Monthly Archives: September 2025

50th anniversary model Mini-14

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I’m a bit of a Ruger fan boy but it’s not really about brand loyalty, its mostly because Ruger, in my opinion and experience, makes guns that are brutally rugged and durable. And thats kind of a quality thats important to me. I love me some Smith and Wesson, but I think that, over a lifetime of medium- and heavy-handloads, the Ruger product will hold up better. Is it as nicely finished as the Smith? No. Is it bulkier than the Smith? Usually. But when handguns have been illegal for twenty years and getting spare parts is not part of the equation any more, I suspect Ruger will the the boomtoy that’s still chugging along.

And before anyone chimes in, yeah Bill Ruger stabbed gun owners in the back. But..he’s been dead for almost 25 years and every restrictive policy he had has been quietly relegated to the dustbin of corporate history. If you really want to boycott Ruger from something from 25 years ago, be my guest…but be consistent. Smith collaborated with the feds on restrictive firearms policies too. And Colt knocked the bayonet lugs off their AR’s long before the 1994 Assault Weapons ban. So..be consistent.

Anyway, I’ve always had a fascination with the Mini-14. Back in the day, if you wanted a .223 (or 5.56) carbine to face down the invading Red hordes with, you were either gonna have a Colt AR or a Mini-14. (Yes, there were other .223’s out there…Valmet, HK, etc….but they were rare and expensive exceptions). The Mini-14, back in those days, was the cheaper alternative to the AR. Nowadays it is wildly reversed with a regular Mini-14 dealering out at around 1/3 to 1/2 again as expensive as a mid-tier AR.

But…I’ve always kinda like the Mini-14 for its old-world style. As such, I couldn’t resist but pick up Rugers 50th anniversary model of the Mini.

The walnut stock is a nice touch. Unfortunately, with the demise of Tapco, the number of readily avaialble, and reliable, aftermarket mags has dropped to zero. Fortunately I stocked up on the Tapco’s when I had the chance. And, with a carefully thought out buying plan, I can probably swing a factory mag or two every month for the next year or so.

Does this thing do anything better than an AR? Well, it flies under the radar a little better, but thats about it. But, not every gun has to be for serious situations. Still, while it would never be my first choice for running out the door, there are far worse choices. Nah, this thing is just for fun and a bit of nostalgia…although, I suppose if worst comes to worst, it could be pressed into yeoman service and do the job.

By the by, I guarantee you that the comments will include something about how someone bought a Mini-14 in 1989 and couldn’t hit the broad side of the barn if they were standing in it. The oderl Mini’s definitely had a reputation for….shall we say….’questionable accuracy’. However, the new barrel design and assembly has alleviated that problem. To my old eyes, its about as accurate as an open sighted AR.

This’ll  be the last Mini-14 I buy unless I come across a used one at a very good price. These things are simply too expensive for what they are to buy new. But…I really liked the looks of this one with its walnut stock, M1 sling setup, flash hider, and bayo lug.

 

Article – Everytown wants stricter laws on guns. Now, they’ll also teach you to use one

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Malcolm X famously said “Only a fool would let his enemy teach his children.” That came to mind the other day when I saw this article:

Some activists devoted to ending gun violence had to look twice at the source of the ads for firearms training that flashed on their computer screens. Everytown for Gun Safety, which has made its name advocating for stricter gun laws and preventing violence, is now offering courses for gun owners.

This seems to be rather upsetting to some people who formerly supported organizations like Everytown. And, one of those supporters, said the quiet part out loud:

“Our mission is to reduce gun violence and keep people from having guns in their homes and here you are giving a gun safety class that encourages gun ownership.”

Did you catch that? Gun safety..reasonable, ‘commonsense’ gun laws….but what they really want is to “keep people from having guns in their homes”.

If I had a friend who wanted to learn how to shoot, do I send them to the program run by the organization that is trying to tamp down my civil rights? Or do I send them the othe program run by the organization that claims to support my rights as it collects and spends money like a multi-level marketing scheme? Correct answer: neither. I take them to the range as often they like and show them what they need to know. Would I trust some outfit like Everytown to teach someone how to shoot without them slipping in some of the ‘common sense’ and ‘reasonable’ ideas about ‘gun control safety’? Heck no, but I also wouldn’t trust an NRA-sponsored course to be politically neutral either.

The best I can hope for is that whoever is taking the class, from organizations on either side of the issue, is intelligent enough to see the different perspectives and do their own research and make up their own mind. But, thats asking alot from the humans we seem to have these days.

Article – Meet the People Who Eat 100-Year-Old Military Rations

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Nathan Abernathy reviews all kinds of foods, but the meal he was about to dig into was special. It had been prepared in 1965. 

The Missouri resident had secured a U.S. military ration from the Vietnam War. On the menu? Canned pork slices, tinned peaches, crackers, a pastry and instant coffee. 

