Needle drop

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Did I ever mention my own experiences with the Wuhan Flu?

My Big Boss is out right now with Covid. The other two people I share an office with have had it…more than once. My mini-boss has had it. About 80% of my office, at some point, has had it. So far I have not. And..I’m not vaccinated.

Back in late 2019/early 2020 me and a buddy both got sick for about three weeks. We were miserable. And then came the news that the Chinese had this new virus. I suspect with almost 100% certainty that me and my buddy were one of the ‘early adopters’ of Covid. I distinct;ly remember working at Cabela’s gun counter and we kept bottles of hand sanitizer and wipes on the counter every few feet because ‘theres a really nasty bug going around this winter’. I am certain it was the arrival of Covid.

Since then, I haven’t been sick. No cold, no nothin’.And I dismissed it as a somewhat more virulent version of the flu so I never bothered to get the shot.

For the record, I also don’t get flu shots every year either. I’m reasonably healthy, no comorbidities, am in decent shape, and don’t have any pre-existing conditions. For me, I saw no need to go get a shot that was brand new and without a long track record. I’m not saying vaccines don’t work…I’m just saying I’m not gonna be the ‘early adopter’ who gets batch #0001.

So, I’ve spent the last four years being unvaccinated and not getting sick. I’m no medical expert, and all I have going for me is an opinion, but I think perhaps that ubernasty bug I caught four years ago was The Bug and since then my body has built up some resistance to it. Or I’m just lucky. :::shrug::: All I know is that I never saw the need for a vaccine shot for me so I never got one, and as time has gone by I haven’t regretted it.

I feel bad for people who didnt want to get one but were forced to at the threat of losing their jobs. The ‘vaccinate or else’ crowd has a lot to answer for, in my opinion.

Unfortunately, the whole Covid/Kung Flu experience has been a dress-rehearsal for how to control and clamp down on a population. Fly the flag of ‘health emergency’ and people were lining up to be vaccinated, masked, denied access to healthcare, denied access to grocery stores, denied access to public transport, denied access to…well…everything. It would be a bit intellectually dishonest for me to say that my non-vaccinated status didn’t gave me a bit of satisfaction whenever someone pontificated about how ‘those people’ needed to be brought to heel whether they wanted it or not.

And now…wow..we went from ‘self quarantining’ for 14 days, to a week, to five days, to ‘just stay home if you have a fever’. Hmmm.

The more astute people will say that the current flavor of Covid isnt the same as the one that started all this and therefore the inconsistency in the range of precautions is to be expected. I really can’t respond to that. All I know is that whatever I had four years ago was the last thing that knocked me on my tail and all these ‘new’ variants seem to have passed my unvaxxed butt by.

This has been my experience though. And it was my decision to not get vaccinated. And it was my willingness to accept the consequences of that decision. And I fully recognize that, perhaps, in the long term it was a foolish choice. Or maybe it wasn’t. I guess I won’t know for a while. But I sure am interested in how the narrative has changed so much from what it used to be. It seems like the world basically panicked and threw everything at the wall to see what stuck, and now we’re finding out that perhaps we overreacted. And all it cost us was the economy, jobs, liberty, and vitriol.

But .gov sure made out like a bandit, didn’t they? They got to discover that in addition to using the excuse of ‘security’ and ‘terrorism’, they can now get even better results by claiming ‘health emergency’ and the people will happily accept whatever is imposed on them. Thats the real long-lasting damage from this whole affair, if you ask me.

That pesky upcoming bleak future

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Well, I ordered some new grips for the Ruger Redhawk .357, they arrived,  and I’ll take it out tomorrow and see if that makes a difference. While I’m at it, I’ll also take the CZ457 ‘Jaguar’ .22 out for a spin and see how quiet a 29″ barrel is with another 8″ of suppressor on the end. I expect it to sound like a staplegun.

I didn’t watch the State of The Union speech yesterday because, well, it’s pretty predictable and I saw no need to rush into my first heart attack. Nice of whoever was feeding Biden lines to make sure to get that whole ‘assault weapon’ thing in there. I am amazed at how the Democrats never seem to learn that it’s not an issue that does them any favors. Republicans do the same thing with the abortion issue, and Libertarians just can’t let go of their drug legalization fantasies.

