Originally published at Notes From The Bunker. You can comment here or there.

Went grocery shopping this evening and, to my delight, the local supermarket had a half dozen shopping carts up front with “75% OFF LOWEST MARKED PRICE” signs hanging of ‘em Well! Nothing gets my curiosity piqued more than the chance to get a bargain. As expected, it was mostly after-Christmas sale stuff. Lots of chocolate Santas that I wisely ,but reluctantly, took a pass on.

75% off? Don’t mind if I do…..

So, I started spelunking through red-n-green foil cupcake holders, red-n-green food coloring, and all the other Christmas-y themed stuff and, to my delight, spied this:

Why, it’s Sterno. The favored drink of hardcore alcoholics and an excellent fuel source for low-level emergencies and indoor cooking use. Being the smart fella I am, I did the math….$6.39 x .25 (since its 75% off) = $1.60. And since these are two cans to a pack, thats $0.80 per can. Schweeeeet.

Well, at that price wouldn’t *you* have cleaned them out too?

The grocery checkout guy was a little mathematically challenged…he thought 75% off meant that these cans were half priced. :::facepalm::: Then he realized his mistake and that 75% off meant you multiplied the price by .75 to get the new price. :::double-facepalm::: By consensus, a claculator, and a bit of peer pressure we managed to get the correct price although I think he genuinely didnt understand how that price was arrived at. No biggie…I got what I wanted and, for me, thats all that matters.

I’m tellin’ ya, man…a Folding Stove, a couple cans of this stuff, a few bottles of water, a canteen cup, and a buncha freeze drieds would all fit in a 5-gallon bucket and give you some nice options in a crisis. Seal up the bucket and you’d be watertight, airtight, crushproof and ready for anything…just tuck it away and wait for the hurricanes.

Man, I love me some awesome bargains!

Originally published at Notes From The Bunker. You can comment here or there.

I think that I will refer to 2013 as “The Year Of The Weasel”. I’m not expecting anything good out of it, and thus far there’s plenty to be angry about…and thats with the year just being a day old.

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While traipsing around the internet I came across this company selling pre-cast storm shelters. What made it noteworthy, to me, was the demo video of them dropping/swinging farm equipment and cars into it from nearby cranes to test the resistance to impact. Very. Cool. If I lived in a place where tornadoes were likely, I’d probably have something like this dropped in my backyard. Ugly, bulky and heavy but it beats being impaled by a 2×4 in 100 mph winds. The video is cool to watch but the guy narrating it has a bit of a charisma problem. He’s an engineer so I suspect being the life of the party was never a strong suit…but I bet he can roll the hell out of a D20.

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The current buying frenzy extends into Amazon. While Amazon doesn’t sell much in the way of AR mags, they do sell other goodies…shotgun magazine extensions, Magpul parts, etc, etc. I had a couple Rem 870 mag extensions on my wish list and when I went to look the other day – surprise! – all out-of-stock. Shoulda expected that. Even things that are unlikely to be banned are flying off Amazon. I suppose it makes sense that if you suddenly picked up a dozen stripped lowers somewhere youre probably going to need a dozen Magpul pistol grips, MOE stocks, lower parts kits, etc, etc….hence the unavailability of things that are highly unlikely to be banned.

I went ahead and bit the bullet and picked up a little something for myself. Not because I think they’re going to ban something as harmless as a flashlight-forend, but because once the supply is gone it might be six or twelve months until I see another one. I’ve been meaning to tweak out one of my 870′s a bit so I might as well get started.

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Year Of The Weasel, man……..

Originally published at Notes From The Bunker. You can comment here or there.

I am not a fan of open flame devices for most indoor applications. I have  kerosene heaters that I keep for backup heating and kerosene lanterns for backup lighting, but I also use them very carefully and with a plethora of fire-extinguishing materials on-hand. As Washington said, fire “is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.” Meaning, it’s quite useful but it comes with some big risks.

I am not a fan of candles for indoor use at all. They provide minimal lighting and a disproportionate amount of risk for that meager illumination. They are certainly better than nothing, but I’d rather spend the $10 for a cheap LED light and a fistful of batteries.

