Monthly Archives: July 2023

Long-term food at WinCo

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WinCo is at it again. For those of you who are local, or who are willing to make the drive into town, we are talking about the Winco at Reserve & South. They had the Augason Farms products again but his ime with something new…fake meat. They had ‘ground beef substitute’ which as we all know is code for TVP. Now, being a good survivalist as well as someone who reads food labels, i can tell you that TVP is a long-time staple of many preparedness-marketed foods. Real long-term-ready meat is not cheap. But TVP is. So when you roll up on a bucket of survival food and it mentions ‘hearty chili’ or somesuch, check that label. Odds are high that the beef you think is in that stew or chili is actually TVP.

Now, if TVP actually was indistinguishable from the real deal, I would be a supporter of it. But I have tried TVP and I have tried preparing it in a dozen different ways. I have never had an episode where I got a mouthful of it and thought it was indistinguishable from real meat. Maybe if you cook it up in enough taco seasoning and add enough salsa you might overlook it’s non-meat texture and favor but…no.

However….it is a great protein source that stores wll (but then again, so is rice & beans). Anyway, its there if you want it. They are also selling cans of beef stew vegetable blend, so get a can of the veggies, a can of the beef TVP, a gallon or two of water and you’ve got post-apocalyptic dinner in hand.

Whether you like TVP or not (and Im in the ‘not’ camp) you have to be practical and realize that for its intended use (keeping you from starving during the Bad Times) it’s actually a good product. However, its not for me and I’d rather simply store real meat..either canned or freeze-dried.

Anway, its up at WinCo and even if you’re not into the TVP, there’s still some other stuff up there worth picking up.

Paratus approaches

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Hey kids…a gentle reminder that this year Paratus falls on Sept. 15th. For those of you familiar with Paratus, the holiday by and for survivalists, no introduction is needed. However, if you’re new here you should go read the world famous Paratus FAQ and learn about your holiday.

Paratus cards are at the printer and will be sent out at the appropriate time. How do you get on the Paratus card list? Usually by either engaging with me throughout the year, or kicking into Patreon and providing me a mailing address. A smaller percentage of people will get gifts in addition to a card. The gifts will, of course, follow the gift-giving rubric in the FAQ.

An d, of course, you are more than welcome to send me a Paratus card/gift of your own. Make sure to poke some holes in the box so she can breathe 😉

Range day

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Went to the range for Independence Day and did a bit of shooting because ‘Murica.

Put a Magpul vertical foregrip and backup sights on the JAKL and fired another 100 rounds through it. No hiccups. And the bolt hold open is now functioning with the Pmags, so it looks like after about 300 rounds this thing is doing everything it should.

SO, have my impressions about it changed? Nope. It’s basically an AK in .223 with AR ergos. It has its pluses and minuses over an AR. It’s more compact and it can be shot without cleaning a good bit longer than the AR. Because it has moving parts up front along the barrel, it won’t be as accurate as an AR but it’ll certainly be ‘accurate enough’ for the sort of tasks a gun like this would be called up for.

In .223 there’s a good bit of variety these days…AR, Mini14, AK, AR180, Beretta, Sig, FN, etc. Seems like everyone makes a pew-machine in .223 these days. Not like in the old days. But although the AR still has detractors, (I know a Vietnam vet who swears up and down that the AR platform is garbage, but his experience discounts almost 60 years of development and improvement) it is probably the most developed, refined, and improved semi-auto rifle that ever existed.

When its time to run out the door with a rifle, I’ll grab the AR over the JAKL but that’s mostly because of the long and proven track record of the AR platform. But, I have to say, so far I’m liking the JAKL and plan to do a good bit more shooting with it. At the moment, I’m putting it below the AR but above the Mini14.

‘Murica

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It’s Independence Day (if you call it ‘4th of July’ then, for the sake of consistency, you should call Christmas ’25th of December’). Independence comes from self-determination and, as Heinlein said, “…willingness to do sudden battle anywhere, any time and with utter recklessness.”

And nothing says ‘freedom’ like being proficient and prodigious with your thundertoys.

Shoot your fireworks, cook your hot dogs, drink your beer. But those things aren’t what gave us this holiday. Guns and the willingness to use them did.

The range. Go.