I have spent the last thirty years as a survivalist and I do think that every year I say “this coming year is the one that will justify everything I’ve done”. And…I’ve been right every year.This year will be no different.

Is the economy ‘the envy of the world’ as was said at the speech? Maybe. I suppose when everyone is dying of cancer the guy with ‘only’ diabetes is the envy of everyone else. But if you ran the question of ‘are things better now than they were four years ago’ I think you’d have a strong case for a negative response. Inflation, interest rates, foreign affairs, crime, and the price of gas….there’s a bit to look back at fondly a bit over four years ago.

Nothing is perfect, though, and we tend to look at the past with a bit of rose-tint. The future, on the other hand……is there anyone who thinks good things are in store? “Good” will be defined as things not going as badly as we expected.

As the man(?) said, the avalanche has started…it is too late for the pebbles to vote.There’s no magic pill that’s going to just make things better. Even if you elected the perfect candidate, you can’t unscramble these eggs overnight. No matter who gets elected, it’s still going to be a bumpy ride…just a question of whether its a bumpy ride towards the better or a bumpy ride towards the worse. Either way: bumpy ride.

But, hey, those are just observations and musings. What’s the useful part? I suppose the useful part is that it’s worth noting that no matter who gets elected, the ride is still gonna be humvee-at-55-mph bumpy. So don’t let your guard down thinking that ‘after the election the threat will be reduced’. Nope. Nada.

I’ll continue to do what I’ve always done: stay on top of food and supplies, avoid debt and liabilities, sock away cash and cash-like instruments, be ready for things to go (further) downhill, but also be prepared for them not to. What not to do is get complacent and think there’s a light at the end of the tunnel because someone is going to get/notget re-elected.

Tomorrow, in addition to the range, I’m heading to Winco, CostCo, and WalMart, and continue to keep the pantry full, the gas cans topped of, and supply shelves stocked. Then I’m going to spend time in my budget spreadsheet and make sure I’ve got enough cash tucked away for an emergency. And then it’s a trip to pick up some precious metals. And when it’s all over, I’ll feel like I have some control over my future instead of just being a victim of it. I recommend you do something similar. Weekends are two days: one to do what you want and one to do what you need. Invest a few hours in a more resilient future for you and your loved ones.

Pre-TEOTWAWKI survivalism, a.k.a. ‘life’

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If you polled a group of people about what ‘survivalists’ or ‘preppers’ do, I would wager that the majority of answers are something along the lines of ‘they prepare to survive and live through the end of the world (or some flavor of it).” Now, this is a reasonable, albeit uninformed, opinion to have. I mean, we have camouflage, guns, ammo, bunkers, night vision, freeze dried food, livestock, gold coins, etc, etc. These are things that, normally, are kinda regarded as ‘end of the world’ items. Apocalypse is nigh? Get thee some chickens and rabbits. That sort of thing.

But I disagree. You, right here right now, are engaged in survivalist activity. When everyone is driving their car down to ‘E’, you’re never letting it get below half-full (or half-empty, I suppose). When people blissfully walk out the door of their houses unarmed, you’re slipping some thundertoy in your pocket. They’re buying jet skis and big screens, you’re paying off debt and saving cash. In short, even before the bombs drop and the pathogens spread, you’re engaged in various acts of survivalism.

Survivalism is giving yourself as much advantage as possible for when something big and bad happens. If we were to sum up the nature of survivalism in one word, one idea, it would be resilience. For most anticipated unfortunate events we can’t be 100% proofed against them..a lot of that stuff is out of our control. But, while we can’t control what happens to us, we can control our response to it.

An example… I worry about being unemployed. I increase my resilience to that by trying to do a good job at work, but also by living within my means, keeping as much money as possible, and making sure I’m ready to go find new work if I have to. By not carrying debt, keeping plenty of cash, and keeping my skills up to date, I increase my resilience to losing a job. Contrast this with someone who lives off their credit cards, spends everything as fast as they get it, and never develop or grow professionally.