The exception to my disdain for these sorts of things is the candle lantern. The candle is encased in a protective housing that affords a measure of security that, while not eliminating the risks, reduces them a small amount. Tip over a candle lantern and you probably won’t set the house on fire.

What I really like about candle lanterns, however, is their use for vehicle emergency kits. In the enclosed space of a vehicle, a candle lantern will provide a good amount of light and, more importantly, a small amount of heat. (Plus, on a lizard-brain level, controlled fire has a calming soothing effect…it’s hard to be miserable around a campfire.) Obviously there is a carbon monoxide issue but keeping the window open just a crack oughtta take care of that. (I suppose if youre really hardcore you might carry a battery CO detector in your car kit for when you use something like this.)

The candle lanterns I have for the vehicle are these guys: UCO Original Candle Lantern Value Pack. Because I’m an evil yuppy survivalist, I purchased a few extras for it…the reflectors and a padded carry case. Throw in a handful of extra candles, a couple packets of matches, and you’re off to the races. Surprisingly, when used with the reflectors there is a fair amount of light thrown…not enough to ever replace even the most lamest LED light, but you could certainly navigate through a darkened structure. However, as I said, I got these for use in case we ever got stuck in the snow somewhere. Hang it from the rear-view mirror and let it warm the place up and give us some light to be seen by. Although I don’t need them for household use, I have a few spares in storage that could be drafted for indoor use if necessary but, as I said, I don’t care for the risks involved…thats why I have so many LED lights and batteries.

There are some knockoffs out there but I’ve been using the UCO-branded candles and lanterns and like them very much. I count them as a tertiary-level (or deeper) level of backup lighting but in some cases they might be just the ticket. Anyway, I bring them to your attention in case you hadn’t already been aware of them.

Originally published at Notes From The Bunker. You can comment here or there.

So, the nice thing here is that if you’re willing to spend twenty bucks on someone for a gift, you can look really generous and simply get them two different ten dollar gifts instead…then you look even more generous because, hey, two is one and one is none, right?

So, this is the followup to the post about ten dollar gift ideas for the LMI in your life. Twenty bucks is usually the limit for me for a gift for someone I’m not having sex with or expecting to partner up with me in a crisis. (Although in some cases, the two are the same.)

Anway, here’s some ideas for less than twenty bucks for the buddies in your tight-knit group of LMI:

U-Dig-It – I originally thought this was a stupid product but then I thought about it…why damage a blade by using your knife to dig a small hole? This thing folds compact, is stainless steel, and perfect for those ‘calls of nature’. It won’t substitute for an entrenching tool but if youre travelling light while hunting, camping or hiking this thing is great for digging latrine holes, fire pits, etc, etc.

Non Sparking Aluminum Drum Wrench – Those happy little blue barrels that we use for storing water and bulk grain? Pain in the ass to get into without a bung wrench. Sure, you can get away with using the jaws of a pair of pliers but why not have a tool specifically for the task? I usually keep one of these paracorded to every other drum.

Water Jel Burn Jel, Pain Relief 25 ea – This stuff is a must for burn treatment. If you’ve ever had a burn that just would not stop aching for hours and hours, you’ll want this stuff. I try to keep a few packets of this stuff in all my first-aid kits. Really good stuff and worth the price. An excellent addition to the well stocked personal first-aid kit.

Quikclot Sport Brand Advanced Clotting Sponge ,Stop Bleeding Fast, 50 Gram Package – What can be said about this stuff? Between this and the Israeli compress bandages you’d have a handle on anything that doesn’t require a hemostat to shut down.

Surefire Spares Executive Series Carrier – Awesome carrier for the CR123 batteries that we wind up using so much. Waterproof, dustproof, keeps batteries from contacting each other, and has a lanyard and attachment point. Excellent way to carry those spares.

HiViz Glock Sight Tool – Glock switched from the stake-n-pin front sights to a threaded style a few years ago. But its a damn small bolt they use and getting something to fit it is a major pain. This little tool is exactly what the Glocktor ordered.