Abernathy carefully inspected the items. The coffee creamer had congealed and was “hard as steel,” he said in a video posted on YouTube. The pastry smelled like “something orange, with rancid nuts in it.” And when he tried to pry open the can of peaches, it exploded—spraying decades-old fruit shrapnel onto the ceiling.

Ultimately, Abernathy, now 47, drank the coffee and nibbled on the crackers. “They don’t taste too bad,” he said, though he added, “my ‘not too bad’ is probably pretty bad for your average joe.” He stayed away from the pork slices.

YouTube has several channels where people munch on things that you’d never imagine wanting to eat. The military rations are, often, quite interesting. I remember seeing Russian rations and, boy, I’m not making an excuse for committing war crimes but I’d be pretty cranky if I had to eat the crap that Ivan was having to choke down.

The US doesn’t have the best rations, but its far from the worst. The Canadians, amusingly, appear to be mostly single-serving stuff you can find in a WalMart and thrown together in a heat-sealed baggie.

I have a few cases of military rations laying about, but theyre for a very particular type of emergency. For most emergencies, whatever is in the cupboards will work just fine, and then there’s the freeze drieds and bulk stuff for when things get really weird. The MRE’s are mostly for that “We are going portable NOW” moment.

Fascinating reading viewing though. And some of these countries, like Japan for example, put some pretty awesome tech into their dining experiences.

The price paid for vigilance and awareness

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Sorry for the quiet the last few days, guys. Just busy at work and ‘real life’ (such as it is).

Not that there isn’t a lot to chew over.Seems like the Mauser rifle is seeing a bit of a re-emergence these days.

I’ve been, as of late, running over the current events and trying to think how they do/don’t/might affect me. Just off the top of my head, there’s cyberattacks that disrupted air travel, a large seizure of a cell pphone system that, supposedly, could have been used to disrupt communications, the Russians are taunting Poland and NATO, political violence has become in vogue, precious metals are soaring as faith in the greenback slides, and I’m sure I’m overlooking even more.

So what’s my concern? Supply chain disruption, at the moment. I’m not really worried about food, electricity, and that sort of thing. But I am thinking that I need to evaluate what critical items might encounter problems if shipping and commerce is disrupted by cyberattacks, tariff wars, localized disturbances, banking issues, etc. For me, I suppose the possible vulnerabilities are spare parts for my truck, generator, foreign-made firearms, and a few other things.

While there is always a degree of uncertainty in every day’s fortune, the stakes are sometimes higher, and sometimes lower, than at other times. Nowadays, the stakes seem pretty high. As of late I’ve been making sure that there’s plenty of cash on hand (in case of bank ‘holidays’..government induced or cyberattack-induced), a healthy amount of precious metals, and that the ammo levels are topped off. Can’t say why…just makes me feel safer.

Maybe the feeling of pensiveness is the result of watching and absorbing too much news (“doomscrolling”). But what choice is there? There is obviously a clear need to be informed on matters that are decidedly unpleasant. I need to know war news, terrorism news, economic news, social disturbance news, etc, etc. If I want to keep myself and those I care about in as safe a position as possible, then I need to be aware and informed. Such is the price of vigilance, I suppose.

A person could make an argument that ‘quality of life’ is diminished by this sort of thing. Perhaps. But, for me, being ‘on top of things’ and in a position to be ‘ready for anything’ is what enhances my quality of life. Still, it seems a little difficult these days to not feel like theres a shoe waiting to drop somewhere out there.

 

 

Paratus AAR

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How was my Paratus? Well, I got some very nice and thoughtful gifts from a few people this year and I am very grateful, and very touched at the generosity. I got stamps, bullets, magazines, borescopes, cards, greenmail, and a few other goodies as well. (And if I didnt mention your generous gift there, its just me being too lazy to sit down and comprise a list…your gift is appreciated, thank you!)

I also got more than a few emails from various people saying that theyve been following the property purchase saga and how they bought their property 5, 10, 15, 20 years ago and here’s the lessons they learned and want to pass on. I’ve gotten several of those emails and I really do appreciate, and take to heart, every one of them. A broad section of advice from folks who have BTDT is a powerful tool, and I thank you for sharing your experiences.

This year’s Paratus, like every year, always seems to have something hanging ominously in the air…pandemic, war, economy, assassinations,etc. But thats one of the things Paratus is for…to remind us that we do the things we do in order to be prepared against the unknown. We all know it’s going to happen, we just don’t know when…so, we prepare. Paratus is a day to recognize our efforts and maybe pat ourselves and our friends on the back and say ‘good job…you’re on the right track.’ And its a good time to re-focus, re-group, and re-engage on those things that maybe we haven’t been paying as much attention to as we should have.

So…that was Paratus 2025. On to 2026!

 

Paratus 2025

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Happy Paratus, guys!

Today is the holiday for, by, and of survivalists.  Bask in your uniqueness! Spend time with your fellow bunker-dwellers! Exchange gifts, go shooting, and have a good time!