Another example…when I take road trips my biggest concern is getting stuck somewhere due to bad road conditions, fuel issues, vehicle problems, etc, etc. I increase my resilience to these threats by carrying water, extra fuel, backpacking gear, food, cash (notice that money is a multitool for pretty much every emergency), and that sort of thing. Contrast this with someone who just blithely hops in their truck for a four-hour drive and winds up running out of gas when the gas stations are closed, gets stuck on a closed highway due to snow, or winds up on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere with a busted u-joint.

The message I’m trying to communicate here is that as a survivalist, you aren’t engaging in survivalist activities after the bombs drop, but that you’re actually engaged in them pretty much 24/7 in your pre-TEOTWAWKI life.

Or..at least…you should be.

Here’s a truth that you can absolutely bank on: before the big EOTWAWKI happens you will face many smaller, personal ones. You may be in one right now. What do they look like? Job loss, divorce, medical emergency, foreclosure, busted transmissions, leaky water heaters, tennis-ball-swallowing dogs, vulnerable loved ones, home invasions, unexpected expenses, 2am phone calls, and a thousand other crises that mean nothing to everyone else but are paramount to you because they are happening to you.

THIS is going to happen ALOT more often.....

THIS is going to happen ALOT more often…..

…than THIS.

But if you’re a bit prepared for those events…youve increased your resilience against them…then, guess what, they aren’t EOTWAWKI events. They’re learning experiences. Or pains in the ass. Or simply and only…inconveniences. And I will happily trade EOTWAWKI for an inconvenience all day long.

So, moral of the story here – being a survivalist is an every day affair.

 

 

Sighting in

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While upgrading the sights on a firearms is always a worthy endeavour, the real pain in the tuchus comes from having to re-sight the bloody thing in. But it’s gotta be done.

As I mentioned, I had installed night sights on my favorite GP-100. It’s a very nice pistol..I got it from Caleb Giddings a number of years back and its got a nice smooth action to it. It really is my favorite .357 at the moment. And..wow, is it accurate. My preferred ammo is 8.0 gr. of Unique under a 158 gr. JHP. Not an earthshaking load, but not a powderpuff either. Cases eject cleanly from the cylinder, recoil is manageable, and, in my two GP-100s, it’s really really accurate. I shoot really well with this gun.

Anway, with the new night sights there was a need to re-sight the gun in and….it was great. Took about three cylinders to get things where I wanted and confirm where they were hitting and it was some tight groups. I’m pleased. I wouldn’t want to run the apocalypse with a revolver if I had a choice, but if I had to carry one through Ragnarok…. this little package would be hard to beat.

Sighting in the new 8-shot Redhawk, however, was a different story. I just could not get it to group nearly as well as the GP-100. I think part of the problem is the grips on the gun. Smooth hardwood that doesn’t really fill the hand well. I normally like Pachmayr Grippers on my revolvers, but the GP-100 has a Hogue Monogrip on it an I shoot that gun quite well. The smooth grips on the Redhawk make it hard to keep the same grip, recoil whips the gun around in my grip, etc, etc. Why do gun companies go through the expense of making these types of grips that are just going to call for replacements anyway? Frustrating.

But..I got to spend time at the range, had a very satisfying time with my GP-100, and crosses some stuff off my To-Do list. Calling it a win.

Night sights

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As pretty much everyone has noticed, it’s dark at least 50% of the time.

One of the nice things about the Ruger GP-100 series of pistols is an easiliy swappable front sight. In fact Ruger sells different colored inserts inserts of color so you can find pretty much whatever you want. Unfortuantely, a self-luminating (self-luminous?) front sight was not one of them. Not to fear, the free market abhors a vacuum. I went with the Meprolights since, to be honest, there’s not a huge amount of choices when it comes to revolver night sights, unlike, say, Glocks where everyone makes them.

The rear sight was an easy install, the front sight took a little time with a stone to remove a bit of excess material from the sight.

The finished product, of course, needs to go the range and be sighted in with my usual load of  Unique under a 158 gr. JHP.