55 Gallon Water Preserver Concentrate – Water from most municipal systems that meet Federal standards are already loaded down with enough chlorine that something like this isn’t necessary. But, it doesn’t hurt to play it safe.

Platypus Hoser Hydration System and Platypus Platypus® plusBottleTM – I really like these two products. The only real difference between the two is the drink tube which can be swapped between them. I really like these soft-sided water carriers for most roaming around…you can squeeze the air out of them so they dont slosh, and when empty they roll up and take up virtually no space in a bag. I’ve had one for about five years now and it’s still going strong with  no signs of leaking or punctures.

Cyalume ChemLight Military Grade – Lightsticks are great for when you want a disposable light source you can leave to mark pathways, tag items, or otherwise leave behind. If youre really creative you can cut one open and ‘paint” with the glowing liquid…great for leaving little glowy drops as a trail. Since its a chemical reaction and not electrical, theres no problem using them in wet environments…or even underwater. I keep a couple in every room of the house to use to find my way to a better lighting source in case of power failure.

SOL Emergency Bivvy – I like these far better than the classic foil mylar space blankets…they’re compact and much easier to use. I always have one in my bag whenever I go out in the boonies. Great stocking stuffer for the guy who likes to spend a lot of time off in the woods on his own.

Etón USB Cell Phone Charger with Hand Crank – Read about it here.

Maxpedition Gear Volta Battery Pouch – This is one of my favorite cases for carrying spare AA batts (although CR123 will fit as well, but for those I like the Surefire carrier.) Handy pouch holds a two piece plastic compartment that holds 8 AA batts. Handy!

There ya go..that should be enough under-twenty-buck suggestions to make sure no two people on your list get the same gift. And, hey, don’t forget yours trully when youre shopping for those goodies.

Originally published at Notes From The Bunker. You can comment here or there.

Well that sure took longer than I anticipated:

I shouldnt complain, the turnaround time was really only four weeks.

These are the plates from this.

Originally published at Notes From The Bunker. You can comment here or there.

A few years ago (and it must have been quite a few years ago because I can’t find it in my almost ten years of blog posts) the LMI and I were in a surplus store and found a size extra-small flak jacket. You know, one of those Vietnam/Nation Guard vests that look like an olive life preserver. (Technically, I guess thats exactly what it is, come to think of it.) Anyway, being an oddball size it was an easy thing to figure let’s spend $15 on it, take it to the range, and see what happens.

If youre the TL;DR type, here it is succinctly: all pistol except super-fast bullets were stopped. No .45 ACP, no 9mm, no .40 S&W, no .38 Special penetrated the vest. The handgun bullets that did penetrate were lightweight (180 gr.) .44 bullets driven at ‘dont try this at home’ velocities and uber-light (95 gr.) JHP’s out of a .357 with similar speeds. Both those bullets were approaching low-end rifle velocities so no surprise there since penetration in conventional firearms is almost always more about velocity than bullet construction. You push a gumball fast enough, it’ll penetrate.

Once we’d exhausted the gamut of pistol calibers and various loadings it was time to move onto the rifles. No surprises there. Shredded kevlar was everywhere. Nothing was stopped.

None of this is going to be a surprise to anyone with a logical mind. Flak jackets were designed to stop irregular shaped pieces of metal at moderate velocities. A .451″ piece of lead traveling at 950 fps is pretty close to that demographic. Higher velocity stuff will just whip through it.

So, in a nutshell, yes they’ll stop most non-magnum pistol rounds and .22. They will not stop anything from a rifle (unless its a rifle that shoots pistol cartridges). Better than nothing, and cheap enough (usually) that almost everyone can at least afford one, but there are better choices if you can swing it.

ETA: It would be criminally negligent of me to forget to mention that if you want real-world info on what will and will not stop a bullet, not armchair theory, then you need to head over to The Box O’ Truth. Shooting bullet proof glass, kevlar vests, sheetrock, car doors….these guys do it all and the information is priceless.

And here’s where they shot a flak jacket and chronicled the results.