of unaffordability, or regulate the caliber/bullet you can use (which is already done in some places), or make it unavailable at all (as done in CA during the LA riots) you will be able to churn out whatever ammo you need free from intrusive .gov snooping.

Suggestions:
Lee Anniversary Kit – $100~
RCBS Rock Chucker Supreme Reloading Kit –