I have met people who have said that night sights are pointless…if you can’t see your sights, then its dark enough you can see your target. I want to call this a rather stupid argument but I’m a bit more diplomatic than that so I’ll just call it ‘shortsighted’.

These arguments discount the possibility of scenarios where, for example, you may be standing in a darkened area but your target is in a lit area. Or the light is dim/fading and theres enough light to see a target but not quite enough light to rapidly acquire your sights.

But here’s the most important reason for me: because I believe they have a utility to me.

Crom forfend, but if I am ever in a situation where gunplay means the difference in terms of my immediate and long-term safety, I’m going to want every advantage possible. Night sights are an advantage.

I put night sights on all my Glocks, and whenever possible I add a tactical light as well.  I am surprised that night sights on revolvers are such a seemingly rare commodity these days. I understand that it’s kind of a pain in the butt to make a Model 60 with an interchangeable front sight blade and a dovetail for what would normally be a fixed frame, but, cmon, a gun designed for self-defense should recognize that often those moments take place in less-than-ideal lighting conditions. Ruger, at least, recognizes this and offers a version of their excellent SP101 snubby with front and rear dovetail sights.

I’m pretty sure someone in comments is going to say something about how night sights give your position away to anyone with NOD/NVD’s and therefore you’re not being tactical by having them on your gun, etc, etc. For that, I refer you to the paragraph three above this one.

 

ZT

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I mentioned back in December that I commissioned Zombie Tools to do a couple knives for me. As with anything that is custom, there’s a bit of a wait. It was rewarded today. One of the things that added to the wait time was that I wanted (and paid for) different grips and finish than what they usually offer.

Years ago, when I was a teen, I used to stay up late and watch the rather bad “War Of The Worlds” television series. A mostly forgettable show but something that stood out for me was one of the characters (played by future ‘Predator’ trophy Richard Chaves) had a very distinctive knife that I thought was very cool.

Once Al Gore invented the internet,  I was able to research it and see it was a Crain-designed knife that was called the “Battle Baton”. Licensed copies were made and they’re out there for sale.

Battle Baton by Crain for “War Of The Worlds”

Not sure what I liked about it. Probably its Roman legionnaire vibe it gave off. I never thought about really getting one, bit I liked the look of it. And then Zombie Tools, a local business, came out with their Centurion dagger:

Zombie Tools Centurion dagger

You can see the similarities, yes? Because I am an evil yuppie survivalist (Translation: someone who has a real job and doesn’t live in a van down by the river desert), I could ask for, and pay for, a few personal touches. Not a fan of the acid washed look, so satin finish please. Not caring for the aluminum-n-leather grip, so some green laminate please. And, while we’re spending money, perhaps a little personal touch of engraving. Mkay, thx.

Thus, we get this:

Glock 17 for scaleI am pleased. I don’t mind paying a lot of money if I get exactly what I want. This pretty much is exactly what I wanted. Practicality? Well, when the stores stop selling 9mm, or the zombies finally arrive, then this thing might prove its worth. But, for now, it’s like my BBQ gun…its something I have for no other reason except that I wanted it.

And..uhm…I may have put in an order while I was there for it’s big brother.

I have to hand it to the ZT guys… I know that custom stuff can be a pain to do. That’s why I expect to pay more. But they did a lovely job and I like my rather two-of-a-kind purchase. (The other one is a gift to someone I know.)

I expect the next order to be ready around May. We shall see. (And I really want them to make me a mek’leth.)

 

 

Augason Vegetable Stew Mix

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WinCo has restocked on the Augason Farms products.

I’m pretty well set on these products, but since it’s available and I’m always up for experimentation….lets crack one open and see what we get.

What you see in the picture above is two heaping tablespoons of this dehydrated vegetable mix. Its a bit heavy on the potatoes, but there’s a pretty fair representation of everything else in there as well. So, how to rehydrate? Well, let’s just go with the basic of using warm water and time.

I put in enough warm water to cover, and left to go to work.

After a little while, t hings start plumping up.

And when I returned to the house at the end of the day, this is what I saw.