Like any other holiday, its what you make it…so make it memorable!

Paratus 2025

Cover

Inside

Back

Paratus mailings

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Its been a bit of a hectic week and while most peoples Paratus cards went out Monday, there are still three or four packages sitting here that I’m not going to be able to get out until tomorrow. So, better late than never, I suppose.

One other item of interest was brought to my attention by a couple of people this week. A couple folks emailed me to let me know that they were getting warnings about malware or security certificate issues from this website. Unfortunately, I know nothing about that sort of thing so I suspect I’ll be having to spend a lot of time with Google and WordPress to try and see what the issue is without accidentally burning this place to the ground. Wish me luck.

Water and property

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From the realtor:

Hello, I see what you are talking about. He does not have an easement. I just spoke to him on the phone, and he is a nice guy who has been getting his water from that source for many years. His name is [REDACTED] and his number is [REDACTED]. I would prefer to spoke to him directly and maybe come to an agreement. I have his permission to share his name and number with you.

He said that the water station is on the property to the East but its very hard to know for sure without a survey. On X is close but no completely reliable.

Sooooooo….thats a no on the easement. Which means, IF the borders shown were correct, the piping and watering station are on the listed property. But thats too big an ‘if’ to take into a conversation with this guy. I need to be 100% sure of (literally) where I stand in regard to property lines.

End of the line

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So whats at the end of that polypipe I mentioned a few posts back? This:

I walked a bit of the property using onX GPS/maps. OnX, as well as the Mt Cadastral, it appears, assuming the borders were accurate, that this little watering station is about 30-40 feet on the inside of the border  of the property. This leads to a whole pile of questions…

If, and this is a key ‘if’, the borders shown on the Onx/GPS are correct then there needs to be an easement for this thing. If there’s not an easement, that opens up the possibility of a ‘mutual agreement’ that lets him not have to move the thing and gives me some access to that water. Or, if there’s no easement, it could just go from 0 to 60 and become an adverse possession issue or some such. So…I need to absolutely confirm the location of the property border to see if this thing is on their side or ‘my’ side, and I need to find out if theres an easement. Even if there is an easement, does that easement include putting a watering station on the property vs. just having a pipe running across it?

It appears gravity fed. I GPS’d the elevation at the watering station, and then I GPS’d the elevation of where I’d likely build. A difference of about 40 feet with the watering station being lower. In theory, as I figure it, this means that there could be gravity feed to a nearby holding tank or cistern and then the water pumped the last 40′ to the site. Need to think that one through.

So, one mystery solved and several more made.

Hamilton Gun Show

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Plans for this weekend? Well, the Hamilton gun show is today. I didn’t really see any guns at the show that I really really wanted, but as is my custom I stopped by the gun shops between here and Hamilton on the way back ‘just in case’. Stopped in at Frontier Guns which is becoming my favorite gun shop rather quickly, in terms of getting some deals on things. Walked in and saw a pair of Eotech 512 holosights for sale. Seeing a pair of them used together was a little odd so I asked the obvious question:

  • Me: These are police trade-ins?
  • Him: Yeah, the Hamilton PD swapped them out.
  • Me: Really? What’d they swap to?
  • Him: <Embarassed look> Holosuns.
  • Me: <Thoughtful pause>..Seriously?
  • Him: On their Palmetto Armory’s.
  • Me: <In the same voice you console a friend with cancer> They, uhm…They don’t have much of a budget, do they?
  • Him: No. No, they do not.

So, I asked him to make me a deal for the pair. He knocked $50 off each one and I got the pair for $275 ea. With box-n-docs.

One of them is going on my MP5A3-clone and the other…haven’t decided yet. And while I was there I found a box full of HKS speedloaders for k-frame Smiths. Now, when I carry a revolver its usually either a j-frame like my 642 I carry at work or an L-frame-ish gun like the GP-100. I seldom carry around a k-frame .38. However, I do have a Ruger Police Six which is .357 and has the same dimensions as a k-frame. This means the speedloaders will work just fine in it. And, since it’s identical to a k-frame in terms of dimensions, it fits juuuuuuust fine in this El Paso Saddlery holster I found in a used holster bin at the gun show for $40.

I need some square-butt Pachmayr Grippers if anyone needs an idea for a Paratus gift. 😉

Also picked up a Bianchi 7L holster for one of my Berreta 92’s ($40) as well as a Safariland 6280 ($20) holster for my Glock 34. First gun show where I walked out with holsters and nothing else. The fellow selling the holsters had a few other El Paso’s at similar prices but they were for guns I don’t have. However, I must say, those EPS holsters are some fine pieces of work. Theyre expensive, no two ways about it, but if you can find a used one you can save some major coin.

Off to do some ‘boots on the ground’ tomorrow at the potential property purchase. I wanna see exactly where that polypipe goes and I need to eyeball some of the grown over entry points on the map. Also wanna get some dimensions on the buildable area that is there. So…into the woods tomorrow.