Drained the remaining liquid and this is what remains. The thing that surprised me was just how small these things were cut. When Ii think stew, I think of reasonably hearty chunks of vegetables. Not here. No piece is larger than a thumbnail. This isn’t necessarily bad, it just means you should be aware of it.

I’m going to try mixing this up with a can of beef stock, some Keystone beef, and a few other dry ingredients and see what kind of beef soup or beef stew can be created out of entirely long-term foods. I’ll let you know how it works out.

Death by dialup

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You guys saw that earlier this week AT&T had a little kerfuffle with their service? The claim is that it was a software issue. I’m sure it was, but I’m also sure that if it was something more sinister they would try like hell to cover it up and blame something more benign…like a software issue.

Then, today, you get a headline like this: Pharmacies nationwide face delays as health-care tech company reports cyberattack.

It’s a strange new world when the more likely threats to your way of life and your security come from the internet and not a Tu-95.

This is he stuff Hollywood has made movies about. There’s no shortage of flicks about people gaining control of some critical infrastructure computer and messing things up on a grand scale. The war strategists have told us that our water treatment, fuel delivery, air traffic, and electrical distribution systems are high priority targets for our friends the Chinese/Russians.

In true Machiavellian fashion, I wonder if some bad actor will conduct an operation and make it look like someone else did it in order to foment conflict. Couldn’t you see the Chinese launching a cyberattack that makes it look like the work of the Russians so that the US and Russia lock horns, leaving China to take advantage of the chaos and do what they want?

The lesson here, I suppose, is that while we prepare for the loss or diminution of infrastructure, it appears that it’s becoming even more vulnerable. Sure, we expected electricity and municipal water to be a problem….but drug prescriptions?

Article -Finland to open 300 shooting ranges to boost interest in national defence

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Wonder if they’ll take it to the level that the Estonians have.

Finland has announced it will open 300 shooting ranges in a bid to encourage citizens to take a greater interest in national defence.

A member of Finland’s defence committee said the move would help Finns improve their shooting skills in the face of increased threats from Russia.

Under the Finnish constitution, every male aged between 18 and 60 must complete national army service but the government hopes that civilians will keep their weapons skills after the period of conscription with the new range proposals.

Finland and Russia/Soviet Union have a bit of a past, shall we say. The Winter War and The Continuation War make for interesting reading and seem to have some contemporary parallels today.

Mandatory conscription providing a base of trained civilians to form the backbone of a reserve, home guard, militia, or other irregular force is something that is fairly common in the world but often administered haphazardly. Some nations take it very seriously (ROK, Israel, Switzerland, etc.) and some…not so much. I’ve always thought the Swiss did it best, what with letting their guys take their military guns home with them and encouraging competition with them. Plus, the whole bunkers and redoubts thing also gives them some cred.

Russia’s recent foray into Lebensraum has seemingly forced some European countries to admit that, perhaps, the grand European tradition of disarming your citizenry in the name of security, safety, and civility withers in the cold harsh light of threats to sovereignty. Who knew? Behind every blade of grass and all that jazz.

Do you know who some of the strongest, most vocal, most virulent, most dedicated anti-Communists are? Former residents of communist countries. I have met plenty of people from former Soviet bloc countries and to a man they all support the notion of an armed citizenry. People who fled Hungary, Poland, Russia, and Cuba…they take to the AR15 like fat kids to donuts. I’m surprised more former Soviet states that were steamrollered by the USSR haven’t put an AK in every household.

I really hope the trend of encouraging national participation in firearms activities in the name of national defense continues. I’m sure at some point the various European governments will do their usual act of calling all loyal sons to bear arms during the crisis and then demand they turn those same arms in when the crisis is past. Looking at you, UK.

And, of course, I hope the Finns don’t make the mistake of thinking that opening shooting ranges is the start and finish (Finnish?) of creating a citizen-soldier. Small unit tactics, communications, medical, logistics (so much logistics) all need to be part of the curriculum. It’s the mistake that we often joke about in the survivalist world…you’ve got a million rounds of ammo and three days worth of food. Knowing how to shoot is only a small part of good training.

And, of course, no post about Finnish anything is complete without the comments constantly bring up Simo.